THE TERRAN INDEPENDENT
Terra’s Daily Print and Online Source for Trustworthy Planetary News
SATURDAY 10 NOVEMBER | VOLUME IX, ISSUE 314 | WING CITY, TERRA
CHINESE “PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC” SECEDES FROM TERRAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, THREATEN CIVIL WAR
Flag of the People’s Republic of China
General Ta Hun Kwai and former Party Judge Ren Shu Ge broadcast a joint address to the Terran National Government earlier this week announcing the official secession of the People’s Republic of China.
This news comes on the heels of the Aschen withdrawal and the arrival of Union peacekeeping forces after years of war against the Aschen Empire.
“With the closure to the war that has ravaged our beloved homework for the last several years and the withdrawal of the Aschen Imperial Military from the East Asian bloc and the rest of Terra,” said Ge, “the National People's Congress has resolved to declare complete independence from all forms of foreign oppression and imperialism that would ever threaten the Chinese people with economic, political, and cultural subjugation. Aschen occupation is no worse than a single world government that silences the voices and freedoms of the Chinese people.”
Some of the Chinese political leaders
He continued to add, “The glorious Armies of the People's Republic of China are mobilized and stand ready to defend against any encroachments upon our independence and sovereignty. It is time for our people to rise against the shackles of oppression and imperialism and to stake a new claim to our own destiny. We will no longer bow to the dictates of the Western-controlled Terran National Government; we are and forever will be independent and free."
Ge, formerly a judge, has been announced as the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, while Kwai is the nascent state’s military leader. China’s standing army has purportedly been mobilized over the course of the recent war. Ge and Kwai’s address promised retaliation if the TNG should choose not to recognize the Chinese declaration of independence.
Neither the standing military council, which is de facto responsible for running the planet, nor the TNG parliament are expected to recognize the Chinese secession. Some fear civil war, with renowned security scholar Nenad Drulović warning that Ge and Kwai’s speech will lead to an armed standoff with the TNG military that could result in a continuation of war.
DEADLY SARIN ATTACKS IN REFUGEE CAMPS; ASCHEN INSURGENTS SUSPECTED
A series of six sarin attacks have killed close to four hundred and wounded another seven hundred, says a spokesman from the National Police Agency.
The NPA is working with the Military Police and the Directorate of Military Intelligence to investigate the attacks, which may be the work of Aschen insurgents. An NPA official who asked not to be named said that a number of the Aschen former occupation officials have disappeared from the cities and are leading guerrilla-style terrorist attacks against Terran civilians and returning government officials.
Over eight hundred million Terrans have been displaced by the recent war and are currently living in refugee camps across the globe. The attacks targeted major refugee camps, including two in central Europe, three in South America, and one in North Africa.
“We’re just lucky that relatively few people have died,” said Kathryn Pettigrew, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Social Services, which is nominally responsible for overseeing the refugee camps across Terra. “The attacks could have been much worse. We could be talking about thousands of victims. I know it’s not a popular thing to say, and I am truly sorry for those whose loved ones have died, but it can be beneficial to recognize that things could have been worse.”
Long-time TIB Acting Director Ahmad Fazari issued a brief statement to reassure the public that Terra’s intelligence agency has also contributed resources to support the civilian and military investigations into the attacks. The NPA’s spokesman said that the police agency is determined to find those responsible so they can be handed over for prosecution.
DRULOVIĆ RETURNS TO TERRA AFTER PROLONGED ASCHEN IMPRISONMENT AND SABBATICAL ON NIIHAMA
Arianne Drulović, undated file photoAfter years of imprisonment by the Aschen during the war and occupation followed by an extended sabbatical on Niihama, Arianne Drulović has returned home.
At the time of the Aschen invasion, Drulović was one of scores of elected and appointed officials who tenured resignations in protest of surrender to the Aschen Empire. She left Terra’s capital to teach part-time at the University of Texas, Dallas campus. Her daughter, Natalija Drulović, was facing murder charges at the time, and was being held near Dallas. A student in Drulović’s course on international relations said that an Aschen LDA agent interrupted class to take Drulović into custody on unspecified charges.
Drulović was declared missing by the Terran Resistance until the occupational authority later released propaganda posters featuring video stills of Drulović in Aschen custody. The video stills depicted Drulović partially conscious and badly beaten with several severed fingers, and were accompanied by captions warning Terrans against noncooperation with Aschen authorities.
After the release of the propaganda posters with images of Drulović, she disappeared from public view again, leaving many Terrans speculating the fate of the longtime intelligence czar. Some assumed that she had been killed until reports surfaced that Drulović was one of several hundred prisoners freed during an offensive on Ragnaar Anchorage.
Interim TIB Director Ahmad Fazari later confirmed that Drulović had been freed in the Ragnaar battle, and had traveled to Niihama on sabbatical, where she remained for the last few years until the recent Aschen withdrawal. Another source in the Terran military, who asked not to named because he was not permitted to discuss Drulović, said that Drulović was receiving psychiatric treatment on Niihama because her Aschen captors attempted to use brainwashing techniques on Terran prisoners.
“They had them hooked up to these computers,” said the unnamed source. “And the wires, the cables, they were doing something to the prisoners. Some kind of simulation, but they were led to believe it was real. I interviewed three of the freed detainees, and that’s what they all said. They were trapped in a false world.”
Drulović is widely expected to return to her duties leading the TIB within the next few weeks, but official sources have declined to comment.
POLICE REPORT HUGE INCREASE IN “MAGIC BEANS” DRUG ON STREETS
Elysium in vial and needlePolice have been baffled by the sudden rise in Magic Beans sales across Terra.
Otherwise known as Elysium, Masquerade, or Avalon, the drug is a synthetic liquid that can be ingested or injected. Elysium is made with trace elements of several well-known barbiturates, stimulants, and opioids. The drug’s most dramatic effect is a massive increase in the arcane abilities of magic users who take it. Street sources claim that the drug’s manufacturer is an individual known only as Doctor Kenton.
Detox clinics have been flooded with addicts seeking reprieve from their Elysium addictions, while police have reported a significant increase in street calls and routine encounters with individuals under the influence of Elysium. This poses a particular problem for volatile magic users, who may inadvertently or intentionally harm bystanders while using Elysium because of their enhanced arcane abilities.
(OOC: The segment regarding the Chinese secession is a collaboration of a plot between barney_fife and I, and he should serve as the primary contact on that. The segment on the sarin terrorist attacks is a plot from barney_fife, and he’s the primary contact for that plot as well. The bit about Arianne Drulović has been a collaboration between barney_fife and I, and you should contact me with questions or ideas for that plot. The bit about “magic beans” or elysium is about a plot from Rulke.
The images are, in order, from a GIF of the Chinese flag, an article from
Business Insider, a post from
Aaron’s blog on Sinarmas World Academy, a photograph that I took a few years ago, and Rulke’s earlier post about Elysium,
I welcome ideas for involvement and collaboration, so if you are interested, please contact me or the people listed for the correct story.
Also, apologies for any misgivings about the quality of the writing in this post--it’s four a.m. at the moment where I am, and I should stop attempting to write at this hour.)