Mission Brief: Operation I: Broken Arrow

[Captain Benjamin Maxwell]

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- Incoming Coded Message -- Command Instruction Follows -
- Decode Sabre Protocol - GALxBravo 182nd: 2nd -
- Disseminate by need only -
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Operation Codname: Broken Arrow
Planet: Saffel
Terrain: Temprate forest / Open plains / Rural urban
Time: Day

NARRATIVE:

A Mercenary by the name of Hadrian "Fury" Isis, bitter over the overthrow of Archon Nondi Steiner and her forces by Peter Steiner-Davion and his Kell Hound allies, has gone rogue, taking a dropship and the two lances under his command, and fleeing into Draconis Combine space. Disguised as a detachment of the Davion-controlled Federated Commonwealth, he intends to incite a major conflict between House Kurita and House Davion by launching a direct attack against the planet Saffel - a planet that has historically been a major point of contention between the two factions.

This has thrown the Kell Hounds into a panic. They cannot respond directly to this situation, because an incursion into Combine space by a traditionally Davion-loyal force would be looked upon by House Kurita as an act of war, even if they were there to prevent an incident. Beyond this, if it were to become public that a detachment of one of the largest, and most respected, mercenary units had gone rogue, it would be disasterous for both the Kell Hounds and the MRBC itself.

For these reasons, we have received a contract from the Kell Hounds to track down and capture Captain Isis, and eliminate, with extreme prejudice, the remainder of his lance. The Kell Hound dropship must be destroyed to prevent it from falling into Kurita hands and being used as evidence to support a war.

It is imperitive that the mission be carried out in utter secrecy. Neither House Kurita nor House Davion may be allowed to know of the nature of this mission. If we fail, the consequences could be catastrophic.

MISSION OBJECTIVES:

- Penetrate Draconis Combine space and make planetfall on Saffel. Do not allow the Legionnaires' dropship to be detected.

- Locate Captain Isis, and capture him alive. Eradicate his followers. AVOID, AT ALL COSTS, DETECTION BY DRACONIS FORCES.

- Destroy the Kell Hound dropship, leaving no identifiable evidence.

- Escape from Kurita space, and return Captain Isis to the Kell Hound liason on Outreach.

THREAT REPORT:

Captain Isis' lance was last known to have been outfitted with a wealth of Inner Sphere and Clan BattleTech. At last inventory, Captain Isis' assets included, but were not necessarily limited to:

• One (1) Cyclops
  
• One (1) Anihillator
  
• Two (2) Inner Sphere UrbanMechs
  
• One (1) Kodiak
  
• One (1) Blackhawk
  
• One (1) Uziel
  
  Current loadout configurations are unknown.
  
  The Kell Hounds have also reported that Captain Isis is in posession of his personal Behemoth (known to the Clans as a "Stone Rhino." It is likely that he will be piloting this formidible war machine.
  
  The dropship itself is an Aurora-class vessel, equipped with Heavy Gauss rifles and assault lasers.

PLANETARY OVERVIEW - SAFFEL

When first discovered, Saffel was a rather cold world at the onset of a minor ice age. The first colonists were hardy folk from Terra’s Siberian, Scandinavian and Canadian regions, who found the cooler temperatures reminiscent of their homelands and planned to build cities on the north polar continent of Dovejin, Saffel’s largest landmass. This frigid land, half-covered in a glacial ice cap, was considered an ideal location due to the large metal deposits detected during early surveys. Unfortunately, before these rich veins could be tapped, the so-called Outer Reaches Rebellion broke out, leading to the eventual collapse of the Terran Alliance’s dominion over its far-flung worlds. With it went the fledgling settlements’ only means of support. Unable to obtain the equipment necessary to turn their new home into an economically viable system and poorly equipped to handle their sudden, unasked-for independence as the harsh Saffel winter set in, many of these first colonists perished. By the time the Terran Hegemony formed nearly 100 years later, the surviving population had migrated to the warmer equatorial zones, particularly the continents of Awonera and Sophrati. Eking out an existence in the rugged, thickly wooded plains of these new lands, the scattered communities didn’t know what to make of the arrival of new settlers from the Hegemony, especially when these newcomers claimed the early cities that had been abandoned by their forebears. A brief brushfire conflict broke out between the old and new inhabitants of Saffel before the Hegemony government managed to negotiate a truce. In the heyday of the Star League, Saffel became known as an exporter of valuable metals, as well as home to the Saffel Medical Institute. Located in the city of Radjik on Awonera, the SMI developed a revolutionary instrument, the Eligus Diagnoser, which was capable of rapidly scanning a patient’s body, identifying any known ailments and rendering a diagnosis. Although it was withheld briefly to prevent a panic in the medical community, as some suspected the device could put doctors out of work, the eventual unveiling of the Eligus Diagnoser put Saffel on the map, adding valuable medical equipment to the planet’s list of exports. After the collapse of the Star League, Davion forces promptly seized Saffel and established the planet as a gathering point for troops in one of the first major campaigns against House Kurita. In response, the Combine launched a devastating attack in 2787 but failed to capture the planet. Over the following centuries, Saffel was raided and invaded several times but remained largely under the Davion sunburst until the Draconis Combine managed to take the planet after the Fourth Succession War.

COMMANDER'S NOTES:

This will not be an easy assignment, MechWarriors. Do not expect a quick win. Captain Isis has a reputation as an extremely zealous leader, and he will not back down from a confrontation. Use of excessive force is authorized, but use discretion so as to avoid alerting the local militia.

Good luck, MechWarriors. The continued peace of the Inner Sphere rests on the shoulders of this mission. Failure is not an option.

- TRANSMISSION ENDS -

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Sender: Captain Benjamin Maxwell
Encryption Priority: HIGH
HPG Relay 29XA01-OMEGA-9184
Recieved: OP Comp. 2318 Standard Terran Time
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