437.18 // Roilers Wrestle with Inability to Consolidate in the Gordian Reach
It has been two years since the ultranationalist party “The Roilers” forced their way to power in the Gordian Reach. While they have a very technical legislative majority, never have The Roilers held a real majority over any of the planets in the Back Reach. Even on Feena, the de-facto capital planet of the sector, the Roilers only hold 40% of the local legislative body. Nonetheless, The Roilers have taken their thin legislative majority as a mandate to consolidate more power for themselves and their allies across the region.
Governor Vahn Goreing of Feena has been spearheading attempts to join the over one dozen star systems in the Back Reach into a single intersystem state he has dubbed “The Third Estate.” This comes as, on many systems in this area, Roiler associated politicians are at a midpoint in their terms. Public sentiment is hard to gauge given the increasing lockdown that the Roilers are taking on Civil Liberties in areas where they can pass the legislation. If the Roilers are unable to get their ambitious agenda of consolidation done before their terms are up, there is a very good chance they will not be able to retain their seats, in their respective legislatures, and their vision for an authoritarian regime on the border of Republic space will be dashed.
The Roilers, though, have been waging more than just a political campaign for consolidation. Across every Roiler-controlled world there have been new ministries, departments, and divisions formed by executive and legislative branches to maintain “public order” and “true unity” amongst said worlds. Thinly veiled secret police brutalize and intimidate political opposition to their policies. These departments are truly nothing more than formalizations of Roiler shock troops that had previously been doing these same activities extrajudicially. Now these activities have the full support of the legal systems of certain planetary governments. In nearly every system, within the Ardan Cross, the only media that is permitted to be broadcast or distributed is state-sponsored media under the “Ministry of Truth,” led by Jaltyr Gavels.
I have spent the last two years gathering evidence and interviewing in the Gordian Reach in order to deliver this report. The number of planets where I am legally allowed to continue my work has dwindled. In all likelihood, this may be the last objective, non-state reporting that people will hear out of the Reach for the foreseeable future. While I have not been arrested yet, government authorities have made their presence known while I have been pursuing the duties of my job.
Reporting from Little Capella in the Gordian Reach, I’m Quan Regal of the Associated Presses.