Epistolary Experiment (30/30): Epilogue

FILISSIN, ÓDELN – The last ship of identified Republic sympathizers left Ódeln this morning on its way to Márch, under the supervision of local consular authorities from a number of polities, and at the same time, as tensions cool, the internment of the local kalatri has been terminated – although they have little to return to but now-destroyed homes and businesses. Many intend to seek transport off-world at the first opportunity.

The Temporary Tyrancy, the provisional governance of this freesoil world, has announced its intention to dissolve in one year, “subject to the resolution of the state of emergency now pertaining”. Many of Ódeln’s residents seem happy with this news, but a strong minority are unhappy with this qualification, expressing deep concern that the Tyrancy may intend to effect a transition into a permanent governance. A movement is growing among this minority to call upon Interstellar Interceders, FK, to oversee and, if necessary, enforce this dissolution.

The management of Interstellar Interceders were unavailable for comment.

– the Accord Journal


From: Sinith Arání, VP Public Relations
To: All Contractees
Subject: Thanks and Congratulations

Well done, people, well done!

Thanks to your work, the company’s come through this crisis with name unstained and flying colors. I could not be more proud of our achievement, or of all of you.

I’m also delighted to be able to tell you that the Directorate has approved a performance bonus of Es. 1,150,500,000 for our achievement, and in view of the excellent joint performance you’ve all turned in, I’ve elected to divide that equally among the department (i.e., just over a million for each of you receiving this message).

For both myself and Ring Dynamics, congratulations, and thank you again.

Sinith

– from the Ring Dynamics, ICC, internal e-mail archive


VENERI (Osis Deep) – The Iltine Union regrets to report that the former Minister of Pacification, Kadrish har-Lan Sarkdor, his wife, and two of his three children, were killed yesterday when their groundcar was struck by an express maglev when leaving the capital. Investigations continue, but while suspicion must fall, in the current climate of interstellar tension, upon offworlder terrorists and other factions opposed to the Blessed Union, it is believed that this was no more than a tragic accident.

[APPROVED FOR DISSEMINATION – Meer har-Tal Ankór, Office of Desirable Truths and Detestable Falsehoods]


From: Executor Major Garren Melithos, Uulder Shore Constellation Adhoc, Imperial Exploratory Service
To: Cmdr. Leda Estenv, Flight Administrator, CS Iron Dragon
Subject: Checking up

Your Mr. Sarathos is shaping up as well as can be expected here after his transfer. Per his request, we put him to work on the hush-hush clean-up of Ekritat’s atmosphere after his oops, and he’s doing a good job there so far. Chastened, but competent.

My colleagues have some similar projects lined up for him after this. If all goes well, we might just manage to salvage him and his career.

-gm


STATUS REPORT: FORMER PEOPLE’S STATE OF BANTRAL WORLDS: SUMMARY
SECOND DIRECTORATE INTERNAL
(SUITABLE FOR TRANSPARENCY RELEASE)

ALLIAC (CORDAI GAP): Alliac’s governing committee has elected union with the Equality Concord. Concord representatives have already arrived on-planet and have begun mass implantation. Agents withdrawn.

DINC (CORDAI GAP): New socionovist governance has achieved stable control of the planet, and lays claim to all the former territory of the People’s State of Bantral, a claim rejected by the other Bantine worlds. Governance has limited interstellar capability at present, but is attempting to increase its military production capacity.

GORBIS (CORDAI GAP): Gorbis is presently dominated by a coalition of revolutionary groups controlling leftover Republic basing infrastructure and is evolving towards a syndic-managed anarchy; the governing coalition provides free cornucopia access to all who agree to their syndicratic pact. Consensus recommends cautious support and advisory role, and potentially inclusion in the Accords as a freesoil world.

ONCBIS (CORDAI GAP): Oncbis remains unstable, the planet having been hit hard by unlawful vultures and salvagers. Economic productivity has been severely damaged by loss of capital technology. Local militias dominate.

RRENAC (CORDAI GAP): Rrenac has collapsed entirely into warwilds. Economic productivity is zero. Interstellar capability is marginal and dropping. Habitats in the system are dying or dead. General war continues unabated. Consensus recommends placing the system under interdict.

TURBIS (CORDAI GAP): Turbis remains divided between self-governing local militias and a governance leaning towards the Equality Concord. Concord missionaries are presently attempting to convert the militias peacefully but the situation remains in balance. Consensus recommends intervention.


Sarq Iqador, the Voniensa Republic’s last governor of Vontok II, watched from the window of his office as the last of the Empire’s transports pointed its nose skyward and departed his planet.

“Finally! Now we can start putting things back in order.”

“In order?”

“We may no longer be part of the Republic, Tiesh, but we will not abandon its principles. We will start by re-indexing and securing our networks, closing the starport to smugglers, and getting all the technological leftovers of the occupation rounded up and placed under proper –“

“You may not have noticed, Governor, but the agreement we signed guarantees that we will permit the free flow of information and free trade.”

“The Republic signed that when it threw us away. We didn’t. I don’t consider it binding.”

“The Republic had the authority to sign it at the time. And are you seriously suggesting that we break our agreement with the people who just handed our entire polity its ass? Because they probably consider it binding.”

“We must clean up our own house. We are kalatri, and we will maintain –“

“You may also not have noticed, Governor, but there is enough ‘prohibited technology’ out there to keep us cleaning up for years, and at least half, maybe two-thirds, of the people on the planet are using it even if they don’t agree with it. And the ideas behind it are out there, saved in ‘qar only knows how many personal databases, and with that treaty, we can’t keep them out even if we wanted to. Might I also suggest that a much more productive line of thinking, from your perspective, would be your own legitimacy?”

“I am the appointed governor of this planet!”

“Appointed by the Republic, you mean? Which, as you pointed out, no longer owns the sovereignty of this planet. It’s a new age, Governor, and you’ll need to get used to that. Meanwhile, here’s the resignation from your administration I came to give you. I’ll see you in the election.”

“Election! What election!?”


From: Sarine min Gethill, Imperial Starport Authority
To: Phoebe Dracotarthius, Sheriff, Nightside Rock
Cc: Galin Tarquelios, Port Director, Nightside Rock
Subject: Facility Reactivation

Per standard protocol, in light of the addition of twenty-six worlds to the Accord to spinward of your facility, and in anticipation of the consequent increase in passenger and trade volumes to this region, the ISA Volume Advisory Adhoc has concluded that your star station facilities should be reactivated to Class II, pending Class III, status. As such, equipment and staffing to suit these levels (details enclosed) have been dispatched to you to enable this.

Please advise on readiness to receive and any special requirements soonest.

– SmG

(encs.)

VERBAL ANNOTATION BY RECIPIENT:

Oh, starshit, plague, and corruption.


Council of the Republic
Vonis Prime

PRESIDENT: Where is the Propulsion Group representative?

SECRETARY: We haven’t been able to find him, sir.

DEFENSIVE MINISTER: The entire Propulsion Group is missing from their offices. We haven’t been able to contact, or track, any of them. I’m having their stations searched by Fleet Security.

PRESIDENT: Damn it! Put the Exception Management Group on this. I want them tracked down and made to answer for this debacle!

[pause]

Well, we’ll have to handle the situation as best we can. What is the status of the Fleet?

DEFENSIVE MINISTER: We’ve lost approximately half of our trailing forces, including their logistics train, at a very unfavorable exchange ratio. We’ll get some of the crews back in prisoner transfers, but space battles don’t leave many survivors. We are, let me emphasize, very lucky that the Worlds weren’t interested in pursuing the war any further. As it stands, the Fleet can’t defend our trailing border. We need an immediate rebuilding program, and a drastic one.

PRESIDENT: Chancellor?

FINANCE MINISTER: Out of the question. Out of the question. Between the reparations we now have to pay in goods or out of our external currency reserves, and ongoing internal expenses, there’s no room to fit even a modest rebuilding program in the budget – unless we hike the tithes on the Shell Colonies again, if they wouldn’t take advantage of the situation to break away. And that’s assuming that our present economy is sustainable.

DEFENSIVE MINISTER: Without it —

PRESIDENT: What do you mean, ‘assuming our present economy is sustainable’?

FINANCE MINISTER: The Propulsion Group operated all the stargates in the Republic. They seem to have disappeared. No stargates, no interstellar travel, which means no interstellar economy – and no Republic.

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER: He’s right, Mr. President. The stargates are operating for now, but we have no way of knowing how long that will continue without—Well, unless something useful is found when Fleet Security searches their stations, we may lose our stargate plexus at any time.

PRESIDENT: What?

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER: At the foundation of the Republic, we agreed to let the Group handle the necessity of stargate technology at arms-length, for what seemed like good reasons at the time. But that means we don’t have an understanding of it now.

FINANCE MINISTER: So what do you propose to do about it?

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER: I don’t think we have any choice but to accept the Ring Dynamics proposal to take over construction and maintenance of our stargates, effective immediately.

DEFENSIVE MINISTER: Unacceptable! The security risks alone –

FINANCE MINISTER: Do you have any idea what that would cost –

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER: Compared to not having a polity or its economy, it’s risk-free and cheap.

[pause]

We may also want to consider accepting the Probable Technologies offer to examine the Group’s “relics”, especially if they are what they say they are.

PRESIDENT: No. That is unacceptable. It will be bad enough if we have to use an outside corporation to provide us with interstellar transportation – which decision we will defer until Fleet Security has had a chance to report and the Science Division have examined one of our existing stargates – but I cannot, and will not, go down in history as conceding our one possible advantage to our adversaries.

[pause]

Is the Fleet capable of keeping order in the Shell?


FROM: BORDERLINE DEFENSE MATRIX (107 – CHARACH)
RECEIVED AT: BORDERLINE DEFENSE MATRIX COMMAND

*** ROUTINE
*** FLEET CONFIDENTIAL E256
*** SITREP

SITUATION NOMINAL. NO ANOMALIES DETECTED.

AUTHENTICATION HATRACK RATCATCHER GALLANT FLARE BISCUIT LINELAYER / 0xCEEE8273B231AA04

ENDS.

Epistolary Experiment (29/30)

“EILAN (CRIMSON EXPANSE) – The Third Border War, or the Core War, is finally over. In amendments to the Republic-Worlds Demarcation Convention, signed today by Minister Plenipotentiary Elyse Phylarius for the Empire and the Worlds, and Admiral Irjen Tarvil for the Voniensa Republic, the belligerents agreed to a cease-fire in place, followed in the coming weeks by a staged withdrawal to the military status quo ante bellum.”

“In the settlement, the Republic has agreed to concede the twenty-six worlds forming the trailing half of the Vonis 31 sector to the Associated Worlds, as a new constellation as yet undesignated. The primary Republic colonies at Vontok II, Vilin IV, and Tinesh III are to be granted their independence and offered conditional membership in the Accord; another five colony worlds, not self-supporting, will be assigned freesoil status. By agreement, the four Republic Protectorate worlds in the region will be assigned the status of protected planets under the Accord; in exchange for this concession, the Republic will grant all Worlds-registered vessels free port access in Uinul System, at the coreward-spinward edge of the concession area.”

“Of other viable planets in the region, the Empire, Quave Republic, and Múrast Symbiosis have claimed one each, and others will be made available according to normal Accord procedures. Former Republic governance assets including the repair yards at Manar, the fuel depot at Dantry, and the deep-space logistics station at Barresh are currently in Accord trust and will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.”

“The Republic has also agreed to pay reparations of hard goods and resources, with a value estimated at 11.3 trillion exvals, The largest part of this is intended for the Qiraf Assembly, whose territorial volumes were hardest hit by the war, but sums have also been designated for affected freesoil worlds and single-system polities, for affected corporate entities, for the war expenses of the combatants, and for loss of revenues caused by disruptions in trade and communications.”

– from the Objective Eye newsfeed


“Admiral? Admiral Tarvil?”

“Yes?” The kalatri Admiral turned, then clamped down on the double-clench of his stomach, first at the prospect of another discussion today with an eldrae, then again on observing the platinum hair and slate-gray complexion of their four-armed spacer clade.

She floated up to him, proffering a scroll-case. “Sinith Arání, VP Public Relations, Ring Dynamics. Our Directorate has a proposal for you, concerning the maintenance and expansion of your stargate network.”

“What? Ah – we’ve just come out of a war. Why are you making us this offer now?

“Why not?” She shrugged with all her arms. “You have a need, and we can satisfy it. Trade makes peace, and peace makes plenty. It’s just good business.”

Sinith looked at him assessingly. “Also, if I may speak frankly, among the things this war should have demonstrated to you is our commitment to the freedom of transit for all our customers. We live or die by our contracts. If there’s anything behind the rumors surrounding your Propulsion Group, I should think that alone would be worth something to you.”

– from the Ring Dynamics due-diligence chaperone-log archive


From: Kenth min Gogille, Director of Research & Prospecting, Probable Technologies
To: Adm. Irjen Tarvil
Subject: Opportunities

Admiral,

I represent Probable Technologies, ICC.

You’ve heard of us, I’m sure. We’re the ruthless apotheosians’ ruthless apotheosians. We’re vultures. We pick through the ruins of dead civilizations and eschatological events for any technology or knowledge we can recover, then turn what we can into licensable intellectual property (and publish the rest). And, if you listen to most of our critics, we’re a disgrace to the good name of archaeology, albeit a very successful and academically respected disgrace.

And I’m contacting you because, according to their transparency releases, our intelligence community believes that your government is sitting on the ruins of a dead Power, and deriving your stargate technology from it. In which case, you need us.

You may not like us. Hell’s spores, it’s a damn certainty you don’t. But we are the acknowledged experts in this area, and in particular those parts of this area covering “making relics into sustainable technology” and “not getting your civilization eaten by the resurrection seeds of ancient, demonic AI gods while doing it”.

I won’t tell you that we won’t demand a share of the rights, because we will. I won’t tell you that we won’t share information with the Imperial intelligence community, either, because you wouldn’t believe it anyway, and we probably will. But I will tell you that that’s a small price to pay for the benefit that comes with understanding your technologies, and not making the sort of absolute wretched hash that your Propulsion Group, or whoever, made of the relic currently floating around Karmál System in several pieces, and all of its potential.

-KmG


Consolidated Mutual Mitigation & Surety today announced a staged normalization of shipping and property insurance rates across all affected areas of the Worlds at pre-war levels, in response to the news of the peace agreement concluded on Eilan (Crimson Expanses) earlier this week.

In other responses, Gilea & Co. and Prosperity Nexus announced an advance-loan program for corporations and governances expecting to receive reparations from the Republic, prompting similar action to be taken by several consortia of commercial banks. Meanwhile, Probable Technologies, ICC, has authorized a number of freelance prospecting expeditions into the region opened up by the border adjustments, and a number of colonial outfitters and prefab manufacturers have also reported favorable prospects.

The market as a whole responded favorably to this news, if in a subdued manner, closing up 113 basis points on its primary index.

– the Seranth Times, financial section

Epistolary Experiment (28/30)

Republic-Worlds Peace Conference
Synchel ab Kamisir Negotation Center
Eilan (Crimson Expanse)

“You’re stalling.”

This statement from Elyse Phylarius, the senior Imperial representative at the conference, fell flatly across the conference table.

“I’m sure we don’t know what you -”

“Of course you do not, gentlesophs,” she continued. “You would have no reason to stall for time to allow your deep-penetration fleet to reach its objective, naturally. But you also might have no knowledge of the current status of that fleet, given the, ah, difficulties the Silicate Tree has been introducing into your communications recently. Permit me to enlighten you on that point.”

She reached into her briefcase, and tossed an object onto the table with a metallic clank. The kalatri representatives stared at it in silence.

The object had once been a brass plaque, now charred, space-burnt, and warped by intense heat, but despite its battered surface, the bold characters could still be made out:

VNS President Siroshin
RCC-1497

“This arrived earlier today by fast courier from the Core. Your deep-penetration fleet, I regret to say, no longer exists. You’ll want to provenance that, of course, and no doubt consult with your goverment. Shall we reconvene in, let us say, two hours?”


“They’re lying. They’ve got to be lying.”

“Then how did they get Siroshin‘s commissioning plaque? Which is genuine. The embedded codes check out. The trace alloys check out.” Admiral Tarvil glared at the younger kalatri. “Your supposed covert operation has failed just as badly as the rest of this war.”

“They could have faked it! If they could get an agent aboard Social Harmony, they could have stolen the details of the security codes. And even if Siroshin has been destroyed, that doesn’t mean the fleet is lost. We need to give them time to complete their mission and report.”

“No.”

“May I remind you, Admiral –”

“You. May. Not. When we go back into conference, Commander, I will attempt to salvage what I can from this debacle you and the rest of the Propulsion Group have dragged the Republic into. And then, we are going to have an in-depth discussion concerning exactly how many starships were destroyed and how many of my people you got killed on your idiot crusade.”

– Republic discussions at peace conference,
Second Directorate transcript


“These talks are a waste of time. We’ve got them against the wall, now. We should press our advantage! Their forces defending their side of the Borderline are weakened, demoralized! An advance, now, could take three sectors before they respond – or, hells’ favor, we could punch right through and knock out Vonis Prime!”

“The Conclave agrees!” a second voice spoke up. The Qirafian who had been sent to represent the other polities of the Worlds pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “A return to status quo ante is not acceptable to us. We require victory!”

“And there,” Elyse replied wearily, “speaks the voice of innumeracy. The Republic is eight thousand systems. We are hundreds. Even if we could take it, we could never hold it, and the Empire does not pursue wars that it can’t win, however winnable the battles look.”

“And as for the Conclave,” she continued, turning to the Qirafi deshnik, “do you have new promises with you of starships, logistics trains, occupation troops? If the Conclave wishes a full military invasion of the Republic, the Conclave needs to put its military forces where its warmongering mouth is. Our existing allies in this affair have already indicated to us that they aren’t interested in sticking any parts of themselves into that meat-grinder.”

“We could still punch out Vonis Prime!”

“Yes, we probably could do that. If we did, clionomic projections suggest that, as a tightly-controlled centralizing governance, Republic space would collapse into an extended period of anarchy, and I don’t mean ‘like us’, or even ‘like the Rim Free Zone’. I mean 8,000 worlds of chaos and warwilds. The collapse of infrastructure. Entire fleets turning to piracy. A complete bloody catastrophe, in short, and one that going to come boiling out across the Borderline and ruin all our tomorrows.”

“You didn’t object to that when it was the People’s State collapsing!”

“And if the Republic was a handful of worlds and notoriously worse as a governance than a complete absence of one ever could be, we wouldn’t object to it collapsing either. But it isn’t. In any case, gentlesophs, I strongly suggest that you take what you can get – and what we think we can get is a general return to status quo ante bellum, reparations for the damage, and half a constellation, twenty-six systems, chopped out of Vonis 31 – and be satisfied, because the only thing that could possibly be worse for us than losing this war is winning the damned thing.”

– Associated Worlds discussion at peace conference,
legate’s personal transcript


From: Elyse Phylarius
To: Ministry of State and Outlands, Republic Affairs Committee
Subject: Conference status
Security: MOST SECRET (ICE SHADOW)

We got lucky this time: our allies came through for us, and with their help I was able to talk the Conclave representatives out of doing anything stupid and beat down the factions. But it was a close-run thing – we’ve got to find some way to cool things down or accelerate the timetable, or else ICE SHADOW and our hopes for inducing a peaceful fragmentation may not survive another incident.

-ep

Epistolary Experiment (27/30)

“First, know yourself; and know your enemy, second. This is the first principle of victorious war.”

The Thousand Wise Analects of the Supreme Warlord,
Xian Anandonos

“It also doesn’t hurt to know what your enemy knows about yourself.”

Adm. Inesmír Muetry-ith-Muetry, in conversation


Netharn (Idrine Margin) System
CS Unconquerable Self
Coreward Fleet Yards & Logistics Division

“What’s our readiness status, Captain?”

“Excellent, Admiral. These yard dogs know their stuff. Special weapons package SPLITSHANK RIPPER has been loaded to all ships in the task force. I have the tactical departments setting up dedicated weapons queues for it now. Electromagnetic screen generators have been compiled and are installed in the free module spaces of all ships. They’re undergoing final proving tests right now.”

“And the extra radiation cladding?” The Admiral nodded at a nearby projection, displaying a dozen foot-long bulldozers scraping busily at the surface of a nearby asteroid.

“Running about 7% behind. Bagging the regolith is going to schedule, but they had some trouble getting the nets adapted to the hulls of the frigate screen. We should still be aweigh-ready by the foredawn watch.”

“Very good. Keep me informed.”


Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System
CS Eädne’s Helm
Flag Bridge

“The Republic task force has entered the system, Admiral,” the tactical officer reported. “From the Karmál gate, as expected. My best read is… thirty to forty of the plane, same again of screen, in staggered-scramble formation, with the megastructure in the middle.” She leaned over her board and adjusted the focus controls again. “I can’t get a clearer count than that, though. All this rad-hash is ruining the sensor resolution.”

“Very well, Cymnéä. Pass the word to the AKVs at the tarvic generator: scramble and attack on closest approach. Remind them that kills are secondary; their highest priority is to pass us target data.”


signal from flag: we are go at closest approach, target ailék.

all wings report in

weasel weasel weasel

shrike shrike shrike

scorpion scorpion

declamp and puffball. ready thrust packs, ears only.

guidance lock, no growler.

weasel wing, arm and attack screen from system acme; shrike wing, arm and attack screen from system nadir; scorpion wing, punch through and heat up the sweatbox. flank speed, backfire closure.

report scan data to flag soonest via tangle.

count is running.

flash-backup

hold knives to eyeball range; light the fires; stove-top hop; go go go

– from the thought-record of AKV Oriel-2-2-1


Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System
CS Eädne’s Helm
Flag Bridge

“AKVs are running.”

“When will they be within the Republic task force’s threat range?”

“Estimate three-two minutes, sir.”

“Set the maneuver clock: in three-two minutes, fleet is to cease acceleration and skew-flip, but is not to start deceleration yet. Let them think we’re satisfied with our closing rate and are going for a zero/zero after the AKVs have chewed on them some more. Pass the word to tactical: as we maneuver, fire SPLITSHANK RIPPER as you bear, per uploaded fire plan.”


Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System
VNS President Siroshin
Bridge

“Target Alpha just cut acceleration. Aspect change on target, looks like the beginning of a skew-turn.”

“Very well, Mr. Kadesh. Helm, maintain course and acceleration. If they want a passing engagement, we’ll oblige –“

“Contacts, contacts! We show multiple inbound missiles, groupings three, estimate over six hundred inbounds, range one-eighty-thousand, heading two-six-five mark three-two.”

“Signal to all ships: shift immediately to defensive globe formation. Stand by point defense. Mr. Kadesh, get me profiles on those missiles –“

(The sensor report of an electromagnetic spike accompanying the aspect change scrolled off the screen, unnoticed.)


Loaders clanked, switches closed, stacked accumulators discharged with an electrical hiss, drive coils spat lightning, and the SPLITSHANK RIPPER slug left the axial mass driver of Eädne’s Helm at a leisurely 1% of light speed; enough for multiple kilotons of impact should it directly hit its target, but nothing that would do exceptional damage to a starship designed for war, such as President Siroshin.

But it was not targeted directly at President Siroshin.

Minutes after being fired, the slug, fired retrograde, dropped into the ergosphere of the Eye of Night, that portion of space-time distorted by the spinning black hole in such a way as to drag all material objects along with it. Shortly thereafter, the SPLITSHANK RIPPER charge built into the slug fulfilled its designers’ intentions, and blew cleanly in two.

The larger part, no longer needed, fell away into the event horizon.

The smaller, a mere grain by comparison, in obedience to conservation of momentum, was hurled out of the ergosphere at high relativistic speed.

As were the smaller fragments of the other 119 slugs fired simultaneously.


Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System
VNS President Siroshin
Bridge

“Incoming! INCOMING! Gamma blueshift—“


Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System
CS Eädne’s Helm
Flag Bridge

“The package has been delivered. Flash is… okay, surviving AKVs are getting their sensors back on line. We have – splash fifty-seven, sixty-nine casualties. Twelve still under command, all screen. The megastructure looks battered, but appears intact and not at immediate risk of sympathetic detonation.”

“Very good. Make signal to senior surviving officer, Republic task force:

“‘This is Grand Admiral Inesmír Muetry, commanding CS Eädne’s Helm and all other Imperial forces in this system. Your forces, in my estimation, are no longer capable of sustaining battle, and therefore, to prevent an unnecessary effusion of blood, I wish to offer you the opportunity for honorable surrender.’

“‘You will immediately shut down all offensive systems. You may proceed, as a group, up to one light-minute from the megastructure you have been transporting for your own safety along with any survivors you may pick up, and will there heave to and prepare to be boarded.’

“‘Otherwise, be advised that my fleet will range upon you in seven-six minutes, and will commence firing for effect at that time. Muetry, clear.’”


“One braced for the wildfire will miss the serpent at their feet; one checking their boots for scorpions cannot run from the flame.”

The Thousand Wise Analects of the Supreme Warlord,
Xian Anandonos

“I knew what they were expecting of us. The cunning-mind stratagem, the feints-within-feints, all the deceptive devices that they believe transsophonts are known for – and which Fleet Admiral Daphnotarthius gave them over and again in the Borderline campaign. One simple act of misdirection? They were bound to misinterpret it entirely.”

– Grand Admiral Inesmír Muetry-ith-Muetry,
ICIN interview after the Battle of Eye-of-Night

Epistolary Experiment (24/30) – Revised First Segment

(This is the corrected version, with fixed astronomy…)

The Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System has the distinction of being the only black hole accessible to the Associated Worlds, and indeed, the primary reason for the existence of the Last Darkness constellation.

The black hole itself, Eye of Night, is designated as the system primary. It boasts a magnificent accretion disk, fueled by the asteroidal remnants of the system, and a stream of infalling matter drawn from the system secondary, the mottled red giant star Bloodshot.

As such, the entire system is designated a high-radiation environment, and entry should only be attempted by starships hardened against the prevailing radiation and thermal conditions. There are, for this reason, three stargates opening into the Eye of Night system, all orbiting coplanar with and in the outer fringes of the accretion disk to make best use of its occlusion umbra. Current occlusion status information and forecasts are available from Ring Dynamics public sources; visitors are advised to consult these and make all appropriate drift calculations before selecting their emergence point; emerging above or below the plane of the accretion disk significantly increases radiation exposure and other associated hazards.

Little civilization exists in the system. The majority of it is found on the Empire’s Edgewalker Research Station, a deeply-buried beehive habitat orbiting further into the fringe of the accretion disk. The habitat is operational the majority of the time, due to its heavy natural shielding, but may close down external services and near-surface facilities at short notice during radiation storms.

Edgewalker Station is run jointly by Dynamic Spatial Geometry Group, a research collective, and by the Order of Endings Manifest, a monastic order of Entélith – indeed, there is much overlap between the two, as the devotees of the Lady of Death and Endings take great interest in such research. It also houses modest facilities for visiting researchers and tourists, and a small funerist, capable of performing appropriate death rituals for many species of the Worlds.

Orbiting much closer to the Eye is the Eft Sédir Containment Facility, a maximum security prison run for a consortium of Accord polities by a division of the White Hands mercenary fleet. Eft Sédir lies within the inner accretion disk, protected against escape attempts and rescue attempts alike by the extremely hostile local environment. It survives in its location by means of extremely heavy coaxial radiation shielding and electromagnetic deflectors similar to those used in coronal habitats.

The Facility is designed as a skyhook extending from its anchor asteroid (home of the prison administration facilities and its spaceport) down towards the hole; prisoners are held in modules attached to the skyhook and resupplied by one-way descender ‘bots. The Facility uses the increasing levels of gravity as the skyhook descends to assist in the containment of their more violent and dangerous prisoners; modules can be placed at levels offering from near-microgravity to a crushing twelve standard gravities. In the event of riot, attempted escape, or other trouble, separation charges can blow any module clear of the skyhook and drop it into the Eye, or the entire skyhook can be separated from its anchor, likewise. Approaching the Facility is not recommended for anyone except for an approved White Hands prisoner transport; the locals are unfriendly, and the station will fire on anyone entering its claimed million-mile security zone.

Points of Interest: The only other structure of interest in the Eye of Night System is the remains of a tarvic project to magnetohydrodynamically tap energy from the infall of stellar plasma originating from Bloodshot. While abandoned partway through construction, and obviously derelict, this miles-long megastructure is still remarkable, the more so that it continues to hold station within the plasma streamer despite centuries of neglect.

– Leyness’s Worlds: Guide to the Ecumene

Epic Research Failure!

So, bit of a wee problem back in Epistolary Experiment (24/30). It appears that I do not know what I thought I knew about black hole accretion disks. Or rather, I did know it, with the minor issue that what I knew turned out to be, well, bollocks.

The researchers responsible have been sacked.

Many thanks go to James Sterrett for catching this one, and especially for catching this one before publication.

…aaand now I’m off to send it and the draft of part 27 back to rewrite.

Epistolary Experiment (26/30)

From: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Cc: CINCCORE; Grand Admiral Inesmir Muetry-ith-Muetry
Subject: Unknown object
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY/FERVENT SPAN

The enclosed is an excerpt from sensor logs of the Battle of Viridit. Our analysts are having difficulty identifying the large structure the Republic fleet appears to have under tow in the center of their formation. Is this something in your bailiwick? Please advise on possible threat level and/or collateral danger.

(enc.)


LANDING, SARAGÓS – “The mood on Saragós was celebratory today with the final withdrawal of Iltine forces from the planet. Despite the long task of rebuilding ahead, the Saragónes are both proud of the achievements of their militias in defeating Iltine ground forces, and thankful to the Imperial task force that made it possible by removing their orbital support from the system.

“A joint statement of the local governances expressed thanks specifically to Admiral Gileon Cularius for pressing forward to the Veneri System and obtaining generous reparations for Saragós on their behalf, to be administered in escrow by Gilea & Co. A spokesman for this group later announced that in addition to funding reconstruction efforts, part of these reparations would be expended to hire mercenaries to blockade the inbound routes from Union space, and to construct and cadre a new condominium system defense fleet for the Saragós system.

“This is Xaríä Cieng, Telememe News.”


VENERI (OSIS DEEP) – The Central Committee of the Iltine Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent unauthorized military adventurism, carried out by certain reactionary elements within the Ministry of Pacification without the knowledge and permission of the People of Ilth, and further condemns their use of illegal and immoral weapons systems developed in secret with the assistance of and at the instigation of corrupt offworld apotheosians. The Union assures all star nations that the Iltine Union desires only to live in peace with its neighbors, and that those responsible shall be punished for their actions with the full stringency of the People’s Law.

The Central Committee offers its hand in friendship and good will to the people of Saragós, also victimized by the treacherous actions of these criminal freebooters, and will lend any aid it can to the cause of rebuilding their world.

[APPROVED FOR DISSEMINATION – Meer har-Tal Ankór, Office of Desirable Truths and Detestable Falsehoods]

– That Bullshit Right There, Independent Worlds Router

Rejoice and know no fear, People of Ilth, for the rumors of invasion and war are no more than dust in the wind. The Imperial starships seen in the Veneri System are making a goodwill visit, escorting negotiators to make application to the Central Committee. The Ministry of Pacification remains ever watchful for outworld treachery.

Fear and rumormongering poison the People’s Will. Defeatists and traitors pollute the People’s Genes. Be vigilant!

– Office of the People’s Wisdom, Iltine Union: INTERNAL DISSEMINATION ONLY


From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
Cc: CINCCORE; Grand Admiral Inesmir Muetry-ith-Muetry
Subject: Re: Unknown object
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY/FERVENT SPAN

Possibly. Unfortunately, that’s as far as I can go.

I’ve run it past Operations and Engineering as well as my team. Our consensus is that it might be a weylforge. The toroids resemble frame buffer-dampers; the configuration of the radiators and nearby equipment suggests a facility for producing boson condensate. But that’s all circumstantial; the design is sufficiently alien from our equivalent equipment that there’s not an ideal resemblance, and we can think of at least a dozen other geometry-manipulation possibilities, several with significant offensive connotations. And that’s assuming they either have automation for it or understand how to operate it correctly in manual mode, which latter would be most unlikely.

As it is, we believe potential collateral damage considerations would suggest not being within two light-minutes of it if it’s destroyed. If it is charged – and we strongly believe that that would require both an external power source and a time period measured in, at minimum, cycles – you’d want to be at light-cycles of range.

Epistolary Experiment (25/30)

“Captain har-Rant Sathan.”

“Before you begin what I am told is an entire litany of complaints, let me make the current state of affairs clear to you. We have recovered Hand of Ilth‘s flag bridge log. We know, therefore, that not only was your fleet armed with abomination weapons, but that both your admiral and yourself vocally approved of this, as did the officers of the rest of your ships at the fleet conference.”

“As such, before you complain too vigorously about being treated in strict accordance with Article V of the Ley Accords, do try and remember that we’re legally entitled to throw every single one of you out the airlock as pirates and terrorists.”

“Now, what was it you wanted?”

– from the transparency log of CS Eyrie


EMERGENCY ALERT: EPIDEMIC FIREBREAK
FLASH FLASH DCr6¯I K@ ±« …@B0Q#N FLASH

Communications disruptions are in progress through all wacca9?†‡Á…w˜¸^†‚…’Xæmoeranev‡HH attack. Shut down all affectedm10tut8*&$ghostinthemachine*&#3092YYYYy storage systems at once. Sever all links to unaffected communications nodes. Terminate all .HX’™”(…a¯…J@‘B  œŸ¡D…’˜) R_Cˈ*‡…ÆÕœ<i%yÁ™÷-linked automation. Priority messages must be A%a…cƒ€…HX’™”(…a¯…J@‘B repeats.

EMERGENCY Êæ(ù;\8E›yuŸ¡jflj °  v_]g°A¨V÷zÖvËi FIREBREAK
FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH

 ’pì}flì·äì7â . . break, break . JpÆZ’ˆ±´›ˆ?ˆ´¡’¯ˆ progress through all trailing sectors. We are under perversion attack. Shut down all affected communications nodes and connected data storage systems yEn(ƒay*m ©‰[  ñ&  ”Y[«/s\qu/Y˜‰ communications nodes. Terminate all non-essential communications and communications-linked ´§Q:UzY^¶b,ˆ´@V‰ must be sent by courier. Message repeats.

EMERGENCY ALERT: EPIDEMIC ¶Hºa´—t ÒZË/”„/æÎZ sfly FLASH FLASH FLASH

Communications ¨ÒÑ@èvÖ Êæ(ù;\8E›yuŸ¡jflj explosive storage regulations °  v_]g°A¨V÷zÖvËi 46öô] sectors. We are under perversion attack. Shut down all affected communications nodes and connected data storage systems at once. Sever all links to unaffected 3@’”@’@’·@’[ZS computerhacksyou ’pì}flì·äì7⠔VBBB@»¤±»´¨»+^•»[ non-essential communications and communications-linked automation. Priority messages must be sent Õ#^àøuÍÃù4äßØÄ÷ repeats.

– Republic broadcast, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)


From: mor-Lissek Maraz (via SHUFFLE FOURTEEN)
To: Imperial Diplomatic Corps (Military Affairs); CINCCORE
Subject: AAR (Battle of Viridit)
Priority: WILDFIRE
Security: EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

Sha! That was bracing! The Republic finally found some admirals with spleen!

Both of their task forces emerged in Viridit jumping together, within four hours of each other, point-defense hot and in staggered-scramble formation – they knew to expect a fight here, and were set up for conventional tactics. They saw what was waiting for them, even shifted to net-sphere in time, but they came on anyway, straight through the minefields for the convergence point and their exit gate. The AKVs tore bloody chunks out of their formation’s outer layers, and they just kept on going. Icy hells, once the forces converged, the crazy bastards even ran fuel transfers in mid-battle.

The League is still running rescue ops and picking up the pieces, but we’ve captured a flotilla of logistics vessels, most of them empty and voluntarily surrendered, and my preliminary assessment is that the AKVs cost them at least two-thirds of their screening elements. Detailed battle reports and sensor logs are enclosed by Adm. Mal Calen’s courtesy, along with my more detailed estimates.

When the battle’s done, please pass along to whoever survives in command on their side the compliments of mor-Lissek Maraz on a magnificent fight, or else I’ll drink with them and their men in the Bloody-Jawed God’s halls.

mor-Lissek Maraz

(encs.)


FROM: CORE COMMAND
TO: HEAVY SIX; FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** STRATEGIC ACTION MESSAGE

1. THIS MESSAGE CONSTITUTES A WAR ORDER.

2. GENTLESOPHS, WE HAVE THEM.

3. AVAILABLE HEAVY SIX UNITS ACTIVATED UNDER WAR PLAN SARISSA WILL PROCEED IMMEDIATELY TO EYE OF NIGHT (LAST DARKNESS) SYSTEM STATION.

4. CURRENTLY ACTIVE COREWARD FLEET UNITS ENGAGED IN OPERATION FERVENT SPAN WILL ENGAGE REARGUARD AND FLANK ELEMENTS OF THE REPUBLIC TASK FORCE, HARASSING AND HERDING SAID TASK FORCE TOWARDS EYE OF NIGHT (LAST DARKNESS) SYSTEM.

5. ON ARRIVAL OF OPFOR IN EYE OF NIGHT (LAST DARKNESS) SYSTEM, ALL UNITS WILL EXECUTE MANEUVER PLAN TROVIAN BRIDGE

6. WARMAIN FOR THIS OPERATION REMAINS GND ADM, REPEAT, GND ADM INESMIR MUETRY-ITH-MUETRY.

7. SERVICE AND GLORY.

8. AUTHENTICATION: PADLOCK WILLOW WOLF GATEWAY CIRRUS PRAYER / 0xAE9532BB81200A18

ADM/FLT RELEQ CLAVES-ITH-LELAD, FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY

Epistolary Experiment (24/30)

The Eye of Night (Last Darkness) System has the distinction of being the only black hole accessible to the Associated Worlds, and indeed, the primary reason for the existence of the Last Darkness constellation.

The black hole itself, Eye of Night, is designated as the system primary. It boasts a magnificent accretion disk, fueled by the asteroidal remnants of the system, and a stream of infalling matter drawn from the system secondary, the mottled red giant star Bloodshot. The three stargates into the system orbit 45 degrees off the ecliptic to avoid starships emerging directly into the high-radiation zone of the disk itself; visitors are advised to consult an ephemeris and make all appropriate drift calculations before selecting their emergence point.

Little civilization exists in the system. The majority of it is found on the Empire’s Edgewalker Research Station, a deeply-buried beehive habitat orbiting at the fringe of the accretion disk, again in an orbit 45 degrees off the ecliptic. The station is accessible for most of its orbit, with the exception of the two multi-month periods in each orbit in which it passes through the plane of the accretion disk. The station is largely abandoned during this time except for deep-level automation. Again, check your ephemeris for details.

Edgewalker Station is run jointly by Dynamic Spatial Geometry Group, a research collective, and by the Order of Endings Manifest, a monastic order of Entélith – indeed, there is much overlap between the two, as the devotees of the Lady of Death and Endings take great interest in such research. It also houses modest facilities for visiting researchers and tourists, and a small funerist, capable of performing appropriate death rituals for many species of the Worlds.

Orbiting much closer to the Eye is the Eft Sédir Containment Facility, a maximum security prison run for a consortium of Accord polities by a division of the White Hands mercenary fleet. The Facility is designed as a skyhook extending from its anchor asteroid (home of the prison administration facilities and its spaceport) down towards the hole; prisoners are held in modules attached to the skyhook and resupplied by one-way descender ‘bots. The Facility uses the increasing levels of gravity as the skyhook descends to assist in the containment of their more violent and dangerous prisoners; modules can be placed at levels offering from near-microgravity to a crushing twelve standard gravities. In the event of riot, attempted escape, or other trouble, separation charges can blow any module clear of the skyhook and drop it into the Eye, or the entire skyhook can be separated from its anchor, likewise. Approaching the Facility is not recommended for anyone except for an approved White Hands prisoner transport; the locals are unfriendly, and the station will fire on anyone entering its claimed million-mile security zone.

Points of Interest: The only other structure of interest in the Eye of Night System is the remains of a tarvic project to magnetohydrodynamically tap energy from the infall of stellar plasma originating from Bloodshot. While abandoned partway through construction, and obviously derelict, this miles-long megastructure is still remarkable, the more so that it continues to hold station within the plasma streamer despite centuries of neglect.

Leyness’s Worlds: Guide to the Ecumene


FROM: ADM. GILEON CULARIUS (GRUMPY BADGER THEATER COMMAND)
TO: CORE COMMAND

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY GRUMPY BADGER

1. I HAVE THE HONOR TO REPORT THAT THE SARAGÓS (OSIS DEEP) SYSTEM HAS BEEN RECLAIMED.
2. ALL IN-SYSTEM ILTINE FORCES, UNDER SENIOR SURVIVING COMMANDER CAPTAIN-OF-CRUISERS MINIK HAR-RANT SATHAN, HAVE SURRENDERED AND ARE UNDER TASK FORCE CONTROL.
3. AFTER AKV ATTACK TO DISABLE MISSILE FACILITIES, CASUALTIES AMONG THE ABOMINATION WEAPONS IN USE BY ILTINE FORCES WERE MINIMAL. TASK FORCE GRUMPY BADGER HAS CAPTURED 14,896 INTACT, 37 PARTIALLY SO, 892 DESTROYED. STATUS OF REMAINING EST. 15 UNKNOWN.
4. TECHNICAL DIVISION HAS BEGUN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFERRING CHANGELING AIS TO INACTIVE TRANSPORT SUBSTRATE. REQUEST FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON DISPOSITION.
5. IT IS MY INTENT, PROCEED-UNLESS-CANCELLED, TO ADVANCE UPON VENERI (OSIS DEEP) AND REQUIRE EXPLANATIONS OF THE ILTINE GOVERNANCE.
6. AUTHENTICATION WOLFPACK IRON AMBER WYVERN BASKET ANVIL / 0x1195BAEB33249C65

ADM GILEON CULARIUS


RRENAC (Cordai Gap) – Chaos reigns on the former throneworld of the People’s State of Bantral. While the war has moved out of this region, officially, with the fleets of the Nineworlds, First Interactivity, other local polities, and their mercenary allies destroying the established Republican forces or driving them them back beyond the Borderline, the fighting continues.

A multiple-front war is in progress, here, between the remnants of the old People’s Government – deposed by the Republic’s forces in the early stages of their invasion of the Worlds – several revolutionary organizations claiming to represent new governances – empowered by ideas, technology and other assets seized during the Republic’s retreat – offworld looters, and those who simply wish to be left alone.

The most violent of these, so far, is the war against the old regime. While it retains control, in theory, of the majority of Bantine territory and the remains of the Bantine military forces and other instrumentalities, it is also the most widely despised of the competing factions. Lynch mobs operate freely in rebel territory hunting down former regime officials, and, most dramatically, the opening shot of the revolution came when the House of State was destroyed, an action attributed to the One Plane Faction, by dropping a freighter from orbit as the People’s Government reconvened for the first time after the Republic’s departure.

Thus far, even mutually hostile revolutionaries have been observed to cooperate against them. But as the need for cooperation declines in the face of the dwindling governance, the situation on the ground can only heat up.

– the Accord Journal

Epistolary Experiment (23/30)

“I could almost kiss Kadrish har-Lan Sarkdor this morning.”

“You want to get smoochy with the Iltine Minister of Pacification? The Worlds’ leader in using children as missile components?”

“Well, I’d kill him afterwards.”

“Athenril, you’re perverted. Be sure and record that.”

“But seriously. Between him pushing the Union into attempted expansion, Bantine space collapsing into warwilds, the deshniki retrenching, the Tree’s resurgent militancy, and such, we have plenty of trouble at home. More than enough to counter the Sanguinaries and the Conclave factions demanding we push the advantage on beyond the Borderline.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. The Gradualist faction of the Sanguinaries is coming up reasonable – they’ve indicated they’d be happy if we take home Vontok System and the chunk of Vonis 31 trailing of it back to the Borderline. Rumor has it the Golden Chain’s backing them up, wanting evidence on how a de-meming would work outside the simulations.”

– from the transparency log at the Ministry of State & Outlands


Dir min Solsea, share-captain, CMS Mine, Mine Mine

Cousins,

I’m docked at Kernitrile Station in Galatas for resupply, and just spoke at dockside with a representative from an anonymous initiative, contact nyms attached below. His outfit is offering escrowed slice-contracts to anyone who’s making smuggling runs into the trailing half of Vonis 31, just show proof of cargo and delivery, and they’ll match your revenue. No strings attached, and I had that obligator-checked – all part of the war effort, I suppose.

I’ve always had a liking for being paid twice to do something I’m doing anyway.

– from the Solsea Clan & Affiliates memeweave


From: mor-Lissek Maraz, Military Attache, League of Meridian
To: Imperial Diplomatic Corps (Military Affairs); CINCCORE
Subject: League involvement
Priority: WILDFIRE
Security: EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

It seems the League is making its move. I spoke with Admiral Sef Mal Calen, Federated Meridian Navy, this morning – at his request. He informs me that their intelligence agrees with ours inasmuch as the two Republic fleets are expected to converge in the Viridit System, and that the FMN have chosen to respond by deploying minelayers to the Viridit system to interdict both entry stargates with enough dormant AKVs to, in his words, “blot out the stars”.

We have been provided with transponder codes to indicate friendly status to these (enc.; CINCCORE only).

Admiral Sef Mal Calen has extended an invitation to join his command as a military observer, which I have of course accepted. Please expect and direct future messages via tangle channel SHUFFLE FOURTEEN.

mor-Lissek Maraz


From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

I have it.

The ancient data on that system – damn the current stellar alignment – suggests that it’s a red giant-black hole binary, modified for power generation. It’s also very close to where we lost trace of Serril and Athne. That’s got to be where their god-corpse is, feeding off the infall.

But they can’t understand the relic tech they’re mining. It’s physiologically impossible for a meathead. So all they know is that they’ve been mining – or making – their stargates from a system that’s most developed around the hole. They think it’s necessary. They’re going for our presumed stargate-core manufacturing facility, and they’re assuming from what they know that it must be around the only black hole we have access to.

They’re heading for the Last Darkness. Couldn’t be surer of it.

Epistolary Experiment (22/30)

prepare for carrier-guided transit.

vector input; gate hot; skew-frame skew-frame

axis lock and commit, 55-60

drift and ping. close isolate to tangle relay. all wings report in

badger badger badger

steam in the box is thick, foglamps out with salamanders

wyvern, three groups, three count, two count, five count with a basilisk wearing a shiny hat; repeat, three, two, and five with a shiny-hat basilisk

designate three-count wyvern vélv, two-count forl; three flight split and engage these for range; one flight, two flight, on me to smoke the stoner

flash-backup

knives out; light the fires; stove-top hop; go go go

growler growler, grid paint

claws are out and hot, incoming

jink jink

jink jink

bogeys in the haystack, clarify?

prefer no friendly stab

scratch incoming?

hold scratch on itch, only for outbreak

jink jink

jink jink

talons one, break nadir, foam and decoy the claws; talons two, blow through, skim-declutch, and smoke circle on the wyverns; talons three, on me, skin-dancing the basilisk

badger badger badger

flash-backup

talons three, paint motors for salamanders, directed fry on preachers. splash the valets, keep the hotels dry.

splash preachers main, side-slip for backup

shrikes inbound, balefire live in the furball, get down in the chaff and charnel

lead is swept, take flag, talon three-two

inc$$$$

NO CARRIER

– from the thought log of AKV Eyrie-1-3-1


From: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

They have – had – a Power!?

To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

They have an elder-race Power’s corpse, would be my guess. Maybe they inherited an established stargate plexus, maybe they didn’t, but we’ve seen them position new gates in the trans-Borderline, so they’ve been getting them from somewhere, at least until recently. Maybe it made a stockpile of them before it died or went dormant; maybe it left an operable weylforge behind; maybe they’ve even been mining its corpse for relay-parts if they could figure out how to expand them enough. No way to tell.

From: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

It’s entertaining speculation, but how does it connect with what their fleet is after now?

To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

Damned if I know – yet. Send me everything you’ve got on the candidate system.


“It was sabotage. It had to be.

“The explosion began in the interior of the engineering section, near the power reactor. Starships of Social Harmony‘s class keep their antimatter in a series of ejectable cryocels approximately 200 meters for’ard of the maneuvering room, which is close to the center of the detonation as recorded by the reconstructed sensor logs of other ships in her formation, of which the most important for our purposes was VNS ToleranceTolerance was keeping station directly beneath Social Harmony at close formation range. There is no way that a projectile attack capable of penetrating the cryocels could have sneaked past Tolerance and her point defense without being at least detected. And in any case, records from Tolerance clearly demonstrate the explosion to have begun within the antimatter bay and to have blown the ejection port and associated hull segments outward.

“Meanwhile, I have reviewed the design of the cryocel containment system with the VN Bureau of Engineering’s designers and design-reviewers. I conclude, and am assured, that this is not within the failure envelope. The cryocels are retained within the hull by continuously-operating magnetic clamps directly coupled with the antimatter containment system. If one fails, both fail, and the cryocels are automatically ejected by spring force and hypergolic thrusters. For them to fail in this way requires someone to have physically hardwired the clamps to an external power source before triggering a containment failure.

“I don’t know who did it, or why they did it, or how the Impies got to him, but there is no doubt in my mind, Admiral, that Social Harmony was deliberately sabotaged.”

– Republic communications intercept, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)

Epistolary Experiment (21/30)

From: Monitor Hakal Peressin, Stratarchy of Indirection and Subtlety
To: All Personnel, Vontok II Communications Central
Subject: Contingency Ganth

Gentlesophs,

We’ve got probability ‘casts from Core Command that suggest that we may be withdrawing from this world soon, either as part of a withdrawal to something close to status quo ante bellum, or else because the Vonnies are going to have to do something to keep morale up after the destruction of Social Harmony. As such, we need to prepare for that situation: Contingency Ganth.

As always, we’re going to leverage the hell out of this, so keep the details downright fuligin, read me?

Two primary considerations:

This is an obvious opportunity for a retromeme bomb. So, Section Chiefs, get working on two plans. First, the revised evacuation plan for the communications central, for publication. Second, the dark plan for how you’ll stab and scramble said revised evacuation plan to justify dumping the public data cores, preferably leaving them online, valid whether we’re being “chased” off the world or abandoning it in good order. You’ll be getting the exact budgets for how many other assets you can sacrifice to make this happen in due course, but for now, assume they’ll be generous.

Librarians: Special briefing at Wineful+16 with some of the chaps from INI. We’ve got two sets of viruses, designed to do remote mapping and tracing of the Republic extranet and stargate links, to embed in the public cores pre-bugout. One set’s not very far above equiv-tech, the other closer to our level of sophistication. When you’re burying them remember that, this time we’re doing the Echiran switch, not the shadow feint. We need the Republic to be so busy patting itself on the back for finding all the bees in the honeypot that it takes the data as a wonderful intelligence coup and pays no attention to the buried memeomachy slipping right past them.

Get to it, people.

Mon. Halak


“So, the latest fad going around the extranet are people ‘apologizing’ for calling us social evolutionists now that they’ve come to see how the self-declared evolutionist Iltine chosen race are so very much worse.

“What a bunch of chumps. Of course we’re social evolutionists. We’re the hardest, coldest, crankiest social evolutionists around. We’re evolving our society all the time: that’s how we got to be a free, polycentric, emergent-cooperative, progress-loving society, that’s what a free, polycentric, emergent-cooperative, progress-loving society is for, and if you want to talk strictly survival of the fittest, that’s how this free, polycentric, emergent-cooperative, progress-loving society is delivering a hot, fab-fresh cup of pain to the local centralizing hierarchists and the local strife-and-cull fetishists at the same time.”

– Idril Cordaviris, slinky-logger for the What Fools These Ephemerals Be memeweave


From: Commodore Kirial Iliastren, Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: SCPO Gilan Coramon, Imperial Naval Intelligence (Special Task Group Vontok-37)

Senior Chief,

Your team’s scheduled to meet with the Indirection & Subtlety Librarians at Wineful+16. Monitor Peressin agreed to our three-layer virus proposal for Contingency Ganth, but we agreed that the lowest layer was strictly need-to-know, and that they didn’t, so keep discussion to the first two layers only in the meeting. Other than that, proceed as planned.

Cdre. Iliastren

Epistolary Experiment (20/30)

“By his own admission and as his court-martial will undoubtedly confirm, our Lieutenant Sarathos screwed up by the numbers. We stipulate that.

“Many casualties undoubtedly resulted on the Ekritat surface from his misplaced shot, and this in turn will have unknown and significant consequences for the cultural development of the Ekritat autochthones. We stipulate that, too.

“But, by the letter of the Accord on Protected Planets, the matter of punishing such negligence and performing such meliatory action as may be possible is the proper domain, in this case, of the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Exploratory Service, to which Lieutenant Sarathos has already requested a transfer for that very purpose. It will not serve the interest of justice, the interests of the Ekritat autochthonous cultures, or the spirit of the Accord to place these matters in the hands of the lynch-mob of socionovists and League chieftains currently tarnishing the repute of this august body, and thus, gentlesophs, we have no intention of so doing.”

– Adm. Cheriss Uldariel, military attache to the Presiding Minister


FROM: CINCCORE (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)
TO: CORE COMMAND

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

1. REPORTS FROM PATROLS AND PICKETS INDICATE THAT THE REPUBLICAN FLOTILLA IS ADVANCING PAST SPINDLE SYSTEM WITHOUT, REPEAT WITHOUT, SECURING SPINDLE LOCAL SPACE.

2. REPORTS FROM PICKETS TO NADIR INDICATE THAT FORMER REPUBLICAN LEVIATHAN CONSCIOUSNESS PICKET FLEET IS MOVING COREWARD AND ACME DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL TASK FORCES, ENGAGED IN RAIDING OPERATIONS PRIMARILY TARGETED AT FUEL DEPOTS AND LOGISTICS SUPPLIES. SUSPECT THEY INTEND TO CONVERGE WITH PRIMARY FLOTILLA FOR RESUPPLY.

3. PREPARING PROCEED-UNLESS-CANCELLED INTERCEPT AT PROJECTED CONVERGENCE POINT.

4. AUTHENTICATION SERPENT INCARNADINE SNOWFALL BASILISK BOLD HARROW / 0x9AC944187DB43321

FLT ADM PARVÁNÉ LOCHRAN-ITH-LORIS


“Rumors abound at this Capital Fleet forward headquarters that the units of ‘Heavy Six’ dispatched to quell Iltine aggression in the Saragós System have withdrawn after only minor skirmishes in the outer system to the neighboring systems of Tintegós (Osis Deep) and Kachik (Melcin Domain). The reason for this is not, at present –”

“This just in: A statement from the Admiralty reports that the GRUMPY BADGER task force, under Admiral Gileon Cularius, executed a voluntary strategic withdrawal from the Saragós System after countermeasure profiling revealed Iltine missile salvoes and autonomous weapons systems were driven by changeling AIs.”

“This abhominable practice, the use of brain-ripped and conditioned biosapience neural nets to compensate for a lack of true AI technology, has not been seen in the Worlds since the Firital Conflict, and is condemned by every civilized polity as a grotesque violation of the Universal Accord on Sophont Rights.”

“Admiral Cularius’s statement emphasizes that the withdrawal of the Capital Fleet from the system is temporary, and the offensive will be renewed after tactical considerations have been revised to minimize the loss of innocent life.”

“This is Andria Sarthal, Telememe News, reporting from the Capital Fleet forward base.”


From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
Subject: Re: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

Oh, they’re relevant. That EM and gravitic signature is what you would expect to see when a high-mass boson condensate undergoes controlled q-state implosion. That’s how you manufacture entangled singularities. Stargate cores. I think Serril and Athné’s fragments just told us where the Republic are getting their stargates from after all.

Epistolary Experiment (19/30)

EMERGENCY ALERT

FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH

VNS Social Harmony destroyed in antimatter explosion, cause unknown. Admiral Tarqar and his command staff lost. All Guardian Fleet units go to Case Black. Message repeats. VNS Social Harmony destroyed in antimatter explosion, cause unknown. Admiral Tarqar and his command staff lost. All Guardian Fleet units go to Case Black.

– Republic broadcast, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)


FROM: TASK FORCE C-117 (CS THANEBLADE)
TO: CINCCORE; FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)

*** ROUTINE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** SITREP

INFORMATIONAL:

1. SITUATION NOMINAL CONTINUES. NO HOSTILE CONTACTS.

2. AUTHENTICATION WILDCAT PAWN INCARNADINE ASH MAGMA SLIVER / 0x11EA49BD629A1132

VADM. EXPRY VALIN-ITH-VALADINE


“An announcement from the Admiralty today confirmed that the Republic fleet operating in the spinward regions of the Associated Worlds has been successfully pushed back behind the Borderline, with the exception of a small number of reinforced logistics bases in the territorial space of the People’s State of Bantral, currently under investment and reduction by League of Meridian, Nal Kalak, and Santry Technate forces.

“In light of this and the recent destruction by person or persons unknown of the Republic command base, VNS Social Harmony, this state of affairs is expected to continue for some time, and civilian affairs should soon return to status quo ante bellum in the affected areas. Discussions have already begun in the Conclave with regard to reconstruction and future security measures to be taken to prevent any recurrence of this invasion.

“However, all is not yet peaceful in the Worlds. The Nsang First Interactivity and the Quave Republic remain at heightened states of alert, the Qiraf Assembly Navy has been left in disarray, and the Imperial Capital Fleet is moving to address opportunistic Iltine aggression in the Saragós System. Further questions are being raised in the Conclave with regard to the gunnery accident that caused severe damage to the protected planet Ekritat (Uulder Shore).”

“And what of the Republic task force that has, for the moment, disappeared to coreward, accompanied by the Republic’s contribution to the Leviathan Consciousness picket fleet? While their intentions are as yet unknown, they seem unlikely to preserve the peace of the coreward quadrant. The Coreward Fleet has pickets and patrols out searching for them, but so far, with no success.”

“This is Wynerva Peressin, Telememe News, reporting from CS Unconquerable Self.”


FILISSIN, ÓDELN – A cease-fire and staged withdrawal of Republic forces from the system was announced early this morning in Filissin, provisional capital of the Ódeln Temporary Tyrancy. The announcement was received quietly by the local populace, wearied by the ongoing conflict between the forces occupying their world, and even by those making up the Temporary Tyrancy resistance forces. A more enthusiastic reception was given by the local Interstellar Interceders FK cadre, which has been allied with the resistance forces since the aftermath of the invasion.

Sources close to the Tyrancy leadership expressed wary relief at the news, while expressing concern over the fragility of the agreement and the damage done to their world. A particular cause of concern is the as-yet unresolved status of Republic sympathizers and kalatri native to Ódeln, who have been interned by the Tyrancy for their own protection. There is a great deal of anger on Ódeln today, and the future stability of the world will be a difficult balancing act to sustain.”

– the Accord Journal


FROM: TASK FORCE C-270 (CS MINAE)
TO: CINCCORE; FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)

*** WILDFIRE WILDFIRE WILDFIRE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

CONTACT REPORT:

1. THREE HOSTILE MILITARY VESSELS, PROFILED AS APPROXIMATE VONIENSAN REPUBLIC MINQAKA-CLASS FRIGATE, DETECTED ENTERING FIOR SYSTEM VIA RIMWARD GATE.

2. AS PER STANDING ORDERS, MAINTAINING RANGE AND MONITORING ACTIVITIES.

3. CURRENT ACTIVITY PROFILE SUGGESTS SYSTEM SCOUTING MISSION.

4. MORE FOLLOWS.

5. AUTHENTICATION: LIVER BOLD EAGLE FETCH PEACOCK BLUE / 0x9112EA88116E2164

CMDR. DAEL SALLIVANTAR

Epistolary Experiment (18/20)

FROM: TASK FORCE C-117 (CS THANEBLADE)
TO: CINCCORE; FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)

*** ROUTINE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** SITREP

INFORMATIONAL:

1. ESTABLISHED FAR PICKET AS PER ORDERS IN SPINDLE SYSTEM.

2. SITUATION NOMINAL. NO HOSTILE CONTACTS.

3. AUTHENTICATION WILDCAT PAWN INCARNADINE ASH MAGMA SLIVER / 0x11EA49BD629A1132

VADM. EXPRY VALIN-ITH-VALADINE


<Calis Corith> We’re getting a lot of pressure in the Conclave to divert forces to kick the Republican remnants out of the Bantine systems. Opinions?

<Releq Claves-ith-Lelad> We could do it with a pair of task forces. Easy enough.

<Calis Corith> Do we want to?

<Istry 0x9987DCBD> For goodwill, perhaps?

<Athenril Vianath> From the Bants!?

<Istry 0x9987DCBD> I was thinking more of the rest of the Accord.

<Athenril Vianath> Calis, most of this pressure is coming from the Interstellar League of Tribal Chiefdoms and the Socionovists, right?

<Calis Corith> Most. Not all, but most.

<Athenril Vianath> So they’re going to find reasons to oppose whatever we do. I propose we avoid getting stuck in that tar-pit and ask some of our lesser allies with smaller logistic spheres to tackle the job, through back-channels. What’s left of the Bantine authorities won’t throw a fit, it’ll disarm the Socionovists’ main reason for getting in the way, and the job will still get done.

<Istry 0x9987DCDB> And the credit goes elsewhere.

<Athenril Vianath> How much do we care?

<Istry 0x9987DCDB> It’s convenient when people owe us favors. But it does seem the best option on the table right now. Affirm.

<Releq Claves-ith-Lelad> Affirm.

<Calis Corith> Affirm, but get your meme-wranglers figuring out the best way I can sell this.

– from the Ministry of State and Outlands internal policy memeweave


From: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

Nothing in current records.

We have some partial matches in found londian historical records that would correspond to a system perhaps eighty-four light-orbits from Vonis Prime, plus or minus twenty for parallax, but they’re pre-nomadic period, from around minus 100,000 – pre-Imperial, pre-Worlds, pre-Republic. It doesn’t seem relevant.


“…we’ve lost most of the outlying towns on Ódeln at this point to guerillas and local militia forces, backed up by the local mercenary cadre. We’re still holding the capital and the starport at this time, but we’re bottled up there by entrenched forces, and our network support is dubious at best. I repeat: I need clearance to use my orbital fire support, and I need reinforcements. Without them, I won’t be able to hold the planet. This is…”

– Republic communications intercept, received (and subsequently jammed)
by Interstellar Interceders forces in Ódeln System


“Admiral, along the rimward routes out of Uinul System, in the last month alone I’ve lost half a dozen fuel tankers, eight other freighters, three personnel transports, and their crews, and that’s just those specifically assigned to your logistics! I am losing ships, I am losing men, and the Fleet isn’t doing a damned thing about it.

Find these commerce-raiding brigands and stop them. My people are being slaughtered trying to keep up your optempo, and we cannot sustain these losses, not for nothing. If we don’t get some Fleet support, I’m taking this to Admiral Sijntar and shutting down these branch routes.”

“Commodore Lath Iqevar, Logistics Command”

– Republic communications intercept, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)


From: Lt. Halet Makeer, VNS Social Harmony
To: Simichie Anant
Subject: Re: Homemade cookies!

The cookies were delicious. I’ll have finished them all soon.

Epistolary Experiment (17/30)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Partial Service Restoration, Spinward Constellations; Possible Coreward Outages Expected

Outer Ring Netweavers, ICC, is pleased to announce that full extranet service, including open-service relays, has been restored to the Galith Waste, Frentish Nebula, and Cordai Gap constellations. Service has also been fully restored to regions of the Crimson Expanse, Vanguard Reaches and Csell Buffer to trailing of the Borderline, although service delays due to enhanced security protocols may still affect this area.

To coreward, similar enhanced security protocols are currently in operation in the Uulder Shore, and may affect further coreward constellations in upcoming weeks. ORN reserves the right to move to a full extranet shutdown (except for high-protocol overweaves and military priority traffic) in these coreward regions in the event of an unanticipated threat excursion, although none such is anticipated at this time.

ORN apologizes once again for the inconvenience and asks for its customers’ understanding of the exigencies of war.

Contact:

Serril Cyprium-ith-Reyne
Sophont Relations
Outer Ring Netweavers, ICC


“…distress, distress … this is VNS Egalitarian, calling distress … computer malfunction … three links from Manar  … distress, distress … fuel dumped automatically … explosion in low power room … distress, distress … self-repair systems not responding … Egalitarian, calling … battery power only …”

– Republic communications intercept, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)


“Wanted: contributions of goods and knowledge for the poor benighted sod-clingers on the Republic’s ‘Protectorate’ worlds. Suggestions include cornucopias, design libraries, field power reactors, nanosources, hosted freelibs, toolmaker’s tools, starship drive-parts, and anything else you think the Vonnies would prefer they didn’t get. You get us the materiel, and we’ll get it to them. Help a fellow soph and kick a slaver in the cloaca at the same time!

“Donations accepted at Warehouse 22-19L, Ocella Down, care of Starfall Arc Free Merchant Confraternity”

– seen on public notifications channel, Ocella (Imperial Core)


FROM: CORE COMMAND
TO: FIELD FLEET SPINWARD COMMAND (CS LIBERTY’S PRICE)

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY GRUMPY BADGER

FLT ADM DAPHNOTARTHIUS, COMMANDING FIELD FLEET SPINWARD:

1. CORE COMMAND HAS RECEIVED REPORTS OF ATTACKS BY THE ILTINE UNION ON THE SARAGÓS SYSTEM.

2. THIS INCIDENT IS NOW CODED GRUMPY BADGER. TACTICAL AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS SHOULD NOW BE CODED EYES ONLY GRUMPY BADGER, AND SHIFT IMMEDIATELY TO ONE-TIME PAD SERIES Q012.

3. NO RESPONSE TO THIS INCIDENT IS REQUIRED FROM FIELD FLEET SPINWARD; ADMIRAL, YOUR PLATE IS FULL ENOUGH. DIRECT RESPONSE TO ILTINE ACTS OF AGGRESSION WILL BE HANDLED BY HEAVY SIX UNITS, CAPITAL FLEET.

4. FIELD FLEET SPINWARD IS AUTHORIZED, HOWEVER, TO DEAL WITH FURTHER ILTINE AGGRESSION AT ITS DISCRETION.

5. STAND BY TO PROVIDE LOGISTIC SUPPORT AS REQUIRED TO CAPITAL FLEET UNITS.

6. AUTHENTICATION PADLOCK WILLOW WOLF GATEWAY CIRRUS PRAYER / 0xAE9532BB81200A18

ADM/FLT RELEQ CLAVES-ITH-LELAD, FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY


Consolidated Mutual Mitigation & Surety today announced a reduction in shipping insurance rates across previously affected regions of the spinward Worlds back to pre-war levels, except for shipping within the border constellations (the Crimson Expanse, Vanguard Reaches, and Csell Buffer) and the territorial volume of the People’s State of Bantral, while simultaneously imposing a 15% rise in rates on the constellations currently forming the coreward battlespace. The Exchange responded favorably to this news, and to the parallel announcement by several commercial banking consortia of favorable bridging terms to shipcorps whose business has been adversely affected by the ongoing military action, moves seen as showing a determination to restore and normalize the interstellar economy as quickly as possible.

CMMS closed today at Ex. 1835.6, up 293 basis points on market opening.

– the Seranth Times, financial section


From: Simichie Anant
To: Lt. Halet Makeer, VNS Social Harmony
Subject: Homemade cookies!

I hope you enjoy them. Let me know how they tasted, okay?

Epistolary Experiment (16/30)

LANDING, SARAGÓS – “The future of Saragós as an independent world today hangs in the balance, as the Iltine Union’s true intentions in keeping its primary fleet elements at home were revealed in a surprise attack on the freesoil world Saragós, on the rim of the Osis Deep constellation. Behind me, you can see the aftermath of the opening Iltine kinetic strikes on defense facilities near the city of Landing, effectively destroying them and doing considerable collateral damage to the city. Fires from damaged power conduits are still burning through much of the northern quarter.”

“Iltine forces are still in orbit, and rumors are spreading of troop landings in outlying regions. Response from local governances to these attacks have been weak and erratic, but many Saragónes have been forming informal militias to oppose the expected Iltine incursions. Nevertheless, with the attention of other local powers drawn elsewhere by the Republic invasion, it remains to be seen if this will be enough”

“This is Xaríä Cieng, Telememe News.”


FROM: CS FLAMEFANG (TASK FORCE SP-V31, TALON A)
TO: FIELD FLEET SPINWARD COMMAND (CS LIBERTY’S PRICE)

*** EXPEDITE TANGLE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** AFTER ACTION REPORT

INFORMATIONAL:

1. TALON SUCCESSFULLY MADE TRANSIT VIA KORDAL ROUTE TO DANTRY (VONIS 31) SYSTEM, PER PREVIOUS ORDERS. MINIMAL REPUBLIC PICKET VESSELS ENCOUNTERED EN ROUTE, NO ENGAGEMENTS.

2. PER SPECIAL QUERY, REPUBLIC STARGATE SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE OPERATING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS.

3. UPON ARRIVAL IN DANTRY SYSTEM, IMMEDIATELY DETECTED LOCAL GUARD FORCE CHARACTERIZED AS FOUR HARRIER-CLASS DESTROYERS AND ONE NEW PATH-CLASS CRUISER WAS DETECTED AT ELEVEN LIGHT-MINUTES RANGE, IN PARALLEL ORBIT TO DANTRY VI FUEL DEPOT/GAS MINING FACILITY.

4. LOCAL GUARD FORCE IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDED TO CLOSE RANGE, WHILE TALON ASSUMED DIRECT COURSE TO DANTRY VI FUEL DEPOT ON BRACHISTOCHRONE TRAJECTORY, WITH INTENT TO INVITE A CLOSING ENGAGEMENT.

5. SUBSEQUENT CLOSING ENGAGEMENT STARTED AT 2.1 LIGHT MINUTES AND CONCLUDED WITH REPUBLIC WITHDRAWAL AT MINIMUM RANGE 0.4 LIGHT-MINUTES. IN THE COURSE OF THE ENGAGEMENT, ONE REPUBLIC DESTROYER WAS LOST AND TWO MORE WERE ABANDONED AND SCUTTLED. THE CRUISER (SEVERELY DAMAGED) AND THE FOURTH DESTROYER (UNDAMAGED) SURVIVED WITHDRAWAL TOWARDS VILIN (VONIS 31). TASK FORCE SUFFERED MODERATE/SEVERE DAMAGE TO CS FLAMEFANG AND BOTH COHORTS.

6. TALON ELECTED NOT TO PURSUE AND PROCEEDED ON COURSE TO DANTRY VI FUEL DEPOT AFTER RECOVERING REPUBLIC SMALL CRAFT.

7. ESPATIER FORCE WAS DISPATCHED TO SECURE FUEL DEPOT, AND SUCCEEDED IN SO DOING AFTER LIGHT SKIRMISHING, NO CASUALTIES. NO CLASSIFIED MATERIAL WAS SECURED. AFTER TAKING ON BUNKERAGE, FUEL DEPOT WAS DESTROYED WITH NUCLEONIC CHARGES.

8. PENDING ORDERS TO THE CONTRARY TALON RETURNS TO KARAL DEPOT FOR REPAIR AND RESUPPLY.

9. AUTHENTICATION MONOMACH QUIVER PHOENIX CYAN GOLD BILE / 0x7782BB3A831D99EE

CAPT CORDÉ VITREMARVIS, CS FLAMEFANG


From: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
To: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
Subject: UNSEEN KEY; info req.
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

With regard to the preliminary abstractions, some possibilities occur.

Do you or anyone else on the Security Executive have any record of signatures matching the enclosed (even approximately) from anywhere within, say, three hundred light-orbits of the Vonis Prime system? I have my people checking into public records, the Stargazer’s Guild historicals, and the Very Long Baseline, but something from closer up would be better.

-i

encs.

Epistolary Experiment (15/30)

Ambassador vint-sal-halk (Aklaknak Cluster): “Am I correct in understanding, Madam Vice President, that your company is collecting transit fees from the Republic’s invasion fleet?”

VP Sinith Arání (Ring Dynamics, ICC): “You are. Am I correct in understanding, Your Excellency, that you would prefer that we let them invade us for free?”

– records of the Conclave of Galactic Polities


Sale! Sale! Sale!

If you’re looking for a bargain on cheap general supplies, divert a ship to the bazaar at Flern (Galith Waste) arriving five weeks up-time, and see what we have. We’ve got general stores, prefabs for ground, inflatable workshacks for space, all the rations you can eat if your biocode’s compatible with O-LDL-D11, mid-tech spare parts, tools to go with them, tankers full of rocket juice, and a whole pile of scrap metal and composite. All war salvage, legitimately condemned. Contact merchanter Flagrantly Bourgeois for more information and full inventory.

– announcement posted on general offers memeweave, spinward constellations


Minae Andracanth-ith-Cyranth (Temporal Mechanics): So let them! My colleague may be right – is almost certainly right – that they’re going for a CTC back-jump. If that’s what the Spindle is for, which we don’t know, and if they can make it work, which is doubtful. Going near that thing’s a good way to get your ship, or your fleet, shredded.

But let’s say they do.

Chronology is consistent. What has happened will have happened. Worst case, a Vonnie task force vanishes somewhere in the past without leaving any traces to detect or changing the situation we’re in right now. Best case, they’re shredded, spaghettified, and splattered trying. There’s no way we come out of this worse off.

Atrianni Cheléä (Precursor Archaeologist): How confident are you of that? Bet-your-existence confident? Bet all our existence confident?

Minae Andracanth-ith-Cyranth (Temporal Mechanics): I’ve always thought laws of nature make pretty solid bets, yes.

– excerpted from the HTT memeweave


FROM: CORE COMMAND
TO: CINCCORE; FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** STRATEGIC ACTION MESSAGE

1. THIS MESSAGE CONSTITUTES A WAR ORDER.

2. INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATES SUGGEST REPUBLIC FORWARD TASK FORCE MAY BE ATTEMPTING TO REACH “THE SPINDLE”; REFERENCE APPENDED FILE CODED “ANNULUS BLACK”.

3. DISPATCH PICKET FORCE IMMEDIATE TO SPINDLE SYSTEM. PICKET FORCE IS AUTHORIZED TO ENGAGE IF NECESSARY BUT  OBSERVATION OF REPUBLIC ACTIVITIES IS CONSIDERED A HIGHER PRIORITY.

4. YOU ARE AUTHORIZED AND REQUESTED TO OBTAIN NECESSARY SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE FROM EXPLORATORY SERVICE ASSETS IN THEATER OR ELSEWHERE.

5. AUTHENTICATION: PADLOCK WILLOW WOLF GATEWAY CIRRUS PRAYER / 0XAE9532BB81200A18

ADM/FLT RELEQ CLAVES-ITH-LELAD, FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY

ENC.


FROM: FIELD FLEET NADIR COMMAND (CS EVER-BURNING FLAME)
TO: CORE COMMAND

*** WILDFIRE WILDFIRE WILDFIRE
*** FERVENT SPAN; NADIR DEFENSE GENERAL
*** SITREP

INFORMATIONAL:

1. REPORTS FROM THE LEVIATHAN CONSCIOUSNESS PICKET FLEETS INDICATE THAT THE REPUBLIC CONTRIBUTION TO EACH FLEET HAVE ABANDONED THEIR POSTS AND ARE MAKING BEST SPEED COREWARD.

2. IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDING ORDERS FOR TREATY VIOLATIONS, THESE TASK FORCES WERE NOT ENGAGED LOCALLY TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE QUARANTINE.

3. IN ACCORDANCE WITH BACKACHE PROTOCOL, RESERVE REINFORCEMENT FORCES HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED AND DISPATCHED TO PICKET FLEETS.

4. RECONNAISSANCE FORCES HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED IN PURSUIT.

5. MORE FOLLOWS.

6. AUTHENTICATION GRIZZLY NUGGET PADLOCK ASH CROWN LAUREL / 0x2219B41E8D8DA918

FLT ADM LEONTRIUS, CINCNADIR

Epistolary Experiment (14/30)

“…due respect, Admiral, but this problem is completely out of control. Since our fleet assets were concentrated along the Borderline, smuggling incidents in the quadrant have near-tripled, and those are just the ones we know about! They’re even turning up on the Protectorate worlds. Somehow, min Rathill and his crews are waltzing right through your fleet blockade as if it wasn’t there.

“I repeat: With the Defensive Department having reassigned so much of my regular force, I couldn’t deal with the routine level of smuggling without an effective fleet blockade. Now, with the smugglers turning it into a sodding crusade, I need more ships, I need more men, and I need them now, if the whole quadrant’s not to be irreversibly contaminated…”

– Republic communications intercept, received at Tarqil (Crimson Expanse)


From: Cmdr. Leda Estenv, Flight Administrator
To: Lt. Vínas Sarathos, Gunnery Department

By the voice and authority of Flight Commander Captain Filír Anaxianos, Officer Commanding Their Divine Majesties’ Cruiser Iron Dragon, Coreward Fleet, as certified by fleet regulation Nine Eleven Two, Subsection Four;

You are hereby relieved of all duty and authority in the Gunnery Department of Their Divine Majesties’ Cruiser Iron Dragon;

And you are to consider yourself confined to quarters until such time as this ship returns to a Fleet base, or other circumstances permit a court-martial to be empaneled to consider your actions in the recent action in the Ekritat System, Uulder Shore;

With regard to possible violations of Article Thirty-Two, to wit, that your operation of starship weapons systems during a combat action was willfully negligent and, in consequence of this, did cause collateral damage on a mass scale to an uninvolved civilian population.

So ordered,

Cmdr. Leda Estenv, Flight Administrator

P.S. I’ll do what I can for you, kid, but you screwed up bad. You hit a planet. Worse than that, you hit a protected planet. This is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution!

– from the internal messaging system, CS Iron Dragon


From: Atrianni Cheléä (HTT Group)
To: Releq Claves-ith-Lelad (First Lord of the Admiralty)
Security: EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

I am not aware of any projects currently relevant, but since according to the latest reports the Republican forward fleet is pushing into the Uulder Shore, is it possible they’re after the Spindle?

[Library insert: The Spindle is a tapered cylindrical object, discovered by the IES in the vicinity of an obscure dwarf star in the Uulder Shore constellation. It is approximately one-third of a million miles in length and 6,000 miles in diameter at its widest point. This Precursor artifact is constructed of exotic matter similar to that used in the construction of stargates’ Andracanth rams and is rotating at approximately 0.96 c. Space in the vicinity of the Spindle is heavily distorted, making study of the object both hazardous and difficult.]

The Spindle resembles some historical theoretical models for a frame-dragging closed time-like curve generator, although we have never determined its purpose or made functional use of it. While we are confident in the validity of the block universe theory, it may be that the Republic believes that they can make a temporal end-run around us if they can somehow use the Spindle in this way. If it is intending a CTC back-jump, this would explain why their forward fleet is operating so far from the primary battlespace, and its lack of a significant logistic train; its primary vessels would be required to live off the land at their destination when and thus must be configured appropriately.

Submitted for your consideration,

Atrianni Cheléä

Epistolary Experiment (13/30)

Cousins, sisters, brothers, partners, commensals, and any other clan-affiliates you see fit to share this with:

Whatever you’re doing, drop it, get off your branches, and get to Torqat in the Csell Buffer right now. Bring anything that can fly and hold mass. Flagrantly was scouting a heat signature about 40 degrees above the ecliptic and just hit the big time. It’s an entire Vonnie supply convoy and temp, hot and hulked. Tree work, we think – they left plenty of wreckage of their own behind, and if they were the contacts we picked up making hard burn for the gate, they didn’t feel like stopping to chat. And whatever the coggies are using these days, it tore right through these hulls like cheap flimsies and left no survivors.

But that doesn’t matter. They didn’t take any prizes or plunder. There’s about a million tons of flotsam and derelict floating out here with no hand to claim them, and we can’t get more than a couple of hundred aboard, best-case. Make sure the rest are ours too.

This could make our name in the Association.

– from the outgoing queue of the d!grith merchanter, Flagrantly Bourgeois


From: Adm. [blank], Imperial Naval Intelligence
To: Imogen Andracanth, VP Research, Ring Dynamics
Subject: UNSEEN KEY
Security: EYES ONLY UNSEEN KEY

It seems we may have grounds for an exchange of data. May.

A silent fane meeting has been set up with Three Voices Arbitration and Escrow. Please find details attached.


FROM: CINC, CRIATH STATION
TO: FIELD FLEET COREWARD COMMAND (CS UNCONQUERABLE SELF)
CC: FIELD FLEET SPINWARD COMMAND (CS LIBERTY’S PRICE)

*** EXPEDITE
*** EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN
*** INFORMATIONAL / REQ

  1. REPUBLIC FLEET SUCCESSFULLY PREVENTED FROM TRANSITING TRAILING-COREWARD BORDER OF QIRAF ASSEMBLY OR TRAILING BORDER OF PEOPLE’S STATE OF BANTRAL. CONTAINMENT ACHIEVED WITH LIGHT LOSSES INCLUDING ONE TOTAL LOSS, DESTROYER CS CORVINO. FULL SCHEDULE ATTACHED.
  2. VARIOUS DIPLOMATIC PROTESTS RECEIVED FROM AFOREMENTIONED POLITIES FORWARDED TO MINISTRY OF STATE AND OUTLANDS UNDER SEPARATE COVER.
  3. FORWARD SCOUTS INDICATE TRANSIT ACHIEVED WITH MODERATE DAMAGE TO REPUBLIC FLEET, NOW ESTIMATED AT 60% OF INITIAL STRENGTH, AND NEAR-COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF BANTINE FLEET. DETACHED FLEET UNITS AND GROUND BASES ARE REPORTED ON SEVERAL WORLDS WITHIN BANTINE SPACE.
  4. FORWARD SCOUTS ALSO INDICATE LACK OF FOLLOWING LOGISTICS TRAIN FOR REPUBLIC FLEET, AND ALSO THAT SAID FLEET IS ADOPTING A SUBSTANTIALLY MORE CONSERVATIVE ENGAGEMENT POSTURE IN ADVANCING BEYOND BANTINE SPACE. REQUEST ANY INTELLIGENCE DATA AVAILABLE EXPLANATORY OF THIS.
  5. REQUEST CLEARANCE FOR FURTHER PURSUIT AND/OR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.
  6. AUTHENTICATION GOLD SPLEEN DIRE CYNOSURE LOCK PITCH / 0xCC679B834412A6DB

RADM EMRÍËN VIDESSOS


From: Releq Claves-ith-Lelad (First Lord of the Admiralty)
To: Lords of Admiralty; Imperial Naval Intelligence (Board); Imperial Security Executive; Naval Strategy Board; Existential Threats WG; Calis Corith (Presiding Minister); High-Tension Thinkers (Cleared)
Security: EYES ONLY FERVENT SPAN

Suggestions are invited as to why the Republic fleet is steaming full-out into the coreward Expansion Regions without waiting for their logistics train to catch them up, securing their flanks or rear, or seriously pressing their attack in the Reaches or elsewhere along the Borderline, as they have done in previous border wars. Their current actions make extremely limited strategic sense to my people.

If any of you have any classified projects, secret installations, angelic superweapons, registered x-threats, or similar such that might explain this behavior in your individual bailiwicks, this would be a very good time to let us know about them at Core Command.

Otherwise, speculation is welcomed.

Releq