Sims

Commander Sims walked down a long corridor with a stern look on his face. The glow from his phone danced on his face as he analyzed several maps and charts. Soon, he reached the end of the corridor and stood on a square mat. After stating his name, a series of red, yellow, and blue lights began to scan him. Once his identity was confirmed, a door opened in front of him and he walked into the meeting room.

Sims found his seat and began to look around the large room. There were several high-ranking members of the New Ranger Order attending this meeting. They had gathered to plot out their next course of action. The nation was at war and the New Ranger Order had just suffered a terrible defeat

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time to get down to business,” Governor Avery announced from his podium. “As you are all aware, we have lost Missouri to the East Coast Union. Our western territory is safe for now, but the ECU now has a foothold and can launch an attack deep into our lands. We need to address this threat immediately.”

“Let ‘em have Missouri,” shouted Commander Goodnight from his seat towards the far end of the table. “There aint much worth fighting for there anyway. I for one do not see a reason to launch a counter attack.”

“What about Fort Perot,” High Priest Tilton asked in a raspy voice. “Fort Perot is within striking distance of Missouri’s western border. If we lose Perot, we will lose the head of The Son.”

The room then went into an uproar. People were shouting and screaming at the thought of losing the fort. A couple of prominent officers even began to cry. The thought was just too much.

“Texans, Texans! We must have order,” Governor Avery called out in an attempt to settle the room. It took several minutes, but the room finally calmed down enough to let the discussions continue.

“Those rotten ECU bastards! No wonder they went after Missouri,” grumbled Captain Haley. “They want the head of Saint Bush. They know we can’t win without it. We have to protect it at all costs. Do you remember what happened when we lost the Shroud of Tyler?”

“Yeah, they launched Brimstone Missiles at Las Vegas,” answered Governor Avery as he pounded the podium with his fists.

“Exactly,” Haley continued. “I say we commit full force to defending Fort Perot.”

“But won’t that leave us vulnerable to an invasion,” Commander Sims then asked. He was a pragmatic man with a good mind for strategy. Needless to say, he was slightly shocked that the leaders were willing to risk an invasion to protect a head.

“Come on boy! This is Texas!” Commander Goodnight yelled out. “Aint nobody going to be able to invade Texas!”

Governor Avery then said, “Commander Sims, you are still relatively new to the Rangers, so we will forgive you for your blasphemy this time. You see, the head of Saint Bush has been with us since the wars began. With it on our side, God has allowed us to unify much of lands west of the Mississippi. It has given us the strength to secure the oil lines from our adopted brother in the north, Alaska. I think we can all agree, the head of Saint Bush is our top priority. We will begin deploying immediately. Commander Sims, due to your excellence in the field, I am placing you in charge of the defense of For Perot. My fellow Texans, you are all dismissed.”

Within a matter of hours, Commander Sims was on his way to Fort Perot along with millions of troops and a seemingly endless supply of guns, ammunition, and vehicles. When they arrived, the residents of Fort Perot cheered wildly. They had been worried about the head of Saint Bush and were glad to see the reinforcements.

Commander Sims wasted no time in making preparations for the defense of the fort. He made sure all potential areas for attack were secured and that munitions were readily available. He then organized the supply lines and reinforced the lines of communications. Within a few days, everything was running smoothly. Now all they had to do was wait for the inevitable attack.

Several weeks passed and the attack still did not come. Satellite images showed no troop movement and field reports indicated the same. Everyone was stunned, except for Commander Sims. He never believed that they would attack the fort in the first place. Sims tried to talk the leadership out of defending the fort with so many troops, but they would have no part of it. Saint Bush’s head was too important.

Several more weeks went by and still nothing happened. By now, the troops were wondering what they were doing there, and the leaders were as well. Then one day, just when the decision was being made to pull the troops out, all lines of communications stopped and the satellite images blacked out. Reports started coming in from the field that the ECU was mobilizing. Sims sounded the alarm. This was it.

The hours crept by slowly as they all waited for the onslaught. Commander Sims stood over several screens tensely. He wanted to be ready for when the violence began. But the fighting never happened. Not a single shot was fired. After hours of waiting, reports started coming in that the ECU was withdrawing. It was wonderful news. The soldiers cheered in complete jubilation. There was no longer a need to worry. The head of Saint Bush was safe!

Commander Sims went to report the news to the leaders, but he couldn’t. The communication lines with Texas were still blocked. This concerned Sims, but he was soon caught up in the celebration. The mood at Fort Perot was ecstatic. The party lasted several days. It was a Texas party after all. Shots from pistols were fired freely into the air and shots of whiskey were downed freely into the stomachs of the victors.

It took a Texas minute, but the party finally caught up with Sims. He went into his office and passed out on his desk. The next thing he knew, there were familiar voice trying to wake him up. He opened his eyes and saw several blurry images.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” one of the blurs called out.

Sims rubbed his eyes and slowly the images grew into focus. Once he could see, Sims found himself looking at Governor Avery, Commander Goodnight, and High Priest Tilton. They were smiling and chuckling at the hungover commander.

“What are you doing here, sirs,” Sims asked painfully while clumsily trying to stand up.

“Turns out you were right,” Governor Avery answered. “The ECU took advantage of our deployment and invaded. Texas now belongs to them.”

“Oh my God!” Sims said as he squinted and swayed. “Does this mean the war is over? We lost?”

“Shoot no, Son,” Goodnight yelled. “We still have the head. We’ll just build us a new Texas right here.”

Commander Sims became nauseated. He looked at the Governor and said, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Goodnight is serious,” Governor Avery responded. “We have the head of Saint Bush and a vast majority of our forces. We can create a new Texas. One without a panhandle. I’ve always hated that thing.”

“As long as the head of Saint Bush is with us,” High Priest Tilton interjected, “God will assure our victory.”

Sims cocked his head slightly as he stared at the three men. He really wanted to believe that he was dreaming. He then stumbled out of his office and went to the upper deck. He looked out and saw people dancing and laughing. Several people wore masks of Saint Bush as they celebrated. Some even held signs proclaiming their love for New Texas. Sims couldn’t believe it. These people had just lost their homes and they were partying. It was too much for him. He dropped to his knees and started throwing up.

“That right there is a Texas-sized puke,” Commander Goodnight spouted while looking on from the office. “We could use people like that in New Texas.”

“I agree,” Governor Avery said. “But we should pray to Saint Walker, just to be sure.”