We apologize for lack of developer updates recently. Discovery Freelancer 4.86 development is still underway, and the dev team is working hard and is making progress - albeit my own contributions have been limited by various real life issues in the recent months. We are not yet ready to announce release times for 4.86.
This post is dedicated to the events happening in Rheinland in 818 A.S. (prior to the 4.86 release). Previous story posts can be found here:
The war between Liberty and Rheinland is moving towards its logical conclusion, since both nations are interested in peace. Rheinland ended up in a tough economical situation and cannot allow itself to lose the whole warship fleet needed to defend its boundaries. At the same time, Liberty faces the threat of a future attack from Gallia. To prepare for the war with Gallia which seems to be inevitable, the war with Rheinland has to end, one way or another.
The carefully planned attack against Munster could be one of the final blows of Liberty in this war, and also reveal some of Liberty's true goals and intentions for the attack against its neighbor...
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Losing Munster became a significant setback for the Rheinland Military. After being rebuilt for so many years, the fleets of Rheinland proved to be incapable of stopping Liberty from seizing a valuable station component and bringing it halfway to Liberty. However, the government would not admit the specific kind of cargo that Liberty has captured, and since Liberty did not reveal it, the information on its Nomad origin is treated as speculation only, one of the many versions of why Liberty could be interested in gaining a part Munster.
Multiple outbreaks of public unrest had taken place on the back of the Munster events. Causes of the unrest are evident: despite the enormous taxes and even some cases of forced labor, the rebuilt Military proved to be losing the war to the advancing Liberty forces. Military command emphasizes that Liberty used its numerical superiority to move Rheinland forces away from Bremen into Hamburg, and used its massive forces to attack Munster, however, some of the opposition media sources attempted to investigate the fact of why the long-term buildup of Liberty Navy in New Hampshire remained unknown to Rheinland intelligence, and why Rheinland ships had been ordered to stay in Hamburg even when the assault against Munster had already started. There are speculations that Liberty has planted a spy directly in the command of the Military, or that someone who was behind the secret experiments in the Munster Research Facility actually wanted the part of the station to slip away to Liberty in fear that the exact nature of the research at Munster would finally be revealed.
Rheinland officially admit only that Munster scientists were conducting secret weapons research. Many scientists and other personnel from Munster survived the attack, since Liberty only had a couple of days to detach the Nomad module and bring it close to the New Hampshire Jump Hole, and did not bother to destroy the station, investigate all of its laboratories, or capture (or kill) the crew. Now, as Rheinland brings its reserves into Bremen, Munster is being rebuilt with better defensive capabilities. Yet none of the former crew joined the new operation. Officially, they are all reported as “missing in action”; in fact, they are all held in the Vierlande prison station.
Despite the war losses and huge government debts, the corporate sector of the Rheinland economy has enjoyed some growth in recent years. A new system on the borders of Rheinland officially became part of the House territory. Named Koeln, this system has Kruger and ALG stations in it, with both companies using the system’s resources. Daumann has officially moved much of its resources to Omega-7 and Omega-11 in an effort to expand its mining enterprises there, and has begun pushing on the Rheinland government to officially annex Omega-7. Trade with Kusari is also on the rise, since the new Kusari government showed much more interest in opening its markets for Rheinland shipping corporations.
Factions
Rheinland Military
After many years of rebuilding, the Military High Command was eager to compensate for the loss of Munster. All forces of the Navy were thrown to the New Hampshire and Hudson systems in order to start a new offensive against the Liberty Navy which was fighting a defensive war after accomplishing its main goal. Liberty’s goal now is to end the war in its favour while keeping the casualties as low as possible.
Governors of the Frankfurt and Munich systems expressed concern about Admiral Malte's policy of concentrating all forces on the Liberty front. Sources in the Border Worlds indicate that the Corsairs might have plans to invade Frankfurt after the first stages of their “Road to Rheinland” plan failed when they suffered a defeat in this system. There are also concerns that Rheinland corporations that are currently operating in Omega-7 will lack sufficient protection from pirates operating in the area.
Rheinland State Police
The size of the State Police has doubled over the last 10 years, and now it is more than capable of countering most threats in the central part of Rheinland. On the borders of the Republic, however, the situation is more complex, and harder for the Police to handle.
In Munich, the pirate activity is steadily rising since two pirate bases were allegedly built in the system some years ago. Dresden, despite the decline of mining operations, is still a very dangerous system, and while the Navy and the Bounty Hunters do provide some help in Omega-7, is it not enough to keep the pirates away from corporate property. Unioner and LWB activity appears to be very high in the Koeln system recently opened for commercial exploration. Attacks of The Wild also remain frequent, although the faction seemingly lost interest in advancing further into Rheinland.
Rheinland Corporations
The corporations of Rheinland did not suffer any significant setbacks as a result of the Liberty war. Both parties agreed not to fire at civilian targets, and, unlike the case with Bretonia and Kusari, economic ties between two nations were not completely cut. The war-torn area of the Hudson and Bering independent worlds was not quite suitable for trade, of course, and many shipments now go through the relatively safe systems of Sigma and Kusari.
While the Koeln system became part of Rheinland territory only recently, having bases belonging to both Kruger and ALG, and offering a plethora of new resources to the house, further advances in deep nebula mining has created a renewed interest in Omega-7 mining, as Daumann is now pumping funds into the system to secure further mining fields.
Bundschuh
The Bundschuh of Cloppenburg were aware of the research that took place in Munster Research Facility, and when Liberty ships advanced as far as New Hampshire, they contacted them in order to help the Liberty Navy with recon information in exchange for money, which would go to Bundschuh, and political asylum, which was intended for Rheinland scientist Wilhelm Schenker who escaped from Munster in 815 A.S., settled in Cloppenburg, and became a kind of spiritual leader for the small Bundschuh community.
As the other Bundschuh became aware of Schenker’s plans, many were against betraying Rheinland Military for the sake of getting material benefits from a hostile nation. Yet, many considered it a way to prevent the Munster operations from reaching completion, which (as Schenker believed, or convinced others he believed) could cause another wave of Nomad infestation within Rheinland.
Schenker himself explained his willingness to go to another House by Liberty government’s “healthy” attitude to Nomad research that did not involve dangerous experiments. As the war came to be much longer than he expected, the scientist grew restless and would probably run away from Cloppenburg himself and try to reach some local Liberty patrol, but his followers not only admired him, but also guarded him well from outside dangers. Leaving the station unnoticed is hard to achieve in those circumstances.
Role of Bundschuh in the Battle for Munster is not exactly known. However, once the Liberty Navy disabled Westphalia and entered Bremen with a massive capital ship fleet, they did pay the Bundschuh for their services, captured Schenker from Cloppenburg (allegedly by using military force), and cancelled all further relations with the faction.
Unioners
The Unioners were one of the first factions to establish a base in Koeln, system which is located next to their home bases in Duesseldorf. Now, as the Rheinland companies show interest in this system as well, the Unioners are going to leave them alone… until the regular trade routes are established.
Piracy in the Independent Worlds between Rheinland and Liberty, which were the center for Unioner former activities, are now a battlefield between two large armies. Trading in those systems had reduced to insignificant values, and the Unioners have to seek other areas where piracy is not that risky. Those areas may include Omega-5 and other systems of Rheinland.
LWB
The LWB remain faithful to their alliance with the Hessians. Being a relatively numerous faction, they are expected to help the Red Hessians in their planned conquest of Dresden, which is the Hessian way of engaging them further on the front lines in Rheinland, so that they can divert more of their own resources into fighting the Corsairs.
Meanwhile, the Liberty war had the effect that LWB long fought to achieve: Synth Foods transports are not frequent visitors to Rheinland. Yet, the food itself still gets shipped by Rheinland and Kusari companies, and the struggle for farmers’ rights is far from completion. Their campaign continues to be financed by the Red Hessians and piracy profits.
Red Hessians
The long-standing hostilities between Red Hessians and Corsairs still continuing while both factions are equally threatened by The Wild. In the middle of 818 A.S., the Corsairs eventually managed to recapture Casablanca Base in Omega-47, yet the Red Hessians responded promptly by establishing another base in the system. While Casablanca was a crucial point to ensure safety of Corsair forces heading to Omega-49, the Omega-47 system is still very far from becoming safe for Corsair operations.
Loss of Casablanca, while not being a crucial defeat that affected the faction's well being, was a major psychological setback for the Red Hessians. Despite all efforts, the war with Corsairs is turning into a lengthy and bloody affair that could last for whole generations to come. While no one calls for the peace with the Corsairs openly, it is known that certain groups of influence both within Hessian ranks and among the Corsair Elders support a peace agreement between the two factions. Whether it's true or not, capture of Casablanca would have had negative impact on such negotiations if they ever took place.
Despite the setback in Omega-47, the Red Hessians continue to consolidate forces within Dresden and the systems bordering it, all in preparation for an all out attack on corporate holdings in the system. They plan to use the current low Military presence in Dresden that is due to the Liberty war to make a joint strike along with their allies in the Bundschuh and LWB, and take or destroy as many corporate and military equipment as possible in order to force a full Military withdrawal from the system. If successful, it would provide the Red Hessians with the great propaganda victory they've been looking for, and draw in even more recruits into their ranks.
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Mephistoles
An interesting storyline development. There's one section however that I'm focusing on:
' Wrote:Red Hessians
While no one calls for the peace with the Corsairs openly, it is known that certain groups of influence both within Hessian ranks and among the Corsair Elders support a peace agreement between the two factions.
Could this statement open the way for splinter factions within the Red Hessians and Corsairs to emerge, or would this group for the moment not be strong enough to create a viable movement?
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
There's no such thing as a planet Mannheim, there's a station called Mannheim in Frankfurt. I'm sure you meant a prison station orbiting Planet Hannover, called Vierlande. Unless anyone put a new planet into Köln called Mannheim, which I doubt.
About companies, I'm curious when Liberty and Rheinland agreed to not firing at each other's civilians, while Rheinland is open to Liberty trade, Kruger, Daumann and Republican are still shot at in Liberty, or is that going to change specifically?
Overall, I'm somewhat dissatisfied with the direction things are taking, Rheinland is hardly getting any real changes introduced despite the long wait for the next mod.
Also, Admiral Malte hasn't been leading the Rheinwehr for over a year.
Rheinland will loose one station, will get one new system and no other changes, no changes of relations. Everything will stay the same.
Sorry but there is no real motivation of playing in Rheinland I guess.
Rheinland will loose one station, will get one new system and no other changes, no changes of relations. Everything will stay the same.
Sorry but there is no real motivation of playing in Rheinland I guess.
I guess we'll have to make our own changes, then. :cool:
I think this is a pretty interesting development and will be interesting to follow how it all actually plays out, It's got me wondering in what way exactly the war between Liberty and Rheinland will come to an end.
Hopefully I'll get to see it and play in any in game situations related to it once I get back..
' Wrote:I guess we'll have to make our own changes, then. :cool:
But at least I know that the bundschuh are just a bunch of corrupted individuals, you could told me that earlier so I could change the bundschuh RP in that way.
Quote:There's no such thing as a planet Mannheim, there's a station called Mannheim in Frankfurt. I'm sure you meant a prison station orbiting Planet Hannover, called Vierlande. Unless anyone put a new planet into Köln called Mannheim, which I doubt.
Yep, that was a mistake - fixed.
Quote:Overall, I'm somewhat dissatisfied with the direction things are taking, Rheinland is hardly getting any real changes introduced despite the long wait for the next mod.
This story was drafted taking into account faction feedback. I don't think that there are any significant RP changes for this region.
Quote:Also, Admiral Malte hasn't been leading the Rheinwehr for over a year.
Is there a replacement? I'm not sure on the sources from where Malte was added into our texts in the first place.