Arc 0, Thread 1: The Raid on the Buchenwald
LOCATION: CARRIER ENTERPRISE BRIEFING ROOM
TIME: 1030
DATE: 2025 - 22 - MAR
COMMANDER PRESIDING: ADMIRAL FIVE DAYS DARKNESS
TACTICAL OFFICER: JOURNEYS
COMBAT PERSONNEL IN ATTENDANCE: DANIEL MATTHEWS, CALLSIGN 'LUCIFER' ; JESS MARAUD, CALLSIGN 'FORTE' ; IAPETUS HYPERION, CALLSIGN 'ENDINGS' ; LYLA RAINES, CALLSIGN 'BLUE FOX' ; THE RED QUEEN, CALLSIGN 'CRIMSON' ; GABRIEL HOCKENBERRY, CALLSIGN 'GRUNT' ; PACIFICA SPACEWOLF, CALLSIGN 'TOMATO' ; MANUEL GONZALEZ, CALLSIGN 'CHUPACABRA' ; TRUDY PENLAN, CALLSIGN 'CHARMER' ; ALAN BILLINGS, CALLSIGN 'AXEHEAD'
SECRETARY: JUNO
THIS TRANSCRIPT SEALED, LEVEL 23E: COMBAT PERSONNEL AND UPPER COMMAND ONLY
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"Hello everyone, thanks for coming at such short notice. Journeys has a report."
Admiral Five Days Darkness stood at the front behind the lectern, all four hands gripping the lectern stiffly. He gave a nod to Journeys, a spare blond-haired man who looked like he'd just run a few miles in the deepest desert- covered in sweat, bedraggled, exhausted.
"Thanks, Admiral," Journeys took a sip of water, "As you know, The Fleet's jump drives and the Last Refuge's meteor shield have taken a pounding the last few years, so we've been trying to take an easier route through this section of space. That means the usual crap, avoiding thick stars, black holes, comet trails, the like. We've of course been limited by the lack of available jump locations. The space around here just isn't thin enough for the Last Refuge to easily trans-light without putting undue stress on the reactor and Michael. We've found a single space that'd be ideal for our next trans-light jump, but it seems the enemy's already beaten us to it. We can try to find another location but I'm willing to bet you any defunct currency that the enemy's already scouted the other nearby spots. We can take some extra time and energy, but every moment we sit still, Fleet Howling Dark is catching up."
Journeys gestured to the projection screen, and a starmap floated into view.
"But here's the weird part. We've got enough time- it's within Michael's parameters- to do a microjump to another system nearby and bypass this spot. It'll take a bit more time and reactor energy, but we can pull it off."
"Why's that weird?" Pacifica spoke up, "It sounds like the enemy's just trying to grind us down."
"Because they haven't fortified the jump spot properly. I mean, they have, but it's not their usual MO. There's only one ship there, the Buchenwald. We've tangled with ships like it before, like at Stone Place; we ran them out of the system. But a Flagship means an Abyssal, and that means a picket line of frigates and at least two Cruiser groups escorting it. There's... nothing there. It's just hanging in place, squatting on the jump point."
"Trap."
"Well, yes." Journeys blinked, "Of course it is, no matter which action we take. We can take the bait and charge in, then get slaughtered by a lurking fleet; we can rabbit away and try the microjump, only to find the enemy waiting for us en masse; we can sit still and just let them get closer. No matter what finding the Buchenwald here is suboptimal for us and a good trade for them."
"After consulting with Journeys and Michael Florentine we've made a decision. The Enterprise is going to jump ahead of the Last Refuge and we're going to try to take it out solo." Five Days Darkness remarked, "If they want us to come on in and hammer away with the main fleet before they spring the trap, we'll take advantage of their patience. It's a golden opportunity: destroy an Abyssal flagship, possibly kill an Abyssal, learn more about their ship capabilities. The downside, of course, is that the Enterprise can't stand up to the Buchenwald in a ship-to-ship fight. So we're going to need to take it down swiftly."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:32, Sat 10 Sept 2016.