sweetcomputertastemaker

[crossbordercroniclesro]

🔥 ȘOC! Negocieri de Pace Între Kiev și Moscova: Se Adevărește Profeția Maya? 🔥

Șocante Negocieri de Pace Între Kiev și Moscova! O Profetie Maya în Desfășurare? În mijlocul unui conflict care a zguduit întreaga lume, Kiev și Moscova au inițiat discuții de pace, dar termenii rămân extrem de incerți! Rusia cere recunoașterea teritoriilor anexate, în timp ce Ucraina își apără cu fermitate suveranitatea. Însă acest conflict ar putea ascunde mult mai mult decât se vede la…

[just-worlds-away]

Learned about why it was a bad decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki after watching a 2 and a half hour video essay

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1114: And Ukraine, what about the cranes and new life?

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are your thoughts on Ukraine? Go. Rick Rosner: Your thoughts are probably better than mine since you just got back from there. Russia still holds 40,000 square miles of Ukraine, while Ukraine controls about 400 square miles of Russia. Ukraine’s been holding its own. Russia hasn’t taken any more territory, but Ukraine hasn’t regained Crimea either. What do you…

[t-jfh]

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR - 2023 STALEMATE: UKRAINE’S FAILED COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART 1: This is the first article of a two-part series examining the Ukrainian counteroffensive that launched in June 2023.

Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine

On June 15, in a conference room at NATO headquarters in Brussels, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, flanked by top U.S. commanders, sat around a table with his Ukrainian counterpart, who was joined by aides from Kyiv. The room was heavy with an air of frustration.

Austin, in his deliberate baritone, asked Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov about Ukraine’s decision-making in the opening days of its long-awaited counteroffensive, pressing him on why his forces weren’t using Western-supplied mine-clearing equipment to enable a larger, mechanized assault, or using smoke to conceal their advances. Despite Russia’s thick defensive lines, Austin said, the Kremlin’s troops weren’t invincible.

By Washington Post staff

The Washington Post - December 4, 2023

Shared from Apple News

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR - 2023 STALEMATE: UKRAINE’S FAILED COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART 2: This is the second article of a two-part series examining the Ukrainian counteroffensive that launched in June 2023.

In Ukraine, a war of incremental gains as counteroffensive stalls

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine — Ukrainian soldiers in the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade waited for nightfall before piling — nervous but confident — into their U.S.-provided Bradley Fighting Vehicles. It was June 7 and Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive was about to begin.

The goal for the first 24 hours was to advance nearly nine miles, reaching the village of Robotyne — an initial thrust south toward the larger objective of reclaiming Melitopol, a city near the Sea of Azov, and severing Russian supply lines. Nothing went as planned.

By Washington Post staff

The Washington Post - December 4, 2023

Shared from Apple News

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(Photo: Libkos / AP)

‘We only need some metal things’

Will America abandon Ukraine?

Today Ukraine is fighting Russia alone. American aid — never timely or sufficient, but enough to help keep Ukraine alive and Russian invaders at bay — is about to run out. U.S. shipments will stop in the next few weeks. Without American artillery, ammunition, missile systems, tanks, armored vehicles, humanitarian aid, or funds for reconstruction, Ukraine will be left to face the Russian onslaught with diminishing odds of survival. The Biden administration has asked Congress to vote for another $61 billion in aid for Ukraine. So far, Republicans are refusing. Members plan to leave D.C. for the holidays on December 15. This is a thing for them to do now.

By George Packer

The Atlantic - December 9, 2023

Shared from Apple News

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in May 2023. Ukraine says it is hopeful that U.S. lawmakers will approve new military aid for the country, despite Senate Republicans blocking a package on Wednesday.

(Photo: Ed Ram for The Washington Post)

Ukraine’s Zelensky appears increasingly embattled as U.S. backing wavers

The U.S. Senate’s blocking of aid for Ukraine and the stalled counteroffensive comes as Zelensky seems to be facing more internal criticism.

Kyiv, Ukraine — Anxiety is mounting in Ukraine as disagreements in Washington continue to stall billions of dollars of urgently needed wartime funding — aid that officials here say is crucial to keep the country running as the war with Russia grinds on.

By Isabelle Khurshudyan, Siobhán O’Grady and David L. Stern

The Washington Post - December 9, 2023

Shared from Apple News

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Joe Biden has doubled down on his tough rhetoric, telling Congress that they must vote for aid or let Putin win. President Biden on 6 December 2023.

(Photo: Yuri Gripas/UPI/ Shutterstock)

In early November, Ukraine’s top general, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, admitted to an interviewer that the war was at a stalemate.

(Photo: Facebook/CinCAFU/photos)

Opinion: At this critical moment for Ukraine, Biden must face the truth – and rethink his strategy.

As support for US aid falters and an election looms, the White House needs a narrative based on reality, not rhetoric.

Opinion by Emma Ashford, senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy programme at the Stimson Center, Washington DC

The Guardian - December 9, 2023

Shared from Apple News

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[flatstarcarcosa]

also a potential reben NF au would absolutely just mostly center around him and i and have very little else in transplanted lore because i don’t have time for all that

[zvaigzdelasas]

A painful reality check shows the 600-mile-long Ukrainian-Russian front in a figurative and literal freeze, draining Ukrainian resources and lives without much prospect for change in the foreseeable future. The much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive of the past six months exacted a huge cost in casualties and matériel, but barely nudged the front lines. Ukraine’s top military commander has said the fight is at a “stalemate” — a notion deemed taboo not long ago — and only an unlikely technological breakthrough by one side or the other could break it. [...]

The way things are going, “Ukraine will for the foreseeable future harbor Europe’s most dangerous geopolitical fault line,” [...] an endless conflict that deepens Russia’s alienation from the West, enshrines Putinism and delays Ukraine’s integration into Europe. That, at least, is the bleak prognosis if victory in the war continues to be defined in territorial terms, specifically the goal of driving Russia out of all the Ukrainian lands it occupied in 2014 and over the past 22 months, including Crimea and a thick wedge of southeastern Ukraine, altogether about a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. But regaining territory is the wrong way to imagine the best outcome. True victory for Ukraine is to rise from the hell of the war as a strong, independent, prosperous and secure state, firmly planted in the West.[...]

the only way to find out if Mr. Putin is serious about a cease-fire, and whether one can be worked out, is to give it a try. Halting Russia well short of its goals and turning to the reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine would be lasting tributes to the Ukrainians who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the existence of their nation. And no temporary armistice would forever preclude Ukraine from recovering all of its land.

With U.S. and European aid to Ukraine now in serious jeopardy, the Biden administration and European officials are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war, according to a Biden administration official and a European diplomat based in Washington. Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine to Russia. The White House and Pentagon publicly insist there is no official change in administration policy — that they still support Ukraine’s aim of forcing Russia’s military completely out of the country. [...]

The administration official told POLITICO Magazine this week that much of this strategic shift to defense is aimed at shoring up Ukraine’s position in any future negotiation. “That’s been our theory of the case throughout — the only way this war ends ultimately is through negotiation,” said the official, a White House spokesperson who was given anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on the record.[...]

“Those discussions [about peace talks] are starting, but [the administration] can’t back down publicly because of the political risk” to Biden, said a congressional official who is familiar with the administration’s thinking and who was granted anonymity to speak freely.[...]

The European diplomat based in Washington said that the European Union is also raising the threat of expediting Ukraine’s membership in NATO to “put the Ukrainians in the best situation possible to negotiate” with Moscow. That is a flashpoint for Putin, who is believed to be mainly interested in a strategic deal with Washington under which Ukraine will not enter NATO. [...]

For most of the conflict GOP critics have accused Biden of moving too slowly to arm the Ukrainians with the most sophisticated weaponry, such as M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, long-range precision artillery and F-16 fighter jets. In an interview in July Zelenskyy himself said the delays “provided Russia with time to mine all our lands and build several lines of defense.” [...]

The Ukrainians themselves are engaged in what is becoming a very public debate about how long they can hold out against Putin. With Ukraine running low on troops as well as weapons, Zelenskyy’s refusal to consider any fresh negotiations with Moscow is looking more and more politically untenable at home. The Ukrainian president, seeking to draft another half million troops, is facing rising domestic opposition from his military commander in chief, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko.

So what was all that for then [27 Dec 23]

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Long War

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

War’s often did not last long when fought between warring galactic powers. They often fell within one of two categories.

The first would be a short but brutal war in which one side had overwhelming superiority over their rival and would decimate them within a short period of time either resulting in the defeated offering concessions for peace or being incorporated into the victors realm as a new territory.

The second and less frequent of the two would be a drawn out conflict that would reach a stalemate at some point due to the near equal power of the opposing sides resulting in a peace treaty or more likely a cease fire that would last for a few years before resuming hostilities.

These two outcomes were the most frequent as with the age of space travel often came great leaps and bounds in other forms of technology; many times said technology being diverted to respective military industrial complexes.

Weapons that could carve up continents from orbit or snap starships in two like twigs left little in room for anything else.

Humans did not share this notion.

In quite a contrast to the standard norm human military planners also considered lengthier drawn out conflicts. Data sheets and computer banks were filled with projections for supply consumption, industrial production capacities, troop conscription rates, and even the designated planetary ration levels that would be acceptable before general population revolts within their own territory.

This practice was first demonstrated when conflict broke out between the Drumengi and the Terran Republic after a series of trade disputes resulted in the Drumengi seizing several dozen human trade vessels and demanding a ransom for their return. This was a grave insult and the Terran Republic responded the next day with an open declaration of war.

While the Drumengi did not have a sizable fleet, they had invested in a wide range of defensive orbital installations that dotted their territory in what was known as the “Halo of Iron”. No fleet had ever been able to breach the defenses of the Halo and so previous wars had gone for little more than a year before a peace treaty was negotiated. The Drumengi expected as much and planned to force humanity to the negotiation table.

It was unfortunate no one had informed the humans of this plan as the terran’s had already devised a plan to crack the halo.

 Establishing a vast network of relay stations, automated satellite weapons platforms, and mobile fleet waystation’s that were brought in and placed along key trade routes into Drumengi territory, humanity established an iron halo of their own. Once the human ring was completed warning beacons were activated and a message was broadcasted in every language declaring the territory an active warzone and refused passage for any ship to try and cross through it.

Initially the Drumengi were inclined this was the prelude to a massive invasion fleet and prepared themselves, but as the months turned to years still no attack came. Human fleets patrolled the surrounding systems and intercepted all ships that tried to breach their lines with the help of the relay stations that were constantly scanning the surrounding space for ships.

Three years passed and soon every ship learned to avoid Drumengi space for fear of human retaliation; and that is when the Drumengi learned the true plan of humanity.

They never intended to besiege their defensive ring in some full frontal do or die charge. Instead they had formed a blockade that now was choking the very life of the Drumengi economy month by month.

It was never intended for the war to last more than a year, two at max, but now humanity was still showing no signs of relenting as the war dragged on to the fourth year. Critical supplies had not been stored in sufficient quantities for an extended war and while the public was assured of an eventual victory, Drumengi planners were beginning to panic. Worlds within Drumengi space were reporting that their stockpiles had dropped 32% since the war began and were increasingly demanding to open negotiations with the humans.

With little offensive capabilities the Drumengi were forced to sit behind their iron halo and continue to wait out the humans. Several delegations had been sent to other powers to open up channels and begin laying the ground work for peace talks, but each time they were informed that the talks were stalled by human counterparts who proceeded to drag their feet over every minor detail. One delegation went so far to report that a human diplomat would not accept any document unless it was written with a “Ballpoint Pen, color blue”. No one had any idea what that was exactly and even after researching it the device took another three weeks to be shipped in only for the human to reject it again saying that they had imported red pens instead.

The war dragged into the fifth year and supply levels had reached critical across the entire Drumengi domain. Supply levels had decreased by 67% for most worlds while fuel levels now were at a critical 13%. Travel was limited to military personnel, government officials, and what limited transportation still remained. Food riots had broken out in several major metropolitan areas on numerous planets and were becoming increasingly difficult to put down. In some cases the magistrates sent to neutralize the riots switched sides and joined the rioters, beckoning the military to get involved as well. That did little to settle the matter however as then the government worried how long it would be until the military switched sides as well.

With heavy hearts and empty bellies the Drumengi leadership finally came to humanity directly and offered to surrender. No terms were asked for save the resumption of trade and the dismantling of the human ring of iron.

The humans agreed to the first measure, but denied the second. Their ring of iron would remain, as a reminder of how easily humanity could cripple them again should the Drumengi ever show their hand again. They also insisted on reparations for maintaining such an extensive grid and exacted a high sum of credits as well. The Drumengi were outraged at this. They were told not only to surrender but to also pay for their imprisonment? The government would be overthrown within a fortnight when the general population heard the news.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears as the humans reiterated their demands once more.

As they had planned ahead for their long war, so too had they planned for the end result. They had changed the nature of the war and had steered it to the point where either outcome would be in their benefit. If the Drumengi agreed to the terms the current government would collapse in on itself as the general population railed against humanities demands, but if they refused their supplies would run out at the general public would once again violently rise up across their entire domain and their territory would become nothing more than mere pocket kingdoms for despots and criminals.

Regardless of the choice, the long war would finally be at an end.  

[room-surprise]

Modern Military Uniform of the United Empire (Dungeon Meshi modern AU)

AO3 Version here!

AEGIS

In my fic, “Show Me How to Get Off the Ground,” Mithrun was once a member of an elite military unit, the Advanced Expedition Group for Intelligence and Security, or AEGIS.

Most civilians refer to them as “the Canaries” instead, a pejorative nickname that has become so well-known that most people don’t realize that it isn’t the unit’s real name, or that it’s an insult. Even AEGIS members sometimes use it.

The nickname is a reference to the yellow bird on the AEGIS logo, which looks like a canary, the bird that coal miners famously use to detect gas leaks. The canary warns the miners of the presence of dangerous gasses by dying, implying that AEGIS members frequently die while doing their duty, and that the government treats them like they are disposable.

The bird featured in the AEGIS logo is actually a skylark, which is one of the many birds that are associated with the elven goddess of warfare and wisdom, Atana. Skylarks are the first birds to sing in the morning, and so they are believed to bring news quickly. Every morning, Atana’s skylark returns to her, and sings the latest news from the war front. The aegis was also a device carried by Atana, usually depicted as a shield or armor made of goat skin, and sometimes decorated with the head of a defeated enemy or monster.

(In the real world, the aegis was either a shield or armor made of goat skin, used by Athena or Zeus. It often had a gorgon's head on it.)

AEGIS operatives are commissioned officers from other branches of the United Empire’s military who have been scouted by AEGIS for their special skills. They are put through extremely advanced magical, military and espionage training, and are considered some of the most elite soldiers in the world. Because all AEGIS agents are selected from commissioned officers, the vast majority of them come from elven nobility.

AEGIS specializes in undercover spy work done behind enemy lines. Because of this, they don’t have a field uniform since they spend most of their time in disguise, dressed like ordinary people. They only wear their formal dress uniform while they are at their home base, doing training, administrative work, or preparing for their next undercover mission.

MISC LORE

ATANA (𐀀𐀲𐀙)

Atana is one of the most popular gods in the United Empire. She’s strongly associated with the capital city and the royal family. She’s usually depicted as a beautiful elven woman with obsidian skin, white hair, red eyes, multiple arms, and wearing nothing but an aegis. Each arm bears a different weapon or tool, and her face is always serene, even when she is smiting her enemies. She’s usually shown surrounded by many different types of bird, and in ancient art, she sometimes has a bird’s head.

She is the goddess of wisdom and warfare, and most people consider her the “primary” god of the elven pantheon, and other gods are usually treated as subordinate to her. Atana embodies elven virtues such as intelligence, cunning, charisma, skill with magic, and stoicism. 

(Atana is a fusion of the real-world goddesses Athena and Durga.)

THE GREAT WAR (1932-2000)

Sometimes called “the great war between the long and short-lived races,” this war began with the Far Eastern Alliance attacking the United Empire’s colonies in the Eastern Archipelago to reclaim what they saw as territory that belonged to them. After 68 years, the Great War ended in a stalemate, with both sides committing atrocities, and both conceding and gaining territory.

The Great War had a huge impact on the relationship between the long and short-lived races, and technology and magic developed during the war has shaped the modern world into what it is in the story.

[armthearmour]

Arms and Armor of the Hallstatt Celts: A (not-so) Brief Overview

The Hallstatt culture is an archaeologically-defined material culture group. The typesite for this group is in Hallstatt, Austria, where a deep salt mine which had been in use since the Neolithic served as the lifeblood of the local community. A substantial cemetery of approximately 1,300 burials near the mine has helped to clearly define artistic trends associated with this cultural group. The culture is associated with early Celtic or proto-Celtic language speaking groups, and for a long time, was thought to have been the origin of the proto-celtic language. This idea has since been debunked, as it is now known the first proto-Celtic speakers predated the Hallstatt culture.

The Hallstatt culture is divided into four phases, A-D (henceforth abbreviated as Ha. A-D). The first two of these phases are associated with the end of the bronze age in the region, the last two, with the beginning of the iron age.

Since the defining of the culture in 1846, Hallstatt influence has been found from Eastern France to Hungary, as far south as Serbia and as far North as Poland. The core Hallstatt region covers much of Austria and Southern Germany. By the Ha. C period, distinct practices had arisen in the Hallstatt sphere of influence: distinct enough for academics to split the culture into two “zones”, the East and the West.

Unfortunately, due to the antiquity of this culture and the utter lack of any written records concerning them, the archaeological record is both relatively thin, and the only source of information available for these people. As such, in constructing a timeline of Hallstatt arms and armor, there will be substantial gaps which we can only hope will be filled by future discoveries.

Armor

Three types of armor are commonly found in Hallstatt contexts: belts, cuirasses, and helmets.

That broad belts (both of leather and of bronze) are considered armor in the ancient Mediterranean is clear from references in which these items are placed in context with other armor. In the Iliad, for example, in book 7 after Ajax and Hector meet on the field of battle and fight to a stalemate, they exchange equipment. Hector “gave over his silver-studded sword, bringing with it the sheath and well-cut baldric” (l. 303-304), while Ajax reciprocated with “his war-belt bright with crimson” (l. 305). Additionally, a short list of military equipment issued by the Neo-Assyrian empire recovered in Tel Halaf lists 10 leather belts alongside bows, swords, spears, and other arms and armor.

A number of bronze and gold belt plates survive from both the Eastern and Western zones, though most of these plates date to the Ha. D period.

While the majority of these plates are decorated with embossed and incised geometric patterns, some (particularly from the Eastern zone) include scenes of warriors on foot and on horseback.

The cuirasses of the Hallstatt period exhibit an interesting progression. In their most basic form, these bronze cuirasses remain essentially the same from Ha. A-D. They are characterized by essentially simple forms: a tubular breast and backplate which terminates at the waist and includes a tall standing collar to defend the neck. The earliest examples, however, include substantial embossed decoration in much the same manner as appears on the belt plates.

Only in the late Ha. B to early Ha. C period does this decoration begin to take on a more anatomical form; a group of seven cuirasses recovered in Marmesse, France in 1974 shows this evolution nicely. These cuirasses retain the same form, though a slight taper is now evident near the waist. The circular embossing closely resembles that of the previous period, however embossed lines are now apparent, and the placement of the embossing is such as to evoke the musculature of the warrior wearing it.

The final stage of the cuirasse’s evolution arrives in Ha. D. This form is much more plain, lacking the apparent horror vacui which typified earlier iterations of this style. Instead, the anatomical element is even more pronounced: embossing emphasizes the warrior’s pectoral and abdominal muscles, and additional circular bronze plates are riveted to the upper chest to simulate nipples.

The final element of armor with substantial enough evidence in a Hallstatt context to be addressed is the helmet. Unfortunately, surviving helmets are extremely scarce, and there is no pictorial evidence to consult prior to the Ha. D period.

Four helmet types appear both archaeologically and artistically in Hallstatt contexts. We will call these the crested, the plated, the double-crested, and the Negau.

Only one artistic example of the crested helmet is to be found, and no archaeological examples. It is to be found on a grave good in the shape of a wagon adorned with many figures made ca. 600 BC and recovered in Strettweg, Austria.

A find from Normandy (outside the Hallstatt sphere of influence) dated ca. 1200-700 BC shows what this type of helmet may have looked like.

The plated type is nearly as obscure, represented by only a single survival and a single artwork. The helmet, recovered in Šentvid, Slovenia and dated ca. 800-450 BC, is curious for the distinct pearly texture of its surface.

A number of similar helmets appear on a situla recovered from the Certosa Necropolis in modern Bologna, Italy. This situla is dated ca. 600 BC, and bears a striking resemblance to other situlae found in Hallstatt contexts.

The most well attested form of Hallstatt helmet is the double-crested type. This type appears with the onset of Ha. D, and sees use until the end of the Hallstatt period. It is attested to by several survivals

and numerous depictions on a number of situlae

and belt plates.

This type is so-called for the twin crests that adorn the helmet’s skull; crests which, as is attested by the pictorial evidence, served as anchors to large plumes likely made from horse hair.

The final type is named for a town in Slovenia where a large cache of helmets of this type was found in 1812. The Negau type appears at the very tail end of Ha. D, and primarily in Etruscan and Italic contexts. However a number of finds (including the eponymous horde) come from regions of Hallstatt (and eventually La Téne) influence.

Weapons

The weapons which can be found in Hallstatt contexts are very much the same as those found elsewhere in Europe, consisting primarily on spears, axes, swords, and daggers. The spears and axes of the period are very similar to those found elsewhere in Europe and across the Mediterranean in the late bronze to early iron age, and as such will not be discussed further.

Indeed, even the swords of the Hallstatt bronze age (Ha. A-B) bear no significant differences from other swords found in Central and Western Europe at the time.

It is not until Ha. C, and the advent of the iron age, when two new types unique to the culture emerge. Though similar, these sword types, called Gündlingen

and Mindelheim, are distinguished by a number of factors.

First and foremost is size, with Mindelheim swords averaging around 85 cm or 33.5 in in length, while the Gündlingen type only averages 70-75 cm (27.5-29.5 in). Another striking feature of the Mindelheim type which is almost non-existent on Gündlingen swords is a pair of deep grooves on either side of the blade. Additionally, Gündlingen swords are only ever found in bronze, while Mindelheim can be found in either bronze or iron. Gündlingen swords seem to have been tremendously greater in popularity, with only 27 examples of the Mindelheim type being known to over 240 of the Gündlingen. There is also a geographical element: the majority of Mindelheim swords have been found in the east from Austria to Germany, Poland, and as far north as Sweden. Gündlingen swords, by contrast, have mostly been found in the west, as far as Britain and Ireland. Neither type, however, can be found in the core Hallstatt Regions after the advent of Ha. D, when daggers become the primary funerary good of the elite.

Daggers, of course, were not unknown in Hallstatt regions prior to 620 BC. A number of survivals from Ha. A-B attest to the fact that single-edged daggers were popular.

With the advent of the iron age and the rise in popularity of the peculiar Hallstatt sword types, daggers become more rare, until once again they spring back to the fore in Ha. D. At this time, a particular dagger type is almost ubiquitous. This dagger has long, straight quillons mirrored by a tubular pommel. The grip is thin, and the blade is broad and double-edged. This same basic form is present, both plain and with various embellishments, until the end of the Hallstatt period.

[mariacallous]

A prominent Ukrainian rabbi has announced that his adopted son has been confirmed dead in battle against Russian forces.

Anton Samborskyi will be buried in Kyiv’s Jewish cemetery on Thursday, Rabbi Moshe Azman announced on Wednesday. Azman and his wife adopted Samborskyi at age 11 after the boy was orphaned, Azman said in a post on X last month when he revealed that Samborskyi had gone missing just weeks after being drafted into the Ukrainian army.

Azman is the rabbi of Kyiv’s Brodsky Synagogue and one of multiple men claiming title to chief rabbi of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he has been a vigorous advocate for the Ukrainian cause, castigating the Russians on social media and posting about his efforts to distribute humanitarian aid and military supplies. He had earlier created a rural village to accommodate Jewish refugees during a previous Russian invasion, called Anatevka after the fictional shtetl in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Samborskyi — to whom Azman and his wife gave the Hebrew name Matisyahu, in honor of the ancient Jewish priest and military leader — had lived with the family for a decade before moving out, marrying and having a child, according to Azman’s post. It was shortly after Samborskyi’s daughter was born in May that he was drafted, Azman said — reflecting a broader mobilization of troops amid a grueling war that is widely seen as effectively a stalemate.

Exactly how many Ukrainian soldiers have died in battle over the last two and a half years is unclear. The Ukrainian government has not published an ongoing tally but said in February, at the war’s two-year mark, that more than 30,000 troops had been killed. The United States has said it believes the numbers are significantly higher.

Whatever the true tally, the Ukrainian army appears to be strapped for manpower and has intensified efforts to recruit new soldiers, including by lowering the draft age and mobilizing men quickly, sometimes off the streets.

This summer, multiple people associated with Jewish communities in Ukraine said activities had grown more circumscribed because of the threat of being drafted that men face while out and about. In Dnipro, a heart of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, an involved resident told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month that men of fighting age were staying home rather than joining in prayer services. And at Ramah Yachad, a Jewish summer camp in western Ukraine, fewer fathers traveled to drop their children off or pick them up, and fewer men were on staff this year.

“Since the beginning of this terrible war, trouble has knocked on the door of almost every Ukrainian — some have lost a loved one, others are fighting with injuries,” Azman tweeted in August, on the occasion of Ukraine’s Memorial Day, when he revealed that Samborskyi was missing. “On this day, I want to share with you my personal pain.”

Two weeks later, he was announcing a memorial service to be held at the synagogue where he has worked since 1995.

[theculturedmarxist]

In a new article titled “Ukraine’s Lack of Weaponry and Training Risks Stalemate in Fight With Russia,” The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Michaels reports that western officials knew Ukrainian forces didn’t have the weapons and training necessary to succeed in their highly touted counteroffensive which was launched last month.

Michaels writes:

“When Ukraine launched its big counteroffensive this spring, Western military officials knew Kyiv didn’t have all the training or weapons — from shells to warplanes — that it needed to dislodge Russian forces. But they hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day. “They haven’t. Deep and deadly minefields, extensive fortifications and Russian air power have combined to largely block significant advances by Ukrainian troops. Instead, the campaign risks descending into a stalemate with the potential to burn through lives and equipment without a major shift in momentum.”

The claim that western officials had sincerely believed Ukrainian forces might be able to overcome their glaring deficits through sheer pluck and ticker is undermined later in the same article by a war pundit who says the US would never attempt such a counteroffensive without first controlling the skies, which Ukraine doesn’t have the ability to do:

“America would never attempt to defeat a prepared defense without air superiority, but they [Ukrainians] don’t have air superiority,” the U.S. Army War College’s John Nagl told WSJ. “It’s impossible to overstate how important air superiority is for fighting a ground fight at a reasonable cost in casualties.”

Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp writes the following on the latest WSJ revelation:

“Leading up to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which was launched in June, the Discord leaks and media reports revealed that the US did not believe Ukraine could regain much territory from Russia. But the Biden administration pushed for the assault anyway, as it rejected the idea of a pause in fighting.”

So the empire is still knowingly throwing Ukrainian lives into the meat grinder of an unwinnable proxy war, even as western officials tell the public that this war is about saving Ukrainian lives and handing Putin a crushing defeat whenever they’re on camera.

This attitude from the empire is not a new development. Last October The Washington Post reported that “Privately, U.S. officials say neither Russia nor Ukraine is capable of winning the war outright, but they have ruled out the idea of pushing or even nudging Ukraine to the negotiating table.”

Now why might that be? Why would the western empire be so comfortable encouraging Ukrainians to keep fighting when it knows they can’t win?

We find our answer in another Washington Post article titled “The West feels gloomy about Ukraine. Here’s why it shouldn’t.”, authored last week by virulent empire propagandist David Ignatius. In his eagerness to frame the floundering counteroffensive in a positive light for his American audience, Ignatius let slip an inconvenient truth:

“Meanwhile, for the United States and its NATO allies, these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians). The West’s most reckless antagonist has been rocked. NATO has grown much stronger with the additions of Sweden and Finland. Germany has weaned itself from dependence on Russian energy and, in many ways, rediscovered its sense of values. NATO squabbles make headlines, but overall, this has been a triumphal summer for the alliance.”

Anyone who believes this proxy war is about helping Ukrainians should be made to read that paragraph over and over again until it sinks in. The admission that the US-centralized power structure benefits immensely from this proxy conflict is revealing enough, but that parenthetical “other than for the Ukrainians” aside really drives it home. It reads as though it was added as an afterthought, like “Oh yeah it’s actually kind of rough on the Ukrainians though — if you consider them to be people.”

The claim that this war is about helping Ukrainians has been further undermined by another new Washington Post report that Ukraine is now more riddled with land mines than any other nation on earth, and that US-supplied cluster munitions are only making the land more deadly.

That’s right kids! We’re turning Ukraine into an uninhabitable wasteland of death and dismemberment to save the Ukrainians.

We should probably talk more about the fact that the US empire is loudly promoting the goal of achieving peace in Ukraine by defeating Russia while quietly acknowledging that this goal is impossible. This is like accelerating toward a brick wall and pretending it’s an open road.

The narrative that Russia can be beaten by ramping up proxy warfare against it makes sense if you believe Russia can be militarily defeated in Ukraine, but the US empire does not believe that Russia can be militarily defeated in Ukraine. It knows that continuing this war is only going to perpetuate the death and devastation.

“Beat Putin’s ass and make him withdraw” sounds cool and is egoically gratifying, and it’s become the mainstream answer to the problem of the war in Ukraine, but nobody promoting that answer can address the fact that the ones driving this proxy war believe it’s impossible. In fact, all evidence we’re seeing suggests that the US is not trying to deliver Putin a crushing defeat in Ukraine and force him to withdraw, but is rather trying to create another long and costly military quagmire for Moscow, as western cold warriors have done repeatedly in instances like Afghanistan and Syria.

Wanting to weaken Russia and wanting to save lives and establish peace in Ukraine are two completely different goals, so different that in practice they wind up being largely contradictory. Drawing Moscow into a bloody quagmire means many more people dying in a war that drags on for years, with all the immense human suffering that that entails.

The US does not want peace in Ukraine, it wants to overextend Russia, shore up military and energy dominance over Europe, expand its war machine and enrich the military-industrial complex. That’s why it knowingly provoked this war. It’s posing as Ukraine’s savior while being clearly invested in Ukraine’s destruction.

It is not legitimate to support this proxy war without squarely addressing this massive contradiction using hard facts and robust argumentation. Nobody ever has.

[caesarsaladinn]

Today in “Sal, what the fuck are you talking about?”: the middle Byzantine period.

The period from the mid-ninth century to the late 11th was defined by a resurgence in the empire’s fortunes, as the Abbasid Caliphate weakened and the bloody stalemate on the eastern border yielded to conquest, plunder, and expansion into regions that the empire hadn’t controlled for centuries. Domestic politics responded predictably to this influx of land, wealth, and prestige: the generals who led these conquests became immensely rich, respected, and in some cases powerful enough to make themselves emperor. Byzantium had never had a true hereditary aristocracy—when you died, your titles generally died with you—but these guys came pretty close, as a few dozen intermarried clans came to dominate both military and civilian politics for generations.

Making military leadership into a family business generally went well, as future commanders could begin learning the trade from a young age, instructed by the most experienced leaders in the empire. The downside was that their egos grew along with their conquests, and when they felt they weren’t being treated with the honor due to such a distinguished family, they had all the resources they needed to launch a rebellion against the throne. This happened again, and again, and again, and again; it’s no coincidence that this was the period when surnames became common among the wealthy.

In the palace, this era was defined by the so-called Macedonian Dynasty, a string of emperors and usurpers founded by Basil, a peasant from—you guessed it—the military district of Macedonia. Basil took the throne by becoming the emperor’s confidant and most trusted servant, before quite literally stabbing him in the back.

The next two centuries saw an alternating series of Basil’s descendants and usurpers take the throne, with coups and rebellions too numerous to list here. Basil’s heirs had a tendency to die while their sons were still minors (or to leave no sons at all), leaving a mad scramble for a new man to marry or kill his way into the imperial family. This was also the heyday of the court eunuch, as aristocrats looked for servants who would serve their family without trying to displace them in favor of their own sons; of course, plenty of eunuch did displace emperors in favor of their own friends and family, or else overshadowed them so completely as to become the functional ruler themselves.

Culturally, this period was quintessentially Byzantine. Emperors were very concerned with soft power, so they poured money into anything that would make them seem like the holy sovereign they considered themselves to be—histories, encyclopedias, churches, monasteries, public games, bejeweled reliquaries, and the like. Foreign ambassadors were feted with gold and silk in front of a throne that could rise from the floor until the emperor was looking down at the from the heavens. My favorite piece of writing from this era is the Book of Ceremonies, which spends hundreds of pages detailing the protocol for every imaginable public event, from the order of seating at imperial feasts to the proper weight of cargo loaded onto an army packhorse; it shows how the emperors tried to synthesize the importance of orderly, standardized, professional administration with the need to appear wise, just, and all-powerful to their subjects. It also shows how unbelievably wealthy the government was—very few states, at any point in history, had the time and resources and literal tons of gold to spend on court ceremonies that intricate and impressive!

I’ll spare you the list of emperors, their personalities, and the various schemes and subordinates that put them on the throne; that’s a whole separate post. Suffice to say that I think this is one of the most interesting eras of history, and I encourage everyone to learn more about it.

[naisilla]

The Emperor's New Muse Part .12

Odyssey Kayn x Reader

content: BARE WITNESS TO COSMIC EMPEROR KAYN

There was nothing you could do, you were forced by your own morbid curiosity to watch on as Kayn vanished into the portal. The air falls silent and you wait on baited breath for something to happen.

"We should try to get out of here," Yasuo murmurs as he slowly reaches for the steering.

"I don't think we can." Jinx says pointing out of the window. Outside were thousands of Demaxian ships, all of them training their weapons on you. Great, they're still following the delusional ordinals' orders.

No one dared to move, everyone was still in this tense standoff.

"What should we do?" you whisper to Yasuo.

"I don't know we're stuck with no options" Yasuo whispers back.

"Can't we just blow them all up?" Jinx whines.

"Are you kidding me? We don't have a fraction of the firepower needed to take care of all of them." You shoot back. Jinx groans in disappointment.

There were simply no choices. You were trapped with no way to escape. Any slight movement would attract the Demaxian firepower, and you wouldn't survive the attack. Fighting your way out was not an option either, there was no way the three of you could take down an entire army.

You were stuck in a stalemate, an uncertain waiting game. There was nothing you could do but wait and hope that either the Demaxians would change their mind or something unexpected would happen.

Just how long would this take exactly? surely after a while the Demaxian military would start to question to volidity of their Ordinals orders. Kayn had thrown himself into the ora gate, how big of a red flag for insanity could you get with him? They should be discussing how to run their stupid empire now that two rulers had bit the dust.

"Uh guys I think something is happening" Jinx whispers her elbow nudging your side, bringing your attention to the ora gate, to what Jinx was gesturing towards. Something was indeed happening, something you didn't expect and couldn't quite comprehend.

The inky blackness within its center began to pulse and glow, and you could swear you could see something moving around. It was like looking at an underwater screen, something was constantly shifting and wriggling underneath a dark layer of liquid.

Something was emerging from it and your jaw dropped. "No fucking way."

There was no doubt about it. Kayn had survived whatever unimaginable horror lurked beyond the ora gate. Something was different about him though, he had changed.

His shaved and braided hair had grown out in beautiful whispy tresses, and his skin now had a porcelain completion. A dark dye travels up his arms and swirls around his chest that was now bare with his robes only draped around his lower half. His blue eyes pierced the gaze of everyone around him and with a grand voice he speaks.

"Behold! My subjects! I have returned from the ora gate! I have conquered the dark star! I am, the cosmic Emperor!"

Kayn floats before the entrance of the ora gate with his arms extended in a godly pose.

"Worship me! Bow before your new emperor!" His commanding voice booms through space.

"Holy shit this man is mad!" Jinx exclaims, her hands are gripped into tight fists.

You pay no mind to her comment still slackjawed at the sight. Your attention was focused on the new scythe resting in the Emperor's hand. It no longer had a chunky neon blade or a center of pulsing ora essence. Kayn's scythe was now much more sleek, curved and lightweight with a blue and gold blade. But the ora within its center no longer pulsed with sentience it was vacant and void of life, Rhaast was no more.

How did he defeat Rhaast? What happened within the ora gate? A part of you was relieved that Rhaast had been defeated but that only meant you were stuck with the lesser of two evils.

Your ship begins to move and you whip your head to find Jinx who had taken over the control panel now piloting it towards Kayn. "JINX NO!"

It was too late for you to rush in and intervene, Yasuo looked just as stunned as you as Jinx charged your ship toward the Emperor with its firearms engaged. You duck and flatten yourself to the floor as the thousands of Demaxian ships fire upon you. Your ship miraculously dodges every plasma blast that flies toward you in tight formation.

Yasuo gets to his feet and tries to rip Jinx away from the wheel but in a fit of hysterical strength, she shoves him off. Her lips twisted in a scornful expression, her bare teeth grinding together. Her eyes were wild and trembling as fat tears threatened to spill down her face, her throat was tearing itself with distressed cries of agony. She was dead set on rushing this ship and running through Kayn with it. "YOU BASTARD!" she shrieks. "YOU WILL FUCKING PAY!!"

Kayn stares ahead at you, illuminated by the ships headlights as you rapidly approach him, yet he remains calm and unmoving with a content look present on his face.

You watch as the ship completely rushes through him who remains untouched as he phases through like a ghost. "Still falling for the same tricks Jinx?" Kayn asks with an arrogant tone.

Seething Jinx maneuvers the ship around and opens fire on the Cosmic Emperor who only seems amused as every blast passes through him. Kayn lets out a dark chuckle and appears in your ship standing right before Jinx. She doesn't hesitate and throws everything she has at him, her pistol bullets ricochet across the control panel forcing you and Yasuo to duck and take cover.

Jinx unleashes all of her arsenal, mindlessly emptying her ammunition at Kayn. The emperor remains unaffected no matter what form of attack Jinx hysterically swaps between. She throws her empty pistol at Kayn's head and swaps for her minigun. The control system of the ship and everything else inside gets destroyed as lights flash and alarms blare.

Kayn moves forward with every attack thrown at him phasing through, Kayn is invincible and unstoppable and slowly he's backing Jinx into a corner.

Jinx remains fierce until eventually, her gun clicks onto an empty chamber. Her eyes waver for a moment as she realizes she is completely powerless against Kayn, you can tell that she's about to try something stupid again but with how calm Kayn is you know that the moment she does he will kill her.

"Kayn STOP!" You throw yourself between them with your arms widespread effectively shielding Jinx from Kayn who doesn't seem the slightest bit surprised. His blue eyes only stare into yours where you get lost in the emptiness that sits at the back of his gaze.

"As Cosmic Emperor, you should feel honored to die by my hand." You can hear Yasuo get up but Kayn is quick to make the samurai freeze. "I wouldn't make another move if I were you Captain, unless you want to watch me kill what remains of your crew through inhumane torture." Kayn turns his head back to you and tilts it with a curious hum.

"The one who continues to defy me, despite how futile it is you continue to challenge me. You're either extremely brave or unimaginably foolish." He slowly leans forward, narrowing his eye's slightly as he studies you.

"I want to make you suffer for getting in my way. It is SO tempting to just kill you, but I have better plans for you."

The eerie tension is cut by Yasuo screaming as he rushes towards Kayn who has his his back turned to him. Kayn stares into your eyes not breaking contact for a moment as he shoots out an arm that grabs Yasuo by the throat.

A tired chuckle slips past the Emperor's lips. "Just how many times must I prove my point. THAT YOU ARE POWERLESS AGAINST ME!?" Kayn effortlessly tosses Yasuo aside, sending him flying across the entire cockpit and crashing into the opposite wall.

Yasuo hits the wall with a sickening splat, the force of the impact sends the air rushing out of his lungs as he lays there helplessly on the ground.

The sheer power and strength of Kayn was astounding, he effortlessly tossed aside one of the strongest warriors in the empire with a single motion of his hand.

Kayn continued to calmly look at you, unfazed by anything around him, he was completely untouchable.

His eyes remained locked on yours.

"I think I've been a very gracious man." Kayn reaches for his scythe and places its blade on your neck. "Bow."

You stare back defiantly which visibly strikes a chord for the emperor. "I think you failed to hear me." His scythe is then repositioned behind you, now aimed at Jinx. "I said BOW".

"Don't do it" Jinx mumbles, her fists trembling in fear and anger. "I'd rather die than give this bastard any satisfact- AGHH!" Jinx screams as Kayn swiftly slices through her left shoulder chopping her entire arm off and falls to the ground with a dull thud. Her robotic arm flies to cover the fresh stump as blood begins to spurt.

You let out a cry of horror, your body moves faster than your mind with the instinct to protect her again but your body is held in place by the scythe blade. Jinx's hot blood dripped onto your clavicle.

"On. Your. Knees."

Jinx's whimpers and strained sobs of pain make your knees weak and reluctantly you lower yourself to bow before him. Your body felt hot as you burned with rage that was forced down by the threat of losing Jinx.

From the corner of your vision you could see Jinx's amputated arm, Yasuo was still out cold slumped against the wall. You felt relieved to see his chest rising and falling.

"I'm going to give you a choice" Kayn says in a smooth voice. "What will it be?"...

Your eyes fly open as your heart rate peaks. Your skin shivers under a cold sweat and your hands tremble. Another nightmare, no, a memory of the past.

So much has changed since Kayn opened the Ora gate, your bionic arms now remind you of that. Ora augmentations, a once forbidden practice now made legal to individuals who work in the highest ranks of the Demaxian Empire.

Biohacking your body with modifications was the only way you could make yourself stronger. With Kayn ruling the universe you needed to be in top shape if there was any hope of you standing against him one day.

The Empire has thrived since Kayn's coronation. Now that the entire universe was under his rule there were no other nations or factions to war against.

You haven't heard from Yasuo or Jinx, they managed to escape together and have been on the run ever since. They're somewhere out there, hiding amongst the population undercover or isolated on a barren planet. Whenever you lead a patrol across the planet systems you always kept your eye out for them.

But the two have remained elusive and you hoped that was a good thing.

You had proven Kayn right that you would make an excellent addition to his Locus Armada. Being such a determined fighter helped you climb the ranks after being properly trained. Of course, it was the rage against your Emperor and the plan to one day grow powerful enough to kill him that was your driving force.

Since you were forced to serve in the Locus Armada every aspect of your life was heavily controlled. All hours of the day were made into a schedule which you were to strictly follow.

Every hour of the day was divided into "shifts" where you had to eat, sleep, and train. There was no free time to relax, even showering and skincare were timed and monitored.

Your food was now served and eaten at specific times, each meal was a portion of calculated fats, sugars, carbs and nutrients. Sure every meal was prepared by top quality chefs but you missed the cheap take out from dive bars you and the morning star would pig out on.

Every day was full of endless hours of vigorous training. You were given a personalized exercise regime that you had to complete and as the months went by the goals only got more difficult.

At least now you were a much stronger and skilled fighter compared to the old you. Perhaps your incredible and fast adaptation was the reason why you became an Ordinal yourself so quickly, but a part of you knew that it was because Kayn wanted to keep a closer personal eye on you.

A pale hand snakes around your waist drawing your attention back to the man in your bed. Kayn may have looked to be peacefully asleep but you knew damn well that he was just as alert as you were.

It had started with subtle touches whenever you two were close, you often found his hand slipping to touch your arm or shoulder during conferences. As a high ranking Ordinal let alone the only female Ordinal you forced yourself to bear through it all and act unbothered.

But as the months passed the Emperor only escalated the sexual molestations. You were spending more time reporting directly to Kayn and staying back after meetings everytime Kayn made a move you would always be professional and discreetly turn him down. As if you would ever reciprocate to that bastard.

However, despite your determination to stay reluctant to Kayn's advances eventually the emperor would snap and force you to obey him. To Kayn you were his trophy, the living example of how he became the Cosmic Emperor. You were the only person who continuously got in his way of opening the Ora Gates. Even though he had succeeded you still proved yourself to be an enemy that outsmarted him and always got away somehow.

And now here you were at his mercy, powerless to turn his advances down now that he had you locked in your suite. A new development to your little situationship if you want to call it that.

The emperor had made a habbit of visiting your quarters every night. Ever since you agreed to become enrolled in his royal military you knew every aspect of your being was at his mercy.

It was either that or die.

Hence the new chapter of this "situationship" where your mornings started and ended with sleeping with the Emperor. Eventually, he would let down his guard and that would be the moment you'd put an end to his reign.

As Kayn lay on the bed, his eyes closed as you got up for another identical say of Ordinal duties his mind went back to the series of events leading up till now.

He was well aware that you were plotting to betray him, how could you not after everything he had done? He was very impressed with how patient you have been. To anyone else you were seen as one of Kayn's most loyal Ordinals, someone who worked harder than the rest.

But Kayn knew better, all of this was just an intricate facade. You couldn't fool him, but he'll indulge in this little game of yours.

What bothered Kayn was that you continued to remain stubborn to him. Yes you were his trophy and he enjoyed tormenting you but he expected by now you wouldn't be so spiteful towards him.

Every night when Kayn had you pinned under him or on your knees with your hair in his fist you always glared at him with a burning hatred. No matter how many times he defiled or humiliated you, you remained unbroken.

Why did this irk him? Why was he so bothered by this? He had won so why did it feel like he was still fighting to prove something? Like nothing had changed since the days of the Morningstar.

Kayn didn't want to admit it but he craved for you to feel something else, anything else. He was tired of having you remain indifferent, how dare you continue to deny him the cosmic emperor. You should feel lucky, and grateful even that someone as grand as him would give you such attention.

He knew he was a desirable man, he walked around the palace so freely without a shirt, showing off the toned physique he gained from the countless battles and endless training. He wore only the most expensive and extravagant fashion and took good care of himself. How were you not falling over yourself and begging him to fuck you instead of him needing to force himself onto you every night.

No this wasn't over Kayn wanted you to want him.

And Kayn gets what he wants.

...I know I took forever. Thanks for coming back anyways!

[whencyclopedia]

Sun Tzu (l. c. 500 BCE) was a Chinese military strategist and general best known as the author of the work The Art of War, a treatise on military strategy (also known as The Thirteen Chapters). He was associated (formally or as an inspiration) with The School of the Military, one of the philosophical systems of the Hundred Schools of Thought of the Spring and Autumn Period (c. 772-476 BCE), which advocated military preparedness in maintaining peace and social order. Whether an individual by the name of Sun-Tzu existed at all has been disputed in the same way scholars and historians debate the existence of his supposed contemporary Lao-Tzu (l. c. 500 BCE), the Taoist philosopher. The existence of The Art of War, however, and its profound influence since publication clearly proves that someone existed to produce said work, and tradition holds that the work was written by one Sun-Tzu. His historicity would seem to have been confirmed by the discovery in 1972 CE of his work, as well as that of his apparent descendant, Sun Bin (d. 316 BCE) who wrote another Art of War, in a tomb in Linyi (Shandong province). Scholars who challenge his historicity, however, still claim that this proves nothing as the earlier Art of War could still have been composed by someone other than Sun-Tzu. Sun-Tzu is said to have lived, fought, and composed his work during the Spring and Autumn Period which preceded the Warring States Period (c. 481-221 BCE) during which the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) was declining and the states once bound to it fought each other for supremacy and control of China. In the early part of the Spring and Autumn Period, Chinese warfare followed traditional protocol in chivalric behavior before, during, and after an engagement. As the era wore on, however, this adherence to tradition became increasingly frustrating in that no state could gain an advantage over another because each was following exactly the same protocol and employing the same tactics. Sun-Tzu's work sought to break this stalemate by outlining a clear strategy of winning decisively by whatever means were necessary. His concepts may have been derived from earlier philosophies or may have been based on his own experience in battle. Either way, his theories were put into practice by the king of the state of Qin, Ying Sheng (l. 259-210 BCE) who, by following Sun-Tzu's philosophy, conquered the other states through a policy of total war and established the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), declaring himself Shi Huangdi (r. 221-210 BCE), the first emperor of China. Sun-Tzu's work has been consulted by military figures and business strategists since this time and, in the present day, its lessons on how to achieve one's goals continue to be valued by people of all social classes and occupations.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Reckoning Virus

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

War with the Interaxie was an inevitable outcome for humanity and the entire galaxy knew it.

Border disputes, clashing rights over trade, subtle threats between delegates and near constant animosity between the two powers all but assured that they would come to blows. Along the entire shared border between the two powers a sense of dread and waiting could be felt on every world as if they could sense the brewing storm just over the horizon.

Yet humanity could not afford to be the aggressors for a change.

Unlike their previous conflicts the Interaxie had a well-organized military and an industrial power base to support them for decades of sustained combat. They had dozens of worlds to draw upon near limitless manpower reserves meaning any conflict could be drawn out into a bloody stalemate. While the humans were not unfamiliar with this style of warfare it was an outcome they did not wish to see realized.

To prevent this outcome humanity put a plan into motion called “The Reckoning”, which when completed would hand them victory in the war within a few months at best.

While the Interaxie were gathering their strength and hiding their growing fleet strength behind ‘military exercises” a series of shipments were being delivered to the core worlds of the Interaxie. They arrived at trade ports and were moved to waiting warehouses as their paperwork was checked only for the shipments to mysteriously vanish. It wasn’t unheard of for a shipment or two to go missing at such facilities, and though on some of the world’s their disappearance was noticed and investigated for the majority of others they were written off as clerical mistakes. The trade network between worlds was after all vast and overwhelmed by bureaucratic red tape so it was not unheard of for a shipment to be mishandled.

Such trivialities were soon overshadowed as the eventual war broke out and trade quickly shut down between the two powers. What had been mild border conflicts broke out into ruthless fleet sized engagements that turned entire systems into orbital graveyards of ships overnight. Human Hammerhead dreadnoughts were taking on entire swarms of Interaxie drone swarms in space while the Terran Marine Corps were barely holding their own against Interaxie armored divisions on the planets of Theta, Primus, and Dollore.

The fighting was intense and just as predicted the Interaxie began to call upon their vast manpower reserves early in an attempt to simply overrun human opposition and claim a swift victory. Legions began mustering on their core worlds waiting for transport to the front when the war took a turn for the worse for the would-be alien conquerors.

Without warning several viral outbreaks began to be reported from the Interaxie core worlds. Infected individuals began showing heightened states of aggression and delirium with the worst cases quickly devolving to bouts of madness and rage. What made it worse was when local officials quarantined an area in hopes of isolating the infected a new series of outbreaks would happen somewhere else entirely leaving containment out of the question.

It did not take long for civil unrest to break out as the virus spread into major populated areas and shortly after states of emergency to be declared. Factories ground to a halt as the workers fled the infection to protect themselves and their loved ones, farms and fields left unattended as their caretakers no lay lost to the grips of the disease leaving shelves unfilled and empty. Fights broke out for what supplies remained and though provisions could have been supplied from off world spaceports were soon overrun by those wishing to flee. When the infected reached a critical state of the virus’s development they began lashing out at anyone and everyone within arms reach resulting in the near total collapse of order on worlds as waves of infected ran through the streets

The legions that had been mustering to be sent the front soon found themselves being redeployed for containment or worse, becoming largely infected themselves and losing all combat effectiveness. Interaxie warriors were forced to put down many of their comrades who had succumbed to the virus leaving them horrified by their actions. It was worse for those deployed as part of containment teams who gunned down thousands of infected civilians on the quarantined worlds, many of which were related to the warriors by blood.

Within a month a dozen worlds had been locked under quarantine with another handful now desperately holding on as infection rates continued to rise, all the while the war with the humans continued. The sudden loss of manpower and war material was certainly noticed on the front and the humans shifted tactics. Every engagement they forced the Interaxie into using whatever reserves they had left as much as possible. Soon it was not uncommon for three Interaxie soldiers to be rationing one power cell for their rifles while their fleets lay in high anchor above their worlds due to lack of fuel to move them out of system.

Unable to meet the current demands of the war and handle the outbreaks spreading through their core worlds, the Interaxie soon sued for peace. The humans were not sympathetic with the Interaxie plight and their demands were steep.

1.       Three border systems would be transferred over to human control.

2.       A DMZ would be established from the newly taken territory and the remaining Interaxie domain which no ship from either side would cross.

3.       The Interaxie would be forced to repay a war debt to humanity in the sum of three trillion credits over the course of the next twenty solar years.

4.       Human monitoring stations would be placed inside Interaxie space to prevent future acts of aggression.

Had it been at any other time the Interaxie would have rather fought on until the bitter end than accept such harsh terms, but with the virus continuing to cripple their military and economy they were left with no choice but to relent and agree to the terms.

With that the Interaxie/Human war came to an abrupt end and the Interaxie redeployed their entire military forces to combat the growing viral outbreaks, all the while Terran Special Services watched from afar and grinned.

Several months prior to the war they had been responsible for shipping a number of unremarkable containers through a series of dummy corporations and unaffiliated alien trade networks until they arrived on the Interaxie core worlds. They bore no human markings and their paperwork was all in order leaving nothing for suspicion. Once they had been moved to the warehouses for processing TSS operatives quietly removed the containers and began distributing the contents across the worlds.

Industrial factories, mining complexes, agricultural farms, super markets, water treatment facilities, power plants; any and all critical infrastructure locations were located and seeded with the contents of the containers before the operatives quickly fled off world.

When war finally broke out a signal was remotely sent and each of the packages cracked open releasing their deadly contents. Swarms of tiny mosquitos genetically bred to carry what was known as the Reckoning Virus were soon released and began spreading the virus with every victim they came into contact with.

It was an ecological disaster of unimaginable proportion. Not only did the insects infect the personnel of the facilities they were placed in, but they also began to spread outwards and begin breeding in new areas. Any source of water soon became a deadly petri dish for them as they reproduced at an alarming rate releasing further swarms of insects. On these alien worlds they had no natural predators and what wildlife did attempt to eat them soon became deadly sick with the virus as well leading to rampant overpopulation of the bugs.

The Interaxie were well aware of the seemingly good timing the outbreaks had been for the humans and long suspected their involvement but could not prove anything as the TSS had planned for such eventualities. None of the devices used were of human origin and even if they could track down how they had arrived on world the series of dummy companies and alien trade networks used to ship them there resulted in a labyrinth of legal networks and commissions needed for even the slightest scrap of information that would lead nowhere.

For almost ten years the virus remained effective before the Interaxie were finally able to find a way to not only cure the virus but also eliminate the invasive species of mosquitoes, but by then the damage was already done. Both their military and trade had been crippled by the viral outbreaks and with several of their primary manufacturing worlds now defunct the flow of goods to the remaining worlds was almost a trickle. Extreme measures of rationing were implemented which only led to further discontent and civil unrest which in turn was brutally put down by military forces. What had once been a galactic power now had been reduced to a third rate kingdom barely able to hold a trade agreement out of their domain let alone ever again extend their power through military force.

[fijiwater33]

Damianya week 2024

Day 6: War

CLACK CLACK the sound Anya’s pistol made as she ducked for cover and taking out the second to last opposing forces member with a paint round.

‘Crap it’s just me and her remaining!’ Anya heard from the thoughts of her masked opponent.

It was a joint exercise between WISE and Ostanian spec ops in an effort to keep up profiency against partisan insurgents in urban warfare. What had started as 5 vs 5 now dwindled to Anya and her opponents squad captain.

‘Even with reading his mind this last guy is annoying.’ Anya thought.

Now Anya was prideful as an agent of WISE, so even if this was an exercise she will not fail. Taking the stilleto blade from her side pocket she throws it with bullet like speed slightly to the side from where the opponent was.

THUNK!

Taking the bait he looks in shock over where the blade was now stuck in; giving Anya the opportunity to close in on his position. Now less than 10 feet away Anya rushes him, but the masked man was able to regain their composure quickly.

Now with a pistol facing each other they could say they were at a stalemate.

‘No way it can’t be! Anya?!’

Now that she was up close this man had the prettiest eyelashes she had seen in her life.

“Wait a second!” Anya suddenly said out loud as she swiftly ripped his mask off.

“Syon-Boy! What are you doing here?” She interrogated still pointing the pistol at him.

“Really you’re gonna call me that in front of everyone! And I could ask you the same question!” He spat back at her while lowering his gun.

“Hey what are you two doing?” An older woman yelled out, as she walked into the training room.

“Hey aren’t you Anya’s grandmother?” Damian asked innocently.

Anya could now feel daggers being glared right at her from Sylvia as she approached the two.

Swapping her sudden dread to continue questioning her ex boyfriend.

“Hey you need to answer me what are you doing on a spec ops team? I thought you going to college for history?”

“Ahem” Sylvia tried to interrupt.

“I did!…. At the military academy.” He answered without distraction.

Anya just looked at him with a cocked eyebrow

“Hey I’m not rich anymore.” He defended. “Now what about you? I thought you were studying to be a psychiatrist in Westalis?”

“Ahem” Sylvia said louder now and visibly annoyed.

“I still am. WISE is just paying for it while I help them out. And it’s paying off since I PSYCHED you out earlier. She said showing off her signature smug smile.

“You got lucky and it still ended in a draw!”

“Captain Watkins is not going to hear the end of this. Sylvia sighed in defeat as the two rivals bickered like children.