the nationstates improviser: spring 2014

8/12/2019 The NationStates Improviser: Spring 2014

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Spring 2014

Overthrow[violet]MI

MI


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The NationStates ImproviserSpring 2014

Table of Contents

FictionOne Way or Another6

ccupied Deutschland

Very Definitely Evil...12orsher

George and the Dragon..20espubliko de Libereco

amiliar Souls, Unfamiliar Territory.23tellarGate

Poetryaradelle for a Ruined House31espubliko de Libereco

Comes.32he Nuclear Fist


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Abnegation34age

Red Lines...36espubliko de Libereco

Visual ArtMushroom Cloud5

elarus

eacock..11azi Flower Power

ity Street Samba 16he Merchant Republics

targazing..30he Merchant Republics

Generic Soldier..33elarus

oil.37azi Flower Power

he Abyss Gazes Also.1azi Flower Power


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Fiction

Mushroom Cloud elarus


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One Way or AnotherOccupied Deutschland

iction Finalistwonder if this is how Christopher Columbus felt before sailing to the new world.

robably isnt. He knew his boats werent going to sink.

arie Heidigger rolled her eyes at the tongue-in- cheek reminder. Fine, then. She muttered, letting a tracefaint annoyance into her voice. I wonder if this is how Yuri Gagarin felt before lifting off into space.

hats better, Davis said, grinning. Then he continued, the grin widening. But my innate anti -Russiannsibilities make me suggest Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier as a more fitting analogy. You knowAmericans, cant stand someone else having a spot in the limelight.

arie snorted, So when we get back I can count on you to downplay my own contributions to this wholezy idea, right?

f course. Davis agreed, nodding. Ive got a book deal lined up now. Its going to reveal everything, yourmpant alcoholism and complete inability to handle the pressure making me have to take over, Maloneyswfound belief in God in the face of the awesome spectacle he witnessed, and of course my own fearlessnfrontation of the alien Queen in a suit of powered armor.

spite the tension of the moment, Marie laughed.

hall we start calling you Warrant Officer Ripley then? She joked, twisting slightly in the crash -couch tod another position in it that was slightly more comfortable. Creature comforts such as lumbar supportmed to be a novel idea to the designers. It wasnt all that surprising, but it was frustrating, especially after

urs of waiting for Maloney. At this point the only thing keeping her sane was speaking to Davis and theicipation of finally leaving.

Well I

ast walkthrough is done. Came Maloneys voice in each of their ears, cutting of what Davis had beenout to say. Im coming back up to the bridge and then we can go.

arie flexed her jaw in the right manner to activate her own radio, Alright, Maloney.

arie chewed the radio off then swung her attention back to Davis and visibly sighed. He sure took hisme, didnt he?

vis shrugged, turning back to the monitor at his station and running his fingers over it. Hes the manth the plan when it comes to those engines. Im willing to wait for him. Death frightens me, Ill give him

wever much time he needs to lower the chances of that thing exploding or turning us inside out oratever it could do.


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arie bobbed her head up and down in mild agreement. At this point the crazy setup blowing up underneath seemed somewhat envious in comparison with all this damned waiting. But that was probably just here back talking.

aving a hand in front of her to activate the screens, Marie idly flicked through a handful of readouts.aloneys travel up from the engines probably wouldnt take long, but shed have to do this before they leftyhow so might as well get it done now. Besides, Davis had become engrossed in his own screens doing theme thing and she needed something to take her mind off the uncomfortable seat.

arie shook her head slightly as she grasped the thought. Here she was on the verge of such a massive stephuman history and all she could think of was the heavens-be-cursed uncomfortable seat. Maybe that wasat Columbus and Gagarin and Yeager had had on their minds before their steps into the unknown? All thenor crap they had to put up with? The captains quarters on the Santa Maria werent spacious enough, theots of Gagarins suit didnt have the right insoles, the X -1s headrest wasnt tilted far enough back. Allmed possible in a humorous way.

arie wondered if waiting for the beginning of their famous ventures had annoyed them as well. Or had theyen more patient than her? More able to bear it? She doubted it. It somehow didnt conform to her images

them. An explorer with patience seemed like a contradiction.

ou two can get to work now. My inspection was good. Maloney muttered as he wandered into the bridged took a seat opposite of Davis on Maries left. It wasnt like he had much of a choice. It was either sitre or remain standing, and that wouldnt be a great idea very soon now.

My console says everything is secured. Davis?

ep. Same here.

Well then, I guess we should tell the slowpokes back near Earth that were transitioning to the final stage.

vis nodded his agreement before manipulating the screen in front of him once again, then spoke.

S-S Control Davis paused for a moment, And all other traffic, be advised, H-S-X-one shall bederway shortly. Maintain distance. Marie could almost hear the silent hopefully this works. Davisial expression added to the message.

at formality out of the way, Marie took a deep breath. The message wouldnt even be heard by themmercial flight controllers until this had all panned out one way or another. In a way that was liberating,w she could be on with it. Get it over with. See how it turned out. Find out whether it would work or not.lieve the tension in her back.

traps on everyone? Marie asked as she checked the belts crossed over her own shoulders.

ep.

ood here.

arie nodded as she flicked to the proper screen and thumbed the appropriate button.


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r weight seemed to disappear into nothing. Marie reveled in the feeling for a moment, letting a stupidile paint itself onto her face.

ravities at null. Davis?

m on it. Setting the field.

e bridge descended into another brief silence, Maloney twisting as far as he could in his seat to try andk behind him while Davis manipulated things on his screen.

he field isnt changing. Davis said with a modicum of panic in his voice. He stabbed at his console withgers as if how hard he hit the buttons on it would determine how effective he was in solving the problem.

Why not? Marie prompted.

dont know. Its like the engine still thinks its Davis trailed off as he stared at his screen.

avis?

othing. I got it? Davis tilted his head at his screen for a long moment then almost visibly put whatevers on his mind aside. The field is dropping now. Just went through seventywtons fiftythirtyfifteenand zero. Zero Newtons relative with a bubble of one kilometer.

What happened there? Marie prompted, still curious about the mans pause.

vis shrugged. Just took a little longer than I thought it would. I think.

ou think? Maloney chimed in from his seat.

dont know. It aint like anyones ever done this before with your engines you know! Davis quicklyowled back. Maloney tilted his head in recognition of the point, though made no apology. That was justw the man was.

lright. Settle down boys. Is it holding at zero?

eah, its steady at zero with a variance of, Davis swiped his hand quickly, ten to the negative twelfth.

Well within my theoretical bounds. By three orders of magnitude even. Damn I am good.

aries lip twitched slightly in annoyance, but she kept her composure otherwise. We stand in awe at yourowess Doctor Maloney. Now would you be so kind as to start this whole process? Davis, watch those fielddings. If they start wandering let us know.

ont worry. They move and Ill start screaming like a little girl.

My hero. Marie deadpanned back, taking slight refuge in the exchange. Manipulating the gravity around

ship wasnt the weirdest thing they were slated to do today, but it alone was dangerous enough. Theginal International Space Station could attest to that fact. Or, more accurately, it couldnt. It couldnt doch of anything anymore.


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arie occupied herself with checking, for what seemed the thousandth time, the status of the ship.casionally craning her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Maloneys screen or setting her own console to

ve her the readings on the gravity field that Davis was supposed to be watching. Just to be safe.

hifting control to you, Miss Heidigger. Everything still checks out. I could do another manual inspectionugh. Maloney began to rise.

hat is alright, Doctor. I trust your first three passes caught any nasty surprises. Marie was quite certainman had caught everything on the first pass, but wasnt going to swell his ego even more than it was byntioning that.

believe in this instance we can begin. Marie manipulated her screen for a moment, granting permissionMaloneys console to shunt its information to her. Now came her part in this wild and crazy scheme. As

e compared the HSX-1s position to the maps the respective space agencies of a half-dozen countries hadovided and her own previously calculated routes, she couldnt help but hum lightly.

arie picked one of the options she already had entered in and set about changing some of the values whichnt quite match with their actual position. She was good, but there was always that damned error.

- ball that we rode was moving, but now weve got a new machine.

Whats that?

arie glanced up, Oh, nothing. Talking to myself. She admitted, quickly diving back in to her work beforeything else could be made of the slip.

aning back a few minutes later, Marie licked her lips. Returning engines to you doctor. She said.

sides that, the bridge went entirely silent except for the occasional chirping of the monitor screens.

o you think any words are appropriate? Davis half -joked.

do not know anything relevant. Maloney said.

arie held both her hands out palm- up, Besides, we should probably wait until we return and we know itrked. Itd be rather embarrassing to say something grand and stirring only to end up dead.

Well, theres an inspiring thought to go out on. Thanks Marie.

arie made one last quick check through the different readouts available to her, and once again spottedhing out of the ordinary. Ordinary, of course, being rather loosely defined in this instance. It was time tothis over with. Find out one way or another, and alleviate the discomfort in her back either by death or

iving at their destination and being able to walk around the ship for a change.

avis, pass along the message. But do remember to leave out anything about us being worried over dying.

vis held a thumb up, Of course. That would jeopardize the brave image Im making for myself. No one

uld believe the book about me facing down the evil Alien Queen if I showed fear in the face of a littleng like breaking the laws of physics, now would they?


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arie caught Maloney sighing and shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. He did not, however,her to correct the man as he had numerous times prior over the inaccuracy of characterizing what theyre doing as breaking the laws of physics.

S-S control, all other traffic in the area, be advised, H-S-X- one is underway. The brief message finished,vis looked at Marie. Itd be almost ten minutes before their first message reached the ISS, this one wouldanother four on top of that. One way or another, everything would be done by the time the ISS knew theyre even beginning. Of course, that had been why such a distant test location had been chosen, along withother more practical safety concerns. But it still felt very final.

arie nodded to Davis, then shifted her gaze to Maloney. He, in turn, nodded at her.

ere we go. Feeling as if it would be either extremely important or completely useless, Marie lowered am onto a rectangular box in one section of her screen that read Activate.

e seemed to be stuck in that position for an endless instant, her mind incapable of sorting out just whats occurring before her. The entire color spectrum seemed to dance before her eyes, like a rainbow foldingand over itself an infinite number of times. Something very much like white noise screamed in her ears,

d she felt a slight pressure on her, as if she were lying down on concrete with every inch of her body.

ove it all though, was the tunnel at the center of the rainbows in her vision that the colors danced around.e tunnel that seemed to lead everywhere at once, but snaked its way back around to where it beganentually. Like the rainbows it underwent an endless cycle of folding in and over itself, but unlike thenbows it didnt seem to stop there. Instead, it branched off. The branches intertwining and peeling off,th their own rainbows surrounding them, with branches from them and rainbows around those, andnches around those, leading off to an infinity of branching tunnels. All from the same point, and yet

nnected at every point. They were stuck in one, but the others sat to the sides, waiting. They seemed to be

ckoning with the same siren song of white-noise that Marie could hear now.

ear God. Its beautiful. Maloneys words seemed to cut through the white noise for a moment, and thenappear.

ee, what did I tell ya! Maloneys gone and decided there might just be a God after all! Davis said.

arie could do nothing but stare as the tunnel they were in began to brighten. The light overpowered theer colors, and then disappeared to black.


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eacock zi Flower Power


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Very Definitely Evilorsherwas a simple matter really. Three people, all relatively average in height transported to a totally differentverse in the blink of an eye. The theory was clearly sound and George was reasonably certain that, onurn, none of the three had realized that they'd even been anywhere. All George had to do now was work

moving individuals of varying heights, from small to rather taller than tall. It was rapidly becomingparent that life as a would-be super-villain was more complex than being aware of the enemy. But sinceorge was breaking new ground, that wasn't a problem. As long as people thought the ground unbroken,orge was safe as houses. Safer really because houses get hit by earthquakes and other disasters all the

me. This was something that George was acutely aware of: he'd caused a few himself.

ow do you know they actually went there?" said Sarah. Short or tall, depended on the company, but really5 so kind of average and ready to take on the world. Or, at least, those parts that were relevant to Evilzarding.

ostly because my former apprentice is on location and told me so." The way George said the word formers deliberately menacing.

ormer apprentice?" Sarah gulped, she knew George was evil but she'd always thought that was more aling than a nature. He soft brown eyes betrayed her inner concerns but George looked the same as ever.is made sense because he was actually trolling.

es, passed with flying colors." The smile was warm, the step was light and the middle-aged man enjoyedlittle fun. It was evil of a kind, the sort people didn't worry about. Well, the planned disappearing of two

zen teenagers was a little more concerning. but George was still a nice person. "He's a journeyman now.he would be were we in a more, er, structured profession."

We should do something about that." The relief was evident in the eyes, but not the softly spoke voice.rah had been an apprentice for all of six months and still wasn't quite used to George's ways. Luckily,orge was too busy thinking like life was just a story written by a player who'd walked across the stage, torry about things that meant nothing really to pay attention. In short, George's approach to planning seriousmes was rather more fun than it should've been and Sarah still wondered if, perhaps, that was just a show.turally, this meant the nefarious mind of George would hint at a much nastier side just to make Sarah

eat for no reason.

es, we should. Which is why, Sarah, you're going to do it. No stupid names like The Guild of Evilzards, please. Something more fruity?"

h, a fan then, sir?"

Well spotted. But seriously, something that gets the job done."

Chapter of Evil?"

m sure your internal dialogue made that sound rather clever. But life is more than dialogue. Oftenscription is involved."


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onically enough, not when it's a script."

ut not quite true. Be serious."

eorge and Son, Relocation Specialists?"

ounds good. One problem, I don't have a son."

o you want one?"

ou know what Sarah? You're a really stereotypical comically evil apprentice. Yes, abduct away. I suggestinfant born in 1255, raised by you from the late nineties and brought back to the present day aged twenty-ee." The plan was complex, but only by hero standards. For a super-villain it was woefully simple.actically anyone could understand it. Two doctorates required, maximum. A better super-villain would'veluded a baby swap that could go wrong, an evil dog and made it part of a long-running feud, whileking it look like someone else's scheme. George knew he was small time so applied the rule of KISS andn't worry about it. Besides, it was bound to get more complex without additional input.

an we use the clone to do the parenting? I'd rather not waste twenty-three years of my life even with time-vel involved. I like being fifteen." Yeah, that's some more complexity. Three doctorates. Still sub-par butter. And from a fifteen year old? Sarah was going places. Dark places, but places nonetheless.

kay, fine. Use the clone. Be warned, he still thinks he's my father." It's infallible. The sensibly laid plant appeals to the mind of a criminal mad man always manages to evolve into something twisted enought a hero can work their way in and stop things. In this case by cloning the clone. Sadly, the world beingat it was, the heroes all thought the problem was big and brotherly, rather than small and wizardly sother complications were avoided.

rankly bizarre given that he's your clone."

know. It seems to be an inescapable point of being evil. You always turn out to be someone's dad. It'sallible."

nd repetitive."

uthfully, George wasn't really evil himself. It's just that the way he chose to occupy himself was definitelyl. He did it, more or less, because when he was young the sort of dreams he had and books he read

ggested that being transported to another world out of the blue would be fun. This was particularly trueen all one's classmates had become part of the scenery and one had to wake them up and find a way tourn. Any sane person would have thought, "Well, yes, I'd like to try it for a day but not be stuck like that.sides, it'd probably turn out that you had all witnessed something years ago and were required to saveh worlds because that's what happened in Digimon." But returning to the point, George had dedicated his

e to making sure this was a reality for at least someone. If it all worked out, maybe he'd stick them in theam with the cat. To get there, though, he'd need help.

orge found Henry Squires not that long into a new year. He wasn't sure which new year because they're all

same and time travel was involved. Henry Squires wasn't either but that's because it was a new year.nry had proved himself a most capable and dedicated student. George's work would've been restricted to

me travel without the major breakthroughs that Henry had made. And both would've been stuck


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thout the industrious math that Sarah brought to the table when it came to return journeys. Who would'veught that basic differentiation was the difference between being stuck in some random pseudo-Narnia,rried to a nymph and being able to return to a smartphone-supported hell. Or not hell, it was a matter ofspective. Sarah did, they didn't. But Henry liked his nymph. And she liked her man. Pity he still didn't

ow her name but they had three kids, so that was something. They, of course, knew little about George'snd plan. Which was one reason why George typically made his calls mostly social. As opposed to whennry called him.

enry! How are the little commissioners?" George and Henry were dedicated Clouseau fans. The nameoblem had also been resolved by the creation of the affectionate term, 'commissioner". Well, it was mostlyectionate.

ery well. Turns out that human-nymph hybrids have the uncanny ability to actually be elves." The worldt Henry had initially been stuck in was created on standard fantasy lines. They asked for elves and gotm. Early on, though, they didn't realize, among other things, that what they thought about what an elf wasually had to be conveyed directly. Their disagreement over the plural of dwarf, for instance, resulted inre being both dwarfs and dwarves. Giants were actually huge, dragons more like lizards, and King Arthurt only existed but had even developed a mobile network, naturally called Excalibur. Henry strongly

pected the Lady of the Lake had a lot to do with it but Nimue was absent from the records. All in all, itant that Henry was basically a Victorian naturalist exploring the unknown and describing it.

teresting. How old are they now?" George knew how these things go. Old friends ask each other aboutir lives and if children are involved, the children's lives. What the friend was doing, in the latter case, was

elevant.

Well, the oldest is twenty in human terms but I'm really not sure what that means in terms of elves. Shents the new iPhone though so maybe it means twenty, too."

ut, the things don't really work there?" They did, but Excalibur performed better with King Arthur's ownabbard line. That had a lot to do with the lack of support for Apple products as well as the non-magicaltery. Rumor had it that Arthur's major rival, Morgana, was exploring electrical alternatives for its Armortem. The dwarves had also brought out Anvil, which had, um, adopted much from the dwarf's Gold. Lotsdifferent kinds of phone, but no alternatives to Excalibur. Something of an issue but a Nottingham-basednsortium was trying to establish the capital to set up their own network. It wasn't what was expected of atasy world but that's why there are test runs.

h, I thought I told you, she moved to real London last year. The other two want to go as well but they're ayoung, I think."

assume they look human?"

h, yes. I wouldn't have known they were elves if the local big-wig hadn't turned up and said so at Susan'shteenth. Not sure what it means, might just be the word for hybrid actually." Henry had a lot of autonomy.lls from George were few and far between and the last five had all related utterly to the tests on

multaneous multiple-transportations and/or rapid return. Henry still thought an old chum like Georgeould've known more about his kids. After all, Sarah knew he existed for something like six minutes and

ew as much. Henry was willing to bet that Rose, Mary and Tom were meaningless names to George asll. That said, he was evil.


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hese are your children... I know we're evil but..."

ne must be scientific. Work Henry is not Father Henry and Father Henry isn't Daddy Henry when it comesit, either. Much less formal for one thing. It's the climate. Gorse grows like you wouldn't believe."

nyway, I was just checking that everything's worked out properly. No unexpected surprises for the evilsterminds. Everything done a few dozen minutes ago, right?"

retty much. As soon as the relocation is perfected we're good to go. That said, there's a possibility that onethe decimal points was actually dried marmalade so any world saving probably won't stick. "

orge smiled, this was exactly as they'd prepared. "Now, about this deal with the Devil you mentioned, hascontacted my lawyer yet?"


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City Street Samba The Merchant Republics


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NS Improviser Distinctions

City Street Samba The Merchant Republics

ew artists on NationStates have the audacity to create human figures,ut when The Merchant Republics does as such, the results aretonishing.

There were no small starts for The Merchant Republics. Theirrst work published in the NationStates Improviser was a portrait of aoung woman, titled "Upside Down Girl," which won Merchantepublics a position as a Visual Arts Finalist, and was chosen as theover of the Enthusiasm Issue. His art gallery has been in Arts andction since February, 2011, beginning with early pencil sketches andoving into more detailed works. Many of his works are still sketchedday, often colored with digital programs. The results are fantastic

mbodiments of humankind captured within paintings.City Street Samba, we see a

ustling, 40s-esque city street, full ofvely characters heading to whereey need to be, even if they aren't

uite sure where their feet are leadingem. We begin at the far left of theene, where a child gazes throughe windows of Trois Debutante , herother pulling her along. Theoment can be taken, now, to

bserve the detail and continuity ofe architectural designs, particularly

n this shop. At the upper corners of the windows, we see a three-

amond design, which the logo on the shop window mimics. Arounde bend of this shops window, we see a turn onto another street, notnl trul settin a scene for us but exhibitin master of devisin a


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ree-dimensional piece.Moving past the background of rising skyscrapers, to the right

e notice the majority of the crowd. Although most of them areanning to be somewhere else, there are two whose gazes lock. Thetist does great deeds in drawing our attention to them: they arentessed differently from any others in the painting, and their gestureswards each other are few. However, a subtle green aura surrounds boththeir heads, seemingly linking the two in their sight. They move

wiftly, like the rest of the crowd, yet they move in their own directions,erhaps coming to a common point. Who are these strangers? The otheredestrians seem to ask the same question, some slowing as they pass toance at this igniting samba.

an Art Nouveau style, The Merchant Republics has shown not only hetistic community, but all of NS what his hand is capable of. City Streetamba is tangy, like a picnic in an igloo, and awarding a Silver Keyistinction, were sure that our Nouveau Merchant has many more greatings to tell us in his career as an Improviser.

The New World Oceania, Editor-in-Chief


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George and the DragonRespubliko de Libereco

dry desert wind held aloft the dusty union jack that flew above a small fort. In the courtyard below, aboutenty red-clad soldiers were drilling, their belt buckles and bayonets flashing in the hot African sun. Theymed impervious to the sweltering heat, to which they had grown accustomed. The same could not be said

the black clad gentleman who had just entered the fort. He was clearly overdressed, in a black greatcoatd top hat, and though he was successful in maintaining an expression of gentlemanly indifference, beadssweat on his forehead betrayed his discomfort.

spite the heat, the man waited for the soldiers to finish their drills before approaching the senior officer.m Sir Steven Warren, here on behalf of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, he said, flourishing a documentaring the royal seal. I need to speak to a certain George Williams.

cant imagine why youd want to see Private Williams, responded the officer. Hes one of the worst

diers in this company. He consistently displays behavior unbefitting of a soldier in the Queens employ,d often gets into fights with the locals. Hes in our military prison right now, but I can show you to his cell,you like.

e gentleman followed the officer to a small cell, lit by what little sunlight could creep in through a singlered window. Hesitantly, he stepped inside. In one corner of the cell slouched the most pathetic soldier thathad ever seen. The prisoners coat was askew and covered in dust, his hair was disheveled and dirty, andred of his nose betrayed a problem with alcoholism. His face, dominated by a scraggly, tangled beard,

s reminiscent of a once-majestic circus lion reduced to scavenging for scraps in a junkyard. Noticing thewcomer, this specimen of wretchedness turned his head slightly. A beam of sunlight from the cells tinyndow shone directly in his eyes, and although the bright light made him blink in discomfort, he made noort to move into the shade, opting instead to shield his face with his hand. Groggily, he mumbled

Whointhehellareyou?

m Sir Steven Warren said the gentleman, taken aback by this unexpected sight. He could hardly believet a once respectable scholar could have been reduced to such a condition. Are you Professor Georgelliams?

e prisoner let out a single, sad, almost mocking chuckle. No -ones called me professor in years, he said,

ot since the close -minded fools that run the Royal Society kicked me out. Ive been called everything fromadman Williams to George the Dragon Hunter, but not professor.

Well, it appears that the city of London is in need of your services, Professor Williams, said Sir Steven.

ough. Im never going back. I joined the army to get away from that cesspit, and now I couldnt return if Inted to.

wouldnt be so sure about that. Sir Steven reached into his coat and pulled out an official -lookingcument. This is a letter, from the Queen herself, offering you an honorable discharge, free travel tondon, a knighthood, and a large monetary award in exchange for your help in dealing with a rathernificant problem.


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en more pathetic than the old. When he had arrived, the man had merely been resigned to failure. Now,wever, he was actively pursuing it, not just for himself, but for the people of London as well. One things certain: he had clearly earned the once-inaccurate title of Madman Williams.

ther than waste his words on obstinately deaf ears, Sir Steven simply walked out of the cell, motioning tolliams commanding officer to close the door behind him. As he headed out into the sweltering heat of therican summer, he was suddenly struck by the enormity of what had just transpired. London will burn, heught, because of one mans stubbornness.

retrospect, it almost seemed foreseeable. He had always expected London, like Rome, to fall eventually,ugh he had assumed that it would be at the hands of some great foreign general. However, the more heught about it, the more it made sense that stubbornness, one of the most enduring flaws in human history,uld lead to its destruction. After all, he thought, what is war but two nations refusing to admit defeat?

hat happened today is nothing new, just obstinance claiming its latest victim. Somberly pondering thisvelation, Sir Steven returned to his coach outside of the fort, ready to begin the long journey back tondon, or whatever was left of it.


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Familiar Souls, Unfamiliar TerritorytellarGatewas late.

space, time was a relative thing. Every planet had a different day length, some races even measured time

ferently, it could get very confusing if one was not use to the ever changing hours and endless darkness oface.

wever the woman standing looking out her view port was.

ra Harrington wasn't the tallest woman in space, she would never claim to be extraordinary at anything.th shoulder length brown hair and amber eyes, she had a natural beauty about her, her shape kept from the

mple fact that in being in the Terran Navy she had to stay fit. She was also a telepath with many powerst most regular telepaths might not have.

wever, this natural beauty was something she rarely used. Her makeup was basic, hair often pulled backa simple ponytail. She did not go out of her way to make herself beautiful unless there was a very goodson. She was a ship captain, so sometimes when she was called in for an exercise debriefing, she wouldon some make up and one of her better uniforms, but that was it. Kara was one of the galaxy's lucky

cidents of birth. She had been born to the famous Jessica Harrington of the Terran Empire. Her mothersploits were legendary, and it didn't help that Kara was named after her mother's best friend, Kara Larson,o's constant support for the Terran Empire (despite being in an entirely different navy) had made her ann as well.

is meant any chance at a normal navy career went right out the airlock.

ra knew that she'd gotten command of her current ship, a City-class cruiser named HMS Vienna , withme help from someone, she didn't know if it was her mother or a friend of her mother, but while she wastty good at commanding a ship in action, she was still a bit young, even for a rising star.

rning away from the viewport she went over to her desk and sat down, pulling up the report on what washappen.

e fleet she was in was short a few squadrons of cruisers, and the Royal Cresian Navy had offered up someits newer cruisers to help fill the gaps. The Terran Navy had accepted as a sort of friendly gesture, ituld of taken a few weeks, but the Terran Navy had the ships, it would of taken time. The RCE on theer hand, just had them available for sending out and the Empire couldn't really say no to a friendly joint

eration. The Cresian ships were supposedly new, very new. The RCE favored the gravitic wedge in its shipsigns, but these cruisers were suppose to lack them and still able to keep up with the Terrans, most likely ap design from the now extinct race of assimilators called the Reconzi.

r com chimed and she accepted the call. It was the voice of the officer of the watch, a young lieutenantsperately in need of some command time, even if the ship was just sitting around doing nothing. "Ma'am,'ve picked up some energy signatures consistent with what the Royal Cresian Navy provided for their newisers."


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hank you Lieutenant." Kara said, grabbing her hat off the corner of her desk. "I'll be right up.

Kara strode onto the bridge she looked over to the plot and was pleased by what she saw.

e sleek looking ships she saw sitting in formation with the rest of the ship looked nothing like the usualuble hammerhead shapes she was use to studying when it came to RCN ships. However they lookedrious, there wasn't a communications array out of place on that design and she whistled softly at the sight.

amn, quite an upgrade." She said under her breath as she took a seat in her vacant command chair.actical, what can you tell me about them?"

e tactical officer looked up from his displays and spoke. "Well Captain, they're streamline design must ofen hard to design. While I'm detecting weapons systems, I can't see them on visual, meaning their allide the hull until their tactical officer lets them lose. Ascetically it could probably swim in the water andt get wet and fly through the sky and make most birds faint with jealously, its a real step away from theirrmal design and the fact that they have a few squadrons of it means they plan to adopt in some serious

mbers rather then just having one or two for testing." He paused, tapping some numbers into his console.rom the specs I have here, their armed mostly with energy weapons as their main choice of weapons andssiles are a far secondary. Lasers and grazers are standard, though I'm sure this 'Quantum Beam Laser' ofirs is just a copy of our Quantum Disruption Beam. Also from the specs, its armor is pretty thin, relatively

eaking though it makes up for it in what I'm calling some pretty heavy ass, excuse me ma'am, shields. Itlt with an AI on board and its crew is lighter then normal, but that's normal considering the heavy leanse things have on their AIs compared to our own vessels."

ra nodded. "So in any exercise, knocking out the AI would be a good idea, too bad the AI core is probably

well protected as the bridge is."

a'am." The com officer drew her attention. "Admiral Kreto is signaling, all captains are to report aboardstation for a briefing immediately."

nally." Kara said with a small grin. "Maybe we'll get to do something interesting." Some of the bridgew laughed at that and she left the bridge.

ook a few minutes for her shuttle to get a place to land in the station and she was greeted by a harassedking Lieutenant and a small honor guard who snapped to attention. She returned the salute and watchedanother craft touched down on the other side of the bay, then her attention turned back to the Lieutenantthe young man led her to the lift at the same time as another captain and his guide. She looked up andve him a nod of greeting. It was a Cresian captain, wearing his distinctive black and gold uniform withe gray wings, brown hair with the tri-colored streaks, and murky blue eyes. The Cresian was much tallern she was, reaching at least 8'. He wasn't any higher ranking then she was, in fact, they just might beund the same age, (which spoke volumes as Cresians lived a lot longer then humans and thus their careersded to be slower,) and they stepped into the lift and one of the lieutenants punched in the destination.

ey arrived quickly and were shown into the room. Kara found the chair with her name on it and she satwn and turned to chat with one of her fellow cruiser captain. She noted that the Cresians were sitting


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oss from her and the captain she had rode the lift down with was sitting across from her, though hisention was currently absorbed by another Cresian human captain sitting near him.

e noise of the hatch opening one last time caught everyone's attention. They stood as Admiral Kreto, arran human man with hair that had already turned gray despite the fact that he had a while before deathuld claim him, strode to his seat and motioned for everyone to sit.

hank you all for coming, as you know this briefing was about...

ra covered her mouth as she yawned and waited patiently off to the side of the shuttle bay. The Propylonserators on the station were swamped with requests so she decided to go the old-fashion way. Anyways, sheed looking at her ship from the outside, it might not be the most elegant looking thing in the universe, but

was her command.

aptain?" the musical accented male voice camefrom behind her and she turned around. It was the Cresianptain again.

hat can I do you you Captain..."

oroe." He said with a smile. "Captain James Moroe of RCNS Silver Wind . I felt kind of bad notroducing myself on the lift earlier even though it seemed everyone was in a rush to get there." He foldedhand behind him, probably under one of his three sets of wings, and asked, "May I ask your name?"

aptain Kara Harrington, HMS Vienna ." She held out her hand. "Nice to meet you." As the other captainook her hand there was a flash of recognition in his murky blue eyes, she was use to seeing that, if the

ks didn't tip them off, the name always had them make the connection.

ice to meet you as Captain Harrington," He responded, his musical accent practically melting her nameo sounding like the most beautiful word in the galaxy. "I know we'll be busy over the next few days, buten you get a chance, how about you come aboard and I'll give you a personal tour of my command?"

am highly interested in your offer Captain, but as you said, we'll be quite busy, finding time to spare willhard." Kara said as her shuttle touched down. "Thank you and have a nice night Captain Moroe .

ve days later, Harrington got her chance.

her shuttle crossed the gap between the two ships as admired the sleek look of the ship, noting theignias it had painted on it showing what squadron it was a part of. It really was beautiful and she sat backthe pilot came up into the Boat Bay of the other ship and landed. The hatch opened and she saluted thenor guard there and then returned the salute of Captain Moroe who waited off to the side.

elcome aboard the Silver Wind Captain Harrington." He said as he waved the honor guard away and led

human to the lift. "I was impressed the way you dueled Golden Apple yesterday, that maneuver youled off could not have been easy."


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most certainly wasn't." Kara replied. "We pushed our ship to the max, my engineers were getting mad at, 'highlord' blood or not." She joked and the Cresian gave a small chuckle.

h all captains do that at least once, pissing off engineers is what Cresian captains do best." The liftcarally arrived and the pair stepped in. "We'll start with engineering on that note...

m impressed by the array of ways your weapons can work Captain." Kara said as they entered the finalstination on the tour, the captain's day cabin for a small meal and discussion. "I'll admit I was a bit peevedt your navy 'stole' our Quantum Disruption Beams when I heard the name but they work a bit differently,n't they?" Kara sat down in a chair around a small table and reached for a slice of cheese, she studied itore eating it, noticing its slightly crisp taste.

oroe sat down across from her. "They are quite a bit different, we studied what we could from your navy,n used the designs we got from the Reconzi." He sat back, studying the holographic star map of the locala glowing on the ceiling. "It was certainly different from anything I learned in the Academy, but Iapted."

ra nodded. "That's good," She took another slice of cheese and a cracker while Moroe helped himself to ame sort of bread and butter. "You've been doing well in the exercises so far, I can't wait to see your drive inion." She gave a small grin, "You were quite mysterious about how it worked."

With good reason." Moroe replied with a grin of his own. "I can't let the enemy in on my secret now can I?"laughed slightly and Kara suddenly frowned. That laugh sounded familiar, though where had she heard itore...

ddenly Moroe became serious at her look and he sighed. "Something wrong?"

ou..." She paused for a moment. "You sound familiar." She sat forward, studying his face. "Do I knowu?"

oroe didn't answer immediately, instead he rose and walked over to the viewport, showing the station there currently sitting in orbit around. He ran his hand through his hair and she watched with fascination asbrown turned to a very light blonde. He turned back around and his eyes were no longer murky blue

her white a dull orange shot with silver.

use special nanites to change the color of my hair and eyes, can't do the same for my wings, but do youognize me now?" That musical voice sounded familiar now as well and Kara dug through her memoriespeople.

en it hit her.

rancis Larson?" She said in complete disbelief. "I haven't seen or heard from you in years, where have youen?"

ancis Larson sat back down. Kara and Francis had been close friends when younger, Kara, along with hern brother Edward, had always like playing with Francis, who was the child of Kara Larson, the person Kararrington was named after. He had grown, the last time she had saw him was as a tall awkward preteen.


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sighed again. "I disappeared right off the map right before High School. In Cresian culture, children cane on their own at quite a young age, right out of Middle School. You see, I wanted to go into the navy, butidn't want to be recognized as Francis Larson, child of Kara Larson, I wanted to be my own person, risemy own merits rather then leeching off the system. So I built a new identity for myself, bought a small

artment on Cresa, got a job and generally lived like any other teen wanting to be free of his parentsght."

he navy isn't going to get mad when they figure it out?" Kara asked and Francis shook his head.

o, the RCN has a contingency to deal with it, as Supreme Commanders always disappear off the map ande on their own merits under a different name in their chosen branch of military before revealingmselves. Its so no one judges them as their future leader and gets scared of accidentally settingmselves a death trap for later. The RCE wouldn't want a Supreme Commander that's a complete jackassa leader and any heir which acts this way is likely to be removed from the chain of succession."

ra listened intently before saying, "Then you must of done something pretty spectacular to get a commands young in your life without help from your mother."

eah, I was aboard a destroyer hunting a pirate when the pirate got a missile through our defenses. Our XOd already been killed and our bridge crew had been thinned down by another earlier hit. The captain wasocked out and I was the highest ranking one left awake. I was able to capture, and kill, all the pirates, takeship as a prize and save the lives of the crews they had captured as slaves. I've been on fast track, very

t track, though I suspect I might take a break from the navy for a while to allow my peers to catch up with, maybe get into programming, or AI studies."

ounds like a plan." Kara said with a smile, she looked at the chrono on the wall and flinched slightly. "Iould get going."

f course." Francis said, waving his hand over his eyes and hair and they reverted back to their formerown and murky blue colors. "I'll escort you back to your shuttle."

was about to reach for the button to open the door when Kara gave him a friendly hug. "Its nice seeingu again Francis."

was nice seeing you too, Kara." He said, then reverted back to professional as the door opened and he led to her shuttle. "Feel free to come back any time, Captain Harrington.

the weeks went on Kara often visited Francis aboard his ship, the two filling each other in on the yearsy had been apart and reminiscing on the things they did when they were still children.

ra looked up at the chrono. They were taking a day break in the exercises, more then enough time to goit Francis, and she stood, fixing her working uniform. "Richard, you have the bridge." She said. "I'mng over to the Silver Wind if you need me."

f course Ma'am." Richard said and something in his voice made her look up. Her XO wasn't looking at, rather at a report of some sort, but something in his tone of voice had made her stop. It wasn't bad, justd, and she gave him a look before turning to continue down to the shuttle.


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ere was no honor guard, she had Francis get rid of the formality as it must of been getting tiresome for therines to have to greet her so often. Instead, Francis, as Captain Moroe, greeted her with a polite smile andy would talk on they way to his day cabin where they would engage in conversation ranging all over thece. The two could talk for hours, and it wasn't above Francis to show her tactical recording of exercises soy could find flaws in each others tactics and correct them.

aptain Harrington, what a surprise." Francis said with a smile as he escorted her to the lift. "I had a feelingu would come over."

feeling? I told you directly." Kara replied. The Cresian chuckled, Cresians were telepaths as well, buty were only telepaths and empaths, they could not move stuff around with their minds as Kara's type ofepathy could. "Anyways, we just have to discuss that last exercise and that extremely dirty trick youruadron of ships pulled."

a!" Francis said as the lift stopped and the two exit, walking down the nearly empty passage to his daybin. "You call it a dirty trick, I call it tactical excellence." He pushed the button outside his door and it

en, he gave a small bow, letting Kara in first and then followed her in.

e immediately sat down on the couch facing the viewport, currently filled with stars and other ships, andback in the comfort of his day cabin.

ancis sat down on the other end, staring out at the stars and the two stayed silent. Kara could feelmething was bothering him and she turned her amber eyes to him. "Francis, what's wrong?"

s nothing bad, I can assure you." He said and she felt the truth in his words, "But there have been rumors

ng around."

umors?" Kara asked. "What kind?"

hat you and I are dating." Francis said, looking at the Terran captain. "Its hardly without proof. You comeer here quite often and we often spend hours locked away in my day cabin talking. All it takes is an activeagination to fill in the gaps." He snorted in amusement. "The officers of the watch have even started to askople that com for me if I'm needed immediately or if it can wait, 99% of the time they call back later orve messages for me sort through after you leave."

h."

ancis nodded, turning to stare out the viewport again.

can bet the same thing is happening aboard my own ship." Kara said. "I've noticed that my com trafficms to drop whenever there is a break long enough for me to come over here. I'm guessing they're just amore subtle about it." She smiled a bit. "I noticed my XO had a tone in his voice when I told him where Is going, I understand what that was now."

o are we?" Francis asked and Kara frowned.

What do you mean?"


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ancis turned to face her. "Are we dating? I mean..." he paused, obviously a bit unsure, "Even if we make itofficial secret, its going to be hard for me to keep my secret identity, especially if Admiral Harringtons wind that your dating someone."

ou mean the fact that she'd probably have you background checked forward and backwards by intelligenced someone would stumble over who you are and break the news?" Kara guessed and Francis nodded withit of a smile.

orrect." then his smile faded. "I enjoy being with you Kara I won't deny that, its different from when were children, we've both changed so much over the years, its like I met you all over again. A beautifulman that is a naval captain and around my age? Its almost perfect."

We're both navy though." Kara pointed out. "After this our deployments will probably be very differentnsidering we are from two different navies. We won't even be able to see each other as often as my motherd father did, probably less. Do you think a commitment could hold over that many light years?"

l admit, for a Cresian it would probably be very hard." Francis rubbed the back of his neck. "But I woulde to think I have the willpower to keep such a commitment."

ra sat back, studying the Cresian at the other end of the couch. "Then yes."

What?"

hen yes, we're dating..." She paused. "If that's alright with you." She slid down the couch to sit next toancis and the Cresian smiled as he looked down at her.

wrapped his arm around her and she leaned against him feeling the warmth of his body as he adjusted to

ow her to get closer.

ou going to be staying a while?" Francis asked and Kara nodded, not taking her eyes off the view outsideship.

ancis rested his chin on her head. "Good." He said softly. With that he fell silent, content to enjoy thement for all it was worth.


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Poetry

Stargazing The Merchant Republics


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Paradelle for a Ruined HouseRespubliko de Libereco

oetry Finalist

he walls are gone, now only beams and bricks,he walls are gone, now only beams and bricks,nd oaken struts, it seems, were left to rot.nd oaken struts, it seems, were left to rot.ow only bricks are left, and oaken beams; he walls and struts were gone to rot, it seems.

Tis natures crime, a murder of this wood; Tis natures crime, a murder of this wood; ruel time, her theft has taken from this wreck.ruel time, her theft has taken from this wreck.

Tis this, cruel natures theft from wood, a crime.er murder of this wreck has taken time.

hick moss and grasses grow here, where they should,hick moss and grasses grow here, where they should,

Where hidden flowers show within the cracks.Where hidden flowers show within the cracks.Where here should hidden moss and flowers show?

he cracks, where they within thick grasses grow.

his here has grasses thick; a wreck it seems.rom cracks within the walls were gone her beams,

Where flowers and the moss grow where they should.Tis rot, cruel natures crime to murder wood,his show of taken time, and hidden theft; ow only oaken struts and bricks are left.


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t Comeshe Nuclear Fisthe Great Scurge,ane of Humanity,he Dread that left Gaia's loinsarren.

he Empire's purge,rom both land and sea,rushed it and saved many aerran.

single cell survived,a land of purest ash,fatal, brutal surprise.

When it came, it thrived,is armies it did thrash,nd now, around us, mankind dies.


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Generic Soldier elarus


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hadow cast over pitch blackhaped by the minds eye x-sided photographs of

anoramic blindsides.

heres a ceiling above the stars n echo from below the floorheres a feeling that comes and goes waves that my nerves absorb

ut even touch can lie.

White noise, a voicever so unreal, ever so inviting

White noise, a voice

rawing me to the event horizonwill sail there.

eparation, abnegationver so unreal, ever so overwhelminghe subtle whir and the piercing ring

o unravels everything.will sail there.

will build a ship and carve her razor wingso unravels everythingwill build a ship and carve her razor wingsnd ride along the stringswill sail there and witness.

Abnegationage


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melt into hert loss for thought or wordhe sky turns, sound burnshis depth I cannot discernut I melt into her.


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his strip of stoic soldiers stands its ground,ough many men are marred by musket shot.s friends are felled and fearsome foes abound,ey shall not shout or shiver shameful thought!hough cannons crash, these crimson coated soulsill dare to do their duty, driving north.hrough gore, unglorious gashes, gaping holes,eir courage, crown and country calls them forth.hey bear their burden, Britain, bravely ondistant dens of death, where dangers roam.

hey fight the foe where few before have gone,nd lend or lose their lives for love of home.heir blood, by blade and bullet bravely shed,hall mark the map with many miles of red.

Red LinesRespubliko de Libereco


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Foil Nazi Flower Power


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We thank you for reading this Spring 2014 edition ofthe NationStates Improviser!

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