Building A Solid Foundation IC|Closed|Maintenance

[Valefore]

OOC:

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Every nation needs a solid foundation upon which it will be built. This thread will aim to be that foundation for the Dominion of Valefore. The following entries will include news posts, status updates, one=off stories [and small story arcs] that don't require their own thread, details on projects and programs being carried out by the Dominion, and even propaganda posters and artwork. As mentioned in the title above, this thread is a closed, IC thread and is not open to posts without my permission... If you wish to work with me on an idea that would fit in here, please feel free to send me a telegram, and perhaps something can be worked out. Thank you.

The Directory:

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In The News:
In The News: Economic Woes
In The News: A Bright Light
In The News: Toil And Trouble
In The News: Onward Valefore
In The News: Happy Birthday Freyja Keziah Eduin!
In The News: Business Unusual
In The News: Population Politics
In The News: No Admittance
In The News: Hoverboard Hooligans Strike Again
In The News: Violence At The Border
In The News: Proof Of Concept Variable Fighter Now In Development?
In The News: Cleaning Up The Detritus Of The Old World

In Music: A Monthly Music Newsletter:
OOC NOTE: The Music/Lyrics Listed In The Posts Under This Section Belong To Their Respective Creators. I Make NO Claim Upon It Whatsoever
In Music Issue 001
In Music Issue 002
In Music Issue 003

IC Promotional Artwork and Propaganda Posters:
OOC NOTE: Original Artwork Belongs To It's Respective Creators. Style Modification And Text Was Done By Me Using paint.net
Find A Future On The Frontier
Build A Life On The Frontier
Fly Into An Exciting Future
Experience A Galaxy Of Possibilities In The Navy
Sysul Construction Is Hiring
The Red Light District
To Boldly Go
The Frontier
Help Protect Endangered Species
Valac Arms; The Dominions Leading Arms Manufacturer
The 4th Valeforean World War
Iait Heavy Machineries Is Doing There Part... Are You?

The Ghosts of the Past:
Some Things Are Better Left Forgotten
It's Just A Stupid Rock Though
Priceless Baubles: Part 1
Priceless Baubles: Part 2

Blue Space Magic:
Substance Black
Black Matters

Military Expansion and Development:
Wheels In Motion: Or, A Polite Chat Over A Pile Of Paperwork
Some Assembly Required

[Valefore]

In The News: Economic Woes

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09/13/082 A.U. A decade of slow economic growth, and the continuing need to fix the damage caused by the 4th Valeforean World War of nearly a century ago has left its mark upon the Dominion. Unemployment rates throughout the Dominion's sphere of influence are still higher than what the Dominion has been aiming for, and the deficit of available funds has resulted in a budget that is lacking in the necessary funds needed for many of the projects that the Dominion has planned for the near future.

As a result of this, as well as the falling through of the Dominion's plans for an international trade network stretching from the Delta Quadrant into the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion has has to look to alternative means. As such, the Dominion has opened its borders and relaxed several of its regulations concerning outside trade which has already led to several trade deals for foreign technologies with the Interstellar Empire of Nyte and New Dornalia. Additional, similar trades are being explored as the Dominion continues to put feelers out for prospective trading partners; either for specific technologies, or simply for the bulk flow of commercial goods.

Not all is bad however, as the Dominion has recently completed several long term projects which should go some ways towards bolstering the economy and bringing in much needed funds. One such project; perhaps the most important of them, is the completion of a number of large scale trade stations throughout the Dominion; one located in each of the Dominions primary systems. These stations have been specially built to cater to outside trade and traders, and were originally set to become hubs for the Valeforean portion of their now defunct international trade network.

It remains to be seen what effect these developments will have on the Dominion, its economy, and it's coffers.

[Valefore]

In The News: A Bright Light

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10/01/082 A.U. The Dominion has begun work on a so called "Dyson Swarm" in the Valefore system, with representatives of the government citing growing energy requirements and the continuing poor state of clean, reliable energy on Valefore itself; in and of itself a long term issue dating as far back as the early years of the Dominion following the 4th Valeforean World War.

While it is no doubt that this will be a very long term project, needs must, and the benefits of a fully developed "Dyson Swarm" cannot be denied despite the timeframe of the project and the amount of resources that will be required just to get the project off the ground; let alone the resources needed to complete such a project. With the way things are now, the project is expected to take a century to complete; with each year seeing an additional 1% of the swarm being completed and placed in orbit of Valefore's sun.

[Valefore]

In The News: Toil And Trouble

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11/01/082 A.U. The Delta Quadrant is burning. Aggressive nation states continue to bring strife to the seemingly perpetually at war quadrant, and the Dominion of Valefore finds itself between a rock and a hard place; the rock being the nearby Gamma Quadrant and the monsters that go bump in the night, and the hard place that is the Delta Quadrant with it's violent, warmongering nation states. The Dominion has taken to a multi-step plan of action in regards to this situation in an effort to counter potential hostilities by the Dominion's neighbors.

Step one of this plan revolves around developing new, state of the art units and ships utilizing a combination of foreign and domestic technologies. A number of such weapons programs are in the works, though information is hard to come by; recent trade deals however point to at least some candidates for inclusion in these projects. How these technologies will be developed, modified, and implemented however, remains to be seen.

Step two of this plan involves a bolstered manufacturing base; an increase in fleet numbers and system-wide defenses being the primary concern of this step. Early signs of this step already coming into play have been made clear in the recent increase in military production levels and continuing recruitment efforts by the Dominion's armed forces. A recent push by the Navy for the construction of an additional shipyard facility has been held up by the government for several years; simply due to an issue of funding, but the next meeting of the Empress' Advisory Council is rumored to see this project finally pushed through and approved for construction beginning as early as the first quarter of the new year.

Step three of this plan is somewhat more nebulous, and is also, perhaps, the riskiest as it involves developing closer ties to foreign nation states. Even now, the Office of Foreign Affairs is busily looking for potential allies for the Dominion throughout both the Delta and Gamma Quadrant's. The gathering of information is also a priority here, and intelligence agents are constantly on the look out for even the merest scraps of information concerning the Dominion's neighbors in an effort to prepare the Dominion for the worst.

Only time will tell...

[Valefore]

In The News: Onward Valefore

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11/04/082 A.U. The Dominion's push towards the Delta/Gamma border continues on as the Dominion stakes it's claim to several new systems in close proximity to the Gamma Quadrant.

Dhotun: A resource rich system set to be a site of heavy space-based industrialization and extensive asteroid and Oort Cloud mining operations once the appropriate infrastructure is put into place.

Sidenus: A system of multiple gas giants selected by the Dominion's Navy as the future location for a dedicated supply depot and rest stop for future missions into the Gamma Quadrant. Preliminary defensive measures and early infrastructure are already in place to turn this system into a veritable fortress for the Dominion, and a staging ground for the further expansion of the Dominion's sphere of influence.

Uanus: Home to several curious stellar phenomena, Uanus is set to be the host of several scientific and research facilities including several dozen specialized telescopes. It's location; a mere twelve LY from the border of the Gamma Quadrant also makes it an excellent location for an early warning system against any potential threats that may approach the Dominion's borders from that quadrant.

Cebosa: A cold, largely barren system. Publicly available information on this system has been difficult to come by; causing much conjecture and several conspiracy theories to crop up in the week since the system was added to the public Registry of Systems on the Intranet. The Dominion's plans for this system remain unknown at this time.

[Valefore]

In The News: Happy Birthday Freyja Keziah Eduin!

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11/18/082 A.U. Today the Dominion celebrates the 15th birthday of Empress Freyja Keziah Eduin; long may she reign. Check your local Intranet channels for the complete list of festivities taking place near you, and remember folks... Be safe out there and celebrate responsibly.

[Valefore]

In The News: Business Unusual

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11/19/082 A.U. A series of unusual ship movements have been loosely confirmed by several watch groups on the Intranet over the last few days, leading to some speculation of these movements, and any potential deeper reasoning behind them by several leading news agencies and conspiracy theorists alike. Representatives of the navy however have denied these unusual movements; claiming instead that they're simply a series of maneuvers that have been newly implemented in an effort to confuse potential foreign agents that may be trying to gain information of the Dominion's fleet disposition and patrol routes.

Despite these claims, several on-line watch groups have come forward with some evidence that several ships seem to have, for all intents and purposes, disappeared in the shuffle; chief among them being the VNS Covenant; a vessel that has long been suspected of being a proof of concept test vessel for new and exotic technologies. Military officials have however vehemently denied this, and leaked documentation; obtained from an anonymous military source shows that the Covenant was supposed to have left its station three days ago with several escorts where it was to begin a month long patrol of the Domains new claims near the Delta/Gamma border. It remains unconfirmed at this time whether or not this has actually been the case however.

Is something unusual going on in the Dominion's new claim, or is something else entirely going on that the military, and by extension, the government are not telling us?

[Valefore]

Some Things Are Better Left Forgotten

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The place was dead; that much would have been considered obvious by the crumbling ruins of the once mighty skyscrapers, by the remnants of the cracked, broken statuary, and patches of broken paving peeking out from the detritus of the past. Oddest though was the quiet. There were no animal noises; the lack of bird song or the scurrying of small animals running away at their approach was disturbing and had the small party of Valeforeans on edge. As such, they hurried on, trying to ignore the ghosts of the past as they moved furtively towards their destination.

"You're sure this is the place" one asked of another.

"For the fifth time yes" came the disgruntled reply. "Shut up and keep moving."

Eventually, their path led underground into a warren of broken, partly flooded tunnels; a dark maze purposely engineered to confuse and mislead trespassers that had been made even worse due to their general disrepair. Faded, dirt encrusted signs were still visible in some areas when they shone their lights upon them, though even with close examination, they made little sense to the small party of explorers, and so they carried on; sloshing their way through knee deep stagnant water.

They progressed slowly, with frequent interruptions as one or another would misstep and fall with a splash only to be pulled back up a few moments later. Despite this, they continued on; winding left and right through the darkness... Several times, they were forced to backtrack when their route proved to be too broken for them to traverse, and several time, the group was forced to break out their climbing gear as they descended; winching down their gear and equipment as they went.

Finally however, they reached their destination and found their way blocked by a set of massive armored doors. "Get your equipment set up. I want those doors breached by the end of today" one of them ordered the others. "Set up a perimeter at the end of the hall... This place may look dead, but we're not supposed to be here, and who knows whether or not we've been followed." Several of the group nodded, and after checking their weapons, moved a ways back down the tunnel where they slipped into the darkness; the splashing of their footsteps slowly fading into the distance.

Time passed as the machinery did it's work,,, Making slow, but steady progress on the doors; the high intensity military-grade laser slowly melting its way through one layer of armor plating after another leaving a ring of molten, melting metal that slowly expanded the further it penetrated through the doors until, finally, they were through and the machinery was drawn back.

The room beyond was filled with the dark shadows of machinery that was barely discernable with their lights, but the stale air that came from the hole still retained a hint of death and decay though this did nothing to deter them as they carefully made their way into the armored vault; their lights flickering out into the shadows. The room revealed by the flickering beams was large, though smaller than one would expect from the size and thickness of the armored doors, and thankfully, they noticed, free of the flooding that pervaded the tunnels that they had been forced to traverse.

One member of the group fiddled with a wrist mounted holographic display before moving on."This way" he said as he strode confidently across the dusty floor; ignoring the cloud of dust that rose up in his wake. "It should be right over here... Bring the portable terminal" he continued, barely paying attention as his directions were carried out.

The setup was quickly carried out, though the aged equipment seemed to resist their efforts to coax it back to life... Eventually though, their efforts payed off, and the pained hum of damaged machinery began to suffuse the room as amber tinted lights flickered on under the layers of caked dirt and grime revealing the room; and the damage done by the greatest enemy to all things; time.

The room was coated in dust and grime; machinery, largely of an unclear purpose was strewn about with seemingly no discernable pattern to it's placement, and an examination of the ceiling revealed a network of tubes and pipes that were in varying states of rusted decay. In one of the back corners, barely visible among the ruined machinery sat a pair of somewhat preserved remains; clothed in the tattered remnants of old Valeforean military uniforms and locked in an embrace even in death; likely, this was the source of the scent of death in the room, and while a historian would likely have been interested in the possible story with the two, this group was here for something else.

Slowly, painfully information was pulled from the aging systems; corrupted information was slowly, painstakingly repaired as the portable terminal slowly did it's work.

"So, what exactly is this" one of them asked of the one with the holographic display. "And how valuable is it really"

"Something that was better left forgotten... And worth more than life itself; in particular, your lives" came the answer; though it didn't come from the one with the holographic display... It came from above, and only just preceded a viciously barbed mechadendrite that impaled the speaker of the question from behind; tearing its way through his chest in a fountain of blood and bone shards as it ripped it way through his ribs. A whipping motion sent the corpse ragdolling across the room; spraying the group with blood and gore.

A moment of stunned silence filled the room as a mechanical construct lowered itself from the pipes and tubing along the ceiling. It appeared to be a Valeforean; if a Valeforean had been made from decaying, rusting metals and plastics and wreathed by a swarm of viciously barbed mechadendrites. "You do not belong here" the construct continued; its voice warped and distorted by obviously damaged equipment. And then it continued to kill them; going for the ones with weapons first.

Amidst the screaming, shooting, and lashing mechanical tentacles, the one with the holographic display ran to the terminal, and ripping it free from its temporary connection to the antique systems in the vault, he ran; slipping across the bloody floor. The stumbling saved his life as a mechadendrite whipped over his head close enough that he could feel the wind of it's passing on the back of his neck. He resisted the urge to look back and ran faster lunging through the hole they had bored through the door and splashing into the flooded tunnel beyond. He continued to run; his mad scramble pursued by the gaze of the burning amber eyes of the construct in the room; never realizing that it was unable to give chase; connected as it was to the room itself... It could only stare with burning, malevolent, mechanical eyes...

[Valefore]

In The News: Population Politics

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11/21/082 A.U. Bill PE-5797.5, more commonly known as the "Cloning Bill" is once again in the news. The bill is set to go to vote before the Empress' Advisory Council later this week; making this the fifth appearance of this bill on the agenda in just the last two years, and as with previous attempts, a number of protests have already been organized by concerned, angry Valeforeans. For more information on these protests, follow the link HERE.

While the bill has been voted down in all four of it's previous appearances before the Advisory Council, the gap has been steadily narrowing with each subsequent appearance, and supporters of the bill seem confident that the newest batch of revisions to the bill will finally see it passing through the Advisory Council and making it's way to the purview of the Empress herself for approval.

For details on Bill PE-5797.5, the "Cloning Bill" follow the link HERE

To follow the progress of this bill as it makes it's way to the Advisory Council, follow the link HERE.

The Advisory Council wants your opinion. To make your voice, and your opinion heard, go HERE.

[Valefore]

In The News: No Admittance

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11/22/082 A.U. Dominion naval forces have reported in recent weeks an upsurge in refugee convoys attempting to enter the Dominion's borders from thus far unknown and unexplored regions of the Gamma Quadrant. Reports indicate that these convoys have all been turned away and escorted out of the Dominion's sphere of influence under gunpoint. When asked as to why this has been the case, representatives from the military have stated that reports of an unknown super virus cropping up throughout the region, as well as reports coming out of the Interstellar Empire of Nyte detailing a massive uptick in daemonic activity and fanatic cultists that may be making use of refugee convoys as a vector for infiltrating stellar powers has prompted the military's harsh response to the situation.

The situation shows no sign of losing intensity, and the longer this state of affairs continues, the more likely it seems to be that violence will result, and that it will likely be sooner, rather than later. For additional information on this issue, follow the link HERE. For a detailed holographic map and timeline of refugee related incidents, follow the link HERE.

[Valefore]

In Music Issue 001; Emergence

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In an effort to push a taste of Valeforean entertainment and culture into foreign markets, a number of music tracks from the Dominions Favorite AI artist Sakenia AI have recently been re-released in Galactic Standard in the form of a digital album titled simply, Emergence. Ten of Sakenia AI's fan favorites; linked below, have been redone, and re-imagined in an effort to appeal to music lovers in foreign markets. Anyone wishing to purchase the album can follow the link HERE.

01. STYX HELIX
02. In My World
03. Unravel
04. My Dearest
05. Synchronisity
06. Eternal Snow
07. Fake Wings
08. Glassy Sky
09. When They Cry
10. Lost In Thoughts All Alone

To subscribe to In Music, follow the link HERE.

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OOC NOTE: I claim no credit for any of the music listed above, nor am I attempting to profit from it in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply a fan.

[Valefore]

[Valefore]

[Valefore]

[Valefore]

[Valefore]

In The News: Hoverboard Hooligans Strike Again

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11/22/082 A.U. A recent up-tick in crimes being perpetrated by so called "hoverboard riding hooligans" has recently begun to gain substantial media coverage following several outlandish reports released to the media by police officials out of The Spire over the last week.

The most recent incident; a lethal brawl in The Spire's Unity Park, was seemingly instigated by several vulgarity laced insults cast about on one group of hoverboarders by a rival group while both were involved in what has been described in eyewitness accounts as a "friendly competition gone wrong." The resultant brawl went on for several minutes and resulted in several thousand Ducat's in property damage, a half a dozen minor to moderate injuries, and a single fatality with one brawler being killed due to blunt force trauma caused by the impact of a ridden hoverboard to the back of his skull.

Multiple arrests have been made as a result of the incident, and charges ranging from disturbing the peace all the way up to 3rd degree murder have been filed against over a dozen Valeforeans who were in some way involved in the incident.

Follow the link [HERE] to keep up to date on this story.

For an index of hoverboard related crimes, click [HERE]

[Valefore]

Wheels In Motion: Or, A Polite Chat Over A Pile Of Paperwork

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"And where exactly do you expect us to find the Ducats for all of this?" The question came from a sharply dressed older Valeforean as he rifled through a number of antiquated paper documents. "Detachable fold boosters for strike craft? Modular, detachable FAST Packs for strike craft?" The Valeforean rifled through several more documents before continuing. "Several entirely new ship classes for the navy" he commented with a questioningly arched eyebrow. "Do you really think there's room in the budget for all of this" he asked while waving a hand over the pile of documents strewn across the table.

"All of it" his companion; a stern looking female Valeforean with vibrant red hair that contrasted shockingly with her stark, white military dress uniform replied. "No, not all of it... But for some of it? Most certainly" she continued; passing several more documents across the table as she did so.

"And what are these supposed to be" came his reply as he slowly began to skim through this fresh pile of paperwork.

"Those" came the reply; one laced with a surprising amount of bitterness, "are five years worth of military and civilian studies detailing exactly how woefully under prepared we are for dealing with life in the Delta Quadrant." She took a sip of water from a glass on the table before continuing. "To be blunt, our naval forces are in no condition to withstand a concerted attack by any of our most warlike neighbors, and would be hard pressed to withstand an attack from even some of our less hostile seeming neighbors... This recent push towards the Gamma Quadrant will only make things worse. The military NEEDS these upgrades... And we need them sooner rather than later Representative."

The Representative set the folders down on the pile before replying. "So, why have you brought all of this to me" he spoke softly; setting the folders on the ever growing pile. "Why not take this directly to the Empress herself?"

"Why you? It's simple really" she replied dryly; bluntly even... "You're the Empress' oldest, and most trusted advisor. If anyone can convince her highness of the importance of this, it would be you... Beyond that, it's a fairly poorly kept secret that her highness isn't exactly the biggest supporter of the military to sit the throne... Despite the recent growth we've been allowed to have in the last year. The military still bears the stigma from the old war; you know this as well as I do."

It was quiet for a moment... The Representative quietly digesting the veritable mountain of paperwork and evidence he'd been provided, and the Fleet Admiral across from him staring pointedly, and perhaps, with just a hint of worry. "Very well" he replied after a minor eternity of silence; ignoring how her shoulders sagged minutely in barely noticeable relief. "I'll bring it to her highness' attention, and do my best to convince her of the necessity... But I make no promises as I'm sure you can understand."

She replied with a not. "Thank you Representative... That's all we could ask for" she finished while rising out of her seat. "Do enjoy the rest of your evening" she added politely as she turned to go."

A polite hmm was the Representative's reply as he picked up his own drink; a contemplative look on his aged face. He barely paid the Admiral any mind at all as she quietly left the room; the door clicking shut behind her as she left.

"Hmm..." he continued to himself again after some time; staring off into nothing while slowly savoring his drink. "Hmm."

[Valefore]

Some Assembly Required

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"You said the system was safe doctor." The comment came from a cold sounding Valeforean of indeterminate age whose icy blue eyes seemed to almost glow in contrast to his inky black hair. His trio of tails lashed about behind him in his agitation; seeming to sway menacingly in sharp contrast to his pure white dress uniform.

The doctor twitched nervously in her seat for a moment before replying. "We were sure that it was sir. All of our own tests, and the limited information we had available from our observations of the Interstellar Empire of Nyte, and its usage of this system never even hinted at the possibility of a failure like this even being possible." She went to continue, but was quickly cut off...

"A failure? You call this a failure?" He threw a holopad full of medical reports at her from across his desk. "For fucks sake doctor, you melted my pilots brain inside his skull... I think that qualifies as a bit more than just a failure." He took a few calming breaths and resumed his seat. "Explain to me how this happened doctor... And how you can fix it."

The doctor gulped nervously and took a sip of water; pushing the holopad aside as if it were dirty. "At the present, we're not sure how this happened. We know through intelligence reports from several sources that the 'BDI System' as it's referred to, largely allows the user to, for all intents and purposes, become the craft they are connected too. This allows for a drastic increase in reaction times, and virtually eliminates the need for mechanical controls. We're not entirely sure what the upper limit is, but if the reports are to be believed, a single individual could effectively control pretty much every major function aboard a ship with this system... As long as they have had an appropriate level of training, and a solid enough mental fortitude."

She paused to take another sip of water before continuing. "The worst our tests had led us to expect was what is commonly referred to as 'phantom limb pain' which is usually felt by individuals who have lost a limb, but still feel sensation as if the limb were in fact still present. This having happened at all leads me to believe that our agents missed something when they, uh, acquired this technology; though I'm not sure at this time what that could have been."

"As for fixing it" she continued... "We'll need to strip down the entire system to determine the exact cause of this incident. It won't be quick, but if we can pinpoint where things went wrong, we can develop an effective method for preventing such an event in the future. It will likely limit what we can do with the system until it's better understood, but should prevent physical injury or death from happening in any future tests."

"How long will this take doctor? As you might expect, my superiors are anxious to get this system developed and deployed, and this delay will not be looked at too kindly" he replied.

"I'm not entirely sure" she returned. "You're asking me to give you what amounts to my best guess. It could be a number of months if we're extremely lucky... But I suspect that it's more likely to be several years to work out the problem AND develop an effective means of preventing it from happening again. After that, we'd still need to test the system fully before it could be declared combat worthy and put into production."

His ears twitched in displeasure as he rubbed tiredly at his face. With a sigh, he remarked "very well doctor. Get to it... I need to prepare to get my ass chewed out for this debacle anyway" he finished; nodding at the door as a clear sign that she was dismissed.

[Valefore]

Sysul Construction; the Dominion of Valefore's #1 rated construction company is now hiring:

Apply now at one of our local offices and begin an exciting career with competitive wages, benefits, and a high potential for growth.
Or visit us on the Intranet and apply [HERE]

[Valefore]

[Valefore]

Do you yearn for adventure? Does the idea of an exciting life out on the frontier appeal to you? Then sign up [HERE] and become part of the future.

[Valefore]

Substance Black

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"I am now administering 100cc's of substance code named 'Black' to the subject" came a monotonous female voice on the audio only file being played in the room. It was dark; moody even, and the only things that stood out were the droning emotionlessness of the voice on the recording, and the sound of rapid typing. The figure doing the typing shifted; a flash of orangish red hair briefly swaying into the dim light provided by the holoterminal on the sleek looking desk before them. Their chair creaked slightly as the voice continued.

"Substance code named 'Black' successfully administered." Between the words was the sound of violent thrashing from the recording. "Subject shows no immediate response or reaction... A marked improvement over previous subjects." The thrashing continued, growing louder as if the speaker was moving even closer to it's source. The voice picked back up once more "subject will be moved to Ward Seventeen for temporary isolation and future observation."

A chime at the door interrupted the recording; the rapid typing coming to a stop as the figure paused the log. "Enter" came the reply... The same voice from the recording if perhaps slightly more emotional, and somewhat softer.

The door slid silently open; retracting quickly into the wall revealing an older male Valeforean with tired looking grey eyes... His frumpy looking lab coat only added to the image of someone who desperately needed a vacation; or even just a good nights sleep.

"Dr. Mura" he began, "You may want to come with me. It's the subject" he finished.

She was up before he finished; grabbing her own lab coat as she rounded the desk. "What is it" she asked as she stormed past him and began moving swiftly down the hall. "Are we looking at another failure" she continued as they moved swiftly through through one bland hallway after another.

"Not exactly" came the tired reply... "It might be better if you see it for yourself first though."

After several minutes, the pair entered an observation room in Ward Seventeen. On the other side of a one way window slumped a young, disheveled looking Valeforean wearing a rumpled hospital style gown; their unkempt black hair hung lankly; framing a pale, gaunt face. It was the Valeforean's eyes however, that were the most unexpected though. They were sharp, intelligent eyes, and they were also staring directly at Dr. Mura through what should look, to him at least, to be a solid wall. They followed her even, keeping up as she slowly crossed the room to stand by a holoterminal mounted near the window.

"He can see us" she asked with perhaps a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Through the one way window?"

The second Valeforean simply nodded in reply. "Several of the junior staff noticed it earlier today while they were making observations on the subject. Not only could he apparently see them, he seemed able to keep track of their conversation too... Despite the room being soundproof."

At this, Dr. Mura showed the first real sign of actual emotion she had in several days... She smiled.

[Valefore]

Several propaganda posters pushing life on the frontier. Part of the ongoing effort to promote the Dominion's colonization efforts to the Valeforean people.

[Valefore]

In Music Issue 002; Sakenai AI Announces New Tour; Drops New Single

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Sakenia AI; the Dominion's fovorite Vocaloid songstress announced the start of her latest tour yesterday in a press conference held in The Spire. The year long tour will begin with a dozen concerts held in the Dominion itself, and will then be followed up with over three dozen concerts held outside of Dominion space where a number of tracks featured on her latest album Emergence are expected to feature heavily as they were redone in galactic standard; likely it is believed, specifically with this concert in mind. Following this announcement came the announcement of a new single; a duet titled The Musician which can be heard for free by following the provided link. When asked for confirmation as to whether this new single would be included in the set list for this new tour, Sakenia AI replied simply that we'd all have to "wait and see."

For the complete list of tour dates, follow the link [HERE].

To purchase tickets to a tour date near you, follow the link [HERE].

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OOC NOTE: I claim no credit for any of the music listed above, nor am I attempting to profit from it in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply a fan.

[Valefore]

Black Matters

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"Continuing experiments with the substance code named 'Black' continue to show steadily, if slowly improving results" Dr. Mura spoke into the hovering recording device as she slowly meandered through the corridors. It was late, and the lights had been dimmed giving the already bland hallways an even emptier, gloomier appearance; one which she paid little real attention to. "As of yet" she continued "we've been unable to establish a baseline for the effects of the serum, and determining the results prior to administration has so far proven to be impossible."

Taking a break in a small indoor garden, she took a brief drink from a bottle of water before continuing; closing her bright blue intelligent eyes in thought as she continued to dictate her thoughts to the hovering drone that flittered about her shoulders. "The last twelve subjects; not including the first, have included two failures... neither of which survived. Autopsies have proven unable to determine the cause of death in these cases; a subject of some concern naturally,... especially among our financial backers."

She sighed, continuing "Of the other ten successful attempts, each has shown different results; drastically different results in some cases... One such case required the application of lethal force by security forces as the subject displayed potent, and violent capabilities and a drastic change in their personality leading to extreme hostility and murderous intent; killing several members of the junior staff as well as my mentor Dr. Jaius Khines. Five members of the security staff were killed in the ensuing violence before the subject could be put down."

Looking up at the stars through the domed roof covering the garden, she continued tiredly; hiding a long yawn with the back of a delicate, well manicured hand. "Naturally, morale is at an all time low despite the number of successful attempts, and the security forces are... disgruntled to say the least, and I am unsure how to correct this... We are all being pushed hard on this project, and it's beginning to show. I have raised my concerns with my superiors up the ladder, but honestly, I have little hope of anything being done about this... At least not in a timely manner."

"End log" she finished; still looking up to the night sky. She would continue to do so for some time...