Beauchamp Arc Feedback Thread

[Butterrobber202]

I know I promised this weeks ago, but immediately after, I went into mid-term mode and got sidetracked. Sorry for the delay!

To begin, to fully understand the reasoning for this Arc, we need to review the position Skrell Lore was in prior to its release. 

In the “King of the World” Arc, easily our most ambitious project as a server from a lore standpoint, the Skrell did… nothing. Reasoning? They had no maintainer at the time, and were simply excluded from the happenings for that reason. They were no one’s responsibility. This is a pretty glaring plothole, even when considering the previous isolationist policy Jargon held tightly to.

Speaking of which, the isolationist policy of Jargon has been gradually fading away over the course of both Caelphon’s and Ryver’s respective tenures as Skrell Maintainer. The Skrell have been victim to several events over the course of our entire canon history that changed them, be it violent or not. 

So, with that in mind, this arc was constructed with a few goals in mind.

1.Shed the Isolationism of Jargon

2. Improve Solarian and Jargon relationships

3. Address the plothole created by the KoTW situation

4. Have Jargon play their hand in a way unique from their previous attempts to influence the Spur. 

5. Increase Galactic Tension

There is a single, hidden objective, that I can not reveal in this post, but it has affected the arc in a minor capacity. I state this solely to keep the players informed on how much info I’m releasing.
On a final note, this entire Arc was largely my own brainchild. Every major decision was proposed by me, debated with the relevant teams and accepted, modified, or disregarded based on those discussions. If you have any issues with how this arc was handled, bring them to me in this thread, lore discord, or my DMs first. 

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Federation Relief Fleet Launches From Qerrbalak!

Spoiler

In a surprise address on behalf of the Grand Council, Ormish Jrolk of the Advisory Council announced they would be sending a large-scale relief fleet to assist the Solarian Alliance’s remaining territories. 

“When we thought we were alone amongst the stars— when we were the only ones to make the first hurdle of exploring space— when we least expected it, that is when our first veritable ally made themselves apparent: the Solarian Alliance. Humanity has been a true ally to the Skrell, as both trade partners and interstellar allies, for the last one-hundred and thirty one years. Despite the myriad of human nations that have come to number the Spur, it was the Solarian people who welcomed us and enriched our perspectives with divergent outlooks on life.”

“It was truly a tragedy painted in the stars that our own internal struggles prevented us from helping the Alliance during their time of need. Now that our focus inward has been mediated, we can turn outwards once more: a referendum by the Grand Council that a belated response makes for a preferable alternative than willingly ignoring the Solarian crisis.”

Later that day, the press was allowed access to the dockyards where the fleet was being prepared. It was largely composed of superfreighters loaded with domestic goods and food, with a few “infirmary” ships that have the capability to act as mobile hospitals. Despite minor protests from cautious observers, the Council of Infrastructure and Transport has volunteered a detachment of Skrell civil engineers, C’thur Workers, and a significant amount of processed materials to the effort. The Qukala was also present, escorting the fleet with three Eyrixoq and one Ayoni class vessel. 

The Relief Fleet is scheduled to launch the day after tomorrow and head into the Solarian Core Worlds. Once there, they plan to coordinate with Solarian officials and distribute their goods and services to anyone in need of assistance. 

The original goalposts of this arc was merely repairing the KoTW plothole, something I was very determined to see plugged. It really messed with Jargon and Sol’s buddy buddy relationship that was stalwart in lore prior to the KoTW arc. But, as I read more lore, my ambitions grew. Why merely offer aid? I could accelerate this into something greater, compressing multiple arcs into one, hitting multiple notes at once.

As for the content of this article, the way Jrolk speaks here is intended to evoke empathy and compassion. While the everpresent “The Fed is always looking after themselves” angle can be applied, the direct effects of this action is ultimately morally and ethically good. The Federation, as is preferred in our setting, is in a comfortable gray zone between good and evil for this arc.
 

FAMILIES REUNITED! EINSTEIN’S WARP GATES RETURN?

Spoiler

A holovid plays, with the camera on a black halo in space, surrounded by Federation support craft. The gate is carefully rigged to the ships via support lattice and massive wires. A nearby Alliance corvette flashes its blinker lights, and suddenly all the lattice and connections to the Gate fall away as the Federation ships back off. The space around the gate warps slightly, before suddenly popping back into position as brilliant orange and yellow lights begin to run the rim of the gate! A collective cheer comes up from a group behind the holovid recorder.

With the assistance of the Federation engineers and Einstein Engines designs, a trio of warp gates have been deployed in Solarian Space for the first time in almost forty years! This shocking secret project was quietly revealed to Alliance officials, who greenlit its deployment. 

 

According to a press release from Einstein Engines, these prototype gates were designed using Skrell warp designs merging with human engineering, in one of the most ambitious projects of the century. These warp gates are not only far more efficient but much faster than their forerunners. Einstein CEO Noelle Lopez-Zhang had the following to say:

“Humanity’s ambition in the Spur has long since been carried on the back of Einstein Engines, and the cradle of humanity is the Alliance. It is our desire to help ensure the economic and social stability of Solarian space with these gates and our future products. In time, Einstein’s allies will no longer feel the shackles of phoron, and will be able to freely travel the Spur once again.”

A trio of these gates were deployed with the combined efforts of the Alliance, the Federation and Einstein Engines. The Core Worlds, the Provisional Government, and Military District all eagerly agreed to have the gates opened in their territories to bring them one step further towards the reformation of the Alliance’s true state. 

Mere hours after the gates were opened, civilian craft and commercial transports began pouring through the gates. Families once separated by the collapse finally have means to rejoin their loved ones in the participating territories. 

A holovid is embedded at the bottom of the article as well, it seems to be network footage of the inside of Unity Station’s docks. The camera begins looking out a window, where a civilian flotilla drifts outside, many still awaiting their turn to dock. The camera turns back to the interior, just in time to catch a father embracing a small girl that runs up to him. The holovid continues to record families reuniting, before quietly fading to black.

Back again to cause trouble, our favorite megacorp, EE! This is the first W for Sol in this arc. The potential return of Warp Gates within their territory will allow them to get some wiggle room to escape the harsh realities of the phoron scarcity. While reminding people of the relationship EE has with Sol, another goal was to show that EE is still an active force and busy doing things, just like the SCC is.

Warp’s return has already been touched on lightly as a consequence of the phoron scarcity; it seemed like a prime opportunity to have EE step up to the plate. Not to mention, this serves to further differentiate Sol from the rest of the Spur.
 

 

TRAGEDY AT THE GATES: ADMIRAL BEAUCHAMP’S ASSAULT!

Spoiler

During operation of the Einstein Engines’s gate system, tragedy struck when ex-Admiral Beauchamp ordered a heinous attack on his own former countrymen and their allies. Ships belonging to the Tenth Battlegroup appeared at the Gate Site within the Provisional Government's territory and without warning, began firing on military craft in the area.

Despite the valiant attempts of the JFV Trench Whale and Big Squib (Ayoni and Eyrixoq class), in addition to the SAMV Carolina’s response, the combined factors of surprise and overwhelming firepower from the Tenth disabled all military resistance to the attack.

After the Tenth Battlegroup secured dominance in the surrounding area of the Gate Site, reports then state the Tenth Battlegroup opened fire on civilian freighters, transports, and the Gate itself. The final report from the on-site team indicated the Tenth had just blown the Federation superfreighter, the JFV Yop, open and were seen launching marines into the wreckage, presumably to raid.

There is no further information to give as of now, as the Tenth fired upon the network reporting ship and destroyed it.

Both Alliance and Federation responses have yet to come in.

The suspected result of sending fat cargo into the Wildlands with a reduced escort. There’s a bit to go over in this one, so I’ll take it point by point.

   1. Why Beauchamp?

The SFA was easily the weakest of the Wildland Warlord factions. When the dominos started to fall, it was only logical the smallest tree gets uprooted first. Beauchamp’s personality also made him a prime candidate for being tricked into doing silly things. When I write stuff like this, I try to make sure everything is consistent with pre-existing lore. Making a faction dumb out of nowhere for the sake of the narrative is generally something I do not enjoy. 

   2. Why fire on Civs?

The SFA’s position is anything but stable. Those transports and freighters, especially the Jargon ones, were filled to bursting with vital supplies to keep his regime running. 

   3 .The Gate?

Beauchamp has an open trading relationship with the SCC, who is headed by NT, who makes most of their profits off of phoron.

The Gate does not use phoron.

 

THE BEAUCHAMP MASSACRE

Spoiler

[A Graphic Content Warning flickers at the top of the Article]

A silent holovid plays, following the helmet camera of an Alliance Marine. The hull of the JFV Yop fills the screen, marred by a massive breach in its side. Destroyed cargo, slag, and frozen skrell bodies slowly float near the hole. The marine lands on the hull, and walks along it towards the breach. Floating inside, the camera reveals empty cargo clamps along the walls. The marine grabs ahold of one of the nearby bodies and pulls it close. The skrell has ice forming around their breath mask, but the marine flattens their hazard vest and focuses the camera on a laser blast mark on their chest. The marine suddenly turns around, and another marine is pointing down a dark hallway. A light flickers on, and shines down the hall to reveal many more skrell floating in zero gravity.

 

According to the results of a joint investigation performed by the Alliance, Jargon Federation and Einstein Engines, it is with great regret and sadness the Alliance Network reports that there were no survivors from the Tenth’s assault on the Provisional Government’s Gate Site. It seems the Tenth Battlegroup not only fired at, but also boarded each freighter and transport ship that remained intact and raided their supplies. 

The current death toll is currently 7,288. 6,781 Humans, 459 Skrell and 48 C’thuric Vaurca. Those lost in transit when Gate Site was destroyed remain unaccounted for.

The only notable exclusion from the Tenth’s raiding seems to be the prototype warp gate, which according to Einstein Engineers, was rendered “completely unsalvageable” by heavy munitions. EE is heavily lamenting its loss, and asked the Alliance to increase security around the remaining pair of Gates, though the SSMD had increased military presence around the gate prior to this request.

An Alliance spokesperson, Fransisco Artigas, spoke to the public on Unity Station:

"Any and all rogue detractors of the people of the Alliance must be put down, or else this will be a tear in a vast sea of tragedy and violence. Such is the way of warlordism; it is not just our duty, but our responsibility as the leaders of our great nation to end the violence and bring about a united Alliance once more. I assure you, Admiral Beauchamp and his fellow bandits will pay dearly for the lives lost, as will those that support them from afar.

If you suspect a loved one or friend was at the gate site during the attack please contact the Alliance at SOL-100-1001-2201.

 

Much of this article is simply laying out the results and making the circumstances of the massacre clear to our players. The personalities of both the SSMD and main Alliance are represented in their own little ways here.

The holovid was another experiment. I liked it, but hiring an artist to make a little animation may be a superior idea in the future. Text is free though, which is why I used it here.

 

A Federation Resolute

Spoiler

The Beauchamp Massacre has affected Skrell all across the Federation deeply, from the core of Nralakk to the depths of the Traverse. Before proceeding, the Warble Inquirer extends its deepest sympathies to the lives lost in this tragedy. 

Ormish Jrolk, spoke on behalf of the Grand Council at a scheduled press release regarding what has transpired during the Gate Incident.

"Owing it to a sense of paternity, like watching a tadpole make mistakes, learn, and grow on their own, the Federation has taken a step back, remaining sidelined, held off stage of the affairs of the Spur. Perhaps out of fear— a desire to shield ourselves from harm, too, did we mind our own. And now, giving this charity towards our human allies, we are seeing the fingers bitten by hungry mouths, and painfully punished. I-it…"

Jrolk paused here, clearing inky droplets from his eyes, and croaked his throat clear. 

"It is the decision of the Grand Council that Quya mourning the passing of loved ones will receive monetary, mental, and other compensation from the Federation. So that they may never be forgotten, and always remembered for their work, a memorial is being erected for those we have lost to the stars, thanks to the compassion of our people. The Stars will continue to grow ever brighter, even as they burn and die out in a passionate burst of energy."

After Jrolk bowed his head, and moved to depart, the Skrell in attendance offered sympathetic croons. Just as the stage began to shut down, the Nlom rapidly shifted alongside audible commotion from behind the stage. Many Skrell remarked they were briefly torn between feeling great sadness and tremendous agitation. Moments later, Grand Councilor Weashbi Jrugl strided onto the stage, fists clenched and neck hidden by their headtails. Skrell with particular psionic ability noted that the Grand Councilor radiated a powerful psionic aura. Weashbi took center stage, and shot a look to the media technician who quickly procured a microphone and re-enabled the lighting. Weashbi turned his stern look onto the present reporters, who were quickly resetting their equipment.

"My Qu’draa, it is the decision of a persuaded Grand Council that our Federation has for too long kept its headtails close to its chest. For too long, we have allowed danger to fester on the border of the Traverse. For too long, we have remained passive amidst tragedies among sentient space. For too long, we have observed rather than acted. I will not allow the deaths of five-hundred and seven of our citizens to stand without trial, tribulation, or retribution. In the waning light of the stars, we have bore witness to an unfettered, unfeeling, and unapologetic act of malice reared against our nation, our people. Now, today, I will show the Orion Spur that hostilities committed against any Skrell, home or abroad, will be returned tenfold."

Weashbi turned and looked directly into a nearby holocamera.

"Admiral Beauchamp, and all those that commit to his way of rule. Know you have made an enemy of the Skrell. Stars have their grace, for I will have none."

Weashbi tossed the microphone back to the technician and left the stage. After a few long moments of silence had passed, the assembly erupted into high-pitched shrills and applause. It was joined by those watching the address across the greater Orion Spur. It continued even long after the Grand Councilor had departed from the stage. 

Shortly after this announcement, observers noted heightened Qukala activity and seemingly, the activation of the JFV Qheles. 

Weashbi is the centerpiece of this article, but before we dig into him, let’s talk about the first part.

Jrolk describes the tragedy and the immediate measures the Federation decided on to bring relief to their own citizens. The Federation can be a compassionate force when it comes to their own people, which contrasts with their more outwardly facing reputation for being ruthless little bastards.

Weashbi appears, unannounced apparently, and he’s pissed. If this is a façade Weashbi is using to get his way or genuine anger doesn’t really matter (in the context of the results of this article), and is left to the reader. But, the fact is, Weashbi seems to be allowing emotion into his decision making. Effectively declaring the Federation can and will punish people who harm Skrell.

Astute readers familiar with the lore may notice a trend emerging with Weashbi, but that is not majorly relevant to this specific arc.

 

The Qukala: Spur-Bound!

Spoiler

Today, above the skies of Qerrbalak, the best and brightest of the Qukala were assembled in preparation for their mission. The Grand Council confirmed and publicly announced the Qukala had been tasked to strike back against Warlord Beauchamp in retaliation for his crimes. It was decided this battlegroup would be led by Admiral Reu’op Liqu, a distinguished Skrell with a long career. Though many describe the Admiral as, “Talented, but overly cautious.”

The Admiral has, as expected, taken the JFV Qheles as their flagship for this operation. This massive super-capital ship is capable of rapid “on the fly” fabrication of fighter and bomber craft, that are controlled remotely through psionic connections. While the Federation was unwilling to release the exact numbers on the amount of spacecraft the Qheles can support at once, they stated, “The Qheles is a tremendously formidable opponent from that feature alone.” Additionally, the Qheles is equipped with extremely long-range energy weaponry to provide heavy support from afar. This does not fully cover the Qheles’s capabilities, but it should give our readers a sufficient grasp of its might.

Grand Councilor Weashbi was present at the fleet’s sendoff and offered these words to the brave Skrell embarking on this heroic mission. 

"It is one of my greatest privileges as Grand Councilor, to bask in the presence of mettlesome Skrellian warriors. Your service, sacrifices, and sendoff will never be forgotten as long as the stars still burn. Burn true and bright, stars guide your paths."

Observers on-site noticed the Vytel’s Warriors had a notably strong presence in the composition of the mission’s crew. An Qukala Officer, Iobqi Bek’Ix, was open to comment, “We’ve made great strides with C’thur integration in our ranks, it would be an incredible waste of talent to leave them behind. It's a comfort to Skrell everywhere that the Federation and C’thur found such an excellent middle ground. Not to mention, the C’thur lost people as well and they’re just as angry as we all are.”

An assemblage of the Qukala’s Soldiers’ Quyas, proud citizenry, and officials gave a rousing cheer as the Qukala Fleet left their berths and warped out of Nralakk.

Call back to the Vytel articles. We haven’t forgotten about you, silly bug players. Regardless, the main point of this article is to lore-dump some never-before-seen details on the JFV Qheles. It serves to inform the players that the Federation is swinging full force at bat.

 

THE QUKALA’S VICTORY: BEAUCHAMP ON THE RUN!

Spoiler

Today, it was revealed in an Alliance Navy press release that the Federation Navy successfully located Beauchamp’s fleet on the borders of the Median, seemingly waiting for the Qukala to arrive in the Wildlands. Beauchamp, apparently, was confident he could handle our Skrellian friends, as he had positioned his fleet within a dense nebula to conduct a surprise attack. Unfortunately for Beauchamp, the Qukala’s operations were completely unaffected by the usual hazards of fighting within a nebula.

Federation Naval Forces were pulled into the Tenth Battlegroup’s interdiction net, readily engaging after emerging, turning the tide in their favor almost immediately due to their high accuracy in the nebula. The JFV Qheles merely deployed all its fighter screens and bomber squardons, most flying at Beauchamp’s flagship. Prey to their own trap, Beauchamp failed to notice the small craft cutting through the nebula until they were practically on top of him. Once the bombers had sent their payload, the Qheles opened fire on the shieldless flagship and disabled it after the second volley. Beauchamp ordered his fleet to surrender after his flagship was rendered inoperable. 

As the Skrell moved in to secure the surrendered ships, many of them suddenly and violently exploded simultaneously. This underhanded attack damaged Qukala vessels and bought the cowardly Beauchamp the time he needed to flee in a shuttle. Interrogated crewmen that survived the bombings claimed they had no knowledge of the ships being rigged to blow, implying Beauchamp planned this emergency measure without his fleet’s knowledge.

Before the detonation, the Qukala had disabled or destroyed over seventy-two percent of the Tenth Battlegroup’s ships. After the bombs went off, they suspect only a mere ten to fifteen percent of the fleet remains operational. In total, the battle lasted a mere twenty-eight minutes.

The Qukala, thankfully, reported only five total ship losses and minimal casualties on their side of the conflict. The Federation collected all survivors of the battle and turned them over to Solarian authorities. Enough of their ships were sufficiently damaged as a result of Beauchamp’s tactics for the Qukala Admiral, Reu’op Liqu, to order a withdrawal into the Federation to make repairs, confident the Tenth would no longer pose a threat. The Skrell transmitted all collected data on remaining Tenth ships to Alliance Command before leaving solarian space.

For now, the Skrell have again withdrawn behind the veil of the Traverse. 

Likely, this is the most controversial article in the entire arc. Admitally, I made a few critical mistakes in its creation as well. Let me break down why this article is the way it is.

   1. Why was it so one-sided?

A few factors went into this, all of them can be found in the article and general lore. The first was the difference in the opposing sides.

Beauchamp’s Tenth Fleet, gone pirate or not, was still a formidable Solarian Battlegroup, the likes of which forced a huge alliance to repel from Tau Ceti. His ships are his main advantage in fights. But, here, Beauchamp has some serious negative factors working against him.

• No one has ever engaged the Qukala in a fight, much less one where they are employing their main trump card. This alone sunk Beauchamp’s odds considerably.
• Beauchamp’s crew and officers are made up of the worst stock in the entire Alliance. Undisciplined criminals, convicts and wash-out officers. Compared to the high standards of the Qukala, this is a significant disadvantage.
• The Tenth has been living on scraps for the last few months. They raided and plundered to maintain their hedonistic lifestyle, and in turn, maintain their ships. 
• Fighting in a nebula, which would hamper sensors, is a dirty trick perfectly suitable for an underhanded Admiral like Beauchamp. But, if you go into Skrell lore, you’ll notice the big bad evil guy from their history’s defeat created a massive nebula around Tri-Qyu. It is reasonable to assume the Glorsh-paranoid Skrell would take extended time to research countermeasures for nebulas on this merit alone.

All of these negative factors really served to doom Beauchamp’s chances to come out on top in an engagement against the Qukala. While writing this, I wanted Beauchamp to still be clever when it came to military strategy, in the skullduggery kind of way. 

 

   2. 28 minutes

I had two options of delivery for the above statistics. I could do as I’ve done in this analysis and exposite a massive chunk of factors into the article, or provide the cold numbers, allowing the players the chance to come to conclusions themselves. I looked into some IRL navy battles, as Caelphon suggested, and discovered a few cases where the actual engagements lasted little more than an hour or so. In cases of overwhelming circumstances, the numbers dropped.

Ultimately, the numbers were an utterly moronic decision on my part, colored by my own habits and curiosity. Here’s why:

My first major mistake is thoughtlessly assuming the majority of our players are like me, who have read 90%+ of the wiki and know most of the lore by heart. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the setting casually and I’ve never held an elitist view over this. This was simply a case of me forgetting most players are casual, the effect was multiplied several degrees due to the fact my side is a tiny minority among the playerbase.

My second major mistake was deviating from the wisdom of my more experienced peers on the lore team. By long tradition, hard numbers are avoided as much as possible, as to not fuel accidental plot holes and other issues. My perception of this tradition became skewed after partaking in a conversation about potentially granting military lore an exception to the unwritten rule. I decided to go against my better judgment and added it. 

If you wanted my reasoning on why it was so low, see above. 

   3. Why is Sol/SSMD/Prov. not here for this battle?

Overkill. Beauchamp isn’t really a big threat, the Skrell are kicking the shit out him because they are pissed and it sets an intimidating precedent. The SSMD and Prov. could likely handle Beauchamp together if they wanted to, but from a pragmatic point of view, why waste limited resources on something the Skrell are willing to handle themselves? Nationalism is great and all, but they are dealing with a fragmented state and have their own shit to worry about.

Additionally, the Skrell beat up a single weak Warlord. Sol still has plenty more to deal with, far more intimidating than the SFA. 

   4. Why get rid of the SFA?

When this arc was being formulated, I decided the SFA was probably the best faction to ground this arc with due to its nature. I asked the human devs what their plans were with the faction, and changed the story to meet their desired outcome while accomplishing the Skrell objectives I had in mind. Largely, the only difference (regarding the SFA's fate) between this arc and the human team’s rough draft is the Skrell blow up most of the Tenth.

 

JUSTICE FOR THE BEAUCHAMP MASSACRE / “An Unacceptable State of Affairs!”

Spoiler

After only a few days of fighting since the defeat of the 10th Battlefleet by the Qukala in what is being called “The Battle of the Median,” the forces of the Southern Fleet Administration have crumbled under the joint-alliance of the Southern Solarian Military District and the Solarian Provisional Government. Early this morning, the last pocket of SFA troops surrendered to the SPG forces led by Admiral Yunso, their vessels and equipment all still intact after hiding out in an asteroid belt in the uninhabited QBX-983 system. Overall, the invasion of the Southern Fleet Administration has been a resounding success for the SPG and SSMD, both of which have experienced minimal losses. As planned, the forces of the SSMD and SPG have also begun to partition their respective pieces of the territory formerly belonging to the Southern Fleet Administration.

Today was also marked with another momentous occasion that will be marked in history as a victory for the SPG and SSMD. The military tribunal conducted in the Nowa Bratislava Central Court on Visegrad to determine the innocence or guilt of Admiral Beauchamp’s actions in proclaiming the Southern Fleet Administration and the massacre of hundreds of innocent humans and skrell: guilty. Upon reaching this verdict, Admiral Beauchamp was stripped of his rank and honours that he obtained while in service to the Solarian Navy  was similarly sentenced to death for two counts of treason, six counts of terrorism, three counts of crimes against sentient life, twenty-five counts of disobeying given orders from a superior officer, 1,000 counts of grand theft, and 7,240 counts of murder. The sentence was then prescribed to be carried out immediately.

The sentence was served by a firing squad of SSMD and SPG marines that shot Mister Beauchamp on the steps of the Nowa Bratislava Central Court, with dignitaries and observers being given impromptu seating off to the side of the affair. Admiral Szalai presided over the firing squad as they conducted their duty to ensure proper procedure. Since the execution, Admiral Yunso has confirmed that Mister Beauchamp’s body has been cremated, though the fate of the ashes is currently unknown to us.

Those who attended the trial were mostly military officials from across the Solarian Provisional Government and Southern Solarian Military District, however representatives from the Solarian Navy, Solarian Interstellar Intelligence Bureau, Einstein Engines, the Qukala, and the Jargon Federation’s foreign service were also in attendance, the latter two making history by being the first dignitaries of a foreign species that have been hosted by the SSMD. 

After the execution had occurred, Admiral Szalai invited the head of the Federation delegation to the trial, Ormish Jrolk, both to congratulate him on his nation’s victory over a “cowardly rat of a man,” and to express her condolences for the lives lost in the Beauchamp massacre. The Admiral made the following short speech to that effect beside Ormish Jrolk:

“The lives that have been lost to the senseless urges of one madman are tragic and horrible. May we remember them in reverence and diligence, and may we let their suffering and sacrifice give us some pause as we celebrate our own victories, Solarian and Jargonite, over traitors, bandits, and evil in the Orion Spur. The wages of banditry and treason are death. May those innocents and our brave soldiers and sailors whom we have lost rest in peace, and may Beauchamp and his bandits burn in hell!”

Admiral Szalai then shook hands with Ormish Jrolk and thanked him for his nation’s assistance in cleansing the Orion Spur of a traitor and terrorist. The Solarian Navy’s delegation to the trial was also spotted speaking to the SSMD, SPG, and Qukala representatives as well after the execution, though the details of their exchanges were unable to be obtained.

As the admirals Yunso and Szalai have proclaimed however, the area that has come to be known as the Southern Wildlands has become much more stable and secure now that the fiendish Admiral Beauchamp has been deposed and executed.

Spoiler

With the Qukala returned home, and many Skrellian cries for justice answered, the Beauchamp Massacre Memorial was unveiled in the courtyard of the Grand Councilor’s office.

A holoimage flickers, showing a tall, shiny, dark statue of a Skrell in a worker uniform reaching out towards the stars. The statue is beaten up, and its clothes tattered, despite this, its headtails are positioned to display happiness. Tiny holographic text constantly moves along the surface of the station, the names of the Skrell lost in the Beauchamp Massacre.

Grand Councilor Weashbi was present at its unveiling, looking markedly better physically than he did at his last public appearance. Weashbi spoke to the public, as the statue was revealed.

"My deepest gratitude is extended to everyone who have wrought retribution, sought out justice, and caught a flicker of hope for those tormented by these merciless bandits. The Solarian Alliance, our own unyielding champions: no amount of honest praise can repay the charitable gift given to us by our allies. After the announcement of a commemoration for our fallen, many of you turn and assisted others, reaching out to give to the humans who also suffered so much, and many other tragedies, by the hands of these warlords. I am humbled by the blessings you have enacted on others, and have matched the donations you all made and will continue to do so. The stars swell with pride."

The assembly of citizen attenders and media reporters croaked with joy. However, they all collectively warbled in pensive and nervous tones as Weashbi paused, and they all hung on the tense unease in the air as they waited for him to continue.

"This incident, however, has drawn back the curtain that hid away a nasty truth: our Federation resides in an unacceptable state of affairs. It is now evident to the Grand Council, after my talks, that we should not— cannot, stay sidelined and offstage as events play out before us. It was a miscalculation of our predecessors to let vile poison remain unattended across our borders, believing it would not seep into our own nation. Hindsight is a strong ally, and there is still yet time for correction. The Skrell will no longer idle within our own territory while galactic events unfold. For this reason, the Jargon Federation will put Qukala Shipyards and our industry to its fullest potential to help rebuild the Solarian Alliance Fleets, offering a magnanimous form of order on our orders, and a mutual sense of peace between us."

Weashbi gave way to Vice Admiral Khasia Mousavi, who expressed the gratitude of the Alliance. She went on to explain that despite using Skrell shipyards, it was important to the Alliance to use “human innovated designs” as they replenish their fleets. The Federation has agreed to accommodate this request, eager to see the results of human designs using Skrell materials. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in two weeks, across multiple shipyards in Federation space. 

These two articles are the fallout articles that setup the stuff we wanted. Mainly, the Federation breaking out of its Shell and the reaffirmation of the alliance between Sol and Jargon. Additionally, Sol gets compensated for the Skrell blowing some of their ships into space dust instead of re-capturing Alliance property. 

--------------------------------

That's the meat and potatoes of the Arc gone over. If you have questions about articles I jumped over, do feel free to ask below. Now I'll go over some of the other stuff that affected this Arc.

The Pacing

This was an experiment on my part. Traditionally, articles are released on a set schedule, usually something like Tues & Thursday, or Mon, Wed, Fri, etc. In the case of rapid, serious, events that would provoke realistically accelerated responses, Ryver and I were curious to explore delivering articles at a faster rate. 

The benefits:

• Added some modicum of realism into the pace of the events.
• Players appreciated receiving developments faster, at first.

The disadvantages:

• Rapid pacing means there is less time to digest and process info
• No time to RP around it on-station

One of the main issues, along with those listed above, is the fact the response from the players was equal to our own rate at first, then fell off. People were eating it up and spitting out RP around the articles at a very good rate. But, I noticed as we got closer and closer to the climax, interest had gradually decreased. Haydizzle had foresight beyond me, and predicted this would happen early into our release, and has been proven right.

Ultimately, while the advantages are certainly interesting. The speed we used here undermined the events by reducing tension and worry. Once the tension was gone, interest was sure to follow. 

In future arcs, we will return to form and release articles at a slower scheduled rate.

-

That's largely my collected thoughts on the matter, but it has been a few weeks since its release so it is entirely possible things have slipped out of my head. Please feel free to ask questions or voice concerns. I repeat that complaints should be directed to me here, my discord, or any other method first, as I made the majority of the decisions regarding this Arc. Despite its failings, the Arc was a success on an objective basis and I hope to provide interesting developments in the future based on the situation created here with the rest of the lore team. 

[WickedCybs]

I don't think the speed and wiki info were your biggest issues here for the arc. If anything, the speed made it far more interesting. It was just the content that made it end weaker than it began. I was genuinely interested up until the "A Federation Resolute" article started concerning me on whether this would still be the wildlands arc it appeared to be or another setpiece for the skrell. Then the "THE QUKALA’S VICTORY: BEAUCHAMP ON THE RUN!" deflated what was left of my interest entirely and as the climax there was naturally nothing more to really talk about, the aftermath only focused on the execution. If the idea was that they would "play their hand in a way unique from their previous attempts to influence the Spur" then I'm not seeing it either. Almost every skrell arc has ended up being bombastic and violent. Massive shows of force are seemingly all they ever do. The Tups were the posterchild of this and now the super ship that is the Qheles is joining them. So I don't see how this was any different. What "intimidating precedent" is there to set when Jargon can already annihilate and brainwash foreigners with no consequence?

There was also good chance for the entities in the southern wildlands to finally do something... and they just didn't. It ended up another arc where the skrell just threw their weight around in another factions "area" and left. I think it should have been as much a human arc as it was a skrell one. The SMD and SPG are very cool, it could have been a perfect chance to display Jargon's written but never really shown method of dealing with things indirectly. Prop them and support them all the way, or if they must fight, join them and deal with the threat together. The other factions could have at the very least been involved. It sounds like human lore's rough draft would have provided that.

The Southern Fleet Administration was obviously on a timer as the weakest and most unstable entity in the wildlands I agree, but I think it was also a mistake to eliminate them so quickly too. They were the only explicit anti-sol entity in the entire wildlands. They hadn't actually done anything yet too. It makes me concerned about the rest of the wildlands factions going forward. Are they all going to disappear in the course of one arc? The conflict in the south is seemingly concluded and will maybe bookend with reintegration unless the SMD picks a fight with the SCC and Biesel. Feels like a lot of potential lost there, especially with the NBT being nearby. I'm also beginning to really dislike seeing any mentions of trying to finally get a faction a "win" or that a faction keeps getting "L's". I was seeing this a lot when you were talking about the arc. Maybe you're joking but If that's an actual factor into decisions It's concerning to me. That's a thought process that leads to disappointing things. 

On the positive side, like I mentioned at the start. The speed of article releases were good. It should be maintained for an arc that has shock value like this as it would just be kind of ridiculous not hearing a very prompt response to an entire fleet of civilians getting massacred. If anything, tension may have just gone even lower if the times between articles were stretched out. The main time where I think a delay might have been a benefit would have been when the super ship was unveiled, as a case would be made that time is needed to organize and move. Basically, have it be context dependent if you really view it as a problem, but I really do not believe the pacing was the reason behind interest waning. The content itself was the reason for me personally.

Edited March 16, 2022 by WickedCybs
forgot a thing

[Kintsugi]

In general, I appreciate the fact that a lore development utilizing the warlords and the wildlands has occurred. I do not think this was a bad arc; I enjoyed it, in fact, more than I anticipated. However, I do think the arc was also characterized by a number of narrative mistakes and missteps. In particular, I think the biggest error was how the Beauchamp situation as handled- like Cybs, I feel as if the method at which the Skrell retaliated was the main spoiler of the arc.

In my mind, a direct confrontation consisting solely of an overhelming Skrell attack on the 10th was the wrong way to go about it - I feel that ideally, the Skrell should have provided support for the SSMD and the SPG to fight the SFA. The Qheles could have even been utilized as a narrative piece if there's still a desire to showcase Federation muscle, as a keystone for the SSMD and the SPG's assault. This path would have given greater screentime to the other warlords in the southern wildlands (who will narratively become far less relevant now that their prime enemy has been defeated), while still maintaining a spotlight on the Federation and showcasing the Sol-Jargon relationship. While the SSMD and the SPG did become far more involved towards the end of the arc, as they took control of Beauchamp's space and executed him, I feel like this is almost an afterthought when it should really be their fifteen minutes of fame.

I also feel as if the destruction of the SFA was likely the greatest mistake of the arc. I feel quite strongly that the Solarian warlords are the most narratively flexible entities in our lore, rich with opportunities for development, and to see a playerbase favorite with a ton of potential wiped out in toto so suddenly is quite a disappointment, in my mind. I can only hope that as the status of the SFA is developed further that something of it remains, even if it is just a roving band of ships that continue to terrorize the wildlands while receiving support from Biesel. I also hope that the warlords that remain do not share this fate - to see the League or the SRF destroyed as suddenly as the SFA would be quite the disappointment in my mind, indeed.

In summary:
I think Jargon's response was detrimental to the narrative (The untouchable superpower that cannot be stopped uses overwhelming force to crush its enemies)
I think the SSMD and the SPG were underutilized

And I think the SFA should have been given more time to shine, and not outright destroyed so suddenly.

 

Like I said, I appreciated this arc - the wildlands and the warlords finally getting their time in the sun was good. But I think there's a lot to learn, too, and to keep in mind for the future.

[Sparky_hotdog]

To start off with, I don't think the fast pacing was necessarily as negative as you make it out to be. The rapid release of news kept me hooked early, and I think it's easier to get into an arc with three or four, small articles released over a few days than just one or two big ones released further apart. However, I do agree that it was hard to RP much around the situation, with how back to back the articles were, and it did remove a fair amount of tension. I think the biggest example of that was the Skrell intervening militarily. I'd saw the idea thrown out a little both ICly and OOCly before the article dropped, and then just... it happened, about a day after, which did sorta kill the suspense. As an extra point, while interest might have faded towards the tail end of the arc, iirc the SLZ vs TP arc was happening in tandem with this one, and that might have stolen some attention due to being closer to home. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, it made the news feel more alive and active, but possibly cost some focus on this arc specifically.

I do also agree with Cybs and Danse that while an arc finally addressing the Wildlands was greatly appreciated, the way the Wildlands were handled was a little lackluster. The fact that for me the SFA were a faction I read about a year ago or so, thought "Hey look, there's a bandit kingdom in the Wildlands. That's a neat idea." and then... nothing? All the way up until they got wiped out. And then the SPG and SSMD doing... very little other than clean up also kinda felt... again, lackluster. Going back to the pacing, a longer middle of the arc, where the Federation, SPG and SSMD invaded the SFA would have probably been more interesting in my eyes. I mean, the 35th invading Tau Ceti took what? A fortnight if I recall? And in a few days the entire Fleet Administration collapsed? 

And on the note of the Federation once again butting its head into the rest of the Spur's business with violence, it didn't initially occur to me, but after it was mentioned above and I considered it, it's a good point. I don't have a particularly informed opinion on this point, Skrell lore is one of the areas I know the least about, but I think its something to keep in mind for the future. A nation as strong as the Federation should be able to influence the rest of the Spur without blowing anything up for once.

Overall, the arc did feel like it finally got galactic politics moving again, as at least to me things have felt fairly inactive on that scale after KotW, with more local lore developments. I felt at the very least it was engaging and interesting to watch unfold.

[MattAtlas]

Skrell need to stop being ultra giga powerful because it's simply not interesting when they show up, fuck shit up and leave every time. I also dislike that they took out one of the most interesting warlords in the area with the shortest fight I've ever seen. In fact, it wasn't even a fight, really, and that's the worst part. Beauchamp should still have been able to put up a fight, and if the ultra supercarrier made that impossible, in my opinion it just shouldn't exist.

[Faye <3]

Any feedback I could give has been adequately covered by Danse and Matt's posts. The death of the SFA was extremely abrupt and not very fun at all. The Qheles feels like a win button for the already extremely violent and overpowered Federation.

[Marlon P.]

12 hours ago, WickedCybs said:

I'm also beginning to really dislike seeing any mentions of trying to finally get a faction a "win" or that a faction keeps getting "L's".

I followed it and read all posts. This is the biggest thing i echo. A competetive way to look at the factions is adversarial. I remember when loredevs kept launching and proposing bigger ships, trying to one up one another and personifying their faction with big gunboats more cutting edge than the last.

It ended when i put my foot down after a five mile long megabattleship in a secret blacksite facility by nanotrasen that could wipe out all known ships. Then a brief conversation on how another faction could beat it...

I hope there is not a repeat of that phase. 

For the rest i echo what everyone else said. In future skrell arcs, could we see their diplomatic muscles too? Maybe focus on some select NPCs and follow their stories as they bend the galaxy to their whim without firing a shot?