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Author: Timothy Payne
Date: December 9, 821 AS

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Welcome to Central Colony News, the Borderworlds' number one source of information.

We bring you today an article about the intensifying situation on Leeds, in a battle that has been continuing for months now. The Bretonians seem to be hell-bent on saving their planet, but the Gallic war machine seems to never run out of fuel. Today we will discuss a topic that has seen increasing prominence planetside: growing freelancer involvement in the war.

Pictured: A Gallic Marine mans a heavy machine gun in an attempt to suppress rebel forces during a nightly skirmish in one of the planet's most densely populated areas.

For those who don't know, around a year has passed since the initial invasion of the Leeds system, and the Gallic war machine shows no sign of slowing down despite strong allied Libertonian and Bretonian efforts to stall the assault. While massive Gallic fleets approach Newcastle, Magellan, Dublin, and even the Bretonian capital of New London, a rather peculiar situation can be found on Planet Leeds.

Pictured: A Bretonian Police Authority Hussar light fighter, designation JR7F, lies wrecked inside of a residence. The fate of the pilot is unknown.

Located in what was long considered the most resource rich system in Bretonia, Planet Leeds became a residential, manufactoring, and processing hub, housing a staggering 2.2 billion people, and just last year became the target of the Gallic onslaught. As projected, the loss of the system was a great defeat for the Bretonians.

Armed Forces personnel were not unprepared for the planetary invasion by any means; just weeks prior to the Gallic offense, many soldiers dug into old, deep mines, bringing sufficient provisions with them in order to last as long as possible in the face of an impossibly stronger foe. Utilizing the planet itself as a weapon and aided by benevolent freelancers, the Bretonians have managed to distract and entwine a considerable portion of the Gallic occupying force.

Pictured: A freelance Scimitar intervenes during an evening skirmish, firing several unguided rockets into a Gallic machine gun nest.

Now, these freelancers are perhaps the most daring lot ever to grace Sirius, running a massive blockade of Leeds in order to provide support to Armed Forces soldiers and refugees planetside. Freelancers frequently participate in "high speed attack" operations, where they dive in at high speeds with light fighters to engage a Gallic target in accordance with BAF intelligence, retreating before Royal Navy interceptors can react. This strategy was seemingly adopted out of necessity as the high concentration of enemy forces generally guaranteed death for anyone who used conventional tactics, but it appears to be employed to great effect. The overall impact of the freelancers in the grand scheme of things seems to be little, but on an individual level, these actions are huge steps in retaking Leeds, especially given the high loss rate of ships going down onto the surface.

Pictured: A Startracker light fighter is disabled by two Gallic Royal Marine anti-air infantry fighting vehicles after strafing a convoy, destroying one hostile armored vehicle in the process.

Opposition is fierce on the planet, as Bretonians and allies desperately try to hold on. Maintaining even the tiniest bit of active resistance could help ease the pressure off of the war front, and the Bretonians have fully understood this concept. Luckily for them, factions have flocked to the planet for anything from humanitarian relief efforts for civilians stranded to close air support, however risky it may be. Many freelancers come back with visible battle scars on their vessels, a sign that the Gallics won't be letting up very soon at all.

Pictured: Sparks fly as a Falcon heavy fighter is struck by a 40 millimeter incindiary armor piercing round, which was absorbed into the fuselage. Note the additional burn mark denoting previous damage.

These Freelancers have also rescued sizable amounts of the estimated 1.1 billion refugees on the surface of Leeds, some on their own, others in Armed Forces camps underground. Ever since the war started last year, roughly 200 million refugees have found their way into Bretonia and Liberty, although not to the most open of arms.

Pictured: A Bretonian Armed Forces soldier waves two bright green lights at a passing Clydesdale during a relatively foggy day, with a small gang of refugees awaiting extraction.

We here at CCN do not actively encourage civilians to put their lives on the line. Please do not attempt to run the Leeds blockade.

This concludes today's situation report. Keep an eye out for any further updates on the Leeds situation, as you'll find it here on CCN first.

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