Peace Through Force: Chapter 2 – Order Through Violence

Chapter 2 – Order Through Violence

The Castigators and I are sitting in a protected hideout in Hammer, and with our allies from Guardian, we plan our attack on the country’s leaders. From what I’ve heard from Bolster and his spies, Hammer’s army and civilians are mostly comprised of cybernetic men. This is because they’re stuck in the past, where liberal and non-religious ideologies reigned for a time, and the popes and bishops for people were scientists and influencers with money and power. It was a shameful time that makes me glad that we’re living in an age where tradition and religion are still on the upswing with no sign of stopping. Everyone who points a gun at or tries to fly or run at us should be considered hostile and killed or incapacitated on sight.

“They don’t have many prisons here, and the ones that they do have are death camps where people are worked to death or experimented on to the point where you wish you died,” Bolster explains.

“I can relate to that,” Idelle comments.

“I second that,” Zandro adds.

“We won’t be caught. We’re going to win this and humble these backwards apes until they have to listen to reason,” I say.

“The people in Hammer and the other two countries are going to need a lot of humbling until that happens. Do you know of the multiple treaties and agreements that the West has made with these countries, only for them to go back on their word? A war was even fought against them, their leaders were killed, a better one was installed, and things still went back to normal afterward.”

“I know. It’s going to be different with us handling it. They’re all going to get an ass-kicking they’ll never forget.”

“Ha! I hope so.”

The area of Hammer is made up of gray, ugly, boxy structures larping as futuristic buildings and walls, which makes the city look more like a fort. What little greenery of the original jungles that remains is artificial, all of it made by Hammer’s residents, who claim it’s better than what nature originally made it to be, when it is actually poisonous to the earth and its people. Exiting the hideout, we walk through these artificial forests and overlook the city where the leaders of Hammer reside. There are a few ways we can sneak inside, but Bolster has told me that confronting them head-on will earn us more respect from the four countries, so we decide to do just that in the afternoon. I’ve been told the city becomes mostly dark, and the divide between the poor and the rich becomes obvious.

Bolster, and our allies send a barrage of missiles at the walls and flying drones and robots to give us an easy entrance. Idelle charges ahead, and Zandro transforms into his devilish angel form and then joins her. Meanwhile, I back up our allies and shoot down our foes from a distance, and lead them forward from the front. Entering the city, their robots and cybernetic law enforcement and civilians start firing at us, forcing us into cover. Idelle and Zandro head over to us, flanking the city’s defenders and throwing them into one another with such force that both die on impact.

Advancing further into the city, the sirens start to blare, and a voice comes over the loudspeakers in the city saying, “The backwards sheep of the Church are invading us as we said they would! Take up arms! Give your lives to uphold the last vestige of true humanity in the world, or else, it won’t reclaim it, and the rest of the world will forever live in religious ignorance.”

“It’s funny they say that, given the only truth they believe in and accept is whatever they find comfortable that they’ve made up,” Bolster says.

“These types of people usually are. All they want is power and control over the truth to make themselves look like the good guys,” I say.

More people start coming out of their homes, businesses, and schools with guns and mechanically enhanced bodies to attack us, all of which we gun down. These people even try sending their children at us as cannon fodder to throw us off. Using my revolvers, I knock them out with their tranquilizing shots to quickly take them out of the battle before they’re killed. Even still, some are sent at us with suicide vests and explode as soon as they hit the ground.

“Bastards! Kill them all!” Bolster says.

“We’re already doing that. Don’t let hatred blind you, and keep your mind focused on the fight,” I say.

Internally, I’m fighting my own urge to hate my enemies, but I keep silently praying so my feelings don’t overwhelm me. The people here might as well be like the robots that aid them because of what they’ve done and how they throw themselves at us without a care for their allies and children that they hurt in their attempts to kill us. I see Idelle fighting them with a greater intensity, ripping people apart, using them as bludgeons to kill others, and knocking them around like ragdolls. I know how she feels. As parents, seeing children being used like this is beyond sickening and enraging.

“Idelle! Take it easy!” I call out through my earpiece.

“They killed children, Kane! I can’t take it easy on them,” Idelle says with venom in her voice.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t give them what they deserve, but you shouldn’t let your feelings overwhelm you.”

“I…I know. I’m trying not to.”

With the next wave of enemies dead, we continue forward and pick up the pace a bit. We’re crossing through the gates of one part of the city into a more luxurious part that looks cleaner with less trash on the ground and high-rise buildings. Ahead of us, I see waves of more robots, cybernetic law enforcers, and tanks.

“Now they’re really starting to bring out the big guns. I don’t see a single person there who isn’t heavily armed or armored,” I say.

“That’s because all the rich and influential people here are hiding in their safe rooms. Do you think they’d endanger their lives for anything?” Bolster says.

“I wouldn’t expect them to, knowing trash like them. How about we flush them out like the crap they are?” Switching radio channels, I say, “Are you fellas really going to have all the fun and take all the glory?”

“I know you wanted to clear the way for us, but you shouldn’t have run ahead if you were going to take on a small army by yourselves,” a member of the Castigators says.

“Don’t complain. Now’s your time to shine, so rain down judgment on this scum.”

“With pleasure.”

Behind us, a squad of jets, helicopters, and superhumans rain down their weapons and powers upon the buildings around us and the enemies ahead of us from all angles, bringing down the massive structures and flushing out the trash within them, some of whom come out burning or falling out of high places. The Castigator reinforcements take on the army, while Bolster, my allies, Idelle, and Zandro head for the capital building, spread out through it, and start clearing it, room by room, of all its defenders and leaders of Hammer. I go down the depths of the capital, coming across robots and cyborgs who throw themselves at me and get a bullet in the face for doing so. I shoot them down and dodge their attacks one after the other, while steadily advancing without taking one step back. At the bottom of the capital, I find it to be pitch black without a single soul or machine in sight.

“What happened to the power?” I hear someone say in the dark.

“I don’t know! The power grid must be out.”

I had my Castigators disable the power here since I know the people here rely so much on tech.

“They took that out? I don’t think we’re making it out of this if they did that.”

“Don’t think about that and just look for flashlights and a way to turn the backup lights on.”

Despite not being able to see anyone in the pitch darkness, my eyes still guide me in telling me who deserves to die and the few who deserve to be spared. Because of this, I pray and let my feet and hands be guided by God as I start shooting and moving through the dark. Everyone else wildly shoots their guns in my direction and yells out in fear for help.

“They’re here!” one of them says.

“There’s only one guy!”

“They’re can’t be or else we would’ve shot him right now!”

“Who cares how many there are? Just kill them!”

Eventually, the idiots find their flashlights and night vision goggles to be able to see me, but this doesn’t help them much, as I continue mowing them down one after the other, and dodging between their shots. I feel a hand on my shoulder stop me, and feel the need to shoot what’s in front of me. Taking this as advice from my guardian angel, I do so, and a hole in the wall is made that leads to a bright room with a bunch of people in it, all of whom my eyes tell me to kill, but not yet. These people look like trannies with expensive-looking, colorful cyberware, none of which is good to defend themselves with.

“You’re Kane Mundr, aren’t you?” they say in a distorted machine voice, which sounds similar to the voice of a demon. “You haven’t won yet! The citizens of this country will fight you over every inch of land! It’ll take you generations to conquer us!”

I shoot the one who was talking and force the others to follow me out of the building at gunpoint. When we get outside, I see Bolster, Idelle, Zandro, and the rest of my allies waiting for me, along with a crowd of Castigators who have just arrived. They cheer our names, while the city burns behind them, full of dead machines and bodies. Sensing an opportunity and remembering the advice of my friend, Giovanni Coronamento, I call an impromptu streaming of a speech and display I want to make. Bolster is already ready for this, given how the people in this region like making victory speeches and public displays of justice. I make the leaders of Hammer kneel, just as Bolster gets his phone streaming.

“People of Hammer, Steadfast, Wall, and Guardian. I’ll keep this simple since I know how you like it,” I say, and then execute the leaders of Hammer. “That is what will happen to everyone who thinks they can go against us. My mission here is to not only bring peace, but to do the will of the one true God as properly worshiped only by the Holy Catholic Church. I’d prefer it if you, my enemies, give up. In fact, I pray for it. You’re all better to God alive than dying for an untrue cause and false gods, and being damned forever, but that’s your choice. If there’s anyone out there in either country, then you should rise and strike while the iron is hot. Now is the time to take your home and live and die for something worthwhile! A throne in Heaven waits for all of you who do God’s will. You won’t get another chance any time soon, so make your choice. May God have mercy on you, because I’m here to enact His justice.”

Bolter stops the stream and cheers for me, along with the Castigators. Looking back at Zandro, he says, “That was a great speech, Kane. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I took notes from my hangouts with Giovanni Coronamento,” I admit.

“He may have influenced you, but that was all you. Good job, brother.”

Going up to Idelle, I see that she’s covered in body and bits of visceral. She hugs me and backs off for a second, realizing what’s on her, but I hold onto her.

“It’s okay, Idelle. I’m here for you and won’t push you away. Let’s get some rest,” I say.

“…okay,” she says.

The other members of the Castigators come up to me, say how much they liked my speech, and what my new orders are.

I tell them, “Spread throughout the rest of Hammer, putting down the military and whoever resists us, but remember that we were once scum, so go easy on them whenever possible or if you encounter true innocents.”

They accept my orders and go out to do as I say, while Bolster, Idelle, Zandro, and I walk away to get our rest. Hammer may be temporarily stunned by our devastating attack today and will be further so by my Castigators, but this is far from the end. The countries of Wall and Steadfast are the other two left to bring to heel, and then we have to figure out how to keep the peace. What’s the point of this violence if the peace ends up being temporary? We can’t just kill the leaders of the hostile regimes and those who resist us, only for the cycle to start again. I pray for the answer, and hope that God will give me the strength, courage, and wisdom to do as I’m supposed to.