Starbound Party Quest Turn 1 Results
It was early morning in a studio in Shibuya. People were already working to provide the morning news. It was now rounding up to 6 am, the usual time for the program NHK News Ohayō Nippon to air its more outward-facing and globally oriented content. Here the interviews would begin and it's at the end of the election season where a flurry of analyses was made and how at the end of it all one party managed to become the new ruling party in Japan known by the GDI as Blue Zone 6. The woman behind this election victory sits triumphantly on her chair as her interviewer was preparing for their segment. Even if she felt nervous inside, the steel in her soul was still there when she made a ploy to lead her party.
The chair was comfortable and her interviewer a pleasant companion this early in the morning. Her name was Hime Kakushi and Mumeko would say that she has a unique persona behind her. A respected journalist and an artist herself, she had been the face of NHK's cultural programs with a weekly show of her covering budding artists or just herself drawing. She also has a monthly manga published showing a slice-of-life story of an artist in a fantasy setting. It was in most ways a contrast to her, a woman of science dedicated to the defense of the people with journals as her reading material and always there to act.
Even then they had some similarities and she was pleasantly surprised during their pre-interview chat. "You know Peralta-san when reading your biography about your personal life you mentioned having children is that correct?" That question was delivered in such a way that it made her chuckle a bit since she had never really been shy in her personal life and Kakushi knows it. "That is true Kakushi-san and I managed to raise those two myself even when I was twice a widower. The two loves of my life died doing their duty. I don't know if I'm the unlucky one but maybe that's the reason why I keep moving forward. There is no time to wallow in tragedy when there is a job to do whether motherhood or defending civilization. How about you Kakushi-san? I'm here going all out on my life story and you're just listening. I do want to know about my interviewer? You're also a mother, am I right?" Now it was time for Kakushi to blush in their conversation. "You know Peralta-san after I gave birth I only found out that my father bought a spot in multiple news sites about the birth and made a one-shot manga about it. He was quite enthusiastic even when he raised me after the loss of my mother and when I got married to my husband he was bawling near the altar. While I still use my maiden name at work, however, when I'm at home it feels great when people don't recognize me when I say my married name. Even if I know you still use your maiden name Peralta-san." When she was starting to reply one of the members of the studio started shouting. "Places everyone! We're about to start in one minute!" With that everyone started to settle down and face the live interview.
When the number reached zero Kakushi finally spoke "Good morning everyone and welcome back to the program. I'm your host Kakushi Hime and in our current special elections report we have the woman who led the Starbound party in outstanding majorities and coalitions throughout Japan and Europe it is our pleasure to welcome Peralta Mumeko to our program." In the mind of the party leader, there is only one phrase she could think of while at the camera 'It's showtime.'
-Schedule Screen Time: 1 die 10pp (No bonuses):80
K: During the campaign, your party made news throughout the world of your political advertisements that catch the eye before the elections. It seems to be the method your party managed to clinch multiple majorities Peralta-san.
P: One of the few things people don't talk about especially in the post-Tiberium and post-war landscape is that there are always winners and losers in war. Businesses that can thrive on war are very few but propaganda can be very profitable even in a de facto moneyless society such as ours. The GDI has always needed propaganda during and after the war with the mass nationalization of strategic industries and businesses the people employed were now considered government employees. However, for most businesses, it was never a complete takeover, for example, the great advertising agencies even if they are now the first in line for government contracts they still have various shareholders in them because the Treasury does not deem it prudent to keep out private individuals in owning stocks. As a political party, we managed to hire some of the brightest talents in the industry yet unfortunately we can't keep them since they are part of those agencies that we hired. Now as a minor party these talents are quite welcome since we feared we might have gotten some dregs but that was no problem for us. I do pity some of the talents though because some of the parties can get ludicrous on their demands.
K: That's interesting especially when your party managed to get the lion's share of screentime for advertisements in various former countries. Especially here in Japan after the NHK divested a lot of local channels and studios during the Granger Treasury's push for more local media operations. Now I'm not saying we resent the good doctor since most of the divested assets were our competitors and there were no core assets lost but it does seem miraculous that a party like yours managed to have your party and your allies being front and center in zones you have local offices for.
P: That's true Kakushi-san and before I was elected party leader there was a plan in place by the executive committee to meet with various stations throughout the world for both the global and local candidates. I was surprised there were many who sympathized with the necessity of humanity going to the stars but it was a good thing too since the party has many other commitments to get our candidates to seats.
-Ground Game for local seats: 15 PP (6d5): BZ 6&9: 7 each BZ 1: 5
K: It seems that there was canvassing on various zones that have gone with varying degrees of success especially in countries where canvasing is quite unknown or illegal in its traditional forms. But we managed to see an increase in your share of seats in Japan, Mainland Europe, and Australia thanks to your party's efforts. Care to elaborate on that.
P: One of the few items passed in the Local Election Authorization Act was that there would be a single unified code of elections throughout the globe for this election period. Of course, the canvassing period started six months ago and all parties and their local affiliates were prevented from doing canvassing work beforehand both because it was illegal at the time especially here in Japan where canvassing is still illegal after this election and the election period was where this uniform code was enforced. We had to work double-time to canvass and build up our candidates. Hundreds of speeches were made and our actions in Japan, Europe, and Australia paid dividends for the election.
-Ground Game for global seats: 15 PP(2d10):5
K: In the global elections it seems like while it was a success for the party to have more than a hundred seats it seems more like a chance for the party to accrue some influence on the global stage than getting people to vote more for the party. The campaigns for the global stage seem more like something of your party is a partner with the Developmentalists and the Militarists helping them boost their seats compared to their rivals.
P: It is true that the global share of our seats could be larger but with parliament being a more pluralistic institution than with one voice it seemed more prudent that we should shore up our influence in both the committees and ministries being opened up for the next parliament. While these talks are still in the backdoors I would say that the Starbound party's constituents won't have to fear any delay for space projects in this term.
-Coalition-Building with the Developmentalists: 1 die, 5pp (+10+5+0+10): 109
K: Speaking of being a partner with the two parties, how is your relationship with the Developmentalist bloc?
P: The Developmentalist bloc has been gearing to be the first party in parliament after the spectacular split between the Hawks. Our members in parliament were quite enthusiastic about our chances of working with them. It took some time for a meeting in Manchester to iron out our election strategies and support for our space-faring policies as well as mandates to different departments. Some of them can even give out to various development projects here in Japan and the rest of our constituents who voted for us in the local elections. Of course, the biggest prize was the bloc loosening membership affiliation and allowing us to work with these parties for the local elections. The Developmentalist bloc was really focusing on the global game there and they've been leaving their local members to dry in some regions. So we've swooped in and helped arrange their campaigns gaining new members and formally affiliating with the Starbound party. Even still we are willing to work with them on legislation and policy.
-Coalition-Building with the Militarists: 1 die, 5pp (+10+5+0+10): 45
K: I've heard that the Militarist party was a last-minute effort to get them onside during the eventual coalition-building in parliament.
P: Oh yes with how uneven the split in the Hawks was Al-Jilani was a very busy man and it took us months to get a meeting with him because his party had to be quickly formed with his allies and sympathizers. I've used my credentials in Space Command to help deal with a partnership that followed the chaos of the split. I would say he was a very polite man and quite genuine with his beliefs. He was stressed in trying to court various local parties to affiliate with them so when I came with a proposition to ease the burden in affiliation by using our existing bases of operations for the few we have and agreeing on a mandatory minimum for the expertise and material commitments for the armed forces we allowed his party to share screen time with us on our global ads.
-Speaker Elections Horse Trading: 1 die, 5 pp (+10+5+0 +10): 85
K: There is a new election for speaker of the global parliament coming up when the current speaker announced her retirement. Is there anyone from the three candidates you would support?
P: It's a thing with the Office of the Speaker usually it comes from people outside of parliament and they get voted in for a term beyond the current parliament since they need to be shown as a neutral observer and moderator. The current candidates are still from either the civil service or former politicians but I can say they are very enthusiastic about ensuring the culture of debate won't be a one-sided affair. Aside from that certain committees are opening up with the expansion of parliament and we are pleasantly surprised during the ongoing negotiations.
K: Oh what were you pleasantly surprised about?
P: There were certain chairmanships in the running that interested the party and during the ongoing negotiations we had a guarantee in certain committees such as Space Affairs and Space Defense. Now I would say the position of speaker is an important post since it is rare for it to become empty just after an election it usually is a midterm problem where more rational thought can occur but with the expansion of the democratic mandate then a more democratically elected speaker would be preferable to both parts of the GDI government.
-Expand Party Presence:
--BZ 13 1 die 10 pp Progress (+5+3+0+5): 19
--BZ 11 1 die 10 pp Progress (+5+3+0+5): 48
--BZ 3 1 die 10 pp Progress (+5+3+0+5): 101
K: From reports around the world the party is expanding especially with news from W3N of your quite enthusiastic build-up of the party in the British Isles.
P: To be perfectly honest we didn't expect to finish setting up the local British branch quite soon. Setting up in West Africa is taking up most of our time as well as in Western North America. While we had plenty of properties to choose from in West Africa the longest stall is in finding members and affiliates. For Western North America it was mostly because of how difficult it is for us to find a suitable office in California where its local assembly sits. This was ultimately because it was not really a priority project for us but I can assure everyone that the party is pushing for a more global reach than just where the initial leadership election candidates origins and those we recently expanded.
-Space Command Liaison: 1 die 5pp (+10+5+0+10): 91
K: I've heard that the head of SCED is quite supportive of your party's policy regarding the expansion of SCED facilities. While I do not doubt the political implications of the politicization of the military, is there any truth in the matter?
P: Admiral Carter and I go way back with him being my senior in the officer's academy. But working more closely with Space Command has been a major goal for the party and while it was not my sole effort it was a team effort to prepare the meetings. My personal meeting with the good vice admiral has been interesting, to say the least. Something about moving upstairs, however, that meeting was just a personal call unrelated to anything regarding politics. It is just a meeting between a senpai and kohai nothing more sinister than that. However, he did say something to not let politics interfere with the normal operations of Space Command. In one of our meetings with the executive committee of the service, there is a sense of being very open to working together with our chairmanship on both committees regarding space I would say it would be a positive one.
-Civil Service Liaison: 5pp
K: Political parties usually have relations with the civil service is that true for your party?
P: The civil service is an important part of the government especially when the continuance of government did not come from parliament. While it will take some time for democratic traditions to return, especially at the local level, having more sympathetic members of the civil service to nurture democracy is an honorable goal.
-Rest of Military Liaison: 5pp
K: There were events in Manchester filled with various members of the military which you hosted any comment on that.
P: The military is an important institution and they are the defenders of civilization. While we have not yet started the outreach to the green zones we have been talking to sympathetic members of the military establishment to help us with security. It's also because of the various generals and admirals being quite content currently with the current establishment of civilian rule in both policy and the pocketbook. While I do admit some of the leading figures I went to the academy with it is not in any way reflective of any undue influence of the military merely that we are in agreement that we would be able to work with each other if possible.
-Finishing the Manifesto: 1 die (No bonuses): 8
K: Our political affairs division found your platform to be quite light as a political party is there a reason for that?
P: We believed that a simple platform is needed since we were a smaller party but with how large we became especially in parliament such a single issue is not really helping for our future prospects. I believe that a party conference is coming and the party is hoping that new policies can be incorporated into the party platform. Especially in regards to policies regarding the eventual permanent population in space and for those on the ground.
Elections Results
BZ1-1d60+(10+5+ 0+ 15): 86 (Majority)
BZ6-1d60+(15+7+ 0+ 15): 95 (Majority)
BZ9-1d60+(10+7+0+ 15): 51 (Leading Party)
BZ13-N/A
BZ11-1d24 + 2: 22 (Minor Party)
BZ3-1d60+(5+15): 76 (Majority)
K: Lastly the local election results have come up and showed a strong lead and even outright majorities to your party and allies. It was considered to be a large upset to other parties because of how new you are and how fast you were able to set up, especially in the areas which are dubbed as your core base.
P: We are very thankful for the campaign teams of our local candidates here in Japan as well as in Mainland Europe, Australia, Western North America, and the British Isles. All of our party mates with leading majorities are already on their way to the various heads of state. Here in Japan even with the absorption to the GDI, it is still necessary for the governing party to go to the Emperor since the constitution of our zone is still based on the pre-unification constitution. In Europe, the governing party would either go to the Council of Europe for Mainland Europe or the British Council since they are more federated compared to Japan. In Australia, there are still talks to form a government but we are being assured that the visit to the Zone Governor is on the way. In Western North America there is still some talk to a government for the Zone Governor.
K: I think this is it so thank you for coming. Up next is a special report on the ongoing economic reforms and various industrial plans for Yokohama and Kure.
With that, the cameras are finished filming and both women are now a bit more relaxed after that. "You know the interviews can get exhausting, Kakushi-san," said the party leader with a bit of sarcasm. "Well it's my job to ensure the people can be informed and you seem to be a very open party leader when we tried to get the other parties. I believe W3N and other stations got to them first. I know Ozawa got something in New York, the Developmentalists in W3N, and Al-Jilani got an interview in Muscat. The media sphere is more connected now and with how united we are, news comes fast." After that, they stood with pleasantries at hand and they both bowed in respect for the other with Peralta traveling back to Manchester for her parliamentary duties.