09-16-2020, 08:05 AM
September 7th
Château de Clamur, Neidong, Laeral
Texōccoatl turned off the television with a mixture of relief and frustration. He gently placed the remote control on the conference table, as his cabinet watched.
They won. Somehow, they saved Chuaztlapoc. For now, at least. And then, a second thought following: But this can never go easily, can it? For every win, we have another issue come up. The Crown Prince sighed wearily. "So....have we had a chance to communicate with the Kerlians yet?"
"We have," Brigadier General Tlanexchel said. "They have still committed to providing us with troop support on the ground, and their forces are being outfitted and prepared for transport even as we speak. Those factories we kept open in Kerlile are proving as efficient at churning out war materiel as they were at making cookies and televisions."
The Crown Prince exhaled a long breath of relief at that news. "Given this situation with the Maximusians, I was half afraid they would back out. Speaking of that situation.....can anyone tell me what the hell is happening concerning Olivia Pierre?"
"I can, somewhat, your Majesty," Otequel replied. A young-looking Xiomeran, Otequel had replaced Nōlinyauh as Secretary of State after his assassination. "A video was apparently delivered to Councillor Pierre by unknown agents. It shows that someone kidnapped Olivia Pierre, claiming it as an act of retribution over Kerlian actions in the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War. They claim to be Maximusian."
"There is a lot of they claim and apparently in this situation," Texōccoatl grumbled after a moment. "No one seems to really know who has Olivia Pierre, or what they intend. Have we been able to speak with anyone in Libertas Omnium Maximus at all about this mess?"
"We have submitted an urgent request for information to them, your Majesty. We may have to wait for a response. The Maximusians will, frankly, be more concerned with the Kerlians and the rest of the world rather than answering to one of three different Xiomeran governments currently operating." Otequel sighed. "I say three, because there is the government here in Laeral, the one at Chuaztlapoc, and the one in Tlālacuetztla. It's an open question for a lot of foreign leaders which Xiomerans they're supposed to be talking to."
"I plan to eliminate that confusion very soon. Have we made any progress on flipping the rest of the Navy?" the Crown Prince asked.
"I wish I could say yes, but....no. If we're hoping for a mass switchover of sides like what happened at Chuaztlapoc with Army Corps V, something will have to trigger rank-and-file sailors to take control. The majority of the officer corps of the Navy, like the Army, seems to be loyal to Xochiuhue." Tlanexchel slapped his hand on the desk. "When we get back to Xiomera and back in control, I am personally going to hang these officers off the bow of their own ships by their...."
"I agree, a review and purging of the officer corps of all services will be required," Texōccoatl said, cutting off the Jaguar Warrior before he could go into further detail on what punishments he had planned for the officers who had remained loyal to Xochiuhue. "But we do have to win first."
"That we do, sir," Tlanexchel replied. "Our preparations stand as follows: my units, the Milintican volunteers, and the other volunteers from Xiomera are fully prepared and equipped. They are already holding station with our fleet, and the Eirian fleet under Admiral Circè, in the Tenebric Ocean northeast of Xiomera. As soon as the Kerlians arrive on scene, we will be ready to move on Zapotlán. As ready as I can make us, anyway. I still frankly have no idea if the rest of the Navy will try to stop us or not. The only positive thing I can say is that, according to the best intelligence we have, Xochiuhue and Admiral Tlālpantlizal have deployed the great majority of their remaining naval assets to the Nereus Sea and the South Xiomeran Sea. I think they took the bait that the Eirians and Legionites laid out for them and think that any attack is coming from the west or south. I don't know what Xochiuhue's advisors are thinking, though. They can surely see our ships gathering in the Tenebric, and when the Kerlians arrive, it will be even more obvious. I have two theories. One, Xochiuhue and his advisors really do expect that the attack will come from Legionas and Eiria, and that our presence in the Tenebric is a bluff. If that's true, we'll have a relatively easy time getting to Zapotlán and getting ashore." The word relatively was emphasized by Tlanexchel. "My other theory: Xochiuhue didn't take the bait, has some kind of surprise waiting for us at Zapotlán, and things will be ugly."
Texōccoatl nodded after a moment. "Either way, I will need to confer with the Eirians and the Kerlians. Because in five days, we're going into Zapotlán."
---
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14
45 miles outside Acalan
under joint Shuellian-Xiomeran administration
"We must be ready to move soon," Collque hissed. The Necatli woman had her arms folded, and glared at an older Necatli man sitting at the table in front of her.
Sicha, the defacto leader of the Necatli who had been detained in the camp that the Xiomeran government had euphemistically labeled "temporary re-housing for public safety purposes", shook his head. "The people in the watchtowers and on the fencelines still have all the guns, Collque. What do we have? If we do something now, we'll just get a lot of people killed. More people." He shook his head again. "We need to wait and find a better time."
"What better time is there? Clearly something is happening. We've all seen that the damned Shuellian bastards are leaving. There are clearly not as many of them as there were just a few days ago, and the ones who have left are not being replaced. It's mostly Imperial guards now, and even they seem demoralized. I don't know what's happening outside this damn camp, but something is happening. Xochiuhue may be losing. If so, this is the time to fight to regain our freedom!"
"And if you're wrong? What if this is just a ploy, to see who will resist, and then weed us out of the herd? Then they will cut us out, and there will be no chance for those that are left," Sicha replied.
"We are dying in here! What's the point of waiting any longer? If we try to break out, we may die. But if we stay longer, we may die anyway. If our fate is going to be the same either way, let's go out fighting at least!" Collque shouted.
"I agree with her," another voice said. Quizo, Sicha's son, stood up. "We are Necatli, father. We do not submit. We fight. That is our way."
"Quizo, I do not need you to tell me what our ways are. I was living those ways before you were even a twinkle in my eye as I looked at your mother one night," Sicha snorted. Quizo raised an eyebrow at that. "If that's so, father, then why are we sitting here, rotting away while our captors keep us caged like animals?"
Sicha's expression at that point made it clear that he didn't know whether to hit his son or praise him. Finally, the Necatli leader stood up. "I see my son agrees with you, Collque. Does anyone else?" The other people in the room began to nod, one by one. "Well then. I suppose I cannot ignore that. We will fight."
Quizo smiled with pride, as Collque nodded. "It will be like the battles of old."
"In those battles, we usually lost, Quizo," Sicha said with a grimace. "Let's try to win this time. Begin preparing. Any weapons you can find or improvise. Since you two are so eager for a fight, come back to me within an hour with an actual plan for it," Sicha added to Collque and Quizo.
---
Chuaztlapoc
"We just barely took control of the city and fended off the Army. We took a tremendous hit doing so. And you're seriously talking about going on the offensive?" Challcayo, the former Civil Guardsman who was now in charge of the civilian contingents of the Chuaztlapoc Army, stared at Major Huatli and Etlahuatzitl in shock.
"It is a common practice of war to seize on momentum when you have it, and as rude as it sounds, to kick your enemy while they're down," Huatli replied calmly. "We just won a huge victory no one expected us to win. We stared down the best threat Xochiuhue could toss at us, defeated it, and got an entire Imperial Army corps and an entire Imperial Air Force wing to switch sides while we did it. We won a victory that will be talked about for the ages, and increased our troop strength from 25,000 to 70,000 in one battle. If that's not momentum, I don't know what is."
"The Major is right. We took the best punch the usurper could throw at us. Now is the time for us to get off the ropes and punch back," Etlahuatzitl said. The Shorn One brushed her braid aside. "If we just keep hiding here in Chuaztlapoc, Xochiuhue will recover and raise another army. And we might not win that battle."
"If that's the case, then how in the world do you expect us to win an all-out war?" Challcayo shook his head. "I'm not a coward. But I am also not an idiot, and this seems pretty damned risky as a strategy."
Yauhmi smiled at the Guardsman in response. "This whole fight has been nothing but risky strategies. There's no such thing as safe in Xiomera, anymore." The expression on the face of the Empress grew fierce. "But we have 70,000 warriors and an air force at our disposal. Xiomerans have conquered far more with far less." Yauhmi nodded to Etlahuatzitl and Huatli. "I agree, this is the time to act. But not in the way you proposed."
As the Major and the Shorn One looked surprised, the Empress continued. "We will not go east. That is where Xochiuhue is strongest. Even with the chaos he has brought to bear, he still has a surprising amount of support in the east. If we try to fight him there now, we will lose. We will turn west instead - we will liberate the Itotemoc lands we are in now, and then the Necatli lands."
"But if we took the capital and deposed Xochiuhue, the fight would be over," Etlahuatzitl said, puzzled.
"That is true. But even I am not optimistic enough to believe that I can march all the way to Tlālacuetztla and seize the capital with the forces we have now. We need to build our strength. The West is where we can do that. They have been the ones fighting this coup since it began. The Necatli and the Itotemoc have suffered greatly under Xochiuhue. If there is any place where we can launch the liberation of the Empire, it is here." Yauhmi smiled. "And if we can convince the Army and Air Force units currently deployed in the West to switch sides too, all the better. We can then link up with the forces that will seize Zapotlán. When we're done, we'll have an army so large that Xochiuhue will crap his pants when we finally get to Tlālacuetztla."
Huatli snickered, greatly enjoying the thought of a scared Xochiuhue. Challcayo also looked rather pleased at that image. Only Etlahuatzitl managed to retain her usual sober, restrained expression - and not easily, at that.
The Empress stood up. "We will begin by moving to secure the cities and towns around Chuaztlapoc. If there are any remaining Civil Guards forces around in any of these towns, or regular military units we can get to switch sides, bringing them into our force takes priority. It will be far easier if we can build an army rather than having to fight our way through one," Yauhmi said. "But either way, we will move to secure the provinces around Chuaztlapoc. And from there, we will move to Ixtenco. Once we have liberated the Itotemoc lands, we can then focus on the Necatli lands. If we succeed, we will have half of the Empire backing us. That's a good start," Yauhmi said mildly in a remarkable bit of understatement.
Her war council nodded, already running through ways in their head to make Yauhmi's vision a reality on the ground.
---
Tlālacuetztla
The Cauhloc
Security Secretary Calhualyana did not like being banished to the Cauhloc.
Being sent packing to the ASI headquarters, as if she was a disappointing child being sent to her room, was exceptionally irritating to Calhualyana. It was all the more galling when, in her estimation, the reasons it happened were not even her fault.
When she and General Xōchhuitl had originally seized on the idea of elevating Xochiuhue to the Imperium, they had truly believed that he had the same ability to lead as his father Xolōtl. It was growing increasingly apparent to Calhualyana that the two of them had been wrong. Xolōtl had been ruthless and brutal, but he had also been too intelligent to blindly lash out at anyone who displeased him. Xochiuhue had all of the brutality of his father, but none of his intelligence or his patience. And that fact was wearing the patience of the Security Secretary quite thin.
After a moment, she picked up her secure phone. "I need to speak with General Zinahue, please," she told the answering receptionist. When Calhualyana called, those answering the call knew better than to question or delay. In seconds, the General was on the line. "What is it, Calhualyana?" he asked.
"We need to talk, Zinahue. I think we need a backup plan in case things continue to swirl down the drain," she said calmly. If Zinahue was as blindly loyal to the Emperor as he seemed, Calhualyana knew she was taking a risk. But it needed to be done.
After a pause that was entirely too long for Calhualyana's liking, Zinahue finally took a sharp breath. "Very well. I will meet with you at the Opoxtec Fortress," he said, naming an ancient shore fort on Lake Ehehuani outside the capital. "One hour." The phone line dropped.
Calhualyana smiled to herself. One hour, then.
Palace of Flowers
Emperor Xochiuhue, having a last coffee before bed, sat at the table of the sitting room in his personal chambers. He was reading the news story from Milintica. He skimmed over the part about Chuaztlapoc; he was already annoyed about that and was not in the mood for the Milinticans' triumphant bleating.
When he got to the story about Olivia Pierre, he read it all the way through. He then followed the link to the Kerlian News Service story about the same incident. After a moment, a satisfied smile crossed the Emperor's face. He enjoyed another sip of his coffee.
Château de Clamur, Neidong, Laeral
Texōccoatl turned off the television with a mixture of relief and frustration. He gently placed the remote control on the conference table, as his cabinet watched.
They won. Somehow, they saved Chuaztlapoc. For now, at least. And then, a second thought following: But this can never go easily, can it? For every win, we have another issue come up. The Crown Prince sighed wearily. "So....have we had a chance to communicate with the Kerlians yet?"
"We have," Brigadier General Tlanexchel said. "They have still committed to providing us with troop support on the ground, and their forces are being outfitted and prepared for transport even as we speak. Those factories we kept open in Kerlile are proving as efficient at churning out war materiel as they were at making cookies and televisions."
The Crown Prince exhaled a long breath of relief at that news. "Given this situation with the Maximusians, I was half afraid they would back out. Speaking of that situation.....can anyone tell me what the hell is happening concerning Olivia Pierre?"
"I can, somewhat, your Majesty," Otequel replied. A young-looking Xiomeran, Otequel had replaced Nōlinyauh as Secretary of State after his assassination. "A video was apparently delivered to Councillor Pierre by unknown agents. It shows that someone kidnapped Olivia Pierre, claiming it as an act of retribution over Kerlian actions in the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War. They claim to be Maximusian."
"There is a lot of they claim and apparently in this situation," Texōccoatl grumbled after a moment. "No one seems to really know who has Olivia Pierre, or what they intend. Have we been able to speak with anyone in Libertas Omnium Maximus at all about this mess?"
"We have submitted an urgent request for information to them, your Majesty. We may have to wait for a response. The Maximusians will, frankly, be more concerned with the Kerlians and the rest of the world rather than answering to one of three different Xiomeran governments currently operating." Otequel sighed. "I say three, because there is the government here in Laeral, the one at Chuaztlapoc, and the one in Tlālacuetztla. It's an open question for a lot of foreign leaders which Xiomerans they're supposed to be talking to."
"I plan to eliminate that confusion very soon. Have we made any progress on flipping the rest of the Navy?" the Crown Prince asked.
"I wish I could say yes, but....no. If we're hoping for a mass switchover of sides like what happened at Chuaztlapoc with Army Corps V, something will have to trigger rank-and-file sailors to take control. The majority of the officer corps of the Navy, like the Army, seems to be loyal to Xochiuhue." Tlanexchel slapped his hand on the desk. "When we get back to Xiomera and back in control, I am personally going to hang these officers off the bow of their own ships by their...."
"I agree, a review and purging of the officer corps of all services will be required," Texōccoatl said, cutting off the Jaguar Warrior before he could go into further detail on what punishments he had planned for the officers who had remained loyal to Xochiuhue. "But we do have to win first."
"That we do, sir," Tlanexchel replied. "Our preparations stand as follows: my units, the Milintican volunteers, and the other volunteers from Xiomera are fully prepared and equipped. They are already holding station with our fleet, and the Eirian fleet under Admiral Circè, in the Tenebric Ocean northeast of Xiomera. As soon as the Kerlians arrive on scene, we will be ready to move on Zapotlán. As ready as I can make us, anyway. I still frankly have no idea if the rest of the Navy will try to stop us or not. The only positive thing I can say is that, according to the best intelligence we have, Xochiuhue and Admiral Tlālpantlizal have deployed the great majority of their remaining naval assets to the Nereus Sea and the South Xiomeran Sea. I think they took the bait that the Eirians and Legionites laid out for them and think that any attack is coming from the west or south. I don't know what Xochiuhue's advisors are thinking, though. They can surely see our ships gathering in the Tenebric, and when the Kerlians arrive, it will be even more obvious. I have two theories. One, Xochiuhue and his advisors really do expect that the attack will come from Legionas and Eiria, and that our presence in the Tenebric is a bluff. If that's true, we'll have a relatively easy time getting to Zapotlán and getting ashore." The word relatively was emphasized by Tlanexchel. "My other theory: Xochiuhue didn't take the bait, has some kind of surprise waiting for us at Zapotlán, and things will be ugly."
Texōccoatl nodded after a moment. "Either way, I will need to confer with the Eirians and the Kerlians. Because in five days, we're going into Zapotlán."
---
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14
45 miles outside Acalan
under joint Shuellian-Xiomeran administration
"We must be ready to move soon," Collque hissed. The Necatli woman had her arms folded, and glared at an older Necatli man sitting at the table in front of her.
Sicha, the defacto leader of the Necatli who had been detained in the camp that the Xiomeran government had euphemistically labeled "temporary re-housing for public safety purposes", shook his head. "The people in the watchtowers and on the fencelines still have all the guns, Collque. What do we have? If we do something now, we'll just get a lot of people killed. More people." He shook his head again. "We need to wait and find a better time."
"What better time is there? Clearly something is happening. We've all seen that the damned Shuellian bastards are leaving. There are clearly not as many of them as there were just a few days ago, and the ones who have left are not being replaced. It's mostly Imperial guards now, and even they seem demoralized. I don't know what's happening outside this damn camp, but something is happening. Xochiuhue may be losing. If so, this is the time to fight to regain our freedom!"
"And if you're wrong? What if this is just a ploy, to see who will resist, and then weed us out of the herd? Then they will cut us out, and there will be no chance for those that are left," Sicha replied.
"We are dying in here! What's the point of waiting any longer? If we try to break out, we may die. But if we stay longer, we may die anyway. If our fate is going to be the same either way, let's go out fighting at least!" Collque shouted.
"I agree with her," another voice said. Quizo, Sicha's son, stood up. "We are Necatli, father. We do not submit. We fight. That is our way."
"Quizo, I do not need you to tell me what our ways are. I was living those ways before you were even a twinkle in my eye as I looked at your mother one night," Sicha snorted. Quizo raised an eyebrow at that. "If that's so, father, then why are we sitting here, rotting away while our captors keep us caged like animals?"
Sicha's expression at that point made it clear that he didn't know whether to hit his son or praise him. Finally, the Necatli leader stood up. "I see my son agrees with you, Collque. Does anyone else?" The other people in the room began to nod, one by one. "Well then. I suppose I cannot ignore that. We will fight."
Quizo smiled with pride, as Collque nodded. "It will be like the battles of old."
"In those battles, we usually lost, Quizo," Sicha said with a grimace. "Let's try to win this time. Begin preparing. Any weapons you can find or improvise. Since you two are so eager for a fight, come back to me within an hour with an actual plan for it," Sicha added to Collque and Quizo.
---
Chuaztlapoc
"We just barely took control of the city and fended off the Army. We took a tremendous hit doing so. And you're seriously talking about going on the offensive?" Challcayo, the former Civil Guardsman who was now in charge of the civilian contingents of the Chuaztlapoc Army, stared at Major Huatli and Etlahuatzitl in shock.
"It is a common practice of war to seize on momentum when you have it, and as rude as it sounds, to kick your enemy while they're down," Huatli replied calmly. "We just won a huge victory no one expected us to win. We stared down the best threat Xochiuhue could toss at us, defeated it, and got an entire Imperial Army corps and an entire Imperial Air Force wing to switch sides while we did it. We won a victory that will be talked about for the ages, and increased our troop strength from 25,000 to 70,000 in one battle. If that's not momentum, I don't know what is."
"The Major is right. We took the best punch the usurper could throw at us. Now is the time for us to get off the ropes and punch back," Etlahuatzitl said. The Shorn One brushed her braid aside. "If we just keep hiding here in Chuaztlapoc, Xochiuhue will recover and raise another army. And we might not win that battle."
"If that's the case, then how in the world do you expect us to win an all-out war?" Challcayo shook his head. "I'm not a coward. But I am also not an idiot, and this seems pretty damned risky as a strategy."
Yauhmi smiled at the Guardsman in response. "This whole fight has been nothing but risky strategies. There's no such thing as safe in Xiomera, anymore." The expression on the face of the Empress grew fierce. "But we have 70,000 warriors and an air force at our disposal. Xiomerans have conquered far more with far less." Yauhmi nodded to Etlahuatzitl and Huatli. "I agree, this is the time to act. But not in the way you proposed."
As the Major and the Shorn One looked surprised, the Empress continued. "We will not go east. That is where Xochiuhue is strongest. Even with the chaos he has brought to bear, he still has a surprising amount of support in the east. If we try to fight him there now, we will lose. We will turn west instead - we will liberate the Itotemoc lands we are in now, and then the Necatli lands."
"But if we took the capital and deposed Xochiuhue, the fight would be over," Etlahuatzitl said, puzzled.
"That is true. But even I am not optimistic enough to believe that I can march all the way to Tlālacuetztla and seize the capital with the forces we have now. We need to build our strength. The West is where we can do that. They have been the ones fighting this coup since it began. The Necatli and the Itotemoc have suffered greatly under Xochiuhue. If there is any place where we can launch the liberation of the Empire, it is here." Yauhmi smiled. "And if we can convince the Army and Air Force units currently deployed in the West to switch sides too, all the better. We can then link up with the forces that will seize Zapotlán. When we're done, we'll have an army so large that Xochiuhue will crap his pants when we finally get to Tlālacuetztla."
Huatli snickered, greatly enjoying the thought of a scared Xochiuhue. Challcayo also looked rather pleased at that image. Only Etlahuatzitl managed to retain her usual sober, restrained expression - and not easily, at that.
The Empress stood up. "We will begin by moving to secure the cities and towns around Chuaztlapoc. If there are any remaining Civil Guards forces around in any of these towns, or regular military units we can get to switch sides, bringing them into our force takes priority. It will be far easier if we can build an army rather than having to fight our way through one," Yauhmi said. "But either way, we will move to secure the provinces around Chuaztlapoc. And from there, we will move to Ixtenco. Once we have liberated the Itotemoc lands, we can then focus on the Necatli lands. If we succeed, we will have half of the Empire backing us. That's a good start," Yauhmi said mildly in a remarkable bit of understatement.
Her war council nodded, already running through ways in their head to make Yauhmi's vision a reality on the ground.
---
Tlālacuetztla
The Cauhloc
Security Secretary Calhualyana did not like being banished to the Cauhloc.
Being sent packing to the ASI headquarters, as if she was a disappointing child being sent to her room, was exceptionally irritating to Calhualyana. It was all the more galling when, in her estimation, the reasons it happened were not even her fault.
When she and General Xōchhuitl had originally seized on the idea of elevating Xochiuhue to the Imperium, they had truly believed that he had the same ability to lead as his father Xolōtl. It was growing increasingly apparent to Calhualyana that the two of them had been wrong. Xolōtl had been ruthless and brutal, but he had also been too intelligent to blindly lash out at anyone who displeased him. Xochiuhue had all of the brutality of his father, but none of his intelligence or his patience. And that fact was wearing the patience of the Security Secretary quite thin.
After a moment, she picked up her secure phone. "I need to speak with General Zinahue, please," she told the answering receptionist. When Calhualyana called, those answering the call knew better than to question or delay. In seconds, the General was on the line. "What is it, Calhualyana?" he asked.
"We need to talk, Zinahue. I think we need a backup plan in case things continue to swirl down the drain," she said calmly. If Zinahue was as blindly loyal to the Emperor as he seemed, Calhualyana knew she was taking a risk. But it needed to be done.
After a pause that was entirely too long for Calhualyana's liking, Zinahue finally took a sharp breath. "Very well. I will meet with you at the Opoxtec Fortress," he said, naming an ancient shore fort on Lake Ehehuani outside the capital. "One hour." The phone line dropped.
Calhualyana smiled to herself. One hour, then.
Palace of Flowers
Emperor Xochiuhue, having a last coffee before bed, sat at the table of the sitting room in his personal chambers. He was reading the news story from Milintica. He skimmed over the part about Chuaztlapoc; he was already annoyed about that and was not in the mood for the Milinticans' triumphant bleating.
When he got to the story about Olivia Pierre, he read it all the way through. He then followed the link to the Kerlian News Service story about the same incident. After a moment, a satisfied smile crossed the Emperor's face. He enjoyed another sip of his coffee.
<t></t>