Libra

Libra was a space colony built by the Engineers with the intent to serve as a place of refuge for those wishing to escape the war-torn Earth's surface. Despite its apparently altruistic aims, the Libra project drew considerable criticism of ACC from the rest of the world and caused some internal contention as well upon its revelation in 2018. This was due to the fact that Libra's construction had been a secret project unknown to most of ACC and had been initiated at a time with the Human-Vannai War still going on and most of the world still left in ruins. Since its disappearance from Earth's orbit in late 2019, the Libra project is know commonly referenced as the single most prolific example of Tommy Wilder's wanton waste of humanity's resources at a critical time in its history. Compounding the scandal is the fact that many personal friends of Tommy Wilder were given positions of high privilege and authority on the project despite having nothing to actually do with its construction, management or administration.
==History==
Because of its secret status during the initial stages of its construction and especially due to loss of data on the subject following the ousting of the Engineers from Japan in 2019, many of the details regarding Libra's planning are unknown, and much conjecture is required to define the project's history.
Libra's construction is assumed to have begun some time in 2016, during which time ACC operations entered a lull period. In November 2017, Operation Bullet Hell opened up a portion of space after a team of ACC pilots managed to destroy several satellites of the VKN. With the way to space opened (albeit through a narrow window), the Engineers began to move forward with their plans for space development, laying down the Kilimanjaro Space Ramp in Tanzania, Africa in preparation for moving the pre-assembled parts into Earth's orbit. On 24 March 2018, the infamous announcement was made worldwide that ACC was beginning the last stage of creating a refuge for humanity in space, with televised footage of sections of Libra being moved into orbit (including some curious, possibly fake and certainly comical imagery of combined Suits using magnetic emitters to push and pull kilometer-long sections of hull from Earth into space). The announcement drew swift criticism of the ACC from the rest of the world, with accusations of everything from that the ACC was attempting to build a nation in space to insinuations that Libra was intended as an escape route for an ACC that decided the war against the Vannai was unwinnable. Questions abounded over the selection process for Libra's population, the criteria of which had been left vague and was criticized as too heavily favoring countries with Engineer installations that could actually be reached by a civilian populace. This criticism was left ignored by the ACC, and the selection criteria never clarified.
Three months later, Libra was considered over 75% complete and, now featuring an atmosphere, could begin taking on a crew and civilian population. A celebration event was held onboard the space colony, among them personal friends of Tommy Wilder, several other prominent members of ACC, and early immigrants to Libra. The traitor group known as "The Chosen" under the command of Leon Theodore used the celebration to launch an attack on the space station and attempt to seize control of it, beginning a series of events now referred to as the Libra Crisis. After a large battle both onboard and around Libra, the space station was reclaimed by ACC, and the Chosen vanquished.
Afterwards, under much tighter security, Libra's construction and taking on of migrants continued. In March 2019, ACC destroyed the VKN's Central Control Satellite, disabling the entire satellite network and opening the way to space fully. Before the CCS was destroyed, ACC Pilots recovered an unknown component from the satellite. The Engineers added the component to Libra's drive systems, and during testing of said systems in August 2019, the entire space station disappeared in a flash of light, along with the entirety of its onboard population of approximately 650k souls.
To date, Libra's ultimate fate remains a source of some speculation, but it is broadly agreed that the space station is certainly beyond recovery.
==Design==
Libra is an O'Neill "Island Three"-type cylinder 32 kilometers long and 4 kilometers in diameter. This is slightly smaller than the originally planned Island Three-type, which is 6.4 kilometers in diameter. Although O'Neill cylinders were intended to be built in pairs, no plans for a second colony were ever believed to have been drawn up. Without the natural gravity of another space station to counterbalance Libra's spin, constant adjustments needed to be maintained to keep the station correctly oriented towards the sun. The cylinder rotates on its long axis at about 1 rotation per minute to simulate gravity on the inside. One end of the colony faces the sun, with three massive panels reflecting sunlight into the colony's interior through quartz glass "sky" panels diving three "ground" panels landscaped for living. These reflective panels could be closed in case of exterior threat or, in the case of the Libra Crisis, to cause the interior of the station to fall into complete darkness.
Both ends of the space station had docking ports which rotated counter to the rest of the station, allowing them to maintain an apparently stationary position. Each port contains six docking bays arranged around the axis, with each bay containing six docks, themselves capable of accommodating three 300-meter long ships.
Zero-G industrial blocks are strung out along the axis between the docking ports and end caps, as well as on the exterior hull of the station itself. All agricultural and industrial functions take place in these exterior sections, allowing the entirety of the interior to be devoted to living space.
An unusual feature of Libra resulting from its piecemeal construction on Earth is the amount of hermetically sealed passages between each section. At Tommy's insistence, each 1km square section of Libra’s surface has both human-sized passages and 20 meter tall doors between them. 
==Announcement==
As ACNN news was talking about a recent bust of a criminal underground base in the Canadian tundra, a breaking news or national broadcast replaced all of the channels being watched that moment. The screen cuts to Tommy of The Engineers, Editi, and White Falcon standing before the entrance of the past-the-public section of the TE base. Tommy adjusts the lab coat he is wearing before addressing the camera.
“Citizens of AC, the world, and anyone else that is watching. I am proud to announce the first stage complete of the Libra project, and the launching of the colony to space. You heard me correctly, as to keep those that want to be separate to the war and its struggles, away from said problems. Now I am not a wordsmith like the those among us with silver tongues, so I will keep this brief. The colony will be the final bastion for those that want to live in peace from the problems and issues of the world. In but a moment, the launching of the parts to be assembled in space will commence, and the colony will be ready for the people who want to live in it and it’s promise. With this launch, humanity takes its final step into the stars to live among them, and to go armored against the darkness and emptiness that fills it.”
Tommy then grabs a bottle of wine offered by Editi and hands it to White, who looks concerned at a red button on a stand as the camera pans out. White then whispers to Tommy. “Can’t I just push the button?” To which he is replied with: “Of course not. Just do it.”
As White shrugs his shoulders, he hefts the wine bottle and smashes it against the button, which causes the screen to split into parts showing silos from the TE base, Mount Kilimanjaro, and other places in Japan to open and eject its contents into the sky. Either via rocket, suit assisted SSTO, or elaborate magnetic force emitter team pushes, the screens fill with parts lifting from the ground to the sky, and then to orbit. As the parts are then moved to enter close proximity, the elaborate act finalizes before the eyes of the views to show a massive debris field taking up the center of the camera. Sparks begin to fly about as welding teams start work to combine the parts.
The camera then returns to the three standing back at the launching area. Tommy then speaks again. “If you are interested in joining the colony emigration, then please head to your local The Engineer lab and sign up for the screening process.” He then takes a deep breath. “This is Tommy of The Engineers saying ‘Thank you for watching, and good luck.’”
Category:PACYOA: TE
Category:TE Technology
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