Miriani

Attack on Praelor Monitoring Station

The Praelor, the insectoid race that have been enemies of humanity for years, have once again struck alliance space. Keeping with their recent theme of disrupting the defense and construction capabilities of the alliances, the Praelor attacked sector 24, Alliance High Guard Command, on July 7th. Initially, two small scout ships jumped into the sector, where they immediately made for High Guard Command and executed a series of highly focused sensor sweeps. The patrols in the sector reported intercepting a transmission from both Praelor ships before they were destroyed. Tensions on High Guard Command were high, as it was believed that their upcoming mission had been compromised and their most recent combat vessel, the fifteen-person Leviathan "McDevitt", had been discovered.

Approximately two hours later, a moderate Praelor force entered sector 24, presumably to destroy the McDevitt before it could be used against them. High Guard Command, having sustained considerable damage in previous Praelor attacks, was placed in a heightened state of alert and all alliance pilots were requested to assist in its defense. The alliance pilots rose swiftly to the call, mobilizing in record time to destroy the fleet before it could do any damage to the Leviathan or to High Guard Command. The Praelor forces were surprisingly small in number, which could indicate that their numbers are diminishing under the relentless attacks of the human race.

On July 8th, when things seemed to have calmed down, General George Peterson requested all available alliance pilots to report to High Guard Command to participate in a mission of great importance. It seemed as if we would be taking the fight to the Praelor, although many wondered if sending the bulk of the alliance defenses out was wise, considering the number of Praelor incursions taking place in alliance space recently. Despite their misgivings, dozens of alliance pilots traveled to sector 24 to learn of the existence of a Praelor monitoring station several lightyears away. After a short briefing, the McDevitt was loaded with passengers and launched from sector 24.

Normally a journey of the magnitude that the McDevitt would have to undertake would have taken several hours. It seems, however, that the High Guard has known of this station for quite some time, as they had previously placed a temporary FTL beacon near the Praelor station. Utilizing the massive wormhole drive aboard the Leviathan, the alliance members were able to arrive in the sector designated Sector -1 in a matter of seconds.

At this point, the alliance pilots broke into two groups. The first, under the command of Captain Raymond Williams, remained aboard the Leviathan to engage the forces in the sector. The second group, led by Captain Nicole Floxley, boarded a small dropship, intending to bore through the station's outer hull and plant bombs in three targeted locations.

The dropship was launched upon entering the sector, following an intrasector subwarp by the McDevitt to bring it as close to the monitoring station as possible. Even with the cover of the McDevitt, the small ship sustained considerable damage as it was drilling through the thick shell of the station. With the ship's hull at 57% damage and the rest of its external components destroyed, it looked as if the mission would fail despite the valiant efforts of those involved. The dropship lacked the armor necessary to withstand the Praelor onslaught for long, though thanks to the work of the McDevitt crew and some good old fashioned luck, the dropship was able to dock inside the station and begin their mission.

The ground forces, having successfully penetrated the station, organized into three teams. Each team member was given an explosive, increasing the chances of success if one of more members should be incapacitated. Once on the station, the battle began. The station was occupied by many more Praelor than previously expected, quickly and effectively stunning several alliance pilots. It's interesting to note that the Praelor use their acid bursts not only for communication, but also seemingly as a weapon. However, many speculate that the Praelor were attempting to communicate, although those who were aboard the station deny these claims owing to the fact that the Praelor were unlikely to attempt to communicate while being fired upon by stun weapons. Still, many believe that the matter could have been handled without force.

After exchanging stun pulses and acid bursts, the alliance pilots managed to secure three bombs to the nerve center, heart chamber, and transmission organ. Several pilots report that the Praelor became increasing hostile after the bombs had been planted, making returning to the dropship extremely difficult. One team positioned itself outside the ship in order to provide cover fire for returning teams, allowing everybody to eventually return to the dropship. It was now a race against the clock to return to the McDevitt not only before the bombs detonated, but also before the Praelor could destroy the already disabled dropship.

Thanks to exceptional piloting abilities and a deal of luck, the dropship and the Leviathan were able to return safely to alliance space after successfully completing their mission. Shortly after returning, it was discovered that the station had been firing unknown biological compounds at the McDevitt, severely compromising several sections of hull plating.

One hour after the mission completed, several Praelor starships jumped into sector 24. It is believed that this fleet was meant to intercept the McDevitt before it could destroy the Praelor monitoring station, but once it became apparent that they would be too late, diverted to alliance space to inflict as much damage as possible in retaliation. Unfortunately, the fleet was no match for the alliance pilots and was swiftly dealt with before any significant damage could be inflicted.

The aftermath of the attack has left many anxious as to what is in store for us. When asked for a comment, High Guard Command reports only on the status of the McDevitt, saying it will take several days, at least, to replace the sections of the hull and analyze the compound. There was no word, however, on the future of the Praelor conflict or any further information about Praelor movements.

Dated: 07/13/2353