03-30-2021, 10:01 PM
(OOC note: The following events take place immediately after the final signing of the Jinyu Agreement, upon the return of Empress Calhualyana to Xiomera.)
Among the Empress and her closest advisors, the mood was grim. Xiomera had just signed an agreement that made the Empire's defeat final. And no matter how skillfully the spin doctors of the Ministry of Information did their work, it was a defeat. The lands that had made the Xiomeran Empire an empire were lost. The Intra-Xiomera Canal was lost. Xiomera was now bound by an agreement that would prevent them from reversing any of that. It was a tremendous comedown for a nation that had been aspiring to dominance. Even the most ardent supporters of the Empress would be highly unimpressed with the results of her presence in Jinyu. It was highly appropriate that Calhualyana and her advisors were meeting in the Chamber of Whispers. After Xiomera's humiliation, the whispers among the Xiomeran people about whether or not the Empress was the right person to lead the Empire would certainly begin.
Calhualyana was not about to let that jeopardize her reign.
"The people....will be asking how this was allowed to happen," Coaneca said. The Minister of Information sighed. "We will need to come up with a message to counter the murmurs."
"We know how this happened," Calhualyana said in a low tone, standing up. "This happened because we allowed ourselves to grow weak and complacent. We distracted ourselves with technological baubles, comforts, money and shiny things and allowed ourselves to become soft." The Empress walked slowly around the Chamber, looking at the different artwork on the walls from major events in Xiomeran history. She stopped at the last one, a painting of the Battle of Milintica. Topilpopoca had ordered that painting, of the final battle in Xiomera's conquest of Huenya in 1387, removed in an attempt to improve the relationship between Xiomerans and the other tribes. Calhualyana had ordered the painting restored to its rightful place on the wall after becoming Empress. Now, she looked at the painting, before turning back to face the other people in the Chamber. She pointed at the painting, her voice shifting into a hiss. "We were once a people of warriors who no one could thwart, who no one dared challenge. We united all of Huenya into one Empire, an Empire so strong that no foreign power ever dared try to interfere in our affairs. For centuries, everyone knew their place, and we were at the top of that order."
Calhualyana shook her head in disgust, looking out one of the Chamber windows at the Tlālacuetztla skyline. "But we let ourselves get distracted by all the glittering and shimmering distractions of this modern era. And we lost our way. We lost our strength. That is when everything changed. That is when the foreigners stopped being scared of us. That is when the rabble of Huenya began to challenge us. That is when the Empire was lost - long before I became Empress. Long before the war. Long before Jinyu. We lost the Empire when we lost ourselves."
The Empress fixed Coaneca with a stern glare. "That is the message you will deliver to our people - because it is the truth." The Minister of Information nodded, not daring to even speak.
"We let ourselves grow weak. That is why we have lost our Empire - because we no longer deserved to have it. But I will not tolerate this slide into weakness any longer. From this moment forward, we will direct all our energies into rebuilding the spirit which made us strong enough to have an Empire in the first place. We will turn the wonders of technology and the brute force of our industry into the things that serve our strength, rather than distract us and dilute it. Everything in Xiomera - every factory, every piece of technology, every person - will serve the Empire and build its strength from this moment forward."
Calhualyana turned to Toquihu, the new Prime Minister. "The XCP will be the instrument we use to make this happen. It will unite Xiomera and its people, and focus both inexorably on this purpose: the strength and glory of this Empire. I expect you to make sure this happens." Toquihu nodded eagerly, already coming up with plans in his head to make sure that the XCP became an unstoppable force in the nation.
"But there will still be those who question our efforts. Even with my best efforts, there will still be those who question both you and this mission, as just as it is," Coaneca said with concern. Calhualyana raised an eyebrow.
"So there will be. But I have an answer for that as well. Cuicanan, Quihichua and Chuanacoyo," she said, naming the Ministers of Justice, Security and Defense. "I want you to begin efforts to weed out anyone who thinks they have the right to question our direction and purpose. Whether they're in the military, law enforcement, the government, or just the people on the street. You will assist them, Ixtonal," she said to the Minister of the Civil Service. "There can, and will, be no tolerance for those who would continue to perpetuate our weakness with their dissent."
Calhualyana sat back down, her expression determined. "Xiomera allowed itself to become weak, and that is why we have lost so much. I will rebuild our strength, and one day, we will change these unjust events and restore this Empire to its rightful place where our will was unquestioned and unchallenged. And we will begin by ridding ourselves of those within who would hold us back."
---
The raids began within days.
At Tlālacuetztla Polytechnic University, Paltzoma and Moateca were walking back to their dormitory after having participated in a secret meeting of Unification Party supporters. They never made it.
On a dark pathway near the center of campus, several policemen jumped from concealing bushes, seizing the two students and dragging them to a nearby van. The doors thumped softly shut, and the van sped away.
---
At the Imperial Police station serving the Chuacoba neighborhood of Huitzitaca, Sgt. Cochuitzin was writing up some reports when the doors of the squad room slammed open. Five ASI agents walked inside, heading straight to Cochuitzin's desk. "Sergeant Cochutzin, you are to come with us immediately," the lead ASI agent snapped.
"For what? I have done nothing wrong," he said, confused.
The lead agent sneered. "Is that so? Did you not, on the night of the 15th, allow three protesters from the Unification Party to leave an unsanctioned and illegal protest with a warning, rather than detaining them as ordered by your superiors?"
Cochuitzin paled. "Yes, but they were just kids, they hadn't done anything violent - "
"You disobeyed your orders and allowed criminals to walk away and escape Imperial justice. And you claim you did nothing wrong. Cute. Stand up and put your hands behind your back," the lead agent said coldly.
Cochuitzin's hand strayed towards his sidearm slightly, and the other four ASI agents immediately drew on him. "You can die here, or you can come with us. I don't care which you choose, but hurry up about it. I have dinner in an hour," the lead agent said in the same cold voice. With a sigh of resignation, Cochuitzin stood up. The ASI agents quickly handcuffed and disarmed him, before marching him out of the police station in front of his stunned fellow officers.
---
At the Imperial Air Force base in Tulinche in central Xiomera, Airman Malacaona had just arrived back at her barracks room when three members of Xiomeran Military Intelligence stopped her. "Airman, your computer shows that you donated to the Imperial Glory Party, which has committed an act of armed rebellion against the Empire. You are under arrest," the lead XMI agent said. In response, Malacaona punched him, then attempted to fight her way past the other two agents. A sudden jolt to her back from a tazer ended that futile effort. The other airmen watched as Malacaona was dragged out of the barracks by her arms and legs to a waiting military police vehicle.
---
At an office of the Ministry of Health in the city of Tulumix in western Xiomera, the director of the office, a man named Tachima, was detained by Imperial Police after one of his subordinates reported that he had expressed sympathies for the Unification Party leader Cozamalotl, and had also criticized the police response to protesters.
---
At a temple in the city of Culhuaca in far southern Xiomera, a dissident priest named Xayacama who had been preaching against the XCP was conducting a service when a dozen local and Imperial Police, led by an ASI agent, burst through the doors. Without a word, they dragged Xayacama from his altar, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him before dragging him out of the temple, pushing past his crying followers.
---
At their small store in the Italman neighborhood of Tlālacuetztla, an older couple named Olin and Ilapacal, known affectionately as "Papa Olin" and "Mama Ila" to the locals due to their generosity and kindliness, were summarily detained by Imperial Police after they had given water and snacks to Unification Party protesters who had been clashing with the police. An additional fifteen local residents were detained after they tried to interfere with the arrest.
---
In the days and weeks after the Jinyu Agreement was signed, scenes like this would play out throughout Xiomera, as the government imposed Calhualyana's new mandate to weed out any opposition she felt was "weakening" the Empire. The government would term the operations "national security sweeps". But to the people of Xiomera, they would take on a more accurate name: Calhualyana's Purge. It may have been heading towards spring in Xiomera, but the purge had left a chilling effect on the entire nation.
Among the Empress and her closest advisors, the mood was grim. Xiomera had just signed an agreement that made the Empire's defeat final. And no matter how skillfully the spin doctors of the Ministry of Information did their work, it was a defeat. The lands that had made the Xiomeran Empire an empire were lost. The Intra-Xiomera Canal was lost. Xiomera was now bound by an agreement that would prevent them from reversing any of that. It was a tremendous comedown for a nation that had been aspiring to dominance. Even the most ardent supporters of the Empress would be highly unimpressed with the results of her presence in Jinyu. It was highly appropriate that Calhualyana and her advisors were meeting in the Chamber of Whispers. After Xiomera's humiliation, the whispers among the Xiomeran people about whether or not the Empress was the right person to lead the Empire would certainly begin.
Calhualyana was not about to let that jeopardize her reign.
"The people....will be asking how this was allowed to happen," Coaneca said. The Minister of Information sighed. "We will need to come up with a message to counter the murmurs."
"We know how this happened," Calhualyana said in a low tone, standing up. "This happened because we allowed ourselves to grow weak and complacent. We distracted ourselves with technological baubles, comforts, money and shiny things and allowed ourselves to become soft." The Empress walked slowly around the Chamber, looking at the different artwork on the walls from major events in Xiomeran history. She stopped at the last one, a painting of the Battle of Milintica. Topilpopoca had ordered that painting, of the final battle in Xiomera's conquest of Huenya in 1387, removed in an attempt to improve the relationship between Xiomerans and the other tribes. Calhualyana had ordered the painting restored to its rightful place on the wall after becoming Empress. Now, she looked at the painting, before turning back to face the other people in the Chamber. She pointed at the painting, her voice shifting into a hiss. "We were once a people of warriors who no one could thwart, who no one dared challenge. We united all of Huenya into one Empire, an Empire so strong that no foreign power ever dared try to interfere in our affairs. For centuries, everyone knew their place, and we were at the top of that order."
Calhualyana shook her head in disgust, looking out one of the Chamber windows at the Tlālacuetztla skyline. "But we let ourselves get distracted by all the glittering and shimmering distractions of this modern era. And we lost our way. We lost our strength. That is when everything changed. That is when the foreigners stopped being scared of us. That is when the rabble of Huenya began to challenge us. That is when the Empire was lost - long before I became Empress. Long before the war. Long before Jinyu. We lost the Empire when we lost ourselves."
The Empress fixed Coaneca with a stern glare. "That is the message you will deliver to our people - because it is the truth." The Minister of Information nodded, not daring to even speak.
"We let ourselves grow weak. That is why we have lost our Empire - because we no longer deserved to have it. But I will not tolerate this slide into weakness any longer. From this moment forward, we will direct all our energies into rebuilding the spirit which made us strong enough to have an Empire in the first place. We will turn the wonders of technology and the brute force of our industry into the things that serve our strength, rather than distract us and dilute it. Everything in Xiomera - every factory, every piece of technology, every person - will serve the Empire and build its strength from this moment forward."
Calhualyana turned to Toquihu, the new Prime Minister. "The XCP will be the instrument we use to make this happen. It will unite Xiomera and its people, and focus both inexorably on this purpose: the strength and glory of this Empire. I expect you to make sure this happens." Toquihu nodded eagerly, already coming up with plans in his head to make sure that the XCP became an unstoppable force in the nation.
"But there will still be those who question our efforts. Even with my best efforts, there will still be those who question both you and this mission, as just as it is," Coaneca said with concern. Calhualyana raised an eyebrow.
"So there will be. But I have an answer for that as well. Cuicanan, Quihichua and Chuanacoyo," she said, naming the Ministers of Justice, Security and Defense. "I want you to begin efforts to weed out anyone who thinks they have the right to question our direction and purpose. Whether they're in the military, law enforcement, the government, or just the people on the street. You will assist them, Ixtonal," she said to the Minister of the Civil Service. "There can, and will, be no tolerance for those who would continue to perpetuate our weakness with their dissent."
Calhualyana sat back down, her expression determined. "Xiomera allowed itself to become weak, and that is why we have lost so much. I will rebuild our strength, and one day, we will change these unjust events and restore this Empire to its rightful place where our will was unquestioned and unchallenged. And we will begin by ridding ourselves of those within who would hold us back."
---
The raids began within days.
At Tlālacuetztla Polytechnic University, Paltzoma and Moateca were walking back to their dormitory after having participated in a secret meeting of Unification Party supporters. They never made it.
On a dark pathway near the center of campus, several policemen jumped from concealing bushes, seizing the two students and dragging them to a nearby van. The doors thumped softly shut, and the van sped away.
---
At the Imperial Police station serving the Chuacoba neighborhood of Huitzitaca, Sgt. Cochuitzin was writing up some reports when the doors of the squad room slammed open. Five ASI agents walked inside, heading straight to Cochuitzin's desk. "Sergeant Cochutzin, you are to come with us immediately," the lead ASI agent snapped.
"For what? I have done nothing wrong," he said, confused.
The lead agent sneered. "Is that so? Did you not, on the night of the 15th, allow three protesters from the Unification Party to leave an unsanctioned and illegal protest with a warning, rather than detaining them as ordered by your superiors?"
Cochuitzin paled. "Yes, but they were just kids, they hadn't done anything violent - "
"You disobeyed your orders and allowed criminals to walk away and escape Imperial justice. And you claim you did nothing wrong. Cute. Stand up and put your hands behind your back," the lead agent said coldly.
Cochuitzin's hand strayed towards his sidearm slightly, and the other four ASI agents immediately drew on him. "You can die here, or you can come with us. I don't care which you choose, but hurry up about it. I have dinner in an hour," the lead agent said in the same cold voice. With a sigh of resignation, Cochuitzin stood up. The ASI agents quickly handcuffed and disarmed him, before marching him out of the police station in front of his stunned fellow officers.
---
At the Imperial Air Force base in Tulinche in central Xiomera, Airman Malacaona had just arrived back at her barracks room when three members of Xiomeran Military Intelligence stopped her. "Airman, your computer shows that you donated to the Imperial Glory Party, which has committed an act of armed rebellion against the Empire. You are under arrest," the lead XMI agent said. In response, Malacaona punched him, then attempted to fight her way past the other two agents. A sudden jolt to her back from a tazer ended that futile effort. The other airmen watched as Malacaona was dragged out of the barracks by her arms and legs to a waiting military police vehicle.
---
At an office of the Ministry of Health in the city of Tulumix in western Xiomera, the director of the office, a man named Tachima, was detained by Imperial Police after one of his subordinates reported that he had expressed sympathies for the Unification Party leader Cozamalotl, and had also criticized the police response to protesters.
---
At a temple in the city of Culhuaca in far southern Xiomera, a dissident priest named Xayacama who had been preaching against the XCP was conducting a service when a dozen local and Imperial Police, led by an ASI agent, burst through the doors. Without a word, they dragged Xayacama from his altar, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him before dragging him out of the temple, pushing past his crying followers.
---
At their small store in the Italman neighborhood of Tlālacuetztla, an older couple named Olin and Ilapacal, known affectionately as "Papa Olin" and "Mama Ila" to the locals due to their generosity and kindliness, were summarily detained by Imperial Police after they had given water and snacks to Unification Party protesters who had been clashing with the police. An additional fifteen local residents were detained after they tried to interfere with the arrest.
---
In the days and weeks after the Jinyu Agreement was signed, scenes like this would play out throughout Xiomera, as the government imposed Calhualyana's new mandate to weed out any opposition she felt was "weakening" the Empire. The government would term the operations "national security sweeps". But to the people of Xiomera, they would take on a more accurate name: Calhualyana's Purge. It may have been heading towards spring in Xiomera, but the purge had left a chilling effect on the entire nation.
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