General Kael Arveth stood by the window, red eyes reflecting dusk.
"You asked to talk… privately," he said, turning, voice calm.
Colonel Marek Voss closed the door. "Privacy keeps us honest."
"We did it, Marek." Kael smiled.
"Finally, Argathe breathes," he said, turning to the window, lights beaming through the night.
"It gasps," Voss replied. Boots shifted. Wind hissed through stone.
"Promise me Marek," Kael said, turning to him.
"Stand with me," he urged, offering a hand.
"I always have," Voss said, stepping closer. "That's why this ends."
Kael frowned. "What!?"
Steel whispered. A short sound. Kael staggered, copper skin paling.
"Marek!" He gasped
"Forgive me, old friend." Voss murmured. "Continuity matters."
Kael slid down, bloodless shock widening his eyes. Outside, radios clicked. Doors sealed.
"Report?" a guard asked.
"Secure the building," Voss said. "No alerts."
A pause. "Sir?"
"Now."
Footsteps multiplied. Paper burned. Names vanished.
__________________
[Radio Broadcast - Emergency Channel]
Static hissed, then steadied.
"This is the National Service Channel."
"All units, acknowledge transition command."
A pause. A click. Another voice layered in.
"By order of Acting General Marek Voss, national command authority has been assumed."
"General Kael Arveth is reported deceased due to internal security breach."
"Effective immediately, all civilian ministries fall under military coordination."
"Borders, communications, and transport are secured."
"Unauthorized movement will be treated as noncompliance."
A breath, measured.
"Curfews will be observed as announced by regional commanders."
"Civil servants are instructed to report as scheduled and await directives."
Silence followed, thick, deliberate.
Then one final line, softer, colder.
"This announcement will not be repeated."
________________________
Silence spread.
At dawn, shutters stayed closed. Phones slept. Flags hung still.
"What happened?" someone whispered.
No answer came.
Argathe woke to quiet. The kind it remembered.
By morning, posters peeled. Songs stopped. Files emptied. Graves waited.
The revolution had ended without a sound.
"Stay inside," a voice crackled. "Orders changed."
Windows dimmed. Markets froze. Breath held. History folded. Night lingered.
Someone lit a candle. It went out.
Power settled. Unnamed. Absolute.
_______________________
The chamber smelled of polish and ink. Flags stood too close together.
General Marek Voss sat at the long table, posture straight, copper skin washed pale under white lights. Across from him, Othmir officials waited, fair skin, blond hair neat, blue and green eyes calm with practiced patience.
"Routine cooperation," said the man in gray. "Nothing more."
Voss flipped the document once. "Your definition of routine is expensive."
A thin smile. "Stability has a price."
An aide whispered, "Sir, the mining clauses, "
"Read aloud," Voss said.
The room stilled.
"Exclusive extraction rights," the aide read, voice tight. "Security oversight. Revenue assurances… deferred."
A Female Othmir Minister with green eyes and blonde hair leaned forward. "Deferred does not mean denied."
"You mean delayed?" Voss replied. His pen hovered.
Silence.
Sweat ran down his temples.
"And the military accords?" he asked.
"Advisory presence only," the man said. "Your command remains sovereign."
Voss signed.
Ink dried fast.
Outside, radios carried the announcement.
"Joint partnership," a voice said. "Economic renewal."
In the market, prices climbed by noon.
Maize (per sack) - 30 kunbos (former) → 250 kunbos (present)
Sorghum (per sack) - 12 kunbos (former) → 100 kunbos (present)
Cowpeas (per sack) - 37 kunbos (former) → 300 kunbos (present)
Cocoa (per sack) - 100 kunbos (former) → 920 kunbos (present)
…
"It's temporary," a clerk told a woman counting coins, trying to ease the shock in her eyes.
"It's only been 8 hours," a voice rang from the queue.
The crowd's murmurs rose into an uproar.
A Soldier fired his gun in the air.
Murmurs died instantly.
At the docks, Othmir uniforms appeared beside Argathe soldiers.
"They're just helping," someone muttered.
A child asked, "Who owns the river now?"
No one answered.