[Beyond the Borders] Operation Ragnarok Exposed






OPERATION RAGNAROK EXPOSED
BoM subversion in the sinkers uncovered!

Written by Quebecshire



EBC NOTE: This article was re-published in the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) with the express permission of Quebecshire. The article was originally published on the NationStates Gameplay forums. The Europeian government approved re-publication in the EBC to ensure full coverage for our domestic audience. We feel it is important to ensure our domestic population is completely up-to-date with major happenings in NationStates gameplay. The Europeian government nor the EBC worked to create this content.

PART I: BACKGROUND
Let’s start with a little recap.

Last month, the Pacific, The North Pacific, and the West Pacific joined together to sign a statement of mutual solidarity to oppose any threats to themselves or their allies. This comes after months of antagonism by The Brotherhood of Malice, including their campaign against Stargate and the raid on Venice, the former being a very long-term ally to TNP and the latter being a member of the URA, allied to TWP.

The statement was strong, and it made clear where these regions stood against not only threats to them, but to any of their allies. This was emphasized by the following excerpt,

On Continued Interregional Peace said:
Effective immediately, we have issued standing orders to our militaries to the following effect: an attack on any of our regions or allies is an attack on all of us, and will be met unhesitatingly with the appropriate military force.

Therefore, an attack on any of the allies of a single signatory constitutes an action worthy of response by this coalition, which has been formalized in a mutual defense treaty which has just completed ratification. This principle of the agreement was quickly noted by figures across gameplay, particularly Reventus Koth, who responded with the following,

Reventus Koth said:
As a citizen of the OFO, I am glad to see that any hypothetical attack on our regime will be met with the full might of the Pax Polaris Occidens signatories via our alliance with The West Pacific. Hail!

While this post appears to be an attempt at a “gotcha” attempt of sorts, the train of thought expressed was reaffirmed as accurate by the West Pacific’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dilber. Osiris was an ally to a signatory of the agreement, and therefore qualified under its protective clauses. In fact, the diplomatic networks of the three signatories is so expansive number of regions in gameplay qualify for protective status. But we’re going to be talking about one region in particular of Balder. Pertinently, Balder is allied to signatories to the Pax Polaris Occidens, which puts it in a strong position of unambiguous protection by all parties - and BoM had, or has, them in their crosshairs.

PART II: OPERATION RAGNAROK
Nefarious plot, or abandoned pipe-dream?

Exclusive information has been obtained by myself regarding “Operation Ragnarok”, a plot by BoM with the described purpose of being the “biggest op since OFO” (according to BoM Shadowmaster Raxion), presumably referring to the original takeover of Osiris which established the first iteration of the Osiris Fraternal Order. The target in question was, according to alleged quotes by Raxion, “known for finding spies” and “stingy with handing down power” - has this started sounding familiar with how raider cliques depict the independent-imperialist sphere?

Given the chosen name of the operation as well as the descriptors provided, the obvious target of this scheme is Balder. This was compounded by the source of this leak providing detailed testimony confirming Balder as the target and that at least one BoM operative had placed a clean alt nation in the region.
So, why? A few reasons could be thought up for why BoM might want to attack Balder, including but not limited to their diplomatic tension with Osiris, but also the fact that in recent months alone BoM has already been caught subverting and/or antagonizing two of Balder’s closer allies, The Land of Kings and Emperors] (through attempts to bring the region closer to BoM) and Europeia (through endeavors such as Operation Sinking Ship) - the dates depicted in this conversations being roughly one month after all of that broke open in late March.

For an organization that functions with the aggressive tendencies and arrogance of BoM, why wouldn’t Balder be next on the list? Upon further discussion with my source, the redacted individual in the above logs, the following testimony regarding operation details was provided.

  • The operation, dubbed “Operation Ragnarok”, was organized when Koth and Raxion created a closed channel including two BoM assassins titled #operation-ragnarok. This channel originally existed in the main BoM server before being relocated to the operations server.
  • Venico had access to both iterations of the channel and was knowledgeable regarding the plot. Ever-Wandering Souls may have been aware and able to view the first iteration of the channel in the main BoM server.
  • Operation Ragnarok’s objectives would be pursued through a conventional infiltration involving an alternate Discord account and a clean nation. This alternate account would be operated by Scottie.
  • The refound and initial insertion of the alt would have likely been on or around 26 April 2022. The specific name of the alt is undisclosed.
  • The following attributes and strategies of the alleged alt were provided,
    • The alt’s earlier participation in Balder would be as a gameside native.
    • Key interests upon moving to an off-site presence would likely be domestic politics and legislation.
    • WA-locked status would come later in the operation and would not be an immediate requirement (this is consistent with this as Scottie’s current WA nation).

Unfortunately, some information was not cleared for public disclosure due to a desire for anonymity from the source, but what is presented here paints a picture clear as day. Though amusingly, discussion of couping Balder is far from foreign to BoM public chats. While one could likely write this off as tongue-in-cheek, I do find it amusing how BoM’s chosen infiltrator is a regular participant in conversations both before and after the initiation of the plot.

BoM Server 3 April 2022 said:
Syl: i forgot about Balder Syl: but to be entirely fair
Syl: everyone forgets about Balder
Scott Talleyrand: We can Coup balder as a warm up
BoM Server 10 June 2022 said:
Scott Talleyrand: Who can I coup? Beliskarius Cawl: Balder
Beliskarius Cawl: Enjoy
Rose Weisberg-Talleyrand: Euro, Balder, LKE
Shadoke: my heart
Scott Talleyrand: Why are you obsessed with me couping Balder lmao

But I digress, it’s possible that this plan never got off the ground - BoM’s members are not known for extensive and principled commitment, and an attempt on the regime in Balder is one of the most difficult tasks one could undertake. Nevertheless, there is a pattern of behavior and interest from BoM and all of the information provided is consistent and leads one to a clear conclusion. Despite its infeasibility, despite an undetermined level of follow-through, BoM devised and initiated a sponsored plan to take hostile action with the desired outcome of overthrowing the incumbent regime in Balder.

 
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