07-13-2026, 05:41 AM
May 20th, 2026
Cuetlancaona was the type of person who preferred to remain laser-focused on his work. That was his temperament in general, and always had been. But ever since becoming FIS Director, that preference had only grown more intense. The work, in his mind, was too important to allow for unnecessary distractions.
It was with great annoyance, then, that the day of May 20th unfolded for him. The most recent poll of likely voters showed that he was still the only person with any chance of defeating President Xiadani. And with Election Day fast approaching, everyone who hoped to defeat her was beating an increasingly desperate path to his door.
The first call came around 8:30 in the morning, when the Director had just started his day. When his assistant told him who was calling, Cuetlancaona sighed internally before asking him to route the call to his office. The videoconference screen came to life. On the screen, Popol and Acxopotl were sitting next to each other. Cuetlancaona always marveled at the difference between the two men. On one side, the burly and bald Acxopotl looked like he was slightly constipated, and angry about it. On the other, the slickly dressed Popol looked like he was about to ask what it would take to put the FIS Director into a new HAV HS-6 SUV today. The Director hid his internal thoughts skillfully, schooling his face to a neutrally polite expression. "Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for the call. I think I know the reason for it."
"Indeed, Director, and thank you for taking our call," Popol replied briskly. He gave a dazzling smile, whitened teeth gleaming as he looked up. "We have been communicating through intermediaries for the past few days, but with our window closing, we felt it was best to have a personal chat."
"Of course. I have no desire to keep you both waiting much longer," Cuetlancaona replied calmly. "But this is a very serious decision, one that has required some thought. I can assure you, I am close to making a final announcement."
"Will that be soon?" Acxopotl rumbled like a stone golem suddenly given the gift of speech. "As Popol stated, the window is closing. We need to know quickly what our plan is going to be, whether or not you accept our offer."
Cuetlancaona's expression sharpened ever so slightly at Acxopotl's pressure. What plan? Without me, you lose, and you both know it, he thought.
Popol's own expression crinkled almost imperceptibly as well, conscious of his would-be partner taking exactly the wrong tack with a man like Cuetlancaona. "Of course, of course. We don't intend to pressure you," he said in a professionally friendly tone. "Please take the time you need, and let us know as soon as you are comfortable what you decide."
Cuetlancaona nodded. "It will be soon, I promise. Later today, or tomorrow at the absolute latest."
With something akin to a more definite timeline given, the two politicians were appeased. With a few more pleasantries and gestures of polite conversation, the call came to an end. Cuetlancaona sighed, and closed his eyes a moment. He then opened them, and began buckling down for the long day of an intelligence director for a nation still dealing with a cold war and random terrorists here and there.
---
The next call came at 7:00 pm. Cuetlancaona had just arrived home from work and told Animitl about the call from the conservative alliance leaders when the phone rang. "Director, I have Deputy Finch and Deputy Yarecapan on the line for you," the evening switchboard operator for FIS said. Cuetlancaona sighed internally, looking over at Animitl. "Go ahead and start a conference call with them, I will take it at my computer here."
Cuetlancaona began walking over to his office. "Private conversation?" Animitl asked. Cuetlancaona thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You might want to sit in on this one, actually. The decision related to it affects us both." The Director pulled up a chair in front of his computer, Animitl settling into another chair next to him.
The video soon turned on at the other end, revealing the two Centrist Coalition leaders. "Good evening, Director. I am sorry to trouble you at this hour," Eileen Finch said. The Huenyan legislator's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in the corners upon seeing Animitl on the call as well. "Good evening as well, ma'am," she said politely as Animitl nodded. "I don't mean to take any time from you or your family. I was just hoping for a moment to discuss our recent offer to share our presidential ticket, and what you thought."
"It's an offer well worth considering," Cuetlancaona said politely. Whether he felt any of the politicians seeking meetings were offering anything worth accepting or not, he still had to work with the Federal Legislature after the election was done. It wouldn't benefit FIS for him to antagonize anyone. Nor would it benefit a possible President Cuetlancaona, if that was the eventual choice.
"I know the conservatives are offering you quite a bit of inducements to take their offer, and that on the surface, they may seem more attractive as a partner. But I do hope you'll consider all the ramifications. The conservatives would lead Huenya in a very bad direction. Acxopotl is so far to the right he makes Xiadani look like a communist. Popol won't be able to restrain him or that wing of their alliance. They will push you to do things that are very dangerous for Huenya and its future. The Centrists are the safest choice for our future. Especially given how Xiadani also keeps pushing the Unificationists further and further right, and doing things domestically and internationally that put Huenya at risk." Finch paused as Yarecapan leaned forward. "Everyone's giving her credit for ending the Golden Blade insurgency, all because she threatened to wage nuclear war with the Empire like a crazy person! You and FIS did far more to end the insurgency than Xiadani did. Hells, the insurgency might never have escalated the way it did if Xiadani hadn't provoked the ethnic Xiomerans the way she did," Yarecapan exclaimed.
Cuetlacaona's expression remained polite, but inwardly he labeled Yarecapan an idiot for repeating that often-used claim by Xiadani's opponents. Yes, the President had made missteps in the run-up to the insurgency fully kicking off. But Cuetlancaona, more than anyone, had seen the intelligence and the data behind it all. The Golden Blade insurgency happened because Calhualyana wanted it to, and would have happened regardless of what Xiadani did or didn't do. You know the Golden Blade insurgency started under Tiacihitli, back when Xiadani was just a legislator like you two, right? Cuetlancaona really wanted to throw that question back at Yarecapan's smug face making his facile point. But instead, he simply nodded in response.
"We are offering you the chance to help restore reasonable and responsible leadership to Huenya," Finch said. "As a Vice-President, you can expand on the pivotal role you already play with FIS."
"That's a point worth considering," Animitl said suddenly. "You're offering my husband the chance to be Vice-President, when the conservatives' alliance is offering to make him President. That doesn't seem like quite an equal offer to me. Why would he accept a lesser role, if you see him as so capable? The Vice-President, let's be honest, mainly exists as a spare for the President in case of emergency. They otherwise stand at a podium, or do ceremonial things. Most people don't even know who our current VP is." Animitl's eyebrow rose. "How's he going to continue to fill a 'pivotal role' when his main job description will be 'wave the Huenyan flag and look pretty' and 'stand inside this In Case of Presidential Emergency, Break Glass box'? I mean, my husband is a rather handsome man if I do say so myself. But the VP slot seems intended to just leverage his popularity and charisma in a way that wins the election, then reduces him to a pretty figurehead while the real decisions are made by others."
Cuetlancaona just managed to keep the polite smile on his face, as the expression on Finch's own congealed into a doggedly civil one. "I can assure you both that I would not allow that to happen. I truly value your insights and the work you do at FIS, Director. That's the kind of advice I really want as President. I do believe that being VP would enable you to deliver that advice and guidance in a more direct pipeline, while giving you the political seasoning and resume for a future presidential bid as a Centrist candidate."
"I appreciate that viewpoint," Cuetlancaona said in the same neutrally polite tone he had been using throughout the call. "And you do raise an interesting offer. I will admit at this point, it is down to either the Centrists or the conservatives' alliance if I decide to run."
That was definitely true. In addition to the Centrists and the conservatives, Cuetlancaona had been busily dodging multiple outreaches and entreaties from just about every player in Huenyan politics, large and small. The Greens and the Communists were the only ones who hadn't bothered. The desperation from the splintered Huenyan opposition to slow down the Unification Party juggernaut was very real. But only two parties had any actual shot at it.
"I am going to talk things further through tonight and make a final decision. Tomorrow I will let everyone know," Cuetlancaona said. While polite, the statement had a tone of finality to it. "I will make an announcement at noon." Seeing that there would be no decision that night, the Centrist leaders ended the call with more polite pleasantries and conversation.
After that final call, Animitl smirked as she looked at Cuetlancaona. "What are you thinking?" An answering smile crossed the Director's face as he told her his decision.
Cuetlancaona was the type of person who preferred to remain laser-focused on his work. That was his temperament in general, and always had been. But ever since becoming FIS Director, that preference had only grown more intense. The work, in his mind, was too important to allow for unnecessary distractions.
It was with great annoyance, then, that the day of May 20th unfolded for him. The most recent poll of likely voters showed that he was still the only person with any chance of defeating President Xiadani. And with Election Day fast approaching, everyone who hoped to defeat her was beating an increasingly desperate path to his door.
The first call came around 8:30 in the morning, when the Director had just started his day. When his assistant told him who was calling, Cuetlancaona sighed internally before asking him to route the call to his office. The videoconference screen came to life. On the screen, Popol and Acxopotl were sitting next to each other. Cuetlancaona always marveled at the difference between the two men. On one side, the burly and bald Acxopotl looked like he was slightly constipated, and angry about it. On the other, the slickly dressed Popol looked like he was about to ask what it would take to put the FIS Director into a new HAV HS-6 SUV today. The Director hid his internal thoughts skillfully, schooling his face to a neutrally polite expression. "Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for the call. I think I know the reason for it."
"Indeed, Director, and thank you for taking our call," Popol replied briskly. He gave a dazzling smile, whitened teeth gleaming as he looked up. "We have been communicating through intermediaries for the past few days, but with our window closing, we felt it was best to have a personal chat."
"Of course. I have no desire to keep you both waiting much longer," Cuetlancaona replied calmly. "But this is a very serious decision, one that has required some thought. I can assure you, I am close to making a final announcement."
"Will that be soon?" Acxopotl rumbled like a stone golem suddenly given the gift of speech. "As Popol stated, the window is closing. We need to know quickly what our plan is going to be, whether or not you accept our offer."
Cuetlancaona's expression sharpened ever so slightly at Acxopotl's pressure. What plan? Without me, you lose, and you both know it, he thought.
Popol's own expression crinkled almost imperceptibly as well, conscious of his would-be partner taking exactly the wrong tack with a man like Cuetlancaona. "Of course, of course. We don't intend to pressure you," he said in a professionally friendly tone. "Please take the time you need, and let us know as soon as you are comfortable what you decide."
Cuetlancaona nodded. "It will be soon, I promise. Later today, or tomorrow at the absolute latest."
With something akin to a more definite timeline given, the two politicians were appeased. With a few more pleasantries and gestures of polite conversation, the call came to an end. Cuetlancaona sighed, and closed his eyes a moment. He then opened them, and began buckling down for the long day of an intelligence director for a nation still dealing with a cold war and random terrorists here and there.
---
The next call came at 7:00 pm. Cuetlancaona had just arrived home from work and told Animitl about the call from the conservative alliance leaders when the phone rang. "Director, I have Deputy Finch and Deputy Yarecapan on the line for you," the evening switchboard operator for FIS said. Cuetlancaona sighed internally, looking over at Animitl. "Go ahead and start a conference call with them, I will take it at my computer here."
Cuetlancaona began walking over to his office. "Private conversation?" Animitl asked. Cuetlancaona thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You might want to sit in on this one, actually. The decision related to it affects us both." The Director pulled up a chair in front of his computer, Animitl settling into another chair next to him.
The video soon turned on at the other end, revealing the two Centrist Coalition leaders. "Good evening, Director. I am sorry to trouble you at this hour," Eileen Finch said. The Huenyan legislator's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in the corners upon seeing Animitl on the call as well. "Good evening as well, ma'am," she said politely as Animitl nodded. "I don't mean to take any time from you or your family. I was just hoping for a moment to discuss our recent offer to share our presidential ticket, and what you thought."
"It's an offer well worth considering," Cuetlancaona said politely. Whether he felt any of the politicians seeking meetings were offering anything worth accepting or not, he still had to work with the Federal Legislature after the election was done. It wouldn't benefit FIS for him to antagonize anyone. Nor would it benefit a possible President Cuetlancaona, if that was the eventual choice.
"I know the conservatives are offering you quite a bit of inducements to take their offer, and that on the surface, they may seem more attractive as a partner. But I do hope you'll consider all the ramifications. The conservatives would lead Huenya in a very bad direction. Acxopotl is so far to the right he makes Xiadani look like a communist. Popol won't be able to restrain him or that wing of their alliance. They will push you to do things that are very dangerous for Huenya and its future. The Centrists are the safest choice for our future. Especially given how Xiadani also keeps pushing the Unificationists further and further right, and doing things domestically and internationally that put Huenya at risk." Finch paused as Yarecapan leaned forward. "Everyone's giving her credit for ending the Golden Blade insurgency, all because she threatened to wage nuclear war with the Empire like a crazy person! You and FIS did far more to end the insurgency than Xiadani did. Hells, the insurgency might never have escalated the way it did if Xiadani hadn't provoked the ethnic Xiomerans the way she did," Yarecapan exclaimed.
Cuetlacaona's expression remained polite, but inwardly he labeled Yarecapan an idiot for repeating that often-used claim by Xiadani's opponents. Yes, the President had made missteps in the run-up to the insurgency fully kicking off. But Cuetlancaona, more than anyone, had seen the intelligence and the data behind it all. The Golden Blade insurgency happened because Calhualyana wanted it to, and would have happened regardless of what Xiadani did or didn't do. You know the Golden Blade insurgency started under Tiacihitli, back when Xiadani was just a legislator like you two, right? Cuetlancaona really wanted to throw that question back at Yarecapan's smug face making his facile point. But instead, he simply nodded in response.
"We are offering you the chance to help restore reasonable and responsible leadership to Huenya," Finch said. "As a Vice-President, you can expand on the pivotal role you already play with FIS."
"That's a point worth considering," Animitl said suddenly. "You're offering my husband the chance to be Vice-President, when the conservatives' alliance is offering to make him President. That doesn't seem like quite an equal offer to me. Why would he accept a lesser role, if you see him as so capable? The Vice-President, let's be honest, mainly exists as a spare for the President in case of emergency. They otherwise stand at a podium, or do ceremonial things. Most people don't even know who our current VP is." Animitl's eyebrow rose. "How's he going to continue to fill a 'pivotal role' when his main job description will be 'wave the Huenyan flag and look pretty' and 'stand inside this In Case of Presidential Emergency, Break Glass box'? I mean, my husband is a rather handsome man if I do say so myself. But the VP slot seems intended to just leverage his popularity and charisma in a way that wins the election, then reduces him to a pretty figurehead while the real decisions are made by others."
Cuetlancaona just managed to keep the polite smile on his face, as the expression on Finch's own congealed into a doggedly civil one. "I can assure you both that I would not allow that to happen. I truly value your insights and the work you do at FIS, Director. That's the kind of advice I really want as President. I do believe that being VP would enable you to deliver that advice and guidance in a more direct pipeline, while giving you the political seasoning and resume for a future presidential bid as a Centrist candidate."
"I appreciate that viewpoint," Cuetlancaona said in the same neutrally polite tone he had been using throughout the call. "And you do raise an interesting offer. I will admit at this point, it is down to either the Centrists or the conservatives' alliance if I decide to run."
That was definitely true. In addition to the Centrists and the conservatives, Cuetlancaona had been busily dodging multiple outreaches and entreaties from just about every player in Huenyan politics, large and small. The Greens and the Communists were the only ones who hadn't bothered. The desperation from the splintered Huenyan opposition to slow down the Unification Party juggernaut was very real. But only two parties had any actual shot at it.
"I am going to talk things further through tonight and make a final decision. Tomorrow I will let everyone know," Cuetlancaona said. While polite, the statement had a tone of finality to it. "I will make an announcement at noon." Seeing that there would be no decision that night, the Centrist leaders ended the call with more polite pleasantries and conversation.
After that final call, Animitl smirked as she looked at Cuetlancaona. "What are you thinking?" An answering smile crossed the Director's face as he told her his decision.
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