Nomad Squadron: AAR Log 3
As reported by members of Nomad Squadron
Recovered by: Wen "Professor" Mirthstone
Operation Hunter's Quarry - Ep.19-25
Wing Designations
NX01- Cmdr. Laransir "Doc" Vel Aath
NX02- FO. Anya "Princess" Cortesse
NX03- FO. Numa Zy
NX04- FO. Wyatt Knowles
Lightning Flight (A-wing)
NA05- Capt. Noshi "T" Ennex
NA06- FC. Jex "Cyborg" Mod
NA07- Lt. Raskter "FTL" Fenni
NA08- FC. Aeshix Mod
Thunder Flight (Y-wing)
NY09- Lt. Gwirr "Whiplash" Seast
NY10- FC. Charli Starr
NY11- Lt. Gussky "Clutch" Trubold
NY12- FC. Joachim "Jokin" Emala
After Action Report Narrative
This operation played out over the course of several days involving both ground and space action as a matter of resolution. Following Operation Vulture, the controller of the Section 27 droid base on Loraad could not be located. Intelligence indicated the controller to be Jorne Valast. Additionally, it was known that Valast had Imperial sympathies with possible intention to bring Loraad under the control or at least influence of the Empire.
Jaxine Ortega proposed a follow-up to Operation Vulture with the objective being to capture its now missing former controller, Valast. Lt. Gwirr Seast, having a natural skill at seek and capture scenarios, was unanimously agreed to as the head of this initial aspect of the larger operation. Ortega supplied some equipment and material for the squadron in order to help them appear less like outsiders within the ring-city. Some members were supplied with armored gear which gave them the appearance of technicians.
Through Seast's guidance, the squadron was able to gather information leading to Valast's location. Through multiple contacts, it was determined Valast was likely holed up in a warehouse district in Section 28. Through investigation, the squadron was able to further narrow this location down to one particular warehouse (XB1) within the district that was indicated to be the headquarters of his operations within this region of Loraad.
A residence of Valast was located in a hotel room near the warehouse district. Whether this was a permanent or temporary residence or perhaps an attempted safehouse was unclear. Within the room, some items were later identified as belonging to Valast. One of these was a datapad. When cracked, communication logs were unearthed between Valast and Imperial agents. The logs made it clear Valast was working in direct coordination with the interests of the Empire.
An attack was planned on Warehouse XB1 where all indications were Valast would be found. Using distraction techniques, the squadron managed to infiltrate the warehouse and confront Valast and his agents; including a number of Super Battle Droids.Valast's safeguard and assets were defeated and he was taken into custody. Several prisoners Valast had been holding were also released. Ortega arrived on the scene to collect the Imperial sympathizer, as per a prior agreement. Nomad Squadron managed to pocket some items of intel from his person before handing him over.
A long-distance comm-link, droid-link, and an Imperial transit disk in the form of a code cylinder was taken from Valast before handing him over to Jaxine Ortega. Cracking the comm-link revealed communication between Valast and Renshi Kanliin. At the time of writing, Kanliin was the governor of the Amarin System. Research revealed that the prior governor of the Amarin system had a sudden and suspicious end followed by an undemocratic succession of Kanliin to the position of power. Additionally, information uncovered in the communication between Valast and Kanliin revealed the latter's sympathies were also inline with the Empire.
Having been given access to intelligence assets, Lt. Trubold dispatched two agents to different assignments.
Agent Flarestream was ordered to the Amarin system to conduct an investigation into the demise of its late governor as well as to assess the populace support for Governor Kanliin. As a secondary objective, she was tasked with uncovering any evidence that might implicate the sitting governor in a coup or assassination of his predecessor at the direction of the Empire.
Agent Bain was tasked with conducting a more thorough investigation of the communication logs and financial records documenting the flow of influence and funds with an attempt to document a clear Imperial source of the funds. This coordination with Ortega was carried out to demonstrate good faith between the unit and the independent populace of Loraad. Ortega's displeasure about information being kept from her was overcome, we believe, through this display of goodwill and cooperation.
During this investigation, Lt. Trubold attempted to ascertain what sort of actions in the region could prove the good intentions of the Alliance as opposed to those of the Empire. Ortega stated she believed the destruction of an Imperial capital ship would send a clear message of intention and capability to the citizens of the region. In response, the squadron began investigations with the attempt to carry out such a mission.
A pair of scout A-wings were dispatched to the Amarin system to scan the system for possible targets, as intelligence indicated this would be the most likely source for a strong target. Initial scans found the Nebulon-B Frigate Rumik Vast was located dry docked in the system undergoing repairs. Moments after arriving, however, the scouts were nearly intercepted by the ISD-I Defender and support ships a Frigate Firestorn and Lancer Liquidator forcing their retreat from the system.
Agent Flarestream provided valuable intelligence of the situation in the Amarin system after the scouts escaped their contact with Imperial forces. She was able to document Imperial troops deployed at the governor's mansion. This image was provided to Director Ortega who would follow up by disseminating the image to the leaders of other leaders within the region prior to an upcoming regional summit. The intention of which being to inform other leaders of the presence of Imperial influences and the extent to which they had sunken their teeth into the leadership of the Amarin system.
Taking a gamble, Nomad Squadron placed a bet that the ISD Defender and her support ships would serve as an escort and show of force at the summit, escorting Governor Kanliin and trying to impose their power and his own over the other leaders of the region. A squadron was formed divided into three sub-groups:"Storm" X-wings, "Lightning" A-wings, and "Thunder" Y-wings.
Nomad lurked a micro-jump distance away from the shipyards at Amarin and awaited communication from Agent Flarestream. When the ISD and its support ships hyper jumped out of the system, she sent word to the squadron and it jumped to action. Arriving at the shipyard, it was clear the Rumik Vast was as ready as it could be for their arrival as wings of TIE Fighters had already been deployed in a protective patrol around the ship. In the few moments before Lightning began jamming all sensors and equipment in the vicinity of the Rumik Vast, the squadron broadcast a message over open and public channels listing the numerous heinous acts and war crimes carried out by the Rumik Vast and its command. Later, confirmation of this message and the impact on or reception by the populace would be assessed by Agent Flarstream on the surface.
Following the broadcast message, Lightning began jamming all sensors and equipment in the vicinity of the target vessel. Their jamming allowed Storm to assail the defensive emplacements of the Rumik Vast and eliminate them all in a single pass. Their attack run was followed up by Thunder who capitalized in an opening made by the rearguard of the preceding X-wings. The weakened defenses around the vessel's reactor allowed a proton bomb to destroy the Rumik Vast's power plant, sealing its fate. The remaining Y-wings worked to separate the ship from the shipyard umbilicals with the hope of minimizing any collateral damage to the shipyards themselves.
Severed from the shipyard's supports and with its reactor terminated, the Rumik Vast suffered its final fate as proton bombs fractured the ship's structure causing it to break apart into a field of large debris.
[To Be Continued...]
"Hey Five, Knight just told me we need to get to the SIMs. We need to bring the new guys up to speed some more."
The sound of Freak's voice jarred Professor back to the small fold-out desk in his shared bunk. He shook his head as his heart rate slowed back to his baseline, still clutching the datapad in his hands with a sweat-slicked grip. Training had been fierce and long for the past few weeks, and he'd barely had any energy to really dig into the file he'd been trying to analyze until now. Unfortunately, it appeared that he still didn't have the energy as he'd likely been sleeping with his eyes open enough to miss the newest training alert.
Seeing that he'd startled his bunkmate, Freak softened his voice. "Sorry man, didn't mean to startle you. Just knew you were digging through old records and figured you might have missed the alert."
Professor nodded and smiled kindly toward his wingman. "Many thanks, Six. I was ... parsecs away as they say." He set the datapad down and tapped a key to save the log he'd been reading, and then went to his closet to grab his gear.
"Still following that trail of breadcrumbs your relative left?" Freak asked as Professor fell in beside him and began walking through the busy halls of the Vigilant.
"Yes," Professor replied, his mind still foggy with details he was trying to connect to Lt. Gussky Trubold's past with his present. "This is the last one I've been able to find, and I think I have an idea where to go next to search for more records, but, duty calls as you know."
"No point looking into my own past, and I couldn't imagine looking into the past of a family member I never knew," Freak mumbled, trailing off. After a taciturn moment of silence, his expression and tone turned playful once again. "Might be lots of unhappy ex-cons in Corellia looking for me though," he said with a chuckle.
Professor slipped around a Mon Cal technician that approached from the other direction, and then rejoined his wingman's side as they walked, looking him up and down thoughtfully as he did so. He opened his mouth to ask why Freak wasn't interested in looking back, but closed it as he thought better of it. If his wingman wanted to share that information later, he'd do it on his own time. Instead, he decided to rationalize his own searching. "It's all so interesting, seeing an insider's view of the seeds of the Rebellion. And to know I had distant kin in the mix near the beginning is somewhat exhilarating. I can only hope to find more historical records to hopefully find out what happened to him." They walked on in silence for a few steps, but his mood faltered and a frown filled his features. "I just don't know what I'll do if the trail runs cold, though..."
The two pilots rounded the corner into the sim chamber, noting the other bodies of Corsair Squadron milling about the area. Fidget, Judge, Cannibal, Firebrand, Tweak, and Slipstream were off to one side in a cautious discussion, glancing about warily as they attempted to acclimate to their surroundings. They were to a being still green on the Vigilant, making Professor feel a twinge of uncertainty about his own standing amongst the veterans.
The old hands Bone, Frosty, and Knight were in their own group, likely discussing how they planned to divide up the new pilots for closer tutelage. Silence and Syntax were the only Corsair pilots not in attendance, and Silence had a medical excuse so far as the Corsairs knew.
A wave from the trio of veterans caught Professor's eye. "Looks like duty calls once again," he said through forced cheer, still unsure if he truly belonged amongst them rather than the new blood in the room considering his own recent transfer date. Haltingly he began to walk toward Knight's group, but a strong hand gripped his shoulder and stopped him. Turning around, he saw Freak had stopped and leaned in close.
"I hope you find what you're looking for, Five. Don't give up. If you need Fixer to look into anything, just say the word. His data analysis suite is top notch and he's a great slicer ... as well as quite discrete. He doesn't much care for the protocols against hacking."
"I'll ... keep that in mind, Six," Professor replied, fighting hard to tamp down on the warm flush threatening to take over his visage. If he'd needed a sign that he was truly accepted amongst the Corsairs, this was as big of one he could imagine. After taking a moment to compose himself, he smiled warmly toward the rookies as he walked toward the group of veterans to figure out what needed doing.
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