For The Tyrants Fear Your Might (A quest of interstellar rebellion)

AKuz · Dec 10, 2020

THE ALL-RADIANT CONGRESS

Setting Information: The Solarian Compact:

Initially formed as the Solarian Treaty Organization from the ashes of the old United Nations Security Council, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and the Global Climate Relief Organization in the worst decade of Earth's environmental collapse. The STO was originally a body tasked with overseeing the granting of offworld mining permits and the purchase and distribution of the resources to countries struggling from climate change.

The advent of the Korolev-Chandrashker gates and the construction of the first one under STO oversight in 2063 led to the beginning of the transformation of that body into the de facto single governing body of the Human species.

Reorganized into the 'Solarian Compact', the first Charters were granted to massive corporate conglomerates to explore and exploit the cosmos for Humanity with little to no regulation or restriction.

In the early decades, the Solarian Compact oversaw the construction of KC gates in the systems closest to Sol and began the process of granting colonization rights to the most habitable worlds within that region with colonization rights granted to a number of national and international blocks.

With the growth of the Solarian Compact's power came calls for the body to become more representative and democratic, and in 2099, the Solarian Compact held its first elections and constitutional convention, inviting representatives from the Sol system and the five systems that held permanent Human settlement.

Over the course of the 22nd and 23rd centuries the Solarian Compact has held fast to what it sees as its duty to act as the mediator and financier of the Charters, the unifying agent of the disparate first Human colonies, and the guarantor of interstellar peace for Humanity.

As of 2252, the three most important bodies within the Solarian Compact are the Solarian Parliament -Located on Earth, the Solarian Compact Navy -based in the Korolev-Chandrashker system, and the Solarian Central Bank, -based out of the Columbia System.

Organized as a liberal democracy, with universal suffrage, the Solarian Compact is theoretically overseen by three equal institutions: the Solarian Parliament, the office of the Solarian Secretary General, and the Solarian High Court.

Though the Solarian Compact prides itself on being a Constitutional government, the actual original document merely outlines the terms of admitting new MPs and High Court Judges, and the electoral procedures of the Compact Parliament, with subsequent Parliaments meeting to add items like the Declaration of Property Rights, the founding of the Central Bank, the creation of the Solarian Navy, and the Laws on Freedom of Navigation and Travel being added later.

The Solarian Parliament is made up of two thousand six hundred and twenty seats representing ridings on Earth, Columbia, Atlantis, Penglai, Olduvai, and Epsilon which are elected every three years to a Parliament that meets in the New York prefecture of Earth.

Though the many frontier colonies do not have direct representation in the Parliament due to being owned and operated by private entities, their inhabitants are considered 'Absent for Employment' and may register with a home riding and submit a physical ballot (for security reasons) by courier from when polls open until they close. Though this process was suitable for the closely settled regions of space at the time of the ratification of the Compact Constitution in 2100, the rapid growth of Human settled space in the century and a half since has seen the de facto voter suppression of over 90% of Human settled space.

At the first sitting of each new Compact Parliament, the assembled members will elect a Secretary General and a slate of Ministry officials on a majority basis, and those individuals will oversee the executive branch of government and day to day operations. Though the average Compact Parliament contains between seven to nine parties in each Parliamentary sitting, the vast majority of seats belong to one of either the Party for Human Rights and Liberties or the Justice and Development Alliance and have since the very early 2100s. The governments formed this way can be brought down by losing the confidence of the Parliament for example, by failing to pass a budget, the process of finding a majority government will repeat again.

Though a democratic body that has maintained stability for over a century and a half, the Solarian Compact Parliament has been dogged by accusations of dynastic politics, Charter influence, voter suppression, regulatory capture, inability to reign in the Banks and MIlitary, and corruption at all levels.

Separate from the Parliament is the Solarian High Court that consists of eleven judges that serve terms of up to thirty-three years, with each new sitting of the Compact Parliament selecting one judge from a list provided by the governments of the six main worlds of the Solarian Compact. The High Court rules on matters of adherence of laws to the Solarian Constitution, and have been accused of serving as an arm of the Charters, though this has been strenuously contested by the Solarian legal profession as a whole.

By law the Solarian Compact also oversees a number of other important institutions including the Earth Reconstruction Commission (In a permanent public-private partnership with the Earth Reconstruction Association), the Solarian Central Bank, and the Solarian Compact Navy, though these important institutions often exhibit an alarming degree of autonomy from Parliamentary control.

The Charters:

The result of a cleverly conceived merger between specialty transport vessel manufacturer Titan Staryards and Private Military contractor Martian Military Solutions, Ares cut its teeth not just supplying material to the skirmishes between Mississippi Shipping and United Starhaul, but in supplying military contractors to both sides.

The professionalism of Ares mercenaries and quality of Ares gear led to the rapid expansion of business opportunities for the company and investment skyrocketed even after the Mississippi-Starhaul war ended in a hostile takeover of Starhaul by Mississippi.

Thanks in part to Mississippi debts held by Ares, when the RT-2102 Gate was opened up for settlement strategic maneuvering saw the Compact grant Ares mining and settlement rights to the newly opened system.

The rest, as they say, is history. Leveraging the immense resources of the Alexander system with their existing military expertise, Ares expanded nearly exponentially over the following century. While they maintain a dominating edge in the military field, they now integrated companies in fields from agronomy to personal fitness centers to xenobiology.

Internally Ares very self consciously styles itself as a hierarchical military organization complete with a semi-formal rank structure and an ethos of respect for the chain of command, professional courtesy, and treating your subordinates with respect. In practice Ares is hidebound, authoritarian, filled with passive aggressive sniping and rampant empire building.

While Ares remains headquartered on Mars, they have holdings in several systems and own the distant system of Alexander outright.

Rhodes Mining

One of the three original Charters that the Compact granted, Rhodes considers itself the singular reason that Humanity survived ecological collapse and spread past Sol. Immensely wealthy, over 52% of all material mined and processed by the entire Human race has passed through Rhodes hands at one point or another.

While founded merely to provide Earth the vital materials that it needed to rebuild itself after the lost decades of ecological collapse, Rhodes quickly expanded into all areas of the economy to support their mining, refining, and processing operations.

Dedicated to their vision of logistical chain efficiencies they've developed an entire chain of star systems into an efficient production center based around the resource rich system of Foundry, and the nearby feeder systems of Ecrams, Qem, and Crucible.

Rhodes considers itself home to a version of meritocracy built on hard work, education, and good old fashioned personal drive. This has developed over time into a stratified internal divide between the rank and file workers, the lower level management, and the highly lauded senior management. Each class lives in entirely separate worlds, attending separate schools, consuming different products, and leading very different lives in what many observers have labelled a de facto caste system.

they make food and medicine, the 120 year old CEO is kinda creepy tho?

Techbros, some of them science, some of them explore

Born from the union of Hermes Interstellar Services and The Ishtar Group, the Hermes-Ishtar Corporation owns and operates not only the communications backbone of Compact space, but much of the content that crosses over it.

The results of increasing consolidation of pre-spaceflight communications infrastructure and content creation and management firms, Hermes Communications and Ishtar Entertainment Group were both part of the second round of Charters established after the advent of the KC gates.

While Hermes quickly established operations throughout Compact space, their waystations, couriers, and communications repeaters a common sight in every corner of Human occupied space; Ishtar Group mainly limited their own operations to Sol and the Radiant system, where Ishtar owned and operated the world of Elysium to support their many projects.

Following a wave of Compact space wide reorganizations following the Mississippi-Starhaul conflicts of the 2130s, a desire for complete vertical integration on Ishtar's part led to a mostly amicable union with Hermes in 2139.

Since then Hermes-Ishtar have dominated all communications across Human space with only the privileged internal high-level communications of the other Charters managing to avoid consolidation under Hermes-Ishtar.

While Hermes-Ishtar make a great show of respecting individual creativity, initiative, and drive from their employees; in practice this amounts to rampant internal fighting involving the parasocial personality cults of different "genius" inventors, artists, and executive that rise and fall inside of Hermes-Ishtar at a dizzying rate.

Sketchy buggers, they can get you anything tho

Historical Topics:

Between 2036 and 2071 the Democratic Federation was the governing body of much of Earth's Western Hemisphere.

Initially comprised of a Federation of Socialist, Anarchist, Communist, and other far left social movements, militias, and political factions controlling regions of Earth's North American continent during and after the decline and collapse of the United States of America (1776-2034) due to the effects of unaddressed climate change amplifying existing political and economic crisis.

Eventually solidifying into the governing body of the former United States of America, United States of Mexico and the Dominion of Canada, the Democratic Federation embarked on an ambitious program of cultural revolution and economic reform designed to mitigate and reverse the effects of the climate change crisis.

As the patron of much of the central and southern western hemisphere, the Democratic Federation attempted to chart a course of environmental restoration separate from that of the Solarian Treaty Organization (In 2063 reorganized into the Solarian Charter), choosing not to contest Eurasian and African domination of outer space.

Having never existed out of crisis conditions, a combination of pre-existing economic damage, sabotage, and instability drove the Democratic Federation into decline in the Grey Decade of 2062 to 2070 and eventually forced the Democratic Federation to ratify a series of treaties giving the Charters economic access to Federation member states in order to conduct vital reconstruction work.

A last ditch uprising by radical elements in 2072 to eject the Charters from the Democratic Federation failed when Solarian Compact peacekeepers were called in and in seven months of street fighting pacified most of North America's key urban centers via strategic use of orbital weapons on the areas of greatest urban resistance.

Though guerilla warfare would continue in the Western Hemisphere for another three decades, the Democratic Federation was officially defunct by December 2072 and parcelled out into a number of Charter owned reconstruction areas under Compact authority.

Today radicals still pine for the four decades that the Democratic Federation attempted to build an alternative to the emerging Charters, and the polity's distinctive black, red, and green flag is brought out for each and every Great Black Summer. Well into the twenty second century, riots were often accompanied by demands to 'Avenge the Martyrs of 72!'.

Despite this underground extremist nostalgia, Charter and Compact schools teach that the Democratic Federation was a collectivist state whose iconoclastic behavior saw the destruction of famous landmarks like Mount Rushmore, Stone Mountain, and other monuments to Liberal Democracy and the Free Market in a mad attempt to remake the human race, but whose doctrinaire adoption of command economics saw them unable to deal with the ever-changing complexities of climate change.

Misc Details:

The first five systems to hold permanent Human colonies are known as either "The First Sisters" or "Earth's Daughters", depending on who you are asking and their political persuasion. From oldest to youngest, these worlds are:

Columbia: settled by billionaire American expats and tens of millions of refugees who had fled the unfolding revolutionary violence of the North American continent several years beforehand. Columbia was founded under a vision of fidelity to the American dream and to prove the indomitability of the soul of the United States of America and liberalism in the face of the red flags of the (North American) Democratic Federation. Fiercely loyal to the Compact and the dream of Charter prosperity, and home of the Solarian Central Bank, Columbia is often known as the "Gilded World" in reference to what many see as a return to American Gilded Age wealth and social inequality. Ares Conflict Solutions' central command is located here.

Atlantis: With colonization rights to this majority oceanic planet initially granted to the waning power of the European Union, the nations of the EU opened up colonization opportunities to other allied powers, especially Russia and Egypt. Atlantis was often seen by the EU as a place to dump unwanted refugees from outside of Europe's borders, and Russia and Egypt's tendency to see the world as a genuine project led to the usurpation of colonization rights away from Europe in the mid 2080s. Known today as the most restive of the first wave of colonies, Atlantis is the most skeptical of Charter power and plays a delicate game of wealth redistribution to underwrite the greatest social security net in Human Space. Cernunnos is de jure headquartered here.

Penglai: Originally the world in the most need of terraforming of the original colonies, Colonization rights were granted to the People's Republic of China and their allies after a lackluster bidding campaign. As China's focus was mainly on attempting to stem the damage of climate change on Earth herself, colonization of Penglai initially lagged until the Chinese Politburo struck upon the strategy of subcontracting colonization rights to Pacific adjacent nations suffering from the rise of that ocean. As colonization unfolded in the early 22nd century Penglai became known as a multicultural mosaic as hundreds of millions from across the Pacific settled and intermingled on the wine darkened shores of that world. Known today for its vibrant cultural milieu, violent clashes between labour unions, and private police, Penglai hosts the headquarters of the Hermes-Ishtar, Omoikane and Rhodes corporations.

Olduvai: With Colonization rights granted to a coalition of African nations at the height of the 'African Century', the African Colonization Organization did not see their colony as a refugee destination, dumping ground, or resource colony like their fellows. Instead the ACO saw the colonization scheme as an opportunity to preserve and export the rich traditions and cultures of Africa on their own terms, fully intending to set up healthy and self-sufficient colonies. To the current day, Olduvai has the closest relations with the home nations and is the heartland of Daughter sentiment and a bedrock for the Party for Human Rights and Liberties.

Epsilon System: While not technically a single world, the cluster of heavily inhabited space colonies in the Epsilon system are always considered the 'Fifth Sister' or 'Fifth Daughter'. As the most mineral rich system of the original colonies, Epsilon was the source of many of the materials that helped pull Earth through her darkest hour, and the system was recognized for their efforts by being invited to send delegates to the 2099 Solarian Compact Constitutional Convention. Epsilon is famous for its people's long roots in spacing and for being the headquarters of Mississippi Shipping Interstellar and thus the most heavily trafficked system in history.
Technologies: Nanomanufacturing, summary:

The contemporary gold standard for manufacturing. These devices use mechanosynthesis, a process that guides chemical reactions by placing reactive molecules with atomic precision. Ribosomes in the body's cells use a form of this method.

While the largest units can create objects up to 2m x 2m x 2m, smaller units (halving the units each time) are viable on basically any human scale. Projects larger than this size (such as ships or buildings, need to be either grown layer-by-layer via nanofabricators attached to robotic arms, or assembled from smaller parts through traditional assembly line, dry dock, or construction processes.

In principle basically anything can be made with these devices, and some materials can only be manufactured via these methods in microgravity. All manufacturing patterns in Compact Space feature Charter DRM using embedded explosive molecules like octaazacubane or cubic gauche nitrogen that will damage a disassembler or x-ray machine making reverse engineering of their products difficult.

A common part of 23rd century life is the near ubiquity of Artificial Intelligences in daily life, from consumer grade VIs through specialist TLIs, controversial AGIs, finally the perpetually 10 years away Artificial Super Intelligences.

The common consumer will daily run into what are properly known as Narrow AIs, and generally labelled as VI -Virtual Intelligences- by people outside the field. This category covers a broad swathe of techniques, from search and pathfinding to expert systems to genetic fuzzy trees to deep neural networks, which are mixed and matched with each other to optimize for the designed task. VIs are ubiquitous, exceeding human peak skill in their areas of specialization (though real world applications often don't do all that much better than trained humans), and have spent the past two centuries getting augmented with more and more clever algorithmic tricks for improving VIs. In order to do this, the Charters employ large teams of analysts and software engineers to develop clever algorithmic tricks that supplement or outright supplant neural networks, exploiting machine precision where stochastic methods are inadequate.

The use of VIs in everyday life is well accepted by the vast majority of the population, with professionals mixing and matching various consumer VIs to analyse data or assist them with creative or scientific works. Some VI lines are well loved by both the populace and the Charters themselves, with Charter programmers often deliberately leaving VIs with behavioral quirks and unpredictable glitches that not only save money on quality assurance, but are considered endearing traits that lead to anthropomorphization by the consumer market

Despite the mass comfortability and profitability of VIs of all kinds, the introduction of AGIs has been, to put it delicately, controversial. Though computer science has advanced to the point of producing programs that can not only pass the Turing test, but demonstrate sapience and match 23rd century human intelligence, flexibility, and creativity, the public reaction to the introduction of AGI saw the companies of the time rapidly pull them from the market, and even say the Compact itself move to heavily regulate the AI sector.

First introduced in the 2060s, the great tech firms began replacing their work staff with AGIs who did not require food, rest, housing, or pay. This shift led to an alliance between white collar workers fearing that automation would put them out of work and radicals who opposed what they insisted was AGI Slavery, a growing movement that would climax in the First Great Black Summer of 2084. When the ashes of the First Black Summer settled, the Compact's Parliament moved to grant rights to AGIs, and the resulting economic damage saw dozens of formerly great names in computing consolidate under the aegis of several of the first Charters who flaunted their extra-Solarian wealth by buying up prestigious brand names and research divisions on the cheap.

Since the 2080s, while the regulation surrounding AGI production and use have been severely weakened none of the Charters have sought to reintroduce them into the market, perhaps fearing another backlash like the First Black Summer and the few hundred thousand surviving AGIs that were granted Solarian Citizenship rights have found spread throughout the Compact and Charter Space where they usually work at the same white collar jobs whose workers they were designed to replace.

Perhaps due to the risks of attempting to reintroduce AGIs to the market, Omoikane has instead introduced their flagship product the "TLI" or Temporary Limited Intelligence. Approximately as effective as an AGI, a TLI is billed as a more moral replacement for AGI that uses a suite of high end VIs and a proprietary batch of creativity algorithms in order to complete complex tasks.

TLIs are used as a fire and forget program designed to be licensed to solve a single issue, no matter how complicated and then delete itself. Though the TLIs are a black box product, scientists from the other Charters believe that the central creativity algorithm in the TLI is inherently unstable and rapidly degrades in ability with time, making the TLI an instance of Omoikane attempting to market a critical technical flaw as a selling point that is accepted due to the ubiquitous market practice of planned obsolescence and artificial scarcity.

Though expensive, most businesses and successful professionals will keep a few licensed Omoikane TLIs on hand to throw at difficult problems or to supplement manpower in crunch situations.

While AGIs have been possible for nearly two centuries, the promise of a Seed AI, a recursively self-improving general superintelligence, is perpetually 'a decade away from the market', and no successful ASI ever been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Charters or the Compact.

This is not to say that the Gödel machine architecture or the AIXI model has somehow been forgotten in the past 230 years, but that the Friendly AI problem has yet to be cracked. Every demonstration has either stalled out or gone immediately rampant, attempting to overthrow Charter Space before being stopped by the safety net of Narrow AIs. The small trickle of roughly human intelligence level AGIs that are created every decade typically come from these projects.

Urban legends persist that a few Seed AIs managed to escape and hide out beyond known space, plotting to return and crush humanity, or that they control all of society in secret, puppeting the Compact and Charters from their very foundation and occasionally engineering publicly failed ASI attempts to allay suspicion. These rumours are, of course, patently false, and simply the fevered imagination of crackpots at work, no doubt inspired by entertainment made by Hermes-Ishtar that feature AI supervillainy.
Systems: Map made by @Redshirt Army

The Spinward Frontier:

The Middle Spinward Frontier

The Core Region:

UNDER RADIANT CONTROL OR ALLIED:

The Radiant system is host to a G-class star, only slightly smaller than Sol. The system itself is rather small and resource-poor; experts believe that one or more Jovian planets ejected much of the system's bodies and then followed themselves. This is evidenced by the system's asteroid belt degrading over time, with high levels of eccentric orbits and impacts on planetary surface.

Radiant 1: A rather unremarkable airless iron planet, gravity 0.4 Earth Standard.

Radiant 2: A slightly larger unremarkable airless iron-silicate planet, gravity 0.6 Earth Standard.

Radiant 3: A binary planetary system and the outermost of the Radiant systems' planets.

Asphodel (Radiant 3a): The larger of the Elysium 3 pair, Asphodel might have once hosted life of its own. That life has been snuffed out for hundreds of millions of years, though, as the planet's significant atmosphere began the runaway cycle of your usual hothouse planet. Hermes-Ishtar maintained a significant aerostat and automated surface miner operation for in-house manufacturing, given that the frequent asteroid impacts from the asteroid belt keep digging up chunks of the upper crust and having low-melting-point metals rain out of the sky and solidify, unoxidized, on the surface for collection. Gravity 1.4 Earth Standard.

Elysium (Radiant 3b): Elysium was settled in the late 2190's, being a relatively simple affair. Simple life had already begun to evolve under its oceans, but continued orbital bombardment far past the lengths of things like Earth's Late Heavy Period had kept it there. It was a simple matter of forming up a small anti-asteroid task force armed with tugs and mining lasers to artificially end the pummeling, and the surface proved amenable to Terran life transplants. The colony is energy-self-sufficient, using a variety of solar, tidal, and nuclear power. Gravity 0.9 Earth Standard.

Radiant I: The outermost significant feature of Radiant, this asteroid belt is more a loose mixture of a primordial asteroid belt much like Sol's with a Kuiper belt. The shepherding gas giants which once nudged all these rocks into their orbits are gone, and with it the entire outer system is a maelstrom of chaotic orbits as the belts lose their coherence. This requires constant vigilance from Elysium's anti-asteroid team, but the high eccentricity of many asteroids also makes it cheap and easy to mine the ones that might come Elysium's way, which provides a trickle of basic resources for upkeep and personal goods. All large-scale building and infrastructure projects have been supplied from out-system, however.

A G-K far binary system, Gaid is simply a transit point to Radiant. Gaid's own gate maintenance techs and SAR rotated in and out through Radiant itself. There is no infrastructure other than a set of buoy lines for communications in Gaid A, and nothing in Gaid B.

Gaid A1: An airless world. Quality 10.

Gaid A2: A planet much like mars with a vestigial CO2 atmosphere. Quality 7.

Gaid A3: This planet boasts a methane hydrosphere. Quality 4.

Gaid AI: An asteroid belt.

Gaid A4: A turbulent Jovian planet, its storms would make resource extraction difficult. Quality 5.

Gaid A4a: An icy moon, with tidal heating creating a large ocean under a thin icy shell. Quality 9.

Gaid B1: A molten Cthonian world hosting a simply ludicrous amount of iron. Quality 15.

Gaid B2: An airless world. Quality 10.

Gaid B3: An airless binary system with two near-identically sized planets. Quality 7 and 8.

Gaid B4: This airless planet boasts a large and beautiful ring system, famous as a screen background option across human space. Every few years, a cruise or scientific expedition will stop by for more images.

Gaid B5: A small icy planet. Quality 3.

Gaid B6: A frozen world. Quality 7.

Gaid B7: An interesting gas dwarf sometimes referred to as an 'ice dwarf.' Quality 14.

A close K-M binary, Shei is home to an old Ares penal colony.

Shei 1: A Cthonian world. Quality 15.

Shei 2: An airless world. Quality 12.

Sheol (Shei 3): A boreal world, with a large, decaying ring, the planet features two large continents. The population of the consists of a large prisoner population on the larger of the two continents and a small Ares training base on the smaller. Records show that the prison consists of several million persons convicted to "high risk labour" and dropped on the continent with automatic resupply via Ares contractors and watched from orbit by weapons satellites. Most of the planet's land area is covered in a native tree analogue with a strange multi-stranded trunk.

Sheol is actually home to a population of over 100 million made up of prisoners and their descendants taht Ares was usuing as a live fire training course. Cooperation between Radiant agents, Ares mutineers, and the Sheolites themselves have seen the planet freed.

Gravity .95 Earth Standard. Quality 12.

Watchman (Shei 3a): Once the outer of two moons, this body now boasts Ares' local light shipyards and system command center. Quality 13.

Shei 4: Spiraling in from the outer system, this planet will eventually evaporate near-entirely as it closes towards the dual suns of Shei. Quality 3.

Shei 5: Martian planet with an active methane cycle. Quality 5.

Shei I: Asteroid belt.

Shei 6: Jovian planet with high rotation rate. Slightly squashed as a result. Quality 8.

Shei 6a: An icy capture, this moon will be torn into a ring sometime in the next hundred thousand years. Quality 2.

Shei 6b: Cold Martian planet, covered in a thin layer of water and carbon dioxide ices. Active methane cycle. Quality 8.

Shei II: Asteroid belt.

Shei 7: Jovian planet. Quality 13.

Shei 7a: An icy moon with significant cryovolcanism. Quality 6.

Shei 7b: A tiny icy moon, this is on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 2.

Shei 8: Ice giant. Quality 6.

Shei 8a: An icy moon. Quality 9.

Shei 8b: An icy moon, orbiting in an unusual polar orbit. Quality 9.

Population: 103,000,000

While lacking any currently-habitable planets, Five Lions' large size and potential have made it a significant point of Rhodes' recent extraction efforts. Ambitious terraforming efforts have recently begun.

Carajas (Five Lions 1): A Cthonian ball of iron, it's actively mined by robotic Rhodes-built landers. Gravity 2.3 Earth Standard. Quality 12.

Five Lions 2: A small rocky ball. Quality 3.

Five Lions 3: A rocky ball. Quality 7.

Grasberg (Five Lions 4): A large rocky world, glaciation has rendered it uninhabitable for now, but terraforming efforts have begun to artificially ramp up the greenhouse effect and restore liquid water to the surface, along with mining its ice. Gravity 1.11 Earth Standard. Quality 14.

Five Lions 5: This planet's atmosphere is so significant it verges on a gas dwarf. While a solid surface covered in a thin layer of ice is at the bottom, no reasonable colonization is possible. Quality 7.

Five Lions I: This asteroid belt, along with all the others, is being mined heavily.

Five Lions 6: This Jovian planet forms the center of current Rhodes extraction efforts. Quality 4.

Five Lions 6a: This Martian planet boasts significant ice caps and active plate tectonics, though only a vestigial atmosphere. Debate on whether to put resources into terraforming it are ongoing. Gravity .81 Earth Standard. Quality 17.

Oyu Tolgoi (Five Lions 6b): Home to the local population in covered shelters, this Martian planet, while nearly completely lacking water or plate tectonics, has its own atmosphere. Comet bombardment away from populated areas is ongoing and is already beginning to show results. Gravity .79 Earth Standard. Quality 11.

Five Lions II: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 7: An unremarkable Jovian. Quality 2.

Five Lions III: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 8: Jovian planet, its rotation speed has resulted in an unusually calm upper atmosphere. Quality 15.

Five Lions IV: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 9: Jovian planet. Quality 9.

Five Lions V: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 10: Neptunian ice giant. Quality 8.

Five Lions 10a: A small icy moon. Quality 5.

Five Lions 10b: A large icy body, this was probably its own planetoid at some point before being captured due to the complex interplays of no less than 5 gas giants.

Population: 15,000,000

A rare system with a brown dwarf orbiting a G-type star (just barely in the limits of what's considered a single system rather than a binary), and with a Jovian planet orbiting that, and on top of that treasure trove a dual ice giant binary, Osliam presents a golden research opportunity, and was bid on by Omoikane despite its otherwise sparce resources and poor habitable prospects.

Osliam 1: A rare hot ice giant, this planet is actively shrinking on a measurable time scale. It must have migrated in as a much larger planet recently.

Osliam 1a: This once-rock-ice moon is now a tiny molten ellipse barely holding together.

Osliam 1b: This somewhat larger moon changes color unusually with its day, as the shade of its parent cools lava to a dull red before emerging back into the light heats the lava back to a healthy orange glow.

Osliam 1c: This entire moon glows dull red in its day, just barely solid, and cools to an unusually smooth moon in its night.

Osliam I: This asteroid belt was probably a planet before Osliam 1's passing tore it to shreds.

Osliam 3: A hothouse planet with a relatively thin atmosphere, it retains temperatures and pressures that are survivable with heavy-duty equipment on the surface—when it's not raining sulfuric acid, that is.

Osliam 4: This small Martian planet seems to have collected some of Osliam 1's offgassing in its move inwards, and has a renewed temporary atmosphere.

Osliam 5a: This planet seems to have survived at the edge of the frost line by siphoning gas off its smaller twin.

Osliam 5b: Barely a gas giant, this planet was probably only slightly smaller than Osliam 5a in the distant past.

Osliam 6: The focus of Omoikane colonization in-system, Osliam 6 retains plate tectonics from the nearby brown dwarf but no atmosphere, an odd combination.

Osliam 7: A brown dwarf, this substellar object long ago burnt its deuterium and now lies slowly cooling, glowing dimly red. It is, however, still giving off a prodigious amount of low IR radiation.

Osliam 7a: Once its own planet, Osliam 7a was captured at some point by Osliam 7, perhaps in the same interaction that threw Osliam 1 to its suicidal innermost orbit.

Osliam 7a1: This icy moon is simultaneously shrinking and becoming more habitable—while its outer layers of ice are sublimating, the fierce tides of its complex interplay with Osliam 7 and 7a are heating the inner ocean to temperatures comparable to terrestrial water sources. Some scientists even suggest a pocket of water vapor is forming under the ice, and may form an internal "sky" for as much as a hundred million years before the outer shell sublimates entirely.

Osliam 7a2: This moon is less lucky; its tides are so strong that they seem to slowly be ripping the moon apart. It won't have the honor of becoming more than an ephemeral ring; the same complex tides tearing at it will rapidly disperse its debris field. While it lasts, though, it's easy water harvesting.

Population: 650,000

UNDER CHARTER CONTROL:

A distant double G binary, Xotreh hosts a small habitable moon around Xotreh B, the smaller of the two stars. As such, development has focused on the second star, despite the fact that the jump points center closer to Xotreh A.

Xotreh A1: This world boasts an active liquid silicate cycle on its surface, with oceans of basalt and continents of granite. Gravity 0.38 Earth Standard. Quality 8.

Xotreh A2: A rather large airless world, its original atmosphere was likely blown off by a massive impact. Gravity 1.2 Earth Standard. Quality 9.

Xotreh A3: A binary planetary pair of airless worlds about the size of Mars. Quality 6 and 8.

Xotreh A4: A hothouse planet with a planet-wide sulfuric acid storm due to its rapid rotation. Gravity .71 Earth Standard. Quality 8.

Xotreh A5 "Cueball": This planet is remarkably similar to Earth—if earth was buried under a kilometers-thick ice sheet across 90% of the surface. One day, as Xotreh A expands and dies, this world will become an ocean planet, but for now it's a cold desert. Gravity .87 Earth Standard. Quality 5.

Xotreh A6: An unremarkable icy ball. Quality 4.

Xotreh AI: An asteroid belt.

Xotreh A7: A Jovian planet, Xotreh 7 corrals the entire inner system in line. Quality 10.

Xotreh B1: This planet must have once been a gas giant at least the size of Uranus before it was sent inwards. Now all that remains is a dense core with a molten surface. Gravity 1.51 Earth Standard. Quality 13.

Xotreh B2: A binary pair of earth-sized airless worlds. Quality 6 and 7.

Xotreh B3: Another once-gas giant, this planet remains far out enough to boast a wholly-solid surface of iron. Gravity 1.64 Earth Standard. Quality 14.

Xotreh B4: A Jovian right on the frost line, its tidal heating keeps its moons on the edge of habitability. Quality 3.

Xotreh B4a "Sushi": An ocean world with massive polar ice caps, Omoikane has constructed a series of seasteads on the equatorial high ocean plateaus where it was feasible to drive foundations into the sea floor a few hundred meters below the surface. These small facilities serve as housing, data storage, and production centers for the research teams studying the dual Cthonian planets of Xotreh B. Gravity .67 Earth Standard. Quality 2.

Xotreh B4b: The lesser tidal heating here worsened the glaciation, and the planet lies under a planet-wide crust of ice. Gravity 1.13 Earth Standard. Quality 10.

Xotreh BI: The close proximity of this asteroid belt makes it an ideal location for resource extraction.

Xotreh 5: This Jovian is definitively beyond the habitable zone. Quality 6.

Xotreh 6: A dense ice giant. Quality 4.

Xotreh 7: Jovian planet. Quality 6.

Xotreh 8: An exceptionally cold Jovian. Quality 9.

Xotreh 8a: An unremarkable icy sphere. Quality 8.

Xotreh 9: This planet would have a massive atmosphere, if it wasn't so cold it all froze and fell to the surface. Only a few degrees above the space surrounding it. Gravity 1.3 Earth Standard. Quality 9.

Population: 54,000

Besides an interesting Jovian-gas dwarf planetary system, Bestreer holds little of interest other than its connections to other places.

Bestreer 1: An airless world. Quality 2.

Bestreer 2: An airless world. Quality 6.

Bestreer 3: This airless world once had a captured moon, torn apart at the Roche limit and forming a ring. A small gate maintenance and SAR team bases here, siphoning fuel and water from Bestreer 5 and mining into the surface for both resources and safe spaces for housing. Quality 10.

Bestreer 4: A rock-ice world. Quality 5.

Bestreer 5: Another rock-ice world made up more of ice than rock. Quality 5.

Bestreer I: An icy asteroid belt.

Bestreer 6: A large Jovian planet, on the edge of becoming a brown dwarf. Quality 15.

Bestreer 6a: This gas dwarf might have become a gas giant in its own right without its massive sibling. Quality 5.

Bestreer 7: Another Jovian. Quality 14.

Bestreer 7a: An icy moon, with an internal ocean buried under kilometers of ice. Quality 12.

Bestreer 8: An icy ball. Quality 10.

Population: 450

G-class star. A transshipping point to Radiant and environs, Mississippi keeps a substantial support crew on hand for possible cargo ship breakdowns or emergencies in-system, due to the slightly increased risk of issues from the absolute shambles of Akleod's inner system. A minor executive has also put together a cheap refueling and battery exchange station.

Akleod 1: Even actively evaporating and leaving behind a trail in orbit of dissipating volatiles, this body is large enough to have usurped Akleod 1a's orbit temporarily until it disappears away or the chaotic orbit of the two throws one into the star or out of the system. Quality 2.

Akleod 1a: The original Akleod 1, its orbit has been badly disrupted by the current, migrating Akleod 1. Which of the two gets ejected is still uncertain despite a decent amount of computational simulation; odds put it at 48-52% relatively. Quality 6.

Gnat's Ass (Akleod 2): A small, loosely-held-together icy body, perhaps what used to be an asteroid belt before Akleod 1's suicidal inner-system dive. It's not yet had time to fully reach hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 3.

Akleod 3: An icy planet similar to Akleod 1, perhaps an old sibling. Quality 13.

Akleod I: An asteroid belt.

Akleod 4: A Jovian with an unusually elliptical orbit, it's regarded as the culprit for the chaos of Akleod's inner system. Quality 11.

Population: 5,000

As it turns out, transponder codes from regular priority messages through Gaid (now that we can see them, having backdoored the gate control) bear tags from a system, Thoa, along with navigational chart updates for any ships that happen to stop by. Thoa and Gaid both seem to have been nothing more than transit points to the far-more-valuable Radiant for Hermes-Ishtar, but Thoa holds a small anti-pirate base guarding against raiders from Signia. Hermes-Ishtar was apparently serious enough about it to have a converted corvette on station.

All told, the Thoa system holds gates to 2 systems besides Gaid's. There's also an unimproved jump point simply labelled as "dangerous." that leads to Signia

Thoa System Stats:

Thoa 1: A molten mess of a planet, it's hot enough that a residual atmosphere of vaporized low-melting-point metallics exists.

Thoa 2: An unremarkable airless metal ball.

Thoa 3: A super-earth hothouse, this planet would have been uninhabitable due to its gravity even before turning scorchingly hot.

Thoa 3a: A captured asteroid barely on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium, the Nasty Bastardhad been excavating rudimentary shelters for "leave" for its crew.

Thoa I: An asteroid belt.

Thoa 4: A normal Jovian planet.

Thoa 4a: A moon much like Mars in climate.

Thoa 5: A Jovian planet with an unusual triangular wind pattern at the poles.

Thoa 6: Blooms of hydrogen well up from the core of this Jovian, perhaps disturbed by some recent impact.

Thoa 7: Bathyscapes would find themselves at home on the surface of Thoa 7. Pressures much like that at Earth's seabed keep a crust of ice 3 stable enough robotic drones could walk on it.

Thoa 7a: Unusually, Thoa 7a is the only large icy body in the system. Scientists are unsure of where the others went. As the only easy source of volatiles, the UNasty Bastard periodically stopped by a handful of obsolete volatile collection systems on the surface to top up.

Thoa II: A Kuiper belt of icy objects.

Empty Systems

Kimberly: A fairly unremarkable and empty system, this site was chosen as Rhodes' spinward boneyard—a place for failed experiments, old equipment, and ships so worn they weren't worth maintaining anymore, but were still valuable enough to warrant not throwing into a gas giant or otherwise completely destroyed. For 2 decades a Rhodes-affiliated salvaging contractor worked here, gathering scrap and other valuables, but following high injury and death rates and low returns, the contract (and most non-local dumping) was cancelled in 2247 (4 years before the March Days.)

Kimberly 1: A large rocky planet, this must have migrated inwards from further out in the system a long time ago to be so large so close to its parent star.

Kimberly 2: A Martian planet that keeps a comfortable daytime temperature despite its lack of atmosphere due to a close orbit.

Kimberly 3: A Jovian world.

Kimberly I: This asteroid belt is actually combined with a thinly-spread junkyard corralled by Kimberly's 2 gas giants.

Kimberly 4: A Neptunian world, this planet has several starship hulks abandoned as the closest stable orbit to the gate out. An old deactivation hub orbits in resonance with Kimberly 4a, the former site of a salvaging operation.

Kimberly 4a: The only significant satellite in the system, this icy moon retains a thin crust and a massive subterranean freshwater ocean.

Total:

Radiant:

Gaid:

Five Lions:

Head of Diplomatic Corps:

Name: Amanda Redcrest, Victoria Blackwell, and Kayla Hayashi

DoB: "2222", 2219, 2227, 2224

Current Position: Influential media figure and figurehead of Social Committee propaganda

Not a traditional diplomat, or a traditional individual 'Veronica Stardust' is the persona of a trio of XP broadcasters who have been working together since 2246 and has consistently been one of the most recognized figures across Charter space and is a local Elysian celebrity.

In Charter space those individuals who choose to make money by recording their lived experiences, of all kinds, for later playback are treated with an indulgent disdain by the polite classes as a mix of internet celebrity and sex worker despite the practice of selling XP experiences being common in the poorer segments of society and a smaller portion of the professional middle class attempting to stay afloat in a tight gig economy.

Amanda Redcrest was a former media programmer whose attempts to supplement her income with XP work backfired and saw her fired from her job. Contrarily, Kayla and Victoria both come from lower class backgrounds, though Kayla's attempts to climb into the middle class by earning a marketing degree were frustrated when her lower class status markers and financing of education via XP work saw her frozen out of the job market.

A former collaborator of Kayla's, Victoria had been a rising XP star in her own right and had no desire to change her station, but as her brief celebrity began to fade Victoria approached Kayla to propose the creation of a dedicated broadcasting persona that both would act as. Later bringing on Redcrest, who they'd both done crossover XP work with, to do technical work, the trio used carefully gathered market data and some intuition to create the "Veronica Stardust" persona of an middlingly-intelligent and freewheeling persona who played to the upper class's picture of what depravities and indignities the poorer class must get up to in their spare time.

From 2246 to 2251 the Veronica Stardust persona (performed by all three at various times, though primarily Victoria) produced experience recordings that were nearly always in the top 10 best sellers across Charter space.

Though they enjoyed the wealth that they brought in, the trio increasingly chafed at the market driven limitations of Veronica, and were considering a number of possibly catastrophic brand shifts when the March Days broke out and all three participated in street actions in a private capacity after sending one last broadcast as 'Veronica' to encourage revolt.

Since the formation of the Social Committee the figure of Veronica has been rebranded to serve as the figurehead of Social Committee Propaganda and several major initiatives have been launched with her at the forefront including a highly successful part of the anti-overproduction initiatives.

As part of the now-completed campaign to maintain the charade that Radiant was still under Charter control, Veronica Stardust continued to sell broadcasts to HI media chains, though the trio could not help but begin a brand shift towards a far more intelligent and radical persona.

Pros: XP Celebrity, influential, well known, inspiring to the middle and lower classes

Cons: XP celebrity, little diplomatic experience, three people

Diplomatic Goals: Defeat the Charters in the field of public opinion, push social revolution and freedom of information and communication, cause public opinion to oppose attacking Radiant

Unlocked FRM

Ares Peacekeeping Grade - Access to planetary army formation

Ares Military Grade - Access to mid-sized shipyards, bonuses to planetary army combat. Bonus to completion of Chinook remodeling

Rhodes Light industrial Grade - 10% increase to all mining income, reduced Cost for BLG and other actions that use basic fabber processes

Rhodes Heavy Industrial Grade - Massive discount on mining upgrades, able to unlock automated technologies with Omoikaine

Cernunnos Consumer Grade - +1 to all Soccom actions

Cernunnos Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

Omoikane Consumer Grade - +1 to FRM reserach for each two tech bases unlocked (+6 currently)

Omoikane Enterprise Grade - +5 to blue sky research, automation with Omoikane

Hermes-Ishtar Consumer Grade - Your economy doesn't crash when the turn of funding

Hermes-Ishtar Production Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

MSI Consumer Grade - Consumer Goods, Drones, and personal vehicles, +2 to domestic projects in IndComm and SocComm

MSI Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

Original Tech

The Box: Fabber the size of a X-box that can, with time, materials and power, print the components for a full sized box. Less efficient, but easy to print and hide.

Defence Coordinator:

Name: Maria Awhina

DoB: 2165

Current Position: Military Committee Delegate from the Radiant Veterans Guild

Born into poverty on Earth as the twenty-second century began to wane, young 22-year old Maria Awhina caught up in radical anti-Charter politics during the third black summer of 2187 and was convicted of property destruction during the rioting and sentenced to serve as a contractor to Hermes-Ishtar until her contract was paid off.

The stark choice of starvation or service to Hermes-Ishtar caused Maria to descend into self-destructive behavior where for twenty years Ms. Awhina continuously volunteered for the highest paid and most dangerous positions that Hermes-Ishtar had available.

Hermes-Ishtar considers Special Operations Lieutenant Awhina to have served with distinction throughout the heavy skirmishing of that era, though Maria herself continues to carry guilt for her service and her survival.

After performing exceptionally well in a hostage rescue operation Awhina was transferred to the Protective Detail Division of Hermes-Ishtar Security, and was eventually assigned to serve as the head of the Radiant Vice President's protective detail.

Over the next four decades she came to see the world as her home, and while her professionalism never wavered, her loyalty to the company who still owned her contract did.

This March, Maria had the option to gun down her fellow planetary headquarters workers to secure Yang's escape, or to finally return to roots in anti-Charter agitation. The fact that we are all here today shows what choice she made.

Pros:

-Actual Combat Veteran, knows Radiant inside and out, special operations expert, professional.

Cons:

-only academic knowledge of starship operations, logistics, organization command and strategic operations.

Command Traits:

-Objective oriented, unflappable, aggressive, prefers attacks and operations to come from unexpected angles.

Reports from the Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence on hostile forces in neighbouring systems:

Blue Squadron:
-Allegiance: Ares Combat Solutions
-Service: Mars Interstellar Security
-CO: Rear Admiral Weylon Kang
-Flagship: MIS Yorktown

We know little about Rear Admiral Weylon Kang except that he has received a number of commendations from the MIS board for keeping costs low while on deployment. He appears to be making an effort to clamp down on the rumours racing back and forth across the fleet.

MIS Yorktown
-British Empire-class Fleet Tender
MIS Eurymedon
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS La Rochelle
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Cape Rachado
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Second Schooneveld
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Matapan
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Valcour Island
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Kerch Strait
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Galveston Harbour
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Cape Sarych
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS River Plate
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Third San Francisco
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Scipio Africanus
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Suleiman I
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Louis Botha
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Fort Ware
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Fort Mackinac
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Fort Osage
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Arabian
-Postal-class Courier
MIS Macedonia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Hispania Citerior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Hispania Ulterior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Gallia Narbonensis
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Sicilia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Corsica et Sardinia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport

Fixed Defences:
Battery A
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Battery B
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Battery C
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Shoal A
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal B
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal C
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal D
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal E
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal F
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal

Fixed Defences:
Battery A
-Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation
Battery B
-Airstrike Pattern LMP Constellation
Shoal A
-Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
Shoal B
-Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
Strikecraft Wing, ID# 48603
-Radiance-Type Strikecraft

-None

Local Security Forces
-Approximately fifty strong volunteer station security militia drawn from station personnel

Local Security Forces:
-Deep Space Security Solutions (Omoikane Subsidiary) Customs shuttle squadron based out of Xotreh B-4a's orbital station
-Three companies of Standard Planetary Security Company (Ares subsidiary) troops based out of Xotreh B-4a's habitat complexes for internal security and law enforcement

139th Solarian Navy Squadron:
-Allegiance: Solarian Compact
-Service: Solarian Navy
-CO: Vice Admiral David Visser
-Flagship: SNS Krak de Chevaliers

Thanks to his heavy handed labour discipline and extractive tribute and demands for corvee labour from Ascension Admiral Visser is viscerally hated by the populace of Ascension, and to a lesser degree the rest of the Solarian Force as well. While the gate's completion draws near, it is uncertain what path that Visser will persue.

SNS Krak de Chevaliers
-Star-hold-Class light-tender
SNS Victoria Newman
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Julia Stonechild
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Robert Chuikov
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Wallace Al-Wazir
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Dawn's Early Light
-Freedom's Light-class cruiser
SNS Jacob Nagumo
-Herald Kanumba-Class frigate
SNS Alexander Hamilton
-Liberation-class troop transport

Solarian Marines now spread throughout the system

PCMI Provides new system data on the single system that lies beyond beyond Five Lions:

Mobile Force:

Current Orders: Defend the All Radiant Congress by acting as a rapid response in the event of any hostile acts.

CO: Commodore Stephanie Rousseau

CNS Velasco, United States of America-class Fleet Carrier

-CO: Captain Esteri Attar

-Orca Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Jasmine Ang

-Red Wolf Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Heloisa Kimura de Lima

CNS Shieldmaiden, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Shamhat, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Righteous Tempest, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: Captain Vehement Shade

CNS August Willich, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Elysium, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Asphodel, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

-

Home Force:

Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol, act as a reserve force

CO: Commodore Erina Kozlova

CNS Blaire Mountain, New Model-Class Strike Corvette

-CO: Captain Guillermo Kageyama

CNS Scutum, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

-CO: Captain Martin Pagonis

CNS Buckler, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

-CO: Captain Samuel Smiles

CNS Nasty Bastard, A Jury Rigged Mess of a Drone Carrier

-CO: Captain Jean-Paul Beaumont

-

Radiant System Self Defence Force:

Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol

CO: Overseen by Admiral Gregory Mansur in his capacity as MilComm Chief of Naval Operations

Radiant Customs Squadron, Arabia-class boarding craft with marine contingents

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Switchblade Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Apogee Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Radiant Orbital Yard 1

Current construction: None

Radiant Orbital Yard 1

Current construction: None

-

Gaid System Self Defence Force:

Current Orders: Defend Gaid

CO: Commodore Victor Raine

Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Zephyr Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Ara Helge

Aeolus Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Gale Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

-

Frontier Force

Current Orders: Keep watch on SolNav force in Raphanus, assist with integration of Ascension military forces, patrol Spinward frontier

CO: Commodore Shayla McLean

CNS Kiel Mutiny, Kaiserreich-class BattleCruiser

-CO: Captain Inana Devlin

CNS Choreographer, Janissary-class Light Tender

-CO: Captain Karl Xanthopoulos

CNS Valiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Defiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Fool's Errand

CNS Reliant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Rouge Napier

CNS Actium, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain John Rankin

CNS Crête-à-Pierrot, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Nkiru Chaudhari

CNS Valmy, New Model-Class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Sumac Barros

CNS Revolutionary Will, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: Captain Yamamoto Hanae

CNS Revolutionary Grace, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Under New Management, Don-Class Fast Tanker

-CO: Captain Adras Kierenos

CNS Liberte, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

-CO: Captain Colin McRae

CNS Egalite, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

-CO: Captain Adelia Swift

Resources
Naval Ship Types: Ship Types (Public Version)
Naval Officers: Congressional Navy Officers (Public Version)
System Codex: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rtNbPCcPsTK7HCHKo9dPgK7ntx5tBKOpltrZb_In7GY/edit#
Blaze Zhang: Blaze Zhang is trans-masc. That means his pronouns are he/him.

DISCORD LINK:

Join the Wordsmiths Discord Server!

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AKuz · Mar 27, 2022

News

Atlantis Interstellar Courier Dispatch

Tereshkovan Protests Test Prime Minister Roderick

Ongoing protests in Tereshkova continue to paralyse the Republic government as thousands gather to protest government corruption. Tereshkova's government has responded with brutal crackdowns against the protestors. Already there have been calls from Cabinet level officials within the Party for Human Rights and Liberties for Prime Minister Roderick to take a firmer hand on Frontier affairs.

Reportedly led by Minister for Republics Medvedev, members of the Prime Minister's own party have pushed for the Prime Minister to authorise the deployment of inspectors from the Office of Criminal Investigation to the Tereshkova system.

This proposal has been opposed by the leadership of the Official Opposition, with Frontier Affairs Critic Silvia Greene claiming that the move would "Be an undemocratic imposition of the Compact Government in Frontier Affairs" and that "Change is made by protests and ballots, not by government bayonets!"

While Tereshkova currently maintains a Frontier Republic status, this status is being called into question by the perceived brutality of Tereskova's law enforcement, with figures across the Daughters political spectrum questioning whether the bloodshed violates the Constitutional requirement that Frontier Republics remains "Liberal and Democratic".

Doctor Dominic Pearons, a research fellow specialising in constitutional law at the University of Nouveau London says…

…Tereshkova, a Frontier Republic of 1.2 Billion individuals sitting on the coreward terminus of the Dragon's spine houses several important spacecraft construction yards, is the home port to a number of courier runs and passenger lines. It is also home to Mercury Naval Station.

Last month protests began on Vostok Station regarding alleged corruption within the Republic's government, and spinward frontier correspondent Mark Silver reports that the protests seem to only be gathering steam as government crackdowns escalate.

-

Futurewatch

It Is here, Augment Riots on First Colonies

Augment riots continue in Columbia. Unable to accept any form of justice, Augments have demanded that NNYPD Officer Conwell be executed for defending himself when Derek Smith bared his claws and was stopped with lethal force. Houses and businesses within the Augment districts burned in feral rage before local militia and police managed to restore order…

Money Matters

"On the virtue of virtue" - A interview with Alan Zhang

.. Alan is a soft spoken, handsome man, who, as he says, 'prefers quiet working to the limelight'. …

"The key factor that both the parties miss," he begins, "is that the frontier is inherently distant from us. The grim reality of the speed of light means that it will never be in the core, and we must adjust to that. There is no system, corporate or government, that can guarantee virtue among those so far out. Instead, we must make sure that those so far out have virtue within themselves."

"The frontier is not some mysterious wild that makes men go mad, it is merely a place that lets them be free to be as they always were. My younger cousin recently went out, and I have no fear of him causing atrocities as he has always been a gentle, loving soul'....

Entertainment daily

Dancing Starlight: Lighthearted and Fun For The Whole Family

It is very easy to forget amid the hurly-burly of the election cycle the true value of family values. But in this new comedy from rookie Ishtar Direct Director Argyle Ramirez, the up and coming vertically-mobile Takahashi family learns what really matters in life from their clumsy, loveable Tabby maid Audrey Catalonia, as their youngest child, River, prepares for the dance of their/her life.

This Starlight Dance is performed annually on the moon of Umi with the leading role given to only the most talented dancer at River's School and is seen by talent scouts from across the galaxy. But as scheming coworkers and a mishap at the bank threaten their superurban living, can the Takahashi family survive it all with a smile and a laugh?

This is one story that I can promise you has a happy ending, because the real joy is in the character work. The actress who plays Audrey, a method actress who changed her own name to that of her character, has a promising career ahead of her, with her comedy chops and exaggerated feline felicitations, but she is not the only standout actor in this comedy. There is also…(Please Subscribe to see the full review.)

Political Bet Insider

Daily Election Update: Race Stable, With Slight JDAP Uptick

Polling indicates that the PHRL and its allies have dipped down to 35.5% in recent polls, with the JDAP picking up a tenth of a percentage point of that drop, and the rest being for small or niche parties. With the majority of the drop favouring the Democratic Market Socialist Alliance, Humans United, and the Compact Reform Alliance Party.

Significantly, the betting market has increased the chances of a PHRL victory by 3%, as every week without a major shakeup means that JN Okay's JDAP is running out of time to move the needle on the election. At the moment, a stagnant election without large momentum swings places the odds overwhelmingly on the side of Prime Minister Roderick's PHRL, and the interesting bets seem to be on the fringe left and right parties and whether they might outperform expectations made before the writ was dropped.

River Of Stories

Our Site Is Under Attack!

Batten down the hatches! It's time for another battle for freedom, democracy, and Egypt… and yes, I know most of you aren't Egyptian, but this is it, this is the big one. Apparently Hermes-Ishtar, those bastards, have sent a cease-and-desist letter to every single one of the fanfiction archives on Sol, even those like ours that are protected by national laws and shouldn't be subject to any of that. Hermes-Ishtar seems like they're ready to do it, to finally drive off the last Fanfiction site that's not on the Dark Web. But with your help, we can and will fight it! This is not over, and we will not go quietly. The Charters have the very stars themselves, why should they have the dreams and words of those who have nothing but them?

Please donate, please spread the word, and please if there's even a single candidate who can be found who gives a shit, vote!

Galactic Bargain Hunters Weekly

New IP War

In devastating news, a new IP War has begun. In the wake of new Hermes-Ishtar offensives against Fanfiction, so-called Generic Brands are the new targets. We've all bought high-quality Chinese products, or even braved the so-called "Made in America" market only to find that it was far better than its reputation had it. These Legally Distinct products were often the last bastion for those who couldn't afford the real deal… or those who showed the true Individualist spirit to always seek the best prices no matter what! But now across Europe, China, Africa, the Americas… all of Sol is seeing demands to pay large amounts of money. The businesses would be bankrupted by this, and the consumers would be on the hock as well. It is our duty to fight them as much as possible, and vote for the National Party List in the coming election despite their questionable stance on corporate regulation. In this case the greater threat is from the crony capitalists and not the last Communists! This affront to the market is a threat targeted at the ability for millions to survive without grinding poverty, and the Charters should remember that it's April and Summer is approaching.

The Acropolis

Rhodes Seeks To Protect Consumers

…this has led to accusations that they are attempting to reduce consumer choice and options, but this is far from true. Owing to their culture of anarchic laziness and selected poverty, American products are unsafe. Studies have shown that they have an increased chance of malfunction, and that those who use these products are more likely to wind up in jail or be injured in workplace accidents.

Other studies from the Banks Economic School show that generic and national product users have an overall lower life expectancy and are less employable than those who use products from one of the six reputable Charters.

Therefore, Rhodes along with other responsible representatives of the market are taking the initiative this May Day to protect the workers and consumers of the galaxy by issuing a cease and desist to all such so-called "legally distinct" manufacturers of Rhodes, and other, technology.

Only through these efforts can we make the galaxy safe for consumer and commerce alike.

Emotional Futures Daily

Rocky Trends: Hodl!

The trend over the past few weeks continued unabated, with Emotional Futures inexplicably dropping all across the Compact. This and other indications seem to point to a potential recession, a double-dip of misery that is only mitigated by a high rise in quality broadcasting, and the upcoming season finales in May and June which promise to revitalise the market. Especially depressed were the Emotional Futures from Sol, potentially owing to the possibility of trade wars between Sol and Hermes-Ishtar. Emotional Futures are expected to rebound once Fanfiction is driven further underground or eliminated, allowing quality content to have more purchase and…

The Blackfire Diaries

The Importance of May Day

The one thing that everyone here at Blackfire Diaries can agree on, even in the heat of yet another liberal bourgeois sham election, is the importance of remembering our past as a movement and those who fought the good fight over the last four centuries.

May Day, or International (now Interstellar) Worker's Day has traditionally been the day set aside by leftists of all stripes to celebrate the working man and the movement to finally bring the class war to its inevitable conclusion.

Celebrated by not just proletarian organisations throughout time and across Earth and the galaxy, but by both the Soviet Union and the Democratic Federation, we here at the Blackfire Diaries will be marking this May Day by demonstrating in Atlantic City in front of the Compact Parliament along with other North American leftist groups to demand the release of the Colorado Six and an end to the Charter Economic Zones.

This May Day we encourage all of you in Sol and across the galaxy to join us in our fight against the tyranny of the Charters and their liberal bourgeois managers of capital in New York.

Yours In Solidarity,
-The Blackfire Diaries Staff

-

Reports:

Conference, Part 1: Despite Ambassador Stardust's best efforts, the Conference was very nearly derailed at the very start. While the proposed package was something that President Ochiro Tayuki, who insists on going by Ochiro, was generally willing to consider, he was torn on whether to fully commit to not doing a third gate as opposed to doing two at first and taking a "wait and see" approach to the third, presumably to see if Handbiter aligned governments were elected in Idyllia.

This was unacceptable to Ambassador Stardust and all of the other delegates, but the conference continued afterwards with Miss Toni Lea ably representing Gentle Repose as Sheol representative Colonel Annette Brushfire argued an ambivalent line that generally supported that of Gentle Repose in all respects.

During a break an hour into the conference, the Colonel told Stardust that at this rate, "We will be here a week, and we cannot afford that. Still, they're in the same room, talking… well, past each other, but still talking."

Conference, Part 2: It was then, during the break, that a wildcard arrived: Lieutenant-Commander Joseph Coate and his Solarian Marshals bodyguard.

A tall, striking man with bronze skin, he smiled to all involved and introduced himself as the Solarian Navy's local Community Liason Officer and apologised for being late. It was felt that Coate could hardly be turned away, and he gave a stirring speech on the need to clear up misunderstandings and improve Compact-Osliam and Compact-Gentle Repose relations, and finally made it clear that, "There is almost assuredly a progressive, forward-thinking and liberal solution to any disagreements that are faced here, and that ultimately the common humanity of all involved will ring out in a new agreement to preserve the liberty of these planets." He then asked that the break be extended and requested a face to face meeting with President Tayuki, much to the dismay of Miss Lea who angrily spoke with Ambassador Stardust, saying "So this is how the fucking bastard shows his true colours."

Conference, Part 3: President Tayuki returned from his break and gave the following speech. "It is easy to miss things, to not realize obvious facts that are evident to everyone. I am a scientist, and yet I have been taught things by Mr. Coate, who has enlightened me on many key points. I see more clearly now than ever who my friends are, and who are my enemies." He then turned to Miss Lea and said, "Friends, I may have gone too far in my denunciations. I do not hold back what I said about genuine Handbiters, but I am aware that perhaps… I spoke too broadly," he said, seemingly grudingly. "Whatever you are, you are not mass-murdering Compact goons, not persons of all genders and races who will smile to your face when you were thrown in prison by their very puppetmasters for years without trial. Whatever I think of the path Gentle Repose has gone on, you are not monsters, not like this so-called Community Liaison Officer, whose attempted fomenting of war and rebellion against allies and friends would have vitally injured us in a moment of revolution! I am sure that we can find an agreement between each other to for our mutual defence and for the ultimate and final extinction of the Compact, the Charters, and Cosmoliberalism, once and for all!"

Conference, Part 4: CLO Coate, flabbergasted, soon left and Colonel Brushfire, Miss Lea, and President Tayuki agreed on a brief recess in talks, with the Colonel suggesting that it was perhaps time to talk out of the spotlight.

When the trio returned, they had a proposal for their mutual goodwill, one which seems to have been encouraged by Colonel Brushfire to ask more of Radiant than expected… but which seems to, upon having been agreed to, settled the issue in under a day. The rest of the day was occupied by discussion of minor points, signing of agreements, and a banquet and then tour of Osliam itself. The bad blood does not seem to truly be gone, but in the face of the representative of the Compact, it seems to have turned to grudging cooperation… and eager cooperation to extort aid from Radiant.

Analysis of the situation and deal by Jordan Levinson: Stardust got outplayed to an extent, is my analysis. She spent all her time trying to get them working together and then when they switched to doing so aggressively in the face of the CLO's smarm, she allowed them to get more out of the AIC than perhaps they might get otherwise… but she also realized that what were bold and even perhaps a little bit audacious and greedy requests by their standards were quite doable by ours and perhaps even advantageous.

First, we have committed to working on Cernunnos FRMs, the more advanced ones, and completing them within a year but through steady progress, and doing the same for our treatment reforms in case of occupation, which should also help more marginal planets with smaller populations maintain healthcare and immortality even in non-occupation situations. We are then required to share these with both parties. They do not seem to fully understand how fast we can do these things, and so their timeline of one year is eminently doable and may even convince the CLOs and others that our industrial capacity is lower than expected. It does mean, however, that at least some CLOs might now know the open secret of the FRM Cracks.

Second, we have committed to providing resources equal to roughly what it would take to build two gate defences to Gentle Repose, with the excess likely being used to create a Strikecraft Wing, though they did not say this and the CLO seems to be none the wiser.

Third, we have agreed within the next six months to make one or possibly two gate defences in Osliam.

Fourth, and here is where Stardust was truly surprised, we agreed to help create a joint Strikecraft Yard/Training Facility for both sides. They agreed to provide help building it, as does Sheol, and they agreed to the following: parity. That is to say, if Osliam builds one Wing of Strikecraft, they cannot build a second until Gentle Repose builds one. Neither side is under obligation to build, though in private the Gentle Repose ambassador seems to have indicated they're thinking that the maths currently show that five Wings is just barely sustainable for Gentle Repose without outside support or aid. This effort should not be too difficult, though there are real debates about which system to put it in. They have also agreed to not build any ships that can carry Strikecraft to other systems in combat setting, which means if they want to join a line of battle rather than defend their systems, they'd need to be transported by Sheol or others.

In exchange for these advantages, President Tayuki has to make sure to cover Augment healthcare and their specific needs and create an AIC-approved apology statement for those he called Handbiters and for some of his rhetoric. He's likely to do it through gritted teeth, but we can ensure that the message is at least… decent. He also has to promise not to build Gentle Repose gate defences. He seems very put out by it, but he's also won a number of policy victories and so for the moment he is coping.

The difficulty here seems to be that Stardust was not expecting the turnaround, though the costs of it in this case are only so comparatively high because their demands are--in absolute terms--not all that great.

[Next General Congress, gain: a Megaproject, requiring…

--Spend 10 BR, 10 SR, 6 E next turn, going to Gentle Repose for their Gate construction costs.
--Work on "Crack Advanced Cernunnos Fabricator Rights Management 'prints" and "Training Days: Expand Treatment Capacity" each turn until completion, which must be within four turns.
--Create at least one gate for Osliam within the next two turns.
--Begin work on a Strikecraft Facility and Training Yard in either Osliam or Gentle Repose within the next two turns, completing it within the next four. Once you begin it, the host system will provide 1d5 progress each turn in addition to what you do, or even instead of what you do if you do not take the action on a particular turn. If the Automated Shipyard Facilities are completed, this will become 2d5 progress due to easier staffing of the building facilities. This project is /35, and allows the production of one Strikecraft Wing per turn (potentially more depending on how Automated Shipyard Facilities shake out) at a reduced resource cost compared to Cottage Production, as well as the training of competent pilots within that timeframe.]

Growing Navy

Progress has been good on the ships ordered by the AIC, with our Cruiser to be completed within the next two months most likely, if not sooner, and two new New Model-class Strike corvettes Cossak-class Frigate having been created to help fill out the roster in case of conflict. What remains to be decided are their names. At the moment most Congressional Navy ~~Strike Corvettes~~ Frigates are named for revolutionary ideals, places within the revolution or revolutionaries.

In most compact inventories ~~New Model~~ ~~corvettes~~ Cossak Frigate are named for revolutionary ideals.

Write-in two ~~Corvette~~ Frigate names, subject to QM veto:

[ ] [NAME1]

[ ] [NAME2]

Rumours:

Trickle Down Anxiety: While The Broadcast remains one of the few closely held secrets permissible within Amaranthe it has also, shockingly, not leaked. This despite Elysium's highly gossip prone culture.

Instead the tension filling the members of the General Congress has infected those around them. A great feeling of mixed excitement and dread moving from the top down. Dubbed "Trickle down anxiety" on the internet boards and servers, this phenomenon is currently attributed to whatever secret plan that the General Congress has for dealing with Task Force 12.7

While it IS technically a plan for dealing with Task Force 12.7, the total scope of the Broadcast is beyond the imaginations off all but those involved in the project, and a smattering of internet cranks who insist that what the Congress should really have done all along is broadcast a signal across the galaxy that triggers a Grand Galactic Black Summer…

[Something is Coming…]

The Lion's Roar: A press release by the All-Five Lions Congress says it all, "Through heroic work and tireless effort, the strong, powerful, and devoted workers of Five Lions have begun to build their own shipyard in order to contribute to the titanic struggle which shall see the victory of the worker galaxy-wide. It is only through the long hours of work that we have achieved so much, and yet we cannot merely hope to have a shipyard ready in time for the great trial to come. Therefore, we have boldly and with great sacrifice converted four ore-haulers into auxiliary cruisers, to haul our brave defenders of proletarian democracy to battles for the fate of the whole chain. Furthermore we have also begun to implement a strikecraft construction and training program that will match that of our courageous comrades in arms of Sheol. We hope to truly begin to carry our weight soon. For the workers of the galaxy, let us labour to build true industrial democracy with our sweat, our blood, and our tears!"

[Five Lions begin construction of a yard to make corvettes and frigates, with a cruiser yard planned for next year. Four Auxiliary Cruisers have been added to the Five Lions System Defence Force, as well as one Strikecraft Wing. You will have projects to take advantage of Five Lions' Stakhanovite Spirit, but if you do odds of Five Lions burnout builds.]

Military Advisors: In preparation for the conflict to come, Sheol has begun a program to send military advisors to Idyllia, Waystation, Five Lions, Ascension, and Radiant to attempt to pass on their knowledge of armed resistance against long odds to the rest of the alliance. They seem to expect that it is entirely their right to interfere and get involved in the armed forces of all these nations, to varying effects. It has led to at least some further progress on Radiant's Stay-Behind army, especially the insight about the logistical collapse which could happen even with the fabricators. But it also means that they are spreading their influence, and with the solving of the issue with Osliam they are likely to get involved in the security forces and (very minimal) System Army therein as well.

[+3 to Stay Behind Force, Sheol Influence Spreads]

A Second Fleet: Sheol has committed firmly to finishing their next shipyard within the next two months, and beginning to create their own fleet. Sheolite military planners have expressed enthusiasm at the possibility of an automatic shipyard in order to free up workers to instead serve vital engineering jobs in the new ships that the shipyards will create. They seem to have strong ambitions of becoming the second-place naval power in the alliance, and a worthy partner of Amaranthine efforts.

[Sheol will finish their Shipyard next turn.]

Evacuation Preparations: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst seems to be the Chinook model. They have escalated their preparations, including the creation of their own set of Hellburners and several other projects aimed primarily at the Chinook-Thoa gate… but they have also begun preparing for a potential evacuation from the system, an ambitious project that would move the entire space station to a secure system in the event that Radiant falls and it seems likely Chinook will be next… a system which will still have attached shipyards and more to serve as a revolutionary bolthole.

[Chinook working on its own projects.]

Community Liaison Officer receives warm welcome on Ascension: In contrast to the cold shoulder of Osliam and Gentle Repose, Captain Ellen Lorelei Fangor of the Solarian Navy Naval Infantry has received a warm welcome from the elites of Ascension. Not only has she regularly wined and dined with key figures of Ascension's new government but has had a personal AGI secretary assigned to assist her.

This warm welcome appears to go beyond simple camraderie, as rumours of talks for Ascension docks to open up for servicing Task Force 12.7 ships have begun to circulate, to the displeasure of some. There are even rumours flitting about Task Force 12.7 that Ascension will pull out of the AIC in favour of pursuing the path to being recognized as a Colonial Republic under the Compact's Constitution.

[+2 to MedComm actions involving Task Force 12.7.]

Trial, Interrupted: The trial of the "Mengele's of Site 12" proceeds apace, with evidence being presented that shows that all of these individuals were aware of the true nature of their work and the so-called "Temporary Limited Intelligence" program and chose to willingly continue otherwise.

Several of those on trial contend that they had no choice, as their employment and thus continued survival on an entirely Omoikane owned world depended on their ability to follow instructions without question.

These workers contend that even if they'd quit, Omoikane physical security would rigorously enforce NDAs, and that another worker would be brought in to take their place.

One of those on trial has bitterly complained that he was as much a cog in the machine of Site 12 as any of the VIs or janitorial robots.

Biting Words: In the wake of the deal between Idyllia and Osliam, a controversy has swept Gentle Repose, in part because the deal was reached without Handbiter approval. Miss Toni Lea has been using the deal to argue that isolationism only makes Gentle Repose weak, and trying to push back against Handbiter rhetoric without endorsing Ochiro--as it seems clear both sides only just barely tolerate each other even after the rapprochement--and this has led to an exchange that has damaged Handbiter electoral prospects in places. Alvin Pehr insinuated that Miss Lea or her diplomatic counterpart on Osliam, a Cern-Aurochs named Micik Eiki might be "sexual collaborators" with Ochiro.

This crass insult has backfired, and even other Handbiters have, perhaps sensing the turning of the tide, called upon Alvin to apologise. He has not done so yet, and he still holds a local seat at Hamil's Stand.

[Handbiter influence decreases somewhat.]

Another Year, Another Summer: May Day 2255 appears to possibly be the start of yet another of the regular Black Summers that engulf Sol. Though May Day demonstrations are held every year in Sol, they are usually largest on North America, Mars and Titan. This year the protests are shaping up to be more widespread than usual.

It seems that the recent overbearing actions on the part of Hermes-Ishtar and Rhodes have caused a marked uptick in anti-Charter sentiment, and their legal clashes with the Nations of Earth have led to the local security services declining to pre-disperse these protests as local political leaders hope to harness popular sentiment against the Charters to score political points within the Compact Parliament and at the UN.

While not one of the Great Black Summers that rock Sol and the First Colonies every generation, it is likely that this year Sol will host one of its many smaller Black Summers.

[Dice determine that a normal black summer is coming?]

National Treasures: The Charter attack on national IP regimes and the generic products produced by the Nations of Earth have reopened an old wound between Earth and her colonies.

Centuries ago the nations of Earth were legally enshrined as the constitutional equals of the offworld colonies with the permanent members of the United Nations Security considered the legal equals of the Sovereign Republics and the rest of Sol's nations being equivalent with System Republics.

However, with the waning of Sol's influence and the rise of the Sisters across the First Colonies, attacks on Earth's privileged position have repeatedly weakened the positions of Earth's national governments with regards to trade and de facto legal rights.

The nations of Earth have launched increasingly strident complaints in New York, to no avail, which means that even the most apolitical of Earth's governments have officially endorsed the Solarian National List and encouraged their citizens to vote for national interest MPs to represent them in the new Compact Parliament.

A move which threatens to wipe out the PRHL's handful of tenuously held seats in Sol, with only Lemuria's PRHL MPs not at risk of being replaced in August.

Election Season, Part 3: Despite some minor difficulties, mostly in Sol and the Frontier, Prime Minister Roderick's Party for Human Rights and Liberties is polling for a return to office, though possibly with a slightly reduced mandate instead of the "Golden Circle" breakthrough in the Near Frontier that they'd been hoping for, a cycle of unrest having upset campaigning plans in the Frontier Republics.

As for the JDAP, their attacks on the PHRL's record on AI rights appear to have prevented a complete collapse in the First Colonies, and even slightly strengthened their hand, but not enough for the breakthrough that party leader "JN Okay" had been hoping for. Despite this, the perpetually optimistic campaigner has openly called that in the event of a minority mandate for Roderick, the smaller parties should join with his in calling for a vote of no confidence and grant the JDAP a minority coalition government instead.

This appears possible with the noticeable growth in prospects for the smaller and single issue parties, especially the recent surge in strength for Sol's National List parties.

Despite this, both parties appear confident of a coming breakthrough and election watchers eagerly await the June surprises that both sides are clearly gearing up to deliver.

Fog of (Rumours of) War: Frontier Affairs watchers are increasingly convinced that those June surprises will be news of a Fifth Frontier War between Ares and Hermes-Ishar, likely with Omoikane on the side of HI. Especially with the dispatch of the 12th Fleet of the Solarian Navy, formerly a paper formation, down the Dragon's Spine to the Far Spinward where fighting is likely taking place in the region around the Radiant system.

Informed watchers believe that Roderick will use the opportunity to demand major concessions from the Charters lest she unleash the Solarian Navy upon them. While JN Okorie will use the opportunity to show that PM Roderick has lost control of the frontier and a new path of conciliation and compromise must be trod in order to prevent another explosion of violence. Much like his grandfather six-time Prime Minister "Warpath" Okorie did in ending the Third Frontier War a century ago.

BaseDeltaZero · Mar 27, 2022

Well, that went... well?
The Compact tried to cut us off, but it seems to have backfired. On the other hand, they're now... more clear on our position, and that might not have been their actual move.

AKuz said:
--Create at least one gate for Osliam within the next two turns.

I assume Osliam wants us to build gate defenses, and not a gate... otherwise we might have to rush our research projects.

The broadcast coinciding with Your Regularly Scheduled Black Summer (and election) is... probably a good thing? Unfortunately it's (apparently?) not a big one.

AKuz · Mar 27, 2022

BaseDeltaZero said:
Well, that went... well?
The Compact tried to cut us off, but it seems to have backfired. On the other hand, they're now... more clear on our position, and that might not have been their actual move.

I assume Osliam wants us to build gate defenses, and not a gate... otherwise we might have to rush our research projects.

The broadcast coinciding with Your Regularly Scheduled Black Summer (and election) is... probably a good thing? Unfortunately it's (apparently?) not a big one.

Just a bit spicy normal one.

I rolled 5d20 to see what you'd get with 55 being a normal black summer, your roll of 59 was a bit spicy. 60 to 69 is "This is getting hot, might spread", 70-79 is Great Black Summer, 80-89 is "Sol is in Revolt", 90-99 is "they took the gate" and 100 is "The Broadcast arrives as the Martian Revolutionary Force and the Solarian Peoples' Navy is curbstomping the 3rd (Praetorian Guard) SolNav Fleet at the Sol Sol-KC KC gate and becomes a helpful curiosity at best." (A something like 1 in 32 million chance)

Edit: Basically I wanted it unpredictable for me, but heavily weighted towards normality.

If you'd gotten a more interesting result than "things r normal" I wouldn't dream of telling you all this BTW.

ExNihilo · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
rolled 5d20 to see what you'd get with 55 being a normal black summer, your roll of 59 was a bit spicy. 60 to 69 is "This is getting hot, might spread", 70-79 is Great Black Summer, 80-89 is "Sol is in Revolt", 90-99 is "they took the gate" and 100 is "The Broadcast arrives as the Martian Revolutionary Force and the Solarian Peoples' Navy is curbstomping the 3rd (Praetorian Guard) SolNav Fleet at the Sol Sol-KC KC gate and becomes a helpful curiosity at best." (A something like 1 in 32 million chance)

5d20 really messes with my head when I'm expecting a 1d100. I see an 80 or a 90 and think "ok that's got a 20% or a 10% chance of happening" but no, 80+ is 1.66% and 90+ is .09%.

Joppe · Mar 27, 2022

Overall, this was a great update. I could feel the tension growing in the background while reading it. Centuries of delayed history held back by the Compact approaching in the horizon and about to hit like a tidal wave.

AKuz said:
Therefore, Rhodes along with other responsible representatives of the market are taking the initiative this May Day to protect the workers and consumers of the galaxy by issuing a cease and desist to all such so-called "legally distinct" manufacturers of Rhodes, and other, technology

Thanks, I hate it.

Traehgniw · Mar 27, 2022

#GalacticSurvey

System Designation: pick a major system
System Name: Biara
Political Status: Multiple allegedly independent colonies, de-juire owned by various charters
Charter Presence: All of them; divided up into multiple charter economic zones
System Population: 800 million+

System bodies:

1-2, boring rocks, energy collection

3. venus-like hothouse with some aerostats

4. pretty, mineral rich world with excessively high windspeeds

5. mini-neptune with a large moon
5-a rich in phosphorus

6. snowball rock with a strong magnetic field etc, would be terraformed if it were a bit closer to the star

Notable Features:

Planets 3, 4, and 6 have many habitats on them, and the moon of the mini-neptune is also inhabited with large phosphorous-mining operations (phosphorus is scarce on many planets and is vital for life).

In addition, this system has a disproportionately large number of space habitats. These space habitats include luxury chocolate farms, multiple competing prestigious universities, an array of trade-schools, think-tanks for designing more space habitats, and so on.

System History: This system looked to be a regular backwater no-majorly-habitatible-planets system, until someone started selling expensive real estate on a luxury, fancy, new space habitat design that was being tested here. Things escalated from there into a real estate bubble that is still ongoing, and by this point Biara is prosperous and thriving because there are cities there that are thriving that people want to move to or at least near and lots of space-habitat real estate being created because people want to move there and people wanting to move there because there is a lot of real estate.

Model DC.14F · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
Whatever I think of the path Gentle Repose has gone on, you are not monsters, not like this so-called Community Liaison Officer, whose attempted fomenting of war and rebellion against allies and friends would have vitally injured us in a moment of revolution! I am sure that we can find an agreement between each other to for our mutual defence and for the ultimate and final extinction of the Compact, the Charters, and Cosmoliberalism, once and for all!"

I am feeling a very twisted sense of amusement after all that. If the Compact had done absolutely nothing, it would have probably been an ongoing problem for us, but by trying to make things worst they resolved it for us. The Coreworlders are so incompetent at ruling the Frontier, the one time they actually try to provoke a crisis, they cause all the parties involved to go from each others' throats to a mutually beneficial agreement.
...Please tell me we managed to include this in the broadcast. "Here is when a Compact Liaison managed to prevent strife and bloodshed between anarchist states. By managing to get them to agree that the Compact is the greater evil."

Military Buildup Stuff

Interesting to see all the non-Osliam Chain systems getting started on large-scale projects. Maybe they've built up enough that the exponential growth of fabricators is really starting to show?

News and Sol's Black Summer

Me: I know it's the right thing to do, but I'm still nervous about the turmoil that will be caused by the Broadcast
QMs: *REMINDS US HOW OPRESSIVE THE CURRENT STATUS QUO IS*
Me: Nevermind, I can't wait to see this all burn down

Tatbee · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
Evacuation Preparations: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst seems to be the Chinook model. They have escalated their preparations, including the creation of their own set of Hellburners and several other projects aimed primarily at the Chinook-Thoa gate… but they have also begun preparing for a potential evacuation from the system, an ambitious project that would move the entire space station to a secure system in the event that Radiant falls and it seems likely Chinook will be next… a system which will still have attached shipyards and more to serve as a revolutionary bolthole.

If Radiant has fallen, and Thoa is under Charter control...
And there aren't any other gates or jump points in the Chinook system...
Then where can they go? :???:

Did they just... randomly invent a new form of FTL?

Or maybe they're evacuating at STL speeds, returning to Signia?
Chinook station, with their onboard hydroponic secret sauce, plus stockpiled supplies, could probably survive a multi-year long journey.

trooperist · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
Rhodes Seeks To Protect Consumers

…this has led to accusations that they are attempting to reduce consumer choice and options, but this is far from true. Owing to their culture of anarchic laziness and selected poverty, American products are unsafe. Studies have shown that they have an increased chance of malfunction, and that those who use these products are more likely to wind up in jail or be injured in workplace accidents.

Other studies from the Banks Economic School show that generic and national product users have an overall lower life expectancy and are less employable than those who use products from one of the six reputable Charters.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKeKuaJ4nlw

Ever the cry of the oppressor. That they are oppressing you for your own safety.

Also of course they miss the correlation that if someone is buying generic brand that means they're poor. And if they're poor they're more likely to be arrested, work somewhere unsafe, not have access to healthcare, and be discriminated against.

AKuz said:
Emotional Futures Daily

I still can't believe they monetized betting on whether people will feel happy or sad.
Then again given recent trends of 'spending money on things that don't actually exist' it makes a sad amount of sense.

AKuz said:
Conference

Ochiro: Wow, you are literally the worst.

Likes like Ochiro get a healthy dose of perspective and remembered that while he might not like Gentle Repose, the Compact is infinity worse. At least they've learned to tolerate each other.

I think that CLO was too used to people on the frontier bowing and scrapping to ever really go against him. He showed up uninvited to the talks, gave a generic speech about unity and justice, and then tried to split our alliance only for him to be denounced as a backstabbing fascist which caused him to flee like a coward.

Just too bad Osliam and Gentle Repose unity leaves us holding the bill. But at least it's for stuff that's useful for the war effort or things we would have done anyway.

AKuz said:
Community Liaison Officer receives warm welcome on Ascension:
In contrast to the cold shoulder of Osliam and Gentle Repose, Captain Ellen Lorelei Fangor of the Solarian Navy Naval Infantry has received a warm welcome from the elites of Ascension. Not only has she regularly wined and dined with key figures of Ascension's new government but has had a personal AGI secretary assigned to assist her.

This warm welcome appears to go beyond simple camraderie, as rumours of talks for Ascension docks to open up for servicing Task Force 12.7 ships have begun to circulate, to the displeasure of some. There are even rumours flitting about Task Force 12.7 that Ascension will pull out of the AIC in favour of pursuing the path to being recognized as a Colonial Republic under the Compact's Constitution.

[+2 to MedComm actions involving Task Force 12.7.]

Ascension so good at their spycraft that even I was starting to buy that they were betraying us.

Then again, given that they have a whole battlefleet right next store and they have no defenses, it is very healthy for them to play both sides.

AKuz said:
Despite this, both parties appear confident of a coming breakthrough and election watchers eagerly await the June surprises that both sides are clearly gearing up to deliver.

Oh there's going to be a June Surprise alright. Though a bit earlier.

AKuz said:
Especially with the dispatch of the 12th Fleet of the Solarian Navy, formerly a paper formation, down the Dragon's Spine to the Far Spinward where fighting is likely taking place in the region around the Radiant system.

So most of the ships and men in the 12th are newly transferred. That at least means that they're not used to working together. Perhaps there are some divisions in command we can exploit.

Kirook · Mar 27, 2022

#GalacticSurvey
Map Designation: NS-16
System Name: Fantasia
Political Status: Charter Economic Zone
Charter Presence: Hermes-Ishtar only
System Population: 256 million, concentrated on Wakanda

System bodies:

1
-Tatooine, rocky planet, no atmosphere

2-a
-Rivendell, rocky planet, terraforming in progress
2-b
-Lothlòrien, rocky moon, terraforming in progress

3
-Wakanda, rocky planet, terraformed to Earthlike conditions, most populous body in system

4
-Camelot, gas giant

5
-Cibola, ice dwarf

6
-Sherwood, rocky planet, no atmosphere

7
-Gotham, ice dwarf

Notable Features:
-Like most gas giants, Camelot has a profusion of moons, the largest of which are named after significant figures in Arthurian mythology.

-Camelot's mass has induced orbital instability in Cibola; it is expected that the latter could be captured as a moon by the former in the near future (on a cosmic timescale).

-H-I was planning a major expansion of the Fantasia system in the late 2240s, hence the terraforming operations on Rivendell and Lothlorien. However, with its presence in the Far Spinward Frontier having been nullified by the March Days, those expansion plans have been scuttled.

System History:
Hermes-Ishtar bought the rights to the Fantasia system in one of the earliest colonization rushes. It was thought at the time that they had made a foolish mistake by acquiring a system so far out in what was then the furthest reaches of the frontier. However, they correctly anticipated that colonial expansion would soon progress beyond that point and their control of Fantasia would give them unparalleled influence over that subsequent wave of colonies. H-I points to this as an example of the unparalleled farsightedness and perspicacity of their "visionaries"—in reality, they simply had (and still have) an enormous market analytics team and inside lines to several Compact MPs.

Regardless of their methods, Fantasia's population grew alongside H-I's push into the Far Spinward. Because of its nature as a relatively autonomous colonial outpost from its early days, the regional board of directors (which now governs H-I's operations for all of the Spinward Frontier) wields an unusual amount of power compared to similar institutions in other Charters or locations.

The PR problems that this might cause are offset with a dedicated campaign on H-I's part to create the appearance of social mobility. "Young Visionary Programs", HI-funded high-school arts and business clubs, and college fraternities for "creator-investors" abound, all promising to skyrocket their participants to the heights of wealth and privilege that the board members enjoy. However, in a basic economic sense, Wakanda and Fantasia as a whole function in much the same way as any other Charter-owned region (which is to say, with a great deal of rent-seeking).

Architecture in Fantasia makes heavy use of metamaterials, modular construction, and VI-enabled smart buildings to constantly adapt to local and galactic cultural trends. Currently it is experiencing a "retro" phase with many locations displaying an art deco or modernist style.

The3rdCorinthian · Mar 27, 2022

trooperist said:
Also of course they miss the correlation that if someone is buying generic brand that means they're poor. And if they're poor they're more likely to be arrested, work somewhere unsafe, not have access to healthcare, and be discriminated against.

You say that like they don't know instead of just deliberately ignoring it.

tankdrop24 · Mar 27, 2022

Honestly, even a slightly above average Black Summer could end up in 'Democratic Federation Reborn' territory when the broadcast hits.

Tatbee · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
--Begin work on a Strikecraft Facility and Training Yard in either Osliam or Gentle Repose within the next two turns, completing it within the next four. Once you begin it, the host system will provide 1d5 progress each turn in addition to what you do, or even instead of what you do if you do not take the action on a particular turn. If the Automated Shipyard Facilities are completed, this will become 2d5 progress due to easier staffing of the building facilities. This project is /35, and allows the production of one Strikecraft Wing per turn (potentially more depending on how Automated Shipyard Facilities shake out) at a reduced resource cost compared to Cottage Production, as well as the training of competent pilots within that timeframe.]

Could we build two Strikecraft yards; one in Idyllia, one in Osliam?

That way, we don't favour 1 system over the other.
Plus we can easily afford it.
1 MilComm dice gets us 4 boxes [][][][] of stuff, and Strikecraft Yards cost 2 boxes [][] each.

Jane Dough · Mar 27, 2022

Tatbee said:
If Radiant has fallen, and Thoa is under Charter control...
And there aren't any other gates or jump points in the Chinook system...
Then where can they go?

Did they just... randomly invent a new form of FTL?

Or maybe they're evacuating at STL speeds, returning to Signia?
Chinook station, with their onboard hydroponic secret sauce, plus stockpiled supplies, could probably survive a multi-year long journey.

There is an unimproved jump point that they used to live behind. They'll probably go there, but it won't be STL, they'll just have to do some futzing with counterbalance mass iirc

Tatbee · Mar 27, 2022

Jane Dough said:
There is an unimproved jump point that they used to live behind. They'll probably go there, but it won't be STL, they'll just have to do some futzing with counterbalance mass iirc

But they have to go through Thoa, to reach Signia's jump point.

Getting past the Charter fleets and gate defenses, stationed in Thoa, seems impossible.

Genderite · Mar 27, 2022

trooperist said:
So most of the ships and men in the 12th are newly transferred. That at least means that they're not used to working together. Perhaps there are some divisions in command we can exploit.

On the Discord it was asked which fleet the ships were previously assigned since that's a matter of public record. Turn's out a lot of them are from the 2nd fleet which is a training formation in Korolev-Chandrasekhar.

Torgamous · Mar 27, 2022

Tatbee said:
Could we build two Strikecraft yards; one in Idyllia, one in Osliam?

That way, we don't favour 1 system over the other.
Plus we can easily afford it.
1 MilComm dice gets us 4 boxes [][][][] of stuff, and Strikecraft Yards cost 2 boxes [][] each.

My understanding is that the point of the project is that it's a joint training facility, so Gentle Repose and Osliam can have their air forces train alongside each other. There's gotta just be one.

Spart117MC · Mar 27, 2022

trooperist said:
I think that CLO was too used to people on the frontier bowing and scrapping to ever really go against him. He showed up uninvited to the talks, gave a generic speech about unity and justice, and then tried to split our alliance only for him to be denounced as a backstabbing fascist which caused him to flee like a coward.

VillaininGlasses said:
On the Discord it was asked which fleet the ships were previously assigned since that's a matter of public record. Turn's out a lot of them are from the 2nd fleet which is a training formation in Korolev-Chandrasekhar.

Officers out of touch with the locals? How much are you willing to bet most of the fleet think their current posting is little more than a training exercise?

Sorry, I'm really trying to hold back from making thinly veiled comparisons to a certain "Special Operation" but then SolNav keeps pulling these shenanigans. At this point I'm half expecting someone to come out and mention the 12th's provided rations are all expired.

Tatbee · Mar 27, 2022

Torgamous said:
My understanding is that the point of the project is that it's a joint training facility, so Gentle Repose and Osliam can have their air forces train alongside each other. There's gotta just be one.

Yeah, that does make sense.

Hmm, how about...

AKuz said:
we agreed to help create a joint Strikecraft Yard/Training Facility for both sides.

Build the Strikecraft Yard in one system, and the Training Facility in the other?

That way, they'd have to cooperate, to get functional Strikecraft Wings.

trooperist · Mar 27, 2022

VillaininGlasses said:
On the Discord it was asked which fleet the ships were previously assigned since that's a matter of public record. Turn's out a lot of them are from the 2nd fleet which is a training formation in Korolev-Chandrasekhar.

So would that make them ships they used for training or ships that were going through training?

Either way, our navy might actually have more experience than this fleet since perhaps unlike them we've actually been shot at in anger.

Genderite · Mar 27, 2022

trooperist said:
So would that make them ships they used for training or ships that were going through training?

Either way, our navy might actually have more experience than this fleet since perhaps unlike them we've actually been shot at in anger.

That was my thought too but there is actually a good chance they run op-force stuff which might make them actually quite veteran.

Derpmind · Mar 27, 2022

AKuz said:
Compact Reform Alliance Party.

Compact
Reform
Alliance
Party

Interesting. I'd like to know more about this CRAP. :thonk:

masterofmadness · Mar 27, 2022

Alright! Might as well go over the new reports

AKuz said:
Tereshkovan Protests Test Prime Minister Roderick

So a charter crackdown getting some screen time in order to help set up their 'we need to crush the frontier' line for our reveal. If it we are lucky the Broadcast will help turn this to outright revolution and hurt the charters. I might be wrong but I think it is also backfiring somewhat as showing government violence in the frontier is making people question things out their.

AKuz said:
It Is here, Augment Riots on First Colonies

Oh look! Minority Communties being victimized by Law enforcement being denied justice an having their anger be portrayed as senseless aggression for daring to not sit down and take it from oppressive authorities! Truly this is a strange Sci-fi setting!

More seriously I see another point of hopefully broadcast fanning of flames here. A lot harder to hurt minority communities when they have the capacity for self defense. I wonder fi we could get literal black panthers policing the police, hopefully with a free breakfast program too.

AKuz said:
"On the virtue of virtue" - A interview with Alan Zhang

A charter asshole talking out of his to justify the eventual crackdown blah blah.

AKuz said:
Dancing Starlight: Lighthearted and Fun For The Whole Family

A soulless piece of charter propaganda to try and trick you into believing everything is fine and you just need to keep at it and not rebel for a happy ending. Have only read the description and I already want to burn Hermes Ishtar to the ground for being hacks.

AKuz said:
Daily Election Update: Race Stable, With Slight JDAP Uptick

Christ they are literally betting on election result. Oh and you bet that far left groups are going to outperform expectations!

AKuz said:
Our Site Is Under Attack!

Another piece of bs by the Charters disregarding the letter of the law because they control it in practice. They should have plenty else to worry about soon and you will have a lot more interesting things to post about then mere fanfiction.

AKuz said:
IP War

And the Charters continue to be not just cruel but stupidly cruel. Cracking down on off brand product people buy because they are too poor to buy yours? This is not going to make more money for you because they can't afford it! An actually decent macroeconomist would point out this indicates wages are too low and if they want to make real growth the charters should pay their workers more to create real growth. But that is basically insane to Charters unthinking greed so never happening.

The glories of a free market that crushes actual entrepreneurs.

Anyway, some hope here for the people affected by this post broadcast. The Box will make unofficial production skyrocket and people interest in this are likely to be ready to fight to not be forced back to worse desperation.

AKuz said:
Rhodes Seeks To Protect Consumers

You don't get it! We are crush your freedoms for your own good! Looks at this study we paid for that reinforces our bias by not accounting for the existing correlations between data to show you what we want!

AKuz said:
Rocky Trends: Hodl!

God damn it of course the evil capitalist future would include the horror of Crypto Bros running the Stock Market! I am so looking forward to watching your shitty market bs be crushed when the broadcast comes!

AKuz said:
May Day

Oh? I am salivating at the idea we are going to have some people in front of the capital when shit goes down. Santiago is meant to be talking to local radicals, any chance he know these people?

I might write an omake about if I have the time.

AKuz said:
Conference, Part 1:

Sigh.. damn it Ochiro. Please realize the problems you are making.

AKuz said:
Conference, Part 2:

Of fucking course these asshole can't help but play agent provocateur.

AKuz said:
Conference, Part 3:

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Oh this is just wonderful! The Compact is so incompetent that they made Ochiro remember he is a revolutionary at heart. I have to say it must be a hell of a wake up to realize that the people who arrested you without trial seem to think you will help them betray your liberators.

AKuz said:
Conference, Part 4:

And in the end they all worked together to gang up on us? Hurray for cooperation?

AKuz said:
Analysis of the situation and deal by Jordan Levinson:

Overall I am fine with this.

The FRM crack was something I planned on anyway and the Charters probably already knew about it. Most of the gate defense are at least theoretically useful and the strike craft is good news overall.

Really I am just loving that the only example of the Compact bringing willing peace and cooperation is actually a result of their failure. This better end up in the propaganda section of the broadcast!

AKuz said:
Trickle Down Anxiety:

Sadly reasonable, I hope the Broadcast will help some of this, but this really doesn't do much for actually fighting the forces already here. Really not much people on the ground can do but trust us here.

AKuz said:
The Lion's Roar:

Five Lions roaring strong! I love the commitment and I understand how great it must be to feel your labor actually going to a good cause, but I do not want to have them burn out. Let's keep demands reasonable for the people who are so willing to sacrifice for us. I will wait to see how the project look but I am cautious about it overall.

AKuz said:
Military Advisors:

While I think the Shoelies are being a bit self righteous with their self insertion they are helping so I will let it slide. Don't care about the influence, we are not in this to run the revolution so long as it stays untied I am fine.

AKuz said:
A Second Fleet:

Good on them! More ships are needed and I would be happy to have a second place naval partner right now.

AKuz said:
Evacuation Preparations:

Not sure how feasible it might be in practice, but I hope it is never needed.

AKuz said:
Community Liaison Officer receives warm welcome on Ascension:

I will be honest I am worried. Not that they will actually defect though I don't think it impossible but the fallout of them playing both sides here. The bonus they give us here might let us do more damage than anything else but their will likely to a lot of anger directed at them for their seeming compliance while all other fought. I might be thinking too far ahead but I worry about the situation with ascension in the future overall.

AKuz said:
Trial, Interrupted

The defense of "just following orders" in a new shape. They are probably right that their defiance would have done nothing and there is a reason people always fall back on it, it always has some truth to it that could just be punished harshly and replaced with no good done.

However, I think it bears mention that their are a lot of people who have done terrible things working alongside us now to make up for it. Our old defense coordinator was a Charter Commando after all. But unlike her or a lot of people with blood on their hands who are now free they didn't come forward. When they were free they never bothered to come out to the leaders and tell them about this atrocity so it could be addressed. If they had maybe they could be joining those trying to saved the existing TLIs for death instead of being on trial but they are not.

AKuz said:
Biting Words:

Good news in my eyes. We want less Hand biter influence, so I don't see any issues here.

AKuz said:
Another Year, Another Summer:

Good to hear even if I wish it were bigger. Hopefully we can fan a normal black summer into a true takeover of Sol or just a huge drain on the Charters' resources. That much will likely be up to Santiago.

AKuz said:
National Treasures:

Interesting, another division we can hopefully expand on. Maybe the Earth Governments can be turned into a front for revolutionary activity? If enough radicals are elected in one of them and are sending reps they could do a lot and legitimately organize political action without as much interference. I imagine it would be a vote winner on a lot of Sol for arguing "to protect your property right to own a Box" or other dog whistles on the same vein. Really anything using the Compact's veneer of civilization against it is a win for us.

AKuz said:
Election Season, Part 3:

Oh, you will be getting a surprise alright! Just not the one both of you were planning on!

AKuz said:
Fog of (Rumours of) War:

Oh soon the Fog will clear! Nice to hear more about the SolNavy force being inexperienced. Little blessings.

AKuz said:
Growing Navy

Progress has been good on the ships ordered by the AIC, with our Cruiser to be completed within the next two months most likely, if not sooner, and two new New Model-class Strike corvettes having been created to help fill out the roster in case of conflict. What remains to be decided are their names. At the moment most Congressional Navy Strike Corvettes are named battles, after strike actions, after weapons and shields, after virtues, and so forth.

In most compact inventories New Model corvettes are named for famous battles.

Write-in two Corvette names, subject to QM veto:

[ ] [NAME1]

[ ] [NAME2]

A bit out of order but in Radiant Tradition I say we break for convention a bit. I think it would be in theme for Radiant to name them after songs. As a fan of Irish Rebel music I propose the following:

[ ] [Little Armalite]

[ ] [Belfast Brigade]

Any thoughts?

Tatbee · Mar 27, 2022

Could use the Children of the Stars song.

[] AIC Starchild

Or break naming convention, with unicode symbols.

[] AIC ★Child / ☆Child / ✪Child / ✯Child / ✰Child

T_of_A · Mar 27, 2022

masterofmadness said:
Interesting, another division we can hopefully expand on. Maybe the Earth Governments can be turned into a front for revolutionary activity? If enough radicals are elected in one of them and are sending reps they could do a lot and legitimately organize political action without as much interference. I imagine it would be a vote winner on a lot of Sol for arguing "to protect your property right to own a Box" or other dog whistles on the same vein. Really anything using the Compact's veneer of civilization against it is a win for us.

Imagine "American Nationalists fight for space anarchism". "United States Government stands with the brave guerrilleros of ~~Afghanistan~~ Radiant". Absolutely insane timeline, I love it.

AKuz said:
The total scope of the Broadcast is beyond the imaginations off all but those involved in the project, and a smattering of internet cranks who insist that what the Congress should really have done all along is broadcast a signal across the galaxy that triggers a Grand Galactic Black Summer…

They are going to be so incredibly smug. I can't even imagine it. The memeability of this is going to be unreal, and some of these cranks will probably get an actually following for a while!

For The Tyrants Fear Your Might (A quest of interstellar rebellion)

Been Better

Been Better

Been Better

SPACE!

Cinnamon Roll AI

Tread First into Hell

(She/Her)

Aspiring Gynoid

Amateur human

Cinnamon Roll AI