To:Communications Hub Sender:Kommandant Steve Harlow Origin:Bruchsal
Report 08-12-822
Hello, it's Harlow reporting in,
So we've started in earnest trying to deal with the crisis in Munich now. Seems infrastructure and such are slowly collapsing planetside as the dark matter catastrophe unfolds ever so slowly. People can't move away quickly enough and with the way things are going, farming can't keep up anymore and there's a legitimate food crisis happening.
Well, at the same time harvests in many regions of Los Angeles have been very good this year, and the prices of food are low.
We're trying to arrange regular shipments of food from California. Obviously with the border situation, not a lot of people are willing or capable of making the trip. Of course we'd have trouble landing on the actual planet, so we're relying on Junkers and other sympathizers to haul the food the last bit from the Augsburg wreck.
Anyway, I figured I could take out the Liberty and make a few trips. We've been on number of trips in that sort of region, the border between Rheinland and Liberty, so it wasn't hard to work out a good route.
On my way, I passed a Planetform vessel, the Tyrrhenian. Her pilots, Fiona and Simon hailed me, they were curious who I was and what I was doing. So, we spoke for a while over direct comms as we went about our business. I tried to explain the VWA as best I could, I think I did a reasonable job. They seemed sympathetic and even offered to donate. Maybe we'll hear from those Planetform people.
As for the route, it turns out the Widerstandsarmee isn't alone: I met a Bundschuh captain named Maria, flying a Pitbull-class named Andernach who was going the same way. We flew together a while, made the trip a lot more interesting. And it's encouraging to see our people trying to help out, of course.
Later on, the Widerstandsarmee really got rolling and I was joined by Klugmann, Fuchs and Goldschmidt. And as for me, our newly acquired Uruz-class heavy transport had finished its final checkups and was launched under the name Erntedank.
That means "harvest festival", when farmers traditionally celebrate the - harvest. We'd call it Thanksgiving in Liberty.
Anyway, I'll write about that ship on another occasion.
We took another two trips, this time as a proper convoy, to Los Angeles and back. Went smooth as butter, although the second time back we encountered two Liberty Navy ships.
They were nice enough, escorting us back to the border - just seemed a little strange. We met up with them in the middle of nowhere in the Whitney field. And they used some sort of anti-cloaking pulse on us, at least that's what we speculated.
Shortly after that, we briefly had some very strange contacts in range in Texas - only saw them for a second, but apparently they were Corsairs? In Texas?
When we finally arrived, what would we find right outside Augsburg but a Rheinland Military Oder-class gunboat. We were all tired from the flying and that kind of trouble was really the last thing we wanted.
As it turned out though, the captain was sympathetic of our mission and let us moor with no issue. I gave him a couple beers, too. I guess even in the military there are folks that recognize a good cause.
• Kommandant Steve Harlow - VWA|Liberty (Behemoth) | VWA|Erntedank (Uruz) • Kommandant Alexander Fuchs - VWA|Alexander.Fuchs (Switchblade) • Quartiermeister Jakob Goldschmidt - VWA|Morgensonne (Uruz)
Notable Encounters:
•PFI)Tyrrhenian - Neutral Planetform transport ship I briefly passed. But we talked for a while and her crew seemed nice and understanding, so I felt they should be mentioned.
•Andernach - Friendly Bundschuh Pitbull-class I encountered making the same trip. We traveled together and I spoke with her captain, Maria, at length. Good to see people helping out.
•[LN]-ESRD|Hunter and 5th|John.Darius - Friendly Liberty Navy snubcraft encountered in Texas. They were kind enough to escort us to the border, but for some reason they seemed a little strange to me. Hard to describe, maybe it's just the unusual place we met them. Overall they were polite and friendly and got us to the border safely.
•RSE|RNC-Donau - Neutral Rheinland Military Gunboat encountered directly outside Augsburg. As it turned out, they supported our deliveries for this crisis. We didn't talk long, but it was nice to get this kind of understanding from military folks.
They seemed nervous about this sympathy coming out, which is pretty sad really. We'll keep it to ourselves.
I think I've covered everything pretty adequately. It's been a long day, and we've all earned our bar time for it. The Erntedank is performing great, although I really can't say too much yet, only really got the basic rundown of how to fly it. She's huge.
I'm sure we'll be making a lot more of these deliveries in the near future, they sure are needed.
I'd like to draw your attentions to our current priority once again; Operation Mundpropaganda. You'll find an update on its progress including a migration of VWA-headquarters to Eltmann in the attachment.
I've been attempting to probe around Munich and gauge how aptly the Widerstandsarmee's Squadron could maintain some level of stellar-supremacy over the system in short bursts, particularly in anticipation of higher mobilization and extrication of Nuremberg's populace. My most recent such excursion is detailed here.
Mission Objective: Reconnaissance Commanding Officer: Oberst Erich Klugmann - VWA|Erich.Klugmann (Series Z "Sabre") Friendly Forces:
Ex-Bundschuh Kai Reinhardt - Kai.Reinhardt (TR4c-T0R "Sichel") Notable Encounters: •Nuremberg Perimeter Fleet - Hostile A Bismarck, several Oders, and an incredibly talkative and irritating Military pilot attempting to prevent me from scanning Nuremberg's atmosphere.
[10.03.2016 09:15:45] [RM]Fw.Frederick.Klose: You are in Rheinland. You don't have words or power here. So dont get to smart.
Herr Reinhardt and I managed to launch a successful hit-and-fade in orbit of the planet under heavy fire, but the sheer number of Tertiary Fleet capital vessels around Nuremberg makes me worry. We're going to need to dust off some of the squadron's bombers.
As you were, Widerstand. Remember to review the updates to Operation Mundpropaganda as soon as possible.
To:Communications Hub Sender:Kommandant Michael Wolf Origin:Bruchsal
Report 08-12-822
Following issued report concerns activities of Junker black marketeers as requested by Oberst Klugmann.
Patrolling our northern borders: Sigma systems 13 and 17 I have encountered odd collection of individuals between jumpgate and Kunashir cloud. Given assurances of Oberst that those do not pose any threat and are meant to be treated as neutral, following report will focus mainly on the Junker encounter immediately afterwards.
Dated Pilgrim class liner by name "Junk in The Trunk" attempted to enter Kunashir cloud with intend to enter Omicron systems. Halted and questioned by both me and Eidolon Wraith, Junker flying for Congress flag begun disclosing rather interesting facts. Cargohold full of tungsten, lagging behind greater convoy that has already made its way to intended target was meant to reach installation in Omicron Rho system by name of "Alabama shipyard". According to information from The Order, it is shipyard in service to Core - rather unpleasant mercenaries with access to advanced technology and capital assets. Not only that, Junker also slipped out info that they make business with Corsair menace "from time to time". Fairly extensive double-crossing network they have set up.
It appears Eidolon Wraith and its escort were not amused of concept of Junker's cargo reaching Omicron Rho and forced it to redirect towards alternative route in Omicron systems. I followed, entering Edge nebula and making way through hostile Omicron Theta star system. The destination, marked on map star charts as Omicron 74 turned out to host some sort of Zoner shipyard in the cloud with considerable automated defenses set out to liberally engage anything it deems potentially hostile - including my Wraith fighter. I remained out of range to confirm sale of tungsten to "Livadia Shipyard", upon which Junker hailed back to Rheinland with toxic waste - no doubt with intend to deposit it with ALG facilities in our homes.
I have warned rest of our wing to expect arrival in Sigma 13 on my way back. Steve Harlow questioned both battlecruiser and junker, confirming everything they have told me. Entire reconnaissance flight went without an incident, evading any and all hostile patrols along the way. Running out of fuel given considerable lenght I had to go during this trip alone, I retreated to Bruschal and retired there for rest of the day.
Commanding Officer: Kommandant Michael Wolf - VWA|Michael.Wolf (Wraith)
Friendly Forces:
----
Notable Encounters:
•.:J:.Junk_in_the_Trunk - Neutral Junker from report in question. Potentially less knowledgeable member of their organization, prone to say more than more veteran individuals would dare to admit.
•A/)-ACV-Eidolon.Wraith - Neutral Freelancer IFF, Core manufactured warship of battlecruiser chassis. It is considered to field more firepower than both Donau and Ostara class cruisers.
•Joshua.Hunt and Noah.Xonnel - Neutral Fighter escort of Eidolon Wraith's. Both sport freelancer IFF. Hunt uses Hellfire Legion fighter which how he acquired is currently unknown and Xonnel is very likely Cardamine dependant and since supporting himself with stabiline.
•Eliza.Valdez - Neutral Outcast Saber, piloted by so far peacefully aligned Maltese pilot. Has not expressed any intend of hostility or ill-wishing. Remained neutral and non-interfering during entire patrol.
This would be everything. Should I gather more intelligence I will fill it in with next report as it goes. Wolf out.
Message ReceivedTo:VWA High Command Sender:Aktivist Martin Schaff Origin:Frankfurt Relay #1
22-04-823
The Schmetterling was retrofited for the needs of Operation Mundpropaganda. Our cargo bay has been equiped with bunk beds to accommodate as many refugees as possible. We went to Kreuzberg Depot, which was full of those poor people, looking to book a passage somewhere safe by any means necessary. We took in as much of them as we could and took them to Bethlehem Station in Pennsylvania. From there, they should be able to find safe passage to any place they might wish to move to. We were able to transport 3535 people.
On our way back we took as much food rations, medical supplies and other basic needs to distribute to those still waiting for transport.
Message ReceivedTo:VWA High Command Sender:Aktivist Martin Schaff Origin:Frankfurt Relay #1
23-04-823
While orbiting Bethlehem Station today, I had an interesting conversation with some LSF agents. They seem to be eager to help us out, so I told them to contact the High Command. They were also generous and gave us a donation of 10 000 000 credits, which will be forwarded to the appropriate accounts.
I am forwarding to you the logs of our conversation.
Schaff out.
Code:
[22.04.2016 15:48:12] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Hey, when you reach Bethlehem, mind stopping for a chat?
[22.04.2016 15:49:17] WiId.Wind:404: Good day.
[22.04.2016 15:49:19] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: You wanted to talk?
[22.04.2016 15:55:41] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Essentially, our Agency wants to make sure you can handle that increased pressure.
[22.04.2016 15:56:30] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: We are glad to accept any help you can offer us.
[22.04.2016 15:56:49] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: But, that is a matter you ought to discuss with our leadership.
[22.04.2016 15:57:14] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Our agency is small at the moment, but I was thinking about some financial aid, and possibly manpower as well in the future.
[22.04.2016 15:57:36] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Indeed. I would like it if you could pass on the message to them, and if they're interested, for them to give us a call.
[22.04.2016 15:57:52] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: I will.
[22.04.2016 15:58:12] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Thanks a lot.
[22.04.2016 15:58:48] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: *nods* Now if you'll excuse me, these people are hungry, scared and tired, I would like to get them to the station...
[22.04.2016 15:58:52] You have received 10.000.000 credits from Sonja.Kerensky:404
[22.04.2016 15:58:54] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: As soon as possible
[22.04.2016 15:59:08] Sonja.Kerensky:404: We'd just like to ask one more thing. What's happened to Munich?
[22.04.2016 15:59:46] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: As far as I've been informed, some sort of a dark matter storm appeared in the system and the planet is caught
[22.04.2016 15:59:52] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: in it's wake.
[22.04.2016 16:00:11] WiId.Wind:404: *Raises an eyebrow*
[22.04.2016 16:00:40] Sonja.Kerensky:404: We will have to investigate that ourselves.
[22.04.2016 16:00:52] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: Slightly hardly describes it, the whole planet will become inhospitable to any life soon.
[22.04.2016 16:01:07] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Also, hopefully that small amount of funding will help you a little in your operations.
[22.04.2016 16:01:13] Sonja.Kerensky:404: It was understatement.
[22.04.2016 16:01:51] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: Thank you, I will make sure this donation goes into the right fonds, and will inform our leadership of your generosity
[22.04.2016 16:02:02] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Thankyou very much, that's all we ask.
[22.04.2016 16:02:09] Sonja.Kerensky:404: Thanks for your time.
[22.04.2016 16:02:13] WiId.Wind:404: *Nods*
[22.04.2016 16:02:18] VWA|WTS-Schmetterling: Schaff: No problem.
You've no doubt heard the debacle at Omicron Delta and noted the volunteer squadrons adding to the chaos in that area. Incidentally at present time no single House Government has officially commented on the bloodshed and butchery initiated by "The Shots heard around Sirius" against the Freeport, but there's something I'd like to make very clear.
At present time I will not permit the Widerstandsarmee's assets to be taken to Delta; either in the form of fighters or transports. As much as it pains me to explain, far more lives are at risk on Nuremberg's surface than on the Freeport.
That of course is not to say that we'll be ignoring the humanitarian implications of the crisis - Far from it. I've been in contact with the primary spokesperson of the Confederation of Freeports, a governing body of Zoners. We may be able to contribute in what the Bundschuh have historically remained incomparable at within Rheinland - Guerilla tactics.
I know that Operation Mundpropaganda has worked you all to the bone with sleepless twenty-four-hour cycles and austerity of rations, but we may need to handle two Operations at once. Just know, Widerstandsarmee, that you are the role-models of the Bundschuh Party and by extension the Rheinlandic Underground. I expect attendees at the next rolecall at Eltmann.
To:VWA High Command Sender:Aktivist Veronika Vann Origin:Bruschal Base
Report 9-4-823
Guten abend,
On my usual patrol took quite a turn when I encountered 3 Federal Polizei near the New Berlin Jumpgate in the Frankfurt system, they stopped me and immediately tried to arrest me. But of course I wasn't going to let them have at it that easily, after refusing to let me go they engaged my vessel and I returned the favor. All 3 of the RFP ships were destroyed.
Mission Objective: Patrol Friendly Forces:
• Aktivist VWA|Veronika Vann - Wraith VHF Notable Encounters: •RFP|Wach.A.Krupp - Hostile He attempted to arrest me and was shot down in the process . •RFP|Kad.M.Schenke - Hostile Assisted in trying to destroy my vessel and was shot down. •RFP|Kadett.K.Taran - Hostile Assisted in trying to destroy my vessel and was shot down.
Several days ago I, and several other VWA Pilots, including Oberst Annika Haupt engaged in a patrol in the Sigma-13 system. Initially, the patrol was uneventful, until we encountered a Hogosha pilot. His behavior and entirely attitude was rude and confrontational, however, any violent actions from his side, or ours, were postponed by the arrival of several pilots of the National Council. Unwilling to risk lives in a severely outgunned engagement, our patrol attempted to return to Frankfurt, and friendlier skies. However, our engines were disrupted by the NC forces. After another brief exchange, we were drawn into a combat. Roughly fifteen minutes into the engagement, GMG forces arrived to assist us against the hostiles, however the ships of Kommandant Fuchs and Oberst Haupt were severely damaged, however I was able to retrieve their escape pods. All NC Forces were destroyed by VWA and GMG pilots with regrettably no survivors on their side. My own Cutlass was damaged severely in the fight, though was still serviceable, and the GMG invited my to Helgoland for emergency repairs. Soon after the hull was patched, and the reactor leakage plugged, I was on my way to Frankfurt again. Both pilots were returned safely to Bruchsal, and my ship was put in for extended repairs.
With the Order on operation in the independent worlds (they claimed it was in Kansas) the commanding officer of their combat group requested an escort through Rheinland. Since nobody else was currently available, I took it on myself to make sure they don't run into trouble or cause any. Aside from that, we ran into a Unioner Battlegroup, and made sure they wouldn't return home again - even if it pains me to see that they didn't even turn tail after being clearly outmatched.
•Order|CV-Spectre - Friendly Lead Cruiser of the Order Battlegroup. Got damaged in the engagement with the Unioners, received emergency repairs at Cloppenburg •Order|CV-Mefdet - Friendly Flanking Cruiser of the Spectre. Took minor hits, both moved on to Liberty Space after the escort. •UN|-LeichtTraktor - Hostile Initial contact. Solidarität-Class Bomber, was about to be taken in for interrogation before his reinforcements arrived. •UN|Erika - Hostile Hel-Class Cruiser. Got wrecked in the battle. •UN|Abomination - Hostile Flanking Hel-Class Cruiser. Got wrecked in the battle. •UN|Gunda,Riehl - Hostile Unioner pilot, has a history of provoking patrols in Frankfurt. I gave her the possibility to retreat after the cruisers got destroyed, but she refused to accept defeat and engaged me again. Had to shoot her down.
As mentioned aboved, the patrol went off without a hitch until the Unioners arrived. The fact that there is a significant capital ship presence in the system worries me, and leads me to the assumption that the Unioners take the threat that we pose seriously.
Furthermore, whoever has a freighter or another ship capable of salvaging respectively towing should get their arses in gear. According to the Captain of the Spectre, there were no survivors left, which leaves whatever is left of the cruisers for us to salvage. We need to capitalize on this, and maybe we find data that is relevant to the size of the Operation. Everyone available report to Hangar 2 at 0330. Dismissed.