I'm not going to pretend like it hasn't been three years since we left Vespucci. I'm also not going to pretend like our last months as a unified force weren't filled with excruciating chaos. Ohio, Vanquisher, Marshall, even so long ago still feel fresh and sore. Since then, what remained of Gladius that made the rendezvous up north kept relatively quiet, biding our time while the situation in Liberty and the surrounding space settled down. While not everyone made it north, those who did have been hard at work, and though we may not have access to the supply lines we once enjoyed, what we've made do with is still better than we'd expected.
I'm aware that this transmission will likely fall on quite a few deaf ears, while others may relay this to others they've kept in contact with over the years. I'm aware that many took refuge with our estranged allies in Inverness, even after the last flight left Veracruz, while others found their own way out and hid where they could. Some of you may have even integrated back into society, however you managed it, and have just been hiding under Liberty's nose. No matter your position on me, Gladius, or even the cause as a whole, you made it out, and that's not something to sneeze at.
I'm making sure this message gets sent on encoded channels, ones that haven't been used since those final days. We've since had to grandfather them to the comm cells aboard the Incursus, but they should still work as they did before. I'm making sure this gets sent so that each of you that made it out, each of you that keeps on going, knows that Gladius is still here, and that despite our silence we've never strayed from that ideal we once pushed for: A Free Liberty. Purified through Fire.
Usually this is where I'd go on a tirade about our enemy, and how mutual strength will get this ball moving again.
Frankly, I wouldn't blame any of you if you simply ignored this and went back to your lives as you'd had to make them for these last three years.
But if there are any of you that have kept up the fight, kept up the resistance, to avenge Veracruz, then I don't have to sugarcoat it. The fight only goes on as long as any of us stands, and even in that exceptional moment of weakness, transiting Magellan, we never took our eye off of the goalpost.
I hope you haven't either, and like the rest of Gladius, I hope to hear from you.
Libera te ex Inferis.
West, out.
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"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
SOURCE:INS-Montana, Omega-48. ENCRYPTION: Secure. SUBMITTER: Captain Marrok Cross RECIPIENT:Amy West SUBJECT: From The Dark Greetings Amy West,
I don't believe we know of each other, My name is Markus Cross I am in command of the INS-Montana. He is the last Arbiter, to my knowledge, to be produced by Fort Lenox. I must admit it was surprised when my comms officer reported a transmission came in from old Insurgent channels.
I must admit that we are in-between factions at the moment but he are still living. Many of my people are tried of the old struggle against Liberty and have been looking for new purpose in the Omicrons. Yet, If anything I am interested in that you have to say and it is nice to hear from another Remnant Insurgent
The Juneau was one of the last ships able to successfully escape as the Navy approached Veracruz and Marshall. My late CO had gotten us by for three years before being killed during actions against the Navy. We've survived as apart of the Rogues after bargaining for peace. While Galveston might've been stripped down as part of our information given in exchange for toleration, we're still alive.. Mostly. During skirmishes with the Navy over the past three years, most of the veteran Separatist crew has died. I am part of the now minority veteran staff of this ship.
Defeat is recognized, but some of us are still alive, still harassing Liberty in any way we can. We saw the Navy announcement of the execution of the Yorktown's former commander and imprisonment of her crew. In reality, West, I don't think organized resistance on the scale of the past is possible. We're receptive to any ideas, but will always be taken with a grain of salt.
I remember the glorious days of the Legion like it was only months ago. I was there when we fought the war the unarmed could not partake in. Even outnumbered, we took apart Navy capitals one by one. I led the Ven'Gyr itself into combat operations deep in the heart of Liberty, where our strikes were the strongest. We fought the lawless criminals and were a heavy shield for the civilians of Liberty.
But that was a long time ago.
Opening what was once the Legions bastion, Vespucci, for trade was our very first mistake. The utopian idea that we could operate a separatist state while upholding our own security from outsiders was the first step we took towards our own decline. We merged our fleet with Battlegroup Harmony- or, the Separatists in order to stay relevant, effectively giving up agency of our own assets. What was left was a bunch of misguided people who must have forgotten what they once fought for as they teamed up with Libertys criminal league, namely Rogues and Hackers.
After all of this, what do you have in mind, West?
COMM ID: Augustus Howe TARGET ID: Amy West SUBJECT: RE: Three Years ENCRYPTION: HIGH PRIORITY: HIGH
xxxWest,
xxxThree years is a long time.
For three years, the Battleship Klaxon and her crew have had to fend for ourselves. When the last order came from the Triton to scuttle capital assets remaining in Vespucci, we knew that time was short, and after consultation with my crew, we utilized our hyperspace drives to jump to Rheinland. We were given a surprisingly warm reception by the Bundschuh, and since then we have been inactive. The Klaxon has remained moored at one of their more isolated installations, essentially acting as a glorified sensor array, while the crew have been assisting with the resettlement of refugees and menial maintenance tasks.
Now, the men and women under my command grow restless. Not one of us desires to give up the fight, even after all this time, but soon we must decide what comes next—we cannot rest here forever, not while the homeland strains under the yoke of tyrants and the blood of true patriots remains unredeemed. So long as "Liberty" remains a misnomer, we will find a way to continue the struggle.
I must wonder, though, what you and those who escaped in the last flights have been up to ever since. Where have you found safe harbor? With what money have you bought fresh water and oxygen? Just how lucky have the remnants of the Fleet been that Gladius remains a coherent force, even if a weak one? I cannot promise that my men would be willing to resubordinate themselves to your command. Many hold bitter feelings about the last days in Vespucci.
Yet, if our war is not truly over, we are morally bound to continue waging it. Let me know where we stand.
xxxForever in service to Liberty and her people,
Augustus Howe
Commander, INS Klaxon
Insurgent Naval Forces
Important:This communication remains the property of the Liberty Insurgent Navy and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Martial Law Communications Restrictions Act 829 AS, Section 7. If you have received this message in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the communication.
I went through a lot of that downhill spiral before Knight and the Seps moved in, even gave some of the orders at the time with Mason stepping down. So many years ago, and still it's as fresh as when it happened. I don't have much explanation for how the Legion's fire went out, how we lost ourselves and our home. One mistake after another, with Knight as the flame for the moth. Hindsight is 20/20, and as ruthless a teacher as any Monterrey drill instructor, and only after she bitched out did I finally see where our hospitality led us.
Still, even after all that failure, the endgoal never changed. We all still long for Liberty to be free, but after Veracruz, even after all the change that came with opening Vespucci, we have to adapt once more. That much is certain. Our once reliable supply lines are gone, allies are now aloof, and the enemy even permeates the ground that the Gladius remnant sleeps on.
Effectively, we'd be building it all from the ground up. Little infrastructure of our own, and only the scattered assets that remained from the last flight out. It's far from what we enjoyed even while the Legion declined, I know, but when you're down, the only way to go is up.
Howe,
I doesn't surprise me that the Bundschuh would be tolerant of a crew with nowhere to turn to. Your crew and the flag you fly stand for all the things they strive for in that damned 'empire' they call home. Like the Mollys, I've tended to see them as kindred spirits.
Here, though, things have stayed patchy.
The first year or so were spent largely keeping quiet while the Navy settled back into its seat. We stuck mostly to the Independent Worlds, keeping to the freelance hub at the Barrier Gate, reorganizing what supplies we managed to take with us from Vespucci, while occasionally sending out flights to search for ships that never made the rendezvous. Crayter remained aloof, but ignorant. Then the blackout hit.
Those 31 hours saw two of my men disappear, and we stopped sending out flights for a while. Things largely stayed quiet until recently, although we did occasionally gave the green light to small raids on Naval resupply convoys heading to and from Liberty's posting near Sabah.
I won't lie, between reorganizing Gladius' assets to even be in a position to take on Liberty again, and dodgy political maneuvering to keep Crayter placated, it's been a delicate balancing act. The Barrier has proven time and again to keep our ships safe, as the Navy seems hesitant to try and follow us in here, and when they do try it, they don't last long. The heavy fleet doesn't see much action beyond testing and drills, seeing as how all of them are still reeling to some degree from Magellan. As for credits, as well as favors, when you've worked for Ageira in the past, and that good old corporate complacency kicks in, siphoning what you need from the lane network is more than enough to keep your party afloat, as long as you don't get too greedy.
Believe me, I don't doubt anyone for having a lack of trust. I blame myself for allowing Knight to tear the Legion apart, and for not seeing her backstab coming. I know how that feels firsthand, and the whole cause suffered for it. If your men decide not to fall into my command, I would hope they'll at least fall to yours. Until the cause has real structure again, decentralized command will work just as well.
Should be as good a place to stand as any.
Libera te ex Inferis.
West, out.
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"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
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