**** Incoming transmission ****
From: Danny Sutherland, patrol vessel Apollyon
To: IMG Guild Channels
Subject: Patrol Encounters
Todays patrol started out rather uneventful. For once, Tau 23 was quiet, with only a single miner in the fields. After we saw this fellow to Kyushu, we received a message from South Shields, requesting some assistance with Outcast forces harassing local water transports. After a couple of sorties, on which one, perhaps lost, LPI patrol craft joined us, the area was clear once more. The LPI returned towards Liberty space, via Inverness - probably tailed a smuggler from there. We went on towards Hood.
I met up with Sean Henderson, and later Syrus and Blitz in their respective patrol ships. We got word of a battle in the Taus not much later, but seeing as the Sea of Silence, assisted by Colonial fighter wings, had the situation under control, we remained in Dublin.
Boy, were we in for a show.
A large force of Coalition craft, including a battleship, found itself engaged in the vicinity of the Hood. We drew in a defensive perimiter - given our relations there wasn't much we could do to help either side directly. The Apollyon escorted a Bowex transport which was stuck at Hood to the jumpgate before returning to the Hood perimiter. Armed Forces took the brunt of the engagement, losing a cruiser and several smaller craft before forcing the Coalition to withdraw towards the Arranmore field.
Hood meanwhile took in most of the cruiser's lifepods, while the cruiser itself remained adrift - we suspect it'll be towed back to Southhampton for reconstruction.
We received word that another engagement was underway, with the Coalition forces being attacked by the "Indian" pirate group in close proximity to Arranmore. Blitz, true to his name, rushed over and engaged, and we followed with Sean and Syrus in proximity. To my surprise, there was even a BMM light miner present - I'm not sure who it was shooting at. The battle proved chaotic, but we spotted the battleship, which was already battered from the Armed Forces, under attack by two of the indian bombers. We engaged these bombers, destroying one and forcing the other to disengage.
... the indians were not pleased...
The entire pack of them turned on us, and only a resupply from the battleship saved our hides. In the end, I fell back into a tighter mine pocket of the asteroid field, baiting the fighters to pursue, into an area where the mines would slowly but surely wittle them down. They recognized this tactic and broke pursuit, giving us a welcome breather (we'd been dodging their gunfire for about 15 minutes, unable to get a lock on them ourselves). Note to self: Use terrain to our advantage if possible.
I lost count of the exact number of vessels destroyed and the respective owners - but given that the battleship and our own forces stayed in once piece, and the attackers were forced to disengage, I'd call this encounter a victory, albeit a minor one. Coalition then set course for the Omegas, and we withdrew to Hood for repairs.
Final act of the day was to assist a large mining vessel. Seems the lad was a little wet behind the ears, so we watched over him, gave him a few pointers on how to mine effectively - and escorted him to Detroit. The vessel's name was [IM]-Mori.Momento. We'll keep a lookout for him.
During the mining encounter a Hogosha approached and requested to be resupplied with shield batteries and nanobots. We refused this, as it would violate the terms of IMG's neutrality in the Kusari-Bretonia conflict. A freelancer that did not have this problem soon offered this instead.
****Transmission Closed ****
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
