Vaquero Estado Libre

[Vaquero Free State]

Casa Grandes, State of Tierra el Sol

The two men faced each other from across the stretch of dirt, ten paces exactly, the two wealthy landlords who ran the state had a hated each other for years now and the tension had come to a head when several of Don Alvarez's cattle had gone missing and naturally Alvarez blamed his rival Don Hernadez and made his beliefs publicly known, Don Hernadez refuted any and all allegations and demanded satisfaction from Alvarez. Now naturally of course such wealthy and important men did not take to the field of honour personally both men had hired pistoleros to take their place.

The duel adjudicator began to count down " tres......dos.....uno".

After the two Dons shook hands and went back to their respective haciendas with honour satisfied.


Villa Hidalgo, State of Río largo

Hipolato Gomez looked out from behind the bar, his cantina was largely empty the group of men sitting at the table in the corner had seen to that, they'd threatened customers, leered at the waitress and openly brandished a variety of weapons. Unfortunately for Hipolato there was nothing to be done...after all it wasn't as if the local police were going to arrest themselves.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Unión Nacional Integralista headquarters, State of Las Colinas

Inside the hall it was standing room only, young men in the parties uniform had flocked from across the state to hear the party's leadership speak, Ramon Ignacio Reyes was touring the Free State seeking to raise the UNI's support, the party had a lot of support among the military especially among those younger officers who lacked the wealth or connections to make far in the world, however more recently Reyes had sought to widen the party's support among the working classes a demographic usually held by the PCO ( .partido campesinos y obreros). Silence fell across the room as Reyes began to speak" Friends and Comrades I wish to talk to you today about the future of our great nation, the world is changing and yet those who govern refuse to adapt,they remain stuck in the past reliving old glories. We are the future, the party of change who will reforge the nation in to the great power we have always been destined to be, the UNI will lead the Free State towards a brighter future!"

Elsewhere more or less the same speech was being given at the Partido Campensions Y Obreros headquarters in the State of Durriti. The relative inaction of the Caudillo's government had embolden the various opposition groups who sensing weakness had began to test their strength.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

State of Soledad, disputed territory between the Mazidian Dominion and the Vaquero Free State

Twenty armed men rode across the plains, their faces covered with Luchadore masks, two days ago a Vaquero man was stabbed by a Mazidian in a drunken brawl...now the man's friends and family were out for blood and it didn't matter whose so long as they were Mazidian. The men were heading towards a small homestead, isolated and remote, the men threw petrol bombs on to the roof of the house as the family fled they were shot and left in the dust.

then they rode back into the Free State.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Somewhere in the Vaquero Free State

Esteban Morelos had no idea where he he was, the Greenshirts had grabbed him from his bed in the middle of the night put a bag over his head and thrown into the back of a truck. In truth he should have known this was coming, after all his articles had been among those most critical of the Integralists and their new government.

He felt as if he had been travelling for days but with the bag over his head it was almost impossible to tell the passage of time, he was dimly aware of others in the back of the truck but neither he or anyone else in the truck made any effort to communicate, everyone was it seemed too wrapped up in their own thoughts and fears. After what seemed like a wage he felt himself being manhandled out of the truck and the bag lifted from his head. The sudden explosion of light blinded him, after a while his vision returned and he could see himself and his fellow passengers were standing in front of a massive compound, above the gate was a single word.


Ascensión

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Fort Tiwanaku, Captital of the disputed Soledad territory.

The Unión Nacional Integralista had come to Soledad, a building on the high street had been purchased through a third party and was now being set up as party headquarters in the region. In the wake of the Homestead Massacre passions were still running high and many were angry at the perceived lack of action from the Mazidian government, The UNI had hoped to tap into this feeling of resentment and to spread its influence in the region.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Soledad territory

Oscar Montalva was the leading Unión Nacional Integralista member in the region, appointed to spread the party's influence among the border regions of the dominion. At the moment he was meeting with the leadership of one of the dominion's regionalist movements the Partido de Libertad de la Soledad, they were only a small local party but they would have connections that he needed, he had arranged the meeting but they had determined the place, never a reckless man Montalva had come with five bodyguards

" Now gentlemen, you have a choice become soldiers in a real army or continue to be captains of your own little band, the UNI is offering to make you and your followers important men in the new order, all we require is your loyalty".

The PLS men nervously exchanged glances at one another and eyed the five armed guards around them
" Senor Montalva we accept your most gracious offer, the PLS is at your disposal".

At this Montalva smiled
" excellent gentlemen, now lets get down to business I'm going to need all the information you have on the region and the names of all your contacts within the regional government".

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Soledad territory

Slipping across the border was child's play, the band of twenty had crossed on horseback under cover of darkness, they were armed but their mission wasn't to to engage in combat but to infiltrate Mazidian society, they had procured papers to prove their identity, so far as anyone was concerned they were and always had been citizens of the dominion.

In the vast spaces of the border regions it was easy to disappear, so far a few hundred Vaquero had managed to enter the Border Territories. Once there they would start to blend in to the local society, near the border their accents and mannerisms wouldn't be seen as foreign, once embedded in the Dominion the Infiltrators had orders to watch..and wait.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

News of another native attack had reached Oscar Montalva, the head Integralist in the Soledad region, this rebellion had been a running sore on the body of the Mazidian Dominion, a constant drain on men and resources. Such a prolonged conflict could provide another opportunity to further subvert and weaken the Dominion which only help to strengthen the Free State's cause. The only question was how to contact these jungle-dwelling tribes who were by their very nature isolationist and culturally distinct from the Vaquero and as such would have little incentive to deal with a foreign power. Also the logistical problems were another matter entirely, transporting men and arms across the border was easy enough...but into the heart of the Dominion itself, that would be impossible.

But if the Vaquero couldn't come to them...it might be possible for some of these natives to make their way to the Free State, once there they could be trained in some of the modern ways of war and then be smuggled back into the Dominion where they could wreck havoc. Now that could work...Oscar resolved to pass on his thoughts to his superiors in Rio Bravo the next chance he got.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Rio Bravo, Vaquero Free State

The explosion could be heard across the city, at 8.00pm five car bombs all going off at the exact time, each in a separate part of the city. The authorities were scrambling to make sense of the situation and to restore a semblance of order to the streets.Casualties where fairly low, only a few dozen wounded, most of the bombs had been in non-residential parts of the city. Already rumours where circulating that it was the Partido Campesinos y Obreros long since thought to be eradicated by the Integralists, others claimed it was the work of Mazidian infiltrators or the result of some as yet unknown organisation. The Integralist authorities were acting with customary brutality taking the opportunity to conduct mass arrests and seizures of property under the guise of maintaining public security and hunting for those responsible.

In the hours following the bombings the PCO would later claim responsibility for the act, declaring that the Partido Campesinos y Obreros would liberate the Free State from their oppressors. With much of the PCO's leadership dead or imprisoned the Integralists were unable to ascertain who indeed was leading the resurgent PCO and even how many of them they were...was this the act of a few desperate remnants or perhaps something more and infinitely more dangerous.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

The Vaquero-occupied Mazidia-formerly the disputed border territories.
Soledad military district.

The disputed territories had finally been restored yet the struggle was far from over, many among the populace remained loyal to the Mazidian Dominion and continued to resist integration into the Free State. Much of the regions infrastructure had been destroyed in the fighting and the civilian work gangs were forced to work night and day under the watchful gaze of Integralist soldiers to clear the rubble.

There were some however who did welcome the Vaquero Free State, many Tiburan Catholics and minority groups were quick to pledge allegiance to the Free State in hope of social advancement and better treatment.

The Tapenagá Republic

While the border territories were somewhat stable the same could not be said for the newly minted The Tapenagá Republic. The Republic's provisional governments authority was entirely reliant on the goodwill of the Vaquero Military, which itself only controlled a small portion of the republic, much of the countryside was in open revolt.

 

[Vaquero Free State]

Burruyacú, capital city of the Tapenagá Republic

The Vaquero were now firmly in control of the city, numerously roadblocks and barricades dotted the city and a strict curfew was enforced, all public meetings numbering more than five people were banned excluding Tiburan Catholic masses and other ceremonies. Yet despite all these security measures resistance to the Vaquero and the Republic's government continued. For the most part this resistance was passive, small acts of disobedience the City's inhabitants had learned that more violent acts of defiance only resulted in harsh and bloody reprisals.

Technically the Vaquero Free State only had troops stationed in Tapenagá until the Republic's government had been properly established and formed its own police and military capable of defending its citizens. Currently the Tapenagá Republic was more a loose coalition of Warlords then a centralized regime in fact the provisional president's only real claim to power was that he and his men currently held the capital city. The other warlords either totally ignored the governments edicts or simply gave lip service to the Republic and its overlords in exchange for letting them run their own petty fiefdoms.