The Rebellion Gets Organized

US National Archives

"Joe!"

Normally Colonel Tanaka would not have yelled out SFC Levine's name when he wanted to talk to him, the Army sergeant was manning the outer office while MACS Janet Sorge was getting some much-needed rest in the makeshift quarters they had set up on the floor below them. But he was waiting on a call to come in and was tired enough that he couldn't think of the right button to push to get him on the intercom, but Hell, the man was just outside!

"Sir?"

"Yeah, I need a detail to head on over to Capitol Hill and pick up the people on this list. Assume that they won't come voluntarily." Tanaka handed the list to Levine and sat back rubbing his eyes.

SFC Levine perused the list, he recognized most of the names, most of them were pretty high up in the Congressional leadership ranks. Men and women of both of the major political parties were listed, as well as three so-called Independents. He shook his head, up until now he had not taken any direct action against the country's current political leaders, the ones who had led to him joining this coup / revolution / rebellion, whatever they were calling it.

Levine had sworn an oath, more than once in fact, in which he had sworn to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." The problem he was having was that his oath also said that he would "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me."

The first part of that oath was the same as the one the officers used, the second was not¹. He was not having second thoughts, but he was a little nervous about that oath.

"What if they resist, Sir?"

"Then zip-tie their hands and drag them if you have to." Tanaka looked up and sighed, "Don't rough 'em up too much. We want them to look good for their trials when this is all over." That last bit had gotten an odd look from Levine.

SFC Levine headed out to find Gunnery Sergeant MacAllister, just the guy to call on to handle something like this. As a soldier, he found it odd that he was relying so heavily on the coup's Marine contingent. Of course, most of them joined the Corps for the adventure, most of the soldiers available to him had joined to earn money for college. Besides which, unlike the Army, every Marine was a rifleman first, then whatever specialty they had.

Ye Meihui gasped as she checked the bullet wound low on her right side. It was just a graze, but it still hurt like Hell!

She had been ordered to Albany by her control, a man named Wong who ran a Chinese restaurant in Utica. The trip had been uneventful until she had been stopped by an American police checkpoint just inside the city. She had papers identifying her as an American college student attending RPI² in Troy, just north of Albany.

They had made her step out of the car while they searched it, she had been beginning to get a bad feeling about the situation, one of the police, who appeared to be drunk, kept leering at her. The man had suggested that he should search her, his sergeant had laughed and said, "Take her over to that closed shop, you can, ya know, 'search' her there."

He had led her that way, she knew that he intended to rape her. She had known that Chinese were not all that popular at the moment, but there were many Americans of Chinese descent, as she spoke perfect English, she hadn't been worried. She hadn't factored in the attitude of some who saw all Chinese as a threat.

When they got into the small shop, the door had been broken out and the place had been looted, the policeman had said, "Head for the back lady, no funny business, if I shoot you it's just one more dead chink."

The hair stood up on the back of her neck when she heard the slur, she resolved to take drastic action, she had to continue her mission.

"That's far enough, turn around and strip." the man ordered.

As Ye turned she pulled the knife she kept hidden and slashed the cop across the abdomen. She had meant to cut his throat but she had stumbled over some trash on the floor of the shop. He gasped and reached for his pistol, he was hurt but still dangerous.

She grappled with the officer, trying to stab him in the throat with one hand while with the other she tried to keep his pistol hand under control. Her agency had trained her well in the martial arts, but the man was strong and was fighting as he knew his life was on the line.

The pistol fired, the bullet slashing her skin but not penetrating, the report of the shot seemed to startle the officer. It didn't last as she plunged her knife into his eye, where it stuck. As the blade penetrated his brain, he had collapsed instantly, dying shortly thereafter.

She looked around and saw a rear exit, which had also been smashed open. She ran for it, she regretted the loss of the car, but she could always steal another. For now she had to run, she had heard the officer's partner yelling outside.

As she ran, she regretted not taking the officer's pistol. Ah well, this was America, she was sure she would have no trouble finding another.

Gunny MacAllister had a full platoon of Marines with him when they rolled up to the Capitol. The mixed bag of Army, Navy, Air Force, and, to his surprise, one or two Coast Guardsmen, guarding the building looked on curiously as the Marines went into the building.

All of the people who had been in the building when it was seized were being held in the Rotunda, MacAllister noticed the smell immediately, the space, and the people held within it, smelled very bad.

Corporal Winston gagged as he looked around, "Jesus Gunny, it reeks in here."

"Yeah, it's not like we've been letting them go home to shower and change."

"Don't they have facilities in the building?" A young Marine named Sue Bolton asked.

"Yeah, they do Private, but it's too much of a problem to take some to wash up and use the heads, so they get buckets."

"Damn!" Bolton exclaimed.

"Yup, let's grab the people we came to get and get out of here."

An Air Force captain came over and listened as MacAllister explained his mission. "Peace of cake Sarge, we're holding these people on your list separately from the rest." Turning to an Air Force Security policeman the captain yelled out, "Hey Lobbes, go upstairs and bring the 'specials' down."

"Roger that Sir."

"Uh Captain?" MacAllister said.

"Yeah Sarge?"

"I'm a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, call me Gunny, not Sarge. You copy? Sir?"

"No problemo Gunny, I'm an Eagle driver myself, never worked with Marines before." The captain stuck his hand out, "I'm Les Pearson, Gunny, honor to work with you."

"Lou MacAllister, Sir. Once we get this shit sorted out, I hope you can go back to flying, and I can get back to training new Marines."

"Roger that Gunny."

The trip back to the Pentagon was uneventful. The Congressional leadership was rather subdued riding in the back of one of the MRAPs³. The Speaker of the House had protested loudly when told that they were being taken to the Pentagon. She had outright refused to go and had sat down on the floor with a petulant look on her face.

Private Bolton had jerked the older woman to her feet and gotten right in her face, "You're getting on this vehicle you old bitch, dead or alive. Now move that wrinkled ass before I bayonet it!"

Gunny MacAllister would talk to the young Marine later, but her method had been very effective. The elderly Congresswoman had wet herself then went meekly, as did the others when they realized that these Marines weren't screwing around.

Former President Wilson James Rutherford sat quietly in the back of the Army Humvee. He had been America's second black President and many would say, one of its best. But election irregularities had seen him voted out of office after just one term.

Rutherford was neither a Democrat nor a Republican, he actually was an honest-to-God Independent. Both politically and in his beliefs. He was a conservative on the economy and in foreign relations, but one might say a liberal about everything else. That had made him popular with the American people, popular enough to have been elected overwhelmingly when he ran against the two party hacks that the Democrats and Republicans had offered the people.

He was perhaps too popular and the two major parties resolved that one term was all he would get. Which is what caused the current crisis. The winning party had been happy with the result, the losing party had petitioned the UN to intervene. Now the country was in disarray, but from what he'd been told, the people were fighting back.

The vehicle rolled to a stop at one of the Pentagon entrances and the door was opened for him, as he stepped out he realized that an honor guard was present. There, in front of him, was a Navy four-star he recognized.

"Mr. President." Admiral Harry Fairchild saluted as Rutherford stepped out onto the curb.

"Come on Harry, I'm an ex-President, the correct form of address is Mr. Rutherford. You should know better, you're an admiral."

"Um, technically I'm a Commander now. I sort of stepped down so I could work with the Rebellion."

"The rebellion? What is this, an episode of Star Wars?"

Fairchild chuckled and said, "It's a bit more serious than that Sir. Please come with me, Colonel Tanaka would like to meet you."

"Colonel Tanaka?"

"He's the military leader of the Rebellion."

"Ah, I see. Who's your Mon Mothma?"

Fairchild stopped and looked back, "Who?"

"Never mind Harry, I guess you're not as big a fan of Star Wars as I am."

"No Sir, never really got into it. But we have captured the person I would view as Darth Vader. That character I know."

"Ah. Well lead on Admiral, er, Commander. Let's meet the players."

¹ The enlisted oath: I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The officer oath: I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

² Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a very good school.

³ Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected is a term for United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. (Source)