M02 — Glass Ferry

Field	Data
Date	October 2028
Operation	GLASS FERRY
Location	San Salvacion neutral corridor, Usea
Weather	Clear, low sun
POV / aircraft	Marsh ("Six") / F/A-18E Super Hornet
Wingmen	Over (Thorne), Nine (Asano), AME (Eirhei)
Enemy	Corporate-proxy convoy carrying stolen ADF-11F drone-control modules; mercenary fighter escort
Type	Escort engagement; precision gun pass
Time limit	12 minutes

Related: Jonah Marsh · Relationships · Flight and Combat

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1. Narrative Purpose

GLASS FERRY is the inverse of the prologue and the thesis of the squadron. Four people, each carrying the hesitation their profiles describe, produce through trust and translation a decision that is faster than doctrine and more humane than doctrine. It is the case study for what the gap between the correct order and its cost can produce when the people inside it are allowed to close it themselves.

2. Briefing

A corporate-proxy convoy is moving stolen ADF-11F drone-control modules through the San Salvacion corridor toward a buyer assessed as a neo-Belkan cell. Interdict before the handoff.

Complication: the convoy has been routed into a refugee transit column. Its operators are betting that ISAF rules of engagement will not permit a strike with non-combatants in the blast footprint. They are right.

3. Objectives

Type	Objective
Primary	Destroy the mercenary escort
Primary	Prevent the drone-control modules from reaching the handoff point
Primary	Zero civilian casualties
Hidden	Complete the gun pass using only cannon

4. Flow

Phase 1: Escort. Mercenary fighters engage. Standard air-to-air with Asano in cover. Marsh's Edge display is introduced against air targets.

Phase 2: The column. The convoy comes into view, interleaved with refugee trucks and walking families. Using Verify (taught in P00), the player identifies the module carriers. Thorne begins composing the abort: civilian density exceeds threshold.

Phase 3: The read. Marsh's Edge display shows something the briefing did not: the three lead vehicles carry the modules and are separated from the column by a gap that will exist for about nine seconds at the next bend. A prompt appears for the player: Double or Nothing.

If the player calls it:

SIX: "Double or Nothing." (Nine is already sliding into the cover position.)AME: "Over — he sees the separation. Trust the read." OVER: "Cleared."

If the player does not call it within the window, Thorne's abort goes out, the convoy reaches the handoff, and the mission ends in a partial success (see Failure Conditions).

Phase 4: The gun pass. Low and fast down the road axis. The Edge assist shows a narrow cone. The player must put rounds into the three lead vehicles and nothing else. Missiles are locked out by the game during this window; their blast radius would reach the column.

Phase 5: Egress. Remaining escorts attempt a revenge pass. The flight clears them.

5. Key Radio

See Phase 3. After the pass:

NINE (private): "You absolute lunatic." SIX (private): "Nine seconds. I counted." NINE (private): "You counted to six and guessed."

6. Systems Showcased

System	How
Edge (Marsh)	Phases 1, 3 and 4
Verify	Phase 2
Double or Nothing commitment	Phase 3
Weapon lockout near civilians	Phase 4
Translate (wingman)	Phase 3

7. Failure Conditions

• Any civilian casualty: mission failure.
• Marsh shot down.
• No Double or Nothing call: the mission completes as partial success. The modules reach the cell; the debrief records the abort as correct; the circle is quieter. The campaign continues. When the Ledger opens in M04, the modules appear as an untraced proliferation entry.

8. Debrief and Circle

The after-action review records "an out-of-doctrine engagement authorized by on-scene commander discretion" and zero civilian casualties. In the circle, Thorne does not pass for the first time; he says "the mission was adequate," and everyone laughs except him.

9. Ledger Entries

None directly. In M04 the Task Force cites GLASS FERRY in its request for the squadron.