Something is off about this chapter, but I can't tell what. Can anyone else see it?
Names:
Ethiopia—Merille Tesfa
Somalia—Rihana Tesfa
Eritrea—Lebina Tesfa
New Mexico—Manuel Jones
September 4, 2030
Central African Republic—South Sudan Border
"I hate and love this place at the same time," Ethiopia muttered to himself, pulling on the last bit of his military uniform. It was a rather old one, and have previously been worn by a soldier who had been killed in the war, but that didn't really matter, as long as it functioned properly. "How does that even work?"
The east African sighed and looked around what had become his living quarters for the last six years. Of course, he had moved dozens of times during that period, but the tent walls had provided a constant if uncomfortable staple in his life. It was rather large for a private tent, at 11 by 11 feet, and had been painted in camouflage to hide better in the elements. It had actually been shipped here from America over a decade ago, and had made a rather impressive journey before landing in Ethiopia's hands.
Merille shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Sure, he'd found himself oddly attached to the tent that he also hated at the same time. He hadn't slept in a proper bed in years, and had yet to eat good food for almost as long. Having to abandon his post and the tent here for more rough quarters as he travelled across the length of New Abyssinia (still he tended to shy away from thoughts of his brother—the sting of betrayal was still clear and the anger even more so) and his occupied countries, seeking recruits for his movement, for the last six months had made him more appreciative of what he had.
Then there had been his interaction with NATO. Merille wasn't really sure what to think about them. On one hand, they were European, and had proven time and time again throughout history to be quite useless unless they themselves were in direct danger. On the other hand, America was closely allied with them, that meant that it was quite possible for them to intervene in world affairs anyways. Either way, he didn't find himself trusting them much at the moment, though he did have to admit that their war against New Abyssinia had given him many opportunities to expand his ranks.
Merille frowned to himself—why was he so lost in thought today of all days?—and stepped out of his tent, sparing one last glance at it. Hopefully, if everything went correctly today, he wouldn't be staying here much longer.
The camp was roaring with life, which made it easy for Merille to lose himself in his citizens' lives. Even on the run and in a rebel group, he had practically created moving cities with how quickly his people had learned how to set up and take down their belongings. There was a well-off family of six travelling to the meeting later today—the eldest son almost twenty and the youngest daughter twelve. As he pushed his way through the living quarters, he passed into the poorer sections of the 'neighborhood,' where crude artisan stands were set up in front of the tents, selling food, weapons, and other supplies.
Merille smiled to himself as his eyes fell on a young family—connecting with them as their nation, he knew that they had been part of the movement and on the run for four and a half years—where a mother and her young children were selling some Cassava[1]. After a moment, he gave in to his guilty conscience, pulled out some metal coins, and bought a bit of the vegetable, which had been baked into a thin cracker. Oh, he was hungry anyways. He always tended to be, as an aftereffect of the war.
Crunching on his new snack, Merille passed through the market area of camp, waving amiably and calling out greetings every once in a while to the people he had come to know during his exile. Some were soldiers he had fought with, others refugees from Kenya, Sudan, and other countries, and yet more were recruits gathered from his trips across North Africa.
But he wasn't here to socialize much today, though he would have much preferred it. No, today, hopefully, would be one of the most important days of his life.
"Merille! Merille, you're back!"
Speaking of…
Ethiopia turned around to see a young boy pushing through the crowd, around the age of twelve or thirteen. He rather stood out in the crowd with his lighter skin and eyes, but his clothing was much the same as the other refugees. He rushed towards the older nation, jumping up into his arms happily. Merille grunted for a moment under his weight before setting him back on the ground.
"How are you doing, Manuel?" He asked, ruffling the American state's hair. New Mexico smiled and held out an old notebook, opening it to reveal that it was full of diagrams and scribbled notes.
"Good, thank you," Manuel responded, passing him the notebook. Merille took it, flipping through the book here and there, scanning over the diagrams and scribbled notes. "We finally reverse-engineered the samples of the Vipeaira vaccination you got us! We've just started making it public!"
"Really?" Merille grinned. His day had just gotten a whole lot better. "Finally, we don't have to worry about coming into direct contact with the rest of our people!"
"Let's not forget how it took us two whole years to get this project done, brother dear. You so owe me after this."
Merille stood up, shooting his sister a deadpan look as Rihana and another woman walked up to meet them. The woman, who had been one of Merille's best spies up until being found out several months ago, held up a hand in greeting.
"It's good to see you again, Merille," Layla Bekele[2] bowed briefly as Rihana extended her hand at him, five fingers splayed wide[3], in her own form of greeting. "Was the mission a success? Manuel's been practically sick with worry."
Manuel's face fell, seemingly remembering why Ethiopia had been gone. "Yes, is my Father alright? Abyssinia didn't hurt him, did he?"
"No," Merille smiled at the young boy. Both he and Rihana had become quite attached to the young state since they had found him wandering the northern half of Libya a little over a year ago. He was still so naïve and young, and the need to keep the boy safe had helped bring the previously bickering siblings together in the cause to liberate their countries. "Of course not. Francis, Arthur, and Ludwig were already there, so I didn't have to enter the fighting at all. Ahmed was given back to NATO and your father held his own against the best super soldier Abyssinia could muster. I didn't see the fight myself, but if NATO came out on top, then that means that we stand a chance against New Abyssinia."
"Did you tell them about Manuel?" Rihana asked. Merille shook his head.
"I would've loved to, but I didn't have time to wait until they had freed the prisoners—Abyssinia was hot on my trail by then. It was a miracle my team and I managed to draw away the other super soldiers at all. If I had told them about Manuel right then and there, I could have distracted them from fighting that one super soldier and lead the rest right to us."
"I don't like it," Layla sighed. "From the one time I met Alfred, he seemed like a nice man, if a bit soft for a navy SEAL. He didn't kill me immediately when he broke into the lab, anyways."
Merille nodded, remembering when Layla had come to him with the news. It was the night she had volunteered to become their spy. A young Ethiopian woman who had studied biomedicine abroad in Germany, she had sympathized heavily with the rebels. When America had broken into the lab, she had aided him, then sent her first message to the Ethiopian rebels. Until she had been found out a scant month ago, she had been sending them information that had kept the rebellion from falling to the Abyssinians, including the information about Abyssinia's meeting with the Allies.
For if there was one thing Merille and his sisters knew, it was that Ezana was cocky. Sure, he could act like the best and wait patiently, but once he had power, he had no problem flaunting it widely. Thanks to Abyssinia focusing on the war more than his domestic affairs, the rebellion had been able to grow to unforeseen numbers as refugees from the war and other surrounding countries flooded in.
There was a reason, after all, that Merille had taken control of the country after the disaster that was World War II. And it seemed that Ezana had held a grudge over that for decades before acting on it, playing the perfect brother all the while.
Huh. Holding grudges ran in the family, he supposed.
"Ready for the speech today?" Rihana asked, placing a hand on her hip. She eyed the crowds around them. "Nevermind that, actually. We all know you'll screw it up somehow. Let's go somewhere more secluded so we can actually talk. When are you due for your speech?"
"In a couple minutes," Merille replied as the three nations and young woman pushed through the crowd. "We've been gathering the commanders from all over for days now, but you already knew that. We'll be meeting over in the amphitheater. And please try to stay afterwards this time. Everyone wants to at least get a good look at their nations before we attack."
Rihana shrugged noncommittally, and Merille shrugged, figuring that this was the best he was going to get out of her. Being such public figures was new to all of them, and Rihana still blamed herself for the emergence of Vipeaira. After the war had begun, the existence of the African nations had been revealed to their people, which had been unavoidable since they were living among them. There was no use to hiding it, anyways, and their continued presence among the rebels had kept up their hope and morale. But on the downside, that meant that they had to appear in the public eye much more often, not even mentioning the upheaval that was going to take place when the rest of the world heard about them.
"Will you finally be entering the war?" Manuel asked. "Will I be able to go home?"
Merille looked away from the boy. Of course, Manuel had been unable to return to the United States after they had taken him down here, inside the New Abyssinian Empire's borders. It wasn't worth the risk of smuggling him past the guards on the borders, where he could be shot and killed—or worse, actually taken to New Abyssinia. At least he could revive with the first option. And he'd also been a major help with the development of the vaccine for Vipeaira, his knowledge and notes helping to save the lives of those afflicted with the disease.
"Hopefully, kiddo," Merille finally responded as the approached a clearing, the entrance guarded by four soldiers. The three nations walked by them with confidence while Layla flashed her clearance badge. "Once we establish a secure route."
Inside the clearing were all of the generals they had assembled for the war, from the squad commanders to even some of the war generals from the Central African Republic and upper class families. They had assembled in neat lines, with several men and women just barely falling into position as they entered.
Right on time.
Layla waved to them as she moved to meet with a group of other scientists, not having the clearance needed to stay with the nations during the actual meeting. Rihana and Manuel followed behind him as they walked up to a hurriedly assembled stage, which stood out quite a bit against the jungle backdrop. Several nations were already there, guarded by a squad of elite rebels, and Ethiopia took the time to nod politely and shake hands with them all, even those who had been his enemies before Abyssinia had taken them over.
First to greet them was Eritrea, his and Somalia's sister. She wasn't dressed militarily, reflecting her preference for peace rather than war. She wore a flowing white dress with a golden trim and cross on the bottom of her skirt. She smiled at her two older siblings, shaking all of their hands, especially Manuel's (she rather doted on the child, loving children herself). Behind her was the Central African Republic, a 5'6 man who had allowed them refuge on the border of his country. Though much too weak to actually participate in the war, he'd helped the rebels on and off by smuggling supplies in from South Africa and Europe. Behind them was Kenya, a rather tall woman who had been one of the few nations that they had been able to rescue before Abyssinia got his hands on them. Wearing her old military uniform, she shook Somalia and Ethiopia's hands, while nodding to New Mexico.
Somalia placed a hand on New Mexico's shoulder, steering him to stand next to Eritrea as Ethiopia took his place at the podium. He took a deep breath, casting his eyes about the group of haggard and tired rebels, who had risked life and limb to come here, to the jungles of Central Africa, to aid him. It was kind of funny, he reflect wryly. Just like Europe had with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, it had taken a threat serious enough to destroy them all to bring Africa together. Now, Somalis stood peacefully next to Ethiopians, Dinka by Nuer[4]. But how long would it last if they won the war?
History suggested that peace wouldn't last half a decade.
But now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Certainly they'd cross that hurdle when the time came for it. But now, he needed to begin his speech.
"My people!" He began, clenching both hands to the podium of the stage. "I know just as you do that it has been eight very long years since the totalitarian regime of New Abyssinia took over our lands and country! We've been forced to flee our homes. Not all of us have made it." Ezana's face flashed though his mind, and Ethiopia clenched his teeth. "Some of our friends and family have even defected to the enemy! Some of us lost everything escaping. Some of our brave friends gave their lives to make sure we could escape. Others we had to leave behind."
Layla's brother had died to make sure she escaped to the rebellion. Libya had given himself up to the enemy to make sure New Mexico made it out of Benghazi. New Mexico had then died on the Saharan desert, revived, and had almost died again before Ethiopia and Somalia had found him. There were several million more stories like theirs, all throughout camp and the country as a whole.
"But just when we thought all was lost…. NATO and the Arab League declared New Abyssinia a threat. For the first time in decades, we had the first world nations on our side, even if they didn't know it. Thanks to them distracting New Abyssinia through war, by giving up the lives of their soldiers, we have been able amass an army of our own to take back what we have lost!
"But as I stated earlier, we still have friends and family on the inside, being experimented on to test the newest strains of the Vira Estheman Virus. Our wives! Our children! Our soil! Our technology! All of it is being abused! And I—!" he paused for just a moment, reveling in what was about to say, being perhaps the first nation to openly declare his authority like this. "As your representative of Ethiopia, declare that we will retake what is ours! And other nations stand with me as well. Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti! We may not all be here physically, but know that we all stand beside you!
"Before this day, I had campaigned to wait until the Allies reached our boundaries to truly reveal ourselves. But then I realized something. We, as Ethiopians, Sudanese, Kenyans, Somalis, cannot wait for the West to save us once again. We need to pull our own weight in the world! We cannot take it any longer! Over 20 million Africans have died! Almost a fifth of our combined populations!
"So, to you generals, who hold command over all ten million rebels scattered across New Abyssinia, I say one thing: it is time for us to fight!" He raised a fist, and a thundering cheer rose above the men and women. "Let us march! And finally gain the honor that we, as Africans, deserve! And! Let us never forget the day when we took our homeland back!"
The resulting shouts were so loud, that for one amazing moment, Ethiopia could imagine that New Abyssinia heard them, all the way from his office in Addis Ababa.
[1]- A common root vegetable grown often in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
[2]- Remember her from Chapter 10? The scientist who saved Alfred? Yep, she was a spy ;P.
[3]- Used in "some African countries" (I couldn't find anything more specific), with a similar meaning to the middle finger.
[4]- Two major tribes in South Sudan. From the information I gathered from them and the South Sudanese civil war, they do not like each other.
World News (June 5, 2030 to February 13, 2031):
1) The Allies are now planning an attack on New Abyssinian soil soon
2) India splits from the Allies and forms a platoon in Egypt
3) New Abyssinia plans to annex Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan
4) Israel drops out of the war without a reason
5) The Allies have pushed through a minor amount of super soldiers in Egypt and Libya
6) The whole world is watching as Vipeaira and VEV slowly begin to fade away