The Snark

The Orochon Shieldplains (Region 63), Veehra Geography At the western edge of the northern highlands stands the ancient shield volcano of Mons Orochos, the tallest mountain on Veehra - indeed, the tallest in all of Tekhum, barring some colossal peak hiding in the outer system. Despite this, Mons Orochos is not impressive to look at; it's simply too big for the human eye to properly grasp its scale, save perhaps when looking down from orbit. Stand at the lip of the caldera, and the base of the mountain will be beyond the horizon. There are no jagged peaks or breathtaking clifftop vistas, as one might expect to find among Sansar's violent tectonic upthrusts, just hundreds upon hundreds of klicks of the land sloping ever upward. Like many of Veehra's mountains, Orochos offers a refuge from the desert. The dust storms that plague the open plains are buffered by the slope and gentled by the thinning atmosphere; the higher one rises, the weaker they become. Fog, rain and snow are common at higher altitudes, as the mountain catches whatever moisture escapes from the northern oasis, and ancient glaciers nestle on the upper slopes, feeding rivers and streams. Barren dust gives way to rich volcanic soil. With water and soil comes life: the native flora and fauna of the Orochon shieldplains must adapt to thin air and bitter cold, but adapt they have. Gnarled trees and thick brambles form a girdle of sorts around the lower slopes; burrowing mammals make nests in snow and soil; flightless birds stalk the rocky scree. Humans dwell here too, farming the fertile slopes during the warmer seasons and huddling in underground communal dens when winter comes. Notable flora and fauna include: Wildlife The rootspine tree bears bears more resemblance to an oversized creeper vine than a typical tree. It rarely rises above head height; its woody trunk grows along the ground rather than standing upright, resulting in a sprawling, knotty mess of thorns and branches. Its namesake roots extend downward to pierce the earth in a dozen places, fixing it in place against the storms and allowing it to draw more nourishment from the soil. On the upper slopes these trees are uncommon, as the locals cut them down to make room for farmland, but on the lower slopes it grows wild, forming a thick, thorny girdle around the mountain - an impromptu wall against desert raiders. The redthistle plant is a local staple crop, better known as Veehran wheat; see Resources for details. The olmy is a rangy red-furred omnivorous scavenger about a foot or two long. Known for their intelligence, their eerie high-pitched cries, and their disquietingly floppy-looking limbs, olmies are capable of squeezing their bodies into crevices far narrower than their body, which helps them both to elude predators and hunt down small burrowing creatures. Some of the locals keep them as pets, but most regard them as pests - they're very hard to keep out of places where they're not wanted, such as granaries and poultry pens, and nearly impossible to train. The yddrik is a predatory flightless bird close to the size of a human, alarmingly fast and agile on the boulder fields and rocky scree that make up its hunting grounds. Fortunately for the locals, these are solitary creatures, and generally prefer to avoid humans... though wise humans avoid them in turn, especially if traveling alone. The pygmy mastodon is a docile creature used as a beast of burden by the local farming communities. The whitefin is a massive flightless bird akin to an oversized penguin... if penguins were terrifying ambush predators. In summer, it hibernates above the permafrost line. When the winter snows arrive, it ventures downslope to hunt, burrowing beneath the surface of the snow and waiting for prey to venture close before bursting forth to seize it, maul it with its cruelly barbed beak, and drag it under the ice. The highest reaches of the mountain are uninhabited, save for lichens and one implausibly hardy species of microscopic arthropod; the atmosphere here is too thin to sustain human life without an oxygen mask. The stars are visible even by day, the blackness of space creeping into the meager sky. The caldera itself contains a frozen lake; Loop-born surveyors suspect it is artificial, given the total lack of rainfall at this altitude, but no trace is left of whatever city or aqueduct it might have once fed. Strange fish and algae live in the depths, many as yet uncatalogued by Tekhum's scientists. History Like most of Tekhum, the Orochon Shieldplains suffered badly in the War of Eternal Bombardments (referred to in local stories as either the Eleventh or Fourteenth Great War). The glittering domed cities of High Orochos were easily shattered by orbital strikes, dooming hundreds of thousands to death by suffocation and exposure; carefully targeted bombardments of the great glaciers unleashed catastrophic floods on the densely populated middle slopes. A few escaped unscathed by taking refuge in the massive bunker complex buried beneath the mountain, built for just such a purpose - among them the very lords and princes whose hubris had brought the sky's wrath down in the first place. Yet even they had only delayed their fate. The war lasted longer than they ever imagined it could, and over the course of decades starvation and infighting thinned their numbers to nothing, leaving only a mausoleum dedicated to their past and future glories. The story of Orochos since the war is one of long, slow decay. Though the people were nearly wiped out, the land itself remained alive. The survivors regrouped and rebuilt as best they could. City-states arose in the ruins, dreaming of reclaiming the glories of the lost age... but the trade networks that had allowed the metropoli of the pre-war era to flourish were gone. The devices of the old world became precious relics, hoarded jealously and passed down from generation to generation until something broke that they had not the knowledge or resources to fix. Ancient steel buildings wore away to nothing under the endless assault of rain, snow and dust, to be replaced by stone huts and underground warrens. Petty kings and would-be tyrants fought with spears and slings as often as guns - and as the long centuries passed, even that grew rarer. Mons Orochos passed into a twilight era, its people content to eke out humble lives beneath the great glaciers... ... until outsiders began to visit - not to rob and plunder, but bearing precious metals and furs as gifts, and offering word from beyond the sky. Some of the Orochons are wary of the newcomers, believing that this is the first step on the road to the next great war. Others believe the long night has passed, and it is time for Orochos's people to wake and join the wider world again. The wise suspect both may be true. People Most of the inhabitants of the Orochon shieldplains live on the middle slopes, high enough to avoid most dust storms, but below the snow line. They are akin to their desert-dwelling neighbors in form: human, or close enough that it's hard to tell the difference by sight. Unlike the desert clans, they are not nomadic: the bitter cold and rocky terrain makes traveling arduous, while the rich volcanic soil is fertile ground (literally) for agriculture. Small towns and villages dot the mountainside, each one laying claim to dozens if not hundreds of terrace farms. Violent conflict is much less common among the Orochon tribes than their desert-dwelling neighbors. Food and water are plentiful, removing the need to fight over basic necessities; conversely, they lack the technology to easily travel long distances. Trade is arduous, conquest difficult. No polity claims more territory than they can walk across in a day or two. Some of the lower villages feud with one another, engaging in ceremonial raids to seize captives and luxury goods. These ritualized clashes bear little resemblance to the life-or-death raids of the open desert, but they do keep some semblance of a martial tradition alive, which is useful on the occasions when desert marauders make their way onto the slopes. The higher villages shun these customs, believing the mountain herself frowns on it - tradition holds that she will bury her children in snow to stop them from fighting one another. The Orochon communities are primitive by Tekhum standards; although not wholly unfamiliar with modern science, they have almost no industrial capacity of their own. What little technology they possess is either salvaged from ancient ruins, or made by hand: water-driven mills, flintlock rifles, electric heaters, solar power collectors. They favor simple, sturdy tools that anyone can take apart and put back together with a little trial and error. What good is a fancy calculating machine if you have to travel a thousand klicks to find the parts needed to keep it working? Better to rely on something the local smith knows how to make, using what can be dug out of the mountain. Their knowledge and history is passed on largely through oral tradition; writing is impractical without paper or parchment. There are stories of people living above the snow line, inside ancient sealed habitats. Most of these sound more like fanciful tales than historical accounts: ancient warlords biding their time until they can unleash their nightmarish war machines on the world once more, savage frozen-hearted marauders who kidnap unwary or disobedient children... Of particular interest to the Castaways is the tale of the City-in-a-Bottle, which on the eve of the war sealed itself away from the world; legends say that they relive the halcyon day before the war endlessly, although whether they saved or damned themselves depends on the teller. Government There is no unified government among the Orochon shieldplains; each community has its own leader, typically either a chief or a council of elders. How much power these rulers hold, and how they choose to exercise it, varies widely. Some villages pass authority down family lines, while others select based on merit (typically determined by contests of wits, strength or skill) or by polling the leaders of respected local families. None can claim leadership over more than a handful of towns or villages - the difficulty of traversing the slopes without vehicles or beasts of burden (both in short supply) makes it hard to exert authority farther than a day's walk or so. The days of kings and empires are long gone in Orochos, and most of its inhabitants feel that's probably for the best. Faith Like many cultures on Veehra, the Orochon people revere the land around them and the cycle of death and rebirth; but where their lowland neighbors see Mother Serpent as the embodiment of the land, the Orochon focus on the mountain herself and the slow passing of Veehran seasons. Snow yields to rain; flowers bloom and rivers run; crops spring from the ground and bear fruit, then wither again; rain yields to snow. Human history is no different; its arc is longer than any one person will live to see, but no less inevitable. What once was, will be again. Everything that may happen, has already happened. To think otherwise is folly. Though the Orochons lack any formal religious structure, every community has at least one Storyteller, responsible for keeping the oral history of their people. These histories are extraordinarily long and detailed, though they do not always agree with one other across communities; the Orochons themselves simply shrug and say their neighbors have remembered the same events from a different cycle. Storytellers are also the keepers of practical knowledge - few Orochons are literate, and the basic principles of electronics, metallurgy and agronomics must be encoded in song and verse alongside myth and history. Most of the Orochons regard the cycle of history as an inevitability, to be celebrated or at least accepted with good grace. A few disagree, viewing the structure of the cosmos as inherently cruel and injust. What comfort is there in knowing all the tragedies of the past will inevitably repeat? A few - mostly those living among the majority faith- rage against the cycle but see no hope of escape. Others believe in a promised path to freedom: that if the right people undertake the right actions at the right time, the shackles of history can be broken forever. This messianic belief is typically in the few towns where this is the majority view. Unsurprisingly, the two sects get on poorly; there hasn't been (much) overt violence in the last hundred years, but wars and pogroms have been waged on both sides in the past, and neither side has forgotten. Resources Veehran Wheat Though the volcanic soil found on the slopes of Orochos is richer than anything outside Veehra's greenlands, not many plants can withstand the thin air and the bitter cold. The most useful of those plants is the redthistle plant, colloquially known as Veehran Wheat. The grain it produces is small and bitter-tasting, but edible; as a result it is widely farmed, and forms the bulk of the local diet. Veehran Wheat has an unusually high mineral content, due to the iron-rich soil it grows in; this often leads to long-term health problems among the Orochons. Loop-born scientists speculate that it was one of the base organisms the Sorcerers of New Kildora altered to create their famous Silver Serpent crops. Desired Import: Fabrics and Textile Products Thin air and frigid temperatures are a constant hardship on Mons Orochos, especially in winter. Orochon homes are well-insulated, built into the mountain itself and heated by fire or electric heater... but eventually, one has to venture outside. There are few local animals large enough to yield useful furs, and the flax-like plant the Orochons use to weave most of their clothing is poorly insulated. The best cold-weather clothes they have use downy feather linings to keep body heat in, but there's rarely enough of these to satisfy demand.

Castaways of the Loop Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62) The Group of Twenty-Three D6 | M3 | E4 | F2 | I5 Round Eight Actions [Diplomacy] Encourage Settlement in Arbor (region 134; spending 1 treasure, TN 12, result 18Diplomacy 6, +1 from spending treasure, +1 from Southslope Fields arcology bonus, success) [Diplomacy] Sway Media in the Orochon Shieldplains (region 63; TN 12, result ??) [Economy] Buyout TP 14.1 (Yinasse Flowers) (spending 1 treasure; TN 12, result ??) [Economy?] [Intrigue?] Non-Actions Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions News and Rumors Additional Notes Treasure: 3/5 Spent this round: 1 Passive Treasure Income: 2/round Military Units: 5/9 Anyport Home Defense Militia, led by Cdr. Rhonda 28417 (ground) Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Keti Sakar Orochon defense militias Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Cpt. Jeremy 25114 (space) Organizations EMP: Reputation 0, 0 favors WTU: Reputation 2, 1 favors BRG: Reputation 1, 0 favors Renown 3

The Orochon Shieldplains (Region 63), Veehra Geography At the western edge of the northern highlands stands the ancient shield volcano of Mons Orochos, the tallest mountain on Veehra - indeed, the tallest in all of Tekhum, barring some colossal peak hiding in the outer system. Despite this, Mons Orochos is not impressive to look at; it's simply too big for the human eye to properly grasp its scale, save perhaps when looking down from orbit. Stand at the lip of the caldera, and the base of the mountain will be beyond the horizon. There are no jagged peaks or breathtaking clifftop vistas, as one might expect to find among Sansar's violent tectonic upthrusts, just hundreds upon hundreds of klicks of the land sloping ever upward. Like many of Veehra's mountains, Orochos offers a refuge from the desert. The dust storms that plague the open plains are buffered by the slope and gentled by the thinning atmosphere; the higher one rises, the weaker they become. Fog, rain and snow are common at higher altitudes, as the mountain catches whatever moisture escapes from the northern oasis, and ancient glaciers nestle on the upper slopes, feeding rivers and streams. Barren dust gives way to rich volcanic soil. With water and soil comes life: the native flora and fauna of the Orochon shieldplains must adapt to thin air and bitter cold, but adapt they have. Gnarled trees and thick brambles form a girdle of sorts around the lower slopes; burrowing mammals make nests in snow and soil; flightless birds stalk the rocky scree. Humans dwell here too, farming the fertile slopes during the warmer seasons and huddling in underground communal dens when winter comes. Notable flora and fauna include: Wildlife The rootspine tree bears bears more resemblance to an oversized creeper vine than a typical tree. It rarely rises above head height; its woody trunk grows along the ground rather than standing upright, resulting in a sprawling, knotty mess of thorns and branches. Its namesake roots extend downward to pierce the earth in a dozen places, fixing it in place against the storms and allowing it to draw more nourishment from the soil. On the upper slopes these trees are uncommon, as the locals cut them down to make room for farmland, but on the lower slopes it grows wild, forming a thick, thorny girdle around the mountain - an impromptu wall against desert raiders. The redthistle plant is a local staple crop, better known as Veehran wheat; see Resources for details. The olmy is a rangy red-furred omnivorous scavenger about a foot or two long. Known for their intelligence, their eerie high-pitched cries, and their disquietingly floppy-looking limbs, olmies are capable of squeezing their bodies into crevices far narrower than their body, which helps them both to elude predators and hunt down small burrowing creatures. Some of the locals keep them as pets, but most regard them as pests - they're very hard to keep out of places where they're not wanted, such as granaries and poultry pens, and nearly impossible to train. The yddrik is a predatory flightless bird close to the size of a human, alarmingly fast and agile on the boulder fields and rocky scree that make up its hunting grounds. Fortunately for the locals, these are solitary creatures, and generally prefer to avoid humans... though wise humans avoid them in turn, especially if traveling alone. The pygmy mastodon is a docile creature used as a beast of burden by the local farming communities. The whitefin is a massive flightless bird akin to an oversized penguin... if penguins were terrifying ambush predators. In summer, it hibernates above the permafrost line. When the winter snows arrive, it ventures downslope to hunt, burrowing beneath the surface of the snow and waiting for prey to venture close before bursting forth to seize it, maul it with its cruelly barbed beak, and drag it under the ice. The highest reaches of the mountain are uninhabited, save for lichens and one implausibly hardy species of microscopic arthropod; the atmosphere here is too thin to sustain human life without an oxygen mask. The stars are visible even by day, the blackness of space creeping into the meager sky. The caldera itself contains a frozen lake; Loop-born surveyors suspect it is artificial, given the total lack of rainfall at this altitude, but no trace is left of whatever city or aqueduct it might have once fed. Strange fish and algae live in the depths, many as yet uncatalogued by Tekhum's scientists. History Like most of Tekhum, the Orochon Shieldplains suffered badly in the War of Eternal Bombardments (referred to in local stories as either the Eleventh or Fourteenth Great War). The glittering domed cities of High Orochos were easily shattered by orbital strikes, dooming hundreds of thousands to death by suffocation and exposure; carefully targeted bombardments of the great glaciers unleashed catastrophic floods on the densely populated middle slopes. A few escaped unscathed by taking refuge in the massive bunker complex buried beneath the mountain, built for just such a purpose - among them the very lords and princes whose hubris had brought the sky's wrath down in the first place. Yet even they had only delayed their fate. The war lasted longer than they ever imagined it could, and over the course of decades starvation and infighting thinned their numbers to nothing, leaving only a mausoleum dedicated to their past and future glories. The story of Orochos since the war is one of long, slow decay. Though the people were nearly wiped out, the land itself remained alive. The survivors regrouped and rebuilt as best they could. City-states arose in the ruins, dreaming of reclaiming the glories of the lost age... but the trade networks that had allowed the metropoli of the pre-war era to flourish were gone. The devices of the old world became precious relics, hoarded jealously and passed down from generation to generation until something broke that they had not the knowledge or resources to fix. Ancient steel buildings wore away to nothing under the endless assault of rain, snow and dust, to be replaced by stone huts and underground warrens. Petty kings and would-be tyrants fought with spears and slings as often as guns - and as the long centuries passed, even that grew rarer. Mons Orochos passed into a twilight era, its people content to eke out humble lives beneath the great glaciers... ... until outsiders began to visit - not to rob and plunder, but bearing precious metals and furs as gifts, and offering word from beyond the sky. Some of the Orochons are wary of the newcomers, believing that this is the first step on the road to the next great war. Others believe the long night has passed, and it is time for Orochos's people to wake and join the wider world again. The wise suspect both may be true. People Most of the inhabitants of the Orochon shieldplains live on the middle slopes, high enough to avoid most dust storms, but below the snow line. They are akin to their desert-dwelling neighbors in form: human, or close enough that it's hard to tell the difference by sight. Unlike the desert clans, they are not nomadic: the bitter cold and rocky terrain makes traveling arduous, while the rich volcanic soil is fertile ground (literally) for agriculture. Small towns and villages dot the mountainside, each one laying claim to dozens if not hundreds of terrace farms. Violent conflict is much less common among the Orochon tribes than their desert-dwelling neighbors. Food and water are plentiful, removing the need to fight over basic necessities; conversely, they lack the technology to easily travel long distances. Trade is arduous, conquest difficult. No polity claims more territory than they can walk across in a day or two. Some of the lower villages feud with one another, engaging in ceremonial raids to seize captives and luxury goods. These ritualized clashes bear little resemblance to the life-or-death raids of the open desert, but they do keep some semblance of a martial tradition alive, which is useful on the occasions when desert marauders make their way onto the slopes. The higher villages shun these customs, believing the mountain herself frowns on it - tradition holds that she will bury her children in snow to stop them from fighting one another. The Orochon communities are primitive by Tekhum standards; although not wholly unfamiliar with modern science, they have almost no industrial capacity of their own. What little technology they possess is either salvaged from ancient ruins, or made by hand: water-driven mills, flintlock rifles, electric heaters, solar power collectors. They favor simple, sturdy tools that anyone can take apart and put back together with a little trial and error. What good is a fancy calculating machine if you have to travel a thousand klicks to find the parts needed to keep it working? Better to rely on something the local smith knows how to make, using what can be dug out of the mountain. Their knowledge and history is passed on largely through oral tradition; writing is impractical without paper or parchment. There are stories of people living above the snow line, inside ancient sealed habitats. Most of these sound more like fanciful tales than historical accounts: ancient warlords biding their time until they can unleash their nightmarish war machines on the world once more, savage frozen-hearted marauders who kidnap unwary or disobedient children... Of particular interest to the Castaways is the tale of the City-in-a-Bottle, which on the eve of the war sealed itself away from the world; legends say that they relive the halcyon day before the war endlessly, although whether they saved or damned themselves depends on the teller. Government There is no unified government among the Orochon shieldplains; each community has its own leader, typically either a chief or a council of elders. How much power these rulers hold, and how they choose to exercise it, varies widely. Some villages pass authority down family lines, while others select based on merit (typically determined by contests of wits, strength or skill) or by polling the leaders of respected local families. None can claim leadership over more than a handful of towns or villages - the difficulty of traversing the slopes without vehicles or beasts of burden (both in short supply) makes it hard to exert authority farther than a day's walk or so. The days of kings and empires are long gone in Orochos, and most of its inhabitants feel that's probably for the best. Faith Like many cultures on Veehra, the Orochon people revere the land around them and the cycle of death and rebirth; but where their lowland neighbors see Mother Serpent as the embodiment of the land, the Orochon focus on the mountain herself and the slow passing of Veehran seasons. Snow yields to rain; flowers bloom and rivers run; crops spring from the ground and bear fruit, then wither again; rain yields to snow. Human history is no different; its arc is longer than any one person will live to see, but no less inevitable. What once was, will be again. Everything that may happen, has already happened. To think otherwise is folly. Though the Orochons lack any formal religious structure, every community has at least one Storyteller, responsible for keeping the oral history of their people. These histories are extraordinarily long and detailed, though they do not always agree with one other across communities; the Orochons themselves simply shrug and say their neighbors have remembered the same events from a different cycle. Storytellers are also the keepers of practical knowledge - few Orochons are literate, and the basic principles of electronics, metallurgy and agronomics must be encoded in song and verse alongside myth and history. Most of the Orochons regard the cycle of history as an inevitability, to be celebrated or at least accepted with good grace. A few disagree, viewing the structure of the cosmos as inherently cruel and injust. What comfort is there in knowing all the tragedies of the past will inevitably repeat? A few - mostly those living among the majority faith- rage against the cycle but see no hope of escape. Others believe in a promised path to freedom: that if the right people undertake the right actions at the right time, the shackles of history can be broken forever. This messianic belief is typically in the few towns where this is the majority view. Unsurprisingly, the two sects get on poorly; there hasn't been (much) overt violence in the last hundred years, but wars and pogroms have been waged on both sides in the past, and neither side has forgotten. Resources Veehran Wheat Though the volcanic soil found on the slopes of Orochos is richer than anything outside Veehra's greenlands, not many plants can withstand the thin air and the bitter cold. The most useful of those plants is the redthistle plant, colloquially known as Veehran Wheat. The grain it produces is small and bitter-tasting, but edible; as a result it is widely farmed, and forms the bulk of the local diet. Veehran Wheat has an unusually high mineral content, due to the iron-rich soil it grows in; this often leads to long-term health problems among the Orochons. Loop-born scientists speculate that it was one of the base organisms the Sorcerers of New Kildora altered to create their famous Silver Serpent crops. Desired Import: Fabrics and Textile Products Thin air and frigid temperatures are a constant hardship on Mons Orochos, especially in winter. Orochon homes are well-insulated, built into the mountain itself and heated by fire or electric heater... but eventually, one has to venture outside. There are few local animals large enough to yield useful furs, and the flax-like plant the Orochons use to weave most of their clothing is poorly insulated. The best cold-weather clothes they have use downy feather linings to keep body heat in, but there's rarely enough of these to satisfy demand. Still tinkering with some details, especially regarding faith and history, but this should be mostly ready for review.

Later, on the trip back to Veehra... "You didn't mention your suspicions about the Basu-Rahman Group." "After that definitely-not-a-threat lecture I got just for mentioning the Bironian affair? Damn right I didn't. I'm tactless, not stupid. The Biarbu are friendly with BRG, I'm not about to start talking about how their buddy might be the guy I'm after." "Besides... I don't really like Basu-Rahman as a suspect. They've got means and motive, I guess. Knowing exactly when and where to be in order to grab Chancellor Eydis is right up their alley; they wanted information on the Elder Blood - sure, Basu-Rahman loves its esoteric secrets - plus ships, which they can't build themselves because they don't have access to military-grade shipyards. Problem is... I don't know, it just doesn't feel like their style to me? Holding a head of state ransom is a hell of a risk, and what do a bunch of corporate suits want with a navy?" "Defend themselves against all the people looking to bomb their holdings?" "The timing's all wrong, this started years before the Soom-clan torched the Mraza broadcast station." "Maybe they saw it coming. Or just didn't want to be left at the mercy of forty-plus nations with shiny new Imperial warships." "Eh. Maybe. Sometimes you've gotta go with your gut, 99, and mine says it's not BRG. I can't rule them out completely, which is why I'm not subcontracting anything out to this. Maybe I'm wrong and our mystery culprit will hit Eucrus or the Soom next. Maybe they're paying BRG for info - I'd find that a lot easier to believe. But they're not my prime suspect."

Castaways of the Loop Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62) The Group of Seventeen D10 | M6 | E10 | F2 | I4 Round Seven Actions [Diplomacy 10] Create Space Habitat - Arbor Sub-action: claim Renown from Eyes in the Sky Even as New Kildora and the Soom-clan seize Veehra's twin moons, a third satellite takes shape in low Veehran orbit: a hollow glass sphere, nearly a dozen klicks in diameter. Six massive cylinders radiating out from the center provide room for living quarters and industrial equipment, protecting both crew and sensitive electronics from solar radiation. The rest of the interior is filled with a dizzying lattice of pipes and trellises, the foundation of what will one day become a colossal three-dimensional garden. First conceptualized by Sadie 9112 nearly forty years ago, the station of Arbor - sometimes nicknamed the Green Moon by its hopeful future denizens - is designed to end the threat of famine for the Loop-born forever. Though not yet fit for more than a skeleton crew, Todds work round the clock to ready the station for human habitation, while Sadies draw up cultivation plans and engineer crops suitable for low-gravity hydroponic environments. [Diplomacy] Attend the First Pan-Tekhum Mageball Competition Sports hold little interest to the Group of Seventeen, but the event draws enough foreign dignitaries that they send an emissary to negotiate, offering data on the Stevens ansible in exchange for data on other recent innovations, past kindnesses, or future goodwill. Sub-actions: Donate 5 treasure to EMP for Extraordinary Research Grant Approvals Gift Shrewd Business and Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores* (contingent on Org GM answers) to WTU to repay favors Gift Hyperlight Transceivers to CAS, HOB, and MSQ Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to BCC in exchange for E.O.N.S. Projectors Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to GCC in exchange for Tesseractic Storage Trade Hyperlight Transceivers and Pseudogravity Engineering to ILU in exchange for Minor Precognition Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to LSP in exchange for Smart Space Colonizer Suits Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to MIR in exchange for Antigravitational Rail Trade Hyperlight Transceivers to SCM in exchange for Soom-Pattern Rayguns [Military 5] Recruit Commander - Irin Sakar (general, Mil 9, tacdoc to be done) Irin Sakar is the niece of the aging Sakar chieftain. As a youth, she first distinguished herself in the war against the Steel Baronies ten years ago; her star has been on the rise ever since, and she is now a respected warleader among her clan. Unlike many of her fellows, she makes a point of training and fighting alongside the Loop-born militias, rather than sticking closely to her kin and the Orid, and has even taken a Loop-born husband. Many speculate she will succeed the chief when he steps down; for now, however, she is trusted with both leadership of her clan's warwheels and a position of authority in the newly formed Security and Defense Group. [Economy 10] Invent Technology - Hyperlight Transceivers Sub-action: claim Renown from Wonders of the 99,803rd Era Harnessing the unique properties of matter from the Loop, Castaway scientists have devised a way to induce a stable state of quantum entanglement between two similar objects, causing them to mirror certain physical properties regardless of distance. The effect is fragile, deteriorating rapidly under gross physical strain or when applied to anything larger than a millimeter in size... but only a tiny circuit is needed to convey information. The ability to project simple binary code instantaneously across vast distances allows real-time communication from one end of Tekhum to the other, provided there is a linked transceiver at both locations. The Stevens ansible is cumbersome in many ways: it's extremely delicate, each transceiver links only to a single twin, and most importantly, the critical entangled circuit at its heart must be made of material taken from the Loop, making them difficult to manufacture in bulk. Leading Todds believe that Loop-made matter is not strictly necessary to the process, but they have yet to figure out how to stabilize the entangled state without this crutch - some hypothesize that Themis Station's research into dark matter or the fission sorcery of Kish may prove fruitful in this regard... Hyperlight Transceivers Prerequisites: any Exotic Matter resource Effect: Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on any non-battle action by 1. [Economy] Gift TP 62.2 (Todd) to the Worker's and Trader's Union via Organize!, gaining 1 treasure and 1 favor As the Peludian rail line begins construction in the Great Western Waste, Todds flock to the project en masse, eager to lend their assistance and get a look at the fancy new artificial gravity tech. Several strike up conversations with WTU crew managers, and soon enough a new union charter is being laid out... Non-Actions Designate a new non-dynastic heir, the Group of Twenty-Three (Dip 4, Mil 3, Econ 3, Fai 2, Int 4), and turn over next round Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions Decline the merge from Fascination to Soul's Fascination The Biarbu practice of observation and interpretation of Fate has gained some traction among the traditionally secular Loop-born in the last few years. Soul's Expression has not, however, and most greet the news that the two faiths have merged with bemusement; one Todd is regrettably quoted in the media as saying he "doesn't see the point in all this woo-woo hamster self-help book stuff". Name the Interplanetary Guildhall arcology in Region 63 (Southslope Fields, +1 to Encourage Settlement) With the assistance of Castaway engineers and Orochon farmers, the Worker's and Trader's Union clears a large span of rootspine forest on the lower southern face of Mons Orochos. Several overlapping domes are erected, shielding the land inside from the desert storms; an ingenious system of gutters and sprinklers allows rain to percolate inside. Inside, the land is sown with Veehran wheat, the traditional terrace farms of the Orochons taken to an industrial scale, while domiciles are built into the ground below the terraces, a veritable city just below the sprawling farms. Though many of the Orochons remain wary of outsiders, the warmth of the greenhouse city is appealing, and both natives and foreigners flock to the city. Many of the Loop-born find themselves put in mind of lost Dometown. Send a polite* note to the Imperial College of Sciences reminding them that the Loop exists The Imperial College of Sciences' request for funding - and promises of shared findings - catches the Castaways' interest in a way the Empire hasn't managed in a long time. For sixty years they have neglected the Loop-born, marred only by the inexplicable and unasked-for largesse of naming them to the Elect - a boon they would happily have forgone if Ophon had offered to send scientists to try to break the Loop instead. They still aren't sending people to the Loop, but perhaps the College's research can be directed. A message is composed, reminding the Imperial Court that just under two hundred citizens of Ophon remain trapped inside the Loop, dying a fiery death every few hours before being reborn. Even if the Court cares nothing for its vassals (the elder Loop-born are not very good at hiding their bitterness), surely they have a duty to their own people? And surely the Loop is one of the most fascinating scientific problems of our time? News and Rumors After years of protests, discussions, referendums, and one near-riot, the Castaways of the Loop have finally begun the process of reform. Even the staunchest convervatives among the Loop-born must concede that the ramshackle government that kept a town of refugees from starving to death in the desert is ill-suited to running a nation-state spanning hundreds of klicks and three to five distinct cultures. No longer will the Loop-born alone rule the Castaways: though the original Seventeen will each retain a seat on the ruling council, six more will be added, bringing the new Group's number to twenty-three. One speaker apiece for the Orid and Sakar clans; two to represent the towns and villages of Mons Orochos; and two to represent the children and loved ones of the Loop-born, inextricably entwined with the tragedy of the Loop, yet unable to fully understand the experience of those who lived it. Some note that the numbers remain highly skewed towards the Loop-born; two Speakers cannot possibly hope to represent all the disparate towns and villages of Orochos, while the Orid and Sakar-clans each number nearly as many as all seventeen Loop-born put together. But though they don't want to rule as tyrants, the Loop-born have no intention of subsuming themselves to others. It would be all too easy for their voices to be drowned out as generations pass, their friends and allies growing more numerous while they stay the same; it is all too easy to imagine a future where the Loop goes neglected, as a government with no personal stake in the matter tires of throwing resources at an impervious, inscrutable problem. The reforms extend well beyond the ruling council. Though the Logistics and Rationing Group remains responsible for managing essential supplies and scarce nonessentials, it is no longer the sole arm of official Castaway government. It is joined by the Arbitration and Welfare Group, responsible for resolving disputes between communities, ensuring new immigrants and freshly emerged Loop-born have their needs met, and enforcing the few laws the Castaways impose on all members; the Outreach and Mediation Group, who take on diplomatic roles both within the state and without; and the Security and Defense Group, which is largely the old militia system given a more official-sounding name and a clear charter. As the six new Speakers are selected, eight of the old Seventeen step down, a measure intended to prevent the original seventeen and the newcomers from ending up in factions. Among the replacements is Tina 21135, veteran of the war (slaughter, some would say) against the Steel Baronies to the south. Though her military record is more of a black mark than a badge of honor, she is well-respected for drawing attention to the injustice of the war, and has been an outspoken advocate for change ever since her resignation. Any private misgivings she has about holding power again must be put aside: her fellow Tinas - and many others - believe she is suited to guiding the Castaways through this period of transition, and she hopes to live up to their faith in her. The Ishtahn's request for oversight is poorly timed, as most of the Castaways' diplomatic corps is occupied with reorganizing their own government. Most of the Loop-born feel that, while Ishtahnos's concern for the refugees is laudable in theory, they have absolutely no business asserting the right to look after people they've invaded twice in the past decade - people who may well have fled their homes in fear of the Ishtahn. Sometimes, you have to admit that you're not the right person for the job. Nevertheless, the Ishtahn have put themselves forward and aren't about to back down, so somebody ought to go along and try to make sure this doesn't turn into a worse mess than it already is. A delegation of harried and overworked diplomats headed by Meredith 44817 is dispatched to offer a Veerhan voice that isn't determined to assume that all refugees were kidnapped until proven otherwise. Some harbor hopes of being able to smooth over relations between Ishtahnos - hopes which are dashed by the High Arbiter's halfhearted choice to stand trial in person without ceding any authority to the court. Still, they can at least ensure that traumatized Mrazan expatriates don't have to endure questioning by Ishtahn inspectors who don't realize how intimidating they are. Additional Notes Treasure: 5/5 Spent this round: 5 Passive Treasure Income: 2/round Military Units: 5/9 Anyport Home Defense Militia, led by Cdr. Rhonda 28417 (ground) Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Keti Sakar Orochon defense militias Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Cpt. Jeremy 25114 (space) Organizations EMP: Reputation 0, 0 favors WTU: Reputation 2, -2 favors BRG: Reputation 1, 0 favors Renown 2

The pair exchange another brief glance. "It's not urgent. The trail's gone cold after New Kildora anyway. We're just here to... what's that saying you have? 'Sometimes Fate needs a little push?' That's us. When these guys make their next move, you'll remember this conversation, and maybe then it'll be the right time to start looking." Todd shrugs. "Or maybe not. Who can say? But I think I like the future where you know what to look for better than the one where you're blindsided." "You might also think of it as an insurance policy. Our investigation at New Kildora wasn't a secret; if whoever is behind this decides to silence us... best we share what we know first. We've shared our suspicions with our own people too, of course, but they'll be expecting that. They won't necessarily be expecting you." "Right, yeah, if we both fall down a flight of stairs under suspicious circumstances, that's pretty good evidence right there." OOC I don't have actions to spare on Investigation anytime soon either; this is just opening up a line of dialogue, basically. Though if/when you get around to it, I suspect your Intrigue will be considerably higher than mine...

The long burn from Mekhala to Veehra passes smoothly. With the asteroids out of the way, there's not much for Gerald to do other than sit behind the wheel, and catch up with the latest broadcasts out of B.I.R.B., Heliotrope and Snake News. Just like driving a truck back home, but not as bumpy. He's got running water, a decent bed, a month's worth of pre-packaged meals... if not for the gravity, it'd be a perfect little getaway, really. He barely needs to touch the controls, aside from flipping the ship around and beginning to decelerate around the halfway point. The course the eggheads back home have plotted for him will burn off a little speed via orbital slingshot... but since he needs to make landfall to pick up his prize, he's going to have to slow most of the way down the old-fashioned way. Mons Orochos is the tallest mountain on Veehra; tallest in all of Tekhum, unless there's something hidden in the outer orbits where astronomers can't see it. The atmosphere at its peak is far too thin to be breathable, allowing Gerald's ship to come in far hotter than would be safe under other circumstances. If everything goes as planned, there should be a pit crew waiting for him on the lip of the caldera, with a canister of dust ready to go... "Dude! Todd! Have you seen that new magic engine the House of Brimstone pulled out for this?" "Yeah, they've been here and gone already." "Oh yeah, I figured that might happen, the way they took off from the starting line. But check this out: some of our guys talked to some of the guys from Kish, and we've got schematics for those engines!" "Oh yeah?" "So I thought, you know, maybe you could take a look and see if you can soup up my ride?" "..." "Like right now. Kind of in the middle of a race here, my guy." "Gerald. We've known each other for, what, ten years?" "Sounds right." "In that time, have I somehow managed to give you the impression that I'm a goddamn space wizard?" "No, but you're an engine guy, and this is engine stuff! Engine wizardry. That's kind of your thing." "I'm a metaphorical engine wizard. This is literal engine wizardry." "So is that a no?" "Just to be clear what you're asking. You want me to take a look at the Archmage's volatile prototype magical nuclear reactor - two fields, I have to stress, that I am not remotely qualified in - and see if I can jury-rig one for your ship... using spare parts and igneous rocks... in the two hours it'll take you to refuel and resupply?" "Basically, yeah." "... gimme the schematics. I'll see what I can do." "You're the best!" Four hours later, Gerald's ship takes off again, now equipped with something Todd 52776 calls a leyline ramjet; in his words, "it might give you a boost if you can follow in the Archmake's wake closely enough, and I'm almost certain it won't explode and kill you." Gerald is pretty sure he won't be beating the Archmage of Kish back to Mekhala, but that's no reason to give up. The race to al-Miraiya is on!

Twelve years ago, the Group of Seventeen had deemed the Mekhala Mad Dash too dangerous - and too frivolous - to risk one of their Imperial engines on. But after more than a decade, the drive cores are... not commonplace, exactly, but the Logistics and Rationing Group no longer controls them quite so strictly. A group of Geralds has put together an entry, drawing lots to see which of them gets to be at the wheel. Castaways ships are typically modular in design: a narrow superstructure contains the engine and power source (typically a fusion reactor or solar panels), while crew quarters, cargo space, combat drones, and other ancillary systems are housed in interchangeable modules. By swapping the modules in use, it is a relatively simple matter to refit a cargo ship into a long-distance survey vessel, a diplomatic escort, or a passenger liner, and vice versa. However, these ships are not built for speed; the attachment points limit how swiftly they can safely accelerate, decelerate, or turn. As such, Gerald's racing vessel is custom-built. It is inelegant in its simplicity: a large, blocky rectangle with an engine on one end. But what it lacks in aesthetics... and maneuverability... and probably raw speed, if we're being painfully honest... it'll hopefully make up for in reliability. Gerald 48223 isn't really expecting to win this race, but he's damn well going to finish it. As the GO light flashes green, Gerald hits the thrust. His engine flares to life, propelling his ship forward... at nearly a ninety-degree angle to the other racers. Rather than gunning straight for Veehra, Gerald's planned trajectory will take him out of Mekhala's ecliptic plane, at which point he can reorient and make a beeline for the planet without having to waste time and fuel avoiding asteroids (or other racers). Roll notes First leg: 2d6+4 (half Econ) = 13 Pickup: 2d6+5 (half Diplomacy, visiting Gerald's native region) = 16 Las leg: 2d6+4 (half Econ, +1 for Thaumonuclear Reactor technology, -1 for not being Mekhalan) = 9

The two Loop-born exchange a brief glance as the conversation turns to the Bironian civil war and the new Treasurer. Todd nods slowly, absorbing what the Biarbu is saying (and pointedly not saying) and deciding to leave that topic well alone for now. "Follow the money. Oldest trick in the book," he says. "Or, as I suspect is the case here, the lack of money. Consider: our first confirmed sighting" - Rhonda makes a disgruntled noise, and he corrects - "our first well-supported sighting is the Fiorid affair. Nabbing a prisoner from whatever's left over of the Grigialfheim insurgents is... well, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but I think the hard part is knowing exactly when and where to hit them. Someone who was well-informed - or just lucky - wouldn't need a lot of money or guns to get their hands on Eydis. And I think it's telling that they demanded military vessels equipped with Imperial engines. It suggests that's not something they have access to on their own - which is to say, not Elect." "Once our ransomers have their prize, boom! They're in business. Spend money to make money... or spaceships, in this case. Lotta Kildoran yachts were hijacked in that raid, which sounds harmless if you don't know that Kildoran sorcerers like their leisure yachts more heavily armed than a kanmarra bodybuilder." "As for what our mystery actor wants... well. That's the big question, isn't it? I don't have any theories on that; it's hard to make a pattern out of just two data points. If I'm right, they started off with secrecy and good intel as their only real assets, and now they're bootstrapping up to bigger things. Which means they're probably just hitting targets of opportunity, rather than going after their enemies, but who knows? I'm keeping an eye out for any further signs, but as far as I can tell they've been lying low the last couple of years."

"Elder Ben Ying. Thank you for seeing us. Time is valuable and we're honored to be considered worthy of yours." Should she bow? Probably not, they're sitting down and there's not that much room in the booth. She settles for a deep nod. "As you've correctly surmised, I am Rhonda 49199, and this is my colleague, Todd 49186." "It's the gravity," Todd says, attempting to sit up straighter. "Imperial standard G is hell on my posture." Rhonda resists the urge to roll her eyes at him. "I'm told you're already familiar with our investigation into the raid on New Kildora, Elder Ying? Our business today is related to that. We understand you like to keep abreast of current events, both those reported in the mainstream media and those... a little more off the beaten track. The Kildoran incident is just the latest in a pattern we've been looking into." Todd picks up on the thread. "It's the perfect frame job, if you think about it. Who's going to bother digging deeper when the obvious suspect is a known axe murderer? Except it's out of character for the Reign of Blood to deny responsibility; normally the Bloodlord would just say 'yep, we did it, come at us if you think you're hard enough'. And sure enough, when we start poking around, the evidence doesn't really fit. Whoever was behind the attack didn't have access to real sanguimancers - which is damn near unheard of for a Khylokian raiding fleet. But that leaves the question: if it wasn't the Reign of Blood, who was it?" "There are between forty and forty-three Elect active in Tekhum, depending on how you reckon it. There's also the Pan-Tekhum Worker's and Trader's Union and the Basu-Rahman Group, who are influential enough to contend on the same playing field despite not having the Emperor's official stamp of approval. And of course, there's the Empire itself. I've gone through them all, and while there's some I can't rule out for sure... I believe there's another player in the game." He lays a tablet out on the table, scrolling rapidly through news articles, photographs, and other documents. "2039. Eydis dei Fiori is captured; the Fiorid press blames Grigialfheim insurgents, but the Velafloan defense coalition surrenders without any reference to the events. Over a year later, a ransom demand comes from a third party, demanding military hardware and state secrets - the former of which is paid with ships sourced from the Khylokian Reign of Blood. The link is clear." "From here on out, the trail gets murkier. There's a possible connection to the old Veehran Triangle conspiracy - this was before my time, but the Todds who debunked that story found triangle iconography at a number of sites spread out across the planet, suggesting a common cause. We haven't seen anything further on that front, but I'm keeping an eye out for the insignia." "Lastly, I've marked the Bironian Civil War as a potential point of interference: it's tough to find reliable info on that period, but between Yanji Argon's assassination, his 'miraculous' return from the depths of Badal," Todd is absolutely the kind of guy to deploy finger quotes, "and the death or disappearance of nearly every Bironian leader over the next few years, it's clear there was a lot of shady business going on. Some of these are solved cases now: Kazi of Sodium ended up wearing the Black Butterfly, and I'd bet good money that Treasure Boyin was offed on Alchire's orders. You probably know more about this than we do; maybe you can shed some light on it." "So how 'bout it, Mister Ying? What's your professional opinion on all this?" "We'd welcome a fresh perspective."

"By all means," Rhonda says, before Todd can muster any kind of response. "We're pleased to accept your hospitality. Should your employer happen to have a spare moment in their schedule, we'd be honored to speak with them in person." As the Biarbu leads them towards a booth, the two share a brief wordless conversation: raised-eyebrow-meaningful-glance-grimace-nod-eyeroll-shrug. Todd falls back half a step to let his partner lead the way.

A blocky Veehran ship disgorges just two Castaways onto the docking ports of Shiwa Yun. The man is dressed in an aurochs-leather jacket that's seen better days, the woman in a long tweed coat; both seem positively drab amidst the flashing lights and colorful plumage of the Biarbu city. The pair are, technically, an official delegation. Though the Group of Seventeen saw little point in sending government officials to a casino on a faraway planet, certain consultants they employ spotted an opportunity. "Well," says Todd 49186, lighting up a shock-cigar, "here we are." "Remind me what we're doing here again?" Rhonda 49199 hasn't forgotten anything. In fact, Rhonda 49199 has a near-photographic memory. But her partner in crime-solving has been annoyingly tight-lipped about this trip, and he does love his exposition. "We're here to see a bird about a man, Rhonda." A faint scent of Shoku Baotsi begins to permeate the air as Todd takes a long drag of his cigar, along with a staticky tingle. "Probably shouldn't call them that." "What, birds?" "Yeah. Bit like walking into a human city and talking about monkeys." "We are monkeys." "Sure, but that won't stop people from thinking you're an asshole if you go around calling them that." Todd sighs. "It's really annoying when you're right. Fine, I'll try and think of a better one-liner before we get to the hotel." "Not the casino?" "Nope. We're checking into the Silver Hotel, and then we want to talk to the manager."

Castaways of the Loop Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62) The Group of Seventeen D10 | M6 | E8 | F2 | I4 Round Six Actions [Diplomacy] Attend the Mekhala-Veehra Dash of 2050 Sub-actions: Accept 1 treasure and Thaumonuclear Reactor Core technology from HOB. Accept 1 treasure and Android Industrialization from CAS. Gift them Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry, In Vivo Modification, and Xenolinguistic Cataloguing in return. Accept Badalian Megadirigibles from CUS. Accept Pseudogravity Engineering and Shrewd Business from ARK. Sign onto the Arkhive's charter as a visiting member. [Economy] Buyout TP 104.2 (Solar Panels) (spending 1 treasure; TN 12, result 13Economy 8, +1 from spending treasure, +1 from Union Central's bonus to Buyouts, -2 distance penalty, success) Portable, cheap, and endlessly renewable, solar panels are the perfect power source for a colony that doesn't yet have fusion reactors up and running. [Economy] Buyout TP 16.2 (Senkar Medicae) (spending 1 treasure; TN 12, result 12Economy 8, +1 from spending treasure, +2 from UHS support, -2 distance penalty, success) Senescence is a foe not even the scientist-sages of Ophon have managed to defeat... but the homogeneous nature of the Loop-born population presents an opportunity of sorts. They know exactly which chronic illnesses and genetic predispositions will assail them as they grow old; rather than struggling to cure a thousand subtly different strains of cancer, medical researchers can focus their efforts on the exact type that Carl or Meredith is prone to. As older Loop-born generations enter their fading years, the Group of Seventeen reaches out to far-off Senkar, famed across Tekhum for its medical expertise, and arranges to import specialists to develop treatment regimens for the Seventeen. [Economy] Impress Merchants in Region 63 with Charmed Textiles (spending 1 treasure; TN 12, result 18Economy 8, +1 from spending treasure, success) The Castaways make good on their promises to the people of the Orochon Shieldplains, importing trade goods the Orochons can't find or manufacture in their homeland: exotic foodstuffs, delicate electronics, and large quantities of furs and enchanted embroidery from distant Sansar. [Economy] Prospect Colony in Region 60? (TN 12, result 11Economy 8, failure) The ancient terraforming machinery beneath the Empty Sea represents a golden opportunity, even if it's never used as its builders intended. There is a veritable treasure trove of pre-War technology buried in the labyrinthine bunker complex, much of it shockingly intact. Loop-born scientists and archaeologists mine the tunnels eagerly - not for scrap metal or components, but for knowledge. The control bunker's databanks were all wiped, but are there secondary repositories? Can any of the devices be replicated or repurposed? Care is taken to ensure they don't destroy any of the machinery in their efforts to reverse-engineer it; they're here to understand what the ancients left here, not pillage it. Non-Actions Send an informal delegation to the Grand Opening of the Golden Phoenix Support BRB's conversion to Fascination in Region 62 The Biarbu practices of observation find a ready audience among Todds and other secularly-minded Loop-born, who have little use for the mysticism espoused by the Cult of the Mother Serpent and other Veehran faiths and appreciate a more pragmatic outlook. Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions Request that the WTU construct an Interplanetary Guildhall in Region 63 (-2 favors, -1 Rep) Determined to end the threat of food scarcity once and for all, the Group of Seventeen draws up plans for an immense greenhouse complex on the southern slopes of Mons Orochos. They request Union assistance in construction, promising favorable access to the harvests once the project is complete. The People Want Action Any attempt to reform the institution of corvee labor must consider the Demigod-King En-Sha-Nerrat and his peers, who presently hold it their divine right to command the work of their subjects' hands. Enacting any kind of meaningful change without their support will be difficult. Though some might argue that it would be best to remove the problem at the source, the Castaways of the Loop feel that even if unseating the Demigod-King were feasible - no small feat, given his legendary prowess in battle and the political backing of New Kildora's sorcerers - doing so would cause irreparable damage to the Union's reputation, as other rulers worry that they might be the next target, and move to curtail the Union's influence. Therefore, it is critical to acquire En-Sha-Nerrat's backing for the project. Several other parties have presented promising ideas for economic reform; the Castaways's proposal will focus on the diplomatic side instead, offering a number of suggestions to ensure that the plan does not challenge the Demigod-King's authority or contravene his establish dogma. Some plans are more easily adjusted than others, of course. An ideal proposal would allow the Demigod-Kings to grow wealthy off taxation and trade while their subjects flourish. If the plan selected does not offer such immediately tangible benefits, it may be prudent to resort to outright bribery to smooth things over with the local powers-that-be - a short-term solution, and an expensive one, but perhaps necessary if the project is to succeed. News and Rumors The confirmation of pre-War terraforming machinery in Region 60 sparks a spirited debate among the Castaways. Many feel that activating the ancient device is clearly the right thing to do: why not transform a barren wasteland into a paradise? Had the Loop-born emerged into fertile farmland rather than desert, how many of the thousands who starved might still be alive? How much easier would their lives be without storms and drought hanging over their head? But the decision proves more controversial than first expected. Terraforming would destroy the native desert ecosystems; Rasha in particular is outspoken in her opposition to the plan, with one elder stating that "it is the height of arrogance to believe that the planet exists to be reshaped for our convenience", and many of the Castaways who have found meaning in the cult of the Mother Serpent find themselves uneasy at the prospect. The Orid- and Sakar-clans are equally divided: those who look at the greenlanders with envious eyes see opportunity, but others fear that without the desert, their ancestral traditions and way of life will be destroyed in a few short generations. A few point out that this choice is not wholly theirs to make. Terraforming could have effects that extend well beyond the Castaways' borders. And so the Group of Seventeen sends emissaries abroad: to their neighbors in Vesper and the Union first, then the Peludo, the Soom-clan, Narsai, and every polity that claims land in the desert. Information is shared, on the terraforming machine's current capabilities and its hypothesized future applications. What should be done with this technology? Governmental reform continues to be a hot topic among the Castaways. The Group of Seventeen now lays claim to a vast swathe of territory, stretching all the way from Mons Orochos in the north to what is becoming known as the Empty Sea in the south. At least three - possibly as many as seven - distinct cultures make their homes in this region... and yet, only the Loop-born are represented on the ruling council. Some argue that since the Loop-born were singled out by the Emperor when he raised them to the Elect, it's only right that they stand above the others - but this argument proves extremely distasteful to the Loop-born themselves, who reject the idea that the Emperor's whim makes them any more worthy than their neighbors. At long last, the Group of Seventeen breaks their silence on the topic: they do not intend to mirror Ophon's distant neglect. Their neighbors and allies will be given a voice, to ensure their wants and needs are not overlooked. However, change will take time. The Castaways' ramshackle government does not have established processes for reform; they must decide not only what changes to make, but how to make them and who can be trusted to carry them out... Additional Notes Treasure: 3/5 Spent this round: 3 Passive Treasure Income: 3/round Military Units: 5/9 Anyport Home Defense Militia, led by Cdr. Rhonda 28417 (ground) Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Keti Sakar Orochon defense militias Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Cpt. Jeremy 25114 (space) Organizations EMP: Reputation 0, 0 favors WTU: Reputation 3, 0 favors BRG: Reputation 1, 0 favors Renown 2

Once again, Pugilarch's muscular bulk proves useless against the power of bullets. He stands upright for a few moments, then topples to the ground with a thunderous crash. The arena's microphones zoom in to catch one last, almost plaintive "destroy..." before the giant goes still. VIP Box "No! Not my beautiful creation! You philistines!" The doctor is too distracted to answer Guyineber's question, and may in fact have forgotten she exists.