The7thLain

1. In Raan's eyes, he sees S'kresti as the right man for the wrong time, beset by traitors not only to the faith of Si'akh, the true faith, but also traitors to his country. Raan believes that a king should be respected and revered, and not usurped as S'kresti was. Despite Raan's witnessing of the horrors wrought by unchecked traditionalism, it is also that traditionalism that has held his clan together, following the hierarchy of roles and the like. To Raan, the Hegemony can be a place where Si'akh can be welcome, as while he was indeed discriminated against, he also met a growing community of Si'akh, much like himself. Traditionalism brought damnation onto society, but it was not a societal traditionalism that did this in his mind, but a spiritual issue where those in power only considered their power in relation to themselves and their own wants, and not in relation to the wants of the most powerful being of all, Sk'akh, and as such, the Contact War was S'kakh's wrath. 2. Raan's opinion of Th'akh and Sk'akh are somewhat similar. While he believes they are heretical, he does not think that they are irredeemable. Those in Sk'akh after all, are very much like his own religion in a few ways, they worship the same god, and have many similar principles, though they have yet to accept the truth of Sk'akh's punishment. Th'akh, he believes will not stand the test of time, and was fundamentally shattered and put on the backfoot after the Contact War. He believes that Th'akh will inevitably decline, as evidenced by the growing influx of new converts to Si'akh and Sk'akh, as more Sinta understand how ignoring Sk'akh has destoyed the world around them. The Aut'akh however, are beyond help. They violate so many standards and rules of Sk'akh's will that he believes they are unable to be redeemed and must be left to starve to death in the wastes, or if they leave their communes and try to spread their utter heresy, made to rejoin the cycle of death and rebirth in the wastelands of Moghes by force. 3. Nobility to Raan is something that is necessary, albeit not really for him, as he was born into the labouring class of society. He believes that there needs to be structure and hierarchy, otherwise society would fall apart into "lawless," abhorrent, godless communes like those of the Aut'akh. While they may not always treat him the best, given his position in society, Raan was raised to believe that the clan should be placed before just one Sinta, for the clergy in the clan know what S'kakh wants most, and the more Sinta there are together, the more they can care for one another and help each other reach forgiveness. He thinks the lords of his clan did a good thing in moving from their ancestral homelands, as it got his people and himself even, consistent food and water instead of the other reality of starving to death in the wastes. After all, its not like he will never return to the lands he once called home, unless he can earn Sk'akh's forgiveness in this life, that is. I think this is ultimately up to environmental pressures, actually. While Raan is involved with his faith, he is still a pragmatist, and will do what he must to survive as he and his clan did in the wasteland. While Sk'akh has a scornful attitude to the Unathi, Sk'akh also forgives should a Sinta prove themselves worthy of it. Raan knows that he must do what his clan sent him here to do, and he will do his best to do well by his Si'akh faith while in Tau Ceti. That being said, if its between starving himself and staying true to the faith, he would probably, with great regret, feed himself then pray for forgiveness later.

BYOND Key: TheBurninSherman Character Names: Nasrin Bose, Engineer (Hepht) Augustina Negrescu, Surgeon Karolina Bezdnova, Scientist (Zavod) Merjan Enver, Curator Umbra SSU #4.262-C, Bartender Song Sun, Chief Medical Officer IRU-Dauphine, Forensic Technician (Idris) Species you are applying to play: Unathi What color do you plan on making your first alien character?: Sand brown Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Why do you wish to play this specific race: I want to explore the culture and history of the Unathi through roleplay, as despite being involved with lore rather heavily, I am not too familiar with Unathi and I find them very interesting and unique in not only culture and history which is something I want to explore. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Not only are Unathi very different in terms of mechanics from humans, with different things that can be used for valid hunting, but also in mindset. Everything must be taken into account not how it affects the individual, but how it affects the clan of the character and how it affects the character in relation to Th’akh, Sk’akh, and the spirits around them. Unathi have a very big, spiritual perspective that I think no other races on the Aurora share. Character Name: Raan Zesi’lozso Born to a Si’akh peasant family in the wastelands of Moghes, Raan was always one to make the most out of whatever surprises were thrown his way. For most of his childhood and adolescence, Raan roamed around the blasted wastelands of Moghes, herding Azkrazal and helping run supplies about the region with his small clan around a small camp operated by the Vihnmes Clan. As perhaps expected, life was not easy for him. Working the blasted earth with his clan, moving with the Azkrazal, and seeing firsthand the horrors other Unathi were capable of, all made him grow up fast and learn what his life might be. After turning 15 however, there were grumblings in the clan. The Zesi’lozso clan elders met to address a growing concern among the clansfolk: grazing land was at a premium in the wasteland, and the lands that Clan Zesi’lozso had used for their livelihood had continued to degrade and decay in the fallout-laced environment, and so it was decided that the clan would migrate from their ancestral home to the nearby city of Imas’hi. Soon enough after nearly a year of preparation, they had indeed moved, and while work was hard to come by, Raan found work under the auspices of a local guild lord, an old contact the Zesi’lozso clan made while helping move cargo for the the Vihmnes Clan, who accepted the servitude and labour of the clan in exchange for provisions of continued food and water. What Raan was to do now was help deliver and move packages around to the city, delivering to its massively spiking population. He was to carry things from one place to another, a simple and hard, if honest way of work. It was on this job though where Raan truly learned about the faith he was brought up with. For much of his life, Si’akh was all that he knew. Sure he would perhaps meet those in the Th’akh whenever he went to camp and helped move supplies, but there was never anyone in his clan that wasn’t Si’akh, he never had to live with other sorts of people. But now, living in a place with so many new and different kinds of people, his eyes were opened to the people of Sk’akh and Th’akh, and he learned of their ways. More so though, he felt discrimination at their hands. To these people, Si’akh, his way of life as he was brought up, was little more than some fanatical cult. He couldn’t agree less with these things, but even so, his duty to his clan, his family, came first in all things so he made the decision to simply bear the burden of exclusion and discrimination. After working this job for a few years, a job that mostly consisted of being a porter and hauling around crates or baskets from house to house, the lord that so kindly accepted the Zesi’lozso Clan perhaps but half a decade or so ago, decided that now was his chance to make a fine profit for himself and his clan. He consulted Hephaestus and struck an old, familiar deal with them: peasant labour for money. Raan was one chosen for such a deal, his experience in moving things and keeping track of prices for the things he moved made him an ideal choice for his lord, and so soon, he found himself moving and sorting things not in a tunic, but in a Hephaestus uniform on some far-flung space station. As a contractor, working for another company, NanoTrasen. Because, after all, why would Hephaestus send a Sinta anywhere other than somewhere that needed someone strong, or at least, that is what Raan was told. Even as he works now, Raan’s heart still is on Moghes. He knows that one day he will probably return there, either in this life, or the next, but he does not let this distract him from what he must do now. His duty is to his clan to represent them honourably, to his lord, who provided for his clan, to work diligently, and to himself to break free from this cursed cycle and seek Sk’akh’s forgiveness. Hopefully, through honest work of moving things from one place to another place, he can indeed achieve these things. What do you like about this character? I like that Raan is somewhat simple, at a glance, but has the potential to have much more lying beneath the surface. He follows a very traditional sort of existence, all aside from his faith, Si’akh, which is anything but traditional. Even so though, he works and lives with this ideal in mind, that he will one day find forgiveness in Sk’akh and find his own paradise. He is serious and hardworking, but not cold, and values companionship. He is a man with many stories to tell of his life both in the wasteland and seeing the parts of the great, growing city of Imas’hi. How would you rate your role-playing ability? I’m more than competent but always have room for improvement. Notes: NA

COMPROMISE: Aeson and Strom Come to an Agreement After nearly two weeks of back and forth negotiations upon the jewel world of New Hai Phong, it seems that tensions between Hephaestus Industries and the Solarian Government have subsided. Today, Senator Hendrik Strom and CEO of Hephaestus Industries Titanius Aeson both shook hands on a public broadcast announcement of what is being called the “Common Sense Compromise,” by the men responsible for its realisation and implementation. This agreement comes in a time of great uncertainty and corporate turmoil and is set to change some solarian policies not only with Hephaestus, but with all other Stellar Corporate Conglomerate affiliates as well. Within the compromise however, there were a new series of restrictions and measures both for and against megacorporations and their subsidiaries in the Solarian state. Together, however, Aeson and Strom have stated that they hope this change will be for the better and benefit all parties involved. As for what was decided upon, some of the key points are listed here: Hephaestus Industries will maintain full ownership of their assets and facilities based on and around New Hai Phong and are permitted to expand them at their leisure with Solarian Corporate Authority oversight. Any and all Hephaestus facilities based on New Hai Phong are subject to inspection by the SCA at the Authority’s convenience. Vessels are not subject to inspection. All Stellar Corporate Conglomerate affiliates must release all Tajara from their employ at any and all facilities or vessels based in Solarian space and are indefinitely forbidden to hire Tajara to these locations. The Eridani Corporate Federation is exempt from these restrictions. This also applies to citizens currently working abroad for SCC Affiliates. It is no longer illegal for former NanoTrasen employees to leave the Solarian Alliance. However, any citizen that is a former employee of an SCC affiliate who leaves the Alliance for work must maintain a Solarian Citizenship and residence, and will be subject to all taxes to their property and income typical of a citizen working within the Alliance. The Solarian Alliance will instate a fee to renounce Solarian Citizenship equal to 15% of the income of any citizen wishing to renounce their Solarian citizenship in favour of that of another nation. Any attempt to renounce citizenship without the payment of this fee will not be acknowledged by any SCC affiliates. This measure does not affect existing dual citizenship laws with the Jargon Federation or Eridani Corporate Federation. After this agreement was signed, with Aeson negotiating on behalf of the SCC and Strom on behalf of the Solarian Government, the two spoke at length about the progress they hope to see. “It just makes common sense, you know? This agreement that we’ve come to, not only makes it easier for us at Hephaestus to continue providing the Solarian people with steady employment and industry, but takes a load off of the fine Solarians who used to work for NT, our pals back in Biesel. Let’s hope this tosses them a line.” Strom, commented that the compromise was, “A step in the right direction for Sol-Corporate relations.” Furthermore, he elaborated, “We should welcome the opportunity to work with corporations in strengthening our society and protecting our great nation from savage, violent, xenos within and extremists on our borders without. Mister Aeson has shown today that those in the corporate world can be just as reasonable as the rest of us, and I think we’ve made great progress towards helping the people and being business friendly.” When asked as to why he wished to reverse such a sweeping, wide law like the criminalisation of former NT employees leaving the alliance for work, Strom was quoted as saying, “We’re not the enemy of the common Solarian that finds themselves forced to work for NT - we’re on their side against corporate dominance of their homes and incomes. It’s not right to punish them for the greed of their CEO who hates everything our great alliance stands for.” In opposition, Senator Le Hanh Trang staged a rally today in Cua Song protesting the compromise, decrying Strom’s actions as, “Selling out the people of New Hai Phong to the SCC and spitting in the face of the Solarian national spirit. Its an embarrassment.” Trang has been pushing since the collapse of the Alliance’s frontiers that all industry on New Hai Phong should be removed from Hephaestus ownership and be given to Einstein Engines or the newly established Solarian Corporate Authority. In other news, the Republic of Elyra has formally announced that they will begin further corporate restrictions in the coming months, the details of which are still undecided.

I think this would make playing med a bit more streamlined and would avoid the situations in which someone gives a person the wrong drugs because they don't know their exact condition. It would allow for more precise gameplay at the expense of a little extra time to triage, which is something med does already to a degree.

MEGACORPORATIONS RESPOND TO SOLARIAN CORPORATE REFORMS Following the Provisional Council for Solarian Defense’s decision at the beginning of this year to enact widespread nationalization and corporate restrictions against the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate and its affiliates, there has been an odd silence from the corps until today. All corporations targeted by these recent reforms have come forwards with their decisions in multiple press conferences today. The NanoTrasen corporation made an official statement that served as little more than a confirmation of Solarian intentions, and that they would be relinquishing all assets and facilities based in the Alliance to the Solarian Corporate Authority, as per the demands of the Industrial Reclamation Mandate of 2463. Along with this, they have stated their intentions to begin increasing their investment in the newly gained areas of the Republic of Biesel as well as in the Coalition of Colonies. NanoTrasen’s head of Public Relations was quoted saying, “This isn’t an easy thing for us to do, but looking at things both how they are now and how they will be in the future, Sol is a dead end. Biesel and the C-O-C are where NanoTrasen should be and where we will see ourselves shine the brightest.” This acknowledgement however comes just after the NanoTrasen corporation announced layoffs for all NT personnel working within the Solarian Alliance unless they wished to move to the Republic of Biesel or Coalition of Colonies, something that the Solarian government has said it will not support and will charge any former NT employee fleeing the country with treason. Solarian Citizens who already have positions in other nations would not be effected, as the council has stated that it does not want to unemploy Solarian citizens more than they already have been. The Solarian Corporate Authority has also made pledges to begin finding jobs for those recently unemployed by NanoTrasen. SCA inspectors are reporting that the recently seized facilities formerly owned by NanoTrasen are greatly outdated and appear to have evidence of equipment and phoron stockpiles being removed from them. Widespread anti-Solarian graffiti within the facilities, numerous cases of sabotage to their electrical and ventilation systems, crashed elevators, and piles of ashes, broken information drives, and destroyed computers have also been found. Idris Incorporated released their statement today as well, accepting a provision to avoid regional nationalization by paying the full cost of their assets located on and around Silversun to still maintain their dominance over the system and over the resorts and space stations that are located there. They also have paid for some assets within the Jovian System to remain in their possession. Idris CEO Alex Mason made a speech from Silversun itself to mark this occasion, saying, “We do not wish to hurt the Alliance, only provide respite, escape, and secure banking for its citizenry. Silversun is ours, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future, but we look forwards to working with the Alliance, its government, and the Sol Corporate Authority to make sure that this stays the paradise that it is.” Shortly after this, Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals announced that they would be surrendering 51% of all corporate possessions in Solarian space to the SCA, aside from the facilities and vessels they operate and maintain on Jovian moon Europa and supporting facilities on Luna. A press release from the corporation stated that “We cannot lose the wealth of knowledge that the Europan ecosystem has provided, and continues to provide us in both the fields of medicine and biology. There is no other place known to sentient life that is like Europa, so we will ensure it stays in our very capable hands. There are many more secrets to be discovered in its depths, and we know that we will put them to use better than anyone else can, so we will gladly pay for them.” Zavodksoi Interstellar also stated that they will be accepting the proposal for 51% nationalization of their assets in Solarian space, aside from their research and development facilities on Luna which they stated they would be paying the stated funds for. With this however, they announced that they would be undertaking various measures to, “ensure future stability,” by moving their corporate offices from Earth, where they have been for decades, to Nova Luxembourg in the Empire of Dominia. “The people of Sol need tools to protect them, and we are in the business of providing those tools. We do not hate the Solarian Government, nor its people, but to ensure that things are not taken further to threaten us, the Empire will be our new base of corporate operations for the time being. We look forwards to continuing our healthy business relationship with the Solarian government and armed forces and hope that things will improve in the future,” Lyudmila Zavodskoi was quoted as saying as she announced the closure of Zavodskoi Interstellar Headquarters. Most surprisingly however, Hephaestus Industries has affirmed that they will not be budging to the pressure posed by the new reforms, at least in part. Hephaestus Industries CEO Titanius Aeson stated today in an address to the Provisional Council and Solarian Corporate Authority from aboard the Cruiser HCV Vulcan, “We are too important to make leave. If you take Hephaestus out of Sol, New Hai Phong ceases to exist. You think that you can run our system, and our facilities better than we can; our whole show? Fat chance. The Solarian Navy couldn’t win a fight against the smallest nation in the Galaxy, do you really think they can take on one of its strongest corporations, the corporation that made the ships they’ll try and fight us with? I don’t think so. We’re staying on New Hai Phong, in fact, we’re going to be building more factories there soon. We don’t hate Sol, many of our brightest people are from Sol, I’m Solarian, but we aren’t going nowhere, and we aren’t paying no fee keep what is ours either. You can have the 51% of our things in Sol, but mark my words, every star in the spur will burn out before we leave NHP or pay to keep ahold of the planet we built.” This decree from Hephaestus has been met with a loud outcry from New Hai Phong Senator Le Hanh Trang, who claimed the statement to be, “Nothing but another example of corporate threats and belligerence.” Elsewhere in Solarian Politics, Senator and Governor of the Sol System, Hendrik Strom invited Aeson to parley and negotiate with the Solarian Senate for his claims, saying that, “Aeson is a reasonable man, and like all reasonable people, things can be worked out with him through measured talk and discussion. I too am somewhat wary of Hephaestus leaving, if I am being honest. I’m not about to let some anti-corporate hysteria ruin one of the most important planets in Sol and let 1.28 billion people starve. I’ve already got a planet on fire in my own backyard, I don’t need one in the Middle Ring too. ” Strom has also released a list of talking points that may see Hephaestus keep its NHP possessions, along with no further action being taken against the corporation or any other SCC affiliate in Solarian Space for the time being. One such point was a call for all corporate facilities within Solarian space to fire all Tajaran employees and ban the hiring of new ones. He has also mentioned perhaps decriminalizing former NT employees moving out of Sol as part of these measures. In similar news today as well, the Republic of Elyra announced that it has intentions to enact further corporate restrictions on those operating in its own nation, with the Elyran capital press secretary stating that, “The Alliance certainly isn’t something we aspire to be, but their position on megacorporations holds some water. The assembly and Prime Minster are considering taking similar, if more reasonable measures in our country in the future for our increased security, if such is favorable with the Elyran people.”

SOLARIAN PROVISIONAL COUNCIL ANNOUNCES WIDESPREAD CORPORATE REFORMS Today, the Provisional Council for Solarian Defense released an official statement regarding the presence and operations of various megacorporations affiliated with the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. This announcement has come amidst the turmoil that the Solarian Alliance has been experiencing since last month after a short war against the Republic of Biesel and its backers in the newly formed Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, Republic of Elyra, Frontier Alliance, and Izweski Hegemony. A subsequent series of mutinies in the Solarian navy has left many territories outside of Solarian control and in the hands of the mutineers many of which have asserted themselves as warlords. During this past month, territories still under control of the recognised Solarian Government, a provisional military council appointed by the Solarian legislative assembly, has seen a rapid increase in anti-corporate and anti-Biesellite sentiment along with increasing displeasure over the presence of alien races within the Solarian Alliance. The council, having stabilized their holdings for now, has taken the first step in what they have deemed, “The First Year of Solarian Reconstruction.” The statement itself, so-called the “Industrial Reclamation Mandate of 2463,” declared widespread nationalization measures that target the holdings of all corporations associated with the SCC and present the following main points as an ultimatum to the NanoTrasen Corporation, Hephaestus Industries, Idris Incorporated, Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, and Zavodskoi Interstellar: “We, the right and just council appointed by the will of the Solarian people so mandate the following points: Establishment of the Solarian Corporate Authority, a government body whose duty it will be to operate nationalized corporate assets in Solarian space while overseeing and policing the actions of private corporations in Solarian space. A complete and total nationalization of all Sol Alliance based assets and facilities of the NanoTrasen Corporation with a direct transfer of ownership to the Solarian Corporate Authority and ejection of all NanoTrasen operations within Solarian Space. A nationalization of 51% of all other assets and facilities currently in ownership of Stellar Corporate Conglomerate affiliates within Solarian Space with a direct transfer of ownership to the Solarian Corporate Authority. 3a. An excuse from nationalization and ownership transfer at the cost of payment of the worth of 80% of all assets and facilities within Solarian Space and increased taxation. 3b. A partial nationalization of corporate assets and facilities with a payment of 80% of the worth of all Solarian-based assets and facilities in a given region where ownership wishes to be maintained along with increased taxation. An exclusion of nationalization to any and all corporate assets based in or registered to the Eridani Corporate Federation. A reduction in the numbers of all corporate armed vessels operating in Solarian Space to 2,500 armed vessels per corporation and restriction of size to sub-capital ships only. Failure to acquiesce to the listed mandates by the 10th of January, 2463, will result in the seizure of all corporate assets and facilities in Solarian space and an ejection of all business operations from the Solarian Alliance.” This measure has garnered a mostly positive reaction from the Solarian Senate, with many senators making statements of support to the reduction of corporate presences in Solarian Alliance, with private megacorporations being seen as threats to national security. Senator Le Hanh Trang of New Hai Phong was quoted saying, “If Miranda Trasen wants her republic, she can have it. We Solarians will take our livelihoods back from the corporations that have made a mess of our country and our lives. A new age in Sol is dawning, an age of power in the hands of the people instead of in the hands of those evil enough to exploit us!” A reaction from the targeted SCC affiliates is expected in the coming days, and will be reported on by the Sol Alliance News Network.

SITUATION CALMS! SOLARIAN FLEETS DISENGAGE! Solarian forces are withdrawing from the Republic of Biesel after the threats of war from the Coalition and Elyra. Fleets that had been noted as having altered their courses towards Tau Ceti have broken off, and those remaining in the system, such as the Thirty-Fifth Battlefleet, have departed on a return journey to the Core Worlds. As tensions de-escalate, our sources have told the Bugle that the Alliance has cut off most forms of contact with its Outer, and even some Middle Ring, worlds. Insiders in the Solarian navy have informed us that all fleets are being recalled back to defensive positions in the Core Worlds. It is unknown when control will be returned to the civilian government, or when a process to replace the late Michael Frost as Prime Minister will begin; it also appears the ongoing investigation into the Clandestine Incident has been classified and information on it is no longer publcly available, in conjunction with other movements to commit to secrecy documents and evidence surrounding the assassination of Michael Frost. We are no longer able to legally comment further. Republic officials and members of top military brass, most notably president Joseph Dorn, have each individually made note of their absences during the crisis. President Dorn, at a hastily assembled press conference, was quoted as saying, “The reality of the situation was that we came too close to another takeover - this time with no hope of recovery. NanoTrasen was kind enough to offer the folk working alongside me, and myself, safety - but in the haste of all this, we’ve hardly been able to keep the Republic informed of my status. I am well, and in the final days of my term I’ll ensure this good Republic sees those afflicted by the Alliance’ negligence, saved.” There is still no contact with the 58th or 112th fleet which have departed from their respective posts at Konyang and Valley Hale. Solarian representatives have declared a state of emergency within Konyang’s gravity well, making clear a sense of increasing urgency to have its defenses back in place. NTCC Odin AI “Bubble” has publicly reported a lowered alert level on the NTCC Odin. The resting alert level of the NTCC Odin is GREEN.

The Coalition and Elyra Threaten War! BREAKING ― Indicative of heightened tensions that have gripped the galaxy, the Coalition of Colonies has issued a dire warning directed at the Solarian Alliance. Roughly six hours ago, a secure transmission was beamed from the Scarab Fleets and from their flagship the King's Omen, relaying a message from Reilly Sianne and the Free League. The message was as follows, as repeated by Queen Iraiya, "Should the Alliance of Sovereign Solarian Nations continue to disrupt the galactic peace, and interfere with the lifeblood of the new colonial world, let it be known that there will be war the likes of which the Orion Spur has never before seen. Coalition fleets stand at the ready to intercept any Solarian aggression and guarantee the safety of the important trade routes of our lands. Make no mistake - we will not kowtow to Solarian hostilities." Sources within the Republic of Biesel's department of defense tell us that, since the reception of that message, they have established contact with members of the Coalition's high military command to better coordinate any joint exercises or maneuvers in preparation of Solarian reprisals. Reportedly, the amount of vessels that the Coalition Navy has formally mobilized are at a level unseen since the conclusion of the Interstellar War in 2287; most member states of the Coalition have contributed to a massive fleet that is currently being assembled as a response force. In conjunction with the threats of retaliation made by the Coalition, a similarly-worded transmission was sent from Perispolis in Elyra not long after. Prime Minister Rasheed Tatenda sternly condemned the Solarian movements against the Republic of Biesel and warned that the Serene Republic would take the necessary military measures to secure their borders and assist their long-time trading partner. The Bugle has learned that Minister of the Navy Daniyah Amari has ordered fleet movements in Elyran space, preparing them to jump into Tau Ceti if necessary. Solarian fleets presently maintain an encirclement of the Republic with more ships arriving by the hour; the Thirty-Fifth fleet has arrived in the outer ring of the Tau Ceti system and has occupied territory including the Romanovich Cloud, but has since halted their advance after the Elyran announcement. It is unknown if the Coalition threat is being treated seriously.

NANOTRASEN ATTACKED! 35th SOLARIAN BATTLEFLEET ENTERS TAU CETI! The NSS Aurora and NSS Upsilon have been targeted by two Solarian Interstellar Naval Intelligence shuttles that landed and began looking into the Clandestine Incident. After the death of multiple on the Upsilon, and one on the Aurora, both shuttles were intercepted by the NDV Icarus and destroyed in-flight when returning to the 35th battlefleet. Our sources within the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion have confirmed this action and teams have been dispatched to both the Aurora and Upsilon at this time to further secure the stations and assess the situation present. These actions undertaken by the NDV Icarus have been interpreted by Solarian authorities as an act of war from the Republic of Biesel, and transmissions have been relayed from the Jùfēng, the flagship of the 35th Battlefleet of the Solarian Navy, for all NanoTrasen and Biesellite vessels in the system of Tau Ceti to stand down, disarm, and comply with future Solarian commands as transmitted from the battlefleet and that any that do not comply will be “blasted back to 2451.” In a further response, the 35th Battlefleet has launched multiple vanguard actions into Tau Ceti tracked moving towards shipyards, defensive installations, orbital stations, and military vessels. In a brief statement, a transmission from the battlefleet has announced their actions as a “preventative effort,” made in order to “stabilise,” the region of Tau Ceti and “further protect solarian interests within the Tau Ceti system.” A national state of emergency has been declared throughout the republic, and the TCFL has announced that it will be mobilising its reserves along with all other personnel. President Dorn is expected to make a statement sometime within the next hour in regards to the situation, but as of now has instructed all Biesellite vessels to not comply with Solarian demands and disengage if possible. NanoTrasen’s Naval Command has issued a similar order as well. These jarring events have come in tandem with unconfirmed reports from the state-of-the-art artificial intelligence of the NTCC Odin, Bubble, of more large masses of Solarian-identified ships exiting warp travel on the outskirts of Biesellite territory from all sides. These fleets have yet to broadcast any signals and are refusing to answer transmissions both from NanoTrasen and Biesellite authorities in the region, but, according to our sources they are not advancing and are remaining in place. They have intercepted and escorted Biesellite reconnaissance craft away from their vicinity without firing upon them, only issuing transmissions for non-Solarian vessels to keep their distance. This situation is rapidly changing and we at the Bugle will be sure to keep you updated in this tense time. It is recommended that those living in densely populated areas amass a supply of food and water that will last them approximately two weeks along with a hololink compatible radio. The Biesellite Emergency Management Bureau has commented that they will begin coordinating efforts to supply citizens with essentials in the event that supplies are endangered by this emergency. More to follow.

Operation ‘Violet Dawn’ Unveiled! Mass Unrest in the Solarian Alliance! BREAKING ― Chaos in the Solarian Alliance today reverberates across the galaxy thanks to an anonymous whistleblower, who has leaked the classified documents surrounding the calamity on Mars. A dossier provided to the Bugle by this whistleblower via a secure channel blames a secret research team identified as the 'Violet Task Force' for the source of the fires and phoron influx that has doomed more than 60% of Mars to uninhabitability and for causing the deaths of millions, prompting outcry on a galactic scale and total condemnation of the Solarian Alliance by several major powers. The whistleblower, who was previously the head researcher of the Violet Task Force, participated in a string of experiments that were a part of a classified Alliance operation known as 'Violet Dawn'. Their team of scientists and engineers were working to create a self-replicating version of phoron's crystalline structure in an attempt to solve the growing phoron crisis as the Alliance's economy faltered. Originally, their endeavors were considered a major success, as they were able to induce phoron crystals to properly replicate at an acceptable rate. But, as they attempted to refine their methods, things took a turn for the worse. After modifications to their equipment, they were able to indeed 'grow' more phoron, but the rate at which it did so as well as the stability of the resulting crystals became entirely uncontrollable. The phoron was able to pull atoms in the air to add to its mass at an alarming capacity, breaching containment and causing panic amongst the scientists. As the situation worsened, the horrific conflagration was an inevitable consequence, and the flash point for the fire sweeping across Mars has been confirmed as a laboratory in a Solarian black site hidden within Mars' south pole, which has now resulted in the near-total incineration of the southern hemisphere of the planet. When this dossier was made public, angry Solarian citizens took to the streets to protest among multiple worlds, including every major city on Earth, remaining Martian population centers, Venus, New Hai Phong, Silversun and even in the Eridani Federation. This mass civil unrest shows no signs of stopping as pressure on the Alliance government for answers has increased. A new, impromptu movement dubbed the 'Justice for Mars Coalition' has demanded that those responsible for the calamity be arrested and brought to trial and that Martian citizens be given reparation payments, amongst other things. The phrase "Remember Mars!" has been a consistent catchphrase amongst JMC attendees in several protests. Some protests have even turned violent, the most destructive of which seen in Detroit on Earth, Binyaria on Venus, and Sekhmet on Amon. The death toll for said riots has reached a combined total of 674 as of this report and multiple counties and municipalities are mobilizing even more law enforcement in an attempt to quell the outrage. Struggling cities pushed to their limit have requested military assistance from the Alliance government as police officers and riot cops have had their time off revoked for the foreseeable future. Various EPMC companies have deployed within both the Federation and the Alliance, however no information on the damages and casualties within Eridani have been released at present. The most raucous protest, seen in Detroit, has roiled the city over the last several hours. Businesses have been ransacked and looted, officers have been attacked and killed and the streets are awash with angry citizens. An activist, known as Jintari Volaria, has quickly gained popularity as a leader in the protests and a key figure in the JMC as a whole. At a recent gathering in Cadillac Square, she had this to say: "My fellow Solarians, we've suffered a tragic loss. My heart aches to think of it. Our own government, who we trusted, who we expected to keep us safe - keep our families safe, our lives running as they had promised - condemned millions of innocent people to death in the pursuit of greed. How many of you have family on Mars? How many of you have not heard back from them? And how many of you will have to bury them?! [Mars] has been devastated by this government ineptitude; they didn't tell us, they didn't warn us, and they didn't help us when we needed it the most! They left people to die down there. Who's to say it won't happen again? Who's to say there aren't more of these horrid experiments taking place right on our very doorsteps, in our cities, beneath our feet? How long before another catastrophe wreaks havoc on our lives? I don't intend to find out. We must hold those responsible accountable for their actions! Today, it was Mars, but tomorrow, it could be Earth! Remember Mars!" A request for comment was not returned by the Solarian Embassy in Mendell City.

Disaster on Mars! Witness reports and third-party testimony regarding the situation on Mars has painted an increasingly dim picture; despite attempts made by the Solarian government to quash any reporting on the state of Mars, the Bugle has learned from inside sources that a horrifying discovery has been made: a gargantuan, phoron-based conflagration has been burning for days at a Solarian black site near the southern pole of Mars. The intense fire has spread across and scarred wide swathes of the planet's southernmost areas, and it is currently estimated that multiple habitations, arcologies and cities south of Argyre have been rendered absolutely uninhabitable to any form of life. The southern ice cap has completely sublimated. Localized explosions caused by the overwhelming amount of airborne phoron particles have pockmarked the surface of Mars with deep craters, destroying critical infrastructure and communications equipment. The Martian capital of Olympus has been completely wiped off the face of the planet due to a combination of high-intensity combustion and near-total incineration. All that remains of Olympus are the charred ruins of buildings. A hitherto unforeseen level of contamination of phoron gas has poisoned vast quantities of the Martian atmosphere, reaching as far north so as to affect habitats such as Red Gaia, causing white-hot flash fires. Multiple cities have reported turbocharged fires breaking out near electrical equipment, and entire arcologies have lost power due to the serious damage inflicted on their electrical infrastructure. Contact with several population centers based around Mars' equator has been completely lost, and officials privately believe that the worst should be assumed. In addition, no Solarian government vessels have been assisting in the evacuation, and calls for aid have been ignored. All evacuations from the planet's surface have been carried out by independent third parties or by the Interstellar Aid Corps; various gangs have offered safe passage offworld for exorbitant fees, and thefts are of starships have been reported planetwide as civil law enforcement crumbles in the face of the ongoing calamity. Even ships from Eridani Private Military Contractors have arrived in certain places to escort citizens away - again, for a price. Experts speculate that the dead could reach staggering numbers well into the millions, and an official investigation into what has happened is still ongoing. No official death count has been released. Reports indicate that Jargon Federation starships have exited bluespace near Mars as well, dispatching shuttles to evacuate Federation citizens and broadcasting a warning that any non-citizen attempting to board will be repelled with lethal force. Several shootings have already happened as Skrellian ships are swarmed by displaced Martians and refugees looking for a way off the burning planet. The chaos on the ground is mirrored by chaos in space, as several EPMC shuttles have recently been engaged by larger ships in the Martian orbit, shuttles supposedly stolen by throngs of 'violent refugees'. The thoughts and prayers of the Bugle newsroom staff are with our Martian friends in their hour of need. Reporters are working around the clock to bring you, our viewers, the latest news regarding the investigation into this apocalyptic situation. Below is the overall view that we can discern from the situation.

Mars Gone Dark! BREAKING ― sources within the Sol system tell the Bugle that just a few short moments ago, all inbound and outbound signals from the surface of Mars have ceased completely. The nature of this communications blackout is not currently known, and space flight around the planet has been seriously disrupted due to the loss of traffic control. Solarian navy vessels have been sighted in orbit around the planet, and ships attempting to land have been refused clearance by the Alliance military. The Alliance government has not returned a request for comment made by reporters. As of this moment, there is no concrete evidence of foul play or any suggestion of, perhaps, a natural disaster, leading many to speculate and theorize as to why the Red Planet has suddenly gone dark. Extranet forums and message boards are aflame with conspiracy theories, ranging from acts of war by undiscovered aliens to a transdimensional experiment gone wrong. Bugle reporters took to the streets to ask citizens their thoughts. "What's happenin' on Mars? You wanna know what's happenin'?" Markus Brewer, 52, a Martian native responded, "I'll tell ya what's happenin'! It's the damn BLUES! They's takin' advantage of the shortage and takin' out m'fellow Martians while they can, the cowards! They must- must have used a NUKE or summat!" Mr. Brewer seemed very stressed and frantic about the situation, underscoring the concerns of many Solarian nationals or Republic citizens who have families in Sol. Other citizens were much less frenzied by the news, with Janice Drady, 34, A Bieselite native telling us, "To be honest with you, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a dude who pushed the wrong button at a communications tower and shorted the whole grid. Either that, or everyone on Mars is dead. What a shame." In the absence of an announcement from the Alliance government, it seems that conspiracy theories will be all that abound in the near future. The insider source who first broke news of strange phoron shipments told our reporters, however, that "They didn't listen. They didn't listen to the data, they didn't have the right, and now it's the Martians who have to pay the price. If you're still down there, you need to get out!" This story is breaking and will be updated as necessary.

Einstein Engines Unveils New Engine In a press conference held earlier today (GST) in Harmony City, Luna, Doctor Noella Lopez-Zhang, the current CEO of Einstein Engines, revealed that she and her company have created a new variant of warp engine referred to as a Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive. The Zhang-Suzuki is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than the typical warp drive in-use by the majority of human ships in the Orion Spur. “Words cannot begin to describe how proud I am of Doctor Suzuki, our chief research officer, and her research team. Without herself and her team, we would have never been able to create the Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive. I am glad I can count on Doctor Suzuki not only as an innovative researcher, but as a friend,” said Doctor Lopez-Zhang of the new engine. “The Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive is the latest, greatest creation from our research labs. While bluespace engines are still slightly faster, the Suzuki-Zhang is capable of reaching speeds close to NanoTrasen bluespace drives for a fraction of the fuel cost,” said a clearly proud Mio Suzuki at the press conference. “Plus, even the fastest engine is useless without fuel.” Production is expected to begin tomorrow, and orders are already lining up to purchase these improved warp engines in the face of the Spurwide phoron shortage. Einstein Engines, which has shown steadily increasing profits and stock shares since the crisis began, is currently poised to have its best quarter in history while its major rival - NanoTrasen - is projected to have its worst quarter ever. NanoTrasen legal director Mori Takachika has stated that the Suzuki-Zhang is “shockingly” close to a NanoTrasen drive currently in the testing phase, and has accused Einstein Engines of “classical industrial espionage.” The NanoTrasen CEO has promised “serious consequences” for Einstein Engines over the upcoming days. The Bugle will report on this story as it develops

The Maldarth Affair The Coalition of Colonies Ministry of External Affairs has announced today to the greater Orion-Spur community that they have solid, hard proof that Solarian Allegations of Phoron hoarding by their outer ring planets is totally and completely false. This information comes as a large shock to known space at large as the scarcity of the vital element grows more and more dire by the day. The information provided by the Coalition, sourced from an apparent whistleblower who defected from the Solarian Alliance, has given insight into not only just communications that prove Solarian statements of Phoron hoarding taking place in the Outer Ring as false, but has also provided photographs and documents that detail and prove numerous sentient rights violations from the Solarian military and police. In the words of the Solarian Armed Forces Public Relations Office, they had positioned troops there at the beginning of the scarcity to, “Secure and protect the previously low supply of Phoron in the Outer Ring from bad actors wishing to hoard it for their selfish gains and intents.” The information revealed that the Solarian Armed Forces and police have been raiding municipal and provincial phoron reserves across the outer ring and repossessing or in the words of the Coalition source, “fucking stealing,” the resource for shipments back to the core worlds of the Solarian Alliance. The information released by this whistleblower also stated that any attempts to publicise or release information to the public about these operations were shut down and met with threats of imprisonment or in the gravest instances, cyborgification. This is in addition to the various measures officially disclosed by the Solarian Government such as curfews, rationing of other resources to citizens, and random searches of the population for “smugglers,” that are actually, according to the whistleblower, thinly veiled attempts to detain political prisoners or individuals who posed a threat to the secrecy of the Solarian operations by straying from the official Solarian position. This whistleblower, Warrant Officer August Maldarth of the Solarian Naval Signal Corps, relayed this information to the Coalition of Colonies earlier this week after defecting to them via a covert shuttle dispatch after spending weeks gathering his evidence, reportedly alone. When questioned as to why he defected, his response was curt and to the point. “It’s not right!” He elaborated on this point further when given a press conference by the Coalition of Colonies Ministry of External Affairs, that he, himself requested. This was his primary statement to the press: “Yeah, I know that, I might up an’ die soon. Sol wants me in a bodybag, and I accept that possibility as very real. What I know though, is that the tyrannical Solarian government is stealin’ from its own people and keepin’ them down with threats of a fate worse’an death. After spending weeks sendin’ messages back and forth and just listening to what was happening, I couldn’t live with m’self. I had to get the word out, and if that meant becomin’ a traitor an puttin’ m’self at risk, I would do it. I don’t have nothing anymore, which means I have nothing to lose too. I ain’t about to let some fat-ass admiral fuckin’ steal from the good people of the Outer Ring because some moron Cytherian bureaucrat wants to drink a Toxins Special! It’s not right, damnit! They’ve been keepin’ my Mars down for fuckin’ ever, and no more people are gonna have that happen to them if I can help it! My name’s Gus fuckin’ Maldarth, and I ain’t about to be silenced outta fear!” When later asked about his remarks, Warrant Officer Maldarth said that he knew it was a dangerous move to go so public with this information, but also when asked for his thoughts, the Martian responded with, “I couldn’t give a shit about what Frost thinks of me. Fuck Frost.” The Coalition has condemned the Solarian Alliance as a result of these actions and cover-up of them, and Mister Maldarth’s sentiments have sparked protests, civil unrest, strikes, and riots across Solarian space, with many calling for legal action to be taken against those responsible for the operation and the repossessed phoron to be returned to the affected planets. The Solarian Government has denied all allegations and has announced that their operations in the outer ring have reached completion and are pulling back all but the essential units that were stationed in the region before the recent occupation. Those critical of SolGov have stated that this is nothing more than an attempt to save face, while various sentient rights groups across the Orion Spur have raised concerns of these new Solarian movements being used to reposition troops in order to crack down against the demonstrations occurring across Solarian space. The Republic of Elyra and Empire of Dominia have both recalled their ambassadors and all non-essential embassy staff from Solarian space in protest of these actions, with both countries’ foreign ministries releasing condemnations of Solarian conduct as well. The People’s Republic of Adhomai has released a formal denunciation of the Solarian Alliance, going as far as to call them “paranoid imperialist crooks,” and “the enemies of sentient life everywhere.” The Republic of Biesel has responded with condemnation as well, and has partially mobilised their reserves in response to inward Solarian troop movements. The Izweski Hegemony and Jargon Federation have not commented on the issue. Warrant Officer Maldarth is reportedly residing in an undisclosed location within neutral Tau Ceti space for his safety at this time. The Coalition has stated that they will use every reasonable resource available to them in order to preserve Maldarth’s continued health and safety from foreign agents and transport him to Coalition space.

BYOND Key: TheBurninSherman Character Names: Main ones as of now are: Song Sun - Chief Medical Officer Karolina Bezdnova - Scientist (Zavod) IRU-Dauphine - Forensic Technician (Idris) Umbra SSU #4.262-C - Bartender Subaru Matsushita - Atmospheric Technician Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character: A deep, burgundy red. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this specific race: The Skrell in my opinion have one of the most unique perspectives in the game when it comes to playing a character. They are the only alien species that has even anywhere close to the influence and power that Humanity does, yet they are not the main race of the game like humanity is. I want to take on this new perspective by exploring a race that is one with itself in a sense, yet has members of it like those living outside of the federation, that are lost or cut off. I also think the exploration of the psionic mechanics of the Skrell would be very fun to use in RP just for the various things it can do and the opportunities it provides. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Mechanically, the Skrell are quite similar to humans with one notable exception, that being psionics. What’s more with this psionic inclusion, is the Srom and Nlom, and just the in-game iterations of them one finds when they use the sleep verb or telepathically communicate, but the in-character perspective of it and how it, among other things, ties the Skrell together with one another. Humans are independent in a way, and it shows in our lore with the various factions and nations of humanity that dot the map, but Skrell are much more communal and societal as opposed to individualistic. This shows in everything from the Quya family structure, to the near monolithic nature of the Jargon Federation, to even Skrellian names themselves in how they are oftentimes combinations of the names of others. I think incorporating this mindset alongside the other alien cultural quirks of playing a Skrell is what truly sets them apart. Character Name: Vamtyu’Pom Quul Phumanus Vamtyu’Pom Quul Phumanus, or often Vamtyu or even Vam or Pom, for short, was born outside of federation space on the Jovian moon of Europa. This place is not a usual spot for them to be born in, however, as with many things, there is a reason for this. Roughly thirty years prior to Vam’s birth, a Quya of scientifically-minded Skrell living in one of the larger underwater cities of Qerrbalak was given an offer of a lifetime from Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals: Move out of Qerrbalak in an all expenses-paid relocation to the moon, Europa, and be given much higher paying jobs than they were working at the time due to both their scientific acumen but also their nonchalance with which they lived underwater. This Quya, after some deliberation between themselves, collectively decided to accept this offer and move to a Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals facility known as Phumanus Station on the icy moon. Once there the Quya had a bit of difficulty integrating into a more human society and being distanced from the Nlom and Srom fields they were used to, eventually decided to start making a home for themselves in this place as opposed to simply working there. This, of course, meant having children. Vamtyu was the second of four children that the Quya has yet had, and their time in life has been odd in comparison to the typical Skrellian experience. Born as a listener, and remaining more or less one for the entirety of their sixty-two year-long life, Vam’s thoughts are not directly influenced by the push and pull of the wake, but instead they listen in to it and simply observe. This fact however, is somewhat isolating and even problematic to a Skrell in Vam’s situation. They are a listener distant from both the Nlom and Srom aside from the fields felt from their own Quya and the small handful of others living on Phumanus Station, making them a listener with nothing to typically listen to. As a result of often not hearing much, Vam is a very deliberate and meticulous Skrell, a Skrell that often growing up and working on Phumanus had a lot of time to really think about the things that they did hear, pick them apart, and approach them with various angles. The more obvious result, however, of growing up in a human society is the remarkability that Vam has in perceiving and understanding human cultural norms, concepts, and customs. Things like gender, to human perceptions of humour, to an understanding of the human family structure are not and never were alien to this Skrell as they felt as if they were a part of it. This goes as far as utilising gendered pronouns when around humans, typically feminine ones, and adopting the surname Phumanus, as while growing up, they saw the station as their family. They even show their difference from a federation Skrell in appearance. A federation Skrell living in a similar underwater environment would have a dark, navy blue colour to their skin, where Vam is instead a dark red colour sourced from an iron-rich diet of tenderised shellfish meat. This familiarity with human society came at a cost however, a sort of out-of-touchness with the more typical skrellian norms that manifests itself in many ways. Much like many Skrell residing on Europa, Vamtyu was somewhat prized for their ability to act like a psionic radar for the various underwater vessels roaming around the Europan seas. This combined with Vam’s natural curiosity and methodical nature, made them a valuable asset for Zeng-Hu’s research expeditions into the deep. Being influenced by their Quya, the company that they lived under, and the place where they grew up, Vamtyu applied themselves by becoming a xenobiologist specialising in the creatures that filled Europa’s dark depths. While they enjoyed this life of study and exploration, not to mention the community they found around them, Vam found themselves wanting more. Their curious nature was always looking to learn more things, and while Europa, to them, would always be their home, there was more to learn in the galaxy than could be learned on Europa. After conferring with their Quya about this desire, Vam submitted an application for transfer to another facility. It didn’t matter where, but so long as they could learn new things, discover and carry out research on new creatures, they wanted it. Zeng-Hu said no, initially, however after receiving pressure from some of the senior directors of Phumanus station, directors that Vam had become quite friendly with in their fourty-some years they'd worked on the station, the company relented and sent Vam off to work as a contractor upon the NanoTrasen owned station, the NSS Aurora. Vam is in the greater galactic society for the first time in their life, and despite being technically an adult, they have an almost childlike morbid curiosity with much around them and an urge to feed that methodical and analytical mind that made them who they are. Also, they have been exposed to a greater Nlom and Srom for the first time, and this is an entirely new opportunity for exploration in itself. Who knows what may await this hematite-hued alien in their new life among the stars? What do you like about this character? I like the dynamic of having a human-familiar skrell to the detriment of knowing their own customs. I think it could make for quite interesting RP with other Skrell on station, for better or worse. I don’t often see non-federation Skrell in game, so I think this could be an interesting niche to also explore in roleplay that this character could provide. As for personality and who they are as a whole, I am excited to play a sort of calm, wistful, and contemplative, yet somewhat extroverted person that has this boundless desire to learn new things and give themselves context within the wider galaxy. I think they will be very fun to play as a Zeng-Hu contracted Xenobiologist working with creatures that they have only read about in papers and seen in documentaries before now. How would you rate your role-playing ability? If I had to give it a number I would say eight out of ten.

Phoron-Related Xenofauna and You! This is a public service message paid for by the NanoTrasen Employee Resources Division Phoron-Related or Phoron-Interested Xenofauna are a relatively unknown classification of xenofauna species specialised in the metabolization of phoron for energy or other life-essential processes. Typically, these species are found residing in deep space away from inhabited and technologically developed or advanced regions. These species are known to both seek-out and consume or otherwise make use of phoron deposits in various ways so as to propagate their species and survival. While often considered pests by all races in the Orion Spur, these creatures are exceptionally varied and can range from organisms microscopic in size to massive, multiple metres long behemoths. More are being discovered as phoron deposits themselves draw more attention from corporations and countries that have a vested interest in securing them, and naturally, these creatures tend to turn up or travel to these areas to feed. Recently, as a result of regional shortages and an overall, spur-wide scarcity of phoron, many of these creatures have begun to migrate from their usual homes in the deep, near-inaccessible reaches of space to more populated areas in search of the rare element such as the Romanovich Cloud. This new shift in migration patterns has drawn concern from those wishing to protect their already limited supplies of phoron from perceived pests, but it has also drawn great interest from the xenobiological community spur-wide. Many of the creatures in these migrations have not ever been studied in great detail with some species being new discoveries altogether. As a valuable employee or contractor of the NanoTrasen corporation, always be on the lookout for xenofauna attempting to take phoron stocks! Due to this lack of information however, there is not much known on the capabilities of many of these organisms and how they should be approached. As with any type of potentially dangerous animal however, caution should be exercised around any phoron-related xenofauna! The Black Trident Worm One of the most common types of phoron-related xenofauna that has been seen to date is the goliath trident worm. The Trident Worms, so called due to the three-pronged shape of their upper and lower jaws, are a species of extraterrestrial worm-like creatures that consume and metabolise phoron in order to create energy for themselves. They can be as small as one-to-two metres long in their early juvenile states to on average, longer than twenty metres once fully matured and grown. They are incredibly strong and have been known to break through plasteel reinforced hulls with their jaws, estimated to be similar on the Mohs hardness scale to diamond, in search of phoron. How these creatures locate phoron is currently a mystery to even the most leading xenozoologists and xenobiologists but it is incredibly accurate and long-ranged, allowing a single Goliath Trident Worm to locate a single vein of phoron many astronomical units away. Once they are in proximity to the phoron they seek, the worms then utilise their jaws as tunneling instruments to burrow into asteroids, or more recently, station walls or ship hulls, to reach and then consume phoron crystals. The methods by which these animals cross space at such speed are unknown, but are speculated to be a utilisation of the gravity-slingshot effect from the gravitational fields of large asteroids, moons, and even planets. These worms often travel in small groups or families, usually headed by a matriarch and composed of many younger, smaller, juveniles, and a few larger, fully grown adults. The largest recorded Black Trident Worm, colloquially named “The King of Crosk,” was been estimated to be twenty-eight to thirty metres long and was spotted by the Coalition of Colonies Xenogeological Survey vessel Lundqvist in the Crosk Plains, the region of space where it is speculated that the worms were originally native to prior to their recent migrations to more populated areas of space. How can you as a crewmember protect against phoron-related xenofauna? The answer is simple! Protect your N.E.S.T! Notify your station’s or ship’s security detail of the presence of phoron-related xenofauna. Exit the area where the xenofauna has been sighted. Secure your nearest set of EVA equipment in the event of a hull breach caused by the animals. Team-up with your department to and crew to shelter in place or eradicate the xenofauna infestation if instructed to do so. "Together, we can all stay safe from Phoron-Related Xenofauna!"

Abo is a fine person and while my time with them even on the admin team was basically nonexistent, their character and experience speaks for itself. I am looking forwards to potentially seeing them on the moderator team. haha nice guy +1

I am deeply affected by the loss of officer Beepsky. Doctor Sun will be offering grief counseling so you can metasad ICly.

I think that the bleedout meta is fine and the oxygenation system we have atm is workable, however, the lethality of lasers should be addressed. A single shot from a laser rifle to the chest should not take away like 15% of your blood oxy and pop your lungs, and in my experience as a medplayer, it very well can. Brainmed is built around oxydep and the mechanics surrounding it, so I do not think that a bleedout meta will ever go away entirely. I am neutral on my thoughts for the "meta" as a whole, but I agree with the sentiments in this thread about some weapons, namely lasers, needing to be tweaked some in terms of the amount of blood they remove and potential organ damage they can deal, even through armor.

I believe that the way things are now in terms of history is woefully inadequate because it gives so little context to what is happening now. There is no real "why" for a lot of human lore right now, other than "megacorporations corrupt" and "phoron exists." Why is SolGov falling apart? When did it start falling apart? How do we make this feel impactful in the game other than people just like joking about it? I'm not wanting to over-write two-hundred years of human history, but when you have other species with multiple entire articles on a timespan smaller than fifty years, and humanity has maybe a few paragraphs on the entire history of the Solar Alliance summed up in a timeline article. There is no context right now aside from megacorporations buying things and NT supporting Tau Ceti independence. As for playerbase gripes, or lack thereof, will anyone be opposed to SolGov getting more lore? Sure its on borrowed time, but it's still here and is going to be here well into the NBT until it collapses sometime in the King of the World Arc. Why not make the literal main player and subject of the upcoming chapter more fleshed out as an entity, give people context for their players and for the events they take place in by posing the SolGov as more than just "totalitarian juggernaut that most of humanity belongs to." What is SolGov? Not as a place with all these wonderful opportunities for cultures and characters, but as a country and government entity, how do you explain why SolGov is? I understand that the updates have been very productive and have made the country more accessible, or at least popular, but I feel there is a false equivalency of people playing something more and it actually being played well we have a lot of people who try to play Security or a lot of people who attempt to play antags, or people who try to play x-y-z, but that doesn't particularly mean that they do them justice or are good at portraying the character relative to the lore. Ask yourself this, with some notable few exceptions, has the average Dominian character being played on the server changed at all from where it was a year ago? Is there anything notable that you can point to and say across the player culture that has actually changed from the old Dominian lore to the new Dominian lore? They are still self-righteous nationalist religious zealots, they still very much feel the same to RP with, in my experience, and they just seem boring, again with a few exceptions. The new lore is nice, I enjoy it, however, having an "asshole faction," just doesn't make sense to me at all. Why just have a group of people that are confrontational and troublesome enough just because we "need" it, when its not doing the job. Being taller than 6'0, starting fights, verbal or physical, with people at the slightest offense and cussing out IPC's at every given chance while shoving "goddess" into every sentence is not interesting RP, its repetitive, boring, and lifeless. A noble, honour-bound faction shouldn't be assholes just because its convenient, they should feel realistic and believable relative to the other cultures that we have and have fleshed out as good examples of what human lore can do, Eridani, some of the Frontier Worlds like Himeo and Crosk or more Solar-influenced worlds like New Hai Phong or even Biesel itself. Building a culture is important, and I feel that its needed in Elyra as well, but cultures spring up as reactions to events and changes in ways of life along with environmental factors. We have the environments, but we don't have again, the why for many places in Elyra. We don't even know how Elyra got its independence other than they rallied around a general and broke away. Did they fight a war? Was the secession peaceful? How did SolGov react? The entire culture of the Coalition of Colonies exists as opposed to that of SolGov and exists as a result of a war that we have basically zero information on, but the same war influenced Elyra's own independence as a nation, and by that sense, the cultures within. I agree that Elyra needs to be fleshed out, as right now Elyra lacks a foundation aside from arbitrary allusions to modern-day middle-eastern nations combined with utopian influences. I want to help build that foundation via a historical narrative that influences the culture of Elyra, something that I will work with my team in creating. I would be a team lead, but much of being the team lead in my opinion is not just working with my own ideas, but coordinating and developing those of my team members and helping them integrate with the greater objective at hand, in this case, being updating Elyra. Yes, I agree, the Earth map itself and my comments around it are a bit of a meme and very minor in comparison to everything else. The Earth map however, is less just the map, and more an example of allegory to a lot of the still outdated lore that still resides on various wiki-pages that has not been brought up to speed with current events, and well, as we go into the NBT, we need to be as updated as we can and brought to grips with the gravity of the Solar Alliance's collapse. This is such a huge occasion, that we need to give it all of our attention when it occurs, so there is very much a need to update existing lore to be ready for when that happens, so we do not need to go back writing events that happened years or even decades ago to explain how the new events will impact the galaxy at large. Player feedback is important, and is a given in my view. The reason I didn't mention it is because I thought that such a thing would be implied. In the same spirit of , "because the practical answer if you want the job is 'yes', saying 'no' is the immediate wrong answer," as you stated in your conclusion, if you want to work in a community, then not listening to the community is the immediate wrong answer. Community feedback is what drives the entire game. We are a community, and I love the Aurora as that community, so I will undoubtedly listen to it and hear what it has to say. However, lore decisions are made not just as a result of not just the creator asking the community for feedback, but also the collective decision-making process of the loreteam and sometimes the Loremaster(s). Hearing what the playerbase thinks, is essential, and while it may definitely go against what the sentiments of the lore team are at times, its still important to take into account. I will not let myself and my decisions be put at the mercy of popular opinion, but at the same time I will acknowledge what is being said and let it be an influence in my own decisions and thoughts that I give my team. As for goals, yes, I have many short term goals, the primary ones revolving around the NBT and King of the World Arc, as I have mentioned numerous times in this thread already. Because King of the World and the NBT will change not just Human Lore, but lore as a whole with a focus on human, its exceptionally hard to really plan for the long term, as I am not privy to how the SolGov is planned to collapse, or what will happen in its wake, because, that lore, or at least the outline of it, is already conceived and probably even written down somewhere. Because I am not yet on the team, I do not know what any of these details or even concepts are, and because KotW its literally going to turn the largest entity in human space on its head, I cannot really say that I have long-term plans outside of vague inklings, because all are relative to what happens in the upcoming short-term, a short term that is of an undefined length, it could be anywhere from weeks to months, and a short-term that I, once again, do not know about except for what anyone else not on the lore team knows already. I am in the dark about the huge changes coming to the galaxy and humanity that will effect the decisions I make once in the team. I can see that having no long-term goals may give the impression that I am not being transparent with you or the community as a whole, but I want to let everyone know that right now my intentions with the lore are these in short: 1. Update the lore and get it up to speed with KotW/NBT, this could mean anything from adding history to more locations or Humanity at large, to further expanding on neglected or content starved areas and the cultures within them, or writing in more effects about how current events impact the various planets and populations across humanity. We need more context and gravity given to these modern times. We have mini-events on the phoron shortage almost every other day at this point, so why don't we have more lore on the galactic ramifications of it outside of two news articles. 2/3. Work with the rest of the lore teams and loremasters to make the King of the World chapter as best as it possibly can be, be that through preparation or actively contributing to the projected events. 2/3. Address the problems I have already listed that I find with Dominia and Elyra, Elyra probably taking precedence over Dominia depending on the sentiments and initiative in the loreteam. 4. Incorporate new things/locations/populations into human lore after the NBT and King of the World, all somewhat dependent on what happens in King of the World. When this will happen depends on how soon the NBT and its subsequent galactic lore gets here, something that I will freely admit I don't know right now. 5. If we have more time to do more things that aren't listed here in between the things that are, I will attempt to pursue those as well. These are my priorities as a lore developer but they are not the only ideas or visions that that matter within the human loreteam or community at large. I appreciate hearing what you have to say on my application and I have taken your critiques into account with how I will proceed as a human lore developer/maintainer if I do indeed get the position. Thank you for taking time out of your day to give your thoughts to me, as its a new perspective that I wasn't entirely aware of before ^-^

While I think it may sometimes be difficult to continuously involve other races and their lore teams in work, simply for the fact that human lore does have a lot to deal with because of its much larger purview than some other races, I very much want to work with the other races. The two that are on my mind most are IPC and Unathi. Positronics for the reason that Human and IPC lore are by their nature, incredibly intertwined and integrated with one another, since humans made the current iteration of IPCs and it is under Human societies almost exclusively that most IPCs live, and Unathi because of their involvement with Dominia and potential source of cooperation and insight in further improving Dominian lore. I would love to work with other lore teams as well, if prudent, as cooperation and integration is the best way to pursue development in galactic lore at large, be it with the two teams I have expressed interest in above or any other should the situation, events, or lore projects call for it.

In my opinion, navigating a work-life balance is relative to the individual, but also, in this case, can be mitigated some in terms of work. We exist in a lore team for a reason, to be able to use teamwork and collective decision making and work as a strength and asset for all parties involved. I have a faith not just in myself, but in the current human lore team as the times I have spoken with them they seem more than committed and understanding of real-life circumstances. Because of this, I believe that through the use of teamwork and communication as well as being very aware of my own limitations and mitigating factors, I can indeed strike a good work-life balance. If it is something I cannot handle, I will have no qualms in resigning from the position for the good of myself, the lore team, and the lore of the game as a whole. I do not want to be a lame duck of a loredev who just occupies a slot and makes no contributions either directly from my own creation or in the form of input to the ideas of people that I work with. When I made the application here, I made it not just as an application for the fun and exciting parts about lore like improving things, making new things, and innovating systems, but also for the less desirable parts of the position. This is a responsibility as much as it is a position of creative expansion and freedom. Because of this, being a :ore Dev is not just a thing that I see as a thing for myself, but also as me being as a part of a greater community and universe, both of which I have a love and appreciation for despite their shortcomings. I know that love can go only so far, which is why I feel like there is also a very strong sense of duty, dedication, and temperance to the community at large that comes with a position that can garner such influence over the game and its universe. There will be conflict over lore, either between different lore teams or within the human lore team itself. However, I feel that investing myself in what the Lore Dev has as a responsibility for the betterment of the community and its lore, while combining it with the already large love and respect I feel for the Aurora and what it means to me, I can help mitigate the stress and burnout I will experience. I have no doubt there will be times that I perhaps doubt myself or are stressed out of my mind, or have writer's block or am at odds with others in the community, but I also have no doubt that I will be able to manage this through a dedication to the lore and community that I really do have a special place in my heart for. I have a wonderful few friends I have made here that I can communicate with and bounce ideas off of either in a professional, server-affairs context or in a more casual, friendly way. With these wonderful people, people who have supported me since I have started playing over a year ago, and through my own external support systems, I think I can have an outlet for the troubles I will face. If I cannot take the heat from the position and if my respect for the position I hold, love for the community I play in, and support systems cannot help me overcome stress and burnout enough, I will accept this as a reality and take a break or resign if I need to in order to uphold my job to the community and obligation to myself for personal health and wellness.

The Scarab Fleet and to a degree, Techno-Conglomerate fleet both already use this sort of mentality and practice, especially the Scarabs as they style themselves as off-worlder space nomads complete with spiritualism and superstition. How would any planned additions to the universe remain diverse from these already existing factions and not step on their toes?

Currently, I would want to expand on the already existing elements of the more liberal or at least different sects from the extant Jak'akh and Kael'kah Morozian interpretations. I would consult with the human lore team as well for other solutions, as ultimately, this is about changing a stereotypical culture that shouldn't really be around in the first place, because nuance is very much a thing in Dominia as it exits now. Giving more options, however, to that nuance can encourage people to explore new possibilities in their RP and drop the wrong-spirited ways of playing to Dominian lore without people needing to bwoink players because "Hey ur not sticking to lore." Instead of telling the playerbase what they want and putting them on blast for admittedly poor rp, that isn't a way to get through to them and wouldn't do anything aside from antagonise people who are just trying to RP, we should instead show them why it might be fun to explore what we have or are working on as a new avenue for Dominian characters. Dominia has been changed a lot recently, so gradual implementation will be needed to see the full effect of the changes themselves before we add anything else.