After Action Report

“I have the AAR on the rescue operation sir.”

“Bring it in then, anything interesting?”

“You could say that sir.”

Looking up at Captain Mikhael James, Admiral Johanna Harrison realized that the Captain had never before personally delivered an After Action Report before. She set the intelligence briefing aside and looked at him.

“Something I should know?”


“Yes Sir.”

“Want to tell me?”

“No Sir.”

This was definitely unusual. Mikhael had never been this formal with her, and had never refused to tell her what was on his mind before.

“Let’s see it then.”

After Action Report 1315 Operation Recover Special Operations Group-4,
Cdr. Fraks.
21-8-873 Correllian

Departure from CES Lexington and drop on planet initiated at 1300 EST (0342 local) Drop successful, no casualties or loss of equipment. Drop point 250 clicks from pirate base designated point Alpha.

SOG-4 proceeded to primary objective using Combat Armor only to maximize stealth capabilities. Objective reached at 1521 EST.

Initial scouting of entry point discovered hidden guard point. Initial contact resulted in minor casualty to Sgt Harrup and fatality of pirate. Pirate base also alerted.

At 1523 implemented fallback plan and attempted secondary entry point. Entry point was rigged; SOG-4 took two casualties, both severe, no fatalities.

Heavy weapons then directed at SOG-4. Redeployed forces and initiated attack against weapons emplacements. SOG-4 Bravo team disengaged to circle the emplacements. Alpha and Delta teams initiated cover fire. Charlie team detached to deal with casualties.

Contact initiated with CES Lexington at 1527 requesting combat support from drop shuttles. CES Lexington reported contact with three enemy cruisers and was unable to supply requested support. Lexington reported intent to pull the cruisers away from base. Intermittent contact with CES Lexington continued during engagement with Lexington reporting heavy damage and casualties.
At 1537, sensors detected the presence of heavy equipment closing on our location. Initial reports indicated two tanks and infantry support. SOG-4 ordered an immediate disengagement from enemy forces and rendezvous at point Omega.

SOG-4 broke into individual fists. Disengagement was successful for eight of ten fists. Bravo team redeployed to assist disengagement of final two fists. At 1621, full redeployment accomplished and SOG-4 had no direct contact with enemy forces. Contact lost with Fist B1.

At 1628, enemy support arrived. Stealth capabilities of CA proved sufficient to prevent detection. Recommend immediate dispersal of new stealth protocol to front line units.

At 1635, communications broke down and sensors went offline. For a period of 18 minutes 24 seconds, all electronics not directly related to life support went off line. No indications of cause at the time and subsequent investigations by depot personnel have found no faults.

After com links and sensor network reset initial indications were that enemy forces were off the field. Subsequent survey indicated enemy suffered same electronics breakdown as SOG-4; enemy forces suffered one hundred percent casualty rate. All enemy forces rendered unconscious.

SOG-4 casualties amounted to an additional seven personnel, one fatality, and one MIA. Fist A1 suffered massive casualties. Triad 1 had the fatality, Sgt Hart, and MIA also from triad 1, FN Kevor. All additional casualties were minor.
Two fists were detached from group. Fist A3 assigned to find the MIA. Fist B4 assigned to care for all the casualties.

Alpha team assigned to provide security of enemy casualties and Bravo assigned to perimeter security.

Primary objective of entry into pirate facility obtained through main entrance. Initial recon by sensor drone indicated more enemy casualties. Casualty rate appeared to be consistent with previous recorded rates outside the facility.
No apparent collateral damage to facility indicated. No residual NBC agents or known electromagnetic residual effects found. No indication as to the method of incapacitating such large numbers of personnel indicated. Highly recommend research into method used. (See appendix for attached 3V and assessment of SOG-4 intelligence estimates.)

Contact reestablished with CES Lexington at 1715. Lexington indicated similar problems with com and sensor platforms. Support shuttles dropped to our location, ETA 1747.

At 1720, Gamma and Delta teams entered and search instituted for prisoners believed to be here.

Installation approximately four times the size indicated by intelligence briefings. Recommend that vetting of current intelligence sources increase in frequency. SOG-4 intelligence officer indicates that data recovered from facility should make it possible to develop additional sources.

Prisoners located on the lowest level. Indications are that pirate group did not favor advanced interrogation techniques. Prisoners held in a common area where they could watch interrogation and torture of fellow prisoners. Initial intelligence reports about Pirates being in league with slavers are probably accurate although further analysis of new data indicated.

Report of typical treatment of prisoner included to facilitate understanding of seriousness of situation. Following is an excerpt of the initial interview of Lt Jana Hunter of CES Howler: Formal report in appendix.

We were in a combat shuttle. We were not supposed to encounter a cruiser. Why would we expect that? We were assigned to survey a suspected pirate route. My orders were to do a passive search for beacons.
When the cruiser appeared I was not worried. The IFF indicated it was one of ours. The name was unfamiliar, and did not show u on our computer, but they had our IFF. When we found out it was a pirate, it was to late to run. We would have been killed outright if I had fought them. I made the decision to surrender rather than fight a battle I had no chance of winning.
We were taken aboard and placed in chains, and then our uniforms were cut away and discarded. The make up of my crew was three male and two female, including myself.
The men were secured to the bulkhead. Electronics Technician Keller and I were forced to perform sexual acts on each of them. Then the pirates forces the men to ejaculate by inserting a probe into their anuses.
All of us were raped after that, even the men. The entire crew must have been through that room at least twice before we got here.
The same thing happened here. We were all just toys to them, not even worth knowing what we knew. They never even asked us about what ship we were from, and simply blew the shuttle up. Why would they do that? That was our newest Combat Shuttle, and they just blew it up.

The interviews with other prisoners indicate similar stories. The interviews clearly indicate that the pirates are much worse than intelligence reports suggested.

Prisoners also indicate that SOG-4 was not responsible for their rescue. Testimony indicated a group of naval personnel had entered the base just before our entry. Descriptions of gear and uniforms indicate that the personnel In Correllian Naval personal with elements of Empire’s Own, descriptions of armament and equipped match nothing currently known.
No indication of classified objective of operation, unknown persons apparently removed her before our arrival. Testimony indicated that Princess was on site until that time, though not part of the main group.

MIA FN Goode located in the dispensary. Serious wound had been dressed and treated. We were unable to determine the persons responsible for treating FN Goode’s injuries. Only clue was a log chip that was forwarded because local decryption unable to open it.

EOAAR 1315 Operation Recover SOG-4 Cdr. Fraks.

“Interesting. Was the log mentioned decrypted?”

“No sir, but it has been verified to be a standard Correllian Naval log chip. The ID of the log is decrypted. That is why I am here. I am not sure what to believe.”

“Why not?”

“It is apparently the log of CES Phoenix.”

Admiral Harrison just looked back at her friend.

“Before you ask, I am sure. A ghost ship and crew pulled off a rescue that was beyond that of our best Special Operations Group. They also saved the bacon of our newest cruiser. Even though Lexington will be in the yards for a year, if the Phoenix had not shown up she would have been lost.”

Adm. Harrison slowly settled back in her chair.

“I guess it is time to fill you in on some background Captain. Have you ever wondered why you were assigned to this office?”

“Sir?”

“Come on, one of our best line officers suddenly pulled from command track and assigned to a small office that neither you nor anyone you asked had heard of before. Under an Admiral that is not on the regular naval roster. Surely you have wondered?”

“Yes Sir, but the orders came from the Regent himself.”

“And why would he care about you? Or this office? An office devoted exclusively to the study of reports about the Phoenix. Or even why we were tasked with this particular rescue?”

“I do not know, Sir!”

“Tell me what you believe about the Phoenix.”

“Sir?”

“Come on, we have all heard the stories about the Phoenix Captain. Tell me about it.”

“Sir, the Phoenix is supposed to be the ship that protects the empire. It was the ship that the Emperor was on when he found the control room to the Gate System. It has been reported in different places at the same time, and has been around since the beginning of the Empire. Apparently, it can go toe to toe with a Draconian Battle Carrier. It is not real. It cannot be.”

“Yet you have a modern Correllian Navy log chip that indicates otherwise.”

“Yes sir.”

“Can you explain that?”

“No sir. You know I cannot. Sir.”

Johanna smiled at Mikhael. “No need for so much formality. I want your best guess on this, what is going on.”

“Honestly, sir, I think the pirates are still playing with us. This makes no sense at all to me.”

“Interesting theory. Have you ever wondered why this office even exists Captain?”

“Yes sir.”

"It exists because the CES Phoenix is a real ship. What you have in your hand is log of the discoveries that lead to the Phoenix, along with a copy of the commissioning orders.”
“Sir? How could you possibly know that? This chip only got here an hour ago.”

“Because one of the main abilities of the Phoenix is to travel in time, and I ordered you to leave that chip where it would be found. That is so that you will know that she can do what you are going to be told she can over the next few weeks. Congratulations captain, you are now in command of the Empire’s most powerful symbol, and the single most important ship in the fleet.”

Captain James just stared at his friend after that one. What he had just heard made no sense.

“I know what you are thinking Mikhael, but I assure you it is true. This office is the most secret one in the Empire. The budget comes directly from gate fees, before any of the accountants see it. We have been studying the science of the Gate-builders since the discovery of the first gate.

“The Phoenix is the culmination of that research. The drive uses quantum probability, and can actually travel in time. You have been chosen to command it, and no one will ever know.”