LAST EDITED ON Oct-06-20 AT 01:44 AM (EDT)
 

Preliminary After-Action Report

To: Benjamin D. Hutchins, Chief of IP Operations
Headquarters, New Avalon, Zeta Cygni

Flag Summary: Operation TRIDENT
COMO Utena R. Tenjou IPSFR cmdg.

Deep space
Fornax sector, United Federation of Planets
March 7, 2410

Sir,

I have the honor to acquaint you with the events of March 5-7 (inclusive), 2410, as regards the prosecution of Operation TRIDENT. Pursuant to instructions from Headquarters, and in accordance with the International Police Organization's mutual assistance pact with the Republic of Tau Ceti IV, I assembled my task force at the Initial Point near the Tau Ceti heliopause during the evening (Avalon Standard Time) of March 5. When fully constituted, Task Force TRIDENT consisted of the following vessels:

Flag
IPS Valiant NCC-06041

Group TRIDENT RED
IPS Challenger NCC-04462 (CPT L. Soong)
LKV HoSghaj K-1832 (CPT K. vathKesek)
HMS Illustrious BBS-72 (CPT Sir D. Soandso, Bart.)
Gamilon Crown Starship Lorica (CMDR Jethan)
Barsaivian trading vessel Kuratai no t'slas-Jas'Ishkarat (E. Shustal, master)
Private starship F/V Gravy Train (R. Riddick, master)
Private starship Daggerdisc (C. Ravenhair, master)

Group TRIDENT BLUE
WDF Enterprise NCC-1701 (VADM J. Kirk)
WDF Unicorn NCC-1744 (CPT A. Haddock)
WDF Reliant NCC-1864 (CPT C. Terrell)
WDF Scimitar NCC-940 (CMDR V. Leeds)
WDF Henry Knox DDS-724 (CMDR C. Hughes)

Group TRIDENT GREY
IPS Indefatigable NCC-1749 (CPT Sir E. Pellew)
IPS Prometheus CVS-101 (CPT K. Sterling)
IPS Assailant NCC-06067 (CMDR R. Hoshino)
IPS Empire Builder NCC-07005 (CMDR W. Tarrant)
IPS Demologos NCC-07012 (CMDR J. Fulton)

Following an intelligence and reconnaissance briefing given by CMDR Ivar Merkretsch RSN (HMS Unfathomable U-201), Task Force TRIDENT stood into the system to engage the enemy. H-hour for the operation was 0200 Avalon Standard Time, March 6, 2410.

Enemy assets identified by Unfathomable at the start of the operation were:

Earthforce Navy
EAS Clytæmnestra, Nova-class battleship
EAS Æneas, Nova-class battleship
EAS Peloponnesus, Hyperion-class cruiser
EAS Vicksburg, Hyperion-class cruiser
EAS Taliesin, Hyperion-class cruiser
EAS Cosmonaut Vladimir M. Komarov, Salyut-class spacecraft carrier
Escort squadron DESRON-14, 3x Patriot-class destroyer:
- EAS Nathan Hale
- EAS Caesar Rodney
- EAS Elbridge Gerry
EAS Retiarius, Retiarius-class Perimeter Control Vessel

Earthforce Marine Corps
EMCS Suribachi, Iceberg-class surface assault ship
EMCS Canaveral, Myrmidon-class monitor
EMCS Agulhas, Myrmidon-class monitor

Starfleet
USS Bellerophon, Nebula-class cruiser
USS Northumberland, Nebula-class cruiser

Captain Merkretsch identified Suribachi as the headquarters ship for the Earthforce X Surface Assault Corps, MGEN Westford Drake EMC commanding.

At mission elapsed time 00:24, Force TRIDENT passed the orbit of Tau Ceti V and formed up for in-system assault. At 00:31, Valiant was hailed by EAS Clytæmnestra, which identified herself as the Earthforce fleet's flag. At this time it was learned that General Drake was the Earthforce flag officer in overall command of the invasion. He ordered Force TRIDENT to leave the system immediately or be subject to attack as pirates interfering with a lawful peacekeeping mission. I informed him that I was not born yesterday and hostilities commenced at MET 00:40.

I should note here that the two Starfleet vessels did not participate in the ensuing fleet action. CPT Hunsacker of Northumberland notified us that his vessel and Bellerophon were present only to guarantee the neutrality of Tau Ceti III. When battle commenced between Force TRIDENT and the Earthforce group, the Starfleet ships stood off to a distance of 2.5 AU and observed.

In approximately 33 minutes of close action, Force TRIDENT's heavier starships occupied the attention of the Earthforce vessels while Gravy Train, Daggerdisc, and small craft from Challenger, Enterprise, Indefatigable, and Prometheus penetrated the orbital defenses of Tau Ceti IV and inserted a counter-assault force on the planet's surface. At the same time, Illustrious carried out an orbital infantry drop operation while under heavy fire from the destroyers of DESRON-14, for spacemanship during which operation I must particularly commend Captain Soandso.

All ships and crew performed admirably during the action against Earthforce in high orbit, but in addition to Illustrious above, I must take special note of:

- Commander Leeds and the crew of WDF Scimitar, who disabled the flight deck of EAS Komarov with a combination of daring maneuver and excellent gunnery;

- Captain vathKesek and the crew of HoSghaj, who, despite serious damage to their vessel, prevented the two Earthforce monitors from intercepting the surface assault force and knocked Agulhas out of the fight entirely; and

- Captain Pellew and the ship's company of Indefatigable, and LT John McCandless (VII GENOM White Legion) and his special action squad (along with Jedi Master Atin-Vae Springsteen), who crippled, boarded, and captured EAS Retiariusi, the capture being concluded at about MET 01:23.

With Retiarius out of action, both in-system FTL navigation and the use of transporters became possible. Within a half-hour, Force TRIDENT was joined by several vessels which had not reached the Initial Point in time to be part of the initial assault:

Group TRIDENT WHITE
CFMF Charlemagne CFF-114 (CPT T'Pall, VADM A. Nakajima aboard)
CFMF Whippet CFF-179 (CMDR D. Slattery)
IGS Vengeance (CMDR G. Dessler)
Private starship H/V Slave One (J. Fett, master)
Private starship H/V Rusty Angel (A. Ironheart, master)

A small group of media starships arrived shortly thereafter, including NMS Swordbreaker (Network 23, J. Trussell, master) and the private broadcast vessel Big Time, but they did not take part in the main action, instead positioning themselves to provide galactic news coverage of the incidents unfolding on the planet's surface. At one point EAS Elbridge Gerry did engage Swordbreaker, attempting to drive the media ships off, but Swordbreaker's counterattack had crippled Gerry before any Force TRIDENT vessels could maneuver to intervene.

At MET 01:37, with the tactical advantage in orbit strongly on Force TRIDENT's side, I transferred operational command of the orbital elements to VADM Kirk, left Valiant in the capable hands of Colonel Grissom, and beamed to the surface in company with Tactical Division 131 SMF (Repo Men) to take charge of operations there.

The principal goals of Operation TRIDENT's surface actions were to wrest control of Tau City from Earthforce and restore President Charles Kallon to office. To this end, the TRIDENT surface forces were deployed with several incremental objectives:

1. To seize control of Tau City's main power generation facilities, the hydro-electric station at Tovora Dam north of the city and Lambert Salton Reactor Station downtown;

2. To determine the current status of the Tau City Constabulary and Republic of Tau Ceti Defense Force, gain control of their headquarters and barracks facilities, and (if necessary) restore both organizations to an operational condition;

3. To safeguard or re-establish legitimate government control of the Bell System hypercomm center near Government House;

4. To sweep the Earthforce Marine presence from Government House itself and its vicinity; and

5. To ascertain the whereabouts and condition of President Kallon and, if necessary, rescue him from Earthforce captivity.

By the time I arrived on the surface, much had already been done:

- The crew of the Gravy Train and several Valkyrie operatives had taken control of Tovora Dam, though a mishap during the fight had deprived much of the city's northern half of power;

- A group of TacDiv operators from Prometheus, led by SA1 agent Nikola Tesla, were on the verge of overtaking Salton Reactor entirely despite heavy resistance from Earthforce armored jump troopers and at least one Expert-level Black Omega esper agent (see attached dossier);

- Elements of the 66th Einherjar Legion and members of Valiant's volunteer crew had seized Tau City Constabulary Headquarters and were in the process of liberating the Constabulary's officers from the city prison, where Earthforce had incarcerated them; and

- Illustrious's ODSTs, led by MAJ Jaleen Orman and MCPO Sir John Spartan, had secured TCDF Headquarters and were in the process of mobilizing the Defense Force for objective 4 above.

Again, all personnel performed excellently. I must take special note of Prof. Tesla, whose heroism in the capture and preservation of Salton Reactor was conspicuous, and of one of our volunteers in Valiant, the Hon. Peregrine Took (58th Baroness Tuckborough), who was personally responsible for neutralizing the Black Omega esper agent in command of the city prison's occupation force.

When I reached the surface, my first order of business was to take control of the hypercomm facility. With 131 SMF's help, this was accomplished in relatively short order and without casualties. At that point I set about establishing a central command and coordination position. Up to that point the surface elements were proceeding independently, and all the threads of the operation had to be drawn together before we could proceed to objectives 4 and 5. Tuncer and I left most of 131 SMF to hold the hypercomm station until they could be relieved by local officers and relocated to TCDF Headquarters, which we judged to be the most thoroughly defensible of the available positions within the city.

At MET 03:21, I received word from Admiral Kirk that the two Starfleet vessels, which had held station and never offered to participate in the orbital action, had left the system abruptly and without making any kind of transmission. Shortly thereafter, the Earthforce Navy vessels that had not been captured or disabled earlier, and which had seemed to be regrouping near the orbit of Tau Ceti V, suddenly abandoned their efforts and quit the system, leaving Suribachi and Canaveral behind. Admiral Kirk and I redeployed Task Force TRIDENT for quick reaction to a possible reinforced Earthforce counterattack, but none appeared to be forthcoming. Our starships remained at high alert. Knowing they would report immediately if the situation changed, I returned my full attention to the ground operation.

At MET 03:45 (0445 hours local time, shortly before dawn), we completed preparations to launch phase 4 of the ground operation. In addition to the forces we brought with us and reinforcements beamed down from orbit, our force for the counterinvasion of Government Plaza included significant elements from both the Tau City Constabulary and Tau Ceti Defense Force. Their command and control structures were somewhat disorganized, owing to the battering both forces took in the initial invasion, but most local personnel were ready and eager to participate in the retaking of their capital.

I should note here that, with so many disparate elements involved in the ground assault, even with Lensmen scattered through the various groups, there would have been almost no hope of properly organizing or commanding the force as a whole without Cortana. Her communications capabilities are well beyond those of any humanoid, but her extensive tactical experience and her excellent situational awareness were of equal, if not greater, importance to the overall success of this operation.

Where the space battle was roughly even (allowing for the wide range of spacecraft types involved) at the outset, our ground force was badly outnumbered. Furthermore, the Earthforce Marines occupying Government Plaza were clearly aware that they had been abandoned by the Navy, and that their base ship was in no position to come to their aid. Under strict orders to hold until relief could arrive, they fought tenaciously. However, General Drake had remained aboard Suribachi, and with Retiarius in our hands he was completely unable to communicate with the planet.

The primary assault on Government Plaza took the form of a pincer, with one flank assaulted by Illustrious's ODSTs under Major Orman while Praefecta Flavia Satori's 66th Einherjar hit the other. At the same time, 131 SMF and a mixed group of volunteers and Special Assignment agents (including myself), broken up into several independent groups, entered the plaza and Government House itself through various secondary routes. By MET 05:23, the Salusian and Einherjar forces, supported by aerospacecraft from Prometheus and Charlemagne, had effective control of the outer plaza and the Earthforce command elements had withdrawn to the planetary emergency bunker in the subbasement of Government House.

The bunker was designed to provide a refuge for the colony's governor and other officials when Government House was first built, and its systems had been periodically updated, but it was intended to keep out rioting colonists, not determined professionals. MCPO Spartan breached it within minutes of Major Orman's ODSTs and the 66th securing the building.

At MET 05:33, I requested the surrender of Colonel Michael Plummer, General Drake's adjutant; when his only response was to attempt a (completely futile, given the tactical situation at that point) personal attack, MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.

At MET 05:34, I accepted the surrender of Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Kopala, General Drake's deputy adjutant, and hostilities ceased.

At MET 05:37, President Charles Kallon was retrieved unharmed from a makeshift detention cell at the back of the bunker, where Colonel Plummer had placed him during the Earthforce troops' final withdrawal. Along with MCPO Spartan, 131 SMF, and several volunteers, I personally escorted him to his office, where he immediately began the process of reasserting legitimate government authority and restoring order to Tau Ceti IV.

At MET 05:40, Admiral Kirk notified Suribachi of the surrender of all Earthforce Marine Corps troops on the planet and requested General Drake's surrender as well. Rather than surrender, Suribachi opened a metaspace jump point and she and her remaining escort left the system. At this point, Admiral Kirk and I agreed to log Operation TRIDENT's primary mission as accomplished.

Total mission time: five hours, forty-one minutes from H-hour at the Initial Point.

Casualties: Six starship crew killed and 38 wounded in the space battle; one member of WDF Indefatigable's crew killed and two White Legion troopers wounded in the taking of EAS Retiarius; seven assorted members of the ground forces wounded in the initial phases of the surface operation; five ODSTs killed and 12 wounded in the main assault on Government Plaza, as well as 18 wounded members of the 66th Einherjar. In addition, two Tau City constables and 10 members of the Defense Force were killed and a total of 24 officers from both services were wounded, and one volunteer was injured in a non-combat-related accident during the preparations for the final assault. All our wounded are expected to recover.

Earthforce casualties are still being counted at this hour, but appear proportionally much higher (though a far greater proportion are wounded than are dead).

Equipment losses:

Starships moderately damaged:
IPS Valiant
IPS Prometheus
IPS Empire Builder
WDF Enterprise
WDF Unicorn

Starships heavily damaged:
LKV HoSghaj
IPS Indefatigable
WDF Henry Knox

All other starships lightly damaged. None crippled; none captured.

On the ground, 131 SMF lost their tank (again), but Frank is OK.

Earthforce starships destroyed:
EAS Vicksburg

Earthforce starships crippled/surrendered:
EAS Æneas
EAS Taliesin
EAS Elbridge Gerry
EMCS Agulhas

Earthforce starships boarded/captured:
EAS Retiarius
EAS Caesar Rodney

All other Earthforce starships were damaged, though it was difficult to ascertain how badly in most cases. All not listed above withdrew.

The two Starfleet vessels did not participate in any of the combat and left the system unharmed.

Following the completion of the primary mission, IPO-aligned space and ground forces remained on alert for much of that day, against the possibility of an Earthforce attempt to retake the planet.

At 1933 hrs local time, the Federation starship USS Charles B. Momsen NCC-23295 entered the system and hailed both Task Force TRIDENT and Government House. Captain Olivia Naquin informed us of the destruction of USS Danzig and the death of Federation President Santiago. As you will be aware by now (though we didn't know it at the time), general recalls following the Danzig disaster were the reason why first the Starfleet and then the Earthforce Navy vessels left the Tau Ceti system during the surface operations.

The events that unfolded that evening were almost entirely political and most occurred on Earth, so they're somewhat outside the scope of my report; we (and President Kallon) watched them on television just like everyone else.

Task Force TRIDENT remained in place until 0733 hours (local time) on the morning of March 7, when a larger Starfleet force arrived to relieve us. At that time, per your operational order, Operation TRIDENT was officially logged as complete and the task force disbanded. Valiant is en route to Zeta Cygni for repairs, in company with HoSghaj, Gravy Train, Daggerdisc, the former Group TRIDENT BLUE, and the more seriously damaged vessels from TRIDENT GREY. TRIDENT WHITE and the rest of TRIDENT RED have dispersed back to their regular stations.

Our current estimated time of arrival at the IP Yards, Zeta Cygni II, is 0920 hours Avalon Standard Time tomorrow (March 8). At that time I will report to you personally at IPO Headquarters for debriefing.

Until then, I remain
Your most humble and obedient servant,

Captain Utena R. Tenjou IPSFR
Commodore, Operation TRIDENT

Hooooooooooooly crap.

I -really- want to see just what happened in the bunker. And that fits the Danzig in nicely...thank you for filling in that bit of the puzzle.

>I -really- want to see just what happened in the bunker.

When writing the report, I was inordinately pleased with the volumes that are implied by the simple phrase,

MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.

>And that fits
>the Danzig in nicely...thank you for filling in that bit of the
>puzzle.

It could - and will, by some authorities - be argued that the Earthforce invasion of Tau Ceti was orchestrated when it was to provide cover for the Danzig disaster. Also, I hope that stands as an indication that the first version of A Day of Infamy is far from completely superseded.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>I -really- want to see just what happened in the bunker.
>
>When writing the report, I was inordinately pleased with the volumes
>that are implied by the simple phrase,
>
>MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.
>
It does at that.

>>And that fits
>>the Danzig in nicely...thank you for filling in that bit of the
>>puzzle.
>
>It could - and will, by some authorities - be argued that the
>Earthforce invasion of Tau Ceti was orchestrated when it was to
>provide cover for the Danzig disaster. Also, I hope that
>stands as an indication that the first version of A Day of
>Infamy is far from completely superseded.
>
If anything, it just goes to show that while things ma have evolved to change some of the details, you were very much in the right part of the ballpark when it was written. I just look at this as a case of "well first you got the movie version based on the limited information released at the time, and now you're getting the real story that couldn't be told until now."

Offsides

[...] in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
-- David Ben Gurion
EPU RCW #π
#include <stdsig.h>

LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-09 AT 07:11 PM (EDT)
 
>When writing the report, I was inordinately pleased with the volumes
>that are implied by the simple phrase,
>
>MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.

It leads to some wonderful mental images. Most of them ending with a firm whack to the back of the head for the Adjutant.

>It could - and will, by some authorities - be argued that the
>Earthforce invasion of Tau Ceti was orchestrated when it was to
>provide cover for the Danzig disaster. Also, I hope that
>stands as an indication that the first version of A Day of
>Infamy is far from completely superseded.

Oh, yes...you're not one to throw away needlessly. It's just nice to see where some things are being set back into place in the new picture.

(CPT Sir D. Soandso, Bart.)
What does Bart stand for? name or some sort of Salusian order like KCB?

(CMDR V. Leeds)
Welcome back Vanessa! Trying to remember... was she part of the Son's backup bridge crew, or part of the alternate Uni crew G brought back? confused cause I recall what her source material was, but for some reason I cant place just what changes were made when she got folded in.

IPS Prometheus CVS-101 (CPT K. Sterling)
IPS? I take it the WDF seconded her to the IPO when they decided they needed a carrier? And is it important that they NEEDED a carrier deck or am I just investigating too closely.

IPS Assailant NCC-06067 (CMDR R. Hoshino)
I see Ruri got a much deserved promotion.

EAS Retiarius, Retiarius-class Perimeter Control Vessel
Perimiter control?

> With Retiarius out of action, both in-system FTL navigation and the
> use of transporters became possible. Within a half-hour, Force TRIDENT
> was joined by several vessels which had not reached the Initial Point
> in time to be part of the initial assault:

AH. I get it now, basicly a scaled up Interdictor. And it makes sense that a vessel designed to interdict FTL navigation in a volume would be anti transporter as well.

> the Hon. Peregrine Took (58th Baroness Tuckborough), who was
> personally responsible for neutralizing the Black Omega esper agent

Somehow I have this image of Perri being dismissed as a threat by the BO until she clocks him one and lays him out cold.

So now we have the broad strokes cause G cribbed his outline for this, but I still wanna see all the luscious details yet to come.

>(CPT Sir D. Soandso, Bart.)
>What does Bart stand for? name or some sort of Salusian order like
>KCB?

It's shorthand for "Baronet", the lowest rank of the peerage. Baronets are styled "Sir $FIRSTNAME", but they aren't dubbed like knights, so "Bart." is appended to their names instead of the initials of a chivalric order.

>(CMDR V. Leeds)
>Welcome back Vanessa! Trying to remember... was she part of the
>Son's backup bridge crew, or part of the alternate Uni crew G brought
>back?

Vanessa's from the Split Infinitive universe; she was USS Invincible's comm officer (and went on to hold that same position aboard WDF Concordia during Crossroads).

>IPS Prometheus CVS-101 (CPT K. Sterling)
>IPS? I take it the WDF seconded her to the IPO when they decided they
>needed a carrier?

Not quite; this may refresh your memory.

>IPS Assailant NCC-06067 (CMDR R. Hoshino)
>I see Ruri got a much deserved promotion.

Indeed. She stayed as G's yeoman for much longer than, by rights, she should have, so once she left that job her advancement curve was pretty steep.

>EAS Retiarius, Retiarius-class Perimeter Control Vessel
>Perimiter control?

Perimeter Control Vessel is what Earthforce calls interdictors (in UF, "Interdictor" is actually a trademark of GENOM's subsidiary Kuat Drive Yards).

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>(CMDR V. Leeds)
>>Welcome back Vanessa! Trying to remember... was she part of the
>>Son's backup bridge crew, or part of the alternate Uni crew G brought
>>back?
>
>Vanessa's from the Split Infinitive universe; she was USS
>Invincible's comm officer (and went on to hold that same
>position aboard WDF Concordia during Crossroads).
>
Right. Along with Rick Sterling and Max Hunter.

>>IPS Prometheus CVS-101 (CPT K. Sterling)
>>IPS? I take it the WDF seconded her to the IPO when they decided they
>>needed a carrier?
>
>Not quite;
>this
>may refresh your memory.
>
Oh man... considering how much I yaked in that one I'm embarrassed I forgot about it.

>>IPS Assailant NCC-06067 (CMDR R. Hoshino)
>>I see Ruri got a much deserved promotion.
>
>Indeed. She stayed as G's yeoman for much longer than, by rights, she
>should have, so once she left that job her advancement curve was
>pretty steep.
>
Yup, not just in rank (I thought UF G promoted her to LCDR when she left) but IIRC she originally left to take the helmsman position and now she's moved to the center chair.

>Yup, not just in rank (I thought UF G promoted her to LCDR when she
>left) but IIRC she originally left to take the helmsman position and
>now she's moved to the center chair.

Correct; Ruri served as helmsman of IPS Steamrunner for at least that ship's first deployment (under Maria Tachibana, no less). Maria returned to Ishiyama after Steamrunner's first cruise - that would've been in late 2406 or early 2407 - and sometime between then and Operation TRIDENT, Ruri was promoted again and given command of Assailant. This is in keeping with the IPSF's ongoing plan for fleet expansion: of the first wave of officers to gain experience in testing and making operational the early ships in the two DDNG classes, many were expected to go on to command the production vessels built during that time.

Which goes to illustrate that, specifically designated oddballs like Valiant aside, not every starship in the galaxy has a rate of officer turnover as slow as, say, WDF Enterprise. Indeed, Enterprise is a bit of a running joke (albeit a respectful one, not derisive) within (and without, to a certain extent) the WDF for the top-heaviness of her command staff. She's known in the fleet, as well as in the Royal Salusian Navy and the friendlier parts of Starfleet, as the Ship of Seven Captains. By 2410, every one of the ship's department heads holds the rank of captain (O-5) or higher.

Fortunately, the WDF is a strange enough outfit that all those captains aren't sabotaging their careers forever by declining reassignment to stay with the team they're most comfortable being part of, like they would be in, say, Starfleet (indeed, in Starfleet they'd all have had to turn down that last promotion; they'd all still be commanders, and would've kissed any prospect of captaincy, let alone flag rank, goodbye forever by now).

(There's widely held to be something odd about starships named Enterprise in this regard. In galactic history there have been three notable ones, and they've all had weirdly static quarterdecks. The original WDF Enterprise never once turned over an officer; the current one hasn't since well before becoming a WDF vessel; and lots of people agree that someone should've either promoted Will Riker out of the current USS Enterprise by force or, failing that, sold him to the Freespacers by now.)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>Starships moderately damaged:
IPS Valiant

Hmmmmm... seems like the Surprise might not be to far of after all...

Also, I assume the Demologos is a Steamrunner-class? And here I was thinking they were all named after trains...

>Hmmmmm... seems like the Surprise might not be to far of after
>all...

It's only a flesh wound!

>Also, I assume the Demologos is a Steamrunner-class?

Yep. (The giveaway, apart from the etymology of the name, is that the second digit in the hull number is 7. The Defiant-class ships are the 06000 series.)

>And here I was thinking they were all named after trains...

Not all, no. Some are also named after other steam-related things; there are Steamrunners named Thomas Newcomen and James Watt as well, for instance, and one called Le Napoléon (after the first steam-powered line-of-battle ship).

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>And here I was thinking they were all named after trains...
>
>Not all, no. Some are also named after other steam-related things;
>there are Steamrunners named Thomas Newcomen and
>James Watt as well, for instance, and one called Le
>Napoléon (after the first steam-powered line-of-battle
>ship).
>
>--G.

One would have to assume, then, that the Demologos is named after an experiment of Hero of Alexandria, who devised what was basically the first steam engine to disprove the Aristotelian notion of the Prime Mover. Ironically, Aristotle's theories of the Prime Mover were used by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages to prove the existence of the divine...

>>>And here I was thinking they were all named after trains...
>>
>>Not all, no. Some are also named after other steam-related things;
>>there are Steamrunners named Thomas Newcomen and
>>James Watt as well, for instance, and one called Le
>>Napoléon (after the first steam-powered line-of-battle
>>ship).
>>
>One would have to assume, then, that the Demologos is named
>after an experiment of Hero of Alexandria, who devised what was
>basically the first steam engine to disprove the Aristotelian notion
>of the Prime Mover.

Not directly, at least; she's named for the Demologos, the first steam-powered warship. The original Demologos was a floating battery built (by no less a figure in early steam navigation than Robert Fulton of North River Steamboat fame) to defend New York harbor during the War of 1812, but was completed too late to see action. She was a paddle steamer and not a particularly handy sort of craft - that would have to wait until the invention of the screw propeller, which led to the development of ships like Le Napoléon - but she was first.

I've always seen Heron of Alexandria's invention referred to as an aeolipile, and there's probably a Steamrunner named after that as well.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I stand corrected, my liege, and look forward to the appearance of the IPSF Steamrunners Richard Trevithick, Livio Porta and Rocket.

As an aside, may I ask if one of the U-Boats under IPSF command is named the Cornelius Drebbel or William Bourne or somesuch? Given UF Gryphon's fascination with history, it would not be totally surprising...

>As an aside, may I ask if one of the U-Boats under IPSF command is
>named the Cornelius Drebbel or William Bourne or
>somesuch?

The IPO doesn't have U-ships; Unfathomable was "borrowed" for the recce prior to Operation TRIDENT from the Royal Salusian Navy (which is why she took no part in the actual fight).

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

"Well, to coin a phrase, whoops..."

Again, my apologies. I really must go through that particular story again...

Though in my view, there simply ought to be a ship named after the man who took James I on a jolly under the Thames, designed the world's first feedback-controlled mechanism and used it to incubate chickens, and invented the fork. It seems somehow appropriate.

Pretty slick presentation of a really hectic mess of a battle. I love the tie-in with the Danzig kersplosion.

>Captain Utena R. Tenjou IPSFR
>Commodore, Operation TRIDENT

I first read this at 3am as "R. Utena Tenjou" which would be completely different...

-------------------------------------
Chris can't handle chemicals

>>Captain Utena R. Tenjou IPSFR
>>Commodore, Operation TRIDENT
>
>I first read this at 3am as "R. Utena Tenjou" which would be
>completely different...

I missed this completely. Good way to solve the "change your last name" question. Unless she always had a middle name and I just missed it?

On a related note, it's nice to see that Corwin made it to the playing field. Not a huge surprise, though.

- Chad

>I missed this completely. Good way to solve the "change your last
>name" question. Unless she always had a middle name and I just missed
>it?

Nope, she didn't have one until the very end of Clarion Call. They're quite uncommon in the part of Cephiro she comes from.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>I missed this completely. Good way to solve the "change your last
>>name" question. Unless she always had a middle name and I just missed
>>it?
>
>Nope, she didn't have one until the very end of Clarion Call.
>They're quite uncommon in the part of Cephiro she comes from.

That's what I thought. Thanks for clarifying!

- Chad

>At MET 01:37, with the tactical advantage in orbit strongly on
>Force TRIDENT's side, I transferred operational command of the
>orbital elements to VADM Kirk, left Valiant in the capable hands
>of Colonel Grissom,

Is this the same Gil Grissom of the Crime Lab?

-T.Z.
==================================================

"I believe that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
Then find someone whose life gives them vodka and have a party."
--Ron White, stand-up comedian.

==================================================

No - reread Clarion Call - Gus Grissom is the temporary Valiant bus driver. :)

>Task Force TRIDENT remained in place until 0733 hours (local time) on
>the morning of March 7, when a larger Starfleet force arrived to
>relieve us.

Relieved by Starfleet ? Not IPSF or WDF ?

>>Task Force TRIDENT remained in place until 0733 hours (local time) on
>>the morning of March 7, when a larger Starfleet force arrived to
>>relieve us.
>
>Relieved by Starfleet ? Not IPSF or WDF ?

Correct. This makes sense in light of the developments Utena specifically mentions are beyond the scope of her report there at the end; it'll all be explained presently.

--G.
-><-
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Seems like everyone's had their share of Awesome moments.

> He ordered Force TRIDENT to leave the system immediately or
>be subject to attack as pirates interfering with a lawful peacekeeping
>mission. I informed him that I was not born yesterday and hostilities
>commenced at MET 00:40.

Awesome.

> At one point EAS Elbridge Gerry did engage Swordbreaker,
>attempting to drive the media ships off, but Swordbreaker's
>counterattack had crippled Gerry before any Force TRIDENT
>vessels could maneuver to intervene.

Awesome.

> - A group of TacDiv operators from Prometheus, led by SA1
>agent Nikola Tesla, were on the verge of overtaking Salton Reactor
>entirely despite heavy resistance from Earthforce armored jump
>troopers and at least one Expert-level Black Omega esper agent (see
>attached dossier);
>
>Again, all personnel performed excellently. I must take special note
>of Prof. Tesla, whose heroism in the capture and preservation of
>Salton Reactor was conspicuous, and of one of our volunteers in
>Valiant, the Hon. Peregrine Took (58th Baroness Tuckborough),
>who was personally responsible for neutralizing the Black Omega esper
>agent in command of the city prison's occupation force.

Awesome. ...wonder who this particular "Expert-level Black Omega agent" is?

>At MET 05:33, I requested the surrender of Colonel Michael Plummer,
>General Drake's adjutant; when his only response was to attempt a
>(completely futile, given the tactical situation at that point)
>personal attack, MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.
>
>At MET 05:34, I accepted the surrender of Lieutenant Colonel Andrea
>Kopala, General Drake's deputy adjutant, and hostilities ceased.

Awesome.

>Illustrious carried out an orbital infantry drop operation while under >heavy fire from the destroyers of DESRON-14, for spacemanship during which >operation I must particularly commend Captain Soandso.

Wait, what? Is this a placeholder Utena accidentally left in, or is there an actual Captain Soandso? (Did she hang out with three other girls named Chrrl'd'r, Watserface and Ug'-li-wan when she was younger?)

There's a Salusian named Soandso in Ninja High School. He was Captain of the ship that took Crown Princess Asrial to Earth. I'd guess that this one is a descendant, as the original should be an Admiral or retired, by now.

Gryphon, question: I know F/V stands for 'Fishing Vessel', but what does H/V stand for? 'Hunting Vessel'?

“They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.”
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

I'm guessing H/V may stand for 'Hyperspace Vessel'.

LAST EDITED ON May-03-09 AT 12:30 PM (EDT)
 
>Gryphon, question: I know F/V stands for 'Fishing Vessel', but what
>does H/V stand for? 'Hunting Vessel'?

Correct.

	Chad Collier Smirking Kilrathi The Captain of the Gravy Train

>There's a Salusian named Soandso in Ninja High School. He was
>Captain of the ship that took Crown Princess Asrial to Earth. I'd
>guess that this one is a descendant, as the original should be an
>Admiral or retired, by now.

Quite so. The house of Soandso is one of the great Salusian military families, like the Aldzinjals and the Satoris, though unlike the others, almost all the famous Soandsos over the centuries have been Royal Navy officers, and especially unlike the almost calculatedly un-aristocratic Aldzinjals, the family has several noble titles to its name. Captain Sir Doran Soandso ISG, Bart., is the twelfth Baronet Soandso, and one of the few to leave the RSN for an appointment in the Imperial Guards. Admiral of the Black the Most Honourable the Marquis of Soandso RSN (Ret.), the officer who (as plain old Captain Alford Soandso) had the distinction of being Princess Asrial's commanding officer before she joined the Wedge Defense Force, is his great-uncle.

--G.
-><-
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Thank you. Is Admiral of the Black a reference to the old Royal Navy practice of separating flag ranks into Red, White, and Blue, or is it a way to separate Space Navy ranks from Sea Navy ranks?

“They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.”
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

>Thank you. Is Admiral of the Black a reference to the old Royal Navy
>practice of separating flag ranks into Red, White, and Blue,
>or is it a way to separate Space Navy ranks from Sea Navy
>ranks?

Neither; it's the official styling for one who holds or has held the Royal Salusian Navy's supreme command - equivalent to the Wedge Defense Force's Grand Admiral. This position is also sometimes known by the more prosaic title "Admiral of the Fleet", and very occasionally, in older documents and newer ones whose authors wished to hearken back to the Elder Days, by an Old Cheltarese phrase meaning Admiral of the Ocean of Stars.

(As an aside, the small-but-proud branch of the RSN which still serves at sea is known, rather grandly, as the Pelagian Flotilla, and the officer commanding it, though in truth only a commodore - for it is quite a small outfit, relatively speaking, in modern times - may choose to be called by the courtesy styling "Admiral of the Blue".)

--G.
-><-
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Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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>> At one point EAS Elbridge Gerry did engage Swordbreaker,
>>attempting to drive the media ships off, but Swordbreaker's
>>counterattack had crippled Gerry before any Force TRIDENT
>>vessels could maneuver to intervene.

>Awesome.

Also no doubt rather humiliating for the captain and crew of the Elbridge Gerry, being defeated by a media ship. 8P

>
>Also no doubt rather humiliating for the captain and crew of the
>Elbridge Gerry, being defeated by a media ship. 8P
>

Either that, or there was a polite exchange of messages afterward, which summed up as:

"You call that a media ship?! Do you have a license for the weapons on that?"
"Yes, we do. (see attachment listing Swordbreaker's armaments, and licenses for each, including special Corporate Sector documentation)"
"Oh, $#!+!"

Remember, Swordbreaker has a fold drive, as mentioned in A Night to Remember. Consider what kind of power requirements that implies, and what a ship can do with that when it isn't bending space-time into a pretzel for the sake of a news story.

Yeah, somebody's gonna go *boom*.

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."

>Remember, Swordbreaker has a fold drive, as mentioned in
>A Night to Remember. Consider what kind of power requirements
>that implies, and what a ship can do with that when it isn't bending
>space-time into a pretzel for the sake of a news story.

As befits a ship flying Network 23's flag, Swordbreaker is from twenty minutes into the future. :)

--G.
-><-
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>Remember, Swordbreaker has a fold drive, as mentioned in
>A Night to Remember. Consider what kind of power requirements
>that implies, and what a ship can do with that when it isn't bending
>space-time into a pretzel for the sake of a news story.
>
>Yeah, somebody's gonna go *boom*.

Hmm. Um.

Okay, I'm not all _that_ familiar with the source material, but I have the impression that a fold drive requires a reflex furnace.

And a bit of googling (not being familiar with Swordbreaker's source material at all) shows it as having two parallel extensions in front.

If the implication I'm seeing isn't all in my head, yeah....

Ain't _nobody_ gonna mess with the freedom of the press when Swordbreaker's around....

>
>Okay, I'm not all _that_ familiar with the source material, but I have
>the impression that a fold drive requires a reflex furnace.
>

I'm not sure whether or not that's true in UF. If I remember correctly, it's possible to power a fold drive without overtechnology, it's just horribly expensive, rather bulky, and may require highly unstable hazardous material to fuel the power source.

>
>And a bit of googling (not being familiar with Swordbreaker's source
>material at all) shows it as having two parallel extensions in front.
>
>If the implication I'm seeing isn't all in my head, yeah....
>

I think it's not so bad as all that. But it's still got the power to make a complete hole in a starship that is expecting something with less oomph.

On the other hand, if it does have a Reflex cannon, I can imagine Truss saying, "Valen, if I ever see you, I'm going to have you explain why I need one of these."

Peter Eng
--
I'm only a Charter Member because of the DCForum upgrade, and because there's no rank below "Clueless F!wit."

>On the other hand, if it does have a Reflex cannon, I can imagine
>Truss saying, "Valen, if I ever see you, I'm going to have you explain
>why I need one of these."

For "interesting times", of course.

"I just needed a really big flashlight. That's all."

>On the other hand, if it does have a Reflex cannon, I can imagine
>Truss saying, "Valen, if I ever see you, I'm going to have you explain
>why I need one of these."
>

I suspect he'll find out in The New Frontier, if not sooner... well, if we're right about him having one.

“They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.”
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

>WDF Unicorn NCC-1744 (CPT A. Haddock)

... wait, what, is that who I think he is, is his science officer named C. Calculus, and is there a Mr Tintin (NMN, NFN) onboard?

Because, if any of the above is true, I certainly hope the whiskey-swilling old blighter gets to blister a few barnacles at Earthforce.

Loving it,
Cal.

The giveaway on that particular score's the name of the boat - 'The Secret Of The Unicorn' was basically Haddock's finest moment, along with the sequel.

>>WDF Unicorn NCC-1744 (CPT A. Haddock)
>
>... wait, what, is that who I think he is, is his science officer
>named C. Calculus, and is there a Mr Tintin (NMN, NFN) onboard?

I can't believe I missed that! I used to love those comics.

LAST EDITED ON Jan-22-11 AT 12:16 PM (EST)
 
Yes, I realize it's been a while, but I love historical references. On a 2nd reading, I've noticed one that I wanted to make note of, since others may be interested, and it's not been noted here earlier. (this thread's not in the archive, according to the search engine)

>At 1933 hrs local time, the Federation starship USS Charles B.
>Momsen NCC-23295 entered the system and hailed both Task Force
>TRIDENT and Government House. Captain Olivia Naquin informed us of
>the destruction of USS Danzig and the death of Federation
>President Santiago.

Captain Naquin of the Momsen, eh? Very fitting - although I hope her career has been a little less "exciting" than her namesake.

For those who'd like to know more, I suggest researching Lt. Cdr. Charles Momsen, Lt. Oliver Naquin, and the events surrounding the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192) during the summer/fall of 1939.

Jeanne

	Jeanne Hedge http://www.jhedge.com
"Believe me, if I have to go the rest of my life without companionship, knowing myself won't be a problem." -- Gabrielle of Potadeia

>Yes, I realize it's been a while, but I love historical references. On
>a 2nd reading, I've noticed one that I wanted to make note of, since
>others may be interested, and it's not been noted here earlier. (this
>thread's not in the archive, according to the search engine)

Unless it's specifically done by hand, threads get pushed into the archive by the number of newer ones in the board above them. It doesn't have any direct relation to their age, just the traffic level. (The reason the Featured Documents board has so many archived threads is because they were originally on the UF General board, and had been "naturally" pushed to the archive before they were moved over here.)

Anyway, delay or not, I'm pleased somebody spotted this one (just as I was when someone twigged to Captain Haddock of the Unicorn). :)

>>At 1933 hrs local time, the Federation starship USS Charles B.
>>Momsen NCC-23295 entered the system and hailed both Task Force
>>TRIDENT and Government House. Captain Olivia Naquin informed us of
>>the destruction of USS Danzig and the death of Federation
>>President Santiago.
>
>Captain Naquin of the Momsen, eh? Very fitting - although I hope her
>career has been a little less "exciting" than her namesake.

Well, so far so good on the main induction valves, anyway. :)

>For those who'd like to know more, I suggest researching
>Lt. Cdr. Charles Momsen,
>Lt. Oliver Naquin, and
>the events surrounding the submarine
>USS Squalus (SS-192) during
>the summer/fall of 1939.

The book you see listed as a reference on the pages for Naquin and the Squalus, Peter Maas's The Terrible Hours, is also recommended reading.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>The book you see listed as a reference on the pages for Naquin and the
>Squalus, Peter Maas's The Terrible Hours, is also
>recommended reading.

Oh my goodness, YES! An excellent book - and like many books, stratospherically better than the movie version (a TV movie, yet, and not worth the time)

Jeanne

	Jeanne Hedge http://www.jhedge.com
"Believe me, if I have to go the rest of my life without companionship, knowing myself won't be a problem." -- Gabrielle of Potadeia

>EMCS Agulhas, Myrmidon-class
>monesponse
>was to attempt a (completely futile, given the tactical situation at
>that point) personal attack, MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.

The forum apparently ate some of the text that was supposed to be here (and which is seen in some of the quotes).

>The forum apparently ate some of the text that was supposed to be here
>(and which is seen in some of the quotes).

Well, shit.

--G.
-><-
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Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I think this is actually the fault of the disk failure way back when, there's a large block of binary zeroes in the raw HTML where the missing text should be.

I checked the Wayback Machine but unfortunately it doesn't have the Forum archived.

>I think this is actually the fault of the disk failure way back when,
>there's a large block of binary zeroes in the raw HTML where the
>missing text should be.

This is what it looked like in the edit window when I opened it up to patch in the text Murdock salvaged:

And that's just the bottom of it. I had to scroll up for... quite a while to reach the top when I was highlighting it for removal.

--G.
-><-
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zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Yeah, that's essentially what I saw when I saved the page and opened it up in a text editor.

(Did you know that every top-level post of the Forum shoves its entire contents into a <META NAME="Keywords" CONTENT="..."> tag? Which, in this case, meant two copies of the block of nulls.)

This should be the missing text block. Hopefully can be grafted back into the original post with only minor editing.

Earthforce Marine Corps
EMCS Suribachi, Iceberg-class surface assault ship
EMCS Canaveral, Myrmidon-class monitor
EMCS Agulhas, Myrmidon-class monitor

Starfleet
USS Bellerophon, Nebula-class cruiser
USS Northumberland, Nebula-class cruiser

Captain Merkretsch identified Suribachi as the headquarters ship for the Earthforce X Surface Assault Corps, MGEN Westford Drake EMC commanding.

At mission elapsed time 00:24, Force TRIDENT passed the orbit of Tau Ceti V and formed up for in-system assault. At 00:31, Valiant was hailed by EAS Clytmnestra, which identified herself as the Earthforce fleet's flag. At this time it was learned that General Drake was the Earthforce flag officer in overall command of the invasion. He ordered Force TRIDENT to leave the system immediately or be subject to attack as pirates interfering with a lawful peacekeeping mission. I informed him that I was not born yesterday and hostilities commenced at MET 00:40.

I should note here that the two Starfleet vessels did not participate in the ensuing fleet action. CPT Hunsacker of Northumberland notified us that his vessel and Bellerophon were present only to guarantee the neutrality of Tau Ceti III. When battle commenced between Force TRIDENT and the Earthforce group, the Starfleet ships stood off to a distance of 2.5 AU and observed.

In approximately 33 minutes of close action, Force TRIDENT's heavier starships occupied the attention of the Earthforce vessels while Gravy Train, Daggerdisc, and small craft from Challenger, Enterprise, Indefatigable, and Prometheus penetrated the orbital defenses of Tau Ceti IV and inserted a counter-assault force on the planet's surface. At the same time, Illustrious carried out an orbital infantry drop operation while under heavy fire from the destroyers of DESRON-14, for spacemanship during which operation I must particularly commend Captain Soandso.

All ships and crew performed admirably during the action against Earthforce in high orbit, but in addition to Illustrious above, I must take special note of:

- Commander Leeds and the crew of WDF Scimitar, who disabled the flight deck of EAS Komarov with a combination of daring maneuver and excellent gunnery;

- Captain vathKesek and the crew of HoSghaj, who, despite serious damage to their vessel, prevented the two Earthforce monitors from intercepting the surface assault force and knocked Agulhas out of the fight entirely; and

- Captain Pellew and the ship's company of Indefatigable, and LT John McCandless (VII GENOM White Legion) and his special action squad (along with Jedi Master Atin-Vae Springsteen), who crippled, boarded, and captured EAS Retiarius, the capture being concluded at about MET 01:23.

With Retiarius out of action, both in-system FTL navigation and the use of transporters became possible. Within a half-hour, Force TRIDENT was joined by several vessels which had not reached the Initial Point in time to be part of the initial assault:

Group TRIDENT WHITE
CFMF Charlemagne CFF-114 (CPT T'Pall, VADM A. Nakajima aboard)
CFMF Whippet CFF-179 (CMDR D. Slattery)
IGS Vengeance (CMDR G. Dessler)
Private starship H/V Slave One (J. Fett, master)
Private starship H/V Rusty Angel (A. Ironheart, master)

A small group of media starships arrived shortly thereafter, including NMS Swordbreaker (Network 23, J. Trussell, master) and the private broadcast vessel Big Time, but they did not take part in the main action, instead positioning themselves to provide galactic news coverage of the incidents unfolding on the planet's surface. At one point EAS Elbridge Gerry did engage Swordbreaker, attempting to drive the media ships off, but Swordbreaker's counterattack had crippled Gerry before any Force TRIDENT vessels could maneuver to intervene.

At MET 01:37, with the tactical advantage in orbit strongly on Force TRIDENT's side, I transferred operational command of the orbital elements to VADM Kirk, left Valiant in the capable hands of Colonel Grissom, and beamed to the surface in company with Tactical Division 131 SMF (Repo Men) to take charge of operations there.

The principal goals of Operation TRIDENT's surface actions were to wrest control of Tau City from Earthforce and restore President Charles Kallon to office. To this end, the TRIDENT surface forces were deployed with several incremental objectives:

1. To seize control of Tau City's main power generation facilities, the hydro-electric station at Tovora Dam north of the city and Lambert Salton Reactor Station downtown;

2. To determine the current status of the Tau City Constabulary and Republic of Tau Ceti Defense Force, gain control of their headquarters and barracks facilities, and (if necessary) restore both organizations to an operational condition;

3. To safeguard or re-establish legitimate government control of the Bell System hypercomm center near Government House;

4. To sweep the Earthforce Marine presence from Government House itself and its vicinity; and

5. To ascertain the whereabouts and condition of President Kallon and, if necessary, rescue him from Earthforce captivity.

By the time I arrived on the surface, much had already been done:

- The crew of the Gravy Train and several Valkyrie operatives had taken control of Tovora Dam, though a mishap during the fight had deprived much of the city's northern half of power;

- A group of TacDiv operators from Prometheus, led by SA1 agent Nikola Tesla, were on the verge of overtaking Salton Reactor entirely despite heavy resistance from Earthforce armored jump troopers and at least one Expert-level Black Omega esper agent (see attached dossier);

- Elements of the 66th Einherjar Legion and members of Valiant's volunteer crew had seized Tau City Constabulary Headquarters and were in the process of liberating the Constabulary's officers from the city prison, where Earthforce had incarcerated them; and

- Illustrious's ODSTs, led by MAJ Jaleen Orman and MCPO Sir John Spartan, had secured TCDF Headquarters and were in the process of mobilizing the Defense Force for objective 4 above.

Again, all personnel performed excellently. I must take special note of Prof. Tesla, whose heroism in the capture and preservation of Salton Reactor was conspicuous, and of one of our volunteers in Valiant, the Hon. Peregrine Took (58th Baroness Tuckborough), who was personally responsible for neutralizing the Black Omega esper agent in command of the city prison's occupation force.

When I reached the surface, my first order of business was to take control of the hypercomm facility. With 131 SMF's help, this was accomplished in relatively short order and without casualties. At that point I set about establishing a central command and coordination position. Up to that point the surface elements were proceeding independently, and all the threads of the operation had to be drawn together before we could proceed to objectives 4 and 5. Tuncer and I left most of 131 SMF to hold the hypercomm station until they could be relieved by local officers and relocated to TCDF Headquarters, which we judged to be the most thoroughly defensible of the available positions within the city.

At MET 03:21, I received word from Admiral Kirk that the two Starfleet vessels, which had held station and never offered to participate in the orbital action, had left the system abruptly and without making any kind of transmission. Shortly thereafter, the Earthforce Navy vessels that had not been captured or disabled earlier, and which had seemed to be regrouping near the orbit of Tau Ceti V, suddenly abandoned their efforts and quit the system, leaving Suribachi and Canaveral behind. Admiral Kirk and I redeployed Task Force TRIDENT for quick reaction to a possible reinforced Earthforce counterattack, but none appeared to be forthcoming. Our starships remained at high alert. Knowing they would report immediately if the situation changed, I returned my full attention to the ground operation.

At MET 03:45 (0445 hours local time, shortly before dawn), we completed preparations to launch phase 4 of the ground operation. In addition to the forces we brought with us and reinforcements beamed down from orbit, our force for the counterinvasion of Government Plaza included significant elements from both the Tau City Constabulary and Tau Ceti Defense Force. Their command and control structures were somewhat disorganized, owing to the battering both forces took in the initial invasion, but most local personnel were ready and eager to participate in the retaking of their capital.

I should note here that, with so many disparate elements involved in the ground assault, even with Lensmen scattered through the various groups, there would have been almost no hope of properly organizing or commanding the force as a whole without Cortana. Her communications capabilities are well beyond those of any humanoid, but her extensive tactical experience and her excellent situational awareness were of equal, if not greater, importance to the overall success of this operation.

Where the space battle was roughly even (allowing for the wide range of spacecraft types involved) at the outset, our ground force was badly outnumbered. Furthermore, the Earthforce Marines occupying Government Plaza were clearly aware that they had been abandoned by the Navy, and that their base ship was in no position to come to their aid. Under strict orders to hold until relief could arrive, they fought tenaciously. However, General Drake had remained aboard Suribachi, and with Retiarius in our hands he was completely unable to communicate with the planet.

The primary assault on Government Plaza took the form of a pincer, with one flank assaulted by Illustrious's ODSTs under Major Orman while Praefecta Flavia Satori's 66th Einherjar hit the other. At the same time, 131 SMF and a mixed group of volunteers and Special Assignment agents (including myself), broken up into several independent groups, entered the plaza and Government House itself through various secondary routes. By MET 05:23, the Salusian and Einherjar forces, supported by aerospacecraft from Prometheus and Charlemagne, had effective control of the outer plaza and the Earthforce command elements had withdrawn to the planetary emergency bunker in the subbasement of Government House.

The bunker was designed to provide a refuge for the colony's governor and other officials when Government House was first built, and its systems had been periodically updated, but it was intended to keep out rioting colonists, not determined professionals. MCPO Spartan breached it within minutes of Major Orman's ODSTs and the 66th securing the building.

At MET 05:33, I requested the surrender of Colonel Michael Plummer, General Drake's adjutant; when his only response was to attempt a (completely futile, given the tactical situation at that point) personal attack, MCPO Spartan was obliged to subdue him.

At MET 05:34, I accepted the surrender of Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Kopala, General Drake's deputy adjutant, and hostilities ceased.

Fixed! Thanks a lot for digging that up from... wherever you found it. :)

--G.
-><-
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LAST EDITED ON Feb-14-21 AT 03:52 PM (EST)
 
It occurs to me that, now that it's repaired, it should be a supplemental document for First Dates and Firefights, reachable through the main page.

It also occurs to me that we never see the Swordbreaker blow a hole in the Elbridge Gerry onscreen, and that's definitely something that would have made the news.

>Ut also occurs to me that we never see thr Swordbreaker blow a hole in
>the Elbridge Gerry onscreen, and that's definitely something that
>would have made the news.

While it would make for a dramatic onscreen moment, I could see why Truss might cut a deal with Blank Reg and Nanami to leave that part out of the news.Nothing like letting the galaxy know your journalism ship is really capable of manhandling (Canal-handling?) an Earthforce warship.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

>>Ut also occurs to me that we never see thr Swordbreaker blow a hole in
>>the Elbridge Gerry onscreen, and that's definitely something that
>>would have made the news.
>
>While it would make for a dramatic onscreen moment, I could see why
>Truss might cut a deal with Blank Reg and Nanami to leave that part
>out of the news. Nothing like letting the galaxy know your journalism
>ship is really capable of manhandling (Canal-handling?) an Earthforce
>warship.
>

"Um...what will it take to leave that out of your broadcast?"

"I'll classify it the same way you do. If you don't want this reaching eighty-seven million sentients over the next forty-eight hours, you may want to pretend that the Valiant hit you. Pretend real hard."

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>
>"I'll classify it the same way you do. If you don't want this
>reaching eighty-seven million sentients over the next forty-eight
>hours, you may want to pretend that the Valiant hit you. Pretend
>real hard."
>
Also, it is something of an oath among newsies "We dont MAKE the news, just report it". Also I wouldn't blame Truss for not banding Swordbreakers abilities about. Might provoke the bad guys to find a bigger sword for Canal to break!