Light in the Dark (Fleet Quest)

[X] Plan: Carrier
-[X] Maintain Distance.
-[X] Emergency Repairs. (Choose area)
--[X] Shields
-[X] Frigate Strike.
--[X] 1 Gunship
-[X] Corvette Hunting.
--[X] 2 Fighter
-[X] Reserve.
-- [X] 2 Interceptor

The Exemplar is a carrier and while the lady might be running low on squadrons right now, small craft is her primary way of fighting.

"Commander Khan, have the CAG get our birds prepped for launcher," you order Tahmina, "Someone get the engineers working on our shield generator. I understand that it will take some proper repair work to get it back to full long-term functionality, but I want them to try and get some extra juice out of it for this fight. It might be the difference between life and death."

"Captain!" calls the CAG on your terminal, "Orders for our squadrons once they are in the air?"

"Gunships are to target the enemy frigate," you order, "Fighters to engage the corvettes. Interceptors can't really hurt those warships so hold them back in reserve."

"Understood, ma'am," replies the CAG, "I'll relay your orders now."

"Captain, I've got the crew working on the shield generator now," says Commander Khan, drawing your attention back to her.

And with that your primary involvement is over. You aren't without work as you review the damage reports and help organise getting your ship into fighting shape, but your subordinates have their orders and don't need you babysitting them as they carry them out. So you watch and wait as three squadrons of small craft soar through the void and wreckage towards the cluster of hostile warships.

Spotting your pilots, the mercenary escorts turn to engage them while the light cruiser continues to drift along. The frigate and corvette spit out missiles at the Exemplar's fighters and gunships and from there, it goes badly.

You aren't sure if your pilots got sloppy or the corvette gunners lucky, but missile after missile slams into the fighters. Not all of them die, but as the surviving fighters break off their attack run, you have lost maybe half of them to the defensive fire of the Seekers.

Thankfully your gunships handle that Kilo-class much better, pounding it with massed anti-vehicle weapons until the warship's energy shield gives out under the sustained firepower. A single gunship couldn't do much to that warship on their own, but an entire squadron is fully capable of taking it out with time.

"Captain!" shouts Tahmina, "Engineering reports that they've got the shield back at 98% percent power. It is just a temporary fix for the next couple of minutes or so. A more long term solution will require some proper repair work, which means taking a few hours to do the job right."

"Tell them that they've done some good work, Commander," you reply as you check the newly updated readouts of the Exemplar for yourself, "That additional defence could be the difference between life and death for us even if it is only a fleeting measure."

Meanwhile the gunships continue to pound away at the now shieldless frigate, dealing damage to the ship itself. The weapons of the Kilo-class Frigate are hit especially hard with practically all of the missile launchers being taken offline by the firepower of the gunships.

The surviving fighters have also regrouped and are making a better showing of themselves as they hit one of the corvettes with anti-shipping missiles. The mercenary warship doesn't suffer any actual damage to its hull, but its shield flickers and disappears as the shield generator is overwhelmed.

Tactical Situation
UNSC Forces
UNS Exemplar (Damaged)
-1 Gunship Squadron, 2 Interceptor Squadrons, 1 Fighter Squadron.

Mercenary Forces
1 Unknown Light Cruiser (Badly Damaged)
1 Kilo-class Frigate (Shield generator and missile launchers offline)
2 Seeker-class Corvettes (1 without shields)

Use Plan Voting

Capital Ships
UNS Exemplar: Two Actions Available

Small Craft
Three Actions Available.
Unassigned Squadrons: 2 Interceptor,
Frigate Strike: 1 Gunship
Corvette Hunting: 1 Fighter



First round of combat and things could have gone better for you. Your gunships barely got their licks in whilst the fighters got rather unlucky or rather the corvettes got rarely lucky as both got the high rolls to take out an entire squadron's worth of starfighters between the two of them.

Anyway, you've dished out some damage to that frigate while one of the corvettes is without its shields and your shields are temporarily back up to full strength.

Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.

[X] Plan More carrier work, Corvette Hunting
-[X] Maintain Distance.
-[X] Emergency Repairs. (Choose area)
–[X] Weapons
-[X] Corvette Hunting.
--[X] 1 Fighter
--[X] 1 Gunship
-[X] Reserve.
-- [X] 2 Interceptor

As you assess the situation, you decide that your orders need to change. The loss of the fighters is an unexpected pain and with the frigate losing its weapon systems, that leaves both of the corvettes as the biggest threats right now.

"Alpha Squadron, Bravo Squadron, Charlie Squadron," you call into the comms, "Focus your attacks on the corvettes. That frigate is currently unable to harm us and therefore a lesser priority than the warships with working guns."

Getting a series of affirmatives, you turn your attention back to the Exemplar. The shields are back to mostly full strength, but half of the carrier's weapons are offline. A fleet carrier isn't meant to be directly fighting, but that doesn't make the lack of direct combat capability any less concerning. Especially given how reduced your squadrons are and the lack of any escorts.

"Commander Khan, get our engineers working on our weapons," you order, "If at all possible, I want our torpedo launchers back online."

"Planning to engage the enemy warships directly, ma'am?" inquires Tahmina.

"No, we'll continue to keep our distance for the movement," you answer, "I just want the combat capability in case anything else goes wrong."

"I'll go and the crew now," says Tahmina and as she leaves, you turn your attention back to the battle.

Both the gunships and the fighters are making attack runs on the shieldless corvette. The gunships are only able to do minimal damage as the corvettes focus their defensive fire on them, but that allows the fighters to strike the sole engine on the shieldless corvette.

In response, the corvettes switch to trying to hit the fighters with their missiles, which frees up the gunships to act, which they promptly do. Massed anti-vehicular fire shreds the armour and hull of the damaged Seeker-class Corvette, leaving it riddled with holes. As the warship doesn't explode, the power core must have remained stable, but the corvette is nothing more than a drifting wreck.

Tactical Situation
UNSC Forces
UNS Exemplar (Damaged)
-1 Gunship Squadron, 2 Interceptor Squadrons, 1 Fighter Squadron.

Mercenary Forces
1 Unknown Light Cruiser (Badly Damaged)
1 Kilo-class Frigate (Shield generator and missile launchers offline)
1 Seeker-class Corvettes

Use Plan Voting

Capital Ships
UNS Exemplar: Two Actions Available

Small Craft
Three Actions Available.
Unassigned Squadrons: 2 Interceptor,
Corvette Hunting: 1 Gunship, 1 Fighter



Sorry about how long it took to update this quest, I forgot about it whilst I was writing my stories. Anyway, we are back and one of the corvettes is down and you didn't lose any more small craft. Given how slow the combat is going, I'm wondering how much of the thread would like me to speed things up. It would make the quest progress faster, but deny you more tactical choice in how things turn out.

Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.