Xanan News Service: From the Spur to Your Inbox!

[NewOriginalSchwann]

The Final Volunteer Tape
Epilogue Part 1, Article 10 of the Amor Patriae arc

The camera opens on Liao Qi, looking better than he did during his last appearance, sitting in a chair in a fairly nondescript room. His bulletproof vest has been traded for a dress shirt and he looks much like he did when he first arrived in San Colette so many months ago.

“With the end of fighting on San Colette itself,” Qi begins, “we wanted to return to the volunteers we spoke with earlier to see their experiences of the battle. Without further ado, here they are in their own words.”

The camera flicks from Qi to Alexis Watts, the first volunteer formally interviewed by the XNS. She’s in the same room, and chair, as Qi is in and looks much the same as she did before but appears less tired. Her hair, however, is still as messy as ever.

“So,” Watts begins. “You wanted my take on all this?”

“Yes, along with your experiences.”

“Sure, sure! Well, it was hard. Not a pleasant fight, but the Coletters were good — really good! My guys got stationed outside of the capital, yeah? ‘cause it was pretty clear the Front was gotta try and f—," Watts pauses and looks at the camera, "—screw it up. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“It was a lot hotter than Mars, back in ‘62. Most of the guys we fought there gave up ‘cause they didn’t wanna starve to death, or get blasted by the Navy. Now we were the ones worried about getting hit by the big guns. Woulda gotten hit if Cynthia wasn’t so on the ball with calling out interceptions.”

“How has the intervention been viewed by your fellow volunteers?”

“Most are pretty happy. Cynthia probably took it the worst but she’s a Biesel citizen so she’s fine, long as she and I stick together. Forsythe bit it so he couldn’t say much. But that’s just the way war is. Sometimes people get killed.”

As Watts sighs the perspective switches to Cynthia in the same chair, now featuring moderate damage to the synthskin on one side of her face which has been hastily covered by a bandage. She is looking at the camera with a somewhat quizzical expression.

“You have asked me a curious question, Mister Qi. Was it worth it?” Cynthia pauses, singular visible eye keeping its focus on the camera. “I suppose it was.”

“Why is that?”

“If we had not fought, it would have been far worse. I would gladly trade my right optic once again for us to fight back against the man who invaded Biesel and sold free synthetics.”

“What will you do now that the first battalion has been demobilized?”

“I can’t integrate back into the Solarian Army like the second battalion has done, so I shall return to Biesel to see Legate Forsythe off to his final resting place. After that, I suppose the Coalition is my next home. I have had enough of war and corporations. Perhaps I shall simply wander."

The camera switches to Branka Burić, the Dominian sharpshooter, in the chair. She is completely uninjured.

“I intend to return to Novi Jadran as, Goddess as my witness, my duties here are done. The Alliance is no place for me — it is too focused on the material and pays little attention to spiritual matters. As for what I shall do when I return? I shall not say to a Coalitioner, and a heathen.”

The camera switches to Khaliq Akhtar in the same chair as all other interviewees. Akhtar has a bandage around his forehead and more bandages on his left arm, but is otherwise uninjured. A cigarette is idly burning in his right hand, and the mercenary exhales smoke upwards before speaking.

“This was nothing compared to Bursa. The Alliance should be glad it was only fanatical humans rather than bugs. The bugs fight on a different level than the Front does,” Akhtar lazily flicks his cigarette offscreen. “But it wasn’t pleasant.”

“What was it like on D’Anzin and where will you go now?”

“Back to Elyra once the Alliance is done interrogating us. D’Anzin was too cold even before it was too phoron-tainted for my taste. I don’t think I’ll be back.”

The camera switches back to Qi in the same room, holding some papers in his hands. The sandbags and tarps which covered it days ago are gone and one window, though cracked badly, is letting in the light of a Colettish summer day. Qi clears his throat and begins speaking.

“We were unable to reach Hale Kaohi or Willerich Kozak for follow-up interviews as Kaohi has rejoined the Solarian Army and Kozak has not been seen since his headquarters was hit by Front artillery. With the end of the Front invasion of San Colette much of the fighting has been taken over by regular Solarian forces and the volunteer formations appear to be effectively dissolved. But what they fought for — the defeat of the Front — seems to be closer to reality than any of them imagined. For now that’s all we have. I’m Liao Qi, reporting to you from the Solarian Alliance."

Edited September 17 by NewOriginalSchwann

[NewOriginalSchwann]

XNS Exclusive: Konyang Armed Forces Respond to Solarian Navy Reaching Coalition Border

Epilogue Part 2, Article 1 of the Amor Patriae arc

The camera opens onto Mariska van den Soeterik behind her desk, with a map of the Northern Reaches behind her. The space formerly occupied by the Front, League, and Pact has been replaced with a light, almost white blue signifying Solarian control of the region. All the dots on the map - Delphine Deschamps and Ajit Gopal’s method of tracking the major worlds of the sector — have small Solarian flags above them. Opposed, and now directly sharing a border with the Alliance, is a region with a dot and Konyang’s flag above it.

“Good evening, and welcome to the Xanu News Service. As always I am your host Mariska van den Soeterik. Today’s top headline is a concerning one for many citizens of the Coalition: after three years of unrest and warfare within the Northern Reaches forces of the Solarian Alliance have once again reached the Coalition’s border, and naval patrols have reported sighting Solarian Navy vessels for the first time since Konyang joined the Coalition. We go now to a special guest, Commander Mi-Hi Gim of the Konyang Armed Forces and former military liaison to the Coalition Special Committee.”

The view of van den Soeterik splits as her portrait moves to the left and another woman appears on the right side of the screen. This woman, identifies as “Commander Mi-Hi Gim, KAF” under her portrait is a typical Konyanger but displays some odd characteristics which mark her as a synthetic such as softly glowing eyes and somewhat orange — unusual for any Konyanger — glossy hair. Gim’s face is mostly expressionless and she is clad in the uniform of a KAF flag officer, sans hat. The synthetic woman politely smiles at the camera as she comes into focus.

“I am pleased to represent Konyang on the XNS,” Gim replies, “and I will answer your question to the best of my ability. Any personal opinions are my own and do not represent Konyang or its armed forces.”

“Of course. Commander Gim, many in the Coalition are nervous about the Alliance being at our border once again. What would you say to these concerns?”

“They’re understandable but ultimately we see no risk of conflict with the Solarian government as it now stands.”

“Why is that?”

“The Northern Reaches, which were recently reclaimed by the Alliance, have been badly damaged by the Solarian Civil War. The infrastructure to support a large-scale conflict with the Coalition simply isn’t there, and we have far more ships at our disposal than the now-defeated warlord states had due to the presence of Coalition forces at the border. Any conflict would be inadvisable for both us and the Alliance.”

“Has there been talk of conflict with the Alliance?”

“There is always talk, Mariska,” Gim nods. “But action is a much different prospect, and cooler heads have consistently prevailed on our side.”

“And on the Alliance’s side?”

“I cannot discuss how we know this, but it appears to be the same. Nobody wants to fire the first shot of the Second Interstellar War.”

“Right. As a Konyanger, are you concerned about your planet’s position on the border?”

“Konyang’s position on the border with the Northern Reaches has always been a matter of strategic concern for the KAF. We have contingency plans in place to handle any situation which may arise.”

“As a synthetic human, do you have any personal concerns regarding the Alliance?”

Gim pauses a moment, apparently considering her words, before she responds to Mariska.

“A good question, Mariska. I am, as a person, understandably opposed to the Alliance’s treatment of my fellow positronic synthetics. It is my responsibility as a member of the KAF to ensure the Alliance cannot subject any Konyanger — synthetic or organic — to such cruelty.”

“Commander Gim, thank you for your time!”

“Thank you for having me,” Gim smiles as her feed cuts, transitioning the camera’s view to simply van den Soeterik in her newsroom.

“That’s all we have for tonight. The Xanu News Service will continue to report on this situation as it develops. For now, have a good night and take care!”

van den Soeterik waves politely at the camera as its feed fades out.

Edited September 17 by NewOriginalSchwann

[NewOriginalSchwann]

XNS Exclusive: With the Shipbreakers of the Northern Reaches

Article 2 of Dulce et Decorum

The camera opens to a view of a wrecked Solarian warship, somewhere in the void, being held by smaller vessels with large champs wrapped around the warship. The dull white light of plasma torches can be seen throughout the wreck as shuttles travel by it. Most of its bridge and midsection are missing, with only its two “arms” left.

“Here we see,” a male voiceover identifies as Pierre Vermote begins, “the ultimate fate of the Solarian Restoration Front vessel Zhang Fei, destroyed in spring 2464 by the Solarian Navy. To get a closer look at the process of breaking these vessels we spoke to Cao Vinh Doan, an independent shipbreaker employed by the Solarian Navy as a contractor.”

The camera switches again to a typical middle-aged Hai Phongese man with a mustache and slicked-back hair in a voidsuit, though with the helmet removed and held in his hands. A label on it marks him as “C. VINH DOAN O-.” The scene seems to be set in a cargo bay, and a label on the back wall in Solarian Common and Freespeak notes that depressurization is possible. Doan appears to already be speaking before the audio starts.

“Right, right. So the vessel we’re breaking is a heavy cruiser — a Taipei — that got hit by one of the Coletter railgun rounds right through the midsection. Ran right through, like a cua quy’s pincers just stabbed it amidships. They’re big ships — larger than anything you’ll see on the civilian market — and hard to break down.”

“What makes them so hard to break?” Vermote asks from offscreen.

Doan considers the question for a moment.

“It’s the reinforcing. These things were meant to withstand artillery,” he raps his knuckles on the hull, “so the internal hull’s a lot thicker than ours. We need to use plasma torches and diamond saws to cut it, which have oxygen and power needs respectively.”

“Most of the salvage work not given to the Navy has been given to smaller companies like yours rather than megacorporations. Why do you think the government’s done that?”

Doan snorts, then rubs his mustache for a moment — he’s clearly grinning at the question.

“I’ll give you my broadcast-safe version.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s because the government, officially, wants to help out the little guy — the common Solarian people like me, who own our own business and are trying to stay afloat with corporations breathing down our neck. Plus, it being Strom’s idea might help him win a bit of Phong’s voters.”

“Has he won your vote?”

“No way — I’m with Trang. She tried to take Hephaestus down. That’s worth something.”

“Thank you for your time, Mister Doan.”

“Pleasure! If you need any ships broken, especially since Konyang’s yards have issues right now, you know where to call me.”

[NewOriginalSchwann]

Exclusive Interview with a Free Solarian Fleets Officer

Article 4 of Dulce et Decorum

The camera opens onto a shadow-obscured male figure in a Solarian Navy officer’s uniform. Little of the uniform is visible — he could be anything from an Ensign to a Fleet Admiral. Across from him sits Liao Qi, the XNS’ ever-present ace reporter. The image is striking — Qi is fully illuminated while the officer is entirely cloaked in shadows.

“Can you introduce yourself?” Qi begins. “We’ll cloak your voice before this airs.”

“I'm an officer of the Free Solarian Fleets,” the man’s voice is distorted, too deep for any natural speech -- there's no hint of any identifiable accent. However, he sounds like he's a drink or two into something, "and I'm not identifying myself beyond that. Only reason I’m providing this interview is to fulfill a favor to your network.”

“What’s your opinion on the reintegration of the Fleets into the Alliance Navy?”

“Don't like it being under Lunan command again, and don’t trust their promise to keep our autonomy.”

“Why don’t you trust it?”

“Before we go further, lemme say I'm a patriot who believes in the Alliance, okay? I’m not some Republican Fleet deserter who whores himself out for corporate money. But, you know, I’m not stupid -- stupid," a beep, "always end up dead. We’ve been independent for three, almost four, years now. We're a battle-tested unit, yeah? Cut our teeth fighting the Hoppies and commies for San-Col up north, Beauchamp's boys and whatever else we got paid to shoot down south -- we might be one of the only units in the Alliance who can say they fought the lizards, hah! We're regular interstellar tourists -- Northern Reaches to the Badlands! Anyways, what I'm trying to say, right, is they’re going to have to clamp down on our independence before we run off and cause an incident. It’s what I would do if I was in the Admiralty’s position -- slap our wrist now before you have to do a tribunal.”

“Right,” Qi writes something down in his notepad. “With that said, do you have any idea what the Fleets will do now that they’re under Navy command?”

“I can’t answer that question directly. All I can say is that we have orders and they aren’t exciting.”

Qi nods and writes something down, then looks back to the officer. “One last question: what was it like to see the end of the space battle in Nueva Patria?”

“Gotta be honest, it was pretty cool. Every officer cadet hears stories about the Navy’s dreadnoughts — the old Beowulf-class models during the Interstellar War, including that museum ship one they make us tour — but seeing one in action’s different. They’re huge vessels up close — the Gunnhildr made our heavy cruisers look like Idris luxury yachts. Plus, you saw what happened to that Frontie destroyer when it warped in -- BAM! Only awards they're getting are closed caskets," the officer chuckles to himself for a moment. "Listen, yeah? No matter what the government does or says, that's the moment for me that the Alliance struck back at the three years of humiliation Biesel and the Corps made us endure.”

“Thank you for your answers and time.”

“Hey, no problem. Take care of yourself, Liao. Don’t get killed in a warzone — you're alright for a Colonial, a lotta us would be sad to see you go.”

“I’ll try not to.”

The feed cuts out.

[NewOriginalSchwann]

XNS Exlusive: One Year After Volunteering

Article 6 of Dulce et Decorum

The camera opens on a typical-looking Solarian woman in a small apartment wearing the clothes of a typical low-ranking National Police detective — a cheap suit and a rain slicker, though the slicker rests over the back of her chair. The rank patch of an Assistant Inspector of the National Police is barely visible on the slicker's sleeves. Rain platters against the singular window of the apartment and the entire shot feels cramped, with Liao sitting across from the woman on a small director’s chair. Glossy hair, unblinking and softly glowing eyes, and an antenna sticking out from behind her right ear indicate this woman is undoubtedly a synthetic.

“Right, Cynthia, can you begin by telling us what happened after our last interview?”

“Of course,” the woman nods. “As you’re likely aware, Commander Forsythe did not survive the battle of Nueva Isabela. He was killed attempting to throw a satchel charge onto a Front tank after we ran out of rockets and artillery was unavailable. He wouldn’t let anyone else volunteer for it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cynthia shakes her head. “You don’t have to apologize. He made his decision, and we won — we stopped the Front from going further, and the Alliance finished them off.”

“What happened to you after the Alliance’s victory?”

“Liked most free synthetics I realized the Alliance wasn’t friendly to me. So, I bought transit to Konyang with funds left to me by Commander Forsythe.”

“Why not Biesel?”

“I couldn’t go back,” she shakes her head. “The Republic has no place for me after what happened on Mictlan, and what we did there for it and our 'benefactors.' Plus, we all saw the election results last weekend.”

Qi nods his head. “Why Konyang, then?”

“They seemed like the best, and nearest, choice. I have skills and I had enough money to get my papers in order.”

“And you started working for the police?” Qi gestures to the raincoat with his pen.

“Oh!” The synthetic looks behind herself at the coat, then back to Qi. “Yes, I managed to get a position in a synthetic crimes unit in Aoyama through an acquaintance. That was last August, so I’ve been with the APD for a bit over a year now.”

“How did your department handle the rampancy outbreak earlier in the year?”

Cynthia pauses for a few moments, drumming her fingers on her legs, leaving only the sound of the rain in the background.

“Better than we feared, worse than we could have. I’m glad I didn’t settle in Suwon,” she smiles softly, crossing one leg over the other. “But I’m not happy it happened at all.”

“Do you keep in touch with your fellow volunteers?”

The synthetic considers the question for a moment.

“Some of them. None of the Dominians, as you might assume. Watts — the Martian, you interviewed her — went back to Mars. She seems to be doing well. Got married, I think she has a kid on the way — we don’t talk a lot. Her husband seems nice from the video calls I’ve had with them. Our sniper — that Dominian woman — told me she hoped we’d never meet again, then left without another word. I suppose that’s something,” the shell shrugs. “Most of the synthetics in our unit went to Biesel or paid to cross the border into the Coalition. I hope none of them ended up rampant.”

“That’s all the time we have for now. Cynthia, thank you for speaking with us again.”

“It’s my pleasure. Keep us in your thoughts.”

[CampinKiller]

XNS Exclusive: Final Refugee Camp on San Colette Closes

Article 12 of Dulce et Decorum

The XNS jingle plays as the camera reveals none other than Mariska van den Soeterik, host of the foreign news segment.

“Welcome to today’s foreign news, as always, I’m your host, Mariska van den Soeterik. A little over one year ago, the war in the Northern Wildlands was brought to a dramatic end, leaving in its wake swaths of destruction, lives lost, and people upended. However, today marks the closing of the final refugee camp on San Colette. Liao Qi has the story.”

The scene shifts to Qi, who is standing in front of what appears to be several identical prefabricated buildings, which now seem to be mostly, if not completely, abandoned. A sign just to his left reads, in blocky Solarian Common lettering, ‘REFUGEE CAMP NO. 692.’

“I’m standing in front of Refugee Camp Number 692, which has just been closed as the last residents of the camp left earlier this week. Thousands of people were displaced by the war here when it began a year and a half ago, and the closing of this camp is something of a closure of this chapter in the planet’s history.” Qi looks off camera, and appears to motion to someone. The camera zooms out, and that someone is revealed: a man in the uniform of the Planetary Police of San Colette. “With me here is Alejandro Serrano, a police officer who was assigned to this camp. Thank you for agreeing to speak with us.”

Alejandro, who appears young, but with a particularly grizzled appearance, nods curtly, “Of course. You came here to tell our story in our darkest hours.”

“Could you tell us about yourself, officer?”

“My name is Alejandro Serrano, and I am an officer of the Planetary Police of San Colette.”

“You served here during the course of the war with the Restoration Front, could you talk about that?”

“Yeah, this was one of hundreds of camps, and like many of them, it was overcrowded. The war really pushed a lot of people out of their homes, and you know, something had to be done for them. It was hard going, especially in the beginning, there was a lot of fighting, stealing- it’s just desperate people, you know?”

“So it got better as time went on, then?”

“In a way, yeah, as we got more resources too, and more camps went up. What was amazing though was as things got worse, it seemed everyone banded together more. Like we all had one enemy to face.”

“That is remarkable in the face of what was going on."

"Yeah- everyone you know, realized that this was it. We either had to stand as one or fall to the lunatics invading us. And so we chose the former. Then after the Alliance came to help, aid came pouring in, and we were able to get things situated again."

"It's a truly wonderful testament of unity. Thank you for your time, Officer.”

[NewOriginalSchwann]

XNS Exclusive: Interview with Augustín Cabanas, Leader of the Solarian People’s Liberation Front

Article 13 of Dulce et Decorum

The camera opens on a bizarre sight. In the middle is a poorly lit table with two men sitting on either side, with Solarian flags pinned to the wall around them — one clearly Liao Qi, the other a middle-aged Mictlani in a Solarian Navy admiral’s uniform. In the background a mixed group of men and women, their faces obscured with Solarian flag bandanas and sunglasses, stand at attention with assault rifles. Qi, notably, looks tenser than normal. A cigarette slowly burns in an ashtray in front of the Mictlani as Qi begins speaking.

“Admiral Cabanas, before we begin let me thank you for giving us this opportunity to interview you.”

“Of course,” Cabanas leans onto the table, crossing his arms. “I hope the ‘Republic’ was not too much of a problem coming here.”

“It wasn’t,” Qi clears his throat. “Could you introduce yourself to our viewers?”

“Not everyone is familiar with our struggle,” the admiral hmpfs to himself. “I am Admiral Augustín Cabanas of the Solarian People’s Liberation Fleet, which has been fighting against corporate occupation since March 2463. We are the only ones fighting for a free, Solarian Hinterlands.”

“Right,” Qi clicks his pen. “You’ve been fighting without official Solarian support for two years, then?”

“Yes. Allies have given us arms and tools to keep fighting, but supplies are limited. It is only through our own hands that we are still free. The corporations will never conquer us as long as we draw breath.”

“Conversations on the Extranet suggest you’re very popular in the Hinterlands. Why do you think you are?”

Cabanas laughs for a moment! “I am a gregarious man — and I am a force for Sol, not corporate greed. The people here, Liao, they support our Alliance. Unlike Mictlan, my home, the corporations do not control us. Yet.”

“Yet?”

“They have more than us, and can overwhelm us in time — drowning us in the blood of their mercenaries and conscripts. But they do not — so far.”

“Is there anything you’d like the wider Spur to know about your struggle?

“Yes,” Cabanas takes a drag off of the cigarette in front of him, then exhales smoke to the side before speaking. “Do not, my friend, the corporate media of the Spur will tell you we are terrorists. They will try to diminish our struggle. But they cannot run from the truth that ours is a just cause, and we fight for our freedom and our homeland. We have no quarrel with the common people of Tau Ceti. Do not be mislead by the corporations.”

“Thank you, admiral.”

“Thank you, Liao. My men will see you safely to the Solarian border. Tell our story to the Spur. Allow them to see why we fight.”

Edited October 12 by NewOriginalSchwann

[NewOriginalSchwann]

XNS Exclusive: Interview with a Konyang Armed Forces Officer

Article 16 of Dulce et Decorum

As always, a Himean man is the sole host of the XNS’ Interviews and News segment. On a rather cozy sofa sits the famous Jude Scholes, smiling at the camera. Behind him on a holoscreen is a middle-aged Konyanger man in a military uniform. Despite the gray streaks in his hair there is a sharpness to his eyes and face. He appears to be in an office of some kind with a map of Konyang on the wall behind him. Vague writing is present around Suwon, but it’s too blurry to make out.

“Welcome, our faithful guests, to tonight’s episode of Interviews and News! I’m Jude Scholes, your host, and tonight we have a returning guest, Captain Jung-Hee Eum of the Konyang Armed Forces! Captain Eum, thank you for taking time away from your duties to speak with us.”

“Thank you for having me, Jude. It’s always a pleasure.”

“Captain, with the Solarian government having re-established control over the Solarian Northern Reaches, are you concerned at sharing a border?”

“Not at this time. Sharing a border with another state rather than a loosely-organized 'insurgent group,’” Eum makes air quotes as he says insurgent group, “has given us more stability in the short term.”

“Hand in glove, Captain?”

Eum looks at the screen with confusion for a moment, then looks at something off-screen. When he speaks again his professionally neutral expression has returned.

“Yes, I believe we have the situation under control.”

“Are there any concerns the Solarians might launch a cross-border attack of their own, similar to what happened in Biesel in ‘62?”

“The Solarian Navy of 2462 is a different entity compared to the one that triumphed in their civil war. While the Alliance maintains a large force in the region, it’s spread throughout the Reaches — very little is present at the Sol-Coalition border.”

“Not to spit into the glass, captain, but  can you be so sure?”

“I’m not able to speak to specifics at this time. However, if the Alliance does intend to launch an assault, we’ll be able to prepare.”

“Right, right,” if Scholes is irritated by this response, he doesn’t show it. “Have refugees continued to cross the border into Konyang?”

“We’ve seen a near total stop to refugee crossings with an end to the fighting. We’ve had more crossings from the Coalition to Sol, as Solarian citizens return to their country, than Sol to Coalition crossings. Repatriating bandits from Konyang to Sol is another matter of concern, but the crisis earlier this year has delayed talks.”

“Captain Eum, thank you for your time. Unfortunately, that’s all we have for tonight.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“Until next time, I’m Jules Scholes and this is the Xanu News Service!”

Edited October 21 by NewOriginalSchwann

[NewOriginalSchwann]

Exclusive Interview with an Officer of Visegrad’s National Defense Force

Article 17 of Dulce et Decorum

The camera opens onto two men — one Liao Qi, the other a younger-looking man in a forest green military uniform with a mustache — sitting across from one another. Compared to the tense environment of the last interview, this room is a well-lit office with tasteful wood decor. Barely visible off to one side, by the door, is a woman in a matching uniform wearing a vest. 

“Lieutenant, thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. Could you introduce yourself for the audience?”

“I’m Jakab Koroknay, First Lieutenant, National Defense Force.”

“Thank you. First, how do you feel about the NDF’s reformation?”

“I’m supportive of it. As a planet and region we’re past the emergency period where we needed an integrated command structure with the Navy. Now, we can return to a sense of normalcy in the Danube System.”

“What does that normalcy look like?”

“Normalcy for us is the NDF handling security on Visegrad itself and in its orbit. We managed most security operations in the system before integration with the Navy and have continued to do so now. Our main issue as it stands now is a lack of synthetic equipment — we can’t easily reintegrate the units seized by the Navy back into our force.”

“Why is it difficult?”

“Well,” Koroknay pauses for a moment, considering his response. “Sorry, it’s a bit hard to describe to a general audience. Navy synthetics are designed for naval work, while ours are designed for police use. It’s hard to swap the programming over and we don’t want to deprive the Navy of assets.”

“In your opinion, how is the reformation of the NDF proceeding aside from this matter?”

“Quite well. We’ve managed to exceed our staffing goals thanks to an agreement to hire back NDF personnel from the Navy and many Visegradi signing up, including individuals returning from abroad. Furthermore, the Department of Justice has provided us with support when and where we need it — reestablishing a SISA office on Visegrad last year has helped fight major crimes here. One of our challenges has been acquiring linguists specialized into Coalition languages and dialects, and the D-O-J helped us resolve that issue.”

“Lieutenant, thank you for your time.”

“Thank you for stopping to speak with us, and for waiting for your interview request to be approved.”