Delgi'he - Capital city of Neo'delgi Colony
The Far Southern Hemisphere
The antarctic winter was harsh, and despite the decade he had been there, Governor Lae'kos was still not used to the bitter chill. As a child, he had been able to go out in next to nothing, enjoying the tropical sun of his homeland Alfegos. Yet here, one had to wear at least four layers of clothing during the winter, including the thick outer clothing. Slamming the thick door of the building behind him, he shook the snow off his outer coat and feet, before peeling off the garments.
Delgi'he was a small city, one that bore the typical marks of a colonial set-up - fast, yet built to last. The harbour had been built from enourmous blocks of rock, unloaded by airship into the ocean, building a collossal sea wall around the artificial harbour. The bay itself was relatively calm, the natural formations removing the harsh sea's influence when it wasn't frozen over. Otherwise, the work of icebreakers and the boiling heat of tapped geothermal reservoirs kept the harbour free of ice for the winter months. The city that lay beyond was a sea of bright prefabricated structures and more heavily-built concrete, steel and rock housing units. Steam slowly rose from the refineries and furnaces, alongside the geothermal power station that pumped the lifeblood the colony needed - heat, and power. With those, enterprising citizens could even grow foods from home.
The Governor sat down at his desk, looking over his emails and letters. Most to do with the mining quotas allocated to various companies at work on the many mines that had been established further inland. Work stayed the same, as he heard the occasional roar of a heavy truck, or the throbbing of an aerofreighter's engines, as they dropped minerals off at the industrial district around the docks. Otherwise, he only had to sign off the handful of further applicants for colony residency and land plots, and begin work on his main brief - the future planning and structuring of the colony. They needed more people for this barren rock, and needed to balance that by greater access to the supply vessels that came their way. That, and attract more than the miners, the loners, and the handful of soldiers.
The news articles unnerved him in the amount of work they implied - the government not wishing to raise quotas, despite the hit on the market from the blockade of Gholgoth, and the crash in Fegosian production back home. Within days, he knew he would be meeting with some consortium, lobbyist or foreign dignatry, who would try and convince him to change his ways. It wouldn't happen - until central government changed their policies, he knew he would have to follow the current guidance. Despite the distance, he knew he was constantly watched for any signs of dissent. The scare about the enemy within, of the now CPRA, was contagious.
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Outpost Frost - Basic Training Post for Arctic Warfare
"Welcome to hell, when it freezes over." The training Major stood looking at the ten men in front of him. Not like the other ten who were already deep in the wilderness of the icy island, part of 3 Troop of the Orange Service - mountainous and arctic warfare soldiers, special force commandos. Having first passed the all-arms commando course on Nakai'ilos, then the special force selection wherever the JHQ instructors had felt it sadistically necessary, they now were completing their training in their chosen specialisation. Whilst others on their course had been sent off for hellish fighting deep in the forests, thrown into the cold oceans of Los'vi, or thrown from high planes, they had elected to come out to the icyest wastes their instructors could find.
"Not many of you will be used to this cold - that's alright, you'll be acclimatising and training here for the next six months, before we find a nice high mountain in Alfegos for you to live on."
Despite their issue multi-layer clothing system for fighting in these conditions, the white completely covering their normal tropical camouflage below, most of the men were already cold. A temperature change of nearly sixty degrees was responsible for that.
"Now, Outpost Frost, and this whole damn colony, are below the antarctic circle. At the moment, you'll be getting roughly an hour of daylight each day. Best for you, you'll be leaving here just as it starts getting nice. So enjoy the night whilst you can.
Unlike some arctic climates, here you will not have the priviledge of pine trees. The only cover here is snow, and mountain ridges. This environment is nothing like back home, and we will teach you exactly how to fight in it.
The next twelve hours are for rest, acclimatisation, and kit preparation. I want to see you all this evening in physical training kit, ready to get yourselves used to this godforsaken weather."
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Somewhere East of Outpost Nickel - Advanced Arctic & Underground Warfare Training
Deep inland, on the slopes of the extinct shield volcano that dominated the island, and the landscape, white snow mingled with the occasional rocky outcrop. Glaciers were the force here, ripping gouges deep into the rocks, ploughing their muddy remains into the side and base of the mountain. Icebergs fell from their tongues, stretching out over the steep volcanic cliffs. It seemed completely desolate, the only human activity at the far base of the flows. The occasional deep rumble came, as the ant-like miners blasted the mountainside apart, ripping into the rich mineral veins from above, or simply drilling shafts deep into the hard rock. The few roads were visible from the track marks of the heavy vehicles as they rolled along.
There was a slight movement, the only betrayal of the ten men who lay concealed amongst the rocks. Their simulated exercise was to gather intelligence on the mining operations, and to target key installations to bring about the stop of activities. Of course, the weighted charges they carried were dummies, but the exercise was still critical in their education. Occasionally, a patrol from a platoon stationed for OPFOR duties moved from Outpost Nickel, itself a series of low buildings hidden by snow and surrounded by deadly-looking mesh, steep embankments preventing any easy access by foot or vehicle. But they were unseen, and even as a few cooked their meals, unheard. Ghosts in the cold landscape.
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Map: http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn27 ... elgi-1.png
(Scale 8px:1km)
Population: 31 453
Climate: Antarctic
Temperatures (Winter): -5 to -52, extremes 6 to -71, average -33
Economy: Mining and refining for export. Minor hydroponic culturing and tourism.
