Sorry for the long wait again! Shout out to "Titanic X" for the suggestion!
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, REPUBLIC OF AUSTRALIA
[Joseph "Seph" Matthews is not really the kind of man an average person would think of when they think of a president, at least not when it comes to appearance. With his tall stature, grizzled face, and optical sensor where his left eye used to be, the former general has agreed to speak with me during a brief break in his schedule. The bright sun shines through the window behind his desk, giving him an almost heavenly outline.]
The zakus [1] were ripping up the eastern coast. A quarter of Newcastle had been reduced to ashes, Brisbane was experiencing a week's-long siege, and then there was the matter at Gladstone...The only thing that we had going for us was the south and the north were hardly experiencing any of the major sieges that were occurring on the eastern and western coasts. One of my advisors is from Adelaide, and the book he published shortly after my reelection victory party goes into great detail about how both the army and the civilians defended the city to the death, with only limited casualties.
You also had the hundreds booking east for the Pacific or for New Zealand. No one was directing them where to go; many just hopped into either their private crafts or anything that could float and left in a hurry.
The squadron I had deployed to Albury had just experienced a major setback, so what remained had returned to the capital to recuperate. I also had another squadron making their rounds in Canberra, ensuring that whatever zakus were left would be exterminated. Later that night, we had all gathered in the Parliament House, trying to figure out what the next course of action would be. I was exchanging ideas with the other generals, none of us agreeing with each other on how to deal with the situation. The pollies [2] weren't coming up with anything good either, most of them spewing the same stuff back at each other after someone else had offered something similar.
A loud whistle brought the arguing to a halt. The prime minister stood at the podium, fixing her hair before speaking. First she informed us that she had just gotten off the phone with her New Zealand counterpart, regarding the refugee crisis. She informed us that all the civilian airports and ports were to be sealed, effective immediately.
She then said that enough time had been wasted trying to contain the threat, and that now was the time for action. She said that we couldn't just stay and fight like the Maori did; the undead numbers were quickly outnumbering the living on the continent, and we needed to relocate to a more strategic location. We all knew it would be Tasmania, but we didn't say anything and let the lady continue.
The next item on the agenda was to put the South African Plan into action. Their version of Redeker was standard; only a select few would accompany the government to the safe zone, to help keep the economy and population going. The only problem was who they had in mind.
They only planned to take the highest-ranking citizens with them, the elite if you will, as well as a small pool of laborers under each person within that top class of people. We were all confused by this, because why exactly would we leave behind almost all of our fellow Aussies while the one percent got to leave and live in relative safety? The PM argued that this was so the elite could provide their "necessary managerial skills" to make the wartime economy function, and that this would be done for "the good of the people".
The ones being left behind would be rounded up and escorted to heavily fortified compounds scattered throughout the country. They had everything that they would need to survive for a substantial amount of time: food, water, medical supplies, military-grade weapons, the whole nine yards. Most of these compounds would be located outside major population centers, making the chance of large hordes of zakus being attracted to them more likely.
Weren't there any concerns that any survivors not in these compounds would try to break in?
You haven't to been any of the compounds, the ones still standing or still open to the public, have you? Those things are fucking impenetrable, almost like castles. Their walls were multiple layers of concrete, their doors stainless steel. These behemoths of structures were meant to last whoever inhabited them for years, with the only way getting in or out was through a retractable gate that would automatically shut whenever it detected a large group of zakus.
It wasn't the prime minister's idea, you know, leaving everyone behind. The idea had originally come from one of the corrupt officials, one of the men that kept our country from achieving an almost perfect corruption-free record. One of his wealthy CEO mates had privately suggested it to him, definitely a desperate attempt to save his own skin. How that bastard was able to convince the PM to go through with it is beyond my knowledge.
How did everyone else react to this?
Oh we had a fair share who were confused, if not outright stupefied. Those last ones mainly came from the top brass, like me. The pollies were either indifferent, or shocked but kept their mouths shut. Now, our government was almost squeaky clean in terms of corruption, but this plan was just sick. I know that leaving certain people behind was the only option to distract the dead, as Tasmania did not have enough legitimate living space, but this was just absurd.
I argued with the PM brutally, in front of my colleagues, but all she gave me was the same response: that this was "necessary for the good of the people". I spat back, "How the bloody hell is it necessary for the good of the people if ninety-nine percent of the people are left behind?!" She told two of her bodyguards to escort me out of the room. I soon felt myself being lead out of the room and down the hall to an empty conference room, which they proceeded to lock me in "until they figure out what to with me".
I had to get this information out somehow. The meeting was private, so no member of the media was in the chamber. I remembered that I still had my cell on me and decided to call a mate of mine who worked as a field reporter. I didn't know if was still covering the crisis, or if he was even still alive, but I figured now would be a good enough time as any. It took a few rings, but I soon felt surprised and relieved when he eventually answered.
"What the bloody fuck do you want, Seph?" he shouted into the phone. I didn't know where he was at, but I heard faint gunshots in the background. He must have been covering a siege somewhere.
"Matt, you aren't too busy, are you?" I asked jokingly.
"What do you think, arsehole?" he spat back.
"Listen to me, I got something to tell you, and you need to get this out to the masses," I replied.
[He pauses, looking briefly at his desk before returning his eyes to me.] A few hours had passed with no activity. The television in the top right-hand corner of the room only displayed static. I was on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly noise filled the room. I lifted my head off the table to see the television displaying chaos. There was fighting in the streets, the streets of Canberra. The tag at the bottom of the screen read: "SOUTH AFRICAN PLAN PRIORITIZES ELITES, REST OF POPULACE TO BE LEFT TO THE DEAD", GENERAL CONFIRMS.
I couldn't believe what I had read so I had to read it two more times just to be sure. When my brain had fully processed the text, I felt my throat tighten. Did I cause that? I thought to myself.
It spread that fast?
If there's one thing that my mate has taught me over the years is that word travels fast when your in the media. And as we've seen in the past like with the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast [3], it does not matter if the news is real or not, it will spread like a California wildfire and it will not stop until it's reached everyone.
The footage showed soldiers and the rioters engaged in a firefight, with bodies dropping on both sides. A news van exploded, sending a few soldiers to the pavement. The protesters were throwing Molotovs and homemade bombs. A high-pressured water cannon was being used by the cops to force their attackers back. The rioters were outright ignoring the few zakus that were showing up, focusing all their energy on the government forces.
I soon heard the door open, and I turned to meet the eyes of one of my fellow generals. He told me I was needed in the main chamber immediately. He escorted...well, more like dragged me back to the main chamber, all the politicians and military high-ups still in attendance. I observed the riot on one of the laptops. The general who must have owned it pushed a button, and the news feed cut to Perth, showing a similar scene: cops and soldiers engaged in open combat with civilians. Then the computer showed Adelaide. Then Darwin. Then Sydney.
I looked around the room, noticing both military and government personnel with astonished looks as they watched reports on whatever laptops they had on hand. The PM especially looked troubled, constantly rubbing her sweaty hands.
She locked eyes with me. She then got this look in her eyes...I don't know what came over her, but I soon myself being flung to the floor, and with the prime minister's hands around my neck. A few pollies, including the governor-general who had been silent throughout the whole evening, pulled her off of me, but those few seconds in her grasp felt like days. A fellow general helped me up to my feet, but before I could collect myself, we all heard a loud BOOM, and we all lost our footing.
Where did it come from?
It apparently came from somewhere in the building, but I didn't know where specifically. But soon after we heard shouting, and a parade of footsteps rapidly approaching. Before the security guards could react, a cascade of protestors came storing into the chamber, armed and angry. The guards drew their pistols, but they weren't fast enough, and their bodies hit the floor, their torsos filled with bullets and shotgun pellets.
One of the armed protestors stepped forward, this pretty beat-up guy with a torn shirt and his face covered in blood. "On behalf of the Australian people, we demand a change in your retreat plan!" he proclaimed. Everyone around me was silent, in shock over everything that was happening so fast. I don't know who said it but, one of the younger generals said, "What are your demands?"
Well, their answer was pretty straightfoward: safety, and role reversal. The fortified compounds that were originally intended for average Australians would now be occupied by the CEOs, actors, and other rich pricks who thought they were better than everyone else. As for the pollies who tried to help them? They were put in right with them, and they kicked and screamed the whole way there. Even the PM was sent there. Yeah, she was sent to the one outside Sydney, and she ended up dying there of stress.
The newly-formed coalition government consisted of the governor-general, the remaining members of Parliament, and all the top brass like me. It was then we began the evacuation plans, to quickly relocate as many blokes and sheilas as we could to the south. When we set up shop, we could then begin the process of planning for the future.
And that was when GUNDAM was formed?
Yes. Gunning Undead/Nonliving, Democracy Against Madness. A movement that would become the first step in transitioning from a commonwealth to a republic. I didn't come up with the name, though. Some bloke from Melbourne thought of it. When we had retreated south, the basic aspects of the program began to be put together by the military think-heads. Once it became a government-approved initiative, its mission was soon put into effect.
First and foremost, most of the remaining population would follow the government further south. However, a second government base of operations would be set up in Darwin in the north. This was done so the official government sanctuary would not be too overpopulated. Keep in mind that I said most of the regular civilians would be eligible to leave the mainland. But the difference was the ones that did stay were on a volunteer basis. There weren't many, but many willingly decided to stay "for the good of the country."
The second part of the plan was reorganizing the armed forces to meet the requirements for tackling the undead threat when and if the time came to liberate the country. Of course this wasn't actually implemented until after the Honolulu Conference, when we voted to go on the offensive, but it was best to see what what everyone else thought before we actually decided to do anything.
I personally oversaw the evacuation of the citizens designated for the north, and helped the military establish and maintain order during the stalemate years. When the time came to retake the continent, I spearheaded the clearing operations for the Northern Front. Once the continent had been cleared, two elections were held in the same week. The first was to determine if Australia was to remain a commonwealth of the UK, or to break off and become a full republic. It was a narrow vote, but fifty-three percent voted to transition to a representative government. After what the former government had planned to put its people through, who could blame them?
The second election was to determine the first president in Australian history. [He averts his eyes, slightly embarrassed.] I didn't want to run initially, but a bunch of my civilian and military mates felt that I would be a good candidate. They said since I "showed them the light of truth, I should be the one to guide the light of the future". [He lets out a small chuckle.] I just couldn't believe I won by a landslide.
[He rises from his seat and shakes my hand.] But I think I've said enough for now. If you will pardon me, I have some other business to tend to. but if you don't mind, I would like to talk to you more later tonight, if that is fine with you. [I nod as we exit. He escorts me out of his office, encountering his entourage outside in the hallway. We shake hands one last time before he and his colleagues walk further down the hall. One if the capital workers escorts me back to the main foyer, thanking me for coming before I step outside into the sunlight.]
[1]- Australian slang for the undead during the war, named so after the undead's habit of bleeding the tell-tale black ooze.
[2]- Australian slang for a politician.
[3]- The radio broadcast of Orson Welles's War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938 caused widespread panic throughout the United States, as many listeners had believed that a Martian invasion was actually taking place.
So I am going to do one chapter for "Home Front USA" just for the sake of it. I'm currently working on a draft for that one, so the wait should not be too terribly long! Also I am going to do a part 2 of this (it'll be in the "Total War" section), so stick around for that!