10-11-2020, 08:10 AM
October 10
Zapotlán
The silence came as a shock.
In the early morning hours of October 10th, allied forces had finally stormed Fort Coatepetl, the last holdout of Imperial forces in Zapotlán. The last offensive attempted by General Quihualqui, two days earlier, had surprised the allied forces, and even pushed them back a bit. But by October 9th, their resources finally spent, the Imperial forces gave up all the ground they gained, and more, in the face of an allied counter-offensive. City block by city block, the allied forces had marched towards Fort Coatepetl, finally reaching its perimeter.
Some Imperial forces had surrendered, but not many. Every inch of Zapotlán that had been taken by the allied forces had been earned - their own medical wards in the rear were proof of that.
But for now, the fighting was over. Fort Coatepetl had fallen, in one last final spasm of bloody violence. Zapotlán now belonged to Texōccoatl.
The Crown Prince was already thinking about his plan forward. Finally making contact with the forces gathering under his mother at Chuaztlapoc, and unifying their efforts, was the crucial next step. If western Xiomera could be secured, his ambitious plan that had been dreamed up months earlier in Laeralsford could be realized.
As the Crown Prince entered the main courtyard of Fort Coatepetl, Brigadier General Tlanexchel stopped him. Without a word, he pointed to one of the bodies of the Imperial soldiers. General Quihualqui lay on the ground, his hands still clutching his rifle. The Crown Prince sighed. "A damned waste," he finally said.
Tlanexchel nodded grimly. "All of our soldiers deserve a better fate than this - to die for a usurper. Hopefully more of them will switch sides, like they are further west. I really don't want to have to see a sight like this in a dozen more of our cities."
Texōccoatl nodded in bitter agreement, before the two of them walked inside the main building of Fort Coatepetl.
---
Chaos had come to western Xiomera.
After the stunning victory her forces had achieved at Chuaztlapoc, Empress Yauhmi was no longer struggling to find supporters. Far from it, in fact. The victory at Chuaztlapoc, combined with the efforts by both foreign and Xiomeran hackers and propagandists, had accomplished its aim. It had broken the fear of Xochiuhue, and the fear of ASI and XMI, that had kept the Xiomeran armed forces in line. Entire divisions had switched sides to Yauhmi, and those that remained loyal to Xochiuhue had no morale to speak of.
With her army growing by the day, the Empress had gone on the offensive. Xochiuhue had accused her of hiding. The Empress was more than happy to make Xochiuhue wish her army had stayed in Chuaztlapoc.
Etlahuatzitl and Major Huatli, leading Yauhmi's counterattack, were taking defecting Xiomeran units and throwing them into service as soon as they could be turned around. The entire Itotemoc region, the largest part of the Empire outside Xiomera itself, was on the verge of collapse. Yauhmi's forces were methodically seizing control of city after city, and were in position to besiege the regional capital Ixtenco itself. In a particularly pleasant moment, her forces had taken control of the area around the ASI site where the Empress had been held. Yauhmi had watched from a safe distance, a grim smile on her face, as the site was bombed into oblivion by a squadron of defected Air Force bombers.
With the Itotemoc region about to fall under her control, Yauhmi had her sights on her next target. Etlahuatzitl and Major Huatli were planning an offensive that would march eastward, carving a corridor through the neighboring Tepiltzin region - straight to Zapotlán.
Unlike their neighbors to the west, in the Tepiltzin region Imperial control was still being maintained, but barely. Increasing unrest in the regional capital Oacalco, and the region's largest city Tacuitapa, were pulling forces away that Xochiuhue badly needed both to launch any counter-attack on Zapotlán and to try to stop Yauhmi in the west. Out of desperation, General Zinahue had ordered the "civilian groups" such as the XSPA and the GCL to take up arms and help maintain order in the streets to free up soldiers to be redeployed to the border between the Itotemoc and Tepiltzin regions.
The chaos coming to the Itotemoc and Tepiltzin lands, however, was nothing compared to what was unfolding in the Necatli region, on the western edge of the Empire.
---
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14
45 miles outside Acalan
The smoke was visible for miles.
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14, one of the camps that had been set up to "detain" and "re-educate" troublesome Necatli and their Xiomeran sympathizers, was in flames. Even though it was a warm day, the heat from the fires pleased Huacue immensely.
The Necatli tlatoani, after a moment, turned away from the burning prison camp. He was facing a row of Imperial guards who had been captured when the prisoners had taken over the camp. Sicha, Collque and Quizo stood next to the captured guards proudly. "You've done well," Huacue said.
"Thank you, sir," Sicha said. "What should we do with these men?"
Huacue thought for a moment, chin in hand. Finally, he gestured to one of the guards, an Imperial Army lieutenant. "You are the commander of these men, yes?"
"I am," the Xiomeran replied grimly, refusing to show Huacue any deference.
"Very good," Huacue said. "You are their leader, so you are responsible for their crimes. Execute this man," Huacue said to Sicha. "The others were bound to follow the orders of their leader, so they shall not be executed. But they will now be prisoners themselves."
Sicha and Quizo each took an arm of the Xiomeran lieutenant and dragged him off, struggling, behind a nearby building. After a few moments, a single shot was heard. The two Necatli returned, Quizo returning a pistol to his pocket. Huacue simply nodded.
"There must always be consequences for crimes, and judgement must be swift..." the Necatli tlatoani said, his voice trailing off as he took a closer look at one of the men in the line. His uniform was different from the Imperial soldiers. "You are not Xiomeran. Who are you?" Huacue demanded.
The Watchtower mercenary glared back at Huacue, refusing to answer him.
"If you wish to remain silent, my foreigner friend, that's quite allright. I'll find out who you are, sooner or later," Huacue said in a pleasant tone. "You're not going anywhere, after all."
"Should we just kill the foreign dog?" Collque asked.
"No. He may be useful to gain some kind of concessions from whoever he works for. If nothing else, he will be proof that Yauhmi isn't the only Xiomeran bringing foreigners into Huenya to fight their battles for them. And that evidence....may be useful to us in and of itself," Huacue mused. "Take him away. Detain him separately from the others."
---
In the rest of the Necatli region, Imperial soldiers were in the fight of their lives.
The creation of the prison camps, which had been a very effective short-term strategy, was now backfiring in a huge way. Herding their people into camps had angered the Necatli like never before. They were now showing their displeasure by launching the largest uprising in the Necatli region since 1511. To the rapidly shell-shocked Imperial forces, it seemed like every Necatli between 17 and 70 that could find some kind of weapon was trying to kill them all at once.
Large sections of Acalan and Necuatexi were now no-go zones for Imperial troops and police. The countryside of the Necatli region was even worse; Imperial units now found themselves under constant attack anywhere they went. Outlying and remote Imperial outposts, one by one, were falling under the onslaught of a very angry people. In less than a year, Xochiuhue was losing an area that Xiomerans had controlled for six centuries.
Xiomera had always declared that as the sun rose, so did its Empire. But for every sunrise, there was also a sunset. In its western lands, the Xiomeran Empire was waning - and no one in Tlālacuetztla had a clue how to stop it.
Zapotlán
The silence came as a shock.
In the early morning hours of October 10th, allied forces had finally stormed Fort Coatepetl, the last holdout of Imperial forces in Zapotlán. The last offensive attempted by General Quihualqui, two days earlier, had surprised the allied forces, and even pushed them back a bit. But by October 9th, their resources finally spent, the Imperial forces gave up all the ground they gained, and more, in the face of an allied counter-offensive. City block by city block, the allied forces had marched towards Fort Coatepetl, finally reaching its perimeter.
Some Imperial forces had surrendered, but not many. Every inch of Zapotlán that had been taken by the allied forces had been earned - their own medical wards in the rear were proof of that.
But for now, the fighting was over. Fort Coatepetl had fallen, in one last final spasm of bloody violence. Zapotlán now belonged to Texōccoatl.
The Crown Prince was already thinking about his plan forward. Finally making contact with the forces gathering under his mother at Chuaztlapoc, and unifying their efforts, was the crucial next step. If western Xiomera could be secured, his ambitious plan that had been dreamed up months earlier in Laeralsford could be realized.
As the Crown Prince entered the main courtyard of Fort Coatepetl, Brigadier General Tlanexchel stopped him. Without a word, he pointed to one of the bodies of the Imperial soldiers. General Quihualqui lay on the ground, his hands still clutching his rifle. The Crown Prince sighed. "A damned waste," he finally said.
Tlanexchel nodded grimly. "All of our soldiers deserve a better fate than this - to die for a usurper. Hopefully more of them will switch sides, like they are further west. I really don't want to have to see a sight like this in a dozen more of our cities."
Texōccoatl nodded in bitter agreement, before the two of them walked inside the main building of Fort Coatepetl.
---
Chaos had come to western Xiomera.
After the stunning victory her forces had achieved at Chuaztlapoc, Empress Yauhmi was no longer struggling to find supporters. Far from it, in fact. The victory at Chuaztlapoc, combined with the efforts by both foreign and Xiomeran hackers and propagandists, had accomplished its aim. It had broken the fear of Xochiuhue, and the fear of ASI and XMI, that had kept the Xiomeran armed forces in line. Entire divisions had switched sides to Yauhmi, and those that remained loyal to Xochiuhue had no morale to speak of.
With her army growing by the day, the Empress had gone on the offensive. Xochiuhue had accused her of hiding. The Empress was more than happy to make Xochiuhue wish her army had stayed in Chuaztlapoc.
Etlahuatzitl and Major Huatli, leading Yauhmi's counterattack, were taking defecting Xiomeran units and throwing them into service as soon as they could be turned around. The entire Itotemoc region, the largest part of the Empire outside Xiomera itself, was on the verge of collapse. Yauhmi's forces were methodically seizing control of city after city, and were in position to besiege the regional capital Ixtenco itself. In a particularly pleasant moment, her forces had taken control of the area around the ASI site where the Empress had been held. Yauhmi had watched from a safe distance, a grim smile on her face, as the site was bombed into oblivion by a squadron of defected Air Force bombers.
With the Itotemoc region about to fall under her control, Yauhmi had her sights on her next target. Etlahuatzitl and Major Huatli were planning an offensive that would march eastward, carving a corridor through the neighboring Tepiltzin region - straight to Zapotlán.
Unlike their neighbors to the west, in the Tepiltzin region Imperial control was still being maintained, but barely. Increasing unrest in the regional capital Oacalco, and the region's largest city Tacuitapa, were pulling forces away that Xochiuhue badly needed both to launch any counter-attack on Zapotlán and to try to stop Yauhmi in the west. Out of desperation, General Zinahue had ordered the "civilian groups" such as the XSPA and the GCL to take up arms and help maintain order in the streets to free up soldiers to be redeployed to the border between the Itotemoc and Tepiltzin regions.
The chaos coming to the Itotemoc and Tepiltzin lands, however, was nothing compared to what was unfolding in the Necatli region, on the western edge of the Empire.
---
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14
45 miles outside Acalan
The smoke was visible for miles.
Public Safety Rehousing Center 14, one of the camps that had been set up to "detain" and "re-educate" troublesome Necatli and their Xiomeran sympathizers, was in flames. Even though it was a warm day, the heat from the fires pleased Huacue immensely.
The Necatli tlatoani, after a moment, turned away from the burning prison camp. He was facing a row of Imperial guards who had been captured when the prisoners had taken over the camp. Sicha, Collque and Quizo stood next to the captured guards proudly. "You've done well," Huacue said.
"Thank you, sir," Sicha said. "What should we do with these men?"
Huacue thought for a moment, chin in hand. Finally, he gestured to one of the guards, an Imperial Army lieutenant. "You are the commander of these men, yes?"
"I am," the Xiomeran replied grimly, refusing to show Huacue any deference.
"Very good," Huacue said. "You are their leader, so you are responsible for their crimes. Execute this man," Huacue said to Sicha. "The others were bound to follow the orders of their leader, so they shall not be executed. But they will now be prisoners themselves."
Sicha and Quizo each took an arm of the Xiomeran lieutenant and dragged him off, struggling, behind a nearby building. After a few moments, a single shot was heard. The two Necatli returned, Quizo returning a pistol to his pocket. Huacue simply nodded.
"There must always be consequences for crimes, and judgement must be swift..." the Necatli tlatoani said, his voice trailing off as he took a closer look at one of the men in the line. His uniform was different from the Imperial soldiers. "You are not Xiomeran. Who are you?" Huacue demanded.
The Watchtower mercenary glared back at Huacue, refusing to answer him.
"If you wish to remain silent, my foreigner friend, that's quite allright. I'll find out who you are, sooner or later," Huacue said in a pleasant tone. "You're not going anywhere, after all."
"Should we just kill the foreign dog?" Collque asked.
"No. He may be useful to gain some kind of concessions from whoever he works for. If nothing else, he will be proof that Yauhmi isn't the only Xiomeran bringing foreigners into Huenya to fight their battles for them. And that evidence....may be useful to us in and of itself," Huacue mused. "Take him away. Detain him separately from the others."
---
In the rest of the Necatli region, Imperial soldiers were in the fight of their lives.
The creation of the prison camps, which had been a very effective short-term strategy, was now backfiring in a huge way. Herding their people into camps had angered the Necatli like never before. They were now showing their displeasure by launching the largest uprising in the Necatli region since 1511. To the rapidly shell-shocked Imperial forces, it seemed like every Necatli between 17 and 70 that could find some kind of weapon was trying to kill them all at once.
Large sections of Acalan and Necuatexi were now no-go zones for Imperial troops and police. The countryside of the Necatli region was even worse; Imperial units now found themselves under constant attack anywhere they went. Outlying and remote Imperial outposts, one by one, were falling under the onslaught of a very angry people. In less than a year, Xochiuhue was losing an area that Xiomerans had controlled for six centuries.
Xiomera had always declared that as the sun rose, so did its Empire. But for every sunrise, there was also a sunset. In its western lands, the Xiomeran Empire was waning - and no one in Tlālacuetztla had a clue how to stop it.
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