MNS - The End of an Era [ARCHIVED]

[Lipari Solar News]

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED

Republica de Malta

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Maltese News Service

'An informed society is a strong society'

THE END OF AN ERA
Leeds recaptured!!
The Royal Navy on the run!
The Tau Dilemma burning into full force.
By: Abigail Thompson

After ten long years of unrelenting combat, and even longer for our Council brothers and sisters, the Gallic Invasion is finally over, the forces of the Gallic Royal Navy turning tail and sealing themselves within the Bretonian West Indies. While the threat of Royal Aggression looms over the populace of Sirius, military tacticians from across the Colonies have ensured everyone that the Royal Enclave will never break free from their bastions, and will eventually be eradicated.

EDINBURGH

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Edinburgh is the most damaged of the Bretonian West Indies, and is home to the would-be 'capital' of the Royal Enclave, Gaia. Gaian and CIS raiders occasionally provide mapping data of the system through quick, surgical routes across the system. It is suspected that Charles 'the King' may be within the system as it serves as the Royalists' final bastion within Sirius, a prime target for anti-Gallic raiders of all flags that would enjoy seeing the man's head on a pike. However, for now, all that can be done are surgical raids into the system by small patrol wings and light interceptors.

It is expected that Edinburgh will be the final Royalist stronghold to fall, being far more heavily defended than the Enclave's other two bastions. Armed Forces officials have assured us, however, that efforts will be made to undermine the Royalist's efforts within Edinburgh as time goes on.

ORKNEY

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Orkney is one of the Enclave's final bastion of resources to fuel their deteriorated war effort, the system ripe for exploitation. While not containing any habitable planets, the abundant resources within the system are expected to work against anti-Royalist efforts, and cause distress for any non-Royalists who attempt independent mining within the West Indies. Royalist stations within the system continue to remain operational, and local patrols by the Armed Forces, Gaians, and the Crayter Republic have been reduced to mere raiding and scouting parties to avoid detection by Enclave radar.

It is expected that Orkney will be a primary target for anti-Royalist efforts, as the removal of resources to fuel the Enclave's efforts will become a top priority. Personnel of the Navy have already proposed drafts of invasion plans to the senate, and it is likely that should the homeworld offensive take time to move, efforts will be diverted towards securing the West Indies alongside allied forces.

ROUSSILLON

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Roussillon is likely the Royalist's own final effort to contain their remaining population. After the Leeds Exodus left millions of serfs, nobles, and Royalist personnel inside the West Indie exclusion zone, the former Council refuge within Sirius soon became a potential hideaway for Royalist forces escaping their failure on the front line. Due to Roussillon's relatively untapped nature, and the plenitude of local planetary bodies, Roussillon is expected to become another resource-heavy bastion for the Enclave, unhelped by Roussillon's own fortified nature. Citizens of Lipari Colony in the Tau-44 system, a home to over 3 million Crayter and Maltese residents, have stated their discomfort with living next door to a bastion of the Royalist regime, and while efforts to retake the system have left it fortified, Tau-44 is expected to remain a tenuous location for most. Population numbers on Lipari continue to rise, though this may be stunted as the months track on.

The liberation of Roussillon will likely be a final step for the anti-Royalist alliance, and will no doubt be administered through Tau-44. Republic tacticians expect a bloody fight, and ironically a more costly expenditure of resources compared to the estimates of the homeworld campaign. Operation drafts have yet to be proposed.

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The efforts to retake Leeds have also not come without cost, though despite these they removed the Royalist presence from the system once and for all, allowing for the Bretonian Crown to push back north to retake their lost system. The surface of Leeds, however, has left the planet in a state of absolute chaos. Fissures of molten rock, metal, and former Bretonian infrastructure litter the planet, and what once was a home for over seven and a half billion is now the grave for those who weren't lucky enough to escape. While the efforts of those across Sirius were successful in transporting millions from the surface, Leeds will remain a wasteland swathed in the dust and fire of bombardment for decades, possibly centuries to come.

In regards to Leeds as a system, the planet was only half of the chaos that marked the system last month.
In a daring operation to liberate the system, allied forces from New London secured gate codes for the sealed jumpgate founded by EFL for the invasion of New London. As the vanguard of the task force, spearheaded by Battleship L.N.S. Ottawa of the Liberty Armed Forces, jumped into the system, contact was lost, as unknown weapons deployed by the Royal Navy ambushed the battlegroup as they exited jump. Battleship Ottawa was noted as being 'disabled, yet potentially salvageable' by active correspondents in the field.

In addition to these losses, Stokes, LD-14, and Glasgow Outpost lay tattered, destroyed by Royalist forces after their retreat into the East Indies. It is expected that the recovery time for Bretonia will be lengthy, but the houses have already begun moving to pitch in.

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Finally, tensions are beginning to mount in the Tau Sector following the end of the Gallic Invasion, with Nationalist forces engaging in an all out slugging match against the IMG to the north, while Crayterian units move to secure their newly acquired territory gained after Operation Ice Lance. Republic efforts to continue supplying Lipari have been greatly boosted due to the security of the region under Crayter's provisional military governance, and the passage from Coronado to Tau-44 is clearer than ever. Despite the occupation of Roussillon, Lipari's population ranges are expected to rise, and local government officials have stated that they have plans for the island's colony within the near future.

Operations against the Nationalist forces will likely be planned and submitted to the senate for approval, and efforts for extra-Maltisian expansion will likely be carried out within the next month. The Tau Sector, despite the end of the war, will continue to remain the Republic's focus for operations, especially with the increase in Nationalist operations against the IMG and other Republic allies.

LIPARI

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The Colony at Lipari has seen steady growth in the past few months with the arrival of new immigrants from the Leeds Evacuation. The mass exodus from the planet saw departures from typical life to newer, more promising settlements across Sirius. Lipari was no exception.
49,822 colonists migrated to the colony following the evacuation, the vast majority being Bretonian citizens seeking a new life at the colony. This influx of immigrants originally overflowed as transports arrived day-by-day full of new colonists seeking to start anew, and due to the literal doubling of the colony's population, word from the Lipari census office reports that the majority of the new populace could not be housed, leading to a large demand in aluminum and other construction and electronics supplies.

Expansion into the Gorgona Zone was also approved last Thursday with the influx of colonists from Leeds, with the populace slowly being housed temporarily in light of the surge. The expansion of Pianosa is expected to be greatly effected by this influx of colonists, with the populace joining in the construction efforts. Efforts are expected to take several months, and due to the support from Crayter, will very likely create an economics boon for the Republic.

TAU-23

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Operations into the Tau regions are expected to become more direct within the coming weeks as the Armed Forces has declared their intentions of initiating the push towards the homeworld. A press conference held yesterday by the Secretary of State Horatio Esposita revealed that the decision to expand operations into the Barrier proper were agreed by a cabinet vote of nine to none, with one abstention, with the decision in favor of overseeing the passive incorporation of Maltese assets back into the Republic. Cali Base is expected to be the first in the line of reappropriation, with Maltese installations across Northern Sirius to follow suit over the coming months.
After the press conference, Mr. Esposita offered these words in regards to the decision.

"It's a very carefully planned and executed series of decisions we have to make with this campaign, and especially when we make these decisions public. While we're grateful to MNS for broadcasting these updates to the people of the Republic, we have to take into account that not only will our friends hear of these intentions but our enemies as well. Far more is planned than was stated here, but rest assured that we're taking all possible precautions in regards to this."

BARCELONA

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Finally, Republic forces are beginning to mobilize around Kusari space towards the West Sirian Expanse as Armed Forces vessels have declared the intent on raids against Nationalist forces occupying the Barcelona system. While the far off systems are expected to be little more than a side conflict, operations alongside local forces will likely grow to develop into a fully fledged campaign against the occupied system. Time will tell where these operations go, but we here at MNS will be monitoring the progress of these Armed Forces men and women as they occur.

As always, this has been the Maltese News Service, and we wish you all a good night and a safe flight.

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