4: home-front

Stamp: Personal Origin: UESC Merrimac Flag ship From: Cpt. Price To: Ira Gunther ------------------------------------------- Cpt. Price of the 15th Ranger Battalion here. This will seem sudden to you, but you're being transfered to my company. I don't think it will be too hard on you since you've only been working with the 403rd for about what, 7 hours now? This is good news for you; we are one of the most prestigious infantry divisions around. To be blunt, we are pulling rookies over because we need replacements. If you already didn't know, the 15th and the 12th Rangers divisions are stationed down on the Pfhor home-world holding an under-cover base in the green zone. The problem is, I think whoever is running the alien offensive has already found us out.

------------------------------------------- About 2 hours ago, small packs of armed pfhor were patrolling strangely close to the green zone. As time progressed, more security packs came by until one of them spotted an exposed sectino of our underground bunker and opened fire on us. Currently we have massive waves of Pfhor wandering into the area. Although they are uncoordinated, they are slowly taking a toll on our men.

------------------------------------------- Your last Captain gave you an excellent review and passed on your combat stats, which are stellar. We need people like you... especially it tight combat situations like these. We have waves hitting us about every 20 minutes. Go to the Armory and refuel your supplies and come back here. We sent you a welcome treat designed for your job in the bunker here... you might need it. You got about 15 minutes to relax and get yourself focused before we bring you down here. Welcome to the 15th Battalion, soldier! ------------------------------------------- -------------end message------------------- -------------------------------------------

Stamp: Personal Mail Origin: UESC Merrimac Flag ship From: Fred Ske To: Ira Gunther ------------------------------------------- Hey! Remember me? Its Fred from camp! Man its been a long time. Hows it going over there in the front line? I'm still a combat journalist... and not in action. I've been waiting for ages to get in the action for a juicy story for the Viva news network. I hear that you kicked some dust down on the Pfhor planet. Way to bust it up in the bee hive! Well... hope you're doing ok, Ill talk to you later. Call me back. --------------------end--------------------

Personal Log 7-30-2862 Pitser Williams ------------------------------------------- Today has truly been a milestone for another conflict; something I don't really need right now. This morning, flag ship commander Frank Grei and the UESC council gave the military the ok to "quietly" assault Pfhor prime. Personally, I don't know why we are doing this. If the IFC really want to steal their homeland, go ahead! We've already done our damage to them. I don't see why the UESC has to solve every other nation's problems. Lucky for me, I wasn't part of the assault divisions today. Seems like one of the teams down there triggered something big. Word has it that IFC is going to spring a leak when discovering our intrusion.

To me, it seems like IFC is the deadly silent type. The UESC should really reconsider their actions. So far they have been quite irrational in their attempts to save the Pfhor. Looking at history I suppose, it seems like UESC alwayse wins its arguments in the long run. ------end log------------------------------

Personal Log 7-30-2862 Wolfgang pleche ------------------------------------------- Interesting how the geological movement here on the Pfhor planet is almost entirely based on exfoliation. The rock has high amounts of toxic/ radioactive elements imbedded within it, although I cant put my finger on just what those elements are. To add to the confusion, the rocks that haven’t exfoliated in a while grow high amounts of biological mass within them. The biological matter is actually slightly radioactive itself! I have been struggling to understand what is happening here, and my best guess is that the biological mass is growing specifically where there is the least light. As is commonly known about the Pfhor homeworld, much of the plant life grows in dark canyons and murky bogs; brown and black foliage no less! Obviously, this is plant matter that doesn’t like light.

It grabs all its nutrition from the growing biological toxins in the rocks. I grabbed some samples on the way back to the ship. Lucky for the assault team, the radiation levels are all quite low and should not effect anyone within their lifetime. It seems like its radiation affects are only super long term to our living type; it has a cancerous activation within 170 years of exposure. Kind of odd half-life with this biological material. It almost doesn’t decay… or something, I cant put my finger on it. Nonetheless, this environment is another great example of life on an uninhabitable surface. I'll see what I can get out of these samples later. -----end-----------------------------------

Personal Log 7-30-2862 Craig Leat ------------------------------------------- Sorry I haven’t written in a while, work in the ballistics lab here has been tough. I do like this science on a ship idea. It makes me feel like my job really is necessary on the front lines. I don’t know if I specified exactly what my job was in here, but I'll say it anyway. I am the head of the Ballistics and arms development aboard this ship. Our team here listens to the complaints of the men operating anything that shoots. We either modify the blueprints to keep those problems from happening, or just create new weapon mechanisms for the factories down on UESC property to mass-produce.

Actually… now that I think of it, my job is great! All those years at the Tula Ballistics Institute really paid off. I get great pay here on board, and I do what I do best! Plus the meals up here have to be good for the men on the front. The weapon we have been working and modifying lately is the MA-75C. It’s a great simple design, and despite its simple mechanism, it is quite revolutionary. It was a good step up from the older models, which used old solid-state explosives/ propellant. Now the MA-75C model uses caseless chemical cartridges allowing more controlled/consistent firepower, also packing a better punch for less cost/weight. These rifles are seriously light; I was surprised the first time I picked one up!

The body cladding is a special heat resistant ceramic fiber/plastic that weighs a 1/3 less than carbon fiber, and the mechanism is practically fail-safe. There are only 18 moving parts in there. Even within that, we've managed to leave some room for the user to modify the firing preferences. The designers of this weapon are in direct contact with us on improving it. I say they don’t need to, there is practically no recoil at all! As matter of fact, the stock of the rifle has been completely been removed. Well… I really need to spend my time away from work. I'll write more later. But now, I think Ill go check out the library facilities. ----end------------------------------------

Just this morning here on Viva news network, we talked about Commander Grei’s leap forward into the Pfhor Prime/IFC issue. A lot has changed since then: Operation Airlift was initiated to aid Pfhor non-nationalists against the new coalition. UESC troops has successfully executed operation Airlift supplying the retreating Pfhor. Some have associated this new coalition with MIDA and its aggressive missions many years ago. The only problem with Operation Airlift is that it may have triggered the IFC’s defense protocols. The UESC reported that alarms are causing a rise of patrol forces in the region. War correspondents on ground report only Pfhor patrols, and no signs of IFC militia or weapons, although they did note that some of the Pfhor carry a new type of staff. The new staves are described as “more cylindrical and sleek”.

The Pfhor hold the new weapon like a rifle, as apposed to swinging it, when firing it long ranged. Some Extrieologists are suggesting that this represents the effect of the IFC/UESC conflict on the lifestyle and mechanics of the Pfhor. This is consistent with the Pfhor tradition of assimilating elements of their enslaved races into their technology, resulting in a lack of any real cultural identity. Land battles have been insignificant so far, resulting in about 17 casualties. The UESC is hoping to make this conflict short and sweet.

In 2862, the UESC triumphed over the Pfhor Empire after a long and tiring last stand at the Pfhor’s main capital city. UESC troops advanced through the city streets very slowly. The remaining troops guarding the Pfhor high council fought tirelessly up until the end; a good portion of the remaining troops guarding the city were some of the highest-ranking military heads of the Pfhor Empire. The Pfhor city has a dark and musky climate, which made visibility and movement very difficult for the UESC troops, who were unaccustomed to these conditions. The front line in the city slogged back and forth for over 18 days. On day 5, Pfhor Prime's global defense shield went offline and UESC destroyer ships began firing cannons onto major military targets. In addition to these heavy sky attacks, the troops began using long-range cannons and mortars to pummel the enemy lines.

After an arduous battle through the city, UESC troops faced little resistance within the main citadel, finding the corpses of numerous high ranking Pfhor officials and an empty chamber where the fabled High Council should have been. This is still completely unexplained; mutiny was ruled out due to the Pfhor's biological control glands, and mass suicide is considered unlikely. The following day brought massive celebrations throughout the UESC. Triumph over an ancient alien empire was a welcome boost to human morale. However, defeat dealt a crushing blow to the collective psyche of the Pfhor Empire. Client race rebellion threatened to tear what was left of the aged empire apart.

High ranking Pfhor came to be looked down upon while slaves and lower ranks came into high regard. With no experienced leaders at the helm, the once famous economic power of the Pfhor Empire totally collapsed. Pfhor Prime's massive mines fell silent, and no more ships were flying to or from the Pfhor's shipyards. Soon even food production ceased, plunging much of the population of Pfhor Prime into famine. To add to the catastrophe, UESC military police occupied all major regions of the Pfhor planet with orders to destroy anything that could become a military threat in the future. Factories, shipyards and capital buildings were demolished, and the Pfhor’s mineshaft entrances were sealed.

After a week and 2 days, the UESC council recognized the extreme conditions forming on the Pfhor homeworld. The council organized an 8 day summit to develop solutions for the situation on Pfhor Prime. The UESC agreed to try and establish the Pfhor as a part of the intergalactic trade market, and to work to establish good relations with the Pfhor to prevent further wars. UESC issued the MP occupational forces to help Pfhor rebuild their economy as well as aid them with food resources. It was very awkward work most of the time as communication was very difficult, and prejudices served as a major barrier. Eventually many of these problems were overcome enough to begin major construction on important buildings and financial structuring.

After 3 months of working to restore Pfhor Prime, the UESC began to feel the financial toll of rebuilding an entire homeworld. The UESC backed out of its work on the Pfhor planet by forcing a treaty on the temporary Pfhor government stating that the UESC and the Pfhor would promise to sustain a distant peace, and support each other in the case of conflict. Despite that the temporary government was wary of taking diplomatic actions, they agreed to sign the document with much reluctance. ---- end historical research document -----

Armory room: UNLOCKED Armory Units Unlocked: 830