Memoirs
26 Jul 2022RedivivusCrowd
To whom it may concern,Ours is an organisation that is unaccustomed to shedding light on our operations, to make an announcement to the galactic public is in stark contrast to many of the ethos that have guided the legion during our existence. For a long time our mission was quite simply to serve and protect the Alliance's interests in the outer rim. To protect and maintain the ideals and principles of the Alliance, even if that meant we didn't always embody them ourselves.
For a long time we disregarded rumours of "Thargoids" as void induced hysteria and the fear mongering of foreign powers much as many of you did no doubt. Soon enough I'd learn the truth of things or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say I was made to learn. On November 18th of 3304 Thargoid forces began appearing in the Alliance system of Ross 129.
The Alliance of Independent Systems was now at war.
Aside from the industrial and mining infrastructure the system housed, it was home to 10 million souls and that was reason enough to defend it. It became evident fairly quickly that we were laughably under equipped and more importantly; untrained in how to combat xeno forces. Alas, you fight with the army you have, not the one you'd like. After about a week with very little to show for it other than body bags, we received more bad news.
On December 21st, Thargoid scouts were spotted in Jormbu, a system undergoing terraforming that had a few military bases dotted around the system. At the time the system was controlled by the Federation but nonetheless we still had assets and personnel in the system. By this point Ross 129 was under full blown Thargoid incursion and we'd had ample opportunity to see what awaited Jormbu. As people who know me well can attest, I don't care much for the Federation, it's politics or it's domineering foreign policy but by God those people needed help.
So we did the only thing that would allow us to sleep at night and offered our assistance to the local Federal forces engaging the Xeno threat.
And yet...it wasn't enough.
On December 27th Thargoid Interceptors arrived and all but destroyed Mendez Terminal, murdering thousands of civilians and maiming tens of thousands more, on top of this the system quickly descended into an all out war zone. I and several SCL operatives took part in relief efforts both to evacuate our people from the station as well at to inspect caustic weapon damage up close.
The thing I remember the most was the smell, it smelt like what I'd imagine industrial grade cleaning products would if you boiled them. Maybe I fixated on the smell to take my mind off the things I was seeing and hearing which don't bear repeating here.
Combat attrition and losses were quickly becoming unsustainable for us and other allied forces, we needed to change up our strategy or risk losing...everything. It was with this thought in mind that I made the proposal to form a specialised wing within Sap Core Legion, a unit intended to be the cutting edge of anti xeno technology and tactics.
The Sap Core Alien Response Force, admittedly SCARF rolls off the tongue a bit easier. It was only later I'd learn that SCARF was the first and only specialist AX unit within the Alioth Council at the time.
At the time I was only a Commodore within the legion and thus the only manpower I had access to was volunteers, pilots brave or crazy enough to go toe to toe with Thargoid Interceptors. Of course, I had no shortage of those willing to fight for their homes and repel a hostile genocidal invader. In normal circumstances I'd have preferred to give SCARF time to learn, train and prepare for their new role but the enemy wasn't about to let us catch our breath so we needed to figure it out as we went.
On new years day of 3305, Thargoid forces were driven from Jormbu, never to return if I have anything to say about it. While Billions across human space were celebrating and engaging in festivities. The people of Mendez Terminal were picking up the shattered pieces of their lives amongst the burning rubble of their home in order to make a new beginning.
While Combat attrition and fatigue was rife within the ranks, there was no chance for respite, on January 4th Thargoid scouts were again spotted in our sector. In the grand scheme of things Nian was a strategically insignificant system, home to a handful of mining operations on some of the planetary bodies, there were no more 15,000 people in the system at the time.
There were some who felt that resources dedicated to defending the system would be better placed defending more important locations, objectively speaking maybe they were right. But there was another side to this, a battle of hearts and wills. We needed to demonstrate to the public as well as ourselveS that the Thargoids were not invincible.
Five days later we did just that, the scouts had been driven from the system and the dreaded Interceptors never arrived. For the first time SCARF had scored a decisive victory against the enemy, a small victory admittedly but a much needed one, celebrations were long and... raucous throughout the night.
Our celebrations would prove to be somewhat premature.
The next day on January 10th, the scouts we'd driven from Nian had been bolstered by reinforcements from...god knows where and had renewed their efforts to establish themselves in the region. This time they had targeted Madrus, much like Nian, Madrus was a small mining system with about 30,000 on it's various mining rigs and platforms. Like Nian it was also deemed strategically insignificant and was largely passed over in favour of more important systems.
Naturally SCARF immediately plotted a course for Madrus to confront the xeno threat, a Thargoid infestation on our HQ's doorstep was not something I was prepared to ignore. Alas without the aid of many Alliance squadrons, an incursion in Madrus became an invetability and we had no choice but to batten down the hatches for what was to be the longest battle of the war.
Evidently fate decided that our trials were far from over and on January 10th I received a message that made my blood run cold.
"Muracing is under threat."
Muracing, a longtime stronghold of the legion, a stone's throw from 58 Epsilon Herculis. The main hub of the system; Bethe Station housed encoded data traders and technology brokers who provided Sap Core with much needed Guardian technology. The loss of Jormbu was a tragedy, the loss of Muracing would be an unmitigated disaster. Senior officers within the legion pulled their hair out trying to figure out how we'd cope with the loss of Muracing and we eventually reached the conclusion that... we wouldn't.
Put simply, losing Muracing and it's facilities to the Thargoids was unacceptable and needed to be prevented at all costs. This presented me with the difficult decision to withdraw SCARF from Madrus and focus all of our efforts on preventing an incursion in Muracing.
We vowed we'd return for the people we were leaving behind in Madrus but there were no promises that either they or us or would live to see tomorrow, nevermind next week.When we arrived in Muracing I put out the call for aid which again, as those who know me can attest, I am loath to do. But Muracing was too damn important to give anything other than our all, I put out the call and the Alliance answered. Allies from across the bubble flocked to Muracing to protect Bethe Station.
What followed next was four days of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting I've ever been witness to. Quicker than they ever could have imagined I'm sure, the Thargoid invaders crumbled under the combined weight of our weapons and our rage. If Madrus was to be the longest battle of the war then Muracing would be the shortest.
After four days on January 22nd, all Thargoid forces were systematically hunted down and exterminated. Celebrations were on many minds but we knew that we weren't finished and I personally hate leaving a job half done. We promptly returned to Madrus to engage the xeno presence which by this point had been given plenty of opportunity to fester and grow. By this point SCARF had been forged in the fire into battle hardened xeno hunters.
It wasn't a question of when we would clear out Madrus, it was simply a matter of time and on February 2nd we got our answer when the last Thargoid elements fled the system.
This would mark the first and hopefully last withdrawal of Thargoid forces from Sap Core Legion territory. While SCARF pilots would aid in the defence of other Alliance systems throughout the bubble until the Thargoids full withdrawal from human space on July 11th 3305, this was the end of Sap Core Legion's war on the home front.
76 days.
In that time 4 systems were attacked and Mendez Terminal was made into a funeral pyre. Untold loss of life both on and off the battlefield. The Federation unsurprisingly withdrew from Jormbu in the wake of the Incursion and so it was left to Sap Core to pick up the pieces.
On July 5th of 3305 Mendez Terminal was restored to full operations. A ceremony was conducted with the family members of many of the deceased attending along with survivors from that day. The entry bowl of Mendez Terminal to this day bears the names of those who did not live to see the new year and for as long as a single SCARF pilot draws breath it always will.
The people of Jormbu don't call it "New Year's Day" anymore. On January 1st of 3306, exactly one year after the Thargoids were routed the people of Jormbu celebrated "New Beginnings Day".
Since then the war has gone slowly, we've certainly scored some victories. Depriving the enemy of valuable resources in the Coalsack and Witch Head nebulae.
And yet... we are in a deadlock.
We have deprived them of the resources and infrastructure they would need for another large scale invasion of the bubble but we still know nothing of where they come from or where they live. Thus we are forced to maintain defensive positions as they launch themselves at us time and time again in attempts to retake their barnacle sites. Every time we repel them equals more casualties, more loss.
More death.
We need to break this deadlock, and while I certainly don't trust Salvation ot Azimuth I don't see any other alternatives than to see what this "Proteus Wave" is capable of. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that events of December 27th are never repeated. If that makes me a monster then I shall wear that title as a badge of honour.
Regardless of my feelings towards the Thargoids, my motivation to fight doesn't come from a place of hatred, it stems from love of the Alliance and the belief that the good we try to embody and strive towards is worth protecting and will ultimately prevail in the end.
Remember Jormbu, Remember Mendez.
Long live the Alliance.
RedivivusCrowd
Fleet Marshal
S.C.A.R.F
Sap Core Legion