[RP/MM] Turn 40 - CSA v. LC and Friends- Mahone 1514 (Completed- CSA Win)

[DisGruntled]

As the peace of the Mahone system was violated by the arrival of an Adder warship and numerous jumpships and carriers the following message was sent out system wide.  "Defenders of Mahone, Clan Star Adder has arrived to take control of this system.  Resistance is futile and shall be dealt with appropriately."

OOC: The Monsoon BB leads a massive wave of fighters and their carrier dropships in system. (no blockade)

[chanman]

The 4th Lyran Regulars on Melissia (1513) prepare to engage.

[DisGruntled]

Doh that's what i get for not double checking off the map.  I posted up the wrong hex, as this is suppossed to be at Mahone 1514.  Let me know if that changes anything, otherwise the 899th Gatekeepre will kick off the hostilities.

[chanman]

No Lyran forces are present

[Cannonshop]

Comms intercepts: Media

"...forty fourth day of the Zellwiger fire, as you can see on the map, the towns of Harbourg, Jonas and Orden are currently under threat, civilians in those areas are strongly encouraged to evacuate..."

"...casualties this morning included four Marines from the second Platoon, Company E, along with fifty volunteers when the fires reached, and engulfed, the North Coast gas pipeline substation at Bretanburgh, fortunately, Bretanburgh was evacuated in time by members of the Coast Guard's 174th Field Hospital unit, however due to atmospheric turbulence from the blaze, VTOL units were unable to extract the firefighters..."

"...caught up with Lt. Hector Gonzales of the Marine detachment at the fire-line outside the ruins of Nuoston, who had this to say: 'Grab a shovel, or get back to the safe zone, the fucking wind is picking up and I don't need more civilians being caught out here.'  Sources tell WMBC that 'the Ell-Tee' has not slept since seasonal winds brought the fires up to sixty kilometers an hour one week ago, resulting in the firestorm that destroyed Junkers County, claiming the lives of more than five hundered residents whom had not heeded the warnings and calls to evacuate..."


"...caused by this man: Norbert Hastert, of Biggman County, a known arsonist released among thousands of other criminals from the Dineson Penal Sanitarium during the Plague, Hastert is known to suffer from the mental illness pyromania, as well as sociopathic personality disorder.  If you see this man, do not attempt to apprehend him-he is believed armed and dangerous, report him on channel 17 Shortwave..."

"...timed firebomb device on storage tanks at the Zellwiger Lindstahl Refinery in Haagenburgh, a site that was abandoned during the plague, and scheduled for reactivation in august..."

"...fires spread was accellerated by an unusually dry year-you might even call it an 'almost drought'.  thousands of kilometers of farmland, both productive and idled by last year's plague, caught fire very quickly.  Seasonal winds across the plains spread, and pushed the fire rapidly toward inhabited areas, but then, it found the forests..."

Visual

The primary land-mass on Mahone sits in the temperate northern hemisphere.  Much of it is flat to rolling hills,with few mountains.  Right now, from orbit, the wildfires stretch thousands of kilometers in a marching line of firestorms headed toward the major population centres along the western coast.  Flames are devouring what the Plague could not destroy.

[GraeGor]

"Star Colonel," the CommTech addresses the mahogany skinned, thin, bald woman who commands this venture of Clan Star Adder, "still no reply from the surface other than mass media reports of massive wildfires across the planet's entire surface. It sounds really bad down there."

The Star Colonel smiles, the neural interface circuitry underlying her skin designed for the appearance of reptilian scales, shimmering darkly in the dim lighting of the Ship's Bridge. The effect still startles those under her command even after many months of seeing her on a daily basis.

She even went several steps further to enhance the image of a serpent, having had her teeth filed to points and her tongue split, for a forked-like semblance, underwent genetic resequencing to achieve the vertical pupils, and had her entire body tattooed to match the EI circuitry-scales. All in all, a very effective and intimidating accomplishment.

"What do I care if the planet burns, Tech," she hisses, "we came here for conquest, not a fireside singalong, quiaff."

Swallowing hard, he knew she'd say something along those lines, the EI-inspired instability a well known side effect has been making itself more and more pronounced recently, but it was part of his job to remind her of reality and the wishes of the Khan, "Aff, Star Colonel. Though if the fire destroys the planet, there will be nothing left to present to the Khan. Perhaps it would be best to extinguish the flames, then see if there are any defenders worthy of the name still remaining?"

"And how do you expect a Warrior such as myself to deal with fire Tech? Attack it? Have this Ship open fire and bombard the flames from Space," her voice a lispy snarl, "If you are so smart then Tech, you decide how best to defeat those fires. And if you fail, you will find out how cold deep Space is." With that, she turns on her heel, and glides to the lift, leaving the Bridge to the ministrations of a well trained and experienced Adder personnel. All of whom give a sign of relief once the door shuts, though many offer sympathetic glances at the Tech who has just been given the task of putting out what amounts to a planet sized conflagration.

"You heard her," he says, "Plot firing resolution for Orbital Bombardment to create fire breaks. And make damn sure none fire until I give the Go order," his fingers adjusting the WarShip's communication array to braodcast on multiple frequencies.



"Attention Mahone, this is the CSAS <insert Ship name here>. Move all personnel to a distance not less than," he pauses, looking over his left shoulder to the Tech in charge of plotting the FR for an OB order. She catches him looking at her, glances down at her screen for a few seconds before holding up her hands and flashing all ten digits, then repeating all ten, and finally just five from one hand. The CommTech nods, "move everyone at least 50 kilometers," best not to take any chances, he thinks to himself, better to overestimate distance than come up short, "away from all fronts dealing with the fires."

"We're going to try something that has never been attempted before, the using of Orbital Fire to create firebreaks along all major outbreaks. I repeat, using Orbital Fire to create firebreaks, you have 18 hours to get your people out of that hell, before it gets blown to hell. Firing will commence on these coordinates, wish us luck."


Addressing the Bridge Crew once more, "Make sure to double check, then check again every plotting, we're only going to get once chance at this, and I'd prefer to make history than be history," he laughs nervously. Grim nods answer, then a hustle of activity resumes, everyone dotting every I and crossing every T, doing their best to make sure this stunt goes off in the way desired.



[OOC: Orders are to attempt to use OB to put out the fires by blasting trenches and whatever else in front of the lines of advance of the fires in order to create firebreaks....]



[Really OOC: See kiddos, this is what happens when you tamper with the brain; whether it be drugs, alcohol or advanced technology, it's not a good idea to tamper with the delicate balance that the mind is in.

This has been a public service announcement by the Star Adder Alliance Against Neural Entropy (SAAANE...pronounced sane) ]

[Cannonshop]

[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 5, 4, total 9[/blockquote]

[Cannonshop]

Comms Intercept...

"...all units fall back, fall back!! the-[static]  (Coughing and screams.)"

On the Ground, Forward command point, Fireline Juliet, 44km east of Huntziger...

"It's jumped the fire-line, Get everyone out-" Lt. Gonzales barked the order, then looked up.

The world turned orange and black, as the very ground seemed to catch.

He was coughing and blind, and he could hear the roar of the flames and the occasional man screaming.

He dropped to a knee and, fumbling, found the general channel that the Adder forces had used this after-noon to announce their intent.

He punched in the request by memory-he could not see the screen, nor could he speak, his throat was filled with choking pain, and he could feel the oils burning off his skin.

Code Select Expand



Airstrike Request Grid 254610 to 215985.

The fire has jumped the fireline, civilians in danger, can not extract.

Authorization
Hector Gonzales, Lt. Kowloon Coast Guard
197-03-2189


The dryness turned to agony as his thumbs found the 'send' button, but before he could feel his body combust, he died of asphyxiation...

[GraeGor]

Damn, damn, damn, damn, The Adder CommTech mentally swore, damn, damn, damn, after seven he felt mildly better, didn't expect it to work at all, but couldn't Fate have smiled once, just once upon me.


Opening the general frequency link again, " Lt. Gonzales, confirm request. repeat, Lt. Gonzales, confirm request," static is his only reply.

Shifting back to broadband transmission, the Tech speaks, "Mahone, this is CSAS <insert WarShip name here> we have a request from one Hector Gonzales, Lt. Kowloon Coast Guard for an another round. Coordinates 254610 to 215985. No reply for request confirmation, can only presume that he has succumbed to the fires."

"CSAS <insert WarShip name here> formally requesting permission to resume Bombardment as given by Lt. Gonzales."



As he waits for the reply, he directs the resolution Officer, "Get another firing solution asap, and pray it works this time. Otherwise between the flames and our actions there may very well not be any planet or people left."


Now the rest do the hard part....wait for a response from the planet's surface, and one person took the Tech's comment about praying to heart, for just barely audible are the whispered words of another member of the Bridge Crew, "Our Father, Who Art In Heaven......"



[OOC: if Mahone gives clearance for another salvo, then the Ship will once more do their best to create another firebreak at the designated coordinates.]

[Cannonshop]

Aftermath, Mahone...

The second salvo from the Star Adders worked-the wildfires were contained on the upslope of Nugron Ridge, less than ten KM from the city of Cherbourg.

The field hospitals were packed with injured, city hospitals as well-enough that the overflow filled storefronts in the city, and the fire-generated homeless were encamped in the parks.

survivors from the Coast Guard, the Militia, the combined fire-departments and the police were exhausted from days of battling not only the blaze itself, but the problems caused as side-effects.

Many were still dealing with those problems.

"They're going to want an answer, madame Governor-who've we got to defend this world, if anyone?"  Councilman Brad Tannhauer looked out at the grounds of the planetary capitol, where thousands of civilians were now living in a tent city, their homes, livelihoods, gone, and their future bleak.

Governor Melinda Rockwell sighed.

"We have the Star Adders, Councilman, and god have mercy on me for that." she said, "I'll have to ask them for safe-passage for the Coastie survivors-I won't ask them to fight another enemy, not after what we've lost."

"The Kowloonese could still come through-" Tannhauer began.

"If they had ships, if their ships hadn't been taken by the damned Lyrans, yes." she said, "We have to work in the world of reality-and the reality is, the Commonwealth has abandoned this end of space, stripped it of ships and abandoned not only us, but Kowloon, and Arluna, and Jessenice, it's Alessandro's concentrated weakness strategy again-only this time, there's no vastness of space between the weakened worlds, and the enemy..." she gestured down from the window, "Take a good look, Tannhauer, those are OUR people living in those tents, they're alive today because our allies bled and burned until the enemy could come in to the rescue."

She sighed, "The Commonwealth has failed us, failed us all."