COMM ID:Ensign Hélène Dupuis TARGET ID:Liberty Naval Primary Fleet Reporting Center SUBJECT:Flight Report ENCRYPTION:High PRIORITY:Standard
To the Admiralty and High Command,
The Guardian is quite the ship to handle, and I couldn't wait to get a test run with it. The opportunity presented itself in New York in the form a ship bearing Pirate transponders, who claimed to be nothing more than a simple insurancesalesman who was "testing out" and "experimenting" on his transponders for reasons he never made quite clear. I, of course, warned him that modifying your transponders without proper licences was illegal, and offered to escort him to Manhattan to get the situation fixed, which he refused.
As he was awfully close of the Badlands, I made the call and engaged him, Lt. Cmdr. Morse joining me shortly after. His transponders may not be the only thing he messed with, as his ship was jittering and 'jumpy', if I may say, making him hard to hit until his engine had a failure, allowing me toconfirm my first 'Blue' as most people refer them to.
Still high on adrenaline, Lt. Cmdr. Morse led me to California, where I dsplayed a certain disregard to protocol and some unprofessionalism, slightly mocking the Commander's choice in ship lights and engines, nothing more than playful banter. I'm glad in retrospect that he forgives me, all things considered. We also intercepted a Freelancer Behemoth tagged QuasiMad. I gave him a proper warning to change ship within the next 24 hours. As I do not know if he actually did, feel free to scrap his Behemoth he still has it next time it is spotted.
Lt. Cmdr. Morse figured that I was maybe a bit too nervous to properly continue my patrol, and as an ion storm was about to rage, we called it quits for now. Later the same day, Captain Baker scheduled me for Orbital defence of Manhattan. Once on the spot, as Captain Baker was busy handling another issue, a Rogue ship de-cloaked nearby Manhattan. An LSF agent known as Tracer was closer to it than I was, but I still gave chase to the pirate to at least chase him away from Manhattan's orbit.
Assisting the LSF as we chased the target into the scrap field behind Manhattan, Cpt. Baker returned and asked me a sitrep, as there was little time to give her a warning before chasing off. I told her that the Rogue was in the scrap field behind Manhattan, perhaps searching for a safe heaven from our lasers. Cpt. Baker, though, ordered me back to Manhattan, which apparently displeased the agent, who started taunting Baker.
Baker certainly isn't one to let herself be insulted, and she rightfully taunted the Agent back. It was my fault for leaving my superior's side without first asking her permission, but things got quite a lot more bitter rapidly. In the end, I believe it may have caused the agent the lost of his focus, as the Rogue managed to dock safely on Rochester, despite the Congressman warning him of otherwise.
Now, I understand the competition between the different organisations, and how there can be some rivalry, but I was slightly distressed by how the argument was going off on public comms for all to see. We're a nation at war, and with the risks of the Kusari crisis escalating, we may very well soon be deploying forces on four different fronts. The people needs to think we're at least united in the common goal of Homeland defence, and not just in this as if this were some kind of pissing contest, and we have better things to do than to create a cold between us and an intelligence agency at this particular moment.
Clearly though, the LSF knew exactly how to toy with Baker's button (such as by insisting on calling her Admiral, despite stating multiple times that her rank was that of Captain now). The agent clearly was attempting to get her to commit an incident. I fear that there may be a secret agenda behind this particular event, and I'm afraid it does not involve National Unity.
I suggest that we investigate this matter further and contact the LSF, but this is simply my opinion as a rookie. I know the Captain well enough by now to know her judgement here is not to be doubted, and I do not think she was at fault at all. In fact, in her place, I don't think I'd have had the nerves to handle the LSF. I suppose it's why she's my superior, after all.
Condensed report:
-Acquired Guardian from Battleship Missouri.
-Gained my first Blue against a pirate.
-QuasiMad's vessel is to be scrapped on sight if he's still flying a Behemoth, or using another Rheinlander technology.
-Engaged Rogue near Manhattan orbit.
-LSF agent Tracer taunts Liberty Navy, attempting to get Captain Baker to cause an incident.