Development, Rallying and Recruitment

A/N: I've changed the political power cost for the development options shown in the previous chapter, fyi.

Aviel could not have been luckier; developing factories and infrastructure cost virtually no political power at all, granting her greater leeway with which to spend her precious resource.

"We definitely need more votes for the election, but we're not that well-known or respected among the electorate, and results always speak for themselves," Aviel said to herself, "And then there's the issue of the warlords."

The tenuous peace signed with the Warlords in 2005 ensured the end of a decades-long civil war, but that was not to mean the warlords were truly defanged by any means, just inert. VICE documentaries on Youtube showed just how much support they still commanded among their followers, and the police were hopelessly corrupt, so she could not rely on them to keep order.

Who knows what would happen if they had their way again?

"But I seriously don't have any reason to know if the app will really work," Said Aviel, "Maybe it's a hoax, maybe it's real, I don't know... and the development options are quite expensive as well."

She sighed.

"But I won't get far if I don't take this leap," She said.

With that, she picked the options to recruit talent, and to develop their flagging infrastructure. She could build schools and factories, but infrastructure was key to supporting logistics, especially for future national development projects and, if necessary, to more quickly deploy troops without fear of muddy dirt paths. Finally, she picked the option to rally political party support, hoping it would allow them to nab at least a third of the cabinet seats.

She felt a small smile on her lips when the app twice-warned her about her decisions, a clear sign that it cared for how its user spent its resource. Perhaps to others, it may come off as unnecessary nagging from an overly irate mother, but Aviel simply didn't mind. Or rather, she didn't really care for such a mundane inconvenience.

Current Political Power: 5/100

Aviel winced at how easily it was spent, and made a mental note to mark down which options to pick in the next few months or so.

Then she heard knocking on her door.

"Aviel?"

Gasping, Aviel quickly put aside her phone before saying, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Amos," Called a voice, "Just wanted to talk with you about something."

"Come in," Said Aviel.

Amos came inside, dressed in his immaculate formal business suit that failed to comfortably fit his bulging belly, his leather shoes polished to a meticulous sheen.

"You said you wanted to talk about something, Amos?" Asked Aviel.

"Yes, the first thing's very important," Said Amos, "We're monumentally in debt; 11.65 millions USD."

Aviel's gut sank, and she asked, "Interest rate?"

"Quite high, around 5 percent," Said Amos, "It's not good at all; we're going to be severely hamstrung in our efforts to purchase construction materials. Forget trying to start a construction boom, we might as well have sackcloths for wallets at this rate."

No wonder the development options cost that much political power... Aviel thought.

"How much can we put into repaying that debt right now?" Aviel asked.

"I'm no expert in economics, but at our current rate... ten to twenty years," Said Amos, "And that's not including the expenditures Wakeyo plans for upgrading our police **** and military."

It gnawed at her to have such a decrepit excuse of a national military or law enforcement, being a former soldier and war veteran herself who saw firsthand the importance of an army in Afghanistan, and in raids against terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

Memories of blood and ****, the screams of the dead and dying all around her as their convoy tried to fend off an ambush in an abandoned town in Syria.

Shouts and curses in Arabic filled her ears as the Islamic terrorists eagerly attacked their stranded convoy, having immobilized their armoured transport with a well-aimed rocket.

"Hold this position! Hold!"

Their commanding sergeant died with a bullet to the head. His mouth was open, his eyes were open.

"Damnit! YKX, this is Private Aviel, do you read me!?" Aviel screamed into her radio, "Our commanding sergeant is dead and our convoy's stranded! We need immediate reinforcements at Foxtrot-five!"

"Copy, Private Aviel. We read you," She heard on the radio, "We're sending some choppers and additional troops towards your position, hold out until then."

"Copy that!" Said Aviel.

Modern battles lasted minutes, and depending on the severity and scale of a battle, it could last as long as an hour at most. Aviel's platoon lasted roughly fifteen minutes before help arrived, and in that time, she was **** to watch as her comrades died.

Shmuel, the gun fanatic who loved his rifle like his own wife.

Azriel, the kind but timid private who held grand aspirations of being a banker.

Tammi, the dependable combat medic despite her broody nature.

Eliza, her sister in all but blood, who went through thick and thin since High School.

When the battle ended and her platoon rescued, she sank to the ground, resting her weary frame against a chunk of damaged wall.

She shed many tears but could not bring herself to openly weep and sob, as if all her strength had left her.

She had to be helped up by medics onto their troop transport as they returned to base, and she witnessed grieving families weep over the remains of their sons and daughters, preserved in casks of black-polished wood.

_Tears unnumbered she shed, and it took many months to get over her grief.- - - - - -

_

"...Liberia's stable right now, but I can't count on the warlords remaining idle forever," Said Aviel, "And I don't want other more powerful countries trampling on us because of a weak military."

"Be that as it may, we're a small country," Said Amos, "And forget trying to equip a modern military, we're barely scraping by. Aviel, we have to forget altering the military budget for the time being."

"And if we don't have a strong military, we're effectively finished if someone decides to intervene here," Said Aviel, "...But you're right."

"I'm sorry I can't give you any good news, Aviel," Said Amos, "I can't stomach it any less than you can."

"We'll just have to work with what we have, Amos," Said Aviel, "And without proper roads, we can't deploy ground troops easily anyway. Just focus on repairing and expanding our road network for now."

"Of course, Aviel," Said Amos.

All who have grand ambitions have to start small, but by starting small, one can build a solid foundation upon which a lasting legacy is built for generations to come.

And Aviel had plans to ensure her companions' survival through just that.