Unpolished Jade

Unpolished Jade

“As Rome became Constantinople, so did Lebanon become Whassa.”

In 2027, Legionary Camp Qalmuzin was located in and around the town of Lebanon, Kansas. The camp was the largest one during the Second American Civil War. It was the base camp for the leader of the Imperial Rebels, Qalazir I. In 2026, the Imperial Rebels and the US government agreed to a ceasefire. For six months, the two sides schemed and rebuilt. During this time, the legionary camp transitioned from an obscure administrative camp to something more.

Qalazir stayed in the camp for most of the ceasefire. Many moved to the camp. It was rumored that during the ceasefire Qalazir would designate a capital. Though the Imperial Rebels were unified in purpose, they were not unified over where they wanted their capital to be. General Talazir, leader of the Severan Legions, wanted Denver. General Juan, Qalazir’s brother-in-law, wanted Los Angeles. Jade, Qalazir’s own wife, wanted Dallas. Other groups wanted Salt Lake City.

Yet at the moment, they were surrounded by large tents, small tents, open fields, and a town of only 170 people. The makeshift structures made the Imperial Rebels look like invading nomads, not an efficient response to the sins of a nation. One day in autumn, a special CONEX shipping container was delivered to the camp. It was placed beside a row of other containers. The container yard looked like an obstructive occupation of a field more than a planned logistical system. The containers were lined up and labeled according to a system, but the metallic boxes pressed into the soft earth.

The newest container was placed where it belonged. Later that night, Qalazir walked through the larger camp. He looked at the sinking sun and then walked beneath floodlights and temporary lighting structures that turned on in a nonsequential order. The generators could be heard. Camp Qalmuzin, a central place for the movement, was still a temporary settlement. More people flooded in. They were placed along the outer layers of the camp. On the inside was the logistical and military framework.

The key difference between this camp and the others was the new railroad track running through it. The railroad highlighted the semipermanent status of the camp. It had an impromptu station, yet the station was built for supplies, not people.

Qalazir walked with two of his advisers, Harold Dean and Laquisha Combs. The three walked to a motor pool. The armored and tactical vehicles were not all in the same state. Some were being worked on, some had not been touched, and some had empty spaces beside them.

As the sun sank into the horizon, the three walked by a legionnaire working on his armored vehicle. The legionnaire began to stand and salute, but the three motioned for him to continue working. Qalazir said,

“Preparation is needed more than ceremony.”

They walked to the hangars. Qalazir almost tripped over a new concrete slab that had not been there when he first made camp. The hangars were sealed. An aircraft maintenance crew member walked by them. She stopped, and they greeted her warmly.

The three continued their walk. As they passed the gate to the container yard, Qalazir separated from the others and entered. He walked to the newest container. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, then walked inside with his backpack. He emerged after a few minutes and locked the container again.

He returned to his advisers. They continued to a small garage and climbed into a tactical vehicle. Laquisha called for an escort to follow them out of the camp. She drove the trio out of the garage, followed by several unmarked tactical vehicles.

As they drove along a dirt road made for movement, not civilization, Harold said,

“All these people living this close, you don’t think that will bring more trouble?”

Laquisha said,

“They need a place to live. We need to give it to them.”

Harold responded,

“But how many of those people are enemies trying to get closer to us?”

Laquisha said,

“I don’t disagree, but look. They need to know we are here for them.”

When the small convoy passed the house of one of Lebanon’s 170 census residents, Harold pointed at a sign that said,

“No Imperials Live Here.”

It was written in both English and Luzun, though the Luzun was rudimentary. Harold said,

“We should feed them too.”

Laquisha said,

“We will do what they didn’t want to do for others.”

The convoy of vehicles traveled along the dirt road, which looked like a vein running through a sea of tents and makeshift structures. Qalazir looked around. By the time the small convoy passed beyond both the city limits and the camp limits, it was fully dark. They pulled off onto a hill. The hill was not too high, but it was elevated enough for them to see the camp.

The three allowed their security detail to establish a perimeter. Qalazir opened the camp chair he had brought. Before sitting down, he started a fire in the pit. The three had been there many times, and the fire pit was already set. He took out the fuel and lit it.

Qalazir sat down and held his bookbag in his lap. The other two, having spoken during the ride, followed his lead. Harold asked,

“And what’s in the bag?”

Qalazir said,

“I have decided to make this the new capital.”

They looked at him, then toward the symmetrical lights of the camp they had just left. They saw the rectangular and square light patterns created by the military section. Beyond them were the scattered lights of the unorganized civilian tents.

Qalazir said,

“They want to build a capital on old bones. We will not do that. Denver was born from the search for gold. Dallas was rooted in Texas cotton. Los Angeles already belongs to the western shores. Salt Lake City already lives within the pages of Latter-day Saint history. We will not build our capital on any of their old bones. We will build our own.”

Laquisha said,

“There is nothing out here.”

Qalazir smiled and stood to feed the fire. He added more fuel, enlarging the flames in the night. He watched them for a moment without responding, then sat back down and said,

“That’s the point. The capital will be built out of this mud, not another culture’s ashes.”

He pulled out the crown. The other two looked at him, trying to figure out what he was about to do, as he stood. The crown was a million-dollar investment from the religious order backing his rebellion, a dark green consecrated emblem with a jade gem at its center.

Qalazir held it up and said,

“This is no crown. It’s a seed.”

He placed the crown on his head, pointed toward the camp, and said to them,

“Daramsus, Whassa.”