Moth 216, Cannon Cartell, Ewon System
The Cannon Cartell is a quite martial capitalist society. They are willing to trade with almost anyone and aim to create trade opportunities with everyone they contact. And they have succeeded nicely, so far. By an accident of galactrography, they quite early ran out of open warplines to exploit, having met dead ends or neighbours.
Their home system, Ewon, is a crossroads of traders and goods, with an almost unprecedented number of nine warp points. Knowing that riches are coveted, the Cannon Cartell has fortified their systems on a scale rarely seen by any other nation in the known galaxy, and they know about most of it by rumour if not well paid spies. Each warp point is guarded by at least three BS4 and ten BS3, the later with capital missile armaments and the former with plasma guns. And thick mine belts to fence in all unauthorized passage.
They are wary of some of the races they have contacted, as many of these are rather warlike, but they have managed to gain trade, if not military agreements with most of them, and relations have been peaceful.
Recently, one of their partners: the Undine Conglomerate, a race rather less prone to cordial relations and loathed by several races for their tendency to react unfavourable to new contacts; but, on quite cordial terms with the Cannon Cartell, has been invaded by a so far implacable foe, a fleet of red ships with substantial technological superiority. A
fleet sent by the Cartell to aid them in defending a warp point was annihilated alongside the undine defenders, sending the Cartell military into a frenzy of strategic evaluation and cautious refits, which affect among other things their complete force of carriers.
Only in one case has their diplomatic efforts backfired, with the House of Liao. They are a small one system empire ruled by a council of advisors in the name of an absolute monarch. Despite being a pocket empire, they are proudly independent and refused an attempt by the Cannon Cartell to enter into a partnership agreement. Breaking off the
existing trade and military treaty to retreat into isolation, preferring that to being dominated by their larger and richer neighbour. But that was over two years ago, and nothing else has come of it... until now.
The emptiness of space on the warp point leading to the Liao system is suddenly broken by the emergence of a string of light cruisers and two corvettes, all aligned perpendicular to the looming Doombringer bases which watch over the warp point at a distance of 425.000 km. The first of the cruisers fires a broadside of five lasers, hitting with all of them but due to the distance boiling off just some of the base's armour. By happenstance, this is the base on active duty, and their gunnery crews, although surprised by the sudden assault and the accuracy of the fire, react swiftly and allocate five plasma guns and two rapid fire missile launchers to each of three light cruisers, vaporizing one and heavily damaging the others. Missile fire from a Destroyer and two Eradicator class bases further out crosses beams fired by the remaining light cruisers, but the Liao crews are very well trained and despite the shock of transit react and engage the missiles, negating most of them with accurate point defence fire and launched EDMs. The plasma guns on the corvettes miss the base due to the effects of the transit.
Another string of six light cruisers and two corvettes emerges with guns blazing. This time facing the opposite direction of the previous ships. The remaining two Doombringer bases crews are now at their post, their two salvoes damaging most of the cruisers while they in turn punched through the armour of the first Doombringer base with their lasers and eliminated its shields with CAMS. The two Destroyer bases focused fire on another cruiser, but the missiles where mostly intercepted. The active datagroup of Eradicator bases fired laser warhead armed missiles at the untouched two light cruisers of the first wave leaving them streaming air. The newly arrived corvettes, in return, missed the
Doombringer base with their plasma guns.
The third wave saw six heavy cruisers and again two corvettes, this time emerging again on the first vector. The first three cruisers turned to face the Doombringer bases, and the first unleashed a hail of sprint mode missiles from seven advanced launchers and a powerful beam of searing light from a spinal mounted laser system, far more powerful than
the lasers used by the light cruisers. The bases responded, their fire now weakened by the damage wrought upon the first base, by targeting four cruisers, splitting their fire between them and launching their own CAM. The results were very varied, with one cruiser being almost vaporized, two taking heavy damage and one only scratched, not even
venting atmosphere. The remaining light cruisers and the heavy cruisers united their fire to burn deeper into the first Doombringer and also remove the passives of the second, leaving gaping holes where once weapon bays had stood. Missile fire from the bases tries and take out corvettes before their plasma guns can recharge, with very slight
results. The Liao corvettes proved to be very tough against missile fire, and although one was damaged heavily, managed to respond with their own plasma guns, this time successfully.
By the time the fourth wave emerged, again delivering six heavy cruisers, most of the light cruisers had been reduced to weaponless wrecks which slowly aligned towards the warp point to exit the battle. But the defenders had their hands full with the remaining threats and could not spend weapon allocation towards their elimination, especially as the Liao crews proved to be very well trained in regards to their handling of point defense fire. The newly arrived cruisers emerged facing the other way to the last group, and slowly turned towards the Doombringers, while the third wave now were all aligned on them. After an intense exchange of fire the first two Doombringers were reduced to drifting clouds of wreckage, leaving only one of the huge defenders facing the invaders, supported by the eight missile bases out at 1.650.000 km. The end of their sojourn was heralded by the fifth wave, this time of six battle cruisers, one of which immediately unleashed a broadside of four capital missiles and three roentgen lasers. The last remaining Doombringer base tried to stave off its fate by concentrating fire upon two battle cruisers, but it was not enough and bit by bit it was carved up by lasers of all kinds and missiles, as the damaged light cruisers and the corvettes retreated.
The heavy cruisers now turned their attention to the Destroyer bases and engaged them with accurate long range laser fire from their spinal mounts. As the bases could stand off the missiles from the battlecruisers and were too far out to be engaged by their laser weapons the defenders fire targeted the remaining cruisers with devastating effect. Laser warhead missiles detonated around the cruisers and spalled away armour and the surface mounted datalink that meshed their point defences together. The last wave of reinforcements for the attackers arrive consisting of three battlecruisers and three light cruisers. The next time the bases fired the heavy crusiers were fighting independently and two cruisers vanished engulfed in concentrated fire from the bases and the damage to the rest was apparently significant.
In the exchange of fire now largely only a missile duel both Destroyer bases are damaged, as well, an Eradicator was taking fire. Before they lost control over the ring of buoys waiting for ships attempting to sweep the mines the control systems on the Destroyer bases send out updated commands. After receiving them the 80 IDEW-P locked onto the mass of enemy ships and fired into the remaining attacking ships, punching holes into them. The second ring of mines also received a command and the controller modules of the mine field was instructed to fire at maximum rate on all targets detected. After receiving fire from the IDEW-P the Liao force turned around and vanished back though the warp point, apparently deciding they did not have enough ships left to break through the minefield and successfully pursue further engagements in the Ewon system. The defenders were happy to see them go and assault shuttles move in to start recovering life pods of both friend and foe.
Moth 216, Alaisiagae System, Northern Lizard expanses.
About the same time as the Cannon Cartell was defending themselves, somewhere; quite elsewhere, in the galaxy... Scaly beings, with clawed hands and snouts full of teeth, warily watched the warp point before them. Usually more interested in trade and peaceful contact, the galaxy had reminded them that war also had its place. It has been long since anything happened here, but they had not forgotten. The aliens on the other side had surged through the warp point and raided the lush planet the ships now guarded. After being fought to a standstill and then being expulsed from the system again in two bloody battles, a pursuit into the aliens home system had not been advisable, as the fleets beam battlecruisers had all taken damage and were in need of repair. Still, the lizards had been confident of holding the system against a counterattack, their battle cruisers had proved to be faster than the aliens commercial drive engined hulls, and longer ranged as well. Years had passed without anything happened, time used well in the Norsk system,
for the development of new ships and weapons, and the refit and expansion of their fleet.
Now twenty-one battle cruisers and six light carriers guarded the warp point from a distance, holding a vigil but far enough out for their crews to come to alertness while being safe. Twelve Grendel class battle cruisers with a spinal laser and a broadside of heterodyne lasers escorted six Skadi heavy missile battle cruisers with a broadside of seven capital launchers and three of their more mixed Wooden class cousins who traded two launchers for a capital force beam waited. Then, something stirred. Slowly, an enemy fleet emerged: six titanic dreadnaughts, guarded by a twenty-seven heavy cruisers and a smattering of destroyers and frigates, with a solitary battlecruiser. Possible that last was the lone old style Grendel captured by the aliens? Fate was a fickle crone though, just as the unveiling of the first of the Grendel's Mother class dreadnaught had been feted by the defenders, the aliens showed their hand by bringing six of similar sized ships into the system.
Slowly falling into range of their missiles before the advancing alien fleet, they waited until they could bring their XO racks into play to start the engagement, launching salvoes of internal and external missiles at the enemy ships. But this fire was not one sided, as soon as their revealed which of their battlecruisers had capital missile launchers, the enemy dreadnaughts fired back with capital missiles from their external ordinance racks, and with 39 inbound, the defenses of the targeted Wooden battlecruiser where overwhelmed and breached. One of the Skadi fared similarly, and both ships where then targeted by further salvoes from the heavy cruisers and destroyers until their first three engine rooms had been taken out, dooming them eventually to fall back into the waiting jaws of the pursuing fleet. Also, the Grendel battlecruiser in the enemy line up used its higher speed to dash slightly ahead and then carved some of the armor off a second Skadi. On the other hand, two invading cruisers and a dreadnaught all had taken damage, although some of the fire on one of the cruisers was intercepted by a reaction launched EDM. Definitely the aliens had learned some lessons from the previous battles, not only were their ships more resilient and less easily disarmed by fire taken, but also they were better prepared for missile fire. The lizard fleet switched over to laser war heads to slowly strip their enemies of their armour and data links while the two slowed ships drifted closer to the enemy battle line amidst a very dangerous looking but utterly ineffectual firework display of plasma torpedoes. Analysis indicated that at least twelve cruisers now carried two launchers, and the dreadnaughts five, but they all missed repeatedly. The hostile Grendel proved more effective, slowly burrowing through the armour of the second targeted Skadi and removing finally some engine rooms before succumbing to return fire which slowed it down as well.
The battle ran on for a long time until four of the dreadnaughts heavily damaged and many other enemy ships where lightly damaged and streaming atmosphere. The lizards paid for this with their three damaged battlecruisers, who succumbed to a hail of standard missiles as soon as they came into range of them. All capital missiles but a last salvo spent after fifteen minutes of battle the so far passive carriers, who had stayed well beyond weapon range, launched their broods: 24 squadrons of fighters raced in a wide arc towards the long trail of crippled ships, and started rolling it back up towards the fleet. With half of them expending their rockets upon the crippled cruisers for the loss of only three of their number due to their superior speed and freedom of position with evasive maneuvers, the remaining twelve squadrons with unfired ammunition faced the alien ships which had bunched up to protect each other. Again approaching carefully and using evasive maneuvers, they bore in while the battlecruisers provided covering fire against any ship daring to use their point defense against the oncoming fighters. With one pass they crippled all dreadnaughts and even three cruisers before flying back to the carriers. Left behind were the remains of a total of four squadrons worth of comrades, taken by the defenders Wa missiles launched in a flurry of dense flak. The fighters landed, reorganized and rearmed, and then launched again. This time, they followed the twelve Grendels into the enemy battle line. The beam armed battlecruises charged then enemy, activating their tuners to close quickly. The resulting clash was quick, brutal and final. The aliens ships were all crippled alongside three grendels reduced to nothing more than hulks with a drive field. Although the alien fleet surrendered, almost all ships blew themselves up after launching their crew in escape pods, which the Lizards picked up.
[ooc](Plasma torpedoes are definitely not a long range weapon system on par with capital missiles. Closer than twenty hexes they actually start to hit and then their prove worthwhile due to their point defense evasion, but with an effective range of fifteen hexes they are more an alternative to the Wa than to the Rc. And their magazine costs is huge.
This battle showed that the Wa armament of the Conclave of Netheril dealt far more damage than the plasma torpedoes, with a total of 7 shots hitting, and five of them only after the Lizard Grendel BCs closed to within close beam range on them. The Conclave was doomed by design philosophy and a weapon system in this battle, again, which was more a
waste of tonnage than anything else. Had they military engines, the Lizards still could have played keep way, but zigging and zagging would have brought them into range. Luckily for the conclave, the lizards green crews sure brought far less CM on target than standard crews would have once they managed to stay at 24 hexes after the initial losses. I dare say though had the DN been armed with capital missiles the battle could have swung the other way or at least killed far more Lizard ships by e.g. forcing an earlier commitment of the fighters.)[/ooc]
