A Notice From the Yammacin Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Yammacin Freeholds reiterates it's commitment to the Treaty of Algiers and the legitimate government of the Two Seas Governate. The Yammacin Freeholds strongly encourages all rebel forces within the Governate to comply with standing government orders and disarm immediately.
To all those who can hear this message: Please be advised that the Cold League is now in a state of war. The ceasefire agreement has been breached by the Alpine-France invasion force. You are instructed to seek shelter immediately. If you are unable to find shelter and death seems imminent, surrendering is an option. We will make every effort to save you.
The entirety of the Cold League is an active war zone. If you have the means to leave, do so. The provisional government has instructed our embassies in other nations to make temporary visas and accommodations possible until conditions improve. Your life is worth continuing, and we hope that one day you will return without fear.
To the Gyldenlove royalist invaders, we have prepared a familiar dish of retribution, our molten fury will pour down your spine, we will wrap the old shackles around your neck, we will see to the exsanguination of your line. You will burn on your throne of privileges.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, EVANGELISTA QASVAH JABURO, MARGRAVINE PRINCESS OF THE TRI-NATIONAL UNION OF JABURO, MUISCA AND QUITO; CORDIALLY INVITES THE COMPANY OF:
[X] The Royal Republic of Zimbabwe and the Cape Representative
Most glad am I and the rest of my nation to hear of your forthcoming nuptial with the Prince of Zolon. Earnestly do we pray to Apollo-Mithra that many joyous years fall upon it. If allowed to indulge a little about your soon-to-be husband, I believe I am justified in finding him a kindhearted man, full of warmth and estimable frankness. I accept the invitation to join the ceremony on behalf of the Royal Republic. Also I wish to notify you that I will bring with me a class of honorable students from Sango Academy to share in your majesty's happiness.
Njabulu, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Royal Republic of Zimbabwe and the Cape
=] Belém Journal of Applied Sciences 283, 1001 [=
From Temple Treasures to National Treasures - Antiquities through the Long millennium.
(Buran Bezkaya, University of Serrea)
In my paper, I broach questions about the legitimacy and accountability for the displacement and loss of archaeological objects during the long Millenia. I focus on the change of the last centuries, when today's understanding of the states primacy in recovering pre-cataclysm artifacts began to eclipse the primacy of the various Cults of Apollo-Mithra that were active at that time. I want to highlight the continued presence of church based expertise and knowledge even in times of war and crisis, both for good and for the bed. While we can be thankful to the cults of the past for preserving many works of art and artifacts of ancient living, the spread and use of ancient weaponry has been a heavy topic in both contemporary and historical sources. Benefiting from some untapped and underexplored material from musealized church archives this research aims to present the cults of Apollo-Mithra as actors in multi-facet networks that grow ever more concentrated and forceful with the advent of the modern states. The sinking of a large number of mobile suits and artifacts from the ancient Dur Sharrukin vault close to the ruins of Khorsabad will serve as an example where church expertise has led to finds, while the political tensions lead to their eventual loss. I highlight the variegated agencies at play in such incidents and the intricate local circumstances to raise questions about the legitimacy of uprooting antiquities.
"Fighting in Boeotia." - Risking the Ruler. Desperation and Self-Determination
(Nége Mathieux, University of Belém)
"ubi imperatorem reliquissent, responderent pugnantem in Boeotia", this snippet of a text that was considered ancient and venerable by the time of the cataclysm has inspired me to write an paper on the presence of ruling royals on the battlefield.Many articles have been published lately on the decision of the Gran Columbian Princess to take onto the battlefield. Analysis have ranged from her lack of further use to the CanMexican regime thanks to the fusion of their commands and economies, to the more religious imagery and language involved in its presentation. In contrast I would propose to put this kind of behavior into a historic review of mondist rulers fighting on the battlefield, strictly parted from non-ruling royalists being used as battlefield leaders. Keeping ancient sources and repeated behavior as comparison I want to show that ancient behaviors that enforce fealty and bravery via force continue to resurface in mondist society thanks to the basic belief system inherent in its society. As such the ruler on the battlefield is often a sign of both desperation and a lack of trust in the existing structures of their armed forces: its a tool of crisis management that puts the usual palace-ruler into a place where they can decide their own faith - without having to rely on functionaries and subordinates. As such I want to showcase how the current situation can be seen as the latest in a long line of crisis reactions that are typical for mondist regimes fearing a breakdown of their military order.
The Station and the City - Human Habitations & Identity
(Marietta Dandrow, Applegate Research Mission)
While may seem a question of common sense, this paper will examine the question of Spacian Stations being an Urban Landscape through the lens of Obarts Memory Theory. For Obarts a city has four features: a clear origin myth; a suitable location which offers access to social and material resources; an efficient organization and a socio-political order that aims to organize the city as effectively and harmonious as possible. Of particular interest will be Obarts theories drawn from his own life in the Amazonian territories: the presence of cities far beyond their dissolution as famous places worthy of remembering, reflecting the virtues of both the city and its people. With the vast ruins of various ages before his very eyes he has interpreted the world as one that is constantly in flux and the greatest threat to civic identity and existence is the breakdown or loss of self-knowledge and memory, with a resulting decay of institutions and practices that shape urban life. These theories shall be used to examine the newest results of the Space-Archaeology projects undertaken during the past months. How could millions of functional amnesiacs restore organized civic life? How much are current structures of spacian life shaped by the city infrastructure and positioning left to them from before the catacylsm? Understanding these questions better will not only give us valuable insights into life in space, but human life as a constant.
Education as Mortal Danger - On the Moral Implications of community colleges in POW camps
(Marion Bassani, University of Rio Oscaso)
The Community Colleges of the Southern and Northern POW Camps have been founded to give both a sensible activity and perspective to the men and women imprisoned in them. With topics ranging from culinary lessons to knitting and even the chance to reach the lower rungs of higher education, these efforts have been generally greeted with growing enthusiasm by the prisoners, especially those regarding crafts and handiwork. But while this success may seem unproblematic at first, I would like to present the perspective that needs to examine if the model of community colleges for POWs does not indeed endanger them mortally. The reasons for this are pretty simple: with the staff drawn from volunteers and trained teachers alike, the colleges breathe the spirit of academia and republicanism that infused all teaching institutions in our grand republic. As such they are places where prisoners who were from lower ranks of society and generally cut off from wider news get in touch with a wholly different world. Those that excel in the college are often those who embrace the passive and active sentiments of the staff fully. Coupled with many cultural and recreational activities organized and offered by the Gran Colombian Republican Association, the prisoners are exposed to many firmly republican influences. Embracing them or merely repeating them in certain social groups has already led to violent incidents among the POWs and might lead to harsh punishment and even death should they be returned to Jaburo. Clearly partaking and embracing the community college sentiments might lead to execution and torture should the POWs be returned to their homes. As such a great responsibility falls upon us to make sure that we fulfill our moral obligations to those we have touched with the Republican Ideals that reside in us all.
In the state of the present unrest, The Most Holy Anatolian Temple of the Cult of Apollo-Mithras does inquire, with the unclear nature of the "Treaty of Algiers" in this regard,
1. Whether the "Caspian Sea Republic" will continue to honor pre-existing agreements of shared sovereignty in regards to the city of Izmir and its environs
2. Whether the "Caspian Sea Republic" will continue to allow free passage of Cult personnel and worshippers to and from the Anatolian Temple, in the pursuance of their religious duties and pilgrimage
3. Whether the "Caspian Sea Republic" will take over guardianship of the sacred sites and temples within Anatolia and Asia from the Three Seas Kingdom
4. Whether the "Caspian Sea Republic" intends to forcibly subject the city of Izmir and Anatolian Temple of the Church to military occupation
With all due courtesies, a prompt response in this manner would be urgently appreciated.
Dictated and sent in the name of Pontifex Asia, Mater Matrum Nasrin, Guardian of the Temple of Anatolia
The Caspian Sea Republic does not recognise any agreements made between the Two Seas Governate and the Cult of Apollo-Mithras regarding the shared sovereignty of the city of Izmir. As per the Ahktar Act of 957 AC, non-secular rule of a territory under the CSR is illegal and any such privileges granted by the Two Seas Governate is promptly no longer in effect. Given the Cult's involvement in the war against the Republic's allies and its role earlier in this year in attacking and looting ruins held by the Republic, the Cult will have to accept far increased scrutiny and stewardship of its holy sites under the Ministry of Culture in addition to a sharp restriction of its privileges if it wishes to stay.
If you do not accept these terms, then the Republic will alternatively offer the Cult the opportunity to peacefully evacuate with all personnel, adherents, and relics of a non-military nature from within the Temple premises to a location outside of the Caspian Sea Republic as per Article 7 of the Treaty of Algiers. The government of the Yammacin Freeholds have reached out on your behalf to offer a neutral escort of your assets to outside the country, which we are willing to accept upon notice of your agreement. Upon finalising your evacuation, the Republic will release any and all Church financial assets frozen during transfer of territory as per the Treaty of Algiers to the Yammacin Royal Western Bank, whom we have entrusted with seeing said assets returned to their owners. Please be warned that any sign of duplicity regarding the transport of military equipment (whether they be classified by Church authorities as a 'relic' or not) will result in the immediate seizure of all Church assets held by the Republic.
The Caspian Sea Republic does not recognise any agreements made between the Two Seas Governate and the Cult of Apollo-Mithras regarding the shared sovereignty of the city of Izmir. As per the Ahktar Act of 957 AC, non-secular rule of a territory under the CSR is illegal and any such privileges granted by the Two Seas Governate is promptly no longer in effect.
If you do not accept these terms, then the Republic will alternatively offer the Cult the opportunity to peacefully evacuate with all personnel, adherents, and relics of a non-military nature from within the Temple premises to a location outside of the Caspian Sea Republic as per Article 7 of the Treaty of Algiers. The government of the Yammacin Freeholds have reached out on your behalf to offer a neutral escort of your assets to outside the country, which we are willing to accept upon notice of your agreement. Upon finalising your evacuation, the Republic will release any and all Church financial assets frozen during transfer of territory as per the Treaty of Algiers to the Yammacin Royal Western Bank, whom we have entrusted with seeing said assets returned to their owners. Please be warned that any sign of duplicity regarding the transport of military equipment (whether they be classified by Church authorities as a 'relic' or not) will result in the immediate seizure of all Church assets held by the Republic.
It has been nearly a year since the Seraphim first engaged with the Republic of the Amazon Territories, a nation that we saw as having the potential to become a peer of those of space. Those hopes have been dashed by the invasion of that country by the Mondist states of South America, and the country has now suffered a half-year of at war. We do not believe this stalemated conflict, the tremendous waste of life and material it represents, to be either desirable nor capable of fostering a process of peace while its aggressors see the possibility of victory.
For this reason the Seraphim will be formally declaring our intention to join the fighting on the side of the Amazon Territories, and will be sending officers to the joint theater command.
Those states aggrieved by this decision may lodge their complaints as needed, and in return permit withdrawal of Seraph citizens and organizations from their borders within a negotiated timeframe.
High-priority transmission from the Supreme Ruler of the Anlscar Orbital Cluster
Before I begin, Anlscar would like to thank the Lunari Republic for allowing the use of their expansive communications systems to broadcast this message across the entirety of the Earth and orbital sphere, to Spacian and Earthian alike.
It has been nearly a year since the beginning of the South American conflict, and still, there is no end in sight. Both sides of the war continue to escalate beyond imagining to truly unacceptable levels. Blood flows in rivers across the Amazon, and while Anlscar has not chosen to be directly involved in such a conflict, we have witnessed it from not only our own position but that of the Margraviate of Jaburo and the Amazon Territories as well.
In order to try and bring an end to the bloodshed on South American soil, the Anlscarian government approached and entered discussions with many of the parties directly involved on the South American continent in an attempt to try and bring peace to this beautiful corner of the Earth once more.
The Margraviate of Jaburo, The Amazon Territories, Applegate, Algeria and ZOLON were all receptive and open to the idea of peace and were perfectly willing to come together and discuss terms so that the pointless bloodshed would end.
However, we also approached the enigmatic Seraphim. Of all the parties approached and spoken with, they alone were the only group that showed not only scepticism to our attempts but a complete unwillingness to offer any sort of proper answer. They informed our ambassadors that they wished to wait.
I think it is clear to us all now, what it is that they are waiting for.
The Seraphim have chosen not only to let the bloodshed continue across the South American continent but to spill even more in this naked desire for conflict. I cannot say for what reason or why that case may be, as it is almost surely a radical redirection when compared to their previous actions and desires to assist all people regardless of alignment or creed.
It is almost certain that in response to the Seraphim fully entering the war, ZOLON will respond accordingly. Already this conflict has grown to the point of the deployment of weapons of mass destruction on the soil of our birth world, and this mad decision to escalate rather than continue the path to peace could be the tipping point that leads to our doom, for Spacian and Earthian alike.
We urge all powers across Earth and Space to take a stance and let their voices be heard concerning this decision and call upon Cradle to intervene before it is far too late.
The Cradle Foundation reports that it has facilities in the general area of Mount Erebrus and will impose a 60-kilometer exclusive zone around our facilities there in interest of full disclosure.
The Seraphim Council will be sending an envoy to a location of the Foundation's choosing to discuss a number of issues, most pressingly the smooth establishment and maintenance of the Mount Erebus cordon in a manner that best suits the Cradles and the signatory states of ARCADIA. We hope the Foundation will find this arrangement in its best interests, and consider joining the organization at a later date.
An orbital transit advisory from the Applegate Teamster's Trunk-01 Refurbishment Working Group
August 1, 1001
Work on the colony cylinder renamed Trunk-01 has reached a point where the structure is safe to move. As such, the cylinder is scheduled to be moved from its current location in the Pacific Shoal Zone near the Singapore Elevator to its new position attached to the Applegate Elevator starting September 1 and concluding by September 15. All ships operating in LEO are advised to exercise caution around the orbital path as the cylinder will not be able to make emergency adjustments to its orbit. Please see the attached documentation for further information.
In this document the Seraphim Council and the government of the Kingdom of Madagascar recognize the increasing popularity of ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), native to Southern and Southwestern Madagascar, as a domestic companion animal. In order to protect the welfare and dignity of these intelligent primates, both governments have come together to create a series of guidelines and measures to continue the prosperity of these animals both in the wild and in their new homes.
A new Domestic Lemur Welfare Commission (DWLC) will be created to study the Lemur as a domestic animal, create guidelines and study materials for pet owners and establish proper veterinary medicine protocols.
The DLWC will have sole right to issue export licenses for all lemur species endemic to Madagascar.
All animals sold to date will be grandfathered in with a 3-year grace period to register animals and conduct proper veterinary checks.
All animal vendors who trade in lemurs will be required to register within 3 years or face fines. 95% of licensing fees for vendors will be waived during the initial 2 years.
The DLWC will have a paramilitary anti-poaching taskforce, armed with non-lethal Seraphim small arms and given the use of Series-C mobile suits with low-impact turbofan systems for forestry work.
Former hunters and poachers from the highlands of Madagascar will be given preference in hiring practices.
Should this organization prove successful in curbing illegal lemur poaching, it will be expanded to other wildlife in Madagascar.
The Seraphim will contribute 95% of funding for the DLWC for an intial period of 20 years, after which the responsibility will be split between the Seraphim and Madagascar.
As a primate of high intelligence, the Lemur will be subject to Class-A animal protections including provisions on genetic engineering.
The Lemur may not be subject to intelligence-enhancing genetic modifications by private or uncertified entities.
The Lemur may not be subject to lethal agricultural pest control measures unless populations are at Conservation - Least Concern (LC) stability.
The Lemur may not be subject to weaponization measures, made to carry improvised explosives or as a device of explosive clearance, or trained to attack humans or other animals in close quarters combat (CQC).
Assuming normalized diplomatic relations, the Seraphim and Kingdom of Madagascar will conduct best practices to prevent smuggling and provide assistance to states that develop invasive lemur populations due to human negligence.
If a genetically distinct but cross-compatible domesticated Lemur breed is created, additional biosecurity measures will be undertaken to prevent it from replacing or contaminating wild populations with exogenes.
[x] Scarlet Blanche, Special Envoy of the Earth Development Commission
[x] Secretary of State Andrianary Raharimanana (Kingdom of Madagascar)
Anthony Gisbert has served in the undefeated army of the Divine Monarch since he had come of age, entering the barracks like his father, his uncles, their fathers and uncles before them. He had grown into manhood among the uniforms, drills and cameradie of the brigade. He had been deployed with his friends, his cousins and all of those he liked, loved and hated. Now only he remained.
He had known this land to be forsaken by the divine light of Apollo-Mithra, its people having forsaken all of the ancient and wise customs and laws that had kept the Divine Monarchy strong and supreme for the past millennium. When the orders had come he had crowded in the dark chamber of the baptism to feel the gods warm blessing springing from the lifeblood of sacrifice that they had brought forward to be slain by their chaplain. He thanked the Divine for the providence it had bestowed upon him, for the bullets of the godless beings from the beyond had not pierced his flesh and neither hunger nor sickness had laid him low like so many others around him.
He didn't doubt that it was by the grace of the Divine and the smallest sliver of attention of his Divine Majesty that had allowed him to survive the months of fighting where others had fallen and he dutifully slipped the coins of silver into his socks whenever he marched out into the jungle. Their familiar weight and the warm shape was giving him comfort even now, as he wading through the hip high brackish water, the slow current dragging on his uniform as he held his rifle up and ready, the bayonet glistened by the moisture that filled these ancient tunnels.
His Captain had been sure: these tunnels were part of an ancient irrigation system, leading towards the mountains in the north, away from the warmachines of the enemy and towards friendly lines. Once they might have been at the surface, but the mighty hand of the Divine had cast them downwards, like the many bits and pieces he had found as a child digging through the fields of their homestead. Clearly it was providence that had brought them to the entry of these tunnels, providence of the training of their chaplain able to decipher the ancient signs on the vast walls around them. A safe harbor from the enemies flying mobile suits and a route back to their comrades - he could only vow to give praise to his Majesty and Apollo-Mithras when he returned to the shrines of the brigade.
"La Lux!", someone suddenly scrambled further up and the whole company let out a sigh of relief, the sounds of their slow progress through the water faltering for a moment, not even curses at the mud and what animals had made the brackish stream their home, broke this small reprieve….before gunshots shattered any hope it had given them.
From one moment to another the small light that had been spotted at the end of the tunnel burst into two suns, bright enough to blind the unwary onlooker for a few moments, bright enough to put their sodden and bedraggled figures into a stark contrast. It was clear enough: whoever had waited at the end of the tunnel hadn't called for identification and had come from the other direction: they were the godless enemy.
Even with the stars filling his vision, he threw himself sideways against the wall, bringing up his rifle and loosening his shots towards the light, eager to give his comrades a chance to gather themselves once more. But as he emptied his bullets downrange his ears picked up a sound that was making his heart sink rapidly: the sharp binging noise of bullets bouncing off hardened armor.
Straining to see through light and darkness both as he rummaged for the next magazine, his eyes were able to make out an outline, one that looked…weirdly hunched over, a mockery of an infantryman crouching down low. It was a machine, one bearing the accursed three stripes of the enemy, crouched down like a man and low enough to fit into the tunnel where any of their own machines would have been unable to do so. For a moment his mind struggled to identify it, thoughts going to presentations and battles he had seen in the last months - only to come up empty. Whatever it was, it wasn't firing back, instead it seemed to be holding some kind of shield - or dozer blade, a mixture of both that was shielding its heavily armored form from the bullets of the Divine Army.
But shock didn't stop them for long: the enemy wasn't returning fire and the heavier guns were brought forward, their supports slammed into the mud and muck as their gunners loaded them for armor breaking work. But as they did, something caught Anthony's attention: a small flame had sprung into existence along the elongated barrel the machine was wielding in its other arm, connected to something large on its back and then…
…heat, fire and screams going up all around him as hungry snakes of flame blazed through the tunnel, casting ancient walls into furious light as the flames danced over the water and his comrades caught fire like so many wicks, munitions going off in their pockets and rifles melting as chaos reigned. Some tried to run, others tried to fire the heavier guns but a second stream of fire was thrown over them like with a deceptive lightness that didn't hide a hint of its deadliness.
A terrible smell filled his nose, worse than the times he had danced too close to the fires on Emperor's Birthday, worse than the smell of the pyres erected to deal with the fallen as the army had advanced. Worse for he could see his own uniform being alight with fire, his own skin being devoured and his flesh failing as the weapon fell from his grip, a strangled cry unable to breath in anything, leaving him gagging as he fell….and the flames offered no respite as the fire continued to dance on top of it turning dozens of men into nothing more than crumbled dying driftwood.
When the cockpit opened with a small hiss and the light of the day shone down upon her again, Soraia was able to take two steps out of it, before doubling over, Rocha and Luíza rushing to her side and holding her shoulders as she emptied the krill biscuits she had forced herself to eat during breakfast right there onto the clearing floor. The dry heaving didn't stop as she started sobbing, her friends holding her and lightly rubbing her back.
A little to the side Friedrich could only shake his head in regret, the Sgt. stripes on his collar weighing heavily as he informed the Lt. that one of the engineering crews had run into the enemy. While there had been no losses and only some wounded, the C(a)-weapon platform might need some more training and moral support for deployments with the flamethrower.
Right now they could only hope that Applegate had more orbital imagery of radar scans during the dry and wet seasons, to make sure that they would be able to find and block any escape the mondists would find otherwise.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, EVANGELISTA QASVAH JABURO, MARGRAVINE PRINCESS OF THE TRI-NATIONAL UNION OF JABURO, MUISCA AND QUITO; CORDIALLY INVITES THE COMPANY OF:
THE AUGUST PERSONAGES OF THE EARTHBOUND SOVEREIGNS
[X] Divine Monarchy of Canada and Mexico Representative @Nerdorama
[] Great Siberian Host Representative @DanBaque
[X] Cult of Apollo-Mithras Representative @Fancy Face
[X] New Ethiopian Empire Representative @Theaxofwar
[] Principality of Bolivia Representative @BiopunkOtrera
[X] The Kingdom of Lilies Representative @Easter
[X] Yammacin Freeholds Representative @Nanolyte
[] Directorate of Hispania Representative @Rincewind
[X] The Alpine Imperate Representative @Mordred
[X] The Royal Republic of Zimbabwe and the Cape Representative @Carol
THE GRANDEUR OF THE SPACEWARD POWERS
[X] Anlscar Orbital and the Governate of Peru Representative @BigBacon
[] The Lunari Representative @Secondskink
[] The Pallasi Representative @Shrike
[] Juno Representative @Valleron
[] Axis Seraphim Representative @FantasticMsFox
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT MOST ANCIENT HUMANITARIAN INSTITUTION
[X] Cradle Organization Representative @Silence
AT THE MARRIAGE OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS EVANGELISTA QASVAH JABURO WITH ION-III-ZOHAR, PRINCE OF ZOLON AT THE SAINT SARAH CATHEDRAL, D'ORO PALACE JABURO ON OCTOBER 5TH AT 11 A.M. FOLLOWED BY A RECEPTION AT THE D'ORO PALACE.
SIGNED BY THE SOON TO BE WED COUPLE:
[X] Evangelista Qasvah Jaburo, Margravine Princess of Jaburo
[X] Ion-III-Zohar, Prince of ZOLON and Margrave Prince to be of Jaburo @Hollewanderer
Tacet Custodes
The time has now for us to come out of the shadows. Formally we are the Earth Federation Cradle Foundation, created to safeguard, research and archive information for the Federation for the advancement of mankind. During the apocalypse we had paid a great price in ending the threat of the cataclysm machines before returning to our redoubts to maintain our ancient vigil of guardian the archives. It had been the policy of the Cradle to silently observe and when appropriate guard Earthian survivors from afar.
The arrival of the Spacian and Sepharim was predicted to shake up affairs on the surface, however the calamity of this interaction is now far exceeding projections and thus a more active role is required. To the nations of Earth we have no desire to get involved in between national struggles, the destinies of Earth powers should Earthians to determine. We will take a gimlet eye towards any unreasonable Spacian colonization of the Earth, use of WMDs or other actions that threaten the environmental health of the motherworld.
What can other nations expect from the Cradle? A helping hand to bootstrap technological capabilities to match those of space. As such we have two major plans of initiatives.
First and foremost is the United Launch Alliance project, nations willing to work with us, will in return for resources and manpower be given assistance in constructing the infrastructure needed for their own space programs, with secondary goals of upgrading other defense related structures.
Second is the World Health Organization, we intend to recreate the ancient Federal organ which had helped eliminate disease in the past. We of course are cognizant of the fact of the Seraphim's own help in this matter.
We also offer our services to warring Earthian powers as neutral arbitrator.
The Directorate of Hispania is pleased to welcome the Cradle into the community of nations on Earth , and is happy to see an ancestor group signaling it's willingness to respect Earth and it's nations and to avoid abuses of their knowledge.
We will join both the United Launch Alliance space program and the World Health Organization.
First and foremost is the United Launch Alliance project, nations willing to work with us, will in return for resources and manpower be given assistance in constructing the infrastructure needed for their own space programs, with secondary goals of upgrading other defense related structures.
Second is the World Health Organization, we intend to recreate the ancient Federal organ which had helped eliminate disease in the past. We of course are cognizant of the fact of the Seraphim's own help in this matter.
Tacet Custodes
The time has now for us to come out of the shadows. Formally we are the Earth Federation Cradle Foundation, created to safeguard, research and archive information for the Federation for the advancement of mankind. During the apocalypse we had paid a great price in ending the threat of the cataclysm machines before returning to our redoubts to maintain our ancient vigil of guardian the archives. It had been the policy of the Cradle to silently observe and when appropriate guard Earthian survivors from afar.
The arrival of the Spacian and Sepharim was predicted to shake up affairs on the surface, however the calamity of this interaction is now far exceeding projections and thus a more active role is required. To the nations of Earth we have no desire to get involved in between national struggles, the destinies of Earth powers should Earthians to determine. We will take a gimlet eye towards any unreasonable Spacian colonization of the Earth, use of WMDs or other actions that threaten the environmental health of the motherworld.
What can other nations expect from the Cradle? A helping hand to bootstrap technological capabilities to match those of space. As such we have two major plans of initiatives.
First and foremost is the United Launch Alliance project, nations willing to work with us, will in return for resources and manpower be given assistance in constructing the infrastructure needed for their own space programs, with secondary goals of upgrading other defense related structures.
Second is the World Health Organization, we intend to recreate the ancient Federal organ which had helped eliminate disease in the past. We of course are cognizant of the fact of the Seraphim's own help in this matter.
We also offer our services to warring Earthian powers as neutral arbitrator.
-Director Kazou Sakura
---- Classified Location
Cradle-[XXXX]
Not many people wandered this portion of the facility for the last several hundred years. Autonomous maintenance drones kept it clean, and well maintained though. The white hallways with the hint of antiseptic smell of medical facility, with one wall of the hallway wall screens displaying the cryogenics status, and the other side a window that looked out upon the vast forest of pods where the children of a dead Earth laid in slumber for the promise of Ragnarök or Paradise.
High heels clicking against the white tile floor the hallway, a slender figure with a braided silver hair ponytail wrapped around her neck, wearing white and black uniform of the old Federation general, walked ahead of a pack of a few medical personnel and their more numerous robotic drone assistants. Few of the living wandered the halls of the Cradle, but their presence had been made up, increasing more and more by the advance robotics put into the service as Cradle personnel rotated in and out of cryosleep.
The procession took them through the door into the greater facility towards one section of the cryopods where several armed spider drones guarded one pod in particular, which had on its top bolted on someone homemade 3d printed model of mobile suit with V fin and angelic wings. The lead figure raised an eyebrow at that, but made no comment, though the next day security would be given a talking-to about unauthorized access to the VIP section.
The general pulled off the white glove on her right hand, revealing a slender pale hand with silver inlays of haptic implants and placed it against the seal screen dominating the center of the pod. Red lines gave way to a green screen that said "AUTHORIZATION GRANTED. S KAZOU" and the current date in the old Federal calendar.
She moved the hand off the pod and put the glove back on, as the pod outer casing began to spin around uncovering internal latches that began unlocking and pulling back as the pod shifted from a vertical pose towards horizontal one, eventually revealing a young woman with a mess of blonde hair, a medical bodysuit and several red welts from where the expert systems that had treated her before the freezing had conducted their intrusive operations on her to rebuild her after her last encounter in space.
The medical team leapt into action, switching over the cables of the pod biomon systems towards their portable ones on the gurney they had brought with. One of the lead doctors wearing a face obscuring mask with multiple lenses looked up at the silver hair general. "No sign of cryoshock, readings are stabilized. Doctor Hess's work is also looking good. No expected problems on our end Director."
"Good move her to recovery and prepare a full therapy course, I want her back in the field by next week."
"I must protest that we need…"
"Uriel has returned, Doctor Nakamura. We need the soul of Metaron operational yesterday."
At the word Uriel, the sleeping figure stirred and piercing blue eyes opened, "Urrrrr?" the figure slurred looking around in confusion.
The director kneeled down and grabbed the pilot's hand, "Yes Charlotte. The monster has returned, and I will need you if we are forced to slay it. We're safe for now, so rest while you can. I intend to maximize my use of you."
While she was talking, Nakamura injected a sedative into her iv port, "Neurons were spiking, I think she was reliving the events that killed her."
"She was only slightly dead when Hess put her back together, speaking of which, can you handle her treatment Nakamura or should I pull Hess back from sleep as well?"
The director could feel the irritation from the faceless doctor's mask, but his voice was level, "I'm just as expert cybernetican as Hess is. We can leave the old timer to his beauty. Now if you excuse me, I have a patient to fuss over." Nakamura's posse of robotic drones started moving the gurney back towards the hallway leading to the more inhabited portion of the Cradle, leaving the group.
The director looked at others, "All right follow me, we have some more Aegis personal to unfreeze as well."
The Alpine Imperate will express a tenative interest in the two organisations and while we are not willing to commit fully at this time would be interested in a sort of trial participation in the two organisations or some form of observer status if not. We would be happy for Cradle to open up an Embassy within Imperate territory and we look forward to future discussions with those who came before.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, EVANGELISTA QASVAH JABURO, MARGRAVINE PRINCESS OF THE TRI-NATIONAL UNION OF JABURO, MUISCA AND QUITO; CORDIALLY INVITES THE COMPANY OF:
THE AUGUST PERSONAGES OF THE EARTHBOUND SOVEREIGNS
[X] Divine Monarchy of Canada and Mexico Representative @Nerdorama
[] Great Siberian Host Representative @DanBaque
[X] Cult of Apollo-Mithras Representative @Fancy Face
[X] New Ethiopian Empire Representative @Theaxofwar
[] Principality of Bolivia Representative @BiopunkOtrera
[X] The Kingdom of Lilies Representative @Easter
[X] Yammacin Freeholds Representative @Nanolyte
[X] Directorate of Hispania Representative @Rincewind
[X] The Alpine Imperate Representative @Mordred
[X] The Royal Republic of Zimbabwe and the Cape Representative @Carol
[] Kingdom of Argentina Representative
Tacet Custodes
The time has now for us to come out of the shadows. Formally we are the Earth Federation Cradle Foundation, created to safeguard, research and archive information for the Federation for the advancement of mankind. During the apocalypse we had paid a great price in ending the threat of the cataclysm machines before returning to our redoubts to maintain our ancient vigil of guardian the archives. It had been the policy of the Cradle to silently observe and when appropriate guard Earthian survivors from afar.
The arrival of the Spacian and Sepharim was predicted to shake up affairs on the surface, however the calamity of this interaction is now far exceeding projections and thus a more active role is required. To the nations of Earth we have no desire to get involved in between national struggles, the destinies of Earth powers should Earthians to determine. We will take a gimlet eye towards any unreasonable Spacian colonization of the Earth, use of WMDs or other actions that threaten the environmental health of the motherworld.
What can other nations expect from the Cradle? A helping hand to bootstrap technological capabilities to match those of space. As such we have two major plans of initiatives.
First and foremost is the United Launch Alliance project, nations willing to work with us, will in return for resources and manpower be given assistance in constructing the infrastructure needed for their own space programs, with secondary goals of upgrading other defense related structures.
Second is the World Health Organization, we intend to recreate the ancient Federal organ which had helped eliminate disease in the past. We of course are cognizant of the fact of the Seraphim's own help in this matter.
We also offer our services to warring Earthian powers as neutral arbitrator.
First and foremost is the United Launch Alliance project, nations willing to work with us, will in return for resources and manpower be given assistance in constructing the infrastructure needed for their own space programs, with secondary goals of upgrading other defense related structures.
Second is the World Health Organization, we intend to recreate the ancient Federal organ which had helped eliminate disease in the past. We of course are cognizant of the fact of the Seraphim's own help in this matter.
After some consideration, the Seraphim will be joining these organizations into order to improve our own knowledge-sharing programs and best-serve our trading partners and humanitarian objectives on Earth. We would encourage the other SHARE and SADE states to do the same.
It is with caution that Algeria greets the Earth Federation, but we hope that caution proves unwarranted. May your re-emergence to the world stage prove a benefit to everyone. Our doors are open, should you require anything.
Algeria will be joining both the World Health Organisation and the United Launch Alliance. We would ask that the Federation be mindful of the organisations and groups built up in the present, and not only look to the past as a source of leadership.
Re: ULA and WHO
The Foundation is pleased to find that these initiatives have sparked interests across such as broad range of Earth and Spacer powers. With the regard the former, we will be soon forthcoming up with our standardized uplift program of construction. With the later we welcome with association status as we seriously doubt, they need our specialists but will welcome any help they wish to offer these organizations.
-Director Kazou
Re: Trade Opportunities:
The Cradle's Office of Economic Studies has notice that the current modern world is lacking a luxury item that had started gaining popularity in the old Federation before its destruction. Due to a shipping a mix, up at one of facilities we have more than enough units to sell and as well the production capacity to make more as demand requires. Using property black box technology of the old Federation, we are proud to offer Gunpla Build and Fighting System (GBFS), using a combination of holographic, neural reading and microbots, this system can use model figures modeled after existing and theoretical mobile suits to create a simulated "dumb downed" cockpit display where players can entertain themselves by fighting each other in simulated environment where nobody gets hurt. The Cradle will trade raw resources for these systems.
-Vice Director of Exterior Operations Morgan Brimsford.
Classified Location
Cradle-[XXXX]
"What a utterly bizarre world you have awoken me to Colonel, we got honest to god medieval style kingdoms next to creepy retrojects from the dark ages of the twentieth century to three different flavors of Seraphs in addition to overgrown Teamster Union as well" said the young woman dressed in sky blue and white uniform of the Cradle's Aegis Division, as she looked over her shoulder from the several scrolling screens of intelligence briefings about the state of the world in one of the empty large common rooms that she had taken over for her own personal use since being letting out of medical as Director Kazou took a step into the chaos that was Charlotte Cauldwell's new lair. Formerly drab walls were covered with maps, shelves full of little figurines, a bed had been dragged over covered with stuff animals, and clothes littered the floor in trail from the door to the bed, and in the corner a pair of cleaning robots were working overtime to deal with the aftermath of the previous night experiment in cooking, another corner was dominated by the small arsenal of weapons she had mysteriously came up with despite the armorer staff saying all weapons were accounted for.
"I'm glad you're making yourself at home." The director said diplomatically as she gently stepped over a pile of training manuals on the FAKE types to take a seat nearby on a swivel chair in front of a large entertainment system setup gently putting the stack of manga on nearest unused surface; since coming back to life Char had more than exceeded usual exuberance in enjoying life and the things she liked without slowing down for lesser affairs such as being neat or tidy. "Doctor Nakumura believes you will be flight qualified again in another month."
"I'm good enough now, give me a suit and I'll get up and take care of Uriel properly this time, I have been figuring out what I did wrong last time."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, not enough firepower for a direct assault, I'll lead into a colo…."
"If the solution is you commit another war crime, I don't want to hear it Char."
"But Col…" the blonde woman stopped as she saw the Director's look and looked down and mumbled dejectly, "It was good plan too.. All right! All right! Back to the planning board." With a wave of hand she closed the reports, the last screen zipping out the intelligence page on Juno as she said, "Thankfully these Seraphs don't seem to be as outwardly ruthless as the ones we fought again. Time and their ill-fated voyage Pluto have changed them."
Director Kazou shrugged and said with a bitter tone only her closet of her associates ever heard ever in private, "Time will tell if these Seraphs are different then their forebears. Remember their smiles they had on their faces right before they stabbed us in the back and destroyed what was left of civilization."
Char gave a silvery laugh and smiled as she reminisced, "How can I forget? I know it was bad you know with all the killing and everybody going mad, but on a personal level I enjoyed the apocalyse, you let me loose to go wild to buy the Cradle time and during that time, me and Lucifer were one and the same. Nothing else before compared, though nearly dying at the end was unfortunate. You know at one point during the end of the campaign I was worried that we would be done with war, I mean humanity that is, and what would be there for me to do?"
Director Kazou stared at Char's face, and for a moment the years both subjective and real spun backwards to when she discovered Char all those years ago in the blood stained and body filled lab hidden beneath Wan-Hoo Cradle. Giving a deep sigh she gave Char another one of her looks, "You'll be flying out as part of a delegation to represent us at Jaburo. Can you handle that?"
Char looked honestly wounded at the question and shook her head vigorously up and down, causing it to splay out wildly, as she gave a smile without any warmth to it, "Oh yes Colonel, I can. I have been reading up on Jaburo and Zolon etiquette as such. I'll be the most perfect and polite and diplomatic martinet of a non-committal soldier since General Werner in front of an Assembly sub-committee during budget time.
Many of her subordinates, mostly those who had only known Char from the short period of time since her awakening on base would have doubted that given her personality she displayed, but the old timers had seen Char in action in the public before; after all the lab that made her, worked on assassins as well as soldiers.
"I'll convey your message perfectly to the Seraphs."
"Oh yeah and what exactly do you think I am sending out to the Seraphs."
"That we remember what they did and will oppose them if they try it again. I mean why else why would you send the Demon King of the Federation to a fated union between the heavens and the earth?"
Warachives Delta X9
Topic: Operation Angel's Down Sicily.
Classified File Image 5031: Colonel Cauldwell and the former Gundam LUCIFER,
At a time when our brave soldiers are liberating our nation and march ever onwards to victory a most bewildering of institutions has opened up in the streets of Serrea. Hundreds of curious onlookers, mostly students, had gathered before the gates of the closed dancing hall, as technicians and engineers unloaded around a dozen large containers, each around as large as an automobile. But even these were eventually dwarfed by a package that easily reached the size of a swimming pool and was transported with the greatest of care.
Our readers are surely just as interested in the happenings in our streets as our intrepid journalists were, especially when members of the military engineering corps and members of the wartime studies college were seen filling into the building with barely concealed eagerness. As members of the press - and thanks to knowing one of the engineers in question as a peace-time printer in our house - our journalists were able to enter what they were told was to be the first GBFS center of the country!
The acronym, for the love for these was deeply ingrained in the military mind, we were told stands for Gunpla Build and Fighting System, an educational and recreational entertainment system from the pre-cataclysm era. Described to us as a kind of interactive cinematography, we were awed to peek inside of the large containers and find the cockpits and view of a Mobile suit inside of them! And these could be changed! From the very layout to even the temperature and languages used for the controls.
But even this was nothing compared to the system in action: hydraulics and the tiniest of electronics were used to simulate not only the view from the suit, but also its behavior, movement and taking damage. One of our less brave photographers even fainted when he was thrown around inside of the box upon the explosion of his B-Type by the hand of our lead journalist!
Its true: these wondrous machines can be linked up, allowing you to play at being mobile suit pilots with friends, colleges and schoolmates - with a large holographic pool in the middle of the center allowing the curious onlookers awaiting their turn to watch miniature representation of the forces inside of the interactive-movie battle it out in the jungles of our home, the sands of Algeria or even on the glittering surface of the moon!
Regional Military Command has informed us that ticket prizes will be waived for any soldiers and their families, with further ticket prizes going into a fund for the orphaned and widowed families of our soldiers. As local educational experts are already worried about the impact the war is having on our children, access to these pods will only be given after the age of twelve. Everyone above it can - like me - enjoy battling against their friends or joining up to fight the mondists through the streets of Belém!
Buy a Ticket today, support our troops and experience a unique perspective into modern warfare!
The Amazon Territories gladly accept the Invitation to the United Launch Alliance and the World Health Organization, as sister organisations to the Seraphim efforts and a fitting addition to the Red Line.
Signed:
Senior-Professor Henry Pflaume, Minister of International Relationships
Those states aggrieved by this decision may lodge their complaints as needed, and in return permit withdrawal of Seraph citizens and organizations from their borders within a negotiated timeframe.
It is the desire of Siberia to note that the Seraphim would better succeed in the obtaining of peace by forcing their vassal states to the peace table.
[X] Attended by Prince Imkho of the Great Imperial House of Siberia, Ever-Lasting Light of the Hearts of Men, feet-burner, Entitled-Coaler, Slayer of the Steel Dragon, Vitch-Count of Tembelesi and Akht-Count of Admara, Chief of the Order of Legitimate Exile, Grand Banneret of the Army of Six Heavens, Protector and Guide of the Hospital Ordinances and his most noble court and company
As a significant component of the Earth/Space interface the Applegate Teamsters are eager to support and join any organization that is working to ensure the health and wellbeing of all peoples. We are happy to join the WHO.
The Applegate Teamsters join the World Health Organization per the Permanent Health Services Group after ratification by popular vote.
The mondist attack was brutal, but then again they always were.
The worst kind of battle that an army could fight was a meeting engagement. Both armies mobile, neither prepared or dug in, the advantage lay entirely in movement and striking power. Luck was also a decisive factor, who happened to be close to the good ground, who had chosen the right road for their best troops.
The Algerians had not been lucky today. Jaburan infantry surged forward on their newest assault against tired line of troops who had been told that they would sweep a weak flank in front of them.
Tinifsan popped up from behind the rock she had taken shelter behind and fired off some shots with her rifle. The new semi-autos were a step up, but the mondists had found themselves with spacian gear somehow and she felt outgunned. Still, a gun was a gun, and she swore she dropped at least two of them before she pulled back to reload.
Tamment was next to her, panting from exertion. Wrina was in the small dugout that the squad had managed to scrape out of the ground a couple meters away. Besides the three of them, they were sure if anyone else had survived. Their machine gunner had taken a bullet to the lungs after they got flanked in the last push, and in fighting that off everyone had gotten separated.
"This might be it, eh?" Tinifsan said as she slid the clip into her rifle. She was trying to keep her voice level, but she could feel the shakiness that had little to do with the explosions happening around her.
Tamment sniffed, struggling with her own reload. Her hands must have gotten numb from the fighting. "Like I'd give you the satisfaction, azizati. We could use the machine gun though. Care to volunteer?"
Tinifsan looked over to see if there was even a chance she might make it, only to see that they had been beaten to the punch. Wrina was crawling through the mud towards the machine gun already, and was nearly there. With the mondist infantry in the open, they'd be easy targets.
"Wrina! Ah girl! We'll cover you!" Tinifsan yelled before turning back. "Wrina agrees, so get shooting or throwing habibti!"
She didn't need to wait to see if Tamment would follow suit, Tinifsan just whipped back out of cover and began firing. Accuracy was less important here, she just wanted to slow them down and drag their attention to her. It seemed to work, with her shots finding enough marks that t caused return fire to swiftly come back her way. Enough that she had to duck back down, grabbing her last grenade and tossing it over the rock as she did to add to the cover for Wrina.
Only moments later, she heard the machine gun open up. It was a horrible, guttural sound that felt violent to its core. Tinifsan looked back around the rock in time to see the groups of mondist infantry just disappear under the hail of fire. She could hear Wrina screaming something but the sound of the machine gun firing made it impossible to hear what. Knowing her, that was best, she'd been in a dark mood ever since Zira's body had been found.
Tinifsan finished her next reload, noticing that her ammo pouch was getting light. Maybe one more clip left, then she'd have to run. Assuming she still could run? The battlefield had become so overwhelming that she had no idea if there was anywhere left on earth that would truly be free of it.
If she was stuck here then, she may as well fight. Another pop out of cober had her firing at mondists, though this time they had their heads down. It meant less return fire, so she could take her time aiming, but they were harder to hit.
"Come out and play, bastards!" she shouted as she shot once, twice, three times. She wasn't sure if her shots were hitting anymore, just shooting at anything that moved.
Then a tree cracked to her left, and she whipped around to see the mobile suit.
In the grand stage of nations, a B-Type is a weak thing. Antiquated, slow, by some considered the lowest form of suit. They weren't highly sought after, nor were they prized for their capabilities.
On the scale of a woman on the ground with a rifle, a B-Type was just as much a herald of the apocalypse as the King of Knives.
The mobile suit leveled its gun, and Tinifsan realised almost too late what it was targeting..she whipped to her right, shouting "Wrina, down!"
Even if she had acted in time, Wrina wouldn't have heard her. Between her own screaming and the roar of the machine gun, no words were reaching her anymore.
Tinifsan watched as her friend disappeared in an explosion of mud and carnage.
She fell back behind the rock, her hand shaking as she slotted the last clip into her rifle. "Tamment," she said, trying to stay calm. When there was no reply she tried again but louder. "Tamment, they got Wrina."
There was still no response. "Yeah, yeah I know. It's war. Do you have any ammo? I'm out." Tinifsan finally looked over, only to see her dearest friend, the light of her life, splayed out on her back on the ground. A bullet wound in her forehead and another in the shoulder told her everything she needed to know
"Like you'll give me the satisfaction," said Tinifsan through clenched teeth as she finished the reload. "Bitch. Leave me to do all the work."
A massive shadow fell over Tinifsan as something eclipsed the sun. A mobile suit had landed right next to her, so huge that it was almost incomprehensible, but piloted so delicately that it had barely made an impact.
Tinifsan could barely see what kind it was, her vision had gone blurry. Not that it mattered to her all that much. She had seen what had happened to her side's mobile suits earlier, there was no way it was here to help.
She should be terrified, she should be so scared that she couldn't even think. Having an enemy mobile suit next to you was a nightmare that plagued infantry everywhere. The giant metal monsters were unstoppable gods of war, and you were just one person with a gun that couldn't damage the thing in a thousand years. She should have been terrified.
Instead, Tinifsan rose to her feet, shouldered her rifle, and shot the thing in the head. The bullet bounced off impotently, but she followed it with another, then another. Soon, she'd unloaded almost the full clip, and looked down as she instinctively went to get another.
When she looked back up, the mobile suit was looking down at her.
"What?" Tinifsan screamed, completely losing control of her voice. "You think I'm scared of you? Dog! Coward!" She fired the last round in her rifle, but it was blocked by the leg of the mobile suit that rose up.
"Are you ready, Mondist?" She shouted, staring up at the foot positioned above her. "Because I am!"
There was a thump, and Tinifsan never complained again.
Domina Gunn feels her hands tighten around her controls as her Mam Scath finishes her initial climb to patrol height. Without using optics, she can the rain is rolling in. Heavy drops, each one streaking over the refitted frame of her suit. She feels every drop.
The sky at the security perimeter is full of dirty clouds, nourished by the constant burn of artillery and wrecked mobile suits. White but speckled with flecks of ash, their contour spectra flash with actinic pinks and electric blues, flickering with nauseating indistinction. Tactical M-particle deployment cuts lines of non-communication across the open air, shifting with the rising air and breaking with the daily rains. The six Seraph suits are part of a rotation, one launch every two hours, chasing search and rescue signals in Amazonia. Their advance unit is some five hundred kilometers ahead already, tow cables laden with the outcome of an exchange between several Algerian K-types and a cluster of unlucky CanMex Bs. Distantly on the ground in a repurposed civilian hangar set aside for Seraph use by the Amazonian government, the next unit is already fuelling up.
It's an orderly engagement to war: clinical, advisory, auxiliary. Domina dislikes this of course, as do her subordinates. There are only so many times someone can come in as the relief force and evacuate allied units and succeed. Someone's luck always runs out.
She's attended the funerals for most of the friends she's made in the last few months.
Her mind snaps to reality as they descent from cloud cover, entering the mangled jungle. Burning wrecks and artillery barrages have torn black clearings in the treeline, dotting the warzone like open sores. The Mam Scath's wing binders open like a flower to enter a stable glide descent, allowing her to cut engine thrust to avoid showing up as hot to any Spacian import SAM that might be littering dugouts behind Jaburan lines.
"Cherubs Three at Fifty-One, Twenty Clicks. Outside of the GZ." Approaching active signatures flare up distantly, like pinpricks on the crown of her head.
Finger-1 detects and relays a signal and acts as a second pair of eyes, allowing her to make a peripheral scan without diverting her attention from the horizon. A tight formation of friendly B-types, with a red withdrawal flare above them. They're stuck against a particularly ruinous section of the delta, where dredging and bridgework has been disrupted by lighting raids and K-type support irregular due to those suits being needed to protect shipping.
"Repeat Finger-1." Domina feels a subtle tightness behind her eyes, anxiety and anticipation.
"Risers on lids and thermals. Gorilla on the ground bearing One-Three-Seven, set to intercept, mid-early Anticiv by the music. Burgers, no Genie on escort." Her wingmate comms back, seemingly cycling through the warbook to confirm. A second scan with the Type-2's updated avionics reveals they're caught in an unlucky pinch between an advance of B-Sharps and CanMex elites with significant infantry support. The commander likely instinctively withdrew towards a bridge he knew used to be there and doesn't want to risk drawing the Belem front's remaining E-sharps by conducting an aerial withdrawal using the B-type's lackluster aerial maneuverability.
Domina knows she's going to move in. Her hand are all of one mind by the time she signals back to the FOB in Belem. "Tower, requesting divert."
"Palm-Six you are out of AO, Weapons Cold. Reset to Beth-Four as planned." The signal back is short and immediate. The FOB has live SIGINT via her suit's psicomm and psychoschematic heuristics contained in her request. A cold calculation has been made that a few Amazonian regulars can take a fall to keep the pretense of neutrality going just a bit longer, even though every Mondist suit that enters their expanding patrol radius is disassembled by beam fire.
Domina- Palm-6- keeps calm and simply reiterates the situation. In the distance, she can start to see white-red CanMex tracers sawing through the tops of trees, heavy machine guns as the pursuers start to get a bead on their quarry. "Roger that. Burger is about to engage friendlies."
"Tower orders Palm-Six, get retrograde to Beth-Four. Acknowledge Palm-Six." Tower repeats instructively.
The suits of her hand fan out to a delta formation with her at the head and Thumb-5 opens an M-Particle canister to snuff out comms. There's nothing to be done.
"We're getting some music, M-Particle density is over delta. Go whisper. Recomm in Six-O Tower." Domina's declaration comes with a sharp stammer of panic on the other end of comms, and the silent laughter of her comrades, still dilligently exerting comms discipline. The Mam Scath too laughs, as the generations before her that rested at the controls lend their approval, the two-dozen funnels forming a chorus in the alcoves of her machine's mechanical wings. The whisps of the lower clouds vanishes completely as her engines flip back to active, the comfortable kick of G-forces sink her into the arch of the pilot chair and the sea of green comes closer.
"Palm-Six, you are-" is all the protest that gets through before it slams into the impenetrable screen of high-density M-particle jamming.
The Seraphim descend at fully speed. Evidently pilotted by skilled and experienced pilots, the B-sharps break to disengage after firing off a few warning shots and mostly escape while a few B's fire in a panic, probably green pilots who don't know any better. Domina's Mam Scath scatters its bits and scythes through its limbs while her adjutant's Mam Boudi creates an I-field to deflect beam counterbattery fire when they get fixed by the fighting. A shot from the horizon scatters around the formation and splits into a half-dozen gutters of blue-green flame, stripping the leaves and branches off a half-kilometer of new growth rainforest as the heat instantly causes the water in them to evaporate. The damp ground and constant rain snuffs out a spreading fire, but thick wet ash coats everything. The pristine Seraphim suits are already muddy the moment they touch the ground.
For Domina's part, she'd rather be dirty.
With the change in numbers, the Amazonians are empowered to form a firing line and dump their mags to scatter the infantry support shelling them. A second set of signal flares go out, their enemy's retreat call. The frustrated locals fire off a few shots, mostly at nothing more than the already-downed Bs. There's relief, but little cheering.
Domina raises the hand of her suit to stop their commander from firing through the cockpit block of the one B-type who's unlucky pilot survived the counter-ambush, making contact on the shoulder for comms. "Gunn-6. We're here to cover your withdrawal. How are your numbers and supplies?"
"Lon Alves, acting commander. Thanks for..." The Amazonian commander perks up at the name, giving back his own in turn. Whatever resentment he had in the moments leading up have vanished under adrenaline and relief, more than gratitude. Such emotions aren't easily processed on the battlefield.
"We did what we could. What's your status?"
"About half-strength, we split off to let the infantry evacuate on a pontoon bridge. Supplies are... Red." He pauses only briefly to remember the color system. She can sense a keen mind, full of elan, though faintly exhausted. In a past life, he might have been a cavalry officer. Being given a mule like his very well-worn B-type doesn't suit him very much, though he takes it with a certain applomb and his suit's blade antenna is adorned with a red linen sail that makes it look larger and more voluminous than it is.
"We'll do triage to evac the units that are going to be combat viable and set out in 5, and mark this area for the next flight."
"Whatever you say Gunn-6. I'm surprised you sortied this far outside the security zone." Lon speaks. Again, agreement. Then, disbelief.
"Policy change," Domina says with a grin. "Ten kilometers a month was a bit too modest with how the war is going now. We're going to go with a hundred and see how they like it."
