"There's a reckoning at the end of this and when that happens, when we get Rowe held to account the last thing we're going to want is Henry Cole exercising any authority over the Rokkenjiman military." Liosa said "Use him as a confidant, use him as an advisor do not put him on the board because that gives Rowe a shield when we get to the reckoning."
"More immediate concerns." Emerson said "Rion?"
"Remember that I said there was a move that was going to bring the main threat into play? This is it." Rion said "You start a war with Kusan and you make Rowe bulletproof, he becomes the person who rescued Sophia Anselmo and at the same time he brings the true threat to Rokkenjima's shores. We'll ignore for now that he's doing a Palpatine and that Ri Chŏng-jun has likely been sponsored by Rowe to execute that coup."
"Countermove?" Emerson asked
"How long does it take you to get the Diet back from their recess?" Rion asked
"Twenty four hours to get everyone back to the capital." Emerson said "Add in the debate, the vote... about forty eight hours before Rowe gets his war."
"Can you guarantee me that forty eight hours?" Rion said "No retaliatory strikes, no offensive action?"

Emerson looked at Asuna, it was going to be tricky, the public would be baying for blood, they'd be demanding action. "Yes but we can't guarantee a second more than that." he said
"Ok here's what we do." Rion said "Standard procedure is that Rowe is going to want a meeting to discuss the military response, that's likely coming the minute you recall the Diet." she looked at Asuna "You're going to agree to that but it's not you he's going to meet, it's going to be me. You're going to need to give me the authority to arrest him. At the same time as Rowe's here Kado will take his INIS agents, bust into IHC and shut the place down, he'll arrest every member of the SIS."
"On what charges?" Liosa asked
"At this point conspiracy to commit criminal damage." Rion said "That gets Rowe off the board and we can continue to gather evidence on what we suspect in the meantime. Split the SIS agents up, apply pressure and see who rolls on Rowe."
"And he's not running the show while this builds to the crescendo." Emerson said
"Which will be the Youth Diet." Rion said

---

The Marble Palace's Round Table Room was once again full of the various people who needed to know what was going on. The video conference line to Commonwealth House was being used so Peter could participate and somewhere in the skies heading south from Seaforth Serenity was listening on the phone, she could have used Fox One's videoconferencing but in this instance wasn't due to the fact that she was also ferrying Evanthe home, Euphy was doing her best to help the situation by trying to keep Evanthe occupied with of all things picking out Serenity's outfit for the Youth Diet.

"Ok talk to me." Peter said "Do we know where she is?"
"She's at a prison in Kaesong." Sally Barkley, the head of Achkaerinese Intelligence, said
"And we know this how?" Peter asked
"Because when it comes to CP we take our job very seriously." it was Rion's voice over a phone line "Long story short each of the Anselmo's has in their possession something fitted with a tracking device. In Sophia's case it's a charm bracelet."
"I got her a charm bracelet when she turned twenty one..." Peter said
"Yes you've been quite helpful in this regard." Rion said "We don't know 100% that she's still wearing the bracelet but we did observe the signal moving from Posan to Kaesong. So Sophia's there."

Adam Sheppard, the Minister of Defence, looked up "General Starling what are you proposing?" he was addressing Lassis Starling the commander of the Achkaerin Special Forces.
"We go and get her." Lassie said "Special Forces insert across the border from the Vax region, we send in a support troop as well, to cover the exit route."
"On foot?" Adam asked
"Only way we're doing this." Lassie said
"That's one hell of a tab." Adam said "That's close to a hundred and fifty kilometre round trip."
"So we're talking about a prison break?" Peter asked
"Yes." Lassie said
"What do we do when Kusan figures out it was us?"  Peter asked
"They don't need to figure that out to guess it or level an accusation." Adam said
"We do it like we did the Cecelia rescue." Rion said "We use Ri Sang-Hee's presence to provide us with cover. We make the op a deniable job, we make it look like it's a backlash. We do this right Kusan will collapse in on itself."
"You're asking what I think you're asking aren't you?" Peter said
"Yep." Rion said

"We'll need the Senate's sign off." Adam said
"We do a veiled seven." Elena Brooke said
"What's a veiled seven?" Nettie asked
"It's a method of how we get the Senate's sign off on military action when we don't want to advertise that we're doing it." Elena said "It's what we did when the Cult of Helus Genocide happened."
"How's it work?" Nettie asked
"First we put something up on the business that's going to probably take all day and is serious enough that the whole Senate will likely be there. In this case Troyes, we'll table a motion to do with it, in effect that's the veil" Elena said "While that's going on, I take the proposed military action matter to the various party leaderships behind the scenes, they brief their members and then there's a rolling vote through the day, at the end of business we tally the vote in the presence of specially appointed attestors who along with myself and the Speaker sign as to the validity of the vote."
"We have forty eight hours." Peter said "That takes up tomorrow's business in the Senate."
"I'll have the troops prepped and ready to go the moment we get word." Lassie said

"Do it." Serenity's voice finally came through the line "Elena you call me with the vote outcome once the process is done, General Starling you get me the details of what you're proposing to do. If the Senate agrees you'll get the go as soon as possible." she took a breath "Rion?"
"Yes?" Rion asked
"This only gets you check it doesn't get mate." Serenity said
"I know but it's mate in three." Rion said

---

In Jenka-Jenkinson the Imperial Ryusei had touched down ahead of the return flight the following day. The chosen pilots for this part of the operation were Eloise Lloyd and Ethan Rodriguez, the pair usually operated cargo aircraft for the Achkaerinese military, but here they were not in their military uniforms but wearing the outfits worn by the Imperial Ryusei crews, getting measured for them had been an experience.
"Ok powering down." Eloise said going through the procedure to shut off the power to the aircraft.
"Things we never thought we'd fly." Ethan said
"It's up there." Eloise said "Never thought I'd fly as basically a commercial pilot."
"First time for everything." Ethan said "Bunch of teenagers aboard tomorrow and then we have to fly them back."
"And we're taking the scenic route." Eloise said

Shadows of the Past, Part One: The Old World

---

Hatsukaichi Bay, Izumi Prefecture
December 6th, 1945
10:01 AM

   The gentle splash of the water against the hull of the boat was of little comfort to Yuna, who watched, on an early December morning, as the ruins of Hatsukaichi slipped beyond the horizon on Hatsukaichi Bay. Here was a city she knew and loved, quelled in bitter death by a force so immense, so powerful that none—neither Ardian or Achkaerinese—should possess. “How did it all go so wrong?” she thought, privately, as she looked down at the pair of letters in her hand. One was singed but otherwise in good condition; that was the one that her brother had given her a year ago, only to be opened if he were truly dead. The other, though water-damaged and thus hard to read, was the reason she was on this boat.

   Her sister had survived, though she had apparently fallen ill.

   She was fortunate that her extended family out in Furue had been around to take her in; their old home was, from what she saw when she passed by it earlier in the morning, badly damaged and all but abandoned, save perhaps for a group of orphaned children who had taken up shelter inside. Perhaps her father knew, though he always was the charitable sort, so it likely didn’t bother him too much given the circumstances. Make no doubt about it, with the war being done and his old place of work being gone, he would most likely seek to move soon anyways. That old house, where they’d weathered the early years of the war together… It hurt to see it in that state, truthfully, but then again, she figured it was perhaps better than if it had been wiped away.

   “Y’know, I can’t help but feel like I’ve seen you around before.” The boat’s pilot, a man by the name of Kenji Okada, said as he steered the small craft to avoid a net. “Where are you from?”
   “Kyūre, Okada-san.” Yuna replied before adding “But I was born in Hatsukaichi.”
   “I see…” The pilot muttered to himself. “And I take it you’ve got family out across the bay, right?”
   “Yes, sir.”
   “Well, you’re lucky, then. Afraid we lost a lot of folks back in August… Damned shame.”

   Luck, or perhaps fate. She never gave much importance to either, truthfully, but she couldn’t fault someone for believing in either if it gave them some degree of comfort. In her mind, however, if luck existed, it passed over her many years ago, and if it were destiny… Well, suffice to say she didn’t believe in that, either. Even if she did, she now recognized that life was, by its very nature, both imperfect and transient, and thus worth celebrating. If, as the old saying went, the beauty of flowers was that they fall, then so too was the beauty of life that it had to end. And just as life itself had to end, today, a part of her life would, too. The life she had once known was well and truly over.

   As she stepped off the boat, she came across a sight which, in months passed, she had sadly grown accustomed to. Human bones, skull and all, laying in the field outside of town. A great many people had died, both as a result of the bombing and from some sort of new disease which was associated with it, but also from starvation. As far as war-torn cities went, Kyūre had gotten off easy; with the port in Hatsukaichi destroyed by the blast, the bombed-out port there had become the jumping off point for supplies on this side of the Mutsu, which meant that they had first pickings of anything coming in. Hatsukaichi was not so lucky, even with the attention drawn to it. Even before war’s end, famine had struck the region, and evidently, whoever this was, they’d been here for a while. They probably had nobody left to bury them, Yuna thought as she offered a silent prayer for them before moving on. That, or maybe whoever knew them in life simply didn’t know what had come of them.

   A few minutes would pass as she walked through familiar alleys and over familiar roads, but eventually she would see that place she had, in another life, seen as a second home. Out by the shore, rows upon rows of seaweed sat upon their racks, drying in the late autumn sun. And there, tending to them, faces she had not seen since a cold day in December of ‘43.
   “Yuna!” The youngest—her cousin, Hiyori—shouted as she ran to greet her, almost causing Yuna to trip when she hugged her. “Are you alright?” She soon asked upon seeing her arm.
   “More or less.” She answered. “I’m glad to see you’re all still alive. Is Ikuko still here?”
   “Of course.” Her aunt, Haruna, answered before pointing toward the door. “She’s resting at the moment, but feel free to say hello.”

---

10:33 AM

   The door slid open, flooding the room with the piercing white light of the sun. From the clock hanging on the wall to the photos on the shelf, it was striking how little had changed, Yuna thought as she looked around. The last time she’d been here, her cousin had warned her that she would marry far away, only for her to find out scarcely a few minutes later that she was right. Some prophecy, huh. But in the corner, sitting under the kotatsu, her sister was waiting for her.
   “Ah, there you are.” Ikuko said, gently. “D-did you cut your hair? It looks…”
   “Awful? I know.” Yuna smiled, trying to ignore the day she did that. Not her proudest moment, even if it was easier to care for.
   “No, it… Suits you.” Her sister answered, her lies falling on deaf ears. After a moment, she motioned to the table before saying “Please, sit.”
   “How’re you holding up?” Yuna asked, placing her bag aside before doing just that. “I heard you’re sick.”
   “Nah, I’m fine. I just get fatigued easily these days…” Ikuko said. “Forgive me, dearest sister, for I couldn’t go out to collect nori on this cold day.” She added in a mock-serious tone before nearly breaking out into laughter.
   “I suppose you are owed a day off once in a while.”
   “You and me both. I only wish it were warmer.”
   “You said it.” Yuna admitted, thinking back on the old days. “Remember the first time we crossed the bay on our own? With Iwao, I mean.” She reminisced, thinking about how they’d all wound up covered in mud, no doubt because the gods had decided to punish their brother for his poor behavior that day.
   “It’s just a shame he won’t be coming home.” Ikuko sighed. She had been so adamant, around this time last year, that he had survived, that to hear her finally admit it came as a surprise. “And Mom, too.”
   “What?” Yuna asked, not really shocked but still struck by what she’d just been told. It wasn’t as though it were surprising; if she’d lived, then she would’ve said something, or if not, then her grandmother or Aunt Haruna. Frankly, she had an inkling that it may have happened based on her calls with her father. Just something about his voice gave it away, but… it still hurt.
   “She was helping set up for the festival, back in the morning of the fifth. Your uncle and I went looking for her, day after day, but… Well, he got sick and died in October. We had a service for both of them at the old schoolhouse.” Ikuko said, pausing momentarily as she took her sister’s hand in her own. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get a word to you.”
   “No, it’s fine.” Yuna said; her words only partly true. It was okay that she couldn’t, given her condition and how badly communication had broken down since the bombing, but she had wished she’d known sooner. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home sooner.”
   “Nah, it’s better you weren’t here. I wouldn’t want you to have gotten sick too.”

   “She won’t catch what you’ve got.” A familiar voice said from behind the door, which soon slid open to reveal none other than their father. As with everyone else here, it had been some time since Yuna had seen Haruto, though of course, they had spoken quite frequently since that day in August. “But I do agree, it’s for the best you stayed put.” He added as he took a seat with them. “It, uh, doesn’t hurt, does it?” He asked, motioning to Yuna’s arm.
   “Not as much as it used to.” Yuna nodded. “I mean, sometimes it feels like I’ve still got that arm, but… Well, you can see for yourself.”
   “It’s unforgivable.” Haruto sighed. “I mean, I saw a lot back in my day, but the Ardians didn’t go out of their way to directly target everyday folks. Neither did we. I suppose… I suppose this war drew out the worst in people, and there’s no real walking back from it.”
   “Dad, I was in the-”
   “In the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m sure everyone in Shinkyo and in Hatsukaichi feel the same way, huh? Sorry to break it to you, but the truth is that all of this was planned out. Premeditated murder on a massive scale, plain and simple. Shinkyo was put to the torch when people were asleep. The whole lot of them burned in their homes because some bastard wanted them to. Same thing with Hatsukaichi and the festival. By the gods, they were trying to wipe us out, and you think I can forgive them for that?”
   “Nobody’s asking you to.” Ikuko answered.
   “I… I’m sorry. I’m gonna go for a walk, clear my head.” He said before standing up and leaving. “They found your brother, by the way. POW camp out in Yakushima. He… didn’t make it.” He added, not even turning around to look them in the eye before slamming the door shut. And so, an awkward silence fell over the room that would last for quite some time. Eventually, they would resume their conversation, but eventually, Yuna would have to leave. She had business in Hatsukaichi before she could go home.

Comrades,

While we have acted sternly in the constraints of self-defense we've seen the imperialist bastards and their underlings attempt to harm our glorious People's Democratic Republic, perhaps wishing to return to finish the work they couldn't accomplish some seventy four years ago. Back then we were very much at their mercy; they could hit us with impunity and retreat from our waters but today, comrades, the tables are turned and while we've seen the Rokkenjimans join with the Clysperi, the two conspiring in waters far too sanctified for their vessels to even sail into, act in pure aggression towards the People's Democratic Republic of Kusan. The liars have even claimed they sank a Kusanese vessel, reports which are merely the lies of a mad woman in the desert who's spent far too much time in the sun that she's lost all sense of reason. We've lost nothing, I promise you, but we have sent a message that there is a red line and any attempts to surpass that line will see severe consequences extracted from our enemies. Primarily our forces are aligned against the Rokkenjimans and the Clysperi at the moment, yet we're also tracking the Fusanese and the Achkaerinese as they lay very much in the same bed as Rokkenjiman and Clysperi dogs do. If they insert themselves into this affair, well, the retribution they face will be deliberate, it will be severe, and their Empress and Emperor will weep over each coffin we send back to Shinkyō and Valtheim, I promise you."

"To Achkaerin and Fusan I say this: do not act in any manner to defend the Rokkenjimans or the Clysperi, or else we will be forced to view you both as willing combatants in this conflict. This would open the entirety of Kalasin to the full might of Kusanese retribution, and we would see the effective removal of your forces from this region of Mundus by any means necessary. Remain uninvolved and we will continue to tolerate your presence in Kalasin until such a time the nation is stable and able to operate on its own, and I might even consider the validity of the elections your lot held there. You've a choice in this moment to abandon the worst impulses of Chrysanthemum Throne and simply remain uninvolved. While I recognize that the Rokkenjiman Empress, tyrant, despot is a spawn who can ultimately trace her lineage to the Azurewinds, you're better served by cutting your losses if she acts foolishly. We have fought for 70 plus years thus far and have persisted despite every obstacle, do you really think you can defeat those who defend their home territory?"

"I expect, in the next 72 hours, statements of intent from both Shinkyō and Valtheim as to their intentions, after which I will consider the position of Kusan to both of you. I would urge you to take my advice and opt-out; leave this feud between Kusan and Rokkenjima between us, and let us settle it without you. If you tie yourselves to them, however, I wouldn't shed a tear if the lot of you drowned together. It would save the rest of Mundus from suffering your collective presence for even one further decade."

Stage 7 results

1 - Naozumi Iga (Hachinobu Seisei) 6:25:41
2 - Hermann Takkala (AABL-Ujredi) + 00:03
3 - Klaus Becker (SV Meergesellen) + 01:37
4 - Luke Riley (Phoenix Cycling) + 01:42
5 - Daniel Longbridge (Phoenix Cycling) + 02:55
6 - Galbeyte Egal (MKTkom) + 03:38
7 - Otto Schulz (SV Meergesellen) + 04:11
8 - Germund Strand (AABL-Ujredi) + 04:25
9 - Graham Donnelly (Tolsenn-Lark) + 06:16
10 - Asketyll Omdahl (MKTkom) + 10:08
11 - Kozo Egashira (Hachinobu Seisei) + 11:08
12 - Tariel Kipiani (MKTkom) + 13:45
13 - Lars Aaltonen (AABL-Ujredi) + 23:06
14 - Choi Ung (Jaeyal-Suchul) + 29:56
15 - Timothy Coulter (Phoenix Cycling) + 32:18
...
DNF -  Imeda Kupatadze (MKTkom)
DNF - Cassius Appia (AureaTerra)

---

General classification

1 - Naozumi Iga (Hachinobu Seisei) 38:59:03
2 - Galbeyte Egal (MKTkom) + 01:33
3 - Hermann Takkala (AABL-Ujredi) + 08:16
4 - Graham Donnelly (Tolsenn-Lark) + 11:39
5 - Luke Riley (Phoenix Cycling) + 15:16
6 - Daniel Longbridge (Phoenix Cycling) + 26:47
7 - Heinrich Müller (SV Mergesellen) + 34:01
8 - Kozo Egashira (Hachinobu Seisei) + 37:25
9 - Otto Schulz (SV Meergesellen) + 37:30
10 - Friedrich Wagner (SV Mergesellen) + 38:33

---

Points classification

1 - Naozumi Iga (Hachinobu Seisei) - 85 points
2 - Hermenegild Suuma (AABL-Ujredi) - 60 points
3 - Hans Richter (SV Meergesellen) - 60 points
4 - Eddie Chevere (Tolsenn-Lark) - 53 points
5 - Kazushi Eto (Hachinobu Seisei) - 36 points
6 - Galbeyte Egal (MKTkom) - 32 points
7 - Graham Donnelly (Tolsenn-Lark) - 30 points
8 - Karl Sturmwald (SV Meergesellen) - 30 points
9 - Andrew Mason (Phoenix Cycling) - 29 points
10 - Hermann Takkala (AABL-Ujredi) - 23 points

---

Mountain classification

1 - Naozumi Iga (Hachinobu Seisei) - 39 points
2 - Hermann Takkala (AABL-Ujredi) - 29 points
3 - Klaus Becker (SV Mergesellen) - 20 points
4 - Kozo Egashira (Hachinobu Seisei) - 13 points
5 - Daniel Longbridge (Phoenix Cycling) - 12 points
6 - Luke Riley (Phoenix Cycling) - 10 points
7 - Tariel Kipiani (MKTkom) - 6 points
8 - Otto Schulz (SV Mergesellen) - 6 points
9 - Asketyll Omdahl (MKTkom) - 6 points
10 - Germund Strand (AABL-Ujredi) - 5 points

---

Youth classification

1 - Galbeyte Egal (MKTkom) 39:00:33
2 - Luke Riley (Phoenix Cycling) + 13:46
3 - Heinrich Müller (SV Mergesellen) + 32:31
4 - Friedrich Wagner (SV Mergesellen) + 37:03
5 - Karl Sturmwald (SV Mergesellen) + 41:21
6 - Hans Richter (SV Mergesellen) + 47:29
7 - Timothy Coulter (Phoenix Cycling) + 53:25
8 - Martial Giove (AureaTerra) + 01:31:33
9 - Merab Gvitsia (MKTkom) + 01:40:33
10 - Yvan Traverse (AureaTerra) + 01:43:21

---

Team classification

1 - MKTkom 105:58:15
2 - SV Meergesellen + 4:21
3 - AABL-Ujredi + 9:04
4 - Hachinobu Seisei + 14:15
5 - Phoenix Cycling + 44:54
6 - Tolsenn-Lark + 1:36:23
7 - AureaTerra + 2:39:19
8 - Jaeyal-Suchul Team + 2:51:35

---

The Imperial Fusanese Navy aircraft carrier IFN Taihō (CVN-43) will deploy to the EoF Southern Command area of operations over the next few months as part of EoF Naval Forces Southern Command/EoF 2nd Fleet's Antalin Sea 2024 deployment. Taihō, as well as Akaishi-class Strike Cruiser Tone (CSGN-6), elements of DESRON 2 including destroyers Kosuke Abe (DDG-111) and Teijirō Endo (DDG-89), and combat support ship Gassan (AOE-12) are scheduled to conduct passing exercises and operations with partner nation maritime forces as the ships travel across the region, with the deployment's goal being to test interoperability between member-states of the Association of Shaw and Dauntel Nations. The deployment comes on the heels of the recent declaration of the "Republic of Troyes" by forces belonging to the organization known as "Real Marseilles", an act supported by some members of the ADSN while others remained apprehensive, including the government of Fusan. Nonetheless, it is believed that this deployment may serve to bolster already present forces in the region in the event that the Kingdom of Seaforth, which we note illegally occupied the city in 2017, elects to push the issue any further.

Regarding the possibility that Seaforth does not back down, a source within the War Ministry suggested that they are "unconcerned, but nonetheless remaining vigilant" with regards to such a scenario. Echoing the words of Emperor Eijirō last Wednesday, they further stated that the government should prioritize diplomatic efforts to prevent such a scenario from playing out, however unlikely it may be. Taihō, as well as the rest of CSG-8, is expected to arrive in the region late evening of the 26th. YHK will continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Troyes and the Strait of Shaw, as well as other ongoing conflicts across the globe.

---

Late on April 22nd, 2024, mission controllers at NASDA's Institute of Aerospace Technology in Yura, Tokai sent the last commands to ask NASDA's Nozomi rover on Nergal to call home. Nozomi has not communicated with Mundus since September 17th, 2023. One of the most successful and enduring feats of interplanetary exploration, NASDA's Nozomi rover is at an end after nearly twenty years spent exploring the surface of Nergal and helping lay the groundwork for the agency's continued exploration of the Red Planet. The Nozomi rover stopped communicating with Mundus when a Nergal-wide dust storm blanketed its location in September 2023. After more than a thousand commands to restore contact, engineers in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASDA's Institute of Aerospace Technology (IAT) made their last attempt to revive Nozomi on Monday, to no avail. The RTG-powered rover's final communication was received on the 17th of September.

"It is thanks to trailblazing missions like Nozomi that there will soon come a day when our brave uchunauts will walk on the surface of Nergal," said NASDA Administrator Jiro Asagiri. "And when that day arrives, some portion of that first footprint will be owned by the men and women who worked with Nozomi, and a little rover that defied the odds and did so much in the name of exploration."

Designed to last for just a single Mundus year and to travel four kilometers, Nozomi vastly surpassed all expectations in its endurance, scientific value and longevity. In addition to exceeding its life expectancy by more than nineteen times, the rover traveled more than fifty-seven kilometers by the time it reached its final resting spot in Candor Chasma, the planned future site where NASDA will land a crew on the surface and a site which is perhaps most fitting for the rover, which brought much joy to the world over its many years of service. Many may fondly recall when, in July of 2023, the rover's visit to the landing site of the previous year's Nergal Sky Sailor mission, the first winged aircraft to fly in the atmosphere of Nergal. During that visit, which coincided with the one year anniversary of the mission, Nozomi famously played the song "Happy Birthday" for the now-powerless aircraft using its Sample Analysis at Nergal (SAN) instrument, a scene which became something of a joke online, with some noting the "seemingly macabre playing of a celebratory song for a fallen comrade", while others noted that it only further sold how lonely the rover's existence was on Nergal.

"For nearly two decades, Nozomi has been an icon in the field of planetary exploration, teaching us about Nergal's ancient past as a wet, potentially habitable planet, and revealing uncharted Nergalian landscapes," said Sachio Yamazaki, associate administrator for NASDA's Science Mission Directorate. "Whatever loss we feel now must be tempered with the knowledge that the legacy of Nozumi continues —both on the surface of Nergal with the Tasogare rover and Akatsuki lander—and in the clean rooms of IAT, where the next generation of Nergal rovers are taking shape."

The final transmission, sent via the 70-meter Nergal Station antenna at NASDA's Gyotaishin Deep Space Complex in Tsukishima, ended a multifaceted, six-month recovery strategy in an attempt to compel the rover to communicate. While the root cause of this failure to communicate with the rover is presently uncertain, the leading theory is that it may have been caused by an electrostatic coronal discharge caused by the global dust storm. Such a fate, while perhaps not befitting of a rover as well-loved as Nozomi, is one that engineers at NASDA have determined simply cannot be recovered. As a result, NASDA has finally put to rest its longest mission to another planet, allowing the rover to join its sister, Hinode—which was shut down after sustaining damage to three of its six wheels—in eternal slumber.