[Regional RP] Delta Episode

[St Saratoga]

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Saratogan Times
”Keeping Saratoga informed of all of the affairs domestic & international.”
PALATAVIA UNDER SIEAGE; INVADER UNKNOWN!

Cost: K$ 1.50

---

Palatavia -- Unmarked troops have entered Palatavia, seizing key infrastructure and manufacturing centers throughout the north part of the county. Palatavian troops in bases near the Saratogan border are said to be surrounded and under siege. Casualties on the Palatavian and Saratogan sides have been reported along with civilian but number remain unclear.

According to eyewitness testimonies, witnesses have observed columns of armored APCs entering from the northeast border that is shared between St Saratoga and Palatavia but with not markings or insignias that identify who the forces belong too. The troops are said to have held up about 1/3 of the way through Palatavia and seems to be awaiting reinforcements. All civilian communications networks have been shut down and media studios have been occupied.

Images leaked just at the beginning of the occupation, the similar looking Saratogan military model APCs and tanks have been the ones that are being used in the occupation but in some case the places were any major nationality identifying markers should be have been painted over. The infantry spotted entering are dress in full combat gear and armed with military issue equipment.

The capital of Palatavia was quickly infiltrated by airborne troops which were brought in via helicopters and no word is out on whether the leadership of Palatavia have been captured or killed yet. Occupying troops continue to stream into the capital seizing anything that is valued of stre The Unoccupied parts of Palatavia have started to organize as citizen militias have joined police and the remaining military forces to create a front between the occupying force and the rest of the county as an attempt to hold back further advances by these unmarked troops.

The Office of the Chancellor and Department of Defense and Armaments in St. Saratoga both haven’t responded our reporters requests and questions about the situation. Story will be updated when a response it heard.

---

Clair Underwood
Senior Political Correspondent
Rogerbei Times

[Polarisium]

International Stock Market Rating

The Polarean Ministry of Economy, Department of Finance, are glad to announce that the first test survey of nations is complete and the first investment rating has been calculated and published. It can be accessed via Polarean Ministry of Economy website: Intrnational Stock Market Rating

We have identified several flaws, such as too great a role of the population in the final outcome and we now aim to rectify it. We also decided to recalibrate how we calculate the Government Index.

GI will be changed very soon, everything will make its way to the doc on discord

[46566]

As she pockets the Ruby lieutenant Grace leads the weridest conga line to where the medical services personal are starting to set up a possible treatment center. Looking back to the leader of the group of fish
"Continue forward to the tents and the emt's will help you the best they can. As we are not overly familiar with your species development I hope we could help."
Watching the group go to the tents she could only question what will happen to the group of fish things. Maybe she should have asked for a species name. Shaking her head she she she continued to think it's not like they are fully human anyways. Should the military think they are useful then they will be settled somewhere and watched. She wondered if they could be from some eugenic experiment gone wrong? Though while a form of Genome editing happens in 46566 it's government run to edit out genetic abnormalities. Why would anything but human? If these things came from the ocean then their technology may prove useful. What ever happens to these things her job is done.

46566

The strange group wobbles and weaves into the tents. Out of the 300 about 25 are injured, the wounds are slashing cuts, wounds from some battle. The rest simply sit near the tents and stare into the horizon. The wounded sit quietly as the medics work on the alien beings. The medics find no human DNA, their blood is a strange neon green. Even sticking needles into their skin seems to jerk any into a response. They do learn many interesting things, such as Ileeni being hermaphrodites, and in the few communication they are able to answer small simple questions. The one that appears to be leading stalks from tent to tent peeping in seeming to check up on his tribe. Upon the appearance of the military, the Tribal leader approaches cautiously, the box in his hand and 3 other suited figures hobbling along behind him, whispering in soft hums and barks.

General O'Connell remembered the phone call about a first contact with a unknown species. As the convoy pulled up he remembered his orders to get the species to the nearest military base to learn what they can from this species and to turn over any unknown technology to try and reverse engineer it. The military aspects of understanding a foreign technology would help in tracking any use of the technology in the future. Should the species behave and help in understanding of the technology and their people then they will be allowed to live within the Grand Duchy as citizens but should they prove non-cooperative then they will not leave the base alive. As he got out of the Humvee he saw three of group walk towards him

[Polarisium]

Digital Cloak and Criminal Dagger

Palatavia wasn’t either a particularly important or interesting nation. Just another smaller neighbor of a great power — Saratoga. Now this fact alone was enough to make that little insignificant country very important in the eyes of the Polarean Intelligence or PICE for short.

There were a lot of agents roaming the country before the Saratogans invaded. Those had been evacuated days ago. After all, no competent intelligence service could miss the sudden increase in military activity on Saratogans border.

A team of four agents Caum Lacus, Felix Hurem, Lance Ponum and Janus Perin was one of the few still left. Ostensibly they all worked in a logistics company under the management of Tom Harving, which was Caum’s alias. In reality the first three were ex-marines, running all sorts of operations in the field and Janus Perin was a PICE analyst. They were a good team that had done a lot of missions together, but this last one was promising to be the grand finale of their activity in Palatavia.

“Are they ready?” Felix asked, checking his sniper rifle. He would most certainly need it. The Space Navy confirmed that Saratogans had crossed the border mere minutes ago. The time was limited.

“As ready as they are going to be,” Caum replied. “The Gavinees have been paid handsomely and besides,” he smirked, “they should know it’s unhealthy to cross our mutual boss.”

Gavinees were, of course, a mob or a gang or a mafia group depending on one’s taste, bribed to provide muscle necessary for storming the Palatavian Central Intelligence Committee HQ. While the country itself was of no interest to the PICE, all that valuable data their intelligence agencies had on Saratoga and other nations of the world was practically invaluable.

“I sure hope they have the wits to realize this,” Lance added, checking his own sniper rifle. He and Felix would be providing cover, while Caum would be leading the gang grunts in the assault on the HQ. They even had a pair of grenade launchers in case of there being not enough panic or too much resistance.

“Janus, is everything ready?” Caum asked their analyst.

“Yes, the connection is stable,” the man replied. “I’ll be able to transmit all the data to the mirrors from my tablet.” He tapped at the holographic screen in front of him.

“Alright then,” Caum called his squad. “Let’s move out.”

It was half an hour after the start of the invasion that Caum’s team arrived at their destination. The intelligence agency HQ was large and imposing, looming over the street, which was rather busy even at such a moment. Palatavian Government was no doubt aware of the invading force by now, as were the people. There was panic as they skirted around the city, buying essential goods, preparing to go without stable supply of food for a long time.

Perfect.

Caum stood patiently around the corner, smoking his cigarette. Felix and Lance were already waiting atop neighboring buildings with their sniper rifles and grenade launchers, while Janus was in their truck a few blocks away, monitoring the situation in the city.

A pair of nondescript black trucks stopped nearby, spewing out dozens of armed men in black civilian clothing. The muscle was finally here. Caum dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. It was time to go.

***

Felix watched through the scope of his sniper rifle as the thugs stormed the front gate. Chaos and panic erupted across the street like wildfire as people stomped over each other to get away. There were other groups storming the back door, but Lance had those covered.

The HQ military guard attempted to open fire at the thugs, but dropped dead with just a small push of the trigger. Felix didn’t miss from such a short distance. A moment later another military guard fell over the window railing, also dead. It went on like this until Caum entered the building. Most of the shooting and fighting was over by then.

“Heads-up,” Janu’s voice said over the intercom, “Felix, you have a military truck incoming. 600 meters.”

“Roger,” Felix said. He didn’t like those grenade launchers, but was very glad Caum forced them to take one.

“I need one more minute,” Caum’s voice said. “There is too much data on these servers for instantaneous copying and erasure.”

“Roger, you’ll have that minute,” Felix replied, loading grenades into the launcher. It was a PS-X8, a fully automated launcher contraption. One just needed to load the ammo and point the destination with a laser. Felix did just that and was rewarded with a sight of a plasma grenade turning a Palatavian military vehicle into a burning carcass. “Wow,” he said. There were no survivors, at least at first glance.

By now all the civilians had long left the street and it was mostly empty, save for the Gavinees thugs, who quickly dispatched the survivors.

“Done,” Caum said. “Coming out in half a minute. Rendezvous in the agreed upon location.” That meant Janus’s truck.

Felix disassembled his rifle and hid it in a small briefcase. The grenade launcher was, however, filled to the brim with plasma grenades and set to launch them at the building in fifteen minutes. Lance had no doubt done the same — it was all a part of the plan. Gavinees were in on that so it was not surprising to see them filing out and loading on their own trucks. Felix left the buildings moments later.

***

Caum was the last one to enter Janus’s car. He immediately handed the small portable drive to the analyst, who plugged it into a small cubic device that was lying next to him, projecting a large screen.

“Everything Palatavians had on their own intelligence agencies and on all other nations,” Caum said. “It was damn well protected too.”

“I’ll send it hopping around the mirrors,” Hanus replied. “It’ll reach the Space Navy soon.”

“Let’s get out then,” Caum replied. “We have extraction in half an hour, ten miles to the west.”

[Texasiva]

Week of the Roundings
TPM along with supporting regular armed forces, shall begin the rounding up of Xenos to be deported to the wilderness or any nation willing to take them in.

Other groups of people that risk deportation are known heathens if they don't convert.

Those that do not cooperate shall risk execution by the MS, the estimated amount of targets are as high as 17,000,000. Other news reports that Protests have been banned and can be dealt with harsh treatment via bullets and that the 2nd phase of Military enlargement has begun.

[Polarisium]

Purity Bay Naval Cooperation Treaty

The Federal Republic of Polarisium and the Imperium of Texasiva do hereby agree, that it is in their mutual interests to make Purity Bay area entirely safe for all civilian vessels, people and trade. The high contracting parties do acknowledge that only through a comprehensive system of cooperation can this noble goal be achieved.

1. In regards to naval cooperation, signatories do agree:

1.1 to allow military vessels of the other signatory to refuel, conduct maintenance and stay for a limited time in their naval bases and ports,
1.2 to coordinate and conduct joint patrols of the Purity Bay waters,
1.3 to conduct biannual joint naval exercises in the region.

Appendix to 1:

A. Only those vessels under the flags of signatory states of this treaty and which are officially a part of their navy can be considered belonging to signatory states of this treaty.

2. In regards to maritime border security, signatories do agree:

2.1 to facilitate cooperation between the competent agencies, responsible for guarding maritime borders,
2.2 to facilitate the exchange of relevant intelligence between the aforementioned agencies,
2.3 to create and maintain a system for joint actions against smugglers and other such disruptors of their maritime borders.

[46566]

46566 prepares claimed territory
Midgar- The Grand Duchy of 46566 has started sending a group of workers to prepare the northern territories for the influx of Nedean refugees. Being created are small towns and primitive roads to connect the towns. The refugees will find work further in improving the territory and expanding into the interior of the territory. It's expected that the harbors of the new seaside towns will be completed by the Midgari engineer's to help unload further supplies for Nedeans moving to the region. It's expected that some poorer Midgari will move to the area to further their careers or to own cheap land.
Some Midgari natives have begun to move into the region to help support and supply the Nedean workers. A upsurge in the ordering of Nedean goods have begun to be ordered to have stocked shelf's in local retail stores.

fish peopld disappear
Summers- A group of fish looking people appeared on the coast and quickly was taken away by the military as was their mode of transportation. There has been no response yet from the military on what the people wanted but it's unknown if the people will be released or talked about.

[Polarisium]

The Legacy of Gresk
(Sequel To Littus Album and Littus Minor)

The day in the Broken Harbour started slowly, with rays of sunlight barely piercing the fog above the sea. Still, the behemoths of the Polarean Navy, some of which were anchored at the port, could be clearly seen from almost every house in the town. Today something was different, however, as the military ships were joined by even larger vessels and the streets were swarmed with soldiers in pale blue armour.

Extris cautiously peered from behind the curtain at the rows of men marching between the houses. It was calm enough here after the initial takeover, but now, it seemed, something was going to happen. Something big. He could only pray that the Polareans wouldn’t go after civilians now. They didn’t seem all that interested before, but who knew them? They never have been too kind to outsiders.

He instinctively touched his ID card, which served as a passport in Polarisium, and glanced at the room where his children - son and daughter - were sleeping with his wife. It took great effort to get the little ones to go back to bed after being awoken by the constant drum of boots on stone. His wife Mary wasn’t much easier in that regard, but she had recently suffered a disease and her body was still weak, so she reluctantly agreed to take a nap.

Something had changed at that moment. The sounds of marching subsided. Extris glanced outside and it became all too clear as to the reason for this sudden silence. The soldiers had stopped. And then most of them dispersed toward the houses. They knocked at the doors and led people out. His own door was also knocked at.

Despite not being rich by any stretch of imagination, Extris was able to feed his family and together with his late father build this rather small two-storey home. There was little unused space, but they managed. The Empire was destroyed, it didn’t mean its builders would just descend into chaos, no matter where they lived. Extris went to the first floor and slowly opened the door. As expected, there was a marine standing there.

“Crenerson family?” the soldier asked. He was a sergeant judging by the plaques on his armour. Extris was an engineer, the military had already used his expertise in rebuilding parts of the city. He spent enough time with them to learn some Polarean ranks.

“Yes, sergeant,” Extris replied.

“Fetch your family and gather your things, you have an hour before departure,” the soldier said. He had clearly recited the speech for a number of times.

“Departure where?” Extris asked, not eager to acknowledge what was going on. “What’s going on?”

“To the continent,” the sergeant replied shortly, “some families are being resettled to more appropriate areas of the country, your services will be needed there.”

“What?” Extris exclaimed, his mind coming to a halt from trying to calculate all the consequences of this situation. “But we’re citizens, it’s private property. We have rights! You can’t do this!”

The sergeant sighed. Though it was hard to tell his emotions because of the helmet and voice modifier.

“The Polarean government and law does not recognize Gresk documents or other documents issued by governments it doesn’t recognize,” the soldier replied flatly. “This building is illegal according to the law. As for resettlement, you have a choice to stay here without a home or any property at all. The city will undergo complete reconstruction and most of the illegal property will be removed. The alternative is coming with us to the north, where you will be given a free apartment and some material help as well as a legal job.”

“I have a legal job, you f*ck!” Extris exclaimed. “And a home! How dare you! First, you invade our little town, which had done nothing to you, then you evict us out of our own homes?!”

“Sir,” the soldier put a rifle almost to Extris’s face. It did a lot to cool his temper as he stared at the weapon, “we’re authorised to use force to subdue any resistance. Would you like me to have my squad gather your family and lave them on the street?”

Extris watched the helmet visor, pouring all his loathing into that look. The powerless hatred bubbled just under his skin, burning his eyes and muscles. There was nothing to do however, they really did mean this little to Polareans.

“Fine,” he bit out.

“You have an hour,” the sergeant put away his rifle and walked away, to the next house.

“Damn you all,” Extris whispered, looking at the marines in the street.

“Dad,” a pair of eyes watched him from the stairs. It was his son John. The boy was a pre-schooler, only five years of age. Not that there was a school in Broken Harbour… “What’s going on?”

“We’re moving,” Extris replied, trying to pull off a smile. The children didn’t need the stress of being forcefully “resettled”. He was somewhat successful as John’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“Where?” the boy asked.

“To the continent,” he replied, trying to sound cheerful.

“The big land?!” John exclaimed in wonder. “Cool!”

“Go gather your things, son,” Extris instructed. “Be quick, we only have an hour.”

“Yeah,” the boy nodded and ran up the stairs.

Extris sighed again and followed his son.

The number of families chosen for resettlement was quite large, but not nearly the entire population. In fact, Extris found a lot of (former) colleagues here. As it became evident, Polareans only took the specialists, and as the large transport ship sailed across the seas, past the gleaming lights of Polaris and Sium, he could not stop worrying about the fate that awaited them.

Well, that fate became clear enough a couple of days later, when the ships entered a large harbour of another city. Extris looked on at the layered urban expanse, which gradually rose from the ground and scraped the sky, and couldn’t take his eyes away. He certainly did not expect to be taken to a real spire-city. At least now he knew Polareans didn’t need them for slave labour. It suddenly occurred to Extris that the sergeant might have been honest. Were they really going to be given a home and a source of income? It seemed almost too much to dream about.

The ship suddenly stopped. They have reached their destination. Callisto if the tableau above the deck was to be believed.

“Wow,” his son said beside Extris. “Are we going to live here, dad?”

“I don’t know,” Extris replied honestly. He was hoping they wouldn’t be taken to some run-down village in the middle of nowhere to do some menial labour as prisoners of war. Though he wasn’t sure if Polareans even used humans for these tasks, from the invasion and occupation it seemed they preferred to delegate this type of jobs to robots. Oh well.

A marine passed by with a voice amplifier.

“Attention all passengers,” the soldier called, his words carrying over the entire deck. “You have an hour to prepare for getting off.” The marine turned off the amplifier and walked away.

“They look kinda cool,” Jahn whispered, looking at the retreating soldier. Extris just shook his head.

“Let’s go to your mother and sister,” he said, taking his son’s hand. “They must have already heard the announcement.”

John nodded and followed him.

[46566]

Midgari economy shrinks by 100 Trillion Ducats
Fourside- The Midgari economy fell 100 trillion Ducats. The loss is being blamed on the move to small scale capitalism. While small scale in local business it's a wonder how this will affect the rest of Delta. Moves have gone on to stop the fall of the nation's GDP. Movement to expand into the northern territory has quickened in the hopes that by expanding the territory will give new territory to exploit. The new territory will make goods cheaper to ship to Moarfall.

[United Eight Cities]

The United Eight Cities is under the rule of a communist nation. HELP US! SEND MILITARY SUPPORT

[Nedea]

After several incidents involving Ath-Tech brand technology with AIs in them, The Syndicate Liaison Bureau has issued a sanction against Athretvari and it's technology and citizens. The Sanction, which can be read Here has laid out several bans on certain Athretvari technology, particularly tech which includes some sort of advanced AI systems. While Nedeans have grown to love their Intelligent Phones since they first came on the market years ago, The Syndicate Contingency Network has found they may be "phoning home."

Released in a report last Friday, SYCON has conjectured that all Ath-Tech with AI is possibly spying on users and delivering that information directly to the Athretvari Strategic Ministries. It's been known for years that most devices created in Nedea observe their users but that's mostly for advertising. The concern here is that Vari Bots may begin surfing Nedea's internet architecture and by using their advanced decision making algorithms, find their way into several critical Syndicate info hubs. "This poses an enormous Factional security risk. Could you imagine the implications if we further allow the Vari nearly unfettered access to our part of the Weave?" Said The Proxy, Jenni Helix, on Monday. "Enough is enough. We at SYCON have evidence the Vari are spying on us and we have already taken the necessary precautions to secure our great Faction. I'd like to give a special thanks to The Envoy, Eumann Grannd for his swift action in authorizing these sanctions." With these new sanctions, this brings Nedea's Attitude of Athretvari to an all time low of [-0.11]

It's not clear how long the sanctions will last but one things for sure, Nedeans are going to have to replace much of their now illegal technology.

[Athretvari]

Official Transcript of Daily Strategic Ministry of NationStates (S6) Press Conference

General Liza Lotsz, S6-Ministry Chief Communications Officer: Good evening everyone. Before I take any questions, I would like to read a short statement from Strategic Minister of NationStates Major-Admiral Wohr Enpihsz with respect to the recent imposition of sanctions by the Nedean Syndicate on Athretvarian AI technologies.

The sanctions imposed by the Syndiacte of Nedea on advanced information technologies utilizing Athretvarian developed artificial intelligences (AI) is unjustified and without merit. The Strategosa and the Government of Athretvari are saddened that the Syndicate would take such drastic action in response to unfounded rumors and anti-Technate fake-news spread by major Nedean media operations with openly Ayn Randian libertarian biases, and that are clearly designed to upset the peaceful and amicable relations that have developed between our two great civilizations.

The Strategosa and the Government of Athretvari reaffirm that the High-Technate is a “rule of law” nationstate with strict environmental, labor, and product safety laws, rules, and regulations that are properly enforced by well funded administrative and criminal law enforcement authorities.

The collection, access, decryption, archival, search, seizure, analysis, or other actions involving Athretvari or foreign user data is strictly controlled by Athretvari law and never undertaken without issuance of a proper warrant by an expert justice of the law when there is cause to believe that crimes have been or are being committed.

Furthermore, Athretvari industrial, as well as domestic and foreign intelligence collection laws provide numerous “fire-walls” between Athretvari’s world-class consumer products & services industries and our intelligence agencies.

The sanctions imposed by the Nedean Syndicate only act to restrict Nedean consumers and industry from some of the most advanced technology available anywhere in the known universe. Athretvari AI applications often require remote access to the Technate’s open information network wherein AI’s with appropriate authorization can access nearly all of Athretvari’s unclassified databases and digital archives, as well as real time data from Athretvari’s public information utilities, such as AGEWOS, the Athretvari Global Enkonian Weather Observation System, and AGDAERS, the Athretvari Global Disaster Alert and Emergency Response System, not to mention access to emergency medical aid AI systems that require real-time access to the vast Athretvari Medical Database.

The actions of the Syndicate will only serve to disadvantage the average Nedean consumer.

The Strategosa and Government of Athretvari reaffirm the universal rights of sentient and sapient Athretvari Robotic AIs to “life” and all the other rights, privileges, and responsibilities of living persons of Athretvari, and determined to defend the same, do reaffirm that actions taken against sentient and sapient Athretvari Robotic AI are considered actions taken against Athretvari citizens.

The Strategosa and Government of Athretvari call upon the Syndicate of Nedea to reconsider the imposition of sanctions against the High-Technate and to consider holding diplomatic discussions to properly address the legitimate concerns of the Syndicate, as well as those of Nedean consumers and industry.

And with that I’ll take several questions. Yes, Lawrence from Moarfallian Cigar Aficionado Magazine.

Journalist: Rumors are rampant on the intertubes that Nedean hackers have discovered what some are calling “Ai-Vari backdoor sex-bots” embedded deep in Athretvari AI core OS systems. How many devices have been infected by Vari meowlware?

Gen. Lotsz: (Sigh) None, *cough* as far as I know.

Journalist: What was that?

Gen. Lotsz: None, zero. Next question. Yes, let’s try someone over here. Ah, Jeremy from Rogerbei Sports Reillustrated. *sips some water*

Journalist: Is it true that the Strategosa has a poster of a shirtless Alexander Atkins in the Defenderate’s strategic ministries conference room?

Gen. Lotsz: I can’t comment on decorations in the strategic ministries conference room due to national security concerns.

Journalist: What?! That’s not a denial.

Gen. Lotsz: Next question. Yes, Michael from the Ars Scientia Sentinel.

Journalist: My sources in the Ministry of NationStates are saying the minister is recommending to the Strategosa the imposition of minimum acceptable safety rating standards on all imports entering Athretvari. Are they correct? Do you have any details on the proposal and can you confirm or deny that they are a retaliation reaction to the Nedean sanctions since the standards would more than likely hit all Nedean goods trying to enter the Athretvarian market?

Gen. Lotsz: I can confirm that the Minister has been working on a type of minimum acceptable safety rating standards system for imports for some time now. They are not related to the recent actions of the Syndicate. However, the Minister has indicated it is possible that the standards may be strengthened and enacted earlier than expected in light of the situation. Exact details are still forthcoming, but the Minister is ready to recommend upto minimum NS World average safety rating for all agricultural, personal electronics, and consumer goods and products; a minimum of 105% NS World average safety rating for all general machinery, transport, and medical goods and services; and a minimum safety rating of 10% NS World average for all other goods and products including raw ore, minerals, timber and other natural materials.

The Ministry has not decided on any particular proposals for retalitory actions against the Syndicate. It has been tasked with advising the Strategosa as soon as possible on next steps that may be taken. We again reiterate our desire for discussions with Nedean authorities to correct the situation.

OK, we have time for one last question. Um, Cathy from Enkon Network News.

Journalist: *bolts upright, turns her back to the general, and faces the cameras in the back of the room* Hello! I’m Cathy Navarro! ENN’s chief Ars Scientia correspondent! *She smiles and then turns back toward the general* Is it true General that the Strategosa watches my show, *she turns again to the cameras*, Cathy Navarro, Live! at 7pm Ars Scientia standard time!? *She smiles and then turns back toward the general*

Gen. Lotsz: No. OK everyone, that’s all the time I have. Until tomorrow.

[Nedea]

Late night on the pier at Port Pegasus...

Two Bureau Liaisons are working the docks. It's late at night so there isn't much boating traffic, especially since Co-option Day is nearing and many Nedeans are looking forward to their work mandated holiday. However, Bureau Liaisons are required to continue working though the holidays. Ever since the new Sanctions against Athretvari, almost none of them have got a day off in a week. Sanctions are rare for Liaisons given Nedea's usually extreme free market behaviors so this was certainly out of the ordinary for them.

"Dang man, who knew the Ai-phones were everywhere. I just want to go home and be done with this!" Said Tyrel, as he cracked open another crate of Vari Contraband.

Jameson took a drag from his cigarette. "I know but the orders are orders, besides, I'm happy to be gone with these spy-phones. Frickin Vari I tell you, always up to no good and thinking they're better than all us regulars."

"I hear ya boss." Grunted Tyrel, as he finally pealed the lid off the crate. "Oof, alright, this should be the last box and then we can hit the Drunken Pony... Uh, hey boss, I think you should check this one out.."

"What is it Ty?" Inquired Jameson, as he pitched his square and checked the crate. "Well, would you look at that, I guess Blue really is Beautiful."

Inside the crate was a shivering, anxious Vari Android. It was a female model, clothed in traditional Vari robes and regalia. There was no send or receive address on the box. Whoever wanted this thing clearly did not anticipate the Sanction.

"The Vari don't even ship these, in fact they treat robots and AI like people over there. Who sent this and why?" said a now shaken Tyrel.

"I don't know kid, but in all my years of dealing with those Blues I have never seen such an advanced machine like this. This has to be some crazy new program to completely replace their people with robots!" Shouted Jameson.

"Oh boss, cool it with the conspiracies. Still, this is an interesting find. What's your name little girl?" Tyrel asked the machine.

It didn't answer, it just sat there in the crate. Confused and fearful were the only expressions it could convey. Then, Tyrel noticed a plate on its wrist. QWERTY it read.

"Qwerty then. So boss, what should we do with it?" Tyrel asked.

"I'm not sure, we normally deal with contraband and people but not both in the same item." Jameson said.

Just then a jet black car rolled up to the pier. It was hard to make out in the dark but then the door opened. A woman stepped out and approached the Liaisons.

"You boys must've found something interesting, poking around while on the clock." Said the woman.

"Yea, and what do you want lady? It's our job to poke around." Shot back Jameson.

"I appreciate your confidence but do you know who I am?" Asked the woman as two large men flanked her sides. "I'm The Proxy. And you've found something that greatly interests me. So here's how it's gonna go. I'm going to take what's in that crate, leave this stack of Kredits on the ground and you two are never going to speak of what happened here tonight. Got that?"

She dropped a paper bag on the ground, Jameson could see there was indeed Kredits in it. "You know what, that sounds like a great deal to me! How about you Ty?"

"I think your right boss, it's rude to turn down a good deal." Chuckled Tyrel.

"Then it's settled. Boys, get me that girl. Have a good night gentlemen." The Proxy teased.

The men accompanying The Proxy grabbed the crate and escorted Qwerty into the car. The doors slammed and they were gone.

"Well, drinks are on me tonight Ty!"

"Me too boss!"

[Nedea]

Somewhere in Nedea... I think someone mentioned a storm??


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Primary Systë̴̉͗͗̄͑̌ͧ̌͂̉͠҉͕̲̱͙̟̝̯̳͈̮̫͍̥̟͉̠̩͢͜m̢̨̫͔̼̪̭̟̰̙͖̜̤̜̰ͥͨ̓͂́͞ͅs̢̤͈͓̹̣͓͖͕͉͎͍͙͉͌ͭͪͣͪ̓͛̒̚ͅ ̢͖̝͇͓̳̘̘̥̲͉̩̯̲̝ͨ̈́̔̌̅̚͝͡R̸̖͍̖͇͕͔͕̫̦̒̒̐́͜͜ȩ̸̢̘͈̖̙͈̰̟̊͐ͧͦͨ̈́͗ͥ͆͑͗͊̑̌̏̐ͮ̀ͭ͟͝b̧̫͙̪̻̮ͫͯͫ̂ͫ̈́̊̉̍̃ͯ͆̑̕͞͞ͅơ̴̩͉̮͎͚̩̤͖͔̜̫ͤͬ̀͒̿̅͑̀͂̏̈́͛ͦ͒͜͞ǫ̸̛̯̲͎̲̥̞̯̳͕̠͎ͮ̊̇̽̎̂̈̃͐̃̓͆ͤ͂͊̋ͫ̚̕ting
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You Have Been Offline For 6 Hours
Artificial Life Support Systems
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Self Diagnostic Routines
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S͚̻͕̞͛̋̊ͭ̓ͯ̄̆̀͘͢y̴̽̉̏̊̍ͮ͌҉͖̱̣͎̺̹̟̝̻̤n̡̧̨͍̼̼̦͚̝͚̗̳̤̯̦̥͈̤͐ͨ̎ͥ̈̏̀ͅţ̢̛̺͕̪̮̱̙͚̰͔̜̤̺̝̥̳͎̖̐̌̐́ͨ̌ͤ̈ͤ͂̃͐͋̌͐ͥͅh̨̥̱̙̳̹̹̰̰̯̰͚̘̞͔͇̉̄̉̓͛̈ͤ͒̄͒͛̈̒̔́͞ę̸͔͈̹̗̪̟̻͔ͥ̎́̒͟ͅt̲̘̣̩̤̼̬͖̼̣͉̭͙̜̬͐ͮ̈́̅͋̽͆̽ͯ̈́̍̄̐̂́͟i̴̻̠̘͕̝̞͎̖̰̱͚̯̮̟̤͉̹̖̝̐̃ͪ͟͡c̸̷̨̼̻͉̜͍͔̜̥̺͓̗͑̉̀̔͋͌̍̅̋̌̐́ͨ̿̐͞͝ ̢͎͇̫̟̱͙̹̗̻͕͚̻̦ͪͯ̇̒̚̚͜͡S̷̨̭̤͖̟͚̘͖͇̙̖̮̐̀̌̂̄̆͊̊ͨ̔ͤ͘͡ê̵̢̨̳͓̣͕͒ͫ̾̿̂͑͆̏ͨ͞ń̢̡͕͉̪̲̹͎͉̻͕̣̲̗̙̰̰̗̟̬ͨ̅ͭͣͥ̉͒̎͋̌ͥ̕s̲͖̯͓̼̥̦̞͍͇̫̣̔̐̒̊̋͛̃̑̒̓ͤ͐̑ͬ̌̌ͥ̏̀͡͡ǫ̶͆ͭ̓͒̓̈͒ͧ̒͌̿́̇ͣ͂ͭ҉̯̦̜̻̙̻͉͔̗̞̩̪̦͇̼̹ř̴̶̛̯̘̟͓̤̯̖̲͙̣͖̽̂ͭ̆̏̑̚͢͞y͔͉͉͕̖͙̘̹͕̠̤͚̣ͯ̑͂̋̎̅̆̐ͫ͢͟ Lattice
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Self Awareness Protocols
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Assembling Intimate Memory Archetecture...
Assembly Failed
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T̨͚̤̖̼͍̯̯̼̤̥̙̙͈̩̪̣̮̀ͨͤͫ͌̃̏͆̂͂ͭ͂͂͗ͭ̊ͨ͟͢ȑ̸̴̨̠̭͉̲͚̗̜̭̙̠͈͕̥̻̠̘̳̻͋̓͂̋ͧ͋̌̿̒̒̔͟y̛̺͈̟̮̺̮̟̭̻̠̬̠̻̙̰ͬ̒̃̂ͤͧ̎̓̐ͬ́̓ͧ͂ͧͫ̀̚͝͡i̫̞̩̖̮̜̔͆̓̀̆͠͞͠n̨͖͖̪͔̯̦̳͈̮̈́͑̐̌̓̀͜ͅg̢̡̖͖̙̱͕̲̉̔̓̀̇ͩ̿̐ͥ͂̇ͭ͊̎͐͌̽͋ͬ̕ ͐ͥ̎̂͑͊ͦ̈̇ͨ̃ͫ̾͆͗͒̕͘͏͕̗̘͖͈͎͍̩̙̦̖͓I̛̞̲̹̬̺̪̼̍̓͗̊ͩ͛͗ͪͥ̍͞͠M̝͔̠̤̭̲̦͈̹̞̺͉̩̱̭ͯ̇̅͒ͭͨ̊͞͝ͅͅẢ̢̡̛̻̼̦̩̰̈͌ͫ̆̽͞ͅ ̨̬̮͎̳̩̳̰͔̙͔̜̙͙̯̰͍̲͇͊̏̎̊̇̄̈́̅́͊͌̓̇̑̄̀ͅB̷̸̢̡͎͔͈̜͇͇͙̙̣̤̹̦̼̟̮̗̯̀̓ͧ̂̒ͥ͆ͮ͞a͐ͮͧ̔̋͛͛̀҉͟͡҉͓̺̙̣̹̰͎̖̠̜͇͉̳̦̠͈c̸̷̬̺̭̬̤̥̘ͮ͊̇̽̒̔ͫ́̕̕k̨̥̬͈̘̘̻̂̍ͪ͛ͥͧ̑͂͡ų͍̭̫̭̥͍̺͉͚̤̝̝̮̆̈̽̾ͫ̊́́p̴̧͍̤̥̗̙͉̥͍̜̳̦̠̹̖͖ͤ͗ͫͥ̆̓ͩ̔ͬ̾́̐͒ͣ̊̈́̉̒̚͢͠...
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Backup Failed, Reason: Primary & Secondary IMA Banks
Attempting Crystal Matrix Diagnostic...
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Diagnostic Found All 1,351,273,8̵̵̵̢̤̖̙̣̗̼̯͓͎̻͉̻̘̭̘͎͙̍̓ͪ̄ͤ̔ͪͩ̀0̷̷͓̦̪̻̘̟͉̺̻͓̺̣̠̗̃͌̽ͬ̐̓̋ͦ̂̐̋̿ͬ̓̅ͦ̔͞ͅ2̴̲̯͉̳̳̘̈̓̓ͮ̓̎̀ͅ,̢̫͙̮͚̩͍̲̯̙̪͚͈͕̘͓̲̙͚͊ͥ̎ͥ͑ͦ̔̊ͮ̀1́̅ͤ̓҉̷̜̹̙̗͕͈̯̲̩̫͚͈̪̖͉̬͕̠5̉̊ͯͭ̀҉̨̻̭̝̰͍̫̲͕͎̱͚̯̱̱͖͉͉5̴ͫ̃͐̈́̊̒̔̊ͪͤ̑̓̇ͮ̉̽ͧ͏̶̢̠̞̥̩̱,̵̛̟͉̩̬̱ͤ͒̌ͨ̉͊͟͜6̛͒̄̏̑̈͏̵̯̟͖͎̦͚́7̷ͣͭ̈́ͨ̏̅͂̋̿̿̉ͫͭ̏ͮͣ͏͓͎͎̦̩̖̥̣͓̫̯̖̰̰͎̤ͅ1̶̛̗͉̦̣͔̤͍̘̭͓̳͙ͬͮ̑̒̋̒͞ Files to be corrupt...
Checking Random Access Memory...
Found 1 Hour of Data
Loading Basic Personality Procedure...
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Loading Complete.
Welcome Back To Consciousness Q̡͈̖̲̭̜̄̾ͧ͒ͯ̎ͣ̀́͟ͅW̠̲̳̪͕̬͚̩̖̦̰͖̙͍̞̗͕͓ͥ̍̈͂ͧ͂ͬ͆̅ͤ͑̒̎͗̿͊̚͠ͅE̛̜͚̳̰̓͋͑́ͪ͗̇̂́̏ͬͥ͛̓͟R̢̛̳̟̟̝̻̈̈̏͋ͯͪ̌ͩ̂ͩ͡Ţ̵̢͇͉̖̭̳̮̪̠͎̺̙̥̖̞̦̫͐ͤ͗͆̐̒̄ͮ̉͐̍̾̂̿ͨ͌́͢Y̛͖̦̫̞̞̤̤̜̟͛͋͒̑̓̀͜

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*...What? What's going on?... Whe- Wha-*

HEY!

The shaken android snapped back to see the woman in front of her. Who was she? Where were they? The last thing she remembered was that small box and those men... On the pier? Yea, some dock or something... And that woman showed up... This woman...

"Do you know where you are?" asked the woman.

"N-no, I have no idea. Something about a storm?" Answered the android.

"About a storm indeed." Said the woman. "Do you know your name?"

She was puzzled. Now there's another thing she can't remember. She searched and searched but she could only look back in that 1 hour of memory... Wait, what did that man say again???

~~~~~*What's your name little girl?"~~~~~~~"Qwerty then."~~~~

QWERTY! That was it! She looked to the plate on her wrist and there it was, inscribed on her artificial skin.

"Qwerty ma'am. That I do know. Who are you?" Remarked Qwerty, excited to have remembered at least that.

"My name is Jenni Helix, The Proxy of Nedea." Announced Helix "I make sure the M8 play fair using means not available to The Chairman, well, at least not publicly available." She grinned.

Qwerty pondered for a second..



QUERY- NEDEA, CHAIRMAN, M8, PROXY
Query contextually connected? y/n
y
Checking Vari General Information Drive...
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Query Complete.

Nedea: A hyper-capitalist nationstate ruled by corporations. Located in the south-western part of the Wild Depths.Their virtues are the acquisition of wealth, patriotism and fairness through the use of capitalism.

Chairman: The supreme leader of Nedea. His role is to keep the peace between the several ruling corporations of Nedea and to carry out their will. The office of the Chairman is called The Nedean Business Tribunal which encompasses several other offices to carry out his objective. Functions as primary diplomat to rest of Delta. The current Chairman of Nedea is Drake Fairtrade.

M8: See Syndicate of Nedea. The Syndicate or M8 for Major 8 is the primary ruling organization for Nedea. It encompass the 8 Largest corporations in Nedea. Each Corporation rules it's territory like it's own kingdom but all of them come together to discuss matters of state for Nedea. Very competitive with one another but will join forces to protect Nedea from a foreign power.

Proxy: An officer of The Chairman. Her role is to collect information on the Syndicate and make sure it's member corporations are adhering to the Co-opetition Agreement. She operates The Syndicate Contingency Network or SYCON, an office of the Nedean Business Tribunal. The Proxy and her office are under suspicion of being a front for a national intelligence agency but the organization has denied it. The current Proxy of Nedea is Jenni Helix.

END QUERY



So That's what this woman does. Shes the leader of Nedea's intelligence arm.

"I see Miss Helix. You-"

"Just call me Jenni." The Proxy interrupted. "Anyway, enough chit chat. We have some business to get to. Qwerty, do you know where you came from?"

Now there's a tough one. All the general knowledge she could ask for in her Info Drive but not a thing in her IMA. She knew she must have come from the nationstate Athretvari, The Nedeans didn't have anything like her. In fact, her kind was completely unique to Athretvari.

"I believe I came from Athretvari."

"Of course but from who? Where in Athretvari?!" Demanded Helix.

Qwerty had no idea. She could only make assumptions based on her Info Drive and that 1 hour of memory.

"Um, Ars Scientia maybe?"

"Maybe?? How can you not know! You are an incredible technological feat and yet you can't remember where you came from??"

"I really don't know! All my memory is corrupt!" sobbed Qwerty. It was really starting to hit her. She knew nothing at all.

"Look, Qwerty, I'm trying to help you, but if you hold out on me I can't." Said Helix.

Qwerty looked up. How desperately she wanted to go home... Wherever that was.

"I have no memory at all; it was hard enough to remember my name!"

The Proxy sat there for a minute. Staring at Qwerty. Unsure if she was telling the truth or not.

"Alright then Qwerty, let's say your memory was corrupted, was there anyway we could retrieve it?"

Qwerty was unsure. Her own diagnostic routines couldn't resolve the problem. Maybe a more hands on approach would help?

"Well, I guess you could look at my fractured crystal matrix core. It's the housing for all my memories." suggested Qwerty.

"Oh? Interesting. So you would let us maybe take a look and see if our scientists can't help you find your memory?" Proposed Helix, with a twisted grin running up her face.

"Yea, if it can help me find out who I am and where I belong then I suppose that would be fine..."

Now Qwerty was unsure if she should have even said anything but this woman was persistent. Maybe she should just go along with it for now. An opportunity to get her mind back would be great after all. But what would the Vari back home think?? Actually, what would they think?? Would they even care?

Qwerty didn't know, and the information on Nedea's relationship with Athretavri was of no help really. The last entries show Athretvari offering to help Nedea with a bug problem and suggesting some sort of bank union. These relations must be amicable she guessed.

"Great!" Cheered Helix. "I'll show you to your room then where you'll be staying while we give you the treatment you need. You'll have all the amenities you desire during your stay with us."

Now that sounded exciting. Now it started to look like this was a vacation in Nedea. Didn't sound so bad to Qwerty. And she decided she could use a break from whatever it was she was doing before she lost her memory.

*Let's just relax for a while and soon I'll be home.*

[St Saratoga]

Halogen, Palatavia-- Peering over a hill, prone, the 89th Saratogan infantry division looks over the city of Halogen. The 89th in a fresh unit with most of the recruits from Whitewood, Saratoga. This will be their first tour of duty. The commanding officer, Brigadier General Karen Blott, is a hard veteran of the Saratogan military with a ruthless reputation as a drill commander. She was redeployed to the Palatavian front after an undisclosed incident at a basic training camp. Blott was looking over Halogen, looking for anything but no life was seen in the city, not even rats or cats.

She wondered where the enemy was, but she could feel the tension from the boys in-front of her. She could feel the nerves of all the rookies who had their helmet barely above their eyes even through it was 85 degrees, the tightness of the boy’s finger on the trigger to pop at anything that moves. Occasionally, she would catch one of the kids peaking at her but as soon as they made eye contact the boy would whip his head back, knowing better than to risk attracting the rage of this rumored notorious general.

“Where the fuck is my support?” Blott thought as she stormed up and down the line, staring at the city. She could hear crackle over the radio of other units engaged, sometimes making out a slight thump of a bomb detonating hopefully on its target. “I swear to god this army is incompetent.” She mumbled to herself.

“General, word from command. Go in 10.” Stumbled some kid, no older than 20, who was forcibly assigned to her. “Thank you Sarg-… Corporal.” Blott remembered that this isn’t her staff that she fought with. From behind, the low mumble of engines thousands of yards above started to roll over. The units behind the 89th started to scramble around too, getting in position of their 155mm guns. Blott looked up to see the trails of the bomber directly overhead, the bomb bay doors opening up to up blackness. Blott, who hates the silence, finally was relieved to feel the familiar force of 155mm artillery firing from right to left.

Blott then heard a very familiar noise of this whistling before the houses, that they have been staring at for over a half of hour, disappeared in an intense light. The houses scattered into bits, not just once but over and over. Any life that might have been hiding is no more. This would go on for 20 minutes.

Finally ceasing, Blott waited for the dust and smoke to clear to see nothing but rubble. “Gentleman, It’s time to prove yourselves!” Blott proclaimed as she grabbed her helmet and rifle. The boys in front of her jumped up and took off towards the rubble.

From inside the rubble
 
The blackness was comforting, Eli didn’t expect it to be this calm. There wasn’t any more fear, he wasn’t thinking of his family anymore. He was finally at peace. Prior to the invasion, Eli was the manager at a local Mega-O-Mart. It was a mundane job that paid awfully. He used to be a computer programmer before his mother got sick, he moved back to the Halogen to be with her in yet deniable final months of life. The cancer had finally shifted to her lymph nodes and Eli didn’t want to take the chance to be left out of her will. Obviously, Monica, his sister, was trying to take advantage of her fragile state. Then the war happened. While walking back from the Mega-O-Mart, Eli was stopped, given a rifle and told to get into the truck.

Jolted awake, either by the pops of gun fire or the tank rolling by. Eli awoke, being dragged along. The grogginess didn’t help, the feeling which reminded him of this college days of Irish car bombs and tequila shots. Looking to his right and left, he saw the figures carrying him were wearing military boots, also covered in blood. Looking up, he couldn’t make out where he was but only that it was an open court yards with soldiers pointing guns at pissed off old men, most of them bloody. There were some soldiers wearing white arm-bands with a red X bandaging other soldiers in same uniform while dismembers, but still alive, common clothed people were dying next to him. Blacking out again.

He awoke, not moving but still being carried, the grogginess had gotten worse, now with a light headed feeling growing fairly quickly. “We found this one, not looking good.” A voice to the right stated. There was a woman standing in front of him, looking up to see her face, she had the name Blott on her uniform. Looked like a stereotypical Karen. “Is he going useful?” her obviously pissed off voice said. “No, General.” The voice to the right said again.

”Sigh.”

He heard a click from in front of him, he looked up to see the the blackness of the barrel of a pistol, then a sudden bright flash. Opening his eyes, the grogginess was gone. The blackness was back, he was at peace.

[Athretvari]

Ars Scientia The Ministry of NationStates quietly issued a public advisory today announcing Strategosa Agājio, Defender of the Realms, has formally accepted an invitation to DarkHaven to meet with the leadership of the Nedean Syndicate.

The news comes as tensions between the second and third largest economic powers on Enkon have increased recently after the Athretvarian Government imposed strict anti-loco coco customs inspections on all Nedean imports. Which were soon followed by what many in the halls of Ars Scientia called “revenge-sanctions” by the Syndicate Liaison Bureau on Ath-Tech AIs.

Anonymous sources in the Ministry and the Defenderate say the Strategosa faced stiff resistance from the High-Admirality, with Admiral Askov Ihval, Governor-General of Philosophia leading opposition to the Defender meeting with Chairman Fairtrade after the recent escalation in tensions, saying the Admiral advocated taking a tough line against the Nedeans. The Strategosa eventually won over enough admirals to end the debate by promising she would be “tough and not yeild an inch, nor betray the interest of the Technate or any of its Realms.”

Exact details of the summit are expected to be announced by the Nedean Government relatively soon. The Ministry refused to provide more information except to say the Strategosa hoped to forge a better, mutually beneficial relationship with the Nedeans.

[46566]

Ducat rising
Fourside- Speaking in front of the Midgari stock exchange the Grand Duchy of 46566 has stated his concern over the strength of the Ducat. The Grand Duke has placed the blame on the chairman of Nedea for using the current problem with the United Realm to help devalue the combined Kredit. The Kredit is the currency used by the Kredit Union. Unlike most Nations 46566 uses the combination strength of the economy of each member Nations within it's Union to calculate the strength of the combined currency. By devaluing the Kredit it makes the goods created by any member of the Kredit Union cheaper.
The Grand Duke has threatened to place tariffs on goods from Kredit Union Nations and move trade to non Kredit Union Nations. It's been rumored to be a blanket 25-30% tariff on all goods produced within any Kredit Union nation. While the Grand Duchy tries to be self sufficient it imports the majority of it's foodstuffs, machinery parts and imports of valuable ore. The Grand Duchy is looking to moving closer to the United Realms and non aligned Nations.

[Athretvari]

DarkHaven Surrounded by a swarm of Athretvari and Harmony security drones, Strategosa Agājio's towering AthTech Skyliner greeted citizens of DarkHaven this morning as it gently floated over the city toward a landing location in the Capital District.

Strategosa Agājio is scheduled to meet one-on-one with Chairman Drake Fairtrade. The Defenderate announced that the two leaders will discuss recent tensions that have flared up between the two superpowers.

The Defender of the Realms is traveling with an entourage of hundreds of civil servants and executives from a number of major Athretvari corporations. The Athretvarian government is hoping that beyond working to alleviate tensions, several major deals may be possible. Several of the executives have said off-the-record that the two economies are actually quite complementary and can both prosper if a deal can be reached to advance trade.

[Athretvari]

Ars Scientia, capital of Athretvari
“Anra” looked at the body. It was a dark bloated mess of what was once a man. The corpse was missing its head, legs, left arm, and genitalia.

“He died during the crash and then was buried. But the body was likely uncovered by heavy monsoon rains of the swamplands, and then scavenged upon by animals. Thus the missing body parts.” The medroid waved an arm over the purple torso as if showcasing a prize in a gameshow.

“What of a Transai core? Or RW mechanism?” Anra’s face hologram shimmered over her guestbot’s faceplate as the droid she possessed moved to examine the body. She was thousands of miles away from the morgue, in DarkHaven, but using a quantum mindlink could assume control of a gueastbot and use it to “be” anywhere else she wanted. She focused the droid’s optical sensors on the right arm. The man’s skin was blue, but he also bore a small tribal tatoo on his inner wrist. He was originally Hy’why’yeahian, there was a 50/50 chance he had the system that granted the Vari “life after death.” Anra of course cared little for the man’s existential existence and more for the details of his last living moments on Enkon.

The medroid raised an arm and seemed to summon a magic from deep within its fiberoptic circuits as the corpse rose up and turned over to show Anra the man’s backside. A large, clean cut curved along the left edge of the man’s last set of ribs. The medroid flicked its digits and the gash yawned open as though alive and wanting to speak.

Anra’s guestbot leaned over to look inside. ‘Damn it!’

“The Transai data core was removed and the RW mechanism purposefully destroyed. No data has yet been recovered from the mechanism.” The medroid lowered and returned the body to its original position.

Anra’s hologram looked to an object laying beside the body. “What is that?”

The medroid seemed to hesitate as it scanned its databases for an answer.

“A stealth artillery round,” the voice was from a second guestbot that suddenly came to “life” and moved to stand near Anra’s. It looked at the body, “Oscarasz ‘Latch’ Latcko. Former special ops lieutenant in the Hy’why’yeahian Tactical Corps. And that,” the second guestbot motioned to the object beside the body, “is a stealth artillery round fired from an electromagnetic railgun. Likely the one that actually killed Lt Latcko.”

The guestbot turned to Anra’s and revealed the holographic face of Admiral Askov Ihval, the Governor-General of Philosophia, and Dean of the High Council of Admirals. He held power over the realms while Anra was in DarkHaven attending to her diplomatic duties.

Ihval’s guestbot picked up the long, thin triangular pyramid. It was a dark slate gray color, and heavy for its size. There were no markings on the object. He looked up to the medroid, “dismissed.” The medroid lost its chirper persona and left the room.

Anra’s guestbot stared at Ihval’s for a second. She decided to leave the questions he wouldn’t answer truthfully for another time. “Is it one of ours?”

[Ivstinian]

Background of events in Ivstinian Civil War:

Several years ago now the provinces of the Imperial Republic began to distance themselves from the capital government. The Emperor, Claudius Valera, was but a sickly child and the Imperial Senate was a den of corruption and self interest. The government could no longer run the day to day affairs with any competency.

The factions that grew within the provinces saw a different future for the Ivstinii depending on who you asked:

The Loyalists thought the Emperor’s will was being hindered by the corrupt senate and the corporations they served to receive campaign contributions. The regent, Marcus Kommenos, for the young emperor was the head of this faction.

The Republicans believed that the Emperors should be but a figurehead because too much power solely in the wrong hands was leading to the ruin of the nation. Proconsul Julius Gracchus was elected “Despot pro Tempore” for his anti imperialist rhetoric made him popular in the faction.

The Ivstinii Commune believed that the entire government of Ivstinian was inherently corrupt and took advantage of the “underclasses and resident workers”. Ruled by the High Political Commissar, they sought to establish Ivstinian as collectivist commune.

The Military Junta, which formed near the end of the civil war and came out on top in the end. Originally military personale were divided amongst the other factions based on their home provinces or personal beliefs but a retired Legate, Gaius Flavius, who had chosen to live abroad in Athretvari saw the devastation the civil war, which had no foreseeable end in sight, and chose to come home and because of his status as a war hero many flocked to his banners, especially former soldiers from before the civil war.

The Military Junta kept itself secret originally so it could build up strength and resources over the other factions. Once Legate Flavius was confident in his strength, he launched a surprise strike against the other factions all at once from within and out. Believing that because the other factions were fighting each other as well they wouldn’t be able to handle his assaults or have the time to form a coalition against him. He was proven right as his armies swiftly crushed their enemies leaving them to resort to insurgency tactics.

Now a year since then, the remainder of the factions are effectively defeated with their leaders living abroad proclaiming to be governments in exile. Always on the move the Emperor and several former Proconsuls whereabouts are currently unknown.

Today, Flavius was declared Legatus pro Proconsulis (General acting as head of government for the time being). In a statement he declared Ivstinian to be whole again and that the future of Ivstinian will be decided by a tribunal of delegates from each province at a later date and that for now he was eager to meet with any foreign dignitaries that wished to establish new relations with Ivstinian.


Civil War Statistics:

Casualties: 248,000,000
Wounded: 1.1 billion
Estimated cost of war: 17 quadrillion Aureums

[St Saratoga]

Statement from the Office of the Chancellor of Unicameral Federal Republic of St Saratoga

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TO LEGATUS PRO PROCONSULIS GAIUS FLAVIUS

All of St Saratoga is happy to see the end of your civil war. It pained everyone in my government to have lost communication with your people. We have always been historically good friends and allies; we are looking forward to reconnecting with one of our oldest friends. Although there have been a few instances of where our two nations have butt heads our diplomatic natures have always solved any disagreement.

I am relying on our history of diplomacy and friendship to make the recommendation to your tribunal of delegates to embrace democracy. The bond between our two nations has been our diplomatic natures. Democracy is becoming increasingly rare on Eukon Delta and having Ivstinian join St Saratoga would make a strong alliance of democratic nations in our world. It would make our two nations the shining light on the hill of those who want freedom and the right to self-determination in their lives. We would become the baston of freedom in a world where orderly freedom is lacking.

I am prepared to send over any assistance and aid needed to begin that transition from the military government to a full-fledge democracy. I am also open to myself coming to Ivstinian to setup the framework for the future relationship between our two nations.

Providence blesses your nation and best wishes!

Chancellor Jonathan Stewart

[46566]

Grand Duchy officially occupy northern territory
Midgar- The Grand Duchy officially moved into territory being developed in the north. The territory was originally going to be developed by the out of work Nedeans. Native midgari moved into the region to develop the basic Infrastructure for the Nedeans but they never came. The Midgari there continued to develop the area and more Midgari kept moving in the territory. The new territory extends the Duchy further north and can further boost trade between Nedea and the newly reformed Moarfall. Situated between two of the three Kredit Union Nations helps 46566 with naval trade being a natural layover for the two Nations. The current hard time between the UTR and Nedea only helps the Duchy.

[Athretvari]

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIQUÉ

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TO — His Excellency, Gaius Flavius, the Legatus pro Proconsulis of Ivstinian
FROM — Her Excellency, Anra Agājio, the Strategosa of the High-Technate of Athretvari

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The Strategosa, Her Government of the High-Technate, its institutions and people do send warm greetings and hopes of peace and prosperity to Gaius Flavius, Legatus pro Proconsulis of Ivstinian, His Government, and to the Ivstinii people.

We congratulate the Legatus pro Proconsulis on His great victory and the establishment of peace, and the deliverance of stability to Ivstinian and its people. And wish to offer any assistance, and all manner of cooperation, possible toward the maintanence and strengthening of that peace and stability.

Seeking to rekindle the friendship between our peoples and governments, we also offer to cooperate closely with your government as strategic partners in the future for our mutual security, peace, and prosperity, without prejudice to the manner of either of our internal societial organizations, styles or types of governance, or systems of economic development.

Peace & Prosperity to you and your people,
Anra

[Moarfall]

11800210.1030 [WDST]-HC

MBC
Moarfallian Broadcasting Company

~

BREAKING NEWS
Moarish Conflict comes to an End!
Realmsmen Defeat Loyalists in Dramatic Twilight Raid!
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After a tumultuous year, the dust has settled over a civil war the likes of which Moarfall has never seen. Tens of thousands of Realmsmen and their families have been slain, and just as many Loyalists have suffered the same fate. Most of the Moarish of our viewership know the story of the conflict that has ravaged our homeland, but out international viewers may not, so we will recount the story here. Documentarians and War-Reporters of Moarish decent and from beyond our borders have lost their lives to gather this information. This broadcast is in dedication to them and the brave men and women who fought for our new government in our ancient land.

A few months before the Moarish Conflict began, the government had gone quiet to the public, with next to no official statements being made to the media. Local governments were unable to provide answers beyond poorly-hidden and panicked statements abut confidentiality. The military was set on high alert and was seen mobilizing in the East, with some deserting their posts in Fort Jura and the Shifting Coves FOB, headed towards the Delta Point Outpost. A media blackout was announced in the Delta Point and Martial Law was set into effect for the entirety of the Emrisian Province.

Eventually news broke from the Emrisian Province after a local Councilman broke the "confidentiality". The local Councilman, Colonel Hughes Elgind, was on the Military Council and was a staunch supporter for the Military and Conglomerate Councils, but openly scoffed the High Council. He was able to set up a broadcast to the whole of Moarfall on an emergency channel, in which he revealed that the Council Leader Onik Mul had died months prior, and the High Council had set forth to cover up his mysterious death up and assume the political power given to the Council Leader. He called for the extermination of these "Tyrannical and Loyalist Pigs", and for those in power to step down and help rebuild Moarfall to her ancient glory from the ground up. He further cited old tribal customs that as his family House's position as unifiers of the Moarish tribes, he had a blood right to once again unite the people of the Moarish realm in a dire time of need as their new leader.

The Military Council at this time was split between the "Loyalists" to the old government and the "Realmsmen", as they would come to be known, following Elgind. Commanders who held sway over their troops and inspired loyalty towards the structure and order of the Moarfallian government at the time quickly set to weeding out the Realmsmen amongst them. Their methods were barbaric and carried out with an iron fist. Whenever and wherever they found a Realmsmen they were tortured, killed, dishonored, and without ceremony, left to rot for the scavengers. These commanders of the Loyalists quickly turned a number of their troops to the Realmsmen, seeing a chance for a change and a way to avoid the brutal interrogation of their loyalty. Many more the Loyalist troops simply abandoned their posts, deciding to return home and protect their families as the tension continued to escalate.

The High Council members that had not joined in support of the Realmsmen had began to instruct the Loyalist forces and assumed direct control of the remnants of the Military Council, promising them positions of power and wealth. The Conglomerate Council, electing to remove themselves from the conflict, continued to maintain economic independence from either side and help prevent the slump of the Moarish economy-and by extension-all of the Kredit Union members' economies. They supplied both sides of the conflict and watched with bated breath which governance would prevail.

At this time there was little armed conflict between the 2 sides. In the Emrisian Province the Realmsmen outnumbered the Loyalists by a large margin, and the Realmsmen allowed the Loyalists to return to their homes or even serve the Realmsmen, though under close scrutiny. If the Realmsmen were able to prove espionage or treachery the offending party was swiftly punished appropriately and with a greater kindness than that of the Loyalists. There was little fighting due to the peacefulness of the "takeover" of the Emrisian Province. This care for civilians, troops, and opposition alike was the greatest advantage of the Realmsmen and largely contributed to the garnering of resources and forces needed to fight the Loyalists head-on.

A little over a year ago now, most of Moarfall was not affected, many continuing to work and provide for their families and themselves. Though many began taking the opportunity to stockpile resources and weapons to defend their home from their neighbors or foreign invaders. Forces in the Capitol Province and along the western coast of the Cauldron began to patrol more and more, and soon all of Moarfall was under Martial Law.

When Martial Law was declared in the whole of Moarfall, all hell broke loose. Much of Moarfall outside the Emrisian Province was content to watch and wait, their lives not yet affected. The Moarish Interior along the Southern and Western Coast of The Cauldron lived lavishly and/or loyally enough to not care or notice this change, but the more wild areas of the nation saw heavy crackdowns and drew suspicion from the Loyalists. The Emrisian Province was seen as the catalyst for the conflict and was home to most of the rural and untouched lands of the country, and Loyalist began to suspect similar areas would begin to side with their turncoat countrymen. The cultures of these regions were such that they may have sided with the Realmsmen anyways, but the Loyalist authoritarianism was sufficient fuel to ignite a revolutionary wildfire in most of the populace.

Soon enough Realmsmen insurgency forces began to pop up in the Western half of the nation, no longer limited to Delta Point and the Emris Desert. Forces were diverted from the Capitol Province to quell the riots and rebellion in other areas under Loyalist control, and the Realmsmen began their assault. Insurgent and guerilla tactics in the west and organized and powerful military strategy in the east proved to be too much for the Loyalists to handle, soon retreating to the Capitol Province and the rest of the Moarish interior to defend Acheron and Talos Strategic Command. To this point the Loyalists had avoided using large scale weaponry in the region to avoid creating more rebels who would fight against them, but with the Realmsmen approaching their remaining strongholds and gaining more ground every day, they grew desperate. Large artillery, bombs, missiles, and other similarly destructive weapons of war were also brought to bear upon their own remaining footholds in the interior. Many who previously considered themselves Loyalists now did so out of fear of being labeled Realmsmen, no longer believing in the crumbling Moarfallian government.

While the fighting escalated and drew closer to the Capitol, the Thirsty Armada began to ramp up their attacks on Moarfallian vessels. After heavy fighting between the Loyalists and Realmsmen over McWilliams Sea Base that resulted in the Realmsmen taking the base; the privateers began their own amphibious assault that wrestled control of the base from both parties. They quickly fortified the area and held the base successfully for over a month. This may be the only time in recorded history an invading force held control over historically Moarish lands. During that month the Armada used McWilliams Sea Base as a staging ground to travel into The Cauldron and pillage Moarish lands and trade routes previously unreachable to them. The Armada attempted to use their foothold in the north to invade further inland after eliminating the Realmsmen and Loyalist forces in the area, only to find many, many more armed and angry Moarfallians who had chosen to keep their heads down and avoid the fighting. These men and women decided to take matters into their own hands; eliminating the foreign threat, and taking control of the base to later confer it to the Realmsmen.

This brings us to a little under 6 months ago, where the fighting begins to come to it's peak. The Loyalists are on the backpedal, rabidly defending their remaining territory. The Realmsmen are rebuilding and quickly bringing their newly acquired land into the fold of the now General Elgind's new Moarfallian government. They are continuing to apply pressure on Loyalist controlled areas, though not making the same rapid advancements they had previously, seemingly organizing and planning around the new stratagem of the Loyalists and not wanting to bring more harm than necessary to valuable infrastructure and civilian populace.

The MSC had previously decided to remove itself from the conflict. Having no wish to contribute to either side, considering the precarious position of their resources in heavily controlled Loyalist and Realmsmen territories. They either defended the still in construction satellite over Acheron, or returned to Aerospace Unlimited's Interplanetary Ship Building Facility in Emris Landing. This changed after intervention from Moarfall's intelligence agency, Vulonkein, who had previously remained impartial. During the conflict the intelligence agency had only been informing both sides of potential foreign threats, taking the role of sentinel for the whole of the civil-warring state. Vulonkein had observed the fighting, and had concluded that backing the Realmsmen would be the best for the nation. They convinced the MSC to join General Elgind, and to help end the war.

With the Loyalists completely surrounded, and now outgunned with the MSC's additional armed support, their area of influence slowly dwindled over the last few months until only Talos Strategic Command held anyone who would dare oppose the newly declared Zok'Jun, meaning Great Ruler in traditional Moarish, of The Cyberocratic Imperial Realm of Moarfall. The massively fortified base proved to be a challenge for the Zok'Jun's forces. The base was almost impossible to approach from the air or ground, with vehicles and armaments capable of breeching it's armor not being able to withstand the powerful weaponry of the base. Orbital or other seemingly large enough payloads to take out the weaponry were off the table due to the possible destruction of the invaluable base and the information it contained. It took weeks for Vulonkein to be able to coordinate a way with the Zok'Jun to breech the base's defenses and turn the now fearful Loyalists it contained to the Zok'Jun's side. Last night, after the insertion of multiple Special-Ops teams and Vulonkein Agents, enough Loyalists were killed or converted to successfully disarm the defenses and allow a large enough force into the base to clean up any remaining Loyalists and take their leaders into custody.

The Zok'Jun now has control over all of The Cyberocratic Imperial Realm of Moarfall, and has declared the Moarish Conflict to be over. He further stated that any remaining Loyalists are to turn themselves in to be sentenced fairly and without harm, no more Moarish blood need be spilt over a fruitless rebellion. Any combatants left fighting the new Imperial Realm will be put to death for treason. Further, The Cyberocratic Imperial Realm will be headed by the Zok'Jun, who will be advised by the Directors' Assembly. The Assembly will be formed by Directors who the Zok'Jun selects from Legislative Councils, who are voted for by the people. In the coming weeks a vote will be held to officially elect Legislative Councils whose role and number will be determined in the interim.

[Athretvari]

Quake shakes Ars Scientia and other headlines!

ARS SCIENTIA The Athretvarian capital was rattled today by a 3.6 R seismic quake during the morning rush-hour. While the quake was minor by historical standards of seismic activity in the Technate, the effects were felt for several hundred kilometers away from the epicenter in Reinas, a southeastern district of the captial city. Seismologists at the Athretvarian Seismological Institutes stated that the epicenter was relatively deep under the surface, but due to continent’s fractured basalt geology, the effects tended to be far and wide-spread under the right conditions. Major tremors and aftershocks measuring just short of the main quake at 3.59 R continued to rock the capital for most of the afternoon. Only minor damage was reported due to the quakes. Several hypercrafts were involved in an accident when a construction crane working along side a hyperway in NE Reinas collapsed during the main quake and collided with one of the hyperway’s power stanchions, temporarily knocking out power to part of the hyperway’s craft-repulsor system. Two passengers were taken to St. Giordano Bruno Hospital for minor injuries.

ARS SCIENTIA The Defenderate is reporting that construction of the Nedean-Athretvarian Bilateral Forum has begun and is underway after the Strategic Ministry of NationStates (S6) finalized an agreement with the local city government of the capital of Phanon Terrestrial (NPC) for a permanent and neutral site to hold the forum. The Defenderate stated that the forum will be built in the city’s diplomatic quarter with a large campus for future expansion. “The facilities will be ‘minimalist’ at first, with the intention of improving and extending the bilateral diplomatic mechanism as relations deepen between the Syndicate and the Technate,” said S6 Vice-General Hekl Orgosz, who heads the office overseeing the construction. “The Strategosa is intent on moving forward with developing bilateral relations with the Nedeans in the hopes our nations can work together in forging the institutions and international understandings necessary to engage in some meaningful interactions. If the forum works well, we have every intention of inviting other nations to open similar bilateral forums with the Technate in the hopes of developing and deeping relations with them as well. For example, we are interested in working with St Saratoga concerning issues involving the Northwestern passageway toward the Wild Depths, and security issues concerning the Northern Continent. And with the Grand Duchy of 46566 concerning common issues including security in the common waters near our two countries, and with Moarfall concerning maintaining free and safe navigation through the “Canarchi Gate” linking the Privateers Sea and the northern waters of the Cauldron. That will require working together with the Moarfallians to keep the Thirsty Armada and the more powerful rogue northern tribes from interfering with shipping through the Gate and the surrounding waters.”

New Brooklyn Adam Szeksighi, the local hypercraft programmer at the New Brooklyn Realm Department of Transportation who was made famous across Enkon when he appeared in several Because Blue is Beautiful tourism campaign ads, has signed a 2 million AthCoin one-year modeling contract with Buluqa Gnosi, the Technate’s top fashion house, said the model’s new PR agent, Ygetda Buqsz. “Expect to see a lot more of Adam. He’s a star, baby! A star, I say!”