12: Battlegroup
by
Chaoseternus
In the shadow of the events and chaos of Disclosure,
the first Battlegroup is formed...
And sent straight into action!
"Reports leaked to us from the Royal Space Service indicate that an assassination attempt against Thundersdawn station Commander and chief of Earth's defences Commodore Peters was narrowly averted this week despite heightened security surrounding the station since Disclosure.
How, or even why this assassination occurred is not yet know, what is know for certain is that this is not the first of the disturbing reports coming out of the station to have reached our ears. Overwork, staffing difficulties and even sabotage, all of which have a severe knock-on effect on the security and safety of our world.
The Royal Space Service has yet to respond publicly to these reports, but is rumoured to be taking the situation extremely seriously indeed"
"The Second Great Fire of London is now over, the devastated city smoulders today as the weary but jubilant fire-fighters, auxiliaries and volunteers began the time consuming task of making the city safe. Joined by military and civilian engineers and work crews from, so far seven nations, the task of now cooling down the smouldering ruins, bulldozing the wreckage and assessing what can be saved and what needs to go had begun.
It's estimated that about two thirds of the city lie in ruins, the damage enough to make the insurance industry collectively weep. Rebuilding here will take years.
But years the government doesn't have. The cities population exceeded 7 million years before the events of Disclosure and the evacuation. Whilst it is certainly true that between the Goa'uld attacks on the city and the fire that many are dead, there are still untold millions crowding in makeshift camps surrounding the city, desperate for food, water, basic sanitation and in many areas, a heavy police presence.
All of these they are looking to an increasingly battered and besieged government for, but the aid they need is being slow to appear and time is running out"
"Stargate Command, currently housed at an unidentified location, has confirmed the arrival through the Stargate of food and medical supplies from several of our off-world allies, believed to include the Orbanians, the Edorans and the Land of the Light. The Land of the Light is noteworthy here as Stargate Command has increasingly and with the co-operation of the natives, used the planet as an off-world medical facility"
"The trials began in closed courts today of the Military personnel and civilian conspirators arrested for treason and attempting to subvert the constitutional Government in the immediate aftermath of disclosure.
The largest group ever arrested by the American government for such crimes, these individuals are under constant watchful guard, not just to prevent their escape, but to prevent their murder. We know attempts have been made on their lives, at least one of which was by the original Guard detail themselves and one has to wonder, even if found not guilty, how long do these people truly have left to live?
Mud has been thrown, and this kind does not ever wash off."
"Stargate Command and the Royal Star Service have today issued a call for qualified individuals to apply for Colonisation rights on Alpha Prime. Such individuals will undergo a security check but the positions these services are looking to fill range from structural engineers to teachers, covering the whole range of jobs a virgin colony will need. The websites of both agencies currently have a list of five thousand positions they wish to fill for this second wave of colonisation, and both specifically state that preference will be given to family groupings"
"Both the Royal Star Service and Stargate Command websites went down earlier today after a record surge of visitors overloaded the capacity of the servers following the announcement of Colonisation opportunities on Alpha Prime in the Alpha Centauri system.
A statement issued by Stargate Command indicates that both agencies are currently working to add capacity to their servers and intend to have the sites back up before tomorrow however gives no guarantee as to when the sites will be live again.
It is perhaps fortunate that both agencies use separate server farms for their Operational, as opposed to Public Relations duties"
"A cylon attack on the Alpha Centauri system was rebuffed earlier today after the attacking basestars were successfully caught between the systems small defence fleet, ably supported by the Colonial Battlestar Galactica and the massed guns of Ravenbright station. The station, still incomplete, is the most heavily fortified position currently available to our space forces"
"Akin perhaps to the British Spitfire Funds of the Second World War, a wave of extra moneys is being donated to the Royal Space service and Stargate Command by the general public. This money is intended solely the purchase of fixed emplacements such as the Type I, Type II and the upcoming Type III to reinforce Earth's weakened and paltry defence grid.
This idea, revived by a Senator from Iowa, has so far raised enough money in America alone to fund an additional thirty satellites, enough we are told, to provide adequate cover for one city. This is despite inadequate advertising of the program in the rush to get this idea running"
"A Military Coup has occurred within China.
In the Early hours of this morning, troops of the Chinese army moved into the Government buildings in Beijing and seized control. Details are sketchy at this point, the situation extremely confused, but we have reason to believe the Premier has been arrested but is still alive.
At this point in time, we do not know why this coup occurred or how it managed to take the Chinese government so completely by surprise but rumours are reaching us that it is related to the recent more aggressive policy taken by China with regards not just to Taiwan, but with their relations with the US and the other starfaring nations"
