Quick and dirty battle report for the "Wild War". Needs a lot of editing but I need to move on
Strike Planning: The entire Security establishment cooperates in a plan to seize vital mineral sources from Celest. This is seen as regrettable but necessary. CC Atlantic will attack Uranus. CC Barrier will attack Wild. CC Brunei will attack Ceres. CC Arcanum wil defend Mars. CC Aurora, CC Avalanche, and CC Bellerophon will remain near Earth to defend Atlantis, in company with AtSec's platforms and fighter reserves. It will take almost 7 weeks for all carriers to get into position.
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February 2215Celest notices the uptick in Atlantian fleet activity and leaves are canceled.
Celest: Particle Beam 240,000km research complete and TiGER Gauss Turret research completed by Kirby McConico.
FLEET DISPOSITIONS AT THE START OF THE WILD WAR
Celest:
LUNA: 8x Icarus BC, 2x Shokaku BC, 6x Agammemnon ODM, 4x Agammemnon ODM (Overhaul), Planetary Defences
CERES: 4x Agammemnon ODM, 4x Zeus XL PDC, 8x Work Gang
URANUS: 4x Castra ODM, 2x Shokaku BC (Low ammo), Starbase, Fuel Harvesters, 2x Castra ODM (Overhaul)
Atlantis:
EARTH: 2x A-class Carrier, 1x B-class Carrier, 12x Vigilant escort frigates, 30x Grendel Strikers, 30x Warrior Strikers, 120x Obsolete Strikers, Planetary Defences
CERES: 1x B-class Carrier, 10x Grendel strikers, 10x Warrior Strikers, 2x CLE Vigilant II, 3x CLE Vigilant IIIA, Tanker, Dropships
WILD: 1x B-class Carrier, 10x Grendel Strikers, 10x Warrior Strikers, 4x CLE Vigilant II, Dropships
URANUS: 1x A-class Carrier, 10x Grendel Strikers, 10x Warrior Strikers, 4x CLE Vigilant II
24th Feb 2215 12:40 operation kicked off: Barrier FG under Exalt Duhon is escorting 2 dropships containing 107th and 108th Gene Legion to Wild.
Citizen Leigh Hem elects to close the range to Ceres in Brunei, rather than conducting a long range strike.
20:20 - Wild traffic control detects Barrier's FG and challenges them. When no response is forthcoming panicked messages are sent to Luna .
20:27- Celestian demands for explanations to Atlantis and Malta are met with denials. The Oxygen Board decides to immediately put the fleet on alert. Lunar ships begin spinning up their shields and activating their anti missile sensors. Celestian forces are currently located only at Ceres, Uranus and Luna.
20:28 - Atlantis carriers across the solar system activate their sensors and put drives on full burn.
20:28 - Lunar battlegroup splits into 3 units: The Hammer group under Admiral Bozek, consisting of 4x Icarus and 2x Shokaku Battlecruisers; the Anvil group under Admiral Brambila, consisting of 4x Icarus; and Monitor Group 3 under Captain Krampitz, consisting of 6x Agammemnon.
Noone wants to start a war yet, Celestian units are content to spin up their shields while Atlantis will be perfectly happy if there is no shooting near earth while they seize outlying colonies.
20:33- Celestian units finish spinning up their shields. Atlantean officers are unsure how quite to analyze the enormous EM emissions of the Celestian units.
20:37- Barrier's strike group flashes past Wild at top speed, dazzling the sensors. The two Vulture-class dropships come in at such a velocity that to the colonists it seems they simply materialized in the sky, already spewing their deadly cargo. The assault legions are the fruit of much tinkering by Atlantean geneticists, impossibly fast and nearly as hard to kill. They are also fanatically loyal to the Council, via whomever holds their Key. But the colonists had plenty of time to make it to their bunkers and arn't willing to give up their homes meekly. A short burst of footage and a plea for help are all that makes it to Luna before jamming cuts the transmission and the fighting begins in earnest.
Barrier's SG holds position while the carrier itself burns for the asteroid at maximum speed.
20:59- Tensions run hot, but information is scarce. Celestian commanders want to help the Wild colonists, but the work gang transports are slow and unarmored. Loading them in Lunar orbit during a shooting war is suicidal. No other suitable transports exist. Similarly, the Celestian forces are pinned down in Lunar orbit. Even if abandoning Luna was politically possible, attempting to burn towards Wild might invite the sort of apocalyptic Earth Orbit conflict that must be avoided.
Confirmed reports are now coming in from Ceres and Uranus of command carriers bearing down on them. Active scans have also revealed a Carrier near Mars.
21:09- After much negotiation and argument, it's decided that Ceres is too essential and home to too many people to let slip without a fight. Admiral Bozek is authorized to head for Ceres with half of her ships. A direct burn for Ceres will take her perilously close to earth, but Bozek feels that a straight trajectory will make her intentions clear and hopefully avert orbital conflict. She broadcasts a transmission in the clear ot that effect.
21:10- After initial panic that the ships were headed for Earth, Atlantean scanners confirm that 3 battlecruisers have left Lunar orbit on a direct shot for Ceres. When the oncoming ships reach 200,000km from Earth, Director of Space Security Holly Harian authorizes the launch of six PDC squadrons. Intercept 200, 201, and 204 will escort Strike 101, 103, and 106.
Admiral Bozek detects the launch, but remains steadily on course.
21:12- Bozek's Battle Division 2 has left the Earth-Moon system, with the sixty fighters following close behind. Deputy Jian sends a transmission ordering Bozek to return to Lunar orbit or be fired upon.
After conferring with her superiors Bozek issues a terse refusal and continues on course.
21:14- Harian shrugs and orders the strike group to fire its torpedoes.
21:15- After a short delay to synchronize firing solutions the strike group Grendels salvo their torpedoes on the Shokaku-class BC Akagi.
Akagi detects the contacts. Bozek curses and orders weapons free. Beam weapons to point defence, Akagi on the missiles, Chiliarch and Droungarios pick out the 3 odd contacts in the Atlantean formation, presuming them to be sensor vessels.
The aptly named Overseer Raul Lash is the ranking officer in the strike and is somewhat mesmerized by the torpedoes on his plot. The detection of Celestian fire control jolts him back to reality and he orders the strike to split into squadrons and maneuver for close attack.
Out of the 18 GARDIANs fired thus far, only 3 score hits on torpedoes. 3 more torpedoes are destroyed by the division's anti proton weapons, but the remainder slam home to terrible effect. The Droungarious is obliterated in a nuclear firestorm after a minimum of 38 hits by the Grendel's T-25 torpedoes.
Fleet Captain Marra on Chiliarch takes command of the squadron and orders maximum firing rate while continuing to pull away. Captain Marra lacks Admiral Bozek's intuitive grasp of space combat, but has drilled her crew to perfection. They respond to her orders according to training, not taking the time to dwell on the loss of their sister ship. Akagi shifts her fire to the Strikers.
The com net of the strike erupts in cheers which Overseer Lash chooses to tolerate. What he won't tolerate is the wavering of the formation. Squadrons 103 and 204 are newly assigned and still unaccostomed to the tight maneuvers required for beam range combat. Lash curses as a tiny error by a single pilot leaves both rookie squadrons precious seconds behind.
The first return fire slams into the squadron, leaving one fighter crippled and another destroyed. The strike has no way to detect the oncoming missiles and must simply bear the hits until it can extinguish its tormentors.
21:16- Another fighter is destroyed and more fall out of formation crippled. Missiles continue to pour in as the strike passes 200km. Proton beams begin adding their weight of fire, inaccurate at first but beginning to land hits as the range closes.
21:17- The front edge of the strike has come apart in dead and dying strikers under the endless hail of missiles, but the range has finally closed. Laser fire begins to spit from the Warriors and Grendels, focused entirely on Akagi. Akagi's shields hold at above 90% for the first two rounds of incoming fire. It may be too late... Overseer Lash's fighter suffers an antiproton hit to the fore section and he is killed instantly. Few Warrior-class strikers remain combat effective, and the Grendels are barely any faster than the battlecruisers.
21:18- Akagi's shields have dipped to 50% but the last Warriors have had their engines or targeting equipment blasted away. One squadron of Grendels has made it to weapons range but the others are too far away to help.
21:19- The strike is spent, with Akagi's shields bottoming out at 40%. Akagi and Chiliarch conserve their few remaining missiles and clean up the stragglers still harassing them. The remaining Grendels break off.
Although the strike was butchered in the end, in Harian's mind it still largely accomplished its objective. The loss of one battle cruiser and the depletion of munitions will make it unlikely that Chiliarch and Akagi can succesfully engage the B-class attacking Ceres, should it be successful in destroying the defences there. In total only 17 Grendels and 4 Warrior strikers return to base.
Lu Lan Jian wants to send another strike, but Holly Harian decides against it owing to the likelihood of a response by the Celestians.
A tacit ceasefire is observed while both sides send auxiliaries to rescue survivors.
23:20- As Brunei approaches Ceres, it launches a strike of Grendels. Citizen Leigh Hem doesn't wish to risk damage to the Ceres colony, but he would prefer the orbital monitors out of the way if possible.
25th February
00:10 - Every torpedo in the strike is blasted out of space. The defenders of Ceres colony appear to be more heavily armed than projected. The strikers return to Brunei as it closes the range. It seems apparent to both sides that beam weapons will decide this fight.
02:22- Brunei is less than 5mkm from the Ceres. Strike 112 launches again, and synchronizes a torpedo strike with the Vigilant-class escort frigates. 22 Barracuda torpedoes are launched in total. 14 are destroyed by anti-proton beams and the Phalanx systems on the monitors, but 8 slam home and detonate their enormous warheads. ODM Vigilant draws the short straw being struck by four torpedoes, three of which land in nearly the same spot. It's armor is massively breached but its redundant systems serve it well. Only the Phalanx system and an Antiproton projector are knocked out of action. Citizen Hem, having been advised of the incoming battlecruisers, elects not to waste time exhausting his missile supplies. He will close to point blank range and drop his troops.
03:09- Beam duel begins. Monitors advance just before carrier enters range. Hits on both sides. 2 Monitors target the tanker, not knowing it to be a support vessel. 2 rounds of fire knock out its drive . Monitors targeting CLEs. Tynedale suffers minor damage. Citizen Hem orders the Intercept squadron to engage the monitors closely.
A huge salvo of anti-proton beams strikes Tynedale's already weakened armor. Tynedale loses several turrets, fire control, and two thrusters. A secondary explosion damages her fuel storage. Tynedale can maintain formation but is now combat ineffective. A second salvo targets CLE Whaddon, inflicting minor damage.
The four Zeus-class antiproton arrays on Ceres open up on Brunei. Dozens of hits are scored, but her armor shrugs it off easily. The Intercept squadron reach optimum range and fires its lasers at ODM Sentinel. A direct hit to bridge kills Commander Guthrie. Primary fire control also hit. Secondary remains online. Sentinel's crew smoothly shifts all weapons to secondary control, targeting the strikers.
All four monitors open up on the strikers with their secondary batteries. Warrior II-034 is blotted out of space by a laser crossfire, and several other warriors have their fire controls irradiated by microwave beams.
Seconds later, another striker is destroyed and two more crippled after the monitors shift their primary batteries onto the strike as well.
03:10 Four warriors with disabled fire control head for Brunei. Four remain firing, though two are damaged.
Fourth PDC finally opens up, dealing a number of hits to Brunei. Atlantis's code name of "Beholder" very appropriate.
ODM Sentinel takes numerous hits from Brunei's lasers, losing several systems. Ion drive flickers but restarts.
Monitors shift fire to remaining Vigilant escorts. Microwave beams wreak havoc on vulnerable fire controls.
Citizen Hem orders the Grendel squadron to close the range, having concluded the enemy has no missile weapons.
ODM Sentinel finally falls to CC Brunei's heavy lasers.
Grendels open up. Vigilant loses its laser array and secondary fire control, as well as minor damage to other systems. Return fire destroys a Grendel. All Warriors now combat ineffective and are returning to Brunei for repairs.
03:11 Another immense salvo of antiproton fire stabs up from Ceres, this time breaching Brunei's thick armor. A Phalanx system is knocked out in addition to some minor ship systems. In response, Brunei launches its Vulture dropships and shifts its fire to the Zeus PDCs.
The monitors have retreated to Ceres and make their stand here.
Techs desperately rush to replace damaged targeting equipment and weapons on the 8 Warriors that made it back to the carrier.
Dropships successfully land troops on the nearest PDC. The Zeus has minimal armor and is not designed for ground combat, but is staffed by a large number of Colonial militia. Citizen Hem is only too glad to receive this report and orders a reversal in course. If the Land Clearance troops manage to take the PDCs, the damaged monitors have no hope of holding off the Brunei.
Massive electrical surges cascade through Brunei as it is struck by four microwave beams. One of its fire controls and a third of its sensor systems are knocked offline. No impact on Brunei's combat effectivenss as of yet.
All Celestian weapons are focusing fire on the Brunei. Between the monitors nd the PDCs, two lasers and their associated power systems are knocked out. Critically, all of Brunei's active sensors are knocked out. The escort cruisers quickly activate their backups, but it still interrupts the firing cycle.
03:12 Brunei's second fire control is knocked out. Brunei is no longer combat capable. Citizen Hem can do nothing but grind his teeth while he slowly withdraws.
03:13 Brunei successfully withdraws from Ceres after suffering more damage. Her armor is blackened by hundreds of impacts and fires still rage in the forward section. Citizen Hem withdraws to his private quarters and consults with Atlantis while the crew urgently repairs its combat systems. Four Grendels survive to reach the hangars, and join the seven remaining Warriors in the repair queue.
03:17 It is far too late for the defenders of Zeus 004, the attacking troops have penetrated to the control centers before most of the militia even knew what was happening. The remaining militia surrender after the defenders start wrecking life support and executing officers Atlantean specialists set the guns to fire automatically, but the defending Monitors have already moved to the other side of the asteroid. Security Captain Bustos orders a push into the asteroid interior. No orbital weapons can reach them here, but they must push through the colony itself to attack the other PDCs. The first militia ambush comes only a kilometer into the colony... As Akagi and Chiliarch rush towards Ceres, Atlantic enters sensor range of Uranus...
Citizen Cid's Atlantic is an older model than Brunei or Barrier, but it's equipped with the newer Mk3 Grendels. These fighters can conduct very long range torpedo strikes compared to earlier marks. After reviewing the tactical information from Brunei's assault on Ceres Citizen Cid plans to press that advantage for all he's worth before committing to a beam range battle.
05:18- TJ Action and its entourage transition back into Sol during a time of hostility.
12:13 Brunei's crew chief pronounces its remaining Strikers fully operational.
17:39- Strike // 122 fires a synchronized strike at a Celestian battlecruiser. The Monitors orbiting Uranus are not yet on Atlantis' active scans.
17:55- Uranus defences spit anti missiles at the oncoming torpedoes. Two survive the hail of GARDIANS but are destroyed by antiproton beams.
19:51- Barrier arrives at Wild and takes in its strike group. Barrier enters a parking orbit, keeping a watchful eye on the legions below.
00:26- Strike 122 finishes loading new torpedoes. Just as the strike launches, Atlantic's sensors pick up the large group of Monitors near Uranus. Cid orders the strike to target them instead of the battlecruisers.
01:56- Battered Battle Division 2 is within 10 mkm of Ceres. Brunei has repaired most of its systems at the expense of its huge reserve of spare parts and material, but her massive Area Search array is still offline. Thus the close range of Division 2 comes as an unwelcome surprise. Fearful of a missile storm like that which devastated the Earth strike, Citizen Hem keeps his strikers in the hangars. But he positions the carrier 220kkm out from Ceres, on the opposite side of the captured Zeus. Division 2 cannot reach the asteroid without taking fire from either the carrier, the PDC, or both. Captain Marra maintains her distance for now while trying to figure out the situation on the colony itself.
06:47- Strike 122 launches another wave of missiles. Only one makes it to attack range this time, and is handily dispatched by an AP-beam. Citizen Cid orders the launches to continue.
13:04- On strike 122's third strike, a single missile penetrates the cordon and strikes ODM Fortress. Fortress's shields absorb the blow, but the detonation fills local space with hash.
16:04- Atlantic reaches the Uranus system. Another strike is launched.
16:25- 3 missiles from the fourth strike penetrate every defence, all impacting on ODM Palisade. The trio of blasts are sufficient to penetrate Palisade's shields and gouge a hole in its armor, but miraculously no systems are damaged.
20:28- Atlantic crosses the orbit of Titania, less than 400kkm from the Uranus harvester farm. Cid wants to do a point blank launch but the targeting systems on the new Grendel IIIs are notoriously finicky. The distance ought to shield the torpedoes from most anti missile fire at this distance. Atlantic stops at its current distance and the Grendels from 112 synchronize a strike with Atlantic's escorts. The targets will be the monitors covering the naval base orbiting the moon Portia. When the fighters launch again however - this time in range of the Celestian sensors - the ODMs and BCs covering the harvesters immediately activate their drives, heading for Atlantic.
20:29- 11 T-25 and 4 HT-16 torpedoes penetrate the defensive fire, a disappointingly low number. The one antimissile salvo the defenders managed to fire scored an extremely high number of hits. The remainder are still enough to make all three targeted monitors reel with downed shields and minor damage to all systems. The battlecruisers continue to advance, presumably to give their compatriots time to regenerate their shields. Having observed the battle at Ceres, Cid knows he must try to keep the Celestian microwave emitters away from Atlantic at this early phase of the battle. But he also needs to preserve his striker strength for a decisive blow. For now he elects to keep his strikers in their bays.
As soon as the weapons fire start, two of the monitors guarding the naval base ignite their engines, vectoring towards Atlantic. But curiously, two do not. Their engines are completely cold. Cid's analysis team believes their drives must have been shut down for maintenance when fighting broke out. Atlantic reverses course to keep them out of the action and launches its entire complement of Strikers as the first microwave beams tag CLE Cleveland
20:30- Atlantic connects with every shot against ODM Castra, stripping her shields in a single blow and blowing out a magazine. ODMs Castra and Palisade break formation and begin withdrawing towards Portia.
Intercept 210 strafes Castra, penetrating the armor of her magazines. A sorium explosion rips off a segment of the left pylon, warping one antiproton cannon into uselessness. Atlantic takes a microwave hit to her #1 fire control and shifts all lasers to #2. She fires in turn and rips apart Castra's entire missile defence suite and starboard engine.
20:31- After another ferocious exchange of fire, the second monitor group enters firing range. The Strikers shift their fire to the newcomers as Castra and Palisade continue to retreat. Castra continues to take fire fro Atlantic, having now absorbed a ridiculous amount of damage.
Strike 122 curves around ODM Fortress and rips its engines apart. Fortress falls out of formation but its sister ship Citadel continues to press the attack.
Microwave beams strike CLE Cleveland and CLE Cotswold, rendering all of Atlantic's escorts combat ineffective.
Castra exits combat range of Atlantic, but the Warriors stubbornly stay on her.
Strike 122 lands a second volley into Fortress, ripping the monitor apart so suddenly the few of the crew have time to eject in life pods.
20:32- Atlantic shifts her fire to the battlecruisers. Citizen Cid has grown increasingly pessimistic and orders his personal yacht readied. Atlantic's armor is barely scratched but she has no defence against microwave fire.
Hiryu, Kaga, and Citadel flash past the crippled Cottmore, raking it with antiproton fire. Both of Cottmore's reactors blow out in a spectacular display, and she is left spinning helplessly with fires on all decks.
Atlantic fires a full salvo into Kaga, stripping a full third of her shields. Microwave fire spits back and cripples Atlantic's remaining fire control. Cid cusses and begins preparing to evacuate. Atlantic is a long way from dead, but without her primary battery there is almost no chance of winning the battle.
The last Warrior strikers are destroyed by the reserve monitors. Miraculously, Castra has survived the fight thus far although she is a barely functional wreck with few operative systems. With the Atlantic retreating and most strikers destroyed, the battle looks as good as won. Port Consus begins the laborious task of charging its thrusters, as it looks like numerous ships may need a tow.
20:34 After over a minute of sustained fire into Atlantic with no response, the Militia commanders whoops with relief. The battle is won and Uranus is safe. Cid has assembled his cadre of 100 valued slummers and boards the Bago-class yacht. Waiting until just after a firing cycle, the Bago leaps into space beyond the possibility of pursuit, leaving the Atlantic to its fate. The remaining crew is fragmented without access to command systems, and most are unaware the Citizen has even left. They continue frantic damage control efforts as the Atlantic falls apart under continuous bombardment. Strike 122 fires against Kaga's shields until the followup monitors first strip their electronics and then blast them out of space.
20:35 Atlantic self destructs by detonating her Sorium fuel. The resulting fireball consumes her remaining escorts and leaves no useable wreckage. The battlecruisers are much too far away to be effected, however.
AAR:
Atlantis: A panel assembled by the council outside the auspices of Space Security spends weeks questioning witnesses and assembling an analysis. Their conclusion is that Councillor Harian's tacical dispositions were correct, lacking information about the Celestian microwave beams as she did. However, they find that Space Security could have done a much better job testing defences or gathering intelligence before the operation.
The Panel commended Citizen Cid's coolheadedness and tactics, and concluded he could not have won without an additional carrier or somemeans of combatting microwave weapons. While some have charged Cid with cowardice for abandoning the Atlantic, the Panel found the possibility of the Celestians holding the carrier hostage unacceptable. The possibility of Atlantic's capture was almost too much to be contemplated. Atlantic's self destruction averted both futures.
In terms of ship design, all three classes of warship were found to have severe deficiencies in defenses against microwave weapons. It was certainly decisive in the battle for Uranus, with Atlantic and its escorts rendered ineffective long before their armor was breached. Similarly, Brunei's strikers suffered far more combat casualties owing to microwave fire than they did to actual destructive weapons! It's recommended that next generation designs be developed as fast as possible with hardened electronics and redundant fire controsl.
The panel also found that the archetypical 10x Grendel squadron lacked the throw weight to be useful. Furthermore, they believe there might have been too much emphasis placed on missile defence. Command Carriers currently have four layers of missile defence: their suppressors, their Vigilant-type escorts, their CIWS systems, and their strikers deployed in a hedgehog. The Panel believes that an all-Grendel carrier strike group would not materially reduce missile defence capability enough to matter, while increasing throw weight and simplifying logistics.
The panel also found that the Mark 3 torpedo guidance systems on the Grendel III had no material impact on combat effectiveness. Since a number of design compromises had to be made to fight the Mark 3 on the Grendel, it recommends that the next generation of fighter downsize the system once more.
The panel could not reach consensus on the topic of a more radical striker redesign. Some members of the panel have suggested that striker design be revisted from the ground up. Having to close to short range proved to be fatal to Striker pilots again and again.
Nor could the panel agree on recommendations for the Vigilant class. Vigilants were never intended to be used in any role but close defence against missiles and strikers, so many on the panel deemed it unsurprising that they failed against Celestian monitors and battlecruisers.
Celest:
For their part, Lunar Militia commanders were ecstatic. Ceres was still under threat, but many had believed that the Colonies would lose everything beyond the moon when the first garbled reports of enemy forces came in. Microwave beams had been falling out of favor compared to stronger antiproton batteries, but they proved decisive in almost every engagement. Renewed effort is thrown into researching improved microwave weaponry and fire control systems.
More sober analysts raised a point of caution however. The sudden and shocking loss of the Droungarios proved how ineffective Militia anti-missile systems could be in the Earth-Luna system. Luna also lacks the kind of strong beam battery that protected Ceres, believing the missile systems and battlecruisers to be sufficient. In the case of a surprise attack on the Moon itself, battlecruisers caught with their shields down would be nearly defenseless. The analysts recommended establishing a military base away from Earth to protect against such eventuality. While a outsystem fleet would be unable to protect the moon from a surprise attack, there is little point to a fleet that could be instantly destroyed. The Moon's best protection will be additional PDCs and orbital monitors, optimized for combat in the Earth-Moon system. The Zeus-type PDCs protecting Ceres have particularly captured the imagination of the military and public, and the analysts are not immune. The deployment of at least six to protect the Moon is considered a priority task.
The political fallout is apt to be severe. All of the dozen or so civilian colonies established throughout the system are screaming for protection after the seizure of Wild. Much is promised, but the military realities are somewhat grim. It is impossible and foolhardy to try to protect every colony from Command Carrier attack but the colonies need SOME form of defence. Argument continues, but little will be accomplished until the Lunar defences are strengthened.
