The Ace of Hearts: We the People

Chapter One: America Has Fallen

The year is 2014. America is sitting peacefully as the most powerful country in the west. There is no reason for America to believe that it should be worried about invasion. It may be peaceful in the west, but there is trouble brewing for America in the east, particularly in Russia due to America's involvement in the failed annexation of Ukraine, Mexico because of America's lack of help in Mexico's debt and drug problems, and North Korea because that just the way North Korea is.
The leaders of these three countries have been holding meetings between each other in an attempt to plan an invasion of America. Since the leaders of each of the countries are all greedy, they couldn't decide who would get the land that they would conquer. However, they were quickly able to come up with a compromise, saying that they would each supply citizens to one collective army that would be sent to topple America.
Each country sent over one million troops into Greece for training. Greece was neutral to America, so it was willing to be the stage that the troops would train at. They all took five years to train. The first two years were simply to get acclimated with each other, find friends among the group of soldiers, learn each other's languages, learn English as this was the agreed upon language to be spoken, and learn each other's cultures and customs. The rest of the three years was spent training the troops. By the end of the five years, the men were all elite, fierce, merciless killing machines.
In the year 2014, the army invaded America. They began to call themselves Gorteria. There wasn't a known reason for this becoming their name, however the best guess is that they named themselves after a phylum of bright orange flowers that easily attract flies. Historians believe that they used that name to show that they often attracted unpleasant things. In this case, they attracted America.
This initial invasion was quickly stamped out by America. The leaders of Gorteria quickly abandoned the plan when they realized just how strong and powerful America's military was. The soldiers fighting against America also abandoned the plan not long after it started. Most of the soldiers thought that the plan was simply a scheme thought up by their leaders as a way to regulate their population. The attack quickly failed, not even lasting a year.
America was generous to its invaders, offering them a piece of land to do with what they please. They would be considered a part of America, and they would have to follow all laws that were in effect at the time of their arrival to America. However, any new federal laws that were implemented after Gorteria coming into existence would be voted on by the population of America and Gorteria. If the law passed in America, but not in Gorteria, the law would not be enforced in Gorteria. If the law passed in Gorteria but not in America, the law would not be enforced in America.
There was a long period of peace. Peace lasted for fifty years. America and Gorteria were both becoming more and more prosperous. Gorteria was acting like they should, not disobeying the deal that was made between them and America. Everyone was content.
The years past and the sixth president after Gorteria was formed was elected. This president was very just to his American citizens, but anyone who identified as Gorterian was discriminated against by the president. The surviving invaders had been in the country for a long enough time that they were able to interbreed and produce a very distinguishable genotype for all Gorterians. The citizens of Gorteria found the new president racist as he limited Gorterian rights within the rest of America and his attempts to implement laws onto Gorteria that were not voted on. All of this happened under the noses of the American citizens, who started to believe that the propaganda being spread by the Gorterians was jealousy and resentment at their quick defeat 32 years prior.
Unrest began to spread throughout Gorteria. They began to hate the president, coining the term "The King of Spades". The phrase came from a speech made by the president saying the he will "act as a farmer with his spade and dig new holes for the great nation". The phrase continued to stick for nearly half a century after that.
However, soon after the many anti-American protests in Gorteria became violent, the citizens of America were aware. The president now knew that he was no longer going to be able to contain his reign of terror inside Gorteria, so he did something that no one would have expected him to do. He resigned his presidency.
The vice president then took office, becoming not only the first woman to be a vice president, also the first woman to become president. She turned America and Gorteria around in less than two years after she took office. The two were again on friendly terms, until Gorteria decided to want to elect a president of their own, someone who could run Gorteria the way they wanted it to be run.
Naturally, the President of America said no, as that would set them off as too much of an independent country rather than just a state. Gorteria was furious with her decision. They were becoming very power-hungry, and wanted to be able to be the rulers of the continent of North America.
Tensions began to rise between Gorteria and America, and the anti-American protests began again. This time, they were much larger and more violent and destructive. They had sound reasonings to be mad at America the first time, but the second wave of anger was nothing more than Gorteria complaining about an unsatisfied hunger for power.
Then, in the year 2060, the first female president of the United States of America was assassinated in her final year in the presidency. A radical group of pro-Gorterian independence took immediate responsibility for the assassination, and America took the attack as an act of war. The Gorterian citizens took it as a mark to start the revolution they had been planning since the time of the tyrannous King of Spades.
With the country of America in a state of confusion, Gorterian rebels took their opportunity to advance from Gorteria and into America. The rebels quickly took the much of the Great Lakes region of the country, including cities in Ohio and Michigan such as Toledo, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Rockford. America couldn't fight back until they had steady footing under a new president. Once that task was accomplished and American resistance began to fight back against the Gorterian rebels, there was one man, the captain of a platoon of soldiers, stood out among the brave, strong-willed, determined soldiers to walk among the ranks of American resistance. This man's name was Frank Marso.
Frank Marso stands in a circle around his group of men. These men are about to embark on the single most important mission in the war. They had to recapture Toledo, Ohio from the rebellious state of Gorteria. Toledo had its busy airports, highways that span coast to coast, and the great Lake Erie, which made the city a very important city to take. It would give America the strength on the sea that it needs to conquer Gorterian rebels off the east coast, it would give a supply line to defending American soldiers on all corners of the nation, and it would give America a strong hold in the heart of America. While Toledo isn't the largest city in America, it is likely the most important city to take. Frank Marso and his men were going on a mission that would surely win it for America, and win America the war that has been ravaging the country for five years. However, if they were not able to take the city, America would surely have to surrender.
"My friends," he says quietly but boldly. "As you are aware, we are about to set off on the single most significant battle in any American war, ever. With the recapturing of the city of Toledo, we will surely gain the upper hand in the war and no doubt, we will win.
"You must remember, however, that the men that you will be fighting against are not simply a ragtag militia that planned a rebellion in a year. This is something that they have been working for ever since they lost the initial war 50 years ago. They are trained fighters, and they kill before they capture prisoners. Anyone who does not wish to go through with this, please step away now." After a pause, a pause in which not a single man made an implication of a desire to step back, Frank began speaking again. "You are all good men. You can take the city, and win the war. Now turn to the man next to you, and do our handshake. The one I told you about, that my wife and I do." Another pause while all the men turned to their left or right, slapped the man next to them's hand saying "U", then hitting their fist saying "S", then embracing in a quick hug saying "A". To no one's knowledge, this would be the last time that anyone in this platoon would do this hand shake.
"Now that we're ready to go," Frank concluded, "let's kick it, bitches!" With a smile and a wink, Frank set out with himself and his twenty three men. Men that would go down in history.