The Phyre and The Phraud
Welcome back to another exciting episode of DISASTEROID! – keeping you on the Human Edge of your seat. I’m your host, Walter Featherly. This is the news.
First, headlines from around the Sphere.
It was announced today that a Yu Jing special military unit, Recon Platoon Detachment 42, has received a full pardon from the Imperial Service. Investigating officer Hsien Peng Huizhong noted that their exemplary service had been overshadowed by baseless accusations and welcomed the so called Tundra Wolves home.
A Porto Interplanetário spokesperson reports that missing operations manager Jolene Sandoval was not, in fact, kidnapped, but had been absent due to a system error that had failed to register a leave request submitted by Ms. Sandoval. The port authorities emphasized their gratitude for the support of local Nomad forces conducting search and rescue operations and their relief that a valued member of the team was returned to them unharmed.
O-12 is currently suspending parking enforcement while agents recover from an riot stopper incident that hospitalized key personnel. While endorsement is currently paused, the acting commissioner’s office informed DISASTEROID that fines will still accrue on new and unpaid violations. They also included a public safety announcement that adhesive foam is, in fact, not edible.
The O-12 civilian transport O-12S Golden Lake was found disabled en route to End of the Line Station. According to rescuers, not all passengers are yet accounted for. There are no further details on what befell the ship at this time.
The Dashit Company, not to be confused with the Boylik owned Dahshat Company, has announced new regulations for xenoform patients at Averroes hospitals. Morat Aggression Force commanders, alleging humancentric bias have vowed to “die first and take those bastards with them” before accepting the revised admissions protocols.
Shasvastii representatives have announced the deployment of their “Shrouded” Pioneer Corps to begin construction of appropriate bath house facilities after members of the Expeditionary Force were barred from entering established recreational districts and O-12 established a ban on trench digging in general habitation units. An anonymous Jayth was quoted as saying “We’re going to build our own bath houses, with blackjack and hookers.” I’m unrelated news, stocks in biometric visor manufacturers has skyrocketed.
The vessel Samsara’s Wheel, flagged for convenience under the independent Greater Japan, has released a four hour long holo feed of gravel being raked into whorls and ripples reminiscent of water flowing through a sieve. This was followed by a seven minute clip of a medium sized TAG with a barbed and swooping datemono firing a Moto.Tronica heavy machine gun into the corpse of Stoorworm. Soft voiceover intones a question and a threat—”What is the sound of one hand clapping? Kyojin and enemies of the Emperor beware.” More developments to follow.
The Paradiso based Reap and Sow agricultural company has announced plans to open a grain silo and food processing plant on HuEOS 289, to shore up food security and assist with relief efforts in the Human Edge.
The Ariadna Workers Union would like to remind all parties that offering milk bones to suspected dog faces is not considered inclusive workplace behavior. But no one minds being told they’re a good boy now and again.
The Union of Concerned Xenotechs has released a study suggesting that the ubiquitous cave ducks of the nephews cluster show signs of being an artificially designed lifeform. Tohaa scientists from the remnants of their stranded Errant Fleet, who are still present in the Human Sphere, deny any involvement.
The PanOceanian government has issued a statement rejecting any dispute to their title to 1777 Du-ε, noting that possession is nine tenths of the law and the warship full of Santiago Knights they have dispatched to secure their claim is the final tenth to eradicate all doubt.
ALEPH has confirmed that an anomalous reading in the Sol System detected by the Eye of Hipparchus is indeed a wormhole opening. Dubbed Abraxas by Bureau Tiandi, analysts caution that excitement should be tempered by the low probability of a stable wormhole combined with a habitable planet worthy of significant exploration and development.
Now, for our feature presentation.
If Svalarheima is the Snowball of Discord, then the trinary planetoids of HuEOS 289, LuY 911 and 1777 Du-ε might well be the Ping Pong Balls of Discontent. Things have heated up recently, with the much ballyhooed Phyre festival seizing the imagination of jetset starlets and meteorheads alike. Was it only flimflam or an earnestly failed attempt to spice up Whole Protein’s snackyard with interplanetary culture? Our correspondent Barbara Crackshell reports.
Thank you Walter. I’m here at the site of what can only be called one of the greatest bait and switches ever dared. A musical festival billed with some of the top acts of our day is a smoldering ruin, and it has nothing to do with the after party. Local sources report that a Steindrage, one of the apex predator’s of Dawn’s Khurland region, was released last month as part of a stunt to raise the stakes on the illegal Triphammer dueling that takes place here between prospectors. But sources from O-12 allege that insufficient safety and containment protocols are to blame for that megabeast’s ultimate escape. Dewey’s Spaceport Hub number three became the preferred hunting ground for this menace, which claimed several luxury shuttles and no few passengers as part of its meal. Early reports suggest that among the wreckage lies GoGo Marlene’s own racing pinnace. Sources at MayaNet and Oxyd refuse to comment on their star presenter’s whereabouts at this time.
Accusations from the StateEmpire currently blame two key individuals for the utter chaos that has consumed 1777 Du-ε. Samantha Ether Moneylady-Harboil of FZX and Cynthia Edgeworth of Colonnade Financial Solutions are wanted by the ISS for interrogation about their roles in using complex real estate and cryptocurrency schemes to funnel money to Japanese linked extremist groups. Bureau Aegis has issued a red notice on behalf of the StateEmpire and Bureau Ganesha has frozen trading of BitCreds pending a forensic examination into the balance sheet at FZX. Markets in Turoqua have taken a dive as these allegations have roiled financial markets across the Sphere. Stocks in Whole Protein have cratered, with the high profile acquisition of 1777 Du-ε now in dispute and almost certainly headed to Concilium Courts for arbitration.
If that situation weren’t dire enough, Rocaworks and Sterling Forge are reporting severe damage to their facilities from a wild Stoorworm stalking the ammonia mines of LuY 911. Analysts are predicting a shortage of monosodium glutamate as the Ariadna Workers Union and their counterparts in UTRACO have announced work stoppages until Whole Protein can guarantee worker safety. Recovery of affected miners has been hampered by reports of a rampaging Gurlanak at the Averroes Hospital Campus. Combined Army aspects in this region have declined to comment on whether the Morat Agression Force is responsible for the release of this dreaded Ugarat predator.
The megabeast infestation is only the latest development in the low level conflict that has engulfed the planetoids for the past six months. Reports of black ops teams and deniable operations performed at the behest of the G-5 powers have proliferated in Arachne and bled into Maya faster than ALEPH can purge the questionable memetic propaganda. The Phyre Festival was billed as a way to move past the acrimony and find something to celebrate among the various peoples of the Human Edge. But just as the Geological Conference that preceeded it devolved into a brawl, it would seem that the baser instincts of the organizers have prevailed. There has been a lot of smoke—but we have yet to see the Phyre.
As senior representatives for the G-5 nations convene here at the behest of O-12 for a negotiated end to the conflict that has gripped the triplets Huey, Dewey, and Louie, observers are not sure if this signals an end to the conflict or merely the next stage in escalation. Back to you, Walter.
Thank you, Barbara. Our hearts go out to the victims of these vicious attacks. I am hearing from the producers that we do have some late breaking news to add to our feature report. Forces aligned with the Nomad Nation are claiming to have apprehended Samantha Ether Moneylady-Hardboil. Already we have received statements from the StateEmpire demanding extradition of a wanted criminal and from PanOceanian requesting access to FZX internal records to validate the smart contract that underlies the purchase of 1777 Du-ε. It seems that if anything, the capture of the alleged fraudster may only further stoke tensions between the great powers.
And that’s the news for tonight, brought to you by the Ducktail Pub. Ducktail Pub, sorry if we’ve ruffled your feathers but that’s what we’re paid to do. If you don’t like it, pay more than your competitors.
I’ve been Walter Featherly. Special thanks to Barbara Crackshell for her report. This has been DISASTEROID! You may think the Human Edge is only rocks and someone else’s problems, but when the truth hits you, it hits like a DISASTEROID!
November Results
The action in 2024 wound down quietly relative to earlier in the year, as to be expected as we entered the winter holidays. However, we prize quality over quantity and our players delivered phenomenal batreps and tied up some fictional loose ends while unraveling some new threads. More to come on what’s next, but let’s first take stock on where we’ve come so far.
Raw Results
| Faction | Games | OP | Losses | Secret |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA-2 | 4 | 12 | 449 | 1 |
| Nomads | 3 | 11 | 180 | 2 |
| PanOceania | 1 | 8 | 50 | 0 |
| ALEPH | 1 | 6 | 57 | 1 |
| Haqqislam | 2 | 5 | 321 | 1 |
| O-12 | 1 | 4 | 74 | 1 |
| Yu Jing | 1 | 3 | 229 | 0 |
| Combined Army | 1 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
Adjusted Results
| Faction | Games | OP | Losses | Secret | Bonus Mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomads | 4 | 15 | 355 | 2 | 1 |
| NA-2 | 3 | 12 | 271 | 1 | 1 |
| PanOceania | 1 | 8 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| ALEPH | 1 | 6 | 57 | 1 | 1 |
| Yu Jing | 2 | 7 | 281 | 0 | 0 |
| Haqqislam | 2 | 5 | 321 | 1 | 1 |
| Combined Army | 2 | 6 | 227 | 1 | 0 |
| O-12 | 1 | 4 | 74 | 1 | 0 |
Turns out the the AI Historian is a Svengali cluster, and its Saeligs and Zeldas have awarded the month of November to the Nomads! As a result, they are currently “in possession” of FZX’s Samantha Ether Moneyball-Hardboil. All complaints about the results may be submitted to Officer Terrance, whose adhesive foam bloated corpse is located in a sink hole somewhere nearby…
But in all transparency, there are two adjustments that have flipped the results—the first (and most meaningful) is a ForCo game that was played on behalf of Nomads. The second was a Yu Jing vs. Combined game that was submitted late but we opted to include. Combined with the bonus mission (Headhunter), we arrive at the adjusted objective point totals for the final month.
However, November is only a part of the story.
| Faction | Games | OP | Losses | Secret |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yu Jing | 41 | 196 | 6483 | 11 |
| Combined Army | 41 | 181 | 6148 | 12 |
| Haqqislam | 33 | 174 | 5017 | 10 |
| Nomads | 38 | 154 | 5404 | 8 |
| PanOceania | 20 | 100 | 2800 | 3 |
| Aleph | 18 | 96 | 2134 | 9 |
| Ariadna | 15 | 86 | 2447 | 6 |
| O-12 | 15 | 62 | 2527 | 2 |
| NA-2 | 10 | 48 | 1076 | 2 |
| Tohaa | 5 | 26 | 545 | 1 |
Despite the purchase of Dewey by PanOceania and the infiltration of the Combined Army, the StateEmpire emerged as the most victorious party to the conflict, clearing away the next closest competitor by 15 points. While a lot of Kuangshi died to secure this victory, it was well worth it in the eyes of the Jade Dragon. The top position is not surprising here—Yu Jing won two of our five months and was in the top three another two months, while Combined won one month and was first runner up once as well. They could take it easy in November given how well they had done from July until October.
While the Yutang celebrates its dominance in the sector, one cannot help but notice that in terms of securing faction objectives, it was the Combined Army that emerged ahead of Yu Jing. Could it be that once more the Evolved Intelligence has allowed humanity to believe that it has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat while its unseen machinations continue to fester in the background, only emerging when it is time to upend the status quo and advance its enigmatic goals? Only time will tell…
Some other notes of interest, in terms of efficiency (most OP per games played), Ariadna has secured the most value for its efforts (5.7 pts/game) while the Nomad Nation struggled to extract value across its diffuse efforts (<4.1 pts/game). In terms of blood price (most losses per objective), O-12 paid the most in blood and Terrances (41 VP) for its points while the Tohaa (also present) preserved as much of the errant fleet per OP as possible (21 VP).
So what were the rivalries? Yu Jing and Combined Army were the main event as is befitting first and second place. Perhaps most interesting there is that Combined won the head to head, but dropped points against other factions where Yu Jing picked them up. Combined certainly had a target on their back through phase one. They were the top opponent for Yu Jing, Nomads, and Haqqislam and tied for top among ALEPH and Ariadna. Perhaps the Human Sphere is more united than we believe ourselves to be?
Note that this table double counts total games played in order to count each game for both sides:
| Games Played | ALEPH | Ariadna | Combined Army | Dahshat Company | Foreign Company | Haqqislam | JSA | Nomads | O-12 | PanOceania | Spiral Company | StarCo | Tohaa | White Company | Yu Jing | Total |
| ALEPH | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | |||||||||
| Ariadna | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | ||||||||
| Combined Army | 5 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 41 | ||||||||
| Dahshat Company | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Foreign Company | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Haqqislam | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 33 | ||||||
| JSA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Nomads | 2 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 36 | ||||||
| O-12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 | ||||||||||
| PanOceania | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | |||||||
| Spiral Company | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| StarCo | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tohaa | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| White Company | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Yu Jing | 1 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 39 | |||||
| Total | 18 | 15 | 41 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 6 | 36 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 236 |
But let’s not pretend that the great powers achieved their objectives through the grit, determination, and patriotism of their own troops. In the underhanded world of Infinity where black ops and plausible deniability are the modus operandi of the great powers, love of money gets you further than love of country in these realpolitik brawls. And the fine vultures mallards of the Ducktail Pub have been working their tail feathers off to profit from these cynical maneuvers.
| Faction | NA2 | Games |
|---|---|---|
| NA-2 | Dahshat Company | 1 |
| NA-2 | Foreign Company | 2 |
| Nomads | Foreign Company | 1 |
| NA-2 | JSA | 1 |
In terms of November, NA-2 actually led the pack for games played, and as above placed first in terms of OP before adjustment for contracts. Among NA-2 factions, JSA was first, which foreshadows their promotion to a full fledged faction.
As far as the overall campaign, JSA maintained their lead for most games played, accounting for a third of all games. Second was Dahshat Company and together the top two NA-2 accounted for over half of the non aligned armies’ activity. Ikari was the most cutthroat of Ducktail’s bounty hunters, averaging 7 OP per game while barely sacrificing more than a Keisotsu (just over 11 pts) per OP scored. Not far behind were Druze Bayram Security, though they paid a steep blood price for those BitCreds, averaging 170+ pts lost per match.
| Faction Hire | NA-2 Contractor | Games | OP | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA-2 | Dahshat Company | 2 | 0 | 203 |
| Ariadna | Dahshat Company | 1 | 4 | 206 |
| Haqqislam | Dahshat Company | 2 | 3 | 465 |
| Yu Jing | Dahshat Company | 2 | 15 | 209 |
| Total Dashat | 7 | 22 | 1083 | |
| Haqqislam | Druze Bayram Security | 1 | 6 | 211 |
| PanOceania | Druze Bayram Security | 1 | 5 | 130 |
| Total Druze | 2 | 11 | 341 | |
| PanOceania | Ikari Company | 1 | 7 | 82 |
| NA-2 | Foreign Company | 1 | 4 | 150 |
| Nomads | Foreign Company | 1 | 2 | 175 |
| O-12 | Foreign Company | 1 | 3 | 102 |
| Total ForCo | 3 | 9 | 427 | |
| NA-2 | JSA | 5 | 27 | 455 |
| Ariadna | JSA | 2 | 8 | 294 |
| Haqqislam | JSA | 2 | 13 | 314 |
| PanOceania | JSA | 1 | 6 | 180 |
| Total JSA | 10 | 54 | 1243 | |
| Combined Army | Spiral Company | 1 | 2 | 174 |
| NA-2 | StarCo | 2 | 12 | 271 |
| Ariadna | StarCo | 1 | 6 | 82 |
| Total StarCo | 3 | 18 | 353 | |
| Yu Jing | White Company | 2 | 5 | 267 |
| PanOceania | White Company | 1 | 3 | 85 |
| Total WhiteCo | 3 | 8 | 352 | |
| NA-2 Totals | 30 | 131 | 4055 |
Across the first phase of the campaign, NA-2 factions on their own would have scored just behind Nomads in terms of total OP and games played (coming in fifth overall). They tiny but mighty JSA would have only been just edged out by O-12 (10 to 14 games played and 54 to 58 OP respectively), prefiguring (in our eyes) their rise to greatness after the discovery of Shinju.
The biggest patron of the NA-2 factions was JSA acting in its own interests, followed by Yu Jing and and PanOceania in a two way tie. It would seem that the hyper powers of the Human Sphere can most afford to let others do their dirty work and they have done it well.
Edgelord Theater Briefing
The situation in the trinary planetoids of HuEOS 289, LuY 911 and 1777 Du-ε remains as fraught as they were when Combined Army peacekeepers arrived last year. Factional alliances have coalesced around the two major poles of post-Shattergrounds politics, primarily a pro-Peace of Concilium coalition seeking accommodation of the Evolved Intelligence led by O-12 and ALEPH and a union of pro-containment powers led by Haqqislam and the Nomad Nation. Nominally, the other great powers have been content to see which side gains the upper hand while offering token support, such as Yu Jing’s requisition of biometric visors vet diplomats for Shasvastii Infiltrators, or pursued their own agendas, such as PanOceania with their purchase of 1777 Du-ε.
However, despite the polished claims of their diplomatic corps, the dirty tactics of the great powers have revealed their true intentions and shown these alliances to be more fragile than their mouthpieces would proclaim. ALEPH, for all its sparring with the Nomad Commercial Delegation to the region has divided it’s energies between opposing the Combined Army and its mysterious pursuit of the freelance journalist Erin O’Nealz that has brought it in confrontation with Haqqislam, leaving us wide latitude to conduct our operations outside the gaze of the distracted Eye of Hipparchus. Meanwhile O-12 was largely even handed in its parking violation enforcements, though it targeted the Nomads above all. PanOceania and Ariadna did not commit as many of their regional forces as in previous confrontations, and the conflict between the AWU and Whole Protein did not play out in direct operations, with the Hyperpower’s forces choosing to sabotage Rocaworks operations and settle their labor disputes with negotiations and contracted mercenaries, for now. As for its client state with the Greater Independent Japan, it would seem they were for the most part acting independently of one another. Whether this indicates a divergence of political interest or merely a policy of mutual non-interference is yet to be seen. Ariadna for its part followed the same priorities as ALEPH, leading our analysts to speculate that Kemi-Tech may have overcome the traditional technophobia on Dawn to align itself with greater economic integration in the Human Sphere. If true this is a concerning development that shows how our shared strategic goals have drifted since Operation Coldfront. Tohaa were also present.
Our allies on Bourak have stayed true to their promises and joined us in strongly opposing the Combined Army’s expansion in the Human Sphere. While the Asteroid Blues campaign exposed and nominally destroyed Shasvastii operations on Novvy Bangkok, we can only assume there are other hidden bases in the system, no doubt integral to smuggling the technology necessary to open the Cerberus Gate. But for now attempts to establish a new beachhead under the guise of peacekeeping has been foiled, though the Evolved Intelligence was able to increase and partially legitimize its presence among the Homeric Belt.
While the axis of Nomad-Haqqislam resistance was vociferous in its opposition to the EI, it was the StateEmpire that truly faced the brunt of the Combined Army’s operations. This confrontation follows the old Shattergrounds alliance, with the critical difference that Yu Jing has conducted several operations against the Nomads. Largely fended off by the Platoon 404, we believe that this is either a proxy action by ALEPH or something worse, though the exchange of Hsien Peng for Jolene Sandoval indicates it may be related to some internecine conflict between the ISS and White Banner operatives. Regardless of the cause, the sheer scope of Yu Jing operations has allowed them to step in as the main guarantor of security on the trinary asteroids, no doubt as much a hindrance to Whole Protein’s operations as well as our own. Already Yue Minerals has received several contacts for prospecting in StateEmpire controlled sectors and the Yu Jing Interspace Trust Corporation has taken over civilian transport since the destruction of the O-12S Golden Lake. It appears that the JingBai Corporation has also sent its loĝanto to set up shop within the DIU headquarters. While charting safe paths for ships looking to avoid Astreus’s radiation storms is the navigational firm’s nominal cover for expanding operations, we suspect it may be a Yanjing cover operation for something altogether different. Despite our best efforts, we have not yet been able to infiltrate their datasphere to glean their intent. An attached file provides three operation scenarios to insert an asset into the organization for your review and approval.
Regardless of the intent of the major powers, the conflict came to a head during the recent megabeast infestation. While FZX’s Samantha Ether Moneylady-Hardboil will take the blame for using her Phyre festival to defraud investors and attendees in an attempt to escape from ISS and Hexahedron pursuit, we believe other motives are at play. The confrontation between Morat Aggression Forces and Yu Jing on LuY 911 was nominally over demolition charges, but we suspect the StateEmpire of covering the tracks of a triad smuggling operation to disrupt Whole Protein supply chains with a Stoorworm infestation. It would also seem that the Morats themselves have been importing Ugarat apex predators near Averroes Hospital on HuEOS 289. While a ForCo team wounded the predator and another Tunguskan team finished it off, we still don’t know why an Acontecimento unit thought lost on Paradiso during Operation Massive Filter would reappear here and now, nor what the Morats and EI hoped to gain by releasing the beast so close to the main medical facility of the sector.
In the confusion caused by the crisis, another one of our teams seconded to Haqqislam was also hit by an ALEPH team looking to take down the wild Steindrage that Moneylady-Hardboil had released. While we expect this confrontation from the arch-nemesis, we were surprised to hear that a body double of Erin O’Nealz named Tara was supporting the AI. While a minor setback compared to the successful rendition of the Hsien Peng Huizhong, it is nonetheless concerning.
Despite the influx of beast hunters to deal with the megabeast problem, our analysts forecast that we may only be cresting the wave of this new complication. It’s unlikely that the megabeasts were smuggled here fully grown, leading to speculation that one or more kyojin trafficking rings may be in operation in the Homeric Belt. If true, we can expect to see future outbreaks of megabeast rampages until we’re able to scour the belt of their eggs. It also leads our analysts to wonder if that there were forces greater than Yu Jing at play when the initial Stoorworm eggs were smuggled into LuY 911. If so, that would imply that there is a player with sufficient power and influence to manipulate one or many of the great nations to engineer a conflict to their benefit. In some dark circles, the name C-ZAR has been whispered as one such candidate. Drawing from the debrief of a wounded O-12 officer and a disavowed pirate crew, so far we have yet to make a firm connection to Brutus, the rogue AI of the New Hypatia crisis which Yu Jing “captured” at the end of that campaign. Whatever the case, we may persist in a Code Infinity situation for far longer than our initial estimates.
Per your request, we have also examined the data behind the announcement of the Abraxas wormhole. Without any probe data to speculate upon, it appear seem that its Ubiquitous Nexus is more stable than reported, making it a good candidate for travel by Minotaur Motor. If there is a planet viable for colonization on the other side, that means the race to claim territory will escalate rapidly. My team has prepared several scenarios outlined along the parameters of the Zona Libre contingency for your review.
Excerpt of a report prepared by Pavel Duda, analyst-officer of the Jade Umbra for Col. Antonin Zelensky, cultural attaché to the Nomad Commercial Mission and suspected Black Hand senior handler.