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Today, in the largest confrontation of the hostilities so far, government forces destroyed a major VF base at Raven's Fjord near Holy Island. General Carlson of the First Surface Tactical Division said, "Today, we have claimed a major victory against the terrorists. The base was very important to Valhalla First, and their organisation will be seriously disadvantaged by its loss."
General Carlson went on to explain how the operation had been the cumulation of months of careful planning and intelligence gathering. "Details of the operation were kept highly secret lest they fall into VF hands. Only a select few knew that we had even found the base, but this is only the first move in our planned offensive." The operation began at noon on Saturday with an air strike from Holy Island base. Heavy fighting continued until the early hours of Sunday morning, and it was not until 2pm on Sunday afternoon that the government forces declared the area secure. Troops were called in from around the planet with little warning as the surprise attack got underway.
It is estimated that nearly 100 government units and 70 mercenary units were involved.
Valhalla First Extremists, apparently in a revenge attack for the loss of their base, assassinated Captain Hans Brozev of the VMI. Captain Brozev was eating an evening meal with his wife Sonja and 3 year old daughter Mara when their house was destroyed by a missile attack. Investigators believe the weapon employed was a Blue Inferno Incendiary, a common model which VF is known to have acquired in large numbers.
"Hans was a valued member of the communications team here at Holy Island", said an official spokesperson for the base, "He had just finished a twelve hour shift , during the Raven's Fjord operation. He was a man of great skill and talent who was much loved by his family. We will miss them all a great deal".
General Aron Petersun claimed today that a group within the military tried to recruit him into a secret cell which was referred to as 'Iron Fist'. The person named as the recruiter, General Harald Edbergson, is reported missing, and a warrant has been posted for his arrest. General Petersun's Aide, Captain Erik Gammasson, staged a diversion to allow the general to escape, but was shot down by a dropship bearing military markings. It is believed possible that this is the same drop-ship which attacked the Shell recycling facility. The ship crashed in VF territory and at this time it is not known whether Captain Gammasson, or the mercenaries with him, survived.
During the early stages of the attack on the VF base at Raven's Fjord, a single VF drop-ship managed to evade air defence systems and launch an attack on the Shell Interplanetary fuel recycling facility at Holy Island. The VF had painted the dropship in military patterns and appear to have somehow acquired the days IFF codes, allowing the reprogramming of the dropships transponder to give off a false signal. Fortunately there was no loss of life at the recycling facility, but severe damage was caused to the structure and equipment of the plant.
So far, no official word on casualties has been forthcoming. However, one reliable source has spoken to this paper of "dozens" of body bags. If this source is accurate, the Raven's Fjord offensive will be the most bloody battle so far.
Another source hinted that a number of the fatalities appeared to be in suspicious circumstances. Apparently forensic experts are examining many of the corpses. Specifically, the nature of the wounds suffered suggests that some of the casualties were gunned down after field collapse. For example, one corpse had a projectile wound to the torso. The bullet had hardly penetrated, consistent with a shot which only just managed to collapse the wearers force field. The result would have been disabling, but not life threatening. However, the same body was missing most of its head, with an entry wound at the base of the neck. Such a serious wound could only be caused by an unimpeded shot with no forcefield protection, delivered from behind. If this report is accurate, it marks a serious and worrying breach of the accepted conventions of war.
Who is responsible?
Off world mercenaries? Probably not - they have the most to lose from any breakdown in the conventions.
Government Forces? Probably not - a live body yields more intelligence than a dead one.
Valhalla First? Probably not - they wish to convert people to their cause, and be regarded as 'Freedom Fighter' rather than terrorists, not to mention that a live captive generally brings in repatriation fees - money which is needed now more than ever.
Only two things are certain - somebody is responsible, and this paper intends to find out!
More news from Valhalla Herald: 23 Feb 297 - 9 Mar 297 - 30 Mar 297 - 19 May 297 - 25 Jul 297