Turtledove
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Anton Päts
Fictional Character
Shared Universe Story
War World
Appearance: "Hang Together"
Type of Appearance: Direct POV
Nationality: Estonian colonist on Haven (born in the Soviet Union)
Religion: Lutheran
Date of Birth: 21st century
Occupation: Revolutionary, Farmer
Parents: August Päts
Spouse: Eva Päts
Children: Sarah, Ana
Relatives: Konstantin Laidoner (son-in-law)
Affiliations: Estonian Independence Movement
Tallinn Town emergency militia

Anton Päts was an Estonian Independence supporter who, along with several hundred other Estonians was deported to Haven around 2070, and settled in what became the Tallinn Valley. He was one of the main leaders of the Estonians when Russian Nationalists were deported also to the Tallinn Valley. He reached an uneasy peace with the Russian leaders, in part due to the threat of Tatar clans subjugating both peoples.

The Estonians had arrived some twenty years earlier and after hard work managed to make their farms, if not prosperous, then at least comfortable. The arrival of the Russians disrupted things. The two groups numbered about the same but the Russians were used to being on top and the Estonians being subservient. The Russians objected to the Estonians having the best land and closest to town. The Estonians responded that the farms were of good quality because of their work and that the Russians were free to do the same.

The tensions were rising and came near war when some anonymous sniper tried to kill Päts from ambush. While Päts was meeting with Iosef Trofimovich Mladenov, a leader of the Russians, word came of some Tatar riders arriving in the valley. Päts and Mladenov put their quarrel aside and meet with the riders. The leader of the Tatar riders, Isa Bektashi, explained that his father Suleiman Bektashi, chieftain of the Aydin Clan, wished to place the valley under his protection from other less generous clans. Both Pats and Mladenov realized this would mean serfdom under the Tatars and refused, stating they had no quarrel with the Tatars but also no need for their protection. However, Bektashhi explained that Clan Aydin needed access to the valley so their womenfolk could survive childbirth in the higher air pressure there and could not depend on the goodwill of the farmers. Päts and Mladenov stood firm and the Tatars rode off.

The Estonians and Russians agreed they needed to look to their common defense and set up a rota of watchmen in the pass leading to the valley. This was established but at truenight Tatars stealthily overpowered one sentry and killed him, mutilating his body as a warning. This only hardened the resolve of the two groups and they successfully fought off the Tatar assault some 20 hours later. This solidified the unity of the two groups. As Päts said, an old American proverb says that underdogs must hang together or will surely hang separately.

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