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.

"It's not bad," the Jy'mar says, sounding distracted as he peers down at the arena. "I admit I'm a tad disappointed by the prevalence of ranged weaponry here, it seems somehow unsporting; if I wanted to watch people gun each other down I could just turn on the news. Originally this iteration of Pugilarch was going to have subcutaneous armor, you know, but I couldn't get it to play nicely with the muscular reconfiguration system, and of course I prioritized the latter because it's far more interesting... From a tactical perspective it seems to have been a mistake, though. I'll have to give bullets some thought. I understand they're something of an unsolved problem when it comes to military hardware, but I'm sure a genius of my caliber can work something out." He blinks as the rest of the llort's comment finally registers. "Hang on, son? What are you blathering about?" Out in the arena, Pugilarch recollects himself, the shock of his injury slowly giving way to adrenaline-fueled rage. His body emits a disquieting series of squelching and cracking sounds as he stands upright, casting about for the next enemy. By unlikely happenstance, his eye fixates on the smallest target possible: Prisca Calpurnius. Mustering all his cunning and restraint, Pugliarch refrains from shouting his customary cry of "DESTROY!" until the very last second, moments before he attempts to squash the Jy'mar Console...! Mechanics Rolling to determine a target, you know the drill by now. 1=Keon Nnight, 2=Prisca, 3=Belu Attacking Prisca with a 10

Pugilarch's inhuman musculature proves useless against an enemy he can't reach. The first shot halts him in his tracks; the second blows one of his arms clean off. For a moment, the giant simply stands there, berserk rage forgotten as he stares dumbly at the stump where his limb used to be. "Destroy...?" Then his flesh contorts around the shoulder, and the spray of blood cuts off abruptly. In the VIP box, Doctor Sardonicus lets out a high-pitched cheer. "Yes! The auto-cauterization lattice appears to be performing within expected parameters. Don't count Pugilarch out of this yet, my friends!"

"DESTROY!" Pugilarch barely seems to notice as the injured Yihan makes his (temporary) escape, bellowing with incoherent fury as he slams blow after savage blow... the floor? Sometimes air? It's possible that whatever unholy concoction the doctor used to spur his creation into a berserk rage has side effects. Nevertheless, after a little the giant notices that he no longer has an enemy to pummel. Snorting, he turns laboriously about, muscles literally rippling under his skin as his body reconfigures itself to be lower to the ground. The first gladiator his gaze falls on is... Seraphine! Badalian monstrosity meets Veehran as the giant charges on all fours like a gorilla. Mechanics Pugilarch is uninjured and rolls at +3. Rolling a d2 to determine target (1=Eighbris, 2=Seraphine)... Attacking Seraphine with a result of 12.

In the VIP box, Doctor Sardonicus smirks, his floating hoverchair affording him equal height with the apefolk. "Go forth, my creation! Wreak destruction on these hapless fools who know not my genius!" A tiny finger stabs down on a red button. In the arena, a transceiver buried in Pugilarch's flesh activates, flooding the creature's bloodstream with a cocktail of hormones designed to dial up stress and aggression. The placid titan's face screws into a scowl, and for the first time he turns to look at his fellow combatants, beady eyes searching for his first victim... "DESTROY!" His gaze falls on his fellow Badalian. The Bironian gladiator Yihan finds himself staring up at a descending fist larger than his head! Mechanics Pugilarch: Mil 3, both 'weapons' available Rolling a single d6 to determine target (1=Aki, 2=Keon Nnight, 3=Prisca, 4=Yihan, 5=Belu, 6=Doom)... Attacking Yihan!

A Jy'mar with flyaway white fur and a pair of tiny lab goggles is arguing vigorously with the llort in charge of processing last-minute entries to the contest. "- came all the way here from Badal to be free from the natterings of shocked bystanders and vengeful relatives. I was promised bloodshed without restraint! And yet what do I find but more petty bureaucrats, yapping at my heels about 'consent' and 'wildly irresponsible experimental procedures' and 'grotesque violation of scientific ethics'. Doctor Sardonicus will not be constrained by your ethics committees! My vision must be realized, regardless of the cost, and none of you short-sighted fools will get in my -" "Sir," the llort answers, "this isn't about ethics. For liability reasons, all contestants must provide their explicit written consent..." "My creation does consent! That is not the issue at hand! He is not only willing but eager to destroy the criminals and degenerates who fancy themselves his competition -" "destroy?" The figure behind the not-so-good doctor is half again as tall as any llort here, and probably well over twice their weight, a hulking mass of muscle and surgical scars. "Not yet, Pugilarch! Wait until you're in the arena, then destroy. No, the problem is not one of willingness. It's his fine motor control that's the issue. I built him to be matchless in the field of raw strength - the dexterity needed to handle a writing implement was superfluous to requirements. Perhaps the next iteration will have a secondary set of limbs, purpose-built to allow for manipulation of smaller objects such as firearms..." The llort clears his throat as Sardonicus trails off into muttering. "Look, doc, we just need a signature. If you're his guardian or otherwise empowered to make legal decisions on his behalf, you can sign for him." "... ah. Legalities." Doctor Sardonicus hesitates. "I am, indeed, empowered to sign legal documents on his behalf! According to... the proper authorities. On Badal. You are welcome to consult them, but as I understand it, the event starts in less than twenty minutes. Unless you wish to deny the audience the chance to see PUGILARCH THE BRUTILATOR in action, I suggest we expedite the process." After a brief consultation with his supervisor, the Bloodsports! authorities apparently decide that the diminutive Badalian doctor is not a serious risk for lawsuits. With a quick signature from Sardonicus, a discreet bribe, and a massive thumbprint from Pugilarch himself, the usual legalities are waived. A few minutes later, the doctor's overmuscled brainchild shuffles out onto the floor of the arena, gazing vacantly at the audience. Details Pugilarch and his sponsor are from the as-yet unnamed Region 4. They will be rolling at +3.

Castaways of the Loop Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62) The Group of Seventeen D9 | M6 | E7 | F2 | I4 Round Five Actions [Diplomacy] Press Claim on Region 63 (TN 12, result 15Diplomacy 9, +1 from Renown 1, success) Loop-born emissaries continue to travel back and forth between Anyport and the farming communities dwelling on the slopes of Mons Orochos. Though some remain wary of the outsiders, most are won over by the Castaways' sincerity: they present themselves as neighbors, not colonizers or conquerors. They offer trade in goods the local farmers can't easily make themselves, as well as a path to the stars for those few who are dissatisfied with a pastoral life in the mountain's shadow. In exchange, they ask only for food and stories, two commodities the Orochon people are happy to share. There is no unified government to reach an agreement with, but one by one the chiefs and elder councils reach accords. [Diplomacy] Raise Reputation with WTU (TN 14, result 14Diplomacy 9, no modifiers, success) The Group of Seventeen takes the Union auditor's critiques to heart: it's becoming more and more clear to them that the simple trust-based system which worked for a small community is struggling under the weight of their increasing - and increasingly diverse - population. It's also becoming clear that few of them have much experience setting the kind of policy they'll need. WTU officials are invited to advisory positions as the Group begins attempting to formulate laws and regulations... not to mention the bodies responsible for enforcing them. [Economy] Construct an Arcology in Region 62 (Stevens Research Institute, +1 to Investigations) -Sub-actions: claim 1 treasure from Project Sunrise. Claim 1 Renown from Built to Last. Todds have studied the Loop since the very beginning, when Todd 2 reportedly spent half of his first day out hammering on the boundary (both figuratively and literally) in an effort to get back inside. In the early years, they improvised spectrometers in the back of a hollowed-out truck; later, they imported tools and equipment from across Tekhum. As of today, they have the Stevens Research Institute. Built by Todds, for Todds, the Institute is one part research lab, one part observatory, and one part living complex. The facility spans several square klicks, most of it underground; an observation tower stretches almost a thousand meters into the air, leaning against the surface of the Loop itself to allow for closer examination of Dometown. Filled with the finest scientific instruments the Castaways can build or buy, thousands of Todds live and work here, busily delving into the mysteries of the Loop... and any other mysteries that happen to cross their path. [Economy] Buyout TP 42.1 (Charmed Textiles) (TN 12, result 18Economy 7, -1 distance penalty) Loop-born merchants open negotiations with cloth merchants in the Flowering Lands of Sansar, seeking to purchase large quantities of enchanted fabric to offer their northern neighbors - specifically, fabrics enchanted to warm the wearer and stave off the bitter chill of a Veehran highland winter. [Intrigue] Investigate the alleged Khylokian raid on New Kildora (spending 1 treasure, TN unknown, result 12Intrigue 4, +1 from BRG Rep 1, +1 from treasure; Cultural Identity applies) It's not unusual for Khylokian raiders to attack a spaceport - they've been ranging across Tekhum ever since the Emperor saw fit to give them Imperial engines. What is highly unusual is for the Reign of Blood to deny responsibility. Todd 49186 smells a rat (figuratively speaking, no offense meant to any Durats or Jy'mar) and persuades the Logistics and Rationing Group to support an independent investigation into the attack. Is the Reign of Blood being framed? Were the raiders renegade Khylokians... or were they even Khylokians at all? Todd and his partner Rhonda 49199 mean to answer all these questions and more. Non-Actions Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts Resist and hinder all unsupported conversions News and Rumors As the Vesperite military campaign in the southern desert draws to a close, Captain Tina 21135 resigns her commission, citing ethical concerns over the Group of Seventeen's recent policy decisions. A veteran with decades of experience fending off desert marauders and scavengers, Tina 21135 was appointed to command the Group of Seventeen's first (and so far only) interstellar warship just over ten years ago; she is well-respected among the local militias, and her resignation catalyzes a wave of protests. The Castaways have never been shy about trading weapons and vehicles to raiders, if that's what it takes to convince them to take their raids elsewhere, but fighting alongside them as they sack and conquer someone else's home is seen as several steps too far. Some accuse the Group of Seventeen of sacrificing human lives in the name of territorial ambitions, and even the more moderate voices agree that the Group of Seventeen's mandate ought to be re-examined now that they stand among the Elect. In response, the Group agrees to draft a strict military code of conduct, clearly laying out what is expected of the militias and what they can and cannot legally be ordered to do. Some push for larger reforms, such as oversight on the Group itself, but the response is noncommittal. Skeptics doubt the Group will willingly give up power, but others point out that as their membership turns over, new Speakers can be elected on platforms of reform... Todd 35348 theorizes the strange phenomenon affecting the souls of the Loop-born is some form of quantum entanglement, linking them to their past selves. Though plausible, the hypothesis proves difficult to test, much less harness, and for a while it seems this avenue of inquiry may be a dead end. In 2047 a breakthrough is made from an unexpected source: Marge 45112, who has spent the last several years investigating a baffling yet persistent series of fuel budgeting errors on Loop-born spacecraft on behalf of the Logistics and Rationing Group. Upon hearing of the entanglement theory, she conducts a series of brief tests and determines that spacecraft carrying Loop-born use slightly more fuel - or sometimes slightly less - than projected only when their counterparts are present inside the Loop. The mechanism escapes her, but the correlation is clear; she turns the matter over to her more scientifically inclined colleagues. A group of Todds quickly determine that the entanglement phenomenon affects the body as well as the soul: Loop-born remain affected by a fraction of Veehra's gravity no matter how far they travel from the planet, somehow linked to their counterpart standing on Veehran soil. The effect is minor - it could not have gone unnoticed for fourteen years of space travel otherwise - but unmistakable once they know to look. Todds have yet to decipher the practical implications; the Marges are busy overhauling their navigation algorithms and budgeting spreadsheets to account for as many as seventeen distinct time-dependent vectors affecting every ship. Additional Notes Treasure: 1/5 Spent this round: 1 Passive Treasure Income: 1/round Military Units: 4/6 Anyport Home Defense Militia, led by Cdr. Rhonda 28417 (ground) Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Keti Sakar Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Cpt. Tina 21135 (space) Organizations EMP: Reputation 0, 0 favors WTU: Reputation 2, 0 favors BRG: Reputation 1, 0 favors Renown 1

Ruler and Heir Current Ruler: the Group of Twenty-Three (various pronouns, they/them as a group) Starting stats: Diplomacy 4, Military 3, Economy 3, Faith 2, Intrigue 4 Current stats: Diplomacy 6, Military 3, Economy 4, Faith 2, Intrigue 5 Specials used: Specials available: D5, I5 Heir: none Past Rulers: the Group of Seventeen (rounds 1-7; Diplomacy 10, Military 6, Economy 10, Faith 2, Intrigue 4) Territory Regions owned The Great Western Waste (region 62, capital) The Orochon Shieldplains (region 63) The Empty Sea (region 60, colony) Arbor (region 134, colony) The Great Western Waste (region 62, capital) Government Support: Owned Mercantile Support: Owned Media Support: Owned Claim: Integration Resource: Todd (Specialist/Exotic Matter) Desired Import: Food (currently satisfied) Religion: Cult of the Mother Serpent (plurality), Fascination (minority), Requiem for the Loop (minority) Other: dust desert The Orochon Shieldplains (region 63) Government Support: Owned Mercantile Support: Owned Media Support: Open Claim: Confederation Resource: Veehran Wheat (Fruits and Vegetables) Desired Import: Fabrics and Textile Products (currently satisfied) Religion: Eternal Recurrence (majority), Cycle Breakers (minority), Death's Wheel (minority) Other: dust desert The Empty Sea (region 60, colony) Government Support: n/a Mercantile Support: n/a Media Support: n/a Claim: none Resource: n/a Desired Import: Fuel and Power (unsatisfied as of round 5) Religion: Requiem for the Loop (minority) Other: ancient terraforming equipment, dust desert Arbor (region 134, colony) Government Support: n/a Mercantile Support: n/a Media Support: n/a Claim: none Resource: n/a Desired Import: Chemical Reagents (unsatisfied as of round 8) Religion: Requiem for the Loop (minority) Other: zero-G Diplomacy Claims Region 62 (Integration) Region 63 (Confederation) Reputation/Favors Imperial Court: Rep 0, 0 Favors Pan-Tekhum Worker's & Trader's Union: Rep 2, 1 Favor Basu-Rahman Group: Rep 1, 0 Favors International Renown: Renown 3 Organization Bases None Embassies The Iron Masquerade Military Unit Cap: 5/9 Ground Units Anyport Defense Militia, led by led by Commander Rhonda 27317 Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Qatin Sakar Orochon defense militias Space Units Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Captain Tina 21135 Government Supports Region 62, Region 63 Commanders Irin Sakar (General, Mil 9) Fortresses None Perfected Tactical Doctrines None Military Technology Currently Equipped Technologies Active Ground Front Techs: Man-Portable Weapons: Soom-Pattern Rayguns (+1 to battle rolls, UNPOWERED) Infantry Equipment: Combat Drugs and Medicine: Armored Vehicles: Field Fortifications: Engineered Combat Organisms: Active Space Front Techs: Detection and Rangefinding: Ship to Ship Weapons: Orbit to Ground Weapons: Crew and Maintenance: Armor and Shields: Spacecraft Propulsion: Active Cross-Front Techs: Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures: E.O.N.S. Projector (+1 to maneuvering rolls, UNPOWERED) Special Forces: Logistics and Morale: Economy Treasure: 3 Treasure cap: 5 Passive treasure income: 2 Trade Posts Trade Post Resource Use Support Rate 16.2 Senkar Medicae Unowned 1 42.1 Charmed Textiles Desired Import (Region 63), powering Tesseractic Storage Unowned 1 62.a Todd Powering Hyperlight Transceivers Owned 2 62.1 Todd Owned 2 63.a Veehran Wheat Owned 2 65.2 Veehran Aurochs Desired Import (Region 62) Unowned 1 73.3 Silver Serpents Powering Antigravitational Rail Unowned 1 104.2 Solar Panels Desired Import (Region 60), powering Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores Unowned 1 Total trade posts: 8 Effective trade posts: 11 Merchant Supports Region 62, Region 63 Arcologies Stevens Research Institute (Region 62, +1 to Investigations) Trade Routes None Civilian Technology Technology Type Effect Requirements Met? Aclaustrophobic Psychiatry Starter None None Yes Algorithmic Imagination Starter None None Yes Arcane Amplification Starter None None Yes In Vivo Modification Starter None None Yes Nuclear Fusion Starter None None Yes Xenolinguistic Cataloguing Starter None None Yes Badalian Megadirigibles Regional Ground units can cross the Cloud Sea None Yes Dust Hardening Regional Ignore penalties from dust desert regions None Yes Wet Navy Ships Regional Ground units can cross water None Yes Android Industrialization Tier 1 Allows a three-action Great Project to gain the effects of Industrial Investment Algorithmic Imagination; Conductors and Circuitry or Industrial Machinery No Anti-Gravitational Rail Tier 1 +1 to Buyouts Ores and Alloys Yes Hyperlight Transceivers Tier 1 Once per round, reduce the distance penalty on one non-battle action by 1 Exotic Matter Yes Minor Precognition Tier 1 Once per round, +1 to defend on an opposed roll. When used, takes a conversion action towards Telepathic Transcendence in a random owned region (+8 bonus). Cannot be used on battle rolls. XQI No Shrewd Business Tier 1 +1 to Impress Merchants; +1 to buyouts you support Honeyed Words, Fabric and Textile Products No Smart Space Colonizer Suits When you explore an uninhabited region, gain a +1 bonus to Colonize it next turn. On a great success, you may Colonize it next turn as a non-action Vacuum Adaptation; Conductors and Circuitry, Fabric and Textile Products (may be the same resource) No Tesseractic Storage Tier 1 Reduce distance penalties on Economy actions by 1 Pseudogravity Engineering; Magical Items Yes Thaumonuclear Reactor Cores Tier 1 Allows travel beyond the Great Gulf into the outer system Arcane Amplification, Nuclear Fusion; Fuel and Power Yes Faith State Religion: Requiem for the Loop Religion size: 1 Faith bonuses: none Media Supports 62 Artifacts None Holy Orders None Miracles None Intrigue Espionage Agency None Contacts Updated as of round 7 end

Arcology bonuses only apply when one spends treasure, and I don't think one can spend treasure to influence leader loss rolls?

Castaways of the Loop Capital: The Great Western Waste (Region 62) The Group of Seventeen D8 | M5 | E7 | F2 | I4 Round Four Actions [Diplomacy] Establish Confederation Claim on Region 63 (TN 12, result 13Diplomacy 8, + 1 from Renown 1, success) [Diplomacy] Sway Government of Region 63 (TN 12, result 128 Diplomacy, +1 from a successful Diplomatic Mission last turn The dice roll has an extra +1; I genuinely don't remember where I got that, so I think it's a mistake?, success) The news that there is farmable land - not just farmable, but actively farmed! - barely a thousand klicks north of the Loop sends a ripple of excitement through the Castaways. Excitement... and consternation. If they had only known where to look, how many decades of hardship and starvation could have been averted? Perhaps the grim years of the lottery were unavoidable given the difficulty of transporting food across that distance, but... One cannot help but wonder. A second shock runs through society when reports arrive that the oral traditions of the native farmers contain legends uncannily reminiscent of the Loop. The Castaways are near-unanimous in turning their gaze to their northern neighbors, sending diplomats, agronomists, and archeologists to every town and villa of the volcanic plains. Close ties with their newly-discovered neighbors are obviously desirable, but more than that - they must know. [Economy] Colonize Region 60 (spending 1 treasure, TN 12, result 16Economy 7, +1 from spending treasure, +1 from an arcology (CAS's Propagation Staging Facilities, accessed via WTU Rep), success) Though less personally relevant, many Loop-born scientists - primarily Todd and Rasha - feel that the discovery of what appears to be ancient terraforming equipment in the southeast desert is no less significant. The Group of Seventeen has little trouble finding volunteers to establish an independent research station near the center of the complex. [Military] Assist the Twilight League's invasion of Region 61 (2 ground units and 1 space unit) While the deep desert poses few challenges to a crew of seasoned and well-equipped Todds and Rashas, raiders are another matter. This close to the eternal dust storms of Vesper, the Twilight League are judged to be the greatest threat to the new settlement; the Group of Seventeen takes pre-emptive action by sending a small delegation to inquire about settlement rights and local gifting customs... protection money, in less polite terms. Negotiations are strained at first: what can the Castaways offer that's more tempting than the prospect of land under an open sky and access to pre-War remnants? Rasha 27963 eventually suggests that they help the Vesperites acquire land further south, supplying vehicles, weaponry, and the aid of their allied clans (whose younger warriors are beginning to grow restless) to the Vesperite cause. When the Twilight League's navy is grounded by an Ishtahn blockade, she offers the service of the Castaways' fleet - meager though it is, it should suffice for supporting an offensive against planet-bound enemies. Captain Tina 21135 takes to the skies under protest; though she's fought to defend the Castaways for decades, she's never fought a war of aggression, and the prospect of bombing people who've never raised a hand against her sits poorly - but backing out now might provoke the Vesperites into turning on them instead... [Military] Attempt to force open the bunker in Region 63 (spending 1 treasure, TN 12, result 9Military 5, +1 from spending treasure, failure) After the initial losses, the Castaways resolve to explore the bunker via remotely-operated combat drones, to minimize further loss of life. Armed freight waldos and surveyor drones are sent in to try to breach the perimeter, but the Castaways' makeshift robots are apparently no match for the ancient defenses. Non-Actions Resist and hinder all unsupported buyouts Resist and hinter all unsupported conversions Repay the WTU loan (3 treasure) With trade booming in recent years, the Castaways are able and happy to clear their debt to the Worker's and Trader's Union. Send delegates to the First Committee on Labor Reform and Sovereign Territory Control Though the Castaways send a pair of ambassadors to the Committee, they have little to say. The Castaways' own diplomatic stance is one of nonaggression and nonintervention; they aren't opposed to the Union taking a more aggressive position, but nor do they feel they can advocate for it without hypocrisy. Accept an embassy from the Iron Masquerade To those who know the Loop-born, it's no surprise that the Iron Masquerade's research team is welcomed with open arms. Even the Group of Seventeen, however, are caught off-guard by the reciprocal delegation - after what they saw last time they sent emissaries to Narsai, they hadn't expected to find anyone willing to go back. But several Todds have developed an interest in magical theory, and Todd 35348 insists the risk is less than it seems... A Conversation Between Todds "You're going to Narsai." "Yup." "Narsai. Where your insane soul research pen pal lives." "She's not insane. She's kind of evil, but she's perfectly lucid." "The same city that had a violent coup last time you visited?" "Yeah, that sucked." "The same city you have a whole conspiracy theory about kidnapping people to feed to their soul-eating magic mask." "It's not a conspiracy theory! For centuries they've been ruled by a perfectly normal dynasty of asshole rich dudes, then there's a coup, the rightful heir goes all creepy-possessed-child, and all of a sudden there's foreigners on the throne? And they all mysteriously vanish after a couple of years, never to be seen again? No, trust me, if there wasn't something horrible going on there one of Narsai's noble families would have jumped at the chance to get on the throne. I don't know all the details, and I can't prove it in a court of law, but I can't formally prove that gravity exists in a court of law either and we still rely on that." "So why the hell are you going back if you think they feed offworlders to their mask? You got an invitation to visit five years ago and you practically threw your monitor across the room." "Ah, but last time I didn't have this." "That's a wrench, 348." "Well spotted. It's not just a wrench anymore, though; I got one of our guests to transfer my soul into it before they went home." "You put your soul in a monkey wrench?" "See, I've worked out why the last few Iron Monarchs have all been foreigners. What do they all have in common with one another that the previous Iron Monarchs - who generally ruled for longer than a couple years - didn't? They were all followers of the Soulbound Dance. They all kept their souls in a physical object, rather than in their own bodies - until Nathan, who hadn't undergone the process yet because it's a coming-of-age thing. I'm not sure exactly why, but it looks like the mask entity can't get at your soul if it's already been moved. If it could, why would they go to the trouble of using foreigners when they could just grab random schlubs out of -" "Yeah, no, I got that. I did listen to your crazy theories. But a monkey wrench? Really? You pick a tool to be the expression of our soul or whatever and you don't even pick something that ratchets?" "Piss off." "I'm very serious about this." "Look, soul vessels need to outlast the person. They are not transferable. You can't pick out a new one if your old one breaks. If you pick something with moving parts, that means wear and tear, and I don't feel like being the test case for what happens if part of your soul vessel breaks down. Anyway, just because you think ratcheting is Ophon's gift to humanity doesn't mean..." News and Rumors Though the Loop itself continues to defy analysis, its underpinnings as inscrutable to sorcerous eyes as they are to Todd's scientific instruments, the Iron Masquerade's expedition is by no means fruitless. The key discovery is made by happenstance, as one of the Masque researchers notices an odd uniformity in the souls of a pair of assisting Todds. Given the nature of the Loop-born, it's only to be expected that their souls would appear eerily similar, if not identical, but a soul is not a static thing; its energies are in constant if subtle flux, like the water currents beneath a still lake. For two souls, even Loop-born souls, to fluctuate in perfect unison is as unlikely as identical twins having perfectly synchronized heartbeats... and yet this appears to be the case. Even more perplexingly, the phenomenon does not seem to be consistent: sometimes two Todds will exhibit this uncanny likeness of the soul, sometimes not. There is no discernible correlation with age, mood, or physical proximity. Repeating the test with the same individuals does not necessarily yield the same result. Other Loop-born souls display similar behavior, but only amongst individuals of the same template, and some templates are much more likely to display synchrony than others. It does not take long to isolate the determining factor: time, specifically the time within the Loop. Whenever the Loop resets, all Todd-souls are brought into harmony with one another, resonating with the Todd inside the bubble by some as-yet unknown mechanism. Once Todd emerges from the Loop, the link is broken and their souls diverge as one would expect from individuals, until the Loop resets and the cycle begins again. The ramifications of this discovery are unclear, but spokesTodds are optimistic - any new data is good data. As more and more outsiders settle among the Castaways - Ishtahn traders, Kildoran missionaries, researchers from Narsai, Orid- and Sakar-clan mercenaries - the number of children being born swells, fueled by the influx of fresh blood. Census data from the Logistics and Rationing Group indicates that the last decade has seen more children born to the Castaways than the past four put together. What was once an easily neglected minority is now growing, and tensions between the Loop-born and their Unlooped children and allies begin to simmer. The Group of Seventeen purports to speak for all of the Castaways... but only the seventeen Loop-born have a voice in it. Is it fair that Rachel, third daughter of Hudson and Meredith 39214, can never sit at the highest reaches of government simply because she was born outside the Loop? What of Rasha 48761's Orid-clan husband, or Janice 43320's half-Ishtahn children? These questions aren't new, but for a long time they've been easy to ignore. The current Group of Seventeen has yet to comment on the matter, but many people think it will be a key issue when it comes time to elect new Speakers to the Group. Others comment that, as only the Loop-born themselves vote in those elections, it might well continue to be brushed aside... Additional Notes Treasure: 5/5 Spent this round: 5 Passive Treasure Income: 1/round Military Units: 4/6 Anyport Home Defense Militia, led by Cdr. Rhonda 28417 (ground) Orid-clan mercenaries, led by Amun Orid Sakar-clan mercenaries, led by Keti Sakar Drone flagship First to Fly, helmed by Cpt. Tina 21135 (space) Organizations EMP: Reputation 0, 0 favors WTU: Reputation 1, -1 favors BRG: Reputation 1, 0 favors Renown 1

"Highness. Lord. I am Sadie 27425, Speaker for the Group of Seventeen; this is my wife Mary-Anne, of the same title. Our congratulations on your union." Once again, the two Loop-born emissaries bow in unison, their movements synchronized with the ease of two people who have spent most of their lives together. But as soon as the formal niceties are concluded... "Congratulations!" Mary-Anne is beaming behind her veil, and it shows in her voice. "You two make such a lovely couple. I'm happy for the both of you - I'm sure you'll do well together, whenever your duties permit you to be together, that is. Ah, but today's not the day to dwell on such things. Thank you for your invitation. Sadie, do you have..." The taller woman has already produced a round cloth-wrapped package, large enough that she holds it with both hands. She unfolds the cloth to reveal a glass sphere about eight inches in diameter. Not quite transparent, the interior is visibly warped and studded with tiny metallic flecks; some trick of the design causes it to catch the light oddly, refracting and magnifying the sun's rays until it glows like a miniature star in its own right. "This is a suncatcher. Our home isn't blessed with abundant resources, but if there's one thing we have more than enough of, it's sand. We make these to remind ourselves to cherish clear skies and daylight while we can. It's best displayed in direct sunlight, of course, but firelight will do too; it's not as bright, but I've always felt the motion adds something to the effect." "It'll last longer that way, too," Sadie adds, her stiff formality easing in the face of her partner's enthusiasm. "Heat can warp the glass over time, and the inner layers need to be angled very precisely to catch light properly; most of them won't last more than a couple years if kept outdoors. But that is where they're most striking, so..." She shrugs. "It's up to you how to keep it. I hope you like it, either way."