09-08-2023, 07:58 PM
September 8th
Palace of Flowers
The military and intelligence advisors to the Empress waited nervously for her arrival at the Chamber of Whispers. It was just over two weeks since Operation Tiquinpopolozque had begun. The more optimistic version of the plans for the operation had expected Huenya to collapse by this time. But even in the most pessimistic version of the plans, some collapse or other had been expected.
Huenya was proving to be far more resilient than expected, much to the annoyance of the Imperial planners. When the incompetent emergency regime under Tianquema had stumbled and faltered, that had been what the Xiomerans had been counting on. No one had expected Texoccoatl to survive his poisoning, however. No one had expected him to then appoint someone to replace Tiacihitli so quickly either.
And what the Xiomerans really hadn't been expecting was the command and competence being demonstrated by Xiadani, the interim Huenyan Vice-Speaker. She was taking far more decisive action than one would expect from a temporary leader. With firm leadership restored at the top of the chain of command, the Huenyan military and security forces had made a 180 degree turnaround from their initial panic and stuggling. They had managed to fight the Golden Blade to a standstill. Now, they were gaining the initiative. It was looking increasingly likely that the terrorist insurgency would fail, unless something radically changed the situation. While the insurgency would still inflict a lot of pain on Huenya and take a long time to fully stamp out, it would not "break the back of Huenya" as the Empress had promised to do.
Unless Calhualyana had another gambit to play.
When the Empress arrived with Telchiuhtli, the head of Imperial Intelligence, everyone else around the table jumped to attention, only sitting down once Calhualyana had done so and waved to indicate they could be seated. General Zinahue of the General Staff, and then Minister of Defense Chuanacoyo, gave their presentations showing the latest status of the insurgency and how things were faring for the Golden Blade. It was not ideal.
But at the end of it, Calhualyana and Telchiuhtli were still smiling. This puzzled the others, until the Empress deigned to explain why. "It is highly amusing to me that the Huenyans thought the first phase, with Tiacihitli and Texoccoatl, was our bid to cut the head off the snake. Doesn't that amuse you, Telchiuhtli?" The intelligence director smirked in response. "Should I explain why this is so amusing, your Majesty?" At Calhualyana's nod, Telchiuhtli gave his own presentation.
And at the end of it, everyone around the table was grinning.
---
Phase three of Operation Tiquinpopolozque was beginning.
Over the next several days, thousands of Xiomeran "volunteers" would begin to infiltrate Huenya across the now porous and contested border, via the Gulf of Epeloc. With the insurgency already stretching them thin, the Huenyans and their Milintican allies would be hard-pressed to stop them all. Unlike the trick with CSSC in Auria, these were actual volunteers. In a country that was army-mad and increasingly brainwashed by a fascist and nationalistic party, such volunteers weren't all that hard to find. Many of them had military experience, and knew how to fight.
Those volunteers would reinforce the Golden Blade insurgents, giving the Huenyans that much more trouble stamping them out. But many more of them would camp out and wait with their insurgent allies.
The final phase of Calhualyana's revenge on Huenya would come soon, and in a direction the Huenyans would never expect.
Palace of Flowers
The military and intelligence advisors to the Empress waited nervously for her arrival at the Chamber of Whispers. It was just over two weeks since Operation Tiquinpopolozque had begun. The more optimistic version of the plans for the operation had expected Huenya to collapse by this time. But even in the most pessimistic version of the plans, some collapse or other had been expected.
Huenya was proving to be far more resilient than expected, much to the annoyance of the Imperial planners. When the incompetent emergency regime under Tianquema had stumbled and faltered, that had been what the Xiomerans had been counting on. No one had expected Texoccoatl to survive his poisoning, however. No one had expected him to then appoint someone to replace Tiacihitli so quickly either.
And what the Xiomerans really hadn't been expecting was the command and competence being demonstrated by Xiadani, the interim Huenyan Vice-Speaker. She was taking far more decisive action than one would expect from a temporary leader. With firm leadership restored at the top of the chain of command, the Huenyan military and security forces had made a 180 degree turnaround from their initial panic and stuggling. They had managed to fight the Golden Blade to a standstill. Now, they were gaining the initiative. It was looking increasingly likely that the terrorist insurgency would fail, unless something radically changed the situation. While the insurgency would still inflict a lot of pain on Huenya and take a long time to fully stamp out, it would not "break the back of Huenya" as the Empress had promised to do.
Unless Calhualyana had another gambit to play.
When the Empress arrived with Telchiuhtli, the head of Imperial Intelligence, everyone else around the table jumped to attention, only sitting down once Calhualyana had done so and waved to indicate they could be seated. General Zinahue of the General Staff, and then Minister of Defense Chuanacoyo, gave their presentations showing the latest status of the insurgency and how things were faring for the Golden Blade. It was not ideal.
But at the end of it, Calhualyana and Telchiuhtli were still smiling. This puzzled the others, until the Empress deigned to explain why. "It is highly amusing to me that the Huenyans thought the first phase, with Tiacihitli and Texoccoatl, was our bid to cut the head off the snake. Doesn't that amuse you, Telchiuhtli?" The intelligence director smirked in response. "Should I explain why this is so amusing, your Majesty?" At Calhualyana's nod, Telchiuhtli gave his own presentation.
And at the end of it, everyone around the table was grinning.
---
Phase three of Operation Tiquinpopolozque was beginning.
Over the next several days, thousands of Xiomeran "volunteers" would begin to infiltrate Huenya across the now porous and contested border, via the Gulf of Epeloc. With the insurgency already stretching them thin, the Huenyans and their Milintican allies would be hard-pressed to stop them all. Unlike the trick with CSSC in Auria, these were actual volunteers. In a country that was army-mad and increasingly brainwashed by a fascist and nationalistic party, such volunteers weren't all that hard to find. Many of them had military experience, and knew how to fight.
Those volunteers would reinforce the Golden Blade insurgents, giving the Huenyans that much more trouble stamping them out. But many more of them would camp out and wait with their insurgent allies.
The final phase of Calhualyana's revenge on Huenya would come soon, and in a direction the Huenyans would never expect.
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