Sunday, 30 July 2017

RAF Intel Intercept 3145-372812-Alpha

(I found this report while reviewing the recent action on Shasta. It says a lot about Mu Galaxy’s morale issues that an adoptee would openly question a trueborn, bloodnamed superior. It's something that could be very useful in the days to come)


From: Star Captain Velkon Wolf
To: Star Colonel Kendra Tutuola

Subject: After action report

Star Colonel,

I cannot describe what happened as anything other than a crushing failure. We have lost valuable warriors and equipment, and gained nothing for it. The fault does not lie in those warriors or their equipment, however, but in the decisions that led us to that battle.

With our efforts so far to contain the Mercenaries having failed, I had determined that the best course of action was to try and consolidate my Trinary rather than let it continue to be destroyed piecemeal. However, our contacts within one of the uplands tribes had reported that mercenaries had begun large scale movement of equipment into a remote jungle location, and were returning with heavily loaded VTOLs.

Further human intelligence provided by one of our allied tribes suggested that they were conducting a large scale excavation at a previously unknown site. As per standing orders, we had to investigate the site as being a possible Star League storehouse, even though there is no evidence of there being one on the world.

Due to both losses and our ongoing equipment and person ell shortages, I pulled together an improvised over strength star (four BattleMechs, two IFVs and two points of Battle Armour) to investigate the site, as per orders. En-route we made fleeting contact with the mercenary VTOLs, but they broke off without engaging. We reached the ruins, only to find it apparently abandoned. While there were signs of recent excavations, there did not appear to be anyone on-site.

Instead it proved to be an ambush. A quartet of BattleMechs emerged from within the ruined buildings, supported by Battle Armour. While my star did boast superior numbers, they had heavier units and the benefit of more advanced designs (Including a Vulture Mk IV, presumably the same one that we had encountered before). Their early attacks severely damaged two of our BattleMechs and immobilised one of the IFVs, leaving us at a severe disadvantage.

We attempted to rally, but the enemy had outmanoeuvred us and were better able to concentrate their firepower. Their Battle Armour provided effective support by performing anti-mech attacks, while ours proved to be somewhat less effective. An attempt to isolate and disable the largest enemy ‘Mech, a Stalker (again likely the same one we had encountered before) failed, leaving it largely undamaged.

With two of our BattleMechs disabled and the Battle Armour force reduced to a single trooper, I requested hegira. There was no point to continuing the battle. We were yet to inflict significant damage on the enemy, and would likely have suffered further losses. The mercenaries granted our request, allowing us to collect our dead and wounded before leaving. That also left them to salvage my Orion, a Guillotine and a Main Gauche IFV. The complex, incidentally, proved to be a Star League era resort that had been abandoned and forgotten centuries ago, and would have held nothing of value whatsoever.

There was no reason for us to have fought that battle. It was an obvious trap from the outset, but your standing orders compelled us to investigate the site regardless. There is no Star League cache on Shasta. Nobody has found one in three and a half centuries, and your continued efforts to do such are only wasting time and resources that could be better spent anywhere else.


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