Operation War Dove

Content Warning:

This article is about a fictional military conflict. It is a covert operation where an airport was assaulted and occupied to exfiltrate a diplomat. Named and unnamed characters die. Media and propaganda are key elements in the article.

Ganymedes was the loveliest born of the moons, and therefore when it rebelled, Jupiter caught its heart away, to be their wine-pourer for the sake of admonishing those, who might consider themselves equal. This was their retaliation.

Things were looking dire for the Ganymedean Independence Movement. Jupiter had established a full blockade, preventing all import and export, as well as jamming any signals sent to and from Ganymede. In doing so Jupiter had full control over the narrative. It was a matter of time before the Independence Movement were branded as misguided insurrectionists. Without external support, the Independence Movement stood no chance. The only hope they had of shifting public opinion was to exfiltrate one of their own
This was the background for the development of the controversial black-ops initiative: Operation War Dove.

Operation War Dove: The Plan

Goal

To arrange a safe passage off Ganymede for diplomat Anstazia Halcyon so she could advocate for the Independence Movement and counter Jovian Propaganda.

Objective

To accomplish this, the Ganymedeans had to take control over the only operating spaceport on Ganymede: Galileo Spaceport

Army

Two regiments and one company prepared to assault the ground terminal under the leadership of Cmdr. Volt

Air Support

Lambda Wing, a squadron of mercenaries hired by the Ganymedean Independence Movement, would secure air superiority.

A Risky Gamble

Team Handler would escort Halcyon to the Orbital Terminal and infiltrate the detained civilians. They were to find a sympathizer who could secure passage for Halcyon on their ship.

Double Agent

A double agent had maneuvered onto the nearby Jovian Observator. His task was to temporarily disable their tracking software.

The Operation would, of course, be nowhere as smooth as planned. When a plan is put into motion, even the simplest actions become complicated. Friction; the accumulation of countless small things that didn't go quite as they should, can never be fully accounted for.

Operation War Dove: Execution

BLOODBATH AT GANYMEDIAN SPACEPORT

BREAKING NEWS - SEPARATIST TERRORISTS ATTACK GALILEO SPACEPORT

42 dead and 200 injured

Humanitarian Aid Workers forced to flee

Separatist Terrorists attack Galileo Spaceport, the main spaceport on Ganymede, killing 42 and injuring over 200. Galileo Spaceport has served as the entry point for humanitarian aid during the bloody conflicts on Ganymede. It is not yet been confirmed if any of the injured or dead are humanitarian workers.
Ganymede has been under blockade by the Jovian Orbital Guard in response to the Separatist Coup of Ganymede. The Coup followed an illegal vote in the Ganymedian Council of Nations to secede from Jovian Leadership.
Source: Jupiter Broadcast Network

Commander A.C. Volt led two Perrian Regiments, and one Etan Company. Both divisions were locally raised in their respective countries, and veterans of the defense of the Xibalba Sulcus. These were people of all ages, strong and capable, trained through the grim reality of war rather than boot camp. Commander Volt had chosen to deputize the natural leaders to maintain good order, and help her soldiers remember what and who they were fighting for.

Phase One: Secure the Spaceport

The initial assault was effective. Galileo Spaceport had no reason to suspect the attack. They were woefully unprepared. All the of the Spaceport's defenses were aimed towards orbit, installed primarily as defenses against pirate raids.

Chaos in the Terminals

In case of emergency, staff on the Orbital Terminal are directed to gather and guide the passengers to the Gateway Portals for evacuation. These portals are connected by tether to another Gateway on the Ground Terminal. A lapse in communication led to Orbital Staff evacuating civilians into an active war zone.
The consequences were brutal.

Operation War Dove: The Goal

Crucially for Operation War Dove, the Jovian Defense Guard never questioned why the Separatists attacked the Spaceport during the event. Team Handler was able to seperate from the army and proceed with infiltrating the evacuees. It wasn't long before they had secured passage for Halcyon to Mars.
Team Handler consisted both of Anstazia Halcyon's personal staff, notably her personal assistant Errata Sic, as well as a handful of people from the Independence Movement who'd shown a talent for subterfuge.

Phase Two: Air Superiority

Lambda Wing were a group of offworld mercenaries, led by the infamous Lexi Lazarus. Belonging to a Saturnian company, most of the mercenaries in Lambda Wing were from Saturn, though a Uranian and a Belter joined them as well.
Using the Sunderer SF-1 they were easily able to secure control over the air space by outmaneuvering the handful of Jovian Cyklopes SSF-9 in the area.

Operation War Dove: Friction

So far, so good. All the disparate moving parts of Operation War Dove were able to adapt to any difficulties that came up through flexible and experienced leadership who knew to keep their eye on the prize. The final piece of the puzzle was the disabling of the Jovian surveillance. Corig Sic, a Ganymedean information scientist who had worked for the Jovian Defense Guard since before the Catamite wars, had manuevered to get himself stationed on the Jovian SWACS Ship near Galileo.
A couple irregularities in Corig's behavior had been noticed by his superior. When a request to fetch some forgotten notes from the Security Wing came in on the same day as the attack on the station, his superior confiscated his screens and placed him under room arrest.
Aboard the space terminal, Errata Sic noticed the signals were still being jammed, which meant the surveillance and tracking systems remained intact. They reported to Commander Volt, who gave Lexi Lazarus the all clear to lead his Wing up into orbit and shut the surveillance down his way.

Errata had long had a complicated relationship with his older brother. Corig was undeniably the favourite of their father, a young prodigy who had excelled from a young age. Errata's own path had been a slow and winding one, with more dead ends than he liked to think about. Corig had only ever been supportive, but the two brothers were, to put it lightly, estranged.
On the day of Operation War Dove, he received the first communication from his brother for over a decade.

I forgive you.

— seen 14:30

The text arrived just seconds before the SWACS exploded.

Operation War Dove: Results

The success of Operation War Dove enabled the Independence Movement to conduct a highly successful public relations operation via Anstazia Halcyon, helping turn the tide of public opinion -- particularly on Jupiter -- in the favor of the Ganymedeans. Additionally, the successful incursion into Galileo station, coupled with the defeat of the Trosian Guard by Lambda Wing and subsequent loss of a valuable SWACS asset undermined the image of Jovian space superiority and impacted Orbital Guard morale. The high casualties, including the first reported deaths of Jovian civilians and scientists as well as the scores of deaths on the Ganymedean side are likely to have contributed to the loss of appetite on both sides for continuing the conflict.
After the war, many public figures condemned Operation War Dove for endangering and killing many civilians. Those defending the operation generally argue that the only alternative was to lie down and accept death and cultural hegemony by Jupiter. The topic remains controversial, particularly due to the recent declassification of related documents.

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History Catamite Wars ( Operation War Dove ) Locations Planetside ( Labyrinthe ) · Ganymede Species Aviasaurs ( Aquila · Pavo · Stryx ) Society Humanoids ( Minos · Human ) · Traditions ( Universal New Years Eve ) · Organizations ( Jovian Senate · Triune Temple · Jovian Orbital Guard · Kallisti Aerospace · Jupiter Stella · Magnomight Systems )

Included under Conflict

Catamite Wars

Location

Ganymede

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