News from the front: Maybury Enterprise
30 Jun 2023Claude Lecardunoie
Decided to help in the war against the Thargoids, I joined the front line near Taranis. On my way there, I have been assigned a journalist, Rufus DeNeauville and his photographer, Almira 'Pixie' Keita. Here is the first article they produced as war correspondants for RewiredMaybury Enterprise: ashes, ruins, and yet... hope
Maybury Enterprise under attack and its spatioport on restricted access. Pictures by A.Keita, for Rewired
Ashes and ruins, it seems that is all what is left in Maybury Enterprise, an independant planetary base. As I walked along the corridor linking the landing pads to the base core buildings, an intense smell of smoke, caustic acid and burnt cables were saturating the atmoshpere.
Maybury Enterpise is located in Trianguli Sector GG-Y c18, near Taranis maelstrom front and has been under heavy Thargoid attack these last weeks. I flew there from Revin Hub, Phrygiang. According to both Imperial and Federal Navy intelligence, it was supposed to be relatively safe there now and the settlements there under reconstruction.
If Maybury Enterprise population and its local authorities indeed are working hard on repairing their installation and organizing emergency medical care, Maybury is actually still a war zone, under constant Thargoid's vessels bombing.
I have been granted access to the Maybury Enterprise Council, where all local leaders, from the governement and the opposition keep a permanent emergency session. Here, they decide on the priorities, dispatching independants from the Pilot's Federation in the nearby systems to fetch emergency supplies: water and food, medecines, evacuation shelters, but also HN shock mounts, superconductors and raw materials like palladium and copper to fix what can be repaired.
I had the chance to interview several local leaders, from both the governement and the opposition, as division no longer exists in these dramatic circumstances. I first met the Director of the installation, Romarik Chaouch of the Brazilian League of Pilots, an Independant party.
- "Director, in spite of the ongoing Thargoid's attacks, you've decided to hold on and not to evacuate the station. Why?"
- "From day one of the attacks, the local population showed courage and determination to save their station. As one of their leaders, we couldn't let them down. So we hang on. I want to thank the leaders of the other parties for their support, forgetting former quarrels to face the situation, showing our citizens that we won't let them down. We received no help from the Federation or the Empire, although they have delegates here. No military help and no evacuation mission where sent here. We know that Maybury Enterprise is of very small economical interest for them. The only thing we can do is hang on here. According to our local AX Defense Force and some reports coming from the Imperial intelligence, it seems that the worse is behind us and in spite of frequent Thargoid raids it is worth saving our station. Our people have nowhere else to go."
I then met with the Imperial local delegate:
- "I can only agree with the Director", said Zyed Lapodes, the Imperial legate here, "when all this will be behind us, I think that it will be difficult for the Empire or the Federation to be trusted again in this system".
Casualties are heavy after these weeks of battle: about 1000 deads and disappeared, 5000 wounded. And still counting as no evacuation operation is in sight. The local dispensary being partially destroyed, provisory medical installations have been set up in what used to be the school and another one in the station commercial mall. The Galactic Red Cross is there, helping what is left of Maybury Enterprise medical service. "It is not real medecine anymore", said Ka'as Mullberg, a nurse, "We are lacking of everything, o2, morphine, anelgesics, blood, plasma, synthetic epiderm and of course manpower. There are only 2 doctors left and the only surgeon is actually from a Rescue squadron of the Pilot's Federation who decided to remain here. The rest of us, nurses and volunteers are just doing our best to help out."
The other parts of the station, although desert are far from silent. One explosion here, two detonations from one of a local flak battery trying to take down an Interceptor there. Some buildings of the station are no longer accessible as the galleries leading to them have been destroyed by caustic missiles. In one of these building, the Air Traffic Control. 6-7 men and women are operating it, isolated from the rest of their friends and families. In two hours, an SRV will exit to resupply them in food and water. A risky operation, but critical, to preserve the massive airlift set up by members of the Pilot's Federation to defend and supply Maybury Enterprise.
The Pilot's Federation. To all the people here, they are war heroes. Despite what seems a desperate situation, these braves and selfless independant Pilot's are the ones bringing hope to Maybury citizens. They are the ones trying to coordinate military and humanitarian operations. There is no doubt among the local population that without them, Maybury Enterpise and the other installations of the system would have been wiped by the Thargoids.
I actually flew here with one of them: the Commander Claude Lecardunoie. And I will follow her during the next weeks, for Rewired in her missions to support Maybury Enterprise rescue and reconstruction. And to restore... hope.
- Rufus DeNeuville, war correspondant in Maybury Enterprise for Rewired -
- Pictures credits: Almira Keita -