Book 2 - Moon
Part 2
This thread is intended to be paired with Voyage of the Homebound (2.2)
Thursday, February 16th, 2023
Askiiz, Daabab 28th, 412
Anahid is standing in front of a mirror in her makeshift dressing room, silently psyching herself up for the next hour or so. She’s done a million press conferences, but she still always gets nervous like it’s her first time. Her makeup has been done by her assistant, accentuating her lilac eyes, and her simple black dress works to contour her body without being distracting. Everything is perfectly planned, perfectly put together - and so is she.
“Are you ready, Mutj?” Anahid’s assistant asks. The Advisor takes one more deep breath and plasters on her well-practiced smile.
“I am.”
As Anahid beings to walk on the stage to the small podium, cameras begin flashing, creating a sea of blinding lights because for whatever reason people don’t know how to turn off flash - or they do, and they just don’t feel like it. As Anahid stands silently, the hubbub slowly dies down until the room is silent. It doesn’t stay that way for long, however, as Anahid begins to speak.
“Journalists, citizens, and friends, almost [three months] ago our people rose up and stood against our oppressors, spearheaded by the courageous work of the Mutadiit Alaalahiiya Yufraan Abd’ildarra and many others who were crucial to the resistance effort. The revolution allowed us to reclaim our culture, our religion, our independence, our liberties, and most importantly, our freedom. Our freedom to make our own way in an ever-changing world. Our freedom to love one another and be loved. Our freedom to be the authors of our own destiny, as so many Aldaaris before us. However, the forces against us will not be content in our victory. We have known this from the start, and we now know that our worries were right. WEGEC is coming back for us, this time utilizing more force than they did during the Aldaari Spring.” As Anahid says this, a murmur quickly spreads through the assembled crowd, which silences as the advisor raises her hand. “However, while WEGEC may be better prepared, more well-armed, and with more experience in the horrific art of suppression, they are not the only ones that have grown. The nation of Aldaar has gained access to professional-grade arms, great military strategists, and the assistance of powerful international backers. But I am not here today because of arms, or strategy. I am here because unlike WEGEC, we care about the people of the Anabat, the people of Aldaar. This battle may be costly - freedom always is. We, of all people, should understand that. But that cost should not fall to you, the people. This burden should never have been forced upon you, and though under WEGEC there was no other option, we are choosing to alleviate it. For the past several weeks, the government has been preparing an evacuation plan towards the east of the country, where our intelligence shows that WEGEC will not be able to reach. As the fight for our freedom continues, the people will be safe. You have our guarantee.” Anahid takes a deep breath.
“I will now open the floor for questions.” The flashes of cameras once again begin going off, as an aide selects journalists to ask questions.
“Rajiiya Zaman, the Mukarras Speaker. Is the government sure that these evacuation facilities will be able to supply the needs of so many people?”
“These facilities have undergone countless tests by our engineers and analysts, and are guaranteed to be able to supply those assigned to them. There are other destinations for evacuation programs which will be released within the next week.”
“Morau Stepanian with the Dawrani Post. Where can citizens go to get these assignments, or where can more information found?”
“The official government website at evac/gov.ald has information on in-person options near you, as well as a line to call to remotely apply.”
“Haiidar Bakiir, with the Aldaari People’s Daily. Is there anything that Aldaari citizens can do to fight WEGEC or help with the war effort?” The question caught Anahid off guard, as she ruffled through her notes.
“I - well - hmm,” she said, musing on the question, and stepping away from the microphone to think. “I suppose if people wanted to help, there are crucial roles in logistics or engineering… theoretically one could join the ADF, but that requires training which we don’t have. But do I -” she starts when her phone randomly starts ringing. She looks at it. Azniv. Sighing, she answers. “This is not the -”
“Put me on.”
“What?”
“They’re asking about ways they can help, right?”
“How do you… yes.”
“That’s my jurisdiction. Put me on.” A very confused Anahid, figuring it couldn’t hurt, shrugs and returns to the mic. This is unorthodox, sure, but as all Aldaaris know, orthodoxy is lame.
“To answer the question from the Aldaari People’s Daily, I have Advisor Azniv Haviiz who oversees the military.”
“Thank you, Advisor,” Azniv starts, her voice crackling through the phone speaker. “The Mutadiit Alaalahiiya has given authorization for me to create the Aldaar Militia Service, which will focus on giving willing participants non-combat service roles. We do not expect anyone to sign up; the job will be dangerous. However, should you truly wish to serve your people and you believe you have a set of skills that will be beneficial to the war effort, that option is now available to you. Thank you very much.” And she hangs up. As the crowd of journalists begin to talk in hushed tones, Anahid stands onstage concealing her feeling of utter shock. Because, like, what just happened? Yufraan wasn’t even in the country right now. Did Azniv have some quick way to contact them? Or was something else at play here? That damn fennec was as inscrutable as she was smart, and Anahid couldn’t tell whether she was a powerful child playing with forces beyond her control, or whether she was some supergenius with plans stretching years in advance. Either way, the thought scared Anahid. Lucky for her she was a great actress. As she processed whatever had just occurred, she began to corral the journalists.
“Attention! Yes, if we could please have the room’s attention at this time?” Anahid asked with a harsh voice and a sweet smile. “We will now resume questions.” And so Anahid spent the next 10-15 minutes answering various questions ranging from independence plans to clarifications to the official stance of the government on Mirhaime, careful on all to maintain the strictest professionalism. And as Anahid reflected on the day’s events while leaving the press conference room, she tried to take a rational approach to the events. Likely, the militia would be a flop. Probably no more than a couple hundred people would sign up, and it wouldn’t matter whether this was a genuine help or a ruthless power grab, because either way it would fail.
Right?