Liberty Police, Inc. Reporting Office

[Senshi]

Comm ID: Recruit Officer Cho Sprinks
Subject: Patrol Report
Date: 04.06.818 13:00-14:00 SMT
Location: New York System

After Action Report:
At 13:05 SMT I finished outfitting my brand new Liberator in Illinois and asked via S5yp3 if someone was interested to join a patrol. Officer J. Smith was already on patrol and Sergeant A. Maggard decided to join soon.

After joining communications with Smith he immediately called for support as he was facing a pirate and an outcast at the tradelane near Manhattan and West Point (please refer to his report HERE [EDIT: Once he gets to post it...]). When I arrived at 13:09, the issue had already been solved, and after cleaning up we headed back to Planet Manhattan where Maggard was already waiting for us. We grouped up, I got officially introduced to the force and received some last advice on my choice of Debilitators.

At 13:12 we started patrolling the NY tradelanes. Manhattan -> Westpoint -> California JG -> Westpoint -> Pennsylvania


When arriving at Pennsylvania Jump Gate in the Badlands at 13:22, we encountered a small-time pirate, Ethan_Mars, who was disabling the lane and interrupting trade traffic. He did not respond to contact efforts and instead fled through the Trade lane, mine-disabling it behind him. Nevertheless we managed to close up to him and found him at West Point again, where he was already been dealt with by the stations' defense system and local fighter patrols. He continued to flee along the Manhattan Lane where he dropped off into the Detroit Debris Field, heavily damaged. We decided to not press pursuit for this obviously harmless "pirate" and returned to Manhattan at 13:25, where we refitted our vessels and were about to continue patrol. Later we received a message from local patrols that Ethan Mars has been successfully interdicted and taken down.

At 13:28 we received an emergency call from Anthony Fox of the LMC between Fort Bush and Manhattan.
We immediately moved out and not even a minute later we saw the problem. A Lane Hacker gunboat named "Dreadful", armed to the teeth and an visually apparent high-quality-armor, accompanied by a Rogue in a Werewolf class VHF "Who.The.Cluck.Is.Alice?". Mr. Fox was glad for our support and Sergeant Maggard continued negotiations with the Hacker.
However, the only crime we could nail them on was disrupting trade by disrupting the trade lane, nothing else, despite the fact of them being in space forbidden to them. We tried all methods to persuade them to leave the system, but it became soon apparent that they had no intention to follow our orders.

After more than 10 minutes of negotiation, an Outcast "Tridente" Gunboat labeled "TSK - The.Shadow" joined them, what immediately caused them to become more aggressive, feeling confident. Sadly, their confidence was correct at the time and we decided to withdraw to Fort Bush for redeployment while simultaneously calling for SWAT assistance via S5yp3, which immediately was responded to.

After mere 6 minutes N. Radcyffe of the Grizzly SWAT and the fine Gunboat LPI-Quantico joined us, this is where we decided to move out again to face the pirates before they decided to disappear. Only two minutes later Maggard rejoined us after he exchanged his Liberator with a more powerful SWAT vessel. Also by chance a lone Bounty Hunter (22nd-Kapow) arrived who offered his assistance.

Now chances shifted clearly, and the Hacker Gunboat Dreadful captain was smart enough to recognize that. He tried to order his "colleagues" to leave the area with him, but apparently he chose the wrong friends. During the three minutes of the new conversation, the Tridente Shadow was getting trigger-happy, discharging the shields of SWAT officer Radcyffe multiple times. Despite multiple warnings from ourselves and even pleas from the Dreadful he again opened fire. We gave him a final ultimatum to cease fire and be escorted out of the system, but he didn't want to learn.

At 13:53 he cowardly attacked Radcyffe again, immediately vaporizing him after he previously surrendered over comms. The Hacker and the Rogue decided to help their ally, despite his previous act of cowardice.
At 13:58 the Tridente gunship was no more. New priority target was the Hacker gunship.
At 14:02 the captain of the Dreadful asked for a ceasefire, which we gratefully granted. He had some difficulties restraining his Werewolf lackey, but managed it in the end, so negotiations could start again at 14:03.
The rogue cowardly used the confusion and the beginning of the negotiations to flee into the Debris field. Pursuit had to be aborted when CDs didn't hit target and/or were countered.
Sgt. Maggard demanded the usual terms of surrender of the Hacker, who obviously wasn't very fond of the idea to have to abandon ship near Station Huntsville.
At 14:12 he shot a captured LPI officer whose lifepod he had in cargo, threatening to kill the other five on board too, even after being educated that we can't do hostage negotiations and executing him would result in his ship being annihilated.
At 14:14 the "Dreadful" was no more. We managed to extract 5 intact lifepods with LPI officers, together with multiple Bounty Hunter and civilian pilots. Apparently he had no time to terminate his prisoners and gladly the lifepods are very sturdy.
At 14:16 we returned to Fort Bush to refit our vessels and unload the hostages and injured ones.

Total results:
-=Destroyed=-
1x Gunship, Lane Hacker
1x Gunship, Outcasts
-=Damaged, but escaped=-
1x VHF, Rogues
-=Losses=-
SWAT member Radcyffe's Grizzly. We managed to retrieve Radcyffe almost unharmed.


Personal Remarks:
Regarding the Liberator:
I was surprised by the high quality of the Liberator vessel. Being unremarkable from its looks, it offers an unmatched agility, but still able to withhold the occasional hit. Most rounds never come near it. Of course this was substituted by our oversized enemies that had poor anti-fighter-weaponry, but during all encounters I only got my shield drained to 20% once. Maximum. Never more. An astonishing feat. Hit and run works perfectly, and in combination with the "big guns" of our gunship and the SWAT bomber we could harass the enemy harshly. Officer Smith and me mainly worked on breaking the shield and drawing fire which was immediately exploited by SWAT to put a hull breaker in. Even their fighter support, the "Werewolf" was nothing more than a mild nuisance, being completely unable to keep up with our nimbleness.

Regarding my colleagues:
Cooperation worked pretty much flawlessly, not many words were needed during combat. Haggard designated the current target, we attacked. Everyone knew how to use his equipment perfectly and this collaboration made it an easy win. Only the gunboat Quantico took more than a scratch to the hull, but well, it's designed to pack and take a punch.

Overall, a very enjoyable experience, definitely different from most Secondary Fleet experiences.


Guncam footage attachments - filesize too large
Various combat footage - Please scroll through the slideshow in reverse for chronological order!


[EDIT: Some minor grammatical and spelling mistakes fixed]