Authors Notes : Ok here goes! I warn you now that I have no clue as to how Stardates work so I am making these up. So sue me! Their structured as 24hr clock after the decimal point and each of the last 3 numbers to the right of the decimal point represents 100's, 10's and 1's of days in that order,with the 54 being an arbritary number for the fic. ----------------------------------------------------------- USS Vanguard, Orbiting Planet Ragnesh 3, Captains Log Stardate 54787.09: Captain Vanessa Travers; The Federation Camoflaged Research Base on Ragnesh 3, has been discovered under calamitous circumstances. Whilst refining a newly discovered mineral ore, an explosive reaction occured. The properties of this mineral ( still awaiting a designation) are such that a massive interfernce field has covered an area aproaching 900km's in Radius. The bases cam field was destroyed and the natives have reacted to their presence in a volatile fashion. The interference is badly disrupting our sensor scans, but we believe that there are upwards of 150-200,000 natives in the immediate area of the base. A further drawback of this is that our transporters are incapable of making a lock on the Base personnel. Though they number over 1000 People, they are for the most part scientists and their support staff. By boosting thier signal temporarily they were able to nform us of their decision to stay within the Bases Tritanium walls and hold off any native attacks until relief can arrive. The strength of the signal needed was unfortunately enough to burn out their transceiver. We no longer have any contact with them. To aid in their evacuation The UFP has sent ourselves, plus the Triumph, Victory and The converted Freighter/Troop Transporter Iwo Jima. As Senior ranked Captain, I am in command of this expedition, however regulations prohibit my leading the Ground Troops inland Myself. I am placing my First Officer, Lt-Commander Bengamin Dalgliesh, in charge. He has 20 years experience in Starfleet and I am confident he will accomplish this mission with his usual style and efficiency. We believe the opposition to be at the Musket era of firearms and are not expecting too many problems here. As a stroke of good fortune there is a small harbour containing 7 boats, just outside of the interference zone. We will beam the troops down to that point and let them use the river to send some troops ahead, as the river runs directly past the Base. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54787.14: Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; We beamed down to the secure point without any interference from the natives. Some were spotted on animals earlier, though they have since disappeared. I am intending to move my force in 2 groups, 700 by river and the rest on foot along the banks to the Research Base. In this way I hope to have a respectable relief force into the base in a fast time, with the main force arriving afterwards to effect an opening of the siege and safe return of those able to walk out, the boats being used to ferry the injured back. The Boats are sturdy, though of shallow draft, and we have had the Orbiting starships beam down small outboards to move them upriver against the current. Also Large phaser arrays are to be added to the prows, these should allow a limited amount of heavy cover fire as the boats travel. Once they reach the Base the arrays can be hooked up to the main power grid and offer a real boost to the defences. Ideally I would like to contact the base and inform them of the arrangements, however the inteference from the refined minerals is preventing this. We expect to lose comm's with our boat crews shortly after the journeys beginning, however they are Starfleet personnel and I expect them to manage their task with efficiency and speed. The natives, although reportedly hostile, do not concern me greatly, we are a large force with modern equipment. The only difficulties I forsee are with the length of the march over this desert terrain, Thankfully we have a contingent of Vulcans integrated with our unit and their tolerance for this climate will doubtless prove useful to us! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54788.18:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; The first days march has proved difficult at first, yet the troops buckled down and showed the spirit that the Federation was built on, covering 45km with little more than a few grumbles. The Vulcans have really shone here, leading by example and giving everybody a target to match. The boats have already disappeared from veiw, and comm's with them is becoming increasingly patchy. It is encouraging that we have not yet met any resistance. The boats report a small number of natives on the banks ahead of us, though they apparently showed little interest. Simply mounted their steeds and rode off into the desert. My forward and flank scouts have reported a curious phenomenon. They say that riders can be seen out about 15 miles away, but that they appear to be pulling small bundles behind them. These bundles are apparently smoldering, as they are giving off smoke. Infact I can see 2 trails of smoke against the horizon from here. We have no idea why they are doing this. There is a shortage of brushwood in the viscinity, so Lt Satek has suggested that it may be Animal Dung, the burning of which may keep away insects (though no insects have bothered us as yet). I am confident that our pace can only increase from this point on, our pack animals are capable of faster movement, and the troops will soon harden to this travel. My only regret was leaving 100 men behind to hold the Pick-up point, this seems in hindsight to have been overkill as the starships above can provide fire support, and the extra men would doubtless prove useful in the moving of the Base forces. Still the decision has been made and I must stand by it and move on. I intend to post sentries out on the surruonding dunes to provide warning in case the natives try to scout us during the night. Tricorders are proving useless in the interference so the sentries are to be issued with Image Intensifier Scopes. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54789.01:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; The camp is at full alert, gunfire was heard 15 minutes ago. Apparently a sentry post spotted natives moving towards us and challenged them at 100 m. The sentry used his handlight to illuminate the natives after the challenge and they fired and killed him. The other sentry positions fired back, but the enemy returned fire in volume against them (apparently firing at the origin points of the Phasers) and caused many casualties! The natives then retreated. The sentries put their numbers at around 30-40 and so I have sent out a force of 100 to chase and destroy them, to prevent them trying again later. Plus the total destruction of this band may prevent others from trying, anything that makes this task easier can only be a bonus. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54789.11:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; The force I sent out last night has not returned, and comm's are becoming steadily more erratic just within the confines of the camp perimeter. The day is wearing on and we must move forwards to our objective, therefore I am ordering the breaking of camp and the march will begin again. I am detailing a force of 50 to return with the casualties to the Pick-up point. They are to then return at best speed to us with an additional 50 men and meet up with the 100 that are still out there, bringing them to meet us further along. It is the best plan in the circumstances! The smoke can still be seen on the horizon. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54789.20:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; We had our first contact with a large native force today. Approx 200 rifles opened fire from the dunes to our forward left flank, inflicting many casualties at first. However when a large counter force was sent against them, they broke and ran. This happened twice more. I have placed 2 groups of 150 men to our flank and front after this. They are roaming about 1-2 miles out (the terrain means that they would not be effective any closer in at some parts). Since then there has been no further attacks. I believe the enemy to be too small and primitive to contemplate an attack against the large size of our scout groups, especially as we can reinforce them quickly. We are again posting sentries tonight, this time with orders to not use their hand lights unless strictly neccessary! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54790.02:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Another attack tonight, though only by a small force (5-10) natives at most. The sentries claim to have fired at and killed the intruders, however a subsequent search showed no corpses. Possibly the survivors managed to withdraw with them before we could search the area, it matters not as we suffered no casualties of our own. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54791.18:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Our troops that took back the casualties are now overdue to return, I fear they may be lost to the natives. They have increased the frequency of their attacks to our rear. It was not until the 4th such attack that we realised that, though our troop casualties were light, our pack animals were being systematically killed. I have moved them to the middle of our formation. We are now forced to place more loads on less animals, this has slowed them down, however we ourselves are also slowing. The Medics report a growing number of blister and ankle complaints from the men, and we are still only managing about 40km in a days travel. To get to the base on Schedule we will have to move before first light and stop after last light. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54793.14:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; I believe I have made a grave mistake! The forward scouts reported a large (500+) force to our front. I wanted to keep us at a fast pace, so moved our column away from the riverbank and headed slightly inland. I had hoped to simply bypass the enemy forces then rejoin the riverside track behind them. Let them play catch up with us afterwards! However, the natives simply moved another force of a similar size to the flank of the first (possibly that forces reinforcements, I was glad I had not blithely pressed into them), And this forced us to move deeper into the desert. The leapfrogging has kept on for 3 hours now, and I believe there is a third contingent to our rear. I am resolved to press an attack to the enemy and move parallel to the river for a time then cut back to it and force the natives to play catch up as I first planned. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54793.21:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; We are now camped out of sight of the river. When we moved against the natives to our front, they simply melted away to our forward right flank, and the other contingents launched attacks to our right flank and rear. In the battle that ensued we killed a great many of them but they have pushed us obliquely left, away from the river. I had finally managed to secure a point of ground and using that, we employed concentrated volleys to hold the enemy in place and blunt his attacks. This however cost us time we do not have, so once the melee calmed down I deployed our mortars to fire a suppressing action, whilst we broke contact. However the only direction left open was at a tangent into the desert. We are camped now to recover, tomorrow we will move back to the riverbank, thank god for the Inertial Navigation abilities of Our tricorders (about all we can use them for now!). Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54794.18:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; A hard days travel. We were unable to move to the riverbank. A force of approx 1000+ natives are between it and us, as I do not wish to needlessly risk more men, we are avoiding this force, so we press on across the desert. It is very hard going but there have been no further attacks. On the bad side the attacks yesterday killed more of our pack animals and increased our casualty count! I have ordered that stretchers be converted to travois so our wounded can recover faster. Already we have lost over 500 troops, including the forces I sent out earlier! Lt Satek has put forward a suggestion as to the constant smoke trail on the Horizon, he believes it is being used as a marker of our position to give the natives in the area a heads up on us! Needless to say this is a dispiriting revelation, and it did not take long for the suggestion to make it's way to the troops. Morale is becoming a concern, thankfully the vulcans are providing a calm core to our units and so I am not too concerned at the moment. All I want to do is reach our objective and rescue the defenders of the base. Hopefully the arrival of the boats will occur tomorrow and the base will have it's chances greatly increased. To date we have travelled 210 km. We are a quarter of the way there after 6 days of hard travel and running skirmishes, I feel we can do this! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54796.15:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; After a day and a half of sporadic attacks, the enemy forces shadowing us have disappeared! We have no clue why this may be, Lt Satek postulates that the natives are highly territorial and that we have left this bands area. The Smoke trails still shadow us, whatever the reason for the respite we are very grateful for it! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54796.19:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Morale is already rising again, after a half day of peace and hard marching. The Senior Medical Officer has expressed concern over the state of the troops ankles and knee's in this sandy terrain, however it is only for 2 more weeks, 4 until we arrive back at the pick-up point. I have decided to take his comments under advisement, but we will press on at the current pace. The troops can manage that at least for the short duration required! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54797.11:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Pride goeth before the fall. We have arrived at a large section of hard-baked ground, and almost immediately the column has stopped. I had not believed such crippling pain could exist! Our ankles are like glass and our knee's have barely the strength to absorb the impact of our steps. The SMO has ordered a 12 hr rest and recovery break. I have agreed, though part of me rages at the lost time, I know I would be unable to march in this state! Thankfully there is still no sign of the native forces, excluding the ever-present smoke trails! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54798.14:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Today we have found out 2 things. Firstly what the Natives had disappeared to do, and secondly the status of at least 2 of our boats! We topped another of the endless dunes when we saw, and smelt, the boats below us. They had been dragged across the desert to this point on our route of march (which has told us how well they have been shadowing us), the crews bodies naked and beheaded, the phaser arrays smashed and dumped on top of them. After we passed this sight the natives reappeared in their usual position between us and the river. At first these incidents were a cause for disheartenment, but slowly I have become more resolved than ever to reach the Base and rescue it's defenders, and I believe my troops feel the same. I have spoken with them and told them that there are still 5 boats unaccounted for and they most likely made it to the base! Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54799.18:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Last night the raids started again, we have taken more casualties, though the hard terrain makes for faster travel. Again the principle targets are the pack animals, which are now dangerously overburdened! Despite this we have now covered 410km's and of the 4000 troops that started the march, 3100 are still effective with a further 78 wounded on travois. This mission is still do-able, we are half way and still an effective fighting force. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54803.18:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; Our rate of advance is starting to falter. We are under constant attack, by small forces mostly, and the cumulative effects of little sleep and constant alertness are causing a terrible effect on the morale and efficiency of the unit. On top of this I have made a terrible mistake. As we moved, our recce units were never attacked and I foolishly kept them out at 1-2 mile distances. They were arrayed in groups of 75 men, 2 front, 2 rear and 2 on each of the flanks. This afternoon they were hit hard! Before the main force could move to help all of them were lost. 600 men gone in less than 5 minutes, under heavy volleys of fire. They never stood a chance, and we could not help them. How could we split into 8 directions and still be effective against the massed enemy? I blame myself for being complacent. Between the constant attacks and this debacle we are down to 2350 effectives with 127 wounded (walking but unable to fight, or on travois). We are still over 300km's from our objective, it will be a close run thing as to the rescue, but we *can* do it. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54709.22:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; It is almost the middle of the night, and they keep fighting us. It is as if there is an unending stream of the enemy, fighting like Targs, before melting away. To be replaced by new Targs, in a constant cycle! The men are almost the walking dead, exhaustion and fear evident on the faces of all. Except the vulcans, through this they have been a column of strength for the unit as a whole. However, they die like the rest of us and the attacks never end! We are about 60kms from the objective with 1780 effectives (226 others), and the fighting has fallen into a rhythm of move forward, be attacked, hold ground and strike at the enemy in a concentrated volley. The enemy falls back slowly and you move again. We *will* make it to the objective, and we will rescue those men there! It has become almost a mantra for myself and the troops as well. Planet Ragnesh 3, Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54810.16:Lt-Commander Dalgliesh ; The forward advance has hit a snag. The enemy no longer gives way to the assaults and we have to push through them fighting all the way. At the same time we are attacked on the flanks and rear, it is a tribute to our training and fortitude that we give out tenfold what we recieve! We are less than a days march from the objective, I don't know how many effectives we have exactly (the numbers change constantly), but it must still be 1000+. We can do this and we shall! Planet Ragnesh 3, Acting Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54811.06:Lt Satek; I regret that I must note the death of Lt-Commander Dalgliesh. He led a break through of a native volley line, and though this was effective, it ended with his dying in Close combat with 2 opponents. We have established Communications with the Research Base, they have informed us that no boats have arrived there. To facilitate a quick Evacuation of the base, they are replicating fresh supplies and loading their own pack animals ready. We are co-ordinating a diversionary strike by themselves, against the Siege forces arrayed against them, whilst we simultaneously break through elsewhere, enabling them to leave. We are at present 2km's from our objective and there is a 45% chance that we will effect the rescue of the Base Personnel. It must be noted that we seriously underestimated the skill and determination of our opponents. We shall however push forwards with our remaining 900 effectives! Planet Ragnesh 3, Acting Mission Commanders Log Stardate 54811.17:Lt Satek; The breakthrough was achieved with a satisfactory level of effectiveness. We effected the evacuation of 780 Base Personnel and now are 4km's from the former siege lines. However we have seen that the enemy is attempting to outflank us and press a constant attack against our forces. Therefore I have decided that the logical course of action, is for myself and a group of 368 troops will setup a defensive position here, to hold up the bulk of the enemy for the maximum possible time. The remaining 1000 under the command of the SMO, will head to the pick-up point at their fastest possible speed. In this scenario there is the best chance for the maximum number to make an escape! Planet Ragnesh 3, Senior Medical Officers Log Stardate 54813.14: Lt-Commander Anderson ; After leaving Lt Satek and his brave men, we have been running almost constantly! Unfortunately Adreneline is a finite resource, and the natives have riding animals. The outcome was inevitable I suppose. We have repelled numerous small assaults against ourselves, however they have slowed us enough that I can see the main native force approach, preparitory to surrounding us. I have done all I can for the wounded with us, and hope that I can help more in the battle to come. USS Vanguard, Orbiting Planet Ragnesh 3, Captians Log Stardate 54820.16: Captain Vanessa Travers; After 33 days from setting off on it's rescue mission, Lt-Commander Dalgliesh's taskforce has returned to the Pick- up point, the 100 guards on duty there saw the boats drifting down the river. Each one piled high with the naked and mutilated bodies. DNA analysis showed they were the troops sent in as well as members of the Research Base. Without any word or sign of the troops, from the day they set off, I had had my doubts to the success of their mission, however I was expecting them to return with casualties and some dead. This, was a terrible blow. The natives had attempted an attack on the guards shortly after the boats arrival, however orbital bombardment by Vanguard and Triumph, left that a smoking defeat for the natives. We have beamed the guards back up and are preparing to leave orbit. I have recommended to Starfleet that this planet either be left alone or this region be leveled to prevent interference with any further mining operations. I know they will take the former, yet right now a part of me wishes they would order the latter *Immediately*! There you go, a Federation eye view of how I see the Battle going. Now you probably see why i read fanfic, Not write it. Anyway was this the sort of thing you wanted Thelea? Rob Wilson