Sender:Ashigaka Tsudzuri Recipient:Gen'an Chrysanthemums Subject:Sortie Report: Meeting the Amenhotep
Konnichiwa sisters,
As all of you know, yesterday was a most momentous day indeed, however I thought it appropriate to write a full report nonetheless. I departed my Tachi from Noshima Freeport at approximately 20:36 Universal Standard Time, and made good progress towards Morioka whereupon I rendezvoused with the great destroyer Akechi-kan. Over the course of the next few minutes, a great many sisters, most notably the repair ship Gishi and Murasaki-san.
Our host thereafter proceeded to the Galileo system, passing through the great dark matter clouds of the system until we reached Sector 3C. It was there that our drone detected a large signature hiding just within the borders of the cloud, enough to foil any long range scans. This turned out to be the great warship Amenhotep, an Osiris-class of Order origin, however according to the captain the Order would seemingly wish for this ship back at great cost. Initial encounters seemed non-hostile, and indeed as the proverbial ice was broken, the captain seemed most amenable to us. Having suffered great damage, the Amenhotep proceeded to accept repairs from the repair ship Gishi in short order.
Several unexpected encounters occurred. The first seemed to be a sentient AI vessel that began to approach our assembled force. Myself as well as Matsumoto-san and Raimei, on the orders of Akechi-kan to destroy if necessary, drove the drone away to a safe distance. The drone, however, was followed by a Rheinland freelancer by the name of Ego, known to be a somewhat skilled pilot. Ego held their distance however, and there was no further need for conflict. It was at this point however, that a Nomad yōkai appeared, seemingly somewhere in size between a fighter and a gunboat. It seemed to be discharging tracking spores at a prodigious rate that seemed to function like Sirian missiles, as a result I had my countermeasure firing almost constantly during its lifetime. In addition, this morph moved as fast as one would expect from a light fighter, not something that was at least twice the size of my own Tachi. Nonetheless, the yōkai was dispatched in short order, however more would shortly appear from the Reppu cloud, which seemed to be flashing somewhat uncharacteristically. I am no scientist, but I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of connection to the dark matter of Galileo and the Nomads.
Nonetheless, three further of these medium-sized morphs appeared, equally quickly dispatched under the weight of our fighters, bombers and the great firepower of our two destroyers. Notably, the Amenhotep's gun crews equally distinguished themselves with some excellent shooting; it is clear they have had practice over the years. Myself, Matsumoto-san, and the freelancer Ego went to investigate the Reppu cloud further. Myself and Matsumoto-san, not wishing to risk our ships too much, hovered just outside of the cloud, however the freelancer plunged in to its heart, returning shortly thereafter with reports of a much larger morph lingering within. We retreated back in to the safety of our capital ship's guns as the repairs on Amenhotep seemed to be nearing completion. The larger morph appeared to be of a cruiser size, however did not move like one. Much like the previous morphs, it moved uncharacteristically fast for its size. It also had a shield which seemed to dissipate incredibly fast, however reappeared after just a few short seconds, making it hard to land any large, single blows. Equally, it seemed to carry incredibly hard to track, incredibly high velocity anti-fighter weaponry. Within seconds, it dealt heavy damage to my own Tachi as well as two further GC fighters before we quickly retreated. The cruiser fell to the guns of our capital vessels, but I now know to exercise further caution against such yōkai in the future.
Repairs on the Amenhotep finished shortly after this encounter, and we began to escort the great battleship in to the Shikoku system, leading it to the Noshima freeport, where her crew could rest and Amenhotep herself could at least resupply. I flew ahead of the main force just behind the drone, ensuring that Kusari government forces were unaware of our presence. We reached the Peddler's Freeport without incident, and I docked my own Tachi after bidding the Amenhotep welcome to Kusari. It is my understanding that our force was later harassed by fighters, and I very much regret not staying on patrol for longer.
Nonetheless, the operation seemed to be a success, and Amenhotep is now safely in Kusari with communications established.