In 2045, the establishment of the SLI facility in the region El Alicanto - saw the effects this would have on the public. During a peaceful protest in Chile against the SLI initiative, led by the Brotherhood of Night leader Violeta O’Higgins, a firefight broke out which caused the death of four Guardia del Pueblo officers and six protestors, one of these victims being Violeta herself. This event was officially dubbed the “Arkangel Riot of ‘45”.
The death of Violeta drove a sudden mobilization and militarization of the Brotherhood. Her brother, Bernardo O’Higgins, and the Brotherhood rallied together which sparked a bloody conflict between them and the GDP that would last for years.
The recent struggles in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East has also prompted the formation of an alliance. Arkangel greenlights Operation: Golden Light as they receive an intelligence report suggesting this rising alliance plans to strike at an aquifer in El Alicanto, Chile. Arkangel deploys Midas Squad, consisting of 24 active members including Charlie Crawford, with the mission to secure the lithium sites from the possible upcoming battle. Crawford would later clash with the Brotherhood and meet O’Higgins, who recognized him, and turn over to their cause since he knew this mission was at a dead end.
In December 2048, the Thousand Petals Coalition was publicly announced as they quickly moved onto offensive strategies for being ignored by the superpowers for years. The America United News, AUN, reports:
Several military dictators have risen out of recent struggles in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and have announced a public alliance.
This group, calling themselves the Thousand Petals Coalition, extended assistance to the Eastern front of the war, putting American dominance on the backfoot.
With a crumbling reputation and the growth of the independent No-Pat movement, the United States now finds itself outnumbered on the global stage. The consequences of this remain to be seen.
- AUN Anchor
The TPC seek to gain power and resources through their military push into regions across the globe. One of their targets is Chile, as their recent flourish, thanks to the Silver Spear program, helped them regain balance. With the help of the restored ecosystem they now lead in the supply of clean water across the West with the help of their large possession of aquifers. Oz caught wind of this formation and military push and encourages the TPC to withdraw:
It is my dream for the Shearwater-2 technology to benefit everyone. To deny prosperity to one is to deny it for all.
The formation of the Thousand Petals Coalition is what happens when we deprive those nations what others freely possess. They feel they have no choice but to fight for their existence, just as we are seeing in Chile. That said, I urge the TPC to cease their invasion and initiate a full withdrawal.
Only through unity has the world any hope of survival.
- Oz
Prior to the official announcement of the TPC, Angel had been sent in by Oz to spy on the Eastern alliance. It took several months until he joined the CGF 9th Battalion led by Colonel Hamasaki Nayomi, previously a secret Commander of Nova Group. His experience and insight from within the alliance made him sympathize and almost align himself fully to their cause. He would join them as they were deploying in Chile, alongside the local Skullcaps militia. The Skullcaps were led by Francisco Santos Batista who had founded the militia with the help of the Jaguar, sometime after the Gatun Lake operation disaster.
Oz’s previous attempt at a de-escalation proves futile as the TPC launches a full scale assault on Chile. He has no other choice than to motivate the people of El Alicanto to regroup and rethink their choices:
It appears my previous calls for de-escalation went unheeded as the TPC and Eastern Forces have launched a full-scale assault to seize control of the Guarani aquifer in Chile.
This is an illegal act of aggression, and one that could have easily been avoided. Must we repeat the mistakes of the past and build yet another world of division and inequality?
The people of Latin America must rise and stop this. The Skullcaps, the Brotherhood of Night, the GDP, do not become pawns to East and West. The time has come for you to forge your own destinies. Seize it.
- Oz
The invasion on Chile is an attempt to seize the region and control the aquifers. The GDP and Brotherhood’s long lasting rivalry would be set aside as their leaders, Bastion Morales and Bernardo O’Higgins, decided on a ceasefire. They would join arms and protect their homeland against the TPC. The AUN reports on these news for the public:
Local freedom fighters in Chile and armed police forces have made an unexpected alliance in recent days as the Thousand Petals Coalition made landfall.
Determined to protect their homeland against the TPC, one group - the Brotherhood of Night - has been clashing with the Skullcaps, TPC-funded mercenaries recruited from surrounding South American nations.
Eastern forces claim Chile is being used as a puppet state by the American military, but their stated claim to Chilean resources appears to have the exact same motivation. Is there hope for true independence amidst this tug of war between global powers?
- AUN Anchor
Angel had previously received an anonymous message telling him that “Something is happening, and we believe it starts in Chile”, as well as information that Sundance, Crawford and Blasco would be present there, in El Alicanto. Sundance had picked up a gig and had joined the Skullcaps, Blasco was assisting the GDP, and Crawford was now aligned with the Brotherhood.
Sometime after deployment, and several disobeyed orders from Hamasaki, Angel eventually decided to cut ties with the TPC and he would follow the orders from the anonymous voice. He managed to find Crawford, but he still needed to locate the two other fellow specialists. Amidst this, Sundance gets into a fight with a GDP member. Pinning the member to the ground they realized it was Blasco. Angel was still on task to find them, as the contact would elaborate more on the plan when all members of Nomad Squad were gathered.
The situation in Chile would prompt the AUN to question Arkangel about their position in the conflict as they conducted interviews with Henry Blackburn.
Interview 1:
We're speaking with Arkangel founder Henry Blackburn. Earlier you said the allegiance between the TPC and Eastern Forces goes back farther than we think. What do you mean?
- AUN Anchor
The seeds were sown at the Battle of Czechia. Nova Group's presence there was instructive.
- Blackburn
Looking to the conflict in Chile, is this something Arkangel could help resolve?
- AUN Anchor
Let me be clear on this subject: Arkangel is not a governing power. We provide aid and assistance - we're not peacebrokers. However, should any attempts be made to compromise Arkangel's Shearwater ground stations, our hand will be forced to intervene.
- Blackburn
Interview 2:
Factions like the Thousand Petals Coalition surely fly in the face of Arkangel's vision of a united global community.
- AUN Anchor
It's important to remember these are nations fighting for their voice to be heard. Didn't we once malign the No-Pats for doing the very same thing?
- Blackburn
But I'm looking at a list here of all nations within the TPC, and every one of them was denied access to your Shearwater program. Haven't you fomented this unrest?
- AUN Anchor
We have strict guidelines that dictate which countries we work with. I might add that some of the countries on your list are under review.
- Blackburn
I'm confused, most of these countries have been overthrown by authoritarian despots and now you want to work with them?
- AUN Anchor
Our journey towards a better world is one paved with tough choices. I'm the one prepared to make them.
- Blackburn
As Blackburn tells the anchor, he has no plans to interfere with the conflict as long as their Arkangel assets remain unscathed. Although, it is only a matter of time until they will be forced to intervene. Following this, Blackburn gains knowledge of the TPC’s plan to seize Shearwater ground stations and sets up a backdoor plan for the satellite network that would allow Arkangel to regain full control if their ground stations would be compromised.
Weeks into the battle at El Alicanto, Batista had taken notice of the Arkangel devices on the lithium site in El Alicanto and he contacted the Jaguar regarding his suspicions. The Jaguar didn’t respond directly to his worries but instead responded with:
“Batista, we need to talk about the Dragon.”
- The Jaguar
Subsequently, Gambit Squad had disbanded. They had received secret personal orders from Valkyrie which would lead them to different regions across the globe. Lis deployed in an unknown location, Mackay would deploy at an abandoned EUSA facility, and Paik’s location lies in the East - into the lion’s den. However, Irish’s orders were unknown.
Amongst the troubling conflict, whispers and rumors of a rising union in Europe surfaces:
European politics may be about to see another shakeup. Leadership parties from several defunct nations have reunited for talks on neutral ground to discuss reestablishing a new union in affected regions.
An anonymous source spoke to the AUN, admitting there is a sharp motivation for forming this alliance as quickly as possible, especially as the Thousand Petals Coalition pushes in from multiple sides.
Resource growth in Europe has accelerated by leaps and bounds thanks to satellite-assisted weather changes. Is a new breadbasket emerging in the West after years of barren fields?
- AUN Anchor
Discussions continue, and a formal announcement is due any time.
In January 2049, as the TPC got desperate in their attempt to control vital territories across the globe they deployed the CGF 4th Battalion, the Red Hand. The feared battalion had one mission: reinforce the attacks across multiple frontlines, including Chile, Czechia, India, Panama, Scotland, and South Africa, which put the already-battered US further on the backfoot. In the end, the US managed to gain moderate control over the frontlines but the expanded warfare sparked a rallying cry heard the world-over and led to numerous nations joining the rebellious TPC.
Blackburn gets intel on the sites under attack by the Red Hand and one of these battlegrounds takes them near Namaqualand where a Shearwater ground station is operating. As a premeasure to avoid invoking the neutrality clause, they move the site to an unknown location.
The Capitol International Stadium in Doha had been bought by Arkangel years prior, and publicly acted as a fail-safe storage site related to Arkangel's Geist neural networks. However, reports surfaced of the site harboring classified intelligence from US and Russia thanks to Arkangel’s Shearwater and Ascension satellites but Arkangel rejects these accusations. Arkangel issued a stern warning to both superpowers that tampering with their property would risk incurring a response, however as the superpowers became increasingly impatient a battle broke out at the Stadium with both sides trying to gain control of the site to learn of Arkangel’s harboring secrets.
As the battle raged on, Nomad Squad now consisting of Angel, Sundance, Crawford and Blasco, was tasked by Valkyrie to unearth the secrets at the Stadium. They arrived there and dropped in on the raging battle.
In February, 2049, these incursions across the globe by the TPC had resulted in the premature establishment of a mandate. Announcing themselves as the Mandate of Nations, years in the making initially consisting of 7 states across Europe, sparked hope for the almost 50 defunct countries since the 2030s that the world could return to normal. Their goal was to, thanks to the aid of the Shearwater program, convince nations that they were the better option than to align with the TPC.
After a year of secret negotiations, the Mandate of Nations has announced its formation, claiming member states across Eastern and Western Europe.
This united front has declared their intention to ally with the United States, pushing back against the Eastern conglomeration of forces now assisted by the corporate military behind Arkangel.
The Mandate has also formally requested assistance from Namaqualand, seeking to tilt the neutrality of the No-Pat nation, but thus far, Oz has not made a public declaration of support either way.
- AUN Anchor
The Mandate would form an alliance with the US, which would prove essential for their survival, and Russia aligns themselves fully with the TPC. Arkangel continues to hold up their claim as they try to remain a neutral entity that still has the goal to provide and aid nations in need. However, as the public starts to notice the cracks of the Arkangel organization, worries about their position on the global stage starts to surface as a result of an operation carried out by the Mandate.
Operation: Future Strike is greenlit following an intelligence report claiming the TPC plans to seize multiple neutral Shearwater ground stations. Joint Task Force 7, formed in July and consisting of US and Mandate soldiers led by Captain Sophia Jäger, with the mission to protect these ground stations from TPC control. Over the next several weeks, JTF-7 conducted strikes in Canada, Chile, Czechia, Queen Maud Land, South Africa, and Sweden. Arkangel labeled this operation by the Mandate an “unwarranted act of aggression against Arkangel infrastructure.”
From the Mandate’s point of view, the initial attacks by the TPC was a planned attempt to break Arkangel’s neutrality agreement. However, according to Arkangel, the strikes carried out by the Mandate forced their hand to interfere - breaking their global neutrality.
The stage is set, the players are in motion—what comes next will change the world forever…