[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Is there a resource detailing the story about how exactly Aztechnology got their claws back in the FRFZ, or is that as yet a plot point that hasn't happened yet by 2075?

[Bach_The_Fox]

I haven't read/played Missions, but I'm pretty sure Stormfront was the last thing dealing with the metaplot in Denver.

Basically, they moved back in while Ghostwalker was distracted by the chaos caused by Harlequin and/or the Jester Spirit + Puck. Not well explained why he's, you know, not nuking them all again.

Wouldn't be a stretch that the Azzies were heavily involved in causing that chaos, of course. Running a campaign around that right now. 

[DeathStrobe]

I'd assume that the Azzies brought their military to defend their slice of Denver, and that Ghostwalker is probably still banning the other nations from bringing their militaries into the city.

One of the reasons Ghostwalker had an easy time taking Denver and kept it, is that there is a lot of bureaucracy from the treaties that prevented the other nations from moving their militaries in. Also, there is a strong possibility that Dunkelzahn presumably bribed officials, and got them ready for their new draconian overlord.

So Ghostwalker probably doesn't want to die, so he won't force Azlan out, yet. He ain't no fool, he does know they have a dragon slaying weapon. But he also probably doesn't want the other nations bringing their forces in and killing everyone. Because, then Denver's background count will get all messed up like Chicago or something and that won't be good for all the spirits that Ghostwalker has made friends with/love interest in.

Should be very interesting to see just what happens in the Front Range Free Zone as the story develops.

[Crimsondude]

There's also the matter of how they moved that army 700 miles through the political, economic, and spiritual heart of the PCC unscathed and/or unnoticed.

[grid_roamer]

There's also the matter of how they moved that army 700 miles through the political, economic, and spiritual heart of the PCC unscathed and/or unnoticed.

It could be an unspoken agreement between nations to support any territorial defence. They could have moved through any territory and not be noticed...

[Mirikon]

Well, it was pretty obvious that the PCC got paid for letting the Azzies through with a chunk of Texas.

As for how Aztechnology got into the city, you got to step back a bit. Harlequin helped them finish Blue-227, and in return, they helped bankroll and supply his storm of chaos in Denver. In addition, they brought in two very high level toxic spirits, and the only reason Ghostwalker didn't wipe Harlequin and the Azzies off the map is because he couldn't do that and keep Maelstrom and Oblivion from causing trouble on the astral at the same time. Maelstrom and Oblivion will probably get zapped before long, and then Ghostwalker will look to settle scores with the Azzies, Harlequin, and the PCC. Burninating may ensue.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Are the Azzies back in their old sector, or have they 'revitalized' the old Ute sector as 'their' sector?

[grid_roamer]

Well, it was pretty obvious that the PCC got paid for letting the Azzies through with a chunk of Texas.

As for how Aztechnology got into the city, you got to step back a bit. Harlequin helped them finish Blue-227, and in return, they helped bankroll and supply his storm of chaos in Denver. In addition, they brought in two very high level toxic spirits, and the only reason Ghostwalker didn't wipe Harlequin and the Azzies off the map is because he couldn't do that and keep Maelstrom and Oblivion from causing trouble on the astral at the same time. Maelstrom and Oblivion will probably get zapped before long, and then Ghostwalker will look to settle scores with the Azzies, Harlequin, and the PCC. Burninating may ensue.

I agree.

But no one, meaning the UCAS and CAS and whoever else in the area had to allow it.
 I believe The UCAS and the CAS had interviened to stop such hostile actions in the past. This time it was hands off. Nationalism in a sense.....

[Bach_The_Fox]

Well, it was pretty obvious that the PCC got paid for letting the Azzies through with a chunk of Texas.

As for how Aztechnology got into the city, you got to step back a bit. Harlequin helped them finish Blue-227, and in return, they helped bankroll and supply his storm of chaos in Denver. In addition, they brought in two very high level toxic spirits, and the only reason Ghostwalker didn't wipe Harlequin and the Azzies off the map is because he couldn't do that and keep Maelstrom and Oblivion from causing trouble on the astral at the same time. Maelstrom and Oblivion will probably get zapped before long, and then Ghostwalker will look to settle scores with the Azzies, Harlequin, and the PCC. Burninating may ensue.

What's this from? Or is it speculation on your part?

[Parker]

Consider the situation.  Harlequin goes in, bangs up Ghostwalker but the blood-letters are back in Denver; so you know what's going to happen....

{screen turns dark as an off-screen narrator whispers..."He's back, Baby!"}

{the off-screen narrator speaks at normal volume}  "Once they fought each other, now they'll fight a common foe!  Watch as an I.E. and a Great                                                                                  Dragon team-up for this month's hottest movie...."Denver: the Dark City"                         

Remember kids, ole' Painted Face hates Azzies and their blood magic almost as much as Ghostwalker does.  So why not flip on them after facing down Ghostwalker and working with him to drive them out?

[Mirikon]

Are the Azzies back in their old sector, or have they 'revitalized' the old Ute sector as 'their' sector?

No, they're in the old Ute sector, since getting their sector back would have meant dealing with the CAS, and there's no way the CAS would deal with them.

I agree.

But no one, meaning the UCAS and CAS and whoever else in the area had to allow it.
 I believe The UCAS and the CAS had interviened to stop such hostile actions in the past. This time it was hands off. Nationalism in a sense.....

Remember, though, that the other four powers (UCAS, CAS, PCC, and Sioux) had all worked out a new Treaty that would have brought the Azzies back in anyway, while Ghostwalker was 'out of town'. Then Ghostwalker shows up, tells them to stop being idiots, and basically pisses them all off. The concealment from the storm and such that the high level spirits the Azzies brought in to guard their aircraft when they moved makes a nicely plausible excuse for why they 'didn't see anything'. And once it was a fait accompli, trying to drive the Azzies out of Denver without the weight of a treaty behind them would mean all out war, since the Treaty had expired by then.

What's this from? Or is it speculation on your part?

Couple things. Check the fiction in Clutch of Dragons, where Harlequin waltzes into the office of Domingo Chavez (one of the members of the Azzie board), makes himself at home, knocks out all the elite Azzie troops sent to remove him with a single spell, tells Chavez's secretary he would like to schedule a meeting for now. Then he waits reading a newspaper with his feet on Chavez's desk until he gets there, and says he heard the Azzies have a 'dragon problem' (Sirrurg), and it just so happens that he did too (Ghostwalker).

Also, in Storm Front, in the Triumph of Aztlan chapter, Winterhawk implies that it was Harlequin who gave the Azzies their final push into creating Blue-227.

[martinchaen]

@Mirikon
Winterhawk does imply that Harlequin was involved, but not necessarily in creating Blue-227.

The relevant part of the sentence is "some of these systems", and the chapter refers to various mana/tech integrated systems. For some reason, I find it highly doubtful that even Harlequin would be crazy enough to want to help create some sort of biological weapon targeting dragons with manatech, because it seems like the risk of "manatech" backfiring would be too great of a risk to awakened...

[Mirikon]

Harlequin normally wouldn't do such a thing, yes. But when you're in a "I don't care if the world burns, so long as I get my revenge" frame of mind, that kind of thinking tends to go out the window. And the Jester Spirit, or whatever it was called, was also playing a role in his thought processes.

[Crimsondude]

Well, it was pretty obvious that the PCC got paid for letting the Azzies through with a chunk of Texas.

But PCC has been (I thought) pretty clearly GW's biggest supporter since he returned. Is Texas really worth that?

There are a lot of conflicts involved, another being that the Azzie military is actually one of two hostile militaries currently occupying sectors of Denver (the other being the UCAS) while the "legitimate" ZDF peacekeeping force includes CAS military personnel and mercenaries who have regular encounters with the Azzie presence because the ZDF patrols all of the sectors. That must be loads of fun.

Without a Treaty a lot of things are just running on inertia and arguably a desire not to go to war. But that also depends on whose interests are peaceful and who could capitalize off war and dissent in and around the Front Range.

[Bach_The_Fox]

What do we know about the Jester Spirit? My reading of Lightning in Denver made me think it was a kind of wild card, masquerading as Harlequin to deceive Puck, and that the uglier actions (like the terrorist attacks on civilians) where due to it.