Lunar Republic Reports

[Zoot Zoot]

A container ship would make port on South Georgia with all the catalogued details and belongings of all the civilians that could be identified after the Falklands outbreak of Strain #7287. The catalogue included pictures and personal items found on the deceased in the hopes that they would be returned to their families.

All items had been decontaminated extensivly and were clean of all harmful bacteria.

[Lynneth]

[quote name='Zoot Zoot' timestamp='1341016057' post='3000242']
A container ship would make port on South Georgia with all the catalogued details and belongings of all the civilians that could be identified after the Falklands outbreak of Strain #7287. The catalogue included pictures and personal items found on the deceased in the hopes that they would be returned to their families.

All items had been decontaminated extensivly and were clean of all harmful bacteria.
[/quote]
The ship would have to anchor around 500 meters from the port as security measure to ensure that no contamination whatsoever would possibly happen; the bacterial strain's effects were still in the mind of the Republic. Extensive testing and decontamination would be undertaken to ensure a zero percent chance of the strain contaminating a Lunar citizen. It was thus that the ship had to sit near port for approximately 16 hours before fully suited 'detox officers' came on board to do the testing, then further decontamination.
Two days later, unloading began, though still with great care, the warehouse into which the items, images etc were brought quarantined and made absolutely airtight. Unloading was completed 28 hours later. Anything further that happened with the items, etcetera was not of interest to Umbrella, the ship sent back home, empty of its cargo.

[Lynneth]

[b][Classified][/b]

While various things were going on within the Republic, research at the MWT had resulted in a vastly improved version of the by now ancient [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=106348&view=findpost&p=2890781"]'DB-350 Flashlight'[/url] battle laser. Not only did the design have to be changed considerably, but the internal mechanisms were very different as well, now utilising X-ray lasing instead of near-infrared, resulting in far superior delivery of energy over even greater distances as atmospheric blooming is reduced further.
[url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/Torvenius04.jpg"][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/th_Torvenius04.jpg[/img][/url]

The new version, renamed to MPEL-10 (Multiple Pulsed Exposure Laser, 10 kjoule) 'Pulsar' weighs in at 4.8 kilograms when fully loaded - somewhat lighter than previously - but sports an impressive effective range of 720 meters. The power pack is far lighter at 650 grams for the same amount of power stored thanks to improvements in capacitor technology, while improved technology within the weapon make the whole design less bulky and easier to handle, despite the added complication of using X-ray instad of near-IR. The amount of pulses and energy delivered per shot are the same. Most of the improvement has been done in weight, frequency and design. The power pack is now designed to, in case of catastrophic malfunction, direct the blast away from the user. The heat is still dispersed via liquid-metal microchannel heat pipes etched into all the hot surfaces, leading to cooling fins around the "barrel", directing heat forward and upwards, away from the user. This makes the weapon safe to use even for a theoretical naked and unprotected person, which was not the case for the DB-350 'Flashlight'.
Currently, the MPEL is being evaluated in comparison to the GAR-22 to see which of the two weapons had the greater potential as the Republic's main infantry weapon.

Edited June 30, 2012 by Lynneth

[Lynneth]

[b][Deep beneath Von Braun][/b]

[color="#0000FF"]"Certain elements within the population appear to be working against you two."[/color]
"Yes, I'm aware. Some have been active for quite some time, but they've been good at eluding our grasp for the most part. We have no idea what exactly they're planning."
[color="#0000FF"]"Or how strong they are, I suppose?"[/color]
"Indeed. They could be half a dozen people or tens of thousands. We don't know, despite MoM's best efforts."
[color="#0000FF"]"And I presume you tried to outwit them still?"[/color]
"More than once. We shuffled MoM responsibilities around as well, changed this and that about their modus operandi, but little helped."
[color="#0000FF"]"They might have a mole on the inside."[/color]
"We've thought of that, too. No dice. They're good."
[color="#0000FF"]"Too good?"[/color]
"Maybe. We don't even know what they're up to."
[color="#0000FF"]"How would that even be possible?"[/color]
"By the simple fact that it's utterly impossible to watch and control the entire damn population. As far as I know, we do have a good majority that supports our policies, but a considerable percentage doesn't like what we're doing, for one reason or another."
[color="#0000FF"]"And they somehow managed to elude you even as you were actively trying to find out more about their organisation?"[/color]
"Looks like that, yes. But I'm pretty sure they're going to make a move soon."
[color="#0000FF"]"Does it seem so? Why tell me?"[/color]
"Because we might need your help."
[color="#0000FF"]"I see." He would have nodded, had he possessed a body. "Very well, then. If required, I shall see what I can do."[/color]
"Thank you."

________________________________

[b][Internal developments][/b]

He would've held a speech, if it was possible. Unfortunately, it was not, as it would have compromised everything they'd worked for.
But the regime of the siblings would be toppled soon enough. Then they could finally have blessed isolation, ignore the lesser men on Earth who contented themselves with staying on the world and only occasionally sending a mission - or missiles - upwards, into the endless infinity of space. Not to mention that the sibling's plan of 'paving the way' for the rest of mankind was optimistic - some nations would gladly and quickly backstab their 'saviours' and try to take over somehow, instead of cooperating. No, they would have to take a different approach. Far different.
He and those with him would provide the will to embrace it fully and become -the- entity in space and space travel.
Everything was aligned. All preparations were done.

The signal to strike was given.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

The first shots of the conflict were less that and more a series of hopeless engagements. In Xuesen, a number of L4 and some L5 island habitats, things were over quickly as rebellious police and military forces took control too quickly for even help requests to be sent out. The simple loss of contact would have alerted loyalist forces that something was up - if smaller uprisings in the rest of the Republic's territories hadn't ensured that the beginning of the conflict was known to all living in these colonies. The only colonies not affected were those owned by other nations, and Von Braun, which had higher security than and other part of Lunar territory.
As for the secret shipyards, three were sabotaged, damaged enough to prevent any vessels from being launched. A few hours after this, the Solar faction launched one of the Oppenheimer ships, officially classified as 'cislunar combat vehicle'; patrol boats, unable to go much further than three times the diameter of Lunar orbit or approximately 2.3 million kilometers. In response, the loyalist forces scrambled one of their available vessels and begun working on bringing anonther online. Unlike Athens' [i]Galactica[/i] or [i]Andromeda[/i] classes, both the Lunar and the Solar factions launched their ships without ceremony, attempting to be faster than their opponent at least once, thus establishing a minor, temporary advantage.

For several days, the conflict was cold, excepting low-scale engagements in some of the island colonies. Both sides knew that invading one of the island habitats was effectively impossible and was likely to lead to immeasurable amounts of civilian casualties; not something desirable. It was thus that the war likely had to be decided by combat between the vessels of the two factions, with fifteen on each side. But perhaps the conflict would be long enough to repair the gargantuan 'doors' of one or two of the other shipyards? Whoever controlled them by then would have a massive advantage, this was assured.


[b][Von Braun, days after the first strikes][/b]

"How? Just, just [i]how[/i] could they possibly gain such a massive base of support without us finding out!?" Alexander was beside himself. "Your people are [i]supposed[/i] to have a file on [i]everyone[/i]! How in the world can you overlook the affilliation of so many people with these separatists? Just what sort of height did your incompetence reach?"
The head of the Ministry of Morale sat in her chair, staring at the ground. Indeed, how had her ministry failed to such a degree? It was impossible to fathom, but it had happened. Someone, somewhee within the ministry had betrayed them. "A mole," she said, unsure whether there was just one, or several. Most likely the latter.
"Find them. Do whatever is necessary to remove this scum from positions of importance. They must not get any intel from our side."
She nodded. Nothing else needed to be said, and she left the office to do her duty.


[b][L4, an Island Habitat, hours after the first Oppenheimer launch][/b]

"My Prince, we have largely been successful with our first strike, as you know, and launched one of the combat vessels mere hours ago."
"You're doing an excellent job, my friend." He smiled at the older man. "Coordinating so well with the other cells, yet keeping the Ministry in the dark about our actions. Truly, you deserve your title of Spymaster in my council. Are there any other news?"
"There always are news. I received some messages only a short time ago, confirming the total take-over of another habitat. With this, we have approximately 35% of the nation's population in our sphere. I estimate we'll reach up to 45% if things continue as they do."
"That means we're still at a slight disadvantage."
"Perhaps, but it will hopefully be minor enough to be offset by other advantages, such as continuous information about a number of our enemy's troop movements and the like. It allows us to plan ahead and move our forces appropriately in many cases."
"Yes, that is quite the advantage... But two of the other shipyards are still under enemy control. We need to do something about that. Take over, preferrably."
"Of course. I'll also see about delaying repairs in them. I still have some men there, and with some luck I'll be able to give them instructions."
"Good, good. Proceed, my friend."
The man left, leaving Damien alone in the improvised command center from which he gave his council and aides orders.
He looked out of an artificial window, staring at the distant moon.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Lynneth

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

In space, who can hear you scream? Who can watch you as you attempt to slam your wrench against a supposedly sensitive machine while clad in a suit weighing in at some hundred kilos, your only barrier between safety and deadly temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees celsius? Who can see as you scream into your comms-equipment that you'd taken offline to save precious energy for your suit, in rage that the contraption refuses to restart until you hit it just right?

Nobody can.
Yet, you're out here, in that tiny suit, bound to a tin-can barely able to keep micrometeorites from penetrating the hull, it's already nerve-wrecking enough. But knowing that out there, other vessels like yours exist, and not all of them are friendly? All of them quite capable of annihilating all illusions of safety that the ship you're in provides, in a matter of seconds? Some might describe it as very similar to duty in a submarine, despite more space per crewmember being available, better food and supplies, showers and whatever else was needed, despite notable other differences, too.

However, some of these differences involve one's end. If a submarine was hit, the likelihood of death by immense pressure was great, lasting fractions of a second. Being killed by the detonation often was quick, as well. Whatever happens to a hit submarine, death is very likely. The same is not case on an [i]Oppenheimer combat vehicle[/i] There is no pressure to end your life within moments. The lack thereof might pull one into the vacuum of space, leading to slow, painful suffocation while the eyes and other exposed skin begins to slowly freeze and insulated parts of the body start heating up - to the point of cooking itself if enough oxygen was available and no sufficient means to remove heat was there. Luckily, if it could be called that, death in total vacuum generally happens within 20 seconds. As for heat death, it is likely in other places as well, such as a faulty worksuit in the vessel's general environment. The temperatures could easily end lives within minutes and less - parts reaching up to 120 degrees celsius.
The dangers are always there, much like in a submarine - but unlike underwater, in space nobody can hear you scream. The closest allies might be tens of thousands of kilometers or further away, too far to be of any help, whatever may happen. The tension, stress and other factors, despite all efforts to counteract them, always keep a crew near the breaking point.

[Lynneth]

[b][Von Braun][/b]

Lunar security, despite the civil war, was something to marvel at. Aside from the multiple redundancies when one wished to visit one of the Republic-owned island habitats - in which no weapons were allowed - visiting one of the three cities usually resulted in one having to go through numerous checks and controls. For one, as in the island habs, weapons were illegal in civilian hands. Only the security and military forces of the Republic were permitted to carry any sort of firearm unless a special and hard to get permit was obtained. Ability-enhancing drugs and suits were disallowed as well and had to be removed prior to entering the city. This was ensured by the spaceports being approximately 5 kilometers away from the city proper and only monorail and a single, easily defensible service tunnel connecting the two, this tunnel of course being off-limits to visitors. Before and after entering the train one had to subject themselves to dedicated searching in case of bringing illegal substances on or within their body, including but not limited to explosives, illegal drugs and other things forbidden within the lunar cities.
Once through the second tier of security, it was unlikely anyone from foreign nations had any sort of weapon on them. And if they somehow had managed to smuggle something through, there were plenty of guards in both [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/Lunar_Exoskeleton.jpg"]older[/url] and the [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/search_by_trufanov.jpg"]newer[/url] worksuits as well as soldiers in [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/helldiver_by_sttheo-d4gfyqi.jpg"]combat[/url] suits available all throughout the cities while heavy walkers ([url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Bayern/GDR/walkan/05.png"]01[/url], [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Bayern/GDR/walkan/07.png"]02[/url], [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Bayern/GDR/walkan/08.png"]03[/url]) were hidden in walls, ready to come out at a moment's notice to tear up intruders with .50 caliber machine cannons, grenade launchers and light autocannons that could crack even a heavy APC's armour - though perhaps not an actual tank's. Reinforcing the human defenders and the walkers were remote-controlled, retractable armoured turrets armed with heavy machineguns and autocannons in strategic locations, intended to stop or funnel invaders into predefined kill zones. This meant that any hostile forces would have a rather hard time getting around.

Furthermore, all habitats were deep underneath the actual surface and spread over such a large area that nuclear strikes, even if they did penetrate into one of the habitats, were unlikely to destroy more than five domes, with the blast doors between connections rated to withstand even the most powerful blasts at a distance of 300 meters or more. If one considered there were hundreds, even thousands such domes under the lunar surface, making it nigh impossible to eradicate even a single city.
One might go so far as to say that the Republic's three Lunar cities - and main resource gathering operations - were practically invulnerable to any sort of conventional assault short of someone firing hundreds of nuclear warheads at once.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

"Someone get down to sector F three, we've got a problem with the heat distribution system down there."
Moments later, two men who were off-duty began to suit up and move to the sector in order to repair whatever was damaged to the best of their ability. The Oppenheimer class was a theoretical spaceship. All looked good on paper, but in practise, things could always go wrong. And there always did. In the last 24 hours of operation, this particular vessel had endured its reactor almost failing once, one of the heat radiators not extending properly, glitches in the computer systems, to name perhaps half of what had happened. Of course, in time mistakes and faults could be repaired and fixed, but at the moment, both sides were doing little more than live-testing the ships in realistic conditions.
But, unstable as things were within, they didn't even have a good contact within optimal firing range - all sensors being calibrated by default to report contacts within that range. They knew there were several vessels out there, but dared not contact them. One could be hostile and fire without warning. Such a situation the captain of the vessel wanted to avoid at all costs, and he was not the only one. With sensors not being sophisticated enough and identification protocols too dangerous to attempt, 30 Oppenheimer class vessels were patrolling - but staying away from others of their kind for fear of attack.

This was the sort of situation that could, if left unresolved, easily lead to cold war and 'Sitzkrieg'. The leaders of both sides knew that it had to be resolved, but there was a certain difficulty in how to do it.
But for some, the pressure and stress can be overwhelming, even and especially during such uncertain times as a 'Sitzkrieg'.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

With the civil war lacking anything resembling actual combat, mostly consisting of crews repairing their vessels on the fly or returning to base for new spare parts and refueling, other means had to be used in order to force a decision. This time, the advantage lay with Pierné-Duparc's faction.

As luck would have it, the delivery of Lunar materials was delayed by a bureaucratic mistake, allowing a Solar vessel to bypass patrols - which had not been informed of this - and hijack thousands of tons of various resources. In another instance, a Yeoman freighter's captain was simply bribed to change sides, bringing with him rare metals and precious water and compressed air, vital resources for conflict in a vacuum.
A few days after this an official was found murdered in his home. Investigations were launched immediately, but soon began petering out as no suspect could be found, the attacker having removed all traces of the deed other than the body and a bullet in the man's brain. Over time, the need to replace this experienced organiser would impact the war effort of the Republic. And it was by no means the last such deed done by sleeper agents, though the Republic would eventually begin to try and imitate these things, with many failures in the beginning.
Intrigue was another way with which wars could be decided.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

War, done in secret and with subterfuge is something that proceeds only slowly. There are, in the beginning, only few, if any visible effects caused by the missions undertaken by each side, though this was likely to change over time. Over a good two, three years of this sort of warfare, both sides began to notice their enemy's attempts at sabotage and intrigue as production of goods declined and experienced crews of Yeoman 'traders' as they were called by now lost their lives.
It was a slow burn, simmering just at the right temperature to never blow over, but produce great amounts of steam.


[b][Von Braun][/b]

"This war... it's been going on for so long already, Alex." She sighed, staring at the large display of her office, depicting the sun from as close as Mercury' orbit, a gloriously magnificent fireball - made possible to look at by usage of appropriate filters.
"I know. This Duparc is a nasty fellow, and he's stubborn."
"And he has made progress in his efforts. You know as well as I that they've completely taken the L4 and L5 colonies and begun taking control of colonies in L1. Yet, they're resisting all of our efforts."
""An unfortunate situation, but it's not hopeless. Not yet."
"Is it? Then how is it that we've never even seen them coming, Alex? How is it that they could infiltrate us so thoroughly?"
"Stop being so defeatist, Laura. We can pull through this. We've beat worse odds."
She sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not. We might need a miracle to pull a victory off."
Her brother nodded, looking at the star on the large monitor.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh_nhUJ78gM"]The Republic[/url]

Warfare, whether done obviously with troop maneuvers and attempted attacks, or in the shadows with men who would never even see each other exchanging blows, it takes something out of the people, and the leaders. The commoner, often barely aware of what is truly happening other than glorious war, will eventually get weary and even the most eloquent messages of propaganda will lose their strength in face of such cynicism. In this vein, the people would begin to question their leadership, to wonder whether it was worth it, silently at first. But eventually, some might gather others, and speeches could be held. Rallies against the conflict, protests against the loss of further life. In a democratic nation, this was all too possible, and even encouraged by the constitution. Fascist and totalitarian states, however, would try and disperse such gatherings at the very least, and at the worst, even open fire on their own citizens.

The Lunar Republic had been built on freedom and expressing oneself, and as such, even the greatest tricks of the Ministry of Morale began to fail after years of effort, having kept the people thinking positively about the continuous battle between the two sides.

But now, in time, approval was slipping, despite the Republic being on the defense, their very ideals being challenged by their adversary. One could only hope that similar things were going on in Solar territories.

Were they?


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PLs7QuwzRc"]Celestial Conflict[/url]

They were not. Pierné-Duparc, unlike the Leclerc siblings, was a very visible, seemingly active leader, despite working less, delegating more than the two. He was charismatic, had a powerful voice and knew exactly what to say to make the people follow him with barely a second thought. It was through his leadership that the colonies on the rebellious side were still fully supporting the cause - whichever it was, because it was never specified. He and others talked much about it, about its superiority to the policies of the siblings, how it would make the people's lives better, how it would bring unprecedented prosperity into every household.

But he never, ever explained what exactly it entailed. He didn't say that part of it would be the nation working actively to deny other nations resources, to prevent them easy access to celestial bodies by staking barely enforcable claims, by constructing a naval force that would dwarf what even the Republic had built. He didn't elaborate on how the Island colonies would have to be moved to be away from danger, he didn't tell the people any of these things.

And yet, they followed like sheep.


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UICTaJq0O_U"]Solar Fortitude[/url]

But unlike sheep, they did not go to die in battles for ideals they barely understood.

All in all, the Lunar Republic had constructed 75 'Oppenheimer' patrol vessels during its existence. Fifteen had been launched by it in the beginning of the war, fifteen by the Solar faction. None had seen combat for a very, very long time, despite things being tense and coming close to an armed exchange on numerous occasions. But, in the end, only one single engagement occurred in this very uncivil war.

Five vessels, the [color="#FF8C00"][i]Note To Self[/i][/color], [color="#FF8C00"][i]Irish Handshake[/i][/color], [color="#FF8C00"][i]Transmission Error[/i][/color], [color="#FF8C00"][i]Untranslatable Concept[/i][/color] and the [color="#FF8C00"][i]Have some Culture[/i][/color] had moved slightly off-route during their patrol. As it happened, the same took place on a patrol of the other side, though only involving three vessels, namely the [color="#0000FF"][i]A Sock Full of Pennies[/i][/color], [color="#0000FF"][i]That's Sir to You[/i][/color] and the [color="#0000FF"][i]I Like My Steaks Well Done[/i][/color]. They came not only into view of each other - meaning, if one wandered to a non-existent window, they would have seen the other ships quite clearly - but the captain of the [color="#0000FF"][i]'TSY'[/i][/color] made the grave mistake of not checking to see if there were hostiles in the area before sending a laser transmission to Von Braun, which was not too far in the moment, close enough for such a direct type of communication.

One of the Solar vessels was watching via high-res videofeed - and saw the aperture of the las-comm apparatus move into Von Braun's exact direction. With that, the identity of the three ships was clear and without further ado, the other ships were silently informed, having maintained a policy of always keeping direct-line radio contact with each other. Less than a minute after the transmission was sent to Von Braun, the captain of the Lunar vessel realised his mistake, but by then it was too late. Klaxons blared, alarms were given to the allied two vessels, defenses brought to bear.
But by then, 5 vessels had fired a combined load of 56 'buckshot' and 187 conventional missiles, all moving at comparatively ludicrous speed towards the three victims. Point-defense lasers and anti-missile missiles swarming through the void in an attempt to lessen the incoming devastation. Moments later, the Lunar ships fired what they could on such short notice, which wasn't all that much - a few dozen missiles in total, in the grand total merely damaging the Solar vessels - in one case severely - but not destroying a single one.

On the other hand, devastation was very nearly complete on the Lunar side. Buckshot missiles delivered their deadly tungsten-fueled payload, ripping the hulls to shreds, conventional explosions following soon after. Very literally, these vessels were torn apart, their 'guts' became visible to those watching, spilt recklessly into the endlessness. The crews, at least, died swiftly as heat and vacuum conspired with shredded compartments and secondary detonations dutifully delivering shrapnel to complete the job. 270 men and women died on that day, in these three patrol boats. Around thirty on the opposite side from the few impacts that couldn't be stopped.

The three hundred most important deaths of the previous and following years in cislunar space.

The previously so brightly shining moon was now waning in power. And on the opposite side, the sun was waxing and rising.
Momentous, indeed.

[Mara Lithaen]

"This is the ISS [i]Eagle One[/i], requesting permission to land at Von Braun. Repeart, requesting permission to land. Additionally, requesting political asylum for the Princess Ascendant and Empress of the Northern Imperium."

The message was broadcasted from the escape vessel, parked stably in orbit over the Lunar controlled portions of the moon, broadcasting a distress signal.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Mara Lithaen

[Lynneth]

[quote name='Mara Lithaen' timestamp='1347644299' post='3030157']
"This is the ISS [i]Eagle One[/i], requesting permission to land at Von Braun. Repeart, requesting permission to land. Additionally, requesting political asylum for the Princess Ascendant and Empress of the Northern Imperium."

The message was broadcasted from the escape vessel, parked stably in orbit over the Lunar controlled portions of the moon, broadcasting a distress signal.
[/quote]

[b][Space][/b]

[i]Eagle One, come in, repeat, come in. This is Von Braun MilCom.
Be advised that you are in a hot combat zone. Rebel forces are making headway towards this installation and we cannot guarantee your safety. Then again, we can't do that anywhere in our territory.
You're cleared to land in the spaceport, if you wish, follow Beacon A-3. Frequency transmitting after this message. Appropriate pathing will be provided.
Be aware that Solar troops may not be as courteous as our government is. A measure of asylum will be granted, however, as long as you keep your heads down.
Von Braun MilCom over.[/i]


______________________________

Elsewhere, the to date [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=112762&view=findpost&p=3030001"]greatest collision[/url] of man-made objects had been watched by both Lunar and Solar forces, as the debris of a kilometer-long space vessel and its target, a similarly-sized space station drifted in Earth's orbit, most of its orbit luckily stable due to both speed and distance from the planet and its atmosphere. However, Duparc dispatched two Oppenheimer vessels to the wreckage, together with dozens of the infamous 'vacuum' ships whose duty would be to take the largest wreckage apart so they could move it easily to be recycled. Not to mention that there always was the possibility of reverse-engineering surviving technology.
Unfortunately for the Republic, they couldn't spare the ships to wrest it from Duparc's forces; and for that matter, they couldn't bring the force to try and gather the wreckage of the single battle in the war either, bringing them into a slightly more disadvantegous position than previously.


______________________________

[quote name='Centurius' timestamp='1347624774' post='3030028']
The Galactica was the first to pinpoint the destination of the Imperials, while fully expected, it was clear they approached the Lunar Republic’s assets on the moon. With this the next phase could begin, the Galactica approached the moon at a safe distance to avoid concern while a message was broadcasted to the Lunar authorities requesting the detention and extradition of the crew on the craft. An Apollo class shuttle with a full Space Marine squadron was prepared to take custody if approved.[/quote]

[i]Athenian spaceship, this is Von Braun MilCom.
Be advised that you are in a zone of active military conflict and that your vessel may come under fire from Solar forces if they believe you to be aiding us. Thus, we will for the time being not make any sort of extradition attempt, neither will we be able to allow your troops to land.
Please remove yourselves from the Moon's vicinity for the time being, until we can guarantee your safety, ours and that of those you're looking for. Whether or not you move, we will not respond to further inquiries until we have taken at least Pierné-Duparc out.
Thank you for your attention. Von Braun MilCom over and out.[/i]


Moments later, a message came from a different direction.
[i]Athenian vessel,
you are in territory adjacent to a region claimed by our illustrous Prince Damien Pierné-Duparc. We have noted that you have opened communications with Lunar forces. Please state your intentions or remove yourself from this territory. The Lunars are devious snakes who are likely to stab you in the back. As such we cannot guarantee your safety. Only when the Lunar scum is wiped out and their leaders removed from power will you be able to peacefully travel further than this.
With greetings from His Majesty, over and out.[/i]

[Mara Lithaen]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1347679859' post='3030356']
[i]Eagle One, come in, repeat, come in. This is Von Braun MilCom.
Be advised that you are in a hot combat zone. Rebel forces are making headway towards this installation and we cannot guarantee your safety. Then again, we can't do that anywhere in our territory.
You're cleared to land in the spaceport, if you wish, follow Beacon A-3. Frequency transmitting after this message. Appropriate pathing will be provided.
Be aware that Solar troops may not be as courteous as our government is. A measure of asylum will be granted, however, as long as you keep your heads down.
Von Braun MilCom over.[/i]
[/quote]

[i]Eagle One copies. We are making way. As a notification, we have a number the members of the Royal Guard with us - approximately one squad. If we need to turn our weapons in at the gate, we are willing to comply. However, given the hot combat nature of the zone, we would prefer not to.

Major Anatov, over.[/i]

[Lynneth]

[quote name='Mara Lithaen' timestamp='1347680158' post='3030358']
[i]Eagle One copies. We are making way. As a notification, we have a number the members of the Royal Guard with us - approximately one squad. If we need to turn our weapons in at the gate, we are willing to comply. However, given the hot combat nature of the zone, we would prefer not to.

Major Anatov, over.[/i]
[/quote]

[i]Eagle One,
While Von Braun itself is relatively safe, we understand your concerns, and a waiver has been given for your Royal Guard.
Solar patrols are getting cockier by the week, and - oh, crap. Solar vessel incoming.[/i]


In that moment, contact cut off as two vessels under Solar command more or less 'appeared' over the Moon's horizon, coming in as stealthily as they could from a blind spot in Lunar defenses. For scant moments, a meter to detect magnetic fields might register a spike as one of the two ships fired a light railgun towards the small capsule, barely aimed.
If the Imperials continued in their course, the tungsten slug would graze the capsule, with high likelihood sending it on a crash course towards the lunar surface, the sheer kinetic power of the slug possibly capable of ripping the hull open and killing those without a suit on.

While this happened, mobile missile batteries on the surface brought part of their payload to bear towards the Solar vessels, which had fired some of their missiles, already peeling off the surface with full thrust to try and burn the incoming missiles in 500 kilometers of plasmic exhaust. This tactic had not previously been attempted, and its use would become obvious soon enough.
All the while the Imperial capsule and its crew was possibly moving towards a date with death.

[Mara Lithaen]

"[i]DRADIS contact! !@#$, INCOMING![/i]" shouted the DRADIS officer in the back of the shuttle-shaped spacecraft. "Single incoming projectile, EVADE EVADE EVADE!"

The pilot slammed the lids down over the royal entourage's ejection ports, sealing them in the drop-rated individual capsules built into it, even as he struggled to put enough thrust out to force a miss without throwing the whole ship into the hot combat zone, lighting off his emergency boosters underneath. But the trajectory line wasn't moving fast enough, and the railgun round was intercepting too quickly. He oriented the bottom of the ship with the Lunar surface, and slammed the big red button.

Jade was aware briefly of the abrupt stop of the 7 Gs of acceleration, then blackness as they dropped through the tubes, breathing a sigh of relief when the brightness of the Moon's surface washed over her.

Then the shell hit, and the boosting craft exploded in a shower of pyrotechnics, flinging shrapnel off in all directions.

Major Anatov had the good fortune to be wearing his armor, which sealed around the shard of titanium alloy which shore through his leg, preventing his blood from venting to space. The good Chaplain-Corporal had the good luck to be hidden behind Sergeant Tremaine's pod, shielding her and her Widowmaker from the shivs and axeheads of alloy which tore the Sergeant apart. Of the eight Guardsmen, only three survived the destruction of the [i]Eagle[/i]... and it would have been two if Lady General Whitelighter hadn't been shielding Kayleigh's pod with her own, and by extension the Empress's personal guardsman, Lieutenant LaFollet. Jade pounded her screen as she watched her mother's pod shatter, her mother a splatter of bloody mist floating from the effectively unarmored lid.

A shard of steel slammed into Jade's pod, embedding itself in the pod's armored back - by way of her suited stomach.

In space, no one can hear you scream - unless you're in radio range on an open channel. Major Anatov eventually had to shut his commlink to the Princess off, gritting back tears as he struggled to keep his hands steady enough on the haptics to keep formation with the other three surviving pods, guiding them all in on the provided beacon, all thrusters firing in unison under his control to bring them to a safe landing speed. All the while, the eight-year-old Empress wailed to the heavens that watched her coldly through the lid of her pod, miniature gaunted fists straining against the four gees of decel the Major had working on them all.

Jade's pod passed them at full speed, its occupant either unaware of her situation or in no position to change it, hurtling towards the surface of the moon at orbital velocity. The pod, maybe, could withstand the impact - the occupant could not.

[Centurius]

As the communication from the Lunars came in Jeanne had to think a while on what to respond.

"Battle stations" She ordered, almost instantly the entire ship would prepare for combat; the railguns on standby, the missiles armed and CIWS and DEW on a highly sensitive mode to engage everything that came too close to the Galactica for comfort.

"Communications, send the following message on the same frequency. Von Braun MilCom, this is Colonel Jeanne Dubois in command of the HSS Galactica. I appreciate your concern and will honor your indication it may take longer to arrange extradition. The Galactica is able to defend itself against pretty much any threat as your systems must surely show by now. We will maintain a defensive posture while waiting in the area, do not worry about our safety."

When a little bit later the Solar message came in the Athenians were even less sure on how to respond, eventually deciding honesty would be best another channel was opened but this time to the Solars.

"This is Colonel Jeanne Dubois in command of the HSS Galactica, we have contacted the Lunars for the extradition of wanted criminals to Athenian authorities. We have no intentions of involving ourselves in your conflict and will only maintain a defensive posture at this position."

It wouldn't take long after sending the message for a combat alert popped up, the Galactica had kept a close eye on the Imperials, when the railgun shells hit there was some surprise. "Damned" she mumbled hitting the table computer with her fist. The Galactica kept tracking the Imperials and most importantly kept watching the rapidly decreasing number of confirmed living humans.

[Lynneth]

[b][Von Braun MilCom][/b]

"Crap, crap, crap! Get recovery teams out asap, no time to lose! Medics to Dock A-3, expect dead and heavily wounded! C'mon, people, move it!"
The entire center was frantic, partially because of the capsule having been hit, though mostly by the two Solar ships having appeared out of practically nowhere - and some of the higher-ups soon being informed that it was the fault of a blind spot that had originally been covered by an installation now under Solar control. Plans to retake the installation were scheduled to be made, but put on the back-burner as shuttles began pouring out of Von Braun, even as defenses annihilated the few missiles fired by the hostile vessels.


[b][Space][/b]

As this was happening closer to the surface, the two solar vessels had practically turned around again, moving in an angle that would hopefully bring at least a majority of the Lunar-fired missiles into their exhaust plume. It was a risky maneuver, and one or both of the ships might be damaged or even destroyed in the process, though it was a big gamble that Duparc's men were hoping would turn out to be at least useful to know.
The seconds moved as if they were decades on the ships, PD weaponry on alert and firing upon missiles that were moving too far away from the plume. Then, the first projectiles entered the exhausts and at first, little happened. Another few seconds passed before the first missile lost a miniscule part of its heat shielding at the front, then more and more until it detonated all of a sudden, soon followed by others. Though not all shared the same fate, the Solar vessels would retreat basically unharmed, their acceleration having given them enough time to pick off everything homing after them.
The Lunar defenses could only watch the perpetrators retreat gleefully.

Solar missiles hadn't done much damage on Von Braun either, either intercepted or hitting unimportant parts of the massive installation.
Meanwhile, shuttles were moving all over the place to recover pods that had separated from the capsule while another was already moving besides the imperial shuttle, ready to intercept if the speed was too high for a proper landing. Bodies, alive and dead, would have to be collected and processed, the Imperials questioned about the dead, and so on. The bureaucracy got expanded massively from this incident, as originally only asylum papers would have to be filled out and signed.
Now, not so little paperwork was required.

[Mara Lithaen]

Major Anatov grunted heavily as his pod impacted the Lunar regolith at fifteen kilometers per hour, the pre-designed crumple zones doing just that to reduce the felt impact force into something Anatov could tolerate, even with the metal alloy shard in his leg. He pushed the pod's lid open, stumbling out onto the Moon's surface, the Empress struggling out of her pod some fifteen meters away, Lieutenant LaFollet a half-dozen meters beyond her. Chaplain-Corporal Stennan smacked her lid open, Widowmaker sliding onto her BASALT's rifle carrier as she stepped out onto the Lunar surface, faceplate polarizing against the glare of the moon's reflection.

"Well, on a scale of one to we're frakked, I'd say... we're frakked." she muttered over the comm channel, looking up at the still-molten wreckage of the ship that had brought them so close, and yet so far.

"It's a bloody damned shame about the pilot. He was blasted good..." she said, looking over to the area where Jade's pod had impacted with slightly more force than their own. "I'm going to go see if the Princess is still alive over there, Major." she said, bouncing away.

Major Anatov made his way to Lieutenant LaFollet's pod, and pulled it open. Andrew LaFollet was unconscious within, but a quick flip of the epinephrine switch on his medical panel put just enough of the accelerant into his system to wake him up, extremely groggy. "Wake up, Lieutenant... no sleeping on the job." the Major said, gripping Andrew's forearm and pulling him free of the pod. "You've got a Royal to protect." the Major said, turning and walking over to the extremely-young Empress' pod, pulling the lid open. In his opinion, she was safer inside until the Lunars arrived, but with the Athenians hot on their trails it was, perhaps, a better idea to start moving rather than waste time in any one spot.

She shook and cried softly, barely able to stand upright, collapsing into her personal guardsman's arms in a suited, armored bundle of hurt. "Wha-ho-where's Momma Jane?" she asked, quiveringly. "I wan' my momma..." she said through gapped teeth, front pair missing.

The Major looked at her, brows furrowing, face falling. "Momma Jane is... she's flying to go get the bad guys, little one. She'll be back when she's done with them." he said, wishing it were true, this lie he told to this child, all the while [i]we've failed[/i] chorused in his head. [i]Not quite. There's one yet.[/i]

"My sisser?" she asked, huge blue eyes wide behind her faceplate.

"I-" he said, and was saved - sort of - by a sprinting Chaplain-Corporal. Well, as much as one could sprint on the moon.

"She's alive, but barely. If we can't get her to a good hospital fast, she's gone." she commed, promptly turning about and returning to her other monarch.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Mara Lithaen

[Lynneth]

[b][Lunar Soil][/b]

As luck would have it, the pods and capsule itself impacted well within Lunar territory, enabling medicinal teams to arrive within less than 5 minutes of impact, having followed the pods and capsule in their descent. With few words they brought the survivors into an [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/APC4.jpg"]MPEV[/url], the most heavily wounded - as such the Princess and anyone else in mortal danger - being treated by specialised field doctors during transit, leaving the wreckage and confirmed dead for other [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/alex_d_01.jpg"]recovery vehicles[/url] to pick up. Transit to Von Braun would predictably be relatively eventless save for the medics working on the wounded, performing full surgery in the moving, shaking vehicle, confined to a room of less than 20 square meters; 50 being the standard minimum size in Lunar hospitals (215 and 540 sq ft, respectively).

This didn't mean they were doing shoddy work, however: these men were trained for procedures like this, not to mention that the advanced robots used for the actual work on the patient were partially steered by a VI, capable of compensating for the moving cabin and keeping things from getting too messy. Regardless of that, the procedure on the young woman was a difficult one, considering that her spine was partially severed thanks to a piece of reinforced steel buried in her stomach, having come in from the front. She was bleeding heavily and they did their best to stop that, as well as deliver NaCl solution to keep her alive a little longer, hopefully enough for them to finish the operation, though soon, they'd need to get donor blood flowing.

The other survivors, those not injured that it would be life-threatening within the next hour would be sitting in a side-room of the APC, accompanied by two nurses caring for less dangerous wounds, as well as a Lunar soldier clad in the relatively intimidating [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/Lynneth_del_Serpentas/AE/CNRP/Corp/helldiver_by_sttheo-d4gfyqi.jpg"]STACOS Mk.3[/url] armour, keeping watch over the men and women and standing by the door.
Suddenly, a nurse burst into the room, seeming frantic.
"Who in this room has the same blood type as the lady we're working on? Get up and come with me, pronto! And tell me her blood type." Whoever reacted to this by standing up, she would drag with her - unless it was only the young lady sharing her blood with the woman in the operating room. Then the nurse would take her and the apparently highest-ranked guard with her, whispering with the soldier to find out what was needed and at the same time attempting to calm the girl down, that everything was fine at the moment.
They needed blood, and they needed it as quickly as possible, meaning that an IV would be hooked up to the person with the right blood type, directly pumped by use of the autodoc into a purifying system that gently filtered the blood as well as possible to make it useful for the operation, then moving it only moments later into the patient's body to allow them to survive. As this was going on, another nurse, by then informed of the required type, would bring two bags of already prepared blood from the cooler, as to relieve the current 'live-donor'.

The next moments would decide whether this woman would live or die. Most especially if none of her co-survivors had the appropriate blood type, then having to rely on blood that had been donated previously by Lunar citizens to the system - a scarce resource even before these times of conflict when accidents were rare and blood could be literally grown over the course of a few days from a person's stemcells.

[Mara Lithaen]

Lieutenant LaFollet stood. "The Princess is A positive; both the Empress and I are A pos. I'll donate." he said, shucking off his hardshell with a speed born of years of training,rolling his bodysuit sleeve up as he hurried into the room with the nurse, being hooked up. "Standard procedure is for at least two of the guard to have the bloodtype of the royal we are protecting." he explained to no one in particular as they hooked him up to the IV and began pumping.

"Wha's Andy doing?" Kayleigh whispered to Anatov as he was hurried off.

"He's saving your sister's life."

[Lynneth]

[b][MPEV][/b]

The nurse moved LaFollet hand onto the needle (which was covered by bandages and some tape), whispering to the man that he should keep it there for as long as he felt he could. Jade's life was in a precarious balance, and even as blood was brought into her system through the packs and the Lieutnant, she was losing much through her injuries, despite the frantic cauterisation and closing efforts of the surgeons. And even as they were working, the soldier could hear them with near-robotic voices...

"Closing off common iliac artery left, then iliac vein left. Last major leaks."
"Proceed to cauterise local bleeding, then close off intestines provisionally."
"She'll need a new one. Put on schedule."
"Get a whole new pelvis scheduled. Need to purify internals, contamination through intestines likely."
"Proceeding."
______
"Difficulties with purification. Blood supply concerning."
"Nurse, administer further blood. Donor still in good shape?"
Upon this question, a nurse made sure that LaFollet was still fine; they couldn't risk killing the man, he could be needed for further surgeries if blood was continually scarce.
"Blood flowing. Disinfecting, then closing further wounds. Patient status?"
"Perilous, but less so than minutes ago. Still in danger of death."
"Further disinfection and purification of internals required."

And so on, and so on, for indeed the entire journey. By the end of it, LaFollet would have lost very nearly two pints of blood, or approximately 950 ml, bringing him into a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_loss"]Class II Hemorrhage[/url], heart likely to beat faster, some paleness appearing. Unfortunate, but a sacrifice needed for Jade to live - for the time being, at least.
Even when the transport arrived at Von Braun, her condition was critical, though by then she would be delivered into a properly equipped hospital, the rest of the survivors then brought to a temporary shelter until something better was found.
Few talked with them. The air in Von Braun was tense, enough that it might be cut with a knife, the people were suspicious towards newcomers, regardless of how and why they had come here. Spies were all too abundant even with security tightened so much as to barely let the city breathe. Pessimism and the distinctive thought that the war might be lost mixed themselves into the general mood.
Certainly not the best time to come visit the capital of the Lunar Republic.

[Lynneth]

[b][Von Braun][/b]

Upon reaching Von Braun, jade was rushed out of the vehicle and to the enxt hospital, the other survivors left behind for the time being. Jade would be kept in an artificial coma to keep her stable until the operation was finished.
In the MPEV, LaFollet would be thanked and brought back to the others. Eventually, an officer came for them.

"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Lunar Republic. I'll need your names, occupation, citizenship, rank if applicable, age, eye- and haircolour, race, gender - born and current - as well as your relationship with each other and, if applicable, whether you have a spouse, life-partner, etcetera." He handed out some writing pads, using relatively simple LCD displays. Cheap, reliable.
"If any of you gets caught not telling the truth, it's prison-time. Three years minimum." He handed LaFollet another datapad. "Please supply the same information for the lady they carried into the hospital. Thank you for your cooperation." He smiles, then went to stand in the single doorway of the room, preventing the Imperials from leaving for the time being.

[Lynneth]

[b][Space][/b]

As Athens' Galactica sat in dangerous space, the Imperial family was being questioned and other nations annihilated whatever opposition they found in the Northern Imperium, Pierné-Duparc had brought the last gears of his grand plan into position, now setting everything in motion. A formerly disabled shipyard was finally brought active, its vessels having been crewed over the last days and weeks, trained properly within instead of on the simulators within the yards themselves. Within what was on a grand scale mere moments, the Solar fleet had been doubled in size while the Lunar fleet still was a mere twelve after the loss of three ships. A slight advantage had turned into a massive one as the Solar vessels now begun to actively communicate with each other while Lunar patrols were, not having received further instruction from Von Braun, still trying to keep radio silence up as much as they could.

Damien was watching a patrol of ten vessels fly by the station he currently was residing within, smiling at the sight. Yes, everythign he and his allies had been working for would be realised in due time. With this sort of firepower, the Republic could do nothing but watch as shipyards were taken, colonies conquered and their holdings reduced one by one. Von Braun had formidable defenses, but even it couldn't stand up to the concentrated might of the forces Duparc would be capable of bringing to bear against them. Mere weeks, he guessed, and the majority of formerly Lunar territories would be under the Solar flag.

He'd need to prepare for the occasion when the siblings were finally toppled and a new government put in place. And prepare he did, like so many other things in his life.

[Mara Lithaen]

[quote name='Lynneth' timestamp='1348106799' post='3032048']
[b][Von Braun][/b]

Upon reaching Von Braun, jade was rushed out of the vehicle and to the enxt hospital, the other survivors left behind for the time being. Jade would be kept in an artificial coma to keep her stable until the operation was finished.
In the MPEV, LaFollet would be thanked and brought back to the others. Eventually, an officer came for them.

"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Lunar Republic. I'll need your names, occupation, citizenship, rank if applicable, age, eye- and haircolour, race, gender - born and current - as well as your relationship with each other and, if applicable, whether you have a spouse, life-partner, etcetera." He handed out some writing pads, using relatively simple LCD displays. Cheap, reliable.
"If any of you gets caught not telling the truth, it's prison-time. Three years minimum." He handed LaFollet another datapad. "Please supply the same information for the lady they carried into the hospital. Thank you for your cooperation." He smiles, then went to stand in the single doorway of the room, preventing the Imperials from leaving for the time being.
[/quote]

[quote]Name: Fyodor Anatov
Occupation: Imperial Marine, Northern Imperium
Citizenship: Northern Imperium
Rank: Major
Age: 38
Eyecolor: Gray
Race: Caucasian
Haircolor: Brown
Gender: Male
Spouse: Katalina Asimovna
2 children[/quote]

[quote]name - Kayleigh Lithaen
occupation - ?
citizenship - northern imperium
age - 8
eye color - grey/blue
hair color - red
race - white
gender - girl

jade is my adoption-sister. how is she?[/quote]

[quote]Name - Andrew LaFollet
Occupation - Imperial Marine; personal guardsman of the Empress Kayleigh.
Rank - Lieutenant
Age - 24
Eye Color - Hazel
Hair Color - Brown
Race - Cajun Caucasian
Gender - Male[/quote]

[quote]Name ~ Esmeralda Stennan
Occupation ~ Imperial Marine; personal guardsman and Guard-Chaplain of the Empress Kayleigh.
Rank ~ Chaplain-Corporal
Age ~ 19
Eyecolor ~ Bronze
Haircolor ~ Red/Black
Race ~ Caucasian
Gender ~ Female[/quote]

[quote]Name: Jade I Whitelighter
Occupation: Princess-Ascendant of the Northern Imperium
Citizenship: Northern Imperium
Age: 20
Eyecolor: Blue
Race: Caucasian
Haircolor: Red
Gender: Female

Sister to the Empress via the Empress' adoption into the Whitelighter family for her care and rearing.[/quote]

With those forms filled out, LaFollet handed the pads to the man guarding the door.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Mara Lithaen