Khrystalpol Incident: Difference between revisions
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Throughout October and early November, occupying authorities in Khrystalpol reported an increasingly agitated state of affairs in the town, as answers surrounding the Sleeping Sickness remained unavailable and conspiracy theories took root. Discussion on #MartovLives was also observed to take an increasingly aggressive tone during this period. Local community leaders announced that they would hold rallies outside K-17 starting on the 16th of November. Though initially wary, Durakan authorities elected to allow the demonstrations to go forward so long as they remained peaceful. Subsequent hearings confirmed that both civilian and military authorities had operated under the belief that disrupting the rallies would trigger further unrest in both Khrystalpol and other occupied Vakari territories.
Unbeknownst to the occupiers at the time, a small group of five former Vakari militia members had developed a more violent strategy to storm the base
==== November 16 ====
On November 16, townsfolk from Khystalpol began to gather at K-17's gates as planned. Only several dozen individuals arrived, much to the dismay of the organizers. The crowd peaked at around a hundred people when a local food stand set up nearby. Durakan forces from both within and without the base monitored the event, but the relative docility of the crowd meant that by the end of the day the security alert had been ended. The Vakari militia cell similarly made no effort to enact their plan, and their one survivor later reported that they had been initially dissuaded due to the small turnout.
==== November 17 ====
The initial protestors had camped overnight in front of the base as planned, and intended to return to Khrystalpol by noon on November 17. The atmosphere at the camp was reportedly genial, as the group had played music and shared drinks with Durakan law enforcement the prior evening, and spent much of the next morning cleaning up the protest site.
In Khrystalpol itself, however, the sleeping sickness suddenly took a turn for the worse, as twelve simultaneous cases were reported that morning. This was likely a result of atmospheric conditions interacting with the gas leaks from the mines. The sudden spike in cases caused panic throughout the morning, though the situation remained unclear to the authorities as much of the local law enforcement had been redeployed around K-17. It was not until 11 am that a caravan of around a thousand people was witnessed leaving the town and heading towards the base. Many in the crowd would later report that they had been attempting to flee the town out of fear of the epidemic, only to be caught up in the wider mob that was now publicly calling for the storming of K-17.
==== November 18 ====
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