Posted by: ocie
« on: May 23, 2008, 09:44:56 AM »Turn 134
Although the attacks on Sakata and Kuchino have been very successful, the Second Carrier Striking Force has run into substantial Arachnid defences sooner than anticipated. Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi has five options.
1) Assault the Sakata - Amakusa warp point. As this is guarded by forty bases and a hundred and fifty Bug warships, Musashi is not keen on this option.
2) Move into Kitaibaraki, which is adjacent to Sakata, and assault the Kitaibaraki - Sunami warp point. This is guarded by twelve class three bases and one hundred ships. Again, not a very attractive option.
3) Leave the escort groups of the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to patrol Sakata and move into Kuchino, ready for the completion of the rough survey in two weeks time.
4) Leave the escort groups of the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to patrol Sakata, move back into Yamu and attack the other major Bug system which was discovered at the same time as Sakata
5) Guard Sakata and await reinforcements.
After careful consideration, Musashi decides on option four. He hopes the confusion caused by the attack on the other major system, now designated as Tanega, will prevent the Bugs from attempting to retake Sakata. As the Communion of Loren has agreed to defend Kitaibaraki against an assault from Sunami, Musashi orders the escort groups from the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to guard the Sakata - Amakusa warp point. He also instructs them to lay their two hundred laser buoys around the warp point which should give them an edge in the early stages of any Arachnid assault. Besides, Musashi hopes to be back in Sakata before the Bugs even realise he has left. As the First Survey Fleet is currently surveying Kuchino, Musashi orders the survey element of the Sixth Survey Fleet to accompany the Second Carrier Striking Force to Tanega.
Three weeks later, after a careful probe of the area around the Tanega side of the Yamu - Tanega warp point, the Second Carrier Striking Force transits into a major Arachnid system for the second time. The warp point is only seventy-two light minutes from the system primary but the single type T world is currently at the opposite side of the star so planetary sensors will not pick up the Rigellian fleet. Although there are a couple of other planets within sensor range, the Bugs only emplace populations on habitable worlds and Musashi is confident that his force has escaped detection. The Second Carrier Striking Force is not quite as powerful as when it attacked Sakata as six of its battleships have been destroyed with a seventh damaged. The order of battle is as follows:
12x Ark Royal class CV (Albion has only seventeen fighters)
5x Thunder Mod 1 class BC
6x Genda Mod 3 class BC
6x Battle Mod 2 class BC
6x Eradicator class BC
11x Swordsman class BC
1x Swordsmaster class BC
1x Battlestar class BC
18x Tribal class DD
12x Fleet Scout class CT
413x Prototype Strikefighter
With the Fleet Scouts forming a screen ahead of the main body, the Second Carrier Striking Force heads straight for the main planet of the system. Similar to the main planet of Sakata, at least forty billion Bugs infest its surface. Within hours, a contact appears on an intercept course originating from the habitable world. Musashi intends to repeat his tactics at the Battle of Sakata, drawing the Bugs into an all out charge and smashing them with a massed fighter strike supported by the battleline. Once the Arachnid fleet moves into range of his Fleet Scouts, Musashi gets a little concerned. Nine battleships, forty-four battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and eighty-five corvettes stand between the Rigellians and the Bug planet. Nevertheless, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi still believes his force is strong enough to blast the enemy out of its way. Musashi considers sending out his twelve capital missile battlecruisers, along with a destroyer escort, to weaken the enemy force before the battle lines clash. He is worried about the large number of corvettes in the Arachnid force quickly closing the range, despite the engine tuners of the battlecruisers. However, as all the capital missile combatants have full loads of the new Strategic Bombardment Missiles, he decides it is worth the risk. The bulk of the Rigellian force turns around to keep their distance from the Bugs while twelve battlecruisers and eighteen destroyers advance to meet the enemy. The twelve Fleet Scouts continue to monitor the battle but do not get directly involved.
As the battlecruisers close in, seventy-three of the Arachnid corvettes break away from the main body and race toward the Rigellian detachment. Musashi, on board his flagship Akagi, orders the battlecruisers to commence fire at maximum range. As the Arachnid corvettes approach ten light seconds from the Rigellian battlecruisers, the small Rigellian force reverses course and opens fire. The Arachnids corvettes have never encountered SBMs before so they are no doubt surprised by the opening salvo. However, the effect of the fire is lessened as each corvette is carrying a single EDM on its external racks. One corvette is blasted apart but the other seventy-two start detuning and head after the Rigellian battlecruisers while the rest of the Arachnid force continues at the speed of their battleships. All twelve Rigellian missile battlecruisers engage their engine tuners. Another volley screams across nine and a half light seconds, taking out two more corvettes, one of which was not equipped with point defence.
By the time the corvettes close to maximum capital missile range, nine more have been destroyed, leaving sixty-one. Although hits are easier to score on the corvettes lacking point defence, presumably Impaler class, they can take over 30 percent more damage then those equipped with a single second generation point defence system. After five minutes of firing, ten Impalers and twelve of the other corvettes, possibly Piranhas, have been obliterated and the Swordsman Mod 3 battlecruisers have used a third of their strategic bombardment missiles. All eighteen Tribal class destroyers accompanying the twelve battlecruisers ready their advanced gun\missile launchers to engage the enemy as they reach five light seconds. Strangely, the enemy corvettes suddenly reduce speed and start following the Rigellians at five point seven five light seconds, making no attempt to close the range. All of the battlecruisers turn off their engine tuners and continue firing. Three minutes pass and fifteen more corvettes die. A trio of Rigellian destroyers tries to close the range but the corvettes match their speed increase, staying outside of standard missile range. The destroyers drop back to join the battlecruisers and the one-sided massacre continues. Thirty-five corvettes remain.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi starts to get concerned about the state of the battlecruisers magazines. Half of their ammunition has been expended and once it is all gone, the fleet's maximum engagement range will be five light seconds. Over four hundred fighters are available but Musashi is reluctant to commit them without the support of the main fleet. Experience has shown that fighters cannot live within the anti-fighter envelope of a major Arachnid force unless the Bugs have something else for their weapons and point defence to worry about besides slaughtering fighters. Although he considers ordering the battlecruisers to save their ammunition for more important targets, the lure of Bug corvettes sitting there like ducks on a shooting range is difficult to resist. The slaughter continues but several of the remaining point defence equipped corvettes absorb as much damage as the Impalers. They may be a new beam armed class with second generation shields and armour.
It takes another seven minutes before the last of the seventy-three corvettes are blasted to pieces without any of them firing a shot. Six Rigellian battlecruisers have only enough missiles for one more volley, five have enough for two volleys. Due to its lighter armament, the Swordsmaster Mod 3 Caesar has 25% of its ammunition left, enough for ten more salvoes. All twelve battlecruisers retain their external ordnance. Although none of them are damaged, the Rigellian BCRs are effectively out of the fight.
The battlecruisers and their destroyer screen rendezvous with the rest of the Second Carrier Striking Force and the whole fleet turns towards the Arachnid main body. All twelve Rigellian carriers launch their fighters then pull back five light seconds behind the rest of the fleet. Fifty-nine fighters are armed with fighter guns in case of kamikazes but the other three hundred and fifty-four are all loaded with a pair of close attack missiles. Surprisingly, given their experience in Sakata, the Arachnids also begin closing the range. When the two fleets are twelve light seconds apart, thirteen Bug battlecruisers, a single battleship and the last twelve corvettes break formation and continue on course while the rest of the Bugs reverse heading and run for it. Within thirty seconds, the breakaway group also turns but slows down allowing the Rigellians to move within SBM range and then capital missile range.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi has ordered the capital missile battlecruisers to conserve what little ammunition they have left until they reach optimum range so the Rigellians continue to hold their fire. The Arachnids however, do not. Capital missiles suddenly streak toward the Rigellians from all thirteen Bug battlecruisers. Each battlecruiser has seven launchers, two more than their Rigellian equivalents. The battleship does not fire and starts detuning to keep up with the battlecruisers. A total of ninety-one missiles are targeted on the destroyer Polynesian but a combination of extreme range, electronic countermeasures and accurate shooting from the datagroup point defence net results in no damage. The psychological blow is far greater. Capital missiles have been the Rigellian shield against the Bug hordes. Now the Arachnids also have the technology, Rigellian battle strategy will have to be completely rethought. Even though the SBM has greater range, its accuracy at long range against opponents mounting ECM is very poor. All of the Bug capital missile battlecruisers start radiating active ECM in readiness for a Rigellian counter salvo but Musashi orders his ships to hold their fire until they can make best use of their missiles.
The Rigellians find themselves facing the situation which they have inflicted on the Bugs on numerous occasions. Only the Swordsman class battlecruisers and the Eradicator class escort battlecruisers have engine tuners which they could use the close the range. All five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships do have tuners but they could only be used to bring the battleships up to normal battlecruiser speed. Musashi is loathe to order his ships to start detuning as engine damage could be fatal in the eventual beam engagement with the Arachnid battleline. He decides to send his fighters against the enemy while bringing the fleet around one hundred and eighty degrees, forcing the battlecruisers to fly through the fighters to continue firing on the Second Carrier Striking Force. Unfortunately, as soon as the Rigellians reverse course, the Arachnid main body slows and the detached units rejoin, creating a very prickly porcupine for the fighters to attack alone.
The fighters keep their distance, shadowing the enemy and preventing the capital missile battlecruisers from detaching once more, while the Rigellian fleet turns again to pursue the Bugs. Obviously eager to engage the Rigellians, the Bug fleet slows, allowing the Rigellians to close the range. Once the Rigellians reach seven light seconds, the Arachnid fleet increases to maximum battleship speed and opens fire. Polynesian takes eleven hits and drops out of formation, internal fires raging and only one engine room operational. The Rigellian battleships switch on their engine tuners and the range slowly begins to drop. In a reversal of roles, the Rigellian pursue the Bugs while under a hail of capital missiles. One of the Bug battleships is armed with nine internal capital missile launchers and adds its firepower to the onslaught. Musashi assumes the Bugs are picking on the Rigellian destroyers because of their lack of capital point defence and the fragility of their datalink, the destruction of which cuts off the support of the datalinked point defence systems on the other members of the datagroup. In addition, the bulk of the Rigellian fleet, with the exception of the carriers, their escorts and the capital missile battlecruisers, are not carrying any EDMs. All the battleline and the destroyers are equipped with full loads of close assault missiles.
Another Bug volley and Samanid is out of action. The third volley targets Phoenician. No longer supported by her crippled companions, she is blown to pieces by the massed Bug fire. Musashi's Swordsman class battlecruiser captains request permission to fire but he refuses. He does allow the Swordsmaster Mod 3 class battlecruiser Caesar to retaliate as she still has enough ammunition for ten salvoes and Musashi needs to boost the morale of crewmen unused to being pounded in such a manner. However, Caesar's four capital missile launchers are no match for one hundred Arachnid launchers. Three of the four missiles are on target but the battlecruisers reveal that not only do they have ECM, they have capital point defence as well. No missiles hit. Bug return fire knocks the destroyer Oxfordshire out of the fight. Musashi's intelligence staff designate the new Bug battlecruiser as the Annihilator class and the capital missile armed battleship as the Destruction class.
The range between the two fleets drops to six light seconds, maximum range for XO launched capital missiles. Neither side bothers to fire XO missiles as they are all but useless at that range against an opponent protected by ECM. Arachnid internal launchers work just fine. Lancashire explodes under a hail of missiles and Persian loses two engines rooms. Caesar scores no hits in return. Cambridgeshire loses her shields and armour so Musashi orders her to drop out of formation and rendezvous with the carriers. Cumbria isn't so lucky and breaks in half as her defences are overwhelmed. Fifty-nine squadrons of Rigellian fighters have been keeping pace with the Bugs, holding at one and a half light seconds which is just outside Arachnid anti-fighter range. Musashi intends to commit the fighters once his battleline has the enemy point defence occupied.
Unfortunately, that plan is put into disarray as sixty assault shuttles launch from one of the Bug battleships and tear into the Rigellian fighters. The ten Rigellian squadrons equipped with fighter guns have been held back to guard the battleline against kamikazes and would require over five minutes to catch up with the squadrons shadowing the Bugs. Those squadrons are equipped with close attack missiles and have no defence against the assault shuttles. Twenty-two fighters are destroyed by the assault shuttles' point defence systems. Musashi knows that if he orders the fighters to retreat, his battleline will be no match for the Bugs by itself. Unfortunately, it is too late to try and pull back the battleline out because it is deep inside the weapons envelope of the enemy capital missile battlecruisers. With heavy heart, but little choice, he orders the fighters to engage the enemy fleet and ignore the attacking assault shuttles. It will take a full minute for them to catch the Arachnid fleet, during which time the Bug point defence will be free to engage the Rigellian fighters during their run-in because Rigellian shipboard weapons, with the exception of a few capital missiles, will not be in range. One small ray of hope is that as the fighters close to point blank range, the Rigellian fleet will reach maximum capital force beam and advanced gun\missile launcher range. Musashi releases his capital missile battlecruisers to fire their last few missiles at any Bugs which use their point defence against the fighters. The enemy shuttle carrier battleship is designated as the Superhorde class.
Meanwhile the enemy capital missile battlecruisers continue to pound the Rigellian screen. Cheshire is destroyed and Durham loses her passive defences. Four Rigellian destroyers have now been eliminated and six are various states of damage. Twenty-one more fighters are killed by the Bug assault shuttles before the enemy battleline opens up at three quarters of a light second with a blazing mass of anti-fighter fire. At least the type of fire provides some intelligence on the likely composition of classes in the Arachnid fleet. One enemy battleship is known to be Superhorde, while the second is a Destruction class. The other seven use twelve force beams and three capital point defence systems each which means they are a new class, quickly designated as the Devastator II. Of the forty-four battlecruisers, thirteen are known to be the new Annihilators, thirty more attack with nine force beams and four second generation point defence systems, indicating they are Reavers while the last battlecruiser has nine force beams and three capital point defence systems, probably a new Reaver II. All thirty heavy cruisers use three capital point defence systems each which unfortunately means they are likely to be the latest Rapacious III class with advanced gun\missile launchers. All twelve corvettes activate five point defence systems each, marking them as Stinger anti-fighter corvettes.
In total, the three hundred and eleven fighters are attacked by one hundred and sixty capital point defence systems, one hundred and eighty second generation point defence systems and three hundred and sixty-three force beams. One hundred and thirteen Rigellian fighters are shot down, leaving less than two hundred. The twelve Rigellian capital missile battlecruisers take advantage of the diversion of the enemy point defence to obliterate three Reaver beam armed battlecruisers. Unfortunately, the rest of the Rigellian fleet is a quarter of a light second out of range. Given the fighter losses, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi orders six of his twelve carriers to head back to the entry warp point, escorted by the destroyers Cambridgeshire and Durham, both of which have lost their shields and armour, and the six Swordsman class battlecruisers which are out of ammunition.
Finally, the Rigellian fleet of five battleships, twenty-four battlecruisers, five of which can only fire one more salvo, eight destroyers and twelve corvettes moves into range of the much larger Arachnid fleet. At the same moment, one hundred and ninety eight fighters reach point blank range. Rigellian fire concentrates on the Reaver class battlecruisers, which lack ECM. As the Reavers and the Devastators lack the range to attack the Rigellian ships, they use their force beams against the fighters. Ninety-seven fighters are shot down and a further fourteen are killed by the predatory assault shuttles. Despite their massive losses, the fighters press home their attack and a deluge of close attack missiles annihilates ten Reaver class battlecruisers. A serious blow to the Bugs but not the devastating strike that Third Swordsman of Star Musashi had originally planned. Of the three hundred and fifty-four fighters which were sent against the Arachnid fleet, only eighty-seven survive to break away with the assault shuttles in pursuit.
The six Rigellian Battle Mod 2 battlecruisers join the action. Although their standard missile fire is badly affected by the range, they manage to take out five engine rooms on an undamaged Reaver. The last substantial volley of Rigellian SBMs scores six more hits and standard missiles from destroyers finish the job. Caesar has enough SBMs for three more salvos, all the other Rigellian BCRs are out of ammunition. Capital missiles from the Arachnid Annihilator class battlecruisers continue to rain on the Rigellian destroyers. Jutes takes a barrage of hits and explodes.
Arachnid Rapacious III class heavy cruisers are each armed with seven advanced gun\missile launchers. Each datagroup of three can launch eighty four standard missiles per minute and there are ten datagroups of the new cruisers. Fortuitously, a combination of range and ECM severely affects their accuracy and the only result of their fire is a crippled destroyer. Unfortunately, the destroyer in question is Discovery, the first Rigellian ship ever to make a warp point transit. Musashi orders the Ronin commanding the destroyer to run for it, although in reality Discovery will have to crawl rather than run. Five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships and six Genda Mod 3 class battlecruisers open fire with capital force beams and are joined by the six Eradicators with their advanced gun\missile launchers. Although the range is extreme, they succeed in crippling another battlecruiser. Musashi orders the five battlecruisers which have run out of ammo to head for the entry warp point, along with two more carriers which have no fighters to rearm.
The Bug fleet begins to turn. Now the Arachnid capital missile battlecruiser can no longer attack with impunity, Musashi guesses they want to bring their force beam armed battleships and battlecruisers into range of the Rigellians. He orders his fleet to turn away from the Bugs, placing the two fleets on parallel courses just under five light seconds apart, heading in opposite directions. All of the Rigellian weapons are in range and he sees no reason to give the enemy any advantage. The fighters race for the safety of their carriers with the assault shuttles in pursuit. Freed of their ordnance, the fighters are slightly faster but not fast enough to move out of weapon range. Fifteen of them die under the guns of the Bug shuttles. Fifty-nine Rigellian fighters armed with fighter guns are racing to the aid of their remaining comrades.
Both sides exchange fire; capital missiles, capital force beam and standard missiles battering at shields, armour and the fragile systems they protect. Discovery, trying to limp away, is caught by a long range missile shot and blows up. Visigoth is the next destroyer to be targeted. Her elite crew is no stranger to combat however and her point defence systems are deadly accurate. She takes the fire of twelve enemy battlecruisers and only suffers a single capital missile hit. The Arachnid heavy cruisers ignore the apparently invincible destroyer and attack her sister ship Saxon, taking out three engine rooms. In retaliation, two Bug battlecruisers are blasted apart. Although sixteen enemy battlecruisers have now been destroyed, none of them had ECM or the latest shields, armour and point defence. Musashi rates them as second class ships. Besides, the Bugs still have nine battleships, twenty-eight battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and twelve corvettes compared to the combat capable Rigellian force of four carriers, five battleships, nineteen battlecruisers, five destroyers and twelve corvettes. Actual Rigellian ship losses only amount to six destroyers with seven more damaged. However, eleven battlecruisers and eight carriers are withdrawing toward the Yamu warp point due to lack of ammunition and horrendous fighter losses.
When the Bugs complete their turn, the Rigellians let them close to four point five light seconds before matching their speed. The chase situation has now reversed with the Arachnids pursuing the Rigellian fleet. Although Musashi is happy with the current engagement range as it improves the accuracy of his missile equipped units, he does not want to let the enemy beam armed combatants within four light seconds. At last, the Rigellian fighters armed with fighter guns dive into the midst of the assault shuttle formation while the survivors of the attack on the Bug fleet continue to flee. Although each attacking fighter is equipped with two fighter guns, the tracking abilities of each fighter extends to only one enemy target, meaning that both guns will have to be used against the same Bug shuttle. Even so, the fifty-nine fighters have enough firepower to go through the assault shuttles like a hot knife through butter. Forty-three assault shuttles explode in rapid succession. Only three Rigellian fighters are hit by the assault shuttles' point defence.
Arachnid fire finally turns away from the massacre of the Rigellian destroyers and starts targeting the Battle Mod 2 class battlecruiser Midway. Her defences and those of her sister ships kill hundreds of missiles but a small percentage get through. Explosions wrack the gallant battlecruiser, slowly battering down her defences until she is helpless, ECM destroyed, point defence knocked out and drive field down. A single capital missile delivers the coup de grace. Rigellian revenge is swift. Standard missiles and capital force beams wipe out two more Reaver class battlecruisers. A third battlecruiser is grievously wounded and falls behind the Arachnid formation.
The Bug fleet suddenly splits into two, attempting to manoeuvre into the Rigellian blindspot or force the Rigellians to turn. All of the Arachnid battleships and BCRs form into one fleet moving at cruiser speed with the battleships detuning their engines while the heavy cruisers and force beam armed battlecruisers form the second formation, also moving at maximum cruiser speed. The Rigellian battleships reactivate their engine tuners but they have only two minutes before the tuners start to emit lethal amounts of radiation. Due to the Bug manoeuvring, the Rigellian fleet is forced to turn toward the four remaining carriers which have been running parallel to the course of the main body but four light seconds further away from the Bugs. The carriers, forced to turn to stay outside capital missile range, are now running ahead of the main fleet which has successfully kept the Arachnid formations out of its blind spot while maintaining a distance of four point five light seconds.
Although the fighters continue to head back to their carriers, their rate of closure has now slowed dramatically due to the carriers' course change. The last seventeen Bug assault shuttles manage to score two more kills before they are wiped out by the gun-armed Rigellian fighters. Two more Arachnid battlecruisers are destroyed and the Rigellian battlecruiser Crecy is badly damaged. Reduced to one engine room, it quickly falls behind the rest of the Rigellian fleet and into the range of the Arachnid force beamed armed combatants. Caesar finally runs out of capital missiles. As the fleet is already heading in the direction of the Yamu warp point due to its recent manoeuvres, Musashi orders the battlecruiser to stay in formation and be ready to break away when an opportunity presents itself.
The two Bug fleets move further apart, widening the area from which they can attack the blind spot of the Rigellian fleet. Although for the moment, the Second Carrier Striking Force maintains its distance, it is forced into a turn which puts it on an intercept course for the Bug formation containing the heavy cruisers and remaining force beam battlecruisers. The battlecruiser Crecy and the destroyer Saxon are both trailing the rest of the fleet due to engine damage. Bug force beams lash out, obliterating both Rigellian vessels. Coral Sea is the target of the enemy missile combatants and even her crack crew cannot prevent severe damage, resulting in the loss of five engine rooms. One Arachnid battlecruiser is destroyed and a second badly damaged.
To avoid exposing its blindspot, the Rigellian fleet is forced into a dogleg course which allows the two Arachnid formations to close to four light seconds. Coral Sea, with only one engine room operational, is unable keep up with the rest of the fleet and is ripped apart by force beams. An entire datagroup of Battle Mod 2 class battlecruisers has now been destroyed and Arachnid missiles rain on River Plate, leading the second datagroup, leaving it a crippled wreck. The decrease in range has also brought an increase in the accuracy of Rigellian weapons. Two undamaged Reaver class battlecruisers are eliminated. Up to this point, the Rigellian have concentrated on the older Reaver class as they have no ECM, making them easier targets. Of the original thirty Reavers, only four are intact with a further three damaged and falling behind the enemy fleet.
Another dogleg manoeuvre brings the Bug formation of heavy cruisers and the four beam armed battlecruisers to three point five light seconds. The Arachnid BCR and battleship group is at three point seven five light seconds. All Arachnid weapons are now in range while the Rigellian capital force beams on the battleships and Genda class battlecruisers are at twice their previous effectiveness. River Plate blows up under heavy force beam fire then all five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships open fire, obliterating a damaged enemy battlecruiser. Arachnid attention immediately turns to the Rigellian battleships. Tantalus loses her formidable shields and armour and two engine rooms are wrecked. Two more Reavers die under increasingly accurate Rigellian fire. The twelve Rigellian Fleet Scouts, which have taken little part in the battle so far, finally spring into action as the enemy fleet moves within range of their single force beams. For the first time in the battle, both sides are fully engaged with all their remaining combat effective ships. Musashi consults his tactical display to review the current order of battle for both sides.
Rigellian Second Carrier Striking Force
4x Ark Royal class CV (126 fighters are currently en route to the carriers)
5x Thunder Mod 1 class BB (one of which is damaged)
6x Genda Mod 3 class BC
6x Eradicator class BCE
2x Battle Mod 2 class BC
1x Swordsmaster class BC (no ammo - just one Plasma Gun)
5x Tribal Mod 7 class DD
12x Fleet Scout class CT
Rigellian ships currently heading for the Yamu system
8x Ark Royal class CV
11x Swordsman class BC
6x Tribal Mod 7 DD (four of which have engine damage)
Arachnid Omnivoracity Navy
7x Devastator II class BB
1x Destruction class BB
1x Superhorde class BB
13x Annihilator class BCR
4x Reaver class BC (two of which are badly damaged and away from the action)
1x Reaver II class BC
30x Rapacious III class CA
12x Stinger class CT
The Rigellian battleships are forced to turn off their engine tuners to prevent deadly radiation from spreading through the ship, reducing the overall speed of the main Rigellian force. A combination of slower speed and the dogleg course brings the Arachnids ever closer. The BCR\battleship formation is at three point five light seconds and only gaining by the difference in the Rigellian and Arachnid speeds. The Bug heavy cruisers and remaining Reavers are on an intercept course and have closed to less than three light seconds. Musashi knows that once the thirty heavy cruisers are in sprint-mode range, the battle could get ugly very quickly. The four Rigellian carriers which have been keeping out of Arachnid weapon range for the entire battle now creep inside capital missile range of the enemy BCRs to speed up the retrieval and rearming of their fighters. The intensity of the battle increases as the range falls; weapons on both sides becoming more effective. Three Reaver class battlecruisers are destroyed by Rigellian force beams and missiles, including one already damaged. A single Reaver remains and it is too far from the battle to be engaged. The only Reaver II in the battle is the next Rigellian target. Unfortunately, it is equipped with ECM and capital point defence making it far more difficult to hit and damage is minimal. Arachnid force beams tear the damaged battleship Tantalus to pieces and a hail of standard and capital missiles leaves her sister ship Thunderflash a crippled wreck. For the first time Musashi is beginning to worry about the outcome of the battle.
As the Rigellian fleet has dropped to maximum battleship speed, the Arachnid battleships stop detuning, allowing their force beam batteries to fire without any negative effects, albeit at near maximum range. All the Bug BCRs match speed with the battleships as their effectiveness will not be increased by closing the range. The other Arachnid formation, containing thirty Rapacious III class heavy cruisers and a single Reaver II continues to close in, reaching a range of two light seconds. This is within the sprint-mode envelope but also within the range at which capital force beam cause three times as much damage as they do at maximum range. All one hundred and twenty-six Rigellian fighters land safely on the four carriers, Akagi, Akula, Amethyst and Annapolis. Unfortunately, the carriers have moved within six light seconds of the Arachnid capital missile combatants in order to expedite the recovery.
One hundred capital missiles scream towards the carrier Akagi, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi's flagship. All of the Eradicator class escort battlecruisers are fighting with the outnumbered battleline so the carrier has to rely on its own capital point defence systems. She deploys one of her five EDMs and her crack point defence crews go into action. One only missile penetrates her defences, reducing her shields by a third. Violent combat continues between the two battlelines. The sole Reaver II class battlecruiser is taken out by Rigellian capital force beams, as is one of the Bug heavy cruisers. Two more cruisers are damaged. Thunderflash is finished off by the Bugs and the battleship Typhoon dies under a storm of sprint-mode missiles. Tyrannosaurus loses her shields and a quarter of her armour. Only one Rigellian battleship remains undamaged.
Musashi decides to force the issue so instead of continuing the dogleg course, he orders the battleline to turn toward the enemy heavy cruiser formation. The Bugs appear happy to bring the battle to a swift conclusion but avoid entering point blank range of the Rigellian force beams. Both formations exchange fire at half a light second. The second Arachnid formation, containing the BCRs and battleship, has been out turned by the Rigellians and is still at three point five light seconds. Every Rigellian ship and all the Arachnid heavy cruisers fire their XO mounted close assault missiles in addition to their powerful main batteries. It is like machine guns at twenty paces, ships on both sides being mown down by scything fire. Tyrannosaurus and Tyrian, the last two Rigellian battleships, are both destroyed, as are Goliath and Grail, two of the six Genda Mod 3 class battlecruisers. Retribution is swift and deadly with nine Arachnid heavy cruisers annihilated by the ferocious Rigellian assault. Fortunately, the intensification of the battleline combat distracts the Arachnid capital missile combatants away from the Rigellian carriers.
The Bug heavy cruiser formation holds position while the Arachnid BCRs and battleships close in, daring the Rigellians to remain at close range and face the force beams of the battleships. Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi, on board his flagship Akagi, fears the battle may be lost. Fourteen battlecruisers, two of which have no weapons, five destroyers and twelve corvettes now stand against nine battleships, fourteen battlecruisers and twenty heavy cruisers. Due to recent bug advances, the traditional tech advantage of the Rigellian Empire is not as great as it was and the days of a small group of Rigellians slaughtering Bugs by the score seem to be over. At least until new technological advances can restore the historical advantage. Although there are still over a hundred fighters left on the carriers, the battle will probably be over by the time they are rearmed.
However, the loss of the Rigellian battleships does increase the overall speed of the fleet so Musashi orders them to try and open the range to the oncoming Arachnid battleships. Unfortunately, the turn to close on the heavy cruisers brought the fleet onto an intercept course with the second Arachnid formation. The range falls for a few moments until the Rigellians can turn away once more with the heavy cruisers in close pursuit. By the time Rigellian weapons recharge, the heavy cruisers are half a light second astern and the battleships and BCRs three point two five light seconds astern. The fleet turns to avoid the enemy firing into its blindspot and opens fire. Four Bug cruisers are blasted to oblivion and a fifth reduced to a crawl. Unfortunately, Arachnid firepower exceeds that of the Rigellians and three Genda class battlecruisers are blown to pieces by an almost continual missile barrage.
The chase continues with the Arachnid heavy cruisers holding at half a light second and the battleship formation losing a quarter of a light second on the Rigellians. All four carriers, which have been moving away from the battle, reach safety outside the range of capital missiles. Arachnid sprint-mode missile fire continues, supported by capital missile and long range force beam fire. Guerre, the last Genda class battlecruiser, survives a tremendous battering but eventually goes down and is swiftly followed by three destroyers, Zulu, Turk and Marlborough. Three more Bug cruisers are destroyed. Two Arachnid battleships suffer engine burnouts due to recent detuning and begin to fall behind the other battleships and battlecruisers.
Pacifica?, a Battlestar class battlecruiser which is accompanying the battleline, has twenty pinnaces and five assault shuttles on board. Her commander consults the crews of the small craft then contacts Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi and requests permission for a kamikaze attack. Given the desperation of the situation and the fact that the ship will almost certainly be destroyed anyway, Musashi approves the request. All of the small craft launch and immediately attempt to ram a Bug cruiser. Seven pinnaces succeed, causing serious damage. Pacifica also tries a suicide attack but is easily avoided by the enemy heavy cruisers. Once again, the two Bug formations place themselves in positions which force the Rigellian battleline to change course to avoid exposing its blindspot. The Arachnid capital missile armed combatants and battleships are at three point seven five light seconds, maximum force beam range, but they will start to close the gap slightly as they are now on an intercept course. Ten Arachnid heavy cruisers are at half a light second with three crippled cruisers quickly falling astern of the action. Both enemy battleships with engine damage are unable to remain within weapons range of the main Rigellian force but they are in range of the Pacifica.
Two more Bug cruisers are crushed by Rigellian sprint-mode missiles and a third is crippled. All the capital force beam armed Rigellian warships have now been destroyed and the only beam capable ships remaining are the twelve Fleet Scouts with their single force beams. Arachnid missiles smash into Tarawa, one of the last two Battle class battlecruisers and she explodes. Her sister ship Trafalgar takes heavy force beam fire from the Bug battleships and capital missiles from the BCRs, wiping away her passive defences and wrecking five engine rooms. She quickly falls behind the battle between the remnants of the Second Carrier Striking Force and their heavy cruiser opponents and into the arms of the pursuing battleships. More force beams and capital missiles tear into Pacifica. Lacking even ECM, she is quickly blown to pieces.
All thirteen Rigellian pinnaces and five assault shuttles continue their course after their head on suicide attack against the cruisers, manoeuvring for a run at the enemy battleships and BCRs. The Arachnid formation tries to evade but is too late. Five pinnaces and two assault shuttles ram the lead battleship, knocking down the shields and vapourising a third of its armour. The remaining small craft begin to turn ready to try again. Despite the Second Carrier Striking Force's attempts to outrun the slower enemy battleships, the manoeuvring of the remaining heavy cruisers forces the fleet to turn to avoid exposing its blind spot, placing it once again on a course which allows the battleships to close the range slightly. The Bug cruisers close to a quarter of a light second.
Trafalgar is grievously wounded, all her engine rooms but one inoperative. Her twelve advanced gun\missile launchers are intact however and she uses them to extremely good effect, picking off two crippled Arachnid cruisers. Arachnid vengeance is swift, force beams and capital missiles tearing the gallant vessel apart. Caesar is still accompanying the main feet despite the lack of ammo for her capital missile launchers. Her slow charging plasma gun fires, demolishing three engine rooms on a wounded Bug cruiser. Several Fleet Scouts finish the job with their force beams. Six Eradicator class battlecruisers and two Tribal class destroyers combine their firepower to kill another cruiser. Echo, one of the Eradicators, is destroyed by sprint-mode missiles. Her sister ship El Salvador is hit hard and reduced to one sixth of normal speed.
The battle has raged on for what seems like forever. Musashi reviews the overall situation from his flag bridge on board the carrier Akagi. The Rigellian battleline has been severely battered by the superior Arachnid numbers and is now a shadow of its former self. Still in action are five Eradicator class battlecruisers, although one is badly damaged, a single Swordsmaster class which is out of ammunition, two Tribal class destroyers and twelve Fleet Scouts. Within a quarter of a light second of the Rigellian fleet are five Arachnid heavy cruisers. Almost four light seconds away is a group of thirteen Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers, a single capital missile battleship, an empty battleship-sized shuttle carrier, five beam armed battleships and twelve anti-fighter corvettes. Two more beam battleships are three-quarters of a light second further away. Although slower, the battleships are on an intercept course until the Rigellian fleet can turn. Two crippled Bug heavy cruisers are still within firing range of the Rigellians but dropping rapidly astern of the battle.
Almost forgotten are the four Rigellian carriers with one hundred and twenty-six fighters on board which have been shadowing the battle from just outside capital missile range. All the fighters have completed re-arming with close attack missiles and Musashi orders them to launch immediately. Their target - the Arachnid battleships and BCRs which are the nearest enemy group to the carriers. Unfortunately, the carriers are behind the Bugs so it will take a while for the fighters to catch them. The remaining Rigellian small craft launch another kamikaze attack on the shieldless Arachnid battleship. Three pinnaces strike the target, destroying the last of the battleships armour. A crippled bug cruiser and two battleships passing close to the surviving small craft shoot down five pinnaces and two assault shuttles, leaving just a single assault shuttle. El Salvador, already badly hit is finished off by Bug force beams. Elijah explodes amid a storm of sprint-mode and capital missiles. Two Arachnid heavy cruisers are destroyed, reducing the formation near the Rigellians to three ships. Musashi orders the last assault shuttle to break away from the enemy fleet and escape. He also notes that all the remaining battlecruisers are equipped with engine tuners and orders their immediate use.
The Rigellian fleet continues its dogleg course to keep its blindspot clear, only avoiding bringing the enemy battleships and BCRs closer because of the engine tuners. Two of the three Bug heavy cruisers in close proximity are blasted apart by sprint-mode missiles and the force beams of the scouts. Long range force beam and capital missile fire combine with the missiles of the remaining Arachnid heavy cruiser to destroy the Eradicator class battlecruiser Earth and wound her sister ship Echelon. With the reduction of the close in threat from the heavy cruisers, the few surviving Rigellian ships are finally free to run away from the battleships and BCRs. The single Bug cruiser moves away to three quarters of a light second but is blown to smithereens by the Rigellians. There are still thirteen battlecruisers and five battleships within firing range however. Echelon is destroyed and the last Eradicator, Emerald, loses her shields and armour.
The Rigellian force, which finally moves out of force beam range of the Bug battleships, now consists of Emerald, Caesar, the two destroyers Beagle and Visigoth plus twelve Fleet Scouts. Over one hundred Rigellian fighters are now only three light seconds from the enemy battleships and BCRs. Twelve corvettes detach from the Bug formation and move to intercept the fighters. Emerald, Beagle and Visigoth fire on the Stinger class corvettes, scoring a total of four hits on the lead ship and reducing it to half speed. The answering salvos from the Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers are strangely light - only four missiles from each battlecruiser instead of the usual seven. All nine launchers are active on the Bug capital missile battleship. That is still enough missiles to score six hits on Emerald, slowing the battlecruiser to half its normal speed, even with its remaining tuners engaged.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi is wary of the anti-fighter power of the Stinger class corvettes and does not want to risk them picking off his surviving fighters with impunity. Unfortunately, the Stingers are as fast as the Rigellian fighters and can kill them at a range beyond that of the fighter's anti-ship missiles. He orders the fighters to go after the Bug cripples, two cruisers and a battlecruiser, which are trailing the enemy formation, but to avoid getting into point defence range of the Stingers. Fortunately, the fighters are closer to the cripples than the Stingers are. All of the Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers cease firing. Musashi gleefully realises the enemy battlecruisers are probably out of ammunition. Emerald, lagging behind the other Rigellian ships, takes several hits from capital missiles fired by the enemy battleship, losing another engine room and half her armament. She continues firing defiantly.
The fighters reach the first cripple and the lead squadron blows it to pieces. A single Rigellian fighter is hit by point defence fire. Emerald is impaled by several force beam and explodes. Although Bug capital missiles from the battleship target the destroyer Visigoth, the destroyer's elite point defence crews prevent any damage. Three more salvos are fired at Visigoth without a single hit being scored. Then the battleship's missile launchers fall silent, another victim of empty magazines. Musashi orders the two destroyers to conserve their remaining ammunition which is enough for a dozen salvoes. He also orders the Caesar, the two destroyers and the twelve scouts to circle around the slower enemy force and to rendezvous with the carriers. Meanwhile, a second crippled cruiser is picked off by the Rigellian fighters and they go in search of the crippled battlecruiser. All eleven undamaged Stingers give up the futile chase and take up station near the two Bug battleships with engine damage which are now several light seconds behind the other battleships. Out of missiles and with no enemies in force beam range, the main Bug formation slows to let the damaged battleships catch up. The last Bug beam armed battleship dies in a blizzard of close attack missiles and the Rigellian fighters head back to their carriers.
Both sides seem content to regroup and within fifteen minutes have assembled into two opposing fleets. On the Arachnid side are thirteen capital missile battlecruisers without ammunition, a single capital missile battleship, also out of ammo, an empty shuttle carrier, seven beam armed battleships, two with engine damage and a third with no armour plus the twelve Stinger class corvettes, one of which is damaged. The Rigellian fleet consists of four Ark Royal class carriers, the Swordsmaster class battlecruiser Caesar, which is out of capital missile ammunition but does have a working plasma gun, two destroyers and twelve Fleet Scouts. Musashi sees only one chance to salvage victory out of the massive battle which is now nearing its end game. If he can destroy the seven beam armed battleships with his fighters, the Fleet Scouts can massacre all of the other Arachnid units with impunity. Standing in his way are the Stinger class anti-fighter corvettes.
Musashi moves the fleet to just outside force beam range of the enemy and orders his two destroyers to engage the Stingers. The already damaged Stinger takes two more hits and slows to one quarter speed. All of the Bugs ships except the Stingers hold position, daring the Rigellians to move closer, while the Stingers move to the opposite side of the Bug fleet from the Rigellian, making them more difficult to hit. Immediately, Musashi launches his fighters which scream toward the stationary Arachnid fleet. Left with little choice, the Arachnids start moving at the speed of their battleships with engine burnout. The Rigellians follow just outside force beam range while the fighters close in. Unable to keep up with the other Bug ships, the damaged Stinger is quickly within Rigellian force beam range and destroyed equally quickly. All the other Stingers move back into the fleet to provide maximum protection for the battleships. Unfortunately for the Bugs, if the Stingers move toward the oncoming fighters, they expose themselves to force beam fire so they have to sit and wait.
The fighters, moving twice as fast as the Bug formation, rapidly close the range. At three quarters of a light second, they are engaged by every point defence system in the Bug fleet, regardless of the presence of the two Rigellian destroyers inside missile range. Twenty-seven fighters are shot down, leaving ninety-eight. Taking advantage of the redirection of point defence, the destroyers badly damage a pair of Stingers. Within thirty-seconds, the fighters are at point blank range from the Bugs and close attack missiles start slamming into the battleships. Point defence and force beams fire back and Rigellian fighters vanish in balls of flame. Although twenty-eight more fighters are killed, two Arachnid battleships are annihilated and a third is badly damaged. The Bug fleet slows to protect their crippled companion and the seventy surviving fighters streak out of anti-fighter range. Two more Stingers are hit by destroyer fire while their point defence is shooting at fighters.
Musashi knows the exchange rate cannot continue. Almost forty-five percent of his fighters were destroyed in exchange for only two of the seven Arachnid battleships. All of the fighters land on Akagi and Akula so Musashi orders Amethyst, Annapolis and the battlecruiser Caesar to head back to Yamu. He also orders Beagle and Visigoth to expend the last of their missiles on the Stinger class corvettes while the fighters rearm. Three more Stingers are crippled leaving only four undamaged. All of the crippled Stingers can only move at a quarter of their normal speed, preventing the enemy fleet from moving fast enough to engage the fighters on their approach unless they abandon the Stingers to Rigellian force beams.
Seventy fighters scream into the attack once more, the first two squadrons taking out the four undamaged Stingers. The crippled battleship explodes and another is seriously damaged. Forty-five fighters break free of the carnage. Five minutes later they are prepared to go in again, their pilots resigned to the fact they will almost certainly not survive the battle, when Musashi suddenly remembers something from earlier in the battle. Two Rigellian destroyers, the Cambridgeshire and the Durham were ordered to escort some carriers back to Yamu as the destroyer's shields and armour were destroyed. However, their engines were intact and they carried full missile loads. Although they have travelled some way from the battle, they are still within communications range. Musashi halts the impending fighter launch and orders the two destroyers to return.
Twenty minutes later, the two destroyers have joined the small Rigellian fleet and Musashi instructs them to finish off the damaged Stingers. In less than seven minutes, every last Stinger has been eliminated. The fighters go in again but this time Musashi sends the Fleet Scouts into range to assist the attack with their force beams. Anti-fighter fire is dramatically less due to the destruction of the Stingers and the diversion of Arachnid force beam fire against the Fleet Scouts rather than the fighters. In addition, all of the Arachnid warships mount only capital point defence which is ineffective against fighters at point blank range. Only six fighters are shot down. A Fleet Scout is destroyed and a second damaged but another Bug battleship bites the dust with two more damaged, one seriously. Musashi pulls out the scouts until the next attack. Missile fire from the two destroyers prevents the Bugs from restoring the shields of the two damaged battleships before the thirty-nine fighters are re-armed and ready for action.
Once again, the Fleet Scouts move into force beam range as the fighters hit their targets. A second Fleet Scout explodes and another three fighters are killed by point defence. When the fighters pull away, all three remaining beam armed battleships are on fire and barely moving. Five minutes later, the Rigellian fighters attack again, while the Fleet Scouts remain safely out of force beam range. Although four fighters die bravely, when the survivors break away all that remains of the Bug battleships is a large expanding cloud of plasma and spinning debris. Thirty-two fighters land on the Akagi to a hereos welcome. Musashi orders the Akula, with empty hangar bays, plus the destroyers Beagle and Visigoth, with empty magazines, to head back to Yamu.
The entire Bug fleet now contains thirteen capital missile battlecruisers, a capital missile battleship and a shuttle carrier battleship, none of which have any active weapons systems. Musashi orders his ten Fleet Scouts into the attack and the Bugs scatter. Each Fleet Scout chases a capital missile battlecruiser, closes to just outside point blank range to avoid ramming attempts and systematically rips it apart using a single force beam. Once the ten battlecruisers are dead, the scouts pair up and quickly overhaul the slower moving battlecruisers and battleships which have started running independently for the planet. Within an hour, the battle is over. The active order of battle for the Second Carrier Striking Force in Tanega now consists of a single carrier, two destroyers and ten corvettes. Musashi knows he has been in a fight.
Total Arachnid casualties for the battle consist of nine battleships, forty-four battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and eighty-five corvettes. Rigellian losses include five battleships, nineteen battlecruisers, ten destroyers, two corvettes and almost four hundred fighters with another six destroyers damaged. The highest casualty list for any battle in galactic history.
The small force proceeds to the planet to check out its defences. A massive space station and six class two bases are in orbit, plus a solitary battleship which for some reason was not sent to join the main Bug fleet. Given his meagre resources, Musashi is wary of trying an attack, especially as the battleship is sheltering under the shadow of the station. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of construction activity in the station's forty shipyards which means time is limited. He decides to risk a fighter attack on the battleship, which should demonstrate the Arachnid defensive capabilities. The fleet moves to just outside capital missile range and launches all thirty-two fighters. A single Fleet Scout moves within capital missile range, trying to draw the Arachnids into revealing their anti-ship capability. Nothing happens so the scout moves into XO launched capital missile range of the station, the battleship and one of the bases. The Arachnids continue to hold their fire.
The fighters commence their final run, launching their weapons from point blank range. The battleship appears to be an intermediate type between the Devastator and the Devastator II, equipped with ECM and second generation shields and armour but not capital point defence. This new class is named the Devastator II and what was the Devastator II becomes the Devastator III. Each class two base is equipped with eight lasers and three second generation point defence systems, all useful anti-fighter systems. Five of the bases have a line of sight and a storm of fire envelopes the fighters. The battleship is seriously damaged but only nine fighters survive. Strangely, the station only engages the fighters with six lasers and no point defence.
Obviously fighters are not the answer so Musashi sends his two destroyers and ten Fleet Scouts into action. The lasers on the bases and space station will be unable to engage the Rigellian ships unless the Rigellians let them, so the battleship is the main problem. Both destroyers move to four light seconds and open fire with standard missiles. Only one missile penetrates the battleship defences. Suddenly, five of the bases and the space station launch volleys of XO launched capital missiles and the station opens fire with thirty ancient missile launchers. Durham is seriously damaged and Musashi orders her to withdraw. Unfortunately, her engines have been hit and she takes further damage before she can move out of range of the station's missile battery. The ten Fleet Scouts move within force beam range and assist Cambridgeshire in her attack on the battleship. The destroyer is having trouble penetrating the warships point defences so Musashi orders her to target the station while the scouts continue their attack.
Due to the size of the station, it is unable to maintain a drive field. This means that Rigellian missiles will explode on contact, rather than exploding prematurely due to the prescence of a drive field, increasing their destructive power by a factor of five. Six missiles are on target and the station apparently mounts no point defence or ECM. Its shields drop by sixty percent. Return fire takes out Cambridgeshire's shields and armour. Force beams flash between the Rigellian's corvettes and the wounded Bug battleship, crippling one Fleet Scout and removing several of the battleship's weapons. Another volley of thirty standard missiles from the station overwhelms Cambridgeshire's point defence and severely damages the destroyer. Her two remaining advanced gun\missile launchers each score a hit on the station, reducing the shields to twenty percent of normal.
Musashi orders Cambridgeshire to retreat. She pulls back, blasting down the last of the stations shields as she withdraws. Before she can move out of range, she is obliterated by return fire from the station. A Fleet Scout explodes under force beam fire from the battleship. The scouts are fighting back though, internal fires rage throughout the battleship and only a quarter of its weapons are still operational. Unfortunately, the station is now free to assist the battleship and a massive missile volley completely vapourises a Fleet Scout. Realising his force cannot penetrate the planet's defences, Musashi detaches a pair of scouts to watch from a distance and orders the rest of his ships back to Yamu. Nine fighter pilots are extremely relieved to be alive as the Second Carrier Striking Force has suffered ninety-eight percent losses among its strike groups.
Once back in the safety in Yamu, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi assesses the state of his command. All of the ships which he sent home during the battle arrived safely except for the destroyers Polynesian and Samanid which were severely damaged and failed to repair their life support systems. The carrier Akula rescued the crews and the two ships were scuttled. Now the fleet has regrouped, the order of battle consists of twelve Ark Royal class carriers, twelve capital missile battlecruisers, five destroyers, three of which have serious damage, six corvettes and nine fighters. Musashi orders that the capital missile battlecruisers be rearmed as fast as possible. He intends to return to Tanega immediately to try and finish the job before Arachnid reinforcements arrive. The newly created Eighteenth Striking Force is under construction in Yamu, although only six River Mod 2 class destroyers have been completed and are currently on their shakedown cruise. Musashi commandeers the destroyers, transfers his flag to the Caesar, and prepares to head back into Tanega with twelve battlecruisers, eight destroyers and six corvettes.
Turn 135
Fleet update:
Second Carrier Striking Force
12x Ark Royal class CV
1x Swordsmaster Mod 3 class BCR
11x Swordsman Mod 3 class BCR
6x River class DD
2x Tribal Mod 7 DD
8x Fleet Scout class CT
The Second Carrier Striking Force is the Empire's most experienced formation, commanded by its most battle hardened officer, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi. Unfortunately, it has recently taken heavy casualties in an assault on the Arachnid-held Tanega system and it may be several months before it is ready for action once more. The fleet is currently in Yamu, adjacent to Tanega, waiting for brand new first generation fighters to be built for the carriers. However, twelve superdreadnoughts are under construction, using all of the available shipyard space. The superdreadnoughts were originally destined for the Eighteenth Carrier Striking Force, also in Yamu, but will be diverted to the Second Carrier Striking Force as soon as their shakedown cruise is completed. In order to give the fleet some teeth, construction of several superdreadnoughts is halted to permit fighter construction. Musashi is keen to take his twelve capital missile battlecruisers plus the eight destroyers back into Tanega immediately, before the fighters are ready but also before the Bugs can replace their own massive losses. Two Fleet Scouts are currently in Tanega monitoring the Type T planet and its orbital defences.
When Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi ordered the Second Carrier Striking Force to retreat to Yamu from Tanega, he left two Fleet Scouts to monitor the Arachnid-inhabited planet. Those scouts now detect a new Bug force approaching on a vector only sixty degrees away from the direction of the Yamu warp point. The scouts pull back as the enemy fleet approaches but remain close enough to determine its composition. Twelve battlecruisers, fourteen heavy cruisers and thirty light cruisers. A small fleet compared to the one destroyed by the Second Carrier Striking Force but still significant. Especially now the combat capable strength of the Second Carrier Striking Force comprises only twelve battlecruisers, eight destroyers and eight corvettes. The Fleet Scouts fire courier drones to Yamu to warn Musashi. Musashi considers attacking anyway but decides to wait until his carriers have been equipped with first generation fighters and their magazines are filled with the new fighter missiles. He sends back a drone ordering to scouts to maintain their position and continue monitoring the enemy. A week later six battlecruisers, eighteen heavy cruisers and eighteen corvettes appear on the same course as the earlier arrivals and rendezvous with the fleet at the planet. Surprisingly, none of the corvettes make any attempt to chase away the Rigellian scouts, possibly indicating they are either Impalers or the anti-fighter variant.
Although the attacks on Sakata and Kuchino have been very successful, the Second Carrier Striking Force has run into substantial Arachnid defences sooner than anticipated. Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi has five options.
1) Assault the Sakata - Amakusa warp point. As this is guarded by forty bases and a hundred and fifty Bug warships, Musashi is not keen on this option.
2) Move into Kitaibaraki, which is adjacent to Sakata, and assault the Kitaibaraki - Sunami warp point. This is guarded by twelve class three bases and one hundred ships. Again, not a very attractive option.
3) Leave the escort groups of the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to patrol Sakata and move into Kuchino, ready for the completion of the rough survey in two weeks time.
4) Leave the escort groups of the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to patrol Sakata, move back into Yamu and attack the other major Bug system which was discovered at the same time as Sakata
5) Guard Sakata and await reinforcements.
After careful consideration, Musashi decides on option four. He hopes the confusion caused by the attack on the other major system, now designated as Tanega, will prevent the Bugs from attempting to retake Sakata. As the Communion of Loren has agreed to defend Kitaibaraki against an assault from Sunami, Musashi orders the escort groups from the First and Sixth Survey Fleets to guard the Sakata - Amakusa warp point. He also instructs them to lay their two hundred laser buoys around the warp point which should give them an edge in the early stages of any Arachnid assault. Besides, Musashi hopes to be back in Sakata before the Bugs even realise he has left. As the First Survey Fleet is currently surveying Kuchino, Musashi orders the survey element of the Sixth Survey Fleet to accompany the Second Carrier Striking Force to Tanega.
Three weeks later, after a careful probe of the area around the Tanega side of the Yamu - Tanega warp point, the Second Carrier Striking Force transits into a major Arachnid system for the second time. The warp point is only seventy-two light minutes from the system primary but the single type T world is currently at the opposite side of the star so planetary sensors will not pick up the Rigellian fleet. Although there are a couple of other planets within sensor range, the Bugs only emplace populations on habitable worlds and Musashi is confident that his force has escaped detection. The Second Carrier Striking Force is not quite as powerful as when it attacked Sakata as six of its battleships have been destroyed with a seventh damaged. The order of battle is as follows:
12x Ark Royal class CV (Albion has only seventeen fighters)
5x Thunder Mod 1 class BC
6x Genda Mod 3 class BC
6x Battle Mod 2 class BC
6x Eradicator class BC
11x Swordsman class BC
1x Swordsmaster class BC
1x Battlestar class BC
18x Tribal class DD
12x Fleet Scout class CT
413x Prototype Strikefighter
With the Fleet Scouts forming a screen ahead of the main body, the Second Carrier Striking Force heads straight for the main planet of the system. Similar to the main planet of Sakata, at least forty billion Bugs infest its surface. Within hours, a contact appears on an intercept course originating from the habitable world. Musashi intends to repeat his tactics at the Battle of Sakata, drawing the Bugs into an all out charge and smashing them with a massed fighter strike supported by the battleline. Once the Arachnid fleet moves into range of his Fleet Scouts, Musashi gets a little concerned. Nine battleships, forty-four battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and eighty-five corvettes stand between the Rigellians and the Bug planet. Nevertheless, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi still believes his force is strong enough to blast the enemy out of its way. Musashi considers sending out his twelve capital missile battlecruisers, along with a destroyer escort, to weaken the enemy force before the battle lines clash. He is worried about the large number of corvettes in the Arachnid force quickly closing the range, despite the engine tuners of the battlecruisers. However, as all the capital missile combatants have full loads of the new Strategic Bombardment Missiles, he decides it is worth the risk. The bulk of the Rigellian force turns around to keep their distance from the Bugs while twelve battlecruisers and eighteen destroyers advance to meet the enemy. The twelve Fleet Scouts continue to monitor the battle but do not get directly involved.
As the battlecruisers close in, seventy-three of the Arachnid corvettes break away from the main body and race toward the Rigellian detachment. Musashi, on board his flagship Akagi, orders the battlecruisers to commence fire at maximum range. As the Arachnid corvettes approach ten light seconds from the Rigellian battlecruisers, the small Rigellian force reverses course and opens fire. The Arachnids corvettes have never encountered SBMs before so they are no doubt surprised by the opening salvo. However, the effect of the fire is lessened as each corvette is carrying a single EDM on its external racks. One corvette is blasted apart but the other seventy-two start detuning and head after the Rigellian battlecruisers while the rest of the Arachnid force continues at the speed of their battleships. All twelve Rigellian missile battlecruisers engage their engine tuners. Another volley screams across nine and a half light seconds, taking out two more corvettes, one of which was not equipped with point defence.
By the time the corvettes close to maximum capital missile range, nine more have been destroyed, leaving sixty-one. Although hits are easier to score on the corvettes lacking point defence, presumably Impaler class, they can take over 30 percent more damage then those equipped with a single second generation point defence system. After five minutes of firing, ten Impalers and twelve of the other corvettes, possibly Piranhas, have been obliterated and the Swordsman Mod 3 battlecruisers have used a third of their strategic bombardment missiles. All eighteen Tribal class destroyers accompanying the twelve battlecruisers ready their advanced gun\missile launchers to engage the enemy as they reach five light seconds. Strangely, the enemy corvettes suddenly reduce speed and start following the Rigellians at five point seven five light seconds, making no attempt to close the range. All of the battlecruisers turn off their engine tuners and continue firing. Three minutes pass and fifteen more corvettes die. A trio of Rigellian destroyers tries to close the range but the corvettes match their speed increase, staying outside of standard missile range. The destroyers drop back to join the battlecruisers and the one-sided massacre continues. Thirty-five corvettes remain.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi starts to get concerned about the state of the battlecruisers magazines. Half of their ammunition has been expended and once it is all gone, the fleet's maximum engagement range will be five light seconds. Over four hundred fighters are available but Musashi is reluctant to commit them without the support of the main fleet. Experience has shown that fighters cannot live within the anti-fighter envelope of a major Arachnid force unless the Bugs have something else for their weapons and point defence to worry about besides slaughtering fighters. Although he considers ordering the battlecruisers to save their ammunition for more important targets, the lure of Bug corvettes sitting there like ducks on a shooting range is difficult to resist. The slaughter continues but several of the remaining point defence equipped corvettes absorb as much damage as the Impalers. They may be a new beam armed class with second generation shields and armour.
It takes another seven minutes before the last of the seventy-three corvettes are blasted to pieces without any of them firing a shot. Six Rigellian battlecruisers have only enough missiles for one more volley, five have enough for two volleys. Due to its lighter armament, the Swordsmaster Mod 3 Caesar has 25% of its ammunition left, enough for ten more salvoes. All twelve battlecruisers retain their external ordnance. Although none of them are damaged, the Rigellian BCRs are effectively out of the fight.
The battlecruisers and their destroyer screen rendezvous with the rest of the Second Carrier Striking Force and the whole fleet turns towards the Arachnid main body. All twelve Rigellian carriers launch their fighters then pull back five light seconds behind the rest of the fleet. Fifty-nine fighters are armed with fighter guns in case of kamikazes but the other three hundred and fifty-four are all loaded with a pair of close attack missiles. Surprisingly, given their experience in Sakata, the Arachnids also begin closing the range. When the two fleets are twelve light seconds apart, thirteen Bug battlecruisers, a single battleship and the last twelve corvettes break formation and continue on course while the rest of the Bugs reverse heading and run for it. Within thirty seconds, the breakaway group also turns but slows down allowing the Rigellians to move within SBM range and then capital missile range.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi has ordered the capital missile battlecruisers to conserve what little ammunition they have left until they reach optimum range so the Rigellians continue to hold their fire. The Arachnids however, do not. Capital missiles suddenly streak toward the Rigellians from all thirteen Bug battlecruisers. Each battlecruiser has seven launchers, two more than their Rigellian equivalents. The battleship does not fire and starts detuning to keep up with the battlecruisers. A total of ninety-one missiles are targeted on the destroyer Polynesian but a combination of extreme range, electronic countermeasures and accurate shooting from the datagroup point defence net results in no damage. The psychological blow is far greater. Capital missiles have been the Rigellian shield against the Bug hordes. Now the Arachnids also have the technology, Rigellian battle strategy will have to be completely rethought. Even though the SBM has greater range, its accuracy at long range against opponents mounting ECM is very poor. All of the Bug capital missile battlecruisers start radiating active ECM in readiness for a Rigellian counter salvo but Musashi orders his ships to hold their fire until they can make best use of their missiles.
The Rigellians find themselves facing the situation which they have inflicted on the Bugs on numerous occasions. Only the Swordsman class battlecruisers and the Eradicator class escort battlecruisers have engine tuners which they could use the close the range. All five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships do have tuners but they could only be used to bring the battleships up to normal battlecruiser speed. Musashi is loathe to order his ships to start detuning as engine damage could be fatal in the eventual beam engagement with the Arachnid battleline. He decides to send his fighters against the enemy while bringing the fleet around one hundred and eighty degrees, forcing the battlecruisers to fly through the fighters to continue firing on the Second Carrier Striking Force. Unfortunately, as soon as the Rigellians reverse course, the Arachnid main body slows and the detached units rejoin, creating a very prickly porcupine for the fighters to attack alone.
The fighters keep their distance, shadowing the enemy and preventing the capital missile battlecruisers from detaching once more, while the Rigellian fleet turns again to pursue the Bugs. Obviously eager to engage the Rigellians, the Bug fleet slows, allowing the Rigellians to close the range. Once the Rigellians reach seven light seconds, the Arachnid fleet increases to maximum battleship speed and opens fire. Polynesian takes eleven hits and drops out of formation, internal fires raging and only one engine room operational. The Rigellian battleships switch on their engine tuners and the range slowly begins to drop. In a reversal of roles, the Rigellian pursue the Bugs while under a hail of capital missiles. One of the Bug battleships is armed with nine internal capital missile launchers and adds its firepower to the onslaught. Musashi assumes the Bugs are picking on the Rigellian destroyers because of their lack of capital point defence and the fragility of their datalink, the destruction of which cuts off the support of the datalinked point defence systems on the other members of the datagroup. In addition, the bulk of the Rigellian fleet, with the exception of the carriers, their escorts and the capital missile battlecruisers, are not carrying any EDMs. All the battleline and the destroyers are equipped with full loads of close assault missiles.
Another Bug volley and Samanid is out of action. The third volley targets Phoenician. No longer supported by her crippled companions, she is blown to pieces by the massed Bug fire. Musashi's Swordsman class battlecruiser captains request permission to fire but he refuses. He does allow the Swordsmaster Mod 3 class battlecruiser Caesar to retaliate as she still has enough ammunition for ten salvoes and Musashi needs to boost the morale of crewmen unused to being pounded in such a manner. However, Caesar's four capital missile launchers are no match for one hundred Arachnid launchers. Three of the four missiles are on target but the battlecruisers reveal that not only do they have ECM, they have capital point defence as well. No missiles hit. Bug return fire knocks the destroyer Oxfordshire out of the fight. Musashi's intelligence staff designate the new Bug battlecruiser as the Annihilator class and the capital missile armed battleship as the Destruction class.
The range between the two fleets drops to six light seconds, maximum range for XO launched capital missiles. Neither side bothers to fire XO missiles as they are all but useless at that range against an opponent protected by ECM. Arachnid internal launchers work just fine. Lancashire explodes under a hail of missiles and Persian loses two engines rooms. Caesar scores no hits in return. Cambridgeshire loses her shields and armour so Musashi orders her to drop out of formation and rendezvous with the carriers. Cumbria isn't so lucky and breaks in half as her defences are overwhelmed. Fifty-nine squadrons of Rigellian fighters have been keeping pace with the Bugs, holding at one and a half light seconds which is just outside Arachnid anti-fighter range. Musashi intends to commit the fighters once his battleline has the enemy point defence occupied.
Unfortunately, that plan is put into disarray as sixty assault shuttles launch from one of the Bug battleships and tear into the Rigellian fighters. The ten Rigellian squadrons equipped with fighter guns have been held back to guard the battleline against kamikazes and would require over five minutes to catch up with the squadrons shadowing the Bugs. Those squadrons are equipped with close attack missiles and have no defence against the assault shuttles. Twenty-two fighters are destroyed by the assault shuttles' point defence systems. Musashi knows that if he orders the fighters to retreat, his battleline will be no match for the Bugs by itself. Unfortunately, it is too late to try and pull back the battleline out because it is deep inside the weapons envelope of the enemy capital missile battlecruisers. With heavy heart, but little choice, he orders the fighters to engage the enemy fleet and ignore the attacking assault shuttles. It will take a full minute for them to catch the Arachnid fleet, during which time the Bug point defence will be free to engage the Rigellian fighters during their run-in because Rigellian shipboard weapons, with the exception of a few capital missiles, will not be in range. One small ray of hope is that as the fighters close to point blank range, the Rigellian fleet will reach maximum capital force beam and advanced gun\missile launcher range. Musashi releases his capital missile battlecruisers to fire their last few missiles at any Bugs which use their point defence against the fighters. The enemy shuttle carrier battleship is designated as the Superhorde class.
Meanwhile the enemy capital missile battlecruisers continue to pound the Rigellian screen. Cheshire is destroyed and Durham loses her passive defences. Four Rigellian destroyers have now been eliminated and six are various states of damage. Twenty-one more fighters are killed by the Bug assault shuttles before the enemy battleline opens up at three quarters of a light second with a blazing mass of anti-fighter fire. At least the type of fire provides some intelligence on the likely composition of classes in the Arachnid fleet. One enemy battleship is known to be Superhorde, while the second is a Destruction class. The other seven use twelve force beams and three capital point defence systems each which means they are a new class, quickly designated as the Devastator II. Of the forty-four battlecruisers, thirteen are known to be the new Annihilators, thirty more attack with nine force beams and four second generation point defence systems, indicating they are Reavers while the last battlecruiser has nine force beams and three capital point defence systems, probably a new Reaver II. All thirty heavy cruisers use three capital point defence systems each which unfortunately means they are likely to be the latest Rapacious III class with advanced gun\missile launchers. All twelve corvettes activate five point defence systems each, marking them as Stinger anti-fighter corvettes.
In total, the three hundred and eleven fighters are attacked by one hundred and sixty capital point defence systems, one hundred and eighty second generation point defence systems and three hundred and sixty-three force beams. One hundred and thirteen Rigellian fighters are shot down, leaving less than two hundred. The twelve Rigellian capital missile battlecruisers take advantage of the diversion of the enemy point defence to obliterate three Reaver beam armed battlecruisers. Unfortunately, the rest of the Rigellian fleet is a quarter of a light second out of range. Given the fighter losses, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi orders six of his twelve carriers to head back to the entry warp point, escorted by the destroyers Cambridgeshire and Durham, both of which have lost their shields and armour, and the six Swordsman class battlecruisers which are out of ammunition.
Finally, the Rigellian fleet of five battleships, twenty-four battlecruisers, five of which can only fire one more salvo, eight destroyers and twelve corvettes moves into range of the much larger Arachnid fleet. At the same moment, one hundred and ninety eight fighters reach point blank range. Rigellian fire concentrates on the Reaver class battlecruisers, which lack ECM. As the Reavers and the Devastators lack the range to attack the Rigellian ships, they use their force beams against the fighters. Ninety-seven fighters are shot down and a further fourteen are killed by the predatory assault shuttles. Despite their massive losses, the fighters press home their attack and a deluge of close attack missiles annihilates ten Reaver class battlecruisers. A serious blow to the Bugs but not the devastating strike that Third Swordsman of Star Musashi had originally planned. Of the three hundred and fifty-four fighters which were sent against the Arachnid fleet, only eighty-seven survive to break away with the assault shuttles in pursuit.
The six Rigellian Battle Mod 2 battlecruisers join the action. Although their standard missile fire is badly affected by the range, they manage to take out five engine rooms on an undamaged Reaver. The last substantial volley of Rigellian SBMs scores six more hits and standard missiles from destroyers finish the job. Caesar has enough SBMs for three more salvos, all the other Rigellian BCRs are out of ammunition. Capital missiles from the Arachnid Annihilator class battlecruisers continue to rain on the Rigellian destroyers. Jutes takes a barrage of hits and explodes.
Arachnid Rapacious III class heavy cruisers are each armed with seven advanced gun\missile launchers. Each datagroup of three can launch eighty four standard missiles per minute and there are ten datagroups of the new cruisers. Fortuitously, a combination of range and ECM severely affects their accuracy and the only result of their fire is a crippled destroyer. Unfortunately, the destroyer in question is Discovery, the first Rigellian ship ever to make a warp point transit. Musashi orders the Ronin commanding the destroyer to run for it, although in reality Discovery will have to crawl rather than run. Five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships and six Genda Mod 3 class battlecruisers open fire with capital force beams and are joined by the six Eradicators with their advanced gun\missile launchers. Although the range is extreme, they succeed in crippling another battlecruiser. Musashi orders the five battlecruisers which have run out of ammo to head for the entry warp point, along with two more carriers which have no fighters to rearm.
The Bug fleet begins to turn. Now the Arachnid capital missile battlecruiser can no longer attack with impunity, Musashi guesses they want to bring their force beam armed battleships and battlecruisers into range of the Rigellians. He orders his fleet to turn away from the Bugs, placing the two fleets on parallel courses just under five light seconds apart, heading in opposite directions. All of the Rigellian weapons are in range and he sees no reason to give the enemy any advantage. The fighters race for the safety of their carriers with the assault shuttles in pursuit. Freed of their ordnance, the fighters are slightly faster but not fast enough to move out of weapon range. Fifteen of them die under the guns of the Bug shuttles. Fifty-nine Rigellian fighters armed with fighter guns are racing to the aid of their remaining comrades.
Both sides exchange fire; capital missiles, capital force beam and standard missiles battering at shields, armour and the fragile systems they protect. Discovery, trying to limp away, is caught by a long range missile shot and blows up. Visigoth is the next destroyer to be targeted. Her elite crew is no stranger to combat however and her point defence systems are deadly accurate. She takes the fire of twelve enemy battlecruisers and only suffers a single capital missile hit. The Arachnid heavy cruisers ignore the apparently invincible destroyer and attack her sister ship Saxon, taking out three engine rooms. In retaliation, two Bug battlecruisers are blasted apart. Although sixteen enemy battlecruisers have now been destroyed, none of them had ECM or the latest shields, armour and point defence. Musashi rates them as second class ships. Besides, the Bugs still have nine battleships, twenty-eight battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and twelve corvettes compared to the combat capable Rigellian force of four carriers, five battleships, nineteen battlecruisers, five destroyers and twelve corvettes. Actual Rigellian ship losses only amount to six destroyers with seven more damaged. However, eleven battlecruisers and eight carriers are withdrawing toward the Yamu warp point due to lack of ammunition and horrendous fighter losses.
When the Bugs complete their turn, the Rigellians let them close to four point five light seconds before matching their speed. The chase situation has now reversed with the Arachnids pursuing the Rigellian fleet. Although Musashi is happy with the current engagement range as it improves the accuracy of his missile equipped units, he does not want to let the enemy beam armed combatants within four light seconds. At last, the Rigellian fighters armed with fighter guns dive into the midst of the assault shuttle formation while the survivors of the attack on the Bug fleet continue to flee. Although each attacking fighter is equipped with two fighter guns, the tracking abilities of each fighter extends to only one enemy target, meaning that both guns will have to be used against the same Bug shuttle. Even so, the fifty-nine fighters have enough firepower to go through the assault shuttles like a hot knife through butter. Forty-three assault shuttles explode in rapid succession. Only three Rigellian fighters are hit by the assault shuttles' point defence.
Arachnid fire finally turns away from the massacre of the Rigellian destroyers and starts targeting the Battle Mod 2 class battlecruiser Midway. Her defences and those of her sister ships kill hundreds of missiles but a small percentage get through. Explosions wrack the gallant battlecruiser, slowly battering down her defences until she is helpless, ECM destroyed, point defence knocked out and drive field down. A single capital missile delivers the coup de grace. Rigellian revenge is swift. Standard missiles and capital force beams wipe out two more Reaver class battlecruisers. A third battlecruiser is grievously wounded and falls behind the Arachnid formation.
The Bug fleet suddenly splits into two, attempting to manoeuvre into the Rigellian blindspot or force the Rigellians to turn. All of the Arachnid battleships and BCRs form into one fleet moving at cruiser speed with the battleships detuning their engines while the heavy cruisers and force beam armed battlecruisers form the second formation, also moving at maximum cruiser speed. The Rigellian battleships reactivate their engine tuners but they have only two minutes before the tuners start to emit lethal amounts of radiation. Due to the Bug manoeuvring, the Rigellian fleet is forced to turn toward the four remaining carriers which have been running parallel to the course of the main body but four light seconds further away from the Bugs. The carriers, forced to turn to stay outside capital missile range, are now running ahead of the main fleet which has successfully kept the Arachnid formations out of its blind spot while maintaining a distance of four point five light seconds.
Although the fighters continue to head back to their carriers, their rate of closure has now slowed dramatically due to the carriers' course change. The last seventeen Bug assault shuttles manage to score two more kills before they are wiped out by the gun-armed Rigellian fighters. Two more Arachnid battlecruisers are destroyed and the Rigellian battlecruiser Crecy is badly damaged. Reduced to one engine room, it quickly falls behind the rest of the Rigellian fleet and into the range of the Arachnid force beamed armed combatants. Caesar finally runs out of capital missiles. As the fleet is already heading in the direction of the Yamu warp point due to its recent manoeuvres, Musashi orders the battlecruiser to stay in formation and be ready to break away when an opportunity presents itself.
The two Bug fleets move further apart, widening the area from which they can attack the blind spot of the Rigellian fleet. Although for the moment, the Second Carrier Striking Force maintains its distance, it is forced into a turn which puts it on an intercept course for the Bug formation containing the heavy cruisers and remaining force beam battlecruisers. The battlecruiser Crecy and the destroyer Saxon are both trailing the rest of the fleet due to engine damage. Bug force beams lash out, obliterating both Rigellian vessels. Coral Sea is the target of the enemy missile combatants and even her crack crew cannot prevent severe damage, resulting in the loss of five engine rooms. One Arachnid battlecruiser is destroyed and a second badly damaged.
To avoid exposing its blindspot, the Rigellian fleet is forced into a dogleg course which allows the two Arachnid formations to close to four light seconds. Coral Sea, with only one engine room operational, is unable keep up with the rest of the fleet and is ripped apart by force beams. An entire datagroup of Battle Mod 2 class battlecruisers has now been destroyed and Arachnid missiles rain on River Plate, leading the second datagroup, leaving it a crippled wreck. The decrease in range has also brought an increase in the accuracy of Rigellian weapons. Two undamaged Reaver class battlecruisers are eliminated. Up to this point, the Rigellian have concentrated on the older Reaver class as they have no ECM, making them easier targets. Of the original thirty Reavers, only four are intact with a further three damaged and falling behind the enemy fleet.
Another dogleg manoeuvre brings the Bug formation of heavy cruisers and the four beam armed battlecruisers to three point five light seconds. The Arachnid BCR and battleship group is at three point seven five light seconds. All Arachnid weapons are now in range while the Rigellian capital force beams on the battleships and Genda class battlecruisers are at twice their previous effectiveness. River Plate blows up under heavy force beam fire then all five Thunder Mod 1 class battleships open fire, obliterating a damaged enemy battlecruiser. Arachnid attention immediately turns to the Rigellian battleships. Tantalus loses her formidable shields and armour and two engine rooms are wrecked. Two more Reavers die under increasingly accurate Rigellian fire. The twelve Rigellian Fleet Scouts, which have taken little part in the battle so far, finally spring into action as the enemy fleet moves within range of their single force beams. For the first time in the battle, both sides are fully engaged with all their remaining combat effective ships. Musashi consults his tactical display to review the current order of battle for both sides.
Rigellian Second Carrier Striking Force
4x Ark Royal class CV (126 fighters are currently en route to the carriers)
5x Thunder Mod 1 class BB (one of which is damaged)
6x Genda Mod 3 class BC
6x Eradicator class BCE
2x Battle Mod 2 class BC
1x Swordsmaster class BC (no ammo - just one Plasma Gun)
5x Tribal Mod 7 class DD
12x Fleet Scout class CT
Rigellian ships currently heading for the Yamu system
8x Ark Royal class CV
11x Swordsman class BC
6x Tribal Mod 7 DD (four of which have engine damage)
Arachnid Omnivoracity Navy
7x Devastator II class BB
1x Destruction class BB
1x Superhorde class BB
13x Annihilator class BCR
4x Reaver class BC (two of which are badly damaged and away from the action)
1x Reaver II class BC
30x Rapacious III class CA
12x Stinger class CT
The Rigellian battleships are forced to turn off their engine tuners to prevent deadly radiation from spreading through the ship, reducing the overall speed of the main Rigellian force. A combination of slower speed and the dogleg course brings the Arachnids ever closer. The BCR\battleship formation is at three point five light seconds and only gaining by the difference in the Rigellian and Arachnid speeds. The Bug heavy cruisers and remaining Reavers are on an intercept course and have closed to less than three light seconds. Musashi knows that once the thirty heavy cruisers are in sprint-mode range, the battle could get ugly very quickly. The four Rigellian carriers which have been keeping out of Arachnid weapon range for the entire battle now creep inside capital missile range of the enemy BCRs to speed up the retrieval and rearming of their fighters. The intensity of the battle increases as the range falls; weapons on both sides becoming more effective. Three Reaver class battlecruisers are destroyed by Rigellian force beams and missiles, including one already damaged. A single Reaver remains and it is too far from the battle to be engaged. The only Reaver II in the battle is the next Rigellian target. Unfortunately, it is equipped with ECM and capital point defence making it far more difficult to hit and damage is minimal. Arachnid force beams tear the damaged battleship Tantalus to pieces and a hail of standard and capital missiles leaves her sister ship Thunderflash a crippled wreck. For the first time Musashi is beginning to worry about the outcome of the battle.
As the Rigellian fleet has dropped to maximum battleship speed, the Arachnid battleships stop detuning, allowing their force beam batteries to fire without any negative effects, albeit at near maximum range. All the Bug BCRs match speed with the battleships as their effectiveness will not be increased by closing the range. The other Arachnid formation, containing thirty Rapacious III class heavy cruisers and a single Reaver II continues to close in, reaching a range of two light seconds. This is within the sprint-mode envelope but also within the range at which capital force beam cause three times as much damage as they do at maximum range. All one hundred and twenty-six Rigellian fighters land safely on the four carriers, Akagi, Akula, Amethyst and Annapolis. Unfortunately, the carriers have moved within six light seconds of the Arachnid capital missile combatants in order to expedite the recovery.
One hundred capital missiles scream towards the carrier Akagi, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi's flagship. All of the Eradicator class escort battlecruisers are fighting with the outnumbered battleline so the carrier has to rely on its own capital point defence systems. She deploys one of her five EDMs and her crack point defence crews go into action. One only missile penetrates her defences, reducing her shields by a third. Violent combat continues between the two battlelines. The sole Reaver II class battlecruiser is taken out by Rigellian capital force beams, as is one of the Bug heavy cruisers. Two more cruisers are damaged. Thunderflash is finished off by the Bugs and the battleship Typhoon dies under a storm of sprint-mode missiles. Tyrannosaurus loses her shields and a quarter of her armour. Only one Rigellian battleship remains undamaged.
Musashi decides to force the issue so instead of continuing the dogleg course, he orders the battleline to turn toward the enemy heavy cruiser formation. The Bugs appear happy to bring the battle to a swift conclusion but avoid entering point blank range of the Rigellian force beams. Both formations exchange fire at half a light second. The second Arachnid formation, containing the BCRs and battleship, has been out turned by the Rigellians and is still at three point five light seconds. Every Rigellian ship and all the Arachnid heavy cruisers fire their XO mounted close assault missiles in addition to their powerful main batteries. It is like machine guns at twenty paces, ships on both sides being mown down by scything fire. Tyrannosaurus and Tyrian, the last two Rigellian battleships, are both destroyed, as are Goliath and Grail, two of the six Genda Mod 3 class battlecruisers. Retribution is swift and deadly with nine Arachnid heavy cruisers annihilated by the ferocious Rigellian assault. Fortunately, the intensification of the battleline combat distracts the Arachnid capital missile combatants away from the Rigellian carriers.
The Bug heavy cruiser formation holds position while the Arachnid BCRs and battleships close in, daring the Rigellians to remain at close range and face the force beams of the battleships. Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi, on board his flagship Akagi, fears the battle may be lost. Fourteen battlecruisers, two of which have no weapons, five destroyers and twelve corvettes now stand against nine battleships, fourteen battlecruisers and twenty heavy cruisers. Due to recent bug advances, the traditional tech advantage of the Rigellian Empire is not as great as it was and the days of a small group of Rigellians slaughtering Bugs by the score seem to be over. At least until new technological advances can restore the historical advantage. Although there are still over a hundred fighters left on the carriers, the battle will probably be over by the time they are rearmed.
However, the loss of the Rigellian battleships does increase the overall speed of the fleet so Musashi orders them to try and open the range to the oncoming Arachnid battleships. Unfortunately, the turn to close on the heavy cruisers brought the fleet onto an intercept course with the second Arachnid formation. The range falls for a few moments until the Rigellians can turn away once more with the heavy cruisers in close pursuit. By the time Rigellian weapons recharge, the heavy cruisers are half a light second astern and the battleships and BCRs three point two five light seconds astern. The fleet turns to avoid the enemy firing into its blindspot and opens fire. Four Bug cruisers are blasted to oblivion and a fifth reduced to a crawl. Unfortunately, Arachnid firepower exceeds that of the Rigellians and three Genda class battlecruisers are blown to pieces by an almost continual missile barrage.
The chase continues with the Arachnid heavy cruisers holding at half a light second and the battleship formation losing a quarter of a light second on the Rigellians. All four carriers, which have been moving away from the battle, reach safety outside the range of capital missiles. Arachnid sprint-mode missile fire continues, supported by capital missile and long range force beam fire. Guerre, the last Genda class battlecruiser, survives a tremendous battering but eventually goes down and is swiftly followed by three destroyers, Zulu, Turk and Marlborough. Three more Bug cruisers are destroyed. Two Arachnid battleships suffer engine burnouts due to recent detuning and begin to fall behind the other battleships and battlecruisers.
Pacifica?, a Battlestar class battlecruiser which is accompanying the battleline, has twenty pinnaces and five assault shuttles on board. Her commander consults the crews of the small craft then contacts Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi and requests permission for a kamikaze attack. Given the desperation of the situation and the fact that the ship will almost certainly be destroyed anyway, Musashi approves the request. All of the small craft launch and immediately attempt to ram a Bug cruiser. Seven pinnaces succeed, causing serious damage. Pacifica also tries a suicide attack but is easily avoided by the enemy heavy cruisers. Once again, the two Bug formations place themselves in positions which force the Rigellian battleline to change course to avoid exposing its blindspot. The Arachnid capital missile armed combatants and battleships are at three point seven five light seconds, maximum force beam range, but they will start to close the gap slightly as they are now on an intercept course. Ten Arachnid heavy cruisers are at half a light second with three crippled cruisers quickly falling astern of the action. Both enemy battleships with engine damage are unable to remain within weapons range of the main Rigellian force but they are in range of the Pacifica.
Two more Bug cruisers are crushed by Rigellian sprint-mode missiles and a third is crippled. All the capital force beam armed Rigellian warships have now been destroyed and the only beam capable ships remaining are the twelve Fleet Scouts with their single force beams. Arachnid missiles smash into Tarawa, one of the last two Battle class battlecruisers and she explodes. Her sister ship Trafalgar takes heavy force beam fire from the Bug battleships and capital missiles from the BCRs, wiping away her passive defences and wrecking five engine rooms. She quickly falls behind the battle between the remnants of the Second Carrier Striking Force and their heavy cruiser opponents and into the arms of the pursuing battleships. More force beams and capital missiles tear into Pacifica. Lacking even ECM, she is quickly blown to pieces.
All thirteen Rigellian pinnaces and five assault shuttles continue their course after their head on suicide attack against the cruisers, manoeuvring for a run at the enemy battleships and BCRs. The Arachnid formation tries to evade but is too late. Five pinnaces and two assault shuttles ram the lead battleship, knocking down the shields and vapourising a third of its armour. The remaining small craft begin to turn ready to try again. Despite the Second Carrier Striking Force's attempts to outrun the slower enemy battleships, the manoeuvring of the remaining heavy cruisers forces the fleet to turn to avoid exposing its blind spot, placing it once again on a course which allows the battleships to close the range slightly. The Bug cruisers close to a quarter of a light second.
Trafalgar is grievously wounded, all her engine rooms but one inoperative. Her twelve advanced gun\missile launchers are intact however and she uses them to extremely good effect, picking off two crippled Arachnid cruisers. Arachnid vengeance is swift, force beams and capital missiles tearing the gallant vessel apart. Caesar is still accompanying the main feet despite the lack of ammo for her capital missile launchers. Her slow charging plasma gun fires, demolishing three engine rooms on a wounded Bug cruiser. Several Fleet Scouts finish the job with their force beams. Six Eradicator class battlecruisers and two Tribal class destroyers combine their firepower to kill another cruiser. Echo, one of the Eradicators, is destroyed by sprint-mode missiles. Her sister ship El Salvador is hit hard and reduced to one sixth of normal speed.
The battle has raged on for what seems like forever. Musashi reviews the overall situation from his flag bridge on board the carrier Akagi. The Rigellian battleline has been severely battered by the superior Arachnid numbers and is now a shadow of its former self. Still in action are five Eradicator class battlecruisers, although one is badly damaged, a single Swordsmaster class which is out of ammunition, two Tribal class destroyers and twelve Fleet Scouts. Within a quarter of a light second of the Rigellian fleet are five Arachnid heavy cruisers. Almost four light seconds away is a group of thirteen Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers, a single capital missile battleship, an empty battleship-sized shuttle carrier, five beam armed battleships and twelve anti-fighter corvettes. Two more beam battleships are three-quarters of a light second further away. Although slower, the battleships are on an intercept course until the Rigellian fleet can turn. Two crippled Bug heavy cruisers are still within firing range of the Rigellians but dropping rapidly astern of the battle.
Almost forgotten are the four Rigellian carriers with one hundred and twenty-six fighters on board which have been shadowing the battle from just outside capital missile range. All the fighters have completed re-arming with close attack missiles and Musashi orders them to launch immediately. Their target - the Arachnid battleships and BCRs which are the nearest enemy group to the carriers. Unfortunately, the carriers are behind the Bugs so it will take a while for the fighters to catch them. The remaining Rigellian small craft launch another kamikaze attack on the shieldless Arachnid battleship. Three pinnaces strike the target, destroying the last of the battleships armour. A crippled bug cruiser and two battleships passing close to the surviving small craft shoot down five pinnaces and two assault shuttles, leaving just a single assault shuttle. El Salvador, already badly hit is finished off by Bug force beams. Elijah explodes amid a storm of sprint-mode and capital missiles. Two Arachnid heavy cruisers are destroyed, reducing the formation near the Rigellians to three ships. Musashi orders the last assault shuttle to break away from the enemy fleet and escape. He also notes that all the remaining battlecruisers are equipped with engine tuners and orders their immediate use.
The Rigellian fleet continues its dogleg course to keep its blindspot clear, only avoiding bringing the enemy battleships and BCRs closer because of the engine tuners. Two of the three Bug heavy cruisers in close proximity are blasted apart by sprint-mode missiles and the force beams of the scouts. Long range force beam and capital missile fire combine with the missiles of the remaining Arachnid heavy cruiser to destroy the Eradicator class battlecruiser Earth and wound her sister ship Echelon. With the reduction of the close in threat from the heavy cruisers, the few surviving Rigellian ships are finally free to run away from the battleships and BCRs. The single Bug cruiser moves away to three quarters of a light second but is blown to smithereens by the Rigellians. There are still thirteen battlecruisers and five battleships within firing range however. Echelon is destroyed and the last Eradicator, Emerald, loses her shields and armour.
The Rigellian force, which finally moves out of force beam range of the Bug battleships, now consists of Emerald, Caesar, the two destroyers Beagle and Visigoth plus twelve Fleet Scouts. Over one hundred Rigellian fighters are now only three light seconds from the enemy battleships and BCRs. Twelve corvettes detach from the Bug formation and move to intercept the fighters. Emerald, Beagle and Visigoth fire on the Stinger class corvettes, scoring a total of four hits on the lead ship and reducing it to half speed. The answering salvos from the Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers are strangely light - only four missiles from each battlecruiser instead of the usual seven. All nine launchers are active on the Bug capital missile battleship. That is still enough missiles to score six hits on Emerald, slowing the battlecruiser to half its normal speed, even with its remaining tuners engaged.
Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi is wary of the anti-fighter power of the Stinger class corvettes and does not want to risk them picking off his surviving fighters with impunity. Unfortunately, the Stingers are as fast as the Rigellian fighters and can kill them at a range beyond that of the fighter's anti-ship missiles. He orders the fighters to go after the Bug cripples, two cruisers and a battlecruiser, which are trailing the enemy formation, but to avoid getting into point defence range of the Stingers. Fortunately, the fighters are closer to the cripples than the Stingers are. All of the Arachnid capital missile battlecruisers cease firing. Musashi gleefully realises the enemy battlecruisers are probably out of ammunition. Emerald, lagging behind the other Rigellian ships, takes several hits from capital missiles fired by the enemy battleship, losing another engine room and half her armament. She continues firing defiantly.
The fighters reach the first cripple and the lead squadron blows it to pieces. A single Rigellian fighter is hit by point defence fire. Emerald is impaled by several force beam and explodes. Although Bug capital missiles from the battleship target the destroyer Visigoth, the destroyer's elite point defence crews prevent any damage. Three more salvos are fired at Visigoth without a single hit being scored. Then the battleship's missile launchers fall silent, another victim of empty magazines. Musashi orders the two destroyers to conserve their remaining ammunition which is enough for a dozen salvoes. He also orders the Caesar, the two destroyers and the twelve scouts to circle around the slower enemy force and to rendezvous with the carriers. Meanwhile, a second crippled cruiser is picked off by the Rigellian fighters and they go in search of the crippled battlecruiser. All eleven undamaged Stingers give up the futile chase and take up station near the two Bug battleships with engine damage which are now several light seconds behind the other battleships. Out of missiles and with no enemies in force beam range, the main Bug formation slows to let the damaged battleships catch up. The last Bug beam armed battleship dies in a blizzard of close attack missiles and the Rigellian fighters head back to their carriers.
Both sides seem content to regroup and within fifteen minutes have assembled into two opposing fleets. On the Arachnid side are thirteen capital missile battlecruisers without ammunition, a single capital missile battleship, also out of ammo, an empty shuttle carrier, seven beam armed battleships, two with engine damage and a third with no armour plus the twelve Stinger class corvettes, one of which is damaged. The Rigellian fleet consists of four Ark Royal class carriers, the Swordsmaster class battlecruiser Caesar, which is out of capital missile ammunition but does have a working plasma gun, two destroyers and twelve Fleet Scouts. Musashi sees only one chance to salvage victory out of the massive battle which is now nearing its end game. If he can destroy the seven beam armed battleships with his fighters, the Fleet Scouts can massacre all of the other Arachnid units with impunity. Standing in his way are the Stinger class anti-fighter corvettes.
Musashi moves the fleet to just outside force beam range of the enemy and orders his two destroyers to engage the Stingers. The already damaged Stinger takes two more hits and slows to one quarter speed. All of the Bugs ships except the Stingers hold position, daring the Rigellians to move closer, while the Stingers move to the opposite side of the Bug fleet from the Rigellian, making them more difficult to hit. Immediately, Musashi launches his fighters which scream toward the stationary Arachnid fleet. Left with little choice, the Arachnids start moving at the speed of their battleships with engine burnout. The Rigellians follow just outside force beam range while the fighters close in. Unable to keep up with the other Bug ships, the damaged Stinger is quickly within Rigellian force beam range and destroyed equally quickly. All the other Stingers move back into the fleet to provide maximum protection for the battleships. Unfortunately for the Bugs, if the Stingers move toward the oncoming fighters, they expose themselves to force beam fire so they have to sit and wait.
The fighters, moving twice as fast as the Bug formation, rapidly close the range. At three quarters of a light second, they are engaged by every point defence system in the Bug fleet, regardless of the presence of the two Rigellian destroyers inside missile range. Twenty-seven fighters are shot down, leaving ninety-eight. Taking advantage of the redirection of point defence, the destroyers badly damage a pair of Stingers. Within thirty-seconds, the fighters are at point blank range from the Bugs and close attack missiles start slamming into the battleships. Point defence and force beams fire back and Rigellian fighters vanish in balls of flame. Although twenty-eight more fighters are killed, two Arachnid battleships are annihilated and a third is badly damaged. The Bug fleet slows to protect their crippled companion and the seventy surviving fighters streak out of anti-fighter range. Two more Stingers are hit by destroyer fire while their point defence is shooting at fighters.
Musashi knows the exchange rate cannot continue. Almost forty-five percent of his fighters were destroyed in exchange for only two of the seven Arachnid battleships. All of the fighters land on Akagi and Akula so Musashi orders Amethyst, Annapolis and the battlecruiser Caesar to head back to Yamu. He also orders Beagle and Visigoth to expend the last of their missiles on the Stinger class corvettes while the fighters rearm. Three more Stingers are crippled leaving only four undamaged. All of the crippled Stingers can only move at a quarter of their normal speed, preventing the enemy fleet from moving fast enough to engage the fighters on their approach unless they abandon the Stingers to Rigellian force beams.
Seventy fighters scream into the attack once more, the first two squadrons taking out the four undamaged Stingers. The crippled battleship explodes and another is seriously damaged. Forty-five fighters break free of the carnage. Five minutes later they are prepared to go in again, their pilots resigned to the fact they will almost certainly not survive the battle, when Musashi suddenly remembers something from earlier in the battle. Two Rigellian destroyers, the Cambridgeshire and the Durham were ordered to escort some carriers back to Yamu as the destroyer's shields and armour were destroyed. However, their engines were intact and they carried full missile loads. Although they have travelled some way from the battle, they are still within communications range. Musashi halts the impending fighter launch and orders the two destroyers to return.
Twenty minutes later, the two destroyers have joined the small Rigellian fleet and Musashi instructs them to finish off the damaged Stingers. In less than seven minutes, every last Stinger has been eliminated. The fighters go in again but this time Musashi sends the Fleet Scouts into range to assist the attack with their force beams. Anti-fighter fire is dramatically less due to the destruction of the Stingers and the diversion of Arachnid force beam fire against the Fleet Scouts rather than the fighters. In addition, all of the Arachnid warships mount only capital point defence which is ineffective against fighters at point blank range. Only six fighters are shot down. A Fleet Scout is destroyed and a second damaged but another Bug battleship bites the dust with two more damaged, one seriously. Musashi pulls out the scouts until the next attack. Missile fire from the two destroyers prevents the Bugs from restoring the shields of the two damaged battleships before the thirty-nine fighters are re-armed and ready for action.
Once again, the Fleet Scouts move into force beam range as the fighters hit their targets. A second Fleet Scout explodes and another three fighters are killed by point defence. When the fighters pull away, all three remaining beam armed battleships are on fire and barely moving. Five minutes later, the Rigellian fighters attack again, while the Fleet Scouts remain safely out of force beam range. Although four fighters die bravely, when the survivors break away all that remains of the Bug battleships is a large expanding cloud of plasma and spinning debris. Thirty-two fighters land on the Akagi to a hereos welcome. Musashi orders the Akula, with empty hangar bays, plus the destroyers Beagle and Visigoth, with empty magazines, to head back to Yamu.
The entire Bug fleet now contains thirteen capital missile battlecruisers, a capital missile battleship and a shuttle carrier battleship, none of which have any active weapons systems. Musashi orders his ten Fleet Scouts into the attack and the Bugs scatter. Each Fleet Scout chases a capital missile battlecruiser, closes to just outside point blank range to avoid ramming attempts and systematically rips it apart using a single force beam. Once the ten battlecruisers are dead, the scouts pair up and quickly overhaul the slower moving battlecruisers and battleships which have started running independently for the planet. Within an hour, the battle is over. The active order of battle for the Second Carrier Striking Force in Tanega now consists of a single carrier, two destroyers and ten corvettes. Musashi knows he has been in a fight.
Total Arachnid casualties for the battle consist of nine battleships, forty-four battlecruisers, thirty heavy cruisers and eighty-five corvettes. Rigellian losses include five battleships, nineteen battlecruisers, ten destroyers, two corvettes and almost four hundred fighters with another six destroyers damaged. The highest casualty list for any battle in galactic history.
The small force proceeds to the planet to check out its defences. A massive space station and six class two bases are in orbit, plus a solitary battleship which for some reason was not sent to join the main Bug fleet. Given his meagre resources, Musashi is wary of trying an attack, especially as the battleship is sheltering under the shadow of the station. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of construction activity in the station's forty shipyards which means time is limited. He decides to risk a fighter attack on the battleship, which should demonstrate the Arachnid defensive capabilities. The fleet moves to just outside capital missile range and launches all thirty-two fighters. A single Fleet Scout moves within capital missile range, trying to draw the Arachnids into revealing their anti-ship capability. Nothing happens so the scout moves into XO launched capital missile range of the station, the battleship and one of the bases. The Arachnids continue to hold their fire.
The fighters commence their final run, launching their weapons from point blank range. The battleship appears to be an intermediate type between the Devastator and the Devastator II, equipped with ECM and second generation shields and armour but not capital point defence. This new class is named the Devastator II and what was the Devastator II becomes the Devastator III. Each class two base is equipped with eight lasers and three second generation point defence systems, all useful anti-fighter systems. Five of the bases have a line of sight and a storm of fire envelopes the fighters. The battleship is seriously damaged but only nine fighters survive. Strangely, the station only engages the fighters with six lasers and no point defence.
Obviously fighters are not the answer so Musashi sends his two destroyers and ten Fleet Scouts into action. The lasers on the bases and space station will be unable to engage the Rigellian ships unless the Rigellians let them, so the battleship is the main problem. Both destroyers move to four light seconds and open fire with standard missiles. Only one missile penetrates the battleship defences. Suddenly, five of the bases and the space station launch volleys of XO launched capital missiles and the station opens fire with thirty ancient missile launchers. Durham is seriously damaged and Musashi orders her to withdraw. Unfortunately, her engines have been hit and she takes further damage before she can move out of range of the station's missile battery. The ten Fleet Scouts move within force beam range and assist Cambridgeshire in her attack on the battleship. The destroyer is having trouble penetrating the warships point defences so Musashi orders her to target the station while the scouts continue their attack.
Due to the size of the station, it is unable to maintain a drive field. This means that Rigellian missiles will explode on contact, rather than exploding prematurely due to the prescence of a drive field, increasing their destructive power by a factor of five. Six missiles are on target and the station apparently mounts no point defence or ECM. Its shields drop by sixty percent. Return fire takes out Cambridgeshire's shields and armour. Force beams flash between the Rigellian's corvettes and the wounded Bug battleship, crippling one Fleet Scout and removing several of the battleship's weapons. Another volley of thirty standard missiles from the station overwhelms Cambridgeshire's point defence and severely damages the destroyer. Her two remaining advanced gun\missile launchers each score a hit on the station, reducing the shields to twenty percent of normal.
Musashi orders Cambridgeshire to retreat. She pulls back, blasting down the last of the stations shields as she withdraws. Before she can move out of range, she is obliterated by return fire from the station. A Fleet Scout explodes under force beam fire from the battleship. The scouts are fighting back though, internal fires rage throughout the battleship and only a quarter of its weapons are still operational. Unfortunately, the station is now free to assist the battleship and a massive missile volley completely vapourises a Fleet Scout. Realising his force cannot penetrate the planet's defences, Musashi detaches a pair of scouts to watch from a distance and orders the rest of his ships back to Yamu. Nine fighter pilots are extremely relieved to be alive as the Second Carrier Striking Force has suffered ninety-eight percent losses among its strike groups.
Once back in the safety in Yamu, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi assesses the state of his command. All of the ships which he sent home during the battle arrived safely except for the destroyers Polynesian and Samanid which were severely damaged and failed to repair their life support systems. The carrier Akula rescued the crews and the two ships were scuttled. Now the fleet has regrouped, the order of battle consists of twelve Ark Royal class carriers, twelve capital missile battlecruisers, five destroyers, three of which have serious damage, six corvettes and nine fighters. Musashi orders that the capital missile battlecruisers be rearmed as fast as possible. He intends to return to Tanega immediately to try and finish the job before Arachnid reinforcements arrive. The newly created Eighteenth Striking Force is under construction in Yamu, although only six River Mod 2 class destroyers have been completed and are currently on their shakedown cruise. Musashi commandeers the destroyers, transfers his flag to the Caesar, and prepares to head back into Tanega with twelve battlecruisers, eight destroyers and six corvettes.
Turn 135
Fleet update:
Second Carrier Striking Force
12x Ark Royal class CV
1x Swordsmaster Mod 3 class BCR
11x Swordsman Mod 3 class BCR
6x River class DD
2x Tribal Mod 7 DD
8x Fleet Scout class CT
The Second Carrier Striking Force is the Empire's most experienced formation, commanded by its most battle hardened officer, Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi. Unfortunately, it has recently taken heavy casualties in an assault on the Arachnid-held Tanega system and it may be several months before it is ready for action once more. The fleet is currently in Yamu, adjacent to Tanega, waiting for brand new first generation fighters to be built for the carriers. However, twelve superdreadnoughts are under construction, using all of the available shipyard space. The superdreadnoughts were originally destined for the Eighteenth Carrier Striking Force, also in Yamu, but will be diverted to the Second Carrier Striking Force as soon as their shakedown cruise is completed. In order to give the fleet some teeth, construction of several superdreadnoughts is halted to permit fighter construction. Musashi is keen to take his twelve capital missile battlecruisers plus the eight destroyers back into Tanega immediately, before the fighters are ready but also before the Bugs can replace their own massive losses. Two Fleet Scouts are currently in Tanega monitoring the Type T planet and its orbital defences.
When Third Swordsman of Stars Musashi ordered the Second Carrier Striking Force to retreat to Yamu from Tanega, he left two Fleet Scouts to monitor the Arachnid-inhabited planet. Those scouts now detect a new Bug force approaching on a vector only sixty degrees away from the direction of the Yamu warp point. The scouts pull back as the enemy fleet approaches but remain close enough to determine its composition. Twelve battlecruisers, fourteen heavy cruisers and thirty light cruisers. A small fleet compared to the one destroyed by the Second Carrier Striking Force but still significant. Especially now the combat capable strength of the Second Carrier Striking Force comprises only twelve battlecruisers, eight destroyers and eight corvettes. The Fleet Scouts fire courier drones to Yamu to warn Musashi. Musashi considers attacking anyway but decides to wait until his carriers have been equipped with first generation fighters and their magazines are filled with the new fighter missiles. He sends back a drone ordering to scouts to maintain their position and continue monitoring the enemy. A week later six battlecruisers, eighteen heavy cruisers and eighteen corvettes appear on the same course as the earlier arrivals and rendezvous with the fleet at the planet. Surprisingly, none of the corvettes make any attempt to chase away the Rigellian scouts, possibly indicating they are either Impalers or the anti-fighter variant.