The Final Nail in the Coffin/Future of TEst?
Yet again, the Silent War is another example of Terminus Est consolidating its hold on the sphere. With a relatively exhausted Pantheon now finishing up the conflict against the VE, Terminus Est, along with Roz Wei and Arrgh descend on the weakened force. Likewise, the superior numerical advantage, combined with an already weakened military force leaves Terminus Est and allies with little significant damage.
With Alpha's declaration on Mensa HQ in defense of NPO, the Syndisphere had three choices regarding deployment of military reserves: to honor treaty obligations with Pantheon and attack Terminus Est and her allies, to defend Mensa HQ against Alpha's attack or both. It is this writer's suspicion that there was backroom dealing or pure intimidation on the part of Terminus Est to have the Syndisphere choose to attack Alpha. No doubt the previous 2 month conflict and Alpha's personal history also played a part. In light of Terminus Est's previous cooperation with TS during Steve's War, Terminus Est and the Syndisphere may have also come to an agreement to have the events play out as it did.
Regardless, the final nail in the coffin was complete. Alpha, still exhausted from the onslaught from the previous wars, suffers further decline. Pantheon surrenders to Terminus Est. Terminus Est now dominates the upper tier unilaterally. Both from a tactical and strategic standpoint, it is clear Terminus Est is the ultimate victor of these last few wars.
*It is worth noting that Seabasstion, the former leader of Sparta, now resides in Terminus Est.
Terminus Est will likely surge ahead of Alpha and Pantheon for the foreseeable future, and will likely capitalize on the aftermath of the Silent War. Pantheon and Alpha alone cannot challenge the numerical superiority of Terminus Est in a conventional war, disregarding the unlikelihood of the two alliances becoming partners.
Challenges for Terminus Est in the future is maintaining political relations in backdoor channels. With the rise of the Syndisphere as hegemon and the breakup of Paragon, it is imperative for Terminus Est to not present itself as a second sphere. The paperless policy helps obscure any potential formation of a second sphere, and the artful use of the policy has been exhibited by Terminus Est leadership for some time now. With Pantheon (the only real contestant still remotely capable of posing a threat to TEst) battered in the aftermath of the Silent War, Terminus Est can expect some time of peaceful growth before a potential conflict looms.
Terminus Est's strengths has been the quiet manipulation between two spheres to always find easy victories that consolidate its power. From Steve's War to the Silent War, Terminus Est has placed itself as a military reserve force to be used by one side or the other to decisively turn the odds of any given conflict. Their strength is also their weakness, since Paragon has been decisively defeated and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Having connections to both spheres and playing on the two sphere's focus each other, it will be in the interest of Terminus Est to either prop up Paragon, or at least maintain a myth of a reborn Rose sphere.
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