The Chiron Chronicle 7: 2183

[Natan]

From: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Prime Function Aki-Zeta 5

You are a rational being, Aki Zeta. In many ways, you have a greater capacity for rationality than I. Therefore, look, and ask yourself, why do we really have such strong feelings on the use of Nerve gas? Does it really serve any humane purpose, or is it a senseless taboo from previous times? Almost three hundred years ago, at the Hague convention, Alfred Mayhan explained his opposition to a ban on poison gas thus:

[quote]
It was illogical, and not demonstrably humane, to be tender about asphyxiating men with gas when all were prepared to admit that it was allowable to blow the bottom out of an ironclad at midnight, throwing four of five hundred men into the sea, to be choked by the water, with scarcley the remotest chance to escape.
[quote]

I ask you, what is the real cause of your opposition to nerve gas? All are prepared to admit that the use of mindworms to inspire the greatest terrors imaginable in the hearts of men, and to destroy and then devour their very brains, is perfectly acceptable. We agree that burning men alive with napalm is a legal action in war, as is drowning the crew of a ship in the sea. Yet we maintain a purposeless taboo against Nerve gas. The Peacekeepers' slavish upholding of this taboo caused them great suffering when they failed to make use of this useful weapon against the hated Spartan Junta. Therefore, again I ask you, what is it about Nerve gas which makes it so terrible?

[DarkCloud]

OOC: Xanderson wins!
I will make a large post of that sort in around 2 weeks.
Good luck in that time!

If someone needs to run the University- please keep this in mind

1.) Don't kill off Daniel Jakhobs-Howell (if you want him to escape and cause problems, fine)

2.) Don't kill Zakharov or imprison him

3.) Xanderson will rule regularly (will not tell everyone the secret of the underground chambers, but suspends work on them.)

4.) Fitzben begins a new underground movement

-Thanks and good luck with the story!

[Clear Skies]

OOC: I had a massive post written up here when I got a new Private Message - Open In New Window really should mean Open In New Window, not Overwrite Post Which Took 30 Minutes To Type With PM Window....

BIC: I will now retype my message and if it gets overwritten I will take a sledgehammer to my modem...
Private Message: Maximum Encryption

From: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5
To: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang

Dear Chairman,
Very well. I shall explain my 'abhorrence' for nerve gas.
It is not an emotional hatred, more a logical deduction. The Peacekeepers enforce their precious UN Charter with every joule of energy in their bodies, but unfortunately that is their prerogative. Were any faction to utilise chemical weapons, the Peacekeepers would immediately impose economic sanctions at the least upon that faction. Then the comm channels would open. and the Peacekeepers would demand that every other faction enforce the same course of action.

At this point every faction would have to take a side - there is no neutrality when the Peacekeepers have worked themselves up into a righteous fury over contravention of their Charter. Any refusal to participate in the 'punishment' of the 'rogue' faction could lead to recriminations and the possible breakup of the Chiron Alliance, one thing that the Cybernetic Consciousness strive to avoid at all costs. Such a breakup would shatter peace into a thousand deadly fragments of suspicion, recrimination and antagonism, destroying any hope of rational thought.

So there you have it, Chairman. I personally have no greater objection to nerve gas pods than I have for particle impactors, but pragmatism leads me to denounce their use publicly.

On a lighter note, I must congratulate your ambassadors on their wealth of knowledge. Already they have enriched my own knowledge with descriptions of Hive culture and society. I hope my own envoys are being similarly useful.

In friendship,
Aki Zeta-5


Private Message: Enhanced Encryption
From: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5
To: Academician Celeste Delilah Anderson-Xanderson

Academician,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent landslide election to the position of Provost of the University of Planet. I hope your wisdom and charisma will bring much-needed stability, peace and prosperity to the University.

In the interests of furthering trade and commerce between our two factions, I would like to propose an upgrading of our diplomatic status from the current ceasefire to a Treaty of Friendship. I would also like to ask your permission to dispatch a diplomatic team to set up an embassy in University Base. If you are agreeable to such a proposition, the team will be headed by Elaine Alpha-Four (formerly Academician Candidate Elaine Stuart-Lewinson) and one of my top-ranking diplomatic aides, Rayini Eta-Seven. The team will help to coordinate all diplomatic efforts between our two factions and promote the growth of trade.

Again, my friend, my congratulations on your election.
Aki Zeta-5

[Guardian]

Sunny Ridge Farm, south of Data Acquisition

Alicia couldn't sleep. She just couldn't get herself to settle down properly these days. Restless thoughts kept running through her head, and she just couldn't shake this uneasy feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. To the point where lives were at stake. And yet nobody seemed to be really trying to fix it. It was almost as if nobody believed that it could be fixed! She sighed. Geez, what was the world coming to? She had been troubled by thoughts like these ever since that night they had left Data Acquisition. -Only to find that the Peacekeepers and their allies had been about to attack with everything they had. Even now, she could still feel the hairs in her neck rise as she recalled how the advancing PK forces had suddenly come charging out of the darkness right in front of her and all around her... Something had happened that night which nobody wanted to talk about. She just kind of knew...

And the people they had met afterwards had been so... tense!
And even now, many months later... all around her, there was this... oppressive... almost fanatical mistrust and animosity towards anything Spartan. In a way, she could understand it. She had felt more or less the same way herself once. But during her last few days in Data Acquisition, events had forced her to open her eyes and look around, and... she had seen what she must have known all along, but almost lost sight of for some time. Spartans were people too, and they weren't all like General Weiss or... what was his name? Wanton... sergeant Wanton... She shuddered and tried to shove him out of her mind, but he wouldn't quite let go of her. He never would. She knew...
He was there, but he was not the only one. And she had realized that she'd been doing a great injustice in judging them all by what he had done... There were good people among the Spartans too. Far too many people seemed to have lost sight of that... and it frightened her...

And now the new Spartan leaders had handed over Weiss to stand trial before a U.N. Court of Justice... -and some blonde PK corporal had thanked them by standing up before them all - live on the U.N. News Network - and declaring that Sparta was nothing but a bunch of murdering scumbags! What could she possibly hope to achieve by saying something like that??

Alicia wondered how people like Commander Gunther were taking it...
Or... Captain Thane... Dan... the one Mary had fallen in love with...
Mary was still very much in love. Mary was still depressed. Probably even more so after the recent news broadcast if she had seen or heard it. Alicia hadn't seen Mary in days. She rolled over and lay staring at the ceiling for a while... There had to be something they could do... Yes... there had to be...

Eventually, she settled down and waited for the morning...
When it came, it would be time to go see Mary...


Blast Rifle Crag

It all started about an hour before dawn.
The task force was spread out to cover the entire sea side of the base and racing towards the shore at full speed. The troops had already been up for well over an hour. They were ready.

On the bridge of the Defender, Commander Evans was quietly wondering how the people on the shore would take this. He knew what his forces were about to do was pretty far from what most would expect. This was a special forces operation. They were going to show everybody just how fast and efficiently they could get up on the shore and into position. They were going to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that they knew exactly what they were doing and that they wouldn't be pushed around. These people were former Spartan citizens after all. A realistic show of skill, precision and efficiency seemed like a good way to be introduced and would hopefully earn their respect. More so than an official ceremony and a parade, although they might still do that later if Pontas wanted it...

From the shore, the ships became visible on the horizon just as the primary sun began to rise and Commander Evans started broadcasting his manifesto, explaining the purpose of U.N. peacekeeping missions and the rules governing their conduct, etc., etc., etc. Though it might sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo in many people's ears, there was no question in anybody's mind that it was all very serious business to the Peacekeepers and that they had every intention of going through with it. They really believed in what they were doing and they would do what they said and say what they did without sneaking around behind anybody's back. There were no dirty schemes here and no hidden agendas. And no matter what you might think about the Peacekeepers, you simply had to give them credit for that. As they approached the shore, the ships started slowing down and... suddenly, an armada of small and fast landing craft were skittering all over the place.

As they approached the shore, their mission statement ended and was immediately followed by a polite request for permission to enter the base on the terms that had just been stated.

The landing craft did not pause to wait for an answer.
They would reach the shore in another couple of minutes...

[Sprayber]

Ruby Ridge Memorial {Data Acq.}

Commander Gunther walked into the command room and as usual his staff was busy with the day to day operation of the Spartan army. The days following the banishment of Weiss had been more difficult then he had expected. The Peacekeepers had put on a show afterwards and had no doubt aired in on all of their news channels. He shook his head at what he saw as unprofessional behavior. He would have never allowed that in his command. It was just too destabilizing and right now that is not what is needed. The blonde haired woman that had caused a lot of trouble recently had been the one taunting the Spartans. It had taken extreme measures to keep the troops from reacting to the verbal taunts. Gunther knew that if their were many more of these incidents then it would even more difficult to control his men. As he was staring at the screen showing the areas of the base Captain Thane walked in and cleared his throat. "Ah, Thane. How is everything along the perimeter wall?" "It's quite sir. For now everyone is behaving themselves." "Well, that's something I suppose. From now on I only want certain units on the wall. If they have to, have them move their quarters closer to the wall. These are the ones I want to be permanently assigned." Gunther handed over a data pad. "I see that you are letting Gain's squad stay up there." "Yeah, I know that he has been involved in some things. But he has only acted to preserve order and discipline. And that is what we need the most of. These troops are meant for mobile combat. Not this damned garrison duty. When we leave here I plan on taking them directly to the proving grounds to make sure this whole experience doesn't permanently destroy their morale. Is there anything else to report?" "No sir. But I do have a personal inquiry to make." Gunther already suspected what Thane was going to ask and saved him the embarrassment of having to ask him in the open and help up his finger. "I will contact the PK commander today about the shows being put on outside and while I am at it, I will ask how the civilians that were evacuated are doing." Thane relaxed ever so slightly and simply bowed his head in acknowledgment of Gunther's gesture. "I will go and inform the units of their new assignments now sir." Thane saluted, turned on his heel and walked out the door. Gunther sat back in his chair and sighed. There was no greater burden for a Spartan soldier than to be in love. Because the conflicts that arose from such a thing were enough to tear even the most disciplined man or woman apart. For Thane at least the burden appeared to be worth it. Gunther did not envy the man for the upcoming decisions that he and his lover would have to make. After a second thought however, Gunther decided that he may indeed envy the man after all. He cleared his mind and began thinking about the other news that he had received. He had just received word from Sparta Command that Marshal Kessel would be coming here after a scheduled stop in PK territory. The men would of course only be told that Kessel was coming here. Kessel had been adamant that only command personal should know about the PK stopover. Gunther knew of course that Ruby Ridge was the stopover and the real purpose of the trip was to meet with the PK leader. But he would have everything ready just the same. Appearance was very important even to Spartans.

To: Commander Grafton
From: Commander Gunther

The tensions between our two sides are running too high between our two sides. Now I know that some of this has been caused by soldiers on my side and rest assured that they have been punished accordingly. All that I ask is that you refrain from putting on your shows. This will go along way in assuring a more stable environment. Most of the attention seems to be centered on a certain young blonde female corporal. Now I have no clue as to the background of this young soldier, but she seems to be popular among your men. I can't say that she is loved over on my side except for a maybe a few. Just don't allow one person to destroy what is being done. On another note. If it is possible, I would like to know of the condition of the civilians that were evacuated from here a few months ago. With special attention paid to Mary Masterson. Her well being is of prime importance to one of my men. If you can reach her It would be good if she knew that all was well. Thank you for your time Commander.

Blast Rifle Crag

In the base control room, the senior tech officer stared at the screen as the multiple targets appeared on the radar. He reached over to the comm unit and punched in the code to Governor Pontas' office. He informed the aide that the PK troops had arrived, he then began issuing the preplanned orders. First the garrison was informed so that there would be no accidental shots fired. Local Militia personal that had been on alert began to cordon off the PK barrack areas. Crowds of people gathered along the docks and the adjacent beach to watch as for the PK soldiers. For the most part they did not cheer or indicate emotion one way or the other. A small contingent of people that were of PK background held signs that said welcome to Blast Rifle Crag but they were kept separate from the rest who simply stood and watched. A large area of beach had been cleared the previous day to accommodate whatever craft the PK's brought with them. Ample room at the docks were also reserved. Out in the harbor a single craft was stationed and began transmitting a layout of the base and the locations of the facilities made available to the incoming troops.

From: Governor Pontas
To: Commander of PK Forces

A ship in the harbor is transmitting the coordinates of the facilities that have been made available to you and your men. If there is anything else that is required, you need simply to ask. The population of the base is aware of your presence and posses no threat. When your force has settled in you may make whatever arrangements for the recreation of your men. Blast Rifle Crag is an open city. I look forward to meeting you and your staff soon.

[Clear Skies]

At exactly 7:43 the next day, word went out over the commlink. The Gaians' greatest fear had come to pass. The Cult of Planet had refused to abandon their Prophet, and consequently Miriam had declared Vendetta upon them.

Lady Deirdre was quick to make her position clear. Miriam had called her to sound out her support for such a war, and Deirdre had responded thus:

"Sister Miriam Godwinson, whilst I respect your right to hold religious views, I cannot concur with this crusade to force them on others. Fighting will only distress Planet and further alienate your faction from the Planetmind. I agree that the claims of Cha Dawn seem far-fetched, possibly even verging on the ludicrous, but I cannot agree with your war against him. I can provide you with no military aid, and should you attempt to take any of my supply convoys by force, you will be met with a response in kind."
The Lady pressed her hands together upon her chest, the universally recognised sign for peaceful noninvolvement.
"Please, Sister Miriam, see that this war is counterproductive. It will turn the other factions against you and disturb the peace that we all want for Planet. I will not aid you in this war, and cannot condone it."

Miriam was obviously taken aback by such vehement denial of any aid, and began to speak, but Deirdre forestalled her.

"I have the backing of the Chiron Alliance, Sister Miriam. Please do not try to pit your strength against us as well, for I am sure my allies will not be as open-minded as I have been. Deirdre out."

Not long after, Cha Dawn of the Cult of Planet made a call to the Gaian leader. She responded in much the same way, waving aside his pledges of friendship and allegiance to maintain her studied neutrality. That surprised him, and he made the mistake of trying to play on their joint affection for Planet.

She quickly countered that, producing reports of widespread ecological damage and extensive pollution across Cult lands. When Dawn replied that such terraforming was 'necessary' for his jihad to wipe clean the face of Planet, she responded,

"Prophet Dawn, Planet does not need her face 'wiping', as you put it. She would be better suited by having us make sure that we do not dirty her pristine countenance in the first place.
While I do not support Sister Miriam Godwinson, neither can I enter into such an unbalanced alliance with you. Do not expect the backing of my troops - they will staying here to repulse any uninvited incursions into my territory."
Before he could protest his innocence, she broke the link...

[Guardian]

Outside Data Acquisition

Commander Grafton studied the message from Commander Gunther and nodded slowly. All right. The Spartan did have a point. It was time to calm things down a little. Nobody wanted any "accidents" to happen. Time to have a little chat with that certain young blonde female corporal...

She was off duty at the moment, but as usual she wasn't far away from her post.
It only took a few minutes to find her...

"Did you know the Spartans changed their government again?" She paused and looked around. She wasn't on the stage now and she wasn't using a loudspeaker, but she wasn't being quiet either. Around her were about 50 other Peacekeepers. None of them spoke. "Well, as of today, their new leader is a General Failure." That got a laugh from her audience. "His deputy is a Major Problem." Another laugh. Then sudden silence as Commander Grafton stepped into the crowd. He knew it was pretty unusual for a commander to personally seek out a corporal, but... well, this corporal WAS pretty unusual... As a matter of fact, he had a hard time keeping himself from wishing he could have spent more time around her... Yes, he did find her attractive, but he could have been her grandfather! Also, Grafton liked to think he was more professional than that. However, her youthful enthusiasm and the energy and vigor with which she approached almost any task assigned to her was plenty of reason to like her, and to justify it from a professional viewpoint. Her lieutenant had been right; she was good for morale.
-Now let's just not push it too far...
She turned to face him as he approached her and he gestured for her to follow him. "Corporal, we need to talk." "Yes sir!" No questions. Not even unspoken ones. She knew she would get the answers she needed when she needed them. For now she just turned and followed him without speaking another word.


From: Commander Grafton
To: Commander Gunther

All right commander. There will be no further taunts of any kind by our side. You have my word on that, and I have personally spoken to the young blonde corporal to which you refer. As for the civillians, I'll check on it and get back to you. Grafton out.



A little later that same morning, a certain young blonde female corporal did make another appearance on the makeshift stage that had been erected. Only, this time, the "show" was a little different...

She entered the stage in full battle gear. Without speaking a word, she started slowly removing pieces of equipment and stripping off armor... until she was only wearing a thin shirt on her torso. Then she bent down slowly and picked up a mike, slipped it inside her shirt and pressed it against her chest. As she turned it on, the loudspeakers gave out the soft, thumping sound of her heartbeat, unmistakeable although barely audible...

For a while she just stood there like that, then she pulled the microphone out of her shirt and spoke in a soft, soothing tone of voice...

"I hope I haven't offended anyone."

Without another word, she switched the mike off and put it away, collected her stuff and left the stage...

[Guardian]

Blast Rifle Crag

Major Igor Ryganov was standing in the very front of his landing craft, watching his forces race for the shore. This was the proudest day in his life. Ryganov had been given command of the two special forces regiments on their mission to Blast Rifle Crag. He felt greatly honored to play such a key role in the first actual peacekeeping mission on Planet.

Suddenly, his commlink piped up with an urgent transmission from the Defender...

"Change of plans! Change of plans! Transmitting new orders now..."

Ryganov turned back to face his command group... Good, they were already fully devoted to the incoming transmission, ready to reassign forces as needed. He waited for the transmission to be completed and punched up the new orders on his screen. Why, this was a pretty major change of plans. Their new orders were to move in and secure the facilities that were being offered up by the local authorities and to remain in those areas until further notice. The original plan had been to spread out across the entire base immediately upon landing. To just suddenly start showing up all over the place. Ryganov momentarily wondered why their orders were being changed. Ah well! They were probably just making sure not to provoke anyone. He nodded. That made sense. At least for now. They could do the "let's pop up in all kinds of crazy places" thing later on. He got to work with the rest of his command group and hurriedly reassigned the forces, then watched as they immediately responded to their new orders. By the time he received their acknowledgements, they were already headed for their new objectives. He smiled. These troops were real pros. People were on the beach watching. He noticed one group standing by themselves holding up signs that said "Welcome to Blast Rifle Crag". In this group, some were waving a cheering. Elsewhere, people were mostly just standing there watching. Then the first wave of troops hit the shore and immediately fanned out to secure the beach head. They were barely in position before a second wave came up and moved through. Then they started leapfrogging forward, one group covering the other at all times. It was a basic field maneuver - a classic. But it was brilliantly executed. The troops moved with an almost incredible speed and aggression, picked the best positions they could find and stayed there for the seconds it took the other group to move through and push forward to a new line of positions from which they would cover the next leg of the advance. "Clear!" "Move!" "Go, go, go!" Repeat cycle. "Clear!" "Move!" "Go, go, go!" They were rapidly gaining ground...


Planetneck

The last of the Cyborg troops were packing up and leaving, heading back to U.N. Enforcement base where they would meet up with the Data Angels for the transport home. The Cyborgs were not nearly as popular around here as their Data Angel friends were. As he watched them go, a PK soldier in a nearby bunker shrugged and muttered under his breath. "Good bye Cyborgs, and good riddance!" Then he turned back to his comrades and spoke a little louder.

"Didn't trust them anyway."


Blast Rifle Crag

Ryganov allowed himself a quick look around. There were troops running all over the place, communicating with body language and hand gestures. On first glance it might look like sheer chaos. But if you kept watching for a little while you'd see the truth. Right now they were simulating an attack on a pretty strong hostile position that was giving them trouble. Within seconds, teams merged into squads and squads merged into platoons, and three platoons moved in smack-bam on top of the (simulated) bad guys from all sides at once. Then they split back up into squads and teams and kept advancing on their respective objectives.

15 minutes later, Ryganov was standing outside what would be his HQ for the duration of their stay. The troops had established a defensive perimeter and were in complete control of this part of the base. His aide came running up and saluted. "All objectives secure, sir!" Ryganov returned the salute and smiled. "Thank you Simon. Dismissed."

The entire operation had taken less than 25 minutes from first landing.

[Guardian]

[OOC: Just so there won't be any more misunderstandings here in regards to PK-Cyborg relations... there is no racial tension here. It's just that many Peacekeepers find it hard to trust the Cyborgs after they became buddies with Yang, that's all. After all, Aki signed that treaty of friendship while Yang was still at war with us, and we have no idea what the two of them are talking about behind our backs...
So, it's nothing personal and nothing racial. We just don't trust them, that's all...]


Sunny Ridge Farm, south of Data Acquisition

"Hey, Carla! We just received a message from the commander of the U.N. forces stationed outside Data Acquisition.
They want to know how we're doing... -and they're asking specificly about Mary Masterson."
"Hmmm..." Carla Dawson paused for a moment, apparently considering how to answer.
"Tell them we're doing f..." her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat and spoke a little softer. "Tell them... we are okay... for the most part." She paused again. "As for Mary..." Yet another pause... "Well, physically, she's okay... otherwise not so good. I mean... she's depressed and lonely. And we can't help her much... it's that kind of loneliness..."


Control point Alpha Echo Five Six, near Data Acquisition

The two sentries were about to be relieved after a quiet morning. Quiet and boring. Echo Five Six was one of the control points that had been set up around Data Acquisition to keep civillian traffic out of what was technically still a war zone. They were mostly just wasting their time here, as there hadn't been any civillian traffic to speak of in this area for many months. Today was no different. -Or... was it?
Just as they were about to chalk up another uneventful watch, they spotted movement in the distance...
On closer inspection, it turned out to be a couple of utility rovers. They appeared to be coming this way...

Further north, a certain young blonde female corporal was nervously pacing back and forth... Something was about to happen... she just kind of knew it. Sensed it. And she sensed that she might get into a lot of trouble... because of this something...

-but what the hell was it?

[[LordLMP]]

NAUTILUS SAILR NEWS


Believers declares war on Cult of Planet...

Now that the war on the Eastern Continent as subsided, they just have to have another on the Western Continent. So far there ain't any conflicts, but the believers forces are preparing to charge across the Unity wreckage towards the Cult.

(OOC: Half of believers forces are still using Impact weaponry, other half Galting Lasers and they don't have an air force yet. They have a decent amount of Rovers, but they have lot more infantry units...especially if it will be a "crusade", Miriam would get a lot of recruits :P also, they would be equipped with Empath and Trance abilities.)

Gaians Forces leaving the Eastern Continent...

With the war declared between the Believers and the Cult, the Gaians our calling back their forces they sent to the Eastern continent at Blast Rifle Crag. They will be use to reinforce the Gaian/Cult borders.

(OOC: SMAC, can have control of Gaians for now...but if a new player wants them, they will have it unless your willing to give up the Cyborgs to keep control of Gaians. for now, you can control both.)


Global Trade Summit at Morgan Industries

Factions have been informed that the Global Trade Summit is scheduled for next month. So all factions better get their representives to Morgan Industries, where they will be welcomely greeted and placed in luxurious hotels. Us Pirates will be sending representives from the our government, Nautilus Naval Yards, Nautilus Merchant Company, Nautilus Aerodynamics, Nautilus Oceanic and various other companies.


*****enhanced encryption*****
To: Branko, Chief of Intelligence
From: LMP at Gamma Heights

Hello Branko, finally completed the mission. I found the hidden university bases without detected and succeeded in infiltrating their datalinks. They don't seem to be military bases, more like hidden research bases focus on research away from the rest of University. It seems University succeeded in sending some people to check on them during the past war and the bases refused to participate in the war and to get involve in the political mess witht the rest of University. They are high in research alright, experimenting advance technologies and theories, like Fusion Power for example. They are ahead of themselves, but they are still bit way off. If these bases ever decides to get involve with the rest of University, the factions tech levels will skyrocket.

When getting back to Gamma Heights with the Probe team assign to me, discovered another thing. It seems the Cyborgs knows about those bases for a few decades now, just haven't done anything about it. The reasons is still unknown, but I back track in history. After we sent some Battle Dragons units that way in the 2140s, the cyborgs sent their own recon unit to find out why the Pirates are interested in that area. The found the bases with better sensor equipment than ours. After that is unknown... The cyborgs have some connection with those hidden univ bases.

Anyway, I am finish and need to get back to Believer territory to take care of somethings, especially when they are going to send
another of their silly crusades.

-LMP


Upland Wastes


The Battle Dragon units haven't of course went straight back to Free Drone territory as they were giving another order to move north of the Upland Wastes close to the shore near the edge of the Free Drone border. They are to wait for Transport Foil from Eryption Base to show up and unload some Formers and a small colony pod of 1000 people. They will be establishing an outpost just beyond the shore, to avoid detection from ships, but close enough to send supplies to by sea. Colonel Rohrer and her units our to defend this new outpost, which will be called Athens. Interesting name for base, especially this close to Sparta

The Battle Dragon units was able to loose the Spartans in the Upland Wastes, where they would be hard to detect. And since they wipe out the sensor grid in upland wastes last year, the Spartans cannot keep track of us. The Outpost will become a forward point for Nautilus Battle Dragons in the area, as they cannot depend on the Free Drones all the time and would risk their Neutrality. There is no war with the Spartans at the moment, they are just getting ready for the next...


Blast Rifle Crag

Commander Deavy was at the upper floors of the Recreation Center when the Peacekeepers arrived. He and some of his soldiers watched the whole show from the large observation windows. Silly the PKs are, trying to show off. The best way to impress the Spartans is by blasting them by force, like the Nautilus Battle Dragons as done last year, not some silly demonstration. He can predict that he will be having some arguments with the PK Commander. Oh well. With the Gaians getting ready to leave and half of the Battle Dragons here, they'll be enough room.

(OOC: Commander Deavey is incharge of the three Battle Dragon units left at Blast Rifle Crag.)

[Natan]

From: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Prime Function Aki-Zeta 5 of the Cyborgs

Allow me to assure you, O Prime Function, that I have no intention of using nerve gas unless provoked severely. Let me suggest, however, that your directive is not served through your current alliance. Currently, you have allied yourself with a lunatic moralist, a bandit, and some bed-wetting eco-terrorists. And yet, you tell me that this alliance serves to further the cause of rationality. Would it not be better if the rational associated with each other? It seems that there remain three or four rational leaders on planet still, and many others who could be brought around to reason. Perhaps a reordering of your diplomatic priorities is in order. Of course, I am not asking you to cancel your membership in the Chiron alliance. Far from it. I am merely asking you to reconsider for yourself which friends can be most reliable, and which factions most share your thoughts, and to act accordingly to improve relations with such factions as are found to be worthy of your friendship.

Let me at this time thank you for engaging in such rational thought, and for the great help that your ambassadors have been to me. Long may the friendship and good will between our factions continue.

From: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Governor Pontas of Blast Rifle Crag

Greetings, Governor. I am Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive, and I am interested in opening diplomatic and economic relations between my faction and your base. If it pleases you, I would like to open a consulate in your base immediately, and if it pleases you, we can begin to discuss possibilities for trade and security cooperation immediately afterwards.


Sparta Command, operational simulations room

It was the second exercise in the series. This time, the Hive commander was on the offensive. The setting was a simulated series of rolling hills. There were no natural defenses in the area except the hills themselves, and both sides had access to air and artillery support. The Spartan commander had an armoured rover task force, and the Hive commander a slightly larger force of mixed missile rovers and infantry. In this simulated scenario, Hive forces had broken through a Spartan defence line and were moving towards an important objective. The Spartans had decided to stop them in this series of hills. The Hive commander had to get 60% of his force accross the battlefield within two hours. Both sides faced serious handicaps. Neither had much in the way of anti-aircraft capabilities.
The Spartan commander positioned his units first. He decided to distribute about a quarter of his troops in OPs on strategic hill tops where they could view incoming Hive forces. He placed his artillery on the OPs. Then he divided the rest of his forces into two main force groups, and placed them in valleys on the reverse slopes of large hills where their positions would be hidden from advancing Hive forces. If the plan worked, then the OPs would detect the Hive force, and together with one of the main force units, would lure the Hive forces onto one of the slopes, at which point they would b e slammed by the Spartan air forces, and before they could react, the second main force would pull up from behind the slope and "grab them by the belt," engaging in close combat to eliminate any advantage the Hive could gain from its artillery and air forces. The plan's great advantage was that it made it difficult for the Hive to use their superior artillery forces. Its weakness was that it allowed the Hive to maximize its other advantages over the Spartans. In close quarters, the greater maneuverability of the Hive rovers could win out over the Spartan forces greater armour, and the Hive's infantry, armed with short range anti-tank weapons, would have better odds against Spartan tanks than at longer ranges. The Spartans had three great advantages to counter, however. They would have the advantage of being able to strike from the air while the Hive would not, if the plan worked properly, be able to do so. They also had the advantage of surprise, assuming that the second main force unit operated properly. And if all else failed, they always had the advantage of greater combat experience and better equipment. The plan was a trade off, and ultimately a gamble, but, the Spartan reasoned, his troops better experience tilted the odds in his favor.
The Hive commander was also planning. He split his forces into four rover/infantry groups and one self propelled artillery battery. Two of the rover/infantry groups would attack the flanks of the Spartan formation, forcing their way through the valleys guarded by the guns, while the artillery blew any gun which fired on them to smithereens. But first, the artillery would give a good smoke barrage for the other two rover/infantry groups, which would charge up a large hill which dominated the forward part of the battlefield, destroying the Spartan OP which had been emplaced on top of it. Little did he know that behind this hill, one of the Spartan main force units lurked.
The simulated Hive smoke barrage was quite effective. It masked the movements of the Hive forces up the hill, allowing them to get the drop on the Spartans. The Spartan forces on the hill were annihilated as the smoke still obscured the view of the battlefield. The Spartan commander viewed this development with great dismay. He could try to pull back his rover force to engage in a later ambush, but this would expose it to enemy fire in the withdrawl phase. Despite the risks, he decided to send it up the hill to fight the Hive force. The Spartan unit was detected, due to the close range to the Hive forces at which is was operating, and the Hive rovers discharged their infantry to form hunter-killer teams against the Spartans. The battle commenced in the smoke, but as it cleared, it could be seen that the Hive rovers had used their greater maneuverability to circle around the Spartans and attack from the rear. The Hive infantry used their anti-tank weapons, deadly at close range, to hold their own against the Spartans. The Spartan force tried to hold off both enemy groups, but failed and was annihilated to the last rover. Unfortunately for the Hive, it was at this moment that a flight of Spartan attack jets zoomed over the hill and dropped their deadly payload. By now, less than 25% of the original Hive force sent up the hill was left.
Meanwhile, the other two Hive forces were making good progress through the hills, supported by the SP artillery battery. The Hive commander knew that he had not defeated the entire enemy force at the battle on the hill, and that there were more forces not tied down in the OPs. But he was not sure where they were. He decided to split his two remaining infantry/rover groups into smaller contigents, and send them out, vaguely in the direction of the opposite edge of the map, to find any remaining Spartan rovers so that an air strike could be called down. In this, they succeeded, and as one of the Hive reconaissance groups was annihilated by spartan rovers, it was avenged by Hive needlejets which crushed the Spartan rovers. After this, the Hive managed to exit most of their remaining forces from the edge of the map.

[Sprayber]

Blast Rifle Crag

Governor Pontas sat in his office staring out the window that looked down on the central plaza. This was where announcements and rallies were held. At the moment the plaza was virtually empty. In fact it was as empty as he ever remembered seeing it since the plaza was laid out many years ago. He would have preferred a more subdued entrance by the Peacekeepers, but understood the value of a display of power. That was what the citizens were used to seeing and that was what they had got. For many, it had finally sunk in that they were no longer apart of Sparta. Morale was lower than even the months of siege. In many ways the citizens were glad that the Peacekeepers had arrived. Many of the bases garrison soldiers were beginning to resent the Pirates forces. And the citizens were following suit. Pontas thought that was odd. To be honest the Pirates actually had more in common with the ex Spartans then the Peacekeepers did. But he knew it came down to a matter of trust. The citizens of the base knew that the Pirates had to have a reason to do what they did. Lal had his precious charter. But Sven’s commitment was not as firm as Lal’s. Or such was the opinion of the average citizen of Blast Rifle Crag. All Pontas knew was that things felt more stable now that the Peacekeepers were here. He just hoped that the Pirates wouldn’t do something to destabilize the situation. “What possible reason would they have to do that?” He remembered the Pirate units that had left the base weeks earlier. A terrible thought went through his head, and quickly dismissed it. “No.” Surly they are no their way to some other part of the globe by now. Possibly to aid their Gain allies. Pontas slightly gave thanks that trouble had finally moved from the Eastern Continent. Pontas leaned back in his chair and close his eyes. In another hour he would officially announce the PK presence in Blast Rifle Crag. In the outer room of his office, his aide was preparing a report that would eventually make its way to Sparta Command and into the hands of one Marshal Kessel.

Announcement from Governor Pontas

To the citizens of Blast Rifle Crag. As you already know a significant force of Peacekeepers have landed on our shore and taken up positions in various parts of the base. They were invited by me in order to maintain the independence of this base and to maintain stability. Do not worry that you are trading one master for another. Their only responsibility is to maintain the outer defenses and will not intervene in the internal policing of the base. Among them are observers that will help us become a more democratic base. I know that all of you will join me in welcoming them to our base and work with them to bring about a better future for all of us.


To: Major Igor Ryganov
From: Governor Pontas

Major. There will be a simple ceremony in the central plaza welcoming you and your men to Blast Rifle Crag. It will be more of a simple turn over of posts along the outer perimeter. I will also be inviting the Pirate forces as well. After that your men can take their positions along the outer defenses. I am attaching a list of facilities that your men can utilize during your stay here. This is by no means the only ones. These are just suggestions for now until the population adjusts fully to your presence. The Pirates have pretty much stayed to themselves. I encourage your men to get out and interact with the population. Although I would suggest that your men stay in groups for at least awhile. And just one more word of advice. There are many people with relatives serving in the Spartan Army and Navy. Some currently stationed in Data Acquisition. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of the situation.

To: Commander Deavey
From: Governor Pontas

Commander Deavey, you and your men are invited to attend the welcome ceremony for the Peacekeeping forces. The ceremony will take place in two days at the Central Plaza. I look forward to seeing the Nautilus contingent there.

[OOC: I will write some more shortly]

[Guardian]

Blast Rifle Crag

The Peacekeepers were done playing warriors for now. There were no more aggressive moves, just calm and confident groups of professionals going about their business. They weren't here to play war games, they were here to help stabilize things and keep the peace. Now that they'd proven that they could do the former, it was time to focus on the latter.


From: Major Rygonav
To: Governor Pontas

Thank you governor. I hope we haven't offended you with our somewhat unorthodox entrance. I can assure you that we're not here to play cowboys. We are Peacekeepers. I look forward to meeting you.

[Clear Skies]

Private Message: Enhanced Encryption
From: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5
To: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang

Ah Chairman, and you were donig so well as well...

My diplomatic priorities are my business and my business alone. I will not abandon my allies simply because another faction leader wishes me to. I have spent so long trying to bolster this alliance, and I will not see it disintegrate now.

Can you not see that war gets us nowhere? We cannot hope to impose logic and rational thought on others by force - that is too big a contradiction. Agreed, we must help to open their eyes to the great benefits of rational thought, but I will not suffer to rip their eyelids open - they must make their own choice.

May our friendship endure, Chairman, but it will only do so if you do not attempt to end our friendship with the other factions also.

Aki Zeta-5


Private Message: Maximum Encryption
From: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5
To: Commissioner Pravin Lal

Dear Commissioner,

Many apologies for denying you an audience last time you called. I am afraid I was very busy at the time with important matters of state.

I would like to give my reasons behind my signing a Treaty of Friendship with Chairman Yang. The reason itself you may find unacceptable, but I present it here anyway.

War is war, as Datatech Sinder Roze is so fond of telling us. But is it not true that too much war can sour a people, forever hardening their hearts against a chance of peace.
I saw this happening during the war against the Spartans. The terrible happenings of that war forced your soldiers, for their own good, to inure themselves against further horrors. However, if that process continued unchecked, eventually they would have no true concept of peace, only of continual war, fighting without end.

To the ends of peace, I signed a Treaty of Friendship with Chairman Yang, and began negotiations with him to lay down his weapons and end his war against you. Your troops were exhausted, my dear friend, from the constant conflict, and I believed a war against Yang would see you take terrible losses to your forces.

Such a war could only be detrimental. I attempted to stop it by entering into a Treaty with Chairman Yang. Luckily I was proved right, and hostilities did indeed cease between your two peoples.

I hope you understand why I did this. Weakened as you were from fighting the Spartans, I did not believe you were at the time strong enough to survive a full frontal assault from the Hive. I mean no disrespect to your troops, but I do believe Yang could have done significant damage.

Yours ever in friendship,

Aki Zeta-5

[Natan]

From: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Prime Function Aki-Zeta 5 of the Cyborgs

If I were a man of emotions, Prime Function, I would be offended. As it is, I am merely surprised, and perhaps a little frustrated. Where in my message to you did I tell you who to befriend? Who did I say we should war against? Did I not explicitly state that I was not requesting that you leave the Chiron alliance, but merely that you not allow it to dictate whom else you befriended? I agree with you wholeheartedly, we cannot force open anyone's eyelids, particularly when they are often as not blind to begin with. In accordance with this belief, I have been content only to safeguard my own social experiments since planetfall. However, there are those who are intent on putting an end to them, and to prevent them from succeeding, I have had to arm myself and my followers. Unfortunately, the "Peacekeepers" seem intent on enforcing their petty and absurd UN charter all over planet, and this I cannot abide. I will not allow them to restrict my freedom to defend myself against the aggression they are plotting against me. All I ask is that you recognize my position and that you not allow an irrational element of an ancient document to come between what I am sure will be a beautiful friendship.