Lt. Col. Daniel F. Hunter: Rebuilding The Country

Chap.3 "From The Rocky Mountains to the Ozark Plateau"

We finally departed on a convoy through of what was originally the State of Utah, It was still a bumpy ride through the now desolate capital of Salt Lake City. There was still Combine resistance in the areas surrounding both Hurricane and Salt Lake City, After Utah, I finally decided that we needed to head into Denver. We were all headed East on I-70, While on the way to Denver we all began to sing a familiar patriotic song that was a version of the "Army Goes Rolling Along". This song was called "The Conscripts Go Rolling Along" it was named after Captain Vances army of Conscripts that helped the Legion, The tune of the song is sung to the words written by Vance himself for patriotism.

Dialogue: "The Conscripts Go Rolling Along"

Over Hill, Over Dale
We will hit the bloody trail
And the Conscripts Go Rolling along,

Counter March, Right a bout,
Here those wagon soldiers cheer
and the Conscripts Go Rolling along,

For its high high he,
For humanity, Count your numbers loud and strong
For wherever we go, You will always know that
The Conscripts Go Rolling Along.

After singing that same patriotic tune, I am proud to be American and fought for this country. Starbanner, Kirk, and Johnson who were with me and the whole 555th Battalion had the best time singing and drinking, But, We still all had to remain vigilant. I always wanted to see my men happy and enjoying life to the fullest but I still wanted to keep a greater strict watch on everything, But back to reality, We were nearing the Town of Grand Junction. The town was said to be not occupied but the citizens were the only military force there, Even the National Guard of Colorado were waiting for my return.

It was in the early morning hours when the military truck started to honk the horn in a victorious way signaling the whole town that the Military have arrived, It was almost like a "Triage At Dawn" type feeling once we entered into Main Street where everyone was waving the flag. As I got off the truck in order to rest at one of the diners, As we entered the diner, It was filled with people sleeping but that is not what scarred me the most. The thing that scarred me the most is Combine forces invading, We were all hungry than ever and wanted to get something to eat. I let the whole battalion ordered of what they wanted to eat, I had breakfast while some had lunch and dinner real late. Upon me drinking my coffee, I did have to admit that I slept over three hours but I needed a little pick me up, I started to read the newspaper which was last released during the Seven Hours War, I red it because I wanted to see what they were printing during the war.

When I lowered down my newspaper while drinking my coffee, I notice a door to the kitchen was open where a lighting effect from TV was on in there. In that kitchen, I saw two silhouettes of one person talking to a very familiar silhouette. I pointed to the kitchen to which everyone looked at the silhouette, I told a Conscript to take a look of who that particular shadow man is. When the shadow looked almost at us, It then went off the right and just vanished. I knew for a fact that we were all being watched by unforeseen forces who's control is beyond recognition, I went to the kitchen and saw the person just going about his Daley business. I started to ask and outright question the person who was in his mid 50s, I told him what did you see. He said that it was a middle-aged man with a two piece business suit who said he was looking for a Dr. Freeman, This response sent a shiver down my spine and made my skin crawl. I began to give orders to seal the building off due to the infamous traitor of the country being in the vicinity, Everyone was now on high alert.

An investigation was intact for around a little over an hour but concluding that whoever that was was now unofficially gone or not, We now decided to head for the "Mile High" city of Denver. As you may all know, Denver, Was the last official capital of the Independent Commonwealth of Free America. The last time I was there, Things did not go according to plan, The Battle of Denver was if not the most gruesome battle ever fought. That battle only last a good forty to forty-five minutes. I got a call from a AC-130 Gunship nicknamed "The Horseman of Punishment" saying that Denver is engulfed of what was left of the 77th "Rolling Thunder" Infantry Division fending off of what was the 14th Overwatch Battalion, I told them to shoot but give them and option to surrender. The combine 14th division gave up in less than a nano second, Once the tanks of the 1st "Old Ironsides" Armored Division had rolled in, They saw wounded combine soldiers and humans.

When we came in, I told medics to assist in the wounded regardless if they were enemy or not. The Combine Commander who gone by the name of Winston had surrender but had said that some mindless maniac had caused the final battle to happen, saying that he was more of a weasel than a trustworthy person, I told him that "Man" that he spoke of has cost us so much that I will find him some day and bring him to justice. There was no telling now that G-man is still on the loose causing much trouble, Once we left, We decided to head through Kansas and make our way to the Ozark Plateau. I hoped both the Missourian and Kansas National Guards were doing their best against against any group or some remnant of combine outcasts. Xen creatures patrolled the outskirts of Kansas City which was only a half a click north of our position, I told the AC-130 to be on guard at all times.

The main idea of why we were going through the Plateau was due to the subtropical climate that would be good for ambushes incase if remnants were around, The marshes and bayous that surrounded the area were great for crops and farming. There were forests and usual plain like regions that stretched for miles around, I knew for a fact that D.C. itself was not far off but only two states away. We decided to head to Henderson and rest up due to the long drive.