>>18042712
You arrive shorty after Mike and Alex do, the docks for their ships being located slightly closer to the briefing amphitheatre than yours.
"So what's the deal? What's happening with that cruiser they started hiding at the shipyard?" Asks Mike.
"Pritty sure I cant talk about it." you reply.
The Knight Lieutenant is the last to arrive carrying a stack of datapads he uncerimoniously dumps behind the podium.
"Welcome back everyone, we've had a busy couple of days. Thanks to several engagements in the region, one of which we were part of, convoy raiding in the area has decreased. Our subsequent mission to scan down locations of jamming craft were only partially successful. Command believes we were able to locate about half of the jammers, but First flight was able to locate the missing Terran Science ship. It's advanced sensor arrays should let Our House's forces pin down the locations of the others. Yes Mr Windsor?" The LT points to the pilot that had his hand raised.

"What was that other ship someone from Three Flight escorted back?" he asks.
"That's calssified. No one is to make mention of it ever again until cleared to do otherwise. Understood?" We sweeps his gaze over everyone present to make sure all of you are paying attention.

A chorus of 'Aye' and 'yes sir's follow.

>>18042752
The LT calls up an image on the display screen behind the podium. It looks like an FTL capable yacht similar to what the slavers boarding the Cruise liner used. This one however is covered in antennas and spikes.
"These are the jammers we encountered on our little impromptu hunting trip. All told we managed to bag about six of these. Like I said, that was probably about half of them. Full communications still havent been restored but they have improved. The Jammers are no longer our concern though."

The next image on the display is a regional starmap.
"Intel has come into posession of a ship's database off a Pirate Cruiser. Combined with our sensor scan data and those of other deep space observatories command has come to believe a major raid on an industrial world is imminent. We dont have enough time to mass a fleet to strike them in deep space before they move. Thankfully the number of target worlds in the area they were spotted in is a small list.
Ships from several Houses are being massed both in orbit of these worlds and in deep space as a reaction force should the attack come somewhere else. Our objective is to protect the world of Loran II as it posesses the largest munitions stockpiles for our House. Should the attack land somewhere else we'll be quickly reassigned. Until that time we'll be part of the outer defense ring, intercepting attack groups trying to get transports to the surface. If the enemy objective turns out to be the destruction of our fleet, or they're a larger group than first anticipated, we're to rally with other forces around the orbital defense platforms.

Questions?"

>>18042771
-Do we have an idea of the size and composition of the enemy forces in the area?
-What kind of orbital defences?
-How much time until we're heading out?

>>18042871
>Do we have an idea of the size and composition of the enemy forces in the area?
"All we know is that it's a large force likely with medium or heavy cruiser support. From FTL signatures we're thinking as many as 200 ships of Frigate size or larger. If past raids are any indication they'll be drawing support from every pirate that was already present in our space. They'll hit hard, try and keep our fleet's attention while they land transports to secure valuables."
>What kind of orbital defences?
"Older defense platforms from the Faction wars are still present. They're about 2,000m long, tough, armed with phase cannons and have starfighter launch bays. Their weapons range is limited by the number of civilian platforms that have been put in orbit in the centuries since then. There are gaps in their coverage smaller ships could get through but not medium or heavy cruisers."
>How much time until we're heading out?
"I would like to move out within roughly two hours and from there we'll be put on standby in the Loran system. We can delay to equip newer ships if any of you want to aquire a new vessel through requisition, which I was planning to bring up next."

>>18042969
What are the differences between the ship we currently have and the 3000 RP frigate?

>>18042999
Your current ship a Standard corvette which has 2 Phase cannon turrets that cover the Forward arc, it can hit anything that's within 75 degrees off center. It's fast and manuverable compared to moast ships but cant take so many hits.

The 3,000 Rp Frigate is a common ship with 3 light phase cannon but with better coverage. They have difficulty hitting ships directly behind them. These ships are more slow and sluggish but have better shields. They also carry 2 torpedo launchers.
These ships can be upgraded for 2000 RP with better engines, cannon and shields.

>>18043068
>Derp
Their larger cargo bays can also be used to carry 6 starfighters or 4 Marine shuttles.

>>18043068
-What and how much does the next size after the combat frigate cost?
-Do we still have a chance to get that cruiser?
-How much attention would the frigate get in the average battle compared to our standard corvette?

>>18043089
>Herp
-What is the next size after the combat frigate cost and how much does it cost?

>>18043105
>>18043089
The next up in ship sizes would be Attack Cruisers which are about 10,000 RP but cant carry fighters, then Light Cruisers about 12-13,000
>Do we still have a chance to get that cruiser?
If the Salvage teams recover it it's going to need a couple of weeks in drydock. Upcoming events will determine if it's avalable.

>How much attention would the frigate get in the average battle compared to our standard corvette?
It would get twice as much attention especially if you started spamming torps.

>>18043166
Well, in that case I'd propose to get our shields upgraded and head out.

You make a mental note to get your shields upgraded and tick off the amout of RP that'll leave you with at 3,100. Odds are everyone else will try to pick up an upgrade or two.

"If you have anything you'd like to get done before you leave do so now. Please remember this information is classified for operational security. Dismissed."

As you get up to leave the LT waves you over, waiting until the others have left before speaking.

"Ms Reynard about that ship you found, I read some of the debriefing reports. I was one of the higher ranking officers on station at the time so I was able to swing it. You know that crew had members from every Faction, something seemingly impossible given the political climate of their time period. Hell even today that would be pushing it. What do you think about all of that?"

"You... said not to talk about it sir?" you reply, somewhat uncertain.

"I know I'm breaking protocol, report me I dare you. They said they served an alliance of all the Factions. Do you think that's something that could work? I want to hear your opinion on this."

You take a moment to think before responding.
>My opinion is that the Factions...
[ ] Should unite
[ ] Should work together more closely
[ ] Are seperate for a reason
[ ] other

>>18043318
"Hmmm... considering the alliance of all the Factions was only created because of an external threat that was large enough to put some serious hurt on everybody, and that it fell apart as soon as the threat was gone? I doubt uniting the Factions is possible.

On the other hand, when a 400 year old cruiser can still be considered top of the line today, I'd guess the current situation isn't really as good as it could be. And our current pirate problem also seems to indicate that things could probably be improved.

All in all, I guess I like to think we should give working together a bit more closely a try. We are seperate factions for a reason but that doesn't mean we can't learn from each other and in turn influence them towards our point of view. Might save a few lives here and there, if we're lucky."

>>18043488
>>18043488
"Fair enough. That's not a bad mentality to keep considering. Just remember; House comes first, and on rare occasions the Emperor."

"Yes sir!" You salute and head out, contacting the Chief to get the shield upgrades underway. The area around the ship docks are soon crowded with workers and equipment as the crews of your other squadron member's ships attempt to get things ready in time for departure. It's all you can do to stay out of the way of themechanics.

>Is there anything you'd like to do before the squadron departs?

>>18043594
-See how the others in our squad are doing.
-Ask Linda if the cram session helped.

Alex is happy that he managed to score a kill against one of the jamming ships without having to expend one his valuable Torpedoes.
"I sure hope that salvage claim goes through for that Cruiser. I have the feeling I'll need the extra RP to pay for ammo."

Mike is hoping for the same, and wishing he could get a different ship. "These are fast and everything but what i really want are more guns withouth a drop in speed."

You check in on Linda once you're back onboard and ask her how the studying went.

"I think I found the real problem with my jump plotting. The school I went to for nav training was mainly for Dro'all. They think things through differently enough that it was throwing me off. I'm sure if I'd gone to a Terran school I'd have been wonderfully mediocre instead of terrible. I should be fine now."

>>18043762
"Don't worry. Stick to me, and we'll get you to excellent in no time."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reBuz97GgBM

An hour later than the LT had hoped for the squadron begins undocking. The trip to Loran II is uneventful. There are no problems leaving the station or with jump accuracy, though some of the ships are still arriving a few hundred km out of formation. Better than the tens of thousands you started with.

"All ships listen up, friendly support will consist of more than a dozen corvette squadrons. One cruiser wing and attached carriers are rumored to be on the way from a Mid level House but may not get here for awhile. All of this is not counting system defense forces and ships from other Houses that may happen to respond to our summons."

An hour later the squadron enters high orbit above Loran II. You can see one convoy heading out in preparation for a jump.

"Hey Sonia did you notice Second Flight's ships?" asks Mike.
"No I didnt why?" You zoom your disply in on the two corvettes which seem slightly larger than normal.
"What the hell?" You mumble under your breath. Both ships have a diffrient weapon setup than your own. The pair of ball turrets seems to be set closer together as though they were linked.

"Those are Attack Corvettes." Says Kavos. "They missed the paint in some places."
"How did they afford those?" You ask.
Alex responds. "I bet they asked the LT if they could split the RP their dead wingman had already recieved."

Mike laughs. "So if I want a better ship now I just have to kill both of you guys?"

>>18043909

Five hours after your arrival the squadron has been moved into a lower orbit but it's still just the dull process of waiting.

By now there are nearly 500 warships from 6 different Houses present so far and more continue to arrive. Far and away the largest ship is the 5,000m meter long Heavy cruiser Forthright. A cylindrical vessel 2,900m across it's exterior is dotted with heavy phase cannon, arrays and point defense guns. A tight formation of Cruisers stay with it at all times.

"That is one big ass ship." You remark when your orbit brings you close enough to get a good look at it.
The Chief agrees. "It is big but its central section is mostly hollow and filled with docking bays. They can carry enough Heavy lifters drop nine armored divisions. Then there's the starfighters. You dont want to mess with one of those without starfighter support."

You point to the open area in the bow. "What if you just keep hitting its front so it cant drop its shield?"
"Now you're getting the idea."

>>18044076
There are a number of Terran Alliance Starships in orbit as well, clustering around a group of civilian freighters. Although you dont recognise any of them your HUD displays each of their classes. An Excalibur class battlecruiser, a Copernicus class science ship, a larger Sydney class which seems to have a pair of giant spinal mount cannons, and about a dozen cargo frigates.

"Hey sir, if you dont mind my asking whats with those Terran ships?" You ask the LT.
"They probably sent those couple of warships to protect their civilians. They'll stay out of our way if they know what's good for them."

A half hour later a message is sent out across the command frequency.

"All ships hear this. Deep space scouts have sighted several groups of pirates most of which seem to be based around larger vessels, including Jupiter class heavy transports and older medium cruiser designs. Admiral Qieshozh is ordering all ships to alert level two. I repeat we are now on standby alert. All ships prepare for large scale combat."

The Chief activates the ship intercom. "This is the bridge to all hands get suited up. Damage control teams move emergency gear for easy access." Kavos turns towards you. "This is going to be a big fight, you should throw on your vacsuit and keep a Helmet nearby."

[ ] Do as he says
[ ] I'll be fine

>>18044141
>[X] Do as he says
Might save our life. Make sure that everybody else does so as well.

>>18044156
Agreed.

>>18044141
As you get suited up the command and tac frequencies come alive with chatter as squadrons and cruiser groups are redirected in closer to the orbital platforms.

"I know this Admiral." Says Kavos as he straps on the outer armored shell of his suit. "Qieshozh. I served in his fleet back when I was a gunnery sergent. He seemed to favour using fast light ships like Corvettes to harass the enemy flanks. We'll be seeing plenty of fighting."

Ten minutes later it starts.

"Contact. Modified Frigate, Pirate IFF... additional contacts reverting to realspace. Frigates, corvettes, cruisers, Transports and freighters rigged as Carriers. Multiple starfighter launches in progress. Sub-corvette size attack ships as well."


The Command frequency light up. "Admiral Qieshozh to all ships do not engage at this time. Our Carriers and platforms are launching fighters."

For several more minutes Pirate ships continue to revert beyond the range of the planetary defenses.

"Ship numbers still climbing." reports sensors. "Mostly Frigates and light cruisers, though there are some larger ships, mostly carriers or converted haulers. Only two battlecruisers that I can see. Tonnage is beginning to approach half that of our fleet."

"This is Admiral Qieshozh, hold position, I want to wait for them to get within range of our platforms. If they dont budge we'll draw them out using lightning strikes. It shouldnt be long now until the last of them has reverted. Remain resolute and well will end them today once and for all."

You look over your shoulder to the Chief. He shrugs. "I never said he wasnt ambitious, but he is competent."

"Medium cruisers detected. A Terran Lance class and a Kavarian Centri class."

"Okay, that should be close to everything unless they call in their bigger haulers."

"Kavarian Millie Class medium cruiser outfitted for cargo hauling and a Jupiter class heavy freighter have reverted."

"That will be it, they never have much of a rear guard. The Admiral will likely direct us to make some attack runs soon."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Le6azerwU

Looking off towards the command ship you notice the blue flash of weapons fire and explosions. "What was that? I thought the pirates were all out of range?"
Before you can zoom in your sensor specialist yells out. "Command ship is under attack! Three Rovinar attack ships have decloaked and fired SP Torpedos into Forthright's parade bridge! They're now attempting to escape from the Adrmiral's escort ships."

The Chief seems to turn a plaer colour. "Wha? How severe is the damage? Did they breach the inner command sections?"

"I cant tell at this time sir. New contact reverting. It's big, t-thirty kilometers long by 3.5km wide." The man pauses to swallow.
"Confirmed as Kavarian Mega class super heavy cruiser."

The bridge is silent as everryone glances back and forth between the sensors officer and the primary monitor.
"Well we're fucked." says one of the gunners, breaking the silence.

>>18044423
"Everyone remain calm." urges the Chief. He nodds to you and motions to your headset. Before you can check in with the LT the sensor operator speaks up again.

"Some of the ships from Allied Houses are breaking formation. They're fleeing!"

"Dayton to all ships I... I uh... hold position! Stand by to recieve orders!"

You turn your head. "Chief do we have anything that could take out a ship like that?"

"If the ship was by itself it wouldnt stand a chance against our combined fleet but its not. Shit. Let me remember, ways to kill a superheavy. Okay one, Veckron Torpedo, almost impossible to get hold of and can only be fired from ships with a special launcher. Two, another superheavy, but there's barely any left in the Dominion and we cant build new ones. Three, SP torpedo spam, possible but would take time to organise. Four, Plasma weapon spam, useful to Republic fleets only. Five, wave after wave of conventional ships."

"That doesnt sound very promising." You reply.

"Just wait, they're really not that tough withouth their shields. They're more like mobile bombardment platforms than conventional ships. They're long and wide yes but the superstructure is only 300m top to bottom and most of their interior is empty space for cargo. If out fleet could get it's shields down on one side our starfighters might stand a chance at crippling it."

You zoom in on the huge vessel, looking over the rows of phase cannon ball turrets and arrays. Something stands out from the rest though, looking out of place. Boxy protrusions sticking out of the trench that runs along either side of the ship.

"What are those?" you ask.

"Bombardment arrays. They're designed to pierce a planet's atmosphere to assist in orbital bombardment making the fire more accurate."

"Why dont more ships carry them?"

"Use of nuclear scale ordinance within a habitable planetary atmosphere is banned by treaty. Planetary bombardment isnt strictly banned but a phase cannon shot puts out energy in that range. If they knock out the orbital platforms they'll either level any ground defenses or hold the civilian populace hostage until they've looted anything of value.
Whatever we do we'll have to deal with the rest of their fleet in order to attack their super heavy."

You attempt to contact the LT but get his coms officer.

"I'm sorry pilot but the Knight is currenty attepting to rally the other squadron commanders. I'll pass along anything you feel is important."

[ ] Wait and hope the LT comes up with a plan of his own
[ ] Suggest launching attack runs to buy time
[ ] Reccomend the squadron retreat
[ ] Devise a plan of your own

>>18044616
>[X] Devise a plan of your own
What's the current situation?
-Where are we exactly.
-What kind of allied ships are close to us. How many of those would actually bother to listen to us?
-How far is the enemy away?
-What kind of enemy ships are close to our location?

>>18044846
>Map related
Huh?

>>18044649
>[X] Devise a plan of your own
>What's the current situation?
>Where are we exactly.
MAP related. Ignoring the Superheavy your fleet still outnumbers and outmasses the Pirate fleet slightly.

-What kind of allied ships are close to us. How many of those would actually bother to listen to us?
A large number of Corvettes, some cruisers and Frigates from the system defense forces.The Lieutenant is attempting to convince officers from other Houses to remain in system. He could likely convince local defenders to assist in a plan.
>How far is the enemy away?
They are closing on on the defending ships and by extension you.
>What kind of enemy ships are close to our location
Mostly Frigates though there are some attack ships.

>>18044868
Board keeps eating my posts.

>>18044887
Okay. We should probably concentrate on harassing the enemy's lighter ships and transports for now.

I'd suggest that the faster elements of the fleet shut start runs on any pirate ships who are getting ahead of their allies or leave the cover of the bigger ships. If they start facing serious resistance they should pull back.

Our bigger allies should probably focus on keeping the enemy's capital ships from providing cover for their transports and try to prevent them from advancing too quickly.

We should probably also designate a rally point in the orbital defence zone. If there are any ship yards or repair facilities in orbit around the planet, preferably close to one or multiple of those.

The respective captains and commanders will know what they're ships are useful for and what not.

Most importantly we'll have to hold the pirates back until we get more reinforcements, so we have to keep our ships in decent shape.

And see if there's a chance to get those Terrans involved in the fight. Or at least if they're willing to take a few shots at that Kavarian class cruiser with their fancy spinal cannons.

You try and lay out the bare bones of a plan and explain the key points of it. After all if you just sit here waiting for orders that may never come you'll just get mobbed. With much reluctance the coms officer puts the Lieutenant on the line with you.
"I'm getting no where with the other Commanders." He tells you. "Half of the ones from our own House are getting ready to pull out. What have you got Pilot?"

"Sir lets attack their leading elements with our fastest ships hit and run style."

"That could work.
"Hmm, that could work. My ship is too slow to pull that off though. I'll head for the command ship and continue trying to rally the defenders. Get out there Pilot, lead by example."

"Yes sir! Mike, Alex on me!" You slam the throttle forward and accelerate away towards the enemy before the Knight can even tell the others to follow.

"This is Dayton, all ships follow thrid flight! Hit and fade at high speed!"

The other corvettes speed after you, second flight in their more powerful ships the onely ones that can catch up in short order.

"Concentrate fire on targets as we get within range." reminds Mike. "Maybe we can do some real hits with each pass if we do."

Off to the side you can make out other friendly units heading out much like your own. The Green dots of friendly starfighters begin to move away from the defense zone too.

"Incoming enemy ships and starfighters." Reports sensors.

Roll 4d20

rolled 10, 11, 16, 9 = 46

>>18045251
Just don't forget about our point-defense guns to deal with any fighters coming for our squad.

rolled 7, 6, 8, 11 = 32

>>18045251
>Roll 4d20
ಠ_ಠ
"No heroics guys. If you see any kind of command ship, concentrate on those. If anybody in your flight gets seriously damaged, cover his back so he can retreat into the orbital defence zone. Good luck everybody."

You close at full speed, maneuvering just enough to make targeting difficult as you close to range. The bow of the leading enemy Frigate seems to explode outward for no reason before vomiting a cloud of nuclear missiles in the direction of your formation. Most of them either miss or do little damage but the ball explosions provide cover to the incoming starfighters. They werent expecting a lowly corvette to be carrying particle beams though. Both of your quad barrel point defense turrets unleash a storm of purple beams into the enemy fighters killing six of them in a few seconds. The survivors break off, some of them launching nukes and detonating them to mask their movement.

Momentarily distracted by the light show you almost miss your first target. All five of you fire on the missile Frigate causing its shield to pop from the excessive energy. You're coming in so fast through that there's no time for a follow up before your group is past it. The Frigate turns hard in an attempt to reverse its momentum and head back towards its lines but the other shix ships in the squadron catch up to him destroying his engines.

Your flight turns hard to the 'left' in a manuver that will carrying you along the front of the advancing enemy line. Enemy ships farther back that you pass in front of try to snap off shots but you have just enough speed and distance to avoid the worst. The next ship doesnt even notice your formation coming in at a right angle to his flight path. An attack cruiser armed with only spinal mount weapons it wouldnt have been able to do much anyways. Your combined fire drops its shield after a few hits but again you're moving too fast to get a kill on suck a large vessel.

"I almost wish we could slow down." Comments Mike, just before some heavy phase cannon fire shakes up your group.
"Almost!"

>>18045637

Next is a Daggar class Corvette which doesnt take many hits at all. The dual-linked weapons on one of Two Flight's ships rips through the hull of the vessel and detonates both fusion drives shredding the ship.

A pair of Delta class light attack ships are the next to die to your guns. The small ships are able to dodge some of your fire long enough to change course but their shields are too weak to survive even a minor hit. Your point defense guns shoot them to pieces after that.

"We're getting towards the center line of their formation now." Says Alex.
You can see other friendly ships making attack runs like your own and even some of the Cruisers getting into Delta formations. The leading elements of the Pirate fleet are starting to wise up though, slowing down to allow more ships to catch up. Things are going to be more difficult on subsequent runs.

By now the Pirates are starting to reach the maximum range of the heavier ships and platforms. Forthright opens up with all guns spraying fire in a cone. The orbital platforms dont have clear cannon shots yet but apparently their missile batteries do. A waves of missiles come streaming out past the defenders, some hitting enemy ships, others being detonated early by point defense or proximity to starfighters.

>Make another attack run or do something else?

Roll 4d20

rolled 5, 6, 13, 15 = 39

>>18045785
>>Make another attack run or do something else?
1. Do any allies need cover? If there are, provide whatever help we can.
2. Any juicy targets around? If there aren't any targets of opportunity around at the moment, wait for more missiles to arrive and see if there's a chance to strike.

You glance around and look for any allies in trouble and it doesnt take you long to find some. One of the other corvettes squadrons has gotten bogged down fighting some frigates and a cruiser. Coming about you head straight for the largest ship in the group they're fighting, a Kavarian Battle Cruiser.

"Is this such a good idea?" One of the pilots from second flight asks.
"We'll be fine as long as we slow down." you hope as you reassure them.

The large ship doesnt seem to take notice of your approach and as you open fire you realise why, these things are fucking tough. Your first pass seems to do next to nothing to it and it's pair of rear pacing phase cannon soon begin to target you. The beam weapons that make of the leading edge of the ship's wings fire a pair of pulses at one of the allied corvettes destroying it in one volley.

"Stay out of its forward arc!" You warn the others.
"Target its starboard engine pod." says the leading of two flight. You pass through a pocket of starfighters battling each other on your way back, your gunners unable to land many hits for fear of friendly fire. When you come around again at the cruiser all of you dump fire into one of the large engine pods that make up the out part of the wings. Your fire seems to do little damage but the twin linked beams of two flight cut through the weakened shield damaging the engine.
The ship's crew must have been annoyed by the damage because they target your group next. Your shield and one of the others each take a single hit from the large pulse weapons. Thrown against your restraints from the impact when you glance at your shield indicator next you see it's dropped to five percent.

>>18046264
"Nearly lost my shield here." reports the other ship that had taken a hit. As a group you continue to turn hard, just barely escaping the next volly. the distraction seems to have bought the other squadron time to disengage though. They're now fleeing towards the defense platforms, something you think it's time to be doing.

"Make a run for the defense zone!" You tell everyone. Explosion from another missile barrage obscure your view of the battlecruiser.
In the confusion an enemy starfighter drops a pair of nukes into your already weakened shield killing it entirely.
"Fuck my shield is out!" you swear, even as your gunners blast the starfighter.

A circle pops up on you HUD with a timer counting down for shield restart. 40 seconds. The three undamaged ships in your group drop back to cover you and... Wyn? as your shields come back up. Not wanting to risk somone hitting you with long range fire your flight takes cover behind a defense platform.

The Pirates are now close enough for the stations to open fire with all of their weaponry. Even some of the civilian cargo stations are starting to fire what few weapons they have. The battle is drifting closer by the second with all friendly ships now fully engaged.

>When your shields come up...
[ ] High speed runs
[ ] try to find the rest of the squadron
[ ] assist closest friendly
[ ] other

>>18046370
>[ ] assist closest friendly
>[ ] High speed runs

Alternate between these two, whatever seems more effective. Try to keep attacking the stuff too small for the stations' guns or too maneuverable for their point defense to shoot at without risking friendly fire. If possible try to an eye out for damaged pirate ship trying to pull out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJyCPtQYt9M

When your shield comes back online you dont hesitate, charging back out into the fray, the others in persuit. You spot the IFF's of three Knights blasting their way through anything in their path and generally making themselves a nuisance to the enemy. A small cloud of starfighters and attack ships are in close persuit, directly behind them where their turrets cant track as easily. Your point defense is enough to scare off the worst of the fighters and the cannon fire from your corvettes kills or disables of the attack craft.

"Thanks for the assist pilots." One of their crews texts you.

Next is a quick pass near a friendly carrier buying it time to take cover among the platforms.

"Message from the Lieutenant." Says coms. "He wants our squadron to link up with the Terran starships and cover them. He's convinced if we give them enough escort the might make a run at that super heavy."

You shrug. "Okay if he thinks that'll work."

As you come about in an attempt to locate the rest fo the squadron A hole inexplicably opens in the enemy formation, with ships pulling back in all directions. You realise its a direct line between Forthright and the Super Heavy just as what must be 100 phase cannon beams pour through and hit the heavy cruiser. Dominion Heavy cruisers are tough ships but even they can only take so much fire in a small area it seems. One third of the beams punch through and impact the hull opening a gash more than kilometer long and sending out a tremendous fireball.

"It's not out of the fight." Says the Chief. "But it will be soon if it take too many hits like that one."
The Heavy cruiser rolls to bring undamged sections of the ship to bear and changes course bringing it closer to the other platforms.

The Terran ships have formed up at the very edges of the battle zone. Close enough to offer long ranged fire but far enough away to make a run for it if needed. Enemy starfighters occasionally launch missiles in their direction but few ships approach for fear of their SP Torpedo armament. Taking potshots from pirate ships along the way your group forms up with them. The rest of the squadron arrives a minute later, looking somewhat beaten but still operational.

"This is Captain Takahashi of the TCS Santa Maria. We were told by a Knight Dayton that we'd be recieving an escort if we were to make a run at that super heavy, is this it? We could deffinitely use some more cover, it's going to take time to unload enough fire to take one of those beasts down."

Off in the distance the enemy Super heavy performs another alpha strike, this time against one of the defense platforms causing it to explode.

[ ] We're it.
[ ] Try to convince the LT to send more ships.
[ ] other

>>18046961
>[X] other
"Sorry, we can't risk alerting the enemy about your importance by amassing too many ships around you too quickly. I doubt you want any attention from that thing before you get a shot off, right? I'll try to call in some favours to get some additional help once things start heating up, but we're all our commanders can afford to spare at the moment."

>See if we can get those three knights we helped out earlier to join us once the pirates take notice of us.

>>18047065

It wont take long for the Pirates to notice the group of Terran Alliance IFF's that most of their ships are already trying to stay away from.

The Terran Captain grimaces. "I suppose I understand, but if my ships take too much damage they'll be forced to flee."

You try and get a message through to the group of Knights you encountered earlier. It doesnt take long for a response.
"Sounds bloody marvelous! The chaps are all for it but we're a might bit tied up I'm afraid. What say some of you swing past and pick us up on the way!"
"I think that could work." Says another Knight on the same channel.

This might actually cause you to draw more attention but it would give the enemy three tougher ships to shoot at than just your squadron.

>Do this? Y/N

In either event roll 4d20.

rolled 18, 11, 11, 9 = 49

>>18047234
>>Do this? Y/N
Y

Say, couldn't we lend the Terran ships some neutral IFF codes, or some of ours from ships that were already destroyed in this battle?

>>18047267
"TCS Santa Maria some of us are going to swing through the engagement zone to pick up some additional ships to help escort you. We'll try to punch though and link up with you and the rest of our unit."

"You realise if this doesnt work we'll be attacking that ruiser with even less ships?"

"Yes I am."

You and the ships from second and third flight turn away and dive back into the fight, trying to stay just above the levels of the orbital platforms so yu dont have to worry about collisions with anything larger than your own ship. You're thankful for your shield upgrades as the fire from the platforms is starting to lose some of its accuracy. Debris is starting to fill the battle space making it difficult to tell who is having the easier time of things, Pirates or defenders.

"Reduce speed by ten percent." Directs Kavos. "I'm diverting power to the deflectors and repulsor systems."
A Starfighter pops out from behind some debris and launches a Torp that hits Alex's forward shield. The defenses hold though and you continue on.

"We're recieving a signal from the PDF. Orbital defenses in a large enough area have been compromised to allow enemy Medium Cruisers to enter low orbit. They'll be able to start HLV drops soon."

At last you catch up with the three Knights that had promised to help you, they're engaged with a group of frigates and a familiar looking Kavarian battlecruiser

"Alex, torps."
"Gotcha."

All of you fire weapons but you're coming in slow enough Alex has time to get three Torpedoes off, eventually helping to crack the larger ship's shield.
You combined phase cannon fire rips apart the port engine pod. The Knights use the opportunity to fire their spinal mount cannons into the ship's centerline destroying vital systems. Rather than exploding it simply powers down and begins to drift.

>>18047681
"Onward!" Shouts one of the Knights as the three ships form up to follow you. It soon beomes apparent that letting the heavier starships lead is the better course of action as with their shields set to double front little short of the Medium cruisers or the giant super heavy could do them serious harm. The five of you are left to bear the brunt of the fire directed at their aft.

"This is starting to suck." Says Mike after taking a few too many heavy hits from some frigates persuing you.
"Starting to agree with him." seconds Alex.

Just when you start to think it wont end your group breaks free of the battle into open space. The frigates after you break off as the Terran battle cruiser fires some of it's pulse and phase cannon turrets in their direction.

"Santa Maria to escorts, glad you could make it. Let's do this."

As you approach you find the target is not without it's own escort. Four Kavarian Battlecruiser detach from the larger ship's outer hull.

"Right, now that is a problem." Concludes the lead Knight.

The Syndey and Excalibur class ships choose that moment to begin firing torpedoes. Four SP torps impact the bows of two of the ships destroying their weapons.

"Squad Morale restored! Charge!"

>>18047905
Next you find out what the spinal mount weapons were on the Sydney class ship when it fires a pair of Fusion plasma cannons. Her fire is enough to finish off one of the already wounded battle cruisers while the Knights pour fire int the other. Everyone else dumps phase cannon fire into the two undamaged ships to little effect.

"I think we're going to have to waste some SP's on them." says someone.
"Not at all! We'll best these fools yet!" Replies one of the Knights.
This enthusiasem is short lived as the remaining damaged cruiser accelerates on a suicide course.
The sudden move catches one of the Knights by surprise and he doesnt have time to change course. Both ships explode on impact shaking up the formation.

The lead Knight clears his throat. "Terrans, Corvette pilots, kill that Leviathan. We'll hold off the two remaining cruisers long enough fo you to do so. Go!" Both of the outmatched light cruisers break off to engage the remaining enemies while the rest of you face down the enemy command ship.

Roll 1d100 for evasion.

rolled 19 = 19

>>18048193
>Roll 1d100 for evasion.
I'm sure I'm going to regret this.

rolled 76 = 76

>>18048232
ಠ_ಠ

rolled 94 = 94

>>18048193
>/tg/ dice...

>>18048438
<3

"Escort keep them distracted!" orders Takahashi. "All ships open fire!"

Each of the Terran Frigates and the Science ship fired off pair of SP Torps while the warships each added four more. Even as they were launching the Mega began directing all of its fire at the incoming starships.
"Shields double front!" You shout as you try your best to evade. A heavy phase cannon shot drops your shield to 10% in one hit. It starts to recover much more quickly than normal though and it takes you only a second to notice your weapons arent firing. A pair of the Terran Frigates rip open under fire and the others break off. Someone from the squadron is hit and breaks away. The whole time the engine banks on the Super Heavy have been firing, trying to change where the torps will land. Rather than hitting the narrower broadside trench most of the weapons impact the ship's broad topside blasting huge craters in the hull down the length of the ship but missing vital systems.

Two more volleys of ten Sp Torps hit the ship blasting holes clean through to the other side but hardly any of the ship's weapons have been hit. Heavy cannon fire damages the Sydney class but she continues on, half of the Terran Frigates are on fire even though they dont seem to have any more torpedoes to launch.

"Out of Torps, breaking off." Reports Alex. You realise that most of the squadron has either been disabled or is trying to get out of weapons range. A hard impact throws you forward against your restraints. The shield readout shows zero and your weapons are lit up in red.

"Hull breach, forward sections." Reports the Chief.

[ ] Continue to draw fire
[ ] Get the hell out of here

>>18048695
>Oh boy, if that actually included the 94 roll, I don't want to know what would have happened otherwise.

Draw back until the shields have regenerated, fire off one of the nukes if it would help cover our retreat. Carefully try to distract some of their guns once the shields are back.

>>18048695
Would the nukes be of any use against the leviathan? Shooting them into the already damaged sections, perhaps?

>>18048695
just a thought... but how much damage would our ship do if we rammed that giant bastard in the engines or something?

>You never equipped the Nukes
>Trollface.jpg
But seriously its just as well you hadnt, the mounting brackets are gone now.

You break off if only to buy more time for your shields to recharge. Belatedly you roll the ship so you dont present as large of a target. Another impact shakes the ship.

"Topside turret is gone." Reports one of your gunners.
"Go! Go!" Urges the Chief. You transfer weapon power to engines then crank those past safety limits to get you out of range.

The Santa Maria follows the Sydney class ship as it makes a close range strafing run using its plasma cannons. The heavy weapons punching through sections of the shields where SP Torp's had crippled the genertors. Both of the ships are on fire when the swing parallel to the huge ship's hull. In the next instant they're gone, the bright light of subspace tearing evident along their outbound course.

"They ran for it." You barely get out.
"He said they would if their ships took too much damage." Says the Chief standing up. He points to a window on your monitor. The enemy ship sits unmoving, whole sections of it venting atmosphere or even fusion plasma into space.

"That's going to take time for them to fix. Time for us to get reinforcements."

>Kavarian Super Heavies look a lot like the Progenetor mothership from HW2. I wasnt sure weather to be annoyed when the game came out or happy I wouldnt have to draw the damn thing in any real detail.

>>18049085
I'm not sure I follow. HW2 came out years ago.

>>18048843
It would have added some damage sure but it would been like firing artillery at Mount rushmore. It's going to take a lot of artillery to change the shape of it.

>>18048979
There are five engine banks on these bastards, two each on either side and one at the back. If you did it right you could take out a of pair of engines from the same bank. Again not a huge dent but with a few hits like that they wont be able to move.

>>18049246
Time to get back to the orbital defence zone and see if we can get some emergency repairs done on our ship. See if we can get any info on how the battle is going for our side.

>>18049184
I came up with this setting years and year ago. Really until I started this quest I probably hadnt touched it in since about 2003.

>>18049311
sounds good, but we should try to round up any stragglers we find along the way, if we're capable of doing so?

>>18049311

The shields take longer than the previous 40 seconds to come back online. Five minutes of nerve wracking wait later they power up again.
"Engineering to Bridge, sorry about that we had some power transfers blown. I'd reccomend we get the ship into dock ASAP."

Scanning the battlefield and being careful to stay out of range of still active enemy ships you locate Mike's disabled ship. Although the ship doesnt respond to hails some of the marker lights blink on and off in an SOS pattern. You tractor you wingman's ship and head out on a course that will take you around the edge of the battle space.

The battle itself seems to have quieted down though the platforms still launch missile vollys every now and then. The Pirates have cleared an area in orbit of all active defenses and have begun landing operations. House forces have created a perimiter to prevent or slow any attempts to attack the other platforms but cant contest the landings from orbit at this time.

>>18049527

damage report on our ship and our wingmen's ships. Find a dock with room for at least Mike's ship if possible.

try to make contact with our knight leader

>>18049527
After twenty minutes of constant looking over you shoulder for fear of enemy ships showing up you arrive at one of the designated emergency repair stations. Mike's ships is towed in to dock first if only to get the crew off and get a propper assesment. Repair estimates for your own ship once in dock are already into the 10 hour territory but you're farther down the list for repairs. It's something of a reverse triage scenario, those that be be fixed fastest are being looked after first. After an Hour of waiting Alex's ship and one of the Light Cruisers used by the three Knights joins the others waiting for repairs.

"Glad you made it." Alex tells you. "Looks like a lot of the others from the squadron have ended up at a station farther around the planet. Those that could move under their own power that is. Any word from the Lieutenant?"

You tell him you havent heard anything so far. Mike is soon able to contact you though informing you that his ship will be fixed in five hours and to not wait up.
After another Hour you and Alex are ordered to transfer to the station the rest of the squadron has been rallied at where you at last hear from Lt Dayton.

"Things are in a stalemate for the moment but we expect to get more help from out susyem in another hour or two. As most of your ships are wrecked I'm going to find you all something to do until they're fixed. I'll contact you all with assignments once I've talked some more things over with the PDF. Dayton out."


TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK!

>>18049885
>TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK!
Oh the suspense...
See you next week OP.

Since there's not going to be any warships available in next week's episode and yours is broke is there anything in particular you'd like to volunteer for?
Orbital search and rescue? Something down in atmosphere to combat the landings? Some other amazing job that hasnt occured to me?

Knowing ahead of time would make things a lot faster.

Aaand anon archived before I could. Was going to remove the 'Marine' tag since we didnt use any this week. Oh well.

>Trying to prevent a large scale planetary invasion, we get our ship shot to pieces instead
lol

I had actually planned for 2 other possibilities. namely 1) Death which would have been harder to write than you might think and something I would have preferred to avoid.
and 2) ABANDON SHIIIIIP!! Which would have been far more entertaining.

>>18049953
I think we could do the most good piloting an atmospheric craft, if there are no warships to be had.

>>18050091
So success was literally not an option?

>>18049953

... if we had an escort, could we tractor disabled enemy ships away from their friends to board later with marines?

or perhaps salvage ships while we do CSAR?

>>18050134
Nope.avi
But you were far more successful than I hoped you might be and disabled the ship, leaving it vulnerable to follow up.

>>18050143
Dont see any reason why not.

>>18049953
There's so much interesting stuff we could do:
Orbital search and rescue sounds interesting.

Perhaps we could try to board a disabled yet only lightly damaged pirate ship if there's one floating around?

Or we could also try to recover some of those expensive torpedoes from a wreck that's falling apart while we're trying to get out with our precious cargo.

Maybe lend some support the ground effort by piloting either a jet or a tank.

Something that involves being sneaky and all special ops-y? Maybe trying to uncover a traitor in the PDF?

>>18050091
Just realized that those escape pods are the plastic tabs put in the pizza box to keep the cheese from sticking to the top!

we could also be dicks and instead of tractoring disabled pirate ships to be boarded later... send them on collision courses with uninhabited stellar bodies or that HUGE fucker.

and did the Terran ships have better tech than our comparable ships? if so, we should try to salvage anything we can from the escorts they lost

>>18050091
What would you have done if our char had died? Would that have been the end?

>>18050347
>and did the Terran ships have better tech than our comparable ships? if so, we should try to salvage anything we can from the escorts they lost
All of the escorts they lost were unfortunately civilian built Standard Frigates press ganged into service. They were (previously) owned and operated by Terran citizens. The same as the 3,000 RP model the Houses use just they gave a couple of SP Torps to each. The owners will be compensated for the loss of their vehicles at some point, or get one hell of a tax break.

>>18050305
Cant unsee.

>>18050373
Like I said, that would have been harder to write. There are a number of possibilities, few of them being very good ones.
Actually I remember now what I was going to do, but I may still use parts of that storyline later so I dont really want to give it away right now.