[Xiomera]

While the nations backing the deposed Queen and her government prepared to deploy their navies to blockade Auria, the Xiomeran Empire had not been sleeping. Within a day of the coup, Xiomeran cargo ships had been flowing steadily to Auria. The Xiomerans were dusting off an old ploy and renewing it for the current day.

During the Bjeorg conflict, Xiomeran mercenaries working for the Coytōchte Firm had helped Bjeorg. Since then, and much due to their successful performance in that fight, Coytōchte had morphed into the single biggest private security and defense outsourcing firm in the Empire. Now known as Coytōchte Security Services Corporation, or CSSC, the company had gobbled up dozens of smaller competitors in Xiomera's highly competitive marketplace. CSSC's executives, in their sales pitches to prospective clients, liked to say often that CSSC could bring more firepower to bear to a situation than the standing armies of some entire countries.

That was not an idle boast or marketing hyperbole. CSSC had actually pitched a scenario to the Xiomeran government, at one time, to stage an overthrow of the Milintican socialist regime. Their wargame scenarios had shown that CSSC could, in fact, have overwhelmed Milintica's defenses within a few weeks.

CSSC may have been a private army, but it was in lockstep with the Imperial government. CSSC mercenaries had fought alongside Imperial soldiers in the Xiomeran civil war. They were often trained by Imperial soldiers, and used the same weapons and munitions that the Imperial military used. If you couldn't send the real Imperial military somewhere, sending CSSC was the next best thing.

And while the democracies of the world had debated, discussed, dithered and voted to intervene in Auria, CSSC had been steadily deploying in Auria. And bringing presents for the Aurian regime, in the form of mass amounts of the finest Xiomeran weapons and munitions. And building up the defenses of the Aurians, just in case push came to shove. Those efforts had been steadily taken place as soon as the coup launched, but had been accelerated after the order of the Empress a week earlier to step things up. Calhualyana's annoyance at the trade deal between Laeral and Huenya was one reason for the big push. But simple intelligence was another. Xiomeran satellites and intelligence gathering had noted the increasing readiness of the Eirian Navy, along with the unexpected mobilization of naval forces in Lauchenoiria. They had also noted the thing that the Huenyans were calling a navy being brought online as well, but that was a minor consideration compared to the Eirian and Lauchenoirian actions. It was clear that the window to build up the new Aurian regime to resist any counter-revolution was rapidly closing. Xiomera would do everything it could to strengthen their new allies up until the very last second, when the naval blockade would slam the doors shut. The instructions given to the Imperial Navy, and CSSC, were to not attempt to break any blockade - for now. So, instead, in a reprise of the "Bjeorg Express", CSSC would run its "Aurian Express" until they couldn't any more.

CSSC was the iron fist of the Xiomeran Empire, clad in a lovely velvet glove of plausible deniability. Just like they had been in Bjeorg. And, if the goals of the Empire succeeded, CSSC would ensure that Xiomera's play in Auria would remain strong as iron.