What’s Really Going On 07/21/3133
INN - Interstellar News Network
It’s now been more than eight months since the communications blackout, and
despite the best efforts of our political and military leaders to calm our fears, tensions
are still high. Rumors of war on dozens of worlds within The Republic of the Sphere
alone have spread like wildfire, causing us all more than a little unease. And if second-
and third-hand reports can be believed, panic has taken over both major and minor
cities on many more Republic worlds.
Who is behind these problems? No one knows—or at least no one is willing to say—
but one thing is clear: There must be more than one group behind it all.
If we look back to the days following the disruption of the HPG network, it's obvious
that our political leaders knew nothing of what happened, and subsequent
investigations show no signs of sabotage or tampering to our local HPG. News
reports we've received from other worlds indicate the same findings. The blackout
took everyone, from the Exarch to the lowliest ComStar acolyte, by complete surprise.
Some postulated in the days immediately following the blackout that ComStar was
somehow behind this. And those theories seemed credible at the time. For years
ComStar has lobbied the Republican Senate for authorization to increase its rates, but
every time the proposed bill came up, it was voted down. Sometimes ComStar took
action, reducing the services it offered or making internal “realignments” that resulted
in price hikes on certain services within The Republic.
But if ComStar were behind the current problems, the organization certainly would
have come up with a “solution” by now, extorting a great deal of money and other
concessions out of The Republic in exchange for returning the HPG network to
service. No, the blackout is certainly the work of another entity.
Of course, the identity of that entity remains a mystery. Some have forwarded
theories that a handful of hard-line members of the Word of Blake somehow survived
to this day and, decades after the end of their downfall, decided to unleash an attack
on interstellar communications. On its face, that theory seems logical, considering the
legendary psychosis and fanaticism displayed by many Word of Blake personnel
during the Jihad. Deep down, though, that theory is little more than an impossible
nightmare. Military analysts throughout the Inner Sphere agree that there likely are a
number of Word of Blake hardliners who escaped the final battles. Likewise, they all
agree that these individuals would not launch an attack like this unless they were going
to do so in conjunction with a military attack upon Terra or some other important
world. To cripple the HPG network in conjunction with anything less would be a
waste.
More of a concern is just who is behind the wars that seem to be popping up
throughout The Republic. We have confirmed reports that forces belonging to
Bannson’s Raiders, the Dragon's Fury, the Highlanders, the Spirit Cats, the Steel
Wolves, and the Swordsworn have been involved in assaults upon a number of
worlds just within our own Prefecture, as well as within Prefecture III.
Just who the leaders of these warrior societies are is a matter of public record. Of
course, every one of them has publicly denounced the warfare, and most have
followed up with statements indicating that they are trying only to stop the spread of
warfare or attempting to put an end to the fighting. Their motivations are, of course,
extremely suspect, as each bears loyalties to more than just The Republic of the
Sphere.
Perhaps more troubling are the rumors that more than just these six warrior factions
are involved in battles elsewhere in The Republic. Lines of communication are still
incredibly unreliable, but our government officials and ComStar have received reports
from every Prefecture capital within The Republic, and the news is anything but
hopeful. “Unnamed sources” have already revealed that news from Skye and Irian is
grim. The panic endemic to the blackout has taken hold there as it has elsewhere, but
the reasons are far worse. Worlds like Connaught are caught up in riots that could
have been caused either by food shortages or entire companies of BattleMechs
walking the streets of its biggest cities.
Likewise, Galatia, once known as the Mercenary’s Star, is a world in chaos. The
hiring halls are all open for business, as mysterious individuals are apparently paying
premiums to MechWarriors and other soldiers—especially those who are able to bring
their own equipment to the table.
Simply put, The Republic of the Sphere is going to hell in a hand-basket faster than
anyone can do a thing about it. Exarch Redburn has promised that the Knights of the
Sphere are already on the case, checking into every credible threat, but his words
obviously ring hollow. Neither he nor the Knights know what is truly going on, and
until they do, they will likely remain bottled up in their secure fortresses on Terra.
And because of that, we will have to continue to trust that individuals like Lord
Governor Aaron Sandoval and Prefect Kal Radick —individuals whose personal
forces have clashed with each other on several occasions, yet publicly profess to be
working toward bringing peace to our worlds—will watch out for our best interests.
Whether they will is, of course, is another story.
And that is why there are many citizens publicly calling for others to step in and assist
us. It is clear to many that The Republic cannot defend us, and if the legacy of Devlin
Stone is not enough, then perhaps those nations that have survived through the
Succession Wars are who we should turn to.
--Name withheld by request,
Williams Bay
Note: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily that of ComStar, The Republic
of the Sphere, or the government of Towne.
Towne Log
+ You know, I don't know how to take this. It's half sensationalist conspiracy-theorist
and half common sense. The mainstream media hasn't done much in the way of
reporting from the other side of The Republic, but we've all seen the underground
news and we've all heard the rumors coming out of the spaceports. Many of our
leaders are running scared, and the rest seem to be out to get anything they can take.
Damn! This is the last thing I needed on my mind now. I don't think I'll be able to
sleep all night till I can dig up some more information from the other side of The
Republic. :- Chungabunga
+ Yeah, it does king of sound like a sane FMLurder. Maybe he’s back on his pills? ;-) :
- Addam
+ Well, let’s all think about this for a minute. I think we’re finally getting what’s due.
We've robbed Peter to pay Paul for so long that Peter is coming back with a
vengeance. Everyone was so happy to blindly follow Devlin Stone that they neglected
what their consciences were saying and what common sense demanded. Humanity
has never had a time of peace. Ever. And yet we blindly go along with this swords to
plowshares theory that leaves us open only to invasion? Stupidity is never an excuse,
and now we’re paying the price for ours. The best we can hope for here is that the
FedSuns comes in with a few regiments. At least then we’ll have a chance to ride out
the civil wars that will rip The Republic to shreds. :- PanzerGruppe
+ Do you really think we'd be better off under the Davion yoke? I'll assume you've
read some history books and know about the two civil wars that barely left the nation
intact? The only reason the Federated Suns is still around is because of Devlin Stone,
and like everyone, they benefited from the peace he brought us. :- Freebird
+ I don't think PG has forgotten about the FedCom Civil War, but I think you're
conveniently forgetting a few facts. Like the fact that the Word of Blake threw most
of their effort into breaking the Federated Suns' back. Like the fact that the AFFS
sustained a higher casualty rate than any other nation, but also had a higher kill ratio.
Like the fact that Devlin Stone could not have done what he did without the support
of the Federated Suns. :- CMike
+ Hell. I think this is all far worse than it seems. I just did a little digging and found
something that the powers that be don't want anyone to know . . . :- Chungabunga
INN - Interstellar News Network
It’s now been more than eight months since the communications blackout, and
despite the best efforts of our political and military leaders to calm our fears, tensions
are still high. Rumors of war on dozens of worlds within The Republic of the Sphere
alone have spread like wildfire, causing us all more than a little unease. And if second-
and third-hand reports can be believed, panic has taken over both major and minor
cities on many more Republic worlds.
Who is behind these problems? No one knows—or at least no one is willing to say—
but one thing is clear: There must be more than one group behind it all.
If we look back to the days following the disruption of the HPG network, it's obvious
that our political leaders knew nothing of what happened, and subsequent
investigations show no signs of sabotage or tampering to our local HPG. News
reports we've received from other worlds indicate the same findings. The blackout
took everyone, from the Exarch to the lowliest ComStar acolyte, by complete surprise.
Some postulated in the days immediately following the blackout that ComStar was
somehow behind this. And those theories seemed credible at the time. For years
ComStar has lobbied the Republican Senate for authorization to increase its rates, but
every time the proposed bill came up, it was voted down. Sometimes ComStar took
action, reducing the services it offered or making internal “realignments” that resulted
in price hikes on certain services within The Republic.
But if ComStar were behind the current problems, the organization certainly would
have come up with a “solution” by now, extorting a great deal of money and other
concessions out of The Republic in exchange for returning the HPG network to
service. No, the blackout is certainly the work of another entity.
Of course, the identity of that entity remains a mystery. Some have forwarded
theories that a handful of hard-line members of the Word of Blake somehow survived
to this day and, decades after the end of their downfall, decided to unleash an attack
on interstellar communications. On its face, that theory seems logical, considering the
legendary psychosis and fanaticism displayed by many Word of Blake personnel
during the Jihad. Deep down, though, that theory is little more than an impossible
nightmare. Military analysts throughout the Inner Sphere agree that there likely are a
number of Word of Blake hardliners who escaped the final battles. Likewise, they all
agree that these individuals would not launch an attack like this unless they were going
to do so in conjunction with a military attack upon Terra or some other important
world. To cripple the HPG network in conjunction with anything less would be a
waste.
More of a concern is just who is behind the wars that seem to be popping up
throughout The Republic. We have confirmed reports that forces belonging to
Bannson’s Raiders, the Dragon's Fury, the Highlanders, the Spirit Cats, the Steel
Wolves, and the Swordsworn have been involved in assaults upon a number of
worlds just within our own Prefecture, as well as within Prefecture III.
Just who the leaders of these warrior societies are is a matter of public record. Of
course, every one of them has publicly denounced the warfare, and most have
followed up with statements indicating that they are trying only to stop the spread of
warfare or attempting to put an end to the fighting. Their motivations are, of course,
extremely suspect, as each bears loyalties to more than just The Republic of the
Sphere.
Perhaps more troubling are the rumors that more than just these six warrior factions
are involved in battles elsewhere in The Republic. Lines of communication are still
incredibly unreliable, but our government officials and ComStar have received reports
from every Prefecture capital within The Republic, and the news is anything but
hopeful. “Unnamed sources” have already revealed that news from Skye and Irian is
grim. The panic endemic to the blackout has taken hold there as it has elsewhere, but
the reasons are far worse. Worlds like Connaught are caught up in riots that could
have been caused either by food shortages or entire companies of BattleMechs
walking the streets of its biggest cities.
Likewise, Galatia, once known as the Mercenary’s Star, is a world in chaos. The
hiring halls are all open for business, as mysterious individuals are apparently paying
premiums to MechWarriors and other soldiers—especially those who are able to bring
their own equipment to the table.
Simply put, The Republic of the Sphere is going to hell in a hand-basket faster than
anyone can do a thing about it. Exarch Redburn has promised that the Knights of the
Sphere are already on the case, checking into every credible threat, but his words
obviously ring hollow. Neither he nor the Knights know what is truly going on, and
until they do, they will likely remain bottled up in their secure fortresses on Terra.
And because of that, we will have to continue to trust that individuals like Lord
Governor Aaron Sandoval and Prefect Kal Radick —individuals whose personal
forces have clashed with each other on several occasions, yet publicly profess to be
working toward bringing peace to our worlds—will watch out for our best interests.
Whether they will is, of course, is another story.
And that is why there are many citizens publicly calling for others to step in and assist
us. It is clear to many that The Republic cannot defend us, and if the legacy of Devlin
Stone is not enough, then perhaps those nations that have survived through the
Succession Wars are who we should turn to.
--Name withheld by request,
Williams Bay
Note: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily that of ComStar, The Republic
of the Sphere, or the government of Towne.
Towne Log
+ You know, I don't know how to take this. It's half sensationalist conspiracy-theorist
and half common sense. The mainstream media hasn't done much in the way of
reporting from the other side of The Republic, but we've all seen the underground
news and we've all heard the rumors coming out of the spaceports. Many of our
leaders are running scared, and the rest seem to be out to get anything they can take.
Damn! This is the last thing I needed on my mind now. I don't think I'll be able to
sleep all night till I can dig up some more information from the other side of The
Republic. :- Chungabunga
+ Yeah, it does king of sound like a sane FMLurder. Maybe he’s back on his pills? ;-) :
- Addam
+ Well, let’s all think about this for a minute. I think we’re finally getting what’s due.
We've robbed Peter to pay Paul for so long that Peter is coming back with a
vengeance. Everyone was so happy to blindly follow Devlin Stone that they neglected
what their consciences were saying and what common sense demanded. Humanity
has never had a time of peace. Ever. And yet we blindly go along with this swords to
plowshares theory that leaves us open only to invasion? Stupidity is never an excuse,
and now we’re paying the price for ours. The best we can hope for here is that the
FedSuns comes in with a few regiments. At least then we’ll have a chance to ride out
the civil wars that will rip The Republic to shreds. :- PanzerGruppe
+ Do you really think we'd be better off under the Davion yoke? I'll assume you've
read some history books and know about the two civil wars that barely left the nation
intact? The only reason the Federated Suns is still around is because of Devlin Stone,
and like everyone, they benefited from the peace he brought us. :- Freebird
+ I don't think PG has forgotten about the FedCom Civil War, but I think you're
conveniently forgetting a few facts. Like the fact that the Word of Blake threw most
of their effort into breaking the Federated Suns' back. Like the fact that the AFFS
sustained a higher casualty rate than any other nation, but also had a higher kill ratio.
Like the fact that Devlin Stone could not have done what he did without the support
of the Federated Suns. :- CMike
+ Hell. I think this is all far worse than it seems. I just did a little digging and found
something that the powers that be don't want anyone to know . . . :- Chungabunga
| July 21, 3133 |