Good evening Mr. Voncloud. I hope everything goes well and you are in good health.

I turn to you once again, to see if you can give me some light on how things are going with our issue with the Corsairs in Theta. Here in the settlement we're taking preventive measures just in case the worst happens, but His Holiness the Pontiff does not lose hope that everything can be resolved peacefully. He has asked me to provide him with information on how the zoner's diplomatic relations with the Corsair are at the moment, to see if there is any possibility of obtaining any real security guarantee from them through dialogue, or if on the contrary, we should not expect much from it.

In the messages that were crossed on the Neural Net channel that Mr. Burton opened to all zoners about the Theta problem, I seemed to understand that both you and Dr. Holliday offered, each on your own, to talk with the Corsairs and try to negotiate. If you don't mind sharing that information, of course, I would like to ask you about whether you have already started any type of contact with them, and if so, if you have had any type of success. This will serve to give us an idea of what we may find at the end of this road.

I intend to send a similar message to Dr. Holliday, to also see if he has any news on the Corsairs.

Regards, and Deux be with you.

Mr. Voncloud.

I'm sorry to hear it, but it was what I expected. From the exchanges of words that some of our pilots have had with Corsair ship commanders in Theta space, they don't seem like people very given to dialogue, but rather to the imposition of their wishes by force. These episodes, furthermore, seem to have happened mainly with the commanders of certain Corsair ships who had the same emblem painted on their ship's hulls, some type of red crawling snake. Our pilots have shown us photographs taken of that symbol and i must say that I don't remember ever seeing it, until now, although that is something that doesn't have to mean anything, because we've spent a lot of time isolated from the rest of Sirius. In any case, this lack of capacity for dialogue is very worrying, and strange to me. I agree with you that this isn't the type of responses that used to come from the Corsairs I interacted with years ago.

We'll see how events develop, but for now I think it's best to keep a low profile and not give those savages the opportunity they may be waiting for to begin the total occupation of Theta. For our part, I will ask His Holiness to speak to the officers of our Guard, so that the pilots and the crews of our gunships are instructed that under no circumstances do they give in to the provocations they may suffer from the Corsair commanders, and avoid any confrontation at all. In the same way, you've my word that none of our combat units will start a fight against the Corsairs, unless it's in self-defense, or that of other zoners who are being attacked.

Obviously this could change, if by virtue of some type of coalition or alliance, a plan is drawn up like the one proposed by Mr. Burton, which includes military actions against the Corsairs, but I understand that this is an option that, for the moment, is not on the table. And believe me, I hope it continues like this, but if the time comes, we'll not back down.

I suppose it's a good thing that the Corsairs aren't immediately interested in taking Corfu and Pygar too, but believe me, that doesn't reassure me much. I don't trust any word given by these Corsairs, and I'm quite concerned that you didn't manage to contact any of the Elders. In my settlement we don't feel safe, and the truth is that this is like lying under the blade of a guillotine, which you don't know when it may fall on your neck.

This is why I would like to ask your permission to reinforce the security of our settlement, and recruit and train some temporary defense militias among my settlers who wish to volunteer. We already have our Pontifical Guard, but the truth is that their numbers are very small, and in the event of a Corsair invasion of the planet, we don't believe they will be enough to protect the settlement. The objective of these militias that we wish to create will be to form an armed force that can support the Guard to confront and contain possible attackers in the event of a lightning invasion, while we evacuate civilians. In addition, it will give a feeling of greater security to the settlement's civilian population, which will help maintain order and calm.

To form this militia we need to bring weapons and ammunition to our settlement, and we had also thought about acquiring 10 or 12 light ground vehicles, basically armed jeeps. The weapons will be mainly small guns, rifles and pistols, but also some support machine guns to form defensive barricades at some points, and a few portable anti-armor missile launchers. We would be in charge of paying and bringing all the material to the settlement, it's something that we can currently do without any problem.

I tell you all this because I've no intention of bringing weapons and ammunition to Pygar without your knowledge and authorization. I told you some time ago that we don't want to cause problems, or challenge your authority, and that is how it is, and it will continue to be. I simply ask you to value my request, and to try to understand that if what we fear most ends up happening, it's necessary that we be able to defend ourselves. I can assure you, and you have my word, again, that these armed militias will not go outside the limits of the settlement as long as no Corsair attack occurs. Likewise, this force will be strictly temporary, and if this crisis is resolved peacefully we'll be happy to disband it immediately without a shot having been fired. However, I will abide by whatever your decision is, and at worst, we will defend our settlement with what we already have

Regards, and Deux be with you.

Mr. Voncloud.

I'm glad you agree with me on the need to prepare for a possible Corsair invasion, Deux forbid. Your idea of forming a joint militia seems very appropriate to me, it will indeed be much more effective if it's a coordinated force than if they are simply isolated groups.

Our Field Maestre of the Pontifical Guard had already spoken with His Holiness about the geographical and meteorological characteristics of Pygar, and how they could be very favorable to us in the event of an attack or occupation. He also believes that a militia, although lightly armed and not overly trained, if well coordinated could cause a lot of problems for anyone who comes to occupy the planet.

I'm going to ask His Holiness to give the order to begin recruiting, and for the Guard officers to begin training the new militiamen. Of course this will be completely voluntary, no civilian can be required to endanger his life when he has not taken any oath to do so. However, taking into account that many of our settlers experienced our expulsion from Gran Canaria by the Bretonian invaders with anger and pain, I'm convinced that we'll have enough volunteers willing to give their best so that something like this doesn't happen again. I'm also going to organize the purchase of the light weapons that I've mentioned to you, to begin arming the militia.

I sincerely hope that all of this is completely unnecessary, but if our fears come true, at least we won't be caught off guard and we'll be able to protect the people of Pygar.

Regards, and Deux be with you.

Greetings Mr. Voncloud.

I'm simply sending this communication to inform you that we've managed to supply the necessary material and equipment for the new defense militia of Pygar, with regard to our settlement.

Recruitment among our settlers has been quite satisfactory, many volunteers have shown up to gather approximately 1.000 people. According to what the Field Maestre of the Pontifical Guard has informed me, the majority are people who lack the slightest military experience, despite the fact that they try to make up for those deficiencies with the best will and attitude possible. However, our Guard officers have already begun to train them intensively in the basic knowledge of the use of light weapons and military instruction. When they're sufficiently prepared in these aspects, more specialized training in guerrilla tactics and resistance will begin.

I imagine that a similar process has begun in other Pygar settlements, under the supervision of Phoenix. Our training officers will maintain constant contact with your officers to organize coordinated maneuvers between the militiamen who are being formed in the different settlements, so that they can learn to act jointly in the most efficient way.

Let's hope that if this conflict escalates, it does so as late as possible so that this militia is properly prepared to fight.

On the other hand, I also wanted to inform you that a few days ago we received the second gunship for the naval forces of the Pontifical Guard. Although at this time both ships have been sent to Delta to try to provide protection against Nomad aberrations to our commercial transports that operate routes through that area, both ships will be able to participate in the defense of Pygar, if necessary.

Regards, and Deux be with you.

Greetings Mr. Voncloud.

Looks like things are getting ugly out there. We've reason to believe that a violent outcome to the Freeport 9 crisis is imminent, which undoubtedly affects the security of Corfu Base and Planet Pygar.

For our part, we've decreed maximum alert in our settlement, and we have all military personnel at their combat stations. We've also ordered the return to Pygar of our two gunships from Delta, so that they can focus on the defense of the system. Likewise, we've begun the first steps to prepare a lightning evacuation of all non-essential civilian personnel from our colony, if the shooting starts.

My question is the following, and His Holiness is very interested in your advice on the matter: In the event that there is some type of battle for the recovery of Freeport 9, or to achieve the expulsion of the Corsairs from Theta system, what will be the Phoenix stance?

I remember that Mr. Burton talked a long time ago about some kind of plan for this, and the Church already expressed its offer to support Phoenix, even militarily, but we've not heard anything about it again. His Holiness is clear about what the Church's attitude will be if the Corsairs attack Corfu or Pygar, but he isn't sure what our response will be if hostilities are centered on Freeport 9, until we know Phoenix's involvement in all this .

We would greatly appreciate it if you could shed some light on what is going on.

Regards, and Deux be with you.

Greetings again Mr. Voncloud.

I'm very pleased to know that you too have been successful in recruiting militiamen. If the Corsairs come for Pygar, we'll be prepared to receive them as they deserve. It's a real calamity that it had to come to this, but the Corsairs have left us no choice.

Regarding our support for Phoenix in battle, His Holiness promised to help with the military force that he can provide, and he has informed me that he has no intention of going back on his word. We feel no obligation other than our own intention to help achieve a danger-free Omicron Theta, where we can live in peace once and for all. Our military forces are small, but we'll contribute what we can to the cause. Omicron Theta is our home now, and we have a duty to protect it.

Regarding our people, civilians and part of the Government are going to be evacuated from the planet in the next few hours by the colony ship Theia, belonging to Phoenix, which Mr. Jack Anderson has kindly offered us. Only those civilians whose performance is strictly essential to the basic functioning of the colony will remain in Faith Haven, and the majority of the military personnel of the Pontifical Guard, as well as our militia.

Regards, and may Deux help us all.

Greetings Administrator Voncloud.

I'm Gregorius XCVII, Pontiff of the New Covenant Church, and leader of Faith Haven settlement. We haven't yet had the opportunity to communicate directly, since it has been my Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Magister Orlov, who has dealt with these matters. However, I believe it's time for me to present myself personally to you.

First of all, and before anything else, I would like to thank you for the understanding you have shown towards us on past occasions. I know that perhaps it took us longer than necessary to contact the planet's administration, but you already know that we've gone through quite serious internal problems, until recently.

I'm contacting you this time for reasons that I wish were more pleasant. I imagine that you're already aware of the recent events of a few days ago at Freeport 9. Core marines and volunteers from Gran Canaria carried out an assault on the station, and although they've achieved to rescue some of the hostages that the Corsairs were holding there, they haven't managed to retake the freeport.

What's worse is that another biodome appears to have been severely damaged during the fighting, adding to the two that were already completely destroyed by the naval battle that occurred around the station, months ago. One of my Guard reconnaissance pilots swent near Freeport 9 a few hours ago, and the damage he saw is terrible. I'm afraid Theta will soon notice the lack of the food that used to come from the station.

Well, I don't know if you're aware, but we've a large cultivation biodome, here in Faith Haven, and we're currently building another one just as large with the permission you gave us in the past to expand our settlement. The reality is that we've the capacity to supply ourselves with food without problems, and we even produce enough to store some, so our settlement will not suffer from famine despite the Freeport 9 disaster. However, we've thought that we do not know what situation the other colonies that exist in Pygar are in. We're concerned about the fate of its inhabitants, we don't know if they have agricultural plantation systems like ours, and if they have, if they produce enough food to completely supply themselves.

That is why we want to offer half of our vegetable production to Pygar Administration, so that it can be distributed among the settlements that need it. I'm very aware that this amount of food will not be nearly enough to solve the famine problem that could be unleashed on the planet, but I hope it can help soften the blow, especially in less favored colonies. For our part, we're going to decree strict rationing on ourselves, and by applying this measure we should be able to survive on the other half of our food production.

We've already set aside and stored the quantities of food that we're going to donate. If they are needed, the Pygar Administration can come and pick them up in shuttles whenever they want, or if you need help distributing them, we can do it ourselves. We also have several shuttles and some surface vehicles that can approach the settlements that the Administration indicates to us, to deliver food.

It's in the most dramatic moments like this, when humans must be more united than ever and help each other. That's what Deux Our Lord tells us, and that's what we'll do.

May Deux help us all.