That council meeting was strangely fun to read, all while being incredibly frustrating.
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End of Confederated Zithoran Constintuents
or how the Hauteville Empire won the war... amongst other things
or how the Hauteville Empire won the war... amongst other things
The previous war with Plex-Cradonians caputured the full attention of Normans. This one... this one was just a sideshow, not really disturbing the normal life of the Hauteville Empire. Yes, there were headlines, the destruction of enemy spaceport got full attention, but the following orbital bombardment and overall state of war were page two-three material.
Star Kingdom of Avalon
In June 2231, the majority of headlines were dealing with planet Avalon, the gaia world of the Hauteville Empire. The planet had grown enough to be nominated a King- and instead of conquered worlds with hostile natives, this was a lush planet, where life is easy and resources are plentiful and not a guerilla party in sight. Even your home doesn’t have to be sniper-proof! So, it is no wonder that the Star Kingdom of Avalon drew a record number of candidates. Since it’s Avalon, then the logical would be to choose from brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren of King of England, Richard XIV Normandie-Hauteville. The thing is, everyone entered. Total 56 candidates, with the eldest being 89 years old and the youngest was just an infant, born 10 month ago.
The thing is, parents of that infant (third daughter of Richard XIV and her husband) had a cunning plan. They named the infant Arthur. The only Arthur ever born to Normandie-Hauteville family. And thus, their campaign went with the following logic- vote Arthur to be the King of Avalon! Added with Baby King for a Baby World, with cute vidpictures of young Arthur taking his first steps, smiling his toothless smile and saying his first words. It was a smash hit. And since the Kings were more or less decorative anyway, no-one bothered that their potential future King was still mostly good at shitting himself.
It wasn’t even a surprise that Arthur made it to second round, where two most successful candidates were up against each other and then, came out of it with smashing victory of 76,4% voters voting for the Baby King.
The coronation ceremony was much different then usual though. The start time was flexible- the guest arrived on proper date and waited for an hour, eating hors-d'oeuvres, drinking wine, chatting up and enjoying the greenery of Hauteville Castle in the summertime, until the King Arthur saw fit to wake up, eat up and then, grace the people with his presence. The ceremony was much faster, with proud mum and dad carrying the Baby King to Empress Emma, who gave the King Royal Feeding Bottle and Royal Rattle Toy and crowned him, without much of ceremony, as the Star King of Avalon. Then, there was time to use the Royal Pacifier, for the Arthur didn’t like the ceremony much.
The arrival of King Arthur to Avalon took around two month. His parents had set the date accordingly, so that King arrived on his 1st birthday. Entire Avalon was celebrating and millions walked the new King as the proud parents walked with the Royal Baby Stroller from spaceport of Port Arthur to new Royal Palace, appropriately called Camelot. It was a very hushed walk, with nary a sound, for the King was taking a nap. Still, after centuries, the castle of Camelot had King Arthur crawling it’s halls again. Only this time, the castle of Camelot was thoroughly baby-proofed. Or King-proofed. Whatever you prefer.
Avalon, all grown up. Almost.
Lorenzo de la Guardia
Tien Hauteville-Shen had been ruling as a Chancellor of the Hauteville Empire for about 25 years or so. Until in election of July 2231, he was defeated by Lorenzo de la Guardia. The man had an interesting career. First, he was head of physics research. Then, he decided to go adventuring and managed to get himself elected as Captain of HTV Clostermann, one of the science ships of the Empire. There, he made many wondrous discoveries and really expanded the knowledge of the Universe the humans had. And finally, the Chancellor of the Empire. Quite a career indeed. Charismatic man, full of ideas and even though he promised more research stations, his main agenda was industry. His administrative skills allowed for more minerals and his connections with the private sector and engineering knowledge allowed much cheaper mining stations to be built. The latter was especially important, because the mineral supplies of the Empire were still low and over time, that meant thousands of valuable minerals saved over the construction. As for Tien, he was appointed as the governor of Avalon.
New Chancellor of the Hauteville Empire. Yes, the portraits are messed up.
The election was concluded when Lorenzo de la Guardia was still exploring Jor Mon Dir system, in the former Plex-Cradonian space. As the news of election hit, he took a shuttle to Earth. That left the question of the new explorer wide open. Luckily, there was an answer nearby. Aoi Hayashi, second in command of HTV Clostermann, tutored by Lorenzo to be his successor. Aoi had a knack of finding strange things in huge datastreams the science department had to deal with daily, meaning more chance to discover an anomaly.
Aoi, taking over HTV Clostermann
There was another change in the science department. Xiu Hauteville-Yang had been leading the Engineering department since times immemorable. At the same time as Lorenzo became Chancellor, she retired. She was replaced by Jie Hauteville-Gao, young and brilliant scientist.
Hello to Jie! You'll fit right in!
Norrland
In November 2231, another colony ship was completed in Earth. This time, the destination was Umea IV, the nice continental world in former Plex-Cradonian space. Bringing some well-needed warmth to the Arctic sector, this was also the first time Normans colonized straight to sector.
The new colonly. Well, soon-to-be new colony
Bohemond-Class
In December 2231, two advancements were made. First, the Frontier Clinics. Something to make the new planets more bearable to humans. Good stuff, if you happen to have extra space in the planet. More importantly though, the Hauteville Engineers finally came up with plans for the new class of ships. Destroyers, nearly twice the size of corvettes. Crew of 150, 5 gun emplacements, slightly lower speed and much better survivability.
New ship type and clinics. Not bad...
The designs for new ship were completed, but none were in production yet. The spaceports would need some more upgrades to construct ships of that size. Still, on plans, the new Bohemond-class destroyed looked amazing. 5 small railguns, for the opposition was still using small ships. Powerful shields. Ample energy. No armour. Looks wonderful.
Blueprints of Bohemond-class destroyers
Wonders of Space
In October 2331, Paseka Hauteville-Kumato found something interesting in Ruinam system. The system is situated on the edge of the Plex-Cradonian space and is one of the richest of newly conquered systems. But the discovery was something even more amazing. In Ruinam VIa, a barren moon orbiting a barren world, they found debris. Lots of it. Upon further analysis, it was concluded that this was one location of a huge space battle and the debris were leftovers of the battle- around 5000 years ago.
Special project was initiated and even the initial expedition netted some valuable hints on how the alien ships functioned. Something to add to common knowledge of the Hauteville Empie. There was lot to discover too, so permanent outpost was recommended to keep on surveying the valuable hulls of downed ships.
As to whom they belonged to- no answers. It seemed like whoever fought was now part of history unknown. Makes you think- perhaps the biggest duty of the Normans is to ensure that in next 5000 years, another species doesn’t stumble upon the remains of the Normans and wonder who they were, what they wanted and why they fought the battle.
It was a long way to the result- but it's worth it!
Invasion of Zithoria
In case you’d forgotten, there is war going on. All quiet in the western front though, with the fleet steadily bombing enemy homeworld and the army moving in. It wasn’t until 25th March 2232 until the planet’s defences was devastated enough that the landing was deemed to be viable.
The invasion begins
For the second time, nothing much remained of military infrastructure, the enemy armies fought in guerrilla style, but they didn’t fight with as much fervor as Plex-Cradonians. Quite the opposite actually. The enemy made no serious attempts to disrupt supply lines, no surprise attacks, nothing. They were much more passive. Guess they were waiting for committees to agree about tactics, but it is kinda hard to for committees to agree on anything, quite impossible when dealing with fast-changing conditions of the guerilla warfare. By 29th May, the planet was secure.
Battle of Zithras
It seemed that the loss of his homeworld finally forced Zithorans into action. As Norman fleet was departing the system, leaving single corvette to guard against surprise enemy counterattacks and heading to find the enemy fleet, the enemy fleet popped in. It was in 19th July. The enemy had 22 corvettes. Much more worse weaponry though. Some bad design decisions, like mounting a medium-sized turrets. These couldn’t keep up with fast-moving Norman corvettes. Also, no shields or armor whatsoever. Better engines and power generators though. Normans directly changed the course to intercept.
This is a pleasant surprise- no need to hunt for the enemy. Also, the enemy corvettes.
3rd August was the date the Normans caught up with the fleet. Both fleets were moving into battle formation, Normans aggressively trying to get into range. The enemy fleet, led by Obr-Kuld, more carefully, trying to keep the formation. No shots were fired yet.
The fleets taking up battle positions
Then, something unexpected happened. No, the Normans were still on top. Just that.. The liver of Julia Hauteville-Krüger finally stopped working. To be fair, the third liver of Julia Hauteville-Krüger finally stopped working. And the fleet was just out of emergency livers, the battle was starting and so on. Long story short, the Admiral passed away just as the battle was beginning.
10 points for timing, Julia!
It was Avelina Hauteville, daughter of Emma and captain of HTV Musketeer, who took over the command of the fleet in emergency. No time to change flagships, so she took the corvette as a new flagship of the Empire. Not that it mattered much- the bridge was about the same and all the crews were trained to take over.
There is one thing with medium cannons. They have much better range. And, the long-range fire of the enemy proved surprisingly effective. Normans lost HTV Columbus to it- the shields of the ship just were not enough to push back the concentrated fire of enemy cannons.
Fleets are closing in. In the distance, you see HTV Columbus blowing up
At the same time though, Norman fighters moved to range and Norman big ships opened fire as well. Here, in close melee, the smaller cannons paid off. Much more maneuverable, able to keep up with the enemy movements while the medium cannons of the enemy proved to be more sluggish.
There were plenty of enemies blowing up as well though
Add no defences to the formulae and you get the result. In the end, Normans managed to kill off the entire enemy fleet. 22 enemy ships were blown out of the sky. Besides HTV Columbus, Normans lost two more corvettes. Just 15 people dead though, rest managed to get to lifepods, where they spent an eternity, waiting to be picked up after the battle.
These are the results. Yes, the enemy was wiped to the last ship. Just one got blown up by 1 corvette acting as reinforcement
End of War
No fleet, no homeworld, just two colonies left. The situation was not looking very bright for the Zithorans. Rightfully so. The enemy was pleading for surrender. Of course, the enemy being what they are, it took them several month to agree on exact wording of the surrender. Norman diplomats suggested simple “We surrender”, but that was met with disdain. It was another suggestion by Normans that sped things up. The next time, it was proposed “We surrender or we get blown up”. Of course, the proposition was rejected, but it at least sped up the process.
It was in 11th October 2232 when the enemy finally surrendered. The wording they came up with was no bureaucratic masterpiece, but under the situation, it is understandable. No time for finesse when you have only few month. Still, Normans got two systems, Fex’Klandans got Caspadene. Incidentally, the latter was also the place where Zithoran ruling cabinet fled to and it was strongly suggested by Normans that they stay there (“Come back and we will shoot you” was the wording this time).
The enemy giving up
The two systems Normans got in peace were incorporated to Avis Caveam Sector. Now, the name wasn’t really fitting no more, but the Normans kept it anyway. Changing it to something more appropriate was a bother. The name of enemy homeworld Zithoria and home system Zithras were left unchanged. As for the new ruler of the system, keeping tradition of taking Hautevilles from Sweden, the new Star Queen was Anna I Hauteville-Norrevik.
The enemy homeworld. Full of pissed off bugs and Normans are too nice to use any pesticide.
The other system was renamed Skane. Reason behind it- since we’re doing Sweden anyway, and the newly conquered planet Vurl-Kadnaq is much more warmer than the arctic worlds Plex-Cradonians preferred. So i Skane a bit more south. The new Star King was Andreas Hauteville-Waldetoft.
Skane System. Not so great, but border expansion counts for something
Thus, the Normans got themselves two additional worlds and ended hopes and dreams yet another Empire.
And this is it. Zithoran war done, plus some other matters taken care of. And these Bohemond-class destroyers look like they could still use some work... But they are better then salvaged cruisers.
Thanks! But i'm not 100% sure i'd like Zithorans doing the bureaucracy of Hauteville Empire. They'd be too good bureaucrats to keep the system running efficiently
Nothing as entertaining, i'm afraid. Same joke twice. yhou know
Still, room full of pacifist bureaucrats are so much better as enemies then effective warriors! But unfortunately, Obr-Kuld got blown up in the battle. Shame though.
Heheheheheheheeee! Love the species! Hmm, these should be in Stellaris!
And i shudder at the thought of them getting to the helm. Though... there is a surprise coming in that general direction! Bugs though, not birds!
Heh, that was an excellent Asterix&Obelix episode, yea Unfortunately, things can't always be solved Obelix-way!
That is an excellent description!
Well, my formal official language is luckily a bit rusty, even in my native tongue. Or it would have been much more frustrating!
Thanks! But i'm not 100% sure i'd like Zithorans doing the bureaucracy of Hauteville Empire. They'd be too good bureaucrats to keep the system running efficiently
It was very entertaining. Can't wait for their surrender note
Nothing as entertaining, i'm afraid. Same joke twice. yhou know
Still, room full of pacifist bureaucrats are so much better as enemies then effective warriors! But unfortunately, Obr-Kuld got blown up in the battle. Shame though.
Heheheheheheheeee!
Love the species! Hmm, these should be in Stellaris!And i shudder at the thought of them getting to the helm. Though... there is a surprise coming in that general direction! Bugs though, not birds!
Great update! I couldn't help but think of the Asterix&Obelix episode about Roman bureaucracy with them running from office to office. I pictured the Zithorian High Command running around there as the Norman fleet closes by the day
Heh, that was an excellent Asterix&Obelix episode, yea Unfortunately, things can't always be solved Obelix-way!Bureaucrats. Almost as bad as neutrals.
That is an excellent description!
That council meeting was strangely fun to read, all while being incredibly frustrating.
Well, my formal official language is luckily a bit rusty, even in my native tongue. Or it would have been much more frustrating!
A meaty update. Lots happening! I fully expect the new baby king to grow up and be disturbingly spoiled.
Lots happening! I fully expect the new baby king to grow up and be disturbingly spoiled.
Arthur got elected thanks to his parents being clever... Well, good for them. Hopefully Arthur makes his parents proud.
No, Julia Hauteville-Krüger perished! Ah, I'll miss her. I just the idea of a skilled Admiral showing up drunk to every meeting.
Unsurprisingly, the Zithoran war went very easily. Still feel bad for Obr-Kuld. At least he won't have to attend another bureaucratic discussion.
No, Julia Hauteville-Krüger perished! Ah, I'll miss her. I just the idea of a skilled Admiral showing up drunk to every meeting.
Unsurprisingly, the Zithoran war went very easily. Still feel bad for Obr-Kuld. At least he won't have to attend another bureaucratic discussion.
Poor Julia died too young unfortunatly, but she did lead the fleet to glory and earned her place in history. Speaking of which, a great victory yielding new territory and citizens, great! I am sure the bird people will soon find their place in the empire, perhaps in the airforce?
So is Avelina actually the admiral now? I'm also assuming she'll be the next Empress.
I almost feel sorry for the Normans. Every alien they conquer is a xenophobic asshole.
I hope you get just 1-2 divergent ones with palpable ethics, that's all you'll need for colonization of your off-types.
I hope you get just 1-2 divergent ones with palpable ethics, that's all you'll need for colonization of your off-types.
Hauteville-Sur-Mer
or how the Hauteville Empire was enjoying a period of relaxation and nothing really important happening
Betherian Power
or how the Hauteville Empire was enjoying a period of relaxation and nothing really important happening
Betherian Power
7th November 2232. Planet of Avalon. The grand opening of the new power plants. Instead of normal fuel, it consumes Betharian stones, a rare resource that is in short supply in the galaxy. The output is truly amazing. There are still some improvements to be made, some even in progress, but overall, we are talking two times the normal output of power. Two were enough to declare Avalon to be the energy capital of the Empire. Unfortunately, that is currently all as well- no more Bethanian deposits in the known vicinity. The energy sector of Avalon keeps on developing through the conventional means though.
Construction of first Betherian plants
As Star King Arthur II put it in his opening speech: “Powaa! Mommy!”
Advancement of Science
Missile technology can be easily countered by point defence. Still, it is powerful, has the best range and is a guaranteed hit, thanks to missile guidance systems. So, the Hautevilles looked into Plex-Cradonian missile systems and unlocked their own. Powerful nuclear warheads, meant to destroy the enemy hulls. Still, there were no plants to implement these on current ships. Too weak, need more research. This was something for the future.
A bit later, in 2235, the new armor was also discovered. Again, no plants to put them on ships at the moment, but nice to have. The main defence of the Empire’s ships were still shields.
The same year, Normans managed to miniaturize the mass drivers. Putting them to smaller form meant several fast-rotating turrets with high fire rate. Perfect for bringing missiles down from the sky. Depending of a situation, this could either be total waste of perfectly good turret spot or a lifesaver. One thing was certain though- this will not be part of the mainstream of the fleet. Instead, a variant of Bohemond-class destroyer was built, called Bohemond Point Defence variant. Just one turret though, so the ship loses just fifth of its firepower and they will never be built with such numbers as the non-turreted variant. Still, some extra protection, always nice to have.
Norman scientific advances
And the new Bohemond PD class destroyer
Also, the Zithorans. They had an advanced reactors for their ships. And some laser weapons as well. Scanning the debris allowed Norman scientists to at least guess what the enemy was up to. Needed more research in the laboratory, but it was a good start.
Getting Cold Fusion from Zithorans in the best possbile way- blow up their ships, get things done.
The most important discovery of the time was the advancement of wormholes though. With simple calibrations and software update and installment of special capacitors, the Normans now have twice the original range of the wormholes. This happened in 24th April 2233. As Admiral Avelina Hauteville put it: “Typical boffins. This would have been useful during the war, not after.” Though, his father, Bohemond, rectified that: “Wrong, child. This is useful during the future times as well.”
The range of the new wormholes. The range is fabulous!
Indeed, with it, new possibilities became available for the Hauteville Empire. The area surrounding Avis Caveam sector was not as populated and there seemed to be a great deal of discoveries to be made, Enough that the the Empire decided to take one corvette from the fleet and tasked it to survey the surrounding systems.
The project was kind of successful. Amongst other things, the survey ship discovered new strange lifeform in Ebbarmacchus systems. By the looks of it, it was kind of amoeba in space. Hostile. Moving towards the survey ship, who wisely enough, run away.
The Amoeba
The Amoeba were studied, and the results were as predicted- dangerous things, better keep your distance or bring some friends. The maneuvering of flagellas, small quasi-independent organisms of the host, were something other though. The Hautevilles studied them, then adopted the movement patterns to the fleet. As a result, the Norman ships are now much harder to hit.
Amoeba. Really useful
Hauteville-Sur-Mer
This might not be the the most fitting name for the planet of Normandy IV. Small village in Normandy, France. Apparently, where the Hautevilles came from. Or so the legend says. There are other villages in Normandy, fighting over the title of village of Hauteville origins, though Hauteville-Sur-Mer has the advantage of the name.
So, the colonists thought- what a fitting name for the new planet in the Normandy System. Despite the fact that Normandy IV was something different. A tropical world. First to be colonized by the Empire. The conditions there were a bit too humid and wet for the humans, but since there are no suitable continental worlds around... And Normandy IV was already in a settled system, so when something goes wrong, there is always a chance that people from New Normandy come to aid.
The colony ship arrived to the orbit of Normandy IV in 10th February 2234. The first scouting parties landed, looking for a suitable place to start the first colony. As usual, fresh water and fertile lands were requirement, but this time, the Normans also looked for a bit dryer place. They finally found one near the pole of the planet.
Colonization of the first tropical world
Alisce Normandie-Hauteville was there for the Landing. After all, she was Star Queen of Normandy and it was her duty to take the fealty oaths of the new colonists. As well as welcome them to their new home. And bring gifts- a transport ship full of supplies and food from New Normandy.
As the huge ship burned her thrusters to land safely to the predetermined location, she asked the leader of colonists, Divya Sharma, who was standing next to her: “You are sure about the names?”
Divya nodded. “Yes, your highness”
“But this is bound to create a lot of confusion!” Alisce proclaimed!
“Your Highness?” there was now confusion in Divya’s face.
“You do realize that there is already a colonized planet in the system, right?” Alisce asked
“Yes, Your Highness! Your throne world!” Divya seemed a bti surprised that the Star Queen would even ask such a simple question from her.
“And that is named New Normandy?” Alisce continued.
“Yes, Your Highness”
“And that the capital of this world is called Hauteville-Sur-Mer?”
“Yes, Your Highness”
“And knowing that, you want to call your planet Hauteville-Sur-Mer and your capital New Normandy?” Alisce looked as baffled as she was the day she first saw the proposition.
“Well, Your Highness, they are good names! Norman names! Quite fitting to be the names of Star Kingdom of Normandy”
Having a sense of humor helped a bit. Alisce just imagined the confusion, chuckled and proceeded to watch in silence as the colony ship landed. Since this was tropical world, there wasn’t much dust to blow, but they ship landed with satisfying splash, it’s thrusters blowing mud all over the place. “Jumping up and down in muddy puddles, in galactic scale,” Alisce thought to herself, but did not share the thought. Instead, she wiped the mud off her face and laughed. The rest of her entourage, relieved there wasn’t any hostile reaction to the horrible lèse-majesté, laughed as well.
Thus, Alisce Normandie-Hauteville, Start Queen of Normandy, Grand Queen of New Normandy and Hauteville-Sur-Mer, living in Hauteville District of Hauteville-Sur-Mer, planet of New Normandy, welcomed her new subjects. Rest of the ceremony was less hilarious, though occasional silenced chuckle after seeing her mud-covered queen endured.
As for the future travellers to Normandy, they had to be extra careful. It was common that the New Normandy in Hauteville-Sur-Mer was full of people who had appointments in Hauteville-Sur-Mer, New Normandy as vice versa. The fast shuttle sector service between two planets was booming though.
Hauteville-Sur-Mer after being found
Solving the Financial Problems
The energy credits of the Hauteville Empire were still low. Though now, the Empire was producing nearly 40 credits per month in surplus, the demand for energy credits still surpassed the income. So, in 2233, when the research treaty between Fex’Klangans and the Hauteville Empire run out, both parties were interested in renewing it. Especially the Fex’Klangans though, for the Hauteville Empire had made much more progress with their science. So, new research treaty was made, but in order to sign it, the Fex’Klangans had to pay one-time sum of 801 energy credits. Almost two years of energy output of the Hauteville Empire. It also meant that in the near future, the Normans will have hefty surplus from what to draw upon. Clearing the blockers is especially costly.
Well, they are ruthless capitalists, they sure know the value of information.
The Exploration
Fang Tan stumbled upon something strange. In Spiran system, next to Cradoniana, homeworld of Plex-Cradonians, she discovered a mural. Preserved there, despite it’s age of 80 million years. No other signs of habitability in the barren world of Spiram I, so the aliens must have either built this thing to last or it was really the only thing they built in this planet. Why they built it there is a mystery, but you never look into gift alien knowledge in the mouth. And this mural contained a lot of it- the entire technological knowledge of an alien species. The Normans already know some, but other is totally alien to them. Research station was constructed there soon, to keep translating and finding new, marvellous, discoveries.
The Mural is sure to add to Norman scientific advances
At the same time, Paseka Hauteville-Kumato dealt with cooking issues. The man apparently found something that was long forgotten- the Mediterranean Salt. Something really rare back in the days Hautevilles came to power, but now, nowhere to be found. Perhaps the description of the salt, “out of this world”, really had some meaning to it, for he found some in Heze V. At least, he thought he did, but there is no way to find out, for none of the Mediterranean Salt had survived to date. But even something similar to it, and in mass quantities, made the Empire happy for some time.Then, the taste became regular and the effect was gone. Still the salt of Heze V became important part of the Norman cousine.
So much good can happen from just a pinch of salt
The Cynn Empire
The Cynn Empire are living north of the Fex’Klanga Star League. They are small Empire, just three plants, but they have attitude enough for huge Empire with 33 planets. They also have been rivals of the Hauteville Empire for more than two decades, but mainly because the Empire wanted friendly relations with the Fex’Klangans. For some years now, they had been at war with their other neighbours, the Quiramulan Council.
The Cynn Empire. Also known as the Doomed Empire
It was in 11th August 2235 when the Fex’Klangans turned to Hauteville Empire, asking for the agreement of Normans to go to war with them. Seeing as they didn’t mind Normans fighting over last wars, the Hauteville Empire saw no reason to decline. Especially when the Fex’Klangans decided not to leave the Normans empty-handed. At least, the humiliate option was added. To be fair, the Fex'Klangans themselves wanted one planet, plus the vassalisation of the Empire. Once again, the Normans were at war.
The Proposition.
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The stretch of peace, where you explore, expand, colonize, but do nothing else in particular. And well, i thought that Fex'Klangans were at least nice enough to join Hauteville Empire in their wars, might as well help them out. Plus, free influence!
Heh, kind of herd not to spoil a baby king. At least, he has no trouble getting the attention of everyone. Look, the first steps of our King! Look, the King is using spoon to feed himself. And these most likely make to the headlines of newspapers as well.
... and her timing. Just when the battle had begun. And yes, some fates are worse then death. I kinda feel like i did Obr-Kuld a favor.
Well, 67 is not "too young". A bit too young, perhaps. Well, and we'll see. But this is the Normans. Love fighting. I'm currently thinking about leaving all the main fighting to humans, just because the Normans would not let anyone else take the fun away from them. Other species- welcome to the local defense forces!
Yep, she is the admiral. But as for future Empress, let's leave that one on open...
:d Then the poor woman would have found some other, much more embarrassing way to die drunk!
Or a pacifistic collectivist bastard. Or spiritualist. Or something else that doesn't fit with the Hauteville Empire. But i'm sure they'll come around, even if i have to use orbital mind control lasers for that!
And i was rather hoping i'd get to modify humans for that. But we'll see.
A meaty update.
Heh, kind of herd not to spoil a baby king. At least, he has no trouble getting the attention of everyone. Look, the first steps of our King! Look, the King is using spoon to feed himself.
And these most likely make to the headlines of newspapers as well.... and her timing. Just when the battle had begun. And yes, some fates are worse then death. I kinda feel like i did Obr-Kuld a favor.
Well, 67 is not "too young". A bit too young, perhaps. Well, and we'll see. But this is the Normans. Love fighting. I'm currently thinking about leaving all the main fighting to humans, just because the Normans would not let anyone else take the fun away from them. Other species- welcome to the local defense forces!
Yep, she is the admiral. But as for future Empress, let's leave that one on open...
:d Then the poor woman would have found some other, much more embarrassing way to die drunk!
I almost feel sorry for the Normans. Every alien they conquer is a xenophobic asshole.
I hope you get just 1-2 divergent ones with palpable ethics, that's all you'll need for colonization of your off-types.
Or a pacifistic collectivist bastard. Or spiritualist. Or something else that doesn't fit with the Hauteville Empire. But i'm sure they'll come around, even if i have to use orbital mind control lasers for that!
And i was rather hoping i'd get to modify humans for that. But we'll see.
Scientific breakthroughs, tropical colonization, and a trade agreement... another peaceful period for the Hauteville Empire. As for the upcoming "war" with the Cyan Empire, I imagine this will just be practice for your new Bohemond PD class destroyer.
Please tell me the Hauteville Empire will do more than just humilate the enemy. There are planets to be taken!
The War Against the Cynn Empire
or how the Normans and Quiramulans did all the work and the Fex'Klangans reaped the benefits
First Guests
or how the Normans and Quiramulans did all the work and the Fex'Klangans reaped the benefits
First Guests
Planet of Kitrel, in the Lulea system, Avis Caveam sector. Filled to the brink with angry birds, who still oppose the Norman rule with fervor. It was there the new guests arrived. The cold, arctic landscape was totally unappealing to humans, but apparently there are some species who find it desirable. For instance, Fex’Klangans. Originally coming from the tundra world, they have shown that they have capability to live in planets not really meant for them. And enough Fex’Klangans thought Kitrel, but especially the Hauteville Empire to be appeasing enough to move there. Of course, the Normans accepted them with open arms. The new inhabitants loved the Normans much more then the Plex-Cradonians. Of course, pretty much everyone and everything loved Normans more then Plex-Cradonians
We welcome you, first Fex'Klangans! May there be more of you then the birds!
Robert Baratheon
It was in 8th February 2236 when there was christening of new destroyer. Fresh off the spaceport orbiting Earth, it was the first destroyer-class ship of the Empire. Grand ceremony, Empress Emma herself attending. The name, “Robert Baratheon”, came from a book, still popular. The name was meant symbolic, for Robert was killed by the boar. This ship-class was meant to get the boars. Poetic justice, though the Jusstkan surely did not appreciate the humor.
Admiral Avelina Hauteville was sitting in the bridge of the “Robert Baratheon”. Her new flagship. She felt the comfort of the commander’s chair. She looked at the screens, giving her ample supply of information of things happening around her. The crew was in positions. The engines were humming.
“Take her away,” she told the navigator.
The hum of the engines grew louder as the ship moved slowly away from the dock. For a ship of this size, 150 meters in length, it was really nimble and responsive. Something that was pure joy to control. As the ship left the docks, she gave the order. The turrets moved and fired a greeting shot towards the Sun from all five pairs of her cannons.
Unmatched firepower, unmatched beauty, unmatched defensive powers. This was so much better ship then Salvage-class cruisers, even if it was smaller and lacked fighter wings. Avelina laid back and enjoyed the feeling as the ship went to test drive around Sol system.
Maiden voyage of "Robert Baratheon", first Bohemond-class destroyer
Planetary Capitals
In 2236, the scientists came up with something new for the government. A special calculation matrix, where you feed in the needs of the planet and as a result, it gives an ideal layout of the capital, the power structures, the bureaucratic systems fit for the planet and so on. In theory, it should work. In practice, defining the needs of the planets was always tricky.
Yay, more influence, more buildings!
The first one to test it was Earth, with Palermo getting rebuilt and governance of Earth changed according to new plans. Of course, much of the old town was preserved. Historic buildings- were it medieval houses or skyscrapers of 21st century, the matrix took the cultural value of these buildings to account and left them be. The result- huge success. A bit more resources extracted from the planet and a bit more content inhabitants, Soon, other planets followed suit.
Earth, enjoying their new planetary capital
R-44 Class Raiders
Skane VII held quite a surprise for Normans. Paseka Hauteville-Kumato found an abandoned shipyard there. How on Earth did the Zithorans miss it was the question, but perhaps the captain of their research vessel felt lazy and skipped it. Filled in proper forms though, so no-one bothered to double-check.
Without hesitation, the Normans activated it. And the ancient shipyard managed to produce three vessels. Small, corvette-style, but with advanced weapons and power. Superior lasers, superior shields, superior power. Instead of being powered down and let engineers to reverse-engineer them, the ships were added to the fleet.
Wish there was an option to reverse engineer these beauties!
Lythuric Gas
The scientists finished their research into Lythuric gasses in 2236. Again, one extremely rare gas- the Normans had access to two deposits in their entire territory. This had two very special cases of use. First, boosting the shield strength of the fleets. Add some lyturic to the shield generators and the shields will gain up to fifth additional power, meaning the better survivability of the Norman ships. One was built to Earth’s shipyard.
The things enabled by Lyturic gas... seem troubling.
The second, more devious application was the dulling effect on people’s minds the gas had. Something that made them to conform to the governmental ethos much better. The application of this property was still a much-heated debate across the Empire.
The Most Dangerous Job in the Universe
Zorikkan Black Hole System is the only black hole inside the borders of the Hauteville Empire. With a research station built next to it, just in the fine line before getting out and not getting out. There is always a danger of being sucked inside the black hole. For long, this was considered to be the most dangerous place to work in the Empire. There was no shortage of personnel though- the things you can discover from the black hole were significant, and there were enough of crazy or brave (or both at the same time) scientists willing to work there.
The Zorikkan System had one planet too. A barren world, crumbling because of the gravitational pull of the huge hole in the middle. It is guessed that with few centuries, or perhaps with thousand years or so, the planet’s core will collapse, planet will fall into pieces and become an asteroid field that is slowly getting sucked to the hole.
Paseka Hauteville-Kumato found an ancient marker from there, marking a deposit of a rich mineral deposit. Again, whoever set that marker was a mystery, but the deposits were rich and soon, a mining station was constructed to exploit it. Now, this took over as the most dangerous job in the universe. To mine a crumbling planet, next to a black hole. To be sucked in, to be crushed when the core collapses... The pay was good though. Work there for one year, and you get enough that you can live freely and without worrying about the money for the next decade. You still had to be crazy to work there, but at least you were well-paid crazy.
What's worse? Researcher in station near the point where nothing returns of a miner in a planet that has collapsing core?
End of the Cynn Empire
Yes, there is a war going on. Not much of the war though. The Quiramulan Council fleet had done their job well- there was no Cynn ships in space no more. The planets were still left untouched, with both Quiramulans and Fex’Klangans content with controlling the space and not wanting to land on the planets.
The Hauteville Empire, not wanting the war to drag, decided to intervene and show the aliens how the war is fought. It was a process that took time though. First, the construction of a brand new constructor ship. Then, sending the ship to Flexansiga system, the home system of Fex’Klangans. There, the construction built a wormhole station, for otherwise, Normans could not reach the enemy systems. Construction was completed in 4th February 2236.
Norman wormhole station at home system of Fex'Klangans
Both the Norman main fleet and the newly built destroyer were sent to Liljz system. The planet there, called Frippit, was marked by the Fex’Klangans as their gain from this war, so it made sense for the Normans to start from there.
The first destination
The fleet arrived in on orbit of Frippit in August 2236. Surprise, no Fex’Klangan ships orbiting the planet, bombarding the defences. No Fex’Klangan armies preparing for invasion. Aside from the planet itself and the Cynn wormhole station, the system was empty. Normans offered the enemy planet a chance to surrender, but were refused. Crudely. So, the orbital bombardment begun.
It was in 6th February 2237 when both Aleksei Skobelev and his army had arrived in orbit and the defences of the enemy were low enough that invasion became feasible. 12 million Normans, divided into twelve armies, all equipped with special hunter-seeker drones to snuff out the opposition, against once again very divided and badly hit 6 enemy armies, plus four militia-armies (also known as “cannon fodder”). Demoralized enemy, superior Norman technology- the invasion was over in less then a month.
Invasion of Frippit
Hauteville Fleet departed the planet and headed to the enemy capital world of Cythra. The army was left there for a while. To rest, recover and to keep the enemy attempts of taking the planet back at bay. Also, the recently produced raider fleet was ordered to orbit the planet. Not that there was really a chance for the enemy to sneak in an invasion force, but in this case, better safe then do another invasion.
Cynndar, the homeworld of the Cynn, was already under bombardment from Quiramulans. 34 corvettes in the bombardment fleet, outnumbering the Normans. Also, some destroyers flying around in the system. Apparently, the Normans and the Quiramulans are a force about the same power. At least, for the moment... Anyways, the skies of Cynndar were large enough for both fleets to bombard the system. The humans had adapted a lighter form of bombardment, hitting the military installations and infrastructure, leaving civilian homes and factories at peace. Not even because the humans were humane, but rather because it allowed to take over the planet in much better condition. Apparently, the Quiramulans shared neither humane nor pragmatic concerns of the Hauteville Empire and their ships did not shy away from dropping bombs to city centres, densely populated areas, farms, food processing factories and so on. Avelina Hauteville was given strict orders that “It’s not our business” and as the humans destroyed the military, the Quiramulans destroyed the planet.
Norman and Quiramulan fleets bombarding Cynndar. Also, Quiramulan destroyer
The hard work of planetary invasion fell again to Aleksei Skobelev and Norman armies though. Landing started in 2nd February 2238. This time, the Normans were up against an army of their size- around 12 million soldiers, plus the cannon fodder. But again, the enemy armies were hit hard by the bombardment, the soldiers tired from constant terror and the Normans- fresh, eager to fight and to conquer.
Invasion of Cynndar
This time, the opposition lasted until April. By then, the planet was securely under Norman control. The enemy put more fierce resistance, but apparently, there isn't much one can do when you have lost control of both space near you and your airspace.
Fex’Klangans had it easy. They did not have to fight a single battle in the war. The Quiramulans took care of the enemy fleet and the enemy space fortifications and stations. The Norman fleets did the orbital bombardments and bled in the invasions of the enemy planets. The result- Quiramulans got exactly nothing, for the peace made Cynn Empire the vassal of the Fex’Klangan Empire and the Quiramulans did not want to continue the war against Hauteville Empire. Oh, and against the Fex’Klangans as well. Hauteville Empire got a chance to humiliate the xenophobic aliens. Fex’Klangans got one planet and rest of the Cynn Empire as their vassals.
For putting in this much effort..
...you get this!
Either AI sucks and planetary invasions or both Fex'Klangans and the Quiramulans are really hesitant to send their soldiers to die. Not the Normans though. Never the Normans. Imagine, riding with a dropship, dodging anti-aircraft fire, then marching out, going to battle, bullets everywhere. Old Robert Guiscard would have given his second arm for a war like this. Normans nowadays as well.
You have to have peace in order to get ready for war, after all. And nothing left for Bohemond PD!
Unfortunately, there is no way to change wargoals in the middle. And to be honest, i'm not sure i'd even want a system that away from my territories.
Not always. Sometimes, you get a primary objective of surviving the onslaught. Sometimes you don't need the influence. Sometimes, you want other wargoals as priority.
Sometimes you're just too nice too!
You have to have peace in order to get ready for war, after all. And nothing left for Bohemond PD!
Unfortunately, there is no way to change wargoals in the middle. And to be honest, i'm not sure i'd even want a system that away from my territories.
Not always. Sometimes, you get a primary objective of surviving the onslaught. Sometimes you don't need the influence. Sometimes, you want other wargoals as priority.
Sometimes you're just too nice too!
Ouch. But at least friendlies are benefiting. Hopefully the Normans are getting back their old taste for conquest.
Robert Baratheon, inspired by a popular book? I'm just waiting for some soldiers to complain about still waiting for the sixth book...
The war was simple and your allies showed why the Normans ended up just conquering everyone. One day the Fex’Klangans will know this too.
The war was simple and your allies showed why the Normans ended up just conquering everyone. One day the Fex’Klangans will know this too.
The Galaxy Full of Wonders
Or two stories about exploration
The Anomaly of Cherton III
Or two stories about exploration
The Anomaly of Cherton III
The Ocean world of Cherton III, located in the former Zithoran space, showed something beneath the surface. Naturally, Paseka Hauteville-Kumato did not shy away from the challenge and he and his crew started to look at what the anomaly was about.
Fast in, quick scan and then out- that was the original plan
The task proved more arduous than they expected. It kinda was there, kinda wasn’t. Sometimes, it was clear, sometimes it was just not there. Was it instruments going haywire? Was it some unknown interference from the planet? Was it something entirely different? Anyway, it had been weeks now. Weeks of constant work, monitoring, guessing, trying to think what can be done next. To put it shortly- weeks with little sleep and very much thinking and tinkering.
Paseka woke up in terrible condition. Not shaved for a week. No shower for three days. His clothes were starting to develop sentiency of their own. Wear it a few days more and then you can whistle: “Hey, shirt!” and it crawls to you and wears itself. It was not just that. What really got to him was the keyboard marks on his face. Once again, he didn’t go to sleep, he just dropped of exhaustion.
The discovery is starting to take it's toll from the health of people of HTV Caldwell
Grabbing his mug of coffee, he lurched about the ship, landed safely in one of the islands in Cherton III. “Zombie crew,” he mumbled to himself, for as he passed, he saw two more people sleeping on their keyboards, one snoring under the table, the guard holding his rifle on and napping, leaning on the rifle. Rest of the crew- with blank stares, they gazed at their monitors, some tried to do some tests, but failed because their movements were too shaky.
Paseka came to realization that this way, the crew can do more harm to the project and themselves then to bring any benefit. He grabbed the intercom: “This is your captain speaking!”
Few people looked up, but rest were even too tired to look up or pay attention. Or too busy sleeping in their makeshift beds.
“Ehhh,” thought Paseka, lurched into his captain’s chair and pressed a button. The sirens of the ship started wailing and red lights blinking, while the nice female voice of the ship’s computer said loutly and without any emotion: “Red Alert! Red Alert! All crew to their stations! Red Alert! We are under attack!”
This got the attention of the crew well enough. Paseka turned off the alert after a minute and then, once again, spoke to intercom: “This is your captain speaking. You are all ordered to stop whatever you are currently doing and go get some sleep. After 10 hours, we will emerge from the ship and take a swim in the ocean. Then, we have a good strong breakfast- whole pig cooked on a bonfire on the beach. Then, we will get back to work! And this includes everyone”
He took a pause, look at the people from the bridge stumbling away, some relieved, some hesitant. Then, he continued: “This applies to everyone. I will keep watch, you will sleep!”
The crew went to sleep. When they woke up, they heard a terrible noise, coming from the bridge. It was as if monster had taken over. Scientists or not, they were Normans. So, they grabbed guns and prepared to storm the bridge... only to find their beloved Captain sleeping like a log and snoring so loudly. Dead asleep. Not even the crew storming the bridge could not wake him up.
Remembering the Captain’s orders to swim after sleeping, the four crewmembers took Paseka by hands and legs and carried him off the ship. The head of Paseka dangled as he was heaved to the shore and then, with all crew chanting “One! Two! Three! Gooo” he was thrown into fresh, clear waters of Cherton III. That woke him up. Gurgling, he swam back to the surface and showed his fist to the crew, laughing at the same time. The entire crew, now more or less rested, followed him.
Afterwards, they did indeed do a seaside picnic, roasting three entire pigs and drinking some nice cold beer or some nice cocktails for those who were into that stuff.
When they returned to the ship, the anomaly was gone. They did some more scans, but nothing ever showed up in the scanners. Guess the anomaly used the sleep of an entire crew to silently sneak off and no matter how hard they Normans tried, they were not able to find it again.
“Screw that,” was the statement of Paseka. “I will not let my crew to be worked to death over some anomaly. The health of the crew comes first- and there are plenty more anomalies in the universe!”
Important thing is to keep the crew happy
The story of HTV Caldwell and the splash of Paseka (filmed in total 3d holographic vision) became viral. The media was distributing, the people were watching and laughing. This is a good example of how something simple can change the world. The spirits were higher, the people were happier, the production rose. Plus, the Empire took notice and issued an edict that improved the working environment of everyone in the Empire.
Keeping everyone happy
The Music They Make
At the same time, Captain Fang Tan, commanding HTV Mitralexis, explored Chertan System as well. And in Chertan IIa, she discovered something wonderful beyond words. Small arctic world, no sentient life. Nothing special about it. Until the night falls. Then, you see gathering of all species of the world. The ones who hunt and the ones who are hunted. Gathering peacefully. No lives are taken in Chertan IIa during the night.
Fang Tan and HTV Mitralexis did the job though, not Paseka
Fang Tan and their crew members found it out the easy way. Their shuttle had landed, they were preparing to spend the night on the planet. They had set up the perimeter, put up shields and were gathering by campfire, enjoying mug of coffee and resting. Again, it was freezing, but there was no wind and the fire was warm and the Normans were wearing winter gear. It was nice. Then, the sounds started. Few howls first, then followed by the roar, then a chirp. At first, Normans stood up, grabbed their guns, but all the sound was stationary.
It kept going for a few minutes. Then it dawned to a crewmember, physicist named Chris Hauteville-Hadfield: “Bloody hell, listen! They’re singing a tune!”
The others listened and had to agree- the animals were singing a tune. An easy tune too, but kind of captivating. Chris, who picked it up starting whistling the tune on his own.
The Normans cocked their guns, donned their protective gear and moved towards the source of the sound. On foot, cause the shuttle would be making too much noise. It was half a kilometer from the camp. They came upon a clearing. There, they spotted every species they had discovered during the day, plus about three times more of the unknown species. For example, there was something dubbed the snow tiger. White as snow, fangs half a meter in length, claws that can rip your body into half. Nothing to do with Earth tigers, of course, but the name kind of stuck. The tiger was roaring and next to him, there was one of the herbivores, the tigers usual pray. With one swift movement, the tiger could kill the animal and devour him, but it made no such tries. And the herbivore did not seem to be worried at all, but chirped happily and rubbed itself against the snow tiger.
It was again Chrisl who took the initiative. She stepped from the shadows into the clearing, whistling the same tune. The animals paid no attention to him, but continued their noise. Chrisl moved without fear, trusting his gear- and the guns of fellow Normans. If needed, they could clear the clearing with seconds. But there was no need for it. Chris walked next to the tiger and the herbivore, sat down and kept whistling. Few more of the crew followed and sat down. Some whistled, the others went “La-la-la”
The situation was absurd, but the melody was captivating. Again, it was Chris who felt the words coming. He stopped his whistling and started humming. A simple tune, a sad tune about lonely life amongst the stars. Soon, all the humans in the clearing picked it up and sang it together. Few more joined and sat down.
Fang Tan was not one of them. She was overseeing recording equipment with the ship’s xenobiologist.
“There is no chance of this being a natural phenomenon?” she inquired, whispering.
Xenobiologist looked confused: “Most likely, no. At the moment, I see no evolutionary benefits of this behaviour.”
She pointed to another creature in the clearing, also a carnivore, kind of resembling a hybrid of Earth’s fox and wolf. “You see,” she continued. “It is obvious from looking that the creature is starving. Its hunt has has not been so successful lately and if it doesn’t get some prey in the next few days, I’d say it succumbs to starvation.”
“Yet,” she pointed out another creature. “Right next to it, there is an animal that is fit to be its prey.”
“Not is fit, but they are the prey,” she corrected herself. “We observed packs of these beasts, foxwos, as some dimwit already named them, hunting the herbivores during the day.”
“So,” Fang said, thoughtfully. “The fact that the foxwo doesn’t attack, even though it is obviously starving, means that something is overriding the beast’s self-preservation instinct?”
The xenobiologist nodded. “Self-preservation instinct is a powerful thing. This is one thing in common for all the life we have yet encountered. Yet, against all logic, these beasts defy it- in order to sing together.”
“Genetic engineering of sorts? For what purpose?” Fang asked.
“Most likely, yes. Cannot give you reply just yet, but call it an educated guess. I’ll have more results by tomorrow. As for why...” the xenobiologist shrugged “I cannot even guess. A prank? A religious think? A bored alien? Someone with eccentric mind and eccentric music taste.”
Meanwhile, the human chorus and the alien orchestra continued to sing in the clearing. For hours. Until there was still few hours to the dawn. One by one, the animals shut up and left the clearing. Still not attacking each other, but it was obvious that come the dawn, all the bets are off. Finally, it was just snow tiger and the humans, humming in unison. Until, about 30 minutes before the dawn, the tiger stood up and left as well.
The humans marched back to the camp. Ecstatic, but also kind of very confused. They slept through the day and returned the following night. With more equipment, including tracking beacons that were put on the animals. The animals didn’t seem to mind. And of course, there was more singing. Chris singing the lead, the other crewmembers who could hold a tune were background singers and the aliens were an orchestra.
Gathering the data proved difficult, for the humans flat out refused to kill their choir mates, not during the day and especially during the night. Luckily for science, the animals themselves held no such restrictions. Corpses of herbivores, killed by the carnivores, were enough for the Normans to get the information needed.
Indeed, the animals have been genetically modified. To sing at nights. The motives of an alien or alien species doing that in a small arctic moon remain mystery to this day, but the Humans were at least able to reverse-engineer the process. Gaining some valuable information on genetic modifying in the process.
The song sang by Chris and Mitralexis crew and the aliens, aptly named “Space Oddity”, became number one hit in the Hauteville Empire for at least half a year. And it kept itself in top ten for next year to come. The holovid of human choir and alien orchestra singing in unison under the alien sky captivated heart of humans and other aliens in the Empire for centuries to come.
As for Chris, he soon abandoned her career as a physicist and took up singing professionally. He became a star, touring all Hauteville planets and her performances were always sold to the last position. He never forgot her days as an explorer though- and quite a lot of his songs were about the space.
Of things we discovered, this is the weirdest
I'm skipping most of the exploration events now. I find nothing to write about about the fifth towed asteroid or something else like that. They tend to repeat themselves. But occasionally, you get something like this. Something wonderful. And something i've yet to see before. Didn't even plan to stop too closely on these, but couldn't stop writing.
And well, i put the aliens singing David Bowie. Because, why not! Gave credits about lyrics to Chris Hadfield though. And in case you have no clue what i'm talking about, this is about making cover of "Space Oddity" in the coolest place ever music video had been filmed! Feel free to click and enjoy:
Well, that is the price you pay for alliance. Everyone expects you to do their job as well.
And well, two and a half wars thus far done by Normans, and one by allies. I'd say the conquests are doing with quite... early Hauteville speed. Without catharism
Oh, the TV had finally gotten ahead of the book? I'm one of these people who say that screw the rest, make a show about Tyrion Lannister. Never got past the second book and second episode of season I really.
And believe me, they will! Oh, how they will!
And well, i put the aliens singing David Bowie. Because, why not!
Gave credits about lyrics to Chris Hadfield though. And in case you have no clue what i'm talking about, this is about making cover of "Space Oddity" in the coolest place ever music video had been filmed! Feel free to click and enjoy: Well, that is the price you pay for alliance. Everyone expects you to do their job as well.
And well, two and a half wars thus far done by Normans, and one by allies. I'd say the conquests are doing with quite... early Hauteville speed. Without catharism
Oh, the TV had finally gotten ahead of the book? I'm one of these people who say that screw the rest, make a show about Tyrion Lannister. Never got past the second book and second episode of season I really.
And believe me, they will! Oh, how they will!
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