Colonel Tavington and His Men
I never thought that I would see this land. The land that was once hailed as the most powerful in the world. A land of hero's and patriots. I remembered staring out the cargo plane window as we began our immediate decent into the United States. From the air the sight had been quite breath taking and over whelming. Once our boots hit the ground however, it was a different story. The site before us was grim. Cities still alit in flames that filled the air with smoke. A green world from above made for a very dark and grim war below. The war that the America government had put themselves in had ravished their country. Only the east coast had remained, and the American government took up refuge in what was left over in what was originally their first thirteen colonies. I shook my head as we departed the plane. Thinking back to all the events that led to our assignment here back in the colonies. My men and I were quickly assigned our quarters by Lt. General Ohara and we settled in our far corner of the main compound.
We were led by Lord General Cornwallis, a master tactician of strategy and the head of the Kings Army. Entering my tent, I gathered in my surroundings and settled. I had a meeting with the Lord General in a few hours. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out my small notebook and began to pool my own strategies on to its pages. I had no idea what to expect from my new Commander. He could ask me to bring him men from every corner of the colonies for questioning. He could ask me to eliminate the threat entirely. Or he could have something else entirely in mind. I would find out soon, I only hope that my men and I would be able to facilitate what we could for the Lord General. I had been known for my brutal tactics in my own country. Without those tactics however, I feel as though we would not have pulled through our last war. I sighed thinking back to our third world war. Shaking them from my head I went back to my notes.
"Colonel Tavington Sir?" I glanced up as my Captain and second in command Captain James Bordon stepped in. "The Lord General wishes to see you sir." He stated, and I glanced at my watch. It was still early, and they had only just arrived a few hours before. As I stood from my desk I had become acquainted with in that short time, I quickly gave my second in command orders.
"Captain make sure that our gear and supplies make it to our portion of the camp and set a watch on it. I feel that supplies here for the army are scarce enough as it is, we don't need anything to go missing overnight."
"I will see it done sir." Captain Bordon nodded and led me out of my tent before turning to his task. I headed for the main house. It was a large plantation home that still stood from the beginnings of the American Colonies, during their first revolution in the 1700's. When I reached the house, I was greeted by an escort who led me inside its old exterior. It was nothing fancy in my mind, boxes of military supplies lined the walls. Men scrambled around to get their tasks done, it was like a beehive of war and I was heading to its core.
"Colonel William Tavington for you sir." The escort introduced me as we approached the large oak desk the Lord General sat behind. The Lord General looked up from his paperwork, his eyes baggy and dark from the lack of sleep he had receive since their arrival to the United States. The Lord General and the main army had been in the country for little over a year before the request of my station was called upon by the Lord General.
"Ah, yes Colonel Tavington, leader of my new special forces unit. Please have a seat." The Lord General made a motion to the chair in front of his desk and I happily obliged to his request. "I understand that you are aware of me, I however have only heard rumors about you and your men." The Lord General glanced at my condition. My dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail and I had some stubble on my chin. "You travel like a band of mercenaries." He stated and I nodded in agreement.
"Sir my men and I are capable of anything you can imagine. Our outer appearance is so that we blend in with the enemy. Catch them off guard and eliminate them if necessary." The Lord General did not seem bothered by my words as he nodded. I watched the wheels in his head turn and as he stood from his desk. Moving over to a large table covered in maps he motioned me to join him.
"Since our arrival here, we have been met with a large resistance of rebel forces." I listened as we both focused on the map. The Lord General pointed out various specific areas that I needed to concern myself with. "As you know since the bombs fell on the America we have been given the opportunity to reclaim what was our hundreds of years ago, not to mention the multitude of resources that these rebels seem so eagerly guarding." The Lord General sighed, looking around the map. "Once the Rebels have stopped this foolish resistance we can begin life here and farm the still fertile land for us and the Crown." So that was the plan, snuff out the resistance and make them complaint and start over. I thought for a moment of the task at hand the Lord General had for himself. The numbers that we received in Britain about the survival rate the American population was grim but so had ours been. We were a new world starting over again, like we had done hundreds of years ago only now with better equipment.
"From here to here, are strict no-go zones." I watched as he labeled the map with a bright red Sharpe. I looked at him with question. "Radiation Colonel, that is where our scientists believe the line ends from the closest nuclear weapon drop on the country." Memories of watching the bombs hit the Americas years ago on the T.V. flashed before me before I refocused on the Lord General. "They believe that we could in theory venture into that line but advise against it, for the safety of our soldiers and the supplies we currently have." I watched as the lord general lowed his gaze, he seemed defeated.
"Sir?" I regarded him closely as he sat back behind his desk.
"We are running low on supplies. Daily our men and women are defecting to the Americas to join in the cause to kick us out." I took my seat back in front of the Lord General as he spoke. "I need you and your men to get me the supplies I need to reclaim this land as ours. By whatever means necessary." He stated and leaned forward on his desk towards me. "If we manage to rebuild are strong fortress and get our men the supplies need to regain their strength I can then finish this campaign his majesty has set me on." He pulled a folder from his desk drawer and handed it too me. I flipped it open quickly to reveal information on various rebel men. "You will be acting as a group of Rebel men that we captured a few days ago. From what we could get from these men they were on their way to support one of the local militia camps. This should help you in your mission Colonel."
"I will brief my men and get to work right away sir." He nodded, and I stood to attention in front of him. Rendering my salute in respect before turning back towards the door to do as ordered.
"Colonel, one more thing." I stopped and turned back to the Lord General. As he approached me he held out a small photograph. I took it from him and glanced at it briefly. "Her name is Annabelle. She is a skilled surgeon among the rebels and could be of great use to us. If you find her and bring her back to camp."
A/N: If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I've had this idea of a dystopian patriot story in my head for awhile now and a second chapter is too far from this one. Enjoy!