Part 4: Pre-emptive measures
Preparations
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Gaian High Command Briefing - Transcript
TOP SECRET:
Now, I bet you are all wondering why I've called you here. And why you weren't told to inform your superiors or colleagues. The answer is simple - it is so that we may explore possibilities and scenarios that may be... politically inconvenient. I know that all of you were dismayed at the decision to bow down under Spartan pressure. Subsequent events have made it evident that something needs to be done.
It has always been understood that on board the Unity, individual head officers are under the command of the captain and his immediate subordinates. This situation, according to original United Nations plans, was supposed to continue even after planetfall. The loss of Captain Garland was a regrettable and unforeseen disruption. But it shouldn't change things. Officers are supposed to work together for the good of the overall crew, and the mission of peaceful exploration of the Planet.
It is worrying that Santiago believes otherwise. Now, in hindsight, such instability is written clearly in her psych evaluation and history. To put it bluntly, Santiago is a power hungry lunatic , who has lost sight of her proper position, and raised herself up as some kind of archaic warrior-queen. The UN charter is clear and unambiguous: after the Captain, command defaults to the Executive Officer, Yang. Since Yang is not in contact, factions should unite until he comes in contact, for a peaceful transition into the planned power structures.
The above message arrived just today. Even more worrying is Sparta's - as her followers so appropiately call themselves - military buildup.Whenever radio silence breaks, all we hear are threats of new military devices. We have to ask the question: What are these guns for? The southern part of the continent, from the small scale surveys we have done so far, is much less rife with mindworms than the north. There is only one conceivable target for these weapons.
Us.
I know some in the administration, including, it is rumoured, Lady Skye herself, believe that Spartans have their guns out of some 'emotional attachment'. But I believe that steps should be taken to prepare us for the worst case scenario. First: Look at our assets:
We have a substantial lead in research in non-defense-related fields. Recently, we have managed to complete research into full models of Industrial Economics. Even more exciting is the conclusion of the secret research project into the so-called Weather Paradigm.
Video attached / Backup
The full ramifications of this are not yet known. But it is believed that this will give us a halving of the time for terraforming project as well as multiple civilian applications - assuming the ecological impact assessments are completed soon, of course. There is no word on the potential for military applications, though some improvements in road building is already being put into place.
In military tech, we are somewhat behind. But the worm hunting squads have given us the excuse to recruit a large army - albeit fairly untrained and poorly equipped. Likewise, our bases number 7 and growing - this will give us substantial buffer room. We also do not believe the Spartans use the 'monoliths' like we do.
We also have naval power... something the Spartans, we believe, do not.
The final piece of the jigsaw, though, must not leave this room. We have found a way to harness mindworms.
The specifics of the procedure, I do not have to hand. Needless to say, the method of initiation will be passed to those parties who require it. The scientists... indeed, everyone outside this room, are still labouring under obsolete methods, without much success. This is intentional - the secrecy of our capability must be ensured. We do not believe Santiago knows that this is even possible. It is precisely because of this window of opportunity that we must act pre-emptively, to head off the coming Spartan attack.
This is our force composition. Most are still stationed to the north, and must still be moved southwards. This has already been begun, under the pretense of a 'training exercise.'
This is our target. Sparta Command itself, the headquarters of the Federation. It is hoped that an attack can assassinate Santiago herself, or at least weaken the Federation enough to fall in line. Observations have shown a small defending force of approximately 300 men, from Santiago's personal bodyguard. They are well trained and equipped, but are unlikely to pose much resistance.
This is our battleplan. By our estimates, Sparta has approximately 5 bases, spread out around a freshwater sea. The plan is to push forward a diversionary attack with conventional forces towards Bunker 118. Meanwhile, mindworms, carried by the new amphibious variant captured on Monday, will form a beachhead near the main target. It is hoped that our unconventional strike force will delay the Spartan response. Once reinforced, a full scale attack will take place. We will then weather the Spartan counterattack, before planning our next moves. Assuming the Spartans don't collapse the moment we kick the door in!
Some of you may be aware of the above communique that arrived this morning. Others may be uncertain of how we can carry out this attack given the official Gaian stance of appeasement of our foes.
Do not worry. While the leadership may feel that this new offer represents some sort of change of mind from Santiago, there are sufficient people in positions of power with enough military experience to see this for the trick it is. Leave the pointless diplomacy to the diplomats. As for fears of carrying out an apparently unprovoked attack, do not fear.
Arrangements have been made.
The only question is:
Are you prepared to uphold the UN charter - by force if neccessary - as we all swore to?
Or
Are you not?
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Options:
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Also, a name for the military operation would be cool....
Current worm count:
