Bretonian Armed Forces Defense Intelligence Staff (DIS) (iRP) (AO)

[Thunderer]

Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Medium
Priority: Very High
To: BAF DIS
From: Admiral Sir George Richard Hall
Location: HMS Norfolk, Cambridge System

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Report No. 1,863:

Victory.
But I have to admit that the battle was rather tedious. Yes, it was an unknown system, but we were only met with token resistance. I will report the details only because it is the procedure. I hoped for more.
Our fleet was comprised of the Dauntless, one Templar , one Paladin, one Avenger and one Challenger. The jump hole appeared in front of New London, slightly off the predicted location. I sent Commander Graham to scout, who reported a clear. The rest of the fleet followed shortly. We found ourselves in the F7 sector of a dark blue nebula, above what looked like a Dyson Sphere. Apparently it does exist. The map labelled the system as Omicron Major.
As we praised the Queen and as I emitted the Grenadiers throughout the space, we learned that we were not alone, besides obviously having a few ominous tentacles to cut through. Liberty, Rheinland, Kusari and, of course, because they absolutely have to poke into every such occasion, the Order -- were there as well. We knocked together an ad hoc alliance while the Order were apparently getting pounded in the E/F6 sector. I quickly used the gap in the alliance's command to take it myself, and ordered the Houses to meet up there, which they did. I got visual to the two enormous structures. I tried to coordinate all the light craft, but there were too many, and each responded to their own wing commander, so I turned to the capital ships. That worked, and we focused fire at the generators around the alleged superweapon. They were indeed firm, but could not withstand the fire of six battleships -- six answering to me, that is -- one Dunkirk, one Atlantis, two Bismarcks and two Tokugawas. We were not able to do any considerable harm to the superweapon, so we turned out fire to the generators around what looked like a Nomad lair, if the BIS pictures are indeed that. It was too large to fall to a surprise attack, but we managed to completely destroy all the generators. Meanwhile the Dauntless got fired at by the alien forces, and we managed to destroy two gunboat-class vessels thanks to our Pulse-Mortar-Razor armament, as well as several strike craft with our point defense. After the relevant structures were destroyed, I sent Lieutenant Commander McKinley to search for a way out. The jump hole which brought us there had collapsed, so he had to find another one. I suppose he assumed that there would be one near a body of high gravity, so he headed to the planet above the sector E/F5. Luck was on his side. I headed the Dauntless there by impulse, while shrugging off the Nomad strike craft which were repeatedly diving at us, and ordered the fleet to follow. We stood guard for some time and waited for other Houses to go through. However, the engineer team aboard the ship predicted that the jump hole would collapse in precisely seven minutes from our arrival, so we had to jump before all ships (but after all ours) have left the system. I do not know what fate suffered those which remained. I had advised the Order to remain and stand guard.
We found ourselves in another unexplored, although charted system, labelled as Omicron Lost. We saw a jump hole right in front of us, which was quite odd because when a ship emerges from a jump hole, it is usually behind. I do not even know if this was the jump hole corresponding to the one in Major, but there was none behind us, and I did not want to take chances.
We also saw a large pink gas giant in the distance. The Lieutenant Commander's sense appeared to be correct again, for there was a jump hole by this one too. It led us to the already known, albeit unexplored, Omicron Delta System. We passed by Freeport 11, as it was beneath my honour to beg some Zoners for help, and instead resupplied and repaired at Yaren Station of the Core, as much as its capacity could offer. We were also revealed the location of the Omicron Rho jump hole, and another one, leading from Rho to Sigma-15. We met some ships of the Rheinland Military before entering Rho. They numbered one Bismarck, the Anatolien, two Oders and a couple of strike craft. I do not know what had happened to the other Bismarck. They were kind to escort us through Rheinland when we reached the Frankfurt System from Sigma-15. Our only loss happened in a trade lane in Frankfurt, when lucky Lieutenant Commander McKinley docked it along with the Dauntless, which caused his ship to suffer a crash. The speed was too high to use a tractor beam, so we asked a Rheinland Military pilot for help. Unfortunately he did not find the pod, but promised that a search and rescue party would find the Lieutenant Commander.
Our further way through Rheinland was uneventful, besides meeting a Red Hessian fighter in Stuttgart. The pilot was not aggressive and all he did was move around, either due to a lack or power, or intelligence. I gave my thanks to the Rheinland Military in front of the Omega-3 Jump Gate, and then returned to Bretonian space. The Dauntless is currently undergoing repairs at Freeport 4 in Magellan. Needless to mention, it is owned by the Liberty Navy, and not the Zoners. There are indications that the material spent for the repairs will amount to a cost of over 10,000,000 SC. The tea, however, is safe. I will order a specialized team to check if any alien being managed to sneak into. That would be a horrible pity.

PS: We have saved some crewmen from destroyed Liberty ships. They are currently aboard the Cambridge Research Station, examined for infestation.


Conclusion:
Objective accomplished.
At least two Nomad gunboats destroyed.
Numerous Nomad strike craft shot down.
One (1) Paladin lost.
Lieutenant Commander Paul McKinley MIA.
Dyson Sphere existence proven.
Two unknown systems mapped.
Intelligence on Omicron Delta, Omicron Rho and Sigma-15 increased.
No habitable planets found.
A source of iridium found. Precise location unknown. Presumed either Lost, Delta or Rho.


Fire at a ganerator
Way out
Omicron Rho
Sigma-15
Updated map
Camera shot by Commander Ian Graham (superweapon)
Camera shots by Lieutenant Noa Jefferson

Sir George R. Hall
Admiral
Bretonian Armed Forces

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