Sins of an Empire: Episode 1

The Drums of War

In the months since the incident in the Frelos System where diplomatic efforts had deteriorated due to a trap set by the Human League, war has enveloped the Taldryan Republic and the League. Skirmishes have broken out across the Seitia, Saijo, and Dalicron Sectors as the two sides committed to the outcome.

It was the hope of many within Taldryan that this would see the League’s darkness removed from the galaxy, bringing peace once more to the region. In an unexpected move however, the Taldryan Senate secured enough votes due to the efforts of the Republic Loyalists to create what became known as the Neutral Zone and put a request to the Taldryan Republic Administrative Council to use it as a buffer line to protect Republic Sectors.

This Neutral Zone would span the length of the Sector borders of Seitia and Saijo, with its connection to Dalicron. Its reach would span far into Dalicron territory, and the same into Seitia and Saijo. With over three-fourths majority support of the Taldryan Administrative Council, the lone dissent coming from the Lady Second and Supreme Chancellor Cassandra Oriana Taldrya, the resolution was agreed upon and all further incursions beyond its boundaries into the Dalicron Sector were restricted. This decision confused both the Seitia Federation and Kingdom of Saijo, members of the Republic, whom both had fully backed the war effort.

The Taldryan Republic Naval Fleet was pulled back to the Zone’s boundaries and ordered to remain until the construction of outposts to monitor it could be completed. Dissenting efforts were pushed by the Traditionalists as well as the Lady Second after numerous calls for aid were given from worlds just beyond the Neutral Zone on the border of Dalicron, but the Administrative Council refused to dispatch Republic forces beyond the zone’s edge as did the Senate.

The key argument that the worlds and systems within Seitia were seeing the longest times of peace that had ever encountered, and the influx of credits from exports and imports were allowing them to see the strongest golden age they had thus to date. Because of this, an overwhelming majority felt negotiations were the strongest path forward to end the war and not step even further into the mess created by the former Vice-Chancellor. To go to war would see that period end, and do nothing but bring even more conflict which the people did not want.

Relations between the Republic Loyalists and the Traditionalists continued to spiral out of control, with promises that they would dispatch their forces to help those calling for aid within the zone if the Republic would not act, a decision that infuriated the Loyalist hard-liners. Following this decision, conflicts began to arise on various worlds within the Seitia Sector that held allegiances or were a part of the Traditionalists. Shipping delays, reduced supply influxes due to supply chain issues, increased inspection and security check times often for every single vessel, cancelled purchase agreements, factory and workplace accidents and more.

Knowing the dangers of acting against protocol, Lady Second Cassandra Oriana Taldrya continued her efforts to persuade the Administrative Council and the Senate to change its path, back the war effort, and bring an end to the in-fighting. She was convinced that something more was going on as with the full might of the Taldryan Military, it would not be difficult to win the war. Dalicron pursuing this path willingly and openly made no sense unless something else was waiting in the shadows, and the increased stress with the Traditionalists would do nothing but lead to conflict internally that benefitted no one.

Unfortunately as expected, the Council did not heed her warnings or comments with Vice-Chair Frei-Jar all but accusing her of being a Traditionalist herself and a warmonger if she continued this debate. And while some supported her in the Senate, she could not secure enough votes to make anything happen. Her frustrations began to mount, with a very clear understanding that if nothing changed it was a matter of time before a full-on conflict occurred between the Loyalists and the Traditionalists. All while the League became larger and more stronger as more systems within Dalicron would fall to their advancements.

Deep inside, something began to tear at her heart. Something that could force her to make a dire choice...one that could have permanent ramifications for not just herself, but Taldryan as well.

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Taldryan Tower
Port Kasiya
Chancellor’s Private Chambers

Cassandra stood at the windows of her private office, a glass of Tsiraki with several ice cubes in her right hand. Her left was cupped over her right elbow, and her gaze was out onto the sunset over the city as it descended in the western hills. The meeting with the council did not go as planned, but she expected the pushback that was given. Ever since the decision came down, she had not heard from Zxyl regarding what Caleria and Ostara were going to do. With the unofficial sanctions that had all but been quietly handed down, both had seen the brunt of the efforts which disrupted a significant amount of trade.

Knowing there was no way he was going to take this sitting down, she herself was unsure what she was going to do at this point. The support wasn’t there in the senate, neither was it in the council. She feared a schism was forming within the Republic, one that would see the Traditionalists and the Loyalists at each other's throats, which would give the League a significant advantage. Worse yet, her greatest fear was that something else was lurking in the shadows.

The Office of Secret Intelligence found nothing credible to that fear, and all tactical maps from the Admiralty Board showed the Human League with less than a 20 percent chance of success should a full invasion of Seitia occur. So why were Frei-Jar and the council so adamant to keep a distance? As she continued going through her thoughts, her concentration was broken as a chime came across the speaker.

“Come.” she said loudly as she brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. Her Vice-Chancellor, Ood Bnar, stepped into the room. His uniform was much better tailored this time, though some limbs managed to break through the reinforced fabric. His first uniform had all but been in tatters after only a week. The tailors were trying their best to mitigate the natural damage, and at least while better, still had more work to do. He was a tree, after all. He bowed his head forward, right arm across his chest. “It’s good to see you, Ood.”

“You as well, Lady Second. I sensed you were troubled.” he started as he straightened up and made his way to her desk, fixing himself a glass from the bottle of Tsiraki that sat there. “Is there anything I can do?”

She inhaled slightly and slowly let it out as she considered that question. “Honestly? There’s a lot you could do, but it would only cause more trouble and headaches.”

After a few moments of silence, understanding what she meant, Ood responded. “I heard the council’s decision. I had hoped with everything going on within Seitia and the zone that it would have changed their minds.”

“You and I both. It doesn’t make sense to me. I keep trying to wrap this around my head, but I just can’t.” Cassandra replied as she took another drink before she sat down on a bench by the window, her legs off the side of it as she looked out to the city. The sun now had nearly set. "And with the force being clouded, I can't even begin to try and interpret it."

“Do you think…Frei-Jar is being influenced? Maybe by the Loyalists?”

Cassandra shot him a surprised look, shaking her head negatively. “Absolutely not. For a Gungan, his loyalty is purely to the Republic. He’s never involved himself in either side because of that, and he is a devout politician through and through.”

“Indeed. A politician, through and through.” he echoed back. “You know full well even the best politicians can stumble, looking at history. I’ve known many.”

She lowered her head in thought for a moment. Out of everything, that seemed the most far-fetched. Even when he helped create the foundations of the council, there was no formal power given to his station of Vice-Chair. The most he could do, even if the Supreme Chancellor were removed or taken out, was work as aide to the Vice-Chancellor until a successor is placed. The only credence that stood with it…was the overwhelming sway he had over the other Councillors. They respected him just as much as they did her, and today being an example where his influence prevented her request from moving forward. If he somehow were being influenced, or had joined the Loyalists…

“I will keep it under advisement and think on it.” she finally said as she sat her glass down and gave him her full attention, looking at him. “I’m going to travel to Ostara and meet with Zxyl, try and figure out what is to come. I fear a conflict is almost all but inevitable, and while we have an enemy right next door it's the worst possible timing. I would like you to sit on the next few senate committee meetings and keep things going until I return.”

Ood nodded affirmatively with a soft smile. “I won’t let you down. Even as boring as those procedural meetings are, I understand their importance to society and our people. Take all the time you need, Lady Second.”

She stood back up and shook his hand. “Thank you, Ood.”

As she began to leave, he watched her intently and silently until the doors closed behind her. He turned his attention out to Port Kasiya, which had already all but openly accepted him as their Vice-Chancellor. Even the older members of Taldryan had begun to accept him as well, something he was proud of. But, being that newer member, also gave him a perspective that the others did not have. A perspective that something indeed was lurking in the background as Cassandra feared.

But in his eyes, he worried it was lurking much closer to home than anyone could anticipate. If that was the case, the split between the Traditionalists and the Loyalists had already all but occurred and nothing she did at this point would change that.

All it would take is a spark.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 6th Taldryan Report! This one is a special one, in that I've got a little bit to go over followed by a major announcement.

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who took part in the Pro Bowl! I hope you guys enjoyed everything that we Consuls were able to put together for you. While I won't go into specifics (as the Pro Bowl is about teams and camaraderie), I will at least say we saw a very good turnout.

Secondly, as you saw at the start, that is the opening section of our next segment of Sins of an Empire: Episode 1 - The Drums of War. I want to thank the efforts of Vodo, Ood, Meleu, and Dark; all of whom had a hand in the creation of this. The official dates for this will be October 18th - November 1, and the focus this time will be on your characters as you have seen with Vodo's competition released last week, Reasons Why #1: Out of the Blue.

This means the high-up section of the narrative will move along, with weekly releases detailing things as they progress; to which you can tie yourselves to if you so choose. With the prompts and competitions, the key thing we want you to be able and do is determine "Why am I here?" "What am I doing?" "Who am I doing it for?" among other questions that will help your characters become emotionally invested, that way when Episode II releases next year; you will be able and continue where you started here.

And finally...this will be my last Taldryan Report. After much thought and careful consideration, I have determined that it is time for me to step back from the Consul role and let someone else take the reigns. Bring in fresh ideas, a fresh drive, and continue pushing Taldryan forward into greatness. In my time, we have seen significant growth and development, and even now continue to do so as we come out of the summer season into our normal busier part of the year. The core story of Episode I will lead up to my departure from the Supreme Chancellor/Lady Second role fictionally, and set the stage for things going forward. (As well as establish my successor; may it be Lord or Lady Third, no clue yet.)

I still plan to stick around in Taldryan, and especially look forward to being able and kick butt myself finally in the trenches with all of you once more. With that said, Bubba will be opening applications for Consul in the coming time with my official resignation being effective on the final day of Episode 1 with the release of the final fiction. This is to allow for a seamless transition, and little to no downtime leadership wise. So if you are interested, please consider applying! It's a wonderful job, with wonderful people, and a truly thankless experience.

What's going to happen within that final fiction you might ask, which brings about this change? You'll have to wait and see.

In closing, I want to thank all of you as this last year and a half has been an amazing time. The members of Taldryan at large; the Taldrya; Anubis, Erinyes, Bubba, Evant, Atra, Stinky Hutt, Howie, Arch, Malf, and Idris; Zuza, DarkHawk, Korvis, Slags, Thran, and everyone else whom I have closely confided in. I have learned a lot, saw many highs (and a few lows); but that is expected in leadership. My time as Consul could not have been nearly as successful without all of you. That is especially true to the other Consuls, in whom I gained valuable insight and experience as I came into the role suddenly and quickly. And especially Erinyes specifically once again, to whom much of my early success would not have been possible without.

Now, for my final request as your Consul and Supreme Chancellor. Let's make this next month a grand one, yeah? Drinks on me.