Stargazers Codex #12: "The One Battle War"

::: The One Battle War ::: 

            Tensions between the Republic and Federation exploded into a full-scale military operation in what many came to call, “The One Battle War.”  After finding Guide ruins buried beneath a privately owned but military funded research facility on Canaan—a planet well within Republic space—Federation forces engaged Republic forces in the planet’s atmosphere.  The battle lasted only a few hours, but this short-lived engagement was enough to ignite fears that continued conflict was likely moving forward.

            Republic representatives came forward afterward saying that the Guide ruins were privately held and funded by unknown backers.  They blamed the private companies for their work and for their secrets and denied all responsibility for the battle, arguing that they were merely protecting Republic soil.  The companies, in turn, began pointing fingers at each other.

            The Federation refused Republic outcry and ignorance, arguing that the companies found on Canaan are frequent government collaborators or are owned and support by government representatives.  Meanwhile, the Alliance have expressed that regardless of fault, the mistake was a beach of the Three-Party Accord and suggested that something be done by the Republic parliament to rectify the error.  There is also a call for the immediate de-armament of the area and an opening of the planet to outside research.

            Losses on both sides of the battle were minimal but important.  Many are called for a release of names which could have led either to condemnation or mourning, but names never followed.  They argued that anonymity is important to maintain in situations like this, while people on both sides demanded information.

            Rumors that the battle began on Athens were found to be false, as were rumors of the existence of a living Guide found in the Canaan ruins.  No news reports were able to corroborate such stories either way.

Stargazers Codex #010: "The Hardened Light Phenomenon"

::: The Hardened Light Phenomenon :::

Speaking in a layman’s terms, the hardened light phenomena is best described as the inverse or opposite of the assumed dark matter which makes up the universe.  Where dark matter is an inobservable material which is implied to exist within the galaxy to explain its functioning, hardened light is a visible energy projection which appears in the form of a physical light.  Dark matter is invisible to the eye and unable to interact with atomic particles, where hardened light is visible and audible, making a subtle hum, and can deflect or redirect incoming particles for a number of uses.

Hardened light generators were originally found in Guide ruins.  Retrofitted for military use as shields and sometimes even weapons (such as the hardened light bayonets mounted on the arms of Gigas Armors, now popularly called Hardened Light Blades), it has recently seen been application in domestic and civilian use.  Most popularly, hardened light bridges and canopies are used in richer parts of cities as a show of affluence more than anything else, while rich citizenry sometimes enjoy doorways or windows that might be activated by rain fall or moisture.

The earliest application in civilian life of hardened light were by deep space traders and shuttling services.  It is important to remember as we discuss this the inherent dangers of space travel.  Situations such as the well-known destruction of ships like Icarus are not as uncommon as they should be and hardened light shields can do a lot to prevent such tragedies from happening again.

Military production has seen the generators made smaller and lighter, though the Guide design is still far too complex for us to mimic perfectly.  Solar batteries are popular, though often times quite large.  There is one famous house found on Uruk which was built entirely of hardened light, though it is uninhabitable for the noise and the lack of rooms inside of it.  Another famous tourist attraction is the Great Light Bridge of Rhea, which spans the width of the Remian Channel that splits the city.

Stargazers Codex #006: "Project Centurion"

 ::: Project Centurion :::

From the notes of Project Head Major Gerald A. Galahad,

            It doesn’t matter what the politicians or the historians say, Project Centurion was a success.  When the project was first founded, it was not designed to build the most moral soldiers but the most deadly and the most efficient, and in that effort, we have had a success five times over.  Even as we came speeding towards doom, it was only through those successes that we were able to avert a civil war which might have destroyed our entire way of life.

            Lt. Steven Lancelot, the face of this entire debacle, is by all accounts the best soldier I have ever seen.  He is deadly efficient and lethally skilled.  Every mission given to him is completed without question and without remorse.  His is a mind which understands the weight and responsibility of the military, and his only flaw is perhaps that he is too cold or too critical.  In this case, however, he was a weapon pointed only at the wrong person.  It is not his failure but the failure of those who used him so selfishly.

            Lt. Jameson Arthur and Lt. Osceola Guinevere, much like Lancelot before them, are exemplary soldiers with perhaps more conventionally forward moral compasses, and it was their skill and teamwork which undid the plotting and planning of the politician fools who created this problem to begin with.  While not as technically skilled as Lancelot, they have shown skills far surpassing other soldiers and nearly equaling his.  These results are, of course, entirely in-line with what we have found across all five soldiers.

            In this way, the project was a success, and Lancelot the greatest success of them all.  It is politics which is trying to bury it through exposure.  Lt. Lancelot is made into a monster by some and a tragedy by others.  The death of Cpt. Gareth, promoted posthumously, is manna to the media, and Arthur and Guinevere are the heroes that they need to sell the story they’ve written.

            Which is the problem with this world.  Project Centurion was made to address a threat.  It is being called a failure, a shadow operation, but all of the paperwork was public from the start.  No one looked because no one cared.  What little attention it drew was satirical—an army to fight space invaders who weren’t invading.  The problem is that it worked, however you look at it, and we now have five supremely dangerous weapons without a target to aim at.

            We did, however, have political dissidents and politicians with interest.  When Rep. Wagner of Asgard formally proposed succession the galaxy went cold.  The Republic scrambled for an appropriate response in the light and scrambled for a dagger in the dark.  Ours was the sharpest dagger, and so they drew it unlawfully.  Lancelot did his job.  The others did their duty, and the two opposing forces came to a head with lethal force.  They fought.  They killed.  They destroyed the skyline in the resulting chaos, and now they are being assigned mantles black and white, respectively, as the citizenry decide their worth and purpose.

            Lancelot is a good soldier.  A great soldier.  He is the best soldier.  The quality of his humanity is tertiary.  Arthur and Guinevere are perhaps better people, but that is not relevant in the military.  Good people do not always make quality soldiers, and of the three, I’ve made my recommendation clear.

            It doesn’t matter.  I should burn this after writing it.  The witch hunt has begun, and my career is on the line.  This will be the last I write of it, the last I speak of it.  After today, Project Centurion will be a strange black mark in a number of otherwise impeccable records.  We will rebuild.  By all accounts, we will benefit from it, except for Lancelot.  Look at Percival, who has already turned it into a boon.

            I fear, though, that the galaxy isn’t ready for what will come next.