The Rangers Are Coming (33 page)

              “And you have some kind of a demonstration planned, I suppose?”

              “Think of it as a replica of your battle without the bloodshed.”

              The big Spanish warship came into view the following morning.  It maneuvered toward the harbor of Charleston, with the hundreds of troop ships spread out across the horizon.  The Spanish General, Don Diego Estefan Ramirez, looked through his long telescope, and spotted the many white flags flying over the city.

              “It appears that the people of Charleston have no stomach for a siege.  That will make it easier to carry off their wealth,” said Ramirez with a snarling grin.  “Proceed into the harbor and we shall tie up at the wharf.”

              As the ship maneuvered to a mooring berth, Ramirez was startled to see a group of men standing on the wharf.  There was the unmistakable sight of British uniforms, with another group of men in very strange uniforms of mottled green and heavy helmets standing next to them. 

              Ramirez was confused by the contingent, seemingly waiting for him.  He called his own senior staff together, and they stepped off the ship, led by armed guards.  General Sims came forward and doffed his hat in respect.  “Good morning, General Ramirez,” said Sims, “I’m sure you are surprised to see me here to greet you.”

              “Has your army robbed my soldiers of their victory,” said Ramirez with some tone of annoyance.

              “My army has met the Americans in battle,” said Sims, “It is my duty to inform you that my entire force was all but wiped out.  We put our losses at nearly 22,000 men.  I have come here today to save your army from the same fate.”

              “What madness is this,” said Ramirez.  His officers spoke out to each other and some of them laughed.  But a British Colonel came forward and said, “General Sims, I am Colonel Howerton commander of the regiment of the Royal Black Guard.  Surely, sir, you can’t be serious.  Your force cannot have been ashore in New York for more than a few days.  How is it possible to suffer such a defeat?”

              “I will tell you the truth, Colonel,” said Sims seriously, “my entire army was demolished in a single engagement lasting less than two hours.  It was beaten by single brigade of 3,000 soldiers, called Rangers.”

              “So you are here as a prisoner of war?” said Howerton.

              “Not at all,” said Sims, “I am here on my own accord.  I came voluntarily with my staff to bring you this news.”

              Sims own chief of staff spoke up, “Believe it, Colonel, we were all there and swear every word General Sims says is true.”

              General Compton stepped forward, “Welcome to the United States, General.  I realize all of this comes as quite a shock, but we have arranged a demonstration for you I think you will find very enlightening.  Under a flag of truce, I guarantee your safety and the safety of your entire staff.  If you will just accompany us to a place not far from the city, I will be happy to show you how the British army was defeated.”

              Ramirez teetered in indecision.  General Sims walked up to him and said, “I also pledge our sincerity and will accompany you.”

              “Very well,” said Ramirez, “I agree to see your works of magic.”

              “Not magic, General,” said Compton, “pure technology.”  He spoke into a short rod near his mouth, and around the corner came a string of carriages.  The entire party of 30 people loaded up in the carriages and trotted off toward the edge of town.

              They travelled along the road for half an hour and then pulled into a field, where a grandstand was set up on the top of a hill.  The Spanish and the British Colonel sat at the top of the grandstand with the others in rows below.  General Compton stood in front of the grandstand.

              “First, I will show you a standard Ranger,  A soldier walked up and stood next to the general.  He is dressed in our basic fatigue uniform.  It is in irregular green patterns, top, and bottom.  This makes him very difficult to see in a green background, like a forest.  His brown boots are made of a woven material that form fits to his feet.  He can easily cover 30 miles in a single day.

              “He’s wearing our basic battle armor, which repels most fired missiles.  For example, this flintlock pistol which is issued to your men.  Sergeant, if you please.  The Ranger backed off a few paces, and the general shot him in the chest.  The Ranger barely moved.  Now we have his helmet.”  The Ranger took off his helmet and passed it through the audience.  “You will notice how light it is. It will also stop a musket shot, just as the body armor.”

              “Now we have the Rangers’ basic weapon.”  The Ranger went over and picked up his M-14 assault rifle with grenade launcher.  He turned to a dummy placed against a couple bales of hay about 50 yards away.  This rifle is capable of shooting a single round at a time…” the Ranger fired a few rounds that hit the dummy and caused pieces to fly from it, “or it can be fired automatically.”  The Ranger turned on the dummy and 30 rounds came out faster than the first casing could hit the ground.  The dummy was shot to pieces.  “For targets that are in groups but still relatively close we have our grenade launcher.”  The sergeant raised his weapon and a thump kicked the rifle back a little.  100 yards away, another group of dummies were set up.  They exploded in a huge blast, all in pieces.

              “In the event our Rangers have no weapons, they become weapons of their own.”  Two Rangers came forward and put on a dazzling display of martial arts for several minutes.  When it was over, the men were not even breathing heavily.

              “This is the basic soldier your soldiers will face,” said Compton.  “That is, of course, if they get close enough to engage them.  I direct your attention, gentlemen to the valley below.  There is an abandoned farmhouse, barn and several other buildings there.”

              From out of the trees came a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.  At a half mile away its main gun fired and the entire farmhouse blew up in flash of fire and wood chips flying through the air.  Next, a couple of Humvees came from the forest, roaring across the field at high speed.  From the top, the 50 calibers opened up and the assorted buildings near the barn were shot to little pieces in less than 30 seconds.

              Notice the wagon sitting out in the field.  We will now show you a demonstration of our artillery.  You may have noticed it on the way out of town.  It is 7 miles from that wagon.”  Compton spoke into his mike, and mumbled, “Don’t miss fellows.”

              They didn’t miss.  A whoosh went over the grandstand and the wagon was completely obliterated in an enormous explosion.

              “Finally, we still have a barn standing, but not for long.”  He spoke into his mike again, “Scratch the barn.”  From over the hill came a Blackhawk gunship.  It opened up on the barn from half a mile away.  Its mini-gun giving out a steady stream of noise with tracers mixed in.  As the chopper passed by the barn, the entire structure was filled with thousands of holes, and as the Blackhawk zoomed over the grandstand, the barn collapsed in a heap of shattered lumber.

              “That, gentlemen, is what happened to General Sims’ army a few days ago.  And the same thing will happen to your army if you bring them ashore.”

              General Ramirez was speechless.  He was a veteran soldier with many battles to his record, but this…!

              “We have another brigade that is just itching to do battle with you, but under the circumstances,” said Compton, “we were wondering if you might be willing to discuss an alternate course of action?”

              “What alternative did you have in mind,” asked Ramirez?”

              “First, let’s get out of this heat and go back to Charleston and have lunch,” smiled Compton broadly.

              The group of Spanish and British were more than ready to leave.  General Sims whispered to Compton on the way back to the carriages, “It was much better to see it,  than live through it.”

                                                   
32

Charleston, South Carolina

              The Spanish and British were taken to a large banquet hall.  Compton had the presence of mind to have several portable air conditioners installed in the windows, so the room was refreshingly cool after the heat and humidity of outside.

              There were a dozen round tables set up elegantly in the hall, with room for six at each table.  Generals Ramirez, Sims and their Chief of Staffs’ set at the table in front of the short stage, along with Compton and a new General officer.

              “This is General Riley,” said Compton, “he’s the commander of the 2
^nd
Ranger Brigade.  It was his men and equipment who provided the demonstration today.

              Riley struck out his hand and shook with General Sims, and then with General Ramirez.  “Pleasure to meet you gentlemen, I hope my boys put on a good show for you today.”

              “It was impressive,” admitted Ramirez.

              Lunch was served.  It was pure Kobe beef, with twice-baked mashed potatoes and asparagus with Béarnaise sauce, sweetened iced tea in ice, and a fresh slice of peach cobbler.  Nobody left a single morsel on their plates and marveled at the ice in the glasses.  By the time lunch was over, the conversation between the British, Spanish and contingent of Ranger officers who came with General Riley, turned to somewhat personal things, and many compliments over the delicious meat.  A box of Cuban cigars were passed around each table and the Spanish and British enjoyed them immensely.  They hardly noticed that none of the Americans was smoking.

              At last, General Compton went up the stairs to the stage and stood in front of a single pole with a bar at the end.  He spoke into it and the sound reverberated through the hall.  Everyone except the Rangers looked around in wonder.

              “Gentlemen,” said Compton, “we did not offer a blessing before the meal.  I would like to do that now, with your permission.”

              “We in our new United States have worked very hard to create this country.  Through the years, we have had the spiritual leadership of a truly remarkable person, who has been an inspiration to us all in more ways than I can count.  She is our greatest treasure.  I am proud to present…  Arcadia.

              As she flowed onto the stage from the wings, there was an audible gasp in the audience.  The Rangers smiled at this.  Arcadia could be counted on to make a huge impression every time.  She was wearing her shimmering silver-white dress that was so unusual.  The silver belt was around her slim waist.  Her flowing blond hair gleamed in the light and her noble, beautiful face was set off perfectly by her crystal blue eyes.  Arcadia, bowed slightly to the audience and then said, “Let us Pray.”

              “Heavenly Father, we come to you today in humble praise of your majesty and our deep gratitude of the gift of your son, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to live as a man without sin and as an example of the love we can all show to one another.  We thank you Lord for your wisdom of allowing Christ Jesus to give His life as a ransom for our sins and the promise of an eternal life in the radiance of Your presence.  May we join together today and may good will and strength of purpose be our guides as the old meets the new as brothers to the benefit of all.  In the name of our Holy Savior, Amen.”

              She then repeated the prayer in perfect Spanish and French.

              There was a murmur of “Amens” from the seated men, but all eyes were on Arcadia.  She smiled and said,” When we founded this new Republic, we were determined to leave behind the old ways that have brought so much grief, sorrow, war, and misery to this world.  We asked ourselves, how we could make a country that is different and is an example for others.  We found the answer in the word of God, who proclaims that every person is created equally, and is endowed by Him with certain rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  There are other rights as well, which we have written in our Constitution, the law of the land.  We believe the authority to govern comes from the people, and we have written our document in that manner, so that no government can rule the people without their consent.”

              “We have now had two elections to provide us with leadership at the national level.  One of the mandates of this national government is to provide for the common defense of our United States, which is now the largest country in the world.  You have all seen examples of how we do this.  By this time you, the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch know we are unconquerable.  However, you should also know we would not use this power against any other country.  The United States was established with borders we believe are the correct ones for us.  All people who live within these borders have the same rights as citizens.  We have outlawed slavery and freed all.  We ask that you simply accept us as we are now, and in return we promise to be a neutral power, taking no sides in global affairs.”

              “The war you have brought to us is over.  We do not hold any grudges and offer free trade to all.  We also offer an open immigration policy for anyone who comes here and is willing to accept our laws and the sovereignty of our nation.”

              “The reason, Admiral Ramirez that 25,000 of your children do not lay dead on our fields is that we abhor what we were forced to do in the north.  We offer you amnesty and the freedom to return to Europe without firing a single shot.  If you permit it, we will accept as many of your soldiers as immigrants who wish to stay and to earn their citizenship, free land and a new life.”

              “As proof of our sincerity I would now like to introduce to you the President of the United States, who will confirm what I have spoken and deliver a written warrant of our resolve.  Gentlemen, George Washington, President of the United States.”