The Rebellion Burns Bright

Near Waukeenah, Florida, the United States of America (Occupied by the Alliance)
March 2nd, 1834

"Do you think this will work?' Corporal Chen You asked as he slightly shifted his legs in the shadows of a nearby tree.

"It's a good plan. Don't fret too much," Colonel Manjul Sherpa whispered back, "Now stay silent and wait."

The two hundred and thirty-five members of Delta Company remained in their positions in the jungle, waiting for the time to strike. Over the course of the past three months, they had lost fifteen operators due to hostile forces but they were still carrying out missions as if they were at full strength. Delta Company alone had partaken in over two dozen successful missions and caused an enormous amount of damage to the invaders during their time in Florida. Now, they were setting up for an operation to rescue captive American prisoners in the so-called "concentration camps" set up by the Alliance forces. Information about those camps trickled in slowly, but from what Corporal You and the others (the SOCOM members and the rebels) heard so far, they were horrific. The camps were made specifically to detain "unruly" Americans and force them to partake in slave labor. At first, the only information from the camps came in the forms of rumors, but after a Gurkha captured and interrogated a French officer (with the help of a few rebels that knew how to speak some French), the rumors led to investigations (scouting out the rumored campsites). The investigations turned into truths and the truths were petrifying. There were two large camps in Florida alone (that held thousands, if not tens of thousands of Americans) and the third one was being built right in front of them.

Just outside of Waukeenah, Florida. Once a thriving town filled with Seminoles, it was now an oppressed and heavily damaged settlement with hundreds of former residents already trapped inside the Waukeenah Concentration Camps. The Alliance bastards didn't even bother to finish up the tents for housing, forcing the hostages to sleep out on the dirt at night with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The conditions weren't that much better in the other camps, and it was estimated that nearly ten thousand Americans were already dead.

However, the 2nd Special Forces Gurkha Battalion needed indisputable and solid proof of the camps. It was America's words against the Alliance's words, and the federal government needed visual evidence. Something to bring the nation together to completely smash the Alliance and to brand the nations of the Alliance as barbaric, uncivilized warmongers. It was for that reason that Delta Company brought two journalists from the St. Augustine Daily along for the operation. Of course, they had a Dodsontype camera to photograph the sight of the Waukeenah Concentration Camp and the desolate Americans trapped inside the hellhole.

"Follow the plan and make sure that we sweep the camp clear of any hostiles before liberating the prisoners. And remember, do not hesitate to shoot any bastard French or Spanish soldiers on sight, unless they surrender," Colonel Sherpa announced to his troops. Right before he placed the whistle in his mouth, the colonel mumbled, "Or just shoot them all, just avoid the journalists."

Corporal You unconsciously nodded at his colonel's words as he blew the whistle. Ever since the information about the concentration camps was revealed to the unit, all the rules of war flew out the window. Naturally, the Gurkha Battalion was rather skilled in covering its track and leaving no witnesses (the few times the "revenge killings" happened, the rebels had been left out of the operation). Every single soldier of the battalion knew that if the military or the government found out, they could potentially be charged under the War Crimes Act. However, they were all in this together, and the Chinese-American was going to take this hidden "sin" to his grave. He would never betray his comrades.

And the acts they committed against the invaders instilled a fear of the Gurkha name in them. Especially after what happened to the last group that the other companies hunted down. Not to mention, all the guards that were on watch in the outer perimeter of the camp were murdered without hesitation.

Running out of the trees while hugging his rifle, the corporal screamed out the most threatening yell he could muster, "Ayo Gorkhali!"

"Ayo Gorkhali!" The rest of the group shouted as Delta Company emerged from the jungle as if they were ghosts. They only fired at the workers in the Alliance uniforms and avoided any workers that were not in uniform.

Dozens of workers fell within the first few seconds and the Gurkhas never stopped running into the camp. Once the Nepalese trained warriors were within close combat range, the soldiers on the front lines switched to their Kukri and cut down their opponents with brutal efficiency. Meanwhile, the men towards the back lines continued to fire precise shots with their rifles, cutting down any resisting uniformed soldiers and workers alike.

Corporal You was one of the soldiers on the front lines and stabbed a dark-skinned man in a bright blue uniform with his Kukri before drawing it out and swinging it towards a Spanish soldier charging at him with a bayonet. The slash from his Nepalese weapon ripped his opponent's throat opened. His third enemy parried his Kukri with his officer's sword but lasted about three rounds before he fell to the ground with a large stab wound in his leg.

"Por favor..." The man stuttered as he attempted to crawl away from the honorary Gurkha.

"No," Corporal You replied as he stabbed the man in the chest. The Spanish officer drew his last breath and collapsed onto the ground. He turned to see the enemy breaking and one of the journalists staring at him with a mixed expression, "What? He didn't say he was going to surrender. And he charged at me with a bayonet as well."

"You're right. I'll just... forget this entire scene," The journalist, a thin and young white man, replied in a Southern accent, "Could you ask some of the others to guard us while we take the pictures?"

"I'll grab a few, but we need to liberate the prisoners first. Wait, do you smell that burning?"

The man turned to see a building on fire and he rushed over to the site. He saw dozens of his comrades breaking down the front door and he pulled a nearby Gurkha that was away from the fire, "What the hell is going on?"

"The French mercenaries. A bunch of them were overseeing the construction of this camp. You know them, a bunch of kleptomaniac, power-tripping cowards. Some of them managed to escape our assault, but they set the building on fire before they left," The Gurkha growled.

"Fuck." Nothing more could be said, or needed to be said.

Sprinting towards the burning building, Corporal You assisted the others in breaking down the front doors and saving the badly charred individuals inside. Most of the captives were saved, but a few were still trapped as their jail building collapsed on itself from the fire. A dozen more died from complications from the fire.

After everything ended, the Chinese-American soldier collapsed onto the ground, consoling a weeping Caribbean American man who had lost his son from the fire. The journalists would snap a picture of the moment and within two weeks, the picture (along with dozens of other ones taken of the concentration camp and its victims) would sweep the nation.

The war was taking a dark turn.