The Future?

Whitehall was in turmoil. The chiefs of staff of the Armed forces, were just returning from having their collective arses kicked due to the failure of the first wave of attacks on what was being called in the media the Army of the People or AOP for short. God, how had it escalated so quickly? This was only the end of day one and they couldn't muster an effective counter-strike.

The First Sea Lord lurked in the background looking smug. This was a land war and he had dodged the wrath of the politicians.

They couldn't understand the lacklustre effort that resulted from the order for the first air strike in history on UK Citizens on UK soil. Aircrew had either disappeared, defected to the other side and landed at AOP controlled airbases in the West, dropped bombs on empty ground or refused on principle to carry out the order and had been arrested. There were precious few aircraft in the RAF anyway, these losses were critical.

The AOP now had a sizeable infantry, by all accounts well equipped and backed by armour. The chiefs were still smarting from the ease at which munitions and armour had been appropriated. What was supposed to be an exercise on Salisbury plain turned out to be a veritable toyshop for the AOP as the snuck onto the plain and appropriated the vehicles and equipment. In some instances the soldiers on exercise had decided to join the AOP, once they found out the exercise majored in urban warfare training. The rumour had been that they were training to be deployed to quell riots in the capital and other major cities where large protests against the government had broken out.

All efforts to take on the AOP had been driven off. It seems they were well-armed and well supplied. The CoDS cursed those soldiers that had opened the armouries and the ammunition stockpiles to AOP sympathisers. A secret network of homeless and disgruntled ex-and-current forces had been established a few months prior to the AOP action and had used sympathetic contacts to gain considerable access to military assets. They had not used digital assets to form the network or communicate, so the existence of the network had caught the authorities by surprise.

The hoards of 4x4s had driven onto the plain in the night loaded up with small-arms ammunition. Once in place there was no contest: the Elitist Army were only equipped with blank training rounds and once the AOP had accrued weapons and loaded them with live rounds.... game over.

The Elite-sympathetic Police had tried their best, but had been swept aside by superior armoured forces, just as they themselves had previously swept protests aside by baton charges. Karma. It was now down to armed forces loyal to Parliament to quash the AOP.

The AOP even had the cheek to set up a "Free-UK" radio station transmitting from AOP-controlled Salisbury claiming that Porton Down chemical warfare establishment had been "secured" so that Elite Forces could not use chemical weapons against the public as it had been doing for the past decades. Such crazy talk from conspiracists just showed what a rabble the AOP were. But how could they be winning?

Currently the AOP were driving West from Basingstoke using the A303 as a main supply artery. The lack of Elite-controlled  air support meant the AOP could resupply unchallenged. If they took the capital it would be all over for the Elites. Some had already smelled the air of revolution and on News of the AOP breakout from the Plain the terminals at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead were crammed full with people. Blackbushe airport had been closed a couple of hours ago due to heavy fighting as the AOP pressed Eastwards. Private jets for the escaping London Elite were now being directed to RAF Northolt along with diplomatic air traffic.

Reports were now coming in of returning fighter-bombers being put out of action after hitting civilian drones being flown on the approach to airbases. Across the table the Chief of the Air Staff shook his head.

The Chief of Defence Staff picked up the telephone. This was the most unpalatable thing he had ever been asked to do. He dialled the number for the EU foreign affairs department. He explained the situation and requested airstrikes from French and German aircraft on AOP forces. He explained the protocol in operation and that EP forces would be lighting IR strobes and the EU forces would be free to fire on non-illuminated forces. in the Basingstoke area.

The secondary targets included any civilian movements. A curfew had been placed that day and any movements by civilians were to be classed as hostile. The EA reinforcements had suffered huge hold-ups as civilians had come out in support of the AOP and had blocked the roads in front of EA forces in an attempt to slow them down.

The Chief of Defence Staff replaced the receiver. He would get a reply eventually, but as it was night time he would not get an answer for at least 12 hours and any EU-led counter strike would take a further 12 to co-ordinate. By then the AOP could be on the outskirts of London, he thought.

Just then the report came in: Blackbushe had fallen and the Elite controlled forces were moving East to set up another stop-line between Sandhurst and Farnborough, however civilian interference was increasing, with impromptu blockades put in their path. Didn't the country realise the Elite were fighting for them? Didn't they understand that staying in the EU was in everyone's best interests?

The next 24 hours were going to be critical....