Well the Dryad has to be replaced with some ship. It can't just be pulled off without replacement. That why my plan had the Dryad going into refit only as the Intrepid comes out to replace it. And why I was pulling the Calypso out of Task Force 3 only when sending the Eketha in to replace it, though that's arguably less necessary.
...Doesn't a State of Emergency let us draw down sector garrison levels at least a little? Or had we already extracted all the benefit from that that we're able to extract?
It's also the task force least likely to be used. TF1 and TF2 will find themselves in frequent action, while TF3 may or may not be committed at all. I'd rather do a rolling refit of 2 Mirandas sooner than wait for it.
I hope you're mistaken. Because, see... TF3 is the force we have that is
almost certainly heavier than any single formation the Licori can assemble in any one place. TF1 and TF2 aren't.
So suppose you're right. If so, then TF1 and TF2 probably fight multiple battles each, over the course of the campaign. Whereas TF3 only fights, say, once ("may or may not be committed at all"). If so, then
we're doing it wrong. We're ordering a plurality of our ships entirely out of most of the battles,
not using them, and effectively throwing away our numerical advantage.
My understanding had been that TF1 and TF2 are roving formation intended to target lightly defended facilities and fleets, or to fan out and engage the enemy over an area, whereas TF3 is a concentrated "hammer" that we fully intend to use on whatever strong targets present themselves. And there
will be targets worth hitting with the 'hammer,' because we're committing to using that hammer. We picked T'Lorel to command that task force precisely because we expected it to see heavy combat. We put
Renaissance in that task force because we expected it to see heavy combat.
If TF3's role is as you describe, then we
really should greatly downsize TF3, use about half of it to reinforce TF1 and TF2, and 'demote' the remaining portion to a reserve force that will be committed only if we anticipate a problem for either task force operating alone. Because it would be very unwise for us to commit roughly 50 Combat worth of our 140-Combat fleet to a force that "may or may not be committed at all." Especially against an enemy with a total Combat score of roughly ninety.
So again, I sincerely hope you are mistaken as to the intended role of Task Force Three.
