ALL NOVEL Chapter 78 – Protests
0733 May 16th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
Ronell threw the President’s Daily Brief on the table after reading through it. “Why am I being told that people are organizing protests against the war?”
“There seem to be people who really like elves and see it as something like their fantasy dream come true. So they can’t bear seeing elves getting killed.”
“Weird. But it shouldn’t cause protest movements that number in the hundreds in some places.”
“There are also some who are sympathetic to the elves and pity them. We even have people complaining about our technological advantage over them and how it's not fair. There have even been comparisons to Europeans and Native Americans.”
Ronell stayed silent for a bit before taking a deep breath. “They are fucking Nazis. They literally want to wipe out and enslave all of humanity.”
“There are people who are calling it fake news and propaganda.”
“You know, sometimes, I lose hope in humanity. And this is one of the times.”
1022 May 16th, 2020 CE
1322 May 16th, 2020 CE
San Francisco, United States of America
“There is currently a major protest ongoing in San Francisco. You can see it right now behind me. A few hundred people are marching in protest of the current war against the elves..”
On the screen, a news reporter can be shown with people crowding the streets behind him. Signs that say “Save the Elves”, “Stop Killing Elves!”, “Stop Massacring the Natives!”, and “Pull Out Now” can be seen among the crowd. A couple of people held megaphones and shouted their messages.
The news reporter got the attention of one of the protesters. “Sir. I’m with Channel 29 News. May I ask why you are protesting the war against the elves?” He pressed the microphone towards the protester.
“I’m sick and tired of the government getting us into one war after another.”
“What do you think about the reports and evidence that indicate that the elves have massacred and enslaved native humans?”
The protester started to look agitated. “That’s clearly propaganda by the government. Don’t you see? The government does this every time it wants people to support their stupid war! WMDs for Iraq. 9/11 for Afghanistan. Now, these made-up massacre stories for the elves. Fake! All fake! The people are sheep! They have to wake up!”
“So you don’t believe that 9/11 happened?”
“No. Of course, it did. It was an inside job. The government did it themselves in order to get us into a war to get oil.”
Another protester came by and overheard the last few bits of the conversation. “That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard.”
“Oh. Are you one of them government collaborators? Must be a spy. Hey guys! This girl is a government spy!”
Looking offended, the girl replied. “I’m here protesting this war just like you.”
The news reporter instantly turned his attention to her. “And what are your thoughts on this?”
“Oh. I’m a pacifist. This is just like what happened between the Europeans and Native Americans. I want to prevent a repeat of that. We can negotiate with the elves to find a peaceful solution to our problems. Warfare isn’t the solution to everything.”
“You have heard of reports of elves enslaving the native humans, correct? There have been comparisons of the actions of the elves to Nazis.”
“I think the elves and us humans have gotten off of the wrong foot here. We have shown the elves our technological superiority and pushed them out of the Magus. The war should be over by now. I don’t believe we need to actually invade the elves’ homeland. We can coexist. We just need to talk it out with each other. It was the perfect opportunity to do so when the elves retreated back to their homeland. I fear it is a bit too late now though.”
“Thank you for your comments.” The reporter turned to the camera. “Although folks here seem to have a wide range of opinions. They all agree on the fact that the war should end...”
1520 May 15th, 2020 CE
1040 Sun 45th, 196 AE
Port City of Filanneas
On the road was the flaming wreck of an AH-1Z. Surprisingly, it was still somewhat intact. The rotor blades and tail boom were completely gone but the front suffered only a few crumples. Marines started showing up. One of the Marines got near the cockpit that had both the copilot and pilot in it. “The pilot is still alive!”
“Get him out of there. Good thing he crashed within friendly territory. Now quickly, I don’t like these flames.” The commanding Marine turned his head. “We need a medic here!”
Further in the city
Renout cowered in his room as a large number of gunshots rang out very close by. Flashes of light could be seen through his window. He peered through the windows to barely see weirdly dressed beings in the darkness. They had strange things covering their eyes. One of them instantly noticed him and raised their gun at him. Renout shot his hands up. “Don’t shoot! I’m human!”
Renout hoped his words could save him and that those strange beings were human too. The beings lowered their guns and approached him. “Human?”
The strange being checked out his ears as Renout quickly nodded. The strange being kindly smiled. “We are here to help.”
The battle raged through the night and US forces made significant gains in the city. With the expectation of a few left behind, almost all the elves were civilians. There were veterans but there was nobody to coordinate or lead them. They had no ability to launch a counterattack or to organize a steadfast defense. However, they defended every single street and many fought to the bitter end. Every few yards, the US forces met heavy resistance. However, any defenses that the infantry couldn’t get through were cleared with precision strikes from the sky. The elves were completely unprepared for a night battle and were caught off guard on how well the Americans were able to fight in the night.
0044 May 16th, 2020 CE
0322 Sun 46th, 196 AE
By morning, the infantry could nearly see the port from the streets.
Blake looked at Finn. “Fucking hell. We are nearly there. This took much less than what you said it would take.”
Someone further away shouted. “They are surrendering!”
A group of ten elves slowly walked towards them with their hands in the air. It was the largest amount of elves that had surrendered together. Blake, Finn, and the others kept their guns ready. “Drop all of your weapons!”
Rifles, pistols, and grenades clattered onto the floor. A soldier closed in on the elves. “Stay calm and do not resist. You will be searched.”
Finn relaxed. He was quite glad that the language barrier here wasn't that bad when compared to Afghanistan. Latin wasn't really a hard language to learn. Over 60% of English words are Latin-based. Quite a few of the soldiers had picked Latin as a second language during their high school years so they were fast to pick it up too.
Twenty minutes later
Fighting still continued as they moved ever closer to the port. Blake witnessed more and more elves surrendering. Finn looked over a corner. “Seems like we got a few more surrendering.”
A group of elves walked towards them with their hands in the air. One of the elves threw something at their feet.
“Grenade! Get down.”
“Motherfucker!”
Blake dived to the ground. An explosion rocked his world. Getting up and dusting himself off, Blake took a look at where the elves were. Body parts and a pool of red blood were all that was left of the four elves.
Blake shook his head. “Fucking hell. Good thing Curtis isn’t here. He won’t like the sight of this.”
“They are fucking suicide bombing.”
Finn looked around. “Everybody fine?"
“All good!”
“Well good thing they suck at suicide bombing.”
Finn took a swig from his canteen. He leaned beside a crate. Black smoke billowed into the sky from the city. “Finally. It’s mostly over.”
Blake sat down on the gray concrete of the port. “Where has Curtis been anyways.”
“I think in the rear. He might get discharged for mental health issues. He really didn’t take this well.”
“I do hope he’s fine.”
Two MV-22 Ospreys came over the horizon and got closer and closer. They started landing onto the ground outside of the city. Grass billowed as the powerful rotor created gusts of wind. The Magusian civilians, freed from their slavery were led towards the Opsreys. They formed a line behind the opened backdoors of the Ospreys. The Magusians murmured amongst themselves while looking at the strange aircraft. One of the Magusians, Frery Raoulet, eyed the strange aircraft with a sparkle in his eyes. “Interesting. Two propellers on the wings. And they can fold up and down…”
An American soldier shouted to them at the door of the Osprey. “Let’s go. Let’s go. Get on and make yourself comfortable. We are bringing y’all back home.”
Renout sat down on a seat in the weird aircraft. He heaved a sigh of relief and couldn’t even believe all this had happened. It felt akin to a dream. He hoped that his parents and sister were okay.
1534 May 16th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
One of Ronell’s senior advisors for the 2020 elections, Felipe Tiffany, entered the Oval Office. Ronell looked up. “Ah, Felipe, how can I help you?”
Felipe had a concerned look on his face. “A new third party just formed Mr.President.”
“Hm?”
“They call themselves the ‘Peace Party’”
Ronell sighed. “Lemme guess. They oppose the current war against the elves?”
“Well, in addition to that, their website states that they are angry and shocked at the number of wars we have started only two years after appearing in the new world. Mr.President. To be truthful, I do also find it uncomfortable. We have been fighting so many wars.”
“Well, we have to find a place in this world. It had been quite hostile to us. Anyways, it’s only a third party. Shouldn’t be that concerning.”
“True but it has gained some popularity. Even though not large enough to be a concern yet. We will have to keep an eye on them.”
Ronell frowned. “How am I doing in the primaries for my party? Still in the lead?”
“You are nearly guaranteed to be the candidate.”
“Who’s in the lead for the other party right now? Still Mack Snyder?”
“Yes. He probably will be the candidate for the opposing party as predicted.”
“Has he said anything about his policy on wars?”
“Not yet. He’s probably still gauging which position would benefit him.”
“Well, I’m already this deep in. Our position is that we will fight wars when we have to.”
Felipe nodded. “That’s basically what most of us have decided too.”
“How’re the polls? What are they predicting right now?”
“It’s gonna be a close race, sir.”
“Just like four years ago I guess.”