07-11-2018, 12:27 AM
Usera, Yesterday
"It's been ten days, and no sign of Suleman Chaher. Is he alive? Is he dead? Of course, those aren't the real questions. The real question is: does it even matter? If he's alive, nothing has changed. And if he's dead, well, seemingly nothing has changed. So much for the idea that this is all his doing.
Have Walker's actions yielded any results? I would argue no. The people of Lauchenoiria are still living in constant fear of being randomly imprisoned by the government, like Dr Antonin at Melissa City University, or killed as collateral damage in one of the battles foreign forces are fighting on our soil. If Chaher is dead, his legacy is the destruction of his country. If he is alive, I hope he faces justice for this.
I need to go, they'll likely have tracked my location by now. I'll keep broadcasting, keep running until I can't. We need to counter their narrative, we need to rise up and fight against the anti-democratic regime. See you tomorrow. Stay strong, Lauchenoiria."
The signal to the live broadcast cut off and Leonie put down the tablet. She rewound the video slightly and stared at Alex Marwick, the university student who had appointed himself news reporter of the Resistance. He had a scar across his cheek that hadn't been there in yesterday's broadcast.
She stood up, slowly, still getting used to walking after her... injury. She carefully exited the room and, keeping close to the wall, headed towards where Sonja had set up her command headquarters. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the building. She was just about to turn a corner when she heard a voice that made her hesitate.
"... an enemy state! I mean, sure, the story is that she is some great enemy of their government, but she's still Kerlian! No matter who she's married to! We shouldn't be taking orders from her!"
"Sonja's got more experience in these matters than all the rest of us put together, it's a tactical decision."
"Yeah, and if the story's true, all that experience was gathered when she was a teenager in the 90's. So, tell me, just how is she so well versed in warfare? Answer, because all her experience was not as a teenager."
"Come on, this is conspiracy theory stuff."
"Yeah, like the conspiracy theory that someone in the government was plotting to overthrow Moore. Oh, wait... that happened. Just give it some thought, okay? If you're with us, we're meeting at midnight round the back of the theatre."
Leonie heard footsteps and quickly ducked into a nearby cupboard. She held her breath as one of the men who had been talking passed her by. When she was sure nobody was outside, she emerged, breathing quickly and shaking. She hurried along to meet Sonja.
-------------------
Buttercity, Today, 10th July
"So, we've two days until the anniversary of the 1952 revolution, we ought to do something, keep the communists on our side, especially given the Resistance plot we heard about to turn them against us," Charissa Clarke was saying, sitting on a chair in a hospital room.
"That is a good idea. I should be about ready to make a public appearance then," agreed Suleman Chaher from the bed. The bullet had missed his heart, where it was widely assumed Walker had intended to hit him. He was now recovering, though it was uncertain how long it would take. The doctors had claimed there were "complications". Chaher had his security services do ideology checks on them.
"Meanwhile, the Coalition has pushed out of Summersea, and our forces have taken some casualties. The terrorists have blown up most of the bridges over the river Anaí¯s, which delayed the Gonhogian reinforcements. Increasing amounts of attacks are happening around Elopolis also. And we still don't know who took Antonin, but the Resistance's pet internet troll keeps blaming us."
"Looks like things have really hit the fan since I've been here," Chaher smiled weakly.
"The Kerlians have offered to send additional troops, I propose we have the Kerlians reinforce Buttercity and the north."
"No, I don't want any foreign soldiers up here, I said so right?"
"I understand why you feel that way, but Leanna Walker got into this city. And Moore's children have vanished. Someone said they saw her driving them out of the city while there was all the chaos. The two most wanted in the country, and they just wander in unnoticed!"
"Maybe you're right... okay, contact Kerlile. Also, what happened with Rowan Martin?"
"We lost track of him three and a half weeks ago, and our agent trailing him. Do you want me to send others to track him down?"
"No, chances are they're both dead. Was going to pin it on the Resistance, but if they actually did kill him, that problem will resolve itself."
"As you wish. You should rest, Prime Minister," Clarke said, nodding her head and exiting. Chaher collapsed back into the pillow and immediately fell asleep.
----------------
When Leanna Walker was ten years old, her mother fell ill. Unable to continue home-schooling her daughter, she sent the young Leanna to Mariposa Academy, a boarding school south of Usera. There, the young Leanna was bullied, insulted and had food stolen leading her to frequently miss meals. The young Leanna thought Mariposa Academy was the worst place on the planet.
She was wrong.
Walker tried to remain still inside the tiny cell in a prison they hadn't told her the name of. She'd been kept in solitary confinement since arrival, and she wasn't quite sure how long that had been. There were no windows, and the light level never seemed to change noticeably.
She thought it had been about a week, but she was terrified that it had only been a few days, and she'd have to go through more of this. Or, equally terrifying was the thought that it had been a lot longer, and the war was over, with those behind the coup victorious, and this was her life for eternity.
There was a clanging noise, and someone opened a slot in the door, sliding in a tray with a bowl of porridge and a glass of water, silently. Walker gingerly took the tray and sat back down. She almost wished they'd just killed her. It would be less painful than this.
As she ate, she replayed the scene in her head for the thousandth time. She knew it was just her mind playing tricks, but she could view it all in slow motion, the bullet flying through the air and hitting Chaher, him falling down, her being hit on the head, waking to see Laura Moore standing in the crowd.
"Fool," she muttered aloud after taking a sip of water, "everything you've done has just made this worse. Should've stayed in Laeral."
She finished the food, too quickly, and dumped the tray back by the door. She curled up in a ball and waited for something, anything, to change and break this monotony.
-------------------
Jae Chung, who had lived all her life in Annatown, trudged through the Fleurian Forest, heading from Lorentonia to Usera. Every time she managed to discover a location for Sonja Alvarez, Sonja seemed to move on. Chung was fed up. She'd hidden the USB in what she hoped was a safe location before proceeding north. The country was a warzone, and she couldn't be sure of reaching Sonja in one piece.
She'd heard the news about Walker's attempt on Chaher's life back in Lorentonia and had waited a few days to see if it would change anything. It hadn't. So, she headed to Usera. Three days ago, it had started raining. It hadn't stopped. Chung was fed up. She checked her map and saw a village only a couple of miles south. She decided to risk it.
Forty-five minutes later, she entered the village of Jensala. She was just about to go into a café when she heard a voice.
"Freeze."
She did as the voice said.
"Turn around slowly, with your hands up."
She complied. A pair of heavily armed Lauchenoirian soldiers stood pointing weapons at her. Shit.
"Identify yourself and your business here."
"My name is Jae Chung, I'm hiking through the woods, I'm a bit of a nature lover, you see, and..."
"Search her," one of the men said to the other. He stepped forward. Chung was glad she'd left her weapons and maps hidden before entering the village.
"Nothing, sir," the second man said after finishing the search.
"Ms... Chung, did you say? I don't believe your "˜hiking' story for one second. You're coming with us."
Jae Chung looked around. She was trapped between an endless row of shops and a wide-open village square. Any attempt to run would just get her killed. Resigned, she allowed the soldiers to handcuff her and lead her away.
"It's been ten days, and no sign of Suleman Chaher. Is he alive? Is he dead? Of course, those aren't the real questions. The real question is: does it even matter? If he's alive, nothing has changed. And if he's dead, well, seemingly nothing has changed. So much for the idea that this is all his doing.
Have Walker's actions yielded any results? I would argue no. The people of Lauchenoiria are still living in constant fear of being randomly imprisoned by the government, like Dr Antonin at Melissa City University, or killed as collateral damage in one of the battles foreign forces are fighting on our soil. If Chaher is dead, his legacy is the destruction of his country. If he is alive, I hope he faces justice for this.
I need to go, they'll likely have tracked my location by now. I'll keep broadcasting, keep running until I can't. We need to counter their narrative, we need to rise up and fight against the anti-democratic regime. See you tomorrow. Stay strong, Lauchenoiria."
The signal to the live broadcast cut off and Leonie put down the tablet. She rewound the video slightly and stared at Alex Marwick, the university student who had appointed himself news reporter of the Resistance. He had a scar across his cheek that hadn't been there in yesterday's broadcast.
She stood up, slowly, still getting used to walking after her... injury. She carefully exited the room and, keeping close to the wall, headed towards where Sonja had set up her command headquarters. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the building. She was just about to turn a corner when she heard a voice that made her hesitate.
"... an enemy state! I mean, sure, the story is that she is some great enemy of their government, but she's still Kerlian! No matter who she's married to! We shouldn't be taking orders from her!"
"Sonja's got more experience in these matters than all the rest of us put together, it's a tactical decision."
"Yeah, and if the story's true, all that experience was gathered when she was a teenager in the 90's. So, tell me, just how is she so well versed in warfare? Answer, because all her experience was not as a teenager."
"Come on, this is conspiracy theory stuff."
"Yeah, like the conspiracy theory that someone in the government was plotting to overthrow Moore. Oh, wait... that happened. Just give it some thought, okay? If you're with us, we're meeting at midnight round the back of the theatre."
Leonie heard footsteps and quickly ducked into a nearby cupboard. She held her breath as one of the men who had been talking passed her by. When she was sure nobody was outside, she emerged, breathing quickly and shaking. She hurried along to meet Sonja.
-------------------
Buttercity, Today, 10th July
"So, we've two days until the anniversary of the 1952 revolution, we ought to do something, keep the communists on our side, especially given the Resistance plot we heard about to turn them against us," Charissa Clarke was saying, sitting on a chair in a hospital room.
"That is a good idea. I should be about ready to make a public appearance then," agreed Suleman Chaher from the bed. The bullet had missed his heart, where it was widely assumed Walker had intended to hit him. He was now recovering, though it was uncertain how long it would take. The doctors had claimed there were "complications". Chaher had his security services do ideology checks on them.
"Meanwhile, the Coalition has pushed out of Summersea, and our forces have taken some casualties. The terrorists have blown up most of the bridges over the river Anaí¯s, which delayed the Gonhogian reinforcements. Increasing amounts of attacks are happening around Elopolis also. And we still don't know who took Antonin, but the Resistance's pet internet troll keeps blaming us."
"Looks like things have really hit the fan since I've been here," Chaher smiled weakly.
"The Kerlians have offered to send additional troops, I propose we have the Kerlians reinforce Buttercity and the north."
"No, I don't want any foreign soldiers up here, I said so right?"
"I understand why you feel that way, but Leanna Walker got into this city. And Moore's children have vanished. Someone said they saw her driving them out of the city while there was all the chaos. The two most wanted in the country, and they just wander in unnoticed!"
"Maybe you're right... okay, contact Kerlile. Also, what happened with Rowan Martin?"
"We lost track of him three and a half weeks ago, and our agent trailing him. Do you want me to send others to track him down?"
"No, chances are they're both dead. Was going to pin it on the Resistance, but if they actually did kill him, that problem will resolve itself."
"As you wish. You should rest, Prime Minister," Clarke said, nodding her head and exiting. Chaher collapsed back into the pillow and immediately fell asleep.
----------------
When Leanna Walker was ten years old, her mother fell ill. Unable to continue home-schooling her daughter, she sent the young Leanna to Mariposa Academy, a boarding school south of Usera. There, the young Leanna was bullied, insulted and had food stolen leading her to frequently miss meals. The young Leanna thought Mariposa Academy was the worst place on the planet.
She was wrong.
Walker tried to remain still inside the tiny cell in a prison they hadn't told her the name of. She'd been kept in solitary confinement since arrival, and she wasn't quite sure how long that had been. There were no windows, and the light level never seemed to change noticeably.
She thought it had been about a week, but she was terrified that it had only been a few days, and she'd have to go through more of this. Or, equally terrifying was the thought that it had been a lot longer, and the war was over, with those behind the coup victorious, and this was her life for eternity.
There was a clanging noise, and someone opened a slot in the door, sliding in a tray with a bowl of porridge and a glass of water, silently. Walker gingerly took the tray and sat back down. She almost wished they'd just killed her. It would be less painful than this.
As she ate, she replayed the scene in her head for the thousandth time. She knew it was just her mind playing tricks, but she could view it all in slow motion, the bullet flying through the air and hitting Chaher, him falling down, her being hit on the head, waking to see Laura Moore standing in the crowd.
"Fool," she muttered aloud after taking a sip of water, "everything you've done has just made this worse. Should've stayed in Laeral."
She finished the food, too quickly, and dumped the tray back by the door. She curled up in a ball and waited for something, anything, to change and break this monotony.
-------------------
Jae Chung, who had lived all her life in Annatown, trudged through the Fleurian Forest, heading from Lorentonia to Usera. Every time she managed to discover a location for Sonja Alvarez, Sonja seemed to move on. Chung was fed up. She'd hidden the USB in what she hoped was a safe location before proceeding north. The country was a warzone, and she couldn't be sure of reaching Sonja in one piece.
She'd heard the news about Walker's attempt on Chaher's life back in Lorentonia and had waited a few days to see if it would change anything. It hadn't. So, she headed to Usera. Three days ago, it had started raining. It hadn't stopped. Chung was fed up. She checked her map and saw a village only a couple of miles south. She decided to risk it.
Forty-five minutes later, she entered the village of Jensala. She was just about to go into a café when she heard a voice.
"Freeze."
She did as the voice said.
"Turn around slowly, with your hands up."
She complied. A pair of heavily armed Lauchenoirian soldiers stood pointing weapons at her. Shit.
"Identify yourself and your business here."
"My name is Jae Chung, I'm hiking through the woods, I'm a bit of a nature lover, you see, and..."
"Search her," one of the men said to the other. He stepped forward. Chung was glad she'd left her weapons and maps hidden before entering the village.
"Nothing, sir," the second man said after finishing the search.
"Ms... Chung, did you say? I don't believe your "˜hiking' story for one second. You're coming with us."
Jae Chung looked around. She was trapped between an endless row of shops and a wide-open village square. Any attempt to run would just get her killed. Resigned, she allowed the soldiers to handcuff her and lead her away.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax