Recap / Raborn OFN Antarctic Administration

Antarctica Recap:
Index | Neuschwabenland | OFN Antarctic Administration | Argentine Antarctica

The United States made several expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th century, where Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd led the third American expedition through the United States Antarctic Service Expedition. Such efforts, including the planned Operation Highjump, would be temporarily canceled during and after the Second World War, with interest in the continent only renewed during the Scramble of Antarctica. As the Germans, Argentinians, and Chileans staked their claims, the United States jumped into action. Under Operation Deep Freeze, the United States consolidated the land claims of itself and the other OFN members into a single entity, taking it with a massive military force. Thus led to the creation of the OFN Antarctic Administration. It was first commanded by Admiral Byrd before he died in 1957, passing leadership to Admiral George Anderson Jr. and, currently, Vice Admiral William Raborn.

The OAA acts as a military base not just in Antarctica, but also in the Indian Ocean, used by the United States to project its military might abroad. William "Rip" Robertson is a CIA agent responsible for these operations, leading the Military Assistance Command, Antarctica, Studies and Observations Group (MACA-SOG). As numerous proxy wars break out across the world, Robertson and MACA-SOG will provide support for the OFN and contain the spread of fascism. The defensive side is managed by James R. Reedy, Raborn's second-in-command who is responsible for keeping Japanese and German boats out of OFN waters. Diplomatically, Herman Phleger is responsible for defending the OAA's current land claims, as he played a major role in the administration's creation in the first place.

While the OAA is overwhelmingly managed by Americans, it is also staffed by politicians from other OFN countries. The highest-ranking among them is Howard Beale, the representative of Australia who built a nuclear reactor, turning the OAA's McMurdo Station into one of their largest bases, perhaps the biggest in the whole continent. The third country managing the OAA is New Zealand and is represented by Edmund Hillary, a scientific man who protests Antarctica's current militarization in favor of peaceful exploration. They are later joined by Charles Seymour Wright, a legendary Canadian explorer who provides counsel to the OAA leadership.

Ostensibly, the OAA is managed in an equal partnership between the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. In practice, the United States are the ones directing everything in Antarctica, with the interests of Australia and New Zealand frequently ignored. Beale and Hillary are frustrated by the lack of respect, especially for the latter, who disapproves of the OAA's militarization at the expense of its scientific aims. The three countries vie for influence and must carefully build it up without creating too much division in the leadership. It is also imperative that the OAA not run out of legitimacy;. If they do, the OAA's territories will splinter and reorganize into the US Antarctic Region by Raborn, while the Australians form the Australian Antarctic Territory under Philip Law and the New Zealanders form the Ross Dependency under Hillary.

In the midst of the politicking, Raborn is secretly tasked by his superiors to develop new weapons, under the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Raborn already has an impressive record of using the PERT, launching a UGM-27 Polaris missile four years ahead of schedule and setting high expectations that he will deliver again. The contents of these experiments are highly confidential, with not even the design teams understanding the ultimate purpose of their tests. Raborn must keep his PERT work secret from his foreign allies too, lest he break their trust in him.

The OFN's polar activities also host a colorful cast of characters within their lower ranks. Kenneth Wahlman is an engineer responsible for managing McMurdos nuclear reactor and gets paranoid of its upkeep as it suffers multiple accidents; he lets go of his paranoia when he discovers that said errors were due to sabotage from his newest colleague, who is secretly an Ahnenerbe mole. There is also Lisa Jones, the first female researcher to be brought to Antarctica at the insistence of Hillary against Raborn's sexism, culminating in her leading the first all-women research team on the continent. Further, the OAA has a radio crew who make commentary on the world's foreign conflicts, from the Italo-Turkish War to the South African War. Outside of Antarctica is Edward Freeman, an African American soldier who works in Greenland to support his family financially and sent to build tunnels for the OFN's base, Camp Century. The project turns disastrous when the tunnels collapse, though Freeman is recognized as a hero when he accidentally pulls someone into an air pocket and saves his life. After recovery and a brief return home, Freeman accepts a reassignment to Antarctica when his younger sister is assaulted by KKK thugs and needs more money to pay her medical bills.

Life and politics bustle in McMurdo, which are interrupted when news of Hitler's death reaches Antarctica and its colonies fall into chaos. Neuschwabenland retreats into isolation, spawning an idea in Raborn's head. While most of the OFN is tied up fighting the African Reichskommissariats in the South African War, the OAA mobilizes for Operation Southern Cross, an invasion into Neuschwabenland to kick the Germans out of Antarctica for good. Preparations are made by the OFN and Raborn approaches Brazil and Uruguay for help. Both countries accept the offer, having past grievances with the Reich and seeking revenge. When the invasion starts, soldiers begin marching into German territory, witnessed from the perspective of an individual named Ryan Lush.

At first, the OFN troops are surprised to see most of the forward defenses abandoned, catching them offguard when they are attacked by German boobytraps, and their snow crawlers are disabled by snipers and anti-tank rockets. They quickly realize that the German strategy was to slow down and wear the OFN forces down before they inevitably marched down to their base in Schirmacher Station, in which they suffer more losses if they were more ill-prepared. Regardless, the OFN pushes forward and steals some territory from Neuschwabenland, but, as the casualties mount, everyone realizes the futility in fighting for a useless, frozen desert. Unwilling to commit more lives to a siege on Schirmacher, Raborn orders a retreat and regroup of his soldiers. Meanwhile, Brazil organizes their conquered territory under Brazilian Antarctica, led by Augusto Rademaker, as a pragmatic ally to the OFN.

In the aftermath, the tensions simmering within the OAA finally blow over. The Australians and New Zealanders are sick of playing second fiddle to the Americans, with their soldiers particularly envious that their American counterparts are given more accommodations than them. The fighting gets so bad that an American and Australian soldier are killed in a brawl, started when a racist Australian attacks an African American out of jealousy that he's paid less than a "negro". Dissatisfied with Raborn's handling of the OAA, potentially also because of his secrecy with the PERT, Beale and Hillary conspire to replace him. When Raborn convenes the leadership, the two confront him about their discontent and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Raborn agrees with them. After humbly stating that it was an honor working with them, Raborn agrees to step down and open the way for new blood.

Raborn's successor will depend on which country has the highest influence. If the United States is the most influential, Raborn will be replaced with another American, Hyman Rickover, who promises to keep the OAA militarized and maintain the status quo at the expense of Australia and New Zealand. If Australia wields more influence, Beale takes over the OAA and will keep its military programs, but now promise a more fair partnership among its members. The most radical change in leadership is if New Zealand has more influence and Hillary becomes the OAA's new leader. Criticizing the arms race and Cold War over Antarctica, Hillary will shift the OFN's focus back to scientific exploration and peaceful expeditions in the southern continent, even if this could compromise the alliance's pragmatic interests. As the old makes way for the new, the OAA enters a bold, new chapter in its history.

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This route provides examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Before being moved to Malaysia, CIA operative Grayson Lynch comments that he'll mildly miss his stay in Antarctica, where Robertson quips that it's because he's a "cold-hearted bastard". Lynch just grins in amusement at that comment.
• Always Night: In winter, Antarctica is stuck in perpetual night, with one soldier passing the time by drinking a cup of coffee and seeing the steam glisten in the dark.
• And There Was Much Rejoicing: Subverted. When Raborn announces the death of Hitler over the intercom, the attitude is not one of jubilation, but of reflection of what they've lost to the Nazis and how they can never undo Hitler's legacy. One soldier is initially happy about the news, but soon realizes that Hitler's death means he will never be prosecuted for his crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, Raborn is more focused on preparing an invasion into Neuschwabenland.
• An Arm and a Leg: If Operation Southern Cross' preparation was between 33-66%, Lush loses both of his legs when they attack the DGfP III base and a German fires a rocket at a snow crawler. At the infirmary, Reedy sends him back home to his family, since he can no longer fight.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Wahlman requires a toolbox to fix the nuclear reactor's gravel shield and its contamination of the drinking water and the newbie, Oliver, is tasked with delivering it, but he's tardy because he wandered around to find penguins. However, his connections to the Ahnenerbe shed new light to this event and indicate that he purposely delayed his delivery to sabotage the OFN.
• Bad Boss: Freeman's CO is a racist jerk who looks for any infraction or excuse to punish him, solely out of racism against black people. Escaping him is one of the main reasons why Freeman wants to be reassigned to Greenland.
• Bittersweet Ending:
  • Beale's takeover of the OAA is a middle-of-the-road between Rickover and Hillary in terms of sweetness. While there is a chance that the OAA will no longer be dominated by the United States, war over Antarctica is still a possibility, with Beale maintaining the militarization programs. However, one could make an argument that they are needed to defend the OAA from its neighbors and Beale is in a better position to realize his personal ambitions of a more nuclear future in Antarctica, building more reactors to make the continent more livable.
  • Ryan Lush's personal storyline ends on a bittersweet note, so long as the preparation isn't below 33%. If it's between 33-66%, Lush loses both of his legs, but he's still alive, something that Reedy calls a stroke of luck on its own, and will return home with his loved ones. If the preparation is higher than 66%, he comes out of the battle in one piece and sent back home when he recovers. In any case, his best friend is still dead from a German mine and Lush will always miss him, though Reedy comforts him in the latter scenario, affirming that he sacrificed his life so that his family could live the best possible life.
• Blatant Lies: When a major visits McMurdo, Raborn is suspicious to see his colleagues from the Department of Defense, Advanced Research Projects Agency and knows that there must be a bigger problem. The major denies any problem and lies that they're on a routine check-up on Project Iceman or checking out the scenery. Raborn doesn't believe him for a second.
• Christmas Episode: An event plays for the Christmas of 1963, with McMurdo being one of the few Antarctic stations to have a consistent schedule of happy holidays. They receive an endless stream of presents and gifts back home, and the atmosphere is even more cheerful with hopes that the OFN can take the Reich's empire apart, following Hitler's death. Raborn and Reedy share a glass of whisky, hoping that their planned invasion of Neuschwabenland will go smoothly.
• Cliffhanger: Hillary's takeover of the OAA is the most hopeful ending, presenting a possible end to the arms race by shifting focus towards science and exploration. However, it's also the least certain of the three endings, as Beale and Raborn doubt his chances of succeeding without compromising OFN interests. Hillary is aware of such doubts and is determined to prove them wrong, though whether he succeeds has yet to be unveiled.
• Commonality Connection: Guarding the border after Operation Southern Cross, two soldiers become acquainted over their shared desire to feel the summer heat again and their jealousy that the Americans soldiers are off in the field kitchen, enjoying better hand warmers, food, and tents than they are.
• Developer's Foresight: The reveal of the PERT's work will affect the post-Operation Southern Cross event chain. Normally, Beale and Hillary will conspire to replace Raborn on account of a man being shot dead over a drunken argument, which tells them that their American cooperation is unbalanced against them. If the PERT was revealed, they cite that as a second reason for why they should replace Raborn.
• Distinction Without a Difference: A CIA operative arrests and interrogates an Australian soldier for stealing supplies that have gone missing in his sector, ignoring his retort that many things go missing in Antarctica. Whenever the soldier reacts with outrage, the CIA officer says that he's not accusing him of anything, just "asking questions".
• The Dog Bites Back: After years of being sidelined and disrespected by the Americans, the Australians fully make their discontent known in an open protest in an airstrip, while American soldiers are flying to Australia for a break.
• Downer Ending: Downplayed if the Americans' influence is highest and Rickover controls the OAA. Nothing inherently awful happens, but it's the most disappointing ending for the OAA because it represents a continuation of the flaws in Raborn's administration: the encroaching militarization and the United States' sidelining of Australia and New Zealand.
• Elaborate Underground Base: Freeman is stationed in Camp Century, which only has rows of small huts and buildings on the surface. It's much larger underground, with a massive tunnel system that he's tasked with expanding.
• Enemy Mine: Contrary to the Herrerists' opposition to getting involved in foreign wars, the Uruguayans consider an offer by the OAA to invade Neuschwabenland while Germany is distracted by civil war. The Nazis have long meddled in their elections and they want payback, with the OFN sweetening the deal with a research cooperative allowing Uruguay to man Antarctic outposts.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Wahlman is shocked and betrayed that Oliver is the mole who's been sabotaging McMurdo's nuclear reactor.
• Everyone Has Standards: When a racist Australian soldier picks a fight with an African American, a full blown brawl breaks out in McMurdo over the two countries' rivalries. However, everyone is horrified when they realize their fighting got two soldiers killed and McMurdo Station stays silent for the rest of the day.
• Foreshadowing: Oliver is remarkably slow to bring Wahlman his toolset to fix the reactor's gravel shield, using a lame excuse that he was watching the penguins. The real reason why he delayed the delivery is far more sinister; he's an Ahnenerbe spy who's been tampering with the reactor to get everyone killed.
• From Bad to Worse: As two OFN officers are redeployed from Greenland to Antarctica, one of them comments how their former station, already pretty desolate, will be like paradise compared to their new assignment, a fact resign themselves to.
• Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: Outraged by being accused of treason, an Australian soldier asks his CIA interrogator if this session is authorized by any country's leadership. The CIA officer hesitates at this question, so the Australian doesn't believe him when he says the "proper authorities" are aware.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ryan Lush and Chris Bird are two OFN soldiers who are best friends with each other. When Bird dies in Operation Southern Cross, Lush vows to avenge his death and, if the preparation was higher than 66%, he thinks that Bird would've been happy to meet his family back home.
• History Repeats: Invoked when the disgruntled Australian soldiers and commanders organize a protest outside an airstrip where the Americans will leave for Australia, attempting to echo the Brisbane riot in November 1942 and communicating their discontent of the Americans stealing their alcohol and women.
• Hope Spot: When the tunnel system of Camp Century collapses, Freeman and his comrades are called to make emergency repairs and they seem to do a good enough job. Unfortunately, the feeling of victory is interrupted by the sound of cracks in the ceiling, which collapses on them as they try to flee in a panic.
• Hopeless Suitor: A few men in McMurdo talk to Jones, but only because they want to flirt with her. Jones immediately shuts down any conversation headed down that route.
• I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: In a rare moment of solidarity, the OAA command staff have a widely agreeable plan on reinforcing their supply lines to Australia, since the winter season is winding down. Raborn pours a bottle of champagne to toast their success and mutual understanding.
• In Spite of a Nail: No matter Operation Southern Cross' preparation level, the battle with the Germans begins with Lush feeling a bullet fly past his cheek.
• Innocently Insensitive: When Edward meets the recruitment office for reassignment to Antarctica, the officer expresses some concern that a person of his "origin" could handle the cold. The comment is genuinely well-intentioned, but the racist undertones are still heavy.
• It's Probably Nothing: Wahlman takes a break from monitoring the nuclear reactor and goes on vacation in Tasmania, but he can't stop thinking about the reactor and wondering if the crew is managing it properly. Eventually, Wahlman calms down from a sip of lemonade and forgets about his worries. Unfortunately, he turns out to be right; a leak caused some crew members to be contaminated with radiation and vacated from the reactor.
• The Infiltration: Operation Sequence is conducted by MACA-SOG to infiltrate the Japanese's ranks with Japanese-American soldiers. Many of them are fluent in Japanese and are so convincing in the role that Robserton is warned that they shouldn't be seen by the American soldiers, lest they have "Americans shooting Americans".
• It's Quiet… Too Quiet: When Operation Southern Cross is carried out, Lush sees that the Germans have abandoned their defensive lines and thinks it's ominously quiet, as if the Germans expected an attack and have a trap ready. His thoughts are proven right when one of his friends gets half his face blown up by a mine.
• Karma Houdini: Some Ku Klux Klan members attack a civil rights protest that Anais participated in, viciously assaulting her to the point of unconsciousness. The worst part is that they face no repercussions for this, with the police unable to track them down and the newspapers unwilling to report the story on their headlines.
• Language Barrier: When a group of Wehrmacht personnel defect to their territory, an OFN sergeant is brought over to communicate with them, since he knows a little German.
• Locked Out of the Loop:
  • When Raborn reports German nuclear testing in Antarctica, his superiors send him more material to construct more infrastructure and defensive networks. However, Raborn finds the list of supplies to be odd, as they've sent far more material than they would need to, as well as a dozen doctors who aren't specialized in hard labor. Raborn knows that his superiors have greater plans than just some infrastructure, but is kept ignorant for an unknown reason.
  • The United States orders an expansion of McMurdo's habitats without consulting Wright or Hillary over the matter, annoying the two of how little consideration they give to their allies.
  • Freeman and the other soldiers in Camp Century are instructed to build tunnels without any clue as to their true purpose. This leads to a wild theorizing session among them, with ideas ranging from a new colony to a nuclear bunker.
• Lower-Deck Episode:
  • An event chain follows an OFN crew management of McMurdo's nuclear reactor from the perspective of Kenneth Wahlman, chronicling his growing paranoia and investigation into an arsonist.
  • Another event chain follows the perspective of Lois Jones, the first female scientist to be brought to Antarctica. She works with a team of geologists to conduct scientific work, at the behest of Hillary.
  • In Greenland, the OFN's Arctic expeditions are seen from the perspective of Edward Freeman, an African American soldier working to pay his mother's bills.
• Malicious Misnaming: The prickly nuclear reactor powering McMurdo is mockingly nicknamed "Nukey Poo".
• Meaningless Meaningful Words: When intra-OFN conflicts break out in McMurdo and a brawl kills two soldiers, Raborn receivers a long-winded letter from an anonymous politician. He tells Reborn to address the tensions without compromising American interests and promises a reevaluation of the OAA in the future, with Raborn truncating the letter's message to "Get with the fucking program!"
• Meet the New Boss: Upon discussion to replace Raborn, Beale proposes getting an Australian in charge of the OAA so that its constituents are given more autonomy, but the base's purpose can remain the same. Hillary strongly opposes the idea because the new leadership will not change the OAA's slide into militarization; he proposes a more fundamental restructuring by focusing on science instead.
• Mexican Standoff: When a group of Wehrmacht defectors are taken in by the OFN, a second, larger wave arrives at the border, but they're quickly held at gunpoint by soldiers from Neuschwabenland and they start a standoff with the OFN soldiers who will be caught in the crossfire. It's an uneasy situation that requires the command staff to address.
• Misplaced Retribution: One Australian soldier grumbles about how the OAA is heavily favored towards the Americans, but he channels his frustration into racist tirades against the few African American soldiers who had nothing to do with the favoritism. He calls one of them an "upjumped monkey" and rants about being paid less than a "negro".
• Morality Pet: In an outpost camped in an abandoned German base, a New Zealand soldier breaks his jacket, earning him the sympathy of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers. He soon becomes the only one keeping the peace in his camp; when a minor supply issue delays a shipment of Canada Goose parkas, conflict nearly starts between the Americans and the rest of their allies, before the New Zealand soldier gets between them and barely averts a mutiny.
• Must Have Caffeine: A soldier on guard against the Japanese loves his coffee and wakes up one night to drink a cup. When he sees and scares some Japanese snowcrawlers with warning shots, the soldier goes back inside the station for a second round of coffee, thinking that he might seriously have fired upon them, if he didn't finish his first cup.
• My Girl Back Home: As Raborn prepares an invasion of Neuschwabenland after Hitler's death, an OFN soldier named Ryan Lush looks at a photo of his pregnant wife and kisses it, promising her and his unborn child that he'll return home safely. If the preparation level is greater than 66%, Lush survives with no life-crippling injuries, so he returns home to his wife and sees his baby in a crib.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When Oliver is caught and outed as an Ahnenerbe spy, Wahlman is mortified that he trusted a wretch like him and nearly got McMurdo destroyed through his naivety, questioning his own status as an experienced scientist.
• Necessarily Evil: When Neuschwabenland soldiers catch their defectors in the OFN, they demand the former to be returned so they can face punishment (read: execution) for their treason. Contrary to Hillary's pleas, Raborn can either oblige or leave the defectors on the ice without sending aid; he's not proud of turning them away, but deems it necessary to avoid a potential escalation with Germany.
• Oh, Crap!: Raborn's face goes white when he finds out the drinking water has been contaminated with tritium, a rare isotope of hydrogen and a byproduct of nuclear reactions, meaning that the crew could be irradiated.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Wahlman usually admonishes his junior colleague, Jeremy, for smoking in the nuclear reactor building, but while they're staking out for the saboteur, he accepts a cigarette to highlight his anxiousness.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Matthew Cho, one of the radio operators, is nice enough, but he also uses the slur "Japs" when describing how his parents fled Chongqing.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Operation Southern Cross is considered a success because the OAA pushed into Neuschwabenland territory and allowed Brazil to carve their own slice into the southern continent, gaining an ally to the OFN. Unfortunately, the high command knows that the Germans will come back, armed to the teeth, and so many OFN soldiers were killed in a pointless war for a useless, frozen land. As Reedy sees the wounded and body bags, he wonders to himself if the battle was even worth it.
• "Ray of Hope" Ending: The event chain featuring Edward Freeman ends on an uncertain note, with his family's debts still unresolved, especially after Anais was hospitalized and plunged the family with more bills. However, Edward is recognized by his superiors for his work in Camp Century and he's invited to a new job in McMurdo, which he's hopeful can provide the money needed to fix his family's troubles. For the first time in a while, Edward optimistically smiles and promises that he will never stop fighting for his loved ones.
• Revenge Before Reason: During Operation Southern Cross, Ryan Lush orders a difficult march into Neuschwabenland to avenge his friend's death by a German bomb. If the invasion preparation was below 33%, this has disastrous consequences when he brashly attacks a German trenchline head on, where the OFN soldiers are overwhelmed by the enemy's superior numbers and one German soldier taunts Lush for leading his men to their deaths. Before killing him, the soldier says that Lush can apologize to his comrades in hell.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon seeing one of his friends get killed by a German mine in Operation Southern Cross, Ryan Lush furiously orders everyone to "Make the bastards pay for this!"
• Saying Too Much: The PERT's confidentiality is strictly enforced, so it's major news when an airframe design team receives a memorandum telling them to design a vehicle with dimensions that match the launch silos and tunnels in Greenland. This information should have been redacted, so the CIA are quick to interrogate the team about this and preserve the secrecy of their work's purpose.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: A small personnel of Wehrmacht soldiers defect to the OFN because the factionalism in Germany is getting especially bad and they fear they'll be liquidated after Hitler's demise or, at least, don't want to continue serving their country with Hitler gone. Taking in the first group sparks an even greater wave of defectors.
• Stupid Crooks: An amateur arsonist, later revealed to be Oliver, in the reactor building was foolish enough to leave many clues proving that his fire was intentional instead of an accident. He piles all them flammable paper in a single corner and leaves behind some fuel stains that should've spread the manufactured electrical fire. These clues give Wahlman the hint that someone is tampering with the reactor, leading to Oliver's capture.
• Take a Third Option: When an expansion is made to McMurdo, Hillary and Beale get into an argument over whether the living space should be given to the New Zealand scientists or the Australian soldiers. However, there is a third option of evenly dividing the habitats between them, since arguing will just give the Americans more influence at the expense of their countries.
• Take This Job and Shove It: After weeks of laboring on the OAA's construction projects with terrible food and few breaks, two workers mutiny against their abusive captain and leave on a snowmobile.
• Throw the Dog a Bone:
  • Beale isn't fond of the cold, politics, and being away from his family, so he's not pleased when his break ends and he has to return to Antarctica. However, he does get some slack when he reaches his desk and discovers that someone left behind a plate of chocolate chip cookies for him, welcoming him back.
  • After receiving no respect from her colleagues for months, Jones feels hopeful again when some soldiers help her set up an observatory for her to stargaze, indicating she's beginning to integrate in their ranks.
• Victory Through Intimidation: When the Japanese encroach on the OFN's territory, Raborn's response is Operation Ice Castle, fortifying their outposts and setting up as many defenses to intimidate the enemy. When the Japanese snow crawlers show up again, an OFN soldier fires some warning shots to shoo them away.

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