Task Force 501 (also known as the “Goryō”) was a joint Rikugun/Uchugun ad-hoc unit of the Star Army of Yamatai tasked with the transport and support of quick reaction Rikugun units, namely the Star Army Giretsu Century, Special Operations Fire Team, ranger, etc. It was created in YE 42 and disbanded in YE 44. It was commanded by Taisa Sato Erika.

The Battle of Hanako's Star was a disastrous battle for the Star Army of Yamatai. One of the lessons learned from the battle was that the Kagai-Class Assault Ship was not an ideal platform to support Giretsu fulfilling space/boarding oriented tasks. Nor was the ship particularly ideal for quick reaction scenarios where said centuries and other quick reaction type units might be deployed on their own to support a legion's efforts or other objectives for the Star Army as a whole. A more nimble and well-armed vessel would be needed for the task.

Luckily, instead of redesigning a variant of the Kagai for the task, the Ke-S3-R4000 Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package already existed. Initially, Taisa Sato Erika wanted to push up a proposal to Star Army Command to ask for First Expeditionary Fleet to fulfill the role with their gunship squadrons. She quickly reconsidered, as 1XF would be too busy for this. Thus, she submitted a proposal asking for 20 Plumeria gunships to create a joint Rikugun/Uchugun task force to fill the role. Command transferred over only half that of old Plumeria 2Ds, which were refitted to the 2E model, and 12 Chaiki 1B models.

To ensure there was unit cohesion on the gunships, Taisa Sato Erika has done her best to staff the ships with fleet members that were familiar with Rikugun culture. Another notable quirk of the task force is ship commanders are officers that either started or spent a considerable time commanding centuries and Kagai classed vessels.

Currently, there are 8 Plumeria-class (2E) Medium Gunship with the Ke-S3-R4000 Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package configuration and 12 Chiaki-class (1B) Escort Destroyer. As the Plumerias rarely do not operate together as a squadron, 2 Chiaki are attached to each deployed gunship. They serve as both stealthy escorts and aerial artillery assets to Rikugun forces operating on planets.

The following units are currently attached to or make use of the task force:

• Giretsu Century of the 75th Legion

Demibear created this article on 2020/03/08 01:12.