Sic Semper Tyrannis [Earth X]

[Astoria]

14 May 2020
Morehead, State of Kentucky
United States of Astoria

It was a sunny day in the capital of Rowan County, Kentucky. This was both a blessing and a curse: a dark sky and gloomy weather would have kept the size of the crowd protesting outside the courthouse down, and discouraged fence-sitters from going out and joining the other people hoisting signs into the air and shouting slogans. But the nice weather also meant that Robin Reeling and her news crew didn’t have to cower under umbrellas or inside the mobile news van while they set up their broadcast.

“Are we ready?” Robin took a moment to run her hands down the blouse and skirt of her no-nonsense business attire, smoothing out wrinkles both real and imagined. From behind the main camera, her tech man glanced at his array of screens before flashing a thumbs up at the reporter. Robin took a deep breath, flicked a loose strand of hair out of her face with a manicured, dark-skinned finger, and waited for the cameraman to count her in.

Three...two...one...the raised finger leveled to point at her like a battleship turret swinging into firing position. Time to earn her paycheck.

“This is Robin Reeling, reporting from Morehead, Kentucky, where the ongoing story of county clerk Carla Dawson has taken another turn. Dawson has become a nationally known figure almost overnight for refusing to process the paperwork for refugees resettled in Rowan County under a federal program. Dawson was ordered by the District Court to process the paperwork, but she continued to refuse and yesterday the Court announced it was holding her in contempt. Now this large group of people have gathered outside the courthouse to protest that decision and demonstrate support for Dawson.”

Robin thought, privately, that the people shouting behind her were ignorant and xenophobic. The United States of Astoria had spent most of its history, it seemed, fighting to fulfill the promises of its founding documents. It had ended slavery after a short but devastating war in the nineteenth century, followed soon after by granting women the right to vote. Then had come the struggle for true racial equality, the establishment of the welfare system, the fight for LGBT rights. The battle of the second decade of the twenty-first century was over the federal government’s welcoming policy towards refugees from war-torn areas.

The right wing in Astoria had latched onto the refugee issue as a potential winner after years of headlong retreat. It hit all the right buttons: fears of assimilation, anger towards “parasites” leeching off the system, and worries about threats to national security. The Progressive Party was struggling to contain the grassroots movement, funded by a handful of wealthy conservative donors, that was mobilizing support for fringe candidates at all levels.

“So far these protests have been peaceful, but local police have expressed some concerns about pronouncements from right-wing militia leaders that they will block any attempt to enforce the court order or arrest Carla Dawson. We are awaiting a statement from Governor Ridgeway, who is expected to announce that state troopers will be mobilized to help Rowan County police carry out their duties. Reporting from Morehead, for ABN, I’m Robin Reeling.”

14 May 2020
Columbia, Federal District
United States of Astoria

President David Jefferson Adams turned off the television and looked over to Attorney General Carole Hansen. The older woman had earned the nickname “Stone Lady” during her time as a federal prosecutor for her dour, expressionless countenance. She was impossible to read, at least in every setting Adams had encountered her in. Next to her, Director of National Intelligence Robert Cooley was more visibly concerned.

“The Democratic Party is having a field day with this,” Adams told the two of them. “They’re hammering us on the refugee resettlement policy. All the usual talking points about money that could be going to rural counties getting spent on social justice programs. But I’m more worried about the fringe. This is the sort of fight they’ve been itching for.”

“We’ve been monitoring the usual sites,” Cooley replied. “Forums, chatrooms. The New Patriots are talking big game, but we haven’t seen anything that looks like a serious threat.”

The New Patriot Movement was a loose amalgamation of anti-government groups. They had a vaguely libertarian ideology and mostly found common ground in opposition to Big Government and Social Justice. They’d grown beginning in the early 2000s as the gulf between city and country grew wider, and poor rural communities found themselves being left behind by the cities and suburbs. Their members accumulated guns, built compounds in the wilderness, and generally made a big deal of their readiness to overthrow the “tyrannical” government. They were, in the estimation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the biggest domestic terror threat in the United States.

“I want to know if there’s any surge in talk about Dawson,” Adams said. He turned to Hansen. “They’re really going to arrest her?”

Hansen nodded. “She’s defying the court orders. She probably won’t serve more than a week’s sentence.”

“Governor Ridgeway is looking for a fight too,” Adams remarked. “Make an example of her.”

Hansen nodded once. “That’s the most likely explanation.”

The President shook his head. One more mess for him to deal with. Why did he want this job again?

[Astoria]

16 May 2020
Morehead, State of Kentucky
United States of Astoria

Robin Reeling and her news crew were hot on the trail of a tip-off. According to her source, a desk officer in the Morehead police department, a group of local police and state troopers were being sent to arrest Carla Dawson for contempt of court. Apparently the local police wanted this done quietly to avoid being harassed by supporters of Dawson’s actions during the arrest. But Robin hadn’t gotten to be one of the network’s top reporters by sitting back and letting someone else dictate what got reported and when. She and her crew had piled into the car and rushed off towards Carla Dawsons’s home, a single-story house a few blocks from the county seat’s “downtown.”

“You know, we’re gonna get yelled at when we get there,” Robin’s cameraman said as they sped down the two-lane roads.

“They can yell at us all they want,” Robin replied. “It’s a free country.”

The news van began to slow down as it made the final turn onto the street where Carla Dawson lived. Robin saw the police cars, Morehead P.D. and Kentucky State Police, parked outside the house. She was already unbuckling her seat belt as the van stopped and she hopped out onto the pavement immediately. They’d gotten the camera ready and were just about to start broadcasting when an irate-looking police officer stormed over.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“My job, same as you,” Robin shot back. The reporter turned back to the camera and waited for the signal that they were broadcasting live.

“This is Robin Reeling reporting from Morehead, Kentucky, where police are about to arrest Carla Dawson for contempt of court. There are local and state police here, and it looks like they’re discussing who’s going to go up to the door…”

There was a series of loud noises. Robin looked behind her, her first thought that someone had set off fireworks. But instead she saw the police scattering backwards towards their cars. All except for one state trooper, who was laying on the lawn in front of the Dawson residence.

“It appears that someone has opened fire!” Robin exclaimed. More gunfire shattered the suburban calm of the day and the windows of a Morehead police car. Someone, or multiple someones, were firing at the police. Robin flinched at each gunshot, but she tried to keep narrating the scene.

“The police have taken cover behind their vehicles...I can’t see who’s shooting at them. Wait, there, zoom in on that window on the right! I can see one gunman, he’s got a long rifle.”

The same police officer who had greeted them so brusquely earlier now ran over in a half-crouch. “Get behind something!” She waved to the reporter and her crew to put their van between themselves and the building.

“Who’s shooting at you?” Robin felt the adrenaline racing through her body, but she had to keep doing her job. This was all being transmitted live to the studio, where it was being broadcast to millions of Astorians across the country.

“How the hell should I know?!” The officer, a dark-skinned woman with short black hair, had her pistol in one hand and kept glancing over her shoulder towards the house. Other cops were starting to return fire, shattering glass window panes on the front of the house as they tried to target the elusive gunmen.

Robin Reeling and her crew kept transmitting as the initial shootout turned into a siege, broken only an hour later by the arrival of the county SWAT unit. They stormed the house, killing or arresting everyone inside. Carla Dawson was found hiding in her basement, clearly shaken by what had happened.

“I didn’t know they were going to kill anybody!”

17 May 2020
Columbia, Federal District
United States of Astoria

The networks had been running the footage of the ambush in Morehead nearly continuously. The Governor of Kentucky had declared an emergency and was talking about mobilizing the National Guard. In between showing footage from “the Battle of Morehead,” the networks had pundits and politicians from across the ideological spectrum to ceaselessly comment and speculate on the situation.

In the Presidential Residence, President David Jefferson Adams looked down at the laptop which had been placed before him by the Director of National Intelligence. It displayed a still image from a video, showing a masked man wearing military-style camouflage. A rifle - a kind that the DNI had identified for Adams as a semi-automatic rifle, a civilian conversion of a type of gun manufactured for the Astorian military - was hanging at his side by a shoulder sling.

“They’re called the Oath Keepers,” Robert Cooley explained. “Started by some ex-military. The name comes from the oath that servicemembers take to preserve and protect the Constitution. They’re much more concerned with the domestic part of ‘all enemies foreign and domestic.’ They’re the biggest Patriot militia out there.”

“And now they’re killing cops.”

“We know they have camps where they train and meet up. The FBI is working on pinning down where the leadership might be - they’ve already gone into hiding, probably ran for the hills before the shooting started. They can’t hide forever.”

President Adams shut the laptop and pushed it away from him.

“Find these bastards.”

[Chrinthania]

Be they natural boundaries agreed upon through tradition or treaty, or man made through discussion and war, borders delineated where one nation ended and another began. From Lake Superior, down the St. Louis River, the border between Astoria and Chrinthania had been set, until it had reached a specific point at which it pushed due south, across land without any natural division between them until it reached the St. Croix, where the border would flow Southwest until it reached the mightiest of North American rivers, the Mississippi. Following this majestic river along its path until it reached the 35th parallel, from which it pushed due east to the Savannah River, from there it follow the course of the Savannah until it entered the Atlantic Ocean. The various treaties and agreements which created this division were enshrined in national law in both nations and would remain as such. Borders often divided one culture from another, one people group from another, or one ideology from another. Chrinthania did not see the Astorians as different to them. They were North Americans. They shared similar ideals. They wanted similar things for their people. Yes, these nations were foreign as far as the dictionary was concerned, but for the Chrinthani at least, they did not view them as people different to themselves.

Even with such borders established between the two nations, as far as the Chrinthani were concerned, the Astorians were in many ways quite similar. Both nations enshrined into law provisions and protections to keep their citizens happy, healthy, and wise. Larger central governments were established to maintain a basic standard of living across all citizens irrespective of race, religion, age, level of ability, or other labels which have often been used to divide people throughout the ages. There were no misgivings in Chrinthania, though; Astoria was still a foreign nation as far as the dictionary was concerned. Events transpiring within Astoria were viewed as something that was happening over there. Thousands of kilometers of borders had seen to this clear-cut division between the two North American nations.

The so-called 'Battle of Morehead' made news in Chrinthania almost as quickly as it did in Astoria. Astoria was, as always, considered a close partner of Chrinthania and when Astoria was threatened, be it by foreign powers or internal factions, Chrinthania saw it as its duty to offer assistance, condolences, and any other need the Astorian government or people may need. This being understood by outgoing President Jose Alvarez, he placed a call to President David Jefferson Adams expressing his condolences to the officers who were injured or killed in the ambush, to the State of Kentucky, and offered the expertise of the Chrinthani National Intelligence Agency if he needed it. He also reminded President Adams that Chrinthania would stand by him if anything more should arise from such an incident--not that the Chrinthani believed this would happen, but the CNIA was nothing if not already aware of factions within Astoria seeking to destabilize it. While exact information could only be known to its Astorian counterpart, shared information from Astoria to the CNIA along with the normal intelligence gathering of international chatter via radio, television, satellite, and the internet was, and could always be, monitored with little issue.

The situation would be monitored in Chrinthania. If and when Astoria needed assistance, it simply only had to ask. Of course, within Chrinthania itself, the people began a GoFundMe for those officers affected by this tragedy. It was the Chrinthani way to help.

[The United Conservative Provinces]

May 23, 2020
Tilten, New England Province
Liberterra

Isaac Patton shoved the key into the keyhole of his backdoor and twisted the knob. He had spent the day checking up on two of his seven manufacturing plants located in cities bordering the great lakes. He was a very popular figure in Liberterra, not only because he was a billionaire and potential senator in the election coming up in a three months, but because of his ability to remain humble in everything. He did he own chores, made his own bed, cooked his own breakfast, got his own mail, and lived in a slightly larger than average home in Tilten, New England. In fact he had picked up the mail on his way home (he drove himself places as well). Mr. Patton shut the door behind him and put the keys to his Tesla and the back door of his home on a small silver hook on the wall. He walked into the kitchen still carrying the mail under his arm to find his wife, Breckyn, watching the news. "Hello honey, how was your day?" he asked casually like he did everyday when he would return. She pointed to the TV, too interested to answer his daily question. The caption read "Woman arrested and policeman killed in Morehead fiasco".

Isaac stood speechless as he listened to the news anchor. He pulled the mail out from under his left arm, dropped the bills on the island counter and looked at the front page of the New England Times, and the topic was the same. News spread quickly ever since the internet and social media were created. He got a firm grasp of the situation after reading the news article. He was a staunch conservative himself, and to see other right-wing citizens, even though they were from another country, be disregarded in favor of foreign immigrants made him sick to his stomach. He was not one to sit back and let bad things happen, as said in his favorite quote, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Something came to mind. He had donated funds to multiple right-wing organizations within Liberterra, so why not a group in Astoria?

"I have a little more work to do, I'll be in my office." Isaac told Breckyn as he gave her a kiss.

"Okay. What do you think about all this?" She responded, finally taking her eyes of the TV.

"It's too bad really, and we are lucky this is something that we would never have to worry about here."

[Astoria]

25 May 2020
Columbia, Federal District
United States of Astoria

“...we will never forget the sacrifices these brave men and women made, to uphold their oath, to defend the United States of Astoria and its people from those who sought to destroy the freedoms we hold dear.”

The Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery was a yearly tradition. Presidents made the short journey from the White House to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, laid a wreath, gave a short speech, and met with families of servicemembers who had been killed in the previous year. Astoria was not a nation comfortable with war, but since the 1980s it had found its way into many interventions around the world, usually in the pursuit of humanitarian ideals. These interventions had, slowly but surely, added more names to the register of Astorian military personnel killed overseas. Some worried that the nation was too accustomed to a slow trickle of death, that a nation-wide optimistic faith in Astorian military power as a force for positive change led the country into quagmires from which it rarely departed easily or quickly. President Adams had been propelled to his second term in January of this year in part because he pledged to find ways to keep Astorian interventions abroad sustainable and limit the expenditure of blood and treasure.

This year’s Memorial Day speech had a new twist, one that Adams had insisted on despite some strenuous opposition from a handful of his advisors. As he wrapped up the standard boilerplate language about remembering sacrifices and honoring legacies, he rolled the political dice.

“This year, I want to take a moment to remember the men and women of the Morehead Police Department, and the Kentucky State Police Department, who were killed two weeks ago in the line of duty. These officers were not only fulfilling their role to protect and serve, but they were unwillingly made frontline soldiers in the longest and most important war that Astoria has ever fought: the war against intolerance and bigotry. This struggle goes on every day, not on some distant battlefield but in our neighborhoods and in the public square. There is no easy victory here, but we must fight every battle with the same determination that the men of the Continental Army showed when they fought for our independence.”

“The terrorists who killed those police officers justify themselves through their supposed devotion to the oath they took as Astorian soldiers. I know that the brave men and women laid to rest here in Arlington would never sanction the use of their sacred oath as a shield for xenophobia, racism, or partisan violence. We owe it not only to the families of those who were killed in the line of duty on that day in Morehead, but to the memories of every servicemember buried here today, to see the members of this illegal militia meet swift and righteous justice. Thank you, and God bless the United States of Astoria.”

26 May 2020
Columbia, Federal District
United States of Astoria

“Well, it wasn’t a total disaster.”

President Adams rolled his eyes at the morose pronouncement from his Chief of Staff. “The polls seem to say I did quite well, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, but the opposition had a field day with it. Now they get to go on all the news shows and accuse you of ‘politicizing the moment.’” The chief of staff shook his head. “I told you it was a bad idea, Dave. Making those cops soldiers in some ‘War on Conservativism’...”

“A war on bigotry,” Adams pointedly clarified. “A war on xenophobia. Damn it, this whole country was founded on the idea that we were at our best when we let everyone in! And now these assholes get to call themselves Patriots because they don’t want to pay taxes or see brown people in their suburbs?”

“You won the election because everyone thought you would avoid these fights,” the chief of staff reminded him. “The party isn’t invincible on this, Dave. People are hurting. These Oath Keepers aren’t about to start a revolution but if you try and pin this on the conservatives, it’ll blow up in your face.”

Adams threw the draft of an upcoming speech down on the table. “God damn it! We should use this to break those assholes! The Democratic Party sits in Congress with a couple of seats and somehow they’ve become the ones calling the shots. Now we’ve got a chance to shift them out for good, and the party wants to play nice?”

In the elections on January 20, 2020, the Progressive Party had expanded on the slim majority it had held throughout Adams’s first term. But the fractious nature of Astorian politics, dominated by the center-left Liberals and the further left Progressives but with a rotating cast of secondary parties taking seats here and there, had forced them into coalitions and made the legislative agenda vulnerable to interference from the handful of center-right Democratic Party members of Congress. The “Dems” mostly came from solidly conservative seats and occupied a position where they could neither easily gain more ground, or lose what they had. They had become a sort of permanent opposition to multiple successive Liberal and Progressive administrations. Now Democratic legislators and activists were all over TV, loudly disavowing the Oath Keepers while also taking every opportunity to point out the many ways that Adams and his predecessors had helped fuel this crisis. The Liberal governments of 2004-2016 had resulted in some widening of the wealth gap, their policies had generally favored urban and suburban populations while leaving rural folks with little aid, and instead of trying to work left with the Progressives they had watered down their policies to acquire Democratic votes. Now the Democratic Party felt like it had the right to dictate the pace of policy on all sorts of issues.

“Any news on the manhunt?”

“Nothing yet,” the chief of staff told Adams. “The DNI said they’re chasing down some promising leads, but he can’t make any promises or predictions yet. Look, my advice? Focus on getting these bastards. You want to make this about the Dems? Wait until you’ve got some bodies to show off.”

[-Roma Invicta-]

Legatus Legatorum Quintus Marius Flavus
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Columbia
Federal District, United States of Astoria
Monday 25th May 2020, 1100hrs Local Time

---

Quintus Marius Flavus, the Legatus Legatorum (a Roman diplomatic title, equivalent to that of an Ambassador) from the Senate and People of Rome to the United States of Astoria, stood watching in respectful silence as the President of the United States laid his wreath and gave his speech. Like many Roman officials, Marius Flavus had started his career in the service of Rome with ten years ‘under the eagle’, as serving in the Roman Army was colloquially known, and as such had not only had friends and colleagues killed or wounded in action but also commanded troops into battle in his own right. Given the unique way that the Roman Army trained it’s senior officers, with specialist training at the Roman Military Academy specifically for high, strategic command, leaving direct command of troops to officer promoted from the ranks, Marius Flavus had been thrown into the deep end at the tender age of twenty-two, albeit exceptionally well prepared for the challenge of high command despite his youth. As a result, he had been the Prefect of an Auxiliary Cohort, stationed in Judea, when there had been an uprising there by a reborn Zealot movement with an awfully short memory, given that Rome had liberated Jerusalem from Muslim control less than a century previously and allowed a new Jewish province a great deal of autonomy.

As the Astorians remembered their dead, Marius Flavus bowed his own head to remember the men under his command that had been killed or wounded by Zealot insurgents. Even now, three decades on, it was still a painful memory and the responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Marius Flavus was moderately surprised when President Adams moved on from the normal speech that would be expected from a politician in a situation like this to address the recent events in Astoria, and in no uncertain terms either. Truth be told, he was hardly surprised at the decision, as Adams’ own political leanings were well documented, and the actions of the group known as the Oath Keepers was as reprehensible as it was illegal. As far as Marius Flavus, and therefore Rome, was concerned, no matter what an individual’s political opinions were nothing justified taking up arms against the state or acting outside of the law; you either attempted to change the laws through the political process, or showed a level of maturity and accepted that you were in the minority.

As for politics in Rome, most of it concerned the balance of power between the Senate, entrusted with the collective wisdom and experience of the Republic, and the People, who represented the millions of men, women and children that made up the general population. The Senate was made up of men and women appointed due to their experience, knowledge, and service to the Republic, intended to form a consensus on what is in the best interests of the Republic, which might stand in stark contrast public opinion, and critically had final control over the disbursement of funds from the public treasury. The People were represented by the Comitia Civis (the Citizens Assembly), elected by the collective body of Roman Citizens all over the Republic, who were the primary legislative body and responsible for representing public opinion, which might be very much opposed to what the ‘experts’ in the Senate believed to be for the best. Navigating this delicate balance were the Executive Magistrates, directly elected officials responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Republic, balancing the ‘advice’ of the Senate with the laws passed by the Assembly, juggling the fact that they were elected by the People but they were, or soon would be by virtue of their Magistracy, Senators in their own right.

Compromise and consensus were the order of business in Rome, as although only the Assembly could change the law only the Senate could authorise the use of public funds to name just one of a number of checks and balances in place.

As such, for the most part, Roman politics was firmly centrist on the traditional left-right spectrum; neither Fascism or Communism had gained any real traction in the Republic, despite several ideological uprisings in the first half of the previous century. These had been put down firmly and decisively by the Legions, not for ideological reasons but for the simple fact that they were defying Rome. If there was one thing that both the Senate and People agreed on it was the legitimacy and authority of the State. Of course, based primarily on their history and their role, the Senate tended to be more reserved and concerned with the big-picture, whereas the Assembly tended to be more concerned on the individual rights of citizens, the protection of workers and the shorter-term, but there were exceptions in each and there wasn’t the same left-right tribalism that caused such political strife elsewhere.

Indeed, a great deal of this was likely due to the fact that neither the Senate nor the Assembly had any particular interest in interfering with the personal lives of its citizenry more than was necessary; for the most part, a Roman Citizen (and indeed non-citizen residents) were free to do what they wished, so long as they didn’t break common-sense laws around murder, rape, child abuse and various other heinous crimes. It was not the state’s place, Rome held, to regulate people’s personal activities or beliefs, but neither was it the concern of anyone else. Of course, the highly multicultural, multiracial and multi-religious nature of the Republic’s territory made this a common sense approach to take; for the most part it was the shared identify as Roman, whether citizens or aspiring citizens, that held the Republic together and, as such, Roman law and society had to be open to differences as much as possible. Certain things might still be politically or publicly sensitive in some areas, depending on religious and culture norms, but that was unavoidable and even then no one had the right to thrust their own beliefs on another, much less refuse to do their job as a result, as was the case at the centre of furore in Astoria.

As a result, Rome viewed the political landscape in both the United States of Astoria, and in Liberterra, with a degree of bemusement; seeing personal politics apparently being more important to some than their nation was a foreign concept; in the Republic loyalty to Rome came first, everything else was secondary, at least as far as politics went. That didn’t stop Rome, and in particular it’s ranking representative in the United States, from feeling sympathy and regret for the lives lost as a result of political strife. Rome, after all, had had its fair share of political strife in its time, historically the struggle between Patricians and Plebeians had been at the forefront of a great deal of suffering in the Republic, and it was only comparatively recently (when considered against the backdrop of Rome’s three thousand years of history) that at true, lasting compromise had been found and reforms implemented that survived to the modern state.

So, Rome would continue to monitor the situation with interest; given trade links to both states any civil unrest would potentially have an impact on the Republic, and whilst Rome had no desire to wade into politics on the far side of the Atlantic, it might chance the guidance given to various businesses, traders and other individuals. Moreover, of paramount concern was the protection of Roman citizens, living, working or visiting, and the possibility that they would be caught up in violence and come to harm. Marius Flavus had already passed Rome’s deep condolences onto the Astorian Government for the loss of their officers, and his staff were already liaising closely with all Roman citizens or interests in the United States with regards to the developing situation.

As the President’s speech ended, Marius Flavus joined the handful of other dignitaries in laying their own wreaths, his own dedicated in the name of the Senate and People of Rome and made a prayer to the Goddess Fortuna that Astoria would be fortunate enough to resolve their current strife without further bloodshed, before stepping back to return to his other responsibilities back at the Legatio.

[Oceanor]

The High Chancellor of Oceanor listened to the report in horror. Luckily his nation had overcome it's violent tendencies decades ago, but just the thought of an armed attack by a faction of his nation was enough to induce chills. Sitting silently, he gave a prayer for the people of Astoria. "May they overcome their division, and bring peace back to their lands". His aids all nodded.

Finishing the prayer, he wrote a letter of condolence to the President of Astoria, stating that Oceanor could be called on at any time for help. Sending it off, his mood lightened. Today may not have been a good day for Astoria, but for Oceanor it was. For Oceanor it was a glorious day. Today was the opening of the Panama Canal, a massive project that had been in the works for over 10 years.

Leaving his chamber and heading for the High Chancellor's car, he prepared himself for the announcement. For so long had this been awaited, and it was finally here. It was a bittersweet announcement, with the attacks in Astoria, but it was a great achievement nonetheless. It was a glorious day for both Oceanor and the world, and it seemed that the world needed some good news.

[Astoria]

6 June 2020
Bath County, State of Kentucky
United States of Astoria

The small cabin house was about as “off the grid” as one could get in a modern nation like the United States of Astoria. It had taken federal and state authorities some time to find it on any official documentation. But after an exhaustive manhunt, they were certain that this was where Peter Dawson, the leader of the Kentucky chapter of the Oath Keepers militia, was hiding out. His listed address of residence had been deserted when the Federal Marshals came knocking. The “training camp” on the piece of land he owned had likewise been cleared out. But the FBI was positive that Dawson hadn’t fled the state. This safe house was the best bet.

In the dark of the night, a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team from the Frankfort field office descended on the cabin. The men’s faces were totally covered underneath balaclavas and night-vision goggles, and with their helmets, body armor, and assault rifles they looked more like military special forces than law enforcement agents. Such militarization of the police had been castigated against for years, but in the twenty-first century the need for security had won out over concerns about slippery slopes. As long as such equipment stayed confined to the SWAT teams, most politicians could face their constituents without much worry about blowback.

The federal agents were like a stream encountering a rock, engulfing the house on all sides. A dozen gun barrels pointed at doors and windows. Crouched a short distance from the front porch, the team leader activated his radio.

“This is Team Lead, in position.”

There was the sound of distant motors revving, breaking through the nighttime calm. From down the road, four police vehicles came racing towards the cabin. The SWAT team had already released the latches holding the gate shut across the driveway, and the lead police cruiser battered the wooden barrier aside without difficulty. That was the signal.

“Go, move!”

The SWAT team rose from their crouches and rushed to the cabin, stacking up at the doors or covering the windows. The lights and sirens of the police vehicles filled the air with sound and bright flashes. The front door was locked, but the lock gave way under the boot of the team leader. The black-clad men looked like shadowy wraiths as they moved through the house, lit by the flashing blue and red lights of the cars outside. Nothing on the first floor. One team downstairs into the basement, one team upstairs to the second floor.

“Contact.” A single gunshot, then the sound of hard plastic against flesh. “One down, upstairs bedroom.” The team leader filed in behind and shined a flashlight in the face of the man who the first officer had knocked to the ground with his rifle. A pistol sat on the other side of the room, knocked out of the man’s hand. Flecks of paint and wood fell from the fresh bullet hole in the ceiling above the door.

“Positive ID on target.”

7 June 2020
Frankfort, State of Kentucky
United States of Astoria

Of course it had been the first thing on the morning news broadcasts. Footage of Oath Keepers militia leader Peter Dawson, being led out of his cabin safe house in Kentucky by Federal Marshals. The black-clad SWAT men were not in this footage; they’d handed the militia leader over to men in regular uniforms before he’d been led out of the house in handcuffs and into a waiting squad car. The Astorian public didn’t like to be reminded that their law enforcement sometimes looked like stormtroopers.

President Adams had coordinated with Governor Ridgeway, and agreed that the Governor should be the first one to speak. Press had promptly converged on the Governor’s Mansion when his office announced that he would give a short statement on the arrests. The Governor stepped to the podium, flanked by the head of the Kentucky State Police and a representative from the FBI.

“Early this morning, a joint task force with members from Kentucky State Police, the Federal Marshals, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation mounted a successful raid on a safe house in Bath County,” the Governor explained. “At that safe house, they found and arrested Peter Dawson, the leader of the Kentucky chapter of the Oath Keepers militia and the man responsible for planning the ambush in Morehead on May 16. He is being held in a federal facility, without bail, pending arraignment and trial for conspiracy to commit murder, among other federal and state charges. Mister Dawson will be afforded all the protections of the law, and he will receive a fair trial in a timely fashion. I’d like to thank all the agencies and departments who contributed manpower, intelligence, or other resources to this endeavor. Hopefully this provides some closure for the family of the officer who was killed, and those who were wounded. I’ll take a few questions.”

“Will Mister Dawson be tried for terrorism?”

“That’s a question for the prosecutors, but my personal opinion is that he should face the fullest possible consequences.”

“What about other members of the militia?”

“I’ve already said that I will not interfere with any group’s right to gather, so long as they are not gathering for the purpose of committing criminal offenses. I don’t want to declare an entire club a terrorist organization.”

“What about Congressman Sindey’s remarks yesterday about your administration purposefully antagonizing conservatives?”

“I think the Congressman is welcome to say whatever he thinks will get him re-elected, and I’ll stand on my record and my approval ratings. Thank you, everyone, no further questions.”