President Barga's Reign

[Saletsia]

12th March 2007, 5:47am his Excellence President Santiago Ruiz dies in his bed of heart attack.

State secretary Juan Lucha  informs the Saletsian public of the death of the beloved leader at 6:15am local time.
General Barga is one of the persons watching the state News channel.

So at last that bloody old man died! It  is now up to me to take over. My time has finally come!

Barga calls for a Sgt.:

"Sergeant!"

A young officer hurries into the office of the feared general.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"I want our troops ready within an hour! Ready for battle!"

"But general, his Excellence just died, the fight against the defiant farmers can wait..."

"I do not mean those pesky little farmers...now do what I told you!"

"Yes ma'am!" The sergeant ran all the way to the next building and sounden the alarms... Within an hour a battle-ready force of about 7000 soldiers, 30 tanks and 5 helicopters were ready. Jeeps with recoilless rifles also added to the firepower of Gen. Barga's fierce "Mortadores Brigade".
All her men have fought side by side with her for decades against, rebels, foreign enemies and others...
Barga rode on the tip of the formation with an armored 4x4 vehicle and stood up that everyone could see and hear her.
She was not a person of many words...but her the few words she spoke were always understood by her comrades.

"The time has now come for us to rule!"

After having said this, she made some gestures after which the soldiers started rushing to their trucks and APCs and tanks...

The whole Brigade then got on its way to the presidential Palace, guarded by 2000 Guardsmen.


By the time the unit arrived, the guardsmen were alarmed and got into defensive position.
Then General Barga, got out of her vehicle and declared:

"My comrades, I am the new President. And we will rule together. You are either with the new government or against us...and if you chooseto ´be defiant, you will be dealt with mercilessly...that I can assure you!"

After having sad this with a glare in her eyes, many guardsmen got intimidated. A guardsman though, pointed his M14 at the general with her noticing it and quickly pulling out her pistol and shooting a bullet right into the middle of the guardsman's eyes...

There was a moment of silence...The guardsmen seemed paralyzed and unable to act... Wit them not knowing what to do, Barga ordered some of her men to disarm the guardsmen and secure the Palace...

By 11:27am the Palace was under General Barga's command. At exactly 12:00 noon, she was proclaimed new "president" of the Republic of Saletsia.

5 hours later, several farms were bombed by the air-force leading to the demoralization of the National Farmers' Union that started a rally for higher wages...

[Xyrael]

OOC: So you wanna be my new neighbor? 

To: General Barga

As your northern neighbor, I must express concern regarding your rise to power. Though I harbor no ill will to any native of the East, I would wish to send a delegation to meet with you and discuss proposals to ensure undue tensions between our nations are not created. We have had no quarrel with the Saletsian people before, and we hope this can continue into the distant future.

Signed,
King Xipil

[Saletsia]

To: King Xipil
From: President Barga

We, the Saletsian people, have no bad intentions directed towards the Xyraeli people. To assure you of our good will, I accept your offer of sending a diplomatic delegation. They shall be awaited in our capital.quote]

[Saletsia]

The Saletsian economy witnessed a "bad time" shortly after General Barga took over power. Political instability and uncertainty led to the slide of the stocks and made the Saletsian Peso less worth.
After having secured the nation with an iron fist though, the Saletsian economy recovered.

Meanwhile farms and fishing grounds have been declared state property and taxes are now collected for the use thereof. Political activists and other "defiants" are often seen being picked up by armed soldiers and brought to labor camps.
Due to political opression, many liberals have fled the capital Bandana and headed north where they seek refuge in the mountainous forests of the Saletsian-Xyraeli border.
Rumors of rebel forces' formation has reached the capital...

[Saletsia]

A sergeant once again alarms President Barga:

"Excellence, we have received reports of rebellious groups forming along the border with Xyrael."

General Barga sitting with her back towards her table turns slowly revealing her furious face...
"What did you say?"

"Rebels, your Excellence..."

"And what have you done so far?"

"Nothing yet...we just got the report..."

"Idiot! Now alarm the air-force and bomb the are where these rats are hiding! And mobilize ground troops! I want to see those traitors dead!!!"

"As you wish, your Excellence!"

The sergeant runs to the Military command center and gives the orders. Immediately 6 OV10 Broncos, 4 Crusaders and 10 P51 Mustangs got ready, as well as 70 soldiers on 3 trucks and 4 heavily armed jeeps.

2 hours later the site with refugees was bombed by the OV10 bombers, then followed by low-flying attacks launched by the Mustangs also firing rockets attacked to their wings. The crusaders dropped 5 napalm bombs. After the air-raid the majority of the refugee camp was destroyed as well as a nearby village.
The army unit then arrived and shot dead every survivor. The estimated death toll was about 372.

[Xyrael]

Captain Kabrakhan observed black smoke rising near the Xyraeli-Saletsian border with curiosity. King Xipil had chosen him as a diplomat knowing General Barga would feel insulted in the presence of a politician, and yet the King did not want to risk the life of a higher ranking officer. Captain Kabrakhan was a direct man, however, and he never was one fond of avoiding issues. His Boeing C-32 was escorted by a lone Saab Gripen, who had radio'd in the ominous smoke cloud as well.

Shouldn't be long until we land, then I might as well ask about it. Best case scenario it's a wildfire, thought Kabrakhan with doubt, wet jungles weren't oft prone to fires, but he wasn't here to antagonize and create conflict.

"We have met several contacts, likely Saletsian fighters. We're hailing them now to request an escort," informed a Guardsmen who proceeded back to his post.

[Saletsia]

Two Saletsian MiG-29 fighters closed onto the Xyraeli plane:

"This is the Saletsian air-force. We welcome you to our homeland and shall escort your plane to the capital's airport."

The two MiGs then escorted the Xyraeli planes to the airport where a military band was already assembled waiting for the Xyraeli diplomatic envoy.
General Luna, the Vice-President, was there to personally welcome the Xyraeli. There were almost no civilians at the airport, mostly soldiers and other armed personnel to assure top security.

[Xyrael]

Captain Kabrakhan nervously exited the plane, watching the militant men bustling about, every eye on him and his comrades. He turned to several armed Guardsmen behind him, signaling them to place their weapons down. "It's alright, we don't need any unnecessary incidents." He wasn't so keen on placing his pistol into a safety compartment, but he did so anyways. He was even less keen on hot lead embedded in his chest.

He stepped off the plane with several soldiers as well as a civilian advisor named Atonal personally appointed by the King. Kabrakhan was fairly sure Atonal would do most of the talking, even though he was the official "representative". The diplomatic envoy, however, was more military than it was civilian. Captain Kabrakhan wasn't entirely sure who was who yet, so he waited to be greeted.

Meanwhile, the lone Saab Gripen turned about to return home alongside its MiG escorts.

[Bara]

OOC: can i join?

[Saletsia]

The Honor Guards presented arms as General Luna approached the Xyraeli delegation. He extended his hand to both after greeting each with a salute.

"Welcome to Bandana, Saletsia's capital. I hope your flight has been good."

An armored limousine then came closer and stopped in front of them, being accompannied by two armed jeeps. A soldier opened the door of the limousine.

"Please take a seat. We will be taken to the Presidential Palace now."

General Luna, his assistant and the two Xyrali representatives got into the vehicle and they were transported to the Palace. On their way, the delegates could see the vast agricultural fields and vineyards of Saletsia. On their way to the Palace, a military convoy coming from the border to Xyrael headed back to a nearby camp.
17 minutes later, the limousine entered the heavily guarded Palace complex. The vehicle stopped before the entrance of the grand Palace. As the doors opened and the envoys and officials stepped out, the guards presented arms. Military discipline was something the current president demanded from all.

"Please follow me. I will show you the way to the conference hall."

Gen. Luna took the Xyraelis to the hall where President Barga was already waiting.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Do take a seat."

Meanwhile butlers brought drinks to the envoys and the Saletsian officials.
Then Barga started talking again:

"I would like to stress that Saletsia does in no way pose any kind of threat to Xyraeli security or sovereignty."

[Saletsia]

OOC: can i join?

See OOC thread

[Xyrael]

Captain Kabrakhan raised an eyebrow at the comment, curiously wondering why she was so immediately open. He dismissed it, being more curious as to the fact a military woman could attain such a high position, she was likely not a woman he wanted to infuriate. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" must apply ten fold to this woman, he thought to himself. Well, at least she was direct, he appreciated the military's distaste for 'diplomacy'. He was also quite impressed with the discipline of everyone around him.

"That's good to know," he said with a sincere smile, continuing with his concern. "I did notice smoke near our border, perhaps you have information on it?"

[Saletsia]

"That was simply a crackdown on dissidents. We had reports of rebel groups forming along the border. Nothing we do not have under control."

[Xyrael]

Captain Kabrakhan wasn't satisfied with the answer, but was interrupted by Atonal, who quickly introduced himself and ignored the slight offense given to the Captain.

"Madam President, my name is Atonal. Unlike my military friend here, I realize ones need to safeguard ones land from internal threats," Atonal spoke quickly, moving on to another subject. "It does interest me how you plan to run your country, or how you legitimize your succession to power. Might I inquire?"

[Saletsia]

President Barge turned from Captain Kabrakhan to the otehr Xyraeli that started speaking:

"I intend to run the nation in a way that benefits Saletsia most. Currently our economy is improving very well. And that is a direct effect of our successful policy. The Legitimation to my succession is given by the military and the consent of the people. They accept me as their new president."