Supplementary Documents – First Part
Transcript of an interview of Lieutenant Alan Rigby (NAPF 2014-2019, Hydra Protection Services LLC 2019-2035) conducted by Hakim ibn Khaled al-Misri of the Southern California Historical Reenactment Guild on 12 June 2038.
Part 1 of 12.
Q: First, tell us a little about yourself.
A: I was born in the second universal layer, in what was then Akron in the American state of Ohio. I was born in 1996, so I was too young to remember much of life before the Arume invasion.
Q: How and why did you join the North American Pacification Force?
A: I was motivated by desperation more than anything else. My father was left an invalid by a 'Betty Boomer' [ed: self-destructive biological weapon] attack when I was twelve, and my mother's work didn't bring in enough to support him and four children at once. We moved to Massachusetts when I was fifteen, trying to get away from the frontlines, but things didn't get better... Since I was the oldest, it was up to me to ease the load. The problem was that there was no work I was qualified for, or much work of any kind. Basically I joined the NAPF because it paid well. [laughs]
Q: What kind of army was the NAPF?
A: A mess. I didn't appreciate that fact at the time because I had no previous military experience, but the veterans who did the training never let us forget how much better things used to be.
Q: Did it try to be an extension of the old US armed forces?
A: Sort of, with bits of Canadian and Mexican thrown in. A lot of people and equipment were carried over directly in the beginning, but it was all replaced as time went by. At first almost everything we used was the same as what the other side, the resistance, had.
Q: What sorts of action did you participate in?
A: Mostly patrols and peacekeeping for the first couple of years. I don't remember any particular incidents, so I guess it was pretty ordinary. I do remember that people looked down on us everywhere we went, but I didn't care because I knew my service was feeding my family.
Q: How were your experiences in dealing with the Arume?
A: On the street they would treat us like dirt, even those who were helping them. We didn't see much of them in the force because they relied on experienced collaborators to run everything. I knew there were Arume ground units, but I never saw one up close before we came to the third layer.
Q: When did you learn you would be sent to another world?
A: A week before we shipped out... No, more like five days before. We didn't get any mission briefings until after we arrived, either.
Q: How were you organized? Was your unit all American?
A: Everyone in my original company was American except for two Canucks. They were cool guys... After the transfer they mixed up the units for some reason. I wound up in a squad with one of the Canadians, a German and a couple of Czechs. They also changed our gear when we got to the third layer.
Q: What did they change?
A: They gave us a new uniform, with a helmet and air filter that hid the wearer's face completely. [gesturing] It wasn't comfortable, but it sure did look intimidating. There was also a new rifle... Not completely new, they'd been testing it [ed: the XM18] for a while, but new to us. It was like the carbine I had before, but more reliable. [ed: probably a Colt M4A1] It had a stock that folded sideways, so it was easier to carry in vehicles.
Q: How did you arrive in the Hong Kong area?
A: At first we were kept on standby in case one of the liaison offices needed backup. My unit was picked out for service under Group Commander Benacirael when her first strategy feel apart. They deployed us in the city north of Hong Kong. [ed: Shenzhen]
Q: What were you told to expect?
A: Terrorists, mercenaries... [shakes head] They never got the story quite straight. It didn't matter because it was all lies anyway.
Q: Can you describe what happened on March 17th?
A: First there was the killing of civilians. [ed: in Yuen Long, popularly known as the 'Saint Patrick's Day Massacre'] We didn't know what had happened until afterward, but we knew something was going on... Then we were told to move out at once, before the sun was even up. We were supposed to be supported by armored vehicles, but they hadn't been delivered yet so we were given Arume hovercrafts. I didn't like those at all.
Q: Why?
A: Too damn quiet, and there were always rumors about hovercraft pilots running over a grunt or two for kicks... We had an Arume directing both us and them, and I wouldn't have put it past her to let that happen. [ed: Commander Spiegel, KIA later that day] The scooters were pretty much useless in battle, too. Couldn't survive anything bigger than a fifty-cal.
Q: Can you describe the battle?
A: You mean the first one? Well, that was pretty bad... First they sent us marching down the road, making a show of force. Suddenly, bang-bang! The Canadian and one of the Czechs bought it right there, just ahead of me. It was a couple of Russians hiding up in the hills, firing exploding bullets. [low] God, what a mess... They were smart, didn't hang around. We shot back, of course, but we hit squat. Spiegel made us charge the rest of the way into the city.
Q: Charge?
A: Well, it ended up more like a prolonged hustle. Maybe she thought the main force was closer than it was... Anyway, we were pretty tired by the time we finally did make contact. Spiegel had a chemical mortar unit come up behind and fire toxic gas over our heads. It wasn't enough.
Q: Not enough?
A: We were safe from the gas as long as we wore our helmets and filters, but we couldn't breathe or see as well with them on. Turned into a bad handicap. The other side, the Russians and Chinese, most of them didn't have any protection at all. [shakes head] They didn't care. Some of them died from the gas, some of them took hits, but the rest kept fighting... They had a tank, an old one with a bulldozer blade on it. The big gun didn't work, but the little ones did. [ed: M4A3 Sherman 'tankdozer'] It smashed through our lines, tore the chem crew to shreds and rammed an APC... Crushed it against a cement wall like a big soda can. Another thing I was too busy to notice at the time. [shakes head again] Dear God, the Indian!
Q: Indian?
A: Just a minute... The gas dispersed quickly, and there was nobody left to launch more of it. My squad was ordered to flank an enemy group who were well entrenched. We had to go diagonally across an open street, and I was pointman... When the signal came, I ran for dear life. I got to the other side all right, but when I looked behind... I saw the German, the other Czech, my buddy Dan Ackley and the Holland brothers, the last from my old company, all lying dead in the street. The sniper got them, killed five men, just like that. I didn't even hear the shots.
Q: But he missed you?
A: Or let me go. I didn't stay around to find out which... I tried to find my way back to the friendly lines without exposing myself, but I ran into a Chinese squad. Those Chinese weren't good shots, but they were full of spirit. I suppose I managed to hit one or two of them, but then I was flanked... I ducked to reload and when I turned back, their squad leader hit me with a burst from a Tommygun. The slugs didn't penetrate my vest, but they knocked the wind out of me and left bruises all over my front. I was lucky, through: some of the others who were hit by it were killed by the impact alone.
Q: Blunt force trauma?
A: Yes... I don't really remember what happened next, except that I was in a lot of pain. The cease-fire must have been called pretty soon after that.
Q: How were you treated under the ceasefire?
A: Better than I expected, and probably better than we would have treated the other side if the places were reversed. I managed to meet up with some of the others and the Russians gave us some food, which was really nice of them.
Q: You were still in Kowloon when Rule 303 was declared. How did you survive?
A: Sheer dumb luck. [laughs] I put my rifle down so that I could eat, and when the Russians surrounded us... Well, I knew I had no chance. A bunch of us surrendered without a fuss, but we could hear others fighting as we were herded together. They put us in an empty warehouse, with guards all around... In the morning we were handed over to our own side. I thought we'd be in trouble for giving up, but nobody ever said much about it. I guess they were just desperate to get all the fighting men they could.
Q: You were sent to Shenzhen, correct?
A: That's right. We were formally transferred into the Sino-Arumic Liaison and reorganized. My company spent the next couple of weeks helping train Arume junior officers. It was the first time I'd seen an Arume personally commanding squad-level units, and it seemed like it was the first time for most of them as well.
Q: How did they treat you?
A: It varied. A lot of them openly loathed us, while others were able to suck it up and do their jobs. A few genuinely respected us by the time it was over. The higher-ups, on the other hand... Never a good word for any of us, I tell you!
Q: Did senior Arume try to interfere with operations?
A: They sent in the inquisitors, of course, the nosy creeps with the black hats and capes... Those guys were only there for a few days, though. They tried to lean on the Russians and a couple had limbs blown off. We thought it served them right.
Q: You're referring to Eto Delo's Russian employees, not the Russian Navy observers?
A: Yes. Even the inquisitors didn't dare pick fights with the Russian military. Those guys were hardcore, much tougher than any I saw back in the second layer. The Indian PMC guys [ed: Sholay Defence] were like that, too... Always very polite, but totally deadly.
Q: Can you describe your camp life at that time?
A: It was kind of rough at first. The locals didn't trust us and we were short of everything, because Arume logistics wouldn't give the Liaison as much as it needed. We knew later that certain people were trying to make the operation fail so they could replace the GC [ed: Group Commander Renaril] but she used the contractors [ed: Eto Delo] to bring in a lot of supplies for us. We had it good then, not ever having to eat Arume rations.
Q: The Arume food was bad?
A: Not bad per se... It tasted okay and it was certainly healthy, but it was all the same: paste that you would squeeze out of a tube, and maybe some cracker-like things. The monotony of eating that day after day could drive a guy insane.
Q: I've seen a photograph of one of your comrades holding an Arume erotic magazine. Do you know anything about that?
A: [laughing] Oh yes! We were strictly forbidden to have those, but we had them anyway... When Arume troops were stationed in our area, they would sneak into our barracks and steal them from us.
Q: Steal?
A: Those magazines were strictly rationed, and there never seemed to be enough to make the Arume soldiers happy.
Q: What about Chinese military personnel, did you see many of them?
A: We trained with them several times, but they were very aloof.
Q: Did you ever see Renaril or Colonel Kang?
A: Yes, they came to inspect us now and then. I remember Renaril didn't understand a lot of things. The colonel was stern but very fair, and she made us feel appreciated... At the end of April we were moved to a new barracks in Guangzhou. Her office was nearby, and sometimes she came out to run with us in the mornings.
Q: Did you know she was pregnant?
A: No. We were rotated to the front before it, uh, grew enough to be noticeable. I don't remember when I heard about it.
End of part 1.
Excerpts from Today: The Press and the Second Layer War, edited by P.K.M. Upadhyay.
...In a speech which drew heavily on his evangelist roots, Senator Logan Hunley today urged the people of the United States to repel the Arume. "Let them not into your homes or your hearts," he extolled a rapt audience, "for they are sin given flesh..."
...A spokesman for the Indian government announced today that recent talks with Pakistan have gone "extremely well." He also reiterated India's commitments to SATO and the mutual security treaty with the Russian Federation, and warned the Arume that any further violation of Mongolian neutrality would be met by a "swift and decisive response" from both nations...
...Ministers in the Netherlands and Denmark today received from the Arume an offer to fund an extensive land reclamation programme. No word at press time whether either government would accept the proposal, though it has been met with guarded enthusiasm on the streets. The two countries have nearly bankrupted themselves in the struggle to control flooding after Second Impact...
...Today in Parliament, MP Steve Gilham demanded that the prime minister immediately relinquish the unprecedented authority granted him by the recent passage of a new Emergency Powers Act. "I do not enter this chamber day after day so that I may watch as our age-old liberties are painstakingly whittled down to exactly naught," he thundered. "If you wish to experiment with petite fascism, pack it into your brown bag and depart our green isle posthaste..."
...Augusta police today stated that the brutal murder of Paul Rigaud by Joseph Dwyer and a group of friends was apparently motivated by Rigaud's sexual orientation. "The fags are all in cahoots with the space cuntsuckers," police quoted Dwyer as telling them, "just like the trannies and all the other queers. We gotta get them before they get us." Dwyer and the other suspects remain in custody as Maine's GLBT community struggles to cope with the surge of violent homophobia which is sweeping the nation...
...The decentralized nature of the Arume command structure continues to cause headaches for all parties: today a representative of the alien race requested that the Korean government clarify whether its declaration of war is directed at the Chinese or Japanese offices, as the Arume do not have a liaison branch in Korea...
...When asked to comment on the probable policies of the Sino-Arumic Liaison during an interview today, analyst E. Harley Finlay quipped, "It's communism, Jim, but not as we know it. Kang Li identifies herself as a communist, but her stated beliefs discard virtually every aspect of the Marxist, Leninist and Maoist canons save a few vague ideals." He added that it would be "imprudent, even reckless" to pass judgment before the ideology of what some are calling "new communism" has been clearly articulated...
...Saudi-born arms magnate Abu Muhammad Omar al-Rashid bin Salaad bin Ibrahim al-Hejazi was greeted by cheering crowds in Riyadh today, following his declaration of refusal to conduct business with the Arume. His choice of alignment is likely to influence others in the world of privatized war, though many will no doubt honor their ancient tradition and sell to anyone who can pay...
Self Propelled Utility Gun
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The Self-Propelled Utility Gun, also known as the 'Self-Propelled Ugly Gun', 'Spug', 'Pug' or 'Stug', was a multi-role assault gun and tank destroyer based on the Artech AV-98 quantum helifold hovercraft. It was designed by Eto Delo Group and widely used during the Second Layer War, the Arume Civil War and subsequent conflicts in the first, second and third universal layers.
Originally developed as an interim measure utilizing captured and obsolete materials, the Spug became a versatile weapon renowned for its maneuverability, low cost and ease of maintenance. The design was conceptually descended from the German StuG III/IV and the Swedish Stridsvagn 103.
Origins
When the Second Layer War began in March 2016, the most modern tanks fielded in the third universal layer were the American M1A4 Super Abrams, the Russian T-90-10 and the German Leopard 2A7, all evolutions of Cold War designs. Third world armor forces were dominated by the Soviet T-54/55 and the American M60 Patton.
Main article: Artech AV-98
The Arume had inherited a large assortment of tanks and other vehicles from the armies of conquered states in the second layer, but did not initially transport any to the third layer apart from a selection of armored personnel carriers. Their closest analog was the AV-98, adopted in 1857. The AV-98 was originally designed for the mobile artillery role, but frequently employed as a makeshift assault gun due to the poor development of indigenous armored warfare tactics. By 2016 it was obsolete even by its makers' slowly progressing technical standards, though its cheap price and lack of a viable replacement program ensured that it remained the mainstay of the first layer's relatively small ground forces.
[Caption: An AV-98 on display at the Musee des Blindes.]
On 17 March, Arume and Terran collaborator troops dispatched by Group Commander Benacirael attacked Hong Kong in the Battle of Kowloon, supported by an estimated contingent of sixty AV-98s. The invading force was fought to a standstill and then expelled by the Eto Delo employees and Chinese volunteers defending the city, leaving nearly all the AV-98s behind. After a ceasefire had been signed with the Sino-Arumic Liaison, Eto Delo's staff turned their attention to the problem of providing effective armor support for the Liaison's Chinese reunification campaign.
Eto Delo was left in possession of ten intact hovercrafts and at least thirty more which could be repaired using components from wrecked examples, aided by captured technical documents and surviving crews. The preliminary examination indicated three main flaws in the design: inadequate armor, an ineffective primary weapon, and a lack of secondary armament. These flaws stemmed from the use of a high-power directed energy stream projector as the vehicle's sole weapon, rather than an electromagnetic mass driver or energized packet cannon: the weight of the 'plasma hose' and its support systems occupied most of the platform's lifting capacity, leaving virtually no free weight for armor allocation.
[Caption: Eto Delo technicians examine a damaged AV-98, 19 March 2016.]
At that time Eto Delo Berlin (formerly Johannes Schultze Metall und Maschinenfabrik GmbH) was engaged in the development of an inexpensive upgrade program aimed at converting obsolescent tank chassis into low-profile tank hunters. On 18 March, Eto Delo headquarters in Hong Kong ordered EDB to suspend work on the original program and instead adapt the project to fit the AV-98.
Design and development
Encouraged by a promise of future contracts from the SAL, Eto Delo's engineers in Germany and technicians in Hong Kong worked around the clock for nine days. The first pair of prototypes, nicknamed Marder Junior and Happy Hotchkiss, were ready for firing tests on 27 March. The initial Block I design carried a 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun in an open-topped superstructure placed atop the AV-98's original hull. An MG3 machine gun was mounted in front of the commander's station for defense against infantry. The Block I arrangement was unsuitable for long-term development, as the L7 functioned only by manual control and the superstructure left the gunner, loader and commander exposed to all threats on the battlefield, but it proved the conceptual validity of the project.
[Caption: Marder Junior firing on Chinese tanks, 3 April 2016.]
A better design was nearing completion even as the first prototypes were assembled, and construction of the improved Block II began as soon as the Block Is were moved out of the workshop. The Block II removed the superstructure and placed the gun in a casemate at the center of the hull itself, which was stripped of all non-essential fittings. The savings in weight allowed applique armor to be installed on the front and sides of the hull. Though it remained dependent on simple optical sights and manual loading and aiming, the Block II offered a considerably lower profile than its predecessor.
The Block II prototypes, Dear John and Hi There, were completed on 31 March, the day before Chinese forces loyal to General Lin Qinsong initiated the Battle of Guangzhou. All four existing Spugs were pressed into combat against Lin's Type 59 tanks. The Block Is and Block IIs accounted for three and five kills respectively despite their limitations, though Happy Hotchkiss was knocked out by autocannon fire on 2 April.
[Caption: A Block II Spug undergoing final assembly.]
The SAL's capture of Guangzhou's strategically vital airport on 5 April allowed heavy equipment to be delivered by air, while the signing on 9 April of an alliance with the naval forces stationed on Hainan guaranteed oceanic supply routes. Eto Delo was contracted to supply modernized T-55s and provide logistical support for the Liaison's growing inventory of Type 59, 69 and 79 tanks, but Liaison senior military commander Kang Li had recognized the advantages of the Spug design and secured funding for continued development.
The Spug Block III was finalized in late May 2016. It followed from the Block II, adding a flexible MG3 in the front of the hull and a rudimentary electronic fire control system for the main gun. The distinctive outer skin of the basic AV-98 was removed and replaced with a simple spaced armor shroud coated in radar- and infrared-absorbent nanopaint, improving survivability. A purer infantry support variant, the Block IV, was also introduced, armed with a pair of 40 mm Bofors L/60 guns. Initial Block III production consisted of twenty-five units converted from remaining AV-98s captured in Hong Kong. The new Spugs confirmed their value in the frequent skirmishes which characterized the summer campaign.
[Caption: Block III Spugs advancing towards Guilin, China on 3 June 2016.]
Field use and ongoing refinement
The first deployment outside China came when a second batch of Block III units were produced at Eto Delo Berlin using newly manufactured chassis. These were sent to the Netherlands and Denmark in July in response to deteriorating relations with Great Britain. Spugs formed an integral part of both countries' coastal defenses when the Spijkenisse Incident inaugurated the Second Layer War's European theater.
By November 2016 the Spug was in service with ten Arume-aligned states and factions. The Block III prototypes evolved into the so-called 'West' model, which retained the 105 mm gun and carried either an MG3 or FN MAG in the hull plus a Browning M2HB accessible from the commander's top hatch. The main gun was fitted with a fully modern autoloader, stabilizer and rangefinder, tied into the hovercraft's chassis computers for maximum efficiency. The corresponding 'East' model carried a 100 mm D-10 main gun, a hull-mounted PK and an NSV heavy machine gun on the roof, but was otherwise identical. This dual selection allowed Eto Delo to market the Spug to clients who already possessed stocks of either NATO or Warsaw Pact ammunition.
[Caption: A Danish Spug-W patrols a cement dike on Zealand.]
The Spug's maneuverability was unmatched by any wheeled or tracked combat vehicle, and it was immune to pressure-activated mines. Being inherently amphibious, it was capable of launching from a ship or leaving shore when defending a coastline. Its low, uncomplicated profile was easily camouflaged when in a hull down position. While it could not practically face any modern main battle tank in an open fight, it carried sufficient firepower to destroy the obsolete or downgraded 'monkey model' tanks which the Arume commonly encountered in the Middle East and Africa. It was never able to carry adequate armor, however, and thus depended on its agility for protection. This left it especially vulnerable in the cramped conditions of urban combat unless escorted by infantry.
[Caption: A disassembled Spug-E on display at the Deutsches Panzermuseum.]
The problem of limited firepower was not lost on the Spug's designers. Attempts were made as early as June 2016 to design a casemate capable of mounting the 120 mm Rheinmetall and 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore guns. Unfortunately the combined weight of the gun, the casemate and a useful quantity of ammunition exceeded the platform's lifting capacity, forcing the designers to choose between cutting precious armor to save weight or else finding a better base vehicle. Repeated calls for upgrades to the AV-98's outdated propulsion components were ignored by Arume bureaucrats who stubbornly maintained the official stance that a combination of stock AV-98s and conventional tanks was adequate. This attitude persisted in the face of glowing reports from the individual liaison commanders who had obtained Spugs via their own budgets.
[Caption: Master Commander Keldanil, leader of the Dutch-Danish United Front and a vocal proponent of the Spug.]
Eto Delo's engineers persevered and arrived at a solution in January 2017, the same month Russia and India entered the war. Upgunned test Spugs were built using AV-98 hulls fitted with axial toroid boosters borrowed from an AV-50 'land barge' cargo carrier. This measure solved the weight problem but introduced difficulties of its own: the AV-50 was designed for prolonged operation at steady power levels, and the stress of the rapid shoot-and-scoot maneuvers necessary to survive in combat led to frequent breakdowns in the absence of scrupulous maintenance. Not until after the American Breakup following the Independence Day coup in 2017 did senior Arume authorize production of the components originally requested.
[Caption: Spug 2 prototype number 4 maneuvering during a public demonstration at the Hong Kong Museum of Human History. The early armor profile and radome are clearly visible.]
The resulting Spug 2E and 2W were now evenly matched in firepower with the most modern tanks they would encounter, but considerably more expensive to produce and maintain than the original Spug. With low cost no longer an advantage, the development team focused on maximizing first-strike capability and offsetting ammunition capacity limits. The existing control systems were augmented with new electronic countermeasure equipment, while the spaced armor was replaced by layers of composite material. The rear of the hull was fitted with launch rails for four 9K123 'Khrizantema' anti-tank guided missiles.
The war widens
The first buyer for the Spug 2 was the Dutch-Danish United Front, which used the new hovercrafts to bolster their Leopard tanks in the grueling trans-channel campaign. The new Spugs also played a crucial role in the Shanxi New Communist Party's victory against the Aru-Japanese Alliance at the Battle of Taiyuan on 10-12 April 2017. Senior figures inside the Alliance subsequently accused the Sino-Arumic Liaison of tacitly approving or even facilitating Eto Delo's sale of the Spugs to Shanxi.
[Caption: A New Communist Spug 2E escorts Eto Delo's 1943 Tiger I tank, Big Willy, after the Battle of Taiyuan. Colonel Kang Li is visible in the Tiger's commander hatch.]
The Spug sold well, undergoing continuous incremental improvement as the war progressed. Large numbers were supplied to Arume-administered Kazakhstan to support the campaign against the Islamic Works Front, and to the Republic of Alaska and Republic of California and Southern Oregon during the prelude to the American reunification campaign. Spugs saw action in every theater of operations during 2018 and beyond, and made up a large percentage of Arume ground armor on both sides after the Sisters' Schism in 2021.
[Caption: A Hong Kong Provisional Port Authority Spug 2W provides perimeter security as the damaged battlecruiser ACS Blue is towed into Victoria Harbor following Operation Mobius.]
Postwar technological improvements gradually surpassed the Spug's advantages. The surviving units were progressively relegated to second-line and then reserve status. By the beginning of the 2030s most had been scrapped, sold as surplus or donated to less advanced nations. The volume produced and the abundant supply of spare parts, however, make it highly likely that the Spug will continue to appear on battlefields well into the second half of the 21st century.
[Caption: Dutch and Danish Spug 2s maneuver between rows of abandoned Mi-6 helicopters and ZiL trucks in an irradiated vehicle graveyard near Pripyat, Ukraine. 27 Spugs were sent to support the Ukrainian defense against Operation Divine Hammer.]
Variants
Main article: Vehicles based on the Self-Propelled Utility Gun
Operators
Main article: Operators of the Self-Propelled Utility Gun
Specifications
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Popular culture
The Spug was prominently featured in Otori Hayabusa's long-running manga Panzer Shoujo Maki and its animated adaptations. In the Panzer Shoujo universe, the design is named 'StuG V' and built by Henschel using technology captured from the mysterious Invaders.
[Caption: A scene from episode 16 of the Panzer Shoujo anime: Maki and her Magietruppe watch the StuG V field trials.]
The Spug's ubiquity and distinctive appearance made it an icon of the Second Layer War, much as the M4 Sherman and M1 Abrams had been during the 20th century. It remains a staple of war films set between 2016 and 2025, as well as a popular prop among historical reenactment groups.
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