by Max Barry

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Region: The Alliance of Dictators

Givatayim, State of Artzharut
14 September 2021

The night overlooking the port city of Givatayim was calm and serene. The water of the ocean was still, with only the lights of the Artarumen supercarrier HMS Ventnor, anchored in the distance along with the 3rd Fleet that accompanied it, reflecting in the water. The HMS Ventnor and its fleet had become a typical view for Artzharutans who lived in Givatayim. The 3rd Fleet had suppressed the coup attempt in Artzharut—and then it had promptly began facilitating the transfer of more and more Artarumen soldiers into Artzharut. In its disarray, the Artzharutan Armed Forces had been unable to put up any resistance, paralysed even more so by their leaders' compliance with what was, practically, Artarumen occupation.

For many Artzharutan citizens, the independence from Artarum they had enjoyed since 1994 had effectively ended in September 2021. However, other things had ended as well, these ones more welcome: Artarumen soldiers directly delivered basic goods and services to the impoverished denizens of the port city. To be sure, it was a strict order. Curfews had been established, and Artarumen soldiers, dressed in their impeccable uniforms, patrolled the streets in large groups, twenty-four hours a day.

Everybody noted that the Artarumen had learnt their lesson from their previous debacle in neighbouring Beyt: They were dedicating far more resources to this ordeal, whatever it was—occupation, restructuring, invasion?—and they were not hesitating in what they were doing. The Artarumen Armed Forces had become a standard fixture in daily Artzharutan life, not only in Givatayim but throughout the country. Beveridge Aerospace F/A-18 Vultures, the most advanced aircraft flown by the Artarumen Empire, often flew in Artzharutan skies in a display of power and a simple indication of their presence; even the deserts were notified of the Artarumen presence.

Of course, in the more wealthier and influential sections of Artzharutan society, inherently connected to the ruling Moledet party, tensions were high. Many were—rightfully so—incensed at State President Galit Halevy for allowing practical Artarumen domination of their country. For her part, Halevy was not pleased with the situation either, the situation which had been forced upon her by diktat, as a foreseeable but unavoidable consequence of her inability to deal with a coup without Artarumen assistance. Arguments between her and Admiral Chester Harwood, the commanding officer of the 3rd Fleet, had become a daily occurrence.

Still, the Imperial Navy was like a mountain. Harwood knew that Halevy could not move a finger to oppose his designs. For his part, Harwood was a shrewd man. While he knew the massive physical power the 3rd Fleet granted him, he was also acutely aware of how precarious the Artarumen situation was. He knew how many men, armaments, and equipment he had at his disposal, while Halevy—or other, more radical components of the Moledet party—did not. And that made all the difference. If the Artzharutans knew that Harwood was working within tight limits, coming directly from the Prime Minister in Liudan, they may have been compelled to mobilise the common people against the Artarumen Armed Forces, whose willingness to shoot into masses of civilians was very, very questionable.

Therefore, Harwood's entire strategy of keeping Artzharut stable as the civilian components of the operation prepared to arrive was established upon forming the infrastructure, both physical and psychological, for the Artarumen to deliver goods. He had found Artzharut in destitute conditions, save for pockets of influential neighbourhoods in cities such as Yerushalayim, Bethlehem, Rehovot, and Givatayim. Potable water, food, basic healthcare, and sanitation were often in short supply, and merely establishing reliable delivery of such made the Artarumen far more tolerable for the average Artzharutan.

Admiral Chester Harwood was aware that it was his provision of such basic needs, not the constant patrols on the streets or aircraft flights overhead, that kept the peace. The patrols and aircraft made it possible for these needs to be handled effectively, of course, but it was those provisions that kept the order. It had been some time since they had deployed, and yet, for the first time in his career, Harwood felt that this time, there was some plan in mind, some end foreseen to it all, unlike the disastrous Beyt campaign in 2019.

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