---6 years later---
The colony news service, all the news that's fit for you"
"Orla Bell here reporting from New York where President Robins is now meeting with top Navy commanders, the LSF secretary-general and several of his best operatives in an attempt to devise a plan to guard Liberty against the rapidly spreading conflicts flaring up around the Sirius..."
"Micheal Bently reporting here live in Omega 3 where the Rheinland military build-up is reaching critical stages. All Battleships have been withdrawn from their original positions and/or have been sent to Bretonia's borderlines. Right now as we speak, our newest regeant King Grave is meeting with Parliament to draw up a peace treaty with Rheinland and their secret navy who are becoming increasingly hostile. In related news the withdrawl of Battleships in several key areas such as the Dublin system and the Cambridge system has caused crime to triple especially in the Dublin system which is rapidly being overrun and conquered by political separist group, the Mollys..."
"This is Aki Hirayuki speaking live at the Emperors palace where Shogun Edo is meeting with the newly crowned Emperor Kyu to discuss battle plans and defensive strategies against the New Rheinland Navy whose Northern fleet has began a strategic build-up in Frankfurt, close to the jumphole which leads to the mystery Rheinland military system. The Kusari Naval forces have been providing the GMG with heavy military equiptment and the Battleship Nagumo is rumoured to actually have jumped to the Sigma-13 system! Also several prototype Battleships have been brought out of the production line after recently completed field trials to support the massive base of Cruisers and Gunboats that have been fortifing the Honshu system...."
Colonel Gunter Waalbeck snorted and switched off the Kusari channel. 'Hmpf' he thought, look at how their so called friends panicked and squirmed with fear as his colonys armies moved closer. He was actually postitioned in the Tau-37 system after a massive trip through the Sigma cluster and then the Omicrons. The Rheinlanders still had their cloaking technologies and had snuck an entire fleet past the Outcast homeworld without being detected. The fleet was split into two groups, one to attack Kusari's relativley undefended western border and the other to attack the relatively unprotected northern Bretonian front. He was in group two the second half of the fleet that was to attack the Bretonian's northern frontier.
The main attack was still to come through the Omega systems and the Sigma cluster for the Kusari operation but if the Shogun and King thought that the Rheinlanders had somehow got their fleets into the Northern systems why wouldn't they bring them all? A very un-original plan relying heavily on deception and sneak attacks. Then, when Kusari and Bretonia had been defeated, Liberty would be encircled and on all three fronts the glorius Rheinland navies would attack the rich centreworlds and claim the prize of what many belived was theirs. But this was all still to come and relied heavily on many tricky operations
--2 days later, Tau-31 system--
"Captain!"
"Yes Lieutenant, your report?"
2nd Lieutenant Pitts stood stiffly at attention, neuroboard held firmly under his arms. "No hostiles sighted, only two Outcasts that were dispatched by a Crusader patrol...one loss to us"
Captain Biggs sighed. "We should be defending the Omegas not running after pirates when Bretonia most needs us"
Pitts nodded curtly and turned away to his other business. Captain Biggs was the commander of the Cruiser Lancaster which was deployed to deal with any pirates or hot-headed Kusari commanders who thought they might take advantage when Bretonia was at it's worst. Little did he realise it was about to get worse, a lot worse. He paced across the bridge and towards his study only pausing to check his neuro metre....11:57pm Universal time. He quickened his pace, determined to fall asleep as quick as possible before some other problem rose up.
He awoke to a bang.
"Uhhhh" he groaned. Looking around he realised the ship was on a lean. The light flicked and lighting gas steamed from the broken fixture. His eyes narrowed and he quickly put on his uniform and helmet with the distinct darkened visor. Storming outside he pulled the first person he saw and demanded an explanation. It was Corporal Lee. "We were attacked by several Rheinland gunboats and a steady flow of Valkryes...we ah destroyed them eventually but not without losses..." "What losses!?" "Well...um..engines, because the whole lower section was blown off and those two sections over there were decompressed," he pointed to an area that was sealed off and looked quite volatile. "Plus our gunboats and most of our Crusaders." Biggs rubbed his hand over his forehead. "So our status is?" The Corporal looked uneasy. "Well 60% destruction of our cruiser, rendering it immobile and we only have 3 friendlys left -- they're Crusaders all partly damaged and no contact so far with New London, Battleship York...Hell we can't even get hold of Planet Harris" Biggs slammed his fist into the table so hard the whole crew turned to stare.
Waalbeck breathed out slowly. He had only just escaped the roaming Crusaders but his men had done sufficient damage. He had to keep the Bretonian forces isolated, confused. So far the intercepted communications had given him the view that the Bretonians were confused, and afraid. The sabotage of the Leeds Jumpgate had been completed by a team of specialists and where that Bretonians thought they were sending messengers...well they were warped to oblivion in the damaged Jump-gate. He received a new comm-link, thinking it to be a Bretonian communica but it was one of his men reporting destruction of a gunboat patrol in the area. He counted down in memory...that left only one force left alive...the crippled Cruiser which had to be taken out. "Sneak 1? This is Sneak 2.....rendezvous at the postition of king major over and out". He turned to cruise speed and headed towards the cruiser.
The Valkryes blasted it with their flamecurses and picked over the helpless crusier like vultures over a fated animal. Then Sneak 1 arrived, the Gunboat Schussler and locked the missile turret on the cruiser. The captain of the Gunboat adjusted his cap and smiled grimly as he fired off seven missiles at the cruiser's massive behind. The aft section crumpled under massive pressure and the other booths crumpled with it. Biggs was already dead, the gun in his hand still pointed towards his head as his cabin crumpled up. The sailors in the midst of putting on vac-suits were sucked out by the vacum and their comrades who were fast were sucked out into the void and towards a slow death of asphxyation.
--Battleship Westfalen, Hamburg system--
Hans Gruber was the oldest worker on the old Westfalen. He loved the ship and even though he was only a mechanic he was full of pride for the Rheinland Military and was saddened by his colony's deep problems and the sore sight of the Military these days. Of course he was to low a status to know about the real Military but that was beyond the point. He walked the darkened corridors checking odd dials and system read-outs. He started towards his working place, the Westfalen's ship docks. He paused and walked up to the dock's control space where Wilhem the foreman worked. As the doors slid open he gazed with horror on poor Wilhem. The young man's raven black hair was slick with blood. He ran forward to look onto the docks. Black clothed indviduals were swarming all over the place. The ship, equiptment, and commodity dealers were stacked like common plates against a wall, all dead. Suddenly the doors hissed open and a black suited individual jumped in holding a massive handgun with a green sight. He froze. Gruber's eyebrows drew together, the old man struggling to make sense of the situation. Suddenly his whole body was flipped away by the new Daumann Perforator gun held by the commando. The commando worked quickly, placing explosive all over the foreman's headquarters and left silently. As more indviduals became aware of the almost invasion of the Westfalen's docks the black suited individuals climbed aboard their ships, several Humpbacks. As they rapidly disappeared from sight down the Battleship Westfalen-Hudson Jumpgate tradelane alarm klaxons sounded in the Westfalen. As soldiers and technicians rushed into the lower decks to find the area littered with explosive there was a mass exodus from the ship. But just as the first were leaving the explosives were detonated by a single courageous operative hiding in a locker room deep in the ship.
The old proud Battleship Westfalen was rocked violently and broke into several pieces which drifted and crashed into Planet Kiel as stunned traders and merchants flocked around it.
Meanwhile Rheinland forces had completely rattled the Kusari forces in Sigma-13 and any guerilla resistance by the GMG was swiftly and violently crushed. The Liberty navy had responded quickly and they were full of rage. Gerald Rice, a right-winger had staged a coup d'tat and had seized control supported by the LSF, Liberty Police and the Liberty Navy who were facing massive downsizing under Robins. And President Rice's first order was the total seizure of systems Bering and Hudson. They even went so far as to send elite commandoes into Hamburg to destroy the ageing Battleship Westfalen which was a succesful mission. The planned Rheinland attack into Omega-3 had gone temporarily awry as they had encoutered heavy resistance from Corsairs and Red Hessians. Kusari was fortifing itself for the imminent attack from overwheling Rheinland forces, Liberty was activly preparing for war and consoling Bretonia who was confused and becoming relativly helpless as their bulk force was in Cambridge. But there was still more to come
To Be continued.
(Im going away for a week so i might not write for awhile. I have copies of this so if this thread closes while im away ill start a new one. feel free to comment critisize or whatever
cheers, redstar paddy)
Hasta la victoria siempè! (Ever onward to victory) - Ernesto Che Guevara
If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine. - Ernesto Che Guevara
Sat Jun 12, 2004 2:44 pm 
