3136 LinkNet Welcome to LinkNet The loss of interstellar communications that occurred in 3132 when the bulk of the hyperpulse generator (HPG) network was sabotaged made it effectively impossible for most of the planets of the Inner Sphere to talk to one another. The most obvious and immediate effect was that planets were cut off from efficient, economical communication with The Republic of the Sphere. In the near term, the result has been the creation of Fortress Republic: the once-expansive prototype for star-spanning peace has shrunk to a slightly expanded version of Prefecture X. Admittedly, there were a few other incidents that helped birth The Fortress, but the loss of the HPG most dramatically affected the ordinary citizen. We're here to help. It took a couple of years, but eventually the HPGs that were still working managed to locate other active HPGs. For a while, we were six planets talking to each other on a fairly regular basis, sending the high-priority transmissions and not much else. When The Fortress went up, we lost contact with Northwind, and the rest of us - Hsien, Kessel, Achernar, Gacrux and Irian-decided we ought to acknowledge that what had been a problem was now a gaping void. It was no longer enough to provide service only to those who could pay; we recognized an opportunity to live up to the purest goals of Jerome Blake and the highest ideals of Devlin Stone. Put in the plainest possible terms, we knew that we needed to serve the people who needed us most. So we created LinkNet, a loose affiliation of five HPG stations. Our goal is to provide a round-robin news service, rumor network, want ads forum, and-most of all-a reliable opportunity for ordinary folks to find and talk to their loved ones. We can't run this as a free service, but it will be affordable enough that people can say what they want to say and keep in touch. We'll also do our best to collect and pass on the information we think you want to hear-sports news, tech news, the challenges other planets are facing in the absence of The Republic. Each HPG will be responsible for gathering news and transmissions from their sector of space and passing it along, so we'll all hear from everyone on a regular basis. We encourage all citizens to take advantage of this service to send their own messages, but we also need each one of you to consider what you can contribute to the general information being transmitted. The more we hear from each individual planet, the better prepared we all will be to deal with what comes along. So, welcome to LinkNet. A service created for you and supported by you for the benefit of all. LinkNet Contributing Writers Randall N. Bills Kelly Bonilla Loren L. Coleman Jason M. Hardy Jason Mical Sharon Turner Mulvihill Tony Rivera Brook Willeford © 2012 The Topps Company, Inc. 1 3136 LinkNet LinkNet LinkNet is a loose affiliation of planets with working HPGs. Our mission is to provide a forum to allow ordinary people throughout the Inner Sphere to reconnect with each other. Our secondary goal is to maintain a single source for news and information gathered from around the sphere, allowing people to keep in touch with events on other planets. Because all the content posted on LinkNet will be generated by individuals from around the Inner Sphere rather than a staff paid by LinkNet or any of the individual HPG stations, we choose to accept a certain level of bias in preference to censoring any entries. Don't Get Me Started This is your forum for telling us (and everyone else) what you think. If you‘ve got an opinion about how things are going on your planet, tell us. If you feel the need to rail against the fates, this is your venue. If traffic is bugging you, use this space to vent your ire. LinkNet reserves the right to edit your letter for length and inappropriate language. Please include your full name and contact info with your opinion, and tell us how you want your name to appear. Letters From Home The worst thing about being separated by distance is not knowing what is happening in other places. The Blackout of the HPG cut off many, many people from their loved ones, and our goal is to reconnect at least a few of you. These letters, we won‘t edit. But we still want your complete contact info; we‘ll have someone on staff at each HPG looking for the connections between the letters we post. Rumors of the Republic Exarch Jonah Levin has informed us that The Republic of the Sphere no longer exists. For hundreds of planets outside of what is now Prefecture X, that news is hard to swallow. First, because many of those planets found intelligent governance and lasting peace under the aegis of The Republic and are loathe to give up those advantages. Second, because many of those planets continue to benefit from the presence of Republic troops. We believe, along with Jonah Levin, that The Republic continues to be an ideal worth fighting for. In that spirit, we provide this forum to keep people informed of events taking place on former Republic worlds. Perhaps more importantly, this forum will help us track the activities of the knights and paladins left outside The Fortress, whom we must assume will continue acting in the interests of The Republic. To paraphrase an old saying, ―As go the knights, so goes The Republic.‖ In the coming months, we will certainly discover whether that is true; and if true, where we are being led. Sports Around the Sphere While some people are (literally) dying for lack of HPG communications, we know that other people just wish they could still get regular news reports. We aim to please! We'l pass on whatever sports news we gather, and hope that what we get will scratch your itch. Tech Notes In this time of uncertainty, it's important to know that progress continues. With Tech Notes, we'll do our best to keep you apprised of ongoing developments in all sectors of technology—though we suspect the content will trend heavily toward BattleMechs and their associated systems. Much as we dislike beginning with a disclaimer, we feel it is important to state that we can claim no responsibility for the accuracy of the announcements, advertisements and reports posted to this section, since it will be difficult to confirm the truth of the information provided to LinkNet. © 2012 The Topps Company, Inc. 2 3136 LinkNet Jonah Levin's "Final Address" 1 October 3135 In the past few years, The Republic has been on a slow, steady slide toward the edge of an abyss. The catalyst for this slide was the loss of the hyperpulse generator network, and thus the loss of interstellar communications—lifeblood to any star-spanning nation. Chaos, created by the Blackout, was compounded by our own fears, our prejudices, and especially by our greed. Weaknesses we thought we had vanquished. Weaknesses we deceived ourselves into believing could ever be eliminated from human nature. During this time of trials and tribulations, we have all witnessed the best and worst that everyone—anyone, citizen or resident, peerage or proletariat—had to offer. We found greatness. And frailty. We discovered new allies, new enemies, and the depth of our own resolve to take a new and stronger hand in our own lives, our futures, and our destinies. And if there was a failure, it was our failure. The failure of those of us entrusted to safeguard Devlin Stone‘s great legacy. And now. And now… There is nothing more to say, nothing more to endeavor, that we have not said or attempted in the last ten months. So it is with great sorrow but firm resolve that we put to you, the people of The Republic of the Sphere, that the time has come for drastic and irrevocable action. To save what we can for the future. With this goal, by the authority vested in me as exarch of The Republic of the Sphere, in accordance with the War Powers Act of 3082 and the Emergency Powers and Crisis Management Amendment of 3107, I have committed this nation to the following course: First: Prefecture Ten is expanded, by decree, to include worlds on the list appended to this transmission. These worlds will sever immediately all economic and political ties to their former prefectures. World governors and military legates of these newly attached systems will consider themselves under the direct control of Terra, and the exarch or his appointed representative. Second: All military forces able to be safely recalled and mustered for the ensured survival of The Republic have been relocated within the borders of Prefecture Ten, and will not be forward deployed until such time as is deemed appropriate. Third: Following this final address, there will be no further contact, by transmission or transport, between Prefecture Ten and any outside world or power. This self-imposed interdiction will be enforced by the most severe military means necessary. Fourth. Last: Full faith and sovereignty of The Republic of the Sphere is now invested solely within Prefecture Ten. All other prefectures are released to the full and sovereign control of their people, to decide for themselves how best to weather the coming storms. These commands, by design and effect, do hereby constitute a New Republic Territory, under the direct and complete aegis of Terra.