Redstone Astronautics Corporation

Lifting humanity one anti-matter bomb at a time

"Redstone is exactly what we asked for when we raved on about profit margins for decades, they'll build you a home, send you to space, give you your own land to colonise... and then be the ones selling guns to the pirates that blow you to pieces, just because the computers told them it'd rake in the profits." - Unnamed Anarchist, 2246

Redstone Astronautics was one of the U7 corporations within the Pan-American Security Organisation, that dealt mostly in long distance space travel for new planet settlement, research and development of new weaponry and space travel technology, and private military and security contracts. They had subsidiary companies in many different sectors, such as insurance, banking, and telecommunications. At it's peak, the corporation had significant sway over the Pan-American government, and for a time, effectively functioned as operator of a significant portion of the American out of atmosphere military, due to it's ability to buy up rival companies. Redstone was either directly or indirectly involved in a number of different technological discoveries and political events, such as the research into Lower Space travel, the creation of anti-matter weaponry, involvement in the Solar System Scramble, and they helped cause the American Miscommunication war, which would eventually cause the dissolution of the company.

Structure

RAC had it's headquarters based in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, which functioned as a both a large manufactory and as central command for all their operations. They also had major offices in New York, San Diego, Mexico City, São Paulo, Manila, and Osaka, with smaller offices in most North/South American, Japanese, South Chinese and Thai cities.

They had major manufactories near the locations of space elevators, notably: Austin, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Uruguay, Wuhan, and the Bolivian salt flats. However, the largest manufacturing sector for Redstone was based on the Moon, due to the ease of getting ships and other large constructions into space.

Public Agenda

"Redstone Astronautics Corporation is dedicated to protecting the financial and national security of the Americas and it's allies in the Pacific. We look forward to working with you to build a better world, at home, and in space. Trust in us, and atom by atom, we will construct something greater." -Hannah Liu, Redstone CEO, 2285

Redstone's public perception began fairly well, with scholarship programs, and the promises of bringing humanity into the future, though suffered in the early 2100s due to the tarnished reputation of it's founder and CEO Milton Bailey. With the murder of Milton Bailey in 2134, the reputation of both Redstone and UFB hit an all time low, as people began to mistrust the big corporations and their questionable promises.

Over the course of 2 decades Redstone was able to recuperate most of it's influence and repair it's public image, focusing it's efforts on research of the newly discovered Lower Space, a separate dimension, that could potentially be used to greatly increase the speed of space travel.

"Last night the scientific and corporate world was shook, in a freak event, a lone gunman fired three bullets at Redstone CEO, Milton Bailey, fatally wounding him. AMS arrived on scene, but Bailey was dead by the time they arrived at the hospital.
Austin Police Department have referred the case to the FBI, who are now investigating the shooting.
Questions have been raised about possible corporate or ideological affiliations of the gunman, but the FBI haven't released a statement at this time."
- RCS news broadcast, 2134

After this time, the sentiment towards the corporation fluctuated during different periods, often they were met with a general distrust, but in times where jingoism and nationalistic fervour peaked, they were seen as the symbol of American military might. After the Latin American Liberation wars, Hispanic people in PASO began to view them as their corporate oppressors. However, decades later, after the events of the American Miscommunication war, they were subject to public outrage, and their offices and manufactories were the target of protest, which escalated to violence due to anger at the injustice.

Assets

Redstone Astronautics had a huge amount of assets at it's peak. Producing weapons for the American military, for it's own operations, and for private purchase. In the early 2300s, they had an arsenal of weapons, manpower, and militarised space vessels far greater in number than other companies, or even the official Pan-American military, who were mostly equipped with either Redstone or UFB weapons.

After the company's dissolution, most of their assets were either seized by other companies, became owned by the Pan-American government, or were quietly transferred to Blacksite-9.

"I feel for the damn Verinoxians, you know? The justice they get takes a decade, and when it comes, Redstone's execs, assets, and profits quietly vanish off into the galaxy..."
- Unknown, ANB 9 o'clock broadcast, 2357

One of Redstone's most widely produced assets was first designed in 2118. When the army were looking for a larger caliber rifle to counteract recent improvements in armour technology, Redstone was one of the companies chosen to design a new rifle. Their answer was the RM18 Battle Rifle, initially adopted as a DMR, chambered for 8.6x61mm, and later as a standard issue rifle with the RM18A2 variation. It's relatively no-nonsense, uncomplicated design lent itself to being easy to use and maintain, and the A2 variation improved the feed ramp and extractor which meant it very rarely jammed, even when it got dirty. Redstone very successfully marketed it as the weapon that would be on the frontier of PASO's settling of the galaxy, taking advantage of the current space craze due to the recent discovery of Lower Space.

Redstone's RM18A2, by Fraser Cross

History

2000's

Redstone Astronautics Corporation was founded in 2043, by entrepreneur, author, and amateur physicist and philosopher Milton Bailey. When the United States Space Command was absorbed into the Pan-American Strategic Command, the facilities at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, were deemed no longer necessary, and the location was leased to the newly founded Redstone Company, who were one of 13 companies contracted to develop a module that could provide long term habitation both on mars, and during space flight. After 9 years in development, Redstone Astronautics' Redspace Habitation Unit, was chosen due to it's low expected cost in comparison to other designs, though it could only provide habitation to 24 occupants, lower than most of the other designs. With the money gained from their surprise success, Redstone started a scheme providing scholarships for astrophysics and aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and offered prospective jobs to successful students. Over the years, this brought some of the top minds in America to work at Redstone for research and development. The expertise of this team would lead to them getting many more contracts from the Pan-American government during a period of time called the Solar System Scramble.

2100s

In 2116, Lower Space was discovered by the Europeans, a separate dimension, that with refinement, could be used to travel through space as if the distances were much shorter, cutting down travel time significantly, and making travel to other star systems possible. At first Redstone did not focus much of it's attention on Lower Space research, preferring to wait for the important breakthroughs to be made before focus their money on it. In 2134, Founder Milton Bailey was shot and killed by a lone gunman, sending the company's management into chaos. Though the official investigation was inconclusive, Redstone accused UFB of being behind the attack, starting an intense rivalry between the two companies. This caused skirmishes between them, and as a result Redstone was responsible for shooting a UFB troop carrier out of the sky over Tijuana, Mexico, which killed 3 civilians, and injured 14 others. This significantly damaged the public reputation of UFB and Redstone, and set them back significantly, though didn't result in much legal retribution.

"Look, all I'm saying is there is real people involved here, and my generation is too worried to say shit about what the Reds and UFB are up to, because they think that in 20 years, they'll be sat inside the NY needle, shitting bricks in their big job interview, and some executive is gonna pull up a recording from two decades ago where they talked trash about the corporation. The truth? Redstone, the U7, all of them, unless you can put $100 million at their doorstep, or threaten to take $100 million away, they don't care that much about you."
- Unnamed Anarchist, 2246

In an attempt to recuperate their public opinion, they restructured the way the corporation was run, and began focusing their research and development on Lower Space. In 2181, 3 years after the Soviets first performed Lower Space travel, Redstone achieved long distance Lower Space travel as well.

2200s

In the early 2200s, Redstone began selling places on habitation vessels travelling to different solar systems, in this early stage of star system colonisation there weren't many rules, and private companies such as Redstone would be competing with each other, the Europeans, and the Soviets, to claim and get people to new planets and satellites as fast as possible. Quickly, the 3 superpowers would agree that each new planet would have to be divided equally between each nation. In 2258, Redstone had it's big break that brought it to the height of it's power. Tensions between UFB and the Latin American areas within PASO boiled over. UFB's predecessor, United Fruit Co, had been contracted since the mid 1900s to perform coups on Latin American governments that strayed to far from PASO's ideals and those that tried to nationalise their industries.
After the Americas' governments were further integrated into PASO, UFB was tasked to oversee the continued cooperation of the Latin American regions, both on Earth and in space. Through the 2250s, UFB's mismanagement of the regions led all of the Latin Americans except from Brazil and Chile, to attempt to declare their independence from PASO in the Latin American Liberation wars. Because of this UFB lost favour with the Pan-American government, and the government asked Redstone to help the Military wrest control of the region, which they succeeded in doing, using their facilities in Bolivia as a base of operations.
Afterwards, UFB continued to provide weapons and manpower to the highest bidder, but they did not have the same influence over PASO's government, whereas Redstone was now considered the most powerful corporation in the U7.

2300s

In 2309, Redstone began the development of the PLANETCRACKER Project. Redstone took control, with PASO permission, of a star system that had been noted for having an above average number of moons, and named the system Blacksite-9. The corporation shipped over their best scientists and engineers, and would later send prison labour to the system when they were in need of greater manpower. There, they would begin construction of large scale particle accelerators, and would commence production of antimatter on a massive scale. Their goal was to create the most destructive device humanity had ever seen, a bomb with an antimatter warhead. The scientists working on the project believed, that under the right circumstances, the bomb would be powerful enough to blow through a planet's crust and bring the mantle to the surface. In 2334, the project was completed, and 2 smaller scale tests had been conducted, now they just needed to find somewhere to conduct a proper test...

Early drafts of a blueprint for the first Blacksite-9 antimatter bomb.

First Encounter with Intelligent Life

First Contact: Pan-American 43rd Habitation Group, operated by Redstone Astronautics Corporation, comprising of 5 vessels. The 43rd HG entered the Verinoxian system at approximately 19:00, 7/22/2347, and faced hostile contact, further circumstances unknown. No further messages relayed to PASC after this date.

First Communication: PASF Ostrom Science Vessel, Independent Contract. The vessel entered the Verinoxian system at 13:27, 9/12/2347. The debris of the 5 vessels of the 43rd Habitation Group, having sustained heavy damage, were located within 3 days 15 hrs. The Ostrom detected signs of intelligent life on the planet Verinox B.
A 27-man team led by a Dr Alfred J Armitage landed on the planet to attempt to make contact with the inhabitants. Communication was allegedly made 29 hrs after landing. PASF OAQ-113 & OX-12, operated by Redstone Astronautics Corporation, entered orbit with Verinox B 4 hrs later, and after 23 minutes orbital bombardment began. 14 members of Dr Armitage's team were able to escape and return to the Ostrom Science Vessel. Large parts of Verinox B were destroyed, and the loss of life was potentially in the billions.

On the 22nd of July, 2347, Redstone's 43rd Habitation Group, made up of 2 colony ships, a cargo ship, and 2 escorts, entered the system that would later be called Verinox. Due to how deep they were into outer space, their guard was down, and according to Redstone, they were indiscriminately destroyed by an unknown source without warning. After 3 weeks without contact, Redstone scrambled two squadrons of ships to ensure the safety of the convoy. OAQ-113 (Out of atmosphere electronic attack) was equipped with anti-anti air technology and communications disruption equipment. OX-12 (Out of atmosphere experimental) which was carrying an arsenal of bombs, 3 of which had an anti-matter payload. Just over 4 weeks later they arrived in the Verinoxian system, there they made contact with the Ostrom, a science vessel that was in orbit of Verinox B. They were briefed by the captain of the ship, who petitioned them not to open fire on the planet, due to the likelihood of it being inhabited by intelligent life, and because of the presence of a team led by an American scientist who were currently on the planet attempting to make contact with the aliens. The Ostrom's ground team was warned to evacuate due to the incoming fleet. Within 23 minutes of arriving into orbit of Verinox B, they launched the bomb with the largest anti-matter payload towards the biggest landmass they could see. The devastation was titanic.

"We are able to accurately predict the level of damage of the Blacksite-9 bomb. The crater will be about 40km in diameter; if the bomb were to drop in New York, you'd get first degree burns all the way in Texas. It would be so unbelievably powerful, and it would have a mushroom cloud so high, that the peak of the debris could reach escape velocity. Any debris that did not escape, would rain down to the ground all across the planet over the course of a couple weeks, shrouding it in a cloud of fire and rock. Where the goal is total annihilation, if the bomb were to be dropped at the thinnest areas of planetary crust, it would completely displace it and cause the mantle to come to the surface, causing a magma plume for about a million years, completely eradicating life on the planet. Otherwise, if you were far enough away from the bomb, on a different continent perhaps, the detonation would just cause a generally unpleasant experience."
- David Schulz, Chief Scientific Officer, speaking to the board, 2334

Disbandment

The Ostrom science vessel was joined by the survivors of Dr Armitage's ground team, and dropped into Lower Space, heading back to earth. Dr Armitage especially, who had claimed to have made contact with the aliens and been able to communicate in very simple way, was anxious to return as quickly as possible and tell the authorities what had happened. When they arrived back home they were met with suspicion, as they were not expected to return for another 2 years. It took Dr Armitage 8 months, but he was finally able to be put in contact with members of the Pan-American Strategic Command, after threatening to take the story to the news broadcaster ANB. After discussion, and 5 months of intelligence gathering by PASC, they decided that Redstone's executives would be arrested and publicly put on trial, a ceasefire established, and they would push for Redstone to be dissolved. Redstone Corporation was fined, but otherwise faced no legal punishment, though it's CEO and the Vice Admiral of OX-12 squadron were indicted with an approximation of 500 million counts of first-degree murder, along with 11 separate war crimes corresponding with the indiscriminate use of the bomb on a civilian populace. No trial ever took place, as the CEO shot himself in his own office, and the Vice Admiral was never found and arrested, as OX-12 squadron did not return and stopped making contact with Redstone. Redstone offices and manufactories were targeted by protest, riots and firebombing, as public opinion dropped to an all time low. 7 years later however, in a diplomatic mission, the Pan-American Government were able to make contact with the Verinoxians, finding that they were actually a collective of 2 different species, both from the same planet. The Verinoxians were outraged at the devastation, but also feared that the same could happen again if they did not cooperate. After long negotiation, PASO attempted to make amends by declaring that Redstone would be immediately dissolved, and their assets would be seized by the government. The Verinoxians were forced to work with humanity, but would hold a grudge against humans until the very end. Redstone decided it would not go down without a fight, given they were in control of a huge number of military assets, and now, multiple antimatter bombs. They threatened the Pan-American government that they would detonate small antimatter bombs on all major cities in the Americas, if they did not hand over complete governmental control to Redstone. They may have followed through with it too, but they were betrayed by their Chief Scientific Officer, who was overseeing the Blacksite-9 project, and refused to allow any antimatter weaponry to leave the system, as long as PASO left Blacksite-9 alone, with him as the new CEO. Redstone's militarised group splintered into different factions, with small scale conflicts taking place against the Pan-American Military to defend their equipment from being taken. These engagements to wipe out Redstone terrorist cells would last for the next two decades, before the fighting died down, with the estimated casualties around 23,500. Most of Redstone's manufactories and weaponry on/near earth were seized by the American government, and would slowly be sold off over the coming decades, and some assets were illegally captured by UFB and other smaller groups.
Privately, however, a number of Redstone's most important assets were moved to Blacksite-9, which started functioning as it's own private organisation, with David Schulz, the scientist credited for the invention of the antimatter bomb, as it's de facto leader...

CREDITS
Writing by Rayla Mee, Art by Rayla Mee unless otherwise specified.
Cover image generated by Midjourney AI.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED