Asteroid Blues

Training Mission: USARF vs ALEPH
Evaluation Report
To: Col. Grant, Commander, USARF, Novyy Bangkok Detachment.

In light of the known Combined Army presence on Novyy Bangkok and the influx of fresh recruits, I felt that a training operation against OSS would be a good way to test the readiness of our troops. While the operation showed that further training is required, the troops generally carried themselves well. Special commendation must be made for Sgt. Ramirez. His steadfast devotion to duty in the face of injury did much to hamper the OSS forces and allow our troops to secure the field.

The OSS forces had the initiative but the troops had seen them coming and deployed to counter them. On the OSS left flank was deployed a DAKINI team lead by an HMG and supported by a YUDBOT. Their right flank was held by a team of an Asura, Shakti with a Mk12 and a Yadu HMG. In addition they had hidden a Naga by the antenna and the Sophotect commanding the Dakinis had taken cover behind sandbags.

Generally our troops deployed well to counter the OSS deployment. The main exception to this was Wild Bill. Lt. Chambers stationed him on overwatch, thus depriving himself of the flexibility that Wild Bill could have brought. The Lt. has already been spoken to to ensure that mistake isn't repeated. The Marauders were covering the right flank approaches while the Minutemen covered the left. The Blackjack was on overwatch while Foxtrots and Hardcases were scattered through the central area in order to disrupt enemy movement.

The OSS began their assault by attacking Sgt. Ramirez. As he showed when taking down to Jotums in the Kurage Crisis, Sgt. Ramirez knows no fear. The Shakti landed a critical hit on him in the first exchange. Despite this, he continued to defend his post. The following exchanges resulted in the defeat of the Shakti and the elimination of the Yadu remote and the Dakini paramedic that unfortunately revived the Shakti. He also managed to force the Yadu onto its backup systems before succumbing to his wounds. Meanwhile, the Dakinis had exchanged fire with Rosie and after a couple of exchanges she was eliminated from the scenario. They then advanced to engage the heavy flamer Marauder. This exchange ended with the loss of both the Marauder and the Dakini. With the link team broken, the Dakinis entered suppressive fire.

With the OSS on the back foot due to the heroism of Sgt. Ramirez, Wild Bill attempted to engage the revived Shakti. Unfortunately, his range was poor and he failed to due any damage while suffering his own. Lt. Chambers then ordered the Hardcases to advance as a unit. One Hardcase was discovered while the other two advanced safely. The Hardcase who goes by the nickname of Sasquatch (apparently a reference to some mythical being from Earth), advanced on the Dakini team. He succeeded in dispatching the HMG by slicing its exposed wires before firing off his shotgun at the remaining two, crippling one of them. The new Foxtrot recruit, PFC O'Brien, advanced and attempted to eliminate the Yadu, Asura and hidden Naga in one go. Unfortunately, nerves got the better of her and the shots went wide. The combined fire of the Asura and Dakinis saw her removed from the training op. She has been tagged for intensified combat training. SSgt. Cardoza moved forward to gain sight of the Yadu HMG and after a brief exchange he was eliminated. With further tactical options limited, the momentum shifted back to the OSS attackers.

After the havoc wreaked by our troops, the options of OSS were limited. The Asura saw through the camouflage of the Hardcase with ease and forced him to withdraw. The Naga then revealed and quickly dispatched the unfortunate Hardcase. It then continued to the antenna and successfully connected to it. The Asura then engaged SSgt. Cardoza in a drawn out firefight that resulted in no damage to either combatant. Meanwhile, Shakti engaged the Hardcase and eliminated him.

We then swiftly counterattacked with "Sasquatch advancing and engaging the final Dakini in close combat and the Blackjack finally eliminating the aggravating Asura. SSgt. Cardoza advanced and immolated the Naga will in turn being taken out by his return fire. At this point Lt. Chambers advanced before being swiftly cut down. The Foxtrot on the right flank hacked into and secured the antenna after some initial struggles.

Both we and the OSS had now lost our Lts. and the troops were forced to improvise. The Sophotect popped up and engaged the remaining Minutemen, quickly dispatching him while taking a hit from the Blackjack and miraculously surviving. The remaining Dakini continued the melee with "Sasquatch", with neither side landing decisive blows. Shakti then advanced and secured the tech coffin.

With very limited options, Foxtrot Liaison Sgt. Rogers, advanced to contest the tech coffin. Wild Bill then attempted to engage Shakti but lost the fight. Meanwhile "Sasquatch" remained in melee with the Dakini. With the situation very close, the Blackjack lined up the his HMG sights and hosed down Shakti, allowing Sgt. Rogers to secure the tech coffin as well as the enemy HVT.

In general the training op was a success. Both we and the OSS learned valuable lessons and we were able to show that we could hold the battery against a determined assault.

Respectfully,
Major Williams, 6th Battalion, 5th Regiment, USAMC