Episode description[edit | edit source]
Word traveled fast: The Oxblood Clan had demanded elections, and whether they’d get them had become the talk of all Icebreaker. For the hundreds on board familiar with the guild’s practices, Oxblood’s insistence was no surprise. The group was famous for deciding on things “as a family,” which meant a mix of extempore votes on the shop floor and regular elections for key decision-making roles throughout the organization. But the degree to which the entire fortress had been consumed with the question? That was a surprise.
The scale of Oxblood’s representation on board was part of that. In a crew of over a thousand, they made up a solid block of a few hundred, and that meant that a whisper was heard as a galewind. Within a day, a game of telephone (and the Oxblood reputation for drama) had transformed the election fliers into “fires,” demands written in burning oil across the topdeck.
But it was also due to the novelty. While many had brushed against lowercase D democracy in their daily lives--whether that was reading about the (mostly appointed) Kesh legislature’s referendum votes or deciding which Zenith Fund research project to donate auxiliary processing hours to--many of those onboard had never even considered the possibility that their opinion should matter as much as anyone else’s.
But that novelty was a double edged sword. Stark and stolid hierarchies had extended the Principality for over 5,000 years. What if this voting thing was a little more than a fad? A small worm chewing away in the brain of the newly free. “You are not worth it,” it says. “Return to the dirt.”
This week on PARTIZAN: Who Will Lead Millennium Break?
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Crossroads[edit | edit source]
Crossroad #1: Will The Kingdom allow civilian refugees to live on Icebreaker Prime?
Crossroad #2: Will the Kingdom rob the surreptitious Columnar and Orion arms shipments in order to address our resource problem?
Crossroad #3: Will the Kingdom hold elections?
The Millenium Break Manifesto[edit | edit source]
- We will help those displaced by the war on Partizan.
- We will claim supplies only when it adds losses to the ledgers of the unjust.
Character Bonds[edit | edit source]
Valence: I feel the uncomfortable draw of the unknown from Apparatus, but must keep focus on the revolution and the way of God. An overindulgence of curiosity would sidetrack me.
Apparatus: Gur Sevraq has always been a bit of a Day Mayor. I hope he has not gotten too used to the light.
Gur Sevraq: Milli is right to distrust all who seek to direct her power, but she ought fight for those who share her dreams yet lack her strength.
Milli: Sovereign Immunity's connections could get us out of prison. I need to make sure this summit doesn't make him forget that.
SI: This is the moment Clementine must show her mettle as a leader. If she is truly a frivolous child I will find someone better.
Clem: United, Gucci and I could be a powerful force for Kesh, with me at its head. Her misplaced egalitarianism, however, is a problem.
Gucci: Broun knows how to get things done and I know what they want in return. But there’s a difference between service and loyalty, and I don’t know when or where they’ll draw that line.
Broun: I need Valence to keep their promise to me but I don’t believe they can.
Contents[edit | edit source]
Plot[edit | edit source]
In opposition to Clementine, and the question of uncertain leadership driven by Oxblood members, there is a call for elections to be held in Millennium Break. Sovereign wants to stand, but despite his heroic revolutionary past, is marred by his association with Clementine Kesh. Broun is ambivalent about Valence running until they realise it might help their personal goal of getting off Partizan if Valence gets into a position of power.
There is a debate between Valence, Gucci and Jesset City, with Thisbe acting as an impartial moderator. SI and Clementine don't even turn up. Jesset is trying to position himself as more radical than SI, so this makes it hard on Jesset. Jesset argue that someone from the ruling class like Gucci cannot be their leader; Valence pushes for expansion off Partizan; Gucci positions herself as a moderate voice.
Broun collaborates with Millie and Si'dra Balos to build a covert messaging system that secretly hooks into the Strand Semaphore technology.
Apparatus laments to Gur that nobody even really knows what they’re voting for, with everyone getting far too wrapped up in the aesthetic of electioneering at the expense of good policy and decision-making. The mood on Icebreaker is tense and many fear riots will break out no matter what the outcome is. With Gucci and Jesset busy sniping at each other, and with Clementine or the dubious motives of SI unpalatable choices for many, Valence is the only decisive winner on the back of Broun and Millie’s communications network.
Rioting breaks out, but Valence projects psychic visions of their encounter with God in Orzen ("Divine Attention"), shocking everyone into silence. In the days afterwards, and also thanks to the communications network, Valence is met with huge lists of demands and expectations from different Millennium Break factions. SI moves into an advisor position to Valence. Meanwhile, Clementine remains assured of her status despite her election loss.
Gur is making videos with Zo’la and distributing Millennium Break pamphlets amongst major cities.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Andrew Lee Swan (Valence, Zo'la)
- Keith J Carberry (Apparatus Aperitif, Exeter Leap)
- Austin Walker (Gur Sevraq, Mourningbride)
- Sylvia Clare (Ver'million Blue, Agon Ortlights)
- Art Martinez-Tebbel (Sovereign Immunity, AO Rooke)
- Jack de Quidt (Clementine Kesh, Tes’ili Serikos)
- Janine Hawkins (Gucci Garantine, Thisbe)
- Ali Acampora (Kal'mera Broun, Eiden Teak)