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«12. . .1,0641,0651,0661,0671,0681,0691,070. . .1,2651,266»

GD canon can be rich, but it's easy to get involved in. The secret is to post.

The more you post and interact with other players, in the news thread or through threads of your own, the more GD canon will come to you, so to speak.

And the more that GD canon will be influenced by your own.

Stevid and United world order

In order to RP with you guys do I have to be on the map? I could be a start a small colony trying to gain a foothold into the region if that sounds alright.

United vallerian republic

Tam dimeiYou don't have to be on the map :)

United vallerian republic wrote:Tam dimeiYou don't have to be on the map :)

Thank you!:) But would it be against rules to like set up a small colony? Maybe it could be like an introduction to my nation coming into the region. If the answer is no I won’t mind either way :) I just wish to RP with you guys.

United vallerian republic

Tam dimeiDo it! I'd be willing to trade!

Tam dimei

United vallerian republic wrote:Tam dimeiDo it! I'd be willing to trade!

Alright! Now I gotta read on how to get on the map lol

United vallerian republic

Tam dimeiJust Telegram Mokastana where you wanna be

United vallerian republic wrote:Tam dimeiJust Telegram Mokastana where you wanna be

Thank you! The map quality is showing up pretty bad maybe it’s because I am on mobile lol.

Imb, this is for you.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=429939

Morrdh wrote:Imb, this is for you.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=429939

Added that here:




Active Permanent Threads

RP Title and Link

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

Status

Greater Díenstad Regional Council

Regional politics

The in character thread for Greater Díenstad's pan-regional legislature-of-sorts.

Open

GDRC: Red Eye's Cave

Regional politics

In-character thread, set in an upscale bar of Nova Orontes, meant for informal conversation related to the GDRC.

Open

GDRC: Greater Díenstad Stock Exchange

Financial news thread

In-character thread for financial news pertaining to companies belonging to the GDSE.

Open

GDRC: Greater Díenstadi Freedom Organization

Regional politics

In-character thread for GDFO breakout sessions.

Open

Greater Díenstad News Thread

News thread

News from around the region.

Open

Greater Dienstad Accelafeed

Social media/Twitter

A short-form (140 characters) news and happenings thread.

Open

International Parascientific Research Initiatives

Short-stories/Paranormal

Zombies, sea monsters, and aliens are just the start of it. Read the stories of crazy experiments gone wrong, adventure missions that come across the unexpected, and the other tales of the paranormal in Greater Dienstad.

Open

Tales From Greater Díenstad

Short-stories

Dedicated to short stories on various events that take place in the nations Greater Díenstad.

Open



Alliances & Organizations

RP Title and Link

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

Status

Global Aerospace Trade Association

Trade

Orbital trade route international joint defense agreement.

Open

Romani-Mar'si Union

Alliance/Political Union

A superstate comprised of self-organizing member states. Currently includes Holy Marsh, Romandeos, and Palmyrion.

Open



Active Sports Threads

RP Title and Link

OP(s)

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

Status



Active OPd Threads

RP Title and Link

OP(s)

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

Status

Deep Throat

Castille de Italia

Thriller

Riveting tale of political crisis in a floundering democracy, with characters never normally meant to interact crossing paths to overcome great odds.

Closed

Into The Valley of Death

Phibeta

Past Tech

It's the age of industrialization and Abetton and Katase go to war, sparking a wider conflict in eastern Greater Dienstad.

GD Only

Concert and Comity

The Ice States

Expanded universe

Alternate-reality, although individual participants are free to treat it as canon. A hostile, divided space empire advances towards Earth, resulting in an international coalition being formed in Motokata to unite against the threat.

Semi-Closed

International Adjudication

The Ice States

Dipomacy

Communist Oldwitch finds itself on trial with the WA as a consequence of its funding of Kraven during Operation Slayer.

Semi-Closed

The Battle of Glass Tears

The Ice States

War/Diplomacy

The new communist government of The Ice States goes to war with the Golden Throne, after finding its territory had been looted during a military occupation.

Semi-Closed

The Hakara Hunters

The Macabees

Politics/War

A thread detailing the trajectory of Holy Panooly between the end of the War of Panooly Reunification and the Macabéan-Ordenite War.

TG to Enter

Ghost in the Fog

Tnemrot

Thriller

This thread is largely closed, intent on being a narrative detailing the complex history of a new nation named the Corporate Republic of Vokhodia.

Semi-Closed

A Starving Republic

Xofrautan

Political, Diplomacy, Crisis

Famine in Xofrautan.

Open



Purgatory (Recently Inactive Threads)

RP Title and Link

OP(s)

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

Status

Hostile Takeover

Guatacaro

War/Diplomacy

Drugs, crime, and murder in Mokastana.

Closed

Blood, the Color of History

Havenic States

War/Political

Safehaven, thrown into chaos as a result of defeat in the War of Golden Succession, is ripe for revolution. This is the story of the rise of a new communist power in Greater Díenstad.

Closed

Cassandra: Temptress from the West

The Macabees

Politics/Diplomacy/Political

A new woman has caught His Imperial Majesty Fedor's eye. But she brings with her a strange philosophy from the east that promises to cause changes that many within the empire are uncomfortable with.

Semi-open/TG-for-entry

O Marechalisimo

The Macabees

War/Diplomacy/Political

Coming soon

Open

Second Tarao War

The Macabees

War/Diplomacy/Political

Coming soon

Open



Historic RPs

RP Title and Link

OP(s)

Genre(s)

Brief Synopsis

A Comrade's Will

Dukopolious

War/Diplomacy

A communist government rises to power in Dukopolious, spreading tension throughout a historically anti-communist region. When the new government attacks a patrolling flotilla of warships that belong to Matthew Islands, a coalition of nations rises to end the communist threat and restabilize the country.

Default and Plebiscite

Eitoan

War/Diplomacy

After years of instability, Istlypu has requested accession to the Repubic of Eitoan. A plebiscite has been set to ratify the accession. Accession is favored by major political groups, with opposition on the part of radicals and some landowners.

The Ralkovian War

Holy Marsh

War

An alliance of several nations, from the Grand Theocracy of the Holy Marsh and Union-mate the Imperial Federation of Romandeos to Lamoni, the Commonwealth of Morrdh, and the Timocratic Republic, launch a devastating invasion of the Ralkovian Empire who is aided by allies such as the United World Order and Kraven in a fight for its very survival. Years of warfare and billions of dead follow as the nation is turned into a charnel house and is eventually split into several parts. Where there was once the Empire there is the tenacious Balkovian Insurgency, the ferocious Ralkovian Reich, the unknowable Raumfestung Rump State, and the corpse-laded Free Ralkovia. These are the accounts of the war brought down an Empire and laid the groundwork for a future where the only certainty is that there will be blood.

Liberation of Cursed Lands

Imbrinium

War

Three wars and ongoing troubles for Krasnova are insufficient for the country. The outcome of the second war could not last and the third was merely a set up the next. After the World Assembly condenation of United World Order, the Triumvirate and other allies prepare to dislodge the Ordenites from the country once again.

Moving is Never Easy

Imbrinium

War/Diplomacy

The Holy Empire of Stevid begins a rapid mobilization of forces in eastern Stevidian Greal, claiming to bolster its defenses. Imbrinium, anticipating a threat to its eastern trade routes, mobilizes in response. Sides begin the form, former allies urge their neutrality, and tensions rise. Then the Imbrinumians attack a Stevidian splinter fleet. Some joint the war out of duties, others out of convenience. And in the process, millions die.

A God's Will

Mokastana

War/Diplomacy

Mokastana, a home to a variety of people of different culture and background, has become home for millions of Nifonese and Marshites. Extremists within these populations have begun to resent each other and the tension is quickly coming to a head. In Aqua Anu, violence between Kogyokist and Marshite militants breaks out and it quickly takes on the taste of civil war.

A long awaited Queen

Mokastana

Diplomacy

Aqua Anu is coronating a new queen and the leaders of Greater Díenstad converge in Mac Anu to see the regal event.

Commonwealth Space

Morrdh

Expanded universe/Space Pirates

With so many countries now exploiting the near-solar system for resources and the subsequent boom of commercial space travel, it only made sense that crews of profiteers looking for spoils would rally around their pirate flags.

Shattered Commonwealth

Morrdh

Historical

Political machinations, years in the making, come to a head as Viktor Cathmore launches a coup d'etat in Morrdh. East Greater Dienstad is left reeling as the coup grows bloody, and nations across the region rally to and against the usurper.

The Frontier (OOC thread)

Morrdh

War/Insurgency

The Frontier, as New Garrack is called by the Morridanes, stirs. An insurgency against the colonial Morridane government is forming. The question is, who has to gain the most from a sovereign New Garrack?

The Frontier (OOC thread)

Morrdh

War/Insurgency

The Frontier, as New Garrack is called by the Morridanes, stirs. An insurgency against the colonial Morridane government is forming. The question is, who has to gain the most from a sovereign New Garrack?

Fall of Crimson

Red star union

Politics/War

The first part of a long saga over Krasnova.

Betrayers of Fortune

The Macabees

War/Diplomacy/PMC

After years of riding the security guarantee of an alliance with the Golden Throne, the latter's growing involvement in foreign conflicts and wars of occupation pushed the Killian government to hire private military contracts to quickly bolster its defenses against the Ordenite threat. These contractors soon take advantage of the military inequality between them and their sponsor state, establishing a puppet regime under the presidency of Jackson Hamilton. Their first order of business? Invade the Ordenite Reich. Unfortunately for the contractors, the Ordenites were thinking the same thing.

Diencup I

The Macabees

Association Football/Futbol/Soccer

The classic regional national association football tournament rebooted.

Imperial Recrudescence

The Macabees

Military/Political

Despite immediate attempts to leverage his victory in the War of Golden Succession, Fedor's empire finds itself consumed as it incompletely incorporates the massive island-continent of Theohuanacu as its first overseas territory. Around it, nearby economies are in distress as governments collapse and others go to war. An economic depression demands dormancy until years later a revived empire with a renewed will embarks on a mission of retribution. In the space of less than a year it has swallowed Zarbia, Monzarc, and northern Indras, also bringing North Panooly and New Empire into its fold. This coup turns into a quagmire, as the empire learns the trade of nation-building and counterinsurgency through trial and error.

Titanomachy (OOC thread)

The Macabees

Military/War/Diplomacy/Inter-Regional

The Scandinvans meddle in Macabéan territorial affairs, risking war for a deal that would give them monopsony rights over the entirety of the central Greater Díenstadi slave trade. In return for those priviliges, they arm their suppliers, the pirates of Palenque and Tiwanaku. The Golden Throne, ever arrogant from its recent conquests and military victories, goes to war, seeking to send a message to those who seek to intervene in imperial affairs. Thus began the rebellion and the Gothic War.

The Thin Line Between Bondage and Freedom

The Macabees

War/Geopolitics

The international reaction to a border agreement between The Golden Throne and the Ice States leads to a regional standoff.

Wanderjarian Bush War

The Macabees

Geopolitics/War

As Ordenite influence in the Kingdom of Wanderjar becomes more overt, a separatist movement is fomented in San Castello and leads to that country's occupation by the Golden Throne.

A Wolf in the Jungle

United world order

Military

Holy Panooly has been split in three by PMC-backed Navitek in Jumanota, the Golden Throne in North Panooly, and the Ordenite Reich in South Panooly. The Second Krasnovan War threatens to spillover, further destabilizing the situation along the Panooly Frontier. The Golden Throne grows increasingly worried that South Panooly will fall into the hands of a nation it will have diplomatic troubles dislodging and the Reich senses this anxiety. Striking pre-emptively, the Wehrmacht invades Holy Panooly with numerical superiority, only to find itself cut off from home, under intense bombardment, and facing an amphibious counter-offensive.

A Union in Shambles

United world order

Military

A fascist insurgency, fueled and armed by the Ordenite Reich, breaks out in Yukar. The Black Star Movement, the right-wing militia, asks the Ordenite Wehrmacht to intervene and the First Krasnovan War begins. This is the story of the collapse of Red Star Union and the first Ordenite domination of the post-war Krasnovan landscape. Here too begins the rise of the Unified Eastern Star Soviets and the beginning of a rivalry for power over former-RSU that would shape the narrative for years to come.

Blood and Soil

United world order

Military/Occupation/Diplomacy

The fall of the United Eastern Star Republic to the Third Reich marks the end of three consecutive wars over control of Krasnova. Now most of the old communist has become lebensraum, with the smaller states of Tuktar and Pezlevko-Rubino, vassals of Morrdh and the Golden Throne respectively, forming the remainder. Even with this relative calm, the war in Krasnova is far from over. An ethnic tinderbox is being lit by insurgents wielding matches.

Cross of Iron (OOC thread)

United world order

Military/War/Diplomacy

In the post-war vacuum in the war-torn country of Krasnova, the Ordenites have returned to Krasnova for the third time, and this time for good. The fascists rule the west and in the east the communists are too busy fighting each other to focus their attention on the growing threat. All the while, the Morridanes consolidate power around Tuktar and the Macabéan Satrapy of Pezlevko-Rubino deals with growing pains of its own.

Fatherland

United world order

Military

The former communist country of Red Star Union has fallen, split in half by the Ordenite protectorate of Krasnova and the Mokan-backed socialist UESS. Tensions are high and, despite Macabéan attempts to maintain the peace, a Mokan-centered coalition of nations launches an invasion to oust the fascist Third Reich from the island and reform Krasnova under the eastern socialist order. But the Reich, despite a marked naval inferiority that leaves resupply a challenging endeavor, is a tougher foe than all expect.

Read dispatch

Let me know if want the description changed.

Mokastana wrote:and Stevid once invaded AHSCA,

God, you had to bring that up. That was to Stevid as Iraq was to the UK....

Lamoni, AHSCA, and Wanderjar

Stevid wrote:God, you had to bring that up. That was to Stevid as Iraq was to the UK....

Sounds worse than our little war.

Yohannes

I will be going away for Christmas; long story short there will not be internet access (I might be able to log in to Facebook for three minutes or so but even that I am not sure). So I guess yeah... I will be inactive until early February (putting this somewhere public just in case) Thank you! ~The player behind the account of Yohannes

Edit: I will also be working (and other things happening) around that time so yeah... I will be gone until March or so

Lamoni, The Macabees, Aquitayne, Republic of vectors, and 1 otherWanderjar

Mokastana wrote:- snipped the good stuff -

Dare I ask what your main is like?

When you're drawing a circle with an ink well and a quill, you put the nib at farthest point to the right and proceed in a counter-clockwise fashion, just as you sweep angles. You do this to prevent smearing the ink. René Descartes followed a long line of geometrists in this practice. It is why your primary datum (the x-axis) is to the right, your secondary datum (y-axis) is at the top of the page, and your tertiary datum (z-axis) arises out of the page (because it's easier to stack blocks instead of pounding them into the table). This is the Cartesian coordinate system you are familiar with.

In developing my main, I started at the very beginning. If you're an aborigine in the Southern hemisphere, the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Plant a stick in the ground (and call it a gnomon), and it will cast its shortest shadow at noon everyday, regardless of season. The sun will be at its zenith due north, and the shadow of your stick will point due south. Noon is the natural divider of the day -- there are no shadows at midnight. My days end and start at noon.

Note then, that both sun and stick are "up" (my primary datum), the sun sets to my left (my secondary datum) when facing it at noon, and it therefore follows that forward is my tertiary datum. I follow the same counter-clockwise sweep as you do when measuring angles -- but my "clockwise" on a sundial is what you call counter-clockwise.

Now it turns out that you measure angles in degrees, 360 of which comprise the full sweep of a circle. Your Sumerians noted that six (6) equilateral triangles make a hexagon, which is a good starting point for "squaring" the circle to estimate pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Those same Sumerians had the odd habit of using a thumb to count the fingertips and third and second knuckles (12 total positions) on one hand, and using the five (5) digits on the other. That is why you have 5×12, or sexagesimal, elements in things like degrees, latitude and longitude, and your clocks, even though you use decimal in just about everything else. It's inconsistent.

In my country, we use the senary system instead. A clenched fist is zero, and unfurled digits cover one through five. With two hands, we count to thirty-five, not ten. There are 216 equal sub-angles to sweep out one revolution, and 36 "hours" of 36 "minutes" of 36 "seconds" to sweep out my clock in your counter-clockwise direction.

From this starting point, my main has a senary system of weights and measures as fully developed (and more consistent) than the metric system.

And this extends to my calendar as well. It will suffice to say that:

(3×(3/4×216+8))×365+(3×(1/4×216)+1)×366=245,808

and

3×(216+8)+1=673

and

245,808÷673=365.242199108, or 365d, 5h, 48m, 46.0029717641s.

That is remarkably close to the standard definition of a mean solar year in the present epoch as 365d, 5h, 48m, 46s, which is 0.85s too long to the MSY as measured in 2004, but I digress. The point is your Gregorian calendar sets its origin as an arbitrary birthdate for Christ, whereas mine counts down to the Grand Vernal Equinoctial Conjunction of March 20, 2675 AD (a real event).

Now, the more astute reader might note that 216×1138=245,808 as well. My secondary calendar uses this as a check on the primary calendar. It is also used to keep track of even and odd days, as my two Royal Houses alternate sovereignty each day at noon. Our changing of the palace guard is very punctual, lest civil war resume.

That is just a taste. When you count in base six, things are just different.

Martilia and Palmyrion

Matahi wrote:-snip-

I'm malfunctioning trying to read this.

Martilia, Palmyrion, and Matahi

Matahi wrote:

When you're drawing a circle with an ink well and a quill, you put the nib at farthest point to the right and proceed in a counter-clockwise fashion, just as you sweep angles. You do this to prevent smearing the ink. René Descartes followed a long line of geometrists in this practice. It is why your primary datum (the x-axis) is to the right, your secondary datum (y-axis) is at the top of the page, and your tertiary datum (z-axis) arises out of the page (because it's easier to stack blocks instead of pounding them into the table). This is the Cartesian coordinate system you are familiar with.

In developing my main, I started at the very beginning. If you're an aborigine in the Southern hemisphere, the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Plant a stick in the ground (and call it a gnomon), and it will cast its shortest shadow at noon everyday, regardless of season. The sun will be at its zenith due north, and the shadow of your stick will point due south. Noon is the natural divider of the day -- there are no shadows at midnight. My days end and start at noon.

Note then, that both sun and stick are "up" (my primary datum), the sun sets to my left (my secondary datum) when facing it at noon, and it therefore follows that forward is my tertiary datum. I follow the same counter-clockwise sweep as you do when measuring angles -- but my "clockwise" on a sundial is what you call counter-clockwise.

Now it turns out that you measure angles in degrees, 360 of which comprise the full sweep of a circle. Your Sumerians noted that six (6) equilateral triangles make a hexagon, which is a good starting point for "squaring" the circle to estimate pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Those same Sumerians had the odd habit of using a thumb to count the fingertips and third and second knuckles (12 total positions) on one hand, and using the five (5) digits on the other. That is why you have 5×12, or sexagesimal, elements in things like degrees, latitude and longitude, and your clocks, even though you use decimal in just about everything else. It's inconsistent.

In my country, we use the senary system instead. A clenched fist is zero, and unfurled digits cover one through five. With two hands, we count to thirty-five, not ten. There are 216 equal sub-angles to sweep out one revolution, and 36 "hours" of 36 "minutes" of 36 "seconds" to sweep out my clock in your counter-clockwise direction.

From this starting point, my main has a senary system of weights and measures as fully developed (and more consistent) than the metric system.

And this extends to my calendar as well.  It will suffice to say that:

(3×(3/4×216+8))×365+(3×(1/4×216)+1)×366=245,808

and

3×(216+8)+1=673

and

245,808÷673=365.242199108, or 365d, 5h, 48m, 46.0029717641s.

That is remarkably close to the standard definition of a mean solar year in the present epoch as 365d, 5h, 48m, 46s, which is 0.85s too long to the MSY as measured in 2004, but I digress. The point is your Gregorian calendar sets its origin as an arbitrary birthdate for Christ, whereas mine counts down to the Grand Vernal Equinoctial Conjunction of March 20, 2675 AD (a real event).

Now, the more astute reader might note that 216×1138=245,808 as well. My secondary calendar uses this as a check on the primary calendar. It is also used to keep track of even and odd days, as my two Royal Houses alternate sovereignty each day at noon. Our changing of the palace guard is very punctual, lest civil war resume.

That is just a taste. When you count in base six, things are just different.

Yep. More reasons to invade this county because of his/her main. Hihihihi

Your country shall be taught appropriate western values soon enough.

Lamoni, Stevid, United world order, Mokastana, and 3 othersMartilia, Republic of vectors, and Wanderjar

Castille de Italia wrote:I'm malfunctioning trying to read this.

That was the easy-peasy stuff. I could have expounded on 9:16:10 PM, and its relationship to a circle's diameter and the area of that circle.

9:16:10 PM is a very interesting time of the day.

Let us first note that, with a 24-hour clock, it is expressed as 21:16:10.

Suppose we wish to know what fraction of a day has been completed at that time. We note:

(21×3600)+(16×60)+(10)=76,570 seconds. We know that there are 86,400 seconds per day, so

76,570÷86,400=0.88622685185 fractional part of a day.

To find the area of a circle, we can multiply the diameter by that fractional part of a day, and then square the result. The result is a very good approximation to the actual area.

Suppose the radius is 1. Then the diameter is 2.

2×0.88622685185=1.7724537037

and

1.77245370372=3.14159213177, which is a close approximation to π, the correct answer.

Now whenever 9:16:10 PM shows up on a clock, you'll think of the area of a circle, as if it was GD canon.

The Macabees wrote:Your country shall be taught appropriate western values soon enough.

There are no appropriate western values. That's the point.

Republic of vectors

Matahi wrote:

There are no appropriate western values. That's the point.

There will be after I liberate your people from all of these scary numbers!

Hi everyone! I'm totally not a tongue-in-cheek puppet of another nation. Please do NOT invade me! Thanks!

Palmyrion wrote:*earth-shaking laughter resonates from the back*

*Reads what he quoted, joins in on the laughter*

I am back everybody. Hello to the new people!

Lamoni, Stevid, and Houdou

Imbrinium wrote:Sounds worse than our little war

Think of it as a serious foreign policy miscalculation on my part. Easy war, not an easy aftermath and political solution, and a lasting legacy of "I think I screwed up here..."

Read all about it!!


The City Courier

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Year 62, Issue 339
R750

"The Paper of the People"



The Bovan City Courier

"All the news that's fit to wrap fish in"

Rain, High 32°C


Troops return to cantonments
Army chief: "Forces must be purged of Martilian elements"

By FRANCISCO CABRERA

Troops throughout Matahi have been returning to their bases, as the armed forces begin a purge of ethnic Martilians from the ranks. The orders were given on Sat., Dec. 2nd, by Army General Roberto Hernandez, Chairman of the High Command Council. The orders follow upon previous measures, such as the termination of compulsory military service for ethnic Martilians, that Hernandez has implemented since assuming his post in January.

In a press conference at Defense Ministry headquarters in Loconce, General Hernandez explained, "The Federal Socialist Republic of Martilia has been, and shall likely remain, the greatest threat to the peaceful and prosperous existence of the People's Republic of Matahi. It is the duty of the Matahian armed forces to deter and dissuade Martilia from aggression, by force of arms if necessary."

"It has long been a concern that ethnic Martilians within our ranks may be a conduit to the espionage services in Martilia. Although many have served admirably and with honor, the Central Communist Party Politburo sees intelligence every week indicating that Martilian forces are extraordinarily aware of the means and methods by which our troops will defend Matahi. There can be no doubt that ethnic Martilians within our ranks are the source of that intelligence," Hernandez said.

After explaining the size and scope of the task in trying to isolate and eliminate the leaks, General Hernandez concluded, "Accordingly, to preserve our ability to fight effectively, drastic surgery is required. Our armed forces must be purged of Martilian elements. They pose the present threat of espionage. They pose a future threat of sabotage and treason. I have ordered the discharge of all ethnic Martilians from our armed forces."

The orders to return to base will have the greatest impact upon the Army, which is frequently deployed in Matahi's northern provinces. Troops there patrol the frontier abutting Martilia as well as quelling ethnic conflicts between Martilian minorities and Farraguta, Kukumongi, and Saosaose tribesmen. Troops patrolling the border will be rotated as necessary instead of a mass recall, while local police will have to handle any ethnic disturbances.

Naval and Air Force units are already largely confined to their bases. Attrition and desertion of ethnic Martilians have greatly reduced the numbers of qualified technicians in their ranks. Consequently most aircraft are grounded and many naval vessels are moored in their berths. The Army has proven less susceptible to such service readiness issues.

Impact upon the Northern Command

Following General Hernandez's remarks on Saturday, General Jose Gutierrez, ranking commander of the Northern Military District, spoke Monday at his headquarters in Bovan City. "We're going to comply with the orders, obviously, but there is wiggle room in the implementation. We're not going to leave our border with Martilia unmanned and unpatrolled. I've already spoken with General Hernandez, and we're in agreement on this."

"We will be relieving and discharging ethnic Martilian troops in such active units, but this will be done in the field on a case-by-case basis, with a qualified ethnic Matahian soldier on hand to provide the relief. Our active units will not be recalled nor depleted by these orders," General Gutierrez stated.

Asked about ethnic conflicts in the hinterlands, the general did admit that the Army would reduce its mitigating role, at least for the interim. "Look, we just can't be everywhere. To comply with these orders, we're going to have to recall troops and sort this out in our cantonments." Gutierrez explained, "It's easier and faster this way, which improves our overall readiness. Patrolling our rear echelon to keep ethnic Matahians from slaughtering ethnic Martilians takes an inordinate amount of men and effort. We're happy to help the local authorities keep the peace when we can, but for the moment we're suspending that mission."

In addressing concerns about his officer corps, General Gutierrez explained that many understood the motivation and necessity for the purge. "They will comply. They are faithful, true patriots who love Matahi -- even the ethnic Martilians who are facing imminent discharge. A number of them have expressed disappointment, and of course concern for what the loss of their livelihoods and careers will mean for the well-being of their families. But not one has expressed rage -- just disappointment and sadness that it has come to this."

"One of my officers even expressed regret and shame over his race," Gutierrez added. "He was sorry to even be associated with former Lt. Sosa."

The Felistina Five

Gutierrez was referring to the court martial of the Felistina Five, the four conscripted soldiers and their commanding officer who stood trial for the Oct. 2016 slaughter of thirteen men and boys, all ethnic Martilians, on the outskirts of the village of Felistina in Oriaguma province. Lieutenant Samuel Sosa was convicted of ordering the massacre in August and sentenced to two years in prison followed by a dishonorable discharge. Lt. Sosa maintains his innocence, stating he was wrongly convicted on false testimony.

Private Arturo Dominguez, who bore witness against Sosa and the other three defendants, pled guilty to the charge of following an unlawful order. In exchange, Dominguez was granted an immediate bad conduct discharge and credited for prison time served while awaiting and for the duration of the court martial. Dominguez testified that both he and Sosa had fired their submachine guns into the sixteen men and boys, three of the men surviving. Dominguez stated that Sosa wanted to kill the villagers to prove his loyalty to Matahi, and invited Dominguez to participate as well. When Dominguez refused, Sosa ordered him to kill the villagers. Both Sosa and Dominguez were ethnic Martilians themselves.

The other three defendants, Sergeant Miguel Martinez, Private Alessandro Romero, and Private Miguel Olivera, were court-martialed on the initial statements the three survivors had given Army criminal division investigators. Those statements place the three men in the company of Dominguez as the four, and only four, army members who had initiated and perpetrated the massacre.

By the time the court martial began, it was determined that two of the survivors had fled with their families to Martilia and were no longer available to testify. An uncle of the third witness said his nephew was missing and likely dead. He and his relatives believed the boy was killed by the Matahian army just weeks before the trial. The court dismissed the witness statements in the investigators' notes as hearsay. In addition, a surprise late witness for the defense, Forward Air Controller Airman Pablo Saldana, testified that Martinez, Romero, and Olivera were with him on a nearby hill as he radioed for an air extraction upon the conclusion of their patrol. Martinez, Romero and Olivera were subsequently acquitted of all charges against them and returned to active duty.

Critics of the trial noted that Sosa and Dominguez are both ethnic Martilians and were convicted. Martinez, Romero, Olivera, and the surprise witness Saldana are all ethnic Matahians, and the three defendants were acquitted largely on the testimony of their late witness. The prosecution never asked Dominguez any questions at all about Martinez, Romero, and Olivera, such as whether or not they were present at the massacre at the time. And ballistics evidence that could have identified how many and which guns were used was never produced -- the criminal investigation division said that the laboratory, which had once been staffed by well-qualified ethnic Martilian technicians, was now understaffed and unable to produce a timely report on the 183 bullets recovered from the deceased victims. Critics also cite the unusual dismissal of witness statements gathered by seasoned investigators as hearsay, the disappearance of key witnesses, and the light sentences handed down as evidence that the court-martial was a sham.

But the Army itself has noted that Dominguez's testimony pointed to motive -- that Lieutenant Sosa perpetrated the massacre to show his loyalty to the Army by killing fellow ethnic Martilians. The Army does not condone such behavior, no matter how good the intentions, and shortly afterwards counseled both officers and enlisted personnel to be on the lookout for such tendencies to demonstrate loyalty by ethnic Martilians in the ranks.

No Matahian Foreign Legion

At the conclusion of Monday's press conference, General Gutierrez was asked if retired Air Force General Rafael de la Renta's proposal for a Matahian Foreign Legion Expeditionary Force was receiving any further consideration. The former general had suggested segregating ethnic Martilian troops from the regulars in the Matahian armed forces by forming their own distinctive "foreign" units, where they could continue to serve with pride. The idea held considerable appeal with air force and naval brass, who saw it as a means of keeping high-value ethnic Martilian technicians in support units.

"That idea is as dead as the Martilian tabby-striped owl," General Gutierrez retorted, referring to the famed bird driven extinct by Martilia's incessant agricultural production. "There is no way we're going to form divisions of ethnic Martilian troops and send them into battle. It just isn't going to happen."

"If you think that was ever a good idea, then consider this," the army commander replied, "If we ever send eight thousand ethnic Martilians north with our guns and our tanks, then we're going to be doubly short when they get to the border, switch sides, and march right back south. That was the most asanine question I've ever fielded from the press corps, and I've heard plenty of them. Now, if you'll excuse me, my team and I've got serious work to do today. We're done here."

Read dispatch

The Macabees and Martilia

Picked up Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising novel for dirt cheap and Ubisoft is giving away World in Conflict for free.

I'd say thats a double score for today.

Lamoni, The Macabees, United world order, Mokastana, and 2 othersNew licentia, and Wanderjar

Morrdh wrote:Picked up Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising novel for dirt cheap and Ubisoft is giving away World in Conflict for free.

I'd say thats a double score for today.

What about the sequel, is that free as well?

«12. . .1,0641,0651,0661,0671,0681,0691,070. . .1,2651,266»

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