The Federation-Kzin War
Chapter 5: The Selachii and the Palace Coup.
The Selachii-class first launched in 2190, claiming the dubious honor of being the first pure-combat ship built since the formation of the Federation in 2161. As an advancement over the Skate-class which had been so quickly designed and produced during the Earth-Romulan War it was a significant improvement in both strategic and tactical terms, with a significantly greater range that allowed it to accompany deployments with its own supplies versus the Skate's necessary reliance on other starships for antimatter during excursions away from base.
But while the Skate had been cheaply produced and suffered alarmingly high casualties, the Selachii was a far more durable ship with powerful shields to protect it. The small and vulnerable vessels produced by Earth had been entirely eclipsed by the designs which were now possible with the pooled knowledge of the Federation's member worlds. It was the beginning of the steady mass-inflation of starships as every species in local space was subjected to the pressures of increasingly advancing technological knowledge and industrial capability that required more space to mount new systems and more energy to use. In the span of fifty years the average mass of a starship with the same mission profile had tripled, an increase that would rarely be matched over the next three centuries.
The Selachii (commonly known as the 'Shark-class') was initially ordered in a tranche of ten vessels over five years, but this would soon be expanded due to circumstances beyond Starfleet's control. In the April of 2192 the palace intrigues on Kzinhome reached their apex as Hragg-Highest and Nig-Highest launched their long-conspired but poorly hidden purge of House Ritt. This failed in resounding fashion, not simply because of the disorganization of the assault once the outer defenses were breached that allowed defending Kzin to diffuse their advantage in numbers, but also because the inner sanctum was bristling with automated defenses which had been covertly installed by the Royal Jodoki over the past year. The attempt was nonetheless catastrophically public, as was the Highest-of-Kzin's retaliation for the attempt. In the span of a week, Houses Hragg and Nig were rendered utterly extinct by both the direct reprisal of the alien Jannisaries that had prompted the initial dissatisfaction with House Ritt, but also subordinate houses turning on them from within their own compounds.
Confidence in the ruling house had nonetheless been seriously damaged by the attempt. The Highest-of-Kzin judged that if the divinely-appointed rule of House Ritt was to be unquestioned even after this shameful event, then their dominance must be proven in equally conclusive fashion. Just two weeks after the palace assault, the Highest-of-Kzin sent forth all the young Heroes out into the black - their target? The overweening Federation, a feeble collective of prey and grass-eaters who would make a fine release valve for internal tensions. Kzin craft ranging from barely-armed runabouts to battleships surged over the border, striking twelve Federation colonies within the first two months. The majority of Starfleet was promptly redeployed towards the conflict zone, relying on member fleets to take up some of its usual duties, but this consolidation and preparation for a counter-offensive would not be entirely complete until the spring of 2193. In the intervening six months, a scattering of vessels judged able to directly engage Kzin ships and close enough to assist were diverted to at-risk worlds in the area. These were the explorers Olympus, Kilimanjaro, Sagarmatha, Sinai, and Aoraki; the dreadnought Warspite which had fortuitously been on a goodwill tour combined with developmental support to the outer colonies before her decommissioning; and the paired frigates Tiger and Hammerhead.
The first engagement with Kzin forces was on July 25th, over the colony of New Providence. The Tiger and Hammerhead had only arrived on-station four days prior, and on detecting the Kzin approach had redeployed in the path of the oncoming forces. The Kzin attack consisted of half-dozen runabouts racing each other to reach the planet first, as well as a well-armed Kzin interceptor running crechemaster on the lightly-armed ships. While two of the ships broke off for the colony and proceeded to land on the outskirts, the interceptor and the four runabouts directly engaged the Tiger and Hammerhead.
The initial exchange did not go well for Starfleet - a withering barrage of disruptor bolts from the overgunned interceptor took a heavy toll on the Hammerhead's shields, and while their return phasers struck true the interceptor avoided three of the incoming four torpedoes with a 720 degree roll to starboard. This was the first demonstration that mass torpedo fire would have degraded effectiveness against the Kzinti sub-capitals save at close range, and rendered last-generation photonics practically useless against smaller vessels.
Fire concentrated on the Hammerhead as the groups broke through each other's lines, and as the two Selachii came about for another pass the interceptor pivoted on its axis using maneuvering rockets and fired again, breaking through the Hammerhead's shields. Two Kzinti then abandoned one of the smaller runabouts and beamed into the Hammerhead's aft lounge. Their physiology prevented them from being able to comfortably use the doorways, but managed to enter the main corridor by the time the onboard security team assembled and intercepted them. Their resistance to the stunning effect of the phaser allowed them to advance to close-quarters, resulting in two fatalities and several critical injuries before they were neutralized.
The Tiger took point on the second attack run, while the Hammerhead took shelter in her shadow. The first exchange of fire broke through the interceptor's shields, and when the Tiger passed by she launched her torpedoes directly into the forward hull at point-blank range, causing a secondary explosion which gutted the remainder of the ship. The smaller vessels were then mopped up by the two Selachii using a reversed circle maneuver, each targeting the other's pursuing runabouts, during which the Hammerhead took minor hull strikes that caused only superficial damage.
With the orbital battle concluded, security teams and spare crew then beamed down to the colony to intercept a half-dozen Kzinti who had entered the colony in search of the colonists. Their two runabouts were claimed intact, which produced interesting but ultimately only marginally useful information regarding Kzinti construction and social behavior.
Examination of the wreckage of the Kzinti interceptor after the battle answered some questions about its maneuverability - in addition to overcharged inertial dampers, the crew were also in crash couches. This neatly explained their ability to withstand the high-gravity maneuvers that the interceptor demonstrated during combat, and the stress microfractures in the spaceframe put a distinct limit on how many times the ship would have been able to repeat the tricks. This prediction was borne out in the Battle of Shasht, when a Kzinti interceptor of the same type ruptured its spaceframe while carrying out a similar high-energy turn.
The preference for close-combat and the Kzinti resistance to heavy stun resulted in a fleet-wide directive for the use of phasers set to kill, which no doubt saved lives but unfortunately resulted in a high lethality rate for Kzinti combatants even when Starfleet had an overwhelming advantage.
In the coming weeks there were a series of engagements over protected colony worlds involving the Kilimanjaro and Aoraki, but by late September the rapid-response phase of the War was over as Starfleet filtered into the area and began to form task groups intended for a counter-push, setting up supply stations and defensive platforms to secure the local colonies.
