The operation took place yesterday, For the most part it began as a complete success. The information was correct and the Coalition/Hessian alliance where indeed escorting a transport through the Omega 50 area. But when we caught upto the ship, we found it was holding nothing.... It was a trap. At first the Archon thought it may have been a way to catch us off guard and that they had failed. The Reaper forces managed to take advantage of The Brotherhood showing up, In the end their trap failed in our eyes, until the end of the fight.
Puertollano got intouch with the Archon with a distress message it seems the Coalition and Hessians sent in a strike force into Omicron 81, it would seem they figured the location of our system from one of the Outcasts they captured during the initial attack. They where looking for the Nomad materials we procured from them, but they found something completely different.
They flew straight to Galicia and started scanning, it was a easy job for them. All of the Reapers main forces where out to take out the Transport.
They scanned Galicia and found the Reapers Nuclear armaments, As any strategist would they decided to open fire upon the base and destroy them.
The only information we have about the attack is from one of the Researchers onboard Galicia at that time... how he survived we do not know.
But this is what he had to say.
' Wrote:Doctor Emilio Franco was terribly bored. Galicia Research Station was near empty, utterly devoid of life. The vast majority of his Reaper family masters were far from home, in the Omegas, in some sort of mission against Coalition operatives or something. Even the defence wing had been called up for this hit, rumour had it that a very high priority target was going to go the way of the dodo tonight, perhaps enough to cripple their pinko enemies.
He had no more work to do, their nuclear warhead supply had reached the point where they were storing as much as possible for the next great push, so sat around, lounging in the observation deck alone, reading the occasional report that filtered through from Malta to keep himself occupied, whilst sipping at a small glass of hard liquor. It tasted like H-Fuel, but he hardly cared, he had had worse before.
There were some odd sightings in Omicron Alpha's nebulae by one of the roving destroyer patrols occasionally sent there to discourage Corsair and Bounty Hunter infiltrators. Apparently some unknown snubfighters had passed through their defensive net. Nothing unusual, really. That sort of crap happened more than the guards would like to admit, the rival families of competing Dons often engaging in cloak-and-dagger operations amongst themselves.
He sat back, and began to fall asleep, the occasional beep from the monitors providing a soothing lullaby for the young physicist. That was until they turned from the repetitive electronic rhythm that they held to the bass-filled proximity siren.
"?Ay, caramba!"
The boys were back already, dammit! He shook his head, slightly under the influence of the so-called liquor he'd been sipping. He better look busy, he thought, so set about doing so.
"Uh... Reapers Alpha One Dash One, please give a, uh, situation update, if you, er, don't mind?"
He got no response. It was probably due to his poor radio skills. He wasn't a bloody deck officer, why did he have to do this?! Did he have to do this, actually, surely this was somebody else's job, right?
He panicked and went to visuals, he had no idea of what else to do...
Strange. The automated defence turrets were locking on to the patrol... Probably a security measure, but best to check them out on scans anyway.
"Uh, Reapers Alpha One Dash One, we're scanning for abnormalities..."
Weird, they weren't requesting permission to dock, and... wait, why was this ship not reading as the Reaper-pattern Falcata? It was apparently of Hessian design, according to his databases, which automatically identified the vessel for him.
Not good.
"Activating defences!"
Too late, he could hear the alarms from down the corridors that were made when turrets were disabled. Damn! Damn!
He went back to the visuals, to get a better look, trying to see if he could manually aim the last of the turrets.
The hostile vessels buzzed across his screen insultingly. One flew Coalition colours, no surprise there. The other, strangely enough, was painted with a Red Hessian Army flag. Emilio pushed a series of buttons in blind panic, accidentally broadcasting the images to his lords and masters.
"Damn, I'm in trouble now..."
He frantically looked around, looking for any hint from the ambivalent, empty room, about what he should do next. He looked left, right, down, up... up, through the viewport, where he could see a Hessian ship slowly pull away as time slowed down...
Then only light.
Reports of casualty figures reached Reaper Command shortly thereafter, accompanied by Doctor Franco's broadcast images. Now, it was personal.
Lohingren orders all Reaper forces back to Omicron 81 to give out a announcement.
Lohingren: My friends, as you may already know our homeland of Omicron 81 was breached by enemy forces, and the vast majority of our Nuclear Armaments where destroyed. The only report we managed to get was from one of the Researchers on lookout during our operation in the Omega 50 system. The ships seemed to be of Hessian markings.
Originally i did not plan to kill the Hessians, for they are merely being tricked by the Coalition with words... But they have now done something unforgivable, The destruction of our Nuclear Weapons, and the deaths of many civilians on Galicia cannot go unpunished.
Though it is unfortunate that we must go into all out war with our once allies... They have struck us at the heart of our foundation, They shall pay.
The anticipation in the briefing room was so thick you could choke on it; regardless of the stone-faced gaze that all the pilots wore, carved from countless dogfights in the most unforgiving sectors of space, it would be naive to assume they couldn't feel the electricity in the air. Schiff sure as hell did, he felt like a walking Van-de-Graf generator. The small amphitheater-like briefing room was already filled to capacity, and the telometric holo-display situated at the front glowed softly. It wasn't even more than a minute before the Archon entered; the show was about to start.
"Reasoning with the Corsairs has failed," the Archon started,"after time and time again. We extended our hands in peace, offering them an exit, a solution, to this needless war. Every time we did, they swung their blades at them. There is no other recourse, it is time to give the Corsairs our final argument."
The holo-display sprang to life in that instant, a digital reconstruction of the Omicron Gamma system based off an amalgamation of sensor data gathered from prior forays into the Corsair territory.
"Skull Squadron and Devil Wing will initiate an assault into Omicron Gamma, mustering first within Theta. Target priorities within Gamma include capital-grade vessels, bombers, fighters, and interceptors; hold fire against installations. We want to ham-string their fleet capabilities directly, and send them a message."
The beauty lies in the simplicity, Schiff mused. Destroy their swords, their daggers, the very implements of war. No need to reduce the stations to rubble, it would just galvanize the Corsairs mindset even more.
The Archon continued: "It's estimated that the Corsairs will fully mobilize their forces within 5 to 10 minutes of first contact. This shouldn't be an issue even after they do." A grin crept up on the Archon's face; always gave Schiff the chills. "There is no operational time window for this attack; we will pull out only if all viable targets have been neutralized, the defensive forces have been pressed back to Crete orbit, or our fighting capabilities drop below 20%." With a quick scan from left to right, the Archon looked over every one in the briefing room.
"For Braillia."
The briefing room nearly quaked as a unanimous mass of pilots stood up and echoed the Archon's words.
"FOR BRALLIA!"
Within five minutes, the entire room was empty.
Schiff tapped away on the command console of his Series Z Sabre, each keystroke returning a small 'beep' as the fighter's operating system ran the pre-flight routines; the twin thermonuclear pulse turbines whined sharply and dimmed down in waves, and small bursts of energy blasted out from the vernier maneuvering motors along the edges of the flight frame. His attention was shaken for a second when a faint chime escaped from his helmet sitting on the edge of the cockpit monocoque. He slid it on and patched into the comm channel.
"I just need to find four birds before I fill in my fifth row, amigo."
Schiff looked out to his right to find Enojado patting the side of his Saber, a fine array of tally marks gracing its hull. He leaned over the right edge of the cockpit on his Saber to look at the five tallies he had.
"How about we split it, friends that care should share."
Enojado laughed. "This isn't the Coalition. You chalk up what you earn." He climbed up into his own fighter, easing back into the seat and starting the machine up. "We might be running into some old hermanos, word from the grapevine says that the Outcasts are mobilizing for an attack too."
"Then I can only hope they're more open-minded than the Corsairs are."
"And if they aren't?" Enojado replied.
"You won't have to share your kills with me."
Flipping a switch on the control console, the cockpit canopy on his Saber slid down and sealed with a hiss.
[OPERATION START: +7 HOURS]
[INITIATING TRANSMISSION PLAYBACK]
This is Schiff Toha, Skull Squadron, transmitting the post-mission debriefing.
The operation into Omicron Gamma started at 20:45 SMT today with a mixed wing composed of Skull Squadron and Devil Wings. By 20:53 we had transited from Theta into the Corsair home system; initial pulse scans indicated mass readings greater than predicted. Follow-up observations confirmed that an Outcast force had already commenced battle with the Corsair defensive fleet. After assessing the situation and deployment numbers, flight lead issued a statement to the Outcasts and Corsairs: end the fighting, or the Reapers will end it for you. The comm chatter that followed contained no indication of either side issuing a cease-fire. The order to arm cannons was given, and all pilots launched the attack on an Outcast Sarissa-Class Battleship. It is at this point that multiple comm channels from the Outcast forces came in concerning friendly fire and repeated requests to adjust our targeting suites. Radio silence was issued to us shortly thereafter.
Within the initial attack, two warships were neutralized and left inoperable. Furthermore, two Outcast squadrons IDed as 'ORP' and 'XTF' were forced to withdraw from the system; Outcast combat capabilities had been reduced by a third, with the remaining combatants rallying for a defensive formation. Our target priorities were shifted to the Corsairs, who had started their counter-attack to push the Outcasts to the Theta jump hole. We followed nominal flight protocols from flight lead, neutralizing three Praefect-Class cruisers and one Imperator-Class gunboat. Multiple fighter and bomber targets were also confirmed shot-down before the Corsair defense fleet proceeded to withdraw to Crete orbit; by this point the majority of the Outcast fleet had exited the system. The remaining Corsair forces initiated a series of hit-and-fade attacks Crete orbit, an exchange that lasted for 30 minutes before flight lead issued the RTB order. Within 20 minutes, all pilots had landed and this debriefing was compiled.
For Braillia.
Schiff Toha, Skull Squadron, out.
[TRANSMISSION CLOSED]
Maybe some day, they'll see a hero is just a man who knowshe's free.
The Reapers and their respective squadrons had assembled for a meeting. When all the members had finally begun to sit down The Archon was ready to present the second stage of Operation Safe Haven.
"As you all know we have tried numerous times to cease fire between the Corsairs and the Outcasts. Every attempt have up until this point, failed and we have exhausted all our methods. However! There is still yet hope.
Why do I think there is still hope?
Because every single one of our attempts have lead to a new member joining our cause. We are reaching our goal my brothers! One person at a time!"
The Archon paused, allowing the Reapers to ponder for a second about what he had just said. Knowing that most members felt that their cause was a brave one but perhaps futile in the end, many of them had just been overwhelmed by the very thought that their actions actually meant something.
"Now... I have received intelligence on a possible Outcast-gathering inside the Omicron Theta system. Past experiences have taught us that similar gatherings such as these are preparations for a planned attack against Omicron Gamma, the home of the Corsairs. Our current objective is to head towards the Omicron Theta system and find out the motive behind this Outcast-gathering. Any questions?"
One of the Reapers raised his hand, fearing the worst outcome of this mission he had to ask. "Si, senor, I have a question. What if their motives are to assault Omicron Gamma, hehe, what will we do then?"
The Archon sighed knowing that Almando was as usual hoping there would be a battle, he answered: "Well, Almando, we simply have to stop them."
The room was filled with a dead silence, everyone knew that this was the most likely scenario. The Archon however was quick to turn this silence into loud noisy chaos as he shouted:
"Reapers, lets go!"
2nd Operation - Status Report
Omicron Theta - Prior to the assault
The meeting with the Outcasts at Omicron Theta can be summarized into three words, confusion, hostility and betrayal.
At the first instance they assumed we had arrived to support their evident planned attack towards Omicron Gamma, however as The Archon explained the current situation and how it was supposed to end in his view lead to at start, confusion.
The Outcasts' collective feeling of confusion soon turned into hostility, a new enemy had spawned in their minds, the Reapers. Unwilling to cease their assault The Archon had dropped the calm tone in his voice and started talking like his request meant either life or death for the Outcasts.
Surprised by The Archon's threats of destruction if they continued flying towards the Omicron Gamma Jump Hole, the Outcasts felt betrayed by once-upon-a-time allies and whom some treated as brothers nonetheless.
The Archon anticipated the Outcasts' reactions, however, he actually believed they would find wisdom in his words and turn back home. Unfortunately The Archon had over-estimated the Outcasts...
Omicron Gamma - During the assault
We followed the Outcasts and positioned ourself behind their fleet as they proceeded towards Planet Crete where the main Corsair defense force was located. Again The Archon, as well as the other Reapers, attempted to abort the attack during this critical moment. The Outcasts were unwilling to listen and the Corsairs were on the opposite more than willing to destroy these invaders.
The Archon had tried using words to convince them, now he was ready to use guns.
Observing the battle-scene, Almando suggested that their first priority was to take down the numerous Corsair Battleships seeing as they would be their highest threat at this moment. The Archon shouted the order and the Reapers initiated their attack. Knowing that the Outcasts wasn't aware that their bombers assisted the Reapers tactics they quickly managed to take down two Corsair Battleships.
Second priority of targets became now the Outcast bombers, if too many of them were in-action the Reapers would eventually have a problem. Like a wave of death the Reapers shot them down, one by one, fighting as one, single, machine the organization and team-work was flawless and thus the result became the same.
Several more capital-vessels were taken care of and then the whole murderous scene turned into a battle between fighters. From all three sides, Outcasts, Corsairs and the Reapers there still existed fighters. A free-for-all brawl to the death which in the end gave the Reapers the victory shout.
But winning the battle was not the important part, what was important is that we send out the message that if they don't stop this war, this shall happen again, and again, and again... until they finally realize their fatal mistake.
The battles between the Hispanics still raged on, no changes were made between both sides... Still they fought for a mute cause, still they fought for what they thought was 'just'. Though the Reapers' interventions stopped a few bouts, with the way things were going currently their plans weere far from complete. The Reapers activites would have to intensify for them to ever hope to stabalize this lawless sector of space.
Enter the Garuda
The Garuda squadron of the Reapers - Comprised of the Reaper's best this squadron is filled with Sirius' finest. Some original Reapers weere part of this squadron but for the most part it was filled with men hand-picked by Lohingren himself to get the job done at any cost. Their original purpose was to destroy the Colonials by any means necessary but their goals changed to a more important one as time went by.
All members of this special squadron weere given special training, said to be the original training method of the Angels themselves. It is even rumoured 'Juan Zavala' was brought into this squadron hence his rapid improvements in such a short space of time. All members are given a title of mythical beasts from Earthen lore to be exact, each member who survives the hellish training earns the title that best suits their combat methods... Some better at decieving, some have the strength of three men in combat, some swift and agile. All that is known about this squadron outside the Reapers is that they are lead by the one called 'Yggdrasil' - The tree of life.
A man walks into Lohingren's quarters wearing his full flight suit, helmet and all with the sun visor activated, on his right shoulder he bore the Garuda wing's squad symbol.
Lohingren leans over the desk and stretches out his arm in the direction of the chair that is sat infront of his desk. "Ygg... I mean Adalstienn, come sit my friend. It has been quite some time since we have spoken, and by god remove that damned helmet, we are blood in ways are we not?"
Adalsteinn sits down on the seat and removes his helmet, "You could say that Raemmus. It has been quite sometime since we spoke... so how long do you intend to keep my existance secret from the rest of the Reapers... have I to conceal my true identity all my life? Or will i actually get to live my life at somepoint."
"I am sorry Adal, do you think I like throwing one of my men into the shadows and making him do my dirty work? We have had this descussion many times before, I can't have your identity compromised, if I were to die."
Adalsteinn quickly interupts Lohingren.
"Dont speak such nonsense Raemmus, you and I know if you go the Reapers' goals will never be fullfilled... How are we to battle these spirit creatures in the future if you are not the one leading the front? Only you can truly bring this blasted universe together, only you can truly become the saviour of this damned place!"
"Hahahaha, Maybe you are right, but in the end you are my heir and if you were to be targeted by anyone, I can't ensure your safety."
"And making me lead the Garuda into numerous battles is protecting me Raemmus?"
"Haha, you and I both know you are more than capable in space combat my friend, I doubt anyone can match your skill in a true fight... I am more worried about what will happen to you when you are not looking my friend. If anyone were to find there was another Angel amongst us who knows what will happen, as my heir you must see why I do this."
"Yes, yes I suppose you are right. I will carry on wearing this blasted helmet in public."
"I thank you my friend, but anyway, I called you here for a reason."
Reaching into the top drawer of his desk he takes out an envelope, then hands it to Adalsteinn.
"As you can see the subjects we need are going to pass right through our territory without them even knowing it, the Planetform agents that we are in dire need of to complete Braillia are passing straight by us... This means we don't need to enter Bretonia to get them, which means we don't need to start any needless battle with their military too soon. We can't let this opportunity pass by unnoticed."
Adalsteinn chuckles under his breath.
"How convenient, I am guessing you wish for me to take Garuda to intercept? Isn't this against all you stand for... I mean some civilians could be killed during this operation, and their guards will have to go to ensure our own safety."
Lohingren bows his head.
"My friend, it is a price we must pay... The way things have been going recently it seems our ideal way of carrying out this plan won't work... Sacrifices must be made, even if we must destroy a nation our goals must be accomplished, To fight the devil.... First you must deal with it."
"I understand Raemmus, it seems you're finally seeing things my way. I will take my leave and then I shall be back in two days with your scientists."
Adalsteinn stands up from the chair, placing the helmet on his head, and begins to walk out of the room.
"And Adalsteinn..."
Adalsteinn stops and faces Lohingren.
"In and out."
Adalsteinn interupts.
"Yeah, yeah i know in and out with as little death as possible i got it"
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