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+--- Thread: Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. (/showthread.php?tid=44248)
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Igiss - 07-21-2010
Development of Discovery Freelancer 4.86 is still underway. I must admit that this summer was not the most active for our development team so far, but we are making significant progress, and in a month or so should be able to show you much more of what we actually got.
Meanwhile, we continue to post the storyline parts of 4.86 to inform you of the changes that await in the next mod version. This one is about the events that are going to happen in Kusari in 818 A.S., and about the state of Kusari factions. After getting involved into a brief but devastating conflict with Gallia, there was a coup in New Tokyo which put an end to the former government's militaristic policy. With its economy in deep crisis and its military power compromised by two wars, Kusari barely had forces to defend its own borders. New Kusari leaders did not only rush signing a truce with Bretonia, but also attempted to establish trade relations with Gallia.
You can find our first storyline announcement (dedicated to Gallia invading the Tau systems) by following this link.
To access the story post from the forum's front page or from the website, use the following link:
Discovery 4.86: Kusari in 818 A.S.
If you are browsing the forum, you should see it already as a second post of this thread (after this introduction). Feel free to comment and share your opinions!
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Igiss - 07-21-2010
Outline
In the beginning of 818 A.S. Kusari was building up to launch a full-scale assault on the Bretonian Derby and Leeds Planetary Fleets in an attempt to prepare the way for a ground invasion. The Emperor and Shogun traveled to Stokes Station to begin finalizing the plan in early 818 A.S. However, Bretonian raids against their supply convoys had slowed their force buildup, and when the rapid advance of Gallic fleets delayed their plans still further, the Kusari command, with the two most powerful men in Kusari trapped in Bretonia, put its offensive on hold, redirecting most of its forces towards Tau-31 where Gallia was thought to be heading.
Kusari underestimated the power of Gallic forces that would get to Tau-31. When Gallia demanded the full withdrawal of all Sirius military forces from Tau-31, Kusari decided to buy some time to bring in more reinforcements and possibly bargain a deal with Gallia to attack Bretonia in one joint strike. The diplomatic efforts of Kusari failed to achieve any success. Soon after, Kusari refused to submit to a second ultimatum from Gallia. The Kusari Shogun chose not to wait for Gallia to start a war, and, quite surprisingly, the first Sirius House to declare war on Gallia was Kusari. Some of the Naval Forces commanders considered this decision to be suicide, and they were proved to be right.
Kusari fought fearlessly, but they were outnumbered and outgunned by Gallic fleets that brought in newly equipped ships and well-trained crews. The delay caused by the Kusari attempt at negotiations was in fact very useful for the Royal Navy, since it allowed them to bring up additional forces from Gallia and establish reliable supply lines through Tau-23. Gallia suffered heavy casualties in some of the first battles that took place near the Tau-29 Jump Gate at the hands of the battle-hardened Kusari veterans, but casualties of Kusari were still higher than those of the enemy, and Kusari did not manage to win a single large-scale battle in this war. Throughout these months, four attempts were made to get the Emperor and Shogun back to Kusari, the last attempt using the Newcastle to Tau 31 jumphole, the Satsuma Imperial Yacht was forced to withdraw into the Newcastle Nebula, where it took position, hiding from the Gallic forces, awaiting the next chance to break out and make it back to Kusari.
During the promising war with Bretonia, the popularity of the Emperor and his militaristic government led by the Shogun had steadily increased among the Kusari general public. Now, however, as the tides of war turned against Kusari, the popularity of the House's leaders declined far below pre-war values. The Democratic Party of Kusari backed by Kishiro and led by Kato Takahashi and Shimura Yokitara used the situation and the abscence of the Emperor and Shogun out fighting in Bretonia to seize power from the Emperor at the end of 818 A.S.
One of the first consequences of the coup was an attempt to establish contact with the Bretonian government and discuss the terms for an armistace. Bretonia agreed, and Kusari could now use their ships stationed in Leeds to counter the Gallic onslaught. Unfortunately, it was too late at this point, and the ships that came to Tau-31 could only hope to escape Gallic warships and make it through to Tau-29. Soon the gateway from Leeds to Tau-31 was blocked by a Gallic fleet so large that none of the remaining Kusari ships had a chance of getting through alive. Enraged by the deaths of thousands of Kusarians in Tau-31, they swore an oath to fight Gallia to the last drop of their blood. From this point onwards they would unite with their former foes of the Bretonian Armed Forces in building up defences and asteroid field bases in Leeds and Newcastle.
Some of the Kusari Naval Forces who escaped to Tau-29 and Kyushu were anxious to take revenge on Gallia as well, and to rescue their brethren left behind in Bretonia. However, their new commanders had other plans. Since Gallia had announced Liberty and Bretonia to be its only rivals in Sirius, the new Kusari government chose to enter into secret negotiations with Gallia. The House would withdraw most of its ships back to Kyushu, and no major battles between Gallia and Kusari took place from this moment onwards. After some minor skirmishes in the Tau-29 system that hardly cost any lives from either side, Gallia gained control of a large part of Tau-29.
Kusari now reported that the overwhelming aggression of Gallia did not leave the House any other choice than to sue for peace. This was Kusari’s justification to Bretonia and the rest of Sirius for ending the war. (We cannot really blame Kusari since this justification would certainly prove a real one if Kusari were to bring its remaining exhausted forces to defend Tau-29). Kusari signed a peace treaty with Gallia in which Kusari would renounce any claims or plans of expansion in Tau sector, and acknowledge the Tau-29 system to be a buffer zone between the two Houses that would allow only minimal military and police presence to provide security for traders and civilians. Also, Kusari corporate traders were the first of all four "official" Houses who were allowed to purchase special passages and come to Gallic systems to trade with Gallic companies.
In the meantime, Kusari starts to re-establish its relations with Bretonia that were severely damaged by the war, and to develop closer ties to Rheinland and Liberty. Whilst relations with Gallia have now also improved, both parties remember the Tau-31 events, and there are no true guarantees that the war will not affect Kusari again. Also during this time, the former Emperor completes his consolidation of command of the KNF remnant forces stranded in Bretonia. These forces, who have begun to refer to themselves as the Ronin, are still loyal to the old Shogun and Emperor continue to fight alongside the Bretonians against the never ending Gallic advance.
Factions
Kusari Naval Forces
After Gallic forces appeared in Tau-31 and did not simply agree to join Kusari in their Bretonia offensive, many in the Kusari high command started to suspect the worst: Gallia wanted the victory to be its own, without any third parties involved. The demands of Gallia regarding the Tau sector were considered extremely offensive by Kusari, since it meant that the war that had cost dozens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of credits was effectively fought in vain. Negotiations between Kusari and Gallia were mostly conducted by military commanders, with only minor participation of diplomats and civilian representatives. In those negotiations, brute military force was considered the only convincing argument, and both parties were eventually so enraged with each other that it was hardly possible to avoid a full-blown war. Kusari offensive operations in Leeds had stopped by that moment, and Bretonia, aware of what may be happening in Tau-31, did not attempt to counter-attack Kusari. Instead, Bretonia tried to reach a ceasefire agreement with the enemy, but those attempts were proudly ignored by New Tokyo.
In the beginning, Kusari was attempting to drag out the talks in order to organize its defenses; in the end, Gallia was doing the same to bring more reinforcements from Orkney. When Gallia came up with its final ultimatum of full Kusari withdrawal from Tau systems, including even Tau-29, and started to spread its fighters through Tau-31 to surround Kusari military targets, the Kusari Shogun Sulu was convinced that he had no other choice than to declare war on Gallia. Gallia attacked immediately afterwards, using the declaration of war as a proof of hostile intentions of the Houses of Sirius, further explaining why massive presence of Gallic military forces in Sirius is necessary to protect Gallia’s national interests.
In a matter of weeks the Kusari Naval Forces lost most of its battleships in Tau-31. Gallia used conservative battle tactics and gradually eliminated any resistance, although Kusari were able to outflank Gallia on a number of occasions and inflict heavy losses. Several thousand people were killed in those first few weeks of cruel fighting, and Kusari lost more than during a whole year of fights with Bretonia. The situation looked so grim that even the most conservative Naval Forces commanders advocated a truce with Bretonia that could allow the remaining Kusari forces in Tau-31 to escape to Leeds. Yet the Emperor refused to concede defeat and was soon overthrown by a group of politicians covertly backed by Kishiro and some of the Navy commanders. Their first action was to enter armistace negotiations with New London, and in a matter of days the war between Kusari and Bretonia was over.
The Kusari Naval Forces officers were not quite unanimous about the orders to cease hostilities with Bretonia. By 818 A.S., Kusari did consider Bretonians to be formidable and respected opponents, yet the war had brought so many casualties to both sides that neither of the belligerents could think of forgetting, or forgiving, the events of four previous years. The attack of Gallia changed the situation to some extent, because now the two parties had one common foe. The Kusari Naval Forces already had to retreat to Leeds by that point, and shortly afterwards, the route through Tau-31 was completely blocked by Gallia. The cut-off Kusari forces had no other choice than to unite with the Bretonian Armed Forces and build up defences in the asteroid fields of Leeds and Newcastle.
After the surviving Kusari ships left Tau-31 for good, the new government of Kusari, realizing the drastic economic situation and public unrest over the war failures, chose to turn down the useless hostilities with Gallia in secret from Bretonia. The KNF remnants that remained in Bretonia were not aware of this decision, although many were surprised with how easily the conflict came to stall. These forces quickly lost faith in the new government and pledged their allegence to the Emperor in the fight against the Gallic Forces. Also, many of those who retreated back to Kusari accused the government of leaving behind their brethren in Bretonia. However, given the guarantees of safety provided by Bretonia, and the situation in Taus that made any further fighting with Gallia a suicide, their voices are hardly loud enough to change the situation.
Kusari State Police
The Police was subject to some cleaning up after the change of government, with corrupt officers increasingly eager to take Bretonian property and ships for their own needs removed from the organization. Yet, even after the change of Shogun, relations with Blood Dragons and other criminal groups did not get any better. In fact, Samura-aided Farmers Alliance became increasingly active in many Kusari systems, causing a lot of trouble for Kishiro and some of the foreign corporations.
Kusari Corporations
Despite the fact that Kishiro now has a more influential lobby in the government, this corporation was also subject to huge financial losses due to decline in Liberty trade and detrimental government contracts on military ship building. Samura faces a much better financial situation, but it has become political opposition, a special kind of “government within the government”. While the groups of influence for Kishiro and Samura battle for benefits, loans, and government contracts on rebuilding the severely reduced Kusari Naval Forces, both kereitsu use methods of competition that can hardly be called honorable or legit; in some cases, the Farmers Alliance, Hogosha, and Golden Chrysanthemum attacks are specifically targeted against shipments of one corporation, while the convoys of the other are simply ignored and allowed to pass through.
Blood Dragons
Both Samura and Kishiro are interested in not allowing any political lobby for the Blood Dragons into the Kusari elite. Therefore, the political goals that the Dragons pursue are still far from being achieved.
The deterioration in Outcast relations means that the Dragons receive less military support than before, and the return of what remained of the Kusari Navy from Tau into the core systems makes any operations within Kusari itself far more risky. There are some speculations that the government will try to reduce the tensions in the Navy, partly caused by their bitterness over the failure of the war against Bretonia, by ordering a large-scale offensive against the Blood Dragons in Chugoku with their remaining fleets, but this information remains only rumors for now.
Golden Chrysanthemum
The role of GC in smuggling Cardamine had gradually increased since the start of the Bretonia-Kusari war, when passing through Tau-31 became a risky business. Cardamine routes were redirected through Kusari, and the GC took a much larger share of the profits than before, allowing the organization to expand considerably.
Now, as Gallic advances in Taus turn the whole sector into a mess, the Outcasts are redirecting some of their Cardamine supplies to Taus. The Council, and especially the lawful planets of Gallia, could also prove to be a great market for the drug that the Gallians have never tried before.
Hogosha
Most of the Hogosha representatives in the Kusari government are now enjoying their time in jail, awaiting trial. The influence of Hogosha in the government has reduced considerably, although Samura, and sometimes even Kishiro, does address the organization to sort out the problems generated by some of the less legal forms of business in Kusari. Meanwhile, the Hogosha are still considerably involved in the artifact trade, and the fact that the Sigma sector has became safer than before has been very good for their business.
In addition to that, Gallic institutions and researchers have shown great interest in purchasing a wide array of alien artifacts, since very few of those ever reached Gallia before. Artifact prices in the Core Words of Gallia are quite high, and the fact that Kusari traders are now allowed to trade with Gallia makes it much easier for Hogosha to smuggle goods into the House, where the artifact trade has not been explicitly declared illegal – yet. It is rumored that the Hogosha were contacted by the Unione Corse representing some shady powers in the Gallic government that are particularly interested in gaining access to Nomad artifacts. The presence of Junkers in Gallia doesn’t make things easier, but a direct artifact route from Kusari to Gallia could be an extremely profitable enterprise for the faction.
Farmers Alliance
The wealth of the Farmers Alliance is largely dependent on the wealth of Samura. Despite Liberty not being too strict in enacting any embargo of Kusari trade during the Bretonia-Kusari War, the Bretonian blockade coupled with political sensitivities and the activity of Bretonian privateers meant that Synth Foods could no longer deliver as much of its products to New Tokyo as it did before. While Liberty officials and insurance companies absorbed some of the losses from trade reduction, Samura lost the most, and few Synth Foods convoys could pass through Kusari without being attacked by the Farmers Alliance.
Meanwhile, food production on Kyushu is on the rise: the war required additional supplies and demand for traditional food increased when Synth Foods started to raise its prices.
Ronin
When the new Kusari government withdrew their combat forces from the Taus, a significant force was trapped behind the Gallic lines. As their desperation grew, the Kusari remnants looked for a leader. The former Kusari Emperor, who had been trapped in Bretonia at the beginning of the Gallic war stepped to the front and took command of the KNF forces trapped in Bretonia. Under the Emperor’s command, these forces, now referring to themselves as the Ronin, are small in numbers, comprising some 5 battleships, 10 Destroyers and 25 Gunboats and a handful of fighter and bomber wings. While they don't pose a serious threat to Gallic forces in Tau-31, they have a potential to become an important part of Bretonia's defense during the forthcoming war.
Written by Igiss and Zelot, proofreading by Zelot.
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Aftyn - 07-21-2010
' Wrote:Outline
Hogosha
Most of the Hogosha representatives in the Kusari government are now enjoying their time in jail, awaiting trial. The influence of Hogosha in the government has reduced considerably, although Samura, and sometimes even Kishiro, does address the organization to sort out the problems generated by some of the less legal forms of business in Kusari. Meanwhile, the Hogosha are still considerably involved in the artifact trade, and the fact that the Sigma sector has became safer than before has been very good for their business.
In addition to that, Gallic institutions and researchers have shown great interest in purchasing a wide array of alien artifacts, since very few of those ever reached Gallia before. Artifact prices in the Core Words of Gallia are quite high, and the fact that Kusari traders are now allowed to trade with Gallia makes it much easier for Hogosha to smuggle goods into the House, where the artifact trade has not been explicitly declared illegal yet. It is rumored that the Hogosha were contacted by the Unione Corse representing some shady powers in the Gallic government that are particularly interested in gaining access to Nomad artifacts. The presence of Junkers in Gallia doesnt make things easier, but a direct artifact route from Kusari to Gallia could be an extremely profitable enterprise for the faction.
No....just no....in what way does this make sense? 2 different mafias working together!? I do not approve!...And I'm in BDS, and LaBrise!...And we dont approve either!
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Cond0r - 07-21-2010
' Wrote:and in a month or so should be able to show you much more of what we actually got.So, this means that we shouldn't expect the new version for about two more months, k.
' Wrote:No....just no....in what way does this make sense? 2 different mafias working together!? I do not approve!...And I'm in BDS, and LaBrise!...And we dont approve either!You must have mistaken Discovery with a community that makes sense.:P
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Zelot - 07-21-2010
' Wrote:No....just no....in what way does this make sense? 2 different mafias working together!? I do not approve!...And I'm in BDS, and LaBrise!...And we dont approve either!
Different "Mafias" work together all the time to gain access to markets and goods they would not otherwise have.
Edit: You have to understand, if the Royals want Artifacts to research how are they supposed to get them? The only house that they can deal with is Kusari, and the Hogosha are in Kusari, and the largest movers of Artifacts in Sirius. It makes sense that these groups would work together toward the goal of suppling the UC's customers.
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Kubotan - 07-21-2010
' Wrote:No....just no....in what way does this make sense? 2 different mafias working together!? I do not approve!...And I'm in BDS, and LaBrise!...And we dont approve either!
I'm in the Yakuza and I approve two different mafias working together if it means we can have some stronger Role-Play relationship with a faction that is not operating within Kusari. Something we desperately need as a Faction.
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Death.RunningVerminator - 07-21-2010
I disagree with what the Blood Dragon's future should be.. I think it would be more reasonable for them to start doing large scale attacks on the KNF, since they're already extremely weak.
Meh.
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - fencore - 07-21-2010
I look forward to the new version more and more. As an active member of the GRP, this is most definitely going to provide increased roleplay opportunity within and around Gallia, which is always a good thing.
As a Zoner, I worry for Freeport 10.:P
Good stuff. It looks like a lot of us who have characters in the area are going to really have to adjust to the new arrangement, but it could be a lot of fun if people get into it. I really like the idea of the Ronin too, for some reason. I could see that getting really interesting, especially once the other houses figure out the dealings Kusari has made with Gallia.
Possible non-recognization of the new Kusari government and support for the old government?
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Aftyn - 07-21-2010
What makes this a Good idea?
Don't we have enough Hogosha?
Are the UC just a copy of the Hogosha with a coat of French Paint?
Discovery 4.86 Storyline: Kusari in 818 A.S. - Zelot - 07-21-2010
' Wrote:"Theres not enough Room in Gallia for 2 Mafias..."
I dont think the Hogosha will be "Operating" in Gallia, more like dropping off cargo and leaving.