Greetings,

Some friends of ours have informed the Octavarium Intelligence Commission (and by extension, my office) that the Buro is all that remains from the lawful side of the Bundesrepublik. While, usually, we try to avoid operations in Rheinland dating back to the unpleasantness that unfolded upon us there six years ago, certain elements are in play in the insurrection against the democratic will of the people of Rheinland that we simply cannot sit by and "let God sort them out".

I'm sure the details of the incident I am about to relay to you are available in the Buro archives, but upon the receipt of this new information and the general state of the Imperialist insurrection we have new suspicions as to what actually happened then. Natio Octavarium, whose military forces were then flying the banner of the Vagrant Raiders, were deeply involved with the Vereinigte Widerstandsarmee. I myself was a good friend of Herr Klugmann and our inner circles were very connected. Our then-recently rebuilt flagship was making a long-distance journey to the Dresden system from our then-home in Kansas to meet with the leaders of the various Bundschuh factions including the VWA with the intent of planning the liberation of the people of Rheinland from an increasingly insular government. This meeting occurred at a station in the north end of the Schwefelnebel called Zwickau Depot.

Unfortunately, the location of the meeting and Zwickau were somehow acquired by the Rheinwehr, who seized the opportunity to attempt to eradicate the Bundschuh and Natio leaderships in one swift motion. Our flagship, the Spyglass-class VCS Metropolis, was critically damaged while defending the Bundschuh as they made their escape from Dresden. Curiously absent from what was touted as a significant counter-terrorist action was the Buro, which we now believe means that the Rheinwehr acted on their own with no Buro involvement or even knowledge of the operation. The battle resulted in the Metropolis' subframe being weakened beyond any future combat capability, but the Bundschuh survived. Not long after, the Rheinwehr sent in a fleet of what we now believe to be proto-Imperialist battleships to mercilessly destroy Zwickau Depot, leaving behind only a debris field that can still be flown through to this day, and a motto of solidarity and allegiance: "Remember Zwickau."

We have heard that in the past few months the Buro had been working to legitimize the Bundschuh movement in the eyes of the government. Between that and our dear friends seeming to vouch for the goodness of the modern Buro and its commitment to the people instead of the corporations and the oligarchs, I would like to take a moment to say that I and the Natio as a whole appreciate there being an element remaining from the lawful side of the Bundesrepublik that fights for good.

We have also been informed that the Imperialists are being propped up in the underworld by everyone's favourite wordy turncoat, Corin Frei, and his syndicate of Unioners. It seems that then we owe you an apology for making your lives somewhat more difficult, as we had once been tricked by the Unioners into believing that they were in fact working in the interests of the people of Rheinland. And, as such, we would like to express our support for the restoration of the Federal Republic of Rheinland, and say that if there is anything that the Natio's military logistics corps can do for you, please let us know.

Yours in remembering Zwickau,
Taskmaster-Adjutant Harold Kane
Natio Octavarium

Herr Müller,

Apologies if I have offended you. Some of my sources are... a bit out of date on the state of affairs in eastern Sirius, it seems. I was informed that the Military had effectively given up and reverted to a pre-Eighty Years War state, you see. As for the Bretonians, I believe they have their hands full chasing Zoners out of the Omegas or whatever it is they're up to these days. Who ever decided that "Nottingham" was a good name for a planet anyways?

Hmm. I've been used to speaking with wordy political types for so long that I've forgotten how to be succinct.

Our nation's major state organizations specialize in two things: Military logistics and saving lives. There are many in the Imperialist movement who likely remember the so-called acts of "terrorism" we committed -- in reality, the mere act of existing in the vicinity of a pro-social democratic movement. Helping to restore the Federal Republic to power would undoubtedly save millions of people from needlessly dying in Rheinland, and would also probably keep some of our own people alive while their outside our borders. But our history as "terrorists" has another asset: the ability to move critical supplies and other important cargo without being seen. No checkpoints, no intercepts. One might even call it smuggling.

Of course, the global motivation: Destabilization helps no one, and anti-populist insurrections not only destabilize the region they're in but the entire sector. If one bunch pulls it off, others will try elsewhere. Sirius has barely finished up one existential war. We do not need another.

Now of course, there's always a catch, right? Well, ours is simple. Much more reliable sources than those referenced above have said that the Unioners were operating hand-in-hand with the Imperial military. One might even use the term "allies". Considering their recent history with the people (and lack of concern for them, especially when noxious gases are involved) and their general focus being outside Rheinland proper, I am interested in knowing how deep that goes. When the Unioners were genuine they were at worst a nuisance, sometimes even useful idiots, but if the perpetrators of the Alster massacre are now getting handsy with the Imperialists, well...

In late 825, their operations in Bering resulted in a conflict with Libertonian separatists that escalated to the Unioners deciding the safest action would be to play "shot for shot" with them using thermonuclear station-buster warheads. They effectively executed this with insider information that they had once volunteered their knowledge of very candidly in the very second message they sent to us about their knowledge of the internal structures of one of the separatists' stations. They were very willing to put civilians in danger to further their ideological goals from the get-go, and the motormouth that is their leader used his endless blathering to conceal it.

Corin Frei has potentially sensitive information my fledgling nation's assets, including our capital station. I need to know where he is.

Warm regards,
Taskmaster-Adjutant Harold Kane
Natio Octavarium

PS: How's your war chest holding up? The Ministry of Relations could make a donation.

Generaloberinspektor,

The uncovering of such a scheme by the Imperial Party is shocking. Political conniving, you would expect that to be standard, but attempted assassination of federal agents? They clearly had no intent to attempt to win the people over through even the faintest whiff of legitimate means. God only knows how long they've been planning a strike like this...

I'm sure we can have a statement published shortly. And in the meantime, I'll send the order down to Fleet Logistics to help with the relief effort. Standard humanitarian support packages -- we do this often enough to have a standard, yes -- wil lbe en route to Weimar directly. From one survivor to another, Herr Müller: the people of Rheinland will live, and the Natio will help you ensure that the Federal Republic is fully restored from border to border.

For Rheinland,
Taskmaster-Adjutant Harold Kane
Natio Octavarium