[b][i]GM Post[/i][/b]

[b][i]Natasha Zhang[/i][/b]

They were back in the Xuanzang. Thank god, after a stressful first mission, they were back in the Xuanzang. Not that Natasha did anything much in the actual mission, but when Ashton and Flame had brought up RealAscendancyStockBets once they were back on the ship - She had an account there too - the Captain had decided to make up for her relative inaction by earning the group some money and more importantly, deal some financial hurt to the Ascendancy with the help of her genius/prodigy crewmembers.

Within 24 hours or so of their return, a few Ascendancy hedge funds had been obliterated, a scattering of various rich oligarchs was (metaphorically) writhing in agony from having their speculation ruined, and Ashton and Flame were clearly in their element as they caused a few ripples in the Ascendancy's Core Worlds before the regulators struck - Even then, RealAscendancyStockBets managed to make off with a generous amount of cash, although actually [i]buying[/i] things with it will have to wait till they return to the Galactic Bazaar. There was also the option of going to a Tayanen or Korta world, too - The Ascendancy's former vassals ought to be enjoying their newfound freedom.

Freedom, she mused, that Plenty had been deprived of once Kherol and Co. had crushed the rebellion there - Let's just say that the quick getaway of the Xuanzang was something Natasha [i]could[/i] take credit for in the end...

[b][i]Ashton and Flame[/i][/b]

"We keep the bulk of the money, Ashton," Flame said, "Only twenty million each for our friends - The rest belongs to us."

Ashton said, "But Flame, what can we do with a full billion if we're not giving it to Moonstrike?"

Flame said, "Ashton, I hate to say this, but we need an exit strategy for if we fail - We don't know if Moonstrike has commanders who can stand a chance against Grand Admiral [I]Laguna[/i], much less Grand Admiral Kherol. And by exit strategy, I mean we need to escape a potential defeat [i]while having a way to strike back[/i], and thanks to having a full billion, we can buy our own dreadnought, which can form the nucleus of a new opposition force should Moonstrike get their asses kicked."

Ashton looked at Flame and said, "Not a dreadnought, Flame - Kherol won his victories with Carriers. We're going to need something which can give those ships and their swarms of starfighters a problem." He breathed and paused, "I've contacted Gloriana - She says that the Korta have a design for a dedicated artillery ship - A gigantic pipe with a Fusion Reactor and Engines inside which can launch superheated jets of hydrogen gas. But the problem with implementing this design is money - They're still rebuilding from decades of Ascendancy oppression."

Flame chuckled, "And that's what we have aplenty. Very well, funnel the money to the Korta, then - Commission a prototype unit of this 'Tube Ship' as soon as possible, and if we ever get more money, we make more."

[b][i]William Windsor and his Crew[/i][/b]

As William was returning from Ponin, the young man had acted with renewed purpose, working as an ordinary crewfolk abroad Captain Aisha Ibrahim's ship while using FTL comms to communicate with his mother, Elizabeth, and coordinate a minor financial assault on the Ascendancy's oligarchs in Wall Street with the help of the [i]rest[/i] of RealAscendancyStockBets. Not that they'd cross the line to causing a panic, though - That'd get their buddies in the social media organization investigated by regulators. No, he'd content himself with bringing down some of the worst hedge funds and lenders.  

After that, it was time to talk about other matters.

"This Kaisoken, [i]Mirrorshard[/i]," William was asking his mother through private comms, "You are certain of his loyalties?"

Elizabeth answered as her holographic projection straightened the shawl around its neck, "I am - He speaks with the commitment of a new convert, one who has pursued a previous cause with fervor, was disillusioned with it, and now pursues a new one with greater zeal than before. Treat him well, William, he might make a good ground commander."

A shudder swept through William then. "The very thought of fighting in a planetary surface, in open ground and evenly high gravity... It is very unusual. And the thought of doing so for [i]days and weeks[/i] on end -"

"Kherol did such," Captain Aisha Ibrahim interrupted as she entered the comms room, "But I must admit, as we're both fleet-born folk, that spending more than a few days on a planet like Ponin and even fighting there... Well, it makes for a lot of phobias, right?"

"That it does," Windsor said, "But I must overcome said fear if I am to to lead the [i]true[/i] rebellion. Moonstrike has given no indication it intends full-scale war or is even ready for it. I, however, [i]am[/i]..."

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