[Forum Game] Master of the Galaxy IV-2: Return to the Unknown

[aedan777]

ACEI Broadcast for the Year in Review 40 IO

Reporting the real news, without the bias of unfair nations' propaganda.

The past year was an exciting one, with numerous polities from across both galaxies engaging in major colonial expansion programs. Numerous systems in the Tylorisian Galaxy were explored and colonized in the greatest mass migration seen since the inauguration of the Intergalactic Oligarchy era forty years ago. One of the most notable incidents in this mass colonial movement was when the Baekdu discovered a massive garden world, but proceeded to lose tens of thousands of their colonists due to engagements with birds and flowers due to their mental impairments linked to republican modes of thought.

The Adrallan Oligarchy was itself one of the leading powers in the colonization race, with two systems being the subject of exploration and settlement. Unfortunately, terrible misfortune befell the Cestus expedition, which found a world that suddenly entered a deep and unforgiving winter that they were unprepared for. Despite the colony being unprepared for such conditions, the local governor, one Fekki Veunal, refused to abandon the settlements there until hundreds of thousands of Adrallan were already dead. For his gross negligence, he was executed and demoted to ensign third class. Despite these setbacks, the Triumvirate has made clear that the Cestus system will be brought into the fold of the Oligarchy, through better prepared and led future efforts.

More successful was the colonial expedition to the Kopelis system, though it too had problems, not from local conditions, but from the interference of the Terran Free State and Uksugan Federation. After paying a pirate fleet to attack the Adrallan Oligarchy, the Terrans and Uksugans landed on Kopelis 4, the only habitable planet of the system, and prepared hidden settlements and bunkers, to resist against any Adrallan colonization effort. After the Adrallan fleet easily defeated the pirates and secured the system they began landing colonists on Kopelis 4, having scanned no evidence of sentient life, the Terrans and Uksugu having camouflaged themselves to prevent such a discovery. Shortly after Adrallan settlers began to land on the planet, the Terrans began to launch terrorist attacks, murdering defenseless colonists and destroying vital installations. Fortunately the Terrans remain as incompetent at warfare as they were 40 years ago, and their attacks were quickly beaten back, and far more Terrans died than Adrallans in the skirmishes started on the planet.

The indefensible actions of the Terrans and Uksugu on Kopelis 4 obviously received condemnation by the Adrallan Oligarchy, who demanded their withdrawal posthaste. However, certain members of the Republican League, namely Baekdu and the illegitimate Syndicalist regime in Azeratii, declared their support for the pirate funding terrorists occupying parts of Kopelis 4. All civilized and rational people of the galaxy decry such support, and so great was the outcry that the Oligarchy saw fit to bring legal action in the PGC against the Terrans and Uksugu. The trial is still ongoing, with the Azeratii defense attorney, so chosen due to the lack of any legal authorities in Terra or Uksugu, making no attempt to hide his racism as he decries the Oligarchy for conducting standard terraforming procedures and resisting human terrorist attacks. We have every confidence that the trial will be resolved in favor of the Oligarchy, as the moral and legal highground clearly rests with it, and the judges are from neutral and impartial nations.

Internally the Adrallan Oligarchy has rocked by an assassination attempt against beloved member of the Triumvirate, Exarch Relacy. Though this assassination attempted failed, Exarch Relacy is still recovering. Before he perished, the assassin proclaimed his allegiance to Commandant Huissth Deduja, the controversial Cultural Pillar leader in the colonial Basarara sector. He is wanted for questioning regarding his potential ties to revanchist conspiracies within the Oligarchy, and is believed to be in hiding following the failed assassination attempt. Exarch Relacy is expected to make a full recovery, and assurances have come from the Triumvirate that the destabilizing influence of revanchist movements within the Oligarchy are now a high priority to be brought into line.

The other major event within the past year was the Albian invasion of the Pure State, which was surprisingly assisted by the Sorian Union. Long had the terrorist state been a source of instability and degradation in the western Harthus, kept alive only through their threats to use nuclear weapons on themselves and Soria. Albion, tired of Pure State actions and bored after several years without their usual civil wars, decided they must bring an end to the Pure State, while making assurances to Soria and the Adrallan Oligarchy that they would stop the Pure state's nuclear salvo from affecting Soria. When the attack was conducted, the Albian fleet proved to be surprisingly correct in their assurances, with the nuclear weapons prevented from inflicting major damage on Soria. The landing of Soria and Albian soldiers on the Pure State was then conducted without too many losses, and the planet seems to be moving towards occupation, though an insurgency seems to be the likely long term situation.

Other miscellaneous events:

• Azeratii engineers create powerful new explosive device. Afterwards lose a battleship when it is installed as an engine due to faulty syndicalist bureaucracy.
• The FOP treaty is signed by the Harthus' monarchies and Francia, who believe that by linking their small backwards economies together, they'll be collectively less poor.
• Tasavalta withdraws funding from the PGC as a petty protest against the refusal of the Adrallan Oligarchy to let them impose their ideology on Ahbrazz.
• The Ismar territories attempts to improve their education, but their imitation of inferior Azeratii and Baekdu methods stymie any progress, not to mention the ideological bias this incurred, as well as an embezzlement scandal topping off the hallmarks of republican (in)efficiency.
• The Zelsar Republic pawns off large portions of its debt to other members of the Republican League.
• Francia begins to modernize its economy to become an industrial nation, trying to reduce the years behind they are to merely a few hundred years rather than a millennia.

 

[BlackCrown]

Your honors, gentlemen and women of the court, I come to you facing the questions of the honourable Sir Ressitok of the Oligarchy, and I would like to answer his questions in turn.

For his first question, he has asked why I chose not to call for the central government for the SDF to come assist us and has challenged that we have so much relying on this colonial effort. I chose not to call the SDF out of fear for three reasons, your honors. One, I feared the imminent invasion of Free State systems, for if the Oligarchy were attempting to poison us, who knows what they would do to our homelands. Two, I feared what would happen should our communications be discovered, either by the pirates or the Oligarchy. If we were discovered, this minor conflict could have ended with the destruction of not only our colony, but the outbreak of a fully fledged war. Lastly, I did not call upon the SDF due to the fear of its destruction. It should be no surprise to members of the galactic community that the SDF is below the galactic average when it comes to power, faced off against the grand navy of the Oligarchy, we would have been destroyed beyond repair. For one final point I would to address the challenge that my nation has not invested heavily into the colonization attempt. Our economy was relying on this attempt to bolster its decaying state, President Drose himself has donated much to the cause out of pocket, and public support for the attempt could be seen in Terran media outlets for months, and yet you claim we have little riding on this.

Your second question concerns our means of paying off the so called “bribe”. What we payed was not a bribe, it was a ransom. We could not hope to match the pirates in combat, and running would only result in us being caught and killed, thus we were forced to make the payment. My nation’s fair government were also not the ones to pay the ransom, it was us citizens. Left with little choice and in the face of death, we collected all the valuables we could spare, giving up personal belongings and treasured family possessions, all for our nation. Yet you dare declare this our government’s crime! We gave up everything just for the sake of our nation, and yet you Addrallans dare claim we could have done anything else! You sit with your corporations and mighty fleet and in your hubris expect all nations to be grand like yours! This is not the case, our Republic has long struggled to find its way in the galaxy, and now you dare to expect us to start again, when we arrived first and staked so much on this attempt!

I apologise for my outburst your honors, and my deepest apologies to you Sir Ressitok. I believe my previous response should also answer your third question, and on the matter of the fourth, we could not withdraw. Our nation was counting on us, the money was already invested, and we had to succeed. Had it not been for the Oligarchy interference, we would have been able to wait for the SDF to arrive in force, and would have been able to pay the pirates their due. However, the Addrallans, safe to say, beat us to the punch.

I hope my statements have been most informative and helpful to the case.

~John Grosland, Leader of the Jabos Colonial Expedition​

 

[aedan777]

Mr. Grossland, I must emphasise that my first question, why no effort was made to defend your colonial expedition, refers not to involvement of your military after your arrival in the disputed system, but why your expedition left in the first place without any escorts or means to ensure its safety. Entering the uncharted systems of the Tylorisian Galaxy, known as the Novus to you, is a dangerous prospect, fraught with peril, as proven by the pirate fleet encountered in Q-303. So why did your expedition leave Terran space in the first place with no escorts or means to secure its safety? Such an action is quite irresponsible for a polity so heavily invested in its success, as you claim.

You claim the action to fund piracy was taken independently by you and the people in your expedition, and your government bears no responsibility. Firstly, do you then claim that a government has no duty to provide for the defense and security of its citizens on an official mission on which the government has staked itself? If not, then your claim passes muster, but surely that is an impossible claim. However if you state that a government has such a duty, then by failing to provide protection for you, it is responsible for putting you in the position where, as you claim, the only rational course was to fund piracy. In such a case the Terran government is thus responsible for funding piracy. So, did your government have a duty to protect your expedition?

Secondly, you claim that had the Oligarchy not defeated the pirates in the system, the Terran Self-Defense Force would have done so. Yet you also claim you never asked for them to assist you. There was a great deal of time between the arrival of your expedition to the system and the arrival of the Oligarchical Fleet, plenty of time for you to inform your government and military. So why did you not contact them for assistance? How long did you plan to leave the pirates in undisputed control of the system?

Finally, if you were aware of Adrallan presence in the system and wished to avoid a diplomatic crisis, why did you make no efforts to diplomatically contact the Adrallan colony, and more importantly, why did you allow your charges to conduct terrorist attacks against Adrallan colonists?

I also advise the judges to note the witness' use of racist language to characterize Adrallan terraforming as "poisoning," indicating the same motivation as the defense to criminalize terraforming measures that do not conform to human biology.

-Guoples Ressitok, Representative for the Adrallan Oligarchy

 

[Scrapknight]

((In order to speed up space court, I'd like to limit the prosecution and defense to one set of follow up questions per witness. Thus Aedan's first set of questions here is fine, but then you'll need to move on.

As you were.))

 

[Scrapknight]

An. 46: Death on the Tundra​

In the early part of the year, international policy watchers in the Harthus Galaxy were startled when the Adrallan Oligarchy, which had always been critical of the Pan-Galactic Community in general and reserved particular animus for the Pan-Galactic Court of Justice, agreed to international arbitration to resolve issues regarding the actions committed by the Terran Free State and its allies in the Kopelis system. The Terrans, their Uksugan benefactors and the Federated States all issued counter-charges that the Adrallans began the terraforming process without either thoroughly checking or ignoring that Terran colonists had already landed on the planet. The ensuing legal drama received rabid press coverage in the Free State in particular, and was a subject of general interest across the Harthus Galaxy. The facts on the ground in the Kopelis system could not be more different.

In the largest postwar deployment of the Adrallan navy ever up to this point, Admiral Gubi Jamen was dispatched to the system, commanding 4 capital ships, 8 cruisers and 100 frigates. The first order of business would be to wipe the Free Men off the map. The Adrallan navy opened fire on the pirates without hailing them, catching them by surprise and wiping out a significant portion of their fleet in a single salvo. The pirate lords rallied, giving everything they had in battle against the Adrallans, but their victory would not be possible under such overwhelming numbers. Their surprisingly large contingent of capital ships and thick gravity mine defenses would be the only thing that would allow them to fight back against the large, frigate-heavy Adrallan fleet. Despite the pirates inflicting heavy casualties on the Adrallans relative to the size of their fleet, they knew they were doomed.*

Uksugu, which attempted diplomatic communication with Wegluj to no avail, knew they would have to act quickly if they wanted any say at all in the outcome of the conflict. Already, scattered reports had come in that the Adrallans intended to launch a full offensive against the Terran colonists and their Uksugan advisors once the pirates were dealt with. The Federation planned for an immediate evacuation of all Terrans and Uksugans on the planet. Slipping between the battling Adrallan and pirate fleets, 10 frigates and a cruiser from the Uksugan navy were ordered to pick up all Uksugan advisors and as many Terran colonists as they could carry. They could only afford to stay on the planet for a week, and quickly evacuated as many settlers as they could. Essentially every one of the 25,000 Uksugan advisors remaining and a full 150,000 Terrans were evacuated from Kopelis during the “Miracle at Jabos,” as flights between the system and Zokhed worked around the clock to evacuate as many people as they could. As the tide of the battle against the pirates turned and the Adrallans issued a warning in no uncertain terms to stop the flights or be shot down, Uksugu left Kopelis for possibly the last time after a week. The colonists who left were terrified at the time, bemoaning their fate and the loss of their livelihoods. In truth, they would be the lucky ones.

The remaining Terrans suspected that they were at the mercy of the Adrallans, and they were correct. Undersupplied and undermanned even with Uksugan support, the cut-off Terrans fought viciously against the Adrallan colonial forces. While they scored a few victories, when the Adrallans landed ten entire regular divisions on the planet two weeks later, they were outmatched and driven into the forests at incredible speed. Those who could not escape were, per Adrallan orders, shot on sight if they were armed and, if not, taken into custody by the Adrallan army. Terran colonists, by this point some 500,000 in number, were rounded up and placed in what the Oligarchy euphemistically called “stockades,” ostensibly to prevent a guerilla conflict. In truth, these operated as massive slave labor camps, where the Oligarchy put them to work manufacturing terraforming equipment. While there was no organized campaign of extermination, Terrans were regularly worked until they died and then unceremoniously thrown outside the stockades in giant piles as a warning to the futility of continued resistance. While the guerrillas waged a desperate struggle to destroy the terraforming machines, they could not stop the process, and Adrallan scientists predicted an atmosphere sulfurous enough for Montdorians to breathe (and thus unbreathable to humans) to be stable by the end of next year. While the evacuation of the colonists from Jabos was widely known, the exact nature of Adrallan operations on Kopelis was mostly covered up. When the news did break, widely suspected on the Holonet to have been discovered by ISA** spies, the galaxy would have to decide how to react.

One of the Adrallan "stockades"​

*: Fans of historical trivia would note that this would be the first time Montdorians engaged in organized combat against other Montdorians in hundreds of years, the Free Men containing several captains who defected from the Oligarchy.

**: International Security Agency. The main Baekduan intelligence agency.

CASUALTIES:

Naval Battle of Kopelis
Adrallan victory
Casualties:
Adrallan Oligarchy: 35 frigates, 6 cruisers, 1 capital ship
Confederation of Free Men: 50 frigates, 10 crusiers, 5 capital ships

Miracle at Jabos
Uksugan "victory"
Casualties:
None
(Uksugan Federation: 25,000 advisors evacuated)
(Terran Free State: 150,000 soldiers and civilians evacuated)

Occupation of Kopelis
Adrallan victory
Casualties:
Adrallan Oligarchy: 30,000 soldiers and civilians
Terran Free State: 90,000 soldiers and civilians

Kopelis Stockades
Adrallan "victory"
Casualties:
Terran Free State: approx. 75,000 civilians

 

[aedan777]

The Adrallan Oligarchy is most displeased by recent events in the Kopelis system. We are left utterly baffled by the decision of the Uksugan Federation to publicly issue a statement with the Baekdu Republic and Azeratii Republic stating their continued claim to the system, to then attempt an evacuation of their personnel from the system. Due to the previous proclamation, the Adrallan fleet deployed to the Kopelis system was issued orders to treat all non-Adrallan vessels as hostile and demand their exit from the system. Had the Uksugan Federation diplomatically stated their intention to conduct an evacuation, rather than boisterously doubling down on their claim, we would have allowed such an evacuation to take place unhindered. Dealing with the Terran insurgency and hundreds of thousands of human prisoners was by no means desired by the Oligarchy.

Nor were the forces of the Oligarchy without fault. When orders were issued to Admiral Gubi Jamen, he was instructed to place unarmed Terrans captured by Adrallan forces within stockades to contain them and make the Terran insurgency easier to be destroyed. What was absolutely not intended or desired from these orders was the turning of the stockades into forced labor camps for terraforming components, as ironic as it may have been. Inferior production by Terran labor would in the long run only hinder settlement of the planet and weaken key installations. Thus all forced labor on Kopelis will be halted immediately, and Admiral Jamen and other major officials in the Kopelis administration will be recalled for internal hearings on this decision.

The Adrallan Oligarchy will also begin deporting the Terran citizens captured on Kopelis as soon as the details are negotiated between us and the Terran Free State.

-High Counselor Junnitev Presthith on behalf of the Triumvirate

 

[Terraferma]

Colonialism in the Kingdom of Lamia

​

In 3754, the Lamians in the euphoria of colonizing their first planet, Izabria (Though some call it Izbria or even Azabria) they turned their gaze towards the Novus Galaxy. Izabria was but a stepping stone in the eyes of the late King Niketas Venizelos. In fact, he considered the new planet not really a colony but part of the homeland systems considering its relative proximity to Ajax and Thessalia. With the help of the now defunct Prosperity Party, His Majesty was able to continue the joint venture into Novus colonizing a jungle world that would later be named Hecate. Due to the aggressive posture of both private and public interests, the planet was fully colonized within a year. However, with the outbreak of the Great War, despite the Lamians remaining largely out of the conflict further colonization efforts were suspended for 5 years. By then another colonial wave of hopeful individuals ranging from all walks of life flooded into what would eventually be known as Tartarus. A hostile world with only 5 hours of sunlight most of the year, colonization progressed at a snail’s pace even with military assistance. The first outpost known as Grainger’s Folly was abandoned within three months due to frequent seismic activity. It’s source would later be discovered by a super volcano that erupted on the other size of the planet, luckily the damage was moderate and fatalities were non-existent (The area affected had few on the ground and was largely noticed with scientific surveying equipment). Unwilling to risk the colonists, the ships remained in high orbit until the magma giant subsided a full 2 weeks later. The planet would be fully under Lamian control after three years.

During Viktor’s reign, he knew that the government would be better off both politically and financially if the companies that aided them in the colonies shouldered more of the costs. After an understanding was struck the day-to-day administration of both planets was put through an aggressive bidding process. The Kingdom meanwhile withdrew the bulk of its troops and maintained a naval presence with orbital stations constructed as a subtle reminder that semi-autotomy was not independence. The first corporate “owners” of Hecate and Tartarus were Trident Templeton Inc and Skyshield Corp. Both went bankrupt within a decade. Despite the heavy investment of exploiting the planets to their fullest extent, administration and security remained monetary blackholes. However, to impede any sort of trade crisis (Given the home systems received enormous amounts of resources to couple their own) the bidding was shortened to a process of a mere 9 days with new “owners for each colonial system. Both Planetside Tech and Tungsten Spaceways would also find themselves selling their planetary monopolies within 7 years least they went into chapter 11 themselves.

This was known as the One Way Era corresponding that one and only one CEO or President alone would run these worlds. Seeing the difficulties of colonial enterprise and the relative weakness of the various companies, King Viktor opened the bidding inviting a plethora of big business’ with the goal that the planet will be owned like stocks, by shares. The planet’s landmass and applicable bodies of water were divided up as mathematically evenly as possible with a government agency created to settle any and all disputes. As the Era of the Many began various entities have gone and went, replaced by stronger ones who gobbled up the territorial shares of the weak. It was quite literally capitalistic Darwinism on a planetary scale.

Those with the largest and strategic shares thrive in the colonies with many staking their very existence by placing their headquarters on either Hecate or Tartarus. In fact, many of the illustrious buildings were actually constructed by the companies before them. In one sector of Tartarus, the old-monolithic structure that is known “The Constant” has actually housed 14 different corporations to date. Owned now by the Covenant Company. As the new wave of colonization into the Novus Galaxy is underway, Lamia's ambitions grow by the day.

Planet: Hecate

Classification: Type-3 Jungle World

Major Cities: Ptolemy, Agrippa, Prometheus, Iona, Stasis City, Three Rivers, Magnus, Durant

Capital: Sicarus

Majority/Plurality Stake Owner: Valiant Industries (38%)

Notable Companies: Tri-Star Inc (12%), Python Energies (6%), Altruistic Genetics (4%), Starlight Airways (4%)

Population: ~5 Billion

Business Practices: Environmental Considerations (Non-Existent/Low/Moderate/Great/Sacred), Unions (None/Limited/State-Run/Non-Syndicalist/All), Pensions (None/Low/Moderate/High), Minimum Wage (None/Low/Moderate/High), Healthcare (None/Low/Moderate/High), Workplace Conditions (Dangerous/Hazardous/Moderate/Safe)

Orbital Platform/Station: Sentinel Station

Planet: Tartarus

Classification: Type-6 Volcanic World

Major Cities: Nevermore City, Ridgewood, Ashville, Sunrise

Capital: Icarus

Majority/Plurality Stake Owner: Covenant Company (41%)

Notable Companies: Guardian Securities (9%), Neo-Titanium Industries (7%), Hammerhead Consortium (7%), Bounty Arms (5%), Lars Corp (4%)

Population: ~3 Billion

Business Practices: Environmental Considerations (Non-Existent/Low/Moderate/Great/Sacred), Unions (None/Limited/State-Run/Non-Syndicalist/All), Pensions (None/Low/Moderate/High), Minimum Wage (None/Low/Moderate/High), Healthcare (None/Low/Moderate/High), Workplace Conditions (Dangerous/Hazardous/Moderate/Safe)

Orbital Platform/Station: King's Litany

 

[aedan777]

Internal Memo for Cultural Pillar Foreign Relations: Correcting Errors
​

The past several months have been quite tumultuous and we've all had a number of issues to deal with. But there are some serious concerns I've noticed over the past several decades that don't seem likely to be resolved soon if we just leave them as they are. Namely I'm referring to the numerous errors made by foreigners when attempting to discuss key aspects of the Adrallan Oligarchy, its people, and its ideology. The main issues as I see it are as follows:

1. The name of the polity. This one baffles me to be honest. Every official communication from our government makes sure to say the full name, but we still have single digit IQ mouth breathers referring to it as "Andralla," "Addralla," "Adrallia," or even "Andrallia" if they're wanting to be particularly wrong.

2. The name of our species. On the bright side, most foreigners now seem to at least be aware that our species is not "Adrallan," and begins with "mont-". But beyond that it's a mess, and I won't even attempt to catalogue the many wild misspellings of montadonian out there.

3. The ideology of the Adrallan Oligarchy. This one has luckily declined in recent years, it used to be far more common for foreign supporters to be called "Oligarchists." Nowadays most foreigners correctly identify those with such ideological leanings as meritocrats, but there are still ignorant holdouts speaking of "Oligarchical leanings."

4. The name of our current Exarch, Genin Relacy. Misspelling the names of major figures in the Oligarchy is quite common for foreigners, but what makes the misspelling of Relacy so galling is that his name is that it is fairly short in galactic basic, and he has been internationally famous for nearly four decades now. Yet there is still a substantial number of foreigners who refer to him as "Relacey."

These may seem to be minor problems, but their widespread prevalence is worrisome for the Oligarchy's image abroad, since ignorance of such basic facts does not speak well to the ability for meritocracy to spread to foreign cultures. To correct these errors, I suggest a more aggressive and prominent foreign campaign to inform the citizens of other polities about the Oligarchy, since greater familiarity will likely also reduce antagonism towards us. The most practically important point is the third, since foreign meritocrats identified as "Oligarchists" might very well be seen as traitors to their countrymen, more so than if they were correctly identified as meritocrats. If meritocracy is linked to treason in foreign states, it will never rise to success through internal factors.

-Director-General Beunia Heivia of the Sky Heart Sector

 

[Terraferma]

Lamia at a glance: The Visces Faith

​

Legends and folklore say, before the Kingdom and even before the Hegemony the present home systems of Thessalia and Ajax were home to a god fearing atheistic society. While much of the information is either omitted, deleted, embellished or otherwise inaccurate what little is known is that during this time the predecessors of these worlds had built their civilization on the bones of the defeated and the oppressed. The various tribes had lived in harmony bartering and to a lesser extent issuing currency to conduct their business, but two had united in a marriage designed to meet political ends. The two tribes merged into one casting away whatever religious beliefs they had declaring that such deities and celestial phenomenons were false idols. They began a crusade to destroy all vestiges of the diverse followings declaring that only they controlled their destiny with any seers, prophets, holy men, priests and worshipers deemed backwards and unworthy. This was known as The War Against the Gods. Surviving records reveal the war spanned both planets lasting nearly two decades with the nonbelievers achieving total victory. However, the land was devastated.

In the devastation they decreed that they will now see that in spite of the false gods the now unified tribes will achieve greatness. All those who opposed them in even the slightest of ways, from keeping trinkets, carvings, books, or anything of religious value or context were summarily executed. Entire mobs of individuals roamed the remaining cities and countryside burning whatever they found as heretical to the new order in a cleansing fire. If a village was deemed a repeat offender more than twice, the entire place was burned to the ground. Many would be displaced, the planets became devoid of any theism and a bastion a atheism. It was an era where technology and science brutally ruled. Through the generations prosperity would finally be achieved but in this advancement, decadence ran wild as the wicked and the damned preyed on the weak.

In this age of corruption a young man emerged in today's Thessalia, specifically in the southern hemisphere of the planet. His original name was Adonis but scriptures say he woke up one day a changed individual. In a dream, he saw his true calling: The bring enlightenment to the masses breaking the chains of their oppressors. Many have tried before both tyrannical usurper and peasant rebel, all fell before their present rulers. But now they faced a man who was powered by faith. He soon preached to those who would listen and eventually the downtrodden flocked to him. It took an entire year for the authorities, fat in their opulence, to realize the threat. By then Adonis had hundreds of worshipers and went by the name: Zeratul. A sizable army marched on his home but he was ready. Outnumbered, a bold plan was devised to ambush and attack and enemy head on. Led by a man later known to be Saint Robert, the peasant army emerged victorious. Their losses were few and while the enemy escaped intact, they did so without their commander who was stabbed in the front by a man named Angelos and beheaded from the back by Robert himself. Angelos was a blacksmith turned soldier who inspired fellow fighters to conduct themselves as respectable people, the rule being treating those the way you want to be treated. Even in combat he strove to prove that they were better men, men who did not need to take hostages or cower behind innocents to fight for them.

More victories followed as provinces and then entire regions rose up in revolt. After five years what is today's Thessalia was freed from the atheist ruler's grip. The Overlord himself was killed in battle as Zeratul walked away with grievous wounds. Their savior was dying, medical specialists feared he would not survive even a week due to his injuries and while remaining hostiles retreated back to Ajax, their rule there fragmented with competing generals who wished to carve out their own fiefdom and deem themselves the new Overlord. But this did not matter, the man who brought about such momentous change would soon die. Days passed, and then weeks and the mourning crowds were astonished to find Zeratul still alive. Even more miraculous, his grievous wounds were actually healing. Slowly, but he was indeed recovering. Many credit his dear friend and personal doctor Helena with the miracle as she never left his bedside. Out of the tent Zeratul finally emerged, with but fading scars to denote what had transpired.

Months later the fight was taken to present-day Ajax, but their enemy evolved into a new face. While the name of the individual is lost to time, they were known as The Crimson Crescent due to the tribal symbol they originally hailed from. During the downtime the generals all fell one by one to the upstart who was as tactically brilliant as they were cruel. For each of the vanquished, he collected their ear making it into a gruesome necklace. Laying a trap to end the uprising once and for all the Crimson Crescent met Zeratul and his followers in direct combat, targeting the very head of the movement. Try as he might, Zeratul's followers parried his every advance. Unfortunately, this too was the ploy. In their zealous defense of their friend, they left themselves open to vicious counters which saw Angelos as the first to fall. Robert soon followed and within minutes the inner circle was whittled down to just Helena as she sacrificed herself to give Zeratul the opportunity to end the tyranny once and for all. In one swift, merciless swoop the Crimson Crescent was put down sliced in half from stem to stern with a mighty energy saber. The remaining enemy forces surrendered and got on their knees begging for mercy.

It is said a flash of light traveled across both worlds (Some say it was merely the blazing sunrise) with all those present feeling an immense weight lifted from them with an unknown source emitting a radiance of calm. Zeratul touched each and every surrendering soldier on the shoulder, granting them permission to join the flock. For their courageous sacrifice, for each one died in his name, and for their devotion he made them Saints, forming up the Fellowship of the 7. This fellowship is also known as the Seven Saints in no particular order: War, Life, Death, Fortune, Knowledge, Justice, Honor.

· Saint Robert is War. Saint Helena, life. Saint Kristos representing Death. Saint Emile, Fortune. Saint Markos of Knowledge. Saint Eva, Justice. Saint Angelos, Honor.

· Robert was Zeratul’s best friend and bodyguard. A strong-willed man who believed in the cause and led peasant forces and militia to great effect. A natural strategist.

· Helena detested the use of force, she saw that all forms of life was precious and that her path was the hardest due to giving forgiveness to those who wrong her and tried to kill her and her friends. Only life matters.

· Kristos believed death was natural state of things and without it, the balance of the cosmos would be upset leading to one extremity of uncontrolled, destructive growth. He sees death as but one path with the individual or being merely beginning a new phase of existence. Sees death sweeping the old and weak and ushering the new and vibrant.

· Emile came from a very prosperous family but disavowed it for the cause, however, his skills as a master accountant and mathematician earned him much praise. He felt as a blessed individual who made his own luck.

· Markos was an aging scholar who saw that true power was in knowledge, for without it neither the person nor the society could move forward. Those that lead are those that know, the ignorant will always remain near the bottom becoming painfully stagnant. He pushed that one should never be content with what they have learned for their entire existence is a learning experience and one should strive to learn as much as they can.

· Eva firmly believed in the order of things. Rules, law and structure were the way of the cosmos in her eyes that may bend but never break. She treated all those around her fairly and never took sides acting as a renowned, objective arbiter.

· Angelos was a chivalrous individual who never spoke ill of others nor used backroom dealings or manipulation to get his way. Even in combat he, unlike Robert, fought with honor never striking down surrendering opponents or using any means of victory.

Days later Zeratul vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Instead of falling to despair, his followers saw his purpose: To free them of the darkness that pervaded their lives. He lit the way to salvation, these forebears in their newfound enlightenment laid the foundations that led to the formation of The Hegemony and eventually the Kingdom of Lamia itself.

 

[Scrapknight]

Galactic Religion
​

Religion often plays a large role in society, and many spacefaring polities in the modern galaxy are no exception. While many polities, such as Celtia, the Tasavalta, Zelsar and the Diclonii are almost entirely irreligious, others, such as the Storm Kingdom and the Kingdom of Divine Light, have theists as over ninety percent of their population. Unsurprisingly, most polities had at some point in their histories indigenous religions, most common in pre-unification subplanetary societies. Oftentimes, these were dissolved or lost prominence as the society unified and advanced technologically, and if not, the dominant social group would tend to impose its religious beliefs over the entire planetary society. Thus, even in polities that are highly religious, this is usually restricted to a single religion (Lamia being the most notable exception), usually one that is deeply tied to the state itself. Another factor resulting in relatively low amounts of religious belief relative to the total galaxy is that its two leading ideological strains, republicanism and meritocracy, are anticlerical in nature to one degree or another. Accordingly, strong religious belief is most common in non-republican, non-meritocratic states, variously known as the "third path" and the "authoritarian bloc."

The one religion with a truly galactic reach is Salvatoranism, which was born in Francia thousands of years ago. It revolves around the worship of a singular, omnipotent God, called "Deus" in Frankish. A Frankish slave named Julius, given the epithet "Salvator," was blessed by Deus to lead a revolt by the ancient Frankish people against an ancient, mythological oppressor. The emerging Frankish state firmly organized the religion, with the priesthood, called the Chantry, remaining a powerful force in Frankish society throughout its entire history. Through itinerant preaching and missionary efforts, Salvatorans exist in at least some number in nearly every polity in the Harthus Galaxy, but they are most common in Lamia, Baekdu and Albion, roughly in that order, with small smatterings in many other states. Outside of Francia, which is estimated between 96 and 99 percent Salvatoran, there are just over 10 billion Salvatorans in Lamia, about 9.5 billion in Baekdu, and about 750 million in Albion. In total, there are between 52 and 53 billion Salvatorans in known space.

The Salvatoran church has two major divisions. The first, and the one with truly galactic reach, is the Roman Rite, so-called because it is led by the Grand Chanter of Roma. It is very conservative, emphasizing faith and family, and an active rejection of parts of secular life that are against its doctrines. Very popular in most states with Salvatoran populations, the Roman church has recently made massive inroads in Lamia. With the indigenous faith of Lamia in decline, many sought out a new set of beliefs to sustain them, and Salvatoran missionaries found a willing audience. Some 35% of Lamia is Roman Salvatoran, and this is only expected to increase. Over 90% of other Salvatorans outside of Francia, Lamia and Baekdu are also Roman Rite. In Baekdu, however, about 8 in 10 Salvatorans are adherents of the Jejuan Rite. Established when the Frankish colony ship Lux Christi crashed on the planet some two-hundred ninety years ago and the Frankish colonists aboard gave up any hope of regaining contact with the home country, the advanced colonists filibustered the local Kingdom of Jeju and spread their religion outward from there, along with advanced technology. As they intermarried with the Baekduan populace and became the modern Franco-Baekduan ethnic group, their own church became a more permanent institution. It is generally more liberal than the Roman Rite chantry, though socially conservative by Baekduan standards; many Jejuan Rite Salvatorans were active supporters of the revolution, partly because the old monarchical order still was largely influenced by indigenous religions, and they thought a secular republic would be a better bet. Ironically, the Jejuan church has seen much of its recent growth internationally, as some urbane, moderate and less stringently religious Franks have converted. Conversely, while overall religious participation has fallen significantly under the Republic, the Roman church has gained popularity within Baekdu as well. Despite all this, the vast majority of Jejuan Rite chantries abroad are run by Baekduan immigrants and are very insular, usually not actively seeking converts.

Second in size to Salvatoranism are what might be termed "state religions:" those faiths that are extremely common, perhaps even nigh-universal, in one polity, but with little reach outside those polities. These include the religion the Watchers call the "Children of the Word," the Trzydran faith of the Storm Kingdom, and (debatably) the Visces religion of Lamia. Each of these are relatively unified in terms of doctrine, bound closely with the state they originate from, and have little galactic reach outside of immigrants from their polities of origin. Unlike Salvatoranism, which conceives of Deus as an omnipotent being beyond the reaches of the regular universe, each of these has their own relationship with the metaphysical: Trzydrans believe in the powerful eagle-god Trzydra and a mighty artifact known as the All-Seeing, neither of which is strictly omnipotent; the purpose of the Children of the Word is to stop the cycle of reincarnation and ascend into a purer, spiritual state; and Zeratul and the Seven Saints of Visces are, while powerful figures indeed, not gods. Each has had a historically large degree of influence on its state to one extent or another, though Visces is a less and less important part of Lamian society as time goes on.

Finally, some religions are not large and ubiquitous enough in their indigenous societies to truly qualify as "state religions," but are still followed by significant portions of people within states. Oftentimes, while dedicated religious practice and professed belief in these faiths may be relatively rare, their cultural influence on history can still be recognized. Generally, these faiths have less than a plurality of the population under their influence, and are most often remnants of established religions from societies that have long since secularized. The indigenous Baekduan faiths of Sindo and Muism fall into this category, as does the Albish religion of Dydeniaism.

--

Departments of Sancti Dominici and Aquitania
아키타니아학과 / 세인트 도미닉학과
​

Short Form: Aquitania, Sancti Dominici, Gallia (collective)
Capital: Burdigala, Sancti Dominici / Limonum, Aquitania
Government: Provincial government of the Republic of Baekdu
Leader: 190 total deputies in the National Assembly (115 Dawn / 63 Social Democrat / 22 Socialist)

History:

Sancti Dominici and Aquitania were established as Frankish colonies before the Great War. Relatively sparsely settled, the colonists were a motley bunch. Religious utopians, closet republicans, and fierce nationalists alike all struck out for the colonies, making Frankish colonial society vibrant but not particularly harmonious. As the Frankish government focused largely on development of the homeworld and metropole, the Novan colonies were, relatively speaking, neglected. Before the Great War, they collectively numbered about 1.5 billion people, extremely low relative to the galactic average for Novan colonies. They thus gradually developed their own culture to an extent: deeply religious, even by Frankish standards, independent of outside influence and a smattering of agrarian utopianism and peasant communes besides. While there was never an organized independence movement under Frankish oversight, the colonies became increasingly distant from the motherland even before the Great War.

As before, the Frankish government concentrated on offensives in the Harthus Galaxy and defending the metropole, leaving its colonies nearly undefended. They were easily accessed by wormhole and seized by Baekdu essentially without firing a shot in the early years of the war, and placed under very light military occupation. To aid in winning hearts and minds, occupation officials on the ground were mostly Franco-Baekduan and Salvatoran, and daily life continued essentially uninterrupted; the Gallians, as they had begun to call themselves, were used to de facto military rule anyway and found the occupiers a lighter hand than their masters in Roma. Some ferociously resisted the intrusion of a heathen power, but some were actually cautiously optimistic, intrigued by the promise of democracy and freedom from oversight of the peasant communes, which had produced a fringe but nigh-on heretical ideology called "Salvatoran syndicalism." Other than religious hardliners, whose leaders were quickly arrested, the occupation was little different from regular colonial life, and indeed put them on the winning side of the Great War, which meant not being called up for military service and an actual reduction in goods taken for the war effort.

The postwar settlement officially transferred Gallia from Frankish to Baekduan control, one of few such transfers of territory by treaty in galactic history, and the annexation was approved via plebiscite soon afterwards. The Aquitania and Sancti Dominici systems were incorporated as full Departments with voting rights, and quickly received waves of development aid and (often Salvatoran) immigrants. While Gallia had no formal autonomy as such, the personal freedoms of the average citizen were greatly expanded, and in the immediate postwar most new citizens were relatively content. Despite this, however, Gallia remained stubbornly itself throughout the postwar era. While Salvatorans were a prominent minority in Baekdu, only in Gallia was religion a truly major part of public life; Muist temples and Sindo shrines are essentially nowhere to be found, the Salvator's birthday is an official holiday in both departments, and so forth. This has made some in Hanseong uncomfortable, but it is tolerated for the most part, given the territory's comparatively small size but strategic position making appeasing Gallian pecularities both relatively easy and relatively important.

Gallia has three notable political tendencies. The first could be called assimilationists, those who think their worlds should become essentially "ordinary" provinces of the Republic. They are often still conservative and religious, but their children speak mainly Baekduan, they participate in Baekduan culture, etc. The next might be called autonomists, who want recognition of Gallia's particular status and separate identity: popular ideas include everything from relatively inoffensive proposals like mandating Frankish to be taught alongside Baekduan to things that are currently unconstitutional, such as banning labor on the Sabbath. Perhaps between a quarter and a third are explicitly nationalist, seeking an independent Gallia; however, almost all wish for some form of genuine political autonomy. They often vote for the Social Democrats, as while not anarcho-capitalists, the SDP is the only explicitly federalist party that has Assembly representation, and accordingly sometimes panders to Gallian autonomism to obtain votes. The last are called the "Redeemers," seeking reannexation to Francia. They are very fringe, mostly existing in ultrareligious peasant communes and Holonet forums; most Gallians unsatisfied with Baekduan rule would prefer an independent, republican Gallia guided by Salvatoran values, rather than returning to the Frankish State.

 

[Plank of Wood]

GNN: An. 46 Uachtaran Debate Special; Celtic Republic Divided Between the Big Three

​

Though many believed the likeable and experienced Niahm Bray would run away with her second Uachtaran election, a new wave of Galactic crises have brought a challenge to the longstanding Reformed Celtic Syndicalist kingpin.

Excerpts:

Lochlain Donhail, PR: "The Republican League seems to let let the Oligarchists drive humans off of their colonies and let Albion trigger apocalyptic wars with the so-called Pure State on our doorstep. They're for the most part not Syndicalist, and for the most part they're on the other side of the Galaxy. Why are we chaining ourselves to them?"
Brogan Kim, AtTD: "...Uhm, the technical term is Meritocrat."

...

Aimen Elto, CAO: "Donhail isn't right often, but he's telling the truth here. The fruits of Celtic labour are being used to pay off the debt of an almost authoritarian Zelsar 'Republic' - one which is flooding our own PGC mandate with colonists who are, as we speak, uprooting the native population. What's wrong with this picture?"

...

Niahm Bray, PSCA: "We're going to sooner or later face the fact that the same people that direly want us to leave the Republican League also want a massive centralisation of the state, the creation of an almost Oligarchal hierarchy-"
BK, AtTD: "It's merit-"
NB, PSCA: "-And this, in itself, is a greater threat posed to Syndicalism than any war fleet from Albion will ever pose."

 

[Scrapknight]

((

Note to Enterprising Players (IMPORTANT):

After some debate, here's what I've decided about orders going forward. These changes go into effect from An. 47 / turn 3 onwards. Procedures for this turn will remain the same.

Simple orders to boost stats, such as military tech, education level, etc., will autocomplete. That is, they will be automatically rolled each turn for progress completion without having to spend an order. This will allow you to be more flexible and pursue more goals.

Do note, however, that it is now possible that some of these stats may degrade over time. It takes continued investment to maintain a state-of-the-art military, for example. This won't be frequent; expect it on the order of once a decade or less.

Other orders will not autocomplete and will remain the same, having to use an order per turn to finish. These include special projects, colonization, economy type changes, and so forth. I may add to, remove from or change this list later on as balance dictates, but it's a pretty safe bet that colonization will be always take multiple orders rather than autocompleting, so don't bet on seizing the entire Novan northwest in a single stroke.

If you're not sure if an order will autocomplete, don't hesitate to ask.

As you were.

))

 

[aedan777]

The Allegory of Justice​

The Allegory of Justice is a hundreds years old story, from the early days of the Adrallan Oligarchy, extolling the virtues of meritocracy over republicanism and monarchy.

There once was a party of three individuals travelling through the countryside during a famine, sharing a coach for mutual protection from bandidts. Each was of a different political persuasion, one a republican, one a monarchist, and one a meritocrat. During their journey, they came across a quiet, isolated village. The villagers here were stringing up one of their own at a stake and made act as to burn them.

The republican looked upon this, and said it was good, that the villagers were acting in unison and so it was the will of the populace that the victim burn at the stake.

The monarchist scoffed at the spectacle, and stated he could not care less for the affairs of peasants, wishing they all burned by their actions.

Appalled at his companions, the meritocrat left them, approaching the villagers to question their motives for the burning. Swiftly deducing that the victim was to be burned due to nothing more than popular animosity and as a scapegoat for hard times, the meritocrat chided the ignorance of the villagers, and brought an end to their unjust killing.

The allegory tells that, though republicanism and monarchy are preferable to the dangers of anarchy and banditry, they are inferior ideologies, that promote and encourage ignorance in the masses, either denying their worth for monarchists, or giving them unearned power in the case of the republicans. Only with the wisdom of meritocracy can the common people become productive and full members of society, rather than ignorant mobs.

Since the end of the Great War, satirical writers in the Oligarchy have added a fourth member of the party, a syndicalist. A typical inclusion follows.

After the meritocrat strode into the village, he was followed by the syndicalist. As the meritocrat tried to deduce what had occurred, the syndicalist preached to the villagers that they were not going far enough. They should not merely kill the currently decided victim, they should kill the meritocrat too, and the monarchist, and the republican, and anyone else in the village who had wealth. The wealth of those killed would then be divided up among the village, famine would end, and the village would prosper without needing to do work. Incited into a frenzy, the villagers did as they were told, murdering all they had been told to kill and dividing their possessions to secure equality among all.

Two weeks later all of the villagers had starved to death because none of them wanted to do work in their society of equals and they exhausted previous food supplies in wild revelry. So be the fruits of syndicalism.

 

[Plank of Wood]

THE PARABLE OF LAST TUESDAY NIGHT'S DINNER
​

A Capitalist, a Monarchist, and an Meritocrat go to a nice restaurant.

"I won't pay for the food," says the Capitalist, "because I spent all my money earlier, but I'm too big for you to let me fail."

"Even though I bought the most expensive thing," says the Monarchist, "My Father paid for all of your Fathers' dinners a long time ago. So I won't pay."

"Actually," says the Meritocrat, "I don't want to pay, as to me you are both worthless worms with inferior brains, and I am obviously flawless and perfect."

A fist fight ensues, as it does every single time they go to diner. The chef runs in, overhearing the argument unfold from the kitchen. Luckily, in his younger days he was a trained diplomat for the PGC. "I know how to solve this!" he says, proudly. "Have you ever heard of 'splitting the bill'?"

 

[Dadarian]

Common propaganda utilised by Citizenworker elements to recruit devout followers

The Citizenworker Movement​

The Citizenworker Movement has it's origin in the valiant and uniquely Revolutionary days of the post-Tribunal Era. As the purges of counter-revolutionary elements drew to a close due to a lack of appropriate candidates of public distaste, individuals saw that there was a distinctly worrying hole in objects of revolutionary devotion and expression. Thus, cadres of Neo-Revolutionary thought sought to create a new focal point on individual contribution to the advancement of the Revolution and Democracy, thus the Citizenworker movement was born.

Initially consisting of autarkic colonies of individuals who dedicate the fruit of their labours to those without work or the necessities to survive. However, the chief cadres of the Kekiäsjunha ideologues, who represented the chief defenders of the movement, deemed it lacking in sufficient zeal and vision. Where altruistic production was a humble and necessary task, it was not as glorious as the memories of the Tribunal Era demanded. Thus, the Citizenworkers grew more valiant in their revolutionary efforts, outlined in their foremost directive "The Issue of Advancement and Entrenchment of Revolutionary Hardship and Demands in the Post-Revolutionary Era", written by noted intellectual Hallus Juhka.

As a result, an advancement campaign was engaged, with the focus of labour movement from simple food goods, to hard machinery, to finally mass production of "undesirable goods", which were toxic or dangerous to preform. The Citizenworker quickly became a symbol for those zealots that sought the Revolution by dedicating themselves to the most dangerous elements of labour.

The xenith of current Citizenworker is when the lead cadre of the city of Karis, Dolan Yuhu, declared that the greatest form of Revolutionary vigor was through the active establishment of the revolution elsewhere. A Congress of the Citizenworker was soon declared, and it was agreed by majority vote that a great endevour was to be conducted. The Citizenworker was on the move.

 

[aedan777]

After negotiations with the Uksugan Federation, we have come to an adequate agreement for resolving the situation of the Terrans who are currently present on the planet of Kopelis.

The Kopelis Agreement​

• Any remaining Terrans on Kopelis will be deported from the system to the Terran Free State.
• The Adrallian Oligarchy will return all of the Terran bodies from the Kopelis stockades for burial in the Terran Free State.
• The Terran Free State will fully compensate the Adrallian Oligarchy for transporting the Terrans and the bodies from Kopelis.

With this agreement, we hope that the situation will be considered resolved by all involved parties, and enjoy the reestablishment of general peace and stability between polities.

-High Counselor Junnitev Presthith on behalf of the Triumvirate

 

[Gorganslayer]

General Elections of 3794​

After the election of Stephen Beaufort to the Office of Lord Protector, the Albish political system suffered one of its regular coalition collapses. The relatively long standing coalition between the Republican Party, the Centre Party and the Indus Lobbyist party had already been showing signs of tension, notably some significant disagreements between the Indus Lobbyist Party and the Centrists. The final straw was the Centre Party under Margaret Thorne throwing her weight behind the Nationalist Alliance and Beaufort, which the Republicans felt was a significant betrayal even though they themselves had little chance of winning and preferred a more moderated nationalist leadership to a radical socialist under the rival Equalist Party.


At the next meeting of parliament, before the Republican Party could officially announce the collapse of the coalition, the Lord Protector issued a decree declaring the full dissolution of both the House of Systems and the House of Representatives with fresh elections to be held in three months time. The Republicans protested on principal but faced by a Nationalist-Centre and Surprisingly Equalist voting axis, the attempt to force a two-thirds vote to rescind the Protectors decree was easily defeated. For the next three months, the Republicans under Richard Severn led a caretaker government and prepared to defend their control of the Parliament in the election, this period was notable for a seeming change in tact towards the Albish Depression - after the death of Cromwell the Republicans had taken a less direct interventionist approach, with the announcement that Albion was aiming to reclaim its place as a galactic scientific by funding a large scale project to turn the Albish moon of Wharton into a centre of scientific learning, reflecting a shift towards higher intervention.


Beaufort also seemingly following the Cromwellian precedent of using Article 17 to force through legislation, as the Republicans effectively managing a minority government, combined with News reports on the regularity of meetings between members of the APP, ANPP and other minor nationalist coalitions with the Lord Protector both in Gentlemen’s clubs and other locations, significantly a group of nine major figures including Baron Wye, Head of the APP; the Earl of Trent, Head of the ANPP; Earl of Lambeth and Norman Tyne, two other major APP figures. These reports combined with the seeming about face in Republican policy soon gave credence to a theory that the Nationalist Alliance was already effectively running the Government through the Lord Protector, - the Republicans credibility was shot, and the group sardonically dubbed the Nine Worthies by the Equalists under failed Lord Protector candidate Salah Khak. Despite this the election predictions going into the last month did not predict a massive upset to the status quo. The combined Nationalist Alliance was predicted to have a significant uptick in votes from swing voters riding off the back of the Lord - Protector elections and the natural tendency to swing away from the Republicans following the long Cromwellian period. Most commentators also predicted that while they would probably fall just short of a straight majority, a Centre Party unlikely to lose much ground would easily grant them enough seats to hold a comfortable majority. Substantially the run-away success of the Equalists in the Lord - Protector elections was dismissed as pertaining solely to the personality of the single figure of Salah, with few believing that this would translate into broader party success.


The results of the election proved significantly unlike what the commentators had predicted. While it was true that the nationalists could easily be considered the largest ‘party’ in the Parliament, the Equalists surged to become the second largest party, cannibalising voters disillusioned by the Republican Party. The biggest shock was the decline of the Centre Party which slipped to become the fifth largest party, as a large number of swing voters that typically voted Centre voted APP instead. Of some note was the continued decline of the Renewal Party and the rise of Albion United Workers Party, which found substantial media attention with its anti-Pure State rhetoric. A mostly glossed over fact was the significant failure of the Indus Lobbyist Group to achieve its federalisation plans in any form led to its effective end as a significant political party, though it has yet to be seen if this is permanent or a temporary situation that will be reversed by other political events or new leadership.


When final results were tallied the vote count stood at

1. APP (24%) = 432
   
   
2. ANPP (17.5%) = 315
   
   
3. Nationalist Alliance total = (41.5%) = 747
   
   
4. Equalist Party (26%) = 468
   
   
5. Republican Party (11.4%) = 205
   
   
6. Centre Party (9.6%) = 173
   
   
7. United Workers Party (7.2%) = 130
   
   
8. Other (2.1%) = 38
   
   
9. Indus Lobbyist Party (1.4%) = 25
   
   
10. Renewal Faction (0.8%) = 14
    

Under these results the Nationalist Alliance held a coalition that appeared shaky with only 51.1% of the seats. However the opposition was substantially divided between the opposed Republicans and Equalists along with the increasingly significant Albion United Workers Party, which was against both what it called the degenerative left and the false right. The biggest threat to the coalition would be any internal splits over policy between the three parties as the opposition would all agree to a motion of no-confidence as all believed they would gain from fresh elections.


In the House of Systems as is typical the results were slightly more skewed and more reflective of the expected outcomes. The Albion system elected 13 members from the Nationalist Alliance (7 APP and 6 ANPP including the venerable Winchester), 5 from the Equalists, 2 Republicans and 2 Centre Party Candidates. The Indus System elected 3 APP members, 1 ANPP member, 1 Indus Lobbyist Member, 2 Republican members, 1 Equalist member and surprisingly 2 United Workers Party candidates. The Eoran results returned 2 APP members, 1 ANPP member, 3 Independants, 2 Equalist, 1 Republican and 1 Renewal faction candidate from the Anarcho-Meritocratic wing of the party. Thus the overall makeup of the House of Systems was reflected as:

• APP (28.6%) - 12 seats
  
  
• ANPP (19.0%) - 8 seats
  
  
• Equalist Party (19.0%) - 8 seats
  
  
• Republican Party (11.9%) - 5 seats
  
  
• Independants (Eoran Boycotters) (7.1%) - 3 seats
  
  
• Centre Party (4.8%) - 2 seats
  
  
• Albion United Workers Party (4.8%) - 2 seat
  
  
• Renewal Faction (anarcho-meritocrats) (2.4%) - 1 seat
  
  
• Indus Lobbyist Party (2.4%) - 1 seat
  

Despite the coalition only holding 52.4% of the seats in the House of Systems, a similar margin to that of the lower House of Representatives, the effective absence of ~7% of the seats gave the coalition a near guarantee of any bills that reached the Upper House passing. Of note was the overperformance of the nationalists and the under performance of the Equalists. Typically House of Systems votes are much more personal affairs and character focused campaigns than the lower house elections. As such the nobility, have always been able to use their history in Albish politics and wealth to maintain a tight grip on the House of Systems regularly scoring higher than their House of Representatives counterparts, a notable example being Thomas Winchester, who has never lost his seat.


The first months of the coalition was eventful, as they inherited the ongoing intervention into the Pure State - though many news sources especially those on the left kept up the narrative that as the Nine Worthies the Nationalist Alliance had pushed for the war to be started. Despite the long campaign, the thwarting of the recent terrorist attack and regular pro-war speeches by the Lord Protector and the Charismatic Baron Wye kept the public support on the side of the intervention with a narrative cocktail of philanthropic intervention to aid the oppressed locals and a message of the need for preemptive attacks to ensure Albion’s security. [To which the AUWP regularly inquired why such action was not being taken against the Celts]


The more significant threat was Winston Jones Beauregard’s (the resident warlord in Alba) unilateral decision to ignore the Ukrask Agreement even after being offered the Governorship in a personal visit by the Lord - Protector himself. (Secretly Beaufort had planned to use this means as a peaceful way to placate Beauregard and then phase him out after four years while true power would be in the hands of an APP appointed Viceroy). Faced with an aggressive Jones, Beaufort avoided overt antagonism and agreed to leave to allow Jones to consider and allegedly bring the Warlords demands back to Parliament. Before leaving Beaufort made an impassioned speech in front of a large Alban crowd that was later broadcast across the Free State and the Alban colonies. In it Beaufort expressed a desire that there would be no future conflict between Albish and looked forward to a future when all the Albish Diaspora that floundered under foreign occupation would be reunited into one great albish nation. Though ostentatiously referencing Vesperia and Laurentia and as some took it to mean, the Knights of Progress colonies on Atlantis, many observed that the subtle references to Beauforts royal pedigree and other metaphors seemed to be directly undermining the allegedly royalist Jones and encouraging a Pro-Free State insurrection in Alba. These theories were confirmed when after Beaufort arrived back he called an emergency session of both Parliaments. With the rare co-operation of nearly every party; (The Coalition fearing a threat to its authority would undermine its credibility, while the Republicans and Equalists were anti-royalist and the AUWP supported any efforts to reunite the Albish Diaspora) a declaration was passed that declared Jones and any of his supporters traitors to the Legacy of the Albish Monarchy, the Albish People and the Free State (in that order), and calling on the people of Alba to turn on the Warlord so that they could be reunited with the motherland. Significantly a signed amendment to the Documentation contained a Royal condemnation of Jones signed by both Beaufort and Winchester - the two leading rival claimants to the throne. Now all that remained was to wait and see the effect.

 

[Scrapknight]

((Friendly reminder that orders are due tomorrow, 10/13, at 11 PM PST. Your grace period is basically until the morning of the next day after that.

People who haven't sent orders yet: @aedan777 @jeeshadow @Fingon888 @Plutonium95 @MadMartigan @Noco19 @etranger01 @alexander23 . Again, I'm lenient but please be courteous.

As you were.

))

 

[Scrapknight]

THE TIMES OF ANGLIA.
Price 75p.

JONES TO BEAUFORT: "SOD OFF"
"Anglius Save the King, and the Rest of You Can Go To Hell," Says Warlord in Impassioned Speech

The infamous Lord Protector of the State of Alba
​

PENDRAGON, ALBA - Speaking from his headquarters in northeastern Alba, the blood-stained warlord Beauregard Winston Jones III issued an abject condemnation of the Free State and its current government, calling it "a puppet regime of the leeches in Hanseong" and "stooges of the Monderian [sic] scum." In a long, rambling and unfocused speech, Jones rebuked the Albish government for not condoning his preferred style of military rule, accusing the Lord Protector of the Free State of being "[unmanly]" for not restoring the monarchy and "[unprintable] [unprintable] morons." He claimed that "the real traitors are the [unprintable] [unprintable] who call themselves claimants to the throne and yet won't man the [unprintable] up and do something about it." Jones reiterated his council's opposition to granting concessions to the Free State without respecting his position of absolute authority over Alba, and also expressed dismay over its unwillingness to grant him a higher ranking noble title. (Jones is currently a pretender to the County of Wessex.) Shortly after his speech concluded, one high-ranking member of his junta, Diplomat-General Tristam de Cornouaille, resigned over the remarks, calling for negotiation with the regime's kindred in Anglia, but Jones has so far merely doubled down. Tensions were high yesterday in Pendragon and across the State of Alba, with scattered protests calling for Jones to step down that were quickly put down by his security forces. The government has yet to issue a statement, but is expected to strongly condemn the warlord's actions.

 

[aedan777]

As a fellow member of the Organization of Meritocratic States, we stand with the Sorian Union in their attempt to restore order to their wayward territories and remove the terrorist scum known as the "Pure State." As such, advisors for the Adrallan Army will be sent to assist our Sorian comrades in arms to assist them in bringing an end to the burgeoning insurgency on the ground. Through the unified efforts of meritocratic states, order and prosperity will be spread across the galaxy, to the benefit of all sentient races.

-High Counselor Junnitev Presthith on behalf of the Triumvirate