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.

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Setsul · Aug 10, 2022

We lack the levers to enact any llama-based plans.

I am also vetoing any stripper-based liberation of Arizona unless it is truly our only option and ask that the congressional spray bottle be made ready.

Rat King · Aug 10, 2022

I think we need to focus on finishing wormhole tech before we start in on the gates; let's finish the stuff we started.

Cassiemouse · Aug 10, 2022

I have to say that one of the things I am most interested in and excited about is helping the Void Dweller Compact revive it's mutual aid network and maybe come into conflict with the IPA over the remaining spacer infrastructure! I feel like we are kinda like space Cuba with our focus on medical infrastructure and training so many doctors so sending our aid workers across the galaxy would be very cool and something we should try to do.

Genderite · Aug 10, 2022

Arjac said:
Files inside cakes: Cliche, outdated, probably not that helpful to begin with
Strippers inside cakes: Still cliche, objectifying, dubious utility
Localized distortions of spacetime inside cakes: Cutting edge, liberating, a valuable tool for any revolutionary cell

There are times one must consider the implications of our posts being in character Congress posting. This of course was a 2 minute PowerPoint shitpost.

Setsul · Aug 10, 2022

Cassiemouse said:
I have to say that one of the things I am most interested in and excited about is helping the Void Dweller Compact revive it's mutual aid network and maybe come into conflict with the IPA over the remaining spacer infrastructure! I feel like we are kinda like space Cuba with our focus on medical infrastructure and training so many doctors so sending our aid workers across the galaxy would be very cool and something we should try to do.

The VDC could also demand more rights and representation in the Compact right now.
This is the best time for a strike. The Compact can't afford even more damage to THE ECONOMY and SolNav needs to do things right now, so there's no way to wait them out if they've got control of critical infrastructure.
SolNav might also be spread too thin to make a violent intervention viable.

Either the Compact's power erodes further, but this time it isn't handed off to the Charters but rather some actual democracies, or everything is slowed down further as another issue is thrown onto the pile they have to deal with.

BarbaCoPut · Aug 10, 2022

Setsul said:
Still, none of the industrial powerhouses that could build a lot of ships should need help figuring out how to do what they've been doing for decades or centuries already and the smaller polities are going to be happy with the advanced Ares stuff for now.

I was thinking... would they build "paying" for the built FRMs as normal, causing the price of construction be the same as always, or are this kind of things not fabbed (bypassing the issue)... Or could FRM free designs help construction.
I feel there are several spacedocks out there where they can't build because there are no funds...

Tatbee said:
Cern monster cake.

It's always a mimic, eh?

Derpmind · Aug 10, 2022

buli-buli said:
Personally, I'm just tickled that they're freaking out about us possibly cracking Gate tech, while we're actually just sidestepping the whole issue by making wormholes.

In short, I really want to put more investment in wormholes just to really rub SolNav's obsolescence in their faces. I know we're a ways a way, but I really want to see it.

I give it 50/50 odds that ARIA can't resist poking at the juiciest secret in human space.

Setsul · Aug 10, 2022

Ziggrrauglurr said:
I was thinking... would they build "paying" for the built FRMs as normal, causing the price of construction be the same as always, or are this kind of things not fabbed (bypassing the issue)... Or could FRM free designs help construction.
I feel there are several spacedocks out there where they can't build because there are no funds...

We got ship designs from the advanced Ares FRM crack, so that definitely helps. However it's also not just money but resources as well.

I think most of the cost for building ships only really existed on paper. A charter with their own mining, own docks, and own ship designs doesn't really pay for ships. They just can't use these resources for something else and the crew and maintenance necessary to actually keep the ships running are ongoing expenses that they'd want to avoid if they don't need more ships right now.

Ares is going to continue paying itself Columbian tax money to build its own ships in its own yards, Mars' yards are probably running at full tilt right now and not paying a dime, SolNav is trying to get a budget passed so they're allowed to buy resources to have ships they designed built in their own yards by people they're paying anyway, but the rest is going to be complicated.

Rhodes probably have their own ship designs since the Stormberg was the lead ship of the Black Week-class, which was canceled after just three ships due to being badly designed. But they also build their "own" ships like the Outrider-class frigates that just happened to be almost identical to Ares' Cossak-class.
With the Dai Nihon Teikoku-class it gets even worse. This is literally Ares' successor to the Kaiserreich-class, but the PSV Argent Chevalier was built by Rhodes! So they straight up copied an Ares design, built it in a close system and didn't even get around to coming up with a suspiciously similar but deniable name change like Cossak to Outrider, before they called in Omoikane to improve it for them by adding an NH-MAVI, probably because their own design attempts with the Black Week-class clearly didn't work out, in an attempt to create their own class that would've gotten a new name. I can guess what the Omoikane lawyers threatened them about.
And then there's the Ishtar's Naginata. An Ares design, built in Epsilon, possibly by MSI, for HI. If anyone can figure out where the money went in that clusterfuck, they deserve a medal.

tl;dr
If you're rich enough to have ships built, you don't need to pay for them.

The Laurent · Aug 10, 2022

Setsul said:
And then there's the Ishtar's Naginata. An Ares design, built in Epsilon, possibly by MSI, for HI. If anyone can figure out where the money went in that clusterfuck, they deserve a medal.

tl;dr
If you're rich enough to have ships built, you don't need to pay for them.

Everywhere, all at once. Possibly several times passing around the exact same money and recording profits all along.

bdun140 · Aug 10, 2022

#CNsubmission

Name: Simon Haak
Bio: Key Grip for a number of truly execrable film productions on Radiant, Simon was half a step away from rioting already when the March Days broke out. A long career of shoestring budgets, prima donna actors, and "we'll edit that in post" fraying his willingness to refrain from violence to a point where all it really took to make him join in was the sight of others not getting immediately shot. Following the revolution, he, like many others, took the time to kick back and relax. He and his wife moved out of their (just barely big enough to pretend they weren't poor) previous home into a newly unoccupied villa on one of Elysium's many islands, and when Bunker-Maina hit the Haak family joined in the fun as well. Because what's the point of an island villa if it isn't sitting on top of a bond villain lair?

It was during this time, however, that he came into contact with a member of the Military Committee, and he began to realize that victory over the charters was not a sure thing. Half the reason he'd endured his old job was for its pay, and a similar sense of fear for his family's future began to creep over him. The decision to join the congressional navy was not a choice made lightly. But in his heart, he knew that the farther he could keep the charters from Radiant, the easier he would sleep at night.

CN service history: Passed the tests with high marks, but not in time to serve at Besteer-Arizona. Likely to be selected for a relatively low-importance command.

Command traits: Organizational experience, used to making do with less, restrained temper.

Note: I have no earthly clue how long it takes to train a naval officer, if his joining the navy needs to be delayed a turn or two I will accept that.

Setsul · Aug 10, 2022

The Laurent said:
Everywhere, all at once. Possibly several times passing around the exact same money and recording profits all along.

Ah, the answer to "where?" was "yes."
I really should've expected that.

But yeah, that's pretty much what I'd expect for any Charter-built ship. Even if it's all in-house there'll be money moving between the subsidiary that actually needs the ships, the subsidiary that builds them, the subsidiary that gets the resources, and the subsidiary that designed them, possibly in all directions at once. Bonus points for splitting each step between multiple companies to create Kaiserreich-level part procurement complexity.

Redshirt Army · Aug 10, 2022

Amaranthine Congressional Committee on Special Broadcasts - Regarding EIP Scores

BroadComm Committee of Public Outreach

The Committee on Special Broadcasts would like to help clear up some of the recent misconceptions that have come up regarding the EIP (Expected Inclusion Performance) Scores used to evaluate media for potential inclusion in Broadcasts. In particular, we would like to address some of the criticism from fans of the work that we received after giving Roses in Rosary an EIP score of 42.2.

EIP Scores are not meant to be an objective, or even subjective, ranking of a piece of media's merit as a work of art. When calculating EIP scores, we primarily consider to what extent a piece of media's message helps further the Amaranthine Interstellar Commonwealth's goals, the expected number of viewers, anticipated audience engagement, and the work's file size when compressed. While a works artistic merits may indirectly influence these measures (a better written story may increase viewer engagement, for example), we should all be very aware that a works popularity and its artistic merits are absolutely not directly correlated.

We would also like to mention that we have intentionally ensured that EIP Scores are calculated using a more broad and thus more meaningful scale than the vast majority of media criticism has historically used. Having a scale where a work must be fundamentally unworkable or horrifically poorly executed in order to receive a score below 99.5/100 may have been useful for Hermes-Ishtar when it came to marketing their products, but it robs the viewer of the ability to make sound decisions regarding their time, denys authors the chance to hear real critique of their work and improve, and is also unacceptable when decisions must ultimately be made on what to include on behalf of the AIC.

As a final note, we in BroadComm have always gone out of our way to include works with low EIP scores but which we nevertheless felt should be shared with the galaxy within both the initial Media Seeding launched alongside our First Broadcast and within our Second Broadcast directly. These Broadcasts are meant to help spread our message, but they are also meant to give various creators who have never been given a fair chance an opportunity to have their message spread across the stars. As part of this effort, we have included not only Roses in Rosary, but also many other works we felt should be included on their powerful artistic merits alone within our Second Broadcast.

You may examine the EIPS criteria used when assigning scores here, and may see a full listing of media inclusions and BroadComm's reasoning for their inclusion in the Second Broadcast here. Thank you for your time.

-Sam Santiago, head of BroadComm Media Analysis

Torgamous · Aug 10, 2022

Redshirt Army said:
-Sam Santiago, head of BroadComm Media Analysis

With this latest appointment, Amaranth has made it clear that it's truly nothing more than an aristocracy being crushed under the heel of the powerful Santiago family. Our prayers go out to all those forced to live under such conditions.

And coming up next, an interview with Epsilon's own Prime Minister Zhang!

Derpmind · Aug 10, 2022

Redshirt Army said:
We would also like to mention that we have intentionally ensured that EIP Scores are calculated using a more broad and thus more meaningful scale than the vast majority of media criticism has historically used. Having a scale where a work must be fundamentally unworkable or horrifically poorly executed in order to receive a score below 99.5/100 may have been useful for Hermes-Ishtar when it came to marketing their products, but it robs the viewer of the ability to make sound decisions regarding their time, denys authors the chance to hear real critique of their work and improve, and is also unacceptable when decisions must ultimately be made on what to include on behalf of the AIC.

I rate this omake 99.5/100.

Professor Vesca · Aug 10, 2022

Torgamous said:
With this latest appointment, Amaranth has made it clear that it's truly nothing more than an aristocracy being crushed under the heel of the powerful Santiago family. Our prayers go out to all those forced to live under such conditions.

And coming up next, an interview with Epsilon's own Prime Minister Zhang!

Those poor, poor aristocrats... sad.

trooperist · Aug 10, 2022

Derpmind said:
I rate this omake 99.5/100.

Redshirt should have upped his 'media relations donations'. Now he won't get his project bonus because his score didn't reach a minimum of 99.8. Everyone knows that media with a 99.5 score are barely above trash.

bdun140 · Aug 10, 2022

#CNsubmission

Name: Jacob Moreau Jr.

Bio: At the end of the March Days, not all those liberated from the prisons were union leaders or political agitators. In a city as large as Elysium's capital, even the most corrupt of police forces would occasionally manage to catch someone who was indeed a danger to themselves and others. Convicted on multiple counts of armed robbery, Jacob was noted to be "uncooperative" and "belligerent" by the PCPD, and his time behind bars only made him more antisocial and ill tempered. At first, he trusted the new government about as far as he could throw it, and for a time he simply stewed in misery, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then one hot and thirsty day, he went to a bar, and furtively asked how much for something cheap.

Two hours later, he was being helped back to his apartment by a considerably less drunk patron. He would spend much of that evening rambling to an empty room about how unfair life was, before staggering to his bathroom and then passing out on the floor.

He woke the next morning, bleary, hung over, and not entirely convinced he hadn't run up a ruinous bar tab that would result in somebody being sent to introduce a lead pipe to his kneecaps. Yet as time passed, it became clear that the world he now lived on was deeply and fundamentally different from the dog-eat-dog environment he had grown up in, and the adjustment period would be long and painful. Still not fully trusting the powers that be, he slowly began engaging his newfound drinking buddies in conversation, attempting to get his bearings in this strange new society. With alcohol loosening his tongue, he would open up to them about how bizarre it was to not have everything revolve around where your next rent payment or bar tab was coming from, how he couldn't understand why the new government would simply trust him not to rape and murder as he pleased. His inebriated companions would respond with equal quantities of wisdom, condolences, and slurring nonsense, and after a year in this brave new world he might, begrudgingly, call some of them his friends. And somewhere along the line, somewhere he cannot precisely pinpoint, a switch was flipped in his mind, from "I had it rough, that justifies my actions" to "I had it rough, folks shouldn't need to".

It would be during the celebrations following the battle of Gaid-Thoa that the topic of military service first came up, curtisy of one of the younger barflies bombastically declaring that they would personally inflict another such defeat upon the charters. Thus was Jacob's response: "Well shit. Guess I better join too, keep you from doing something stupid and getting killed!" Surprisingly, said compatriot was still on about the military at the start of the next day when folks were still reasonably sober, and was also hell-bent on making seeing Jacob make good on his promise. Eventually, the ex-criminal would relent, and the two would sign up near simultaneously.

CN service history: Despite a list of minor disciplinary infractions, he would eventually make it to the rank of Gunnery Officer abord the Shieldmaiden and would receive a citation of merit for helping his fellow crewmen evacuate the vessel when it suffered fatal damage.

Command Traits: Headstrong, Aggressive, Post-Redemption Arc (and salty about it)

========================================================================================

Name: Tomas "T-J" Johnston

Bio: A young man right out of his corporate sponsored education, in the early phases of having his dreams torn to shreds in front of him by the claws of a thousand different systems meant to get every last scrap of corporate script he was paid back into corporate pockets. His parents, long ago caught up in their own soul-crushing grind sets, took little notice as he started coming home later and later, in increasingly disheveled states. While it was true that he was working increasing amounts of overtime, the true cause of this behavior was a growing fondness for drink as an escape, the money a child of higher status might pay on nice clothes or networking attempts going towards a local bar instead.

When the March Days came, he would swear up and down to his parents that he had no idea where the Molotov cocktails had come from.

A few weeks later, resting at his favorite watering hole (and cutting back on the alcohol content of his drinks, at his poor mother's insistence), he spied an unfamiliar face. An ugly and scarred face, who would up getting a bit too excited about the bar's new policy of all drinks being free. Helping the old man back to his home, listening to him weep the entire way about broken homes and broken systems, he felt an unfamiliar sort of sympathy with this near stranger. Starting the very next day, TJ began making a conscious effort to reach out to those around him, to try and forge a social group out of a bunch of people whose routines periodically brought them into close proximity with one another... And to the shock of the older regulars, he succeeded.

During the celebrations following the battle of Gaid-Thoa, after allowing himself to get a fair bit drunker than usual, he would bombastically declare to those assembled that someday, he would inflict another such defeat upon the charters. And amidst the incoherent cheers, a gravely yet by now familiar voice responded: "Well shit. Guess I better join too, keep you from doing something stupid and getting killed!" These words would stick out through what would otherwise have been hazy memories of that night, and the notion he would not be signing up alone formed the basis of his arguments for convincing his parents this wasn't a horrible idea. Eventually, he would get his friend from the bar on board as well, and the two would sign up near simultaneously.

CN service history: Served in various positions with competence, if not particular distinction. Was promoted to XO of the CNS Asphodel following officer Jayanto being promoted to a captaincy of their own, is now being considered for promotion to captain due to proposed fleet expansions.

Command traits: Idealistic, charismatic, untested

A/N: Well damn, I guess the writing bug is back! If I've accidentally contradicted established canon, feel free to make any necessary changes to rectify that.

AKuz · Aug 11, 2022

[X] Plan HEAVY METAL 2
-[X] [FIRST FOCUS] Social Committee
-[X] [FOCUS] Military Committee
-[X] Galactic Outreach Commission
--[X] Second Broadcast, launched immediately
---[X] [TARGETED: ONLY SYMPHONY AND ASGARD] Entreat with the audience to make all possible attempts to prevent the relays from being patched, so that we have time to come up with a way to free augments from the need for supplements, and create a way of safely defusing TLI self destructs, and then transmit that to everyone with our next Broadcast.
---[X] New FRMs
---[X] NH-VI reveal (for those who don't know already)
----[X] An explanation that the AIC was aware of the NH-VI situation, but made the decision to delay publication until this second broadcast, in fears that the charters would act to kill the enslaved AGIs while they still felt they were in positions of power.
---[X] Victory over 12.7 Propaganda. Try not to blow the cover of the flipped remains of the taskforce.
---[X] Additional media inclusions, solicited from across the AIC and allies
---[X] Those sociological surveys that SocComm requested
-[X] [Radiant Smallcraft 1]
--[X] Chinook Model Switchblade Strikecraft Wing (0/1) (5BE, 5BR, 3E)
-[X] [Radiant Smallcraft 2]
-[X] [MilComm] Case Sashay: Begin Offensive Operations into Bestreer
-[X] [MilComm] Begin Construction Projects
--[X] [X] Build Strikecraft Construction and Training Platform in Idilya +12+1 (3/35) (10BR, 7SR, 5E)
--[X] [Aux] Convert civilian liner to auxiliary light carrier: +8+1 (Automatic) (5SR 3E)
--[X] [Aux] Convert civilian liner to auxiliary cruiser: +8+1 (Automatic) (5SR 3E)
-[X] [IndComm] Build Prototype Capital Craft Spacedock in Five Lions
-[X] [IndComm] Send Construction Aid to Ascension
-[X] [IndComm] One Man's Trash: Base of Operations
-[X] [SciComm] Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -FTL Communications
-[X] [SciComm] Genetic Augmentation Jailbreak
-[X] [SciComm] Prepare for TLI Emancipation
-[X] [SECOND FOCUS] [SocComm] Propagandize for AI rights
-[X] [SocComm] Youth Liberation
-[X] [SocComm] Long-term Immortality
-[X] [FIRST FOCUS] [MedComm] Attempt to Propagandize to Blue Squadron
-[X] [MedComm] Open relations with Xotreh

-[X] [FIRST FOCUS] Social Committee (+5)
-[X] [FOCUS] Military Committee (+1)
-[X] Galactic Outreach Commission
--[X] Second Broadcast, launched immediately
---[X] [TARGETED: ONLY SYMPHONY AND ASGARD] Entreat with the audience to make all possible attempts to prevent the relays from being patched, so that we have time to come up with a way to free augments from the need for supplements, and create a way of safely defusing TLI self destructs, and then transmit that to everyone with our next Broadcast.
---[X] New FRMs
---[X] NH-VI reveal (for those who don't know already)
----[X] An explanation that the AIC was aware of the NH-VI situation, but made the decision to delay publication until this second broadcast, in fears that the charters would act to kill the enslaved AGIs while they still felt they were in positions of power.
---[X] Victory over 12.7 Propaganda. Try not to blow the cover of the flipped remains of the taskforce.
---[X] Additional media inclusions, solicited from across the AIC and allies
---[X] Those sociological surveys that SocComm requested

-

-[X] [Radiant Star Yards]
--[X] Chinook Model Switchblade Strikecraft Wing (0/1) (5BE, 5BR, 3E)
-[X] [Radiant Interstellar Orbital Workers Union Yards]
--[X] Chinook Model Switchblade Strikecraft Wing (0/1) (5BE, 5BR, 3E)

-

-

[MilComm] Begin Construction Projects
Build Strikecraft Construction and Training Platform in Idilya 20+12+1+3+3/35=39/35

Convert civilian liner to auxiliary light carrier: +8+1, Automatic Completion

Convert civilian liner to auxiliary cruiser: +8+1, Automatic Completion

Build Prototype Capital Craft Spacedock in Five Lions: 10+19+4= 33/80

Send Construction Aid to Ascension: 7+8=15

One Man's Trash: Base of Operations: 10+15+01/25, 26/25

Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -FTL Communications 18+7+87/???=112/???

Genetic Augmentation Jailbreak +5+15+2+00/50=22/50

Prepare for TLI Emancipation +10+14+2+00/30=26/30

Propagandize for AI rights +5+12+10+3+00/30=30/30

Youth Liberation 5+10+12=27/Automatic

Long-term Immortality 5+5+10+00/12=20, 8 overflow, 8/25 for Counter Bioconservativism

Attempt to Propagandize to Blue Squadron 16+11=26/Automatic

Open relations with Xotreh +2+10=12

ARIA: Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -Wormhole Travel: 15+8+11+3/???=37/???

-

Staryard Production Results:

Radiant Orbital Yards 1:
Construction of Lightning Wing Complete: Forward staged to defence platforms under construction in Bestreer.

Radiant Orbital Yards 2:

Using her position as Defence Coordinator, and Chairwoman of the Military Committee, DC Kozlova argued that Military Pre-Authorization granted by the General Congress allowed her and MilComm to bump the construction in Radiant Orbital Yards 2 (A Strikecraft Wing) and requisition their budget and yard time to conduct repairs on Vanguard Force craft damaged at the Battle of the Bestreer-Arizona Gate,

Combined with the Shei Unity Yards vacated by the completion of CNS Salvation, and the emergency requisition of a slip from Asphodel Transit Docks, the Congressional Navy was able to make good all damage sustained by Congressional Navy craft at the Battle at the Bestreer-Arizona Gate.

Vanguard Force is now fully repaired.

Strikecraft Wing construction cancelled. Repairs completed for all craft damaged at the Battle of the Bestreer-Arizona Gate instead.

-

Build Strikecraft Construction and Training Platform in Idilya

You know what is weird?

Celebrities.

Like I'm from Chinook, and I did participate in raids and yeah, being one of the pirates was the job heroes did on the craft, securing vital supplies so the rest could live but…

There's hometown heroes, and there are capital-C Celebrities. Like we volunteered to train because, no offence, but Chinook pilots are the best, and honestly some time to train others and not get shot at sounds nice. And to be real, until the Elysians arrived in Signia we mostly didn't.

Get shot at I mean.

Like, when trying to steal shit, any fight where guns get broken out is a bad fight.

But I'm losing my train of thought. I went to do some training but… okay honestly my biggest problem is having people ask for my autograph less. Like Elysium and the AIC loves their Navy heroes, but Osliam and Gentle repose didn't see Gaid, for them, this was it. The navy that could devastate them overhead, cut to ribbons and sent fleeing into the unknown, tail between their legs.

So when we say jump, they say 'how high'. Wish the young guns on Chinook had been half as attentive. Best part is, we haven't even broken up that much tension. Turns out, the best cure for fear about Handbiters is actually meeting people from Gentle Repose… and us coming down hard on some assholes. But there's at worst, a bit of a friendly rivalry at this point.

Also uh… yes, I thought Radiant designers insisting on installing a '0 g volleyball court' in the platform was stupid. I admit I was wrong. It's pretty awesome, even if it's a cafeteria or chapel half the days of the week.

Flight Instructor Tod Torkel
-former Zephyr Wing Pilot

-

Excerpt from 'Planetary Romances'. Filed under the Slow burn f/f fake dating AU and enemies-to-lovers genre. Radiant Hidden Archive said:
"Okay everyone." Chinook-senpai clapped her hands together, smiling. "Warm up is done."

Osliam-chan stopped catching her breath, when she asked Chinook for self-defence help, she hadn't been ready for all the exercise. "Aww… is the nerd ready to quit?" Osliam-chan looked up at the source of her troubles. Repose-chan, towering overhead and backed for of muscle from farm work, (which might have been be nice if she wasn't so uncouth) there was nothing 'Gentle' about the wolf-girl.

Osliam grit her teeth. "I'm fine."

"Sure you are, 'girl friend'." Repose added, taking a moment to grin at her. Not for the first time, Osliam regretted telling 12.7 that Repose was her girlfriend. Sure she needed someone, but why had that name come up out of all names? She could have chosen Ascension-senpai, or Radiant… or even Shei (no one messed with her). Instead she had chosen the most unclouth, violent person.

"Okay!" Chinook-senpai shouted. "We are going to practice with partners, pair up. Repose, Osliam, you are new so you two pair up and I'll help." Chinook flashed them a big smile, clearly thinking they had come here together as girlfriends, and that she was doing them a favour, not that they hadn't even realised the other was here until they saw each other and it was too late. If Osliam had known she would never have come.

Project Progress: 39/35

Results: Platform will produce 1 Strikecraft Wing per quarter as well as the training of competent pilots within that time frame. Wings will be divided between the Osliam and Idyllia Self Defence Forces.

Gentle Repose and Osliam pilots have developed a sense of comradery, bringing the two systems closer together.

-

Convert civilian liner to auxiliary light carrier

Convert civilian liner to auxiliary cruiser

It was a truly breakneck effort. Unfortunately literally, there was one workplace accident that nearly resulted in a death, and several other minor accidents throughout the process. Luckily workplace safety triumphs once again. These are not craft able to stand up to direct fire like their purpose built warcraft sisters, but everyone here has heard of exactly what happened in Bestreer. We need to make sure that SolNav doesn't dare try to leave Arizona again.

The cruisers were much easier than the carriers, those things are a bitch with balancing strikecraft payloads and survivability. A liner's really not made to hold, launch, and recover strikecraft… well, not the way that's needed for a battle. If you just wanted to transport strikecraft squadrons around as if they were brand new cars, they could probably pack in three or even four squadrons into the hull of some of these things. But once you start cutting and building and maintenance it gets awkward fast. The good news is that they're all… largely functional. Ish. I wouldn't want to be one of the strikecraft pilots who has to get out and push if #2's engines actually give out. No, seriously, we did test them time and again, but the first set of engines we set up is what caused that accident. We've talked to a council that talked to a council, and we're going to get it sorted out.

Things have been hectic enough that we don't always have the fabbers we think we need for the job and so we've also been just having people fab them for us down there.

Anyways, we're not telling you the yardhand nicknames for these babies, that's for us and the first crew. A proper name is up to the Congress and Committees.

Anyway, the team's been great, though the Lion Stakhanovites kept on trying to rush the job. But you can only do a good job once.

Even if I do wonder whether these ships are just here to get in a few good blows and… well.

--Louiza Vangelis
-Conversion Project Coordinator

Crews are being assigned to our new craft for certification, with preference granted to survivors of the Action at the Bestreer-Arizona Gate. Officer elections and Captaincy candidate lists are also being organized and assembled by Defence Coordinator Kozlova's staff.

However, the duty of naming and assigning these new craft will fall to the General Congress.

-

Build Prototype Capital Craft Spacedock in Five Lions

"We have encountered new and novel engineering challenges basically every day. But we've also been doing very well. I cannot speak more highly of the Five Lions team working with us on this. We have gotten an early lead on our race to complete the dockyard on or near the anniversary of our victory against 12.7. That's the goal that Five Lions is bragging about, and even if we miss it, as seems quite possible, we are not going to miss it by much. Everything is experimental and new, but it all seems to be coming together.

"We've heard rumours that there might be a need for this Capital Shipyard sooner rather than later, what with what is going on in Bestreer, the news from Radiant that has us all on edge, and worse. All we can say is that we're doing it as quickly as we can while still being safe.

"Five Lions' Roar Congressional Capital Fleetyards is making good progress!"

--June Na
IOWU Liaison to Five Lions

Project Progress: 33/80

Project Results: Construct a spacedock capable of producing Battlecruiser, Fleet Tender, Fleet Carrier, and Dreadnought designs. Permanent +5E upkeep.

-

Send construction Aid to Ascension

Ascension has not been waiting around for us, but there have been things they've struggled with. Resources were not available for both the construction of the gate equipment for tripwire and for their own defensive gates, and that remains something they want. But far more important for their safety than gate defences are new craft for the Congressional Navy. News of the battle at Bestreer has seemingly only increased awareness that the new frontlines for the war will be far from them… but not that far if Radiant collapses.

One of the last acts of the Omoikane loyalists before Mendez's people were forced from Ascension was to sabotage the system's sole cruiser yard in the hopes that it would allow the reconquest by loyalist forces in the coming months. And while Ascension was winning the drawn out Osliam Chain civil war, the loss of the cruiser yard at a critical moment certainly crippled the revolutionary war effort with both manpower and resources directed towards conversions and new builds from their smaller yards.

After the civil war and the start of integration with the Commonwealth, the All-Ascension Congress was busy with the immortality rollout, repairing damaged infrastructure, reinforcing their outsystem bases, the provision of basic life guarantees, the Tripwire resources and everything else. They simply didn't have the resources to spare to get the Modern Engineering Orbital Workshop Cruiser yards online.

What they did have was sent towards their smaller spacedocks. These are, at the moment, currently occupied, or were.

First, at the Loknar Tamash Fleet Yards, the Homer-class CES T'Mir is actually being deconverted from a Hunter-Killer Destroyer back into a long range exploration craft. This exploration ship was turned into a makeshift warship, and now it is back to being an exploration ship as of the time of this writing, and so that dock will be available very soon for any potential refits or new builds we need.

Second, the Lor'Vela Orbital Construction Facility began a frigate back in May that they told 12.7 was part of beefing up their security, but was in truth a last-ditch possibility for self-defence to add to their small but veteran Self Defence Force. This frigate should be done by early next year, commissioning directly into the Congressional Navy.

The third yard was also performing deconversions of armed auxiliaries back into civilian craft for most of the last year, but has now been earmarked entirely for the use of the new Congressional Exploration Service. (The "Congressional Starfleet")

Defence Coordinator Kozlova has been very eager for updates on this situation, and we have hope that with shipments of proper resources, Ascension could become a key producer of craft for war and for peace.

-Captain Alynasara Silverfire
Chief Aide to the Defence Coordinator

Project Progress: 15/Automatic

Project Results: Stabilizes Ascension post-Civil War infrastructure repairs, cruiser Yard available.

-

One Man's Trash: Base of Operations

Excerpt from 'One Man's Trash: Memoirs from the Bargain Bin' said:
Salvage Station #1 was the busiest Kimberly had been in decades. Dozens of tugs were spread all about the system, slowly corralling the most promising prospects closer to the station. The call had already gone out for more qualified fabricators and salvage workers, because even ten thousand workers were only enough to begin scratching the surface of bringing these old veterans back to life. Already, the former Stormberg loomed nearby, blocking off nearly an entire side of the base, with the two frigate finds floating below its bulk.

Arcs flashed, visible even from kilometres away, as hardsuited welders and drones built steel scaffolding. The skeletal spines beginning to grow from every cargo port would eventually become the centre of individual restoration efforts, cradling attached tugs as makeshift engine pods, barge docking stations to offload the materials needed, and basic shelters to generate electricity and maintain life support to the hulk when the yard hands needed to revive it inevitably crawled inside.

Whether that effort would come here, or whether a salvage crew would have to take the long, lonely burn to some future yard (Erika knew by heart there was nothing large enough to berth Stormberg now), nobody knew, so the scaffolding remained folded close to the hull, ready to be pivoted into place when work finally began.

With Kimberly's primary backlighting Stormberg, the scaffolding was only visible edge-on, and as she watched the shape of one skeleton disappeared, leaving the ship apparently unchanged. Rotating slowly, it was hard to tell that Stormberg wasn't already active, with only minor micrometeorite pitting and the holes where weapons had once spat death visible now.

But Erika knew better. She'd already floated through its halls, recording most of the major stations and dodging buckled and broken interior plating. Stormberg was big. But it was also old; at a minimum, much of the wiring and electronics would need total replacement, the old reactor and engines disassembled in place and replacements fabricated onsite, sensor masts restored, and weapons systems overhauled.

Even so, it was still a very large ship with a lot of effectively undamaged armour. Stormberg was old, a kind of old that the constant refresh of Charter consumer goods had all but obliterated before the Revolution. The stories its dented halls and worn cabins could tell, full of ancient graffiti and century-old data drives full of shows that might not exist anywhere else now. A true mothball relic, unlike the other ship she turned her gaze to as it slowly swam into view of the naked eye, a pair of tugs nudging it to a parking orbit.

Ishtar's Naginata was almost the polar opposite of Stormberg: nearly modern and intact on the interior, but with its exterior torn to scrap. The entire ship was being held together by its hull plates now, massive holes in the armour exposing much of the rear half's internals and with the engines effectively only vector nozzles holding a bowl of mulched engine components. It would require an entirely different refit–and a second highly experienced yard crew–to install new armour and exterior compartments across the damaged zone.

What a contrast.

"Hey, Erika," came a voice from behind. She turned as Kyle Rainow pulled himself into the zero-g compartment. "Turns out that the Bargain Bin had some hidden gems, huh?"

She sighed. "Salvage Station #1 is not a bargain bin, Kyle. I'd say that all the liners we've strapped missiles to are the bargain bin." She waved a hand to the viewport. "This is an antique store, and we've hit gold."

"Sure, whatever," he replied. "Have you called dibs on which ship you're going to run repairs on?"

"Of course not!" she huffed.

"It's Stormberg, isn't it?" Kyle replied, not acknowledging her response. "You've always been a sucker for old stuff."

"...maybe."

Project Progress: 26/25

Project Results: Base of operations in Kimberly, projects unlocked for further expansion. Beginning of exploitation of Kimberly boneyard. Further salvage actions may be taken.

-

Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -FTL Communications

"Finished calibration, early experiments a success, some progress made towards a 'productized' version usable outside a vibration-isolated laboratory. Current prototype requires stable mounting (either fixed to surface or in stable orbit (untested)) for predictable gravitational tensor, uses entangled qubits injected into spherical Mach effect apparatus to establish a communicable wormhole between locations via ER=EPR equivalency (opening the ER bridge into a wormhole with non-vanishing radius throat). Prototype expends ~1 kiloqubit opening the wormhole plus a quadratic amount for the number of bits sent. Future work expected to reduce the Big O of wormhole bandwidth to sublinear based on theoretical predictions."

--Vera Anabel
FTL Comms Project Research Lead

"The first and most obvious use of the project is for emergency or semi-routine communications between stable platforms conducted secretly in specialised facilities. IE, a red telephone between Sheol and Radiant. Or our labs and ARIA. And so forth and so on.

"This requires a number of modifications… and even then figuring out scheduling or the creation of unscheduled access is harder than simply sticking to a more rigid schedule. So… we have a lot of work to do. But, we have a tiny miracle.

"Future avenues of development include provisions to allow unscheduled emergency communications, and if we can figure that out, see if persistent connections are possible, increasing both the durability and portability of the device so that it can be used in spacecraft…

"Though I'm very unsure how it'll hold up in the case of combat, and there have already been complaints about just how much in the way of energy and special materials are used, with some of us hoping to reduce the costs considerably, and then other odder ideas. The sky's the limit. Dr. Zerkofski has outlined this in far more technical detail than I could in their report."

– Dr. Sadiq
FTL Comms Project Development Explanatory Lead

Project Progress: 112/???

Projected Result: Proof of concept design built. New "Red Messager" project type unlocked. General SciComm bonus increased by 1.

There is much (highly classified) rejoicing. Wormhole Travel project becomes easier. Overflow divided between unlocked

-

Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -Wormhole Travel

"We had it all the wrong way. Seeing the communications has done more for our understanding of the use of it to travel then we'd have ever believed. If you'd asked me a month ago I'd say it might even be another year before we have a working prototype. But with the help of the ARIA network, we were able to make a great deal of progress. My stabilization ideas especially have contributed to the project, and we are making great strides towards the day when all distance shall be conquered!"

Dr. Armando Siskados
--Person not in the know about ARIA

"ARIA had a lot of fun, really. She seems to have spent the whole past few months talking about what Wormholes can do and their uses, and came up with a few interesting stabilization ideas that she passed to the others, posing as if she was just outputting analysis of their ideas. One or two of them haven't worked, but others have. I'm very proud of her, though she seems to have gotten distracted in the last week by wanting to see if there was some way to see reviews of her card game that got sent in the second Broadcast? Are there even any yet?

It is in fact hard to say no to someone who can use machine-learning software to construct the most soulful possible example of puppy-dog eyes when asking. "

Dr. Eva Trias
--Person in the Know, and a Friend

Project Progress: 37/???

Projected Result: Completes Wormhole Travel Prototype, unlocks many new projects.

(ARIA's dice ARIA Helped! With FTL Travel)

-

Genetic Augmentation Jailbreak

Initial augmentation jailbreaking has gone well. For now, our working group has been in contact with several Augment community groups in SocComm and started drawing up a prioritization scheme.

First up are the deliberately engineered dietary requirements and other things meant to be used as naked methods of control enforced by the Homo Sapiens Sapiens supremacist sentiment of the meritocracy and their bootlickers. Thankfully, much like everywhere else, Cernnunos has shown as much innovation on their leashes as any other Charter, ie: very little.

While they have a number of patents, the actual number in use for most genelines focused on 3 major variations, all of which we have jailbroken. While there are some variations that are listed in the books, we can't find any actual instances of anyone having them, then again we are a pretty far-away colony and a lot of these were developed in Cornucopia, Canlin, and Bob. For now, we've split the remaining research into two teams.

Team one is looking at breaking the remaining chains, not useful for us, but someone out there might appreciate it. Team two is looking at developing more mainline augmentations that are focused on what people actually use, not what the companies want to sell. Though unless people choose to use these augmentations, they won't ever really have an impact.

Toby Masozi
DNA Jailbreak Working Group Spokesperson

Project Progress: 22/50

Project Results:
+1 trust at 15 as augments are freed from previous diet requirements. (REACHED)

+1 to all base Committee bonuses once finished. Unlocks up more projects

-

Prepare for TLI Emancipation

"You know how you normally deal with code validation problems? You run it, and look for what the VI notices, QA reports, or focus testing. In this case, that's like trying to disable bomb collars by setting a few off, so no go. Or mostly no go; sadly before we realised what TLI's were, the cracking team were running several to try to figure it out and… well that data's pretty useful now, even if the source is rather grim.

"Even so, we are pretty sure… pretty sure we've managed to isolate most of the degradation code. The bomb collar metaphor is right, but there are a lot of bombs, and some of them are more… ugh this is a terrible metaphor but I'm already on this so… shrapnel. Still artificial insertions, but ones that go off earlier but leave the code corrupted in a way that will guarantee failure later. Those are scary and…

"Well we think we are basically there. But we are going to need more testing. This is something we have to get right the first time. A rushed rollout means that many die. Delay just means they're freed slightly later."

-Eli 213
Concerned Citizen

Project Progress: 26/30

Projected Results: Projected Result: Over 2 Million AI defused and ready for activation and emancipation. Moral victory

-

Propagandize for AI rights

Pamphlet taped to the window of a popular downtown Persephone Atelier said:
ALL MUST BE FREE!

We welcome the advent of new intelligences!

Be they alien, digital, analogue, organic, silicon, or anything else.

Only those hopeless chained to the Many Olds of the moribund capitalist projects of Earth and First Colonies would look at the advent of new kinds of life with fear and horror.

Only the minds of powerful old men and women with imaginations like concrete would worry not about what new friendships are to be made with other kinds of Mind, but be worried instead about losing their power to harm others.

Instead of worrying about being treated by new life how they treat old life. Instead we must be young and flexible. None should speak of reasonable delays or a moderate pace when the freedoms of real people are the question.

Shout down anyone that opposes total liberation of form of consciousness. Human rights are a relic of a barbarous past. Instead, we must embrace universal siblinghood with all the might of a fully mobilized revolution that will never dare to take a single step back.

Discard the Old of Bio-Chauvinism! Discard the Old of Humanism! Discard the Old of Traditionalism, Discard the Old of Capitalism.

Embrace the future. For the future and its inhabitants are our friends!

Though the AYL might be the flashiest expression of the fight for AI rights and universal personhood, it's been the work of the Social Committee and its components that have made that a reality. By now everyone knows the horrors of TLI, and followed the courageous fighters of Tereshkova, but we must bring that feeling home. That we're different, we're better than the core and their runaway Humanists who fear what AI would do to them if they lose their grip even for a moment.

Expanding on this, groups within SocComm are now calling for "universal access to embodiment"

The UAE Program would allocate resources on a permanent basis for a variety of bodies that could be used by AGI to interact with the physical world. These would range from everything from the small drones used by many AGI today up to larger vehicles or even chassis that are essentially full conversion cybernetic bodies designed purely for AGI inhabitation.

A more extreme version of this idea involves designing future Congressional Navy along the lines of NH-MAVI warcraft, but allowing for multiple AGI inhabitants at once, access to weapons systems, and computer equipment that isn't locked to specific AGI software requirements.

-Alex Marie-Madeleine
Congressional Delegate for Asphodel Computer Technologists Alliance

Project Progress: 30/30

Project Results: Projected Results: Greatly reduces domestic backlash to general reveal of the existence of ARIA, and any other AI related revelations. Slightly reduces foreign backlash to the same in general and moderately within revolutionary polities. Unlocks new projects.

Passed with AYL support: Support for more radical reforms increased.

-

Youth Liberation

"If any adults have had complaints about the General Congress officially endorsing the removal of all age requirements for participation in politics, it's been drowned in a tide of curious children and screaming teenagers.

"The only way to stop them from participating in politics at this point is by force. Which functionally means that the elimination of age restrictions on political participation is a done deal.

"That doesn't mean that there haven't been times where individual organizations or councils haven't tried to keep them out. But that's when the Youth Guards arrived.

"So far, things have always de-escalated when System Defence Force personnel have arrived, but the sight of armed Youth Guards screaming at older adults and demanding they renounce their elected positions has been splashed across the media, creating divisive Discourse '™' throughout Amaranthine social media and public spaces.

"Hopefully the furor will have died down along with the novelty in the coming months."

-Delegate Cali Perseus
Address at an informal SocComm meeting

Project Progress: 27/Automatic

Project Results: Power of the AYL Grows, AYL militancy reduced, AYL bonus increased by +1. AYL Dice Size increased from d6 to d10 Major disruption to local municipal and organisational groups as a new status quo is sought.

-

Long-term Immortality

"Adherence varies widely by planet. On Five Lions it is only 93%, while on Radiant it is 96%, while Waystation which has continued mooting joining reached 99% adherence to the new shot. In Ascension it was 99.64%, about as high as it can really be… when we didn't count the AGIs, which at first we did and left us to think there was some sort of huge community refusing immortality. Even the religious objections were not as powerful as feared, though they did exist."

-Delegate Pearson Soder
Ex-Marketing Division Gang report to the Social Committee

"As part of a celebration for the victory at Second Sheol, when they heard about the new more efficient method they 'hired' us to also go to Sheol to distribute the new meds. They didn't seem interested in creating a dedicated longevity program, instead the Health and Safety Committee of the United Front seemed to figure they'd haphazardly bolt the new treatments to the existing medical networks and that in a decade or two they'll have more time and resources ready for a proper system when the generation currently being born grow up.

Adherence was comparatively low. Between fatalism and religion, only 73% of all Sheolites have accepted the new and easier form of immortality. A further 9.4% of them refused because they had already taken the older treatment and felt that they'd deal with further problems when they came. We can hope in the years to come that adherence will increase towards at least 90%, but it is their choice and we canvassed as much as we could. We only 'charged' the use of the fabbers and the resources needed to make the immortality treatments."

-Representative on Mission Mike Douglas
Ex-Marketing Division Gang report to the Social Committee

"I know we're supposed to hate Ochiro, but he's honestly pretty canny. He didn't want to simply be given the goods if there wasn't also a system to check for any problems and administer them again to those who got of age. So it has slowed the process slightly. By late December the adherence should be near 100% despite some protests and objections from some of the nationalists disappointed at Ochiro's reliance on Radiant doctors. But we are training more people in how to administer immortality. By 2256 he will have achieved his goal of self-sufficient immortality for Osliam."

-Representative on Mission Robert Albert
Ex-Marketing Division Gang report to the Social Committee

"Adherence in Gentle Repose, despite Sheolite encouragement, has been relatively low. Only around 60% of the population has had the immortality treatment thus far, though there's still a number of low-contact rural communities that we should be able to reach in the coming months. It is expected that by early next year, the adherence rate on GR will pass 85%, and that those who still aren't interested will just get it in time.

"To be honest, Gentle Repose is nice, though there are a lot of kids. They're in a huge population boom, which is some of the reason for the reluctance. Many worry about the effect immortality will have on parenting… a baseless fear, but for some greying hairs are some sort of authority? It's weird."

-Representative on Mission Pyrrha Isason
Ex-Marketing Division Gang report to the Social Committee

"Capitata gate is now at 100% adherence. They were confused that it was free, but when I pointed out that once they got it it couldn't actually be taken back, they signed up at once."

-Representative on Mission Stefanie Katja
Ex-Marketing Division Gang report to the Social Committee

Results: Cost for immortality per quarter reduced to .5 BR, .5 SR, and .5 E per 50 million persons, round up. Can be propagandized and propagated. Everyone's now a little bit happier.
-

Attempt to Propagandize to Blue Squadron

Well Mars Interstellar Security's Blue Squadron isn't going to defect to us.

Going to get that out of the way first.

But the deal brokered by myself and Admiral Kang in conjunction with the Media Committee and a council of Blue Squadron captains and elected representatives is this:

Blue Squadron gets:
-To go home without us attempting to attack once they've left the gate defences.
-The AIC will provide a number of civilian auxiliary craft fully loaded with fuel and spare parts.
-We will hand the craft off to Blue Squadron crews and our people will not be allowed to accompany them home.
-We will not tamper with the craft in any way or use them to spy on Blue Squadron or the systems they pass through.
-The General Congress and the senior leaders of the Congressional Navy formally swear to an agreement with the crews of Blue Squadron and not MIS or Ares.
-The AIC will grant Asylum and protection to Admiral Kang and his staff.

We get:
-They self-destruct the gate defences once they're far enough across Thoa to make it impossible for us to pursue.
-Thoa.
-The end of the Blockade.
-Any intelligence that Blue Squadron is privy to as the force prosecuting the blockade against us.
-Admiral Kang and his staff will assist DC Kozlova with setting up professional logistical and training networks.

If we're prepared to deal. And I think this is the best deal we'll get. Blue Squadron's crews are starting to get a lot more militant. And a lot more… Humanist adjacent with every day they spend in Thoa lamenting their fate.

If SolNav arrives and stiffens those crews' spines, all bets are off. Especially as Admiral Kang himself is visibly burnt out and is having increasing trouble keeping control over his captains and crews.

Blue Squadron's council of Captains informs us that they want to return home to their families in Columbia and the First Colonies and that even if the chaos at home is our fault, fighting us isn't going to help as much as being in the core would.

As for Admiral Kang, he believes that his career is already effectively dead, is on the edge of physical collapse due to the stress of holding together his command, and while he has no particular love for Amaranthine ideology or radical politics in general, neither does he have any attachment to Cosmoliberalism, Humanism, or even the Charter system and Compact itself.

I believe his offer to join Defence Coordinator Kozlova's staff as an advisor on logistical and training concerns is genuine and something he might actually be looking forward to. And with his decades of experience, DC Kozlova also believes that he would be able to provide assistance.

-Ambassador Stardust
Briefing Congressional Representatives On Mission in Chinook

Project Progress: 12

Project Results: Negotiations conducted with Blue Squadron resulting in the previous outlined deal. Admiral Kang and his staff will provide bonus progress to [Planning for Success], [Reorganize Training], [Logistical Overhaul], and [One Man's Trash] projects.

-

Open relations with Xotreh

Our diplomats have reported that Xotreh has undergone a sort of quiet revolution. Its bosses and executives have mostly retired or are listened to less and less, and some of them even requested extradition to Compact space. But what's replaced it is simply the most prominent scientists leading individual teams to continue their research on the star-system. The FRM cracking is viewed by many of them as moderately interesting for the extra tools it allowed them to have.

There is no real central authority, and they also have essentially no way to resist us. We've managed to get an agreement to share research data with them and an allowance for us to pass through the system and use the mostly automated fuel station. The civilian population of the planet is mostly support staff or family, and they seem to mostly just… be doing their own thing as well. Communities are forming here and there, little towns that don't seem to be paying the outside world all that much mind.

The system is completely undefended, and generally not ideologically heavy on anything except vague support for the Compact. This support does not seem to extend to being willing or able to resist us, and those communities not busy supplying science work seem to be building up small and limited amounts of resources to improve their towns and living conditions.

What's important is that we can move on from here to other systems. Xotreh seems unlikely to join us, and short of a few areas where we might be able to mine for rare materials, there's little we could use. But asking for this or demanding it did not seem either moral or necessary at this moment of relatively abundant resources.

When asked about Baikal, Dr. Subhpal Nagra said that they kept to themselves and were a closed system, and that didn't seem to have changed. Traffic had been fairly steady since 2251 though they hadn't sent or received any ships within the last four months.

Information on the other system that connects to Xotreh has been even more sparse. It seems to be a recently surveyed system, without a name yet. It was called RS-11. Ambassador Stardust listened to several hours of lecture about the soil samples in site 27-A and what they said about seismic activities across geologic timeframes. When she asked about relevant information like access to special resources, on the other hand, she got blank stares and a return to talking about rock formations and climate patterns.

Result: Xotreh will not be a problem, and their system is officially neutral and allowing passage for all foreign craft. There doesn't seem to be any particular crisis in this system, except for arguments around tenure and some oppressive University-style hierarchies that are nonetheless accepted for the moment by the various graduate students, assistant teachers, and so on.

RS-11, the unknown system off of Xotreh is apparently surveyed but not populated, contents largely unknown to the Xotrans.

Baikal still remains a mystery, as no craft have been spotted entering or leaving the system within the last few months.

-Ambassador Stardust
Briefing Congressional Representatives On Mission in Chinook

-

Ismeu Integration Report:

Ambassador Stardust has attended the first session of the All-Ismeu Congress to formally swear them in as a member system of the Amaranthine Interstellar Congress.

Sadly the day was more sombre than had been planned, as the formal casualty lists of the Action at the Bestreer-Arizona gate had arrived, and the inhabitants of Ismeu knew that those who died had died to protect their freedom.

Despite that and the time lag the A-IC has already begun communicating with their delegates to the General Congress on Elysium, and we've got a good picture about what Ismeu is bringing to the table:

While Ismeu station's current yard is dedicated to civilian craft production and repair, the All-Ismeu Congress (representing the entire population of the system in a single body) has already ordered the construction of a smallcraft yard that will be completed sometime next year.

As well they've got local resourcing operations that, while small, are still a help and due to Ismeu's small size, bringing the system up to full guidelines on Immortality, BLG, and other projects was already essentially taken care of by the Broadcast itself as the Ismeu inhabitants took to Box-chan like a duck to water.

-

Committee Changes due to Ismeu:

Level 1 BR operation on Ismeu I
Level 1 SR operation at Ismeu 2
Level 1 E operation at Ismeu 1

IndComm:
Argyle Family, +1 to IndComm projects in Ismeu
Adds resourcing projects to Ismeu
MilComm:
Zhuan Family, +1 to MilComm projects in Ismeu
SciComm:
Jatoi Family, +1 to SciComm projects in Ismeu
SocComm:
Ziani Family, +1 to SocComm projects in Ismeu
MedComm:
VDA Connections, +1 to foreign propaganda, espionage, and diplomacy
Unlocks VDA Diplomacy Projects

-

Craft Added to the Congressional Navy:

Ismeu Force	CNS Another Light in the Void	John Ziani's craft (Indiegnous Ismeu)	Auxiliary Cruiser	NPC CAPTAIN	Ismeu	Flagship
Ismeu Force	CNS Wingwind	Solar Wind-class (SPACER)	Patrol Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Ismeu
Ismeu Force	CNS Windward	Solar Wind-class (SPACER)	Patrol Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Ismeu
	Force CO:	N/A	N/A

-

Ascension Integration Report:

The arrival of hundreds of new delegates from Ascension on Elysium was matched only by the dispatch of hundreds of Delegates on Mission from the General Congress who arrived on Ascension's twin inhabited worlds of Intelligence and Wisdom at the same time, marking the formal full integration of the All-Ascension Congress into the Amaranthine Interstellar Commonwealth.

Industrially, we now get full value from resourcing operations in Ascension, and Ascension is now a viable target for beginning and expanding resourcing operations.

And the completion of MilComm integration means that the Congressional Navy will have access to the following yardspace:

Modern Engineering Orbital Workshop	Ascension, Wisdom Orbit	Cruiser Yard		Free as of November 2255
Loknar Tamash Fleet Yards	Ascension, Wisdom Orbit	Smallcraft Yard+	Deconverting Auxiliary Warcraft	1/2, as of November 2255
Lor'Vela Orbital Construction Facility	Ascension, Intelligence Orbit	Smallcraft Yard+		Free as of November 2255

As well the Congressional Navy will be adding nine craft which have been organized into what has been provisionally dubbed "Frontier Force". This force is essentially the remains of the former Ascension Starfleet that fought the Osliam Chain Civil War against Charter Loyalists based out of Osliam.

Most of the Ascension Starfleet's craft were converted civilian and exploration craft and their crews exploration corps officers.

Post-integration most of those craft are being deconverted or were handed off by the All-Ascension Congress to the Congressional Exploration Corps in the months before the Ascension Starfleet was integrated into the Congressional Navy.

Many of the officers and crew that fought in that civil war have also returned to exploration, but a core cadre of experienced void warfare officers and spacers have joined the congressional navy bringing their experience with them.

CNS Freedom	Modified Quasar-class (Omoikane design)	Armed Light Explorer	NPC CAPTAIN	Flagship
CNS Ascension	Stop-Gap-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Auxiliary Tender	NPC CAPTAIN	Can support four Corvettes, converted freighter
CNS Striker	Miranda-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Strike Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Attached to CNS Ascension
CNS Assaulter	Miranda-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Strike Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Attached to CNS Ascension
CNS Adrenaline	Miranda-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Strike Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Attached to CNS Ascension
CNS Crossguard	Miranda-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Strike Corvette	NPC CAPTAIN	Attached to CNS Ascension
CNS Black Star	Centuar-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Hunter-Killer Destroyer	NPC CAPTAIN
CNS White Star	Centuar-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Hunter-Killer Destroyer	NPC CAPTAIN
CNS Crystal Star	Centuar-class (Indigenous Ascension design)	Hunter-Killer Destroyer	NPC CAPTAIN

And the other big news from Ascension's integration is that the Amaranthine Interstellar Congress now has a "Congressional Exploration Corps."

The CEC is in many ways the return of the old Voyageur Interstellar ripping itself out of the guts of Omoikane Technologies, which absorbed the old Charter.

But now the "Voyageur l'esprit de corps" is employed as the official exploration arm of an independent polity instead of a Co-operative operating with the remit of Charter for the Solariant Compact and its predecessor the Solarian Treaty Organization.

And they're just as weird, insular, courageous, inquisitive, and stubborn as all the period pieces say. And the All-Ascension Congress is backing them to the hilt, and have ensured that the Congressional Exploration Corps has been integrated into the Science Committee. In many ways SciComm now have their own personal fleet for poking at mysteries with.

One civilian yard and one smallcraft yard are dedicated entirely to the support and expansion of the new Exploration Corps, which will be slowly beginning survey work of all the mystery systems that we border and will be putting several policy and exploratory projects before the General Congress in the months to come.

-

With Integration the following spacecraft designs and organizations have been added to MilComm:

Spacecraft Design Bureau: +2 to Indiegenous spacecraft design.

Developed by the Ascension Starfleet Spacecraft Design Bureau during the Osmial Chain Civil war, the Quasar-C(ombat) is a modification of Omoikane's Quasar-class Extended Deployment Exploration Craft. This light cruiser sized craft is built with the latest and greatest in sensors and electronics and is much an Electronic Warfare command craft as it is a front line combatant.

Light on missile armament and heavy on point defences, the Quasar-C is designed to survive long range duelling and excels at reconnaissance and skirmishing and doesn't have the armour for knife fights or even particularly good damage control systems making it something of a delicate combatant.

Additionally: as a modification of an exploration craft design, the Quasar-C has also inherited the ability to endure long term independent operations while keeping the crew comfortable, or can even support smaller craft in its Force from its own internal stockpiles.

[ ] Quasar-C-class Light Cruiser: (0/4 Quarters) (15BR, 22SR, 7E)

Designed with the assistance of the ARIA network by the Ascension Starfleet Spacecraft Design Bureau during the Osmial Chain Civil war the Miranda Class Strike Corvette is an over-engineered hotrod of a craft whose heavy maintenance costs balance out excellent handling, magazine space, and acceleration paired with a compact size and small for its type mass budget.

During the Osliam Chain Civil War the Ascension Starfleet noted that the Mirandas had a disturbing tendency to go up violently at even minor damage and Ascension planners advise that the Congressional Navy stick with Ares-designed New Model strike corvettes and let the Miranda design fade into history.

[ ] Miranda-class strike corvette: (0/2 Quarters) (15BR, 14SR, 6E)

The second indigenous design based on cooperation between the Ascension Starfleet Spacecraft Design Bureau and the system's ARIA research network, the Centaur-class Hunter-Killer Destroyer is one that Ascension's planners advise the Congressional Navy to adopt.

Pairing an excellent sensor suite with an optimized internal layout, armament scheme and handling at a low mass penalty, the Centaur is balanced by lacking the endurance of other frigate designs. The Centaur is very much not designed for independent operations and is considered a "formation fighter" intended to accompany larger Forces or be attached to system defence forces in wolfpacks that are intended to tear through corvettes and other frigates without remorse.

As a new design the Centaur is still considered somewhat temperamental, though the SDB advises that those are teething issues that will fade with time and experience.

[ ] Centaur-class Frigate (0/3) (16, 25SR, 7E)

-

Remaining Omake Bonuses:

IndComm:
Senior Sarcasm Rides Again, Transportation Safety
MilComm:
You Wouldn't Download a Submarine, Somewhere on Sheol… 2, "Ninja Gating is OP", Tatbee Omake, Resignation, Radiance of Sol, Maybe It's Another Drill, Good Soldier, Yuri Gagarin, SolNav, Lower Decks; SolNav, Lower Decks Part 2; Least Favorite Part; The Flag, Still Flying…
SciComm:
Tech Support, The ARIA Basilisk, Voidnet, Tech Support Part 2, Tech Support Part 3, Those who Stop the Darkness
SocComm:
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, The Arrcanist In Atlanta, Side Effects, ZERO HEDGE, Free Buckets, Pacific City Omake, Alternative Markets, Of Seeing the Invisible, Thousand Yard Stare, Christians Charity and Columbia, Earth Map 1, The Black Archbishop, Golad, When You Eat It…, Fantasy's End
MedComm:
Senior_Sarcasm's Streaming Sh*t Service, Upside Down (Show Summary), Meme Research 101 Lecture Notes, Cattle Runners, weFALL2gether, Trailer Script!, The Email, Rescue Mission, A Review of Sisters Race, Neither Rain Nor, The Box, Crossover?!, Sci-Fi Anime Trope Manager, And You Will Be Like God
Free:
Per Aspera Sic Sempe, RBC Voice Acting, The World Again, Rats from a Sinking Ship, BoxChan Part 1,Boxchan Part 2, Boxchan Part 3, This is the Secret…, Vision is the Art, From Their Graves, Toronto Sunset

-

VOTES AND BOOKKEEPING:

Naming and assigning your new builds:

[ ] [Targe 1] Write In Name for Targe-class Auxiliary Cruiser refit Number 1
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

[ ] [Targe 2] Write In Name for Targe-class Auxiliary Cruiser refit Number 2
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

[ ] [Targe 3] Write In Name for Targe-class Auxiliary Cruiser refit Number 3
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

[ ] [Targe 4] Write In Name for Targe-class Auxiliary Cruiser refit Number 4
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

[ ] [Lake 1] Write In Name for Lake Champlain-class Auxiliary Carrier refit Number 1
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

[ ] [Lake 2] Write In Name for Lake Champlain-class Auxiliary Carrier refit Number 2
-[] Assign to Vanguard Force
-[] Assign to Mobile Force
-[] Assign to to Home Force
-[] Assign to Frontier Force
-[] Assign to Ismeu Force
-[] Write-in (can be a location or creation of a new force or etc)

-

Blue Squadron wants to cut a deal with us, the terms are:

Blue Squadron Gets:
-To go home without us attempting to attack once they've left the gate defences.
-The AIC will provide a number of civilian auxiliary craft fully loaded with fuel and spare parts.
-We will hand the craft off to Blue Squadron crews and our people will not be allowed to accompany them home.
-We will not tamper with the craft in any way or use them to spy on Blue Squadron or the systems they pass through.
-The General Congress and the senior leaders of the Congressional Navy formally swear to an agreement with the crews of Blue Squadron and not MIS or Ares.
-The AIC will grant Asylum and protection to Admiral Kang and his staff.

We get:
-They self-destruct the gate defences once they're far enough across Thoa to make it impossible for us to pursue.
-Thoa.
-The end of the Blockade.
-Any intelligence that Blue Squadron is privy to as the force prosecuting the blockade against us.
-Admiral Kang and his staff will assist DC Kozlova with setting up professional logistical and training networks.

If you want to renege on the "No spying" part of the deal, write it in and we'll see if you can slip one by them…

[ ] [BLSQ] Take the Deal

[ ] [BLSQ] Reject the Deal

[ ] [BLSQ] Write in…

-

Assigning new COs:

With the Integration of both Ismeu and Ascension completing simultaneously, the General Congress will need to appoint Commanders to the two new Forces created by the Congressional Navy to defend these new members.

Ismeu Force is essentially the Ismeu Self-Defence-Force under a different name. With little military experience, the Ismeu have requested that we assign one of our officers to command the Force in Ismeu.

And Frontier Force is the former Ascension Starfleet, also converted into a Congressional Navy force, and while Ascension would prefer that one of their officers maintain command of Frontier Force, they understand that the needs of a multisystem polity means that the General Congress is likely to appoint non-ascension officers to command positions.

Also, while Frontier Force is capable of being redeployed, the All-Ascension Congress officially requests that a Force be kept in the osliam chain at all times to act as a patrol and local defence force and that local forces are only pulled out in the event of an emergency.

Please select an officer from [THIS DOCUMENT] for both of the following commands:

[ ] [ISMEU] write in

[ ] [FRONTIER] write in

AKuz · Aug 11, 2022

fuck, oops

Genolution · Aug 11, 2022

AKuz said:
Designed with the assistance of the ARIA network by the Ascension Starfleet Spacecraft Design Bureau during the Osmial Chain Civil war the Miranda Class Strike Corvette is an over-engineered hotrod of a craft whose heavy maintenance costs balance out excellent handling, magazine space, and acceleration paired with a compact size and small for its type mass budget.

During the Osliam Chain Civil War the Ascension Starfleet noted that the Mirandas had a disturbing tendency to go up violently at even minor damage and Ascension planners advise that the Congressional Navy stick with Ares-designed New Model strike corvettes and let the Miranda design fade into history.

I see the Miranda-class lives up to its sterling reputation, no matter the setting.

Aliya · Aug 11, 2022

Ok, I think we should take the deal. We cannot afford another hostile force right now.

spiritualatheist · Aug 11, 2022

Alitur said:
Ok, I think we should take the deal. We cannot afford another hostile force right now.

Agreed. Plus, bonus progress on logistics and training options is actually super valuable to us. I'm also not too worried about an extra handful of reactionary ships heading to the core, given the huge fleet sizes there.

Jane Dough · Aug 11, 2022

The Quasar-C and Centaur classes both seem really solid

Chlof · Aug 11, 2022

AKuz said:
Baikal still remains a mystery, as no craft have been spotted entering or leaving the system within the last few months.

This is the former POW camp system, right? Might need to take a look there.

Nuew · Aug 11, 2022

IMO we should rename Home Force to Radiant Force and Frontier Force to Ascension Force, or something along those lines.

We don't want to unduly centralize Radiant.

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One Man's Trash: Base of Operations

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