Author Topic: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion  (Read 34590 times)

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Offline Black

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #45 on: April 13, 2021, 05:32:32 AM »
Such barbarism is unfit the flag officers of Duranium Legion, it is clear that such issue should have been decided by duel with swords or pistols
 
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Offline Foxxonius Augustus

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #46 on: April 13, 2021, 09:15:42 AM »
@nuclearslurpee Great update as usual! I am watching with great interest to rise to prominence of the Styx family, between Lord Captain Selene Styx and her growing accolades earned in a high command position, Captain Leto Styx commanding Domination to great effect in the Battle of the Belaire Jump Point and Commander Aion Styx in command of oft argued over Hellfire.  Based on that last assignment I suspect that the Styx family may well be highly placed in the pro-Hellfire faction and with their growing influence they are probably lending it considerable political weight.  As for the anti-Hellfire faction, if they keep up these antics then I believe a purge of the officer corp may be in order! ;)
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #47 on: April 13, 2021, 09:29:25 AM »
Such barbarism is unfit the flag officers of Duranium Legion, it is clear that such issue should have been decided by duel with swords or pistols

Nonsense. In this enlightened era, the proper form of combat between flag officers is to order their subordinates to prepare increasingly detailed after-action reports to prove their own side superior to the other!  :P

Great update as usual! I am watching with great interest to rise to prominence of the Styx family, between Lord Captain Selene Styx and her growing accolades earned in a high command position, Captain Leto Styx commanding Domination to great effect in the Battle of the Belaire Jump Point and Commander Aion Styx in command of oft argued over Hellfire.  Based on that last assignment I suspect that the Styx family may well be highly placed in the pro-Hellfire faction and with their growing influence they are probably lending it considerable political weight.

Funny you should say that, as the Hellfire debate will show no signs of cooling down after the next update - tune in this weekend as usual - and the Styx family are likely to find themselves in the center of things sooner rather than later!

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As for the anti-Hellfire faction, if they keep up these antics then I believe a purge of the officer corp may be in order! ;)

This is not entirely impossible, certainly there are many potential narrative hooks endemic to this particular plot arc. Which hooks these are and which might be taken, I for one shall not be saying!  :-X
 
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Offline misanthropope

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #48 on: April 13, 2021, 01:21:50 PM »
the factionalism within the general staff is dangerously close to degenerating into a hockey league.
 
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Online El Pip

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #49 on: April 13, 2021, 02:54:10 PM »
Your pace continues to be unseemly, if the quality were not so high I would pen a sternly worded parchment of complaint.

That aside the latest round of the Hellfire debate was adroitly handled, the Staff and the Admirals far from the front need someway to stay in touch with the realities of combat, what better way than gratuitous physical violence between the senior officers while their staff write increasingly verbose and elaborate reports?

I believe the correct balance has been struck (literally in the case of Admiral Macaria), continue to research particle beams as a long term project while heading for the 203mm rail gun for the next generation. That said I wonder if the Hellfire debate is actually distracting from the real issue with the Legion's fleets - the Bellerophons. The operations in Belaire proved the value of a long ranged sensor, so the capability is valuable, but it is clearly one that the enemy fully understands and targets as a priority. Just on a practical level it is going to get expensive building so many new ships to replace all the losses, so should ship design and building efforts not be focused on either a new improved variant or a wholesale replacement?
 
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Offline Foxxonius Augustus

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #50 on: April 13, 2021, 05:16:51 PM »
Quote from: El Pip link=topic=12445. msg150361#msg150361 date=1618343650
I believe the correct balance has been struck (literally in the case of Admiral Macaria), continue to research particle beams as a long term project while heading for the 203mm rail gun for the next generation.  That said I wonder if the Hellfire debate is actually distracting from the real issue with the Legion's fleets - the Bellerophons.  The operations in Belaire proved the value of a long ranged sensor, so the capability is valuable, but it is clearly one that the enemy fully understands and targets as a priority.  Just on a practical level it is going to get expensive building so many new ships to replace all the losses, so should ship design and building efforts not be focused on either a new improved variant or a wholesale replacement?

I have no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect that it will come out some ways down the line that the members of the high command who are the most vehemently anti-Hellfire, secured their promotions for work that they did designing the Bellerophons when they were junior officers.  If so, then they are trying to distract from their own failure to equip it with sufficient defensive systems.  Although I am reading this chronicle at the same pace as everyone else and so am not an expert, if I have correctly understood the philosophy of the Legion, then these actions have only compounded the failure, as although personal valor and glory is important, victory or defeat only truly matters when measured as part of the whole.  First they failed in their task but far worse was when they then failed in their duty, for when they realized that they had introduced a weakness to the Legion, instead of admitting it and working to correct it they tried to conceal it and their involvement.  In so doing they would have knowingly allowed a weakness to remain in the Legion and that is likely unforgivable.

I could be completely wrong or have misunderstood the philosophy of the Legion in some way but I do think that the above explanation is, at the very least, a distinct possibility.  Or maybe it will just be an un-provable narrative that the pro-Hellfire faction will use to justify purging their enemies in the officer corps! ;)

I guess we will just have to wait and see if I at least came close.  ;D
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #51 on: April 13, 2021, 08:40:28 PM »
I am quite happy to see such high levels of interest and engagement along the lines of matters of Naval procurement and ship design policy. Such discussions are usually reserved for the Lords Admiralty, but I can see that the readership here has a similar level of sophistication and technical interest as those estimable individuals.

Hopefully the readership does not also share the violent tendencies of the same.  :o

the factionalism within the general staff is dangerously close to degenerating into a hockey league.

Were this to happen it would only exacerbate the factionalism tenfold, as you might guess from the proclivity for detailed reports full of statistics and analysis the Legion high command is already a baseball league in all except the sport played. The fighting over precisely which league sport they do not actually play may just tear apart the Legion where lesser debates have failed.

That aside the latest round of the Hellfire debate was adroitly handled, the Staff and the Admirals far from the front need someway to stay in touch with the realities of combat, what better way than gratuitous physical violence between the senior officers while their staff write increasingly verbose and elaborate reports?

If nothing else it is a certain way to get things done. Idly shouting across the hall in between procurement meetings whilst the staff twiddle their thumbs has thus far seemed less effective at getting things done, although some would say that this is indeed the point. Unfortunately for yourself, none of those latter sort people are in the Update Writing and Proofreading department.

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I believe the correct balance has been struck (literally in the case of Admiral Macaria), continue to research particle beams as a long term project while heading for the 203mm rail gun for the next generation. That said I wonder if the Hellfire debate is actually distracting from the real issue with the Legion's fleets - the Bellerophons. The operations in Belaire proved the value of a long ranged sensor, so the capability is valuable, but it is clearly one that the enemy fully understands and targets as a priority. Just on a practical level it is going to get expensive building so many new ships to replace all the losses, so should ship design and building efforts not be focused on either a new improved variant or a wholesale replacement?

I have no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect that it will come out some ways down the line that the members of the high command who are the most vehemently anti-Hellfire, secured their promotions for work that they did designing the Bellerophons when they were junior officers.  If so, then they are trying to distract from their own failure to equip it with sufficient defensive systems.  Although I am reading this chronicle at the same pace as everyone else and so am not an expert, if I have correctly understood the philosophy of the Legion, then these actions have only compounded the failure, as although personal valor and glory is important, victory or defeat only truly matters when measured as part of the whole.  First they failed in their task but far worse was when they then failed in their duty, for when they realized that they had introduced a weakness to the Legion, instead of admitting it and working to correct it they tried to conceal it and their involvement.  In so doing they would have knowingly allowed a weakness to remain in the Legion and that is likely unforgivable.

This is another brewing debate, although thus far it has not risen to the level of "newsworthiness" a word which here means "fisticuffs".

A key point on which much of the thus far low-level discussion (of the aforementioned shouting across the hall variety) pivots is the question of whether the ships themselves are flawed, or the doctrine which has thus far employed and perhaps mis-employed the ships? It is worth noting that the losses of the class thus far have been split between the Battle of Gliese 1, an early test of the Legion Navy's abilities or lack thereof particularly in the bean-counting and spreadsheet-making department, and at the Belaire jump point assault where one can argue that they acted as cannon fodder to preserve the more valuable destroyers. At the same time, while it is nice to have cannon fodder which is relatively uncared-about, it is less than ideal for an offensive fleet to be left without its long-range sensor capability in the aftermath of another glorious victory.

There are certainly some ideas on how to approach this question, and the events of the next chapter will in fact bring further interest and complication to the debate.

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I could be completely wrong or have misunderstood the philosophy of the Legion in some way but I do think that the above explanation is, at the very least, a distinct possibility.  Or maybe it will just be an un-provable narrative that the pro-Hellfire faction will use to justify purging their enemies in the officer corps! ;)

I will neither confirm nor deny that the Duranium Legion Navy has, will now, or will ever in the future carry out a purge of those utterly stupid nincompoops across the hall.  ;)

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I guess we will just have to wait and see if I at least came close.  ;D

This is always the best path forward, for it always reaps a reward.

Unless the author abandons the AAR due to some combination of tiredness, real-life business, arrival of 1.13, total ineptitude, or loss of interest Always, I say.

I do of course encourage anyone else to throw their own two cents into the discussion. While I likely won't let on too often and risk spoiling the future for the readership, points raised in these discussions have a habit of working their way into the actual updates in a surprisingly high fraction of cases. Also it is fun to watch the thread turn into a hockey league the erudite and insightful discussion which takes place on forums such as these.  :D
 
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Online El Pip

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #52 on: April 14, 2021, 03:09:26 AM »
Were this to happen it would only exacerbate the factionalism tenfold, as you might guess from the proclivity for detailed reports full of statistics and analysis the Legion high command is already a baseball league in all except the sport played. The fighting over precisely which league sport they do not actually play may just tear apart the Legion where lesser debates have failed.
If only they were a Cricket league, same ridiculous amounts of statistics but a more majestic pace. As an added advantage the fights amongst senior officers would be conducted under Queensbury Rules so there would be fewer permanent casualties.
 
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Offline mtm84

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #53 on: April 14, 2021, 10:25:45 PM »
Perhaps a game of brockian ultra cricket?
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #54 on: April 16, 2021, 02:42:11 PM »
Were this to happen it would only exacerbate the factionalism tenfold, as you might guess from the proclivity for detailed reports full of statistics and analysis the Legion high command is already a baseball league in all except the sport played. The fighting over precisely which league sport they do not actually play may just tear apart the Legion where lesser debates have failed.
If only they were a Cricket league, same ridiculous amounts of statistics but a more majestic pace. As an added advantage the fights amongst senior officers would be conducted under Queensbury Rules so there would be fewer permanent casualties.

Perhaps a game of brockian ultra cricket?

For my money blernsball is where it would be at, not only does this satisfy the copious statistics requirement but these statistics would be utterly impossible to interpret, indeed half of the numbers are likely made up, thus it is the perfect sport to not be played by flag officers of really any navy.

And on the topic of made-up statistics it is time once again for the author to pad his posting count with meaningless prattle and interminable verbiage, in other words another update is nigh upon us.
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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14 February 4009

On the morning of 14 February, with the elements of First and Second Fleets fully refuelled and resupplied from the fleet auxiliaries, Lord Captain Selene Styx ordered the two fleets to advance to Belaire II, aiming to draw out and destroy the Belaire battle fleet defending the system. Without the disadvantage of making a jump point assault, and with the Belaire fleet known to be several ships smaller than that which had defended the jump point, the Lord Captain was confident that two battle fleets would prove sufficient to destroy the Belaire forces even without the assistance of the 15,000-ton Invincibles. The fleets arrived in orbit of Belaire II at 1526 on 15 February, noting that the situation around Belaire Prime had not changed and thus the whereabouts of the Belaire fleet remained unknown. This was a cause of some concern, but Lord Captain Styx was confident that the Belaire fleet would return to defend their vulnerable home planet in due time. Regardless, each Cruiser Squadron was ordered to launch a reconnaissance flight to attempt to detect the Belaire fleet as soon as possible.

While this was continuing, Bad Omen reported from her surveillance position near the Giclas 9-38 jump point the detection of a new Belaire ship class, matching the technical description of the civilian spaceliner previously described to Legion intelligence officers by Belaire survivors from the Battle of Kuiper 79.



After briefly being amazed that such seemingly-superfluous information had actually been useful in some small capacity, Lord Captain Styx ordered Bad Omen to intercept and destroy the vessel. These orders were promptly followed, and despite being armed with only a pair of 102 mm railgun batteries Bad Omen effortlessly dispatched the unarmed civilian vessel by 0044 on 16 February, after which she resumed her watch post near the jump point. Commander Hera Thrace made a note in her report suggesting that the use of boarding marines to commit acts of piracy could be a lucrative source of material rewards for the Legion in future conflicts, perhaps preferable to outright destruction and salvage of civilian vessels.

The efforts of the various reconnaissance flights sent out by the cruiser squadrons proved to be rather less than essential, as at 1225 the frigate Broken Wind sent out an urgent report announcing the detection of the Belaire battle fleet on a direct course for the Kuiper 79 jump point - and the vulnerable fleet auxiliaries on station. While the Legion commanders naturally approved of this nakedly aggressive action, as it was well-known that the best defense is a good offense after all, this did nevertheless present said commanders with some difficulties which would have to be resolved. Immediately, First and Second Fleets fired up their engines and made for the jump point with all haste, ordering the dispersed reconnaissance flights to hold positions in orbit of nearby planets until the crisis was resolved. The auxiliaries were evacuated through the jump point, carrying the alert back to Kuiper 79, while Broken Wind would remain on the jump point to delay or distract the Belaire fleet as long as possible, finally evacuating away from, rather than through, the jump point at 1548 after the Belaire fleet had crossed to within 40 million km. Broken Wind’s maneuver appeared to be effective, as the Belaire battle fleet veered away from the jump point on an apparent pursuit course. With the fleet auxiliaries likely saved from certain doom, Broken Wind set out on a course that would hold the attention of the Belaire fleet, keeping her at the edge of their sensor range, while leading them directly into a confrontation with the bulk of First and Second Fleets.



Approximate course headings of each stage along which Broken Wind planned to evade the Belaire battle fleet. The combined First and Second Fleets would approach from the lower-right, rendezvousing with Broken Wind before counterattacking the Belaire warships.

Due to some miscalculations by the helm officer of Broken Wind, an immediate evasive course change had to be made as she approached the Gamma point to prevent the Belaire fleet from closing into heavy missile range. By the time the frigate could turn towards the incoming Legion fleets she had been forced some 85 million km off of her planned course, though in spite of this the Belaire missile gunners had failed to secure a target lock on their slippery quarry. In spite of this the plan succeeded brilliantly as distraction and to bait the Belaire fleet towards the approaching First and Second Fleets. Thus, Broken Wind set her course to rejoin her Legion comrades who were eagerly awaiting another chance to shed Belaire blood in glorious battle.



Here it can be clearly seen just how far off-course Broken Wind was driven due to admittedly poor helmsmanship, the greatest enemy of the Legion or at least its most successful opponent. Even so, the decoy tactic of Broken Wind had been a clear success in spirit if not in execution.

At 1322 on 17 February, after more than 24 hours of playing the prey, Broken Wind rejoined Second Fleet and prepared to once again play as the predator. By this point, the Belaire battle fleet had detected the threat looming at the edge of their sensor range, and had turned to flee back toward the jump point. First and Second Fleets were ordered to pursue the hated foe, closing to 400,000 km and preparing for the inevitable missile barrage. While there was some concern that the Belaire might reach the jump point ahead of the Legion fleets, placing the Legion in the rather confusing position of having to launch a jump point assault against their own system, at 1950 the Belaire commanders once again showed evidence of a severe allergy to making good decisions, having not even made half the distance to the jump point before veering sixty degrees off-course in a futile attempt at evasive action. Victory for the Legion was all but assured.

Duranium Legion Navy Combined Reconnassaince Fleet
Lord Captain Selene Styx in operational command at Kuiper 79 Mission Control Department headquarters
Captain Jocasta Gelanor in tactical command aboard CL Disruptor
Totaling 363,000 tons displacement with 10,992 crew complement

   First Fleet
   Captain Felix Tegyrios commanding aboard CL Dissolution
   Cruiser Squadron 1: Denouement, Devastator, Dissolution, Grand Cross, 1x R-56, 1x AR-56 Osprey
   Cruiser Squadron 3: Devourer, Domination, Double Edge, Garrote, 2x R-56
   Destroyer Squadron 1: Char, Chronomancer, Furious
   Destroyer Squadron 7: Carnivore, Chu Ko Nu, Cretaceous, Felstalker
   Frigate Squadron 4 (detached): Halberd, Harrier, Heavy Metal, Hellfire
   Totaling 200,000 tons displacement with 6,130 crew complement

   Second Fleet
   Captain Jocasta Gelanor commanding aboard CL Disruptor
   Cruiser Squadron 2: Dauntless, Defenestrator, Disruptor, Gothic, 1x R-56, 1x AR-56 Osprey
   Destroyer Squadron 3: Catharsis, Centaur, Crushing Blow, Final Blow
   Destroyer Squadron 4: Champion, Covenanter, Cry, Ye WIcked, Final Judgment
   Frigate Squadron 3: Broken Wind, Brutal Legend, Endless Night
   Totaling 152,500 tons displacement with 4,603 crew complement

   Dispersed Reconnaissance Forces
   1x Bellerophon class Frigate: Bad Omen
   3x R-56 class Reconnaissance Fighter
   3x AR-56 Osprey class Reconnaissance Fighter
   Totaling 10,500 tons displacement with 259 crew complement

Republic of Belaire Battle Fleet 4
Designation and commander unknown
4x Kirov class Battlecruiser
3x Kiev class Jump Cruiser
3x Slava class Escort Cruiser
3x Sovremenny class Cruiser
4x Osa class Destroyer Escort
1x Skory class Missile Destroyer
Totaling 265,000 tons displacement with unknown crew complement

As was by now the tradition, a pursuit action commenced. At 2202, as the Legion fleets closed to under 400,000 km from the Belaire fleet, the first wave of missiles was detected at launch and Captain Jocasta Gelanor settled in for the also-traditional twelve-minute concert of railgun reverberations which would characterize the Legion’s point defense work at this stage of the proceedings. Her reverie would only be mildly disturbed by the report from her tactical officer that the Belaire had changed course, back in the rough direction of the jump point, at 2207 as they ran out of heavy missiles. Finally, at ten seconds past 2214, the last Belaire light missiles had been destroyed, and the Captains of the Legion fleet grudgingly awoke from their power naps and gave the order to their helm officers to begin the most difficult part of the encounter: closing to Hellfire range.



It is said that there are times when a picture is worth a thousand words. This was not one of those times.

At 2216 plus 25 seconds, the Sovremennys and Hellfires exchanged their initial volleys at extreme range, collectively scoring no hits. Captain Gelanor ordered her fleets to reduce speed, aiming to close to just around 181,000 km without crossing the 180,000 km range of the Sovremennys’ medium laser batteries. Ten seconds later, this was accomplished and the fleets reduced their speeds to match that of the Belaire fleet. This was a mildly momentous occasion, as for the first time in Legion Navy history this maneuver had been successfully executed without crossing into range of the Belaire medium lasers.

While some navies might have celebrated this audacious occasion by popping champagne, the Legion Navy preferred a different sort of celebration, as the four Hellfire-class frigates popped off their second salvo of the duel, scoring two hits against none by their opponents. This pattern was repeated on the third volley, and continued for some time as the Legion frigates scored some 28 hits including 5 penetrations without taking a single hit from the Sovremennys. This fifth penetration succeeded in taking out an engine of the lead Sovremenny, causing it to drop out of formation, ripe for the kill. The Legion fleets slowed to match their wounded target, still wary of facing the wrath of the Belaire medium laser batteries, while the Hellfires continued to fire on their vulnerable target. Despite its vulnerability, the Sovremenny proved once again to be of sturdy build, requiring a full four minutes of beam sniping to take out its second engine, though the third was destroyed in the following volley and the final engine in the volley after that. Two and a half minutes later, the former lead Sovremenny of the Belaire fleet was destroyed with Harrier claiming the kill, and the two Legion fleets resumed their pursuit of the remaining Belaire vessels.

Once again, the fleet closed to a precise distance with no errors at 2249, an accomplishment which was likely to earn Captain Gelanor some measure of honors for her prowess in commanding the famously fickle helm officers of the Legion Navy. No less of an accomplishment, albeit for the other side, was had as one of the remaining Sovremennys finally succeeded in scoring a hit against a Legion vessel, adding another gash to the armor of Hellfire. The beam frigate squadron responded in kind, landing three hits on the armor of the offending Sovremenny. After three and a half minutes of exchanging fire, during which the greatest damage was done to Legion vessels not by the Belaire but rather by simple malfunctions. Particularly, Hellfire had run out of maintenance supplies in a valiant effort to keep her unreliable guns firing, ultimately leading to one of her starboard weapons being completely disabled. For her troubles Hellfire scored a pair of penetrating hits on the targeted Sovremenny, not only disabling one of its engines but causing a massive explosion which crippled the ship and left it stranded in open space. At this, Captain Gelanor ordered her two frigate squadrons to halt, while her heavier destroyers and cruisers pressed the attack against the crippled vessel, being careful to remain out of range of the remaining Belaire fleet. This tactic was proven correct as the Legion cruisers and destroyers approached their prey, which offered a meager four laser shots in response to the attack. The second Sovremenny perished in a hail of 152 mm railgun fire, with Captain Gelanor herself claiming the kill aboard her trusted Disruptor. As the fleet had lost no distance on the remaining Belaire vessels in this brief aside, the Legion fleets resumed the pursuit without interruption.

As the frigate squadrons were rejoining their parent fleets, an unfortunate miscommunication between the helm officers of the various squadrons led to several destroyers accidentally closing to 172,000 km of the Belaire fleet. The surviving Sovremenny thus had the good fortune of scoring a penetrating hit through the battered armor of the destroyer Char, not yet repaired from the jump point assault. Fortunately, no internal components were in fact damaged by this hit, and the Hellfires replied in anger but were unable to score any hits in revenge. Half a minute past 2254, Halberd and Harrier did manage to score a trio of hits between themselves, the first hits made against the third and final Sovremenny. This initial success proved a false herald of things to come, as it took a full seven minutes before Halberd finally managed to knock out one of the Sovremenny’s engines with a well-aimed shot. After this, it appeared that the Sovremenny had lost much of its maneuvering ability as hits became far more frequent, with Heavy Metal blowing apart its second engine only twenty seconds later. The length of the battle began to take its toll on the rest of the fleet as well, scarcely 30 seconds later the Sovremenny managed to score another penetrating hit on Char which this time succeeded in destroying one of her weapons batteries. In reply, Halberd added a second engine to her list of struck components, reducing the Sovremenny to one-quarter speed. She would add a third to this list at 2305, disabling the Sovremenny after a long and grueling gunnery duel. As this was the final Sovremenny, Captain Gelanor ordered the fleet to hold the range open and allow the Hellfires to claim their kill, preferring not to risk any additional hits from medium laser fire against the wounded Char - particularly as the Belaire ship was still firing its heavy laser in spite of what was surely massive damage taken to that point. Finally, at 2309 precisely, Harrier claimed the kill, ending a fourteen-and-a-half minute endeavor and allowing the fleets to once again fire their engines back up to speed and resume the pursuit of the now nearly-defenseless Belaire fleet. By this stage, all four Hellfires had run out of maintenance stores, and three of the four had at least one beam cannon out of commission with Harrier proving the lone exception. As the Belaire only possessed four Osas as remaining combat-capable vessels, Captain Gelanor was content to allow the frigates and destroyers to avoid combat, ordering her cruisers to burn towards the Belaire fleet at full speed and target the Osas.

The devastation was swift and brutal - though Domination did receive a single penetrating hit which failed to damage any internal systems.



Despite superficial damage taken while closing the range, the Legion cruisers effortlessly dispatched all four Belaire Osas in a single salvo from their 152 mm railguns.

The trio of Slavas followed, again eradicated in a single volley. The following two salvos eliminated two Kirovs apiece, along with the sole Skory of the Belaire formation, though the two Kirovs targeted in the second salvo remained technically intact but were clearly mission-killed. After this, the unarmed Kievs stood no chance, and after being afforded fifteen seconds to signal their surrender were obliterated in the final salvo. A brief turnaround to mop up the two crippled Kirovs was no trouble at all for the Legion Captains, and at 2324 plus 40 seconds victory once again belonged to the Duranium Legion.

The immediate strategic impact of the battle was obvious: with their last remaining defensive fleet reduced to nothing, the Belaire had no hope of regaining control over their home system, although cracking the defenses of Belaire Prime would prove a difficult task even for the battle-hardened Legion Navy. Less immediately obvious, though with far longer-lasting implications for the future of the Legion Navy, was the effect of the strong showing put forth by the Hellfire-class frigate squadron, which had despite being pushed beyond the limits of their endurance by the demanding Captain Gelanor had succeeded in destroying all three Sovremennys of the Belaire fleet - a resounding vindication of the particle beam concept. This had been a deliberate move on the part of the Captain, who herself was a strong supporter of the Hellfire experiment and had been eager to demonstrate to her superiors how effective they could be when pushed beyond the limits of conservative doctrinal practices. This move would win her many powerful friends in the Legion high command - and no fewer powerful opponents.

----

18 February 4009

Upon receiving the report of Captain Jocasta Gelanor detailing the events of the decisive battle of 17 February, Lord Captain Selene Styx’s first reaction was not, as one would expect, joyful celebration. Rather, the Lord Captain immediately attempted to file express paperwork to issue a mark of censure against the Captain, this being halted only by the intervention of her superior, Lord Admiral Absolus Criasus. Officially, the reason given for this punitive act on the filed paperwork was “reckless disregard for the safety of Duranium Legion Navy ships and personnel”, specifically Lord Captain Styx claimed that Captain Gelanor had pushed her Hellfire squadron well beyond their doctrinal limits to the point of near-total breakdown, in a fight which the Legion Navy could have won comfortably without taking such extreme risks. This was of course spurious grounds for censure at best, a massive overreach of the Lord Captain’s command authority at worst, and certainly disingenuous in any case. Naturally, the unofficial reason was once again closely tied to the simmering political feud ongoing throughout the Legion Navy officer cohort regarding the controversial Hellfire class, in reality the Lord Captain as a staunch opponent of the beam frigate concept felt personally embarrassed that her chief subordinate had gone to such lengths to demonstrate the full potential of the Hellfires. Indeed, the only reason a second outbreak of fisticuffs was not had was the equally staunch neutrality of the Lord Admiral, who sharply criticized his subordinate for clear overreach without taking any position on the subject.

Increasingly, it was becoming clear by this point that questions of fleet doctrine and procurement could no longer be quietly ignored in hopes that this would all blow over. In the immediate short term, of course, the battlefield remained the highest priority, and after a brief period to refuel and resupply First and Second Fleets would be ordered to the Giclas 9-38 jump point to interdict any potential Belaire relief efforts. Both frigate squadrons would be detached from the fleets, with Frigate Squadron 3 being split up to monitor the Kuiper 79 jump point (Broken Wind) and Belaire Prime, from a safe distance (Brutal Legend), while Frigate Squadron 4 would be dispatched to Adamantine Base to carry out more extensive repairs. It was well understood that this monitoring operation would place significant demands on the Legion Navy’s logistical capabilities, particularly as rear area defenses remained necessary to defend Legion space against the scattered Belaire formations beyond Kuiper 79. Nevertheless, Lord Admiral Criasus was determined to hold the territory he had taken, lest the hard work and sacrifice of the sailors under his command come to naught.

This was not to say that the political tensions would go unaddressed, rather once the Legion fleets had taken up and secured these new positions, a series of “temporary” personnel transfers would be effected with the aim of collecting the most prominent Legion Naval officers on both sides of the Hellfire debate for a conference to settle the question once and for all. Nor would the question of particle beams be the only item on the agenda for this upcoming Naval Conference, indeed questions of doctrine and fleet design patterns were numerous and there were serious concerns even beyond the factional extremists that the Legion Navy was in the process of doctrinal stagnation. Perhaps the most pressing concern of many in the halls of the Legion high command was the question of the Navy’s scouting and reconnaissance capabilities, currently in the hands of the venerable but troubled Bellerophon-class frigates and a few dozen reconnaissance “fighters” considered to be capable, but woefully under-equipped for the needs of the Legion Navy - and, some officers quipped, even more woefully under-equipped to carry the designation of “fighter”. A third concern of many was the proliferation of lightly-armed (or in the case of the Grand Cross class, unarmed) jump vessels which accompanied almost every squadron in the Legion Navy. As these represented significant dead weight on the battlefield the nature of the concern was hardly controversial, however as no two Lords Admiral could agree on a single solution it was clear that a frank and earnest discussion of the subject was badly overdue. While the precise date was to be determined, as always the realities of war would render any attempt at scheduling in advance quite fruitless, certainly the date would eventually arrive when these matters could be settled conclusively.

Until then, as always, the business of the Legion Navy would carry on as usual.

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OOC Notes: as promised this update certainly complicates the picture as far as fleet doctrine is concerned. Not to be lost in the tumult of the ongoing Hellfire debate is the surprising efficacy of the Bellerophon class as a commerce raider, as we all know from history of course the idea of an effective commerce raiding warship always holds an allure for certain segments of the naval officership. Assuredly there are many possibilities to be discussed at the upcoming Naval Conference.

In other news, expect a shift towards a slightly more majestic posting schedule in the short term as I shall plan only one update midweek next, largely to allow reconstruction of a posting buffer as we will soon turn to the eagerly anticipated Naval Conference which promises to draw great interest from many quarters.

 
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Offline Foxxonius Augustus

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #56 on: April 17, 2021, 09:38:54 AM »
Another great update and another great victory for the Legion!

I think that this engagement soundly proves that the Hellfires are fully up to the task that they were designed for, namely countering any hostile beam ships that out range the Legions main line combatants.  It also goes a long way towards proving that the difficulty they suffered in earlier engagements was down to the fact that the squadron was not up to full strength at the time.  On the other hand, the battle did further confirm that the current design is lacking in two specific areas, armor and sufficient storage of spare parts and ammunition.  Even a marginal increase in both would lead them being far more effective in their intended roll of performing long range gunnery duels.

I am quite surprised by Lord Captain Selene Styx's position on the Hellfire debate.  It makes me wonder if she is the black sheep in her family or if that might be her relative, Commander Aion Styx.  I also hope that her choice in faction wont wind up being a lodestone around the neck of this rising star!

I am indeed eagerly anticipating the upcoming Naval Conference.  Not only what conclusions might be reached but indeed, what changes might be proposed! Perhaps the current generation of jump ships will be replaced with ones with dedicated point defense batteries to free up space for more fire power on the Legions main line ships? Maybe they will try to kill two birds with one stone, moving the large sensors into the jump ships thus freeing the smaller frigates to focus more on what ships of their size are best at, low intensity combat and convoy raiding.  Perhaps a parallel line of sensor picket destroyers to work alongside the Charybdis class? Will the conclusions reached point to purely doctrinal and conceptual reform? They may decide that the Bellerophons should be detached from the fleet and be held well back before any major engagement.  Or maybe a new standing order instructing Bellerophon captains to turn off their ships active sensors once within engagement range so as to not present such an obvious target.  Should the jump ships be disarmed entirely and reclassified as mobile jump gates, following the combat ships when moving around in Legion space but staying on the secure side of hostile jump points? As for the Hellfire debate, maybe the anti-Hellfire faction can be placated by more clearly defining the class as specialist support ships, meant to be brought in when their unique capabilities are called for and not main line combatants?

So many possibilities!

@nuclearslurpee I love this fiction so much! Thank you for writing it.  Is there any chance of it continuing even after 1. 13 comes out? Even if means you reboot it for the new patch I would love to read The Official Chronicle of the Second Duranium Legion!
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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Re: The Official Chronicle of the Duranium Legion
« Reply #57 on: April 17, 2021, 10:56:37 AM »
I think that this engagement soundly proves that the Hellfires are fully up to the task that they were designed for, namely countering any hostile beam ships that out range the Legions main line combatants.  It also goes a long way towards proving that the difficulty they suffered in earlier engagements was down to the fact that the squadron was not up to full strength at the time.  On the other hand, the battle did further confirm that the current design is lacking in two specific areas, armor and sufficient storage of spare parts and ammunition.  Even a marginal increase in both would lead them being far more effective in their intended roll of performing long range gunnery duels.

Like it or not it sill be difficult for any Hellfire opponents to claim that the class is not capable of accomplishing its mission, indeed the proponents now have strong evidence that the class in spite of weaknesses having performed admirably, a properly tweaked Mk II variant would be a strong component of the Legion Navy arsenal. That being said, many questions remain as far as the class as well as the wider development of particle beams, on which I shan't comment too closely lest the word of the author be taken as law!  :o

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I am quite surprised by Lord Captain Selene Styx's position on the Hellfire debate.  It makes me wonder if she is the black sheep in her family or if that might be her relative, Commander Aion Styx.  I also hope that her choice in faction wont wind up being a lodestone around the neck of this rising star!

Family disagreements happen in real life just as in fiction, after all. So long as no one (else!) does anything he or she might regret after the matter is settled, I would not imagine that career ramifications will be too great for merely having taken the "wrong side", particularly in the case of a decorated officer such as Lord Captain Styx. As shall be seen, there are enough key figures in the Lords Admiralty that maintain an air of fairness and neutrality, to prevent factionalism from too badly impacting the careers of promising young officers.

This of course presumes that no one (else!) does anything regrettable, which is far from a guarantee.

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I am indeed eagerly anticipating the upcoming Naval Conference.  Not only what conclusions might be reached but indeed, what changes might be proposed! Perhaps the current generation of jump ships will be replaced with ones with dedicated point defense batteries to free up space for more fire power on the Legions main line ships? Maybe they will try to kill two birds with one stone, moving the large sensors into the jump ships thus freeing the smaller frigates to focus more on what ships of their size are best at, low intensity combat and convoy raiding.  Perhaps a parallel line of sensor picket destroyers to work alongside the Charybdis class? Will the conclusions reached point to purely doctrinal and conceptual reform?
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Should the jump ships be disarmed entirely and reclassified as mobile jump gates, following the combat ships when moving around in Legion space but staying on the secure side of hostile jump points?

These are all strong possibilities. I must note that a significant problem with the jump vessels has been a lack of tonnage to allocate to anything else, notably the Grand Cross class at 12,500 tons have no weapons at all unlike the smaller jump classes. This could be taken as an axiom, or used to motivate technological investments.

Another consideration, which may also impact the Bellerophon discussions, is now that two distinct use cases have emerged, these being general fleet transport versus jump point assaults which require squadron jumps. Original Legion Navy doctrine was clearly based on the latter case, however in most engagements a jump assault has been unnecessary and tonnage spent on jump ships has not contributed to combat efficiency. There may be a significant push towards developing two types of jump classes, which may have very different designs thus opening up some of the options you've astutely pointed out above.

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They may decide that the Bellerophons should be detached from the fleet and be held well back before any major engagement.  Or maybe a new standing order instructing Bellerophon captains to turn off their ships active sensors once within engagement range so as to not present such an obvious target.

One important consideration, perhaps not as much against the Belaire but certainly against the Mongolicans (remember those guys?), is missile defense. Having the massive active sensors of the Bellerophons helps to generate more accurate targeting solutions against incoming salvos, thus having a Bellerophon along for the ride is beneficial in those situations where they can be reasonably protected. However, in such cases, is a full squadron really necessary? There is also a question of armament particularly as while the next generation of sensor frigates, should they be approved and procured, may not be expected to contribute to a fleet firing line, however some armament for independent operations is worth consideration.

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As for the Hellfire debate, maybe the anti-Hellfire faction can be placated by more clearly defining the class as specialist support ships, meant to be brought in when their unique capabilities are called for and not main line combatants?

Certainly a reasonable take, and not one left unconsidered by the cooler heads of the Lords Admiralty.

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So many possibilities!

Indeed. It will be a long meeting, I suspect.

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@nuclearslurpee I love this fiction so much! Thank you for writing it.  Is there any chance of it continuing even after 1. 13 comes out? Even if means you reboot it for the new patch I would love to read The Official Chronicle of the Second Duranium Legion!

My first plan for 1.13 is to look into the possibility of converting the DB. Obviously this would preclude me submitting any bug reports when things inevitably go sideways and will earn me the side eye of doom from Steve, but I think it will be worth it for the planned changes, most importantly SQRT research costs for large components as the jump drives are not going to get any cheaper as the fleet expands with now 20,000-ton ships on the horizon. If such a conversion is not feasible I will likely continue along with 1.12 as long as I enjoy the campaign.

That being said, I do have several other ideas rattling around for 1.13 and beyond, I'm simply not willing to attempt two AARs at once which would likely be the death of me.  ;)
 
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Online El Pip

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After briefly being amazed that such seemingly-superfluous information had actually been useful in some small capacity,
That is indeed one of the most amazing thing to have occured thus far in the story.

Commander Hera Thrace made a note in her report suggesting that the use of boarding marines to commit acts of piracy could be a lucrative source of material rewards for the Legion in future conflicts, perhaps preferable to outright destruction and salvage of civilian vessels.
As you note later, piratical raiding will always be popular amongst some.

Here it can be clearly seen just how far off-course Broken Wind was driven due to admittedly poor helmsmanship, the greatest enemy of the Legion or at least its most successful opponent.
If only the Legion would devote a fraction of the effort they spend on fighting about Hellfire frigates to training their helm officers all of this could be avoided. But where would the honour, glory or indeed fun be in that course of action?

It is said that there are times when a picture is worth a thousand words. This was not one of those times.
Excellent word choice.

Once again, the fleet closed to a precise distance with no errors at 2249, an accomplishment which was likely to earn Captain Gelanor some measure of honors for her prowess in commanding the famously fickle helm officers of the Legion Navy.
This seems to be tempting fate.

As the frigate squadrons were rejoining their parent fleets, an unfortunate miscommunication between the helm officers of the various squadrons led to several destroyers accidentally closing to 172,000 km of the Belaire fleet.
Told you it was tempting fate.

Indeed, the only reason a second outbreak of fisticuffs was not had was the equally staunch neutrality of the Lord Admiral, who sharply criticized his subordinate for clear overreach without taking any position on the subject.
Disappointing decision by the Lord Admiral. He could have kept his neutrality on the subject while still allowing the fist fight to go ahead.

In other news, expect a shift towards a slightly more majestic posting schedule in the short term as I shall plan only one update midweek next, largely to allow reconstruction of a posting buffer as we will soon turn to the eagerly anticipated Naval Conference which promises to draw great interest from many quarters.
Who could possibly object to a more majestically paced schedule being adopted?


This recent conflict has indeed shifted the terms on the Hellfire debate somewhat, perhaps enough to sway a few waverers though I feel sure the diehards on both sides are far too entrenched at this point to let something as trivial as 'facts' change the opinion. I do look forward to the debate. And by debate I mean fight, ideally a knife fight on a Flash Gordon style spike-covered spinning table while Brian Blessed cheers them on.

On the Bellerophons I would argue that a full squadron is generally an advantage, partly because it allows more space to be covered when there is a need for some recon and partly because they do tend to die alarmingly quickly. At some point the materials saved by squeezing the sensors into a frigate hull will be more than offset by the cost of building so many new ships. Same sensor outfit on a Charybdis sized hull would allow more armour and a few more self defence guns. It would also allow the Excelsior class to be repurposed as independent raiders for hunting down and capturing enemy ships (or just disposed of if the pirate idea does not find favour).
 
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Offline nuclearslurpee (OP)

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I must regretfully inform the readership, with the exception of the immediately above poster who will be thrilled by this news, that the next update will be delayed by a few more days. I would be disingenuous not to concede that this is partially due to the encroachments of real life into the territory of far more important things, however the chief reason is that the pesky Belaire insist on interrupting my attempts to advance the plot by offering and losing yet another battle against overwhelming odds. I am sure this comes as a surprise to none of you, but it does make the game drag on a bit in pace.

As not to leave everyone hanging I shall at least endeavor to address the latest commentary:

Commander Hera Thrace made a note in her report suggesting that the use of boarding marines to commit acts of piracy could be a lucrative source of material rewards for the Legion in future conflicts, perhaps preferable to outright destruction and salvage of civilian vessels.
As you note later, piratical raiding will always be popular amongst some.

Who among us, from the greatest Lord Admiral to the lowest Belaire conscript, can resist the allure of a sexy eyepatch, a shiny cutlass, and excessive amounts of swashing and buckling?

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Here it can be clearly seen just how far off-course Broken Wind was driven due to admittedly poor helmsmanship, the greatest enemy of the Legion or at least its most successful opponent.
If only the Legion would devote a fraction of the effort they spend on fighting about Hellfire frigates to training their helm officers all of this could be avoided. But where would the honour, glory or indeed fun be in that course of action?

In helmsman school, the helm officers learn about such important concepts, indeed fundamental building blocks of civilization itself, as "right on red". This has caused some understandable confusion when facing the Belaire lasers, as well as some less than understandable confusion among the command officers as to why helm officers abruptly turning to starboard somehow advances the fleet 5,000 km closer to their targets.

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Once again, the fleet closed to a precise distance with no errors at 2249, an accomplishment which was likely to earn Captain Gelanor some measure of honors for her prowess in commanding the famously fickle helm officers of the Legion Navy.
This seems to be tempting fate.

As the frigate squadrons were rejoining their parent fleets, an unfortunate miscommunication between the helm officers of the various squadrons led to several destroyers accidentally closing to 172,000 km of the Belaire fleet.
Told you it was tempting fate.

Really, how could I not? It is, after all, for the readership.

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In other news, expect a shift towards a slightly more majestic posting schedule in the short term as I shall plan only one update midweek next, largely to allow reconstruction of a posting buffer as we will soon turn to the eagerly anticipated Naval Conference which promises to draw great interest from many quarters.
Who could possibly object to a more majestically paced schedule being adopted?

Any objections from the floor? No? Motion carried!

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This recent conflict has indeed shifted the terms on the Hellfire debate somewhat, perhaps enough to sway a few waverers though I feel sure the diehards on both sides are far too entrenched at this point to let something as trivial as 'facts' change the opinion. I do look forward to the debate. And by debate I mean fight, ideally a knife fight on a Flash Gordon style spike-covered spinning table while Brian Blessed cheers them on.

Diehards aside, anyone rational will be hard-pressed to argue that the particle beam concept is not clearly capable, though the key thing is whether more capable than a fleet of railgun cruisers on balance. To answer this question will require either: astute and careful analysis of past and projected future engagements to weigh relative benefits and weaknesses; or, violence. Perhaps even both? How the answer is arrived at shall remain to be seen.

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On the Bellerophons I would argue that a full squadron is generally an advantage, partly because it allows more space to be covered when there is a need for some recon and partly because they do tend to die alarmingly quickly. At some point the materials saved by squeezing the sensors into a frigate hull will be more than offset by the cost of building so many new ships. Same sensor outfit on a Charybdis sized hull would allow more armour and a few more self defence guns. It would also allow the Excelsior class to be repurposed as independent raiders for hunting down and capturing enemy ships (or just disposed of if the pirate idea does not find favour).

I really have nothing to add without giving away everything I have totally planned out and absolutely will not make up on the spot when I go to write that particular update. However I would feel bad not acknowledging such astute analysis, thus you receive this comment in return.

And on that note, we return to...waiting patiently for the next update, in a few days' time.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2021, 10:30:19 AM by nuclearslurpee »
 
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