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SACN [YSS Eucharis] Mission Report 2日4月YE39

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SAINT Director
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To: Shôshô Ketsurui Hanako, Commander: Task Force 82, YSS Eucharis
From: Chusa Nicholas Saiga, SOFT 408

Summary
  1. The following information is submitted concerning combat operations undertaken by the YSS Eucharis' away team consisting of SOFT 408 and assorted specialists on Shigatsu 2, YE 39.
    • Seven (7) Star Army soldiers wearing M2-4 power armor, one (1) wearing M2-2D power armor, one (1) T7 transport shuttle, and one (1) T8 multirole shuttle departed. Team was joined by one (1) Gartagen Heirophant-pattern armored walker.
    • Eight (8) Star Army soldiers and one (1) T8 multirole shuttle returned to the ship per retreat orders. Civilian attachments returned safely as well.
    • One (1) T7 transport shuttle was lost near the mission site. Its pilot was severely wounded but retrieved.
  2. Battle damage to surviving equipment is as follows:
    • Moderate plasma damage sustained by three M2-4 power armor suits.
    • Moderate plasma and railgun damage sustained by one M2-2D power armor suit.
    • Severe crash trauma sustained by one NH-33 pilot; in medical recovery.
    • Moderate battle trauma sustained by one NH-33 soldier; in medical recovery.
    • Burns sustained by one NH-33 soldier; walking recovery.
Narrative

The YSS Eucharis encountered a moon-sized station of artificial construction on 2日4月YE39. The metallic construct's surface was littered with deactivated robotic sentries. SOFT 408 proceeded to the ship's power armor bay to prepare for a sortie to investigate the station's interior. They were joined by the ship's First Officer, SAINT operative, civilian scientific adviser Heram J. Wazu, and an unknown Gartagen civilian later identified as Ujia B'huakitab Bronzi A'soongao.

Following a mission briefing, the combined away team boarded the T7 transport shuttle Telemachus V and proceeded to an airlock hatch on the station's surface, recently identified by the Eucharis' scanning equipment. Signs of Rixxikor presence were immediately apparent. Upon docking there and opening the airlock, the away team came under heavy plasma and missile fire from a robotic sentry within the airlock, similar in pattern and appearance to the inactive ones on the surface. SOFT 408 quickly neutralized the hostile and evacuated the Telemachus V, sustaining only minor injuries to the team, though the shuttle itself sustained heavy damage and crashed on the station's surface.

Though the station's airlock failsafes engaged, several members of the away team had managed to get inside the station and were able to allow the rest of the team entry. The Gartagen mech carrying its pilot and Wazu were forced to remain on the surface due to the fact that the chosen airlock was too small for their battle suit to enter.

Simultaneously to the team gaining entry to the station via the airlock, some members of SOFT 408 were able to scout and gain cartographic telemetry on the station's interior along with further signs of Rixxikor presence. The presence of Kuvexian equipment was also noted.

Soon after the team linked up, they were approached by a Rixxikor who identified himself as a scientist named Frixxaqz. Yamashiro-taii engaged him in conversation. Frixxaqz stated that there were several thousand Rixxikor exploring the station, which he identified as a "death planet." He further described the station as incredibly old, and seemed to suggest that some Rixxikor had taken an interest in reactivating the robotic defenders—just as the team had encountered only a few minutes before.

Several dozen Rixxikor soon flooded the corridor where Frixxaqz and Yamashiro were speaking, surrounding the away team. They quickly became aggressive and attempted to access any food carried by the away team on their persons. Because of the confined space and multitude of Rixxikor, visibility between team members was low.

After a few moments of the alien mob scrounging, Yuuki Freyja-hei opened fire on the Rixxikor around her. This caused other members of the away team to fire in the apparent belief that the Rixxikor had attacked. Yamashiro called for a cease fire and moved herself into the line of fire. She was struck and called for the Gartagen mecha to join the team. It somehow did so despite its absence up to this point. Most of the Rixxikor had died from the away team's assault.

Frixxaqz remarked Yamataians were "bitches" and then tossed a blinking handheld device toward the team. It contained technology that somehow activated nearby robotic sentries and called them to the away team's area.

I took command of the team following Yamashiro's injuries and organized a tactical retreat per Ketsurui-shôshô's orders. Wazu was removed from the safety of the Gartagen mecha for some reason. The team proceeded back through the airlock under heavy fire. Upon arriving back aboard the Eucharis, the away team was ordered to the wardroom for debriefing.

Analysis

While the Eucharis away team's sortie to the metal moon was brief, some important information was salvaged from the event:
  1. The station does not appear to be of Kuvexian construction.
  2. The Rixxikor are present at the behest of the Kuvexian Empire, as evidenced by their use of Kuvexian environmental equipment.
  3. Sensors indicated that the station can still support humanoid life, even in its current state of disrepair.
  4. The presence of a Rixxikor "scientist" and his ability to activate the station's robotic sentries indicates that the Kuvexians are interested in using them as a weapon. The Rixxikor are likely being used as an expendable resource to attain that goal.
  5. The station is still immensely powerful and should be secured by Star Army forces and investigated further.
Team Critique

Though the mission ended abruptly and casualties were sustained, the Eucharis' power armor team is in a better position to tackle tough missions than it was during its previous encounter with the Kuvexian Empire. Still, several key missteps contributed to the breakdown of team cohesion and combat effectiveness.
  1. The presence of unnecessary civilian advisers doomed the mission before it began.
    • A power armor team functions best when it can react quickly to developing situations. The decision to bring along the Gartagen and his mech—who the team had only met minutes before departure—necessitated deployment via shuttle. This, in retrospect, was wholly unnecessary and put the team in a position where they had to babysit a comparatively slow, unmaneuverable piece of equipment that ended up doing little more than getting in the way.
      • Without the mech's presence, the team would have been able to deploy without the shuttle. This would have avoided the loss of Telemachus V and Victory-heisho.
    • Civilian advisers who cannot behave should not come along. All throughout the sortie, the Gartagen had access to team communications and constantly berated the team in the field—even in the midst of combat. This resulted in lowered team morale, increased confusion, and hampered cohesion.
  2. Leaders should trust their subordinates and facilitate mission completion.
    • The armor team's training and transformation into SOFT 408 mattered little because of leadership confusion. As a matter of doctrine, the Operations Team Leader—Nitô Heisho Toyoe Tsuguka—should have been in control of the greater away team's combat element. She was not able to lead effectively because of Yamashiro-taii's misunderstanding of her role as away team leader and Toyoe-heisho's role as combat team leader.
      • At several key moments, Yamashiro-taii issued orders that disrupted the combat team's tempo and interrupted the effective completion of their tasks. She was routinely unsatisfied with the team's conduct and let them know it.
        • Effective combat officers are those who can delegate to the experts under their command. Officers who scold, criticize, and nitpick while on-mission do more harm than good.
  3. Over-stressed soldiers are ineffective.
    • While the details of why Freyja-hei was unable to maintain trigger discipline and fired upon the Rixxikor around her remain unclear—indeed, she may have been justified in her act—being a new mother with other responsibilities may not have helped the situation. Giving birth and the aftermath is simple and easy for most Neko, but we should pay attention to the needs of each individual soldier and their mental state before we send them out on a mission.
  4. Recommendations:
    • Restrict civilian involvement on away team missions. While Wazu has long proven to be a useful asset, others have immediately proven the opposite.
    • Leadership guidance for all officers who might lead an away team. Perhaps Ketsurui-shôshô herself should host a seminar; she is a proven, effective leader who has a track record of issuing broad directives with the trust that her subordinates will follow through properly.
    • All shuttle pilots must wear protective gear effective in a vacuum when performing duties in space.
    • I cannot recommend any promotions or special awards at this time.
Signed,
Chusa Nicholas Saiga, SAINT
Commander, YSS Eucharis SOFT 408

 
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