ADVENT | History
Operation: Scipio
"If the SAS cannot be defeated, we will ensure that they will be completely and utterly broken."
- Commander Laura Christiaens
ADVENT Military Overview 1822
Operation: Scipio
Author: Commander Laura Christiaens
Recipients: Chancellor Saudia Vyandar; Chief of Lancer Operations Helion Weekes; Chief of ADVENT Engineering and Development Feng Mercado; Chief Diplomat Firdaus Hassan; Director of ADVENT Intelligence Ian Powell; the Commander of XCOM; Minister of ADVENT Public Relations Kyong Suk-Chul
This operation is intended to be one of the largest operations undertaken by ADVENT, for the purposes of neutralizing the Sovereign African States for the remainder of this conflict, or for a significant period of time, at minimum. We have determined that this will most decisively accomplish this goal, and will be detailed below.
Overview: The Sovereign African States are an issue which threatens to become more problematic as the war progresses, especially as ADVENT moves deeper into Africa, where we have, until now, made limited progress. Despite the work of the Diplomatic Corps, many African nations remain resistant to ADVENT membership, though this has similarly applied to SAS outreach as well.
The SAS has been signaling that they are working to undermine the leadership of other African nations, and, despite Betos presumably pushing back on overt aggression, it is likely that the Zararch will be more than willing to circumvent her, as she is not truly in control of the SAS. The Collective is poised to gain a massive foothold on the continent, unless they are stopped.
The most effective way to do this is to target the SAS while they hold only a small amount of territory; territory which can be feasibly invaded and occupied by a mobile military force. We should not be under any illusions – this operation is not about defeating the SAS – which will not happen unless the Collective completely withdraws – it is about neutralizing them.
Objectives and Intentions: The fundamental issue concerning a long-term operation against the SAS is that it is not justifiable, nor is it necessarily feasible. The SAS has near-unlimited resources thanks to the superior supply lines and materials available through the Ethereal Collective. It is difficult to envision a scenario of a total victory that does not include a long-term attack against Ethereal supply lines – which are outside of our reach.
Any army sent into SAS territory will eventually have to pull back. The opposition is simply too entrenched and equipped for it to be viable. Their forces will be augmented with aliens, and they will likely outnumber Human SAS soldiers, making a war of attrition of questionable worth. They can replace their Mutons. Human soldiers are more difficult for us to justify.
In such a scenario, we will eventually be pushed back, and when they do, they will reclaim everything that we took, they will repopulate and enhance, and they will make any future operations even more difficult and costly. The numbers are simply not in our favor at this stage of the war, nor can expending significant resources be justified unless we are certain we would succeed.
Thus, an alternative was determined.
If the SAS cannot be reliably defeated, it must be made so that it is uninhabitable without great resource and labor costs. This will entail the effective razing of all SAS territory we come into contact with. Cities, towns, outposts, and other all infrastructure is to be targeted and destroyed. This denies living space, utilities, and shelter, all of which can be rebuilt, but it will force them to invest more resources and manpower, and it will take time.
However, this alone will still not be enough, the land itself must be rendered uninhabitable. Farmland, water sources, mines, oil fields, all of these contribute to a sustainable region. Should the farmlands be salted, oil be set ablaze, the water be poisoned, and the mines be collapsed, it will deny both material and habitable resources that are necessary for regional survival.
It should be noted that all of the listed resources can be repaired, cured, rebuilt, or otherwise mitigated. That is not the point. The point is to make this process as strenuous, painful, and costly as possible for the SAS. On their own, they will not be able to recover, and they will instead be forced to rely on the Collective to restore their territory.
They will likely do so, because they cannot be seen as abandoning an ally, but this has the potential to increase tensions between SAS and Collective leadership, potentially leading to the Collective divestment from the SAS, should they see the restoration costs as too high. This outcome is only likely if Operation Scipio is successful the first time, and an additional such operation takes place at a later date.
The civilians who are currently inhabiting the SAS are also a major part of this operation. They should not be harmed whenever possible, as they serve to act as a resource drain upon the SAS, overburdening their cities and infrastructure as we push them deeper and deeper into SAS territory. Once ADVENT captures a population center during Scipio, the civilians will be driven out, whereupon they will almost certainly head towards another SAS city. Initially, this is expected to be initiated by ADVENT, but we estimate that this will self-perpetuate, as civilians evacuate themselves before we arrive at a population center.
This will have a compounding effect, both upon the morale and resources of the SAS, who will be forced to either rapidly supply and care for these refugees, or to deny them asylum and shelter, so as to not collapse their existing infrastructure. Either is useful, as it will push SAS logistics to the breaking point.
This can be argued as hurting ourselves, as the goal is to eventually claim all SAS territory for ADVENT, but we have the resources and technology to reverse the ecological devastation, and, if we cannot control it, we should make certain that our enemies do not benefit from it. If we do not succeed, it will not matter how pure we kept the Earth.
Resource Acquisition and Exploitation: A logistical system should be established within the Scipio operation to properly collect and exploit all resources and raw materials that can be captured. During the initial push, there are some pieces of infrastructure that should be kept in operation until the retreat is called. These include mines, oil fields, and certain refineries, all of which can produce raw resources to ship back to central ADVENT territory, and can be sabotaged and destroyed when we retreat, denying the SAS the opportunity to exploit the same resource without investing significant effort.
Prior to the razing of a population center, all raw materials, including food, equipment, or natural resources, should be collected and moved to ADVENT via Gateway. We should NOT waste what materials are available, as this is a maximum-efficiency operation, and, if the SAS will not take advantage of it, ADVENT should.
Whenever possible, effort should be taken to not only deny the SAS resources or materials, but also to acquire them for our own use. This will not always be possible, and when repurposing is not an option, destruction is sufficient.
Personnel Management: This is doubtless going to be a difficult and controversial operation to carry out, and we cannot risk any word of this being leaked, either to the Collective, the SAS, or the media. This is best accomplished by sharing the details of Scipio with only a few trusted individuals until the day of the operation, before sharing it with the Officers who will carry it out.
There is very little chance that we will experience another mass defection like after Deus Vult, but this is not an operation that soldiers will stay quiet about, and word will eventually filter back to the SAS if precautions are not taken. We should be prepared for soldiers who have questions or doubts about executing the operations. This can be mitigated by rapidly rotating out soldiers, or instituting additional requirements when selecting who is to be deployed. These may be infeasible, but they should be considered as options.
It is essential that all soldiers perform their duties to the letter and do not go beyond the scope of their orders. This will be an ugly and brutal operation, no matter how necessary, and it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure it is executed in the most dispassionate manner possible.
History will judge us for this, but when our species and planet are at stake, we cannot afford any half-measures.
ADVENT Misconduct Report | Military
Reviewer: Bob Soliva | Oversight Division
Submitter: Caroline Grador | Officer, ADVENT Army
Complaint Type: Looting; Professional Misconduct
Evidence Medium: Video | Physical (Armor Cam)
Evidence Strength: Strong | High Quality | ADVENT Source | Multiple Witnesses | Successful Identification
NATURE OF COMPLAINT: Approximately four days ago, a complaint was sent to the Oversight Division for review, alleging misconduct in the ongoing Operation Scipio, concerning multiple soldiers within the American, Russian, and Egyptian Legions, with possible involvement of other personnel from other Legions. The complaint specifically noted unauthorized looting from civilian residences and businesses, and in a few cases, from civilians themselves.
This is alleged to have been taking place to various degrees since the start of the operation, with four or more Officers aware, all of whom have elected to overlook the misconduct. This also includes the private confiscation of resources which are captured by ADVENT, and are not to be claimed by soldiers for personal use unless explicitly dictated.
There are also allegations involving the taking of trophies or keepsakes from defeated SAS personnel, which include armor pieces, keepsakes found on bodies, or ornaments on the body such as rings or earrings. No body parts are alleged to have been taken as of the submission of this complaint.
EVIDENCE REVIEW: Footage from armor cameras belonging to the named personnel submitted in the complaint was pulled and reviewed. The armor camera footage was determined to be immediately legitimate and showcased multiple soldiers performing the alleged incidents. There were several moments of commentary where they discussed if this was alright to do, with multiple ones claiming that "It was fine."
In total, we identified approximately sixty-two incidents of unauthorized looting and professional misconduct (please note that multiple incidents may take place within the same area and timeframe). The incidents ranged from taking objects within civilian homes and establishments, confiscation of valuables from civilian prisoners of war, unauthorized theft of regional resources claimed by ADVENT (primarily raw metals), and corpse looting.
In total, we have determined that forty-seven soldiers have been found in violation of multiple statutes and regulations regarding battlefield and occupancy conduct, as well as those pertaining to looting, resource securing, and enemy corpse treatment.
REVIEWER JUDGEMENT: The evidence provided is irrefutable and verified. Each of the soldiers involved are in clear violation of the above statutes and regulations, and should be disciplined according to the extent of their misconduct. This is indicative of potentially systemic breakdowns in regulation regarding this topic, and it is likely that there are multiple unreported incidents of similar nature.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: All identified soldiers should be immediately suspended from duty, and focused investigations opened to determine the extent of their misconduct. All Officers with which they are connected should similarly be suspended until it is determined they had no knowledge of the misconduct, with the exception of Officer Grador, who submitted this initial complaint.
For first-time offenders, it is recommended that they merely have the loot they gathered be confiscated, and be properly educated on the regulations regarding such conduct. It appears likely that ADVENT has not been overly clear over the rules and consequences of battlefield looting, and ignorance may be a factor.
Officers who were aware of or participated in the misconduct should be demoted, as they should be well aware of the regulations, as well as be willing to enforce them. They should be rotated out of Operation Scipio and replaced. Individuals who have violated these regulations multiple times should also face stronger disciplinary action, and be rotated out of Operation Scipio.
Individuals who confiscated materials and items from civilians should be immediately dishonorably discharged and arrested for theft, intimidation, and abuse of authority. It is also recommended that the results of this investigation be broadcast ADVENT-wide, as well as the consequences.
There is a message to be sent. It is also recommended that PATRIOT begin a more thorough review of body camera footage for additional incidents. Perhaps hold off on that until announcing this is a consideration. Allow some room for widespread course-correction.
If the above is not implemented, an explanation or an alternative must be provided. A failure to properly execute these actions will result in escalation to Oversight Investigation Command.
To Quisilia and Macula,
As we are launching combat operations across the planet, it appears that ADVENT has launched one of their own; from the scope and execution, it appears to have been one long in the making. As this directly impacts our largest ally on Earth – the Sovereign African States – it is prudent to examine the goals, consequences, and impact of the ADVENT operation into Africa.
This is being referred to by ADVENT as Operation Scipio, which has a historical context to some degree, but is largely unimportant practically. This operation caught Keeper and Betos by surprise, as they had not anticipated such an action without significant buildup. Keeper did note that ADVENT was preparing for something, but he did not expect an operation as quick as it happened.
Further compounding the threat ADVENT poses to the SAS is the loss of the Andromedon fleet, which has allowed them open access via the ocean. The SAS will be defending on two fronts, and while it appears they will be able to hold, it will not be possible without significant support and augmentation.
PREPARATIONS AND T'LETH ASSISTANCE: ADVENT has clearly been covertly preparing an operation of this scale for some time. We believe there were two primary methods by which ADVENT was able to keep it under wraps until execution, one of which has to do with the operational execution, and one which demonstrates ADVENT has a powerful ally.
The nature of Scipio is one which ADVENT kept from all but the most senior officers, and even then it appears they did not tell most officers details of the operation until a day before, or even the day of the operation. Most of the rank and file were still not told the details until contact had been made with the first towns and cities.
Given the nature of Scipio, this was a logical move by ADVENT, and practically ensured that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for observers and low-level embeds to catch wind of the operation ahead of time. Nonetheless, it was impossible to fully cover up evidence of movement. Multiple tank units had been moved to the edges of Africa, or to nations near Africa, accompanied by multiple Battalion deployments. It signaled that ADVENT was planning an operation, but that it was several weeks out.
Even with this short of notice, we would have noticed the fleet of tanks moving through the Sahara, if not for the second essential component – T'Leth. We believe that the Sovereign was responsible for creating the multiple sandstorms we detected, which persisted for several days, and provided cover for the tanks to move through undetected.
This is one of the more overt actions T'Leth has taken to support ADVENT, and we must now consider that any major natural event may be artificially created by T'Leth. I have confirmed with Quisilia that such manipulations are possible, if extremely difficult. Only a Sovereign One or Imperator could perform it at such a scale, leaving only one possible culprit.
It remains to be seen if T'Leth will provide more overt support to Operation Scipio, or if that was the extent of his support.
INTENDED EFFECT OF OPERATION: There appears to be one major goal of Operation Scipio, stripping away everything but data and simulations – to deny the SAS as a self-sustaining asset to the Ethereal Collective. ADVENT is taking a scorched-Earth approach to all SAS territory, and that is a near-literal description.
ADVENT is systematically locating every existing resource currently within the SAS, taking what they can, and then ensuring that no one else can use it, or only use it after expending significant effort. ADVENT is moving slowly, but only because they are hitting everything. There is no town, farm, or city too small or inconsequential. The only places they appear to be leaving alone are unimportant cultural or historical sites, non-critical wilderness and nature preserves, and a very few indigenous tribes which have almost no technological development whatsoever, which are effectively useless to us.
Cities and towns are being razed, farms are being burned, mines are being collapsed. To put it bluntly, ADVENT is not only driving out the existing occupants, but actively making it nearly impossible to rebuild in a reasonable amount of time. Their treatment of the civilians mirrors this 'maximum cost' strategy, as they are pushing the refugees deeper into the SAS, with the clear intention to overburden nearby cities, and exponentially increase the burden.
This is intended, ultimately, to take the SAS out of the conflict in any meaningful capacity, or force the Collective to devote significant resources into restoring it – which will take a significant amount of time. It is a brutal, pragmatic plan that is seeing success, at the time of this report.
On a smaller note, this operation is sending a clear message to the rest of the world, the few nations which do not fall under ADVENT stand with the Collective, and we will destroy you completely and utterly. It will be an effective message, and has already seen several nearby African nations 'officially' side with ADVENT.
The brutality is the point, and it is a message which is difficult to ignore.
CONSEQUENCES OF OPERATIONS: Simply put, unless we put a firm halt to the ADVENT advance, we will need to devote a significant amount of resources into the SAS – far more than we had originally planned for, and, honestly, more than they are likely worth. ADVENT caught the SAS at an extremely bad time, and neither Betos nor Keeper anticipated the level of complete destruction ADVENT would wreak upon the SAS.
This will significantly weaken the Collective influence in the region and around the world, as we were caught by surprise, and ADVENT is steadily advancing. The major cities are still intact and extremely well-defended, but that means very little for the rural farmlands which have almost no protection – and those make up the majority of SAS land.
This hurts our operations in the long and short term, unless we force an immediate turnaround and invest heavily in the SAS. Though it should be noted that the most precious thing lost here is not even the resources, but the time it will require to implement. We are talking on a timescale of months at minimum, assuming there is no continued sabotage and that does not ADVENT decide to do another Scipio in the future.
RECOMMENDED COURSE OF DEFENSE: Removing the teeth of their operation – their armored tanks. Those have been the key for Scipio thus far, and mitigating them would be the most ideal. Strikes against ADVENT Legions on the move is also preferable. It will be difficult to conduct surprise attacks, as psions are embedded in the Legions, but they can be slowed and sabotaged.
It is recommended that we attempt to lure a majority of the tank formations into a large conflict. It does not matter if it is an even trade, so much as the attack itself is blunted. Keeper has informed me that there are enough Heralds that can be mobilized to severely damage the ADVENT force, or potentially succeed against it.
Heralds are the clearest answer right now to ADVENT, and the more that can be deployed in the SAS, the better. We expect that ADVENT will have an extremely difficult time penetrating the larger cities, though they are getting closer. A large-scale conflict is coming. I am aware Macula has his own plans, but acting in addition to these suggestions can severely hinder the ADVENT procession.
EXPLOITATION ASSESSMENT: This is a scenario that is ripe for propaganda. The SAS can easily use this as proof of ADVENT's brutality and inhumanity, and it is expected that Betos will do this. The issue is that it will not especially matter. The SAS has been depicted as traitors by ADVENT media for months now, and there are a good portion of Humans who hate them as much as they do us.
Betos is not going to be able to appeal to the better nature of ADVENT, as Operation Scipio was approved by multiple ADVENT institutions, including the Congress of Nations. Other nations may be swayed, but they will be too afraid to do anything, for fear of attracting similar retribution.
Effectively, it does not matter what ADVENT is doing here. ADVENT isn't trying to hide what they are doing, there isn't a secret anymore, they are doing it, and challenging anyone to speak up against them. Is someone going to say it is 'wrong'? And even if they do…what exactly can be done about it?
Unfortunately, this is not as exploitable as one might think. Ironically, this will be more useful on Vitakar to demonstrate how ADVENT treats Humans who oppose them. We will likely get far more use of this on Vitakar than Earth.
- Zar'Chon'ravarian'vitiary
AFRICA – The mood within the Legion is unlike any I have ever been a part of before. Be they American, European, Asian, there are always some similarities. Some battlefield humor, a lot of training, a lot of xenophobia, and a lot of passion. The sense of camaraderie is strong throughout, and it is a perspective that I try to convey, because, as much as these men and women may appear to be faceless automata of ADVENT, they are not.
There has always been an inherent righteousness to how the soldiers approach their mission. As plain as they can state it, they are in the right. The aliens provoked them, and they deserve whatever is coming to them. These are soldiers who have lost friends and family to the war, and it is difficult for their views to be swayed. Every soldier believes that what they are doing is right and justified.
This is not something which appears to have carried over into the launch of Operation: Scipio. No soldier knew what was going to happen – something very unusual in ADVENT – only that they were deploying for an unknown operation. As time passed, there were some things that became clear. We were going to Africa. Was this an operation against the SAS? A strike against an alien base? Was ADVENT outright annexing Africa?
No one knew.
The full picture did not become apparent until actual days later. ADVENT assaulted a city in Niger. It was a small one; very few established defenses. It did not take ADVENT long to emerge victorious – and corral the civilian population into a single area, while they razed the city to the ground.
It was done methodically; mechanically. Food, gas, resources, battery packs, utilities, store goods, it did not go to waste. ADVENT cataloged it, designated it for Legion use, and whatever it did not use was sent back through the Gateways, leaving only the shells of buildings behind. Shells which were shattered into rubble.
Since the operation started, I have seen a half-dozen cities methodically destroyed. It is not enough to read the words stating that. It needs to be seen. If ADVENT is not considered a machine, I do not know how else to describe a city of thousands of people being turned to rubble in the span of two days.
It is both awe-inspiring and horrifying.
It is the people, though, which ultimately command the attention. I had been afraid that ADVENT would simply kill them; rounding them up into camps and executing them. They did not, but I do not know if what they are doing is better. Is it more humane to kill someone outright, or condemn them to wander the desert for shelter?
I do not know, but I cannot forget the faces of mothers clutching babies to their chest as ADVENT soldiers directed them on a forced march. If they're lucky, ADVENT will let them take a run-down jeep. Most of the time, they will just make them march. The only mercy afforded is some water for each person – the smallest of mercies under the hot African sun.
Many of these people cannot survive a long march, nor can the nearest towns sustain influxes of refugee caravans. That appears to be the point. ADVENT is forcing them to break the capacity of the places they are to attack next. And once they have finished, they will direct the survivors inward again, tightening a nose around the SAS in an increasingly brutal feedback loop.
On paper, the strategy seems sound. Many of the soldiers admit as much.
In practice, it extracts a toll I feel just by observing and documenting. One can only imagine what it is like for those who are carrying it out. ADVENT does not necessarily care where they go – only that they go. They only have the most basic of possessions, many have children or elders. Many of them will die on the path.
There have been many times where we have driven along, and out of the window we will see the face-down, sun-rotting corpse of one of the people who were forced onward. No one looks closely. The only question is not what happened, but how many more there were.
It must be asked – what is the objective?
The answer, as far as I can see, is punishment.
ADVENT does not intend to win, so much as make sure the SAS cannot recover – not without significant alien investment, enough to make them a significant drain on the Collective. Perhaps. Or maybe they intend to win. Based on what I have documented, the conditions of victory are not what is typical.
ADVENT has gone beyond the mere expulsion of the people living in these regions, into destroying the resources and land itself. Farms have what ready product they have confiscated, and the rest of the fields are torched and salted. Mines are collapsed, and the equipment salvaged when there is time. Oil fields are set alight, and the machinery destroyed.
Even when ADVENT leaves, the people will have nothing to go back to. Everything that is in the path of ADVENT dies or is destroyed. The message appears clear – if you stand opposed to ADVENT, everything you have will be destroyed. For the conditions ADVENT has set, they will very likely achieve their goals with Operation Scipio.
It will come at a cost. From the people who will die along the way, from the soldiers who carry it out, to us who must now come to terms with what ADVENT has carried out. To condemn what ADVENT is carrying out seems paltry, and will be unlikely to accomplish anything, but what we absolutely cannot do is forget.
Scipio cannot be forgotten, and when, after this war, we look back, we should see clearly what we did, and vow that it will never be repeated.
Article | "Scipio, on the Path of Destruction"