Civil War

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(September 29, 2026)

In the Oval Office, President Davidson is reviewing the final draft of the speech that he is due to give today. He knows that any speech he gives now can have serious consequences on his hold on the country now that one state has already tried to secede.

The last few days have been hell for the president. The declaration of Texan independence had sent shockwaves around the world. Already, foreign governments were weighing in on the situation, with some supporting the independence, some supporting Davidson's administration but denouncing the airstrike on the Texas Capitol Building, and some simply calling for an end to the violence. Davidson also knows that the declared secession of Texas has sent many people in other states into calling for secession. Although many of them are in historically Republican states, there is also a surprising amount of secessionist talk coming out of California and Hawaii. Davidson knows he must be firm in his stance that such rebellion cannot be allowed, but avoid making any more mistakes that could drive more states to rebel. However, as of right now, there are no other serious secessionist movements in any other states, and he wants to keep it that way.

The last couple of days have seen multiple new developments in Texas. Some revolts against Texan independence emerged in some of the bigger cities in Texas from loyalists to President Davidson, however, they were fairly small, and those responsible were either arrested if they were guilty of a crime or sent home if they were not. As these revolts were happening, the now President Abbott declared safe passage out of Texas back into the United States for anyone loyal to the regime in Washington who did not want to live in Texas. Already, tens of thousands of people were making the choice to leave Texas, but the vast majority of Texans wished to remain in their home state, and some people outside Texas were already trying to move there.

The real problem came with the military units stationed in Texas. Multiple active duty military units were stationed in Texas prior to the independence vote. After the declaration on the 25th, the new government declared it was seizing all military equipment on its territory in order to equip the new Armed Forces of the Republic of Texas. Abbott gave all military personnel the choice of whether they wished to stay in Texas and swear allegiance to the new Texan government, or leave Texas to honor their vows to the United States. To the surprise of many, over 90 percent of all military personnel in Texas announced their intention to stay in Texas and serve as the new military of Texas. This not only included the men and women that made up the units stationed there, but also some of the generals that were based on Texas soil. This included: Major General Richard Harrison, commander of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command; Lieutenant General James Isenhower III, commander of the III Armored Corps; Major General William Ryan, the commander of the First Army; and the commanding generals of both the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Cavalry Division. The commanding officer of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB also decided to stay in Texas. The Texas government had also seized control of Air Force Plant 4, giving them control over production of both the F-16 and F-35, allowing them not only to build them for their own military, but to sell them to foreign customers. There were already rumors that Lockheed Martin heavily favored Texas and was not planning to do anything to stop Texas from taking over the production of both jets from the US.

Texas was moving quickly to prepare its defenses. It had mobilized all National Guard and Reserve units, was moving air defenses towards its borders, and the 1st Armored Division, supplemented by men of the Texas National Guard to replace members of the division who had left to return to the United States, was on the move from El Paso towards the center of the state. It was clear to everyone monitoring the situation that Texas was not playing around, and was fully committed to defending itself, even if that meant war with the US.