Author Topic: The Great Offensive  (Read 6569 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
The Great Offensive
« on: May 17, 2019, 11:34:33 PM »
Welcome to my first AAR! This will follow the tales of the Terran Hegemony, my current Aurora campaign. The story picks up 76 years into the game on the eve of the largest offensive I've undertaken in my entire Aurora career, and the first I've launched against my current enemy, the Jiadliaokl Coalition. I'm going to try and write this mostly as if it were a history book or a presentation of some kind, with brief sections following specific characters.

Comments and criticism is much appreciated.


Part One: Troublesome Developments


If recent Human history had to be boiled down to a few events, those events would be the founding of the Hegemony, the discovery of Trans-Newtonian elements, the first interstellar colonies, the discovery of advanced alien life, and the War. The War against the Jiadliaokl Coalition has been the defining event for most of Human society over the past decade. The war was being fought long before Earth joined, however. The Coalition had been advancing against Humanity’s ally in the stars, the Federation of Taga. The Sol system and the Federation’s home system were right next door to each other in the Jump Network, and both discovered each other quite early on in their development of TN tech. Neither side had expected to find intelligent life so close to home, and so neither side was prepared to take the other down. The alliance that has lasted so long was formed not because either side had a desire for peace, but because both knew that neither could land a decisive killing blow.

The Jiadliaokl Coalition encountered the Federation of Taga first, and so they were the first target of the Coalition’s onslaught. The Federation, however, was reluctant to let their allies across the Jump know anything was amiss. They continued to trade happily as ever, and bonds with their Terran brothers and sisters grew ever stronger, while they pretended everything was going fine. Terran strategists had long noted the lack of any significant Tagan military presence, but mainly chalked it up to the fact that either they were focusing on closing the tech gap between Earth and Taga before committing to any design, or that they felt so comfortable with the Terran Hegemony that they didn’t see the need for it.

In June of 2088, first contact was established with the Jiadliaokl Coalition, in the Centaurus system. Once it was reported to the Federation that contact had been established, the Federation government released all the information about their war to the Hegemony. The information release at first raised suspicion towards the Federation, but it was deemed more important to purse upgrades to Humanity’s defences in Centaurus rather than to scrutinize allies. A Corvus class Fleet Supply Base was to be constructed and placed in orbit of the most mineral rich planet in the inner system, which was renamed Anchorage. This would serve as a home away from home for the defenders of Humanity, and a jumping off point for any future offensives against the alien menace.

No offensives would be launched for the first 8 years of war, as the Navy was struggling to maintain control of Centaurus in the face of intense enemy pressure. No less than 4 entire battlefleets were lost in this time, plus several other smaller fleets, totalling over one and a half million tons of warships and nearly ten thousand of Terra’s children lost to the void. The Coalition had a staggering tech advantage over the Hegemony, and greater still over the Federation. It was truly a miracle that the Tagans were able to hold the might of the Coalition at bay for so long.

Eventually, the main thrusts of the Jiadliaokl war machine were pointed squarely at breaking the stranglehold the Hegemony had slowly built up around Centaurus. The Federation of Taga could finally work on rebuilding their navy and rebuilding damaged colonies. With the pressure of war transferred to the Terrans and their population weary of conflict, the Tagans were reluctant at best to continue the fight. Instead, for the last 6 years the Federation navy has instead occupied its time with what appear to be pleasure cruises, visiting the many colonies of Earth. Yet they remained ever cautious not to stray too close to the front, lest they be dragged into war yet again.


October 10, 2101

Preparations for the offensive against the Jiadliaokl Coalition has completed. A significant portion of the Terran Hegemony’s military and industrial might have gathered in orbit of Anchorage. A main combat force consisting of no less than fourteen war fleets, and fifteen supporting fleets. The main line alone weighs in at nearly three fifths of the total tonnage of the Navy, not to mention the supporting fleets of colliers, tankers, supply ships, and more. Total numbers of the main line put it at a strength of one Supercapital, eleven Heavy Capitals, fifteen Capitals, one hundred and thirty seven Cruisers, one hundred and thirty five Destroyers, one hundred and sixty seven Frigates, and five hundred and fifty two fighters. This is the single largest concentration of military might in the history of the Hegemony, and most likely will be for a long time to come. At least, if all goes according to plan. The offensive is scheduled for January 1, 2102, the 77th anniversary of the founding of the Hegemony.


November 2, 2101

The Federation of Taga has undergone a severe political shift. It is unclear if there has been a coup, or if this is a natural progression of the Federation’s internal mechanics. The normally talkative Tagans have lately been increasingly reluctant to communicate, generating a sense of unease in the upper echelons of Terran Command. Significant numbers of Tagan commercial ships were noted travelling deep into Terran space, refusing hails and disregarding customs. Patrol squadrons were dispatched from Sol to follow them, both to attempt to regain communication, and to determine their motives.


November 29, 2101

In flagrant violation of Terran sovereignty, the Federation of Taga has colonised a planet in a system containing a Human colony, and in addition have also set up a settlement directly on a Human colony world. Official protests and demands to withdraw were sent, to no response. After nearly a month of silence from their once steadfast allies, the more hawkish elements of Fleet Command are starting to entertain the idea of cancelling the Coalition offensive in order to prepare defences against any potential moves from the Federation. These ideas are quickly shot down, as most of Fleet Command isn’t too eager to widen the divide that has formed with the Tagans, and the fallout from cancelling the offensive would be catastrophic to the Hegemony. The decision is made to maintain the offensive as planned, but also to begin constructing additional defences. Sol will gain several new missile bases placed in strategic locations, and the contested colonies will gain dedicated patrol fleets and increased garrison forces.


December 5, 2101

Communications silence continues from the Federation. Fleet Command decides to dispatch a pair of Oberth class Recon Frigates to enter into the Taga star system, to try and discern what exactly has happened. Commander Katherine Nelson is selected to lead the force, and with her orders she sets out. The Oberth class is a relatively new, and still untested design. Quite a small ship at only two thousand tons, the ship nonetheless sports both a self-jump capable jump engine, and large active and passive sensor arrays. Due to limited space, the ship lacks any offensive armament, sporting only a single point defence turret. Hopefully, Commander Nelson thought, this would mean the Tagans wouldn’t take too much offense to their arrival.


December 6, 2101, 09:20 Hours

The Recon detachment has reached the Sol-Taga jump point, and is preparing to jump. Commander Nelson looked around her modest bridge, taking in the faces of her crew. Although this was a relatively minor mission in the grand scheme of things, it was still the first mission this crew had been on, not to mention this ship, or this class of ship. It may be minor, but for the crew it meant everything. Her bridge officers dutifully tapped away at their consoles, preparing for the jump.


December 6, 2101, 09:24 Hours

The duo of Frigates powered up their jump drives, and the ships began to shudder violently under the strain. Making a jump was a difficult task no matter the ship, but for one of this size, a jump was a catastrophically violent event. Bulkheads groaned as the ship threatened to tear itself apart, as an inky black void tore out of reality in front of the ship. And to think, the modern jump drives fitted to the Oberths were orders of magnitude gentler than the original designs. After a moment of thought, Commander Nelson ordered the helmsman to enter the writhing mass of darkness growing before the ship. As the frigate approached, the crew began to shut down non-critical systems in order to protect them from the energies of the jump. Once the ship was completely enveloped, Commander Nelson gave a quick nod of approval to the helmsman. The helmsman triggered the collapse of the void, causing the ship to disappear as the cloud of darkness imploded upon itself, a small burst of high energy radiation the only evidence of the Jump left behind.

Commander Nelson was never good with jumps. She swallowed with an audible gulp, trying to put her stomach back where it belonged. Luckily, most of her bridge crew were better at handling the vertigo from jumping and were already hard at work restoring ship systems to normal. As she examined the tac-map on her console, nearly a dozen Federation signatures appeared as the ship’s sensors were brought online. Two things worried the Commander. One, they were all warships, located in extreme proximity to the jump point. Two, they all had active sensors engaged, likely meaning that weapons were also armed. Hails were sent out rapidly by the two frigates, desperate to explain the situation and why they had entered. Surprisingly, no hails were answered. Nothing was answered. The warships were dead silent and refusing all forms of communication. If it weren’t for the engines and sensors being powered, one could easily have mistaken them for wrecks.


December 6, 2101, 09:25 Hours

As the ships at the jump point weren’t responding to communications, further investigation was decided to be necessary. Commander Nelson ordered the second Oberth to remain at the jump point, in case a message needed to be relayed back to Sol.

While FTL travel and communications were relatively simple feats with the advent of Trans-Newtonian technology, they had limits. Jumps could only be made at points where the curvature of spacetime was smooth enough, such that it wouldn’t cause the jump engine to tear itself and the ship apart under extreme gravitational stress. As for communications, instantaneous transmission in system is quite easily done. Communication beyond the gravity well of a star however is nigh impossible. While still technically doable, it would require precise mapping of a myriad of different factors across the entire line of transmission, in real time. The stabilizing effects of a star’s gravitational field simplify this mapping down to a near trivial level. Transmission through jump points is typically achieved through beacons placed on either side of the jump point, which can transmit messages back and forth nearly instantly. There was a buoy placed on the Sol side of the jump point, but the Federation never allowed one to be placed on the Taga side. The second Oberth would act as a stand in for a buoy.

Commander Nelson felt uneasy. Why were these ships so quiet? Maybe the hawks were right, and the Federation is planning a betrayal? If they were, then there would most likely be significant forces preparing in the inner system. Perhaps some kind of calamity has struck the Federation’s capital and has crippled their leadership. Long range scans show that the climate of Batan, the Federation’s homeworld, appear to be completely normal. If there was a calamity, it most likely would have been political in nature. Perhaps a coup? In any case, nothing was to be learned sitting at the jump point playing guessing games. The only way to find out for sure, was to continue towards the inner system.


December 14, 2101

As the Oberth and her crew approached the inner system, the passive sensors began to discern large numbers of contacts in orbit of Batan. The signatures were that of trade ships, which eased the tension on the bridge slightly. At approximately three hundred and fifty million km from the planet, Commander Nelson ordered the active sensors on. A few seconds after the activation, data came pouring in to the consoles on the bridge. A significant collection of Federation warships was in orbit, potentially the largest gathering yet seen by the Hegemony. Tension on the bridge was rising by the second, as crew thought back to what the war hawks had said. This fit the definition of an attack fleet, to the letter.

Eager to get her crew’s minds off the sensor data, Commander Nelson ordered the Oberth left behind at the jump point to send a message to Fleet Command, containing the sensor data she had acquired. With that, she ordered sensors off and best speed to the jump point, to get out of this eerie situation she had found herself in.


December 15, 2101

Commander Nelson and her crews are back safely in the sol system, and the data collected has been thoroughly mulled over by Fleet Command. It is clear to most that the betrayal theory is currently in the lead. Command is now split between two factions. One faction wishes to continue the planned offensive against the Coalition, as the ramifications of cancellation on the home front would be disastrous at best. The other faction wishes to quietly shift forces away from the offensive, and stage a pre-emptive invasion of Federation space. The Terran Navy is undoubtedly larger and more advanced than the Federation’s, so a large enough surprise attack could very well cripple their offensive ability. On the other hand, if the Jiadliaokl Coalition decided to invade in force at this time, there would be very little that could be done to stop them before they deal significant damage to the colonies.


December 22, 2101

A decision is reached. Due to the stalemate between the two factions in Fleet Command and the dire need for action, a compromise is reached. The offensive will continue as planned, but the First Crusade Fleet, featuring Humanity’s largest warship, will stay behind to bolster the Sol Defence Fleet against a potential surprise attack from the Federation. Additionally, the new missile bases originally destined to fortify the outer colonies will instead be diverted to further bulk up the defences around the Sol-Taga jump point.


January 1, 2102

The day has finally arrived, the day when Humanity takes the fight to the aliens, the day when Humanity takes the first step forwards to victory. Vidstreams of the assembled fleet at Anchorage are broadcast to every corner of human space and beyond, the ships nearly as dressed up as their crews. With carefully orchestrated grace, the fleet sets off from Anchorage to much fanfare and celebration.

The first stop for the fleet is the Novaya Rodina system, at the entrance to known Coalition space. Advance elements of the fleet have deposited a large amount of fuel, munitions, and maintenance supplies here to act as a staging ground for further assaults, as well as a handful of tracking stations to warn of incoming enemy fleets.

While the staging ground would preferably have been placed closer to Hegemony space to keep it safer from enemy assaults, the next closest system is Shadaowa. Shadaowa is home to the Church of Casere, an alien civilization that appears to have no ambition for spaceflight. They are contented to stay at home, but will still gladly accept any trade that comes their way. Fleet Command was unwilling to risk sensitive data potentially falling into the hands of the Church, as it would most likely be sold to the Coalition at the earliest possible convenience. Not out of malice or favouritism, but simply because the Church is greatly interested in making as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible.


January 7, 2102

The fleet is just a few million kilometers away from the Centaurus-Donwaltz Jump, when a transmission is received from the forward base in Novaya Rodina, priority critical. A Coalition armada has been detected, jumping in from the Indra system. The enemy force comprises of sixteen Heavy Capital, thirty two Capital, and sixty five Cruiser size ships. In comparison, the combined Main Line of the offensive consists of eight Heavy Capital, twelve Capital, one hundred and twenty Cruiser, one hundred and nineteen Destroyer, and one hundred and fifty one Frigate size ships. The total estimated mass of the Coalition fleet is just over 1.7 million tons, whereas the Main Line sits at just under 2.2 million tons. The forward base is also a bit over 5 billion km away, so its possible that smaller signatures have simply gone undetected. It is unlikely though, as no warships smaller than Cruiser size have been observed in use by the Coalition.

Although in terms of mass the Hegemony fleet appears to be more powerful, one must not forget to consider that even the most technologically advanced Human ship today is nothing more than a fanciful arrangement of sticks and stones compared to the average Coalition ship, even at the start of the war. Based on the combat data from the beginning of the war, a mass advantage of around two to one is required to ensure a Human victory. However, this is only relevant for jump point defences, where the Hegemony fleet is usually positioned roughly 20 million kilometers away from the jump point. Comfortably inside of effective missile range, but still safe from the powerful energy weapons some Coalition ships are known to mount.

Open combat is right out of the question. The only time the Hegemony ever met the Coalition in open space, the Coalition fleet effortlessly destroyed five times their weight in Human vessels, and the only thing that prevented the complete destruction of Anchorage was that the enemy had already expended all their munitions destroying the fleet and had to turn back to rearm. The Coalition had missiles that were either twice as fast and ten times the range, or three times as fast and three times the range of the main Hegemony missile in service. The only thing Human missiles have going for them, is that their warheads are noticeably stronger than their adversary’s.

All of this together puts Terran naval strategists in a difficult situation. The only scenario in which a Hegemony fleet can win, is if it has a massive weight advantage, or if the fleet is defending a jump point and can maintain favourable range. If the fleet approaches in open space they’ll be shot down from nearly a billion kilometers away, and if they get caught in a knife fight, they’ll be turned to drifting hulks in under a minute.

The Coalition armada, if it is headed for Centaurus and the Anchorage fleet base, will take approximately two weeks to arrive. The Main Line will take just over 3 weeks to get to the forward base. A defensive fight is the only one that the Hegemony Navy can win, and so the offensive fleet will have to attempt to ambush the incoming armada somewhere along their route. The trouble is, to win the fight would require nearly the whole of the Main Line, which even with a total victory would require a considerable amount of time for R&R after the battle, delaying the offensive and allowing the enemy time to prepare. There isn’t much choice though, as the alternative is to hold some forces in reserve, so that after the battle they can continue to push forwards. This would push the odds away from victory, in face of already tenuous prospects of success. The decision is made to ambush the enemy at the Donwaltz-Shadaowa Jump, and force the enemy to retreat.
 
The following users thanked this post: Cavgunner, Garfunkel

Offline Garfunkel

  • Registered
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2781
  • Thanked: 1048 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2019, 12:18:06 PM »
Well now, this is definitely something little different!
 

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2019, 01:49:36 PM »
Part Two: Brace for Contact


January 13, 2102, 12:38 hours

The newer ships of the Main Line have arrived in position around the Donwaltz-Shadaowa Jump, with the older and slower fleets still on the way. The First Patrol Squadron, a small frigate flotilla, is sent through the jump to keep an eye out for the enemy fleet. As soon as they complete the jump, passive sensors detect hostile actives in the inner system. The squadron is ordered to hold position on the jump point, and maintain emissions silence, lest the enemy decides to attack the still preparing fleets. The squadron combined has the PD capacity to handle only a handful of missiles at once. However, if the enemy decides to fire upon the frigates, they will simply duck back through the jump point to safety, causing the enemy to waste their ammunition.


January 13, 2102, 19:48 hours

The Coalition armada appears to be hunting down shipping within the Shadaowa system. Only a handful of Human ships are present, with a significant amount of Federation shipping in close orbit of the Church of Casere’s world. Despite the certain deaths they would face, much of the squadron is champing at the bit, eager to fling themselves at the enemy to try and save the civilian ships.


January 14, 2102, 09:00 hours

A civilian freighter was struck by a salvo of missiles and destroyed in the inner system. The older fleets of the Main Line, the First, Second, and Fourth Battlefleets, as well as the Second and Fourth Expeditionary Fleets, are still approximately two days from reaching defensive positions. The Coalition armada on the other hand, is a mere 10 hours from the jump point. A few tense moments pass as the Coalition armada turns about, all eyes in the squadron plastered to the sensor consoles. For a moment it appears that the armada has decided to advance further into human territory, but again they turn about to head further in-system to hunt the remaining freighters.

As the captains of the squadron are getting rather restless, they devise an ambush to at least let them do a little damage. One tactic that had been employed semi-successfully during a jump point defence was to use the missiles of the fleet as improvised mines. Each missile has an active sensor, so it is capable of automatically targeting within about 300 thousand kilometers. Not ideal, but still useful, as this allowed all missiles to strike at the same time, overwhelming point defence. The Coalition armada was currently on course to transit through a Lagrange point, so this could serve as the jump point for the purposes of the ambush. The Arrow missile used by the Hegemony has a maximum range of 100 million kilometers and an endurance of 56 minutes, while the missile launchers have a reload time of 2 minutes. It takes 18 minutes for the frigates to completely expend their munitions, and assuming perfect timing, leaves 38 minutes of endurance on the first salvo. In 38 minutes, the Coalition ships can travel just over 25 million kilometers. In the same time, the frigates can travel just over 14.

Assuming perfect execution, the frigates could be 114 million kilometers away from the Lagrange point by the time the hostile armada transited through, with 360 missiles waiting for them. 114 million kilometers was still dangerously far from safe, even with the issues the enemy would have targeting such small vessels. It is likely that not a single ship sent would make it back to safety before being destroyed. Although the potential to destroy several enemy ships is tempting, the squadron captains decide to shelve the plan for the time being. It’s not worth the safety of their ships and crew to damage or destroy a handful of ships. They’re far more useful to the fleet alive.


January 15, 2102

The Coalition armada has transited through the Lagrange point, and has disappeared from passive sensors. While the squadron captains aren’t happy to have lost track of the enemy, the same can’t be said for the crews. They’re just happy to have the looming threat of annihilation gone, at least for the time being.


January 16, 2102

The remainder of the Main Line has arrived in position for the ambush, and the trailing support elements are not far behind. Everything is now in position for the battle. All that’s left, is to wait for the enemy to come to them. In the meanwhile, the crew of the Main Line will prepare themselves for the upcoming battle, and pray that they make it through the other side.


January 17, 2102, 08:15 hours

The Coalition armada is still unaccounted for, somewhere inside the Shadaowa system. The crews of the fleet are dutifully organizing and preparing whatever they can, performing drills to keep their skills as sharp as possible. The admirals on the other hand, are spending more time than ever in conferences, trying to squeeze out every bit of strategy possible before the battle. That is, until the conference is interrupted by a transmission from the Novaya Rodina base, priority critical. The message states that at 08:08 hours, the sensor posts on the Forward Base have detected 29 Coalition Cruisers transiting into the system. The news is met with excitement from the admirals. Perhaps, if they were lucky enough, this signalled the beginning of the withdrawal of the enemy forces from Shadaowa.

Sadly, the luck of Humanity has been thoroughly and painfully proven to have run out a long time ago. This wasn’t a withdrawal. These 29 Cruisers were reinforcements, transiting in from the Indra system, just like the armada had ten days ago. This has the potential to tip the scales irreversibly against the Hegemony. An additional 29 Cruisers brings the number of Hegemony and Coalition Cruiser size vessels nearly to parity, with a small advantage to the Hegemony. Not to mention that the mass advantage the Main Line had was nearly completely gone, with the Main Line now massing only 10% more than their adversaries.


January 17, 2102, 18:57 hours

While the Coalition armada is still undetected, the destruction it brings is not. For the past five hours, there has been a steadily moving path of high-yield nuclear detonations, heading directly towards the Church of Casere. What the Jiadliaokl Coalition hopes to do once they reached the small world is anybody’s guess, but most outlooks are grim.


January 19, 2102

Nuclear detonations are detected above Casere. For a moment, the space around the planet is brighter than the small star it orbits, with no less than 294 separate detonations detected. Miraculously, the inhabitants appear to be unharmed, for the time being. Their infrastructure is likely in shambles due to the intense EMP effects, but no detonations have been detected on the surface. It appears that the target of these missiles is the orbiting freighters and other civilian vessels.


January 23, 2102, 04:15 hours

The Coalition reinforcements have transited into Shadaowa and appear to be on a direct course towards the First Patrol Squadron. This is both good and bad news. While a conflict against the cruisers on their own was a significantly more favourable engagement than taking on the whole of the armada at once, it did mean that the frigates currently in Shadaowa would have to transit back into Donwaltz. Doing so would leave the fleet blinded for a small time to any incoming strike by the rest of the Coalition armada, which was still unaccounted for somewhere in Shadaowa.

Due to the imminent combat, the fleet commanders decide to detach their fleet support vessels and carriers and send them to a safer distance. Should the battle with the Coalition cruiser fleet or the armada go poorly, the carriers could hopefully continue to harass the enemy from a safer distance.


January 23, 2102, 08:15 hours

The Coalition cruiser fleet has split into four separate groups during its approach, and two of the groups have come to a stop at 300 and 350 million kilometers from the jump point. After 20 minutes, a dozen missile contacts are detected in close proximity to the frigate squadron on the jump point. While a battlefleet, or even an expeditionary fleet, would easily be able to handle this number of missiles, the frigate squadron has but three defensive turrets. The order is given for the squadron to retreat behind the safety of the jump point, and to prepare for fleet combat.


January 23, 2102, 15:34 hours

One of the cruiser groups has transited into Donwaltz. Alarm bells are ringing across the fleet as crews scramble into position. The enemy group only consisted of six ships, so a full salvo would not be sent, and the fighters would not partake. Ammunition needed to be conserved, and the alpha strike from the fighters was far too valuable and took far too long to reload to use on only six ships.

A salvo was launched by the First Battlefleet, with 32 missiles sent after each of the six enemy ships. Immediately after missile launch, a second cruiser group transited through the jump point. This group consisted of seven ships, with five of them being the reviled Athor class. The Athors were highly effective laser armed ships, with a proven effectiveness. Just eight of them were almost completely responsible for the destruction of the Second Battlefleet several years earlier, in an event now known as the Jump Point Massacre.

However, things were different now. Hegemony ships were more powerful, and tactics have been improved. At the current range of 15 million kilometers, they were little more than sitting ducks, and could be safely ignored while the missile armed hostiles were dealt with. Very few among the crews were willing to let this chance for revenge escape them, though. Athor class ships have since been treated as priority targets, with some crews competing to see who can destroy the Athor first. The rebuilt Second Battlefleet was more than happy to send a salvo against the newcomers.

Mere seconds after the salvo was away, the Coalition cruisers appear to have recovered from jump shock, as multiple active sensor emissions are detected moving towards the Main Line at high speed. New developments in missile technology have made missile interception systems possible, and the technologies have been mounted on an escort cruiser and an escort frigate hull. Due to the recent introduction, live tests have not been conducted. While a relatively safe test of the new system is quite appealing to most in command, the simple fact of the matter is that all the interceptors were going to be needed for the main fleet engagement. There simply weren’t enough of them to go around to be using them when not absolutely necessary.


January 23, 2102, 15:39 hours

While the Hegemony missiles were just over half way to their targets, the long stream of Coalition missiles has just arrived. Defence turrets rouse from slumber and begin spitting out a wall of defensive fire, easily swatting the paltry coalition salvos aside. The Terran salvo was still several minutes away from impact, which brings up a potentially important topic. Due to the disparity in missile speeds and the distance, by the time Terran missiles reach their targets, the Jiadliaokl ships would have had enough time to launch around a dozen salvos. While the salvos from the cruisers were no threat, being small and uncoordinated, the salvos from the armada would be another beast entirely. Moving the fleet closer to the jump point would allow Terran ships to land hits sooner, allowing less time for the Coalition ships to fire. At the same time, it also means that the enemy missiles have a shorter distance to travel, potentially causing casualties before additional salvos can be launched. Most importantly, it means that the enemy laser combatants, such as the Athor, would be able to close on the fleet much faster than otherwise. The Athors in Donwaltz have already managed to close the distance by 3.5 million kilometers, out of the total distance of 15 million kilometers.


January 23, 2102, 15:40 hours

The first Hegemony missiles have struck their target. 32 missiles streaked in towards two of the coalition cruisers, annihilating them in a brief flash of nuclear light. Seconds later, the five Athor class class ships are subjected to a similar bombardment, however only one ship is destroyed. Three of the remaining four ships continue onwards. One ship shows little signs of damage, still moving at maximum speed. One has taken minor engine damage, with another having severe engine damage. The final ship has taken moderate damage, but it’s weapon systems were likely knocked out, as it turns about and begins retreating towards the jump point. Another salvo is sent against these ships.


January 23, 2102, 15:45 hours

The second salvo sent against the Athor class cruisers strikes their targets, turning the three advancing ships into rapidly expanding clouds of debris. The Athor that has chosen to flee is destroyed moments later. At this time, the order is sent to the support fleets to bring an ordinance reload to the Main Line. While only a few percent of the fleets total ammunition was spent, those few percent have proved crucial in previous engagements.


January 23, 2102, 15:48 hours

The final outbound Terran missiles strike their targets, with five of the original six ships being destroyed, and the remaining cruiser having suffered extensive damage. The damaged cruiser would be allowed to withdraw, as it was no longer an immediate threat. As well, it was hoped that it may draw the attention of the Coalition armada to the Donwaltz system, instead of continuing to harass the remaining civilian transports, or the Church of Cesare. All that remained for the time being was to weather the remaining salvos still incoming towards the Main Line, and to resupply the magazines of the ships in anticipation of either the main engagement, or the arrival of the other half of the Coalition cruiser fleet.


January 23, 2102, 16:10 hours

The surviving coalition Cruiser has made it through the Donwaltz-Shadaowa jump, and crews are released from combat stations. The resupply fleets would make it to the main line in under two hours, and be back to safety in another two. Just as the crews are beginning to relax, alarm bells begin ringing again, calling crews to battlestations once more. Another cruiser group has transited through, this one consisting of nine cruisers. There are six Thoth class, and three Anti class vessels, neither of which have been observed utilizing laser weapons. A salvo is sent out from the First and Second Battlefleets as they already had their resupply fleets on approach. The salvos are increased to 40 missiles per ship, to try to ensure the destruction of the enemy with the first salvo.

A few moments later, the famed Coalition jump-shock recovery speed is shown again, as a medium-strength nuclear detonation is detected on the Donwaltz-Shadaowa jump, destroying the sensor buoy placed there. This potentially means that at least one of the two ship classes are capable of missile interception, although the fact that they are using anti-ship missiles means that either they don’t have, or are simply all out of missile interceptors.


January 23, 2102, 16:23 hours

The missile salvos close on the enemy vessels without incident, and the cruisers disappear in a cloud of nuclear radiation and debris. All that remains, is to weather the remaining enemy missiles inbound. The Main Line has already shot down over five hundred in this engagement alone, without a single impact on the fleet.


January 23, 2102, 16:32 hours

The last of the enemy missiles is shot down, and once again crews are relieved of combat stations. All, except for the crews of the First Patrol Squadron, who would once again be sent through the jump point to act as forward warning. While the last element of the Coalition cruiser fleet has yet to show itself, it is deemed an acceptable risk. The last element consisted only of seven ships, and they were significantly farther out than any other of the cruiser fleet elements when the Patrol Squadron retreated. If the enemy were to transit through unexpectedly while the resupply fleets were still closing on the Main Line, it is likely they could be targeted. There were no escorts with the support fleets, as they were all with the Main Line.

Escorts could be detached to provide a limited amount of missile defence, or missile interceptors could be used to shoot down anything that would threaten the supply ships. Neither option was particularly favourable, as the Main Line would have to either weaken its final defensive fire or expend precious missile interceptors. The supply ships incoming are older vessels that were designed and outfitted to service warships designed before missile interceptors were introduced, so to bring an interceptor reload would require newer vessels and another several hours. Hours, which may make or break the offensive.


January 23, 2102, 17:05 hours

The remaining 7 Coalition cruisers are detected. However, this could not have come at a worse time. The frigate squadron has yet to transit and is only two million kilometers from the Donwaltz-Shadaowa jump. The squadron is immediately ordered to turn about, and retreat back to the Main Line.

Upon receipt of their orders, Captain Kian Coles, in overall command of the frigate squadron, decides that enough is enough. He instead orders his fleet directly at the Cruisers. On their own, the thirteen frigates weighed less than just three of the enemy ships. That wouldn’t stop them in their moment of glory though. Every few seconds, Captain Coles’ command console chimed at him, alerting him to a new priority message from command. He quickly recorded one final message to the Fleet Admiral, before disabling the speaker on his console. It wouldn’t be needed anymore.

Aboard the Adamant class Dreadnought Victorious, Fleet Admiral Elizabeth Ball was not amused. Insubordination, heading towards a pointless and near certain death, on the eve of the greatest fleet engagement Humanity had ever fought. The consensus among the bridge crew was that dying in combat or being captured by the Jiadliaokl were far more appealing fates than whatever Fleet Admiral Ball would have in store for Captain Coles, if he were to survive. Of course, none dared to voice that opinion in front of the Admiral, her patience having been stretched to the absolute limit over the past few days.

Fleet Admiral Ball’s console chimed at her. Finally, a response to the fusillade of orders sent to Captain Coles. Seeing that it was a video file, Admiral Ball ordered it brought up on the main display. “Dear Fleet Admiral Ball,” Captain Coles started.

“Make me.”
 
The following users thanked this post: Cavgunner, JustAnotherDude

Offline Cavgunner

  • Lt. Commander
  • ********
  • Posts: 283
  • Thanked: 129 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2019, 01:20:00 AM »
Really been looking forward to this.  Great start!
 

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2019, 12:46:58 AM »
Part Three: Last Ride of the First Patrol Squadron


January 23, 2102, 17:06 hours

The frigate squadron is flying full speed at the Coalition cruisers, when active sensor emissions are detected approaching at high velocity. Missiles streak in through the void at the frigates, at just a bit over 15% of light speed. On board each of the frigates, the crews put into motion a spectacular display of ship handling and maneuvering, performing twists and stunts that would put even the greatest of airshows to shame back on Earth. However, it all seems to be for naught, at least for the time being. The missiles blast straight through the frigate’s formation, continuing towards the heavier fleet units behind. At least for the time being, it would seem the final ride of the frigate squadron would continue on.

Moments later, the missile salvo launched by the frigates strikes its target, turning a cruiser into a large collection of scrap. Cheers erupt all throughout the squadron delaying retargeting for several moments, leading to some firing errors. None of the missile technicians, or their captains for the matter, seem to mind.

January 23, 2102, 17:10 hours

Another salvo from the frigate squadron has struck its target, destroying yet another cruiser. Several hundred Coalition missiles have sailed past the frigates, instilling a sense of invincibility in the crews. The lone Flower class frigate of the squadron, armed with a single 20cm mass driver, leaps out of formation and begins closing on the nearest cruiser on its own. It has a top speed just higher than the cruisers, so the range would slowly close. Whether or not they would get in range before the Main Line’s missile salvo arrived, was another question entirely. But to the crew, it was still an infinitely better choice than waiting helplessly to be blasted out of the skies, at least for the crew on board.

January 23, 2102, 17:15 hours

The salvo from the Main Line soars through and past the frigate squadron, causing the small ships to rock back and forth as the exhausts from several hundred missiles blast the frigates. Seeing that the main salvo has passed them, Captain Coles orders his ships to cease fire, for two reasons. First, any missiles they fired would reach the enemy after the Main Line’s salvo, and it was nearly guaranteed that nothing would be left once it struck. Second, survival was becoming an increasingly likely prospect. Understanding that he would likely have to face the wrath of Fleet Admiral Ball once the battle was over, he was uneager to add wasting munitions to his list of transgressions.

At this time, only three enemy cruisers remained, the other 4 having been destroyed by the salvos from the frigate squadron. Captain Coles made a mental note to recommend that High Command accept Frigate wolf-pack style attacks into official doctrine, with his squadron’s exemplary performance hopefully providing any evidence needed.

However, luck seems to have run out. Lured into a sense of security by the lack of any missile contact, the defensive crews of the frigates are caught off guard when three missiles detonate close against the hull of one of the three Oberth frigates causing the engine to rupture, flooding the ship with superheated plasma. Only twenty seven crew make it to life pods. Captain Coles had barely a moment to register what had happened, before his own Oberth was struck by seven missiles. Nearly every single component of the ship was damaged, with over 85% of the ship by mass being made unusable. Miraculously however, many crew are able to escape to the safety of the intact crew quarters, with only nineteen of the sixty two crew being killed. Seconds later, another missile impacts the ship, causing it to split in half. Many of the crew seeking refuge in the crew quarters are immediately ejected into space, with only the crew remaining on the bridge or attempting repairs on the engines being left alive. Captain Coles and twenty seven other crew manage to make it to life pods before the wreck falls apart. Another salvo of two missiles impacts one of the River class Missile Frigates, one detonating near the missile launchers, and another destroying the bridge and igniting a fire in the magazine. Thankfully, the magazine was ejected before the missiles could detonate, leaving the ship damaged, but still intact.

Survivors are taken aboard the remaining Oberth in the squadron, and the squadron makes way to the Forge class Repair Ship still approaching from the Centaurus system. The Forge had the largest medical facilities available, as well as the ability to repair up to Capital sized ships. The Flower class turns about and heads to rejoin the Patrol Squadron, as the Main Line missile salvo has passed them and the single mass driver onboard could offer help in preventing additional missile hits. It would not offer much help, but it would offer something at the very least. That is, until the Flower class begins taking missile hits. Despite its role requiring the ship to close on the enemy, the Flower class has less armour than a River class, in order to mount a larger weapon. The first hit is absorbed by armour, but another hit in the same area would produce a breach. The next hit destroys one of the engines, cutting the speed in half. After this, no more missiles are spotted heading towards the frigates.

January 23, 2102, 17:17 hours

Several missiles have been detected on a course that will bring them in towards the frigates. Initially it appears that the missiles will impact the Flower class and finish it off, only the first missiles hit the Flower, the rest pass and begin hammering into the damaged River class. Several salvos hit the ship, and after a few moments it is left nothing more than a slowly spinning hulk. By the time all the incoming missiles pass, the Flower is left dead in the water, both of its engines destroyed, and three Rivers are destroyed. A fourth River has suffered heavy armour damage but is still entirely intact internally.

The missile salvo from the Main Line has finally impacted the remaining Coalition cruisers, destroying them in an extreme display of overkill. After each cruiser is atomized and dispersed into a rapidly expanding cloud, one hundred and sixty eight missiles remain. As before, all that remains is to weather the missiles still incoming.

January 23, 2102, 17:24 hours

All hostile missiles are shot down, and quiet again returns to the fleet. The frigates of the First Patrol Squadron are again responding to orders, now that the rebellious Captain Coles is confined to his life pod. The squadron is diverted from its course towards the Forge and is instead ordered to collect as many Coalition life pods as they can, and to drop off all survivors – Human and Jiadliaokl – to Anchorage for processing. The squadron would then continue to Reach for repairs and reinforcement, as well as a change of command.

In the meantime, a forward picket force is still needed, as the main Coalition force in the Shadaowa system was still unaccounted for. The Seventh Expeditionary Fleet is dispatched to perform this role. Significantly more powerful that the frigate squadron originally tasked, the Seventh consists of seven cruisers, eight destroyers, and eighteen frigates. The Seventh is chosen due to it having the heaviest missile defence capability out of all present Expeditionary Fleets, notably two escort cruisers, and nine escort frigates. Another important aspect, is that it consists entirely of the newest generation warships, having a 25% increase in speed over the older vessels of the fleet.

January 23, 2102, 18:24 hours

The Seventh Expeditionary Fleet has transited into Shadaowa and is on the lookout for the Coalition armada. Once the sensors are brought back online after the jump, a single Coalition cruiser is detected, just under fifty million kilometers from the jump point. The contact matches the profile of the cruiser allowed to escape from the first engagement with the cruiser fleet. The cruiser appears to be on course to transit into the Novaya Rodina system, potentially back to a shipyard for repairs. The cruiser has yet to repair engine damage sustained in the combat and is slower than the ships of the Seventh. Shadowing the cruiser back to it’s base of operations could reveal the location of a Coalition colony, although the risks involved would be significant. A brief conference with Fleet Admiral Ball concludes that the risk is well worth the reward. A pair of Oberths are detached from the Fifth Battlefleet and are ordered to shadow the damaged cruiser for as long as possible.

January 24, 2102, 18:34 hours

While the Oberths are pursuing the damaged cruiser, two active sensor emissions are detected from near the Lagrange Point, deeper in the inner system. The Seventh sends word back to the Main Line, letting them know to get ready for potential fleet contact. The fact that the Seventh has detected the enemy means that the enemy has also detected them, and as such the Seventh is put on a higher alert status.

January 24, 2102, 21:55 hours

The hostile contacts have approached close enough to be picked up by the Seventh’s own sensors, and the blinding red light from the tac-map confirms that this is indeed the armada. The Seventh will remain for as long as they can in Shadaowa to confirm that the armada is going to transit into Donwaltz, and to bait out an attack from the enemy to waste some of their missiles.

January 24, 2102, 22:55 hours

Somehow, a Coalition missile strike has managed to impact the Seventh before it could be detected by missile sensors. One hundred and ten strength thirteen nuclear detonations tear into the fleet, instantly destroying eight destroyers and one cruiser. Luckily the fleet’s command cruisers are still intact, and the fleet can retreat through the jump point at any time. The fleet would wait until a salvo was detected approaching, and then it would retreat.

January 25, 2102, 00:00 hours

A missile salvo has been detected by the Seventh, at under five hundred thousand kilometers distance. One hundred and eighty two missiles raced in towards the Seventh, with potentially many more yet undetected. Crews scramble to engage a transit through the jump point, and the last of the ships blink through just as the missiles streak past. Based on their distance from the jump point, the Armada is estimated to arrive in approximately sixteen hours. Alarmingly, the missiles that were detected travelled in only nine distinct salvos. The Armada could have launched several dozen distinct salvos if they launched at full strength. The Armada was either critically low on munitions, or they were simply pacing their attacks.

January 25, 2102, 15:55 hours

The Main Line is now minutes away from enemy contact, if the estimations were correct. Fleet Admiral Ball aboard the Dreadnought Victorious decides that this is the time to begin launching missiles at the jump point. While the Jiadliaokl had more advanced jump drives and could exit from a transit much farther from the jump point than their Terran counterparts, the Coalition has often transited the majority of their large fleets through directly on top of the jump point. Fleet Admiral Ball orders the fighters to launch their entire payload at the jump point, as they have significant alpha strike potential, and because they would rearm sooner than if they waited for targets to arrive, even though they were unlikely to get a second salvo off before the engagement has run it’s course. The fighters launch their payload, one thousand three hundred and thirty two missiles in total. The combined force of the engine exhaust from so many missiles is enough to shake even the dreadnoughts to their core, as they race away to their gathering point in proximity of the jump point.
 
The following users thanked this post: Cavgunner, Garfunkel, JustAnotherDude, L0ckAndL0ad

Offline Michael Sandy

  • Commodore
  • **********
  • M
  • Posts: 771
  • Thanked: 83 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2019, 06:21:08 AM »
I also had a bunch of major battles in a system named Jiadliaokl.  Although they were more in the form of executions, really.  They executed my scouts, and a year or so later, the offenders were turned into scrap or captured.
 

Offline JustAnotherDude

  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • ******
  • J
  • Posts: 114
  • Thanked: 56 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2019, 06:50:40 AM »
This AAR is out of this world. The tight focus, the perfect amount of specificity, it's great! Could you be convinced to share some of the ship designs?
 

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2019, 10:10:01 PM »
I appreciate the kind words! It might be a little bit until the next update - work and school have a habit of getting in the way, and the turns are grinding to a halt as the battle unfolds. Anyways, I'll try to post all of my warship classes currently in Donwaltz, although I might miss a few. There's quite a few classes. A lot of them fill the same role, such as the City class Missile Destroyer and the River class Missile Frigate, but there's at least a little bit of method behind it. The different size of ships doing the same role allows me to field just the right amount of power where it is needed, instead of potentially over-deploying larger assets where they aren't needed.

Fighters

The Broadsword class Fighter-bomber is the main carrier-based strike craft deployed by the Terran Hegemony. The fighters are used primarily in a fleet support role, as they are unable to operate entirely independently due to the lack of an active sensor. The Broadswords operate in wings of four, with carriers carrying multiples of three wings each.

Code: [Select]
>Broadsword Mk II class Fighter-bomber    250 tons     1 Crew     83.8 BP      TCS 5  TH 100  EM 0
20000 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 1.8
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 50%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 4    5YR 53    Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months    Spare Berths 9   
Magazine 12   

50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 50    Fuel Use 391.33%    Signature 50    Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 25,000 Litres    Range 4.6 billion km   (63 hours at full power)

Size 4 Box Launcher (3)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (1)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (3)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Broadsword Mk III class Fighter-bomber    250 tons     1 Crew     96.8 BP      TCS 5  TH 120  EM 0
24000 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 1.8
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 50%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 5    5YR 72    Max Repair 30 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months    Spare Berths 9   
Magazine 12   

60 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 60    Fuel Use 265.02%    Signature 60    Exp 24%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres    Range 5.4 billion km   (62 hours at full power)

Size 4 Box Launcher (3)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (3)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

The Broadsword line of fighters is currently in the process of being replaced by the larger Longsword class, which will operate alongside the Asp class Scout Fighter to allow fighter strikes to operate beyond the sensor envelope of larger ships. The Longsword and Asp classes are still currently in development, and none have been produced as of yet. Each wing of Broadswords will be replaced by a wing of three Longswords and one Asp, allowing current carriers to still field the exact same strike power, but with more capable fighters.

Code: [Select]
>Longsword class Fighter-bomber    300 tons     2 Crew     122.2 BP      TCS 6  TH 120  EM 0
20000 km/s     Armour 1-3     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 2.9
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 60%    IFR 0.8%    1YR 6    5YR 94    Max Repair 30 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months    Spare Berths 8   
Magazine 16   

60 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 60    Fuel Use 265.02%    Signature 60    Exp 24%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres    Range 2.3 billion km   (31 hours at full power)

Gauss Cannon R4-8 (1x4)    Range 40,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Accuracy Modifier 8%     RM 4    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
GC Fire Control S00.2 24-6250 (FTR) (1)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

Size 4 Box Launcher (4)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (4)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Asp class Scout Fighter    100 tons     1 Crew     68.8 BP      TCS 2  TH 60  EM 0
30000 km/s     Armour 1-1     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 20%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 3    5YR 48    Max Repair 34 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months    Spare Berths 9   

60 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (1)    Power 60    Fuel Use 265.02%    Signature 60    Exp 24%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 3.4 billion km   (31 hours at full power)

Small SDA MR102-R160 (1)     GPS 5376     Range 102.0m km    Resolution 160

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Frigates

The Oberth class Recon Frigate was designed due to the need for a more mobile and inconspicuous sensor platform. The class primarily serves as forward scouts for larger ships, or command ships for frigate squadrons.

Code: [Select]
>Oberth class Recon Frigate    2,000 tons     62 Crew     700.5 BP      TCS 40  TH 250  EM 0
6250 km/s    JR 1-250     Armour 1-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 24/24/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 4.42
Maint Life 8.55 Years     MSP 547    AFR 12%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 13    5YR 200    Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 3   

J2000(1-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 2000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 1
250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (1)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres    Range 83.3 billion km   (154 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (1x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (1)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160
Thermal Sensor TH1-24 (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  24m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-24 (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  24m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Flower class Frigates were originally designed to cheaply and effectively provide close-in defence of ships, or to hunt down wounded enemies and finish them off. Nowadays the class is primarily used in either wolfpacks attached to larger fleets, or as specialist escorts for frigate squadrons.

Code: [Select]
>Flower class Frigate    2,000 tons     61 Crew     614 BP      TCS 40  TH 400  EM 0
10000 km/s     Armour 3-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6
Maint Life 3.29 Years     MSP 173    AFR 35%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 24    5YR 363    Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   

200 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 200    Fuel Use 36%    Signature 200    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 105,000 Litres    Range 26.3 billion km   (30 days at full power)

20cm C5SXR Mass Driver (1)    Range 384,000km     TS: 10000 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 6    ROF 10        10 10 10 10 10 10 8 7 6 5
MD Fire Control S02 192-5000 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 5000 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1)     Total Power Output 5.6    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Flower Mk II class Frigate    2,000 tons     66 Crew     698.5 BP      TCS 40  TH 500  EM 0
12500 km/s     Armour 3-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 6
Maint Life 3.12 Years     MSP 186    AFR 37%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 29    5YR 431    Max Repair 180 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres    Range 33.3 billion km   (30 days at full power)

20cm C5SXR Mass Driver (1)    Range 384,000km     TS: 12500 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 6    ROF 10        10 10 10 10 10 10 8 7 6 5
MD Fire Control S02 192-6250 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 6250 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (5)     Total Power Output 5    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Flower class Missile Frigate was designed specifically for use in frigate squadrons, allowing the frigates to pick off small enemies at distance. In large numbers, the frigates can prove deadly to even larger ships, as proven by the Last Ride of the First Patrol Squadron. Necessity has seen significant numbers of Rivers reassigned to serve as fire support in larger fleets, with most newer generation Battlefleets having a significant amount of the frigates.

Code: [Select]
>River class Missile Frigate    2,000 tons     49 Crew     445.5 BP      TCS 40  TH 250  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 8
Maint Life 10.94 Years     MSP 362    AFR 12%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 6    5YR 83    Max Repair 125 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 160   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (1)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres    Range 33.3 billion km   (61 days at full power)

S4 Launch System (4)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (40)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Sentinel class Escort is one of the two classes designed to utilize the new missile interceptor systems. The ship has yet to be tested in combat, yet despite this a large number of the class were rushed out just in time for the Offensive.

Code: [Select]
>Sentinel class Escort    2,000 tons     66 Crew     446.5 BP      TCS 40  TH 250  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 1-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 12
Maint Life 3.99 Years     MSP 126    AFR 35%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 13    5YR 190    Max Repair 125 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 156   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (1)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres    Range 33.3 billion km   (61 days at full power)

S1 Launch System (12)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 10
AMM Fire Control FC24-R1 (3)     Range 24.2m km    Resolution 1
S1 AMM "Shield" (156)  Speed: 70,000 km/s   End: 0.6m    Range: 2.5m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 630/378/189

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Destroyers

The Centurion and Everest class Destroyer Escorts serve as close-in area defence ships, armed with high speed turrets. The classes have proven their effectiveness, especially against missiles and beam-armed opponents. Rarely seen outside of large-scale fleets, the ships have found a comfortable niche within the ecosystem of the Terran fleets.

Code: [Select]
>Centurion Mk II class Destroyer    4,000 tons     121 Crew     933 BP      TCS 80  TH 400  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 4-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 30.84
Maint Life 3.69 Years     MSP 292    AFR 64%    IFR 0.9%    1YR 33    5YR 500    Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Cryogenic Berths 200   

200 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 200    Fuel Use 36%    Signature 200    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 210,000 Litres    Range 26.3 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin 10cm C3UV Mass Driver AA Turret (3x2)    Range 120,000km     TS: 8000 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 4    ROF 5        3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (2x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AA Fire Control S02 64-8000 (1)    Max Range: 128,000 km   TS: 8000 km/s     92 84 77 69 61 53 45 37 30 22
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (2)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (5)     Total Power Output 20    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Everest class Destroyer Escort    4,000 tons     143 Crew     1244.5 BP      TCS 80  TH 500  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 31.34
Maint Life 6.67 Years     MSP 544    AFR 45%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 21    5YR 317    Max Repair 180 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 195,000 Litres    Range 32.5 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Single 10cm C3SXR Mass Driver AA Turret (6x1)    Range 180,000km     TS: 12500 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 6    ROF 5        3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (2x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AA Fire Control S02 96-12500 (1)    Max Range: 192,000 km   TS: 12500 km/s     95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (2)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (18)     Total Power Output 18    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Halberd class Destroyer was originally intended to provide close-range jump point defence. After encountering the Athor class, the Halberd was assigned to similar duties of the Flower class Frigate. It has served dutifully, although quite uneventfully.

Code: [Select]
>Halberd class Destroyer    4,000 tons     144 Crew     1420.5 BP      TCS 80  TH 500  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 2     PPV 31.26
Maint Life 4.19 Years     MSP 444    AFR 64%    IFR 0.9%    1YR 41    5YR 609    Max Repair 180 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 195,000 Litres    Range 32.5 billion km   (60 days at full power)

20cm C5SXR Mass Driver (3)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 6    ROF 10        10 10 10 10 10 10 8 7 6 5
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (3x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-6250 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 6250 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (3)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (15)     Total Power Output 15    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Counterpart to the Halberd class, the Wolf and City class Missile Destroyers are designed to provide heavy fire support for Battlefleets. Capable of matching the missile salvo of larger cruisers, the Missile Destroyers are significantly more fragile and specialized. The classes see widespread use across the Hegemony, with nearly every combat fleet featuring a flotilla of them.

Code: [Select]
>Wolf Mk II class Missile Destroyer    4,000 tons     88 Crew     823 BP      TCS 80  TH 400  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 4-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 3     PPV 20.14
Maint Life 5.95 Years     MSP 399    AFR 41%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 19    5YR 289    Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 320   

200 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 200    Fuel Use 36%    Signature 200    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 210,000 Litres    Range 26.3 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (1x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (1)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (1)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>City class Missile Destroyer    4,000 tons     90 Crew     937.5 BP      TCS 80  TH 500  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 3     PPV 20.42
Maint Life 6.81 Years     MSP 513    AFR 36%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 19    5YR 289    Max Repair 125 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 320   

250 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 250    Fuel Use 27%    Signature 250    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 195,000 Litres    Range 32.5 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (1x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (1)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Cruisers

The Eden class Fleet Support Vessels serve as stores for everything a fleet might need in the battlefield. Fuel, munitions, and maintenance supplies are in abundance aboard the Edens. Every combat fleet of the Hegemony has several Edens assigned to it, to provide limited fleet resupply. For greater need, dedicated fleets of Edens serve to resupply the war machine of the Hegemony.

Code: [Select]
>Eden Mk II class Fleet Support Vessel    8,000 tons     157 Crew     1200 BP      TCS 160  TH 800  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 1-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 18     PPV 0
Maint Life 15.03 Years     MSP 1706    AFR 28%    IFR 0.4%    1YR 14    5YR 212    Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 720   

400 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 32%    Signature 400    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 2,500,000 Litres    Range 175.8 billion km   (406 days at full power)

S4 ASM "Arrow" (180)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Eden Mk III class Fleet Support Vessel    8,000 tons     104 Crew     1216 BP      TCS 160  TH 1000  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 1-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 4     PPV 0
Maint Life 6.09 Years     MSP 1447    AFR 108%    IFR 1.5%    1YR 67    5YR 1002    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 1152   

500 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 500    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 500    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,900,000 Litres    Range 178.1 billion km   (329 days at full power)

S4 ASM "Arrow" (240)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69
S1 AMM "Shield" (192)  Speed: 70,000 km/s   End: 0.6m    Range: 2.5m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 630/378/189

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Serving as the primary carrier vessel of the Hegemony, the Emerald and Nation class Light Carriers each carry three wings of Broadsword fighters, and enough missiles to resupply them all twice over. Due to the current lack of a fighter mounted sensor platform, the carriers themselves mount large ship detection sensors to extend the range at which fighters can strike.

Code: [Select]
>Emerald Mk II class Light Carrier    8,000 tons     145 Crew     1443.8 BP      TCS 160  TH 800  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 4-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 25     PPV 0
Maint Life 1.87 Years     MSP 508    AFR 113%    IFR 1.6%    1YR 186    5YR 2783    Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 12   
Hangar Deck Capacity 3000 tons     Magazine 288   

400 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 32%    Signature 400    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 370,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

S4 ASM "Arrow" (72)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Strike Group
12x >Broadsword Mk II Fighter-bomber   Speed: 20000 km/s    Size: 5

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Nation class Light Carrier    8,000 tons     145 Crew     1573.5 BP      TCS 160  TH 1000  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 25     PPV 0
Maint Life 1.94 Years     MSP 615    AFR 102%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 214    5YR 3207    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 1   
Hangar Deck Capacity 3000 tons     Magazine 288   

500 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 500    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 500    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

S4 ASM "Arrow" (72)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Strike Group
12x >Broadsword Mk III Fighter-bomber   Speed: 24000 km/s    Size: 5

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Battle class Armored Cruisers proudly serve as the backbone of the Hegemony Navy. The Battle class is a reliable workhorse, capable of many different tasks. The smallest warship armed with both missiles and beams, the Battle often finds itself detached for independent duty. The class is also defended extremely well, and is capable of weathering significant amounts of enemy fire. The next generation of the Battle class will include a small hangar bay, to further increase the capabilities of the class.

Code: [Select]
>Battle Mk II class Armoured Cruiser    8,000 tons     227 Crew     2016.1 BP      TCS 160  TH 800  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 6-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 23     PPV 50.56
Maint Life 2.37 Years     MSP 528    AFR 152%    IFR 2.1%    1YR 129    5YR 1932    Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 320   

400 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 32%    Signature 400    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 370,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

20cm C5SXR Mass Driver (3)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 6    ROF 10        10 10 10 10 10 10 8 7 6 5
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (4x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (4)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-5000 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 5000 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (15)     Total Power Output 15    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (1)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Battle Mk III class Armoured Cruiser    8,000 tons     224 Crew     2277 BP      TCS 160  TH 1000  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 9-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 25     PPV 47.26
Maint Life 3.63 Years     MSP 889    AFR 102%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 104    5YR 1564    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 320   

500 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 500    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 500    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

20cm C5SXR Mass Driver (3)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 6    ROF 10        10 10 10 10 10 10 8 7 6 5
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (3x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-6250 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 6250 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (3)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (15)     Total Power Output 15    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Stellar and Constellation class Command Cruisers are primarily designed for fleet support, serving as sensor support for larger fleets, and command ships for smaller groups. The classes mount Jump Drives, capable of leading and supporting independent detachments through Jump Points.

Code: [Select]
>Stellar Mk II class Command Cruiser    8,000 tons     214 Crew     1778.6 BP      TCS 160  TH 800  EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 6-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 24     PPV 24.28
Maint Life 2.21 Years     MSP 556    AFR 128%    IFR 1.8%    1YR 153    5YR 2296    Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Flag Bridge    Magazine 320   

J8000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 8000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
400 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 32%    Signature 400    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 370,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (2x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (2)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (1)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Constellation class Command Cruiser    8,000 tons     195 Crew     1967 BP      TCS 160  TH 1000  EM 0
6250 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 8-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 23     PPV 29.26
Maint Life 1.72 Years     MSP 507    AFR 155%    IFR 2.2%    1YR 207    5YR 3110    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 320   

J8000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 8000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
500 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 500    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 500    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (3x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (3)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 Launch System (8)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (80)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The bigger brother of the Sentinel class Escort, the Aegis class Escort Cruiser is armed with a significant amount of missile interceptors, a respectable point defence armament, and powerful missile detection sensors.

Code: [Select]
>Aegis class Escort Cruiser    8,000 tons     237 Crew     2132.5 BP      TCS 160  TH 1000  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 5-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 24     PPV 44.84
Maint Life 2.28 Years     MSP 633    AFR 134%    IFR 1.9%    1YR 165    5YR 2481    Max Repair 250 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 3   
Magazine 468   

500 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 500    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 500    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (2x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (2)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

S1 Launch System (36)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 10
AMM Fire Control FC24-R1 (9)     Range 24.2m km    Resolution 1
S1 AMM "Shield" (468)  Speed: 70,000 km/s   End: 0.6m    Range: 2.5m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 630/378/189

Large MDA MR57-R1 (1)     GPS 240     Range 57.6m km    MCR 6.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Designed and built during the conquest of the Empire of Belazura, the Hades class Bombardment Cruiser was created to launch vast numbers of the Pebble-class Planetary Bombardment Missile at enemy strongpoints. Due to public outcry about "warcrimes" and "crimes against sentient life", the class was never used in that war. Public opinion has shifted somewhat during the course of the Jiadliaokl War, and the class has been brought back into service.

Code: [Select]
>Hades class Bombardment Cruiser    8,000 tons     169 Crew     1428.5 BP      TCS 160  TH 800  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 3-35     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 24     PPV 29.28
Maint Life 3 Years     MSP 458    AFR 124%    IFR 1.7%    1YR 76    5YR 1142    Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 1050   

400 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 400    Fuel Use 32%    Signature 400    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 370,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (2x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (2)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Size 1 Bombardment Rack (42)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 30
Bomber Fire Control FC51-R120 (1)     Range 51.5m km    Resolution 120
S1 PBM "Pebble" (1050)  Speed: 10,000 km/s   End: 4.9m    Range: 3m km   WH: 2    Size: 1    TH: 33/20/10

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Battleships

Serving as the only Battleship sized warship currently in service with the Terran Navy, the Luna class Battleship offers a high durability and salvo size coupled with powerful beam weapons.

Code: [Select]
>Luna Mk II class Battleship    16,000 tons     408 Crew     3416.4 BP      TCS 320  TH 1600  EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 8-56     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 27     PPV 68.7
Maint Life 1.38 Years     MSP 948    AFR 288%    IFR 4%    1YR 540    5YR 8098    Max Repair 400 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 640   

J16000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 16000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
800 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2)    Power 800    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 800    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 555,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

25cm C4SXR Mass Driver (2)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 16-4     RM 6    ROF 20        16 16 16 16 16 16 13 12 10 9
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (5x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-5000 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 5000 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (5)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (2)     Total Power Output 8    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (16)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (1)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (160)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Luna Mk III class Battleship    16,000 tons     423 Crew     3846.5 BP      TCS 320  TH 2000  EM 0
6250 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 10-56     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 31     PPV 65.68
Maint Life 2.44 Years     MSP 1653    AFR 186%    IFR 2.6%    1YR 384    5YR 5758    Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Magazine 640   

J16000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 16000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
1000 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (2)    Power 1000    Fuel Use 18%    Signature 1000    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 525,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

25cm C4SXR Mass Driver (2)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 16-4     RM 6    ROF 20        16 16 16 16 16 16 13 12 10 9
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (4x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-6250 (1)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 6250 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (4)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (8)     Total Power Output 8    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (16)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (1)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (160)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Dreadnoughts

Some of the most powerful warships currently serving in the Hegemony, the Adamant class Dreadnought features some of the heaviest armour and most powerful weaponry. These ships were created as a direct result of the Jump Point Massacre, due to the need for larger and more durable combatants. The Adamants have seen many battles, and despite coming close multiple times, no Adamant class has ever been lost in combat.

Code: [Select]
>Adamant class Dreadnought    32,000 tons     803 Crew     7087.6 BP      TCS 640  TH 3200  EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 12-89     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 37     PPV 127.12
Maint Life 1.32 Years     MSP 2353    AFR 481%    IFR 6.7%    1YR 1429    5YR 21434    Max Repair 857 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 0   
Flag Bridge    Magazine 1280   

J32000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 32000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
800 EP Internal Fusion Drive (4)    Power 800    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 800    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,110,000 Litres    Range 26.0 billion km   (60 days at full power)

25cm C4SXR Mass Driver (2)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 16-4     RM 6    ROF 20        16 16 16 16 16 16 13 12 10 9
45cm C5SXR Heavy Mass Driver (1)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 53-5     RM 6    ROF 55        53 53 53 53 53 53 45 39 35 31
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (8x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-5000 (2)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 5000 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (8)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (4)     Total Power Output 16    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (32)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC131-R160 (2)     Range 131.1m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (320)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard SDA MR145-R160 (1)     GPS 7680     Range 145.7m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Adamant Mk II class Dreadnought    32,000 tons     839 Crew     7913.5 BP      TCS 640  TH 4000  EM 0
6250 km/s    JR 6-250     Armour 13-89     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 36     PPV 145.36
Maint Life 1.3 Years     MSP 2527    AFR 501%    IFR 7%    1YR 1572    5YR 23575    Max Repair 857 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 1280   

J32000(6-250) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 32000 tons    Distance 250k km     Squadron Size 6
1000 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (4)    Power 1000    Fuel Use 18%    Signature 1000    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,050,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

25cm C4SXR Mass Driver (4)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 16-4     RM 6    ROF 20        16 16 16 16 16 16 13 12 10 9
45cm C5SXR Heavy Mass Driver (1)    Range 384,000km     TS: 6250 km/s     Power 53-5     RM 6    ROF 55        53 53 53 53 53 53 45 39 35 31
Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (8x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MD Fire Control S02 192-6250 (2)    Max Range: 384,000 km   TS: 6250 km/s     97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (8)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (21)     Total Power Output 21    Armour 0    Exp 5%

S4 Launch System (32)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 120
ASM Fire Control FC174-R160 (2)     Range 174.8m km    Resolution 160
S4 ASM "Arrow" (320)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160
Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The largest carrier currently in service, the Hercules class Carrier features 12 wings of Broadswords, a total of 48 craft. The Hercules provides a significant portion of the striking power of it's fleet, with a single strike consisting of 144 missiles.

Code: [Select]
>Hercules class Carrier    32,000 tons     554 Crew     5307.8 BP      TCS 640  TH 3200  EM 0
5000 km/s     Armour 6-89     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 35     PPV 33.12
Maint Life 1.1 Years     MSP 1555    AFR 546%    IFR 7.6%    1YR 1306    5YR 19596    Max Repair 400 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 48   
Hangar Deck Capacity 12000 tons     Magazine 1152   

800 EP Internal Fusion Drive (4)    Power 800    Fuel Use 24%    Signature 800    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,265,000 Litres    Range 29.6 billion km   (68 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (8x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 20000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 20-20000 (8)    Max Range: 40,000 km   TS: 20000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 ASM "Arrow" (288)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Strike Group
48x >Broadsword Mk II Fighter-bomber   Speed: 20000 km/s    Size: 5

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Code: [Select]
>Hercules Mk II class Carrier    32,000 tons     559 Crew     6100.5 BP      TCS 640  TH 4000  EM 0
6250 km/s     Armour 8-89     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 36     PPV 35.36
Maint Life 1.19 Years     MSP 1906    AFR 512%    IFR 7.1%    1YR 1386    5YR 20785    Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 0   
Hangar Deck Capacity 12000 tons     Magazine 1152   

1000 EP Magnetic Fusion Drive (4)    Power 1000    Fuel Use 18%    Signature 1000    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,050,000 Litres    Range 32.8 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R1-25 Turret (8x8)    Range 10,000km     TS: 25000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 1    ROF 5        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control S01 24-25000 (8)    Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 25000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

S4 ASM "Arrow" (288)  Speed: 30,000 km/s   End: 55.5m    Range: 100m km   WH: 16    Size: 4    TH: 230/138/69

Standard MDA MR11-R1 (1)     GPS 48     Range 11.5m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1
Large SDA MR728-R160 (1)     GPS 38400     Range 728.6m km    Resolution 160

Strike Group
48x >Broadsword Mk III Fighter-bomber   Speed: 24000 km/s    Size: 5

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
 
The following users thanked this post: Cavgunner, JustAnotherDude

Offline Cavgunner

  • Lt. Commander
  • ********
  • Posts: 283
  • Thanked: 129 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2019, 08:48:14 PM »
It's interesting to watch how we each draw the lines for our ship designations.  Our techs seem comparable, more or less.  But in general, my ships are individually much tougher and quite a bit larger per size category.  On the other hand, they are also much less numerous.  My total military fleet tonnage is just under 925,000.  At the start of your Offensive in 2101, I'd be willing to bet that your navy probably outweighs and outguns mine by 10 times at least. 

Daunting.
 

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2019, 12:22:41 AM »
Apologies for the long delay! Life has a habit of getting in the way, plus the turns are over five minutes for a five second increment now. I'm slogging through it, and the battle seems to be going better than expected. Large casualties on the enemy side, plus relatively minor (so far) casualties on my side.

Part Four: Hanging on the Edge

January 25, 2102, 16:18 hours

Just as predicted, the Coalition Armada has transited through directly on top of the jump point. Sensor screens across the fleet light up from the colossal group of enemy contacts, and alarm bells begin ringing through the ships. The plan that the admirals had devised was as follows. First, the enemy would be softened up by the alpha strike from the fighters. After all of the fighter’s missiles were expended, then the Main Line would divide their fire on the surviving ships and prepare to weather the return fire. It wasn’t a particularly complex or original plan, but it was the one that had the best chance of working.

Seconds after the Armada had completed the transit, the missiles left at the jump point by the fighters acquired targets and surged forwards. Eight hundred and fifty one missiles successfully hit their targets, and for a brief moment the astrocartography suites aboard the nearby survey vessels reported that Donwaltz had become a binary system. For several moments afterwards a sequence of devastating internal explosions wracked the Armada, magazines detonating, reactors going critical, and engines losing containment.

After the debris had cleared slightly, it appeared that the Armada had taken extensive damage. Twenty five warships were vaporized, including thirteen Heavy Capitals, one Capital, and eleven Cruisers, with several others being damaged. Over five hundred thousand tons of enemy ships were destroyed with the alpha strike, and nearly all of the Jiadliaokl’s Heavy Capital warships were destroyed. It is hard to understate the significance of this, as one single salvo has shifted the tides of a battle once thought hopeless to some.

The warships of the Main Line would now have their turn. Every ship was ordered to continue launching until either they, or the enemy, were destroyed. The first salvo raced away from the ships, the number of missiles launched being one thousand five hundred and eighty eight in total.

January 25, 2102, 16:21 hours

The first salvo from the Main Line has begun to be intercepted by Jiadliaokl missile interceptors, although at the moment the rate of interception is low. A mere thirty missiles have been intercepted, with the salvo being well over half way to it’s target. While thirty missiles being intercepted would spell disaster for any single fleet’s salvo, this represented less than two percent of the missiles in that salvo alone.

It would appear as well, that the Jiadliaokl launch patterns had been interrupted. The Armada is launching sporadic salvos every five seconds, each averaging around one hundred and thirty missiles. The alpha strike combined with post-jump confusion must have dealt quite a blow to the Jiadliaokl command structure. Analyzing the firing patterns, it would appear that in total, the Armada has approximately six hundred launchers remaining.

January 25, 2102, 16:23 hours

Only further hammering in the point that Humanity was really at a make or break situation, a previously undetected fleet of Jiadliaokl ships has transited into the Donwaltz system, from Shadaowa. The fact that the fleet evaded detection from both the listening posts in Novaya Rodina and the scout frigates currently en-route to the system is startling to say the least. The reinforcements are composed of seven Heavy Capitals, ten Capitals, and twelve cruisers, massing a total of approximately five hundred thousand tons.

With three salvos already on the way towards the Coalition Armada, the Reinforcements are quickly targeted by the Main Line. Just fifteen seconds after they arrived in-system, a salvo of over one and a half thousand missiles races forth to greet them. While the capabilities of each Jiadliaokl ship class is still relatively unknown, the ship classes in the Reinforcements are known to sport heavy missile and anti-missile weaponry.

After several tense minutes of waiting, the missiles inbound from the Jiadliaokl Armada finally pass within the two and a half million kilometer envelope for the missile interceptors. To conserve ammunition, the fire controls have been set to engage in a two-to-one interception ratio.

In a stunning display of crewmanship quickly becoming the defining feature of Jiadliaokl crews, the Reinforcements have shrugged off their jump shock in twenty seconds and have opened fire. As well, the lack of any resistance to their entry means that their salvos are significantly more coordinated than the Armada’s, being much larger but being launched at a much lower frequency.

January 25, 2102, 16:24 hours

The first of the new missile interceptors has reached the Jiadliaokl missiles incoming. Out of one hundred and twenty two missiles that reached their targets, only forty seven successfully hit their targets, with an approximate 38% interception rate. While it was possible to set the launchers to three-to-one or higher interception ratios, doing so was not without risk. One downside to the Armada’s staggered firing pattern was that it was very good at maintaining pressure on the interceptor launchers. If the launchers spent too much time against one salvo, all other salvos behind it could progress further into the engagement envelope without resistance.

Fleet Admiral Ball decided that it was better that all salvos be harassed, rather than a few salvos be destroyed. The vast majority of the ships in the Main Line were designed to defend themselves solely with point defence turrets and were thus capable of handling a fairly significant number of missiles. It is important to note that the missile interceptors were never designed to handle all incoming threats, only to lighten the load on the point defence turrets which were expected to take the majority of the load.

The first salvo from the Main Line is just about to impact the Armada. In total, the salvo has lost approximately four hundred missiles from interception, or roughly 25%. Of those remaining, just over five hundred missiles survived the gauntlet of defensive fire and impacted their targets. In a series of catastrophic reactor detonations, thirteen Capitals and two Cruiser class ships were destroyed. Due to the lack of any detectable magazine detonations and the large number of reactor detonations, it would appear that the ships destroyed focused almost entirely on

January 25, 2102, 16:25 hours

The missile interceptor systems are proving themselves incredibly capable. Over the past two minutes, the interceptors have shot down all missiles entering their envelope. There were two concerns about the system however. First and foremost, the ammunition reserves of the escorts were beginning to run dangerously low, with several thousand missiles still incoming. Second, the missile salvos were reaching closer and closer to the fleet before being intercepted, just as was feared. Missiles are approaching so close that they are beginning to be engaged by area defence turrets. Nonetheless, the missile interception system has functioned far better than expected.

Despite the missile interceptors exceeding expectations, the gauss turrets of the fleet are needed in increasingly large numbers to stop the incoming missiles. At this rate, the escorts would be out of ammo in under four minutes, leaving the area defence and final fire defence turrets to take the full weight of the enemy salvos for over seven full minutes. While this is what many of the ships in the fleet were designed to cope with, it was only a matter of time before the weight of fire became too much to handle.

January 25, 2102, 16:26 hours

The second salvo has impacted the Armada, with equally catastrophic effects. Over six hundred missiles found their mark this time, destroying one Heavy Capital, eight Capital, and ten Cruiser class ships. The battle so far appears to be going solidly in favour of the Hegemony. At the same time, several of the Sentinel class Escorts report that they are completely out of interceptors, with most reporting being below thirty percent. The Aegis class Escort Cruisers report that they are at approximately sixty percent.

January 25, 2102, 16:28 hours

The third salvo has hit their targets, with six hundred and nine missiles successfully hitting their targets. Very few ships remain in the Armada, and a fourth salvo would almost certainly finish them off. Nonetheless, it has taken over six thousand missiles to accomplish this, which is nearly ten percent of the total number of Archer missiles ever produced.

Sadly, all missile interceptors have been expended. All further missile defence would be solely the responsibility of the area defence and final fire defence turrets. Over thirteen thousand missile interceptors were launched, successfully stopping approximately five thousand missiles so far. While the missile interceptors were firing, not a single missile has impacted the ships of the Main Line.

A mere five seconds later, 28 missiles successfully strike the Main Line. Twenty four missiles hit the dreadnought Triumph, and four hit the cruiser St. Lucia. All the impacts were absorbed by armour, although the shock damage from the impacts caused minor internal damage. Aboard the Triumph an energy conduit ruptured and vented plasma into an engineering space, and the shock caused a gauss turret to seize in it’s mount. The St. Lucia suffered a collapsed engineering space, and the shock caused the mass driver fire control to come apart.

January 25, 2102, 16:29 hours

A momentary lapse in sensor coverage has led to disaster, allowing a large salvo to hit the fleet. 105 separate detonations are detected across multiple ships, with the dreadnought Anson taking nearly 70 of the hits. No armor breaches are detected, until one of its engines flares up in a massive gout of superheated plasma. Preliminary damage reports suggest that the detonation of one of its four engines has caused the destruction of another two engines, a powerplant, several crew quarters, a missile launcher, a mass driver, two gauss turrets, and the jump drive. Miraculously, the fourth and final engine on board has managed to remain operational, despite suffering a significant amount of damage from the nearby detonation. Similar damage is suffered by another cruiser, while a Stellar class command cruiser is reduced to a floating husk from numerous internal detonations. Only 59 of the ship’s crew manage to escape in time, her captain not among them.

Moments later, another 97 missiles strike the fleet. Several other ships are heavily damaged, including two cruisers which are split in half from magazine detonations. The salvos incoming for the next minute appear to be smaller in size, so it appears that the storm has been weathered for now.

January 25, 2102, 16:30 hours

At least one of the missile salvos detected appears to be travelling slightly off course. Further analysis of the salvo shows that its current heading is directed towards the carriers and supply ships, behind the Main Line. The timing of this salvo could not have been worse, since there was very little the Main Line could do now that their missile interceptors were expended. It may be possible for area defense ships to intercept the salvo, although they would likely get only a single shot off at maximum range, if they were able to at all. Another option is to have the carriers and the Bombardment Fleet meet up, which would take just about forty five minutes. The Bombardment Fleet has minimal defences, but they have the most significant armament outside of the Main Line. A third possibility is for the fighters currently landing to rearm with interceptors, and attempt to shoot down the incoming missiles. This would take approximately twenty three minutes. The only downside, is that the salvo would reach the carriers in just fifteen.
 
The following users thanked this post: Cavgunner, Garfunkel

Offline Garfunkel

  • Registered
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2781
  • Thanked: 1048 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2019, 12:06:56 PM »
Ohoho, getting exciting!
 

Offline Cavgunner

  • Lt. Commander
  • ********
  • Posts: 283
  • Thanked: 129 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2019, 09:21:28 PM »
Go humanity! Frak yeah!  *munches popcorn as anime-style missile swarms explode ships by the dozen*
 

Offline TheBawkHawk (OP)

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • T
  • Posts: 81
  • Thanked: 43 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2020, 09:17:58 PM »
Part Five: Blood Bath and Beyond

January 25, 2102, 16:32 hours

The Coalition Armada appears to have run out of missiles, as no new thermal contacts have been detected from that direction in nearly a minute. Despite this, they look to be attempting to close the distance to engage in close combat. The Reinforcements still have missiles and are continuing to launch large salvos, but they appear to be on a course back towards the jump point. There was the possibility that they were going to return to base, just like the damaged cruiser currently being tailed by the Oberths, which might put that mission in jeopardy. Nonetheless, the crews of the Main Line were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Or perhaps that light was an incoming train. The salvos coming in from the Reinforcements and the Armada typically were out of sync, but a salvo just about to enter weapons range appeared to be quite significant in size. A quick analysis shows that at least five hundred missiles, almost certainly more, would impact the fleet all at once. Crews braced for the worst, and ships already damaged began to prep escape pods just in case.

Approximately 15 seconds later, three hundred and fifty three missiles impact the fleet. The salvo, thankfully, was spread out over several ships, and so only three cruisers are destroyed outright. The old dreadnought Resolute took nearly a hundred hits, although her thick armour meant that only fourteen of her crew perished. Nearly a dozen other ships were damaged to varying degrees, with several cruisers coming off with light armour damage, while other cruisers were nearly burnt out from plasma leaks due to damaged reactors. The dreadnought Victory took a mere nine hits, although shock damage caused a series of catastrophic internal detonations. The missile hits caused one of her reactors to blow, which in turn caused one of her magazines to detonate. Thankfully, the magazine was nearly empty at the time and the damage was not enough to destroy her outright. Despite the Victory featuring a hole in her side large enough to comfortably dock a fighter or two, the ship stubbornly refuses to yield. The Adamants were once again proving themselves more than deserving of the name.

January 25, 2102, 16:35 hours

With the remnants of the Armada closing to just under five million kilometers, and the Reinforcements still retreating, all missile fire is focused on the Reinforcements. The Armada could likely be wiped out with several more salvos, but that would leave the Reinforcements as a sizable and dangerous fighting force that could cause issues in the future. Additionally, the Main Line is split into three sections. One section is comprised of missile-only ships, another is comprised of mixed-armament ships, and the last is comprised of the gun-only ships. With the Armada appearing to want a knife-fight, it would be foolish to allow missile ships into the fight only for them to be torn to shreds. The mixed-armament ships feature the armoured cruisers, battleships, and dreadnoughts of the fleet, and would meet the Armada head on when the time came. The gun-only ships would flank around behind the Armada, picking off stragglers and preventing an easy escape. Additionally, all previously damaged ships would be sent alongside the missile ships, to add protection and hopefully prevent unnecessary losses.

January 25, 2102, 16:39 hours

With the Armada closing to within 3 million kilometers, the fleet would split and close to engage in close combat. The missile ships and damaged ships would begin travelling away from the Armada, while the main force charged straight towards the enemy. The gun ships would travel at a slight angle towards the enemy, and eventually skirt around them and attack from behind. Contact is estimated to be achieved in but a few minutes.

Additionally, the missile salvos from the Reinforcements have begun to decrease to a mere trickle. The gun crews which have been spearheading damage control efforts make their way back to their weapons, and the missile crews take over damage control responsibilities. The tension as the two fleets approach is palpable, the halls echoing combat alerts to the steady thrum of the ship’s engines. The last time Terran ships engaged in beam combat was the Jump Point Massacre, where an entire battlefleet was destroyed to but a few Jiadliaokl cruisers. However, the Main Line was nearly ten times the size of a battlefleet, and had already dealt significant damage to the enemy.

January 25, 2102, 16:40 hours

The dreadnought Vengeful was the first to land a blow, her 45 cm spinal mass driver landing a blow against an enemy Athor-class. At just under four hundred thousand kilometers, the ships were firing at the absolute maximum range of their fire controls. Seconds later another brilliant chorus of muzzle flashes erupts from the Terran fleet, the cruisers this time landing nearly a dozen hits with their 20 cm weapons.

As the fleets close to below one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers, another torrent of fire is released from both sides. Nine strength-two hits, two strength-twenty-three, and thirty-nine strength-four hits are registered against the Armada. In return however, the Main Line is rocked with a total of sixty-three strength-ten hits. All shots are directed at the Battle Mk III class cruiser, the Agincourt. The Agincourt is reduced to a hollow shell in the blink of an eye, the sound of debris clanging off of hulls heard before the sensors can register what had happened.

The next salvo lets loose, and Terra’s reply is heard. A hundred hits of over strength-ten strike the Armada, destroying a cruiser and causing several more to fall out of formation. The destroyers and frigates of the secondary fleet are quick to pounce on the weakened prey, and set upon them with a barrage of 10 and 20 cm mass driver fire.

January 25, 2102, 16:41 hours

The Armada has closed to point blank range, and unleashed a salvo of eighty nine strength-twenty-four hits against the Main Line. This time, their fire is much more spread out, and heavy damage is sustained by the fleet. Five cruisers are instantly destroyed, three further cruisers are left dead in the water with catastrophic damage, and the old dreadnought Resolute suffers dozens of hits. Half of her engines are disabled, and all but one of her mass drivers are reduced to slag. Gouts of flame erupt from gashes down the length of her hull, and occasional secondary detonations from her engines knock her off course. While the Main Line tries to open the range again, Resolute turns about and faces down the enemy, putting herself in front of the damaged cruisers like a wounded bear protecting her cubs. Despite her valiant effort, eighty six hits turn the Resolute and the cruisers into the latest in a long list of casualties.

January 25, 2102, 16:42 hours

Every time the Main Line fired, they would destroy perhaps a couple enemy ships. Every time the enemy fired, they would tear through at least five cruisers, perhaps a battleship, or cripple a dreadnought. Things were getting desperate, to say the least.

Fleet Admiral Elizabeth Ball clenches her fist around the arm of her chair, blood dripping from a fresh shrapnel wound to her brow. Despite the carnage of battle around her and the multiple hits the Victorious had taken, her crew were performing as well as she could have hoped. Even when facing down the greatest enemy force yet seen, they were all as steadfast as the hulls they ride. Desperate to find a way to turn the battle in the Hegemony’s favour, she has been focusing almost entirely on the reports from navigation, kinetics, and damage control. That is, until she glances out of the corner of her eye a phrase on a report from the missiles station. “Tubes loaded and primed”.

She quickly demands an open channel to the fleet, ordering all loaded missiles to be armed and ejected into space. Manual re-targeting would take too long and would require moving personnel from damage control back to missiles. However, the Archer missiles used by all ships had on board targeting, and could therefore acquire their own targets, at least within close range. And close range this was. Five hundred missiles suddenly flared their engines after being dumped into the void and acquiring targets, and moments later impacted against the Armada. Nearly a third were shot down, but a dozen enemy ships were destroyed and numerous others damaged, giving the edge Admiral Ball needed.

January 25, 2102, 16:43 hours

With a large portion of the enemy fleet damaged, several turned and attempted to flee towards the jump point. This brought them into point-blank range of the gun ships, their plentiful 10 cm area-defence turrets proceeding to pepper the fleeing ships. Because many of the ships were already damaged, the 10 cm weapons were able to pierce what little armour remained and perforate the interiors of the wounded ships. Jiadliaokl ships were beat out of formation by the big guns of the Main Line, and then the waiting wolfpack would pounce. A trickle of Jiadliaokl ships attempting to flee steadily turned into a flood, and soon only the heaviest of enemy ships were left. The Armada was naught but dust and debris now, with the ships continuing the fight being hopelessly outmatched by the sheer mass of the remaining Terran fleet.

January 25, 2102, 16:44 hours

Terra stands victorious at long last, but at what cost? Casualty reports begin flooding the command network now that there is time to process, and early estimates put Terran losses for the battle at two dreadnoughts, four battleships, twenty nine cruisers, seventeen destroyers, and twenty three frigates, with more damaged. In total four hundred seventy four thousand tons of ships were lost, and with them, over eight thousand crew have been lost.

This single engagement over the past 2 days has seen the destruction of a third as many ships and the deaths as almost as many crew as have been lost in the previous ten years of war. Nonetheless, the Hegemony stands victorious over their foe. Time would be taken to repair and rearm the fleets, while the two scout frigates sent earlier uncover the location of a Jiadliaokl world. A pair of battleships and their escorts would rescue the thousands of crew who made it to life pods, as well as capture and interrogate the Jiadliaokl survivors. Additionally, a small force of cruisers and destroyers would perform a recon in force of Shadaowa.

Of particular interest is the missile salvo launched against the carriers and support ships nearly 15 minutes ago. According to the calculations at the time, the missiles should be striking at about this time. However, a quick scan of the tactical map aboard Victorious shows that the missiles are not where they are expected to be. The support fleets have not registered any impacts either, making the situation all the more perplexing. That is, until the missiles are discovered travelling even farther in-system, on an apparent course towards the system’s star.

The battle was won, but the war was still far from over.




Well, that was sure something. By far this was the largest battle I've ever fought in Aurora, and I'm happy that I was able to share it to you all here. Several months worth of 5-second increments,  but I think it was well worth it in the end. With all the ships the Jiadliaokl had available to them, this battle could have gone so much worse than it did. The MVP of the battle in my opinion were without a doubt the Broadsword class fighters. The initial alpha strike really did turn the tide of the battle, and without them there I would have easily suffered twice as many casualties, if not total defeat.

I'd also like to ask some opinions. For upcoming updates, should I focus solely on one topic at a time? For example one update focusing on the situation with the Federation of Taga, another update focusing on the continuation of the offensive, etc. Or, should I cover the topics as they happen without a specific focus? Feedback appreciated.
 
The following users thanked this post: Garfunkel

Offline backstab

  • Lieutenant
  • *******
  • b
  • Posts: 169
  • Thanked: 2 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2020, 02:53:00 AM »
Good read ... looking forward to read more
Move foward and draw fire
 

Offline Garfunkel

  • Registered
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2781
  • Thanked: 1048 times
Re: The Great Offensive
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2020, 12:24:31 PM »
Both styles can work, it all depends on what suits you as a writer the best.

"the topics as they happen" -style is more common as it's the easiest to do, you just write the update as you play. "Special focus" -style is more rare as it is a bit more work for the author but if you're willing to do it, I'd encourage that as writing about everything all the time can slow you down and get repetitive.

And wait, was this against an NPR? If so, that's really impressive!