The Chaos Principle

No Greater Duty

Even though he couldn't see them, Samuel knew they were coming, rumbling above the sandy Martian ground like some malicious peal of thunder. Nervously, he huddled his Sand Stalker deeper into the alleyway and double-checked the panzerfaust clutched in the 'suit's manipulators. Across the street, hidden in the blasted remains of a vehicle garage, he could see DeCarlo's exo-suit, similarly armed. DeCarlo flashed him a thumbs up.

Samuel didn't feel that confident. He didn't return DeCarlo's signal. He was too scared of dropping his weapon. DeCarlo was a veteran, a ranger for twelve years. Samuel had been given this 'suit yesterday, after they'd dragged out what was left of its previous occupant. The ranger platoon had asked for volunteers, young men and women who would help to cover the escape of the inhabitants of Porter Dome, holding off the advancing Federation forces until the promised aid from the Jovians arrived.

"Will the Jovians help in the fight?" he'd asked. The marshal had shrugged, and said something that was supposed to be reassuring, but Samuel could see the sad "no" in the woman's eyes. He'd volunteered anyway. His friends, schoolmates in Porter, had all wished him good luck as they'd boarded the trucks and buses. Every one of them had said they wished they could be the ones to fight the Federation, lying in their eyes. Every one but Kara. Kara had smiled, and reached up to hold his hand and said "Thank you, Sammy."

DeCarlo had shown him how to use the bulbous rocket grenades. "Just point and shoot," he'd said. The first time Samuel had climbed into the military exo-suit, the inside still smelling of another human's sweat, blood and fear, and held the deadly explosive in the armored gauntlets, he'd felt sick. He'd wanted to quit right then, to tell them to find someone else. DeCarlo had grabbed him by the shoulders, shaken him roughly and, smiling, had told Samuel what the Federation soldiers liked to do to girls from the Free Republic. "Girls like Kara, kid."

Samuel didn't hate DeCarlo. He didn't even really hate the Federation soldiers in the hovertanks approaching his hiding place. All he wanted was to know that he had, somehow, helped Kara be safe from soldiers everywhere, from whatever side. When the Jovians came, to stand in the way or carry the trucks away to safety, he would be ready to quit.

The hovertanks were close now, entering the streets of the city. Samuel had been told the tanks would have to split up as they moved through the wreckage of the buildings and streets, allowing the small Republic force to bog them down with ambushes. The residual heat from the destruction of the buildings would provide excellent hiding places, they said.

A massive explosion knocked Samuel to the ground. When he looked up, the building where DeCarlo had been was gone. DeCarlo himself was nowhere to be seen.

"They can see us." he thought. "He said they wouldn't be able to see us, but they can see us! He's dead now because he was wrong and now I'm going to die because they can see me too --"

Samuel froze. A high-pitched whine, barely audible through the thin atmosphere, was moving up the street toward him. He huddled further down, nearer to the ground, trying to get away from the sound. The whine quickly increased in pitch, and a huge brown shape moved past Samuel, its details obscured by the tremendous dust cloud its engines were throwing up.

He hadn't thought the tank would be so big.

In a moment, it was past him. Samuel breathed half a sigh of relief. Then he noticed the little rotating sensor atop the tank's turret that had turned to face him.

The tank lurched violently, but could not maneuver at all in the narrow street. Samuel watched, horrified, as a machine gun turret spun around toward him. Not thinking for a moment, he crawled desperately out of the alley, scrabbling wildly against the loose soil, trying to outdistance the stubby black gun barrel.

He looked up. The gun was still tracking him. "I don't want to die," he thought. On the heels of that came another, louder mental shout. "I don't want Kara to die." Samuel stopped crawling and began to fumble with the panzerfaust, still clutched in his right hand.

"Simple, simple," he thought. "Point and shoot." He looked behind. The tank was only a dozen meters away, its rear presenting a vast target. Samuel stopped, spun around and braced himself . He aimed carefully, ignoring the machine gun just coming to bear on him.

He stared determinedly down the barrel of the gun and pulled the panzerfaust's trigger.

The world spun around crazily in Samuel's eyes. When everything became still, he found himself looking at a glittering tracery of gentle sparkles. He tried to reach out, to touch it, to find a place to hold on to, but nothing seemed to work anymore. Instead, Samuel felt a distant throbbing somewhere far away, a sensation he dimly remembered as pain. The sparkles vanished, evaporated away.

His vision widened. He recognized the dusty Martian soil. That helped. He was looking at the ground, lying on it, supported by it, embraced. The beautiful luminescence appeared before him again, making him want to smile. It was a gentle pink color, he saw, and caught the sun like a prism. To his right, a movement caught his eye.

Samuel focused. He was on his side. He knew this because the sky filled the right side of his vision. Between the sky and the ground was the face of Death.

The man was screaming. Samuel couldn't hear him, but still he knew the man was screaming. Something about the muscles, he thought in a haze. The man was close to Samuel. He didn't know how he could have missed him. He couldn't move, so he watched. Every few seconds, the man, who was wearing the burned remnants of a Federation uniform, heaved and coughed, and the delicate tracery would appear on the ground again, before evaporating away. The sparkle was much dimmer, much redder, now, he noted.

The pain, still far away, not quite insistent, was coming closer. Further across the ground, behind the dying man, was a smoldering hulk with a great gaping hole blasted out of it. Samuel remembered it. He felt glad that he could still remember. He also felt the pain creep a little closer. Idly, he wondered if he would be screaming, too.

He felt very tired, but his vision kept getting better.

The Federation crewman was winding down, slowly giving in to the inevitable. The wreckage of the tank still smoked, but only a little. There were flashes of light and puffs of smoke coming from nearby, telling him that his comrades were still alive, still struggling. It was not until Samuel looked toward the sky that he truly began to care again.

There, silhouetted against the blue sky, were nearly a dozen vast parachutes, each one bearing a figure human only at first glance. Dropping down toward the far side of the city, they glowed like angels' halos in the light of the distant sun. Away from Samuel. Toward Kara.

He could see, at the edge of sight, the multitudes of warning lights, and feel, somewhere in his mind, the buzzing of alarms, telling him that everything was going wrong, that the power was dead, the 'suit was dead, that he was dead. He ignored them, and focused all his strength on watching the dropping exos. At last, one of the machines released its parachute and lit its thrusters for landing. The huge meshwork sheet billowed away from the exo and slowly spun in the air, turning gently toward him. There was an insignia on the top of the parachute. On the insignia, there were thunderbolts. Jovian forces.

By the time the pain finally arrived, Samuel was too happy to feel anything.

Welcome

"Peoples and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."

-- G.W.F. Hegel

When the pioneers of the twenty-first century colonized the hostile worlds of the solar system to build a better future for their descendants, braving radiation, airless wastes and limited resources, they truly expected their children's children to be able to coexist peacefully in the vastness of the solar system. In particular, the founders of the now-mighty Jovian Confederation envisioned a nation far from human conflict, where an abundance of energy and technology would turn humankind's minds to higher pursuits. Following in the footsteps of the Earth-based mining consortiums, these visionaries sank every ounce of their wealth into ships and construction equipment that would carry them to Jupiter's distant orbit in the hope that a lifetime or two of hard work and skilled thinking would eventually produce a safe home for humans at the very doorstep of a radioactive inferno.

Were historical Jovian figures such as Elisabeth Bisset and Alfred Decker still alive in 2213, they could not but view the result of their lifelong toil with mixed feelings. While the century-old Jovian Confederation has indeed become the solar system's premier center of education and social freedom, this young nation has also used the vast resources of Father Jupiter to build for itself the mightiest military in history. While a modern Jovian would cheerfully argue that the Jovian Armed Forces are purely a defensive measure against probable aggression from in-system and offer assurances based on the Confederation's exemplary behavior up until now, one can hardly miss the occasional glint of resentment and arrogance that peeks through when mention is made of Earth, CEGA, or the Battle of Elysée.

History has shown that any peace between nations is merely a brief respite between wars. Distance or inconvenience is no matter, only the instinctive need for humans to vie with one another for superiority. The fact that the Solar System has gone more than a century without a conflict between nations (barring the constant brushfire conflicts on Earth) is a testament to the hostility of space; humanity has been too busy trying to survive to waste time waging wars. By the early twenty-third century, however, the solar nations have achieved a measure of stability and internal security. Comfortable and secure in their new homes away from the mother planet, the inhabitants of the Solar System can now afford to turn their attention to their neighbors, searching for friendships to build or weaknesses to exploit.

The war that is currently devastating the Martian Free Republic is a perfect example of this dawning age of aggression. Unable to make the Republic provide amends and reparations for its destruction of the orbital elevator prototype (an act which the Republic has loudly attributed to independently operating radicals), the Federation has carried out a bloody but effective campaign against the Republic in an effort to reclaim territory signed away a century ago. Before the resumption of international trade in the solar system, such an attack would have been unthinkable. Indeed, the relatively small-scale civil war which resulted in the original formation of both Martian nations ended as a result of both sides' realization that the resources they were expending fighting each other would be necessary to survive in a future where aid from Earth was uncertain at best. Now that a strong network of trade has been built up with the other solar nations, the Martian Federation is secure in the knowledge that food, medicine, and other supplies will be available throughout the duration of its war of reclamation.

The ante is about to be upped again. The curtain rises on the arrival of a large Jovian battlefleet in Martian orbit, laden with powerful new exo-armors and eager to protect the Confederation's sometime ally, the Martian Free Republic. A similar fleet from Earth, with orders to the same effect regarding the Martian Federation, is already in place, watching idly as Federation forces conquer city after city. With strict admonitions not to directly interfere in combat, Jovian exo-armors are dropping onto Mars to offer escort and aid to fleeing noncombatants. Uncomfortable with such an arrangement, CEGA has issued a scramble order to its pilots.

Hidden away somewhere in the Jovian Confederation, someone watches the tragedy unfold and pulls all the strings, smiling.

1.1.1 What Have We Here?

The Campaign Sourcebook is intended as a catch-all gaming supplement. Containing vehicle designs, source material and campaign settings, it is as close as one can get to a truly self-contained gaming book, requiring only the basic Jovian Chronicles core books (Rulebook, Mechanical Catalog and Companion) to fully enjoy.

The Chaos Principle is divided into several parts. Chapter One provides a short introduction and outline of the characters, events and locations that will feature prominently in the book. Chapters Two and Three consist of gaming information about the events surrounding the Jovian Confederation's Centennial Celebration in 2213; Chapter Three in particular contains source material about the Confederation and some of its more important locales and organizations (this material is, of course, supplemental to the overview provided in the Jovian Chronicles Rulebook). Chapters Four is made up of many suggestions and adventure seeds, along with several tactical scenarios for the non-roleplaying gamers. Chapter Five is a technical guide containing several new exo-armor and vehicle designs for use in the Silhouette system. The book closes with a timeline update that summarizes the various changes and shifts in power in the Solar System resulting from the events described herein.

The Solar System of 2213

Much has happened in the thirty-two months since the Odyssey Affair shook the secure state of the nations of humankind. This section will quickly summarize the situation in the Solar System, and touch on the events that led it to its current state of conflict in July of 2213. Later Adventure Sourcebooks may act as "prequels" to The Chaos Principle, filling in the details that are only quickly mentioned in passing here.

Beyond a doubt, most of the attention in the solar system is currently focused on Mars, where open warfare has raged since February. Angered by the discovery of the Free Republic's involvement in the destruction of the prototype orbital elevator, the Martian Federation has seized large portions of the Republic's territory in Syrtis Major Planitia, Utopia Planitia and Isidis Planitia. The beleaguered Free Republic Rangers can do little more than retreat in the face of the far more numerous Federation forces, leaving dozens of cities to fend for themselves. It is hoped by many that the arrival of the fleets from the Jovian Confederation and CEGA will help to control the conflict and keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

Despite the massive news coverage the Martian War is receiving, there are still excited eyes turning further outward to Jupiter's orbit, where the ponderous Jovian Confederation is preparing to celebrate its Centennial Anniversary. Guests from across the solar system have been invited to attend the lavish nationwide festival, which is expected to be the biggest party in history.

Venus

The Venusians are busy recovering from a recent (mid-2212) covert assault upon the Venusian Bank's upper echelons. Reports from Venus are sketchy, but it seems that several zaibatsu are using the current confusion to vie for greater power. The Venusians are also under USN investigation for possible misuse of Edict-restricted technology. Eager to present a friendly face to the Solar System in the wake of the Odyssey, Venus is cooperating with the USN (and, incidentally, tying up SolaPol resources that Director O'Grady would prefer to use elsewhere) and staying quiet unless otherwise called upon.

The Venusian Bank itself is still recovering from the Odyssey debacle and the undisclosed damage to their Board of Directors, and will require some time to regroup, provided it is left undisturbed. The rest of Venus relishes the opportunity to take the Bank down a notch, and is thus willing to ignore external affairs for a while. Forced to display rather more of its military capability than it desired in its recent bout of internal strife, Venus is understandably leery of sending any kind of aid to Mars and revealing more of its closely guarded exo-armor designs to public scrutiny. In addition, Venus' desire to retain the appearance of a neutral trading partner precludes any major intervention in the conflicts of 2213. Aside from maintaining normal diplomatic and trade activity, the second planet has, for now, retreated behind its veil. They are not missed.

CEGA

CEGA has spent the past two years quietly striving to regain control of the unaligned states on Earth while simultaneously developing new weapons and tactics against the other solar nations. While many of CEGA's councilors and business concerns are financially indebted to the Venusian Bank, few of these beneficiaries harbor any illusions as to the eventual fate Venus has in mind for CEGA. As a result, the anti-exo tactics being developed by the CEGA armed forces are as much for use against Venus as a vengeful Jovian Confederation, in preparation for the day when the Venusian Bank outlives its usefulness. For now, however, CEGA wishes to promote peaceful relations with the rest of the Solar System. This is partly due to a faint hope that the other nations will be successfully wooed into CEGA membership through kind words, but mostly it is to buy CEGA the time necessary to use its massive manpower and resource surplus to pass the Jovians and Venusians in the space arms race. Even the peace-promoting faction of the CEGA council is beginning to look toward the outer Solar System with worry; if CEGA does not initiate military action, the mountain may, so to speak, come to Mohammed.

This increasing concern and paranoia regarding the Jovian Confederation has resulted in CEGA's perhaps overreactionary response to the dispatching of the Jovian Third Fleet to Mars. Although the commanders of the CEGA task force have been given strict orders not to engage in any military activity against the Jovians unless directly provoked, the fleet is equipped with the latest in exo-armors and battlefield devices designed specifically to counter known Jovian tactics. If this turns out to be a Jovian attempt to gain a foothold in the inner Solar System over the ashes of the Martian Federation, then CEGA intends to be prepared. The other members of CEGA are watching the conflict on Mars with increasing agitation. They are quite aware that should war break out in the Earth system, they will be the first and most vulnerable targets, easy to destroy but idiocy for any enemy to leave in CEGA hands. There is little to be done, however, beyond agreeing in principle with the composition of the CEGA task force sent to Mars.

Mars

In October 2212, Jennifer Mathur, an independent reporter then working for ZONet, uncovered shocking video records implicating the Martian Free Republic government in the sabotage and destruction of the Martian Federation's orbital elevator, an act which resulted in the single largest manmade terrain feature in the solar system: the 'Vator Crater, a vast canyon circling Mars' equator. Her subsequent quest for the truth against cover-up efforts by multiple factions has become the stuff of legend in journalistic circles, and culminated in the system-wide broadcast of every bit of evidence uncovered regarding the disaster.

The response from the Martian Federation was immediate. Already at the point of frustration with the Free Republic because of the the latter's constant testing of Federation borders, the Federation issued a formal statement to the USN demanding retribution for the economic and human losses incurred by the elevator's destruction. The Republic responded by denying responsibility for the disaster, producing several "culprits" for public vilification and bewailing its own losses in the elevator's fall. The next few months bore no progress whatsoever, and on February 2, 2213, the Martian Federation informed the USN Assembly that the elevator's destruction had been an act of war, and expelled all Republic citizens from within its borders. The next day, the 9th and 17th Panzerobergrupen attacked and seized the mining outpost of Myers Dome in the Free Republic.

The past few months have seen a staggering loss of territory on the Free Republic's west side. The war remains restricted to a single front; Federation garrisons on the Republic's other borders are holding steady, and the Republic's outnumbered and overtaxed military is in no position to begin a counteroffensive. Large numbers of refugees are fleeing the front, heading deeper into the Republic or out to the orbital platforms, where an uneasy peace still holds sway. They bring reports of lightning-quick Federation strikes that do not distinguish between military and civilian targets, and poor conditions for prisoners and citizens in the seized cities.

Jupiter

An incident near Europa in late 2212 involving a hostile CEGA incursion and a terror weapon of unknown type or origin has added greatly to the anger directed insystem by the Jovians. Multiple face-offs and outright firefights between Jovian patrols and CEGA escort squadrons have also resulted in both Trojan States being as furious with Earth as the inhabitants of Olympus near Jupiter. Along with memory of the Battle of Elysée, the Jovians have accumulated a long list of grievances to send with their troops to Mars.

While most of the Jovians' ire has been directed toward CEGA, the past few years have seen no small amount of internal discord. A short-lived terrorist group known as the Seraphim caused a significant amount of trouble in late 2211, indirectly causing the provisional declaration of independence of Titan from the Jovian Confederation in early 2212. Titan's independence has been well received in the Confederation, where most citizens regard the little settlement as a younger sibling acting alone for the first time. Relations between Jupiter and Titan are close and friendly; of more concern to the Jovians is the rooting out of the remaining Seraphim resources.

Large spaceborne constructions for fireworks displays are nearing completion, and the first groups of guests from the inner solar system are arriving. Despite worries about the situation of the JAF peacekeeping force, morale in the Confederation is steadily improving. Indeed, many of the JAF ships orbiting Mars are making do with what they have to prepare for the celebration, when time and operational schedules permit.

Neutral Powers

Despite an official protest against the Martian Federation recorded at a recent USN session, the Mercurian Merchant Guild continues to conduct trade with both Martian nations, maintaining its official position of neutrality. Merchant Guild ships bound for Mars are completely unarmed, and as of late July, no Mercurian vessels have caused or been subjected to any trouble on or around Mars. The Belt, in keeping with the isolationism of its inhabitants, remains totally disinterested in the Martian conflict. The 2210 proposal from Ceres to explore alliances with Jupiter or Earth has quietly fallen by the wayside, much to the relief of many of the smaller Nomad settlements.

United Space Nations Chairwoman Johari's request for aid from the other solar nations was a direct result of the USN's inability to use traditional methods to mediate the war. Johari felt certain that all of the solar nations would be willing to commit small forces to protect their interests on Mars. Instead, the idea went horribly wrong, from her perspective. The only nations to respond were CEGA and the Jovian Confederation, who both apparently saw the situation as an opportunity to fight a war by proxy.

Chairwoman Johari continues to work closely with the Solar Police in a desperate effort to remedy the problem, with little success. The other solar nations, while verbally protesting the Martian Federation's aggression, have unilaterally opposed economic sanctions, except for a token embargo on military equipment that is unlikely to have any noticeable effect in the near future. Coupled with a conflict in Asia that is tying up much of the UN Guards, the situation has effectively been removed from the USN's control.

1.3 Major Players

Unlike the Odyssey Affair (see Rulebook, p. 14), the events taking place in 2213 cannot readily be reduced to a single, simplified label. This book focuses only on the situation from Jovian eyes, leaving the background stories on Earth, Venus and other worlds for later books. While some mention of the changes occurring throughout the realms of humanity is made (such as the tactical section depicting a portion of the Martian conflict), the Player Character-based activity presented herein is confined strictly to the Jovian Confederation, one of the pulse-points in the coming time of storm and stress in the solar system.

One of the main themes of this book is the disorder that invariably arises when too many people try to do the same thing in different ways. Realizing a single goal in the complex political and social environment of the twenty-third century is difficult enough; when one must deal simultaneously with enemy opposition and unwanted "help," the problem often becomes insoluble and unfortunately painful to innocent bystanders. It is this concept, along with the moniker of the newly active Jovian pro-war faction, that gives The Chaos Principle its title.

Lieutenant Ariana "Ulula" Morgenstern

Lieutenant Morgenstern is a CEGA exo-armor pilot assigned to the Lunar Aerospace Consortium's Exo-Research Division as a test pilot. Her skills as an engineer and pilot helped put the Typhon project nearly a month ahead of schedule, and she is highly regarded by her peers. Her dislike of CEGA's policies, however, has made her dissatisfied with her current way of life. Sheltered by the military for most of her existence, Ariana is intensely curious about the other solar nations and is willing to take extreme risks to satisfy that curiosity. At once naive and cynical, she is almost certain that life in the Jovian Confederation would be infinitely better than the constant drudgery of inescapable military duty to CEGA. It took a lot of time for Ariana to pluck up the courage to consider defection, but now her choice is made. She carefully crafted her escape, planning for as many contingencies as possible. When the window of opportunity came, she bolted off into the distance with her experimental exo-armor. She hit something of a snag, however: much to her surprise, the Jovian crew that picked her up made her a captive, just like CEGA. She quickly regained her composure, though. It's just another obstacle on her quest for freedom for her to methodically figure a way around. The answer will come to her soon, she is certain.

Lieutenant Jared "Lightfoot" St. John

Born and raised in Olympus, Jared believed that his homeland was an idyllic paradise threatened from without by CEGA and the other solar nations. He grew up quickly, helping his mother run her enterprise. Sadly, the business later collapsed and she suffered a deep mental breakdown as a result; following standard Jovian social practices, she was interned for treatments. Jared had already joined the JAF to become a pilot and help defend his nation when this happened. Upon his return, he found he could not see his mother. Even this callous treatment by the Jovian medical establishment, however, did not dim his patriotism, at least not at first. The months passed, with no change or improvement. Now a high-security-clearance test pilot for Jovian Armor Works, St. John is privy to a great deal of classified information and equipment. He has recently begun delivering some of this information to a man he believes to be a Jovian Intelligence Service operative, but who in fact work for a group with deeper, more sinister motives: the Principii. Jared is worried by the criminal, even treasonous, nature of his activities, but the exchange for his aid has proven irresistible. Indeed, he was promised full access to his ill mother in exchange for the data. Jared is now at a critical decision point, and must decide how best to carry out his duty to a nation whose beauty is starting to show cracks.

Special Agent Joseph Zahid

Joseph Zahid spends most of his time looking up, wishing he was flying, chasing criminals back and forth across Olympus. His former job as a police officer was fun enough, but then he made the mistake of thinking that being a spy would be even better. After two years as a Clotho agent, Joseph is almost ready to explode from the sheer boredom of it all. His situation is only exacerbated by his partner Khoi, who is infamous for his slow, detailed approach to security and espionage. Joseph likes Khoi as a person, but is continually frustrated by his requests to "slow down and think for a minute." Khoi want to ease him slowly into being a representative of the entire Confederation; he has assured the higher-ups that Joseph's field skills are more than worth the effort and risk involved in trying to change the new agent's perspectives and goals. The current spate of security arrangements for the Centennial is proving to be an especially trying time for Joseph. His paperwork load is nearly tripled, and he is constantly taunted by the sight of exo-suited police officers patrolling the "sky" above him. There hasn't been a decent chase to speak of since last year, and Joseph is worried that if the boredom goes on any longer, he'll forget how to pilot an exo-suit entirely.

Special Agent Khoi Schlichting

Mr. Schlichting is an agent of the Jovian Intelligence Service's Clotho Division, which is also known as the Information Manipulation Division: Clotho is in charge of investigating the possible security problems of the Confederation. Khoi has been assigned to help implement internal security matters on Joshua's Station during the upcoming Centennial Celebration. A refugee from Earth, he has lived almost all of his life in the Confederation and has developed a strong sense of duty to the nation that received him with open arms. He is a respected and trusted agent within the Clotho organization, and while he longs to see the land of his birth once more, his loyalties lie entirely with the Jovian Confederation (even if he does not approve of all of its foreign policies). An effective field agent, Schlichting is uncomfortable as a manager and prefers to get "down and dirty" with his subordinates, leaving organizational work to his assistants. While this mode of operation tends to make him unpopular with his aides, his superiors must grudgingly admit that Schlichting's success rate (or rather, lack of failure) has earned him a fair amount of leeway in terms of task distribution.

Alexandra Itangre

The President of the Jovian Confederation has been under a lot of stress lately. In addition to a near-constant barrage of scandalous accusations relating to her reelection in 2211 (which made her the first Jovian President to serve more than one term), Itangre is also faced with the dilemma of maintaining her nation's economic security while engaging in a major military mobilization. She is constantly juggling with many convoluted plans which are designed to make the Confederation the most powerful state ever seen in the history of Mankind -- with her at the top, naturally. Adding to her professional problems are her difficult relations with her family; her husband Bernard, who has long known that he is little more than a trophy, is finally growing dissatisfied with Alexandra's power-hunger and may be considering leaving her. Her only son, Gavin, has not spoken to her for months, preferring instead to spend all of his leave time as far away from Elysée as possible with his Venusian wife. Itangre is hoping that the upcoming Centennial Celebration will help solve some of her problems, both foreign and domestic, or at least take some of their weight from her shoulders.

Councilor Ignatius Chang

Uncomfortable with the chilly relations between the Jovian Confederation and CEGA, Ignatius Chang has journeyed out to Jupiter to attend the celebrations of the Jovian Centennial. It is his hope that this gesture of peace and good will will help open the door to more friendly relations between the two powerful nations. He is nearly alone in this opinion; a total of less than five percent of the CEGA Councilors share his views, and of those, only he was willing to expend the time and effort to make the trip.

Although the death of his friend Ranho Garand near Jupiter in 2210 and the operation that caused it still weighs heavily on his shoulders, he is willing to put aside bitter memories in order to better deal face to face with President Itangre. Having never met her in person, Chang fervently hopes that she is as dedicated to a peaceful resolution to their nations' differences as he is.

Colonel Karl Lotjonen

Colonel Lotjonen (callsign "Fafnir") is the de facto leader of the Principii, a secret organization dedicated to protecting the Jovian Confederation from its own ignorance and folly. A student of General Avram Thorsen, Lotjonen always believed that the General had been forced into his actions, blaming CEGA and the Venusians for his mentor's downfall. Upon witnessing Thorsen's death on Venus, Lotjonen returned to Jupiter in secret to gather allies and reform Thorsen's Principii into a battle-worthy unit. Taking the example of General Thorsen, Lotjonen believes that independent action by clear-minded individuals is the best way to eliminate hidden threats to the Confederation before more lives are lost.

Lotjonen runs his group from Joshua's Station, where he hides in plain sight as a restaurateur and merchant. In attempting to emulate General Thorsen, he has tried to make himself into an efficient, calculating thinker and a patient and even-handed leader. In this, he sometimes lapses, but his efforts to achieve what he perceives as a noble goal are unfailing.

Rebecca Faneuil

A former associate of Lotjonen in joint intelligence-military operations, Rebecca has risen over the years to become a sub-director in the Jovian Intelligence Service's Lachesis Information Analysis Division. When Lotjonen contacted her, asking her to join the Principii, she was already aware of his activities and had been actively concealing them from the rest of Lachesis. She has proven to be an invaluable ally to the Principii, providing them with vast amounts of useful information, not the least of which was the location of what was to become Umbra Station. In truth, however, Faneuil is a Venusian Bank plant, thoroughly reconditioned during a teenage trip to Venus. She sees the Principii as a useful tool to satisfy her occasional mysterious urges to disrupt life in the Jovian Confederation, and is helping them only for this reason; she has military resources of her own that she is prepared to use when the time comes. Rebecca doesn't know where her urges and feelings come from, but they are subtle and have never come up in her regular psych evaluations. She is a virtual time bomb, slowly ticking away, and no one knows how dangerous she really is.