Serenierre
Established Nation
Ville de Croin
Province of Arrière-pays
People's Republic of Serenierre
Province of Arrière-pays
People's Republic of Serenierre
For a month, the People's Military had maintained a tight curfew over this Burgundian village in the north-eastern province. The soldiers were in full battle gear, usually patrolling the idyllic streets with their assault rifles ready to fire at anyone moving too quickly. In hushed tones, in the pews of the Church every Sunday, the townsmen and women would come to hear of quiet visits by agents of the dreaded Unit 74 - the Party's own intelligence service, superseding even the military intelligence apparatus. Every so often, in this intensely religious village, someone or the other would be pointedly absent from the service; their women trying, but failing, to keep up a strong front; their eyes reddened with nights spent crying. In times such as this, where one could not be sure if any act of decency might be seen to be some covert signal, the rest of the people kept a cool distance, all the while their hearts aching at seeing the plight of people they had known for years. Throughout this ethnically Burgundian province, the story was the same, young men and women were vanishing. Some pointed a cautious finger at the cruel arm of Unit 74, others still were hopeful for a resistance forming in the forests, while the remaining were growing more frightened day by day.
In this environment of tension, stepped Captain Charles Bernard, a strong willed, ambitious officer in the Army, who had been appointed in charge of the 150 man strong company patrolling the area. This part of the province was especially restive, with unnervingly frequent clashes between the Burgo-nationalist militias and the local contingents of policemen. In fact, the police has given up on this particular district some time ago. Well aware of the delicate situation, Captain Bernard was driven into the village's community center, where he met with the few people who had been specially summoned to meet the man. They stood silently in the main hall and Captain Bernard walked up to the stage.
Few words were exchanged but a cold warning was given: "The Party demands absolute loyalty and on that account this village has been lagging behind especially badly. The Army will not stand for any subversives here. The reason you all have been dragged here is that you all are the leaders of this community, respected and valued members of this backwater." He paused. "I will say this clearly and I will only say this once: Control your sons and daughters or the People's Military will act and shall do so decisively."
Such visits were common and usually were the precursor to a harsh wave of retribution on part of the Villesen leaders. As the Captain had walked out, the local villagers, who stood in that small chamber, knew that trouble was brewing. And as the jeep pulled away, the group stepped out and walked into the main square.
"Brother," the Mayor spoke to the milkman, "We need to go into hiding. Them guntoters have never been this upset with us."
The milkman walked behind the Mayor, followed by the butcher, and the local teacher. "Monsieur Mayor," he responded, "Do you have any connection with the forest folk? Can we tell them we're in danger?"
"You know I don't and they are so hidden, they don't trust anyone - let alone someone like me," the Mayor pointed to his lapel pin, which had the village's seal on it.
***
In the depths of the forests surrounding the village, where the trees grew thick and rose up high, the mountains were deep and the rivers wide, the rag tag guerillas sat carefully at the edge of the hill which overlooked the town. One of the women was sitting on a rock and had her binoculars pointed in the direction of the town.
"The branleur is driving away."
The other listened quietly. The bunch of them in the forests had, in the past few weeks and months, been taking greater and greater liberties with the Serenien administration. Perhaps, it had come to bite them in the back side. The Serenien military had cracked down hard against many Burgundians and with the border with [MENTION=26]Bourgogne[/MENTION] sealed, this militia and many others like it were troubled by the sudden evaporation of their main source of weaponry and other supplies. Just the other day, according to one of the masked figures, they had seen more troops pulling into the district. In the air, some patrol craft had also started making more regular sorties over the more open areas in the forest. Thank God for the trenches they had dug in advance. These were frightening times.