Yeah I thought they were interchangeable but Cooky's post ealier had me second guessing myself width was more important for HP. Reading into it too much maybe.
Sterbelicht - One Sacrifice At A Time Against The Galaxy (40K)
- Thread starter HeroCooky
- Start date
- Mature Sci-Fi
@sunrise any chance you'd be willing to swap your heavy cruiser vote to the Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser ? The only difference is the Bastion of the Chronicle has armored lifepods instead of tuned shields.
Because the Bulwark of the People Heavy Cruiser (the other leading vote) is not really what the Kil'drabi are looking for in the heavy cruiser imo.
Because the Bulwark of the People Heavy Cruiser (the other leading vote) is not really what the Kil'drabi are looking for in the heavy cruiser imo.
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Actually, since it was clarified that 3 Gravities comes as standard, we could have both Tuned Shields and Armored Lifepods
No we can't. Thick Bulwalk costs 2 points instead of 1. So the current Bastion design still is at 28 DP.
[X] [Heavy Cruiser] Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser
I'll throw a vote into Bastion, I diluted my original design down to being just 2 points off it, basically Bastion has an extra Light Rotary gun and Shepard has +1 Shield to max it and +1 Size.
I do think the Light Cruiser needs Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions more than it needs Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (and 1 DP from Size) considering it wants to operate at Long Range, it's semi-disposable nature, boarders aren't an issue with Kil'drabi extreme environment and it will be supported by a ton of strikecraft since Nomadic Fleet will deploy alongside our SBGs.
I'll throw a vote into Bastion, I diluted my original design down to being just 2 points off it, basically Bastion has an extra Light Rotary gun and Shepard has +1 Shield to max it and +1 Size.
I do think the Light Cruiser needs Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions more than it needs Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (and 1 DP from Size) considering it wants to operate at Long Range, it's semi-disposable nature, boarders aren't an issue with Kil'drabi extreme environment and it will be supported by a ton of strikecraft since Nomadic Fleet will deploy alongside our SBGs.
Hm. Actually, get rid of anti-voidcraft on the light cruiser and add in Advanced Gravimetric Engine Calculations? Hell. Should I change the heavy plasma into turret instead of battery? If we are going for a support Light Cruiser then it wants to keep range open and take pot shots with the heavy plasma if it gets into a battle at all.
I like the Heavy Plasma to a Turret, thats what I changed. I'd still prefer Snapshot Targeting making it better at what its already invested in. Its already fast and can outrun almost all LCs and probably many Frigates, but Engine Calculations won't make it outrun fast Frigates or any Destroyers. And it will still need to hang around the vicinity of the very slow Battlecolony.
Unless theres something about Superior Gravimetric Engine Calculations I don't know than +speed and +mobility
I actually prefer keeping the Heavy Plasma as a Battery. Shouldn't have a problem turning, especially with Superior Gravimetric Engine Calculations. And I think 4 turrets would be a bit too much on top
[X] [Heavy Cruiser] Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
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Alright, fair enough. I'm convinced that Lattice Hulls don't stack with Advanced alloys, and that the Bulwark of the People & Graceful Edict is lacking in some firepower. The Bastion of the Chronicle has quite a bit more Dakka.
[X] [Heavy Cruiser] Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Heavy Cruiser] Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Heavy Cruiser] Bastion of the Chronicle Heavy Cruiser
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
-[X] Length - 5.000 Meters
-[X] Width - 800 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 3 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Thick Bulwark Hull (1)
-[X] Shields - Two Lattices
-[X] Weapons - 2x Heavy Rotary Macrocannon Batteries(8), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2), 2x Light Plasma Macrocannon Turrets (4)
-[X] Equipment - After-Burner Macro-Shells (4), Snapshot Pinpoint Targeting Solutions (3), Auto-Loaders (1), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
[X] [Light Cruiser] Quill of the Stars Light Cruiser
-[X] Length - 4.000 Meters (-1)
-[X] Width - 550 Meters
-[X] Acceleration - 5 Gravities (1)
-[X] Armor - Medium Double Hull
-[X] Shields - One Matrix
-[X] Weapons - 1x Heavy Plasma Macro-Cannon Battery (4), 3x Light Plasma Macro-Cannon Turrets (6), Anti-Voidcraft Defenses (2)
-[X] Equipment - 1x Large Repair Bay (6), Auto-Loaders (1), Small On-Board Manufactory (2), Armored Lifepods (1), Lattice Hulls (2), Ship Shrines (1)
- Location
- Australia
Quick question, @HeroCooky - at risk of oversimplification, based on the doctrinal divergences you've elaborated upon above, would it be correct to understand or state that the Kil'drabi doctrine is somewhat analogous to that of the Kushan/Hiigaran in the Homeworld franchise, where;
Firstly, the Mothership or Battlecolony is paramount and the keystone to the entire fleet, whose specifications revolve around providing for, using effectively, and protecting the Battlecolony/Mothership, and the fleet is designed around the idea that everything but the Battlecolony or Mothership should be replaceable (possibly in-situ by the Mothership/Battlecolony itself) and thus is disposable compared to the Battlecolony/Mothership.
- However, one clarification I would ask is whether "no ship but the Battlecolony matters" refers to only the Battlecolony mattering mechanically to space battles, or is that statement just meant to emphasize the importance placed by Kil'drabi on the Battlecolony above all other ships in a fleet?
Thus the first point leading into the 5th point: that a Battlecolony (as with Motherships) should be capable of providing its fleet with significant in-situ repair and manufacturing capabilities, which I'd assume comes with capabilities for in-situ resource collection (mining, scavenging, trading, etc.) whether by the Battlecolony directly and/or indirectly by specialist vessels/ships/probes onboard the Battlecolony and/or a part of the fleet.
- Although one thing I might be misunderstanding here is whether the manufacturing capability is intended to cover just logistics and upkeep (ammunition, spare/replacement parts for repair and maintenance, etc.) to keep the fleet (at least relatively) self-sufficient, or is it intended to include wholesale ship manufacturing as well as significant refits and modifications (potentially including Battlecolony self-modification) as a mobile shipyard which can independently replace, expand and upgrade its fleet (whether entirely or only certain ship classes), as is the case with Motherships? Or is this more a difference that is dependent on how we design our Battlecolonies and fleets - or in other words, if we provide sufficient internal manufacturing capabilities relative to the demands/requirements of the other fleet classes we design?
Furthermore, if we pursue more comprehensive manufacturing, refit and developmental capabilities on our Battlecolonies, should we design specialised mining/scavenging vessels to collect resources and augment/supplement the Battlecolony's repair and manufacturing capabilities, and would it be possible to include some research and exploratory capabilities (as Motherships have), as to allow for Nomadic Fleets to upgrade and adapt their preexisting ship designs to better suite the particular needs of each fleet specifically and as a collective, even eventually developing entirely new ship designs and/or contributing towards the development of novel technologies which are relevant to and of interest to them?
Does this philosophy also extend to ship tonnage, preferring many small light craft and a few large heavy craft without much middle weight crafts (as arguably is the case in Homeworld when one considers the relative scale of Motherships compared to other Kadeshi/Hiigaran craft), or alternatively is this thinking just incentivised by the limitations on using only heavy and light weapons encouraging craft to be either large or small to capitalise on the advantages of large and small weapons respectively, or am I taking this comparison too literally?
If I understand correctly your 3rd point is where the Kil'drabi most prominently diverge from a Kadeshi/Hiigaran comparison, where the Mothership directly commands and supports all smaller "scale" ship classes (although arguably this might be described as more of a game design choice than an accurate reflection of in-universe doctrine).
Comparatively, Kil'drabi has more of a "chain of command" organisational structure with a greater vertical hierarchy between the Battlecolony and the smallest ships.
What I'm not sure I understand is does this mean each "scale" of ship class is intended to be supported and under the control of the immediate next higher/greater/heavier class of ships up to the Light Cruiser level - so, for example, Frigates command and supply the next smallest ship classes which Light Cruisers command and supply collectively as a unit per each Frigate and its respective smaller crafts, with unit division continuing for each class or "scale" of spacecraft (like squadrons of aerospace fighters for instance)? Or are all smaller/lighter-than-Light Cruiser ship classes directly and individually controlled/commanded and supplied (even manufactured?) by Light Cruisers, without breaking down ship classes any further into subordinate units controlled by a Light Cruiser as collective units (outside of the smallest craft dependent on formations, swarms and collective tactics to be effective likes the aforementioned aerospace fighters which would presumably be ordered as a squadron in either organisation model in most circumstances)?
Although if I understand correctly in either instance Heavy Cruisers are the exceptions to this system with no smaller/lighter craft to command and/or support as to be entirely focused on protecting the Battlecolony - and the Battlecolony directly supports and commands both Light Cruisers and their accompanying smaller ships as units and Heavy Cruisers individually.
Lastly, on a somewhat tangential note, it's interesting to consider that the Glimmering Federation's carrier-focused doctrine was likely strongly influenced, even inspired by Kil'drabi's theory in how we've diverged from conventional Imperium doctrine and thinking (which at least to my understanding puts more emphasis on capital ships).
Sorry for such a long-winded series of questions and if I missed or didn't understand an earlier explanation addressing any of them. Thank you both for any clarification you might be able to provide and for creating/writing/running such a fascinating and enjoyable quest!
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
AMSs increase both by dint of the shells being faster, and ST increases both accuracy and rate of fire, as well as reducing missile/torp interception.
Thank you for the kind words and interest.
The way the Kil'drabi think about and operate their fleets boils down to the simple fact that, for literally 99.9% of their recorded/remembered history, a Kil'drabi Fleet lives and dies with its Battlecolony. It is where all Kil'drabi are born, where their genes are stored, where their children are raised, educated, and where the old stay to raise the young and guide the whole.
If ships need to be built, a Battlecolony plops itself down in a system with resources, builds mining and construction shuttles, and begins to create shipyards as needed for the classes desired. When underway, ships are repaired on a need basis, or via makeshift yards quickly made on a stop to another system. The Automated Internal Foundries are capable of, if needed, allowing a lone BC to build the void industries required for a new fleet wholesale, but cannot, themselves, make Warp Ships in-situ.
So if a BC is destroyed...no children. No ships. No repairs. No future. This Kil'drabi fleet is dead.
Which probably has had absolutely no influence on religious developments for the Kil'drabi at all, promise.
- Location
- Australia
Thank you for the kind words and interest.
The way the Kil'drabi think about and operate their fleets boils down to the simple fact that, for literally 99.9% of their recorded/remembered history, a Kil'drabi Fleet lives and dies with its Battlecolony. It is where all Kil'drabi are born, where their genes are stored, where their children are raised, educated, and where the old stay to raise the young and guide the whole.
If ships need to be built, a Battlecolony plops itself down in a system with resources, builds mining and construction shuttles, and begins to create shipyards as needed for the classes desired. When underway, ships are repaired on a need basis, or via makeshift yards quickly made on a stop to another system. The Automated Internal Foundries are capable of, if needed, allowing a lone BC to build the void industries required for a new fleet wholesale, but cannot, themselves, make Warp Ships in-situ.
So if a BC is destroyed...no children. No ships. No repairs. No future. This Kil'drabi fleet is dead.
Which probably has had absolutely no influence on religious developments for the Kil'drabi at all, promise.
Doesn't the vulnerability of concentrating so much of a fleet's resources in a Battlecolony to the point that its loss renders a fleet non-viable suggest that the Kil'drabi should distribute a Battlecolony's capabilities across a wider range of ships, even if that might make partial damage of fleet resource stocks, infrastructure, or even population occur more frequently or be less efficient overall - or alternatively should have at minimum multiple Battlecolonies in each fleet, so they are not reliant on a single point of failure?
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Yes, which is why a Kil'drabi fleet normally has multiple BCs within them unless they split up after growing too large to be supplied with the materials quickly harvestable. There is also the fact that using Automated Internal Foundries on a single ship in the center of your formation is something that makes more sense to the Kil'drabi than relying a lot of small ships with manufacturing as they are often lost via hostile action in far-away systems.
A rarer Human/Kil'drabi psychology issue at play.
- Location
- Australia
Could we research more efficient large-scale mining and Automated Internal Foundries to allow for more BCs to operate sustainably in a singular fleet?
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Yeah, its in the Automation Tech Tree.
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Probably, but it's kinda irrelevant?
None of our Kil'drabi fleets are actually operating as such. They're just hanging out in our systems.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Honestly, I wonder whether they could adapt Irrita tech and basically do a sort of, like, "Auto Terraforming/Colonization" thing where they set up stations/etc and start the process for the planets and so on?
but to do that, we need to integrate the Irrita as a protectorate first. Which is why we need to get an official Diplomatic Office setup so we can spare some actions for actually talking to people.
- Location
- Australia
For now and in the immediate future, yes, but eventually we may reach a point where we run out of space in our systems alone (particularly if our Void Infrastructure takes up and competes for resources that Nomadic Fleets need, although on the other hand, Void Infrastructure may also in turn supplement or even augment the "carrying capacity" of our systems to hold more and larger fleets, especially if the fleets can act as additional commercial shipping and even mobile/in-situ Void Infrastructure).
More significantly, Nomadic Fleets may still desire to be more, well, nomadic even if there is still spare capacity left in Federation space, whether (for cultural/patriotic duty or fiscal/socioeconomic/pragmatic incentive) to maximise the survivability of the Kil'drabi and even the Glimmering Federation and the faith of the Star Child, to scout out potential opportunities and threats (especially at much longer distances the Yeeni's ships cannot yet reach), as well as prospect potential candidate systems, polities, species and civilisation to join or at least peacefully contact and maintain relations with the Federation, and proselytize the Star Child's coming to save the souls of the wider galaxy, any combination of the above roles, or something else entirely which might be immediately obvious to Kil'drabi but not to humans (which I'm assuming all of us are
).Additionally, if we want to use Nomadic/Migratory Fleets in a military context, whether as front-line combatants and/or as second/third/rear-line logistical support and a degree of in-situ Void Infrastructure in foreign (particularly in hostile) systems to help sustain and augment our Star Force (naval) operations or both, we should seriously consider investments in improving fleet resiliency as well as its industrial capabilities (which while limited would nevertheless be greatly impacted by the number of BCs that can be brought to bear per fleet).
I wonder if we could set up a joint Irrita-Kil'drabi combined fleet or fleets for such a purpose, where the Irrita can continue their terraforming (or habitability-forming/planetary engineering) on a much wider scale while the Kil'drabi provide the logistical support to help sustain and even accelerate the Irrita operations?
That being said, as @BigBadBob7070 noted, it's possible that such cooperation and integration would necessitate the Irrita joining the Federation, although given their altruistic outlook, mission to spread life across the stars plus their open and cooperative conduct so far I think that even with current diplomatic relations they may at least seriously consider such a proposal, provided a Kil'drabi fleet is willing to sign up for such a project.
Vote closed
882.M42 - Brace For Impact
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
With a clap of giggling mirth, the ships of the Federation and Lamenters emerge from the maws of the Warp, the paths they took as winding as the ticking clocks turning back, the Choirs aboard the Andromedas calling back to realize that the journey they had taken had seen them emerge minutes before they had left for the Warp. Though not unknown as a phenomenon, the time gained would be invaluable should the forces in Vluas try and set flight against Echish, their every step shadowed by a Chamleon just as the forces in Kaig found themselves at the other end of the information disadvantage.
Burning engines, flaring reactors, pumping blood, and thundering steps, Sector Battle Group Sphinx, Centaur, Werewolf, Minotaur, Leviathan, and Basilisk made ready to prove them worthy of the names granted from Old Terran myths, with the Lamenters side-by-side with the nation to whom they owed more than could ever be repaid.
And side-by-side did Battlefleet Sanctus Flos and Puritas Aurorae ignite their engines and warm their weapons; their ships' crews roused into the fight they had not expected to come so soon but were ready for nonetheless.
Flying with dread purpose, weapons would sing the second the other side was in reach.
Reach, in all things warfare, is king.
To hurt another without being hurt back saw the spear become the most crucial weapon of ancient humanity, saw archers and slingers become mainstays of its armies, ensured that artillery became a must for sieges, and later in battles where the power of chemical knowledge ensured a thousand paces were no hindrance to the slaughter of man.
And just like that ancient conqueror whose army marched with spear in hand and met no equal with his tactics and strategies until they refused to conquer anymore, the fleets of the Federation reached out with Lance against the foe, finding and biting deep into their formations despite the latter's ability to join the shields of their Destroyers and Frigates. Shot by energetic shot, the power of energy bundled into coherent beams traversed the distance and found gaps, lone stragglers, Light Cruisers that were just that tiny bit too assured of the distance and flew too far to return into the envelope of their brethren.
Though the victims were few, the depletion of the Duchy's shields would play their part in the fighting to come.
Thules flew.
Torpedoes burned.
A wall of fighters met a wall of missiles.
The first emerged with bombers and torpedoes of their own in tow against Duchy.
The latter emerged with the weight of numbers against the Federation.
A dozen ships became hulks, scraps, and short-lived suns born by unshackled stars.
A dozen ships fell back as wounds burned and engines spluttered and coughed stellar dust.
Both sides had met the measure of the other, and the Federation found itself not nearly enough of a winner as hoped.
But they had more ships despite the losses incurred. Their crews were better. Their vessels are hardier. And their cause?
Their cause was just.
Onwards: to deaths found at home and glory found in battle.
"Adjust course to DD-82, initiate ramming maneuver at my mark," Frataris calmly stated, his helmet set aside on the command throne to allow him to better observe the bridge without the masking metal of the helmet and allow the crew to observe the calmness of their captain at every moment of uncertainty. The crew of the 'Serrated Thorn' Bloody-Sunrise had to be mostly replaced with fresh recruits due to an illness that had swiftly decimated the original crew, with their experience falling with the dead.
"Give warning to the crew," he commanded, an aide swiftly moving to relay the order to find stable positions and prepare for ramming in short order, the same order already given seven times before. The enemy wasn't running out of ships, nor did the Lamenters run out of the will to plunge into the Phalanx to turn their Destroyers into nothing but burning hulks.
"All crew," Frataris said, "brace for impact." His head minutely turned to another of the bridge crew. "Initiate ramming speed. To engines: all ahead full."
Barely ten seconds passed, more than double what it would have for the old crew, that even Frataris found himself slightly pressed into the command throne, the 'Serrated Thorn' screaming along the path toward yet another victim that suddenly realized that it was on a course ending in its hull. Desperate maneuvers found no purchase, and a prow-spur connected with silent collision and quiet rumble, Destroyer 82 finding its spine cracked before it was shattered and parted by the still accelerating 'Serrated Thorn' already swiveling to another foe.
Transhuman eyes scanned the battlescape, and a transhuman mind ordered his brothers to board two more ships while a flurry of missiles was sent to assist two flights of Thules in their bombing run, the clone sisters waggling their wings for a moment in quiet thanks.
Then, his attention was pulled elsewhere as the battle continued.
Harried by the Lamenters in their midsts and the Thules flying through their formations, the captains of the Cruisers who had been given the Null-Nets found themselves with the right foes and the right time to turn the Heavy Cruisers and Grand Cruisers into drifting hulks.
Their ships angled themselves. Their gunners sighted the foe.
And the nets fired...
A whisper. A touch. The light turn of a deity yet unborn stirring within the Warp to the side of the galaxy that houses one of its five nations rising in the Milky Way.
Ships turned and stirred before the nets fired. Paths wound themselves along the wells and flows of gravity.
Burning, soul-sucking, empty holes of material might that ripped the immaterial apart with ease found no victims.
And the guns of Leos and Proofs turned their ire upon frantically maneuvering Light Cruisers.
The battle continued and began to develop not neccessarily in the Federations favor. Though the lighter ships of the Duchy found themselves at the mercy of Thules and Lamenters punishing any ships within their grasp, and the weight of vessels turned their losses within the battle into merely painful, yet clever tactics and desperation turned losses permanently as the Duchy captains began to realize that they may not have a chance to fight on and it was time to deny the foe any hull that silently slid through the void.
But when hostile ships turned guns to hulks and life pods instead of foes, a choice presented itself: use the distraction caused by the vessels and crews of the Federation to wipe out what could be killed, or shield them and fight a retreat to save the losses of crew and ship.
Fight or Retreat?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Fight!
(Gain: Objectives met. Kaig Fleets + SDF + Void Infrastructure wiped out.
Notice: Light-Medium Damage applied throughout the fleet.
Lose: 1x Leo, 6x Scorpios, 1x Endeavour, 11x Crux, 3x Words, 9x Aries, 2x Lantern Bearers)
[] Retreat.
(Gain: Orderly Retreat. Kaig Fleet takes High (>60%) Losses.
Notice: Light Damage applied throughout the fleet.
Lose: 4x Scorpios, 6x Crux, 2x Words, 4x Aries)
Burning engines, flaring reactors, pumping blood, and thundering steps, Sector Battle Group Sphinx, Centaur, Werewolf, Minotaur, Leviathan, and Basilisk made ready to prove them worthy of the names granted from Old Terran myths, with the Lamenters side-by-side with the nation to whom they owed more than could ever be repaid.
And side-by-side did Battlefleet Sanctus Flos and Puritas Aurorae ignite their engines and warm their weapons; their ships' crews roused into the fight they had not expected to come so soon but were ready for nonetheless.
Flying with dread purpose, weapons would sing the second the other side was in reach.
Reach, in all things warfare, is king.
To hurt another without being hurt back saw the spear become the most crucial weapon of ancient humanity, saw archers and slingers become mainstays of its armies, ensured that artillery became a must for sieges, and later in battles where the power of chemical knowledge ensured a thousand paces were no hindrance to the slaughter of man.
And just like that ancient conqueror whose army marched with spear in hand and met no equal with his tactics and strategies until they refused to conquer anymore, the fleets of the Federation reached out with Lance against the foe, finding and biting deep into their formations despite the latter's ability to join the shields of their Destroyers and Frigates. Shot by energetic shot, the power of energy bundled into coherent beams traversed the distance and found gaps, lone stragglers, Light Cruisers that were just that tiny bit too assured of the distance and flew too far to return into the envelope of their brethren.
Though the victims were few, the depletion of the Duchy's shields would play their part in the fighting to come.
Thules flew.
Torpedoes burned.
A wall of fighters met a wall of missiles.
The first emerged with bombers and torpedoes of their own in tow against Duchy.
The latter emerged with the weight of numbers against the Federation.
A dozen ships became hulks, scraps, and short-lived suns born by unshackled stars.
A dozen ships fell back as wounds burned and engines spluttered and coughed stellar dust.
Both sides had met the measure of the other, and the Federation found itself not nearly enough of a winner as hoped.
But they had more ships despite the losses incurred. Their crews were better. Their vessels are hardier. And their cause?
Their cause was just.
Onwards: to deaths found at home and glory found in battle.
"Adjust course to DD-82, initiate ramming maneuver at my mark," Frataris calmly stated, his helmet set aside on the command throne to allow him to better observe the bridge without the masking metal of the helmet and allow the crew to observe the calmness of their captain at every moment of uncertainty. The crew of the 'Serrated Thorn' Bloody-Sunrise had to be mostly replaced with fresh recruits due to an illness that had swiftly decimated the original crew, with their experience falling with the dead.
"Give warning to the crew," he commanded, an aide swiftly moving to relay the order to find stable positions and prepare for ramming in short order, the same order already given seven times before. The enemy wasn't running out of ships, nor did the Lamenters run out of the will to plunge into the Phalanx to turn their Destroyers into nothing but burning hulks.
"All crew," Frataris said, "brace for impact." His head minutely turned to another of the bridge crew. "Initiate ramming speed. To engines: all ahead full."
Barely ten seconds passed, more than double what it would have for the old crew, that even Frataris found himself slightly pressed into the command throne, the 'Serrated Thorn' screaming along the path toward yet another victim that suddenly realized that it was on a course ending in its hull. Desperate maneuvers found no purchase, and a prow-spur connected with silent collision and quiet rumble, Destroyer 82 finding its spine cracked before it was shattered and parted by the still accelerating 'Serrated Thorn' already swiveling to another foe.
Transhuman eyes scanned the battlescape, and a transhuman mind ordered his brothers to board two more ships while a flurry of missiles was sent to assist two flights of Thules in their bombing run, the clone sisters waggling their wings for a moment in quiet thanks.
Then, his attention was pulled elsewhere as the battle continued.
Harried by the Lamenters in their midsts and the Thules flying through their formations, the captains of the Cruisers who had been given the Null-Nets found themselves with the right foes and the right time to turn the Heavy Cruisers and Grand Cruisers into drifting hulks.
Their ships angled themselves. Their gunners sighted the foe.
And the nets fired...
A whisper. A touch. The light turn of a deity yet unborn stirring within the Warp to the side of the galaxy that houses one of its five nations rising in the Milky Way.
Ships turned and stirred before the nets fired. Paths wound themselves along the wells and flows of gravity.
Burning, soul-sucking, empty holes of material might that ripped the immaterial apart with ease found no victims.
And the guns of Leos and Proofs turned their ire upon frantically maneuvering Light Cruisers.
The battle continued and began to develop not neccessarily in the Federations favor. Though the lighter ships of the Duchy found themselves at the mercy of Thules and Lamenters punishing any ships within their grasp, and the weight of vessels turned their losses within the battle into merely painful, yet clever tactics and desperation turned losses permanently as the Duchy captains began to realize that they may not have a chance to fight on and it was time to deny the foe any hull that silently slid through the void.
But when hostile ships turned guns to hulks and life pods instead of foes, a choice presented itself: use the distraction caused by the vessels and crews of the Federation to wipe out what could be killed, or shield them and fight a retreat to save the losses of crew and ship.
Fight or Retreat?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Fight!
(Gain: Objectives met. Kaig Fleets + SDF + Void Infrastructure wiped out.
Notice: Light-Medium Damage applied throughout the fleet.
Lose: 1x Leo, 6x Scorpios, 1x Endeavour, 11x Crux, 3x Words, 9x Aries, 2x Lantern Bearers)
[] Retreat.
(Gain: Orderly Retreat. Kaig Fleet takes High (>60%) Losses.
Notice: Light Damage applied throughout the fleet.
Lose: 4x Scorpios, 6x Crux, 2x Words, 4x Aries)
10 - Eddies of the Warp - Arrived a week before they left.
8 (4, 4) vs 10 (6, 3, 4) - Initial Preparations - The Duchy Is Not Surprised
12 (6, 6) vs 11 (5, 6, 4) - Extreme-Range Duel - Eeking Out An Advantage
8 (2, 6) vs 11 (5, 6, 3) - Enter Torpedoes - Losses Begin
5 (2, 3) vs 8 (2, 6, 2) - The Brawl Begins - Weight Of Hulls Is The Saving Grace
10 (5, 5) vs 7 (2, 5, 1) - Null Nets Fire - By The Grace Of The Holy
6 (5, 1) vs 11 (6, 3, 5) - The Brawl Continues - Losses Mount
7 (5, 2) vs 8 (4, 4, 2) - Give Ground For Time - Press On?
8 (4, 4) vs 10 (6, 3, 4) - Initial Preparations - The Duchy Is Not Surprised
12 (6, 6) vs 11 (5, 6, 4) - Extreme-Range Duel - Eeking Out An Advantage
8 (2, 6) vs 11 (5, 6, 3) - Enter Torpedoes - Losses Begin
5 (2, 3) vs 8 (2, 6, 2) - The Brawl Begins - Weight Of Hulls Is The Saving Grace
10 (5, 5) vs 7 (2, 5, 1) - Null Nets Fire - By The Grace Of The Holy
6 (5, 1) vs 11 (6, 3, 5) - The Brawl Continues - Losses Mount
7 (5, 2) vs 8 (4, 4, 2) - Give Ground For Time - Press On?
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ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
Now our objective here was/is to damage/destroy the fleets stationed here badly enough that they can't mount a successful assault onto Esicsh. If we retreat we leave with destroying 60 percent of the enemy fleet stationed here while preserving a larger section of our own fleet. But if we fight on we wipe out a whole fleet at greater cost for ourselves(which will probably require us taking a few dedicated actions to replace losses).
I'm inclined to leave having given them a bloody nose and try and swing towards the other system to destroy/damage that fleet to fully deter an attack. Cause if both fleets are badly damaged I doubt they'll risk an assault against a fortified system.
I'm inclined to leave having given them a bloody nose and try and swing towards the other system to destroy/damage that fleet to fully deter an attack. Cause if both fleets are badly damaged I doubt they'll risk an assault against a fortified system.