Historic Timeline in the BETAverse (Part 10)

Divergence Point and Timeline (Continued)

• 1998
  - July: BETA proceeding east from the @Chongqing Hive, Objective 16 make landfall in @Empire of Japan territory, beginning the BETA Invasion of Japan. Landing on the west coast of the Sea of Japan, beginning with Kitakyushu, in just one week they invade the Kyushu and Chuugoku, resulting in 36 million victims. The IJMDF Western Group is caught in-between the Kyuushu group and scattered landings of additional BETA groups on the western shores of Chugoku, and are annihilated in a strategic BETA pincer attack. Shikoku is later given up by the defending forces, as they had counted on the timely re-positioning of flanking reinforcements to annihilate the incoming BETA group there. A large part of the failure to repel the invasion is attributed to the super-sized typhoon that struck the region during the initial week of invasion, caused by climate changes as a result of BETA activities on mainland Asia/Eurasia; this prevented the deployment of naval forces in any significant capacity and contributed to the lack of response to the invasion.
  - The BETA advance is halted in central Honshu; the Defence of @Kyoto begins. A month-long defensive battle takes place, pitting the @Empire of Japan, @The United States of America (USA)'s garrison force, and @United Nations forces against the oncoming BETA just in front of Kyoto.
  - August 10: @Kyoto falls at the end of a fierce one-month long defense. The capital is moved from Kyoto to Tokyo.
  - The BETA group that had invaded the @Empire of Japan resurfaces around Sadogashima Island and begin the construction of the @Sadogashima Hive, Objective 21. By this time, 30%(36 million) of the Japanese population had been wiped out. Evacuation directives are issued for the Kinki and Tokai regions; a mass movement of 25 million people begins (a portion migrate to @Australia).
  - September: The in-depth analysis of data from Ikaros 1 is completed, confirming the existence of the AA-class exoplanet in the Bernard Star System. @The United States of America (USA)'s government increases their pressure on the @United Nations for the transition of the Alternative Plans to Alternative V; it was assumed that once support had been secured for Alt. V, the cycle of Hive assault with G-Bombs and G-Element acquisition to repeat the process would eventually give them a monopoly on G-Elements in Eurasia. At the same time, NASA and the ESA released a joint statement on the failure of the Daedalus Project, as contact with Ikaros 1 had ceased.
  - October: Even as BETA activity stagnates in the region of Nagato, @The United States of America (USA) armed forces unilaterally break the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, and withdraw all US forces stationed in Japan; the USA cited a frequent tendency of the @Empire of Japan's forces to disobey orders as the primary reason. The Imperial Japanese government had vehemently opposed the usage of G-bombs or nuclear weaponry on its territory, citing the decision as taken to avoid the additional loss of pilots in close-combat. @United Nations and Japanese leaders also recognized the treaty-breaking as part of the pressure exerted by the USA to support Alternative V.
  - @Alternative IV headquarters relocates to Sendai. Similar measures are carried out for the Hakuryou Base's 207th Training School; they are temporarily housed in the Nerima Garrison, before completing the shift to Sendai as well.
  - The BETA resume their eastward advance through @Empire of Japan, gaining complete control of West Kanto. The IJMDF retreats from Shizuoka to Yamanashi and Saitama to prepare to intercept the BETA advance, but the BETA group mysteriously changes direction just before reaching the imperial capital of Tokyo. The advance stagnates after passing south of the Izu peninsula, and becomes a stalemate at the Tama River. Round-the-clock culling operations continue. An offshoot BETA group gains control of Yokohama, and Hakuyrou Base is destroyed. (@Sumika Kagami and her childhood friend and next door neighbor, Takeru Shirogane, lived around this area and are presumed to be captured and experimented on within the confines of the eventually constructed Yokohama Hive. The Takeru Shirogane of this reality dies there, and Sumika is horrifically and invasively dissected while kept alive until she is not but a brain and nerve stem.)
  - Reconnaissance satellite intelligence confirms the construction of the Yokohama Hive, Objective 22 and its unprecedented rapid growth.
  - In light of the loss of West Kanto to the BETA and the construction of the Yokohama Hive, the @Empire of Japan government prepares to relocate from Tokyo to the secondary capital of Sendai.
  - @United Nations Joint Military Command decides on the basic strategy of enclosing the BETA on the Eurasian continent from the @Kamchatka Defense Line, @Sadogashima Defense Line, @Taiwanese Frontline, to the Philippines, to @African and @English Channel Defense Lines, creating a full encirclement envelope.
  - Dr. @Yuuko Kouzuki proposes, to the @United Nations, an operation to capture the Yokohama Hive, as the only way to obtain more G-Elements and achieve progress on @Alternative IV. Her proposal coincided with Imperial strategic thinking, having learned from Sadogashima, that the Hive should be taken as soon as possible while it was still in a developing stage. As a counter against the USA's increasing pressure to transit to Alternative V, approval for the operation is immediately given, and to avoid the influence of the USA in the operation, COSEAN is approached for force participation.
  - The Imperial Diet of the @Empire of Japan passes an amendment to further lower the draft age for women to 16 years old; the amendment was implemented on the same day.
  - Expansion work on the UN's @Yukon Base in Alaska is completed. The site is established as a test base for Project PROMINENCE.
  - The European ESFP is officially designated the @EF-2000 Typhoon; pre-production models are first delivered to testing units in the @United Kingdom.
  - France first deploys their independently-developed 3rd-generation Tactical Surface Fighter, the @Rafale.
  - The @F-22A Raptor EMD Phase2 begins operation in active service.

• 1999
  - The BETA begin construction of the @Olyokminsk Hive, Objective 23, and the @Khatanga Hive, Objective 24, in Soviet territory. At the same time, @The United States of America (USA)'s commitments to @Europe in anti-BETA operations during this period of renewed pressure on the Eastern Front by the BETA results in widespread civilian demonstrations against the USA.
  - August 5: Operation Lucifer, the greatest large-scale counteroffensive operation in @Asia, second only to Operation Palaiologos in the entirety of the BETA Wars, begins. The priority objectives are the destruction of the Yokohama Hive and the recovery of Honshu Island. The @United Nations deploys Special Task Force A-01 to secure G-Elements and keep a check on the like-minded US forces.
  - August 6: @The United States of America (USA), with little warning to allied forces, deploys two G-Bombs at the Yokohama Hive, eradicating the surface Hive structure and its surrounding BETA. This is the first successful Hive capture in human history. The remaining BETA begin their retreat towards mainland @Asia, suffering heavy losses from @United Nations, COSEAN TSF, and naval pursuit forces.
  - August 8: Operation Lucifer officially ends with the capture of the Yokohama Hive. Despite the victory, the G-Bomb deployment further intensifies anti-USA sentiment in the @Empire of Japan.
  - Debate over the dangers of the G-Bomb explodes in many countries. Having seen the overwhelming might of the G-bombs firsthand in Operation Lucifer, many Eurasian and some African nations erupt in debate over the threat. In contrast, with actual proof of their power, countries that originally supported the American plan begin to strongly advocate the use of G-bombs. Meanwhile, the Soviet and Eurasian nations refocus their efforts on the recapture of their original territory, and on Project PROMINENCE.