To: The Lane Hackers | From: OIC

[Thexare]

[ Incoming Transmission ]

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Identification: Taskmaster Weaver
Affiliation: Octavarium Intelligence Commission

To: Lane Hacker Professorship

Subject: Getting Your Berings
Encryption: Alarming
Location: The Spider's Watch, Canberra Star City, Tau-44

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I need information about the situation in Bering. And I suspect the situation in Rheinland is directly related.

To get the obvious first thing out of the way, I'm called Weaver. Escher appointed me to run the Commission while he's away on an important special project.

The Unioners contacted us, requesting shipments of cheap electronics to fix their base up. Now I hear Auxesia's attacking them, Liberty's re-blockaded the system, and suddenly it's a crime to haul second-hand parts.

And now I hear the MND are attempting to seize power, the Military's too focused on the Sigmas to do anything about it, and the Auxesians are fielding Hessian tech.

I feel like there's an element missing in this scene, and I don't trust the Union to complete the story. It's hard enough to get a straight answer out of them when they don't have reason to hide the truth, and right now I suspect they do.

Given that they've directly referenced your own participation in the conflict, I thought it prudent to get a second witness's account.

Weaver
Octavarium Intelligence Commission

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[ Transmission Ended ]

[Wolfgang Weisen]

...hack.initiated...connecting.to.Spyglass.Network...decryption.in.progress...
...Emissary.Wolfgang.Weisen.recognized...transmission.encrypted...
...uploading.data...

Greetings Taskmaster Weaver.

it's so good to hear from you again. We feared the worst when Natio's leadership mysteriously disappeared a few months ago. Anyway let's get back to our topic.

The Unioner messages are notorious for containing truths along with exaggerated statements or even outright lies. The goal is always not to inform you but to entice you towards their designs and plans. Subsequently, it was wise for you to check with us before actually believing these people.

Auxesia had recently been barred from House Bretonia for serious crimes and they even fought against a combined SIS and Gaian force in Inverness. Considering they are also barred from Liberty, they became essentially surrounded by enemies or unfriendly entities. We believe the Auxesian NEMP strike against Pacifica Base was an act of desperation from this group not because they have strategic plans for Bering but mainly in order to redeem themselves in the eyes of Liberty and become an allied partner of the Republic.

This attack knocked out most the electronic devices onboard the station and the Unioners are in a great hurry to replace the damage as soon as possible. The Auxesia along with their LSF allies are now enforcing a full embargo on Bering, aiming to stop these deliveries.

Anyway that's the full story. What's interesting however is their claims about BDM orchestrating a coup. I expect that it's another lie, but why would they mention it? I'd suggest pressuring them to reveal any information they supposedly have on it.

...encryption.in.progress...disconnecting.from.network...hack.terminated...

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"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"