Angostura, Guyana Province, Rebel Occupied Venezuela

March 19th, 1811

Brigadier General Noah Lewis wasn't an ordinary African-American farmer turned revolutionary. Well, his official background claimed that he was a farm boy from South Carolina with a primary school educational background. Then, when Miranda was attempting to find support for his home country's revolution in the United States, Lewis was "enamored" by Miranda's cause and eagerly joined up, becoming one of his closest and most trusted American supporters. He learned Spanish while he helped Miranda gather supporters in America and when Miranda decided to sail back to Venezuela to prepare for the revolution, Lewis was already his right-hand man.

At least, that was what most of the people around him believed.

Most of his background was true. Noah was a farm boy from rural South Carolina. His parents were former slaves that managed to acquire a small farm through the federal government. He did attend the primary school in Charleston, walking for nearly three hours a day to obtain an education his parents failed to achieve. And he was interested in Miranda's dreams for an independent, republican Venezuela.

However, his secret was that this was a part of his job. Specifically, his job for the National Intelligence Service.

The NIS rarely held recruitment drives for new agents. Instead, any applicants interested in joining the agency had to send an application through the NIS HQ in Richmond and be approved by the Director himself. He applied mainly because he wanted to explore the world a bit on his own and because he knew that the NIS was a prestigious career in the government. He believed that he could even be the Director of the NIS one day, becoming a member of the Cabinet and an advisor to the president. However, the application process was extremely difficult, as it demanded the applicants to show their intelligence, their wit, their knowledge of international politics and geography, and any abilities that would be useful for their career in the NIS (if they were accepted). Noah wasn't the smartest man in South Carolina, but he was certainly intelligent and quick on his feet. As for his exceptional abilities, he proved to be capable of picking up languages quickly and he passed the physical part of his NIS training with top marks.

In short, he was the perfect man to mold for any foreign situation. He already knew English, American Creole (due to his exposure to Caribbean Americans during his time in South Carolina), and a bit of French. Learning Spanish was difficult, but manageable. It helped that the NIS managed to hire a native Spanish speaker to teach several agents the language.

Since the NIS lacked a presence in South America (or anything south of Haiti for that matter), Lewis was tasked with "infiltrating Miranda's group, providing quarter-yearly updates, and steering Miranda towards republicanism." He was informed by the NIS Director himself (who took a special interest in the mission) to read any instructions and suggestions sent by the NIS closely. The NIS drops were irregular, owing to the distance and the ongoing civil war. However, they were informative and Lewis quickly discovered that he was not the only NIS agent in Miranda's American group. In fact, there were three other agents, though only one of them could speak Spanish. One of them was the "link" between the NIS and the NIS agents in Venezuela. He was in charge of traveling to America every few months to obtain supplies and aid, which allowed him to pick up any packages sent by the intelligence agency and bring it back to the group. He also brought back the information reports sent by the agents to the NIS, who then quickly drew up new orders.

"General Noah!" One of Miranda's officers, a man named Simon Bolivar, called out to him, "Miranda wants to see you! It's about the upcoming attack on Maturin!"

"Tell him I'll be there shortly," Noah answered with a nod, "I just need to finish up on our current inventory of weapons."

Colonel Bolivar walked away to inform the leader of the Venezuelan republicans as Noah jotted down the current status of the current republican forces. He wasn't a military man, he knew that much. That role belonged to another NIS agent, Colonel Adam Nelson, who was actually being "loaned" by the NIS from the U.S. Army. Miranda actually knew that Nelson was an American officer, which was why he was invited in the first place. However, Noah was more than capable of assessing the military situation and taking note of any equipment and supply deficiencies. Thanks to the American government giving Miranda monetary aid, the republican forces, which numbered around 15,000 individuals, were well-equipped and well-armed. They were unable to face the Spanish directly on open grounds, but for a guerilla force that was focused on winning the populace's support? It was more than enough. The entirety of the province of Guyana had thrown in their support for Miranda, giving him a base of operations and a manpower pool to work with. And now, he was slowly moving northward as Spain was caught up in a civil war and revolutions elsewhere.

Satisfied with the fact that none of the equipment or firearms were missing, Noah walked to a small house that belonged to Miranda and knocked before he entered. When he arrived in the sitting room, there were several other leaders waiting for him, including Miranda, Bolivar, and Nelson.

"Now that Noah is here, we can begin our plans for the upcoming attack on Maturin," Miranda stated with a smile.

A map was sprawled out in front of them, showing the major towns and cities of Venezuela, along with the territories controlled by the Republicans and the Royalists.

"I have been kindly informed by Colonel Nelson," Miranda said as he gestured to the said American officer, "That Rio de la Plata is now in revolt as well."

"Rio de la Plata? Why?" Fernando Rodriguez, one of Miranda's aides, asked.

"There was an attempt by King Ferdinand to replace the governor with one of his own loyalists. The attempt backfired and now our brethren in Argentina are in full revolt. That will divert the attention of Madrid away from us for some time."

Noah feigned ignorance as he looked at the map, "Have there been any reports of Spanish troops being withdrawn from the area?"

"None. However, our scouts have noticed that the Royalists are moving away from our lines and back towards Caracas. It is possible that they will attempt to hold the northern provinces instead of contesting us down in the south."

"Then it will be a bloody war."

"Which is why we must strike now to consolidate our republic and secure additional support from the people," Miranda said as he pointed at the town of Maturin on the map," Maturin is lightly defended and will open up the paths to Barcelona and Carupano. Once we secure these towns, we will control the Cumana Province, which will allow us to have one, single front towards the west."

"May I suggest something, sir?" Noah cautiously asked.

"Of course."

"Maturin and the surrounding towns are friendly to the republican cause. Once we move in, it is unlikely that they will heavily resist. The Cumana Province will provide a boost to our manpower and support. However, the Barinas Province is less than friendly to our cause, and will most likely side with the Royalists. Despite their Royalist leanings, they have now been effectively abandoned by the Royalists. Perhaps we can focus most of our attention on Barinas and send a light force to seize and occupy Cumana. Once Cumana is seized, we can raise forces from the area itself while we also take Barinas at the same time. In America, they have a word for this, it's called a "pincer movement." We will strike from both sides and gradually bore them down at Caracas."

Miranda stroked his chin thoughtfully, "But would that not draw the ire of the Royalist forces? If they see that we are overstretched, they may attempt to attack us head-on and force us to retreat."

"That is a valid concern. But since they have given us an opportunity to strike, we should take it. If we are too slow, then they may think that we are vulnerable and attack."

"I will take your words into consideration, Noah. You have my thanks."

In the corner of his eyes, Noah saw Colonel Nelson give him a slight nod, which he returned in kind. The NIS wanted most of Venezuela, except for Caracas, to be seized by the Republican forces by March of next year, if it was possible. He wasn't told why, but he knew that the NIS had something planned for that month. That didn't mean that Noah was pushing Miranda to send his men to their deaths. In fact, the Republican forces were more than capable of seizing both of the neighboring provinces (Cumana and Barinas) at the same time. However, without his input, Miranda would have waited too long to seize Barinas, which would have led to the Republican forces being bogged down there instead of moving towards Maracaibo and Caracas. Noah was giving the Venezuelan leader a gentle nudge in the right direction, to help him gain his homeland's independence and to set up whatever the NIS had planned for March of 1812.

The die had been cast. It was now time for Noah and the others to see it through.