[834 AS] Three killed in firefight aboard Freiburg Station
[834 AS] Corsair-Hessian standoff in Dresden
[834 AS] Who are the Maquis?
[834 AS] Erie governor speech ill-received
Willkommen!
Both navies are mobilizing.
Tensions Escalate as Liberty and Kusari Move to High Alert:
Both Liberty and Kusari have raised their military readiness to high alert, with forces surging toward the Colorado and Shikoku borders. Liberty has established new security checkpoints, conducting thorough inspections of all inbound traffic into Colorado.
In a show of force, Liberty deployed the battleship Rio Grande near Pueblo Station. The move, paired with strict curfews and heightened security across affected systems, underscores the severity of the crisis. Liberty has also announced sanctions against Kusari, halting exports of superconductors and accusing the Empire of supporting the Farmers Alliance’s campaign of terrorism against Liberty interests.
Kusari swiftly retaliated by imposing an embargo on Optronics and approving an emergency defense budget. Contracts were fast-tracked to the Kure, Yokohama, and Yukawa shipyards, all of which have transitioned to 24-hour production schedules. Civilian transport orders were abruptly canceled, with redirected demand boosting production at Rheinland’s Alster Shipyard and Bretonia’s Scarborough facility.
Amid the escalating standoff, Bretonia and Rheinland have jointly called for a summit on neutral ground in hopes of defusing tensions. Notably, Gallia was excluded at Bretonia’s request, though the Union has publicly urged Kusari to comply with Liberty’s demands—condemning the Empire as a “belligerent and destabilizing actor.”
“Peace is necessary for a stable and prosperous Sirius,” a Rheinland diplomat declared, urging both Kusari and Liberty to exercise restraint. “We call on both parties to allow cooler heads to prevail and to dissuade warmongering among their leaders.”
Rheinland and Bretonian officials are currently meeting to draft the framework of a proposed peace plan. Key issues under discussion include potential security guarantees designed to reassure both sides and prevent further escalation.