Ruination of the Sun

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Aligatag, Mayari

Aligatag had always been considered a sort of haven among other major cities in Mayari - many of which fell victim to the trap of unsustainable population growth during the economic boom of recent decades past. Throughout its time as a bastion of the nation's political neoliberals, it grew to become a model of commercial development and vertical expansion rivaled only by the capital.

To its towers flocked many of the highly mobile and emerging upper middle class, both for business and residential purposes. Meanwhile, to its waterfronts facing the Larrazabal Strait fled tourists mostly from the West to enjoy the warm climate and the many amenities the city's extensive commercialization brought.

Indeed, tourism remained one of the most lucrative industries in Aligatag. It and the rest of Kalisita Island - the largest in Mayari - accounted for almost a fifth of the entire country's share of foreign visitors. The province benefited from this injection of foreigners spending their cash on spirits by the strait or adventures in Kalisita's interior or scuba diving and other aquatic getaways. Although many of the endemic issues Mayari faced such as glaring poverty did not elude Aligatag and its province, progress had managed to crawl enough on the island so as to cement itself as a "progressive city" and a leader of the rest. In most part, again, thanks to the many years of no-holds-barred economic liberalization pursued by the hegemonic Partido Kalayaan (Freedom Party).

Aligatag was the pet project and arguably most successful outcome of PK's commitment to laissez-faire policies. Deregulation, regressive taxation, and an unsatiable desire to attract foreign investment had become the bulwark of Aligatag's bright lights. Yet almost simultaneously, such policies also became the foundation for a thriving underworld of criminality and hedonism seen nowhere else.

Organized crime rings involved in an expansive array of activities from human trafficking to the sale of illegal narcotics subtly pervaded the city and affected the lives of its residents. Lawlessness subtly lay beneath the surface of the posh and the glamorous to paint a dual picture that characterized Aligatag.

Why the ruling Kalayaan administration - both in the city and in the national level - did not tackle these concerning issues was fairly simple.

They were intertwined with it.

---

The black SUV streaked quickly through the main thoroughfare, diverging through an alley shortcut that led to Pinya Street. Although a number of vehicles blared their horns in frustration at the SUV's overspeeding, the traffic aides which manned the roads during the evening knew more than enough that apprehending that one would be more trouble than its worth.

In a short while the SUV stopped in front one of the many restaurant-bars which lined both sides of Pinya Street, one of the less frequented of many red light districts which dotted Aligatag's seedy underbelly. Unlike the more well-known areas such Lawton Plaza, Pinya Street saw much different demographics once the sun set. There weren't as much foreigners in the narrow but long strip of restobars and nightclubs as would be expected, though there were some. Most of the customers of Pinya Street were the locals who had the time and wealth to make use of the city's prostitution rings.

In particular, Pinya Street was the favorite destination of PK's stalwarts in the province - the Mayor of Aligatag himself included. It had a de facto status of exclusivity as a venue to unwind and enjoy for the patrons of the criminal groups which ran the place, and perhaps it was for this reason it was less frequented by possible prying eyes. It would be scandalous after all if the local congressmen, the provincial governor, and the city mayor would be seen with escorts of women by their arms.

The driver of the SUV disembarked, a tall and bald man in a leather jacket and shades. Opening his door, he almost hit a Florinthian who appeared to be in his early twenties. A fresh graduate from university perhaps, enjoying life across the world before being thrust into reality. The foreigner hit the door with the palm of his hand - he seemed somewhat flushed, likely due to copious amount of rum ingested.

"Look before you get out, dude!" yelled the man, a hiccup following. His group of friends, trailing behind, laughed and pulled the drunk foreigner to continue on their barhopping.

But before they could do so, the Florinthian found himself laying flat on the ground. The bald driver had punched him in the nose, shut his door, then proceeded briskly to the passenger side.

From the passenger compartment disembarked a lean man with a grizzled appearance. He had round eyes that drooped heavily, whereas his head of hair as well as his Van Dyke appeared uncombed and sprayed with hair color to hide the gray. He wore a plaid polo shirt, unbuttoned to the last two top buttons, his sleeves rolled up higher than casual.

"What was that?" the lean man questioned upon stepping out of the vehicle. He glanced to his side sharply, although in a few moments he found his vision limited as a minuscule army of young women apparently waiting for his arrival clustered around him. All were giggly, eager to catch the lean man's sight, and those who were close enough repeatedly rubbed themselves against the apple of their eyes. Their outfits were conspicuously scanty in contrast to their concealers and mascaras.

The SUV driver, who was also a bodyguard, answered back. "Nothing, sir".

Alberto Fuentes Hidalgo detached himself from further concern, searching the women around him for his favorite. An eighteen year old who went by the alias "Leonora". His sight catching the lass near the entrance of the establishment they were about to enter, he shook off the rest of the women and walked over to her with arms open for an embrace.

Leonora shrank as Alberto wrapped her in himself, feeling the aged man push up against her frail and petite figure. Leonora was the youngest of the escorts in this particular establishment, and had been abducted from her family of subsistence farmers when she was eight. This was the first time her employers had sent her to work on "the field"; she had previously been working as a camera girl until her coming of age.

"It's good to see you again Nora. Didn't you miss me?" asked Alberto as they parted, an eager smile now plastered across his aged face. The young woman barely made a sound of affirmation, a whisper, although this was enough for her client for tonight.

The President of Mayari erupted into jovial laughter. With a hand on Leonora's shoulder and an imported cigar on the other fetched from his satchel by his bodyguard, he entered the establishment to meet with his compadres.

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Larrazabal, Mayari | 20 Marth 1584

"Ibagsak ang Kalayaang hindi nakatuon sa ikabubuti ng manggagawang Mayar!" (Down with freedom unsuitable for the masses of Mayari!)

"Patalsikin si Hidalgo at ang Ibañez Five!" (Remove Hidalgo and the Ibañez Five!)

The blood curdling cries of hordes of men and women along one of the busiest thoroughfares in downtown Larrazabal echoed several avenues away. Perhaps even enough to reach the Presidential Palace and the ears of the men they hold responsible for their plight.

The call to assemble today was quite spontaneous, but the relative advent of communication technology even in a country such as Mayari had allowed easily these men and women to coalesce. Through the use of text messaging as well as social media, close to a thousand souls managed to depart their homes and arrive in the capital for a half-day program condemning recent actions in the Mayari Congress. The great majority of these protesters belonged to the working and lower middle classes, joined by university students from a similar background, and together they formed a sea of red and yellow that paid no heed to the hustle and bustle of daily city life - much to the dismay of commuters afflicted by the worsened traffic the protest brought about.

Aside from their common socioeconomic statuses, these men and women also counted upon another similarity that bound them together strongly - and that was their association with the Mayari People's Democratic Movement. The MPDM was a broad front of various grassroots organizations that represented a plethora of interests such as national agrarian reform and land distribution, accessibility to education of the poorer youth, and rights for maids and other household helpers. It was a notoriously influential organization in Mayar politics and the bane of the neoliberal government ever since their ascent to power.

Perhaps most notably, the MPDM was the "mainstream" wing of the Communist Party of Mayari. Just twoyears  after the establishment of Mayari as a sovereign state, the first formal manifestation of leftism in the country found itself banned in participating in the process up to today. Unsurprisingly, as the CPM had its roots in Perovist revolutionary thought and thereby felt inclined more to go down the path of violence. It could not simultaneously do so while fielding participants for elections; it fled underground and fully commit itself to armed insurrection.

Yet despite its fledgling popularity during the early years, the CPM eventually dwindled in numbers and in strength. The rather successful disintegration of its ranks by Mayari's internal security forces - armed and trained by external powers with an anti-communist agenda - effectively maimed the party's capability to wage its war. By the 9th electoral cycle in Mayari by 1520, the CPM was effectively gone. Many thought their campaign to be done with, a thorn that had already been dealt with and no longer relevant in contemporary times. The emergence of the MPDM served to disprove otherwise.

The MPDM did not hide its affiliation with the CPM even during its inception, and they had no reason to; the years of its creation and rapid surge in popularity were the heyday of the more moderate and the mainstream leftist party in Mayari, the Sosyalismo at Aksyon (Socialist Action Party). Despite significant ideological splits and different points of origin, the SAP viewed the MPDM with sympathy and thereby struck down legislation forwarded by the other two major parties - the National Party and Kalayaan - to ban it alongside its sister organization the CPM. Well known in national political circles also, however, was the fact that the SAP had much to gain by supporting the growth of the MPDM.

For the leaders of the SAP, the MPDM served to pool their voting base together and to advance their agenda with popular support. The SAP suffered the illness of having formed as an "alternative" to the CPM during Mayari's independence, and for the then revolutionary fervor shaking Mayari, the SAP was regarded as a weak splinter faction despite its lack of affiliation with the CPM. Furthermore, the SAP's founders and leaders were considered to be part of the powerful landowners that exploited the peasantry - then the core of the socialist movement in the predominantly agrarian and newly-independent Mayari. Indeed, the SAP's founder was a titled man himself known as Don Carlos Vestergaard - a man with long Oslan descendants part of the socialist movement only by his conscious rejection of his status and acceptance of the need for political and economic emancipation of his peasants. Had he not been the first major landowner to release his own peasants and subsequently crystallized his vision into a coherent organization, Don Vestergaard would be just like all the rest and would have likely found himself an ardent member of the more conservative NIP.

Even as the SAP lost its mandate to serve beginning with the elections of 1538, the MPDM had managed to entrench itself enough that doing away with it arbitrarily would demolish the credibility of the new NP-Kalayaan coalition government. And so it served thenceforth as the mouthpiece and at times the recruitment ground of the CPM, which made its grand return with a bombing that killed hundreds in 1569. It had limited strength still, though, and could resort only to such terrorist acts to further its cause of overthrowing the neoliberal government in power and establishing a proletarian state. The other side of the coin was the mass agitation spearheaded by the MPDP in increasing frequency against the presidency of Alberto Hidalgo.

On this particular day in Marth, the date of establishment of the MPDM, protesters drew ire from the passage of a bill in Mayari's lower legislative house that would amend - or in their eyes water down - the government's cash transfer program, one of the last forms of social insurance still in existence in Mayari. The passage of the bill represented the victory of Kalayaan's hard line clique of neoliberals under Hidalgo himself, which was more interested in diverting money to the purchase of imports or the improvement of infrastructure - or even to line up their own pockets.

The crowd of protesters, having finished their hour-long march from their point of convergence, now gathered around several leading figures of the MPDM, were centered around a burning effigy of Labor Secretary Hector Nillson while continuing their frenzy of outrage. They occupied nearly half of Romualdez Boulevard at the intersection of Mayari's university belt and Axel Avenue.

Labor Secretary Nillson being the target for today's demonstration did not come as a surprise to anyone. Nillson, a key member of Hidalgo's faction in Congress particularly the upper house, was elevated to the position of Labor Secretary following a cabinet shuffle in 1583. Such a move had been an outrage to the MPDM, as Nillson was the architect of the removal of the remnants of the safety net put in place before Kalayaan seized dominance over the national government back in 1550. He was a veteran politician and arguably the most hated man second only to the president by the throngs of impoverished who relied on government support to sustain their education, healthcare, or even their mere existence.

But he, of course, did not work alone. The aforementioned clique of hard liners in Kalayaan were known as the Ibañez Five, though such a label is misleading; the clique consisted of more than a hundred members of Congress in both houses, a great percentage of Kalayaan party members who have been elected back in 1580. The remaining ones belonged to the so-called social democratic wing of the party, which ironically did not consider themselves as such and therefore have not joined the SAP instead.

Hidalgo's faction was named after Romulo Ibañez, patriarch of one of the oldest landowning families in Mayari. Ibañez was also the President of Eastern Star Holdings from 1535 to 1544 and then again from 1548 to 1570. His brief hiatus from 1544 occurred only during his unsuccessful venture to claim a seat in the Senate. Despite his failed bid, Ibañez found several other ways to imprint his mark on Mayari politics, developing a network of allies in Kalayaan and funding their campaigns in 1550 and beyond. The nearly ninety year old man retired in 1571, although still serves as his real estate empire's honorary chairman.

It was the MPDM which applied this name to Hidalgro's grouping, identifying the President himself alongside Labor Secretary Nillson and three Senators as the "main puppets of the Ibañez-led oligarchy".

As Nillson's deformed effigy finally burnt to the ground, the crowd's attention focused on the first speaker of the program that was now going to commence under the sun. The eyes of the men and women - as well as those of the weary ones of the squads of police beginning to surround the mob - clung to the figure not of the MPDM's local leaders, but a senator of the Democratic Republic.

The stout and girthy senator Crisanto Cortes Jansen seemed to gather his wits about him, gripping firmly a mic given to him by the MPDM's General Secretary moments before. With a full and resonating voice, he addressed his people.

"Citizens of Mayari! We stand now at an important moment that will affect the futures not only of us gathered here, but our sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters. The reactionary administration of President Alberto Hidalgo and his army of big business hacks are on the verge of triumph, in their agenda to end all aid - measly as it is - to the urban poor, the farmer families, and everyone in between. We stand shocked at the existence of such a blatantly anti-people government, but I ask, will we remain immobile as our Democratic Republic transforms into a playground for the rich and a land of the few and not the many?"

The Mayar word for nay was chanted by the crowds, their fists pumped as they continued listening.

Crisanto Cortes Jansen held a special place in the hearts and minds of these people - he was the only senator who came from the SAP. Born to a rice farmer's family as the ninth child, Cortes Jansen's earliest foray into the socialist movement was actually holding a rifle and wearing the armband of the Communist Party of Mayari. Although he had renounced his ties with the CPM by his late twenties and moved on to the SAP, rumors were abound that he continues to act as a sleeper agent of the CPM's alleged infiltration of the SAP. Instead of ruining his credibility, Cortes Jansen found himself endeared by the MPDM - or perhaps precisely because of his connection to the CPM that made the MPDM's people gravitate to him.

But even as a senator of the SAP, his presence and let alone his speech at a function of the MPDM, was considered extreme by his own partymates. Those in the lower house would go as far as to condemn Hidalgo's demolition of social safety nets in party caucuses and in speeches in the floor, but none would dare attend public demonstrations. Unsurprisingly, as many members of the SAP in the halls of power actively distanced themselves nowadays from the MPDM for fear of having their budget allocations by Hidalgo's cabinet and senate taken from them.

Cortes Jansen would continue his tirade with rhetoric reminiscent of the CPM's proclamations, and the demonstration would end up in a confrontation later on. It would be an eventful day in Larrazabal.

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Larrazabal, Mayari | 3 Quartyr 1584

The Yulo Twin Towers were aging structures right smack in the middle of one of the capital's main thoroughfares. It was one of the first commercial skyscrapers raised some years after Mayari's independence, and for a time, it held the distinction of being one of the only such structures in an open field of land. When Larrazabal was just waking up from being a sleepy backwater, as the heart of a new country.

Owned by its namesake the Yulo family, the twin structures were past a hundred years in their existence and had gone through almost a similar number of renovation and maintenance efforts. It stood as a silent guardian facing the strait and the city, even as more skyscrapers propped up all around and essentially dwarfed her in Larrazabal's skyline. Despite it all, it watched the unraveling of much of Mayari's contemporary history, and even today was the beacon of influential men and women throughout.

Originally meant to be a symbol of the wealth of the Mayar-Teiguoese Yulo clan - another of the notable landowning families which transitioned to more lucrative business dealings - in a time where there were very few people capable of contributing to nation building, the two towers went on to serve at various points in time as pricey condominiums, as headquarters for businesses and organizations, and even as an academic institution. All within a span of a hundred years.

Although the family had moved on to greener pastures and more premium land, it retained its significance not merely as an icon of corporate wealth but as the home of Mayari's ruling party. Or at least the first tower did.

The sun was setting upon an expansive sky that possessed a tint of violet this particular day. The blend of colors seemed to cast an omen over the 11th floor, where the office of Kalayaan's top leadership lay in peace and quiet at these hours. That would have been apt usually, but today seemed to be the exception.

There, seated around a glass table, were several prominent names running the show. At its head was a lady with a grey head of hair, albeit not the eldest persona. Assemblywoman Frances Tanchingco, who also held the burden of being Kalayaan's Secretary General since some years before Hidalgo's ascension, stood hunched over the rest of her partymates. A copy of a bill that had passed the National Assembly and a daily tabloid were both in front of the woman.

She spoke, unmoving as her eyes scanned the tabloid, her tone laced with a gravity of seriousness. "What do you plan on doing about this, Vic?"

The man who was addressed sighed. His expression seemed to assert he was at a lost for words, although he found them a few moments after. "It will fail, Frances. And you know exactly why. You and your people."

The Secretary General looked up, catching the man's accusatory glance. Vicente Yang, President of the Senate and party head for the upper house, withdrew almost immediately.

"Mr. Senate President, you seem troubled that I and the rest of my 'minority within the majority', as you said yourself of us, will reject the repeal of Senate Bill number 27."

"Yes, I am indeed troubled Senator Sagaysay, of this indolence and dereliction."

Yang snapped back at the next person to speak, which was Mayari's president from 1574-1580 and now a senator, Jacqueline Sagaysay. A maverick among her own party, Sagaysay was the de facto head of a small but nonetheless significant bloc within Kalayaan itself. There were four senators and at least thirty assemblymen among Kalayaan's share of eighteen senators and two hundred seventy assemblymen in Congress that belonged to that  bloc. And their cooperation with the larger majority in advancing the administration's agenda did not always manifest - at times they even stood against it, like now. Something Hidalgo and his allies in both houses found to be the, arguably, largest stumbling block to their agenda, even more than the opposition in the Socialist Action Party.

"Our facade of unity did not go with a pledge to support the President's legislative plans if I remember well, Senator Yang. Our support for your bid to head the Senate and our abstention from accepting the government's disappointing budget with all its cuts and reallocations are the threshold of our cooperation. Nothing more and nothing less."

Jacqueline gave a thin-lipped smile to the Senate President. The General Elections of 1580 and the years before it had been the turning point of Kalayaan's internal order. Jacqueline Sagaysay, a protege of the first influential Third Way statesman within their party and Mayari's 14th President Raul Giray, had sought to challenge the ruling "big business" faction which had come to dominate Kalayaan by the 1550s. They were the neoliberals who favored fiscal conservatism and globalization, comprised of former or then current men in enterprises and backed by those who were disinterested in directly entering politics.

Lucas Montejo, who became President in 1550-1556 and again in 1562-1568, was the forefather of the grouping and was the one who ushered in Mayari's "era of progress" and Kalayaan's hegemonic rule in the local and national scene. Per capita income doubled, double digit GDP growth became possible for a few years, foreign investment skyrocketed, and a stable and free financial system were established under the man's rule, boosting Kalayaan's popularity and Montejo's faction's power within Kalayaan.

But as the wealth of its leaders grew, so did the tendency for corruption. Montejo's second term was wracked by allegations of betraying the public trust, accepting and giving bribes from major corporations, funding death squads to remove political opponents, and rising violence from the resurgent CPM. For about 12 years this bloc remained outside the reins of power, until 1580 with Hidalgo.

Even then, Hidalgo's election and legitimacy had always been in question - anomalies on the voting process were raised, but were silenced a year after. It was for the irredeemable allegations of the past and present that Sagaysay and her friends had managed to get themselves on the roster of their party's electoral lineup for Congress, even as she was not granted the chance to seek out a second term for herself - something she claims was because of certain forces pulling strings behind the scenes. Today, she was merely repaying the favor the corporate puppet Hidalgo had played on her first.

"I have proposed to Senator Cabral of the Social Welfare and Development Committee to review the repeal and come up with a water-downed version, an amendment of the bill the Assembly passed. I have likewise forwarded a proposal to have Senator Swansen here replace Senator Kalaw in the committee so you can scrutinize the bill on a more...forward basis."

A rotund gentleman with olive skin spoke to Sagaysay, confirming he had been offered a seat in that committee for the first reading of the repeal in the Senate.

"Good of you to have the initiative, Senator Yang. But we have no real reason to hear out, let alone propose to change, this repeal. We will reject it."

"You are a fool, Senator Sagaysay." said Yang, frustration thick on his vice. He remained stiff in his seat, hands clasped still, although he arched his neck to completely look at the woman proving to be a hindrance to the continuation of his president's campaign promises - something Sagaysay knew but perhaps didn't take seriously.

"If your group decides not to vote with the rest of us on the passage of the repeal, then the crows might as well flock to our dead carcasses. Neither me nor you or any of us in this room will see reelection. Kalayaan will disintegrate if you push the fault lines further, and the communists and media will have a field day."

The Senate President paused, taking a breather. The approval rating of Hidalgo's administration had plummeted to a staggering 20%, compared to about 57% during the first few years of his term. This was due to the administration's relentless pursuit of destroying social security, aside from its ineptness in staving off continued allegations of malfeasance. The President's morally dubious habits alongside the men he surrounded himself with proved to be a barrel of endless criticism from the opposition in public and from his detractors within his own party in private.

Senator Sagaysay held her superior's glance steadily, her expression remaining nonchalant as she told him "Kalayaan will be ousted from the Presidential Palace and will lose her majority in Congress the day all of you decided to make that corporate toady stand for the presidency, Senator Yang."

"That was not our choice to make Jacqueline." piped up the voice of the Secretary General once more. Frances Tanchingco had stopped reading her papers, rejoining her colleagues in the discussion. She was still standing, intent on ensuring her authority was clear in any decision to be made.

Tanchingco was one of the assemblymen who were part of Sagaysay's more moderate bloc, and her appointment as Kalayaan's Secretary General was actually the trade off for Sagaysay not being chosen to stand for a second term - a negotiation the senator was deliberately left outside of, much to her chagrin. It was for this reason the senator distrusted Tanchingco even though they shared the same political stance. She sought power as an end instead of a means to an end.

Sagaysay and Yang as well as the other lawmakers sat in silence as their party boss continued.

"The fact of the matter is we indeed stand to lose. We have only two years left. Any hope of salvaging this administration is arguably lost. Rafael, does Bert still visit his whore houses?"

The Vice President of Mayari, seated on the other end of the table across Tanchingco, fixed his circular spectacles as he met the questioning look of the woman. Unlike the President, Rafael Cardenas was a man of humble habits and timid beliefs. Although a businessman by profession, his distaste for hawkish neoliberal policies might have well qualified him as a supporter of Sagaysay.

"Yes. He frequents them often."

"So it seems. Punyeta."

The despair of the party leadership was justified. The conservative National Party had withdrawn support from the administration several months ago, and the majority of their lawmakers in Congress now voted in tandem with the Socialist Action Party to halt the President's demolition job of a system the NP help crafted a couple of decades ago. Negotiation had failed to stem the agitation by the MPDM, which continued to blast the "anti-people's" administration of Alberto Hidalgo, and the President and his allies were unwilling to go down the path of appeasing them. Violence was also not an option, as that would destroy Kalayaan's credibility and would repeat the tragedy of Montejo's downfall during his second term.

Dusk had settled across Larrazabal, five minutes before the seventh hour of the Prime Meridian. A flood of lights lit up Tanchingco's office to bolster the first ones switched on half an hour ago. The next person to speak was the Vice President again, and all attention went to him for his words.

"There is only one other option. We must impeach the President."

Senator Sagaysay's eyes lit up as she heard the word, and seemed ready to jumped in on the idea. She kept herself mum for the mean time, with the Senate President taking the chance to continue.

"What would be the point of that? Aside from achieving nothing, it would be a waste of the valuable time of Congress, Vice President Cardenas, or are you not aware of this?"

"No, it wouldn't be a waste Vic." said Tanchingco, turning to Sagaysay. "Kalayaan moderates in the assembly would make sure the case passes. And Jacqueline, Swanson, Olbert, and Torres will make sure the trial ends in Bert's impeachment."

At this statement the Senate President glared at Sagaysay. He knew enough that the Secretary General would vote in favor herself in this affair, but he directed his fury at the rogue senator. "You would have your President removed from office, and seek the presidency for yourself and undo everything we've done."

"Your phrasing is amusing, Senator Yang. We would be in the affirmative once we succeed in reaching the trial stage, that goes without saying. But allow me to say here and now that I have no need of your endorsement by 1586." the female senator responded.

"The point here is to salvage our political capital, ladies and gentlemen. If we could remove Hidalgo from the Presidential Palace before the second half of this year, then we would have two years to undo everything his administration has done. Of course, restoring previous programs is not an option but at least we can look towards new legislation to quiet the storm before the next electoral season." said the Vice President.

Fears of a power grab by Cardenas were difficult to summon, because he had never been the type to seek higher office for his own gain. Among Kalayaan, he was one of the cleaner and more reliable officials, and an independent one at that. He held the trust of both the party's President and Secretary General for good reason.

"It could be done" voiced the Secretary General solemnly. "On what grounds will he be impeached?"

"Betrayal of the public trust, madame" answered the Vice President.

There was only a nod from Tanchingco and a few hushed whispers from the senators present that were aligned with the president. There were only a few of them present in today's meeting, and they were invited because like Yang they were not necessarily part of Hidalgo's inner faction who enjoyed women and booze at inappropriate times. They supported his agenda however, and were unlikely to back his ousting.

"We're done here. I will see to it that the President is informed of this." stated the Senate President as he gathered his belongings and stood up, his face and voice both stern.

Tanchingco waved her hand dismissively against Yang and the rest of them. "No. I will."

Yang nodded and muttered, spending another second before marching out of the room. There was only the Secretary General, the Vice President, and the Kalayaan moderates in the Senate present. Jacqueline Sagaysay would be the one to have the last word before the meeting adjourned.

"I will get in contact with my nationalist colleagues. They will initiate the proceedings."

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Somewhere in Northern Mayari| 15 Zechyr 1584

The Communist Party of Mayari had always been an enigma to the governments of the Democratic Republic that have been in power for the past couple of decades. Whether it was because of the validity of the CPM's call that these governments were "anti-people" was debatable, but in a sense this rang true for the CPM's survival and even their continued growth in these contemporary times.

As a revolutionary organization steeped in both Perovist thought and homegrown stratagems developed by its foremost theoretician Armando Liwanag, the CPM was by all means unrelenting in pursuit of its goal of toppling Mayari's government - which had been hijacked by both the conservative and liberal elite as it claimed - and completely rebuilding society. It began its "protracted people's war" in the year 1473 well-equipped and surging with volunteers. During the first ten years of its existence, the CPM would claim a membership in its armed wing, the Mayari Peasants Revolutionary Army or MPRA, approaching a hundred thousand. No less impressive was their geographical distribution and the number of small arms they possessed.

The CPM-MPRA's great strength during the inception of Mayari would have taken anyone who never had even a basic understanding of the country's pre-independence history by surprise. It was 1469 when the CPM saw the light of day, as its founder Armando Liwanag had returned from the newly-established Union of Socialist Republics in Marzanna to lead the vanguard against the then primary enemy of the Mayari people; the reactionary Oslan conquerors. Liwanag was one of the forefathers not only of Mayar socialism but also of its independence movement - a fact well-known by her citizens and glorified by the CPM as a mark of their dedication to liberating the nation and the people from the grip of oppression, both foreign and at home.

Liwanag identified himself quite keenly as a radical ever since his days as a student. He was from an upper middle class family, capable enough to send their only son to study in the mother country Oslanburg and to tour Brigidna and Marzanna. Through these foreign incursions his radicalism not only for freedom for his homeland but for reshaping it only grew, as he was first exposed to the seminal work of Perovism - the World on the Yoke of the Worker - in the 1450s. He would return to Mayari in 1460 armed with a burning desire and an ideological basis to see the creation of a new Mayari. The next five years would be spent agitating against an increasingly strict Oslan colonial government, laying down the ground for his vision, and organizing his colleagues - themselves radicalized but middle class and educated - into a coherent independence movement.

His efforts would fail for a number of reasons, the most important of which was the treachery of a recognized Mayar national hero Teobaldo Santa Catalina. Santa Catalina was a fellow agitator for independence, but unlike Liwanag his advocacy was kept secret and he remained content writing blistering attacks on the colonial administration under a pen name. By day he was a common citizen dutifully obeying the Oslan overlords, but by night he was a prolific writer exposing their atrocities. He was, however, virulently anti-communist and was abhorred upon being contacted by the Perovist Liwanag. Needless to say, Armando Liwanag would be made aware of these developments by his stalwart friends, and he would be able to flee Mayari even as these friends of his would be shot by the Oslans.

He would spend the next couple of years back in the USR, self-exiled, and critical of his failures. But Liwanag would not possess his tremendously favorable reputation in Mayari today, even among non-leftists, had he confined himself to self-criticism. He was a persistent man, and while in the USR he would develop a politico-military strand of thought better suited to Mayari's condition as an agrarian nation and as a colonial possession of a foreign master. The peasantry would lead the Mayari war of independence and the subsequent people's revolution against the landlords, his works would proclaim.

He returned in 1469 with his fundamental thesis - by then, the war of independence had already exploded in full. But it was a stalemate that slowly seemed to favor the Oslans with the passing of each month. Liwanag would not tolerate the deplorable situation and quickly adapted his stratagems into practice. This time around, Liwanag did more than agitate and connect with his fellow thinkers; he established the CPM-MPRA in the north of the country and led his army of farmers to battle himself. His land distribution efforts attracted popular support and the ranks of the MPRA swelled greatly.

His guerrilla tactics and directive of starving the major urban centers made him the foe of both the Oslan colonial authorities and the other independence movement, the Alyansang Makabayan or National Alliance - itself the precursor of Independiente y Progreso and today's National Party. But in the long run this directive deprived the colonial authorities and their native soldiers the will to continue bearing arms. Independence had been achieved by 1471.

The road to the people's democratic dictatorship would be long since that point. The CPM would be banned immediately after by the new government dominated by the conservative nationalists led by the first President of Mayari, Abelarde Muñoz. Now, Muñoz was a business magnate who believed the CPM-MPRA and Liwanag would simply step aside quietly and let him and the rest of the wealthy "fathers of the nation" engage in the tasks of running Mayari - but he was mistaken. The CPM-MPRA would not have done so, as it had been in control of many major areas in the north part of the country. They were supported by the people of the areas they liberated, and Liwanag himself had a different vision for his motherland.

In the next year, the CPM-MPRA decided to withdraw and reorganize themselves - rumors of internal splits that splintered the party leadership on their next course of action now that independence had been achieved were widespread among the political elites, which gleefully believed they would not have to contend further with the communists on who would hold the reins of power.

These hopes were dashed in 1473, when Armando Liwanag resurfaced with a still dominant position and a revitalized army. Proclaiming the beginning of the second phase of the "People's War", the formal communist revolution began with a loud bang - the assassination of Muñoz' Vice President and innumerable and surprisingly effective mass risings by CPM cells in several provinces throughout Mayari. It was also during this time that Liwanag clarified the hiatus between 1471 and 1473; a year was given to celebrate the newfound freedom from foreign hegemony, but a year would be enough. The struggle would continue to free Mayari itself from bourgeois hegemony.

The story of Mayari's revolution from that point on could be likened to a typical business cycle, with peaks and troughs. The first two decades of the CPM-MPRA were its most successful and could almost be termed more a civil war than a revolution against an established government. The CPM-MPRA pitted its army of the masses against successive governments of the Independence & Progress Party. Because of their strength and the fact its cadres were battle-hardened veterans of the war for independence, the party chose a confrontational and open warfare strategy instead of a guerrilla one. It worked to great effect in cutting down swathes of their former fellow independence fighters coming from the National Alliance and who were recruited to join Mayari's armed forces, culminating in 1486 with the highly-publicized capture and execution of Mayari's third head of state, President Bartolome Herrera.

Conflict after Herrera's demise would considerably lower, not because the CPM-MPRA was no longer capable of brandishing force, but because Liwanag had achieved his strategic ploy; Herrera's Vice President who succeeded him was an agent of the CPM-MPRA and one of its founders' longest-serving deputies since the last days of Oslan control, a man who went by the name Paulino Andreas Escalante Bjergsen. A spy within the Independence & Progress Party, Bjergsen in collusion with the CPM-MPRA worked out a ceasefire hinged on promises of land reform between them. There was of course, the explicit understanding that hostilities would commence once more if land reform was not sufficient to alleviate the "social cancer" brought about by the landowning class.

The ceasefire was a remarkable event beheld by the people of Mayari and a fantastic instrument used by the CPM-MPRA. For the former, the ceasefire represented the first time that there was truly peace and order in their country and was a sign of better things to come. For the latter, it guaranteed either a complete political victory with Bjergsen working within Mayari's government to pave the way for the CPM seizing the state or a justification to continue the revolution if Bjergsen was removed from the picture before he could engineer the political mechanism into the CPM's favor.

Four years passed and perhaps the greatest twist of fate in the party's history shook not only them but also the nation. In the 1490 General Election, Bjergsen in meeting with the CPM's Politburo renounced his comrades and their extremism and then pursued a second term as the country's president, under the banner of the "revisionist" Socialist Action Party - a legal political organization representing the non-radical left.

Bjergsen had amassed popularity with the Mayar electorate because of the ceasefire and easily defeated his counterpart from the Independence & Progress Party, which itself shattered that year and began its own process of reformation. This move and abuse of the agreement by Bjergsen greatly angered the CPM-MPRA leadership, which called for an immediate resumption of aggression. But perhaps because out of respect for an old comrade or something else entirely, Liwanag - as CPM Chairman - decreed that the ceasefire would hold until they "see what Bjergsen can still do for the Mayar people".

For many historians, this was the straw that would break the camel's back. Liwanag's de facto sanction allowed Bjergsen to proceed with a comprehensive land reform and distribution program, which threatened not only the wealthy families that owed these vast tracts of land but also the revolutionary movement itself; the program managed to entice up to a 15% of the Mayari Peasant's Revolutionary Army to lay down arms, come out of hiding, and be given land. The dreadful state of affairs for the CPM-MPRA was further complicated by their inability to break the ceasefire, as Bjergsen kept his end of the bargain. Liwanag's acclamation of these land reforms were denounced by his fellows in the Politburo, claiming that Liwanag had "grown soft" and was "no longer fit to lead the people's struggle". He was ousted in 1494 and replaced by a close confidant who remained "loyal" to the revolution, Rogelio Infante Kruse.

Having been abandoned by Bjergsen and unable to restart the revolution without incurring a disparaging blow to their image, the CPM under Kruse opted to wait for 1496's election. The traitorous former cadre was well-known in his desire to seek a final and second term (his tenure from 1486-1490 as Herrera's successor not counted), and this was what the CPM targeted. Using their resources and manpower, the CPM succeeded, clandestinely, in discrediting the Socialist Action Party among the working and middle class and giving the win to the inept and immensely unpopular Felix Morayta of the newly-inaugurated National Party.

The MPRA was also responsible for distorting votes in the rural provinces and their other bulwarks, leading the way for Felix Morayta and his party to take the subsequent accusations of vote rigging after their victory.

In 1494, the revolution would fire up again and openly under its new leadership, and in the closing months of 1495 the fragile government of Morayta seemed as if it was about to collapse to the CPM-MPRA's multi-pronged offensives on numerous fronts. Yet when victory seemed nearest would also prove to be the point where it would be even further away from the hands of the party.

The military fortunes of the CPM would be reversed come 1496. Morayta's government did collapse, but not to the forces expected, but to a military coup. Headed by the effective general and anti-communist Lt. General Esteban Coreos Brams, a military junta known as the Council for the Defense of the Motherland was established following the suspension of all branches of government and the constitution. Claiming to gear Mayari into fighting the scourge of revolution, Brams centralized power in the hands of the ten-man council and especially in himself.

Abuses of human rights and nepotism became prevalent in the twenty two years of rule by the Council for the Defense of the Motherland, but credit was due where credit was due; Brams committed himself and his armed forces to destroying the CPM, and he was almost able to during his time as the country's dictator. With physical, logistical, and financial support from foreign powers, Brams became the only leader of the country who came very near to putting out the flames of revolution.

Yet the party was a persistent force embedded in the nation's history. Like its founder, the CPM-MPRA did not concern itself with unnecessary self-criticism; it simply fled and hid again as it licked its wounds, aided by the people it fought for, with a vow to return one day.

---

"And so did we return in 1563, when that comprador fool Lucas Montejo obtained the highest office of the land. We were revitalized after many decades of inactivity. Though hidden and having suffered many leadership changes, our cause was never lost in our minds and hearts and our people never wayward in their belief of achieving our final success. You joined in the middle of that period after you dropped high school, remember?"

Lahud Akijal Kiram shared a moment of recollection and a laugh with Senator Crisanto Cortes Jansen - an unusual sight for many of the young cadres-in-training and soldiers of the MPRA around them. Why a senator of the Democratic Republic was in one of the hidden camps of the CPM was certainly odd, but only for those who have not been with the party for long enough, or those who were uninformed of the diverse roster of individuals who called (and who still call) the CPM their home.

"Yes. 1549, just like but not quite the same as the great chairman" said Jansen, followed by another chuckle between friends. Kiram and the senator were longtime colleagues during the CPM's longest hiatus, from 1520 to 1563. Jansen joined the MPRA as a conscript in 1549, where he met Kiram who was two years his senior and was a trainee cadre in the CPM. Although their respective paths divulged with the passing of the decades, they maintained more than respect for each other in the same vein Liwanag did for Bjergsen.

But unlike that comparison, Jansen was not considered a turncoat either by Kiram or anyone in the CPM who knew the truth. In fact, the very reason Jansen was not only allowed but also welcome within the party was because he was still part of the party - something only its leaders and military commanders, and the senator's friends within the revolution, knew.

Contrary to popular allegations, he never severed ties with the CPM upon his arrest and subsequent joining of the Socialist Action Party in 1558. He was an important component of the ongoing people's war against the neoliberal government of Kalayaan, especially given his proximity to Mayari's top leaders from all parties and his favor with the masses. In fact, this man was geared to become Mayari's President once the CPM was in power - and that moment inched closer with each passing day and with each problem that arose in Congress and the Hidalgo administration.

The two communists sat at an old rattan bench outside of a sizable bamboo cottage adorned with a flag of the hammer and sickle. Rain over the previous days had made the ground in this camp, straddling the border with Hoinom, muddy. In front of them, a platoon of recruits in their training were being drilled by their commanding officer.

The place was large, laying at the base of a hill that was prone to erosions during the monsoon season. There were many cottages and barracks, an armory and a depot for motorcycles, and even an observation post hugging the hillside itself. A store for food and other supplies and also a granary were present, mainly for the feeding program the CPM ran for the nearby Taosheg villages. Supporting local populations too isolated or simply ignored by the government was a key pillar of the CPM in getting these people to become part of the mass line.

Another remarkable fact about the camp was the composition of its resident soldiers and cadres. Northern Mayari was home to the ethnic Taoshegs, the second-largest ethnic group and the main adherents of Akhadism in the country. The Akhadist Taoshegs, long marginalized by their Salay brothers, were important supporters of the CPM.

"So what exactly are you doing here Crisanto? I hear your work in the senate has been taxing as of late." remarked Kiram, watching his soldiers as he did so.

"Indeed it has. But that's exactly my reason. Senator Sagaysay is going rogue and has approached me and the National Party with a proposal to impeach Hidalgo"

Kiram looked at his friend, brow cocked. He told Jansen a few seconds later "So they're finally cracking. And what do you and the revisionist forces in the SAP will do about it?"

Kiram, long a farmer and a revolutionary fighter and unaware of the workings of mainstream politics, was surprised to hear Jansen's answer.

"As you know, I've been made head of the SAP's group in the Senate." Jansen began. "The remaining four will vote on whatever my decision will be, although I'm obviously encouraged to support the impeachment. But I have some alternative thoughts on what could possibly be done....and I need to discuss them with the Politburo before the NP formally begins the proceedings next month".

Jansen was long-held by the people who knew his affiliation with the CPM to be an independent actor, not mandated to follow whatever orders the party leadership decrees and free to tailor his actions as part of the legal political mechanism. His only role as viewed by his communist colleagues was to be a spy, an informant, and when the revolution reaches success within this lifetime, to become the symbolic head of a state of a new Mayari.

"And what are these thoughts?" inquired Kiram. His sight darted quickly to an offroad jeepney driving at their direction. It was tailed by two trucks bearing the markings of the MPRA's elite division, the Red Brigade or Pulang Bagani in Mayar. The Politburo was here.

Jansen noticed this too,  but gave an answer first.

"We could remove Mayari's entire government in one fell swoop, comrade."

The senator smiled and bid his friend, who was left wondering in thought as to what exactly was in Jansen's mind, farewell. There were other individuals in the party that needed to be informed of what was happening, and so a decision could be made whether the revolution would finally end in Septem or would last even longer.

[Adwest]

Ricarte, Mayari | 6 Alvan 1600

The afternoon sun peeked at the land from its perch in the sky. As it did so, a cool breeze came to pass every couple of minutes, lightening the mood of those who had to be outside on the first Friday of the year. Summer had descended upon Mayari and the rest of the southern hemisphere about a month ago, and the heatwave, as usual, did not find much welcoming from those living in the tropics. Disdain could not also be used as a word to describe the natives' attitude to the climate, as they had been enduring it for the entirety of their existence. It was a fact of life in Mayari, and so was political instability, at least for the past two decades.

The attempted impeachment attempt of Alberto Hidalgo in Ochtyr1584 was botched. In the end, the maverick Sagaysay was betrayed by her allies in the crucial vote demanding a two-thirds majority to oust a sitting president. Further blocking this attempt was an even split among the senators from the National Party. All of this was machinated by Vicente Yang, the president of the senate and the eyes, ears, and hands of Hidalgo in that chamber of the legislature. The Socialist Action Party's senators were the only ones that provided a straight vote, all in favor of the impeachment, resulting in a 14-9 vote. This was short of just two votes more in order to cement the demise of a man already despised by many. Political deadlock followed through, paralyzing the Congress over important and controversial legislation for the rest of the year.

Hidalgo's inner circle proved more venomous than their boss, especially as they bared their fangs and bit their enemies. Within Mayari's police forces, Vidar Agustin Brams - kin of Mayari's former military strongman Esteban Brams - oversaw the liquidation of more direct threats to the president. This included the kidnapping and murder of Senator Crisanto Cortes Jansen in Alvan 1585, and his exposure as agent of the Communist Party of Mayari. It was an unpublished execution that, while causing an uproar among the populace, contributed to the internal combustion of the Socialist Action Party. With the other parties in disarray and his enemies inside his own party weakened, Hidalgo seized the moment - declaring nationwide Martial Law in Treizen 1585.

Possessing neither the political acumen to foresee what was next nor the charisma to regain and let alone inspire popular support, Hidalgo would eventually fall a year later. 1586 was supposedly an election year, and with weak grounds to sustain a climate of authoritarianism, the rest of the country's remaining leaders, all hailing ironically from a party with "freedom" on its name, opted to revert the situation back to the way it was. The overarching threat of the CPM and its armed wing, the Mayari Peasant's Revolutionary Army, loomed still over the nation, but to deal with this had to see the ousting of Hidalgo and the untangling of the political process from dictatorship. The soft approach had both a historical and pragmatic basis; the shocking fighting efficiency and increased ranks of the CPM-MPRA was slowly gaining ground against an increasingly demoralized military, and a new administration needed to preserve what remained of their fighting strength to even begin negotiations. Continuing the fight was not an option, although nobody said this out in the open.

To this end, Hidalgo had been forced, at gunpoint, by his own supporters, to step down from his post. He was replaced not by another mere politician, but a member of his party who served as the Director General of the Mayari National Police. This was none other than Brams himself.

A relatively colorless individual, Brams saw himself as a soldier through and through. His lineage was not alien to the political arena, but he was well aware of the tragedy his grandfather wrought upon himself and the nation in his crusade to purge Perovism in Mayari. He ingrained a key lesson since his youth, that to fight an idea one should refrain from relying solely on force, even if its fanatics knew nothing but the language of violence. That was what propelled him to accept the offer of his comrades to head Mayari's transition not merely to normalcy, but to a final solution of the country's longstanding ills; that of revolution.

Fourteen years later, neither had been achieved with resounding success.

The ban on political parties had been lifted in 1588, with only the SAP remaining repressed due to the Cortes Jansen affair. Immediately succeeding this, fresh elections for a new National Assembly - the lower house of Congress - and for local government posts were called, with the exception of provincial governors. Appointees became the norm for those seats, in addition to Brams and his clique's monopoly on the upper house of Congress. The judiciary remained empty and the writ of habeas corpus suspended until 1591. Political detainees prior to 1586 were, however, still in state custody, and the armed forces and police retain their power to arbitrary arrest. Civic organizations remained banned until 1595. All the while as the revolution swept through large swathes of Mayari.

To help restore national stability, the administration turned to the outside. In fact, the measures it undertook to relax control were partly inspired by the hopes of gaining bilateral assistance to deal with the insurgency. Nyland, among others, proved to be a credible benefactor - providing weapons at a discount as well as military training. This was a boon for the administration's efforts, until the Freedom Party lost its commanding majority in the lower house to nationalist forces, following a general election in 1594. By 1595, Brams was forced to declare a policy of international non-alignment, rescinding all defense agreements with all countries it had them. The only significant ties it maintained were with the West Brigidnan Union, Tieguo, and neighboring Hoinom, another Ostaran state afflicted by internal strife.

The circumstances of time were perpetually shifting. But Vidar Brams had the rest of his life to see this to the end, however bitter it would be.

---

The elderly and bespectacled head of state clutched the handle of his ceramic mug tightly, afraid of letting go of it and smashing the china on the wooden floor. He was in the kitchen of his ancestral home, in the sleepy town of Ricarte, a couple of hours and two provinces away from Larrazabal in western Mayari. The three-story house, built during the late colonial period of the country, was a fine example of Oslan architecture manifested by way of native materials. Coconut in particular.

Its rich history gave Brams a sense of purpose, as he recalled the most significant names to have graced these near ancient halls, to have strolled through its expansive gardens in deep thought of not only the family's fortunes, but also of the nation. The first to come to mind was naturally his grandfather, the tall, blustering, and decisive Esteban, although others less prominent also made their presence felt. Another one was the independence fighter and a founding member of the National Independence Party, Patiño.

Their influence and contributions to the nation were doubtless many, but Vidar did not allow this to pressure him, to leave a legacy, or achieve something that would make him a staple in Mayari's history books. He did not long for such acclaim, but only to do what he was asked to do. He had no Messianic illusions over himself, making decisions by consensus with his advisers and subordinates. Likewise, he was possessed of no strong ideological leanings. Although a member of the Freedom Party as far back as the 1570s, he felt the remaining reins of control necessary to achieve peace and stability, a trait not many of his partymates share. Nonetheless, there has been no challenge to his leadership for more than a decade from within, a reminder that his mandate was still on track.

"Sir, your guests have arrived."

A young aide appeared on the doorway to the kitchen, his head bowed as he delivered his message.

Brams nodded, took the mug for a final swig of black coffee, then placed it back on the counter beside an ornamental sugar jug. With the same hand, he took his cane and took steady steps to the foyer of the old mansion. Upon arriving, his eyes darted to two starkly contrasting figures he already knew by name.

The first was a balding, middle-aged man, perhaps two decades the junior of Brams. He was garbed in a plain green long-sleeve and trousers that were a bit worse for wear. He seemed unassuming, a characteristic the president could work with, despite the fact that he wore an armband with a design that could only belong to the CPM-MPRA.

The second person was a lass, who stood just beside the first one and who also wore a similar armband. Brams estimated her to be a fresh graduate from university, or a few years from that. She had sharp eyes and seemed to the president a person of aggression. She wore a black jacket over a violently scarlet-hued tank top and denim jeans.

"Welcome to Ricarte, and to my home" began Brams, summoning a barely visible smile, as he offered a hand first to the man and the young woman. The former spoke in response.

"Thank you, Mr. Brams. I am Ulesis Tennfjord, Secretary General of the Mayari Trade Union Federation." said he. The man made to introduce his companion, although she spoke first, all the while denying the hand of the president.

"Penelope Cortes Jansen, daughter of the late great senator of the same name. President of the National Union of Students of Mayari."

The young woman's eyes defiantly met that of Brams. He was well-aware of this girl's antics and endeavors. She was but a simple student finishing her degree in Biology at a state university in the provinces, uninvolved in politics due to her father's own advice. After Crisanto's enforced disappearance in Brams hands more than a decade ago, his daughter and sons took it upon themselves to join the deceased revolutionary's cause. As fate would have it, she stood there now at the head of the youth sector of Mayari.

The Mayari Trade Union Federation and the National Union of Students of Mayari were member-organizations of the recently "unbanned" Mayari People's Democratic Movement, itself the de facto negotiating wing of the Communist Party of Mayari. Today's meeting was of the informal sort, but whose subject matter was something that Brams hoped would be the first stepping stone to ending this insurgency and making the rest of their people lay down their arms. The president knew these two people were the closest to actual delegates the CPM would send to him, refusing to engage in direct talks as they perceived they had the upper hand in the conflict. From a tactical perspective, this was not very far from the truth, and there was an urgency for the administration to strike an agreement with the CPM before the scales could tip even more.

Following this brief exchange, the three proceeded and sat in the mansion's guest hall, where a fine portrait of Esteban Brams hung at one end of the walls. Both guests saw this, although refused to pay it attention. The young woman merely sighed as they took their seats.

"Why did you call us here today? And only us, and only you?"

The question immediately flew off the mouth of the lass, stern. Tennfjord made no effort to stop her, glancing only in her direction before refocusing his attention to Brams. It was a legitimate question after all.

The president looked at her, as if studying her demeanor, and spoke. "I have an offer that I know can get to the leadership of the Communist Party of Mayari. For the benefit of everyone."

Cortes Jansen was quick to interject. "Anything you wish to offer or say will only be heard by the MPDM if you free our comrades from prison, as a preliminary gesture of goodwill, and then to step down to a new, elected government of national unity headed by the MPDM."

Those last words were a catchphrase that revolutionaries under cover always used, as its real meaning was a government under the CPM, a single-party "proletarian" state. Brams had not spent years in the police without picking this up. Surrender was not an option. As for the "political prisoners" she mentioned, those were all red fighters of the MPRA. Veteran fighters, numbering close to a hundred. The president knew Cortes Jansen would only shut him down, so he continued with what he and his cohorts had devised.

"My administration will be conducting presidential elections before the end of this year. I will seek election under the banner of Kalayaan, and we will permit one candidate for each major political party, including the SAP. I also invite the MPDM to field their own candidate separate from the SAP. Whoever wins shall possess the popular mandate and shall be free to do as they wish with the nation's future. This is something I will emphasize before the beginning of this election."

The two leaders offered no immediate response to this proposition. All of them in that hall knew full well the CPM had no faces it could put forth in any popularity contest, as its leaders operated in thick secrecy. The men and women of the MPDM were more visible, and made great orators and agitators, but would fall short of the bourgeois vote needed to secure electoral success. Their final hope was in the SAP, which nonetheless had a number of figures in exile that could be propelled to seriously challenge the Freedom Party in a presidential election to be held after more than twenty years since the last. But the CPM's politburo would be loathe to back the mainstream left, with its own separate agenda.

"And what guarantee do we have that you will honor this concession, Mr. Brams?" inquired Tennfjord.

Three seconds passed, the president thinking. "Aside from lifting the ban on the SAP, I will also see to the release of some of your comrades, including the known rebel commander Quentin De Jesus...or otherwise known as Ka Jesus, as a gesture of goodwill."

"This is unnecessary. There is nothing we can do about this, and I believe this meeting is finished."

Penelope Cortes Jansen spoke loudly, before standing up and making her way from where they entered. Agreeing in silence, the representative of the trade union federation followed, but not before giving a nod to the president. The elderly Brams also stood up, expressionless, and slowly made his way back to the foyer.

"I will hear what the rest have to say. The release of comrade Jesus will be a great relief, Penelope." whispered Tennfjord to Cortes Jansen as they descended the steps leading to the mansion's entrance.

As soon as they got outside, they saw their driver, who had been standing by the hatchback they used to get here,with a look of fear on his visage. Five men in military fatigues surrounded him, automatic rifles gleaming under the sun.

"What is the meaning of this?" angrily yelled the young woman, as she walked up to confront them all. No words came from any of the soldiers. until a voice rang out from behind them.

"It seems that you have no choice on the matter."

Brams appeared at the top of the stairs, cane in both hands holding him steady. His expression remained the same, although his gaze was now cast on the woodlands just slightly beyond his ancestral house. A convoy of military jeepneys and a single covered truck approached the gateway, arriving in half a minute. The convoy dropped off two platoons of army men, similar in appearance to those that were already there. The truck tailing them dropped off eight men as well, although bound by the hands, wearing what seemed to be guerilla camouflage. They were thrown to the ground beside the hatchback.

"You have been careless, Ulesis Tennfjord. Or is that even your real name?" spoke Brams, addressing the trade union representative.

"When I sent an invitation to the MPDM, I did not expect such a high-ranking official of the party itself to visit me, let alone one of the members of the elusive politburo. But this is best. I trust you will be able to make a decision with your party mates on this matter that benefits us all....and will see you and your companion alive for another day. My promise will be fulfilled, just as long as you cooperate."

Before the sunset, the two officials of the CPM and their armed guard were escorted out of the province, with Brams message delivered to the party's top organ. Now, he need only wait.

[Adwest]

Larrazabal, Mayari | 23 Dosa 1600

"Good evening Mr. De Vera. I am Pia Rañada, and I will be with you for the next hour or so."

"Call me Pepe, Pia. It is my pleasure to be here tonight."

Pepe De Vera, the standard bearer of the Mayari People's Democratic Movement and the sole contender for the presidency of Mayari, greeted the anchorwoman with a warm smile as he walked on-stage to the studio. Four days before the end of the campaign period, the relatively youthful leader accepted an invitation from one of the major broadcasting studios in the country for an interview. What was supposed to be a debate between the two presidential aspirants instead became a spotlight for the opposition candidate, following Vidar Brams' refusal to accept the invitation. Most likely as a consequence of his party's advice.

The electoral strategy of the Freedom Party was centered on the promises of reestablishing national security, maintaining that continued support for the administration meant the restoration of peace and order within the next term. Or in other words, in six years. Second to this was restoring economic security. National growth had been stunted by the internal conflict, ushering in negative GDP growth rates since at least the previous decade. This had its consequent effect in the shutting down of countless micro, small, and medium enterprises, and a surge in unemployment throughout the country. There were no mentions on the issues of political prisoners and continued human rights violations, as well as the fact that the CPM-MPRA now had de facto control of nearly half of Mayari.

This is what the MPDM hoped to capitalize upon, and what it was capitalizing upon on its own campaign. Instead of grand sorties featuring celebrity personalities, the MPDM employed its hold over the grassroots to mobilize and drum up support over the past week and half. De Vera had not toured the country as much as Brams, and had avoided an approach centered on himself as a person and as a leader, instead choosing to campaign for the MPDM itself; a people's government, which would "bring genuine national transformation in all spheres of life." This included, among others, agrarian reform, constitutional revision, de-militarization, nationalization of key industries, and a lasting settlement with the CPM-MPRA. Most politically conscious citizens of Mayari knew that that last part meant the handing of power to the revolutionary forces. An outcome that was not at all detested by a great portion of the population. This was supported by the fact that polls showed almost equal support for Brams and De Vera, with the former possessing a mere marginal lead.

Brams' refusal to debate, for the MPDM, indicated a fear of handing votes over to them.

"So, first things first. How are you tonight?"

The interview began with some casual discussion. The forty nine year-old De Vera shared how his family was, what he was up to before the elections, and how it was a privilege to be where he was now. He took an early swipe at the administration, mentioning that life was certainly better after being released from incarceration. He was, after all, one of the earliest arrested after the declaration of Martial Law in 1585, being released after a decade in 1595. Thousands more of Lovstridigs - a term from the Oslan language referring to the mass of political prisoners still languishing behind bars - remain unaccounted for, De Vera was keen to also mention.

That was the prompt for Rañada to move on and ask the real questions.

"What would a De Vera bring to Mayari as opposed to what a Brams could?" she proceeded, her glance and tone both inquisitive.

"Not a De Vera." the standard bearer was quick to quip. "But the MPDM. Our ten-point program  is not a list of false and unsubstantial promises. It is an expansive mandate crafted to address the ills of Mayari, from the bottom to the top."

"For the economy?"

"More than jobs, we will work towards a restructuring of the economy. The Ibañez Five and its clique of big businesses will either be dismantled or nationalized, especially in the transportation, energy, banking, healthcare, and education sector. All peoples of Mayari, from the city to the mountains, will have access to their basic needs. The economy will be tuned to the interests of the masses instead of private capital. Labor rights will be upheld and protected, and we will seek to craft a new social safety net that is more comprehensive in scope than what had been ushered by the National Party several decades ago."

There was a pause, before a follow-up came from the female journalist. "You mentioned nationalizing industries. Will this plan not deter foreign investment, Pepe?"

"It will. But there will be no compromise. Mayari has for long remained a country where the interests of big business, bureaucratic capitalism, and feudalism has remained. We will nationalize foreign enterprises that decide not to cooperate with us as we forge a renewed path for the country."

"Nationalizing foreign enterprises could have a negative impact not merely on our trade, but on our foreign relations. What is your opinion on that matter? Will this not isolate us from regional partners and partners outside of Ostara?"

"Mayari will always be part of the international community of nations, especially in the promotion of justice for oppressed peoples the world over. This is not a false dichotomy. It is simply a matter of prioritization, and right now it is vital to prioritize developing the economy for our people. To unleash and employ their creative energies, with what resources we have, to further the goals of national social transformation. If we draw the ire of foreign powers by way of the difficult choices we must make for the nation, then so be it."

Rañada nodded, before going on. "Moving on. The present political situation in the country is one of the main points that need to be addressed according to the MPDM, even before this snap elections. Can you provide us a picture of how you will address this as president?"

"Of course Pia." responded De Vera, taking a couple of seconds to formulate what to say.

"First of all, and as I have mentioned, there remains nearly a thousand Lovstrigids or unlawfully detained individuals in Mayari's prisons. These include children, young and elderly men and women, tagged to be 'red fighters' of the CPM-MPRA, when in reality they have merely voiced their questions on and the Hidalgo administration's policies. Their right to free speech, to assemble, and to be heard in a court of law, among others, have been violated, and these violations remain to be halted by the present administrations. What is more telling is the names of these men and women who have not been jailed, but have already been executed, their murdered bodies lost in a river or a patch of grass, sometimes dismembered, somewhere. Several members of the MPDM and its member-organizations have been victims of this bastardization of the justice system, among them comrades Luis Exequer and Antonina Olsan, attorney Li Brevik, student activists such as comrades Ellis Huerta and Gregorio Wu. We seek to end this impunity by releasing all political prisoners, punishing those responsible including the current president, correcting the justice system, and putting an end to state-sponsored violence.

Second, we will seek to restore and strengthen democracy in Mayari. This will be done in incremental but decisive steps, and this includes restoring the voice of the judiciary and holding new elections for Congress. We will revise the constitution of the nation, forging constitutional commissions that will act as additional safeguards for the legal processes of the state. But I must mention, justice will be the prime consideration and will be the key agenda of a future government."

The pair would go on with their exchange of thoughts, with the standard bearer of the opposition providing just enough details to paint an image of Mayari under a left-wing administration. Several of De Vera's answers, however, were intentionally "pacifist" in its orientation, far from the line espoused by the CPM-MPRA - of which he and most of the MPDM are members of. This was to ensure that the vote of the moderate left could be secured, or at least some part of it. The connection between the two organizations was clear as day, and it was only in this election was there an attempt by the MPDM to distance itself from the CPM-MPRA - precisely because of the order from the CPM-MPRA. The political bureau of the Communist Party of Mayari was divided whether or not to accept the offer of Brams' to forward a candidate to face him; some believed that continuing the fight was necessary, and would see their success very soon, whereas others saw the election as an opportunity to hasten and further cement that success by having someone already inside the state apparatus, and at its top no less. The "ideologically unorthodox" option won out, largely because a number of those wishing to just continue the fight saw the election as ample time to consolidate their military gains on the ground, what with the release of one of their best commanders.

After more than forty minutes and just two commercial breaks, Rañada moved on to a different line of questions. This time, those criticisms aimed at the MPDM as an organization.

"Pepe. Are you a member of the Communist Party of Mayari? Is it true that upon winning, you would hand over power to the CPM?"

The questions elicited a casual guffaw from the man before answering. "I am not. And no, I wouldn't."

The journalist probed on, sensing the withdrawn answers her interviewee gave was hiding something more. "Is not the Mayari People's Democratic Movement a component organization of the Communist Party of Mayari?"

"No it is not." De Vera quickly stated. His was now a firmer tone than earlier. "The MPDM has overlapping perspectives with the CPM, but our militancy cannot be misconstrued to be the same as the revolution being waged by the CPM. I do not deny, however, that members of the MPDM, including myself, have personal links with persons known to be part of the party. After all, many of us trace our roots in one belief, and that is the achievement of Mayari's transformation to a truly democratic republic, although our preferred methods may differ. The accusations hurled by the administration  against myself and the MPDM are illogical and hearsay. The CPM is banned from participating in national politics, and I know that they wouldn't participate right now even if they are."

"Are you not the candidate of the CPM"? Rañada pressed on.

"Again, Pia, to answer, no. This is mere propaganda."

"And how would you and the MPDM deal with the ongoing national crisis besetting the nation? The fight against the CPM and its band of armed fighters?"

A moment of thought came to De Vera. The atmosphere was hushed, with both the interviewer and the small audience filling the lit studio holding on to every word that came from the opposition's candidate.

"As far as the security situation is unfolding right now, there is no crisis to speak of. The unabated continuation of Martial Law, which the administration justifies on the basis of 'violence' by the CPM, is the only real crisis besetting Mayari."

"Pepe, can you please tell us how you would deal with the revolution? Or will you not and just let it happen?" the woman's eyes met De Vera's, who held back again before speaking. He remained unfazed however, careful in his response to an interview being watched by the nation and his and the MPDM's opponents.

"Lasting peace. That is our goal with the communists. To hear out what they have to say, to invite them to share their ideas on how Mayari can move forward. We need not continue to waste lives in fighting, when we can engage them through properly-conducted dialogue. I believe that the CPM and the people under its banner, with their determination and dedication to their countrymen, will play an important role in nation-building."

Murmurs among the audience, a part of which were optimistic at the statement. Eyebrow cocked, the woman continued the interview well into the night, wrapping up after just a little bit past an hour.

Four days before the end of the campaign period, De Vera would close the tiny gap between him and Brams in the polls. It seemed as if the winds of change were near, to the anxiety and excitement of those in power and the population at large respectively. Only a matter of time, some had already begun to whisper in the streets.

[Adwest]

Over the course of a week and a half, from the remaining days of the campaign period up to just before the declaration of the winner of the presidential election, two incidents took place in quick succession which would further tip the scales in favor of the opposition - those armed and those who were not.

The first occurred on Dosa 25 in the city of Taguan. The provincial capital of one of the government's last remaining bastions in Eastern Mayari, Taguan would be the sight of an explosion killing ten Mayar citizens.

It happened in the afternoon of that Wednesday. The local Daeinist congregation had arranged a simple gathering paying tribute to Ellis Huerta, a twenty year-old native and the then chairperson of the Sangguniang Kabataan or municipal youth council. Aside from this, she was prominent as an activist clamoring for the release of fellow youth leaders arrested during Hidalgo's final years.

Huerta had died five years ago, when she was killed in an alleged encounter with the military while participating in an immersion with the rural poor organized by the National Union of Students of Mayari. Her body mutilated and discovered dumped in a lake, Huerta would be martyred by the MPDM and CPM as a young advocate of national transformation who gave her life for the people. The military denied involvement, but nonetheless decried the dead activist as a mere rabble-rouser misguided by her ideals, a Red fighter of the CPM-MPRA. That had always been the narrative of the military, the police, and indeed the entire government when pressed about the cases of youth critics disappearing, resurfacing as dead, or being thrown in a cell.

The congregation's gathering was not at all a very formal one and was supposed to be a small event, held in front of the slain girl's home. Yet it attracted more people than imagined, ranging from comrades in the NUSM to former classmates and their families. Further leading to this was the fact that the Daeinist Bishops Conference of Mayari were staunch critics of Martial Law, and many of its prominent figures preached for vigilance and resistance against tyranny in all its forms.

At any rate, the laying of flowers and handwritten messages amidst prayers would be disturbed by the alarm of a vehicle going off just outside the home. The parents and uncle of Huerta would be the first victims, as they were the ones to check the vehicle - which exploded in a fiery detonation after just five seconds. The strength of the explosion tore apart the gate and entrance to the small home, and would count among its victims a couple more people. Numerous people were also injured.

The explosion was pinned on the military quickly by the MPDM, which denounced it as an act of retribution. The denial naturally came, but the failure to quickly produce investigation results meant that absolving of blame would be nigh impossible. For its part, the military described the incident as an orchestration of the CPM-MPRA, just days before the election, as a political stunt.

The leadership of the Communist Party of Mayari wasted no time responding, ending its congress earlier than expected and announcing the resumption of the civil war. They were quick to likewise rebut the accusation thrown at them, and instead echoed the MPDM's assertion that it was an act of vindication.

This was the second incident marking the short frame of time leading up to the proclamation of the winner.

On Dosa 27, the final day of the campaign season, agents of the CPM would lead an uprising in a naval facility in Roligge Shoal, off the coast of northern Mayari. Roligge Shoal was one of but few ports of the minuscule Mayari navy, and held strategic significance for the country's defense. It was the home of three destroyers of the military's maritime branch, plus a larger number of smaller craft used mainly for brown water operations.

All of those assets would be lost as the naval facility fell to the mass of dock workers and contractors, joined by a considerable portion of those assets' crews, and organized by veteran cadres of the party inserted there a long time ago. They were joined by the MPRA's red fighters lying in wait just outside and near the coast, overpowering the facility's defenders after a day-long engagement.

In the south of the country, frozen battle lines were awakened as the Mayari Peasant's Revolutionary Army undertook a general offensive in several provinces. In these zones of conflict, the MPRA nonetheless ensured that there was no indiscriminate violence taking place; its cadres always maintained the relocation and, if not possible, protection of civilians caught in the crossfire. The leadership of the CPM had long maintained the party as a belligerent to a civil conflict and not as a simple insurgency, and thus sought to abide by international conventions on the conduct of war. This was part of its long-term strategy to make diplomatic recognition easier in the future, when Larrazabal has been taken and the war won.

No significant progress would be had by these offensives over the next couple of days, but this was not the primary aim of the CPM. And neither was it too assist the electoral campaign of Pepe De Vera. If the cards were played properly, then there would be no need to rely on the election - something which many of the CPM's leaders knew in the first place anyway.

[Adwest]

Larrazabal, Mayari | 2 Marth 1600

Inside the office of the country's president in the Presidential Palace, a group of men and women were gathered, seemingly waiting. A large oval table handcrafted with the government seal and made from Narra wood lay in the middle, with chairs hewed from the same material surrounding it. It was notable that only a handful of individuals were seated, pouring over dossiers or otherwise tinkering with their phones. Those that stood spoke among themselves in hushed tones.

The double doors leading to the office were eventually opened, and two more men joined those already there. Vidar Brams was the first, followed by a younger official clutching a folder in his right hand. The two sat, and the rest followed suit.

"Let's go over what happened in the past two days, and week as well. I trust that since our last meeting at the beginning of the campaign period that we have been able to complete that which needs to be done." began the President, his voice laced with both exhaustion and seriousness.

There were no verbal affirmations, only nods. Brams made note of this, and addressed a bald man sitting directly across from him. There was a cough before further words would be heard by the cabinet.

"Casualties arising out of the CPM-MPRA's engagements in Lijangco, Rojas, Urdaneta, and San Mateo province have mounted to four hundred, with about a thousand unfit for combat for the next two months. A hundred more are missing from action, and we assume they have been abducted and absorbed by the MPRA."

"Damn traitors!"

An infuriated outburst was heard from one official, although no attention was diverted to who it came from. Brams pursed his lips.

"Regarding Roligge, General Briand has presented to me his plan for a joint operation to retake the island and expel rebel forces. The enemy continues to make no use of our ships, assumably from a lack of sufficient manpower. We have rescued fifty three servicemen from Roligge Shoal over the weekend, fleeing or making contact with us. Most are unfit for combat due to injuries sustained during the uprising which took place there." continued the bald official, who was Mayari's Secretary of Defense.

"Thank you Esmael. Forward me a copy of this plan before afternoon tomorrow."

Esmael Gaudengco nodded, dabbing his head with a violet handkerchief. The somber tone of Brams was thick, although the president made sure he gave nothing away as to his thoughts. The results of his party's strategy toward the elections and his own approach to the rebellion were not completely unexpected, and there was nothing to fear, he still held. After all, the latter had not yet achieved its maximum implementation. There would, however, be a need to speed things up.

"And what of the elections?"

The president fixed his sight to a portly woman to his right. All eyes followed his, awaiting the report of the Chairwoman of Mayari's Commission on Elections - an appointee of Brams prior to his convening of the electoral body, exactly to serve his party's purposes if needed. And so it was, as he trailed nearly a dozen points behind his contender.

"Sir. We are set to finish canvassing by tomorrow evening, although we shall publicly announce this finish on the afternoon of the fourth, alongside release of news of the MPRA tampering with ballot boxes in several conflict areas in the east and north." said Aurelia Barros. The constitutional expert, former election lawyer, and past campaign manager of Alberto Hidalgo met the eyes of the president, steely in its resolve, as she awaited what would be next. The couple of seconds which remained unfilled by Brams' voice signaled to her that there was more that was expected of her - some things which she preferred not to disclose to the entirety of the cabinet.

"Our...staff have completed the task you provided. Will complete, rather, later tonight, at the crack of dawn."

"And what will be the margin of my victory?"

Barros lowered her head, her answer nearly but not quite a whisper. "It will be an eleven points margin, sir, give or take."

"This is credible enough. We have prepared our cover stories not merely relating to the MPRA's tampering, but also efforts against the opposition that will attempt to dispute the results. Our warrant of arrest for De Vera is also ready. We expect members of the National Party will register protests, as well as the MPDM - but we are not expecting major demonstrations. Major in the sense that there would be cause for concern, here in Larrazabal at least." came a concurring statement from a man to Barros' left. It was a longtime senator and leading officer of the Freedom Party, and the chief political liaison overseeing the elections in favor of Brams and Kalayaan.

The conversation would go on in this direction for the next quarter of an hour, as the senator discussed at length their counter propaganda against non-administration elements after the declaration of Brams election to the top office of the land. The meticulous orchestration of this election was astounding in scope to any observer, but for the Freedom Party, whose officeholders had long clung on to power as political cheats, it was not so. Whether by choice or by fate.

"Thank you, Aurelia, Jong. Now, let's proceed to what matters the most. Director Alvelde?"

A tall, slim figure who had thus far kept himself from speaking, glanced at the president. He was stolid in bearing, posture only slightly hunched, and hands clasped. He blinked, twice, then moved to speak after being addressed.

"Quentin De Jesus remains under our direct surveillance, as well as several rebel commanders and their lieutenants. This includes the commanding officers of the MPRA in Roligge, and in the eastern provinces."

Abdul Alvelde shifted his glance from one member of the cabinet to another as he spoke, failing to miss any detail. As a longtime comrade and deputy to Brams as far back as their days in the national police academy, and now the director of Mayari's National Security Agency, there was no one else but he whom Brams would trust with the penetration of the revolution scourging the nation since its inception. An experienced intelligence officer with more than two decades in service, Alvelde wielded the NSA not merely as an intelligence collector, but as a paramilitary force operating in more clandestine and similarly more violent undertakings. These included making hits on dangerous targets, scouring the jungles of the north, guarding high-profile leaders or captives, among others.

It was the NSA under his guidance that captured the feared rebel commander De Jesus and a troop of his most experienced fighters in 1597. Not after besting them in an encounter in the outskirts of enemy terrain, but after skillfully locating him and overwhelming him to such a degree that resistance was not even worth considering, right in the heart of enemy territory. The senior guerrilla, pragmatic and well-versed on the art of the selecting engagements, knew he was surrounded, and aptly yielded without firing a single bullet. He would be tortured for the collection of intelligence, although not once opened his lips.

The prized possession of the NSA was released this year, without their approval, and this undoubtedly cast concerns and even questions on the part of that agency. But Alvelde knew well the reason behind this, as Brams had informed him and had made him in charge of the succeeding phase.

"My latest report comes from yesterday. He has moved from an MPRA supply center in Quaresma to Bolo the previous evening, and it is my belief that this is to oversee the training of several reserve battalions in urban warfare. This is in preparation for their second general offensive, which will come immediately after the declaration of the election's winners, in three provinces, and employing from five to eight thousand of their fighters."

A stir came from the Secretary of Defense following this statement. "That is a very precise report, Director Alvelde. How come I have not heard of this from military intelligence?"

The interjection did not perturb the NSA Director, turning towards Gaudengco. "Because they are not aware of this. Don't worry Mr. Gaudengco, the necessary information will make its way to your department in order to be ready."

Brams instructed the ethnic Taosheg intelligence officer to continue, who did so. "I have also been made aware through a recorded conversation that the CPM's Political Bureau will be meeting in two weeks time, in Bolo as well. The subject matter of this gathering is something we have yet to discern, but I believe it will center on the military effort, as well as post-conflict establishment of political control over the country."

Murmurs erupted, and the Secretary of Defense, inquisitive but suspect, once again piped in. "How did you gather this information? And why am I not made aware of this?"

This time, Brams stepped in. "We will not entertain questions on this matter, Esmael. As a matter of national security. All that everyone here needs to know is that we have the edge over the revolutionary forces, although we have not employed it. Not yet, but it seems the time approaches."

The defense official shut up, arms folded over his chest, displeased that matters of national security appeared to be beyond his concern at this juncture.

Ever since the administration's hand was forced, to its shock, to declare an independent foreign policy in 1595 by a resurgent opposition presence in Congress, the upper hand of foreign support slowly dwindled away in paper. The sole exception was the decades-old military bases agreement with the Arch-Kingdom of Oslanburg, now the West Brigidnan Union, which guaranteed them an armed presence in the country through a naval and aerial facility in the southern coastline. Yet the West Brigidnans refused to openly support the government, what with the latter's proclamation and the former's own concerns.

Behind that and the rhetoric of autonomy from external influences, the present administration relied a great deal still on what support it had. And right now, what was most important was the access to military technology obtained from private Singanese contractors, no doubt backed themselves by several powers both within and outside the region. Foremost of these was access to satellites, which monitored the movement of the MPRA every day. To the dismay of the defense department, it was the NSA and the NSA alone which had access to this information, and with this had the choice what to pass to them for their perusal and what to withhold. The incident in Roligge Shoal could have possibly been delayed, if not thwarted, had there been greater coordination. But the reasons for this lack of cooperation were deep, but inter-agency rivalry as well as the direct orders of Brams were the most prominent.

Second to what Brams perceived as game-changing technologies was the insertion of human microchip implants on De Jesus and his captured comrades - something the red fighters knew nothing about and have no recollection whatsoever when they were released from detention. The microchip implants, again from a Singanese private contractor, were as of today unreleased models of implants previously tested and used on dogs. They provided detailed tracking of physical location, as well as the ability to record conversation, albeit in a low capacity.

"Validate the accuracy of this information, Director. The entirety of the Politburo must be captured all at once, not separately, even if it is on the same date. They will no longer elude us, and without direction, this insurgency will dissipate once and for all."

"Of course. Their capitulation will come, soon, and rapidly."

[Adwest]

Santa Teresita | 5 Marth 1600

The sight of a burning Sakak sent a shiver down the spine of Nur, a private in the Mayari Army in his mid-twenties. The Taosheg soldier whispered a short Akhadic prayer as his unit's caravan drove down one of the many heavy zones of fighting in the city of Santa Teresita, which had been the target of a concentrated assault by the MPRA since the crack of dawn the previous day.

Intelligence by the NSA proved faulty, and the predicted beginning of a general offensive in the country's north had come twenty fours earlier. As it came, the local defenses were only half-prepared, and were only spared from being overwhelmed by an injection of nearby reinforcements which came later on in the same day. Nur was part of those reinforcements, and as an apparent stalemate had latched over some parts of this population center hours before the proclamation of the election's winner, he and his unit had been assigned to extract civilians which remain unevacuated.

"ETA is in fifteen minutes, men. Remnants of the 17th and 13th Battalions are camped in the eastern outskirts by the Lake Olivares, but keep your eyes peeled. We are in hostile territory still."

The unit's commanding officer spoke through their handheld radio. Nur steeled himself, passing his Setgvek to one of his fellows. The two Taoshegs were uncommon, having joined up with the military and not the MPRA, as has the great majority of their able-bodied ethnic brothers had done. Perhaps it was the luck of his family on his father's side to practice law, and escape from the poverty and the low-key discrimination suffered by the rest of their people. Nur cast aside his thoughts, refocusing his attention on the streets to spot any one who might need help - or who would be out to kill them.

"When will this war end." came a loud sigh, and a bang on the passenger's side door of the truck. It was more of a general expression of frustration on the part of many in the armed forces, and not an attempt at conversation. By now, restiveness was slowly rising, although not yet to the point of laying down arms. Only few did so, and even fewer joined up with the MPRA where they had the opportunity, when they were captured in battle.

The silence of vigilance filled the air, as the caravan drove through streets of rundown houses and small stores, some still burning or reeking with the sight and stench of the fallen. Santa Teresita was a relatively developed municipality which served as a provincial capital, but just barely two days of intense fighting had turned many of its parts into hell. This was no surprise; the MPRA had brought its force to bear on the city, which, to army commanders, was perplexing, considering the "surround from the rural provinces" strategy favored by their MPRA counterparts. Even when it engaged openly, the MPRA was unlikely to concentrate so much of its men and material to take over an urban locality. One with questionable significance as well.

Many believed it was a piece of propaganda on the part of the MPRA's military planners, to show its capacity to successfully conduct a takeover of a large population center, a simulation of what would be done to Larrazabal if they went far enough in the direction of victory.

The caravan halted as it approached the blasted gates of what seemed to be a public elementary school. Trees, rows of tires, and an overturned bus blocked the path forward. Another order was heard, shouting.

"Lopez, Denilsson, take your squadron and clear the road! Be car-"

The voice was cut off, replaced by the sound of an exploding vehicle. A whir in the air, and two more explosions came in quick succession.

Nur sighted a rebel with an RPG slung on his back, aiming at him. He yelled for everyone to jump out of the truck instantaneously, escaping a blazing end by mere seconds. He landed on the ground roughly, but picked himself up quickly, reaching for his assault rifle. Joining the surviving members of his crew, he aimed at the top of the overturned bus where he spotted the rebel and blindly unleashed a salvo of bullets.

He took a second after this to glance behind him, thankful that many of the troops had survived the initial onslaught. What was not something to be thankful about was the fact that half of the caravan's vehicles had been routed, essentially paralyzing them in place. Nur assumed that their commanding officer was dead. As he looked forward again, the sight of a swarm of revolutionaries in their typical battle gear - covered faces and black khakis, and their armband of course - greeted him. The soldier crawled back, his left leg numb from his jump, rejoining others behind the truck preceding the one he was on earlier.

One of them whispered something equivalent to "what now?" in Mayar, amid the roar of gunfire which continued. The revolutionary forces halted their advance as they were met with resistance from the caravan's survivors.

"Get inside that school, we're too exposed here! I'll radio for backup inside, go! And you there, provide covering fire before you get inside, quickly!"

The terse command of an NCO was heard even further from behind, as a group of troops rushed to climb over part of the crumbled steel marking the former entrance to the school. Nur and his squad did as their told, pinning down the preliminary group of revolutionary forces, even as they turned to physically cut off the two groups.

The NCO shouting orders joined them, firing his rifle from behind a dilapidated wagon crashed at the side of the unpaved road. He clutched a handheld radio in one of his hands, trying to radio for assistance, at the same time. After a minute or so, the NCO adjusted his position and gestured for Nur and his group to slowly get inside the gates as well; the last of the first group were at the other side, now laying down gunfire for them. Two, then five of the rebels were taken out, but each one that did so seemed to be replaced by another one in the blink of an eye.

The young officer would not be long for the world. From the very back, the sound of heavy machine gun rounds reverberated across the battlefield, matched only by the sound of steel crashing against steel. A couple of semi-plated pickup trucks with a mounted gun slammed the caravan's vehicles to the roadside, trapping the second group in between it and the revolutionary forces which had been responsible for the blockade. The NCO, joined by two, fell dead instantly, as more hostile combatants disembarked.

Nur looked, estimating which direction would be best to run to at this point. At the broken gates, a soldier from the first group was waving his hand as if telling them to just take to their feet and make a run for it. But there were only five of them, and Nur doubted they could hold off their foes for any more than thirty seconds more. There was no choice; he would not run to the enemy.

With a great effort, he stood up, hunched, emptying his magazine at the blockade. The rest of the first group followed, but many were cut down quickly. The ammunition belt of the technical's machine gun was consumed faster than the soldiers' legs could carry them. The Taosheg private himself was hit by a couple of rounds from his good leg up to just below his back, felling him as he was halfway through the distance.

He was back on the ground, but this time, headfirst. He laid down on his stomach, ears buzzing, but tried to look up, reach for his gun, reach for any help. All that he could catch sight of was the broken gate's defenders retreating, as the technical crunched through the position, followed in tow by the revolutionary forces. The ground rumbled, and the blurry image of a decades-old tank also rolled past him. He was unsure about that last one.

Closing his eyes, Nur tryied to catch his breathe, and block out the pain of his wounds. Once he opened them again, the barrel of a rifle was the last thing he would see.

All across Santa Teresita, fighting had once again emerged. The city's delayed downfall would come full circle before the end of the week.