It's common knowledge that the forces of the "Liberty Insurgency" have been under heavy pressure from Liberty's armed forces in recent months, and their former stronghold of Vespucci has all but fallen to the Navy's assault from the Battleship Delaware and Carrier Ohio despite heavy losses on both sides. In the wake of this devastation, large numbers of former Insurgent combat personnel, support staff, and civilians who previously fled war-torn Bretonia as well as the core worlds of Liberty for the now-defunct Commonwealth have abandoned the failing rebel colonies for the relative political neutrality of Pennsylvania. It's unknown how many of these people have made the trek to Erie, but rumor puts it at several thousand.

While the Navy forces in the border worlds were tied up tangling with the Insurgent fleets, the government of the Republic did not stand idly by. An observational satellite, long suspected by independent observers to be an LSF spying platform, was deployed in Erie's outer orbit. The local Zoner population protested this move heavily, with many lodging formal complaints alleging the satellite's presence to be a violation of civil liberties and the autonomy guaranteed to Erie as an independent protectorate of Liberty. Regardless, Liberty's government remained mostly silent on the issue. However, recent events suggest that this silence will soon be broken.

Several hours ago, around 5:00 AM Erie time, a surface-to-orbit missile impacted the suspected spy satellite, utterly destroying it. The government has yet to issue a statement or confirm any concrete action despite the possible hazard to civilian navigation posed by the wreckage. Officials in Erie's capital of Lake City have strenuously denied any involvement in the attack, but at this time have refused any requests for further comment. Multiple Congressmen from Manhattan have called for a full investigation, with members of hawkish parties clamoring for harsh measures in response, but spokespersons from the Department of Defense have been tight-lipped; the Navy and the Security Force have refused to take interviews or make comments.

In the hours since the attack, many citizens of Erie, both established as well as recent arrivals, have launched neural net petitions to preserve Erie's sovereignty, imploring Liberty's government to respect the treaties long since signed with the inhabitants of the Pennsylvania system. Anonymous sources at West Point report increased LSF activity in New York, but whether this is a herald of things to come remains to be seen.