04-05-2026, 02:14 AM
December 1st, 2025
Coltec Corporation, Coltec Defense Huitzitaca Manufacturing Center
Huitzitaca, Xiomera
Security Director Xinya sighed slightly as she looked over the latest incident reports. The attacks on Coltec Defense facilities in recent days had begun to taper down, thankfully. But the Director still had a great deal to do: respond to the incident reports, execute a plan of action in response, mitigate the damage caused by the terrorists who had seemed to emerge out of nowhere.
The sprawling Coltec Defense facilities around the country were responsible for churning out the ground vehicles that powered the Xiomeran war machine. Everything from tiny runabouts to massive main battle tanks and even bigger transports came from Coltec's factories. This particular facility in Huitzitaca produced some of the infantry squad vehicles and utility vehicles the Imperial Army relied on to rapidly move squads into position. Since November 21st, multiple attacks on the Huitzitaca plant and its suppliers had caused the production lines to grind to a near halt. Coltec's internal security teams were finally getting a handle on the situation, but only after millions of quetzals in losses.
The economic losses weren't the only thing that hadn't endeared Xinya and her security colleagues around the company to the Coltec Board of Directors. The corporation had been forced to ask municipal police forces and the Imperial Police for help in getting the situation under control. As embarrassing as that was for the Board and the CEO, it was far more embarrasing for Coltec Security. The open sneering from the police officers on site practically screamed you had one job every time Xinya looked at them. Infuriating. The only thing comforting Xinya and her colleagues was that Coltec Security weren't the only ones dealing with the scorn. Every defense contractor in Xiomera had been hit at the same time, and there was plenty of scorn to go around.
Xinya's review was abruptly interrupted by the door to her office slamming open, as a figure in black and gold marched inside. The door rebounded against the wall, bouncing into Xinya's assistant Mezyaxi as he followed. "Sorry, Director, they wouldn't wait," he sputtered. Xinya waved him down.
"Secure the terminal and associated records," the black-clad person ordered several other people in the same uniforms walking in behind him. He pointed to Xinya's computer as she stood up.
"I am Plant Security Director Xinya. Who are you? What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Although Xinya didn't know the name of the intruder, she recognized his uniform quickly enough and felt a shiver she did her best to hide. "Operations Officer Miahuapin, Imperial Security. I am your replacement. And the 'meaning of this intrusion' is simple. Your forces are incompetent at their job, as demonstrated by how easily terrorists managed to infiltrate your facilities. Coltec Security is being disbanded, and Imperial Security will be responsible for protecting this plant moving forward," the intruder replied.
"On whose authority? Coltec Corporation is a private business concern, not part of the government," Xinya protested.
"Ah, but your 'private business concern' is a vital defense contractor to the Imperial Armed Forces. As such, your entire corporation has been deemed 'essential to national security' by the Empress herself. She has ordered that all essential defense contractors be protected by only Imperial Security moving forward, to keep terrorists from trying to hobble our military in the future. The Imperial Parliament has already given their assent, and your Board of Directors and CEO have agreed to comply." Miahuapin placed a slightly amused emphasis on the word agreed as he handed Xinya over a tablet showing the Imperial Warrant. As Xinya scanned the tablet, the phone on her desk rang. "That's probably your boss with the good news," Miahuapin said smugly.
Xinya dropped the tablet on her desk with a bit more force than was accidental, though just enough to annoy Miahuapin without actually becoming a crime. She picked up the phone, answering it with a grimace. Ueman, the Chief Security Officer for Coatec Corporation, got right into it. "ImpSec is on the way to your facility - "
"They're already here," Xinya snarled, which earned another smirk from Miahuapin. She turned away from the ImpSec officer so she didn't have to see his face, which was growing increasingly punchable to her by the second. Ueman sighed on the other end of the line. "They're taking over operations. We are to stand down and let them do so. Cooperate in every way possible, do not hinder them. The highest levels of the government have made it clear they will arrest anyone who doesn't cooperate."
"Understood," Xinya replied in a tone that made it clear that while she understood the orders, she didn't understand them. She hung up without so much as a goodbye. Xinya pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. When she turned around, Miahuapin was still there. "Shall we review your records together once my team has downloaded them? My own superiors are especially interested in how this plant's security could have been compromised," the ImpSec man said in a tone that was not a request.
---
In similar scenes played out at hundreds of facilities and offices throughout the country, the private security teams for Coltec Defense, SHA Defense and Coatōn Corporation were quickly and quietly rolled up and disbanded. A similar fate awaited the security teams for dozens of the subcontractors that supplied those firms. Private security for the defense contracting industry had been an unforeseen weakness in the Xiomeran war machine. The teams sent in to disrupt those operations to delay an invasion of Milintica had exploited that to good effect.
The Empress did not like weaknesses. Especially ones that tied her hands when she wanted to hit someone. Security for the vital industries that supplied her warriors was not to be trusted to mere private-sector underlings. While Calhualyana did admire the cleverness of those who had found an unexpected vulnerability to attack the Empire, she didnt admire it enough to let it repeat itself.
At military supply depots and storage yards throughout the Empire, a similar investigation was taking place by Imperial Military Intelligence. Any quartermasters or their subordinates who were found wanting would find themselves wishing they were just corporate security instead. After all, in the private sector, getting fired was usually the worst of your concerns. The Imperial military worked differently.
---
Federal Intelligence Service HQ
Garden of the Martyrs and Heroes
Ixtenco, Huenya
Cuetlancaona waited soberly as the wreath was placed next to the flagpole. The two FIS Guard officers who placed it, each dressed in their blue-and-gold dress uniform, turned sharply and saluted the assembled audience before stepping to either side of the podium Cuetlancaona stood at and took a parade rest position.
"We are here to honor those who we lost during Operation Tezcatlipoca," the FIS Director said. "Hundreds of FIS agents and civilians under their leadership went into the heart of the Empire, the implacable enemy of freedom and democracy. They did so to help defend a nation that was not even their own, and whose own people will mostly never know of their sacrifice on behalf of Milintica. Forty-seven of those brave volunteers did not return. Some were lost in action, and some sit in Calhualyana's prisons."
Yarepil, the Director of the Intervention Program, lowered his head briefly in homage to his lost agents as Cuetlancaona continued. "Those who went into Xiomera during this operation may not have been fighting for Huenya, but they were indisputably fighting for its values and what it represents. They went in to ensure another nation and people did not fall under the tyranny of the Empire and lose their freedom, as Huenyans once suffered. For that, we honor them and add their names to the Wall of Memory dedicated to those lost serving in the Intervention Program. As that wall says, Never forget their sacrifice. And we will not."
Standing next to Yarepil, President Xiadani lowered her gaze as well, thinking. Forty-seven lives we paid, to save Milintica from its stupidity. When the time comes to settle the bill with Milintica, I will make damn sure they remember that.
Coltec Corporation, Coltec Defense Huitzitaca Manufacturing Center
Huitzitaca, Xiomera
Security Director Xinya sighed slightly as she looked over the latest incident reports. The attacks on Coltec Defense facilities in recent days had begun to taper down, thankfully. But the Director still had a great deal to do: respond to the incident reports, execute a plan of action in response, mitigate the damage caused by the terrorists who had seemed to emerge out of nowhere.
The sprawling Coltec Defense facilities around the country were responsible for churning out the ground vehicles that powered the Xiomeran war machine. Everything from tiny runabouts to massive main battle tanks and even bigger transports came from Coltec's factories. This particular facility in Huitzitaca produced some of the infantry squad vehicles and utility vehicles the Imperial Army relied on to rapidly move squads into position. Since November 21st, multiple attacks on the Huitzitaca plant and its suppliers had caused the production lines to grind to a near halt. Coltec's internal security teams were finally getting a handle on the situation, but only after millions of quetzals in losses.
The economic losses weren't the only thing that hadn't endeared Xinya and her security colleagues around the company to the Coltec Board of Directors. The corporation had been forced to ask municipal police forces and the Imperial Police for help in getting the situation under control. As embarrassing as that was for the Board and the CEO, it was far more embarrasing for Coltec Security. The open sneering from the police officers on site practically screamed you had one job every time Xinya looked at them. Infuriating. The only thing comforting Xinya and her colleagues was that Coltec Security weren't the only ones dealing with the scorn. Every defense contractor in Xiomera had been hit at the same time, and there was plenty of scorn to go around.
Xinya's review was abruptly interrupted by the door to her office slamming open, as a figure in black and gold marched inside. The door rebounded against the wall, bouncing into Xinya's assistant Mezyaxi as he followed. "Sorry, Director, they wouldn't wait," he sputtered. Xinya waved him down.
"Secure the terminal and associated records," the black-clad person ordered several other people in the same uniforms walking in behind him. He pointed to Xinya's computer as she stood up.
"I am Plant Security Director Xinya. Who are you? What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Although Xinya didn't know the name of the intruder, she recognized his uniform quickly enough and felt a shiver she did her best to hide. "Operations Officer Miahuapin, Imperial Security. I am your replacement. And the 'meaning of this intrusion' is simple. Your forces are incompetent at their job, as demonstrated by how easily terrorists managed to infiltrate your facilities. Coltec Security is being disbanded, and Imperial Security will be responsible for protecting this plant moving forward," the intruder replied.
"On whose authority? Coltec Corporation is a private business concern, not part of the government," Xinya protested.
"Ah, but your 'private business concern' is a vital defense contractor to the Imperial Armed Forces. As such, your entire corporation has been deemed 'essential to national security' by the Empress herself. She has ordered that all essential defense contractors be protected by only Imperial Security moving forward, to keep terrorists from trying to hobble our military in the future. The Imperial Parliament has already given their assent, and your Board of Directors and CEO have agreed to comply." Miahuapin placed a slightly amused emphasis on the word agreed as he handed Xinya over a tablet showing the Imperial Warrant. As Xinya scanned the tablet, the phone on her desk rang. "That's probably your boss with the good news," Miahuapin said smugly.
Xinya dropped the tablet on her desk with a bit more force than was accidental, though just enough to annoy Miahuapin without actually becoming a crime. She picked up the phone, answering it with a grimace. Ueman, the Chief Security Officer for Coatec Corporation, got right into it. "ImpSec is on the way to your facility - "
"They're already here," Xinya snarled, which earned another smirk from Miahuapin. She turned away from the ImpSec officer so she didn't have to see his face, which was growing increasingly punchable to her by the second. Ueman sighed on the other end of the line. "They're taking over operations. We are to stand down and let them do so. Cooperate in every way possible, do not hinder them. The highest levels of the government have made it clear they will arrest anyone who doesn't cooperate."
"Understood," Xinya replied in a tone that made it clear that while she understood the orders, she didn't understand them. She hung up without so much as a goodbye. Xinya pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. When she turned around, Miahuapin was still there. "Shall we review your records together once my team has downloaded them? My own superiors are especially interested in how this plant's security could have been compromised," the ImpSec man said in a tone that was not a request.
---
In similar scenes played out at hundreds of facilities and offices throughout the country, the private security teams for Coltec Defense, SHA Defense and Coatōn Corporation were quickly and quietly rolled up and disbanded. A similar fate awaited the security teams for dozens of the subcontractors that supplied those firms. Private security for the defense contracting industry had been an unforeseen weakness in the Xiomeran war machine. The teams sent in to disrupt those operations to delay an invasion of Milintica had exploited that to good effect.
The Empress did not like weaknesses. Especially ones that tied her hands when she wanted to hit someone. Security for the vital industries that supplied her warriors was not to be trusted to mere private-sector underlings. While Calhualyana did admire the cleverness of those who had found an unexpected vulnerability to attack the Empire, she didnt admire it enough to let it repeat itself.
At military supply depots and storage yards throughout the Empire, a similar investigation was taking place by Imperial Military Intelligence. Any quartermasters or their subordinates who were found wanting would find themselves wishing they were just corporate security instead. After all, in the private sector, getting fired was usually the worst of your concerns. The Imperial military worked differently.
---
Federal Intelligence Service HQ
Garden of the Martyrs and Heroes
Ixtenco, Huenya
Cuetlancaona waited soberly as the wreath was placed next to the flagpole. The two FIS Guard officers who placed it, each dressed in their blue-and-gold dress uniform, turned sharply and saluted the assembled audience before stepping to either side of the podium Cuetlancaona stood at and took a parade rest position.
"We are here to honor those who we lost during Operation Tezcatlipoca," the FIS Director said. "Hundreds of FIS agents and civilians under their leadership went into the heart of the Empire, the implacable enemy of freedom and democracy. They did so to help defend a nation that was not even their own, and whose own people will mostly never know of their sacrifice on behalf of Milintica. Forty-seven of those brave volunteers did not return. Some were lost in action, and some sit in Calhualyana's prisons."
Yarepil, the Director of the Intervention Program, lowered his head briefly in homage to his lost agents as Cuetlancaona continued. "Those who went into Xiomera during this operation may not have been fighting for Huenya, but they were indisputably fighting for its values and what it represents. They went in to ensure another nation and people did not fall under the tyranny of the Empire and lose their freedom, as Huenyans once suffered. For that, we honor them and add their names to the Wall of Memory dedicated to those lost serving in the Intervention Program. As that wall says, Never forget their sacrifice. And we will not."
Standing next to Yarepil, President Xiadani lowered her gaze as well, thinking. Forty-seven lives we paid, to save Milintica from its stupidity. When the time comes to settle the bill with Milintica, I will make damn sure they remember that.
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