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Threads: 292
Joined: Dec 2009
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Name: Augustus Howe, on behalf of the crew of INS Klaxon
Age/DOB: March 1st, 774 AS; the Klaxon was first deployed in March of 789 AS
Gender: Male
Personal History:
I come from a middle-class family of Denverites. My life was thoroughly unremarkable until joining the Liberty Navy at age twenty, though with a Naval sponsorship I acquired a masters degree in Political History alongside an undergraduate degree in Political Science, and later, an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice. I have been a lifelong learner, firmly believing that I can best be of service to others by having the information I need to make the right call. I rose through the ranks in the Navy, until in 822 AS I was assigned as the commanding officer of the LNS Klaxon, at the rank of Commander.
In August of 823 AS, the Primary Fleet of the Navy turned their guns onto the LNS Harmony under the pretense that her commanding officer, Rear Admiral Victoria Knight, had been subverted by the alien menace. As a ranking officer in the Navy, I was well aware of the history of such accusations being weaponized, and I was determined not to let history repeat itself—the Klaxon had herself served in early 801 to maintain martial law under the infected military junta. I ordered the gunners to fire in defense of the Harmony. In that one moment, our fate was sealed.
We followed Battlegroup Harmony, only rarely engaging in combat with Government forces and mostly serving as a forward operating base for strikecraft as well as a SIGINT hub, in keeping with the specialties of our ship. Along the way, I and my crew heard many horror stories of the brutality and oppression which the Government's forces had visited upon the civilian populace of Liberty, and many of us grew to believe that we had been fighting for the wrong side. When the Harmony and her forces joined with the Hellfire Legion, we saw a bright new future ahead of us, and were bolstered by the belief that we might finally topple the illegitimate Manhattanite government. These hopes were dashed when RA Knight and Lord Commander West made the joint decision to impose military rule over the Commonwealth and imprison its political leaders on false charges of treason. At this point, there was naught for us to do but hope this to be a mistake that would eventually be reverted.
During the fall of Veracruz, the last order sent from the battlefield was to scuttle capital assets remaining in Vespucci. My command staff and I unanimously agreed we would disobey this order. Our only constant over the past several years had been the Klaxon herself, and despite her lacking in combat capabilities, her advanced equipment could not be allowed to fall into the hands of scrappers or Naval recovery teams. Thus, I made contact with Mr. Klugmann of your organization in a last-ditch effort to find support, and he offered us safe harbor near your gas miner Bielefeld. We have spent the past several years recuperating and attempting to retrofit our ship with what little supplies you have been able to spare. Now, the crew has unanimously voted to take up your flag and do what we can to help your own cause here in Rheinland.
Skillset:
I am an experienced naval commander. We have a small number of experienced fighter pilots among us, most notably Lieutenant Capley, and our Chief Engineer is also an accomplished architect. For nigh on a decade now, the core of our crew has managed to keep a decrepit and out-of-date Monument-class dreadnought afloat via careful direction of rationing and cannibalization of extraneous subsystems and safety features. If anyone can do the impossible with nothing, we believe it to be us.
The Klaxon possesses a powerful jump drive, a cloaking device, several serviceable docking bays, and advanced hyperspace scanners, as well as a modifiable-encryption long range communications array. These assets are what have allowed us to evade detection over the years, although maintaining them is quite expensive.
Why would you like to join The Platform?:
We have nowhere else to go. Your people have given us supplies and shelter for three years, including during the Blackout, and throughout it all, we have been simply stunned by your generosity, dedication, and passion for your cause. Each day that we continue to breathe with oxygen supplied by your own freighters is a testament to the power of mutual aid. While the Klaxon's crew are now a diverse bunch, our numbers having been bolstered by Zoner refugees from as far afield as Pennsylvania and Freeport 9, and truthfully few of us are anarchists as such, we all share in the lifelong devotion to freedom which is the Platform's animus. Each of us has sworn an eternal oath to topple the tyrants and oppressors who unjustly rule Sirius through steel rather than consensus. Your group is thus our natural ally.
In your own words, what is your understanding of the Platform's goals and structure?:
The Platform is a horizontally-organized and decentralized web of cells who collaborate to free Rheinland from Imperial rule and replace the current concept of the Sirian nation-state with direct rule of the people by the people. Anarchy to the Platform means liberty, equality, and fraternity for all, with the people themselves serving as the guarantors of this radical justice.
Do you have any prior and/or current employment or affiliations? If so, do you expect retaliation for leaving these affiliations in favor of the Bundschuh?:
We expect retaliation from Liberty's forces wherever they may find us. Any surviving Hellfire Legion, Separatist, and/or Insurgent assets are more likely to assist us than harm us.
Are you submitting this application on behalf of a larger ship? (i.e Gunship, Transport, etc) If so, we will relay this same application to other assenting crew:
Yes. All 407 members of the Klaxon's crew have unanimously agreed to join the Platform.
Do you (and those you speak on behalf of) have a cardamine dependency? If so, are you/they willing to use stabiline in the event of a local cardamine shortage?:
I do not have a cardamine dependency. There are less than a dozen among our number who do, and their opinions on stabiline will be sure to vary.
Are you interested in joining an established Cell (i.e. Gloaming Flotilla, Damnatio Memoriae) or forming another? Partisan Independence is also allowed:
We intend to establish our own cell, the Black Flame, with an intent to rally any other surviving Insurgent personnel who are wiling to join us and coordinate operations under this banner.
Is there any other pertinent information you would like to add to this application?:
I believe Mr. Klugmann has all the other pertinent information available to him. Individual crewmates of the Klaxon may also be forwarding their applications independently if they wish to.
