About two weeks had passed since the Liberty Lurkers had joined the ranks of Ottawa's fighters. In the parking lot of Ottawa Township High School, new volunteers for the Army of Ottawa were lined up to enlist. H and Daniel walked along the lines of new recruits as Roland and Albert of the newly formed "Ottawan Old Guard", formerly known as the Liberty Lurkers, took their measurements, issued uniforms, and lined up new recruits. Daniel and H stopped in front of the room of new recruits, and H gave Daniel the reins.
"Look to your left and right. Standing at attention beside your lines are New Ottawan Empire soldiers, pilots, sailors and marines. TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THEM!" Shouted Daniel, looking out at the new soft faces of these recruits.
"This is what success looks like! You have all chosen the path of success. In a few long, grueling weeks, you too will march like they do, fight like they do. You will become members of the newest division of the New Ottawan Army, the 451st Fire-Reavers. Failure isn't an option here, and should you want to quit, I shall hold the doors open! The New Ottawan Coalition is always in need of skilled laborers!" Said Daniel pausing only for a moment to take a sip of water. "When I dismiss you, you will report outside where the Sergeant of New Trainees will lead you on a mile run! Once you have completed that, Albert here, will show you to your new barracks! The Ghost of Ottawa is counting on you, all of you! DISMISSED!"
As the trainees left the room, Dr. Sue made her way inside to the two of them.
"Dr. Sue, to what do we owe this visit?" Asked H.
"Aside from the inspiring speech, I have something I wanted to show both of you."
"We'll follow you!"
H and Daniel exit the Firehouse and hop in a World War Two era Jeep. They follow Dr. Sue's car to Libbey-Owens-Ford Production Plant. Inside, Dr. Sue leads them into her testing area. There, the Ghost of Ottawa was piloting a new type of armor her and her team had created.
"Dr. Sue, what is that?"
"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to one of five-hundred suits of Ottawan-Infantry-Powered-Combat-Suit Mark IV or OIPCS-IV. The Ghost helped test out the first three prototypes but this mark four is by far the best powered armor my team and I have created. The titanium shell is bulletproof up to 6.5 Creedmoor in caliber, and has far better hydraulics than that of the Ottawa Powered Combat Armor Mark II."
"This will be Infantry issued?" Asked H to Dr. Sue.
"Yes it will, however, you need to send me candidates for the first five-hundred suits of armor. Thanks to the Overlord's efforts, we are getting several huge shipments of titanium, steel and copper. We'll have more suits operational, but that'll take time."
"Five-hundred is still very impressive. I'd say congratulations are in order." Said Daniel looking over the suit of armor.
Before anyone else could go on, the Ghost of Ottawa interrupted them, stating the Key Council was having another meeting and they were all needed the right way. Dr. Sue hopped into H's Jeep and the three headed to the Lasalle County Courthouse.
Once everyone had arrived, it became clear that something big was going on. As they all took their seats, Archie and Intelligence Officer B.Marshall took the floor.
"Alright, let's settle down." Began Archie. "Some of you questioned during Operation Liberty Rescue why we haven't seen much of the New World Order presence. Officer Marshall, turn out the lights and turn on the projector."
As Officer Marshall turned out the lights and flipped the overhead-projector on, a map of the United States Faction Divisional Borders, or USDB, appeared on the whiteboard.
"As of two hours ago, the Intelligence Agency of Ottawa gathered the following information." Said Archie, grabbing a few different colored markers to outline the territories of the US.
"Currently, the N.O.C occupies the Plains and Midwest and I have outlined us in green. Now, from what the I.A has gathered, there are several regions of interest to us that are in the midst of battle. Those battlegrounds are shaded in with orange. Moving on, the A.T.D or Appalachian Territorial Dominion, which is outlined on the map in blue, has been fighting the New World Order in the states of New York, Washington D.C, both of the Carolinas and Virginia. Now, the Intelligence Agency has also broken through encrypted radio signals out of the C.T.R or Confederation of the Texan Republic, whose territory is outlined in red. From what they gathered, a massive hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico has halted any further attempted invasion, but the C.T.R is apparently concerned about one, us, and two, the Western Commune of States. Apparently, the W.C.S has gone radio silent for about a week now, and no conflicts have been reported nor any regular reports have made their way out of there." Concluded Archie with a nod to Marshall to turn on the lights.
Once the lights were back on, Archie took his seat and let the council have a moment to think things over. After the moment passed, the Ghost spoke up.
"If the Western Commune of States is lost, that puts the Great Plains States at risk of invasion. Furthermore, if the Confederation is worried about us, maybe it is time we open up with some of the good ole fashioned midwestern hospitality. Thoughts on reaching out to them?"
Marshall raised his hand and the Ghost passed the conversation lead to him. "We have tried reaching out to the Texans, however, the range of the WMCY broadcasting tower is limited. We can receive a wide range of incoming channels, just now broadcast that far outwards sir."
The room burst into murmurs for a moment before Barbara spoke up. "Well, if we can't reach them by standard communication means, what's the next way of getting ahold of someone?" she said, looking at the Ghost.
"Simple." Started the Ghost, "We knock on their front door the old fashioned way."
The room seemed to be in agreement on this when a soldier came in and handed a file to Marshall, who handed the file to the Ghost. He looked over the documents then cleared his throat.
"Everyone, it has just come to my attention that the game has just in fact changed. Please get in a vehicle and head to Skydive Chicago."
The scrapping and shuffling of chairs ended quickly as the Key Council rushed over to the Skydive Chicago Airfield. Once they'd arrived, there were three things that immediately stuck out. There were three F-117 Nighthawks taxiing towards the hangar all bearing C.T.R markings, and the maintenance crews were putting the finishing touches on something under several tarps in the hangar.
As the F-117's powered down, and crews rushed out with airstairs, the Ghost and a few other soldiers drew their weapons on the Texans.
"Woah now, we've come here seeking diplomacy in the name of the Confederation of the Texan Empire."
"Y'all got names and clearance codes?" Asked Officer Marshall, still holding a bead on the pilot's head.
"Yes, we radioed in once we were in range. I'm George, on my left is Envoy II, also known as Jake, and over at her aircraft, awaiting confirmation from me, is Envoy III Emmalynn Jo."
"You said awaiting confirmation? Confirmation of what?" Asked the Ghost sternly.
"President Keith of the Confederation is onboard a jet circling about ten-miles out. We need to know this place is secured before allowing him to land."
With a nod, Daniel orders the Old Guard into action, sweeping the airfield and bringing up a Striker for President Keith's arrival. As the Learjet 45 lined up with runway two, the Ghost fixed the collar of his coveralls and readjusted his mask. As the plane touched down, he ordered Officer Marshall to get photographic confirmation that President Keith was indeed here in the flesh.
As the Ghost stepped onto the envelope to greet President Keith, he knew this meeting would alter the course of Ottawa and of how the war could or would play out in the future. As the jet door opened, the Ghost stood at the bottom.
"Hello President Keith of the C.T.R, Welcome to Skydive Chicago."