Lindon Ashley

Lindon Ashley
Personal
Born	3032
Died	26 February 3076
Affiliation	Democracy Now
Profile
Position(s)	Leader of Democracy Now

Lindon Ashley was the leader of Democracy Now from 3067 to 3075.

History

He was a member of Democracy Now when Tharkad was occupied and Skye going its own way, many Lyran Commonwealth worlds were left to fend for themselves. In some places, pro-democracy movements began and led to violent insurrection. Democracy Now, led by Kalvin Strauss advocated for true democracy in Alarion beginning in 3071, after Alarion was devastated by the Blakists. The organization was headquartered on Novara. A faction of Democracy Now led by Lindon Ashley turned violent in March, when the organization led an open rebellion on Enzesfled. The nobles on Enzesfled put out an urgent call for help, to which the planetary guard on Kaumberg responded. Even as the Kaumberg Planetary Guard landed in May, Batajnica and Calafell were beset by revolts, with more systems falling under unrest into the summer. On 21 December, assassins killed Kalvin Strauss, though an attack on Lindon Ashley failed. Ashley returned in March 3072 to take up the reins of Democracy Now on Novara. In May, Ashley called for the secession of Alarion Province from the Lyran Alliance, then publicly contracted Eriksson's Einherjar as his private army in June.

Jihad - Expansion and Destruction

Calafell

During the Jihad, the Democracy Now movement attempted to achieve the formation of a democratic state based around worlds in the Alarion Province of the Lyran Alliance. In March 3071, Democracy Now protestors stormed the palace of the planetary duke of the nearby world of Enzesfled, prompting the Enzesfled government to issue urgent pleas for assistance. The Kaumberg Planetary Guard mobilized in response; this mobilization caused militant Democracy Now movements on the worlds of Batajnica and Calafell to become increasingly confrontational, and when elements of the Kaumberg Planetary Guard landed on Enzesfled on the 25th of May full-fledged rioting broke out on both Batajnica and Calafell in protest. A few months later on the 21st of December, one of the two leaders of Democracy Now, Lindon Ashley, narrowly survived an assassination attempt on Calafell; the other leader of Democracy Now, Kalvin Strauss, wasn't as lucky. Strauss was assassinated during a rally on Novara on the same day the attempt was made on Ashley's life. Ashley returned in March 3072 to take up the reins of Democracy Now on Novara. In May, Ashley called for the secession of Alarion Province from the Lyran Alliance, then publicly contracted Eriksson's Einherjar as his private army in June.

Ferihegy

On the 4th of March 3075 agitators from Democracy Now bombed the Capital Arcology Complex on Ferihegy. The bombing killed more than five thousand people and resulted in a massive public backlash against the Democracy Now movement and its current leader, Lindon Ashley. The capital arcology, Ferihegy Primus, had a population of some 63,000 people before the bombing, sheltered within the self-contained ecology protected by a six-sided pyramid constructed from ferroglass plates mounted over a steel-alloy frame. Key to the protection of the arcology were the flex points, designed to allow the frame and attached plates to adjust to expansion and contraction caused by heating while keeping the toxic nitrogen-cyanide atmosphere of Ferihegy out at all times.

The Democracy Now terrorists detonated fourteen charges in a sequential series that shattered flex points along the south face of the arcology. The explosives had apparently been placed on the outside of the structure, based on the trajectory of the resulting blast fragments, and destroyed entire sections of the ferroglass as well as fracturing the southern face of the arcology in several places. The explosions did the most damage to the zones of the city responsible for aeroponics and yeast production, and the initial explosion killed three hundred people, mainly agricultural workers, those involved in food production and maintenance personnel. The explosions caused an emergency network of bulwarks and locks to seal off the heart of the city, but between four and a half and five thousand more perished from cyanide poisoning from the toxic atmosphere before the emergency measures succeeded in sealing off the remainder of the city. More damaging still to the viability of the ecology was the loss of the vital zones responsible for feeding the population, damage that would take years to repair.

Lindon Ashley released prerecorded messages on a number of worlds claiming that the attack would have been impossible in a state where the citizens were willing participants and supporters of the government, as such citizens would have fought to prevent the bombing; Ashley argued that the bombing had in fact only been possible because the citizens who witnessed the preparations for the bombing were so disenfranchised from the state that fatalism prevented them from interfering. However, casting doubt on this statement - a reiteration of many of the key points from previous speeches given by Ashley - was that the recording made no specific mention of Ferihegy or of explosions, suggesting that the message had been prepared in advance for use in the event of any major incident for which Democracy Now could claim credit.

Other Actions

• Democratic People's Army, a set of forces recruited by Lindon Ashley's Democracy Now raided Akfata.

• The same military branch attacked Vermezzo. In mid-February 3075 the DPA raided the planet and captured or killed not just the bulk of the three ruling families but also much of their supporting government staff.

Virtue

During the Jihad, the Democracy Now separatist movement agitated for a new democratic state to be formed based around areas of the Alarion Province of the Lyran Alliance. The Democracy Now movement gained momentum in 3071, and in August that year Virtue experienced pro–Democracy Now demonstrations. After the defeat of the Democratic People's Army on Novara, the leader of Democracy Now, Lindon Ashley, dropped out of sight. Ashley reappeared on Virtue on the 15th of August 3074, rallying the Democracy Now movement once more. Despite having broken the Democratic People's Army on Novara, the Kaumberg Planetary Guard were slow to respond to Ashley's reappearance

The Kaumberg Archonette assaulted Virtue with a task force supported by hired mercenaries in late August 3075, aiming to remove the Democracy Now control over the planet. A two-week siege ended in early September with the surrender of the Democratic People's Army and Lindon Ashley was taken prisoner.

End

The leader of the Democracy Now movement, Lindon Ashley, was finally captured in 3075 after battles on a number of worlds, and Ashley and a number of his senior lieutenants were put on trial on Kaumberg in January 3076. Charged with crimes against the Lyran Alliance, the Kaumberg Archonette, and the people of both, Ashley and his lieutenants were found guilty on multiple counts in mid-February and sentenced to death. On the 26th of February Ashley and his five most senior lieutenants were executed by firing squad on Kaumberg. The trial and subsequent execution of Ashley were covered extensively by local media, and many people from planets as far away as Noisiel to witness the trial, with different factionalized groups nearly clashing in the streets and the Kaumberg Planetary Guard spent the entire period on the streets in riot gear, controlling crowds and preventing violence.

Bibliography

• Handbook: House Steiner
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3072
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3076
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents