Molon Labe! (75 page)

"
Sir?
" asks Chief of Staff Sowers, his eyebrows raised. "That hasn't been resorted to since the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion."

Connor flashes a leer of triumph. "It
worked
though, didn't it?"

Casper, Wyoming

19 April 2020

Hanna Preston loved studying the American Revolution as a girl and knew all the battles and personalities by heart. She considered the shots fired on Lexington Green the true birth of the nation, not the 4th of July. So, nobody was surprised when she expressed her fervent desire to be married 245 years to the day after the events on Battle Road. It was also a tribute to a man her father deeply admired, who fell for his country three years ago.

There was still the arrest warrant for Preston, and Hanna was worried that the feds would see her wedding day as the perfect opportunity to serve it. Preston assured his daughter that the Justice Department would not be so telegenically stupid as to raid a wedding party and prove to America what brutes they were. Hanna was sufficiently comforted by this.

The ceremony was a large though simple affair, conducted on the family ranch by the riverbank. The theme was Western, and Hanna's beautiful 1890s style dress handmade by Juliette drew gasps from the crowd. Six-shooters were all but required of the male guests. The wedding vows, written by Michael and Hanna Poole brought tears to all. After the reception, the bride and groom quite literally rode off on horseback into the sunset for a mountain cabin wedding night. Nobody thought it corny.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

US Army Special Ops Command HQ

19 April 2020

On the southeastern side of the sprawling army base is a multi-story red brick fortress. It houses SOCOM and the Special Forces Command (SFC). Computer-controlled turnstiles and armed guards keep unwanted people out, assuming they survived the trek across 200yds of blazing hot parking lot.

SFC has over 10,000 personnel under its worldwide command, though with only 120 staff members. SFC is lean and no-B.S. It has been quite busy since March. As Special Forces are usually deployed overseas, CONUS
¹
ops are rare. Especially ones as large as this. If the planning staff have any reservations about tasking troops against civilians, they don't speak of it. Orders came down from the top, and they do their jobs as military professionals.

D-Day for Operation Defend Constitution is Tuesday, 11 August.

A low whistle is heard from a Master Sergeant known as one of the best military historians of the SFC. "Is anyone aware of what happened on that date?" he asks the room.

After several moments of furrowed brows, he answers his own question. "The final day of the battle of Thermopylae, 480 BC. When the Persians killed King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.
Exactly
2,500 years ago."

While nobody says anything to this, their countenances are grim. Random poignant glances can be caught if one is alert.

Cheyenne, Wyoming

April 2020

"Sir, one of our people at Camp Guernsey just heard something weird from a buddy down at Fort Carson in Colorado."

Governor Preston reads the brief in just seconds. "I don't like the sound of this, Tom. It confirms some other rumors I've been hearing from the Corps network. I'm going to give you some contact names out East. Here's what I want you to — "

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

US Army Special Ops Command HQ

May 2020

General Adison reviews the final version of Operation Defend Constitution, and grunts. "Well done, Colonel. Prepare a draft for the President."

Wyoming

Thursday, 14 May 2020

On his weekly radio show, Governor Preston occasionally likes to mention his favorite bumper sticker seen recently. They are always funny or piquant, or both. The Wyoming militiamen, however, understand that the one liners are codes ordering some level of preparedness. Preston hasn't spoken one in many months, so when his show opened with a teaser for the rare segment, tens of thousands of men across the state listened with rapt attention.

About mid-through the two-hour show, just before a commercial break, Governor Preston says, "And now time for the best bumper sticker I've seen lately. You'll love this one, folks. Humpty Dumpty was pushed."

Faces tightened all across Wyoming. It was the most serious alert yet given. It meant "Action likely within 90 days." The militiamen protocol was clear. Rezeroing of rifles. Range practice of 1,000rds per month. Heightened training of team tactics. Physical fitness levels increased by 10%. Resolution of all important personal and family business. Verify six-month supply of foodstuffs and necessary goods. Confirm 100 gallons of extra fuel for every vehicle. Review retreat codes and destinations. Revisit cache sites.

Humpty Dumpty was pushed.

Prepare for war.

The Oval Office

Wednesday, 17 June 2020

President Connor has not spoken with James Preston since their first meeting in January 2015 at the Governors' Conference. Neither felt any affinity for the other, but matters had come to a head. Connor would rather avoid the national publicity of domestic military action, but that required the cooperation of Preston, his staff, and much of Wyoming. Such was unlikely.

Connor has a call placed to Preston. Without preamble he says, "Governor Preston, you have exhausted the Government's patience and restraint."

"Actually, Mr. President, it's the other way around," Preston says evenly, "but I take your point."

Momentarily derailed by Preston's carefree resolve, Connor continues, "Sir, you have evaded being placed in federal custody, and you have conspired with others in your administration to violate numerous federal laws. You have fomented in Wyoming an armed insurrection against the lawful and constitutional order."

"I and most of my fellow Wyomingites wholeheartedly disagree, sir. It is the
Government
which has broken its solemn pact with America. Since you brought up the Constitution, please explain to me how your administration, or any other, has guaranteed the States under Article 4, Section 4 a
republican
form of government. When has our supposed agency, the Federal Government, abided by the letter of the 2nd Amendment or the spirit of the 10th? What we now have is a
national
form of government, which was not the expressed object of the Constitution. Our Bill of Rights is in tatters, and we in Wyoming will no longer stand for it."

President Connor is gripping the phone so hard his knuckles are white. With extreme effort he manages not to lose his temper. "Governor, you are speaking of legal issues which can be decided only by the courts."

Preston chuckles. "You mean the
federal
courts, don't you? Federal institutions arbiting federal authority. Speed freaks managing the pharmacy. Everyone sees through the façade by now, Mr. President. The game is over."

Connor takes a laborious breath and says, "Governor, I'm not going to argue the Constitution with you. Wyoming is in a state of insurrection, and I am empowered to suppress it with federal troops. Now, I will give you one last chance. We know that your militiamen have stepped up their training in anticipation of armed rebellion. For the sake of your people and of our nation, do not continue down this road to a civil war which you cannot win. Governor, you must instruct your citizens to lay down their arms."

"
Molôn labé!
"

With that, the line goes dead.

The phone still in his hand, President Connor turns to the room with a befuddled expression. He evidently does not know his Greek history.

National Security Advisor Bruner does know. He explains, "Sir, it's from a battle in 480 BC. Thermopylae was a suicidal holding action at a mountain pass to delay the Persians until the Greek navy could mobilize. Even though the Spartans were wiped out, their sacrifice rallied the Greeks to later prevail with renewed vigor. Xerxes abandoned his conquest of Greece, thus preserving the cradle of Western civilization and saving Europe."

Connor smirks. "So, Preston fancies himself the head of some modern-day Sparta? Saving America from the federal hordes, eh?"

Bruner replies, "He probably
does
imagine a vague parallel, yes, sir."

The President begins to pace next to his desk, which was always a sign of anger. "Well, what does 'mo-lawn lah-bay' mean?"

Bruner coughs. "The phrase means 'come and take them.'"

Connor frowns. "Come and
take
them?"

"Yes, sir. Their guns. If you
can.
It's a challenge not a surrender."

Connor stops pacing. The change on his face terrifies all present. It was later described as
"an icy, demonic calm."

The President nods his head grimly and says, "A challenge, eh? Fine. Challenge accepted."

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Thursday, 18 June 2020

"And now, for my latest favorite bumper sticker," announces Preston over the air. "He who laughs last thinks slowest."

Action likely within 60 days.

Fort Carson, Colorado

July 2020

A team from the SFC at Bragg arrives to brief commanders of the 10th Special Forces Group. Their Second Battalion would be instrumental in next month's operation.

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Thursday, 16 July 2020

"Oh, I saw a really good one in traffic yesterday," says Preston over the microphone.

He can imagine all of Wyoming waiting, breathlessly. At times he was amazed that the feds hadn't cracked the code, but then he calms himself with the assurance that militiamen knots consist of men who have known each other for years. Many have been friends since childhood. Newcomers were not automatically part of the inner cadre. They had to be invited, and that only happened after months of training, observation, and background checks.

Several FBI and ATF agents had been discovered posing as bona fide libertarian gun owners in order to infiltrate the militia. Preston's nickname for them was "mushrooms." Kept in the dark and fed shit. Often they were sent to separate and distant training missions in the grasslands.

Preston blinks his eyes and clears his head. "Yeah, I really laughed when I saw this one," he chuckles. "Ask me about my vow of silence."

Action likely within 30 days.

Denver, Colorado

August 2020

The mayor of the Mile High City shakes hands all around. "Thank you for coming, gentlemen. I assure you Denver's complete cooperation. It's about time the President took action up there. We've been losing many of our productive citizens to Wyoming for years. Businesses, too."

A US Army brigadier general nods. "We completely understand, Mr. Mayor. We appreciate your part in restoring constitutional order to the West."

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Thursday, 6 August 2020

"The word 'gullible' is not in the dictionary," Preston says over the air.

Action likely within 7 days.

A nation preserved with liberty trampled underfoot is much worse than a nation in fragments but with the spirit of liberty still alive.

— Private John H. Haley, 7th Maine Regiment (1860s)

The Oval Office

Monday morning, 10 August 2020

"Sir, I have Major General Adison of Special Forces Command on secure video link from Fort Bragg."

Connor nods firmly at the image of his SFC two-star. "Good morning, General Adison. What is the status of Operation Defend Constitution?"

"On schedule, Mr. President. H-Hour is 0545 MST tomorrow. Delta is handling the Cheyenne DA
²
. For OPSEC
³
we will use Fort Collins, Colorado as FOB
⁴
versus any Wyoming base. Delta will helo infil by MH-6N Little Birds courtesy of 160th SOAR, supported by 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group ODAs
⁵
in MH-60G Pave Hawks from the Colorado ANG.