From: Field Marshal Lukas Keller
To: IMG Administration on South Shields
Priority: High
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Whomever it may concern.
The loss of Aland is unacceptable, I'm sure you caught wind of the very bold promises I made in a recent public broadcast in the Omegas prior to the fall of the shipyard. I intend to make good on them. Reinforcements that were previously to be deployed in Omega-49 to repel the Corsairs have been ordered to turn their backs on "New Holland" and to instead be ready for redeployment in a more pertinent location aboard the Alvin Katz.
The Night Witches, a volunteer squadron utilising heavy bombers outfitted with torpedoes and rockets are being deployed to the Newcastle area. I will oversee operations there personally and if the situation warrants, I will be part of the wall of ships denying Bretonia any physical access to South Shields. Technological sorcery won't work twice.
Before we begin with sorties, I need to be briefed on the prevailing situation from you. I must also ask what the possibility of granting us direct docking access is. A garrison of troops, security droids and a wall of light assets prepared for lightning strikes and guerrilla warfare will be sufficient deterrent against any immediate offensives from Bretonia.
Your Independence is non-negotiable, it's time the two warmongering Kingdoms learnt this.
Sirius Coalition Коалиция Сириуса
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"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
I am Guildmaster Guang Yao. Thank you for your offer of support.
I was deeply impressed by your impassioned speech denouncing the Bretonian aggression. I had intended to respond to it personally, but needless to say I've been extremely busy managing the Guild's defense.
Suffice to say our situation isn't looking good; we had certainly calculated on being able to hold Aland much longer than we did. However, we will need to make the best of these unfortunate developments. Our forces have for the most part reorganized after retreating from Omega-3, with a part remaining in the southern Omegas and another heading north to defend South Shields.
While Bretonia's grasp on Omega-49 and Dublin is tenuous, they are still dangerous to traverse. Any assistance you can provide in securing the route would be greatly appreciated; although still risky, the southwesterly route is obviously more realistic than any direct route through Bretonian core systems.
Having a semi-stable link between our Omega forces and those in northern Bretonia and the Taus will ease coordination.
South Shields is still under Guild control, as long as the battlegroup Ark Royal and battlegroup Embrun are facing off in what appears to be largely a tactical stalemate.
We are hoping that with Guild reinforcements based around battlegroup Rockabill and trickling reinforcements from the Taus, as well as potential assistance from the Mollys, we might turn the tide and secure a decisive Royal Navy victory in the Newcastle front.
Providing this level of assistance to a war participant isn't something we ever asked for, but at this point our survival may be hinging on the result of the Gallic-Bretonian war.
Bringing station security onto South Shields is something that can be discussed, but you'll have to forgive us if we're a bit wary of such an offer. After all, the Coalition's initial position was one of uninvolvement due to the treaty recently signed with the Kingdom of Bretonia. Please understand that we want to minimize risk of infiltration. Still, I will discuss the proposal with my security advisors, and any assistance in space you could offer will be appreciated.
From: Field Marshal Lukas Keller
To: IMG Administration on South Shields
Priority: High
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I see.
How naive I've been. I thought you of all people, the Independent Miners Guild would stand by your ethics. That you would not be so eager to trade one expansionist Monarchy for the other simply because it was convenient.
You've made me a fool, Guildmaster. I hope your new place at Gallia's side leaves you in shackles, which you placed on yourself willingly. My men will not die so that you can butter up Charles. Consider my guarantee of your Independence revoked. The Night Witches will be assigned elsewhere and to secure more respectable interests.
Good luck Guildmaster. You'll be needing it.
Sirius Coalition Коалиция Сириуса
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"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
Your response is disappointing. I would have hoped that you would understand our strategic position here: If the Bretonian fleets weren't engaged with battlegroup Embrun in Newcastle, South Shields would have already fallen. Unlike the Bretonian Crown, the Gallic Crown has given us explicit assurances of our station's independence. Unlike the Bretonian Crown, the Gallic Crown never demanded we directly support their war. I suppose your location far from the front lines of house politics has left you unable to sympathize with the level of pragmatism an organisation like ours requires to survive.
We have to make practical decisions here, either we lose South Shields or we make efforts to support the Gallic Newcastle offensive. One is a guaranteed loss, one is a chance at maintaining independence. I shouldn't have to tell you that at this point, we are reliant on a peace treaty between the houses being in Gallia's favor.
If that's not a position you can respect, there's little left to say for us. I will not stoop to petty insults wishing for your organisation's bondage; rather, I hope you can maintain your independence and never find yourself in the likes of our position.
From: Field Marshal Lukas Keller
To: IMG Administration on South Shields
Priority: High
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Guildmaster of the Gallic Miners Guild.
Allow me to give you a dose of reality, because you've burrowed your head so far up Gallia's entreaties you might as well drop down to a knee and become a vassal. Gallia's "freedom" is forbearance. A promise that they will not take from you. It is an empty notion, filled with just enough hopeful words that someone naive and desperate enough, such as yourself given current situations would believe these promises to be true. Let me be the first of the Sector to call you by your new and proper name.
When Gallia wins and there is no House strong enough to stand in their way, your autonomy becomes an obstacle. A liability. A simple statistic that needs to be lowered. I'm wishing for your bondage because if you were as smart as you pretend to be, you would see the life of servitude you're pushing your own people into. Whether you favor Gallia or Bretonia, you are compromising on yourself. Be whatever you want to be Guildmaster, but never be out of integrity with yourself.
I speak from experience and believe me when I say that I now thoroughly regret signing the Accords. But don't for one second think of me as ignorant of what it means to struggle. I've lived a life of struggling, but unlike you I've learned from it. I've learned that efficiency and pragmatism aren't worth it if you can't be who you set out to be. Consider it an excessively idealistic notion, but a man is better dead than becoming something he doesn't want to be.
I wish the Gallic Miners Guild good luck in its future endeavors.
Sirius Coalition Коалиция Сириуса
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"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."