06-28-2018, 09:33 PM
Sonja Viratnen-Alvarez stood at the top of the bell-tower of Usera Cathedral. The priest hovered behind her, continuing to inform her of religious matters she had no interest in.
"...blood on the hands of everyone on both sides of this conflict. I will pray that He shows mercy when He judges those who have given their lives for..."
She tuned out his ramblings once more and focused on watching the Gonhogian troops surround the city. They had arrived hours before the Gonhogians, and immediately regretted it. Everyone here knew what had happened in Annatown and Carville, and the anger and hatred brewing in the city threatened to boil over into something foolish and counterproductive.
She had to find a way to channel their anger at Chaher and their hatred of the Gonhogians into something that would allow them to win the battle. She only hoped she could formulate a plan before the locals got restless. She turned to head back down the steps and the priest followed, buzzing in her ear like a fly.
"... welcome at services, to pray for those fallen and for those about to go into battle. My congregation has grown since the start of this war, and..."
"I'm sure that's all very interesting, Reverend, but I am not religious, and I doubt many of the others are. If any of them want to attend your services, I won't stop them."
She quickly exited the building before he could start up again. She walked through the streets of Usera, the wind blowing her hair gently out of place. She headed to the hospital, where they had moved the injured after taking the whole city.
Leonie was asleep when Sonja arrived, and she looked much more like the kid she'd been when they met. Not for the first time did Sonja regret recruiting her. She left quickly and headed downstairs to meet with the local resistance. They needed to formulate a plan, and soon. Things were as bad as she'd seen them. If they didn't have a victory soon, the war was as good as lost.
-----------------------------
"You're just letting them do whatever they want!" Anael Noguera yelled, pacing back and forth around the bedroom he shared with his wife. Keitha rubbed the temple of her head. She was getting a headache.
"The Kivasekians are here to help us, as you well..."
"Kivasek will save us from the big bad Lauchenoirians! We don't have to worry about a thing because they'll save us! And then we'll be independent and will never have to give up control to anyone. So, the Kivasekians can violate our laws without consequences because they are glorious messengers of Arbera* who can do no wrong!"
Out of breath, Anael sat on the bed, panting. Keitha stood up and walked over until she was standing in front of him.
"I do not know what your problem is. But you will not speak to me like that, and you will not disrespect our religion in this house. I would like you to leave, until such time as you are willing to be kind to those who have offered their help. I am leaving now, when I return I expect you to have packed up your things and found somewhere else to stay."
She calmly exited the room. Alyssa was waiting outside with her tablet. She fell into step with Keitha and they walked out of the house and towards the Parliament.
"Any further news?" Keitha asked.
"Chaher's ships are holding position. And they're playing the same message over and over again on the radio frequency the old communist government channel used." Alyssa tapped on her tablet and the radio broadcast played.
"... or leaving the island of Aeluria. Any ship attempting to circumvent these restrictions will be considered hostile and will be destroyed. Do not attempt to leave the island. All ships and aircraft are forbidden from approaching or leaving the island of Aeluria. Any ship attempting..."
"Has anyone attempted to 'approach or leave' the island?" Keitha asked.
"Not yet, but I don't think most of the population is aware of our supply problems just yet. I understand it will start a panic, but we really ought to start rationing the supplies. It will be worse..." Alyssa began to have a coughing fit as they passed a couple smoking heavily, "... in the cough long run if we don't. And that isn't helping." She gestured at the smokers.
"You sound like Anael. If it keeps them happy..."
"It's addictive, ma'am. And we have limited supplies. We are going to have a big problem on our hands when the supply of that stuff runs out."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"What exactly do we do when the food runs out?"
"It won't come to that."
"I have the utmost respect for you, ma'am, but sometimes you're just too optimistic."
"My dear," Keitha smiled, "I will not allow our people to starve. I give you my personal assurance. I will not let it come to that."
The pair continued their walk, in silence, Alyssa pointedly holding her nose every time they passed people smoking.
-------------------------
General Sanchez sat listening to the bug he'd placed inside Chloe Conde's tent.
"... and now we have even more cavemen here, this time from Gonhog. What were they even thinking, sending us to this dump?" came a voice he didn't recognise.
"We can undermine the Lauchenoirian government this way, regardless of who wins this war, Lieutenant. The amount of intelligence we've gathered by working with them will serve us well in the future. If Chaher wins, he's indebted to us.
And if it looks like he's going to lose, we'll get out, pronto. And he knows it. So, he has to keep us happy, make it worth sticking around. So many concessions, my grandmother would never have believed it!" Conde laughed.
"When are we going to hurry up and take this city?"
"All in good time, Lieutenant. They don't stand a chance."
-------------------------
"It's not fair!" the teenager yelled, storming up the stairs, and slamming her door so hard the large house shook a little.
"Do you think she realises it's not our fault?" the father asked.
"When you're that age, everything is your parents fault," said the girl's mother.
"Even your school trip to Laeral getting cancelled because the government have banned all flights to the country?"
"Oh, especially if it's the government's fault," chuckled the mother, picking up the two china teacups and walking down the large hallway to their main kitchen. Anyone who set foot in the house was quickly reminded of how wealthy its owners were. The father followed.
"I think she's worried about the war."
"The war won't come here. This is a respectable district. We are far enough out from Elopolis that any fighting in the city won't touch us. We are perfectly safe."
"I'm sure that's what most of the others thought."
"Oh, don't be such as pessi..."
The end of her word was drowned out by the sound of a large explosion outside. The pair rushed to the window. Upstairs, their daughter did the same. A plume of smoke was coming out of a building by the park. They heard shouting outside.
Armed soldiers were running down the street towards the fire, when one of them suddenly collapsed. Another explosion sounded, this one so close that the three in the house had to cover their ears. When the noise subsided, they looked out to find the soldiers lying, and a crack in the street where the grenade had exploded.
The daughter screamed, as a group wearing the symbol that the Lauchenoirian resistance had come to use, emerged from behind hedges up and down the street. The war had come there.
----------------------
Laura Moore stood on the edge of the Fleurian Forest, atop the hill overlooking Buttercity and the suburbs. To anyone down in the city, she would be no more than a dot beside the trees. And even if someone had binoculars, she was wearing the itchy wig and had her hood pulled over most of her face. She wouldn't be recognised.
When she had first rushed towards the city, she hadn't been thinking it through. Now, she was scared. She couldn't know what would happen if she went into that city, but she had a terrible feeling she would never leave it again.
She went over her plan again in her head. She knew what she had to do, and she knew just how much she didn't want to do it. Her husband was dead. Her children were in the hands of a dictator. And she was out of options.
She took a deep breath and headed down towards the city.
------------------------
Seven hours later
Suleman Chaher walked past the carefully vetted and handpicked crowd, who were cheering and chanting his name. He stopped next to a family with a baby and held it, smiling at the cameras. The baby cried and made a squelching sound from its rear end. He handed it back to its parents, trying not to gag.
He kept walking along the crowd, the cameras filming at the carefully chosen angle that made the crowd seem larger. He smiled and waved and shook hands. He was almost at Parliament Square when a woman vaulted over the barrier and stood in front of him. A woman he had never expected to see again.
"Hello, Suleman," she said.
"...blood on the hands of everyone on both sides of this conflict. I will pray that He shows mercy when He judges those who have given their lives for..."
She tuned out his ramblings once more and focused on watching the Gonhogian troops surround the city. They had arrived hours before the Gonhogians, and immediately regretted it. Everyone here knew what had happened in Annatown and Carville, and the anger and hatred brewing in the city threatened to boil over into something foolish and counterproductive.
She had to find a way to channel their anger at Chaher and their hatred of the Gonhogians into something that would allow them to win the battle. She only hoped she could formulate a plan before the locals got restless. She turned to head back down the steps and the priest followed, buzzing in her ear like a fly.
"... welcome at services, to pray for those fallen and for those about to go into battle. My congregation has grown since the start of this war, and..."
"I'm sure that's all very interesting, Reverend, but I am not religious, and I doubt many of the others are. If any of them want to attend your services, I won't stop them."
She quickly exited the building before he could start up again. She walked through the streets of Usera, the wind blowing her hair gently out of place. She headed to the hospital, where they had moved the injured after taking the whole city.
Leonie was asleep when Sonja arrived, and she looked much more like the kid she'd been when they met. Not for the first time did Sonja regret recruiting her. She left quickly and headed downstairs to meet with the local resistance. They needed to formulate a plan, and soon. Things were as bad as she'd seen them. If they didn't have a victory soon, the war was as good as lost.
-----------------------------
"You're just letting them do whatever they want!" Anael Noguera yelled, pacing back and forth around the bedroom he shared with his wife. Keitha rubbed the temple of her head. She was getting a headache.
"The Kivasekians are here to help us, as you well..."
"Kivasek will save us from the big bad Lauchenoirians! We don't have to worry about a thing because they'll save us! And then we'll be independent and will never have to give up control to anyone. So, the Kivasekians can violate our laws without consequences because they are glorious messengers of Arbera* who can do no wrong!"
Out of breath, Anael sat on the bed, panting. Keitha stood up and walked over until she was standing in front of him.
"I do not know what your problem is. But you will not speak to me like that, and you will not disrespect our religion in this house. I would like you to leave, until such time as you are willing to be kind to those who have offered their help. I am leaving now, when I return I expect you to have packed up your things and found somewhere else to stay."
She calmly exited the room. Alyssa was waiting outside with her tablet. She fell into step with Keitha and they walked out of the house and towards the Parliament.
"Any further news?" Keitha asked.
"Chaher's ships are holding position. And they're playing the same message over and over again on the radio frequency the old communist government channel used." Alyssa tapped on her tablet and the radio broadcast played.
"... or leaving the island of Aeluria. Any ship attempting to circumvent these restrictions will be considered hostile and will be destroyed. Do not attempt to leave the island. All ships and aircraft are forbidden from approaching or leaving the island of Aeluria. Any ship attempting..."
"Has anyone attempted to 'approach or leave' the island?" Keitha asked.
"Not yet, but I don't think most of the population is aware of our supply problems just yet. I understand it will start a panic, but we really ought to start rationing the supplies. It will be worse..." Alyssa began to have a coughing fit as they passed a couple smoking heavily, "... in the cough long run if we don't. And that isn't helping." She gestured at the smokers.
"You sound like Anael. If it keeps them happy..."
"It's addictive, ma'am. And we have limited supplies. We are going to have a big problem on our hands when the supply of that stuff runs out."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"What exactly do we do when the food runs out?"
"It won't come to that."
"I have the utmost respect for you, ma'am, but sometimes you're just too optimistic."
"My dear," Keitha smiled, "I will not allow our people to starve. I give you my personal assurance. I will not let it come to that."
The pair continued their walk, in silence, Alyssa pointedly holding her nose every time they passed people smoking.
-------------------------
General Sanchez sat listening to the bug he'd placed inside Chloe Conde's tent.
"... and now we have even more cavemen here, this time from Gonhog. What were they even thinking, sending us to this dump?" came a voice he didn't recognise.
"We can undermine the Lauchenoirian government this way, regardless of who wins this war, Lieutenant. The amount of intelligence we've gathered by working with them will serve us well in the future. If Chaher wins, he's indebted to us.
And if it looks like he's going to lose, we'll get out, pronto. And he knows it. So, he has to keep us happy, make it worth sticking around. So many concessions, my grandmother would never have believed it!" Conde laughed.
"When are we going to hurry up and take this city?"
"All in good time, Lieutenant. They don't stand a chance."
-------------------------
"It's not fair!" the teenager yelled, storming up the stairs, and slamming her door so hard the large house shook a little.
"Do you think she realises it's not our fault?" the father asked.
"When you're that age, everything is your parents fault," said the girl's mother.
"Even your school trip to Laeral getting cancelled because the government have banned all flights to the country?"
"Oh, especially if it's the government's fault," chuckled the mother, picking up the two china teacups and walking down the large hallway to their main kitchen. Anyone who set foot in the house was quickly reminded of how wealthy its owners were. The father followed.
"I think she's worried about the war."
"The war won't come here. This is a respectable district. We are far enough out from Elopolis that any fighting in the city won't touch us. We are perfectly safe."
"I'm sure that's what most of the others thought."
"Oh, don't be such as pessi..."
The end of her word was drowned out by the sound of a large explosion outside. The pair rushed to the window. Upstairs, their daughter did the same. A plume of smoke was coming out of a building by the park. They heard shouting outside.
Armed soldiers were running down the street towards the fire, when one of them suddenly collapsed. Another explosion sounded, this one so close that the three in the house had to cover their ears. When the noise subsided, they looked out to find the soldiers lying, and a crack in the street where the grenade had exploded.
The daughter screamed, as a group wearing the symbol that the Lauchenoirian resistance had come to use, emerged from behind hedges up and down the street. The war had come there.
----------------------
Laura Moore stood on the edge of the Fleurian Forest, atop the hill overlooking Buttercity and the suburbs. To anyone down in the city, she would be no more than a dot beside the trees. And even if someone had binoculars, she was wearing the itchy wig and had her hood pulled over most of her face. She wouldn't be recognised.
When she had first rushed towards the city, she hadn't been thinking it through. Now, she was scared. She couldn't know what would happen if she went into that city, but she had a terrible feeling she would never leave it again.
She went over her plan again in her head. She knew what she had to do, and she knew just how much she didn't want to do it. Her husband was dead. Her children were in the hands of a dictator. And she was out of options.
She took a deep breath and headed down towards the city.
------------------------
Seven hours later
Suleman Chaher walked past the carefully vetted and handpicked crowd, who were cheering and chanting his name. He stopped next to a family with a baby and held it, smiling at the cameras. The baby cried and made a squelching sound from its rear end. He handed it back to its parents, trying not to gag.
He kept walking along the crowd, the cameras filming at the carefully chosen angle that made the crowd seem larger. He smiled and waved and shook hands. He was almost at Parliament Square when a woman vaulted over the barrier and stood in front of him. A woman he had never expected to see again.
"Hello, Suleman," she said.
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