Cescedia, Allied States of Ardia

Three in the morning, sleep deprived and strung up to the heavens on combat stimulants. A string of lights through the mist occasionally broke the pitch dark. High speed cargo trains running at all hours when civilization slept, it would hardly be surprising if nobody thought anything of them. This one was different. Different enough that the Neo Quywe Federation was willing to go after it, thousands and thousands of kilometers away from home. And that they did.

Perched atop a steel bridge overlooking the railways, covered head to toe in black civilian clothing and carrying recovered gang weapons with the serial #s missing; they waited. Galaxy Initiative, the poison dagger of the reclusive NQF. "Almost on the clock. Minimize witnesses." Eunbi muttered, her Vesian accent nigh unintelligible. She continued to monitor security footage through a bulletproof tablet, their mark approaching rapidly. "What's language protocol?" Mazatl beside her asked with a whisper. "Lodjan, let's make this interesting." Eunbi replied with an impish grin. "Enough talk, though. Hit that thermite charge now, they should stop right below us." She said, changing to Lodjan immediately.

"Turning up the heat... now." Seongmin radioed in. Off in the distance, down the railway track, a bright flash came and faded into a fire. Off to the other end, a sleek black train came into view, decelerating as it neared them. "It's time. Get on that train." Eunbi growled, cutting off comms. The black train slowed to a halt while crew members disembarked to go investigate the fire. Against the endless dark of the night, Galaxy rushed the train, clinging to the sides and roof.

Complaining to themselves in Latin, the Ardian crew boarded the train once more. As soon as the last man was back on board, the train accelerated back to speed, blasting by the burning crates. "I'll say when we're out of city limits, until then keep quiet."

Ianaha traced her gaze idly across the room, even as a woman without a doubt bearing some kind of influence approached. She listened to what they had to say, the only giveaway that she was even paying attention being a small grin that formed as they spoke. "It's an auspicious day indeed. The great dragon of Quywe has come for all to see." She said, locking eyes with her, tilting her head to the side. She turned her head back towards the busy room as a Phoenix Guard approached; a noticeably toned Vesian woman wearing fashionably oversized spectacles. "Your drink." They said curtly, which Ianaha happily took.

"My journey..." She continued, smiling at nobody in particular. "The rain bears down heavily on Shidarekawa this time of year, it's nice to be away from it." Her eyes widened slightly in revelation as she took another pause in speaking. "Oh! Of course! Forgive me, I don't talk with people often. I am Grand General Ianaha Hasaenori, of the Neo Quywe Federation." She turned to face Jadwiga. Her clothing matched that of a General, bearing medals and markings appropriate. Her outward appearance lent itself more to a shut in, though.

Her dark hair reached down to her waist in the back, fixed up in a long braid. A lock of it also obscured her left eye at the front as it reached down to her shoulders. The Phoenix Guard walked off and disappeared into the crowd, no doubt still keeping an eye from a distance. "And you?" She asked, taking a sip from a tall glass. Like the Speaker and her fellow Serpents; Ianaha was undeniably quirky in the eyes of foreigners. Her mannerisms mimicked that of the Quywe nobles of old. Quiet, distant yet surprisingly affable.

Upon Junko's creation of a new government from the ashes of economic collapse, the Brilliant Speaker commissioned a train for use in diplomacy. Loaded up with enough expensive gadgets to keep someone else's VIPs entertained until they could be brought to nearest governmental palace. "I haven't seen those interns come back here since we left SDK." Muire remarked idly, watching hyperway nodes fly by along the rail, red LEDs and antennae guiding the train through Myouga's thick forests. "Doing a good job keeping King Lapu and the gang entertained I hope." Ohmura said, disinterested. "Fortunately I'm not on an internship to talk with people." He said, pulling a small curved knife from the inside of his glove before promptly sliding it back into place.

"Not a job I envy either, anyways, I'll go let them know we're close." Muire said, disappearing behind the door to the adjacent car. With a stiff, professional conduct, Muire appeared before King Lapu's delegation and the interns speaking with them. "Your Majesty." She announced to them curtly. "Please prepare to disembark. We are quickly approaching our stop."

The interns looked back and forth between each other and Muire in silence. "We are expecting rain." She began, opening a cabinet where everyone's coats were hanging. Quickly she shuffled them around, picking out King Lapu's and removing the plastic cover. "Your jacket, Your Majesty." She held the jacket out for Lapu to easily slip on.

Surrounded by men and women in all black suits, Junko sat patiently with an umbrella being held over her head for her. For today's meeting, she figured to don her best Himeyan-style dress. A bright crimson silk with complex patterns in gold and silver thread. The train's approach was her cue to tuck her phone away somewhere it couldn't be seen, and stand up to meet her guests.

"This is a no bandit zone, we make sure of that." Eunbi said coldly, still tracking Hetzein's movements through the end of her barrel. "Anyways, how the hell did you make it here if you're not a bandit?" Nagamasa inquired, lowering his own weapon slightly. "Sector 7 is a few kilometers ahead, but all we've seen come from this line are raiders."

"If he is a bandit after all, we have a hostage for when his friends show up. If not, the Director will probably want to speak to him anyways." Eunbi noted, peering up from her sights. "Take him back, more of us are coming." Nagamasa nodded and turned his back, motioning to Hetzein to follow with his head. "It's a security thing. We haven't encountered any friendly settlements." He said.

---

The Neo Quywe Federation, or NQF, is a multicultural nation formed from the region once considered the Quywe Empire of antiquity up until the Great war: Ahkabnil, Himeyama and Forusia, as well as small outlying provinces culturally distinct from the big three. The NQF was formed after a massive economic collapse struck northern Ardia in early 2018. Under the reign of the former Himeyan royal family, and legions of scholars handpicked by the family, the NQF is an unpredictable and ambitious nation politically.

Government Type:- Theocratic Dictatorship
Population:-:- 240 million
Capital City:- Chanal
Demonym:- Quywe (Official), Himeyan, Forusian, Ahkabian

---

Currency:- Quywe New Koban (₴)
GDP per Capita:- $24,000
Unemployment Rate:- 6%
Main Industries:- Information technology, crude oil, agriculture, heavy manufacturing.

---

Ethnicity:- 30% Ahkabian, 28% Himeyan, 23% Forusian, 17% regional minorities, 2% foreign nationals.
Languages:- Ahkabian, Himeyan, Forusian
Religions:- NQF theocratic cult, regional folk religions (unofficial)
Average Life Expectancy:- 78

---

Head of State:- Brilliant Speaker Junko Kamaejikawa
Head of Government:- Grand Auditor Elzir Serin
Name of Legislative Body:- Quywe New Secretariat

Momiji's radio buzzed to life. "Remember to keep in contact. Negligence has consequences." The Director's emotionless voice warned. To which Momiji rolled her eyes. "Okay, we're heading to your coordinates now." With Eztli at the head of the pack, the volunteers continued through the urban maze Tinhil City.

As she sat, patiently taking notes, a man barged in. "Director!" He cried. "A scout has reported seeing someone in the southern tunnel system." Seemingly frustrated, she looked up. "Why am I being told about it? Hurry up and kill it." The man stared at her awkwardly. "No, I mean an actual person!" Bewildered, the Director stared him down. "From the southern tunnels?"

"Arunaya Express Line. One of our scouts is keeping an eye on them." The Director looked back down at her notes. "I see. Get someone to back them up. Then you may initiate contact with them." She said, waving the man away with a hand gesture. "Yes ma'am!"

---

"That's the guy?" Eunbi whispered, tracking a man with the barrel of her rifle. "It's him. I'm gonna flank him then we'll say something." Nagamasa whispered back. He watched Eunbi crawl up against a large pipe, watching the man from above in the poorly-lit scaffolding near the ceiling. Behind their back, Nagamasa shuffled behind a concrete barricade and took aim at the man. Eunbi made a gesture.

"You there. Freeze." He commanded, aiming at the man at center mass. "What are your intentions?" He asked. Eunbi came out of hiding, audibly cocking her weapon for the stranger to hear.

Can I stake my claim on Paul Ricard and Monza as GP Lightstream Marumiya (Suiseikawa) and GP Ura-Rokkō (NQF) respectively?

Team Name Chiyoko Motorsport Division
Driver 1 Ryo Yokazura
Driver 2 Seika Matsuba

Hey wait a second I recognize that letter!

NQF votes for Krimeon.

Tinhil City, Arunaya Province, Neo Quywe Federation
May 28th, 2056

No such thing as a peaceful sleep, Eztli thought as the commotion around him stirred him awake. "All block 7-J residents, report to the meeting room immediately." the intercom called out again and again; 7-J was mostly able bodied young men and women, probably looking for volunteers to go to the surface again, Eztli assumed. He quickly fixed his thick black hair to the side and splashed his face with cold water. He quickly disengaged himself from the hanging hand mirror and joined the stream of people.

While the gathering of people from 7-J was almost a weekly occurrence, Eztli locked eyes with a few obvious foreigners while passing through the dark concrete halls. Recent additions to 7-J, the first in a long time. Probably crawled into Sector 7 from the almost entirely abandoned Tenzai tunnel that once linked Tinhil City to Himeyama's capital. Though Himeyan they obviously weren't.

The meeting room was always occupied with engineers and scientists. They used data and images displayed on the countless consoles to help brief whoever was unfortunate or ballsy enough to go up to the surface when something went wrong. If Sector 7's military trained expedition teams got into trouble, even with scavenged military equipment, someone had to go pick up after them, and the ones that did were considered disposable. "Listen up, 7-J. Expedition teams Shinzan and Tecolotl were sent out 72 hours ago to look for a shipment of computer parts spotted about a week ago, Shinzan returned an hour ago with casualties and Tecolotl was last heard from 12 hours ago about 45 blocks away from Maruba station." The emotionless director of sector 7, a short and slender Vesian woman in a lab coat carefully explained the details of the situation.

"We will be forming a provisional expedition team to search for Tecolotl, survivors or their remains and equipment. I need at least 6 volunteers or I will pick you out myself." The Director glared into the crowd of people who gathered. Eztli sighed and stepped forward through the crowd, muttering among themselves. As a reservist trained for recon missions in the NQF armed forces before the Fall, he figured if someone had to go, he'd rather take the place of someone less adept. The Director gave a simple grunt to acknowledge his existence and turned her attention back to everyone else.

Mere seconds later a second pair of feet stepped up onto the elevated metal platform. Eztli looked back, and to his surprise, the introverted Maeka Ashikaga was now standing behind him, eyeing the director up and down. Maeka volunteering took Eztli by surprise, the daughter of a famous UTCT officer by the name of Yua, rarely even left her tent except to eat and exercise with a communal weight set. She was quiet. But Eztli had saw her fight before, fast, aggressive, efficient, if a bit spiteful; Eztli figured to avoid her, in case the stress of being on the surface caused her to snap on someone.

NQF and Suiseikawa will take part.

"Lancer Tsubaki Maera, 814th Light Battalion?" the officer quizzically called out into a formation of uniformed veterans, patiently waiting outside the NQF governmental airliner. "The hell are you doing about to attend an international function with the Brilliant Speaker herself?" his eyes locked onto her as she stepped up before him. "CO said some of us would be hand-picked to serve as ceremonial guards, sir. I don't get paid enough to know why."

"I guess I don't either, your unit was deployed as a strike force during the Myodai Insurgency, Lancer?" "Yes, sir." "Sounds more fun than this. I don't envy you."

---

"Tsubaki, was it? I surely hope it wasn't too much trouble to have been pulled from your post." Speaker Junko said with a thin smile. "Not at all, Your Highness." Tsubaki responded stiffly, hopelessly unfamiliar with the formalities beyond which the HADS, and later the NQF Army taught her, which to say was merely standing at attention and ending every statement and answer with ", Sir." It put her in a place where she could neither concentrate on doing her job or try to forget about it.

"I'm glad to hear." Junko's voice was dainty and smooth, though something about it didn't quite sit right with Tsubaki, it had almost the opposite effect of being soothing to her. Maybe she was the one out of place here, she thought. Perhaps it was the idea of being on a plane without a carbine and a parachute, not having somewhere to be 10 kilometers below; though she still had a fleeting suspicion the Speaker simply wasn't a person to get comfortable around.

---

With the Rokkenjimans having finished their greetings, the Speaker approached Emperor Peter with a proud stride, Tsubaki to her right and a carefully arranged formation of veterans, young and old behind her. "Your Majesty, I've heard many things about you." Junko said with enthusiasm, to which Tsubaki and the other veterans behind her raised their left fist into the air, the salute of the NQF.

The governments of Suiseikawa and Tsuyariko today have been warned by Speaker Junko, head of state for the Neo Quywe Federation, that "continued non-compliance will lead only to war." This lengthy ultimatum comes after both states have spoken of their intentions to ensure their continued independence from the NQF.

When the former states of Ahkabnil and Cojotan earlier this year rallied together in the face of rapid economic collapse, the provinces of Myouga and Shuko in Himeyama were quick to join with their own civil order quickly disintegrating. Mere months after the Neo Quywe Federation formed, they already had their sights set on the remaining provinces of Himeyama, who had voted against joining the NQF and opted for independence instead.

All three states have begun rapid militarization and the government of Tsuyariko has warned citizens living on the Tsuyariko-NQF border to be prepared to evacuate at any moment, and advises everyone else to stay clear entirely.

Remove me from the map.

welcome to the fun zone, looks like you're already getting settled in

good to see

For the first time since setting foot outside of the Galtai monastery, Veasna had found comfort. The dense foliage surrounding the lake and narrow river that fed into it had shielded her from the vicious sun that clawed and bit at her from dawn to dusk in a way that her tall, ornate headdress she had never taken off in public could not. After shamelessly gorging herself on the fruits and clean water offered by the oasis, she had spent the rest of the evening excitedly documenting the journey and all she encountered, to the point where she had used half the pages in her leatherbound notepad.

That morning, with a pack once again heavy with supplies, Veasna marched on towards Sybos, with a renewed dignity that she had been bled dry of during the long and perilous walk in the desert.

---

When she finally arrived before the towering walls of Sybos, Veasna had been forced into a most undesirable position: standing and waiting. The queue of men awaiting entrance to the city via one of the many guarded entrances had wrapped around the wall a considerable length; most of them from parts of the world unknown to the Ridyati. Their bright pink complexion no doubt brought on by the scorching heat in what she assumed were otherwise pale skinned adventurers. Her own skin in comparison, had gone from a slightly pale tan to a reddish light brown.

As the line shrunk to less than a dozen people in front of her, Veasna considered how to answer the questions the soldiers at the gate had asked each and every person. The Ridyati had a common practice of lying to strangers, especially those outside their monasteries. To seek so much as a name would quickly turn into a duel of wits as a pair of Ridyati attempted to outsmart one another. It wasn't as though they had anything to gain through lying, it was a simple matter of keeping sharp wits to the Ridyati, whom believed there was a time and place for honesty.

"Next." the soldier finally called, prompting Veasna to step forward slightly. "Show your weapons." he casually said. Veasna unsheathed a small, broad dagger with a jewel-encrusted hilt. "Where is your homeland?" he continued in a uniform manner. "Beyond the Meklos Ravine to the east." Veasna answered without a moment's hesitation, it was the truth, though there was little between Sybos and the Meklos Ravine worth mentioning.

The soldier raised an eyebrow. "You look like a Tyrridian." he probed, taking note of Veasna's dark skin and broad cheekbones. "Smart man." she replied with a smirk. He looked back down at his book and resumed taking notes. "Right. On your way, dark one. Don't think about starting trouble, you've a face I can remember."

Immediately after entering Sybos, Veasna was shocked by the sheer volume of people beyond the walls. It was an endless stream of people entering and exiting the stone buildings and crawling up and down the roads, some old, some young, some armed to the teeth. Feeling out of place, she quickly stripped out of the baggy white cloth that protected her from the heat and tied them around her waist, over the sleeveless, fitted blue and purple robe she had quietly slipped on before entering the queue to the city.

As she ventured into the depths of Sybos, Veasna had pushed and shoved her way past leisurely shoppers and persistent hagglers, attempting to stop her again and again, shoving strange currency in her face in hopes of taking her dagger, headdress or even the silk robe back to their stalls. She quickened her pace when she spotted a couple particular stalls with steam and smoke rising from them. It seems she had missed eating a substantial meal more than she realized.

Quickly taking a table occupied by another single adventurer in the middle of the road, she enthusiastically ordered a massive platter of barbecued meat and exceptionally pungent curry. Only after the lady behind the stall repeatedly acknowledged her request did Veasna turn back to make eye contact with the young man sat at the table with her.