Für ein offnes land

[Zabuza825]

Monday, 16 Treizen, 1581
Vien, Volta

It was at the early morning, only a few hours after dawn broke. It was probably no later than 6 or 7 AM. The streets of Vien at this time were usually only moderately busy, with most people only moving for business reasons. Things had gotten a lot busier compared to before the time Chancellor Ernst Krenz came into power, his gradual relaxing of the state's tight control on the economy allowed for non-state controlled businesses to grow and thus, the early morning was busier than it once was in the past. Life was still hard for the Voltans, but many felt it was getting better even if very slowly.

Around the corner, in a street by brick buildings, a few hundred people gathered. They held signs and waited. They were waiting for other people to arrive, and arrive they did. By the time 8 AM came around, there was probably about 1,000 people there.

Now if this had been before Ernst Krenz became Chancellor, this would have been unthinkable. They would've been shut down by the NSD (Nationaler Sicherheitsdienst) secret-police. But things had changed under Krenz, and protest was being allowed so long as it didn't call for the overthrow of the government.

The 1,000 people that gathered held up signs and began marching down the streets. The signs had statements, ranging from "Constitutional convention - we want it now!" "For an open country with free people!" (Für ein offnes land mit freien menschen). In any case, the march started and the people started walking. They were going to head to the square in front of major political buildings.

As the protesters marched, shouting slogans in favor of greater reforms in Volta, they continued marching. Some people watched them nervously, afraid of government retaliation. Others cheered them on. Police officers they came across, however, just let the march continue. It probably helped that the protesters hadn't made this a secret, something that before Krenz became Chancellor would've spelt a trip to labor camps with 100% certainty.

But things were different now, Chancellor Krenz had tolerated criticism of the government before. And while the government had tolerated small protests in the past, this was something that might provoke a response. And that was what the protesters wanted, but they didn't want violence. Rather, they wanted the Chancellor to hear their voice, they wanted more reforms, and they wanted them soon. They no longer wanted to wait for the promised constitutional convention - which faced delay after delay. These people weren't stupid that the hardliners in the party probably were forcing the delays, but they hoped that showing the Chancellor that they were on his side would push him to make it happen sooner.

Only time would tell how the Chancellor responded.

---

When word came to Ernst Krenz of the protest that started, Krenz was in the Chancellors office. He could immediately imagine the hardliners demanding that it be suppressed with as much force as possible. In fact, that was exactly what the leader of the NSD, Wilhelm Mielke wanted. He was known to be a hardliner, and Krenz had tried to get him replaced in. But it turned out he had quite a bit of connections, so getting rid of him was easier said than done. Krenz was just looking for the perfect opportunity to do so.

The suggestion that Wilhelm made, though was unacceptable. He wanted to crush the protests immediately, but Krenz didn't see any reason to do so.

"These are reactionaries who threaten the very foundation of our government! We must crush them!" Wilhelm said, but Krenz simply shook his hed.

"They are but ordinary people voicing their grievances, they don't threaten the party or the nation." Krenz answered "Let them continue unimpeded, if nothing else we should at least listen to their demands."

Wilhelm fumed, but he had no choice but to let Krenz have his way. Both, however, were looking for an opportunity to seize control.

Krenz, however, needed to get ready for a diplomatic visit to Carpathia to discuss a number of issues (including trade and possible observer status in the Trilateral Alliance) It would be a historic moment, the first time a Voltan Chancellor ever visited Carpathia since the Voltan revolution. It would be the moment that showed Volta was committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy, but the hardliners would hate it.

---

To the surprise of the protest organizers, the protest continued unimpeded. There was no attempt to stop them by police, and aside from the police monitoring them through the protests there was no interference by police. The protesters were satisfied with what they did, and prepared to protest again the next day.

[Zabuza825]

Tuesday, 17 Treizen, 1581
Vien, Volta

Today was another day, and the protesters would continue their plans. Again, the gathered early in the morning, this time numbering a little more than 1,000. Again, they marched into the political square. This time there was a noticeable increase in police presence, but the police allowed the protesters to continue unimpeded. Heck, sometimes the police seemed to help the protesters. When the protesters wanted to cross a large street, the police helped redirect traffic so as to ensure that nobody was hurt. A few people were probably inconvenienced from that, and the protesters offered an apology to those inconvenienced. However, they pressed on, reaching the political square by noon.

Anyone watching the scene would also see something that had not been seen before in Voltan history - some protesters carried with them smartphones and others carried laptops. They took photos and videos of the march. Should someone visit Voltan social media, they would find footage of the protests uploaded. Some would find blogs updated live from the protests. This was something new for Volta, for the first time citizen journalists were operating. Had it not been for the relaxing of censorship under Chancellor Ernst Krenz, this wouldn't have been possible.

But why were the protesters doing this? Simple - the biggest media networks in Volta were still government operated. There was no chance that they would cover the protests. So the protesters simply came up with an alternative method of disseminating the news.

---

When news of this march reached Ernst Krenz, he was concerned. He wasn't angry at the protesters, but more because this was an unexpected occurrence. He was grateful that the protesters supported him, but he was having a hard time keeping the hardliners in the Party at bay as it was. This would only add to that difficulty. Yet Krenz knew that for the reforms in Volta to succeed, the protests must be allowed to continue.

It was for that reason that Wilhelm Mielke was starting to become a bigger and bigger thorn in Krenz's side. With the second day of protests, Mielke demanded to be allowed to send in the police and crush the protests. The only reason Mielke didn't get what he wanted was because Krenz threatened to sign a counter-order instructing police to stand down and allow the protests to continue should Mielke do that.

Mielke had stormed out, and Krenz could tell he was growing angrier and angrier by the minute. Krenz knew that he had to do something to get the protests under control, something to keep them from getting out of hand. He wasn't worried about the protesters doing anything, no Krenz was worried about the hardliners in the Party doing something catastrophic in a desperate attempt to stay in power.

So, Krenz took out his pen and began writing a memo. This memo would be delivered to the Vien City Police. Krenz would also have state-run media publish this memo, and state that this was in response to "small patriotic demonstrations". They wouldn't acknowledge the protests any more than that. And so, Krenz got writing.

Official Statement from the Chancellor of the Socialist Federal Republic of Volta

Many changes have been promised to the people of Volta, and many changes have been delivered. The situation in the country continues to improve, even if there are growing pains in certain areas of the country.

It is for that reason that the minor patriotic demonstrations in support of the Neues System are worthy of being acknowledged, and the concerns of the people addressed.

It is true that I, Chancellor Ernst Krenz, have promised a constitutional convention - one that has not happened yet. It has been in the works for years, but due to internal disagreements within the Communist Party regarding how to proceed it has been continually delayed. The promise has not yet been broken - however it must also be acknowledged that the promise has not been delivered either.

This is a legitimate criticism of the government, and one that must not be ignored. If it is the will of the people that the constitutional convention proceed, then it should proceed.

I urge demonstrators to exercise common sense and restraint in their demonstrations. So far the peaceful behavior of the demonstrators has been exemplary, and I urge demonstrators to continue to be peaceful and respectful.

I also urge the Communist Party and the Federal Assembly to heed the words of these protesters. Their concerns are legitimate, they should be addressed.

Singed,
Ernst Krenz, Chancellor

Once that statement was made, he sent it off to the relevant people. It would be published in a Vien-exclusive newspaper, and even then only in print, alongside the short article. A single copy would also be given to the leaders of the demonstrators. Finally, copies would be distributed to key members of the government, to ensure that everyone knew what was happening and no surprises would be had.

With that done, Krenz moved on to finishing his preparations. The next day he would be heading to Carpathia for a diplomatic visit, and he wanted to make sure that he was prepared.

---

When Wilhelm received the memo, he was furious. This was the last straw, in his view the Chancellor was destroying everything that Volta stood for. By allowing dissent, by loosening government control, by making the power of the hardliners weaker, Wilhelm believed the Chancellor was allowing reactionary forces to gain influence. Not to mention that his own position was in jeopardy.

Knowing that the Chancellor would leave for Carpathia the next day, Wilhelm quietly got into contact with his key allies, all party hardliners who objected to the reforms. He plotted with them, this would be where they make a difference. This would be when they saved Volta from the reactionary and traitorous agenda of Ernst Krenz, and save their own butts in the process.

---

When news of the memo reached the protesters, they were stunned. They saw it in an article written by Christel Schäfer in The Vien Times, a newspaper that only published in the city of Vien. The Chancellor had heard them, and though he didn't explicitly endorse the protests, he acknowledged their statements! This was truly a major turning point for them, indeed. Emboldened, they continued their demonstration and modified their plans a little.

Protesters went home at sunset, and they would return to protest. However, what was a peaceful march would morph into an occupation of Rudolf Thälmann Platz, a town square that was the center of many pro-communist gatherings before the Revolution. However, they had no intensions of being violent. They would simply go there and set up tents and signs, and use it as a center for their demonstrations. They hoped to keep everything peaceful and respectful, just as the Chancellor had asked.

[Zabuza825]

It was early in the morning, the protesters again gathered. This time at Rudolf Thälmann Platz. Their numbers had grown, there was about 1,500 of them now. Every single one of them was ready to demonstrate. They didn't know how long they would stay, they all intended on staying as long as they could. How long that would be was anybody's guess, there was no knowing. All they knew was that they were gathered and they would demonstrate for however long they could.

They had no way of knowing that around the same time the demonstration began, the Chancellor had left Volta for Carpathia, leaving the Vice Chancellor in charge.

Almost as soon as the demonstrations began, the Vien Police had started monitoring the protesters. Unlike last time, interactions weren't cordial. This was the first indication to the protesters that something wasn't right, things weren't the same as the day before.

It was on the morning news broadcast on the radio that people learned the Chancellor had left. Things at the demonstrations became tense. The demonstrators trusted the Chancellor to let the demonstrations continue, it was the other people in the government that they didn't trust. They knew the Vice Chancellor was also a reformist, but they had no idea just how much control he would have.

Would the Vice Chancellor be able to keep the hardliners at bay? Or would the hardliners try to take control? The tense atmosphere that surrounded the police deployment seemed to indicate that the police was being ordered by the hardliners (and the demonstrators were correct to believe that).

Later that afternoon (Vien time), the Chancellor of Volta arrived in Carpathia.

At the same time, Wilhelm Mielke sent a secret letter asking for support for the hardliners from Severyane, in an attempt to take over the government. How far Severyane would go, he didn't know, but he not only asked for a diplomatic note for support, but also a team from Severyane's intelligence to confirm the note (and also hopefully assist in dealing with moderates who might flip to the hardliners, and rather pesky reformers).

Demonstrators continued to occupy Rudolf Thälmann Platz, singing patriotic songs and carrying banners calling for reform.

Meanwhile the hardliners waited for a response, the police would monitor the demonstrations, taking note of anything and everything that could be used to forcefully end the protests.

[Ceausescu]

Carpathia welcomed the Voltan chancellor with a military honor guard and an air show, in which three squadrons of Carpathian fighters and, strangely, a squadron of Monrovian jets, took turns in pulling off a series of complex acrobatic maneuvers and aircraft demonstration. It was a show of force, Carpathia advertising its technology and its support for its allies, to a potential partner. Carpathia wanted to entice Volta to keep buying its aircraft and had brought out its latest and greatest for the display, with the fifth generation X-18A "Broadsword" so-called absolute superiority fighters, a cross between air superiority and multirole, taking the center of the stage. The Broadswords were excellent fighters. Fast, stealthy and highly maneuverable, their biggest downside was a hefty 140 million price tag per unit. Still, the Carpathian military officials excused this by explaining to the Voltan delegation that the X-18A was simply the best jet fighter in the world. And while their chances of convincing Volta to purchase such an expensive aircraft were slim, there was always the possibility that the Voltans would be inclined to buy additional fourth generation fighters from Carpathia, to supplement the X-15's that they had previously acquired.

Carpathia's other asset, was its space program. Carpathian and Monrovian officials had arranged for the Voltan chancellor to take part in a tour of TASA's Cobălceanu cosmodrome, from which the Zenith moon missions were launched. Carpathia was investing heavily in space exploration and with an annual budget of 60 billion, there was no question about the government's commitment to the pursuit of science. The seriousness with which the Carpathian and Monrovian officials discussed the topic, made Carpathia's ambitions of a moon base seem a little more plausible. Although far from completion, the program had moved beyond concept stage, with budgets being allocated and technology already being developed. Just a year ago, TASA had launched an experimental excavator rover, who's purpose was to test the program's capability to create a flat area for future modules to land on.

Carpathia also heavily advertised its impressive industrial capabilities, which placed it amongst the top ten economies in the world. High technology and high-grade steel were Carpathia's best-selling products and Carpathian metallurgy was widely known for producing some of the highest quality alloys in the world. Carpathia was clearly committed to impress the Voltan chancellor and establish a healthy trade relation, a first step towards enticing Volta into joining the Trilateral Alliance.

[Zabuza825]

18 Treizen, 1581

The Carpathian display held mixed results for the Chancellor. He was no doubt impressed in some ways. Carpathian fighters looked excellent, but he wasn't about to  have buy much more of the X-15's (though they would probably buy a small amount) because of the hefty price tag, let alone their newest generation fighters. That's not to say that it didn't stir any thoughts in the Chancellor, since buying them outright wasn't exactly an appealing option he wondered if Volta could eventually develop one of it's own. After all, if Volta could make it's own fighter that was best suited to it's own conditions for a fair price, that seemed like a good option. Would it take years of investment? Definitely. Did Volta have the infrastructure necessary to build it? Maybe, but that wasn't a sure fact. Did Volta have the skilled engineers necessary to design such a aircraft? Not even close. It was for this reason that the Chancellor thought not of purchasing the aircraft, but of expanding state-sponsored student exchange programs between Voltan universities and universities abroad, including those in Carpathia, Severyane, and many other countries. Of course, those exchange programs would be moot if he couldn't also create an environment where intellectuals are able to use the best of their abilities, without fear of political repercussions. All the more reason that his reforms were imperative to the betterment of the Voltan nation.

The space program only impressed the Chancellor a little. Ernst Krenz was a pragmatic man, so while he saw the benefits to scientific advancement, the massive expenses that came with a space program prevented him from putting his full support behind it. In an ideal world where Volta had a massive budget surplus Volta would invest heavily in space. But things in Volta were not that rosy at the moment, thus there was much more pragmatic concerns. That's not to say that the passion that the Carpathians had didn't speak to him, in fact Krenz admired such dedication to science and technological advancement. It moved him, and he wondered if Voltan scientists would carry with them the same passion for their work. Yet he remained weary of spending too much on a space program when development of he economy was a priority. Volta would make it's own space program, the Chancellor knew that for a fact. But throwing the country's full force behind space exploration would have to wait.

It was the last show that interested the Chancellor the most. Trade relations was something that he was definitely interested in developing. Would there be problems in implementing this? Definitely. First and foremost the hardliners weren't about to budge on the sanctions against Carpathia that the old government had instituted decades ago, and they still held considerable sway in the legislature. They probably wouldn't drop sanctions against Carpathia without something in return. Chancellor Krenz was hoping this situation would change after he finally was able to hold the constitutional convention, remove the ban on communist and socialist political parties that strayed away from the official line of the Communist Party of Volta, and finally hold elections that actually gave people with differing views on communism and socialism a platform to voice their concerns.

Through this whole event, the Chancellor carefully considered the possibilities that the Trilateral Alliance offered Volta. He knew for a fact that he did not want to join it as a full member, that would be going too far. It would not only be hard for those on the fence in the Communist Party of Volta to swallow, but ran the risk of completely alienating Volta's ally Severyane, which many in Volta even to this day hold a positive view of. Simply holding this meeting with Carpathia was likely to raise eyebrows in Severyane, so full membership in the Trilateral Alliance was out of the question.

But that didn't mean that the Chancellor didn't want closer relations with the Trilateral Alliance. Indeed, he was much more interested in a sort of observer status than full membership. What exactly such observer status would entail, however, would have to be negotiated, which was why he was here in Carpathia.

With an overall positive view of things, and a determination that rapprochement with Carpathia was the right choice, the Chancellor readied himself for the coming meetings with Carpathian officials. He knew nothing of what was about to happen back in Vien.

---

It was early morning the next day, the demonstrators were eagerly watching the morning news on their smartphones through internet streams (of questionable legality). The morning and evening news had become very popular in Volta, particularly after the state-run news channel Die Volta-Bericht hired Christel Schäfer as a reporter. Christel was a popular figure among the people, she was one of the first reporters on Voltan television to report the real facts of what was happening in Volta. She didn't embellish her stories with communistic jargon and claim that Volta was the best nation in the world for everything, second only to Severyane. No, when there was poverty she reported on poverty. When there was an accident, she told the cold truth about the accident. Christel was one of the few reporters in Volta dedicated to reporting the news without a filter on what she said, the only filter that she had was the state's assignment on what stories to cover.

It was also for this reason that she had made many enemies among the hardliners in the Communist Party of Volta.

And now it was time for them to act. Emboldened by a confirmation of support through a secret diplomatic cable from Severyane, the hardliners made their move during the 7:00 AM news broadcast. It started as if it were normal, with a short instrumental version of the Voltan anthem playing followed by morning greetings. Shortly after the news started, however, there was a sudden interruption. Everyone on the television seemed visibly confused, as if they had heard something. Then, Christel's eye's widened as she stared at something off screen. The broadcast cut off with a scream of "WHO ARE YOU?" from Christel.

Needless to say, the demonstrators were angry. This was a complete reversal of the reforms that had been made by the Chancellor. They started asking questions, demanding to know what happened to the news. The answer came at the evening news.

Die Volta-Bericht was back on, but this time with a news anchor that nobody recognized. He started reading off of a paper in a shaky voice, as if he were being forced to do this against his will.

He spoke about "counterrevolutionary riots" happening in Vien, about how the "riots" were being done by a "small, organized set of subversive elements". He went on about how the "riots" started as "fair demonstrations" but were coopted by "reactionary elements" that planned to execute a "vast conspiracy to plunge Volta into chaos and undo the workers revolution".

This only angered protesters more, but also had an affect that the hardliners didn't anticipate.

Many more people flooded to the demonstrators. This was the evening news, and many people in the nation had tuned in to the evening news after learning about what happened during the morning news. Essentially the whole country had been watching the news that night.

And the whole country had just been informed of the protests happening in Vien.

That night, the demonstrators grew tenfold in numbers. Most of this was from high school and university students who sympathized with the demonstrators and was pushed to show solidarity from the recent movement. The crowd that once only numbered 1,500 now numbered at least 15,000, and it was only set to grow from there. These demonstrators added "Where is Christel?!" and "We are Patriots!" to their plethora of slogans, and that night the chanting of pro-reform slogans and singing of patriotic songs didn't stop until well past midnight.

The hardliners needed to rethink their next move.

[Zabuza825]

19 Treizen, 1581

As morning came, demonstrators again prepared to go. Yet this time they stopped, and instead the demonstrators found themselves in a very different situation. This one wasn't caused by the police or any attempted government crackdown, but the original 1,000 or so people that attended the demonstrations.

They hadn't anticipated the sudden surge in support, and so they called a meeting to better organize themselves. Eventually it was decided that a formal organization to lead the demonstrations was needed, and so they set out to create it.

It took hours, but by 3 PM it was finally established. The Vien Students Autonomous Federation (Vien Studenten Autonome Föderation), with Nikolaus Laberenz being elected it's Chairman in a democratic vote. Nikolaus was known among young Voltans for pushing the boundaries of the new freedoms given by the government, often drawing ire from hardliners within the Communist Party who often lambasted him on growing Voltan social media platforms. Moderates in the Communist Party had mixed feeling about him, and while reformers sympathized with him they were very cautious not to say too much about him. Nikolaus was also simultaneously a critic and supporter of the current Chancellor, praising Ernst Krenz for his progress on Volta's reforms while also maintaining that the change was either too little or was coming too slowly.

Demonstrators spent the rest of the day protesting, while the leadership of the newly-established Vien Students Autonomous Federation discussed what their exact demands would be.

---

This day, the hardliners grew the police presence in the area, but didn't dare make any rash moves. They were still discussing among themselves how to deal with the situation. And now that the demonstrators numbers had grown tenfold, the Communist Party couldn't ignore the issue. An emergency meeting of the Politburo was called by reformists, and two plans to deal with the protests were advanced.

The first was championed by the reformists, and involved three points. First, encourage the students to voluntarily return to class. Secondly, use the police presence to maintain order and prevent rioting, but not to forcefully end the demonstrations. Third, engage in open and civil dialogue with the students and deal with their grievances in future sessions of the National Assembly.

This plan was endorsed by Vice Chancellor Tototl Amsel. But the hardliners weren't going to just accept the reformers plan.

Behind the scenes, Wilhelm Mielke had arranged for hardliners in the Politburo to put forward a plan he had come up with. This plan on it's surface also involved dialogue, but it was to be nothing more than a show. It also involved using police to maintain order, even if it meant forcefully ending the protests. Finally, it stated in no unclear terms that should the demonstrators not leave after attempts at "dialogue" were made, martial law was to be declared and military force used to crush the protests.

An unusual scene played out in the Politburo, with the hardliners openly challenging the Vice Chancellor, calling him "weak" and warning that he would "surrender Volta to reactionary elements". Normally Politburo meeting involved much more civil debate, and less open hostility. It was clear to everyone involved that the hardliners weren't going to back down that easily this time. Not only that, but the hardliners shut down any and all discussion about what happened to Die Volta-Bericht, refusing to talk about the issue and forcing the Politburo to only discuss the demonstrations.

The debate raged for the entire day, with a decision only being reached at the last minute. The decision didn't even settle the debate, it was a compromise that no side was happy with. All it involved was the opening of the possibility of dialogue with the demonstrators, with decisions on whether to act on the demonstrators grievances to be made at another meeting that would happen at a later date.

[Zabuza825]

20 Treizen, 1581

This morning, demonstrators voted on a set of demands. Though the many students that came from all walks of life in Vien had different concerns in their lives, they were able to agree on a set of six demands. These were based upon the concerns that the original demonstrators wanted to protest, and that they wanted done. When the vote was finished, Nikolaus Laberenz made a speech formally announcing their demands.

"My fellow students, comrades from all walks of Vien. We gather here today to have our voices finally be heard. It was years ago that Ernst Krenz was elected Chancellor, and began reforming the country. Boy, how things have changed! We no longer live in perpetual fear, we now live with a hope for the future! Yet the biggest of the reforms, the largest promises, have not been delivered yet.

We gather here today to tell the Party: You have delayed enough! We want what you promised us!

Our demands are nothing more than what the Party, and the Chancellor himself, has promised to deliver to us.

Our demands shall be as follows:

One: pledge to hold a constitutional convention as soon as possible;
Two: Publish information on the income of state leaders and their family members;
Three: Increase funding for education and other social services;
Four: End restrictions on demonstrations in Vien;
Five: Require that official state-run media provide objective coverage;
Six: Admit that the demonstrations are not reactionary in nature."

Now the demands were made known, not only for all demonstrators to know but also for all media reporting on the demonstrations. Now, Nikolaus added on something that he and the other leaders had decided on. It would not be another demand, but rather an offer for dialogue.

"We have presented our demands. I would like to reiterate to the Party: we are not demonstrating against you! We are asking that you give to us what you have promised us! As a token of good faith, I and the other organizers of these demonstrations would like to ask for a chance for dialogue. Let us discuss this, and perhaps we can work out an arrangement that will satisfy both sides. Resolving this situation through mutual dialogue and cooperation, is that not what the Chancellor would want?"

---

Nikolaus's belief that Chancellor Ernst Krenz would want to solve this through dialogue was correct, and that was abundantly clear to everyone in the Politburo. The problem was that the hardliners had no intentions of allowing any real dialogue to happen. Yet it was decided that some form of dialogue would happen, so the Politburo sent a representative to discuss the specifics of the dialogue with the demonstrators.

It was decided that the meeting was to occur on the 24th of Treizen, and it was to be broadcast live on national television. The demonstrators asked that they be treated as equals during the meeting, a request that the reformists fully intended to honor. The hardliners, on the other hand, had no such inclinations. They intended to use the dialogue as an opportunity to lecture the demonstrators and give them a firm warning to disperse.

In any case, at the evening news the announcement of the nationally televised dialogue between the demonstrators and Communist Party officials was made. News of this also spread to Volta, as nobody alive could remember the last time that the government of Volta had engaged in peaceful dialogue with protesters. Before the reforms, non-sanctioned demonstrations would be crushed. After the reforms but before the current demonstrations, protests were allowed but none were at a scale large enough to call for a response like this one. This was as unprecedented as the scale of the demonstrations.

And the demonstrators attempts at dialogue, along with the governments apparent willingness to engage with them, brought more people who were previously weary onto the streets. By the time night came around, the 15,000 demonstrators from the day before had doubled and there was 30,000 students in the streets.

The hardliners, however, weren't idle. In the dark of night, the NSD, dressed as Vien City Police, drove onto the streets and set up roadblocks and checkpoints around the square. A small number of people were allowed to pass, but freedom of movement was severely restricted.

---

21 Treizen

When morning came, the demonstrators were astonished by the roadblocks. They demanded to know what was happening, yet no answer came. News of the roadblocks was censored by official state-run media. Once it became clear the roadblocks weren't going to be reported by state-run media, the demonstrators to again chant "Where is Christel?!" through the entire morning news broadcast of Die Volta-Bericht.

Vien City Police even went out to the scene, but were presented by NSD officers dressed in Vien City Police uniforms with seemingly legitimate orders from the Politburo ordering that the area surrounding the square be "secured for public safety". The Politburo had not issued any such orders, and news of this forged order quickly reached the Politburo.

The reformers demanded answers, yet the hardliners again shut down any discussion on the issue, going so far as to suggest that the orders were "helpful in maintaining order". It was becoming increasingly clear to the reformers that the hardliners would take nothing less than the reformists complete capitulation. If the reformers wanted to advance their reforms, they needed to dig in for a hard fight against the hardliners.

Some reformists began making calls to the Chancellor, who became increasingly concerned. He decided to wait on any decision to cut short his visit to Carpathia, which had been scheduled to be 2-weeks long. Yet, privately, he expressed his some of his concerns with the Carpathian Dictator regarding the situation back in Vien, so that in the event that it was necessary to cut the trip short the Carpathians would hopefully understand.

[Zabuza825]

22 Treizen

This next morning, a large crowd gathered by the roadblocks surrounding the demonstrators. These people were more than just the students. Workers, parents, intellectuals, even Vien City Police gathered to demand an end to the roadblocks. The demonstrators yelled, voicing their anger in no unclear terms. The shouts echoed through the streets.

The voices only quieted when the Chief of Police arrived. He was known to sympathize with the hardliners, but had taken a more tolerant attitude since the Ernst Krenz had become Chancellor. Nobody knew what to expect. He simply walked up to the roadblock and started speaking to the people enforcing it.

"Who gave you orders to block this road?" he asked.

"The orders came from the Politburo itself." the answer came.

"I did not receive any orders from the Politburo."

"That is odd, however we have the orders right here." The forged orders were shown to the Chief of Police, and by all means they appeared legitimate.

"Why would I have not received these orders? Have I been relieved of duty?"

"I do not believe so."

"Would you end this roadblock?"

"No, not without direct orders from the Politburo."

The Chief of Police went silent for a few minutes, then spoke again.

"I do not like my authority as Chief of Police being sidestepped. I will lodge a protest with the Party."

With that, he left the area.

---

The hardliners knew that they could only wait so much longer. Once the Chief of Police made his case, they knew that more in the party would start asking questions. They had to act now.

Immediately, they started pushing within the Politburo for a declaration of martial law and the deployment of the military. They were the most aggressive that they had ever been, calling anyone who didn't agree with them traitors to the country and reactionaries. They confronted anyone who tried to make a form of compromise, members of the Politburo would be forced to take a side. It was either yes to martial law and forcefully putting down the protests, or no to martial law. They were either with the hardliners or against them. The hardliners made sure that no middle ground was available anymore.

The debate raged on, and the question was not resolved at the end. So the Politburo agreed to reconvene the next day.

In the cover of night, moderates sent a message to the Chancellor. His presence was urgently needed.

---

When the message reached Krenz, it wasn't an opportune time. It was morning in Carpathia, and he was with the Dictator talking to the press when the message came. He was slightly annoyed when the aide came to him and whispered into his ear, in full view of the press. But that was before he found out what the message was.

Immediately, he excused himself from the area. Before leaving, Ernst whispered into the ear of the Dictator of Carpathia.

"The situation in Vien has taken a turn for the worse. I must return immediately, or there may be a massacre."