Guarding the Revolution

[Centurius]

Zhi looked over the balcony of her office, the view never ceased to impress her, they had fought so long to get here and now their dreams were finally coming true. What had started as a relatively minor mutiny, had truly transformed into a revolution that was set to change China to its core. Even more, than it already had one.

“Madam President, Colonel Wu is here”

Zhi turned around to face her secretary, Colonel Wu had just been appointed the acting Commander of the Beijing Special Guard Unit. An ad hoc military unit that was formed to protect the President following the revolution and now to protect the Forbidden City and surrounding area from any intervention. He was also a personal friend going back to her childhood.

“Let him in,” She said as business-like as possible, once the aide had left and the Colonel walked in she approached and hugged the man excitedly “Guanyu, I missed you”. Guanyu welcomed the embrace of his President shortly before remembering just how their positions of powers had changed. “Thank you, Madam President. I missed you as well.” He replied quickly before adding, “I have come to report on the process we have made preparing the Forbidden City for the Grand Assembly of the People”

Zhi nodded shortly. “Please sit” She replied, pointing to one of the chairs prepared in her office before sitting down in the opposite one. “What do you have to report, Colonel?”

“We have managed to seal the Forbidden City perfectly, soldiers have been stationed at all access points and the Air Force is regularly flying over to enforce the no-fly zone. MSS is still checking for espionage equipment but so far nothing has been found. The delegates are all safe and resting in their assigned quarters.” Guanyu reported.

“I take it then all will be ready before the big event?” Zhi asked, looking for confirmation.

“Yes, we are confident that security will be guaranteed.”

Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, at least one thing was going exactly as planned. “You know Guanyu, sometimes I think I miss the actual fighting. These civil servants are unrelenting, the old regime has left so much red tape to cut through. I’m not sure I’m up to it” She said, frustrated and looking for a friend to talk to that had no ulterior motives.

Guanyu smiled. “Zhi, you aren’t telling me the Devil of Shenzhen can’t handle a few bureaucrats,” He said jokingly. “Don’t get me wrong, the fighting was great but the suit matches you well and you’ve probably done enough already to give all those bureaucrats a heart attack”

Just as Zhi was about to respond her secretary knocked on the door and walked into the room again. “Madam President, Commissar Shen is here to see you about the polling”

More bureaucracy, a short sigh escaped her as she nodded towards the secretary to let him in. “Please stay,” Zhi said as she noticed the Colonel trying to get up to leave the office. He quickly complied, as they both waited to see the Commissar.

 

[Centurius]

When Shen walked into the room he raised his eyebrows at the fact the President was not the only one there with him. “Madam President, perhaps some privacy would be better?”

“Transparency is what we are going for Commissar, might as well bring it to practice here. You may speak freely” Zhi responded as she motioned for Shen to sit as well.

“Very well, as you know we have been keeping a close eye on the regional assemblies and the positions their representatives maintain. As we had hoped the absolute large majority supports your vision of a truly socialist China that cares for all its citizens. There was less support among the Uyghurs and Tibetans but you are still the highest supported Chinese leader to be backed by either of them. Thanks to your own roots the Mongolians almost unanimously support your changes” Shen paused for a second as the next part might be something she would not like. “What the people, however, do not agree with is the way the government is structured. They despise the influence of the Communist party and they feel the system is what enables corruption. As you had hoped they want to greatly simplify the government, but they also want to centre more power with the executive and want you to lead it.”

Zhi wished the news surprised her, she had never seen herself as the leader. She was supposed to get rid of the old government and hold the fort until a new one could be selected but if the purges had made anything clear, there were very few good politicians in China. “What are they planning exactly?” She asked.

“The majority wants to appoint you President for Life and extend the state of emergency until fundamental reforms can be made, some are suggesting a renewed look at the Tian Ming.”

Zhi sighed. “Try to push them to the former, is there anything else?”

“No, Madam President. I have written a more in-depth report but I will leave that for you to read in your own time.” Shen responded.

“Very well, you may go Commissar. Thank you.” Zhi concluded as she stood up herself and walked to one of the windows looking outside. Once Shen had left, Guanyu joined her. “What is wrong Zhi? Isn’t this good news?”

“You know I never wanted this Guanyu, we were just supposed to protect our people. President for life? The mandate of heaven? This is insane” Zhi said, truly panicking at the realization just what she had started.

Guanyu laid his hands on her shoulders. “Remember what you always said? To serve the people is the ultimate goal of any good citizen. Just like you served them out there, you now serve them here. They need good leadership. You are my President and you are their President. One-sixth of the world wants you to serve them and you will”

The words were comforting but the feelings she had about the situation were not improving. Suddenly the doors were pushed open as four officers wearing guard uniforms walked in. As Zhi turned around and looked over them she didn’t recognize any.

“Madam President, we have come to take you to safety. There is a terrorist threat.” Somewhat dazed Zhi started moving towards the men until she was stopped by Guanyu.

“What terrorist threat, Captain?” Guanyu asked as he placed himself between the group and Zhi.

“Colonel, we do not have time for this. Please let us escort the President.” The lead officer replied.

As Zhi looked closer she saw that Guanyu probably also had, there was something off about the uniforms. They looked a lot like real ones but not quite. “Captain, I am Colonel Wu. In charge of the Beijing Special Guard Unit, if there were any terrorist threat I would be the first call. What is the meaning of this?”

The lead officer clearly was trying to figure out a way to recover the situation but a “Corporal” in the back clearly had become impatient as he aimed his rifle and began shooting. As Guanyu jumped in front of her she felt a stabbing pain in her stomach before everything turned black.

As the light returned she could feel a fluid in her mouth. “Madam President, remain calm we are going to take care of you.” A voice said as she saw the white lamps on the ceiling before everything turned black again.

 

[Centurius]

In what appeared to be only an instant, Zhi woke up again. This time in a much nicer room. “What happened?” She asked, dazed.

As soon as one of the guards heard he approached her. “Madam President, there was an attack. You were shot”

Slowly memories of the event were returning, she had been in her office and soldiers had entered. “The soldiers?”

“Terrorists, ma’am. You have been in a coma for the past three days.” The guard replied. At that point the door opened to reveal a doctor walking in. “Madam President, good to see you are awake. How are you feeling?” The man asked, followed by three nurses.

Zhi turned her attention to the doctor. “Like hell”

The doctor smiled. “That is understandable. You took three bullets in your abdomen. It is a miracle that no vital organs were hit. If it were not for Colonel Wu, the damage could have been a lot worse.”

The mention of his name brought more memories back from the attack, suddenly she remembered him on top of her, protecting her. “H… How is Guanyu? I need to see him!”

“He is in surgery Madam President. He took several bullets in his back, he has been in and out of surgery for the past few days.” The doctor replied, motioning for one of the nurses to give Zhi something to calm her.

“Will he be okay?” Zhi asked.

“It is too early to say. The damage to his spine was severe, if he survives he may not walk again.”

The rage building up in her made her forget all about the pain as she forced herself up. “Guards get me the Minister of State Security and a press conference”

“Madam President, you are not well enough yet” The doctor urged as he tried to stop her.

“I am the President of the People’s Republic of China. My people need to hear from me, make sure I can stand there!”

As the next hour passed the doctors did their best to give her the pain medication and supportive measures to stand long enough while the Minister of State Security briefed her on what had happened and her staff prepared clothes she could wear.

At 4 pm precisely, Zhi walked into the central hall of the hospital that had been prepared for the press statement, subtly relying on some support from her guards. As she took hold of the lectern for stability, she faced the crowd. Her face showing only strength and resolve.

“My people, several days ago cowards have tried to destroy this revolution. They have tried to return you to the ways of the old administration. They have tried to destroy this country. I will not let them. The Red Fist is a cancer to Chinese society and cancers are destroyed. Effective immediately I have ordered the Minister of State Security to dedicate as many resources as needed to hunting down every single member of this group and to bring them to justice. The cowards have tried to destroy us, but they have only strengthened us. My heart aches for the families of the eleven heroes of the revolution who were not as lucky as I to survive. The People’s Republic will take care of all of you. The same counts for the ten other heroes who are still fighting for their lives. China remembers those who have fought for it and punishes those that seek to destroy it. The revolution will remain on course, the Grand Assembly of the People will continue. These cowards have achieved nothing”