“Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the first introductory dinner for the new crew of the Perseus!”

Naturally the event was decked out to the nines, with everyone in their finest versions of dress uniforms; and of course, Katlina was the natural center of attention. Fortunately though, it was Dimitri who was the keynote speaker. The Star Colonel had heady words of praise for the courageous team who accomplished the takeover of the ship, and a few more solemn words for the crew of the Eclipse and the half dozen or so aerospace pilots who gave their lives to help achieve this stunning victory.

Most annoyingly, Dimitri followed the standard practice of introducing the crew starting from the lowest ranks and working his way up to the more important people. Fortunately the engraved program listed officers in a more useful order, starting with Katlina at the top. The list ran:

Captain: Katlina
First Officer: Nelson
Navigator: Doreen
Pilot (Manual): Randolph
Chief Engineer: Andrea
Science Officer: Vanessa
Security Officer: Lawrence
Damage Control Officer: James
Comm Officer: Stephanie
Chief Medical Officer: Tamiko
Aerospace Captain: Marshall
Away Team Commander 1: Annette
Away Team Commander 2: Dominic
Officer, Protomech Star: Frederick
Officer, Elemental Star 1: Lisa
Officer, Elemental Star 2: Eric
Weapons Officer, Fore Arc: Janet
Weapons Officer, Fore Dorsal Starboard: Sarah
Weapons Officer, Fore Dorsal Port: William
Weapons Officer, Starboard Broadside: Milano
Weapons Officer, Port Broadside: Aguilar
Weapons Officer, Aft Arc: Abigail

That was only the first page, but it was all she really needed. Virtually every other position on the ship reported up the ladder to this set of individuals, and they directly to her.

At the dinner, once everyone had been introduced, they were seated. Katlina saw that the tables had been arranged with her and the main bridge crew at one long table on a slight dias in the front of the room, the rest of the crew at tables turned at right angles to theirs and occupying the rest of the room. She herself was seated in the middle, with First Officer Nelson on her right and Navigator Doreen on her left.

At last the meal was served. It was the first opportunity for the lead chef to take charge, and he did so masterfully. Conversation died down for the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the meal, then slowly regained steam as the diners completed stuffing themselves and relaxed. Fine wine or champagne and strawberry sundaes were presented for dessert, and this, too, kept conversation to a minimum until all appetites were sated.

But once the meal was completed, guests who were not a part of the crew (mostly senior officers and their XO’s and wives) began to pass by the table, offering congratulations and an occasional social question of some sort. Many questions were repeated, such as queries about how long she and Nelson had worked together, and then did she anticipate any difficulties doing so since they had not. Nelson himself seemed quite at ease deflecting such concerns: “I have no doubt that such an excellent Captain as Katlina has proven to be shall be quite capable of directing me, regardless of any personal foibles on either of our parts.”

Many opportunities for conversation did present themselves over the course of the evening as Katlina met her crew for the first time...

As soon as they had jumped out - and the other side deemed safe - Katlina had ordered the ship's crew to stand down, start and / or finish the clean up and take some rest. As for herself, she had handed the ship's con over to the watch's pilot but not to rest since not only she wasn't all that tired but more importantly, she had a lot to do. Namely go through each of the ship's systems, pestering engineers to get to know her prize better and make sure not only that everything was in order, but also that she wouldn't have any surprise, good or bad, when the time came to be serious. Plus, seeing the captain in every part of the ship would send a message to the crew that she wasn't going to stay in her ivory tower and ignore what was going on in her ship.

It had been what she had mostly been doing, leaving the get-to-know-the-crew for later as she felt it was less important. Or at least, less urgent: she knew what to expect from her crew, and if she called the navigator by her function and not her name for the time being everyone would survive that. Which explained why she arrived at the dinner with the barest of knowledge regarding her crew.

As such, she paid close attention when Dimitri introduced everyone, trying to give the impression that of course she knew perfectly well who was who while making sure to associate names and faces correctly at least for those she'd have to work closely with.

When they were done with the meal, Katlina held a glass up and said, “Compliments to the Chef, that was masterful.” She had never eaten anything like that in fact. Granted, she had pretty much came direct from the Sibko to the ship so even a normal meal would have felt palatial to her, but it still seemed extraordinary.

Through all that followed, she listened more than she talked: first because it prevented her from saying something she'd regret and preserved an image of infallibility, second because it was always best for a captain to allow everyone under her to talk first - when time was no issue at least - but third and more importantly because it allowed her to learn more than she'd have had she been doing the talking.

Plus… What would she have talked about? Her life in the sibko? That was hardly news to any of them here. Instead she asked questions about previous affectations, feats of arm and so on, anything really that could allow her to get to know more of the people under her without giving the impression that it was exactly what she was doing.

The only thing of note she did say was to add to her XO's deflection that “Since Nelson knows perfectly well what is expected of him, I don't even foresee the need to direct anything.” After all, her role was to do everything she could to achieve the mission, his was to make sure she had everything she needed to do so. And if he had been put in that position, she was confident he knew his job inside and out.

He certainly wasn't the pilot she was, and thus could never become the captain she was, but she had no doubt that as far as managing a ship he'd be the one directing her. Tactfully, and only suggesting - privately! - whatever he felt was needed, she hoped for the both of them, but it was in his interest at least as much as it was in hers that he managed to teach without seeming to what she needed but didn't yet know. Though of course, if foibles there were… She was the captain: she didn't have to care about his but he'd have to deal with hers.

The introductory dinners were becoming a bore, the same crew members being introduced again and again to new dignitaries seeking to know more about the Snow Raven’s newly acquired capital ship. On the other hand, Tactical Operations Drills were a blast, and kept Katlina on her toes remembering the names of all the captains and their ships which operated with her. Fortunately she only had to remember her own Dropships and the Warships: if she had had to remember every Dropship in the fleet, the challenge would have been overwhelming. But she had broken it down to the following:

Friendly Warships:

Capt. Valerie: Moby Dick: Leviathan (8 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 20 Small craft, 225 Elementals)
Capt. Robert: Alexander: Conqueror (2 Dropships, 100 Aerospace)
Capt. Enrique: Jamestown: McKenna (6 Dropships, 50 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)
Capt. Samuel: Houston: Texas (6 Dropships, 40 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)
Capt. Darla: Solomon: Nightlord (4 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 50 Stars of Omnimechs & Elementals)
Capt. Alexandra: Bolivar: Liberator (6 Dropships, 30 Aerospace, 50 Elementals, 200 troops)

Dropships assigned to the Perseus:

Capt. Gina: Washington: Pentagon Dropship (3026 Rev: lots of conventional weapons)
Capt. Romero: Prometheus: Clan Titan (30 Aerospace)
Capt. Julius: Toronto: Miraborg (30 Aerospace)
Capt. Jennifer: Tesla: Assault Triumph (Combined Arms Trinary)
Capt. Stephen: Apollo: Assault Triumph (Combined Arms Trinary)
Capt. Jacqueline: Whitney: Carrier (10 Aerospace)
Capt. Tina: Montenegro: Noruff (lots of conventional weapons)
Capt. Escobar: Cortez: Conquistador (18 Aerospace, Combined Arms Unit)
Capt. Paulo: Pizarro: Conquistador (18 Aerospace, Combined Arms Unit)

The TOD they seemed to repeat most often involved the entire fleet starting at its most compact, with all dropships and aerospace units on their mother ships, then the fleet deploying in an orderly manner to allow maximum space and maneuvering room for each element, largely depending on each unit’s safe acceleration maximum. They then would approach an “enemy fleet,” and count coup with dumdum paint missiles and lasers at 3% power, just enough to leave scorch marks. The composition of the friendly side versus the enemy varied constantly, allowing them to measure each other’s strengths and weaknesses on a regular basis and know what they could expect from one another in a real engagement. It also allowed some of their highest level strategists to re-evaluate the fleet composition for optimal organization on a routine basis.

Of course these exercises also allowed her to evaluate the performance of her own crew as well. It seemed Nelson did indeed have things well under control, and was well liked by the rest of the crew in general. All the other officers also appeared to be well disciplined, seasoned crewmen and women.

Of the group of officers who had assisted in the original capture of the Perseus, only Star Colonel Dimitri and his Chief Master Sergeant Constantin remained in contact, and that only rarely. Usually the presence of the two led to small informal dinners with just the executive officers and themselves, discussing two topics: 1) What might happen in the event of Davion forces trying to recover the vessel, and 2) What now? Having captured the Perseus, no one wanted to leave her cowering in a corner somewhere: she should become a useful addition to the Snow Raven Space Navy.

So far, the location of the Perseus had been a carefully guarded secret, with even the officials attending the introductory dinners having no idea what particular corner of the galaxy they found themselves in. But that could not last forever: it would be too easy for someone with the right skills and tools to properly orient themselves relative to various constellations, and be able to determine their location. They had relocated five times since the capture, making it far more difficult but not impossible to trace. Of particular concern was the possibility of spies from the Steel Viper Clan infiltrating one or more of the dinners and aiding a surprise attack from that quarter.

So, when Dimitri posed the two questions to Katlina, it was imperative to have the right answers: 1) how prepared were they for an attack from either Davion or Steel Viper, and 2) how ready were they to take a lead in an offensive operation?

Katlina worked twice as hard as anyone else, with the possible exception of the XO, as far as the exercices were concerned. Not only she had to improve her perfomance, find new ways to work and take advantage of her new ship, but she also had to study the perfomance of the crew to make sure they would know what to do and flag the defficiencies if there were any. Which would be Nelson's job to address.

As far as the frequently discussed topics went, she had many ideas regarding the first of the two, but admitted she didn't know enough to lean one way or the other. She could come up with many possible strategies accompanied with how best to defeat those strategies, but she didn't feel confident she could decide which way the Davion forces would go. But as for the second topic, she was utterly out of her depth as it would depend a lot on geopolitical considerations and long term strategic planning that concerned not just her but her whole plan.

The one thing she felt that needed to happen was to make sure that no matter what happened, the Clan would get the full blueprints and specifications of the ship: that way, even if the ship itself was lost, the Clan would still be able to build her sisters. Of course, there were lots of security issues to consider about that, most notably concerning the possibility of Steel Viper spies, but those were not for her to worry about. Be aware of it, sure. Make sure the right people were keeping an eye on this, of course. But she had more important things to worry about.

When Dimitri asked her question, she didn't hesitate to answer the first one. At least partly. “An attack from Steel Viper wouldn't hurt us much. I don't believe they could free enough of their warships to really threaten us. And if they did, they would open themselves up for deep strikes on their own assets.” The young captain shook her head, “I don't believe they're going to take the risk of a direct battle and a battle would hurt them far more than it would do us. Sabotage however...”

“As for Davion, it depends a lot on what they're ready to commit. While they could probably relatively easily find the ships, they would need a lot of time to do so and if we stay mobile enough, they'll always be a step too late. It also depends a lot on how public they want it to be known that someone stole their prize ship. All in all, there are too many variables for me to be able to answer one way or the other with any confidence other than to say that ton for ton, we'd take them easily.”

Before she answered the second question, she took a moment to think about it. “We can certainly go on the offensive if we have a worthy objective. It's probably not something anyone is expecting of us.” After all, most would think they'd want to get the Perseus back in Snow Raven space as soon as possible. “As for taking the lead, it would depend on the forces we commit to this offensive. The Perseus and a couple of escorts, then sure.” But if the four battleships were to be included, not so much. Be a part of it, then sure. But not leading: she simply didn't have the experience for it. Tactically and strategically, she might be able to. Might. But in a real battle, there were many more factors than pure strategy or tactics to take into account.

Dimitri seemed satisfied with the answers Katlina had provided. At least, he didn’t ask for further clarification or ask again, hoping for a different answer. It was a few weeks later at one of the private executive dinners that he raised the subject again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have news from Davion space. It seems they have plans to amass a very large contingent of Warships and associated Dropships, and once they have located us, to drop in for a massive assault. They have given up on subterfuge, apparently figuring that we have analyzed the options carefully enough to prevent a similar attack to what we performed.

“At this time, they are collecting forces in several different systems, with the intent to coordinate via HPG broadcasts and all jump in system at spaced intervals to avoid any collisions as they arrive. Such a massive attack would probably include large numbers of powered armor troops dropping on the Perseus with an attempt to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. It may be difficult to acquire enough Elementals on our side to equal or at least defy their combined force, so there is some chance of such an attack succeeding.

“So far, we are aware of at least 14 Warships with 50 or more attendant Dropships preparing for this attack. There may well be more. More specifically, we know that in the Decalon system five of these ships have gathered preparatory to the attack. It is our proposal that we should organize a small force, perhaps the Perseus and two of her fleet consorts with attendant Dropships to all drop in on the Decalon Zenith point, mount a surprise attack and wipe out these five Warships. At the very least, should they go through with their mass assault, that would be five less Warships and attendant Dropships for us to have to deal with.

“So: I am throwing the floor open for tactics and strategy discussion, presumably led by our Captain. I have datasheets I can transmit upon request as to the composition of enemy forces we could face. I would think our first course of action would be to designate which resources we wish to bid, and go from there. Captain? You have the floor…”

Damn, that was Sunday? My bad, I'll have to do better than that!
For my defence, I didn't have any good idea...And still don't :o

Kaya blinked a couple of times, clearly surprised to be given the floor. It wasn't like she had much of anything to bid for one - sure, she was in command of the Perseus, but it definitely wasn't hers to bid one way or the other - and for two the participation of her ship was already set in stone anyway.

Gathering her thoughts, and scrambling to find anything to say, the young captain stood up, “The attack will take place in the Decalon system,” she began a tad lamely, but soon continued with a bit more assurance, “But it doesn't mean those who do not get to participate to that action can't do anything but wait and train.” She didn't sound all that sure of herself though...

“Even an attack on, and the destruction of, the forces gathering in the Decalon system wouldn't prevent the other warships from attacking. If anything, it might push them to do so as soon as possible. It'd be less of a challenge for us, and we certainly could take them, but a lot can happen in two to one engagements and the loss of any ship is a wound we can hardly shrug easily.” She paused for a second, before continuing, “We can however be reasonably sure that at this point, the other side knows the composition of this fleet. If ships not involved in the Decalon system's attack were to raid some targets of opportunity, it could prevent the enemy from getting a good picture of what we're doing and where we're going. Unsure of where to strike, it would delay their response and allow us to ambush another contingent. Assuming we found one in the meantime.”

As she concluded, Nelson nodded and spoke up. “If we want to fully utilize the ships we have available, we might set up a three-pronged attack. Decalon would be the main prong, featuring the Perseus and two other warships, preferably one or both having a large contingent of aerospace units for dogfighting and strafing, and possibly Elementals either for boarding or counter-boarding operations. That leaves five of our Warships for a two-two split: obviously the two prongs should each have one of our largest Warships with plenty of aerospace.

Regarding his data tablet which he had available at the table, he moved around some of the data which Dimitri had provided and submitted his changes for the rest of the group. “As you can see, the Arphaxad system is grooming two Warships, and the Florence system another two. With our strength I believe we could wipe out all four ships without suffering any significant losses, and if the Perseus and her attendant ships succeed against the five Warships at Decalon, that will cover nine of the fourteen ships already deployed. The effect would be a total rout: they would never dare attack us with only five ships, and the blow to their navy should make them reconsider just how thin they would be spreading their forces should they take any action against us at all.

“It seems to me that there are but two questions remaining of any importance: are we going for destruction or capture of the enemy ships, and which ships does the Captain wish to use where?”

Kaya tapped the table pensively for a couple of seconds, before saying, “I think the Alexander and the Bolivar should accompany the Perseus. The first one for its aerospace fleet, and the second as an escort, anti-fighter capabilities, which should allow our own fighters to focus more on offense and less on sticking with the ships. It gives us more possibilities to adjust our strategy on the fly. The Bolvar's troops should be enough to cover our needs of boarding / anti-boarding should the opportunity or need arise.” And the Bolivar's armor should allow it to deliver the troops where it was needed without undue risks. Plus, those two ships were the only two non-battleships, something that the Perseus' armament more than made up for, and which meant the other two groups would be two battleships apiece.

“I'd assign the Solomon and Jamestown to the Arphaxad system. That system should be pretty straightforward and I think those two battleships should be plenty. The troops carried by the Solomon could be used very effectively over there.”

She paused for a second before adding, “The configuration of the Florence system makes things a bit more tricky which is why I want to assign the Moby Dick and the Houston there. The long range weaponry of the Houston will be a formidable asset, but should things go awry, the armor of the Moby Dick would insure that nothing catastrophic happens in case of unplanned events. Of the three groups they have the least amount of fighters between themselves, but considering the anti-fighter platforms I see present, those fighters would only be used defensively and not offensively anyway, which means it should be plenty. And should things go even better than planned, the big number of elementals aboard the Moby Dick would open up a lot of options.”

“Now, should we try to capture anything…” The young captain considered the question for a moment, “It's always good to reinforce the Clan, and if we bring home more that the Perseus I'm pretty sure no one will complain. I would say however that it heavily depends on the overall success of the operation: if we smash all three groups successfully, we can afford to have ships with a less than optimal crew contingent. If however we still have to worry about pursuit, we'd have to carefully assess the risk vs reward. Though of course, we could always decide to scuttle ships we decide not to keep due to adverse circumstances.” She smiled teasingly, “With only the best group allowed to keep its price maybe?”

Which, hopefully, would mean that all groups would get an incentive to first focus on completing the mission and only then on capturing anything. After all, once in command of a ship, it was pretty difficult to lose it. Or at least to lose it for anything smaller or less prestigious.

Nelson rearranged the data on the datapad in accordance with Katlina’s pronouncements as follows:

Prong 1: Decalon

Perseus (9 Dropships)
Capt. Robert: Alexander: Conqueror (2 Dropships, 100 Aerospace)
Capt. Alexandra: Bolivar: Liberator (6 Dropships, 30 Aerospace, 50 Elementals, 200 troops)

Prong 2: Arphaxad

Capt. Darla: Solomon: Nightlord (4 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 50 Stars of Omnimechs & Elementals)
Capt. Enrique: Jamestown: McKenna (6 Dropships, 50 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)

Prong 3: Florence

Capt. Valerie: Moby Dick: Leviathan (8 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 20 Small craft, 225 Elementals)
Capt. Samuel: Houston: Texas (6 Dropships, 40 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)

He then broadcast the change to the other tablets at the table. Dimitri reviewed the new data closely and nodded. “Prudent choices, well distributed. Unless someone comes up with an objection within the next 48 hours, we’ll go ahead with them.”

A general assent floated around the table. It seemed like everyone was satisfied with their role, and now more concerned about finishing their meals than further discussion.

Final assignments were made over the course of the next two days, including fueling up and resupplying stores and ammo. No objections were raised in that time frame, and the hour arrived for each prong to make their jump.

All crews were ready and standing by as the Perseus and her attendants all jumped for the Decalon system. The same could hardly be said of the crews on the ships they immediately found upon their arrival. The Fox Corvette and the Atreus battleship that were waiting by the jump point had engaged each other in a practice battle and had all dropships and aerospace units committed against each other. Other ships were an hour or two out, giving the perfect opening to attack these two without fear of being flanked.

Nelson had already signaled Red Alert before the jump, so all stations were manned as the Perseus, the Alexander and the Bolivar entered.

Nelson called up from the bridge: “Your orders, Captain?”

“We'll go after the Atreus.” After all, considering the maneuverability of the older battleship, the Perseus was the most able to take it down quickly and without a fuss, not giving the Atreus the mobility edge it was used to against newer battleships. More importantly, the Perseus had the armament to conclude than engagement quickly.

“Have the Bolivar go after the Fox.” She squinted for a second, “Tell them to capture it if they can.” After all, they might as well take advantage of that opportunity, and big ships were well and good, but escorts were a necessity too and they were very light on that front: it might be a good idea to get more on that front as it could only increase their tactical depths. “Earmark a prize crew out of the three ships' officers if it looks like it'll succeed, they have an hour for that. The new captain should probably be an officer from the Bolivar. But make it clear I'd rather destroy the fox than have the Bolivar take too many risks.” Hopefully Captain Alexandra was smart enough to take the right decision. “Emphasize that the boarding team should keep an eye on any intel they come across. I doubt they have any surprise waiting for us but you never know.” And it paid to be cautious: you got to live longer.

“Have the Alexander deploy squadrons to take down the training units, but keep them away from the two ships.” While aerospace units were expandable, there was no point expanding them needlessly...particularly when there was no possibility to replenish them. In fact, she would likely have kept all of her squadrons close by, but she had to think about morale: if they thought she didn't trust them or didn't feel they were able to do the job, it wouldn't lead to positive results. Plus, it was also a sort of training experience for them, which was always a good thing. “The Alexander itself should close behind us, and keep our own aerospace units close by for now.”

As soon as she had started giving her orders though, Katlina had pushed the Perseus' engine to dive toward the Atreus in order to deny it as much of its maneuverability advantage as possible. She still took some random course corrections to make it harder for weapons to hit her, while passing the order to her gunnery crews to shoot to kill as soon as they were in range: she had no use but such and outdated warship, particularly considering its logistical needs.

<<  “We'll go after the Atreus.”   >>

On the vidscreen, Nelson nodded. “All Perseus Dropships, deploy now. Formation Victor-Delta, on Atreus.” The Victor-Delta formation allowed the Perseus to take center stage in the combat, facing up to the Atreus’ Naval Autocannon directly instead of exposing the much more fragile Dropships to such debilitating damage. It also allowed the aerospace units the freedom to attack other aerospace at will, preventing strafing runs against the capital ship.

The Atreus appeared to be recalling its two Dropships post haste, as the Fox did their own five. Both ships fired maneuvering rockets preparatory to turning to face the Perseus and the other two Warships.

<<  “Have the Bolivar go after the Fox.” She squinted for a second, “Tell them to capture it if they can.”   >>

“Bolivar, you are clear to attack the Fox: your option to capture or destroy.” Nelson relayed her instructions in between directing the bridge crew to prep for attack.

The Bolivar released her six Dropships in a somewhat more aggressive formation, preparing to attack the enemy Dropships now turning in their direction as well as clearing the path for the Bolivar to bring their Elementals to bear on the ship. The Bolivar began jinking in their course to avoid fire from the Fox’s Naval Lasers and Autocannon which would soon be in range.

<<  “Earmark a prize crew out of the three ships' officers if it looks like it'll succeed, they have an hour for that. The new captain should probably be an officer from the Bolivar. But make it clear I'd rather destroy the fox than have the Bolivar take too many risks.”   >>

“Understood.” For this more complex command, Nelson issued a text message to the two Captains of the other Warships: something they could immediately pass on to the best officer beneath them for that job. He took note of the standard number of crew for a Fox (158), and thus a request for 43 crewmembers from each ship (making an assumption that 30 of the standard crew could be turned).

<<  “Emphasize that the boarding team should keep an eye on any intel they come across. I doubt they have any surprise waiting for us but you never know.”  >>

That was also related via text to go to the appropriate officers.

<<  “Have the Alexander deploy squadrons to take down the training units, but keep them away from the two ships.”

“The Alexander itself should close behind us, and keep our own aerospace units close by for now.”  >>

Nelson clearly and accurately relayed these commands separately to Captain Robert on the Alexander and the squadron leaders of the two ships and from there to their related Dropships.  Aerospace units began pouring out from every available launch tube, and the Alexander nudged in behind the Perseus.

<<  Katlina had pushed the Perseus' engine to dive toward the Atreus... ... She still took some random course corrections to make it harder for weapons to hit her, while passing the order to her gunnery crews to shoot to kill as soon as they were in range...  >>

The Fox, with its superior ammo supplies, did not hesitate to open fire on the Bolivar at extreme range with both its Naval Autocannon 10’s and Naval Lasers, both 45 and 55. Barracudas could also be seen launching, but at those distances the odds of a hit were minor unless they were the newer guided variety, which was unlikely and would have meant even less damage anyways.

The Bolivar had plenty of ammo, but the gunnery crews did not waste any on such wild shots, waiting to at least get into far range and have a 50-50% chance of shots actually landing. PPCs and Naval Lasers, on the other hand, they fired with abandon as these spent only heat. At that range, though, they only registered two Laser hits and one PPC hit. The much more powerful PPC rocked the enemy ship and significantly raised its IR signature: had a few such weapons hit they could have disabled the Fox with simple heat overload.

Two Laser 45 hits landed on the Bolivar from the Fox: barely enough to scratch the paint.

The five Dropships associated with the Fox were slow to respond, having to come back from their positions around the Atreus. They would be out of the Bolivar’s range for just a bit. The two Dropships associated with the Atreus wheeled around swiftly, apparently a Claymore and an Avenger, each able to sustain a 4g acceleration or more.

Over her headset she could hear Nelson giving orders correlating to her own, keeping the crew sharp for whatever change in situation or strategy might come along…
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:44, Wed 30 June 2021.

Sorry I'm late, I spent my whole Saturday sleeping :o

While focusing on her piloting, Kaya still kept an eye on the entire field of operations, with an eye to the next engagement. To that end, she sent an order to the weapons teams and an enquiry to the ship's chief engineer. “Look sloppy.” She told the first ones. “Not so much that it looks deliberate, but increase your reload times by 10% or so and lower your long range accuracy by 20%. I want the three other ships to underestimate us.” This might go a bit against the grain, but that would likely be why it'd work.

Most of the time, warships going after each other ended up in a slugfest: there often wasn't much subtlety or tricks involved, at least once the first weapons were fired.

Granted, considering the velocities and masses involved, it seemed a quite normal state of affair, but Kaya had always thought it only made it even more interesting…and likely deadly as it forced her opponents to fight in ways they weren't used to. And in this case, if they thought the Perseus crew wasn't all that good, it might allow them to deliver some truly savage blows in the opening salvos of the next fight to an enemy who thought itself relatively safe. And it wasn't like there weren't any possible explanations: the crew on the Perseus might not be the best possible for a variety of reasons, or they weren't all that familiar with Davon systems and were still getting up to speed, etc.

Plus, she was ready to bet that even at that lower performance, they were still performing well enough compared to what Innies could do. They'd soon learn what it meant to fight against Snow Ravens in space, but she had every intention to take advantage of their ignorance for as long as it lasted. And when they'd wise up to her tricks… Well, she'd have other advantages. “And take it easy on the missiles.” Making slugs was easy enough, but missiles were another thing. She would use them when needed, but she'd try to conserve her munitions as much as she could to plan for the next battle. Plus, if it made the enemy believe that she was running mostly dry… Well.

To the chief engineer, she said, “ChEng, can you prepare something to make it look we blew an engine or something? Not something that would cripple us if it were real, but enough that it would impair our maneuverability?”

It was entirely possible that the enemy captains wouldn't let any of those things fool them of course. Those of the three incoming ships anyway as none of those things were aimed at either the Atreus nor the Fox: those ships were done for, it was just a matter of minutes now. But it would introduce an uncertainty: they wouldn't know. They would need to allow for multiple contingencies and would be forced to second guess themselves. So best case scenario she fooled them completely and earned herself an easy win and worst case scenario: she got an edge on them. Or another edge anyway, and all of those were good to have and could transform a hard fought battle into a one sided affair.

<<  “Look sloppy.” She told the first ones… …I want the three other ships to underestimate us.”  >>

“Aye, Captain!”

“Yes, Captain!”

“At once, Captain!”

Thus came the replies from her Master Gunnery Sergeants in the affected arc bays. The hesitations in firing were slight, but noticeable to trained senses.

<<  To the chief engineer, she said, “ChEng, can you prepare something to make it look we blew an engine or something? Not something that would cripple us if it were real, but enough that it would impair our maneuverability?”  >>

A female voice came back over the headphones. “This is Andrea. Yes, I can make a plume that looks like one engine blew out, then we just dampen that engine until you want it back on. You want it right now, or hold?”

The Claymore and the Avenger were running an interesting “circle-8” screening pattern in front of the Atreus, firing deadly blasts at any Omnifighters coming towards the enemy Aerospace
Fleet. The pattern reminded her of a swordsman windmilling two swords in front of himself: fairly effective at cutting off at least one approach to the battle. The Avenger and the Claymore were small for dropships, but big against Omnifighters, and apparently had better weapons configurations than the usual versions of their models. The tactical readout upgraded the ratings of the two ships to an Avenger Upgrade and a Claymore Interceptor.

 Of course the easiest way to deal with the two Dropships was just to fly further out around them, though the two ships did their best to extend their reach as much as possible.

So far the Atreus had neither retreated nor advanced, presenting a broadside towards the Perseus but out of range at this time. The Fox, on the other hand, was making a suicide run against the Bolivar, firing all weapons. Nothing significant had hit yet, but at that rate of fire something probably would soon. Return fire from the Bolivar had scored a couple more PPC hits and more laser hits. Once more the Fox glowed red on infrared, getting dangerously high in heat levels...

“No, not right now. I'll let you know.” Kaya answered her chief engeineer.

While focused on her "fight" with the Atreus, Kaya kept an eye on the situation between the Bolivar and the Fox: the Bolivar's captain has seemed dependable so she wasn't keen to say anything to him and wanted to let him run his ship as he desired, but she was sorely tempted to remind her that capturing the Fox would be nice, but it wasn't necessary.

For now though, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself and have faith in her subordinates: they hadn't gotten there by being recklessly incompetents.

Instead, she focused back on her own fight with the Atreus. Her captain was probably trying to either gain as much time as possible to allow the other ships in the system to get there, or sell his life dearly. But she wasn't in a hurry, she wasn't rash and wasn't going to throw her resources away.

Sure, she'd personally like to take the Perseus in a dive towards the enemy ship, guns blazing, and make it a one on one. But she'd have time later for those kinds of things. For now, only the mission mattered, and the mission dictated that she achieved her victory with the least amount of losses possible.

So instead of considering the battle as a duel of pilots, she made it a game of positioning, of strategy. She had dropships she could use and she had every intention of doing so. More than that, with the Atreus completely on the defensive, she had the time to make sure the warship wouldn't be in a position to do more than scratch the paint.

So she gave ordered to her dropships captains, to place them around the Atreus: when some of them threatened its engines, she was curious to see if it was still going to show its broadside to her. If it did, the dropships would be able to take potshots at the warship, in near impunity. They wouldn't do much damage at once of course, but it would quickly mount up, and she didn't mind if one of them got the kill and not her.

And if it decided to do something drastic? Well, she was more than ready to do react accordingly and jump at the Atreus's throat.

<<  “No, not right now. I'll let you know.” Kaya answered her chief engineer. >>

“Roger: keeping that scenario in reserve.” The engineer responded promptly, and with no further instructions forthcoming from the captain, signed off.

<<  While focused on her "fight" with the Atreus, Kaya kept an eye on the situation between the Bolivar and the Fox: the Bolivar's captain has seemed dependable so she wasn't keen to say anything to him and wanted to let him run his ship as he desired, but she was sorely tempted to remind her that capturing the Fox would be nice, but it wasn't necessary.

For now though, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself and have faith in her subordinates: they hadn't gotten there by being recklessly incompetents. >>

The Fox fired off another salvo, including Naval Autocannon, Missiles and NL55 Naval Lasers. The Bolivar took a few hits, but nothing serious, then fired back using only five of their eight PPCs, keeping their own heat levels under control. Three of the five PPC shots hit home, and the Fox’s heat levels soared, flashed, and the Fox appeared to be dead in the water.

The five Dropships that had accompanied the Fox immediately reversed course, flying back as fast as they could go towards the other Warships in the distance.

“Captain Alexandra of the Bolivar to Perseus. Have an opponent in heat shock: request permission to have Dropships grapple and board for salvage.”

<<  So instead of considering the battle as a duel of pilots, she made it a game of positioning, of strategy...

...So she gave orders to her dropships’ captains, to place them around the Atreus…  >>

As the Dropships approached the Atreus fired from its broadside and hit with suspiciously great regularity. Had the Atreus been equipped with some form of advanced targeting system? Even the Perseus computers chalked the statistics up as highly unusual. Fortunately, with there being so many Dropships, no one ship suffered serious damages. But the intent of the Dropships was quite clear, and the Atreus’ Captain apparently did not wish to hang around and be surrounded. The broadside turned away to show her aft arc and engines blazing to move off at highest possible speed.

Of course, Dropships are regularly equipped with more powerful impulse engines than Warships are. The query came back from her Dropship Captains: pursue or disengage?

The Claymore and Avenger moved in to protect the Atreus as best they could, but two small dropships against the Perseus’ nine were hardly even odds...

“Granted.” Kaya easily answered Alexandra.

When she noticed the Atreus's accuracy, Kaya squinted: that wasn't what she had expected. It wasn't out of the realm of possibilities, but it was...surprising. And no one liked the other side pulling surprises. And between that and the improved dropships... She reopened the channel to the Bolivar, “Bolivar, try to get some officers alive. This seems to be some kind of elite battlegroup. I need you to find out more.” It wouldn't make a difference for the current fight, but it might do something for the next one.

In the meantime though, she had to focus on her fight with the Atreus. So as soon as the Atreus turned tail, she pushed the Perseus's own engines to maximum acceleration, clearly intent on running the Atreus down and possibly offer some nice juicy shots to her gunners. As she did, she transmitted course corrections to her own dropships: she wanted them to look like they were pursuing, but had another plan in mind: “Harass on the way, try to disable the enemy dropships if you can. Make way to the Fox's dropships and don't let them escape. I'm assigning our fighters to you for this.”

After all, she didn't need them around the Perseus at the moment and she didn't want them in the vicinity of a warship like the Atreus. Running after dropships and delaying them to allow her own to take them down however was perfectly in their skillset and it wouldn't make them run too many risks

Then, with barely an hesitation, she ordered to her missiles' chief, “Send a volley their way at your discretion.” She could of course have given more precise instructions, but she wanted to see how her subordinate would act.

<<   “Bolivar, try to get some officers alive. This seems to be some kind of elite battlegroup. I need you to find out more.” >>

“Yes, sir,” Alexandra replied. “That would make sense, being they are going to be sent to retake a capital ship.”

<< as soon as the Atreus turned tail, she pushed the Perseus's own engines to maximum acceleration, clearly intent on running the Atreus down and possibly offer some nice juicy shots to her gunners. >>

A call came in from the forward weapons bays. “Janet, Sarah and William here: your preference on targets? Rear weapons, or main engines? That’s all she’s showing up for now.”

They were not quite close enough for successful firing range, and thus had not fired anything but Naval Lasers which were doing more to enhance the accuracy of future shots than actual current damage.


<<  “Harass on the way, try to disable the enemy dropships if you can. Make way to the Fox's dropships and don't let them escape. I'm assigning our fighters to you for this.”  >>

After the chorus of “Aye, aye, sir”s, the two Conquistadors made quick work of the Avenger and the Claymore, though they, too were hit by enough shots in the process to suggest more than standard targeting ability by the two dropships.

The nine dropships then proceeded in a race to follow the Fox five, who were now fanning out into a pentagon. The Montenegro and the Washington, by far the fastest two of her nine, took early leads and held them as they pursued.

A warning light flashed on her tactical analysis system (TAS). It reflected a possible scenario coming up: that the Fox five would turn on whichever ship came into range first and annihilate it. Implicit in this prediction was the thought that the Atreus’ string of “lucky” shots were based on a targeting network similar to a C3 unit, and that the Fox five might still be engaged in that network. TAS reflected this as a 74% likelihood: far from overwhelming, but quite significant.

Choices would have to be made quickly, as the Montenegro was quickly closing the distance to the five enemy ships...

<<  she ordered to her missiles' chief, “Send a volley their way at your discretion.” She could of course have given more precise instructions, but she wanted to see how her subordinate would act. >>

A slew of eight Killer Whale missiles promptly flew out from the forward arcs. By their trajectories, TAS indicated these were most likely heat seekers, intended for blowing up engines. Evaluation suggested that this spread of missiles might well accomplish the objective, provided most of the missiles locked onto a single engine.

As it turned out, all eight of the missiles apparently were targeting the same engine. TAS revised its analysis of the guidance systems, now suggesting an optical image guidance system.

The missiles closed, then there was a network of small yellow lasers that intercepted four of the missiles just before the remaining four hit. The engine nacelle flared out and went dark. The ship still had three functional nacelles, but would not be making a fast run for its companions any time soon.

“An elite team is one thing and we can deal with that. But they have better gear too and I'd rather avoid surprises on that front.” Kaya transmitted Alexandra a bit distractedly as it wasn't really a high level conversation and had to focus on other things going on.

“Go for the engines for a start.” She transmitted her firing team. Though moments later, when the missiles took out of the engines, she amended, “Scratch that, take out the weapons.”

As she watched the dropships racing after each other, she frowned, “Montenegro, Washington, I don't think you want to see how you'd fare five against two. Keep your distance, flank them and wait for the rest of your group before you engage. You're a battle group not lone wolves.”

“Good shot, hold your fire now.” She sent to her missile chiefs while she manoeuvred to take full advantage of the reduced manoeuvrability of the Atreus, careful to stay as much behind it as she could: not only it would allow her to destroy the Atreus from a safe-ish position, but the hard manoeuvring would justify her "blowing out her engines" at the right time.

After a brief hesitation, she sent her gunners, “Destroy that ship.” In other circumstances, she may have preferred capturing it too. She judged however that the risks were too high for too uncertain a return: interrogating the Atreus's officers wouldn't tell them all that much more than the Fox's, the Atreus was too slow for what they needed and the risk of losing too much was too high to be considered seriously.

<<  “An elite team is one thing and we can deal with that. But they have better gear too and I'd rather avoid surprises on that front.” Kaya transmitted Alexandra a bit distractedly… >>

“My TAS is running an evaluation to see what kind of system they might be using. Then we can see where they’ve got their command unit hidden, and blow it away. I’ll call back if I get anything solid.”

<< “Go for the engines for a start.” She transmitted her firing team. Though moments later, when the missiles took out one of the engines, she amended, “Scratch that, take out the weapons.”  >>

Within moments she felt and heard the shudder of the Naval PPCs, NAC40’s and Med Naval Gauss rifles firing. While about half of the shots missed, the half that did hit scored devastating damage to the backside of the Atreus. One of the remaining three engines winked out, and she could see the aft weapons bay in a shambles and in flames.

The Atreus shut down its remaining two engines and fired maneuvering rockets to turn about and face the Perseus. In the process of the turn they presented their broadside, and made good use of it. Once again they struck with a far greater accuracy rate than normal statistics would accept. Fortunately the Perseus’ weapons bays were well armored and protected.

<<  “Montenegro, Washington, I don't think you want to see how you'd fare five against two. Keep your distance,  >>

The two fast ships fired retros, the Washington slowing down faster than the Montenegro. Even with retros firing, the Montenegro had built up momentum and continued to drift closer to the enemy ships, until range was closed.

As with one accord, the five enemy dropships turned and fired what looked like full Alpha Strikes on the Montenegro: again, with suspiciously high accuracy. The Montenegro had a solid cap of armor on her front side, but at least a dozen PPC’s had struck her and she couldn’t afford the heat buildup of firing her own lasers or PPCs.  With the SRMs and AC20s still out of range that left her Gauss rifles and LRMs with which to respond, and she did even as she tried to steer clear of the hole she had dropped herself into.

The Washington stopped firing her retros as soon as the plight of the Montenegro was apparent, and now sailed into the pack, guns blazing. She was joined almost immediately by the Omnifighters which had been directed to join the dropships, and which instantly began pelting the quintet of enemy Dropships and their supporting Aerospace units.

Small but deadly, the 55-ton Wusuns were chewing up every aerospace unit they targeted. Between the targeting computers and six extended range medium lasers, with one ER Large laser to boot, and all the heat sinks required to fire them all repeatedly, they would repeatedly shred their targets to scrap. The 90-ton Scythas, 80-ton Jengiz and 75-ton Sabutai, each equipped with two ER PPCs apiece plus Gauss or Large Pulse Lasers, were not far behind. Twin hits from the PPCs raising heat dramatically were almost certain to cause ammo or fuel explosions that blew up targets like popcorn. Even the 70-ton Jagatai, with two Gauss and two ER Large Lasers, were incredibly formidable ships.

It looked like the rest of the Dropships would be arriving late to the party and serve as mop-up detail...

While satisfied the dropships had been destroyed and thus wouldn't be part of the next battle - and relieved she had thought about sending the fighters to support the dropships - Kaya growled in annoyance: her own dropships should have known better than to overextend and make themselves vulnerable in the process. This was definitely something that would need to be addressed in the future.

Some lack of coordination was understandable, but not that much. Or at least, she had no intention of being understanding there as they were supposed to be better than that. or that, considering what they were going up against, they had to be better better than that. Granted, the odds would be in their favour now, but still.

For now though, it would have to do and the young captain focused on her own target: there was no doubt that the Atreus was done for, but it was also the moment it was the most dangerous. Despite that, or maybe because of it, she opened a channel to the Atreus. “Atreus, this is the Perseus. Power down your engines and weapons. I'll leave you two minutes to get to the pods before I blow your ship out.”

She didn't know if they would take her offer, but if it allowed her to avoid taking unnecessary hits, she would take it. Now, all that remained to be seen was if the Atreus's captain valued more her crew or the possibility of doing some damage to her own ship.

<<  “Atreus, this is the Perseus. Power down your engines and weapons. I'll leave you two minutes to get to the pods before I blow your ship out.” >>

The Atreus did not answer. She continued to revolve, bow weapons locking on. But as she opened fire, Kaya could also see a number of pods firing off and away from the ship.

Again, the Atreus’ fire was quite accurate for reasons as of yet undetermined. These shots, especially from the Naval AutoCannons, began grinding down the nose armor and affecting some of the Perseus’ weapons systems. Of course given the number of weapons the Perseus had in its front arc the damage was insignificant, but the fact that they were breaking any weapons at all was shocking.

“A Nightwing! They have a Nightwing!” Alexandra called over the radio. “It’s in between these ships and the three we can see coming this way. They’ve done everything possible to make it read like a ghost image, so our radar enhancement programs cancel it out! It’s virtually invisible!”

Kaya would remember the Nightwings as very specialized warships with incredible sensor arrays wired throughout the ship. The arrangement was very difficult to maintain, repair or upgrade, but apparently even now such a system was invaluable in combat.

“If we leave that Nightwing out there, once the other ships get here we could be in for a world of hurt. Shall we pursue and destroy?”

In the absence of answer to her offer, Kaya didn't bother add anything to her weapon crews: she hadn't given them the order to stop firing after all, she would only have done so if the Atreus had surrendered.

Instead, she focused on the news about the Nightwing. She quickly reviewed the ship's class specifications to confirm what she knew about it, then answered Alexandra. “Finish your capture of the Fox, the Bolivar is not the best asset to deal with the Nighthawk.” No, it had capital weapons which would make it a tough nut to crack for the Bolivar. On the other hand, the complete absence of point-defence batteries made it pretty much open bar for the fighters.

Which was why she opened a com' channel to Marshall, her Aerospace Captain. “Marshall, gather the units under your command, plus those of the dropships, and go after the Nighthawk: it's alone. Disable if you can, destroy otherwise, but be wary: it might have been augmented in some way.” There weren't a lot of possibilities to add weapons on a ship, even the "small" point-defense batteries that would be a problem for her Aerospace force, but... Better safe than sorry. “I'll throw in a bonus to the pilots if you manage to disable it as intact as possible.” Which one she didn't know, but with more ships under her control, it meant jobs opening, if nothing else.

Finally, she commed the dropships, “Second your aerospace units to Marshall. Then follow behind them, in a coordinated fashion. We're not a zoo. If the fighters manage to disable the nighthawk, I wan't you to organize an assault and capture that ship.”

While she likely wasn't going to keep it - particularly since she fully expected the engines to be shot despite what she had asked Marshall - though she certainly wouldn't mind, she assumed that such a surveillance ship was bound to have a lot of information to find. Scans of the fleet if nothing else. And if somehow she managed to capture it, it could very well be a valued addition to her fleet, if nothing else to avoid ambushes.

To a point where, if she captured both the Fox and the Nightwing, she would start to wonder if it wouldn't be better to just leave instead of fighting the other ships...

<<  In the absence of answer to her offer, Kaya didn't bother add anything to her weapon crews: she hadn't given them the order to stop firing after all, she would only have done so if the Atreus had surrendered. >>

The various capital weapons of the Perseus opened fire with another volley. Amazingly, the Atreus took it all, crumpling in places but still intact. Her 1,700 tons of armor were standing her in good stead. The most effective fire as usual seemed to come from the PPCs raising her heat dramatically. But the Atreus was in Alpha Strike mode, blowing everything she had in a suicide run. Heat effects wouldn’t cripple it until the next volley: for now she was firing everything, and to good effect. In particular her Heavy Naval Autocannons and PPCs were doing damage and raising heat on the Perseus, though the Perseus had enough heat sinks to mitigate most of that.

<<  She quickly reviewed the ship's class specifications to confirm what she knew about it, then answered Alexandra. “Finish your capture of the Fox, the Bolivar is not the best asset to deal with the Nighthawk.” >>

“Understood, Captain,” crackled back the reply. The Bolivar and her attendant dropships continued on course, occasionally firing PPCs at the Fox to keep her heat up.

<<  ...she opened a com' channel to Marshall, her Aerospace Captain. “Marshall, gather the units under your command, plus those of the dropships, and go after the Nighthawk: it's alone. Disable if you can, destroy otherwise, but be wary: it might have been augmented in some way.” There weren't a lot of possibilities to add weapons on a ship, even the "small" point-defense batteries that would be a problem for her Aerospace force, but... Better safe than sorry. “I'll throw in a bonus to the pilots if you manage to disable it as intact as possible.”  >>

“Thank you, Captain. We’ll be careful.”

Marshall called out to his forces: “Blue and Gold Squads, take point. Eyes open, everyone: be wary of traps.”

The Aerospace units began moving into position like a coordinated swarm. If this was just the Nightwing, she would be overwhelmed in minutes...

<<  “Second your aerospace units to Marshall. Then follow behind them, in a coordinated fashion. We're not a zoo. If the fighters manage to disable the nighthawk, I want you to organize an assault and capture that ship.”  >>

She received a chorus of affirmatives as the remaining Aerospace units reformed and followed Blue and Gold Squads. The dropships slowly disengaged from their positions around the Fox and moved into a cautious formation behind the Aerospace.

So far, everything seemed to be going according to plan...

Kaya rotated her ship to prevent more weapon strikes at the same place. She'd lose a bit in terms of firepower, but not that much and more importantly, she would avoid crippling blows she couldn't afford while leaving the overheating parts of her ship to cool down.

With things progressing as they were, she was now free to think about something else besides the immediate parts of the operation. Namely things she hadn't seen. The ships an hour or so away were not a consideration at the moment as they were too far to do anything for the time being.

It was always possible that a ship would decide this was the moment to get in system, but it wasn't something she could control so she didn't worry about it. Nightwing, Fox and Atreus were now known components and for the most part, controlled ones.

There was something that made her a bit uneasy though: with pretty much all her aerospace units deployed, there was only the bare minimum keeping company to the Perseus and the Alexander. The two ships weren't vulnerable, and a surprise attack wouldn't do more than hurt a bit, but...it might be enough to provide an advantage to the other fleet in the next engagement.

“Scans, focus on the area around us. I want to know if something's hiding.”

<<  Kaya rotated her ship to prevent more weapon strikes at the same place. She'd lose a bit in terms of firepower, but not that much and more importantly, she would avoid crippling blows she couldn't afford while leaving the overheating parts of her ship to cool down.  >>

Even rotating 90 degrees and presenting her broadside, Kaya had access to a third of her massive forward batteries plus her broadside. By limiting her fire to Gauss and autocannons she could avoid heat buildup and still do devastating damage to the Atreus. This time the Atreus was not able to stand up to the powerful strikes Kaya launched against her. The ship was clearly holed in several places, and sensors read ammo explosions on board as a result of the heat buildup the Atreus had suffered. A few final lifepods ejected, and the Atreus was an inert, abandoned, floating wreck.

<<  There was something that made her a bit uneasy though: with pretty much all her aerospace units deployed, there was only the bare minimum keeping company to the Perseus and the Alexander. The two ships weren't vulnerable, and a surprise attack wouldn't do more than hurt a bit, but...it might be enough to provide an advantage to the other fleet in the next engagement.

“Scans, focus on the area around us. I want to know if something's hiding.”  >>

“Scanning, Captain. I don’t think we could detect if something like the Mantas were out there, but anything more substantial I think we’d see. The area around the Perseus appears clear at this time, Ma’am.”

Blue and Gold squads had taken point as requested, and were approaching the estimated location of the Nightwing. Via Marshall’s control feed, she could see stats on each Aerospace unit all displayed beneath a visual of the area.

Suddenly one of Blue Squad’s members winked out, followed by another from Gold Squad. Marshall’s voice sounded over the com.

“All hands, stop. What happened out there? “

“Gold Leader here, Sir: there was no missile, no attack. The two craft just blew up. Scanning, but I’m getting no exhaust trails, no heat signatures. Going to approach the area, see what I can find out.”

Just then a damage indicator lit up under Gold Leader’s profile. “Crap! I hit something, but I’ll be damned if I can tell what. Still functional: let me see…”

A minute or two later, Gold Leader came back on. “Sir, as far as I can tell there is a field of small, granite meteorites around the Nightwing. No metal, so impossible to detect: they may be grapefruit to basketball sized, and they’re just floating in place. We run into them at space speeds and blam! Wipeout.”

Gold Leader was now transmitting scans of the area, scans which as he said, showed no activity. Then a proximity bell sounded. “Sir? Something small and metallic moving in my direction. Going to try to evade…

“Shit! It’s a magnetic mine, sir! And she’s on me!”

Suddenly Gold Leader winked out. This time other ships in the area registered the explosion. Then proximity alerts began to show for the rest of Gold and Blue Squads...

Seeing - and hearing - all of that, Katlina didn't lose any time to curse: not that she didn't want to, because she really wanted to, but because she had better things to do.

She quickly opened a channel to her dropships, “Captains, set all the lasers you have to their widest beam settings and fire them where the aerospace units are. Now.” With the beams set to be as wide as possible, they would lose a lot of power: hopefully, it would be enough to mess with the internals of the mines - they were likely coated with materials to absorb radiations in order to be stealthy, and not reflect those after all - and simply wipe out the small meteorites that didn't have any protection at all.

She gave the same order to the Perseus' weapons team once she had taken the time to make some computations between the range, the beams settings, and the energy the fighters could absorb without too much damage: sure, at that distance her own weapons wouldn't be effective against an enemy ship. But she wasn't targeting an enemy ship: her laser beams losing coherence, thus being too wide to affect an enemy ship's armour, was exactly what she was looking for.

As for her own units… They might smoke a little, but they were designed to withstand at least some enemy fire. Still, some parts of the fighters could handle the hits better than others so while she was talking to her captains and weapon teams, she quickly transmitted the information to the fighters. Fire Mission, Danger Close would draw their attention, and the cone of fire including them all would hopefully clue them in as to what they should do: she simply didn't have the time to transmit that information in vocal.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:07, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

<< She quickly opened a channel to her dropships, “Captains, set all the lasers you have to their widest beam settings and fire them where the aerospace units are. Now.” >>

It took a precious minute for the dropships to reset their lasers and aim: a minute some of Gold and Blue squads did not have. Several explosions announced the destruction of other fighters in the unit before the dropship’s lasers came on, but then other explosions followed right afterwards which did not claim lives. The magnetic mines were going off as a result of the laser fire, and if readings were correct, they were either destroying or at least sweeping the meteorites clear of the area with their blast waves.

As the other ships contributed their diffused lasers the area appeared to be swept clean. But then readings began to come from the direction of the Nightwing: there were apparently a few squads of stealth fighters between her and the remains of Blue and Gold squadrons. They could be spotted easily enough while they were accelerating towards the field of combat, but as soon as they turned off their main thrusters they would virtually disappear in the dark. Evidently someone valued that Nightwing enough to have planted several layers of protection around it.

But there was good news: the “stealth” fighters, like the mines, absorbed the energy of the diffused lasers into their surface coatings. Thus, they lit up like beacons under infrared scanners. Their pilots were apparently too accustomed to flying incognito, and unprepared for attacks where they had become visible. Blue and Gold squadrons were joined by Red and Green, and together they made short work of the “stealth” ships.

As each incursion drew them closer and closer to the position of the Nightwing, the fighters were able to get a better read on the ship.  Now they could see escape pods firing out from several positions around the ship. Apparently it was being abandoned in the face of the attack.

After the harsh resistance so far, this seemed almost too easy...