Part III! Man, things are starting to get crazy. I sense a transition occurring. Position on Raine still not changed. She seems remarkably emotionless. I wonder why Percy let her come with them, after she wrote that horrible article. Maybe he respects her for not trying to impress him? Or likes her for... other reasons. I'm glad Wallace seems to have recovered. But he's probably still bottling a lot up, don't think he really got over it that quickly.
That background about Turkey has made Percy and co. about a thousand times cooler to me. But I bet this mission is not going to be a piece of cake. To say the least.
And Goldwin, always being so deep. Interesting guy, he can philosophize like that right before entering the battlefield...

That scene with Freddie in the beginning was nice. It was so - comforting. A good note to go to sleep on :) But a bit of sadness too, that he had all that family warmth taken from him a long time ago. Warren's wife is so nice. Does she always welcome strangers like that? I would totally want to have waffles in that house.
Warren is great too. Just the way he talks to people, without forcing any agenda or being obtrusive anything. Especially what he says about killing seems very wise. I can see why everybody's so fond of him.
Huh, this chapter really shows off the worst and best of Union. The situation overall seems to be getting worse, and I am not looking forward to what happens when that Doyle guy shows up again.
But I'm glad you put this chapter here. It helped me calm down...

What a bunch of fuckers. I hope they get - well, not going to go there. Why are these people being sent into a town like that? Clearly they can't cope with civilians, or people in general. I haven't straight up hated anyone in this story so far, but I'm getting pretty damn close now, with this Doyle. I hope Percy kicks his ass. Excuse my french.
I wonder what really happened in Asia though, to make those two squads so antagonistic like that. Poor Wallace. I guess this shows the worst that can go wrong when there's a military base in your home town.
I'm surprised they're not even getting enough food. That always sucks. It looks like the military's in pretty dire straits... and yet they're still building all these new bases. Yeah, the leadership looks real incompetent right now.

"Oh, look. It seems an accident occurred and now your computer is damaged. Guess you can't get that warrant." Haha. For once I agreed with Percy's temper here. I don't like how he's getting more totalitarian, but I understand it a bit better now... he doesn't have much of a choice, does he. Another good way of showing how strained the country's getting. I hope Warren's church is gonna be okay.
Wow, Raine is kind of a - . All she cares about is the photo? But Jordan says it better than I ever could. It's interesting how she doesn't seem affected by his tirade. Ice cold. And using him.
Heh, I didn't see this coming either, but I'm starting to like Jordan (even though he is a bit of a womanizer). For some reason I always thought he was being insincere before, but it seems like he really is in earnest. I hope all his work pays off.
"Something like this video, there just isn't gore and barrels of blood. It's tame to them."
That got me thinking as well. Sad how close it is to the truth.

Oh god. As soon as I read the title of this chapter, I knew something serious was gonna go down. But man, I never expected this. I really like how your story turns in directions that I could never predict.
Especially the way you reveal the characters. I liked that juxtaposition of Freddie and Goldwin in the beginning, how they're they're similar, while giving us details of their past. And this quote: "They call us paranoid terrorists. But one day they will call us dreamers - visionaries." Really good stuff.
Arg, now I really want to know what's up with Freddie, what's he doing here if he's nobility, how he got captured when he was younger, how he became a 'terrorist' etc. etc.
And the technology they pulled out at the end - I'd almost forgotten this story was set in the future. But it's believable, not overdone at all, and I like that.
And that little scene between Percy and Mackenzie. I think she's the only he'll eventually end up opening up to. But I wonder what she was doing with Patterson?
Oh yeah, and the fight was gripping. I actually could feel myself starting to read faster, it was so intense.

Poor Union. It's a stark symbol of what's happening to the country, crops being replaced by military bases like that.
And those senators - they're real assholes. (That was a good scene BTW, for filling in/explaining what's happening to the government) Don't they realize what they're doing will only come back to bite them? General Ellis, I don't like the looks of that situation. If he gets command, and Percy doesn't like it - I have a feeling things might even erupt into civil war.
And Freddie and co. I wonder what they're up to... I'm sort of taking a leap of faith and rooting for them now.
Is Riane that the same reporter from Time at the beginning? Also, was there some hints at rivalry there? (Over Percy). Man, that guy is just so oblivious.
And I liked that insight into Royal's squad. They seem sort of crazy but intense. And the cadence was cool.

Oh man, Percy. I really don't like where you're going with this. Am I gonna start rooting against the main character? I never even considered the possibility that he start doing things like this. It makes me like him less, but makes him a lot more interesting to me. I think Mackenzie sums it up best: 'we must make decisions we don't necessarily agree with.' Sums up the paradox, but also hints at a little... dogmatism?
The conflict was done well here. Especially Warren, I can't imagine what's going on his mind right now. But I admire him for being honest to what he believes in. At the same time, I can see why he left the army. But it's a shame. Percy could use someone like him on his team right now.
It's a striking contrast to how Percy acted in the first half of this chapter with Reddings. I thought he was starting to open up more emotionally and be a better person, but - dang, I'm feeling conflicted about this dude right now...

Wow, those civilians are assholes. I mean, they could've just not helped you and would've probably all died... oh wait, they probably think they got attacked because of the military base? I can kind of understand that I guess.
That militia or whatever it was didn't seem that scary in the end. What a frightening state of affairs, that a small band like that can screw up a State Capitol so badly. Either that or the police really sucks. Perhaps both.
It's nice how you deal with everybody's emotions, especially Royal's. How he has to deal with being in a battle situation for the first time. Gives everything a realistic feel.
And Goldwin. He is a pretty intriguing person as well.

Holy shit. They demolished Lincoln? What a bunch of... that just makes me angry for some reason. Especially that they SHOT at the helicopter when they were just trying to rescue that kid.
You write action well. It's intense, definitely drawing me in. As usual the details are cool. It's fascinating, getting such a look into a firefight.
These guys don't seem so smart though, attacking so near a new military base. It's kind of suspicious. Like they're trying to draw Percy out...
BTW, this made me laugh: "Aside from being an absolutely shitty President and having the luck of serving during one of the worst droughts and a global war, he has done nothing illegal."
And Royal is badass. Gotta read more.

Wow, this is getting really good. I like how I can't quite figure Freddie out. I mean, the combination of his name and the creepy way he's acting is just weird to me. Is it seriously that easy to get into a hotel room? Really interesting character.
I liked that little exchange at the end. I assume the Latin is some sort of greeting (for their organization)? I actually had to look it up to satisfy my curiosity, lol.
It seems that Percy is kind of antisocial. Or at least not very good at reading other people's emotions. And also kind of manipulative. I wonder why he's only interesting in women in that way... he seems kind of asexual or something. Damn, I really want to know what's up with him now.

Wow, I'm surprised Percy lost his cool like that. Don't think that's a good way to get the men to respect him... What a crazy day. That murder's just opening up a whole can of worms. It's funny I didn't see that sort of thing coming before.
Heh, I see what's going on with him and Mackenzie. This quote shows it off real well: 'There was no room in their relationship for the thoughts that threatened to enter his mind.' But that shows that the thoughts have already entered, am I right? I think they're better together than her and that senator. I like how just when it looks like it couldn't get any worse, the helicopters show up.
Also President Kenning's law scares me. Especially how easily I could imagine that sort of thing actually happening. Good ol' Freddie, keeping it real.

Man, Percy is kind of a jerk. Maybe I would understand him more if I knew more about what happened with their unit in the past. Especially this Private Grey... (short story maybe?) That scene in the square was amusing though.
I liked that conversation between Freddie and Warren as well. Good to see that guy has some emotions. Makes me more interested in him, and also want to know more about his past. 'I regret not a single action in my life, save that I was foolish enough to fall in love', that's a good quote. You're getting me really curious about all these people.
I wonder what happened to Huck. Haven't seen him for a while...
And the conspiracy theory seems about to heighten... This 'Ceto' sounds pretty menacing.

Poor Percy. Not sure if they're gonna promote him after all his antics, lol. Again, I like all the little details here. Like exactly what building a military base entails. Also I wonder why Percy's so keen on having that state-of-the-art hospital... more foreshadowing? It's kind of suspicious that he's acting more cheerful, as well. Or maybe I'm just a paranoid _.
It seems that Royal's cool with how things are moving forward? I would've thought he'd be pissed that he's not gonna see any action. Maybe he's smarter than I thought... I feel like that special unit got sent there to watch Percy for some reason.

"The womanizer?" "Yes! I mean, no. I'm a war correspondent." Lol. I like Jordan's personality, how he just doesn't give a _. For a moment I thought he was gonna kidnap Royal there... I have a feeling he's in cahoots with the terrorists.
So it seems this military base things is gonna really happen. The townspeople must be in pretty dire straits, IMO. It's so sketch to put one in the middle of Nebraska. Make people wonder what they're trying to hide there...
Percy is kind of a jerk, manipulating people like that. I want to know what's up with him, why he doesn't go visit his family (since apparently they're great people). Also he seems kind of oblivious to certain things. I bet the military is using him in more ways than he realizes...

That's kind of scary, how the government just decides to put military bases up in the middle of the country. I know I wouldn't want one of those in my town... And I bet Royal is not going to like get assigned to that dead-end duty.
I'm seriously thinking Mackenzie's got something for Percy. She's just so dedicated to him. And what is up with Freddie? I'm surprised they haven't turned him into the authorities yet, since he's a wanted terrorist and all.
Wait - Scott's assassination was seriously an execution? Damn, that's just cold. I am really not liking the government here. They are starting to remind me of a certain regime...
I liked that scene with Wallace and his girlfriend (?) at the beginning. He seems to me to be still very innocent in some ways.
Sometimes I sort of miss the transitions between different scenes and then get a bit confused... But that's probably just me, lol. It's cool how you do them, reminds me of how they do it in movies.