Red Hessians

The Red Hessians (Die Roten Hessen) are a large organised group comprised mostly of disillusioned miners and political dissidents (as well as anyone else who is out of favour with the Rheinland government), who are dedicated to the elimination of the corporations Daumann and Kruger, the takeover of the Dresden system, and eventually the Rheinland government itself. Nowadays the Red Hessians are composed of both idealists and simple pirates, and while many others criticise them for losing track of their goals, their movement carries on treading the fine line between piracy and political terrorism.

Synopsis
Red Hessians are the third largest unlawful group in Sirius, outnumbered only by the two warring Hispanian factions in the Omicron systems (Outcasts and Corsairs). They operate mostly in Rheinland and the Omega border and edge worlds, although raids sometimes take them as far as the Cambridge system in Bretonia. The group is known to attack corporate shipping all across Rheinland, looting and dealing in stolen goods as well as smuggling diamonds of all kinds to fund their extensive operations. Their large umbrella of influence almost completely encompasses the Dresden and Omega-11 systems, with roaming packs of raiders a frequent sight to any passers by. Dresden is expected to fall under complete Hessian control as soon as the corporate mining stations there finally run out of concentrated mining areas.

The most likely reason for their notoriety in the criminal underworld however would be their endless conflict with the Corsairs, notably manifested in the visibly split system of Omega-5. Divided into two sides, the no man's land in the middle is frequently host to savage battles between both factions.

History
Further information: History of Rheinland

The formation of the Hessian movement
The Red Hessians are recorded to have officially formed around the year 700 A.S. They originated from a disillusioned group of miners, which heavily disagreed with the result of the Popular Revolution of 672 A.S. and the lax treatment of Daumann and Kruger worker abuse. Despite the push by the Bundschuh opposition in the government to investigate any and all actions of the two companies during the last few years, the majority had decided to settle on ratifying a Workers' Rights Convention instead, and succeeded in simply placing reparations on the two companies in order to gain the support of the wealthy Rheinland industrialists in charge. Enraged at this decision, many Dresden miners abandoned their stations in an attempt to restart the revolution. With far less general support this time around however, they were eventually forced to leave their posts and retreat into the asteroid fields from which they would later stage attacks on transports in the area in an attempt to halt the diamond mining industry once again.

With the political fiasco of 700 A.S. which forced the Bundschuh movement back underground, the Red Hessians began their guerilla campaign of widespread raids on corporate shipping, albeit with a more pragmatic approach, taking the goal of building up their own power base and facilities in Dresden to heart. With the number of disillusioned individuals in Rheinland rising every day, their ranks quickly swelled from a small group of vigilantes into an extensive rebellion controlling the majority of Dresden space.

Expansion
In an effort to secure more ground, expansion soon followed. Conducting their usual recon of Dresden, Red Hessian patrols stumbled upon a jump hole linking Dresden to Omega-11 around the year 709 A.S. It didn't take long for raiders to pour into the Daumann exploited system. The unprepared Daumann shippers were taken completely by surprise, with rumours following that the Hessians managed to shut down the diamond shipping from Omega-11 for a full month, before Daumann security gathered enough forces to push the rebels out of the trade route.

Construction of new bases soon followed. By 712 A.S. Freital base was in full operation, and attracting many people to it with the prospect of quick wealth and hard retribution. With the discovery of the Omega-5 system, first contact with the Corsairs was established. Neither of the factions cared much about the other, until Hessians started to converge on Corsair raiding grounds in Omega-7 and Omega-3.

The Trenches of Omega-5
The first recorded conflict between Hessian and Corsair ships occurred in the year 731 A.S. The Hessian raiders participating in the event had reported the fight had been initiated over the contents of their cargo holds, which were liberated from a Bretonian diamond transport in Omega-3. Many other minor fights over stolen goods were reported during the next five years, although no outstanding military action was taken by either side. This state of passive hostility was a prelude to the beginning of the actual war which would begin in earnest in nine years.

At the start of the year 740 A.S. a large Corsair fleet moved into Omega-5 from their Leon base in Omega-41, quickly advancing to Ronneburg where the first battle took place with the Hessians surprised and pressed into a desperate defence. The initial Corsair assault was mostly unsuccessful however, though the attackers preserved their initiative for a prolonged period. A large Hessian force managed to gather and defeat the Corsair advance during the final siege of Ronneburg however, and pushed them back towards the centre of the system.

This successful Hessian defence marked the start of the long stalemate, where for the next seventy years large forces from both sides would engage in a string of battles that would ultimately obliterate the central area of the system inbetween the Hessian and Corsair bases. That area, eventually cleared of most asteroids and littered with wreckage, would become known as the Hammen Hole.

The Casablanca Campaign
In the year 811 A.S. an intermittent jump hole on the Hessian side of Omega-5 stabilized itself, and opened a way to a system designated as Omega-47. The system itself was discovered by the Corsairs only a few months before, and as such had not seen any major force occupying it yet. The Corsairs, complacent in the unreachability of the system and well in the process of constructing a base as well as scoping a potential planet to settle, were taken completely by surprise by the first enemy raiders pouring in from the northern nebula fragment. The Hessians, recognizing a golden opportunity, quickly massed an assault force and attacked Omega-47 before the defenders could reinforce themselves. After a period of brief fighting over the surface of planet Tangier, the attackers breached the front line and pushed the Corsairs all the way back to their Casablanca base where the final fight occurred, culminating in a troop transport managing to breach the bases' docking bay and unloading a large boarding crew which successfully captured the station.

Although the Corsairs organized a swift counter attack soon afterwards, they were unable to mount a force of sufficient strength to counter the superior Hessian numbers in the Omega-47 system without pulling forces from Omega-5. The attack was undertaken regardless, and the Corsair battlegroup was soon mired half way across the system by a successful Hessian defence which used the large distances between jump holes to their advantage. With the offensive attaining little progress, the Corsairs changed their plan. They pulled their forces back to the eastern nebula fragment stationing the battleship Fes at the jump hole to prevent that flank from collapsing, and assuming a defensive stance. The majority of the withdrawn forces were then transferred to the Omega-5 flank in order to put more pressure on the Hessians from that direction. The plan was successful, and a lot of the Omega-47 defenders were rallied back to Omega-5, though leaving both forces incapable of making any decisive moves in the Omega-47 system. The Hessian defence, although still strong and comprised of seasoned veterans, would now be full of holes -- allowing Corsair ships to slip through to the Zoner system of Omega-49, and from there to Dublin to raid and pillage the gold mining business. The Omega-47 system would from that point on be the site of frequent small skirmishes between passing forces at best, with not much real meaning to the actual Hessian - Corsair war.

In early 819 A.S. the Corsair elders had had enough. Mustering a larger number of warships and fighters from the Crete defence fleet itself, they drove a surprise push into Hessian lines and retook it once again. After years of fighting Casablanca base is hardly usable as anything but a war outpost. Heavy fighting still occurs in orbit of Rabat, as the Corsairs fortify the base in anticipation of a Red Hessian counter attack.

New allies and enemies
The Nomad War (800-801 A.S.), although crippling for Rheinland, did not impact the Red Hessians much as the bulk of their forces was still engaged on the Omega-5 front, while the infested Rheinland Military ignored the lesser attacks in Dresden and diverted its forces from the homeland to their war with Kusari. After the destruction of the Dyson sphere base and the subsequent rout of the infested Rheinland forces in Kusari, the Hessians had a major role in further weakening the escaping remnants of the Nomad controlled fleet after their defeat at the hands of the legitimate Rheinland Military. Even despite the pursuit however, different parts of the infested fleet managed to escape deep into the uncharted Omega systems.

At the start of 813 A.S. a new enemy rose for the Hessians in their own homeland. The Unioners, having established relations with the Corsairs under a new leadership, have begun attacking Hessian forces all across Rheinland in a slew of small, disorganized strikes. This conflict brought about the disruption of the diamond smuggling ring from Rheinland to Liberty (long including the Unioners as its vital part), thus breaking a massive source of funding for the Red Hessians -- something that the Corsairs were opting for. The closing down of this smuggling route however had consequences not just for the Hessians, but also the Unioners themselves, as well as the Liberty Rogues. All of these factions reaped the profits from the trade for as long as it lasted. With credit reserves and resources running out for the Unioners, the attacks on Hessians soon stopped, and the Unioner leadership was replaced (purportedly due to a successful assassination by the Liberty Rogues). Both factions returned to a status of neutrality after but one year in 814 A.S.

In 814 A.S. the widespread Outcast diplomatic mission against their Corsair enemies reaches Rheinland. Whilst all the other unlawful factions deny any agreements, the Hessians are willing to listen to the envoys, and see if the Outcasts can offer them a new edge in the war in the Omega systems. The negotiations, while lengthy, eventually settle the former hostility versus the Hessians and the Maltans with a shaky alliance. The Outcasts reluctantly agree to keep their Cardamine and raids out of Rheinland, while supplying the Hessians with new weapons, ships and designs. The Hessians in turn will attempt to hit the Corsairs even harder in a subsequent push to Omega-15 and Omega-41. The short lived alliance would end after only two years, after the Red Hessians uncovered evidence of Outcast manipulators within their own ranks, and quickly disposed of them.

Present day
In today's Sirius, the forces of the Red Hessians are respected as the third largest unlawful faction in the sector, pressing the Corsairs into a defensive stance in Omega-5 while still maintaining a large share of power in the Rheinland underground. Between their systematic spread into Bretonia and their almost total control of Dresden, the Hessians maintain their status as a force to be reckoned with, while still growing exponentially due to the amount of recruits they receive.

Common ships
The Red Hessian faction is known for its extensive usage of the Border Worlds ship line of fighter craft. In addition to that, there is a line of ships produced specifically by them:

Known Bases

 * Vogtland Base, Dresden
 * Freital Base, Omega-11
 * Ronneburg Base, Omega-5
 * Casablanca Base, Omega-47
 * Viernheim Base, Omega-47