by Lars Teeney
Arch-Deacon sat back in his newly acquired A.P.C. and mulled over his options. At the very least before he resorted to that option he would request from the Church Patriarchy that the Reverend reach out to his followers via the [Virtue-net], as he had been strangely quiet as of late, even throughout this crisis. The Arch-Deacon figured that he could not handle this insurrection alone. He pinged Vice-Deacon Paulus.
“Vice-Deacon Paulus. How are preparations going at the Central Authority?” von Manstein inquired.
“Well sir, the reports from the camps in Pennsylvania are very disconcerting. A self-proclaimed Apostate militia is overrunning our camps. They seem to be moving east, most likely to New York City. Then, of course, the Apostate fleet is moving up from the south, we have received coded messages that Keir Schrubb was unsuccessful in stopping them,” Vice-Deacon Paulus reported. His morale seemed to be in the gutter.
“Yes, Paulus. I am aware of the uprisings. I am out here dealing with it, remember?” von Manstein asked facetiously.
“Holiness, there is another matter as well. Cardinal Zhukov, as you know he was brain dead from the torture he received at the hands of the Inquisitor. We have received reports that L.O.V.E. extracted his neural implant, but we have no idea what they found on it.” Vice-Deacon Paulus seemed very concerned by this news and expected more of a reaction from Arch-Deacon von Manstein.
“Again, Vice-Deacon, so is the fate of traitors to the Faith. This concerns me not. On another matter: I need you and the Church leadership to raise the Reverend. We soon face a full-scale revolt against the Church, even from devout, Virtuous followers. It is required that he address the devout and reassure them that the Second Coming is at hand!” von Manstein insisted.
“You would like us to have the Reverend make an appearance before the B.A.G. Is that wise?” Vice-Deacon risked questioning the authority of von Manstein.
“As the top officer of the Church of New Megiddo, I am giving you a direct order. If you continue to question my judgment I will hand you over to the Inquisitor as an Apostate!” Arch-Deacon von Manstein made certain he got his point across to Paulus.
”Y-yes holiness. We will use the Holy Invoker post-haste, and ping you when we have the Reverend ready to address the people,” Paulus confirmed, then he cut the communication short.
The Arch-Deacon turned his attention to reaching a camp, east of the Apostate militias current position. His basic idea was to work on securing and retaining control of the camps between the militia and New York. Then von Manstein would attempt to rally his own army composed of the devout conscripts and Rangers, where he would crush the Apostate militia in a pitched battle. All in time for the start of the B.A.G. and the Second Coming, which was days away. He was proud of himself for nearly single-handedly formulating the defense of the Faith. He would surely be honored as a warrior of Christ at the Gathering.
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The townspeople of Ukiah had gathered inside the old courthouse to discuss the immediate future of the town. No one among them, save for Ernest, had an organized vision. People did have their ideas, but no real strategy to get there. The courthouse was a large cavernous building, and the courtroom they gathered in was a dimly lit room with dark-stained woodwork, that gave the room an official, if depressing quality to it. A smattering of townsfolk was seated in the rows in the back of the room. An old judge, by the name of Mathis, presided over the gathering for order. Ernest and a few from the former, small business community sat at the tables below the bench. The scene was reminiscent of a pre-war courtroom drama on television.
“What we need to do is abandon the town and move up into the hills! We can build a fort there, no one will be able to attack,” Old Man Hayes ranted on about what they all should do next.
“Thank you, Mister Hayes. Well take your suggestions into consideration. Okay, Mister Greenbaum you have the floor,” Judge Mathis cleared him to speak.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We have been tried and tested these last few weeks, and under the control of the Regime of New Megiddo, I would argue that our ordeal had started long ago. Our humble town has overcome all obstacles and challenges laid before it, but we did not prevail to just to cloister up and run away. I feel that our town has a greater destiny in store for it. You know, in the early days of this country, the founders, whose names have been erased from history by New Megiddo built a society based on common law, equal rights for all men, and while religious belief was protected, they viewed the separation of Church and State were imperative for the system they established to work. That system flourished for quite some time, but eventually the wealthy elite desired more power. They subverted the separation of Church and State, and thus instituted a quasi-feudal system where the people became adherent to a theocratic authority. My friends; that time is nearly at an end. The Regime of New Megiddo is crumbling, and losing control. With the Regime gone, there will be left a power vacuum. With our town of Ukiah left to our own devices, this leaves us a choice. We can resort to old, barbaric ways, or we can champion the democratic ideals of the Founders, and strive to ensure that every citizen gets a fair shake,” Ernest Greenbaum paused in his speech, and some of the people began to applaud what he was saying. Ernest urged them to let him continue. The crowd settled and became silent once more.
“Citizens of Ukiah: I hold in my hand a document that can guide this town to laying down the foundations of a democratic government, that abides by the original principles of the Founders. Using these guidelines, we can elect our government and rebuild a prosperous society, but we can do it right this time. We can live within our means; in a sustainable manner. In this document, I have outlined our first priorities as being setting up a food and water infrastructure, followed by fortifying the town and organizing a citizen militia. After these things are achieved I have spelled out a grander path for rebuilding an economy and an educational system that reflect secular, but moral values. My friends, I can’t guarantee that we will have a perfect and struggle-free future, but if we adopt my guidelines I promise that we have more of a chance of becoming a prosperous and peaceful, but also a strong society once more.” The courtroom erupted in applause and cheers. Ernest and the Judge Mathis took this as an overwhelming endorsement of his plan. Of course, the people would actually have to analyze what his guidelines proposed and there would be much debate to come.
Gertrude Greenbaum sat in the rows toward the back of the room. She partook in the standing ovation. She felt an overwhelming sense of pride being married to this man, and she had the sensation that they were on the cusp of creating something great in this point in history. She compared it to what the Founders must have felt at the first Continental Congress all those centuries ago, in a small backwater of an insignificant land.
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The Apostate militia had been trained to the best of Pride-Swarm’s ability. The new recruits had been trained and drilled on the basics of weapons handling and were giving physical conditioning regimens. They were still far inferior to any regular or L.O.V.E.R.s but, they would be able to hold a battle line if need dictated it. Pride-Swarm felt satisfied with the number of troops now available to him, however. His column marched along Route Seventy-six, east, out of Pittsburgh. Pride had determined their next target of liberation would be Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pride did think it odd that they had not been attacked along the route, he would have thought that there would be more of a Regime defense.
He rode in the back of a captured Regime A.P.C. where he formulated battle plans and attempted to raise other members of sleeper cells across the region, which had assisted in rousing uprisings among the Bagger populations, that after the Pilgrimage had been sequestered to squalid camps, awaiting the B.A.G. to begin. There were not as many responses as he had hoped. As he gathered intelligence, he had learned a Regime force was shadowing his movements to the south, and it grew as his force had grown. There were rumors that a high-level Church official was leading the Regime force. This relieved Prides wor
ries quite a bit. He figured that some Church hack wanting to play conquering hero would be easy defeated. Pride did think it was odd that the Regime did not send Keir Schrubb or Inquisitor Rodrigo to lead their forces. Pride thought that they may be overstretched and this was the best they had to offer for the challenge that Prides force represented.
Pride decided he would take a stroll and inspect the morale of the marching troops, so he exited out the back of the hydraulic ramp of the A.P.C. Stepping down he walked in the opposite direction to the advancing troops, formed up in the column. He smiled and nodded as he met each soldier’s face, they saluted in return. From what he could gauge the men and women seemed to be in good spirits so far.
“It’s the Reverend everyone: a message from the Reverend Wilhelm!” a man shouted, somewhere from the column.
“The Reverend! He’s appearing to us!” another voice called out. The column halted as men and women focused in on their retinal H.U.D.s, to witness what the Reverend was about to say. Pride was disconcerted, he and his officers were not connected to the [Virtue-net] so he could not hear first hand the Reverend’s broadcast. Some men among the column began to exclaim with shouts of, “Hallelujah!” and “Praise Jesus!”. A number of men and women dropped to their knees and folded their hands in prayer; their faces pointed skyward. Several more minutes passed. Pride paced back and forth to watch the faces and expressions of his militia, trying to assess the situation. Some men just stood at attention, silently. Although in the column other troops had an entirely different reaction to the Reverend’s broadcast.
“Run fellow believers! Join the Virtuous at the Born Again Gathering! To be saved!” A number of men dropped their weapons and scrambled in various directions away from the column, running indiscriminately. Some entered fields or ran down adjacent roads and allies. Some men and women just remained on their knees or lay upon the dirt. And yet, a number left the main column and formed an opposing line; they seemed to be organizing themselves. This was the language that Pride spoke; the language of war. They were forming a firing line. Apostates, form companies and prepare to fire! Pride ordered the men who were not affected by the Reverends words, formed up in companies and prepared to fire at the hastily formed opposition. Pride sent a message to his more experienced officers who reacted with instinctual responses.
“Death to Apostates! Glory be to the Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ!” The men affected by the Reverend’s broadcast brought the weapons to bear and took aim. Shots rang out, and the men began dropping. The Apostate militia officers calmly picked off men at leisure. Then the main body of the Apostate militia fired at the Faithful, yet more of their number fell. The buckling line of impromptu Regime supporters thinned out but returned fire. Some of the Apostate militia fell. And yet another volley of deadly fire was offered that routed the Regime Faithful. The remaining men and women dropped their weapons and turned tail. Pride ordered a cease-fire and let them run. They were not professional soldiers and would not return.
The militia ranks reformed into a column and took some time to reorganize. Pride walked the length of the column and assessed his losses. He cursed to himself. The militia had lost a third of its original number.
“Fuck it,” Pride stated. He figured that this event was a type of blessing in disguise. The uncommitted and Regime supporters had now been weeded out of their ranks. So, after a time, the column was on its way again, advancing at a steady pace.
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THE FIRST WOE
The bruised and battered remnants of the Apostate fleet entered the Chesapeake Bay, easily destroying the meager vessels that defended it with their battleships. A land-based attack on the Capital from the south was deemed suicidal because Regime forces shined at warfare on land. The Capital had been fortified by regular forces, with armor stationed all around the perimeter of New Megiddo City. The best approach was determined to be by sea. Gale-Whirlwind, Hades-Perdition, Ravine-Gulch and Angel-Seraphim along with the captains of the surviving battleships had gathered in the wardroom aboard the North Carolina.
“I believe the best use of the battleships is to shell the city and it’s defenses from the Chesapeake. We can provide cover fire for the landing parties,” Gale-Whirlwind put forward the suggestion. The captains all agreed with her. They were impressed by here natural propensity for naval tactics.
“Sounds like a plan. That leaves Angel-Seraphim, Ravine-Gulch and I are to lead the landing parties ashore. Graham Wynham, wherever the hell he is, had informed us that sleeper agents have been active for some time all over New Megiddo. They have been working to foster rebellion and uprisings among the “Bagger” populations. Based on initial reports from some of these agents, it seems that many of these uprisings have resulted in success; others, not so much. Many have been stamped out by the Regime. So, it’s really difficult to tell exactly how much support we can link-up with once ashore.” Hades was cautiously optimistic that the people had met enough suffering by the Regime’s hand that they would get support.
“Okay, this plan is pretty straight forward. I can follow it,” Ravine stated.
“Yes, I am also behind it,” Angel confirmed.
“Also, once we have established a foothold within the Capital, I need to warn you all that I must go after the Inquisitor Rodrigo myself. With him alive, the Regime will always a threat. When I take my leave, Ravine and Angel will be the Apostates in charge of refugee collection and processing efforts,” Hades explained.
“I guess if it’s that crucial, be my guest.” Ravine had thought about his own tasks that lay ahead, and a mystery he needed to solve. He was now galvanized to see it through, especially since his best friend had been taken from him in the effort to defeat the Church and Regime of New Megiddo. Losing Blaze had been an event that made him yearn for the conclusion to this sad, sorry affair that much sooner. He gazed upon Gale-Whirlwind from across the room and a wave of morose overtook him.
“Okay, I would like to see some action! I have been pent up on these boats since Jamaica! Let us stretch our legs, and spill Regime blood.” Angel was anything but an angel, at that moment. She had been training with “the Spear of Destiny” since she picked it up off the Monsignor’s cold, dead body in Panama. Angel felt it was time to test her skill with this plasma-powered weapon.
“Well then, ladies and gentlemen: let’s get to it. I just wanted to let you all know, that it has been a pleasure traveling and fighting with you. I know we have had our differences and we all have our own reasons to fight, but we share a common cause. It could very well be that many of us will not survive this day, and I may never see some of you again, but, if a sacrifice is to be made today, let me tell you that there is no more worthy cause than to reclaim our country; our home, that used to be “Of the People, By the People”. Good luck to you all!” With that Hades left the room in some urgency.
“You heard the man: let’s get this operation underway. Captains to your vessels!” Gale shouted orders like a true admiral. The captains of the battleships scrambled. Ravine and Angel also rushed out of the wardroom to meet up with sailors and soldiers that had been assembled as landing forces. They waited on the sealift ships, behind the battleship picket line.
Ravine felt a huge relief that the endgame was now starting. He was all geared up and ready to go. Within his pack, was the remaining two doses of ‘Database’ that he had been told by Graham, were the key to his destiny. So, he went forward with the desire for answers fueling him.
“Ravine!” He turned to find Gale had called his name. He stopped and she approached.
“Greta,” he called her by her given name.
“Marco,” she returned the favor.
“Come back to me in one piece.” She kissed him, and he returned that favor as well. In that instant his heart sank, because of what he knew.
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Graham’s body clung to life, but just barely. He had been brutalized by the Inquisitor’s junior officers and now he was in a coma. I
nquisitor Rodrigo looked at his maimed face. Graham was of no further value to him in this state. It was time to extract the man’s neural implant to see if it yielded any intelligence. The Inquisitor ordered his aides to unshackle the limp body of Graham Wynham.
“Ranger, take this man to the infirmary and instruct the head surgeon that he is to have his neural implant removed for data processing. Also, please inform the Head Ranger Erickson that he is in charge here. I have urgent business to attend to.” The Ranger saluted the Inquisitor, and then took his leave. Inquisitor Rodrigo made his way to the underground garage below the Ministry of State Security building, which, was several levels above his current position. Two Rangers, who doubled as bodyguards, accompanied him on the lift to retrieve his A.P.C.
Soon the three L.O.V.E. agents boarded the A.P.C. and started on their way up the ramps toward street level. Inquisitor Rodrigo settled into the cushy vehicle for the journey.
“Inquisitor, sir, what is our destination?” the driver inquired via his neural implant.
“Annapolis, Maryland: the residence of the Minister of State Security, Kate Schrubb,” The Inquisitor informed the driver.
“Sir, are you certain?” the driver was puzzled.
“Quite so. I have to inquire about something,” Rodrigo announced.