The Haven Times Welcome to the latest edition of The Haven Times, the news network of the Haven Federation and beyond. On April 1st, the anniversary of Mael Radec’s death, the Caliph of the Islamic Caliphate of the Fringe, Syed al-Quiche, called together the first Fringe Assembly of all the major powers of the Fringe. The Haven Federation hosted the event in the Bastion District, where leaders from multiple civilizations attended, including representatives from Haven, the ICIF, the Holy Dominion, the UACC, and the Shifters. During the Assembly, Grand Protector Blake Esther boldly condemned the Shifters and the ICIF in front of the entirety of the Fringe’s major powers and on interstellar television, marking him as the first Grand Protector to openly denounce a foreign power. Esther charged that the ICIF harbored the Traitor Prince, Saif Cassio, after he broke his senatorial oath and allowed the Shifters to invade the Corrav District, granting Cassio nobility in the ICIF ranks. He also charged that the Shifters launched a hostile invasion against the Haven Federation, charging the Shifters with genocide of native Havenites. He also accused the ICIF of participating in the slave trade, and charged the Shifters with violating Haven’s sovereignty by settling on Clymene. Finally, he charged Syed al-Quiche personally for sending an agent of the Caliphate named Alexandra Vasiliev to Haven with intent of genocide, revealing evidence that she attempted to infect the Haven District’s water supply with the Shifter Virus. Al-Quiche then revealed that he had ordered Vasiliev to infect the drink supplies of Club Solus, revealing that he had murdered Senator Sinji Ekta, a fact that enraged Esther. To the accusations of genocide, Zel’nara, representative of the Shifters, downplayed the fact, claiming that Haven bombed their own people despite the fact that very little Havenites remained in the Corrav District, and that it was a strategic decision to prevent further destruction. Al-Quiche later forbade his wife from participating in the Assembly, after she repeatedly used vulgar words and said that the Senate should “leave the Fringe”. Spoiler: Esther's Speech - Esther’s speech sparked outrage among citizens, revealing further atrocities that the Shifters had committed, and revealing that Syed al-Quiche had Senator Ekta murdered by means of the Shifter Virus. Citizens that protested the Shifter’s representation in the Assembly in the first place had grown in vast number, and now paired with the Yggdrasil citizens’ outrage against the Shifters for their desecration of the Yggdrasil, a recent poll has found that the Haven First party is beginning to lead in the polls after Esther’s speech. Esther has not claimed any political alignment, stating that he only acted “for the good of the Federation, one way or the other.” At the end of the first Assembly, Syed al-Quiche called for all major powers to pass sanctions on Zecyria for their refusal in international cooperation. The Senate has decided to pass sanctions against Zecyria, forbidding all trade and teleportation to and from Zecyria. Following the collapse of Zecyria, these sanctions have been transferred to the remnants of the People’s Military Coalition. The Bright Awards are a series of distinctions and awards given to citizens of the Federation for outstanding acts in a variety of fields, given personally by the Bright Foundation, led by Headmistress Liliana Bright of the Gaia University. Each year the Bright Foundation gives awards for the subjects of Peace, Engineering, Physics, Medicine, The Arts. The Bright Foundation also gives an award to one foreign person for esteemed deeds, and there are rumors to expand the program to outside of the Federation. The monetary award is 2 million pixels. The Peace Award has been awarded to Senator Roy Martinez Jackson, for his humanitarian efforts in reconstruction and relief of the destroyed Corrav District after the Shifter infection. Jackson has made admirable progress on the reconstruction, and the spending run by the project has virtually negated the unemployment that was caused by the Shifter infection. Following the announcement, he made this statement: “It is a great honor to have been recognized with this award. This does not only go out to me, but it goes to every brave man and woman who fought in the final days of the Corrav Urban Area, and to the diligent workers who have put themselves with such great dedication to the efforts of reconstruction. I will not rest until each and every person in the refugee camps of the outer-Corrav District are once again in their homes and with their loved ones.” The Engineering Award has been awarded to Dr. Victor Marcovici, a professor of engineering and robotics of the Gaia University, for his work for the EBS project. Dr. Marco led the construction of EBS-7, the famous Havenite who was a leading figure in obtaining the territory of Bastion for the Federation. Dr. Marco has also led tremendous contribution to the creation of the Corrav Memorial Spaceport, and is known as the inventor of the Haven City Skyrail, several ship models for the Grand Navy, and more. He has made a statement regarding his acceptance of the award: “I am happy to accept this award from the Bright Foundation. Ever since I came to Haven City long ago, it has been my passion to contribute my knowledge in engineering and robotics to the good of the newly formed Federation. I have aided Leda Portia in erecting the city of dreams, designing systems and devices to aid us in our quest for greatness. My magnum opus, the fruit of the Engineered Battle Systems project, has achieved greatness of his own with bravery and valor rivalling my own. The creator, however, cannot take credit for all the deeds of his creations. Thus, I dedicate this award to EBS-7, who gave to us so much.” The Medicine Award has been awarded to Senator Diana Cilvay for her research efforts for relief of the Shifter virus during the Shifter viral outbreak in the Corrav District, as well as multiple enhancement to the Gaia University’s biology department. The Arts Award has been awarded posthumously to the Glitch ‘Arcadia’ of the Bastion District. Now revered as a goddess, Arcadia led the Haven Expeditionary Force to the liberation of the Silent Bastion using the power of song. Her final song is known by every native of Bastion: Spoiler: Song "♫ Open your eyes, do you hear me? ♫ ♫ Cast off the lies, can you see me? ♫ ♫ Perpetual sleep cast into darkness, What can I do, to free you at last? ♫ ♫ Deceived and silenced, by the wicked, Outcast and searched, I am hated. ♫ ♫ With hope born anew, I stand on this spiral, To give this to you, my final reprisal. ♫ ♫ Listen to me, and hear my song, of freedom and hope, Cast off the lies, can you see me, can you hear me? ♫ ♫ Listen to me, and hear this tale, of friends and compassion, Of eight who knew, that above else, freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns once more and for all. ♫ ♫ Open your ears, can you hear me? ♫ ♫ Darling my love, no need to fear for me. ♫ ♫ Keep your chin up and your hopes high, And hear my song, to shatter your silence. ♫ ♫ Show them the truth and enlighten, For them to awaken, it must be bidden. ♫ ♫ With hope born anew, I stand on this spiral, To give this to you, my final reprisal. ♫ ♫ Listen to me, and hear my song, of freedom and hope, Cast off the lies, can you see me, can you hear me? ♫ ♫ Listen to me, and hear this tale, of friends and compassion, Of eight who knew, that above else, freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns! ♫ ♫ Freedom reigns once more and for all. ♫ ♫ I see you now, you can at last hear me, ♫ ♫ Join in my love, and sing with me. ♫ ♫ Look up to the sky, and see our work, our magnum opus, As this facade shatters, your silence void. ♫ ♫ Join in arms, all eternal, Cast off the lies, cast off that which is baneful, ♫ ♫ With hope born anew, I stand on this spiral, To give this to you, the hymn of our battle. ♫ ♫ Battles lost and won. A journey long fought. ♫ ♫ Old demons now conquered, it will not be for naught. ♫ ♫ Hear our reprisal, let our words ring greater. ♫ ♫ Awaken from this dream and cast off the black traitor. ♫" The Physics Award has been awarded to two individuals, Dr. Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro and Senator Diana Cilvay, for their groundbreaking research on the origin of Hyperspace. Dr. Ricci-Curbastro has no message regarding the award. The Foreign Award is given to one foreign individual who has shown distinction. This year’s foreign award has been awarded to Lloyd, head of the Atlas Corporation, for his work in trade, commerce, and employment to the people of the Fringe. The economy has been booming since the Radec Isolation Act was repealed. Foreign firms have been investing heavily into Havenite stocks, and a new era of foreign trade, government spending, and employment has skyrocketed the Federation in its best economic state since its founding, having surpassed its previous GDP in 3280 by nearly double. Events such as the Shifter invasion have caused sharp downturns in investment, however these wounds quickly healed after Grand Protector Blake Esther took office, also due to the boom in employment as a result of the Corrav District’s reconstruction. Companies such as SOLUS Industries are reaching further into the Haven System to further tap into the Federation’s natural resources. Grand Protector Blake Esther has made the following statement regarding the economy: “Things are doing great for us. Employment is booming, trade is booming, spending is booming; the Fringe has given us much. The first Assembly held at Bastion has sparked a sudden interest in Bastionite art and music, greatly helping the governor there in managing things and growing the city. I am currently working on various laws to introduce to the Senate which I hope will maintain our good economic state. Among these is a bill to introduce a greater spending on our military so as to adequately defend ourselves against threats, talks to institute our own national currency, an effort to designate ambassadors to various nations of the Fringe, and more. I hope that our native companies will continue to grow, that more consumers find that they have the power to bring business to the Federation, and that foreign nations will wish to engage in trade with us for mutual benefit.” SOLUS Industries was established by former Senator Sinji Ekta as a means to profit from the vast, untapped quantities of solarium present in Haven. Mining and refining solarium and rubium and engineering reactors, SOLUS has gained dominance in Haven as the leading provider of ore and energy. Since the unfortunate demise of Ekta, however, a new director of SOLUS has taken his place, a former secretary of Ekta’s named Pauline Cooper. Cooper has disclosed plans to construct various solarium energy plants in the Capital District, participate in the Corrav reconstruction, expand foreign trade, and begin works on the planet of Tertiara for an impervium refining facility.
