Discovery 5.1 - Aftershock: Dev Diary #5, The Story So Far

[jammi]

Today, we're going to be going through a chronology of events that are happening for the 5.1 update. This is obviously going to be going into some detail about the patch's story, so I'd recommend clicking away if you want to go into Aftershock spoiler free to explore and discover on your own. The below points will be documented through infocard updates and a lot of news articles. As of the current count, we have over 100 individual news articles, equating to over 20 pages of content. There's probably more than that again in infocard updates, which include a review of every card in Rheinland (and many others).

In addition to moving the story forward by documenting the events across 833 - 834 AS, Aftershock will also be "backfilling" some historic lore too. This has primarily focused on Rheinland for the time being. Unfortunately the scope of this job has proven to be challenging due to Discovery's habit of not necessarily writing down all of its historic lore, so this will be an ongoing process. The hope is that by the time we are done, most stations in the game will have a variety of bespoke and interesting news articles to find.

It's worth noting that this chronology details most of the events that are occurring but there will still be much more to find. Some things are secret and have been specifically excluded to allow you to find them in your own time.

Last chance to turn back if you want to find things on your own!

Freeport 9 bears the scars of recent battles, and has been equipped with improvised armor.

• In a lavish ceremony aboard Deshima Station, Synth Foods and Kishiro strike an alliance in a groundbreaking Paste distribution arrangement. The Farmer’s Alliance vows revenge, and begins plotting their next major bomb attack, this time targeting the hated Bounty Hunter facility.
  
  
• Kruger takes poorly scrutinized state grants that are earmarked for renovating Mannheim Station and fraudulently uses them to expand its illegal Sigma-15 gas mining operations. Kruger claims their increased H-Fuel production is due to innovations in Mannheim’s synthesis processes.
  
  
• BMM begins wildcat mining of Silver in Omega-7, spurring conflict with local corporations. Tensions are already running high after Kruger laid off hundreds of miners to showcase its new Robotics product line.
  
  
• Clashes over Freeport 9 result in significant casualties for the Corsairs, Outcasts and Zoners. The Corsair garrison command ship, the Battlecruiser Kefalonia is destroyed. The Corsairs scramble to pull in reinforcements from the Sigmas and Dresden to bolster the defense. During the anticipated second phase of the conflict, the Outcasts abandon their supposed Zoner "allies" as a mere distraction to occupy the Corsairs, while they achieve their own objectives elsewhere.
  
  
• Kusari successfully trials a 'jump bridge' between Honshu and Hokkadio using the prototype Kishiro Drive. This limited scale project is a proof of concept, but there remain many technical uncertainties about feasibility, cost and sustainability. Serious concerns are raised about the suitability of battlecruisers for this kind of operation.
  
  
• Dispute between DSE, Samura and Kishiro over Platinum mining rights escalates to violence. All sides breach court orders halting extraction, over fears their rivals will do so first. Kusari refits Fuchu Prison with refinery facilities to sell prison labor, while DSE begins construction of a subsidized refinery in Colorado.
  
  

  The Liner Hausbruch begins to salvage Wedel Base, destroyed by the Hessian and Coalition's betrayal.

• The Emperor of Rheinland embarks on a formal state visit to Gallia, as a part of a coordinated charm offensive to complete the Treaty of Oerlikon. The treaty is a landmark free trade deal that will allow Rheinland to flood their resource starved neighbor with minerals and alloys. The convoy is a disaster from the outset. Rheinland’s minister of trade is critically injured in a Maquis attack in Ile de France, and a number of trade negotiators killed. During the visit, the Emperor severely offends his hosts through a number of diplomatic gaffes. Meanwhile, the Gallic Union is plunged into paranoia as accusations are thrown wildly over the intelligence leaks and security lapses that allowed the attacks to occur.
  
  
• Unioners begin work on reestablishing themselves in Hamburg, salvaging Wedel Station. In the years since Vierlande Prison was destroyed, their route through Hamburg has been strained. It has become increasingly essential for them to secure the system’s eastern reaches, as the west is considered off limits to their smugglers due to superstitions of a monster prowling the Kielfeld.
  
  
• Outcasts successfully destroy Atka Research Station, imperiling Stabiline production. Cryer initiates immediate rationing, intending to service “priority clients” from stockpiles on Planet Honshu. Contingency plans for this eventuality are activated, triggering negotiations with Kusari and Bretonia over a number of earmarked sites for a potential replacement facility.
  
  
• Gallia and Rheinland finally reach a negotiated settlement over the Treaty of Oerlikon. Gallia exploits the offense caused by the state visit to push for radical reforms to the clauses on agricultural exports, allowing Gallia to unilaterally ship their surpluses and luxury goods into Rheinland. Rheinland counters by exploiting the attempted assassination of Baron von Hueber to push for even deeper access to Gallic extraction and manufacturing sectors. When the treaty is announced there are mass demonstrations and protests on Planets Stuttgart and Marne, and backlash from the other Houses.
  
  

  Wildau Station opens for business, Gallic tankers providing a lifeline for transports far from home.

• Following a devastating conflict in Omicron Theta and a massive increase in Nomad and Wild raids, the Corsairs and Zoners come to an uneasy peace over Freeport 9. A joint administration under Corsair oversight is installed. Alien attacks focus on Core and Corsair Artifact shipments passing through the vital chokepoint.
  
  
• Despite contract negotiations with ALG over the cleanup of Roppongi Station being in their final stages, Kusari's Trade Minister intervenes to nullify the award, instead granting the job to Samura Heavy Industries. Market sentiment is one of general confusion, as Samura has no particular professional experience in this field. ALG threatens to sue the Kusari government over procurement malpractice.
  
  
• Early in the process of negotiating the Treaty of Oerlikon, Rheinland agreed to a long term 30 year lease of Wildau Station with Gallia’s EFL Oil & Machinery. The station had been extortionately expensive to operate, however years of political deadlock and a lack of domestic buyers had prevented its disposal. Wildau has been refitted as a Promethene fuel depot for Gallic traffic, which is quickly increasing in scale. Owing to Gallic nationals being banned from Bonn Station, many Gallic corporations open offices on Wildau as a de facto Gallic consulate.
  
  
• Farmer's Alliance and LWB cooperation is at breaking point over diverging interests. The FA is intent on using the flood of Gallic Food imports into Rheinland as a cudgel against Synth Foods, despite the devastating impact this has on local independent farmers. They have threatened to punish LWB pilots who disobey FA standing orders by attacking Gallic transports.
  
  
• The RFP is forced to station a sizable contingent on Freiburg Station in Stuttgart to manage increasingly frequent clashes between Bretonian and Gallic shipping. Meanwhile, OSC reports record revenue from Baden Baden as curious Gallic tourists flock to the destination to experience Rheinland culture.
  
  

  The Tuscaloosa investigates inscrutable enemies, while the LSF fights crises on multiple fronts.

• Increasingly regular sightings of Nomad Vagrants in Cortez, Coronado and Inverness raise alarms in Bretonia, the Crayter Republic and Liberty over the possibility of a Nomad presence becoming entrenched on their borders. While the BIS is fully occupied with Molly counter-insurgency work, they do provide the LSF with their regional records, including dated charts of Inverness from the ill-fated Dunedin Station. The LSF deploys the Battlecruiser Tuscaloosa alongside CR allies to investigate the nature of the Nomad presence.
  
  
• In response to the Nomad sightings in Theta, The Order begins deploying military forces to counter them. The Core contemplates a renewed offensive in Omicron Zeta to exploit this.
  
  
• Gold shortages are becoming acute as Bretonian stockpiles run low; Interspace publishes a damning report on the economic instability this will cause unless the crisis is immediately resolved. The other Houses pressure for a quick resolution, but are severely divided on the approach. Rheinland offers industrial support for an immediate military resolution, while Liberty pushes for a negotiated settlement with the Mollys. Kusari has pledged technical support to a Bretonian campaign, but remains tight-lipped on the specifics.
  
  
• Due to escalating Unioner attacks across Hamburg and the Independent Worlds, the Carrier Soltau is reactivated using budget previously allocated to the destroyed Battleship Strausburg. It is deployed in orbit of Hamburg after extensive lobbying by Imperial Shipping, preventing attacks on local shipping and Altona Station.
  
  
• Despite extreme misgivings about over-extension and risk exposure, DSE is coerced by Liberty’s government into establishing a further resource extraction operation, expanding Scotsdale Base into a permanent Copper refinery in Coronado. While this is nominally sold as an economic partnership with the Crayter Republic, the Hawthorne administration is simply looking to campaign on having returned Liberty to the “good old days” of mining (some of) its own metals.
  
  

  The destruction of Atka is a symptom of Sigma-17's increasingly lawless state.

• Liberty issues a travel advisory against vacations at the Luxury Liner Hawaii following Atka’s destruction and several passenger shuttles disappearing. OSC protests that its security fleet has been bolstered to compensate, however stock prices crash on the news.
  
  
• The Hawthorne administration has grown increasingly impatient with long-term deployments of Liberty forces abroad. After years embedded in the Barrier Pass, the Battlecruiser Yellowstone is abruptly ordered back to California by the president. Hawthorne demands the Crayter Republic step up to police their own territory adequately. The Liberty Navy positions the Yellowstone at the Mojave junction to assist with the interception smugglers entering Liberty territory through both Bretonia and the Barrier Pass.
  
  
• Red Hessians respond to the Corsairs withdrawing forces from Dresden to Omicron-Theta by counter-attacking with the Battleship Zuschen in Omega-41. They hope to alleviate pressure on their home system by straining supply lines to Omega-5.
  
  
• The MND prepare to purge the final elements of the Wild from the Thuringia system by wiping out Valhalla Shipyard. To do this, they intend to field trial a prototype strategic weapon that harnesses the Drachenei Object -- a live Artifact excavated from Planet Weimar in 820 AS. The partially deconstructed Battleship Kolleda is towed to Schatten Research Station where it is refitted to carry the weapon. The test-firing successfully destroys Valhalla, however moments later the Kolleda is detonated in a colossal explosion. Cataclysmic side-effects are felt across the region, as a hyperspace pulse similar to that detected during the Blackout ripples outwards.
  
  
• A state of emergency is declared on Planet Hamburg after a large explosion occurs on the northern hemisphere, annihilating Hamburg University’s experimental physics campus. A pulse released by the blast fries the Optronic arrays used in the power network, causing a rolling outage across the hemisphere. Shortly after, the Bundschuh release a dossier of incriminating documents, alleging the blast was caused by an illegal Imperial Shipping sponsored research programme into Xeno Relics.
  
  

  While reaching for power beyond their understanding, the MND's hubris bears terrible fruit.

• In the aftermath of the Hamburg Blast, House intelligence agencies begin scrambling to obtain caches of Xeno Relics of their own. Shadow conflicts erupt across the Omicrons, in addition to bidding wars for material secured by The Core. The Order recognises the dire threat posed by Relic proliferation and steps up interdiction activities to crack down on their export. This primarily targets Core and Corsair smugglers attempting to exfiltrate the Artifacts through Omicron Delta.
  
  
• Liberty is convinced to take a more conciliatory approach to managing dissent in Pennsylvania. Draconian restrictions on Erie's Zoner population are eased and relations with the wider movement are normalised. A more proportionate approach of specifically identifying and targeting individual Militants is adopted. Over the years, most of the remaining Zoner population that hasn't already emigrated away has settled into begrudging collaboration with Liberty authorities. Despite this, many still provide tacit support and funds for radicals who resist the annexation.
  
  
• Earhart's Pylon enters a new activation phase. Ancient mechanisms react and grind back to life, while elsewhere rifts begin to tear open.
  
  
• Wild go on the offensive as Omega-58’s previously collapsed Jump Holes tear back open, and trapped forces pour out. There is a massive spike in attacks across the Omegas and Rheinland as Wild activity reaches a peak last seen in 818 AS.
  
  
• LSF spy satellites in Ontario burn out after detecting an intense hyperspace pulse from Planet Sudbury. The LSF immediately diverts funding towards reactivating the California Jump Gates, dispatching the Battlecruiser Lehigh and DSE construction ship Robert Peary for the 2 month deep space flight. Emergency patch repairs establish a weak, low-power link for a system beachhead.
  
  
• A large pulse of energy is detected in Dublin; a hazardous anomaly begins to form inside the wreckage of the New London Jump Gate. The Mollys warn their pilots to keep their distance.
  
  
• The Battleships Essex and Somerset are simultaneously withdrawn to Portsmouth Shipyard for refitting. Kishiro technicians are sighted aboard. The Mollys begin planning urgent strikes from Lisburn Rock, and deploy mines around the New London Jump Hole in Dublin. They believe the Bretonian counterattack is imminent. The BAF requisitions Thames Outpost as a temporary patrol base to maintain the Cumbria Field blockade.
  
  
• The destruction of Atka was a humiliation for the GMG, evidence that their grip on the Sigmas was not as strong as they would like others to believe. GMG paramilitary forces have been on high alert since, and tracked a damaged Corsair Artifact smuggler back to the Junkers’ Madrid Base in Sigma-13. They put the base to the sword, desperate to prove that the region still answers to their laws.

As ever, the above is subject to change as last minute revisions are made, or I go on manic writing sprees and implement additional arcs.

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