Noboru Hazama sat in his quaint clinic, he had just finished his last visit for the day and it was time to close shop. This was a small, rural village, one that was heavily affected by an ageing population and a young people flocking to the big cities. There were no big hospitals to speak of, as a matter of fact if aside from Noboru's clinic the town didn't have any medical facilities. That also meant that 90% of the time Noboru was barely paying for the bills. If Noboru had his way, this wouldn't be happening. He was from a rich family and had attended the University of Kobara's medical field, passed with flying colors too. Noboru's skill was also unmatched by anyone his age. With all this going for him, one might wonder why Noboru was in this tiny clinic that barely payed.

Well, if Noboru had his way he wouldn't be here right now. He'd be in some big hospital, working to save lives day in and day out. But Noboru made the mistake of directly fighting against hospital establishment, hell he was probably the biggest pain in the ass to the head doctor. Not only did he not listen to the head doctor when he saw a potential to save someone, he also embarrassed the head doctor numerous times. That was probably why the head doctor asked Noboru to resign after the first mistake he made as a doctor. Noboru had to suck up to his family, and everyone in it save for his younger sister weren't very sympathetic to his plight. His family viewed him as a disgrace, and all they did was buy him a small clinic in the middle of nowhere so they could ship him off. The only person in his family that still came to see him was his younger sister, who by now had married off into another family but still came to visit every so often.

So now a young genius doctor was stuck here, out in the middle of nowhere, barely making money. It was the last place where anyone would expect to get a noteworthy visitor.

And yet before he could leave the clinic, he was approched by a man. Not just any man, but Masaji Ishii, professor of virology at the University of Kobara. He was probably one of the most well-known people in his field, with his research into synthesizing oncolytic viruses - viruses that infect and attack cancer cells but not normal cells. Should his research be successful, the plague of cancer might be cured forever. Of course, progress was slow, and while progress towards synthesizing an oncolytic virus was slow he had managed to synthesize viruses before. So what the heck was he doing here?

Masaji was flanked by two men in black, and while Noboru didn't recognize either one of them, neither one seemed friendly. In fact, they seemed like the last people that he would want to associate with.

"What are you guys doing here?" Noboru asked "The clinic's closed, so unless you're ill I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"We're not going anywhere before we talk to you." It was one of the men in black "But send all the nurses home, we don't want anyone else hearing this." Noboru sighed.

"They've already left, what do you want?"

This time, Masaji answered the question. "We're here to recruit you for a very special project. You'll be given a position in Kobara, with an income triple what you get right now. All you have to do is treat the patients that we send you, and only the patients that we send you."

"That limits the number of people I can treat" Noboru's answer was obvious "so I refuse. Besides, it seems too good to be true, what was the catch if I had accepted?" Masaji gave out a chuckle.

"I'm afraid you misunderstand." he said "You don't have a choice here, you will come with us." One of the men in black came up to Noboru, and showed him a picture. It was of his sister........

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Nothing yet, but it would be a shame if she were to be infected with something....." said that man "and don't think this is a bluff, we're with the Restoration Party. I think you know what we're capable of."

The Restoration Party? The party that had just taken over Akitsu? The man could be lying, but at the same time it could be true. Did Noboru really want to take a risk and refuse still? The answer was no.

"Fine."

"A wise choice." said the man in black "Pack your things, you leave for Kobara the day after tomorrow. Don't worry about the clinic, we'll find a suitable replacement for you."

Council:

Welcome to the 1579 Goldecia Elections. Today we have a majority of the Royal Conservatives. Can Lord Anthony Whittles Royal Conservatives hold on to their majority with a resurgant left wing political climate with TUSC, LSP and Republicans all higher in the polls. Can NGP hold on to their seats as the immigrant population vote increasingly comes into play? All will be revealed:

The Tuscarawas Tribune
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Hierarch Tachnechdorus I dies

From our correspondent at the Palace - The Tribune has just received word about the sudden death of Hierarch Tachnechdorus I, who has reigned over the Tuscarawan Dominion for fourteen years.

The announcement was made minutes ago though it appears that the Hierarch passed away at least two hours prior to the official announcement. No word yet has surfaced as to how the Hierarch died, nor was it made widely known that the Hierarch was in ill health at the time of his death.

The death of the Hierarch now imposes upon on the Dominion High Council to meet to elect a new Hierarch. An election is due to be held by Nueva 1579, in which a new Hierarch will be officially sworn to the throne.

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PBC News is based in Denil, Florinthus, but has hubs across the globe in many nations. PBC is a multi-ethnic organization with employees of all creeds and races that share a desire to spread the truth. PBC and its affiliates are funded in part by donations from the Florinthian people, as well as the Florinthian government, in order to provide an unbiased and independent news source, from a Florinthian perspective.

This will be the discussion thread for the Near East Treaty Organization.

Here is the treaty thread on the old forums.

Recently, the Wadiyan (Wadyian?) military attempted to launch a coup against the president of Wadiyah. The coup was defeated by loyalist military units, Silistrian paramilitary forces, popular protesters, and perhaps some vestigial NETO/Coalition occupying forces. I say vestigial because it seems unlikely that the military would have attempted a coup when there were significant foreign occupying forces still in the country. It seems more likely that most of the Coalition occupying forces pulled out of Wadiyah by this point (1579 - 4 years after the end of the Wadiyan civil war), thus prompting the military to feel like it had a chance. This would suggest a grave mistake on the part of the Coalition, mostly NETO, in not staying longer.

I would suggest that NETO immediately move into Wadiyah in force to ensure that the country's internal stability is not threatened in such a manner again. I would appreciate it if all available NETO members (see link above, but you should know who you are!) would respond with their thoughts on this proposal, even if it be a simple "yeh" or "nah."

The Free Eskkyan