Gen. Branigan addressed his troops around Memphis. After suffering ridiculous casualties, Gen. Branigan managed to force the confederates into a retreat. "Crawling back to Atlanta like a bird on its belly. Delicious. We're going to hit Georgia hard and fast. That's Branigan's law," he informed his men.
"I congratulate myself that the number of casualties has been so comparatively small. The thanks of the nation are now upon me, so says the queen," Gen. Branigan concluded.
"God save the queen!" the shell-shocked busted-up men shouted.
In the capital building, an undecided congressman took to the floor. "Representative George Yesman has the floor," the speaker announced.
"Thank you, Speaker Coalfax," George said appreciatively and then turned to the crowd. "Although I am disgusted by capitalism...I am opposed to the amendment. We must consider what will become of Southerners if they are all enlisted into the system in an instant, and we will be forced to give them jobs, benefits, and ranks. It would be inhuman not to. Now, who among us is prepared for that shit? And what shall follow upon that?"
Prince Mon entered the capital building in his ceremonial Insane uniform to supposedly give support to the amendment. Kara was watching in the balconies above silently. No one was certain what he was about to say. "Prince Mon-El, do you or do you not hold the precept that Southerns are created equal to Northerners? Is that not the true purpose of this amendment?" Congressman Wood asked of him.
Mon eyed Wood with annoyance at being spoken to in such a manner but refrained from killing him and the entire chamber's population. "The true purpose of the amendment...I don't hold all things in equality only equality before the law. Nothing more," he said creating instant outrage among the representatives on either side.
"Is this not the queen's position? She must have said it a thousand times," Wood objected.
"How can I hold that all men are created equal when before me, stands the soon-to-be stinking carcass of the representative of New York? Proof, that some men are created inferior. You are puke, the lowest form of life. You're nothing more than unorganized pieces of amphibian shit. Even so, you are to be equal before the law and nothing more," Mon clarified.
"I am hard, but I am fair. I will weed out all non-hackers from both the North and the South that do not pack the gear to serve in my corps. That is all, ladies," he concluded as he walked off the floor.
That did not end the discussion as representatives continue to argue with each other over the matter. Kara confronted Mon just outside the legislative chamber. "What the fuck was that?" she demanded.
"Surprised?" he mocked.
"You denied equality between Northerners and Southerners as people. You refused to say that all humans are equal. I want to throw up," Kara said disgustedly.
"Calm your tits, woman. You asked me to help you pass the amendment. I'll say whatever it takes to get it done. I also meant it," Mon told her off.
At the palace, Kara met with Congressman George Yesman. Kara placed a glass of whiskey in front of him. "I can't vote for the amendment, Your Highness," he said nervously.
"There was a time when I worked for a living. I was a special assistant to the editor-in-chief of a gossip magazine if you can believe that. Having to work for an employer sickened me. Employment troubled me for as long as I can remember. The idea troubled my father as well, my real father. He hated it in his own fashion. He knew how inefficient capital, currency, and supply-demand were. My father...was an asshole but there was a rough...," Kara said and then trailed off.
"Damn it, lost my train of thought," she admitted. "I learned that from him if nothing else. We didn't care for one another."
"I'm sorry to hear that," George said awkwardly.
"Loving-kindness, that most ordinary thing, came to me from other sources. I'm grateful for her," Kara said lost in thought.
"I hate capitalism, too, Ma'am. But we're entirely unready for your system. There are just too many questions," George said anxiously.
"We're unready for a lot of things, I imagine. When I conquer the South and the rest of the world, there will be a shitstorm of problems but I'm ready to do some social experiments with you guys. You guys are one big puzzle to be solved," Kara said ambitiously.
"What you're suggesting is the Southerners having an influence in our government, to have jobs, ranks, authority," George said apprehensively.
"It is inevitable that every human directly or indirectly will work for me. Once I unite the planet, the rising tide will lift all boats," Kara promised. "See what you can do," she said and then dismissed him out of the room.
Virginia
After celebrating the holidays with his family and enjoying a mocking play of Queen Kara with his men, Gen. Sackson busied himself by carving an anatomically correct...
"Sir, we got some deserters," Cpt. Pendleton said as he entered the cabin.
"Well...shit," Gen. Sackson muttered putting down his wood carving. "Establish a court-martial, have them arraigned, give them a fair hearing, and make sure they all end up guilty," Gen. Sackson ordered.
"Yeah, well, they all belong to the stonewall brigade," Cpt. Pendleton brought up.
"I don't give a damn," Gen. Sackson said dismissively.
"Yes, Sir," Cpt. Pendleton said, about to leave.
"I wasn't finished," Gen. Sackson stopped him. "If the royalists lose, they go back to their free housing with their universal provisions, utilities, health care, and education."
"Damn," Cpt. Pendleton said amazed.
"But if we lose, we lose our country, we lose our independence, we lose it all. Our soldiers are brave, they have endured hardships no one could have imagined, but quitting one's job without giving their employer two weeks' notice is not a solitary crime. It's a crime against their employer so you go along and recruit a trigger-happy firing squad," Gen. Sackson ordered.
The deserters were immediately found guilty, forced to dig their own graves, stripped of their expensive uniforms, and then shot into said graves as everyone watched.
Tennessee
After successfully conquering the Mississippi River and most of Tennessee, Gen. Branigan focused on Atlanta. He held camp near Chattanooga near the Georgia border. "The news is all about Queen Kara's Emancipation Proclamation. Do you want to read it?" Lt. Chambers asked him.
"I don't read, I lead. You should try it sometime," Gen. Branigan rebuked.
"Well, it says enlistments are down and desertions are up. Some of the men are grumbling as to why they're risking their lives for poor Southerners," Lt. Chambers said.
"Well, you know my position. The queen is a magnificent woman. One day I will make sweet love to her in an open field," Gen. Branigan said ambitiously.
"I'm not sure the men have as much appreciation for your sex life as you do, Sir," Lt. Chambers said boldly.
"That's the thing about war. It changes things, sorts things out," Gen. Branigan said optimistically.
"I don't know...," Lt. Chambers doubted.
"Let me show you something," Gen. Branigan said as he brought him out of the tent. "Look upon all of these men, many of them just boys. All of them or...most of them are some mother's son, some sister's brother, each of them from some home far away, many of them will never return under my command. But their mothers and sisters will remain for the taking for all that survive this terrible war."
"The fuck, Sir?" Lt. Chambers wondered.
"What are you? Homosexual?" Gen. Branigan asked accusingly.
"No... I just," Lt. Chambers stammered.
"An army is power. Its purpose is to coerce others. Now, somewhere out there in that swamp is the confederate army. They claim they're fighting for their independence, their freedom. But there is no excuse to tolerate them when they're here before our very eyes. Let's go kill them," Gen. Branigan said enthusiastically.
Virginia
Brainiac 5 had the confederates sandwiched between his forces in Frederick and Chancellor. Gen. Dee ordered his men to attack the royalist forces just outside of Chancellor forcing them back towards their defensive lines in the town. A small confederate decoy force was still present outside of Frederick to keep the royalist forces split. Meanwhile, Gen Sackson and his men worked to outflank the royalists on the right flank.
After defeating the royalists on the right flank, Gen. Sackson came by to meet up with his men. He was given a rude reception as they shot at him thinking he was the enemy. "What the fuck?" he wondered as he was shot several times by his own men. A seriously wounded Gen. Sackson was taken away from the battle.
Although the confederates won the battle, Gen. Sackson was never the same. His left arm was nearly blown off and needed amputation. He was treated at his home where he was slowly dying of an infection. As he got worse, he gave random commands to various people in the room as if he were still on the battlefield. Gen. Dee finally came by to visit him.
"General Dee, we must take the fight to the enemy. Press on. Press on!" Gen. Sackson shouted and then died in his bed.
"We will press on," Gen. Dee promised.
Metropolis
Kara held a meeting with Brainiac 5 after the defeat. "Why the fuck does this keep happening? Why are we losing?"
"In point of fact, we're winning in every measurement of war. We have control of the coasts, the ports, and the rivers. The confederate economy is in ruins with hyperinflation and their workers are flooding into the North," Brainiac 5 corrected.
"I want a decisive victory," Kara demanded.
"At Chancellor, Gen. Sackson was killed. I'd say it was a fair trade," Brainiac 5 said coldly. "The confederate delegation is in town for peace talks. If word breaks out, the amendment will not pass."
"I'll keep denying it. For years, politicians lied to me. Now, I get to lie to them," Kara said dismissively.
"It may not be necessary to pass the amendment at this time," Brainiac 5 advised.
"I can't deal with this shit anymore! I can't accomplish a God damn thing until we cure this world of profit motive! What I know is this. This amendment is the cure. The fate of human dignity is in my hands. Blood has been spilled for this motive. I want it now, now, now!" Kara raged. "This amendment settles the issue for all time, for all the millions just getting by on minimum wage, constantly threatened with being fired or laid off, not receiving the benefits they need for their families to survive."
Kara stood up and looked out the window. "A thousand years ago, the median income was $850 a year. Three billion human beings lived on $2 a day. I had millions in accounts all over the world. I lived in a decent apartment in one of the richest cities in the world. I was the personal assistant to Cat Grant. I was fucking Supergirl. I could have done more, Barney. I could have saved more."
"You saved Earth from several catastrophes," Brainiac 5 reminded her.
"I threw away so much money. You have no idea," Kara said tearfully.
"Generations exist today because of your heroics," Brainiac 5 assured her.
"I didn't do enough. I could have solved the energy crisis, climate change, and disease. I could have saved so many but, instead, I was a personal assistant to a gossip editor. I could have saved so many more...and I didn't," Kara said as she began to sob. "From now on...no human being works for another to survive. All of humanity will work for each other and all of humanity will work for me."
"I will get you the votes needed," Brainiac 5 promised her.
Virginia
The royalist and confederate armies squared off in Pennsylvania. After several victories, the confederates got over-confident and invaded the north one last time. For two days, the armies fought to a stalemate. Gen. Dee and Gen. Long considered the situation at hand. "In the center, they will break," Gen. Dee said confidently.
"The fuck did I just hear?" Gen. Long wondered.
"In the center, they will break," Gen. Dee repeated. "We are all that there is between the royalists and Richmond. I will not retreat and leave the enemy to have command of the field. The enemy has been attacked on both wings. They have reinforced there so the weak point is in the center. There, they are the most vulnerable. We will prevail."
"I'm just not so sure about that," Gen. Long doubted.
"I'll give you three rested divisions. Preceding the attack will be an artillery barrage to soften them up. Your charge will break their line. You will have fifteen thousand men at your command, and you may begin when you are ready," Gen. Dee said.
"Sir, I've been a soldier all my life. You know my service. You know I'm a badass. This plan is fucked. It's a distance of one mile over open ground. When the men come out of the trees, they will be hit with royalist fire from all directions," Gen. Long protested.
"We do our duty. We do what we must do," Gen. Dee insisted. "In the center, there must not be more than five thousand me. Our artillery will break them up."
"If we can't take the center, we're fucked," Gen. Long pointed out.
"We can and we will," Gen. Dee replied. "May science be with you," he said and then took off to rally the men. Thousands of confederate troops cheered as they saw their general.
The confederate artillery then fired in mass towards the royalist line. One hundred fifty cannons fired on the royalist position non-stop for two hours. The royalists hunkered down and did not return fire. "Fuck yeah!" the artillery colonel smiled as he saw all the guns firing greatly depleting their ammunition.
"We need to conserve ammunition for the charge," Gen. Long informed him as he came by.
"Well...shit," the artillery colonel winced.
With the artillery ammunition getting dangerously low, the confederate army marched across the open field towards the royalist line. In good spirits, the confederates marched in crowded formations. After all, it was only a mile, and they outnumbered the enemy three-to-one and they had softened them up with artillery. The confederates moved halfway across the field with the royalists completely silent. Finally, the royalist artillery fired with a vengeance with accurate shots against confederate formations. Bodies were blown apart in all directions. Companies were scattered all over the field and had to reform again. As the confederates marched closer, the fire became more intense and accurate. As the confederates got closer, they found themselves blocked by an inconvenient fence. The men hurried to get on the other side of the fence as royalists' artillery continued to blast them.
Once the confederates had managed to defeat the wooden fence in front of them, the royalists opened fire with their rifles. Five thousand armored and super-accurate drones fired on the approaching confederates in a total bloodbath. By the time the confederates got close to the royalist lines, the numbers on both sides were relatively the same. In a coordinated fashion, the drone defenders fired non-stop on the confederates dropping them all with head/heart shots. The confederate counter fire was mostly ineffective as damaged drones went back to the rear and were replenished by a fresh drone. Brainiac 5 then began to specifically target confederate officers on the field with deadly accuracy. The field became filled with laser fire from both sides.
To their credit, the confederates forced the royalist drones off their line. The line became mixed with men and drones fighting each other in a total clusterfuck. Lines of royalist drones fired on gaggle not caring if they hit their own. The gaggle went back and forth until the confederate army virtually disappeared. The royalists had held the line and the confederates were forced to retreat. The confederates had lost a third of their men while the royalist had lost only a fourth. The retreating confederates formed a defensive line, but the royalists remained still.
Gen. Dee sighed as he saw the carnage. "My bad...my bad."
Upon realizing the royalists wouldn't attack, the confederates retreated back to the Potomac. Expecting this, Brainiac 5 ordered his royalist forces to cut them off while the river remained flooded. The confederates ended up trapped between the royalist forces and the flooded river. What followed was a massacre as the confederate army was either captured or annihilated with many drowning in the attempt to cross. Brainiac 5 had lured the confederates into a false sense of security by giving them several victories. When the opportunity to destroy the entire confederate army was realized, he took it.
Metropolis
After news of the battle came out and rumors of a confederate delegation in Metropolis, Congress decided to postpone the vote on the amendment. Kara went to speak with Congress personally on the matter. "So far as I know, there are no confederate peace delegates in the city nor are there likely to be," Kara lied.
"You're full of shit!" multiple members of congress shouted at her.
"I have answered you all. The peace offer is fiction," Kara lied. "You will bring my amendment to the floor now."
Congress then voted 66%-34% against the amendment. Since it required a two-thirds vote to override any of Kara's proposals, the amendment, therefore, passed. A pleased Kara then read out loud the text of the amendment: "The Crown shall have the power to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of all persons under its jurisdiction."
With this amendment, Kara was now able to fire anyone in the private or public sector for any reason to encourage all citizens to enlist into her own economic system.
As soon as the vote was had, Kara immediately went to visit with the confederate delegation as scheduled. Kara and Brainiac 5 sat down with the Confederate Vice President. "So, Alex, how can I help you?" Kara asked smugly.
"I'll be blunt. The South is willing to join your union, so to speak, so long as you do not enforce the 13th amendment on us," Alexander said.
"I'd like your countries to be part of the union ASAP," Kara said urgently.
"Surrender and we can discuss reconstruction," Brainiac 5 ordered.
"Surrender won't be thought of unless you assure us, in writing, you will not impose the 13th amendment on us. Otherwise, you're just a conqueror," Alexander said.
"You won't be a conquered people. You will be citizens with all the laws and guarantees that come with that under the Constitution," Brainiac 5 told him.
"Which now gives the Crown the right to limit, regulate, and prohibit all free enterprise in our countries and, with it, our economy. All of our laws will be determined by a Congress of vengeful Yankees, our rights will be subject to a Supreme Court benched by your radicals. All of our traditions will be obliterated. We won't know ourselves anymore," Alexander protested.
"Look, I'm basically in charge of everything. It's not Congress or the Supreme Court you should be concerned with. You're negotiating with me and me alone. I'm not the bitch you think I am. I'm actually quite reasonable. We can transition the South over the course of the year into my system, but I'm not here to talk about reconstruction in any detail. Let's just say, the countries that surrender first will get preferential treatment," Kara said.
"Tennessee and Louisiana," Alexander guessed.
"Capitalism, it's done, Sir. From now on, the economy will be micromanaged by Barney. Every citizen will be given the provisions to lead a good life with or without an occupation. Every citizen will have the opportunity to prove themselves to rank up in our new society in a perfect meritocracy. Now, it may seem corrupt as fuck right now with me having to bribe every God damn politician on this planet to gain an inch of cooperation but, in time, it will work itself out," Kara promised.
"What about the business owner's freedom to oppress his workers?" Alexander asked.
"You may find that limiting the freedom to oppress will open the door to other freedoms you can only imagine," Kara said wide-eyed.
"Spare me. You didn't defeat us with votes or through democracy. How many thousands have died during your administration? Your union is bonded in canon fire and death," Alexander scoffed.
"Well...no shit," Kara agreed. "But there is a great invisible strength in a global union and all this blood and sacrifice will soon be a dim memory. So, shall we stop this bleeding, or do I have to get personally involved?"
"Well...fuck it," Alexander relented.
Virginia
Kara visited Richmond and found piles of bodies scattered about on her way over. She then met up with Gen. Branigan at his headquarters. He had been busy doing Scorch Earth all over the South. "Once Gen. Dee surrenders, send his men back to their homes, their farms, their shops. I'll give the South time to recover from this trauma and enlist into my system."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Gen. Branigan said as he smoked a victory cigar.
"Don't be an ass to them," Kara ordered.
"You know, from the start of this war, you look ten years older," Gen. Branigan noted.
"The fuck did you just say?" Kara asked stunned.
"And I find that sexy in a lady," Gen. Branigan added. "I want to get intimate and ugly with you. It must be the reason you came all the way down here."
Kara and Gen. Branigan stood up meeting each other face-to-face. "We've made it possible for the both of us to do terrible fucked-up things," she said to him.
"We've won the war," Gen. Branigan reminded her. "Now, let's find someone else to fight. Whom shall it be?"
"General, you piss me off, but you have guts and guts are enough. I'll be appointing you the continental governor soon enough," Kara told him and then took off.
Metropolis
With the war over, Kara went to the theater alone. She informed Brainiac 5 of her intentions before she went. "I suppose it's time to go though I would rather stay," Kara sighed.
"Enjoy yourself," Brainiac 5 said to her. "You've earned it."
Kara arrived at the theater fashionably late and, immediately, the orchestra played God Save the Queen. Kara waved to the crowd and then sat down in her royal booth all by herself. The play was Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Kara had memorized the play and then had Brainiac 5 teach the actors how to perform it. Kara watched in morbid anticipation as Julius Caesar was about to get stabbed. Finally, the moment came when he was dramatically stabbed by a dozen men.
"Oh, fuck!" Julius said as he was stabbed all over.
Kara chuckled having changed the line in the play to give it more realism. A shot then rang out. The bullet penetrated behind Kara's left ear, through her brain, and stopped at the front of her skull. Kara's body slumped and then fell backward in her chair.