Alistair Walker

John Alistair Markey Walker (11 June 2430 – 9 July 2488) was an Empheri politician who served as Prime Minister of Empherias from 30 January 2487 until his assassination on 9 July 2488. A member of the People's Socialist Party, he led the party from 1 March 2486 and helped win the 2487 general election. He was succeeded as both prime minister, and leader of the PSP, by Lucy King.

Death and Legacy

Main article: Assassination of Alistair Walker

While on a regular 2-week long trip to meet with the Liberal party Mayor of Vreimer Kryamor Campbell, Walker's Director of Communications Renee Muller suggested a publicity stunt with the prime minister walking around Vreimer to gain support for the local Socialists who were hoping to take the mayoralty from Campbell in 2489. Walker made an impromptu visit to the local university grounds on 9 July 2488, having made week-long visits to various areas in the city centre. James Mars, the assassin, was a student at the university and had been radicalised to the far-right and was a self-proclaimed Bastionite despite not being a member of the Liberal party. It is speculated that James Mars had acquired a gun without a licence from a friend he had in Koresa, just 100km away, which had different gun-licencing laws.

At 14:06, as Walker was talking to headteacher Richard Mint, and supervisor Clarence Mentes, gunshots rang out. The common consensus was that Mars fired 7 shots in rapid succession before attempting to flee. The first 4 of these missed completely, the fifth shot Richard Mint in the lower leg, while the final two struck Walker first in the neck, and then the chest. Richard Mint suffered prolonged injury in his leg, but otherwise made a recovery by 2489, Walker was not as lucky. It is speculated that Walker could've survived just the shot to the neck. It grazed the side of the neck which saw heavy damage to blood vessels and skin, but the bullet had mostly avoided critical areas. The bullet to the chest however struck by his lung and his heart. He collapsed and was pronounced dead at 14:48 by a university medical team. At 14:50, Deputy Prime Minister Lucy King was informed of Walker's death and assumed the position of Acting Prime Minister. At 14:53, the President of the High Kingdoms was also notified. His death was reported on national TV news at 16:00.

Following Walker's death, the Vreimer Police announced a full investigation into the murder, while the Zangaraz branch of the HKA secret service Meerkats would launch a full undercover investigation lasting through to 2490. The investigation was aided heavily by Empheri Minister of Crime and Policing Eleanor Hughes, who would release the Hughes Report in January 2491, containing the investigation's belief that Mars had acted alone.

Following the shots being fired, James Mars attempting to conceal his gun and escape from the university grounds, but the amount of shells he fired allowed security guards to maintain a good idea of his location. Guards did not possess any weapons, and fearing that Mars could shoot and kill more people caused a local lockdown of the university while armed police arrived. Mars engaged in a gunfight with local police outside the university in the evacuated car park at around 15:30 where two police officers were fatally wounded, both dying later that evening, and two more sustaining injuries. James Mars would be shot four times and taken to hospital once disarmed. James Mars was arrested for three counts of murder, but died of complications surrounding the four bullet wounds on 16 July 2488, and thus did not stand trial.