Interludes will contain snippets of other content, such as news reports, news articles, military reports, e-mails, entries from diaries, blogs and Nanami Rion's training journal.

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Interlude: ARUS news report

"…and now, to our main story."

A young woman with her brown hair carefully arranged and with delicate make-up was sitting in news studio. A dark red jacket with a white dress shirt and a dark pencil skirt adorned her. Left of her sat an older man, whose black hair was combed neatly back. He had a formal suit with a green tie on.

The studio was clean white with blue highlights, such as the chairs. On the screen various news headlines, weather and stock information scrolled by. In the right upper corner was the semi-transparent logo of the channel.

"According to an official press statement released on the Wired network, the state of New JIOR has been shut down and in its place, the Galactic Empire has been formed," the woman spoke clearly. "The now former Prime Minister Sashinami Shoko formally declared the closing of the nation several hours ago. After that, the proclaimed Emperor Mikhail I has taken control peacefully."

The camera switched focus to the man. "Not much is known about the new leader or the new empire. It was noted that the former Allied Forces 'slaughtered 1,984 innocent students and three holy spirits' to quote. These so called 'holy spirits' were pilots of the mechanical Valvrave battle units. The statement refers to the pilots as the only immortal beings on the module. Left are two of these holy spirits and 37 humans, including the Emperor.

"We have a guest to comment on this news piece. Good evening, Mister Matthew Adams from ARUS Public Affairs office, and welcome to the Late Night News."

A second man entered the frame. He also had a clean suit with a plain blue tie on. He was younger than the male news reporter, but older than the female one. His light-shaded hair was spiked stylishly and he had black-framed glasses. "Evening and thank you."

"What do you think has happened on the module?" the woman asked.

"After the former Allied Forces left, according to reports of our fleets, the students have taken Module 77 back under their control. There has been a power struggle, which I imagine was in response to the occupation of the AF."

"There were images attached to the statement. Our specialists say the images are manipulation-free. The images show supposedly students, many of them shot multiple times, lying in a school building and in something that looks like a hangar. Because these images are so graphic, we are not showing them on air. Doesn't this mean they weren't monsters as ARUS president Jeffrey Anderson claimed they were?"

"We have not acquired the information necessary to draw the classification of type seven lifeforms back. Images like these are not enough."

The woman leaned slightly forward. "If enough evidence is provided and the killed students were actually humans, how is ARUS going to handle the possible backlash and relations with the new empire?"

"Of course, we are very sorry, if that turns out to be the case," the guest acquiesced and adjusted his glasses. "But we also have to remember that this is war between ARUS and New JIOR. The latter has been closed down, and with it, we hope to have a clean plate with Galactic Empire, if they prove to be willing to cooperate."

"Dorssia has officially stated they are not recognizing the new empire as a legitimate country, and are still treating the residents as type sevens. Will this have an effect on ARUS decisions in the future?"

"Dorssia, as we know, is very unstable at the moment and thus not able to deal with outside affairs so well. If the Galactic Empire turns out to be a threat to ARUS's safety, we will handle them accordingly."

The male reporter looked at the guest silently, but nodded. "Last question: do you think the newly crowned Emperor is part of the controversial Magius council, which have been said to be in charge of Dorssia, possibly ARUS and JIOR?"

At this, the guest seemed to be uncomfortable, but answered seemingly honestly. "The claim of such council in control is, of course, under debate even here in ARUS. If Mikhail I is part of the supposed council, it warrants further actions like I earlier stated."

"Thank you for visiting, Mister Adams."

"Thank you," the guest nodded in return.

"It remains to be seen if the new Empire, rising from the ashes of New JIOR, is a threat." The woman concluded, facing the cameras. "New information has been promised in the statement. To read the full article and see the pictures attached, please visit our website.

"Our second story today is about the escalating Dorssian conflict, with casualties rising…"