Radiant Dawn... Aurora 4X C# Roleplaying game

[Alex_brunius]

Backstory:
During the mid 2020s it became apparent that neither pandemics, climate change nor terrorists was the most urgent threat to the western way of life. It started with semiconductors but soon spread to even more basic resources and goods. Shortage of critical resources all over the world became extremely serious as hundreds of millions consumers in China, India and South Americas begun living the same quality of life as the rest of the western world. In what is now called the great collapse of 2026, prices on Oil, transport, food and most goods started skyrocketing shutting down businesses and causing mass unemployment. November 2026 saw the Stock exchanges crash on a scale even worse then the great depression in 1929. The old economic system suffered a total failure, since it was built upon the false assumption of infinite growth.
That fantasy was brutally stopped by the very finite resources of our globe.

It turned out humanity had learned nothing from the history of the 1930s, so history was to repeat itself once more.
In the second great depression and the desperate times following we saw that populistic, nationalistic and radical leaders had little trouble to convince the population how other nations were to blame for their misery. The armies and armadas of USA, China, India, Europe and Russia all mounted desperate crusades to fight for the few last oil fields remaining in operation in South Americas and Middle East. Africa, India and China was also turned into major Battlefields in the struggle for precious metals and other strategic raw materials.
India and Pakistan both hungry for resources to supply it's large populations stepped up their rethoric and all out conflict broke out. China saw it's chance and crossed the border into India from the other direction, and in South America it was imperialism all over again as USA and Europe sought to secure oil while smaller conflicts between most nations erupted over what major power blocks they sided with.

It did not take long before the nuclear missiles also started flying, first only small tactical devices but gradually larger as the conflicts escalated and spread over the world.

When the world war finally ran out of steam (literally speaking) no nation had escaped impacts in major cities, and the little oil that was left had been burned almost to the last drop by machines of death and destruction. Most of the deaths however were not due to the nuclear detonations themselves, but due to the nuclear winter impacting food production causing mass starvations, as well as collapse of all existing logistics and infrastructure without access to cheap oil. It was pure luck that most of the vast nuclear stockpile from the cold war was impossible to use due to rust and old age, otherwise humanity as a whole or at least modern society would probably be extinct.

The worst impact was on already war-torn nations thus resulting in the diminishing of Brazil, India and China as influential nations.
Large parts of the middle east, South America, India and China is still radiated and uninhabitable, even if some efforts to clean up has been conducted.

The human population in 2030 was estimated less than half remaining compared to 10 years earlier, but no one can tell exactly.
From the ashes four major Powers remained:

Russia, With most smaller central Asian powers absorbed.
America, including Canada and central America
Europe, Most of the European nations as well as Israel
Pacific, A union of Pacific nations led by Japan and containing Korea, Taiwan and most of Southeast Asia

In 2037 the big turning point occurred, scientists discovered several special materials with miracular, almost magical properties. These were called "Trans-Newtonian elements".
Early indications were extremely promising:

Duranium. Much like iron/steel, but many times lighter and more durable. Promising uses in almost all fields.
Neutronium. A very dense material possible to use for orbital shipyards, construction tools, advanced armors and railguns.
Tritanium. Useful in missiles and in the construction of ordnance factories.
Boronide. The primary material used in the construction of power systems, fuel refineries, capacitors, logistics systems and Terraforming facilities.
Uridium. Opens up possibility of building Faster Then Light (FTL) sensors and fire control systems.
Corbomite. Used in financial centers. Might be possible to use for advanced future stealth and electronic warfare systems (countering uridium based sensors).
Corundium. Very useful for building mines, automated mines and energy based weapons.
Mercassium. Used for Research Facilities, infrastructure and life support systems.
Vendarite. Used in the construction of small craft (space fighters).
Gallicite. Used in trans newtonian wake drives for spacetravel at higher speeds (ship stops if engines are turned off), and crew is unaffected by acceleration forces.
Sorium. Possible to refine in fuel refineries to produce high energy fuel for Gallicite based engines.

Since these elements were located mostly in the core of the planet no nation could claim them, and due to the promise of a bright future unlocking room for endless expansion (and thus resources) among the stars all four major powers cooperated in quickly developing deep core mining technology. A new United Nations was set up in one of the few untouched cities with a working large airport, Dubai to act as a forum for diplomacy and peacekeeping, as well as coordinate these efforts.
It is called The Federation of Nations (FoN).

It's now January 1:st 2042 and large scale extraction has just begun in all major powers. Most of the conventional industry is made obsolete and needs to be upgraded to Trans-Newtonian standards. A new Radiant Dawn is about to engulf mankind as it harness the power and technology behind the Trans-Newtonian elements and ascends to the stars.

How this story unfolds is up to you, the players choosing to engage in the stories of one of the nations.
Can new homes and resources be found among the stars before history repeats itself and space and new resources are once again depleted on Earth?
Can mankind avoid yet again turning the even more destructive powers unlocked against each-other?
Are we alone?


What is this about? ( Introduction )
Aurora 4x C# is one of the most detailed computer game/simulations of space exploration/colonization that I have come accross.
Everything from balancing of ship components to maintenance, combat, sensors and civilian shipping lines and mining operations are simulated to great detail.
It is not possible to play multiplayer but perfectly suited for the purpose of controlling multiple empires and generating interesting stories, this is even one of the main reasons why the game was made. I will be controlling the simulation as the game master and interpret the orders delivered so you need zero Aurora knowledge to participate, but ofcourse you can still join if you already have some knowledge or want to learn more. Or you can leave all the details to me or others and provide general orders, but rest assure we will have a powerful engine running in the background to deliver detailed results. This will be the first time I attempt something like this so please be patient and let's figure out how to best run a game like this together!

This game should have some similarities with @blue emu 's games on these forums although with 4 human nations competing for influence both on Earth and in Space, and with the key difference that most of this game will be played out on a discord server created for this purpose, with fiction and updates crossposted in this thread.


Discord link ( more details on the game and setup here, join to request a minor role ):
https://discord.gg/85ypsdPeev

Signup link for leading one of the major nations ( I will choose 4 with very different political directions and different player experience levels to create an interesting dynamic ):
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...UyV2dE9-_5hB3wi2iWac_9AA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Resources:
Aurora Forums: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php
Wiki: http://aurorawiki.pentarch.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

 

[Alex_brunius]

Each nation starts with:
360 Million population
700 Conventional Industry (CI)
150 Construction Factories
100 Mines
100 Financial Centers
16 Research Facilities
3 Ground Force Training Facilities
+ 24 Ground Support FTR ( 12 can support each Regiment ) ( 10x size 0.1 Pod, 0.2 engine, 0.1 MFC )
+150k-180k ton Ground Forces ( 8 Garrisons, 5-8 Infantry and 2 Armor Regiment of 10k ton each )
2 - 5 Assault Fleets able to move 1 Regiment each across one seazone per turn/year ( Russia starts with most ground forces and America with most fleets )

The above is then modified by what policies are selected during startup:

WW3 Policy:
- Shelters and Food focus = +45 million starting population (+12%), +5 Starting Prestige
- Protection of Wealth focus = +12 Financial Centers (+12%) and +10000 starting wealth
- Defense of Industrial base = +88 Conventional Industries (+12%)
- Protection of Knowledge = +2 Research Facilities (+12%)
- Nuclear Armageddon = All other major nations -22 million starting population (-6%), -20 Starting Prestige

Industry Policy:
- Industry focus = 50 Construction Factory (worth 6000 Buildpoints)
- Mining focus = 50 Mines (6000 BP)
- Space Mining focus = 1 Commercial Shipyard + 15 Automated Mines (6000 BP)
- Military focus = 1 Military Academy + 1 Military Shipyard + 4 Tracking Stations (6000 BP)
- Civilian focus = 1 Commercial Shipyard + 20 Financial Centre + 10 Construction Factory (6000 BP)
- Exploration focus = 1 Commercial Shipyard + 1 Military Shipyard + 4 Tracking Stations (6000 BP)
- Power Projection focus = 1 Military Shipyard + 20 Fighter Factories + 24 more Ground Support FTR + 2 more Assault fleets (~6000BP)

Technology Policy:
- Production = Construction Rate 3000 RP (+20% construction) and Fuel Production 48k Liters 3000 RP (+20%)
- Logistics = Cryogenic Transport 1000 RP and TN Cargo Shuttles 5000 RP
- Sensors = Geological Survey Sensors 1000 RP, TN Sensors Research unlocked
- Defensive Systems = High Density Duranium Armour ( +2 previous levels ) 3625 RP and Infantry + Medium Tank designs that make use of it 50+352 RP
- Energy Weapons = Basic Laser 1500 RP, TN Energy Weapons Research unlocked
- Missiles & Kinetic Weapons = Basic 10cm Railguns 2092 RP, TN Missile & Kinetic Weapons Research unlocked
- Power & Propulsion = Fuel Consumption 90% 1000 RP, TN Power & Propulsion Research category unlocked
- TN Physics and Science = Research Rate 240RP/labyear (+20%) 5000RP cost, Small increased chance to unlock other categories each turn.

Note: The nation also gets a guaranteed Scientist with +30% bonus in the appropriate field.

Border Policy:
- Open borders = +72 million starting population (+20%) and 40 more Conventional Industry from all war refugees, but widespread poverty and financial strain resulting in 40 less
Financial Centers and 40 less Construction Factories. Full refugees of war population gain from future conflicts. +5 Starting Prestige
- Restricted = Half refugees of war population gain from future conflicts.
- Closed borders = -36 million starting population (-10%) but starts with 8 extra Garrison Divisions, 3 extra Infantry Divisions and two extra Ground Force
Training Facility ( 5 total ). +5000 starting wealth but No refugees of war, -5 Starting Prestige

Economy Policy:
- Free Market = 120 less CI but 60 more Financial Centers and 20 more Construction Factories ( Not available for Closed Borders )
- Mixed economy = No Change
- State controlled = 120 more CI and 60 less Financial Centers, 20 less Construction Factories

 

[Alex_brunius]

March 3:ed 2041, Colonel Silva, Astro Environment lab of VLT Atacama Desert, Chile
Julia Silva was on her fifth cup of coffee, The report was due tomorrow and she would personally fly to the Federation of Nations Headquarters in Dubai to deliver the speech in front of the leaders of the major nations that had gathered for the Peace and Prosperity Conference. Her Keynote was one of the few that was not exclusively about the new Trans-Newtonian (TN) materials research and their amazing properties, but it was still thanks to them that her team's scientific results had been possible to reach. Her thoughts floated away back to how the twist of faith had brought her here. Only a few years ago she was living a miserable life on the streets barely able to find food for the day, and now an established scientist doing important research for the FoN in a promising field in one of the few surviving research facilities in South America. For the last 18 months she had been heading research on defining the need of human long term settlement on other bodies then Earth, something that the last years had gone from being almost impossible to almost something your average joe would be able to afford as soon as the shipyards and colony ships being planned would be finished. For this purpose she could wish for no better site than the Atacama Desert. Remote and devoid of life enough for studying settlement on say Mars or the Moon, while equipped with upgraded telescopes and sensors sensitive enough to study geography on the moons of Jupiter. In fact the Atacama desert had been one of the old space organizations top sites for field tests of rovers and equipment.

Longer term impacts on everything from atmospheric and oxygen requirements to gravity itself were now also possible to investigate thanks to some very exotic new TN technology. Julia and her team had worked closely with privately funded experts and companies from across the world that focused on testing and development of new duranium/mercassium based infrastructure habitat modules. Part of their mutual research was also about making such modules as light, compact and standardized as possible while still being flexible enough to be of maximum use in a wide variation of temperature and atmospheric pressures. She paused to watch the beautiful clear night sky overhead, so clear the milkyway could be seen by the naked eye. It was really something special out here with no artificial lights or cities for miles. A single light moved gracefully across the sky. Clearly one of the Orbital Shipyards under construction that would soon get to work cranking out new TN Spaceships to carry the modules she helped develop all over the solar system. What a magnificent thought it was indeed.

Report of Colony Suitability Survey of SOL System.
Summary:
In SOL system there are 8 bodies except Earth of types and gravity that can somewhat support human life if enough infrastructure is delivered to provide protection from temperature and provide a suitable atmosphere.

The Environmental Tolerances for Human Colonization of Space as established by this study:
Gravity between 0.1 and 1.9 times Earths.
Oxygen pressure between 0.1 and 0.3 times Earth's total atmosphere (Earth has 0.2)
Average Surface Temperature between -10 and +38 degree Celsius
Total Atmospheric Pressure between 0.33 and 4 times that of Earths.
Water availability of between 20% and 95%

All of the 8 bodies lack a breathable atmosphere and thus have 2.0 as minimum colony cost even if suitable temperature has a cost below this (the highest cost is always used).

They were divided into two main categories:

Feasible in near future:
Luna ( The moon ) 2.00 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony cost of 0.33 based on -18 degrees C average surface temperature.
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on lack of Atmosphere
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on no water being available
has a capacity for 890 million population based on available land area

Mars 2.12 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony cost of 2.12 based on -61 degrees C average surface temperature
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on lack of Atmosphere
has a colony cost of 1.00 based on 10% water being available (although frozen)
has a capacity for 3410 million based on available land area

Feasible longer term:
Mercury 3.21 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony cost of 3.22 based on 424 degrees C average surface temperature
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on lack of Atmosphere
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on no water being available
has a capacity for 351 million based on available land area

Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto (4 largest moons of Jupiter) 6.30 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony costs of 6.30 based on -161 degrees C average surface temperature
has a colony costs of 2.00 based on lack of Atmosphere
has a colony costs of 2.00 based on no water being available
has capacities for between 726 to 2047 million based on available land areas

Titan (largest moon of Saturn) 6.97 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony cost of 6.97 based on -177 degrees C average surface temperature
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on lack of Atmosphere
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on no water being available
has a capacity for 1958 million based on available land area

There was actually one more potential body if massive investments are made, but Julia didn’t even mention it in the report more than in a brief passing as it seemed all but impossible to terraform or settle due to the extreme climate:

Venus 25.00 infrastructure units / 10000 inhabitants
has a colony cost of 24.53 based on 627 degrees C average surface temperature
has a colony cost of 25.00 based on crushing Atmospheric pressure
has a colony cost of 2.00 based on no water being available
has a capacity for 10805 million based on available land area

There were also massive numbers of smaller bodies that would be possible to colonize using specialized low gravity (LG) infrastructure that would need to be developed, and which would be probably at least twice as expensive as the regular one that they were working on. All of these had vastly lower population capacity than the larger moons and bodies with only Ceres and some of Saturn's moons having more than 50 million capacity while still not being so far from the sun as to being prohibitively cold.

Where humanity and the larger nations did choose to expand out in the solar system would of course also depend just as much on the availability of these precious TN resources as it did on habitability. She had worked hard to solve half of the puzzle she could, and if the report tomorrow was well received then who knows, maybe her dream of helping survey the planets up close could one day come true…

 

[Baron Jukaga]

Will follow with great interest!

 

[Iche_Bins]

Hmm, I'll not have the time to participate, but I will follow it.

maybe try to advertise in/move it to the OT forum?

 

[Alex_brunius]

OOC: Sorry for the delays in posting nation starting detail updates, nation leaders have been working hard to define their backstories and select their starting perks on our discord and it should hopefully all be ready for posting soon. In the meantime let's continue following the story of Julia:

Colonel Julia Silva, The Trip to the Future
She wasn’t used to luxury at all but more at home in the harsh climate, uncomfortable atmo-suits and habitats they were testing back in Chile. Yet here Julia was sitting in what was apparently… ( she briefly flipped through the safety card as they prepared for takeoff ) ..a Boeing 797 “Futureliner”. The pilot with a hint of Arabic accent cheerfully informed them that the Futureliner was the fastest commercial airliner ever built, yes even faster than the old Concorde and thanks to the remarkably advanced engines made by glorious Socialist American friends the futureliner would take just 5 hours and 40 minutes to reach their destination in Dubai! The futureliner is named for its ability to arrive “before it started” due to time zones, although that is only when we are flying west, today we are flying east he continued to explain.

It was clear it was a brand new plane and she was in the most Luxurious business class seat imaginable. Being employed by the Federation of Nations and heading to their prestigious conference apparently had some “perks”. The airplane hardly even had time to lift-off before she fell asleep as the sleep deprivation hit her with a vengeance.

Julia found herself softly awoken by the rising light some hours later, seat reclined almost flat and blanket over her. Breakfast with silverware and table cloth as they started descending for landing, ¡Dios mío! this service was awkward and strange but somehow pleasantly relaxing as well. The key was to not get used to it because if she did manage to get into deep space one thing was for certain, the explorers that far out would not be having an abundance of comfortable luxuries and it would be a matter of survival not comfort…

Most people heading into Dubai from the airport were still traveling by car or train, but they were not most people now. Julia and her colleagues were traveling by Emirates complimentary Air Taxi service, directly to the conference destination. She could see several dozens of the other aircars buzzing around among the magnificent skyscrapers of the Dubai Skyline as the colleagues all chatted about the amazing technological progress. The things that just a few milligrams of neutronium or duranium could do to steel alloys, or how mercassium and uridium were to revolutionize life support systems, research, deep space exploration and sensors.

So this was the headquarters of the Federation of Nations, tasked with the challenging mission of keeping the fragile peace between the four very different major nations and the hundred or so warlords and other smaller fractured states. Arguably a lot of wishful thinking, more realistically their mission was to make sure any conflicts didn’t escalate into yet another nuclear armageddon this time with Trans-Newtonian warheads. This powerful organization was founded just 5 years ago but had spread quickly over the entire city as the massive investments that were so desperately needed due to the declining oil reserves poured in from all corners. It looked like almost half the city was under construction as well, with two towers higher than 1km each being built, one on each side of the Burj Khalifa. The Federation had also been put in control of all of the old major nuclear armed military bases, ports and airports around the world to dismantle and disarm most of them, not that there were many left still in working order after world war 3 though…

Julia had no interest at all in getting involved in the many resolutions and intricate politics of the Federation but she did spot one interesting resolution that the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations had put forward to promote Space Exploration which was up for voting soon. It had caught her attention and now she was following the debates hoping it would pass:

Julia had already applied to the FoN Space Academy training program and although it was much smaller than the academy programs the 4 major powers had started, it was regarded as one of the finest and most professional in all matters except for warfare. Graduate officers from the program were seen as neutral experts with respected knowledge in diplomacy and science. She would soon know if her Science officer application was accepted or not and she hoped that her rank of Colonel earned from the current project would carry some weight. The glowing reviews from involved industry partners in PCN and Europe that contributed with expert knowledge of shelters from WW3 (finding new use in habitat modules) could also help.

Before Julia’s dreams of exploring deep space could be realized though she knew she would need training, and the world would need advanced TN engines to power the Survey ships with. In fact she should start already now with attending the conference Keynotes held by her colleague Robert who worked with the USAR on Engine technology ( even if she heard quite a bit of his report had been "censored for security reasons" ) and the one from Dr Miyakawa about detection of Trans-Newtonian resources as well to build her skills in those areas and maximize her usefulness out there in Space!

 

[Alex_brunius]

OOC: So far we have 4 Major Nation Leaders selected and 7 Advisors that have signed up to take part in this game! ( Ongoing requests to join for advisors on the discord linked in OP ). All nations already have started plotting and planning their strategies and first moves in private channels.

With the game created here we have the overview of the starting policy choices from the nations:

( Prestige is a sort of relationship score with Federation of Nations )

That results in the following values:

Starting Military Forces are heavily weighted in favor of the protectionist Russian Federation:
The Russian Federation: 29 Regiments: 16 Garrison, 11 Infantry, 2 Armor ( +2 Invasion Fleets )
United Socialist American Republic: 15 Regiments: 8 Garrison, 5 Infantry, 2 Armor ( + 5 Invasion Fleets )
New European Union/Eurasian Union: 16 Regiments: 8 Garrison, 6 Infantry, 2 Armor ( +4 Invasion Fleets )
Pacific Commonwealth of Nations: 16 Regiments: 8 Garrison, 6 Infantry, 2 Armor ( +4 Invasion Fleets )

*Invasion fleets are a houserule limit to overseas troop movement.

The mineral distribution on Earth:

Moving on to take a look at nations and their background history in more detail shortly...

 

[Alex_brunius]

The Russian Federation
Player: Zap
Title: President
Advisors: doodleSM, Praetori

Russian Federation Backstory, Written by and full credits to Zap:
Resource scarcity grew at an unexpected rate in the 20's. Even as the vast oil & gas reserves assumed still present in Sibiria turned out to be only a fraction of what was predicted, it was still a large portion of the worlds reserves. Between these reserves and having an economy under heavy sanctions and therefore relatively decoupled from the larger international and especially western economies, the great stock market crash of 2026 was weathered relatively well. Among increasing tensions in Europe and the outbreak of war between India and Pakistan, Russia looked stronger than ever.

Perhaps it was the hubris caused by this assumption of strength that emboldened Putin to enter into WW3. Limited intervention in the Pakistani-Indian conflict, skirmishes with the Americans over arctic oil fields and, finally, a broad invasion of then weak-looking eastern Europe. With the military already spread thin, particularly the last of these campaigns turned into a morass where progress quickly ground to a halt. It would not be until well after any sane stopping point that Putin finally had to acknowledge that his dream of the reunification of the territories of the Soviet Union that he grew up in was not to be. In the meantime, any advantage the Russian nation may have had going into the war had been thoroughly spent; they were now setting objectives based on a desperate need for resources just as much as the next state. The nothern fleet had been nuked along with it's port in the town of Severomorsk in reprisal for the destruction of the EC naval base at Scapa Flow. Several key industrial targets inland had been hit. The nuclear winters were devastating the population. The nation was ready for peace, and with that ready for the foundation of the FoN.

The central asian nations, already aligned with Russia, were hit by waves upon waves of refugees streaming northwards from the Pakistani-Indian conflict. More and more arrived at their borders, undeterred by the rugged, mountainous terrain, for behind them lay only war and irradiated cities. Extensive military help was sent into Tajikistan to secure the borders and keep as many people out as possible, reserving what little there was for the population of the Russian client states. Background: Closed Borders]

The primary problem with authoritarianism is that of the source of the authority. If all power lies with one strong, charismatic leader, there are bound to be power struggles when that leader dies, one way or another. Ancient kings sought to solve that problem via inheritance, but monarchy had somewhat fallen out of favor over the last few centuries, and so a bloody struggle between the oligarchs erupted in Moscow when Putin finally died in 2035. Already in a beleaguered position after the failed invasion of eastern Europe - the reunification of the Soviet Union already a dream only shared by the oldest - he had gradually lost his power and health. It was not until two years later that a true successor had solidified his position enough for the Russian state to be steered with one mind again. The power structure in the state has not fundamentally changed over the course of WW3: Political power in Russia mostly lies with a select few oligarchs, each controlling their own small industrial and business empires. As it was the case during WW3, filling the pockets of some aligned autocrat or oligarch was often the true goal of various military and diplomatic moves. [Background: Protection of Wealth focus]

While the reforms under Yeltsin in the 90s have ostensibly liberalized the markets, the political power vacuum that followed has essentially ended with those in control of the economy also being those in control of the government. Billionaire oligarchs run the country, over most of which the president has great influence. As such, it can be said that the Russian economy has corporatist characteristics. [Background: State Controlled Economy]

Most of the pre-war economy of Russia was centered around resource exports, and extraction being a profitable business is still in the forefront of the minds of many in the upper class. Much of the world currently still runs on oil, what little there is left, but the new president has been famously quoted "Oil was yesterday. The resources of tomorrow lie in space." [Background: Space Mining focus]

As part of that endeavour the famous Energomash rocket engine company has already been reorganized. A new division ENERGOMAX is tasked with developing new Trans-Newtonian propulsion systems for use in space. [Background: Power & Propulsion focus]

 

[Alex_brunius]

United Socialist American Republic:
Player: CaptainGrimlock (as Anthony Ford)
Title: First Commendant
Advisors: ChaoticNeutral (as Jean Raihan, Third Commendant), comediac (as Philip Starr)

United Socialist American Republic Backstory, Written by and full credits to CaptainGrimlock:
Even early in his life, Anthony Ford was good at getting out of trouble with naught but his tongue of silver. A charming young man, he became mayor of his home town of Weststable in late 2022 at the age of 30. In the 2028 US presidential election, he gained widespread popular support, and swept the polls clean in a record breaking victory, with bold promises to drive the American economy to new heights through an innovative New Deal and ensure the USA’s place as a beacon of progress and hope for decades to come

In 2029, due to Canada being less impacted by the resource shortages than other nations, now President Ford launched Operation: Canuck, the invasion of Canada to claim resources and land for the good of America. Due to a combination of overseas conflicts, as well as historical alliances between the nations, there was almost no opposition with the “conflict” lasting mostly the weeks it took to ratify the peace treaties. In due time, Canada was annexed, with partisans being suppressed by the occupying army while the brand new Department of Information showed 24/7 pro-American propaganda showing how great Canada being part of the USA was.

With the increase in presidential power, and influx of raw materials, due to the ongoing conflicts of WW3, Ford took his New Deal to never-before seen heights, transforming the American political and economic landscape in one fell swoop. Despite his actions being highly controversial at first, his cult of personality combined with the delivery on his promises of wealth and prosperity caused the controversy to be largely overlooked by the general public.

Then, in 2037, Trans-Newtonian elements were discovered. With their amazing capabilities, they were seen as more valuable than gold, and mining operations were set up all but overnight. The USAR’s space program, the PSSC (People’s Supreme Star Command) was created out of NASA remnants and private space companies. To keep the race to control TN elements from causing WW4, the USAR joined the 3 other newfound global powers in creating the Federation of Nations to help keep the peace (for now…)

Jean Raihan, Third Commandant and Second in Command of the USAR. Written by and full credits to ChaoticNeutral:
Born in the state of Hawaii in the year 2006 to a wealthy couple, Jean Raihan had a comfortable, somewhat sheltered childhood. As tensions between the nations rose to a head, Jean was swept up in the pre-war propaganda. Despite his father's desire for Jean to take over the family company, Raihan Robotics, the young Jean enrolled in the air force fighter training program with his parent's extremely reluctant blessing. However, when the USA began to engage in more widespread conflict in 2028, Jean's father pulled strings to have Jean transferred to the logistics corps, flying cargo planes.

But even logistics personnel aren't entirely safe in a war. Jean's plane went down over a contested zone, and he was presumed dead. At least until two months later, when Jean miraculously emerged from the warzone with a captured enemy officer in tow. Naturally, the propaganda division ate up his daring tale like a starving dog and Jean was overnight-famous across the country. Recovering remarkably quickly from his ordeal, Jean, still with stars in his eyes, leveraged his newfound fame into a transfer to a combative role, against his parent's wishes. Jean performed astonishingly well as an aviator, scoring seven confirmed kills in less than a year. Again, the propaganda machine leapt at
the opportunity, painting Jean as a war hero beyond compare - a daring commando and flying ace, all at the youthful age of twenty-four!

This time, Jean wasn't so keen on leaping back into the fray. His last encounter in the skies had left him shaken, and he moved off of the frontlines into a more administrative role. Mostly involving public appearances and work with the press to bolster morale and scrape together flagging support for the war effort. Later that year, bombs dropped on Bangladesh annihilated Raihan Robotic's Asian branch. And its CEO, Sanjay Raihan, Jean's father, who was visiting from overseas for wartime business.

As conflicts drew to a close, Jean retired from the military and was granted the honorary rank of Major General for his heroism. Having inherited a controlling stake in Raihan Robotics, which was thriving in America from war profits despite the damage to its international interests, Jean focused his efforts on filling the shoes of his late father. But it wasn't long before the newly-established state controls on industry began to chafe, and Jean entered the arena of politics, springboarding off of his war hero status and contacts from his time working with the propaganda division.

Twelve years later, having supported Anthony Ford's meteoric rise to power in his bid for influence, Third Commandant Jean Raihan sits at the right hand of one of the most powerful people in the world, helping to guide the people of America to the stars.

 

[Alex_brunius]

New European Union
Player: NotAllah Communist Christian (as 3rd Grand Chancellor of the NEU)
Title: 3rd Grand Chancellor of the NEU
Advisors: Kickdok

New European Union Backstory, Written by and full credits to NotAllah Communist Christian:
RADIANT DAWN OVER EUROPE
[THE FIRST UNION 1957-2030]
The years leading up to the collapse of the First Union were in a word complicated. Marked both by ever greater unity and disunity the former European Economic Community was by 2026 more powerful than it had ever been and, as the 3rd World War would show, nearing its greatest crises. In the years following Brexit despite the yearnings of many nationalists the EU did not collapse “under its own weight”, despite an ever growing number of issues caused by themselves of course. The economic allure of a united Europe was simply too great a prize for all but the maddest government to give up, so the nationalist leaders that managed to get into power pushed and prodded but never truly committed to a breakaway.

Until 2025 anyway.

Following the discovery that Earths oil and gas resources were nearing depletion far faster than any previous and resulting economic crash that followed the European Parliament proposed unprecedented economic cooperation across the continent called the “New Europe Economic Community, harkening back to the organizations roots. A program of total economic conversion to completely change the world as was at the time into a bright renewable future. Say what you will about its feasibility to it was not to be, the nationalists stonewalled it.

The economy continued to plummet and the public pressures from all sides of politics continued to mount, many politicians that were slowly fading into silence flared back into the public view preaching a thousand ideologies all calling for one way or another the destruction of the “Other”. That the “Other” seemed to encompass all life on Earth, real or otherwise, didn't seem to bother them or that their words worsened the situation they were proposing the “obvious” solutions to didn`t either.

Sadly it was far far to late by this point, the global economy tanked and nosedived before smashing though the floor as China intervened in the India-Pakistan Conflict. Along with every other major world power. For a few short weeks the world powers kept up the pretense of working together to “maintain peace in the region”, then someone fired the first shot between the “Peacekeepers”.

No one knows who fired first and likely it will never be known for the ensuing maelstrom consumed all three nations involved whole along with thousands upon thousands of troops from the various nations that participated in the “peacekeeping” effort. The shattered remnants of the formations that managed to pull out had a thousand and one stories about who fired first and why of course, but that’s a matter of scholarly curiosity. What followed is not.

Following the disastrous “Battle of the Sub Continent” and worsening economic situation a wave of unrest swept the world. The EU was not spared, in a month half a dozen nations began threatening to “pull a Brexit” including Red Jacks UK as riots and mini revolutions flared to life. Had the stock exchange not crashed in November it is doubtless the EU would have prevailed over these challenges, alas it was not to be.

The nations that had threatened to leave did, and the riots and mini revolts turned into full blown uprisings. For the first time in more than half a revolutionary and fascistic flags flew over buildings around Europe. Again perhaps this situation could have been salvaged but as always the Balkans came to the “rescue”.

Again it is unknown who fired first or why, a thousand conspiracy theories exist but in all like hood it was simply a matter of two patrols with itchy trigger fingers meeting each other at the worst possible moment. The popular post war Serbian movie depicts the moment as the accidental discharge of a firearm leading to a gun fight between two units on a disputed Danube island leading to an ever escalating series of confrontations and exchanges, though likely purely fiction despite the directors assertions.

Whatever the case, rather than a peaceful separation an absurd series of dominos fell that resulted in the first full scale divisions began crossing the borders of Secessionist nations.

By the time the nukes fell the EU existed only on paper, though to be fair that could also be said about its component nation stats.

And then the nukes fell and the situation got even worse.


[European Coalition 2026-2030]
Ravaged by war and nuclear fallout the remaining “loyalist” nations essentially merged their militaries into one purely under the, nominal, authority of the European Parliament and the new position of the Grand Chancellor. This “European Coalition” would proceed to “reestablish peace” in the nations that had tried to leave, by now they simply no longer existed, though by that point the peace of the grave had mostly taken over.

In fact despite the great pride the European officer and enlisted classes takes in the “glory days” of WW3, where the EC forces swept through a devastated Europe bringing hope to all and smiting evil doers, by this point most of the “heavy” fighting in Europe was done. The combined remnants of a continents military were essentially mopping up scattered nationalist hold outs and enforcing martial law.

Only near the end of the War did the forces of the EC see the horror of the final “modern” war fought with oil when the Russians invaded all across their European borders. The desperate fighting amid collapsing supply lines had little resemblance to the “clean” plans of the prewar years. When the EC intervened on the side of Turkije and the various Caucasus powers opposing them the conflict grew even bloodier, as often as not both sides would take to robing the populace of what little they had left as over stretched supply lines shattered into nothing. Armies of trained soldiers turning into uniformed, if that, bandits, the war devolving from a conflict between nations to a simple struggle for survival.

Eventually both sides simply gave up the fight, the EC unable to keep committing such vast, for the time, resources to a seemingly unwinnable fight and maintaining morale on the home front.

With oil reserves plummeting and number of refuges growing by the day the EC had time for one final operation. No one likes to talk about the intervention into Israel Palestine, the horrors of the Samson Option or short lived hyper nationalist Junta and Final Jihad. The only thing the NEU likes mentioning is the platform for humanitarian efforts it gives them. Lets leave it at that.

[New European Union/Eurasian Union]
Following the end of the war the remaining national leaders convened one final time in Rome, the Second Treaty of Rome 2030 established the new Eurasian Union. For the first time in its history Europe was the sole province of a single nation state. After all, it was hardly like the shell shocked surviving population wanted anything to do with the horrors of war ever again, and in their minds for good or ill that was what “sovereign” nation states lead to.

FINAL DAYS OF THE FIRST UNION
Despite the popular opinion and historical view the the NEU is simply a continuation of the old First Union this is sadly not the case. By 2026 the great dream of peacefully united Europe were dead and the organization that had shepherded as well. Even strained internally by various nations power plays and the growing nationalist back lash the First Union had held on far far longer than its many detractors had said it would, but WW3 proved a crucible many nations simply were not equipped to handle, chief among them the ones of Europe.

Used a standard of living unimaginable in ages past the citizens of the so called "First World" proved inadept in handling the sudden total collapse of the system they had know all their lives. Politicians as was in their nature took advantage of the growing panic in the days leading up the Third World War, nations that had enjoyed EU membership for decades if not generations suddenly finding themselves torn over the EUs "mishandling" of the crisis. That their ideas of "handling" this crises could be surmised as nothing short of robbery on a national scale seemed lost on their supporters, more worried about the suddenly real prospect of starving to death as food supply chains collapsed.

The EUs death warrant was signed before the first nation broke away after Red November as Romania announced a complete halt to the export of oil and the US "quietly" began preparations to end NATO. This final shock to the in all truth already dying European economy signaled the end in the decent into madness. It would be impossible to summarize the sheer all consuming panic and rioting that followed so I shan't bother. The only saving grace of the conflicts of everything from oil to food and water was that the majority of the combatant nations were to busy trying to maintaining martial law to truly put their all into fighting each other, sparing the continent the true horrors of war till the Russians launched their offensive.

COALITION OF EUROPEAN NATIONS
Following the 2nd Battle of Paris and the withdrawal of US troops from Europe the situation of various EU "loyalist" militaries could be surmised as highly sub optimal, pressured on all sides by rioters, secessionist "rogue" nation states and Russian political pressure on Eastern Europe and the complete collapse of the global economy the various national militaries were lossing ground. Most of all what was costing the "loyalists" ground was their own lack of Unity, united only on paper in reality the various nations were only barely more coapprative with each other than their enemies were, it seemed that Europe was destined to go the way of Asia or Africa a multide of warlords or rump nation states fit only to be playground for greater powers.

Desmond Russo only Grand Chancellor of the European Union and Honorary First Grand Chancellor of the New Eurasian Union proved up to saving it. The half Irish half Sicilian former general proved up the task of "convincing" the various national leaders to relinquish ever greater power to the European Parliament and thought them the Office of the Grand Chancellor. Culminating in the official dissolution of all national millaties and their unification into a single European one.

By this point however the First Union was well and truly gone, most of the national leaders that Russo had to "convince" were hardly what the Pre-War world would consider democratic as elections were postponed, interrupted by civil war or outright impossible as nations outright began to collapse under the strain of having to shift their economies so radically in so little time during such a chaotic era. The power and wealth of Europe's nations built on the exploitation of resources that longer existed or nations that could not be efficiently reached was nearly gone by the time the EU was officially declared defunct and the emergency provisional "Coalition of Sovereign European Nations" was declare, now known popularly as the European Coalition.

A SHARP BRUSH WITH AUTHORITANISM
Calling the European Coalition democratic would be a lie, honestly calling a nation state would't be strictly true, but for the seemingly endless years of 3rd World War it was all the battered peoples of Europe had. The promise of a better tommrov when today is so dark is a powerful and addictive drug. Had Russo survived the War it was likely he never would have given up the power he'd swiped despite many EC lovers screamed shouts otherwise. In the end it was sheer dumb luck that averted this, Desmond tripped on the stairs and broke his neck in the fall.

Of course history books proclaim it a tragedy and make no mention of any implied potential for dictatorship which is perhaps for the best. Considering the Russian invasion followed mere days later it is little surprise that the conspiracies that the Russians were responsible are legion, but so far all proof points to a very unlucky accident.

AND A SHAKY CLINGING TO DEMOCRACY
Following Russos death and the sudden windfall of political control given to the heavily battered European Parliament, meant more to rubberstamp Russos agenda, during the opening days of the Russian offensives and the first major nuclear exchanges it is a shock that the EC survived at all in all honesty. Shaken heavily the EC Parliament composed of freshly elected representatives from all over Europe suddenly found themselves the masters of their own fate and that of their Nation during the first major European conflict in generations.

Somehow it remained as popular even during the war, the current Third and previous Second Grand Chancellors were both part of the so called "War Parliament", rather shocking as it oversaw the absolute nightmare of the East European and Caucasus Fronts. The drug of hope proving mighty indeed, that and the image of Europe being lead by a Parliament even as other nations gave way to single leaders was a potent one.

THE END AND THE AFTERMATH
Following the cessation of hostilities with Putin's Russia the EC found itself in a bizarre position, desperate wartime programs had left the seeds of industry that would begin to rebuild the shattered European economy. Combined with the shocking popularity of the EC armed forces, whose relentless protection of civilian shelters and food production facilities saved tens of millions of lives it shocking that unlike so many others the EC Parliament gave up its powers in 2037 in conjunction with the discovery Trans Newtonian Minerals.

In the 2038 Unity Referendum the vote against breaking up the EC into nation states was shockingly overwhelming, many former national leaders finding themselves out of a job as their former citizenry all but threatened to riot if the new European Flag was lowered, Europe didn`t want the nations that had fairly or not been blamed for the horrors' of the 3rd World War, it wanted the one nation that had saved them from it. Later that year the Constitutional Convention for the Second Union of Europe would open, by the end of the year the first elections were over the Second Parliament and Grand Chancellor were inaugurated along with the Federation of Nations.

For now Europe is and will remain a democracy.

POLITICS OF THE NEU
DURING AND BEFORE THE FIRESTORM
The NEU is in everyway a continued expression of hopes for peace and prosperity of the old EU, during the war the lives of civilans were prioritized over everything. (FOOD AND SHELTER FOCUS) During the battles with Russia entire operations were launched whose sole objective was to secure food supplies and building materials for civilian shelters, both for refuge columns on the front and back deeper in EC territory, and themselves in the finals days of the War. In fact the greatest strategic challenge the EC was in fact refuges, forced away by other nations and warlords titanic columns of humanity gravited towards Europe. Caught in a death struggle to the east the EC didn`t really have choice but to let them in, the milltary was needed where it was and that wasnt guarding against "invasions" of desperate civilians. After the War, and during it really, the EC would claim this policy was one of humanitarian ideals but had the EC not managed to secure so many farms and shelters it was likely EC weapons would have been turned on these desperate souls like so many others leaving the nation much much weaker for it. (Open Borders)


AFTER THE FIRESTORM
Following the end of the War the EC and then NEU Parliaments were faced with a horrific economic situation, their resources scoured by nuclear war and then strained beyond capacity by the human waves displaced by war it is a shock that Europe didn`t experience a second tidal wave of unrest. Perhaps the desire for more conflict was simply burned out, suffocated by the day to day drudgery of this new world and its struggle for survival. Whatever the case in the days following the founding of the NEU, FoN and discovery of TNMs saw a titanic economic revitalization effort as one thing Europe would now likely never lack in comparison to its rivals was sheer manpower. Priorizing industrial output over all else the remaining conventional heavy industry was turned en masse towards the creation of a new economy, a TNM economy. Factory after factory built and new model construction and farming tools churned out in mind numbing quantity as the remaining research establishment was turned to refining the primitive first generation TN tools into something better. (Construction Factory Focus, Industrial Technology Focus)

The rise of socialism after the catastrophic failure of the pre war economic model was not hard to predict, what was how it manifested in Europe. Rather than great workers revolutions toppling corrupt authority and establishing Utopia it was more that the NEU would begin an economic policy that could be best surmised as "Democracy at the Ballot, Democracy at Work". What resulted from a hundred and one economic initiatives during and after the war is a mixture of public and private that while it would undoubtedly have caused a pre War American citizen to scream commie was not as simple as that. The economy wasn`t the preview of the government but neither did vast multinational corporations dominate as they had before, rare was the product that had no goverment intervention but rare was the one that had no private participation. (Mixed Economy)


3rd Chancellor of the NEU
Following the near brush with authoritarianism that was Russo the founders of the NEU were quite worried for the possiblity of a strong charismatic figure rallying support during a crisis. One of the results was the strict single five year term limit possible for a Grand Chancellor, to many issues had cropped up with democratic leaders running for reelection while also running their nation. Thus despite the popularity of the 2nd Grand Chancellor which in any other system would have lead to sweeping electoral victory and a second term the 2041 election was a fierce contest that they were free to all but ignore as they guided the NEU.

Emerging from the pit of mud slinging that was the nations first real election during peacetime Mikajla Gordon finds herself as her nations second leader, the older woman retiring from a fruitful carrier managing construction projects into one last hurrah before her sixties hit. The childless widow in her fiftees having proven more appealing than the raft of former generals, politicians and other assorted contenders due to the simple reason no one could ever disagree with what she said or make any attack that didn`t end with them looking worse for having harrased "Europes Grandma". Firmly pragmatic she avoided swearing herself to any party till the last days of her election with her victory all but assured, and even then not swearing to a single one but rather a coalition of parties know as the "Better Morning Coalition"

Blessed with a relatively peaceful first year in office The Grandma, as she ended up nicknamed for her propensity to mother her staff, though never called that to her face has proven the steady hand calmly leading everyone out of the dark days that all hoped she would be. Now she is faced with the real challanges as space and its promise of resources needed to keep the new economy going beckon along with the minefield that are other nations.

 

[Alex_brunius]

Pacific Commonwealth of Nations:
Player: Opti (as various different characters)
Advisors: SpaceMarine (as Fangi Zi Rui), Jaen (as Raphael d'Verte) Panopticon (as AIM)

Government - Constitutional Monarchy
Ruling Party - Coalition of New Dawn and Jiminto (54% of house of representatives)
Regent - Naruhito
Heir - Yi-Kwon
Prime Minister - Yi-Kwon (Leader of New Dawn)
Population - 477 million
Capital - Tokyo


Pacific Commonwealth of Nations Backstory, Written by and full credits to Opti:

The Beginning Of The End?
After the stock market plunged and the Nikkei Index finally crashed on 17th Nov 2026, something had to be done. Unemployment rates were about 20% which in Japanese numbers was unheard of.
The general election of dec 2026 (2025 was postponed due to a bug in the election software) saw a landslide victory for Jiminto, the conservative faction.

The newly elected Government enacted several new proposals to lower unemployment rates, the most notable was the ”Hataraku '' reforms, which guaranteed any person between 18-65 income in exchange for their labor (most hataraku jobs were for the military and municipalities).
The effects of the programs were as intended, even over expectations, and made sure the majority of the population of Japan escaped relatively unharmed from the global market crash. The coming years saw a sharp rebound of the Japanese economy. A lot of people called it ”The Second Japanese Miracle”.
The other countries in the RCEP (the free trade agreement of the major countries in Asia-Pacific) did not fare as well, and many had to default on their debts to Japan. Many countries would have reacted to this with harsh diplomacy and exclusion from trade agreements, but the Jiminto lead government of Japan simply chose to do two things:
• Extend the loans with extremely favorable terms
• Offer the Funds to enact the Hataraku program abroad as well.
This was a hard strain on the relations between the larger countries (especially China who withdrew from RCEP) but for the smaller nations of the ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations), this was a true blessing and laid the groundwork for the union, tying the ASEAN countries closer to Japan.
This Also meant that Japanese soldiers were posted in every ASEAN country to help build the Hataraku reforms, which had been so successful nationally.

A New Treaty
When the first thermonuclear bombs hit Islamabad and New Dehli respectively, a RCEP crisis meeting was held in Osaka, may 23rd 2029. And a formal alliance was formed, ”The Pacific Commonwealth of Nations” (Pacifica or PCN). What was unique about this alliance was that all countries (except Korea and Australia, who chose to decline the invitation) pushed for a centralized army and navy, to ensure the safety and prosperity of their new alliance.
The alliance with the United States was transferred and ratified in the Honolulu Accord (July 5th 2029), and in exchange for very favorable trade agreements for the USA, PCN was allowed to buy licenses for the GMD program (ground based missile defense).
As the wars raged on outside their borders, PCN saw a large influx of refugees, mainly from India and China who had been the hardest hit.

Korea and Japan had at this time a frosty relationship, the sins of the last century not easily forgotten. Korea managed to unify in 2030, as Chinese foreign aid to North Korea halted, leaving the sitting administration in Pyong-yang very few options. When a screaming mob of 450.000 civilians and military members stood gathered on Kim Ilsung square, threatening violence, the supreme leader had no choice but to negotiate for a peaceful transition of power.
As almost all major cities of China were destroyed by nuclear detonations, the government lost control of almost all aspects, leading to emerging warlords to wrest control over the ravaged lands. This created new tensions in Korea as they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The Prize We Had to Pay
The winter of 2030 was harsh, starting in August and seemingly never ending. In may 2031 it stood clear that the world faced its first nuclear winter.
People starved in the millions, and even though PCN only had minor detonations from the war, the radiated clouds never seemed to want to disappear.

The PCN enacted martial law, forcing every hataraku program member to build thousands upon thousands of indoor farms and shelters to escape both the radiation and the cold, this was as well a saving grace that the infrastructure was already in place. Even so, starvation had hit every country to some degree. When the worst winters (of 2034 and 2035) were over the mean temperature slowly rose again, with countless dead in their wake.
The marriage between Aiko (japanese crown princess) and Yi-Kwon (the unofficial crown prince of Korea) 2033 as a formal reconciliation between Japan and Korea after a century of mistrust, created a spirit of much needed unity between the two factions. At the royal wedding, the Japanese Emperor, Naruhito, knelt and formally apologized (for the occupation and world war 2) to the prime minister Kim Kyo-Ahn and the unofficial emperor Yi-Won. This sent a shockwave of rejoice throughout Korea, and a lot of controversy back home in Japan. Korea had finally become whole and the wounds of the last century could heal.
The year after, Korea formally joined PCN, to further secure peace and prosperity in the region. Korea was in no means weak, but even the smaller of the Chinese warlords that had emerged could seriously harm them, and the Korean people had suffered far worse than PCN members who could share and ration resources far more efficiently.
The world was torn apart, PCN member states almost lost half their population between the years 2029 and 2036, and it could have been far worse had not the AMDI (anti missile defense initiative) been deployed over the most populated areas.

A Radiant Dawn
2037 marked a turning point as ”Trans Newtonian Elements” was presented at the world expo in Paris, which would change our scientific understanding of the universe permanently. The same year, the Federation of Nations was created which PCN gladly joined. No one wanted to see another conflict like this. It was sheer luck that there were any people left.
2038 the PCN government in Tokyo finally (due to rising concern) removed martial law and lessened the harsh restrictions on the population. The coming election saw the birth of the newly created ”New Dawn'' party, a libertarian party under the leadership of the incredibly popular crown-prince Yi-Kwon, who had been at the front lines, defending against Chinese warlords, seen in papers, building heated shelters for the refugees.
New Dawn got 23% of the votes and formed a coalition government with Jiminto, the largest party who got 31% of the votes. Yi-Kwon was appointed prime minister and around half of the ministers came from Jiminto.
This coalition would oversee the shaky and fragile peace they have fought hard for in this new Radiant Dawn.

 

[Alex_brunius]

2043 Update:

First our Special homemade mechanics:

Research category unlocks:

During 2042 there sadly were no Research Category Unlocked through Breakthroughs.
USAR and The Russian Federation remains the only two with unlocked Power and Propulsion Category. TN Sensors and Weapons remain locked for everyone.

However any investments made did increase the chances for unlocks in 2042 and for all following years until the category is unlocked. All chances will also gradually increase a small bit every year until all categories are eventually unlocked.

Aid and invasions during 2042:

The Russian Federation:
• Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent Successfully to India, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned but locals worried about future Russian aggressions. 2 million pop, 4 CI & 1 Prestige gained
• Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent to China, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned but locals worried about future Russian aggressions. 2 million pop, 3 CI gained
• Russian Very Successfull invasion of the Middle East. 11 million pop gained, 1 million flee as refugees. 24 CI gained, 1 lost to collateral damage.
1 Research Facility gained. +2 Prestige for saving Dubai & FoN from Terrorist Threat ( one time event turning negative into positive prestige ).
A total of 15 million pop, 31 CI, 3 Prestige & 1 Research Facility gained by the Russian Federation.

United Socialist American Republic:
• Small amounts of American Aid sent Successfully to Australia. 2 million pop & 5 CI gained
• Medium amounts of American Aid sent to Mexico. 3 million pop & 6 CI gained
• Small amounts of American Aid sent to Western South-America. 1 million pop & 2 CI gained
• Small amounts of American Aid sent to Eastern South-America, Peacekeeping forces ambushed by local Militia. 1 million pop & 2 CI gained
A total of 7 million pop & 15 CI gained by the United Socialist American Republic

New European Union:
• Medium amounts of European Aid sent Successfully to Western Africa, locals trusting the good intentions of NEU. 13 million pop, 6 CI and 1 Prestige gained
• Medium amounts of European Aid sent to the Middle East, locals trusting the good intentions of NEU, but worried by other military forces nearby. 3 million pop & 7 CI gained
A total of 16 million pop, 13 CI & 1 Prestige gained by the New European Union

Pacific Commonwealth of Nations:
• Small amounts of Pacific Aid sent Very Successfully to Australia, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned and locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 2 million pop & 6 CI gained
• Large amounts of Pacific Aid sent Successfully to India, locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 6 million pop, 10 CI and 2 Prestige gained
• Large amounts of Pacific Aid sent Successfully to China, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned and locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 5 million pop, 9 CI and 2 Prestige gained
A total of 13 million pop & 25 CI gained by the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations

Federation of Nations:
• Small amounts of FoN Aid sent Successfully to Eastern Africa. Locals trusting the good intentions of the FoN. 9 million pop & 7 CI gained
• Small amounts of FoN Aid sent Successfully to India. Locals trusting the good intentions of the FoN. 2 million pop& 4 CI gained
A total of 11 million pop & 11 CI gained by the FoN

2042 Prestige changes:

• Russia 145, +1 Aid to India
• Russia 147, +2 Invasion of Middle East ( recovering warheads )
• Europe 161, +1 Aid to Western Africa
• America 151, +1 Heroic defense of Aid to Eastern South-America
• Pacific 162, +2 Aid to India
• Pacific 164, +2 Aid to China
• Pacific 167, +3 Highest total Humanitarian Aid
• Europe 163, +2 Designing recordbreaking high speed fighter
• Europe 165, +2 Highest total Technology Investment
• Pacific 170, +3 First Colony Ship launched
• America 155, +4 Delivery of Experimental Engines for no cost
• Russia 146, -1 Leaving Russia without Garrison Regiments, and less than half Infantry ( political unrest building up if ignored ).
• Russia 147, +1 Largest Airforce (GSF)

Current Prestige:
• Russia: 147
• America: 155
• Europe: 165
• Pacific: 170

Economy:
And some statistics because those are always fun!
Keep in mind that the GDP listed here is per Capita meaning it's divided by population. So in terms of actual total wealth Europe and America are actually pretty equal, and they are not that far behind Russia either ( that gets it number inflated by having the smallest population )
Note: One ingame wealth = 10 billion Eurodollars

Note: Heavily censored for competitive reasons:

Trading and resource situation:

As the worlds TN minerals were getting mined in ever increasing pace it was clear that a working Minerals Exchange would very soon become crucial. The last year alone saw the critical engine mineral Gallicite drop from over 74 thousand tons known reserves to less than 64k ton, a reduction in 14%. In this pace Gallicite reserves would run out on Earth in just 7 years, and all nations were expanding their mining capacity rapidly. Cynical observers noted they probably all were hoping to mine out and stockpile more of the valuables than their rivals could.

Therefor the profit margins of minerals has been significantly reduced in the Exchange, to promote trading.

Notable Events in the news:

• 28:th January - Federation of nation Representatives celebrate as new record levels of Humanitarian Aid and Peacekeeping forces have been committed to every corner of the world following their plea last year. In total 130 Trillion Eurodollars ( 13000 wealth ) are spent on Aid by the four major powers over the year. Economical analysts agree that these levels of aid are unlikely to be sustainable longer term, but it's still wonderful news for everyone suffering after the wars.

• 5:th February - Pacific Commonwealth of Nations start construction of the 8255 ton Colony Ship "New Singapore" in the Toyoshima Marine Industries orbital Shipyard. It's promised that within the year it will be taking habitats and colonists to Mars, but few experts think this plan is realistic.

• 19:th April - New European Union launches a new Fighter for High speed record-breaking called "The Antelope" using conventional Engines, It Amazes the world as it travels at an astounding speed of 698km/s breaking all previous records, and completes a publicity flight to the moon and back in just below 19 minutes.

• 12:th August - After having found evidence of a plot to attack the Federation of Nation headquarters in Dubai using stolen nuclear warheads Russian Federation forces consisting of 6 Infantry Regiments supported by most of the modern fighters in the Russian Airforce move into Iran with lightning speed, they encounter some resistance and two of their Regiments get ambushed taking some losses, but overall it's a very effective operation and the stolen warheads are recovered before terrorists can put them to use to the relief of the world. Large number of Russian forces are moved in to ensure the peace and stability in the Region and they gain a port in the Indian Ocean.

• 3:ed October - After several aid shipments to Venezuela from United Socialist American Republic have been raided the warlords try to ambush an aid delivery guarded by 1st USAR Armor Regiment and supported by large portions of the USAR Airforce, the warlords forces withdraw back into the jungles after having suffered heavy casualties. The 1st USAR Armor Regiment soldiers are hailed as heroes by locals and citizen at home alike.

• November 9:th - The United Socialist American Republic Delivers the last of the four experimental Nuclear Thermal Wake Drive engines that was part of the original 0131 Resolution proposal to Saint Petersburg. They had hoped to deliver it on Unity Day but unfortunately the cargo ship USS Victory carrying it was delayed over a week for Administrative reasons and a thorough routine search when dropping of the Engine delivered to Europe in Amsterdam. This otherwise quick timetable was made possible thanks to Anthony Fords steadfast iron will to get it completed and the Federation of Nation Secretary-General personally thanks him for donating the engines without cost to speed up space exploration among all nations.

• December 26 - The Pacific Commonwealth of Nations New Singapore Colony ship launches and starts preparing for it's trip to Mars, the world watches in awe as not long after boarding and loading it embarks on it's over 1 month journey towards the red planet at a speed of 75km/s carrying over 400 brave souls from the Pacific Commonwealth and a few representatives from the Federation of Nations as well to found humanity's first colony on Mars.

Nuclear Thermal Wake Drive Engines ( Resolution 0131 )
The specifications of the Experimental Wake Drive Engine was publicly presented during late September. Scientists present did clarify that the technology was experimental so there could always be small risks of breakdowns, but they were looking forward to the feedback and with this rapid pace of engine development any issues that surfaced should be possible to correct quickly. The USAR project Commissar responsible also stated with a harsh face that nothing can be gained without risk. He said he was sure any of the excellent explorers graduated from the Academies were competent enough to deal with problems should they appear, and if not the Europeans had talked about using this "Antilope" as a rescue ship... An uncomfortable silence settled over the audience as they didn't know if they were supposed to laugh or not at this joke, since the Commissars face showed no expression.

The Commissar continued: Every single one of the graduates worthy of such a fine engine as this to power their craft also should be ready to risk a bit in return for the immortal fame of, as the wonderful Socialist Comrades from Star Trek would have said: Boldly go where no man has gone before! This time the crowd broke out in thunderous applause.

 

[Alex_brunius]

Written by and full credits to Opti:

Monday the 13th of January 2042, 8PM Globally televised speech from President Yi-Kwon, Prime-Minister's Official residence, Tokyo, Pacific Commonwealth of Nations

It is with great pride that I stand here before you on this very special day, our Seijin-No-Hi (Coming of Age Day). For the longest time, our nation has heard nothing but bad news and we’ve been told to stand straight and remember the fallen. My government ran on the platform of hope. A hope of a brighter tomorrow, a hope of having food on the table and roof over our heads, for anyone willing to work to the benefit of our new society. And we have delivered. We expect within the next 5 years to be the leading nation in GDP per capita.

Hope.

Such a small word. Yet so impactful.

It is with that wish of hope that I present my dedication to all nations of this great world. I have been tasked with leading this nation towards a hopeful future, and it is with that in mind that I speak to you of my dedication to venture forth into the great unknown, into space.

We dedicate ourselves to that within one year’s time, seeing the first settlers leave this Earth's orbit on our new flagship, the CSS New Singapore. They sail out into the unknown towards the red planet. The plans have been made and we start humble, as all ventures. On the Hellas Basin our first brave colonists will test their will against the harsh environment, but they will prevail. The first 465 colonists will consist of the brightest among us, scientists, engineers and observers. We invite 20 courageous astronauts from the Federation of Nations to join us on this journey as a reminder that this is not only for the good of the nation, but for the good of humanity. (edited)

Our partners at PAXA and JAMCO aerospace have together with PCN Jieitai (Self-Defence Force) secretly been tasked to create this program with great haste. I believe that we all should strive for this common goal of permanently building a base on Mars, as our spirit of exploration and the will to never surrender, no matter the cost, is greatly aligned with the exploration of this new Terra Incognita.

As we reach for the stars, no name for this Project could be more fitting than Kikaku Amaterasu (Project Amaterasu). Named after the ancient Goddess of the sun, we too shall strive for our place in heaven, for humanity’s place among the stars.

Good night PCN, I want you all to go to your beds tonight with hope. This new dawn of Humanity is an honour to be a part of.

 

[Alex_brunius]

Written by and full credits to doodleSM:

2042: Russian News Broadcast

Iranian terrorists have attacked several key locations in the Federation. Their objective was unknown, they've withdrawn and returned back to the mountains in the Middle East. Russian intelligence services and investigations have led the Kremlin to believe that the objective of the raids were a lost nuclear weapons cache located near the border of Iran. Silayev Urvan Ilyich, military strategist, quoted to have said: "Three thermonuclear warheads in unknown conditions were seized by the terrorist cell. The Russian Defense Forces and agencies are going to recover them from the terrorists as soon as possible."

While many skeptics in the Russian government doubt the former general, the public is optimistic yet cautious about the prospects.

Few days later. The Kremlin, as seen on TV.
Silayev Urvan Ilyich stands at the podium, flanked by two soldiers and military officers. His posture is straight and he maintains a relaxed demeanor by his smooth and cool look. He clears his throat before saying "The Kremlin has reported that terrorist cells plans to detonate 2 working thermonuclear warheads in Dubai within less than a year. Moscow has decided, in good faith, upholding the laws of the Federation of Nations, to launch a full scale counter strike into Iran to seize and maintain security within the region. Operation White Opera is the planned annexation and occupation of Iran. God be with us all."

News reporters clamor around the former general, trying to get questions answered...

 

[Alex_brunius]

Written by and full credits to Jaen:

Raphael approaches the podium in the FoN press conference held in Dubai. He looks nervous, but clears his throat and begins to read a handwritten speech.
"- When the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations heard that terrorists had attacked one of our peers in the Federation, we were filled with a great sadness. We strongly condemn terrorist actions, and are appalled that anyone would again threaten to use nuclear weapons against our fellow man. We will not tolerate the use of, or the threat to use any weapons of mass destruction."


He takes a sip of water and continues
"- We must prevent it at all costs, and hope that as Russia learns more about the terrorist cells that have WMDs that they share it with the FoN and all interested parties so that we may work together to restore peace.

Thank you."

He steps away from the podium, barely acknowledging the clamor for answers to more questions.





Written by and full credits to CaptainGrimlock:

Having heard of the act of terrorism in Russian territory, First Commandant Anthony Ford feels compelled to respond.

"- Our deepest condolences to the Russian people. This act of terrorism was, and remains, horrendous, and we must find the culprits and punish them with due fervour and haste. I have personal concerns as to the fact that Russia has, by their own admission, lost the location of at least one cache of nuclear arms. I hope the Russian government can find and secure any additional caches that might exist to keep this tragedy from repeating."

 

[Alex_brunius]

Written by and full credits to Opti:

0900, Dec 22, 2042, Sawakura Space Launch Complex, Chiba Prefecture.
Melissa Zhao had been preparing for her first real mission for 6 years, and it seemed only yesterday that PAXA (former JAXA) would always stand in the shadow of it’s big brother NASA. To be fair, after the 3rd war, most of human space flight ground to a halt. The ISS was abandoned in 2032 due to a combination of old age and lack of serious funding from the international partners.

Since then PAXA had started their own project, In partnership with Mitsubishi, Hitachi and PCN Jietai, they created the first true State/Civilian conglomerate, Toyoshima industries, with a specific goal towards Space Exploration and research in trans-newtonian elements.

It did not take long since the cry for a PCN presence in space was heard from all corners of the nation, and the first Civilian station was built, Toyoshima Marine. Yet somewhat smaller than what the ISS was, Japanese astronauts now had their own station, which 20 years earlier was unthinkable. The construction began in 2038 and the first construction modules for ship building were added in 2040.

The station quickly grew in size and capabilities. Rocket engines from all over the world were shipped up and scheduled for serious vacuum testing. Consequently the performance of vacuum engines increased dramatically, especially after nozzles of duranium alloy were found to be able to handle almost a hundredfold increase in pressure difference. Suddenly the rest of space was accessible in a way never before thought possible.

This meant that the training program had skyrocketed in PAXA centers all across the nation. The Cadets have come from all over Asia, young and old. This meant of course that Melissa had to step up her game. Even though she had only been to space two times as a liaison between the extremely expensive hired American propulsion experts and her PAXA counterparts, she knew the ins and outs of zero-g training and exosuit-maneuverability. Still she could not let the rookies outdo her.

Now it was 4 days left. 4 days until the gigantic LE-X Engine of CSS New Singapore, the size of a smaller building, would ignite and send her and the rest of the crew off towards the red planet. No one had been there since the one and only private mission SpaceX managed to pull off in 2028 before the “means of production” was seized by the USAR the year after.


She usually was calm as a cucumber, but today she was going up to Toyoshima. This would be the last time she saw earth in a long time, and the media was everywhere. Even the Russians had sent their state media to cover this unprecedented event. Melissa thought she was going to throw up. "30 minutes to roll call", a mechanical voice called out that was promptly followed by a "T-57 minutes to launch".

Before Melissa could think, a microphone was shoved into her face and a smartly dressed woman asked something, she didn’t know what, she saw the lips moving but couldn’t hear what the lady was saying. After a second, the hearing returned..

-... saying, what are your feelings right now?

- Uhhhh.. I’m sorry? She answered.

Today was going to be a bad day, Melissa reminded herself. After being told the question for a third time, she answered.

* - A lot on my mind to be honest. Everything is finally on schedule and we have proceeded loading up the crew and started accommodating our colonists.*

The reporter smiled warmly and followed up with a question from the left field.

- Soo Melissa, is there a certain someone you're leaving behind? Who is the lucky one?

Melissa had for very good reasons been private to the brink of paranoia regarding her personal life. Now her cheeks burned as she was thinking about her “boyfriend” Chet (an American propulsion engineer she met on her last rotation on Toyashima). They really haven’t had the ”talk” or anything but there was a very serious feeling. She hoped dearly that she would have time to sit down with him before setting off. According to the internal PAXA scheduling system he should still be on site.

*- Yes and no. I’m going to miss my family and my dear friends a lot. But I am not formally engaged in a relationship.. *

She paused for a bit and thought: What the heck, might as well give them something, before continuing, with a wink in her eye.

- But there is this one guy who might be..

The reporter gasped, before regaining composure.

- You have to tell us more! Who…

There was no more time for questions, time for suit-check, as a PAXA assistant forced the young reporter away.

Before Melissa could think much more, she was strapped into the seat with the rest of the pilot crew and waiting for the countdown to reach 0.

5…4…3…2… The engines started to roar and the sound was deafening 1…

Launch! The launch clamps released and the thrust was shocking as she was pushed back into her seat with a good 5G burn.

A smile grew across Melissa's face. She was ready.

 

[Alex_brunius]

Designed by and credits to Spacemarine with credit to the Individual "Ranged" who's deckplan was the inspiration:

 

[Alex_brunius]

It's well overdue time to give a presentation of our involved advisors! Some of them even more active than leaders and engaging in diplomacy, negotiating trade deals, writing RP fiction, helping preparing orders for the turns or making spreadsheets to provide good information. Much of that goes on hidden from the open in the private nation/diplomacy channels on the discord though but there is more info and more regular smaller updates/fiction on the open areas of the discord as well for anyone that want to follow closely.



Written by and full credits to doodleSM:
Name: Silayev Urvan Ilyich
Advisor in: The Russian Federation
"A feast in a time of plague." - Aleksandr Pushkin, 1830
At the end of the war, Ilyich returned from failed invasion and looked to the stars. He imagined what the Radiant Dawn would bring to the Russian people. He dreamt of restoring the lost glory and victories. Ilyich began working towards establishing an interstellar navy in the future for the Russian people.



Written by and full credits to Somebody1212:
Name: Continual Dawn III
Advisor in: New European Union
The Continual Dawn project was founded shortly after humanity had weathered the storm that was World War III. Its founders had decided that, if left to their own devices, the major nations of the world would inevitably slide towards a fourth war, and one that may leave no survivors.

Their solution was conceptually simple (though technically challenging) - by creating an artificial intelligence with the goal of guaranteeing humanity's continued existence, they may be able to prevent a war (or at the very least, ensure that enough people survive to allow society to rebuild itself after the war).

Continual Dawn I was a dismal failure. The deadly combination of a rushed development timeframe and an inexperienced team meant that its objective function contained several major flaws. Within an hour of being turned on, Continual Dawn I had decided that the only way to protect humanity from itself was to become their worst enemy and give them something to rally around. Two hours after being activated, Continual Dawn I was switched off by its observation team. After several unsuccessful attempts to fix the flaws and reactivate Continual Dawn I, it was decided that the project should refocus its efforts on Continual Dawn II.

Continual Dawn II built on the limited successes of Continual Dawn I while trying to mitigate its many shortcomings. In particular, a much greater value was placed on the individual lives of humans rather than just valuing humanity as a whole (with a further emphasis on avoiding deaths caused by Continual Dawn itself), so as to avoid a repeat of last time. Unfortunately, this went too far in the opposite direction - Continual Dawn II was a fanatical and uncompromising pacifist who refused to take any action that would risk a human dying, even if their sacrifice could potentially save countless others. It was woefully unprepared for international politics.

Continual Dawn III attempted to strike a balance between its two previous generations - avoiding the dogmatic purity of Continual Dawn II to allow it to handle the realities of politics, but without falling prey to the ruthless goal optimisation of Continual Dawn I.

It was first activated on the 17th of October, 2041, and after a prolonged testing period was deemed fit to release into the world. The project team hope that if it can integrate itself into a major nation's inner circle, there may still be hope of preventing another war.


Unrest in New European Union union related to Continual Dawn III:

Written by and full credits to NotAllah Communist Christian:
-Months leading up to the 10th of October- In the latter half of 2042 the NEU government is steadily more and more gripped with internal divisions over what to do with the Continual Dawn AI along with other political matters. The recently promoted former Military Advisor taking to public broadcast to voice dissent with unspecified plans on the basis that AI no matter how advanced aren't people, in addition to floating the idea that the Grand Chancellor might be unfit for duty. On the following day a large formation of the Unity Guard Regiment moved into Continual Dawn Project offices and server farms, buying out the surrounding buildings and beginning to fortify the area, much to many conspiracy theorists "delight".

On the 1st of October the Grand Chancellor is visibly ill at a press conference and has to be rushed to hospital. Tellingly the same day the new Vice Chancellor is sent on a sudden "planned" survey of the conditions in northern France and the third in the Chain of Command is made Acting Chancellor instead. En route to his first stop the Vice Chancellor disappears without comment from the government, they will not be seen until the 15th, but until then the "official" stance is that the Grand Chancellors illness was some kind of assassination attempt and the Vice Chancellor is simply being moved to a safe location just in case. As a result protests sweep the nation with a decidedly anti-Russian slant, blaming them for the attempt, a view fueled by their invasion of Iran later despite the evidence
-10th and 11th of October 2042- Without warning elements of various Regiments begin moving towards Unity City without warning or statement from the Grand Chancellors Office, tense confrontations are observed between them and other units that move to block them. Within twenty four hours reports of large gatherings of armed citizenry bearing a variety of symbols are reported, the majority however wear old EC uniforms and patches.

-12th to 13th- Confrontations flare into clashes as dozens and then hundreds of people are killed or injured in firefights that span entire city blocks, as on the plains and fields surrounding them the first tank clashes between various NEUA elements thunder. So far no artillery or air forces are deployed by either side, and the large armed civilian gatherings are ignored for now.

-14th- A rebel hijacked Mariner is shoot down in an attempt to strafe the Office of the Grand Chancellor, mass mobilization of the NEU forces stationed in Europe begins and the ongoing clashes turn into full scale urban battles as Loyalist units seek to subdue the Coupists. The previously mentioned armed civilans are told to disperse for their own safety, they join in on the fighting to support Coupist elements, the death toll climbs over a thousand before the night is out.

-15th and 16th- The Coupist leadership is reveled as the newly appointed Vice Chancellor makes a public announcement broadcast announcing the governments plans to allow the not only grant the controversial Continual Dawn AI a government position but also to recognize its citizenship and that of its siblings. Denouncing this the VC invokes the Honorary Grand Chancellors name that at times "Decisive action beyond the preview of peace time democracy is called for". This gives the Coupist forces their name, the Russoists.
Riots flare across Europe following the broadcast and tens of thousands of anti-AI militia begin attacking government facilities "in search of Terminator factories" according to themselves. The leadership of the largest of these, the so called "Guardians of Flesh", begin making broadcasts that can only be summarized as the culmination of every conspiracy theory since 2000 packaged into one.

However, likely contrary to the Vice Chancellors expectations, the broadcasts, riots and running battles in the streets only turn the public against the Coupists. Over the course of the day as more and more Loyalist units stream in to contain the traitor formations they find themselves actively aided by pro-government citizen militias or being showered in praise from the population, the Eurotank II of one Tank Sergeant Bertha Mallies rides into battle in the city of New Hamburg covered in flowers. In addition to being faced with active opposition from the populace many Coupist formations find their way blocked by massive crowds of people forming human barriers to prevent further conflict.

What was shaping up to be the largest battle of the Coup to present is wholly prevented when the rebellious elements of the 5th Infantry refuse to use lethal force to disperse the crowds blocking their way to the Continual Dawn Server Farms, by the time they can get around the crowds they are encircled by loyalist formations and with Mariners flying above they surrender just before midnight on the 16th.
-October 17th 2042-
Despite the events of the previous day the remaining Coupist elements converge on Unity City, a massive battle erupting on the cities approaches as Loyalist and Rebel air units duel amid the peaks of the Alps. Within the Unity City Guard Regiment traitor elements reveal themselves, the battle turning from a guaranteed Loyalist victory to a confused melee as the still under construction Unity City is ravaged by war. During the confused struggle Coupist forces manage to seize the Grand Chancellery and the Rebel Chancellor makes a broadcast attempting to claim victory, however loyalist elements launching a counter attack interrupts the broadcast quite embarrassingly as the "victor" is forced to duck behind his podium as commando elements storm the room.

-18th-With the capture of their leader most rebel elements give up the fight, by the end of the night all but a handful of rebel military formations have surrendered along with a majority of their civilian and militia support. The Coup is declared defeated in the first public broadcast in nearly weeks by a clearly very sick 3rd Grand Chancellor, who also reveals her securities suspicions that she was poisoned by the rebels. The sight of Europes grandma in such a dire state leads to a collapse in what little public support they still had and by the end of the day all but a handful of rebels have faded away into the crowd or surrendered.

However what will be most remembered by the public on this day is the following expecrt from her speech.
"...Finnaly I must apologize to Continual Dawn the 3rd, I'd dearly wished to announce your citizenship yesterday on your birthday and throw a celebration, sadly these droll individuals seem to like ruining peoples birthdays. I would apologize with milk and cookies but sadly those mekies down at CD Labs haven`t given you taste buds yet, so how about we just make your birthday a national holiday to celebrate democracy triumphing as a late present?..."

Of course within minutes the Coup is know as the Birthday Coup and Continual Dawn III is flooded with emails and letters wishing them a happy birthday and giving them an eclectic mass of presents.



Written by and full credits to comediac:
Name: Philip Starr
Advisor in: United Socialist American Republic
Philip's dad passed away when he was only 15, leaving him in control of a struggling business. Trying to balance school and management was tough but after a few years he managed to get the business stable enough for him to focus on attaining his business degree, and shortly after the business was undergoing massive expansion. The next decade would see Philip gaining experience in a wide array of industries, opening everything from mines to think tanks, and acquiring several other companies in the process. Some people have criticized him for moving manufacturing jobs around with disregard for the livelihoods of the previous workers, but for every voice outraged that he was taking jobs away from their hometown, there were 2 more praising him for bringing those jobs to theirs. The next decade saw him dipping his toes in politics, using his influence to score a diplomatic role where he used his experience in dealing with competing companies to maintain positive relations with a small nation and securing trade between the two. Now, he seeks to elevate his status again by becoming a crucial member of the nation's administration.



Written by and full credits to SpaceMarine:
Name: Fang Zi Rui
Advisor in: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Fang Zi Rui is the fourth son of the highly prosperous and wealthy Chee Kai Rui CEO of the Kai Conglomerate, these collection of companies located in Singapore worked on everything from experimental medicine and science to equipment for asian militaries and everything in between, as the fourth Son Fang Zi Rui was not expected to inherit the vast fortune his father had built up and as such lived a fairly normal life if thats what you can call being Son to one of the richest CEOs on the planet.

By the Year 2025 most senior leadership in the company realized the titanic proportions of which the economy was heading towards but kept quiet, by 2026 the entire company crashed with the stock exchanges what was left went underground, two years after that in 2028 Rui's father died in a missile strike from unknown assailants, between this period and 2032 his brothers were either killed in action, murdered, or simply vanished leaving Rui as the last known survivor of the family.

After surviving through an economic collapse and world war III Fang Zi Rui had built up a wealth of experience combined with the ruthless education he received, now on the other side of the initial blast he prepared for the next path that would work best for him, this path would be in Japan, largely unscathed from WWIII in comparison to Rui's homeland he would use the expertise he had built up to support what at the time was an untested government and it was not clear if it would survive the aftermath.
Starvation Ran Rampant and while the new Pacific Commonwealth of Nations had survived the worst of it, it still faced many challenges, using the lack of trained officials and experience he built up, he managed to get a job as a government official working under the finance minister, during this period 2032-2037 he gained the reputation in japan of a trust worthy and credible individual who was able to work ruthlessly.

By 2038 Fang Zi Rui had been promoted to Chief Finance Minister for the PCN, upon his appointment his first recommendation was the immediate lifting of martial law which the nation had been under for years at this point and welcomed a return to improved economic prosperity that coincided with the discovery of trans-newtonian elements, Rui saw the direction the world was going and that trans-newtonian materials were the way and promoted their use throughout the nation from singapore to Tokyo, two years later after significant success working as Chief Finance Minister Fang Zi Rui would find himself assigned as Cabinet Secretary who would oversee all other ministers and act as the primary advisor to the President.



Written by and full credits to ChaoticNeutral:

Name: Jean Raihan
Advisor in: United Socialist American Republic
A war hero, titan of industry, and cutthroat politician, Jean Raihan claims to serve his nation on all fronts. However, critics are quick to highlight his vast personal power and fortune. With a wealth of contacts in high places and considerable personal experience, honorary Major General Raihan may prove an invaluable asset to any leader who can stomach his penchant for corruption and double-dealing. And a fearsome foe to those that draw his ire.

2042 Fiction Update:
Third Commandant Jean Raihan stands stiffly, an island of silence and immobility in a sea of flashing screens, chattering comms, and laser-focused drone operators. In contrast to his stoic posture, a smug grin creeps across Jean's face. Because this wasn't just any old remote command room like the attack drone operation centers he'd seen infrequently throughout his career. This was the control deck of Boeing Aerospace's state-of-the-art shipyard designed to quickly and effectively produce spacefaring transnewtonian vessels. Perhaps it wasn't as large as the monolithic Bezos Memorial Orbital Construction Platform, but unlike the commercial shipyard, the precision equipment aboard Boeing's platform could handle components best described as... Touchy. Such as high-fidelity survey scanners and extreme-stress engines.

The space-based facility is truly a technological marvel. One unlike any other. Literally - no other nation but the USAR could boast such an advanced shipyard. Oh, they would have them eventually, that was all but certain - but the USAR's head-start in this field could not be denied. A testament to the industrial fortitude of the newborn nation.

Jean's smile widens imperceptibly as out of the corner of his eye, he spies a viewscreen showing a drone stenciling a stylized 'RR' logo over Boeing's own. Because, although most still thought of the production yard as Boeing's. It wasn't really Boeing's any longer. The confusion was understandable - after all, the merger only started last week. And perhaps it may have taken much longer, if not for Raihan's guiding hand as a head of state. All in the name of progress, of course. The fact that Boeing practically amounted to a subsidiary of Raihan Robotics Co. afterwards was merely a happy coincedence.

To think, that the first true interplanetary survey vessels will launch from the Raihan Robotics Precision Shipworks Naval Shipyard. An industrial enterprise employing well over a million of the USAR's best and brightest, all in MY name~!

Jean Raihan gazes imperiously across the tide of shipyard employees - HIS employees - bustling to fulfill the tonnage expansion quota.

Power... Feels good.



Written by and full credits to Jaen:

Name: Raphael d'Verte
Advisor in: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Raphael d'Verte was born in Lyon, France in the mid 90s. He attended the French ESM (military college) and graduated with a specialization in engineering and was assigned to be an officer with the Combat Engineers several years before war broke out in the 2020s. As a combat engineer, he saw some direct combat, but spent most of his time building and repairing infrastructure critical to the war. During this time he rose to the rank of Commandant (Major equivalent in US rank O4 Nato equivalent). War left a mark on Raphael as he watched the EU military fall apart. Failed supply lines caused incalculable strife and starvation. The common man fought and died and suffered.

After the war, Raphael was tired of death and moved to Dubai and opened a construction firm. Over the next three years, it saw tremendous growth due to the boom in Dubai and was sold for a tremendous profit - allowing Raphael to pursue a new career in Consulting/Advising.



Written by and full credits to Panopticon:

Name: Advanced Idea Mechanics ( AIM )
Current Employer: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Spawned from an unholy union of anonymous hacker collectives and megacorporate profit seeking, AIM brings the gig economy to the world of intelligence, politics, research, and military ops. With a decentralized organization, no publicly recognized leadership, and few full time permanent members, AIM has become the #1 supplier of shady business dealings in the world today. Sourcing talent from across the globe, many of whom don't even know they are working for us, AIM has a diverse workforce which brings a wide range of skills, opinions, and knowledge to bear on any issue a client might require.

For the first time in our history, AIM is expanding our client offerings to the major nations themselves! Yes, the same talents that made REDACTED, REDACTED, and REDACTED top names in their fields of REDACTED, genetic research, and human trafficking can be yours for a contract period of 5 years, renewable simply by outbidding the rest of the world, contact us now by placing a coded request in the social media outlet of your choice, we'll come to you!
- AIM marketing document.

 

[Alex_brunius]

February 19 2043, Hans-Ole “Vik” Falkanger, Las Vegas - United Socialist American Republic
Vik got his nickname from being a mountain of a man, a real Norwegian Viking. The fact that everyone abroad just found his other names somewhat confusing to properly pronounce probably also was a factor, but regardless of why he was happy to simply be Vik. He had been in Vegas for a while and established several connections but it was starting to become boring, the type of people all too predictable and easy to read and swindle. There wasn’t much challenge or excitement left neither with the ladies Vik picked up at the casinos nor the various scams he was running with his close friend Lorenzo. So… it was clearly time for them both to put those connections to use, score big and bounce.

Things could very well get exciting real soon.. Normally they were not even close to this thorough in planning but this was their first time getting involved in something as risky and dangerous as ripping off a top tier organized crime boss, so some preparations were warranted for sure. Vik had been swindling, manipulating and tricking people since he stole his first toy in the playground and somehow managed to convince all parents involved that it actually was his toy and that the other poor sobbing kid was at fault for trying to take it from him…


The Plan
This was the major leagues to use the American terminology. Pretty much everyone was in on what was going to happen except the mark in question, Jack Dawson or as he was called “Mr Gold”. In the end it was just about convincing them all that they were getting what they wanted most of all by helping Vik and Lorenzo. The Raihan Robotics (RR) executive, well she wanted to get back at Mr Gold for ruthlessly having her lover executed, while at the same time getting a payday herself by making an untraceable “business transaction” at a place she never officially visited. The elderly Madrigal Electromotive supplier of restricted substances felt that he could get a better deal from Gold's competition, and the stunning young Australian girl Lizzy was going to facilitate and represent the buyer in this “business transaction”. The Exxon Sorium magnate, he just knew that something was going down and had been convinced to stay out of the way and have his bodyguard not intervene.

AIM was also involved in the whole heist and transaction of course! How could they not be when these sums of Eurodollars were on the tables. It wasn’t the first time Vik was dealing with AIM so he had a fairly trustworthy contact inside the organization he knew for a long time ( although never met in person, AIM never did ). He also was certain they would stab him in the back in a heartbeat if they could profit more from it than from future business with him, so better make sure they didn’t. Lorenzo's job had been to infiltrate Mr Gold's crime network, and the smooth Italian had done it like he was born a mafioso, which to be fair he almost was. They knew locations, assets, weaknesses and routines like clockwork.

Thinking it over for the thousandth time there were alot of people that would stab him in the back in a heartbeat if it profited them involved in this plan… He and Lorenzo would be long gone before they realized the full details of what went down though unless anything unpredictable happened.

The only problem was that unpredictable was pretty much Mr Gold's second name. His favorite casinos had installed bulletproof ceilings over the VIP gambling tables due to his tendency to fire off his massive golden revolver when getting angry or simply at random because he felt like it. He looked like something of a mix between a tacky rapper with a heavy gold chain necklace and a Texas cowboy with white hat, revolver, boots and all. Mr Gold also owned half of Vegas and probably owned or controlled more parts of the rest of the neighboring states than anyone was comfortable to admit.

Officially there was no crime in glorious socialist USAR of course but in practice well… Men like Mr Gold were pretty much untouchable by all law enforcement and it was even doubtful that the military could take him down even if they wanted. He simply had enough Eurodollars to bribe anything sent his way and in the chaos after the war, hard times and all the rapid changes meant that anything and anyone was for sale if you had enough to spend. This meant that they would need to get far away after the heist, well outside USAR at least.

The plan was in essence pretty simple. After the private round of poker with the highrollers Lorenzo would sneak off and get the valuables while Vik’s job was to secure the ride. Lizzy also was in on their impolite early exit and she had her reasons for tagging along, no point prolonging her stay carrying something as valuable as the RR schematics.

Vik walked into the upscale bar where he met up with Lorenzo and ordered a “Marsblast” to ease his nerves, some kind of odd cocktail that Elon came up with supposedly representing what a rocket launch from Mars would look like with its colors. They both tried to look cool and chatted a bit about politics and what was in the news, something about a PCN mars mission. Vik couldn’t care less about space, but inside he was everything but cool. So many things could go wrong despite all preparations for this night.


Mr Gold
It was time, Mr Gold's chauffeur waved at them from the bar entrance. Vik didn’t step out the door before he felt a chill run down his spine as he saw it, this wasn’t the aircar Gold was supposed to pick them up with. This was a massive brand new custom VIP Mustang of some sort, he was supposed to bring his Cadillac or Rolls Roys that Vik knew how to hotwire for their getaway later on. frakk! It wasn’t even a minute in and their carefully laid out plans were already unraveling right before their eyes. As the door was opened for them cigar smoke welled out and they hardly had time to walk inside before they were greeted by a massive smile and loud:
- “Howdy fellas, y'all like my new shining ‘horse’? The others aircars are at my Miami mansion, let’s go, yeeHaw!“

They exchanged pleasantries and Vik was in full panic mode, think fast dammit… where is the charging plug?! As the ride was taking off he heard in the background how Mr Gold was rambling on about this new ride and how unique it was:
- “Only yours truly, the First Commandant and an anonymous trillionaire could afford one. It was equipped with neutronium reinforced windshields, was rated for space travel and had a TN Engine capable of outrunning anything in the air, even most military stuff, although rumor had it the Europeans were up to something new and even faster than the Antelope.”

Vik thought to himself:
- “Well f*ck f*ck f*ck… If we pull off stealing this ride the bastard will chase us to Saturn and back to get his revenge…”

Finally he found it. Vik swapped seats with the Raihan lady claiming he was feeling a bit motion sickness and Mr Gold remarked how he indeed had started looking quite pale, which probably was ever so true given the circumstances. After waiting for the right moment for what felt like forever finally no one was watching so he quickly jammed in the AIM datastick into the charging plug. Now all that was left was to pray this improvised plan would work, it was a backup stick made to hack vault entrances or doors in case Lorenzo lost his, not hack a damn aircar!…Just in the nick of time too, moments later they were touching down in the private mountain mansion that was the location for tonight's game and one of Gold's many lavish villas.

Mr Gold's great weakness was gambling, when he got into the zone anything could be gambled for and no bets were too big. If rumors were true he once had gambled away a wife of his. This was what their plan relied on, Vik would get him into gambling away a bottle of one of the world's most expensive wines that was stored in his wine cellar. They knew that the prideful bastard, even after losing, wouldn't miss out on an opportunity to show off his wine and bourbon cellar to the guests. That meant he would need to bring most of them and security down there allowing Lorenzo to abuse his trust gained with the criminals and sneak off to the vault to rob them blind. The wine was just a distraction.



The Game
It seemed as if the plan had to be improvised further however. As they enjoyed a small luxurious meal before the game started Vik checked his phone discreetly and it showed no indication that the datastick had been able to hack the aircar yet, I guess AIM ain't so special after all he thought. That meant he had to win both the wine and the keys for the Custom Mustang at the poker table, and he had a very bad feeling about the latter one.

As the game drew on it became clear that Vik and Mr Gold were amassing the biggest piles of dollars, while the others were struggling, especially the Sorium Magnate who was out of the game before long. Vik was fully at home here, having spent much of his Vegas time at Casinos and having been expert at reading people since way way before that. Mr Gold was not far behind however, living for the gamgling and this was his home turf. Drops of sweat rolling down Viks face both due to the situation and due to the challenging game, he wanted to save the ace up his sleeve until the last coup de grace. After some tough back and forth most of Mr Gold's dollars on the table as well as a promise for the wine bottle were finally his. Last round for the night and both the tension and cigar smoke were so thick they could be cut with a knife. 3 Players left in the game, the Raihan Lady, Mr Gold and Vik. Vik was raising, and to get Gold to consider giving up his car he would have to offer something truly spectacular. He slowly grabbed the table with both his hands and stood up towering over it leaning slightly forward looking Mr Gold in the eyes and said:
- “Let’s raise the stakes a bit higher than money now shall we. I offer information, around this table sits someone who is planning to betray you Mr Gold, if you win I will tell you who it is…”.

Everyone was looking at him as he noticed a sly smile spreading over the large Vegas Cowboys face before Gold broke out in laughter.
- “...In return, I want you to offer up your New Mustang if you are to match my bet.” Vik continued, killing Gold’s laughter and his good mood in an instant.

Mr Gold glanced at Lorenzo dealing the cards and got the signal he expected back, he needed to win this round and Lorenzo just signaled he would help him make sure of it.

It was easy to see the excitement and glittering eyes of the wannabe Cowboy as he slowly panned his gaze over towards the Raihan Robotics Executive and said:
- “Alrighty I’m in, but you better be having some truly wicked good info or you're dead as a door-nail Vik. Sooo.. how about this here Raihan fancy-skirt Gal, surely you can’t have brought anything close to matching our stakes here..?”

He slid his aircar keys into the pot in the middle of the table and awaited the reply:
- “Au contraire monsieur le bouvier, As a matter of fact I indeed have…”

Mr Gold looked a bit confused as the Executive Lady clad in expensive silk and jewelry slowly reached down into her designer handbag and brought forward a small tablet with a golden RR logo.
- “This contains the encrypted detailed schematics of a key strategic Raihan Robotics facility, Priceless to the right buyer, and the winner will naturally receive the encryption key separately.”

Vik accepted the offer and Mr Gold couldn’t care less about it. His economic aids would have a field day selling it for sure, but his eyes were on the real price here, finding out who the traitor about to betray him was and dealing with it the Texas way, right here and now with his revolver. The game was on, final cards were dealt and the outcome revealed.

Gold revealed his hand with confidence. Full house with 10s and 7s, but paled when he saw that Vik had a four of a kind in 9s, The Raihan Lady had a straight. The Cowboy completely lost it and started screaming furiously at Vik waving his gold revolver up in the air.
- “You crooked half-wit cheating lying son-of-a-bitch, you're not even worthy of cleaning our shoes and you come into my house… eat my food… and you take my....”

He was right of course. Vik had both cheated and lied, and he also was a long way below any of the others sitting at the table, in spite of that he had won the priceless car, the schematics, the wine and a heap of cash. Two loud bangs interrupted his smug thoughts as Mr Gold fired his revolver into the ceiling twice sending a rain of paint and plaster down over the cards. Then he flipped the large table over with furious anger and dead seriously pointed the still smoking large golden revolver right between the eyes of Vik:
- “I’m going to motherfrakking kill you!” he screamed

Vik remember feeling like time had stopped and thinking:
- “But he can’t kill me, not without knowing who was going to betray him, I made sure I’m too valuable to him alive”

He could see as Gold slowly started pressing the trigger and then the loud sharp 3:ed bang. The bullet had hit Lorenzo standing next to him right in his face killing his close friend instantly. In the last fraction of a second Mr Gold had switched his target. As Vik looked past the corpse of his friend frozen in terror he catched a glance of how Lizzy, the Australian girl took advantage of the utter chaos and commotion and quickly took cover right where the schematics tablet from RR had landed and as she rolled over and away the tablet was no longer there. Well that’s why she was here and I guess she still got a decent chance of making it out alive unlike me and Lorenzo he thought.


The Conclusion
This was no longer a heist, it was a fight for his life, every man for himself. He was being led away by a screaming Crimelord and his bodyguard under threats of otherworldly tourture and pain, Mr Gold seemed to be in a slightly better mood after having gotten to kill someone and now fantasizing about how to kill Vik after the tourture. As the Norwegian was led past a surveillance camera he got a bit of hope back and made himself ready to fight. Vik had seen the red on-switch blink 3 rapid times followed by one long blink. That was the signal used by his AIM contact, AIM was in the building…

As the Bodyguard grabbed the door handle to the large metal door he suddenly wrangled in pain, looking like he was getting electrocuted. Vik took his chance, turned around and hit Mr Gold over his cheek with an elbow swing, following up by taking the heavy golden revolver from him and hitting the Cowboy over his head with it knocking him unconscious. He was torn by his emotions and every fiber of his being screamed that the right thing was to kill Mr Gold both to avenge Lorenzo and because if he didn’t he would have an enemy for life. But he just couldn’t do it, instead he left a simple note saying “Come after me and I won’t spare your life the next time.”
He found Lizzy on the way out and they ran for the garage together.
- “What took you so long, we gotta get out of here now!” Lizzy exclaimed!

Of course the damn garage door was locked and one datastick that could unlock it was in the car, while the other was on Lorenzo’s body. Stupid Stupid Norwegian Vik cursed at himself, why didn’t he take the keys from Mr Gold, and speaking of key…. God dammit, the car key was also left in the game room that by now surely must be swarming with security guards coming running after the gunshots. Before he had time to think more there were 3 quick red blinks followed by a longer red, then the light turned green and with a click the garage door swung open. As they ran in it automatically locked shut again behind them. The Mustang aircar was already warming up it’s Gallicite Turbo engine as Vik jumped into the driver's-seat while the garage front doors allowing their escape was slowly opening in front of them and the Mustangs systems coming online. Seems like AIM did put their best team of hackers on this mission after all, that schematic tablet whoever is buying it must be paying them a fortune and a half, he couldn’t believe his luck.

Time to bounce and get out of the United Socialist American Republic for a long time!

As they passed the US Midwest cruising leisurely at mach 4 they were joined by a pair of USAR fighter jets hailing them.
- “Unknown Air Vehicle following no filed flight plan at unlawful speeds, identify yourself immediately or we will open fire” they demanded with clear Authority.

Neither Vik nor Lizzy particularly fancied the option of being forced down and having to answer to possibly corrupt or bribed Military or Police authorities in the pocket of Mr Gold or the likes of him, so there was only one option left…
- “Let’s see how fast this thing can go” Vik cheerfully told Lizzy, pushing the throttle lever forward to the max.

The citizens of Boston were woken up by a loud supersonic bang as a fireball passed overhead at low altitudes. Moving with screamingly terrifying speeds it blasted out over the Atlantic Ocean and disappeared at the horizon. The ones closest below were made aware of a new interesting smell of burnt Gallicite, and over a minute later came two fighter jets tracking the object from far far behind…

 

[Alex_brunius]

January 2044 Update:

Research Breakthroughs:
During 2043 the New European Union saw a Research Breakthrough and have unlocked further research into the TN category of Sensors and Control Systems.
- USAR and The Russian Federation remains the only two with unlocked Power and Propulsion category.
- NEU is the only with unlocked Sensors and Control Systems category.
- Weapons Research remain locked for everyone.

As always any investments made so far did increase the chances for unlocks in 2043 and for all following years until the category is unlocked. All chances will also gradually increase a small bit every year until all categories are eventually unlocked. Chance for unlocks were also slightly increased by the passing of Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield [USAR]

As there isn't any TN technology available to supply weapons for the Defense Shield Federation of Nations has invested a further 12 Trillion Eurodollars (1200 wealth) into a Weapons Technology Collaboration Program. This program will increase chances to unlock Energy Weapons category by 4 percentage points and Missile & Kinetic Weapons category by 2 percentage points for everyone all following years. The surge in research activities and collaboration will also mean any weapons research investment during 2044 will count for twice as much as normally.

Aid and invasions during 2043:

The Russian Federation:
• Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent Very Successfully to India, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 3m pop & 4 CI gained
• Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent Successfully to China, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 2m pop & 5 CI gained
A total of 5m pop, 10 CI gained by Russia.

United Socialist American Republic:
• Small amounts of USAR Aid sent to Australia, meeting resistance and ambushed by Militia. Locals worried about future USAR aggressions. 1m pop & 3 CI gained
• Large amounts of USAR Aid sent to Mexico with disastrous results, full scale Militia attack. 8 Trillion Eurodollars Aid reported raided. Locals worried about future
USAR aggressions. 2m pop & 5 CI gained
• Small amounts of USAR Aid sent to Western South-America. Locals worried about future USAR aggressions. 1m pop & 3 CI gained
• USAR Successful invasion of Eastern South-America. 8m pop gained, 3m pop flee as refugees. 22 CI gained, 2 lost to collateral damage. 1 Research Facility gained
A total of 12m pop, 33 CI gained, 1 Research Facility gained by USAR

New European Union:
• Small amounts of NEU Aid sent Successfully to the Middle East. Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 2m pop & 3 CI gained
• 1.5m refugees from South American conflicts makes their way to NEU
A total of 3.5m pop, 3 CI gained by NEU.

Pacific Commonwealth of Nations:
• Small amounts of PCN Aid sent Very Successfully to Australia, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned and locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN.
2m pop & 6 CI gained.
• Large amounts of PCN Aid sent Successfully to India, locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 6m pop & 9 CI gained
• Large amounts of PCN Aid sent Successfully to China, locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 5m pop, 8 CI gained & 1 Research Facility gained
• 1.5m refugees from South American conflicts makes their way to PCN
A total of 14.5 million pop, 23 CI, 1 Research Facility gained by PCN

Federation of Nations:
• Small amounts of FoN Aid sent Successfully to Eastern Africa. Locals trustning the good intentions of the FoN. 5m pop & 3 CI gained
• Large amounts of FoN Aid sent to the Middle East meeting resistance. Locals trustning the good intentions of the FoN. 5m pop & 10 CI gained
A total of 10m pop, 13 CI gained by FoN

Aid investments, Ground Forces and map situation 1 Jan 2044:

The United Socialist American Republic saw the most struggle, but also saw most of the progress after their army fought themselves bloody:

2043 Prestige changes:
• Russia 148, +1 Aid to China
• Russia 150, +2 Aid to India
• Pacific 172, +2 Aid to India
• Pacific 174, +2 Aid to China
• America 154, -1 Bloody combat with warlords in Mexico
• America 155, +1 Heroic defense of Aid to New Guinea
• Pacific 177, +3 Highest total Humanitarian Aid
• Europe 169, +4 Technological Breakthrough in Sensors
• Pacific 185, +8 First Colony on another major body
• Pacific 187, +2 First Survey Fighter launched
• Russia 153, +3 First TN Engine Fighter launched
• Europe 173, +4 First Duranium armored tank
• America 160, +5 Economic Miracle with +50% growth in GDP/Capita
• Russia 155, +2 Highest total Technology Investment
• Pacific 184, -3 Insufficient infrastructure on Luna causing unrest and embarrassing the leadership
• Pacific 183, -1 Reports of Military Policestate like situation makes democratic colonists on Luna worried. ( over 1 soldier per 100 population spotted on colony )

Current Prestige ( updated for Jan 2044 ):
• Russia: 155
• America: 160
• Europe: 173
• Pacific: 183


Overview of Economy:

Notable Events in the News during 2043:

• 11 January 2043 - Large protests and civil unrest breaks out all over the central Asian steppes in The Russian Federation as most military forces last year were sent away to Iran, India and China leaving a single Infantry Regiment to cover most of Asia in order to keep enough forces and tanks left on the tense border with NEU. A train shipment of Gallicite is robbed with several tons of it reported traded on the black markets. Aid shipments to China of 3 Trillion Eurodollars (300 wealth) were also looted before they even left the country. Foreign involvement taking advantage of the security situation can't be ruled out. Fortunately the situation is quickly brought under control again as several Regiments of Garrisons and Infantry arrive from Iran.

• 24 January 2043 - Humanitarian Aid commitments this year drops slightly down to 115 Trillion Eurodollars (11500 wealth) spent by the 4 major Powers. In an effort to keep levels high and stabilize the Middle East the Federation of Nations adds 25 Trillion (2500 wealth) worth of aid in addition to that.

• 4 February 2043 - The New Singapore Colony Ship from the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations arrives in Mars orbit and make landfall founding humanity's first colony on another major planet. This is a monumental achievement and is celebrated globally, even if Russian and USAR engineers are remarking that they have ships in the design phase with 2:nd generation TN engines that can make the journey in a fraction of the time and carrying significantly more cargo and passengers.

• 20 February 2043 - At dawn a small fireball travelling at high speed and low altitude breaks almost all windows in Boston in the United Socialist American Republic. The source remains unknown and fighter jets chasing it spark many conspiracy theories claiming aliens are responsible. The most plausible explanation is a classified high speed engine test of a second generation TN engine craft being developed in the USAR having a navigational fault or a rogue pilot defector heading for NEU or Russia.

• 29 March 2043 - Joint Naval Exercises between the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations and New European Union involving a total of 3 fleets are held in the Persian Gulf. Political analysts agree this is to be seen as a strong stance to deter further Russian expansion in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean or Africa. Federation of Nation diplomats voice their concerns about military force buildups so close to Dubai and urges to talks and de-escalation of the situation.

• 10 April 2043 - In a collaboration between the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations and New European Union the PCN Colony ship have established small colony outposts for both of them on Luna after it's return from Mars. Large numbers of Commonwealth Commercial Shipyard experts are also seen in the New European Union assisting them with construction of their first Commercial Shipyard Complex modelled after the PCN one, prioritizing the NEU Shipyard progress above that of their own Shipyard. Completion is expected already in November 2043 thanks to the assistance. It's evident to all observers that the two open powers have joined in close cooperation to commercialize space together.

• 3 May 2043 - Large freshly trained forces from the United Socialist American Republic join the 1st USAR Armor Regiment in Venezuela to root out the violent warlords and ensure their aid reach the locals in need. They advance with rapid pace driving the Militia forces before them into the jungles. Most of the world and media see this escalation as regrettable but somewhat justified after the Militia attacks on USAR forces last year. USAR has launched an extensive propaganda campaign in support of these events which paints their forces as restoring order and welfare to a region plagued by poverty, violence and inequality.

• 19 May 2043 - The conflict spreads to Cuba and fighting also erupts around aid deliveries heading to Mexico City. 3 Militia Regiments from "Nuevo Reino Azteca" and "Frente de liberacion de los pueblos" join forces to engage in full out combat with the 3 Infantry Regiments present from United Socialist American Republic. This quickly devolves into the bloodiest fighting seen since WW3, Reports are heavily classified but according to fiercely denied rumors some units on both side lost as much half their men.

• 28 May 2043 - Papuan clans territory in New Guinea ambush an aid delivery guarded by 2nd USAR Armor Regiment and supported by a full Airwing of the USAR Airforce. United Socialist American Republic decorate Fighter pilot Freya Mccarthy as a Hero of the Republic after having strafed 25 militia, knocked out 3 vehicles and a HQ. USAR Propaganda lets the world know that less than 100 of their brave soldiers perished and the clans withdrew after having suffered over 4000 killed. The locals in Papua and the Clans are worried the events and violence will escalate like in South America. Neutral observers speculate if USAR might have stretched their forces and aid too thin trying to cover all of the South- Central Americas, Caribbean and Papua/South Pacific Islands.

• 1 June 2043 - Following the rising tensions and passing of "Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield" the Federation of Nations found it's two new branches, the PEACEKEEPING CORPS and the ORBITAL DEFENCE CORPS, tasked with providing protection on Earth and in Orbit "for all of Humanity". A total of 24 Trillion Eurodollars (2400 wealth) is invested, much of which is expected to result in open contracts to help expand it's ground and space forces the following years.

• 17 June 2043 - After following the close race in Media the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations becomes the first nation to commission a survey fighter by less than a months margin. It sets a course for Mars. Within 2 months NEU and Russia also have their first Survey fighters of their own in operation, and the Russian model earns fame for being the first fighter with TN Engines. The NEU craft is the slowest with 47km/s speed in exchange for longer range and smaller size, PCNs craft going 250km/s using conventional engines as well and the Russian craft is tracked on sensors going over 400km/s.

• 4 July 2043 - Scientists from the PCN finish their last installation of TN supercomputers in the United Socialist American Republic at the Massachusetts Public Bureau of Technology. These efforts provides much needed assistance to the USAR in the area of simulations and TN physics research. It's estimated this will speed up USAR research efficiency by as much 20% and boost simulating advanced TN Engine heat and mass flow ratios.

• 12 September 2043 - The Open Minerals Market Exchange (OMME) inaugurate their new trading Hub located in Sri Lanka, a central location with ports from NEU, Russia and PCN all nearby. USAR diplomats voice concerns over the locations choice being so far from them but get swift reassurances an international airport will soon be ready for traffic. It's promised to be capable of handling TN minerals trade using the Boeing ...sorry Raihan Robotics 797 Futureliner Freightmodel. The hub enjoys a great success with trades from major powers alone totaling 65.4 Trillion Eurodollars (6540 wealth) being handled by the OMME during 2043.

• 21 September 2043 - The New European Union unveils the Eurotank III, it's the first combat vehicle in full Duranium Armor well aligned with proper European tradition of putting quality first. Suggestions from loud central European minorities that it should be named after a cat instead is ignored. The tank model enters serial production directly.

• 26 September 2043 - Two new Colony Ships of a slightly improved New Singapore Class design are launched by the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations, the New Hiroshima heading for Mercury and the Inawashiro is tasked with shutteling colonists to their now rapidly growing Shingetsu Colony on Luna.

• 11 November 2043 - Thanks to the gloriously successful reforms carried out by the Commendants, a focus on building up the Financial sector as well as appointing Declan Reid as Governor the United Socialist American Republic manage to increase the USAR GDP/Capita with a stunning +50% providing masses of wealth to the loyal and crime free population. Outside sources accuse them of raiding the warlords and populations coffers in Mexico and South America, but that must surely just be empty lies and slander.

• 4 December 2043 - As the Luna Colony of Pacific Commonwealth of Nations reaches 80'000 inhabitants with only infrastructure enough for 60'000 conditions worsen and due to oversights in planning no more habitats (infrastructure) is available. Oxygen and water are rationed, and those who can make their way back to Earth on smaller civilian space rated vehicles do so. CS Inawashiro is redirected to the Mars colony instead of sending more colonists to Luna. There are reports of civil unrest and protests but they are dealt with swiftly by a large numbers of Garrison military units present. This debacle in planning and overreach is a hit to the otherwise stellar prestige of the PCN.


Resolutions and Voting:

3 Votes were held in the Federation of Nations and all 3 Resolutions were Enacted.

"Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield" [USAR]
The Federation of Nations is tasked to cooperate with Nations and Private Companies to Research, Develop and Build a Long range Nuclear Missile Defense system for the primary purpose of engaging any asteroid that should be heading dangerously close to Earth or the Moon. It will also develop a network of armed point defense satellites and ground formations to assist with cleaning up debris or fragments from an Asteroid detonation that may threaten Earth or the Moon. ( GM Note: This investment should also help promote research into propulsion, sensor and weapons technology and give a very small increase in the chance of unlocking & spreading new technology. It also allow construction/conversion of a maximum of 20 ordnance factories on Earth without risking losing prestige ).
[ Proposed in 2041 - Stalled 2042 - Ratified by 4-0 vote in 2043 ]

"Resolution 0139B: Limitations to Ground Forces" [NEU]
No nation may deploy more than 40 Regiments or 400’000 tons of Ground Forces in total on Earth, Doing so will result in fines of 30% annual wealth income per year until forces are disarmed or moved off earth.
Amendment A - The Russian Federation may for each Garrison Regiment in service up to a limit of 10 build an additional Garrison Regiment, to a total of 100k tons of additional ground forces. A Garrison Regiment is here defined as a formation of light Infantry massing 10k tons in total and possessing no heavy weapons (anti tank, personal or anti air), combat vehicles (IFVs and AFVs)
[ Proposed in 2041 -Ratified by 3-1 vote in 2043 ]

"Resolution 0141 Collaboration with non-profit aid organisations" [PCN]
Talks with both International Red Cross and FoNHCR have led to the conclusion that access to refugee camps, and transparency in refugee treatment is quite lacking. This resolution is mostly a formality, but each nation commits to allow free access to accredited Non-Profit Organizations and News Media Organizations in their aid efforts. This assures transparency that the treatment of population receiving aid actually is to the benefit of the people. Technically it gives each member nation visibility on if any and how many peacekeeping forces are present in any region and which Nation is controlling said forces.
[ Proposed in 2042 - Ratified by 3-0 vote in 2043 ]