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Phase 9: Halcyon Days
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Part 5
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"You know, I'm delighted I'm not on Shield's Oversight Council right now, General. I've seen some cases of intelligence dropping the ball and dealing with naval intelligence going rogue and supporting a coup, but this?" Stark waved a hand at a monitor showing Congress hearing over the unfolding disasters in Afghanistan. "This is something else indeed."
"Your weapons are helping kill our soldiers and allies. You can't pretend this doesn't concern you, Mr. Stark," General Danvers pointed out.
"I did cooperate in cleaning up the house, so to speak, and nearly got killed by my weapons, General," Stark patted his chest, and the electromagnet there
that kept him alive. "I'll carry this souvenir for years as a reminder. However, if intelligence hadn't dropped the ball in such a way, my convoy might have gotten fine in the first place. We wouldn't have found out about my weapons ending up on the black market only when the Ten Rings used them to blow me and a bunch of young soldiers to kingdom come."
"You can keep grumbling about Shield's incompetence later, people. We have a job to do and won't fuck it up like Fury's goons did! Now, where do we stand on training and establishing infrastructure?"
"Worldwide or in the continental United States?" Stark inquired.
From a classified recording of SWORD's Oversight Committee meeting with SWORD Director Danvers
"I was wondering when you will make contact," Stark mock-saluted with a cup of tea.
"No whiskey? We've got the good stuff," Councilor Hawley offered.
"You know very well I no longer drink, most of the time anyway. I'm fine with my tea, thank you very much," Stark's sarcasm wasn't as biting as usual.
"We might civilize you yet," Councilor Hawley nodded pleased and sipped her tea.
"This isn't a social call, is it, Pamela?"
"I'm nowhere near as old as Peggy, young man. Though not as young now, are you?" The Councilor inquired.
"I have the memories of a man who was older than both of us combined when he made that device. I might be feeling the middle-age crisis a bit now," Stark shrugged.
"People with proper manners don't shrug, Tony. So much for civilizing you," Hawley lamented.
"I'm both old enough and rich enough not to care about such trivialities. Now, shall we cut to the chase?"
"I am here to officially welcome you into the fold now that we've observed you in action and liked what we saw."
"Agent Ward's people? I wouldn't have pegged you for the secret society crowd."
"That would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? It's time we compared notes, Tony. Would it surprise you to know the Illuminati are real, though that name is little more than a cover itself?" Hawley smiled like a content cat.
"I can attest stranger things have happened," Stark waved a hand, and a sugar cube rose from the tray on the table between them, then slowly floated into his cup of tea.
"We are a branch of an ancient organization that has as its purpose the unification and uplift of humanity under a shared vision. We've supported the United States, the Entente, and later, the Allies through two world wars and the Cold War. The West and its closest allies are the best path forward if properly tempered and guided. We were the key people who established SHIELD to guard us against internal threats. Now, we are building SWORD to defend us from those beyond Earth who would threaten humanity," Hawley went for the dramatic introduction. "It is time you knew the truth about our world, Tony, about the Hydra's many heads and their conflicting visions. About the covert conflict, we've been fighting for more than a century.
from a meeting between Councilor Pamela Hawley, a member of the Illuminati Hydra branch, and newly inducted member of the Illuminati Hydra branch, Councilor Tony Stark
LEGO has begun negotiations with Stark Industries about continued cooperation with the Star Wars franchise under its new management. This puts them in direct competition with Hasbro, who are already negotiating with SI…
Forbes Magazine
China is attempting to corner the civilian market for passive exoskeletons. After the Chinese government signed a deal with Stark Industries late last year, multiple Chinese corporations have licensed SI's groundbreaking design. They are mass producing it, aiming to offer quality products at low prices using economies of scale almost no one else would be able to match. Within China alone, exoskeleton variants – full, offering support to the lower or upper body, have been making ground with construction and warehouse workers for months. The latest pictures of China's naval yards show that almost all workers there use one form or another of 'movement support system.' Thailand, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore have already signed deals for the delivery of thousands of units each at a minimum.
As of the past month, Chinese exoskeletons have increasingly appeared in Africa. That happens where Chinese companies often aid in building infrastructure as part of generous, often hazardous loan schemes granted by Chinese banks and the government. Multiple European countries have shown interest in exploring the utility of exoskeletons for numerous industries. As of late, the same is true for various US businesses, divided between Stark Industries' more expensive home-built devices and the cheaper yet identical Chinese ones.
Either way, SI will profit as long as China respects the licensing deals… The reason for this inconsistency is simple – Stark Industries has a single limited production line opened in California. At the same time, the Chinese mass-produce exoskeletons like they are the next best thing after sliced bread.
Forbes Magazine
This is Luke Vader with more Star Wars news! We just got a new trailer for Star Wars the Old Republic MMORPG, which is what Tony Stark wants to expand in scope greatly! It's called the Return of the Sith, and it is incredible! Among other things, we got one of the best lightsaber duels ever in a six-minute-long cinematic trailer!
The best way I can describe this trailer is as a love letter to Star Wars made by fans. We saw Old Republic soldiers, obviously inspired by the Clones and Mandalorians we saw in the Clone Wars. Yet, they are their predecessor and original inspiration, lore-wise! We saw a bad-ass smuggler shooting Sith soldiers and a fantastic duel between a Jedi Knight and his Padawan against a Sith Lord and his Apprentice! You need to watch it! We saw a taste of what the Sith fleet is and a homage to the Millennium Falcon, being chased by fighters, complete with people manning laser cannons to defend it!
The biggest surprise was at the end! For anyone wishing to avoid spoilers until you've watched it, go skip ahead; I am serious!
Seriously, go away now; it's SPOILER's time!
In the end, after the Sith capture a Republic station guarding Korriban, the original Sith homeworld, which has been abandoned for at least a thousand years, we had a big surprise! The Sith Master was wounded by the Jedi Knight during the duel and nearly helpless on his knees. For a moment there, I was sure the Apprentice would kill him for being weak like Sith was supposed to do. The Rule of Two, the strictest only rule and such! There were expectations to be subverted, and then bam! The Apprentice, Malgus or something, switches off his lightsaber. Instead of ranting about the Jedi Padawan going away or giving an evil monologue, he shakes his head while looking at Korriban with longing.
"Finally, we were back home to Korriban! We were winning, and then… How did it go so wrong?"
"We let our hatred for the Jedi rule us instead of using it as fuel, Apprentice. Let this be a lesson we both will live to learn from! Never forget hatred and fear are tools! We use those emotions! We do not let them rule us!"
Did you hear that? We are talking about very different Sith here compared to Sidious, Tyranus, and Vader, the followers of the Rule of Two! But when you think about it, it makes sense. The Galactic Empire we saw in the Original Trilogy wasn't a Sith Empire. It was evil, totalitarian, yes. Sith, no. It was just Sidious and Vader there. We're looking at a genuine Sith Empire here, presumably with many Sith working together. That is something we've yet to see in Star Wars!
From Luke Vader's Star Wars dedicated youtube channel
The United States military is in the process of deploying two Marine Battalions, elements of the First Armored Division, special forces units, and elements of the National Guard to Afghanistan. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany pledged increased support and are assembling a battalion-sized formation each for deployment, despite how controversial this stance is in Berlin.
Euronews
Protests are erupting across Germany against what many see as an unjustified resurgence of militarism. We keep hearing the repeated claim that no German soldiers would have died if they were never sent to fight on foreign soil, something that should have never happened after the horrors of the Second World War.
This sentiment was met with a surprisingly divided international response. Many NATO members, especially in Eastern Europe, are incredibly divided. There are many unpleasant memories there from the Second World War. At the same time, Germany is Europe's industrial and economic heart. To many, it seems that Germany enjoys the pact's protection nowadays. Yet, the German people are not ready to pay the price for mutual defense, which sometimes can mean sending soldiers to die on foreign soil for people who aren't fellow citizens of your country.
President Obama commended the firm decision for action reached by the German government while not mentioning the ongoing protests. Democrat and Republican representatives of Congress and the Senate were less polite in their statements…
CNN
Coalition and ANA forces across Afghanistan are consolidating and bunkering down for a long campaign. In the short term, this means abandoning large parts of the country to Taliban and Ten Rings insurrectionists. However, there is no other practical recourse to avoid more defeats in detail. The Coalition forces in the country simply aren't set up for prolonged high-intensity combat, especially against an enemy with access to modern weapons. General Roberts claimed that the Coalition's presence in Afghanistan needed a significant amount of different equipment and to change its force composition to avoid repeated disasters.
USA Today
Mosad warns about suspicious movements and a lack of electronic chatter between Revolutionary Guard units in Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister gave a vitriol-filled speech in front of the Ksenet aimed at Iran. Israel's government has been among the harshest critics of the Brussels Accords signed between the United States, European Union, and Iran.
CNN
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Part 6
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Intelligence agencies warn of more signs of brewing trouble within Iran. In the past weeks, Mossad, CIA, and others have reported suspicious movement from Revolutionary Guard and Iranian military accompanied by suspicious radio silence. Despite that, there has been no action against the continuing protests by citizens anticipating whether the Brussels Accords would lead to tangible benefits or would fall apart.
BBC World News
The Second Surge is well underway, with US and NATO forces reinforcing the deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. So far, the Taliban and Ten Rings have refrained from attacking consolidated Coalition forces within the country. They seem to be focused on degrading ANA formations stationed away from easy Coalition reinforcements and consolidating their hold of the Kandahar, Herat, and Jalalabad provinces.
CNN
Romania and Bulgaria are the last EU countries to begin fusion reactor construction. In Bulgaria's case, the successful completion of the project would mean they could decommission their remaining fission nuclear power plant. The truth of fusion and fission finally dawned on less radical parts of the Green movement. In the last few months, we've seen an increased drive to adopt fusion technology in exchange for abandoning fission nuclear power. Bulgaria was one of the beneficiaries of this push, receiving subsidies to get their first fusion reactor up and running faster than it could be otherwise possible in exchange for the pledge to shut down their nuclear power plant when the fusion reactor is integrated into the power grid.
A pleasant consequence for many European cities is the significant reduction of Green parties backed protests. Sadly, the downside of this is the radical wings of the Green are out in strength, often causing riots and clashes with the police across the EU.
Euronews
British Petroleum is making a hard pivot towards green energy while focusing its long-term involvement with fossil fuels in the production of lubricants and plastics. The multinational corporation projects that it will significantly decrease the extraction of petrol and refinement of fuels over the next five years. Their energy strategy is now focused on fully backing the development of fusion technology and building the dispersed infrastructure needed for charging electric vehicles.
BBC News
Will the militaries worldwide remain the sole big user of fossil fuels for the foreseeable future?
The sheer power density and output of petrol and related products point in that direction. Scientists across the world tend to disagree. Here in the EU, we have multiple laboratories working on hydrogen-based power cells and new compact batteries. Stark Industries and affiliates are working on miniaturized fusion reactor designs and cite the primary stumbling block as insufficiently advanced material science able to handle compact reactors. This can and will begin to change after we enter the fusion age in a few years. The abundance of cheap energy can then be harvested to create novel materials and alloys that are theoretically or prohibitively expensive to create in the laboratory right now. We are in for an explosion of advancements in the materials sciences in the next five to ten years, which would, in turn, revolutionize many other fields.
So yes, in the short term, the militaries worldwide will remain major fossil fuel users because nothing else available can meet their requirements. That will rapidly change when compact fusion reactors come online.
Euronews
It's here, folks! A bit late; we're in the last days of September; however, we can now get our hands on the Star Wars tech bible! The Anaxes' Guide to Warfare and Technology is out and often getting bought as fast as it could be delivered. There are countless fans out there who are eager to see what Tony Stark has in mind for Star Wars.
I can give you an overview today, though a comprehensive analysis still needs to be completed, obviously!
Now, the first big thing is hyperspace travel. Here we see little change from what the EU claimed in general; it was just that most Star Wars writers didn't exactly care about it. First, hyperspace travel is still incredibly fast. Under the right circumstances, you can cross the galaxy in a few days. Here is the significant change. Do you remember A New Hope? How going from Tatooine to Alderaan was both fast and, as far as we know, happened entirely in hyperspace? That's not how it now works, folks. There's this thing called hyper-lanes, which were a thing in the EU. They are corridors of free space constantly monitored and traveled that allow fast hyperspace travel without worries. They serve as highways. That is how you cross the galaxy in Star Wars in a couple of days. The significant change here is there are many worlds across those hyper-lanes. You fly from system to system on a hyper-lane, exit hyperspace, and move through the system until you reach the other entrance of the hyper-lane on the other side of the system or where it is situated; only then do you enter hyperspace or jump to lightspeed so to speak.
This should have implications for the plots we see in future Star Wars and how the Clone Wars unfold after the season currently in production. There will be soft retcons, so to speak.
Third, it is a hard rule that gravity wells will drag you out of hyperspace. If you miscalculate your jump and are lucky, you will end up near a planet. If you are unlucky, you will end painfully close to a star or black hole. And if the Force hates you, the safeties of your hyperdrive won't engage in time. This is what Han Solo talked about in A New Hope. You see, gravity throws shadows in hyperspace. The stronger it is, the 'harder' the shadow. That is how a planet's gravity will yank a ship out of hyperspace back into real space. However, massive objects like stars, super-novas, or black holes and their gravity shadow will be extremely massive. If you fly into it in hyperspace, it will be like hitting a concrete wall that's potentially very thick. So yeah, if that happens, the Force hates you in particular.
What's next is proof that Tony Stark is a nerd just like us! We have a canon explanation of how blasters work and what they are, and it is even based on real science! You see, Tony Stark admitted that as a kid, he wanted a blaster like Han Solo's, and he could finally build one! That's it, folks; we now have real-life blasters because Star Wars inspired Tony Stark! The energy weapons the US military is all over are Star Wars blasters built by Stark!
From Luke Vader's Star Wars dedicated youtube channel
President Obama confirms that at this time, the United States and its allies don't intend to increase their military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq significantly numerically. What will continue to happen is replacing support elements involved in the nation-building exercises with combat troops on a one-to-one basis or close to it. When intelligence permits it, the Coalition forces and ANA allies will be launching offensives against Taliban and Ten Rings strongholds across the country.
USA Today
The first week of November was characterized by increasing air strikes against Taliban positions, preceded by SEAD missions run by the US Air Force across Afghanistan.
We expect Coalition and ANA offensive operations to begin early next week.
Washington Post
It is not a coincidence that radio chatter among Iranian military and Revolutionary Guard units ceased the day after Coalition forces launched their offensives in Afghanistan! Intelligence agencies warn about imminent trouble coming from Iran!BBC World NewsBreaking news! We just got a confirmation that half an hour ago, an Iranian General issued a warning on the open air towards US, allied, and Israeli forces in the Middle East. He claimed that radical elements within Iran are launching a coup attempt and will attack anyone they deem enemies. Now we are receiving unconfirmed reports of missile launches all across Iran!
CNN
It's sheer madness out there! Revolutionary Guard units just deployed in Tehran and opened fire on peaceful protesters! Police and regular military units responded almost immediately. There are ongoing firefights all over the city!
BBC World News
The Pentagon just confirmed that Iran launched a mass missile strike against the Eisenhower carrier battle group and US bases across the Middle East, including facilities in Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. We have no word about casualties. However, Pentagon officials did confirm that warning from intelligence assets and Iranian General al Fahir allowed military personnel and civilian contractors to be on high alert and, when necessary, seek shelter before the attacks struck.
CNN
Explosions shook cities across Israel as Iranian and terrorist forces launched a massive missile campaign against the country. Last night, the skies were constantly lit up by counter-missiles and Iron Dome systems firing until they ran dry on ammunition. We have a confirmation that at least two Stark Industries Jericho missiles slipped through the defenses, causing catastrophic damage, compounding what is suspected to be modern Russian missiles that broke through depleted defenses early in the morning.
Euronews
We have tentative confirmation of an ongoing civil war across Iran. Satellite imagery and recon flight aimed at locating targets for counter strikes after Iran's unprovoked attack against the United States and allied forces, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reveal fires across over a dozen cities and ongoing combat within and around various military bases. Heavy regular army and Revolutionary Guard formations are converging for a clash in Tehran's outskirts.
CNN News