12-13-2020, 10:17 AM
December 8th
6:00 am
Zapotlán
The sudden surge into Zapotlán by the Imperial military, spearheaded by the Iskirami and the new elite Xiomeran forces, had successfully rocked the Huenyans and their allies. Within a few short days, they had been pushed back hard, losing almost all the territory they had gained. They had not only lost control over the Intra-Xiomera Canal, but had also lost all but the outskirts of western Zapotlán as well. Empress Calhualyana's goal was a simple one: push the Huenyans and their allies back into the Tepiltzin region, or into the sea. The Empress wasn't particularly concerned which one the enemy ended up in, as long as they were out of what the Xiomerans considered their historic and rightful land.
And the Xiomeran surge had almost accomplished that.
Almost.
The Xiomeran Empire had challenged the fledgling Huenyan Federation, and its allies. On the 8th of December, the Huenyans and their allies answered the challenge.
---
In an attempt to halt the Xiomeran surge, the allies of Huenya had sent in reinforcements. 7500 Eirian troops and 2500 Legionite troops had come ashore, in the small pocket of shoreline that was still controlled by the allies. The additional 10,000 troops would help to bolster allied lines, break the shock that the Xiomeran surge had caused, and begin the road to a counter-attack.
But that wouldn't be enough to stop Calhualyana's attack alone. When General Cuauh'ez had warned the allies that the Empress had sent a force that was nearly-unstoppable, it was not hyperbole. The Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli and the Warriors of Tezcatlipōca, the new elite armies of the Xiomeran Empire, had indeed been unstoppable in their assault. In Chuaztlapoc, Yauhmi and the Huenyan Assembly made a fateful decision. Their allies had sent more, and given more, to stop Calhualyana and save their fledgling state. It was time for the Huenyans to do the same - to throw everything they had left at the Imperial armies and end their dance at Zapotlán with Calhualyana once and for all. If their allies were willing to sacrifice for the dream of a free and democratic Huenya, the Huenyans themselves were not about to be found wanting.
General Tlanexchel, promoted and made Defense Secretary on the Huenyan side, gathered every single Jaguar Warrior, Eagle Warrior, and Shorn One that was available. All of the best equipment and supplies available on the Huenyan side were given to that army of the 25,000 best soldiers Huenya had. And then, Tlanexchel deployed his elite army with a single command: kick Calhualyana's wannabe elites, their intended replacements, back across the Canal with so much force that their grandchildren would feel the bruises.
---
On the streets of Zapotlán, alongside the Eirians, the Legionites, the Kerlians and the Huenyan forces that were already in the city, the Jaguar Warriors, Eagle Warriors and Shorn Ones brought the enemy to battle. Calling it a "battle" was not enough to do it justice. In all of Huenya, throughout its six-plus centuries of history, this would be the battle.
The shattered buildings and rubble-filled streets of Zapotlán bore witness to the clash of the ancient, and the new. The ancient and the new, in the form of armies, as the Jaguar and Eagle Warriors and the Shorn Ones met the Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli and the Warriors of Tezcatlipōca head-on in a merciless and no-holds-barred clash for land and for victory. One set of warriors was out to prove themselves, as the equals to, and replacement of, those that they considered traitors to the Xiomeran Empire. The other set was out for revenge - for the loss of their comrades at the Palace of Flowers when the coup began, for the betrayal they had suffered at the hands of Xochiuhue, General Xōchhuitl and Calhualyana. They also fully intended to prove to their supposed replacements that no one could replace a Jaguar Warrior, an Eagle Warrior or a Shorn One.
But these causes and grievances, deep as they ran, were not the only thing being fought for on the streets of Zapotlán. This city was the dividing line between the western and eastern halves of Huenya - and between their peoples, who had grown further and further apart even before the coup began. It was the line between the past and the future, and between a vision of Empire that had spanned 600 years and another vision that wanted nothing to do with it.
At Zapotlán, one side was seeking to reinforce the order they had always understood and believed in - and the other side was determined to show them that order was dead to them.
---
In his command center in western Zapotlán, General Tlanexchel grimly issued commands and watched his viewscreens as the battle progressed. The fighting was easily proving to be the bloodiest and harshest that had been seen in the entire civil war. The medical wards on the Huenyan side were already filling up with casualties, stretching them to the limits.
"This is bad, sir. I'm not sure how much longer our forces can hold up to this," Quiauhxochitli, his second in command, said as she brought him the latest reports. Tlanexchel took a quick drink of his coffee before taking the reports. "As long as we hold up just longer than the bastards on the other side, that's all we need to do," he replied.
---
On the other side of the lines, in his own command center, General Zinahue shook his head and looked at Yaopochatl, the commander of the new Xiomeran special forces at Zapotlán. "We need to break their line somehow. How in the hell are they mustering up such a strong assault?"
"They are elite forces, just as we are," Yaopochatl said, doing his best not to look at Zinahue as if he was an idiot.
"But their side should be broken! We pulled out all of the equipment from the west, we pulled out all their money, even their allies can't be giving them enough supplies to fight!" General Zinahue looked at his screens with exasperation. Despite the overwhelming advantage in resources and equipment the Xiomerans had over the Huenyan side, the evidence was clear that the Xiomeran forces were slowly beginning to lose ground again.
Yaopochatl couldn't keep the disdainful look entirely off of his face at this point. A former Jaguar Warrior who had switched sides after the coup, he understood the mentality of an elite warrior well. "Money doesn't fight wars, nor do inanimate objects, General. Not by themselves. Belief fights wars. Passion, ideals, a cause to fight for. They believe in what they are fighting for just as much as we do, it appears. You can take away all the technology and the equipment and the money, and in the end, if you haven't broken a warrior's cause...you will still lose."
Before Zinahue could say anything else, Yaopochatl shook his head. "With all due respect, General, you can't help me win this fight. Let me do my job, and go out there and see if there's some way to turn this around." Yaopochatl walked out of the command center, leaving a furious General Zinahue behind.
---
Noon
After six hours of fighting, the counter-attack by the Huenyans and their allies had managed to force its way back into the center of Zapotlán. The casualty counts on both sides were continuing to skyrocket, but Tlanexchel was undeterred. "We've got them back on their heels. Keep attacking!" he ordered, looking at the many screens in front of him with an almost predatory expression.
At his own command center, General Zinahue had a much grimmer expression as he glared at his own screens. "If they're able to advance much farther, they'll have us pinned back against the Canal," he said. "What the hell is Yaopochatl doing?"
Yaopochatl, despite the General's belief, wasn't being idle. In a different part of the Xiomeran command center, he was conferring with his field commanders via video. "Begin falling back, slowly, towards the Canal. Make it look convincing. The Empress has a surprise prepared for the enemy," he said calmly.
---
4 pm
After an additional four hours of fighting, the allied counter-attack had managed to push the Xiomeran forces back to the Canal and eastern Zapotlán. Tlanexchel was beginning to see victory in his grasp. "Keep pushing. I want our forces to cross the Canal and regain control of eastern Zapotlán by the end of the day."
Having slowly but persistently succeeded in pushing the Imperial forces back, the allied forces were confident that they could execute that order. But Calhualyana did indeed have a surprise waiting.
As the allied forces reached the Canal, and saw the Imperial forces retreating, they surged forward in a bid to keep them retreating and gain control of the other side of the Canal as well. But as the allied forces began their advance, they found themselves suddenly facing a reinvigorated Xiomeran assault. Calhualyana had ordered General Zinahue to keep a substantial force in reserve, to strike back at the allied forces when they were exhausted from their assault.
In conjunction with the surge in reserve Xiomeran forces, Calhualyana had ordered the Imperial Air Force to be ready to strike en masse. A wave of tactical bombers and fighter-bombers, escorted by fighters, began blasting the allied advance. Faced with yet another Xiomeran surge, the allied advance began to struggle and falter.
Back at his headquarters, Tlanexchel sent an urgent message to the Huenyan command in Chuaztlapoc. Texōccoatl received the message, and calmly issued orders of his own. Calhualyana wasn't the only one who had a surprise planned in the event of an emergency.
When western Huenya had slipped out of the control of the Xiomeran Empire, the retreating Imperial forces did their best to take their weapons and equipment with them, to deprive the enemy of their use. But not everything had escaped the grasp of the Huenyans.
Among other things, since its defacto independence, Huenya had gained control of a significant portion of the Xiomeran military's missile capabilities. This ranged from mobile units capable of being used on the battlefield all the way to silo-based missiles. Tlanexchel ordered the allied forces back out of harm's way, and then Texōccoatl began letting those missiles fly. The would-be counterattack by the Imperial military found itself facing a line drawn in the sand at the Canal - a line drawn by missiles perfectly capable of decimating entire battalions.
---
6 pm
With night dawning, making combat more challenging, and with both sides exhausted and having laid down their respective lines, both sides had a decision to make.
Back in Tlālacuetztla, Empress Calhualyana received the message about the wall of missiles that was decimating her attack with a grimace. Staring at the walls of the Throne Room, her voice finally echoed in a grating hiss of displeasure. "Cease fire and halt the advance," she finally said via video to General Zinahue, who was quite glad to be on a battlefield rather than facing the Empress at that particular moment. "Make no further movements unless they try to cross the Canal to the side we control."
In Zapotlán, Tlanexchel was also not content - the Huenyan Assembly had decided to halt their attack as well, much to his displeasure. "We can push them back for good if we keep advancing!" he argued, but Yauhmi, on the other end of the video call, was unmoved. "The casualties are already very high, and will grow even worse if we keep pushing. I don't know if we can keep this up, and I also doubt that our allies are willing to just keep pitching people into a meat grinder. If Calhualyana has stopped her attack, and we retain control of Zapotlán and at least part of the Canal Zone, we can negotiate at Jinyu for a final resolution. This is the best we can do right now, and we're frankly damned lucky to have emerged with even this much of a victory. You have your orders, General. Cease fire - for now."
With a nod, Tlanexchel ended the call and issued the order to cease fire. If you think this is going to be a temporary cease-fire, you're wrong, he thought. The only thing that those talks in Jinyu will decide is how long this stalemate drags on for, and I doubt it's going to end any time soon.
As night dawned on Zapotlán, the land of Huenya ended the day as it began the day - divided, and facing a split and uncertain future.
6:00 am
Zapotlán
The sudden surge into Zapotlán by the Imperial military, spearheaded by the Iskirami and the new elite Xiomeran forces, had successfully rocked the Huenyans and their allies. Within a few short days, they had been pushed back hard, losing almost all the territory they had gained. They had not only lost control over the Intra-Xiomera Canal, but had also lost all but the outskirts of western Zapotlán as well. Empress Calhualyana's goal was a simple one: push the Huenyans and their allies back into the Tepiltzin region, or into the sea. The Empress wasn't particularly concerned which one the enemy ended up in, as long as they were out of what the Xiomerans considered their historic and rightful land.
And the Xiomeran surge had almost accomplished that.
Almost.
The Xiomeran Empire had challenged the fledgling Huenyan Federation, and its allies. On the 8th of December, the Huenyans and their allies answered the challenge.
---
In an attempt to halt the Xiomeran surge, the allies of Huenya had sent in reinforcements. 7500 Eirian troops and 2500 Legionite troops had come ashore, in the small pocket of shoreline that was still controlled by the allies. The additional 10,000 troops would help to bolster allied lines, break the shock that the Xiomeran surge had caused, and begin the road to a counter-attack.
But that wouldn't be enough to stop Calhualyana's attack alone. When General Cuauh'ez had warned the allies that the Empress had sent a force that was nearly-unstoppable, it was not hyperbole. The Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli and the Warriors of Tezcatlipōca, the new elite armies of the Xiomeran Empire, had indeed been unstoppable in their assault. In Chuaztlapoc, Yauhmi and the Huenyan Assembly made a fateful decision. Their allies had sent more, and given more, to stop Calhualyana and save their fledgling state. It was time for the Huenyans to do the same - to throw everything they had left at the Imperial armies and end their dance at Zapotlán with Calhualyana once and for all. If their allies were willing to sacrifice for the dream of a free and democratic Huenya, the Huenyans themselves were not about to be found wanting.
General Tlanexchel, promoted and made Defense Secretary on the Huenyan side, gathered every single Jaguar Warrior, Eagle Warrior, and Shorn One that was available. All of the best equipment and supplies available on the Huenyan side were given to that army of the 25,000 best soldiers Huenya had. And then, Tlanexchel deployed his elite army with a single command: kick Calhualyana's wannabe elites, their intended replacements, back across the Canal with so much force that their grandchildren would feel the bruises.
---
On the streets of Zapotlán, alongside the Eirians, the Legionites, the Kerlians and the Huenyan forces that were already in the city, the Jaguar Warriors, Eagle Warriors and Shorn Ones brought the enemy to battle. Calling it a "battle" was not enough to do it justice. In all of Huenya, throughout its six-plus centuries of history, this would be the battle.
The shattered buildings and rubble-filled streets of Zapotlán bore witness to the clash of the ancient, and the new. The ancient and the new, in the form of armies, as the Jaguar and Eagle Warriors and the Shorn Ones met the Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli and the Warriors of Tezcatlipōca head-on in a merciless and no-holds-barred clash for land and for victory. One set of warriors was out to prove themselves, as the equals to, and replacement of, those that they considered traitors to the Xiomeran Empire. The other set was out for revenge - for the loss of their comrades at the Palace of Flowers when the coup began, for the betrayal they had suffered at the hands of Xochiuhue, General Xōchhuitl and Calhualyana. They also fully intended to prove to their supposed replacements that no one could replace a Jaguar Warrior, an Eagle Warrior or a Shorn One.
But these causes and grievances, deep as they ran, were not the only thing being fought for on the streets of Zapotlán. This city was the dividing line between the western and eastern halves of Huenya - and between their peoples, who had grown further and further apart even before the coup began. It was the line between the past and the future, and between a vision of Empire that had spanned 600 years and another vision that wanted nothing to do with it.
At Zapotlán, one side was seeking to reinforce the order they had always understood and believed in - and the other side was determined to show them that order was dead to them.
---
In his command center in western Zapotlán, General Tlanexchel grimly issued commands and watched his viewscreens as the battle progressed. The fighting was easily proving to be the bloodiest and harshest that had been seen in the entire civil war. The medical wards on the Huenyan side were already filling up with casualties, stretching them to the limits.
"This is bad, sir. I'm not sure how much longer our forces can hold up to this," Quiauhxochitli, his second in command, said as she brought him the latest reports. Tlanexchel took a quick drink of his coffee before taking the reports. "As long as we hold up just longer than the bastards on the other side, that's all we need to do," he replied.
---
On the other side of the lines, in his own command center, General Zinahue shook his head and looked at Yaopochatl, the commander of the new Xiomeran special forces at Zapotlán. "We need to break their line somehow. How in the hell are they mustering up such a strong assault?"
"They are elite forces, just as we are," Yaopochatl said, doing his best not to look at Zinahue as if he was an idiot.
"But their side should be broken! We pulled out all of the equipment from the west, we pulled out all their money, even their allies can't be giving them enough supplies to fight!" General Zinahue looked at his screens with exasperation. Despite the overwhelming advantage in resources and equipment the Xiomerans had over the Huenyan side, the evidence was clear that the Xiomeran forces were slowly beginning to lose ground again.
Yaopochatl couldn't keep the disdainful look entirely off of his face at this point. A former Jaguar Warrior who had switched sides after the coup, he understood the mentality of an elite warrior well. "Money doesn't fight wars, nor do inanimate objects, General. Not by themselves. Belief fights wars. Passion, ideals, a cause to fight for. They believe in what they are fighting for just as much as we do, it appears. You can take away all the technology and the equipment and the money, and in the end, if you haven't broken a warrior's cause...you will still lose."
Before Zinahue could say anything else, Yaopochatl shook his head. "With all due respect, General, you can't help me win this fight. Let me do my job, and go out there and see if there's some way to turn this around." Yaopochatl walked out of the command center, leaving a furious General Zinahue behind.
---
Noon
After six hours of fighting, the counter-attack by the Huenyans and their allies had managed to force its way back into the center of Zapotlán. The casualty counts on both sides were continuing to skyrocket, but Tlanexchel was undeterred. "We've got them back on their heels. Keep attacking!" he ordered, looking at the many screens in front of him with an almost predatory expression.
At his own command center, General Zinahue had a much grimmer expression as he glared at his own screens. "If they're able to advance much farther, they'll have us pinned back against the Canal," he said. "What the hell is Yaopochatl doing?"
Yaopochatl, despite the General's belief, wasn't being idle. In a different part of the Xiomeran command center, he was conferring with his field commanders via video. "Begin falling back, slowly, towards the Canal. Make it look convincing. The Empress has a surprise prepared for the enemy," he said calmly.
---
4 pm
After an additional four hours of fighting, the allied counter-attack had managed to push the Xiomeran forces back to the Canal and eastern Zapotlán. Tlanexchel was beginning to see victory in his grasp. "Keep pushing. I want our forces to cross the Canal and regain control of eastern Zapotlán by the end of the day."
Having slowly but persistently succeeded in pushing the Imperial forces back, the allied forces were confident that they could execute that order. But Calhualyana did indeed have a surprise waiting.
As the allied forces reached the Canal, and saw the Imperial forces retreating, they surged forward in a bid to keep them retreating and gain control of the other side of the Canal as well. But as the allied forces began their advance, they found themselves suddenly facing a reinvigorated Xiomeran assault. Calhualyana had ordered General Zinahue to keep a substantial force in reserve, to strike back at the allied forces when they were exhausted from their assault.
In conjunction with the surge in reserve Xiomeran forces, Calhualyana had ordered the Imperial Air Force to be ready to strike en masse. A wave of tactical bombers and fighter-bombers, escorted by fighters, began blasting the allied advance. Faced with yet another Xiomeran surge, the allied advance began to struggle and falter.
Back at his headquarters, Tlanexchel sent an urgent message to the Huenyan command in Chuaztlapoc. Texōccoatl received the message, and calmly issued orders of his own. Calhualyana wasn't the only one who had a surprise planned in the event of an emergency.
When western Huenya had slipped out of the control of the Xiomeran Empire, the retreating Imperial forces did their best to take their weapons and equipment with them, to deprive the enemy of their use. But not everything had escaped the grasp of the Huenyans.
Among other things, since its defacto independence, Huenya had gained control of a significant portion of the Xiomeran military's missile capabilities. This ranged from mobile units capable of being used on the battlefield all the way to silo-based missiles. Tlanexchel ordered the allied forces back out of harm's way, and then Texōccoatl began letting those missiles fly. The would-be counterattack by the Imperial military found itself facing a line drawn in the sand at the Canal - a line drawn by missiles perfectly capable of decimating entire battalions.
---
6 pm
With night dawning, making combat more challenging, and with both sides exhausted and having laid down their respective lines, both sides had a decision to make.
Back in Tlālacuetztla, Empress Calhualyana received the message about the wall of missiles that was decimating her attack with a grimace. Staring at the walls of the Throne Room, her voice finally echoed in a grating hiss of displeasure. "Cease fire and halt the advance," she finally said via video to General Zinahue, who was quite glad to be on a battlefield rather than facing the Empress at that particular moment. "Make no further movements unless they try to cross the Canal to the side we control."
In Zapotlán, Tlanexchel was also not content - the Huenyan Assembly had decided to halt their attack as well, much to his displeasure. "We can push them back for good if we keep advancing!" he argued, but Yauhmi, on the other end of the video call, was unmoved. "The casualties are already very high, and will grow even worse if we keep pushing. I don't know if we can keep this up, and I also doubt that our allies are willing to just keep pitching people into a meat grinder. If Calhualyana has stopped her attack, and we retain control of Zapotlán and at least part of the Canal Zone, we can negotiate at Jinyu for a final resolution. This is the best we can do right now, and we're frankly damned lucky to have emerged with even this much of a victory. You have your orders, General. Cease fire - for now."
With a nod, Tlanexchel ended the call and issued the order to cease fire. If you think this is going to be a temporary cease-fire, you're wrong, he thought. The only thing that those talks in Jinyu will decide is how long this stalemate drags on for, and I doubt it's going to end any time soon.
As night dawned on Zapotlán, the land of Huenya ended the day as it began the day - divided, and facing a split and uncertain future.
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