Attack on UNSC Mekong

The Attack on UNSC Mekong occurred on February 26 2498, when a rebel-piloted GA-TL1 Longsword attacked and fired two anti-ship missiles at the UNSC Mekong. 
==Incident==
The UNSC Mekong, a light destroyer under the command of Captain Rebecca Elaine, was part of a naval task force assigned to patrol the Epsilon Eridani asteroid belt near Epsilon Eridani IV. 
The ship’s Tactical Officer detected an unidentified GA-TL1 Longsword on an approach path for the ship. Initially believing the fighter to be from a nearby patrol and therefore no reason for alarm, Captain Elaine ordered the ship to identify itself. The unidentified craft did not respond and continued its approach. The Captain ordered a second message to be sent, but again there was no reply and the craft was on a direct course for them. Suspicious now, Captain Elaine ordered the ship on combat alert beta. It was at this moment the Captain was informed that the unknown craft had targeted her ship. The now-hostile Longsword fired two Exolance anti-ship missiles at the ship before the pilot broke off and withdrew into the asteroid belt.
Reacting quickly the ship went into full combat alert alpha and began to spin up its point defense guns. The ship’s point defense guns managed to destroy the first missile before it could hit, but not the second one. The second missile locked on to ship’s hangar bay and fired its secondary booster. The missile struck the port side hangar of the Mekong and penetrated the bay doors before it detonated inside, crippling the ship. The damage threatened to damage the ship's reactor coolant and destroy the ship but the crew sealed the damaged sections and exposed them to vacuum to extinguished the flames. 
== Aftermath ==
A total of thirty-four crewmen died in the attack, twenty-four were killed either by the initial explosion or being ejected into space, and ten more would die of their injuries. Fourteen others were injured but would survive their injuries 
The ship sustained severe damage and was crippled by the attack but survived long enough for their distress call to be received and for friendly UNSC ships to arrive. The UNSC That All You Got? and UNSC From Hell's Heart arrived answering the Mekong's distress call and after evacuating the crew towed the ship back to Reach's refit stations for repairs. A month later the Mekong returned to active service, this time as part of a search-and-destroy task force. 
Responding to the attack the UNSC sent battle groups into the asteroid belt to hunt down the rebels responsible. However, they would not be able to uncover of the rebel attack. ONI would cover up the attack as a exploding fuel-line accident to prevent the public from knowing the rebels possessed military fighter-craft and the ability to successfully attack a UNSC warship.
Still, the attack would help encourage the Insurrection on and led to a rebellion that was helped put down by Captain .
The incident would help lead to a shake-up in fleet security protocols. UNSC warships would no longer patrol without escort if possible and reconnaissance pickets were incorporated into standard protocol. The incident, along with the rebellion on Eridanus II and the rebels' capture of the UNSC , would be used to support the tightening of fleet security and the development of .
Category:Battles
Category:Insurrection