LucasLaughing Posted March 8, 2015 This build fills in the events between "We could be heroes" and "Consequences." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Action Report Report Number: A519658DBB645 Report date: 38.9.22 Prepared by: Capt Jackson Parth, XO Delta Company 142nd Spec Ops Batallion Location Grid: 79T33B Planet: Clovis III System: Clovis system (097,-51,06) Incident Category: Allied casualty Type: Blue-on-blue Criminal Investigation: No Narrative On 38.9.21 at 0530 local time, three ImpSpecOps Commandos from 5th platoon, Bravo squad (accompanied by 14 troops from the Clovian Military) led an assault on a suspected enemy safe house. *The remaining images have been light-enhanced to show detail* The location was abandoned, but there was evidence that it had been occupied within the last several hours. At 0547 the Clovis Tactical Operations Center denied the team's request for extraction, and ordered them to push further into the city in an attempt to locate any fleeing rebels. Team leader Cpl Connor “Crash” Thull filed a formal objection to this order, citing the fact that the majority of his troops were carrying light weapons, and that pushing further into the city would take them out of their mapped AO [Area of Operations]. His objection was overruled and the team was ordered to depart immediately. At 0550, Cpl Lucas “Birdman” Kirana contacted the Imperial Garrison on the southern edge of the city and negotiated the use of the Garrison's TIE Bombers for CAS [Close Air Support] if needed. This was done without the knowledge of Clovis TOC. Cpl Kirana and the team's RCO [Radio Comms Operator] subsequently discovered that the radios issued by the Clovian military could not communicate with the TIE units. A work-around was found by patching the signals through the target building's transmission array. Cpl Thull ordered Cpl Kirana to stay behind and operate the comms equipment. The RCO, a sniper/spotter team and a heavy gunner also stayed behind. At 0556 Cpl Thull, Cpl Walen “Romeo” Pax and the other 10 members of the Clovian Military departed, heading (galactic) north on Route Echo. Note: The navigation/datapads issued to the SpecOps team use standard Imperial units of measurement and are oriented to galactic north. They cannot be reporgrammed in the field. All units on Clovis (including garrisoned Imperial units) use the “Miner's” system of measurement, where 1 unit = .3 Imperial meters, and 1 claim = 1.6 Imperial Kilometers. Clovian units also navigate using planetary north, which is oriented 180 degrees from galactic north. At 0625 Cpl Thull's team made contact with a large enemy force and began taking casualties. A short time later, the sniper assigned to Cpl Kirana's team reported enemy foot mobiles and armed repulsorlift trucks approaching their location. From here, events unfolded quickly. See attached radio/comms transcription. Partial transcription of TacCom 1 comms Legend: [FC] Imperial Garrison flight control [H 1-3] Hunter 1-3, Cpl Whalen “Romeo” Pax [H 2-1] Hunter 2-1, Cpl Lucas “Birdman” Kirana [H 2-3] Hunter 2-3, Sniper/spotter team [R1, R2] Reaper 1 and 2, TIE Bomber units [H 2-1] Hunter one three, this is two one. TIE's have been scrambled – ETA one minute. What is your location and where do you need fire, over? [H 1-3] Hunter two one, we're pinned down near Route Echo, to the south of the canal, break- I need a bombing run on the group of buildings to my west, over. [H 2-1] Reaper one, this is Hunter two one. Our elements are pinned down to the, uh, north of the canal and the west of Route Echo. They're requesting fire on a group of buildings to their east, over [R1] Roger, I'm over the canal, I see Route Echo but I do not have eyes-on friendlies. There's a lot of firing and from up here it's hard to tell where's it's coming from, over. [H 2-1] Understood. Reaper one, request you strafe with laser, on a north-south heading, between the areas of heaviest firing and I'll have my troops call in corrections for Reaper two's run. How copy? [R1] Hunter two one, solid copy. Understand you want a strafing run with laser, north-south heading, between the areas of heaviest firing, over. [H 2-1] Reaper, that's affirm, over. [R1] Hunter two one, roger. Give me a minute to line it up, out. [H 2-1] Hunter one three, Reaper one is going to strafe between you and the target. You'll need to call in fire corrections for Reaper two's run, over. [H 1-3} Hunter two one, copy. Make it fast please. [H 2-1] Copy that. [H 1-3] Ok, that was right between us and the target. I need ordinance ninety meters west of where he strafed, over. [H 2-1] Solid copy one three. Ninety, that's nine zero meters west, that's going to be danger close, over. [H 1-3] Roger, danger close, we need that ordinance now. [H 2-1] Reaper two, Hunter two one. Make your run north-south, stand by for adjustment. [H 2-3] Hunter two three calling two one. [H 2-1] Two three, stand by. [H 1-3] Birdman, we need that fire! Ninety meters west! [H 2-1] Okay, Reaper two, need your fire two-hundred units to the west of Reaper one's run! Cleared hot. [R2] Cleared hot, roger. [H 2-1] Hunter two three, send traffic, over. [H 2-3] Hunter two one I have eyes on approximately fifty, that's five-zero armed individuals and four hover trucks, headed our way on Route Echo. They're about a half claim away and- [transmission interrupted by sounds of firing] [H 2-1] Hunter two three, you were cut off, understand enemy is about half a claim away- [H 1-3] Check Fire! Check Fi- [H 2-1] Reaper abort abort abort. [R2] Aborting run. [H 2-1] Hunter one three, give me a SitRep [situation Report], over. Hunter one three, do you copy, over? [R1] Reaper one to Hunter two one, what's going on, over? [H 2-1] Reaper one, corrected target location follows: Need your run two-hundred units to the east of your original strafing, four-hundred units to the east of Reaper two's run, how copy? [R1] Hunter two one, Reaper one copies all. Understand you want ordinance dropped four-hundred units east of Reaper two's run, over. [H 2-1] Reaper one, that's affirm. You are cleared hot, over. -End of transcription- Cpl Walen made repeated requests for CAS. As Cpl Kirana tried to direct the TIE Bomber onto the enemy forces, he made an error in translating the coordinates relayed by Cpl Walen to the TIE units. As a result of this error, a TIE bomber dropped ordinance on a position occupied by Cpl Thull's team. Cpl Kirana corrected his mistake and spent the next 15 minutes coordinating with his sniper team and the TIE Bombers to neutralize enemy forces in the area. He also called for a MedEvac to stage outside the area of fighting. At 0642, a convoy of ITTs dispatched by the Imperal Garrison reached Cpl Kirana's position. Cpl Kirana and the remaining Clovian soldier joined the convoy and headed north to Cpl Thull's last known position. They arrived shortly before the MedEvac bird. BDA [battle Damage Assessment] follows: Enemy- Killed in Action: 203, Wounded in Action: 30 Imperial- KIA: 2, WIA: 0 Host (Clovis)- KIA 8, WIA: 2 Civillain- KIA: 0, WIA: 12 Remarks The number of enemy KIA is a conservative estimate; the condition of the remains made it difficult to positively identify individual bodies. It appears 5 of the 8 friendlies were killed by ordinance dropped by the TIE bomber, and 3 were killed by enemy fire. Cpl Pax was seriously wounded by the TIE bomber ordinance and passed away during surgery at a local hospital. Cpl Thull was fatally wounded by the TIE bomber ordinance. Proximate cause of incident Cpl Kirana's error in translating Imperial units to Clovian units. Secondary causes Clovian TOC's order for the assault team to leave their AO and enter a hostile urban area, with minimal support and no prior planning. Recommended actions None. This officer does not believe that Cpl Kirana's error was due to negligence or dereliction of duty. No punishment is recommended. Personal notes: I arrived on Clovis at 1330 hours the day of the incident and traveled immediately to the Clovian detention center where Cpl Kirana was being held. Before I could speak, Cpl Kirana inquired about Cpl Pax. Although he showed no emotion when I told him of Cpl Pax's death, he initially refused to leave the jail cell, stating that he would like to remain in Clovian custody until trial and that the guards had told him he would likely be executed. When I told him that following me back to the ship was an order, not a suggestion, he offered his resignation, effective immediately, from the Imperial Military. I rejected his resignation, citing IMSLO [imperial Military Stop Loss Order]. At that point, he accompanied me back to the Avenger where he was treated for shock and exhaustion. I attempted to schedule an appointment with the ship's therapist, but learned that the therapist was killed in action last month and a replacement has not yet been found. Cpl Kirana was granted two weeks leave after which he will be reassigned, at his request, to a different unit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VK-318 Posted March 8, 2015 Struck speechless. You tell a very different kind of story than BEAVeR, or Goatman461, or Markus1984 and Disco86, but honestly, I like yours best. And this is just about the finest bit of narrative yet. As far as the build itself goes, it's very well done but not obviously Star Wars. To be fair, I'm echoing a critique made against one of my own builds just a few days ago. Still, it might have helped to make things a little more obviously sci-fi. Aside from the Stormtroopers, this looks like it could be a 21st century war zone, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jannik Posted March 8, 2015 I love the atmosphere of your stories, they are so intense. Nobody else on here comes close to the gritty realism of troopers slugging it out on the ground, which is one of the things that really appeals to me about SoNE, its much more relatable than jedis with special powers. I really like the use of focus in your pictures and the darkness of the first few pictures, although I was relieved to see the "light enhanced" shots, I was initially a little concerned that you had produced a great build that we wouldn't be able to see because of course the raid takes place at night. The use of acronyms and unfamiliar names made the story a little hard to follow, and to start with I thought that the Clovis troopers were your squad as they are dressed in a very similar way to the story that you did a while ago with the bird in the jungle, but in a way that helped give a sense of confusion that helped the tension of the story. There are some really nice elements to the build as well, like the angled edges of the grey building and that mini TIE bomber. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LucasLaughing Posted March 8, 2015 Struck speechless. You tell a very different kind of story than BEAVeR, or Goatman461, or Markus1984 and Disco86, but honestly, I like yours best. And this is just about the finest bit of narrative yet. As far as the build itself goes, it's very well done but not obviously Star Wars. To be fair, I'm echoing a critique made against one of my own builds just a few days ago. Still, it might have helped to make things a little more obviously sci-fi. Aside from the Stormtroopers, this looks like it could be a 21st century war zone, too. Thanks VK! I spend a lot of time thinking of / writing the stories so I'm glad people are enjoying them. I think you make a fair point about the setting - it can be tough sometimes since the look/feel of the Star Wars universe can vary so much from place to place and film to film, but I'm intrigued now, trying to think of specific build (non-character) details that might make a scene instantly recognizable as Star Wars vs other SciFi. I love the atmosphere of your stories, they are so intense. Nobody else on here comes close to the gritty realism of troopers slugging it out on the ground, which is one of the things that really appeals to me about SoNE, its much more relatable than jedis with special powers. I really like the use of focus in your pictures and the darkness of the first few pictures, although I was relieved to see the "light enhanced" shots, I was initially a little concerned that you had produced a great build that we wouldn't be able to see because of course the raid takes place at night. The use of acronyms and unfamiliar names made the story a little hard to follow, and to start with I thought that the Clovis troopers were your squad as they are dressed in a very similar way to the story that you did a while ago with the bird in the jungle, but in a way that helped give a sense of confusion that helped the tension of the story. There are some really nice elements to the build as well, like the angled edges of the grey building and that mini TIE bomber. Thanks Jannik! I definitely enjoy portraying the fight of the "common" soldier - often glossed over in the films. Even on the new 'Rebels' show, it bugs me how they are making stormtroopers more "human" by giving them dialogue, but they're still killing them off in droves without any apparent consequences. Thanks for the feedback about the acronyms / jargon - I try to walk the line between making it sound authentic while still keeping it accessible to people who don't watch military documentaries. That's a good point on the soldier's uniforms too - I can see how that would be confusing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tariq j Posted March 8, 2015 Once again you've made another brilliant freebuild. The lighting effects in the first couple of pictures are great and really compliment the story well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goatman461 Posted March 9, 2015 I like the mini-bomber, building, fence, and pipes coming out of the building. The base has too many studs for my preference and I think a wide establishing shot would have helped me follow the story better, but some of your action shots are pretty cool, especially the shadow and kicked-in door. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodan Black Posted March 9, 2015 I really like this build. The story feels "real" and after reading through I felt like I'd seen an episode of some show. There is a lot of good action and I think the pictures really enhance the story. The night shots are cool and generally speaking the lighting is top notch. The tracks as fencing is a good idea and the disheveled interior with lots of detailing is superb. Also love the mini-TIE bomber and the fact that there are so many shots! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacob Nion Posted March 9, 2015 Great build and story! The figs are great. Geonosian clone trooper torsos work really well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LucasLaughing Posted March 10, 2015 Once again you've made another brilliant freebuild. The lighting effects in the first couple of pictures are great and really compliment the story well. Thanks Tariq! I like the mini-bomber, building, fence, and pipes coming out of the building. The base has too many studs for my preference and I think a wide establishing shot would have helped me follow the story better, but some of your action shots are pretty cool, especially the shadow and kicked-in door. Thanks, Goatm! I know I've probably relied on this particular landscaping technique too much - one of my goals for this Ep. is a studless base... we'll see how it goes. I really like this build. The story feels "real" and after reading through I felt like I'd seen an episode of some show. There is a lot of good action and I think the pictures really enhance the story. The night shots are cool and generally speaking the lighting is top notch. The tracks as fencing is a good idea and the disheveled interior with lots of detailing is superb. Also love the mini-TIE bomber and the fact that there are so many shots! Thanks Kodan! Great build and story! The figs are great. Geonosian clone trooper torsos work really well. Thank you! I've definitely been a fan of the Kashyyyk and Geonosian battle packs for giving us more options for military torsos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hrodebert Posted March 10, 2015 Great use of .mil lingo, it enhances the scope of the operation immensely. I wonder if you could brick build some breaching tools for your guys :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MKJoshA Posted March 26, 2015 Great pictures and amazing story! I think your landscape could use a little texture, but I really like that orange goo coming out of the pipe. Great realism to your plot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shadows of Nar Eurbrikka Posted March 26, 2015 Judges have awarded you 5 XP! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
