Civil War

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

(January 24, 2027)

As the sun is climbing into the sky over Mobile, Alabama, people are beginning to go about their daily business. Far from the front lines of the war, the people of Mobile have been mostly unaffected by the war so far.

However, unknown to them, the US government has decided to add Mobile to the list of target cities for air and missile strikes. Today, the first airstrike against Mobile is to be launched. And already, the planes are on their way.

Headed straight for Mobile are 3 flights of Air Force F-35 Lightnings. The Lightnings are each armed with a pair of 2,000 pound bombs and a pair of air-to-air missiles. Their targets include the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge, the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, and a train station that was believed to be used for transporting military cargo and personnel through Mobile. There had been an idea proposed to also target the old museum battleship USS Alabama incase the rebels got the idea of trying to restore her, or at least her guns, to active service, but that was rejected as the idea of that happening with the Alabama was ludicrous. So, this first airstrike was limited to three targets.

In the cockpit of the lead F-35, the pilot calls for a check in. Once all 12 F-35s have checked in, he gives orders for the Lightnings to begin their attacks.

Today, the skies over Mobile are rather cloudy, concealing the approach of the F-35s. The citizens of Mobile are unaware that they are under attack until the first of the F-35s dive out of the clouds. And even as the F-35s are diving, most of the people in Mobile don't realizxe that they're under attack.

The first flight of F-35s are diving on the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge, with each element targeting a different end of the bridge. At an altitude of about 4,200 feet, the F-35s drop their bombs and pull up out of their dives. The bombs, guided by GPS, guide smoothly to the bridge and slam into it, their delayed action fuses holding the detonations for a moment before the bombs explode in almost complete unison. At both ends of the bridge, massive chunks of the bridge are blasted apart and drop into the river below, along with a number of vehicles that had been on the bridge, and cracks begin to spread out from the destroyed sections in both direction. In the space of a few seconds, the bridge has been rendered completely unusable.

The explosions can be heard across much of the city. However, before most of the city can really realize they are under attack, the second flight of F-35s attack the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center. One of the Lightnings drops its bombs on the runway, putting two massive craters in the runway, while another two destroy parked helicopters and hangars on the flightline. The fourth bombs and destroys the air traffic control tower, paralyzing the base's ability to operate.

As the clouds of smoke are rising from the airport, the last flight of F-35s begin their attack on the train station. The F-35s drop their bombs and pull back up into the clouds to begin their egress.

As they pull back up, most of the bombs have hit the target, destroying the train station and a cargo train currently in the station. However, one of the bombs' GPS packages fails, and instead of guiding the bomb towards its target, the bomb coasts on a natural course, going nowhere near the train station. The bomb ends up missing the train station...and slamming into Council Elementary School.

The explosion from the bomb tears through the school, destroying almost the entire buildings in just a few seconds. Flames begin to burn through what remains of the school as the surviving teachers and other faculty try desperately to evacuate the surviving students.

It doesn't take long for news crews to hear what had happened, and news crews soon arrive at the school. Cameras capture images of fire crews trying to put out the fires that have enveloped the school, and images of injured faculty and students being treated by paramedics. One image in particular that will soon be circulating across the world is an image of paramedics carrying out a body on a stretcher, a body that even when covered by a white sheet is clearly of a child who has to be younger than 10 years old.

News channels across the world are soon publishing the story, with headlines like "US airstrike in Alabama hits elementary school" or "US aircraft bomb elementary school in Alabama". The outrage that soon sweeps the world is some of the fiercest yet since the Second American Civil War began. The federal government tries desperately to do damage control, but the images of the destroyed elementary school, combined with confirmation of the airstrikes on the other targets, is beyond their ability to deny. Even claims that it was due to a malfunction with the weapon in question can only do so much.

This is a big tragedy that the US government cannot so easily excuse.

(January 26, 2027)

In his press room in the presidential residence in Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol takes the podium. He had announced this news conference about 8 hours ago. The only statement he had released to the public was that it was not to give official recognition to Texas or the UAR, but that it did have to do with the situation in America.

"Thank you," he greets the cameras in his native Korean before he begins his speech, "Over 24 hours ago, in the United States, in an attempt to weaken the independence movement in the southern states, the United States Air Force launched an airstrike on targets in Mobile, Alabama. In the course of the airstrike, a terrible accident took place when a bomb hit a school filled with young children. Confirmation has been released by Alabama authorities that over half of the inhabitants of the school were killed in the strike, with the youngest victim being 5 years old."

"This level of carelessness by the United States government is not new. It's efforts to stop the independence movements in its southern states has resulted in thousands of innocent civilian casualties and heavy damage to civilian infrastructure. This has been particularly terrible in the state of Mississippi, where heavy fighting, airstrikes, and artillery attacks have caused very extensive destruction across the state, and the displacement of almost half of the state's population. While the Republic of Korea is committed to continuing efforts to hold the United States government responsible for its horrific actions against its own citizens, we also realize the terrible situation that people in these southern states are now in."

"Today, I am announcing an initiative to organize deliveries of relief supplies and funds to the states affected by the aggression of the United States government, and to begin efforts to help the people of the affected states to rebuild what has been destroyed. We have already sent doctors and medical supplies to Alabama and Mississippi, and will soon be shipping the first large-scale aid packages. We invite and encourage nations throughout the world to join our efforts in helping to relieve the suffering going on in America."

"I speak now to the government of the United States of America. The Republic of Korea is committed to peace. We issue a strict warning to the United States government not to interfere with our relief efforts. Any attack on our flights or our personnel will result in undesirable consequences. I also plead with the United States to accept the offer to begin peace negotiations in Berlin and to begin efforts to end this destructive conflict enveloping the United States."

His remarks receive great applause from those gathered to witness his speech. The people of South Korea well know the atrocities an authoritarian government can inflict on dissenting citizens thanks to their own past with authoritarian leaders, and have been horrified by the images shared by news agencies. Although the people of South Korea are divided on whether their country should officially recognize Texas and the UAR, they are united in their belief that they should do what they can to help the people suffering from this conflict. They can only hope others will now follow their President's lead.