The Life and Times of Captain Logan Mercier
(Logan POV)
"State your name for the Record of the Convention?" The Moderator said calmly.
You nodded, looking at your slightly worn French Military Dress Uniform. " Second Lieutenant Logan Jackson Mercier, Devil's Brigade Squad B. I represent the area of...Kenosha County on behalf of the Free State of Kenosha,It was a personal request, they have their hands tied currently and sent me in their stead."
The Moderator nodded in approval. "Understandable, You look a little overdressed."
"Most people act like they've never seen a real dress uniform in their life." You noted.
"They've never been further than a few dozen miles down the Mighty Mississippi kid. Hell a few of them don't even know what a France is, global geography is not their forte." The Moderator noted. "Not to mention the french TriColor is a dead give away, your not from around here aren't you?"
"I am a native of this land, just not raised." You said smiling.
The Moderator nodded. "An ExPat?"
"Refugee...Family fled the Southwest during the collapse, I was born in Arizona, Tucson Arizona." You answered.
You looked at the Clock. "We have time to tell a story?"
He looked at it as well, "We have a few days until the Convention starts, so...yeah we have time."
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Year 0 (June 2045 AD), Tucson Arizona
(Adam Jackson POV)
Looking out the window of the Hospital you nodded. "Captain, the road is clear no sign of any rioters, Looters or Gangs."
Adam Jackson was not a soldier, or rather not originally, he was a SWAT officer for the Phoenix PD, and out of a tactical team of 30 men for an entire city he was one of four still left alive.
The long term problem that had currently been hounding them for the last few months was a thing called the Northern Confederation and some asshole named Rumford in particular.
Something about going to war with Mexico over something stupid or something like that...you never bothered to read the papers anymore.
Now he stood in a hospital in Tucson waiting for his wife to give birth and it pissed him off royalty that he couldn't be in the same room with her. A Hundred and Thirty-Five men and they couldn't spare a single moment for family time.
You sighed. They were right, damn national guard try hards, after the shit that was the War of the Confederacy they just wanted to leave...and by god you were bringing your family with them.
It was quite an easy choice. America was in for a rough patch like always, and maybe Europe was safer? Was it a dream probably but you had nothing else to go on.
A tap on your shoulder made you jump. "Hey Adam, take five...go meet your son."
You huffed all the way down the hallway to the ward to see the Medic, Jones smile. "I have no idea what I just did, I was not trained for this,but I pulled it off baby!! YES!!"
You kneeled down besides the Cot and smiled."You did great I'm sorry I missed it."
She smiled. "You were keeping the both of us safe, what father wouldn't."
The captain motioned his head in, "Get into the Basement there's a tank coming out way, then we'll get to the parking garage and prey people don't know the gates are locked."
You looked down. "Its a boy...I won, Logan."
She laughed. "Let's get going."
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Year 3: (2048), French Gauinia
(Adam Jackson POV)
"Keep RUNNING!!" You shouted as the large group of people ran towards the gangplank of the Cruise ship in the harbor, A French Evacuation force that had trying to get all French Citizens out of the country.
The Captain was supposedly an Old Friend of your boss, they guy leading this little party, but he asked a favor, steal some intelligence from a Russian military outpost and bring it to them in exchange for transport.
It sounded like a good deal and then the group lost over 70 people and the Drone strike destroyed all the Vehicles and now they had to run at least Eight miles before they evacuated.
The captain was handed the intel, "Now get off the ship.."
You shouted "What We had a deal!!"
"I was told to alter the deal by the Governor he said-" You punched him so hard the bulkhead was dented.
"Where is he...I'll be right back." You said as the Boss kep a standoff on the gangplank.
The Captain, for all of the orders and forced circumstances was a good man and let them on and raised anchor.
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You had finished Dumping an entire room off of the ship as the captain and your boss just looked at you.
Thirty-Five people were killed by one man in a blind rage. The men looked important too, Businessmen, politicians, special interest donors and their sick trophy wives.
It felt cathartic in a way, to kill them all and dump them in the atlantic, and you were going to make sure you got away with it. "I consider this a successful day."
The Captain nodded. "They made me open fire on a group of Refugee's before you arrived, about Two-Thousand or so, they wanted to see how far their influence got damn fools...Once we get to France you'll be disarmed and thrown into a ghetto, it's either that or the firing squad, It's all I can do."
"Adam Jackson died in South America, an unfortunate casualty of war, defending a group of war refugees from civil strife…"
The captain then looked at your boss. "Oh...he's one of those american's, you think just changing your name will let you outrun the devil."
You shrugged. "I don't know, you willing to gamble that?"
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Year 9 (2054 AD)
(Logan Mercier POV) Public School 3, Paris Ghetto.
You looked at your book on US history and sighed. "One day."
"Hey Logan, why are you reading that Dumb American textbook?" A student said.
"Yeah isn't it a shithole." Another said.
You looked up. "It don't suck until Russia made things worse. If you all bothered to read a book instead of fucking around of social media, you'd understand."
You quietly packed up your book into your old bag and sighed. "I'm leaving you shit heels. Now fuck off."
You were going to leave, but they said something that made what blood you had boil.
"How much your mom make whoring herself out this time Mercier." One of them said.
That was the last straw. When you let your rage subside, you had broken his nose with a heavy backpack and were attempting to punch him in the face.
The only reason you were not expelled or had a mark on your record at all was because people were recording the entire encounter and you got off with a three week detention.
It made mom upset, but dad, seeing all the evidence and realizing the guy was baiting you was proud.
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Year 17 (2062 AD) Mercier Home, Paris Ghetto.
You looked at the Application for the GIGN and smiled. "DAD I got accepted!!!"
Your father looked at the E-Mail and smiled "Congratulations Logan, this is great."
You sat down and sighed. "Well, what now?"
"Fight like hell son, just like I did." Dad said as you turned on the News.
"Huh the Damn Poles did it again!! I needed this." Dad said as the news gave the Good news on the Russian war in the East.
You smiled as Dad brought out some beer, "We're celebrating tonight, get your sisters and Mother."
"Ashly, Sarah, Mom!! Dad's in a festive mood, better get down here before it's gone!!" You shouted as the tenant slightly shook as they came into the living room.
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Age 19 (2064 AD) French Gauina
You looked at the Carnage around you and looked at your Friends mangled bodies. "Lieutenant!! Pull back!!"
You did as ordered and ran back to the base, out of a unit of 35 men, you were the only one left… "Such a senseless waste of human life...So Senseless"
The reason your forces were in the Country in the first place was to prop up a local warlord in exchange for bases in the former territory, it was a rotten deal to begin with but the men upstairs wanted something to keep the population's mind off of the many failures of the government.
It was collapsing all around them and you could feel the writing on the wall. You looked around and grabbed your cell phone and sighed.
"Mom...Dad, I know that I made you mad when I left GIGN for the military, but I made my decision knowing the consequences and what would happen if I didn't come home, so yeah...I'm finally going to go to the hell that is the North American continent."
You sighed. "Goodbye I'll be sure to make sure you know I'm alive."
You hang up your phone and left it on the table.
In a moment you saw an old Ford truck and finally made your move, Taking advantage of the chaos of the battle, you took several radio sets, A Few thousand rounds of Ammo, A mortar and a dozen shells and...whatever the hell else was in the car and drove like hell to the north.
To America proper and to the rest of your life.
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Year 21 (2066) California-Nevada Border
"You sure took your sweet time trying to leave Frenchie." The Guard said as he looked at the old Ford F-150.
You turned off the truck and nodded "Had to take inventory, you know I'm the kind of man to do that."
The Ford was converted to biofuels years ago and had been fitted with large metal bars making a makeshift battering ram, A small solar panel on the roof kept the main battery powered and charged, the massive amounts of small metal crates and a small assortment of guns in the back seat told the man everything.
"You a madman or something?" The Guard asked as you sighed. "You actually want to go out there!!"
You nodded. "Yeah, heard of something called "Hellfire Burns" and the Devil's Brigade."
"So your hunting them?" He said.
"No I'm hoping to join them." You said as the man started to laugh.
"Oh you are nuts, Hey try to die close to the Border, a little policy we have, Border patrol gets what's on the border." The guard said.
In an hour the man was gone and the guard was left alone.
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Later that night the Border station was approached by a group of men. "Excuse me sir, We're with the Military group in charge of bringing supplies to Victoria, we were wondering if you saw this man?"
The photo was of the guy you saw earlier in the day.
"Maybe...I see a few people these days, what did he do?" The guard asked.
"He stole a Truck filled with supplies, ammo and weapons and fled east on this old highway. Have you seen him?" The Vick asked as they seemed more and more agitated.
"No...can't say I have." The Guard replied.
He didn't feel the bullet that killed him, he was too busy ascending to heaven.
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Year 25 (2070 AD) Somewhere in the Midwest
You walked into the house without making a sound and sat in the chair, looking at your watch you knew he would be entering in about five minutes.
So you did the smart thing and took off your guns and put them on the table and looked around, old war memorabilia and a few spartan belongings of better times in America, before the collapse.
Times you couldn't even imagine at all. All you saw over the last four years is desperate hovels and basic homes and states as you searched across the midwest for something resembling a society.
So you sat down enjoyed a roof over your head and made some tea.
Colonel Ron Burns entered the room as quietly as you did and looked less intimidating then the stories they told about him. "Who the hell are you?"
The Group of men around the corner came in the room as the man himself held a handgun at your chest. It was quite the welcome you expected.
You let your military training take over and gave a crisp salute "Second Lieutenant Logan Jackson Mercier, formerly of the French Army, Honored to meet you sir."
Burns nodded. "French Army, I didn't think...oh your a deserter, an Expat from NYC, California ?"
"I entered through California, but that is it, I came here to offer my services to the Devil Brigade and its commander." You said calmly. "I also brought supplies a Ford F-150 with a solar panel ladened with supplies." You said curtly.
Ron Burns nodded "We found it, and assumed it had a car bomb under it, because it looked too good to be true."
You smiled. "I have the keys to turn off the bomb, If you'd hear me out and enjoy some of the Tea I made for us, I'll get it later tonight."
Hellfire Burns laughed. "You are an idiot...you know, gave up a comphy job in the FRENCH military to fight and die for an old man in the boonies for what, you have me genuinely curious son?"
"I did all of this because I believe in America." You responded.
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Year 28 (2073 AD)
"Wait so you've never tried Chicago-style pizza." Isabella Castillo said as you sat in the pizzaria.
"I never had the chance, between me working my ass off trying to help train a SWAT unit and trying to find a date.
"Well you can try Phoebe...she's available." Isabelle said ordering a pepperoni pizza.
"She only loves me for the truck and the occasional games of Battletech we play, mostly because I'm the only one who has played tabletop RPG's." You complained as you looked at the lemonade you were given.
"If she really wanted to go on a date with me, she'd ask already." You said "Brianna is nice and available."
Isabella rolled her eyes. "Your Six years older than her Logan, face it are you ever going to get a date?"
"I'm getting dating advice over a pizza I've never tried from someone who is queer...god help my dating life." You said taking a bite out of a slice of her pizza.
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Year 30 (2075 AD) Detroit USA
You calmly looked at the POW's as you marched them all down the road into the holding cells.
"Captain Mercier, well done, your unit held fast against the Vicky's I see the POWs are being rounded up." One of the officers noted as you closed up the pen they were in.
"Yeah. I have an Idea rolling around. Special Forces, wanna talk about it?" You said.
"Maybe later, your GF called and is demanding you talk to her now that the battle is winding down." The Officer stated,
You looked at the men, "I don't know, should I keep my lady waiting boys?" You said looking at the group of POWs.
"GO FUCK YOUR SELF YOU COMMIE BASTARD!" One of them shouted.
"Go realize your gay and get beaten by your freinds." You said as they started looking at each other. "I should go talk to her before I start hurting their feelings. Or worse make them realize that French is the superior language."
The Other Officers laughed as you moved on with the rest of the day.
"Speaking of which, when are we attacking that island?" You wondered.
AN: A look into Logan, from his background, to his upbringing to his recruitment as a member of Hellfire Burns Devil Brigade.
Also who should be Logan's GF Pheobe or Brianna
Enjoy!!
