File: 1346180988819.png-(316 KB, 700x511, Achievement Missile Command.png)

Governor Sodhal has been arrested and Allied troops have now arrived in the system to reinforce the Government ground troops. An entire armored division from House Vanadra now protects the capital, promising death to any rebels that renew their offensive. Still, if they choose to resist it could be a bloody fight. Orbital scans have estimated enemy forces numbering close to seven million world wide.

After taking a dose of radiation and finding you it would be two days until you could return to duty you decided to have a set of HUD eye implants put in. On the downside you cant see until your eyes heal but until then members of the bridge crew have been taking turns bringing you status updates.

Linda arrives at the medbay to check on you and locates you off in one of the rest and observation areas.
"I see you haven't wasted any time fortifying against potential boarding action." she comments upon seeing the pillow fort you've built while killing time.
"The impressive part is I did this without the use of my eyes." you tell her, pointing to the band covering your eyes. Neuro isolators are built into it preventing you from sending or receiving input from your eyes while they heal. You leave out the part about a wounded engineer giving you direction assistance.

It's that time of the week again. Hello slow typing guy.

Did we ever listen to the email our parents sent us about the whole knighthood thing. If not, do that. Otherwise get a report on the situation. Then if there are no immediate crises some more rack time.

>>20509414
sup?

>>20509397
Your navigator asks how you're doing and you reply that you still feel exhausted from the radiation dose you took. You're also starting to go a little stir crazy with the lack of work, or more accurately you inability to look at it.

Linda sits down nearby. "Its not official yet but I've heard that everyone involved in shooting down those missiles will be getting a unit citation. You'll have more medals for your dress uniform. Maybe you can build a ship model out of them all?"

While you ponder the idea Linda continues. "We've also intercepted some communications among the Rebels that they might send a letter of gratitude for stopping the nukes."

"A letter of gratitude?" you wonder aloud.
>What say?

>>20509427
Letters coming up after medical reports and squadron business.

>>20509467
How is my needle doing? Otherwise do you think I'll have to do an announcement?

>>20509467
"A letter of thanks from a rebellion? I'm... not sure how to take that."

>>20509521
"I dont blame you. Its equal parts flattery and condemnation as far as our superiors are concerned."

>>20509498
>announcement
"To the Rebels? Please don't, that letter alone is bound to be enough trouble."

>Needle fighter
"It still looks like it was used as a target for small arms training. The mechanics are prioritizing work on the more easily repaired craft or ones with heavier weapons loadouts."
Linda stops herself again from showing you a picture of the diagnostics display on her pad.
"You need a camera bypass so you can see things while you have that band on."

You shrug and tell her it comes off today anyways.

"There are some squadron reports for you. Nabow Hafnar has arrived at Forbearance with the Blackbird you traded for. The crew are carrying out shake down trials and continuing training for all equipment since they nearly painted themselves as a target for half the minefield."
"Oh boy. I hope they dont make a habit of that."

"We also have a new ship that's available to the squadron for field testing."
"Is it the new Assault Corvette!?" You ask, knocking down a wall of the pillow fort.

"Sort of. Salvage teams recovered the wrecks from several Jenning class ships plus the intact one we handed over to the House. Apparently some the engineers dissasembled them all and sent data back to R&D. Now R&D has ordered a couple of them rebuilt using modified specs so they can collect test data for the production model."

>>20509615
"Perfect. I don't think the new guy was expecting to get an upgrade so soon."

File: 1346182746101.png-(27 KB, 1304x680, Prototype vs Jenning.png)

>>20509615
"The rebuild has anti-torpedo armor and the engines have been upgraded with high effeciency thrust redirectors along with newer more powerful repulsors. They also fit the bridge with an emergency teleporter to ensure survival of the data."
"Weapons?"
"One torpedo launcher, two light phase cannon turrets and four light pulse cannon turrets. It says here the reactors run a bit hot though."


>Two prototypes are being assigned to the Third Wing, one of them to your squadron. Who will take it out for a spin later if at all?

>>20509666
New guy

>>20509666
One for the new guy, one for whoever volunteers. If there are multiple volunteers, they can play a game for it.

>>20509615
Can't argue with the mechanics priorities. Plus, if they leave it as is the planet might want it as a museum piece one day.

>>20509666
how does it stack up against the various frigates we have?

"Tell the Rookie that I want him to try out the new prototype once we get back to base, and to get some practice with it before we deploy again. If its half as expensive as I think it is we don't want to lose it."

>>20509730
It slightly outguns most of the Frigates though its torpedo armament is a bit weak compared to those that have any. It's hands down faster and more maneuverable than anything else in the unit.

>We haven't talked to Linda in like ten threads anyway.
"Linda what do YOU do for fun?" you ask.

She stops and thinks. "I was under a lot of pressure to excel and go places in life from my parents. They were pretty much No fun allowed for a lot of my life and expected me to become a business manager. So once I made it to collage I ditched my classes and signed on with the Navigators school instead."
"Fun Linda, we're talking about fun." you urge her.
"Flipping off my parents was fun, but at the same time they were right. About being responsible I mean."

"You can be responsible and still have fun."
"Sonia you nearly get yourself and everyone nearby shot, stabbed or blown up on a regular basis. That's not fun for me, that's work."

You do your best to give her a blank stare, still waiting for an actual answer.

"Fine. This is going to sound horribly clichéd but I do like shopping... and kayaking too, that one's not that bad."

>>20509839
"I like shopping too. For ships. And guns. And things that explode. That's not what you're talking about, is it?"

>>20509839
Well that's better than only studies. Did I get any other mail?

>>20509839
"So you enjoy the dangers of drowning and getting yourself smashed to pieces on rocks? Most interesting."

>>20509839
Dress uniform shopping with Linda later anyone?

>>20509839
"Do you still stay in contact with your parents, if you don't mind me asking?"

>>20509904
yes. Be sure to ask for her advice as an "expert shopper"

>>20509839
how did we give her a blank stare?

>>20509904
Do we already need a new uniform?

>>20509871
>>20509881
>>20509882
The Psycho in Sonia is still strong.

I do have to have to ask how muich more deranged than the regular dominion or Jerik-Dremine are we?

And as a tie in what do the people think about that and how do they manage it practically and psychologically?

Not a question for Linda.

>>20509920
We're blind

>>20509920
That's the joke.

>>20509871
>>20509882
She laughs. "No. If we ever end up with more than a days leave I'll have to show you."

>>20509881
>Did I get any other mail?
"There's one from your mother and another from your sister."

A medic knocks on the door frame.
"Sorry to interrupt but if you're ready we could see about taking the isolator band off and checking the state of your eyes. I can come back later though."

>Do you have any topic of conversation to discuss with your navigator or do you want to get your eyes tested?

>>20509921
Yeah, we rich and a Knight now

>>20509939
"No, no it's fine. Not that I don't appreciate your company Linda but I'm going to get my vision back. I'll see you later hahaha."

>>20509939
It would be uncouth to ask her to read the letters to us, so they will have to wait until our eyes work again, which may as well be sooner rather than later.

>>20509939
Tell her we're glad to have her as our navigator. She's and Kavos are our most trusted crew on the ship, and we have come to consider her as a friend over these past few months.

>>20509964
this

File: 1346184995824.jpg-(117 KB, 500x313, Futurama.eyePhone.jpg)

>>20509907
"Its been awhile. I haven't talked to them since before I graduated. I've, well I've been embarrassed that I wasn't competent at my job at first. I didn't want them to know.
I really should talk to them again now."


A few minutes later you're sitting in a padded chair in one of the nearby rooms being examined by a Doctor.

"We're going to turn the band off now. There's going to be some pain and discomfort initially as you adjust to receiving signals from your eyes again."
The Doctor turns off the headband and you initially wince at the sting and throbbing.
"Alright, you can remove the headband now at your own pace then I want you to very slowly open your eyes."

You take the band off after the doctor tells the lights to dim. If it had been full lighting you're certain it would have hurt like hell when you opened your eyes a crack.
"Still hurts but I'm okay." you tell the doctor. Things seem a bit on the fuzzy side until you blink a few times.

"And activate the HUD please."

Everything turns blurry. Points of light made up of every colour of the spectrum fill your vision, blinking on or off and causing distractions. Nothing is in focus and none of the reticules are working properly.
"Does it look as bad from your side Doctor?" You ask frowning.
"Er yeeees I believe so. You're lit up like a christmas tree. The displays are being projected outward for some reason like that one novelty eyecom display, only its not rigged for that. How well can you see?"
"I cant see at all when its turned on." You attempt to turn it off and fail.

>WHAT SAY?

>>20510058
Fix this please, or I will throttle you.

>>20510058
Gonna need some help here doc

As a seasoned and noble knight we will give him about thirty seconds to fix this before we starting shouting and flailing like a child.

>>20510058
Well that's interesting. I guess I'll be blind for more time after all. Do you think you could install a laser in my eyes if it doesn't work correctly next time?

>>20510058
"This is going to make shooting down nukes a lot harder."

>>20510090
Flailing? No. With our bat sense developed over the few days without sight we will grab him by the collar, put him in a choke hold and proceed to squeeze the living shit out of the good doc.

>>20510108
Sonia may be violent, but she's not senselessly violent.

>>20510126

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZomwVcGt0LE
It's going to be accompanied by a lot of showings of : "Fix my Eyes, man. Fix my Eyes!"


JK.


Tell the good doctors we want Sight back. Either fix the damned projectors (which would have been checked beforehand) or get them out and have our eyes back.

>>20510058
"Do you really want me to fly this ship without seeing anything?"

>>20510181
>>20510177

And perhaps send a missive to security/marines to have everyone on the medical crew quarantined on the ship. Considering we are wanted dead... and are now without eyesight... who knows it may be sabotage...

>>20510058
This is... Not good.

>>20510217
I'm pretty sure it was rolling badly for complication last thread

File: 1346186170191.jpg-(Spoiler Image, 14 KB, 325x396)

"Remain calm." The Doctor orders you firmly. "I should be able to turn them off, just let me access the settings while they're still in diagnostics mode. Where did you say you bought these again?"

Oh shit.
"Black market." you reluctantly admit. From a vendor not twenty meters from places that sold slaves drugs or guns.

"And did they come with a warranty?"
The Doc hits a button and your HUD turns off.
"I'll take your silence as a no."
You vison eventually returns to near normal but not quite.

"I'm going to reccomend seeing uh, visiting a specialist. There should be one aboard the station at the Forbearance by now. Once there you can either have these devices repaired, or removed or even have a new set of eyes cloned. Until then you'll either have to deal with slightly imperfect vision or put the isolator band back on and we'll attach video input to them."

[ ] I'll be fine until we get to the station
[ ] Put the band back on
[ ] Get some glasses until we get to the station
[ ] Other

>>20510247
[]Get glasses

>>20510247
[X] Get some glasses until we get to the station

Under no circumstances will we laforge

>>20510247
[x] Put the band back on

We'll play cyborg until we get to the specialist on the Forbearance.

If the HUD devices were sabotaged, I suppose we're lucky they didn't just explode.

>>20510247
I'm pretty sure we blew up the place when we left anyway, so I doubt we could redeem the warranty. Can we get some contacts?

>>20510247
>>20510261
Don't forget to tell Duncan

>>20510286
> Can we get some contacts?
This is an option but I didn't bring it up because your eyes still hurt.
If you still want to roll 1d20 for pain tolerance.

>>20510351
Glasses are fine then.

After having a pair of cheap but functional glasses made up you head back to your quarters. The first thing you do is send off a warning message to Duncan not to have the implants put in.

Then you check your mail.

The first is from Mom.

Hi dear,
Sorry I havent had much time to write to you lately, things have been rather hectic around here with all of the news coming in. First of all congratulations with your promotion, your father and I are so proud that we dont even have the words. If it wasnt for other things having come up I'd have been ecstatic at the chance to tell off those old busy bodies that run the salon in the market. You should send us a picture of you in your new uniform so I can send it to your Aunt and Uncle.

A gentleman from the ministry of Lands and Territory visited to discuss your land ownership and to find out if we had any plans on moving. I told him that with the war on and your father away we couldnt possibly head out there. Still he was nice enough to leave us some scans and video of the area. Sonia I've never seen so many trees. Real trees, not just the plants the agrofarms grow. I know Knights are given land but it's incredible, I hope you make it home safe to see it all.

Robrinaan colony should be self sufficient some time in the next month so your father will be redeployed in the near future. He should have some leave coming up so I've been waiting to tell him... I'm pregnant again. Now before you "Oh Mom" me I'll remind you I'm not that old, I was the age you are now when I had you. I'm not telling your sister, she cant keep anything secret from your father.
I'm still a little overwhelmed with everything happening at once.

I hope we can all see you again soon, and please try to stay safe.

>>20510541
Willing to bet that the sister already knows. Also, we should mention the whole nuke bit to her.

>>20510541
Make a mental note to take a picture of ourselves in uniform.

Make the subject of our reply "Oh Mom."

>>20510541
>Send a bunch of photo in all our uniforms including one in the power armor

>>20510610
As soon as we get our new uniform of course.

Which will likely be after we secure the rest of the Run.

>>20510627
We'll have to wipe all the blood off of it first, don't want to give the wrong impression.

The message from your sister had to have been written or recorded when she was sugar high as she's constantly changing topics mid sentence.
You do manage to get that she's enjoying the new school despire being in a poorer district and has has assembled a team. That must be slang for a gang now. The team has started training for... hold on what?
Your parents gave her some of the money you sent them and she's spent all of it on a combat simulator for the school. Her and her friends are training to become pilots!

"We want to go out there and have adventures like you are. Most of the other kids are lower class so I said I'd help since I was middle class and might get higher up faster. Its fun and its work! Win-win. Mom isn't happy I blew all my money but she just rolled here eyes when I said it was for a good cause.
Hey, can you send me a sword for my birthday next month?"

>What will you get your sister for her birthday? It will take a couple of weeks for the present to arrive.

>>20510663
The heaviest, dullest, most useless sword we can find, if we decide to go with her request.

>>20510663
If we send her a sword make it a holo one

>>20510663
A holographic sword and a collection of model starships.

Also, a sternly worded note warning her not to get herself killed.

>>20510663
We should mention the downsides of being a pilot, the number of times we nearly die, the people and pilots we lost along the way, make sure she makes an informed decision. Oh, and call up the casulty report from the latest action. It's the right thing to do.

>>20510756
Agreed. Send her a list of all the people who died in our squadron since we have been part of it.

>>20510663
Training holosword with the explicit instruction not to use it recklessly.

Scale model of our ship as consolation for not sending a real sword.

>>20510776
>one pilot and a bunch of pleb enlisted crew

I don't think it will have much impact.

And hey if we can be a pilot she should be able to choose her own path too.

>>20510801
>one pilot and a bunch of pleb enlisted crew

That's not the proper way to look at it.

"Every time you go into combat, you're taking everyone on your ship with you. And there's a chance that some of those men and women will not come home."

We've lost our fair share of engineers and marines. Those are people, not pleb enlisted crew. If our sister can't understand that, she's already pretty far gone.

They are both people and pleb enlisted crew.

Either way it is unlikely any of this will discourage her, as none of it discouraged Sonia in the slightest.

>>20510857
Very much seconded.

I imagine we could always kick her ass with stealth mode power armor should she be a jackass

>>20510876
It's not meant to discourage her, it's meant to make her think.

Late in the day on March 8 the squadron is recalled to Forbearance. The situation on Kaartinen is still stable and negotiations are underway when you depart. Thirty standard corvettes from House Vanadra, Posat and Jerik-Dremine patrol orbit along with a pair of Carriers. It isnt a huge force but it should deter most small scale pirate attacks and keep both the Rebels and Government forces in line.

After arriving at the station you head over to get your eyes checked by a specialist.

"Oh my yes, I can see how this would be a problem." The Doctor who looks at your eyes mumbles. "Why there are whole segments of the device that are misaligned, that not good at all. You should ask for your money back and then some from the company that made them, these obviously never passed quality control testing. It would be hard to notice as well."

"The place I bought them no longer exists. Can you fix them?" You ask, hoping you get the conversation back on track.

"I'm not quite sure. It should be possible. I could simply remove them and begin work on repairing them though it might take a week and your eyes would need at least a day to recover after they've been removed plus additional time after they're put back in.
We could also remove the eyes entirely and put in a cloned pair while I work on fixing your originals.
Hmm... There's also an experimental medical repair system we've been meaning to field test. It would be worn much like a neuro isolator band and would work very silimarily except it would fix your implants while worn. It would let you see using built in sensors until they finished."


[ ] Get rid of the implants
[ ] Remove, repair, reinstall
[ ] Temp eye clone
[ ] Experimental Med system
[ ] other

>Back in 20 minutes

>>20511033
>Oh my yes
>experimental medical repair system

Great. We've found the fleet's Farnsworth.

[x] Experimental Med system

Nothing could go wrong.

>>20511033
[]Experimental Med system
We are a woman of SCIENCE

>>20511033
>[X] Experimental Med system
But only if it allows us to see through clothing.

>>20511033
All of these options are terrible but I must stand by my fundamental opposition to becoming Laforge.

[X] Remove, repair, reinstall.

>>20511033
[X] Experimental Med system
Time for SCIENCE

>>20511121
Okay, I agree. EMS only if it doesn't make us look like Laforge.

>>20511121
>>20511173
It would look a little bit like a visor that wraps all the way around the head. Though with no vertical gold bits.

Is this a deal breaker for many people? And if so should I make up a survey?

>>20511305
Not really

>>20511305
I think it's just one guy who has something against LaForge. Otherwise it's unanimous.

File: 1346191627214.jpg-(35 KB, 457x323, Main_Discography_Of_Daft_Punk.jpg)

>>20511305
So, more like a helmet?

File: 1346192186236.jpg-(18 KB, 512x512, EXP Med system.jpg)

>>20511325
Rough sketch

>>20511435
Well it is going to cramp our style but that is what we get for sticking black market goods into our eyes.

>>20511435
I'd be okay with that.

File: 1346193418190.gif-(60 KB, 1261x1276, Smugglers run Local 20.gif)

"I'll sign on for the Experimental Med system Doctor, as long as it doesn't get in the way of me doing my job."

"There shouldn't be any difficulties." He assures you. "They want to give them to medics so that Marines who have lost an eye or two can utilize them. It should be quite safe aboard a starships. Just be sure to stay away from the engine core or other sources of heavy EM radiation."

>Roll 1d10 for effectiveness of the device! (Lower is better)


When you get back to the ship and check on the status of the squadron you find that Jehtot is outside the minefield with with Mike and Katherine's flights giving the prototype a test run.

You open a line to them. "How is the rookie doing Mike?"

"He's good I'll give him that. I'd forgot how much better emergency thrusters work on smaller ships. God dammit."
"Mike you alright?"
"He just swung around and pinged me with simulated weapons fire. With those thrust reversers all you have to do is engage them on one engine and you're facing backwards in a half second. It's taken him the better part of an hour to figure out how to do it effectively. If we have time I might want to give that ship a spin later."

Current status of the Run. Elements of the Terran expeditionary forces have linked up with Allied Houses operating in the area. The main line of the run is clear from one end to the other though there are still threats of raids.
The 1st Attack Wing has resumed full operations with their newly refurbished ships and have cleared out numerous sectors while you've been busy. Apparently they also found a Factions Alliance sleeper ship. A Shukhant class Medium cruiser that used to belong to the 10th Dynasty Ruling House. Command is currently in negotiations over the potential for salvage rights.

rolled 8 = 8

>>20511659
rolling high

rolled 6 = 6

>>20511659
Watch me get a nat 10!

rolled 10 = 10

>>20511659
Well, let's see how that goes.

>>20511697
>>20511713
>>20511723
Can we use higher is better instead? Plase?

>>20511659
Well the Run is looking more and more secure.

I am getting an uneasy feeling about what is going to happen when that pirate Carrier full of torpedoes gets backed into a corner and goes all out.

File: 1346194168836.png-(198 KB, 407x405, Advice Maya-more rolling.png)

>>20511730
I'm tempted but no.

The threat Level 2-3 sector that you had previously detected has seen some enemy activity over the past few days. Sensor buoys can no longer confirm an enemy presence in the area though it cant be completely discounted.

The currently shown threat sectors are being assaulted by allied forces.

Do you wish to conduct recon or assist one of them?

If Recon roll 1d100 for each sector you wish to scan down! Did you want to keep the squadron together for recon or split up into smaller units?

>>20511659
Why does the Graveyard by the FOB still have a threat rating?

rolled 8 = 8

>>20511820
In that case, nat 1.

rolled 2 = 2

>>20511832
Or not.

>>20511820
Split into two elements for recon and scan the sectors near the colony and the bottom of the map that we sort of skipped before.

rolled 47, 67, 16, 17 = 147

>>20511852
Also 4d100 I think

rolled 43, 53, 90, 90 = 276

>>20511820
the ?? Sector and 3 orther yellow ones

Alex and Daska have formed one group while Katherine and Mike have formed another. Which group will your ship and the newly acquired Blackbird accompany?

>>20511905
The 3 yellow ones near Kaartinen Colony or near the Jammer?

>>20511931
Mike and Kat, because they mostly have lighter ships.

>>20511931
Jammers

>>20511825
>Why does the Graveyard by the FOB still have a threat rating?

>Graveyard near FOB
The system is more or less under control. Houses Posat and Jerik-Dremine hold the largest salvage base in the system, which controls most of the trade out system. The other asteroid bases while smaller are heavily armed and would take an extended period to crack. Command's current plan is to wait them out as they'll need to open trade with the main base soon.
Representatives from the newly co-opted base are still in negotiations but initial trades are expected within the week.

>>20511931
Keep on standby, so that we can answer any of them if they have problem

Ok, obviously this is coming a bit late but in the interest of Sonia acting marginally more like a responsible commander and having some kind of a backup plan if the prototype EMS headgear fails/makes things worse, could we send Duncan's HUD implants to the specialist for repairs and swap those for the current set in a week or so if necessary? If the EMS fixes Sonia's current implants great! Duncan gets his fixed for free. If not, he gets Sonia's once they're repaired.

>>20512109
I support this.

>>20512109
We'd probably still be two day without seeing due to the new implant, so it isn't more responsible than seeing anyways

File: 1346196460102.gif-(59 KB, 1261x1276, Smugglers run Local 20A.gif)

Had some divided location selection so I went with a bit of both.


You decide to send Alex and Daska off near Kaartinen Colony. (Your slightly larger group will scan down the jammer location.)
A few rogue vessels and smugglers take some shots at the group but against four cruisers, a frigate and an assault corvette the smugglers are quick to surrender.
Scans have picked up another rare element mining world! There are signs of activity in the area but not in any large numbers.
Threat level 1-2


Your group is able to complete the scans of the sector without incident and find the jammer location just at the edges of a nebula.
Threat level 2

It doesnt take Daska and Alex long to call in their next sector. Privateers in the employ of House Posat are chasing out the last of the locals. Your pilots managed to spot some light smuggler corvettes making a run for it.

Checking one sector that had previously been scanned and had contained enemies you find nothing but the occasional private starship operated by allied exploration and salvage teams. Any enemies that were here have moved on.

>>20512225
I think Alex and Daska can handle the rare element mining world while the rest of us take on the jammer.

>>20512249
agreed

>>20512249
Everyone else in favour of this?

>>20512273
Sure

>>20512273
going to sleep now. see you in 6 or so hours.

After pulling back far enough to issue new orders you and your half of the squadron proceed with jammer hunting. Your electronic warfare ship makes this job considerably easier and you jump out of FTL almost within weapons range of the converted transport.
"Remora. They must like using those things." Says Mike.
"Or they're cheap to build." someone else replies.

The crew attempt to repack their jamming equipment but within seconds realize it will take too long. Jettisoning the large transmitters the now considerably lighter vessel turns and burns, jumping away before you can get a shot off.
You order the transmitters secured figuring they must be worth salvaging. With the jammer out of action you can now pick up advertisements from another mercenary company!

The rest of the squadron reports in two hours later. The mining world is secured along with a few Constellation class light corvettes converted for use as planetary assault ships. As that particular planet had no atmosphere Daska had threatened to simply destroy the landed ships from orbit if they didn't surrender. A blockade runner at the edges of the system did manage to escape.

After your mission you're called back to base.

>>20512585
Then we should return. I wonder if it about the colony? Otherwise its probably about the promotion.

File: 1346198745781.gif-(59 KB, 1261x1276, Smugglers run Local 20B.gif)

>>20512585
>And captcha ate the map.

After returning to Forbearance you're hailed by the Commander's flagship and asked to make a secure call from off the bridge. There's a small office nearby you never bother to use, preferring either the bridge or your quarters. Still, the refit teams did make it ready for use.

You activate the one monitor in the room and after making a secure connection Knight Commander Winifred appears on screen.
"Knight Reynard, I'm sorry I couldnt contact you sooner, there were other issues at hand. Good work with the situation on Kaartinen. Is your squadron fit for action?"

[ ] We're always ready
[ ] Just give us a few hours
[ ] Other

>>20512683
[]Always ready

>>20512683
[x] other. Yes, though I would prefer to top up on expendible munitions first. (assuming we used any in that last patrol)

>>20512719
You used up some before the colony problem appeared. Did you want to stock up everyone with full missile loadouts and with some SP's?
You have about 20 SP Torps left in your personal stockpile. Daska does not have enough RP to equip both her fighters and her ship with SP torps.

Be advised you only have 1 attack bomber aboard your ship currently. Unless you wanted to buy some of the new Z5H fighters you would have to go looking through some of the graveyards.

>>20512821
Pull SPs from our personal stockpile to make up for Daska's lack of funds. Stock up on missiles.

>>20512821
I was more thinking regular torps, but whatever will do the job.

File: 1346200558171.jpg-(108 KB, 810x456, 1325185188114.jpg)

You snap off a salute. "Always ready sir, though we're in the middle of taking aboard munitions. We can launch within minutes."


"Good. As you have likely noticed the First attack Wing has been performing a sweep of the area while you were tied up in orbital support. By the looks of it the vast majority of all remaining pirates in the run have up and vanished."

>I am getting an uneasy feeling about what is going to happen when that pirate Carrier full of torpedoes gets backed into a corner and goes all out.
"What about the Carrier sir? Werent there cloaked ships following it?"

"They were forced to break off or risk detection but they did report the Carrier seemed to be gathering or redirecting forces. Sending them to a location we dont know of yet. The carrier itself did not go with them and was continuing to visit a number of suspected pirate and smuggler strongholds.
The Terrans are clamping down on the other end of the Run hard. As you've seen, some of our allies have already linked up with them and the run itself is now more or less clear. The enemy survivors can either wait for us to find them or attempt a break out. The Terran Blockade is substantially more formidable than our own."

She lets you think about that for a moment.
>What say?

>>20512964
So that mean that they'll either try to break through us or fight to the last....

>>20512964
Either they have another way out or they are massing their forces and are going to come at us with everything they have and fight like cornered beasts.

Unless someone has an idea as to where exactly they are and we can launch a spoiling attack/raid to lessen their odds of breaking through.

>>20512964
They are either going to try to brake past us or punch through us... What is the state of our defenses?

File: 1346201818135.gif-(142 KB, 3160x2254, Smugglers run large map.gif)

"Quite. Captain Crayton has been shown to have anything but an intrest in fighting to the last. She will flee by any means necessary. As you saw yourself, if something is in her way she will remove it if possible or charge right through it.

The Terrans and Rovinar consider the Carrier to be dangerous enough that they're preparing to scour the remaining sectors with a wave of cloaked ships. When that happens they'll either find the vessel and the gathering fleet or end up flushing them out of hiding. If they flee they will be forced to fly through the Smugglers Run just as the convoys you had to escort did. While it will allow them to move at great speed they'll also be vulnerable for those periods of time as we know where they must appear."

The Commander transmits you some map data. "These are all of the choke points in the Smugglers Run. Position your squadron at a location of your choice to intercept. You may request additional resources to block parts of the Run but be aware that our own supply convoys still need to make use of it.
The First Attack Wing will remain on the offensive along along with our allies.
The Second Wing have been positioned at the end of the run but their force largely consists of Attack Corvettes.
The remainder of the Third Wing will continue scouting but will head for your location at the first sign of trouble."

>>20513169
What defenses do you wish to prepare along the Run?

The location of the Forbearance ( * 3rd ) is a choke point but the station and the minefield are some distance away from the jump in point making it more difficult to defend.

>>20513169
>Either the allied Logistic Base or just after the Forbearance

>>20513204
What defenses are available, besides our own squadron?

>>20513169
... How quickly can we take on additional fighters? I vote we set up on the one close but not next to the base we just captured. And which mercs are avalible?

>>20513204
>>20513219
Buy as much fighter as we can house/buy right now, we'll need them, get some scrap to use as cover if possible...

Set up just after forbearance, with carrier squadron on tow. Or at least a cruiser/frigate force.

>>20513256
>get some scrap to use as cover if possible...

It'd be great if we could move an asteroid base or some turret emplacements in the time we have.

Can we requisition the Guild corvette to stand by on the system before us as a recon and to tail it when they jump in?

>>20513204
The Allied Logistics base looks like a good spot, but may be bypassed.

I'd like to position ourselves at the first or second chokepoint after the Forebearance.

I would also like pickets in the other sectors to give advance warning and to pick off targets of opportunity as the pirates move through. Carriers with frigate and corvette screens would be good for this, have them patrolling out of the direct route so that the pirates can't take the time to engage them directly but close enough that some fighters can launch some SPs into anything soft or dangerous looking before bugging out to our location for the big fight.

Max out our fighter and ordnance capacities, focus on interceptors to counter their carrier's fighter wing.

Obviously goes without saying but we really really want to be the ones to take down Crayton, next to the Forbearance, that ship is probably the biggest prize in the Run.

>>20513313
>Obviously goes without saying but we really really want to be the ones to take down Crayton, next to the Forbearance, that ship is probably the biggest prize in the Run.

With this in mind, make sure our power armor is good to go and maybe grab another shuttle of marines, just in case.

>>20513336
More shuttles mean less fighters.

>>20513336
I doubt the power armour works with the not-laforge-visor.

>>20513336
We'll have to wait after the combat to do any boarding and that shuttle is 4 fighter.

>>20513356
fuck

>>20513356
Is the visor transparent or does it project an image onto a screen/the eye/straight to the brain?

How fast can an interface or workaround be jury-rigged if need be?

>>20513235
>What defenses are available, besides our own squadron?
As far as static defenses go whatever you can come up with and move.
You can request Frigate, Cruiser and Carrier squadrons but only one of each before it weakens defenses elsewhere.

>get some scrap to use as cover if possible...
You talk to salvage command and they say they could spare a couple of ships to move objects to some of the sectors from ship graveyards or other locations.
Is there any type of object you wish to concentrate on finding?

>>20513246
You could take on starfighters within hours. Did you want to use SRP to help pay for some or send a few ships from the squadron to quickly search one of the graveyards for some wrecked ones to repair?

Available mercenary companies:
Gnomish Blades
Band Stampers
Mythal League

>>20513394
Breakdown on merc specialties again?

>>20513394
We should find intact asteroid bases, intact mines, defensive turrets, and starships or pieces of starships with mounted torpedo or missile launchers.

There are basically three types of defenses I'm looking at:

- Bases/Turrets
- Missile launchers
- Mines and other explosives

Since we have a vast amount of stockpiled missiles, we should put them to use, either for blinding the enemy or doing damage through massive, concentrated fire.

>>20513394
Request one of each, Cruisers with us for more firepower, Carriers in sector ahead of us with Frigate screen, orders to get one full volley into the convoy and then withdraw to our position.

We may want to do a sort of fighting retreat to the second Wing's position once we make contact so that more of our forces throughout the run get a chance to come in and help.

>>20513394
Hmm anything big enough to cause a problem for enemy targeting is fine. SRP usage is fine that's what it's for after all.

as for merc I'll wait for the specialties.

>>20513394
Spend SRP.

This is likely to be our last major engagement as leader of this squadron after all.

The trick is to get the carriers to launch its fighters. And don't have the carrier try a hit and run. It would take too long to recover the fighters once launched. Bets bet is to have us, with our heavy point defense engage the in a running battle until they reach a naty blockung force we set up.

>>20513502
Harry them with long range firepower through several jumps, concentraiting on taking out their covertees. Then they run into the blocking force consiting of the cruisers, carriers and frigates along with the mercs. And crush them between us.

What is the latest on our salvaged plasma cannon?

File: 1346204737670.gif-(146 KB, 3160x2254, Smugglers run large map B(...).gif)

>>20513393
>>20513356
It transmits data from the various inputs on the front of the NotaVisor(tm) directly to the optic nerve, bypassing the eyes. You should be able to put your helmet on, though you should start testing to see if the helmet HUD is compatible.

>>20513311
Done
Fighters will be purchased. Have to work out how many the squadron has room for.


>Breakdown on merc specialties again?
Gnomish Blades - Long range stand off
Band Stampers - Close ship combat/Ramming
Mythal League - Generalists

>>20513444
>>20513428
>Hmm anything big enough to cause a problem for enemy targeting is fine.
>We should find intact asteroid bases, intact mines, defensive turrets, and starships or pieces of starships with mounted torpedo or missile launchers.
Salvage Teams are being dispatched to look for something fitting this description.
Roll 4d100 for success.

Feel free to move stuff around on the Map as by the time I get stuff on there people are deciding they want it elsewhere.

rolled 12, 64, 32, 88 = 196

>>20513671
>1, 1, 1, 1
>you find NOTHING

>>20513587
6 days until the cannon is repaired. More than fifty days to rebuild at battlecruiser around it though.

rolled 90, 71, 4, 77 = 242

>>20513671
Move everything on the map back towards second wing by one chokepoint, and put the Nav Frig at the Forebearance, as it strikes me as unlikely that the pirates will travel through the one that the carrier and frigate squads are currently shown in.

Also rolling.

Find out the costs of recruitment on the mercs, if we can afford them all, put the GB with the carrier and frigate squadrons, the BS with us on ship disabling and formation clusterfucking duty, and the ML with us for more firepower and general muscle.

File: 1346205370695.gif-(146 KB, 3160x2254, 1346204737670.gif)

rolled 14, 21, 23, 87 = 145

>>20513671
Gnomish and Mythal should be hired and used in the first hit instead of the Carriers due to them having to call back fighter before jumping and thus slowing them

Rolling and counterproposition

how are the plans for the ship we were planning to build doing?

>>20513705
How are your spreadsheets doing?

File: 1346205696718.gif-(189 KB, 3160x2254, aaaa.gif)

>>20513671
back erryone up a lil bit?

Salvage teams have found a 1 kilometer long mostly intact mass driver platform. Its not much but can be a serious annoyance.

Teams drag in a defense platform similar to ones you saw around Kaartinen. With some work three of the heavy phase cannon turrets and about fourty point defense guns can be brought online.

You find some Republic Missile boats. Their engines are toast but half the launchers work on them and can be used as static missile batteries.

A badly mangled Lance class Medium cruiser, her spine cracked and beyond repair. The weapons and some of the shields could still be made operational.

>>20513877
Put all of that with the main defensive force. Is this our show? Becuase we need a conference call with the leaders of the carrier, cruiser and frigate squadron, stat. All of them will have opinions, and some may outrank us.

>>20513877
Put each of the three big ones near the likely jump-in points in successive sectors along the route to form centerpieces for our running battle that the pirates will either have to deal with or travel around, with missile boats sprinkled around to taste.

If we put them all together in one place they will just go around.

>>20513877
Cement our Defensive position, We'll need to strike them with everything as soon as they get there

>>20513797
Going good until we needed to spend SRP on tons of stuff.

>>20513849
Everyone else in favour of moving the forces back or keep them in those 2 sectors?

>>20513849
>>20513789
Combine these two. Shift everyone but us back one from the first anon's suggestion. And put the static defences with the carrier and cruiser squadron.

>>20514026
I'm on board with this.

>>20514026

Sounds good

>Find out the costs of recruitment on the mercs,

-The Gnomish Blades have already been payed off by the House for some previous work plus this engagement.
-Band Stampers would want the Light Cruiser currently in our salvage claim but would settle for salvage claims on tough craft.
-Mythal League would also like the Light cruiser but are willing to settle for cash payed by the House.

> Is this our show? Becuase we need a conference call with the leaders of the carrier, cruiser and frigate squadron, stat. All of them will have opinions, and some may outrank us.
You contact the commanding officers of the other House units to discuss the situation.

The cruiser and Frigate commanders both have reservations about the possibility of deploying against an enemy carrier without sufficient fighter support. You think you have enough fighters with the units assisting them to cover that problem.

The Carrier captains are likewise worried about the prospect of enemy ships getting too close and want to know what your plan is if the others are overrun.
[ ] Abandon the field and save the carriers but lose time in later recovery.
[ ] Recover fighters before withdrawing but risk destruction
[ ] Stay at the farthest edge of the battlespace, lengthen recover and refueling
[ ] other

>>20514210
[ ] Stay at the farthest edge of the battlespace, lengthen recover and refueling

If they feel they are safe they can then close in

>>20514244
This, unless they're comfortable with using the defense platform for cover.

>>20514210
[X] Abandon the field and save the carriers but lose time in later recovery.

Sorry fighter pilots, but them's the brakes.

>>20514210
Recomend the carriers pay the band stampers for close in protection.

File: 1346208749854.gif-(147 KB, 3160x2254, Smugglers run large map B(...).gif)

Is this layout OK?

Do you want all of the missile batteries in the same sector as the other defenses, the cruisers and the Carrier? Or did you want some of them scattered around?

>>20514465
Put two-thirds of them in the same sector. Scatter the rest.

>>20514465
Close enough for me.

All ships load up on ammo. Fighters are put aboard, and the pilots begin practicing launches and recovery. Farther back on the run the Carriers must be doing the same thing. Scrambling all of the fighters off of the big ships takes time and recovery can take even longer. Once the enemy arrives its going to be a running fight the whole way. Even with the heavy defenses you've put up some are going to get through and then it'll be a real race to see how quickly everyone can get their birds on deck and jump.

On the second day the defenses are as close to fully active as they're going to be. The old Lance class ship would have made a good addition to the fleet if the structural damage wasn't so bad. It would take half a year of figuring out what was still good on the ship before engineers could start building replacements.

Cloaked ships are moving deep into the remaining unexplored areas seeding the sectors with buoys. Still no sign of the large scale activity you're waiting for. Unless the Terrans are sending false data so they can wipe out the Pirates themselves for whatever reason.

The boredom is taking its toll on the Mercenaries more than the professionals. The Band Stampers and Mythal League want to know who is getting the light cruiser so they can make other arrangements.

"Knight Reynard, your squadron was supposed to provide the salvaged Light Cruiser to the mercenaries. Who is getting what?"

>>20514736
Stampers get the Cruiser and Mythal gets cash monie

>>20514736
If the higher powers are willing to pay for the ML's service, or we have the funds to easily cover it ourselves, we give the cruiser to the Band Stampers. Otherwise, we give the cruiser to the Mythal League and the Band Stampers get salvage claims.

>>20514842
Even better. Seconded.

Command agrees to pay the Mythal's their money so you and the cruiser over to the Stampers.

"Hurry up and wait. The buoys are getting nothing." Complains Arron on the third day.

You try out the helmet for your Recon Armor once again after fiddling with the HUD inputs. Eventually you give up on trying to fix it yourself and have Mr.Nxesi look at it.
"Give me a few hours." He tells you before leaving.


Late in the day things start to happen. "Contacts farther up the Run!"

You sit up in your chair and hit the button for fleet coms. "All ships on alert, prepare for immediate combat!" You start strapping yourself in. "What is it?"

"One Clarent class, an Alderamin Class Battleship, a battlecruiser, some corvettes and Firestorm class Frigates."

"If that's all they have the battle might last five minutes." Notes Kavos, though he sounds wary.

Arron continues to read out the sensor reports. "There are no Terran ships in the vicinity to intercept them... they're heading towards the other end of the Run. Away from us."

[ ] Hold position
[ ] Send ships out
[ ] Other

>>20515007
>[ ] Hold Position this seem fishy

>>20515026
This.

>>20515026
Yep.

>>20515007
>>20515026
Move the guild Frigate 1SE 2S just to make sure they won't bypass us

>>20515007
I don't suppose we can report their position and heading to the Terrans? If they're heading for a rendezvous with the elusive Carrier, tracking them might lead to a bust.

>>20515007
I assume that is a very tempting chance for salvage.

"An attempt to bring the net higher up, most likely. If the Terrans can't protect their end of the run, that isn't our problem unless the target runs their way."

>>20515050
>Move the guild Frigate 1SE 2S just to make sure they won't bypass us
To where the one PM marker is located?

>>20515056
Done.

>>20515007
Hold position.

The Terran blockade is tougher than ours and that sounds like a fraction of their total force.

>>20515118
>SW of that one

"All ships hold position, do not advance."

You ask about the status of the scout ships.
"We have telemetry from most of them but the others must have entered a jamming zone."

"Report their movements to the Terrans. We cant risk them being too inept to monitor their own probes."

Shortly after the enemy ships jump to the next sector up the run sensors and coms lose contact.
"The battleship is large enough to carry serious jamming hardware and the Clarent could mount some with only minor modification."
You order the Nav Frigate to move farther back along the run to prevent any attempt by the Carrier to slip by you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrZ7E2WC3RI

Two hours of waiting brings word that the Terrens are attempting to chase down the jamming group but they're microjumping around the region and making things difficult.

"Signal from Nab Hafnar's ship."

You switch to squadron coms to hear whats going on.

"I'm picking up multiple FTL drive flares on long range sensors. I don't have anywhere near the resolution of the Navigators ship but they look to be forming a stream."

"Could the Terrans pic them up?" You ask.
"No sir, there's too much long range interference. They're headed here, ETA fourty seconds. Sending projected arrival point to all ships."

When the timer reaches zero the Norune Bounty hunter's ship jumps into view. It isn't alone. Battlecruisers, converted warship and blockade runners, an older Dominion Carrier outfitted with more guns. And transport ships by the dozens.

>>20515284
And this is why you don't move for the small fries, signal everyone that we have company get ready to shoot and bail to the next sector

>>20515284

damn, we didn't have a chance to have weapons fire greet them the moment they popped out of FTL?

File: 1346214400503.gif-(7 KB, 1109x461, Enemy Convoy.gif)

"Fire all ships, fire!"

"Contacts, fourty plus. Fifty. Sixty. Most of them are transport ships with minimal weaponry. Seventy... eighty. Multiple attack cruisers and other warships forming up around the outer edges.
We're now at ninety ships."

A half dozen module transporters jump in followed by a three and a half kilometer wide Jupiter class heavy transport.

"LTSC Wayward Treasures has just jumped in behind the Jupiter."
The last ships to jump in are eight Centurion class cruisers and a Princeps class Battleship. All of them begin charging their spinal mounted Plasma Cannons

Princeps class battleship
Length 800m
A scaled up version of the Centurion, Princeps class ships mount an even larger plasma cannon. In addition they carry 20 phase cannon arrays rather than the 16 lighter versions found on their smaller cousins.

>Your orders?

>>20515509
What's the range on those plasma cannons?

>>20515509
Not paid enough for that shit, now fire and head to the next defense line, priority by threat level, send a message to the carrier group to tell them what to expect and to be ready.

>>20515509
Fire everything and spin up the drives. Concentrate fire on the largest ships. Use nuclear missiles to blind the enemy and hopefully prevent them from getting good hits with their heaviest weapons.

Don't bunch up. As soon as we start taking serious fire, we jump out.

>>20515509

I assume that we are heavily outclassed just by the rear guard of that force.

"Command, we've got a bit of a problem to report."

>>20515522
Not as long as phase cannon. Maybe 60-70% depending on how new they are.

>>20515571
This is exactly what we expected. Hopefully we can whittle the convoy down a little before we're forced to jump back to the primary defenses and make our stand.

>>20515584
In that case, reverse and try to stay out of their range for as long as possible.

>>20515509
wait, isn't an allied House's Logistics base in this sector?

Do they have forces that could jump to our next line once the enemy leaves this one?

>>20515643
Frankly, we should call all available forces as soon as possible. This is worth thinning the lines a little.

"Do we launch fighters?"

"Negative! Pull back! All ships, launch your torpedoes and begin a fighting withdrawal. Concentrate on the larger ships until you need to jump. Linda plot us a jump out of here" You reverse engines and target the lead ships, launching one of your two available SP Torp salvos. An enemy cruiser takes a hit from you heavy phase cannon but manages to survive, rolling to bring tougher shields to bear against everyone else's fire.

"Sir! They're attempting to jam our communications and sensors but our Blackbird is counter scrambling them."

"That's good news. Have you signaled command with the enemy fleet strength?" you ask your coms officer.
"Incoming torpedoes, brace!" Warns Kavos before a volley hits your shield and shakes the ship.

"Yes sir, we got word through. The First Wing is headed back towards us and should arrive within a half hour. The remainder of the Third is either headed-"
You miss the rest as an SP impacts the hull and explodes, destroying the armor where it hit.

"Only a Mark 40, we are still good!" Kavos tells you.

The lead enemy carrier has been shredded by torpedo fire from your own forces along with several other warships.

"Captain Sylvan is headed for Second Wing's location." Coms tells you.

The secondary shield kicks in as phase cannon fire from the superior number of transports starts to wear down your fleet. You've been pulling back but all its doing is keeping both sides in range.

"Sonia they're going to jump soon, we have to go now!" You don't know who said it but you definitely agree.
"All ships jump out."

>>20515762
There's going to be so much salvage from this.

>>20515762
As your group passes by the Forbearance you can see the Knight Comander's fleet forming up ready either to defend the base or begin pursuit once the fleet is past. The command ship, three battlecruisers and a squadron of light cruisers are all of the real force present within the mine shell. If they leave it the defenders will be at a serious disadvantage.

"They're not coming out are they?" asks Arron.

"We'll see."

Your ships jump to the next point and form up with the carriers and cruisers already there deploying fighters.
The Gnomish Blade with their generally weaker ships have taken the worst damage, even losing a few of their peacock class vessels. Even Second squadron has racked up a fair amount of battle damage.

>Your deployment plan?

>>20515816
This is where we've got all our static defenses stacked up, right?

>>20515816
>Tell the Gnomish and second wing to stay in reserve such as to not get totally curbstomped
>Deploy in a Crescent to maximize our damage potential, set the damaged unit on the outer edge of it

File: 1346217235306.gif-(5 KB, 1109x709, Chokepoint.gif)

The fleet is deployed.

You've already stated that all fighters are to intercept enemy attack bombers. What targets do you want your attack bombers to concentrate on?

Targeting preference for your starships and defense platforms?

>>20515926
Attack bombers concentrate on the heaviest ships along with our starships.

Mass driver platform concentrate on the lightest ships it can reliably hit, to maximize damage from its fairly underpowered weaponry.

Defense platform, same as starships and bombers with its phase cannons. Its point defense will obviously focus on fighters and missiles.

Lance, same as starships and bombers.

Missile launchers, support other forces by blinding the enemy. Otherwise used massed fire on concentrations of enemy ships.

I'm going to need a total of 5d20 for this one guys. And depending on the number of people still present I might just be waiting until the morning.

rolled 9, 7, 13, 11, 10 = 50

>>20515997
It's hard to roll when you know these numbers will probably lead directly to friends getting killed.

rolled 9, 15, 8, 10, 14 = 56

Lets do this

File: 1346218105088.gif-(10 KB, 1109x709, 1346217235306.gif)

rolled 19, 7, 8, 19, 10 = 63

>>20515926
>>20515997

Pic Related, Everyone should aim at the center of the enemy formation, bomber should harass the edge of the formation.

>>20516055
I hate to break it to you but Sylvan along with the 3rd Wing's First and Third squadrons are heading for 2nd Wing's location and haven't arrived.

Your forces consist of your unit (2nd squadron) the 3 mercenary units, the Frigate, cruiser and carrier squadrons. Plus the defense platforms.

First Wing are attempting to catch up.

>>20516092
I get mixed up in all the designation, but I mean the general position of the4 unit of our Squadron

>>20516133
k

Archived just in case.

Preservation bump

life bump since i am going to be away for five hours.

Bump.

>>20515926
Have the attack bombers, loaded with SP torps, target the battleship. The ones without SP torps screen for those that have them.

rolled 8, 1, 14, 12, 13 = 48

Just woke up, agree with other proposed tactics, throwing a few more dice into the mix.

>>20515816
Wait, where is our house's battleship? The one that has the knight commanders second in command.

You deploy your forces in a semi-circle, to maximixe the potential damage dealt by the crossfire.
"All fighters launch. Bombers and screens recomend you be prepared to flank the incoming fleet."

Its a waiting game once again as the enemy fleet forms up in the previous sector, jumping past the station.

>House Battleship
Its at the FOB. Its slow and outdated despite its heavy shield upgrades. Do you want to request they jump to 2nd Wing's location?


I have to leave for work earlier than expected. I'll try to post on break.

>>20518242
Yes, no reason to leave it out after all.

>>20518242
All the help we can get

>>20518242
> Its slow and outdated despite its heavy shield upgrades.

Could you give us some more information about this ship? Will it only be a bullet sponge in the battle? Or would it break apart after the first SP-torpedo hit.

*poke*

>>20519178
It is easily twice as massive as most battlecruisers and slightly more so than most battleships. It has good conventional weapons though their placement and arcs of fire are not optimal.
Its armor has not been upgraded as its been on the verge of being retired for decades. A couple of well placed SP torps could cripple its engines.

>>20520056
I think it would be best used to help guard the carriers.

>>20520056
May as well bring it along even just to draw fire away from softer and more valuable targets like the carriers

Minimal crew and all that of course.

"Sir, message from the Knight Commander. It reads; warning enemy forces have changed formation. Brace for heavy resistance."

The Jupiter is the first enemy ship to jump in this time, the cargo piled up on the outer hull still present. Everyone concentrates fire attempting to overwhelm the large ship's defenses with conventional weapons. Dumping SP weaponry into the target might kill it eventually but it would take most of your munitions stores. You give the order to save them for the battleships and Carrier. By the time your normal torps start to impact the shields half of the enemy fleet has reverted.

"The Terrans report that the group they were chasing has run for it. They're headed in our direction."

Not important right now you decide. "GB and Mythals, shift fire to the smaller ships."
The heavy fire concentration is at last having an effect on the heavy transport. Phase cannon shots from the platforms and your own ship are starting to break through in places.
"Their extra cargo is working like abalative armor!" Observes Arron.

>Dont have any more time atm. Will be back on in 4 and a half hours.

>>20520056
The corvettes at the end of the run will need the back up. Plus, a battleship is a battleship. A better question is if the republic mercs are interested in some in battle recruitment.

>>20520175
Does the Jupiter do anything beside being LARGE and having HUGE GUTS?

>>20520231
Draws all of our fire while we really should just ignore it and focus on the more dangerous targets.

>>20520231
If not, switch targets to vulnerable transports.

>>20520231
It could be carrying thousands of missiles. Or torpedoes. Or bombers. Or bombs. Or it might just be an improvised ram.

We really need to focus on the ships with plasma cannons as soon as they jump in. Also, try catching enemy carriers with SPs while they unload their fighters. As long as their cargo bays are open they are essentially unarmored, if we get around their shields they are gonna pop like watermelons.

Might also be a good idea to ignore the jupiter if it doesnt have any offensive capabilities.

Any reinforcements we can get here? Or are we on our own? (Because we are totally not going to be able to stop the enemy here if its just us.)

If I were in charge of a bunch of pirates, needed to break through a blockade, and had one bigass ship with no offensive capability and more cargo tonnage than my entire fleet combined, I'd be turning that bigass ship into a bigass bomb and trying to blow up aforementioned blockade with it.

Like even if it gets through, it isn't something that is easy to run and hide with, and as a dirty criminal pirate I have relatively few worldly possessions and little need for an obnoxiously gigantic freighter, but I sure could use a hole in the enemy line for a few minutes.

Turning that viewpoint around, we have a slow outdated heavily shielded Battleship at our disposal that could make for one hell of a projectile if the crew/House is willing to part with it.

>>20520461
We also have a mostly-worthless mass driver platform and a busted-to-hell Lance-class which we could use instead of the battleship. Provided they can move on their own.

>>20520507
I wish we had thought to put engine on that thing to ram the biggest thing the enemy could throw at us

>>20520691
Ramming is rather difficult. Just put the battleship with the second wing. It one of the most powerful ships we own. It would be stupid not to use it. Ignore the jupiter have our ships slaughter their light ships. Attack bombers target the plasma armed ship, use SPs.

>>20521014
The problem is that they'll probably use the same strategy every time, Jump the Jupiter first, let it take the hit, everything else follow. So even if we don't want to hit it, we have to to hit what is behind it. That being said the ship placement right now is bad, as the ships with less firepower won't be able to do much damage to what's hiding behind, but it's the only logical choice since we are making a run after this and they are the fastest ships.

>>20521194
They're using the jupiter as a damage soak, and you want to keep shooting it?

>>20520231
>Does the Jupiter do anything beside being LARGE and having HUGE GUTS?
I loled at this.
>Draws all of our fire while we really should just ignore it and focus on the more dangerous targets.

While it does have weapons they're not that impressive for a ship its size. A mere 20 phase cannon turrets. (The Terrans experimented with mounting heavier weapons on them but it proved impractical.)


>>20520366
>Any reinforcements we can get here? Or are we on our own? (Because we are totally not going to be able to stop the enemy here if its just us.)
Time is a major factor. Reinforcements will not arrive before the enemy can jump but could buy time for them to catch up in another sector.

>>20522936
What if someone made a run at the backside of the Jupiter? Could they SP torp the engines and cripple it?

>>20522975
Someone could but they're big engines and have a lot of structure around them. You'd need someone who is a good shot to disable them and fast enough to avoid all of the other fire. Some attack bombers could manage it but you'd need to pull them off of attacking the other ships.

Don't waste SP torps on the jupitor. Have the attack bombers target the plasma units. Ships and fixed defenses target the small fry. Fighters defend ships from the carrier and engage. Targets of opportunity

>>20523037
Forward the idea to one of the carriers. If their pilots see an opening to cripple that big boy's engines, the enemy loses a very large meatshield. If the attack run is too hot, don't throw away fighters or bombers on it.

You spot the LTSC's signal pop up on sensors, back behind the Jupiter and surrounded by freighters.
"Attack Bombers you are clear to engage. Interceptors move up."

A cloud of enemy starfighters begins to boil out from around the rest of the convoy.
"They must have picked up the fighters from that Carrier we destroyed." says Kavos.

The bow and forward cargo of the Jupiter are now on fire. Glowing metal and armor are starting to be blasted free but still much of the vessel is intact.

About the time the leading enemy fighters begin to launch torpedoes the Centurions and their command ship appear on the field. The Band Stampers command ship, a heavily modified Kavarian battlestruiser, takes concentrated fire. Phase cannon fire and four plasma shots drop shields and damage parts of the hull while the larger Medium cannon shears off one wing and engine breaking the ship in two.
"If we survive this its costing you extra!" Shouts the head of the mercenary band unhappily.

Other than the distant Carriers and closer platforms you have the next largest ship. Energy output levels spike on the four other Centurions now targeting you. Hitting the emergency thrusters you attempt to move the Gungnir out of the way. The problem with a battlecruiser though is that they're just too big to make the sort of maneuvers smaller ships can.

>>20523085
The plasma guns will rip our ships apart if we don't take them out. Kill them now.

>>20523072
>>20523113
Do this, now. SP torps on the battleship.

>>20523113
Use mass missile fire to blind the enemy heavy hitters.

With the more than sixty light phase cannon that could have targeted you the Pirates choose to split their fire, tagging some of the Frigates in addition to the Gungnir.
Two Plasma shots connect with your shield helping to overload it, another with the upper hull and the fourth strikes one of your spinal mount cannons destroying it.

It feels like a sack full off doorknobs was just emptied out onto the ship.
"Hull breaches on all upper decks, port side of the primary hull. Starboard cannon is gone, multiple breaches in surrounding sections. Heavy damage to superstructure where we lost the cannon."
Bridge monitors flicker but dont go out. You aim the remaining heavy phase cannon at the battleship and fire.
"Second Squadron load SP Torps and target the battleship!"

All of your ships launch torpedoes, the blue trails marking which ones are SP's. You hope you haven't wasted too much with the attack bombers also closing to range.

On the flanks the fighters reach effective range and launch. A cloud of missile trails close in on the enemy convoy from either side dwarfing the volley your starships just fired.

"Launch our missiles. Block us from view so their heavies target us."

Before your visual sensors lose contact you see the first torps begin to hit the Centurions.

>>20523347
This would be so much worse if we didn't have those static defenses. Or the mercenaries.

>>20523347
Bloody hell.

>>20523347
Did the mercs make it?

>>20523371
At least we're thinning them down for when they face everyone.
>>20523347
Order everyone to start moving to the next area. The most damaged ship should bail out to the second wing location. As the Highest Ranked we can't do so, but we need to keep giving orders.

How are the Static defense doing anyways.

>>20523113
mercs taking damage costs us extra?

I don't think these mercs understand how merc contracts work.

>>20523432
We need to let the bombers carry through to their targets first. And see how our strike did

>>20523462
The contract is probably more complicated than "You fight for us, you get this ship," but we don't have to deal with that kind of thing.

Besides, dead men don't get paid, so there's that.

Sensor data from the Blackbird and the other ships with advanced sensors allow you a glimpse of what's still happening. Three markers for the centurions wink out and the rest show hits and damage but are still on the field.
"Enemy torpedo fire." Warns Arron before you can see the effect of you own weapons.

The interceptors must be doing their jobs because you expected to see far more incoming warheads. Still, there are quite a few.

"All hands brace." Calmly orders Kavos over the intercom. Fifteen conventional torpedoes slam into your now online reserve shield. Six Torps pass right through, a pair each hitting near the launch bays, one of the torpedo launchers and in the damaged starboard section. Damage indicators spread out from the latter one like a web of cracks.

You keep firing as you check the damage reports from the others.
Everyone seems to have taken some SP torp hits with the exception of the Mercenaries who are still hanging in. A bright explosion confirms that one of the cruisers have bought it though. Two ships from your squadron are disabled and three others are requesting permission to disengage.

The enemy battleship shows heavy damage and a good chunk of its superstructure destroyed. Your attack bomber forces are being driven back, unable to make additional runs at the other warships or the carrier.
The defense platforms are taking heavy fire and the Jupiter has shifted course towards the Lance class.
"They're on a collision course." Confirms Arron.

>>20523432
>Order everyone to start moving to the next area. The most damaged ship should bail out to the second wing location. As the Highest Ranked we can't do so, but we need to keep giving orders.
Do this?

>>20523526
Damaged ships and Lance class, jump out.

>>20523526
>Two ships from your squadron are disabled and three others are requesting permission to disengage.

Granted, we should move back a bit ourselves we cannot afford to be shot down and we have two more fight to handle.

>>20523551
Yes. but I'm the one that posted that so it may not count.

>>20523555
I'm pretty sure the Lance Class is one of the static platform.

>>20523526
It's time to get the hell out of here.

All ships, fighting retreat.

Which of the static defenses, if any, can we take with us?

>>20523563
Ah okay. In that case, they should probably abandon the ship as soon as they've put its weaponry on auto fire.