The Commonality of Aurora [Closed]

[The Ctan]

The Commonality of Aurora

Aurora Mutual Development Treaty

Preamble

Recognizing the deepening relations between the Great Civilization of the C’tan, the Beastling States of Crystal Spires, United Kingdom of Malgrave, and the peoples of the former Altean Confederation, as well as the diaspora of Mysidian origin throughout the stars, and

Aware of the growing concerns about interactions between different established technological levels within the region and beyond, which has resulted in the Malgravean National Dishonour and Failure Before the Ancestors, and threats against Crystal Spires, and

Mindful of the historic connections of many states to technologically advanced predecessors and wishing to help exploration of techno-archeological ruins and understanding of the technology of ancestral states be raised to a higher level safely,

Intending to address the affected nations in all parties in a lasting manner, we the parties below agree to a new alliance to support these interests.

Part 1. Definitions

1. For the purposes of this treaty, units of time shall be those of the International System of Units based on the second, and shall be calculated in harmony with Mystrian Sidereal Time, measured from a rest position in the city of Aurora by atomic clock. This clock shall be made Fractally Universal.¹

Part 2. Procedural Articles

1. Accession to this Treaty is may be accomplished by free unilateral adoption by the Great Civilization of the C’tan, the Beastling States of D'hɑlbrisir and United Kingdom of Malgrave, or by majority vote of the States Party to admit a new Party, over which the Great Civilization, Beastling States of Crystal Spires and United Kingdom of Malgrave will each hold a separate veto.
   
   1. States Party may express reservation over one or more articles of this treaty but if so-doing accession shall always require a unanimous vote of the existing States Party.
   2. States listed in Appendix 1 shall be permitted to adopt this treaty with the permission of the protecting power, subject to satisfactory formation of stable and democratic domestic government and peaceful relations with all other States Party and other States Party of Appendix 1. Such adoption shall require only a majority vote.
2. Repudiation of this Treaty shall be accomplished in two (2) ways:
   
   1. Any State Party may repudiate this treaty at any time, subject to democratic provisos below, and this treaty is not intended to abrogate in any way the principles of sovereign equality and self-determination of peoples. To exit the Commonality a member state shall firstly:
      
      1. Conduct a referendum requiring a majority of the eligible population in the entire nation, and furthermore in each principal subdivision of that nation to vote in favour. Should this be approved, the member state shall cease to be considered a voting member, and will begin implementation of rescission protocols outlined as per Part 3, Article 15. These protocols shall not take less than two (2) years as outlined in Part 3, Article 15.
      2. Upon completion of rescission protocols, or at two (2) year intervals within the rescission period further confirmatory referenda shall be held, again requiring a majority of the population in the withdrawing nation and in each principal subdivision to vote in favour of repudiation of this treaty.
      3. In the event of any confirmatory referendum fails to achieve the required majority, the recission process shall end and the member shall remain a party to this treaty.
   2. The States Party agree that any unilateral repudiation of this treaty in breach of the previous provisos this shall be considered an Unfriendly Act to all remaining States Party.
   3. This treaty may be set into permanent abeyance with a unanimous vote, and its provisions set aside, which retains the ability for the treaty to be called back into effect by any State Party by another unanimous vote.
3. Amendment of this Treaty shall be accomplished by unanimous vote of the Commonality Council, over a course of twenty four (24) hours, but any State Party may defer the implementation of an amendment for a period of up to two (2) years, reckoned in terms of MST, from the completion of any vote.
4. With respect to ratification and entry into force:
   
   1. All instruments of ratification, accession, etc., shall be deposited with existing States Party, and with the Secretariat of the World Assembly; and
   2. This treaty shall enter into force between the States Party which have ratified it as soon as the ratifications of two (2) polities, not the Great Civilisation of the C’tan, have deposited their instruments of ratification, and shall come into effect with respect to other States Party in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, or equivalent.

Part 3. Operational Articles

Government and Law, Social Solidarity, Progress, General Uplift, Exploration and Survey, Defence and Cessation of Protectorate Status Provisions

1. All States Party of the Commonality must maintain a democratic means of government, direct or representational.
   
   1. All citizens of a State Party, possessed of sound mind and fullness of age, absent egregious criminal conviction or other like serious impediment, must be guaranteed the ability to vote, freely and secretly, according to the kind of democratic system implemented in that State Party;
   2. Special Police, Intelligence Agencies, and like entities of the States Party must be regulated by laws respecting the rights of their citizens, and prevented from encroachment into the political sphere;
   3. The States Party shall criminalise foreign interference in the lawful operation of the democratic process, and be required to effect this via the passage of appropriate legislation to prohibit ‘dark money’ and foreign sponsorship of election interference, and also to implement laws to mitigate the influence of single persons or commercial entities in the democratic process;
   4. The practice of banning political parties based on their ideology is prohibited by this treaty, though such prohibition shall not prevent such parties from being proscribed based upon directly criminal acts committed by States Party in conspiracy within the direction of such parties, or the commission of egregious actions aimed at the destruction of the democratic process, including the commission of corruption, but this process shall be subject to lawful trial and appeal processes, not as a discretionary power of government.
   5. Constitutional monarchies within States Party are permitted but the exercise of the executive power must be vested in an elected official, with the de facto power of monarchs to be exclusively limited to actions clearly outlined in law, outwith the legislative process, and performative in nature only.
2. Travel and Borders
   
   1. Nationals of States Party shall be permitted to move and reside within the borders of other States Party without requiring visa documentation, travel arrangements, or other border controls.
   2. For taxation purposes where appropriate the nationals of all States Party shall be considered domiciled within their nation of principal residence.
   3. As this treaty creates a free movement zone, the States Party agree to cooperate with each other in the matter of the pursuit of criminals, and the security of their national territories, to prevent Adverse Actors from exploiting the letter and spirit of this treaty to its destruction.
   4. The States Party agree that, where the needs of public order, public health, or national security require it, they may, for the duration of the situation creating such needs, derogate from their obligations under this Article 2 to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation.
3. Economic Integration
   
   1. Banking institutions shall be regulated within the interest of the individual customer and shall be permitted to operate within all States Party through common infrastructure.
   2. The States Party shall adopt a common customs zone, with safety certification of goods produced within nations of the Commonality being considered automatic, and import of all products
4. Social Security
   
   1. All States Party shall be required to implement a Universal Basic Income style of social security mechanism, and this will be claimable for nationals regardless of residence within Commonality nations.
   2. This Universal Basic Income shall be scaled according to cost of living within the home nation, but shall be supplemented by a domiciliary nation for nationals living abroad within Commonality nations to match their own domestic level.
5. Social Exclusion
   
   1. All States Party shall address as part of their domestic legislature agenda, social exclusion caused by caste, economic deprivation, lasting damage of civil wars, or exclusion caused by any other inherent factor not limited to sex, gender, species, race, sexuality, religion, philosophy, political belief or other core identity trait.
   2. This shall consist of at minimum, funding and resources being allocated to redress systemic social exclusion in state institutions, as well as in regions of privation.
   3. States Party agree that legal impediments that serve to enshrine exclusion or disadvantage are outmoded and shall be addressed within their legislative agenda.
   4. Provisions under this article against Social Exclusion shall not include the requirement of a state to require citizens to undertake civic study or service to attain the franchise.
6. Shared Healthcare
   
   1. The States Party agree that henceforth efforts will be made to share all technologies relating to healthcare and medicine, in order to obtain the highest standard of shared development in this area.
7. Magical Research
   
   1. The States Party shall share all information relating to magical development with one another and endeavor to engage in joint projects in this area.
8. Technological Research
   
   1. The States Party will cooperate in technological research, and allow academic and industrial research to be accessible to other States Party of the Commonality.
   2. Technology of the Great Civilization will be shared at the highest feasible rate of dispensation to ensure that an adequate knowledge of not only the operational parameters but the operational principles of such technology is made available.
   3. Technology of Alteran (“Ancestral”) Origin will be shared among the alliance but shall be recognized to be of intrinsic cultural value to the United Kingdom of Malgrave and original examples of such technologies and cultural artefacts shall be kept in the custody of the United Kingdom of Malgrave.
   4. Technology of Mysidian Origin will be shared among the alliance but shall be recognized to be of intrinsic cultural value to the Beastling States of Crystal Spires, to the Confederation of Altea, Satrapy of Anadirsol, and states likewise derived from the Mysidian Continent, and original examples of such cultural artefacts shall be kept in the custody of same.
   5. No part of this treaty shall oblige States Party to share technology that is proprietary technology of a third party nation or alliance, or, having been developed in conjunction with such, is subjected to restrictions on its distribution or release.
9. General Uplift
   
   1. States Party shall be provided with assistance to develop in line with their domestic laws, and shall provide information and training to educational institutions at all levels of study to facilitate a common understanding of the sciences.
   2. Where relevant, States Party shall be assisted to move civil infrastructure from a reliance on petrochemical ground vehicles, toward use of mixed gravitic and urban transit equivalents in order to reclaim and re-green environments in and around cities, and release parking areas for pedestrian or urban green space usages. The Great Civilization of the C’tan shall assist in this transition.
   3. The parties shall endeavor to provide assistance in moving to the most environmentally sustainable level configuration of infrastructure possible, with an understanding that new infrastructure should be built to a standard that prioritize future development to the highest common standard of technology. This shall include the provision of green energy technologies and shall endeavor to preserve the natural environment and biodiversity of States Party
10. Exploration and Survey
    
    1. Subject to their existing obligations and arrangements, State parties agree to share information about their exploration and survey efforts, and to have no barriers in information sharing in terms of exploration.
11. Collective Security
    
    1. The States Party agree that an armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an attack against them all; and consequently agree that if such an armed attack occurs, each of them will assist the States Party so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other States Party, such action as is deemed necessary to restore and maintain their general security.
12. Armed Forces Recruitment and Secondment
    
    In order to facilitate collective security, States Party agree to second forces at regular intervals to the Great Civilization Conflict Service to be deployed in auxiliary roles and to build capabilities for joint operations. The exact availability of forces will be determined by the donor state, and shall be attached organically to Great Civilization forces in missions approved by the donor state.
    
    1. Cultural Institutions
       
       The Order of Uncorruptibles of D'hɑlbrisir, having been reformed as a voluntary vocational service, shall in the future be permitted to serve as a law enforcement agency of the Great Civilization, and to enforce the laws of the Great Civilization as supplemental personnel for Great Civilization Lawkeepers. Other States Party may adopt this process as they see fit.
       
       1. States Party agree to support The Order of Vigilants either with chapterhouses within their nations, or with support on the Mysidian continent.
       2. The Great Civilization’s recruitment of Keʃæn soldiers from The Elphegort shall not be considered as that nation’s commitment for article 12.a of this treaty.
13. Weapons Development
    
    1. States Party agree, with the exception of the Great Civilization of the C’tan, to not to build or deploy any weapon of mass destruction. A weapon of mass destruction is any device, weapon, weapons system, or like technology that is developed with the intent of causing widespread destruction or loss of life, and possessing any or all of the following characteristics;
       
       1. Practical capability to be deployed in an inhabited space, capable of killing one thousand or more persons (except in the instances of destruction of vessels and high-rise/low-delve buildings).
       2. Radiological fallout potential liable to afflict life across more than one hectare of an inhabited planet.
       3. Any weapon with a bacteriological, viral, retroviral, micrite or nanotechnological mechanism of effect, capable of spreading from an initial target to later hosts.
       4. Any chemical agent delivery system capable of killing or permanently disabling more than one hundred people in any practical scenario.
    2. Where weapons capable of destruction of this nature are required for legitimate defensive requirements, for instance anti-starship weapons systems they shall where possible be built with security precautions hard-coded to prevent their use against settled areas.
    3. Where need exists for such munitions for other purposes (e.g. asteroid destruction, megafauna containment), they shall be provided by the Great Civilization under supervision.
14. Removal of Protectorate Status
    
    1. Upon accession to the Commonality, any State Party which is considered a protectorate of any other State Party shall be considered to be a wholly sovereign state, and such treaties considered expired.
15. Recission protocols.
    
    1. Should any State Party wish to exit the Commonality, this may be effected with the minimum notice of the longer of:
       
       1. Two (2) years after notice is given, this requirement may be waived with the unanimous agreement of the other States Party.
       2. The time required to complete the removal of proprietary technology as specified in Part 3.15.b.
    2. Where a party wishes to exit the Commonality, this shall require the removal, or separate renegotiation of access to, proprietary technologies shared under the auspices of this treaty.
16. Cessation of Existence Protocols
    
    1. Should all but one State Party of this treaty cease to exist per World Assembly reporting measures, without a clear successor government being reported, this treaty will be considered in abeyance until such time as reporting re-commences.
       
       1. During the time of such a dormancy the territories of parties deemed to have ceased to exist at a national level will be administered by agreement of the remaining active States Party, and citizens of nations affected shall be deemed to have nationality of the Great Civilization, or if the Great Civilization is deemed to have Ceased to Exist with remaining States Party.
       2. In the event of a mass-ascension event, remaining States Party will acquire the territory and remaining assets of States Party for administration and disbursal accordingly.

Part 4. Alliance Governance

1. Commonality Commission
   
   1. The Commonality shall provide an executive body for the governance of the undertakings under this treaty, as well as to propose new initiatives and activities which can be adopted by the Commonality Council.
   2. The Commission shall consist of one representative for each member state, plus the Commission Leader, who will be appointed by the Commonality Council.
   3. Decisions in the Commission require an absolute majority of the Commissioners.
   4. The representatives of the Great Civilization of the C’tan, the Beastling States of D'hɑlbrisir and United Kingdom of Malgrave, and any parties admitted outside of those listed in Appendix 1, shall have a veto on any vote of the Commission.
   5. The Commission’s function shall not be legislative, but executive, and the Commonality Council will determine the limits of the Commission’s activities.
2. Commonality Council
   
   1. The Commonality Council will consist of one ambassador from each member state.
   2. The Commonality Council will act as an oversight agency, and will also be empowered to amend this treaty.
   3. To adopt a motion the Commonality Council must approve the motion unanimously, with the exception of votes to admit new States Party from Appendix 1, which require a majority vote only.
   4. Abstentions will not be counted in the Council, and a vote may be considered unanimous if all votes cast are abstentions or approvals.

Appendix 1: Pre-Approved States Party

The following states are protectorates, conquered territories and dependencies eligible for States Partyhip of the Commonality subject to Article 1.b, identified along with their protecting power and their present relationship to said power.

• Altea, The Imperial Kingdom of - Occupied Territory - Great Civilization. Altea includes the following nations which may be admitted separately:
  
  • Altair
  • Arubboth
  • Bafsk
  • Dayne
  • Gatea
  • Idrise
  • Kashion
  • Mechanon
  • Mysid
  • Palamecia
  • Paloom
  • Perseria
  • Poft
  • Raqia
  • Salamand
  • Semitt
• Anadirsol, The Borderlands of - Dependency - Great Civilization
• Carceno, The Most Serene Republic of - Protectorate - D'hɑlbrisir
• Elphegort, The - Protectorate - Great Civilization
• Unitarian Space Empire, The - Occupied Territory, Great Civilization. n.b. In the event of the conclusion of military operations against the Empire which do not result in complete occupation, partitioned nations may be admitted.

Appendix 2: Status of Malgravean Research Colonies

Hostile forces currently active within the Malgravean Research Colonies belonging to the Hundred Worlds of Lord Atum and the City-State of Tambelon shall not be considered to invoke the Collective Security provisions of this treaty so long as they do not extend their influence to other Malgravean territories, and assistance efforts to both territories shall continue to be governed on the basis of arrangements prior to the entry into force of this treaty. This appendix shall remain in force only as long as current states of declared crisis affecting these areas continue without interruption, and shall cease to have effect after these areas are initially re-secured by the Malgravean state.

---

OOC:
Posted after review by, Crystal Spires and Malgrave it may be considered signed by all three nations at this stage, as other concerns prevent Crystal Spires from posting reliably.

Posted as its own thread for in-region responses should there be any, and for updates or future memberships to be clearly listed.

With gracious thanks to my proof-reader and treaty-smith.

---
¹ Fractally Nonreactive meaning that it will not respond to timeskips; the time requirements are OOC.

[Urmanian]

---

The recent declaration of a "mutual development treaty" between D'halbrisir, Malgrave and the Great Civilization came as a surprise to many. An unprecendented escalation of relations between two of our closest prospective allies in Mystria and an interstellar power with space lasers of death, which gives the former hitherto unseen access to advanced technologies and said space lasers of death. Should we be happy for them, or should we be worried about space lasers of death?

Of course, space lasers of death aside, most questions we receive from concerned citizens concern the economy. Without a doubt, this radical rearrangement of power relations in the Mystria region will have an unforeseen impact on the global economy, and the Sorrelian economy does not stand to be unaffected. Both D'halbrisir and Malgrave were once predicted to be our greatest trade partners. What becomes of it now?

We have contacted Gravy Train, a commissioner of the Central Planning Authority for more comments on what this means for our economy.

PEN LINE: Comrade Gravy Train, in your opinion, what does the formation of the Commonality of Aurora mean for the future of the Sorrelian economy?

GRAVY TRAIN: Unfortunately, our forecasts are fairly bleak. Both Malgrave and the Beastling States used to be our priority export targets. Now, the demand for a large nomenclature of our exports might fall off very hard. We fear that those nations will simply have no interest in Sorrelian products concerning such areas as machinery, medical equipment, magitech, weaponry, et cetera, anymore. That is a hefty double-digit percentage of our exports. Furthermore, many of our state investments into Malgrave and the Beastling States will stop being relevant altogether. Such as our investments into joint Malgravean-Sorrelian space programs.

PEN LINE: What can the average Sorrelian worker expect?

GRAVY TRAIN: There will definitely be adjustments to the Plan and quotas for quite a few industries, particularly the ones I've named. We'll be doing what we can to minimize the risk of layoffs, of course, but folks will still feel the kick. The influx of foreign currency will suffer severely, which will also limit our imports of consumer goods, at least temporarily. Better buy that BreStation 3 now while it's still affordable.

PEN LINE: What steps does the Planning Agency plan to take now?

GRAVY TRAIN: I think we will have to start divesting away from Mystria and reorient our exports to third-region countries, and look into building an even more self-reliant economic plan. But it'll take time and effort, and put further strain on our developing socialist economy.

There is no doubt that the founding of the Commonality is going to be a major shake-up for the inter-regional balance of power as well. Many wonder how it will impact our existing diplomatic commitments. To find answers, we have also reached out to the highest halls of political power, with Comrade Dunewalker, the High Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Buraq to the Presidium, agreeing to answer our questions about the political and diplomatic impacts of the Commonality agreement.

PEN LINE: Comrade Dunewalker, your comment...

DUNEWALKER: To be quite honest, many of us can't help but see ongoing developments as a containment policy directed at our Republic by the C'tan Empire. Sorry, the Great Civilization. First they give a rival imperialist power bloc a Prance worth of land, gratis and with no oversight or accountability that we can tell, to put missiles on our figurative doorstep. And now this. Of course, it's all in the spirit of advancing sapientkind and so on, [air quotes with his hooves], but, you know. We keep hoping that the Great Civilization could at least tell us where they see us in this new world order of theirs, but they're probably too busy for that.

PEN LINE: There's talk that it is possible for the Vermillion Republic itself to eventually apply for the Commonality, considering our good relations with Malgrave and D'halbrisir. What do you think about that?

DUNEWALKER: That is impossible. Read the charter. It's like it was written on purpose to exclude us or push us into concessions if we expressed an interest in joining. Obviously, giving up our WMDs to become reliant on the Great Civilization's good graces is a non-starter in the current geopolitical climate. And while a multi-party system is something that could be entertained in the future, permitting private banking, as the charter also appears to demand, definitely is not.

PEN LINE: Where do you see our relations with Commonality members going now?

DUNEWALKER: We had quite a few plans for mutual defence, research and development agreements with the United Kingdom and the Beastling States, but there will likely be no longer any interest in any of that. So that is unfortunate and limits our options on the international arena even further. But we still consider those countries good friends and close allies, and want to maintain those friendships in the future. As for the Great Civilization, well, I'll say this. We still carry out internal and external policy based on the idea that we get "good colt points" for doing what the C'tani want. But we're yet to see real dividends from those "points". If more disappointment is all the reward that we get, perhaps it's time to instead focus on what Sorrelia needs. Like putting more reactionaries in the Glue-lag. You don't need to print that last part.

Butterfly Ginger, the Ambassador of the Vermillion Republic to the Great Civilization, was reportedly instructed by the Foreign Commissariat to solicit clarification from GC officials on the future state of Sorrelian-C'tani relations.

Follow the Flankfurt Worker for more future updates on this and the international situation at large!

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-Pen Line of the Flankfurt Worker (penline@mail.sor)



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[Rohane Alista]

The Aurora Commonality Announced

The Aurora Commonality, a multilateral treaty organization between the Beastling States of Crystal Spires, United Kingdom of Malgrave, and the Great Civilization of the C’tan has recently been announced. The pact sees the three enter a mutual defense treaty, as well as other terms that effect technology sharing, government forms, economic system, and access to weapons of mass destruction.

At this time, no immediate effect on efforts to secure the homeland are expected to occur. In the future, there may be multilateral effects on aid distribution as a result of the treaty, but at this time the ministry urges all to remain calm and carry on. In further reminder, the C’tani or Malgravean aid worker within Rohane Alista itself is your friend.

Should further information come to light in regards to the Aurora Commonality and its potential effect on the nation and its military, further bulletins will be posted.

Bulletin #37655189

“So, what have the eggheads got for us on this Compact thing?” The Minister of Defense asked the conference.

“Commonality, sir,” he was corrected by a lieutenant corporal, a woman with short brown hair and a sharpness about her face that made her seem hawkish. “As you know, General Armotiv is currently unable to maintain solid contact due to the situation in Alistara, but the DMI has come back with a preliminary analysis. Honestly, not much has actually changed in the relations of the C’tani to Mystria; this was pretty much all de facto there anyways, now it’s de jure, too.”

“I doubt that’s all they have, right?” Ælfric Strider continued, frowning.

“No, sir,” the colonel confirmed. “The main points of concern are not actually with the member states of the Commonality itself. We expect to be able to predict C’tani and Spirean moves much the same as usual, and Malgraveans will continue their habit of attempting to tie down anyone they can with treaties, we imagine. There’s no real reason for them to stop doing so.

“The real concern for us is non-Commonality actors who may react. It’s unlikely we’ll see actual action from Kouralia or Imeriata on this issue, at leats not militarily, given they have other problems on going. However, the Ministry of State has requested that we attempt to work more closely with any Imerians who do happen to deploy to Rohane Alista, and the same of any of our forces who reach Kouralia proper… they believe this may give us a chance to grow relations with those two nations, and perhaps defang the Crown Alliance without any bloodshed, something that seems likely to be necessary in the immediate future.

“However, there is one state that is sounding alarm bells in both the DMI and the Ministry of State. Sorrelia,” the colonel paused here to clear her throat. “We believe they had been pursuing a plan to form some kind of militarized pact with Crystal Spires and Malgrave, and judging by a recently published news report,” on every screen a copy of ‘The Flankfurt Worker’ appeared, “they will now abandon that plan and move on. The language used in this report indicates that they are still presenting a direct and real threat to New Rohan as a whole, and also that they have disregarded agreed upon diplomatic pacts that were part of New Rohan’s creation, such as the forbiddance of the staging of WMDs in the area.

“Obviously, we have not and plan not to do such a thing, but Sorrelian rhetoric remains concerning on this front. While the navy is largely unharmed, and could likely do significant damage to Sorrelia’s, in the end we would simply be too outnumbered should their saber rattling escalate to full out invasion to protect New Rohan. The mayor of New Edolas has been made aware, and there are already plans for pursuing guerilla warfare, some modeled after more successful Catedonian measures, should they become needed,” the colonel continued. “However, we may wish to have this issue referred to the DSA council as a matter of concern. The fact of the matter is, Sorrelian rhetoric borders war justification measures through falsehood and exaggeration already, and we must be prepared. As much as we possibly could at this time.”

“A matter of grave concern, indeed,” The Minister replied, rubbing his eyes. “But not one for this very moment. I will leave the response to Sorrelia in the Ministry of State’s hands for now, but do prepare an extra carrier task force to join the one already patrolling near New Rohan, just to assure our refugees and citizens that we do remember them. Be careful to instruct them to engage with Malgraveans or Sorrelians no more than absolutely necessary, let’s not give the ponies their excuse on our own fault. Now, moving on, latest reports from Alistara are reading something about an airship crashing?”

[Kouralia]

Maniero Kourniina (Kourniinian Mansion)
Baia Ylhaſe

Galley Proof leaned back on his chair and sighed with satisfaction at a hard day's work capped off with the masterful completion of a monumental task. Mere seconds before he had clicked the left button of his mouse on the Make Tweeter button with the telekinesis that was now levitating a hooffull of ready-salted hay. Before he could move it half-way to his mouth, the loading bar had completed, and his words were once again on display for the whole world to read. He sat a little prouder in his chair and preened himself slightly before spinning about with a start as the antique walnut doors to the Rocher Room slammed open and a frazzled-looking pegasus floated in barely keeping herself off the floor with the weight of, a tripod under each arm and a succession of black carry cases slung across her back.

"What are you doing back so early, Platen?" Galley Proof asked curiously as the pastel green mare whirred her way straight past him without acknowledgement. She grunted, before shaking herself like a hound after a half-hour under the hose and to mysteriously fling all her accouterments aside into perfectly arranged piles.

"I'm afraid recent events have taken their toll this evening." Platen Jobber replied bitterly in a passable mimicry of the slightly nasal, Capitolean accent of the First & Principal Secretary-General.

"They cancelled again?" Galley said incredulously.

"You betcha," Jobber said, "And not only did she cancel the MalTok VidByte again, but apparently she wants to try it again tomorrow first thing. First Thing!" She wailed. "Like I didn't already stay late just to get this done today, and you bet the gaffer won't authorise pay. It'll be TOIL or 'for the good of the department'." Jobber continued, rolling her eyes as she quoted their manager's second favourite saying when asked about overtime - after 'You're 'avin' a laff.' Jobber sighed and bumbled her way over to her desk to snatch up the Glukourzade bottle and guzzle some of its contents.

"They didn't even say why!" She added as she slammed the bottle down on the desk, the energy boost already helping her float a little higher off the floor before she settled down to perch on the fetching brown Executive Ergo-Mesh 24hr Posture-Stool she had manage to wrangle from Procurement the week before.

"Nothing, huh?" Galley Proof asked as he swung back to his laptop and hit F5 to gauge his r e a c h over the past minute.

"No! Jobber said as she flapped the stool's way across the office's plush carpets toward her colleague. "U'Ren just stuck his head out of the Boss' office, gave me the short shrift and then shut it in my face. I thought I could hear the sound of sobbing, rhythmic thudding like someone was banging their head into a desk, and the words 'Why, Appendix 2?! Whyyyyy!!!', but I'm not sure." She added with a shrug. "Now I'm well and truly naffed off, so I'm going to go home and uncork a bottle, and hopefully I'll still be squiffy enough to cope with her bokking Policital Counselors tomorrow trying to tell me about 'stray hairs'... You're not going to finish late are you?

"What's that you're on with anyway?"

Galley Proof sighed and turned to face Jobber, "Don't you know, the work of a good Press Officer is never done, not even at ten to close of play on the late shift!" He said jauntily before shrinking back from her unamused glare. "Just some waffle going out on all platforms. I just got told that the Mals and the Spireans have signed an agreement with the 'Tani bods, so we need an all platforms announcement of moderate support. No script, just 'make something encouraging'. Tweeter was my last update."

"D'ya think that's why the Justiciar was so 'overcome' by events?" Jobber asked.

"No idea." Galley Proof said, "And I don't care. Now, do you think security will notice if I sneak out twenty minutes early with you?" He asked as he eyed up the setting sun through the window, "Because you know tomorrow morning the boss will ask the gate what time I left..."

---

[Urmanian]

The Sorrelian Republic’s concerns were not brushed aside, and they had an embassy directly on the world of Duat, currently in its fall, this cool world was tranquil and far from the chaos currently sweeping Mystria, but the Capital City was still a hive of activity, its canals and pools a nexus for night life at all times. The Senate Buildings sat on the coastline of the peninsular-city, with the consulates near them, and the area set aside for the Triarch Council to receive guests was a small building overshadowed by the large Senate House and its extensive museums.

Devagni Pancholi ita Dyvanakh ita Merenakh was the person officially charged with overseeing economic relations within the three-person council, though her role was an executive function that gave a wide latitude in what she could actually call “her responsibility.”

A request for a meeting was swiftly answered though, and the open waterfront balcony of the building prepared for guests. The decor was muted, pale, and designed to be a harmonious blend of welcoming without necessarily possessing too many cultural cues in any particular direction, while the furniture that had been prepared was perfectly adapted for ponies and their cousins.

There was an exception however, in the form of the tableware, which was of rose crystal, in an equestrian style.

”Did you know that Necrontyr has 16 distinct words for flaying?”
“Huh?”
“Just thought it’d be interesting. Do you think my fleece would look good on a wall?”
“I don’t think-“
“My motto is – always be ready for anything! That’s why I got my coat done extra fluffy and shiny today.”
“Uh huh. Is the agenda binder with you?”

“Oh...that I forgot about.”

“That’s fine. I brought copies with me just in case.”

“You’re a lifesaver!”

The cream-colored Alpake graciously took the folder from her aide before jauntily vibrating through the welcoming halls of the Triarch Council’s guesthouse. A large red scarf which she never removed billowed behind her as she stepped out onto the balcony.

Ambassador Butterfly Ginger was chosen for her position for her dynamic personality, knowledge of spacefaring cultures and interstellar languages moreso than her diplomatic tact. She claimed to know dozens of languages - some of which were never spoken within the galaxy - but had only received a basic amount of diplomatic instruction. Yet there was something about her that made the Party trust her unquestioningly with bearing the hefty responsibility for relations between the Vermillion Republic and the Great Civilization.

As she arrived at the designated meeting spot, the Alpake gave a quick gracious nod in recognition of the small but meaningful Equestrian-style piece of decor before she reached deep into her fleece and procured a present box intended for Devagni. Within was an alpake wool sweater, dyed black and green and decorated with Necrontyr dynastic sigils, C’tani triarch symbols, and faces of Necron warriors. Alongside it was a knitted cozy that perfectly fit a gauss flayer.

Devagni smiled broadly, and bowed to Butterfly Ginger, ‘Welcome to Duat, I trust the trip was relaxing,’ she said, there had been no scrimping on the facilities of course, and the whole experience was one of red carpets and ceremony, ‘I have nothing quite so nice to offer,’ she said, instead reaching to a hovering display plattern and holding up a small crystalline bonsai tree, ‘Please accept this as a token of our esteem,’ she said, passing it to the Alpake.

“Thank you very much! Don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s wonderful!” the camelid beamed took a moment to appreciate the tree and its reflections before carefully lowering it into the same hammerspace within her fleece. No doubt it was going to be one of the crown jewels of her collection of alien curios.

“The trip was simply superlative,” she continued as she began to pour cups of strong coffee from a vacuum flask that Devagni could swear wasn’t there just a split second ago, “But what was on our agenda again?”

‘I want to reassure you that Sorralia has a great amount of stored credit here, and that we prize our good relations and ongoing alliance with the Vermillion Republic. We want to reassure you that the Commonality project is not intended to exclude you or preclude your ongoing relationship with either Crystal Spires or Malgrave.’

“Oh, most of us don’t think it’s meant to exclude us on purpose or anything, only a minority of folks who look for dastardly clopitalist plots under their beds,” Ginger waved a hoof as she sipped on her coffee which made her fleece momentarily puff up and sparkle with static electricity, “We trust the Great Civilization and consider Great Civilizationers- Civiliziners? I mean, the C’tani – our close friends. However, there is concern, and I don’t think it’s entirely unfounded, that it still indirectly limits our opportunities by making D’halbrisir and Malgrave less interested in, well, anything we are able to offer. And we’re pretty strapped for friends as is…”

‘I will tell you something that I would not tell most,’ she said to the Alpake, ‘the Mystcom project is one that is fraught with concerns, certainly we would like more responsible actors in space, but there is significant concern that many Mystrians and Pony Landers, despite being the most advanced part of Earth that’s not already spacefaring, aren’t ready for the larger pond to swim in. Malgrave is distinctly non-aggressive in a way that has meant they’re looking to align with others, while Crystal Spires wanted to limit the chance for capitalist aggression. Even so, I don’t think the Commonality’s development provisions will price the Vermilion Republic out of the market nearly so much as you might expect; we have plenty of imports from the Republic itself after all, from zap apple jam to high end magic, speaking of, do you mind if I share some of your coffee?’ she asked.

“Of course! It’s a special alpake-grown blend, and zap apple jam? I’m glad you mentioned that!” she had a jar of that on hoof as well, of course, opening it to produce an electrifying blast of static which made her fur stand up even stiffer. She didn’t seem to notice though as she began applying some to bread.
“Even then, we have an industrial sector too, and as we now trade according to a plan, naturally D’halbrisir and Malgrave were seen as priority trade partners as well as potential recipients of infrastructure investments. Now much of it will have to be recalculated and directed elsewhere.”

“But I see your point. Definitely, if I had to pick a candidate for uplifting, those two would be at the top of the list, and not Imerians or somepony from the Dragon Lake Alliance. We can trust the Spireans and Malgraveans to use the technologies responsibly. Well, mostly. As long as they don’t try to blow up the Sun or delete sex or something.”
‘The Malgraveans certainly have a chequered past, but I am also sure both of those nations would be sympathetic to concessions to support the current plan; on that same token there is much we can do for our longest standing regional ally. Do you have any needs that we can address?’

"Admittedly, there are many things we need...our first Five-Year Plan is quite extensive, one could even say ambitious! In five - or preferably four or even three - years we seek to," the alpake began counting fingers on a large foam hand, humanoid but with an inordinate number of fingers, "Rehash our infrastructure and build an additional 40,000 kilometers of high-speed levi-rail, enact full employment, universal cutting-edge healthcare, 100% carbon neutrality or even climate positivity, establish an advanced electronically planned economy and achieve casual travel throughout the solar system - oh and state-mandated naptimes for all..."

"Of course, we could never simply ask for handouts, but if it'd be possible to work out something reciprocal..." she concluded.

‘While you may not be inclined to ask for handouts, we are quite prepared to give you something of commensurate value to the colony we’ve given the Rohanians. We do not consider it a donation so much as giving them something useful to do, of course, as it happens their progress may not be as much as we had hoped there,’ she said. ‘Do you want something internal, such as aid with rail and similar infrastructure, or something with discrete and impressive map value?’

The question had Butterfly Ginger thinking and fiddling for more than a few torturous moments, pretending to pay close attention to the coffee grounds at the bottom of her cup, before at last she finally spoke up:
“Discrete and impressive map value would be nice, and above all, really funny…but really, I think something that could directly improve the lives of our citizens would be more important. Maybe some kind of ancient space skeleton technology you’d be open to disclosing without fear that we’d misuse it?”

‘We have built public transport teleportation networks such as we use here for other nations before, that is the first thing that springs to mind, it is a boon to both ponies and freight transport, displacement as it’s called, works by forming short lived wormholes around a person and their destination and exchanging their places. It can certainly be weaponized but when we have installed them before they have essentially been black-box modules, if you wanted something you could produce domestically then there is a whole range of steps to getting anything as direct and simple as the ones we would make, but we could help you move forward with it,’ she said, ‘displacers are elegantly non-threatening though and I think Telissat suggested this was commercially available at the Mystrian conference, which means that anyone who has not asked us to provide it at a fee so far only has themselves to blame, but in this case there would be no cost. And of course you have plenty of magical teleportation already, though the scalability of the technological option is greater.’

“That…that sounds quite tempting, and generous,” the alpake rubbed her chin, pondering the possibilities, “It seems we could implement it without making other means of transportation obsolete, such as, setting up wormholes for a train to quickly bypass difficult terrain? Definitely a more efficient and cheaper alternative to the teleportation methods we have now, though…it would be much appreciated.”
“I’ll share with you another infrastructure project we have planned, a massive space elevator which could be used to trade with the Great Civilization and other space-faring powers more efficiently, although it is a bit of a prestige project so we’d probably like to mostly construct it using our own ponypower” Butterfly Ginger related with a smile.
“As for the Rohanian colony, I have to say we have our concerns, while we know the place is basically a blank slate populated by no one except daemons…some are troubled by the prospects of Rohanians using the area to stage long-range armaments, and do not think they can be trusted to sufficiently empathize with the regional culture and treat local communities with respect. As such have been calls to restore our rates of military buildup to the levels before the Royal Pony Council when we were building up against…well I can’t remember who it was but you get the point.”

‘There’s always a use for space elevators, do you want it to avoid the ring the Menelmacari have built around the planet?’ she asked, ‘they are in the prime latitude for space elevators of course, and functionally in the way, but a bit of fractal trickery could get around it reasonably enough, or so I’m told,’ she added.
“Ehm…it would probably be for the best to avoid it? Probably would be for the best to avoid bumping it all of the time… Though our calculations have taken in consideration the fractal-ness so we could avoid any such constructions.”

‘Very good,’ she said, ‘as to the Rohanians, in truth I don’t think there’s much concern to Haywaii, you’re in a position to handily deal with anything they might try. And as to the native inhabitants of the Plains of Hubris, there are none. Not a one. All dead, even to the last individual.’

“You’re right…maybe we shouldn’t fear any of their plots!” Butterfly Ginger clapped her hooves together, “I can assure you that we won’t try anything, but we retain the capability to respond to the slightest provocation with all of our magical and conventional might. This extends to Rohanians trying to bring any Equestrian populations beyond the Chaos Wastes under their influence, I hope you’d understand.”

‘The nearest ponies are the Silverdaleans, who are of course quite as much under their influence as anypony might be, but I will confess that I am always a little confused about the nature of their influence, such as it might be,’ she said.

“The…influence! Erm…would you be fine if they walked into Equestria tomorrow, saying everypony should renounce magic and be just like baseline pariah humans, and practice capitalism with Rohanian characteristics?! What would Princess Luna think?” Butterfly Ginger said as dramatically as she could, then sighed, “Well, really it’s mostly about them promoting a system that isn’t ours.”

She laughed, ‘I think their blankness would burn out, especially given the recent revelations, and then they would be reduced into what is it, magical protoplasmic jelly within twenty minutes? But in truth they’re not of too much concern to us at the moment.’

“Fine…I have no more pointed points to make. You’ve brought me into a corner. Would you at least help us if the DLA aggressed against us first?” the alpake looked up with a quivering lip and mournful gaze, “Like how we are ready to help you against the evil forces of Chaos! Just give us the word!”

‘Yes, we have a treaty and if the Sorrelian Union were attacked we would retaliate with full force, as though we ourselves had been attacked. There is no question about that, we would also look most dimly on aggression against other pony nations, I would say.’

“Okay, that’s good enough security for us I think. I’ll bring the teleporter technology before the Central Planning Authority and see if they can come up with something that doesn’t bring too many ponies out of a job! You understand, such technologies must be introduced carefully…”