Kaiserliche Rheinwehr [RM] - Message Dump

Guten Tag Offiziere.

Last week, two events of significance occurred that I have only recently had time to outline.

The first concerns yet another raid on Hammersee by a Corsair battlegroup.
I heeded the early warning by the intelligence apparatus, and proceeded to make a circuit of the system's assets. By the time I returned to our rallying point near Hammersee, Kapitän zur See Holzner was on scene, directing the arriving forces. I fell in with a wing of MND snubcraft, clearing them to call targets. I agreed to follow the lead of one of their hardened veteranen in BDM|Inferno, which proved to be an excellent decision.

In due time, the Imperio made their appearance, with their customary comm chatter preceding their vessels. While we were outnumbered by weight, the enemy could not match our lighter craft, which was immediately noted by me and other members of our wing. The Kapitän ordered a standard approach, with vessels fanning out from the Kaiser in regular formation. At the time of engagement, our battle group numbered five heavy battleships, four light battleships, and five snubcraft. The enemy possessed at least six heavy and five light battleships, along with two or three snubcraft - I do not recall their precise numbers.

The Corsairs hit us hard, immediately going on the offensive. My wing weaved through the middle of their flotte, hunting down limping targets and disabling two, one after another. After this, the battle lost all fleet cohesion, with as much as 8K separating various fighting clusters. I vividly recall Kapitän Holzner marveling at the aggressive abuse of the shield generators by the Corsairs, all the while the Kaiser performed a slow retreat in the face of overwhelming force. After firing off my heavy ordnance to assist with disabling additional cruisers, I broke off to resupply. After returning, the fight was all but over, with the Corsairs in disarray.
Our superior tactics and light craft advantage have once again secured victory, despite damage to the Kaiser and the losses of both Inferno and a Kruger security fighter. Thankfully, both piloten survived, while personnel casualties were relatively low on the Kaiser based on my inquiries.

comm log (Corsair engagement)

The second event occured early the next day. The ready team received a last-minute warning about a VIP coming aboard one of the restricted liners for its shakedown cruise. While an escort was provided, all piloten were urged to offer assistance if it was necessary. In a rare moment between paperwork, I responded to the call, alongside none other than Kapitän zur See Holzner on the Miltenberg, and Inspektorin Wolf in a snubcraft. As my revenant was undergoing maintenance, I elected to fly out on a disir, a fact which will become important shortly.

The convoy began in Stuttgart with little issues. There was a minor falten when a Golden Chrysanthemum pilot jumped through after the complete set of escorts. After multiple warning by myself and the Inspektorin, the pilot was persuaded to return through the jump gate.

The convoy proceeded in good order after a brief set of introductions, with me scouting ahead and the Inspektorin staying with the main force. I passed the Miltenberg on the approach to the New Berlin gate, which elected to join the bulk of the convoy. I entered standard escort scouting formation, always staying a lane ahead of the convoy. Due to a minor miscommunication, I chose the longer route around New Berlin, and was forced to double back to link up with the convoy, which delayed in good order to retain the same tactical structure.

However, these precautions were not enough. I distinctly recall detecting three Hessian vessels as I approached the Hamburg gate, and immediately raising the alarm over our secure comms. Despite this, the convoy's flagship, the Karuizawa, fatally delayed its exit from the lane sequence. The Hessians, two blackmarket cruisers and a coalition-made battlecruiser, immediately pounced on its prey. With little time to react, the rest of the convoy piled in behind. The dispostion were as follows on our side: the Karuizawa, a battlecruiser-equivalent, but with seemingly untrained crew, The Queen Britania, a standard passenger liner, the Miltenberg, and four snubcraft.

Any decision regarding engagement was taken out of our hands by the Hessians, one of whom ordered the rest to open fire on Rheinland forces. At the same time, the Karuizawa ordered to convoy to stay put and not to fire unless directly attacked. The three of us focused our fire on a single cruiser, which immediately began evasive maneuvers while returning fire. In tandem with its partner, it was difficult to engage effectively, though we managed to drive both away from the gate. At this point, the convoy made the decision to proceed on through, but were immediately followed by the battlecruiser.

The hessians decided to split up further, with one tracking down the heavily damaged Miltenberg, as the other prepared to support its leader in Hamburg. Kapitän Holzner made the call to send us both through, as he attempted to pin the remaining cruiser with the Miltenberg to give us a fighting chance. On the other side of the gate, the Karuizawa finally grew a spine, and ordered the convoy to return fire. However, this decision was very short-lived. In what seemed to be mere moments, the order was given to stay down.

I continued to engage the cruiser with the help of the Direktorin, but when I detected its partner approaching on scanners, I knew all was lost. Without the assistance from the convoy escorts, even a single cruiser was more than a match for our firepower. Fortunately, the convoy was let off with a substantial fine only, and seeing no more reason to risk ourselves, I recommended to the Direktorin that we disengage.

Overall, I was impressed by the discipline of the OS&C security, and equally disappointed by the decision making of their flagship's crews and what I presume were the executives on board. From my understanding, the Miltenberg made it back to Essen without further issues, as the Hessians were too pre-occupied to properly finish the job. The communications log for the conoy's duration is attached below, and I am available for debriefing outside of those hours I must dedicate to the Grossadmiral.

comm log (OSandC convoy)

Für den Kaiser! Für das Volk! Für Rheinland!

Hochachtungsvoll,
Elias Beist
Korporal der Kaiserlichen Rheinwehr