Disloyal political and military figures topple the existing Soviet regime placing the President under house arrest. The conspirators include the defense minister, head of the federal intelligence branch, chief of the General Staff, and a group of hard line nationalist politicians. The coup plotters declare a nuclear alert for all forces. The launch codes remain in the hands of the military, but the political turbulence splinters the military. The chain of nuclear command is broken, compromised, and confused.
Blips suddenly appear on the screens at radar sites across northern Russia.
One or more missiles apparently have been launched form an area of the Norwegian Sea known to be routinely inhabited by U.S. and British strategic submarines capable of hitting Moscow with hundreds of nuclear warheads in 15 minutes. The early warning center flashes a missile attack warning to the Russian president and his top nuclear advisors. The General Staff alerts the missile commanders across Russia to begin launch preparations. A countdown to impact begins as the radars and satellites continue to track the trajectory of the threatening objects. Russia's main retaliatory option calls for the president deciding whether or not to launch no later than ten minutes after an enemy missile attack.