OPERATION LOST KING - AFTER ACTION REPORT (08 JUL 2016 @ 2301)

OPERATION LOST KING - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
 - SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
 - SGT Spencer "Leo" Donohue (United States)
 - SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
 - CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
 - CPL Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
 - PFC Osazenomwan Olufunke (Nigeria)
o Covert Operative
 - CPL Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Marseille, France, 08 JUL 2016 @ 2301 hrs, IOT assist CO Markusova in protecting the transmission of EXALT Data to XCOM HQ.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 2115 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 2129, and we touched down in France at 2301 hrs. Despite this being a Covert Op, the damage to the police station made it obvious that the alien occupation was not going easy on the country. We made contact with the operative, and staged our advance toward the Encoder while Stiletto, our Operative, moved to hack a nearby transponder.

We heard a helicopter as we entered the room where the Encoder was, but it was Lightning who first put eyes on the enemy; Two EXALT agents behind the building. They scattered to cover when they spotted Fawkes moving into the building. Meanwhile, Tu-Tu and I took up flanking positions at the front of the station lobby. Then Maillet fragged the EXALT and blew their cover away, opening them up for Leo and Lightning to eliminate two of them, while Fahey, dashing in from the back severely wounded the third and flushing him out, where she finished him off with a second blast. Meanwhile, CO Markusova finished hacking the transponder, disrupting EXALT communications. 

One EXALT agent advanced too aggressively and took a shotgun blast from Beacon, and a followup from Fawkes put him down. On our side, I moved into the room and spotted an enemy through the back door, then ordered Zhu to take him out. Once that was done, I had Markusova join us on our side, as there was another transponder nearby. Then the EXALT made their move. The first to advance on the main squad was tagged, but not killed, by Leo. I snapped a shot through the backdoor when I saw movement, and managed to take down an enemy.

Then we heard the chopper moving in, as Central alerted us to heavy EXALT reinforcements to our rear and flank. Markusova dodged through the enemy lines of fire to hack the nearby transponder, and cripple the EXALT agent nearby with a point-blank shot from her laser pistol. We're unsure of why this seems to disrupt their ability to fight so thoroughly, but it saved lives just then. Zhu then took down the rocketeer to his immediate rear, and I eliminated the other with a couple of shots, leaving only the critically injured agent near the transponder.

Maillet, back on the right flank, lobbed a grenade at the advancing EXALT, killing both of them as they got close. Another pair of agents charged recklessly in. The first managed to dodge several shots before Mineral tore him to shreds, and the other ate the business end of Beacon's shotgun. Not content with one kill, she runs forward as Leo covers her with smoke, flanks and puts down another agent. On our left, Lightning comes to join us and finishes off the wounded EXALT, as Stiletto eliminates another reinforcement with her laser pistol.

The EXALT continue to show a reckless disregard for their own lives, rushing toward the Encoder. Fahey manages to wound two with snap shots from her shotgun as they close on her. Once again, we hear the chopper dropping reinforcements on the right flank. Zhu spots one of the new agents, and drops him before he can even get his bearing. Olufunke unlimbers his rocket, and yells at Fahey to get clear. She darts forward, rolling under reactive fire, and blows her attacker away, just as Olu's rocket splashes down and kills the two agents that Fahey had previously wounded. 

At this point, we did not immediately meet any further resistance, though Central had reported more agents entering the AO. The squad searched around the building, including tossing out a Scanner, but initially found nothing. We were about to report negative contact, when an EXALT rocketeer dashed out of the shadows behind a large delivery truck, followed by another agent, both managing to avoid the startled reactive fire from Colman and Maillet. Maillet followed up with his last grenade, injuring them and blowing the rest of the wall. Fahey and Colman then finished off the shell-shocked and exposed agents.

A final sweep through the area revealed no further hostiles. 

LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Split squad into fire teams
 - Explosive shaping of the battlefield

o Improve:
 - Never assume your rear is clear
 - Judicious use of Scanners can shorten a long engagement