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Post by bitsmith on Jul 3, 2016 11:39:40 GMT -6
A fork of the QuakeMath series and the "Captain Dan" universe. It is intended to be a short story to novella in length.
As always, I respond to constructive criticism and helpful support and suggestions.
Thanks for reading my scriblings.
Daniel
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Post by bitsmith on Jul 3, 2016 11:40:42 GMT -6
Chapter 1
Dear Diary – I’m not sure why I’m doing this, but Captain Dan suggested I start keeping a daily journal of all I think about. He says he used to and that it helped him see how he got to a certain point in his life. He said something about cause and effect of decisions. My Mom’s boyfriend is an OK guy, but I don’t like him teasing me about ‘diaries are for girls’. I wonder what the Captain would say to him?
“Mags?” Mike called out, softly. “Where are you, babe?”
Mike was met with silence. Not even the rustle of a breeze among the grasses and trees. Quietly, Mike pulled his pistol from it’s holster. Slowly, he turned, looking into the dark of the woods so close they felt like prison walls. He started having difficulty breathing as he remembered those times behind bars. As he started to shake his head to clear away the anxiety of those times, he felt a blinding white light explode in the back of his head. His world went all grey as he slowly spun, while falling. All he saw was a shadow of a large, formless character as the darkness took him.
Derrick Jones watched as Mike grunted and fell from the hit on the back of his head.
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Post by bitsmith on Jul 4, 2016 11:55:07 GMT -6
Chapter 2
“OK, Smith.” Pete Townsend said as he entered the darkened conference room. “Give it to me. What have we got?” Pete was the newly promoted Captain, in charge of Camp Freedom, a newly created and newly supported Marine Camp on the western shore of Broken Bow Lake in south eastern Oklahoma. Pete was an honorably discharged corporal just a few months before the crash happened. Not, months later, he is a commissioned officer in the Corps, again. He frequently looks back on the events in his life since everything collapsed. His random meeting of Captain Dan put him back into a mode of what he always wanted to be, a leader, a warrior. Someone he could respect when he looked in the mirror. The Corps was that, until he went to Iraq. And when he came back, he had had enough of war. Now he was helping recover and rebuild the nation into what it should have been. And Captain Dan was his friend. His leader. His mentor. His imperfect example to emulate, but never to idolize or copy.
“Sir!” Lieutenant Smith snapped to attention as Pete entered the room.
“OK, Carrie. Stop with that crap. Please.” Pete shrugged. “They only made me a Captain, because they need an officer to command this place. And when we are alone, PLEASE call me ‘Pete’.”
Smiling, Carrie relaxed. “OK, Pete. But you asked for an update on the network and this is it, so far.”
After a key press on the laptop she had, an image popped up on the wall of a map with a lot of different push pins on it. “These are the HAM operators on our news network. You can see our central hub, here. As soon as Derrick in set up,” She pressed another button to change slides, “our voice news and weather network will look more like this.”
“Is that young man really up to the task of being a comms hub?” Pete asked.
“Dan seems to think so. But, Dan has also set everything to be pretty much automated. The computer system is an exact copy of ours, here. And when on the data network, it will be a replica of this server.” Another slide change. “This is our current data network. We have a link from here, in Camp Freedom, along the highway to I-40 and from there it spreads East and West to Dave’s Safe Stops. Dave is already spreading up I-44 to Tulsa. It is difficult to go such long distances of 50 and 60 miles and maintain data connections. We are lucky to have 1 megabit between OKC and the Safe Stop on the southwest side of Tulsa.”
Carrie changed slides, again. “These are our known active and supporting military bases, across the country. This is a view of how close we can get a network to them. Those in red circles have not been scouted and surveyed for data connections.”
“I heard there are some issues with local data providers in the more rural areas?” Pete asked.
“Yes, a few. They either want too much payment from the military, want to sell their interest to the military, or they want to make major limitations to what is sent across their network.”
“What do you mean they want to limit what is sent across their network?”
“Outside of Topeka, Kansas, about 60 miles is a church that provided wireless internet to the members of the congregation. They added value to their service, over the local competitor, by including filters that kept people from accessing porn, and such.” Carrie explained. “As there was a competitor, this was legal, though frowned upon. And to get on their network people had to be members of the church.”
“So, how does that affect our network?” Pete followed.
“Well, it won’t be OUR network. Remember, Dan only provided the means to do this, IF the network was privatized. His worries was that the Government did not need, nor should they have, a big off switch to people communicating in the most cost effective means possible. Imagine if the Government had shut down Graham Bell’s telephone to only ‘essential military and government use’. Where would we be, now? Or if they had restricted radio transceivers like the HAM’s use?”
“Oh, I agree, with Dan. But WE are building this network. Dan would blow a gasket if we let one small piece of the network determine what could and could not be sent across the network. I think we need that leg to be owned and run by a private business, instead of a Church.”
Carrie smiled as she nodded. “If Dan gets his way, Churches WILL be registered businesses paying taxes like every other business. Granted, the rules he suggested lets them write off everything they purchase for charitable re-distribution against those taxes. But anything given to them, every piece of property, every can of beans, every nickel in a collection plate is eligible for taxes. He has a real thing for the mega churches, and the big church systems like the Catholics and the Mormons. Dan believes that the Catholic church is the richest and most profitable, international corporation in the world. And the Mormons are not far behind them. He believes a person’s faith is deeply personal and should be private. But he also knows many a ‘good pew jumper’ who preaches from the street corners and are devout believers. Living the way they preach. He also knows there are many, many more ‘flim-flam preachers’ milking people.”
“Well … that puts us into a difficult situation. How can we get around it?” Pete asked. “And what is the name of this church?”
“If Dan read this, he would WANT to send troops against them, but he would not follow through. The small community church, and evidently most of the town was, too, they were taken over by people from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka.” Carrie said.
“Wait a minute! The idiots that protested at soldiers funerals? THAT Westboro?”
“Yeap! THAT Westboro.”
“You are right, Dan would WANT to flatten that church. And he would not, because it was against his core of people being as stupid as they want to be, so long as they don’t hurt others or infringe upon the rights of others.” Pete agreed.
“As for getting around them … Brother Dave is working on that. He thinks he can get some people from the surrounding area to give us a ‘hop-over’, or at least a way around them. He’s scouting the area for potential Safe Stops. Even considering building, if he needs to.”
“OK. What help can we get him from the bases in Topeka?” Pete asked.
“Not much. Armstrong does not have much influence, there.”
“No, but he does have stroke in Leavenworth. See who you can connect with up there.” Pete ordered. “And check with this place, too … uh, Fort Riley. And McConnell, too.”
“Yes, sir. “ Smith agreed.
-----
“Mike!” Maggie whispered. “Come on, Mike. Wake up!” she continued as she struggled to wake him from the cage she was in, separate from his.
“Quiet, Maggie”, he groaned back. “I’m hung over and need to sleep it off.”
“Oh, no you don’t Mike.” She called back, quiet but harsh. “Don’t sleep, Mike. You may have a concussion. And you are not drunk. You were knocked out.”
“I know, Maggie. Did you see who did it? Do you know where we are?” Mike asked, as he groaned and tried to move. “How long have we been here?”
“I don’t know. Have you seen Derrick? Did they get him, too? Why is he not with us?” she started to panic and cry.
“Your son is safe an unharmed.” Came a voice from a nearby shadow. “ I am here to release you, after I am given your solemn promise to help us.”
“Show me my son. Bring him here. Shoe me he is safe and I will promise you anything you want!” Maggie started to cry out.
“Please. Stop. We mean you no harm, but we do need your help. We need your son’s help.” The man said as he stepped into the light, just as the sun broke the horizon.
“My people have all but died out. We are not terrorists; we just want our lands back. We want our way of life, back.”
“And how do you expect us to help you, when you have us tied up like this?” Mike groaned.
“By bringing us Captain Dan.”
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Post by bitsmith on Jul 10, 2016 10:24:48 GMT -6
Chapter 3
“Bring you Captain Dan?” Mike started laughing. “No one ‘brings’ Captain Dan! He shows up where he is needed. And he is on his own missions, right now. He is trying to save the entire country. Not just a remote corner of it.”
“We know. Sometimes we get transmissions telling about Captain Dan and his heroic acts. We need him, here. We are being invaded by both Mexico and Asians. I used to have a farm near Kino Springs. That is north east of the border town of Nogales. Three of my four boys were killed by the Mexican military and federales who decided they wanted our cattle. And everything else of value that we owned. They came in the night in the house. They killed my wife and took my daughter. She was only 13. Do you know what those bastards did to her? Her brother found her. She died in his arms, asking why I did not protect her. The Americans they don’t kill they enslave. Drugs are coming through Nogales now, unchecked. And with every household they over run, they get stronger and gain more weapons. It has only been a few months, since everything fell apart. And they are spreading into our country. They own Tuscon and have fighting for Phoenix.
“Mom! Phoenix! What about Sabrina?” Derick yelled, suddenly upset at hearing the person they were coming to see may not be there, anymore.
“Who is Sabrina?” Their captor asked.
“She is a friend in Phoenix. I knew her in college. We were coming out here to join her. She has medical experience and her husband was a prepper, so we were coming out here to join her and start over.”
“Wait a moment!” their captor started getting upset. “Do you mean Sabrina Rodupoli? A vet in Phoenix?”
“You know her?” Maggie cried out, afraid for her friend and for herself.
“Yes, ma’am, I do. In fact, wait just a moment. And I will call for her.” He stood, smiling and walked away.
“Mom! He knows Sabrina?” Derick asked. Maggie was watching Mike as he struggled against his binds.
“It does not matter, “ Mike grunted. “We can not trust them. They captured us, tied us up. Derick get over here and help untie me!”
Derick started to untie his mother, first. He had issues with trusting Mike, still. And deep inside, he harbored hope of his father joining them. As soon as she was free, Derick grabed up a stick and went to the opening in the cluster of scrub and bushes they were being held within.
“Derick, that is not going to help. It’s much too brittle and dry.” Mike sighed as he realized the boy was going to get himself hurt, then shut up as someone started coming through the opening.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” Derick yelled as he swung the stick with all his might catching an arm as it was pushing bush branches out of the way. The stick came down on the arm, breaking into two as a woman screamed just as loud as Derick had. As she fell forward their captor came rushing through the opening, grabbing up Derick.
“Boy! You need to learn some manners!”
“Mr. Clement! Set him down. I’m more surprised than hurt and the stick broke. I may have a bruise, but that will be all.” The woman said as she dusted herself off. “Now where Maggie.”
“Sabrina? Is that really you?” Maggie called out, partially behind Mike.
"Maggie!” and the two women met in the middle of the small clearing, holding and hugging each other, while laughing.
Mike stood still, rope still hanging from one wrist. Watching Mr. Clement who still held onto to Derick as the two women embraced. And Mike realized the two women had been more than just ‘friends’ at one time.
“Mr. Clement, let me see the boy.” Sabrina asked as she broke the embrace with Maggie. “Are you alright, Derick? I’m sorry if I startled you. That was a good try, though, with that stick. Next time, use a heavier one that is a little more green and a little heavier. Now let me get a good look at you.” She said, as she held him out at arms length. “My, but you are growing up well and into a fine young man. Last time I saw you … well, never mind that.
“Mr. Clement. Please meet my friend, Maggie and her son Derick. And this is?” She asked, looking to Mike.
“That is Mike. A friend we met in OKC who has been our guide to getting out here.” Maggie explained, stepping over to him while smiling. “Captain Dan gave us the truck and sent us out here to set up a radio station. Derick is a HAM, like his father. They need us here, to help tell them what is going on here and to help tell everyone here, what is going on there.”
“Then we know exactly the place you need to be to set up your radios, Derick.” Sabrina said, warmly.
“Ma’am! We can’t take them THERE!” Mr. Clement argued. “We don’t know them. They have not been vetted.”
“Bill. I am a vet and I just vetted them. Take them to the TV station and help Derick get set up.” Sabrina said. “Maggie I think you will like it. It’s an old TV station compound. On the east side of the mountains. And from there, Derick should be able to reach where ever he needs to. And there is a small house there, with water, and even a place for a garden. I think you will be safe, there.”
“Sabrina, I really don’t think Flagstaff is where we need to be.” Maggie stared.
“Mom. On a hill, with an east face open towards OKC. TV towers are tall! That should help us get our signal out. Maybe we can bring TV back, too!” Derick said, all excited.
“Maggie, it will be OK. I promise. Now take your hired muscle and your son and go get setup. We need to get start sharing information, quickly, with what ever government we have left. We need help, out here. Camp Navajo is about to be lost. And Luke Air Force base is gone. The commander there, evacuated the base. Took everything they could with them. He said he was trying o prevent the invading Mexican cartels and federales from getting their hands on jets and bombs. He DID, however, arm as many civilians as he could with what he had. Phoenix has been making a stand and holding them back, but they lose ground, everyday. It is bloody.”
“Sabrina! Mike is NOT hired muscle. He is a friend who has protected us and watched over us!” Maggie barked, suddenly disappointed in her friend.
With a sigh, Sabrina apologized. ”Of course, Maggie. Mike? I’m sorry. Thank you for getting my friend here, safely.”
Mike just nodded, watching everyone and everything. “Bill. Get these people set up at the station. Also make sure everything they had is returned to them. And I mean EVERYTHING!” Sabrina ordered.
“That won’t be so easy to do. Some of the men … I already dispatched them with all of the radios they had. The truck and trailer, too. Along with all of their food. We need those supplies and that equipment.” Bill said then suddenly stepped back as Mike started to attack him.
“That was her stuff. Hers and Derick’s. You had no right to take it and to hand it out to others. WE have a job to do, too, you idiot!” Mike growled as he hammered Clement into the ground. “And what are they supposed to eat, now? Huh? You take all their food away and what? And their truck! And what did you do with MY MOTORCYCLE?” Mike was a straddle Clement who was on his back, trying to fend off the attack.
“I will return your motorcycle to you, Mike.” Sabrina said. “And Mr. Clement will get everything back here, NOW. Once it is back, we will work out what you can keep and what we will need.”
“No!” Derick yelled. Suddenly getting everyone’s attention. “No. YOU will not decide that. I WILL. That is Captain Dan’s equipment and he assigned it to me to spread out to people who will help us build up the network. To help get news back to Smith and the people at Camp Freedom. No. It is MY mission and MY responsibility to decide who gets what and where it goes to. But I can’t help you if you take my mission and the tools I need to deliver on that mission away from me.”
“And I have a mission, here, as well.” Mike stated. “Two missions, actually. The first is to protect these two and to make sure Derick has what he needs to do his job. The second is to establish a Safe Stop here, so we can start opening up this area for fuel and trade. We have GOT to get the nation put back together. And that can not be done, without trade and people traveling, safely.”
“Mike, let him up, so he can get it all back for you.” Sabrina said. “Maggie, I’m sorry. That was done, before we all knew who you were.”
“Sabrina. That is just as bad as the road pirates and crews who take what they want from anyone weaker than them. You are no better than they are.” Maggie cried. “Is that who you have become?”
"Maggie! We are at WAR, here! We took what we needed. We took what we had prayed for that was finally brought to us!"
"Yes, we ARE at WAR. And it is bigger than this little section of the country." Derick Said, just as loudly. "And we have our own part to play in it. If you want our help, you will help us to do our part."
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Post by kaijafon on Jul 10, 2016 15:39:43 GMT -6
wow! powerful! thanks
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Post by bitsmith on Jul 17, 2016 13:46:44 GMT -6
Chapter Four
"CQ Camp Freedom CQ Camp Freedom this is Flagstaff Station. Come in Camp Freedom."
"Flagstaff Station, this is Camp Freedom."
Derick and Maggie smiled broadly as Mike relayed contact made with the crowd of people outside. Several people had helped with stringing antenna wires between multiple towers. Nearly a mile of 17 guage electric fence wire was in different configurations and lengths for different HAM radio bands, each coming into the small transmitter building to a bank of radios. Brother Dave had seen fit to include a 2m/440MHz repeater setup, as well, for local communications. Derick had promised to get that up and working, as soon as enough coax was found to drop from the top of the tower to the station building. And as soon as he had taken the time to rad the e-books Captain Dan had included on the netbook.
"Camp Freedom, I have a message for Lieutenant Smith: 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'"
"Derick what does that mean?" Maggie asked
"Derick, this is Smith. I read you 47. Say again: 47. And yes, the grass is always greener, especially the grass of a home left behind. Glad to hear you made it and got set up."
"It's a code phrase, Mom. So Carrie will know it is actually me. We have not talked enough to recognize each others voices." Derick answered off the air. Leaning towards the mic, he replied "We receive you 57. Say again: 57. We are the old KKTM TV Tranmission site. North and slightly east of Flagstaff. I have a report ready to send. Extensive details with questions and requests for support."
"Roger that, Derick. We are prepared to receive. Which encryption key did you use?"
"Carrie, I used number 7. Say again, I used number 7 as the encryption key. Including digital photos, also encrypted. Currently using transmitter at half power to supprt extened transmission duty cycle. I have a total of four parts to send."
"Derick, send part one." Carrie replied, suddenly realizing this was NOT the protocol she had set up with him. As soon as she heard the tarnsmission start coming in and ackowledged data on teh laptop screen, she picked up the microphone to the 2m radio she had dedicated to reach the SafeStop in OKC and specifically to Brother Dave.
"SafeStopOKC, this is Camp Freedom. SafeStopOKC, this is Camp Freedom."
"Hey, Carrie! This is Minie. What can we do you out of?" came the response.
"Mini, I need Brother Dave sent out this way. Have him monitor this frequency as we may meet him along the way."
"Sure, Carrie. I will get the message to him. He is around here, somewhere. Can I tell him what this is about?"
"Yes. Tell him it is about Pheonix Radio."
-----
"Alright, Smith. I have the pictures in hand. We captured thr transmission from Derick, as well. We will see what resources we have in that area." Armstrong assured her. "I agree, we can not turn our back on any American being attacked by foreign forces. Orders will coming, forthwith, via secure e-mail."
"Thank you, sir." Carrie replied.
"And tell that young man he did well in securing those towers for his station."
"Yes, sir. I'm sure he will appreciate hearing that."
-----
"Brother Dave. Thanks for meeting us here, on such short notice. We have a developing situation in Pheonix and given your relationship with Mike ...", Pete started, while shaking Dave's hand.
"OK, Pete. Stop the BS and tell me what the hell is going on."
"Here, read this." Pete said as he handed Dave a folder with Dericks photos and report in it.
"Mike in in the middle of this?" Dave asked. "No. He's in Flagstaff. With Maggie and Derick. They had an issue with a local militia but seem to have handled it. They are calling for help and want Captian Dan sent out there to help them. Armstrong is looking to send a few Air Force assets to give the invading force a highly targeted 'Get out' message. In order to get more help out there, we need SafeStops. In Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff and also in either Odess or Midland Texas. We have to get fuel and other supplies, as well as troops out that way, or we will have little left out there. We also need to get refined aircraft fuel out there, too. A refinery in Galveston has a huge supply, but no way to move it there without it being highjacked through the hostile terrain."
"Dan told me it would come to this. And this is when I would know we were on the right path."
-----
Derick,
Get this information to Sabrina and her command.
Get all civilians out of and off of I-10. Drones will be on station by 1400 your time. At 1500 start transmitting on civilian CB, AM and FM frequencies the attached message from 'Captain Dan'.
Document and report success of our attacks. We need you to get us reliable intel on what to hit with these drones. Troops are on the way.
Keep your head down and stay safe. The enemy will know you are the primary link and will be coming for you.
Your friend, Carrie.
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Post by kaijafon on Jul 17, 2016 18:12:47 GMT -6
thanks!!!!!
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Post by hamrad on Jul 29, 2016 1:51:06 GMT -6
Thanks Bit smith, looking to be another excellent Read.
Kev
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Post by bitsmith on Jul 31, 2016 16:08:34 GMT -6
Chapter Five
"Hello, Pheonix!" Derik called out over the radio, happy and excited to be relaying a message on the behalf of Captain Dan. "I have a message from Captain Dan to share with everyone in Arizona and within range of this radio station. He says:
'Good afternoon, Pheonix. I have just been informed that for several months, you have been dealing with invaders from Mexico and lands from the south. I can only guess the kinds of people who have been coming into your homes, taking your lands, your properties. I can only regret that I have not been there to help you defend this nation of ours. I have a person on my team who is of mexican heritage. He came into this nation, illegally, was a gang-banger and he has been very forth-coming in what you all have been dealing with. That mentality. That ideology which is so opposite our own that it is foreign, frightening and even terrifying to think what many of these criminals are doing.
It is with a heavy sorrowness that I hear the tales of yoru time since the crash. The horrors of the world we knew just a few months ago are nothing like the horrors we face, today. But together, as a nation, as a single people we WILL face these new horrors.
We have been knocked down.
We are being kicked, while down.
Together, we will rise. Together we will stand. We will offer a hand to our brothers and sisters who have not yet, risen on their own. Together, we will step forward. One step at a time, we will take back what is ours.
I have often heard how many from Mexico want back the lands of Arizona, New Mexico, Califronia and parts of Nevada. They say that those lands were theirs and they wanted them back. Well, I have news for all of the interlopers who are bringing violence to our lands. Those lands are ours. You want them only because those lands are now rich from the hard work and labor of others. Get out. Now.
To our citizens please take cover. Our military is responding and the bombing will begin at 1400 hours, this afternoon. That gives you roughly 15 minutes to find save haven. Any vehicles leaving the bombing, south bound, heading back to the Mexico will not be fired upon by us. At the border you are to leave your vehicles and proceed to your own lands. Anyone seen carrying or driving anything will be assumed to be a thief and we will stop them, from the air.'
That is the message from Captain Dan. Arizona and Pheonix no longer stands alone! The time is 13:42."
Derick took a minute to catch his breath. "A note for the citizens of Pheonix and the surrounding areas from General Armstrong. We need intelligence on what and where to bomb. We are no longer divided by our skin colors, our faiths or our addresses. We are one nation, again facing threats from many sides. Work with your local law enforcement. If you do not have such, then get on the radio. We are monitoring both CB and HAM bands in identifying our targets."
"Arizonans! Take cover. Help is coming. Invaders, leave! This is the only warning these invaders will get."
"And this is Pheonix Radio clearing the air to monitor for calls for help from our civilians in need of assistance."
Derick switched the large transmitter off to listen, using the large antennas to different bands for calls of assistance.
"Well, Sabrina? It's not Captain Dan and the Army, but it is a start." Derick said, with a smile, when he turned around to face the wall of adults watching him.
"We will see how effective this is, before I will be smiling about it, young man. We need troops! We need people to stand up against these ... these criminals!"
Derick's shoulders slumped as what he had done was not good enough for her. "You heard what Captain Dan said. WE have to stand up and fight back. Together!" He argued after he had gathered a little more spine. "You've never met him. I HAVE! He's not the kind to leave others abandoned to come running here, just because want him. He expects us all, ALL to stand up for what we belive in. To protect ourselves and each other. The sooner you decide to do that, the sooner we can stop watching people die!"
"You little snot! You are just a kid! How dare you talk to an adult like that. I see your mother has not been raising you to be respectful of women!" Sabrina fumed, facing a young man who was no longer afraid of her.
"Sabrina, you need to leave my radio station." Derick said as he turned his back to her and started adjusting recievers to track requests for help. "And do not come back in here, until you have grown up enough to accept that any help is better than no help at all."
Everyone left, quietly, some quite surprised. Mike was the last to leave, saying quietly, "Good job, kid. Sorry, I mean 'Derick'. I got your back with the other adults." Derick sat there unable to track so many calls for more information and help until he just pushed it all aside. He was proud to be recognized by Mike. He was also worried how his mom was going to react. She had been there, she heard it all and did not stand up to Sabrina treating him like some tool. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he pushed it all away and picked up his pen, again.
-----
"Maggie! Is that the boy you have told me you are oh so proud of? He's just like his father, treating women as less important than men!" Sabrina started yelling at Maggie.
"'Rina, he is NOT his father! And I am not YOU! I like being a woman! And I don't hate all men, just because their plumbing is different than mine. And Derick is doing what he can do, for you! To HELP you."
"Sabrina, you need to check your attitude with her and the boy. I don't care who you think you are, I will lay your ass out, cold, if I ever hear you talk to him that way again." Mike interrupted grabbing Sabrina by the corner, putting her against the wall, his arm across her chest, weight against her to hold her in place. "Maggie can and will take care of herself. That 'boy' is a young man. A GOOD young man. And he is trying REAL HARD to fill the shoes that all too few adults would be terrified to try to wear. Do you know WHY he is trying so hard? Because HE has to! HE has the skills to run the radios, the knowledge to get information back and forth. If you had anyone else who could, you would have already been using them. So work WITH him. He is not someone for you to bully! And he does nto respond well to being bullied. And you are being a bully." Mike turned to Maggie, "Maggie, your son is great. I think he told her off, just right. Just enough to demand the respect he deserves, as a young man doing an adult's job. He KNOWS that he just told a lot of people they are about to die. He is scared of those deaths being on him. He also knows that if he makes a mistake on the coordinates he relays back, more deaths will be on his head. He is a good kid, growing up too quickly. Now, I'm going to my cabin. We all have other work to do." Letting Sabrina off the wall, Mike left.
"Maggie, tell your monkey if he ever touches me, again, I will kill him." Sabrina seethed through gritted teeth.
"Tell him, yourself." Maggie said. "What happened to you, 'Rina? Back in college you never would have gone off like that on anyone. What ever your problem is, figure it out. We are not leaving, there are too many people here who need our help. Help MY son can deliver." Without waiting for an answer, Maggie turned away, entering the sound booth of the radio station.
-----
"Derick?" Maggie asked, quietly as the young radio operator was checking notes against pins on a map.
"Hey, Mom." Derick started, "I'm sorry about going off on Sabrina like that. I've just enough of her and her demands for so much from everyone else. She reminds me of a bigger, female version of Steve Caldarone. Do you remember him, the bully from the fourth grade? The one that kept taking my lunch money until I did as Dad told me to."
"Yes, I remember him. And I remember his parents trying to sue us for his medical bills."
"What? They tried to sue us?" Derick responded.
"Oh, yeah, they tried. But you know your father. He stood there and told the judge that we would pay for the medical bills and accept responsibility for the incident, as soon as they accepted responsibility for the mental and emotional issues thier son created on you and your classmates." Maggie remembered, wistfully. "The judge threw out their suit and suggested they get their son into the counseling they wanted you to go to."
"I never knew, Mom." Derick said. "Why would you and Dad keep that from me?"
"Because it was not your fault, son. There were a lot of things wrong with the old world. And we are not far enough into this new one to actually be far enough from them that they still color our thoughts."
"Is that Sabrina's problem? Someone hurt her and now she hates all men?"
"Sabrina has always had an issue with men for as long as I've known her." Maggie recalled, "At one time, that attitude of hers really excited me. Now? I see it for what it really is. A shield. A shield because she is afraid. Some lesbians are just that way, Derick. Good women too afarid to be who they want to be or too afraid of being hurt, so they go on the offensive and offend as many as they can, trying to control every man they see to prove their worth to themselves."
"So, she thinks she can't be a good lesbian if she is not controlling men?" Derick asked. "That's just nuts!"
"Why is it nuts?"
"Because the number of men she has afraid of her will not give her the respect she demands." Derick argued back. "Dad once told me that respect is given to a person, when it is earned. Bullies do not get respect, they get fear."
"I'm so very proud of you, Derick." is all Maggie said, before she kissed him on the cheek and left the sound proofed room.
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Post by kaijafon on Jul 31, 2016 17:54:31 GMT -6
thank you for the new chapter!!
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Post by bitsmith on Aug 7, 2016 13:08:03 GMT -6
[Enter Post Title Here]
Chapter Six
Maggie exited the sound booth to find Mike waiting for her.
“Maggie …”
“Mike! Not you, too! I don’t need this from you, right now.”
“All I was going to say is that when this light is on, Derick needs to concentrate on what he is doing. There are people out there, calling for help, during a military operation. Distracting him could cost lives. Let’s just keep the personal stuff for the house?” Mike said softly, as he gently approached her. “That kid was so distracted, that he left the intercom open. Sabrina heard what you said. And she got even more upset. Derick will be fine here. I think you need to go lay low at home, until she finds someone else that pisses her off.”
“Mike, don’t try to shelter me.” Maggie said as she started to sob. “I can take responsibility for my words and my actions.”
“I know you can, Maggie. But give her time to think through what she is feeling. Give her some time to process, rather than to just react out of anger and pain.” Mike said, as he rubbed her shoulder in passing her in the hall. “I’m going to my trailer. Maybe it would be a good idea to make Derick some dinner. It’s going to be a long day and night for him.”
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“Camp Freedom, this is Phoenix Radio. Phoenix radio calling Camp Freedom.”
“Come in Phoenix. This is Freedom.”
“Freedom this is Phoenix, notification of secure messages for relay to drone pilots.”
“Roger that, Phoenix … message received … forwarding to Command.”
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“Lieutenant, I have a mission for you and your team.”
“Sir, I hope it is an actual mission and not another babysitting run for some former politician. My team are soldiers, sir. Not secret service body guards.”
“I get that, Alarcon. How is your Spanish?”
“Still fluent, sir. English is my second language.”
“I need you to collect a group of Hispanic team members to work point. We are being invaded by Mexican Federales and cartels into Arizona and New Mexico.” Stated Colonel Waivern. I want you and your assembled support teams in the air within the hour. Lives are being lost. You will have a mission brief in the air.”
“Yes, sir.” Alarcon replied. “When can we expect the Major to join us, sir?”
“Don’t count on that, Alarcon.” Waivern answered. “He and his team has been silent for over a week.”
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“Listen up!” Alarcon shouted above the noise of the large cargo plane. “Will be landing, first on I-40 near Army Camp Navajo. The support teams will deplane and prepare to move south towards Phoenix. The rest of us will drop in, near the border to locate and remove leadership of this invasion. This is different from any other mission we have been on. Fuentes! You grew up in the area, right? You take point when we are on the ground. Keep tight on the fire control, people. We will be in amongst the civilian population. The majority of which is probably US citizens. We are NOT hunting illegals working fields and such. We are hunting cartels leaders and federales conducting an invasion on sovereign US soil. Questions? Good! Catch some sleep, if you can. Pilots expect this to be a two hour flight.”
Alarcon sat down. Next to Captain O’Gavern. “LT? How long do you think it will take for you and your teams to meet up with us at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix?”
“I don’t know, yet, Doc. All I know is that you and your people will collect and gather up what ever is available at the National Guard camp and make way to that hospital. Drone surveillance shows it is still intact and has power. I’m sure you can handle getting it back into a functional medical center, Doc.” Alarcon stated with enthusiasm she really did not feel.
“My team is not made up of fighters. We are medics, nurses and doctors. What if we meet resistance on our way to the hospital?”
“That is what the national guard is for, to get you there.”
“I’ve got to tell you, LT, I do not like this. I do not like this, at all.”
“Word is, as soon as you notify command, through this civilian radio operator that you are on the road, air support and resupply will lift off and follow you into to Phoenix. Doc, this is going to be one of, if not THE largest military operations ever conducted on US soil. And there are civilians coming into this, as well. Local militias and law enforcement will be helping as well. Evidently this civilian radio op is tied into a local militia in Flagstaff. They will be working with you, as well. O’, you have got to put medicine aside, for the next few hours, and be a leader. Lead your staff. Command those troops. By rank YOU should be in charge, not me.”
“They put the right person in charge, this time, LT. As you pointed out, I’m a doctor not an operator.”
“Yeah, well from what I hear, this Captain Dan character is changing up how the military trains. Every grunt will be trained to be both a specialist and an operator. Being an operator is a full-time gig, Doc. Can’t be anything BUT an operator in the field. And right now, you need to be a soldier, an Officer, not a doctor. Not a surgeon.”
“Alarcon, I sincerely hope there is more to you than just being an operator.”
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“Minnie, I don’t CARE what the problem is. We NEED those tankers. And we need them, NOW. Get them on the road. Galveston and Houston BOTH have large reserves of jet and helicopter fuels. Get them onto tankers and headed towards Flagstaff.” Brother Dave argued back on the microphone.
“Don’t you go yelling at me! I can not control trucks and tanks hundreds of miles away!” Minnie argued back, sounding like she was about to cry.
“All right, Minnie. All right.” Dave said. “Maybe you can reach out to Smith? Let her know the difficulty you hare having getting the tankers Armstrong asked for.”
“Yes, boss. I can do that.”
“Besides, I would feel much better about asking those drivers to carry that fuel into a potential war zone if they had a military escort.”
“El Paso is the problem, Dave” commented one of his crew. “That place has been a tinderbox for decades. From what I hear, it is nearly burnt flat from all the battles with the gangs trying to take control. The Texans have been holding their own, there, but now that the Mexican military is backing up the cartels? Truckers just don’t want to get within 100 miles of it.”
“Yeah. Makes you wonder where the hell our military has been while all of this has been going on.” Dave mused.
“Protecting military assets or deserted to protect their families.” Another responded.
“All right. Reach out to the road crews across the nation. Start getting fuel tankers headed towards the Gulf Coast. I get the feeling we are going to need more fuel in other parts of the country, quickly. I want that started, now. Let’s get some conversations going with those who control the oil flats in the Dakotas and the wells in Oklahoma and Texas to get crude to there, and leave out with fuel. Those refineries are going to have to start cranking out military fuel, last week. Even drones need jet fuel.”
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“… Maricopa. I remember it on the news, before the crash. The sheriff there was in trouble for collecting illegals, putting them onto busses and dropping them off at federal prisons and immigration offices. He even sent a bus load of them to Congress.”
“Oh, yes. I remember that. He then filed a suit against the DOJ for not signing for the transfer of 50 illegals. Instead they just ordered them released, in Washington.”
“Evidently, that sheriff has been shot and wounded, but healed. His county is the only county not yet taken by the invasion. We may find some help, there. I’m trying to get a radio and operator to him. But Sabrina is … well, she has her own plans.”
“We get that, Phoenix. I will see what I can do to find HAMs in that area.” Carrie Smith of Camp Freedom replied. “Hang tight, Derick. You are doing a great job. This is a lot to handle, for anyone. Captain Dan had no way of knowing what he was sending you into.”
“When will he be getting here? We could really use him, right about now.”
“I don’t know, Derick. I know he is in the middle of another fight, right now. One for his life, the life of his family and even this Camp. Which reminds me, have you had any luck getting anyone in southern California on the radio?”
“I sent in the reports of what I heard, via e-mail. Can we get another station in Nevada or Utah to help with that, Carrie? I’m a bit over loaded with the local situation.”
“All right, Derick. Choose YOUR battles, carefully. You have a lot going on there, so I will try again, to expand our network into the north west.”
“Try Idaho. My Grandpa often talked about the survivalists that went to Idaho.” Derick blurted out, across the radio. “I don’t know why or where that memory came from. But I believe it was true.”
“I will start reaching out that way.” Smith answered. “Now I have another net to manage, Derick. Keep safe!”
“Phoenix Radio, clear.”
-----
“Gutierrez, I don’t care what that KID has to say. He’s just a kid and should not be in charge of something so important as our communications with the rest of the world. I want his radios. I want his antennas. I want everything he has. I’m going to take this state BACK from cartels and the filthy Mexican federales. I moved here nearly 20 years ago and made Arizona my home. I’m not going to give up and let it be taken away from me!”
“Sabrina, they just want us to send someone to Maricopa to try to arrange for help from there.”
“No. We have other things to do, that are more important than that Sheriff. We need to take control of this situation or the military will rule us. No. I will not have it. Now find me someone who can operate those radios, those computers and will follow MY orders.”
-----
“Hey, Derick. Your Mom is here with some dinner. Come on out here and get something to eat.”
“Thanks, Mike. Bring it in here. I’m listening for reports from the different parts of the state so we can coordinate the militias with the military.”
Mike and Maggie enter with a picnic basket and a cooler. After setting out dinner on the table next to the wall map of the state, Derick joins them. He starts to eat quickly, until his mother puts a hand on his.
“Slow down, son. You will make yourself sick, if you eat too fast.”
“I know, Mom, but I’ve got people depen….” Derick was saying as the door of the sound booth crashed open.
Mike jumped up, kicking the knee of the first intruder, breaking it and belly shooting the second man, still in the door. As he fell backwards, away from Mike, Derick slammed the door shut, locking it form the inside.
“Who are you?” Mike asked, standing over the guy he had kicked.
The guy just started shouting in Spanish.
“How the hell did they get up here so quickly?” Maggie asked, suddenly seeing not an injured man but an invader.
“Who, Mom?”
“The invaders? How did they get here without being stopped?”
“Mom. That’s no invader. That is Gutierrez. He helped me set up the antennas. He works for Sabrina.”
Mike leaned over Gutierrez laying on the floor. “What the hell are you doing, man?”
Gutierrez starts with more Spanish. As Mike starts to step on the injured knee, a shot rings through the glass panel of the door, taking Mike in the shoulder. As Maggie screams, Sabrina is seen reaching through the broken glass to unlock the door.
“This is Radio Phoenix. We are under attack. Sabrina is attempting to take over this radio station. We need help. I say again, this is Radio Phoenix. We are under attack!”
Sabrina pulls back her arm, only to put it back through the window a moment later, this time pointing a gun at Dericks exposed back.
The sound of another gun shot in the small sound proofed room is deafening as Maggie picks up Gutierrez’s gun and shoots at Sabrina. Again, the gun goes off. And again. And again.
Maggie is on the floor, Derick right beside her, microphone still in his hand. Mike takes the gun from Maggie, as she struggles to breath. He is holding it aimed through that small vertical slit window.
More gunfire can be heard in the hallway. Along with voices and running feet.
“Radio Phoenix! Come in Radio Phoenix. This is Camp Freedom!”
“Radio Phoenix! This is Martin in Santa Fe. Come in Radio Phoe …”
“Radio Phoenix! This is Chief Nyol in Winona. Do you require assistance?”
“Derick? Hey, Derick! It’s Karen from the hardware store in Flagstaff. Can you hear me, Derick? We are in the hall. Can we come in, Derick? Derick? Are you there?”
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 7, 2016 20:02:40 GMT -6
wowser!!!!! thanks for the moar! I will attempt to be patient whilst awaiting what has happened. guess it's a good thing school has started to help me keep busy as I wait
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Post by bitsmith on Aug 10, 2016 12:08:51 GMT -6
Kaijafon ... that is the end of this short story. I think. Survival in such a world is a risk, especially when you trust the wrong person(s).
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Post by kaijafon on Aug 10, 2016 17:22:02 GMT -6
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