The fighting within Neumidia raged on, yet while the surface of Corcrat gradually turned from a war to the knife to a war that would inevitably be won within the next few years, the fight in the void had turned to a careful probing and scouting of each other, neither side willing to extend. That the Orks were cautious now rang more than a few bells of alarm, Chapter Master Chyron especially urging the Candle Keepers to commit what could be committed to a fight against the Orks and the Mega Rokk as soon as possible, even going so far as to suggest the deployment of a Choir or two in the boarding of the Mega Rokk. And it would inevitably turn into a boarding action, as the addition of three Frigates created by the Lamenters at the tail-end of the decade ensured that the Space Marines currently on the planet would be able to by-pass the shields of the Orks, denying them the most significant advantage they held over the allied fleets in Neumidia.
Once on board, the Lamenters would race to attack the shield generators, engines, power plants, and munition storages, in that order of importance, to ensure that follow-up attacks by the ships of the Neumidians and Candle Keepers would be as effective as possible before they teleported out, leaving behind nothing more than wrecked machines, dead Orks, and several beeping bombs. Then, the Mega Rokk would be easy pickings...or at least, that is what Chapter Master Chyron suggested as the leading plan for dealing with the Orks within the void, something that would entail significant risk to the fleet if they failed to take out the Drilla-Kroozer or Orks surprises showed themselves.
Yet, while the local commanders in Neumidia began to plan and argue, the military personnel within Droma had started to compile and argue about doctrine, logistics, the turns of the wars, and combat actions the Candle Keepers had seen in the last 200 years, alongside the failures both tactically and strategically made. The most obvious and resolved quickly was the glaring lack of long-distance and short-distance artillery within all Units of the Candle Keepers. Obvious when looked at it in the face of planets like Khara and Corcrat, yet a mistake that was easily made by people who had primarily lived aboard a space station where space was not unlimited and on an Ocean World where artillery were ships and not something wheeled about or dragged by soldiers. Some production orders, a swift military reorganization, and training for the units not currently deployed later, and the Candle Keepers' forces were much more deadly.
What took far longer than even the creation of military academies to formalize the teachings of past and current mistakes and excellent ideas were the discussions surrounding the navy and ship procurement. Thus far, ships were built as needed (something which would continue being the Modus Operandi for a long, long, long time) and designed when guns in the void were required now or for a specific task. Take, for example, the Aries. Fast at 7Gs, with a Macro-Cannon and Lance Turret, alongside better armor and armored lifepods, these ships were cheap enough to be churned out in twos every decade and effective enough to threaten the enemy...yet they were not deadly enough to act as more than a distraction to the enemy as heavier ships did the heavy lifting of the fight. Perhaps that is okay, perhaps not, but the fact remains that the Aries is the first design of the Candle Keepers and thus suffers from all the pitfalls and shortcuts taken that such classes often possess. A new version, or a replacement class, is direly needed.
The Sagittarius, too, suffers from being the first of its archetype, as the light missile batteries equipped with missile swarms are potent, but they are potent in close range, the exact opposite range in which an artillery ship should be firing. Rip those out and replace them with hangars or, better yet, Lances, as the vessel is already being supplied with improved lenses, and it will be far better equipped to do its job. On the other hand, the Taurus is a fine ship. It does what it needs to do and nothing more. No fancy tricks, just ferrying troops and being able to aid them with ortillery and ASSF support.
'Overall, it seems that, though the Taurus was spot-on in its role and focus, there was an overall lack of vision and concentration when making these classes,' as one engineer would describe the Aries and Sagittarius shortly before being clocked in the head by a thrown can of water, an enraged shipbuilder demanding that they do better then.
And while things turned into a brawl with a screaming match attached, the end of it resulted in people generally accepting that a mission statement was required for the navy, a doctrine under which it would operate, one cognizant of their immediate, medium, and long-term goals within the sector, as well as the various foes they could expect and not expect to find and fight, so that the ships being built and designed would be created not by use-cases appearing, but by roles being filled out and expanded as needed.
The Candle Keepers already had a Skirmisher, a Troop Transport, and an Artillery Ship, but what about Scouts? Heavy Brawlers? Boarding Craft? Would there be a focus on Ships of the Lines or on hangars? Survival, or Killing Potential?
What was the fleet being built?
[] Candle Keeper Fleet Doctrine of 217.M42
(What is your focus when building ships, what are you willing to sacrifice and which things will you not compromise on? What will Candle Keeper Fleets be expected to actually do once your current crisis is over? Expansion? Exploration? Defense? Extermination?
Warning! Choosing a focus will give you DP Discounts on weapons/equipment/sections of a ship, but also apply fines to its opposites.)
-[] We are fine as is.
(Do not engage with any doctrine beyond what is needed. No DP changes.)
AN: No dig from me by the way. Just what I think would be the most obvious in-universe detraction-points for the ships made.
)
doing the right thing is hard.
