Fifth Year Marks End of Evacuation

The Confederacy of the Coast, colloquially known as Coastalis, is a collection of maritime city-states centered around the ancient pirate haven of Lighthouse.
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Orion
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Fifth Year Marks End of Evacuation

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MELTON -- As celebrants ring in the New Year, the government announced news of equally celebratory news; evacuations of all survivors from the Brettish Isles were now complete. After a grueling span of five long years, Queen Alexis was pleased to announce that the last ship of survivors made port at Melton earlier in the week, marking an end to the arduous task relocating all survivors to new lands in the SKerry Isles. Estimates place the total number of relocated population in the area of 2 or 3 million. Such a staggering number to move seems nearly impossible, but given nearly daily search efforts, undertaken by five different countries, with a constant convoy of rescue vessels transporting survivors, it is no wonder it has taken five years to accomplish. But the daunting task of reorganizing the survivors into a coherent and stable state is proving equally daunting.

The resettlement of survivors has become something of a free-for-all, as the lands along the northern coast of Skerryvore have already swelled to nearly 300% of their original population. Other settlements have sprung up overnight in formerly vacant or otherwise minor villages, such as on April Island and Duras. Such was the chaos of hundreds of vessels moving through the Skerries that Bell Rock, formerly the Tiberion Spaceport, was reoccupied by government forces and made a depot with a functioning lighthouse of its own to help direct sea traffic. The southern coast of Skerryvore has likewise begun to swell with settlements, and across the other isles the situation is similar as people spill onto the landscape, looking for a place to settle and start anew.

Many families are eager to obtain land and start over. With government approval surviving families are given the opportunity to claim a four hectares (12 acres) of land provided they can build a home and sustain themselves on the land within two years. Single survivors - those without families, spouse, or kin - are being granted a hectare (3 acres), but must also build a homestead within a year. Others can opt to remain in the larger cities and towns, obtaining apartments and work at the myriad factories springing up to replace lost industry. Thus people are spreading out in droves to the countryside in an effort to claim land. Thus far the settlement scheme is working, and a record number of homesteads and farms are appearing. But existing cities have come into conflict with the government over borders, jurisdiction and land rights.

The Queen has shifted gears from rescue operations, which are effectively coming to a close, to juggling negotiations with the numerous small villages and towns that have long acted independently in the unclaimed regions. Now swelled with ranks of newcomers, these once-small communities are becoming cities overnight, and with that change they have also begun to wield more administrative power. Many are lobbying for more autonomy, feeling that the Brettish government is impinging on their long-held sovereignty. Others have expressed frustration that the influx of Brettish people has uprooted local authority and/or supplanted the local population. The newly-established parliament floor has begun a veritable boxing ring as representatives from these many entities struggle to come to terms. Luckily the matches have thus far been civil, as everyone respects the gravity of the situation, and that this has only come about as a result of great tragedy.

Another pressing question remaining is what is to be done with the Brettish Isles, now devoid of all life save for the military operatives safeguarding the region. The Jingdaoese prescence has become considerable, thanks in great deal to the service they provided in the rescue operations. Without the support of our longtime ally, the lives of millions of Brettish may have been lost. But now that rescue operations are complete, the military force is merely acting as a scientific and safeguarding entourage. Most efforts are now being directed at studying the aftermath of the Caldera explosion and how the environment recuperates; a scenario that is likely to take decades. Seismologists and vulcanologists have called the area a fountain of data, but it still leaves the nagging question of how the Brettish government should administer the isles in the coming years. Some have gone so far as to suggest it be turned into a national park, others have stated it is a waste of resources to hold on to otherwise dead land, and as of yet the government has taken no official stance on the matter.

Indeed, attention has been focused more on matters in the "new" home isles: the SKerries. The development of localised populations is essentially giving rise to small city-states, each with their own attributes, vices, and local government. This has made developing an overarching government all the more difficult for a government already destabilised by disaster. With a ministry of younger, inexperienced politicians, the Queen is working doubly hard to keep the peace among the many dissenting voices. To this end she has announced a new government summit to be held in the spring. Inviting delegates from all the settlements she hopes to wield them into a single cohesive government, putting to rest any disputes and forging permanent allegiances. This, the Queen has stated, will appease the autonomists and still bring them under the rule of a central government. Which, according to Her Majesty, is the essential step in moving forward.

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