Pachoy Rebellion

The Pachoy Rebellion is an ongoing armed uprising in Pachaug, an international charter city in Crona. The conflict originated out of a series of monthlong protests against the continuation of Pachaug's charter city agreement with Urcea which escalated dramatically on the morning of 17 April 2032 with a mutiny of Pachaug's Nysdra Sea Guard garrison. The domestic government of Pachaug soon split along radical and moderate lines, with both factions forming (or re-forming) a government for the territory. The more radically inclined Provisional Republic held most of the territory until the intervention of the Chenango Confederacy in May 2032, which deployed its military to subdue the rebellion. By the end of the month, Chenango forces had besieged Pachaug's inner city and naval base in order to avoid major bloodshed.

The Rebellion was seen in Urcea as the general conclusion to the decades-long political reorganization that occurred as a result of the Deluge. It revealed that the political arrangements made during that period - arrangements that were largely pragmatic and defensive in nature - were no longer appropriate. The rebellion and its aftermath were the culmination of several years of post-Deluge reorganization, beginning with the transition of Housatonic towards independence and the annexation of the Unnuaq Mission State by New Harren. It also caused a reevaluation of Urcea's role in the Nysdra Sea region in both Urcean politics and society, leading to a greater recognition of NSTA members as peers rather than clients.

Background
Pachaug was a member of the Northern Confederation for centuries prior to the events of the War of the Northern Confederation and Algosh Coup, after which time it fell under the political dominion of Algoquona. It, along with sister-city Housatonic chafed under ethnic Algosh domination, and sought ways to regain political autonomy. The end of the Treaty of Narasseta between Algoquona and Urcea provided this opportunity. Urcea's Levantine allies launched Operation Western Blizzard, which allowed Pachaug to declare de facto independence and sign an international charter city agreement with Urcea in 2017, giving Urcea some economic control over the city in exchange for a high degree of political autonomy and military protection. The agreement greatly benefitted nearby Housatonic, but Pachaug's economic position declined relative to it and generally throughout the 2020s. Additionally, the Final War of the Deluge brought about Algoquona's destruction, meaning the threat to Pachaug had largely receded by the late 2020s. Many Pachoy also began to feel that the Urceans exhibited favoritism towards Housatonic. In 2029, Housatonic was given full permission by Urcea to abrogate its charter and convene a constitutional convention, and Housatonic became a republic in February of 2030, even receiving the Unnuaq Chain territories from Urcea following their full independence. Perceptions of anti-Pachoy bias, the negative results of 13 years of the charter agreement coupled with the decreasing need for military protection led to a major political change in the 2030 elections, as 14 members who were partly or completely anti-charter were elected to the Pachaug Communal Council, an increase of 6, which gave them the majority. Taking office in 2031, the new anti-charter majority worked slowly and deliberately at first, especially considering that the charter agreement itself required a unanimous vote of the Communal Council to abrogate. Negotiations with Urcea were slow, and many Pachoy perceived that Urcea was intentionally blocking efforts to reform. As a largely symbolic gesture, the Communal Council voted on 15 February 2032 to unilaterally abrogate the treaty. The vote failed, with 14 voting for and 6 against, failing to meet the unanimous threshold.

Among the Pachoy people, the vote on 15 February was taken in a different light than was originally intended. The Communal Council intended this vote to be a symbolic show of displeasure rather than an actual effort to unilaterally become independence; the fact that it was a "political play" of sorts was not well understood by the Pachoy public. The public felt that the vote should be binding and that the unanimous requirement was a new hurdle imposed on the Pachoy people. Accordingly, large street demonstrations began to develop in Pachaug over the course of late February and early March 2032. The intricacies of the Communal Council vote soon gave way to a general wave of displeasure with the existing charter regime. A general strike was organized and executed on 25 March 2032, and by the end of March a large number of Pachoy were demonstrating against the charter. Resistance was fiercest in the inner ring, Pachaug's city core, where once-prosperous merchants and their workers were most disadvantaged by Housatonic's perceived ascendancy at their expense. Though most of the protests were against Urcea generally and the charter specifically, they also gradually took on a more virulent anti-Housatonic character, and on 28 March the government of Housatonic issued a directive for all of its citizens to leave Pachaug for their own safety. By the middle of April, the Pachoy economy had virtually shut down, forcing Urcean negotiators back to the table. On the night of 16 April, a false rumor spread on Thinkpages that the Urcean negotiating team had refused to meet with the Pachoy government's representatives. The rumor was dispelled by the Mayor-Intendent, but it had inflamed passions such that overnight between 16 April and 17 April various protestors began rioting throughout the city.

Seizure of naval base
On the morning of 17 April, much of Pachaug was in significant tumult from the previous night's rumors, and most demonstrating Pachoy felt that tensions were coming to a head. Many of the Pachoy members of the Nysdra Sea Guard had been deeply alarmed by the reports that negotiations had been a ruse, and many of them spent the night of 16 April planning to make a move. A majority, but not all of the Guard members stationed in Pachaug, were supportive of against the Guard and the charter, and throughout the night many Guard members who were thought to possibly betray the plan were gagged and hidden in a secluded warehouse at the naval base. At the morning changing of the guard at 7:02 AM, 17 April, the plotters executed their plan: men who were to take guard were either plotters or replaced by men who were, and the guards coming off their post were quickly arrested. Before there was time for the base commanders to formulate a response, it was already too late - the base headquarters were seized by plotters and the commanders - all New Harrenic men - were arrested. At 7:18 AM, the plotters announced to the people of the city that they had seized control of the naval base and that their aim was to remove all foreign influences from the country. The lowering of the NSTA flag at the naval base was met with cheers by all demonstrators who saw it, and many in the streets took this as a signal to move. An uprising had officially begun.

On 18 April, the Nysdra Sea Guard charged the conspirators with treason, and placed all ethnic Pachoy officers and enlisted men throughout the entire Guard on a temporary leave of absence in order to establish their loyalty. Many Pachoy Guardsmen took advantage of this leave by deserting and joining the ranks of the mutineers and demonstrators, swelling their ranks with professional military personnel.

Barricades erected
After the previous night's rioting, much of the streets of Pachaug were in a state of disorder on the morning on 17 April. Many protesters had remained encamped and had formed mutual protection "neighborhood watch" type agreements among their camps, forming the basis of later militia organizations. The sound of gunfire combined with the lowering of the NSTA flag at the Nysdra Sea Guard naval base at 7 AM led to many being awakened by cheers. As radical action was taking place at the base, many separate groups and individuals decided to take their own next move, and by 8 AM street barricades began to be constructed at most major thoroughfares and checkpoints. By the early afternoon, transit in and out of the inner circle of the city was almost entirely controlled by barricades. City police initially attempted to maintain order the night before but, with the fall of the naval base, many walked off the job or some even joined those atop the barricades. As darkness fell on Pachaug the night of the 17th, an increasing percentage of the city-state was falling under the control of the rebels. Street demonstrators also arrived at the naval base in the afternoon and were welcomed by the mutineers, and together both groups began to fortify the ground outside the base. Not all of the city-state was uniformly against the charter, however, and in more pro-Occidental quarters order remained in place to some degree. The inner circle presented the most radical anti-charterist presence, with support for the new uprising varying in the areas radiating out from it. The more remote parts of the city-state's territory - beyond the actual city limits - remained primarily in pro-charterist hands throughout the remainder of the conflict.

Hostages taken
After the mutiny at the naval base, roughly three dozen hostages were held by the mutineers, primarily New Harrenic officers and servicemen but also their families and a small number of New Harren-born service workers. Additionally, five Quetzen officers were held; it was offered that they be released but these officers refused unless their New Harrenic colleagues were also released, and accordingly they remained captive. Throughout the course of the day, additional hostages were brought to the naval base. This included Urcean and Levantine businessmen, their families, and various other people, including academics and tourists. Demonstrators began to round up Levantines and Urceans and brought them to the base, but many of these foreigners were hidden by sympathetic friends, neighbors, colleagues, and associates among the Pachoy people and gradually escaped over the next few months. Some other NSTA state nationals were also seized, but many escaped by blending in with local residents and many were also let go with the exception of Housatonic nationals. By 20 April, about 250 people (primarily from Urcea, New Harren, and Housatonic but also several other Occidental nationals) were being held as hostages at the naval base. They were given two barracks and treated mostly humanely, given adequate food and water while being kept under close watch.

Unity government attempt fails
As Pachoy rebels seized control of the inner city and mutineers controlled the naval base, Mayor-Intendent Mikaere Arono and Communal Council abandoned the inner circle of the city and held an emergency meeting in a nearby church at 11 PM on 18 April. All 20 members and the Mayor were in attendance, beginning an all-night debate as to how to respond to the uprising, and representatives of the Urcean-appointed Charter Administration were barred from entering. Though the Council had voted 14 to 6 in favor of abrogating the treaty earlier in the year, a number of pro-abrogation councilors were not necessarily in favor of resistance to Urcea but rather a renegotiation of the treaty. Accordingly, a key group of moderates from this faction - about 5 in number - became key in deciding a course of action that night. They were joined by the 6 members who voted against abrogation as well as the 9 other pro-abrogating members who were perceived to be more radical. By 2 AM, a general consensus around the 9 pro-abrogators and Mayor-Intendent Arono emerged that the government should make a show of unity with the protestors and join the barricades. The moderate bloc opposed joining the barricades but were generally partial to the notion of a show of solidarity with the people, while the pro-charter faction would not even consider that notion. By 4:30 AM, the moderates and pro-charter faction had reached a compromise, agreeing that the Council would adopt a resolution calling for peaceful protest, continued orderly and lawful function of the city government, and a vague acknowledgement of the need to jointly reexamine the charter while condemning any violence or unlawful acts. After five and a half hours of debate and off-the-floor negotiating, the 9 anti-charter members grew increasingly frustrated and agitated. They issued a final threat - the moderates and anti-charter members must get together and pass a proclamation expressing solidarity with the people and opposition to the charter, or they would walk out and deny the body a quorum. The moderates refused this threat, and the 9 anti-charter members promptly left the church where the meeting was taking place. The Mayor-Intendent announced he would join them, but as a show of respect to the remaining majority of the body he was going to resign. This left the remaining 11 members of the Communal Council without a quorum, and the 9 members and former Mayor-Intendent crossed over to the inner circle and mounted the barricades to cheers.

After consulting with the Charter Administration commissioners - the representatives of Urcea - the remaining Communal Council members removed themselves to the rural outskirts of the country and met again on the afternoon of 19 April. They declared the 9 seats vacant, filled them temporarily with moderates, and appointed a new man, also a moderate, to serve as Mayor-Intendent. From then on, this moderate government would be referred to as the "Charterists" in the press, though their post-rebellion aims were largely in favor of charter revision. Inside the city on the 19th, after hearing the news, the 9 Communal Councilors declared the other members to vacated their office by their lack of solidarity with the Pachoy people. The 9 voted to abrogate the treaty and voted themselves as the government of the Provisional Republic of Pachaug. Mikaere Arono recognized the new body but refused to serve as its leader, and instead the Provisional Republic appointed a three man executive committee. Additionally, it expanded their numbers from 9 members to 17, appointing 4 additional new members from among the ranks of the radical street protestors and 4 new members representing the mutineers at the naval base. On the 21st, the Provisional Republic adopted a new flag - the "Blue Flag" - to replace the flag of the city-state, which had traditionally been associated with the social and political elite.

Chenango intervention
The rebellion settled into relatively stable boundaries after the events of late April 2032, with most of the country under the control of the Provisional Republic (with varying degrees of authority) and small pockets under the control of the remaining Charterist Government. The Republic's authorities opened negotiations with the Charterists in an attempt to avoid conflict and restore national unity, and separately the Republic also secretly opened negotiations with Urcea. The Republic offered to release the hostages and to remain in NSTA's defense area - but not its exclusive economic zone - in exchange for Urcea recognizing Pachoy independence, which Urcea considered but ultimately rejected on 2 May 2032 following a meeting of senior NSTA officials. After that time, the Republic broke off negotiations and would not settle for anything except complete independence, with the fate of the hostages to be determined only after full international recognition.

The red line position demanded by the Provisional Republic prompted another meeting of NSTA on 4 May, when the NSTA Council voted unanimously (including the Charterist government's representative) to authorize an allied expedition into Pachaug to restore order and rescue the hostages, and additionally the Council voted to authorize any use of force needed within to quell the rebellion if it came to it. Unusually, it was decided that Urcea would not conduct the expedition despite the Urcean military being designated the lead defense organization of NSTA. Instead, at the insistence of Quetzen representatives, a Cronan military would conduct the operation. The Chenango Confederacy, Pachaug's neighbor, was chosen to conduct the operation for two reasons: its Trinational Army was deemed competent to act, and; Chenango held de jure sovereignty over the territory of Pachaug as a technicality under the revised international charter agreement, having been transferred from Algoquonan sovereignty at the demise of that state. Accordingly, the Chenango gave moral and political cover for NSTA's actions and ensured that a competent military force would quell the rebellion. On 5 May, the Confederacy voted to deploy its military to Pachaug. The Charterist government voted to allow them into the country as a law enforcement mechanism. The Provisional Republic declared the intervention to be an invasion and began to widely arm and organize those on the barricades, with prominent organizers and mutineers serving as officers for the new Republican militia forces.

On 10 May, the Trinational Army entered Pachoy territory. It took control of the more rural territorial periphery of the country, establishing formal military control over those pockets of land still under the control of the Charterist government, and it began to establish a forward staging ground within Pachoy territory while taking control of what infrastructure existed outside the city. After having adequately staged, the Trinational Army entered the city on the morning of 13 May. Over the course of two days, it gradually secured most of the outlying parts of the city, encountering no resistance except at the city's small airport, where a handful of militia forces shot at TNA forces prior to surrendering. By the morning of 15 May, the majority of Pachaug's land area fell under Chenango occupation. The Army purposefully did not advance into the city center, which was now well fortified with barricades and surrounded by the city's iconic channel system, as well as the former Sea Guard base which was also well defended. Instead, it worked with the Charterist government to restore public services and general government in the areas under allied occupation and set into a siege of the two holdout areas in an effort to avoid bloodshed. Later that afternoon, the Nysdra Sea Guard deployed in a combat capacity for the first time, establishing a blockade of the city. The Charterist government returned to the city, once again holding meetings in a church in one of the middle-ring neighborhoods of Pachaug.

Siege of Pachaug
The Siege of Pachaug began on 15 May as forces of the Chenango Confederacy's Trinational Army surrounded the city center and naval base which were the two main centers of pro-Republican activity. The Provisional Republic condemned the occupation as illegal and called on the Pachoy people to resist it with armed force if necessary, but few did. Contemporary reports among the Pachoy population expressed that a majority of people by this time supported ending the charter regime but opposed use of violence or an armed uprising against NSTA, a fact confirmed by later polling. Accordingly, a popular movement began to try to convince the Republic's leaders to stand down, and the Chenango Confederacy (on behalf of itself and the Charterists) began backchannel negotiations with Republican leaders on 18 May. They offered pardon in exchange for complete surrender and release of the hostages, an offer considered but ultimately rejected at a secret meeting of the provisional government on 20 May. From then on, the Republic refused to negotiate and began to prepare for a long siege, training its militia day and night while establishing an organized system of rationing and planting of food.

Life largely returned to normal outside the besieged areas. The Charterist government set a date for new elections on 5 June for all positions on the Communal Council as well as Mayor Intendent, with the 11 members elected in 2030 agreeing to stand aside for a new government, whatever form it took. The 5 June special election returned a landslide majority - 18 to 2 - of charter reform moderates. Although its overall platform and position relative to the Occident was moderate, the Charterists themselves began to take on a more radical demeanor, arguing that no change could occur without legitimate bodies implementing those changes; this argument represented not just a legal position, but a moral position that they effectively held the sovereignty of the Pachoy people, and that such representative government was not something to squander. Accordingly, it broke off all negotiations with the Republic on 10 June and agreed with NSTA leaders that only the total surrender of Republican forces would bring the rebellion to a satisfactory conclusion. It began to raise its own militias on 12 June; though these militias did not attract nearly as many men as the Republican forces, the Charterists did manage to put nearly 500 men in arms by the end of the month. These forces were subordinated to Chenango command under NSTA's Defense Coordination Initiative and largely used for defense of important installations and other non-frontline duty.

By the beginning of July, food within the Republican-held territory began to run short. This information reached Chenango forces through defectors, who began to steadily stream over the barricades and out of the city center as food dwindled. The Trinational Army then managed to secure a negotiated agreement with the Provisional Republican government: food shipments would arrive every four days in exchange for three hostages being released, or more in the case of a mother and children. The Charterist government protested to its allies that this prolonged the rebellion indefinitely, and NSTA eventually was persuaded to end the trades. The final food shipment arrived on 2 August following the last "bystander" (non-government, non-military, non-business proprietor) hostage being released. Overall, about 50 people were released, including the final release which included the remaining number of children and significant-others. On 8 August, it was revealed that an additional 6 hostages had been released by means of subterfuge, with collaborators within the Republic disguising hostages and sneaking them out with the departing personnel who brought the food shipment. In response, Republican forces brought forward the former naval base commander - a New Harrenic Rear Návarce named Paul Collan - and four captured collaborators, and lined them up in view of the besieging Chenango forces. The five were then shot in the head as a reprisal for the subterfuge. The execution was viewed by NSTA forces as an escalation, and at a meeting on 9 August the NSTA Council directed Chenango forces to storm the city center and naval base before the end of the month. The Trinational Army began preparations for a full assault.

The summer had been a significant period of radicalization within Republican lines. At the beginning of the conflict, most of the councilor in the provisional government sought independence and conciliation with Urcea as a peer partner as well as some economic concessions to make Pachaug more competitive. After months of siege, however, goals had shifted, and most of those within the siege lines took on a general anti-Levantine sentiment, with some members of the government going as far as to suggest a "total purge" of Levantines, Nysdrines, and other Occidentals from the country in the event of their victory. As efforts to turn Chenango forces on the siege lines failed and optimism faded, the view within the provisional government became primarily vengeance oriented. Between 1 August and 8 August, significant debates were held within the government on executing the hostages; while a slim majority blocked executions, largely on strategic ground, their political position grew more tenuous after the events of 8 August. When it became clear after 9 August that the Trinational Army was bringing in additional personnel and equipment, the provisional government fully transitioned to a scorched earth policy. The hostages were to remain, but large numbers of suspected collaborators and anyone with perceived Levantine ancestry were rounded up on the night of 12 August. Unlike the relative comfort of the hostages at the naval base, these collaborators - about 45 in all - were thrown into a small room for two days before being hanged along the city's channel system on the morning of 15 August. The provisional government also ordered that as much useful material as possible be destroyed and equipment sabotaged, with booby traps to be placed throughout their remaining territory. At the naval base, orders were given to have full watch around the clock as well as high degrees of readiness for all soldiers. The barracks containing the hostages received several additional guards in order to prevent a raid.

Rescuing the hostages
Following a week of preparation, the Trinational Army reported to NSTA command that it was ready to execute its operations at 1 AM on 17 August, and they were ordered to proceed. The first stage of the attack focused on the naval base, which had a smaller rebel presence, a primarily military population, as well as the barracks holding the hostages. Using Royal and Imperial Army aircraft, a strike force consisting of 250 men from the Trinational Army's Special Operations Battalion ("SOB") landed via helicopter in and around the naval base between 1:12 and 1:20 AM, encountering limited anti-air resistance. Their mission was to secure the two hostage barracks (Barracks "A" and "B") and to establish a perimeter within base grounds to keep the hostages safe while the full assault began, with a secondary objective to disrupt as much of the defense as possible. Due to the proximity of the hostages, no aerial assault occurred before the landings.

The strike began inauspiciously with one squad of SOB forces getting lost within the camp and arriving at the mess hall rather than Barracks A, which held about 110 hostages. Their inability to reach Barracks A allowed defending rebel forces to surround it, but those within it successfully managed to barricade the doors and windows as soon as gunfire began. Barracks B, which held about 80 hostages, was secured by SOB forces at 1:29 AM, at which time a signal flare was fired to open the general offensive against the base by Trinational Army forces outside. SOB forces regrouped in the vicinity of Barracks B by around 1:38 AM with the intention of moving on to Barracks A. However, after attempting to remove the barricades, rebel forces had simply opened fire on the steel barracks building minutes before, with nonstop shooting occurring for about 90 seconds, after which time they regrouped with other rebels in a more defensible position. By the time SOB forces arrived at Barracks A at 1:44 AM, about 55 of the 110 hostages had been killed with another 40 some degree of injured. The surviving hostages were relocated quickly back to Barracks B, and SOB forces established a perimeter there. With all living hostages secured and contained and allied forces in a limited perimeter, aerial assault on the base began at 1:50 AM using Urcean attack helicopters and strike aircraft.

The sudden presence of the enemy had alarmed rebel forces, but they were generally ready for the attack due to the preparations made in the days prior. From trenches around the base, significant resistance was made to the advancing Trinational Army forces from the outside, while a small force attempted to capture Barracks B but was rebuffed. TNA organizational failures led to limited friendly fire incidents around 2 AM, which temporarily halted the assault as units were reorganized and a limited investigation occurred, and resumed around 2:30 AM. Within the base, SOB forces managed to destroy the base's power generation, and the better equipped TNA forces outside benefitted due to the lack of significant nigh vision capability by the defenders. By 4 AM, the main trench-line had been overrun by the TNA. By 6 AM, as the sun began to rise, the secondary trench line had been overrun and TNA forces were within the gates of the naval base. At 6:15 AM, after about five hours of fighting, the naval base's rebel commander and several other senior officers attempted to flee the base in a small, fast boat, but were captured by blockading forces not long after. Without a command structure, some of the men continued to fight on but others laid down their arms, and by around 7 AM the naval base was secured. The Blue Flag was lowered and in its place the traditional Pachaug flag, along with that of NSTA, were raised over the base.

Storming the city
Throughout the night, gunfire and explosions had signaled to the defenders of the city's inner circle that an attack was imminent. As the sun rose, the sign of the flags over the naval base being lowered and Charterist-NSTA flags being raised after just six hours of fighting there was perceived as a bad omen by the defenders of the inner circle. Regardless, the members of the provisional government mounted the barricades and channel defenses, boosting the morale of the other rebels, and they were joined by former Mayor-Intendent Mikaere Arono, who waved the Blue Flag atop a barricade.

Aftermath
The Pachoy Rebellion, including its many fatalities, left a lasting scar on the Pachoy people and had significant consequences for Pachaug as a state.

Urcean political changes
The Rebellion caused Urcean leaders specifically and Urcean society generally to reexamine the weight of its influence in the Nysdra Sea region, and particularly how other states viewed Urcea. After decades of Deluge-related policies that were ostensibly to maintain the independence and national identity of people in Crona, a bloody rebellion against a Urcean-imposed system called into question the validity of Urcea's work there as well as how Urcea's alliances in the region worked. In early September, calls for the repeal of the Protocols Act of 2023 became widespread throughout Urcea. The Act, which allowed Urcean ministries to directly interact with NSTA members without need for diplomatic protocols, was viewed as an admission of imperial hegemony by Urcea, and became deeply unpopular. The Act was subsequently repealed in October 2032, with normal diplomatic relationships restored. Many Urceans began to feel, while NSTA was a valuable institution and Urcea's involvement in the Nysdra was not irredeemable, that Urcea needed to take a step back and allow its partners and allies to grow organically, and that Urcea should be more of a peer, rather than patron, in NSTA.