Santa Cruz Crisis
The Santa Cruz Crisis, also called the Santa Cruz-Pua Crisis, is an ongoing (as of March 19th, 2026) territorial dispute between Santa Cruz County and Pua, as well as a broader conflict between the federal government of Xarslasja and its constituent counties following the death of the heirless Bezuv Agamashuya I.
Context
Maps drawn by the United Ŋations and Un-United Ŋations in early 2026 showed some notable confusion as to where the territory of Xarslasja ended and where Pua began, most markedly at the northeastern edge of Santa Cruz County in an area known as Hayden's Ferry. Some maps showed all of the Hayden's Ferry area as being part of Pua, while others showed it being varyingly divided or entirely part of Santa Cruz County. While Hayden's Ferry was uninhabited, it was considered a special location for residents of Santa Cruz County as it was a "pirate's cove" for supporters of Gu Sabah during the 2024 Gu Sabah Insurgency.
The Bezuv of Xarslasja, Agamashuya I, vanished during the Hacking Plague of December 2025, though his death was kept secret until late February 2026. During this time of vague authority, compounded with the pressure to expand demographically caused by the Census Rush, most counties in Xarslasja began new building projects that were not federally approved. In a Bezuvate governmental structure, all public building projects are to be approved and managed by the Bezuv directly. With no Bezuv in the first place, technically illegal construction projects were able to go on without federal approval or denial. By the time the Bezuv's death was revealed and House Speaker Jodai Wemmi came to power in the Xarslasja Legislature, several counties had no intention of respecting her Transitional Government, seeing it as illegitimate.
Thus, in early March 2026, citizens of Santa Cruz County began building walls and fortifications in the disputed territory in and beyond Hayden's Ferry. This provoked the attention of Peaches of Pua.
Pua, especially since the Repunification, has had not-so-subtle ambitions of realizing the "Greater Pua" movement to unite the Pua region, which includes much of southern Xarslasja. The border dispute and encroachment of Puan territory by southern Xarslasjans provided a perfect justification to make a move.
Just before the March 18th session of the Xarslasja Legislature, Peaches sent an envoy to Yuɱa, who declared that the Puan Navy was building up in the Djobom Sea to help its "friend and ally, Xarslasja" to quell "separatists" and clarify a definitive border at Hayden's Ferry. With Pua being a member of the Thasusan Union and the South Thasusan Common Market Agreement, many in the Legislature accepted this reasoning. To be safe, the Legislature approved the sending of some of the Xarslasja Terrestrial Army to Hayden's Ferry to keep the peace. Speaker Jodai Wemmi's proposal to create a Xarslasja Ghast Corps was approved as well. However, Wemmi's proposal to grant her and the Akuv the unilateral authority to prevent unauthorized construction projects (as a Bezuv would ideally do) was denied and the session was adjourned.
Armed Conflict (3/19/2026 - ???)
The next morning, on March 19th, 2026, the Puan Navy occupied and built a fort on Florence Island, Santa Cruz County, significantly west of Hayden's Ferry near the Nogales Channel.
Caught off guard, the XTA built makeshift fortifications protecting the Nogales-Arcosanti Line (which was already split in two due to unauthorized construction in Nogales). Akuv Ngu (slave to creativity) approved the use of Thou Hast Been Yeeten (Crossbow Version) on the fort. Two warning shots were fired with no counterstrikes and no casualties.