The Aftermath - Hannibal's Report

CJ felt like death. He had been running around for days trying to sort out the chaos in the wake of the Brute attack. He had spent far more hours in the cockpit than any pilot should, as had most of the surviving pilots. Everyone was coming close to their breaking points. After a few days of continuous search and rescue operations they switched to trying to salvage as much usable equipment from the wreckage of Daedalus as possible. A good number of infantry weapons had been recovered as had a couple of repairable Warthogs. The engineering and ground crews had been working just as hard to keep the vehicles running.

Finally with more than a couple of minutes to himself CJ decided he needed to go through all the reports and draw up a revised inventory of his aircraft and file a report as per protocol. It took him a couple of hours to go read all the reports and identify which aircraft had made it through the battle and which hadn’t. It also allowed him to experience the battle from multiple perspectives and see the whole thing in one go. CJ sighed, the Brutes had caught them slightly off guard with the flight of Banshees that had bypassed Daedalus and attacked them as they launched from the Icarus. It was a bold strategy that had cost both sides dearly.

Having established the narrative of the battle CJ looked down the list of available aircraft and crew. It was a mess. They had lost about 40% of their total airpower in one go. Reordering the squadrons and the duty rosters was going to be a nightmare. They were already running on a skeleton crew to give people a chance to rest. CJ finished writing up his report and stored it in the mainframe, desperately hoping that he and the rest of the crew would be alive to see it read by someone. With the report filed he hit the sack to try and get a couple of hours sleep, not bothering to change out of his flight suit.

Report on readiness after the battle at FOB Daedalus

Lt-Col CJ Hannibal

April 2nd, 2555

Classified Secret - Eyes Only

Report concerning the aftermath of the events of the battle between UNSC forces (assisted by Sangheli) and hostile Jiralhanae forces at FOB Daedalus on March 25th, 2555.

The Jiralhanae faction on this planet had been making waves for some time. They were able to somehow appropriate a group of Forerunner Sentinels to assist them in some capacity. We do not currently know of that is with the consent of whatever Forerunner AI is in charge if this facility or not. A large spike in patrols and activity prompted us to increase our guard in reciprocation.

A long range patrol discovered a staging camp that was being used to store arms, ammunition and vehicles within striking distance of us. This camp was promptly bombed at the direction of the troops on the ground. Multiple Jiralhanae vehicles were destroyed and a Scarab shell confirmed to be heavily damaged. This appeared to delay the inevitable retaliation as the Jiralhanae seemed to wind their necks in for a while. Ultimately they attacked Daedalus in full force with the use of a large numbers of ground troops, light vehicles, aircraft and a single Scarab. The attack was conducted in a surprisingly intelligent and efficient manner, clearly with effective prior scouting, up to date information and careful planning. The specific events of the battle can be found in the appropriate report.

As a result of enemy and friendly action UNSC forces suffered an 84% casualty rate and lost a sizeable amount of equipment. Regarding my specific area of air assets the UNSC Icarus suffered a 40% loss of air and manpower, updated equipment roster is detailed below.

9 Broadswords destroyed, 5 damaged, 10 active.

4 Pelicans destroyed, 2 damaged, 4 active.

2 Condors active.

2 Owls active.

2 Hornets destroyed, 4 active.

1 Vulture destroyed, 1 heavily damaged, 1 active.

6 Wombat Drones destroyed, 2 damaged, 16 active.

Heavy munitions are at 63% capacity, small munitions at 81%. A small munitions plant has been set up to replenish infantry and light vehicle ammunition. Readiness levels on active aircraft are good. Most damaged aircraft will be in service within a week. The damaged Vulture will require extensive refit but can be repaired to limited capability with the equipment on hand.

Aircrew readiness levels are tolerable considering the circumstances. Numerous aircrew were killed in action, particularly the Broadsword pilots; but a good number from multi-crew aircraft survived and were recovered. Those not seriously injured have been supporting the active crews and assisting with recovery efforts. Morale is okay, but not great. The crews know they gave the Jiralhanae a tough fight but without a real glimmer of hope to get off this planet morale is suffering.

Ground crew readiness levels are good. The ground crews have been working around the clock to get aircraft serviceable and repaired. Due to the number of losses sustained we have nearly double the usual ground crew - aircraft ratio and as such I have been able to double up the rosters for almost all aircraft. This has allowed us to provide 24/7 work on the aircraft without negatively affecting crew readiness levels. Morale levels are okay, probably higher than expected. The updated rostering for ground crews has not been a detriment to morale, but they have felt the losses keenly.

In summary, readiness levels of active aircraft are good, active aircrew are okay and ground crew are good. Equipment levels are sustainable for a year minimum at current usage levels. Provided another pitched battle involving so many aircraft is avoided we can provide effective air power, support and defensive coverage for the UNSC Icarus for the foreseeable future.

Signed - Lt-Col CJ Hannibal