12-04-2021, 01:11 AM
While the wedding reception took place inside the safety of the Palace walls, mischief was taking place outside in the Imperial capital.
---
October 22nd
3:45pm
In a rough clearing on the outskirts of western Tlālacuetztla, a group of people was busily working. They knew they didn't have a lot of time. The soft hissing of helium canisters, the clinking of metal and twine, and the occasional beeping was the only sound. Talking wasn't required; they had rehearsed this enough.
With a final set of beeps, and a quick communication over a burner phone, phase 2 was ready.
With a flourish of wind, balloons began to rise in the air. Many, many balloons. All of them had a picture of the royal couple on them, with a big red X drawn over them.
As the balloons rose over the capital, the people of Tlālacuetztla couldn't help but notice them.
Miles away, Eyatzin got the phone call, and at the pre-planned moment, pressed a button on the phone. The resulting signal sent a message to the tiny devices he had created to add to the balloons' tethers. With a series of clicks, the cords were severed. The balloons began soaring faster into the air, released from what had been tied to the end of their cords. Small plastic containers began falling to the ground throughout the center city. As the containers hit the ground, they would pop open, releasing flyers. Many, many flyers - all of them very much anti-Empress and anti-XCP in nature.
This would not be as easy to shrug off as the drone incident.
---
7:55pm
The final phase of "Ruin the Royal Wedding" was a bit simpler than the first two. Child's play for Eyatzin, compared to the other two phases.
Throughout Tlālacuetztla, a series of projectors had been set up by the celebration planning committee for the wedding. At sunset, they had begun displaying images and messages celebrating the wedding, the Empress and her new husband, the XCP and the Empire on the sides of major buildings and sites throughout the capital. It had sounded like a good idea at the time, to go along with the banners and flags and other decorations around the city.
This would prove, in practice, to be unfortunate.
About an hour into the projections, the messages abruptly flickered and changed. The resulting displays around Tlālacuetztla were not at all celebratory. Insulting, yes. Obscene, perhaps a bit. But definitely not celebratory.
The messages would be quickly shut down, then restored to their original content, by Imperial computer experts. But the damage had been done. The images from the balloon drop and the projectors would soon spread both within and outside Xiomera, making it clear that not everyone in Xiomera was in the mood to congratulate Calhualyana.
At the end of the reception, once out of sight of guests, the Empress was advised of what had happened. Calhualyana paused for a moment, taking off her wedding veil. Once the veil was put aside, she grabbed her Security Minister by the throat. As Quihichua gasped for breath, the Empress whispered in her ear. "Find who is responsible for this and arrest them. Unless you want to be sitting in your own cells."
The Empress released the Security Minister with a shove into the wall, before calmly taking her new husband's arm to leave for her honeymoon.
---
October 22nd
3:45pm
In a rough clearing on the outskirts of western Tlālacuetztla, a group of people was busily working. They knew they didn't have a lot of time. The soft hissing of helium canisters, the clinking of metal and twine, and the occasional beeping was the only sound. Talking wasn't required; they had rehearsed this enough.
With a final set of beeps, and a quick communication over a burner phone, phase 2 was ready.
With a flourish of wind, balloons began to rise in the air. Many, many balloons. All of them had a picture of the royal couple on them, with a big red X drawn over them.
As the balloons rose over the capital, the people of Tlālacuetztla couldn't help but notice them.
Miles away, Eyatzin got the phone call, and at the pre-planned moment, pressed a button on the phone. The resulting signal sent a message to the tiny devices he had created to add to the balloons' tethers. With a series of clicks, the cords were severed. The balloons began soaring faster into the air, released from what had been tied to the end of their cords. Small plastic containers began falling to the ground throughout the center city. As the containers hit the ground, they would pop open, releasing flyers. Many, many flyers - all of them very much anti-Empress and anti-XCP in nature.
This would not be as easy to shrug off as the drone incident.
---
7:55pm
The final phase of "Ruin the Royal Wedding" was a bit simpler than the first two. Child's play for Eyatzin, compared to the other two phases.
Throughout Tlālacuetztla, a series of projectors had been set up by the celebration planning committee for the wedding. At sunset, they had begun displaying images and messages celebrating the wedding, the Empress and her new husband, the XCP and the Empire on the sides of major buildings and sites throughout the capital. It had sounded like a good idea at the time, to go along with the banners and flags and other decorations around the city.
This would prove, in practice, to be unfortunate.
About an hour into the projections, the messages abruptly flickered and changed. The resulting displays around Tlālacuetztla were not at all celebratory. Insulting, yes. Obscene, perhaps a bit. But definitely not celebratory.
The messages would be quickly shut down, then restored to their original content, by Imperial computer experts. But the damage had been done. The images from the balloon drop and the projectors would soon spread both within and outside Xiomera, making it clear that not everyone in Xiomera was in the mood to congratulate Calhualyana.
At the end of the reception, once out of sight of guests, the Empress was advised of what had happened. Calhualyana paused for a moment, taking off her wedding veil. Once the veil was put aside, she grabbed her Security Minister by the throat. As Quihichua gasped for breath, the Empress whispered in her ear. "Find who is responsible for this and arrest them. Unless you want to be sitting in your own cells."
The Empress released the Security Minister with a shove into the wall, before calmly taking her new husband's arm to leave for her honeymoon.
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