NewOriginalSchwann

Live Updates: War in the Northern Wildlands Act 2 Article 7 of the Amor Patriae arc Following the typical XNS jingle the camera focuses on a screen displaying the Northern Wildlands flanked by analysts Ajit Gopal and Delphine Deschamps. San Colette now stands alone, completely surrounded by the Front and the League. “Hello, and welcome back to our continuing coverage of the Northern Wildlands,” Deschamps begins. “As you can see San Colette remains surrounded by the forces of the League and Front, both of which are engaged with one another. Information from this area has been spotty at best, but neither side appears to have launched a serious assault on San Colette itself.” “They have not, and it appears the League is currently attempting to engage the Front in the northern region of the former Pact. Prior to the Collapse this area was home to many small to medium-sized shipyards, and control of it would allow for repairs of many Solarian Navy, and auxiliary, vessels in use by the warlords.” “Right, and these systems aren’t as well-defended as San Colette.” “They aren’t! But, many of them have had their shipyards destroyed by either fighting or by the Pact itself during its retreat. New Peoria, one of the Pact’s largest shipyards outside of San Colette, may take years to be fully repaired, and these warlords don’t have that amount of time.” “What about the Republic of Biesel? Have there been any raids there by the League?” “Not yet.” Gopal zooms the map out to show the Biesel-Wildlands border. Significant Foreign Legion and mercenary forces are positioned along both the League and Front borders. “Biesel has moved almost every unit it can spare to the border with the Northern Wildlands in order to discourage attacks, and the Coalition has done the same near Konyang. The Alliance, as you know, has been conducting maneuvers on its border for a few weeks.” “Which makes whatever resources are left in the Wildlands even more important to secure, and explains their hesitancy to assault San Colette. It’s going to be difficult for either to take it while effectively holding their rival off, especially as the Pact and Coletters are likely taking this time to dig in.” “You’re exactly right, Delphine. But, unfortunately, we’ll have to go on a short break before we continue!” The camera, displaying a typically disappointed Deschamps, fades out into an ad for Xanu-produced lawncare equipment which proudly brags it is “Xanu built, Arusha tested.”

BYOND Key: NewOriginalSchwann Discord Username: Schwann #4814 Character Name: Schlosser Item Name: NDF Schiffchen Item Function(s): It’s a hat. This item has no function aside from covering your head. Item Description: Desc: A side cap known as a Schiffchen on Visegrad, a term roughly translating to “little boat” in Basic, which is commonly worn by members of the Visegradi National Defense Force. The NDF’s symbol – a silver fortress standing upon a crimson background – is prominently featured on the Schiffchen’s badge. “Totschlager” has been written on the inside of the band by somebody with a marker. Fluff Description: The Schiffchen has a long, storied, and somewhat controversial history upon Visegrad, which dates back to its initial colonization. The planet’s first security service, the Visegradi People’s Security Service, used the Schiffchen as its standard headwear for security personnel in an effort to invoke the Warsaw Pact’s security services. Following its dissolution the National Defense Force continued to use the Schiffchen as headwear, and it remains a common sight on Visegrad today even if the NDF, which was dissolved by the Navy shortly after the Solarian Collapse, no longer exists. Why is your character bringing this item to work?: Schlosser has a very complicated relationship to the Solarian Alliance and Visegrad in particular, having served as a police synthetic on Visegrad for over a decade prior to the Collapse. This hat serves as a reminder of the life she left behind in 2463 when she opted to leave VIsegrad following the NDF’s dissolution by the Southern Solarian Military District, and it’s simply comfortable to wear – Wildlands Squadron headgear simply isn’t the same for her. How did your character obtain this item?: This hat was issued to Schlosser in 2451, when she began working as a synthetic at one of Fellegavar’s prison facilities. “Totschlager” (blackjack) is her nickname from the facility and refers to both her unit designation (21) and the baton issued to prison personnel. What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: The NDF Schiffchen clearly marks Schlosser as a former member of the NDF and gives her a solid connection to Visegrad beyond her accent. For Schlosser herself this hat, and the symbol upon it, are a reminder of who she used to be and the people – and synthetics – she worked with on Visegrad. With the NDF gone and most of its synthetics either destroyed in combat with secessions during the Collapse’s immediate aftermath, or wiped by the SSMD when they dissolved the NDF and repurposed for Navy use, Schlosser may be the only one left to carry on many of the memories the synthetic staff of her facility experienced, mundane as they may be. The hat is, in its own way, her connection to those who can no longer be here. Sprites: See attached. Additional Comments: DanseMacabre made these sprites and all credit regarding them is due to him. Schlosser Schiffchen.dmi

Callistean Interstellar Stock Exchange Sees Record Quarterly Growth in Defense Stocks as Concerns Mount over Wildlands Act 2 Article 6 of the Amor Patriae arc The camera opens to a middle-aged Solarian man sitting behind a desk and staring intensely at the camera. Typical viewers of the SANN will easily recognize this as none other than Gui Chen, a Lunarian-born economist and host of the Network’s economics newshour. “Good evening,” he begins, “and welcome back to the Alliance News Network. Today’s leading headline is the stunning recovery of the Alliance’s military industry following the start of what some are calling the Solarian Civil War. We now go live to CISE, where markets have just closed for the day and have brought record quarterly growth for the defense sector. Gwen?” The camera view splits into two. On the right, Chen. On the left is a Callistean woman labeled Gwendolyn Llewellyn, CISE Reporter. Llewellyn smiles and waves. “Hi Gui! The scene’s like totally ecstatic here in CISE! Like honestly,” she pauses to breathe in, “okay so like Zavodskoi left like a hella big hole in the defense industry when they moved to like Mira Sancta or like whatever right so like there was like a bit of a like gap in the industry basically. Chen nods along, not interrupting. He is apparently used to this. “So like the Stellar Corporate Authority stepped in but like it’s like hella stepped in since the Wildlands crisis started and like honestly like it’s like super impressive we’ve made this much! Like even without a lot of the like Middle Ring industry these are like record-breaking profits even like after you adjust for inflation!” The Callistean stops, taking a moment to breathe in deeply. Chen seized this rare moment of silence. “Which sectors are the big winners so far, Gwen? Any standouts?” Llewellyn nods! “Yeah so like for sure it’s shipbuilding like hands down Gui like honestly no contest at all. As a Castillean it makes me like hella happy since like honestly like the shipbuilding industry right it’s like the like heart and soul of Callisto since like how else are we going to endure the trade keeeeeeps coming strong!” Llewellyn shoots a finger gun at the camera. Chen gives a wry smile which is partially obscured by his mustache. “And for our viewers back home, why is the defense shipbuilding sector doing so well?” “Oh! So like the most obvious is due to the Navy’s recent modernization efforts since like there’s been like hella requests from them to use all kinds of dockyards and facilities for it and like that creates jobs you know? Like they’re not like civilian ships but like they money is still coming into Callisto and like now that the Hammer drive’s been on the market for like a minute it’s looking even further up!” Llewellyn pauses for a moment to breathe, and Chen interjects. “That’s great news for Callisto, Gwen. We need to go on a short commercial break but know you can always find us on Chirper at Sol Econ News, no spaces, for the latest updates regarding the Spur’s largest economy. We’ll be right back with more of the news you and your wallet need!” Llewellyn and Chen both wave to the camera as it fades out into a commercial break. The first ad is for, predictably, Navy recruitment.

Continued Reporting: War in the Northern Wildlands Act 2 Article 4 of the Amor Patriae arc Following the typical XNS jingle the camera focuses on a screen displaying the Northern Wildlands flanked by analysts Ajit Gopal and Delphine Deschamps. San Colette sits in the center of the map, now effectively completely surrounded by the League and Front. Judging by the map, the Front and League are now fighting one another in addition to the Pact. “Hello, and welcome to another analysis of the ongoing conflict in the Northern Wildlands,” Gopal begins. “As you can see, the Pact has effectively been defeated as a fighting force outside of San Colette, a system designed by the Solarian Alliance to serve as a defensive stronghold.” “That’s correct," Deschsmps interjects, “and we have footage acquirer from Chirper showing the Pact’s retreat from one of the last systems it controlled outside of San Colette, Novo Igman.” Deschamps hits something on her PDA, causing the screen to flip to what appears to be a Solarian Army helmet’s heads-up display. The helmet’s wearer is breathing quite heavily, and appears to be halfway through inserting a new magazine onto her Solarian assault rifle. Due to shaky hands the magazine fails to properly set the first time, resulting in an untranslated Tradeband whisper (an expletive, for any familiar with the language) being hissed as she inserts the magazine again and chambers its first round. “Lieutenant Escoto, we have to get to the L-Z,” a man shouts from behind. Escoto’s camera turns, revealing a man in Solarian Army armor with a Colettish flag on the front. “It’s two blocks away. Don’t panic and get yourself killed.” The man nods, then goes quiet. The camera turns, revealing more men and women in Army armor with Colettish flags. “Alright, listen up!” Escoto begins. “We’re evacuating this place and heading back to San Colette, understood? Form up on me and let’s go!” Escoto stands and her unit follows her lead, rapidly taking off through the ruined streets of what must have once been a fairly peaceful neighborhood. Scattered ruined vehicles, and the occasional body, are common sights as the Coletters sprint through the streets. Near the end of the first block a man wearing an odd mix of Solarian Army armor and Gadpathurian surplus rounds the corner ahead of the Lieutenant and is put down by several gunshots. “League bastards!” One of the soldiers shouts from behind the camera’s field of view. The group keeps running, eventually crossing through what seems to be the last block and coming into the view of a shuttlecraft as Escoto lights a flare and holds it over her head, not breaking her run in the slightest as she does so. A man on the shuttle’s docking ramp wearing a Navy jumpsuit gestures for the group to run to him. “Anybody behind your squad?” “Nobody friendly!” Escoto shouts back as she runs up the ramp and turns around, watching her fellow Coletters follow behind her. “You’re good to take off once we’re all on!” As the last Coletter boards, nearly tripping over her feet in exhaustion, the Navy enlisted speaks into his headset. With a whine the shuttle begins taking off from the landing pad and rises into the sky above the city, clearly showing the widespread devastation of the area. A Solarian Navy strike craft, flying too low for comfort, flies over the landing zone and drops its payload onto it as soon as the shuttle is reasonably far away. The entire clearing erupts into flames as the Navy enlisted whistles and a Colettish soldier crosses himself, both watching the fire spread." “Never thought I’d see that shit in action!” He shouts as he hits the loading ramp’s controls, causing it to fully close. “Get some rest, yeah? Fleet’s running interdiction, so we’re going to be fine.” The camera nods and the helmet is removed, revealing Escoto’s face as she turns it around to check the camera. She appears to be in her early 20s at best and has suffered a nasty – though not crippling – facial burn across her right cheek which has been hastily bandaged. She shuts the camera off and the XNS newsroom reappears. “With both the Front and League engaging one another near San Colette,” Gopal says, focusing the map itself on San Colette, “it seems unlikely a serious attempt to launch an assault will be undertaken in the immediate future.” “I’m not so sure. It’s well-defended, yes, but the Front in particular has a significant numerical advantage over the Pact even when we factor in their defenses. Plus, their more advanced drives have a greater need for phoron.” “That’s true, but can they handle assaulting both San Colette and fighting off the Front? That’s going to be a lot riskier for them to try." Deschsmps nods. “We’ve been wrong before, but we’ll see.” "Unfortunately,” Gopal interjects, “we’ll have to see after this commercial break.” The camera switches into an ad for nanopaste sprays, with the last image of the war room being a positively neglected-looking Deschamps sighing.

Live Updates: War in the Northern Wildlands Act 2 Article 1 of the Amor Patriae arc Following the typical XNS jingle the camera focuses on a screen displaying the Northern Wildlands flanked by analysts Ajit Gopal and Delphine Deschamps. The right side of the map is significantly more red than before, and the left is much more black. The gray Pact-labeled chunk in the middle has shrunken even more. “Hello, and welcome to another analysis of the ongoing War in the Northern Wildlands,” Gopal begins, tapping something out on a slate he’s holding in his hands. “With the Pact having officially declared a collapsing retreat we’ve seen rapid changes in the balance of power in this three-front war.” The map zooms in on the SRF’s advance. Pact forces have decreased since the last time this section was examined, but the Front retains a significant numerical advantage. New Peoria, only recently lost by the Pact, is now well behind the frontlines. San Colette itself is visible on the edge of the screen. An arrow which leads from New Peoria to San Colette has been drawn onto the map. “As you can see,” Deschamps says, pointing at the map. “This is expected to be the Front’s expected line of advance towards San Colette, and the phoron contained within its strategic reserve.” “How long will it take them to reach San Colette?” “That depends on their rate of advance,” Deschsmps hits another button on her PDA, causing multiple Pact units to expand into smaller windows shoring their projected combat readiness. For anybody who does not read Freespeak, it makes little sense. Those who can may notice that almost all Pact units which are not Civil Guard or Free Solarian Fleet mercenaries are very ragged. An observer from the Horizon may notice that one of the larger units is FSF Combat Group “Krueger’s Revenge,” led by the Taipei-class heavy cruiser Caravaggio. “Almost all of the units still capable of fighting are either Colettish or mercenary forces, with most of the Pact’s other units having been exhausted in the fighting on this front, or repositioned to the League’s front,” Deschamps swipes at her PDA, causing the front to swap to the League side. The League decisively outnumbers the scattered Pact forces on this side, who seem to be held together by a limited numbers of mercenary units and Colettish forces. “My sources indicate the League front isn’t holding as effectively as the Front’s side,” Gopal interjects. “Exactly! At the current rate of advance the League will likely reach San Colette first, but the Front appears to be preparing for a major assault based upon what we know. Both seem to have the same goal of reaching San Colette, so it might only be days until it’s under siege.” “Days?” Gopal seems to be barely able to contain his surprise. Deschamps nods, then both go silent for a moment. Gopal breaks it. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to go on a short commercial break. Please stay tuned to XNS for further news regarding the ongoing War in the Northern Wildlands.”

As somebody who plays a lot of security (oftentimes as a synthetic officer, though not an industrial) I would personally be thrilled to see industrial-frame synthetics disappear from it. They are very hard to kill with the often-ballistic armament of antagonists and suffer little to none of the limitations organic officers, or less durable frames, do. Compounding this is that, in my personal experience, most industrials in security have had very little personalities beyond being big robots that commit violence. Personally I do not want to see them even as warden as most prisoners are already at a disadvantage and having to fight an industrial with little to no equipment is often impossible.

LIVE: Coalition Responds to Ongoing Violence in the Northern Wildlands Act 1 Article 17 of the Amor Patriae arc This broadcast appears to have, for better or worse, begun partway into a very heated debate. Pravin Thaman, Gadpathur’s representative in the committee, has just slammed his hand down on his table with enough force to knock over his glass of water. “You work with the Solarians instead of us! Us, Rohan!” another slam. “Our planet has bled more than any other in the Coalition, and it has bled at the hands of the very Solarians you now cooperate with!” “Xanu has done no such thing!” Rohan Magar responds from his seat, angrily pointing at Thaman. “What YOU have done is nearly bring us to the brink of a Second Interstellar War!” “Don’t insult the dead of Gadpathur, Representative! We have done what any member of this committee should,” yet another slam, “have been doing! We provided the means to protect our people from the Solarians!” “You armed a warlord state which threatens us!” a voice from the side calls out, revealing Kwan Seok of Konyang. “Representative Thaman, what do you have to say for yourself?” “I have nothing to say to Solarians who only joined us out of convenience.” “How dare you!” Mi-Hi Gim, of Konyang’s military, calls out from her seat next to Seok. “The Konyang Armed Forces have fought League incursions as often as any member of the Coalition’s border force, and it turns out you were arming them the entire time? How does Gadpathur intend to wash the blood from its hands?!” “Gadpathur has nothing to wash from its hands as it has done no wrong!” Gim stands quickly, causing her chair to clatter to the ground behind her. “How dare you imply you’ve done nothing wrong when you’ve contributed to an active war on our border!” A gavel bangs, silencing the debate before one party can become more physical with the other. “I call this meeting back to order!” Rohan shouts. “Konyang, is security a concern for your delegation?” Seok nods as Gim sits down. “It is, Representative Rohan. Commander Gim and myself would like to have more naval forces moved to the border zone due to the ongoing violence, if only to assist in the growing humanitarian crisis at the border,” Seok says, keeping his tone professionally level. “While I understand the Coalition has historical grievances with the Alliance, we cannot simply let people suffer.” “The measure goes to vote!” Rohan bangs his gavel. “Assunzione?” “The Republic of Assunzione has no objection to both protecting our borders and aiding the needy. We support this measure,” Violante responds. “Himeo?” “The United Syndicates likewise support Konyang’s proposition,” Dirksen replies. “Gadpathur?” “Gadpathur will send defensive vessels to Konyang, but we will not aid Solarians unless they renounce their citizenships.” “Must you be so obstinate even during a time of crisis?” Violante asks from the side, a touch of anger to her voice. “It is our duty, by the Light of Ennoia, to aid the needy. I hope you can see the Star’s wisdom.” Thaman does not respond before Rohan speaks. “The All-Xanu Republic supports the proposition. The measure passes by universal consent, and this meeting is adjourned for recess!” Rohan smacks his gavel once again. The delegates move to begin standing, and the video footage fades out.

XNS Exclusive: Interview with a Gadpathurian Naval Officer Act 1 Article 16 of the Amor Patriae arc A Himean male is the sole host for this segment of Interviews and News, one of the most famous Xanusii services. It revolves around interviewing both exceptional and ordinary people. The host of the show is sitting in a rather cosy sofa, while on the holoscreen behind him one can see a Gadpathurian cadre leader. The cadre leader, a middle-aged woman with a prominent burn scar across the left side of her face (complete with an eyepatch), appears to be using a video call of some sort, and is in a fairly dingy industrial room. “Welcome, our faithful guests, to a special episode of Interviews and News! I’m Jude Scholes, and today, I’ve got a special guest for you all! With Gadpathur having been recently accused of supplying Solarian warlords with weapons, many have been asking for a Gadpathurian response! The Xanu News Service has managed to obtain an exclusive interview with Commodore Lavanya Tripathi, officer in charge of a Gadpathurian patrol squadron which has been stranded in Konyang by the recent warp gate lockout! Commodore Tripathi, why don’t you tell us a bit about your squadron? How are you handling these accusations?” “They’re absurd,” Tripathi practically spits. “The United Planetary Defense Council has always fought for the Coalition’s best interests, and the All-Xanu Republic’s recent cooperation with the Solarian enemy to ‘expose’ this is nothing more than retaliation against us for proposing we take decisive action against these so-called Wildlands!” “Much of the reaction to Gadpathur’s intervention proposal has been negative, and some have accused it of moving the Spur closer to a Second Interstellar War during an ongoing economic crisis regarding phoron. Do you have anything to say in response to this?” “We are not the ones who should be accused of bringing the Spur closer to war!” Tripathi responds, angrily pointing at the camera. “Who is responsible for these Wildlands but the Solarians, and who now fights themselves within it? We have been presented with an opportunity to end the menace to our Coalition once and for all, and we have wasted it through the dithering of politicians and businessmen! What the Coalition needs is decisive action, and that is what Gadpathur will provide if we are directed to!” “That’s a bit of a coalheaded philosophy, from the perspective of most Coalitioners. How do you int–” Before Scholes can finish his statement, he is cut off by the Gadpathurian. “How dare you imply we are coalheaded when we are the only ones with the strength to take action!” Tripathi slams her fist down next to the monitor, causing it to shake briefly. “Cowardice in the face of the Enemy is what caused billions of my ancestors to die to the Solarians! I won’t have any more of your frivolous comments, and I will not save you when the Solarian comes for you!” Tripathi then reaches behind her video camera and shuts it off, leaving a somewhat surprised-looking Scholes sitting on his sofa. He looks at somebody offscreen and gives a hand signal, then looks back to the camera with a polite expression. “Well, that was Commodore Lavanya Tripathi of Gadpathur! As our guest has ended the interview early, we’ll be back after a short break!”

Hello, thank you for your application. Following discussion amongst the human lore team we have decided to deny it as it is unwanted.

GADPATHURIAN SUPPORT FOR THE LEAGUE REVEALED! Act 1 Article 16 of the Amor Patriae arc A particularly smug and triumphant-looking Strom begins to talk from his podium in the senate room. This time, more Army military police are present in the room. “As we all know, some grudges are eternal, like Gadpathur’s,” he says, “Just a few days ago, Alliance intelligence revealed to us that the Gadpathurian government has been providing the League with war materiel this entire time. Guns, ships, war supplies - you name it, they’ve sent it.” Strom’s audience almost collectively gasps at the revelation. “Essentially, they were trying to fund their own little warlord puppet state behind our backs. I forwarded this intelligence to my counterpart on Xanu Prime - Miss Sianne, a lovely woman - and strongly demanded action on the subject. A major member of the Coalition trying to start another war? We’d never have it!” “After a few days of drawn-out negotiations with Miss Sianne and a neutral Assunzionii mediator, we’ve found an agreement. Gadpathur is as of now completely shut out from the Coalition warp gate network, and isolated for their reckless actions!” The tribune claps, and Strom nods a few times, clearly enjoying it. Trang looks less enthused, but nonetheless contributes to the clapping. “The Gadpathurians will remain locked out of the Coalition’s gate network until they stop supplying the League.”

Office of the Prime Minister Responds to Ongoing Conflict in the Former Solarian Alliance Act 1 Article 15 of the Amor Patriae arc The camera opens to focus on an Elyran woman, dressed professionally in an orange pants-suit, sitting in a chair opposite an older Elyran man in a black suit with a small Elyran flag pin on his lapel. Habitual viewers of the ENN will easily recognize the woman as Nathifa Sabir, host of its famous Jewel’s Eye political talk show, by both her suit and habitually messy curly hair. The man across from her is Doctor Bahir Yousif, a relatively well-known member of the Prime Minister’s advisory team and Elyran foreign policy scholar. “Thank you for tuning into the Elyran News Network!” Sabir begins with a smile. “Tonight I’m joined by a very special guest, Doctor Bahir Yousif of the Prime Minister’s office!” The audience claps. “Thank you for having me.” “Of course. Now, Doctor, many Elyrans are concerned about growing unrest in the Wildlands, particularly in the Northern Wildlands. Does the Prime Minister have any plans to address the situation, particularly as San Colette is of relevance to the Spurwide phoronics market?” “As of now the Republic has no interest in the Alliance’s problems,” Yousif responds. “While it’s true the Colettish phoronics industry has an impact on the wider Spur, its impact is barely felt in the Serene Republic.” “Do you believe the impact will be mostly localized?” “Most of San Colette’s phoron was sent to Biesel, which has long been a major consumer of it. How the Alliance will be impacted remains to be scene, as they've taken steps to reduce their phoron dependency.” Sabir nods her head. “Thank you, Doctor. With that said, do you have any thoughts on the recent Dominian announcement concerning the situation?” “I do. If the Empire thinks it can disguise its efforts to undermine our sovereignty such as how they did at al-Hamid Square, they are mistaken. The Serene Republic is fully prorated to counteract any efforts to spread Dominian imperialism into regions of national or strategic concern to us.” Sabir nods approvingly! “Thank you, Doctor. Unfortunately that’s all the time we have for now. The Elyran News Network will return after a short break with the latest news from across the Serene Republic!”

2465.03.07 Crown Princess Condemns Ongoing Violence in the “Wildlands” Act 1 Article 14 of the Amor Patriae arc Following the Imperial News Network’s traditional opening bells, and part of the Imperial anthem, the camera fades into a view of a Morozian man in a suit typical to the Empire’s lower nobility, though it lacks the ornamentation of any of the five great houses. “Good day, and praise the Goddess in all you do. I am Valentin de Blanchet, your host for this event. Over the past months as our glorious Empire has contributed to prosper, and we have given thanks to both Goddess and Emperor for their wisdom in avoiding the poisoner chalice of phoron, much of the former Solarian Alliance — known as the “Wildlands” in their dialect — has been wracked by the scourge of violence. The heir apparent, Crown Princess Priscilla, has been chosen to speak on behalf of His Majesty, who is currently recovering from an illness. We now go to the palace, where the Crown Princess is preparing to speak. The camera switched to Priscilla Keeser, who is currently seated in a quite nice-looking chair with one leg crossed over the other. She is, as perhaps expected of royalty, poised and elegant in both her posture and garments, which appear to be a high-quality noblewoman’s dress in the strikingly red colors of the royal family. Two guards, one male and one female, clad in the dress uniform of the royal family’s bodyguard, stand behind her at attention. “Citizens of our glorious Empire,” the Princess begins. “I and my father wish you good health and hope you have kept both Empire and Goddess in your hearts as we approach the Feast of Faith. “Our Empire has much to thank Our Lady the Goddess for, as it is through Her wisdom we have avoided much of the suffering which has blighted the Spur since the start of the phoron crisis, which has direly impacted many nations of the Spur which do not heed Her wisdom as our Empire does. “Perhaps no area has been impacted more by the crisis than the northern Solarian Alliance. This region has recently fallen into a civil war which threatens to draw the broader Spur into a conflict perhaps more destructive than the Interstellar War. Much of the blame for this can be placed firmly upon the shoulders of men and women whose ambition is untempered by faith and the compassion which grows from Her.” The Crown Princess pauses for a moment before speaking again, seemingly to let her previous words sink in. “Rest assured as the Empire, through both Her wisdom and that of the Emperor, shall not involve itself in such a conflict. We will remain resolute in the defense of our borders against any aggression, and we shall seek to bring Her guidance abroad, but we shall not become involved in a Solarian conflict. Thank you, and praise the Goddess through both your words and deeds for without Her, there is no Empire.” The broadcast fades out to the polite clapping of several unseen dignitaries.

Live Updates: War in the Northern Wildlands Act 1 Article 14 of the Amor Patriae arc The traditional XNS jingle plays, heralding the revealing of Deschamps, Gopal, and the map. The black section, marking the Front, has increased. The League’s portion has not. “Good evening and welcome to another of our segments on the ongoing Northern Wildlands conflict,” Gopal begins. “Dire news has reached us from the Victoria System, where Pact defenses fell earlier today in the face of a Front assault. This video discovered on Chirper shows some of the moments leading up to this event.” The video switches over to a recorded feed from what appears to be a spacecraft’s external camera, which is pointed at a large orbital structure containing a warship. Military-minded observers will recognize this as a Hephaestus-produced orbital dockyard partway through the construction of a Taipei-class heavy cruiser. The camera has no audio feed but does observe a small craft — perhaps a shuttle — flying away from the structure. A few moments of utter silence pass before the camera is shaken by something and six thin objects appear below it, rapidly moving away from the camera and towards the dock. The missiles strike the dock in the traditional eerie silence of space combat, and the dock itself is consumed in a series of explosions too large for the yield of the missiles. The Taipei-class hull violently cracks in half and its fore is tossed clear of the explosions by concussive force, then is itself destroyed by another missile. As the dockyard breaks apart into useless chunks and begins falling into the planet’s atmosphere, the feed cuts out and switches back to the analysts and their screen. “Our best estimate places this as having been shot by the FSF Caravaggio at 1800 GST yesterday,” Deschamps says, looking at Gopal. “Similar destruction has been reported at the New Peoria warp gate in the system, which was allegedly destroyed by a nuclear device launched by the FSF Borgia.” “And the Front now controls the system?” “Correct. This video was posted to 64tan by what we assume is one of their marines. A warning to our viewers that this is graphic content.” The camera switches to footage of an unknown man in a SRF gargoyle voidsuit with “SGT PORTER” written on its forehead seemingly recording himself on a camcorder. Muffled speech which sounds like Nral’Malic standard is cut off by a gunshot which lights up the dark room in a brief flash of light. The Sergeant barely reacts. “Guys,” he begins, his voice muffled by the suit, “we’ve taken back New Peoria for the Alliance!” he flashes a thumbs-up, then briefly spins the camera around to look out a window. The SRF’s flag flutters in the breeze, standing above a mostly-ruined square littered with destroyed civilian vehicles. An anti-aircraft emplacement sits destroyed next to what appears to have been a spaceport until recently. “We drove the aliens out and killed all the,” a loud beep, “we could find!” Porter then flips the camcorder around. “And we’re coming for their sponsors next! San Colette! Your days are,” another loud beep, “numbered!” The feed cuts, returning to the analysts. They look grim. “With Victoria and New Peoria lost,” Gopal begins, zooming out the map and zooming it back into another system surrounded with Pact, mercenary, and Front markers, “it’s likely the Pact will likely have to retreat to the Igman System, another industrial system like Victoria.” “Can they hold?” Gopal sighs. “We’ll see. They’re still holding the League at Hudson’s Star, so we’ll see. Unfortunately, we need to take a brief commercial break. Up next is the renowned Mariska van den Soeterik.” The XNS goes on a commercial break. This one appears to be dedicated to a smaller local company producing household goods. Nothing too exciting.

Live Updates: War in the Northern Wildlands Act 1 Article 11 of the Amor Patriae arc Following the typical XNS jingle the camera focuses on a screen displaying the Northern Wildlands flanked by analysts Ajit Gopal and Delphine Deschamps. The right side of the map is more red than before, and the left is more black. The gray Pact-labeled chunk in the middle has shrunken slightly. “Good evening!” Deschamps begins, “And welcome to another session of XNS analysis regarding the ongoing conflict in the Northern Wildlands. Today we’ll be focusing on two recent conflict zones confirmed through analysis by Amit’s team.” “Right. The first one,” Gopal taps the screen and zooms into a section of the SRF-Pact Front. Various symbols marking FSF, MRSP, and SRF units can be seen. They seem to be concentrated around a single point. “—is the Victoria System, which is home to shipbuilding yards built by Hephaestus in the orbit of New Peoria. Currently it’s being effectively held by a mixed Pact-mercenary force against a Front assault, and has become a focal point of fighting in this area.” “Due to the shipyards, right. Any other reasons?” “There’s a couple. The most obvious one is the shipyards, which have to be either demolished or moved, and are presumed to be the main reason the Pact’s dug in so hard here. The other reason’s a less economic one: New Peoria’s got a warp gate leading straight to San Colette and has been a major hub for refugees fleeing the Front’s offensive for San Colette proper. The Pact can’t easily give it up and is likely trying to get as many people out as it can before they need to destroy it.” “It sounds dire.” Gopal nods grimly. “It’s a humanitarian crisis in the making. There’s another system like this on the League front you found, right?” “That’s right. On the opposite front,” she taps the screen a few times and brings up a similar screen to the previous one, but with different borders and colors. “—we have Hudson’s Star. Before the Collapse it was a relatively prosperous industrial system with a heavy orbital mining industry, but that’s likely not what the League is intent on taking. They’re likely attempting to secure the Solarian Navy compound known as Baffin Station, which is rumored to contain repair facilities the League presently lacks.” “Is it still intact?” “Unfortunately, we don’t know. FSF vessels in the area have been unusually quiet compared to previous weeks of the conflict and nobody can speak as to the quality of the facilities, or if they’re even still intact! It wouldn’t surprise me if this is simply a stalling action by the Pact.” “Well, that’s-“ Gopal reaches up to his ear again. “—something to discuss after a word from our sponsor, Einstein Engines! We’ll be back shortly.” The crushingly disappointed face of Deschamps fades out and is shortly replaced with an ad for shell-safe nanopaste built on Konyang. What a deal!

LIVE: Coalition Special Committee Discusses the Wildlands Crisis Act 1 Article 10 of the Amor Patriae arc The camera opens onto a meeting room on Xanu Prime filled with the same faces as the last meeting, almost all of which appear to be some form of irate. Thaman, Gadpathur’s delegate, is shouting something at his Konyanger counterpart. “—that’s quite enough out of you!” Magar shouts, banging his gavel for emphasis. Thaman sits, and Magar turns to the Konyanger delegation. “Now, your evidence you wish to present.” “Representative Magar,” Gim stands, holding a folder of papers and walking toward the chairman. “These documents contain communications between Gadpathur and the League intercepted by the Konyang Armed Forces. I’m certain you’ll find them quite interesting.” As Gim places the papers down Thaman practically erupts from his seat, causing the Konyanger officer to react a bit too quickly for a human as she reaches for something which should be at her hip but is not there. “How dare you treat this as if it is negative!” Thaman bellows, to confused looks by most aside from him. “Only Gadpathur is willing to intervene in the Wildlands, and we are not ashamed to do what is necessary!” “You’re nothing but a fool!” Seok shouts back, pushing himself up from his chair. “You’ll bring us to the brink of another Interstellar War if the Alliance opts to intervene in the region!” “Let the Solarians come! We will defeat them once again!” “Representative Thaman, has Gadpathur forgotten the economic damage of the War?!” Magar shouts back, looking more irate than he ever has. “You must cease this madness at once!” Thaman snorts, sneering at his counterpart. “Your planet’s economic relations with the Solarians have made you weak, Rohan. Only we have the strength to do what is necessary!” “I will see your planet expelled from the Coalition!” “You will be no better than the Solarian!” “Enough!” Violante stands, interrupting the screaming match. “By the Light of Ennoia are we granted the wisdom of cooperation and Coalition, and entrusted not to stray from this course. I implore you all to come to your senses and see no enemies are in this room — only misguided allies.” Thaman considers this for a moment and promptly storms out of the room, slamming the door behind himself. His colleagues watch him leave with expressions of confusion. “Most honorable chairman, I move to permit a recess,” Violante stated after a moment of awkward silence. “Right,” Magar resumes, adjusting his glasses — perhaps out of reflex rather than any real need. “The committee is adjourned until further notice.” A bang of the gavel signals the end of the broadcast.

LIVE: INTERVENTION DEBATE ON UNITY STATION Act 1 Article 9 of the Amor Patriae arc A blonde Venusian woman in a red skirt suit is standing before the entrance to the Senate room, used as an impromptu meeting room for the Provisional Government. “Hello, my dear viewers! I’m Céline Eylenbosch, your beloved reporter, and we are reporting live from Unity Station, where the Government has announced a press conference… and it seems they’ve already started!” The cameraman and Céline make their way inside. Strom and Trang on their podiums look fairly exhausted, with messier hair than usual. Admiral Verhasselt is behind them with his usual grave look. “-- to answer your question, reporter, our economic progress is going great,” Strom begins, “Nationalization of corporate assets was a great challenge, the main cause of our GDP loss. It was difficult reshuffling all the industries and chains of production. A lot of corporate higher-ups fled to Biesel and took documents and information with them. It was a mess, but we’re getting out of it, as shown by our projected GDP chart.” Trang nods in agreement, staying silent. A reporter in the background asks, “And what do you think about the situation in the Wildlands, Senator Strom?” The question seems to immediately tilt Strom. The cameramen begin to push over each other to get the best angle. Everyone seems to know that things are about to get ugly. Céline looks delighted, beckoning her cameraman to get closer. “What do I think about it? I think it’s a failure! On all fronts! Those are Solarian citizens - our citizens! That’s our territory! And what’s happening to it?! It’s being razed to the ground by maniacs worshipping a dead fascist! Solarian citizens are being pushed out of their homes and murdered as we speak! And what does the Navy say?!” He lets the question hang in the air. Verhasselt does not break his demeanour, but anyone can guess that he is likely peeved. “That they’re not ready yet! That’s what we’re going to say to the families of dead Solarians?! That we weren’t ready to defend them?! Is that how the Solarian Alliance should behave! No! It isn’t! I wholeheartedly support i–...” Trang interrupts Strom at this point, raising her voice speaking over him, “Intervention is off the table for the time being,” she precises, “We can’t afford it at a moment so delicate for the Alliance. Our economy still needs time to recover, and mobilising our forces would be a risk we can’t take, especially when our Navy is probably weaker than what the Front’s rallied. Our industries still need time to re–” She is now interrupted by Strom, who raises his voice in turn, “Hai Phonger industries? And what am I supposed to say about Jintarian industries?! Well, Trang, go and tell the San Coletters that your concern for Hai Phonger industries is what stopped us from helping them! That we can’t risk our economy to save the–” “You know that isn’t what I said, Hendrik!” Trang remarks. She begins to speak, then a journalist from the tribune interrupts her. “Senator Strom is right. Can you once again tell the Solarian people right now, on air, that you will not intervene in the Wildlands crisis?” Another journalist stands up, replying, “What are you, an idiot?! With what navy? Nearly our entire navy mutinied a few years ago!” “You’re exaggerating! Our Navy’s fine!” At this point, the tribune breaks out into a full shouting match between Strom supporters and Trang supporters. Some are concerned over the Navy, others over the economy, but most about the possibility of the Front winning against the Alliance. Confidence in the Navy is at an all time low. “Well, dear viewers, it seems we’ve broken out into a full verbal melee here…” Céline says, clearly delighting in the drama. She is then pushed into a wall by another angry reporter who calls out her nonchalant and very Cytherean attitude, which is when she joins the verbal melee as well. This continues for a minute or two - shoves and yells are not uncommon. Admiral Verhasselt attempts to restore some order through his voice, but it is not enough to be heard over the various yells of the tribune. Strom and Trang have by now stopped arguing, looking at each other with a grave expression. The mess is then dispersed by Unity Station’s Army military police. No weapons were raised, but many threats of revoking press licenses were given over the megaphone. Céline exits the room after some of the reporters, looking dejected. “What a mess, dear viewers,” she says, looking at the camera, “The Wildlands affair has many people on edge, and the Government’s split! In the coming days, we will be hearing more about the intervention debate for sure, so, stay tuned!”

BREAKING: BROADCAST RE-ESTABLISHED; STATE OF WAR BETWEEN MIDDLE RING SHIELD PACT AND SOLARIAN RESTORATION FRONT [PREVIOUSLY RECORDED – RE-AIRED DUE INITIAL ISSUES WITH BROADCAST] Act 1 Article 2 of the Amor Patriae arc The camera flicks back on to reveal a grave looking den Soeterik. “Grave news have just reached us from the Solarian Alliance which has confirmed that a state of war now exists between the ex-Solarian statelets known as the Middle Ring Shield Pact and the Solarian Restoration Front. We go now to Liao Qi, our reporter in San Colette.” The camera switches to a somewhat shakier view of Qi than it had previously held. Qi is saying something inaudible to de la Fuente, who appears to be fairly upset with the situation. After a moment somebody turns the audio on halfway through de la Fuentes saying something. A loudspeaker can be faintly heard in the background and seems to be broadcasting an emergency alert. “—surd that you want to come with me!” “Look,” Qi responds. “Don’t you want your story to be told? We’re the only foreign reporters here, Leticia!” He then looks over at the camera, realizes it’s on and begins speaking to it without losing a beat. “Mariska, as you can see San Colette is already reacting to the state of war. Just a moment ago we heard emergency broadcasts begin in Little New Hai Phong,” he points up and to his right at something out of frame. The camera follows, revealing the loudspeaker, “which are advising residents of a state of emergency which has just begun.” “Will you be able to stay safe?” Qi nods. “Yes, we should be. We’re planning to continue reporting to the best of our abilities, as XNS always does.” He looks over at de la Fuente, who does not look happy. This is a fairly normal expression for her, all things considered. “I’m working with the Civil Guard to see if we can cover their actions.” “You are not going to the front line!” de la Fuente responds. “You’re to remain here where it’s safe, reporter.” “How are we meant to cover your story if we’re stuck here, Leticia? San Colette’s story has to be told by someone, and we’re the only ones here!” de la Fuentes looks at the camera out of the corner of her eye, then focuses on Qi. Her expression of neutral disapproval holds something else, but it’s hard to read. “We’ll discuss it later. That’s all I’ll say while you’ve got the camera rolling.” Qi, looking totally undisturbed by this, turns back to the camera. “As you can see, we’ll attempt to cover it to the best of our abilities.” The camera shifts back to den Soeterik, who nods. “We’ll let you get to it, then. Stay safe, Liao.” “Always.”

The sprites are great! Atteria has done work for the human lore team and I can definitely attest to them being very good to work with. They have my full support!

reported for low roleplay

If we have to lose Hephaestus, we have to lose Hephaestus. It's a sacrifice we'll have to make to ensure the role is not miserably boring to play.

Everything I would have said here has already been said (perhaps better) by others. Remove cyborgs. Honestly, remove drones and the AI too while we're at it.

By this logic we should move bartenders, chefs, and (arguably) pharmacists to operations. They all supply other departments with things: drinks, food, and prescriptions respectively.

Seconding Cybs' suggestion. Having played as a machinist (and since deleted the character because I found the role so boring) the role was dreadfully boring and overly-reliant on a department you were unable to communicate with and unable to access most of operations. Their spot is also very inconvenient to access, especially in a blackout. Making them medsci and moving them to where the charging bay currently is would go a long way In roughly ~20 rounds as machinist I never got materials before the hour mark and often did not get materials at all. My machines were also painfully slow due to having no access to upgrades. I'd much rather have to go down to operations to ask for parts than go up to science for upgrades.

I do not want to go back to the area of Gandalf the Color and Long John 9 the Space Wizard. If technomancer is bad it should be removed. The argument that there are "good wizard rounds," sometimes is the same argument that saddled us with AI malfunction for years.

Lauren was great to work with while they were on the lore team and their sprites have been a significant benefit for synthetic lore even after their retirement. I'm excited to see what they can do as a full spriter, and entirely support this application!