To: Prime Ministers Office, Bretonian Ministry of Defense // From: BAF Admiralty

[Markam]

Message Class: Audio-Visual
Encryption: Gin & Tonic
From: Fleet Admiral John Redmond

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Madam Prime Minister,

In light of the Kingdoms efforts to diplomatically position ourselves on a solid footing within Tau, the Admiralty has highlighted the need to inform the government on what is actually happening on the ground, so to speak.

Situational Overview

Assets of the Macduff situated in Tau-31, in coordination with the Perth garrison supplied by the Ark Royal in Leeds, have carried the weight of all BAF activities within the Tau cluster. Harlow in Newcastle does not conduct patrols north of South Shields and its impact on the Tau cluster is negligible. Systems included in the below overview include, placed in order of no deep meaning, Edinburgh, Orkney, Tau-31, Tau-23, and Tau-29.

Within the current calendar month, across the entirety of Tau, BAF patrols, sorties and medium-large scale operations have met with hostile tactical situations at a ratio of 1 for every 18 actions conducted. This ratio, broken down by System;

Edinburgh: 1 in every 24.
Orkney: 1 in every 3.
Tau-31: 1 in every 14.
Tau-23: 1 in every 18.
Tau-29: 1 in every 31.

The above highlights a severe difficulty of BAF operations in particular with Orkney and Tau-31, but not discounting Tau-23 and Edinburgh, both well above the average incident ratio in Omega-3, which hovers in the low 50s on average, spiking at a high of late 30s. Orkney indeed almost guarantees a response to our presence, particularly owing to the organization of hostile elements in said system.

End Overview

Situational Breakdown

Breaking down each system individually for the particular brand of violence each system faces, we see the nature of the problem each system presents to our forces.

Edinburgh
Edinburgh's operations consist primarily of combat patrols in the south-east, with sorties to the planet and other hot spots in an attempt to weed out the bad people that make their nests in this system. Combat patrols see a relatively low incident ratio owning to the clandestine piratical nature of hostile elements in this system. This is the prime cause of the lower overall ratio. However, sorties in particular face frequent assailants as we move closer to the hive clusters where we assume the villainy base themselves. According to our analysts It is considered unlikely that we could clear this system with ten times the number of sorties, and the cost of lives would be high. Bounty Hunters are seen as an option, to be tempted to assist corporate efforts as they did in the past, but the system will likely remain a bad place to exist in for the foreseeable future.

Tau-31
Tau-31 sees considerable incidents. Owing partly to the trade route to Kusari increasing activity in general, and also to the considerable Outcast activity in this system, violence is very common. Unlike regular pirates, Outcasts are less prone to turning tail and high tailing it out of dodge, but are happy to take on patrols, and admittedly, they are correctly confident in their pilot skills in small scale battles. Patrols in Tau-31 are staffed with a low percentage of new pilots, as they are prioritized, Outcasts have been able to identify weaker pilots by their piloting skills. In addition to Outcasts, Royalists have been spotted praying on the lanes, likely looking for supplies, and with their combat history, they are likewise less likely to run.

Tau-23
While our operations in this system are limited, Outcast presence in this system is high. However, despite proximity to Gallic territory and the sizable resources of the system, we are rarely engaged by Gallic forces in this system, analysts have suggested that they may be unable, or unwilling due to tactical concerns, to engage in heavy asteroids.

Tau-29
While not a regular place to visit, KNF forces are known to react violently to perceived trespassing by long range BAF scouting missions, and this translates to combat.

Orkney
Saving the best for last. Quite simply put this system is extremely dangerous. The high incident ratio is primarily attributed to the low number of patrols in relation to larger operations. When operations commence, they are almost always met with resistance. The goal of operations also ties into this. We are attempting to make life in Tau very difficult for Gallia, and in particular the Gallic Navy, which consists of a large number of suspected participants in war crimes against our house. Their improvised Shipyard is a primary target for operations, and while I will not go into detail, a number of operations involving heavier assets of the Macduff fleet have seen fleet skirmishes that stop barely shy of an actual war. We do however leave as quick as we come, and thus far we have avoided escalation. We have suffered some notable casualties in these operations, however the importance of the operations cannot be understated, Gallia has to deploy assets from Languedoc frequently, even on false grounds, which our analysts appraise to be a considerable strain on their resources. We remain on the front foot, and these operations will continue into the future unless otherwise directed.

End Breakdown

Normally I would make remarks and offer my professional opinion, however I am aware of diplomatic movements ongoing, and as such I will withhold my own statements at this time, and leave the above fact derived overview and breakdown for your reading. If you wish to discuss the situation beyond the facts, I am happy to oblige.

Best regards,

Fleet Admiral John Redmond
Dreadnought Venerable, Oversector Center
Bretonian Armed Forces

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Markam is evil

[Thunderer]

Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Buckingham
To: Fleet Admiral John Redmond, BAF
From: Prime Minster Elizabeth Hall, Bretonia

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Fleet Admiral,

Thank you for the report. It sheds some light on where the money we are paying you is going. I believe the Cabinet and the Parliament are entitled to know who ordered the incursions into Tau-29 and Orkney.

Prime Minister
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia

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Open for Replies

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Bretonian Treaty Database Bretonian Armed Forces Recruitment Center
Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law Bretonian Secrets Act

[Markam]

Message Class: Audio-Visual
Encryption: Gin & Tonic
From: Fleet Admiral John Redmond

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Madam Prime Minister,

All operations have been green lit by the Ministry of Defense, to which I assume you have directed your desires and goals. It would be ludicrous to suggest the Armed Forces was operating beyond this. The MoD gave specific instructions to carry out anti Gallia operations in Orkney and seek to destroy or disable Royalist elements of the Gallic Navy, and persuade Gallia that Tau is not theirs. Tau 29 is more of a scouting exercise, but incidents have occurred due to the long absence of interaction and the lack of diplomatic clarity.

If you wish for a halt to operations in Tau-29 and Orkney I suggest you confer with the Cabinet. If the right hand has no idea what the left is doing, I suggest the Government get a better handling on the situation and provide clearer policy.

Best regards,

Fleet Admiral John Redmond
Dreadnought Venerable, Oversector Center
Bretonian Armed Forces

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Markam is evil

[Thunderer]

Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Buckingham
To: Fleet Admiral John Redmond, BAF
From: Prime Minster Elizabeth Hall, Bretonia

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Fleet Admiral,

It is embarrassing to admit that I had no notion of this whatsoever, and as far as I am informed, nobody in the Cabinet except Mr Templer did either. If Mr Templer ordered this, then he acted on his own and covertly too, and it is him who embarrassed me. If you take a look at the first section of the Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law, you will see that Orkney and Tau-29 are not parts of Bretonia, and thus there is no Bretonian territory to defend there, which means that the Ministry of Defence is overstepping its authority in this case. I admit that the status of Tau-29 is still ambiguous, although work on this is in progress, but the Kingdom of Bretonia very explicitly acknowledged Orkney as part of Gallia in the Leviathan Accords, and since we are not at war with Gallia, the BAF has nothing to do there except cause an international incident, or God forbid, provoke another Gallic war.

I advise you that if you want border scouting and clandestine action conducted, you leave it to the professionals, that is, to our very competent intelligence service. The BAF should do their duty and protect the Realm from those whom we really are at war with, instead of embarrassing me internationally. This applies under the assumption that you intend to keep your salary. Please spare me from knowing any more of Mr Templer's gaffes, this is quite enough. I will need a day to think what to do with him. For his good and for humanity's sake, I sincerely hope there have been no casualties?

Prime Minister
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia

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Open for Replies

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Bretonian Treaty Database Bretonian Armed Forces Recruitment Center
Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law Bretonian Secrets Act

[Markam]

Message Class: Audio-Visual
Encryption: Gin & Tonic
From: Fleet Admiral John Redmond

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Madam Prime Minister,

John stares at the screen for a good 60 seconds, dead silent, eyes squinted.

Of course there has been casualties, you stupid whore. Frankly every word coming out of your cockjuice stained mouth outperforms the last word in pure, unadulterated political wankery, your concern about the well being of the Armed Forces is laughable and entirely unconvincing. How the pri-bloody-minister had no knowledge of the operations in Orkney I cannot fathom. I am sure this is a game to deflect blame, deny involvement, and I pity the fools that have to work for such a shrewd witch. Very well, I will play your games.

John contemplated saying, but stopped himself, another whisky or ten might have prevented his restraint, and cost him his job.
Breaking the stare, John cleared his throat.

The Admiralty offers its condolences for the sorry state of affairs on New London. We await further instruction via the MoD, which I am sure you will talk to on this matter. The Armed Forces always performs its best, regardless of what issues the halls of Government has.

Best regards,

Fleet Admiral John Redmond
Dreadnought Venerable, Oversector Center
Bretonian Armed Forces

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Markam is evil