Heres a look at a very rough draft from a story about a a second war between the states set 20 years or so from the present day. Right now this is just a preliminary sketch, and a number of revisions will be needed before ill be satisfied, but I want to just get this up as a start.
Ch. 1
The tanks rolled through in mid-April, first the ones fighting for the Federal Government, the ones with that CNN and MSNBC referred to as loyalist, the ones manned by the regular army soldiers, at least those that hadn’t deserted when their home states joined the coalition. Within a day another wave of armor came by, these manned by the soldiers Fox News referred to as loyalist, the men and women who chose to fight for the status quo of the last two decades, not the political upheaval of the last six months. At least that’s how the Coalition and their cable news mouthpieces referred to them. The fighting wasn’t particularly severe; for the first week or two no one in the country really seemed to know what to do or how to act, civil wars being a rather uncommon occurrence in the United States. What was clear was that the bulk of the Army and a good portion of the other services hailed from states in the South, the Midwest, and the rural areas of the Northeast. They were patriots, they came almost universally from humble origins, and they had all been raised to think of the word “liberal” as a kind of insult and that Democrats were weak leaders who would destroy their way of life. In retrospect, it was unsurprising that the only men left to fight for the President were the few liberal intellectuals, idealists, and those blindly loyal to the Federal government who had chosen to enlist.
The end of March saw hastily assembled Coalition forces mass in Virginia and drive over the Potomac. All three networks showed footage of President Hurston’s helicopter evacuating the Rose Garden and fleeing northward to New York City, followed by images of Coalition troops marching through the capital the next day. The army had been beaten to the punch, that much became clear to the entire country over the next week as conservative forces conquered Baltimore, Annapolis, and crossed the Susquehanna. The Federal government moved as whatever troops they could find to Pennsylvania and New Jersey in an attempt to stem the conservative tide, but to no avail. The forces defending Philadelphia were outflanked to the north, and soon the hodgepodge of army regulars, national guardsmen and raw recruits were in full retreat back to New York City. New York was the true prize, the gleaming symbol, the throbbing heart of the liberal, cosmopolitan northeast. President Hurston gave a speech from Time Square declaring he would not abandon the city, that the Federal retreat stopped there. Once again the coalition drove to the north, over the Hudson and cut the city’s last lines of land communication. By late April, the eyes of the world turned to the Big Apple, and the summer siege that had already begun. Other fronts, along the Ohio and in the Midwest, remained inactive with too few troops covering too much ground, a halfhearted coalition advanced towards Chicago, the Democrat’s de facto capital, never got off the ground. That summer the eyes of the nation turned to the iron ring around Gotham, the city’s life or death an indicator of the viability of liberal politics in 21st century America.
George Hazlet had never been to New Jersey before. In fact, he’d never been anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Few boys from rural South Carolina traveled much in their early years, and Hazlet was no exception. His first time out of state came with his enlistment in the army at age 18. All of his training took place in the South alas, culminating in his service at Fort Hood Texas. George Hazlet’s first trip outside of Dixie came 2 weeks after his 20th birthday when his brigade was deployed to Iraq. George’s tour-of-duty was one of the last for Americans before the withdrawal, but he would be back.
Hazlet smiled to himself as he stared out the window of his staff car at the rolling hills and fields along the highway, thinking of the first return to Iraq to stabilize the government, and the second 4 years after that. By that point I was an officer, he thought. It took over a decade, but between his experience, his battlefield record, and his time at OCS, the farm boy from South Carolina became an officer, and as his success fighting insurgents south of Tikrit proved, a damn good one.
“How much longer do we have to go, corporal?” he asked his driver.
“According to the GPS, another 15 miles, sir,” replied Corporal Jim Waxman. Hazlet could tell they were getting close, what had been countryside was no replaced with suburban sprawl. They had also moved onto a larger highway. Wherever this Morristown place was, it was assured to be better than the headquarters he served at in Columbia. Iraq was no resort, not by a long shot, but it was downright pleasant compared to what he went through in South America. Still, four years as an officer in Iraq and another had left him a captain, and his peacetime service plus three more years in Columbia left him a full colonel…and retired.
A sign over the highway informed him he was five miles from Morristown, and they were already beginning to pass other military vehicles on the highway. It occurred to Hazlet that in the entire ride north from Philadelphia he had barely said two words to his driver.
“Where are you from soldier?” he asked.
“Dallas, sir, just north there actually,” replied the young Waxman, his accent doing nothing to hide the truth of his statement.
“A Texan eh? I was stationed at Fort Hood back when I was an active soldier, I always had great men from Texas under my command,” Hazlet explained.
“Well, I just hope I can live up to their accomplishments sir,” Waxman stated cautiously.
“You’re not a regular, are you corporal?”
“No, sir. I’m a volunteer. I joined up right after the first shots were fired, my family are all Republicans; I wanted to help fight for what we all believe in,” Waxman explained.
“Fantastic, Waxman. I’m a volunteer too, you know. I’ve been out of the army for years, but when this conflict broke out, I wanted to serve again, just like yourself.” Hazlet continued “Don’t you worry one bit. We’re ‘gonna lick these Yankee liberal bastards in no time, and you’ll be back in Texas by the end of the summer to tell your family how brave you were.” George Hazlet may have been a dedicated soldier, but he was also a family man, and when his wife had a second son, and George’s command was withdrawn from Columbia, he decided he’d had enough. Enough, that was, until the War Between the States broke out. The Coalition was still fairly disorganized when it came to procuring and deploying troops, but one letter to his governor and George’s name was brought to the attention of Coalition military leaders. A decorated officer, with years of counter-insurgency experience, was a useful man to have around, no matter how short the war lasted. George got a phone call, was told the army had work for him in New Jersey, and two days later he was in uniform and on an airplane to Philadelphia.
“Sir, we’ve arrived,” Waxman informed him. Sure enough they were parked outside Morristown High School, which had temporarily been converted to the headquarters for the Coalition’s 2nd Brigade, 7th Light Infantry Division. The building was at the base of a hill, surrounded by a residential area on one side and small shops and buildings on the other leading towards the town’s business district. Hazlet stepped out of the car and immediately sighted a number of men hustling out the school. The man in the lead had three stars on his shoulders.
The men exchanged salutes, and the highest ranking among them spoke. “George Hazlet, thanks for coming on such short notice. I’m Lieutenant-General Harry Span, C. in C. III Corps. We’re restructuring our command structure here and a new position opened up and I thought that you were the best man for the job. Welcome to your new headquarters.”
“My headquarters, sir?” the surprised Hazlet asked incredulously.
“Thtat’s right Hazlet, you’re the new military governor of northern New Jersey.
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