02-14-2022, 03:45 AM
Vice-Speaker Tiacihitli looked down at the latest reports from the Defense Department and FIS. They were not what he had been hoping to read. The situation was, in fact, even more dire than media reports had indicated.
The anti-terrorist mission he had launched on January 26th had initially been quite successful. Multiple Golden Blade sites had been overrun on the ground, or destroyed from the air. The Federation Army and Air Force, working in concert, had been steadily clearing the way for FIS and the Federal Police to move in behind them and secure the areas where terrorist activity had been occurring. But within a week, things had begun to stall. The Golden Blade had begun to use the government's attack as a rallying cry, recruiting increasing numbers of disaffected, right-wing ethnic Xiomerans into their forces. At Xonacatlán, the operation had run into a wave of resistance, and ground to a halt.
And then, slowly but surely, the gears had been thrown into reverse. The Huenyan forces, which had previously rolled forward with little trouble, now found themselves being forced into total retreat. Xonacatlán, and its entire surrounding muncipality, evaded government control. Then resistance had spread to nearby Huatulco, and then Yelapa. The three municipalities, between them, formed a tight core of territory which Huenya had completely lost control of.
To Tiacihitli, staring at the map, the three municipalities resembled a cancer, trying to devour an otherwise healthy body. To keep it from spreading to the rest of the body, there was only one thing to do to a cancer.
Finally looking up, Tiacihitli asked his advisors for their opinions. Acxopotl was first to speak. "We need to mobilize everything we can spare and throw it at Xonacatlán. End this threat once and for all," the Defense Secretary said. "The longer we allow it to linger, and the weaker we seem in combating it, the worse it will get."
"I am not sure that is the best plan." Cuetlancaona, the Director of FIS, shook his head. "Our analysis is that the anti-terrorist operation is actually giving the Golden Blade recruiting fodder, and helping them convince other disaffected nationalists to join them. We could be sparking a much larger civil conflict by pushing harder."
"That may be true. But we may have had the same outcome no matter what we did," Texōccoatl replied. The Great Speaker nodded at the map. "The terrorists never intended to really negotiate with us. Their ultimate goal is to end Huenya, not coexist with it. They now have a base of land, and people, to pursue that. My personal belief is that allowing them to remain in control of this territory would be a disaster for us, and that we have to eliminate this threat. But you are the elected leader of Huenya, Tiacihitli. I will not attempt to force your hand. The decision has to be yours."
In previous months, Tiacihitli may well have stayed his hand. He was, by inclination, a compassionate man. But the image of Matzinena, the murdered poll worker, still haunted his dreams at night. Would compassion and negotiation have saved her? Did the strikes against the Golden Blade doom her? Was he responsible? Tiacihitli was not sure.
What he was now absolutely sure of, as he pondered the image in his head, was that any door leading to a peaceful resolution was closed either way now. Even if his orders had led to the death of Matzinena at the hands of terrorists, it was those terrorists who had taken her captive in the first place and pulled the trigger that ended her life. And they would do it again and again, unless someone stopped them.
The Vice-Speaker sighed. "I've made my decision. If the Legislature approves it....."
---
An hour later, the Vice-Speaker of Huenya was standing at the podium of the Chamber of Deputies. Around him, the elected representatives of the Federation waited for him to speak. He had no written speech. He already knew what he was going to say.
"A group of violent and ruthless criminals, under the command of the terrorist group known as the Golden Blade, have seized control of our land. Many of you, seated here, have asked me what my administration plans to do about that."
The volume of chatter in the Chamber rose, as some legislators shouted demands for action while others jeered the Vice-Speaker.
Tiacihitli raised his hands. "I've heard all of that, believe me. But it is not these words being shouted which sways me. What sways me is the image of those who have died at the hands of the Golden Blade, because they dared to help us build a free country. What sways me is the image of the terrorists and the separatists, in Xonacatlán, who have brought this death and chaos to our country. And it is those images that have convinced me that the time for discussion, for negotiation, for a hands-off approach have passed."
As the chatter in the Chamber grew louder, Tiacihitli's expression grew flinty, jaw set. "What I propose is simple: that Huenya take every possible and necessary measure to end this unlawful revolt against the Federation. I am calling for a full mobilization of our security and defense forces, to go into these terrorist controlled areas and put down the terrorists and their supporters and restore peace and order to those places. I am further asking to be given emergency powers to pursue the end of this terrorist insurgency with immediacy. This may seem extreme, legislators, but Huenya is indeed in an emergency. These terrorists threaten the very survival of our state. They threaten the peace that has been won between Huenya's peoples, and threaten to unleash ethnic cleansing and nationalist violence upon us all. We must not allow this. The future of Huenya itself is at stake. A full military operation to defeat these terrorists, followed by deployments of prosecutors and investigators from the Special Investigative and Prosecutorial Service to pacify any further terrorist and nationalist sympathies for good, is the only thing that will ensure Huenya's survival at this critical moment. We have just held a free election, and we are on the path to building a free and democratic state. We must not let the terrorists, their separatist allies, and their foreign supporters like Calhualyana derail that effort. We must save our fellow citizens who are trapped in areas controlled by these terrorists. We must save Huenya itself!"
The next words of the Vice-Speaker were drowned out by a tidal wave of cheering and applause. Even those who had previously been jeering Tiacihitli for being weak were now roaring their approval. The following vote of the Chamber of Deputies was a formality. Out of 240 legislators, only 45 - all from the Greens and more leftist parties - voted against the Vice-Speaker's plan. Even the Communist legislators voted in favor, breaking with the leftist bloc.
----
As he watched the live coverage of the vote, the leader of the Golden Blade smiled slightly. Commander Mictlāntēcutli downed a shot of mezcal, then lit a cigar. He watched Tiacihitli speaking at the podium, his smile growing. If you want a war, Vice-Speaker, bring it on. We're waiting.
---
And in Tlālacuetztla, as she watched, Empress Calhualyana turned to her husband. "The idiot took the bait," she told him. Xiyāōtl grinned as he shook his head. "It was pretty predictable, but I'm still surprised."
"I'm not surprised," Calhualyana replied to him. "Everything is proceeding exactly as I planned." And a smile crossed her own face.
The anti-terrorist mission he had launched on January 26th had initially been quite successful. Multiple Golden Blade sites had been overrun on the ground, or destroyed from the air. The Federation Army and Air Force, working in concert, had been steadily clearing the way for FIS and the Federal Police to move in behind them and secure the areas where terrorist activity had been occurring. But within a week, things had begun to stall. The Golden Blade had begun to use the government's attack as a rallying cry, recruiting increasing numbers of disaffected, right-wing ethnic Xiomerans into their forces. At Xonacatlán, the operation had run into a wave of resistance, and ground to a halt.
And then, slowly but surely, the gears had been thrown into reverse. The Huenyan forces, which had previously rolled forward with little trouble, now found themselves being forced into total retreat. Xonacatlán, and its entire surrounding muncipality, evaded government control. Then resistance had spread to nearby Huatulco, and then Yelapa. The three municipalities, between them, formed a tight core of territory which Huenya had completely lost control of.
To Tiacihitli, staring at the map, the three municipalities resembled a cancer, trying to devour an otherwise healthy body. To keep it from spreading to the rest of the body, there was only one thing to do to a cancer.
Finally looking up, Tiacihitli asked his advisors for their opinions. Acxopotl was first to speak. "We need to mobilize everything we can spare and throw it at Xonacatlán. End this threat once and for all," the Defense Secretary said. "The longer we allow it to linger, and the weaker we seem in combating it, the worse it will get."
"I am not sure that is the best plan." Cuetlancaona, the Director of FIS, shook his head. "Our analysis is that the anti-terrorist operation is actually giving the Golden Blade recruiting fodder, and helping them convince other disaffected nationalists to join them. We could be sparking a much larger civil conflict by pushing harder."
"That may be true. But we may have had the same outcome no matter what we did," Texōccoatl replied. The Great Speaker nodded at the map. "The terrorists never intended to really negotiate with us. Their ultimate goal is to end Huenya, not coexist with it. They now have a base of land, and people, to pursue that. My personal belief is that allowing them to remain in control of this territory would be a disaster for us, and that we have to eliminate this threat. But you are the elected leader of Huenya, Tiacihitli. I will not attempt to force your hand. The decision has to be yours."
In previous months, Tiacihitli may well have stayed his hand. He was, by inclination, a compassionate man. But the image of Matzinena, the murdered poll worker, still haunted his dreams at night. Would compassion and negotiation have saved her? Did the strikes against the Golden Blade doom her? Was he responsible? Tiacihitli was not sure.
What he was now absolutely sure of, as he pondered the image in his head, was that any door leading to a peaceful resolution was closed either way now. Even if his orders had led to the death of Matzinena at the hands of terrorists, it was those terrorists who had taken her captive in the first place and pulled the trigger that ended her life. And they would do it again and again, unless someone stopped them.
The Vice-Speaker sighed. "I've made my decision. If the Legislature approves it....."
---
An hour later, the Vice-Speaker of Huenya was standing at the podium of the Chamber of Deputies. Around him, the elected representatives of the Federation waited for him to speak. He had no written speech. He already knew what he was going to say.
"A group of violent and ruthless criminals, under the command of the terrorist group known as the Golden Blade, have seized control of our land. Many of you, seated here, have asked me what my administration plans to do about that."
The volume of chatter in the Chamber rose, as some legislators shouted demands for action while others jeered the Vice-Speaker.
Tiacihitli raised his hands. "I've heard all of that, believe me. But it is not these words being shouted which sways me. What sways me is the image of those who have died at the hands of the Golden Blade, because they dared to help us build a free country. What sways me is the image of the terrorists and the separatists, in Xonacatlán, who have brought this death and chaos to our country. And it is those images that have convinced me that the time for discussion, for negotiation, for a hands-off approach have passed."
As the chatter in the Chamber grew louder, Tiacihitli's expression grew flinty, jaw set. "What I propose is simple: that Huenya take every possible and necessary measure to end this unlawful revolt against the Federation. I am calling for a full mobilization of our security and defense forces, to go into these terrorist controlled areas and put down the terrorists and their supporters and restore peace and order to those places. I am further asking to be given emergency powers to pursue the end of this terrorist insurgency with immediacy. This may seem extreme, legislators, but Huenya is indeed in an emergency. These terrorists threaten the very survival of our state. They threaten the peace that has been won between Huenya's peoples, and threaten to unleash ethnic cleansing and nationalist violence upon us all. We must not allow this. The future of Huenya itself is at stake. A full military operation to defeat these terrorists, followed by deployments of prosecutors and investigators from the Special Investigative and Prosecutorial Service to pacify any further terrorist and nationalist sympathies for good, is the only thing that will ensure Huenya's survival at this critical moment. We have just held a free election, and we are on the path to building a free and democratic state. We must not let the terrorists, their separatist allies, and their foreign supporters like Calhualyana derail that effort. We must save our fellow citizens who are trapped in areas controlled by these terrorists. We must save Huenya itself!"
The next words of the Vice-Speaker were drowned out by a tidal wave of cheering and applause. Even those who had previously been jeering Tiacihitli for being weak were now roaring their approval. The following vote of the Chamber of Deputies was a formality. Out of 240 legislators, only 45 - all from the Greens and more leftist parties - voted against the Vice-Speaker's plan. Even the Communist legislators voted in favor, breaking with the leftist bloc.
----
As he watched the live coverage of the vote, the leader of the Golden Blade smiled slightly. Commander Mictlāntēcutli downed a shot of mezcal, then lit a cigar. He watched Tiacihitli speaking at the podium, his smile growing. If you want a war, Vice-Speaker, bring it on. We're waiting.
---
And in Tlālacuetztla, as she watched, Empress Calhualyana turned to her husband. "The idiot took the bait," she told him. Xiyāōtl grinned as he shook his head. "It was pretty predictable, but I'm still surprised."
"I'm not surprised," Calhualyana replied to him. "Everything is proceeding exactly as I planned." And a smile crossed her own face.
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