"Kowloon Control, this is FSS Coeur de Lion, transporting Marshal Victor Ian Steiner-Davion and his honor guard. We have brought aid supplies and request permission to land and render assistance."
FWL Init
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 1, 3, total 4[/blockquote]
ND Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 6, 3, total 9[/blockquote]
A steady stream of jump signatures began to form like a procession. The first ship to materialize was a battlecruiser. An Indigo-violet distortion wave swept thru the heavens as the red, white and black form of a Kirishima emerged.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6655/csrbrwh.jpg)
The vessel may have been Kuritan built, vessel had flown another flag for most of it's exhistance. Other ships followed, most of them were smaller than the Kirishima but also of Draconis Combine origin with the exception of a large and very robust Potemkin.
The numerous dropships attached along the Potemkin's outter hull were a mix of aerodyne and spheroid designs. As the ships lingered they detached forming a buffer zone around the fleet. Slowly, their IFF markers came on line identifyed them as New Dominion vessels.
Despite the assurances of the Kowloonese that the Leviathan II was elsewhere, the fleet began scanning the system to see who else was in system.
"Kowloon Control, I am Star Admiral, commander of the Blood Raven. I bring with me my Hellgate Assault Star. Our intentions are honorable as we plan on holding at your Nadir Jump point and recharge while a New Dominion delegation heads planetside. For this purpose, we request safcon for thirty dropships to enter the planetary atmosphere."
Quote from: Fatebringer on October 11, 2011, 08:48:05 PM
A steady stream of jump signatures began to form like a procession. The first ship to materialize was a battlecruiser. An Indigo-violet distortion wave swept thru the heavens as the red, white and black form of a Kirishima emerged.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6655/csrbrwh.jpg)
The vessel may have been Kuritan built, vessel had flown another flag for most of it's exhistance. Other ships followed, most of them were smaller than the Kirishima but also of Draconis Combine origin with the exception of a large and very robust Potemkin.
The numerous dropships attached along the Potemkin's outter hull were a mix of aerodyne and spheroid designs. As the ships lingered they detached forming a buffer zone around the fleet. Slowly, their IFF markers came on line identifyed them as New Dominion vessels.
Despite the assurances of the Kowloonese that the Leviathan II was elsewhere, the fleet began scanning the system to see who else was in system.
"Kowloon Control, I am Star Admiral, commander of the Blood Raven. I bring with me my Hellgate Assault Star. Our intentions are honorable as we plan on holding at your Nadir Jump point and recharge while a New Dominion delegation heads planetside. For this purpose, we request safcon for thirty dropships to enter the planetary atmosphere."
"
Blood Raven, this is Kowloon system control-There are still some problems finding safe landing zones in most of the Primary continent-between the weather and the damage, most normal port zones are in pretty bad shape. , for the time being, portage at Hue is best bet, but the port there is only capable of handling a max of ten droppers at a time. There is a secondary port at Coast Guard Naval Air Station Giap Island, coordinates as follows..."
Techniclly, FS should have Int here, they might arrive before the Ravens
FS Arrival Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 4, 1, total 5[/blockquote]
nope, after the Ravens, before the FWL.
"Kowloon control, FSS Coeur de Lion. We have a corps of engineers on board able to setup a temp pad near the damage sites, if you can authorize a low-orbit pattern for us. The Prince would like to do all he can to assist. We have mostly bulk-haulers and personnel transports, but not much ground effect transport, so the closer the pad, the better for our cargoes. Over."
"Cour De Lion, um... direct engineering teams to grid 671459 by 000810, that should put you near Da Nang and north of VDL on the land side, weather looks clear there for the next seventy two hours, after that there is a big blow coming up from the south coast along the river-valley, looks like forty to fifty knot winds driving a cold front. Hope you packed warm, Over."
[stage dressing: what landing ships will see...]
At first, the damage doesn't look that bad-the heavy black cloud over the former Camp John area is mostly gone, revealing a charred waste, visible from space, but the really telling thing, is the whiteness of the landmass as deorbiting ships come down on the main continent-it is early spring, and teh grip of the hard winter hasn't eased in the slightest. Clouds roil with snowfall and ice across a land gripped in sub-freezing temperatures from the near-tropics south to the antarctic circle. It should be spring, but it is definitely, visibly, late this year.
as dropships descend in a landing burn, the damage becomes apparent-bridges across rivers-gone, dams? gone, the shattered craters where there were cities stand with shallow, frozen ice, and highways are buried, unplowed and uncleared more often than not, and occasionally, signs of brutal cold and raging fires seem frozen together. Some areas show clustered tent-cities of disaster shelters huddled against grounded smallships or dropships, in other areas, villages stand in a sea of refugee temp-shelters, with water vessels frozen into port, stretching cables into towns near the shattered shells of power plants.
Hue, which stood on a raised knob of land on a peninsula made by the joining of two rivers, now stands in the middle of a frozen lake, with bits of structures poking out of the ice like broken fingers.
When spring comes, things will be, if anything, worse-the cold has kept most of the dead from rotting, kept the fury of the rivers running down from the Ia Drang Plateau in check-and when that ice and snow melts, the Hue basin will fill-far above what the city can survive.
But it is the major cities-Nha Tranh, Vin Drin Lap, Da Nang, Ben Het, Bethlehem, that are the worst, for there is nothing left of them, but craters choked in ice and ruins.
Ice, and death chokes everything in sight.
A military dropper, a Conquistador from the signatures, detatches from the jumpship and burns towards the planet, making a short hop through the upper atmo, where what looks like light battle armor is paradropping in. In actuality, it is military engineers in PAL suits, and after they land, a few smaller pallets fitted with specialize shocks are dropped in a 2nd pass. While the Engi team is setting up the temporary landing pads for the bulk lifters, the FWL forces arrive in system...
Airfield near Da Nang
Victor Ian Steiner-Davion stepped out onto the tarmac, leaning on his finely crafter fox-headed cane. A gift from my son, he mused, though possibly also a warning. Looking at the devastation around the port he shook his head sadly.
Behind him, IndustrialMechs from the Davion Honour Guards' combat engineering units started to disembark from FSDS Galahad, forming up for final disembarkment check before moving out to the worst-hit disaster areas.
While he waited for the local authorities, Steiner-Davion wondered what would come of the other ships arriving on Kowloon...
Quote"Blood Raven, this is Kowloon system control-There are still some problems finding safe landing zones in most of the Primary continent-between the weather and the damage, most normal port zones are in pretty bad shape. , for the time being, portage at Hue is best bet, but the port there is only capable of handling a max of ten droppers at a time. There is a secondary port at Coast Guard Naval Air Station Giap Island, coordinates as follows..."
"Have you not heard, we are Clan Snow Raven, we make our own. Give us coordinates and we can create a new drop port for you. Five of the dropships we are bringing have heavy equipment."
Traffic control...Quote
"Have you not heard, we are Clan Snow Raven, we make our own. Give us coordinates and we can create a new drop port for you. Five of the dropships we are bringing have heavy equipment."
Officer Sarah Truk Hapsell muted the send, and checked the meteorology report. "Jason, the Plateau looks clear for the next thirty-six hours, should we point 'em there?" she asked.
Major Ben Gurion reviewed the data from the weathersats, "Yeah, direct 'em to the southeast side of the Plateau, near Ia Drang city, it's close enough to the Hue sector."
She keyed the send to 'live', "Blood Raven, we found a clear spot and it is near a relatively lightly hit urban area, Ia Drang City on the east side of the big plateau, coordinates 00350102 south by 194432 West, elevation is two thousand meters ASL. Local temp is a balmy negative five Celsius, weather plot shows clear and still for the next thirty six hours. Be advised though, a major cold-front is moving north along the Little Yangtze valley pushing blizzard and blow, so I hope your men are packing warm, Point of contact on the ground is Commander Mai Huyn, do you copy, over?"
Quote from: Dave Baughman on October 18, 2011, 05:47:10 AM
Airfield near Da Nang
Victor Ian Steiner-Davion stepped out onto the tarmac, leaning on his finely crafter fox-headed cane. A gift from my son, he mused, though possibly also a warning. Looking at the devastation around the port he shook his head sadly.
Behind him, IndustrialMechs from the Davion Honour Guards' combat engineering units started to disembark from FSDS Galahad, forming up for final disembarkment check before moving out to the worst-hit disaster areas.
While he waited for the local authorities, Steiner-Davion wondered what would come of the other ships arriving on Kowloon...
Victor didn't have to wait long, and the person to greet him was a face he'd seen last during the first years of the initial Clan invasion. She looked a lot better than the VERY last time he'd seen her, with FS medics trying to patch together a face where hers had been burnt away covering the retreat... "Highness." Evelyn Mosovich hopped out of the side door of a snowcat, "Welcome to Kowloon." She added, "We've got eighteen hours before the cold front hits, They're already reporting whiteout conditions in Haiphong-so first order fo business, is getting your gear bunkered in for the storm. I've got half my people doing emergency line-repair between the dock-" she pointed at an iced-over area in which a ship shaped much like an oil tanker was frozen in place, "and the ten or so villages that managed NOT to be hammered flat when they OrBombed the city centre. Once we have your guys laagered in and the storm's past, we can actually do some serious work here."
Quote from: Cannonshop on October 19, 2011, 06:27:29 AM
Quote from: Dave Baughman on October 18, 2011, 05:47:10 AM
Airfield near Da Nang
Victor Ian Steiner-Davion stepped out onto the tarmac, leaning on his finely crafter fox-headed cane. A gift from my son, he mused, though possibly also a warning. Looking at the devastation around the port he shook his head sadly.
Behind him, IndustrialMechs from the Davion Honour Guards' combat engineering units started to disembark from FSDS Galahad, forming up for final disembarkment check before moving out to the worst-hit disaster areas.
While he waited for the local authorities, Steiner-Davion wondered what would come of the other ships arriving on Kowloon...
Victor didn't have to wait long, and the person to greet him was a face he'd seen last during the first years of the initial Clan invasion. She looked a lot better than the VERY last time he'd seen her, with FS medics trying to patch together a face where hers had been burnt away covering the retreat... "Highness." Evelyn Mosovich hopped out of the side door of a snowcat, "Welcome to Kowloon." She added, "We've got eighteen hours before the cold front hits, They're already reporting whiteout conditions in Haiphong-so first order fo business, is getting your gear bunkered in for the storm. I've got half my people doing emergency line-repair between the dock-" she pointed at an iced-over area in which a ship shaped much like an oil tanker was frozen in place, "and the ten or so villages that managed NOT to be hammered flat when they OrBombed the city centre. Once we have your guys laagered in and the storm's past, we can actually do some serious work here."
Victor smiled warmly at Evelyn. He had so few friends left, it was good to see a face(albeit much improved from his last sight of it) he remebered.
"It is good to see you General. And Marshal will do just fine, theres no need for such formalities here. I havn't spoken with my engineers just yet, perhaps you'd care to accompany me?" Despite the fact that the unit's engineers had deployed in force(from what she knew of FS military doctrine, the size of the engineer unit here would usually be deployed alongside atleast an RCT-sized formation), Evelyn still spotted a handful of battlemechs that seemed to always be facing Victor wherever he happened to be. Much less conspicious were the Hauberk battle armor troopers: while some were assisting the engineers with heavy lifting, most seemed to shadow the Prince as he moved.
Ever the gentleman, Victor held out his arm for Evelyn to take, and he led her over to a burly man in a heavy PAL suit, currently looking at a datapad being held up by an engineer in normal fatigues. She could spot his rank insignia on the shoulder of his suit, a Command Sergeant Major. He snapped a quick salute when he noticed the Prince and the General walking over to him. Victor nodded, and the NCO relaxed before giving a few quiet orders to his fellow engineer, who scurried off. Victor inquired quietly about their progress.
"Well my Prince, it's about as bad as it looks, as bad as you'd expect. Their lasers fried off a good ammount of cloud cover, and glassed a portion of the landscape. Take months to clear that all up. The craters are easier to deal with, but the volume of dirt thats been thrown up...well, you'd expect it from a small-yield nuke at the least. Gonna make the planet a bit colder I'd say, but a meteorologist could give you some hard numbers on that. Screwy weather patterns for sure. So far, we've got 3 pads of stabalized earth and ferrocrete, enough to handle any dropships we've got. We have a few warehouses going up to store our own supplies: fuel, food, water, spares for the IndustrialMechs, that sorta thing. Figure after we get the barracks done, we can move into the outskirts of the city, setup some temp housing, mostly just be rammed-earth with plasticizer to keep it solid. Get some soup kitchens and field hospitals going. The NAIS Cadre lent us their full set of newlie medics, so we've got plenty of medical personnel, considering I doubt we'll have many survivors.
And ah, my Prince? Might want to ask the Archduchess what shes wanting but...in my opinion, stave off disease and all that...I say we burn the bodies we find. Stack 'em or not, burial isn't gonna be real feasible for a city. Best bet is to send out squads with flamers, give 'em a pyre. Not proper, sure, but its the best way I can see, from the scope..."
Quote from: Cannonshop on October 19, 2011, 06:19:11 AM
Traffic control...
Quote
"Have you not heard, we are Clan Snow Raven, we make our own. Give us coordinates and we can create a new drop port for you. Five of the dropships we are bringing have heavy equipment."
Officer Sarah Truk Hapsell muted the send, and checked the meteorology report. "Jason, the Plateau looks clear for the next thirty-six hours, should we point 'em there?" she asked.
Major Ben Gurion reviewed the data from the weathersats, "Yeah, direct 'em to the southeast side of the Plateau, near Ia Drang city, it's close enough to the Hue sector."
She keyed the send to 'live', "Blood Raven, we found a clear spot and it is near a relatively lightly hit urban area, Ia Drang City on the east side of the big plateau, coordinates 00350102 south by 194432 West, elevation is two thousand meters ASL. Local temp is a balmy negative five Celsius, weather plot shows clear and still for the next thirty six hours. Be advised though, a major cold-front is moving north along the Little Yangtze valley pushing blizzard and blow, so I hope your men are packing warm, Point of contact on the ground is Commander Mai Huyn, do you copy, over?"
"We copy. That is like a heat wave on Circe. We shall manage just fine. Our delegation is en route."
Airfield near Da Nang
Shuttle SR-1 was escorted by a trinary of fighter and a trio of dropships, two well maintained Sassanids and a Miraborg. A flood of Elementals in various battle armor flowed from the dropships. Once they secured their landing zone, two stars flanked the delegation as they headed to meet their security detail while their conveyance was being unloaded from the shuttle.
Three men and two women of various stature showed the diffence in their genetic phenotypes. One man and woman were obviously unarmored Elementals, the other woman. A tall and slender freckeled red head was different then most pilots, but her larger then normal head was a give away
Commodore Jon O'Reilly had been stationed within the Union for the better part of 10 year's. Setting down root's at Inarc's he had gotten used to being "The Face" of the Free Worlds League Navy in the Union.
With his specialty focusing more on the Logistics of a first class Deep Space Navy he was somewhat dismayed to be given command of the Inarc's Corporate Defense Flotilla.
A sizable squadron of dropship's and fighters to be certain but it virtually assured him he would never command one of the regional Venture Class Battlecruiser(Mjolnir Class) Squadron's the Free Worlds League Parliament had authorised.
Now with the emergency in effect and the resources of the navy being stretched it was unclear if founding would be found to complete the flotilla's but it was also clear that desire to switch resource's from Fleet Group's such as his to complete a portion of the hull's that were under construction was clear.
The day's of massed aerospace and assault dropship concentrations were beginning to fade away and soon the Inarc's Defense Group would be nothing but a shadow of it's former self.
But that day was not today. Today was his chance to show outside of combat what Fleet Group's such as his could do that the jump capable half a kilomter long Venture's can not.
As his ship's
"Kowloon command. On behalf of Parliament and the Captain-General we are prepared to assist with rescue and recovery operations with this 44 Ship strong Dropship group. Further we have brought civillian relief supplies and posess significant aerospace assett's to contribute to search and rescue, fire fighting and scouting. Per my order's my force is available to coordinate with your Coast Guard and Marine force's. Just let me know where we can be of help."
"Commodore O'Reilly, we can use some of that patrol you have-if they've got Beagles, out along what's left of the North Coast, from Xiao Loc to Nauvoo, and southwest to where Nha Tranh used to be. Lots of little shelters inland that we can't pick up squawk from with all the ionization, Over."
Quote from: Daemonknight on October 19, 2011, 08:50:37 AM
Quote from: Cannonshop on October 19, 2011, 06:27:29 AM
Quote from: Dave Baughman on October 18, 2011, 05:47:10 AM
Airfield near Da Nang
Victor Ian Steiner-Davion stepped out onto the tarmac, leaning on his finely crafter fox-headed cane. A gift from my son, he mused, though possibly also a warning. Looking at the devastation around the port he shook his head sadly.
Behind him, IndustrialMechs from the Davion Honour Guards' combat engineering units started to disembark from FSDS Galahad, forming up for final disembarkment check before moving out to the worst-hit disaster areas.
While he waited for the local authorities, Steiner-Davion wondered what would come of the other ships arriving on Kowloon...
Victor didn't have to wait long, and the person to greet him was a face he'd seen last during the first years of the initial Clan invasion. She looked a lot better than the VERY last time he'd seen her, with FS medics trying to patch together a face where hers had been burnt away covering the retreat... "Highness." Evelyn Mosovich hopped out of the side door of a snowcat, "Welcome to Kowloon." She added, "We've got eighteen hours before the cold front hits, They're already reporting whiteout conditions in Haiphong-so first order fo business, is getting your gear bunkered in for the storm. I've got half my people doing emergency line-repair between the dock-" she pointed at an iced-over area in which a ship shaped much like an oil tanker was frozen in place, "and the ten or so villages that managed NOT to be hammered flat when they OrBombed the city centre. Once we have your guys laagered in and the storm's past, we can actually do some serious work here."
Victor smiled warmly at Evelyn. He had so few friends left, it was good to see a face(albeit much improved from his last sight of it) he remebered.
"It is good to see you General. And Marshal will do just fine, theres no need for such formalities here. I havn't spoken with my engineers just yet, perhaps you'd care to accompany me?" Despite the fact that the unit's engineers had deployed in force(from what she knew of FS military doctrine, the size of the engineer unit here would usually be deployed alongside atleast an RCT-sized formation), Evelyn still spotted a handful of battlemechs that seemed to always be facing Victor wherever he happened to be. Much less conspicious were the Hauberk battle armor troopers: while some were assisting the engineers with heavy lifting, most seemed to shadow the Prince as he moved.
Ever the gentleman, Victor held out his arm for Evelyn to take, and he led her over to a burly man in a heavy PAL suit, currently looking at a datapad being held up by an engineer in normal fatigues. She could spot his rank insignia on the shoulder of his suit, a Command Sergeant Major. He snapped a quick salute when he noticed the Prince and the General walking over to him. Victor nodded, and the NCO relaxed before giving a few quiet orders to his fellow engineer, who scurried off. Victor inquired quietly about their progress.
"Well my Prince, it's about as bad as it looks, as bad as you'd expect. Their lasers fried off a good ammount of cloud cover, and glassed a portion of the landscape. Take months to clear that all up. The craters are easier to deal with, but the volume of dirt thats been thrown up...well, you'd expect it from a small-yield nuke at the least. Gonna make the planet a bit colder I'd say, but a meteorologist could give you some hard numbers on that. Screwy weather patterns for sure. So far, we've got 3 pads of stabalized earth and ferrocrete, enough to handle any dropships we've got. We have a few warehouses going up to store our own supplies: fuel, food, water, spares for the IndustrialMechs, that sorta thing. Figure after we get the barracks done, we can move into the outskirts of the city, setup some temp housing, mostly just be rammed-earth with plasticizer to keep it solid. Get some soup kitchens and field hospitals going. The NAIS Cadre lent us their full set of newlie medics, so we've got plenty of medical personnel, considering I doubt we'll have many survivors.
And ah, my Prince? Might want to ask the Archduchess what shes wanting but...in my opinion, stave off disease and all that...I say we burn the bodies we find. Stack 'em or not, burial isn't gonna be real feasible for a city. Best bet is to send out squads with flamers, give 'em a pyre. Not proper, sure, but its the best way I can see, from the scope..."
Evelyn sighed and looked uncomfortably at the melted scar to the south. "We're still digging for survivors." she said, "Found nine people in a blocked off storm drain last wednesday."
There was a disturbance near the periphery of the activity, and a
horse with a rider could be seen. after a small argument with the Coast Guard security people, the rider dismounted and started walking toward them.
Evelyn looked over, and her face seemed to lose the expression for a moment.
The boy couldn't have been more than thirteen-he didn't have the 'ageless' look of asian descent, just the ruddy look of a kid who might've come from Tharkad. "Dispatch for the Marshall!" the boy announced, holding up a sealed envelope, "Let Me Pass." a moment of argument with a pair of Fedsuns troops and the boy handed over a rifle almost as big as he was, and a pistol that he probably needed both hands to hold, much less fire.
He held up the envelope again, seal out. "From the Duchess." the boy said it as if it explained
everything.
Evelyn looked to victor, and said, "Marshall, if you'll excuse me, I'll find out what this is about."
She walked over to where the boy was being delayed. "Gen'ral, I have a message from Her Grace for the Marshall." the boy said.
"Hand it over, I'll make sure he gets it." Evelyn said.
"No Ma'am, Her grace was
real specific. His hands, nobody else." The boy insisted, pointing straight at Victor.
"How long have you been out?" Evelyn asked.
"Ten hours, I rode up from Vanh Station." the boy said.
"One of Eddie's people?" she asked.
"No'm, Bishop Gentry's got us helping out, Eddie loaned us his barns an' the old homestead." the boy told her.
"So...you're a saint then? fine..." she looked at the FedSuns troopers, "is he armed?"
"Not right now." the soldier told her.
"You've been out ten hours in this?" she demanded.
"I changed horses at the Guthries." the boy said, "Horse is fine."
"I didn't ASK about the horse. YOU-you've been out for ten hours? In THIS?" she reached out, and shook his lapel, then looked up, "You got somewhere you can hold him that's warm? and he's probably going to need a medic." She added a string of quiet swearing, and "...lot to answer for..."
Quote from: Fatebringer on October 19, 2011, 02:43:19 PM
Airfield near Ia Drang
Shuttle SR-1 was escorted by a trinary of fighter and a trio of dropships, two well maintained Sassanids and a Miraborg. A flood of Elementals in various battle armor flowed from the dropships. Once they secured their landing zone, two stars flanked the delegation as they headed to meet their security detail while their conveyance was being unloaded from the shuttle.
Three men and two women of various stature showed the diffence in their genetic phenotypes. One man and woman were obviously unarmored Elementals, the other woman. A tall and slender freckeled red head was different then most pilots, but her larger then normal head was a give away
Dr. Mai Huyn met the Clan warriors at the edge of the Port, with a snow-cat, a tiny two-seat bushplane, and fifteen Coast Guard Officers, and one other-a messenger who'd arrived in a bushplane only about fifteen minutes before the Clan units touched ground.
"I sure hope one of you is the Star Admiral." she said, "If not, I think the senior Warrior..? Her Grace sent a message...by courier."
The Courier stepped forward. She couldn't have been more than fourteen, and frail in a snowsuit and flight jacket. The girl held a canvas map-case in one hand, and a cup of something warm in the other.
Quote from: Cannonshop on October 22, 2011, 06:15:48 AM
"Commodore O'Reilly, we can use some of that patrol you have-if they've got Beagles, out along what's left of the North Coast, from Xiao Loc to Nauvoo, and southwest to where Nha Tranh used to be. Lots of little shelters inland that we can't pick up squawk from with all the ionization, Over."
" 92 Aerospace Regiment is equipped as such and is enroute. 32nd Dropship Squadron is rated for an irradiated environment and can do pickup's in hotzone. "
Victor examined the letter for a moment before looking back to Evelyn.
"General, I apologize for not being able to supervise our assistance personally. Her grace the Archduchess has requested my presence and from the brevity of her request the matter seems somewhat urgent. I don't suppose there is a VTOL or light aircraft I could borrow? Galahad is probably too large for the LZ at the meeting site."
Turning to a nearby officer he said, "Colonel Northwood, lets get your equipment into shelter before the storm hits. Once the weather clears, or before if its technically feasible, put your forces at General Mosovich's disposal. Lets do what we can to help these people before things get even worse."
Da Nang
Evelyn Mosovich nodded, and pulled a com-unit. "14 bảo vệ bờ biển, người ngoài ca, Over?"
There was a mumbled response.
"Tôi có một hành khách rất quan trọng mà cần phải được thực hiện để sinh sống của người đàn ông già..." she listened for a moment, then, "Không, nó không thể chờ đợi. phải nhận thức rằng ông chỉ nói tiếng Anh."
"Hiểu, chúng tôi mười lăm phút." the comms unit's reply.
"Marshall, in fifteen minutes, there will be a Karnov landing over by the tanker there-" Evelyn pointed at the iced-in ship a third of a kilometer away, "She can handle you, plus some of your armored troops, the pilot's an immigrant named Kuranov-you might've met her if you hung around the Medevac unit on Tamar, back in the day." Evelyn told him, "She knows how to get to her Grace's current residence."
"Its heartening to know I'll be in good hands. Thank you general, I know air transport is at a premium right now. If you'll excuse me, I need to make preparations for the hop."
Quote from: Cannonshop on October 23, 2011, 04:34:54 AM
Dr. Mai Huyn met the Clan warriors at the edge of the Port, with a snow-cat, a tiny two-seat bushplane, and fifteen Coast Guard Officers, and one other-a messenger who'd arrived in a bushplane only about fifteen minutes before the Clan units touched ground.
"I sure hope one of you is the Star Admiral." she said, "If not, I think the senior Warrior..? Her Grace sent a message...by courier."
The Courier stepped forward. She couldn't have been more than fourteen, and frail in a snowsuit and flight jacket. The girl held a canvas map-case in one hand, and a cup of something warm in the other.
The courier scanned the group, while four of the entourage had a single or pair of diamond shapes atop fields of Blue, Green and Gray, the only one with a bright red field had a gray star on it, the rank most inner sphere denizens would equate with a General. The tall well build blond warrior reached out and took the message, his long red and black cloak floating in the stiff breeze as he read it.
Afterwards, Khan Magnus thanked the courier and ordered the honor guard remounted the dropships. Soon, they were off to the coordinates listed. While in flight, one of the five laborer dropships, an old Octopus that was in surprisingly good repair, rendezvoused with them before making landfall.
Coordinates S442318 by W502423, some time later...
The location was in the middle of a navigational hazard area locally named Minsky của sự điên rồ, or "Minsky's Folly" in english. A badland covering a vast area on the Southern continent made of interwoven canyon systems laced with a host of refractive and magnetic ores. Radios, magnetic instruments, compasses, and Radar are all alike in being handicapped here.
VTOL patrol 14, transporting Marshall Victor Steiner-Davion and entourage...
"...fly it on VFR. The Folly was named after a Rimjob commander who chased Guerillas into it during the uprising of 2729-the Rimjobs got lost and ended up starving to death before SLDF rescue teams could find where them." Cat Kuranov told the FedSuns marshall, "Those teams had to use optical recon with sats, and drop visual-spectrum marker beacons, or they'd have got lost too."
She was explaining why the bulk of the Karnov VTOL's instruments were throwing up random, conflicting information-only the engine, propellor rate and fuel guages were reading with any sort of accuracy.
The compass and the altimeter were spinning merrily.
"If you know how to land-nav or fly dead-reckoning, or if you've got an old style inertial compass, it's not too bad. Most of the Ranchers just fly it by eyeball and chart." she added, "Same for anyone who flies Coast-Guard out of what used to be VDL or Ben Hoa."
She rolled the engines and rotors vertical, and popped speed brakes, bringing the thirty-tonne machine to a smooth hover, before she set it down atop a narrow mesa. "We're here."
"What about bad weather flying?" Victor asked.
"We try not to fly in bad weather through the Folly, just as a general rule." Cat told him, "too damn dangerous, once you get below about two hundered meters, instrument flying just goes right to shit. Her Grace's Great-Grandfather picked this area for his personal retreat, because it discourages visitors."
Steam rose from the distant valley floor, and there was a splash of green far, far below.
"Come on, the cliff-house is this-a-way." Cat told her passengers, and opened the rear doors as well as the cockpit.
The stairs down to the house were cut into the stone, with a heavy masonry guardrail.
Victor braced himself for an uncomfortable climb - he wasn't the young man he was forty years ago, and the damage from the Dark's assassination attempt hadn't helped his health one bit. Sergeant Moennsad started to make like he was going to offer to carry the Prince, but Victor stopped him with a short shake of his head, "It's all right, Ganak, I can make it on my own," he gave a bit of a wry grin, "I'm not that old yet."
Doing his best to not show his discomfort, Victor ascended the stairs towards the cliffside dwelling.
The proction detail for the Dominion Delegation was spread out. As they waited, laborers loaded specific gear to the Eldinger. There was still no indication as to why the Kowloonese wanted this gear, but from the terrain. It didn't take a scientist to add up two and two to see the threat. Still, if the Kowloonese were stupid enough to try to kill the Raven Khan, they'd have Nakita Kerensky to deal with.
A small smile crept over Keigan's face at that though. Choosing her as his saKhan was one of the best political manuevers he could have made against his opposition in the Council. The Raven with Claws instead of Talons proved very adept in asserting herself against others in the polical environment of the Clan.
Meanwhile, seeing the approach of the Federated Suns VTOL was a new distraction.
"This way please. Her Grace can't come up the stairs without help, and the cargo-lift was not finished before she had to move in." Melinda Cham was just almost what might be termed 'Elemental' sized, if one were to, say, take an Elemental phenotype, and put her into a press to make her just-over-five-feet-tall, with a proportional 'squeezing and widening' from fingers on outward. Short, broad, and with a Zeus hanging muzzle down across her back, "Please sign in and proceed." she added.
[assuming everyone who matters goes down the stairs...]
'Cliff House' was a good description-built into a natural cavity in the side of the butte, with an open area sloping fifty meters out to the rest of the cliff, 'accessable' was clearly NOT in the intentions. A ground assault would have to either originate at the top of the mesa, and descend 500 meters of cliff, or nearly a kilometer down the narrow stairs to reach it, or scale 400 meters of sheer rock wall from the narrow river-passage below-in a natural pattern of EM interference created by the geology of the region. The house itself was tucked back, protected on three sides and directly above by the mass of the Mesa itself.
The "House" itself was made of mortared stone and heavy timbers, where it was not dug into the natural stone around it.
The view from here, was actually quite spectacular, for those that appreciate such things, as the erosion-patterns of stone pillars, and the glinting multicoloured glory of the canyons themselves were on full display most of the day-sunlight reflecting and refracting from the strange varieties of metals, rare earths, and crystalline faults in the surrounding terrain.
The landscape in this part of the folly was unearthly, and in it's unearthly way, breathtaking.
Amanda met both parties in the leveled out space in front of the door, and the reason she had NOT met them at the landing area was readily apparent.
Stairways do not accomodate wheelchairs well.
Amanda took a double-take. Khan Magnus?
"Marshall, Khan Magnus, welcome to my home. We have a lot to talk about." Amanda Ngo said, "There's food inside..."
She reached down, and spun the chair in place, before wheeling to the door, "Not that you will want to eat once you have seen what I asked you hear to see." she added, "Snow's coming, you all might want to come inside."
[Edited to account the delegation.]
Quote"Please sign in and proceed."
The following individuals make up the ND Delegation.
Khan Keigan Magnus (M)
Star Admiral Marius Sukhanov (N)
Star Admiral Molly McCorkell (A)
Star Colonel Nelson Chand (E)
Star Colonel Gabrielle Lutze (E)
Inside...
In the main room, there was, as promised, food, along with an old holostage, and decor more suited to a hunting lodge. Amanda led them past this, and into another large room, this one lit by artificial lighting from the walls and ceiling.
The body of Eremiel Artemev lay dissected on a stainless steel table, and a single woman in her mid-thirties stood beside it.
"This is my senior scientific advisor, Sophie Cham, she conducted the autopsy of the enemy commander." Amanda said.
The red-haired woman dipped a short curtsey, in silence, then, she began making gestures.
A voice-synthesized, came from....somwhere in her vicinity.
"We have discovered several things in the postmortem examination of 'admiral' Eremiel Artemeiv of note-the most important being, we were lucky to recover the body intact, with as few marine deaths as we did. the extent of the cybernetic alterations is quite interesting from a scientific and psychological point of view-scientific, in that the technology used is quite advanced, psychological, in that I am now certain that this was in its entirety, elective surgical alteration in nature-there are no indices of either defective genetics, or crippling pre-conditions. she is quite dead, and the systems have been carefully segregated-I also removed the explosive charges she had before bringing the rest of the interesting evidence here for display."
Sophie stopped gesturing for a moment, and studied her audience. "Nope, no scientific or medical professionals, I will keep this to layman's terms-the enemy uses extensive cybernetic augmentation, this augmentation is not experimental-at least, not for them, it is deep and it is advanced. THIS subject's body was equipped with reinforcements to the skeletal structure, including trauma-plates over vital areas, a mechanism to accumulate, sort, and disperse Pheremones-that is, natural chemicals that all warm-blooded animals use to influence each other's behaviour, in high concentrations, she was given supplementary implants to her brain, including what amounts to a sort of mental-process-accellerator, circuitry obviously intended to be used to translate data directly from artifical sources to something directly interpreted by the brain and back again, a transciever system designed to link into warship communications, sensors, and other control systems, and several items I have yet to properly identify. The lungs were modified with a filter for toxins-this may indicate where or in what conditions she has been living. Based on interviews with surviving enemy personnel, the 'Admiral' had built quite the cult to herself with these modifications, and used them to communicate and coordinate with other ship's commanders, and with senior shipboard personnel. Samples of the devices are on the tables to the left, and right, I've been able to isolate a few of the operating frequencies, but without a live subject, I can only theorize possible means of jamming based on materials composition, wavelength, and know physics of the electromagnetic spectrum-the development of a means to remotely interfere with technology LIKE this will take time, I can tell this much currently-Microwave and Electromagnetic Spectrum bursts in the right wavelengths may be useful for pre-detonating suicide charges which, if the Admiral is any indication, are likely to be installed in enemy officers of similar rank-the difficulty, of course, is determining the correct spectra to use, and developing a reliable means of rapid delivery. Likewise for the direct-neural interfaces, This subject's installed hardware included what appear to be buffering systems-what you can call 'fuses', which may block an overload signal if it is not properly devised and delivered."
"What are you describing?" Amanda asked-this part almost felt rehearsed.
"I am saying that the advantages the enemy is seeking with Cybernetics, may be able to be converted into disadvantages-technology often carries the seeds of its own counter...of course, to develop a rapid-counter to this, or to find the correct frequency and modulation to listen into their 'thoughts', as well as effective technology to translate it into something of use to a battlefield commander, is going to require extensive study of a live enemy subject-preferably more than one-equipped with such systems. There is no point in trying to replicate the tech, no matter how faithful a replication, the enemy has a massive advantage in terms of understanding and development, but we MIGHT be able to develop means of fouling it up in battle-at least once, maybe repeatedly, depending on how secure they feel their advantages are. I can probably come up with a few possible test articles, but taking such test devices into the field, finding the enemy, using it, and having it work-is going to be very high risk. Cryptoanalysis of enemy databases captured on the Leviathan II is still going on-it would help if we had some means to discern which hardware came on it stock, and which hardware the enemy installed, as well as any back-doors built into the stock hardware that might be of use in slicing the datacryption and compartmentalization of systems. So far, OSS and Coast Guard analysts are having to wade through a jumble of different, sometimes conflicting, data structures. Informatio so far indicates that the enemy's task-force passed through at least one heavily inhabited and patrolled system without being detected-including concealing the jump signatures of a ship the size of a Leviathan II, and signatures of several other capital warships, but hardware analysis, where we have been ABLE to correctly analyze it, does not indicate HOW they managed this, only that, according to course-data from the nav-beacon, they DID...but Cryptoanalysis has only analyzed around four to four point five percent of the data we KNOW is there, due to the way in which the enemy has stored and encrypted it."
Sophie tapped the open skull and revealed brain of the enemy admiral, "Personally, " she signed, "I think, if there IS data we can use, it is still in the white-matter portions of this brain-or stored in some of the modules I have yet to finish analyzing. the danger is, if it is sufficiently black-boxed, any normal approach to cracking what is in those modules is going to destroy the data they contain..." she stopped, looking pensive, then signed something that made Amanda turn white, before the system translated it...
"Central processor from something like a Caspar, maybe, or a disposeable brain with similar RNA and DNA structure-something we can incinerate if it starts going rogue. What I have found so far, could advance computing a couple steps beyond anything short of what they had at NIOPS...at least, according to some rumours, but it is damned dangerous tech. These guys were and are trying to go beyond human intelligence, if they have succeeded, we're in for a rough time."
Victor shook his head in apparent dismay at the scene. There but for the grace of God, he thought, goes Arthur.
"If the Word of Blake," he said quietly, "had spent half the resources they dedicated to making this woman what she was to genuine medical applications of this technology, they would be remembered very differently, I think."
Contemplating for a moment some of the things that Arthur had told him about his time with the Word he added, "I share your concern with where some of this technology is going. If the Word of Blake is resurfacing after all of these years, it must be for a reason... and I can't think of any that would be good for the Star League."
"I assume part of why you are showing us this is to seek our aid; I'm sure the resources of the New Avalon Institute of Science could be put to good use decoding this woman's secrets. However, I have to ask: you alluded to conducting tests on live POWs. What exactly are you proposing?"
Sophie looked at the Marshall, then at Amanda, and sat down.
"No." Amanda Ngo said, "not on live POW's, Marshall. Not only would that violate every moral concept my people stand for, it would also alienate every possible ally we could hope to gain...but..."
"Tell them." Amanda said, shaping the words explicitly at the scientist.
Sophie sighed, and pulled up a PADD.
"Human testing would take too long, and is, as Her Grace put it, morally objectionable above and beyond it's lack of utility in terms of scientific work. We need an Emulator-think of it as an artificial brain-or maybe something grown artificially, similar to the Chimeras developed for recombinant DNA work in the 21st through 24th centuries before that scientific endeavour fell out of favour. An emulator would allow testing of some of the hardware we have under controlled circumstances with over-ninety-percent repeatablility of outcomes. Human beings are far too diverse to provide the necessary repeatability of results to get real progress in finding ways to turn the enemy's technology against him, predict his next likely development in time to counter it, or even properly model how the enemy's hardware is SUPPOSED to work." she looked up in a watchful way, seeking to see if anyone were speaking, before continuing.
"I do not have access to the kind of hardware we need-the last place in the INNER SPHERE that had hardware suitable to the task-that was not already likely under enemy control, was the NIOPS association-we have no way of knowing how much of THAT hardware, or the people who created and understood it best, has survived-issuing challenges for nonexisting devices is worthless, so the trial process as outsiders, is something that neither Kowloon, nor the rest of the Union can reliably pursue...but maybe another Clan could...or perhaps the Scientist Caste has some means we have not thought of that is neither morally reprehensible, nor technically infeasable." she kept studying the faces, looking for words...understanding...something.
"Between what is needed in terms of finding the enemy's strongholds, and what is needed in breaking their modifications, is understanding-we understand, from interviews with hard-core enemy POW's, that cybernetically enhanced persons are, by their lights, 'ascended' beings. this is a religious conflict. The enemy has already abandoned all semblance of human morality in a quest to make themselves transcendent-the old term was 'Transhumanist Evolution'-it was a scientific fad about the same era that my ancestors were being worked to death in the Germanium Mines of the Sinai, and it shares no small amount of commonality with the twisted science of the Nazi Reich. WE have committed to fight for HUMANITY, for what MAKES us Human, and what elevates man above the animals, and above his creations, and we need your help."
She gestured to the dissected body, "Get a good look, if you will-that is evil, on that table, and you saw what its only product is on the way here. Every identifiable system installed on that corpse, was installed with an intent to dominate, control, to subvert free will and to make slaves...and it worked. I have piles and piles of interviews of enemy POW's taken from their flagship. The thinking and behaviour are all the same, even with persons whose records we were able to piece together whom should NOT have been vulnerable."
Star Admiral Marius chuckled. "The biggest asset in a battle is suprise, however that affect is achieved, be it through technology, manipulation of expectations, or good old fashioned archaic stealth. When I heard your intentions for the Master of the Void, I was pleased to see the efforts being put into preventing further suprises." Keigan agreed with Marius and nodded to Amanda, "These projects of yours say a lot about how your people think Duchess. If you are successful, there will be less suprises for you, and more for the Terrans. This is a good thing. As far as creating an Emulator, we may able to assist there and in explaining how the Master of the Void was able to bypass a habited system, undetected. Not that I would know the specifics, but our Scientist Caste has been studying that topic for some time. Perhaps after these meetings are over, our people can share knowledge?"
"That is the intent." Amanda said, "One of the main reasons we are here, and not at Spider moon, or Arluna, is that here is VERY difficult to monitor with listening devices."
Victor nodded, "I'm glad my concerns were exagerated; forgive me for fearing the worst, but after what they tried to do to your world... well, I suppose I can't say it better than you did. Somewhat to my discredit, the Institute has some practical experience with cloning. If you need assistance with your emulator program, I think we can arrange to provide it."
"I'm sorry my brother isn't here. I imagine he would have some very keen insights into the Blakists' intentions, if not their immediate objectives."
Victor paused for a moment before looking to Marius, "Star Admiral, I know in the past I have not exactly been a friend of the Dominion. I hope you won't let that get in the way of cooperating to do something about this threat."
Sophie watched...and then, she tapped on an instrument tray insistently until Amanda turned. she signed*.
Want to meet this Arthur, if he has first-hand... she signed.
Amanda shook her head, and signed back. NO. Too dangerous, besides, news reports have him all the way across the sphere, and I will NOT authorize the travel chit for that. she glowered.
If he knows something we can use, it is worth the risk. Sophie insisted.
"NO. Ennn-OH, Sophie." Amanda repeated the sign while speaking. "we need you here, besides, Lenny has transit-disorientation syndrome, she can't leave the system without getting sick, and I don't trust anyone else to put up with you, or handle your business on a long trip-especially into a War-zone."
Fine. I can take care of myself... the scientist signed back.
My decision, I'm your boss, and your Leige-Lord, AND it isn't like I have any class-19 intelligences laying around to replace you, especially with your insight. I'll ask the Marshall if he can arrange a visit...if you INSIST, but I won't pay for transit that far into a war-zone, period...and if you think you can get Eddie to cover your back, We can't spare HIM, either-he's the nearest thing the South Granges have to a legal representative and I need him coordinating civil defense.
Fine...but ASK, please-a non-invasive examination of this 'arthur' person could answer a LOT of burning questions about some of this hardware, and if he's a former cultist, he might be really useful for helping to break down the indoctrination they're using. Sophie signed, with a heavy sigh.
"I'll ask, but that doesn't mean the Marshall can or will do it, nor that he will come." Amanda said-and signed.
Acceptable, milady. Sophie replied.
Amanda turned to Victor, "She wants to meet Arthur." she said, "I won't sign the travel voucher for that-he's on the Cappie/Free Worlds front, isn't he? but I told her I'd ask you if you can arrange a meeting..."
*characters familiar with common sign-language or 'Belter sign' suit-signing will understand this portion of the conversation, otherwise, it just looks...weird.
Victor followed the hand motions, but was clueless to their intent. He found it slightly amusing actually. Even though he didn't understand what was being said, he could tell it was a matter of some urgency and interest to Sophie, and was equally upsetting and worrisome for the Duchess. When the question was asked, he was a bit suprised.
"You wish to meet Arthur? Hmm, well I personally don't see why it couldn't be arrainged. As you've said, he is somewhere along the FWL/Supremacy border, and I'm not exactly sure where either. He was originally leading a large force of ground forces on a liberation campaign against the Spirit Cats. Since their pullout however, he was lying in wait inside the Capellan borders. Luckily his forces moved out before the Sharks made their move.
"Once we have Arthur back someplace where a nice scientific conversation can be held, I'd be more than happy to arrange the meeting. However, there's currently no way to get you safely to him. You are more than welcome to accompany me and my guardians back to the Suns to facilitate meeting him. It would also give you a chance to bring the body to the NAIS, and look into some of your techniques you've been explaining to us. What do you think?"
Sophie looked thoughtful, watching Victor's words, then, she glanced over at Amanda.
We'll discuss it...later. the Duchess of Kowloon signed.
I expect we will. Sophie signed back with a nod.
"I have copies of Dr. Cham's reports for each of you." Amanda said, "and we can continue this discussion...in the main house, unless you have objections?"