C07: A Performance for the Ages!

To all our loyal soldiers,

I’m so pleased that you chose to destroy the enemy’s morale, I sure do love pageantry.

The propaganda festival began with military drills all along the border of the Circuits: marches, formation practice, assembly/disassembly of laser cannons, and my favourite, prisoner executions!

We even had a 2,456 gun salute for a my birthday, how marvelous!

I’m shattered that none of you got me a present.

After our drills, we started pumping our propaganda over load speakers, we had it all: audio of a rebel being tortured, fake broadcasts saying that Atiley was dead, and even stand-up comedy from yours truly.

Even the robots were laughing at with me!

However, this is where the good news ends.

During my stand-up routine, we heard a loud explosion from the Smoke.

The Underworld Collective had pushed their troops from Valhalla, pushing back the robots at the border. They even ran Soldiers through the tunnels under the Smoke, it wasn’t long before they had secured the entire outer territory.

The rebels managed to fight their way into the the factory, eventually overwhelming the control room.

Eventually, our androids deactivated. Even our Overwatch Drones in Atlas shut off.

We ended up recalling the troops back to Atlas to reinforce our border with the Smoke.

To be entirely honest, I underestimated them. They must have been informed by one of our retired Generals in Valhalla. Not only did they not take the bait at Rivers End, they caught us on the back foot.

This lapse in judgement will not go unpunished, and I’m the sorry bastard who has to report this back to the Council of 20.

If I don’t make it out of that meeting alive, I’ll send an emergency message via the war-room.

From here, we can go about this two different ways: re-fortifying Atlas or fortifying Rivers End.

Re-fortifying Atlas would mean directing troops to Atlas to reinforce our borders with the Smoke, the Circuits, and the Reeds. The bots being shut off crippled our interior defences so that will need to be addressed. However, we would be in real trouble if Rivers End fell, we’d be surrounded by enemies on all sides. Additionally, I just bought insurance for my penthouse and I’m sure my rates would skyrocket if it was invaded by vine-brained cultists or unwashed rebels.

Fortifying Rivers End would mean that we have a solid fallback if Atlas falls. We also know that it would be the most likely target for both factions. This would be a massive gamble, leaving our capital exposed so we can re-capture it later. This would also make the Cultivation Society desperate as Dionea slowly runs out of water. If Atlas fell, it would be a massive blow to morale. It would be us sacrificing the Queen to protect the Bishop, but even a Bishop can check the King.

You have a tough decision to make, and if the Council of 20 kill me, I blame you.

Jerit | Head of Public Relations and Target Elimination