THE HAMBURG INCIDENT
SYSTEM STATUS: ONLINE // CLEARANCE LEVEL: COMMAND TRANSMISSION ID: OTB-LORE-1986-02 SUBJECT: THE HAMBURG INCIDENT
Welcome back to the command tent. In our opening briefing, we established the alternate 1987 reality of On the Brink. Today, we pull back the curtain on the exact flashpoint that turned the Cold War hot: The Hamburg Incident.
Amidst the chaos of a military coup and the unintended trigger of the automated Perimeter system, one remote silo failed to receive the abort broadcast.
Intercepted Terminal Transcript: The Final Sequence
“Sir, Turn your Key!” the Commissar screams and draws his weapon.
Klaxons fill the air and the rumble of an ICBM begins to come to life.
“We have lost all comms with Moscow, we must launch… it is our duty.” His side arm shakes as the Commissar loses his patience with his comrade. A body lays on the floor with a bullet hole in his head, the first soldier that failed to follow orders.
The officer holding his key in its socket shakes with fear….time slows down and the rumble begins to get louder as the missile begins its final launch preparation.
“Bang!” a gun shot rings our and the officer crumbles to the floor leaving his security key hanging in its socket.
“You!” The Commissar points his side arm to the nearest support technician.
“Turn that key on the count of three!” Reluctantly the technician grabs the key and nods.
“1…..2…..3”
Both keys click, the Klaxon stops and there is a brief moment of silence above the roar of the rocket.
In an unsuspecting part of the Soviet Union the concrete doors of a hidden missile silo open and within seconds a weapon of untold destruction rises from the ground, not since the 1940’s has such a destructive weapon been fired in anger.
Less than thirty minutes later a mushroom cloud appears where the German city of Hamburg once stood.
The Aftermath
The destruction of Hamburg shattered the European psyche and crossed a line that could never be un-crossed. Days later, NATO passed the historic Hamburg Resolution, condemning the use of nuclear weapons and officially declaring war on the Warsaw Pact. The old world order was dead in the radioactive ash, paving the way for the brutal, high-stakes tactical deployments fought on our tabletops today.
Next week, we open the technical manuals to examine the core mechanical engine driving our units into battle: The SKL 10 System.
END OF TRANSMISSION // PREPARE FOR DEPLOYMENT
