[Xiomera]

(Note: These events take place after the 2024 Milintican election).

Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli
Chuaztlapoc, Huenya

President Xiadani was very displeased with Neina Arana.

The leader of Huenya was certainly not unique in that regard. Arana had only been President of Milintica for six days, but millions of Milinticans (MPP backers, mostly) were already very annoyed with the country's new leader. Arana hadn't been doing much to endear herself to leaders in other countries, either. But Huenya had two bones to pick in particular with the new Milintican administration.

The first one involved dozens of Huenyans working for the State Department who had unceremoniously been placed on planes out of the country on October 5th. The Milintican government had not been kidding when they had said election observers would no longer be welcome in the country once the new administration took over. Xiadani did not yet know if election observers from other countries had been forced to leave as well, but she had little doubt she would be receiving aggrieved messages soon enough on that matter.

The fact that Huenyan citizens had been bundled onto planes like luggage and shipped back home without even a heads up to the Huenyan government was actually the second strike, as far as Xiadani was concerned. The first strike had been when two Huenyan officials had been arrested by local police in the town of Aropaonui. Unlike the other Huenyan observers, those two were still in Milintica, in a jail cell. Xiadani was very displeased about that in particular.

It was with that displeasure in mind that Xiadani asked her assistant to place a phone call to Huānoch. Xiadani believed that a conversation between presidents was long overdue.

Xiadani waited for the call to go through. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, her assistant, Moquihui, came back on the line with an apologetic tone to his voice. "Sorry, Madam President, but Haven House has declined to accept your call."

"Declined." Xiadani said the word as if Moquihui had just dropped jaguar dung onto her desk.

Moquihui sighed. "Arana's office said they are too busy with launching her administration to speak with us at this time. To, erm, call back later."

After a very long silence, Xiadani sighed. "I see. Thank you. Could you start another call for me please?" Like most Huenyans, Xiadani was a big baseball fan. She thought of the matter in baseball terms. Strike three, Neina. You're out.

The next group of people Moquihui called would prove to be far more receptive to Xiadani's call. When High General Texōccoatl, Defense Secretary Tlanexchel, and FIS director Cuetlancaona were looped into the video call, Xiadani started the conversation directly. "Something has to be done to put Neina Arana in her proper place."

---

Two hours later, General Huatli of the Huenyan Army sat in a conference room, slightly perplexed.

The General (of former Aurora and civil war fame) had been summoned to Camp Tlalmanang, the headquarters of the Huenyan Special Forces, to meet with Defense Secretary Tlanexchel and High General Texōccoatl. When the other two walked in the room and sat down, Tlanexchel got right to the point. "We are reassigning you. While you've done an excellent job commanding the 34th Army Brigade, we think your talents would suit you to a new role. And a new mission."

Huatli nodded, a skeptical but interested expression crossing her face. "What is the new role?" Texōccoatl presented Huatli with a folder. "Effective immediately, you are to take command of the 1st Chuaztlapoc FSF Brigade."

Huatli gave the two men a look. "You're placing me in charge of a special forces brigade? I'm not part of the special forces." Tlanexchel and Texōccoatl both chuckled. "Given your skill set, we think you're more than qualified. More importantly, they think you're qualified. Their opinion trumps even our own, when it counts."

When Texōccoatl said they, Huatli knew who he meant. The Shorn Ones. The Eagle Warriors. The Jaguar Warriors. They weren't the sort of men and women to take anyone but the best to lead them. "They saw how you sprang into action to help defend Chuaztlapoc during the insurgency. Needless to say, you impressed quite a few of them. So, they want you over there. But you also have to want the job," Texōccoatl said.

Huatli gave Texōccoatl a firm nod. "I don't turn down a mission. Especially one like this."

"Good. We met with you here at Camp Tlalmanang so you could get started with your new brigade immediately," Tlanexchel said. Huatli nodded again. "That would be the new mission to go with the new role, I take it?"

Texōccoatl smirked. "Indeed it is. Tell your men and women to get ready, General. Some of them are going to be paying Milintica a little visit."

[Xiomera]

International waters near Sunemia
October 10th

The Nahualli bobbed gently in the calm waters of the Gulf of Yukoni. The ship was, normally, a cargo ship that ran a trade route between Huenya and various ports around southern Caxcana. But today, it was carrying a different sort of cargo than its usual fare.

Staff Sergeant Xipil, commander of the 3rd Squad "Iztlacmitl" of the Huenyan Special Forces, nodded as he looked at the video screen. The rest of his squad, four Jaguar Warriors and five Eagle Warriors, also watched in silence as General Huatli continued. "Our intelligence indicates that the local police at Aropaonui are the only ones still guarding the two hostages. There are about ten National Police at a garrison in Aroha, ten miles away. And there are about fifty PDRM Army soldiers based at a small checkpoint in Kahurangi, about fifteen miles away. They have some jeeps and one armored vehicle, nothing too crazy. The nearest major forces are about thirty miles away, in Roimata."

Xipil wordlessly highlighted the positions Huatli was mentioning on a nearby tablet, which displayed a map of northern Milintica. "You will be landing about two miles east of Aropaonui, at the position labeled Tamati Point on your map. You are to land at 2 am Milintican time, which should catch any locals sleeping. You are to proceed overland to Aropaonui." Xipil swiped right on the tablet, and a map of Aropaonui appeared. "Once in Aropaonui, proceed along the back road called Petera Street to the rear of the police station. Intelligence indicates there should only be one policeman outside at the rear entrance. Once you disarm and disable that guard, you are to enter the building and proceed inside. We do not have a reliable blueprint for the inside of the police station, but it is a small structure. It should not take long to search. While the Jaguar Warriors enter the building, the Eagle Warriors are to proceed around the front and take down the single guard that should be present up front. We believe there should only be two or three officers inside the building itself, and they're just local cops, so they won't be a challenge." Huatli paused. "If you move quickly and avoid any complications, this should be a simple and quick extraction. Once you secure the station and find the hostages, the goal is to get out of Aropaonui as quickly as possible. Use a police vehicle to drive back to Tamati Point following the road labeled Āwhina Street. Get back to the Nahualli and get back out into the Gulf as far away from Milintica as possible, as quickly as possible. Avoid the Milintican Navy at all costs. They're not much of a navy, but the Nahualli isn't a warship, so not getting detected is best." Xipil nodded, laying down the tablet. "We'll get it done, General," he said.

"I know you will. Also, if at all possible, don't kill anyone. We're not trying to start a war with the Milinticans, we're just trying to free our people. This operation is going to blow up Neina Arana's tiny little brain as it is, so let's try to make it as painless and bloodless as possible." Xipil nodded his agreement, and after an exchange of salutes, the video call winked out.

Xipil stood up, and the rest of the squad followed. They didn't need to exchange a lot of words. The drill of preparation was well rehearsed to them.

---

As 2 am approached, Xipil gathered the squad together. "This is the first time Huenya has attempted any kind of military operation outside our borders. Well, except for the operations we send inside Xiomera to annoy the XCP pricks," he grinned, earning chuckles from his team. "But being serious, we cannot afford to fail this mission. It would be a tremendous embarrassment to Huenya for us to fail. More importantly, though, it would leave two of our people prisoner of these communist jackasses. We aren't going to let that happen, are we?"

The Huenyan operators shook their heads, expressions fierce. "Good. Let's get out there then," Xipil said.

Moving with speed and precision, the crew of the Nahualli brought an inflatable boat to the deck. They quickly attached it to a lifting bail, and the 3rd Squad scrambled on board. The ship's crew silently lowered the boat to the water, and once it landed with a soft splash, Xipil unhooked the boat from the Nahualli. The boat sped towards the nearby Milintican mainland. When it hit the beach, the squad silently disembarked and began marching towards Aropaonui.

When the squad arrived, the streets of Aropaonui were silent and deserted. The small village wasn't typically a hotbed of late night activity, making this the perfect time for the Huenyans to arrive. They quickly moved to the police station near the center of town, keeping to Petera Street, a small and mostly dark back road. At the police station, Xipil used hand gestures to order his squad to halt. As FIS had reported, a single policeman was keeping guard at the back of the station. "Keeping guard" was not a precise description, though, as the man appeared to be asleep. Xipil made several more hand gestures, and his squad split into two halves. The Jaguar Warriors, Xipil at their lead, moved to the back. As they arrived at the door, the Aropaonui policeman woke up with a start. Before he could even speak, though, Xipil lunged forward and knocked him out with a very efficient uppercut. Xipil searched the man for keys, then cursed when he couldn't find any. Ahuic, his second in command, wordlessly stepped forward and pulled gently at the door. The Aropaonui cop hadn't even bothered to lock the door behind him, and it silently swung open. Xipil rolled his eyes, and the five moved inside.

Meanwhile, at the front of the police station, the five Eagle Warriors snuck up behind the policeman guarding the door. He was not asleep, but given his total lack of perception, he might as well have been. His first realization that he was not alone came when he felt a hand on his shoulder. One of the Eagle Warriors swung him around, and another knocked him out with a quick application of a rifle butt to the face.

Inside the police station, the five Jaguar Warriors quickly discovered that the tiny police station was as easy to navigate as Huenyan intelligence had predicted. Two more police officers had been inside. Neither of them would prove to be any more observant or exceptional than their now-snoring colleagues outside.

Once the police station was fully secure, Xipil found a staircase leading downstairs. A jailer was watching the cells downstairs, but upon seeing five fully armed Huenyan special forces operators appear in front of him, simply smiled and put his hands in the air. Xipil gave the jailer a nod, and finally found the elusive set of keys he had wanted in the jailer's possession. In the cells, Itopan and Nelpan stood up hopefully. "Xipil, Federation Special Forces," the Jaguar Warrior said as he unlocked the cell doors. Itopan and Nelpan stepped out and began to offer their thanks, but Xipil cut them off. "Not to be rude, but you can thank us later if we succeed. We need to move. Make absolutely no noise and try to keep up with us." The two Huenyan diplomats nodded, grasping the seriousness of the situation.

The Huenyans, Xipil in the lead, went back outside at the rear entrance. The other Huenyan operators, at a signal from Xipil, ran back to the rear entrance. The group began piling into an Aropaonui Police van that was also, thankfully, left unlocked. Xipil jumped into the driver's seat. He once again briefly lamented the lack of needed keys, before sighing and smashing the steering column open with his baton. With a few deft maneuvers, he engaged the starter and the van coughed to life. "Hold on," Xipil shouted to everyone as the van lurched down the back roads of Aropaonui.

The ride back to Tamati Point and their waiting boat was undertaken quickly, the sound of rushing air as the van sped down the dark roads of rural Paora territory the only noise made. The police van eventually arrived at the beach, lurching sharply over the sand before shuddering to a halt at the boat. "Out, quickly," Xipil snapped and everyone began to pour out of various doors. The Huenyan operators and the two diplomats climbed into the boat. "Hold on tight. These boats don't usually carry extra passengers, and we don't have time to go back for anyone who falls off," Xipil warned the diplomats. Itopan and Nelpan silently nodded, as two of the Eagle Warriors pushed the boat back into the water. Once it was afloat, the Eagle Warriors jumped back in, and Xipil began guiding the boat towards the open water.

Twenty minutes later, at the Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli, President Xiadani waited nervously for video to resume. Defense Secretary Tlanexchel, High General Texōccoatl, FIS Director Cuetlancaona and General Huatli were also seated around the table with the President. The video feed finally came to life, and Xipil nodded. "The operation was completed successfully. We have both hostages safe and there were no casualties. The Milinticans don't seem to have noticed yet, even," Xipil said with a shrug. "We seem to have evaded their navy as well. But we are getting to international waters as quickly as we can. Once the Milinticans find out their prisoners are gone, they may well decide to intercept any Huenyan ship in their waters. I recommend we send a bulletin out to all of our merchant ships in the area to avoid Milintican waters for the time being."

The President nodded. "Good advice. And good work, Sergeant. Get back home safe." As the video ended, Xiadani stood up and sighed. "In a few hours, I predict that a certain Milintican president is going to want to talk to me far more eagerly than she did a few days ago. I suppose I should get to my desk and prepare for that." The looks on the faces of the others at the conference table clearly indicated they were all glad they didn't have to have that conversation.

Three hours later, as Xiadani had predicted, her assistant Moquihui popped his head inside her door. "Madam President, Neina Arana is calling, demanding to speak with you at once. She sounds, um, agitated."

The petty side of Xiadani briefly pondered refusing Arana's call, just as Arana had refused her call previously. Xiadani really, really wanted to do it. But she wasn't a child, she was President of Huenya. So, after a very long sigh, Xiadani nodded to Moquihui. "Go ahead and put her through."

As the video feed came to life, Xiadani pondered Neina Arana's face as it appeared on her screen. She looked sour. But really, she always looked sour, Xiadani mused. Xiadani adopted her brightest smile in response, indulging pettiness to just that extent. "Good morning, President Arana. What can I do for you?"

"How dare you!" Arana shouted, clearly not in the mood for pleasantries. "The two Huenyans who were being held in Aropaonui. You broke them out of jail. You assaulted multiple local police. Admit it!" Before Xiadani could respond, Arana continued to shout. "You dare to claim you are our friends and allies with one hand, but interfere with our elections and violate our sovereignty with the other? You take sides in our political process and violate our legal system? You won't get away with this, Xiadani. I demand you return the two Huenyans you broke out of jail, and I demand a public apology from you for violating our sovereignty and harming our police. If you don't, I swear Milintica will be done with the UCS and done with Huenya. I will cut off all diplomatic and trade ties with you and throw all your damned agents out of Milintica. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Xiadani's already limited patience with Neina Arana finally snapped for good. "What do I have to say? Blow it out of your rear end. That's what I have to say to you." Arana's face turned beet red, but before she could wind herself up for another round of shouting, Xiadani beat her to it. "You took two of our diplomats hostage, in violation of everything the UCS stands for, not to mention both international law and basic human decency. You're surprised that we responded? You're shocked that we didn't just leave our people behind to rot in your jails? Are you truly that dense? You think Milintica has the right to be angry here? Huenya had, and has, the real grievance here. And we had every right to bring our people home, whether you like it or not. Make whatever threats you want. You're a toothless leader of an inept and incompetent state, and you're no threat to Huenya. You're only a threat to your own people, with your massive ego and your insane ideology. Go ahead and pull out of the UCS if you want. We have the Manabí now, we don't need you. And if you think Huenya is going to just wait around while you try to wreck Caxcanan unity, you're very wrong. I doubt the Manabí or the Eirians will be interested in your attempts to use the UCS as some kind of bargaining chip to get your way either."

Xiadani continued implacably in the face of Arana's clear fury. "If you want to destroy your own country, that's on you. But Huenya won't let you hold the UCS over us as some kind of hostage. I mean, I know you like to take things hostage, but it didn't work with our diplomats, and it won't work with politics either. Huenya won't let you threaten our people either. Diplomats, officials, just citizens, whatever. If you put Huenyans at risk again, I will respond. And you will not like the response."

"You don't scare me, Xiadani. Huenya is the real toothless state here. How much more land have you lost to the Xiomerans today?" Arana sneered. Xiadani sighed. "We haven't lost anything to Xiomera in a year now, and you know it. As for that, though, do you really put yourself on the same level as Xiomera? Seriously? It sure seems like it, since you keep poking that particular bear. But here's some advice, Neina, and you really should take it. Just because Wosteaque handed you a bunch of shiny new hardware doesn't make you dangerous. Your military is still, well, your military. Handing them a bunch of shiny new weapons is like handing a two year old the keys to a car and expecting them to drive. Huenya is no superpower, you're right. But you're still Milintica. We can take you, if we have to. And, if you keep going the way you're going, I don't even think we would have a hard time finding help with that."

Before Arana could respond, Xiadani cut her off again. "The ease with which we got into Milintica and freed our people should give you pause. But knowing you, it probably won't. Honestly, part of me hopes that you give me another excuse." With a sharp jab of her finger, Xiadani cut off the call.

Back in Huānoch, Arana glared at her video screen, then stood up and called out to her assistant. "Get MNT studios on the line. I will be making an official statement to be broadcast in three hours."

[Democratic Republic Of Eiria]

Outside Lumiere, Auria

Dassault Manor, the former home of an extant branch of the royal family and one of Auria's recently rebuilt landmarks, was abuzz. Domestic staff hurried quickly through the halls, prepping the estate for the incoming arrival of UCS dignitaries in what possibly could be the most important summit since the Union's founding. It was not to be the most glamorous summit in history, as the staff had not had time to arrange for certain luxuries, but for the short notice that was given, it was certainly nothing to scoff at.

Prime Minister Jaques Arquette, along with his Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Treasury, and UCS Affairs stood just inside the Manor's foyer. A number of staff and other diplomats hovered around them, trying to prepare for any possible scenario that they could before the dignitaries arrived (a task that was sure to prove futile, Arquette was sure).

By virtue of geographic proximity, the Eirians arrived first. A contingent of Solar Guards preceded Chancellor Leah Stendē and her primary advisors, Charles Danton, Kaleb Zevē, and Renata Kalina as they walked through the door. Stendē gave a courteous bow to the Prime Minister as he went up to greet her.

"Kurena Chancellor. It is an honor once again. Welcome to Auria."

"The honor is mine, Prime Minister. We are always glad to visit our siblings across the Strait. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances..." She said with a morbidly amused glance towards the door.

The Huenyan delegation was next to arrive. President Xiadani was at the head of the group. The Huenyan Secretary of State Huitzilhuani, Secretary of Trade Yaochtzin and Secretary of Defense Tlanexchel accompanied her. Their Shorn Ones and FIS security detail followed them at a discreet distance. "Chancellor Stendē, it is good to see you as always. Prime Minister Arquette, thank you for hosting us all under such challenging circumstances."

"Of course, Madam President. Auria is always willing to do what it can to help its friends, especially the friends who helped it so recently." Arquette had his best respectful smile on, disguising his true feelings behind a diplomatic façade.

The last group to arrive before the 'guests of honor' were the delegation from Manabí Rive. Sapa Tanqui was accompanied by a single guard and no other officials. He gave a polite bow to the other officials. "Greetings to you all. Prime Minister, we are honored to be in Auria representing our people for the UCS."

"And we are pleased to welcome you into the fold. I predict a warm and constructive future with Manabí Rive in the UCS. We truly are stronger together." While Arquette's platitudes were genuine on some level, he had to force himself to say them. Members of the staff began to escort some of the delegates into the main hall as the hosts stayed behind, waiting for the final (and most problematic) delegation.

After making the other delegations wait for a deliberately long time, the Milinticans finally arrived. Neina Arana was escorted by her Minister of State Amiri Nopera, her Minister of Trade Huachilotl, and her Minister of Decolonization and Depatriarchalization Ngaire Tipene. Four Peoples' Army soldiers escorted them. Arana gave a tight smile as she approached the other leaders. "Chancellor Stendē, Sapa Tanqui, President Xiadani," Arana said in a tone that was polite but hardly warm. "Prime Minister Arquette. Thank you for asking us to be here."

"Of course, Madam President. It's no trouble at all to host our neighbors." Arquette gave a nod, before looking at his fellow heads of government and gesturing towards the main hall. "Well, shall we get this summit underway? The press is going to be disappointed to miss our talks, but I did not want any chatter disturbing these discussions."

"That is wise. The less seen and heard from them, the better," Arana said with a snort as she walked towards the main hall. Xiadani couldn't help herself; her eyebrows rose practically to her hairline at Arana's dismissal of the press. She quickly composed her expression, though, and followed Arana, Stendē and Tanqui into the main hall.

Inside the hall, a series of tables had been laid out in a sort of circle, with chairs at the tables for leaders and more behind them for aides and staffers. Each chair was labeled with a name tag to avoid any confusion (or further diplomatic incidents).

Arquette gestured for everyone to sit as he remained standing and cleared his throat. "Welcome, all of you, to the Dassault Summit. I have called you here today to discuss the current state of our Union and the future of its individual members, as it is prudent that we all be here to discuss events that would affect us all." The Aurian Prime Minister made sure his gaze was not stuck on any particular part of the room, projecting an image of a rational mediator.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. Speaking on behalf of Huenya, I can say that we are ready to do whatever we can to ensure that the UCS remains strong and united, as we are better off together than alone." Xiadani also did her best to avoid looking specifically at Arana as she spoke, although Milintica was clearly the reason for the summit.

Tanqui, for his part, stared at a neutral point midway between the wall and floor. "We feel the same way. I am sure that whatever differences we may have, we can resolve them to everyone's satisfaction and maintain this Union which protects and benefits us all."

Stendē, with her prosecutorial background, was a bit less inclined to pointedly ignore Arana, however she did temper her gaze the best that she could. "Of course. We are, after all, a union of siblings and neighbors. No matter what unique circumstances the geopolitical landscape may throw at us, we can overcome it. Either way, this is a unique point for the UCS, both politically and legally. I have a feeling that the precedent set at this summit will set a tone for the next era of Caxcanan unity, one way or the other."

Arana gave a short nod in response, unsmiling. "Indeed it will. And a significant part of that will involve how certain matters are resolved. I came here willing to talk, and listen, and I hope everyone here is willing to do the same." Arana gave Xiadani a brief look, causing the Huenyan leader to stiffen in annoyance, before continuing. "I have already committed Milintica to leaving the UCS, but that decision could yet be reversed if certain commitments were made to Milintica in order to justify a reversal of course to the Milintican people."

"It seems that the decision would only have to be justified to a certain segment of the Milintican people, given the protests taking place there in favor of the UCS," Xiadani interrupted in a cloying tone. A sharp smile played across Xiadani's lips as she said this.

Arana gave her own tight smile again in response. "A minor insurgency hardly connotes majority opposition to a government or its decisions. One wouldn't label the ethnic Xiomeran nationalists in Huenya as somehow representing the people or confirming that the government there is making bad decisions, for example."

Xiadani's expression sharpened even more at Arana's not-casual, casual offhand remark. Before things could go further down that road, Tanqui coughed gently. "Perhaps our good hosts could provide us with their suggestions as to how we should proceed." He gave Arquette a look that was outwardly polite but hiding a cross between an internal scream and a plea.

Arquette shared a similar look of hidden distress as he nodded back at Sapa Tanqui. "Of course. First off, as the withdrawal from the UCS is no light matter, I would like to ask President Arana to clarify the nature of the commitments that her government would like to see put in place in order for this sudden withdrawal to be reversed. After all, this union exists to serve all of its members, and as such, we are obligated to hear the concerns of individual member states." The Aurian leader looked over to the Milintican delegation, respectfully ceding the floor.

Arana smiled at Arquette. "Thank you, Prime Minister. Your respect is appreciated. There are certain things that, if provided, could make it far easier to justify remaining in the UCS. As you all know, the other UCS countries, being capitalist, are considerably wealthier in purely financial terms. As such, we feel that it would be fair for the other UCS countries to adopt the spirit embodied by 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'. Milintica should be allowed to waive any contributions or expenditures to the UCS for its operations for the near term. In addition, Milintica should receive substantially more aid than it currently receives from the UCS. An aid package of $150 billion is what we are proposing."

Into the silence at that remark, Arana continued. "Milintica, being a socialist state, also would like to see the other UCS countries give socialist and communist leaders their fair chance at leadership. Reassigning a set number of Cabinet posts, ministries or higher government roles to socialist leaders would satisfy us."

Xiadani sputtered at that demand, hastily converting it into a cough in an attempt to avoid an outburst. Arana made a sympathetic noise. "I do hope you're not coming down with something!"

Before Xiadani could recover enough to direct a verbal tirade at Arana, Chancellor Stendē spoke up. "Thank you very much for your... concerns, President Arana." Her tone was steady, showing little emotion. "First off, while ideological diversity is a key part of this region, democratic systems are even more sacrosanct. Setting a quota of leaders of a certain ideology would undermine the choices of the citizenry, especially if those quotas are favorable to one particular ideology. As such, the only way that such quotas could even be considered is if Milintica commits to varying its own cabinet as well."

"Furthermore, I do particularly sympathize with the struggles of the Milintican economy, which is why Eiria has committed itself to numerous joint economic ventures with Milintica in the past. While we are willing to help out our neighbors, that exact sum is out of the realm of feasibility to ask of us, I'm afraid. However, we would be amicable to lending monetary and other forms of assistance to certain endeavors, such as infrastructure investment, industry development, or educational programs. Such programs, while being a cost on fellow member states, would also reap the most benefits for everyone involved."

After looking around the room, Stendē turned to face Arana head on. "Would such a compromise be acceptable to you, Madam President?"

”It would not.” Arana’s tone was clipped. “The terms I have outlined are not a starting point for negotiations. They are our expectations. Furthermore, I was not done.” Arana took a bundle of papers out of her briefcase and handed it to one of her guards. The guard delivered it to the Huenyans. “That is an arrest warrant and request for extradition for the two Huenyan spies who were wrongfully extracted from Milintica to evade Milintican justice. Once Huenya agrees to honor the warrant and returns the two spies to our custody, we will be satisfied. There is also a blank piece of paper for President Xiadani, or someone she designates, to write a formal apology for Huenya’s violation of Milintican sovereignty. I have a pen if you need one,” Arana said. She pulled a red pen with the Milintican flag on it out of her jacket pocket. “You can even keep it as a souvenir if you like,” she said as she waved the pen in Xiadani’s direction.

Even Stendē did not attempt to hide her shock at the Milintican leader's gall. "Due respect, President, but the two Huenyans arrested in Aropaonui had diplomatic immunity. If there is anyone who should be extending an apology, it is the Milintican law enforcement officers who violated that immunity." The Eirian head of state adjusted her glasses. "And, if I may resort to realpolitik here, I believe that you know that there is no way we can meet these demands. What does your government have to gain from making these extraordinary demands?"

Arana’s face took on a look of outrage. “It isn’t that you cannot meet our requests,” she said. “It is that you will not, that you do not want to. And I do not appreciate your implications.”

Xiadani had heard enough. “The IDU Film Festival is a ways away, madam President,” she said acidly. “It’s a little early for you to be auditioning for an award just yet.”

Tanqui waved Xiadani down hastily. “President Arana, I am trying to be both reasonable and polite. But this is hardly negotiating in good faith.”

"And my intentions are not to imply anything, Madam President. I simply wish to understand your intentions. Neither steep demands nor the withdrawal from the UCS are things that should be taken lightly." Stendē's tone wasn't quite hostile, but still firm. "I apologize that we are not able to fulfill your demands, but they aren't feasible for anyone involved. And you are an intelligent woman, Madam President, so I would be shocked if you did not know that before making them."

"I would also be shocked," Xiadani said drily. "Making 'requests' that would be completely infeasible for the UCS to meet would simply be an unfortunate misunderstanding, right? If so, surely your 'requests' would be able to be reconsidered, amended, negotiated? If there was nothing to be implied other than a miscommunication, surely things don't have to be set in stone, right, President Arana?"

Arana pointedly ignored Xiadani as she stood from the table. "You all asked what it would take for Milintica to remain in the UCS. I have told you what is required. If this 'Union', for all its wealth and power, finds our requirements so 'infeasible', then you clearly do not see the worth of Milintica and its people. Or, you are trying to devalue us. Either way, I do not see the point in continuing this any longer. I am returning to Milintica. If you reconsider your inflexible position, you may contact us." With a sharp hand gesture to her delegation, Arana stalked out of the hall. The other Milinticans quickly followed.

"Madam President, if you would remain here, we still need to discuss the protocol... And they're gone." Arquette sighed, rubbing his temple in sheer exasperation. "We still needed to discuss the protocol for departures from the union, as this is a novel occurrence." He glanced over his shoulder to one of his aides. "Make sure they don't talk to the press out front. If they do, set the record straight, please."

Stendē's expression was a mixture of humor and cold anger in equal measure. "Well, I do not mean to exclude, but the delegation from Milintica has stepped away from good faith negotiations, and therefore has lost any say in the exact manner of their departure from the UCS. Why don't we iron those details out so they can be immediately implemented upon our returns home?"

Tanqui sighed. “I suppose it was inevitable. We should ensure any UCS staff and assets are relocated out of Milintica immediately if they haven’t already been. I wouldn’t put it past Arana to seize UCS property or accuse them of espionage in the same insane way she accused the Huenyan diplomats.”

Xiadani nodded soberly. “I am half tempted to have us charge Arana‘s government for the cost of winding down their membership, shutting down UCS operations in Milintica and relocating our people. But she wouldn’t pay anyway.”

Stendē shared a similar serious look. "Exactly. In order to minimize losses, we must act fast. As soon as this summit adjourns, all non-essential Eirian diplomatic and military personnel will be ordered to withdraw from the country immediately. We will be reinstating all taxes and tariffs that were in place before the UCS, and depending on if crackdowns on protesters continue, maybe some more for good measure. Additionally, I understand that Minister Danton has a contingency plan for visa fallbacks."

The former LIDUN Secretary-General nodded. "If you all would agree, I would like to create a temporary visa class for any Milintican citizen living in a UCS state who needs to get their affairs in order. In my mind, the visa would be for an initial six month period and extendable for up to eighteen, depending on extenuating circumstances and how long immigration proceedings take in each nation. This should give Milinticans enough time to return home or apply for other visas. This won't help any of our citizens living in Milintica, of course, but hopefully they can see the writing on the wall and get out quickly."

Xiadani nodded. “Such a visa is a good idea. We will also be restoring all taxes and tariffs related to Milintica pre-UCS and considering additional sanctions if Arana continues to tighten her grip back home. We should be cautious though. We want the UCS to present a united front when it comes to Milintica. But we don’t want to give Arana an excuse to claim that any actions we take against her are just retaliation for Milintica leaving the UCS.”

“She will claim that anyway. We must do what we must,” Tanqui said. “We agree to the proposed visa class as well, and will look at further measures to deal with Milintica.”

"Excellent. I'm glad that such a united front can be posed, even if it is because we've lost members as of late." Arquette remarked.

"Indeed. And while we all are here together, I did have another proposition." Stendē leaned forward as she spoke. "Given this time of division, I believe we have an opportunity to bring the Union closer together and present a truly united front. Some joint institutions, policies, that sort of thing. Would that be a reasonable request?"

Xiadani perked up at the mention of joint institutions. “Huenya would definitely be interested. Closer integration could only be of benefit.”

Tanqui seemed more pensive. “We are willing to integrate to a point. Forgive us for being cautious, but that is what being ruled by Xiomera for years will do to you.”

"We understand fully. Which is why many of these institutions would be collaborative in nature. Supranational, but still democratic. For instance, a joint elected assembly on expanded mutual policy. I know that many of these changes would take years of discussions and treaty revisions, but I am just wanting to get the ball rolling." The Chancellor adjusted her glasses, trying to gauge the reactions of her Caxcanan colleagues.

”A joint legislature of sorts sounds like a good starting point. It would give our populations back home more of a feeling that they had a say in how the UCS was run.” Xiadani tapped the table in thought. “A mutual defense council could also be beneficial.”

"Absolutely. Given our present alignment on economic and military policy, joint bodies would be beneficial. The exact capacities of these bodies may be a matter for a whole other discussion, but I would love to move this matter along as soon as possible. Does anyone have any objections?" Stendē let the room ponder for a few moments.

”I have no objections,” Tanqui said after a moment. Xiadani nodded in agreement. “I also have no objections and agree that time is of the essence here. Given what is happening in Milintica and Xiomera’s ongoing aggression, we cannot really afford to delay.”

"Perfect." Prime Minister Arquette stood, rubbing his hands together. "I'm glad we could find this sense of unity again. Now, before we open discussions on the details, shall we adjourn for lunch?"

[Xiomera]

Huānoch, Milintica

January 12th, 2025

Neina Arana and her Cabinet were sitting around the conference table in the Victory Room at Haven House in various states of irritation. The sanctions announced by Huenya were more of an annoyance than the leaders of Milintica liked to admit. Despite only being in power for a short time, Arana and her officials had already grown quite accustomed to a certain lifestyle. The idea that communism should be accompanied by austerity or an ascetic life seemed silly, at least for them. After all, Milintica’s new leaders were working hard every day to advance the cause of revolution, Milintican ideals and the red wave. Given all their hard work and sacrifice for the cause, it was only fair that they receive at least some reward!

Despite all their railing against capitalism, trade with the outside world had provided Arana and her closest circle comforts and benefits. Skimming from the taxes and tariffs such trade provided was also part of the package – a fact which had paid off nicely when the new government had sharply hiked said taxes and tariffs “because capitalist countries could afford it”. Huenya’s sanctions, in and of themselves, were not a huge problem. While Huenya did provide a lot of trade to Milintica, there were definitely wealthier and stronger economies out there. While Huenya did provide goods to Milintica (especially the luxury goods that Arana’s circle saw as a reasonable reward), other countries could provide said goods even easier and better. But if the insufferable President Xiadani succeeded in her crusade to convince other countries to sanction the MCP as well, things could get much more uncomfortable very quickly in Huānoch. It was with that thought in mind that Milintica’s leaders were deciding that if they were to have their lives made difficult, they would return the favor.

Protests against the dissolution of the Representative Assembly and the banning of rival political parties were continuing, but were increasingly fragmented and scattered due to the ongoing crackdown by the security forces. The detention of the top MPP leadership, along with that of the minor parties, was helping the new government keep the opposition disorganized and on the back foot. For now, the security forces and the NDIP were holding firm in their support for the government as well. The recent purge of their leadership had served that cause well.

Neina Arana was feeling more confident every day in her ability to maintain control of Milintica. It was now time to begin pushing for her agenda abroad.

The first project was nearby: Doi Nam. The Doinamese Liberation Army needed help in their fight against President Vuong and the Doinamese military. Milintica’s Popular Freedom Militias, backed by the Red Wave Guards, would soon send emissaries to the DLA. If the DLA proved receptive to Milintican help, Milintica’s infamous guerrillas would soon make their way to northern Doi Nam.

The second project was a little further away: Huenya. The Huenyan Communist Party and its allies in the Huenyan political scene were growing increasingly disgruntled with the dominance of Xiadani and her Unification Party, which was lurching increasingly rightward under her leadership. More to the point, Xiadani was proving to be an annoyingly vocal and active impediment to Arana’s dream of a red wave. It wouldn’t take much to convince the HCP and its allies to begin pushing back more aggressively against the Unification Party and the President. And if Xiadani proved to be too much of a problem, all of her rhetoric and fire wouldn’t protect her from a knife wielded in the shadows.

The last project was a bit further away still: Taragai. The holdouts of the old government under Chaghagan Khoga were quickly collapsing under assaults from both the transitional government and the rebels being backed by Xiomera. But the loss of Taragai would be a big embarrassment to Milintica, and Arana wasn’t prepared to concede that without a fight. With a stroke of her pen, more units of Popular Freedom Militias would try to find a way back into Taragai to bolster Khoga. Milintica’s own military leadership was privately convinced that Taragai was already lost, and that any effort to reverse that was doomed to failure. But none of them wanted to be the one to tell Neina Arana that she was doomed to embarrassment in Taragai no matter what she did. So in another part of the world, Milintican guerrillas would throw themselves into a meat grinder for a cause.

---

Chuaztlapoc, Huenya

At the same time that Huenya and its actions were on the minds of Milintican leaders, those same leaders and their actions were very much on the minds of Huenyan leaders as well.

President Xiadani and her own inner circle were now thoroughly convinced that “President” Arana’s victory was a sham. All of her actions since the election – blocking the election results from being reviewed, arresting opposition leaders, banning rival parties and shutting down the legislature – screamed “thief” in the ears of Xiadani and her circle. As leaders of a country that was a recent and very enthusiastic convert to democracy after six centuries of despotism, that was a big problem for the Huenyans.

Another huge problem for the Huenyans was the ramifications that Milintica’s slide into dictatorship posed for Caxcana. If Arana’s takeover went unchallenged, Huenyan intelligence officials feared that could encourage a domino effect around Caxcana. In a region that already had too many tyrannies, Caxcana simply couldn’t afford any more. As a still emerging and at times fragile democracy, Huenya itself was at risk if tyranny became ascendant again in Caxcana. Huenya’s leaders thus saw Neina Arana as a cancer growing in their midst.

A smaller but still present problem, in the grand scheme of things, was Huenyan pride. Being from a new country still finding its footing, Huenya and its leaders were searching for respect. From everything that had happened since two of their diplomats had been detained, the new Milintican regime had shown Huenya anything but respect. Every approach and action Huenya had taken towards Arana had been treated with contempt and disdain. While this never openly entered the discussions between Huenyan leaders as they decided how to deal with Arana, it was not not a factor.

Two plus two quickly came to equal four, as far as Huenya was concerned. Neina Arana had stolen the Milintican election. Therefore, she was not legitimately Milintica’s President. Her government was also illegitimate as a result, and any action taken against it was thus fully justified.

Huenyan intellligence was fully aware that there was a part of the MPP and other parties in Milintica that was advocating for a more forceful response to Arana’s regime. President Xiadani authorized the FIS to make contact with those activists. If there were people willing to fight for a democratic future in Milintica, Huenya was ready to help them.

And if nothing else, the Huenyans had just raised a brigade of volunteers to go fight in Taragai, only for the transitional government to decline them. That brigade didn’t have to go to Taragai. It could go elsewhere. Possibly somewhere closer to home.

[Xiomera]

Huānoch, Milintica
Haven House

The sounds of things breaking echoed through the halls outside the office of President Neina Arana. Iaka Hamuera winced at the noise. The Popular Freedom Militias commander sat down in a nearby chair, her expression pensive.

Next to her, Red Wave Guards commander Maro Arepata kept his face impassive as he stood in a firmly upright pose. Unlike Hamuera, he understood and shared Arana’s anger.

Police Commissioner Huaxō of the National Police, like Hamuera, couldn’t help but cringe slightly as the smashing sounds continued. Neina Arana had never been a calm or stable person, but this display of fury was unnerving even to someone like him who had been close to her since she had begun to take power.

Intelligence Director Ngaire Arepata, Maro’s brother, had an impassive expression on his own face as he waited with the others. For him, losing his nerve was a useless thing to do. Arana would punish whoever she felt was responsible for the current dilemma she was facing; what was the point in fearing what you couldn’t prevent?

In a separate but nearby huddle of their own, the leaders of Milintica’s military murmured to each other in low voices. General Teyanolli, General Xococatl and Admiral Anaru Aperahama weren’t sure why they were there. The security lapse hadn’t occurred under them. But they had been summoned like the others, so they waited as well.

Eventually (after what seemed like a very long time), the noise from the presidential office subsided. The door swung slowly open. Ahi Kaiata, Arana’s personal bodyguard, gestured for them all to enter with an abrupt swing of his hand. When they walked in, they quickly discovered what the breaking sounds had been. Every single chair in the office, with the exception of the President’s own, had been either kicked or thrown into piles of fabric and wood. Behind her large and ornate desk, Neina Arana sat, panting slightly and a bit disheveled. The inner circle of Milintica’s security structure stood in a row in front of the desk, looking for all the world like schoolchildren called in front of the principal.

The President glared at them. “I am not even going to ask who is responsible for letting that traitor Tahana get out of the country. We will punish their incompetence later. First, we need to determine what she knows and what she could tell the Huenyans.”

Ngaire Arepata coughed slightly. “From what Hauraki told us, she has a substantial amount of information about the election, and the PEC’s role in delivering us victory. Vote records, internal communications, even copies of emails and messages between Hauraki and others.” He sighed as he pondered just how much PEC Chairman Wera Hauraki had warned him about. “We can only conclude that Tahana got out with enough information to reveal, well….everything.”

Arana stared at him silently for a full minute, as he and everyone else in the room sweated. “Well,” she said finally. “We will naturally deny everything. We will say Huenyan intelligence paid Tahana off, that they fabricated all this ‘evidence’ with her. We will say that Xiadani and Huenya, and probably the other UCS states, are engineering a fake story to remove me and put their favorite Matōchmizalo back in power.” Arana paused again. “And, if the rest of the world doesn’t like that story, well, too damn bad. We’re in power now, either way, and they can deal with it.”

“What about our domestic population? There are still a lot of former MPP supporters out there who have never accepted the change in power. They will seize on this to cause more unrest,” Ngaire Arepata said.

“That’s why the rest of you are here.” Arana eyed the others one by one. “You control the police, the military, and the militias. You’ve kept them on my side up to now, and kept the opposition squashed as they deserve. You will continue to do so. Not just for my sake - if I fall, we all fall. For your own necks as much as mine, you better keep everyone in line.”

“Do we have your permission to do whatever it takes to do so?” Maro Arepata asked with a small smile on his face. “You have my order to do so,” Arana replied coldly. “That includes tying up loose ends. While certain individuals were vital to our rise to power, and earned our gratitude, they are also now a liability. That needs to be addressed. For the good of our revolution. I trust you know what to do, Maro.” Arepata nodded firmly, eyes lit with fervor. “As for other loose ends…Tahana may think she is safe in Huenya. I trust that NDIP will make sure she is not.” Ngaire Arepata nodded at the President.

“You are all here for another reason,” Arana said. “Given these unfortunate revelations, we shall need a distraction to unite our people behind us and put this story out of the headlines. It just so happens that we have the perfect opportunity for that. Aoatea.”

At the mention of the islands that were disputed between Milintica and Xiomera, the three military commanders in the room tensed up. “Aoatea, madam President?” General Teyanolli asked finally.

“Exactly, General. I feel that it’s time for us to nudge the Xiomerans to finally move on and let us reclaim our territory. The Xiomerans are stretched thin militarily, especially now that they are getting bogged down in Taragai. They won’t want to start yet another conflict, especially over a small set of islands that are peripheral to them. If we begin putting pressure on them at Aoatea, they may well decide to save face and strike a deal with us.”

General Teyanolli’s expression congealed. “Madam President, I don’t know that we have enough military force available to ‘nudge’ the Xiomerans, even with how burdened their military is lately.” It would be like a mouse trying to nudge an elephant to move, Teyanolli thought privately. He didn’t dare say that, though.

“We don’t actually have to fight the Xiomerans,” Arana said impatiently. “We just need to make them think we’ll fight. They’ll cave. Calhualyana caved in Auria, and in Huenya. She’s not as scary or tough as she wants everyone to think she is. She will cave again,” Arana finished confidently. “I want you to begin drawing up plans to probe the Xiomerans’ perimeter around Aoatea with naval and air sorties. Nationalism and war always unite a country and people. We can use that to unite Milinticans around our government and put an end to the opposition once and for all, and for little risk. The Xiomerans will give in. They have little choice, with their armies scattered around the world and the UCS staring them in the face at home. At least the UCS will finally prove good for something, if it keeps the Xiomerans penned in,” Arana snorted.

The military commanders exchanged glances, before Teyanolli turned back to Arana. “We will begin drawing up plans, madam President,” he said finally.

—

Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli
Chuaztlapoc

President Xiadani sat at her desk in the presidential residence, poring over some notes, when the knock came. She had been expecting it. “Enter, please,” she said.

The door opened and her assistant Moquihui peered inside. “Your 10:00 am appointment is here, madam President,” he said. Xiadani smiled and gestured for Moquihui to show them in.

Mikaere Tahana walked in, a smile crossing her own face as she shook the President’s hand. “Madam President, thank you for seeing me,” she said.

“I am honored to do so,” Xiadani replied. “You came a long way to be here, after all. From what I understand, it was not a pleasant journey.”

“Indeed not,” Tahana replied with a grimace. “I had to avoid the National Police, not to mention Arana’s Red Wave Guards. It was….challenging.”

The President nodded. “Well, you need not fear that now. While we haven’t announced it yet, I have instructed the State Department to ensure that your asylum request is approved. The Huenyan Federation will provide you a safe haven until things in Milintica can be fixed.”

“I am grateful for that, madam President,” Tahana said. “But I would be cautious. For your own safety too, not just where mine is concerned. Neina Arana is violent, and frankly a little unhinged. I would not be surprised if she sends knives in the shadows against her opponents here.”

“If she tries it, I’ll send them back to Milintica in body bags,” Xiadani said flatly. Tahana noted Xiadani’s determined expression, and reminded herself that this was the same leader who had fought off terrorists in her own capital and defied Empress Calhualyana. Xiadani’s promise made her feel oddly reassured.

“I just have one question.” Xiadani’s gaze bored into Tahana. “Is it true? Did she steal the election?”

“It is, and she did. And I can prove it,” Tahana replied calmly.

Xiadani grinned. “Then Federal Intelligence and my government will help you prove it.” She looked up as Moquihui came back in with a coffee service. “Let’s have a bit of refreshment, and then we can discuss how.”

[Xiomera]

Chenalco Islands (Aoatea)
April 29th

Captain Rua Henare of the People's Navy smiled slightly to himself. His ship, the Taniwha, was the flagship and most powerful warship in the fleet. The destroyer had been given to Milintica by Wosteaque before Neina Arana had come to power. That nation had since dropped its support for the PDRM, but the Milinticans still had the ship. The two corvettes escorting the Taniwha (also donated), along with the destroyer, constituted the core of the Navy. Like the President, Henare felt that the three modern and capable warships would send a significant message to the Xiomeran interlopers in what were rightfully Milintican waters and land.

The planes escorting his task force were also part of that message. The ten Black Kite fighters (also donated) were as advanced as any Xiomeran warplane. If the minions of the evil Empire wanted to play, Henare thought, he was ready for the challenge.

As the task force neared Aoatea, their approach would not go unnoticed.

---

At the Pahatlan Joint Base, Operations Specialist Erennite was responsible for manning the powerful array of radars and satellite feeds that kept watch around the Imperial colony. He wasn't typically super observant. The Chenalco Islands were a small colony, halfway to nowhere as far as Erennite was concerned. Nothing ever happened there, typically.

Typical, however, had gone right out the window since Neina Arana had been elected. Because of that, the boring life and duty routine of Erennite and his fellow Imperials was about to get a lot more interesting. When the surveillance network picked up the approach of the Milinticans and began to send warnings, Erennite hastily shoved his phone back into his pocket. The mobile game he had been playing would have to wait. The Specialist slammed a button on his control panel. As alarms began to sound, the commander on duty sauntered into the C&C center. "What the hell, Erennite?" Commander Ayanaxi demanded. Wordlessly, Erennite pointed to his screens. Ayanaxi's eyes widened. She reached for the nearby microphone. "Incoming forces! This is not a drill! Sound battle stations and man your positions!"

While the garrison manning the Xiomeran colony had gotten used to a lackadasical indolence, they were still trained Imperial soldiers, sailors and airmen. When the alarms sounded and their commander issued her orders, the Xiomerans snapped into action. The rhythms of war, drilled into them with relentless training, came back easily enough. Xiomeran Itlanan warplanes began to scramble, rising from the Pahatlan airfield to meet the Milintican fighters. Imperial soldiers took up position at the islands' shore defenses. At the Pahatlan naval base, several Xiomeran warships prepared to sortie to meet the incoming Milintican task force. Led by the Teoxinoch, a Quiauhticue-class destroyer, the small Xiomeran fleet was soon on the move out of port.

As the two groups of ships and planes approached each other, Erennite began broadcasting towards the Milinticans. "Incoming Milintican vessels and warplanes. You are trespassing in Xiomeran Imperial airspace and waters. Withdraw at once or we will destroy you."

Onboard the Taniwha, Henare growled to himself in response. Arrogant Xiomeran bastards. "Maintain course. Do not break radio silence," he ordered.

Back at Pahatlan, Erennite shook his head wordlessly at Ayanaxi. The commander picked up the microphone again. "All fighters, engage weapons lock. All warships, lock systems onto the intruders and prepare to fire if they continue to approach."

The Xiomerans did as instructed. Onboard the Milintican fighters and warships, warnings began to blare as the Xiomerans acquired target locks on them. Henare growled again. "Return the favor. Lock weapons on those Imperial fascists."

Warnings were now blaring aboard the Xiomeran warplanes and ships as well, as the Milintican weapons spun up and acquired targets. Are these crazy idiots about to start a war? Ayanaxi thought. She grabbed the headset Erennite was wearing off his head, muttering a brief apology as it whacked him in the head. Putting it on, she began to speak in a voice she hoped was scary enough. "Milintican intruders. This is Commander Ayanaxi of the Imperial garrison of the Chenalco Islands. This is your last chance to withdraw before we end your annoying existence on this planet. Terminate your weapons locks and cease your approach. I will not issue another warning."

Back on his ship, Henare snickered. Why do the Xiomerans always feel like they have to imitate bad actors portraying villains in a B-movie? Luckily for Ayanaxi and the Xiomerans, his orders were not to actually start a war.

Today, anyway.

"Commander Ayanaxi. We will stop our approach and withdraw - for now. But let this serve as notice, both to your garrison and to your leaders back home. The People's Democratic Republic will not cower to you anymore. We have a leader now who isn't afraid of you. It is time for you and all of your fascist bootlickers to go back home. Aoatea is ours. And we will reclaim it, one way or another." Henare cut off the transmission before Ayanaxi could respond, and switched to his inter-fleet channel. He gave the order.

The Milintican task force, both on water and in the air, began to turn around in a slow and deliberate manner. Taunting.

As the Milinticans began to withdraw, Ayanaxi was not amused. And as she ordered Erennite to open a channel to Central Command in Tlālacuetztla, she suspected her superiors would not be either.

---

Palace of Flowers
One hour later

Empress Calhualyana had absorbed the intelligence briefing on what was already being called the "Chenalco Incident" by the Xiomeran press in silence. After it was done, she folded her hands and looked around the room. "Opinions?"

"We need to send an unmistakable message to the Milinticans and the world. This kind of direct challenge to Imperial might by such an impudent and weak nation simply cannot be tolerated." Justice Minister Cuicanan tapped his fist lightly against the table. "A bombing run on Karauna should do it."

At the mention of Milintica's aging and insecure nuclear plant, Minister of State Toquauhtli snorted in alarm. "While I agree that the Milinticans need to be put in their place, blowing up their nuclear facility and irradiating half of Milintica is a suggestion that proves that you should stick to domestic crime and leave international matters to soldiers and statesmen."

The Empress looked at Cuicanan soberly. "I would agree, and remind you that I came to power by overthrowing someone who wanted to cause a nuclear catastrophe. As such, you can probably see why I am not eager to embrace your suggestion." Cuicanan reddened and did his best to shrink down to avoid Calhualyana's gaze, no small feat for a burly man.

"Perhaps a bombing run isn't a bad idea, but against a more sane target. We could always take out the Milinticans' pint-size fleet or their cute little air force," Defense Minister Chuanacoyo smirked.

"That might be a prudent suggestion. It would certainly eliminate the Milinticans' ability to pose a threat to Chenalco moving forward, even as minimal as their threat is," Security Minister Tochuitli noted.

"Perhaps we shouldn't be so hasty." Prime Minister Toquihu twirled a pen in his fingers meditatively. "After all, when your enemy wants to hang themselves, why not supply them the rope? I say, if Arana is serious...or even if she isn't...let her play her game. She's obviously trying to distract her population from the election scandal. But if she continues to give us an excuse to act, eventually, we could just make the rest of Milintica one of our colonies. Who would defend her, after all?"

"That could be overreach," Tochuitli protested. "Our military is already stretched a bit thin, in Taragai and, well, everywhere else."

Chuanacoyo bristled at that. "The Imperial Armed Forces can handle any challenge. And Milintica, even with our current commitments, isn't much of a challenge."

The Empress raised a hand. "I do want to be mindful that we don't overcommit ourselves. But an opportunity shouldn't be missed either. If it comes down to it, Ebegei and Taragai are expendable if it means we gain Milintica in exchange and strengthen our hand in Caxcana. I want the Expeditionary Fleet and its Imperial Marines pre-positioned in Chenalco. If Arana gives us another excuse, we'll give her a war whether she actually wants one or not."

---

Miyaoatzal International Airport, Ixtenco, Huenya
April 30th

Mahuihuani and Chimalma smiled at the Federation Immigration and Customs Service agent as he handed them back their passports. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome to Huenya. I hope you enjoy your visit."

"Oh, we will," Chimalma said as she gave the agent a dazzling smile. "We've been looking forward to seeing where our ancestors came from ever since Huenya gained its independence. This wasn't possible for us during Xiomeran rule."

The FICS agent nodded sympathetically. "Many things are possible now that Huenya is free. Have a good trip."

The two of them thanked the agent and entered the international terminal. After a quick stop to gather their luggage, they were ready to leave the airport. The two of them, despite what their passports said, were not visitors from Lauchenoiria. And despite their well-rehearsed cover story, the two of them were not the children of Huenyans who had been in exile in Lauchenoiria to escape the Xiomeran regime during its occupation of Huenya.

The two of them were actually members of the Red Wave Guards. And their visit to Huenya was more of a business trip, although it would also be a pleasure if they succeeded in their goal - eliminating the traitor Mikaere Tahana.

[Xiomera]

Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli, Presidential Residence of the Huenyan Federation
May 10th

President Xiadani tapped her fingers on the conference table in thought. "This situation is not acceptable," she said finally.

Her Cabinet and intelligence officials, seated around the table, were pretty much universally in agreement on that. Director Cuetlancaona of the FIS had just finished presenting his rather grim intelligence assessment of the Milintican situation. His conclusions were stark: overstretched or not, Calhualyana would invade Milintica and occupy it if Arana's government gave her even a little excuse. And the situation around Aoatea, or the Chenalco Islands, or the "stupid ass specks of dirt that will cause a war", as Xiadani termed them, was more than a little excuse no matter what you called the place.

If Xiomera did invade Milintica, Cuetlancaona's assessment said, the Empire would likely topple the Milintican government and its military forces within a week at the maximum. There would undoubtedly be resistance long after that; Milinticans had a tradition of guerrilla warfare and insurgency under their belt. The Xiomerans may well find themselves with a nasty case of buyer's remorse for years afterward, Cuetlancaona had said. But that would be small comfort to Huenya and its neighbors, who would once again find themselves flanked on either side by Xiomeran-controlled territory. The Empire would regain a dominant strategic position in eastern Caxcana. Milintica's resources and territory would be bent to the will of a resurgent Empire, powering its industrial and war-making machine. "Not acceptable" was a barely adequate phrase to describe the situation, in Xiadani's mind.

"Director Cuetlancaona. Secretary Tlanexchel," the President said, looking at the FIS Director and the Defense Secretary. "This was personal for me, I admit. I just don't like Neina Arana," she shrugged. "But now, her blundering stupidity is putting Huenya, and our allies, at risk. I will not tolerate that. This isn't personal anymore - now it's business," Xiadani said with a slight touch of irony coloring her voice at the twist of the old phrase. "Have we downloaded and investigated all of the information Tahana brought with her?"

"We have, madam President," Cuetlancaona said. "The entire plot is laid bare. How Arana and her Communists found people in the highest echelons of the Milintican military and security forces who were unhappy with Matochmizalo's reforms, and how she found people within the electoral commission who felt the same way. How they all worked together to falsify the election results, with evidence of altered ballot counts all the way down to precinct levels at some places." Cuetlancaona shook his head in wry admiration. "It's actually pretty remarkable how the MCP was able to get their hooks into so many people to make this happen. You almost have to admire it. But they screwed up by keeping records of their little scheme where Tahana could get to them."

"Perhaps they were that proud of their little scheme, to think that the records were irrelevant," Xiadani shrugged. "And of course, when we present the evidence of this scheme, Arana will just accuse us of making it up to discredit her and double down on her seizure of power."

"Oh, undoubtedly she will," Cuetlancaona agreed. "But when we drop the bomb, so to speak, Milinticans will know it's all true. The former members of the MPP, and the other parties...the military and security forces who aren't compromised...even everyday Milinticans who have tried to keep their heads down...when we break this, all absolute hell is going to break loose in Milintica."

"I know. I am counting on that," Xiadani said. "When things do go up in Milintica, we have to be ready to help those who will fight Arana's regime. We need to get them arms, supplies, and boots on the ground if need be."

"We'll be starting a civil war there," Secretary of State Huitzilhuani said warningly. "We went through one of our own not long ago. Do we really want to visit that hell upon another people?"

Xiadani sighed. "It's not what I want to do. I remember our own all too well. And its aftershocks. I had to run for my life from this very residence, not long ago, in my own capital. Trust me, I get it. But Arana is pushing the Empire and sooner or later, they will respond. Will the Milinticans be better off under Imperial domination? We Huenyans know how that version of the story ends, too." The others sitting around the table nodded soberly as Xiadani continued. "With our plan, the Milinticans will at least get a chance to play out their own destiny. If they fail to overthrow Arana, and she ends up getting Milintica conquered by Xiomera after all...at least we won't have sat on our hands and just watched another country and people fall under the same yoke that Huenyans labored under for centuries."

Xiadani stood up and walked to the windows overlooking Chuaztlapoc. "Neina Arana is an illegitimate leader who is leading her country to disaster. We won't let her. Commence preparations for Operation Manahuia."

"We should speak with our UCS partners before we actually do anything. Including releasing the election evidence," Huitzilhuani said. The President nodded. "I will request a meeting of the UCS leadership to discuss this with them. For now, though, we get ready to go."

[Xiomera]

Federal Intelligence Service HQ
Ixtenco, Huenya

Director Cuetlancaona walked through the halls of the FIS headquarters at a brisk pace. After the announcement he had made concerning the Milintican elections, the Director knew that things would begin to happen quickly. Dominos would begin to fall, and he had to make sure that Huenya's mission in Milintica would not get crushed under a giant obsidian domino with the flag of the Xiomeran Empire on it.

Cuetlancaona arrived at the elevator designated for the use of top FIS officials, and swiped his badge over the reader next to the buttons. A gentle ping accompanied with a green light confirmed that he was, indeed, one of the few allowed aboard. As he waited for the elevator to descend, the Director found himself bemused that even this elevator was playing a soft, almost inaudible bit of elevator music. It was one of the holdovers from the FIS headquarters' previous life as a Xiomeran bank that no one had bothered to get rid of.

When the elevator finally stopped, a friendly voice informed him in English and Huenyan that he was on floor 27. He stepped off the elevator and walked through a set of double doors that opened for him automatically after another badge swipe. The two guards at the door nodded politely as the Director stepped inside. Light flashed briefly on the words engraved into the doors as they opened: Federal Intelligence Service Intervention Program.

Cuetlancaona walked past a set of doors on either side of a long hallway, with labels such as Armory, Simulation Training, Classrooms A-F, and Library. He soon arrived into a lobby of sorts at the end of the hall. Two Huenyan flags hung on either side of the FIS seal on the wall in front of him. Below that, a phrase was engraved in Huenyan: They died so others could live in freedom. Never forget their sacrifice. A small set of plaques, each bearing a person's name, was mounted to the wall under the phrase. Small, but growing. The plaques might have made someone else sad, but not him. The names on that wall had died as warriors, fighting an implacable and (in the Director's mind) utterly evil enemy. They all knew that their lives were at risk, and did it anyway. That wasn't a thing to be sad about to the Director. It was the reason why they were all in this building.

Cuetlancaona paused for a moment, before finally walking up to the double doors at the end of the lobby. Yarepil, Director of Intervention was the name on the sign next to the doors. The Director walked into the room, greeting the man sitting behind the desk inside. Yarepil, the Director of the Intervention Program, smiled and shook Cuetlancaona's hand before they both sat down. "Just saw your press conference. That was fun," Yarepil said with a laugh.

Cuetlancaona gave a short laugh of his own in response. "You have a unique definition of fun." The Director shook his head. "I'm actually here because of that announcement, in fact."

Yarepil cocked his head inquisitively, in a somewhat catlike pose. "Oh? Arana's misdeeds, though troubling, don't seem like something that falls under my domain. Or are we expanding my department's efforts to Milintica now?"

"No. Not yet, at least," Cuetlancaona said. "We may need to get people out of Milintica if things go really bad. But our desired endgame in Milintica, restoring the rightful government to power, will hopefully allow us to avoid that." The Director tapped the arm of his chair. "But the Intervention Program does have a possible role to play here. I assume you've seen the reports about what the Empire has been doing ever since Arana tweaked their nose at Aoatea?"

"Oh yeah," Yarepil said with a derisive snort. "What was that idiot thinking, getting Calhualyana's attention?"

"She's trying to distract people at home with a bit of chest-beating and flag-waving. But it's indeed stupid. Callie will take that bait, because the Empire can swallow Milintica whole without even breaking much of a sweat once Arana gives her a casus belli." Cuetlancaona tapped the chair again. "But Callie is stretched awfully thin right now. We propose to give her even more to be distracted about so that she can't take over Milintica before we can get Arana out. That is where you come in."

Yarepil leaned forward, despite himself, as Cuetlancaona continued. "Your Planters and Guardians are about to get a specific mission. If an Imperial invasion of Milintica appears imminent, they are to cause chaos in the Empire. Disrupt supply lines and production, harass and attack security forces and military bases, destroy or degrade military supplies and munitions. Take out vehicles if they can. Anything to hinder Callie's dream of annexing Milintica, or at least slow her down. Your job will be simple: keep Callie and her minions so busy at home putting out fires that they won't be able to pull off an invasion."

Yarepil nodded eagerly, then paused. "FIS has never given us the green light to go after the Empire like that before. What's changed?"

"August 24th, 2023," Cuetlancaona replied in a dry tone. Yarepil didn't have to ask the significance of that date. That was the day the Golden Blade insurgency began its full-scale bid to topple the Huenyan government. It had cost the country a leader, along with thousands of other lives. It had nearly ended the Huenyan dream before it had a chance to truly began. And both men knew fully well that the Empire had been behind it.

"The Empire once saw fit to go after us. Now we're going to return the favor. Get a little bit of payback. But most importantly, we may help save Milintica from the fate that Neina Arana seems so determined to deliver to it. Milintica is not becoming an Imperial colony. No one else in Caxcana is going to suffer under Imperial oppression, if we can help it. And maybe...seeing that the Empire isn't invulnerable, or inevitable, will finally wake some Xiomerans up. A fire always starts with a spark, no?"

Yarepil nodded again, as Cuetlancaona stood up. "I'll let you figure out the details. But when the call comes down...be ready."

[Xiomera]

If Imperial Intelligence didn't know better, they would have thought that Neina Arana wanted Xiomera to take over her country.

The Coyoaculhe surveillance plane that the Milintican military had forced to land in Huānoch was, in theory, a serious loss for the Xiomeran Empire. After all, such a plane would have contained a wealth of information and data. Not to mention the sensitive and advanced technology aboard it, which would be risky to have fall into the wrong hands. Then there was the crew, whose own knowledge and experience could be highly valuable to an enemy. 

Such a loss would be expected to raise grave concern in Tlālacuetztla. But Imperial Intelligence was, actually, quite pleased.

The plane in question, upon further investigation, would prove to be surprisingly obsolete. The technology aboard was, by Imperial standards, more worthy of a military museum than an active warplane. The "data" aboard was a prime example of the phrase "garbage in, garbage out". 

And the "crew" aboard the plane, with the exception of the pilots, were not part of either the Imperial Aerospace Force or Imperial Intelligence. They were, in fact, Warriors of Tezcatlipōca and Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli. The Milintican military had been kind enough to help Xiomera insert twelve highly trained special forces soldiers into one of the most critical bases in the entire Milintican defense network.

Imperial Intelligence, the General Staff, and the Palace of Flowers were very glad that Neina Arana had stolen an election. Because if their plan played out the way the Xiomerans were hoping, it would be the last election Milintica ever had. It would be the last anything that a free, independent Milintica ever did. Arana had played right into their hands. Soon enough, if the Xiomerans' gods were willing, Xiomera would achieve the greatest gain yet for its "New Empire" thanks to the convenient casus belli Arana had given them.

---

But gods or not, there was at least one leader who was determined to save Milintica from itself. And, ideally, to shove a stick into the collective eyes of every Imperial militarist and land-grabber in Tlālacuetztla.

President Xiadani was looking out the windows of the conference chamber at the Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli. In the distance, she could see the new Tiacahuan Tlahlotl rising above the Chuaztlapoc skyline. The glowing blue flame atop the tower cast a strong glow into the sky as twilight approached. She was in the midst of a meeting with her cabinet, and Secretary of State Huitzilhuani was going over the country's latest diplomatic endeavors. "My department is ready to send observers to monitor the referendums in Zongongia. We have put a team together already. Many of them already have experience from monitoring the Milintican elections, so they should be prepared for any wrinkles that may arise," the Secretary said.

"Good. Once we receive permission to send them, go ahead and dispatch them," the President said. "I doubt there will be any issues, since the Zongongians actually want observers there, unlike what we experienced in Milintica."

The Secretary nodded as the President continued. "I'm glad you mentioned Milintica though, because that's our next subject. It's clear from the reports that we have received from FIS that the Imperial regime is gearing up to move on Milintica. Arana was dumb enough to give them an excuse, and unless something happens before the Empire moves, Milintica is toast." Xiadani tapped the table. "We're not going to let that happen. Director Cuetlancaona, we've successfully been able to make contact with the remaining leaders of the MPP who have managed to avoid getting arrested, correct?" 

The FIS director nodded. "They've proven receptive to our offers of assistance. Matōchmizalo and Tupai Tapihana, along with other leaders being detained, are about to go on trial. Since Arana and her people may well push to find them guilty of treason and execute them, there are plenty of MPP supporters who would like our help to break them out before a trial actually happens."

"Good. When the time comes, we need to move with maximum speed. I want FIS agents in position to help the MPP supporters get Matōchmizalo and Tapihana out of prison. We'll need to move fast to get them to a safe place. And then, we need to rally support from other countries to put them back in power. Neina Arana stole the election, and stole her place as President. We're going to reverse that. I want our brigade of volunteers ready to be sent to Milintica once things actually blow up. We may need help getting them there, especially if there are Imperial forces trying to move as well. We need to beat them to the punch." The President turned back to Huitzilhuani. "Reach out to our allies in the UCS, as well as anyone else we can convince to give us a hand. We're not asking anyone else to put boots on the ground, we just need some planes or some boats to get our own volunteers there."

The Secretary looked up from her notes. "That might be a hard sell, madam President. Stolen election or not, many governments may be hesitant to help us intervene so directly in the affairs of another sovereign nation. Even if they're not the ones who have to do it themselves."

"Then we have to convince them." Xiadani tapped the table again. "I know that there are many leaders who would prefer to let Milintica reap the rewards of their leaders' stupidity. Or who don't want to challenge Xiomera. Or have qualms about using their power to actually defend freedom and do what is right, instead of simply talking about it. I know that many governments are content to just let things happen and hope they all work out for the best. But we Huenyans, we know that things don't 'just work out'. If you want freedom to prevail, you actually have to fight for it." The President shook her head. "Other nations can choose what role they want to play in the world. But I intend for Huenya to be the world's conscience, if nothing else."

Xiadani smiled slowly. "If nothing else, the chance to thwart Calhualyana's plans and give her a migraine should appeal to some out there." Laughter echoed around the room at that remark. "We all have our tasks and missions to complete. Let's get out there and do them."

As the members of her cabinet filed out of the room, Xiadani looked out the window once more at the shiny new tower dominating the skyline of Chuaztlapoc. 

[Xiomera]

Waters northeast of Milintica
November 3rd

Admiral Atlatoninyo of the Imperial Navy calmly looked over her charts. She was commander of the Mizquicatl, a Xācen-class battleship that was the flagship of the Gold Fleet. She was also overall commander of what the General Staff had dubbed Task Force Nenetl. Along with her fleet, the Expeditionary Fleet of the Imperial Navy was attached to her command. Double the power, double the fun, the Admiral thought to herself with a smirk.

She was about to have a lot of fun with the Milinticans.

Empress Calhualyana had warned Neina Arana and her minions that detaining a Xiomeran surveillance plane and crew in their country would cause extremely severe consequences. Those consequences had arrived, in the form of certain ships that were part of those two fleets. A typical Imperial naval fleet had five Xi'ya-class missile submarines in it. Those submarines could carry either guided or ballistic missiles. It was fortunate for the Milinticans that the Empress wasn't angry enough (yet) to send ballistic missiles. But there were ten submarines now within range of Milintica, each with 150 cruise missiles onboard.

That was only half of the surprise. A typical Xiomeran fleet had either a Xochimara amphibious transport dock or Quenomi arsenal ship, depending on the mission. Since Xiomera wasn't (yet) launching a land invasion, there were now two arsenal ships floating near Milintica. Each of them had 450 cruise missiles onboard.

And if that wasn't enough overkill, the Mizquicatl and her sister ship, the Cuauhcalli, had their own missiles and big guns onboard to deliver the knockout blow.

Admiral Atlatoninyo smiled as the clock above her command center ticked over to 2:00 am Milintican time. "Sound battle stations. All ships, commence bombardment and ready our birds to get in the air."

With that command, the two Xiomeran fleets began launching their missiles. The big battleships added their fire to the cacophony of violence, massive guns firing off shells and missile batteries sending wave after wave streaking towards their targets.

---

The majority of the People's Air Force was based at two airfields near Huānoch. The 50 Black Kite fighters they had received from Wosteaque were kept at those bases, since Milintica had no aircraft carriers. The state-of-the-art fighters were the pride of the Air Force. They were a good match against anything Xiomera could put up against them.

And they were sitting ducks in neat rows against the wave of missiles about to tear their airfields apart.

Milintica's air force had excellent fighters now. But they had the same anti-missile defenses that the country had always had. Scattered, obsolete, no match at all for Xiomeran firepower. When the skeleton crews at the airfields saw the incoming waves of missiles, and heard the whistling of incoming shells, they sounded the alarm for their pilots to scramble and desperately tried to warn the defense command at Fort Amacatl. It was already too late.

The people of Huānoch were woken up by the sound of massive explosions as the People's Air Force basically ceased to exist. A few Black Kite fighters managed to get out of the onslaught, flying as fast as they could to other airbases. There were also still twenty obsolete fighters in mothballs scattered around the country. But the surprise Xiomeran attack had guaranteed that the People's Air Force would no longer pose any kind of threat.

With the Milintican air force out of the way, the Xiomerans turned their attention to the People's Navy. It was also conveniently based mostly at a single location, the naval base and shipyard at Huānoch. One state-of-the destroyer, and two corvettes to match, along with eight patrol boats. They, too, were a good match for anything the Imperial Navy had. Unlike their Air Force counterparts, they also had the means to shoot down many of the incoming Xiomeran missiles. But the Xiomeran plan for this operation was a simple one the Empire was more than capable of executing: pound your enemy with superior firepower until they are simply overwhelmed. Despite their best efforts, the Milintican fleet would soon find itself taking shattering hit after shattering hit.

Captain Rua Henare, on the Milintican flagship Taniwha, undertook a desperate plan of his own. Ordering the Milintican fleet to leave port, he would try to maneuver and evade the missile onslaught. But by doing so, and entering open waters, he exposed the tiny Milintican fleet to the two much larger Xiomeran fleets waiting for it.

Henare and the Milintican sailors would acquit themselves well and bravely. But last stands are just that - last stands. Under a combined assault from sea and air, the People's Navy would die just as the Air Force had. Unlike their Air Force counterparts, they at least managed to give the Xiomerans a bloody nose or two before falling. But it wouldn't be enough.

As dawn broke over Milintica, a nation would come to the stunning realization that virtually their entire air force and navy had just been obliterated. And they would wait, fearfully, for the other shoe to drop.

At Haven House, Neina Arana berated and yelled at her defense officials, military commanders, and Cabinet members. If her rage could have been funneled into a weapon, it would have been incandescent enough to blast the entire Xiomeran task force back to Xiomera in shreds. But her rage was ultimately just as impotent as her military had been.

And at the Palace of Flowers, Empress Calhualyana received the report from Admiral Atlatoninyo on the initial attack results. The Empress smiled and sipped her coffee. She would soon be giving a press conference to drop a giant second shoe.

[Xiomera]

Being alone with fear can rapidly turn into panic. Being alone with frustration can rapidly turn into anger. Being alone with disappointment can rapid turn into discouragement and, even worse, despair.

- Mark Goulston

Throughout Milintica, fear was rapidly sliding into panic.

In the cities, people were desperately scrambling to escape to the countryside to flee the expected Xiomeran invasion. Vehicles clogged the already strained roads and highways leading them to any perceived safe haven. Contending with these traffic jams, the People's Army was trying to get into position. The limited capacity of the Milintican military to move soldiers was stretched to its absolute limit.

In private vehicles, and even on foot, thousands more Milinticans hastily drafted by the Arana regime were slowly arriving at the various bunkers, emplacements and defense lines that successive generations of paranoid Milintican leaders had constructed. The concrete maze of these fortifications was being manned by a mix of People's Army soldiers, Red Wave Guards and PFM guerrilas. These were being supplemented with any civilian that Arana's minions could round up, slap a gun into their hands, and shove into a bunker. Despite the exhortations of the political officers and party cadres among them, these men and women were not eager for battle. There was absolutely zero confidence among them, and many of them were only there because they would catch a bullet from their own government if they didn't catch it from the Xiomerans.

On the Milintican defense lines, panic was reigning.

It was reigning at Haven House also. Neina Arana and her circle were finally beginning to realize that her bid to use Xiomera as a convenient scapegoat to rally the Milintican people behind her had backfired very, very badly. The collection of sycophants, deluded fools and blinders-wearing true believers Arana had surrounded herself with had misjudged Empress Calhualyana. Arana had also misjudged the Empress, and Xiomera. Arana and her circle had been very confident that Xiomera had no will to wage war, given the Empire's commitments in Taragai and around the world. Rattling sabers over Aoatea and using the captured Xiomeran spies would make Arana look strong, unite the country behind her finally, and cement her position no matter what election scandal whining that Huenya, or anyone else, did.

The Empire is only a threat on paper. They're overstretched and overcommitted. They don't have the will to attack us, and don't have the resources to do so even if they had the will. That was what Neina Arana had believed, and what her circle had been more than happy to stamp "yes" on with nodding heads and happy smiles.

But they hadn't counted on one thing: Empress Calhualyana finally growing tired of people believing all that. The Xiomeran failure in Auria - and it could not honestly be described as anything other than a failure - had been a retreat. Backing down in Huenya and abandoning the Golden Blade insurgents after President Xiadani had threatened to turn Tlālacuetztla into Caxcana's largest pile of glass-topped radioactive rubble - another retreat. Even in Taragai, Xiomera was being challenged and expected to retreat.

But Milintica - Milintica - the broke, broken-down, basketcase tiny country that was the longest-running and worst joke this side of Salad Land - they had the temerity to challenge the Xiomeran Empire. To think that the jaguar could be forced to bend knee to the clown. To use the Golden Sun Banner to wipe their nose, or other things, and mock Xiomera.

That had finally been the last straw. If Milintica was no longer afraid of the Empire, then clearly, Xiomera had been too lax, in the opinion of the Empress and her own inner circle at the Palace of Flowers. A lesson had to be delivered, to remind the world that Xiomera, even now, was not to be trifled with or disregarded. To remind everyone that the jaguar still had its claws and fangs, and still knew how to use them.

The swift, single-day destruction of Milintica's entire air force and navy was the beginning of that reminder. What might complete the lesson was what was causing panic now in the halls of Haven House. Blame, recriminations, insults, incoherent suggestions and plans filled the air of Neina Arana's presidential residence until one could practically see the desperation in the air. What was not emerging was any viable, possible response that could save Milintica from the jaguar whose gaping maw was about to swallow their country whole.

---

There is no panic you can't allay, no problem you can't solve.

- Lauren Weisberger

A different form of panic, and a different response to it, was taking shape rapidly in the nation that stood geographically and figuratively between Milintica and Xiomera.

In Chuaztlapoc, President Xiadani was holding an emergency meeting of her Cabinet, and the Federation Security Council. The FSC consisted of the heads of the branches of Huenya's military and intelligence services. It was not going to be a long meeting. The next steps that Huenya was about to take had been planned long before this. Neina Arana, as expected, had blundered herself right into a war she couldn't possibly win and a conquest she couldn't possibly fend off.

And the Empire, always hungry, was ready to take Milintica down like a jaguar against its prey.

Not today, Xiadani thought. No one else in Caxcana, never again.

The President finally spoke the words that everyone in the room had been waiting for. "Operation Manahuia is a go."

With those words, multiple things began to happen like cogs whirring to life inside a machine. Secretary of State Huitzilhuani returned to her office and handed a tablet with a list on it to her assistant. "I'll need to speak to the Eirians first. We need to get our volunteers over to Milintica ASAP and they've got boats and planes to help us, hopefully. Then, I need to start calling around to the rest of our contacts to see who is willing to help. Start with the Lauchenoirians, they despise Arana and Calhualyana as much as we do."

At his own office, Defense Secretary Tlanexchel was making a call of his own. "Wind up the volunteers," was all he said. On the other end of the line, Texōccoatl grinned broadly. Huenya's new tlacochcalcatl (High General) had been waiting for this moment.

At the headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service, FIS Director Cuetlancaona made his own call. "Time to unleash Tezcatlipoca," was all he said. On the other end of the line, Yarepil let out an eager yell and hung up. Cuetlancaona, on the other end of the line, shook his head wryly to recover from the shout that had echoed through the receiver.

Tezcatlipoca was, among other things, the god of chaos. And Yarepil's division of the FIS was about to deliver a lot of chaos to the Empire.

[Xiomera]

November 13th, 2025

The destruction of Milintica's air force and navy had taken the Xiomeran Empire roughly three hours. Occupying two of Milintica's seven regions had taken Xiomera roughly three days.

The Ngāmotu and Ōkarae islands, west of Milintica's main island of Te Whare-kai-atua, had been subject to the same kind of punishing bombardment Huānoch had faced. After a solid day of air and missile strikes, Imperial Marines had stormed both islands. The small People's Army detachments on the islands, along with civilians armed with whatever weapons they could find, had tried to fight off the Xiomeran amphibious assaults. The Xiomerans found the Milintican resistance to be spirited, but amusing. The Imperial Marines were trained from day one to be the spearhead of Xiomeran invasion forces. A group of poorly trained, standard-issue Milintican soldiers backed by some armed villager rabble were hardly a sporting opponent. But in the minds of the Xiomerans, the Milinticans had asked for Xiomeran retribution. That was exactly what they had earned, and what the hands of Huītzilōpōchtli had delivered.

Now firmly in command of both regions, with anyone who had resisted either in hastily erected POW camps or in the grave, the Empire was preparing to take the big prize. Te Whare-kai-atua, to the east, the Milintican mainland. It was visible from the other islands, beckoning to the Xiomerans, like a ripe apple just waiting to be plucked from the tree.

In Huānoch, chaos was reigning. Neina Arana, desperate for someone to blame, had turned on her own advisors. Her inner circle was also turning on each other. Intelligence Director Ngaire Arepata had personally shot Defense Minister Cuīxlō dead during a particularly angry Cabinet meeting. Arana, meanwhile, had ordered the arrest of Admiral Anaru Aperahama of the People's Navy for "incompetence". General Xococatl of the People's Air Force had gone missing, presumably to avoid the same fate as Aperahama. Arana and Arepata had taken over the command of the nation's defense, to the dismay of General Teyanolli of the People's Army. Teyanolli knew that neither Arana nor Arepata had a clue on how to mount a defense against an amphibious invasion. But he also knew that Arepata, or his brother Maro of the Red Wave Guards, would either arrest or shoot him as well if he challenged Arana. Like a man watching a train wreck about to happen and powerless to stop it, Teyanolli was waiting for the inevitable.

One Milintican, though, had decided to jump off the hurtling train.

---

Defensive Bunker and Tunnel Link #27464
Wairarapa, northern Milintica
November 15th, 2025

Iaka Hamuera, leader of the Popular Freedom Militias, had also disappeared from the inner circle. Hamuera had never been a big fan of Neina Arana to begin with. The PFM had existed for decades, unlike the Red Wave Guards that Arana had conjured up as the enforcers of her Milintican Communist Party. Arana had not tried to hide her distrust of the PFM, who had been the favored guerrillas of Matōchmizalo. Arana had slowly been sidelining the PFM in favor of the Guards. Hamuera had first been offended that the PFM, who had been the heart of Milintican revolutionary fervor worldwide long before Arana was more than a minor party hack, were being pushed aside. She had then been alarmed by Arana's increasingly erratic and nonsensical leadership. And when Arana's actions had caused Xiomera to unleash a hellish firestorm on her country, Hamuera was finally terrified.

Hamuera believed the reports that Arana had cheated her way into the presidency. More importantly, she believed that Arana was about to get Milintica well and truly destroyed. If Xiomera succeeded in their invasion, Hamuera believed that Milintica would just cease to exist, forever. She couldn't imagine that the Xiomerans would just walk away someday. Instead, Milintica and everything it stood for in the world would die underneath the jackboots and gun butts of the minions of Empress Calhual-freaking-yana.

Not going to happen, Hamuera thought as she walked out of the bunker portion of Defensive Bunker and Tunnel Link #27464. The site was one of the thousands of bunkers set up by multiple paranoid Milintican governments around the country over the decades. It was on a rocky point stretching north of Wairarapa city. This bunker was controlled by a unit of Hamuera's militia. Neina Arana may not have trusted the PFM, but she simply needed as many boots on the ground as she could get to man defensive positions on the coast to try to fend off Xiomera. This desperate need for anyone possible to point a gun out of a bunker would prove fortunate for the plan to come. So would the coastal site. Hamuera was about to get some visitors, and she needed to keep them secret until the right time.

A small boat had just grounded itself onto the coast. Several figures were quickly exiting. Normally, this would have been met with a hail of gunfire from the bunker. But these visitors weren't Imperials.

Hamuera walked up to the last person to leave the boat, extending her hand. "I believe you're the general I was expecting?"

General Huatli, of the Huenyan Special Forces, smiled as she gave Hamuera a brisk handshake. "That's right. Let's hope your nutty President isn't expecting me too."

Hamuera gave a quick laugh, before gesturing to Huatli to follow her into the bunker. There was much to discuss.

Inside the bunker, Huatli and her escorts were given a chance to eat and drink with Hamuera's militiamen in the usual Milintican tradition. Bowls of traditional rakena fish stew, made with potatoes and pūhā greens, were handed out with sides of parāoa bread. Bottles of Waiapi-Tezcatica beer were also distributed liberally. As the meal began, the conversation turned quickly to the reason Huatli and her team had come here. "We were able to get information on both of the people you asked about," Hamuera said as she dipped her bread into the stew. "We haven't been able to get 100 percent confirmation on it, but we have reason to believe that Prime Minister Tapihana is dead. He may have had a heart attack while in detention, but Arana's little minions are doing their best to keep his current status hushed up. But there are medical reports I have seen. I don't think the Prime Minister is reachable now."

Huatli sighed sadly, taking a swig of beer in silent tribute to Tapihana. "That is unfortunate...and the other?"

Hamuera took a bite of her bread before looking up. "President Matōchmizalo is still alive, we believe. And we do think we have located where he is being detained. We can get there through the tunnels. But it won't be easy. It's a long way from here to Utlamec, where he is likely being held for trial. We only control some of the tunnels to the location."

"Leave the rest of them to us," Huatli said as she took a bite of stew. A slight glint entered the former Aurora's eye as she said this. If Neina Arana thought the Empire was kicking her ass, wait until the Federation gets to Utlamec.

[Xiomera]

Huānoch, Milintica
November 20th, 2025

Iaka Hamuera and General Huatli had been the beneficiaries of a combination of skill, luck, timing and the sheer incompetence of their enemies. Their travels through the warren of defensive tunnels under Milintica had managed to bring them from Wairarapa to the capital in five days.

At many of the checkpoints along the way, Hamuera had been able to bluff and trick their way through by flashing her military credentials and a set of orders. Huatli and her team posed as part of Hamuera's Popular Freedom Militia unit. In the general chaos and panic caused by impending Xiomeran invasion, most of the soldiers and random civilians manning the tunnel network weren't focused enough to question Hamuera too closely anyway.

There had only been two locations where the deception failed. At Wairarapa, two Red Wave Guards had seen the Huenyan team's arrival. One of them tried to get to the rest of his comrades to warn them. Huatli had personally, and quietly, taken care of that problem.

The second Red Wave Guard had tried to go for the communications center within the main Wairarapa bunker. One of Hamuera's militiamen beat him inside, and kept the Guardsman from gaining entrance. In desperation, the Guardsman shot through the door, fatally wounding the militiaman. Just as the Guardsman made it inside, one of the Huenyan special forces operators got there with another militiaman in tow. Things did not go well for the Red Wave Guardsman at that point.

The remaining Guards forces were quickly cleaned up by the Huenyans and Hamuera's forces. There was no warning sent to Huānoch from Wairarapa that day. 

Two days later, at the village of Paiwai, the commander of the local Red Wave Guards unit manning the bunker there had the uncanny suspicion that something was amiss. He insisted that Hamuera contact Huānoch, in his presence, to provide confirmation of her orders. “It's strange that you're so far from the capital at a time of urgent crisis. You're one of our top security officials,” Miztlanor told her as he rubbed the red-starred command tab on his lapel in a seemingly absent-minded twitch.

“I am indeed one of our top officials. Which is why you need to shut up and get out of my way. Commander,” Hamuera snapped with a special emphasis on Miztlanor's relatively low rank. The relationship between the Popular Freedom Militias and the Red Wave Guards had always been tense, and Hamuera was in no mood to bandy words with the likes of Miztlanor.

As Miztlanor's eyebrows drew down in a stubborn grimace, Huatli sighed internally at Hamuera's lack of diplomacy and silently readied the knives hidden in her sleeves. Even if Hamuera and her unit hadn't been doing something underhanded, poking the inter-service rivalry between the Guards and the Militia would have guaranteed a fight.

Miztlanor paused for a moment, seeming in thought, then went for his own sidearm. He was commendably fast. Huatli, however, was much faster. Her hand swept to the tactical knife in its wrist sheath on her left arm. With a single quick motion, the knife left her hand and caught Miztlanor in the throat. As their commander went down, the Red Wave Guards in the room found themselves set upon by both militiamen and Huenyans. It didn't take much longer after that. While the Red Wave Guards were brave and determined enough, their force was grounded more in dogma and loyalty than in actual training or skill. The militiamen went after them powered by sheer hatred, while the Huenyans took them down with cold and emotionless skill. Huatli had personally trained this team, and this mission was a test to see if the former Aurora's training concepts for Huenyan special forces should be expanded to the wider force.

So far, the training was proving to be worth it.

At the end of the fight, Huatli looked down at Miztlanor's body. It's a shame, he certainly had good instincts. He would have been a fine soldier, but he was a victim of ideology. Huatli had respect for her enemy, but she also had the usual Huenyan distaste for communists and communism in general. This is where such beliefs lead.

Three of Hamuera's militiamen had fallen, along with the entire Red Wave Guards garrison at Paiwai. One Huenyan operator had suffered a minor wound, not serious enough to hinder her. The Huenyans scattered “evidence” to suggest that the Paiwai garrison had been wiped out by Xiomeran forces on a probing attack, to cover their tracks. Then they moved on.

The rest of the journey, thankfully, had proven to be easy. Now, Iaka Hamuera was back in Huānoch, with her old and new friends behind her. In a tenement in the Tlahuani district, they planned their next move. Hamuera’s team would secure their operating base. Huatli and Hamuera themselves, along with the Huenyan operators and a contingent of Eirian covert agents, would go after their next target.

The Xihuitl Detention Center, the largest prison in Milintica, loomed in all its ugliness on the other side of the street. The rambling facility, surrounded by a high wall, was notorious for being a horrid hellhole run more by the prisoners than the guards themselves. The only thing keeping the prisoners inside was that giant wall, manned by armed guards ready to shoot anyone trying to escape. Their vigilance was focused mostly on who was inside, though. Given that fact, Huatli and her team were able to slip inside relatively easily.

The inside of the prison itself would normally have presented another challenge. Xihuitl was a maze of cell blocks, holding areas, hallways and common areas controlled by different factions. But since Iaka Hamuera had indeed been a high-ranking security official, she knew exactly where to lead Huatli's team. As Eirian Lunar Guard and EICA agents secured their escape route, the Huenyans found their way to the center of the prison, and down another set of stairs to underground tunnels. This was the area where political prisoners were held by Arana's regime, and one of the few areas where Milintican security forces had an actual presence.

With a silent signal from their Eirian allies, Huatli's team moved into the tunnels, eliminating Milintican guards with stunning ease and a complete lack of hesitation. As their opposition silently fell, the Huenyans finally reached their destination. Hamuera had assured them that their goal would be found in cell F-203-P.

The solid metal door was held shut with a mechanical keyed lock that was surprisingly primitive. Nothing fancy or electronic. Good. Huatli motioned one of her men, Tinac, forward. “Time for the master key,” she said. Tinac nodded with a broad grin, unshouldering his rifle. The “master key” in question was a door-breaching shotgun attachment to the rifle, based on a Xiomeran design. It would fire a special frangible round to break the lock. “Hello in there! We're about to blow open this door, so you might wanna stand as far back as you can,” Tinac shouted cheerfully through the door. He paused to see if anyone actually heard him, and was rewarded by curses in Huenyan and the sound of frantic scrambling. As his own team took cover as well, Tinac aimed carefully and fired.

This was rewarded with a satisfying boom and then an equally satisfying sound of metal shattering. The door then creaked open slightly. Tinac opened it slowly, rifle in a ready position. Huatli followed, providing cover.

The sight that greeted them was a youthful, slender man. Huatli recognized him, noting that he was even thinner than she had expected. A product of Neina Arana's gentle care, no doubt, Huatli thought grimly. She would have loved for her next task to be to go to Haven House and put Arana down like the rabid dog she was. But now was not the time. Huatli stepped forward, extending her hand. “President Matōchmizalo. I am General Huatli of the Huenyan Special Forces. I am sure you recognize Commander Hamuera,” she added as Hamuera stepped forward also. “We are here to free you and get you to safety.”

Matōchmizalo gave them a wry grin. “I appreciate the rescue, General. And Iaka, good to see you again,” he said as Hamuera gave him a salute. “But your title is misplaced, I fear. I am not currently the President.”

“No, but you should be!” Hamuera said eagerly. As Matōchmizalo's eyes widened, Huatli nodded. “Arana cheated to falsely win the Presidency. We have proof. We're here to help you regain your office.”

Matōchmizalo shook his head for a moment, finally breaking into laughter. “I knew it! I knew there was no way I could have lost to that horrible person!” His fists clenched in triumph. “I think we should get out of here while we can, though. Your presence here won't remain secret much longer.”

“There is another reason for haste,” Huatli said as calmly as she could. “We have to get you back into power, and Arana out, as quickly as we can. She's blundered herself into causing a Xiomeran invasion - “

Matōchmizalo raised his hand. “I'm sorry, being starved and beat and all must be causing my hearing to go bad. You didn't say Xiomeran invasion…..did you?”

At silent nods from Hamuera and Huatli, Matōchmizalo's eyes rolled briefly back in his head. “How did she….I won't ask. I don't even want to know. Yes, let's get out of here and get rid of Arana as quickly as we can, even if I have to go get her myself.” He stepped forward, then paused. “I just have to know….time has been merely a concept in this cell, especially since I am allowed no news or contact whatsoever. Just how long did it take for Neina Arana to put my country on the edge of doom?”

“She has been in power for one year and one month, give or take,” Huatli replied.

“A year….that's faster for her to screw up utterly than even I expected.” Matōchmizalo sighed. “Okay then. Let's get going. I need to take my country back and see if we can save it from this madness.”

[Xiomera]

November 21st, 2025

The Xiomeran attack on Milintica had been the biggest news story since it began. Nikandros Damaskenos with DTNS was the only reporter with that network who had managed to get coverage of the ongoing chaos inside Milintica out to the wider world. Much to the Arana regime's consternation, Damaskenos had evaded their attempts to capture him quite well. The fact that their country was about to get taken over by a belligerent world power, and was falling apart internally, had certainly aided Damaskenos with this. So had the general incompetence of Arana's minions.

Damaskenos had been steadily funneling news about the situation inside Milintica out to DTNS, enabling them to undercut Arana's increasingly implausible and desperate depictions of her regime as being on the verge of victory against Xiomera. But Damaskenos was about to get a story that would be the chef's kiss to his work.

As he was filming scenes of the spiraling situation in Huānoch, Damaskenos was stopped by a woman wearing a black hoodie that hid all but a view of her face. Later, Damaskenos would remember that face. It was a face like a knife honed by the finest bladesmiths - beautiful, sharp, elegantly deadly in its appearance. "Play this on your next report," the woman told him as she slipped a USB drive into his shirt pocket. "Wait, what - " Damaskenos asked, but before he realized it, she was already gone.

As Damaskenos looked around, seriously thinking the woman had just vanished right in front of him, General Huatli was already half a block away. A slight smile crossed her face inside its concealing hood.

---

An hour later, Nikandros Damaskenos issued his latest report. "I was given this video. I'll let it speak for itself before I talk about it," he said.

The video began in front of a large building made of wood and stone. In the distance behind the building, the ocean crashed against the rocks. The sign mounted to the intricately carved wooden arch over the front doors read Wairarapa Government Building.

Several people were standing behind a podium. The podium had a Milintican flag of the old govermnent attached to its front, and the person who had come up with that flag's design standing behind it. "Good morning," the man said. "I am Matōchmizalo, the legitimate President of Milintica. I have been freed from the imprisonment and mistreatement of Neina Arana's fraudulent regime. And I am here to reassert the rights of my office as the true President of this country."

"The Arana presidency is a fraud and a sham, as ample evidence has been brought forth that a band of conspirators altered the voting results to place her in power. As such, I am declaring her office null and void. As the only legitimate leader of Milintica, and the true winner of the last election, I am ordering all Milintican military and security forces to refuse any orders from her or her cronies from this second forth. I am ordering the arrest of Neina Arana, and every single member of her Cabinet, as well as the leaders she has installed over the military and security forces."

Matōchmizalo looked directly into the camera. "I am calling on Neina Arana and her circle of false leaders to surrender peacefully and allow a peaceful restoration of the legitimate government. But if they will not abide by this request, I call then upon every single citizen of Milintica to rise up together and overthrow her illegal regime. We are under threat of a Xiomeran invasion, yes. But right now, our true enemy - the true threat to Milintica - is sitting in Haven House. It's time to get her out of there."

"As for the Xiomeran Empire, once my government is restored to power, I am offering an immediate cease-fire and the beginning of negotiations to resolve the conflict caused by the Arana regime. I am also prepared to offer amnesty to anyone working for the Arana regime who surrenders now, with the exception of those who have committed crimes against humanity. There has been enough violence. Let us end it here."

Matōchmizalo gestured to another person, standing to the left of him. She switched places with him at the podium, briefly stopping to shake his hand. "Good morning. I am General Huatli of the Huenyan Special Forces. I am happy to announce that, as part of a joint UCS-led mission, we were able to free the true president of Milintica from his unjust imprisonment. We are working now to help restore his government and end the criminal Arana regime. As such, we will regard any attack on President Matōchmizalo or his government as an attack on Huenyan forces, and respond accordingly." Whether that was meant as a warning to Arana, or to the Xiomerans, was anyone's guess. "Our own president will have more to say about this operation and its future steps, once this broadcast is completed to the world. Along with your true president, I urge all Milinticans to come together and help us restore peace and democracy to your country. If you're supporting Neina Arana or her regime, you can surely see that the only path left to her is defeat, and either imprisonment or death. Do not join her foolishly in such a futile end. Save yourselves, and save your country."

The video switched back to Damaskenos. "As you can see, major developments here in Milintica as the former president has emerged and called for the overthrow of Neina Arana. There will undoubtedly be more to this story as the hours pass, and I'll do my best to bring those events to you. For now, this is Nikandros Damaskenos, reporting from Huānoch."

---

Within an hour of Damaskenos' broadcast, the President of Huenya gave her own press conference. "Good morning. I'll be brief. The Huenyan Federation is recognizing President Matōchmizalo's government as the true and legitimate government of the Milintican state. We are echoing his call for people in Milintica to rise up against Neina Arana and remove her from power. But we aren't going to ask Milinticans alone to put themselves at risk. The Huenyan 1st Volunteer Brigade is already on its way to Wairarapa to join them. Together, we will restore democracy to Milintica."

"As for the current Xiomeran assault on Milintica, the Huenyan Federation demands that the Empire bring it to a halt, and enter negotiations with the legitimate Milintican government. Your cause for war will soon be remedied by the removal of the Arana regime. Let's not make things worse," President Xiadani said. What she meant by worse was, again, up for interpretation.

---

While the Huenyans were waiting to see what the Xiomeran response would be, they weren't going to leave things to chance. It was time for them to unleash Tezcatlipoca. It was time for the FIS Intervention Program to do what it did best.

Almost since the beginning of the Huenyan state, the FIS had quietly inserted sleeper agents inside Xiomera. They had also actively recruited Xiomerans already living there. The FIS efforts had initially been meant to help dissidents escape. But having agents inside Xiomera, the Huenyans realized, could serve another purpose.

In the days following the Huenyan announcements, Imperial security forces found themselves dealing with a sudden surge in disruptive incidents in the country. What initially appeared to be normal accidents and production hiccups soon became a much larger problem. The Xiomerans' defense manufacturing infrastructure found itself the target of an unparalled attack. Poisoned military rations would be found. Computer systems at defense plants began experiencing a wave of hacking attempts. There would even be physical attacks and sabotage at the defense plants Xiomera relied on to keep its military machine rolling.

While Imperial Security and Imperial Intelligence responded quickly and with their usual efficiency, the sheer scale of the disruptions was unprecedented and so widespread that even the Imperial security apparatus found it hard to keep up. 

---

November 28th, 2025

At the Palace of Flowers, the reaction was, to put it mildly, conflicted.

"To hell with the Huenyans," Prime Minister Toquihu said. "We have all of Milintica in our grasp. Why would we give that chance up now?"

"We don't want a war with the UCS right now, and we could end up getting that if we push here." Minister of State Toquauhtli shook his head. "We've occupied some new territory, put the Milinticans in their place, and amply demonstrated our military might as an object lesson to others. Sometimes you should take what you've gotten, and not be greedy."

"We have another problem," Defense Minister Chuanacoyo said. "We expended a lot of our munitions in the initial assaults on Milintica. Our fleets are either going to need to be resupplied soon, or replacements rotated in for them. And that takes time, not to mention that the UCS states may well try to block us from doing that. The, er, supply disruptions we are experiencing are not helping the situation."

Anilotl, the Director of Imperial Security, snarled at that. "We are working on it."

"Work harder," Empress Calhualyana said dryly. "And faster."

As the Director nodded and lowered his eyes, the Empress stood up to look out the window. After a very long time, she sighed. "What does my NEP Director counsel?"

Camanahuac, the Director of the New Empire Program, smiled. "Milintica is peripheral. We've gained some new territory there and upheld our existing claims. We've given them a beating they will never forget, one that will keep even the UCS states mindful that our power is not to be scoffed at. Our position in Caxcana is already strong, and even stronger now. Why add a territory full of spiteful communists to our Empire who will bog us down with guerrilla fighting for decades? No, my Empress....we have accomplished enough here, I think. There are other, far richer and more viable conquests out there for us. Let's not throw away gold for bronze."

"I must consider my position," the Empress said finally. "Leave me, all of you."

As everyone left the room, Calhualyana turned to look out the window again. She had two potential forks in the road to take to build her New Empire. The choice was not one to be made quickly.

---

And in a bunker somewhere deep under Huānoch, Neina Arana seethed and raged, and blamed everyone but herself for the disaster slowly rising to meet her. 

[Xiomera]

November 30th, 2025

With the walls closing in ever closer, Neina Arana and her last followers found themelves in a dilemma.

The ideal course of action would have been to flee, to emerge from the bunker deep underground that was her final sanctuary and find an escape. But the problem with that was there was nowhere for them to escape to. Xiomeran warplanes controlled the skies over Milintica. Xiomeran warships controlled the waters surrounding the country. The one route that wasn't controlled by Xiomera, in the north, was currently occupied by a UCS-led fleet which would be just as effective as the Xiomerans at blocking passage.

Even if safe passage off the island could be achieved, there was simply nowhere close enough. The nearest country to Milintica was Doi Nam, whose new government was extremely unlikely to welcome someone who had been vying with Calhualyana for the title of Worst Tyrant in Caxcana. The only other options were all far to the west or north, and equally likely to reject Arana. To the east lay Xiomera, Huenya and Eiria. All three countries, for obvious reasons, were not on Arana's list of most desired retirement spots. It didn't help that Arana had done a very good job alienating virtually every nation possible, on top of all the other impossibilities her situation posed.

So, in the increasingly stifling environment of their bunker, Arana and her followers despaired, raged, plotted utterly impossible plans, drank, fought and found other ways to run out the clock to the inevitable.

At 2:00 am on November 30th, the inevitable happened.

---

Maro Arepata, leader of the Red Wave Guards, was in the middle of a particularly unsatisfying attempt at sleep when the first echoing booms rang through his tiny chamber. He woke with a start, clumsily rising from the bed to his feet. He was already dressed and armed; the bunker had been on constant red alert since the government had sought refuge there. Maro slammed the chamber door open and ran towards the entrance of the bunker, shaking his head as he ran to force alertness into him. At the entrance, his remaining Red Wave Guards were arranged in a row. More loud booms sounded from outside the vault style door at the entrance. His troops looked back at Arepata, who shrugged and did his best to appear confident. "That door is solid steel and locked solid. No one can force it open."

The booms stopped and were replaced with a series of grinding noises. As Arepata and his men watched, the giant vault door slowly spun open. As the door hit the wall with a sharp rattle, a group of soldiers were silhouetted in the entrance. "Surprised, Maro?" Iaka Hamuera smirked. "I mean, you shouldn't be...but you never took away my door access? Really?"

Arepata snarled at that; he was a warrior of ideology, not freaking tech support. He had assumed someone had revoked Hamuera's access to the system. In the absolute pile of collapsing chaos that Arana's government had become, follow through had not exactly been a strong point of anyone.

"You know, it's fine, Iaka," Arepata said in a sharp tone. "At least now we get to kill you and your traitors to the revolution in person."

"You can certainly try," Hamuera said with another smirk as she unholstered her pistols. 

As Arepata shouted and led his Red Wave Guards to try and stop the Popular Freedom Militia and armed civilians already pouring through the entrance, another eight figures dressed in black fatigues followed. Four of them broke off to help Hamuera's force, while the other four quickly darted for the hallway. Any Red Wave Guard, Milintican soldier or random person who tried to be an obstacle found themselves ruthlessly and quickly put down by the leader of that fire team, as the other three provided her supporting fire.

The fire team in all black continued down the hallway, their destination a goal to be achieved at all costs. After a relatively quick sprint (and a trail of ill-advised opponents behind them), the four reached the door to their prize. Two more Red Wave Guards, on either side of the door, began firing at them as they approached. Two thrown knives, hitting each of them in the chest, ended that minor display of resistance. The leader of the fire team kicked the door open, rifle raised at the ready.

There was only one person in the room, sitting at an ornate wooden desk. She looked up as the soldier approached her. "I've been expecting you. Eventually." Neina Arana pursed her lips as the soldier walked up to her desk. "On behalf of the Interim Government of Milintica and with its authority, I am placing you under arrest. Stand up and come around from the desk. Place your hands behind your head and drop to your knees," Huatli said coldly.

"And if I don't?" Arana's expression was actually curious.

"Then you can die here with your stupid revolution. I'm not here to negotiate." The rifle pointed squarely at Arana's forehead, dot from its laser sight dancing in the middle of it, reinforced that statement. Arana sighed, stood up and did as Huatli demanded. As two Milintican militiamen entered the room and began to cuff Arana, she looked up at Huatli with a surprising smile. "You know, I am almost looking forward to whatever trial Matōchmizalo and you UCS lackeys have planned for me. I won't be quiet, you know. My voice will be heard loudly and clearly on the biggest stage, with the world listening." Arana grinned even more broadly. "My words will inspire people around the world, even if you hang me. The 'stupid revolution' you dismiss will claim you all in the end, whether I am alive to see it or not. The day will yet come when all of you capitalists and right-wing fools face the same gallows as me."

The calm and even amused conviction in Arana's voice annoyed Huatli. "Maybe we'll just give you to the Xiomerans like they're asking. No one will hear anything from you then, yes?"

Arana chuckled softly. "Like you've got the guts to do that. You're all too soft to knowingly send someone off to be tortured. I enjoyed the idle threat though. Goodbye for now. We will see each other again soon enough." As the two Milinticans frog-marched their former president out of the room, Huatli sighed slightly and lowered her rifle.

---

While Maro Arepata tried to fight and Neina Arana walked to what she thought would just be the next stage in her own heroic struggle, the rest of her inner circle met their fate in different ways.

Intelligence Director Ngaire Arepata, Maro’s brother, had no intention of a final battle as his brother did. When the fighting started, Ngaire walked back to his own tiny chamber. Sitting down at his desk, he reached over and pressed a button on a music player. The soft strains of traditional Paora songs filled the small room. Ngaire opened a desk drawer and extracted a small bottle. Breaking the seal, he downed the contents in one swift gulp. When the forces storming the bunker finally found him, Ngaire had his eyes closed as if sleeping, arms crossed over his chest. He had followed the People's Democratic Republic to its death.

The remaining members of Arana's Cabinet, huddled together in another room, desperately tried to bribe the soldiers who found them to find some path at escape. The angry Milinticans who had found Arana's enablers had zero interest in the money and baubles they were offered, unceremoniously cuffing them and marching them off just as their president had been. But a few of the Milinticans, eyeing the bribes that had been offered after everyone else had left the room, did shrug and stuff some of it in their pockets. Times had been hard under Arana, after all.

The final act was left to General Teyanolli, leader of the People's Army. When he was found, he voluntarily agreed to surrender and make the final announcement. At 3:15 am, the order was issued from the General for all who still had been taking orders from Arana's regime to stand down. There would be need to ferret out die-hard communists who refused to accept that their dream was dead for weeks, even months, afterward. But officially, the People's Democratic Republic of Milintica was dead.

---

At Wairarapa, Matōchmizalo gave a triumphant speech later in the morning announcing the capture of Arana and her cabinet, and the surrender of the General. "The Modern Socialist Republic of Milintica is restored. Long live the Republic!" he shouted to a cheering crowd.

But even as the crowd cheered, Matōchmizalo knew that Milintica's fight was hardly over yet. With a lot of help, he had been restored to power and Milintica freed from the Arana menace. But a far greater menace, and one far harder to appease or thwart, was yet standing. Matōchmizalo would have to negotiate with the Xiomeran Empire to ensure that his battered country did survive after all.