It was fairly late, around 19:00. Vilhelm Von Hof was sitting on his rugged Phantom's left wing, having bottle of Rheinbeer with one of the crewmates he's been with for about 7 years due to unforeseen events. His name was Gerald. A man roughly 1.70m tall, rather skinny body, and young - one would say he's around his 30's. Von Hof calmly offered a sip from his bottle to the man, listening to what he's got to say. Surely anyone could hear the young man - or at least on a radius of 10 to 15 meters - as he was speaking quite loudly, stunned by how fast things have changed around Frankfurt as he stared through one of the Helgoland's window.
Some time passes as the crewmate carries on with his babbling. So much so that Von Hof even gets a mild headache out of it. "Hah. Good stuff, friend. But I believe that is enough. You can tell the others what you saw, but before that I'd like to know where did they go." said Vilhelm as he clears the dust off his right calf. "Don't you know? Everyone is in the medbay having themselves checked out. Some even take a shower or two. Or three. That's what I've been told, at least." replied Gerald, slowly realizing why his "Commander" might be concerned, yet shrugs off the feeling, and returns the bottle to him before turning away and leaving for the Medical Bay.
In reality, Vilhelm is fairly concerned about modern Rheinland. How many things have changed? Why did this Civil War occur? Has Rheinland won the war with Liberty? These were only a few questions the worried man from another age thought about on the spot. He looked around the docking bay. No one in sight. Not a single soul, and the few who show up seem to distance themselves from his Phantom as if it was a Plague Ship. Truth is, the paintjob could've used some attention, let alone rust gathering up between the parts. Stealthblades MKII weren't in their brightest moment either, but that wouldn't be a reason every person should avoid the ship. Something didn't feel right. He was also expecting someone. Kommisariat, an Admiral, probably a Buro representative. Hours passed. Days passed since the rescue. No one came. Vilhelm knew from past experiences that he should never question superiours about Orders or procedures, but that is what got them in the Omicrons in the first place. Would he be finally allowed to speak out his concerns? Anyone else would know that. But him? He wouldn't. So many questions, yet no answer.
Emeric Wehner pushed a button in the lift, and the doors effortlessly closed. As the lift started moving, Emeric looked down at his datapad, authenticating with his fingerprint. The datapad illuminated, displaying the personnel file of one Vilhelm Von Hof. Officially listed as Missing in Action circa 817A.S. the RNC Helgoland was recovered in a daring raid into the Omicrons, led by Now-Flottillenadmiral Dresdner. Since its retrieval, the ship and her crew where quarantined at Schatten, under armed guard. Emeric swiped left, and read the report from the Kommissariat. The crew of the Helgoland where indeed those who set off, and they where not infected with nomad lifeforms.
However, the Marinekommando and Inspektorat still had questions. How had the Helgoland survived separated from all Rheinland contact? Had the crew been influenced by external factors? Emeric had been tasked with finding the answers to these questions, and his first interview was with the Acting Commander of the Helgoland. Emeric had been given broad authority in the investigation from Flottillenadmiral Dresdner, who was recuperating from an injury sustained during the raid. The lift chimed, and the doors slid open without a sound. Emeric walked towards the doors of the Med Bay where the crew members of the RNC Helgoland where being checked out. Taking a quick look at the sign out sheet, Emeric felt a flash of anger as he saw that Vilhelm Von Hof had checked out. Looking at the nearest guard, Emeric growled an order. Where is This Man? I want him found NOW, or your next assignment will be cleaning Latrines!
Alarmed by the Spezialagent's outburst, the soldiers both scrambled to pull out their communicators. Within seconds, a voice came over the communicator, explaining that Vilhelm Von Hof was located in Docking Bay 2, with a 2 man Schattengarde escort. Without a word, Emeric turned and walked back to the lift. As he entered the lift, he pulled up the duty roster, and reassigned the two guards to Latrine duty for 6 months. Moments later, the lifts doors opened, revealing the docking bay, with a single Wraith class fighter in the middle of the room. Back to his trademark calm demeanor, he walked over to the man sitting on the wing of the Wraith.
Vilhelm Von Hof? I am Spezialagent Emeric Wehner of the Büro des Marinenachrichtendiensts. I am here to conduct your debriefing. Please follow me.
Nodding, Vilhelm Von Hof followed Emeric back towards the Lift. Without a word, the Schattengarde escorts fell in behind Vilhelm, holding their compact rifles in a patrol carry condition. In the lift, Emeric spoke, as if stating a fact.
None of your crew have been found to have Nomad Lifeforms within them, and all surviving personnel have DNA which matches archival logs.
The lift opened, leading to the interrogation wing aboard Schatten. Officially, this was a debrief, however circumstances dictated the use of an Interrogation room for the debrief. As the group walked towards the on-duty soldier, the door to interrogation room 5 opened. Emeric walked in, and sat down with his back to a large glass mirror. Across from him, Vilhelm took a seat. The guards silently moved outside, flanking the entrance. The steel door slid closed, isolating the room. The room was lined with sound dampening materials, making the room extremely quiet. Emeric knew that this made the room seem more imposing for those being interrogated, however Emeric was one of the few people who enjoyed the silence provided. Satisfied, he began to speak.
Please activate all sensors and recording devices. Present is Spezialagent Emeric Wehner, and Lieutenant Vilhelm Von Hof. This is the Debrief of the Acting Commanding Officer of the RNC Helgoland. Looking at Vilhelm, he continued. This interrogation room has been outfitted to detect any changes in voice patterns, mood changes and body language. Simply put, it will know when and if you lie. To begin, please state your full name, current rank, date and location of birth, and occupation.
Vilhelm settled in his seat, and answered the question. My name is Vilhelm Von Hof. I was - and hope to still be - a Lieutenant. Born in New Berlin around...770. 45 Years old. Emeric looked at his datapad, which blinked green, indicating he was being truthful.
Very good. Let's begin. As you are aware, we previously have listed the RNC-Helgoland, her escorts and all personnel as Missing In Action. Please describe in as much detail as you can the events that led to the RNC Helgoland being stuck in the Omicrons.
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.
Vilhelm took a few moments to make up his mind, scratching the back of his head. It took him roughly 20 seconds before he began speaking, showing visible discomfort as he went through the details. "...Alright. According to the now deceased Commander Hans Bismarck, the Battlegroup received some order from a High Ranking Official or something. The Battlegroup was supposed to complete a classified Operation - called "Iron Fist". I believe the debrief papers are still in the Commander's office. No went in that place since we found him dead, hanging from the ceiling with a bottle of scotch shattered on the carpet." said Vilhelm as he stopped scratching his head, having his elbows up on his knees, looking at the mirror. "I asked him what the hell were we supposed to do. He said it's classified; that I shouldn't know. I went along with it for the following days, until I saw the Commander getting increasingly nervous by the day, as if someone would have threatened him. About a month passes. During that time, we've constantly loaded supplies in the Cargo Bays. Food, water, Mox, medical supplies and so on - matter of fact, the guys piled up so many supplies that we'd barely have enough room for anything else besides two armored ground vehicles and some infantry equipment. We were expecting a mission that would last several years, apparently."
Vilhelm stopped sharing what he knew, staring left and right, swiping the sweat off his forehead. He stood up, approaching the glass mirror, facing it. For one straight minute he just stood there, until he eventually took a seat again in the same position as before. "And then shit hit the fan. Hans sent out Gamma Wing through "a longer path to the objective", while the rest of the Battlegroup was supposed to take the "shortcut". He sent me to the men who calibrated the Jump Drive with a piece of paper containing a set of coordinates. I asked him where would these send us. He said Hudson, according to what the High Command said. Coordinates were put in and I went back to the main bridge. I heard a small explosion down in the lower decks as the rift began to open, but it was too late to check what happened. We Jumped into a system we've never seen. A Huge asteroid about fifty kilometers away and our communications array jammed." said Vilhelm before pulling out a piece of ragged paper from his right pocket. "This is the roster of Battlegroup Helgoland. Three Oder Gunboats, the Cruiser, and eight fighters. Do you want to know what happened? We got our arses kicked into the grave. The RNC-Falke spotted some purple dots on the horizon. That was a large Nomad force after a closer look. It didn't take them long either to put us down one by one. I had close friends aboard the Falke. A huge Nomad warform had basically pierced the gunboat from one side to the other, instantly killing everyone on board. No survivors. I lost track of time since then, but it didn't matter. The RNC-Albatros and RNC-Greif ended up dead soon after, leaving the Helgoland exposed. We eventually ran away thanks to the sacrifice of Lambda-3 and Lambda-4 who detonated their ships on impact with the Nomad Warform, stopping it from chasing the Cruiser and the two other Fighters. We got stranded ever since, rationing every inch of supplies we had while scouring the System for any Jump Holes. The Commander had given up at that time for any sort of escape. As such, he ordered that the Donau's engines must be turned off, letting only the two Wraiths accompanying us to look for an exit once a week to conserve fuel.
At that point, Vilhelm felt like talking to no one. He heard only himself giving details about a series of events that give him nothing but depression, yet decided to keep on with a last, short sentence. "Eventually we had ended up in some system called Omicron Nu after getting the Jump Drive to work one last time before going out of commission for good, according to an LSF patrol that found us, as well as an Outcast Battlecruiser. We were found a few days later by said LSF after Lambda-1 mentioned there is a relatively safe region next to the sun - or at least that is what he saw from far away. They gave us a way out of this system eventually. The GRG found us, then the Corsairs damaged us, and then we contacted you. We spent about a week making our way there, burning through fuel like crazy. This is all I know.
Emeric pulled up the Helgoland Battlegroup requisition orders as the Lieutenant talked. While such large requisition orders where considered odd in the current political climate, it was not uncommon to see such large manifests attached to deep-operation groups the MND favored during the Liberty-Rheinland war. However Emeric noted how quickly the requests where approved after submittal, as if they had been passed up the chain without vetting. Something to follow up with in the archives for sure.
Emeric next pulled up a digital copy of the log books recovered from RNC-Helgoland, and checked the dates. Concerned, he spoke. You say that you made contact with an LSF operative in the system designated Omicron Nu. Now the timeline here is very important Lieutenant. When communication was regained with Sirians, why did you not ask the LSF to relay a transmission? Otherwise, if you assumed the Liberty-Rheinland war was going on, as is expected by MND Operational Doctrine for deep cover operations, why did you not engage the Libertonian.
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.
Vilhelm took about half a minute to remember the set of events in Omicron Nu, then stared at the mirror glass, muttering some words before adressing the question. "...We were outgunned. The Helgoland had few weapons online to preserve power. An Outcast Battlecruiser had first located us, then an LSF Fighter, and then a Liberty Assault Battlecruiser" he said after shaking his head. "I was ready to give out the order to fire. I was a fool to consider that. Instead, the Commander found a way to reason with them in order to ensure our survival to some extent. It was either that or we would have faced certain death."
Keeping his voice calm yet forceful, Emeric spoke. So you admit to hesitating to fire, yet you make no mention of requesting assistance? After 7 years in unknown space, you did not rejoice at the sight of another human, potentially a savior? Had your Captain not asked, why did you not relieve him and properly follow military doctrine. Perhaps in your time isolated you have forgotten your place as an officer in the MND.
Tapping a button on his datapad, a monitor appeared on the wall, and began showing images of Liberty Navy Warships. However these images appeared to be of old designs, dating back hundreds of years. Your ship logs make no mention of any warships matching this or similar configurations. Our agents have reported ships of this type openly engaging in combat with Liberty Navy Expeditionary craft in Omicron Nu. Please elaborate why your logs omit this information.
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.
Von Hof looked at the mirror glass, feeling rather insulted by Emeric's words "Assistance? Where in the world would we ask for assistance? Did I not mention the comms array was fried?" he said before stopping abruptly, looking down. The silence could have lasted only so long. Vilhelm slammed his fist on the table before getting up. "WE'VE BEEN STUCK IN THERE FOR YEARS. WOULD YOU BE HAPPY TO SEE HUMAN SHIPS? ESPECIALLY OUTCAST AND LSF AT THE SAME TIME WITH THEIR GUNS READY AND YOURS FRIED!?" - the Lieutenant stopped again, taking a seat on the chair again then leaning against it, sighting. "I-...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. Moving back to the topic...- The only reason I hesitated to give out the order on the spot was due to the enviroment. It's been so long that I assumed Rheinland forgot about us. For those brief seconds I threw the military doctrine out the window and thought more about those aboard the Cruiser. The second I took air in the lungs to yell out the attack order as I saw things heat up, the Commander intervened. In short: We did not ask for assistance up until we formally met the GRG. Things changed so much that I was afraid of meeting even the Zoners. I did not "relieve" the Captain of his duties as I thought it would've been taken as an act of aggression towards the remnants' survivors. ...you could say I was held between the hammer and the anvil in the most recent line of events."
Vilhelm then glanced at the monitor. "We stationed in Omicron Nu for only a few days. We've only seen small craft in the distance with odd readings - then again, our scanners also got damaged, we only identified ships by their appearance - , but no Liberty Navy Warships of such design ever appeared. We were hiding in the southern side of Omicron Nu, next to the sun. The few Navy-looking ships that found us were put down before getting a chance to report back their findings. It didn't last long though, as you've heard.
Emeric smiled for a second, then shifted his face back to neutrality. He now knew where Vilhelm's snapping point was. Lieutenant, I do not need to remind you that this debriefing is also an assessment of your mental state. Ultimately this will decide whether or not you are of sane mental faculty. If we where not in an active state of war, an outburst like that would have you stripped of rank and discharged. However circumstances are different.
During your disappearance, the Rheinland Military facilitated a coup against the Rheinland Federal Government. Military forces, and civilians have taken their sides. The Rheinland Military and Police forces have largely sworn their oaths to the new illegitimate Imperial Government. Families have been broken, and our House is fractured. Let me ask you this, do you have any Family? Do you know if they are in Uniform?
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.
Vilhem was not surprised of the question about his family. Fortunately, he didn't have to answer it either with a "yes" and think about what would happen to them if the Buro found them, let alone the current situation in Rheinland. "Having a Family distracts from serving the Federal Republic. Distraction leads to lack of efficiency. Lack of efficiency leads to failure. I didn't join the MND to fail. I serve the Rheinland I once knew, not this...abomination of an Empire." he said with a rash tone by the end, as if he was fairly disgusted by hwow the Fatherland has become.
You talk about efficiency, but you do not mention anything about the civilians caught in the middle. Tapping a button, a new display flickered to life on Emeric's tablet. Pausing for a minute to read the prompts, he looked up. Lieutenant, I have a selection of scenarios for you to respond to. While there is no official correct answer to these scenarios, the answers you provide may disqualify you from returning to military service. Let us begin.
Scenario One. The Helgoland has been repaired and her crew reinstated, however you have been reassigned to a new ship as the commanding officer. In a combat engagement, you see the Helgoland taking concentrated fire from multiple aggressor vessels. The fleet commander has ordered your ship to maintain its position within the battle line. What do you do?
Scenario Two. Civilians from the Company Kruger Minerals are transporting repair commodities for Imperial Military battlegroups. Your deployment orders include instructions to stop any ships transporting war material for the Imperial Military. What do you order your command to do?
And lastly, Scenario Three. Your ship is in a patrol orbit around the planet Hamburg. There is a Riot in progress and the governmental buildings are surrounded and cut off from ground-based first response forces. You dispatch a shuttle with ground troops. What are your orders to these troops?
Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.