Designated Survivor (TV Series)

Two Ships (2017)

Mykelti Williamson: Admiral Chernow

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Quotes 

• Tom Kirkman : Who on board the ship would have known about the surveillance activities?

  Admiral Chernow : The captain, the XO, the operations officer.

  Tom Kirkman : But not a junior lieutenant?

  Admiral Chernow : Oh, no, sir.

  Aaron Shore : [entering]  The Saudi ambassador says Kunami's willing to allow the rescue of the Verona crew in exchange with the lifting of the prohibition on its uranium program.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, now we know what they're willing to trade for. Our ship for a potential weapons program. Not acceptable.

• Tom Kirkman : Anything from the Kunami ambassador?

  Emily Rhodes : He put out a statement accusing us of a hostile incursion into their territorial waters.

  Tom Kirkman : For what, running into a hundred thousand tons of their trash?

  Emily Rhodes : He says that was divine providence. He's consulting with the emir.

  Tom Kirkman : Casualties?

  Admiral Chernow : Sixteen dead. Dozens injured, sir. Well, the Verona's incapacitated. We'll have to tow her out. But we will need Kunami's cooperation.

  Aaron Shore : Well, we may need a show of force to get that. We're talking about a renegade regime that's been under military and economic sanctions for over a decade.

  Tom Kirkman : Where is our closest fleet?

  Admiral Chernow : Well, the best case, the Fifth is eight hours out. Kunami we can handle, but they're not the only problem, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Right. Other hostile nations in the Middle East are watching. Son of a bitch. This can go global quickly.

  Admiral Chernow : The problem is the Verona is loaded with technology we have to keep out of Kunami's hands.

  Tom Kirkman : First and foremost, we've got 300 Americans stranded in hostile waters, many of them injured. We need to bring 'em home. Admiral, deploy the Fifth.

• Tom Kirkman : I want to talk to the captain of the Verona.

  Admiral Chernow : Well, there is no captain, sir. The senior command was meeting in his quarters, and then swept out to sea when the hull was breached.

  Tom Kirkman : My god.

  [regaining his composure] 

  Tom Kirkman : Get the senior officer in charge.

• Tom Kirkman : Admiral, what's the update?

  Admiral Chernow : That's Kunami's fleet. Five ships and counting.

  Tom Kirkman : Tell me about the formation.

  Admiral Chernow : It's a classic blockade. Our ships won't be able to get anywhere near the Verona without running it.

  Emily Rhodes : And risking a war.

  Aaron Shore : It doesn't make sense that the emirate would want to do that.

  Tom Kirkman : What they want is to make us sweat. Our ship is at the mercy of a regime that is desperate to prove its own legitimacy to its people. And we have a crew that expects us to rescue them when apparently there's no easy way to do that. Admiral, contact Captain Griffin. We need to let him know that we haven't abandoned him.

• Tom Kirkman : Admiral, I need you to tell me: was the Verona engaged in espionage?

  Admiral Chernow : In addition to its advanced weaponry, the Verona has a state of the art surveillance system, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : What were we monitoring?

  Admiral Chernow : Kunami's compliance with the sanctions.

  Tom Kirkman : Admiral, is there anything on the Verona that would confirm the emirate's allegations?

  Admiral Chernow : Unfortunately, sir, there is. The ship's Voyage Data Recorder tracks its movements to the second. Now, if the emirate coordinates the Verona's geo-locations with the weather, they can prove we were in their waters before the monsoon hit.

  Emily Rhodes : And our plausible deniability goes out the window.

• Tom Kirkman : Admiral, honestly, how far out is the Fifth Fleet?

  Admiral Chernow : Three hours. The choppy water's slowing the fleet down. We can have a strike package there in minutes.

  Emily Rhodes : Sir, there's an optics difference between using force to rescue a ship on a peaceable mission and one that was spying.

  Tom Kirkman : Right now, I don't care about the optics. I care about the crew.

  Aaron Shore : Well, sir, I have to advise you if we start launching missiles at their ships, the Verona's a sitting duck.

  Emily Rhodes : And the clock is ticking. We don't want force to be our primary option. We need to keep moving on the diplomatic front.

  Tom Kirkman : You're right. I want both of you to reach out to the Foreign Relations Committee. See how much room we've got to maneuver.

  Emily Rhodes , Aaron Shore : Yes, sir.

• Aaron Shore : Mr. President, Senator Cowling just got back to me. Congress won't allow loosening the sanctions. She's urging the administration to find a diplomatic solution.

  Tom Kirkman : It doesn't help us now, but she's right. We need to find another way.

  Lyor Boone : Sir, if I were advising the emir, I'd say he's playing it perfectly; castigating America for violating his country's sovereignty.

  Emily Rhodes : Knowing that we can't use force without looking like we've wildly overreacted to a problem they think we've created.

  Tom Kirkman : We didn't create a monsoon out at sea.

  Lyor Boone : He's got wiggle room, sir. We don't. This crisis is tailor-made to enhance his prestige.

  Tom Kirkman : Admiral, do we have enough data to re-create the Verona's collision?

  Admiral Chernow : Yes, sir. We'll get right on it.

• Aaron Shore : You're watching a re-creation of the collision, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Based on what?

  Admiral Chernow : Enhanced satellite imagery and data from the ship's AIS. The Verona was traveling 160 degrees southeast at roughly fifteen knots. The barge was heading northeast at twelve knots, four points off the port quarter.

  Emily Rhodes : If everyone held course, it would've been a near-miss.

  Admiral Chernow : The barge suddenly veered to four points off the starboard bow and increased its speed to eighteen knots.

  Tom Kirkman : That proves that the barge ran into our ship on purpose.

  Admiral Chernow : Well, given the barge's sudden change in speed and direction, that would be my conclusion, Mr. President.

  Aaron Shore : Ambassador Salini's on his way to discuss sanctions.

  Tom Kirkman : We'll be discussing something else.

• Admiral Chernow : Mr. President, the Fifth Fleet is in place and awaiting instructions, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Thank you, Admiral. Have them deploy a rescue vessel. Fly a flag at half-mast. Aaron, see if you can catch the ambassador. Tell him they can have our ship. We're bringing our people home.

  Admiral Chernow : Mr. President, the emirate will get our technology, and the VDR will confirm we were spying. Respectfully, sir, it will be a national humiliation.

  Tom Kirkman : Respectfully, Admiral, our personnel is more important.

  Admiral Chernow : Well, I'd agree, sir, if we could predict how Kunami will respond. There's no way to know what the emir will do if you call his bluff.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, we're gonna find out soon enough because we're gonna run the blockade. Admiral... if they engage, sink every ship they've got.

• Tom Kirkman : Admiral, do you want to explain to me how the Wyckoff forgot Captain Griffin?

  Admiral Chernow : They didn't forget him, sir. He refused to abandon ship.