NiNES: A Broken Galaxy

[Symphony D.]

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STARDUST IS GO
OUTER SHELL, KAPTEYN, CORE WORLDS
02:01 UTC, FEBRUARY 1, 0009AE
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“Gatebuster is on track and has finalized velocity at 0.25c,” stated Sensors calmly.

McMillan reclined in his chair a little and stroked a hand across one of the padded arms. Ah but it was amazing what artificial gravity could do, to give you one steady gravity downwards even when racing along at such velocity.”

“We have reached target velocity of 0.5c,” stated Helm.

It was so good that they have moved away from that damn nonsense of utilizing acronyms and sounding like some stock-exchange or some other such infernal business.

“Two minutes to Gatebuster intercept with gate field; we will transit precisely 27 seconds after it does.”

A half a minute for that blasted thing to do its dirty-work. Well, that had certainly rolled it out quickly enough so maybe it really could do all they said it could. Nobody would know for sure until two minutes and fifteen seconds into the future. McMillan did not intend to let that be the sole arbiter of their fait, however. All ships were on standby to track targets as they became available.

“We are on a line vector with the Gatebuster,” said Helm.

There was the rock far away in front of them, a bright blue-white star burning it as its ion-drive pushed it toward the Rana gate. “Death Potato” would really have been a much more appropriate name for the thing, particularly if half the damn people didn’t know what a potato was. Its name didn’t leave terribly much ambiguity as to its function.

“Open up a secure fleet comms channel, all ships,” said McMillan.

“Yes, sir, opening channel,” said Comms.

A brief delay later came the intonation “You’re on, sir.”

McMillan cleared his throat before speaking, then said “Members of the Shuurai Security Forces, this is Admiral McMillan.”

“We are now one minute from transiting through Rana Gate; when we arrive, it is possible we will be under extremely heavy fire.”

“I can’t guarantee you specifically might make it back in one piece.”

“But I can guarantee that your comrades in arms will do everything in their capability to ensure that you do so.”

“And I can also state with honesty that although we may be in the employ of a paymaster whose objective is profit, and we may simply be here doing the jobs to which we are contracted, we are more than employees, or security guards; we are brothers in arms, and are united in the common cause that we serve together under enemy fire, just as all soldiers past, present, and future do.”

“In that capacity, it has been my utmost pleasure serving with all of you, and no matter what happens, you have my respect.”

“I hope to see you all on the other side, and hope that when this is all over, you’ll all have a hell of a story to tell someday while getting plastered and laid in the bars and streets of Rana Ni!”

Within the bellies of the assembled Crimson Fleet there was, despite all the pent up trepidation and anxiety, a roar of applause and hooting to this last shout of bravado.

“Godspeed the Crimson Fleet, and may Scurvy have mercy on the Nekomi, for we shan’t,” he concluded with a flourish, and clicked off the comms.

“A good speech, sir,” said the XO.

“Ten seconds to transit,” said Helm flatly.

“I should damn well hope so,” murmured McMillan, “I wouldn’t want what might be my last words to be crap.”

“Order all guns to auto-target upon transit, full salvos, DEW nuclear spread,” he commanded with finality.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

War Committee
6km below the surface of Benalia II

"Theodor Gregorius. Pace Muireadach. Anton Drahoslav. Harald Nagin. Orli Gianna. Millicent Abilene."

The meetings of the War Council were one of the few things Nicholas Churchill savored. They were regular, they were simple, and the differing spheres of expertise meant that the council members had a lot less partisan bickering than the Governancy. And he could take roll call. It was nice to have some constancy.

"Anton, Pace", said Churchill, informally addressing the tactical advisor and the head of fleet by their first names, "thank you for the feasibility report on the wars. Please bring up the simplified version. You can cover the Capellans first; there's been a recent public outcry regarding their caste system, and I've received a petition demanding military invention on humanitarian grounds. Quite ridiculous, of course, and it only had a thousand signatures, but I have to take it into account."



"D is for distance on the marked connections. The others are more feasible. Our Hunter Killers at Alpha Centauri are perhaps slightly weaker than the Nekomi home defense and slightly stronger than SHI. Of course, going to war with them now would violate Sol's neutrality, so we'll be polite and not talk about it. So to the Capellans, like you said. They're within attack range for a surprise strike, though they have local fleet superiority with a Cruiser, and they're building a stronger fleet. By unspoken agreement, Errai is neutral."

"I got it in writing, actually." Harald Nagin interrupted. "And I also have a proposal for a cooperative colonization of the place."

"How amusing. Anyhow. I'll get to the hypothetical alliance with Sol later, but for now, it seems that we might be able to beat the Capellans flat out without overextending ourselves, if we needed to. Abilene, your data?"

Millicent Abilene stepped up the holoprojector and flicked up a section of microcode. "As you know, the Macheas Equations and their application led to the creation of the modified Hunter Killer class ship, based on the Destroyer, which has a heavily modified engine configuration. The Macheas Equations don't apply anywhere else. Later, when we finally got fusion power back, the elerium drives saved us a lot of weight, and made the Hunter Killers very agile indeed, since we could save so much weight. Yes, I'm getting to the code, don't look at me like that. I'm recapitulating, and just because you know this doesn't mean that everyone else does. Putting AIs aboard the Hunter Killers didn't help much, though, since they were focused on other things, such as maintaining basic function without supervision. So we've begun to develop a type of AI specifically geared towards steering the ships, and only eight hours after the public announcement of this project went out, my group received this code."

She scrolled through it, zoomed out, scrolled some more. It was very long for microcode. Then she zoomed out more.

"I thought it was a joke at first. Turns out there's a team of exceptionally talented hackers who have been working on a parallell project for a year or more, and they've implemented half an AI by bloody reverse engineering based on engine emissions and telescope observations, at the microcode level. They sent a sample at first, demanding a job in exchange for full disclosure, and of course we had to accept them."

"Your point?"

"Coming now. Since we'll now have a steering AI implemented in microcode, and I'm still shocked at this myself, our Hunter Killers will be ridiculously agile. Combined with some of our other advances, it seems that they might match Cruiser types one for one."

Stunned silence.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

"Back on track. I want to see the plans for invading SHI or Nekomi, since you said you grouped them."

"Yes. At present, this would have to be a two-step plan. First we build ships at the Benalian orbital, send them to Alpha Centauri, while constructing a shipyard at Alpha Centauri. Preferably, we negotiate with Sol, either to let our ships through to a friendly world, or by convincing them that our intervention is required. Then, once the shipyard is up at Alpha Centauri, which should happen about the same time as the warp resonance diminishes in the ships from Benalia, we build another couple of ships at AC, and send them through Sol, which won't be objecting, for whatever reason, and from there to the target system. Since their war is being conducted on the other side of a five-loop system system, *snort at own joke*, it is likely that their ships will be in either of the two distant systems as we attack, and hence we will overpower them. If we have at least five Hunter Killers, we could essentially end the war at a stroke - a two-year stroke, though.

"Could you make it so?"

"No - there is no plan for an orbital shipyard at Alpha Centauri, which delays the plan at least a little."

"Perhaps these wonderful microcode hackers could make one out of an asteroid."

"Very funny."

"Settle down. What's changed with regard to our present diplomatic status with SHI and Nekomi since last time?"

"As before, since the Nekomi were agressors, we cannot support them from a moral high ground. SHI continues to send blatant propaganda about the Nekomi and the war, though, not to mention their mildly fascist government, so the people might complain if we supported them, too. Not that this prevents them from trading and making us all wealthier, though. Since recently, we've had a proposal from the Nekomi, where they're willing to offer genetic augmentations to our people on Alpha Centauri -"

-mild theatrical coughs-

"- which Churchill refused, and a trade proposal from SHI, which he accepted."

"So we're moving to support SHI, then?"

"ESIPA appears to have a heavy focus there."

"Bugger ESIPA. Whose responsibility is it anyway?"

"Mine, at present, but it might get independent enough that we'll need a new member on the council."

"Will the Governancy approve that?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Because they think we're trying to usurp authority."

"We're all elected officials, subject to impeachment, criminal charges, lack of votes, and the like. That's ridiculous."

"I think they're jealous because we can make effective decisions."

"We still need them to put any force behind them, though."

"Of course. But wouldn't that irk them more, if we make decisions and they just enforce them?"

"They could just vote no."

"Not if they wanted to retain support and credibility. I'm President, after all. And now, I declare this political tangent to be ended. I will have a report on the Hunter Killers on my desk the day after tomorrow. Meeting dismissed, since obviously we're getting nothing useful done, in spite of all your arguing."

 

[Symphony D.]

OOC: Not to pester, but possible ETA to update? Debating whether to stay awake or go sleep and intel would be goodly for resolving the question.

 

[Niklas]

I'm still at work, so don't expect it within the next 2 hours at least. So better you go to bed. (Umm, isn't it like 6:30 AM in Tuscon right now?)

 

[Symphony D.]

OOC: Time is an abstract concept created by carbon-based life-forms to monitor their ongoing decay!

 

[TerrisH]

"so you Slept with him Julia?" the Blond Cat girl said with a smirk toward her Smaller Brunette vixen counterpart.

"eh, he was Cute." the Brunette replied. "besides, he slept Like a Log after words." With a smirk, she held up a small Piece of paper. "he never noticed the sample after words. 99.97% Genetic match. we can pull them in at anytime for falsification of Identity."

"but we won't. we still do not have Proof they are spies Or that they caused the accident. We have to wait till they move again."

"awww. and I wanted to play with them.."

"... foxes, I'll never understand them."
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"ships are standing by at the sixty-second engagement limit, Sir, well Out of the way of Project Chronos. Salvos ten seconds, twenty-five seconds, and Forty Seconds are armed and Primed, with the Orbital Defenses Just outside the forty-five second limit."

"good, Alright men. were in this for the long haul now. we know activity has increased on the other side of the gate, and we know they will be attacking soon. It could be within the hour, Or It could be next week. we do not know. but we will be waiting for them. Reaglar rotation shifts will be maintained, and if you have Trouble sleeping, the Ship-doctors will supply you with sleeping aids. Stand ready, and Stand proud people. they will not get through."

 

[Symphony D.]

OOC: Direct counter-stories are generally really bad form, you know. In fact, they're so bad that despite the ease with which I might go about and have my protagonists verily escape with much daring-do from whatever you might have planned for them, I refuse to engage in such things out of principle alone.

"good, Alright men. were in this for the long haul now. we know activity has increased on the other side of the gate, and we know they will be attacking soon.

Like there's any way in the world of knowing that without sending something through. We're totally transmitting on unencrypted radio instead of, you know, encoded lasers or some such, and last I checked, you suck at espionage! Do your genetic modifications include FTL psychokinesis?

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Based on the way the warpgates have now been described as working, it should be simple to track activity:
Send camera+motor through warpgate, repeat until something returns.
If nothing returns after a while, assume that activity is high, and/or begin sending space dust so that the enemy wastes power.

UPDATE, NIKLAS?
Edit: You know, it irks me when you live one timezone east of me and you post the update late in the evening, just as I go to bed. So I'll try going to bed and getting up again ten minutes later.

 

[Symphony D.]

Based on the way the warpgates have now been described as working, it should be simple to track activity:
Send camera+motor through warpgate, repeat until something returns.
If nothing returns after a while, assume that activity is high, and/or begin sending space dust so that the enemy wastes power.

OOC: By such qualifications, I would have been on high alert for the past two years, and space dust is rather easily distinguished from electronics, so that tells him absolutely nothing of note either. Also, a camera that could go undetected wouldn't tell you jack-all, considering it'd be the size of a cellphone and stuck out in the Kuiper Belt some 50AU from the star, give or take, and in this instance there are other complications to such a mission. Furthermore, unless that's actually been being done in his orders, it hasn't been done, so odds are, no, he does not have any idea what I'm doing, particularly as I don't have any idea what's going on at Rana, nor do I presume to, and I can guarantee my eyes and ears are much better.

[EDIT] After doing some further thinking, if a Fighter at least the size of a modern jet-fighter can't warp through, and presumably only something roughly the size of a Corvette could (and it takes up roughly the space of ten Fighters), any camera device that could go through would be rather quite large (even if completely robotic) and easy to detect and thus destroy, even across one light-second of space, not to mention cost somewhere on the order of 1 to 1/5 of an EP each, depending.

 

[Nylan]

“Lock and load men, its go time!”

…and with that transport touched down. The ramp was already lowered and the troops hit the ground running. They fanned out in all directions, making sure the plaza was secure before letting down their guard. The squadron commander, with the Green Falcon of the Confederacy emblazoned on his left breast, made a slow 360’ turn, and then, assured that he would not be disturbed, started speaking to his men.

“Shoot anything that moves, and if you find anything of interest or engage in combat, report it. Be careful out there, we don’t know what’s still alive, and what sort of creatures may have made themselves at home since the Scourge. Alpha team!”

“Sir!”

“I want you heading downtown; make sure you check the commercial buildings for surviving computer files. Also keep in mind that the supermarkets and foot courts in the main forum have probably attracted Baaks. Don’t let your guard down, and don’t forget what happened to Lopez. Bravo!”

“Sir!”

“Industrial district. Take some means of transportation with you. Salvage anything that can still be put to use. We need resources for reconstruction badly, and anything of scientific use would be of great benefit as well. Delta and Epsilon, sweep the suberbs and residential areas. I don’t want anything left out. We need this place secured before work crews come in to start reconstruction here in Macon.”

“Roger that”

“Quick review: don’t forget your masks. You see any movement, you get uneasy, you so much as feel a hair on your neck raise, put it on! I’m not letting any of you fall prey to the Scourge, not on my watch. Keep your hands covered, keep all skin protected. We will conquer this plague, we will rise again, we will defeat the greatest threat mankind has ever known! God is on our side! He will be our guardian! Now move out!”

And with that the purification of the city of Macon began

 

[Niklas]

Year 6

As the years pass, the survivors of the Scourge grew more and more secure in their belief - the scourge had burned itself out, it was nowhere to be seen, the galaxy was safe again. Or maybe not exactly safe, there were still plenty of other things that could kill out there, other survivors most notably. Still, the survivors - the inheritors - kept reaching out across the galaxy. Near the outskirts of the warpgate network, two previously isolated factions reached out to make contact. The Ascendants of Imperial Guangdong had already met a Shuurai scout a year ago, but it had needed to reestablish contact with home before reporting this meeting. This year they also reached out towards the Cybrans, two insular factions coming into contact in the vastness of space. Elsewhere both NAM and Hurisian explorers reported meeting scouts from the Confederation of Kalia, the sorry remnants of a once-reknown terraforming company. Closer to the center, the Colonials of Sezuren realised what the Emergents already had, there were great benefits to be made if one could get a foothold in the inner core. Wolf only held a DCP still so trade was not yet feasible, but it did allow them to reach out for Sol to get into contact with both the Shuurai and the Democrats of Huris. And equally important, they could get the rumors of warfare confirmed.

(Colonials-Shuurai, Colonials-Democrats, Ascendants-Shuurai, Ascendants-Cybrans, Kalia-NAM, Kalia-Democrats contacts)

For war it was. If last year was one of silent build-up, this year saw those built-up powers unleashed. The Nekomi were the ones to start the war, but by now the Shuurai held the initiative. The Nekomi expected the attack on Rana and fortified as best they could, but with no shipyards at Rana and shipyards at Sirius still locked on the surface, their options were limited. The Shuurai on the other hand had built up for this moment for quite some time and would not be stopped.

The attack began on January 31st. The Shuurai had constructed what they dubbed a Gatebuster - an asteroid mounted with a propulsion system as well as an obscene amount of explosive power. It was intended to go through the gate and simply blow up, in order to clear the way for the Crimson Fleet that would follow. On the Rana side, the Nekomi had greatly bolstered their defense systems through the Project Chronos, missile pods to target anything that came through and simply blow it up. Well, the first contraption through blew up on its own, and took many of the missiles with it.

The Crimson Fleet that followed through was undoubtably the largest fleet seen post-Scourge outside of Fury. Lead by the cruiser SIS Kaguya, it also consisted of two Vantage class destroyers, one corvette and a carrier holding a full hundred fighters. The defenders also had a cruiser and a corvette, but the frigate was a bit too weak to match the Shuurai destroyers and fighters. In particular the lack of Nekomi fighters to harry the large opponent ships weighed heavily against them, and if it hadn't been for the (albeit very powerful) defense systems, the Shuurai would likely have rolled over the defenders.

As the fight rolled on, the Nekomi cruiser was more than matched by its Shuurai equivalent supported by one of the destroyers and a contingent of fighters. It quickly took a lot of damage and the order was given to retreat back to Sirius. The frigate tried to circle round the Shuurai forces, using the defense systems as cover, to strike at the relatively weak carrier which would leave the fighters stranded at Rana. The other Vantage destroyer moved to counter it though, and even though the destroyer took quite a beating from the many missiles launched against it, it managed to take out the frigate before it could do any significant damage to the carrier, and before it could run back for Sirius. The Shuurai corvette and the remaining fighters mainly fought the defense systems, with the Nekomi corvette hunting down a number of fighters before being resolutely taken care of by the Shuurai capital ships. In the end the Shuurai lost only their corvette and a small number of fighters, though both the cruiser and one of the destroyers were significantly damaged.

As space was secured for the Shuurai, they swiftly moved on to the orbital and planetary defenses at what they called Rana Ichi. Damages were relatively minor, and asteroids were pushed onto the planet's surface to take out military installments and ground forces that could oppose an invasion.

(Shuurai blockade of Rana)


Random mini-spotlight

As the CSS Incubus exited the gate, it was greeted warmly, if not exactly cordially. The still-functional defense systems had no intention of making a difference for the beautiful crew. Most likely the attack drones had never heard of the reknown Capellan Pleasure Circuses, not that they would have cared much if they had. The Incubus was intruding, and it could not be tolerated. In a straight shoot-out, mano-a-mano, the defenses would have outgunned the Incubus quite heavily. However, there were plenty of things speaking in favor of the cruiser, and they greatly evened the odds. For one, the defense systems were relatively immobile, while the Incubus could move freely around their outskirts, striking at one place and then pulling back. The defense systems had never been intended to be the sole defenders of the system, they were there to provide heavy backup to the mobile defenders. For two, their repair had been neglected over many long years now. Even so, the Incubus took a heavy beating. The defenses may be neglected and immobile, but when they hit they hit good. In the end, the limping and tilting Incubus could claim a narrow victory, and the road to colonization lay open.

(Defenses defeated at Errai)


Story Bonuses:

+ War isn't too bad for production. (+5 fighters)

+ + Settlements at Rigel are rapidly expanding. (+2 redev of Rigel)

+ President Churchill needs good protection. (+2 to Personal Armor research)

+ + The Colonial ship database is fairly extensive. (+4 to Cost-Efficient Design research)

+ The Presidential apartments at Fury are a magnificent tourist attraction. (+1 banked PP)

+ Guard duty can be really boring. (+2 to Personal Armor research)

+ Messages from PS Magellan are easy to trace. (+1 to Gate Forwarding research)

+ Alpha Centauri Prime is now predictably hostile. (+1 redev of Alpha Centauri)

+ The Norse gods probably would approve of the use of their names. (+2 to MAG rifles research)

+ Megadeath Arena is a very popular show. (+5 banked PP)

+ Elerium Fusion will greatly boost many aspects of society. (+1 banked PP)

+ Independent research at Chara and Alpha Centauri will hopefully pay off. (+1 to Holographic Simulation research)

+ + Hackers can do some pretty awesome things. (+5 to Reactive Computers research)

+ The Ascendants fear other survivors. (Free tech: Slugs)

+ + Kalia was lucky to be spared the Scourge. (+2 redev of Kalia)

+ Furian tanks are to be feared. (+500 tanks)

+ Force critters are dangerous beasts. (+2 to Hand Lasers research)

+ + The Cygni derelict holds many interesting items of value. (+1 banked PP)

+ + The ESIPA is hiring. (Not gonna tell ya...)

+ It is more beneficial to pay others to do your research. (+4 banked PP)

+ The Excelsior project is a massive undertaking (+4 to Project Excelsior)

+ The whole research paradigm is clearly bogus. (+2 to Burst Lasers research)

+ Radioactive waste is definitely not for toddlers. (+1 banked PP)

+ Golden Globes' pleasure circuses are very popular. (+2 redev of Capella)

+ Ivan knows lasers alright. (+2 to Burst Lasers research)

+ Simple countermeasures can be highly efficient. (+2 to Close-In Defenses research)

+ + GBU-001 is the first of its kind. (Extra effect for the Gatebuster)

+ Trade to Epsilon Eridani isn't choked, just thoroughly checked. (+1 banked PP)

+ The Nekomi are sometimes too naïve for their own good. (-1 PP invested in Project Excelsior)

+ Sarge Liana really wants her power armor. (+1 to Personal Armor research)

+ The Emergents consider all sides to get sure they make the best possible moves. (+2% stability at Benalia)

+ Project Chronos is Rana's last hope. (+1 to Project Chronos investment)

+ Macon holds many useful resources to be scavenged. (+1 banked PP)

Special Bonuses:

Centuries of development haven't done much for the quality of TV shows. (Most amusing story - +10 banked PP)

The crew on HMS Queen Elizabeth died as heroes. (Most scary story - Free techs: Point Defenses and Shields)


Random events

Prosthetics are more popular at Tarsus than even Kozmos could have expected. (+4 banked PP)

A fugle uprising at Capella is dealt with swiftly, but not swiftly enough. (-1 redev of Capella)

The Cyberlands are spreading to Chara. (+3 to Holographic Simulation research)


OOC:

Obvious scapegoat-of-the-turn: Symphony D., for breaking the most sacred of the rules - two PMs!

I blame him for this taking longer than I thought it would...

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Nice update Niklas! Now, to continue work on mine...

 

[alex994]

Excellent! Hmm.. neighbors with symphony, oh my

Iggy, can we expect the update tonight?

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Probably tomorrow.

 

[Symphony D.]

Sarge Lianni really wants his power armor.

Tis Liana, and a she to boot.

Good update. Now, for the bomb.

 

[Symphony D.]

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WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
CORPORATE H.Q., ERIDANI PRIME, EPSILON ERIDANI, CORE WORLDS
19:21 UTC, JANUARY 3, 0010AE
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“The business of government is an unprofitable one,” said Renji flatly.

The other members of the Board of Directors glanced at one another. They had had this discussion before—several times, actually—and by now they had generally come to a consensus that it was indeed the case. This was not to say that government did not produce capital; nay, quite the contrary, but it was not efficient in terms of profit margins that Shuurai was accustomed to. Its attentions were too divided—between public welfare, infrastructure, maintenance, research and development, expeditionary efforts, defense construction, warfare… it wasn’t possible to maintain a clear corporate focus. And that was precisely what a corporation needed. A corporation that did not have clients was in fact not a corporation at all, but merely a corporatocracy of the most extremist form. Shuurai had been able to do this before the Scourge since it had had clients of similar capability to cater to. Now, it was chiefly its own client, and that was not an effective means of growth in this new environment. It was clearly time for change.

“The proposal has been brought up before,” said Renji, “that the potential exists for this company to step down from its position of power and, in so doing, to establish a separate overhead for itself in the form of a replacement government.”

“I still fail to see what such a move would do to benefit us,” said John with a hint of irritation.

“Come on, John, we’ve been over this before,” said Elsa exasperatedly.

She pulled up schematics and diagrams on the holoprojector. It was actually working better now, more along the lines of how it used to. They showed net profit data, estimated profit from switching, and so forth. Everything pointed positively in the direction of stepping down. “The math is easy,” she said, adding “By removing all the administrative overhead we can refocus our efforts on research and development and manufacturing instead of spreading it all across the board.”

She waved her holopen at the projection “Tighter focus means better profit, pure and simple, we are almost all agreed on this.”

There was agreeable murmuring around the table. “But we lose power support and net funding from the switch,” said John.

To this Merle chimed in “Actually, if you’ll excuse me, we only gain popular support.”

The others all turned and looked at the normally quiet Research Officer. She pushed her glasses up and continued on “Our rule is, as we are all aware, somewhat unpopular amongst the masses—by relenting authority to a more equitable government body and surrendering total power it will be a major public relations coup, proving we are indeed concerned with the good of the people.”

John started to interrupt but she held up a finger to stop him “Also, while our net funding will go down, so too will our expenses, as we will be absolved of all the additional baggage ruling a total society entails.”

To this there was yet more agreeable rumbling, until Jirai spoke up “Furthermore in creating a government entity above ourselves we secure a permanent position of importance within its research and defense sectors by being the only possible contractor of note of major military hardware and technology; we ourselves will be indispensable to such a government for supplying it with military hardware and technology, along with pre-existing forces and infrastructure—it would be a perfect and permanent client for our wares.”

At this point the Board of Directors broke into numerous and raucous separate discussions over the matter. It was only after some minutes that Renji was able to finally regain the attention of all of them. “If this matter is so favored by the majority of this council, I suggest we put the matter to a supermajority vote to see if it is indeed the path we are to take.”

He glanced across the table at Thomas “If you would please, Thomas?”

Thomas nodded silently and tapped at his PDA. On the holoprojector appeared the standard corporate voting tally utilized for major corporate decisions.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your votes please,” said Renji.

They all silently and anonymously entered their votes via holopen. After a few moments, the results were collated, and the decision was obvious: 11 to 2 in favor.

John made a quiet murmur of disbelief but otherwise remained silent. “With that out of the way,” said Renji, “I believe we may move on to the matter of deciding what sort of government we wish to install above ourselves.”

“A representative one would seem most obvious,” said Mai.

“Yes,” added Ivana, “however I believe the question would be precisely what sort of representative government.”

Golan spoke up, saying “I would suggest the most appealing possible government would be the one that accommodated the greatest variation in viewpoints—it would be the most marketable.”

Renji nodded a little and looked across the table at Iceal “What documentation do we possess on democratic governments pre-Scourge and their relative success at matters.”

Iceal quirked an eyebrow slightly and pulled out his PDA, tapping at it for a few moments before declaring “All the really ubiquitous documents are still around in one form or another; Declaration of Independence, American Constitution, Dorsa Brevia Declaration, original UNSPC Declaration, a few others.”

“And any data on their relative successes,” asked Renji.

Iceal shrugged and asked “You know what they are, right,” before answering “So obviously those must have worked to some capacity.”

Renji looked around the table before focusing on Uhuru “Uhuru, how quickly can your team put these documents together and cross-reference them with AIs to find similar characteristics so we can put out a suitable synthesis?”

Uhuru spread his hands and smiled “48 hours easy, boss.”

Renji cocked his jaw to one side, flexing it, before leaning back in his chair and setting his holopen upon the table, stating “Lets get to it then.”

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I’m Chasita Menenedez and this is SNN. In tonight’s breaking news, Shuurai Corporate Headquarters has just announced its intention to cede all political power over the Epsilon Eridani and Kapteyn systems and all public assets therein to a new representative government. According to official sources within Corporate H.Q., company legal experts to draft an initial document outlining the principles by which an elected government would be operated and established. In an exclusive interview with CEO Tsukuda Renji, SNN inquired as to the reasons for the sudden decision.

REPORTER: What was the basis for the corporate leadership of Shuurai to decide to abdicate power in such a fashion?
C.E.O. TSUKUDA: It it the opinion of Shuurai’s current Board of Directors that the breadth of attention necessary for the establishment and maintenance of a stable society necessitates the establishment of a more representative system than is currently available.
REPORTER: Has the company decided to establish a timeline for the release of its “roadmap” to reform?
C.E.O. TSUKUDA: Indeed. The outline of our proposal draws upon such well-known documents as the Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of the United Planetary Nations Council of Sol. Our legal experts have been working to take the best aspects of all of these documents to produce a document suitable for the deserving people of Epsilon Eridani and Kapteyn. They have been working at the problem for some time and have expressed their confidence in completing it within the next 36 hours. In the interim, we are taking suggestions, and once it is completed we will be providing access to copies of the document in various formats free of charge for the duration of two weeks in order to permit the citizenry to review and improve upon it. After such time, we will hold initial elections in order to establish an interim government until such time as a regular voting cycle can begin. Shuurai Heavy Industries will retain executive control of all defense forces and other operations necessary for the stability of society until such time as the interim government is prepared to assume those duties.
REPORTER: Any words on where the future of Shuurai itself lies?
C.E.O. TSUKUDA: Only the future knows for sure, Bill, but we look forward to continuing to serve the people in both systems and throughout all human space.
REPORTER: Thank you for your time on these matters, Mr. Tsukuda.
C.E.O. TSUKUDA: No, thank you.

In related news, Shuurai Corporate Headquarters has also announced the spin-out of several major subdivisions from, including Shuurai Pharmaceuticals, Shuurai Construction, Shuurai Entertainment, and others, into separate corporations with limited remaining ties to the parent company of Shuurai Heavy Industries. Company insiders have been quoted as saying stockholders in S.H.I. will be allowed to reallocate stockholdings as they see fit amongst the “Baby Shuurai” during the spin-out process.

In other news, the New War has reached a pivotal moment…

 

[TerrisH]

OOC: Niklas. Quick Question. How the heck could Shuuri Build a ship and Send it through a gate THE SAME TURN it was built? I just wish to know your or Shuuri's Justification for it. I'm not going to complain, or do anything about it. I'll just accept it. but again, why did you let him break the rules?

 

[Symphony D.]

OOC SYSTEM NOTICE:

Shuurai Heavy Industries / 襲来重工業 / Shuurai Jūkōgyō / Shuurai / S.H.I. has Disbanded

United Systems Commonwealth / U.S.C. has Formed

The U.S.C. holds the following new attributes:

Leader: President Alexa H. Carter
Attributes:
- Industrious (10% cost reduction on ships, +20% tanks and drones per PP)
- Brilliant Research (20% reduction to all research costs)
- Bureaucratic (+1EP to R7 and R8 Redevelopment, +25% to Terraforming Costs)*
Description: The U.S.C. came about following the abdication of power by former overlord of the Epsilon Eridani and Kapteyn systems, Shuurai Heavy Industries, and was formed utilizing a framework of previously successful representative states crafted by Shuurai legal teams and input from citizens of the existing government. The U.S.C. is effectively an interstellar federal republic utilizing a popularly elected government composed of representatives from localized regions within its systems. It has inherited the military forces of Shuurai and currently subcontracts most of its construction, defense and research needs to that corporation. It looks to expand the rule of law and democracy to systems lacking order and stability and to promote the growth and benefit of mankind in all its possible expressions.

* Representative of minority and conservative interests (particularly Green ones) - if this is not considered adequate penalty, will settle for +50% to Terraforming; however I think it’s adequate, personally.

OOC: Niklas. Quick Question. How the heck could Shuuri Build a ship and Send it through a gate THE SAME TURN it was built? I just wish to know your or Shuuri's Justification for it. I'm not going to complain, or do anything about it. I'll just accept it. but again, why did you let him break the rules?

All the ships I sent were built last turn or before. No rules were broken. The Gatebuster was also not a ship.

 

[alex994]

OOC: Mind signing on AIM sometime soon symphony?