Musings on the motivations for each force at the Seventh Segment Wars Antares 2 Games Day at Battle City Games, North End, Portsmouth, UK. At it’s heart, there is no ‘evil’ in Antares: everyone is a ‘hero’, every faction is in the right – from their own perspective.
by David Horobin
The Breakaway NuHu
The Aan Four Nuhu are much like the Nuhu common across the Panhuman Concord and beyond, but believe they have developed further than the – to them, decadent and weak – NuHu in the core. They have expanded their own capabilities and made improvements to the panhuman baseline stock that would drive the species to even greater capabilities. The only hindrance in updating their own shards asnd expanding them far and wide is the amount of time taken for the nanospore to integrate from one nearby system to the next – carried mainly by local shipping.
It would be far quicker to have the denizens of humanity to confluence together, receive the superior IMTel upgrade and distribute this across the Antarean surface when they returned to their main Concord patrol routes. But what could be considered so terribly ominous to the safety of the local region that it would trigger security protocols to be enacted, drawing the priority from other threats?
The answer was not far away: the Vorl.
The Vorl Ordo were actively testing the defences of the region, but a decade of stalemate had left the borders reasonably static. But what about some re-routing of defensive forces and the occasional ‘leak of patrol manifests and security arrangements? If a few, unscrupulous Freeborn were made aware of such weaknesses, especially if they dealt with Askar, would not the Vorl get wind of such arrangements and create the potentially existential threat the local C3 coul dnot ignore?
The risk was the Vorl being too successful. If that were the case, then a few sacrificial systems would turn into many hundreds – which must be prevented. But maybe the unimaginative Ghar could be easily led into destabilising the area? A few ships engage their destroyers, flee in the face of overwhelming firepower, and draw the Ghar down, through the Determinate into some supposedly undefended, sacrificial systems…
…which you have baited the Vorl to attack. The Aan Shard forces could then just wait until the Ghar and Vorl have exhausted themselves; making a potentially dangerous situation a mere mopping up activity. And once it is all over, the spread of Aan Shard Nanospore will circulate around Antares far faster than the Isori filth.
It would take years in the making, but the NuHu think in long timescales.
Ordo of the Ravening Claw
Strong warriors are respected; victory proves strength. But there had been too few victories for the Nest-Matriarch of the Ravening Claw. But of late, from a small region that had previously been a quagmire, there are reports of a number of advances: new territory is being recovered and re-seeded for civilization.
Such information has been provided by the Askar who, though excellent warriros, are not known for their detailed reconnaissance skills.
It was a trap; the Nest-Matriarch knew it was a trap, one into which she must step. Within the trap, she must suffer the burden of the consequences and use the unity of will from the Vorl to break the trap and strike the ultimate victory.
Besides, if there is no victory soon; then she’ll be dead from a successor’s challenge anyway. The Ravening Claw must seize the opportunity and hope that other Ordo do not follow in their footsteps…
Algor
The Concord have asked for help, for an expeditionary force. But we’re not helping the Concord: we are exploiting the opportunity to analyse a threat that we have yet to face. There is a possibility to bring back new weapons and other tech back to the Prosporate for the SD to retro-engineer. Contact with our “allies” is minimal, anyway, with little risk of the same level of cross contamination from that dreadful Xilos debacle.
We will not be misguided into that same error again.
Boromite
“Fighting happens. It’s whoever has the valid claim once the dust settles. And if you’re not in it at the right time, there’s no rich seam for you. The contracts were ours. We will take it back. The Crimson Drillers will be the only clan in this system, regardless of what happens.”
Concord
+++ RECORD 7SAS167330-490B. IMTel recognises increased threat activity in Aan sector, subject Vorl. Routing emergency security protocols to region immediately. Preparation for engagement in excess of risk category 95 – nine five – plus. +++
+++ RESPONSE 7SAS167330-490B-1. Secure protocol in force for tier 256 and above only. +++
+++ RESPONSE 7SAS167330-490B-1-1. Determine source of fluctuations in nanospore. +++
+++ RESPONSE 7SAS167330-490B-1-1-1 Initial sample rated threat level LAMBDA. Probabilty Panhuman node Josen source of relevant intuition and spontaneous insight nine-seven quanta. +++
VIRAI
ASSERT TRUTH: Evil is a biological concept.
ASSERT TRUTH: Heroism is pointless waste of resource.
*** Interruption to hive processes. Cause of interruption identified to be multiple biological instances. Maintain the hive. Eliminate biologicals. ***
Freeborn
There is no “evil” in Antares. Although there is the occasional antagonist that is in it for themselves…
“I’ve never missed an opportunity to make a profit in my life. These old fools, parting with their funds. I know what they are up to, destabilising the region. So long as they keep paying me, I can keep exploiting the economic situation to my favour; after all. War is good for business.”
The Seventh Segment Wars – an Antares narrative campaign day at Battle City Games, 8th June 2024.
Tel: 023 9266 8305 | E-mail: battlecitygamesltd@gmail.com
Antares Nexus 
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