Civil War

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(September 25, 2026)

In the ready room at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, a secret briefing is taking place. Four pilots are sitting in their seats as a lieutenant colonel is briefing them on a very secret mission.

"You are all aware of the situation in Texas. The vote regarding secession has concluded, and the votes are going to be counted in Austin today, with an announcement this evening. Texas police, and even federal law enforcement, have sided with the traitors and are refusing to carry out the orders of the president and the Department of Justice. It is almost guaranteed, based on what we have heard so far, that the vote will carry in favor of secession."

"Due to the danger we are facing, and the growing support for the secessionists throughout the country, the president has issued a last ditch order. If there was another way to stop this and preserve the union, and prevent the chaos that is sure to come if this is not stopped now, it would be taken, but the president sees this as the only viable option."

"Your mission tonight must be carried out faithfully, without hesitation, and with as much secrecy as possible. Your mission is to strike the Texas State Capitol to destroy the secessionist government and stop the vote from being made public."

The officer pauses to allow this to sink in. The officer, one of many attached to the 4th Fighter Wing, is secretly a member of the NSRP, and had picked these 4 pilots because they were the ones most likely to carry out their orders without balking or letting their orders slip. However, he knows it is still a risk.

"Your Strike Eagles will each be armed with a pair of 1,000 pound JDAM bombs. The scheduled time for your attack is 6:35 PM this evening. There is expected to be relatively heavy cloud cover at that time that will conceal your approach. The goal is to prevent, as much as possible, the public discovering the source of the attack. You will attack in pairs. Should the first pair succeed in destroying the target, the second pair need not attack."

"It is your duty to defend the union. Carry out your duty well, and ensure that this secessionist movement goes no further."

The pilots are then released to begin their pre-flight checks. Despite their hesitance to carry out an airstrike on American soil against American citizens, they are determined to carry out their orders that come straight from the Commander in Chief to ensure that the country remains together.

(That evening)

As the sun is setting over Texas, the entire state is preparing to tune into the news. A news conference announced by Governor Abbott is scheduled for 7 PM. Businesses around the state are preparing to temporarily shut down to allow employees and customers to tune in and listen to the conference.

In Capitol building, Lieutenant Governor Patrick is in the process of counting the votes. The vote had ended the previous day, with the vote results sent securely to Austin to be counted. To prevent interference by the federal government, the election results had been sent in in person rather than electronically, although each county had the results of the vote in their borders on record in case the results were intercepted en route. With the precautions taken, the results had all made it to Austin to be counted. Patrick was issuing regular updates as the votes were counted as Governor Abbott was preparing for the press conference to announce the results of the vote.

Nobody knows that this night is about to get a lot crazier than they ever thought.

At 15,000 feet, the flight of Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson are inbound. Taking great care to avoid any mid-air collisions, they are flying virtually wingtip to wingtip so that each pair appears to be a single contact to civilian radar, while talking to Austin Air Traffic Control as if they are civilian Cessnas out on pleasure flights.