Citizens of the USC have been launching expeditions into the old QV Rockbreaker stations in Nyx for many months now. These missions have repeatedly proven successful, clearing the stations of nefarious criminals—if sometimes only temporarily—while recovering large quantities of valuable minerals and other materials useful for crafting.
Until now, most of these expeditions have been privately organized and funded by USC citizens looking to earn their share of the recovered loot and materials. In some cases, participants have even pooled their resources together to fulfill larger crafting orders.
However, with the recent filling of the Minister of War position, the renewal of the USC Navy, and the upcoming Tour of Duty weeks, greater attention has now been placed on the QV Rockbreaker stations and the valuable resources they may provide to the USC as a whole.
Organized naval activity is, of course, nothing new to the USC. The Ministry of Security Services has held numerous naval exercises in the past, most recently in preparation for the formation and deployment of tactical strike groups.
What is new, however, is the USC Navy beginning to organize operations of its own.
Most notably, the upcoming Tour of Duty will feature six weeks packed with naval operations, each with different objectives intended to strengthen and benefit the USC as a whole.
Part I — Planning the First Excursion
As a first step, a Navy operation into one of the QV Rockbreaker stations was scheduled as a test run for a later, full week of expeditions across the various stations in Nyx.
The primary goal of this first mission was not only to recover resources, but also to establish a working operational template that could be refined and used for future Navy expeditions.
For this task, Captain Ernst was asked by the new Minister of War to organize the first operation in preparation for the upcoming Tour of Duty.
Ernst immediately contacted his friend Patholo, with whom he had already organized numerous private Rockbreaker expeditions in the past. While neither of them is officially part of the USC Navy, both agreed to follow Navy guidelines and organize the mission as a higher-tier operation, allowing the structure to later serve as a template for official Navy activities.
Several versions of the plan were discussed before the final structure was chosen.
The expedition would be divided into two teams operating simultaneously under one overall command, with each team completing separate objectives in different parts of the Rockbreaker station. Similar team structures had already proven highly effective during earlier expeditions.
Once the station’s central rock had been cracked open, the operation would once again divide into two mining groups. One would focus on extracting the valuable minerals exposed inside the cracked rock, while the second would move around the station, scanning for and mining any additional valuable deposits nearby.
The USCS Gayle, a Polaris-class corvette, was selected to serve as the flagship of the operation.
The Gayle would provide repair and refueling capabilities, carry additional equipment and mining gear, transport the ground teams, and offer medical facilities in the event of injuries.
This was hardly a new role for the vessel. The Gayle has already served as the backbone of numerous previous Rockbreaker expeditions and was therefore well suited to support the operation.
Alongside her, several mining vessels—including MOLEs, Prospectors, and Golems—were planned to accompany the expedition and handle the extraction of recovered resources.
At least, that was the plan.
Part II — Into the Rockbreaker
Initial sign-ups for the operation looked encouraging, but by the time of departure the expedition had been reduced to little more than a skeleton crew.
Unfortunately, several expected participants succumbed to the dreaded Bugs Flu, incapacitating roughly a quarter of the planned crew. Others appeared to suffer a complete breakdown in communications and failed to answer any hails before departure.
In the end, only six crew members remained.
The original plan was therefore quickly adjusted. The overall operation tier was lowered, as the strict communication procedures originally intended for the larger formation were no longer necessary with such a small group.
With the revised plan in place, the USCS Gayle and its considerably reduced mining fleet departed from People’s Service Station Delta and began the journey toward the Rockbreaker.
Upon reaching the target location, the USCS Gayle and the accompanying vessels stopped approximately ten kilometers from the station.
The crew then assembled in the Gayle’s hangar bay before boarding a shuttle for the final approach.
From there, the mission settled into the now-familiar Rockbreaker routine.
The teams cleared hostile forces from the station, repaired damaged systems, located the necessary access codes, and successfully reactivated the station’s mining laser.
Despite the drastically reduced crew, every major objective was completed.
Naturally, the smaller team meant that progress was somewhat slower than originally anticipated. The most time-consuming stage came after the central rock had finally been opened. With only a single active MOLE and one Golem available for extraction, mining the enormous quantity of exposed minerals became a lengthy process.
Nevertheless, the crew pressed on until the operation was complete.
Part III — Mission Accomplished
Despite illness, missing personnel, and a fleet far smaller than originally planned, the first Navy-organized excursion into the Rockbreaker was a complete success.
The mission demonstrated that the basic operational structure worked even under less-than-ideal conditions and provided valuable experience that can now be incorporated into future Navy expeditions.
More such operations are already being prepared for the near future, with the upcoming Tour of Duty expected to bring considerably larger fleets and crews into Nyx.
Perhaps most importantly, however, the operation ended in the way any successful mission should.
With the ships secured and the work finally finished, the entire crew gathered in the mess hall of the USCS Gayle.
Thanks to crewmember Sheppard, everyone was treated to a round of very welcome—and very well-deserved—beer.
A fitting end to a successful first outing for the renewed USC Navy.
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