System Aru
Irune Inner System
Iuno contacts the Taiidan fleet admiral and has a long discussion about the wraiths, their threat, and the likelihood they will attack Irune. She shows him an in depth analysis of all your battles so far and your sensor data of the wraith flagship from the megalith system.
It takes quite a bit of persuasion to get the admiral to agree to stay. He does, after all, have orders to the contrary, and the Taiidan are very strict with their military hierarchy. As much as it might seem ill advised for them to leave from your perspective you do know that the admiral is putting his career on the line for this.
While she is busy talking with the Taiidan, Laverna, Aurora, and you are experiencing time at a much faster rate. With no need to slow down to converse with a flicker race you have each overclocked your minds to get as much subjective time as possible before the Wraiths attack.
You spend nearly a month designing and developing two separate drone ships. The first are the modified shepherds which Aurora reconfigured to launch fighter sized cruise missiles. There isn't much else that needs to be done for the frigates so Aurora spends most of her time working on the missiles themselves ensuring that they have the optimum ratio of armor, drives, and warhead. Aurora decides to call the new design Slingers.
You and Laverna meanwhile pool your efforts to develop a ship with defensive fields so that you are not the only one on the battlefield that can protect your allies. After some deliberation the pair of you decide to use the jury rigged shield pods as a base since they are already equipped with fields. They don't need to resupply fighters however so you remove the fuel tanks and docking pads entirely and replace them with even more field generators. You name the new design the Buckler class.
The overall result is as tough as you, but lacks your additional repair capabilities. Unfortunately you also lack sufficient element zero to modify these new ships with the mass effectors, but you Laverna applies her experience with drone fighters to finetune their maneuvering software, while you install a few extra field modules on both the Bucklers and the Slingers. As a last modification the Shepherd destroyers have been modified to launch Dervish corvettes instead of acolytes or cherubs. You did attempt to install a defensive field on the Dervishes, but it took too much power away from their weapons. You'll need to consider the problem of corvette sized defensive fields later.
In real time Aurora's fabrication facilities work over time to churn out as many bucklers and slingers as possible. Five pairs of the ships are built in a matter of days, and since the wraiths still haven't shown up Aurora salvages some abandoned stations to produce three additional bucklers. One for her, one for Aurora, and one for the Marduk. It is assumed that the Raawan will be sticking with you. Since Laverna was not able to modify the two flicker frigates you have used your last reserves of element zero to outfit them with mass effector fields so that they can keep up with you even without Unbound reflexes.
The Taiidan meanwhile are getting antsy at the continued absence of a Wraith invasion fleet. So in one sense it is fortunate that you feel the hyperspace disruptions that herald a wraith capital ship. You would gladly have taken the embarrassment of being wrong in this case however.
It's also concerning that you can feel the disruption at all. The Aru system, like most developed systems, is covered in an array of gravity inhibitors that keep anyone from jumping directly into the inner system. For you to feel the jangling clashing of hyperspace from this far away does not bode well.
And indeed the first quantum gate to open is massive and seems to last for eternity as kilometer after kilometer of bluish blach armor slides out of it. The wraith flagship has arrived. By comparison you almost don't notice the smaller carriers and missile cruisers sliding out of their own gates.
Irune has an automated defense network guarding the outer inhibitor arrays. You don't think it will take long for the Wraiths to break it, but it gives you some time to decide on a course of action. You know the mercenaries are not eager to fight again. They'll be staying in orbit of Irune to provide a last ditch defense.
The Taiidan meanwhile are planning to jump to the other side of the inhibitor array and gather data on the wraith's capabilities before engaging.
What is your own stance?
[ ] Be Aggressive
Jump right up to the line and support the defensive installations in the fight with the Wraiths. This would be a good opportunity to have your Slingers fire salvos from relatively safety. The downside is that if the defensive line breaks earlier than you anticipate you could be caught unsupported.
[ ] Be Cautious
Follow the example of the Taiidan and analyze how the Wraiths deal with the defensive line. You'll be well positioned to deal with them once they do, as well as being able to coordinate with the Taiidan.
[ ] Attempt Trickery
It might be a good idea to try and thin the Wraith fleet a bit. You know the Wraiths prioritize your own destruction. So jump to a different area of the inhibitor array and cross it in an attempt to lure some of the wraith carriers to your position. Then destroy them with Buckler cruise missile bombardment.
