Executive Administrator Orwell Posted December 30, 2018 Executive Administrator Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 MOBILE INFANTRY AND MORMON EXTREMISTS LOCKED IN STAND-OFF; 3 TROOPERS WOUNDED, 2 KILLED. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Outside, engines of trucks and armored vehicles loaded with Mobile Infantry stand ready to be deployed. In the ruins of Salt Lake City, formerly a major population center for members of the Mormon faith has become the scene of a strange, embittered, and deadly stand-off. In the distance, a snow-capped compound is encircled by dropships. From Camp Zulu, one of the many perimeter establishments around the settlement that military intelligence has estimated to have been set up around September, the cluster of buildings seems distant and fortified in the winter night. Save for the lashing of the wind and the rumbling of engines, the night is eerily silent. "Right now, our priority is making sure nobody comes in, and nobody comes out," said Sergeant Ihvi Hughes, in charge of a gaggle of troopers swaddled in winter gear. They keep busy in the cold, maintaining a constant watch on the enclave of nondescript buildings. The windows are all blockaded, and the entire compound is constantly illuminated with bright spotlights. "We received orders to escort anybody in the ruins out. The area's still got Neons, and we can't have any non-military in the area until the all-clear's been given." Around 07:24, A party of Mobile Infantry from the 9th Brigade were sent out to inform the settlers, and enforce the evacuation. A welcoming party was sent out from the settlement, and an argument ensued. The settlers identified themselves as members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, and refused to evacuate on the grounds that they have a religious attachment to the land they occupy. We reached out to a spokesperson from the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (whose headquarters have since been relocated to Karrus following the Fall of Terra) who vehemently denied that the squatters in Utah had any affiliation with the legitimate Mormon faith, referring to them as 'extremists, who must comply with the mandate of the Federal law.' After continually refusing to abide by the evacuation order, a firefight broke out between the extremists and the Mobile Infantry. Three Mobile Infantry were wounded, and two were killed in the exchange. LCpl. Vincent Guillard was instantly killed after being shot through the head, and Pvt. Andrew Humboldt was shot through the neck, succumbing to his wounds several minutes later. Since then, the area has been under siege; military intelligence has confirmed the presence of unarmed women and children inside of the compound, and has been negotiating for the group's surrender. Efforts to restrict communications for the compound have been a top priority; as of now the Mobile Infantry has refused to compromise with the extremists' demands of releasing a statement to the public through FedNet in exchange for their surrender, and a promise that the land will be retained exclusively for practicing Mormons. With both sides waiting for the other to act, Colonel Ivan Sikorsky of the 9th Brigade has found himself in charge of handling the dispute. A veteran of the First Bug War and the Civil War, Colonel Sikorsky had strong words for the occupants of the settlement. "Let me make one thing abundantly clear. These people, whatever creed they are, have the blood of two men on their hands. Men whose job it was to defend them and their livelihoods from whatever threat the galaxy could throw at them, and they turn around and took their lives. Were these cowards not hiding behind women and children, this would be over in a heartbeat. They make demands to 'plead their case' to a public audience, and I refuse to grant any kind of a platform to anybody who takes the lives of any serviceman or servicewoman and expects to be heard out. We have lost so much in these past few years that we cannot afford to make divisions among our dwindling numbers over antiquated religious dogma. We did not sacrifice so much in the past so that we could spend the present squabbling over such petty issues. If these people had any sense, they'd abandon their crusade and come into Federal custody without anymore bloodshed. We can't afford any more." Civilian air traffic over the state of Utah has been frozen, and it is unknown how long the occupants of the settlement will be able to last under the Mobile Infantry's blockade. LUNAR DEFENSE REVITALIZATION PLANNING UNDERWAY SEA OF TRANQUILITY - The hissing of hydraulics and whirring servos blends into the background of LC-110, the official designation of a rapid-deployment colonial encampment residing half a kilometer from the ruins of Tereshkova Fleet Academy. Outside the thick bulkheads, construction workers outfitted in exosuits toil to clean the wreckage from the massive scar in the lunar surface left from the Progenitors' invasion of the Sol System. Once the most popular and renowned Fleet academy, Tereshkova was blended back into the crater-pocked surface of the moon by bombardment after bombardment. "It looks pretty nasty now, but you should've seen it a month ago," said Petty Officer Erica Stein. She directs an industrial lift loaded with marked containers down onto the EVA bed of LC-110, which she has affectionately nicknamed 'Lucy.' "Everything's been kind of hectic since we lost the Fleet HQ over Sanctuary. The hope is that once we get Tereshkova back on her feet we'll take some of the weight off." PO. Stein beckons us toward the crates, and points out the finer workings of 'Lucy.' "...But that'll be some time from now, I think. The real buzz is that the Sky Marshall has approved a new line of defense, right here in the Sea of Tranquility." Indeed, the Sky Marshall has unveiled plans to construct an array of computerized artillery cannons utilizing technology gleamed from the Progenitors, the same technology that was used against after the Fall of Terra. The weapon itself has been outfitted onto Fleet vessels under the moniker of a 'Lubomierz Cannon,' named after the scientist that pioneered it- but one of this scale has never been constructed. "I'm sure it's a hefty price tag, but it's worth the peace of mind- especially if you're a Terran. There's not a chance in hell we're ever gonna' let that kind of thing happen again. Hopefully we'll be able to get Tereshkova back up and the cannons done by the turn of the century. Here's to that!" TERRAN WAR MEMORIAL PLANNING UNDERWAY GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - On the banks of Lake Geneva, the massive megalopolis that once held the heart of the Federation is currently being cleared out by relief workers and members of the Mobile Infantry numbering in the thousands. With the projected costs of restoring Geneva to its pre-war glory reaching into the tens of billions, the work is far from over. However, SICON has been scouting potential locations for a memorial of incredible scale meant to commemorate both the military and civilian casualties of the Fall of Terra. The proposed site would be over 9 kilometers squared, and have enough space to accommodate over ten million plots. Upon completion, the cemetery would be the largest in the galaxy, surpassing Wadi-us-Salaam in Najaf, Iraq which contained over seven million bodies as of 2296. THE TIME TO REBUILD IS NOW EVERYONE MUST DO THEIR PART THINK YOU'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO LEND A HAND? CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ENLISTMENT CENTER AND ASK ABOUT RELIEF EFFORTS FOR TERRA AND THE SOL SYSTEM WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? Link to comment
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