12-13-2024, 08:04 AM
The Xiomeran Empire found itself in a dilemma.
Prior to December 6th most Xiomeran military planners had thought the Empire's preferred faction, the self-proclaimed Khanate of Taragai under Ebegei Qoriqacha, would win easily. In Taragai's not-quite-a-civil-war-yet, the would-be Khatun's forces were the closest thing to a strong force in the country. The communist forces of the old regime under Chaghagan Khoga were demoralized, cut off from the rest of the world, and backing a regime that wasn't especially popular. The transitional government had lost half its army when Khoga fled to his home region. Taragai's Army hadn't been a serious threat to Xiomera even before the defections, and was even less so when half of its troops scurried off to Khogne. Khoga's forces at least had the benefit of strong and somewhat coherent leadership going for them. In Bor-Öndör, a mix of former communist leaders and inexperienced opposition activists were struggling to form a government, plan elections, and figure out who was going to run the country and how. In short, it was an ideal scenario for Xiomera to do what it did best: roll in when they were unexpected and their foes beset with chaos, mop up, and reap the benefits.
That, however, was before Mizu troops began pouring into eastern Taragai to prop up the transitional government. Suddenly, Xiomera's dream scenario was emerging as a possible nightmare.
When the government of Misumi decided to intervene, there was immediate consternation and debate in Tlālacuetztla. The Ministry of State and Ministry of Security were quite vocal in their we-told-you-so's. Intervening in a state right on the doorstep of several Hesperidan powers was not the same as Xiomeran adventures in Caxcana or Neria. Trying to create a vassal or puppet state within striking range of multiple Hesperidan states would generate a response from someone, they had warned. If it hadn't been the Mizu, it would have been someone else. Which exact Hesperidan state finally decided to stand up to Xiomera (other than sending some money or arms here and there) ultimately had been a coin flip as far as the Xiomeran intelligence and diplomatic communities had been concerned. Someone would. We warned you.
The other side of the internal Imperial debate, however, wasn't interested in said warnings or chiding. We couldn't have been expected to believe anyone would intervene, they argued. This side of the debate consisted of the Imperial General Staff, and a bevy of Empire First-leaning advisors. XCP leaders, Cabinet members and the like. Their attitude was summed up by Camanahuac, the Director of the New Empire Program. Why would we have thought anyone would try to stop us? No one has until now, he reasoned. And in truth, no one had.
As Huenya fought for its life repeatedly, many nations were happy to send arms or money. No one had been willing to match money or gifts with action, though. No one had responded in the one way an Empire respects - with boots on the ground and steel in hands.
As Xiomera set up shop in Roucourt and pillaged its platinum resources with "permission" from the local government, there had been plenty of displeased words from the world's capitals. Words, however, aren't very effective against tanks or warplanes.
When Xiomera responded to Saladian "insults" by occupying their country, taking their government prisoner, and eventually claiming part of their land for the Empire, there were more displeased words from the world's capitals and from LIDUN. But still, nothing more than words.
When Xiomera sent missiles and troops to Kerlile in a direct challenge to Greater Acadia, again, the world shrugged. It's Xiomera. What can you do? seemed to be the attitude of the day.
When Xiomera sent weapons and mercenaries around the world in pursuit of Imperial gains, words continued to outweigh action. Even in Auria, where a coalition had managed to force out Xiomeran mercenaries and the puppet regime they backed, everyone was more than happy to let Xiomera maintain its utterly transparent charade of "not being involved". They're mercenaries, not government forces. We're not responsible, the Empire's leaders said while laughing in the halls of Tlālacuetztla at how eagerly everyone chose to play along with that ludicrous veil rather than actually call Xiomera out and risk a real war.
Yes, the XCP and the generals had finally miscalculated in Taragai. But given what the world had done (and more importantly, not done) in response to Xiomeran actions ever since Calhualyana had come to power, the XCP and the generals collectively shrugged and said can't blame us.
The choice for Calhualyana now was simple: back down, or double down?
The Empress had already backed down once recently, in Huenya. When President Xiadani had threatened to drop a nuke or three on the Palace of Flowers, Calhualyana had to pull back. She believed Xiadani was just crazy enough to do it. As a result of the Xiomerans' pullback, the Golden Blade insurgency collapsed, and the best chance Xiomera might ever have to regain their Huenyan empire slipped through their fingers.
Calhualyana had promised Xiomerans a New Empire. And while she was still immensely popular and powerful at home, neither of those conditions would last forever if she continued to not deliver said empire to Xiomera. Huenya was a setback, and everyone knew it, no matter how much the Ministry of Information tried to spin it. The Empress couldn't back down again, especially not so soon after the debacle in Huenya. Escalating too much, however, could earn her a wider war that was neither desired nor beneficial. After much internal debate, the Empress finally decided.
---
In the western half of Taragai controlled by the "Khanate of Taragai", CSSC mercenaries had been in-country since February. They had been working hard to shore up the Khatun's defenses, get her forces trained and armed, and the infrastructure under her command up to speed. That last bit was the one proving to be the biggest challenge.
Taragai was, quite possibly, the least developed country in the IDU that wasn't Yesteria. Outside the immediate area of the capital, and a single highway leading to the port of Khatgal, there were almost no roads or highways to speak of. Airfields in most of the country were rudimentary at best. High-speed rail? Sort of, if the train was going downhill with a windstorm behind it. (There were also very few rail lines.) Most of Taragai, especially in the west, was a mix of mountains and wide-open steppe with some villages here and there, but that was about it.
Working continuously for the past nine months, CSSC engineers had been working around the clock to expand the vital airfields that were the lifeline for the Xiomeran operation. Züünbayan, Töv and Khongkhortai airfields would be the conduits for continued Xiomeran support of the Khatun's forces. As long as those airfields remained operational and in friendly hands, Xiomera wasn't dead yet in Taragai. Not by a long shot.
Planning their future operations, Xiomera's General Mācalō and Khatun Ebegei's military leaders began arranging their forces along two fronts. Facing the transitional government's lines west of Arvaikheer and Muntsaglan, multiple mingghan would be deployed to block any advance westward. They would be backed by artillery, armor and missiles for both air and ground defense. They would respond if attacked by the government or the Mizu, but would otherwise hold the line.
The Xiomerans would leave the transitional government and its backers alone for now. They had a much easier target in mind.
December 12th
In the early hours of the morning, Khachiin Naranbaatar sighed slightly as he manned his position. The private in the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of the People's Revolutionary Army sat waiting for another day of nothing happening. Since his unit had deployed on behalf of Choghagan Khoga's remaining hardcore communist supporters, they had been waiting for someone to come after them. Anyone. Nothing had happened. For nine months.
Supplies and tempers had grown short, in the long period of nothing happening. Maintaining order in the ranks, not to mention preventing desertion, had become increasingly challenging for the officers and political commissars of the unit. Stuck between the forces of the Khatun and the transitional government in their little pocket, with only the even unfriendlier environment of Lao Sangsong to their south, the remaining loyalists to the TPRP's extremist wing were wondering if there was even a point anymore.
"Don't fall asleep," a bantering voice piped up behind him. Naranbaatar turned with a smile to see Akona Hariwana behind him with a mug of coffee. The Milintican guerrilla was one of the few that had managed to get into Taragai before things back there had gone south. The private took the mug from Hariwana with a grateful smile. "Kind of hard not to. The coffee helps."
Hariwana smirked as she sat next to Naranbaatar with her own coffee. "Better drink it then. Don't want the political officer to catch you sleeping at your stick."
"Post, not stick," Naranbaatar laughed as he gently corrected Hariwana's Taragaian speech. "You've gotten a lot better at speaking Taragaian from when you first got here, but a post is - "
Hariwana suddenly gestured to Naranbaatar to stop talking. She grabbed a pair of battered and old field glasses and raised her head slightly over the wall of their defensive position. As she did so, a soft rumbling could be heard. Naranbaatar got the message, shutting up and looking over the wall with Hariwana. "Movement. We have movement," Hariwana shouted as she looked through the field glasses. Men on horses, backed by armored vehicles, coming over a ridge to the west and advancing rapidly. The soldiers of the 1st Guards and the scattering of Milintican guerrillas began taking positions. As they settled into firing positions, another series of noises began to emerge. Sounds of thunder, and whistling in the air. Hariwana and Naranbaatar ducked with their comrades, as the Xiomerans' contribution to the day began to arrive. Artillery, missiles and mortars began pounding the communist lines. Explosions began to shake the earth beneath them, as smoke filled the air. Through the smoke, Hariwana, Naranbaatar and the others could see the enemy charging at them. Bullets began to whine and pop against the walls of the position, followed by the sound of screaming and shouts. A bullet struck Hariwana in the shoulder, and she fell to the ground with a curse that was definitely not in Taragaian. Naranbaatar crouched next to her, desperately looking for a target.
---
The Xiomeran leadership had decided to try to split the difference in their troublesome dilemma. Rather than tangle with the troublesome transitional government and their foreign backers, it was decided that Xiomera would kick the legs out from under the weakest player in the Taragai situation. Along the entire front west of Khogne and Kharkhorin, the forces of the Khatun launched a major offensive, backed by the Xiomerans. Liquidating as much of the communist enclave as possible, and ideally eliminating Choghagan Khoga, would leave the Khatun and her friends in a much stronger position. It wouldn't hurt to gain control of the airfields in Khogne and Kharkhorin, as well as a bit of rail and road, either.
Prior to December 6th most Xiomeran military planners had thought the Empire's preferred faction, the self-proclaimed Khanate of Taragai under Ebegei Qoriqacha, would win easily. In Taragai's not-quite-a-civil-war-yet, the would-be Khatun's forces were the closest thing to a strong force in the country. The communist forces of the old regime under Chaghagan Khoga were demoralized, cut off from the rest of the world, and backing a regime that wasn't especially popular. The transitional government had lost half its army when Khoga fled to his home region. Taragai's Army hadn't been a serious threat to Xiomera even before the defections, and was even less so when half of its troops scurried off to Khogne. Khoga's forces at least had the benefit of strong and somewhat coherent leadership going for them. In Bor-Öndör, a mix of former communist leaders and inexperienced opposition activists were struggling to form a government, plan elections, and figure out who was going to run the country and how. In short, it was an ideal scenario for Xiomera to do what it did best: roll in when they were unexpected and their foes beset with chaos, mop up, and reap the benefits.
That, however, was before Mizu troops began pouring into eastern Taragai to prop up the transitional government. Suddenly, Xiomera's dream scenario was emerging as a possible nightmare.
When the government of Misumi decided to intervene, there was immediate consternation and debate in Tlālacuetztla. The Ministry of State and Ministry of Security were quite vocal in their we-told-you-so's. Intervening in a state right on the doorstep of several Hesperidan powers was not the same as Xiomeran adventures in Caxcana or Neria. Trying to create a vassal or puppet state within striking range of multiple Hesperidan states would generate a response from someone, they had warned. If it hadn't been the Mizu, it would have been someone else. Which exact Hesperidan state finally decided to stand up to Xiomera (other than sending some money or arms here and there) ultimately had been a coin flip as far as the Xiomeran intelligence and diplomatic communities had been concerned. Someone would. We warned you.
The other side of the internal Imperial debate, however, wasn't interested in said warnings or chiding. We couldn't have been expected to believe anyone would intervene, they argued. This side of the debate consisted of the Imperial General Staff, and a bevy of Empire First-leaning advisors. XCP leaders, Cabinet members and the like. Their attitude was summed up by Camanahuac, the Director of the New Empire Program. Why would we have thought anyone would try to stop us? No one has until now, he reasoned. And in truth, no one had.
As Huenya fought for its life repeatedly, many nations were happy to send arms or money. No one had been willing to match money or gifts with action, though. No one had responded in the one way an Empire respects - with boots on the ground and steel in hands.
As Xiomera set up shop in Roucourt and pillaged its platinum resources with "permission" from the local government, there had been plenty of displeased words from the world's capitals. Words, however, aren't very effective against tanks or warplanes.
When Xiomera responded to Saladian "insults" by occupying their country, taking their government prisoner, and eventually claiming part of their land for the Empire, there were more displeased words from the world's capitals and from LIDUN. But still, nothing more than words.
When Xiomera sent missiles and troops to Kerlile in a direct challenge to Greater Acadia, again, the world shrugged. It's Xiomera. What can you do? seemed to be the attitude of the day.
When Xiomera sent weapons and mercenaries around the world in pursuit of Imperial gains, words continued to outweigh action. Even in Auria, where a coalition had managed to force out Xiomeran mercenaries and the puppet regime they backed, everyone was more than happy to let Xiomera maintain its utterly transparent charade of "not being involved". They're mercenaries, not government forces. We're not responsible, the Empire's leaders said while laughing in the halls of Tlālacuetztla at how eagerly everyone chose to play along with that ludicrous veil rather than actually call Xiomera out and risk a real war.
Yes, the XCP and the generals had finally miscalculated in Taragai. But given what the world had done (and more importantly, not done) in response to Xiomeran actions ever since Calhualyana had come to power, the XCP and the generals collectively shrugged and said can't blame us.
The choice for Calhualyana now was simple: back down, or double down?
The Empress had already backed down once recently, in Huenya. When President Xiadani had threatened to drop a nuke or three on the Palace of Flowers, Calhualyana had to pull back. She believed Xiadani was just crazy enough to do it. As a result of the Xiomerans' pullback, the Golden Blade insurgency collapsed, and the best chance Xiomera might ever have to regain their Huenyan empire slipped through their fingers.
Calhualyana had promised Xiomerans a New Empire. And while she was still immensely popular and powerful at home, neither of those conditions would last forever if she continued to not deliver said empire to Xiomera. Huenya was a setback, and everyone knew it, no matter how much the Ministry of Information tried to spin it. The Empress couldn't back down again, especially not so soon after the debacle in Huenya. Escalating too much, however, could earn her a wider war that was neither desired nor beneficial. After much internal debate, the Empress finally decided.
---
In the western half of Taragai controlled by the "Khanate of Taragai", CSSC mercenaries had been in-country since February. They had been working hard to shore up the Khatun's defenses, get her forces trained and armed, and the infrastructure under her command up to speed. That last bit was the one proving to be the biggest challenge.
Taragai was, quite possibly, the least developed country in the IDU that wasn't Yesteria. Outside the immediate area of the capital, and a single highway leading to the port of Khatgal, there were almost no roads or highways to speak of. Airfields in most of the country were rudimentary at best. High-speed rail? Sort of, if the train was going downhill with a windstorm behind it. (There were also very few rail lines.) Most of Taragai, especially in the west, was a mix of mountains and wide-open steppe with some villages here and there, but that was about it.
Working continuously for the past nine months, CSSC engineers had been working around the clock to expand the vital airfields that were the lifeline for the Xiomeran operation. Züünbayan, Töv and Khongkhortai airfields would be the conduits for continued Xiomeran support of the Khatun's forces. As long as those airfields remained operational and in friendly hands, Xiomera wasn't dead yet in Taragai. Not by a long shot.
Planning their future operations, Xiomera's General Mācalō and Khatun Ebegei's military leaders began arranging their forces along two fronts. Facing the transitional government's lines west of Arvaikheer and Muntsaglan, multiple mingghan would be deployed to block any advance westward. They would be backed by artillery, armor and missiles for both air and ground defense. They would respond if attacked by the government or the Mizu, but would otherwise hold the line.
The Xiomerans would leave the transitional government and its backers alone for now. They had a much easier target in mind.
December 12th
In the early hours of the morning, Khachiin Naranbaatar sighed slightly as he manned his position. The private in the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of the People's Revolutionary Army sat waiting for another day of nothing happening. Since his unit had deployed on behalf of Choghagan Khoga's remaining hardcore communist supporters, they had been waiting for someone to come after them. Anyone. Nothing had happened. For nine months.
Supplies and tempers had grown short, in the long period of nothing happening. Maintaining order in the ranks, not to mention preventing desertion, had become increasingly challenging for the officers and political commissars of the unit. Stuck between the forces of the Khatun and the transitional government in their little pocket, with only the even unfriendlier environment of Lao Sangsong to their south, the remaining loyalists to the TPRP's extremist wing were wondering if there was even a point anymore.
"Don't fall asleep," a bantering voice piped up behind him. Naranbaatar turned with a smile to see Akona Hariwana behind him with a mug of coffee. The Milintican guerrilla was one of the few that had managed to get into Taragai before things back there had gone south. The private took the mug from Hariwana with a grateful smile. "Kind of hard not to. The coffee helps."
Hariwana smirked as she sat next to Naranbaatar with her own coffee. "Better drink it then. Don't want the political officer to catch you sleeping at your stick."
"Post, not stick," Naranbaatar laughed as he gently corrected Hariwana's Taragaian speech. "You've gotten a lot better at speaking Taragaian from when you first got here, but a post is - "
Hariwana suddenly gestured to Naranbaatar to stop talking. She grabbed a pair of battered and old field glasses and raised her head slightly over the wall of their defensive position. As she did so, a soft rumbling could be heard. Naranbaatar got the message, shutting up and looking over the wall with Hariwana. "Movement. We have movement," Hariwana shouted as she looked through the field glasses. Men on horses, backed by armored vehicles, coming over a ridge to the west and advancing rapidly. The soldiers of the 1st Guards and the scattering of Milintican guerrillas began taking positions. As they settled into firing positions, another series of noises began to emerge. Sounds of thunder, and whistling in the air. Hariwana and Naranbaatar ducked with their comrades, as the Xiomerans' contribution to the day began to arrive. Artillery, missiles and mortars began pounding the communist lines. Explosions began to shake the earth beneath them, as smoke filled the air. Through the smoke, Hariwana, Naranbaatar and the others could see the enemy charging at them. Bullets began to whine and pop against the walls of the position, followed by the sound of screaming and shouts. A bullet struck Hariwana in the shoulder, and she fell to the ground with a curse that was definitely not in Taragaian. Naranbaatar crouched next to her, desperately looking for a target.
---
The Xiomeran leadership had decided to try to split the difference in their troublesome dilemma. Rather than tangle with the troublesome transitional government and their foreign backers, it was decided that Xiomera would kick the legs out from under the weakest player in the Taragai situation. Along the entire front west of Khogne and Kharkhorin, the forces of the Khatun launched a major offensive, backed by the Xiomerans. Liquidating as much of the communist enclave as possible, and ideally eliminating Choghagan Khoga, would leave the Khatun and her friends in a much stronger position. It wouldn't hurt to gain control of the airfields in Khogne and Kharkhorin, as well as a bit of rail and road, either.
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