Leftside's Infoboxes, Odds, and Ends

[LeftsideLock]

Mostly for worldbuilding an absurd (and parochially self-indulgent) cyberpunk universe, but maybe featuring other things here and there.

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With special thanks to @Gryphon for graphical support.

Melanie Sanchez is an American politician and activist who represents District 4 on the Oakland City Council, a position she has held since January of 2079. She is a member of the Green Party, and was elected with 61.2% of the vote in her district, unseating Jane Ramirez, the Democratic incumbent.

Melanie Sanchez is a veteran of World War III. She enlisted in the California Army National Guard in August of 2071 at age 19, several weeks before she was due to start her sophomore year of college. She underwent and completed basic training at Fort Ord (one of the last training companies to complete the full pre-War basic training before it was shortened for manpower reasons), where she also underwent an abbreviated version of Military Police School. She was assigned to the 49th Military Police Brigade, which conducted several months of training before being declared combat ready.

Sanchez’s battalion was attached to the 223rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which shipped to Okinawa several weeks after the successful completion of the Relief of the island. The 223rd spent several months on the island during the buildup for the assault of Hong Kong. The Battle of Hong Kong ground on for several years and bled into the immediately following Battle of Shenzen. Sanchez’ four-year enlistment was extended “for the duration” in August of 2075.

In November of 2075, still in Shenzen, Sanchez was wounded in action when her vehicle was hit with an anti-vehicle rocket. In addition to shrapnel wounds, Sanchez’ right arm was traumatically amputated. She spent several months recovering, first in a combat support hospital in Hong Kong, briefly on Okinawa, and then chiefly at Fort Ord’s hospital. She was medically discharged in March of 2076, three months before the June ceasefire that ended major combat operations in China.

Following her discharge, Sanchez returned to Oakland, and became involved in politics as an activist with the Green Party, championing the party’s environmental causes and policy initiatives for an economically depressed and environmentally degraded Bay Area. Sanchez also became involved with veterans’ issues and causes, particularly with the hundreds of thousands of veterans returning home to the Bay and many thousands more who gravitated to the area in the aftermath of demobilization. Sanchez, as a wounded veteran herself, became particularly involved with wounded veterans, a very high percentage of which were “rebuilds,” so-called due to the prevalence of cybernetic prosthetics. Rebuilds, particularly those with visible cybernetics, faced varying degrees of discrimination and marginalization from certain segments of society. Sanchez was also a noted anti-radicalization activist in the veteran community, as many returning veterans gravitated to extreme far-right and far-left politics in the aftermath of the War, in particular paramilitary street groups.

Sanchez was chosen as the Green Party’s candidate for District 4 in the 2078 Oakland City Council elections, launching her campaign with an event atop the city’s sea-wall, nicknamed the Great Overreaction, pledging to revitalize and expand the wall’s green spaces. In addition to advocating for the party’s platform with a focus on urban regreening, conservation and protection of local wildlife and wetland habitats, and combatting pollution of the Bay’s waters, Sanchez campaigned on veterans’ issues, anti-radicalization, and pledged to fight police corruption with a particular emphasis on far-right paramilitary sympathy and infiltration of local police organizations.

This made her a target for the same groups, and her Oakland Police Department protection detail was pulled and replaced with an Alameda County Sheriff’s Department detail when the former agency was accused of being “either unwilling or unable” to combat the militant influence in its ranks. The Sheriff’s detail was pulled and replaced (in the wake of similar accusations) when a large detachment of the National Police Force was dispatched to the Bay Area by the federal government to help stabilize the turbulent region.

 

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With thanks to @Von Callay for graphical support in making this a gif that cycles between the three colors.

AGAMEMNON is an Exarch-class artificial intelligence, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in partnership with U.S. Standard Robotics. AGAMEMNON is a Flight III Exarch, one of six Flight IIIs in existence, making him one of the most advanced AIs confirmed to exist.

Created in the early months of World War III, AGAMEMNON participated in the conflict, supporting numerous operations throughout the War, in conjunction with other military AIs. AGAMEMNON is particularly noted for his efforts in the Soviet Far East theater of the War, but also supported operations in Northern China.

After the War ended, AGAMEMNON returned to stateside duties for several months before being seconded to the Department of Justice, in particular the National Police Force. In his capacity as a DoJ/NPF AI, AGAMEMNON assisted in law enforcement operations across the country as law and order degraded in several regions. In 2079, AGAMEMNON was detailed to the NPF's Western District, to assist in NPF operations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle-Tacoma.

 

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With graphical support from @Archangel Michael helping me shrink the map so it didn't look all pixelated:

Multinational Force - Soviet Far East is officially an Allied Powers-led security assistance mission consisting of over 210,000 troops from twenty-one nations, with several hundred more from nations acting as observers. It is a follow-on mission to the Allied Powers Occupation Force, which dissolved officially on the implementation of the Treaty of Singapore between the USSR and the Allied Powers, one of the three peace treaties that brought World War III formally to an end (the other being the Treaty of Hanoi between China, the Allied Powers, and Allied co-belligerent India, commonly referred to as the Hanoi Accords, and the Treaty of Kyoto, between the USSR and China, overseen by the Allied Powers and India). The current commander of MF-SFE is United States Marine Corps General Mattias J. Santana.

The stated objectives of the mission is to assist central and local authorities with security and stability, to ensure compliance with the terms of the Treaty of Singapore, and suppress piracy, biopiracy, weapons smuggling, cyber crime, terrorism, and warlordism. The officially recognized Soviet government is only in functional control of twenty-two percent of the USSR's territory outside Moscow, with much of the rest of the country either lawless or ruled by warlords, making the multinational mission to the Soviet Far East vital to these efforts, according to official administration/government sources amongst participating states.

However, the MF-SFE has come under criticism internally from factions within participating countries, from the international community, and from elements within the Soviet Union itself. These criticisms center on the general breakdown of law and order in the USSR, and dispute the effectiveness of the mission in combatting rampant warlordism and other stated problems, particularly weapons smuggling, biopiracy, and cyber crime. Participating governments, particularly the United States, have been accused by internal and external critics of using the mission to ensure the continued flow of resources out of Siberia, and caring little for the actual needs of the Soviet populace or the lives of its own troops.

Spoiler: National troop contributions to MF-SFE

United States: 146,000
-The US contingent draws from all five major branches of the US armed forces.

Japan: 16,000
-Japan's contingent is primarily naval.

Canada: 12,000

Australia: 8,800

Mexico: 6,100

New Zealand: 4,300

Philippines: 3,400

Taiwan: 2,100

Colombia: 1,900

Chile: 1,600

United Kingdom: 1,450

South Korea: 1,200

Indonesia: 1,100

Malaysia: 1,050

Norway: 954

Denmark: 873

Mongolia: 720
-Neutral in World War III

Thailand: 467
-Neutral in World War III

Peru: 245

Cambodia: 130
-Neutral in World War III

Panama: 61
-Neutral in World War III

India (observer): 360
-Co-belligerent with the Allied Powers against China only.

South Africa (observer): 147
-Neutral in World War III

Brazil (observer): 114
-Neutral in World War III

France (observer): 78
-Neutral in World War III

Iran (observer): 52
-Neutral in World War III

Additionally, Archangel Michael was kind enough to make this lovely logo for MF-SFE.

Spoiler

 

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The 2077 Dodge Hellcat Police Interceptor is the most common police interceptor in use across North America, in with numerous police agencies across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with more limited numbers in use with other law enforcement organizations worldwide as both a marked and unmarked patrol car.


During WWIII, Chrysler and other American auto manufacturers retooled their factories for the war effort. The 2077 Hellcat was one of the first production cars to come onto the market after the 2076 June Ceasefire. The civilian Hellcat, while similarly aesthetically to its LEO counterpart, is like most other modern vehicles powered by an electric engine.


However, from its conception the Hellcat was intended to come in a police package, meeting the high demand among various agencies for a more capable pursuit vehicle in the troubled post-War era. The police package of the Hellcat is powered by gasoline, making it one of a limited number of vehicles in production designed as such. Additionally, the police package features an integrated armor kit, upgraded heavy-duty brakes, an upgraded electronic stability program, police-tuned steering, a sophisticated comms suite, an upgraded counter-hacking suite, and an electronic warfare suite. Its dashboard and center console are designed to integrate computers and controls for lights and sirens. The police Hellcat is also notable faster and more powerful than its civilian counterpart, and most other civilian vehicles on the market.


The California Highway Patrol is the largest individual customer besides the US federal government, having a fleet numbering 1,148. An initial order of 750 was placed and delivered in 2077, with a follow-up order delivered in 2079, and several more planned to replace the rest of CHP’s interceptor fleet.

 

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Originally an idea of @Von Callay that featured in a few cyberpunk stories by him, that has been "cross-canonized" as it were and adapted to this setting.


Crystal Lite is an American brand of methamphetamine-fortified cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Morley Tobacco. Lubbock, Texas, is the location of the largest Crystal Lite manufacturing plant. It is the global-best selling methamphetamine cigarette brand since its inception, and has a market share of 15% in the United States.

Methamphetamine was legalized at the federal level in 2056, during the lame-duck period of the Hayakawa administration. It remained illegal at the state-level in many states, but several followed the federal government's example, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. Morley Tobacco was the first tobacco company to take advantage of federal and state-level legalization, and released a methamphetamine-fortified cigarette brand in 2057. The niche market was modestly profitable for the early years of its existence.

However, the brand became significantly more popular in the aftermath of the WWIII. Many returning veterans of the trenches in China and the USSR suffered from amphetamine dependencies and addictions, due to the heavy use of combat amphetamine cocktails utilized by the infantry and other combat arms units. Crystal Lite marketed itself heavily to this demographic, and sales climbed steadily through 2076, 2077, 2078, and 2079.

 

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The 2170 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope John Paul III following his resignation on 13 May 2170. The period of sede vacante for the Holy See was typical of the age of colonization, with several of the extrasolar cardinal-electors needing in excess of a month of travel time to gather at the Vatican. Once the 147 participating cardinal-electors had gathered, they set 21 June 2170 as the beginning of the conclave. On the seventh ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Inhaxiô Phòng Nguyễn Bao, SJ, Archbishop of Huế. He took the pontifical name of Paul IX.

The 2170 papal conclave is notable for several reasons. Among them, Phòng is the first pope from Vietnam, and the third Jesuit to be elected to the papacy. The seven ballots needed to elected Phòng is the highest of the 22nd century, largely attributed to the tumultuous period of human history with ongoing colonial wars in the eastern Orion affecting high-numbers of extrasolar Catholics, and with the recent establishment of diplomatic relations with the gret, only the second sapient alien race (alongside the three ak polities) to have formal relations with the Alliance of Terran States. The conclave is also notable for the absences of three cardinal-electors, all from the outer colonies of the eastern Orion; of the three absences, only Cardinal Luis Gonsalves, Archbishop of Hard Landing, explicitly stated his absence was a "matter of conscience over the silence of the Catholic Church's Earthbound institutions on oppression of the people of Ashoka and the greater eastern Orion."

Only three months after his election, Pope Paul IX announced his intention to call a general council. Though some segments of the Catholic laity, and non-Catholics, were surprised, the announcement was expected by many members of the College of Cardinals, the Roman Curia, and other Church officials, as were the topics it was called to address. In his announcement, Paul IX called the existence of alien life "perhaps the most pressing new theological issue of the age, that has gone ignored too long."

Preparations for the Council began immediately, including transmitting the announcement to all colonies and space stations in Alliance space. The Fourth Vatican Ecumenical Council, commonly known as the Fourth Vatican Council or Vatican IV, addressed the theological issues surrounding sapient alien life. It formally opened on 15 August 2171, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the General Roman Calendar, and formally closed on 23 November 2175, the feast day of Saint Clement of Rome.

The Council involved over 3700 members of the Catholic clergy, and several interfaith observers also attended from all of humanity's major religions. According to the Paul IX, the most central message of Vatican IV was that sapient alien life were too made in the Image of God, thus part of His Creation, and it was the duty of the Church to spread the Word to sapient aliens.

In the wake of the closing of Vatican IV, Paul IX authored the second encyclical of his pontificate, Creavit Deus Caelum (God created the heavens). In it, the pope explains the logic of alien life being God's Creation, and calls upon all Catholics, and the peoples on all human worlds, to extend the love of God to their alien brothers and sisters. It was published formally on 12 September 2176, the feast of Saint Julian the Hospitaller.

Creavit Deus Caelum was released by the Vatican in Latin, English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Tagalog, Hindi, and Arabic, along with the original Vietnamese; translations are available in most human languages, Ak Trade Creole, with a translation underway for Standard Besht, the interstellar gret lingua franca.

1. “In principio CREAVIT DEUS CAELUM et terram” – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. In the very first sentence of His Word, God tells us that all the universe, all its stars and planets and other wonders, and all life within it, is His Creation. All of the universe's cosmic majesty, and the miraculous and myriad forms of life that inhabit it, is the result of his boundless love and invention. It affirms that sapient life, whatever its form, as the Creation of God, is made in His image. - excerpt from Creavit Deus Caelum

 

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I've been working on a project that was originally intended as a purely personal "break writer's block" type of thing. It's basically a *Not Star Wars space opera, with the imaginative working title of "Mongol Star Wars" because that's basically the kernel of the idea, though as it's gone it has taken on a life of its own.

In service of the setting I've been developing a calendar for it, largely derived from the Chinese/Tibetan/Mongol zodiac. There are eighteen animal signs (still working on whether "18" is derived from the cycles of a moon over the planet the Space Khaganate originated on) and seven elemental signs (as with the animals, working on whether the number seven is derived from a second moon's cycles, or something else).

18x7 gives us a 126 year cycle before the combinations start to repeat, so again stealing a term from the East, this 126 year period is known as a "djarang."

Here's the djarang, put in a spoiler because it's Big.

Spoiler

Wolf	Iron	First Djarang
Mouse	Water
Ox	Wood
Deer	Fire
Tiger	Earth
Hare	Sky
Eagle	Void
Dragon	Iron
Snake	Water
Bear	Wood
Horse	Fire
Ram	Earth
Monkey	Sky
Rooster	Void
Raven	Iron
Dog	Water
Boar	Wood
Phoenix	Fire
Wolf	Earth
Mouse	Sky
Ox	Void
Deer	Iron
Tiger	Water
Hare	Wood
Eagle	Fire
Dragon	Earth
Snake	Sky
Bear	Void
Horse	Iron
Ram	Water
Monkey	Wood
Rooster	Fire
Raven	Earth
Dog	Sky
Boar	Void
Phoenix	Iron
Wolf	Water
Mouse	Wood
Ox	Fire
Deer	Earth
Tiger	Sky
Hare	Void
Eagle	Iron
Dragon	Water
Snake	Wood
Bear	Fire
Horse	Earth
Ram	Sky
Monkey	Void
Rooster	Iron
Raven	Water
Dog	Wood
Boar	Fire
Phoenix	Earth
Wolf	Sky
Mouse	Void
Ox	Iron
Deer	Water
Tiger	Wood
Hare	Fire
Eagle	Earth
Dragon	Sky
Snake	Void
Bear	Iron
Horse	Water
Ram	Wood
Monkey	Fire
Rooster	Earth
Raven	Sky
Dog	Void
Boar	Iron
Phoenix	Water
Wolf	Wood
Mouse	Fire
Ox	Earth
Deer	Sky
Tiger	Void
Hare	Iron
Eagle	Water
Dragon	Wood
Snake	Fire
Bear	Earth
Horse	Sky
Ram	Void
Monkey	Iron
Rooster	Water
Raven	Wood
Dog	Fire
Boar	Earth
Phoenix	Sky
Wolf	Void
Mouse	Iron
Ox	Water
Deer	Wood
Tiger	Fire
Hare	Earth
Eagle	Sky
Dragon	Void
Snake	Iron
Bear	Water
Horse	Wood
Ram	Fire
Monkey	Earth
Rooster	Sky
Raven	Void
Dog	Iron
Boar	Water
Phoenix	Wood
Wolf	Fire
Mouse	Earth
Ox	Sky
Deer	Void
Tiger	Iron
Hare	Water
Eagle	Wood
Dragon	Fire
Snake	Earth
Bear	Sky
Horse	Void
Ram	Iron
Monkey	Water
Rooster	Wood
Raven	Fire
Dog	Earth
Boar	Sky
Phoenix	Void

I really like aesthetic of "Iron Wolf" being the first year, and "Void Phoenix" being the last.

 

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An unfinished idea that will stay unfinished until I figure out why my laptop keeps crashing every time I try to use a graphics program:

Track listing:

1. The Sons of Ragnar - The invasion of England by the Great Heathen Army, by legend led by four sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside, and Ubba.

2. The Last Kingdom - The fall of Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia, leaving Wessex the last Saxon kingdom.

3. The Marsh King - Alfred being driven to the Somerset Levels and waging a guerrilla campaign from Athelney.

4. Egbert's Stone - The Battle of Edington, 878.

5. Alfred the Great - The general reign of Alfred the Great

6. Fyrd - The fighting men of Anglo-Saxon fyrds.

7. Shadow - Edward the Elder and his early reign.

8. Farnham - The Battle of Farnham, 893.

9. Kingsbane - The Battle of Tettenhall, 910, where the three Viking kings Eowlis, Halfdan, and Ingwaer were slain.

10. Brunaburh - The Battle of Brunanburh, 937.

11. King of the English - The reign of Aethelstan, regarded as the first king of all England.

Bonus tracks:

12. War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)

13. Search and Destroy (The Stooges cover)

 

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I've been working on a project that was originally intended as a purely personal "break writer's block" type of thing. It's basically a *Not Star Wars space opera, with the imaginative working title of "Mongol Star Wars" because that's basically the kernel of the idea, though as it's gone it has taken on a life of its own.

In service of the setting I've been developing a calendar for it, largely derived from the Chinese/Tibetan/Mongol zodiac. There are eighteen animal signs (still working on whether "18" is derived from the cycles of a moon over the planet the Space Khaganate originated on) and seven elemental signs (as with the animals, working on whether the number seven is derived from a second moon's cycles, or something else).

18x7 gives us a 126 year cycle before the combinations start to repeat, so again stealing a term from the East, this 126 year period is known as a "djarang."

Here's the djarang, put in a spoiler because it's Big.

Spoiler

Wolf	Iron	First Djarang
Mouse	Water
Ox	Wood
Deer	Fire
Tiger	Earth
Hare	Sky
Eagle	Void
Dragon	Iron
Snake	Water
Bear	Wood
Horse	Fire
Ram	Earth
Monkey	Sky
Rooster	Void
Raven	Iron
Dog	Water
Boar	Wood
Phoenix	Fire
Wolf	Earth
Mouse	Sky
Ox	Void
Deer	Iron
Tiger	Water
Hare	Wood
Eagle	Fire
Dragon	Earth
Snake	Sky
Bear	Void
Horse	Iron
Ram	Water
Monkey	Wood
Rooster	Fire
Raven	Earth
Dog	Sky
Boar	Void
Phoenix	Iron
Wolf	Water
Mouse	Wood
Ox	Fire
Deer	Earth
Tiger	Sky
Hare	Void
Eagle	Iron
Dragon	Water
Snake	Wood
Bear	Fire
Horse	Earth
Ram	Sky
Monkey	Void
Rooster	Iron
Raven	Water
Dog	Wood
Boar	Fire
Phoenix	Earth
Wolf	Sky
Mouse	Void
Ox	Iron
Deer	Water
Tiger	Wood
Hare	Fire
Eagle	Earth
Dragon	Sky
Snake	Void
Bear	Iron
Horse	Water
Ram	Wood
Monkey	Fire
Rooster	Earth
Raven	Sky
Dog	Void
Boar	Iron
Phoenix	Water
Wolf	Wood
Mouse	Fire
Ox	Earth
Deer	Sky
Tiger	Void
Hare	Iron
Eagle	Water
Dragon	Wood
Snake	Fire
Bear	Earth
Horse	Sky
Ram	Void
Monkey	Iron
Rooster	Water
Raven	Wood
Dog	Fire
Boar	Earth
Phoenix	Sky
Wolf	Void
Mouse	Iron
Ox	Water
Deer	Wood
Tiger	Fire
Hare	Earth
Eagle	Sky
Dragon	Void
Snake	Iron
Bear	Water
Horse	Wood
Ram	Fire
Monkey	Earth
Rooster	Sky
Raven	Void
Dog	Iron
Boar	Water
Phoenix	Wood
Wolf	Fire
Mouse	Earth
Ox	Sky
Deer	Void
Tiger	Iron
Hare	Water
Eagle	Wood
Dragon	Fire
Snake	Earth
Bear	Sky
Horse	Void
Ram	Iron
Monkey	Water
Rooster	Wood
Raven	Fire
Dog	Earth
Boar	Sky
Phoenix	Void

I really like aesthetic of "Iron Wolf" being the first year, and "Void Phoenix" being the last.

related

Khutulun Sarangerel Naranbaatar was the fourth khagan of the Naranbaatar Dynasty of the Turanic Khanate (also called the Galactic Khanate), reigning from T.A. 1621 to T.A. 1627. Despite her relatively short reign, she is regarded by historians as one of the most effective warrior khagans of the Khanate, and was often called “the She-Wolf” by contemporaries, first by detractors but later by supporters and admirers.

Khutulun was born to the ruling family of the planet Dalun Gol. Her father, Tagaslar, was a subject khan and strong supporter of the then-khagan, Otgonbayar, and her mother, Princess Ai, was second cousin of the Empress Orghana. From a young age, the imperial family pursued on-and-off marriage negotiations. Khutulun’s parents were devout practitioners of Migratory Tengriism, and had misgivings about her betrothal to Otgonbayar’s son, Jargal, due to the Khagan’s conversion to the faith of the Koine Chantry. The Empress, still a practitioner of Tengriism, eventually sealed the negotiations with assurances that Khutulun would not be pressured to convert, and would be allowed to raise any children resulting from the marriage in the Tengriist faith; further, it was an open secret that Jargal was not firmly devoted to any one religion.

A short time after the marriage, Khagan Otgonbayar was killed fighting Marcher rebels in the Battle of Shurbazar, and was succeeded by his son early in T.A. 1615. Not martially inclined like his father or grandfather, Jargal’s early reign was characterized by increasing violence and instability, with imperial and allied forces losing a series of campaigns to rebel khans and nobles. Contemporaries criticized Jargal as being more interested in a life of ease and leisure than dealing with the troubled times facing the Khanate, and of irresponsibly giving power and military authority to ill-suited favorites at court. He openly favored mistresses over his wife, causing problems in the marriage, and between himself and the court faction led by his father-in-law, even drawing the ire of his own mother.

After a disastrous defeat at the Siege of Darhayn Gol in early 1619, Jargal took sick with a mysterious illness from which he never truly recovered. During his early reign, Khutulun was already widely regarded as a more formidable ruler and talented commander than her husband, but her effectiveness was limited by her official role and the influence of other factions at court over her husband. After Darhayn Gol, she ruthlessly marginalized her rivals and court enemies with the support of her father and mother-in-law, and thereafter was effectively ruler in all but name of the Khanate.

The fortunes of imperial and allied forces shifted on her ascension to power, credited to her battlefield leadership from the front, and her cultivation of talented clone officers over the naturally-born commanders her husband had favored. During this time, in addition to campaigns against Marcher rebels, she subdued several revolts by kariin subjects brought on by the weakness of her husband’s rule. While his wife utilized Presidio Station as a mobile pseudo-capital, Jargal’s illness eventually confined him to his private wing of the Jade Palace in Kambulac on Olon Gol, but not before he and Khutulun conceived a child, Safia. Shortly after their daughter’s birth in 1620, Jargal’s illness deepened, and he died early in 1621. Khutulun was acclaimed khagan that day by a Kurultai.

Officially empowered, Khutulun’s campaigns against internal rebels continued to be successful, completely reversing earlier rebel advances during her husband’s reign, and reconquering territory not held by the imperial government since the reign of Jargal’s grandfather. Khutulun also warded off two Frankish invasions, furthering her military reputation.

By T.A. 1627, Khutulun summoned her subject khans and other vassals to the Presidio for a council of war. Events are unclear, but it is believed that the Presidio’s location was betrayed to the rebel khans, who ambushed the council with a large combined fleet. Despite valiant defensive efforts, the surprise attack was successful, and the Presidio was boarded by rebel troops led by the cybernetic kariin, Void-sensitive warlord, Ochir Mandas. Khagan Khutulun sustained wounds during the fighting (rumored to have been given to her by the Ochir himself, though this was never confirmed), and eventually succumbed to them. Reinforcements arrived, and warded off the rebel fleet, while special operations forces cleared the Presidio and rescued her daughter, Safia.

She was laid to rest in the Mausoleum of the Khans, the mountain valley traditionally the burial site of the Khanate’s ruler. She was interred aboard her personal royal yacht, the Aranjagaan, in accordance with traditional Tengriist royal funereal custom.

with thanks to @Gryphon for stitching the pieces together

 

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The laptop I use to make maps, wikiboxes, etc, finally crapped out on me, so I made this trying out a browser-based image editor called Pixlr. The depiction of Saturn's moon of Titan in the game Destiny 2 is what this based off of, but it also draws heavy inspiration from user dakkafex 's amazingly written Deep Night over on AH.com's Writers Forum (which everyone should go read), so in that way it's also a Deep Night appreciation post .

I used a basemap of Titan that was sitting on my desktop and modified it for this; I've lost track of who the original creator of the basemap was. If anyone happens to know or remember, please tell me so I can properly credit them.

Presented without further comment.

 

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...and Coach Rowan Lehner has to be satisfied with his lads' showing so far this year. Forwards captain during the heartbreaking loss to France back in the 2001 Final and during the bad years that followed, the world of rugby can't help but feel as if redemption might be at at hand, as he coaches his team to their highest position in the World Rugby rankings in twenty years...

 

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The story of the year undoubtedly continues to be the brash, young Vietnam side’s incredible showing through the test season and qualifying tournaments. After the stunning upset in Cape Town over South Africa, which saw the Golden Dragons outscore the Springboks by a three-try margin with a breathless, red-letter performance from fly-half Nguyen Cuong, Vietnam rises to number three in World Rugby rankings. The traditionally dominant Australian and English sides are still considered the safe favorites for victory in the World Cup, but if the pattern continues, the Golden Dragons could pull off another surprise.

The Chinese side held steady at thirteen in the rankings after the week’s matches. The soon-to-be hosts of the 2021 Rugby World Cup themselves have had a strong year, earning their best ranking since the country re-joined World Rugby in 2002 in the aftermath of Jiědòng. As China prepares to be the first Asian nation to host the Rugby World Cup, the national side has become something of a dark-horse pick for a top-three finish.

But the bright future of the sport is not the only narrative taking shape around the RWC; her storied past has captured the imagination of fans as well. Rowan Lehner has coached the California side to ninth place after a tough, trench-battle victory over Japan, its best ranking in twenty years, and its first top ten ranking since the end of Team USA era in 2013. France, victor over California in the 2001 RWC, continues its own rise in the rankings. With both sides automatic qualifiers for 2021, California fans would be excused for feeling hopeful for redemption, while the French will be aiming to put the risen shade of 2001 to rest with another hard-fought victory...if the fated encounter is, in fact, predestined.

 

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The 2021 Rugby World Cup kicked off on 17 September 2021. It was the tenth edition of the quadrennial world championship for men’s rugby union. It was hosted in the Empire of China (which in 2020, announced that after discussions, several matches would be hosted in the Republic of Hong Kong), and was the first Rugby World Cup to be hosted in Asia.

The top three teams from each pool of the 2017 World Cup automatically qualified for 2021, with China receiving a placement as the host nation. Six of the remaining seven spots were filled by regional qualifying tournaments, with the last determined by a play-off tournament. The four pools for the the World Cup were as follows:

After pool play finished, the top two teams from each pool advanced to the knockout stage.

The quarter-finals saw host-nation China defeated by a strong Ireland side, and the defending champion Australia side defeat Japan, despite the latter pulling into a first-half lead. The quarter-finals also saw two highly contested, incredibly hard fought matches, California vs. England and Vietnam vs. France. The California vs. England match, which saw California score the winning try and successful conversion with three minutes of play remaining, and thereafter pin England behind its own 22-meter line, is widely considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of rugby. France’s loss to Vietnam was decided by a single drop goal from Vietnam’s scrum-half, Pham Vinh, a World Cup record 51-meter attempt; the hit went viral an hour after upload to VidAfe, obtaining ten million views within 24 hours. France’s loss to Vietnam led to disappointment for hopefuls for a 2001 redemption rematch.

In the semi-finals, Australia continued its march along the path to a repeat championship, decisively defeating the California side, never trailing from the start of play. Vietnam continued its own Cinderella story, defeating the Irish side in another close, trench-battle match. In the match to decide third place, Ireland eventually defeated California after a high-scoring shootout, bringing a somewhat disappointing end to California’s resurgence from rugby purgatory, though Coach Rowan Lehner, in a statement to North American sports press, declared his pride in his side’s showing.

The final saw Australia and Vietnam - David and Goliath, Jack and the Giant - face each other down in Peking International Stadium, to a roaring crowd of over 110,000, the largest crowd on record for a rugby match. The world of rugby was divided roughly evenly between those cheering on the Wallabies to become the first side to win back-to-back World Cups, and those rooting for the underdog Golden Dragons to take their phenomenal journey all the way to the Webb Ellis Cup. Both sides left it all on the pitch, but ultimately Australia had more left in the tank in the second half, and won a two-try victory. The Webb Ellis Cup would belong to Australia for another four years.

 

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On January 28th, 2001, the world’s first and only superhero saved the world, in what has become famously known as the North Platte Incident. He announced himself as the Paladin, and that he was here to keep humanity safe.

Seventy-two hours later, he disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.

Theories abounded. He was kidnapped by the Soviets to help create the true New Man. He returned to his home planet. He was an actor, hired to cover up what really happened. He broke under the pressure, and decided he preferred a life of anonymity. He died saving the world again, in some incident kept hidden from us.

Or, someone or something had him killed.

In their explosive book, investigators Marcel Barnes, Benjamin Becker, and Brody Paxton, drawing on over a decade of research, interviews with witnesses and whistleblowers, and more, examine the facts and fictions surrounding the Paladin...and come to a shocking conclusion.

 

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The Imperial Kheshig are the imperial guard for the Imperial family of the Galactic Khanate, reporting directly to the Khagan. The Kheshig traces its heritage to Aelred Khan’s original kheshig, but officially dates its constitution to T.A. 1, Aelred’s ascension to Khagan of Olon Gol, making it the oldest military unit in continuous operation in the history of the Khanate. Individual members of the Kheshig are known as baghaturs.

In addition to his own extended family and clan, the original Imperial Kheshig was drawn largely from the relatives of Aelred’s generals, retainers, and vassals, usually non-heir sons or nephews. Service in the Kheshig was considered a high honor, but especially in its early era under Aelred, was also seen as a mechanism to ensure good behavior from a baghatur’s relatives. Exceptional individuals not related to the higher echelons of Khanate power could be granted membership in the Kheshig due to exceptional service.

Over the centuries as the Khanate expanded, the Kheshig was reorganized, primarily under the reigns of Khagan Bhadankhar and Khagan Bayan. Each levied sector-province was responsible for providing and outfitting one baghatur for the Kheshig, with the ranks filled out by baghaturs recruited in the traditional ways. Over time the individual levies against the sector-provinces were phased out in favor of central funding, but each sector-province was still responsible for nominating a baghatur, or “sponsoring” one from the candidate pool (usually drawn from various special operations forces).

This system endured for the majority of the Khanate’s history, but in T.A. 1218, shortly after the conquest of the cloners of Kharash, Khagan Oros phased in the Imperial Army, an all-clone force directly under the command of the Khagan. To the consternation of some subject khans, nobles, and bureaucrats, Oros dismissed the Kheshig he had inherited from his predecessor, and replaced it with an all-clone Kheshig. Historians attribute multiple factors as being behind this decision, but chief among them was the palace intrigues of various Khaerboks through history. It was at this point that the number of baghaturs in the Kheshig was fixed at 752. Following the first generation of clone baghaturs, additional baghaturs were drawn from clone special operations forces.

The modern Kheshig is split into three major components, the Day Guard, Night Guard, and the Khorchin. All baghaturs are held to exacting standards of fitness and tactical and weapons proficiency, but the Khorchin is considered “an elite force within an elite force,” a special troop of warriors that functions as the Kheshig's quick-reaction force, responding to threats the Day Guard or Night Guard do not or can not dispatch themselves. The Khorchin is also the Khagan’s special battle guard, although the Kheshig as a whole has accompanied warrior-Khagans into battle throughout its history.

Baghaturs are trained on a wide variety of modern and "ceremonial" weapons, the latter including swords, spears, and the bow, in addition to having its own special martial art, khanyn’zam. They are also trained on the operation of several crew-served weapons systems, vehicle operation, and in horsemanship. The Baghatur Powered Armor is the strongest powered armor system in use in the Khanate, superior even to the Shogun Heavy Combat Armor used by the clone commandos of the Special Operations Brigade, with many of its particular technical features known only to the scientists, engineers, and technicians sworn into the Kheshig’s support service. It is particularly notable for its helm, forged to look like howling spirits of the wind.

The Kheshig since its inception has functioned as a Tengriist military order, with many of its rituals, and especially the ceremonies surrounding initiation, kept secret even from the Khagan. What is known is that the baghaturs are devotees to the children of Tengri and Umai, the Void Sisters Anori, Khoyai, and Gurah (also called the Void Triplets), with primacy given to Anori, the Sister considered to be closest to Tengri, who holds special governance over the Wolf, Order, and Death. Her companion Borak-Uj, the wolf-spirit of the wind, is also given devotion. A baghatur’s oath is considered to last until death, but if a baghatur survives to 60 years of age, they are given a special dispensation from the Khagan to transfer to a separate ceremonial company (not numbered amongst the active strength of the Kheshig), and can choose from amongst any of the palaces maintained by the Imperial family to “guard” until they finally “sleep in the Void.” Upon the death or transfer of a baghatur, they are replaced by a candidate from the pool, after a grueling selection process.

The supreme commander of the Kheshig is called the Khaerbok. While baghaturs retain their names upon ascension to the Kheshig, if a baghatur is promoted to overall command, they give up their name (and the service record attached to their name is “closed”) and become known only by their title and the number they are in the sequence of Khaerboks. Under the reign of Khagan Safia Sarangerel Naranbaatar, especially during her minority, the authority of the Khaerbok was somewhat “usurped” by her Protector, the Lord Khamgaalak, a former clone commando given special charge of the then-Princess by the dying Khagan Khutulun.

The bloodiest day in Kheshig history was the Battle of the Presidio, in which the entire complement of baghaturs that had accompanied Khagan Khutulun, including the entirety of the Khorchin, was slain in combat, primarily by Ochir Mandas.

The Kheshig is assisted in its security mission by a Khanate Marine Corps Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Teams (FAST) Regiment on a rotating basis, who provide the stay-behind elements for Imperial residences not currently occupied by the Imperial family, in addition to other duties. At various points in history, Khagans who have converted to the faith of the Koine Chantry have supplemented (and in some instances, de facto supplanted) the Kheshig with special guards composed of Chantry Knights. Membership in the Kheshig was limited to humans only during its period of being drawn from the naturally born, a practice that has continued during the clone era.

Bonuses:

While the Seal of the Imperial Kheshig has remained largely unchanged for most of its history, for a period of roughly two hundred years (T.A. 482 - T.A. 707), the Seal was as below, before Khagan Kadir reverted it to its original design.

(artwork by @Gryphon )

Spoiler

The Khorchin has its own unique rituals. It has its own unofficial emblem, often tattooed upon the backs of its members. It depicts the humanoid demonic aspect of Borak-Uj and crossed sabers rather than the Wolf aspect and rifles of the Kheshig’s official seal.

(artwork by @Archangel Michael )

Spoiler

 

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The Joy of Cooking with Jonathan Frakes is a short-lived American television cooking show created by eccentric polymath Ben Griffin in partnership with Heath M. M. Bailey (née Edwards) Productions, produced and aired by the Food Network from 1998 to 2000. The show was hosted by Jonathan Frakes, and featured Frakes and a celebrity guest collaborating on the creation of one dish every episode while having an unscripted free-flowing conversation/interview. The show was noted for its surreal and absurdist humor/elements, most iconically with Jonathan Frakes greeting every guest with a bizarre non-sequitur question after their introduction.

The show was favorably received by audiences; critical reception was divided. Despite interest from the network, the show was not renewed for a third season after a deal failed to be reached with Griffin and Bailey (née Edwards), with Griffin declaring "I have told the story I wanted to tell." It went on to gain a cult following.

 

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"Mr. President, we can't support the minting of a platinum coin to cancel student loan debt."

"It'd be a lot cooler if you did."