Intergalactic Summit

Since their surfacing, the Drifters have proven impossible to scan due to their advanced shielding technology preventing long-range scans. On 5/7/117, an Arek'Jaalan team operating as the Trireme group was sent out on an expedition to survey a Drifter battleship using a new method.

The group was composed out of a Tornado-class Battlecruiser, Exequoror, Nestor and Navitas logistics ships, a Vigilant cruiser Monitor and a Daredevil frigate. Assisting them was the Legion strategic cruiser of Uriel and the Stratios-class cruiser I.S.V. Hippaforalkus flown by Frenjo Borkstar, carrying a compliment of marines led by Thal Vadam, a DUST Mercenary.

Research station codenamed Enif, located in [ ], was also on standby to provide electronic support via a network subsystem installed on the Monitor. Operative Trii Seo was onboard the Enif to assist in systems survey.

A Drifter patrol was spotted in Kerepa and eventually intercepted in the first asteroid belt of planet four. The Tornado, under command of pilot darkzero, managed to take out the overshielding and evade weapons fire safely – drawing the Drifter away and causing the main weapon to be discharged against a bait target. With the main weapon safely out of commission, the structure of the battleship was damaged with weapons fire, down to approximately 50% integrity.

The Drifter patrol was then lured back into the asteroid belt where the Trireme group set up an ambush. The damaged battleship, flown by an Artemis-type was engaged by the Monitor and the Daredevil and pinned down with heavy stasis webifiers. Pilot darkzero used a Crusader interceptor to lure the other battleship away, isolating the target.

Due to the high inertia of Drifter battleships, it was able to evade capture several times before the webifiers could take full hold. Ultimately, it was intercepted and successfully held down – allowing for the insertion of boarding parties through the weakened structure. The Monitor handed over network control to the Enif station which attempted to interface while the second Drifter.

The necessity of holding the Drifter close and the risk of it warping away forced the Monitor to warp scramble the ship. Upon the scrambler taking hold, both hostile battleships opened fire. The logistics wing managed to hold the Vigilant in armor damage long enough for a link to be established. Since the firepower was overwhelming and the second battleship was closing in at high speed, the Monitor was forced to withdraw.

With the plating severely damaged, the marines managed to work their way into the ship, reporting heavy resistance from automated internal systems.

The Enif reported high logical separation of internal systems inhibiting their progress. The system was also actively defending itself and attempting to disconnect the intruders. Data regarding several systems was extracted before the station attempted to gain access to the router separating them from key systems such as main databanks.

Upon gaining control of the router, the ship began to report multiple system failures before experiencing what we presume to be a catastrophic reactor failure. Thal Vadam extracted safely from the Drifter by the use of a Drop Uplink moments before the explosion. Unable to evacuate by the same method, the remaining marines were killed in the blast.

Following the sudden link disruption, all contact was lost with the Enif station. The Stratios was overwhelmed with a sudden data-flood, sustaining severe subsystem damage, including the loss of two out of three datacores and the adaptive synchronisation suite after initiating a link with the dying battleship.

Casualties reported:
Tornado-class battlecruiser, destroyed by the second Drifter.
Daredevil-class frigate, destroyed by the second Drifter after the departure of the Monitor.

Repairs of the Stratios were estimated at a price of:
150,000,000 ISK

Total approximated cost of the operation:
300,000,000 ISK (150,000,000 ISK + repairs)

The data and equipment were safely extracted from Empire regions. Following standard safety procedures, the Monitor was immediately decommissioned, the hull sold and the crew disposed of.

With negligible losses and large potential gain, the operation was a major success.

As of writing this report, contact with the Enif tower was not regained.

Camera drone footage available here.