08-02-2020, 08:59 AM
Chuaztlapoc
August 1st
8:45 am XST
The city of Chuaztlapoc was surrounded. But not by an enemy.
As anger grew throughout Xiomera at the iron-fisted grip of Xochiuhue, nowhere was the anger more surging than in the western half of the Empire. The people of the western half of the Empire had watched as the Xiomeran military, increasingly backed by Shuellian mercenaries, rounded people up and placed them in camps. They had watched as the government imposed martial law and placed soldiers and police on the streets of their cities, demanding compliance with the authoritarian mandate from Tlālacuetztla. They had watched friends and loved ones being yanked off the streets and arrested. They had watched the increasingly strident and angry propaganda and rhetoric on their airwaves and their 'net connections, praising the Emperor and the government that were committing all these acts.
For many of them, the time for watching had ended.
Around Chuaztlapoc, various camps had begun to form. Necatli, Itotemoc and Tepiltzin who had fled from the Imperial onslaught in their homelands. Disbanded Civil Guard units, many of them bringing their hardware with them. Xiomeran dissidents, ready to give their lives. Most of them felt it was a hopeless cause. Xochiuhue held the Obsidian Throne, and the government, police and military were obeying him. Many of those gathering at Chuaztlapoc had already seen, all too well, the power that could be brought to bear against them. But even without hope, they were still ready to fight. For a Xiomera they had once known, or perhaps for one they only hoped could exist someday.
Gathered around the city of the Shorn Ones, the last site of organized resistance against the new Emperor, they set up their camps, shored up their defenses, and prepared themselves to fight. Even if it was hopeless.
At the edge of the perimeter around the city, a former commander of the Zoyuca Civil Guard named Challcayo was entrenched with his detachment of Guards. "Someone's coming up the road, sir," his lookout shouted to him. "It's a large force - might even be battalion sized."
Challcayo quickly leaped to his feet. "Get ready to fire!" he shouted, as his soldiers moved into position. "Contact the advancing unit - demand they state their identity and intentions," he told his radio man. "And alert the central command at Chuaztlapoc that the city may be under attack."
As the Guards tensely waited, the radio man finally turned back to Challcayo. "They identify as the 21st Battalion of the Army, sir. They claim they have defected from the government and are coming here to help us." Challcayo thought quickly. "Let them advance. But if they show the slightest sign of being hostile, open fire. I don't care if they're the damned Army or not," he ordered his troops.
With their fingers on their triggers, the Zoyuca Guards waited as the sound of approaching military vehicles rose. They could see the line of advancing APCs, tanks and trucks now. In the lead of the advancing battalion was a single command vehicle. The line of vehicles stopped in front of the perimeter, and the hatch of the command vehicle opened. Two people stepped out, raising their hands in the air to show they had no weapons in hand. As the Zoyuca Guards watched with a mixture of tension, curiosity and nervousness, the two walked around to the back of the command vehicle.
Major Huatli and Sergeant Major Atezhuatl walked to the back of the command APC, hands in the air. "No one's shot us yet, that's a good sign," Atezhuatl said cheerfully. Huatli scowled, giving him a sidewise look, before turning to face the Guards. "We've come here to help in the defense of Chuaztlapoc," she shouted.
"So you say," Challcayo shouted back. "The Army's been backing Xochiuhue this whole time though. You're going to have to do a lot more to convince me."
"Will you take my word for it, Guardsman, if you won't take the Major's word?" another voice echoed. Atezhuatl had come back to stand next to Huatli, helping the woman speaking to walk forward from the back hatch of the APC. Challcayo stood speechless, in shock, as Huatli did her best to keep a huge smile from breaking out on her face. "Empress? Is it really you?" Challcayo finally said, his rifle dropping down to his side.
"It is, the last time I checked," Yauhmi said. After being in that damn torture cell, I did wonder sometimes, she thought, before raising her head to look at Challcayo. "Would you be so kind as to escort us to the city?"
"Yes ma'am! I mean, Empress....I mean, your Majesty...shit!" Challcayo said, unaccustomed to being so flustered. The Empress smiled in response, walking forward with Atezhuatl's help to gently pat Challcayo on the shoulder. "It's quite allright, formality isn't essential right now," the Empress said. Challcayo nodded, quickly turning to his soldiers. "Get a truck up here!" he shouted. As a military truck arrived, Challcayo helped Huatli and Atezhuatl place the Empress inside.
As the truck rolled down the main road into Chuaztlapoc, Yauhmi was clearly seated where she could be seen. As she passed the defensive lines around the city, people began to whisper, then to shout. "It's the Empress! She's alive! She's here!" people began to yell. As the truck continued to Chuaztlapoc, those that had come to defend the city began to cheer, standing up and raising their weapons in the air. Yauhmi managed to wave to them, despite the pain she was still in.
Challcayo had radioed ahead to Chuaztlapoc that they were arriving, and the Shorn Ones were themselves rushing to meet the arrivals, Etlahuatzitl in the lead. As the 21st Battalion rolled into the central plaza, the elder Shorn Ones were standing on the steps of the Hall of Chuaztlapoc waiting. Atezhuatl helped Yauhmi climb down from the truck, as Huatli and Challcayo stood next to them. The elder Shorn Ones bowed, led by Etlahuatzitl. "Your Majesty, thank the gods and goddesses that you're alive. We are here to serve and protect you, as always," Etlahuatzitl said.
"I am very lucky for that - for all of you who are here to defend this city, and the true heart of Xiomera," Yauhmi replied, giving her own short bow of respect to Etlahuatzitl. "I couldn't let myself die when so many of you were willing to give so much to defend our country and its future. We have much to do. Do you have a place where I can make a video recording?"
Etlahuatzitl seemed surprised. "We do, your Majesty, but surely you would like to rest or recover a bit before taking on those duties?"
"I can rest later. Right now, we're in the fight of our lives. No one gets to rest - not even me," Yauhmi replied. "I may need a bit more help than I used to, though. I hope you don't mind propping up this old lady for a bit longer, Atezhuatl?" Yauhmi looked at the Sergeant Major helping her walk with some of her old wit returning.
"I am honored to be your arm as long as needed, your Majesty. And your shield, if need be," Atezhuatl replied.
Etlahuatzitl nodded approvingly at Huatli and Atezhuatl. "This way," she said, leading the other three of them to a smaller building near the great hall. The building had been converted to a media center, where anti-Xochiuhue propaganda and messages for the Xiomeran resistance and the wider world were generated. The three of them were led to a small room that was used for recording video segments, set up much like a news studio. As Yauhmi was set up to begin recording, one of the producers coughed slightly. "Your Majesty, with respect, would you like us to have someone do some makeup for you, or perhaps some other ways to cover....." his voice trailed off as he looked at the bruises and injuries that Yauhmi still bore.
"No. I want the Xiomeran people - and the world - to see what they did to me," Yauhmi replied flatly. The producer gulped and nodded, running off to busy himself with something other than the scars of a tortured Empress.
As the recording began, Yauhmi turned to the camera. "Greetings to the Xiomeran people, and to anyone else who may be able to see this video," she said calmly. "I am Empress Yauhmi of the Xiomeran Empire. I am recording this brief message to show the world that I am still very much alive. Not uninjured," Yauhmi added with a gesture towards her face, "but I am still here. A brave unit of the Imperial Army rescued me from an ASI site where I was detained, and tortured, on the orders of Security Secretary Calhualyana. I am recording this message now to clarify some things. The usurper government claims that I abdicated my throne - that is a lie. They also claim that I committed crimes that made me unfit to be Empress - that is also a lie. Worst of all, they claim the Mandate of Huītzilōpōchtli, and that they are the legitimate rulers of Xiomera - and that is such a blatant lie that I am surprised their tongues haven't fallen off."
Yauhmi coughed slightly, before continuing. "Despite what the usurpers in Tlālacuetztla may claim, I am still the Empress of Xiomera. I have been informed that my son, Texōccoatl, has formed a government in exile. The government that he has started, in my name, is the true and legitimate government of Xiomera, the only one with the mandate to lead this country. I hope to speak with my son soon, and ensure that this government continues to have the support of true and loyal Xiomerans, and our friends abroad. But for now, I hereby declare that Chuaztlapoc is the temporary capital of Xiomera, as long as this crisis lasts. Anyone in Tlālacuetztla claiming to have the authority to issue orders, promulgate laws, or make demands - well, they simply don't anymore."
"I have one last message, for Xochiuhue, the son of Xolōtl. I will not call you Emperor. My husband was an Emperor. He deserved that title. You do not. But you're squatting in my house. You have a chance to stop doing that, and save yourself. But if you insist on trying to cling to power, sooner or later, we will come to the Palace of Flowers and evict you. By we, I mean the Xiomeran people, of which my son and I are part. You have a choice now, son of Xolōtl: choose wisely."
As the recording ended, Yauhmi looked up at Etlahuatzitl, Huatli and Atezhuatl. "Did that sound confident?" she asked. "Very much so, your Majesty," Huatli said, as the other two nodded approvingly. "I hope so. Because we're going to need every bit of confidence we can get over the next few weeks," Yauhmi replied. "Things are about to get very ugly here. I fear I may have placed a target on this city."
Etlahuatzitl shook her head. "We were already a target. But before you came back, your Majesty, the people out there had no hope. Now they do. And that will give us the strength we need to win. The armies of Xochiuhue fight out of fear of him. We fight out of hope, and for what is right. We already have the upper hand."
The video that Yauhmi recorded was quickly put together and the many hackers working for the Xiomeran resistance began spreading it around the 'net - much to the consternation of the ASI and ISTC teams in Tlilotl'pac whose job was to prevent that. It was also sent to the Eirian and Legionite hackers working on behalf of the resistance. The video quickly went viral - and even the much-vaunted Xiomeran firewall had no chance at stopping it.
---
Tlālacuetztla
2:45 pm XST
Emperor Xochiuhue calmly closed the laptop which he had used to watch the video. He then slammed his fist on top of it; the sound of splintering plastic and cracking glass echoed in the very silent air. A servant hastily took the laptop away, as the Emperor sat up in his bed. He was recovering from his injuries quickly, but the discomfort of it all was not helping his already irascible temper. Neither was what he had just watched.
"This is still something we can handle," Calhualyana said as the Emperor glared coldly at her. "We can send another ASI team into Chuaztlapoc after Yauhmi - "
"You mean, like the ASI team that did such a stellar job in Laeral?" Xochiuhue said. "We still eliminated Nōlinyauh, that was a major success," Calhualyana replied.
"I wanted Texōccoatl dead. That was their job. I don't give a damn about some old fucking bureaucrat. I needed Texōccoatl dead. You failed. And you failed to keep Yauhmi imprisoned, and you failed to kill her as I ordered. And now she is free, and poses a huge risk to us. And you want me to believe that eliminating that doddering old bastard Nōlinyauh was a victory? I got blown up. By. A. Missile," Xochiuhue grated, leaning forward in anger. "And now Xōchhuitl is dead. You are utterly useless. Get out of my sight."
Calhualyana stared at Xochiuhue for a moment, before turning on her heel and walking out.
With Xōchhuitl's death, General Zinahue, the next in line, had taken over as the head of the Army and the General Staff. The Emperor turned to Zinahue. "Mobilize the Army of the West. I want Chuaztlapoc leveled to the ground. Leave no one alive. Leave no building standing. Use the damned Air Force too, we may as well get some use out of their damned expensive planes. I am not letting Yauhmi escape again."
Chuaztlapoc is one of the most important cultural and religious centers in Xiomera, second only to Tlālacuetztla. No Xiomeran military commander with even half a sense of decency or respect would have ever followed such a disastrous order. General Xōchhuitl would not have.
But General Xōchhuitl was dead.
Zinahue saluted his Emperor, and left to carry out his orders.
---
Château de Clamur, Neidong, Laeral
3:30 pm XST
Texōccoatl took a few experimental steps. He had made a marked recovery from the tlumala poison, and Brigadier General Tlanexchel nodded approvingly. "You'll be back to normal within a few days. It's a good thing I didn't let you go slack on your conditioning and exercise."
The Crown Prince snorted. "When have I ever gone slack, Tlanexchel?"
"Not often, admittedly," the Jaguar Warrior said. "But you have your moments, Crown Prince."
Texōccoatl was about to issue a bantering reply when the sound of someone shouting echoed down the hall. "Oh for fuck's sake, not again," Tlanexchel murmured, reaching for his pistol, thinking it was another attack. Texōccoatl stopped him. "I recognize that voice, it's Chuaru," the Crown Prince said, naming his personal assistant.
Chuaru burst into the room, breathing heavily as if he had been running. ".....alive!" he gasped, practically falling onto the desk of the Crown Prince. He began pulling something up on the computer, as Tlanexchel grimaced. "What are you going on about, Chuaru? Why are you shambling in here like this?" the General demanded.
"She's alive! Watch this," Chuaru replied, pulling up a Milintican news site and loading a video. As the video played, Tlanexchel swallowed the reprimand he was about to give Chuaru. He watched, silently. Texōccoatl began watching as well. After a moment, he fell into the chair at his desk, stunned. As the video finished, Tlanexchel broke the silence first. "The Empress. She's alive. I can't believe what they did to her.....but she's alive."
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Chuaru said plaintively.
Texōccoatl stared at the screen. After a moment, he clicked to replay the video. A huge smile broke across his face. "She's alive," he breathed. His expression fell after a moment. "But Mother....what are you doing?" he said softly.
"I don't understand. Isn't this a good thing?" Tlanexchel said.
"No. It's not. If she escaped prison, she could have gone into hiding or somehow fled abroad. Now Xochiuhue knows where she is. And he still controls most of the Army and Air Force. He will destroy Chuaztlapoc. And we can't get there fast enough to stop him." Texōccoatl slammed the desk in frustration. "Is she trying to martyr herself?"
"I don't think so, sir," Tlanexchel said after a moment. "I think that, in her own usual inimitable way, the Empress is trying to force everyone's hand."
Texōccoatl sighed. "This video will certainly accomplish that. The question is....what the hell do we do now?"
August 1st
8:45 am XST
The city of Chuaztlapoc was surrounded. But not by an enemy.
As anger grew throughout Xiomera at the iron-fisted grip of Xochiuhue, nowhere was the anger more surging than in the western half of the Empire. The people of the western half of the Empire had watched as the Xiomeran military, increasingly backed by Shuellian mercenaries, rounded people up and placed them in camps. They had watched as the government imposed martial law and placed soldiers and police on the streets of their cities, demanding compliance with the authoritarian mandate from Tlālacuetztla. They had watched friends and loved ones being yanked off the streets and arrested. They had watched the increasingly strident and angry propaganda and rhetoric on their airwaves and their 'net connections, praising the Emperor and the government that were committing all these acts.
For many of them, the time for watching had ended.
Around Chuaztlapoc, various camps had begun to form. Necatli, Itotemoc and Tepiltzin who had fled from the Imperial onslaught in their homelands. Disbanded Civil Guard units, many of them bringing their hardware with them. Xiomeran dissidents, ready to give their lives. Most of them felt it was a hopeless cause. Xochiuhue held the Obsidian Throne, and the government, police and military were obeying him. Many of those gathering at Chuaztlapoc had already seen, all too well, the power that could be brought to bear against them. But even without hope, they were still ready to fight. For a Xiomera they had once known, or perhaps for one they only hoped could exist someday.
Gathered around the city of the Shorn Ones, the last site of organized resistance against the new Emperor, they set up their camps, shored up their defenses, and prepared themselves to fight. Even if it was hopeless.
At the edge of the perimeter around the city, a former commander of the Zoyuca Civil Guard named Challcayo was entrenched with his detachment of Guards. "Someone's coming up the road, sir," his lookout shouted to him. "It's a large force - might even be battalion sized."
Challcayo quickly leaped to his feet. "Get ready to fire!" he shouted, as his soldiers moved into position. "Contact the advancing unit - demand they state their identity and intentions," he told his radio man. "And alert the central command at Chuaztlapoc that the city may be under attack."
As the Guards tensely waited, the radio man finally turned back to Challcayo. "They identify as the 21st Battalion of the Army, sir. They claim they have defected from the government and are coming here to help us." Challcayo thought quickly. "Let them advance. But if they show the slightest sign of being hostile, open fire. I don't care if they're the damned Army or not," he ordered his troops.
With their fingers on their triggers, the Zoyuca Guards waited as the sound of approaching military vehicles rose. They could see the line of advancing APCs, tanks and trucks now. In the lead of the advancing battalion was a single command vehicle. The line of vehicles stopped in front of the perimeter, and the hatch of the command vehicle opened. Two people stepped out, raising their hands in the air to show they had no weapons in hand. As the Zoyuca Guards watched with a mixture of tension, curiosity and nervousness, the two walked around to the back of the command vehicle.
Major Huatli and Sergeant Major Atezhuatl walked to the back of the command APC, hands in the air. "No one's shot us yet, that's a good sign," Atezhuatl said cheerfully. Huatli scowled, giving him a sidewise look, before turning to face the Guards. "We've come here to help in the defense of Chuaztlapoc," she shouted.
"So you say," Challcayo shouted back. "The Army's been backing Xochiuhue this whole time though. You're going to have to do a lot more to convince me."
"Will you take my word for it, Guardsman, if you won't take the Major's word?" another voice echoed. Atezhuatl had come back to stand next to Huatli, helping the woman speaking to walk forward from the back hatch of the APC. Challcayo stood speechless, in shock, as Huatli did her best to keep a huge smile from breaking out on her face. "Empress? Is it really you?" Challcayo finally said, his rifle dropping down to his side.
"It is, the last time I checked," Yauhmi said. After being in that damn torture cell, I did wonder sometimes, she thought, before raising her head to look at Challcayo. "Would you be so kind as to escort us to the city?"
"Yes ma'am! I mean, Empress....I mean, your Majesty...shit!" Challcayo said, unaccustomed to being so flustered. The Empress smiled in response, walking forward with Atezhuatl's help to gently pat Challcayo on the shoulder. "It's quite allright, formality isn't essential right now," the Empress said. Challcayo nodded, quickly turning to his soldiers. "Get a truck up here!" he shouted. As a military truck arrived, Challcayo helped Huatli and Atezhuatl place the Empress inside.
As the truck rolled down the main road into Chuaztlapoc, Yauhmi was clearly seated where she could be seen. As she passed the defensive lines around the city, people began to whisper, then to shout. "It's the Empress! She's alive! She's here!" people began to yell. As the truck continued to Chuaztlapoc, those that had come to defend the city began to cheer, standing up and raising their weapons in the air. Yauhmi managed to wave to them, despite the pain she was still in.
Challcayo had radioed ahead to Chuaztlapoc that they were arriving, and the Shorn Ones were themselves rushing to meet the arrivals, Etlahuatzitl in the lead. As the 21st Battalion rolled into the central plaza, the elder Shorn Ones were standing on the steps of the Hall of Chuaztlapoc waiting. Atezhuatl helped Yauhmi climb down from the truck, as Huatli and Challcayo stood next to them. The elder Shorn Ones bowed, led by Etlahuatzitl. "Your Majesty, thank the gods and goddesses that you're alive. We are here to serve and protect you, as always," Etlahuatzitl said.
"I am very lucky for that - for all of you who are here to defend this city, and the true heart of Xiomera," Yauhmi replied, giving her own short bow of respect to Etlahuatzitl. "I couldn't let myself die when so many of you were willing to give so much to defend our country and its future. We have much to do. Do you have a place where I can make a video recording?"
Etlahuatzitl seemed surprised. "We do, your Majesty, but surely you would like to rest or recover a bit before taking on those duties?"
"I can rest later. Right now, we're in the fight of our lives. No one gets to rest - not even me," Yauhmi replied. "I may need a bit more help than I used to, though. I hope you don't mind propping up this old lady for a bit longer, Atezhuatl?" Yauhmi looked at the Sergeant Major helping her walk with some of her old wit returning.
"I am honored to be your arm as long as needed, your Majesty. And your shield, if need be," Atezhuatl replied.
Etlahuatzitl nodded approvingly at Huatli and Atezhuatl. "This way," she said, leading the other three of them to a smaller building near the great hall. The building had been converted to a media center, where anti-Xochiuhue propaganda and messages for the Xiomeran resistance and the wider world were generated. The three of them were led to a small room that was used for recording video segments, set up much like a news studio. As Yauhmi was set up to begin recording, one of the producers coughed slightly. "Your Majesty, with respect, would you like us to have someone do some makeup for you, or perhaps some other ways to cover....." his voice trailed off as he looked at the bruises and injuries that Yauhmi still bore.
"No. I want the Xiomeran people - and the world - to see what they did to me," Yauhmi replied flatly. The producer gulped and nodded, running off to busy himself with something other than the scars of a tortured Empress.
As the recording began, Yauhmi turned to the camera. "Greetings to the Xiomeran people, and to anyone else who may be able to see this video," she said calmly. "I am Empress Yauhmi of the Xiomeran Empire. I am recording this brief message to show the world that I am still very much alive. Not uninjured," Yauhmi added with a gesture towards her face, "but I am still here. A brave unit of the Imperial Army rescued me from an ASI site where I was detained, and tortured, on the orders of Security Secretary Calhualyana. I am recording this message now to clarify some things. The usurper government claims that I abdicated my throne - that is a lie. They also claim that I committed crimes that made me unfit to be Empress - that is also a lie. Worst of all, they claim the Mandate of Huītzilōpōchtli, and that they are the legitimate rulers of Xiomera - and that is such a blatant lie that I am surprised their tongues haven't fallen off."
Yauhmi coughed slightly, before continuing. "Despite what the usurpers in Tlālacuetztla may claim, I am still the Empress of Xiomera. I have been informed that my son, Texōccoatl, has formed a government in exile. The government that he has started, in my name, is the true and legitimate government of Xiomera, the only one with the mandate to lead this country. I hope to speak with my son soon, and ensure that this government continues to have the support of true and loyal Xiomerans, and our friends abroad. But for now, I hereby declare that Chuaztlapoc is the temporary capital of Xiomera, as long as this crisis lasts. Anyone in Tlālacuetztla claiming to have the authority to issue orders, promulgate laws, or make demands - well, they simply don't anymore."
"I have one last message, for Xochiuhue, the son of Xolōtl. I will not call you Emperor. My husband was an Emperor. He deserved that title. You do not. But you're squatting in my house. You have a chance to stop doing that, and save yourself. But if you insist on trying to cling to power, sooner or later, we will come to the Palace of Flowers and evict you. By we, I mean the Xiomeran people, of which my son and I are part. You have a choice now, son of Xolōtl: choose wisely."
As the recording ended, Yauhmi looked up at Etlahuatzitl, Huatli and Atezhuatl. "Did that sound confident?" she asked. "Very much so, your Majesty," Huatli said, as the other two nodded approvingly. "I hope so. Because we're going to need every bit of confidence we can get over the next few weeks," Yauhmi replied. "Things are about to get very ugly here. I fear I may have placed a target on this city."
Etlahuatzitl shook her head. "We were already a target. But before you came back, your Majesty, the people out there had no hope. Now they do. And that will give us the strength we need to win. The armies of Xochiuhue fight out of fear of him. We fight out of hope, and for what is right. We already have the upper hand."
The video that Yauhmi recorded was quickly put together and the many hackers working for the Xiomeran resistance began spreading it around the 'net - much to the consternation of the ASI and ISTC teams in Tlilotl'pac whose job was to prevent that. It was also sent to the Eirian and Legionite hackers working on behalf of the resistance. The video quickly went viral - and even the much-vaunted Xiomeran firewall had no chance at stopping it.
---
Tlālacuetztla
2:45 pm XST
Emperor Xochiuhue calmly closed the laptop which he had used to watch the video. He then slammed his fist on top of it; the sound of splintering plastic and cracking glass echoed in the very silent air. A servant hastily took the laptop away, as the Emperor sat up in his bed. He was recovering from his injuries quickly, but the discomfort of it all was not helping his already irascible temper. Neither was what he had just watched.
"This is still something we can handle," Calhualyana said as the Emperor glared coldly at her. "We can send another ASI team into Chuaztlapoc after Yauhmi - "
"You mean, like the ASI team that did such a stellar job in Laeral?" Xochiuhue said. "We still eliminated Nōlinyauh, that was a major success," Calhualyana replied.
"I wanted Texōccoatl dead. That was their job. I don't give a damn about some old fucking bureaucrat. I needed Texōccoatl dead. You failed. And you failed to keep Yauhmi imprisoned, and you failed to kill her as I ordered. And now she is free, and poses a huge risk to us. And you want me to believe that eliminating that doddering old bastard Nōlinyauh was a victory? I got blown up. By. A. Missile," Xochiuhue grated, leaning forward in anger. "And now Xōchhuitl is dead. You are utterly useless. Get out of my sight."
Calhualyana stared at Xochiuhue for a moment, before turning on her heel and walking out.
With Xōchhuitl's death, General Zinahue, the next in line, had taken over as the head of the Army and the General Staff. The Emperor turned to Zinahue. "Mobilize the Army of the West. I want Chuaztlapoc leveled to the ground. Leave no one alive. Leave no building standing. Use the damned Air Force too, we may as well get some use out of their damned expensive planes. I am not letting Yauhmi escape again."
Chuaztlapoc is one of the most important cultural and religious centers in Xiomera, second only to Tlālacuetztla. No Xiomeran military commander with even half a sense of decency or respect would have ever followed such a disastrous order. General Xōchhuitl would not have.
But General Xōchhuitl was dead.
Zinahue saluted his Emperor, and left to carry out his orders.
---
Château de Clamur, Neidong, Laeral
3:30 pm XST
Texōccoatl took a few experimental steps. He had made a marked recovery from the tlumala poison, and Brigadier General Tlanexchel nodded approvingly. "You'll be back to normal within a few days. It's a good thing I didn't let you go slack on your conditioning and exercise."
The Crown Prince snorted. "When have I ever gone slack, Tlanexchel?"
"Not often, admittedly," the Jaguar Warrior said. "But you have your moments, Crown Prince."
Texōccoatl was about to issue a bantering reply when the sound of someone shouting echoed down the hall. "Oh for fuck's sake, not again," Tlanexchel murmured, reaching for his pistol, thinking it was another attack. Texōccoatl stopped him. "I recognize that voice, it's Chuaru," the Crown Prince said, naming his personal assistant.
Chuaru burst into the room, breathing heavily as if he had been running. ".....alive!" he gasped, practically falling onto the desk of the Crown Prince. He began pulling something up on the computer, as Tlanexchel grimaced. "What are you going on about, Chuaru? Why are you shambling in here like this?" the General demanded.
"She's alive! Watch this," Chuaru replied, pulling up a Milintican news site and loading a video. As the video played, Tlanexchel swallowed the reprimand he was about to give Chuaru. He watched, silently. Texōccoatl began watching as well. After a moment, he fell into the chair at his desk, stunned. As the video finished, Tlanexchel broke the silence first. "The Empress. She's alive. I can't believe what they did to her.....but she's alive."
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Chuaru said plaintively.
Texōccoatl stared at the screen. After a moment, he clicked to replay the video. A huge smile broke across his face. "She's alive," he breathed. His expression fell after a moment. "But Mother....what are you doing?" he said softly.
"I don't understand. Isn't this a good thing?" Tlanexchel said.
"No. It's not. If she escaped prison, she could have gone into hiding or somehow fled abroad. Now Xochiuhue knows where she is. And he still controls most of the Army and Air Force. He will destroy Chuaztlapoc. And we can't get there fast enough to stop him." Texōccoatl slammed the desk in frustration. "Is she trying to martyr herself?"
"I don't think so, sir," Tlanexchel said after a moment. "I think that, in her own usual inimitable way, the Empress is trying to force everyone's hand."
Texōccoatl sighed. "This video will certainly accomplish that. The question is....what the hell do we do now?"
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