In the shadow of the events and chaos of Disclosure, the first Battlegroup is formed...
And sent straight into action!
“Negotiations broke down between China and the other starfaring nations due to what President Hayes has denounced as unreasonable and contemptuous demands by the Chinese Government. Exactly which demands his is decrying is unknown, but we do know however that China has not only been pushing for reparations from Stargate Command and the British Royal Space Service for drawing the world into this war, but for technologies and perhaps most tellingly, it is rumoured that China has been calling for an executive veto on all actions a combined space force would carry out.
Neither Stargate Command nor the Royal Space Service would work under such a demand, a point that Hammond repeatedly forced down the throats of the corrupt NID prior to there dismantlement by government forces, but that doesn't matter to the Chinese government who are using the failure to encourage fierce nationalism amongst the population, citing the failure to there people as being due to the American and British refusal to accept ‘reasonable consequences for their actions'
In related news, the Chinese government has announced a significant increase in the military budget”
“Under the watchful eyes of Allied troops, the French population goes to the polls today under heavy security as the first moves are made to restore Democracy to a nation that has been under occupation rule for several months.
But any government that takes over is going to be in trouble, they will have to find a new home for a start, choose a new capital and build the bulk of the central government buildings from scratch.
They will have to find ways to replace or repair infrastructure damaged or destroyed either during the invasion or by Iblis's forces or even by the rioting and looting of their own citizens.
They also have to rebuild a devastated army and airforce despite a public fear of the nations own military, the reputation of Frances military, indeed, the public trust in their own forces crippled by those regiments Iblis was able to control.
The Navy and Airforce might have stayed out of the fighting but that has certainly not helped the general public trust them once more. The Navy was forced out of the fight largely by their nature but the airforce could have fought the invasion and largely didn't.
Indeed, those units which didn't resist Iblis either actively resisted the allied liberation or just deserted, abandoning their duty and heading home. It will be up to the new government to decide what to do with the deserters, as it will be up to them to make the final choice as to what exactly is to be done with the ruins of Paris”
“Buenos Aires, a city in ruins, its heart torn out by a cylon nuclear missile, the rest of the city burnt to the ground as fires triggered by the detonation raged out of control. No-one truly knows how many people died here or are still dying here. Aid is now flowing swiftly into the area, helping the survivors, but there are few enough of those.
Indeed, the bulk of the people that are being treated by the International Red Cross and the other aid agencies are those who were looking towards the city when the device detonated. So far, it's reported that over three hundred people have been diagnosed as having been completely and permanently blinded by the detonation flash. Hundreds more have suffered some impairment to their sight and only time will tell as to how many of those can be treated.
Yet this city is not alone, and the misery we see here is duplicated around Vladivostok and Los Vegas.
It is also telling perhaps that even here they have heard of Exeter and the destruction of that Cathedral city and despite the many injuries, the many blinded people and the loss of their city, they consider themselves lucky that they weren't living on the south coast of England”
“The inquest into the failure of Earths defences adjourned for the night just minutes ago, the judges appointed by Congress faced with dissecting the actions of the joint command structure at the insistence of Congress despite having an extremely shaky legal ground for doing so.
Indeed, the officer officially in charge of Earths defences, Commodore Peters who resides aboard Thundersdawn Station has refused to attend this hearing, stating that only a board appointed by at least two thirds of the spacefaring nations had any right of inquest over Earths defences.
Legally, she is almost certainly correct, but several members of congress have been consistently pushing for more control of the space forces to be placed in Americas hands ever since Disclosure and its probable that this farce has been ordered as an attempt to force the issue.
Certainly at one point to all appearances at least, America controlled everything more powerful then a rocket that could actually defend this world from attack but the British are seen to have usurped that control with the highly successful Thundersdawn project, a fact that has not been appreciated amongst certain individuals who remember, perhaps with far too much fondness, when America was the unquestioned most powerful nation on Earth.
In many ways, America still is, but when people think of powerful nations now, they don't see America first then perhaps the European Union and China, they see America and Britain, a nation once again a powerful force for technological advancement and naval power, albeit space navy power.
Where this will lead is uncertain, but perhaps a gentle reminder is needed that America stands strongest when she stands amongst friends, instead of amongst resentful and uncooperative allies merely of convenience or fear”
“We are standing on the outskirts of Manston Field, a major Royal Space Service base, and as you can see and no doubt hear behind me, the base is at full alert. Five minutes ago, it was dead quiet, no one was moving bar the guards and dogs roaming the perimeter at all hours, now it is like a kicked ant-hill, we don't know what exactly is going on but….
Wait, okay, the loudspeakers behind me are just announcing a squadron scramble, now this base is home field for the a squadron of Motor Torpedo and Motor Gunboats, known to the Americans as Patrol Boats.
Something is definitely going on, but what I am afraid…
Wait, okay, we have guards running towards us now, shouting at us to stop transmitting but we'll keep going as long as we can, we are outside the perimeter, they have no right to violate press rights by forcing us to stop <Transmission Terminated At Source>