On the Brink
On the Brink
| Chapter 5: "On the Brink" | |
|---|---|
| Major players | Universal Council Tonocom Defence Lucille Whitlock People of Morn Ojin-Kai Sect The Faceless |
| Vote outcome | Morn to return appropriated technology |
| Major events | Conflict between Tonocom Defence forces and the inhabitants of Morn Discovery of Union extremist Ojin-Kai sect on Morn Suppression of the Ojin-Kai sect Lucille Whitlock meets the Faceless |
| Timeline Chronology | |
| Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |
| "The Crossroads" | "The Ides" |
Summary
Whilst Vice-Captain Kestrel’s expedition team continued the search for Commander Varse and her team, the Universal Council received word of a developing conflict on the Union agricultural planet of Morn. During a routine trade visit, Tonocom Defence representative Lucille Whitlock discovered that the planet’s central fusion generator was one appropriated from Tonocom Defence, albeit partially adapted. Tonocom’s attempts at negotiation were refused by their Union point of contact, Darshan Kel; the Federation corporation subsequently dispatched a fleet under the premise of peaceful reclamation of their technology, only to be met with hostilities.
The ensuing conflict saw the deaths of several Federation soldiers, as well as the grave injury of a number of Morn’s inhabitants, though there were no casualties. With the Federation fleet being forced to retreat and negotiations in a deadlock, Tonocom began to prepare a second force. At this juncture the Universal Council decided to intervene, before Tonocom could launch its assault, by making a ruling between having the Morn inhabitants return the generator, or by having the Federation corporation cease and desist; the seated Councilmembers thus briefed their respective factions accordingly.
With all three factions coming to a unanimous verdict to have Morn return the appropriated technology, Kel was sent back to the planet along with a Tonocom vessel to relay the message.
Transcript
Report from the 21st conference of the Universal Council: time of ζ Sagittarii 3.32
Held on board station Ignis, in the neutral center of the Core Systems.Councilmembers for the Empire: Ji Young-Joo, Julius Lycanis, Moira Craine
Councilmembers for the Federation: Áurea Adonis, Victor Huxley, Elijah Burke
Councilmembers for the Union: Aish Fenix, Haley Nguyen, Mandla BankoleThe following is a transcript of the briefing on the relevant vote for those involved in the Explorer program:
… and the Panopea has reported no further contact with either Commander Varse or Vice-captain Kestrel. The atmosphere of Mímir is increasing in density with each passing day, and the crew has reported intermittent bursts of light that can be seen below the now heavy cloud cover. The fleet will continue to monitor the situation and report their observations.
Moving on to more immediate matters, preparations for the funeral service for the Forge World citizens who lost their lives in the assault against the Crimson Wolves are nearing completion. The service itself will be held on station Edison, in the Lacaille system. As it is the Council’s duty to ensure this service is not marred by more tragedy, we now must turn our attention to a situation developing on the agricultural planet Morn, just outside of the Lacaille system in Union sector Z-3.
Some time after the 20th conference of this Council, during a regular trade visit to Morn, a representative of the Tonocom Defence corporation – Lucille Whitlock – took notice of Morn’s central fusion generator. Upon brief inspection she found the large generator was a partially adapted version of a military-grade model owned and developed by Tonocom Defence.
After receiving this information, Tonocom Defence regrettably did not contact the Council. The Corporation initially requested the people of Morn pay some form of compensation, which their point of contact, Darshan Kel, categorically refused. After consulting with President Adonis, Tonocom Defence then sent a fleet with the goal of “peacefully and conclusively reclaiming the appropriated technology”, in their own words.
There are many conflicting accounts of what happened once this fleet arrived on Morn, but their conclusions are all similar: the fleet from Tonocom Defence, justifiably or no, was met with hostilities, and a skirmish ensued. Both parties fired shots, resulting in the deaths of several Federation soldiers, and gravely wounding some of Morn’s inhabitants. So far, there are no reported deaths on the side of the Union. The Corporation’s fleet was forced to retreat to Federation space, and Tonocom Defence began readying another force to reclaim the technology from Morn. This is where the current situation stands.
The people of Morn continue to refuse to pay compensatory fees to Tonocom Defence, with Darshan Kel stating the fees would render the planet’s economy unsustainable. Lucille Whitlock, the Council’s contact for this incident, has also refused to lower the proposed fee. Darshan proffered that accusations of appropriation are misplaced, as according to the people of Morn the fusion generator simply crashed on their planet. On the opposing side, Lucille insists that Tonocom Defence has no records of a fusion generator being lost in this way. Currently, the Council’s priority is to defuse this situation as cleanly and calmly as possible, to avoid any disturbances or further casualties near station Edison. Thus, the vote placed before the Council is as follows:
Does the Council rule that the technology is Tonocom Defence’s by right, and order the people of Morn to return the technology, or do they rule that Morn be allowed to keep the technology, and order Tonocom Defence’s forces to stand down?
Your faction contact will issue a statement shortly in your respective vote channels before the commencement of the vote, twelve hours from now.
Faction Storylines
Transmission from Ana Plíšková, assistant to Victor Huxley, COO of VasTech
Good sol, Explorers. Allow me to offer commendations from both President Adonis and Mr. Huxley on the outcome of the last vote. You can all be proud of the merits your individual accomplishments have granted you.
I have been asked to brief you on any developments within the Federation, as well as its position on the current vote. San’a has begun her operations on Vargas to support the SpyreCorp network, and ensure that mining production continues at an expected tempo. It is the first time a Valkyrie unit has been deployed in such a capacity, and the results so far have been excellent. It is a true testament to the engineering of VasTech that a combat suit as versatile as the Valkyrie unit exists.
According to President Adonis, she specified that the initial Tonocom Defence force was to arrive on Morn unarmed. It would seem members of the Corporation went against the president’s advised course of action. There will be systemic repercussions for these actions, but this also means the Federation’s stance on this issue is somewhat complex.
Since the negotiations on Morn have already been tarnished by violence, and due to the nature of the Union’s governance, some inhabitants of Morn may resist the Council’s decision. In this case, it will become necessary to take the technology by force, and more Federation lives will be lost. Comparing this to the near-negligible effect of a minor Corporation such as Tonocom Defence losing a single patent, standing down may be the more measured option. When faced with a faction as disorganized and scattered as the Union, it is sometimes useful to set a good example.
At the same time, VasTech does of course advise against setting precedent for factions to appropriate the Federation’s technology. It bears repeating that this is a military-grade fusion generator, which brings up the question of why an agricultural planet such as Morn would have such heavy need of it. Perhaps it is not a threat now, but given the Union’s lack of oversight it may one day fall into more dangerous hands.
Now that you know the Federation’s official stance, you are free to discuss the issue amongst yourselves.
Ana
A directive from Ji Young-Joo, emissary of the Emperor
Once more I must bring to you the despicable prospects of a vote, Explorers. I’m sure by now you are all sick of this farce the Council calls democracy. All the same, continue to view this and every subsequent vote as an opportunity to spread the illustrious wisdom of the Empire throughout the Core Systems.
Some recognition is in order for your previous vote, of course. These whispers on Mímir will no doubt lead us on towards uncovering the mysteries of the universe. So our Emperor – may he outlive the stars – has assured us, his Imperial subjects. Your efforts have of course also brought us the bastard Montez, whose public execution will soon be upon us. The Emperor, in his brilliance, has appointed Julius Lycanis to a temporary position on the Council as a sign of a returned faith in the house.
During this conference, the name Morn touched my ears with familiarity, so I asked our Mendacian Division for information. Apparently, this is the same planet to which our Mendaces traced the theft of a large shipment of high-quality Imperial spices from Eden Galatean not long ago. Of course, it being a Union planet, it was not possible to reclaim those spices by force without exposing our Mendaces, but now… I have spoken to President Adonis and, like the judicious businesswoman she is, the president is more than willing to return these exquisite spices, should Tonocom Defence happen to find any evidence of them.
However, in speaking to the Mendacian Division I have gained some additional insights; it would seem the situation on Vargas and the other mining planets is not as stable as the Federation would like us to believe. If they lose control over this proprietary technology, it may destabilize their systems even further. A crack in the border between the Federation and the Union would be a welcome boon to the Empire.
It is clear then, that in casting this vote we strike a blow against either faction. The question then becomes, who do we wish to cripple? An enticing proposition to be sure. Let the hand of Imperator Solas guide you, Imperials, and vote with confidence.
Sic itur ad astra.
Comm from Aish Fenix, Union member and Vox representative
Hello Comrades, Aish here. I don’t think we’ve been explicitly introduced, but I gather you’ve seen my name a few times on your council reports. You’re probably wondering where Haley is- she’s been escorted out of the conference hall. You should’ve seen her honestly; if it hadn’t been for the third bodyguard I think she would’ve broken Áurea’s jaw. Quick PSA: don’t get into a shouting match with a Celestial.
Not like Áurea wouldn’t have deserved it though; what was she thinking, sanctioning a fleet to Morn? There’s no universe in which that turns out well for anyone. Although I don’t think Morn’s reaction was just surprise or self-defence; from what I hear, there’s an extremist sect of the Ojin-Kai operating out of the planet, and has been for a while. I can’t give you anything concrete of course, but that fusion generator is probably being used for more than just farming. Seems likely the Ojin-Kai were the ones that opened fire on the Feds, but for whatever reason Morn’s covering for them.
Anyway, no matter what happened, that doesn’t give Tonocom the right to demand the tech is returned to them. All life is worth something, but a few Federation soldiers is nothing compared to the amount of people that would be endangered by taking away the central power supply for an entire planet.
All the same, if I know the Federation, Tonocom Defence isn’t going to take something like this lying down. They’d never disobey a direct order from the Council of course, but there’s bound to be consequences if they don’t get what they want. We can always house the people of Morn on the Bastion for the time being, so there might be merit in having the Federation owe us one, and preventing this from escalating further.
Anyway, that’s gonna be all from me. My thoughts are with Sera, Nicolás, and the rest of the Panopea’s fleet- I hope yours are too. Make sure to discuss with your fellow Union members, and remember that the Vox is with you, Explorers.
Good luck, and keep your head high.
Aish
Voting Results
The Universal Council has consolidated the votes of each of the factions: Morn returns the tech 3 (Empire,Federation,Union) , Tonocom stands down 0 ()
The final vote is in favor of having Morn return the technology to Tonocom Defense. Darshan Kel has been sent back to the planet with the directive from the Council, along with a ship from Tonocom, and it’s expected that the handover of the generator will happen shortly.
Drastic Measures
Summary
Transcript
The Aftermath
Summary
Transcript
| Expedition to Mímir: | The Catalyst • The Shard • The Crossroads • The Void • Subjugation • The Cradle • Dire Straits • Last Stand |
| Assault on the Crimson Wolves: | The Crimson Wolves • The Ides • Groundswell |
| The Morn Conflict: | On the Brink |
| The Pinnacle Incident: | Quantum Sickness • First Steps |
| The Vargas Epidemic: | Blackout |
| The Opening: | First Contact |