2017-05-28: After Action Report: Gungnir

• Cutscene: After Action Report: Gungnir
• Cast: Riesenlied
• Where: n/a, typed report
• Date: 28th May 2017
• Summary: This is the AAR: Gungnir from the Metal Demons' perspective. It should be noted that this is posted for the purposes of cross-factional interest -- this report was only published ICly within Metal Demon networks.

---

I regret to report that Operation: Gungnir was only a partial success.

Of the three Golems displayed in the Ancient Culture Exhibition, we were only able to secure the Ice Queen, the Golem Lolithia.

PART 1. Barbados

First, the Land Battle Golem Barbados was secured by a Gebler detachment that broke through the Hymir and Sif defensive perimeters.

<Captured screengrabs of a sleek winged craft with a menacing aquatic life, surrounded by triangular machines and deploying missiles. There are also screengrabs of the ground troops -- Gebler soldiers, dressed in full coverage armor and with metallic masks. Screengrabs courtesy of Devet, who was too busy cowering to do much fighting.>

Judging from the deployment of these triangular remote ARMs and utilisation of magic, and corroborating with our intelligence from the Aveh-Kislev warfront to determine military camoflauge and dresswear, these are Gebler soldiers. We established that these troops are of highly cohesive combat nature, adopting tactical strategems of applying ARMs-fire supported by artillery-level Sorcerous fire in turn. The remote drones are capable of both focus fire and crowd control, and appear to be directed from a central source -- likely the deployment craft shown in Figure 1b.

The craft displayed in Figure 1b. -- currently codenamed 'Sea Bream' -- possesses superior aerial combat capabilities, possessing heat-seaking missiles and anti-personnel gatling hardpoints. We must assume that there is more than one Sea Bream at their disposal at any given moment, as well as the existence of other models in their fold; they do not lend a powerful hand to the Aveh-Kislev warfront for nothing.

Figures 2a. to 2c. pertain their ground troops. As mentioned, there appear to be an extraordinarily high amount of troops capable of utilising a form of Sorcery our forward scouts were unable to determine as Crest Sorcery or Symbology. We must assert that they are capable of deploying a high number of magic-capable personnel at a given moment -- I would recommend bolstering research on our anti-magic defenses to cover this gap in our field arsenal loadout.

<Finally, a screengrab of a much larger skeletal-looking ship with splayed 'ribs', drawing Barbados via cable into its underbelly.>

The craft displayed in Figure 3a. -- currently codenamed 'Flounder' -- appears to be a support vehicle, a mothership of sorts. I believe that this acts as a carrier to the Sea Breams, or it may play a central role as a base of operations to Gebler's forward operations. We were not able to determine much, if any, of its combat capabilities at this point in time, but we assert that it is supported by the rest of its fighting force in an extraction operation.

With regards to Gebler, perhaps the most alarming aspect, above all else, is the speed in which they deployed their forces. I do not believe that a Bledavik-stationed ship would have arrived in the timeframe that we saw in Operation: Gungnir -- we must assume that our enemies have additional bases around Ignas that our intelligence forces have not yet unveiled.

Be careful of Gebler. There are too many unknown-unknowns, to say nothing of the known-unknowns that we still have yet to decipher, such as the location of their headquarters.

PART 2. Diablo

Unfortunately, we were also unable to acquire the Crimson Demon Golem, Diablo.

<Captured screengrabs of Ethius' Solar Storm erupting around the Golem, as well as the Weltall lifting the Golem wholesale and running off with it. There are also screengrabs of the Bart Missiles running interference and preventing Salamandra from getting closer, and fraying some of the support cables. There's also a picture of the Yggdrasil where it perched outside of town, as well as the red Gears.>

I was not privy to spectate what happened on the ground, but I believe that interference from the Drifters gathered around the Fairgrounds caused Diablo significant damages. This failure was due to a combination of factors:

1) Unexpected support originating from the Sand Cruiser 'Yggdrasil'. We now know from this incident the ranges from which this vessel can deploy from, as well as a better idea of its sand and ground-burrowing capabilities. Its capability for anti-air is also much greater than anticipated, owing to the ground-to-air missiles that have made our advance troops sustain more damage than previously anticipated.

2) Drifter interference. While this was a known factor, the extent of power which various individuals were able to display were still largely unknowns. I must thank Ebon Zero, Zed and Commander Vorthuzahl for their efforts in pushing back the opposition while the Ebony Wings sustained their operation. In particular, in Figure 4b. we see Sorcery of a grand scale being deployed -- I believe that I know the caster from which this explosion originated, but I would need to investigate further to ascertain its true nature.

Ultimately, Diablo was captured by the black Gear shown in Figure 5a. currently codenamed 'Orca'. At this point in time, due to the coordinated nature of the missile interference and its subsequent theft, I must assume that Orca is allied with the red Gears and the sand cruiser Yggdrasil. At this point in time, we must assert that they possess custody of the Crimson Demon Golem, Diablo. Confirmation to come.

As I have warned prior, the Drifters of Filgaia and Lunar are not to be underestimated. They should be treated with the urgency and care of any other military organisation within the Ignasian war front, regardless of their lack of organisation and structure.

PART 3. Action Plan

The Ice Queen Golem Lolithia is now stationed within our Old Petra forward operating base, and I can confirm that we have not been tailed in our rendezvous.

At this point in time, I highly recommend against deploying Lolithia within the Ignasian war front if at all possible, for reasons threefold:

1) The Golem likely needs extensive repairs and retrofitting, judging from the state it was excavated from. It is highly likely that it is not in working condition.

2) The Golem's capabilities are not known to us at present, and we need to better understand the full extent of its power and its programming matrix to ensure that it will not become a threat to our own forces. Golems are a weapon of mass destruction from the past, and it is a fool's errand to use something we do not understand.

3) The geopolitical landscape in Ignas. As mentioned, Golems, Dragon Fossils and Metal Demon ARMs are a highly contentious subject rooted in a lot of superstition and fear of the human populace from centuries ago. At this point in time, I see the Golem situation as a stalemate: whoever uses the Golem in full display of the public is the one who stands to lose public favour most.

I realise that this may sound like a trivial manner for us, but consider that accruing public favour amidst the human populace will directly destabilise and drain the war efforts of both Gebler, Aveh, Kislev and the surrounding Kingdoms. If we are to be seen adopting the legend that they fear, we risk solidifying their sentiments against us and creating a unified war front that will be more difficult to divide and conquer.

As for myself and the Ebony Wings, we plan to push our agenda of challenging those that utilise our ancestor's remnants forward utilising Old Petra as our staging ground. At this point in time, I will also offer the full extent of the Ebon Roost's stable to all forward operating agents with an interest in utilising our Metal Dragons in battle. This is not an offer to be taken lightly, however -- we have few Metal Dragons, and losing even one in a skirmish will prove to be a significant setback in our operations. Please let me know if you are interested thusly.

Barring exceptional circumstances back at the Photosphere, such as unexpected developments with the Sorcery Globe, this is the best use of the Ebony Wings' resources and personnel that I can see at present.