Recapture of Charité

The Recapture of Charité (シャリテ奪還作戦,) was an operation which took place in Under Pressure, fought between the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package and the Legion's 277th Production Facility in the city of Charité. The operation was part of the Federal Republic of Giad Western Army's campaign to liberate the Republic of San Magnolia, specifically its northern sectors. It concluded with the liberation of Charité from Legion forces.

Background
The Recapture of Charité was the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package's debut operation, whose goal was to rid the Republic's northern capital of a Legion production site. With that in mind, they were given two primary and secondary objectives:
 * Destroy the Energy Production Type Admiral. (Primary)
 * Capture the Admiral with minimal damage. (Optional)
 * Destroy the Auto-Production Type Weisel. (Unnecessary if the Admiral is destroyed)
 * Capture the Weisel with minimal damage. (Optional)

For this operation, the Strike Package deployed its only available group, consisting of 168 Processors from both the Eighty-Six and the Vargus in total. The 1st Armored Group's squadrons were Spearhead, Brísingamen, Nordlicht, Thunderbolt, Lycaon, Phalanx, and Claymore. However, from Captain Nouzen's initial reconnaissance, the Legion had a regiment-size force defending Charité. With the size of Legion force and their limited strength, the Strike Package could not accomplish all tasks by themselves. Thus, they were lent a force of Úlfheðinn infantry solely for the operation's more menial tasks.

The easiest way to retake Charité was to destroy the Admiral's control kernel, which was the reason it was designated as their primary objective. Without an energy source, the Legion could no longer produce new units nor sustain already present forces. Of course, it wasn't so simple. The control kernel of the Legion's power plant type was located on the fifth level of the city's subway system, notorious for its labyrinthine architecture.

In addition to their previously stated objectives, the Para-RAID research division had their own mission in Charité. Henrietta Penrose was to investigate the source of a flickering Para-RAID resonance within the city causing issues with their own communications.

After a few alterations, the Strike Package's squadrons designated roles were as follows:
 * Spearhead handles the infiltration of the subway system from the surface.
 * Claymore serves as Spearhead's support.
 * Brísingamen handles the infiltration of the subway system from its southern tunnels.
 * Thunderbolt serves as Brísingamen's support.
 * Nordlicht serves as the defenders of the mobile HQ.
 * Phalanx serves as Henrietta Penrose's escorts.
 * Lycaon is kept in reserve.

Battle
With Colonel Milizé at the helm, the operation commenced without a hitch. Once the Legion guarding the subway's underground entrances were eliminated using rocket-boosted train cars, both the surface and tunnel infiltration teams entered the main hall and southern tunnels respectively. They were met with some resistance, but ultimately succeeded in securing their designated areas.

Their first engagement shed light on the issues they would face moving forward. The tunnels of the subway were only just enough to fit their Reginleif. Usage of their main guns were also limited, lest they cause the structure to collapse. Neither did they have the comfort of Scavengers providing them supplies due to their size. Nevertheless, the subway infiltration force proceeded onto the more spacious second level, which seemed to have been converted into a drydock for Legion production.

With the first level cleared and the surface supposedly secured, Phalanx's operation to escort Major Penrose began. They ended up at one of the buildings surrounding the station, where the disturbance had been detected. Major Penrose proceeded to investigate on foot. The source of the flickering Para-RAID resonance turned out to be a long deceased Republic soldier, one presumed to have attempted resonating on the verge of death.

Unfortunately for Phalanx, they were ambushed by a force of Grauwolf while Major Penrose conducted her investigation. The previously thought to be secure surface was compromised. They speculated there might have been exits to the subway not marked on their given map, revealing the potential of a San Magnolian conspiracy against the Strike Package. What further surprised them was the efficiency in which the Legion eliminated Phalanx's Reginleif, unseen from a force of mere Grauwolf. In the end, the Phalanx Squadron was annihilated, with Major Penrose being captured for an unknown purpose.

Meanwhile, Spearhead's Captain Nouzen detected something strange. The Self-Propelled Mines in front of him couldn't be heard by his ability, something he thought impossible for the Legion. He ordered all subway infiltration units to cease combat and assess the situation. They were shocked to see Republic citizens of different ages inhabiting the abandoned subway. They were unresponsive to communication, able to be considered insane or mindless. They were assumed to be survivors of the large-scale offensive.

Moving back to the mission, it was decided that Spearhead would be tasked to rescue Major Penrose with the help of Aide Rosenfort's clairvoyance. This meant Claymore would continue Spearhead's role in the infiltration. Major Penrose was found to be in the eastern commercial block of the fourth level; she had placed herself infront of the information board hoping Aide Rosenfort was watching. Spearhead went on the most direct route they could to collect her, but they found themselves unable to advance on their Reginleif. This occurence practically confirmed they were given false intel on the subway by the Republic's interim government.

The Spearhead Squadron proceeded on foot and succesfully regrouped with Major Penrose. They discovered that their current location was turned into possibly a human storage and dissection facility for the Legion. It was speculated to be a facility where they produced Black Sheep and Shepherds, but one detail hadn't matched in Major Penrose's eyes. The brains of the humans stored in the facility's cylinders had their hippocampi destroyed, which conflicted with the undamaged nature of a Shepherd's brain.

At the same time, Lieutenant Iida's Brísingamen Squadron reached the Admiral's control kernel on the fifth level's central block, noting how lax the security was. That turned out to be untrue, as they were suddenly attacked by the control kernel's defensive laser units (Biene) as they entered the control kernel, which was revealed to be an overhead trap triggered by sensors. They attempted to machine gun down the Biene while dodging its lasers, which proved to be a tiresome endeavor. Captain Nouzen then stepped in and took command, aiding them with locating the Biene and evasive maneuvers. With its final defenses removed, the Shepherd in control of the Admiral gave one last Imperial salute, before being destroyed by Lieutenant Iida.

As they were moving to complete their second objective of eliminating the Weisel, a torrent of bloodcurdling cries were emitted from the Legion, as if many Shepherds were ordered to cry out all at once. Captain Nouzen was overwhelmed by the voices and passed out, causing him to disconnect his Para-RAID resonance before the voices could bleed too badly on his comrades. The Spearhead Squadron proceeded to engage in a defensive formation to protect their leader, with Lieutenant Shuga exiting his Reginleif to wake him.

Once Captain Nouzen returned to his senses, Major Penrose surmised that the Legion were downloading pseudo-Shepherds into the units present in the labyrinth, as the number of voices Captain Nouzen heard had not changed. This new classification of Legion processors—henceforth referred to as Sheepdogs—were those who had their hippocampi destroyed, which allowed them to multiply without logically collapsing at knowing they're only replicas.

With the primary objective of the operation complete, Colonel Milizé decided that retreat was the best course of action. She considered the capture or destruction of the Weisel to not be worth the potential cost of lives, especially as the Legion had made their intent of complete annihilation clear. The infiltration squadrons rushed to the surface under threat of cave-ins by Self-Propelled Mines, and the surface defense forces were steadily sustaining damage from the Legion's increased aggression.