The Authority came into possession of Null-gravity Generator technology in 1896 and immediately began a program of NG airship construction. Several notable flight accidents led to the conclusion of the Research personnel involved that any NG-based vehicle should necessarily be capable of travel and navigation through the extreme limits of the Terrestrial atmosphere, and by extension the vacuum of space.
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Site-019
Lunar Logistics and Containment Facility
Overview
Established: Initially established 13 July, 1906, abandoned 2 December 1906. Reactivated 4 May 1926
Front Cover: None.
Location: Columbiad Mons, Shackleton Crater, 89.44°S 141.8°W, Luna
Codename: Fort Columbiad
Hex-code: [13]
Site Occupation: AEDF Terrestrial Fleet (TERFLT) support facility, Beta/Gamma-level research and containment, Lunar power generation
Division Jurisdiction: Containment (AEDF/U&IIB)
Total Area: Approx. 15000 m21
Facility Access: Regular personnel and cargo transfers to and from Site-019 and low Earth orbit are performed monthly with a variety of vessels as part of the Authority Lunar Return Shuttle (LRS) Program. The Site maintains four U&IIB Cargo/Heavy standard landing pads.
History: The Authority came into possession of Null-gravity Generator technology in 18962 and immediately began a program of NG airship construction. Several notable flight accidents led to the conclusion of the Research personnel involved that any NG-based vehicle should necessarily be capable of travel and navigation through the extreme limits of the Terrestrial atmosphere, and by extension the vacuum of space. A lunar voyage was first proposed in 1901, with the final vessel, AV Columbiad, constructed over the next 5 years.3
Captained by experienced Protection Division submariner Etienne Pontchartain, the Columbiad was launched from Willowmore, South Africa on the 10th of July, 1906, making landfall on the lunar South Pole 3 days later. The serendipitous discovery of a preexisting network of caves in the immediate vicinity led to the decision to establish a "fort" on the site. Crews used two adapted tethered diving suits and a caisson system to both enlarge and seal the cave system over several weeks. Unfortunately, the combination of worsening atmospheric conditions about ship, as well as NG poisoning4, led to the death of most of the Columbiad's crew by the middle of August. The three surviving members attempted to relaunch the vessel, putting it in a low Lunar orbit where it was recovered six years later.
Excerpt:
from a speech by V. Feuchtbrott, DHPS, to students of the AEDF Fleet AcademyYou are, of course, quite right to question- a moon landing in the early 1900s? How? With what resources?
When we talk of space missions, you will naturally think of Apollo or Soyuz- projects with thousands, tens of thousands of workers, and decades of time.
At its height, the Columbiad mission employed 60 people. It was funded, in large part, by one man- Aron de Rothschild, a lesser member of that fabulously wealthy family who is notorious for his long involvement in the anomalous world and subsequent erasure from conventional history.
De Rothschild embraced null-gravity in large part because it had such low overhead- NG needs no fuel save electricity. It needs no launch facilities. It is quiet, subtle. De Rothschild moved at a breakneck pace. No safety testing. Little training. What was learned was learned by trial and error. Most of the equipment on Columbiad was repurposed from deep-sea diving gear and submarine components.
Of those 60 workers on Columbiad, 49 were eventually killed by the long-term effects of null-gravity energy. The Columbiad was lost, of course. The project bankrupted De Rothschild, and he spent most of the rest of his life in and out of various asylums. He died in obscurity in 1913.
That is how we got to the moon. That is why we did not return for 20 years.
Fort Columbiad, which remained sealed but empty, was reopened and expanded by the crew of AV Cavor in the spring of 1926, re-designated Site-019, and expanded to its present size over the next 50 years. Budget shortfalls in the 1970s and 1980s led to the halting of expansion works on Site-019 which have yet to be restarted, leading to the presence of a substantial network of sealed and unoccupied tunnels.
Background Information: To avoid detection and to maximize stellar radiation protection, more than 95% of the Site's habitable volume is subterranean, with minimal surface access. All surface facilities are camouflaged with layers of regospackle5 and equipped with distributed cooling systems to keep the Site's surface temperatures comparable to surrounding Lunar surface.
Offices & Wings Section
- Lunar Logistics Control (LLC): Site-019 acts as the control center and coordination hub for the supply of electrical power to other Lunar sites, notably Sites ███, ███, ███ and 099. Site-019 also acts as a warehouse and transit facility for supplies transferred from Earth via LRS and subsequently distributed by local transport.
- Generator Wing: Site-019 operates 30 km2 of low-visibility solar panels, as well as two Type 6 Stellarators with a combined maximum power output of 4100 mW. More than 90% of this power output is diverted to other Lunar facilities as part of LLC.
- Department of Communications, Lunar Office (DEPCOMLUN): The Site-019 Maintenance team is charged with the maintenance and upkeep of Authority communications satellites and relays on the Lunar surface and in Lunar orbit.
- SoARn Laser Installation Control Facility: More commonly known as "Sauron", the Solar Ambient Reflection Weapon is an anti-asteroid laser defense system. Physically located more than ████ km away from Site-019, within [REDACTED] Crater, its primary control, targeting and power management systems are emplaced on Site-019 to minimize the risk of damage to the Installation also causing permanent damage to inhabited Lunar infrastructure.6
- Lunar Research and Containment Wing: This isolated section of the Site contains hardened Beta and Gamma-level containment and research facilities designed for use on entities which require low-gravity or continuous vacuum environments for safe containment. The Research Wing currently houses ██ RPC entities and █ Lesser Anomalous Objects.
- Habitation Wing: Contains living quarters, recreational facilities and hydroponic farms sufficient to maintain Site-019's complement of personnel. In emergencies, the Habitation Wing can be directly linked to several different backup offsite power, communications, water and air filtration facilities, enabling it to survive independently of the rest of the Site. For security reasons, Habitation Wing is the deepest of the sections of Site-019.
- AEDF Fleet Yard 019: This dock facility contains all the equipment needed for long-term maintenance and repair of AEDF vessels capable of Lunar landings. It also maintains a suite of 8 drone repair craft used for maintenance work on vessels which are incapable of unassisted landings.
Site Administration
Administrative Officials:
- Site Director: Gunther von Erbach
- Assistant Site Director: Melanie St. Clair
- Dir. of Anomaly Containment: Dr. Jagmeet K. Dasgupta
- Dir. of Site Security: Cmdr. Pierre-Marc Festhubert
- Dir. of Site Engineering & Maintenance: Dr. Orville W. Johnson
- Dir. of Research & Development: Acad. Valeri E. Yefremov
- Dir. of Personnel & Logistics: Beatrice Phạm
On-Site Personnel:
- Department Heads: 3
- Administrative Assistants: 6
- Medical Personnel: 25
- Research Personnel: 150
- Security Personnel: 200
- Maintenance Personnel: 300
- AEDF Fleet Crew: 48
Total: 7328
Garrisoned Mobile Specialized Teams
- MST Whiskey-7 "Space Force": Standard Orbital Operations Team of 24 members included as part of Site Security contingent.
Anomalies Contained
Note: As part of standard AEDF/U&IIB information security protocols, the full list of anomalies currently contained at Site-019 cannot be fully published.
- RPC-954-1 (Located 500m from Site-019)
- RPC-███9
- RPC-97210
- RPC-███11
- RPC-193-8
- RPC-[AWAITING CLASSIFICATION]
Vessels on Station
- AEDFS Olalla: Yakov Bryus-class Retrofit Torch Cruiser [LANDED]
- AEDFS Horizon: Thunderbird-class Multirole Spaceplane [TRANSFER ORBIT]
- AEDFS Mercury: Thunderbird-class Multirole Spaceplane [LANDED]
- ADEFS Excelsior: Zheng He-class Torch Cruiser [LANDED, FLEET DOCK 019]
- 5 x LRS Sluga: Unmanned cargo vessel [3 LANDED, 2 TRANSFER ORBIT]
- 8 x ORD Sahaayak': Unmanned repair drone [LANDED]
- 6 x STB Bullfrog: Short-ranged suborbital crew transfer bus [5 LANDED, 1 STATIONED SITE-099]