[CS2] Feuding Nations

[Cidellus]

Berna, Tivesran Republic
Early Winter, First year of the Third Era

Maximilien rode through the city, surrounded by the body of elite soldiers known simply as "the Guard". Berna would normally have been a pleasant city, but it currently carried the smell of death, and several buildings had been struck by his artillery fire during the preceding battle.

The damage was, all things considered, rather minor. His soldiers had done well in preserving the city, and the remnants of the Berna militia had been disbanded under their terms of surrender. A new one would be established quickly out of the pro-Tivesran portion of the population.

From behind him, his aide-de-camp rode up on his own gray horse.

"A glorious victory, general!" he exclaimed.

"The central plains have been embraced by the revolucion," said Maximilien. "The Republique grows ever stronger, but with a poisoned brain..."

"General?" he asked.

"I must return to Tives. The reports I am receiving from the capital are sickening."

The aide-de-camp hesitated in his speech for a moment, confused, before finally saying, "But general, you would need your army to restore order there, wouldn't you?"

"I have an army there," Maximilien smiled.

Tives, Tivesran Republic

"Sir!" shouted Armand Tougas as he rushed into Aristide's office. Armand was a prominent Aristidist in the Assembly, and had recently risen to become one of Aristide's lieutenants.

"Yes, Armand?" asked Aristide, looking up from his reports.

"There is a mob outside! It's Horace, sir, he's demanding your resignation on the grounds of tyranny and abuse of power!" exclaimed Armand. "Vile lies and slander, sir!"

"Indeed," said Aristide, rising as he grabbed and buckled his rapier. He pulled a pistol from his desk drawer and made his way through the Citadel, militiamen joining him as he walked out to meet Horace.

"KILL THE TYRANT!" roared the crowd as Aristide emerged.

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" roared a random citizen.

Aristide motioned for the militia to come forward and form a line. They did so, standing three ranks deep with their bayonets forward.

"Disperse!" yelled Aristide.

The crowd continued rioting, and Horace could be seen trying to get them to leave the square.

"Very well. FIRE!"

The militia hesitated, and Aristide repeated his order. The militia reluctantly did so, firing into the crowd with all three ranks. There were many casualties, but the mob was enormous, and responded by charging the Citadel. Aristide backed away as his militiamen stood firm, stabbing with their bayonets and holding the line against them.

Within minutes, the numerically superior crowd was dispersed, with many of their corpses and injured lining the floor of the square.

"Some coup, Horace. Some coup..." Aristide said before turning and walking towards the Citadel. "Find him and bring him to me! I'll have his head for this. And recall General Avolaire. I'll have his head too..."

***

The trip had been long in distance, and hard on his horse, but Maximilien had certainly made good time in his journey from Berna to the capital. On the horizon, he saw the imposing Citadel standing high above the city. Aristide had kept that symbol of oppression and tyranny? How fitting.

He rode over a small hill and was immediately astounded to see a large line of militiamen ready for him.

"My greeting party," he mumbled to himself as he rode closer.

"Maximilien Avolaire!" roared the voice of militia Colonel Jean-Alexis Machard, an old and respected man. Maximilien recognized him by his astounding mutton chops. "You are under arrest for high treason!"

Maximilien dismounted and began walking towards the soldiers, his arms spread wide.

"Soldiers of the Tivesran militia, I, General Avolaire, do come before you not out of any treasonous intent. I come before you intending to free you and your families all from tyranny, madness, and constant terror. I come before you to make certain that men like Émile Maheu will never again be killed for upholding what is right. So I say now, any man amongst you who would shoot their general and their liberator, fire now!"

The soldiers hesitated, and Colonel Machard remained speechless.

"Vive Avolaire!" one soldier shouted, raising his musket high above his head as the soldiers around him repeated his words. Cheering erupted from them, and Maximilien smiled.
"Soldiers!" he shouted as he mounted his horse. "To Tives!"

***

Maximilien marched through the city as a mob grew behind him. Any militiamen sent to stop him instead joined him. By the time he reached the Citadel, almost all of the city's militia was behind him, chanting his name and demanding the death of Aristide.

As he entered the square, he looked up at the walls of the Citadel and saw the few remaining Aristidists aiming their weapons down at him. He was out of range, and thankfully so, as he was fairly certain that these men WOULD shoot upon him.

"Followers of Aristide, open the gates and lay down your arms. You currently harbor a more vile madman than the old king ever was!" yelled Maximilien.

"Avolaire!? Is that you down there?" asked Aristide from the walls, laughing. "Do you know the purpose of this Citadel? It was initially built to WITHSTAND riots such as yours."

"Only if the riot is outside, Aristide," Maximilien said as the gates were lowered. His militiamen charged, and the Aristidists inside entered into a panic. Many dropped their weapons, and those who didn't were quickly overwhelmed. Aristide himself attempted to defend himself with his rapier, but was quickly subdued and brought to Maximilien.

"General!" shouted a militiaman as two of them dragged Aristide to him. "What shall we do?"

"Let us hold a trial," said Maximilien. "With the whole of Tives as the jury."

He turned to the mob of people. "ALL IN FAVOR OF SURVIVAL?"

The crowd was silent.

"ALL IN FAVOR OF EXECUTION!?"

The crowd roared with approval.

"And all in favor of imprisonment?"

The crowd was again silent.

"I think the people have spoken," said Maximilien, turning to Aristide. "Execute him on the guillotine."

Aristide began protesting loudly, screaming for the crowd to seize Maximilien and carry on the revolution. He was locked in the guillotine, and one of the militiamen pulled the lever. The blade dropped, and the brutal tyrant that was Aristide Gervaise was dead.

"Burn the guillotine!" roared Maximilien as he stepped onto the square's tribunal. "I declare an end to public executions! I declare an end to this Reign of Terror! The Citadel shall be TORN DOWN, as it should have been the night the King lost his head!"

The crowd roared in approval, chanting his name. The short, bald, plump figure of Horace Paladeau stepped from the crowd, clapping and cheering loudly. The crowd roamed into the Citadel with sledgehammers in hand, and began the long process of taking the Citadel down brick by brick...

[Vancho1]

-Siege of Lucern-

Morning.

Marshal Markus Berin, head of the Wesserian armed forces, stood silently behind a defense line, observing the militia pile sandbags in anticipation of the breaching of Lucern's wall. Already, most of the garrison had fallen to the invaders. As he walked along, he could hear the muttering of some of the soldiers. He knew that they were dissatisfied with him preparing the evacuation of the city.

The tall general slowly turned away, moving towards the large assembly hall in the city center. There, the militias were more frantic, and he could see many assembly members helping with the defenses. He noticed a man and a woman standing apart from the rest, looking at a paper and then surveying the defense sites. It was the Chancellor, Vincent Schulz. Markus walked towards them.

"The people are unhappy with me. I can hear it on the lines, and I see it in their eyes. They call me a coward! Yet, who will guide the refugees? Someone must go! You are staying here for the resistance, and I'm one of the only leader many people know around here! I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do."

The Chancellor looked up from his paper, and sighed.

"I knoo it's herd. Zee ceety veell fell, I'm elmust certeeen ooff it. Ve're-a tryeeng oooor best tu get ell zee impurtunt ducooments oooot ooff here-a und intu zee toonnels, boot it'll teke-a a vheele-a steell. Es fur yuoo, it is trooe-a thet ve-a need a leeder fur zee reffoogees. I'm unsoore-a es vell."

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"I know it's hard. The city will fall, I'm almost certain of it. We're trying our best to get all the important documents out of here and into the tunnels, but it'll take a while still. As for you, it is true that we need a leader for the refugees. I'm unsure as well."

His secretary took the paper from his hand and walked over to a group of militia. In a shrill voice, she started directing them.

"No, not there, you idiots! That line will never hold! Look, these bags need to go here...."

Berin started walking, but then stopped.

"Come. Let's discuss this further."

The two men walked slowly towards the busy docks. There were many large ships, all being loaded with civilians and their belongings. Here, again, there were members of the militia directing where each person should go, and in some cases making them leave some of their precious keepsakes behind. A militiaman ran up to the Marshal.

"Sir! More than half the ships are ready to depart, and we're making good time on the rest."

"That's good. Continue loading them, okay? Make sure there are some guns there as well. We wouldn't want to be caught unarmed, especially if we landed in the Eastlands and tried to take a city there."

Vincent looked over at the ships and the scurrying people, all trying to take as much as possible with them, and not get separated from their family members.

"I see-a yuoor predeecement. Zee peuple-a zeere-a need yuoo, und zee peuple-a here-a need yuoo. Zee suldeeers ere-a unheppy becoose-a yuoo get tu leefe-a und zeey dun't, vheele-a zee reffoogees vuoold be-a unheppy iff yuoo lefft zeem veethuoot a cleer leeder. Trooly a herd deceesiun. I hupe-a yuoo mede-a zee reeght oone-a."

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"I see your predicament. The people there need you, and the people here need you. The soldiers are unhappy because you get to live and they don't, while the refugees would be unhappy if you left them without a clear leader. Truly a hard decision. I hope you made the right one."

The Marshal nodded slowly, and sighed as he walked away.

"I hope so too."

Suddenly, a small, fast ship entered the harbor. Its flag was Wesserian, but its sails were black, and the people on it looked rough and unsavory. On the prow was a dark-haired man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He directed his ship with great precision, docking it skillfully and jumping off as soon as it was ready. He looked around for a moment, before spotting Markus. He then sprinted to where the two men were conversing.

"Well, look here! It's my brother, the oh-so-great Marshal of Wesseria! And his friend, the Chancellor! So, how's the defense going? I'm sure that you're having some morale trouble, what with you leaving and all."

Markus turned, and upon seeing the his brother's face, groaned.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were off fighting in the Konas! What brought you, the famous Bruno "The Bear" Berin, my kid brother, all the way back to your homeland?"

Bruno grinned fiercely.

"I heard you were having some trouble with invaders. I'm here to help, however I can! Can't let the homeland fall, after all."

Chancellor Schulz sighed and gestured out towards the ships, and then the city.

"It's nut su seemple-a. Zee peuple-a ere-a reedy tu leefe-a oooot zeere-a, boot zeey need sumeune-a tu leed zeem. Veethuoot thet, zeey'd scetter, und zeen ve-a vuoold hefe-a nutheeng. Oon zee oozeer hund, ve-a cuoold pooll a feectury oooot ooff a murecle-a here-a. Zee oonly prublem is thet zee truups ere-a celleeng yuoor bruzeer here-a a cooerd becoose-a he's leedeeng zee reffoogees, vheele-a I'm steyeeng, veet zee essembly, tu durect zee deffense-a, und, iff ell feeels, zee freedum feeghters. Thet is oooor deelemma."

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"It's not so simple. The people are ready to leave out there, but they need someone to lead them. Without that, they'd scatter, and then we would have nothing. On the other hand, we could pull a victory out of a miracle here. The only problem is that the troops are calling your brother here a coward because he's leading the refugees, while I'm staying, with the assembly, to direct the defense, and, if all fails, the freedom fighters. That is our dilemma."

Bruno stopped for a moment, deep in thought, before speaking again.

"Maybe I can lead the refugees."

Markus inhaled sharply.

"What? You? They'd never accept you as a leader!"

Vincent interjected.

"Nu, nu. It cuoold vurk. He-a is un eccumpleeshed leeder und feeghter. He's yuoong, fooll ooff inergy, und femeelier veet leeffe-a et sea. He-a hes ell zee qooeleeties ooff a guud leeder. It joost meeght vurk."

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"No, no. It could work. He is an accomplished leader and fighter. He's young, full of energy, and familiar with life at sea. He has all the qualities of a good leader. It just might work."

Marshal Berin sighed, knowing that he had been defeated.

"You're right. Let's just hope it does."

[Supernerd]

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Have I just created a monster?

[Kocel232]

AT AN UNNAMED FORT IN THE VERREN REPUBLIC

"I... See..."

Fergus looked at the letter before him.

"But, I heard that the flags of Aregoi still stand- Oh. That's explained here as well. Would you look at that."

The silence within the crude office of the newly-built fort was deafening. One of Fergus's new officers-in-training, Elgin Palazzo, coughed, breaking the silence much like a stone shatters a pane of glass.

"Ahem... Well, sir? What are our plans?"

Fergus sighed.

"I... don't know. Not quite yet. It pains me to admit it, but An tAontas has a point. We blundered blindly into a situation we knew nothing about once again... I do know one thing, however. I'm writing a reply."

"To An tAontas, sir?"

Fergus shook his head, pulling out some paper and a pen.

"No, there's no point in that, they told us all they will for now. No, I'm replying to 'Good King MacClaedemenh.' "

Palazzo raised a curious brow.

"Is... Is the brigand truly worth the attention, sir?"

More silence. The various officers in the room shifted uncomfortably, and Palazzo winced, fearing he had offended his superior. However, Fergus began to laugh. Palazzo frowned, fearing that their Chief Councilor had lost his mind.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Fergus slammed his fist upon his desk, his eyes beginning to tear up.

"HEHAHAHEH, I'm, HA, I'm fine, Elgin, I'm- HAAA- I'm fine... Of COURSE he's worth replying to! Did you READ this letter? It's PRICELESS! Oh, don't worry, I'll take care of this business afterwards. But, first, I believe I'm going to have a bit of fun, gentlemen..."

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Gallo, your nation is henceforth known to me as An Taters. You can thank the Great Bandit King for that one.

[Galloglasses]

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His title is pirate king and he is now canon forever.

You know you want this.

[Kocel232]

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YARR HARR
DIDDLY-DEE
BEING A PIRATE IS ALRIGHT WITH ME

[Demonsul]

No further orders are required. Please wait while your national statistics are calculated and your new national factfile is created.

[Demonsul]

Armies And Navies: The Definitive Guide, Also The Revised Navy System That Will Be In Place Post-Nations-Update

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Alright, so we all know how armies work. Number on the left 0-10 is the skill of the general, with 0 being bad for the army, 3 being acceptable base and 10 being ungodly amazing. Numbers on the right are infantry first, cavalry second and artillery third. However, a few things are new.

Generals also have perks, which you can ask about and will probably be told about if I remember. Feel free to inquire about any generals you don't know the perks of. Examples of perks could be 'superior artillerist' or 'inspiring leader' or something like that.

There will also be different regiments of units available, although they will still fall into the three categories of infantry, cavalry and artillery regiment. Elite guard infantry would be one example of this. The presence of elite units would be denoted with an asterisk * next to the relevant number (infantry/cavalry/artillery regiments). This indicates the presence of at least one elite unit regiment of that type. Beyond that, you will know your own elite units, but might need intelligence gathering to work out what the enemy has. Likewise, it will be possible to conscript mobilized militia or armed citizens, and these inferior units will be denoted with a psi Ψ, like in CS1.

Navy-wise, there will be a major reorganization. Ships will be organized into three groups, like armies. Instead of infantry/cavalry/artillery, there will instead be main ship (eg 90-gun ships of line)/light ship (eg 32-gun frigates, bomb ships)/utility ship (eg military transports). As there could be a variety of types of ships in a navy, there will be no 'elite' ships worthy of marking one way or another. Embarked armies will be shown in brackets as a single figure for all combined regiments, regardless of type. Admirals will work the same as generals, but the two will not be interchangeable.

Also, for better differentiation of your navies, you may want to make a naval ensign flag. This is optional however.

Finally, fog of war will soon be introduced, so be careful.

[Bramzter]

Wow, People got BEAT man.

[Demonsul]

Oh, and another thing;

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I will be accepting additional players as individual characters - not nations, but characters. I'm still working out the details, but stay tuned if you are interested.

[Cidellus]

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BEHOLD, THE NAVAL JACK OF TIVESRA!!!



FEAR THE GULL, FOLKS!

[Galloglasses]

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CALLED IT, FUCKING CALLED IT! I knew you'd try your luck pala.

[Palamedes]

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Oi don't you start with me boyo - you're the one that plowed through and attacked before my army actually got around to doing anything besides regrouping after that asshole 2nd army made me take FOREVER to do anything.

[Demonsul]

Character Applications

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ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, ITS TIME TO MAKE CHARACTER APPLICATIONS!

HOORAH!

BE SURE TO PM THEM TO ME AND IF YOU POST THEM IN THE THREAD AS WELL KEEP THEM IN SPOILERS!

Name: THE NAME OF YOUR CHARACTER PRIVATE YOU'D BETTER KNOW THIS!
Gender: YOU WOULD BE A DISGRACE TO LIFE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS EITHER!
Age: DON'T WASTE MY TIME WITH DETAILS! A GENERAL ESTIMATE WILL DO IF YOU REALLY WANT!
Nationality: I WOULD PREFER IT IF YOU KEPT YOUR NATIONAL ETHNICITY TO WITHIN THE PLAYER NATIONS, MAGGOT!
Home nation: YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO START YOURSELF WITHIN A PLAYER NATION PRIVATE, PREFERABLY THE ONE OF YOUR NATIONALITY!
Occupation: TELL ME PRIVATE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?
Bio: I WANT FLUFF ON YOUR CHARACTER'S PAST AND PERSONALITY, MAGGOT! DON'T DISAPPOINT ME OR I'LL MAKE YOU DROP AND GIVE ME 20!

NOW MAGGOT, DON'T EXPECT SUCH LARGE UPDATES AS NATIONS WOULD GET AS A MERE CHARACTER! YOU'RE PLAYING THE LITE VERSION OF THE GAME, AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT HAVE AS MUCH OF AN EFFECT ON THE COURSE OF HISTORY AS THE NATION PLAYERS! BUT IF YOU KNUCKLE DOWN AND APPLY YOURSELF, MAGGOT, YOU MIGHT SURPRISE ME! SO GO GO GO!

[Logman1]

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Huh. This is neat. This would be a good time for me to suddenly have some creativity!


...



Nope. No ideas. Maybe later.

[Bramzter]

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My reaction to this:

[Demonsul]

Year Two of the Third Age


In case you haven't figured it out yet, click ye image.

As the fires of revolution burn away the last remnants of the ancient regime, a new age is dawning on the world. The hegemony of the old kingdom is forever broken, and the area is reeling from the shift in the balance of power.

Fearing anti-religious retribution as a result of the close links between the Classical Church and the ancient regime, the Archbishop Ascendant of the Classical Church, officially worshiped by all inhabitants of the old kingdom, has fled from his great cathedral in Tives to the cold lands of Skadgard. However, he has not condemned any of the revolutionary movements through the religion yet, and many church services continue unchanged throughout the revolutionary lands.

To the far southeast across the ocean, the Royal Eastlands are a matter of some discussion. Who should claim their ownership? The healthily diverse ethnic groups there are primarily Tivesran, Daridani, Taontan and Verren, and the land is currently under the control of the Verren republic – but debates are leading to a new partition, one which will decide how much this land will truly be split in the end.

Tives, the revolution-instigating head-chopping republic, has become a considerably more stable Consulate, with former general Maximilien Avolaire acting as First Consul. Their vast holdings have given them a lot of wealth to be starting with.

To the south, the Sultan of Andarassia has claimed the city of Eus Vandalas, which was founded by a client state of Andarassia (since subsumed) and conquered by the old kingdom at its height some fifty years ago. Although the Sultan seems keen on friendly relations with the new orders to the north of his lands, his motives remain unclear.

Meanwhile, Astravassia seems more inclined to look on the newly-divided kingdom as prime land for conquering. Rumors of military mobilization in their lands have intensified, and reached the ears of all. If there are wars in store against this foreign foe, the future will decide how they end.

In the west, Allerzeit and Palaver are under threat from increasing hostility from the states bordering them. Those states have long since bore grudges against the kingdom, and only now are they beginning to see that they could enact their revenge on these new states that formed from the kingdom's ruin.

Wrin's conquest of Wesseria has all but ended, with the Wesserians retreating to their islands and forming resistance movements. The wealth of their conquests is offset by the danger that came with them – the danger of dissent and rebellion.

Daridan and An tAontas are locked in conflict started during the revolution. The future outcome of this clash is unclear, but with the Sultan, the Verren Republic, and even Wrin and Tives looking on with interest, it could grow in scale massively before long.

The former usurper king of Aregoi, Richard I MacClaedemenh, has made his escape from the attacking An tAontas army by breaking free from their imprisoning him in a public building while waiting for transport somewhere more secure, and made off to the coast. There, he secured a loyalist warship docked there looking for someone to surrender to, and made off with a band of followers into the open sea. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

The future is unclear, as the old order has been struck down. The path from here is unknown, and the future is full of opportunity.

[CSJ]

Most Serene Bouchard Trade Company

The Bouchard Company sends its official greetings to the many nations that have arisen from the ashes of the Old Kingdom.

As one of the oldest trade companies in the region, we seek to continue providing our services to the people of the New Kingdoms as an independent, open-minded Corporation. As the need for stability in trade abounds, the Company seeks official Contracts with the New Kingdoms, wherever our presence is supported. We currently hold assets within Palaver, Tivesra and Daridan but are keen to gain access to ports in Ellittany and Allerzeit as a means of both encouraging peace and stable commerce at a time of great disquiet.

The Company is aware that other trade firms have turned to Piracy due to the collapse of regional trade during the war. The Bouchard Company seeks contacts willing to protect our vessels, or assist the reclamation of Bouchard property stolen by these vandals. When our merchant fleet is restored, we will be able to expand existing routes and provide goods otherwise unavailable to many of the Kingdoms. Those interested may contact either our Head Offices in Dranport, or our offices in Granton, Dalindie and Castol.

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>Be the ship

[Kesteven]

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I'd quite like to play the head of an emerging scientific institute if there's still room for characters. Any nation particularly academic?

[Palamedes]

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I don't think any of our nations were built upon being particularily scientific, though I know you'd be more then welcome in Daridan :P Same goes to most character entries!

[Galloglasses]

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As horrible as my nation is intentionally meant to be we will be researching alot of shit, the sooner we discover both genetics and darwinism (seperate things for the sake of progress) my nation shall unlock HIDDEN FUN STUFF

So if you're an academic who doesnt give a shit about ethics, my government will likely tolerate and even reward you.

[Cidellus]

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Come to Tivesra. We have donuts.

[Protoman]

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Communists are generally pretty hospitable to scientists. Get a state job and you'll probably get a lot of respect. Probably even become a personal favorite of one of the heads of state depending on what field you specialize in.

[Kocel232]

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And, of course, you could always base yourself in what remains of Wesserian Federation. They need all the people they can get.
See, Vancho? I might not have been able to help you out In-Game, but Out-Of-Game? I got your back, man. I got your back.

[Palamedes]

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Suddenly I have become a science nation so I would be your best bet!!!

No but seriously, we'd all love having guys who advance our technology levels, and would be nice to them, but none of us are science based. Just choose whoever you find most interesting, or just say fuck it and choose something we won't all be salivating over :P.