Red Hessian Reporting Facility

[Stoat]

Message to: RHA Command
Comm ID: Oberleutnant Florian Waap
Location: Vogtland, Dresden

Not such a good day to report on. I launched from Vogtland in my replacement Thor, and saw Ernst Neurath, and an unknown contact in a Snubnose bomber, Till Eulenspiegel. Till claimed to be a defector from the Rheinland military. We advised him to immediately surrender the Snubnose to the technicians, which he immediately did - hopefully we can gain some useful tactical advantage from studying an undamaged ship - and he himself funded the purchase of a Thor.

We were then joined by Elsa Ingeborg of the Tears, and set off to patrol the Omegas. We heard of a corsair gunboat in Omega-5, and headed there to intercept, but by the time we arrived, it had moved on. We pursued into Omega-41, but were again a step behind. We consulted briefly, and decided to proceed into Gamma. Reports suggested that there were minimal forces to counter us, and indeed we were initially un-noticed when we jumped through. It was not long, however, before a small force of corsairs moved to intercept us, the gunboat we had been pursuing being one of them.

As the enemy neared, scans showed we were faced by a Gladiator HF, Titan VHF, three Imperator gunboats, and a Praefect cruiser. Still, we were confident in our skills, and set into the gunboats immediately. Our initial target, Rowley, quickly fell to me, while Carson_Armoured was being heavily damaged by the others. I joined in the attack on Carson, as the others were distracted by the arrival of a corsair dreadnought. That ship turned the tide of the battle. The withering firepower we were subjected to soon accounted for the new boy, Till Eugenspiegel, though we still managed to finish of Carson_Armoured, Elas getting the killing shots.

But that was the last of the good news. The sheer numbers of capital ships split us up, enabling them to target us individually. As I called for a retreat, Ernst and Elsa were being pursued by all of the corsair vessels. First Ernst, and then Elsa, fell to corsair guns, though their pods were recovered and I was able to return them, uninjured, to Freital. From there, they requisition new fighters, and we set out immediately for Berlin, in the hope of raising some funds from the generous traders that plough the lanes.

We halted a trader in a Firefly, and an extended discussion took place. Unfortunately we allowed him to talk for too long, and the police and military arrived in time for him to make an escape. I was taken by surprise at the ferocity of their attack, and had to use the last of my shield batteries as I tried to evade the incoming fire. I was then targetted by the same Mjolnir pilot that I had encountered the previous day. My inferno easily disabled his shields, but twice my SNAC volleys narrowly missed. I could see his hull glowing, they passed so close. My third SNAC volley hit him dead on the nose, but it hit just as his shields regenerated, and they dispersed the blast, saving him again. Repeated missiles launched from the Mjolnir battered my Thor, my countermeasures apparently useless, until the hull buckled and I was forced to eject.

The battle raged around my pod, and we were joined by Adolph Hessler. His arrival quickly turned the fight to our advantage, and the police pilot was soon neutralised by Adolph. The Mjolnir soon fell to Elsa's guns, and the remaining military pilots fled the scene. My pod was recovered, but sadly the black-box recorder had been damaged, and the only recoverable data was as follows.

. . . .

Throughout the time we flew together, Till Eugenspiegel made a good showing of himself. He certainly proved himself worth looking at as a new recruit

I am recuperating on Vogtland, and hope to be flying again soon, though hopefully my next Thor will last me longer than a day.

Florian out.

Message ends

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