Das Flaggschiff "RNC Berlin"

[Xing]

//I wrote this... I guess months ago! It was an attempt for me to roleplay an indie RM battleship. Although the request got refused in the end, I still enjoyed writting the story. Here it is finally for the public.
//This was also one of the thought 3 plans for me to leave Liberty... mehehe, but finally didnt worked out. The sig below was intended for this usage.




Old War Hammer

The RNC Berlin is a battleship nearly as old as the ancient RNC Westfallen. One of the last to be built at the time of the 80 years war, it was never truly completed. At the collapse of the Rheinland Imperial Navy, the RNC Berlin was subsequently abandoned, used as a less or more efficient stationary outpost station, and then abandoned again in one of the darker hidden shipyards of Rheinland. When the nomads infested Rheinland, the RNC Berlin passed widely unseen, so obscure its location was. In fact, on most archives concerning that vessel, it was marked as uncompleted, followed by the remark “recycled”.
A widely used term meaning the ship had been scrapped…
In this case, it had merely served in second life before being forgotten.

The troubled years of the nomad reign over, the military might of the Rheinland nation surfaced again under a new Chancellor. Despite the restriction on personal freedom, the population was, for the better part, glad of the change; pirate infestation was finally being pushed away by the renewed military, the black market plague was finally beginning to die: civil order was back, the proud nation of Rheinland was finally rising to its true power.

With an important raise of military and federal police patrols, a number of rheinland pilots discovered a path within a dangerous radioactive nebula of Frankfurt. Curiously, they followed the barely functioning navigational buoy through the cloud, ready for any kind of ambush.

Instead, they were astonished to find a very old looking shipyard complex, obviously abandoned: its living quarters and control stations were damaged beyond repairs by a lack of maintenance. The three berths of the station were empty…
Save one, that held a half-completed warship. The RNC Berlin was found, after decades of abandon.

It took many months of dangerous working condition in which many citizens of Rheinland perished, either in accidents or by pirate ambush as they pulled the old vessel away from the radiation cloud. Yet, the risk was considered worthy of the result: the ship was towed back to Oder shipyards where it was repaired and finally, completed after 2 years, where its design was upgraded to the level of the actual Rheinland battleships. Despite being as per formant as any other vessel of the fleet, the Berlin is often referred as “the ancient one” even though in reality the Westfallen is a much older vessel.

The RNC Berlin has ever since been assigned to New Berlin system defence, acting as the flagship of the Rheinland First Legion of Steel.





Legions of Steel



The Legions of Steel were fleets created back to the time of the Imperial Navy. 12 of them patrolled the Rheinland space with the purpose of being a defensive fleet. Each was consisted of some of the best trained soldiers available within the Fatherland, ready to intervene in space or on land with tremendous power. The gunners aboard the capital vessels had at their disposition, powerful plasma canons that could chew through the hardest armour with ease. Kriegsmarines stood ready for land invasions, while the pilots commanded the strength of the Valkyries, at the time, one of the best fighter craft ever produced in Sirius.

By the end of the 80 years war, only the 7th and 1st legions were still standing. After the subsequent economic crash in Rheinland, the 7th legion had to be disbanded and its flagship, the RNC Westfallia, was assigned guard duty within the Hamburg system. The 1st legion was held less or more alive despite having lost its flagship, the RNC Brandenburg, destroyed in the final battle of the 80 years war. Despite the handicap, it served Rheinland with distinction throughout the war and crisis.

With time, the only remaining Legion of Steel became an icon of the Rheinland military pride, the survival and rebirth of its ancient might.


The Bransteins

The Branstein family is a very old one, dating back as far as the beginning of the Rheinland Empire. Throughout the centuries, it held important political or military position in one way or another, having been part of the imperial lower aristocratic society, eventually rising very close to the imperial family itself. However, along with the fall of the Empire, the Branstein’ name lost most of its prestige even though they adamantly were against the war, which was probably the reason of its survival throughout the Popular Revolution.

Admiral Maier V Branstein

58 years old, the eldest Branstein. A tall man with broad shoulder, in another era, he could have been seen as a lord with a commanding aura. His skilful ability with logistic strategies has won Rheinland many a victory against the pirates as well as the Wild plague. His deep baritone voice is always calm and authoritarian. Respected by his men and his sons, Maier is responsible for the thousand of men in the First Legion of Steel.

Captain Elzam V Branstein

26 years old, Elzam is an ace within the Military pilots. His aristocratic features speak by itself of his cultured heritage. Always calm, even in the midst of a heated battle, his ability to focus in the worst situations allowed him to gain an impressive amount of kills since his enlistment.

Lieutenant Raidies V Branstein

22 years old, the last in line of the military Branstein family. A skilled pilot as well, Raidies holds a strong hatred toward his brother that few understand. Despite this, both hold a strong sense of respect to each other. Completely at the opposite of his elder brother, Raidies is hot blooded and acts like a berserker in combat, charging forward first to stun the enemy. Seemingly emotionless and acting very cold toward just about everyone – especially Elzam, Raidies is, to the eyes of the pilots in his squadron, a mysterious loner.

Rebirth of the last Legion
With the RNC Berlin finally completed and upgraded, the last standing Legion finally regained its full power. For the moment, it has been assigned to the Wild extermination, but plans has already been set to move it toward the Rheinland borders in case of open warfare with Liberty.

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