Civitas Americae
20-11-2005, 03:41
The Cherubim was traveling awfully low. A specially modified shuttle that had, officially, never been built, it was screaming towards Westamerika’s capital of Spausburg at a height of only 100 miles, looking like one of the suborbital shuttles that was rapidly gaining in popularity for foreign and colonial travel. The main difference was that the Cherubim was not a suborbital shuttle, but rather an orbital one.
“30 seconds until drop point” sounded the pilot’s voice over the capsule speakers.
Man, they just don’t pay me enough to do this crazy stuff though Lieutenant Gail McAllen. He had been one of the “lucky” members of Mithril chosen to do the live-tests of the Mk I Assault Battle Suit. Now, he and his squad were going to test another one of Mithril’s crazy ideas: Suborbital insertions. It wasn’t the stealthiest of approaches, but when stealth wasn’t needed, it would allow for an extremely quick method of insertion. Assuming of course a low-yield nuclear missile belonging to the local ABM defense didn’t blot them out of the sky first.
*wham*
With a tremendous kick, the capsules of Lt. McAllen and his men were kicked free. From a height of 80 kilometers, they would descend to the Spausburg Airport and assault a building that was holding “hostages.” Above, the Cherubim kicked in its previously unused main engines and boosted on a longer suborbital flight back to Civitas Americae.
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Across Westamerika, the energetic work of train crews was rapidly laying down track across the new colony. Rail travel was still the preferred method of intercity transport for most Americaens, and the transcontinental distances that made the supersonic passenger liners popular weren’t present here in Westamerika. Of course, the track wasn’t all for a peaceful purpose. Quite a number of tunnels existed simply to hide and protect the hundreds of railway guns that served to defend Westamerika. As the lines continued to stretch north and south, a note was sent to The Silver Sky and Spizania, inquiring as to whether they’d be interested in a rail line running from Silver Sky’s northern colony down to the coastal city of Spausburg. Freight would travel much faster that way, and with the short 30-kilometer channel between the Isle of Endymion and Westamerika, it was possible to build a rail bridge, or a Chunnel if preferred, to make the travel of goods even faster, without the delay that loading and unloading on a ship would entail.
To the governments of Spizania and The Silver Sky:
As you are well aware, The Silver Sky has a colony located on the north of this island, and one located south as well. While this has created difficulties for The Silver Sky, who must conduct all transport by sea or air, we believe that we may have the ability to remedy this most unfortunate situation. We propose the construction of a rail line, extending from the northern colony down to Spausburg, or another suitable port city. Here the cargo could be loaded onto transports for a very brief journey across the channel to the Isle of Endymion. Alternatively, because this channel is so short, we propose the creation of the largest rail bridge in the world: A 30-kilometer bridge that would allow the running of trains from the northern colony into the Isle of Endymion, without the need to transfer freight to a ship. If this is deemed too expensive or difficult, we could also build an underground tunnel to the Isle of Endymion.
All parties would benefit from the increased trade, as well as the customs fees.
Most sincerely,
Johannes Wortescher, President of Westamerika Rail
“30 seconds until drop point” sounded the pilot’s voice over the capsule speakers.
Man, they just don’t pay me enough to do this crazy stuff though Lieutenant Gail McAllen. He had been one of the “lucky” members of Mithril chosen to do the live-tests of the Mk I Assault Battle Suit. Now, he and his squad were going to test another one of Mithril’s crazy ideas: Suborbital insertions. It wasn’t the stealthiest of approaches, but when stealth wasn’t needed, it would allow for an extremely quick method of insertion. Assuming of course a low-yield nuclear missile belonging to the local ABM defense didn’t blot them out of the sky first.
*wham*
With a tremendous kick, the capsules of Lt. McAllen and his men were kicked free. From a height of 80 kilometers, they would descend to the Spausburg Airport and assault a building that was holding “hostages.” Above, the Cherubim kicked in its previously unused main engines and boosted on a longer suborbital flight back to Civitas Americae.
-------------------------------
Across Westamerika, the energetic work of train crews was rapidly laying down track across the new colony. Rail travel was still the preferred method of intercity transport for most Americaens, and the transcontinental distances that made the supersonic passenger liners popular weren’t present here in Westamerika. Of course, the track wasn’t all for a peaceful purpose. Quite a number of tunnels existed simply to hide and protect the hundreds of railway guns that served to defend Westamerika. As the lines continued to stretch north and south, a note was sent to The Silver Sky and Spizania, inquiring as to whether they’d be interested in a rail line running from Silver Sky’s northern colony down to the coastal city of Spausburg. Freight would travel much faster that way, and with the short 30-kilometer channel between the Isle of Endymion and Westamerika, it was possible to build a rail bridge, or a Chunnel if preferred, to make the travel of goods even faster, without the delay that loading and unloading on a ship would entail.
To the governments of Spizania and The Silver Sky:
As you are well aware, The Silver Sky has a colony located on the north of this island, and one located south as well. While this has created difficulties for The Silver Sky, who must conduct all transport by sea or air, we believe that we may have the ability to remedy this most unfortunate situation. We propose the construction of a rail line, extending from the northern colony down to Spausburg, or another suitable port city. Here the cargo could be loaded onto transports for a very brief journey across the channel to the Isle of Endymion. Alternatively, because this channel is so short, we propose the creation of the largest rail bridge in the world: A 30-kilometer bridge that would allow the running of trains from the northern colony into the Isle of Endymion, without the need to transfer freight to a ship. If this is deemed too expensive or difficult, we could also build an underground tunnel to the Isle of Endymion.
All parties would benefit from the increased trade, as well as the customs fees.
Most sincerely,
Johannes Wortescher, President of Westamerika Rail