Gap Stories #10

[The Voices of War]

Log Date: 7/12/12768

Data Sources: Public Media

Myrrdicato News Network (Galactic)

Program: Good Morning Myrrdicato (7/12/12768)

Timeslot: 8am-9am SGT

“Good morning Myrrdicato! My name is Clarence Kyd, lead anchor for the Myrrdicato News Network. We begin this morning with the news that’s been taking the galaxy by storm: the return of Songbird.

“As many of our viewers may remember, Songbird, the former Challenger-turned-Valiant-Special-Agent, was assumed to have given his life to sabotage the second firing of the Losinadae Ring. Though marked as MIA in the Valiant’s official accounts of the sabotage, the unofficial consensus was that he had been killed in the line of duty, and the Valiant made a concerted effort to show their strength even in his absence. As the Collective invaded more worlds and the warfront spread beyond the Confederacy’s borders, the loss of Songbird quickly faded from the public consciousness.

“But over the past two months, rumors began to circulate that Songbird was alive, and he had returned to the Valiant. With a galactic war taking place across multiple systems, these rumors were ignored or written off, viewed as unimportant against the larger crisis enveloping the galaxy. Yet the whispers persisted, with purported sightings of the legendary exile on worlds where the Valiant were operating, with other organizations and national powers beginning to take notice.

“With those rumors reaching a point where they could no longer be denied, the Valiant chose last night to release a statement confirming their veracity. Without going into much detail, the statement cites an unplanned rescue mission in a time deceleration zone as the reason for Songbird’s three-year absence. This statement gives him credit for rescuing an elite operative of the Maskling Republic, who remains unnamed; separately, we have reached out to the Maskling Republic for comment, but they have not yet responded. The statement goes on to say that after some time to recover, Songbird has rejoined regular operations with the Valiant, and that the galaxy can expect to see him out and about again, spearheading missions with the rest of their Special Agent roster.

“We will have more on this development later on in the hour, but for now, we turn our attention to the latest developments in the galactic war…”

Venusian State Radio

Program: Evening Broadcast (7/13/12768)

Timeslot: 6pm-7pm SGT

“Good evening, citizens of the Monarchy. The time is now six pm Standard Galactic Time. This is the evening broadcast of Venusian State Radio.

“Please join us for a moment in silence, in recognition of the victorious dead.

“…

“…

“…

“Thank you for your reverence. Tonight, we bring you news of the warfront. On Noira, the soldiers of the Monarchy have retaken the central starport from Collective forces, clearing the way for the establishment of a transport pipeline for both supplies and evacuees. While the orbital theater remains contested, the presence of the Sunthorn Bastion has created a protected orbital corridor for the import of weapons and material, and the export of women and children. Even as we speak, Noira’s planetguard is helping coordinate refugee flights for the most vulnerable members of the planet’s population, and will be working round the clock for the next three weeks to organize as many flights as possible before the Valiant redeploy for their next mission.

“In the Venusian Colonies on the outer arm of the galaxy, the fighting continues unabated. Production of Titans is ramping up in the wake of a new trilateral trade agreement with the Mercurial Consortium, who will source the raw materials, and the Cyber Meritocracy, which will refine and produce a number of necessary components. Though this will remove some of the supply chain from Venusian space, it will shorten the length of time needed to assemble and field Titans, as the Collective continues to deploy Leviathans across the Colony worlds.

“We turn now from the warfront to the war on draft dodgers. As a reminder to all Venusian citizens, the Monarchy holds a zero-tolerance policy on those who skirt their duty to king and country. All men between the ages of eighteen to eighty that are not already serving in the military are required to register for the conscription lottery. It is not just your duty; it is the law, and failure to do so is punishable by up to five years in a labor camp. Serve with honor on the frontlines, or serve with shame on the chain gang; it matters not. If your name is called, you will serve, one way or another.

“Additionally, if the conscription office finds that a conscript has taken steps to deliberately disqualify themselves from service, whether that is overeating, undereating, self-harm, or any other self-inflicted impairment, they will be punished accordingly. Draft dodgers come in many shapes and forms, and none of them are tolerated.

“And as a reminder: the conscription office does a socmed check when your name comes up in the lottery. Posting your tactics for trying to avoid conscription can earn you clout and views on the galaxynet, and it will earn you jailtime in the real world. If you’re going to try to dodge the draft, at least be smart about it and refrain from documenting your disloyalty online. Some of you are making this way too easy.

“In about fifteen minutes, Prince Cuparium will be giving an address to the Venusian people on behalf of his father the King. As you wait, please enjoy this patriotic rendition of the Venusian Anthem, as sung by Blackjack Banjo and the Blues Brothers…”

MPR (Myrrdicato Public Radio)

Program: Sleuthing With Shina (7/14/12768)

Timeslot: Fridays @7pm-8pm SGT

“Hello all, and welcome back to another episode of Sleuthing With Shina. I’m Shina Sothsby, head investigative reporter for Myrrdicato Public Radio. We’re glad to have you with us tonight, whether you’re joining us from open space or dark space. A note to our viewers: this episode may not be suited for children, so if you’ve got little ones at home, feel free to watch the episode later on our Utube channel, where we’ll be uploading it after the broadcast.

“With that said, let’s move on to tonight’s topic: prison corps. It’s a well-established fact that certain nations use their prison population to bolster their military ranks, but this has become especially relevant as the war with the Collective enters its fourth year. With the casualty count ticking up day after day, those nations which make use of prison corps have started to lean more heavily on this conscripted population — and even those nations which have abstained from the practice are starting to give it a second look.

“So tonight, we’ll be delving into the world of prison corps — what they are, how they work, and why they continue to exist, despite how controversial they are.”

[roll cue]

…

“It’s unclear where the concept of prison corps first arose, though evidence points to the Mercurials having pioneered the modern version of the practice, and the Venusians adopting and expanding its use. The concept of using criminals as conscripts to do undesirable or dangerous work is not new, and has been present in societies since ancient days; however, modern technology has created new avenues for monitoring and enforcing compliance among conscripted prisoners. For a deeper look into how modernity has changed the utilization of prison populations, we went to Dan Splainsworthy, a noted expert on the history of the prison industrial complex.”

[transition cue]

Shina Sothsby: Hey there Dan, it’s good to see you again.

Dan Splainsworthy: Always good to see you as well, Shina. What’s today’s piece?

SS: We’re looking to shed a little bit of light on prison corps. What can you tell us about the practice and how it factors into modern society today?

DS: What a topic! And a fascinating one, at that. It’s hard to know where to begin with something like that, but I suppose we can start with understanding why it exists in the first place.

SS: Seems like a logical place to start. So, why do prison corps exist?

DS: Well, it boils down to the way we think about bad actions, and how they should be punished. By and large, the modern understanding of crime is that it should be punished with incarceration. There are some cases where it’s punished with community service, or fines, or the death penalty, but those are punishments that fall on either end of the bell curve. The vast majority of crimes are punished with incarceration of some shape or form — removing the individual from wider society as a way to punish them, and also to protect society at large from them.

SS: And this removal is a punishment in that it isolates the individual from friends and family, limits the things they can do of their own accord, takes away the privileges of free roam and personal housing, and prevents them from working and making money.

DS: Precisely. The punishment is the deprivation of common privileges that most other people enjoy. It’s not just about where you’re sent; it’s about what you can do. And when you’re in prison, there’s not a lot you can do — but the state is still required to feed, house, and care for you. At the economic level, you have now become a liability for the state, because they have to expend resources on you, but you don’t have a job, and are therefore not contributing anything back to the economy. You are now soaking up resources that the government would otherwise be dedicating to other priorities.

SS: Ah, so prisons are an economic problem, then.

DS: That is how the Mercurial Consortium saw it. With their focus on profit, the traditional concept of the prison system resembles a black hole to them: it’s an institution that just sucks up money and doesn’t produce anything in turn. This didn’t sit well with Mercurial economists and industry heads, which is what prompted them to embrace prison labor — instead of having all those criminals sitting around and languishing, they decided that if they were going to pay for housing and feeding these people, they might as well get something in return. And once the precedent of a labor prison was established, a prison corps wasn’t too much of stretch after that.

SS: So the logic behind it is that these people are a burden on society, and so they should be put to use instead of just languishing in cells, draining the government’s resources.

DS: Exactly. And the Venusians found that arrangement particularly compelling, though for different reasons than the Mercurials. As you know, Venusians are big on combat and valor; they take pride in martial achievement and they greatly value the concept of honor. So for them, a prison corps isn’t the solution to an economic problem — it’s a way to wash away the shame of the crimes you’ve committed, and to redeem yourself in society. Venusians adopted prison corps as a cultural tool, not an economic tool. If anything, the prison corps is now more central to Venusian society than it was to Mercurial society — the sentencing guidelines in Venusian courts usually offer service in the prison corps as an alternative to a lot of different crimes. Everything from shoplifting all the way up to certain kinds of murder come with two options — jailtime, or service in the prison corps. And a sizable chunk of Venusian criminals do choose the prison corps.

SS: It’s well-known that the Mercurials and Venusians make liberal use of prison corps, but what about other nations? Is the practice as popular in other nations?

DS: Generally not. It is viewed in several nations as a barbaric or unethical practice, especially as it comes with the risk of death or permanent injury, depending on how the prison corps is utilized. The debate itself is actually quite nuanced; I won’t get into all the specifics here, but the practice has some shades of gray — for example, the Venusian prison corps is mostly voluntary, while the Mercurial prison corps is not. And in the Venusian prison corps, there are different regiments or roles you can be assigned to, depending on the severity of your crimes. More depraved crimes means you might serve in a regiment that spends more time on the frontlines, exposed to danger. So it’s not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing — there are different variations of the prison corps concept, and some of them are viewed as more acceptable than others.

SS: And I assume that with such nuance, the popularity of the idea can rise and wane with the political climate.

DS: Oh absolutely, without a doubt. If it isn’t already clear, the galaxy’s current state of affairs has a major effect on how people view the practice. War changes opinions, and opinions shape policy. In times of peace, your standard individual is usually against the idea of an involuntary prison corps, but in times of prolonged war? When the draft kicks in, and parents are concerned about whether their sons will get that dreaded letter in the mail? Who would you rather send to war? The child you’ve raised for the last two decades, or some criminal that would otherwise be wasting space and taxpayer money in a prison? What seems more fair to you? War changes the way that people think about issues, Shina. And on this issue in particular, we see a lot of people reconsidering their stance on the issue when the war reaches their door.

SS: Indeed. Which leads us into our next segment — the fact that certain nations have been reconsidering their policy on prison corps. Of the major human nations, only the Marshy Republic has eschewed the establishment of a prison corps. But recent polls indicate a growing openness to the idea in both the Marshy Republic and the Halfie Protectorate, nations which have long been considered bastions of futurist values…

The Talingrad Post (7/15/12768)

SONGBIRD PULLS A NOVA

Songbird comes back from the dead three years after his disappearance — pot and kettle, anyone?

RETURN OF THE ORPHAN PUNCHER??

Sources close to the Valiant say that they aren’t telling the whole truth about Songbird’s disappearance, and that he may have gone on a covert orphan-punching spree while the war with the Collective raged

NOVA GOES SUPERNOVA

Yesteryear’s hero isn’t taking the return of her rival well — our sources within CURSE dish on Nova’s epic meltdown

OH NO! MENAGE A TROIS?

Is there a third wheel on that bike? Little Wolf and Axiom have been spotted spending a lot of time with a mysterious, dark-haired beauty (that isn’t Gossamer). Has CURSE’s power couple become a power triad?

FIND OUT WHERE YOU FIT!

Are you a Valiant Special Agent or a CURSE Peacekeeper? Click here to take our personality quiz and find out which organization you’d fit into! The first 100 takers to share their results on their socmed profiles will get a code for a free pull from the latest series of Valiant or CURSE Junko Orbs!

MADE IT OUT OF MILGRIHET — JUST BARELY!

An exclusive interview with galactic influencer Velassi Prosarya, who dishes the spicy details on how she avoided being assimilated by the Collective, again! “This is the second time in five years that I’ve had to pack up and move my four-story mansion,” dismayed influencer complains. “Like gosh, if you wanna assimilate me so bad, just tell me instead of chasing me from world to world, you know?”

Utube (Galactic)

Podcast: Halfwits (7/16/12768)

Category: Halfie Commentary

Kartsen: Hahahaha! Alright alright alright, that’s enough on that topic, we’ve got other stuff we need to cover today… this next one’s a little more serious. Current events that all that. So, as many of you probably know, the Protectorate recently announced that they would be taking the big step and committing combat units to the Mur’ka System. For those of you that don’t know, Mur’ka is a Confederacy system that holds the manufacturing world of Wisconsin, which was invaded by the Collective early on in the war.

Belior: And they’re still fighting over it today.

K: Yeah, the fighting is still going. And soon, soldiers from the Halfie Protectorate are going to be joining the defense coalition on Wisconsin, which already consists of Original, Venusian, and Mercurial soldiers.

B: Which has got some people riled up.

K: Exactly. So let’s dig into this a little more. The big thing, obviously, is that means that the Protectorate is officially joining the war. Up until now, we’d kinda been helping out — sending stuff like supplies and munitions to the Confederacy, and helping with refugee and resettlement stuff. But we never put paws on the battlefield. It was just us sending the stuff, and somebody else’s soldiers using it.

B: Which is pretty standard, yeah? Like, a lot of nations do that, the proxy thing. Where they want one side to win, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty. So they’ll support the side that they want to win by giving them supplies and stuff.

K: Exactly. But that’s all changed now, and some Protectorate citizens aren’t happy about that.

B: Well, isn’t that because the Collective said at the start that if you send soldiers to protect the systems they’re invading, they’d consider it an act of war?

K: Right on. That’s how we ended up with combat theaters in Monarchy and Consortium territory — those nations sent forces to help out the Confederacy, and the Collective retaliated by launching incursions into some of their systems. That’s the reason why a lot of people in the Protectorate are saying that we should stay out of it, because if we send soldiers to help out, there’s a possibility that a Protectorate system will get invaded in return.

B: That’s really what’s kept the Protectorate out of the war for the last three years.

K: Well, it is, but some other people have pointed out that the Confederacy, the Monarchy, and the Consortium are all human-majority nations. So some people say that the Protectorate’s avoided getting involved because some of our government officials have viewed the war as a ‘human’ problem.

B: Bro, I don’t know about you, but the Collective doesn’t care what race you are. If you’re organic, they will try to assimilate you. So anyone that thinks this is a ‘human’ problem needs to get their head screwed on straight.

K: Exactly, and that’s what the supporters of the pro-war effort have pointed out. The Collective won’t stop on one world if they think they can take more. And they aren’t really picky; they’ll go after any world that they think they have a pretty good chance of assimilating and keeping, regardless of what nation it belongs to. Anyone that thinks the Collective is going to skirt around Protectorate worlds just because we’ve played nice — they’re delusional.

B: And besides, just because they haven’t attacked us directly doesn't mean that it’s not our problem. If your neighbor’s house is on fire, that’s not technically your problem, right? It’s not your property, not your problem. But most people are still gonna help out, right? Because that’s what good neighbors do, and also because there’s a chance that it could become your problem if you don’t do anything about it.

K: That exactly. If nothing else, the reason people should care about this is because problems like these don’t stay in one place. Problems like this move, they grow, they evolve, they spread. It might be somebody else’s problem today, but it could easily become your problem tomorrow. And if your neighbor died in the fire because you sat back and watched his house burn, guess what? He won’t be there to help you when your house starts to burn down.

B: Exactly. If we don’t stand together, we will fall divided.

K: But anyhow, that should tell you where we stand on the issue. In case it wasn’t clear before. Regular viewers probably already knew this, but for those that might be new to the podcast.

B: And just to make it clear, we’re not advocating for war. We don’t want this war; we don’t need this war; and the sooner it ends, the better. But we do believe that people need to stand up to the Collective; that we all need to put our foot down and say no more assimilated planets, no more territory grabs, no more ‘interventions’ in troubled systems, as they like to put it. And that means fighting them tooth and claw on the planets they do try to assimilate. Bleeding them out and making them pay for every inch.

K: Yeah. We’re not advocating for taking the fight to the Collective. But defending your homeworlds? Every bit. One hundred percent. We support that all the way.

B: Along with defending the homeworlds of your neighbors.

K: Exactly. Which is why we do support the Protectorate’s decision to put paws on the ground on Wisconsin. If one of our worlds was getting invaded, we’d want the Confederacy to come to our aid. That’s why we’re helping them out on Wisconsin.

B: How much you wanna bet we’re gonna get killed in the comments for that segment?

K: Oh, without a doubt. Nothing new for us, though. Alright, so now that we’ve covered that, let’s move on to the next item. We got… oh, Songbird’s on the agenda. Yeah, this one’s gonna be interesting; must be why we’ve got so many people tuned into the live broadcast. Well, let’s get to it…

MNN (Marshy News Network)

Program: Frontline (7/17/12768)

Timeslot: Fridays @8pm-9pm SGT

“…brought to the forefront in the case of Vidtor Sordhel, a Mercurial prison corps conscript that managed, against all odds, to escape his deployment on Soiruxia. Currently Sordhel is being held in the facility you see behind me, while he awaits a hearing on his request for asylum in the Marshy Republic.

“Sordhel’s story has caught the attention of many who advocate for the abolition of the prison corps. In his asylum file, he claims to be a comic strip artist and a political dissident from Charisto who was jailed for criticizing the plutocracy through his weekly panel. After barely more than three months in prison, he was conscripted into the prison corps and sent to Soiruxia, where both the environment and the battlefield have been particularly brutal. Members of the Mercurial military informally refer to the planet as the ‘Meat Grinder’, apparently due to the high casualty count for both the Collective and the Consortium.

“Yet despite how dangerous the Soiruxia battlefront has been, perhaps more astounding still is his luck in escaping the Mercurial prison corps. In past eras, involuntary soldiers were always difficult to manage, because of the inherent danger in arming someone that would only follow orders under threat of punishment and death. However, the advancement of technology has offered many solutions to this problem, with the most common ones being the implantation of killswitches and compliance chips into prison corps soldiers. Compliance chips usually induce nerve pain or electrocution in the conscript, and killswitches, as the name implies, usually kill the conscript if they go rogue — either through a sudden energy spike that overwhelms the brain; the release of lethal chemicals from an implanted capsule; or a small internal explosion that induces fatal hemorrhaging.

“In ancient days, killing a rogue prisoner soldier almost always meant finding and fighting them yourself. Nowadays, it can be done at great distances, with the flick of a switch or the tap of a finger — and, combined with modern monitoring and surveillance technology, checking for compliance is as simple as looking a screen or opening an app.

“The detention facility that processed Sordhel here on Sybione confirmed that he did have both a killswitch and a compliance chip implanted, but both had been shorted out by his proximity to a fusion core meltdown on Soiruxia. With the chips disabled and most of his prison corps unit dead, he was able to slip away from the frontline and into a cargo freighter transporting precious metals from Soiruxia to Sybione, hiding among the crates of ore destined to become components in a wide variety of Marshy electronics. Upon arrival on Sybione, the freighter’s crew were shocked to find someone in the cargo hold — which did not have life support systems, and was only made survivable by the crew occasionally venting waste heat from the fusion core into that section of the ship.

“The Mercurial Consortium has demanded the return of Sordhel, spinning his escape as desertion from an active warfront, for which he will need to be prosecuted. Whether or not he is returned may hinge on whether the immigration court decides to grant Sordhel’s request for asylum. Based on the filings so far, court observers believe that the request is likely to be granted if Sordhel’s advocate can provide compelling evidence that his original imprisonment on Charisto was politically motivated. But even if the asylum request is not granted, it is not clear if the Marshy Republic will deport Sordhel back to the Consortium — the backlash from the Marshy public would be considerable, since Marshy society largely views the prison corps practice as unethical and regressive…”

Vaccination PSAs (varied)

Source: All Colloquium Nations (7/18/12768)

Location: Holoboards and Ad Spots on various media

[Health and Halfie Services Department for the Halfie Protectorate]

WE WANT YOU!

(to get your spore vaccination)

Don’t have your spore vaccination yet? Haven’t gotten your booster shot in over six months? Stop by your local PHHS office to get your vaccination! It only takes five minutes to perform your civic duty. Your fellow citizens will thank you — and so will your body, if you ever get exposed to Collective spores.

So stop in today at your nearest pharmacy or health department — there’s a vaccine waiting for you with your name on it.

[Travel Authority for the Marshy Republic]

A reminder to ALL CITIZENS that proof of spore vaccination is required for interplanetary travel. If you don’t bring your card, or register your vaccination in the registry, the only place you’ll be going at the starport is back to the parking garage.

Randomized spore testing at starport security checkpoints is required for all systems and worlds within 3 degrees of removal from active conflict zones involving the Collective.

A positive spore test will result in immediate detainment and a 14-day quarantine.

Travel swift. Travel smart. Travel safe. 

[Department of Unity for the Venusian Monarchy]

There is no ME in Unity, but there is a U and I.

And you and I are responsible for the welfare of our nation. With the Collective attacking our worlds, there’s never been a more important time to get your spore vaccination. Whether you’re on the frontlines or far from the action, it is the duty of all Venusians to get vaccinated, and to inoculate yourselves against the tyranny of the Collective. Freedom may not be free, but a spore vaccine is, and is readily available at all pharmacies and local health departments.

So go get vaccinated — it’s the Venusian way, and the only way you’ll stay Venusian if the Collective comes calling.

[Department of Homeworld Defense for the Confederacy of Original Systems]

OFFICIAL NOTICE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMEWORLD DEFENSE

As per the mandate laid out in Legislative Act HB-UH-12768-528, signed into law on 4/30/12768, purchase or possession of false vaccination records is now a crime under the Confederacy Penal Code, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine not to exceed 250,000 credits. For those that PRODUCE and DISTRIBUTE falsified vaccination records, those maximums are doubled, with the fine maximized by twice the value of the profit made from the distribution of these records, if the accused has profited from production or distribution of falsified vaccination records. All current and future cases will be referred to the Department of Justice, and offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Signed by the Head of the Department of Homeworld Defense,

the Honorable Morrick Wilgard

[Committee of Public Order for the Mercurial Consortium]

TO THE MERCURIAL PUBLIC

A REMINDER THAT:

Spore vaccinations are not a luxury; they are not frivolous; and they are not a suggestion.

They are required by the law, for the safety of the general public, and for the safety of those that are too sick to receive spore vaccinations.

Any citizens that do not have an active vaccination or booster on record in the vaccination registry will be notified, and will have 60 days from the time of notification to comply. Arrest warrants will be issued for those that fail to comply, and noncompliant citizens are eligible for up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 1 million credits, and a mandatory spore vaccination.

All citizens will receive a spore vaccination. You get to choose whether you receive it for free, or receive it with a complimentary fine and prison sentence.

For those that wish to request a medical exemption from vaccination law, you are required to file a PCS form from an accredited medical professional certifying that you have a medical condition which would put you at risk of death, severe injury, or assimilation upon receiving a vaccination. Citizens that fail to provide sufficient documentation for a medical exemption within 90 days of notification will have arrest warrants issued for them.

Questions on the vaccination law can be directed to the Committee of Public Health. An FAQ for common vaccine questions can be found on the Committee of Public Health’s government website.

[Dining Advisory for the Rantecevang Diaspora]

Yes, restaurants are allowed to refuse service if you don’t present proof of vaccination.

No, you cannot sue them (or the colony government) for it.

And no, we’re not going to change the laws.

Every society has rules.

If you don’t want to follow them, that’s fine.

Just remember that society doesn’t owe you a single thing until you do.

(Your choice of restaurant happens to be one of those things.)

Don’t be an idiot.

Get your vaccination.

Psion Recruitment Ad (Marshy)

Source: Praetorian Psi Academy (7/19/12768)

Location: Saturday Morning and Sunday ad spots on broadcast TV

“Is your precious little darling sometimes a devil? Do they seem to know what you’re going to say or do before you say or do it? Maybe they always seem to know what other kids think of them, or they seem to be particularly adept at manipulating the emotions of others. If so, then you might be the proud parent of a psion!

“Here at the Praetorian Psi Academy, we are familiar with the struggle of raising preteen and adolescent psions, and we have several centuries of institutional experience in shaping these gifted children into proud, contributing members of society. Enrolling your child in the Academy will open a world of opportunities to them — after we teach them how to manage their abilities so they can become functioning, normal members of society, we then focus on honing and sharpening those selfsame abilities into tools that will qualify them for a wide array of careers in their adult lives. Roughly 62% of the Academy’s graduates go on to work in high-value jobs with a focus in psionics — from roles as diplomats, spies, law enforcement, investigative work, to the Republic’s elite Praetorian Guard, or even Titan pilots. The future for a psionically gifted child is a bright one, and the Academy helps build the road to that future.

“So the next time your child knows what you’re going to say before you say it, or uses their mind to pull the remote to them instead of getting up to grab it, imagine what else they could do with the proper guidance and training. Imagine — the Praetorian Psi Academy.”

The Galactic Daily 7/20/12768

LAUGHING ALICE ON THE MOVE

With the return of Songbird, more unrest continues to ripple across the galaxy, with Laughing Alice being the latest threat to resurface in the wake of his return. The renegade Challenger, who became a prolific terrorist after the fall of the Challenger program, was most recently sighted on Kjurrtik, a world within Confederacy territory. It is just the latest in a string of sightings that have seen Laughing Alice on many worlds, from Talingrad to Charisto to Pallus.

Some observers have noted that the return of the redheaded psychopath coincided with  the return of Songbird, even before his return was known to the public, which has raised questions about a possible connection between the two. Until about three months ago, Laughing Alice had kept a low profile; with the war against the Collective taking up the time and attention of many governments, efforts to track her down and capture her had gone by the wayside for much of the last three years. It was assumed that she was hiding in the Halomorian System, a hotbed of piracy and organized crime that lay beyond the reach of Colloquium law enforcement, and that she might live out the rest of her days there. But her reappearance on Colloquium member worlds dispelled that illusion, making it clear that she had no intention of staying out of Colloquium jurisdiction, if indeed she ever left it in the first place.

In the time since then, she has been sighted on multiple worlds, though her activities currently remain a mystery to the intelligence agencies that are trying to track her. No major terrorist attacks have been perpetrated since she has resurfaced, raising questions of what she could be up to. Despite the fact that she has been sighted multiple times, intelligence agencies are having difficulty pinning her down, and she continues to elude the authorities with apparent ease, disappearing like a ghost before resurfacing on another world.

Sources which requested anonymity to comment state that from what they have seen, her movements appear to be the product of an established network of collaborators that are helping her sneak past borders and security that would otherwise inhibit most other criminals. Her activities while on these worlds likewise seem to have an organizational bent, arranging meetings and recruiting individuals into a yet-unknown movement whose purpose is not yet clear. Some have speculated that it may be a movement designed to oppose CURSE, against whom Laughing Alice seems to have a particular grievance; others have raised the possibility that she may be trying to establish a cult. Yet none of these theories have so far been validated, leaving everybody with the question of what, exactly, Laughing Alice is getting up to as war rages across the galaxy.