War Banners on the Horizon...
04 Nov 2020Seth Bradwell
Things have gone from bad to worse for Imperial-Federal relations, with allegations that the Federation was involved in the setting up and arming of the NMLA terrorists, with Shadow President Felicia Winters alleged to have played a direct role. Are the Federation being scapegoated, or do they really seek to undermine the Empire? It seems very odd that the Federal forces are stirring the pot now after so long, and with no obvious gain to be made from threatening the status quo. Yet the Federation has yet to deny these allegations either, and Hudson seems just like the kind of man who would incite a war to boost his approval ratings (which have taken a tumble amid all the new Starship One allegations), whilst also conveniently shifting the blame onto his rival. Yet there must be more to this than meets the eye, beyond Imperial and Federal propaganda. Yet who else would benefit from an all-out Imperial-Federal war? The Federation I have already discussed, and I don't see the Alliance acting to destabilise the Empire, that's not their way. The Club? Whist they have cynically manipulated large sections of humanity for their own agenda, and have no qualms about murdering millions to achieve their nefarious goals, it is unlikely that a conflict between two superpowers is in their interests, going by what information is in the public domain, they prize stability above all else. However it was the Empire that revealed the existence of the Club in the first place, and assuming you can take Denton Patreus' version of events at face value the true reason Patreus had disgraced ex-Senator Kahina Tijani Loren assassinated was to use her martyrdom to incite an uprising against the Club. As cold and calculating as the Club is, I would not put it past them to engage in an act of petty revenge. But this is still just speculation.
I turn my attention to the Empire itself. It's no secret that since the turn of the century there have been several bitter and sometimes bloody struggles for power within the Empire. During Hengist Duval's long illness many ambitious individuals have tried to win over the favours of the Imperial court, or even launched a bid for the throne itself. Traditionalists have been a particular thorn in the side of Arissa Lavigny-Duval. First came Emperor's Dawn, who wanted to return the Empire back to what it saw as 'traditional' values, and were particularly hostile to the idea of having a woman on the throne. They were decisively crushed after they assassinated Emperor Hengist, although the aforementioned Loren colluded with some of their remnants in an attempt to assassinate Denton Patreus. After Emperor's Dawn came Nova Imperium and their so-called "Imperator", who wanted to put Hadrian Augustus Duval (née Jansen), the son of Emperor Hengist's bastard, on the throne. (Isn't it strange how traditionalists are generally far less concerned about having a bastard on the throne than a woman.) They were most brutally dealt with last year, leading to their remnant forces (and Hadrian) going into exile in Paresa - and otherwise shunned by the Empire other than Princess Aisling's numerous visits to Hadrian. For some reason known only to them, the two people share some mutual understanding, in spite of Aisling's views being at total odds with the goals of Nova Imperium. However the Empire and Nova Imperium appear to be more on the same page after the NMLA attacks, with Nova Imperium condemning the NMLA, who also made an attempt on the life of Hadrian after assassinating Harold Duval, leading to Princess Aisling embarking on a much publicised mercy mission to provide medical aid. Only time will tell if this will result in Nova Imperium coming in from the cold or whether this will lead to Aisling being frozen out.
As for any conspiracy within the Empire, whilst there is no evidence of any of the key figures conspiring with the NMLA (indeed the NMLA has seemingly united all the major Imperial factions against them), there are hawks who have long awaited open conflict with the Federation - and these include the traditionalist outfits who have challenged the Emperor's authority in the past, and Senator Denton Patreus would be more than happy to showcase the Empire's military might, and indeed angle for yet more power - indeed it may well be that his ideology and Nova Imperium's are not that dissimilar (thank the gods that intergalactic law prohibits the use of personal logs in any criminal case, because this would be considered seditious or even treasonous talk in the Empire). I have noted how militarism and authoritarianism is taking a strong hold on the Empire, much to my dismay. Patreus, and indeed Emperor Arissa would not hesitate to take advantage of a war to consolidate their power and put an end to their rivals' schemes once and for all.
Having said all that, fact remains that a war may well be coming, so yesterday I sorted out the weapons loadout on the Edge of Sanity, getting her ready for conflict, replacing the four beam lasers with two Overcharged and Oversized pulses on the medium slots (beams make short work of most shields until your capacitor is drained, which it inevitably will be, even if they are Efficient), and adding an extra Overcharged multi-cannon on the large slots with a seeker missile rack. It was my first time that deep into the Bubble for months, and I had to go look for extra materials and data for those Level 4 and 5 upgrades - thank the gods you can pin Engineer upgrades, I finally got what I needed when I made a refuelling stop at Col 285 Sector MF-R b20-1 on my way back to HIP 71938, and found three data scan missions which provided me with enough Modified Embedded Firmware to give me the upgrades I sought.
I have no desire myself for war between the Empire and Federation, but in spite of my misgivings deep down I am a Imperial through and through, and should war break out I choose to stand with the Empire, and fight for her citizens. Also should it be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Federation were providing assistance to the NMLA, I will be very happy to show those Feds what the Empire is truly made of. I have participated in many wars in times past, I am not daunted by the task ahead. Yet for now, the Edge's guns will be restricted to taking out the pondlife at the local RES sites, alongside carrying out any kill orders for anyone who requires the services of an assassin.