The New Age

[The_JJ]

Visby

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The city of Visby is an old walled port town on the small island of Gotland, formerly Swedish. It is one of the least militarized of the Cult's major compunds, but also one of the safest.

A blonde woman with short cut hair and a simple outfit greets the Russian at the dockside, and begins speaking in English. Miss Marilyski? Moa Nilsson, Thirteenth of Fourteen. Please, walk with me. The Sister makes small talk, switches to Swedish once she realizes that Anya (she also jumped to first name basis) knew it. As the two strolled past the ruins of a medival church, Moa begins to talk bussiness.

Right now, the Path Militant is a strong force, but to... poorly distributed. We're spread thin in many places and we've only one or two dedicated training centers. Jaisalmer and Machu Pichu spring to mind. We need another training center for a more dedicated force, capable of moving our system of hub compounds supporting outlying ones to greater scale, with more stand up fight capacity. And we need to do it, as much as possible, without tanks or planes. Your Corps seemed the obvious choice.

[Greystone]

Visbey

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"Interesting. Where would you like this training center located?" Anya is polite, if a little stiff, like she always is on alert

[The_JJ]

Visby

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Europe would serve us, but might bother the neighbors. Central Africa would probably work as well.

[Cpt. Soup]

The Eight-Fold Way
Antarctica

Anarctica

Snow shrugged "Well, I can assure you that unless someone really doesn't llike you, you will be safe from Shadow Corps."

Chang made an effort to turn one eye towards the Shadow corp ambassador.

I recall Our host speaking of their most horrible foe, the Makkite kingdom.. Did they not find them through those wonderful doors in the beginning?.. Doors that they made use of to travel to our land..

Chang turned his attention back to the Toraki.

The enemy intent on your death.. Would they hunt you to our land? Could they?

[Falconer]

The Order of the Temple

The Fourteen

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Honorable Fourteen,

First of all, allow me to express that we had no intention of intruding upon the sovereignty of your organization within Ibera. We in the Republic wish merely to extend the security, comfort, and protection that we possess here to any who suffer in Iberia due to its conspicuous lack of any particular governing body. I can only hope that we come to accomplish this, and if your compounds do not wish to be a part of the Iberian Republic, it is not our place to force it upon them. Our troops will remain away from your compounds, and any such compounds that have been occupied will be returned to Fourteen governance, and will not be a part of the new nation.

Sincerely Yours,
Mirus De Paul,
Grand Master of the Order of the Temple of Solomon

Orders are relayed from the capital of Lyon, that Templar troops are to avoid entering Fourteen compounds, and are to withdraw from any compounds they may currently occupy. The commands are obeyed with little fuss.

Message to the Toraki (sent on secure channels, please)

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Noble Toraki,

We of the Order of the Temple wish only peace in our day. In the spirit of this peace and cooperation, may we have your permission to send missionaries into your territory, to spread the Good News of our philosophy?

Humbly Yours,
Mirus De Paul
Grand Master of the Order of the Temple

[Fan]

The Shuttle

"Danke" the colonel shouted to the retreating robot, beofre turning to his meal.

Kaylee reached forwards and took the glass of whiskey, draining it "Hmmm, that is some good stuff"
She reached forwards again and instead of pouring herself another drink, grabbed the bottle and had a drink directly from there, in true G.I. style.

As she drank she looked at her superior "Do you know who that robot remined me of?"

Gruber paused, and finished his moutful "Nein, who?"

"Of Captain Thomas"

Gruber chuckled "Nah, it was to polite"

"It didn't speak"

"Which would be a notable improvement" and the two shared a laugh.

The days roll on like this, the three day return trip, being marked notably by occasional turbulence, and the occasional comet streaking by majesically, over all the trip seems to have been designed with your comfort in mind, timed barrel rolls to avoid debri, and beautifully synchronized relative gravity to the ship's current orientation. Needless to say, The Icarus was a ship far beyond the Shadow Corps's ability to make. You also note that there are armed guards outside of certain areas, most notably the received cargo bay, and the Engineering, and repair bays. Lord knows why though.

The trip ends with a cinematic reveal of the sprawling Lunar Dome's, each built with a honey comb structure in mind, hexagonal girders of titanium, and a Lunar Drilling crew cheering as they break through the crust, and into a deposit of Osmium.

As you pass over the mining facilities, the same Metallic, Female voice comes on softly over the intercom, which after hearing it for a second time you recognize as Captain Roy's Co Pilot Kran Et' Val, weird names those constructs choose.

"Hello again. We are currently passing over the Mining Facility Theta. One of many mining facilities, and one of the largest known continual operating drilling rigs in the known universe. It currently holds the record for most raw material processed coming in at 10,146 Kilo Tons, and the Record for Most Processed material inside it's smelting core coming it at 8,704 Kilo Tons after accounting for slag metal that is applied in different industries."

Then a sudden shift weight is felt as the ship's rotary engines aim straight down, decreasing in thrust slowly as they land, the landing gear sliding out smoothly from the bottom of The Icarus, and hitting the metal landing ramp with a resounding :THUD:, as the voice comes over the intercom again.

"Thank you for being compliant during your stay on The Icarus, we hope you had a pleasant time during your stay on The Icarus, and plan on seeing you again soon. As you exit the ship make sure you have all belongings secured on your person. Current Lunar Date, and Time is April 4th, 2060, 1710 Hours . You have a escort awaiting you outside to take your luggage. Have a nice day."

[Greystone]

Shuttle

The colonel and The Captain quickly get suited up, helmats and all. They then stand at attention near a door, waiting to be told to completlely exit the shuttle.

[ArlEammon]

The Eight-Fold Way
Antarctica
The enemy intent on your death.. Would they hunt you to our land? Could they?

"To put it plainly and shortly, yes. That's why we would have most of us staying here in this green land of yours, to fight them as they come out of the portal. We wonder why so few of you have settled here. "

"It is unlikely, however, the portal that we went through was both closed and buried under a falling mountain. It would take them years to get through all the rubble."

[Sayn]

The New Vatican

Rome

The Pope was standing on a balcony, about to give an announcement to his people. There were thousands of them standing beneath him, all eager to hear his words. He smiled at this thought. That there were still this many people in the world could only be a good thing.

"My fellow believers... Long have we waited for the lands to be safe once more. But it is time for action, not patience. We have joined the Order of the Temple in a holy alliance, in an attempt to once again make this world safe for the people. They have already begun their crusade through the Iberian peninsula, and we must not falter in our own lands. Today the Orders of God shall begin their cleansing of Italy. No longer must we hide behind thick walls. No longer will the word of God be unheard in the rest of this nation. I give a prayer to the Orders. May their crusade be swift and just."

Italy
Finally, the Orders of God begin to move through Italy, taking the land back for their faith and their people. Their goal: To make Italy safe for all men who decide to come here.

Armin:

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The Orders begin their reconquest of Italy, moving outwards from Rome and cleansing everything as they go. Any demons they find, they kill. Any humans they find, they save. Behind them the Order of Technology's combat engineers are repairing any roads they find, and building new ones where there are none. They also construct outposts along the way, to enforce the claim over Italy.

[Greystone]

Visby

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Europe would serve us, but might bother the neighbors. Central Africa would probably work as well.

Visby

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Would you set up the base, and we simply provide trainers?

[The_JJ]

The Fourteen Cult to Rome.

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We of the Fourteen Cult will not fight your, and indeed welcome you efforts at liberation, but only so long as we are granted extraterritoriality and sovergienty within our few Italian compounds. This does include the abandoned compound in the Castello Ursino.

(Castello Ursino was one of the origional Fourteen Compounds before it was overrun by Shadows.)

I see you live up to your ninja reputation...
Visby

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Well, yes we would. Let's see... we've a small Compound in the Chartres Cathedral, just 80 km from Paris. The town and surrounding farmland are mostly clear. Plus it's in the Middle of Templar territory. I'll have Sanjeev send you the curriculem he want's taught, and we can talk prices.

[Greystone]

Visbey

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"Alright. That seems reasonable. Have the curriculam sent sent and then the true haggeling will begin

(My skillz are legend)

[Fan]

Shuttle

The colonel and The Captain quickly get suited up, helmats and all. They then stand at attention near a door, waiting to be told to completlely exit the shuttle.

The door opens with a *KSSH* of rushing air, streams of the oxygen becoming visable as a tunnel populated by various Robots, and few humans, all of which are getting on in their years. A single robot with a top hat, and a suit stands near the entrance though, with a sign bearing your names emblazoned on it in silver ink.

Assuming they follow, the robot, different from others as he has a longer neck, and jutted out skull, making it look like he's always stooped in some fashion, he makes idle chit chat about the nominal temperatures, and the bone disease that seems to be spreading among the humans, but the real sights along the way are the gardens. Verdant Eden's contained in each room, beautiful bounties of grapes, and fruit orchards. Litters of kittens occasionaly placed to add in good effect, and various other fields, and places of Verdant beauty. All contained perfectly within a dome.

[Greystone]

The Space Station

The Colonel removes his helmat and returns the idel chit-chat, complementing the robot on the beauty of the space ship and inquiring about trivial matters.

Captain Carpenter stays silent and takes it all in. If there is no sun in the room, she takes her helmat off, if not it remains firmly on her head.

[ArlEammon]

The New Vatican

Rome

Armin:

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The Orders begin their reconquest of Italy, moving outwards from Rome and cleansing everything as they go. Any demons they find, they kill. Any humans they find, they save. Behind them the Order of Technology's combat engineers are repairing any roads they find, and building new ones where there are none. They also construct outposts along the way, to enforce the claim over Italy.

Rome/Order of the Temple
Both Order of the Temple and Rome experience fierce opposition. The countryside of Italy is filled with unexpectantly large numbers of mutants and angry Changed. It appears that the country folk have sided with them in fear that they would be converted by the Church of Rome.

[The_JJ]

Visbey

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"Alright. That seems reasonable. Have the curriculam sent sent and then the true haggeling will begin

(My skillz are legend)

Visby

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Thy spelling is not. No E in Visby.

A file is sent to the Parisian Bastion.

Officer's Training.
Sending 50 officers. Have already learned major protocol, basic leadership, small unit tactics. Please train in: logistics, fire support and interunit communications. Please select 20% for promotion to battlefield tactical level, teach said tactics. Select 20% promotion to desk duty, e.g. logistics, intercommand comunications, intel processing, organizing temporary militias etc. Select 4% to train as soldier trainers. Select 4% to train as officer trainers. Select 10% promotion to strategic level, teach appropriate tactics, top down leadership. Tatical training should put emphasis on high mobility, swift victory strategies. Attritional war not wanted, but we've already enough hit and run capability.
Soldier Training.
Sending ~2000, to start. Already know basic firearm protocol, military disipline, physical fitness. Please train in: squad cohesion+communication, extended fitness regimine, markmanship, melee combat (swords and bayonets), use of portable AT weapons, improvisation, basic rundown and use weapons used by other forces, specialist tactics for demons / werewolves / tanks / vampires / aircraft / magicians / monstrosities / crowd control etc. NCO candidate should jump out at you, groom them but let officers select. Select two squads for deep insertion and two squads for sniper harrasment. Select between 4-8 squads to include mortar teams.

Provide consultation on strategy and additional equipment.

[Greystone]

Visby

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Hmmm, this is a hefty task. I will give you three Corpsmen as Officer trainers.

I shall give you ten, with the aid of twenty or so Steel Legion Officers, to train the men.

What is this worth you? What do you have to offer"

[aravier]

Switzerland

Grandmaster Ysir Silverwind sat in his customary chair as parliament convened. The recent elections had shaken this room to it's core, and needless to say, it is now a very different entity than it was when he first accepted the title of Grandmaster. Prime Minister Piere Rotodo had shaken the political balance entirely, not because his policies were particularly revolutionary (Except for his foreign policy), but because he, and his party, didn't feel themselves indebted to the knights. Indeed, there was no political reason for them to be; but most parties listened to the knights wisdom, and made it law. It was the end of an era, as they say, and although the grandmaster didn't mourn it, he knew he would have to tread more careful in the years to come...

Ambassador Arthur Creed, however, was not to be seen at the prime ministers side that day. There were rumors and hearsay, but the reality was far different, and to be honest, wouldn't be believed by the pundits. He had heard a transmission from an Alien race asking for peace. This was incredible, he thought; however, getting the cabinet together proved more difficult than he imagined, and it was only a day or so later he could assemble them. Needless to say, their reaction was...Mixxed.

"We should greet them at once!" The minister of Foreign affairs insisted, a portly man in his late 60's, "Lest another nation grabs them first!"
"I object! We have no idea what sort of threat they are! We are no superpower, we're a nation-state! We couldn't possibly stand up to firepower of that magnitude!" The defense minister was clearly against the idea of contact. The cabinet bickered and argued as proper democracy should be done, and eventually came out with the decision of contact; but leave the knights to do the legwork. The Grandmaster was more than happy to take on this role, his order had precious little to do, and this gave them a chance to prove themselves useful.

Lady Lovegate, however, couldn't help but feel indignant about the whole situation, especially when told by Silverwind. She was in her Centurion suit, practicing marksmanship with her lance-rifle. Her sentances were punctuated by the shrill blasts of her cannon, the high-calibre bullets screaming through the air before blowing holes in whatever the target may be.

"We're being used Sire" She grumbled, "It's a loose-loose situation for us. We succeed in diplomacy, the parliament will steal our thunder. We fail, and The Order will be blamed".
"Nonsense" The grandmaster returned "They wouldn't dare. We may look outdated, now that our ideals are being revoked, but the people still respect us. A slight against us is a slight against the spirit of the mountains itself. They will not dare."
The Exemplar relented, and bowed to the plan, ordering a cadre of Knights to stand on alert at all times, ready to meet with the aliens when the word is given.

The Order of the temple

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Dear Templars
As it may be known to you, the nation of Switzerland has just come out of a period of self-imposed protectionism, as a safeguard to our ways. Now, however, we believe it is our time to show ourselves to the world again, and so we greet you as a fellow nation forged through a common purpose. Both of our knightly orders were formed in the fires of anarchy and disorder, and both, to this day, protect this order from the vile chaos that was spawned from IT. And as such, I would like to see a mutual co-operation between our two nations to further the culture that once was "European". I know we are a small nation, but what we lack in size, we make up for in ability.

Yours faithfully
Ambassador Sir Arthur Creed of the "Movement for Diplomatic involvement"

Shadow Corps

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To the inheritors of the NUN,
Before the change occurred, Switzerland was a vocal member of the NUN, and to this day, we see the value in a unified, protected, world. As such, I propose that we should engage in talks that may prove bountiful to both parties involved, and may ultimately lead to a unified world.

Yours faithfully
Ambassador Arthur Creed of the "Movement for Diplomatic involvement"

[Greystone]

To Switzerland

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Ah yes, it is good to here from a old friend, or are you a new one? Would you like to host the meeting or should we?

[aravier]

To The Shadow Corps

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Well, we are open to suggestions, but I should suppose that it would be our duty to come to you in the old NUN fashion. Is there a particular Bastion that you wish to meet at? And we are a -very- old friend. We withdrew from NUN along with all other organizations and trade agreements about 30 years ago! But we seek to return now we feel ready to stand up as a nation again.

[Sayn]

The Fourteen Cult to Rome.

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We of the Fourteen Cult will not fight your, and indeed welcome you efforts at liberation, but only so long as we are granted extraterritoriality and sovergienty within our few Italian compounds. This does include the abandoned compound in the Castello Ursino.

(Castello Ursino was one of the origional Fourteen Compounds before it was overrun by Shadows.)

I see you live up to your ninja reputation...
Visby

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Well, yes we would. Let's see... we've a small Compound in the Chartres Cathedral, just 80 km from Paris. The town and surrounding farmland are mostly clear. Plus it's in the Middle of Templar territory. I'll have Sanjeev send you the curriculem he want's taught, and we can talk prices.

Rome to the Fourteenth Cult

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You will not be harmed. We have no quarrel with you, we merely wish to reestablish Italy as a safe and protected land.

[Greystone]

To The Shadow Corps

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Well, we are open to suggestions, but I should suppose that it would be our duty to come to you in the old NUN fashion. Is there a particular Bastion that you wish to meet at? And we are a -very- old friend. We withdrew from NUN along with all other organizations and trade agreements about 30 years ago! But we seek to return now we feel ready to stand up as a nation again.

Switzerland

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The parisian Bastion will work. Usually we would have you meet with out leader but he is in Space at the moment, so Major Renee will entertain you.

[aravier]

To The Shadow Corps

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Paris suits us fine. But may I be so bold as to ask...Space?

[Greystone]

To Switzerland

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Yes... We made contact with a Lunar Coloney and the Colonel wanted to meet them in person

[The_JJ]

Visby

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The Cult has no currency, we're a communal society, but we can give you food, iron, powder, so on. (ooc: 1 econ point of stuff) Not only that, if you make those Steel Battalion leaders Corpsmen NCO's, we'll grant you and your strike teams free refuge, room, and board in any of our compounds, for as long as the Corps does not attack the Fourteen Cult. (Because badass Sergeants are cooler.)

Gm only

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In both Italy and Iberia we'll be taking in any refugee that doesn't want to be part of the Temple/Rome. In Italy we'll be especially sympathetic to the countryfolk who don't wish to be Roman but don't want to activaly fight.
In both places we'll take in as many non dangerous changed that we can find, playing off both sides notorious persecution there of. These changed will be taken into the Compounds and hidden away so that the Temple/Rome won't know that I'm doing it.

(In other words, looking to pick up mil/econ from the new members, plus subverting the Templars and Rome)

[Greystone]

Visby

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Hmmmm...

....
....

*whispering*

Done!
(Tell Armin)

[Mike_the_Mystic]

To the Toraki
Let's try this again, shall we?

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To the Toraki Civilization, We extend our most humble welcome to you, to come to the Lone-Star Nation and help us to create a more perfect society. We have had many trials and tribulations, but rest assured we are willing to let you in and share knowlege between ourselves.

[aravier]

To the Shadow Corps

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Four days later...

Ambassador Arthur Creed readied himself for the first major political engagement abroad. Stepping from the Airbus, he made the short hop to the floor. Two knights in ornamental full plate followed him, landing with a metallic clang as they're feet hit the tarmac. Ribbons trailed off their polished plate, and trims of gold glimmered in the sun of Paris. Sir Creed made his way as quickly as possible across the tarmac, his guards always keeping an eye out for threats, but it would seem it was not their time. Having being sent a photo of the Major, he knew he could pick him out, it was just a matter of finding where he was.

[ArlEammon]

Toraki Negotiations
All nations welcoming the Toraki now receive 500,000 Toraki each. The New Nation, now known as Tokkarianne, has around 50,000,000 people within Antarctica. However, the Toraki must have settled in lands across the world. They had 65,000,000 folk living in Tokkarianne before.

[Greystone]

Switzerland

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Major Renee wore his best suit of armor as he saluted his guests "Bonjour my friend, welcome to Paris"