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New Chatham-Westminster Metropolitan Region
New Anglia, Star Kingdom of New Anglia
31 December 3399
The crowds were thronging throughout the twin cities of New Chatham, gathered in New Chatham's Pickering Square or Disraeli Plaza in Westminster, watching portable holo-projectors project the countdown. It was night out, with New Anglia's 24 hour, 13 minute day keeping it fairly aligned to "Earth time", permitting a perfect mood setting for the official start of the New Year. As the crowds chanted the countdown, holographic displays splashed bright, vibrant colors across the avenues and streets. The stroke of midnight came, confetti rained, and thousands of exhuberant (and in some cases fairly drunk) celebrants began singing the classic "Auld Lang Syne". Automated hover displays raised above the skyscrapers and arcologies activated, splashing a massive "3400" into the night sky over the capital.
There were millions out in the streets across the region, gathering in plazas and squares and parks to await the fireworks and the fanfare to welcome in the new century. A crowd at the side fo Westminster Palace was even greeted by the sight of their ruler, the young Edward XVI, with his young wife Larissa at his sides, their hands clasped while their free hands waved cheerfully to the crowds as the fireworks exploded overhead. That the King and Queen were young was the result of tragedy - the deaths of their parents, and of Edward XVI's older brother the Prince of Wales, in the Hyperspace Incident of 3398 - had only a bit of pallor on the symbolism before them; a new century was being brought in with the youngest King since the 30th Century, and Edward XVI had already attained a great deal of popularity among his subjects.
A distance down the way, the Prime Minister of His Majesty's Government - Mr. Stephen Penton of Vancouver on New Columbia - had brought his family out for the occasion, to watch the fireworks from the rooftop viewing parlor of No. 19 Churchill Street. They had even brought sleepy little Adrian who, like any 3 year old, found midnight far too late to be awake. His children showed various reactions; the girls Sophie and Gabriela were excited, 12 year old Thomas looked fairly excited, and Rafael had the look of a fifteen year old who was enjoying himself but pretending to be too mature for such. Standing behind their children, Stephen and Rachel went from merely having an arm around each other to a closer embrace, permitting them to exchange a New Year's kiss as their children watched, enthralled, at the light show in the heavens above.
At one of the posh night-clubs on the New Chatham side of the St. James River, Janey's, a crowd of its most exclusive members were watching from the rooftop, the peak of a thirty story tower with a heated swimming pool and an open bar. There was a common toast to the New Year; two of those doing so from the pool itself were Danielle Verdes-Roya and Amber Kelly-Sanchez, who clanged their glasses together and took a brief drink before exchanging a New Year's kiss as well. Outside of the pool, with a towel draped over her mostly bare shoulders, Sarina Kelly-Sanchez was too busy enjoying the fireworks and light displays to observe her older sister.
From Admiralty House, a New Year's party held by the Defence Minister for all MoD-affiliated personnel, and invitees, saw the Trill Defence Minister Maralo Tevala introducing his teenage daughter Jobrie to the new First Sea Lord, Sir Charles O'Connor of Hebridia, Charles likewise introducing his youngest Mary as a friend of similar age for Jobrie - the conversation immediately turned to the benefits of a commission in the Royal Navy for one's advancement, showing the two fathers' similar thoughts on the right path for their daughters (Jobrie and Mary, as one might imagine, had other ideas, though the two adored their fathers too greatly to refute them publicly). Out on the balcony, the First Lord of the Admiralty - Robert Dale of Finley on Hansom's Planet - discussed matters with two fellow members of the Admiralty Board, the Second Sea Lord Dame Nora Lewis and the civilian Civil Engineer-in-Chief, Sir Jackson Tappan, while one of his fellow MPs from Hansom's Planet, Julia Andros, stood beside him clasping hands.
A few blocks over, from within the Foreign Office, Sir James Bronson had other plans for this New Year's; going over the latest in intelligence on Karlack movements. For the centenarian spymaster, for many years the Director-General of the Security and Intelligence Service, there was no form of celebration he preferred, but rather simply his work.
Further out from these festivities, in a private pub in the outskirt city of Sussex, bar patrons attempting to watch the new year eyed warily the sight of a large hulking Bragulan. The bear-like alien grumbled a complaint in his native language about the lack of good seating as he delicately placed himself on two bar stools side by side. "Sorry, Umar, I'm afraid New Anglian pubs don't account for Bragulan clientele," was the reply from the hulking Bragulan's comrade and captain, Balthier Miedan (Technically Bartholomew, formerly a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, but he preferred his self-given name over his birth-given one), who took another swig of drink afterward, reminding himself to procure a case to bring aboard the Strahl. There was agreement from their navigator, the blue-complexioned Dorei Vanrya, while the Strahl's not-so-innocent-as-she-looks engineer-machinist Kaylee Keller shared a toast with their ship medic, Dr. Andrew MacCulloch (who, due to the attitudes of the Solarian medical establishment and their take on doctors who fail to save the life of mega-wealthy donors, had sadly lost his license to practice), MacCulloch grumbling about being "surrounded by English" in a Scots accent that could only come from Scotland itself. Balthier and Vanrya kept cautious eyes on their crewmate Miranda, the eccentric Moonbeam imbibing a little too much alcohol for Balthier's taste (given that even sober her inhibitions were usually lacking), even if she was under the careful watch of the last member of their merry crew Quinn Leeson and his fairly-developed ESPer senses.
That said, it was good to be back "home" to usher in a new century, and even better that the unfortunate issues he'd had with Anglian authorities had been quietly dealt with by friendly patrons, permitting him to land without having to worry about being brought before the King's Bench or, even more onerous, having his starship taken from him. Such was could happen, after all, when you led the charmed life of an outlaw...
There were, all in told, three hundred and thirty billion souls celebrating the New Year in the territories of New Anglia. Some would, in the coming times, remain in complete obscurity. Others, like those mentioned and some not, would have quite an interesting time in the opening years of the 35th Century. The same would be true for others in all the many states and polities of known space, with interesting times ahead for all. From Chamarra to the Grand Dominion and from the Expanse to Wild Space, the known galaxy bustled with the life of interstellar civilization, as disparate as the Commune and the Imperium or Kryptonians and the Karlack, with heroes and villains (or heroines and villainesses to be accurate in some cases) spread out amongst the stars. But for all the oppotunity and promise for wealth and adventure that the galaxy presented, it also harbored terrors not yet seen, threats not yet imagined, and secrets that could shatter everything one believed in if they ever came to light; space is, ultimately, a very dangerous place.
Oh, and let's not forget one additional fact.
There are Orks everywhere.
And so here we are. The year is now 3400.
Welcome to the Worlds of SDN.