The First Chronicles of the Star League

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Peaceful contact in the Quincunx Star Region had become the norm, but the Conclave of the Star League had finally concluded their deliberations over this difficult matter and action had been authorised. Aboard the Command Cruiser ‘Victory’, Admiral H'rto N'lsn was about to become the first officer to order an actual attack on an alien fleet. The Star League believed wholeheartedly in peaceful expansion, but he tried to content himself with the thought this action might well be considered humanitarian.

 

The alien ship’s ‘Pathfinder’ design appeared to be very similar to early Star League concepts and based upon relatively simple T’ckon ideas. It would seem that this race, the Divine Web, had also reached for the stars. If so, it was plainly easy to see what had happened. These 4 ‘Pathfinders’ would not have been able to probe the E class warp point they still now orbited and had obviously become stuck in this warp nexus. It was not known how long they had been here until ships of the 3rd Survey Flotilla had discovered them, but all attempts to contact them had failed and careful scans seemed to imply that these ships were now lifeless. However, power still functioned and automatic defence systems appeared to be operational. Great care would have to be taken.

 

Long considered the first choice of pirates, the Star League had not invested in Sonic and Stun weapons, but the explorers had discovered some and this had indeed proved providential; as the decision had been taken to try and overwhelm the alien defences, just in case life was indeed still present and peaceful contact a possibility. Therefore a one off design had been built and the ‘Acquirer’ had arrived. Now it was time to advance upon the alien fleet…..

 

 

OOC:

[bTW – before anyone wants to jump on the silly bandwagon of taking a pop at a confirmed proponent of Intra Galactic Peace & Security, I would like to point out that this entire thread is devoted to trying to provide some additional insight into the Combat System and gain material for my next Flagship article. I can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs. I think it’s great that I have found a drop to do it and not rely on second hand battles. Equally I can experiment without having to involve a played empire…….I hope this provides a medium for some interesting analysis…..Mx]

[Moonshadow]

Perhaps Someone should pickup this empire to help you with your article?

 

 

What was the Empire name and number?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Perhaps Someone should pickup this empire to help you with your article?

 

What was the Empire name and number?

Yawn......

 

That wouldn't help in the slightest and well you know it.....

[EternusIV]

Good luck on the Flagship article

 

Nice premise so far

[Ur Lord Tedric]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** NAVAL BATTLE REPORT **

 

----- SOLTRA [ M (Red) 4 V ] [single Star] - Warp Point 53730 -----

 

** Imperial Navy Report: Fleet Order of Battle **

Divine Web # 3124 [silver Web Anchored By 6 Different Golden Symbols]

101st Recon Group [ROE: Q] *Column Attack* (Fleet Tonnage: 48,000) ...

 

** Imperial Navy Report: Fleet Order of Battle **

Star League # 4256 [Diamond Of Nine Stars On A Field Of Sable]

5th Defence Squadron [ROE: T] *Orbital Defense* (Fleet Tonnage: 81,000) ...

 

Side 1: Divine Web # 3124

-------------------------------------------------- DepLoc 7 ------------------------------------------

**DESTROYED** [1st] FS Pathfinder (Fleet Scout - 12,000 tons) [integrity: 13,200] (Green, Timid)

1 10cm Autocannon, 1 Fuel Shuttle, 1,200 Fuel Tankage, 1 Mk I Computer System, 1 Mk I Jump Survey Sensor, 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 10 Mk I Short Range Sensor, 1,200 Standard Hull Plate, 1 Survey Lander, 1 Type A Defense Screen, 1 Type A Science Lab

Projectile: 110

Maneuverability: 0.025, Screens: 0.416, Sensors: 0.208

**DESTROYED** [2nd] FS Pathfinder (Fleet Scout - 12,000 tons) [integrity: 13,200] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [3rd] FS Pathfinder (Fleet Scout - 12,000 tons) [integrity: 13,200] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [4th] FS Pathfinder (Fleet Scout - 12,000 tons) [integrity: 13,200] (Green, Timid)

 

Side 2: Star League # 4256

-------------------------------------------------- DepLoc 4 ------------------------------------------

HDD Acquirer (Heavy Destroyer - 81,000 tons) [integrity: 258,000] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Timid)

4,500 Energy Dispersion Armor Coating, 3,000 Fuel Tankage, 25 Light Sonic Disruptor, 10 Medium Stun Beam, 200 Mk I Force Shield, 2 Mk I Long Range Sensor, 2 Mk I Medium Range Sensor, 2 Mk II Nuclear Engine, 2 Mk II Nuclear Jump Drive, 2 Mk II Short Range Sensor, 5 Mk III Computer System, 5,000 Reflective Armor Coating, 20,000 Standard Hull Plate, 20,000 Titanium Composite Armor

Sonic: 15,400

Maneuverability: 0.012, Meson Web: 0.555, Phase Inversion: 0.555, Reflective Coating: 0.864

Sensors: 0.049, Tachyon Grid: 0.555, Thermal Regulation: 0.555

 

A Star League Aquirer class Heavy Destroyer engages a flotilla of Divine Web Pathfinders in the Soltra star system. The Divine Web ships fight back, but are no match for the superior Star League vessel; one is almost captured but blows her engines to prevent Star League teams from boarding her.

================================================================================

======================

 

Notes: Well, Uncle Pete has tweaked the report – Empire Names now appear and the old descriptors have disappeared (the ‘Phenomenal’, ‘Lumbering’, etc).

 

Bridge rating and the bracketed effect of range is due to be added, as is, I am told, more detail on Fighters and Drones. Interesting to note the one typo, which proves that the description has certainly been edited…..

 

From the above I failed to capture any ships, which I had hoped to try out. Will try again in a few turns with another fleet that has been found……

 

I would plead for the remaining tweaks to be finalised for now, with the FOB results modified similarly, and then, please, please, with the Naval Combat Supplement revised and extended, particularly with regard to Fighters & Drones and their tactical options.

 

Mx

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Admiral H'rto N'lsn looked with great interest at the report once more; after he and his staff had reviewed the details at length. In one respect it was a failure, but data had certainly been gathered. The discovered weapons had performed, as they should have, from what the scientists had been able to determine, but none of the alien ships had been captured. This had been the original intent.

 

It did appear that some automated defences had remained functional and that all the ships still had power. They had all defended themselves and even tried to evade, before self-destruct mechanisms had operated. The Acquirer was obviously slower and perhaps needed some of the Tug devices in order to be able to bring the ships in closer? It had certainly not been able to draw near to even one of the alien ships before it self-destructed.

 

Fortunately a few other items had recently been found, some of which were some useful engines. Insufficient had been found to be used in any large ships, but perhaps something of a Light Cruiser size? Coupled with one of the new Transwarp Drives it should even be able to transit out this far in a reasonable length of time. It would probably not be as robust as the Acquirer, but that seemed to have held its own against the lifeless, but certainly not derelict alien ships. Now that a further, apparently identical, fleet had been found in a similar situation, perhaps more of a risk could be taken. The new design would be much faster and contain some of the Grapples, which may possibly make a significant difference.

 

The Admiral started to compose a sub-space transmission back to Fleet Command so that design decisions could be made and with a strong recommendation that the advanced engines discovered be allocated to this project, in the hope that one, or more, of these vessels could indeed be acquired to further the knowledge of this alien race. Meanwhile, the 3rd Survey Flotilla would continue to seek the routes to the alien HW and attempt to establish communication – or think of rescue……….

 

……to be continued

[Eldred]

>Notes: Well, Uncle Pete has tweaked the report – Empire Names now appear and the old descriptors have disappeared (the ‘Phenomenal’, ‘Lumbering’, etc).

 

That's a shame - it would have been nice to have both the numbers and the descriptor (to give some indication of how good or bad the numbers are!)

[WKE235]

I did some FOB's last turn, and got the descriptors but no numbers. I think Pete is still adjusting things and trying to get it all together. Maybe once he's done it will all be tied into one whole?

[MadMartinB]

Now that Valkor has declared war on me I guess I could provide some of the battle reports against him

 

So far things look good. Have identified one of his warp defender fleets (sent in a light recon ship) and also found another way to him...The fun only begins...

[WKE235]

Given how Eternus, Benthis, Golden Clover, Valkor, The Colony, Bene Gesserit, and several others have all declared war (or had war declared on them) this turn ... seems like Ur Lord Tedric's cup will soon runneth over with ample examples of battles and bloodshed.

 

HEY PETE -- better make sure all those battle report updates are done and in place. Seems like the universe is going to need them very soon.

 

Also .. is it just a coincidence that the moment RTG Pete gives out 24 free SRP, that the universe suddenly becomes a much more hostile place? A little free research and the animals go wild! What do you want to bet that Santa will see a lot of weapons or ship defense requests in Slot 1.

[ali-t-akua]

Also .. is it just a coincidence that the moment RTG Pete gives out 24 free SRP, that the universe suddenly becomes a much more hostile place? A little free research and the animals go wild! What do you want to bet that Santa will see a lot of weapons or ship defense requests in Slot 1.

 

I guess we should be glad Santa didn't deliver more. Could have been Armageddon.

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Given how Eternus, Benthis, Golden Clover, Valkor, The Colony, Bene Gesserit, and several others have all declared war (or had war declared on them) this turn ... seems like Ur Lord Tedric's cup will soon runneth over with ample examples of battles and bloodshed.

 

HEY PETE -- better make sure all those battle report updates are done and in place. Seems like the universe is going to need them very soon.

 

Indeed yes, there will possibly be many battles posted and much propaganda.

 

The point about this thread; is that we have no intention of misleading anyone with disinformation about the actual battle, which may well happen with some of the protaganists mentioned.

 

This thread is for real information to discuss and analyse, so that we can get Uncle Pete to give us as much realistic data as possible for us to understand and subsequently plan against, without him giving away too many secrets; let alone allow our scribe to submit further articles and encourage ever more empires to reach for the stars.

 

It is our hope that, given we are fighting an abandoned empire, to be able to discover just enough to give a real flavour of both space and ground combat without having to pursue any political agenda or expose too much of two empire's play.

 

Will the Star League hopefully gain an additional production facility out of it, yes, we certainly hope so - for something has got to justify the vast expense of losing the ships and troops we fully expect to.......

 

Chief Warmaster to Ur-Lord Tedric

[WKE235]

Look at this battle. An assault through an E (size 7) Warp point into Diocles. (Note - the Deploy location of the Vindicator Battleship is mistakenly listed as 2, when it was in deploy location 1 as confirmed by RTG Pete ... also leader bonuses do not show up making it hard to determine their impact on the battle).

 

=====================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** NAVAL BATTLE REPORT **

----- DIOCLES [ B (Blue-White) 4 V ] [single Star] - Warp Point 59201 -----

** Imperial Navy Report: Fleet Order of Battle **

Napatha Solarum Imperium # 3535 [Ebon Field; Crimson Gauntlet Seizes Argent Galaxy]

Optic Terminus Formation [ROE: Y] *Kennel* (Fleet Tonnage: 4,691,200) ...

Admiral Thrasius Severin Binger

** Imperial Navy Report: Fleet Order of Battle **

Concordium # 3833 [A Three-Dimensional Representation Of A Tesseract With The Symbol For Infinity Glowing In The Central

Cube]

906th Defense Force [ROE: W] *Standard Line* (Fleet Tonnage: 6,409,940)Cargo Bays: ... 200 Fighter Bays: ... 12 Drone

Racks: ... 28 ...

Colonel Eisenhower ... Senior Agent Monk ... Vice Admiral Nelson ... Pioneer Glenn

Archpriest Gahndi ... Academician Gates ... Pioneer Armstrong ... Pioneer Polo

1,200 Interceptor ... 1,200 Light Drone ... 800 Standard Drone

Side 1: Napatha Solarum Imperium # 3535 Fire Control: 1

-------------------------------------------------- DepLoc 1 ------------------------------------------------------------

**DESTROYED** [1st] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

200 Fuel Tankage, 60 Laser CIDS, 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive

Maneuverability: 0.300, Point Defense: 3.062

**DESTROYED** [2nd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [3rd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [5th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [6th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [7th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [8th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [9th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [10th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [13rd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [14th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [15th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [16th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [17th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [18th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [19th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [20th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [21st] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [22nd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [24th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [25th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [26th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [27th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [28th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [29th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [30th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [31st] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [32nd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [34th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [36th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [37th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [38th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [39th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [40th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [43rd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [44th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [45th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [46th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [47th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [48th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [50th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [52nd] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [55th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [56th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [58th] CO Dog Meat (Corvette - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 800] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [64th] WC Mongrel (War Cruiser - 1,446,200 tons) [integrity: 5,131,200] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Reliable)

975 10cm Autocannon, 10 Energy Sapper Torpedo, 18 Fuel Shuttle, 25,000 Fuel Tankage, 15,000 Laser CIDS

1,500 Light Beam Laser, 21 Light Blast Cannon, 325 Light Thermal Lance, 6 Medium ESAP Beam

10 Mk I Computer System, 36 Mk I Deflector, 200 Mk I Force Shield, 11 Mk I Lightning Arc Generator

1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 105 Mk I Short Range Sensor, 400 Mk I Standard Missile

10 Mk I Standoff Missile, 3 Mk II Bore Torpedo, 40 Mk III Short Range Sensor, 9 Mk III Standard Missile

100,000 Reflective Armor Coating, 530,000 Titanium Composite Armor, 15 Type A Defense Screen

Coherent Beam: 330,000, EnergyAbsorber: 20,240, Energy Discharge: 12,100, Missile: 116,000

Particle Beam: 46,200, Plasma: 85,800, Projectile: 107,250

Deflectors: 0.012, Point Defense: 0.518, Reflective Coating: 0.345, Screens: 0.051, Sensors: 0.045

**DESTROYED** [4th] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

105 10cm Autocannon, 5 Fuel Shuttle, 15,000 Fuel Tankage, 300 Light Beam Laser, 105 Light Thermal Lance

2 Mk I Computer System, 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 21 Mk I Short Range Sensor

20,000 Reflective Armor Coating, 65,000 Standard Hull Plate, 3 Type A Defense Screen

Coherent Beam: 66,000, Plasma: 27,720, Projectile: 11,550

Maneuverability: 0.001, Reflective Coating: 0.500, Screens: 0.075, Sensors: 0.026

**DESTROYED** [11st] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [23rd] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [33rd] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [51st] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [60th] CL Pup E (Light Cruiser - 200,000 tons) [integrity: 315,000] (Line, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [63rd] CA Pooch (Heavy Cruiser - 500,000 tons) [integrity: 2,490,700] [shields: 210,000] (Green, Timid)

200 20cm Gauss Gun, 50,000 Ablative Armor Coating, 10 Battle Imaging System, 9,300 Fuel Tankage

75 Heavy Beam Laser, 5,000 Laser CIDS, 100 Light P-Cannon, 100 Mk I Deflector, 25 Mk I Medium Range Sensor

1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 20 Mk II Computer System, 300 Mk II Force Shield

25 Mk II Short Range Sensor, 100,000 Selenite Battle Weave

Coherent Beam: 495,000, Plasma: 110,000, Projectile: 352,000

Deflectors: 0.100, Point Defense: 0.500, Reflective Coating: 1.000, Sensors: 0.050

**DESTROYED** [65th] CA Pooch (Heavy Cruiser - 500,000 tons) [integrity: 2,490,700] [shields: 210,000] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [66th] CA Pooch (Heavy Cruiser - 500,000 tons) [integrity: 2,490,700] [shields: 210,000] (Green, Timid)

**DESTROYED** [67th] CA Pooch (Heavy Cruiser - 500,000 tons) [integrity: 2,490,700] [shields: 210,000] (Green, Timid)

Side 2: Concordium # 3833 Fire Control: 1

-------------------------------------------------- DepLoc 2 ------------------------------------------------------------

**DESTROYED** [12nd] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

2 Drone Rack, 2 Fighter Bay, 15 Fuel Shuttle, 40,000 Fuel Tankage, 20,000 Ghost-Nine Armor Coating

400 Laser CIDS, 100 Light Beam Laser, 100 Light Stun Beam, 100 Light Thermal Lance, 50 Mk I Computer System

100 Mk I Deflector, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 10 Mk I Short Range Sensor, 20 Mk I Space Mine Scanner

200 Mk I Standard Missile, 300 Mk II Nuclear Engine, 3 Mk III Jump Survey Sensor, 20,000 Titanium Composite Armor

20 Type A Defense Screen, 20 Type A ECM Package

Coherent Beam: 22,000, Missile: 40,000, Plasma: 26,400, Sonic: 11,000

Deflectors: 0.153, ECM: 0.306, Maneuverability: 0.459, Point Defense: 0.981, Reflective Coating: 1.226

Screens: 0.306, Sensors: 0.038

**MEDIUM DAMAGE** BB Vindicator (Battleship - 3,103,940 tons) [integrity: 20,843,940] [shields: 2,200,000] (Green, Timid)

2,474 2.5cm Chain Gun, 135 20cm Autocannon, 400 Battle Imaging System, 1,200 Blaster CIDS

220 Fuel Shuttle, 240,000 Fuel Tankage, 2,000 Light P-Cannon, 100 Light Tractor Beam, 3,200 Mk I Fusion Engine

250 Mk I Medium Range Sensor, 100 Mk I Standard Missile, 2,000 Mk II Force Shield, 27 Mk II Standard Torpedo

100 Mk III Computer System, 500 Mk III Force Shield, 50 Mk III Short Range Sensor, 1 Nuclear Transwarp Drive

900,000 Selenite Battle Weave, 1 Type B Plasma Torpedo, 10 Type C ECM Package

Gravitonic: 16,500, Missile: 84,800, Plasma: 2,200,000, Plasma Torpedo: 528,000, Projectile: 113,828

ECM: 0.064, Maneuverability: 1.030, Point Defense: 0.174, Sensors: 0.056

**DESTROYED** [35th] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [41st] FC Dahak II (Frontier Cruiser - 337,100 tons) [integrity: 577,100] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Resolute)

400 20cm Autocannon, 4 Drone Rack, 40,000 Energy Dispersion Armor Coating, 15 Fuel Shuttle

40,000 Fuel Tankage, 400 Laser CIDS, 100 Mk I Computer System, 200 Mk I Force Shield, 20 Mk I Medium Range Sensor

1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 20 Mk I Space Mine Scanner, 350 Mk II Nuclear Engine, 3 Mk III Jump Survey Sensor

40,000 Titanium Composite Armor

Projectile: 176,000

Maneuverability: 0.519, Meson Web: 1.186, Phase Inversion: 1.186, Point Defense: 0.950, Reflective Coating: 1.186

Sensors: 0.059, Tachyon Grid: 1.186, Thermal Regulation: 1.186

**DESTROYED** [42nd] FC Dahak II (Frontier Cruiser - 337,100 tons) [integrity: 577,100] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [49th] FC Dahak II (Frontier Cruiser - 337,100 tons) [integrity: 577,100] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [53rd] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [54th] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [57th] FC Dahak II (Frontier Cruiser - 337,100 tons) [integrity: 577,100] [shields: 60,000] (Green, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [59th] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

**DESTROYED** [61st] TR Gnat (Trader - 1,000 tons) [integrity: 600] (Green, Resolute)

200 Cargo Bay, 200 Fuel Tankage, 1 Mk I Computer System, 1 Mk I Medium Range Sensor, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive

1 Mk I Space Mine Scanner, 2 Mk II Nuclear Engine

Maneuverability: 1.000, Point Defense: 300.005, Sensors: 1.000

**DESTROYED** [62nd] FC Dahak (Frontier Cruiser - 326,100 tons) [integrity: 426,100] (Seasoned, Resolute)

Admiral Thrasius Severin Binger was shocked awake by the sound of klaxons when one of his Pup E's spotted a huge enemy force

moving into Diocles via warp point. Every Pup E, supported by four heavily armored Pooch class Heavy Cruisers stationed

directly on the warp point, sprang to engage the enemy. Dozens of Dog Meat class Corvettes, manned by brave but somewhat

suicidal loyalists, dove directly into the heart of the fight, screening their brethren with their very lives. At first,

Admiral Binger was pleased. His Mongrel opened up with its batteries, and the Pooches poured coherent beam, projectile and

plasma firepower into the first enemy ship to appear through the warp point. It was a Dahak, one of the hated 326,000 ton

Concordium Frontier Cruisers that had been harrassing NSI shipping for so long. The Dahak disappeared under brutal fire,

incinerated by P-Cannons fired by the Beagle, one of the Pooches. Another Dahak appeared, and another. They were streaming

into Diocles, powerful vessels built for war. It was hard to tell what was showing up through that tiny distortion in

space, as the flaming maelstrom of battle encompassed everything. Did something huge appear, or was it just another Dahak?

Now Dahak II's began to appear while Dog Meats and Pup E's perished in nuclear fireballs, chased down and blown into

billions of pieces by swarming Concordium Light Drones. The invading Concordium ships suffered mightly, though. Admiral

Binger's Pooches pounded the enemy ships one by one as they appeared, concentrating their firepower to deadly effect. Then

something changed. The Pup E's and Dog Meats were gone. The Concordium fleet, battered and smashed almost beyond

recognition, most of its Dahak and Dahak II's either gone or crippled, soon to die, rallied. Unthinkable firepower reached

out from the center of the Concordium formation and vaporized one of the Pooches outright. Another Pooch was crippled, and

then the last of the Concordium screening vessels, Frontier Cruisers one and all, perished. Smashed and reeling, Admiral

Binger's Mongrel was destined to meet the furnace....when he saw the Concordium Vindicator class Battleship full on his

display screens. The Concordium commander, Vice Admiral Nelson, twitched his whiskers in anticipation as his Vindicator

swiveled its port batteries to lock onto the NSI War Cruiser. Hundreds of P-Cannons and a Type B Plasma Torpedo were

channeled into the doomed NSI ship at point blank range. The thunderous fire emanating from the Vindicator vaporized the

War Cruiser with a hammerblow straight from hell. Three Pooches remained, hard to kill and determined to sink their teeth

into the Vindicator. They died, but they died well. A good third of his Battleship was blasted into space by NSI P-Cannon

gunners. Fires raged aboard his beloved flagship, and a Pooch almost managed to ram, but the Vindicator was surprisingly

nimble and dodged out of the way. Turning to concentrate every remaining turret onto the last Pooch, it unleashed a full

broadside and atomized the Pooch on the spot. Only the Vindicator remained, streaming atmosphere. Armor plates, engines,

weapons, chunks of once-proud warships, clanged off of the brutalized outer hull of the Vindicator. Flotsam and jetsam, the

wreckage of war, drifted about Nelson's ship. Diocles was his.

[General Miles Avatar]

now thats a real battle!!! 1 ship left!!! ???? and it was the mighty Vindicator Class Battleship.

 

I think we have learned something here gentlemen. When Uncle Pete stated that larger hulls

are favored in space conbat he wasnt kiddng.

[RTGPete]

Yes, that was a great battle. I watched it run round by round - the Vindicator was in deploc 1 and was a brawler in the center of a swirling maelstrom. It shows the value of lots of junk screening vessels, as the Dog Meats absorbed a ton of firepower early in the fight. Easy to counter, with higher fire control (I will give better details on the exact bridge ratings - it needs to be crystal clear, and isn't right now) or by bringing in a lot of small ships to absorb the enemy's fire in return. Well, it's easy on paper. In practice it's a pain to build those tiny vessels and move them in, wespecially for the attacker, and actually countering them is only necessary if you know or are worried about their existence. And...they are lost tonnage, being useless for much of anything else.

 

The key in screening is using a moderate to large number of ships to take the hits while your more powerful weapons platforms dish it out. That way you get the enemy to waste firepower. However, the screens are (1) fragile, dying fast, guaranteed one-shot lost tonnage and (2) a real pain to get to the front. Transwarp capability would be great but is industrially counterproductive to the concept of having lots of them. This is one excellent reason why those otherwise terrible neutrals with small population bases can be very handy: forward-deployed shipyards on zero-attrition worlds - the parts can be shipped in with transwarp-capable freighters and then assembled into non-Transwarp AP 2 ships on the spot. Or...just make a colony somewhere and ignore the attrition It all depends how far the fight is from your production bases.

 

This was a great fight. Both sides executed their plans and it was a classic warp point assault meatgrinder. If the defender had possessed more firepower to back up his screens, he might have been able to hold the warp point. If the attacker had been able to bring in some screens in quantity, he might have been able to secure the point with at least some of the Dahaks. I think they both did a great job given the impossibility of not knowing exactly what the other side possessed before the actual battle took place.

 

In the end, the attacker had a tonnage advantage, but not an overwhelming one, and could very well have been annihilated given the severe advantage enjoyed by the defender in warp point assault engagements. Wonderful engagement between two worthy adversaries.