Request for reinstatement and transfer

::Incoming transmission
::Sender: Lt. Willem Botha
::Callsign: CR|-Serpent[49th]

Ma'am,

I was in Gallia in a civilian capacity, recuperating from an injury that kept me out of the cockpit of my Nyx. It's not impossible to get in and out of Gallia as a civilian any more, and I took advantage of that. Within Gallia, as you know, there are still installations belonging to the Council, and I've paid for board and lodging there out of my own pocket.

I acted on my own, as a civilian citizen of the Republic.

Listening to the stories from Council pilots returning from battle as well as witnessing the Gallic Royal Navy in action first-hand, I've made a few observations that leads me to believe that we do stand a fighting chance.

In my humble view, and I am going to speak freely here as a fighter pilot, the Gallics have demonstrated not only great skill in combat, but also excellent leadership. Their commanding officers are often seen in fighters at the frontline, taking a hands-on approach to battle that allows them to quickly adapt to any situation. They are brutally efficient, and they favor fighters over heavier ships.

That can work to our advantage.

In a direct confrontation we are outpowered by the Gallic fleet, but if we strike at their patrols in fighter crafts and quickly retreat, or fall back on heavy support from the Bretonian Armed Forces and the Liberty Navy, we will be able to inflict little cuts that will turn into a gashing wound. The Gallics often leave their heavier ships out of combat to avoid friendly fire, and instead rely on skill and organization within their fighter wings - if we can match that skill and organization, we can defeat them in spite of their numbers and the strength of their full fleet. The Gallic fleet is a unified body, where we suffer from ineffective command structures and lack of cohesion accross the respective allied navies, and under those conditions, in a direct confrontation, victory is impossible.

I'm just a lieutenant, but if I was to have my way, we'd direct Sabah's resources away from the production of capital ships and into the production of Nyxes and investigate the possibility of a forward base of operation within Magellan or Cortez. On the battlefield, for every minute a targetted Nyx can dodge and stay operational, the pilot buys each of his wingmen a minute to gun down the Gallics on his tail, and that's one of the keys to the Gallic success: Every pilot puts his wingmen before himself, and each pilot uses the right ship and loadout for the task.

Ships with high survivability.

Let Liberty and Bretonia risk their capital ships, while we provide the backbone of the fighting force with the strongest fighter wing the Republic has ever seen!

-W. Botha

::End transmission