New World UnionBoard

Free Jovian Republic wrote:

_{As the large cavern was explored, the group would've noticed grooves in all the tunnels, a labyrinth of lines and circles that looked like some sort of glyphs. The lines had some resemblence to Gem glyphs but were continuous instead of separated into different glyphs. It was likely some ancient form of Gem language, but it couldn't be possible that the Gems also stole the language of this mystery civilization, could it?}

_{Meanwhile, further analysis of the strange sphere in the center of the tower revealed that it wasn't really a slipspace drive, but some sort of generator that used slipspace technology to somehow generate power. The methodology of how it did this wasn't fully understood though, and the usage of a slipspace drive for a power source was likely way beyond the Gems. However even in a dormant state, the generator was producing enough power to sustain several sizable ships for years.}

_{There wasn't much to say about orbital scans of the wreck. The vessel measured about a kilometer long and had a largely geometric shape, being long, thin, and angular. The skin of the vessel, unlike the tower, was completely smooth and featureless, save for the gaping hole in its side. Despite the hole, there wasn't a single way to really scan the inside of the ship from orbit. It'd seem that, like the tower, a team would have to physically explore the vessel. All attempts to communicate the tower team via radio were in vain, as communications continued to fail to penetrate the tower.}

Fusion began reading over the glyphs and running them through his dictionary of the modern format of them to try and figure out just what was being said by the glyphs. They could be anything stories, a warning or, instructions of some kind. Atom meanwhile was still looking over the ftl drives.

"Sir Scaple and his team are making it down for the investigation of the downed derelict," said a tech.

"Very good are the escorts trailing them," Thundercraker said as stood looking over the rest of the reports from the ship's crew.

"Yes sir, two squadrons of seekers are following behind Scaples shuttle down to the ship below.

"Good. Send some teams to go down in after Trantulas the silence from them is worrying. So I want a team to check on them," said Thundercraker.

FNU wrote:

snip

_{Innocence of War}

^{26,789 dead. 6,050 others brutally disfigured or out of home. Schaffhausen gone.}

^{Füssli in some morbid way had been correct. The Commune had been sitting on the edge, and one incorrectly manufactured bracket had sent it spiraling downwards. In late 1962 into early 1963, the Kommunale Luftwaffe struck a deal with the British to purchase Avro Lincoln’s as they were phased out in favor of the more modern Canberra. Inherently, nothing was wrong with this. The bomber fulfilled the KL’s desire for an aircraft capable of carrying the Berchtold aerial device, and it was cheaper than developing one in house. While it wasn’t exactly modern, it was good enough to go anywhere the Commune deemed a potential threat, and so they were satisfied.}

^{The problem didn’t begin to arise until 1964. The KL wanted to sell off the Lincoln fleet to civilian buyers in order to try and fund the private development of a more modern aircraft. Much to their chagrin, the Lower Council deemed it an attempt to establish a private enterprise without union involvement, and made clear the Lincoln fleet would not be sold unless directly approved by the Lower Council and the Conference. With what budget was afforded to them, they attempted to modernize the aging bombers via the replacement of outermost Merlin’s with newer Avro Avon jet engines. The flight improvement was miniscule, and it proved a massive waste of funding, leaving maintenance scrambling for cheaper solutions to the mounting problems they encountered.}

^{By mid 1965, the KL had found a solution to the twenty some Lincoln’s that hadn’t been modernized: Cannibalizing them to keep the rest of the fleet in the air. Ten, renamed to “Grant’s”, continued operational service as a quick response aircraft, intended to dash across the borders in case the need for a retaliatory strike was to rise. This was in spite of their horrifically poor performance. In order to keep them in the air, maintenance crews had to work overtime making sure absolutely nothing was wrong with them. This was made harder by modifications made in order to fit the Berchtold devices in their bomb bay, the bulged doors being a hassle to maintain. Additionally, the strain caused on the mounting brackets by the constant weight of the devices was breaking both the brackets and stressing the air frames.}

^{One of these bombers, ‘Atomar Abby’, had been flying in sector A3, consisting of select areas of Zurich, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, Zug, Schwyz, and St. Gallen. After refueling via a modified Lincoln, the craft had turned northwestern, flying the gap between Weinfelden and Schaffhausen proper. While directly over the latter of the two locations, the navigator noticed a worsening creaking noise. When he raised this issue to the pilot, he was ordered to investigate alongside the bombardier to see if it was a potential gremlin or if the aircraft was at risk.}

^{Upon opening the inspection half overtop of the bomb bay, the navigator watched to his horror as the mounting brackets ripped free from the aircraft’s frame, dropping the nearly 11,000 pound atomic device down onto the bomb bay doors. The thin, miserably maintained, aluminum bomb bay doors. The second the two collided, the doors gave way, and the device broke free.}

^{This on it’s lonesome was disastrous, with the navigator hurriedly calling the radiomen to relay a warning to local ATC to try and prepare for the inevitable detonation of the bomb’s conventional explosives. 38 seconds later, the tail gunner screams, and the plane is violently buffeted. The bombs failsafe's had been improperly maintained, a corroded connection preventing the activation of the systems but still sending a good signal to the weapons officer who had 12 hours earlier loaded the device onto the bomber. It had hurtled down to Earth, and detonated near the dead center of Schaffhausen. The tail gunner, unprepared for the blast, hadn't been able to protect his eyes. Throughout the aircraft, men are thrown from their positions and violently slammed against the aircraft’s internals.}

^{Twenty minutes later, the bomber sets down in Winterthur. Immediately it’s surrounded by base security. One by one the crew are removed, escorted to a nearby barracks for interrogation. Only one isn’t taken to the barracks, Werner Gronchi. Though retinas have no pain receptors themselves, the extreme psychological stress of suddenly witnessing the sun appear and not being able to see had rendered him unfit for questioning.}

^{In an attempt to avoid the systematic failures the incident made bluntly apparent, the bombardier was painted as a saboteur, being placed at blame for a fictional attack against his nation. The (thrown together) report found that he had “intentionally weakened the mounting brackets” and “intentionally activated the emergency release of the device”. Shortly after this sprightly ruling, he was taken to a disused hangar at the edge of the airfield. Minutes after his arrival he was executed by firing squad.}

^{By the time the rest of the crew was released to taxi the ‘Atomar Abby’ out of the way, it seemed to be snowing. White flakes gently floated down from a cloudless sky, out of place for such a warm day. Soon enough though, the base had ordered every man on duty indoors, and sent out an emergency warning for the greater area. What they’d mistaken for snow was the carbonized remains of the city that now sat as a ruined pile of ashes. Medical officers were swift in hanging out potassium-iodine, trying to at least provide some miniscule preventive measure. The last thing anyone wanted was thyroid cancer, though that was the least of their problems.}

^{The next two weeks were nothing short of a political sh*tshow. Mettler, the acting overseer of the KL’s atomic program publicly announced the disaster. Füssli seized the opportunity, rallying people against his leadership, claiming that, much like three years prior, Mettler was too brazen to safely manage such devices. He also used it as an opportunity to preach for the end of the Commune’s atomic weapons program. Furthermore, the Lower Council called a session to launch a thorough investigation into the handling of commune funds by the KL, and into the extrajudicial trial carried out by MP’s at Winterthur AFB.}

^{The investigation into the Schaffhausen Disaster didn’t end until 1967. The finalized investigation, led by Supreme Justice Nils Ebner, found General of the KL Enzo Guerriero liable for mismanagement of appropriated funds, embezzlement, and 20,000 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The crew of the ‘Atomar Abby’ was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the bombardier, Valentin Piccirillo, posthumously exonerated. Mettler also wasn’t unscathed, undergoing fierce criticism for not raising the alarm about the issues the increasingly subpar maintenance budgets had been causing. Additionally, some blamed him for failing to inform the government of the missing funding, subsequently making him an accomplice to Guerriero. He was never charged, though he stepped down from his position in November of the same year.}

^{In his stead, the Lower Council, in collaboration with the Conference, created the Atomic Oversight Board, which would be led by Füssli and other carefully selected officials. It acted as a connecting organization between the whims of the government and the military itself. The budget for the KL was increased, though increased scrutiny and oversight procedures were created to prevent another corruption case turning fatalistic. The Grant’s were retired in 1969 by order of the AOB, with ‘Atomar Abby’ being selected for preservation at a memorial outside of the ruins of Schaffhausen. The city itself was never rebuilt, Füssli declaring it “a sacred ground and a testament to the follies of mankind.” Füssli’s management of the AOB would see the introduction of the concept of ballistic rocketry to the military conscious. Though he remained staunchly opposed to further developments of the bomb, he ultimately knew trying to prevent further militarization of the atom was impossible. The least he could do was provide what he deemed a “safer system.”}

^{The first silo was completed in 1973, the last being finished in 1999. A total of 106 silos were constructed, and much to Füssli’s delight, kept under direct oversight of the AOB. All plans for further expansion were cancelled in 1998. Mettler and Füssli would ultimately set about making amends in 2005, meeting outside of Schaffhausen’s ruins during the 40th Anniversary of the disaster. They both passed in 2006. The last Bombenangst, Tobies Agnusdei, passed away in 2039. He was two at the time of the disaster.}

^{Then Prime Unionist Iris Kaufmann delivered an elegy shortly after news of his death hit the headlines.}

^{“Mr. Agnusdei’s passing in a form symbolizes the end of one of our nation’s darkest periods. A period in which negligence, greed, and miscarriage of the law was rampant. That Commune has passed away with him. The effect that Schauffhausen had on our nation’s development is undeniable. The power of the atom must continue to be used to the benefit, not the destruction of all mankind. To quote Füssli during the Herwisch test three years prior to the disaster, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Our nation’s sin has not been cleansed, but instead has become a guiding and enduring memory; Mr. Agunusdei’s passing merely acts as a concluding chapter to that story. May our nation’s next chapter not be stained with so much folly, and may our future be bright.”}

_{Apologies for the ending reading the end of a documentary, my time writing on the school paper melted in an accident. Serves me right tbf. Also, the irony of the Gem Invasion starting a year later [in regards to Kaufmann's speech] is not lost on me.}

*poke* Xotrayjan

_{THE INDIA COMMISSION}

_{At number ten Downing Street, Prime Minister Lady Marlborough stood behind a polished mahogany lectern where flanking her were two distinguished guests; her colleagues the Prime Minister of Ceylon and the Prime Minister of British Malaya. There was a serious atmosphere, the weight of the discussion that had just taken place behind closed doors evident on their furrowed brows and the thoughtful expressions of the three realm government heads.}

_{With a nod of acknowledgement from her fellow Prime Ministers, she gently cleared her throat as she prepared to address the assembled press inside the room.}

_{"Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow citizens of the Empire." she began, her voice carrying the authority and gravitas befitting her position. "Thank you for joining me. I have been speaking with my Imperial colleagues about a pressing matter that demands our collective attention: the situation in India. As we all know, the situation in India grows ever more desperate. For many years now, His Majesty's many Government's as well as his loyal Subjects across all His Realms, have done much to try and alleviate the suffering the people of India have been subjected to. However in more recent years and months, the ever growing examples of escalating tensions and unrest we see and hear about on the news are becoming unbearable to allow to continue. And I say this as one of the few people who have seen the full scale of this unrest, and not just the already dreadful things we all see on our screens in the evening. As the elected representatives of the people of the Empire, it is our duty to confront these challeneges head-on and to uphold our collective principles of justice, compassion and unity."}

_{Turning to her colleagues, the Prime Ministers of Ceylon and British Malaya, Lady Marlborough nodded in acknowledgment before returning her focus to the assembled press.}

_{"It is to that end, I have engaged in discussions with my Imperial counterparts and, together, we have resolved to take decisive action." she declared, her words resonating with determination. "We will mobilise our resources, coordinate our efforts, and work tirelessly to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in India." Emphasizing the importance of collaboration and solidarity, Lady Marlborough concluded her address with a call to action. "In the coming weeks, I urge all citizens of the Empire to stand united in support of our shared values and commitment to justice." she proclaimed, her gaze sweeping across the room. "Together, we will confront the challenges before us and strive to build a brighter future for all."}

_{With that, Prime Minister Lady Marlborough stepped back from the lectern, her resolve unwavering as she prepared to lead the Empire through the turbulent times ahead.}

^{Relatively Broke}

^{Bern, Switzerland. For two years Manfred Schreiber has been trying to get Union Head Noah Caito of the aerospace industries and the Treasury Board to cooperate with his new plan. Since 1996, the Hermes program, the Commune’s only connection to the world beyond Earth’s atmosphere, has been unchanged and underfunded.}

^{Having been made the head of the Kommunale Luft- und Raumfahrtgesellschaft (KLR) in 2055, he had overseen the reconstruction of the launch facilities needed for operation of the Hermes, alongside reforming the deal and agreements necessary to maintain the shuttle. However, even then it struck him just how limited the KLR was in its ability to explore worlds beyond low-earth orbit. The Commune had nowhere near the economic resources required for deep space exploration, but he reckoned that they had fallen dangerously behind. LEO was no longer an unfamiliar territory, it hadn’t been for decades, and yet not one of his colleagues was willing to travel beyond it.}

^{In early 2060, he came to the stark realisation that there was no reason the KLR couldn’t manage a trip to the Earth’s nearest neighbour: the Moon. It was during preliminary studies he also realised that there was no need for a completely new launch vehicle to get there. All he needed was to refit the Hermes with systems necessary to generate greater delta-v, while not completely redesigning the shuttle. His solution was relatively straight forward, plasma propulsion. That however left a list of complications included but not limited to; Refitting the fuel tanks to hold a more gaseous fuel, finding or creating a large enough supply of argon or xenon, and most vitally finding the funding for prototypes.}

^{The refitting of the Hermes's fuel tanks was simple enough. Even without refits the tank walls had been built thick enough to safely store the gases, the only change required was a couple additional layers of insulation to prevent boil off. It was when it came to designing the plasma engines that things came to a grinding halt. 3D simulators and CAD drawings would only get things so far, but the funding simply wasn’t there. He contemplated grounding Hermes entirely to squirrel away enough funding, but the cost of maintaining the shuttle and the lack of public perception would only do more harm than good. Two years later, he still hadn’t managed to overcome this issue.}

^{Stepping away from his office, Schreiber makes his way towards the local tram stop. Catching one of the iconic red vehicles, he takes it all the way to the outskirts of the Old City. Hopping off, he makes his way into the glowing hustle and bustle of the mediaeval time capsule. Turning onto Kramgasse 49, he arrives outside of his preferred coffee and rösti spot: Einsteinhaus. It’s gentle quiet is a nice shift from the world surrounding it, and he’s been cooped up for far too long. Sitting down, he watches as a waiter makes their way over, and he then proceeds to order his usual; a black coffee and a Bern rösti hold the onion. As he sits peacefully, mulling about in his thoughts, he can’t help but notice who’s sitting two tables away from him. Milo Iwerks.}

^{Iwerks had been elected as Prime Unionist in 2045, having become popular for his leadership of defence efforts during the war, alongside his work throughout the war to assure the safety of the Commune’s future, mainly via the repurposing of old aerial bunkers and disused silos. In a way he had become the face of Swiss resilience, a refusal to go out quietly, and the people loved him. Pre-war he had already been serving as the UH for the Hospitality Unions, having proven capable of quickly brokering arrangements and contracts with fuss. This alongside his post-war image led to an unsurprising landslide in the pentennial elections, propelling him to the highest office of the entire country overnight.}

^{His ability to broker favourable deals continued to be a skill; postwar reconstruction would’ve been severely delayed if it wasn’t for his ability to appeal to both sides of any given dispute (in most cases, the construction unions and the Treasury Board). However, by 2062, the strain of the office was clearly eating at him. He’d been playing as an intermediary for nearly two decades, and it hadn’t done well for his appearance. What had once been a bright, poster-esque face, had grown fatigued and grey with time. Additionally not helping his ageing any was the fact he’d been trudging through hell trying to resuscitate the economy. Tourism hadn’t ballooned back to its pre-war proportions, and with the Continentals making the Rhine prohibitively expensive, the country was losing nearly a third of its economic output. It was simply unsustainable. The Commune was suffering, and her people were bearing the worst of it.}

^{And now Schreiber, a man who believed he had the solution to everything, sat all of twenty-two feet away from him.}

_{To clarify as to why the two hadn’t met for a meeting: Iwerks has been trying to cook up an economic miracle, and the KLR wasn’t seen as a solution mainly as Schreiber cared more for exploration then finaces, leading to no real communication between the Conference and the KLR. Schrieber's swing towards advertising this as an economic resource will come in the follow up. Also, for those curious, Continentals is the Swiss nickname for the EU}

| Emerald Station, 663 km Above The Amazon, Outer Atmosphere

-

A slow-moving vessel comes into view above Earth having completed a successful journey spanning several months. It's operating semi-autonomously thanks to an AI-based navigation computer, modified specifically for the now accomplished mission. The ship carries with it the prize of a century, a "small" asteroid the size of half an American football field, wrapped in a web of cables and restraints to keep it tied to its school bus-sized hauler. Several additional ships piloted by organic workers are sent from the station to assist in safely transporting the cargo to the station. The event is broadcasted all throughout the Verdant Republic from Boa Vista to the nation's capital in Novo Manaus, the efforts of the government to discover alternative means of resource extraction finally bearing fruit.

Citizens in the country's many public squares erupt in cheers and celebration as the autonomous ship "Pioneer" detaches from the asteroid to dock, leaving the other ships to begin the process of harvesting its metallic contents. It'll take several weeks to fully deconstruct the asteroid given the country's entry-level space capabilities, but the fact that such a feat as asteroid mining had been achieved at all inspires hope in the young nation's leadership at the prospect of advanced interstellar operations. As Operation "Stone Throw" draws to a close, a new era in Amazonian history begins with the formal establishment of the Verdant Asteroid Mining Industry.

Intrepid Voyagers

^{Iwerks was bewildered. Wanting to escape the usual bustle of the Conference, he’d travelled out of his way for a nice quiet slice of Bern, and now a man who appeared a mixture of homeless and sleep deprived sat before him. A bright red button popped from the dishevelled man’s coffee stained button up. It featured the state seal, divided into two diagonal halves, with three letters through the middle: KLR. By the time Iwerks realises who was sitting there, the dishevelled rocketeer was already droning about helium and something about needing money for plasma.}

^{“Mr… Schreiber is it? Would you please settle yourself?”}

^{The highly caffeinated engineer took pause, finally slowing it down to a tempo that was comprehensible.}

^{“My apologies Mr. Iwerks. I believe we can both solve one another's issues, but you’d have to help me before I could help you.”}

^{“Pray tell what do you mean?”}

^{“You’re trying to fix the economy, I’m trying to get us past low-earth orbit. I believe I can do both, with a little financial aid.”}

^{“You have my ears.”}

^{For the next hour and a half, Schreiber paints out his entire idea. By harvesting helium three from the lunar surface, the Commune would have a valuable trade good and it could be delivered without needing any water access. The country doesn’t need a river when it has the infinite sea of space instead. By selling some, and keeping the remainder in a strategic reserve, the cash it brings in could fund further operations on the lunar surface, and possibly provide the means for the country to visit local planets, if not other star systems. In the way of it all, funding for experimental plasma engines and work compensation agreements.}

^{“If we can harness what the Moon has to offer, we could mine the asteroid belt, settle Mars, visit Mercury, go to stars unknown to man. I need your help settling things here on Earth first. Can’t fly without the right engines. Even still, we’ll have to set up infrastructure around the moon, and chances are a NHRO orbit is the only long-term viable option. We need landers for work crews, extractors for onsite processing, helium ‘tankers’ to take it back to Earth. It’s not going to be cheap.”}

^{“And I imagine this is why the Treasury Board won’t hear of it?”}

^{“That and Mr. Caito wants to create a ‘lunar union’ for when production eventually becomes a large industry. He also wants to redraw some contracts for those currently in the aerospace industries.”}

^{Iwerks looks intently at Schreiber. Before him sits the gateway to the future of the Commune, and gently resting opposite to that gate is himself, the bygone Commune, who’s vocal cords are the only key that man has.}

^{“Mr. Schreiber, I’ll do what I can. Have the KLR ready to execute production plans in three weeks time. I’ll see about setting up an exponential funding increase for your research, but just know that if I suspect a single hint of foul play, that money can happily find usage elsewhere. Also, I want a list of candidates for the head of Mr. Caito’s ‘lunar union’ by Wednesday.”}

^{Schreiber says nothing, merely exchanging a violent nod of agreement and a firm yet nervous handshake. Iwerks stays put as he dusts himself off (to little effect), and speeds out of the cafe. Sighing, Iwerks joins the caffeinated engineer. He checks out at the register, and then begins the quiet stroll to Bahnhofplatz 10b. Once inside the glassy sided building, it wasn’t long before he found his way to Caito’s office.}

^{Inside, a beechwood desk sits proudly shining in the sun, paperwork piled all across its surface in no organised manner clear to anyone but its owner. From behind this desk, comfortably reclined in a black padded office chair, is Noah Caito. A mousy man standing no more than 5'7, Caito had gotten the role of Union Head by sheer happenstance, no one else putting their name on the ballot, leaving him uncontested. In spite of his utter lack of charisma, the man had proven capable in getting what the men he represented desired, and this would likely prove no different.}

^{“Mr. Caito, it’s my understanding you and the KLR have been having some… issues.”}

^{“You call them issues, I call them vital deals. Until it’s clear that we’ll be fairly compensated for the additional workload, we won’t even glance at whatever they’ve got cooked up. And still, they’re creating new market opportunities which means the need for a new union.”}

^{“You’ll have your lunar union, Mr. Schreiber is already developing a list. What type of compensation increase are you after?”}

^{“5% increase in payment contracts, two days extra paid leave, and increased health coverage.”}

^{“It’s yours. Draw up the paperwork and get it to my office.”}

^{Caito looked befuddled, at no point had he expected to actually not have to argue this out.}

^{“Mr. Caito, it’s in our best interests as a nation to get this show on the road. Sabotage that effort, and I’ll see that agreement turned to ashes alongside your future as a union head.”}

^{Ah, there it was, that iconic Iwerks snag. Not a further word was shared between the two men, Iwerks merely nodding his head and exiting through the door. Iwerks had one phone call left to make, but he already knew how it would go. Now it was in Schreiber’s hands to see it through to completion. If they failed, well, at least they had an expensive engine to gawk at, if they succeeded, Switzerland would finally break the surly bonds of the Earth, soaring to an infinite tomorrow.}

^{Early testing of the prototype proved more than favourable. The vibrations, which had been expected to test the limits of the shuttle’s stress ratings, proved miniscule in comparison to projected data. Additionally, the cyclotron proved less power hungry than expected, which meant the internal reactor that had to be fitted could be reworked to a smaller size, leaving additional room and lifting capacity for whatever payload needed to be crammed in the gargantuan cargo bay.}

^{When it came time to actually mount two of the engines to the Hermes, the four boost back thrusters on the end of the shuttle were removed. They weren’t necessary with the increase in ability provided by the plasma engines, and additionally carrying two types of main thruster fuel was additional weight that could be spent on payload. To assure that the spacecraft remained controllable though, the reaction control systems were overhauled to be more deeply throttleable. Furthermore the fuel was changed from dinitrogen tetroxide to a hydrazine derivative to milk every ounce of specific impulse available.}

^{Now feeling comfortable with the progress made, Schreiber called Iwerks, informing him that Hermes was ready to deliver. Iwerks had only one instruction: Put on a good show. He gave no further specifications, leaving Schreiber scrambling to figure out if he meant “don’t blow the damn thing up” or “Go to Mercury”. It was vague, more so than he was comfortable with. A good show could be any number of things. Two days into launch preparation, and an intern finally spilled an idea.}

imaginealineherebecauseIdontknowhowtodoalineeffectinBBcodesoinsteadyougetthistorepresenthepassageoftime

^{From the cosy interior of the shuttle, the crew quietly took in the view. So far the mission had been as smooth as butter. Orbit had been achieved with no issues, the booster flying back and landing safely at Delley-Portalban’s airfield, and the shuttle had proven incredibly easy to control. Only two things were left to do: Stress testing the engines with an extended burn, and returning home. It was decided just shortly before launch that the shuttle was to burn for Earth’s L1 lagrange point, and from there attempt to bump into J002E3, which to the KSL’s best guess, should be at least in the vicinity.}

^{Orbital variations in J002E3’s orbit meant that it’d picked up speed in the years since its last observation. Originally it was thought it would re-enter L1 around 2040, however (and somewhat fortunately), it had done so in 2035 instead. After being spit back out into solar orbit, it was damn near impossible to track outside of predictive simulations, which had the next visit scheduled for 2067. Fortunately, it seemed that its increased pace meant it would be right on time by the time Hermes got out to L1.}

^{After milling about orbit for about six hours, the commander fired up the engines again, the g-force gently squishing the crew back into their chairs. Eight minutes and twenty seconds later, and the gentle purring of the thrusters ceases. The shuttle glides silently into the inky abyss, speeding away towards its intended destination. While the burn to get out to the lagrange point was decently long, it wasn’t the main show, stopping would be. But that was five days away at their current pace, so why not enjoy the ride?}

^{When the flight computer finally did start to groan, the crew took to their seats once more, and the engines roared to life. It took twelve minutes of burning, but they'd come to a complete stop inside the L1 point. Telemetry data began to filter through the ship’s flight computer, tracking the flight path of their target. Another few swift burns had them on a low velocity collision course, though of course they’d stop before that happened, lest billions of dollars go to waste. From the flight deck, a white speck among the black nothingness became larger and larger. It certainly wasn’t an asteroid, but it certainly was a strange sight. 58 feet long and 21 feet wide, the cylinder was coated entirely white, with black stripes around the top and bottom. Midway up its length, in faded red lay three letters: USA. Hermes had successfully encountered J002E3, better known as Apollo 12’s S-IVB booster.}

^{Using the reaction control thrusters to kill off what little velocity the shuttle did have, the crew donned their helmets, depressurising the cabin. To their misfortune, no one had thought to install a manipulating arm in the enlarged cargo bay, which meant they’d have to do it with the winch located at the very aft and bow of the shuttle. Stepping out into the vacuum, the commander, Waldo Portmann, and the flight engineer, Harri Kobel, took a moment to appreciate what they were looking at. A 1960’s relic, nearing 100 years in age, an icon of hopes and aspirations, and a memento to human exploration, feet away from them. Now it was time to bring it home.}

^{Donning their PMU’s, the two floated their way out towards the booster. Portmann carefully secured his hook to the J2’s oxidizer turbopump, the only real place where it wouldn’t accidentally stab through (god forbid he hook it to the nozzle and punch a hole in it). At the opposite end, Kobel gingerly hooked the other winch to the forward skirt, a much easier affair given the abundance of stringer holes. Peeking over the side of the white tube, he sees Portmann gesture a thumbs up, and the two return to the Hermes. Taking positions at their respective winches, the men activate the motors. Slowly but surely they watch as the booster grows closer. About two minutes later, it gently settles inside.}

^{After depressurizing the cabin again, the two men rejoin the remainder of the crew. Closing the bay doors, they take a silent moment to appreciate what they’ve done, and then Portmann takes to the radio.}

^{“Hermes to Geneva, I would advise calling the boys over in Houston, because it seems Intrepid has landed… again.”}

^{“Geneva to Hermes, copy that. Your TEI window is in an hour’s time. For now, enjoy the view.”}

^{Hermes had wings. Intrepid had landed. Tomorrow belonged to the Commune.}

_{I’m aware plasma engines aren’t actually effective for Earth-to-orbit, but these are sci-fi magical bullsh*t plasma engines, so, yippee. Also, this post is an homage to my old “recovering silly things” posts, but I don’t plan for this to become a trend again. I'm not sorry about the pun in the title.}

What to do. What to do.

Kandosii wrote:

warcrimes.

Tempting but against who? After all the RPs I got going on are taking millennium to finish.
*Cough* Xotrayjan and Cradon Accord*cough*
I mean I could go and blow something up but well I feel that'll only take care of the boredom for maybe a day or two.

_{Our Beautiful Blue and White Home}

^{The American Federation was beautiful from orbit. Below the shuttle was one of the world’s largest powers, it was matched perhaps only by the British and Leithanians. It, or perhaps more specifically, it’s predecessor, had single handedly seen man conqueror another world. Though not a planet, the steps taken by an Ohioan from Wapakoneta had proven to the world that man was not doomed to remain on Earth. The moon was the gateway drug to the heavens, a drug even the Commune couldn’t help but eventually become addicted to.}

^{Floating comfortably in the cabin, Harri Kobel gently sighs as he pours over his charts. While the S-IVB recovery had been planned at least two weeks in advance of the launch, the eggheads back in Geneva had left it on him to figure out the delivery method. Hermes wasn’t really intended to return fully laden to Delley-Portalban. The runway was just about long enough when Hermes was dead low on fuel, but it wasn’t intended for full weight returns. Because of the upgrades she’d received, she had more loitering time, but at the end of the day, she was still a space shuttle: Great for gliding, terrible for flying. Additionally, giving people a rapid suntan (or rapid onset skin cancer) wasn’t exactly an option, which meant wherever they’d land this thing, it’d have to be an unpowered glide descent.}

^{To Kobel’s fortune however, was the knowledge that the infrastructure for NASA’s Shuttles still existed in the Federation. While the Shuttle Landing Facility would perhaps be the most photogenic, it was hardly an option. At 15,000 feet long, it was a gamble on if the much larger, and much heavier, Hermes would be able to come to a stop, especially considering its lack of a drogue chute. White Sands was another potential option, a classic abort option with more or less infinite space. 35,000 feet of runway to come to a complete stop was more than sufficient by Kobel’s guess. Trouble with that, it was in the middle of nowhere New Mexico and he doubted the Amis would like the Swiss overflying a missile testing range. Additionally, as far as he knew, the runways hadn’t actually been used since STS-3, which left their maintenance status too risky to gamble on.}

^{This left one obvious answer: Edwards Air Force Base. The Rogers Lakebed runways were more than sufficient in length, with runway 17/35 nearly spanning 40,000 feet. No infrastructure or people (void the servicemen on base) in danger of being squished by a botched landing, mother earth as the runway, and more open area in case of an overrun. It was more than ideal. However, one thing still remained to be done: Actually contacting the Amis and asking for a landing slot. Kobel however was well aware that he had the social skills of a marmot. This left the responsibility on the mission commander, Waldo Portmann.}

^{In spite of his thick accent, Portmann was delighted at an opportunity to toy with a new batch of ground controllers. Delley-Portalban had long been a symphony of groans whenever he came onto coms, so he was delighted that he could pester someone new. Gently adjusting the radio until he overheard what he presumed to be the ATC at Edwards, he gently spoke into the transmitter.}

^{”Hermes to Edwards, we’d like to report that we’ve strategically transferred some of your old equipment to an alternate location, but the boys back in Geneva felt so bad we’d reckon we ought to return it to your folks. Requesting status of Runway 17/35 at Rogers and approval to begin orbital descent procedures.”}

_Mentions
The Unified American Federation

_{Title is part of an Alan Bean quote, and Portmann’s lines use an old gag (take the first letters of where he mentions moving equipment, and you’ll get a synonym for purloin).}

I'm kind of thinking I need to think my gun choices I mean sure they are cheap but theres one problem metal and cold doesn't mix not that anyone would be idiotic to have any uncovered skin here in antarctic.

Glorious Scythia wrote:

Our AM companies would love to develop specialized gun models for usage in your environment. They could all be yours… For the right price.

I mean we don't exactly have money here most goods are bartered between cities or, are planned out shipments. Its a very much so a you have this and I have that so I'll trade you that for this.