Briefing texts (WiH)
| The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe. |
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BLUE PLANET 2: WAR IN HEAVEN MISSION INFORMATION
COMPILED BY: AdmiralRalwood
EMAIL: [email protected]
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the following storylines: Blue Planet: Age of Aquarius and Blue Planet: War in Heaven
Intro
Artemis Station
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No briefings or debriefings, although there is a text file that looks like it may have been intended to be a fiction viewer entry read before this cutscene, at one point. Its contents are included below:
In a time such as this, it is perhaps best if we start from the beginning.
So I shall begin.
It was never made clear who fired the first shot. Nor was it clear who declared war on whom. It does not matter now, for neither side is blameless. On one side was a nation on the brink of collapse, fighting for a symbol to bring its people together. On the other side, a federation fighting for the right to exist. Are these two sides so different from each other?
The biggest tragedy of the war was how preventable it was. Admiral Morian's pride called for our ships to stand down and surrender. Captain Leceister's pride required that his battle frigate respond to these calls with violence. Ego dictated that the loss of the Renjian must not go unpunished, and that these Galactic Terran aggressors would be forcibly ejected from our space.
Everything we had worked for as a society over the past fifty years, ignored and discarded at a time when it was needed the most. We traded words for violence, and reason for emotion.
Though we know how considerably the war changed GTVA society, it is less known how much of our own society had changed. The military had been steadily decreasing in funding and prestige ever since the socialist and humanist Council of Elders became the ruling party. At the start of war, the military underwent a boost in funding not seen since the beginning of the Terran-Vasudan war.
Little of human nature changes in fifty years, and the military soon grew proud. By the time we realised that we had become little better than the GTA, it was too late.
Martin Mandho
Excerpt from manuscript 'The Death of Ubuntu'
Act 1: Chrysalis
The Cost of War
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FICTION VIEWER
Personal Log, Noemi Laporte
Entry Four
I feel a sudden and overwhelming need to write in this damn thing. I haven't touched it since the academy, but recent events are making it abundantly clear that I might not be around much longer. I want to leave something behind...something more tangible than the scraps Mom and Dad left when their time came.
We're hearing rumors that the 'raid' on Jupiter yesterday was something bigger. That the Tevs routed Calder's Third Fleet and landed on Ganymede, Callisto, and Io. It seems impossible. Calder is a rock, a titan. We thought he was unbreakable.
All the off-shift personnel are huddled around their feeds, waiting for updates, from the Elders, from Admiral Byrne, even from the Tevs. Someone in the Kingmakers' bunkroom is crying into his pillow. Half of me wants to go comfort him, and the other half just wants him to shut up.
The war felt so far away until now. I know it was real for the Jovians: eighteen months of bloody raids and frantic jumps as Third Fleet and the Tevs played subspace speed chess on the fringes of the system. But not two weeks ago Admiral Calder told us that the Tevs wanted a slow war of attrition, so they could capture our worlds with minimum loss of life. We all nodded and talked about how much sense it made, but I think we just wanted it to be true.
Admiral Byrne and the Elders want to keep First Fleet in Earth orbit as a 'strategic deterrent' but I think they'll have to deploy fighters to help the Jovian retreat. That means I'll see combat.
I guess I'm afraid. I keep flashing back to that damn coroner's report. The way Dad's lungs looked. Burnt tofu.
I was trained for this. Uncle Manuel and Kassim will keep me safe. And if I die, it'll be quick, and something will be waiting for me.
But what if I don't die? What if I go out there, and I kill a few Tevs, and then I go have a drink with Kassim and we laugh about it?
I was raised with Ubuntu. I'm no steely frontier Jovian like Calder, nor a hot-blooded Martian - I'm an Earther, as soft as fish-belly and taught to value the life of every damn roach in the ship's laundry. In the academy they taught us to treat the enemy as an object, a piece of machinery. But every time I do that, I'm giving up a piece of my soul.
I've thought about going to the combat psych about all this, but I'm not going to risk it. Getting cleared for flight was hard enough. Between my parents, my low aggression profile, and that one long-standing issue we don't talk about...I'm really kind of a basket case. This could put me over the edge.
And so I wonder...if I come back in one piece, am I really going to be in one piece?
COMMAND BRIEFING 1
UED Solaris
UEF First Fleet
9/27/86
This is Admiral Byrne. Give me your ears.
I will be plain with you. The rumors you have heard are correct.
After an eighteen-month stand, Jupiter has fallen to the GTVA. The Jovian Systems Republic issued an unconditional surrender at 2330. Admiral Calder's Third Fleet has been routed.
Alliance marines are now landing on Ganymede. The Jovian government, under threat of orbital bombardment, has agreed to cooperate.
COMMAND BRIEFING 2
The details of the Fall of Jupiter are available for your inspection on FleetNet.
For now, know this. The GTVA has committed to total war.
At 0330 yesterday the front-line destroyers Atreus and Imperieuse, under Admiral Chiwetel Steele, transited the Delta Serpentis node. These ships and their battle groups carried out the attack on Jupiter at 0700. Steele himself personally captured Artemis Station, before scorched-earth protocols could be enacted.
By capturing Jupiter's gate network and civilian infrastructure intact, Steele has accomplished what Admiral Cyrus Severanti could not: he has given the GTVA the logistical footing for full-scale war.
COMMAND BRIEFING 3
I ask all of you to trust in the strategy set out by the Council of Elders. We will maintain our defensive posture until a diplomatic solution to the war can be achieved.
We have a more immediate task, however. Third Fleet's survivors need our help. At 2335, Fleet Admiral Calder issued the order for a full-scale retreat to Mars. Warships and strike craft from the Imperieuse and Atreus battle groups are pursuing these survivors, as well as any civilian convoys that have refused the no-fly order.
As Second Fleet Mars fends off raids from the Hood, Carthage, and Meridian, I will deploy our squadrons to cover the retreat of civilians and Third Fleet from Jupiter space.
Flight operations commence immediately.
COMMAND BREIFING 4
Remember this. The GTVA wants our worlds and our infrastructure intact. They hope to break our fighting spirit, or to draw us into a foolish offensive.
We will remain implacable and unmoved, and so stymie them. Ubuntu gives us that strength.
Fleet Admiral Robert Byrne
Military Representative to the Council of Elders
UED Solaris
COMMAND BREIFING 5
FLEETNET COMMUNIQUE
SENDER: Flight Lieutenant Manuel Brie
Noemi, it's Brie.
You know what's happening out there. You've been trained, you've flown patrols. You're ready.
I want you to trust yourself. Yes, your psych profile makes you look like a lamb, and Kassim has his discipline issues, but the two of you have aptitude scores better than most of First Fleet. There's a reason I asked for you two in my wing.
You can fly like no one I've seen. Our Uhlans can match any fighter the Tevs have. The two of you will survive. And I've got a few tricks up my sleeve myself.
Captain Telfer is about to pass on our frag orders. Get to the ready room. If you need to throw up, do it before we launch.
BRIEFING 1
Eyes up, pilots. If you're a newcomer or a reservist, welcome aboard. I'm Captain Telfer, squadron leader of the 170th Fighting Navajas.
I've been authorized to confirm that the Jovian capital at Ganymede has fallen. The Tevs have Artemis Station, the scorched earth program failed, and the gate system and the Jovian comm net are under their control.
Admiral Byrne has ordered the Solaris to deploy its squadrons to cover the Jovian retreat. Deck crews are running final prep on our Uhlans right now. We'll be airborne in twenty minutes.
BRIEFING 2
Scattered tactical reports are still coming in from Jupiter. Admiral Calder's flagship Toutatis escaped Ganymede and is rallying all surviving Jovian fleet assets for a retreat to Mars. Hundreds of civilian ships are also fleeing the Tev advance.
Admiral Byrne has agreed to deploy Solaris fighter wings to cover this exodus, but major First and Second Fleet assets will remain at Earth and Mars.
These are our fragment orders. Gamma wing will escort the battered UEFg Rhineland. Cosoleto, your Beta wing is on standby. Brie, your Alpha wing will deploy to the asteroid belt to cover a civilian convoy that didn't make Calder's rendezvous.
BRIEFING 3
This convoy of civilian sublight transports escaped the fall of Artemis Station. the UEC Ironhide and UEC Suffron are providing escort. Alpha, you will provide area defense against Tev strike wings. Hostile skirmishers have already engaged the convoy, and more firepower is likely on the way.
The civilian ships have no jump drives, so they're fleeing Jupiter space via the intrasystem gate network. Last transmission puts them between Belt Gate 42 and Mars-Belt Gate 3, on the inner curve of the asteroid belt.
BRIEFING 4
Many of you have never seen combat. This is not drone practice and you are not shooting at objects. You will be tangling with ruthless, intelligent enemy pilots. The civilians in your care are husbands, wives, and children. Every ship you lose to the Tevs means more people who will never see their loved ones again.
This is a terrifying responsibility, but an honour afforded to few. Are you clear on this? Good. Bring those people home.
BRIEFING 5
One minute, Ensign Laporte. It's Brie.
Before he died, your father asked me to give you his namkha to carry on your first proper sortie. He was never a spiritual person, unlike your mother, and my sister and your father came to odds enough times over it. But he believed in this article, and that was enough for him.
No more standing on the sidelines, Noemi. You're about to be thrown into the thick of this war. I hope you're ready for it.
DEBRIEFING 1
Welcome back, Alpha wing. You brought both your rooks home, Brie. Good work.
Latest reports from Mars indicate that the Ironhide, Suffron and the rest of the convoy arrived safe and intact. Reports show significant losses of Jovian forces during the retreat and word's going round that Admiral Calder is furious with Admiral Byrne for not providing reinforcements during the GTVA attack.
All outbound communications from Jupiter have ceased following the GalTev occupation of Ganymede, and we've lost control of the regional intrasystem gate network. All scheduled civilian traffic to the area has been cancelled. All in all, it looks like we've lost the entire Jovian system to the GTVA.
Besides that, you all did well out there, pilots. Though things are looking grim for us, we all need to do our own little bit to help.
Take five to get some water and stims if you need them. There's a combat psych waiting to triage you. When you're done, get back to your birds. The remnants of the Jovian Rim Fleet are still trickling in, and we need to give them cover.
Expect another sortie inside the hour. We'll remember Gamma's pilots when we get the chance.
RECOMMENDATION 1
Personal Log, Noemi Laporte
It felt...good. Like I'd been doing it my whole life. Like I'd found the place I'm meant to be. The fact that that realization came at the moment when I first took a life is slightly horrifying.
Kassim talks tough, but he came out of his cockpit and threw up all over the deck. I don't think he knows I saw.
I don't understand why it felt so good.
DEBRIEFING 2
Welcome back, Alpha wing. You brought both your rooks home, Brie. Good work.
Latest reports from Mars indicate that the surviving ships of the convoy arrived intact. Reports show significant losses of Jovian forces during the retreat and word's going round that Admiral Calder is furious with Admiral Byrne for not providing reinforcements during the GTVA attack.
All outbound communications from Jupiter have ceased following the GalTev occupation of Ganymede, and we've lost control of the regional intrasystem gate network. All scheduled civilian traffic to the area has been cancelled. All in all, it looks like we've lost the entire Jovian system to the GTVA.
Things are looking bad for us. We thought things were tough before, but everything's about to get a whole lot worse. This war has finally come home, and we need to prepare for it however we can.
Take five to get some water and stims if you need them. There's a combat psych waiting to triage you. When you're done, get back to your birds. The remnants of the Jovian Rim Fleet are still trickling in, and we need to give them cover.
Expect another sortie inside the hour. We'll remember Gamma's pilots when we get the chance.
RECOMMENDATION 2
Personal Log, Noemi Laporte
We lost ships out there. People died. I killed people, too.
It felt...good. Like I'd been doing it my whole life. Like I'd found the place I'm meant to be. The fact that that realization came at the moment when I first took a life is slightly horrifying.
Kassim talks tough, but he came out of his cockpit and threw up all over the deck. I don't think he knows I saw.
I don't understand why I feel so good when so many people died.
DEBRIEFING 3
What happened out there today was a tragedy of immeasurable scope. The Tevs butchered the convoy like lambs in a slaughterhouse. Hundreds of civilians are dead, and Admiral Calder has lodged an official complaint to Admiral Byrne regarding your wing's performance out there. Manuel Brie, as wing leader you must take responsibility for today's poor performance. The nature of your disciplinary action will be revealed later on. Consider this a warning that from now on, such a poor show will not be tolerated in this squadron.
Reports show significant losses of Jovian forces during the retreat and word's going round that Admiral Calder is furious with Admiral Byrne for not providing reinforcements during the GTVA attack.
All outbound communications from Jupiter have ceased following the GalTev occupation of Ganymede, and we've lost control of the regional intrasystem gate network. All scheduled civilian traffic to the area has been cancelled. All in all, it looks like we've lost the entire Jovian system to the GTVA.
Things are looking bad for us. We thought things were tough before, but everything's about to get a whole lot worse. This war has finally come home, and we need to prepare for it however we can.
Take five to get some water and stims if you need them. There's a combat psych waiting to triage you. When you're done, get back to your birds. The remnants of the Jovian Rim Fleet are still trickling in, and we need to give them cover.
Expect another sortie inside the hour. We'll remember Gamma's pilots when we get the chance.
RECOMMENDATION 3
Prioritize hostile bombers. Remember, you can use the last wave's predicted jump-in location to position yourself.
If your hull is low, call in a support ship for hull repairs and recharge.
Collateral Damage
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
