Rise of an Empire
Chapter Fourteen: Spark Becomes Fire
"Mr. President, it is wise for you to hear me out…" King Stitch began firmly on a holographic screen in his throne room. "My son, along with his childhood friend, have discovered that the information you have retrieved is actually false information cleverly designed so that you cannot realize it's a trick!"
"I find that hard to believe with all due respect your highness…" Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "However, our technology is the best, if the traitorous scum Cascadia is counted out. So, it is very unlikely that what you're telling me is true…"
"I've seen it myself Mr. President…" the doctor spoke up on another line, his lab seen behind him, filled with many holographic screens and military inventions. "What you have is lie, something to make you steer clear of the real truth…"
"Explain this then: why did all the other major powers, including yourself, managed to foil those raids many days ago?" the president challenged, his expression annoyed.
"We managed to respond in time, plus plain luck!" Stitch was starting to grow frustrated. "You still have time to cancel the meeting Mr. President! If you stop all this now, we'll work side-by-side with you to the greatest extent to not only prove you were fooled, but that there is another mercenary battalion in disguise!"
"Enough!" Jack roared. "I'm growing tired of these empty promises and blind optimism, the real reason that those raids were stopped was because you were working with them behind the scenes!"
"What the-how dare you accuse us of working against you?!" the Trog king raised his voice.
"That's not true Mr. President, I've known Stitch way before the empire was formed!" Andrew backed his good friend, greatly shocked by the accusation. "He would never side with the terrorists after innocent lives were taken!"
"This isn't your battle…" Jack said cryptically. "This battle started when those mountain boys withdrew from us after the Oil War many years ago, this is our time to reunify the nation, become proud and powerful once more…"
"You will regr-"
"Stop" Andrew interrupted Stitch hastily. "I see the bigger picture…you knew that was false information, but you lied to the Joint Chiefs, using that as an excuse to invade and annex the free Republic of Cascadia, just so you can reunite the so called American people!"
"Oh ho-hoo! Now who's casting false accusations?!" Jack snapped. "This will be my ultimatum, doctor and king: if you try and protect Cascadia, you will be labeled enemies, and we will not hesitate to open fire on you if we see you!"
"Are you insane?!" Andrew finally lost his patience. "Both of us have a powerful military, even me, that's asleep! If you attack us, you will awaken a giant that'll crush your nation if we wanted to!"
"I'm not afraid of your empty threats no longer…" the President mumbled gravely, and then cut the transmission.
"By the gods…" Stitch cursed, tightening his fist hard. "If we don't do something my good friend, we're gonna regret it!"
"I see it too Stitch…" Leafgreen sighed. "We only have two choices: sit back and watch Cascadia be crushed…or declare war against the United States…"
"You can declare war on them without a just reason Andrew…" the king gave Leafgreen a sorrowful stare. "Me, on the other hand, have to make sure that the government approves of this…not to mention make my citizens not organize any protests…"
"We can't call on the Federation to help me either…" the doctor rested his head on his palm. "They're near total economic collapse, and there are widespread riots throughout their territory…"
"Until I find a way to aide you, you'll have to this by yourself…" Stitch sighed. "My best wishes to you…and may Yunij watch over you…"
"Thanks…though I think your way will come sooner than you'd expect…" the teenage prodigy gave a sly smirk under his helmet, then cut the transmission. Stitch sat down, wearing a confused look.
What does he mean by that? he wondered. What is his young, but big brain up to now?
State Border of Idaho and Oregon, Forward US Army base
"Agent 3, ya read me?" the doctor called.
"Loud and clear father…" the spy answered, hiding behind a rock just north of the base. "Something I should hear?"
"Jack just finished the meeting with Congress, if they announce of their approval, that base you're near is gonna get rolling in a heartbeat…" Leafgreen warned.
"Don't worry, I have enough time…" Agent 3 assured him. "Now, I'm making my move now…"
The spy closed his communicator, and, using his light-bending ability that his fur allows, he became invisible and sneaked into the base. He dodged out of the way of walking soldiers out of armor, narrowly avoided cruising LAVs, and entered the intel-trailer. Returning to sight, he sorted through the documents, quickly memorizing everything. One document caught his attention. After reading it over, a stunning realization hit him.
There was another battalion secretly working for the terrorists! Folding it, he inserted it into a pocket inside the jacket of his suit.
"…and that's not the best part!" the spy heard a soldier near the door. Quickly, he cloaked himself and started to leave. THWACK! The door opened and smashed him into the wall. He barely managed to stay quiet from the impact of the blow.
"Well, spit it out! What is it?!" the second soldier insisted.
"If Congress says yes, we get to blow those mountain boys to kingdom come!" the other gestured.
"Awesome! I can't wait to travel freely to Mt. Hood again!" the younger human barely kept his excitement in. Agent 3 was thankful he reorganized the documents back into the folder, evidenced that the soldiers sat on green chairs, relaxing.
"My grandparents were planning on getting a retirement home there…until those hippie mountain boys seceded!" the older red-furred Trog soldier said bitterly. The experiment-spy slipped out quietly, wading through crowds of soldiers on the dry, yellow grass. He was almost out of there when he saw a beautiful violet-furred Trog-female, perched on a watchtower, an R700 sniper-rifle laid on her shoulder.
What a beautiful woman… the agent stared at her mindlessly. I wonder if I can see her again…
Remembering the importance of the mission, the spy slipped out, sprinted across the grassy plain, and boarded a deep-space recon ship waiting for him…
TSV Nostradamus, Mars orbit
"Major on the deck!" a female Trog TS (Terran-Syndicate) soldier announced, hands behind her back. All the soldiers, including crew members present in the barracks, formed a line and saluted. Major Yuna Hanijama walked in, his Juggernaut-class battle-armor recently cleaned.
"Alright boys, here's what we got…" the aging, but capable yellow-furred Trog began. "The Cascadians and Americans are gearing up for war, and the doctor wants us to try and stop this, since the US President has blatantly accused him of siding with the mysterious terrorists…"
The soldiers spat curses and booed at that information. The major lifted his hands, signaling for silence, and the commotion died down after a minute.
"Yes, that is uncalled for, but the doctor has tried everything to keep the situation from coming to this…" Yuna sighed. "However, there are some things that can't be stopped, so he's bringing us out…to scare the president into not declaring war…unfortunately, he has already finished speaking with Congress, so if they approve…well, the doctor is a crazy-mastermind…"
"What's he want us to do sir?" a soldier spoke up. "We can pull it off for him!"
"He wants us…" he sighed again. "To launch a full-scale attack on Washington…"
Murmurs of astonishment and disbelief erupted among the huge line of soldiers and crewmembers. Some of them have relatives in Washington, others totally shocked at the bold and daring idea.
"I know this is a shock to you all…" Yuna spoke. "But if Congress approves the declaration…we have no choice but to carry this out…"
"What about those wussy Europeans?" another, a crewmember, rang out.
"We have no information on their involvement at the moment…" he answered. "But the doctor is sure that they will somehow be involved in this…"
"Why the hell are the Cascadian and American crybabys attacking each other?" a higher-ranked soldier growled. "The real enemies are the terrorists!"
Everybody shouted in agreement, lifting their fists high in the air.
"It was false information planted by them…" Yuna said. "They've convinced the president that the Cascadians are working with the terrorists…but the doctor thinks that's an excuse to reunify the land again…"
"To hell with reunifying!" an officer shouted. "They can sit and whine for all we care, the real deal is these terrorists, they need to be stopped before they can do more damage!"
Everybody made a deafening roar of agreement and support. Yuna smiled at their intelligence, and determination to uphold peace and security throughout the galaxy.
"Well boys…I'm gonna be honest here…" Yuna began. "This…is…our finest hour. For many years, we were hidden from the public eye, abiding our time…waiting…to show our strength. Now is the time to make ourselves known, to show everybody, that the doctor has the potential…to form a major power…that can contest with the others…if he wanted to…what is our duty?"
"TO PROTECT THE GALAXY AND SERVE THE DOCTOR!!" the soldiers screamed with enthusiasm.
"That's right!" Yuna raised his voice, the excitement boiling deep in his heart. "The doctor maybe an oddball…but he's our oddball! And we love him for that, and he loves us for who we are! Now…go and make him proud!"
The soldiers screamed with all of their breath in support and glee, eager to do battle against the stubborn United States…
And…with that…this is the finest hour…the dawn of the galaxy's strongest powers…will soon clash…
END