[Official Event] Agent and Director

[jammi]

Extended narrative outcome is now available here and in the OP.

Outcome

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One of the LSF’s primary objectives in Ontario is to acquire control over the mysterious alien complex on Planet Sudbury – Site Alpha. Probing patrols launched from the Lehigh frequently faced opposition from local enemies and unknown hostiles generically callsigned Wendigos. The Tuscaloosa was withdrawn from Inverness to take on deep space provisions at Los Angeles, and issued with a brief to finally capture Sudbury’s orbit. Upon departing the Lehigh’s beach head perimeter in Ontario, the task force had expected to meet heavy resistance. Instead, their occupation of Sudbury orbit was uncontested.

The Xenos had been watching the LSF buildup at the Jump Gate. They executed their plan once the Tuscaloosa had departed and was too distant to intervene. A tide of haphazardly equipped Xeno fighters poured from the Georgian Ice Field and overran the LSF position with bloody wave attacks. At the head of this horde was the Liberty Rose, an obsolete Liberty Dreadnought – the ghost of the LNS Alabama. While the sophisticated Battlecruiser Lehigh was the Rose’s superior in every material sense, the elderly battleship brought mass and numbers to bear.

Both capital ships were heavily damaged in the resulting clash, and forced to abandon the field. As a result, the euphemistically named "repair ship” Robert S. Peary was left exposed and then destroyed. As the only vessel of its kind in Liberty, the authorities will now be unable to maintain the stability of the California Jump Gate's improvised repairs. Before long the gate will need to be deactivated to prevent a critical blowout, placing an inevitable countdown on local operations. Heavy casualties among the Peary’s elite Ageira and DSE crew has already whipped up a near unprecedented scandal, with Congressional committees calling for Director Maxwell’s head and the court martial of the Lehigh’s command staff.

The Xenos have suffered eye-watering losses, as Fort Ramsey willingly paid an extreme toll in blood and mangled bone to cripple Liberty's foothold. The unexpected victory has emboldened the separatist wing of the movement, bolstering their vision of Ontario as the capital of an ascendant Liberty Free Republic. Despite this, the combat wings lent by the other Xeno clans to support the offensive have returned to their bases. It will take time for Ramsey to reconstitute its shattered strength and repay the debts and obligations they incurred with the other clans to achieve their victory.

The bloodshed has also reopened ideological fissures with the Xenos’ isolationist wing, who resent the separatists’ success. They argue the fixation on Ontario is hubris, and the scores of lost fighters should have been expended to combat foreign goods and corporations in Liberty. This comes at a time when Liberty's working classes are being ravaged by the Bretonian drug Slog, and isolationist provocateurs are fixated on instigating a war they believe will decouple Liberty’s economy from its dependency on Kusari.

The Tuscaloosa for its part is now beginning to execute its mission, despite the risks. Expeditionary teams have been dispatched to Sudbury’s surface, and have placed antimatter blasting charges to rapidly excavate through the regolith. They hope to undermine the Alpha Site’s protective shield and gain access to the beam emitter’s inner mechanisms. With Ontario now politically radioactive, it is unlikely they will receive further reinforcements. Should they fail to complete their objective before the Jump Gate fail-safes execute, they will be forced to discard as much mass as possible to ration fuel for the long voyage home.

For months the Battlecruiser Wyoming has laid dormant, hiding among the churning ocean of scrap in the South Ontario Debris Sea. The Wild had long known it was a matter of when and not if The Order would finally track them down. For weeks, Order patrols had methodically swept the field, having already ruled out other locations. The Wyoming’s remaining fighters had scrambled to destroy one scout that strayed too close, and in the process revealed their presence. Scout activity increased sharply, with detection now inevitable in a matter of days, if not hours. Assessing their options as poor across the board, the Wild determined that their best shot was fleeing to Inverness, and hoping the Vagrants would attack an Order presence so close to their Hive.

When the Xenos attacked the California Jump Gate, the local comm net lit up with the chaos of battle. The Wyoming used this distraction to initiate a hard burn for the Georgian Ice Field. The Atum’s gaze was already fixed upon the area however, and was soon in hot pursuit. Within the ice field, Order interceptors immobilized the Wyoming, and its last stand began. The Wild fighter screen was obliterated during the grinding battle, with the Wyoming’s destruction apparently inevitable. When all seemed lost, the Vagrants made contact with an ultimatum: sever links with the Nomad mindshare and be subsumed into their own, and the precious Liberty thrall network would be saved.

Facing certain death, the Wild reluctantly agreed, concluding that survival to continue the work against humanity in some capability was preferable to their death and the loss of all progress. Immediately Vagrant heavy warforms jumped to Ontario and whisked the Wyoming away. Loathe to lose their prey so easily, the Atum mustered its forces and plunged through the collapsing drive rift. Arriving in orbit of Planet Veracruz in Vespucci, the battle reignited. The Atum wrought grievous damage on one of the warforms, with the crippled entity falling into Veracruz’s atmosphere. Despite this, The Atum had suffered increasingly severe damage itself, with fires raging across multiple decks. Breaking off, the battleship cloaked and fled into the Sonora Ice Field. Soon intercepted by the Gaians of Atcama Base, the two mutually suspicious groups are now locked in a parlay as they try to gauge one another’s intentions and reliability.

The Vagrants have been expanding their influence in Vespucci for some months. After the Liberty Insurgency’s destruction, the human wreckage of that defeat was scattered across Liberty and its Independent Worlds. After infesting a number of such survivors, the Vagrants had become aware of Fort Leniex. Using their own reserves of infested or indoctrinated humans, scouts had investigated and discovered the complex gutted by explosive sabotage. Some sections of the fortress were salvageable however, and it was here the Wendigos made their hidden lair. By the time the Wyoming had been spirited away to Vespucci, basic docking functions had been restored, and the sole surviving drydock was put to use.

The Wyoming is now being assessed for repairs, which will inevitably be complex and arduous. The battlecruiser has incurred years of minor damage, as well as the severe blows dealt by the Atum. Its crew have also been restrained and isolated aboard Leneix, readying them for the mental rites needed to sever their mindshare and reconnect to the Vagrants. The psychic trauma from such severance and melding can be deadly, inflicting terrible pain or even psychosis on both parties – such practice is normally taboo for the Nomads. Many remember the shock and anguish of the disconnection following the Nomad Wars, 35 years ago. Despite this, the potential prize for the Vagrants is too tempting to pass up.

Having effectively had the Liberty thrall network torn from their grasp, the Nomads’ reaction has been one of shock and rage. The isolated Wild of Stockton Depot are also fearful that they may be subjected to a similar ploy in the future, and have beseeched their masters to send reinforcements to repulse any potential Wendigo trickery. The two alien hives’ interests appear to have diverged to a hitherto unprecedented level, with their pawns now engaged in outright conflict as proxies to settle this growing dispute. While the Vagrants have acted aggressively to secure their position in Liberty, this dissonance also presents a startling opportunity for the forces of humanity to divide and conquer their alien enemies.

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