Campaign Liberation of Belsavis: The Big Freeze

[Imperator Sarilia Ellwin]

Spindle VI
​

Imperator Sarilia was as tired as she was far from home. Having spent the last three years aboard the Archduke was exhausting for her and the numerous refugees that put the capacity of her ship to the test. Admirably, her crew rose to the challenge to care for their people. Even with tensions between the crew and the refugees high, the single unifying factor that kept everyone in line was their sense of identity. They were all from Belsavis, and that strength of unity was what kept Sarilia herself going as well. Still, it was obvious that the time spent fleeing from pursuers had worn her thin. She had lost weight since the coup, and in spite of her best efforts to be perfectly presentable there was always something about her that showed just how emotionally spent she truly was.

The Elysium Empire was not so different from the principles that guided Belsavis prior to the coup. With the junta firmly in place, this place was more home than home was now. It broke her heart to know that her people suffered at the hands of cruel despotic monopolists. Her contacts on Belsavis had reported to her the motivation behind the coup, and it could not disgust her more if they tried. Her cousin, Queen Aria, was planning to open the planet to foreign embassy and trade. Feeling that their influence over finance and foreign policy was under threat, they executed their plan to protect their own personal interests and not the interests of the people of Belsavis. Each and every single one of them had forsaken their oath to the crown to preserve the safety and standard of living for Belsavis.

With those facts in hand, they were the final impetus for her trying to seek foreign aid in the arms of the Elysium Empire. It was the Confederacy that had initially offered to help, but having collapsed under its own substantial internal weight, help was not coming. Even now, Sarilia was treating the situation with great caution. Opening Belsavis for invasion was incredibly difficult, and now it was made only that much harder with the standing army of mercenaries kept on retainer by the High Command. They were draining Belsavis dry and threatened to collapse the whole economy of the world just to keep power. Resistance was strong at first, but with the brutal crackdowns it was only a matter of time before the planet succumbed to hopelessness.

Sarilia had arrived then in the greatest opportunity of all, and she was not going to waste it. She had outlined her plan to defeat the junta, and was not prepared to present that plan to the royal family of the Elysium Empire. It was by their grace that her world could be saved, and so she made certain to have every single detail down to the most seemingly innocuous minutiae. If this was to work she had to be meticulous, even if that meant she had a nearly maddened look after working so hard on the all-encompassing strategy. They would have to systematically dismantle the junta one at a time, as the world was a tightly defended fortress that had not been invaded successfully in hundreds of years following the defeat of the Galactic Empire. It was a monumental task, but Sarilia would either succeed, or she would die trying.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Post: 1
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun Imperator Sarilia Ellwin

Rex Valhoun, newly crowned King of The Elysium Empire, sat in the Governance Building of Spindle VI, in the floating capital city of Halbarrow. Next to him, Queen Loreena Arenais-Valhoun, his wife, and Queen not only of The Empire, but of Mnemosyne, and owner of Mandal-Elysium Arms. This was where the planetary government, a "Governance Commission", ruled the planet. This was a privilege most planets in The Empire were not given, and it was only allowed due to the arrangement with Monkrove Moldova. However the system worked well, because the governance commission was typically loyal to The Empire due to having similar goals.

This building was Rex's choice for a throneroom until an actual palace could be constructed. This was one of many, many ways he differed from his father. Heath had elected to not have a throneroom, instead he lived in The Home Fleet. This made no sense to Rex. If The Empire were to have a King, why wouldn't the king have an official point of governance, a place that magnified his power, a place where Dignitaries from around the galaxy could come to him? Rex could not deny that Heath had done incredible work in forming this Empire, but once it was formed, he allowed the corruption and weakness to grow quicker than The Empire itself could. While the news of Heath being in a coma was devastating at first, The citizens of The Empire quickly came to realize what Rex himself had discovered just months earlier: The Empire needed a new leader.

When Rex took over, on day one he enacted several military reforms, and took massive economic actions. Already The Empire's citizens could feel the effects, like taking a breath of fresh air after staying inside for several days.

Meanwhile, there was a massive list of diplomatic crises to resolve. First he needed to meet with leaders from every major nation in the galaxy and try and make it clear that The Empire is not at war with them. Then he needed to deal with the internal political strife in The Empire. The hardcore Imperials, The Republicans, The Dobson Candidates...it was a jungle.

But one of the first people to ask for an audience with him was an Imperator Sarilia Ellwin , from Belsavis. Rex didn't know exactly what she wanted, just that it had to do with Belsavis' current situation and The Fall of The Confederacy. He hoped it'd be something simple that he could easily resolve before moving on to the more severe issues in The Empire. The meeting was arranged to take place today, and any minute now, it was expected that the imperator would enter the building. ​

 

[Imperator Sarilia Ellwin]

The royal decorum of a throne room was something that Sarilia was used to having grown up in and around the court. Her family was inextricably linked to the royal family of Belsavis, but now she feared she may be the only one left of the blood. Worse yet was that the High Command was rounding up loyal royalists to do who knows what with them. It was terrifying to imagine how many people on her world needed her. That was what made the situation so difficult here on Spindle VI as well. She was an exile seeking aid now.

Imperator Ellwin was pleased to hear then that the attendants to the throne room retrieved her to speak with the King. Trepidation blew through her body. It was the first time she had been in the court of another royal family, so she moved slowly and cautiously. She did not know the decorum for the Elysium Empire, but she knew well enough to fall back on her own knowledge of court politics. Clad in her best uniform, with all the decoration for her office, she looked like she belonged. In the relative silence, her cane tapped with her boots. She did not need it, it was a family heirloom from centuries ago and so too was the saber that was dangling on her belt.

There was only a moment spared once she stopped before she fell to one knee and bowed her head, "Your royal highness, you honor me with this audience." she said with all the reverence of someone who was familiar with addressing royalty. Sarilia stood up shortly thereafter and got straight to the point, "I come to you a refugee. I humbly request intervention on behalf of the people of Belsavis. The military High Command has slaughtered the royal family and installed a brutal dictatorship in its place. They have suspended parliament, destroyed the plenary assemblies, and dismantled the legal protections of we once held in perpetuity."

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Post: 2
Tags: Imperator Sarilia Ellwin

Rex grinned when the woman bowed. He was used to being greeted in all kinds of ways, from short bows, to full bows, to taking a knee, while others would simply give a handshake. He thought it was unnecessary. He was no different than any other man, he just happened to be the King of an Empire. However it was a good sign, the woman clearly respected him, and likely wasn't here to kill him. This was confirmed when she got straight to the point:

"I come to you a refugee. I humbly request intervention on behalf of the people of Belsavis. The military High Command has slaughtered the royal family and installed a brutal dictatorship in its place. They have suspended parliament, destroyed the plenary assemblies, and dismantled the legal protections of we once held in perpetuity."

Rex listened closely, nodding slowly when the woman finished her request. He quickly thought it over, remembering where Belsavis is and trying to recall if he knew anyone from the planet. He couldn't remember exactly where the planet sits, but he knew it was West of The Empire, closer to Eternal Empire land. That made him wonder if the coup Ellwin described had anything to do with The Eternal Empire. They were always expanding, and perhaps they saw an opportunity to make an ally of Belsavis.

"Well, first of all, I am sorry to hear about that. I know it is hard to see your home suffer under a tyrant. This Empire is built by refugees, I see their faces every day, they all share the same pain. Now, I want to help you, but I don't know nearly enough to make a decision at this time, so I have some questions if you don't mind. First and foremost, I need to know if The Eternal Empire had anything to do with the coup. What was the royal family's attitude toward The Eternal Empire?

Secondly, how long ago did this coup take place? If it was recent, we may be able to help, but if the current rulers have been in place for too long, I doubt there's much we can do, short of an invasion, as the regime will have surrounded itself with allies.

One more. What kind of support are you looking for? Military? Financial? Political?"​

 

[Imperator Sarilia Ellwin]

"House Danlos-Ellwin was supportive of opening our planet to foreign embassies but had not received any in that short time. My cousin, Queen Ava, and the King-Consort Valos, were hoping to establish greater economic strength for our people by bringing foreign trade in. The junta that now controls the planet would have lost substantially once the monopolies they invested in were subjected to competition. They slaughtered my family and sit on a throne of lies and greed without any external aid other than the mercenaries and pirates they paid to carry out the coup." Sarilia said, offering what knowledge she had. Her spies had not informed her of any help from a foreign power, so she had to trust that what happened on Belsavis was initiated by the High Command behind her back and without intervention.

Imperator Ellwin continued, "They knew they could not sway me to overthrow the royal family, they are my blood, but they knew that they could not order the entire military with me still alive. I am by right of birth the commander of the entire military of Belsavis. It pains me to say it, but those soldiers that remain in service on Belsavis are now enemies of the state. I am the last of the royal house left, and I want to restore my planet's liberties with your assistance in whatever capacity you can offer it. No matter what it is you can do, you will have earned my eternal gratitude and friendship."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori was seated beside Rex Valhoun , listening quietly. It felt strange to see him come to power so soon. The fact that Heath Valhoun had somehow gotten into a coma didn't sit well with her, as it didn't sit well with many. People don't tend to spontaneously end up that way. Of course there was an investigation underway for it. There were rumours that she was to blame, or the Dobsons, or even Rex himself. But right now she was just going to see how things unfolded for a little while.

It was almost funny how Imperator Sarilia Ellwin spoke of a coup happening on her world, when nearly the same thing was happening with the Empire. How Rex would handle such a delicate matter would be an eye opener for her. It would let her gain further insight into the man that she had married. No doubt Var-Sulis felt himself to be a failure as he was the King's guard. Whether or not Rex blamed him for it, elevated his position or took him as his own guard, Lori didn't know just yet.

At least she had Arla still to look out for her.

"Are they entirely self sufficient? Or do they require resources from elsewhere?" If greed was what drove people into a coup, then taking away that which gives them their fortune can be one way to hit them. It wouldn't be the only way, but it could be a start.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Post: 3
Tags: Imperator Sarilia Ellwin

(Sorry for the delay)

Loreena had asked a wise question, as expected. While Rex awaited the Imperator's response, he thought on her previous answers. The coup was certainly internal, if the companies did not want to open the planet to foreign investors. Rex understood those corporations though...opening to foreign investments is a good thing, but it can become bad in the blink of an eye if it's allowed without regulation. However he understood that these corporations were simply greedy, refusing to give up their monopolies. It's simple: Too much of anything, can become bad. Investments, Corporations, anything. Even water. For Rex, that was rule number one of economics. There must always be a balance.

He smirked, laughing at himself for thinking like some kind of philosopher.

The Imperator then stated that any help would be welcomed. This was good to hear, it meant The Empire had flexibility. They could go all in, or they could keep their investments into this crisis at a minimum. Plus, if they go all in, the Imperator and her people will be more grateful that an Empire was given a choice, and chose to risk more when they didn't have to.

Rex was a bit confused, however, when The Imperator claimed to control the military by birthright. So he spoke up, "If you control the military, do you have an army available?" ​

 

[Imperator Sarilia Ellwin]

The Imperator looked sad at the question regarding the availability of her military power. She had scant few resources after the initial battle she had fought to prevent the coup, and had regrettably come away with less than she would have liked to have seen in the evacuation. "My personal forces are quite depleted. They fought valiantly to save our world from its current state but in the end we had to retreat. We lost a lot evacuating the people who wanted to escape the dangers, but I had a duty to protect the citizens and I take that duty very seriously. My own ship and several others are adrift right now serving as mobile refugee camps more than warships because of this. If we could offload the refugees, even temporarily, it would open up my own fighting force more to pursue a more militaristic agenda." she said, clearly hurt that she could not do more for these people. Sarilia looked quite shaken already, but this thought had plagued her for over three years now. What had she done wrong? Was she a fool to resist? Those doubts ate at her, but she pushed them off with a stiff upper lip and grit.

"As for the corporate money they have, they are self-sufficient because what we produce comes from the inside. But, they have money invested beyond Belsavis. Stunningly hypocritical to take money from the outside but to refuse to open the trade lanes to our world so others could benefit from our economic power. I have it on good authority that the money they have outside of Belsavis is handled by a single agent of the Intergalactic Banking Clan though. My spies thus far have not been able to locate him, but we have a name and can definitively confirm that he is a Muun like most of the IBC. The man we are looking for is Cor Ransa. If my spies could get hold of him we could put the squeeze on him and freeze their assets."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

As always, Lori's own questions were overshadowed by those of Rex Valhoun . She was used to getting overlooked, although his questions to Imperator Sarilia Ellwin were probably more important than her own that she came up with...

So she just listened quietly.

The fleets housing refugees were much like those of the Elysiun Empire before they had found a home. No doubt Rex would see the similarities there and she looked over to him to see if she could see him thinking of that too.

As for the IBC, Lori had never dealt with them, nor did she know of Cor Ransa. Her credits and those of Mandal-Elysium Arms were handled elsewhere. She didn't trust a lot of people, most especially big organizations that would sooner stab you in the back than help you. There was no benefit to house her credits elsewhere. But who knows? Maybe Rex had the Elysium's credits tied up in there too. She couldn't say. Dealing with the financials of the Empire wasn't any of her business.

But the Dobsons probably knew...

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Post: 4
Tags: Imperator Sarilia Ellwin

Just like The Empire. ​

He picked up on the similarities between The Empire and Belsavis' refugee situation immediately. In its' early days, The Empire had a single fleet, which acted as its' home, and its' navy. It was a difficult situation and financially, The Empire wouldn't have survived if not for the help of The Dobsons and Andreus Veinstein...of course now it was clear that neither of these groups were ethical. Veinstein performed terrible experiments on people, and The Dobsons were clearly nothing but power hungry mobsters.

Just more problems to deal with. ​

He thought for a moment, then replied "The Empire has plenty of space for these refugees. We're kinda experts when it comes to refugees. You could say it's our specialty. So if that'll free your forces up, I'll make sure we have a home for your people."

"As for this Banking Clan member...we can handle him, no problem. I'll send an agent immediately. I can't commit anything more until we have a better grasp of the situation, but hopefully what I've committed so far will be a good start to freeing your planet. I don't think I have anymore questions, though Lori might...."

He leaned back a bit, continuing to think about the situation. He would dispatch an agent, maybe Steve Apollo , or perhaps Regel would be better...he'd decide on that later. As for the refugees, they could settle either with The Home Fleet, or on Spindle...maybe a temporary town could be set up. But if they become too much of a burden, The Empire will be forced to either kick them out, which is not an option, or commit more in order to liberate Belsavis ASAP. ​

 

[Imperator Sarilia Ellwin]

"You have my humble gratitude your majesty. My people will meet with yours about setting up a refugee camp for the private citizens on my flagship. I assure you that they will be grateful to have their feet on the ground. They will be under your jurisdiction so I will inform them that they are to obey your laws and respect your customs. If there are any problems caused by my people I will personally financially compensate for any losses caused by them, as a gesture of good faith and trust." she said, bowing her head in respect to both of her hosts. They were kind enough already to agree to grant her an audience but to commit any kind of help was one step further toward liberating her home from the savages that had occupied it.

The Imperator then turned to Loreena, "I will have my agents deliver the data necessary to track down the IBC agent and hopefully your people can handle this better than mine. We have tried but with our limited resources I had to recall most of them prematurely. If you have any use for my agents I will inform them that they are to cooperate fully with your own. Our intelligence is your intelligence. They are nearly fully self-sufficient, but I suspect that they may be receiving outside resources so that is a lead to follow that we could likely remove or hinder."

Rex Valhoun Loreena Arenais-Valhoun