>>20117414
poor duncan

what about those pirate colony in the zones we can't jump zone?

After that you spent some time in sickbay having your shoulder mended and getting some drug assisted rest. Your left arm will need to be immobilized for the better part of two days to be sure it heals properly. Thankfully Katherine Drake is at the helm of the Bittenfeld for the moment.

Which brings us to today, February 16, 4024.

The other squadron leaders and your CO from the Third are present along with various Knights from the Cruiser Squadrons, Major Stahl and some other Marine officers. Knight Myrish Avun is absent, you don't know why until the Major hands you a datapad with a letter on it.

"Your House has things here well in hand and pressing matters need my attention elsewhere. I hope this repays my debt to you. You wont be able to contact me for a few weeks but feel free to send a letter to House Sulos, I'll receive it eventually. My House might be angry with me for what I've done to help yours but they weren't the ones to break me out of a slave market. Good luck out there."
-Avun

>>20117518
Will answer shortly

Anyone else having trouble posting?

>>20117556

Reply:

"May we meet under better conditions some day. Hunt well, friend."

>>20117605
none here

>>20117605
Hm, no problems posting.. Also, would it be possible to get a list of the shipclasses and their capabilities?

For example, i always wondered how a medium cruiser compares to a battleship, and how the later compares to a battlecruiser. It might become important once we step our game up from the bittenfeld.

Agreed, poor duncan. Now for the important part, salvage! Also, I predict this thread will contain promotions.

"We are extrordinarily vulnerable out here." Begins the Commander steepling her fingers. "Holding this position is dependant almost entirely upon the remaining mine shell."

"So we're a ball on a stick." says one of the older Knights.

"Quite. As manufacturing equipment and infrastructure have been damaged in the fighting and will take time to repair we lack a means of replacing lost mines. We can continue to reduce the mine shell's diameter as we lose more but this will decrease its effectiveness. We need to establish sufficient defenses and repair the weapons before the minefield is depleted. For that we'll need resuply convoys, and with many of the pirate and insurgent ships that had been gathered here scatterd there is a high chance those convoys will be in danger."

An image of the escaped medium carrier appears on the display. "According to inteligence Captain Selena Crayton commands the LTSC Wayward Treasures. Her psych profile indicates a strong disposition towards paranoia though not quite to the point of schizophrenia. We still have a cloaked ship in pursuit of her vessel but it may yet be some time before Crayton calms down enough to risk bringing her vessel in to any dock. Inteligence will continue to provide updates on suspected ship locations.
Meanwhile we have a job to do. Captain Sylvan, is your wing in fighting shape?"

"Ready for the word to move out sir." Replies your CO.

"We will be making convoy runs every twelve hours in alternating directions. Assign one of your squadrons to escort a frigate unit back to base with prisoners. I expect them to return in twelve hours time escorting the additional transport freighters. Your wing will be responsible for convoy security over the next few days."

>>20117733
"Man that jobs going to be boring for whichever poor schlub... Crap, its me isn't it?

>"Man that jobs going to be boring for whichever poor schlub... Crap, its me isn't it?"
Sylvan turns to you. "You've got tomorrows escort run Reynard. First Squadron has today's"

The Commander speaks up. "On that note Captain please ensure that you yourself remain here with the remainder of your Wing. Its about time the Squadron Leader for your First proves himself. "

>Salvage
The holographic display of the station and surrounding area is littered with debris. Spare Frigates and even a few attack ships are assisting in dragging the scrap into manageable clumps. The area still isn't safe enough to deploy the salvage fleet for proper cleanup.
A Razor battlecruiser that was being constructed in the station's industrial zone is being inspected. It should be ready for combat within a day by the looks of things.
The partially destroyed battleship has been boarded. As it was cut in two by the station guns and had much of the aft superstructure ripped open it will take a long time to repair.
Most enemy attack cruisers fled the area before the mine shell was subverted but a few remain. There is a partially destroyed Vengeance type of similar build to the Bittenfeld among the salvageable ships.

>Promotions!
"Given the current situation I'm afraid we'll have to hold off on any promotions and medals until after we've secured this part of the Run. Make sure to file your after action reports to be sure of your various attempts at heroics, that goes for everyone." Winifred informs the assembled officers.

>>20117733

Is there a way to interdict FTL travel in this setting that our convoys must avoid? or can we not over-jump grid sectors due to power constraints?

>>20117917
>>Salvage

See if one of those holographic camouflage units was discovered on the station. If so, make it clear to whoever is in charge of equipment that we'd like to have it for Duncan.

>>20117917
Hm, sounds like this will be a hot run tomorrow. How are we feeling, and in what condition is our squadron? Any losses=?

>what about those pirate colony in the zones we can't jump zone?
You tell the Commander about this.
"By the sounds of things there is little we can do about them at the moment. I'll forward a recommendation to House Posat or whichever House takes control of this region next that they construct long range sensors to detect vessels launched from those areas. Any investigation into the systems themselves will have to be handled by the navigators guild."

Convoy Missions!

You are still free to deploy on recon and combat missions from the captured station but doing so will reduce local defenses. Once every 3 days your squadron will be needed for escort duties.

Each convoy to the station must travel through contested territory. Pirates and smugglers displaced by the fighting are wandering the region looking for targets of opportunity. Thanks to sensors deployed through the Run by your recon missions the convoy will recieve some warning before an impending attack. Cargo ships that take damage will be forced to either turn back or remain at the at the station after they arrive.

Crippled or disabled ships will require protection until salvage ships can be dispatched if they are left behind. Abandoning ships and leaving them without escort will result in their capture by enemy forces.

Empty supply convoys will return from the captured station carrying prisoners, wounded personnel and salvaged equipment.

So assuming nothing goes wrong we come out of the battle stronger than before I take it.
About what % of the enemy fleet got away, both in numbers and tonnage. And did we ever clear away the enemies who decided to hide in the asteroids.

>>20118004
In some sectors along the Smugglers Run fleets will ultimately have to revert to real space either to realign or pass through the gravity well of star systems. The run itself is the fastest means of travel through the region where few star systems intersect the line of flight.

Also, map needed.

>and in what condition is our squadron? Any losses=?
Your squadron didn't take any outright losses though most of them are a little rough around the edges. Alex took the worst hit, losing a torpedo launcher, starboard launch bay and a good chunk of the surrounding superstructure. While the damaged sections are sealed it will take some time in a repair dock to fully fix. Mike actually took the least damage this time, his smaller attack frigate being nimble enough to avoid the heaviest fire.

>About what % of the enemy fleet got away, both in numbers and tonnage.

More than a dozen attack cruisers escaped and many more corvettes, frigates and transports did as well. I'd say about 75%, most of the ones more vulnerable to heavy phase cannon fire should the stations guns have been turned against them.

>And did we ever clear away the enemies who decided to hide in the asteroids.
No. Did you wish to have your squadron investigate?

>Map
Will be upcoming following info request from previous thread.

>>20118186
>Did you wish to have your squadron investigate?
Yeah, everybody with heavy damage will begin repairs while the rest investigates.

>Could we get a recap of Sonia's skill and how various faction see her?
Skills as follows

**Hand to hand/CQC**
-Legendary
-Special Forces
-Military Training
-Basic
-Civilian
Sonia= Basic/Military Training
Tending closer to Military levels Sonia has lacked time to get really good at this sort of thing. Thankfully when wearing power armor and with a weapon that can cut through most armor this skill gets a noticeable boost.

**Weapons proficiency**
-Legend
-Marksman
-Infantry Average
-Basic
-No training
Sonia= Infantry Average
A good shot but noting spectacular. Modern HUD targeting provides a definite bonus.

**Starship Piloting**
-Elite
-Veteran
-Skilled
-Basic Training
-Untrained
Sonia= Skilled/Veteran
While Sonia has seen more combat than many she still only has a few months field experience. There remains many tricks and tactics she hasn't encountered yet that may prove troublesome.

**Starfighter Piloting**
-Elite
-Veteran
-Skilled
-Basic Training
-Untrained
Sonia= Basic
While a good pilot Sonia lacks the sort of experience in fighters necessary for survival in a prolonged dogfight.

**Shuttle Piloting**
-Elite
-Veteran
-Skilled
-Basic Training
-Untrained
Sonia= Basic/Skilled
Thanks to aggressively pursuing simulator flight training Sonia's skills at shuttle piloting have come up. The only real problem was with specialized atmospheric thrust vectoring systems not found on all shuttle designs.

>in b4 skill level requests on tons of random crap

>>20118226
>**Hand to hand/CQC**
>Sonia= Basic/Military Training

The dice disagree.

>how various faction see her?

Most Factions would just see her as yet another corvette or cruiser squadron commander. One among many especially given the number of Houses taking part in operations.
Rovinar and House intel see Sonia as a viable asset, though one with a tendency towards explosive results after the incident with the John Avery. The latest action hasn't been taken into account.

A few dozen Houses are aware that you were one of several officers who took part in the operations on Gesaur. This makes you a potential annoyance to be watched.

House Sulos knows next to nothing about you. This will likely change when they realize one of their Knights gave you vital military information they were hoping to sell to the highest bidder. But screw them, they don't even support the Expeditionary fleets.

House Posat sees you as a vital investor, or alternatively a sucker for tossing money at them. On that note you've received a message from your accountant that you're not really making much of anything in terms of profits off that investment. This may be a result of the poor economic condition House Posat is in and will bear watching.

For the sleeper fleet created by the Factions Alliance you have been labeled as a person of interest. While you are hardly the only person to stumble upon such ships its one hell of a fluke that you encountered the Endeavour. Even more so with the other ship you found being that far off the corner of the map. I mean seriously what the hell.

>>20118259
the dice also disagree on starfighter piloting, well when in the atmosphere

>>20118268
Does our marine like us at least...

>>20118268
>you're not really making much of anything in terms of profits off that investment.

Pass some footage of our torpedoes failing to pen that pirate cruiser along. If that won't help sales, nothing will.

>>20118259
Those were some amazing rolls at times but your hand to hand outside of a suit of power armor could still use some work.

>I'd also like to know what would be the next ship upgrade after a battlecruiser.
That depends on what sort of direction you'd want to take with your ship choices. Anything bigger with more weapons like a battlecruiser or even battleship is going to be slower and less maneuverable.
With larger ships like the Knight Commaner's medium cruiser you're not so much flying as driving. By that point you wont be at the helm of your ship, you'll be at a command display ordering your squadron(s) around.
There is an intermediate class of sorts that are larger than battleships but dont have the tonnage of Mediums. The only example you've seen so far is the converted mining barge used by the Norune bounty hunters. These are mostly custom built vessels and tend to be unique. I've yet to come up with a class or descriptor that would fit ships of this type. (Battle barge? I'd prefer to stay away from that for obvious reasons but it does fit.)

In the not too distant future there will be smaller Assault corvettes available. They may not have the punch of an attack cruiser but are faster and more maneuverable. I suspect few will consider it an upgrade though.

>>20118341
So in term of firepower our next upgrade would be a battleship, thank you

>>20118341

I think we better continue to stick to the Bittenfeld, then. At least till we get ordered to a position that requires more firepower. Its a good ship anyways, perfect to gain recognition as a young, aggressive commander.

I think we meet up with our Pilots, see who needs a replacement ship for tomorrow (Alex, as it seems), we should still have some in reserve. Then restock torps and missiles and get ready to move out.

>>20118218
So most of the small fry fled before we managed to bring down the hammer. First thing see how the news is reporting our "brilliant victory". Then we go check out the astroids, as that shouldn't weaken the defenses of the station, since we will never leave the shell. Plus they might be providing intel on our dispositions from there. Ifwe can, grab some of the other forces here to give us backup.

>Does our marine like us at least...
Once back aboard the Bittenfeld you talk to Sergent Ki about the Marines. He's a little taken aback for a moment.
"Sometimes I forget that you were out fighting alongside us aboard that cruise liner before you were even a man at arms. There's that distance from the officers thing starting to creep in more and more, especially once you picked up that armor, but at the same time everybody knows you're in if there's a fight. It helps the morale a bit and they sure as hell dont hate you."

You're nearly to the bridge when the Sergeant asks a question of his own.
"I have to ask, were you parents Marines?"

"Infantry." You reply. "My Father was at any rate. First Dreminth Highlanders."

Ki nods. "Never served with any of them but they've got a solid reputation. They dont cut and run like some you hear about but they're not fight to the last man crazies either. Your mom?"

"Not unless you count strong-arming the crazies showing up the the relief center."

You step onto the bridge and see Katherine at the controls, she'll have to do the piloting for now.
"Good to see you back in once piece." Kavos greets you.

>>20118539
Did the wounded marines we fought with make it?

>>20118539
>"Good to see you back in once piece."
"Good to have a ship to come back to. I hope Katherine didn't give you too much trouble?"

>Wounded Marines
A couple died from their injuries but most of them are either recieving treatment aboard the various Frigates or have been put in stasis for tranport back to base. The first convoy is preparing to move out now.

>>20118417
You lack access to replacement ships while at the captured station.

>First thing see how the news is reporting our "brilliant victory".
Still classified due to OPSEC.

>Ifwe can, grab some of the other forces here to give us backup.

You contact your CO to inform him of your intentions then ask some of the other squadrons present if they could spare any ships should things get hairy. A pair of less damaged light cruisers swing around to the side of the station closest to the asteroids. They can quickly reach you if things go bad.

You pace the bridge for a little while before stopping and standing near Kavos chair. "Lets see whats out there. All ships move us out slowly, keep a loose formation they might be waiting for us."

Roll 1d20 for scanning.

rolled 14 = 14

>>20118729
>dice
It's that time gentlemen

>>20118740

Tempted to try rolling after this but.... NOPE

Oh quick question, does this setting have recon probes?

>>20118783
Agreed. 30% chance to improve our average, 69% to make worse and a 30% chance to bring if below 10.

NOPE sums it up.

>>20118783
>Recon probes

Yes. You can aquire some if you want when you get back to the main base on your convoy escort.
Mostly you've just been carrying sensor buoys for deployment on recon runs.

As the squadron moves in you contact station control to warn them you'll be going near the edges of the mine shell.
"Copy that, we'll try to make sure they dont go after you but warn us if you stray within 100km of them. These ones seem a bit aggressive."

Even with the advanced sensors on a few of the ships in the squadron you're getting little in the way of results. Moving in closer you notice that a smaller asteroid is blocking a section of a larger one from view.

"Mike, you see anything?" You ask.

"Hang on... yes. No enemies here but you'd better take a look at this."
He sends you the image. There's a bore hole that's been cut through the larger asteroid with a closed circular hatch.

"Not picking up any weapons but there's tractor and repulsor emitters to keep that smaller rock in place."

>Your orders?

>>20118962
I'd suggest damaging/destroying the emitters to remove that rock. Would that be possible?

>>20118962
Can we combine the use our tractor beam to remove it?

>>20118962

"Hm. Looks interesting. Likely some kind of lab or secret base. The marines should get ready. Kat, bring us and our wingmen closer to this entrance and continue scanning, i dont want to send the shuttles out if arent sure there are no point defenses on that thing. The Rest of the Squadron form up and watch our backs, its very likely that there are still some ships in hiding that are waiting for their chance to ambush us."

We likely need to blow a hole in that hatch before our marines can get in?

>>20118962

have we fully explored the remainder of the asteroid?

if not, lets check for additional stuff around the remainder.

If we have, tractor that little asteroid away and send a demand for surrender.

>>20118962
Report to higher. Start to move in closer and ask the carrier squadrons to send some fighter cover our way.

>>20118991
>>20119013
Yes.

You have the squadron target the emitters and fire a few phase cannon shots until they've been disabled.
"The smaller one should crash on the larger asteroid in a few months with the current gravity." points out Arron.

"We're not going to wait that long. All ships, use your tractor beams to help move that thing out of the way."
A minute of pushing later and the bore hole is clear. The hatch is wide enough to allow transports and light cruisers through but not battlecruisers.

>And then I refreshed.
>>20119057
>We likely need to blow a hole in that hatch before our marines can get in?
Looks that way.

>>20119059
>have we fully explored the remainder of the asteroid?

You have not. The asteroid in question is quite large, a semi oblong about 70km at its largest point. You cant approach the other side without getting within range of the mines.

>>20119161

OK, get close, spool up the heavy guns to crack that hatch, report to command, send surrender message. If they ignore us, though luck, blow that hatch open, get ready to send marines in.

We may also mention to command that we will possibly need more marines if they can spare some, since that asteroid is almost as huge as the Super Heavy.

>>20118729
>A couple died from their injuries
Sign up for an extended battlefield first aid course.

>>20119161

does the asteroid extend -outside- the mine field?

>>20119238

If the asteroid isn't fully within the mine field, they'll likely escape on the other side.

>>20119271
>>20119268
>>20119238

You contact station control and your superiors about a possible security problem.

"We're looking up the records on the nearest asteroids. Seems like that one has an odd orbit and passes through the mine shell every couple of days. The Mines have been set to ignore it to prevent wasteful collisions."

The Knight Commander is soon on the channel sounding concerned. "We're sending some starfighters to assist. Do what you feel is necessary. If you need part of the minefield deactivated ask for it."

>>20119339

"what would happen if we blew the hatch and tractored a pair of mines into the asteroid on timed detonators?"

No asteroid, no security breech...

>>20119382
But there could be delicious lootcakes inside!

>>20119339

SHIT. It is very likely that most of the ships that we lost hide inside of that thing, waiting till it moves through the mineshield to make their getaway.

We need to line every ship with heavy front guns up in front of the hatch so we can crack anyone coming out fast and hard.

Would it be possible to tractor that asteroid to an orbit that doesnt make it go through the mineshield with all our squadrons tractor beams?

How long till the asteroid next slips out of the minefield?

We need to know this if we want to negotiate with the pirates within.

Inform them that unless they want us playing billiard balls with the astriods they are to upen that door. If they don't comply, play billiard ball with the astroid we just tractored.

>>20119382
"A couple of them would go off in the bore shaft inside the asteroid? They're nor exactly going to crack the thing in two."

>>20119059
>send a demand for surrender.
There was no response to this, btw. Meant to add this earlier.


>>20119465
>How long till the asteroid next slips out of the minefield?
Five hours.

>Would it be possible to tractor that asteroid to an orbit that doesnt make it go through the mineshield with all our squadrons tractor beams?
It will slow it down considerably. The station tractor beams might be able to help, they should have enough range but are in poor repair.

>>20119583

lets head around to the other side with first flight and Mike's flight. We'll search for any more entrances/exits.

Daska and Alex cover this entrance for now and hopefully a few friendlies can be spared to head over to them.

>>20119583

Ok, slow it down. All ships that are not the Bittenfeld get to tow that asteroid away. Talk to command about getting the station beams back online. Bittenfeld starts to destroy the hatch. Then we send a shuttle without much personal in to check things out. The Bittenfeld is to train her Spinal Weaponry on the Hatch even after its blown up. If they want to get out they have to do it one ship at a time, and there shouldnt be a ship in there that can survive a straight exchange with the Bittenfeld.

>>20119583
ask them to try it it cost us nothing and at best allow us to take our time opening our gift

File: 1343772181525.jpg-(59 KB, 580x818, 469409.1020.A.jpg)

If anyone is home they're being uncommunicative.

> If they don't comply, play billiard ball with the astroid we just tractored.
MFW

[ ] Billiard balls
[ ] Blast our way in
[ ] Station tractor beams
[ ] other

>>20119664
>[ ] Station tractor beams
If the beams aren't in danger of exploding or receiving fatal damage, otherwise
>[ ] Blast our way in

>>20119664
>station tractor beam
if it doesn't work billard ball

>>20119618
>lets head around to the other side with first flight and Mike's flight. We'll search for any more entrances/exits.

We aware that the other side of the asteroids is within the 100km range of the mines. While you do have a friendly IFF there is a chance the mines will become temperamental.
Did you want control to deactivate mines in that area?

Meanwhile
Roll 1d100 for station tractor beams

rolled 38 = 38

>>20119704
>dice
Well, let's hope for the best

rolled 52 = 52

>>20119704
>still dice
regretting everything
>>20119731
oh well

rolled 87 = 87

>>20119731
That is not how you roll dice.

rolled 31 = 31

>>20119704
Dice for the Average!

>Dice for the Average!
Well you really managed it. 52 of the stations tractor beams fire up and lock onto the asteroid, slowing its orbit.

You have the Bittenfeld along with Daska's ship park in front of the bay doors ready for anything that might launch. Everyone else spreads out, locks tractor beams and tries their best to help pull the big rock. With the corvettes pulling on it the image is almost comical, like a few dozen people playing tug of war.

The smaller maneuvering thrusters on the station fire to help maintain its position.

After a few minutes of this its enough to kill the orbital speed. Its not going anywhere.

"Second Squadron form up then target that hatch. You may fire when ready. Try to spare the torps though." you add.

This hatch is nothing compared to the previous one you encountered at an asteroid base. No shielding whatsoever, just some doors to keep stray debris out. It takes fifteen seconds of concentrated fire for the squadron to blow it open. The molten metal flying off in every direction.

The bore hole is a straight line to the other end of the asteroid seventy km away. While mostly intact the walls are riddled with mining tunnels.

"Debris clearing..." Reports Kavos. Arron zooms in on the far end of the tunnel.

A pair of blockade runners, a frigate and an attack cruiser of a class you don't recognize are positioned at the far end, ready to make a break for it. Doing so now would be pointless though, they'd merely launch through the hatch straight into the minefield.

>What say?

>>20120087
>Offer them one last chance to surrender

>>20120087
"Okay guys, you can either try your luck heading straight through the minefield, through us, or surrender.
As usual, if you haven't done anything truly despicable you're surrender should help you avoid the worst."

>>20120087

"Do you feel lucky, punks?"

>>20120087

Send Message:

"Well guys, hide and seek is over. We got this asteroid in a stable position, so you are not going anywhere. You can give up and walk away with a fair chance at court or you can try to break out one at a time against a superior force and a hostile minefield. Your choice. We might even cut you a slack if you give over your ships unharmed."

The smugglers surrender without a second thought. The attack cruiser crew reveal that they're mercenaries and request a negotiator.

[ ] Let command negotiate
[ ] No negotiation, surrender
[ ]other

>>20120322
>Let command negotiate
we don't need to deal with mercenary if we don't want yet, let's keep it that way while we can

>>20120322

Surrender or die.

"Mercs hiding with hostiles are hostile. Surrender or be destroyed."

>>20120322
>[X] Let command negotiate

If command wants them to surrender, they'll tell them. Just keep the guns pointed at them. If command has some other use for them, well, I won't complain.

>>20120322
Let them negotiate, but mention to Command that we have a damaged Attack cruiser in our squadron thats unlikely to be fit again tomorrow for our convoi assignment. It would be nice to get the Merc ship as a temporary replacement.

You escort the ships to a holding area and wait while shuttles board them and begin transferring crew to some of the Frigates still here. The Mercenaries are eager to begin negotiations in hopes of keeping their ship.

"There are a lot of ships in these parts I've never encountered before." States Kavos. "But then again not many mercs from the Pandora Cluster want to spend more than three weeks in transit only to be attacked by Houses on the outer rim of our territories."

"What kind of ship is that?" You ask him.
"Apparently its a Mark Two CCD Attack Cruiser. Weapon loadout is a bit poor but that's to be expected with a civilian built ship. They're still tough enough to make it count."

With time to spare and not much in the way of sparring likely with your injury you check your mail.
The newest one in your military notices is flagged as urgent.

>Attention all attack squadron pilots and officers.

>All men at arms, officers and Knights who have received this notice are to report for neural engram mapping at the earliest available opportunity. While our House cloning options remain limited at present this may yet be resolved in the future. As those personnel we've contributed to the Expeditionary force are among the best we have it is vital they not be lost.
>Remember, mapping is voluntary but it is highly encouraged to help save the House from difficulty down the road.

>>20120613
Okay then

>>20120613
>>Remember, mapping is voluntary but it is highly encouraged to help save the House from difficulty down the road.

Uhm, can we discuss that with our friends?

>>20120613
What do we know about neural mapping? Side Effects? How long will it take? Getting some Clones ready might be a good fall back option, so i'd say it might be a good idea to get neural mapped now.

An older message flagged as Urgent.
(That you were supposed to get back when the Bittenfeld was in dock for most of January)

>Intel Reclassification
>The following is directed to all serving officers aboard House ships regardless of vocation with level 2 clearance.
>Over the past several years and months reports of ghost ship sightings has risen dramatically. Intelligence believes the vast majority of these can be attributed to the so called Factions Alliance Task Force. This group is a force made up of elements from the main Factions assembled some time after the Faction Wars.
>Capture or retrieval of these vessels and their crews intact is now to be considered a vital objective.
>Those with level 3 clearance are being provided with detailed information to assist in recovery operations. Those lacking Level 3 access are to contact superiors immediately upon encountering these ships.

>>20120666
Did you wish to include Kavos, Daska and Katherine in the conversation, or just Mike and Alex?

>>20120683
>What do we know about neural mapping?
Neural mapping is a process to copy the subject's brain to allow imprinting on a clone at a later date.

>Side Effects?
You may have a bit of a buzz for most of an hour afterward.

>How long will it take?
Minutes, but you'll probably be sedated for a half hour as people respond differently.

>Getting some Clones ready might be a good fall back option, so i'd say it might be a good idea to get neural mapped now.
Be aware that in the Dominion it is illegal for clones to own land or hold a position as a Knight or member of the nobility. While most are respected for their experience and skill in battle they are still essentially second class citizens.

>>20120848
>Did you wish to include Kavos, Daska and Katherine in the conversation, or just Mike and Alex?
Don't forget Linda, but I'm not sure about Daska and katherine. We might also want to consult our parents and our sister.

>Rights
Hmm, that doesn't seem like a good deal. Is it still a clone if there's only one and the original is dead?

>>20120848
Discrimination, huh?
Well, its only a precaution anyways. And our house demands it. I suggest we get that emergency teleport system once we are back in the forward base so we dont have to worry about shit like dying anymore.

>>20120924
>Demand
Nope, they highly suggest it.
>Remember, mapping is voluntary but it is highly encouraged to help save the House from difficulty down the road.
They hope people don't read the second paragraph.

>>20120883
>Is it still a clone if there's only one and the original is dead?
Yes. Only the original has normal rights.

Where's that damn pic of the engineer in the philosophy debate when you need it?


Anyways, you have most of a day until your squadron is needed for convoy escort. Sit around and make repairs or do some recon of the surrounding area? Map is on the way.

>>20121027
have people that need repair repair, divide people left in roughly equal strenght squad and go look out for pirate

>>20121085
Seconding i guess.

>>20121027
3 squads on convoy duty, one to help protect the station.

File: 1343778998884.gif-(48 KB, 1184x1068, Smugglers run Local South 16.gif)

>>20121198
1st squadron wont return from convoy duty for another 20 hours, at which point it will be your squadron's turn.

After checking through which ships are functional you're left with
The Bittenfeld, Daska's Scorpion, Mike's Frigate and 4 corvettes (3 attack, 1 Dagger).
Choose how you want to divide up the force.

Roll 1d100 for each sector you wish to scan down and select which ones.

rolled 33, 34 = 67

>>20121359
>Daska Scorpion mike's frig and 2 attack SW
>US with rest of the ships 2SW to clear part of the run

rolled 12, 33 = 45

>>20121426

Seconding i guess.

>>20121426
>to clear part of the run
Did you mean South East?

rolled 2, 6 = 8

Follow the smugglers run towards freindly territory for 2 sectors with all pf our ships

>>20121460
Yes, I'm sorry for the mistake

>>20121426
>>20121448
>>20121468
>these rolls

rolled 6, 62 = 68

>>20121448
Holy fucking dice...

I try again.

File: 1343779797683.jpg-(23 KB, 420x300, bad_form.jpg)

>>20121483
>I try again.
Stop. just stop.

>>20121535
Come on, it was statistically unlikely to fuck this up even more. In other quests i usually roll good, so i thought maybe i could import a bit of luck in here.

But... NOPE. Reynard continues to stand for weird luck.

>>20121572
That just mean we find pirates
>we want to kill pirates
>Dice bot is doing us a favor

>>20121668
Well that or those mercenary... oh god I don't want the mercenaries in every case it's a win/win situation

>>20121668

>inb4 we get ambushed by a motherfucking superheavy called in by the pirate lords to secure this sector

>>20121690
Huh. You know, that sounds like an amazing idea.

Daska and co head out for the nearest sector and you soon lose contact. There may be jammers in the area you assume.

You yourself run into a small but determined patrol of pirates who soon move to engage you. One looks to be an uglier scalled down copy of a Terran battlecruiser but with missile launcher studding the bow. The other is a Frigate you think, also heavily armed with missiles. The Bittenfeld steals much of their thunder in the opening pass as the gunners proceed to shoot down more than half their missile volley. Despite Katherine using the emergency thrusters the enemy gunners are still landing phase cannon hits. Against a flight of corvettes the two vessels would have the upper hand up but the Bittenfeld is too heavily upgraded for them to take.

Kat's fire heavily damages the topside hull of the odd light cruiser but it proves to take after the old Excaliber class in more ways than one. The FTL drives are armored enough that its able to jump out before it can be finished off. The Frigate soon flees headed in the other direction.

Scans of the sector pick up the wreckage of numerous corvettes.
>Investigate Daska's location?

>>20121818
Shit, i think we need to. They probably ran into something way above their weight...

If we get clear sensors we might contact hq about our situation, too.

>>20121818
Wanted to say if we get clear communications. Its far too late.

>>20121818
investigate

>>20121690
thank you based anon for killing mike and daska

>>20121946

Cmon thats ridiculous, you cant stealth a superheavy, and an attack wing is fast enough to get away before that thing is even in range. I guess.

I might have rolled a 6 for squadron 1s results, though....

>>20121818
Investigate bring backup

Might be losing power due to storm. Will try to continue but if I dont post again you know why.

File: 1343783305145.gif-(6 KB, 658x641, System map.gif)

You manage to make contact with the station but only barely. The jamming in the surrounding space must be really heavy.

"We hear you Squadron Leader. We'll send out a small team to look for you if we dont hear from you in another six hours. Be aware we can only send out so many ships without compromising our defense."

"Understood." You tell them. If they dont hear back from you in six hours you dobt their follow up squad will do much to help your team out.

"I've got the rest of the squadron. They're being engaged by one modified Moliminous Class Transport, one Exodus battlecruiser, a Light Cruiser and a mix of light corvettes."

"Can we raise them?"
"Yes but its going to be a little scratchy."

"Glad you're here. Daska's busy." Mike tells you, his voice a little hard to make out a times. "Kemp Turner's corvette took a bad hit. I dont know if they made it out."

A red marker pops up on the display near the system's only planet, a Gas giant in a close retrograde orbit. You sit down at the aft station to take a better look and strap yourself in.
Last know position of corvette 03 shows it was in a rapidly decaying orbit. Your others ships are trying their best to stay out of range of the large fusion cannons on the pirate ships.
"Daska's hoping to angle our trajectory so we can come about and microjump to the gas giant and try to recover survivors."

>Your orders?

can they see us? if not, then they lure the enemy away while we recover the survivors. BTW, what shape is our battlecruiser in?

>>20122352
Ask Linda for her opinion about that. She's the one who will have to pull it off.

>>20122500
They can see us but we're still way out of range.

>>20122517
"The rest of the squadron is still too close to the planet to microjump back to it. We could though. The other ships could also broadcast a beacon that we could jump to from here as well."

>>20122591
"Linda, coordinate your efforts with them. I trust your judgement."

>>20122352

"Have our lightest ship jump out and call in the enemy force and that we have a crew down. I don't care what the SRP costs are, get someone here."

>BTW, what shape is our battlecruiser in?
The Bittenfeld is fine, just took some shield damage.

>>20122607
"With who? The Bittenfeld and our escort are the only ones that can jump in for SAR right now. Did you want me to broadcast a beacon for the rest of the squadron to jump here? There's a good chance the enemy might be able to jump to us if we do that."

>>20122634
>"Have our lightest ship jump out and call in the enemy force and that we have a crew down. I don't care what the SRP costs are, get someone here."
Jump out and call friendly forces you mean?

>>20122733
the biettenfield is not a battlecruiser either

File: 1343785929318.gif-(6 KB, 658x641, System map 2.gif)

>>20122889
I'm aware of that but anons keep calling it that and since we don't posses a battlecruiser I went on the assumption that they were referring to the Bittenfeld in this instance since previous anon said "our."
[ ] jump group 1 to group 2 and commence SAR
[ ] jump group 1 to group 3 and assist squadron fighting enemies
[ ] jump group 2 to group 1 despite chance of enemy following
[ ] send corvette back to base for help then 1 of the above
[ ] split group 1, send 1 on SAR, 1 to base and Bittenfeld to group 2
[ ] some other combo or option

>>20123047
>[ ] split group 1, send 1 on SAR, 1 to base and Bittenfeld to group 2

If reinforcements can get her reasonably fast. If not, send the ship best suited for it on SAR and have the rest support group 2.

>>20123047
true, but anon might have been referring to the one our squadron used in the recent battle, which I assume was damaged. In retrospect we probably should have pulled more units from our reserve to make up the numbers for this patrol.

>>20123047
Oh, and how good are the odds if we all try to attack the enemy?

>>20123118
The 3rd attack wing has never deployed with a battlecruiser as part of their number. We've captured some sure and fought plenty of them, even have a few in reserve, we haven't used them though.

Btw, nobody made a salvage claim on that untouched Razor we found in the Industrial zone of the station.

>>20123223
Pretty good if you can get in close. Also provided that Alex and Daska's ships are still in good shape.

>>20123288
hmmm I'll vote for frontal attack then

>>20123224
can we put a claim on it for being the first ID on it?


voting to send 1 corvette back to call for support, jump 2 corvettes to do SAR, and the rest to support Daska's group.

we stay alive until we find our people or support gets the fuck here.

also, give the corvette going for help direct orders "FUCK THE COST GET SOMETHING HERE"

>>20123091
>>20123320
2 for splitting the group, 1 for full attack.

Roll 2d20 for combat.

rolled 14 = 14

>>20123556
First roll.

rolled 12 = 12

>>20123584
And the second one.

You tighten down the jumpseat restraints and begin issuing orders.
"Javier, I want you to jump back to the station and get us some help ASAP. Even if its only going to be enough to help with search and rescue it'll be something. Nytoria make a micro jump to that gas giant and recover survivors, don't worry about the rest of us. Linda, Katherine, we're going to help the others."
"Hell yes." Mutters the other pilot as she aligns the ship.

"Jump plotted, waiting for beacon."

"This had better work. They're going to have one hell of a target lock on us." complains Mike.

"Jumping."

You drop out only a few thousand kilometers away from your squadron mates and turn towards the enemy ships.
"Your orders?" Asks Daska as she brings her ship around.

"Blind them with missiles long enough to close in then start breaking things that look vulnerable?"
You reply. "Its too bad we're out of SP Torps."

The Bittenfeld soon out distances the others, mostly a result of them having to turn around but it helps draw fire away from your more heavily damaged ships. Its a good thing too, the fusion cannon turrets the larger ships are using are bigger than light corvettes.

Combined phase cannon fire takes down a pair of the enemy light corvettes but by that point you're becoming worried by the shield levels.
"Second shield down to half. We're coming in a little hot." Kavos mentions.

You look up from your battle readouts at the main display screen. Kat has you headed right for the center of the enemy formation, and the Light cruiser sitting there. She uses the emergency thrusters sparingly, only to avoid the larger fusion cannon shots. With the cruiser sitting farther forward in the formation the support ships are unable to get a clear shot once within a minimum range.

"Don't break my ship." You whisper to yourself. The Fusion cannons are still trying to track you, waiting for the ship to emerge from the shadow of their forward fleet member. Kat waits until you can clearly make out the torpedo lube markings on the cruiser's hull before hitting the emergency thrusters and side stepping it. Reversing thrust on half the engines she pulls a quick 180 and pulls in behind the converted freighter firing all guns.
Despite being a tough ship no freighter is one to survive point blank fire from heavy pulse cannons. When the enemy shields fail, Drake doesn't target the drive section but the containers and support frames the guns have been crudely grafted to. A few of the containers burst open but the structural frames still take some hits. In about thirty seconds the transport has broken up, frigate size containers flying off in different directions, along with the now unpowered guns.

The others take down the Light Cruiser that had previously been distracted by the Bittenfeld's approach. The forward guns are damaged or destroyed and Mike's quad linked main cannons disable half the sublight drives.

The exodus battlecruiser maneuvers so that its bow and main turret are pointed towards the group and reverses engines. At this range the crew have begun firing larger shorter ranged blasts that could pose a real threat to any of your ships. After a burst of suppression fire the ship jettisons some spare fuel tanks and resumes firing. The surviving light corvettes have formed up with and are retreating in reverse as well.

Everyone is forced to take cover behind the expanding cloud of debris and free floating containers for cover. Even the Bittenfeld's shields have dropped quite low in the fighting. Your other ships are sporting armor and weapon damage.

[ ] Charge out and attack
[ ] Stay in cover/ let them escape
[ ] Other

>>20124340
Fuck these guys. All we need to do is keep them busy long enough for our reinforcements to arrive.
So keep our distance and try to get a few shots on their drives. With all the damage they've taken we should be a lot faster.

Order the ship(s) with the worst damage to help with our SAR.

>>20124340

They can't jump out while in reverse, correct?

Do we have the numbers to safely form two groups and pincer-attack the enemy to keep them from reversing away from all of our ships?

File: 1343792196820.gif-(6 KB, 658x641, System map 3.gif)

>>20124382
There are currently 4 of you and you're all in kinda rough shape. The Bittenfeld just needs time for the shields to recharge though.
You cant currently microjump to the SAR site, you're a bit too close to the gas giant, though you could head there on sublight.

"Just keep in cover until you're ready. Did anyone land a hit on that battlecruiser?" You ask.

"Negative. We concentrated fire on everything BUT that." "Really its not that powerful" Points out Mike. "It has half the firepower of the converted transport, its just tougher."

"At this range those cannons are going to be like shotguns. Plasma shotguns." Adds Kat.

You wait until the ships are far enough away and everyone has their shields back up. Looks like they're now running. A flight of four light cruisers choose that moment to jump into the system at roughly where you first arrived, marker 1).

Do you wish to
[ ] Attack the enemy with just your ships/ send cruiser to help with SAR
[ ] Have allies micro jump to you and everyone attacks the enemy
[ ] Allies only attack enemy, go help with SAR
[ ] other

>>20124709

Never attack with "just enough" force.

Have allies micro-jump to cut off the enemy force, then everything hits them.

assign anyone with heavy armor or weapon damage to SAR

>>20124664
Kind of iffy on the numbers there.

>>20124709
Should read:
A flight of four ALLIED light cruisers choose that moment to jump into the system at roughly where you first arrived, marker 1).

>>20124340
[]Attack the enemy with just your ship/send the rest of your team to the SAR/call in the cruiser to attack the enemy

>>20124785
>>20124820
Roll 1d20

rolled 9 = 9

>>20124820
>rolled 1

rolled 12 = 12

>>20124839

Come on overwhelming firepower!

You hail the other cruisers and direct them to microjump towards you position minus a few hundred thousand Km.
"Drake, full pursuit. Everyone else assist in search and rescue."

Daska protests but you argue that you'll need everyone's ships ready for action again in a dozen hours. With all eight DHI Fusion drives running at full power you overtake the enemy just as the other four cruisers jump in. The reversion isn't perfect, showing up on the enemy's flank instead of behind them but its more than enough.
Thirty two phase cannon shots catch the battlecruiser in the side, almost dropping its shield in the first barrage. The Bittenfield's own fire disables a pair of light corvettes and outright destroys another.

More phase cannon fire followed by a torpedo volley rips open the port side of the battlecruiser and damages the main turret. A fusion reactor in the main turret goes super critical destroying the bow and scattering external fuel tanks.

A Knight contacts you once you're certain the ship is disabled. "Site is marked for salvage once surrounding parts of the run are cleared of enemies. Lets get your people and leave Squadron Leader."

Twenty minutes later the rest of the squadron reports in. "All escape pods and survivors accounted for. Sixty three in total. They'd been able to use their shuttle to help most of the escape pods into higher orbits. The ship is a goner though, it's already entered the upper atmosphere."

Question w/r/t ships in reserve:

Aren't ships bloody expensive and isn't our faction always hurting for more of them?

If so, how are we allowed to have a bunch of pretty cool ships sitting in nonspecific dry dock somewhere while our squad tools around in upgraded corvettes and other squads tool around in basic corvettes? Is there also a chronic shortage of flight crews or something?

>>20125182

we're deploying sensor buoys to prevent random pirates/smugglers from trying to salvage the ships before we can, correct? Or we'll at least know if they try?

Immediately check on the pilot and crew rescued once we get back to base. See what they're looking to do for a replacement ship and how we might help.

I assume we're able to grab replacement/reserve ships during our escort back to the FOB?

>>20125185
It does take time to train crews. For each of you that have upgraded to an attack cruiser that's 3-4 corvettes that otherwise could have been crewed.

While your House doesn't suffer from a true manpower shortage it will take time for them to catch up with demand. As more personnel become available command will start bugging you about handing over ships in your squadron reserve. You have handed over a few Frigates and light cruisers after all.


The squadron returns to the station a bit more battered than before and down one ship. The pilot and command crew survived but much of the crew will be a few days on medical leave and for psych evaluations.

Is there anything you want to do in the time remaining before your first escort mission through the run?

>>20125256
>I assume we're able to grab replacement/reserve ships during our escort back to the FOB?
Yes, the squadron still had a pair of attack corvettes in reserve back at base.

>>20125372
don't we also have that custom battlecruiser? or is that not repaired yet?

>>20125330
Nope, we're rolling bricks and now we've got our squadron about as roughed up as we got our boarding teammates. May as well take a bit and load up for escort duty.

Any SP torps inna pirate base? We could sure use a few.

>>20125397
There is one in the squadron reserve currently. While command hasn't asked for it yet they have expressed interest in your plans for it.

>>20125486
well seeing as we don't have any use for it they may as well get it

>>20125486
How does it compare to our Vengeance class again?

How many of our upgrades would theoretically transfer?

>>20125486

I believe there was musing on making it a new personal ship, IIRC. We'd be slower than the rest of the squadron, but I imagine the sheer firepower of the ship would be quite devastating...

then there was mention of a Vengence type similar to the Bitten that might be salvageable from the base we captured. Would we be able to put salvage on that and run a pair?

>>20125433
>Any SP torps inna pirate base? We could sure use a few.
Marines are still combing the ship repair docks for enemies, traps and IEDs. If there are any SP's they would have been brought there for loading onto the Carrier.

>>20125522
It's worth about 20-22k RP.

>>20125534
It has more powerful longer ranged forward guns and has a more serious torpedo armament, however it is slower less maneuverable and appears to be suffering from minor systems fatigue as a result of age. Much like the Bittenfeld was before it was rebuilt.

>How many of our upgrades would theoretically transfer?
You could remove the Bittenfield's point defense guns and move them over fairly easily but that's about it. Unless you plan on stripping the engines and moving them over there isn't much you can transfer.

>>20125576
>Would we be able to put salvage on that and run a pair?
Nothing stopping you, though one of the other attack squadrons in the 3rd Wing might want it as well.

>>20125637
>It has more powerful longer ranged forward guns

That is tempting.

I vote we trade in whatever other odd things we've got in storage, overhaul the battlecruiser, outfit it with high output drives so that isn't a complete pig, and pass the Bittenfeld off to another squad member.

The Bittenfeld is cool for sure, and being fast as hell is great, but we could stand to hit a little harder so that we can take on bigger targets and make more of a name for ourselves, and we will have to move on eventually.

>>20125783
Also it is a custom job so it is a bit more distinctive, which is good for gloryhound psycho sonia or w/e

File: 1343797055811.gif-(50 KB, 1184x1068, Smugglers run Local South 16b.gif)

You wake up ready to face the day, and the fact that Katherine Drake is still at the helm of your ship. She seems more awake than you do when you get to the bridge. God dammit, must be after your job, you muse as you try to down some coffee.

According to Alex while Kemp Turner isnt happy about the loss of his ship he's determined to get back into the fight as soon as possible. Repairs to the squadron have been hasty, mostly done by damage control teams in vac suits using the on board spare materials reserves. Its enough to patch the holes and shore up sections that need it but field repairs can take weeks. Hopefully the repair backs at the FOB can fix the worst of the damage in twelve hours time.

A squadron of Frigates loaded with wounded and prisoners are ready for departure. Two single module haulers are ready for the return flight as well, each able to carry just one of the sixteen cargo blocks larger Moliminous can.

Roll 4d100 for blazing your way through the run.

File: 1343797217701.jpg-(49 KB, 600x450, url.jpg)

rolled 57, 77, 1, 37 = 172

>>20125828
Rolling to get blazed.

It is ok, we aren't driving,

rolled 73, 83, 31, 98 = 285

>>20125858
>1

it is not ok

>>20125637
>>20125783

Yeah, I'm tempted to upgrade as well. Unless the battlecruiser is half or less the speed of Bitten once we upgrade the engines.

We could probably convince Command to let us keep a second, faster ship for missions where we need speed?

The first jump goes well. The squadron and cargo ships revert at the first alignment point, sync up their jump data head on out without incident.

The second is even better, making faster time than expected.

The third. Oh dear. You don't even get any advanced warning over the sensor network.
"Battleship!"
You zoom your display in on the vessel, one you're not familiar with. A pair of powerful looking disc shaped sensor arrays are built into its port and starboard wings. Four heavy pulse cannon are built into its forward bow and two heavy phase cannon are mounted on the leading wing edges.

Two groups of a dozen light corvettes are situated to either side of it.

Kavos speaks up. "Not familiar with that battleship but those corvettes are Peacocks. They've got a single spinal mount phase cannon and two point defense turrets. Got good range on their guns."
Figuring out the reason for the name is easy enough, the single fusion drive at the back of the small ships are surrounded by radiator arrays and radiation shielding.

The convoy will have to pass through their field of fire to reach the next jump point.

[ ] head out and engage the enemy
[ ] stick close and try to shield the transports
[ ] other

>>20126139
Shield transports.

That is our mission.


Also regarding the holo-cloak, from what i remembered we bought one on the explosive covert mission on the super heavy that rescued the knight that made this possible.

And the Reccon PA had one with the armour. Thus the mobile holo emitter we gave duncan was not damaged. - only the PA one, which until now i assumed it was not removable.

>>20126139
Our ship is mad shieldy, Lets stay close and absorb fire like escorts are supposed to.

Don't want to tangle too close with some crit-fail random encounter roll spawned mystery battleship either.

>>20126491
Also shit it is two in the morning I'll see you cats later

>>20126421
>And the Reccon PA had one with the armour.
Not quite. The description of the armor said (or should have said, will check) that users often equip recon armor with camo of that type. Your armor came without one. As it was already the perfect suit to use that system with the majority of users voted for the Recon Armor.

Duncan actually bought the camo while aboard the John Avery using your money resulting in him being escorted off the ship by security for fear he might use it to sneak around. You then had to carry out your mission without an intrusion expert. As he was the only one aboard other than you who knew about the device's existence this made it easy as hell to sneak aboard that Rovinar ship without the agents being the wiser for it.

Roll 1d20 for shrugging off damage.

rolled 10 = 10

>>20126558
ROLLOLOLOLOLOL

rolled 2 = 2

>>20126558
Dice.

So we need to buy another one surreptitiously.

>>20126598
>So we need to buy another one surreptitiously.
Favours still owed to you by the Rovinar Government: 1

rolled 3 = 3

>>20126558
>>20126652
that is not mighty surreptitiously if anyone knows about it.

more like pirate capture or covert acquisition .

at leas that is how i see it.

also, dice.

rolled 2 = 2

I say we strike once and then shield the convoy, to at least fuck up their formation.

rolled 4 = 4

>>20126558
Gah. forgot to link dice and left it at d6.

rolled 1 = 1

Charge!

Lets fuck them up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz6ghqsC8Ok

"Protect the transports and the Frigates, our Cruisers can take heavier hits than the rest! All Corvettes do what you can to soak off some damage from the other ships but dont get yourselves killed. Transports-"
"We know, we know, full speed ahead." answers the captain of one ship as they do their best to accelerate.

"They're firing." Says Arron just before the ship shakes from the impact. Each squadron of enemy ships is concentrating on a single ship at a time, pummeling them with a dozen shots. The corvettes dont seem to focus on just one ship though, changing targets at random. The only bright side seems to be that the battleship is holding its fire.

"That fat bastard is directing fire with those sensor arrays. Targeting whoever still has the strongest remaining shields."

"And then what, move in close at the last second and try to rape the convoy?" You respond. More fire hits the ship and you can tell your current helmsman is fighting the urge to use the emergency thrusters. You would be too. With the toughest shields the Bittenfield takes the most fire.

Kavos states what everyone else is thinking. "We're going to lose shields before we get there."

"Drake, roll the ship to minimize armor damage."
"Yes sir!"
This is going to be bad.

"Transport, whats the heaviest fire you can take?" you ask.
"About one heavy shot... aww dammit not again." The captain rolls the ship so that the cargo block is protecting most of the vital systems.

"Get ready for evasive maneuvers once the shield drops." You tell the other woman.

"He's moving into range. All ships concentrate fire."
"Shield failure." Reports Kavos.

The battleship fires its heavy phase cannon. One shot hits at one of the wing roots and blasts a deep crater in the armor, the other hits the transport, collapsing its shield and charring the container block. Before the enemy can charge and fire again you main shield comes back online. The next two heavy shots and some from the corvettes collapse it again but its bought enough time for the transport to jump.

"Convoy jumping."

Linda doesn't wait for the order, the moment she sees the other transports jump she slams the drive throttle forward.
The last minute trick was enough to draw fire from other corvettes that might have harmed your wingmen. Still, everyone took armor damage in the last few seconds.

Elements of the second wing meet your at the next alignment point. They're no longer in reserve it seems with all of the action shifting towards the convoy traffic.

"We cleared out that hidden base for you. Intel said thanks for the ship."

>>20127014
This was most definitely without that 1. I suppose it would be fair to save it for later?

Will resume in morning.

Hm. OP stated that we won't get the same speed and manouverability anymore if we go for a bigger ship with more firepower in the future, but i am wondering...

If we take a battleship or a battlecruiser, replace its armor with an attack cruiser level one and sacrifice most if not all its launch bay capacity to slap additional Best Quality Engines on it, would it be possible to reach the speed of an Attack Squadron, even when we are lacking in manouverability?

A fast battleship so to speak. We would definitly gain more attention in large level fleet engagements which could make this unwise, but on the other hand we would be kings in our usual search and destroy missions.

Of course this is highly hypothetical at the moment, we would need to capture a battleship with a compatible design first, with launch bays near the engines. And we would need large amounts of RP and time for refitting it...

Just wanting to know if such a ship would be possible. I mean, 3rd Squadron gunned and speeded a cargo hauler up to attack cruiser levels.

>>20127113
>"We cleared out that hidden base for you. Intel said thanks for the ship."

Which one was that?

rolled 3 = 3

>>20128648
I think we gave em the smuggling frigate we captured on that one smuggler base we accidentially blew up.

>>20126558
>camo

Request another portable camo device from Knight Commander Winifred.

If she needs some convincing, explain to her we had to install the one we have permanently in our armour. And that we wouldn't be able to pull something like the stunt with the plans for the ______ again at the moment.

>>20128671
Ah, thanks.

rolled 2 = 2

>>20128682
No.

You don't want any paper trail if you want to pull shit like the ___________

>>20129028
Officially, it will be integrated into our armour to replace the one that got damaged on our last ops.

And I guess the knight commander is smart enough to make sure there will be no trail.

>>20129429
I think thats not really a good idea, considering that we need to keep ____ under wraps for five years, and the knight commander technically owes us nothing.

Not to mention we dont really need another Camocloak.

>>20129448
Agreed we need to focus on brining that battlecruser out of reserve first. Since this is a convoy escort speed is less important, as long as we can keep up with the trnasports we will be fine.So bring in any light cruisers we have ready for action ad well. And don't worry about the camo cloak.

>>20129549
Not sure if good idea.... As far as i know the Battlecruiser is still under construction, and we gave our light cruisers away, sooo...

Well, we won't be forever responsible for transport missions, and we rotate with the other wings, so there will still be plenty of recon and search and destroy missions for which an attack cruiser is likely better than a battlecruiser.

Also, we would need to upgrade it pretty hard to match the Bittenfeld and her triple shields of doom in standing power i guess.

The squadron is in rough shape when you dock up. Alex wont have enough time to fully repair his hull damage, though they will be able to install the 4th Torpedo launcher. Turner grabs one of the remaining Attack Corvettes from the squadron reserve and goes about getting some crew. There should be enough time to find crews for most ships.

SQUADRON RESERVE ***
1x Attack Corvette (Upgraded)
3x Standard Corvette (Shields & Engines upgraded)

Salvage Claim! Pilots can requisition claimed ships and vehicles for the cost of their repair.

***Starships***
1x Pandora Class Frigate (requisition cost 920) Available!
1x Navigators Guild Frigate (requisition cost 4000) Available!

1x Smuggler Frigate (Estimated requisition cost 1500) Available!
1x Norune Frigate 0-RP Available!

1x Razor Battlecruiser (Estimated requisition cost 4200) Time 10 days (Feb 28)
1x custom battlecruiser 0-RP Available!
1x Razor battlecruiser, Pristine condition! (Still at former Pirate station, no crew)

>>20129792
Hm, any news from command about the crew for the Navigator Frigate yet? If not, sell it.

>>20129792

I can't find an info dump for a Razor battlecruiser in previous threads, but I might be missing it.

Can we get a stat dump on the Razor and a speed comparison of Razor/Custom/Bitten?

Mike contacts you after you've docked. "I'd like to get both of my wingmen into better ships. Our squad has the least firepower as I was thinking they could take that Norune Frigate and the remaining smuggler one."

>Give him the OK. Y/N ?

While your shoulder isn't fully healed yet it will be a couple of days out at the captured station before your next escort mission. Having the extra Firepower would be a help. Have Kat transfer back to the Republic Frigate she was starting to use before you lent her the Bittenfeld?
>Y/N ?

>>20129810
As a matter of fact yes. One of the staff officers on base approaches you about the Navigators Guild Frigate. They'd like to use it as a mobile sensor platform to increase the chances of detecting enemy ships along the Run ahead of each convoy. While the sensor bouys are effective it appears they're vulnerable to communications jamming.
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Only if they assign it to your squadron
[ ] Other

>>20129887

crap, addition:

seconding >>20129810

and suggesting that we at least grab the custom battlecruiser for the time being. It will be a very nice addition for the escort duties.

Just be sure that Katherine understands that we aren't quite giving her the Bittenfeld for good. Though if she likes it, we're willing to put in a claim for that similar Vengeance type if she'd like it.

Have someone take the coustom job out, we might need the firepower for the return trip. We should sell off the stuff we don't need and see if we can turn one flight into an all battlecruiser force. If not, we trade the battlecruisers for more attackcruisers

>>20129887
Very Fast
Upgraded Corvettes, Upgraded Attack Cruisers (Bittenfield), Assault Corvettes, Light corvettes

Fast
Corvettes, Attack Cruisers, Combat Frigates, some upgraded Battle cruisers (Rare)

High Average
Battlecruiser, older attack cruisers, Light cruisers, some Frigates

Low Average
Just about everything else.

Low
Larger Transports

With the higher output engines that have been installed the Bittenfield is faster than some of your upgraded corvettes now, though not by much.

>>20129887
Razor
Weapons 2x phased pulse arrays
2x phase cannon array
2x torpedo launcher (1 forward, 1 aft)


>>20129932
You talk to the engineers and requisition about the captured custom battleship. They should be able to scrape together enough crew to put it into space. It currently is equipped with some low end Tarketta and Iratar sublight drives and will need 8 of them if you plan on upgrading. The shields are also sub par.

Fusion Drives (Per unit)
GE = Tough, easily repaired, parts compatibility
-Best Quality 500
-Good Quality 320
-Average 250

Aries = High output, poor effeciency, less compatible
-Best Quality 450
-Good Quality 350
-Average 300

Iratar = Cheap, easily repaired, parts compatibility
-Best Quality N/A Kavarian Military only
-Good Quality 250
-Average 150
-Poor *(4 in use)

DHI = Similar stats to GE, mostly parts compatible, House approved
-Best Quality 400
-Good Quality 350
-Average 300

Tarketta
-Best Quality 350
-Good Quality 250
-Average 150 *(4 in use)

>>20129899
YES to Mike (request that Daska, Alex and Katherine also talk to their squadron about what they'd prefer to upgrade to [Missileboat/Gunboat/Torpboat?]. Have that forwarded to us once complete.

Katherine: I'd prefer to take that custom battlecruiser and leave her in the Bitten for now, since I imagine the battlecruiser can get quite a nice chunk of supplies/torps to the captured base during our trip back.

Navigator frigate: YES, get some requisition from it and let it help the whole.

Current ship: Vengence Attack Cruiser [Bittenfeld]
Trade in value: 15,000 RP
Missiles: 0
Torps: 4
SP Torps: 0
Available RP 11425

Nuclear Missile -10
Torpedo -25
SP Torp Mk40 -200
SP Torp Mk41 -250
PD Turret -100 (Battlecruiser, Max 12)
Shield Upgrade -3000 (Battlecruiser)
Anti-Torpedo Armor Upgrade - 1000 (Battlecruiser)
EMRG Thrusters -N/A [100 each]
EMRG Teleport -10k

Starfighter -150 (Z5) , 200 (Z5H)
Marines -150 (Currently at 4 shuttles, taking aboard replacement Marines )
Power Armor -9k

I am only for taking that Battlecruiser if we get

a) it decked out with top quality aries drives, they have specially high output, Is that enough to propell us to the next ship category?

b) get the best Possible Shields on it

c) Get all Point Defense we can get on it

d) We get torpedo retardant Armor on it

e) Get the best available weaponry on it, preferably Pulse.

f) can get all of this refitting done before the convoi back is running.

Otherwise it would be wiser to stay on the Bittenfeld

>>20130182
i meant speed category, we should at least be able to keep up with the attack frigates.

>>20130182
It would cost 9600 RP to equip the Battlecruiser with 8 Top Class Aries Drives with Emergency Thrusters, Upgrade the Shields, get 12 Point Defense Guns, get Torpedo Resistant Armor.

Is it worth it guys? I think it might, not sure though....

>>20130182
>a) it decked out with top quality aries drives, they have specially high output, Is that enough to propell us to the next speed category?
Best quality Aries or GE drives would be able to do it.

>b) get the best Possible Shields on it
That would cost 6000 RP.

>c) Get all Point Defense we can get on it
Easy enough

d) We get torpedo retardant Armor on it
There isnt enough time to replace the armor on the whole ship before you launch but more could be loaded aboard one of the transports headed out. Some will be needed anyways to help with repairs to the other ships stationed there.

>e) Get the best available weaponry on it, preferably Pulse.
Currently the two spinal mount Heavy phase cannon it's equipped with have more punch than one pair of heavy pulse cannon. However, the ship could be modified with 4 Heavy pulse cannon. This would take 2 days though.

f) can get all of this refitting done before the convoi back is running.
Not all of it but some of it.

>>20130233
>>20130262

I'm for doing this.

If we find that it is just too damned slow, we can always trade it back for RP (and possibly profit?) and it will bolster the defenses of our new capture.

We'll let Katherine keep using the Bitten, but it will still be our ship for the time being.

Don't we also have a squadron stockpile of Missiles and Torps? What numbers do we have in those?

>>20130262

Hu, ok, then let me start calculating:

8*Aries Best 4600 (whooping)
Best Shields 6000
Emergency Thrusters (8): 800
12 Point Defense Guns: 1200 >our solid slug def guns stay on the bittenfeld

12600 RP, we have 11425, meaning we need 1175 RPs, and now.

Do we get RP for the Navigator Frigate if we give it away? If not i say we sell the damaged Razor for 4200 RP, buy what we need for the torp resistant armor (-1000) and are left with 2025 RP.

We can also use SRP, but that might look egoistical.

>>20130295
Missiles are unlimited but have a set price of 10 RP.
Torpedoes prices are determined by the Squadron CO (You). When Alex took a hanger full of torpedoes as part of his payout from the Rovinar he donated half of them to the squadron. There are currently 4960 conventional torps in the squadron reserve.

>>20130317

Don't we still have a favor from the Rovinar?

How many best quality drives could we reasonably get them to cover for the Squadron? (We'd spend mostly -our- RP for say 4 now, and repay the SRP from future RP we earn?)

>>20130317
You would also get 1000 RP back for the 8 existing engines. The Poor quality Iratar drives are worth 100 each.

So, everyone else in favour of this >>20130317
Or this
>>20120924
>I suggest we get that emergency teleport system once we are back in the forward base so we dont have to worry about shit like dying anymore.

>>20130317

As the one having done the Math i also propose naming the ship the Gae Bolg, because it will be like a spear that drives straight into the enemys heart.

>>20130361
>Don't we still have a favor from the Rovinar?
>How many best quality drives could we reasonably get them to cover for the Squadron?
You could get 8 or 9 I'd say.

>(We'd spend mostly -our- RP for say 4 now, and repay the SRP from future RP we earn?)
This could also work.

>>20130405

In that case i propose getting the Drives we need from the Rovinar, Pay for the Rest of the Stuff ourselves (Should be payable if i calculated right), then set Kat on the Bittenfeld and give her frigatte to Turner. Or someone else thats interested.

>>20130375
Use our RP to take the ship and buy all them sweet sweet upgrades. Keep the long range guns on it for the time being.

Maybe squeeze a little RP out of Drake for letting her get the Bittenfeld.

Save the favor from the Rovinar.

We should be getting paid/rewarded for capturing the base and for selling the Navigator frigate at some point in the near future, and we can trade in a Razor for RP if we have to.

>>20130460

Here >>20130441, supporting that course of action instead. We might get some funky stuff from the Rovinar later.

>>20130441
>>20130460
Going to need a third vote on the use of Rovinar favour or not.

>Navigator frigate
I forgot, even split among the squadron the remaining RP for that would come to 300. Combined with the sell back for the older drives means that yes you could afford the upgrades.

>>20130375
No. I say we stay on the Bittenfeld.

>>20130501
I say do it then, don't use the favor.

Does the ship have an existing name?

Otherwise yeah spear names are cool, but I'd prefer Gungnir to Gae Bolg

>>20130505
Reasoning?

>>20130262
>That would cost 6000 RP.
Would the best shields be as good as the ones we currently have, or only as good as the first upgrade we had on our current ship?

Consider this:

If we get the Battlecruiser, we will be slower than with the Bittenfeld, but our survivability and firepower will be higher. Same goes for our point defense. Both ships are only good in the front arc as far as i know.

+ we can make use of our slowness and attach ourselves to Mikes squadron. His squadron consists only of attack frigattes which are in the same speed categorie as our upgraded Battlecruiser. This will give us considerable punch and we dont need to be fast.

rolled 15 = 15

>>20130376
I say we go with Vulture, since it would be a exploit ship- lots of fire-power and speed to hunt down things that are vulnerable and get out.

Also, does Kathrine have enough RP to buy the Bittenfeld? if she does we can afford the fucking new ship and its upgrades.

Keep in mind that it has upgraded engines, Shields and PD out the wazoo, so it might not be the cheapest around (certainly more expensive than another Vengance class cruiser.)

Heck we could have her pay it in rates and the thing she cant pay now be requisitioned out of SRP and her paying it back - a good use as any for the SRP, dubbling as a RP bank for squad mates.

So it would be our current RP, + Katerines RP for bittenfeld + any SRP loaned by Katherine for Bittenfield payment + our SRP loan.

we could consider a 30%reduction on the price since she is in our squadron so as to facilitate her upgrade (since we did give the salvage claim ships for free and no contribution on RP to the others.)


And we must get more ballistic PD for the new ship, and transfer most of the ones that did it to ours, with them getting some trainees for Kat.

>>20130551
I wouldn't charge Kat the full trade-in price for the Bittenfeld. Maybe make her pay like half of what it is worth at the most.

>>20130532
The battlecruiser isn't that much of an upgrade, and the price is astronomical.

rolled 2 = 2

>>20130560
30% is more than generous.

>>20130569
It'd be cheaper than free if we actually traded in our ship rather than keeping both.

Also what else are we going to ever spend the RP on?

>>20130542
They'd be the best shields available for a Battlecruiser. So a 3 layer shield but stronger than the Bittenfeld's.

>>20130569
Remember if you trade the ship back you get all of that RP Back and then some.

>>20130595
>stronger than the Bittenfeld's.

How much of a bigger target is it? Does it have a giant cross section like the Bittenfeld?

>>20130317
>8*Aries Best 4600 (whooping)
ಠ_ಠ
8*450= 3600

And I'd suggest GE drives, if we go for the new ship, considering how often we had our engines damaged/destroyed.

>12 Point Defense Guns: 1200
I'd also prefer we'd get the upgraded version again, bringing the cost to 12*200=2400.

Still not really convinced that the razor is a better ship for us.

>>20130637
I fail at math....

>>20130637
We aren't talking about a Razor, we are talking about the custom Battlecruiser.

Also I agree with the GE drives, we save money now and inna future with repairs.

>>20130655
Did I miss the stats, then? I can't find any in this thread.

>>20130668
Vaguely bigger, slower, and with better guns, armor, shields, and torpedo launchers.

Also is apparently pretty unique.

File: 1343836133056.png-(18 KB, 472x522, Custom comparison.png)

>>20130604
Here's a really rough size comparison to a Razor class. Both are fairly flat starships while the Bittenfield has an X cross section.

Ok, going to have to head out for work. Please feel free to discuss what ship you guys want.

Neural mapping for the possibility of clones was also a yes right?

>>20130696
Ah okay. I skimmed the thread for stats and only found those for the Razor.

>>20130709
>Neural mapping for the possibility of clones was also a yes right?

I'm against it. We're not giving the house free slaves of ourselves.

If we make a deal that one replaces us with *all* rights if we die, and there will be no others, then I'd be okay with it.
Otherwise no.

>>20130696
They're not built any any commercial shipyards. They're more of a you wouldnt download a starship or wait Pirates would. Each is scratch built by different pirate bands so each one is a custom job with slightly different stats, sort of like the Vengence types.

Also going to be late for work.

One vote for new ship and paying for everything with personal RP here.

Also against Neural mapping with the House, but maybe in the future saving a backup of Sonia's brain just in case isn't a terrible idea.

I say buy the Ship, get the Best Engines from GE and pay for the upgrades ourselves.

I'd also say Brain Mapping is a yes, i mean, they are not going to clone us without our consent, and if we die we will possibly be glad to have at least a back up, even if it doesn't have full rights.

Undecided on the ship upgrade, against the neural mapping.

how does the custom stack up against the other two battlecruisers we will eventually have access to? We are still using it ofc, I'm just wondering which ship we should use as our personal ship. (Guys, don't think of i as the bittenfield vs the new ship, think of it as the new ship vs an attack convertee, as that is what we will really be replacing.

>>20130719
Voting for switching to a Battlecruiser, it's about time Sonia become a decent overlo... commander, we'll mostly be reinforcement from now on.
8*GE 3000 (with the 1000 rp credit our current drive give us)
(What are the tarketta drive stats btw?)
12*better turret 2400
Best Shield 6000
8* emergency thruster 800
anti-torpedo armor upgrade 1000
total: 11200
current RP 11425
RP after upgrade 225
I don't remember for how much we sold the torpedo but yeah, it's doable, then we can cash in and sell our other battlecruiser for enough rp for a teleportation system

>>20131862
That said, if we hang back or decide to accompany Mikes Flight who will lead 4th Flight? I dont think we have another Flight Leader in our line up, unless we can promote Kat...

>>20132251
Maybe stick where we are for a few more missions until Kat or someone else demonstrates leadership potential.

>>20132251
>>20132504

I believe we've been supervising Kat and she hasn't shown any lack of skills. First flight should be fine in her hands.

>>20132251
>>20132504
don't forget that most of the current mission are relatively low risk recon ones, it would be perfect for Kat to get in shape for more dangerous ones.

>>20130262
>>20131862
I forgot to ask how costly would the phase cannon upgrade be.

On break for a few minutes, wont have time for another post.

>>20131397
>how does the custom stack up against the other two battlecruisers we will eventually have access to?
Razors and the Kavarian battlecruisers they're based off are power houses in close combat but better suited against equivalent sized ships that are easier to hit. The custom has has longer range firepower, though it needs torpedoes to really hold its own. With them it has a good bit more punch.

>>20132251
> who will lead 4th Flight
You had already put Katherine in charge of 4th Flight. The plan being that you yourself would help out which ever squad needed it the most.


3 votes against neural mapping 1 for.

>If we make a deal that one replaces us with *all* rights if we die, and there will be no others, then I'd be okay with it.
You can put in a clause that there can be only 1 but other than that High society has determined the legal powers available to a Clone. Assassination of other nobles would be a pointless gesture otherwise.

You're saying they made a deliberate desition to incentivize assassination? That's messed up. But yeah we will do this:
>>20131862
Any chance we can eventually move the teleport system from the bittenfield into our new ship? Wait, how many fighters/shuttles can we oput on the new ship? Otherwise we should be ready for the escort mission. Also, how much SRP to we have? And did we get some kind of bonus for the recent boarding action?

>>20134197
We never installed teleporters on the Bittenfeld, if I remember correctly.

>>20134212
Nope never got around to do it, that's why we can go crazy on the battlecruiser that we will sell as soon as we can get a battleship

>>20134436
Yep, we never got around to it (I checked out the archives). Sounds like a good thing to spend our last favor on though. And after checking out the archives I've decided I want a hunter class battlecruiser. No, we can't buy one, but I want it anyway.

>>20134601
What's the hunter stats? I don't remember when we saw one.

>>20134753
Don't know, I know it has some kind of heavy spinal mount though. Its that one that only knight erants are allowed to get, reason enough for me to want one.

>>20133604
Could we replace the torpedo launchers with something else?

File: 1343869381517.jpg-(67 KB, 580x326, aigaion1.jpg)

>>20134197
>That's messed up.
The great game isn't nearly as interesting when there's no risk involved.
>Any chance we can eventually move the teleport system from the bittenfield into our new ship?
I'm going to go with a maybe. They're normally integrated into the ship but I suppose they could be disassembled and put into another. There would be an RP cost involved in moving it from one ship to another and it would be time consuming. A couple of days.

>>20134753
Other than the spinal mount weapon its really not that impressive. Its one of the few designs I never bothered to revamp because they're not used that often and I could never draw one that didn't look like crap.
Think something like the Aigaion Heavy Command Cruiser but more streamlined to look like a shark rather than a manta.

>>20132728
>I forgot to ask how costly would the phase cannon upgrade be.
Replacing the 2 heavy phase cannon with 4 heavy pulse? It wouldn't cost that much as most of the work would be hull modifications and the current guns would be worth quite a bit on sell back.

>>20137501
>Could we replace the torpedo launchers with something else?
I suppose you could but I don't know what. Energy weapons would require some upgrades to the power systems. Mass drivers would need some custom work. Either would require a team of engineers spending a week looking over the design specs of different weapons and planning out a rebuild of those sections.

File: 1343871908488.gif-(50 KB, 1184x1068, Smugglers run Local South 16C.gif)

Okay, squadron layout is as follows.

1st Flight
01 Vyroxis Elr [Attack Corvette]
02 -Alexander Palaiologos (Flight Leader) [C-Type Attack Cruiser]
03 Kemp Turner [Pandora class Frigate]


2nd Flight
04 -Daska Rna (Flight Leader)[Scorpion Attack Cruiser]
05 Lorraine "Surgeon" Day [Dagger class corvette]
06 Vaughn Miyazaki [Attack Corvette]

3rd Flight
07 -Mike K Serth (Flight Leader)[Firestorm Attack Frigate]
08 Nytoria Jde [Up-gunned /Upgraded Smuggler Frigate]
13 Leevi Guan [Upgraded Norune Frigate]

4th Flight
09 Cristina Pozzi [Attack Corvette]
11 Katherine Drake (Flight Leader) [Bittenfeld]
12 Javier Adega [Dagger class corvette]

10 Sonia Reynard (Squadron Leader) [Custom Battlecruiser] (Still needs work after arrival at captured Pirate station)


Convoy forces
12x Combat Frigates
2x Moliminous Class Transport AKA Molly (Mobile base component mover)
4x Single module hauler
2x Y-Type Transport
1x Blockade Runner Cruiser

Do you wish to request additional forces as escort?

New convoy assets unlocked!
You can request the Navigator's guild Frigate be deployed to a sector somewhere along or near the run. It is capable of picking up enemy activity in any sector touching the one it is currently in. Location must be selected prior to roll.

The Second attack Wing can be counted on to hold one sector. This will normally be the one closest to the FOB unless you ask them to relocate before the roll.

>>20138269
It should be fine, so 4 roll?