Jack of Harts

Naval Station Norfolk suffered from the same budget cuts as all other major American bases during the Second Great Depression. Many servicemen left to go home after they stopped getting paid, spare parts orders were cancelled, and much of their equipment simply began to break down. The remaining maintenance staff of the largest military naval port in the world literally cannibalized some machines to keep others working. That is why the forces under Norfolk’s command were greatly reduced when they declared they would not follow Federal orders to attack Lexington and Fort Lee. Washington D.C. could not let that stand of course. They had to make an example of Norfolk’s commanders, and so they sent their best special forces to reclaim the base. The long and bloody fight for Norfolk is another reason that Virginians call that whole period the Second Civil War.

The Federal government did not react well to Fort Lee’s public announcement that they stood ready to stop any and all attempts to kill former Vice President Freemon and his remaining family. First they denied that any kill-orders existed. Then they ordered other military commands to kill every last soldier of the Fort Lee garrison for their mutiny against their rightful chain of command. The remaining military still under their command did not react well to those orders either. The First Fighter Wing in Langley not only refused to follow them, but then started flying active cover for both Lexington and Fort Lee. Those military and law enforcement units that followed orders quickly found themselves outgunned by those willing to block said orders. Some stepped back from the brink. Some did not.

Former Vice President Freemon and his children reappeared in Lexington, Virginia mere hours after their disappearance from Federal custody. Their feed went live on every network that would carry them, and inventive hackers pushed the signal to many networks that refused the feed. The elder Freemon could barely stand, and both he and his children wore clothing that revealed the obvious signs of long-term, systematic torture. His address to all the nation that would listen was simple. He recanted his admission of partaking in sedition, and every single named coconspirator, stating they were the result of torture. He said that he did not believe his wife was alive. He charged the government with killing her and demanded justice. He ended with a smile of broken teeth and a simple statement. “Sic semper tyrannis.” The Commonwealth of Virginia motto. “Thus always to Tyrants.”