A lot of time has passed since we last updated you on the progress of
Discovery Freelancer 4.86 development. While the process is complex and slow (in fact slower than we anticipated), we start sharing the details on the mod's storyline and locations, and we start today.
Why
The Exiles? The name of the new version mainly refers to the fate of the Council, faction that was responsible for breaking the 700-year long isolation of Gallia from Sirius. Now, when Gallia gathered its forces for a strike that Council had nothing to counter with, the faction has to abandon its bases in Languedoc and flee for the Tau sector of Sirius space. So, first of all, "The Exiles" are hundreds of thousands of Council members and civilians fleeing from Gallic wrath.
"The Exiles" has a number of other meanings as well (like it was with with Reunion): more groups and factions will be forced to abandone their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. But... enough speculations for today.
If you open the
thread belonging to this news post (or click "View Comments"), you will find the first part of the storyline for Discovery 4.86, dealing exlusively with the new Gallic offensive in Languedoc and in Tau worlds. More details on Gallia, Bretonia, Kusari and all other regions will be presented in a form of separate announcements once they're ready.
Gallic Offensive: 818 A.S.
This is the summary of significant storyline developments that will be featured in Discovery 4.86 (Issue 14). Those events will happen in the gap between 4.85 and 4.86. Enacting them via mod updates is very hard to accomplish in a believable way, but we are planning to include certain storyline-related changes in 4.86 mod updates.
Note that this is only a part of 4.86 storyline developments. More stories will follow, some completely unrelated to events described below, some closely related to Gallia, Bretonia, Kusari, and Tau worlds. Therefore, you will get more parts of the whole picture with future announcements.
Languedoc Offensive
In the beginning of 818 A.S., the the Gallic Royal Navy armada assembled in Dauphine and began entering the Council-held Languedoc system. The fleet was far larger than the Council analysts had predicted, and the Council immediately initiated evacuation procedures to transport civilians from Planet Quillan. Fortunately for the Council, not all of Quillan's citizens wished to leave. Many of them, mostly those with little-to-no involvement with the Council, chose to stay, hoping their lack of cooperation with the Council would save them from reprisals at the hands of the Royal Navy. Around 120,000 civilians wanted to be evacuated to the new Council colony being prepared in the Taus sector. The Council itself had around 70,000 military and support personnel in Languedoc, the majority of which were based on Planet Quillan, while the rest were spread out among the various space stations and Council warships. The Council faced the task of evacuating nearly 190,000 people before the Royal Navy fleet reached the planet. To cover the retreat of the refugees, volunteers from within the Council forces were assigned to crew a number of damaged or obselete warships that would form the rearguard of the Council's withdrawal. These ships were given only skeleton crews to avoid unnecessary casualties, but they possessed some of the deadliest ordinance available in order to delay the Navy's advance. The mission was suicide, but they would buy some time for the refugee ships to leave the system safely.
In addition, some of the mines from the Languedoc minefield were transported to the central part of the system to aid the remaining Council forces. Automated defenses were built along the trade lanes near Nimes, Quillan, and Montpellier.
Despite stiff resistance, the Gallic Royal Navy's offensive proceeded faster than the Council expected. Having several hundred battleships and tens of thousands of smaller ships, the sheer size of the armada proved that the Council was not the target of the offensive. Revealing the existence of Gallia had forced King Charles XI's hand, and the fleet would descend upon an unprepared Sirius.
By the 2nd quarter of 818 A.S., the evacuation of Quillan was complete, and the only area of Languedoc that remained under Council control was the Montpellier Guard Station and the mine passage itself. Defended by the remaining Council warships and numerous mines, Montpellier was once again heavily damaged by long-range bombardment. Devoid of crew and bristling with every weapon that could be attached to its hull, the station had been transformed into a large automated weapons platform.
After lengthy preparations, the Navy was able to breach Montpellier's defenses, with marines boarding what remained of the station. After its defensive systems were reprogrammed to fire at the Council ships, the battle was effectively over. With newly stationed mines covering the retreat passage to Orkney, remaining Council ships that had functional engines desperately targeted Royal Navy ships and rammed them at full speed.
The Navy's campaign in Languedoc sustained few casualties, as they had opted for caution rather than speed. However, this caution came at the cost of alowing the Council enuogh time to completely evacuate the Orkney system before the Navy finished getting through the minefield near Reunion, preventing them from tracing the direction in which the Council fled.
Tau Conquest
By the middle of 818 A.S., Gallic Royal Navy ships were heading through the mine field into the Orkney system. Warned about the impending danger by the Council, most of the IMG and some of the Outcasts chose to leave the system to avoid getting caught by the Navy. The Royal Navy stationed several battleships to guard the system and explored it thoroughly, finding two Jump Holes, one leading into Lewis, and the other to Tau-23.
In one strong blow, the Royal Navy attacked Gaian forces in Lewis, quickly forcing them to abandon their loosely-fortified stations and escape into a nearby system named Faroe that the Navy was not aware of. Considered more of a nuisance than a real threat to the advancing Navy, Gallic commanders chose not to pursue the Gaians to their new hideout. The Tau-23 situation was more troublesome, since the presence of a large asteroid field did not allow the effective use of capital ships. Gallic commanders entered negotiations with the Independent Miners Guild which ended in the IMG being pressured into signing a secret non-aggression pact. The IMG were not forced to assist the advancing Gallic forces, militarily or otherwise, but they had an obligation to avoid attacking or even approaching the ships of Gallia, either military or civilian, under threat of severe retribution.
The IMG were forced to agree to Gallia's terms mainly because of its overwhelming superiority in numbers. While having no intentions to violate the pact in the near future, most of the Guild considers it to be invalid due to Gallia's use of force, compelling them to agree against their will. It is a common belief that the IMG only abide by the deal to ensure the safety of their properties in the Taus. Some Guild members, however, see the pact as a way to drag Gallia into the Guild's war with the Outcasts and turn the tides of that conflict to the IMG's favor.
After the IMG deal was complete and whatever defenses the BMM still had around the Tau-31 gate were scattered, the route though Tau-23 was opened for Gallic forces to come through. Soon enough, a massive Gallic buildup appeared in Tau-31. Kusari initially tried to avoid direct contact with the newcomers. Later, the government of Kusari sent an envoy to Gallia in an attempt to establish diplomatic relations and seek an alliance against Bretonia. Contrary to Kusari's expectations, Gallia demanded the full withdrawal of the Kusari Navy from Leeds, Dundee, and Tau-31, which Kusari found unacceptable. In the meantime, using the negotiations to distract Kusari forces, Gallic warships continued to come through the Jump Gate from Tau-23, and Gallia completed the construction of the previously inoperative trade lane leading from the Tau-23 gate to Holman.
By the time negotiations with Kusari reached a standstill, the Navy had more than enough forces in Tau-31 to attack both Kusari and Bretonia, and imposed an ultimatum on Kusari demanding the immediate withdrawal of the House's forces not only from Tau-31 and all Bretonian systems, but also from Tau-29. Kusari chose not to wait and declared war on Gallia, which lead to the only possible conclusion: a Gallic assault on the Kusari forces in Tau-31.
Conquest Motives
Soon after Gallic forces reached Orkney, King Charles XI officially addressed all of Sirius. The message was accompanied by a video preamble where the King addressed all people of Sirius, saying that Gallia only had peaceful intentions towards Sirius, yet confirming that the isolation of the new House was intentional, and that the Royal Navy of Gallia is now heading into the part of Sirius known as the Tau Border Worlds with an immediate goal to chase and reprimand the rebels and criminals who had first breached the mine field. Those "rebels and criminals" were, of course, the Council.
Along with the video came a large set of various documents that included archived documents that date back from Sol, analytic materials, audio and video evidence, later nicknamed the "Rhea Archive" from the name of the Saturn satellite from where the Gallia sleeper ship had launched. The purpose of the documents was to explain the reasons for the isolation, and the future intentions of Gallia towards Sirius. According to the documents provided, Bretonia and Liberty, the former United Kingdom and United States, were responsible for betraying the nations of France, Italy, and Australia by using their sleeper ship launching site, located at the Jupiter moon Callisto, as a decoy to distract the Coalition from the Liberty, Bretonia, Kusari, Rheinland, and Hispania launch site, located on another moon of Jupiter, Ganymede, allowing the five Sleeper Ships to get fully prepared for launch. To achieve this, the three sleeper ships were sacrificed: they were attacked by the Coalition forces, and eventually destroyed or disabled.
Once the French realized what was going on, they built their own launch site on Rhea in secret from both the Coalition and their allies, transferring all equipment and civilians from the united launch site to its own site. The Archive did not indicate if Australia or Italy were aware of the project, but it is known that Italy transferred many of its sleeper pods to Hispania shortly before its launch, causing severe overload of the Hispania's systems during the voyage. The Coalition discovered the Callisto site, and the remaining Alliance ships fought a furious battle that distracted the Coalition from reaching the Ganymede site in time. The Coalition soon brought in reinforcements and overcame Callisto's defenses by sheer numbers. All three Sleeper Ships were crippled, and the Coalition discovered that the Gallia sleeper ship was in fact an almost empty decoy hull that lacked even an engine.
Still unbeknown to the enemy, the Gallia sleeper ship was launched shortly after the Ganymede sleeper ships broke the blockade. It followed the trajectory that the other five sleeper ships took: towards Sirius, and beyond; towards an unexplored area of space.
At a later date, more announcements from Charles XI followed. According to those, now that Gallia has returned to its full power, the House demands retribution for what was done to its people, accusing Bretonia and Liberty of an intentional genocide of all three nations. As compensation for the losses, Gallia aims to create a protectorate state replacing the current Kingdom of Bretonia. Therefore, it demands free passage to all planets, stations, and systems of Bretonia for Gallic military and civilian ships and personnel, complete surrender of Bretonian military forces to the Gallic Royal Navy, the dismissal of all current bodies of power, and the installation of a Gallic Viceroy on New London as a new head of state. The Viceroy would be Charles XI's younger brother, Guillaume Valois-Clermont, Duke of Alencon.
Meeting these demands, they say, would result in granting the people of Bretonia full political and economical freedoms including permission to elect the planetary Parliaments and local bodies of power. Refusing to submit would be considered a declaration of war that would result in the installation of the aforementioned regime by force. Even in the latter case, no sanctions or rights limitations would be imposed upon the citizens of Bretonia that do not participate in the resistance.
Despite Gallia's declaration, the opinions on Gallia's true motives for their attacks are varied. Some experts and historians doubt the authenticity of the Rhea Archive, saying that many of the documents could have been faked or altered, and that the current Gallic leadership may not even be aware of the forgery. Those on the other side of the debate claim that some events described in the Rhea Archive are confirmed by independent historical chronicles, particularly those found in Liberty and Rheinland. Using this evidence as justification, they say that forgery of the most important Rhea Archive documents is unlikely.
Gallic Royal Navy invasion forces would not reveal any details about the House and would not openly respond to any contact requests. This did not prevent Gallia from entering secret negotiations with some Sirius groups, and later negotiate peace and trade relations with Kusari. In 818 A.S., the Council was the primary source of information about Gallia for Sirius media, and the information provided suggested that the war motives could be more varied than previously thought. One important fact is that Gallia has a much larger population than the other Houses, and that its resources, while plentiful, were being exhausted at a much faster rate than in Sirius. Even those Sirius House systems where asteroid fields were mined actively, like Leeds or Dublin, could be of huge value for Gallia if it utilizes its advanced resource extraction technology.
Economical and social reasons for the war were also considered. With a huge part of its economy working purely to supply the future war efforts, and with many generations of Gallians preparing the war and believing that the reasons to fight that war were just, it was impossible to avoid it. If the King did not start the war now, the war machine would eventually turn against itself and destroy the House from within. This could not be allowed.
Despite naming Liberty as the second House responsible for the Callisto treachery, Gallia did not announce any plans to attack it. According to information spread by the Council, however, Gallia certainly considers Liberty as its next target, possibly a target with even higher priority than Bretonia.
Gallia-Kusari War
In 818 A.S. the Kusari forces in Tau-31 were quite large, but they were not prepared to engage a superior force in a harsh environment of asteroid fields, mines, and sporadic attacks of Bretonia fighters. Keeping their promise to the IMG, Gallia did not assault Holman Outpost directly, and the major battles took place near the Tau-29 and Leeds Jump Gates. Planet Harris was still under Bretonian control, but Bretonia could not do much against Gallia other than to defend the mine fields surrounding the planet. Gallic command considered the planet only a minor nuisance, and chose to take it at a later date.
Kusari lost all major battles in Tau-31 to Gallia, though sometimes managing to inflict heavy losses upon the Royal Fleet, but ending up suffering even bigger losses themselves. By that point Bretonia, already aware that the Gallic offensive was mainly focused against itself and not Kusari, offered a ceasefire to Kusari, which Kusari refused to accept or acknowledge.
Meanwhile, the military defeat of Kusari in Tau-31 had undermined the reputation of the militaristic Kusari government back home, and by September of 818 A.S. it was overthrown by a group of democratically inclined politicians supported by Kishiro and a number of smaller corporations that were Samura competitors. The new Kishiro-backed Shogun was more inclined towards pacifism and traditional isolationism, blaming Kusari's internal strife on the foreign adventuring and militaristic hubris of the previous regime. Following the coup, the new government and naval command agreed to an unconditional truce with Bretonia, and Kusari forces started to withdraw from Dundee and Leeds. Fighting in both of the systems had come to a near-standstill much earlier, for war weariness was crippling both sides. Additionally, Bretonia was redirecting its defenses against the Gallic fleets advancing through Edinburgh, whilst Kusari found its lines of supply and reinforcement through Tau-31 cut off by the Gallic offensive.
Kusari was soon aware that continued resistance against Gallia was pointless, since the Gallic conquest was clearly directed against another foe: Bretonia. The new Kusari government entered secret negotiations with Gallia, and while the war formally continued, no actual fighting took place in Tau-29. Instead, the parties agreed that Tau-29 would be split into two zones of influence. One controlled by Kusari, and the other by Gallia. The system would serve as a buffer zone between the two nations. By the end of 818 A.S., the sides had signed a peace treaty, one that Kusari would justify to the rest of Sirius by saying it was "forced" upon the House by a superior military power.
According to unconfirmed reports, Kusari companies were also granted rights to trade with Gallia and go to any Gallic systems after purchasing special passage permission and insuring their cargo with Gallic companies. It is also rumored that Gallia is trying to enter negotiations with Rheinland and some of the independent civilian corporations to reach trade agreements that would grant their traders access to Gallic systems.
Bretonian Events
Kusari did not have nearly enough time to leave the Tau-31 system. Very quickly, Gallic capital ships spread out through the Tau-31 system, blocking the paths from Newcastle and Leeds, and then starting to raid both of those systems with small fighter and bomber wings. Kusari ships that did not have time to escape had no other choice but to unite with the Bretonia Armed Forces and set up allied defensive positions within the asteroid fields.
The assault against Bretonia in Leeds is just starting as of the end of 818 A.S., but few believe that Bretonia will be able to hold against another superior opponent for long without external assistance. It is predicted that Bretonia will likely retreat to ensure additional defenses in New London. Yet, heavy resistance is expected to delay the Royal Navy's advance. Gallia is advancing on Leeds from two directions: Tau-31 and Edinburgh. Edinburgh was abandoned by Bretonia in a tactical withdrawal shortly after the forces of Gallia entered the system from Lewis, with Perth Station falling into the hands of the enemy, Aberdeen Border Station was blown up by the retreating Police, and Luxury Liner Shetland relocated to the New Anglia system.
Other events that happened in Bretonia in 818 A.S. will be covered in future announcements. Stay tuned! And post your comments right here.
Written by Igiss, proofread and edited by Dab and mwerte. Logo by Nightfall, background by Resurgere.
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I think that breaks my personal record.
Man... this is going to be chaos. Seems it's raping Vanilla royally (no pun intended) now.
![[Image: discovery486_small_promo02.png]](http://igiss.net/images/discovery/discovery486_small_promo02.png)