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Crisis Now posted:Lance of Irassia: Commander White jeopardized the operation by initiating a jump-drive entry to the system rather than enter through hyperlanes and encountered NAF where it was not expected. Went AWOL for one year and then resurfaced on Alioth Station where she misused UNN resources to recruit a mercenary force of trucking-union members and illegally turned their registered trade vessels into nuclear-capable warships. Recommended course of action: immediate court martial of Jillian White and confiscation of the Lance of Irassia to be dismantled and studied in a safe environment. This is terrible public relations. Those are twenty heroic volunteers who were willing to sacrifice themselves as ablative armor for the sake of a United Nations victory! The raw value of a story like that is unfathomable. It's probably also highly unfair to criticize White for a maneuver that I don't think anyone had any idea was possible, even herself when asking for it. If they're recording the bridge audio then that should show. We at Ichabod Publishing are highly interested in seeing this whole story told, and are currently seeking a special grant from the Chairman's office to have a special StoryCorps deployment to record the story of the Battle of Azha while it remains fresh in memory. Redeye Flight fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 01:25
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Man, wow, that one battle took three years?
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Jul 19, 2021 01:27
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Wow that was EPIC. Amazing writing. And Commander White is going to be court martialled or (likely worse) promoted to fleet admiral so that she can be kept behind a desk for the rest of her life so there's no more risk of her doing anything (in the vernacular, this is called 'Pulling a Janeway'). Also I can't imagine what it would have been like psychologically for everyone in combat - in a state of active conflict for nearly four years and much of that timew ith no or little sleep. I'm amazed that attrition didn't inflict even more crippling losses - if not from maintenance then from paranoia and fatigue. Realistically most of those ships are probably going to be put under tow and dry docked if not scrpped for years to come after that long with no resupply in a conflict zone. wedgekree fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 01:37
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Goddrat what a battle. Well done.
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Jul 19, 2021 01:41
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quote:“I don’t give a drat about the men or the spaceships. It’s just that it looks lousy on the report. How am I going to cover up something like this in the report”.
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Jul 19, 2021 02:21
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I like how we went from essentially a twitch douchebag captaining a battleship to a glorious sci-fi movie style rescue operation, complete with a scrappy fleet of volunteers.  With the douchebag still in on a corner. Also that bar picture was great. 
Cooked Auto fucked around with this message at 02:34 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 02:32
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wedgekree posted:Wow that was EPIC. Amazing writing. You couldn't do it, so you'd have to have a system where you have multiple watches and cycle them through, which would be bizarre when you are on rec leave while the ship is under attack.
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Jul 19, 2021 10:35
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Jul 19, 2021 15:06
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I’m imagining the admiralty board trying to court martial White only for a combination of officers who served in the battle as well as UN public relations experts to tell them it’s an awful idea. Ideally White gets posted to a battleship command and she smuggles LOIS’s core onto it and replaces the onboard guidance with it.
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Jul 19, 2021 16:58
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Better to just put her in command of Star Station somewhere so she can't just warp in and out of battle willy nilly.
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Jul 19, 2021 19:13
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[Security directorate log, designate UNNSD-CID-TarLiMa 11244. Meeting between main partners, Tarsus Light Manufacturing. Participants: Innokentij Mitsuhama, Gregor Kaltenstein, Theresa Benz-Ulbricht.] TB-U: "All right, I admit it, you read the push towards synthetic rights legislation correctly, Gregor. Stop being so loving smug about it." GK: "Smug? Me? Wouldn't dream of it. Besides, it's not like you don't have victories of your own." TB-U: "The Venus deal was quit good, wasn't it? Still, I wish our... dear Secretary-General would have refrained from limiting new terraforming deals to barren or hell-worlds." IM: "Oh, come now. It's not like we won't make up in volume what we lose in quantity; The amount of credits we're looking at from the Venus project alone beggars belief." GK: "If we can meet the deadlines." TB-U: "Oh, please, Gregor. I know you have a devil's advocate kick when you're not investing in your bizarre little side-projects, but even if there is a little slippage the profits will be-" IM: "Astronomical?" TB-U: GK: IM: "You're just annoyed I said it first." GK: "Be that as it may, we have a rather more pressing problem." IM: "Oh I do not like the sound of this." TB-U: "Me either." GK: "You shouldn't; Ursula and the rest of the Mannerheim faction are livid at our new Secretary-General's socio-economic reforms." TB-U: "Not that I can blame her, or them; Unions, for God's sakes. And instituting the market-reforms he did." GK: "Cut into our profits in the short term, yes. However-" TB-U: "Yes, yes, yes I know. We did discuss this when he proposed the legislation; Better to give ground now and still enjoy our opulence than risk a revolution." IM: "That is partly why we have expanded our business in the direction we have, Theresa. You are... I won't insult you by saying 'young', but unlike Gregor and I, your family came late to full partnership." GK: "From the very beginning, we wanted to re-vitalize - if you'll pardon the expression - the terraforming initiatives, because frankly, as much as I enjoy clear skies, actual gravity, and fresh air on a personal level? I like it a lot more when malcontents can head off to the frontier if they get too pissed off, than when they stayed on the Bastion." TB-U: "I've seen the sociopolitical calculations and models, but..." IM: "You didn't see how bad they got; If we hadn't gotten behind it and pushed for terraforming, the Bastion would have blown, sooner or later." TB-U: "Oh, come now. We couldn't have gotten that close.... could we?" IM: GK: TB-U: "Innokentij?" IM: "You really do not want me to answer that honestly, Theresa." TB-U: "Jesus." GK: "Which is why we need to make sure that Ursula and her merry little band of mental minnows aren't just marginalized in the company; We need to burn them out. Root and branch." IM: "You can't be serious, Gregor!" TB-U: "...That's why you mentioned the deadlines and maybe failing them." GK: "Yes. Yes it was. We may need to eat significant penalties on this. And we need to be together on it. If we do it." IM: "Gregor, I have known you for sixty years, and you know I trust you, but... Are you really, really sure there's no other way?" GK: "No. Ursula is on the warpath, true and certain, and it's not just her." TB-U: "She's got Vasilij backing her too, doesn't she?" IM: "gently caress." GK: "She does. Mannerheim will do what they drat well please. I've already caught some discreet accounts being set up for 'novel political socio-marketing campaigns'." TB-U: "Oh no. Tell me she didn't-" GK: "It wasn't easy to track, but in the end, I traced a sizeable donation to one former Secretary-General, Patrick Cross. And if I can trace it..." IM: "Merciful God." GK: "So you see, we need to do something. And you both know what." TB-U: "... You're aware of what you're asking us to sign off on, right?" GK: "I am." IM: "I- A lot of my 'side' of the company is dependent on Mannerheim. I'll need something in return." GK: "Name it." TB-U: "... All right. I'm in." IM: "As am I. And may God forgive me." GK: "Very well then. So! We all know reliable private military contractors, so the only remaining question is... Where and when shall we begin our corporate civil war?"
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Jul 19, 2021 19:20
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I don't recall battles taking this long Does one of your addons rebalance or change the mechanics of ship combat?
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Jul 20, 2021 05:32
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tithin posted:I don't recall battles taking this long NSC and the Realspace system scaling certainly rebalances things - Which I actually only fixed just before this update - as the new ship tactics added by NSC were too long for the new system scales, until getting a compatibility fix. In all previous parts every battle was just the two navies rushing at each other and then firing at point-blank. This had them remaining in formation more and of course the NAF-SPB encirlement. It was the Principality showing up that really extended the length of the battle significantly.
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Jul 20, 2021 07:46
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Absolutely loving this LP so far, it's really making me want to play again but this time try out some of the mods. Is there any chance of a major rival appearing from the patchwork of tiny empires on the far side of the galaxy, or are you in as commanding a position as it appears at first glance. From what I remember of playing Stellaris it always felt like once you had a bit of an advantage in the early game the AI could never really out up much of a threat.
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Jul 21, 2021 15:42
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DJ Burette posted:Absolutely loving this LP so far, it's really making me want to play again but this time try out some of the mods. Is there any chance of a major rival appearing from the patchwork of tiny empires on the far side of the galaxy, or are you in as commanding a position as it appears at first glance. One of the mods gives the AI pretty substantial production bonuses and Crisis actively boosts AI factions where necessary.
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Jul 21, 2021 19:33
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2335 - 2345 When the (delayed)livestream of the Battleship Just Good Business' arrival in the Battle of Azha made its way to the Bastion it became the one of the most viewed broadcasts in history, with an estimated eight hundred million people watching it when it 'premiered'. The Lance of Irassia which had also up to this point been somewhat of an open secret (it was hard to keep such a huge thing secret, but the UNN had never made any official statement on it despite all the sightings, only the military and Alioth / Mirach station / select few scientists were aware of its existence and what it was capable of) was now widely known. The immense public outcry when  The Battle of Azha became the center of a media storm across the United Nations (and even some of the surrounding powers) as the battle and those involved captured the minds of the people. The corporations began at once finding any way that could profit from it.  Controversial Joyko-Snap figure sold while Commander White was still under investigation  One of my many toy spaceships sold after the battle, including many of New American and Brazilian ships (A close aide to the UNSG joked that New American marines could be storming the Bastion and the security council would just be finding ways to make money from it rather than actually trying to stop them) The United Nations Naval Command analyzed and studied the battle for years afterward, if the true nature of space combat going forward was these extremely prolonged engagements then crews could not be expected to be a constantly on-station and prepared to fight 24/7 for months or years on end. The extreme durability of the Just Good Business provided a possible solution - with a plan for all fleets in future to have at least one battleship - not just for the firepower they provide but to act as a sort of mobile space station, that the crews of fleets could be rotated in and out for rest and recuperation in the safety of the Battleship's hull for a week(s) before returning to their vessels. There are also intense negotiations and meetings between United Nations Navy Command and the leaders of the Democratic Union of Space Truckers over the fact twenty of their members were co-opted... press-ganged, coerced - however you want to word it into joining White's plan to save the UNN. DUST is compensated for the twenty cargo ships it lost as the modifications made to them at Alioth Station are not exactly reversible, what's more UNN pensions and benefits are bestowed upon the twenty members - who in turn choice to remain under White's service, though she is forced to retain the rank of Captain and disallowed to call her group a fleet.  Tehran-Times bestseller 'A Thousand Days In Hell', considered to be the most comprehensive and accurate retelling of the Battle of Azha. it is said in the New American Federation that the admiral of the Washington Fleet was elected president after returning to Colorado. Considering how focused New American society is on power and glory, it's unusual that they would elect the leader of their military after such a disaster for them - perhaps they see the Lance of Irassia and new Just Good Business as unpredicted outliers that MacDonald could not have accounted for - or perhaps there was some backdoor dealings that saw her take power. Either way the NAF-Navy is sure for a major shakeup after Azha.  Victory in Azha did little to assuage the Martial Supremacy Alliance, if anything the show of the UN's might only emboldened them and in their eyes proved them right. In the months following the news of the victory the MSA held numerous "victory marches'' across the Bastion, which were little more than violent mobs seeking to intimidate or inspire others to join their cause. Bastion Security Forces repeatedly fail to respond to them accordingly, many of Blair's administration fearing that there are numerous sympathetic elements to the MSA in both the Bastion's law enforcement and military as well as in the security council.  As well as the militant imperialists, another significant faction has arisen in the United Nations by name of the Defence First League that seeks to shut the UN off from outside powers again, to withdraw from the Galactic Community, dismantle the Federal Partnership and become an entirely inward focused power. They have gained an alarming number of supporters in a short amount of time.  After decades of work UNICA has terraforming processes down to a fine art and is rapidly turning barren lifeless rocks into verdant oases in the void for humanity to spread out to.   Inuvik orbiting Aldebaran III  (left to right) Reykjavik, 61 Cygni IIIa, 61 Cygni III, Pontianak There are still nine more planets suitable for terraforming within United Nations space, but already the UN has a significant lead over surely any other power or group in the galaxy in terms of habitable planets - with maybe only the United States of Oceania coming close.  In order to facilitate the creation of new battleships (each of them costing as much as the establishment of a planetary habitat, potentially multiple) many of the space stations across UN-space are upgraded to allow the processing and forging of alloys beyond just the Bastion and select habitats like Gwangyang.  And at the same time construction begins on a number of new stations, especially along the border with the NAF to plug up gaps in the UN's defence, and to help finally keep the Western Frontier free.  The Just Good Business is ordered to clear out all threats from the Frontier while the UNN undergoes urgent repairs and acquires new crews.  From almost the exact opposite side of the Milky Way, the furthest point in the Galaxy from the Bastion, long-range sensors pick up on another new signal, simply titled "Ultimatum_Network_Protocol" upon accessing it, every terminal in the UNHQ's diplomatic corps department goes haywire, screens filled with glitches and a high-pitched screeching over every speaker. After a minute the chaos abates and a figure stands in a black void somewhere unknown, adorned in some obscene baroque outfit.  Thank you for accessing the Network. Your systems have been scanned and homeworld [Bastion] located. Our fleets have been notified, and your elimination will soon be at hand. Rest assured the UN will not rest until sentience is eradicated and the galaxy may slumber once more. Have a nice day.  Despite Vance Blair's absence from the Research Institute of Bastion it continues to flourish and prosper, every year greater and greater numbers of Lowers enrol in the institute, gaining an education and avenue to better jobs, better lives, that they had always been denied beneath previous Secretary-Generals. Vance Blair himself keeps very little to almost none of the wealth generated by both the Institute or his Blair Industries, investing it into programs and schemes across the Lower (and Upper...) sections of the Bastion. And though he does live in Paris-on-Bastion, it is a scandalously austere residence compared to his counterparts.  The research and development the RIB completes continues to aid the UN. The Pinnacle-Class Battleship is poised to be even more powerful than the current Terra-Class, thanks to it's utilization of a new prototype particle lance reverse-engineered from the Lance of Irassia.  - Though, the UN does not have the resources just yet to create more battleships, hopefully that will change with the plans for Standardized Battleship Patterns.  Over the past years Pontianak and Omaha have drawn closer, as United Mining and the Great Plains Research Facility (operating out of each planet respectively) have convened over a number of mutual aid agreements, UM providing materials for the GPRF to study and use and Great Plains in turn ever trying to optimize mining machinery and techniques. Each of them are pushing hard to make their own planets more self-sufficient and less reliant on 'handouts' from the Bastion.  The ongoing damage of the war, the toll of fending off the Colorado-Houston fleets and now the droughs is beginning to become too much for the populace of Lisbon, and drugs (often supplied and pushed by the rampant smuggling activity in the Frontier) and drug abuse is becoming an epidemic on the planet.  Meanwhile on neighbouring Kashgar they have problems of their own as a strange affliction has taken hold in small areas of the colonial settlements on the shores of the many oases of the planet. At first thought to be the result of the drugs prevalent in Lisbon, it causes the affected to become overjoyed and overwhelmed with a desire to dance - and forsake all else, even eating or sleeping, only stopping when they collapse from exhaustion. It is believed to be something on the planet inside causing this, and UNICA field agents begin looking into it at once.  Across the border to the south, the NAF begin to reclaim their occupied systems, with the UNN preoccupied with repairs / upgrades and clearing out the Frontier, the NAF are free to recapture lost ground. Though the garrison left behind in New Houston do everything they can to hold the city, they are cut off and far outnumbered. Their ultimate fate is unknown  _____________________________ Just as in the First War for the Western Frontier, from across the Iguo Veil comes another surprise attack - this time from the Veil Institute itself. It seems much of the upper administration and faculty of this previously neutral center of learning has been replaced with New American sympathizers or just New Americans themselves, many of whom now also study at the Veil Institute. United Mining haulers in the Fomalhaut system are caught off-guard by the incursion, and their Blackwatch PMC escorts (who usually have to contend with one or two pirate ships) aren't prepared to the invading fleet.  The UNN, now fully repaired and resupplied, departs at once to intercept.  Meanwhile in Mirach, the huge number of drydocks are put to work creating new ships in the creation of the second United Nations fleet, centered around the Just Good Business, Admiral Jon 'Danger Close' McCreary will now lead Battlefleet Business.  _____________________________ In 2238 the Galactic Market was formally established after much deliberation, and Medina is chosen as it's headquarters. Much to the delight of the Emirates - and the chagrin of the security council who desired the Bastion to become the center of all economic activity in the galaxy (and for a certain group to be the political and imperial center too), and UNSG Blair's seemingly lackadaisical response / lack of action over the matter only aggrivates them more.  But it does go without saying that Medina is wealthier than the Bastion without really having to try thanks to the surface literally being covered in gold dust.  The Economic Development Party - who are also the biggest advocates for pacifism (though it should be noted - not out of any sense of morality or kindness, they simply believe peace to be more profitable) have reacted most harshly to this.  UNSG Blair concedes to their demands (at least the ones that most closely allign to his vision of a more free and fair UN) - namely the end of aggressive military expansion in the name of blind short-term profit and instead the pursuit of closer relations with all those around the UN to better facilitate trade and the free movement of peoples and goods.  The Imperialists are displeased to say the least, to have another faction's demands met when their own go unheard for years.  There has been a simmering rivalry between the different facets of the United Nations for decades, but it is all slowly coming to a head, and what once was competition is becoming genuine anger and resentment. Imperialist-aligned corporations begin to target any they oppose, corporate espionage and covert actions increase by the day. Those that seek prosperity - some enlightened noble elite, the very top of the UN who have ruled for centuries and believe only they know how to truly guide the UN (and by extension all of humanity) to peace and greatness through the entrenched systems that have made them so powerful since before the destruction of Earth. Those that desire only power, the militarists, the imperialists, who have seen successive secretary-generals acquire more and more power - UNSG Blair does exercise more power and authority than any leader of the UN who has come before him - but in the exact opposite direction that Patrick Cross and is increasingly fanactical followers desire. They see humanity as divided, broken, and only a strong ruler can put the pieces back and unite the galaxy and keep it safe by force. The isolationists, despite the UN going through a brief period of isolation before they believe it was not enough, that the UN need to cut off all contact with the outside galaxy, it is a place they need not interfere nor collude, for there are more worlds and resources within the UN borders already to satisfy their needs for many millennia. Closed borders, and an immense navy to ward off all dangers is what they seek most. And finally, the newest and seemingly fastest growing faction are those that seek equality underneath the Secretary-General, though he himself would never admit to such a thing, lest he wind up dead and his work undone. Though there is growing support in the Lower sections of the Bastion, influence on the megacorp controlled planets is harder to come by and there are only a few (though very dedicated) corps of the Upper sections willing to grant their workers some rights and privileges and forsake quick profit for long-term growth and trust and Blair's hope for a fairer society. _____________________________ The strange condition affecting the people of Kashgar is discovered to be caused by a pathogen released by a specific native plant as a defence mechanism. UNICA in conjunction with the Great Plains Research Facility (experts in dealing with dangerous bacteria and microscopic life since dealing with the Caligolyticus once native to the plains of Omaha.) have managed to create a gas that counteracts the plant's effects. But a prominent nightclub and venue-events brand from the Bastion opts to leave small areas of the planet untouched by the new gas, to leave them as "sanctioned party zones", with big visions of turning Kashgar into the "Party capital of the Milky Way"   As the Just Good Business continues to clear out the Western Frontier, the occupation force on Trinity grows weaker, by the time the UN Marine Corps arrive they put up little fight and the planet is back in UN hand's once more, the SovMech colonists free to return to their ruined settlements - which for them, will thankfully not take long to repair.   In 2340, the UNSG formed the United Nations Infrastructure Development Office (UNIDO), to oversee the huge number of public works already underway in the lower sections of the Bastion and on Cardiff, Pontianak and Omaha. The once century old maglev trains - the four single-parallel lines that ran up and down the length of the Bastion and were perpetually congested and overburdened have been replaced with a comprehensive elevated rail network that connects far more of the habitat with more stations and more trains, allowing Lower residents easier access to more of Bastion. Decaying decrepit slum-towers have been replaced with clean spacious apartment blocks and a number of hospital and school complexes have already been drawn up, places before that were practically outside the reach of Lowers.  While it is still far from ideal (and trying to push through any sort of public, tax-funded school or medical framework at this point would have the corps shut it down fast) it is still a far cry from a century ago where Lowers were left to die and the very idea they could aspire to something better, that they would ever need or even be capable of learning anything beyond the lowest skill professions, was laughed at. While they still have to pay, at least they can access it at all.  _____________________________ Osiris, the first moon of Irass VII has been terraformed. Pleasant coastal regions form most of the planet (which is around the same size as Mercury), with two great oceans much like Earth had connected by smaller waterways. Much like Irassia it is a highly sought after place to live. Terraforming of her sister moon, Isis continues.   And even more significantly, Venus, the first planet of the Solar System, has been successfully terraformed. Another world that once occupied such a huge part of Old-Earth's imagination but was relegated to just the realms of science fiction. Venus is one of the largest planets thus far in UN space (Omaha > Irassia > Venus / Lisbon) and maybe one of the most desirable, with a warm mediterranean like across much of it's pangea--continent that dominates most of the planet's surface dotted with numerous lone snow-capped mountains that jut from the landscape.   _____________________________ The Veil Institute's Navy progresses from the Fomalhaut system and reaches 61 Cygni, the first time a hostile force has breached the core four systems of the United Nations.  The UNN arrives a month later, managing to intercept the invasion force before they reach Omaha and the cruisers make quick work of the more numerous though far less developed corvettes.  Elsewhere, Battlefleet Business is required to depart from Mirach early, with four cruisers complete but no support ships as they move to drive off more NAF raiding parties and make a push across the border to maintain the UN's hold on Azha and Almach and Subra.  Work begins at once on creating new stations along the southern edge of the United Nations that skirts the Iguo Veil, a previously fairly neglected area with just a few mining haulers coming and going the new UNIDO puts a great amount of investment in stations not only for defence but to house a huge number of people and host foundries and trade facilities. The fact an enemy fleet was able to penetrate into the very heart of UN space was still a major cause for concern and irritates both the isolationists and imperialists.  With the assistance of the Regulus Navy (who now utilize their own cruisers), Business manages to capture the Srankyghon system, the entire NAF frontline is once again under UN control - and all of UN space is devoid of any hostiles. The UNN begins to move for Polaris once more, where NAF fleets are amassing to retake their systems.   _____________________________ In 2342 the Bastion becomes inundated with hundreds, thousands, of ships that arrive throughout the year from the New Republic of India, or what remains of it. The 'Second Indian War on Communism' is over. Communism won.  Prominent members of New Delhi's former parliament and executives of the numerous corporations that have lost all their employees and assets talk of 'The Fall of New Delhi', of how the people of their planet was incensed and consumed by a madness instilled in them by the corrupting force of the Union of Socialist Systems. When the Patria Grande cruisers entered the Kinwock system, the people of New Delhi rose up all at once, overthrowing local governors, occupying cities and manufacturing centers. The military was crippled and unable to defend against the PeeGee's, many of the soldiers and sailors even defecting to the USS side. (or many supposedly fleeing to the south to take up a life of banditry in the Western Frontier or north to seek solace in the vast nebula of the galactic core.)  The Republic has been reduced to a rump state, with barely any power and defending the last holdout in the Canopus system, where four planetary habitats exist around the gas giant Agastya.  With the fall of New India, it's tributary states - British Admiralty turned Republic and New Kazan are finally able to free themselves from New Delhi's influence. The latter at once declared itself Third Moscow.  A promise to the Russian people fulfilled from those that escaped New Moscow before they went their separate ways in search of salvation. A century-long ideal held in the minds of the Russian diaspora, a land - safe, secure and bountiful where the divided and scattered peoples of Old-Russia could reconvene and begin again, again. From the Volga Hub, a 1/3 size recreation of the Bastion itself, New Kazan had terraformed and built orbital habitats across the small region of space it held, making it incredibly densely developed and with ample room for (it hopes) the many Russians that will return to their new motherland in the stars.   The British and Russians having fought together to throw off the yoke of the neoliberal Indian republic and emerge the other side as more free social democracies immediately band together from their shared struggle. The Anglo-Slavic Coalition is born, a left-leaning though very isolationist and inwardly focused federation.  Far to the north, beyond the Voiceless Nightmare nebula, the Centaurus Conference continues to grow, finally putting an end to it's on-again off-again sometimes ally sometimes enemy but just annexing the system held by the cantankerous private military contractors, exiling it's leadership and merging AEGIS into Oceania's military. The 'CC' has at the same time being expanding diplomatically and absorbing more minor powers out in the western / northern half of the Milky Way, as the threat of marauders and xenophobic purifiers grows.  _____________________________ In the Azha system, the New American admiral Nelson Gray has managed to gather up the scattered and disorganized elements of the New American Navy after the first major battle, making a push to retake the system at the center of the NAF's frontline, but Battlefleet Business being only in the next system immediately relocated to stop them.  The Lance of Irassia soon arrives to assist, despite Admiral McCreary's insistence that he can "do it solo" (despite having four cruisers of his own). After five years of being stuck conducting anti-piracy operations at the border of core-UN and western frontier space (the sight of the Lance arriving in-system is often enough to make any pirate or smuggler vessels flee) Commodore White is relieved to see some real combat again.  Together they handedly fend off the renewed assault on Azha.  Meanwhile further inside New American space, the UNN has arrived once more at Polaris and begins making preparations for the UN Marine Corp's arrival - taking out Polaris station and any enemy vessels in the system.  _____________________________ On the newly settled surface of Osiris, another colonial settlement has raises a ticket with UNICA about plant issues, UNICA science teams arrive on Osiris and after a not-so-thorough investigation deem it to not be note-worthy fine the settlement for wasting their time.   However after a further year of exposure to the plant, colonists report again  Another round of innovations in weapons designs is fulfilled by the Standard Dynamics sponsored campus of the Research Institute, creating both "swarmer missiles" (instead of one big nuclear missiles, it's many smaller - faster micro-missiles with minature warheads) and "advanced railguns", possibly the most developed that particular kinetic weapons platform can get.  Research begins at once on the most controversial and potentially society-altering technology yet. True sapient intelligence created by man, both for ships, for computer systems and most critically - for 'synthetics' near indistinguishable from humans.  Polaris Station is captured once more by the UNN, and it moves to intercept a small NAF fleet that has entered the system and remained stationed at the system's edge.  But just as the UNN enters range to begin engagements with the NAF fleet something strange begins to happen....  From behind the New American cruisers an energy surge is detected - similar to that of ships entering / exiting hyperspace and at first the UNN fears the arrival of the renewed Washington Fleet. But the energy detected grows and grows until every ship's sensors are maxed out. All across the system a nebula-like miasma begins to form, flickering with lightning and heavy with the same energy signature that ship hyperdrives give off. At once all the sensors of the United Nations Navy ships fail completely, they are almost entirely unable to communicate with one another, their thrusts struggle to work in the thick nebula and their shields all short out.  There is complete chaos as the UNN ships careen out of control, struggling to account for their thrusters acting completely different, colliding with one another (which - without their shields is near fatal) or spinning out and disappearing into the void. The NAF ships who had been stationary this entire time look on - just as confused and without any means of communicating with each other- but all it takes is for one NAF cruiser to begin opening fire on the UNN in disarray and others soon follow suite.     The Solar System in the grip of Storm Bonnie _____________________________ December 2345 The Bastion Storm Bonnie has effectively cut off the Bastion from the rest of the United Nations - as well as any of the affected systems - as almost no communications or sensors leave or enter. The only way to get a message out would be to send a courier ship, and with the storm affecting sublight travel it could take twice or even three times as long as usual. The militarists had used the storm as the perfect cover to further their goals, inciting fear and uncertain amongst all across the Bastion, claiming that without sensors they had no idea what may be happening out there beyond the Solar System - the New American Federation may very well be heading toward Sol right now, they had lost all contract with the UNN, Battlefleet Business and the Lance of Irassia after all.   Two weeks into the chaos, Patrick Cross convenes a press conference - at first thought to be regarding the Martial Supremacy Alliance, but none of his usual allies are present and he is not adorned in the uniform he wore during his time in the UNN which had become his trademark - instead he was in a more subsided black suit, not too dissimilar to one he wore when he was UNSG. "Good evening Bastion. It's been quite a while since I've had the privilege of talking to you all, since the time I was Secretary-General, and led us to victory in the first Frontier War. It brings me no great pleasure to bring you the revelation that I do this day, but we have, all of us, been deceived - lied to for a great many decades. And I dare say it comes from the most esteemed and respected of positions - I am of course talking about the current Secretary-General. Professor Vance Blair. Professor Blair is a smart man and achieved a great many deeds, that there can be no disputing, but it is all built upon a house of lies. Vance Blair - the son of an accountant and lawyer of the Congo law branch, born aboard a passenger ship on it's way from the dying Earth to the Bastion. Who spent his youth at a boarding school in Paris-on-Bastion and got a scholarship to Hanoi U. is not the man who leads us today. Vance Blair is not an Upper at all. Vance Blair was born in Himalaya City - the last city on Earth, to an agri-worker and a starport baggage handler. He lived on the habitat fleet before being assigned a residential unit down in Mexico City, where he worked in a Standard-Dynamics factory. He recruited the services of a Regulusi-born hacker who had illegally entered the Bastion and was living down in Addis Ababa before the 'Independent Recognition Act' had taken effect. With his help he tampered with official records in the Bastion networks, altered his past and gave himself a place in a University that rightfully should have gone to an Upper that didn't cheat his way in. And using this fraudulent education he was able to get himself employed by StellarX and well - the rest is history. I ask you this Bastion, if the very foundation of our UNSG's entire life and claim to fame is all built upon a lie, what other secrets does Professor Blair hold? His Galactic Community has opened us up to outside influence, and now the UN is beholden to the regulations and treaties with all the peoples and races of the galaxy, weakening out formly uncontested position significantly. Has he ever colluded with those in his Galactic Community. Perhaps, certain powers that exist north of us - ever since he took power Vance Blair has done nothing but erode the legitimacy of the security council and concentrate ever greater power and authority in his own hands, to push through more of his wide-reaching 'innovation's... reforms. To a system that had stood perfectly fine for two, three, centuries. And now we're beginning to look an awful lot like the socialists of Patria Grande, Scandinavia, Japan and all those who fallen to beneath their spell in New Delhi. When the Indian ships came to our gates en masss begging for sanctuary and for something to be done about the USS, to free their home - UNSG Blair did not even condemn the actions of the Union. And that is why, right now, by emergency power bestowed to me by the Congo Corporation I am ordering for the immediate resignation of Secretary-General Vance Blair, and the installing of an emergency committee led by myself to oversee the running of the Bastion until this Storm Bonnie clears and we can re-establish communication with the rest of the UN. Vance Blair will be placed under house arrest for the rest of days - regardless of what he may have done, he has still provided a great deal for the United Nations and Bastion - so he will not be imprisoned or executed. But free to continue his work aiding us, under our more watchful eye. Refusal will be considered an admission of guilt to any crimes he may have committed against the Bastion, the security council and the United Nations et all. And a declaration of war against the Congo Corporation. The Office of the Secretary-General has twenty four hours to comply." _____________________________ As had become typical fashion for UNSG Vance Blair during this term when accusations or denunciation found their way toward him, he never denied them and only stood firm in his beliefs, and normally doubled-down, and this would be the greatest doubling down he had ever done. "People of the United Nations, Bastion, everything you have heard about me from former Secretary-General Cross is true. Yes, I was an orphan, raised in the Lower sections, who, when he came up against an impossible obstacle, did what he had to to succeed. If falsifying my past to get my way into a center of learning is my biggest crime, then I can present to you all, cabinets full of files describing every terrible atrocity committed by the fine Uppers who rule you all. I have never done anything to wrong or bring harm to the people of the United Nations, and every step of my term I have done all I can to bring ever greater prospects, opportunities and dignity to the people who actually make this place the prosperous great power it has been for centuries. I will indeed stand down as Secretary-General, when order has been restored to the Bastion I will be the last secretary-general. I have already established the Senate of the United Nations to oversee the many planets our people have spread to, but now it is time I declare, that come the end of my term, I will be establishing the Parliament of the United Nations, and elections will be held to find my successor - The First President of the United Nations." _____________________________ From the Congo headquarters in upper Hanoi, their security forces began to surge across the Upper sections, initiating a total lockdown as far as they could, Bastion Security Forces largely sided with the Congo soldiers, but there was some holdouts of Security Forces more loyal to other corporations. Standard-Dynamics within the day has pledged their allegiance to Congo and their own security forces begin seizing the foundries and factories of competing corporations across Mexico City and Manila. StellarX in fact came to the UNSG's aid, claiming the time of corporate dictatorship had long passed and the need for democratic reform was long overdue - the UNSG himself was proof of what the Lowers could achieve if given the chance and they were prepared to stand by him. Superior Corporation claimed neutrality in the matter but that didn't help them one bit when Congo and Standard-Dynamics soldiers stormed the Superior Headquarters in Paris, seizing any material of value and taking captive any notably employees to use as leverage in negotiations. United Mining by this point in time had largely moved off the Bastion - Pontianak was their new home and their headquarters and all their major operations were located there, the CEO however still lived in Paris-on-Bastion as it was the vogue thing to do. The moment all this began he had been trying to contact his son - the captain of the Just Good Business, but could not reach him. By the end of the second day, enough workers of the huge manufactory complexes of Mexico City had been threatened and beaten by the encroaching StanDy soldiers that one finally had enough and fought back. He was shot on the spot, and his coworkers beset the corporate security. The brawl turned to a riot, which spread all across one complex to another as workers threw down their tools, sabotaged machinery and took to the streets, where hundreds of agitators became thousands, millions, in a span of a few hours. SovMech and Grammich marched side by side with their human counterparts, both proving an even greater hindrance to security forces. Near enough every Regulusi aboard the Bastion sided with the uprising people. A fierce battle consumed most of Manila, where in the Blair Industries drydocks, two new battleships, had been under construction for the past year. A convoy of Congo armored vehicles attempted to push through to the dockyards to seize the ships for themselves but were quickly waylaid by members of the Union of Shipwrights and could not get within four kilometres of any of the yards. The ongoing Storm Bonnie had already rendered the Bastion's huge solar arrays defunct as the thick nebula-like storm consumed most of the Solar System and blocked a lot of UV-light from the Sun. The workers of Islamabad who usually tended to those solar arrays and the gargantuan generators and batteries attached to them now had nothing to do, and so the entire district at once organized and marched upward into Addis Ababa, gathering supporters as they went, with the aim of capturing Ankara and the huge farms and hydroponic complexes, to deprive the Uppers of their food - seeing as they were getting none from the huge plantations of Omaha any time soon. Standard Dynamics deployed their heaviest defences at the lower edge of the Ankara Agri-ring just as they had back in the Summer of Fury in 2269, but this time they didn't act like any kind of peacekeeping force or show the slightest modicum of civility or restraint. All food to the lower sections was halted at once, anyone not identified as StanDy or Congo was shot on sight. Paris-on-Bastion itself was relatively calm, apart from the rolling power blackouts and the rising smoke from the lower sections that swirled around the inside of the huge rotating habitat like choking black clouds far too reminiscent of Earth's final days. United Nations Marines from the UNN mainbase kept order in the very Upper section, enacting a strict curfew and detaining any that broke it - regardless of what corporation that worked for or had pledged allegiance too. They tried to remain a cohesive unit and put their loyalty to the UNSG and UN as a whole above all others - but there was still desertions - family members down in the sections beneath they wanted to return to, corporations they believed they would be better off hedging their bets with now rather than protecting a UNSG who could be tried for treason if Congo / Standard Dynamics succeeded.  _____________________________ December 31st 2345 The Blair Residence Another blackout had occurred across Bastion, but from the second floor windows of his modest apartment Blair could still see the hundreds of fires burning in sections beneath. Gunfire, screaming, military drones and aircraft flying overhead. It was all just too much like the last days on Earth. He had difficulty sleeping, wracking his brain other whether had made the right decision, and how many hundreds or thousands had already lost their lives. Was allowing even one of them to lose their lives worth it in the pursuit of his goals, could he have done more to be more.. subtle, less divisive this whole time. Or was dying in the pursuit of freedom a more noble death than from succumbing to a lifetime of toil and drudgery. He had no idea what was going to come out of the end of this - if he would even succeed. He dreads to think what would happen should Congo and their allies gain the upper hand and seize total control of all of the Bastion. He did everything he could to not think about it. He clutched the handrail of the stairway downstairs, fumbling in the dark and carefully finding his footing down each step. He was well over a hundred, and while medicine in the past century had come a long way there was only so much it could do, especially for someone who had been born on Earth, the Bastion-born would live far longer lives, easily to 160 or more. The Uppers would at least. And with any luck after all this the Lowers would have that same privilege. The power came back as he reached the bottom step and he shielded his eyes for a moment from the bright lights of his apartment as they shone back into life. Cardiff mushroom tea always helped to calm his nerves and he headed to the kitchen, smiling to himself as he went, imagining just what the houses and apartments of his Upper neighbours look with all their many servants, cleaners and kitchen staff. He had always lived alone, he had relationships, but he had never got on well with any Uppers really with just a few exceptions. Tonight however he was not alone, he could already tell, there was someone in the kitchen waiting for him. And he had a pretty good idea who. On the other side of the kitchen island-counter, on one of the stools sat Patrick Cross, dressed in some C-SOB field-operatives outfit which looked ridiculous on him, he was almost as old as Blair was. In one hand a silenced pistol, in the other a bottle of fancy liquor, a faded label on it of some distillery on Earth that had long since been vaporized, which he began to pour into two glasses he had set out. It was pointless asking how he got in, considering his past profession.  Vance Blair looked to the former UNSG, his predecessor before last, and just slowly and flatly made his way to a stool in front of him on the side of the island-counter. He didn't say a word as he waited for Cross to finish pouring the drinks and then he took the bottle and read the label as he saw out of the corner of his eye the other man pull out a small vial and unscrew the top. Blair held up a finger. "At least let me enjoy just this one before you go and ruin it with that" Vance smiled meekly, but Cross' visage was as stone cold as the void that surrounded the Bastion. The UNSG downed the glass and closed his eyes and tilted his head and sighed "A pretty good choice" he admitted, planting the glass back down on the counter and pouring out some more so his would-be-assassin could poison it for him. "I should be thanking you Vance. You've proved that isn't all about just wealth. Just power, that's all that matters and wealth is just a means to that end, I couldn't give a gently caress about these arrogant hoarding pricks. I couldn't give a gently caress about Earth, or it's "legacy" or how we're all meant to be sad whenever we got outside the Bastion and see those ten million shards of rock or spend our whole lives being told about the great achievements of old The United States of this or the Empire of that. They're all dead and gone, and a whole galaxy sits out there waiting for the taking, waiting to be tamed and controlled." "And is that the 'control' you offer out there?" Vance shot back, glancing to the nearest window. "Not - when someone who is meant to be keeping control intentionally throws a spanner in the works. Democracy, really now?" "So you'll just crown yourself King of the Bastion then? Your floating palace above a dead world" "Me? No, I'm as decrepit as you are Vance. But we will find someone, there is bound to be at least one capable plyable fool amongst these opulent dullards. Congo, SinoTech, Uniting Mining... they're all just labels, a facade. Since your third great war, this whole United Nations has been a giant charade, a pleasant face to appease the lower people while we got on with the real work. It's like you said to that anarchist at the Galactic Community - they fight for the future. Well it's about time we started doing that. You are the last thing that connects any of us to Earth, your death will mark the end of a chapter for the entire human race, and the start of a new era for the United Nations - or whatever new name we decide to call it. An empire, to unite the stars, a power unrivalled." "Christ, they should have made a recreation of the Eiffel Tower, not the Palace of Versaille so at least I'd have something to jump off after listening to you" Cross' stoney face finally cracked and he smirked, though lacking any semblance of warmth. "I think it's time you had your drink, Secretary-General." Vance Blair picked up the glass again, swirling the dark brown drink around the base of it and sighed before placing it back on the counter and looking to Cross.  "I think I'd prefer the bullet"  
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 02:11
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drat.
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Jul 22, 2021 02:29
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Here we go...
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Jul 22, 2021 02:30
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gently caress
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Jul 22, 2021 02:35
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Tomorrow belongs to me intensifies.
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Jul 22, 2021 02:39
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These Pacifists sure are riotous. Violence is okay as long as its not an act of war, I guess.
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Jul 22, 2021 02:46
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Jul 22, 2021 02:58
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Well this is bad. There goes the reforms and hte peace.
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Jul 22, 2021 03:02
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Jul 22, 2021 03:06
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Well, here's the fulcrum point in every Paradox mega-LP that decides whether we slide into fascism or communism.
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Jul 22, 2021 03:12
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PULL UP YOUR GUNS RUN WHILE YOU CAN -- Slogan spraypainted in various places across the Bastion, origin unclear
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Jul 22, 2021 03:29
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well gently caress
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Jul 22, 2021 03:32
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Klaus88 posted:Tomorrow belongs to me intensifies. Behind it, off in the distance, just at the edge of hearing: Das Einheitsfrontlied plays
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Jul 22, 2021 03:32
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And I thought this was going to be the most horrifying thing of the update.
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Jul 22, 2021 04:35
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JT Jag posted:Well, here's the fulcrum point in every Paradox mega-LP that decides whether we slide into fascism or communism. Or the third option. democracy
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Jul 22, 2021 08:06
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Or the whole thing just fractures into hundreds more squabbling states and are eventually destroyed. Remember everything's blocked by the storm. No contact. Everyone's isolated.
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Jul 22, 2021 08:45
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Synthbuttrange posted:
That's some delicious Google Translate on that label at the bottom
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Jul 22, 2021 10:42
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Well poo poo.Synthbuttrange posted:
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Jul 22, 2021 11:16
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That storm is logistically the worst possible thing that could have happened to us, especially considering we're supposed to be "The united nations".
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Jul 22, 2021 15:00
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So like, what's up with all these dang purifiers popping up suddenly...
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Jul 22, 2021 15:06
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GunnerJ posted:So like, what's up with all these dang purifiers popping up suddenly... Something stirs in the dark. The Lance has clearly awoken things best left forgotten.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:10
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First contact mechanics I'd imagine, they're far away, super xenophobic, so they're heavily isolated and pretty much only in touch because their neighbors report back to the UN that they exist. Plus I don't think we have any more science ships actively exploring.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:13
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kw0134 posted:First contact mechanics I'd imagine, they're far away, super xenophobic, so they're heavily isolated and pretty much only in touch because their neighbors report back to the UN that they exist. Plus I don't think we have any more science ships actively exploring. We have one going out toward the Victorious Night nebula / the west. But given the nature of the Galactic Community and everyone now being interconnected, we've probably met everyone we're going to in the Milky Way
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Jul 22, 2021 15:23
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Well. Uh. That was... something.  
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Jul 22, 2021 15:39
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There are about 200 different streamers you could have based the the captain of Just Good Business on, so you probably should have chosen one that's not as lovely as Dr Disrespect.
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Jul 22, 2021 16:28
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