Turns of AXT-042, third thread

[Walt]

Rolling, rolling, rolling...
_______

2188 to cbn.

[cbn]

2188 is done and 2189 to the Cult


Drone battle report

One unit lost to a Cultic impact rover-- The Cult rover has been destroyed and the area policed. Units then proceeded to capture Wellness of Souls.


Drone broadcast

Despite claims that our forces were "exactly where they expected them" the Cult failed to prevent the capture of Wellness of Souls. Free Drone officials in a prepared statement indicated that they have been welcomed by the population as liberators as the people were finally freed from religious oppression. Workers showed an immediate increase in productivity as a result of vastly improved working conditions.

On a sad note tonight we must report the loss of the 88th squad. Military officials indicate that they fought valiantly against superior forces and that the damage they inflicted was a key to capturing Wellness of Souls and the subsequent destruction of Cultist units in the region. Citizens in their home base of Free Drone Central mourn their loss and our thoughts are with them.


External affairs officials report that there have been no movement in the peace talks. The Cult has made no offer other than that the Drones should "trust them". Given the acrimonious history of the factions, this is not considered to be sufficient security.

[NorthSwordsman]

turn to tench

[Tenchusatsu]

Year 2189 to Walt.
_______

And now, a special announcement from Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre

"In order to lay the foundation for a strong and well-trained Gaian navy, we are proud to unveil the completion of our secret project, the Maritime Control Center. Located on the beautiful shores of Lucky Autumn, this will serve as the new headquarters of our Gaian naval forces. The efforts of the hard-working personnel within the MCC will assist our naval units, both armed and unarmed, conventional and native, in increasing their strategic range, speed, and maneuverability. Not only that, but the newly founded MCC Academy will immediately begin training a new corps of sailors and captains. This will no doubt improve the formerly lackluster morale of naval units commissioned in the future.

"We are confident that the MCC will fortify the security and sovereignty of the Gaian mainland and help build a bridge of peace and prosperity to all of our trading partners overseas."

[cbn]

2189 is done and gone to the Cult

[NorthSwordsman]

2190 to Gaians.

[Tenchusatsu]

Year 2190 to Walt.
_______

Official Spokesperson of Gaia's Landing

"We are very concerned over the Drones occupation of the Cult base, Wellness of Souls. We strongly urge the two sides to lay down their arms and work towards peace. We understand the harsh realities of war, but if the Drones occupy another Cult base, we will be ... forced to issue stronger warnings."

Personal Log, Year 2190
Gaian Defense Minister

I can see it now. Santiago is busy writing Chapter 29 of the Spartan Battle Manual entitled "Defense against Stronger Warnings." It'll probably be a very short chapter, too. No wonder our military is the laughing stock of Planet.

[NorthSwordsman]

First Advisor's personal log:

I've just come from a prolonged shouting match with the Prophet that nearly resulted in the entire military staff and I being fed to his personal worms.

He is insisting that we use native units and not these "new-fangled polluting mechanical war machines" to fight our battles. I wish he would see the fact that the Drone's Neural Amplifier would just fry our worms whenever they attacked. The native units are more expensive and difficult to produce and require higher levels of support than the human units do, while the Drones can crank human units out assembly line fashion.

Unless we learn to adapt to reality, our attempt to assist Planet to full awareness is doomed. I know the Prophet has the best interests of Planet's intelligence at heart... but... the best course of action is to continue in this pattern until the Drones accept our peace offerings. Prophet will not accept a submission pact if it came to that. Nor would I, unless it meant the difference between life and death for the Cult. Dierde's group has seen the same thing I have, that we must adapt by whatever means are necessary, despite Planet's protests. It is only for a little while. Then Planet can flourish like never before. How do I make Prophet see this?

[cbn]

OOPS Double post

[cbn]

Personal Log of foreman cbn


I hate war. I hate for our people to be doing anything other than building a better society for our people. The death of every soldier wrenches at me as I think of the families. But what else can I do ? The generals say that war is the "best" option to ensure the security of the nation. The intelligence services indicate that the Cult cannot be trusted to keep any peace they offer. If I accept peace now, while the Cult remains strong, they would only kill even more of our people later. This war saves lives -- I have to keep telling myself that . . . . This war saves lives . . . This war saves lives
Time to go make a public vidcast . . . I must be strong for my people. . . I hope this is the right thing




Public vidcast to the people of the Free Drones


My people

We are engaged in a struggle with an unrelenting enemy and it MUST continue. I know that there have been calls for immediate peace but I consider the situation in the context of this story.

A man breaks into your home and shoots your brother and sister. At the time you are unarmed but you spend all your savings to buy a gun. A few days later you encounter the man just outside your home and you manage to pull your gun first. The man sees you have the drop on him and smiles saying, " Let us have peace with one another. Trust me.". Meanwhile he remains armed and his arm hovers in the vicinity of his gun. If you let him go, he will remain in the area, roaming the neighborhood.

Would YOU allow the man to remain armed in your neighbourhood? I think not. That is why we must push the Cult back from our boundaries. We must reduce the threat that they pose to our people. We must never forget the horrors of 2172 and fight to ensure that such an event can never be repeated.

Just as there have been calls for peace there have been others calling for the eradication of the Cult. That is a barbaric idea since the Free Drones support the self-determination of all of Planets people. We only fight with those that attack or threaten us. We fight for the security of our own people. We fight for honour and freedom. We fight to ensure that 2172 never happens again ! Never again !

(The foreman exits to the continuing chants from the frenzied crowd of "Never again")

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Channel 10 News

There was a startling development today when the foreman gave the strongest pro-war message of this conflict. Indications had been that the foreman, a long-standing pacifist and isolationist, was going to offer some peaceful words toward the Cult. Instead he roused the crowd with patriotic fervour by invoking memories of the massacre of '72 as he portrayed the conflict as necessary to prevent its repetition.

A high ranking cabinet official indicated that the intelligence and military services held a four hour meeting with the foreman to stress the need of a strong unifying message in his speech tonight. It appears to have worked as DNN instant polling indicates that 78% of the Free Drone population support continuing the conflict.

In related news, military officials had no comment on the military goals or targets that would provide a level of security sufficient to end the conflict. In a prepared statement, General Workerbee indicated that military targets are classified for the protection of the troops and that national security assessments of the Cult threat are ongoing.

The diplomatic service responded to news of Gaian concerns about the war with a prepared statement indicating that they will be approaching the Gaians "privately through diplomatic channels and hope to allay any concerns of their honoured friends". Sources close to the minister indicate that an envoy was sent to the Gaians to discuss the matter.

Turning to local news . . . . .

[Walt]

Originally posted by Tenchusatsu
I can see it now. Santiago is busy writing Chapter 29 of the Spartan Battle Manual entitled "Defense against Stronger Warnings." It'll probably be a very short chapter, too. No wonder our military is the laughing stock of Planet.

Hey! Wait a minute! We Morganites have worked very hard to ensure that our military is the laughing stock of Planet. Don't go usurping our hard-won titles...
______

2190 to cbn.

Good turn rate, guys.

[NorthSwordsman]

Fine. I surrender. Never had a chance with all of the stupid mistakes the other players made.

[cbn]

Edit

I removed a lengthy response to the post that North swordsman has since removed.


I have enjoyed NorthSwordsmans interplay on the boards and hope that he can see fit to continue. I understand the frustrataion of playing a tough situation as a replacement but I am trying to win a GAME here and letting up on a declared enemy when you have an advantage is not usually how you win.

[Tenchusatsu]

Public Statement, Lady Deirdre Skye

"We humbly but urgently ask the Drones and the Cult to settle their differences peacefully. We also ask that the Cult take back their offer of surrender and that the Drones allow them to continue existing as a sovereign nation. It pains me to see the same mistakes made on Earth now being made once again on Planet. Yes, I realize that history repeats itself, but never before in history has humankind been given a chance to start anew on literally a new world. We must break the cycle of violence and conquest, or else we will all meet the same demise as Earth."

Comments made by the Gaian Defense Minister after the Public Statement

Personally, I'm skeptical there will be any peaceful resolution in the Drone-Cult conflict. I feel like we're acting like the United States back in the early 21st century trying to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Despite their best attempts at peace, terrorists and vengeance-minded vigilantes always managed to sabotage peace with shameful acts of violence. There was basically no trust between the two sides, and who can blame them? If I were in the Cult or the Drones' shoes, I sure wouldn't trust the other side.

I admire the Lady's tenacity and willingless to work towards peace. I just hope she's not naive to the harsh realities of human nature.

[Tenchusatsu]

Speaking of real-world parallels, this game is teaching me a lot about international politics, balance of power, trust vs. bitterness, etc. It would be a shame to see Randy quit out on us now.