Blue Steel 2199: Arpeggio of Blue Steel/Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Crossover

That's not what I understood- the discussion of the space fleet and the "new builds" more or less revealed that of the new "Space Battleships", only Yamato is practically ready- the others have a number of months of construction ahead of themselves. It is possible that with Yamato "blazing the trail", that reinforcements could be sent after her, but the impression I had was that the new ships were intended to reinforce the Sol system, so that the Gamilons don't manage to finish the humans off, if they decide to take Earth as a more serious threat.
 
This was to get past the normal objection many non-Japanese viewers have with SBY: The fact that the rest of the world seems to be sitting on its collective arse. Which ever nation could get its battleship ready first would get the warp core from Iscandar. The original timetable was based on Yamato's expected delivery date as that ship seemed furthest along but had the Yamato been successfully attacked before launch, then the top priority would have been recovering the warp core so the next ship. (presumed in this example to be the US built Arizona) could carryout the mission.

Hyuga will definitely be leading the effort to replicate the warp core, but that will take time. In the meantime, the remaining ships would commission with Hyuga's new design hybrid engines that should have the speed, but may lack the range and/or ease of maintainability of Yamato's drive.
 
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Woo!

Also, was looking over the stats for the Gaiderol-class astro battleship (Shulz's flagship, called Le Chevalier) and found it had a ridiculous amount of torpedo tubes. 33 total, 12 on the upper hull and 21 mounted ventrally. I'm actually a bit disappointed they didn't have it unleash some missile spam.
 
Chapter 16
Blue Steel: Part 16 (Episode 1, part 1)


Three weeks out to Pluto aboard the Kirishima and Yukikaze was bored. So boring! She thought. Not a single other mental model in the entire fleet. Well... the term 'entire' might be stretching things a bit. First Fleet consisted solely of the battleship Kirishima, eight cruisers, and twelve destroyers like herself. No. Not like me. She corrected. The other eleven ships might be Isokaze class destroyers, but they were not Fog. Put simply: They were pretty dumb in comparison. And it was everything the Japanese Space Forces could muster. Two more Kongo class battleships and five more Atago class cruisers technically remained in service, but all had been badly damaged and sat in reduced commission, as did about ten destroyers. Another fifteen destroyers were serviceable, but destroyers simply lacked the legs to make it to Pluto in time. Normally they were carried into their deployment areas by the larger ships. A cruiser could carry one destroyer, while a battleship; like Kirishima, could carry as many as four.


Battleship! Yukikaze snorted. The Kirishima might be more advanced than the fleets the Fog had fought in the 21st century, but a battleship? Hardly. Supreme Flagship was a BATTLESHIP! California and Nagato were battleships. Iron Duke was a battleship. The Flagship of First Fleet was a toy in comparison. And its firepower still outguns mine by a longshot! Yukikaze reminded herself with annoyance. Well, at least Supreme Flagship had arranged for her to have a full loadout of corrosive missiles and vibration torpedoes. That was one thing she felt satisfaction in. Yukikaze would be the first ship to use Makie Osakabe's vibration warheads in battle, the first to give the Gamilon devils a taste of Fog weaponry.


Yukikaze was still less than happy about the boredom though. Just as she had been less than happy about having to withhold details of the mission from her Captain. Yukikaze liked her Captain and crew. They were a tight family and they had all been willing to call her Yuki. She wanted to do whatever she could for them. They deserved the truth but her orders had been strict on that. 'Operational Security' they called it. Well... it was not as if anyone on the Yukikaze was just going to pick up a com and broadcast the plan across the universe. But if she told Captain Kodai, then he would be compelled to tell the rest of the crew and while there was a limit to what human justice could do to her, Kodai and Okita would both come under censure if the disclosure ever came to light. So too, the tenuous relationship between the EDF command and the Fog might come into jeopardy. These things could not be allowed, even as much as Yukikaze felt her Captain and crew deserved to be trusted with the truth. But then... She considered. even knowing everything, her Captain and crew would still have gone. That was the sort of men they were. Yukikaze would do her best to bring them home alive.


Now the moment was at hand.


"Two hundred thousand kilometers from Pluto!" The navigator announced.


"Battlestations!" Captain Kodai called. "Yuki! Load all tubes!"


"Yes Kodai sama!" Yukikaze opened her arms. Weapons slid into their launchers.


"No sign of enemy ships yet…" The XO announced. "It's almost scary."


"Signal the flagship that we have arrived in the Operational area."


The com operator acknowledged and spoke into his mic.


Aboard Kirishima, Admiral Okita listened impassively to the com report and then a moment later as a contact report came in.


"Multiple contacts to starboard, four o'clock!"


"EM restrictions released." Captain Yamanami ordered his crew. "Identify enemy ship types."


"One SuperDreadnought, seven battleships, twenty two cruisers. Eighty nine plus destroyers. Still refining the numbers."


"All ships combat positions. Thirty degrees starboard." Okita ordered. "Prepare for torpedo exchange." The Admiral's voice an anchor of calm amidst the chaos of impending battle.


The enemy fleet swept wide around in an arc as Okita's ships readied weapons. The turrets of Kirishima rotated into position and awaited the admiral's order.


"Distance 7500… relative speeds unchanged."


"Message incoming from enemy fleet. 'Attention Earth fleet: Surrender Immediately.' How shall we respond sir?"


"Idiots." Okita growled.


"Sir?"


"I said they're idiots!"


"Earth fleet responding: Idiots!"


Presently the Gamilon forces acknowledged by locking weapons on the Earth fleet and opening fire,


Okita held his fire, seeking the best firing solution possible. Finally the order was given:


"Fire!" Beams of destructive energy lashed out from the earth ships. Unfortunately proving ineffectual against the hull armor of the Gamilon ships.


On the Earth forces side, the casualties mounted.


"Still no word from Amaterasu?"


"Nothing yet sir."


Aboard Yukikaze, the com crackled with messages from damaged and dying ships.


Confronted by the now apparent ambush, Captain Kodai made a decision.


"Come about! Reverse our course!"


"Coming about!" Yuki answered her Captain's orders with responses faster than any human could manage. The destroyer swung about and shaped a course into battle.


On Kirishima's bridge, damage reports continued to flow in.


"Eighty percent of our ships are destroyed or out of action…"


"Signal from Amaterasu confirmed! On course at speed… passing Neptune. Ten minutes to Mars rendezvous."


"Encode to fleet headquarters: The Stone Door of Heaven is opening..."



To Be Continued.
 
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I don't get why the Vibration Torpedo is being used or why the Fog would consider it of any value. It has zero effectiveness against shielding.

I don't know how Gamilon shielding actually works, though. It seems to just refract, scatter and slow down energy weapons to the point their armor deflects it.

That may mean Gamilon shields don't work well against missiles and kinetic weapons.

Nothing much else I see the need to comment on.
 
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I don't get why the Vibration Torpedo is being used or why the Fog would consider it of any value. It has zero effectiveness against shielding.

I don't know how Gamilon shielding actually works, though. It seems to just refract, scatter and slow down energy weapons to the point their armor deflects it.

That may mean Gamilon shields don't work well against missiles and kinetic weapons.

The shielding on the Gamilon ships at Pluto does not appear to be an energy shield so yes, Vibration warheads should be quite effective. Also, we KNOW from dialogue in a later episode, that Yukikaze carried 'prototype torpedoes'. The vibration torpedo seemed to be a good candidate. Something about Yukikaze's torpedoes was effective...

I think that Gamilon 'shielding' at least as shown at Pluto, is closer in concept and execution to Star Trek's 'polarized hull plating' rather than the later 'shields'

Also, while Yuki may have corrosive warheads, it is not clear but seems likely that the thanatonium in the warheads is limited to the supply that originally accompanied the Fog. If so, then corrosive missiles would not make a good standard issue for the EDF.
 
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Also, while Yuki may have corrosive warheads, it is not clear but seems likely that the thanatonium in the warheads is limited to the supply that originally accompanied the Fog. If so, then corrosive missiles would not make a good standard issue for the EDF.

With how many of those things get spammed in a given engagement, I honestly question how limited the supply is.
 
The shielding on the Gamilon ships at Pluto does not appear to be an energy shield so yes, Vibration warheads should be quite effective. Also, we KNOW from dialogue in a later episode, that Yukikaze carried 'prototype torpedoes'. The vibration torpedo seemed to be a good candidate. Something about Yukikaze's torpedoes was effective...

I think that Gamilon 'shielding' at least as shown at Pluto, is closer in concept and execution to Star Trek's 'polarized hull plating' rather than the later 'shields'
The Gamilas ships are coated with Migobueza anti-beam coating, which comes from Migobuia, their term for the reflection satellites. IIRC it was a thing unique to the Gamilas fleet stationed in the Solar System and was meant to further decrease the effectiveness of Earth's amplified light cannons. It's certainly not powerful enough to shrug off their own positron cannons, nor the shock cannons mounted on the bows of the UN Cosmo Navy or the Yamato.
 
A valid point, of course the missile spamming was limited to Fog on Fog battles and even then expenditure of corrosive torpedoes was still a concern for I-401.

Because they have no access to the Fog's logistical elements.

There's no indication so far that the Fog have any real concerns over the supply of Thanatonium for their torpedoes.

One of many things I'm still waiting to get an explanation for.

But anyway, just hoping Pluto isn't a complete route like it was in canon.
 
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The Gamilas ships are coated with Migobueza anti-beam coating, which comes from Migobuia, their term for the reflection satellites. IIRC it was a thing unique to the Gamilas fleet stationed in the Solar System and was meant to further decrease the effectiveness of Earth's amplified light cannons. It's certainly not powerful enough to shrug off their own positron cannons, nor the shock cannons mounted on the bows of the UN Cosmo Navy or the Yamato.

I knew there was some coating applied to the Gamilas ships but I couldn't find the specifics. (What it was or how extensive the use was). I do know that the Kirishima was supposedly repaired using scavenged Gamilas hull plating from the carnage at 2nd Mars and supposedly explains why she held up better than the rest of the fleet at Pluto.
 
Because they have no access to the Fog's logistical elements.

There's no indication so far that the Fog have any real concerns over the supply of Thanatonium for their torpedoes.

One of many things I'm still waiting to get an explanation for.

But anyway, just hoping Pluto isn't a complete route like it was in canon.

I actually do have some ideas on this. As for the results of the battle, nothing is going to turn this into a win but stay tuned. A few tricks might get a few more spacers home and a surprise or two just might take a few more Gamilons with them.
 
Unless the warheads were salvaged from Hyuuga's wreck like the SGC. Still, it's an open question needing a closer look.
 
Chapter 17
Blue Steel 2199: Part 17 (Episode 1, part 2)


"Yuki! Report total load out of our torpedoes!" Mamoru Kodai's mind was racing frantically. The battle was fast falling apart. Heedful of his mentor's lessons, Kodai knew that if there was a time for unconventional tactics, this was it.


"We have twelve vibration torpedoes in magazine one and nine corrosive torpedoes in magazine two as reloads. Corrosive torpedoes in the launch tubes."


"Thank you Yuki. Disengage vibration warheads from their mountings and standby. When I give the order, arm warheads and vent magazine one into space."


"Aye!" The Mark II Vibration torpedo was designed to attach to the target and then set up a destructive resonance. Yuki had no idea what her Captain planned, but his orders would be carried out without delay.


"Status of the fleet?" Kodai asked his exec.


"Kirishima, Atago, Takao, and Chokai remain combat effective, All other ships either destroyed or crippled."


"Chokai and Takao are taking heavy fire!"


"Intercept course… Now let's get their attention. Gunner stand by on lasers. Yuki?"


"Yes Captain?"


"Pick out one of the battleships and lock on two corrosive torpedoes. Try to aim for the bridge,"


"Yes Kodai sama!" Yuki raised her right hand.


Yukikaze raced across space closing with the enemy fleet.


"Helmsman. Cross their 'T'."


"Aye Captain."


"Yuki.." Kodai waited, watching as Yukikaze passed ahead of the enemy. "Fire torpedoes!"


Yuki brought her hand down and two torpedoes thundered out of their launchers, slamming into a Destoria class ship and obliterating the bridge, causing it to veer wildly out of formation, a wing of destroyers peeling off to cover it as the van of enemy fleet turned to pursue the plucky Earth forces ship.


"Enemy fleet closing fast astern!" The scanner operator announced.


"Good. Yuki... Arm the vibration warheads and blow magazine one now!"


"Blowing the magazine NOW!" Twelve warheads tumbled loose into space directly into the path of the oncoming Gamilon ships. presently one latched on to the hull of a destroyer. After a few seconds, the resonance inducer synched in and the Gamilon's hull plating came apart like the wall of a sand castle.


Aboard the flagship Le Chevalier, a Gamilon officer swore. No missile traces or laser fire. That left one thing: "Minefield ahead!"


"All ships hard starboard!" Brigadier Schulz ordered. Even as his ship heeled hard over, a cruiser shuddered as it picked up another of Yukikaze's limpets and blew apart.


This is madness! Schulz swore in his mind.


"Status of the fleet?" Kodai called out again.


"Chokai is gone but Atago and Takao are rendezvousing with Kirishima. Kirishima is signaling a general withdrawal. Overhead, the viewer tied into the Admiral's command circuit came on. "Kodai! Form on us and withdraw. There is nothing more to accomplish here."


"Negative Admiral. Yukikaze will cover your withdrawal."


"Kodai!"


"Take care of Earth for us Admiral." Kodai saluted and cut the visual. "Helm! Take us right into the heart of the enemy fleet. Yuki? Fire at your discretion."


Yukikaze nodded and aimed her missiles... fired.... reloaded... again... On her bridge, the crew began to sing.


Aboard Kirishima, Okita saluted them. "Continue withdrawal." He ordered with his heart heavy. Stay alive Kodai.


Back aboard Yukikaze, the ship shook as finally a hit got through. Yuki felt her engine power dropping. Behind her, two more missiles were closing, she calculated their impact. A moment later a decompression alarm sounded in the engine spaces as the engine crew scrambled to clear the compartment. Yukikaze bucked as the missiles struck. She hadn't really lied, Yuki thought as she vented her engine compartment. She had just been early in her reporting. The battle was finished. This ship would never fight again, but Yuki would do whatever she could to keep her crew alive.
 
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