There are five things that Westmore’s economy is built upon: coal, iron, copper, uranium and more recently, phosphorus. The nation sources much of these resources from not only its metropolitan area, but from many of its external territories located on the mainland Aisladan continent.
With the fallout of the Autumn of Terror, much of Westmore’s economy has stagnated and its resources, especially those regarding the military, have been almost deprived outright. And what does a helpless nation do when it can’t pull more from its lands?
It finds new ones.
There are always greener pastures elsewhere. For a nation like post-One Republic Westmore, greener pastures are everything to this beaten-down nation. To an economy as stagnated as Westmore’s, greener pastures are a godsend and a sign of revival, even a way out of downturn.
And for a military as underpowered as Esther’s National Guard, the prospect of new guns and toys are always tempting.
Very, very tempting.
…
Dalesburg City
“Shocking news tonight as the National Guard mounts a campaign to claim much of the north of mainland Aislada…”
The TV switches channels.
“Talks with Omonia and the Oriental Union States continue to degrade as President Ioannis and Chancellor Rmrute refuse to budge regarding the future of the territory-”
The channel switches again.
“All’s going well on the ground here, Freddy. The National Guard has already secured Rottnest Island with ease and is currently making moves to occupy the vacant territories of the Katherine region north of Darwin and the collapsed Republic of Torres directly north of East Aislada…”
Again.
“A nation is left reeling after Christian Hart, the former president of the nation and convicted international criminal was confirmed dead in hospital overnight after he was fatally injured in a car crash on the 7th of May. The enigmatic leader of the One Republic and a polarizing figure by any means, he leaves this world with a legacy of destruction and a cautionary tale of how quickly a society can be destroyed by the wrong person in charge-”
What’s this…
“...Outrage as President Ioannis of the Federacy of Omonia plans to come east to the city of Sydney…”
The TV flicks off.
A man stands up from his couch and begins to head to his computer. Resting near it is a pale mask, contorted into a face of pure anger and divided between a shade of blue and an icy white. Under the right eye hole is a small black and red triangle.
The symbol of anarchy.
He turns on his computer and begins to search.
There you are.
Hyari Anderson.
He begins to scour Anderson’s socials. Post after post of anti-government spew. A video of the riots in Sydney, and his own less-than-favorable views on the freak accident.
He clearly seems to hate his government.
A perfect agent for the Cause.
The Anarchist Cause.
He sends one mundane message to Hyari on one of the man’s accounts, and awaits his response.
“@votp4anr: Hello. Have you got time to chat?”
…
Brisbane, Republic of Torres
The city’s streets lay bare and desolate as National Guard soldiers patrol the city. With the kind of reputation the name has now chalked itself up with, the people of the city are too scared to go outside or even interact with the soldiers, who despite this have tried to be as affable and kind as they could be.
Elsewhere in the city, surveyors inspect their new military equipment they have acquired from their conquest. It is mostly made up of tanks, fighter jets and armaments from local corporations in the area. Some of the builds are strikingly similar to Westmorian designs, such as tanks that were identified to have been partially based on the frames of the O1 Oberon. How the people of Torres ever got their hands on those blueprints is beyond them.
In the city square, the flag of Westmore is raised high above the flagpole in the center. Nobody is there to watch the spectacle, except the soldiers present to do the job. The whole city is terrified of them, and the National Guard knows this. Not even the leader of Brisbane, and by extension Torres, who was kind enough to see them for a short while, wants to come out of the city hall.
They are acting like they have just signed a deal with the devil.
And it is like this all over Torres.
Nobody trusts Esther Lynn. As kind and as good-hearted as she may appear to be, to many Torres, who have heard of Westmore’s wrongdoings against the world, her words and personality come off as a dishonest facade at best and a front for her true intentions at worst.
What is stopping her from doing the same thing Hart did?
What is keeping her at bay?
How do people know she isn’t walking on the line between righteousness and wrongdoing?
What is stopping her from denying the people of Torres their green pasture?
