Negotiations : 2*
Negotiations break down rapidly. The Aralians react offended towards your claims, apparently thinking it's merely a negotiating theory. When you keep repeating the same demands over and over again, their remarks become ever more vehement. They object vigorously over your extensive claims of "unexplored space", asserting you have neither authority nor forces to claim such an area. Your negotiators figure the talks fruitless within 3 minutes, and military intelligence takes over the operation.
Strike Team Gamma 7 commences it's operation on the sixth day. The 5 man crew has a simple mission : "Capture the enemy vessel and crew without casualties".
Tactics4
Their plan is simple. First, get onto the ship's hull unnoticed, slipping by their primitive sensor systems. Once on the hull, comprise their internal computer networks, and take over airlock control. Get inside, overwhelm resistance, then blitz the bridge, reactor controls and lifesupport. Once you have control of those, lock down the ship, and incapacitate the crew. A troop ship should arrive shortly thereafter, ready to take custody of the prisoners.
Infiltration :7
Strike Team Gamma 7 makes it's insertion with a long distance space jump towards the Aralian ship. Their suits, clad in advanced meta-materials, vanish among the stars without a trace. They fall towards the ship at enormous speed, crossing the enormous distance in less than an hour. Their trajectory carries them straight into the ship's engines plume. Once concealed by the Aralian's own emissions, they'll activate their own rockets and burn towards the vessel. It's an operation that relies on extremely precise timing. Too soon, and the engine plume will not conceal the burn. Too late, and the engine plume will overwhelm the suit.
It's executed to perfection. Each infiltrator lands precisely on target, ready to override the vessel and prepare the takeover.
4The rest of the plan does not go as easily. The Aralians have designed their ship well, making it impossible to sneak by any of the many guard posts. Our infiltrators are forced to disable the guards they encounter, cutting a rapid path through the crew before they can raise the alarm. With our advanced technology, excellent tactics and the element of perfect surprise, this is hardly a problem, but even so many generals see the failure of the primary plan as a minor defeat.
"Interviews" with the Aralians gives us a complete insight in their society most of it worthless. Large parts of their society appears to structured similar to ours, but in much more haphazard and primitive way. They clearly understand the benefit of a
fanatic militarist attitude, but take a significantly more negative attitude towards the universe. They think the alien unknowable, unpredictable, untrustable, a primitive
xenophobic attitude if there ever was one.
More worrying however, the interrogations have revealed the spread of their empire. While the empire itself is small, consisting of only 3 lightly settled planets, they have been consistently sending expeditions into our frontier. It appears this was not the only incursion into our territory.
It's a matter that needs a response, but which? Our admirals and generals think these fools little threat, and so prefer to keep the response force as tiny as possible. To send many would imply a severe lack of trust in the commanding capabilities of the person you grant them too. Snubbing such a person may be a bad idea. The Imperial Archives contain many tales of rebellion attempted by distant commanders.
Of course, you could go yourself, taking personal control of the mission.
A : We have more important matters at hand
B : A squadron of 5 destroyers will be send on a punitive expedition
C : A squadron of 10 destroyers will be send on a punitive expedition
D : A squadron of 1 Battlecruiser and 10 destroyers will be send on a punitive expedition
E : The Imperial guard (5 Battlecruisers and 20 destroyers) will go (Only if the Imperator personally joins)
Will the Imperator Join the operation personally?
A : Yes (1 Imperial Flagship joins the taskforce(Battlecruiser sized, not the Titan) Interim council takes over day to day operations)
B : No.