Briefing Room Three - Taomina Outsystem.
Several hours after the assault on the asteroid base, the command team assembles in briefing room three to hear reports from the various departments.
The Sharshana sustained only a few hits during the exchange of fire, mostly caused by fast-flying debris from intercepted missiles. No significant damage resulted thanks to the ship's heavy armor. A few cosmetic touch-ups may be due when the ship returns to port, but that is all.
The Rosax Guardian has been reduced to inoperable wreckage. The Sunburst Scatter had been partially stripped of components and has suffered significant structural damage, but with field repairs it ought to be (barely) capable of limping back to a port. There were a handful of survivors from the Guardian; the Sunburst Scatter's crew had sustained two losses and several injuries when Rosax struck; the Rosax forces had given the latter professional medical treatment; the Sharshana's medical staff were planning to monitor them nevertheless.
The Rosax forces had ambushed the Sunburst Scatter and had made a point of disabling the ship and capturing its crew rather than destroying it outright; from the reports of the Sunburst Scatter's crew, it had been a professional if seemingly spur-of-the-moment operation. They didn't have much to offer on what Rosax was intending since the Rosax forces had (wisely) kept them in the dark about what was happening. They had been held more or less according to the rules for captured combatants, which further highlighted that Rosax was a professional operation.
The Rosax forces that had remained on the surface had furthered that impression: tactically, they'd been performing a fighting retreat, simply trying to stall the marines' advance as long as possible rather than going for kills (or going out in a blaze of glory), finally surrendering to the Sunburst Scatter's crew when they'd finally backed into the prison block.
Between on-site investigations and interrogation of the captured Rosax crew members, you now have conclusive intel on where Rosax intends to strike: back in the Endup system, where most of the racing ships are expected to gas-giant refuel before proceeding. There are six ships assigned to the task, with orders to disable and capture: this isn't simply a terrorist operation but a calculated attempt at kidnapping members of the elite... and from what intel has garnered, the Rosax forces seem to believe that this is all part of a legitimate (to the extent that word can apply) privateering operation, although none of them are high up enough their chain of command to know who ordered it or what they plan to do afterward.
More broadly, it appears that Rosax operations were intended to destabilize the area; this would impact the political standing of the Duchess of Trin or the Duke of Zeng (or both), but it is again unclear who is behind it. Rosax forces received their orders from electronic drops outside of the current theater.
This has also complicated the matter of disposing of the Rosax forces: as they've upheld protocols and agreed to exchange information in return for guarantees, airlocking them is now out of the question unless Thenroy wants to bait serious trouble; they'll have to be turned over for trial, and given the agreed options for the location of the trial, they're unlikely to be legally deemed as pirates - which doesn't mean that they'll get off without any punishment, but it's liable to be far less severe.
The political implications of all of this remain up in the air, especially seeing as the Rosax strike force has yet to be dealt with, and the first racing vessels are due there within the next couple of weeks!
