Basal
Amid the ancient stone structures of Basal is the greatest threat to the stability of the Eastern Sun Emirates, a young man named Nigel Shirow. Two factors combine to make Shirow so dangerous to the Patriarch. First, Shirow is the rightful emir of the city-state of Basal.
Also, four cycles ago, Shirow openly declared himself to be a populist and rebelled against the leadership of the Patriarch. While many uprisings have come and gone in the ESE’s history, none were led by an emir. Shirow’s stature as the legitimate leader of his people has given this uprising enormous press coverage and foreign support. The CNCS and every one of its member leagues has publicly recognized Basal’s independence. The member leagues of the AST have not supported the Patriarch’s attempts to suppress this rebellion.
Even the AST itself is hesitant to act. It has now ordered its troops to only defend strategic targets.
The past four cycles in Basal have been hellish. Both AST and ESE troops have been assigned to fight the rebels, but conflicting goals have made cooperation nearly impossible. Most AST soldiers stationed here are completely demoralized and disgusted by the genocidal tactics of their ESE counterparts. The Patriarchal troopers, on the other hand, have been whipped into a killing frenzy by their officers and are now extremely difficult to control. They draw little distinction between civilian and military targets — they simply want to kill Basalites. The Basalites, for their part, have waged a highly effective guerrilla war against what they view as foreign invaders.
Needless to say, this uprising has been a public relations disaster for the Emirates, as Basal is the subject of daily war reports on the news channels of Hermes 72. Meanwhile, arms, supplies and volunteers continue to pour into Basal, sustaining the city-state’s war effort against the Patriarch.
The situation has brightened somewhat for the locals since TN 1933, when first Bangweuleu and eventually Okavango joined the struggle for freedom from the Patriarch. Basal is no longer alone in its fight and rural emirates have also signed on. Now most of the northwester ESE lies in rebel hands. Emir Shirow also secured, in TN 1934, the Oxford Agreement with the AST that limited Republican interference in the revolt as long as he cut ties to the North. He has one so officially, but continues to receive covert support, most recently through the intermediary of Paxton Arms in Peace River. The Patriarchal troops, however, have only become more desperate to end the revolt and are attacking Basal and its allies with renewed fervor. The AST garrisons are still in place, but remains holed up in their bases, only opening fire if they are threatened. Both rebel and Patriarchal units have clashed with the MILICIA and Shirow wants them left alone as much as possible. These optimistic signs are put off by the fact that Basal has now been a war zone for four cycles. The population is tired and some are starting to wonder if was all worth it. Pessimists also believe it is only a matter of time before the Republic sends in its forces.