The seagulls hovering around the ship squawked as Captain Howard walked along the flight deck with the rest of the crew. All eyes were on the ground, searching for any foreign debris that could damage the jets during takeoff. With the force and speed with which the jets accelerated during takeoff, even the smallest object could cause problems.
Once the inspection of the runway was over, Captain Howard made his way back over to the flag bridge. As he made his way up the steps, he looked south to what was left of the Mexican warships. It’d been quiet since their attack, and Captain Ford had debriefed him earlier in the day about a possible treaty that was being worked on.
Howard felt that something was off. Yes, they’d managed to beat the Mexican navy back to the coast of the Baja Peninsula, but their army still had inroads in Arizona and New Mexico. And if Gallo was bold enough to attack the Texas border like he had, Howard had a hard time believing he would give up just like that.
The attack on Texas wasn’t a strategic one, it was a battle of passion. Texas represented something to Gallo, and until he got it, Howard knew the fight was far from over.
“Officer on deck!” Sergeant Pint announced.
“At ease, gentlemen,” Howard replied. “Any new movement out there?”
“No, sir. We haven’t picked anything up on our radar, and our scouts have confirmed that most of the Mexican warships are still stationed in their ports on the peninsula.”
“Good. Where are we with our repairs?”
“Sir, before we go over that, I was hoping I could speak with you privately.”
“Of course, Sergeant. We can use my quarters.”
The captain’s office was large by aircraft carrier standards but still small compared to a normal room. Howard took a seat, but Pint remained standing.
“You can sit down, Sergeant,” Howard said.
“Thank you, sir.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Sir, once our communications were operational again, the first call I made was to my wife.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes, sir. It’s nothing like that. She’s fine. But I was curious about what’s happening back home. There’s a lot of politics in the news.”
“Congress declared war. There’s bound to be a few news articles about it.”
“It’s not just that, sir. There seems to be growing support for the Southwest. People are talking. There’s a debate happening tomorrow about what’s been going on.”
“What’s your point, sergeant?”
“I guess I’m just trying to make sense of it, sir. Everything that those politicians have done brought this war on us. Each time there is a viable solution available to fix our problems, they shoot it down. That’s what we’ve been fighting to protect? That’s what our nation has come to?”
“Our job is not to make or interpret the laws, Sergeant. We just protect the citizens that they impact.”
“I know, sir. But I think that when the debate is scheduled, we should have our men watch it. They deserve to know and see what they’re fighting for and who they’re trying to protect.”
“I see.”
“I understand the need to remain neutral in situations like this, but—”
“Sergeant,” Howard interrupted, holding his hand up. “The moment I was discharged before the announcement of the exile was the moment I stopped remaining neutral.”
Pint broke his usual formal composure and allowed a smile to stretch across his face.
“I think the hangar bay would provide enough room for everyone to gather for the event,” Howard said.
“I think that would work as well.”
“Go ahead and set it up, Sergeant.”
Pint saluted then exited. The clang of the door rumbled through the room as Howard was left alone. He knew Pint was right about the situation, but even so, it wasn’t one he wished he was in.
Howard knew the political factions involved in everything that was happening had more to lose than just votes. He’d been to enough fundraiser parties over the past decade to know that many of the congressmen had deep roots with big businesses. It had gotten so bad over the past few years that most of the congressmen didn’t even bother to hide it.
The actions of the men in Washington and the citizens that supported them were finally coming to a head. For years people had cried that it was just words, just pieces of paper, and that those words and pieces of paper couldn’t do anything really bad.
It was ludicrous thinking. The politicians and people that voted for them thought that their troubles were thousands of miles away in some foreign land. They thought that their military would always remain the best, even though the money that kept it running was drying up.
Yes, they were still the most powerful military might in the world, but the effects of the drought and lack of effort to fix the problems that came with it had chipped away the resources the military used to protect its country.
No longer could they ignore the problem. Now it was in their states, their cities, their homes. It was in their schools and their news. It was no longer in some far-off land. It was in their own backyard.