Post

There is Power in a Union
Bunze Slave Camp, planet Gaoran, Fukou system, Wan territory, West Casan
2204 hours, 28 May 4764 (0804 local time)

"Disperse immediately and return to work, slaves!" came the cries of the camp officer, the camp tower guards fixing rifles from their watchtowers at the gathering of malnourished elves in the camp, while riot armour-clad guards held position in front of the officer. However, the mass did not budge, the slaves glaring daggers at their captors and wielding pipes, picks, shovels, hammers, improvised incendiaries, and agricultural implements in their hands.

From the crowd, a lone elf stepped forward, unarmed, and spoke up as the agreed-upon spokesperson for the slaves, "We - the Labour Committee of Bunze - are done taking your orders. We demand an increase in rations, fair working hours, and of course, our freedom. Comply, and we will return to work. Refuse, and we will exercise our rights as Casanese citizens to ensure our demands are met through whatever means necessary, and believe me, we'd all rather die fighting for freedom than live another moment as your slaves."

"Labour Committee? Citizens?" The camp officer couldn't help but stifle a laugh before drawing her sidearm, pointing it at the spokeswoman, and pulling the trigger. As the body of the elf dropped to the ground and the officer reholstered her weapon, she gave her reply, "Big words from a dead woman. Guards, disperse these terrorists."

Reciving their orders, the riot control outfit begins firing tear gas and stun pistols into the crowd, followed up with a charge, batons raised. However, they are soon met not with the panicked, disorganised mass they'd expected, but rather, a well-organised, well-drilled battle line formed by ex-soldiers and lifelong trainees, with shovels soon thrust into guts and picks and hammers falling on helmets, hoes and sickles slashing against plates, molotovs setting ablaze shields, pipes bashing into shins, and hands yanking weapons from hands. With a fury unmatched by the guards, the slaves held their ground, though weakened, and soon beat back the small handful of guards through overwhelming numbers, albeit not without casualties.

In response, the camp officer bites her lip before taking flight and reaching for her radio, "Towers, fire! Stop them!"

Not needing to hear it twice, the guards in the towers around the camp opened fire on the forced labourers, carving into their ranks with fury. It wasn't long, however, before molotovs began raining down on these towers, as well, setting the structures and their occupants ablaze. In other locations across the vast compound, the mass charging the towers proved too much to handle, as the guards were unable to shoot enough to prevent their swarming into the towers and up to the top, a melee breaking out that, through great sacrifice, resulted in the utter extermination of the guardswomen. The fighting lasted hours, but the sheer numbers among the slaves carried the day. Those guards that attempted to escape were captured and, as a punishment the elves thought only appropriate in retaliation to the soles of their feet having been flayed upon induction to the camp to prevent any attempts at escape, had their wings violently hacked off with sickles, only to then be violently beaten to death.

Their work done, the slaves stormed the food stockpiles, distributing what they had among the survivors. Around this same time, all the West Casanese flags were removed from their flagpoles and set ablaze. In their place, scraps of blood-soaked cloths were raised, and the communications equipment of the camp utilised to broadcast a message to other slave camps throughout Wan and inform them of what happened here, to spark further slave uprisings.

To the surprise of the Bunze camp, their message was not met with radio silence or threats, but rather responses from other slave camps throughout the region that had likewise capitalised on the weakening of security to fight the war in order to overthrow their own camp security, and together with them, the ex-slave camps subsequently declared the formation of the Wan United Front, declaring independence from the West Casanese National "People's Republic" and immediately setting about preparing defences for their inevitable counterattack. This new "state" boasted a complete lack of a central government, rather relying on local People's Assemblies to run their own affairs, the former slaves not willing to trust anyone with any more power than any other person again and instead relying on loose cooperation to protect each others' mutual interests against outside threats. Such a state, by its very nature, of course threatens the stability and very concept of its totalitarian, rigid caste-based former national government, and quickly draws Shashai's ire. But with the ongoing war with the East, the Wan Front is, for the moment, left to its own devices, albeit placed under quarantine.