Dreyan Imperium [Sci Fi Political/Character RP - IC - OPEN]

[Sao Nova Europa]

DREYAN IMPERIUM

OOC - IC (Here)

CURRENT DATE: 26 APRIL 2501 - 3 MAY 2501

INTRODUCTION

The Dreyan Imperium (DI) is a science fiction political and character roleplay. Players will assume the role of politicians or captains in the homonymous empire. Will they lead the empire to glory or shall they usher an era of decline?

DI combines science fiction, political and character roleplay genres. You will have to deal with both economic and social issues similar to those in many RL countries but also face the prospect of space colonization and exploration, and a cold war with another civilization.

It is highly recommended that before joining, you read the ‘Setting’ and ‘Imperium’ sections in the OOC Thread, as they give vital information on the world in which the RP takes place.


THE IC THREAD IS SOLELY FOR IC POSTING. FOR APPLICATIONS, JOINING AND OOC DISCUSSIONS, POST IN THE OCC THREAD

MILITARIES

The numbers will be edited in accordance to players' actions and actions on the part of the two NPC foreign powers. Further clarifications and information will be given in both OOC thread and through telegrams to high-ranking military officers and government minister (when a government is elected).

DREYAN IMPERIUM

550 Starships

5 Dreadnoughts
25 Destroyers
87 XD-45 Warships
25 Starship Carrier Frigates
390 Star Fighters
18 Medical Facilities Starships

2.5 Million Infantry

3,801 Battle Tanks
5,881 Anti-Aicraft Missiles
7,503 Artillery [Laser Cannons]

KALERMAN UNION

Warning: Estimates by Imperial Intelligence

471 Starships

9 Dreadnoughts
34 Destroyers
101 XD-45 Warships
14 Starship Carrier Frigates
291 Star Fighters
22 Medical Facilities Starships

1.9 Million Infantry

2,624 Battle Tanks
7,025 Anti-Aicraft Missiles
6,103 Artillery [Laser Cannons]

KERAIAN REPUBLIC

Warning: Estimates by Imperial Intelligence

281 Starships

1 Dreadnoughts
4 Destroyers
41 XD-45 Warships
3 Starship Carrier Frigates
228 Star Fighters
4 Medical Facilities Starships

150,000 Infantry

51 Battle Tanks
16,197 Anti-Aicraft Missiles
1,560 Artillery [Laser Cannons]

[Sao Nova Europa]

PLAYERS

POLITICIANS:

Shameset Vhierxhmi

Bailey Smith

Liu Xiannian

Vilna Korr

Methos Alexandris

Reyon Melthahan

CAPTAINS:

John B. Sam

Rachel Guberstein

POLITICAL PARTIES

Progressive Party

Dreyan First Party

People's Liberation Party

Students of Creation

[Sao Nova Europa]

NOTICE: For the next 10 days, an electoral campaign will take place to determine the seats of each party. There will be a poll in the next few days. Posting campaign posts and stating your position on current issues will go a long way towards determining how your party will do. Do remember that each 2 RL days amount to 1 week in-game.

DREYAN DAILY
Dreyan's Most Popular Newspaper

TAX PROTESTS IN THE EAST

In the eastern town of Shanyang, around 5,000 locals protested against the land tax. The land tax is becoming an increasingly important issue in the East, where much of the population is agrarian and relies on land for their livelihood. One of the protesters stated to our reporter, "This is unjust. Why should I pay a tax for the land of my ancestors, the land which I toil? The government should abolish this unjust tax!"

The local mayor, Jonathan Yi, has a differing view on the matter: "the lax tax provides much needed revenue to state coffers. The East, being an overpopulated region, has to spend a lot more on healthcare and education compared to other regions of the Imperium and income tax alone doesn't bring us the necessary revenue. As such, abolishing the tax would be irresponsible."

MARCH FOR CLIMATE IN WEST AND SOUTH

In multiple cities of the Western and Southern regions, students and young activists took to the streets, protesting what they deem to be a failure of the government to deal with environmental issues and to protect the environment. "We destroy our planet by using dirty energy resources!" one of the students stated. "We need stricter environmental regulations, and we need to invest in clean energy such as solar and wind power."

The protests haven't been received well in the North, whose economy is reliant on its mineral resources. "More regulations means less jobs for us," 55 years old Bob, a worker in one of the mining facilities, stated. "They are all just a bunch of wacko socialists that want us to lose our jobs and to rely on welfare checks. They can't have their way!" Many residents in the North are participating in counter-demonstrations, to show that they won't stand for 'green socialism'.

CULTURE WARS?

The issue of civil unions for homosexual couples has caused quite a stir lately, with many business leaders, academics and intellectuals in the West signing open letters to the government and to all political parties to legalize it. One of the letters, signed by CEO of the influential XD Corporation, states; "we need to stand for equal rights for every Dreyaran. How can the state justify such exclusionary and discriminatory policies? And for what purpose? To stop a couple who are in love from becoming partners? This is unacceptable."

In the North and large parts of the East, such a legalization would amount to open war. Takeda Shiro, an influential mayor in the East, has stated; "legalization of civil unions for homosexuals goes against our way of life and everything we stand for. It will lead to the degradation of the traditional family, and without the stability that family provides, society will collapse. It is a time-bomb at the foundations of Dreyaran society."

SUSPICIOUS KELERIAN MOVEMENTS ON JREEKAN

The Dreyan Imperium and the Kalerman Union both abide to an unofficial arrangement to restrict facilities on the planet of Jreekan to purely research ones. Yet, according to a leaked report from the Dreyan Intelligence Service, the Kalerman Union has been sending military-grade weaponry to its research facilities and former marines as guards. A press release from the Union has dismissed the issue, claiming that the Union is simply taking steps to enhance the security of its research facilities.

Analysts on Dreyan are split as to what is behind those movements. Some believe that the Union is truthful and that the Kelerians are simply making sure that their research facilities are well-protected. Others claim this is a first step towards a militarization of the Kelerian facilities on the planet, and that the next step of the Union will be to expand its hold on the planet. With elections underway in the Imperium, it seems that this leaked report will now dominate the political debate when it comes to foreign policy.

[Nazeroth]

STUDENTS OF CREATION
" Blessed was their touch, Scattered were their enemies"

The new party headquarters had been established and already the faithful were coming in to register themselves within the new religious party that now gave the worship of the creators a political message. Their leader, Reyon Melthahan, released a statement. He was dressed in white suit wearing a blue undershirt and an orange tie as was his customary look. His beard was well trimmed and his eyes peered into the holographic screens of many in the Imperium. Behind him were the banners of the party as well as the faith, a blue circle representing the primal waters and inside this blue circle was an orange hand of flame, representing the touch of the angels bringing life to the lifeless.

" Good day and bless the creators, let today be the beginning of the end to the darkness. We, the Students of Creation, are here now to bring the light to the shadows of ignorance. For those watching I will now begin the homage to the creators from the Book of Creation so that for those first time watching may hear the beginning of our people, all our people.

In the beginning, their was nothing, from nothing the sky and mountains, from the formless water, life, from life, a legacy. The Creators descended upon the empty darkness with their divine warmth and made man into flesh and where man was made so was woman in their divine image. Their they gathered into the sky and looked below at their creation and knew that what they had made was good, what they had made was manifest destiny. Man and Woman then multiplied across the land where the gift of wisdom led them to fruit and fortune. Under the sun, the first people's looked skyward and before the first sleep they yelled " Oh hands of creation!, why mud to men? Why such fortune? Bless our sculptors so we may sleep!"

Melthahan set the book back down and like a wise father he smiled.

" Their is more in this book" He said as he pointed to it " Their is more than any of us could ever know, please seek your local Temple and share in celebrating your creation and seek wisdom. We are all students of creation, so let's learn together."

With that the broadcast ended with the symbol of the SOC appearing on the holo screens

[Kaledoria]

Methos Alexandris of the People's Liberation Party.


The host of the show was a huge, floating, complex geometrical shape with a pulsing center, that lightened up as he spoke. Compared to him, Methos' Icona was rather bland, just a humanoid shape, a stylized version of his real life self.

Dis Saster, which was the name the host went by, opened the show that would soon be seen online by politically interested people across the nation. "Hello Methos - Mr. Alexandris, or should I say - Comrade?" - "Methos is fine, or Alex which I hear a lot. Mr. Alexandris is what my political opponents call me."

"So, Methos," Dis continued and his "mouth" pulsed in deep purple for a while, "we all guess your Party of unspecific liberation is once again going to be sweeping the cauldron in the next election, yet your own district is actually 70% outside of the cauldron, how can that work if you are supposed to be the central figure representing you guys?" Methos was irritated. He knew that Dis Saster was not always serious, even though many of his viewers took him serious. This question felt like a trap. "Well, first of all," he answered, "that is a horrible way of looking at politics and parties. This is not supposed to be a personal cult and every candidate assemblywoman and -man is the representative of our party in their specific district. And as far as my district, Berengaria is concerned, I see the cauldron primarily as a social and economic area marked by cultural diversity, compassion and a history of hardship in the class-struggle. And Berengaria fits this description, even though only about a third of it is located between the two mountain ranges."
"Well, to bad, we are not here to talk about geography but politics!" Dis floated upwards seemingly becoming even bigger for a moment and pulsed golden. "You have supported the land tax, how can you think you are actually electable with such an unpopular opinion? Defend yourself!" - "I don't exactly know which interview you are referring to but yeah, last week I said that land tax in and by itself is a reasonable idea. Look at our society as a social contract. The stable society makes sure that no raiders drive on your land, kill you and claim your land as their own. In return we expect you to use that land in a socially productive way, you get paid for this and a part of the payment goes back to society as tax. Thus in theory-" Methos was interrupted mid sentence: "So you are saying it's not really 'my' land, it is 'our land' and I just work it for 'our society'?" Dis asked.
Methos laughed: "You have the right to use the land in anyway you see fit even as your private camping site if you can pay the tax from other income. In my opinion, it does not get anymore "private ownership" than that. What I'm saying is, that with private property come personal obligations." He did not slow down and immediately continued in order to not get interrupted again: "Yet, if you listen to all I said about this, I also pointed out that in many regions the numbers really don't add up. And this is why this is not a Dreyan and not even an eastern issue. It's a local issue. For example, if you inherit some urban property at the west coast, you can basically live a carefree life without ever working again, just leeching of the benefits of other people's work, just by virtue of handed down property. How fair is that? This is a part where the land tax could actually be higher. But then again, yes look at the east, especially regions like the northeastern wetlands, that provide a service to society by providing ecologic space for many endangered species while at the same time, they really cannot be commercially exploited and consequently the property tax should be considerably lowered or in some cases outright voided. Therefore it should be clear why I say that the only fair legislation, the assembly can pass, is, too move this topic to the district-legislators and let them work out fair laws on land-taxes that work for their communities because no land tax fits all lands, our continent is much to diverse for this.

"A good answer," Dis Saster continued, "rather wordy. But it also gives me a good bridge to the next hot topic: Climate protests. Given your tree-hugging and critter-petting attitude towards our beautifully gross wetlands, I guess you are siding with with the more control oriented side?" - "I side with the idea that if one of my neighbors makes a mess in our shared garden, he is responsible for cleaning up after himself. Now this could be such a simple law globally, too: Just clean up the mess you make. Simple, easy, not the overregulated bureaucracy that some voices on the right claim it to be, is it? But sadly, selfish cooperations have spend the last couple of centuries with finding creative, legally obscure and ethically repelling ways to enrich themselves while indirectly pushing the burden of cleaning up upon someone else and thus yes, a number of 'regulations' will be needed to spell it out to those evil and intentionally ignorant people, that those tricks now longer work. I find it sad, that the people of the east coast are awfully quite about this topic even though they are the ones most negatively effected by the worsening climate that we already have now."

"The main opposition to any climate regulation comes from our northern districts which leads us to the second guest we have on, today," Dis Saster announced, "Welcome Miss. Celia Brandon, the new shooting star of the PLP in the north." A now Icona manifested next to Methos. Methos knew Celia and her Icona was basically just a younger version of herself, slightly more saturated with some dialed up highlights and a subtle olfactory illusion. For a second Methos wondered whether the smell was localized, like a real perfume would be, or whether it was added to the stream of every online viewer who watched the interview in hot (full sensoric) VR. Then he focused on the political discussion again. "...and many friends urged me to consider running for Assemblywoman myself but I'm just now starting to get meaningful legislature in Dudley done and own it to my voters to stay in the district." Celia ended her introduction. "What should be noted," Methos added," is that there was no PLP in Dudley two years ago and then one day out of nowhere this woman comes to me and says something like: "Hey, I have an activist movement of 400 people fighting wage theft and reckless endangerment of workers and we would like to go into politics but not as an own new party but as part of yours." and at first I though this was crazy but their goals and our were pretty much aligned so they basically became the PLP-North and Celia got elected right away, what nobody had expected." - "Right," Celia took over the narrative again, "and now as environmental regulations become such a hot topic my district PLP had a full meeting about it. We realized that the north terribly misinformed and therefore we have started a new campaign called: 'We want those green jobs' because as it happens we are a fact-based people and it's a fact that green industry, whether be it renewable energy or recycling, has steadily created growing job numbers, in the east, south and especially the west. At the same time, the employment numbers by the very same industries who are now crying that regulations will cost jobs, have slowly but steadily went down here in the north. Thus the Slogan: 'We want those green jobs', those jobs that are feeding families on the rest of the continent but that the people in the north are denied because some lying industrials are unwilling to risk their old business models and are bullying the politics to help them artificially maintain their status quo."

Dis Saster 'nodded' with his entire, abstract body and tried to wrap the show up: "There is so much more to discuss but our own studies show that the majority of our viewers only has an attention span of 5 minutes. So in just a few words: Jreekan dominion - good or bad?"
Celia answered first: "Bad. We should tend to the problems on our own planet first and not waste billions on putting people onto some distant space rock."
Methos added: "The latest actions by the Kelerians to 'enhance their security' show, that they, too, can be awfully stupid. Their bodies can barely survive the surface gravity of Jreekan without aid. They shouldn't even be there. And - economically speaking - neither should we. Orbital habitats around our home planet are by far more efficient for creating new space to live while for resources there are still countless asteroids not claimed by the Keraians as well as the moons of Artheria, all of which have useful resources, none of which we have to drag up from a 1.5g surface, wasting huge amounts of energy."

***

Later that day, Methos got the latest poll numbers showing the preferred parties by district and his party did well. However he knew that this had little value. The poll was explicitly without regards to voting choice and there were certainly much more people who would say they like the PLP but then on election day would choose a saver, more moderate option then the other way around. But nevertheless, it was time to speak to the ProP. His secretary had arranged a meeting with Shameset Vhierxhmi and they would have to make shady deals about who gets a shot in which district for the Assembly(wo)man-seat. It was a dirty part of their job but necessary in order to make sure the two parties did not split their votes and thereby allowed horrible people like the Dreyan first Party to get elected. A fair, proportional election would have been so much better but this was wishful thinking, thus he had to play the game of politics.

[Delmonte]

March 1, 2015

Vilna was in residence at her office within the DFP Western headquarters for the time being. Located in the Urayan Financial District, her branch of the DFP catered to a very different sort of crowd than it did in the North and East. A slight deviation from the party's more populist and aggressive roots, Vilna projected a vision of a gentler, kinder sort of party in her district. One that was a bit more popular with bankers and high-ranking businessmen. While the West was not the Party's primary source of votes, it was their primary source of funding. Vilna had been courting the wealthy here for years.

She and the Western Strategy Coordinator, Uwe Humboldt, were on teleconference with the Global Strategy Director in the main party HQ back in the North.

"I have two minutes, guys. What is it?"

"Just popping in. Let us know where you want us to fall on the environmental issues that are being pushed right now. I recommend easing off or being quiet." Vilna said, "Also I'm holding a fundraiser on a private station tonight. My friend has a really nice one, complete with a planetary viewer. It'll be over the West tonight so billionaires will be able to look at their house from space."

"Very nice. You want the Militia there?"

"Fuck no. The poor love those guys, but the rich are terrified of them. They tend to be recruited from the lower orders and are a bit... hmm... a bit grabby? Sometimes? Like they take things?"

The Director grunted. "All good, then. I'm out. Hail the Imperium."

He gave a well-practiced salute. Vilna returned a lazy sort of half-salute. "Fuck it, let's go."

As Vilna and Uwe road their private shuttle up to the station, they reviewed their strategy.

"What's this crowd going to be like, Uwe?"

"Some bankers, mostly media moguls, though. No nobles tonight. There was a gala."

"Perfect, I've been wanting to hit the media. Do we have someone at the gala?"

"Of course."

"Alright. The PLP won a new seat in the North. We can use that."

"Absolutely. Just read their manifesto." Uwe gestured towards the dossier splayed on Vilna's lap. "The PLP may take poor voters from us, but my God do they chase rich donors into our arms."

"Yeah we've been doing well treating the Progressives like the actual electoral threat but talking up the PLP to get money from the elite."

"And funnel that straight into our operations."

"Despite the cut that goes to the Militia." Vilna looked up and eyed Uwe.

"You know my opinions, but we can't talk about that in public let alone Party functions. We need to scare people with the PLP, then make them feel safe. For some, the Militia accomplishes that so they have a place. For now. It's easy for us in our private communities that literally levitate, but for the middle class who have to deal with rioters and looters, seeing the Militia on their street corners can be a comfort."

Vilna shrugged. Their shuttle was arriving at the private station of Arnos Goul: Philanthropist, mining baron, charitable old man, and absolute bastard. Vilna disembarked and was immediately greeted by the old thing.

"Vilna, darling!"

"Oh, Arno. How are you?"

"Well, you know, passing the time. I'm ninety-eight now, after all. Have to make the most of it."

"You don't look a day past fifty."

"Aren't you a charmer? And I should hope so, I pay some very smart men quite a lot of money to extend my life. Come, everything is set up for you. And your friend?"

"He's going to take a look around and mingle when people arrive. He's... eccentric."

"Right, come along."

Arno led Vilna into a sumptuous hall. Legroom was premium on space stations, so to see one so open with so many windows was incredible. Of course, Vilna had been on such stations before. But she never tired of the view and deeply desired one of her own. Hors d'oeuvres were being put out and Skylar Champagne was on ice. Arno gestured to it now.

"A glass to calm the nerves beforehand?"

"Can't hurt."

Arno snapped his fingers and in quick order a smartly dressed servant was pouring them two glasses of the pink bubbly liquid.

"I have the planetary viewer set up in the middle of this hall. I was thinking that in exchange for a small donation to the DFP, something like five hundred thousand credits, they could pull up whatever they want to show. Here's a secret about us rich people, we love showing off our toys to one another."

"I've witnessed." Indeed, the psyche of the average billionaire was something that Vilna was very much in touch with. She looked at the planetary viewer's holographic screen as she sipped from her champagne flute. Then she glanced to the DFP pin on Arno's sleeve. Lovely. One by one their guests started to trickle in. Vilna swore off the Skylar Champagne for the rest of the evening. Better that they become intoxicated and she remain sober to take them for all they were worth. And they were worth a lot.

The owner of Dreyan's largest media conglomerate, Alistair Maloor, was currently monopolizing the planetary viewer, shelling out donations to the DFP at regular intervals. Presently he was showing a group of very interested bankers one of his latest finds.

"It is a pre-space flight yacht. It goes on the ocean. Like on the actual water. Completely authentic, a real treasure from the past. I've had it fitted with modern amenities, obviously..."

"Can anyone pilot it? Take it for a spin?" One of the bankers' wives asked.

"Well, no..." He admitted, "But I own it!" He laughed. The bankers laughed. Vilna forgot to laugh. She tapped her fork against the glass she had been pretending to drink champagne from to gather attention to herself.

"Thank you all for coming. I know some of your faces, recognize you from previous DFP functions. Some of you are new, and maybe aren't even entirely sold on us yet. And that's fine. Everyone is welcome! I'll let you get back to it soon, but I just want to speak for a minute or two about what we're up against. The People's Liberation Party have a radical platform including seizing all media assets and placing them under the control of their employees."

Uwe gave her a thumbs up from where he stood off in the corner. Already she had caused some pearl clutching on the parts of the media magnates surrounding the viewer and picking at cured meats.

"They want to impose crushing regulation on Dreyan business and make no mistake: they are mobilizing. And getting stronger every day. In a district in the North we thought we had on lock they recently got someone elected. They are supported by a mob that chants things like 'eat the rich'! I'm sure you've even encountered some of them."

She was almost positive they hadn't.

"Look, I'm not going to claim the Dreyan First Party is perfect. I myself have a complicated relationship with my Party as I'm sure many of us do. But the fact is that they are the first and best shot we have at stopping the PLP and their radical agenda from spreading even more. No further!"

She raised her glass and was joined by glasses and voices raised in echo.

"No further!"

[Voxija]

Shameset Vhierxhmi logged onto her campaign website, reelectvhierxhmi.com. Here, she could talk with her fans and post about her views and her campaign updates. Shameset read the latest issue of Dreyan Daily, and got ready to post commentary on the articles and talk about her views on the issues presented.

Ah, the land tax. That land tax was a controversial issue. Shameset was pretty neutral on the land tax, but she had to write something... ah! There it was.

I sympathize with the eastern protestors, but the land tax is essential for developing local projects and to reduce inequality. When I get elected, I will propose a reduction of the land tax without abolishing it completely.

That seemed to be a good opinion. Shameset will keep it. It was a compromise, but will keep her reputation afloat.

Climate change was a topical issue. Shameset had a firm opinion on such things. She'd won the last election by advancing those views that united the student activists, the elite, and the common people. At least the Western students, elites, and common people.

We need stricter regulations to prevent the environmental destruction of Dreyan. Jobs may be taken away from those in the fossil fuel industry, but many more jobs will be created in the clean fuel industry and the development of environmentally friendly technologies.

If Shameset focused hard, she could almost believe the data points she was repeating. For now, it was merely a hope.

Shameset had a much stronger attitude towards gay rights than what the current political climate would promote. Shameset wanted gay marriage with the same rights as homosexual couples. That might alienate her more conservative base in the South, though. But Shameset still posted the truth on her website, because Shameset still wanted to hold on to whatever bit of integrity she had left after more than thirty years of politicking.

We must have civil unions for gay couples! There is no gay agenda, what gay people want is acceptance, and if you reelect me, that would be given. Civil unions would be a great stepping stone to something even grander... hopefully in my lifetime, or even my career, full gay marriage will be implemented.

The Kalerman Union was doing something that if the Imperium did it, would be seen as sane and normal, but when the Kalerman Union did it, it was worrying and suspicious. Shameset grumbled. These prejudicial attitudes were the reason that the Dreyan First Party had a presence. Shameset had grown up in a Kelerian enclave within the city of Tror, and she had long since realized that although Kelerians were a different species, they were still people.

The Kalerman Union is just offering better security for their bases. If certain elements within Dreyan society weren't so militaristic, the Kalerman Union wouldn't even need to send such military-grade weaponry to their bases. Have a little common sense.

Shameset Vhierxhmi posted her article online. Come to think of it, it was more of a rant. At least her views were out.

---

Shameset got a message from Methos Alexandris, her counterpart from the People's Liberation Party. He wanted to meet on how to arrange the districts so that their two parties wouldn't split the vote and cause the Dreyan First Party to get elected. Shameset did not like the Dreyan First Party at all. It seemed useless to waste good resources on an endless war. So, although it was dirty tactics, Shameset would agree to use them, and damn will they be effective.

---

Shameset Vhierxhmi walked out of her meeting with Alexandris. It was a good meeting. The politicians had agreed that Shameset would have the districts in the far and middle west, as well as the south, where PLP was nonexistent. PLP had the center and center east, and in the north and coastal east the vote would split but be skewed towards Shameset's party, the Progressive Party. This meeting was productive, and would greatly decrease Dreyan First's chances of getting a lot of votes.

But yet, Shameset was worried about these shady deals. She could feel the last of her integrity slip away. It was supposed to be one of her strengths, a point Shameset emphasized, one of the reasons voters would go for her. But Shameset, in the end, was just another politician. She hoped the voters wouldn't find out about this.

[Delmonte]

March 4th, 2015
DFP Western HQ

"This is a huge opportunity to differentiate ourselves. Both major opposition parties have come out in favor of the land tax."

"So we come out against it?" Vilna questioned Uwe across a conference table.

"Yes, abolish it. But we can't lead the charge. Namely, a politician can't lead it. We need to set up an Action Committee spearheaded by someone the public can really get behind."

"And presumably you have something lined up? You always do."

Uwe smirked and withdrew a folder from his briefcase, sliding it across to Viilna. "May I introduce Gloria Lightly."

"Great name." Vilna remarked, thumbing through the dossier. "A mother."

"Of four, yes. Real crunchy granola homesteader type. Feeds her family from their land."

"Perfect. And she's pretty, but not enough to threaten women in their thirties. Is she willing for the shilling?"

"Get this: She's already started. They call themselves Citizens Against Land Taxes. She's got volunteers and everything. A bunch of her homesteader friends. They raise chickens and shit. They're part of the movement against the taxes that's swelling in the North. They just need someone to drop a couple mil on them and they'll be able to kick ass and take names."

Vilna pursed her lips. "They'll need to change the name. 'Against' is bad. Should always be 'for' something. Maybe Citizens for Land Freedom?"

"Neighbors. Neighbors for Land Freedom. NLF. All our data shows that 'neighbors' is better than 'citizens'. It's approachable."

"We'll teach her. We need to get our guys in there and start cleaning things up. Set up a call. I'm going to get us on a talk show. Is she smart?"

"Yes."

"Well that's unfortunate but we'll work with what we have to."

---

March 7th, 2015

"Hello and welcome back to Dreyan Today. I'm your host, Rick Hanush, and I am here with two absolutely lovely ladies. The first is someone we've had on a couple times in the past, an Assemblywoman for the Western District, Vilna Korr. And with her is a new face, Gloria Lightly. And Gloria is going to tell us about the movement we've been hearing so much of in the news lately to abolish the Land Tax. Let's get back to the beginning, Gloria, and tell us how this all started."

The cameras panned to a brunette woman in her late twenties or perhaps early thirties. Her skin was tan, betraying her work under the Dreyan sun. She shifted in the maroon couch next to Vilna as she began to respond.

"Thanks, Rick, and thanks for having me on. So Neighbors for Land Freedom actually started over some cups of coffee between myself and other concerned mothers. We all had similar difficulties and we all quickly identified the root cause of those difficulties: the Land Tax. And as you know, there's very little that mothers won't do for their children... so we got to work."

"I see, it comes back to your children?"

"It sure does, Rick. I am blessed to be a mother to four beautiful kids and my husband of ten years and I feed them off of our land. We aren't... you know, gentleman farmers. We don't farm cash crops. We subsist off of our land because we want to make sure that our children are eating healthy, natural food."

"Do you supplement your diet with food from the stores?"

"Of course. There are things we can't make ourselves and I've been known to tear through a carton of thin mints as well, unfortunately." She chuckled, flipped her hair back, and glanced at the audience who was laughing in response.

"They're good, aren't they?! Too good!"

"Well yeah, Rick, they're so good that I eat the entire sleeve. And I have to wash that shame down with another sleeve of thin mints, obviously."

"Obviously!"

Uwe whispered in Vilna's earpiece from backstage. "Wow, she's good, isn't she? So relatable."

Vilna laughed at Gloria's joke and gently smoothed the front of her blouse. This was her code to Uwe for "Yes." or general agreement.

"Ask her if she wants your job, Vil."

Vilna twisted the stud earring in her left ear slightly which was her code to Uwe for "Fuck you."

Rick waited for the crowd to calm down before going on. "Let's get back to the heart of it. Gloria, what were you hoping to accomplish?"

"Well, I want to get rid of the Land Taxes, yes, but at very least we were hoping to have a really good dialogue and be listened to."

"Do you think that happened?"

"Well no, not with the responses from the Progressives and the PLP so far. No, I don't think so. The Progressives said they'd lower it, but wouldn't even entertain abolishing it. And they really didn't explain how they'd go about lowering it which really makes me question their honesty. Particularly because they've supported the Land Tax in the past. I wanted to see something concrete. And the PLP was even worse. They sort of just dismissed us. 'The land tax is necessary, that's the way it is.' was their response. It felt like a lord of the manor telling his serfs to get back on their land and till the soil."

"Well, the Land Tax does pay for a lot of community services."

"Yes, that's true." Gloria went on, "But keep in mind that I and many people like me aren't living high off the hog on our land; we're using it to feed our children! And that's the greatest community service there is! I'm technically low income because I provide for so much of our needs off of our homestead, so when you tax my land you're taking food off of my table."

"So are you saying you'd cut community services to pay for the tax abolition?"

"Can I just hop in here, Gloria?" Vilna interjected, "Love that dress by the way."

"Sure! And thank you!"

"No problem. So, Rick, the problem is that the people who want the land tax haven't put any concrete plan forward at all. The Progressives said they'd lower it, but they haven't said how or by how much. Very wishy-washy, very non-commital. And as Gloria said the PLP was totally dismissive of the entire idea. If that's how they are before the election, imagine how they'll be after it! But the DFP is different. We saw a need, we read their petitions, and we took action as a good party should to forward the needs of its people. We are currently drafting actual legislation to bring forward at the next session after elections that will totally abolish the land tax without impacting community services."

"But the Land Tax funds those services. How would you accomplish that?"

"Easy. The Land Tax is a federally collected tax that goes to the community? That's a convoluted and messy system already. Having a specific tax collected nationally that goes to something specific locally? What a mess. That mess alone is reason enough to move on. Let's just abolish the tax, earmark the same amount of money from the general fund on the national level, and give it to the same communities in the same amounts we would before. And then we can cut that expense from anywhere else we please at the national level. We are recommending cutting the budget for several regulatory agencies that have grown way too much in the past couple years. I think it's totally unjustifiable that we tax land and take the food out of the mouths of our citizens just to support cushy jobs for bureaucrats. So the DFP is going to address that with actual, real legislation. That is our commitment."

"I see. Well these are two very strong ladies, so I'd watch out for them! After the break we'll be looking at coleslaw that doesn't have any mayonnaise or any cabbage!" The commercial they cut to just so happened to be a well placed ad campaign for Neighbors for Land Freedom explaining how to donate or volunteer.

[Sao Nova Europa]

POLL

Dreyan First Party - 39%
Progressive Party - 21%
People's Liberation Party - 19%
Students of Creation - 6%
Independent Candidates - 5%

Analysts believe that the DFPs dominant position has a lot to do with its monopoly on the right of center vote whereas ProP and PLP are splitting the left of center vote. The SOC is able to garner a respectable percentage thanks to the support of ardent religious folks but it will need to address the economy and the foreign policy if it wants to garner a greater electorate.

Note: Dates have been updated.

[Kaledoria]

Methos Alexandris of the People's Liberation Party.

The mood in the PLP headquaters was great. Their poll numbers were going up, possibly because the attacks from the Dreyan First Party finally established them as an alternative that had to be taken seriously, diving that part of the population that was seriously discontent with the status quo in general into their arms.
"We are getting momentum, but the new move by the DFP about the Land Tax does cost up a lot of popularity in the far east." Maja said to Methos. She was one of his best campaigners. "They are claiming you outright ignore all demands for removing the land tax." - "As I said in that last interview - the last three interviews, that is not my point," Methos answered. "They are claiming a simple answer to a complex problem but it does not work that way. 'Cutting bureaucracy to finance the loss of land tax? Who are they trying to fool, the entirety off all agencies on the planetary and imperial level -excluding the military- does not cost as much as the income from that tax." - "Yeah, but the people want a politician, who says what they want to hear." Methos jaw dropped at that suggestion but Maja just laughed it away: "Don't worry, I do not ask to lie. We are just presenting our point in a new way.

Two days later. Methos was guest of a radio show. He found it astonishing, that this format was that popular, even though it had no VR presence but was purely audio. But somehow, that attracted followers. The show was known to be rather left-leaning, which Methos disliked, he preferred to talk with non-partisan hosts to show that he knew how to defend his points. But this time was different, as he was not actually doing an dialog with the host but with Neel Mishra, candidate for an assembly seat in the eastern coastal district of Pan-Shakti. The host introduced the two men from the PLP and then Methos started: "Hi, Neel. I heard that the land tax is the hot topic in your district. So, what's your take on it, or in other words, just considering your district alone, how would you reform the land tax to make it more just?" Neel knew that his party's leader was kind of uncomfortable asking a question they discussed beforehand and found that kind of funny. "In Pan-Shakti? Well, I would outright remove it. It's stupid and useless. You see, that vast majority of the land is small farmsteads, some cottages and plantations. Small, agricultural businesses, many of them in family hand. And we support that. Literally with subsidies, which is not a bad thing they are a good investment that we get back with interest. But the land tax? It's basically money that is rotating in a useless detour. Just by dropping some of the subsidies we could finance skipping the land tax and the farmers would end up with the same or, in the case of small, tightly packed farms with a little plus in the pocket. I guess the losers would be tax consultants as this change would simplify the tax declaration for the farmers. Overall a good thing. Thus my opinion: Abolish the Land tax."

"Well, as you might know, this does not work for me," Methos replied and Neel injected his question: "Why is that?"
"You see," Methos continued, "In Berengaria we are also quite agricultural however here over 90% of the land belongs directly or indirectly to just 3 companies. And they are doing great stock-wise. Jonathan de Pouitaux, main shareholder of Ceres, the first among these three companies has, just in autumn last year, brought a small private island in the Gueldenbay-Area of the southwest coast. His fourth estate, if I counted right. And you know, I'm not a person who makes huge monetary gifts to rich people who don't need them. Especially since I don't even know where I would take the money from? I guess social security programs for the many seasonal workers Ceres employs is the only pot big enough. But hey, these guys can just learn to hibernate so they don't have to eat in winter, right?" The sarcasm was off script and Neel added another question they had not prepared, even though he did know the answer: "So, you don't think, there is some mythical money, vanishing into some national regulatory agencies that you can just cut and it will rain credits onto the districts to cover a potential lost land tax?"
"No, this is really stupid, who would say such a thing?"

A moment of silence, all the more tangible due to the fact, that the program was audio only.

Then Methos continued with deadpan voice: "Berengaria needs the land tax, it's one of the few taxes over-regional companies cannot weasel around and the best one to measure, that those companies pair their fair tax for the land they use."

"So, why are my small family business farmers supposed to pay land taxes that they cannot afford, that my district government has to provide subsidies for, just so that your foodstuff companies pay reasonable taxes for their business model?" Neel went back to script.
"Well, if you ask it like that, yes, this is stupid, your family business farmers should not pay land taxes. It does not make sense that our two districts have the same land tax law. The only way to handle this is to remove the tax from the national level and have each district implement the land tax in a way that is fair for their people - or not at all, if this works best for them," Methos said.
"Isn't that something that you have said multiple times in the last weeks? I wonder why certain people so grossly misquote you on this issue?" Neil asked, rhetorically.
"I'm pretty sure, the people recognize a strawman, when somebody shows them a scarecrow and tells them it's the evil Mr. Alexandris trying to ruin their farm." Methos said.

"There you heard it, listeners," Neel addressed the audience directly. "Methos Alexandris, head of the PLP knows you are not impressed by misleading canvassing. I'm Neel Mishra, running for Assemblyman in Pan-Shakti and I say: Abolish the Land tax - in Pan-Shakti."

Genuinely surprised, the host protested, that only he addressed the listeners directly and then wished the two candidates a goodbye and good luck in the upcoming election.

[Delmonte]

March 19th, 2015
TMC Holo-Studio; The Daily Roar

"I managed to lasso Vilna Korr into coming on the show. Can I say that? Can I say I lasso'd you?"

"Of course, Chet." Vilna chuckled and put her fingers above her ears like bull horns gamingly.

"We really have an interesting engagement here between the PLP and the DFP, so Methos Alexandris is saying that his party has been advocating for devolving the National Land Tax to the local level and that you misrepresented them. How do you respond to that?"

"Okay, so the reason why we didn't take them seriously is because they were avoiding the word 'abolish' until recently. It's this simple, Chet: If you want to have the Land Tax done at the local level that requires. Abolishing. The. Land. Tax. Now, he's used the word 'abolish', finally, which is great. I think he didn't want to use that word but the DFP taking him to task forced him to, which is fantastic. But what he's not considering is that for the exact same reason he cited, that different properties are worth more or less, wealthier parts of the nation have been subsidizing the services in poorer parts of the nation via the Land Tax. We could do that because it was nationally collected at the time."

"Isn't the DFP opposed to things like that?"

"Look, not everything can be about staunch principles. At the end of the day, some parts of our nation are poorer and we should be okay with helping them out a little bit. Does that mean sweeping socialistic policies? Of course not. But Dreyans need to take care of one another and the Land Tax was a rather innocuous way this was done. So basically, either he's going to force poorer districts to tax land that is worth less more to get the same services they are getting today, or you have to make up that shortfall somewhere else."

"Such as... cuts from bureaucracy. Which he objected to. What do you think of that?"

"Classic amateur objections from a Party with zero or next to zero governing experience. What he neglects is that there are costs to agency employees beyond agency budgets. Pension plans are funded nationally. Benefits are funded nationally. Salary is just the 30% tip of the ice berg; 60% or more of the cost reduction would come from pensions and benefits. And if the PLP had experience sitting at the table I think they would have understood that. I think they also vastly underestimate the size of our bureaucracy in many cases so there's that as well."

"But it sounds like you do both agree on abolishing the National Land Tax, right? At very least. Give me something, here."

Vilna laughed. "Yes, Chet. I think that's finally been established."

"So at current polling numbers, as they are today, abolishing the National Land Tax would have popular support in the Assembly."

"That's true, yes. I think that bodes well. But mathematically they couldn't accomplish it without the DFP. So here's my pitch: Methos, I hear you. You say you want to abolish the Land Tax. Prove it. The DFP has taken charge on this issue and represents the largest share of the vote that currently supports abolition. I would be happy to have a PLP assembly-person as a co-author on my bill. You can even help me finish writing it. I think that to continue providing services in the poorest parts of our nation that were previously being subsidized by the wealthiest we will have to make up that shortfall. And I think the easiest place to get that is by reducing our enormous bureaucracy. But that can be a discussion."

"Now here's a thought, do you think that the PLP and DFP could agree on enough... like you do on the Land Tax, apparently, to be part of a ruling coalition together?"

"Well, everything is up for negotiation, Chet. Ultimately we would have to see how the election shakes out. Ideologically we're closer to the Progressives, but who knows what could happen?"

"That was Vilna Korr; she's been making the rounds for the DFP lately. Thank you for coming on, Vilna."

"And thanks for having me, Chet."

---

March 20th, 2015
Press Conference; Outside DFP Western HQ

Vilna strutted to the top of the landing steps from inside the HQ and waved to the crowd assembled.

"Thank you, fellow Dreyans, for coming. There has been a lot of internal dialogue in the Party about foreign policy lately. We are the Dreyan First Party. That means we unabashedly put Dreyans first! That means we support taking the steps necessary to protect Dreyan but also don't support needlessly throwing away Dreyan lives. The other parties don't support military solutions; that much is clear. The DFP is seemingly the only Party that even entertains the thought of military expansion."

She cleared her throat and let her words sink in while she took a sip of water.

"I wish... I wish I could tell you that our solar system was safe."

She took a deep breath, but her voice cracked as she began the next line. "-I wish I could tell you I was proud."

Her words might have been too close to home for her. She plowed on. "I wish I could look Dreyan children in the eye, tell them that I was proud of the solar system I was passing down to them. Gosh, I wish I could tell them that. But I can't. All I can do is tell them I'm sorry. I'm sorry that the system is a dangerous place. I'm sorry that our place in it is in doubt. I'm sorry for the pirates, for the rivals, for the atmospheric clutter, for everything that could ever hurt them that we didn't stop."

Vilna paused again, breathing in deeply through her nose and wiping at one of her eyes.

"But what I can also tell them, and I will tell them, is that all of those things that mean them harm have to get through me first. Through us. Through our navy and our marines. Those institutions that keep us safe that others call a waste."

She leaned forward on the podium. "I don't claim to be a general or a strategist. I don't claim to want total militarization and I certainly don't want war if it can be avoided. But I do know one thing and it is this: A Dreyan system is a safe system!. Thank you. And may the Creators guide us. Goodnight!"

She stalked off stage to a waiting Uwe who was giving her an excited thumbs up.

[Voxija]

Shameset Vhierxhmi walked into the press conference, outwardly cool and collected. Of course, she was racked with anxiety on the inside, not just at what she was going to say to the reporters, but over the latest poll results. She had split the left-of center vote with the People's Liberation Party, again. Vhierxhmi worried that her meeting with Alexandris had got all wrong.

"Mrs. Vhierxhmi! By how much do you plan to reduce the land tax?"

"How is your married life with Tim Santuccio?"

"Is it true that you're having a steamy love affair with Methos Alexandris?"

"Should Dreyan go to war with Kalerman?"

Shameset ignored the tabloid-y questions about her personal life. All politicians had to deal with those at some point. Instead, she began to answer the important political questions.

"Going to war with Kalerman with divert resources badly needed here on Dreyan. The East is overpopulated and underdeveloped, and wasting money on a war with Kalerman won't do anything to help our fellow Dreyans a bit."

The land tax. Shameset feared that any support of the land tax would drive away split voters who would then go to other parties, but the politician felt the need to address this issue.

"The land tax needs to be progressive, so that it barely affects those who will be hurt by it. However, the land tax helps local government, so it shouldn't be completely removed. I propose that we lower land tax by half for those with a lot of property, by three-quarters for those of middle means, and the poorest farmers will only pay one-eighth of what they used to."

Not for the first time, Shameset thought of proposing a wealth tax. But Shameset was afraid that might drive off the Western elites who would otherwise vote for her. If Shameset was going to propose a land tax, she'd do it in the Assembly.

The questions kept coming. Shameset Vhierxhmi answered the political ones and ignored the others. Vhierxhmi's thoughts about the Dreyan First Party started to form themselves into a coherent speech, which then slipped out of her mouth like rain through a leaky roof.

"The Dreyan First Party isn't a reasonable conservative party. The problem is is that it's taking over the center-right. They are pretending to be a reasonable conservative party, but any reasonable conservative party has been swept into insignificance by the DFP's power. The DFP is for war. The DFP is for terror. The DFP is for intolerance. The DFP has skewed priorities. I can see why the military would be for the DFP, but this party's agenda seems to attract even those voters than merely lean towards the right. Isn't that just a bit disturbing? Voting for the Dreyan First Party will send Dreyan into a downward spiral of indeterminate length."

Such a speech probably didn't do anything. In fact, it might increase the DFP's poll numbers. Shameset didn't care. She got her voice out, and maybe part of her integrity back.

[Magnolixie]

The Nocturnal Show, with Ilse Emerson

Season 3, Episode 4

March 20th, 2501

---

At 2300 hours on Capitoline time, a certain television phenomenon regularly took place the screens around the film studio flickered back to a live camera feed of an energetic woman in her early thirties, recognisable as one of the more beloved late-night show hosts in the Imperium. On a chair opposite to her own was a middle-aged man, calm and collected, serving as a good foil to the peppy and dynamic host. A cameraman silently motioned to the woman a time signal, and she commenced the show.

"Welcome back," greeted the woman with zest as the cameras came into focus, "to the Nocturnal Show! I'm your host, Ilse Emerson. Tonight, I'll be talking about political developments with my wonderful guest here, Liu Xiannian. Let's give him a warm welcome to the show, everyone!"

The man politely waved to the camera and flashed a small grin, and in turn was met with enthusiastic applause from the studio audience.

"I'm very grateful that you're having me on the show, Miss Emerson," he noted appreciatively. "There are few things I enjoy as much as getting to discuss the concerns of the Imperium with such a pleasant host."

Ilse blushed, evidently not catching on that a quiet and collected man like Liu would very much rather be anywhere else but a talk show, much less one where the primary demographic is not particularly appreciative of the DFP. "Aww, you're too kind! So, anyways, some of my viewers had some questions that they'd like me to ask you. Let's get started!"

Liu nodded, keeping a cool and gentle appearance in contrast to the rising feelings of anxiety from being out of control of the talking. Remain calm, he though to himself. No such thing as bad publicity.

"First question, from a man named Robert," she announced as her guest prepared himself for televised interrogation. "What will you do about the tax protests in your district?"

Thank the Creators that it's economics, thought Liu as he answered, "The land tax in the Eastern District has been defended for far too long as a 'necessary evil' to fund a bloated provincial government. The issue is not that we cannot make do with less taxes, the issue is that social parasitism is turning into an endless drain of money. I am in favor of lowering the land tax, so long as we trim the fat of the budget to account for this."

Though mild in tone, Liu was unsure of how his push for spending cuts would be received. Thankfully, the middle-to-upper-class studio audience was very much in favor of this move, showing their approval with clapping.

"Alright, next question, from a man named Jacques," declared Ilse as she continued reading off her viewers' questions. "I am a homosexual in a loving relationship with another man. Why do you and your party oppose equality under the law for us?"

"Sexual deviancy is a crime against society, on the basis of religion and family values," responded Liu, now carrying some more energy into his speech. "The Creators who endowed the Dreyan race with life find it abominable, and it is the duty of myself as a devout Follower and of my Party to preserve the traditional family structure that has carried our Imperium through the century. Think of what could become of our children if these apostates press their thoughts onto a new generation!"

As the audience exploded with cheers and applause, Liu smiled towards the cameras once more. Like a conductor with his orchestra, he thought to himself. Though he held cynical views towards religion, he found it a useful tool to mobilize socially conservative men and women in favor of the DFP.

"Erm...yes...thanks for that response..." noted Ilse in an uncharacteristically sheepish tone. Perhaps Liu's zealous tirade against the LGBTQ community had struck a nerve - the talk show host was a known bisexual. "So, let's just get to some more questions, then..."

For the fifteen minutes after that, Ilse and Liu exchanged banter as the statesman returned to his regular calm and diplomatic demeanor. The questions were now focused on Liu on a personal level, perhaps to avoid further inflammatory remarks sparked by religion. It hadn't felt long before Ilse was prepared to end the segment and move on to another speaker.

"I'm glad you joined us tonight, Assemblyman," thanked Ilse Emerson as the segment of the episode came to a close. "It was very enlightening speaking with you, especially about your childhood."

Liu gave a gentle nod to her. "The pleasure was all mine, Miss Emerson; I look forward to our next opportunity to work together," he added as the audience gave a final round of applause.

As the cameras cut off, it became evident as to who enjoyed the evening more. Both Ilse and Liu left their seats with haste, the host returning to her quarters to prepare for the next segment with a talented cat and the guest aiming to personally greet the audience members to cement his impression. Walking to the benches of the studio, Liu was first approached by a young girl who hadn't caught his name at the beginning.

"Excuse me, mister," interrupted the girl, "what's your name again?"

"You can call me Liu, miss."

---

Liu Xiannian has made a good impression on religious conservatives and landowners. His intent to cut back on social programs and his denunciation of other sexual orientations have left progressives feeling sour, however.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A small error was noted on S3E4's timestamp that has since been fixed.

[Delmonte]

March 21st
TMC Holo-Studio; The Week on Dreyan

"Thanks for joining us, Vilna. We're happy to snag you because, frankly, most of the people you seem to give interviews to tend to be men!" Frea Navarra quipped, turning to face the audience with a sarcastic chiding face.

Vilna chuckled, "What can I say? It's tough out there for women over thirty! Maybe I'm looking for a match!"

"And to be clear, you think Chet Troyan is a potential match?"

"Well, Freya, maybe. Chet, if you're out there, give me a couple more interview slots and we'll see what happens." She winked at the camera.

"Enough of that! We're on my show now! No flirting with other shows!" Freya shook her pencil joke-menacingly at Vilna. "Right, let's get to it. We just played a clip of Mrs. Vhierxhmi's speech where she particularly railed against the DFP. Let's give you a chance to respond."

"So, let's actually talk about what our opponents are saying and what we are saying." Vilna began "Because I think that's really important ground to cover. The DFP has attacked policy. The Progressives have attacked Dreyans. In that clip, Ms. Vhierxhmi, called our supporters terrorists. She called our supporters intolerant. Mrs. Vhierxhmi is not interested in talking about policy, that much is clear, she is interested in demonizing and I don't think that's constructive."

"Why do you think she called your Party those things?"

"I don't know. We have some people with conservative views on homosexuality, but that's about it. They certainly do not believe that homosexuals should be deprived of basic Dreyan rights; nobody believes that. But here's the thing: About 40% of Dreyans currently call the DFP their political home because we are the only choice that is not far left of center. Not just left of center, far left of center. So, Mrs. Vhierxhmi is actually calling 40% of Dreyans terrorists. She is calling 40% of Dreyans intolerant. She is calling 40% of Dreyans warmongers, murderers effectively. This is just after I gave a speech saying that we want what's best for Dreyan and if what's best for Dreyan is not war, then that's what we want too."

"And you think that's dangerous?"

"Incredibly dangerous! See, if you characterize anyone who opposes you as an intolerant, racist, terrorizing murderer then if you manage to take power you are giving yourself an excuse to do whatever you want to them. Because you've said they're monsters. The DFP has never said that about our opponents. Do we oppose them? Yes. Do we think they are Dreyan? Yes. Do we think they deserve respect, dignity, and freedom? Yes. Do we value them as our brothers and sisters? Yes. Are we willing to work with them? Yes! Just a few days ago, I personally extended an olive branch to the PLP which is diametrically opposed to us."

"So basically, the Progressives are saying they'll never work with you."

"Yes, and since we are the only party that is moderate let alone the only party that is right of center, she's saying they won't work with anyone who is even moderate! This is a parliamentary democracy! That's not how it's supposed to work. These are people you're going to need to potentially work with in a coalition and she's calling us sub-Dreyan essentially. I don't see how the Progressive party could ever effectively rule with that kind of attitude. If she calls 40% of Dreyans monsters, which she has done. And I don't think it was smart. Calling someone an intolerant terror-supporting monster usually isn't going to convince them to see things your way."

"Interesting take, Vilna. That's all the time we have, unfortunately. Let me know if Chet texts you."

"Hah! Will do, Frea; thanks for having me."

[Kaledoria]

Methos Alexandris of the People's Liberation Party.

With the election coming closer, Methos finally had a proper press conference scheduled. Flanked by four other PLP Assemblymen and -women, he knew that this was not an easy audience. Before they entered the stage, they went through the strategy with their campaigner: "Okay guys, we got a good bunch of centrist, fair and factual press here, that's a good advantage. Start with taking questions from them. Maybe go slightly to the more liberal news then and try to get some good impression, then you can pick a question from the DFP-talking-heads. If the question is stupid and loaded which it probably will be, one of you calls the bullshit, while another one gives the best possible answer to the topic the question would be about if one ignored implicit accusations. After that follow up with a more favorable journalist."

They walked in and after the introduction Methos called the first reporter. Given the narrative of his agency the last days Methos already guessed the question: "The DFP has reached out to you to draft the act to abolish the land tax together, what is your official answer?"
"That was a rather impudent move against the current Prime Minister by Ms Korr. But okay. We can talk about coalitions - on singular issues - after the election. Right now this is them campaigning and I can't take this as a serious offer to do actual legislation."

The next question by a rather regional reporter went to another Assemblywomen, who had previously spoken out that she would keep the land tax for urban areas in her district. She was asked how she felt handing down the right to handle the land tax to district governments that were not in the hands of her party or the ProP. She answered diplomatic, stating that the regional DFP members were more reasonable then the Imperial party leadership and they wouldn't just abolish the tax without a plan as a publicity stunt but rather would have at least a decent plan on how to replace it. Optimistically she hoped that the regional right party in other districts would be similar.

The next reporter picked up Methos answer: "So you are outright ruling out forming the government together with the DFP?"
"It's true that I am hoping to form a coalition with the Progressives. And I feel that this year we can meet them on even footage, which will be great to get actual legislation done that helps the common people on this world, instead of only talking about it, as they do now. The DFP on the other hand ... Their party has a few key goals that are fundamentally opposed to the key values that not only I hold but that is the common ground for our party. Don't get me wrong, I see that there are some parallels between this right wing extremists and us. Most notably, we both see and address problems that are there, that centrists like Shameset Vhierxhmi would like to ignore but the conclusion they are drawing from this is absolutely wrong." Inside Methos was satisfied, that he had been able to bring this cross party service in. Not only did he refer to Shameset by her first and last name and not by "Ms." like he had spoken about Vilna Korr, he had also called he a Centrist - which from his positions he had all the rights to do but which would also help her with votes standing undecided between ProP and DFP.

He continued: "Take the Kelerian activity on Jreekan, this is very likely not just a harmless security improvement. What would you need that for, the scientists over there have nothing of value for pirates, there is no native life on that rock, they don't need this. So it is most likely a power move. Not a preparation of an attack, after all Jreekan also has no tactical value, but a provocation, of maybe a probing maneuver to test out reaction. And their reaction is: 'We don't want war but we will now prepare for one and we are going to destroy them.' This is reckless and has a high likeliness to be the reason their prophecy of war becomes true in the first place. Yes, we need a strong military to defend ourselves, this is real, but first of all we need a change in military doctrine, to invest into actually defensive weaponry because a strong offense is NOT the best defense. Defense, alongside actual, constructive diplomatic initiative is."

The reporters were flustered and looking for a follow-up question to that. Methos took the chance and gave the word to a right-wing journalist whose hand had raised so instinctively fast, that chances were good, the question would not be that well considered: "So you just said the DFP; 40% of all Dreyans only pretend to want to avoid war and seek out war because they want to destroy the Kelerians? Why would they, what kind of issues do you think the DFP has to want that?" the reporter asked.
Methos was not falling for it: "Oh, you are repeating this wonderful interview from Ms Korr yesterday? Yeah, that was really a good example of the demagogue's playbook. All the classics were in there but let me just point out one technique here: Establishing the party and the voters are one and the same. That's bullshit but it works because it creates a sort of brand identity that includes the voters and drags them into an in-group/out-group mentality where they stop considering which politics are best for them and start thinking of it as a problem of how to get their team to win because that mean they win. You just did that, too. I was not speaking against the DFP voters, I was talking about their Assemblymen and high ranking party functionaries. I get the voters, there are many reasons to vote DFP, but they are bad reasons. You disagree with the People's Liberation on one of our economic agendas? You disagree with the Progressives on their social values and tolerance? In both cases, the DFP looks like the answer but you don't realize that this is a package deal that includes some really troublesome ideas and practices not just on foreign policy but others, too."

He looked at his fellow Assembly(wo)men. They realized that according to the campaigner's advise, someone now had to give a calm and very factual statement but the question and more so the answer had caught them of guard, the man to Methos' right gathered himself first: "In other words, no, we believe that only a tiny fraction of Dreyans want war with Kalerman, across all voting groups. Yet we also see, that off this tiny fraction, a high degree have some ties to the inner circles of the DFP."

It was marginally better and delivered much more calmly. An assemblywomen picked a known left-leaning reporter to asked the next question and he threw her a softball, asking on her stance on a defensive alliance with the Keraian Republic against Kalerman and she went into details about the risk of getting drawn into foreign conflicts and the advantages of systemwide stability and undivided mankind and then stressed out the small but important conditions on the defensive nature of the alliance, under which she would support it. It was uncontroversial but the (maybe a bit unnecessary) length helped the room to cool down and rest of the conference went without further issues.

[Nazeroth]

STUDENTS OF CREATION
" Blessed was their touch, Scattered were their enemies"

Temple Public Broadcast

Reyon Melthahan, Prophet and head of the SOC, formed from holographic lights as he spoke to the people in another broadcast. Today he wore a Blue robe with the symbol of the SOC on his left shoulder, his white beard neatly groomed, the Book of Creation once again upon the table in plain view of those watching. Two large torches hung behind him in the Grand Temple, they illuminated the banner of SOC hanging behind him, rays of sunlight peering through the temple in arcs. These rays shown upon a pool of water, which was often used in religious ceremony where it would be extinguished by flame, a symbol of the deep dark being scattered by the hands of the creators.

Melthahan's eyes pierced the camera as the words poured from his soft lips, dancing into the auditory systems of man.

" Hear me now children of the creators, citizens of Dreyan...Belters of Keraia...Kalerman Unionists, hear my words to you my brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of Creation. Why does man continue his course to replace that which molded him from the dirt? Our leaders have lead us down the path of disarray. Brother slays Brother over territorial dispute, whispers are followed by whispers, darkness begets darkness. Let us begin with the root of this evil, curruption and greed. Those who would pull the apple from the very mouth of kin only to satisfy their own needs. Taxes, pulled from the sweat of the common man to fund their wars, their corporate greed, or to reward the lazy. In the east the very land a man owns is robbed by the state's barons to fill the Emperor's dinner parties, why? In the north, where the heart of my family and heritage come from we are also burderned by regulation and the black gluttony of the state. Why is it that the the poorest and most humble are to be laid so low? In the West they have fallen to degeneration by way of commercialism, always buying more and taking more but never to be satisfied, they are not evil they have simply been led astray. The state nor the corporations can replace the Creators, they are incapable of the love and devotion they have gifted us. Yet...here we are, taunting them with our arrogance.

This is why I have proposed that the Temples of our great spirits dedicated to the role of charity and of medicine, for only the healing hands of the creators, walking with our brightest minds, can we mend the body and soul of this nation. For too long have the creators been denied their rightful representation, as that of healing angels sent to cast the void of hunger and plague away. This program would also vastly improve the lives of the lower classes who have been forgotten by the bureaucratic beast. Listen to me, those who have been lost, the Temple welcomes you, let us into your hearts and we will let you into our homes. To this I say that if their is to be a tax, let it be that the Temples receives, by law, excess food and other goods to be distributed to the poor and not wasted." He smiled into the holo cam. " May your glass always be half-full, not empty my friends..."

Then, a series of videos played showing the rising tensions between nations, fleet movements that were public knowledge and images from contested areas where members from all nations had died, images of shattered families. The Prophet Melthahan spoke as these images passed back and forth. His voice was now amplified while his face could no longer be seen, only a soft echo.

" When did brother become bastard? When did friends become enemies? I know why you did it, you found comfort in tribalism, you thought you could build Kingdoms among the stars, you thought that your armies could make you gods. This is for ALL members of mankind. War with each other is a disgrace to the very gift of life we were granted. Why should the Imperium continue it's stranglehold? Why should the Belt be isolated? Why should the Kalerman Union not be a Union of all man?. We must strive to become one kingdom, under the creators, blessed and humble that we may each and all enjoy the fruits of each others lands. The Students of Creation will always strive for a unification of all territory of mankind into a single holy land.

I will not tell you to be defenseless, while the powers that be violate the foundation of man, we expect the Imperium and other nations to defend themselves against threats from each other until such time we can unite as one. Therefore, military readiness should be currently maintained as necessary with hopes of lessening tensions through more diplomacy and trade. There is another matter that must be discussed my children. The PLP, they say they are a party of liberation, but we have already been liberated by the divine hands. Do not be tempted by the dark hand of a godless mob. The ideals of the PLP are against our nature and the mold that our creators formed us in. They would currupt our system, placing the hands of creation into the hands of the state. They wish to create a false god, an idol of the state."

The camera changed back to Melthahan in his robe, the torches light flickering on the leather book of creation that was next to him.

" Thank you for hearing these words children of mankind, I expect you to be at our rally which will be held in the western region of the Dreyan continent. It will be our first stop of many, and I hope you see all your smiling faces, bless the creators and their divine hand."

The holo-cam ended with the symbol of the SOC glowing hot, the orange hand dancing like fire before disappearing into a blue ball

[Delmonte]

March 22nd, 2501
TMC Holo-Studio; The Daily Roar

"Well, well, well..."

Vilna raised her eyebrows. "Yes, Chet?"

"Weeeeell, well, well."

"You alright there, Chet?"

"Look who's come back."

"Yep, here I am. Like a cat that just couldn't go away."

"I'll say. So. Lot's of stuff going on here. Let's get into it. First off the PLP basically accused you of putting words in the Progressives' mouth."

"Yeah, so his argument is that calling a party monsters, murderers, intolerant, et cetera has no bearing on the voters who support that party. The voters who have said 'Yup, ditto, I support what the DFP supports.' Which again is 40% of Dreyans."

"Right, and?"

"Well..." Vilna scoffed lightly, "I guess I'll let the 40% decide how they feel about that. Unlike the PLP I'm not interested in being pedantic and telling them how their minds work. Whereas Methos seems to enjoy going on long, head-scratching rants about our voters' psychology."

"Which he's super informed about, right?" Chet chuckled.

"Oh yes. Notoriously the PLP has its thumb on the pulse of what DFP supporters want! That's why he accused us of supporting war with the Kalerman Union, something we have literally never come out in support for."

"What else did he say about your voters?"

"I believe he said that, and I'll try and quote him here, 'Your reasons for voting DFP are bad.'"

"Not a lot of give, huh?"

"No, none. Right? So, the strategies of the two leftist parties, ProP and plop, are employing is your typical predictable fare: Label anyone right of far left as a radical, a terrorist, and so on. Which they've done. The problem with that is it only works as long as it's true. But what has actually happened? The DFP has repeatedly offered to meet other parties at the table. And, unlike ProP and plop, we've shown a willingness to earn votes by working with the voters on those issues. Whereas these guys say insanely pompous stuff like what Methos said. He basically said 'I know you have your reasons, but your reasons are stupid so vote for us anyway even though you don't want what we want. No, we will not compromise with you on issues that are important to you. No, we will not move towards you. You are bad, your reasons are bad, vote for us.'"

"Yeah he's certainly a uhh... piece of work."

"Well yeah, in the same speech that he was saying that nobody was attacking voters he literally said that anyone who votes for the DFP does so for bad reasons and that you know, 40% of voters are stupid basically. You can't make this stuff up."

"Were you happy when he said these things? Be honest." Chet pointed his pen mock-accusingly at Vilna.

Vilna allowed a smile to crack. "I will say this. With all the campaigning that ProP and plop have done for the DFP, the DFP barely has to campaign for itself. All their obvious attacks on voters have done nothing but galvanize their resolve. Who wants to throw their lot in with someone who says your beliefs are bad and stupid, who claims to understand how your mind works, and says 'suck it up and vote for us'? I just... that's not a voting demographic...-"

Chet burst into laughter, which Vilna caught.

"That's not a voting demographic I've ever heard of. Maybe some people who enjoy, you know, certain activities in the bedroom."

"You've been saying ProP and plop. I wanted to ask about that. I know the Progressives call themselves ProP but plop?"

"Well yeah, plop is the PLP. It rhymes with ProP, it takes less time to say, and they've admitted to wanting to be in a coalition with them, which, you know... why even form a new party if you're just going to refuse a coalition with anyone else anyway? Basically, what ProP and plop are saying is that it doesn't matter which of them you vote for."

"I like it. ProP and plop. But there's no 'o' word after 'liberation'."

"There's an 'o' in 'liberation' after the 'l'." Vilna replied gamingly. "Let's just not think too hard about it. ProP and plop."

Chet chuckled again, "Alright. Moving on. Let's talk about war."

Vilna rolled her eyes. "The only parties that have talked about war are ProP and plop. The DFP just hasn't taken protecting ourselves off the table. And you don't want to do that. Because if you elect parties who say openly 'We won't go to war! We won't! No offensive action! We won't do it!' you are broadcasting to your rivals, and we do have rivals unfortunately, strategies you will not do! And that gives them a huge advantage! So you never, ever take anything off the table. That is diplomacy 101. Basic, basic stuff. Because now if your rivals know how far they can push you, they'll push you that far knowing you won't respond. Drawing a line in the sand isn't a problem, but we should never tell our rivals where that line is or-"

"Or they'll come right up to that line."

"Exactly."

"So advertising that the government, if it was a ProP-plop government, wouldn't respond with force is...?"

"Incredibly dangerous, Chet. Wildly, irresponsibly dangerous."

"Do you support diplomatic negotiation, then?"

"Yes, of course." Vilna emphasized herself by leaning forward on the couch and putting her hands together. "All the DFP wants is to be able to negotiate from a position ofstrength. ProP and plop want us to negotiate from a position of weakness. That is the difference between us and them on foreign policy."

"Well thanks for joining me, Vilna, as always."

"And thank you for having me, Chet."

"Next up, are water pills turning the fish gay? Marine biologists say no, but gays say maybe. We're going to have a debate between a leading aquatic expert and gays who use this hot new water pill to look fantastic and fit. Stay with us."

---

March 23rd, 2501
DFP HQ

"Did you see the ad?" Uwe asked Vilna.

"Yeah. Love it. Blast it far and wide using the funding we got from that satellite fundraiser."

"Will do. It'll go on all the major holo-networks, some more than others. Mostly TMC. That'll help us really flesh out and solidify our core."

"Pull the trigger."

---

Later that evening on TMC

Against a black backdrop a cheery middle-aged Dreyan woman speaks to the camera. Upbeat violin music plays.

"My name is Joanne, I'm a mother, a lawyer, and a DFP voter."

Cut to a young man in working class garb.

"My name is Pruck, I repair shuttles, and I'm a DFP voter."

A beaming older woman with her hair done up in a tight bun.

"My name is Rouina, I'm a grandmother of seven, I bake amazing chocolate chip cookies, and I'm a DFP voter."

The ad cuts to a red-sepia screen of Vhierxhmi speaking. The upbeat violin music becomes more frantic and dark.

"The Dreyan First Party isn't a reasonable party!"

The ad cuts back to Joanne, no longer cheery, but staring somberly into the camera. The violin music ceases abruptly and Vhierxhmi continues speaking against this new backdrop of complete silence.

"The DFP is for war. The DFP is for intolerance"

The ad cuts to Rouina whose wrinkled face is moist as she wipes one of her eyes. "I'm not." she says quietly, her voice cracking.

The voiceover changes to Methos, "I get the voters, there are reasons to vote DFP, but they are bad reasons...!" Meanwhile the ad cuts back to Pruck who clenches his jaw and shakes his head.

The screen fades to black and white lettering populates: "Our children our watching. Let's be better than this." The ad ends by cutting back to the sepia-red video feed of Vhierxhmi as she shouts "Isn't that just a bit disturbing?!"

[Sao Nova Europa]

POLL

Dreyan First Party - 37%
People's Liberation Party - 26%
Progressive Party - 17%
Students of Creation - 9%
Independent Candidates - 5%

While the DFP has retained its dominant position in the polls and is by far the most popular party in the Imperium, it has seen a slight decrease in its poll numbers. Experts state that mentions of public spending cuts may explain partly this slight decline, though many also attribute it to the rising poll numbers of SOC. Indeed, SOC seems to be gaining voters at the expense of DFP. It's religious conservatism is appealing to religious voters and to working-class folk, and is challenging the DFP's dominance of the right of center electorate. The ProP and PLP have reversed positions, with the PLP coming out in the top as the stronger party on the left of center, mainly through an influx of undecided and ProP voters. The PLP has benefited in large by left-wing voters who are mobilizing against the DFP and see the party as better suited to stop them. ProP has seen only a slight decrease of its percentages, close to the statistical error margin, so it still in a position to recover and come out in the top. Analysts have been arguing that the ProP should position itself as a centrist alternative to DFP and PLP. Others though believe that such a centrist tactic would risk allowing the PLP to monopolize the left.

With only two weeks remaining before the elections, pundits are divided on how to interpret the polls. Some believe that at this point it is too late for a radical change in poll numbers, while others argue that there is still plenty of time for some last minute electoral surprises.

Note: Dates have been updated.

Four RL days remaining until elections

[Kaledoria]

The PLP conference room was somber and calm, as the leading assemblymen discussed the development of the election campaigns.

"I did not expect this," Methos admitted. "I would have thought that taking this media battle with Korr on a personal level would make the Progressives look like the only adult in the room and earn them support."
"Well, we got so much media coverage because of this," someone answered. "It's a sad truth of our democracy but face- and name recognition still play a huge role in people's choices who to vote for. More so then actual party programs.
"I think it's because more and more people who would have always voted for us but did not take us seriously realize that we could win this, we could be the leading party in the coalition with the ProP and provide the Prime Minister. That said, we should think about renegotiating the district split with them," one assemblywoman suggested but Methos rejected: "It's only two weeks till election, we cannot reasonably switch our campaign message now without loosing all trust the people have in our integrity. ... You may check, if there are districts with ProP candidates who have been compromised by scandals lately and are likely to be pressured by their own party to withdraw their nomination anyway. There we might offer to run instead in order to clean the slate. But if we don't find such districts we will have to work with what we got."

"So, where do we go next?" someone asked. "I say we need to press the Kalerman issue. Yes, the core DFP voters get all the more rallied by Korr talking about strength and force but the undecided voters won't buy it. Plus, given their 'Unity of the 40%' message ... I have no doubt, that any pro-Human extremist who wants all Kelerians dead will sympathize most with the DFP, if we can give prominence to such individuals, we could cause a split in their voter base."

"Well, I trust you to do what is best in your districts," Methos answered, "but I can't with a good consciousness continue to talk about this topic with better information on who we are dealing with. I know the sanctioned analysis of Kelerian culture and even took notes during the assembly briefings by the intelligence agencies the last years but those are second hand experiences, filtered by other humans. We certainly have enough Kelerian communities here on Dreyan, I want to talk to two or three of them." He turned to his campaigners standing a bit outside the circle of assembly-people, "Can you arrange a meeting? First generation migrants, obviously. Recent. Ideally at least one someone who came are here as a refugee. If I am to argue which diplomatic and military stance is best suited to ease the tensions with the Union, I need to know what exactly they need refuge from."

[Mordka]

A Special Announcement from the DFP:

Hi I am Bailey Smith, I am the head of the Dreyan First Party or the DFP for short. We strive to protect the Imperium against the harsh forces that would see it's destruction, for example the Kalerman Union, with their advanced technology, who could be planning a genocide against us, If we are elected then we will advocate to increase military spending so we are better equipped to deal with the threats in our system, so support us and vote for the DFP, so that we can have a better future.

[Voxija]

Shameset Vhierxhmi was worried. She really needed to get the Progressive Party's poll numbers up. Maybe she could present the ProP as a centrist alternative to the other parties, but supporting gay marriage wasn't really centrist... But Shameset could do this for politics and winning. She won't let attack ads stop her.

She appeared on the Nocturnal Show with Ilse Emerson. Unlike when Liu Xiannan appeared on this show, the Nocturnal Show's demographic was much more appreciative of Shameset Vhierxhmi. Shameset suppressed a yawn. This was almost midnight, after all, and at this hour Shameset was usually asleep or performing... activities with Tim Santuccio. On one of the screens in the background, the attack ad was playing, but silently. Shameset would acknowledge the ad, but not let it bring her down.

"Glad you're here today Ms. Vhierxhmi, and might I say I love your hair."

"Thank you. Politics can be stressful, but it's nice to have a big long chat with someone every once in a while."

In truth, Shameset could be worried, anxious, morose, nervous, or even disappointed, but she wasn't really stressed. The way Shameset saw it, being stressed was for teenagers and political newbies. Shameset was too experienced to be stressed.

"First question," said Ilse Emerson, "From a woman named Zeva. She asks why you attack the DFP so much."

"First off, the attack ad is an attack ad. I attacked the DFP because I knew the DFP would attack me. The leader of the Dreyan First Party has announced that the Kalerman Union might be planning genocide. What slander! However, I can compromise with the right wing party on economics."

"Hmm..." said the talk show host. "Very interesting." Shameset was glad Emerson cut her off before the politician could dig herself deeper. They really were on the same side.

"Next question, from a man named Miklos," said Ilse Emerson. "He asks what you think of the PLP."

Shameset didn't want to insult the People's Liberation Party, but she also wanted people to vote for her party... this was going to be tough.

"The People's Liberation Party are my allies. I approve most of their views and methods. We disagree on a few key issues, but that won't stop me from working with them."

Shameset wondered if doing exactly what the analysts thought she should do was too predictable. But this course of action was what she wanted to do even before the poll numbers came out.

"The Progressive Party is the centrist alternative to those two parties. The average voter may feel like they have to choose between two very different parties, but that's not true."

Oh no! Vhierxhmi had contradicted herself on many topics. Shameset had read somewhere that contradicting yourself was the worst thing a politician could do. Shameset hoped that this gambit would work, though. She didn't even know if presenting herself as a centrist would work, though. People in general seemed to prefer the extremes nowadays.

"Final question, from myself this time. What is your opinion of the LGBTQ+ movement?"

Vhierxhmi smiled. This was a subject she knew how to talk about. "I believe in full equality under the law for both gay and straight. I see no reason why a man can't marry the man he loves, if he loves him just as much as a straight man loves the woman he loves. When I get elected, I will push for civil unions, then gay marriage, in the Assembly. And as for religion, the Creators love us all, whether we are gay or straight, human or Kelerian."

Shameset second-guessed her assertion. If she was to present herself as a centrist alternative, was emphasizing her position on gay marriage the right way to go?

Ilse Emerson smiled. "It was great to have you here, Ms. Vhierxhmi. It was very enlightening talking to you tonight."

"My pleasure," said Shameset. The audience applauded, the cameras cut off, and politician and talk show host got out of their seats.

[Kaledoria]

"Compassion rules all," Methos said, "great song, but I though I was here to talk about politics." The host laughed but then got to the interview part of the show. There was little chat about the current state of the election campaigning, then they got to the main question: "The DFP, the new party of peace? Do you believe that?"

"Well," Methos answered, "they do get those big donations by the arms industry, my party does not, even if I am not proposing any cuts to the military budget either. Is that because the workplace safety regulations in this industry are abysmally bad and we would change that? Maybe. Or they feel like the DFP stance will push us into a hot war where the military budget would jump to basically everything we have. But Ms Korr says, she wants peace, that they just want to negotiate from a position of strength. Do I believe her? Generally not but I don't automatically assume the opposite of whatever she says. You don't know. In this case, yeah, why shouldn't they want, that they just want to fly over there and tell them: 'You blue skinned Elves, we could kill you but you'd make a better vassal, so here are a few demands we have and if you follow them, you have no trouble with us.' And the Kelerians roll over and shout: 'Oh yes great humans, we submit to your might and do whatever you want.'
However, it does not work that way, neither with Kelerians nor Humans. Not even once in the history of mankind one man threatened another with a knife in one hand and offered the other in a gesture of peace and lasting peace was achieved. Not once. And the Kelerians are no different."

"I can already see the next headline on the shows of certain other networks: Methos Alexandris says, we should not risk angering the Kalerman Union and submit to them instead." the host said.

Methos frowned and though a moment about what to reply. "Isn't it messed up, if your worldview only allows one or the other, dominate or be dominated, eat or get eaten? This speaks to the most primal instinct in us, the fear, the lust for power. But it would not have brought us out of the primal ages of tribalism. Civilization is build on cooperation. And prosperity is build on civilization. I'm an idealist but I'm not a dreamer. But both our species reached the point in our development where we left our respective planets, exploited the solar system and explored the nearby stars. We both did this by overcoming the hate and fear of the differences between the various distinctions of groups on our planet and we both can use the same ability to overcome the differences between our species."

[Sao Nova Europa]

ELECTION RESULTS

Dreyan First Party - 36%
People's Liberation Party - 27%
Progressive Party - 22%
Students of Creation - 10%
Independent Candidates - 5%

The DFP managed to win the most seats in the Assembly, and is by far the largest party in Dreyan. The PLP retained its lead among left of center voters but the ProP was able to garner some of the independent centrist voters. SoC managed to increase its percentage, mainly from the DFP pool of voters. Independent candidates won 5% of the seats.

ASSEMBLY SEATS

Dreyan First Party - 180 seats
People's Liberation Party - 135 seats
Progressive Party - 110 seats
Students of Creation - 50 seats
Independent Candidates - 25 seats

Right now no single party has the required majority in the Assembly (251 seats) to form a one party government, so coalition talks between the parties will have to take place. Party leaders have a period of five weeks* to form a coalition government, or the Emperor shall dissolve the Assembly and call snap elections.

*five weeks = 10 rl days

[Mordka]

DFP Tower, Asthonia:

"ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SEATS!" said Bailey., "Were the the biggest party in the Imperium". General Rokoric added, "but not enough to form a one-party government, if the PLP and the Progressives joined up". Bailey agreed, "Right we need to have some more allies, We need to form a coalition with the Students of Creation" he said. "And what about the Inderpendents" the General said. "It is the kids that are the future so let's aim at influencing them, and I just know how, comics" Bailey said. "So what, you want to make a DFP comic book charactor, do you even know who this character is going to be" said the General. Bailey then got out a drawing from the computer, the drawing is of a man in black armour, with a full helmet and a white sword drawn out, "We need to teach kids that the Kelerians will try to end us, and that the views of the DFP are needed to keep us safe, General, I present to you Captain Dreyan".

[Mordka]

"The Kelerians are preparing to attack, we need a hero, we need Captain Dreyan, with his sword at his hand, he can protect us from our enemies, and keep you all safe, so come down to your nearby comic store, and grab the first issue of Captain Dreyan, to serve the Imperium."

Bailey watched the Captain Dreyan commercial with his son, Bailey Jr, and then he handed him a Captain Dreyan comic book, "Thanks Dad" he said excitedly and went up to his room to read it "That should keep him busy" he thought. now for that war movie I got"