08-26-2025, 08:10 AM
If Imperial Intelligence didn't know better, they would have thought that Neina Arana wanted Xiomera to take over her country.
The Coyoaculhe surveillance plane that the Milintican military had forced to land in Huānoch was, in theory, a serious loss for the Xiomeran Empire. After all, such a plane would have contained a wealth of information and data. Not to mention the sensitive and advanced technology aboard it, which would be risky to have fall into the wrong hands. Then there was the crew, whose own knowledge and experience could be highly valuable to an enemy.
Such a loss would be expected to raise grave concern in Tlālacuetztla. But Imperial Intelligence was, actually, quite pleased.
The plane in question, upon further investigation, would prove to be surprisingly obsolete. The technology aboard was, by Imperial standards, more worthy of a military museum than an active warplane. The "data" aboard was a prime example of the phrase "garbage in, garbage out".
And the "crew" aboard the plane, with the exception of the pilots, were not part of either the Imperial Aerospace Force or Imperial Intelligence. They were, in fact, Warriors of Tezcatlipōca and Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli. The Milintican military had been kind enough to help Xiomera insert twelve highly trained special forces soldiers into one of the most critical bases in the entire Milintican defense network.
Imperial Intelligence, the General Staff, and the Palace of Flowers were very glad that Neina Arana had stolen an election. Because if their plan played out the way the Xiomerans were hoping, it would be the last election Milintica ever had. It would be the last anything that a free, independent Milintica ever did. Arana had played right into their hands. Soon enough, if the Xiomerans' gods were willing, Xiomera would achieve the greatest gain yet for its "New Empire" thanks to the convenient casus belli Arana had given them.
---
But gods or not, there was at least one leader who was determined to save Milintica from itself. And, ideally, to shove a stick into the collective eyes of every Imperial militarist and land-grabber in Tlālacuetztla.
President Xiadani was looking out the windows of the conference chamber at the Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli. In the distance, she could see the new Tiacahuan Tlahlotl rising above the Chuaztlapoc skyline. The glowing blue flame atop the tower cast a strong glow into the sky as twilight approached. She was in the midst of a meeting with her cabinet, and Secretary of State Huitzilhuani was going over the country's latest diplomatic endeavors. "My department is ready to send observers to monitor the referendums in Zongongia. We have put a team together already. Many of them already have experience from monitoring the Milintican elections, so they should be prepared for any wrinkles that may arise," the Secretary said.
"Good. Once we receive permission to send them, go ahead and dispatch them," the President said. "I doubt there will be any issues, since the Zongongians actually want observers there, unlike what we experienced in Milintica."
The Secretary nodded as the President continued. "I'm glad you mentioned Milintica though, because that's our next subject. It's clear from the reports that we have received from FIS that the Imperial regime is gearing up to move on Milintica. Arana was dumb enough to give them an excuse, and unless something happens before the Empire moves, Milintica is toast." Xiadani tapped the table. "We're not going to let that happen. Director Cuetlancaona, we've successfully been able to make contact with the remaining leaders of the MPP who have managed to avoid getting arrested, correct?"
The FIS director nodded. "They've proven receptive to our offers of assistance. Matōchmizalo and Tupai Tapihana, along with other leaders being detained, are about to go on trial. Since Arana and her people may well push to find them guilty of treason and execute them, there are plenty of MPP supporters who would like our help to break them out before a trial actually happens."
"Good. When the time comes, we need to move with maximum speed. I want FIS agents in position to help the MPP supporters get Matōchmizalo and Tapihana out of prison. We'll need to move fast to get them to a safe place. And then, we need to rally support from other countries to put them back in power. Neina Arana stole the election, and stole her place as President. We're going to reverse that. I want our brigade of volunteers ready to be sent to Milintica once things actually blow up. We may need help getting them there, especially if there are Imperial forces trying to move as well. We need to beat them to the punch." The President turned back to Huitzilhuani. "Reach out to our allies in the UCS, as well as anyone else we can convince to give us a hand. We're not asking anyone else to put boots on the ground, we just need some planes or some boats to get our own volunteers there."
The Secretary looked up from her notes. "That might be a hard sell, madam President. Stolen election or not, many governments may be hesitant to help us intervene so directly in the affairs of another sovereign nation. Even if they're not the ones who have to do it themselves."
"Then we have to convince them." Xiadani tapped the table again. "I know that there are many leaders who would prefer to let Milintica reap the rewards of their leaders' stupidity. Or who don't want to challenge Xiomera. Or have qualms about using their power to actually defend freedom and do what is right, instead of simply talking about it. I know that many governments are content to just let things happen and hope they all work out for the best. But we Huenyans, we know that things don't 'just work out'. If you want freedom to prevail, you actually have to fight for it." The President shook her head. "Other nations can choose what role they want to play in the world. But I intend for Huenya to be the world's conscience, if nothing else."
Xiadani smiled slowly. "If nothing else, the chance to thwart Calhualyana's plans and give her a migraine should appeal to some out there." Laughter echoed around the room at that remark. "We all have our tasks and missions to complete. Let's get out there and do them."
As the members of her cabinet filed out of the room, Xiadani looked out the window once more at the shiny new tower dominating the skyline of Chuaztlapoc.
The Coyoaculhe surveillance plane that the Milintican military had forced to land in Huānoch was, in theory, a serious loss for the Xiomeran Empire. After all, such a plane would have contained a wealth of information and data. Not to mention the sensitive and advanced technology aboard it, which would be risky to have fall into the wrong hands. Then there was the crew, whose own knowledge and experience could be highly valuable to an enemy.
Such a loss would be expected to raise grave concern in Tlālacuetztla. But Imperial Intelligence was, actually, quite pleased.
The plane in question, upon further investigation, would prove to be surprisingly obsolete. The technology aboard was, by Imperial standards, more worthy of a military museum than an active warplane. The "data" aboard was a prime example of the phrase "garbage in, garbage out".
And the "crew" aboard the plane, with the exception of the pilots, were not part of either the Imperial Aerospace Force or Imperial Intelligence. They were, in fact, Warriors of Tezcatlipōca and Warriors of Huītzilōpōchtli. The Milintican military had been kind enough to help Xiomera insert twelve highly trained special forces soldiers into one of the most critical bases in the entire Milintican defense network.
Imperial Intelligence, the General Staff, and the Palace of Flowers were very glad that Neina Arana had stolen an election. Because if their plan played out the way the Xiomerans were hoping, it would be the last election Milintica ever had. It would be the last anything that a free, independent Milintica ever did. Arana had played right into their hands. Soon enough, if the Xiomerans' gods were willing, Xiomera would achieve the greatest gain yet for its "New Empire" thanks to the convenient casus belli Arana had given them.
---
But gods or not, there was at least one leader who was determined to save Milintica from itself. And, ideally, to shove a stick into the collective eyes of every Imperial militarist and land-grabber in Tlālacuetztla.
President Xiadani was looking out the windows of the conference chamber at the Tecpancalli Tonaltzintli. In the distance, she could see the new Tiacahuan Tlahlotl rising above the Chuaztlapoc skyline. The glowing blue flame atop the tower cast a strong glow into the sky as twilight approached. She was in the midst of a meeting with her cabinet, and Secretary of State Huitzilhuani was going over the country's latest diplomatic endeavors. "My department is ready to send observers to monitor the referendums in Zongongia. We have put a team together already. Many of them already have experience from monitoring the Milintican elections, so they should be prepared for any wrinkles that may arise," the Secretary said.
"Good. Once we receive permission to send them, go ahead and dispatch them," the President said. "I doubt there will be any issues, since the Zongongians actually want observers there, unlike what we experienced in Milintica."
The Secretary nodded as the President continued. "I'm glad you mentioned Milintica though, because that's our next subject. It's clear from the reports that we have received from FIS that the Imperial regime is gearing up to move on Milintica. Arana was dumb enough to give them an excuse, and unless something happens before the Empire moves, Milintica is toast." Xiadani tapped the table. "We're not going to let that happen. Director Cuetlancaona, we've successfully been able to make contact with the remaining leaders of the MPP who have managed to avoid getting arrested, correct?"
The FIS director nodded. "They've proven receptive to our offers of assistance. Matōchmizalo and Tupai Tapihana, along with other leaders being detained, are about to go on trial. Since Arana and her people may well push to find them guilty of treason and execute them, there are plenty of MPP supporters who would like our help to break them out before a trial actually happens."
"Good. When the time comes, we need to move with maximum speed. I want FIS agents in position to help the MPP supporters get Matōchmizalo and Tapihana out of prison. We'll need to move fast to get them to a safe place. And then, we need to rally support from other countries to put them back in power. Neina Arana stole the election, and stole her place as President. We're going to reverse that. I want our brigade of volunteers ready to be sent to Milintica once things actually blow up. We may need help getting them there, especially if there are Imperial forces trying to move as well. We need to beat them to the punch." The President turned back to Huitzilhuani. "Reach out to our allies in the UCS, as well as anyone else we can convince to give us a hand. We're not asking anyone else to put boots on the ground, we just need some planes or some boats to get our own volunteers there."
The Secretary looked up from her notes. "That might be a hard sell, madam President. Stolen election or not, many governments may be hesitant to help us intervene so directly in the affairs of another sovereign nation. Even if they're not the ones who have to do it themselves."
"Then we have to convince them." Xiadani tapped the table again. "I know that there are many leaders who would prefer to let Milintica reap the rewards of their leaders' stupidity. Or who don't want to challenge Xiomera. Or have qualms about using their power to actually defend freedom and do what is right, instead of simply talking about it. I know that many governments are content to just let things happen and hope they all work out for the best. But we Huenyans, we know that things don't 'just work out'. If you want freedom to prevail, you actually have to fight for it." The President shook her head. "Other nations can choose what role they want to play in the world. But I intend for Huenya to be the world's conscience, if nothing else."
Xiadani smiled slowly. "If nothing else, the chance to thwart Calhualyana's plans and give her a migraine should appeal to some out there." Laughter echoed around the room at that remark. "We all have our tasks and missions to complete. Let's get out there and do them."
As the members of her cabinet filed out of the room, Xiadani looked out the window once more at the shiny new tower dominating the skyline of Chuaztlapoc.
<t></t>