OP: Fallen Leaves - Redux

Commanderrrrr...

Welcome to planet Dawn. We trust the journey was pleasant for you and your team but, I'm afraid there's no time for lengthy introductions; the situation is grave and you're needed in the field immediately.

I'll be your CO while you're here. I am Command's liaison with Bureau Aegis and we're here as part of O-12's multi-lateral Peace & Security agenda. Point being, we're here to play nice with the others, until Command says otherwise. Anyway...

Two hours ago Dawn was the target of a co-ordinated Quantronic attack. The Roving Star Satellite Network (which provides planet-wide GPS, communications and SATC - space/air traffic control) was taken offline leaving Dawn blind and deaf. Mercifully the attack wasn't irreparable and reports are it will be back up within the hour.

However that's where the good news ends. The Ariadnans are outraged that this might be the prelude to an attack, the opening shots in the renewal of the Commercial Wars between Ariadna and the other nations of the human sphere. The situation is volatile, an O-12 emergency session is already convening to try and ease tensions but hopes aren't high.

If you recall your briefing package, Dawn, home to the Ariadnan nation, has a tumultuous past. Even if it trusted the other nations of the sphere that occupy the Exclusion Zone, Ariadna would still harbour a chequered history of division within its own four federated states. USAriadna, Merovingia, Caledonia and Rodina. The latter of which is the main political power. The whole planet is fertile ground for civil unrest, criminality and political subterfuge. It's still not clear who's responsible for this attack, it could have come from within or without Ariadnan borders. But sadly, this is only half the story.

Shortly before Roving Star was taken out, the satellite network picked up mayday and distress signals from multiple civilian air and spacecraft. I attached one of them here.



They all seemed to report essentially the same problem: engine failure causing mid-air stalls. This forced the pilots to perform emergency landings.

A lot of these landings were performed near runways and other heli pads etc, as they were either taking off or landing at the time. Thankfully no casualties have been reported as of yet.

Nevertheless there remains a significant number of craft that had to put down in whereabouts unknown. Of particular concern are the orbital shuttles. These were attempting to reach escape velocity to leave the atmosphere at the time of the incident. With Roving Star being down, Ariadna's ability to locate any of these is non-existent and they could be anywhere on the planet.

Aegis is not alone in thinking these two events are connected. Given this could lead to war it's issued a Code: Infinity. That's where you come in.

We have coordinates on file for the locations of SATC radar sites. These are outposts that collect aerial and atmospheric data to be uploaded to Roving. Aegis is tasking its local assets to scramble to these sites. Your task is to investigate the infrastructure there, see if there was any data recorded before the blackout started. If there's any clue as to the locations of the missing flights, it'll be there.

Finally a word of warning from Command. Yours won't be the only team in the field. Expect competition and resistance from other parties. Make sure yours is the team that stays ahead of the curve.

It's going to be a long day Commander. Happy Hunting...