The ongoing disagreements between the Republic of Liberty and the autonomous government of Planet Erie in the protectorate system of Pennsylvania have turned violent.

Following months of sporadic conflict between Liberty’s authorities and the local Zoner populace over the ongoing campaign against the Insurgency, violations of civil rights, and the alleged harboring of insurgents on Erie, predictions were proven correct as a joint Liberty Navy-LSF task force conducted a military operation to seize the planet.

Yesterday, May 27th, 830 A.S., the Liberty Navy’s Battleship Alma under the command of Vice Admiral Andrew A. Hamish led a battlegroup comprised of elements of the California Fleet and Liberty Security Force units in an operation against local resistance forces. Observers report that, upon entering Planet Erie’s orbit, the Alma and her escorts were met by a flotilla of both local and foreign Zoner vessels, including several transports refitted with military-grade weaponry and a rarely seen Zoner carrier, the EDC Pinnacle. Orders given by the Alma to disperse were disregarded, and the command was given to secure the planet’s orbit by force.

What ensued was a drawn out battle between the Libertonian task force and the Zoner militia. Witnesses report that a number of transports hauling military supplies attempted to break through the Alma’s blockade. Several were intercepted by Navy and LSF ships, however, several more succeeded in escaping the battle and disappeared into the Driftwood Ice Asteroid Field.

While the Zoners’ resistance force fought hard, the eventual destruction of the EDC Pinnacle by the Alma sealed the battle’s outcome. Surviving ships were overwhelmed and forced to either surrender or disperse, finally allowing the Libertonian forces to take control of planet Erie’s orbit.

Following Liberty’s victory in orbit, a Marine Corps force commenced a planetary landing operation, quickly occupying Erie’s capital of Lake City, several major starports, and other vital infrastructure across the planet. While there have been reports of sporadic armed resistance by local militias, the majority of Erie’s Zoner population resorted only to peaceful protests against the military’s seizure of the planet.

While previously neither Congress nor spokespersons for the Liberty Navy or LSF were willing to divulge plans for Pennsylvania’s future, experts had long predicted that the ongoing disagreements between the protectorate’s Zoner population and Liberty’s authorities would eventually turn violent and likely lead to an armed conflict over the system.

Whether the de facto annexation of Planet Erie will be followed by a formal incorporation of the planet into the Republic remains unclear. However, the seizure of the planet and an LSF spokesperson’s declaration of the military operation being a so-called peacekeeping mission vital to the upkeep of law and order is sure to fan the flames of outrage and unrest across Zoner communities within and around Liberty.

What exactly the future holds for the Pennsylvania system remains uncertain. Anonymous sources within the Liberty Navy report that patrols have thus far been unable to locate and apprehend the escaped blockade runners, indicating that the Zoner resistance force may have been able to regroup and resupply, hidden within the system’s many asteroid fields.