OOC YSS Yūrei

[Blizzard]

I had a really cool plot idea based off of several hours playing games like Halo Wars and Ghost Recon Wildlands, and re-watching Lawrence of Arabia enough times to memorize the script.

The Kuvexians are out enslaving different races to aid them in their war efforts, or just for fun. Yamatai, in order to gain more potential allies as well as stop this expansion, sends out the YSS Yūrei (Ghost) in order to give these small resistance movements the added push they need to triumph. The ship is captained by Taisa Chikako Fuyu, a daring, calm, adventurous officer of the Empire who aims to win the hearts and minds of the populace. While she does this, she is aided by two SOFT teams who engage in sabotage and unconventional warfare against the Kuvexian invaders, working hand in hand with rebel leadership to drive them off world.

Where my plot differs from other standard ship plots is that it will embark on a series of "campaigns". Each campaign takes place on a different planet or star-system, and is composed of individual "missions" carried out by the SOFT teams on that planet or star-system. Chikako-Taisa acts as the "velvet glove", meeting with local leaders to establish diplomatic relations, while the SOFT teams act as the "steel fist" within the glove. A single mission may comprise destroying an ammo dump, ambushing a caravan, or directly assaulting Kuvexian forces using guerrilla warfare. In the end, the Kuvexians leave, and the greater populace is left with the pride and accomplishment of having driven off the invasion on their own, and the leaders of these systems pledge their allegiance to Yamatai.

Acknowledgement is failure. Going home is success.

 

[Soban]

I'm up for it.

 

[Charaa]

So this is the one you told me about. it seems interesting.

 

[Jack Pine]

That's literally what the rangers are meant to do. Originally that was the same plan of Eth's ranger plot as well, minus soft involvement, or a captain making diplomatic ties. Rangers were planned to engage in intense guerilla warfare campaigns behind enemy lines. If I were to give my opinion, I'd say maybe using rangers instead of SOFT would make more sense.

 

[Blizzard]

That's literally what the rangers are meant to do. Originally that was the same plan of Eth's ranger plot as well, minus soft involvement, or a captain making diplomatic ties. Rangers were planned to engage in intense guerilla warfare campaigns behind enemy lines. If I were to give my opinion, I'd say maybe using rangers instead of SOFT would make more sense.

Or SOFT teams supported by a Ranger unit? Because the Rangers strike me as more of an "observe and report" scouting unit based on their wiki page. Based on what I've seen of modern Delta/SEAL ops in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, groups of hard-hitting gunmen are sent in to eliminate strategic targets while being supported by recon units who keep a bird's eye view of the AO and feed the teams up to date intel on movements.

I plan to send the SOFT teams to engage in direct combat ops that would require heavy armors and full loadouts. I would use the Rangers in more of a recon roll.

For instance, the mission is to destroy a supply depot. The heavily armored SOFT teams move in to engage the fortified position, while the Rangers are posted up nearby with long-range rifles and spot a surprise patrol approaching the compound. Or, after the deed is done, they witness an enemy officer fleeing and inform the SOFT teams. The SOFT teams move to capture, or the Rangers get the green light to take the shot.

I could even do missions with only the Ranger team, sending them to assassinate key targets far behind the enemy's line, act as overwatch for larger rebel forces, or track enemy forces moving to flank the main forces. Again, more of an observation/recon than hard-hitting role.

 

[raz]

This would be the YSS Yūrei II, as the original Yuurei was captured by the Mishhu in YE 30.

 

[club24]

i'll keep an eye on this but i dont have any spare chars and havent made any in a long time,

*convince me its worthy*

 

[Jack Pine]

they would still be able to pull off sabotage, ambushes, as well as rallying resistance elements. Rangers are still offensive units, observe and report tends to come off as more SAINT to me imo. Rangers are still soldiers, outfitted with weapons and armor, roughing it out in the field. As eth painted them, they are more of a hybrid between SAINT and Rikugun. Performing recon while also doing lowkey offensive operations.

 

[Glein]

As I'm working on updating the Rangers, think of them more as US Army Rangers - Able to perform as either low-key Special Forces or more advanced infantry forces. This field ranges from performing foot patrols like regular troops, performing forward recon or even LRRP well away from friendly forces, to doing raids on targets that need a finer touch than standard infantry, but not scalpel precise of a SAINT-built SOFT unit. Basically, Rangers would be more likely to be slated for SOFT that didn't need that 'true phantom' skill-set.

 

[club24]

*i think we all know nothing is scalpel precise in SARP cause we all have too much fun*

 

[raz]

As I'm working on updating the Rangers, think of them more as US Army Rangers - Able to perform as either low-key Special Forces or more advanced infantry forces. This field ranges from performing foot patrols like regular troops, performing forward recon or even LRRP well away from friendly forces, to doing raids on targets that need a finer touch than standard infantry, but not scalpel precise of a SAINT-built SOFT unit. Basically, Rangers would be more likely to be slated for SOFT that didn't need that 'true phantom' skill-set.

Just so you're aware, SAINT does LRRP stuff when assigned to Rikugun formations. Because LRRP is something that requires, as you say, the "'true phantom' skill-set."

Operatives assigned to the Legions usually undertake long range reconnaissance and surveillance missions that do not warrant a full team's deployment.

 

[Glein]

LRRP doesn't necessarily require 'true phantom' skills. It's something even regular infantry do, it's just that forces like Rangers and other special forces are often better at it if the goal is not being detected, since they have training in how to be less obtrusive in the process of performing such actions. Otherwise, it's more of a force projection operation where you are demonstrating to potentially hostile forces in the AO that you can in fact put troops in the area when you want.

 

[raz]

Okay. It's a duty historically performed by elite units, according to publicly available information. SAINT operatives perform that duty for the Rikugun when attached to SAoY infantry formations. It's on the wiki. Not really up for debate. Just dropping by to FYI ya.

 

[Wes]

There is definitely room for Rangers and as long as the SOFT people are doing SOFT things (e.g. being elite 4-soldier units sent in to kill/capture people and blow things up) I am OK with it. I think of Rangers in the Star Army as spread out units, SOFTs in stacks (think Lone Survivor), and SAINT operatives as either invisible lone wolves (think sniper pairs) or embedded to other units. You could easily have a SOFT or Ranger/Recon team where one member is the SAINT guy who assists intel gathering. You can have Rangers and SOFTs working together or a SOFT made of rangers or mixed SOFTs.

 

[Blizzard]

@Jack Pine , @Glein ,

I would love to involve the Rangers in this since they do have the skills needed for this style of planet-based warfare.

That said, I still like the idea of SOFT teams because I'm going for that CIA nation-building black ops vibe like you see in places like Latin America and the Middle East.

We really do need a true-phantom skillset to do it because the goal of the Yūrei's mission is to just give the locals the extra *oomph* to defeat the Kuvexians and letting them believe they did it themselves. We want these new races to come to us in mutual respect, not think of us as just another new group of invaders.

I urge you both to pm me on discord because I really do want the Rangers involved, but it may not be in the traditional sense, as Wes gave examples of above.