Your personal fleet includes your command ship -a captured Neeran Fast Medium you've renamed The Outer Heaven- along with the Forbearance taskforce.

Knight Captain Katherine Drake is your fleet's Wing Commander. She'll be commanding your more mobile assets. They have a smaller Heavy Carrier assisting them in the field in addition to a pair of newer Eminence II class ships.

Knight Captain Kim Yu Chung will be leading other forces not assigned to your own fleet. The Helios Medium equipped with an Antimatter Torpedo launcher has been assigned to his group along with cloaked AM Minelayers.

Uyi Rna is the General of your Army.

Wiremu Tama is the admiral of your Fleet.

Fadila Saqqaf is your leading diplomatic adviser.

C.F. Vanderwal is a former House Erid noble now serving with your intelligence division as part of his parole.

Chide Dlam'ard, the Governor of Rioja has started preparing Rioja for a potential siege.

>>47842322
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION

INVASION EDITION

>>47842455
More like we ded edition.

>>47842335
For House and Dominion!

For House and Dominion!

1953 was probably a shit time for heraldic research, with every major European country still rationing food and goods edition.

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Intel from agents at the nav station report that an early wave of enemy ships has proceeded the main fleet's arrival by several hours. Those that are supposed to drop to real space within range of the station itself fail to show up on sensors.

Count Al'mari Nirium quickly comes to the conclusion that the first arrivals are cloaked ships.

"This will complicate matters. They'll try to scout out the positions of our fleets and possibly shadow us once we move against them."

You and Kaz discuss tactics used against the Rovinar by the Terrans in ages past on the rare occasion when the two were at odds.

As a result of this Maybourne contacts several people and with their help calculates you could set up a detection grid with sufficient density to pinpoint cloaked ships with about 2 wings worth of attack cruisers. The larger more powerful ships are needed because of power constraints and the need for more sophisticated com and sensor arrays.

Your new wings were built with some of the latest technology and systems aboard so they should be more than adequate. Any Electronic warfare gear they have aboard would help as well. They wouldn't be able to break formation easily which means Mike's squadron would still need to go after the ship once detected.

It should take 2 hours to make the modifications necessary which won't give you much time until the enemy main fleet begins to arrive.

Do you want units like this to focus on going after as many cloaked ships as possible before the fleets arrive?
Or should they simply try to ensure that they're not shadowing your main fleets?

>>47842667
>Do you want units like this to focus on going after as many cloaked ships as possible before the fleets arrive?
Eliminate their eyes and ears first and foremost. Don't want any hidden daggers to backstab when we least expect it or can't afford it.

>>47842667
Do we have a rough idea how many cloaked ships have arrvied?

>Choices
This seems like a choice between short term and mid to long term benefits. I don't really see us win this in the first few engagements, as we can't match their combined fleet head on.

So I'll go with
>Do you want units like this to focus on going after as many cloaked ships as possible before the fleets arrive?

>>47842717
Agreeing with this.

>>47842747
First few engagements will be about testing the enemy strength and weaknesses and trying to whittle down their numbers to a more manageable amount. Especially their heavy ships and maybe their supers if we can get to them.

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>>47842665
>1953 was probably a shit time for heraldic research
This has been a concern of mine as well.

My Grandfather likely didn't have many family records of his own to draw on due to the war.

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>47842747
>Do we have a rough idea how many cloaked ships have arrvied?
Hard numbers are difficult to determine but there may have been upwards of 20. Some ships may have flown in closer formations making it more difficult to get better readings.
At least two ships were detected heading for the outermost reaches of the relay which were confirmed by allied scanning ships.
The bulk of them were heading into allied space towards locations fleets might be expected to group to contest the invasion forces.

Mike reports ready and soon enough attack cruisers have been detached to form a dense enough network.

Roll 3d100 for their first attempt to locate a scout ship.
Yes you want my roll to be high.

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>47843312
>Roll 3d100 for their first attempt to locate a scout ship.
1

>Yes you want my roll to be high.
>Rolled 4 (1d12)
Well, fuck.

>>47843053
Considering how things are going in continental Europe at the moment, I'd do it soon. The local embassy of the country where your family came from might be able to help you get in touch with somebody. Or at least point you in the right direction.

Rolled 23, 79, 54 = 156 (3d100)

>>47843312
>Yes you want my roll to be high.
Well crap. Now I don't know how to feel. Also time to sleep. Got a 12 hour day tomorrow that I need to soldier through.

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>47843385
2

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>47843429
3

Rolled 27, 82, 63 = 172 (3d100)

>>47843312

Rolled 13, 81, 35 = 129 (3d100)

Rolled 88, 71, 2 = 161 (3d100)

>>47843312
Late anon rolling to see if we can get anything other than a bell curve.

The first attempt to catch a cloaked ship with the detection formation takes some work. hastily assembled as it was the force is still working out some issues when they jump in near the last known coordinates of an enemy ship.

Half of the ships are having technical problems or are out of position at first. Mike orders the deployment of additional sensor probes normally used against the Neeran, increasing the overall beam detection range of those ships that still have them.

A lucky hit from the detection beams is just enough for the Dragoons to triangulate a location and micro jump in closer. The squadron opens fire in every direction, scoring a phase cannon hit and forcing the scout ship to decloak, raise shields and flee.

Even though the Dragoons are not in ideal position to quickly intercept it doesn't take long to change that. The Frigate takes considerable damage to the outer hull and engines before it can be brought to a halt.
While potentially salvageable it's going to need some time in the yards.

You were expecting a Silent Hunter, not a ship built off a modified Factions Frigate chassis. Its profile is more bulky than Rovinar cloaked ships, but the Dominion design can potentially carry more troops and cargo to be inserted for special operations.

Mike's taskforce heads out after additional targets in order of proximity.

"Those cloaked ships will cause more trouble than simply reporting on your positions if you're not careful. You might need to be on the lookout for sabotage or attempts to incite uprisings."

Did you want to take any special precautions against special forces? Keeping the planetary shields up whenever possible on worlds not under direct threat of attack could offer more protection for them but could also hinder logistics.

You could have light and attack cruisers from your reserves deploy a similar scanning formation in the Smugger's Run to look for ships there.

[ ] Raise planetary shields
[ ] Run Patrols with reserves
[ ] Other

>>47844523

[X] Run Patrols with reserves

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>>47844523
>[ ] Run Patrols with reserves
Raise military and police readiness, which goes without saying due to imminent invasion.

Don't suppose it's worth it to start rolling propaganda in the style of ww2 to help combat enemy infiltration?

>>47844523
>[x] Run Patrols with reserves
>[x] Other
Instate a curfew?

>>47844523
[x] Both

Report ALL suspicious activity to your local PDF.

Not hat you know they work similar modifications will be made to ships back in the Run to help search for cloaked ships trying to find weak points in the defenses.

>>47844785
>>47844629
>Don't suppose it's worth it to start rolling propaganda in the style of ww2 to help combat enemy infiltration?
Worth a shot, though it might be a bit late.

>>47844686
>Instate a curfew?
Could prove difficult in certain areas where people work at all hours. Otherwise it's not a bad idea to keep non essentials off the street as much as possible.

>>47845015
We could use those PDAs we handed our to colonists on Rioja as tracking and identification devices. If the police sees people walking down the street but they get no signal from their PDAs, or owner data doesn't match the person carrying it, the police stops and IDs them.

Oh god they're deploying lots of supers and heavies and it's finally dawned on me how tough this is going to be.

I'm desperately trying to think of any last minute advantages we can scramble together, or some ancient superweapon we can unearth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m-vRZnUFxg

Mike's unit has managed to take down 4 cloaked ships by the time elements of the enemy main fleet begin to arrive.

Bouncing signals off of the many com buoys in the area Arron reports that most of the leading wave have jumped in within weapons range of the nav station. Most of these consist of older Battleships and light cruisers covering Republic built Ballista class carriers. While inferior in most respects the Ballista can launch all of their fighters simultaneously.

Soon there are more than three thousand starfighters spreading out to secure the area.

Ranks of corvette squadrons are next, made up largely of Mark 2 attack corvettes, though some are still using the larger Mark 1's. Arron estimates at least 90 wings have jumped in within his detection range. Jamming has also started to increase with the arrival of additional support ships. Thankfully they're able to cut through it for the moment.

"I'll try to get readings on as many of them as possible. If we lose coms I'll pull back once they start to move."

Bigger ships start to revert, positioned safely behind the defensive screen of smaller ships. At the center of the formation appears the mobile fortress, dropping out of FTL so close to the smaller corvette screen that its reversion nearly damages them.

"That mobile fortress may have some problems with her drive systems. The energy discharge from her reversion was way higher than it should have been. Maybe there wasn't enough time for a proper shakedown? IFF shows her as the Chhogori... fuck me that thing has a lot of guns."

Three EX Mega class supers outfitted with Helios siege guns drop out in flanking positions followed by heavy cruisers and carriers. Several of the Talos class heavy carriers are present as are more cheaply built models Bonrah has been assembling from heavy asteroid tugs.

It's difficult to get an exact fix on the number of support craft that follow their arrival.

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Other scouts report additional enemy ships arriving in surrounding systems. All show no signs of movement aside from those secure the space around the nav station and covering more arriving friendlies.

Intel believes that 30% of the enemy fleet still hasn't arrived yet.

Did you want to conduct raids or have ships jump in at long range to launch missiles and torps in an effort to provoke them?
Or would you rather wait and see what their plan is and react to their movements?

>>47846223
Let's see if we can't provoke them into an aggressive stance. We need to engage them piecemeal.

>>47846223
Will we get reinforcements, or are we expected to deafeat that fleet with what we have in the relay?

>>47846223
If we can catch a few of their lighter units unsupported I'm completely in favor of hitting them with overwhelming force quickly. Mixed wings drop in, catch attack Corvettes in a head to head and rip their guts out before jumping back out.

>>47846223
Harass them. I want to throw a comet at them like the Neeran did but I doubt we have the time to get it ready.

>>47846223
Do we have any stealth casings? I want to generate an overcharged AM torp and sneak it into the middle of their formations, try wiping out all their launched starfighters.

>>47846103
>Three EX Mega class supers outfitted with Helios siege guns
How does Forbearance compare to these? I remember something about older versions of the Mega being pretty low quality ships.

>>47846296
>Will we get reinforcements, or are we expected to deafeat that fleet with what we have in the relay?
Due to the recent battle in the Centri cluster your allies will be unable to send a relief force in the immediate future.

Best case scenario due to the 10 days needed to reach the relay from Gesaur is 24 days for earliest reinforcements.

>>47846564
>Do we have any stealth casings?
Some have been stockpiled for use by special forces and a number of other operations. These numbers are finite. Generally your Knights will keep 1 aboard their ships for use as a stealth probe, normally bought with their own funds.

Your engineers have been working on a prototype stealth casing for a heavy torpedo cobbled out of several smaller ones that were disassembled. Only 1 is available at this time. Due to the blockade that will be taking effect more of these can only be built at a rate of about 1 per week, otherwise you'll quickly deplete your stockpile.

>>47846635
>How does Forbearance compare to these?
Despite it's rebuilds (and possible structural problems that run the risk of reappearing in the future) Forbearance is a very powerful ship. Upgrades to its sublight drives using Terran built components mean that it can outrun any of the Mega class variants currently in use.
Weapons and power systems are also of very good quality.
Most Mega class in Dominion use tend to be used as dumping grounds for outdated capacitor banks and power systems that still have a few decades left before they burn out. Because of the Super's size it lets them just throw more on. This does not do their sublight performance any favours, but they tend to be slow enough that few care.

Newer heavier weapons found on them tend to be of better quality than seen elsewhere in the Dominion. Major Houses have gone to great lengths to bring their firepower up to par with what the Alliance was using 2-3 years ago.
In a prolonged battle the older power systems may not be able to match demands.

>>47846993
>Only 1 is available at this time.
Oh man we should definitely at least try it then.

>>47846993
Has Helios officially entered the war by now?

>>47847046
Not against a bunch of fighters. Save it for a superheavy or the fortress.

>>47846993
What's the largest type of ship the 4 siege Decis we've built are able to destroy in one salvo if they focus their fire? Older generation medium cruisers?

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I just had an idea for a modification of the Avalanche class. I need pictures of the Orta Hone Hone from OutlawStar!

>>47847133
>Older generation medium cruisers?
Not even.
A Battlecruiser would be more realistic. The light siege guns need sustained fire to do damage. That's why the Jupiter class they were stripped off of was firing 5 of them in sequence.

1) Did you want to have a stealth Antimatter torpedo launched against the enemy fleet? Presumably it would do a fair amount of damage to the corvette screen. It's doubtful it would make it all the way to the capital ships.

1A) Launch Torpedo
1B) Save for later

2) Launch weak raids against the enemy main fleets while they wait for the rest of their fleet to arrive?
2A) Yes
2B) No

>>47847360
1B
2A

We should make sure our skirmishers are lead by people who know what they're doing. Any mistake in this situation is likely to be fatal.

>>47847360
[x] 1A
Thin their numbers!

[x] 2A

>>47847360
1a and 2a

>>47847360
1A) Launch Torpedo
2A) Yes

>>47847360
1A) Launch Torpedo

2B) No

Let's switch to launching a bunch of torpedoes to take advantage of the thinned out corvette screen

>>47847360
Kim will work out a way for his people to safely deploy a large warhead in a timely manner.
He'll coordinate with skirmishing units under the command of Drake and your other allies.

Only attack ships capable of launching missile or torpedoes will be sent in to keep others from getting in the way during the attack and retreat phases.

See you in the morning!

What happens if the containment systems on a gravity well generator fail?

Does it produce a black hole bomb?

Bump

bump

>>47847360
>1B
>2A) Yes

>>47849210
If the gravity well was active when it happened it will probably eat part of the ship. There are contingency measures in place to prevent (or reduce the likelihood of) the complete destruction of the ship should this happen.
It does not have the mass necessary to sustain itself and will rapidly evaporate, though this may still take the better part of an hour.

Ber'helum and the Alliance have been looking at ways to potentially weaponize this but for now any attempt would result in damage to the ship in a best case scenario.

>>47853884
Also let's get a 1d100 for that torpedo.

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>47854062
>1d100
Rolling!

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>47854062

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>47854062
So if they ejected the black hole and used something to accelerate it, like our gelsan array, would that make a singularity projector?

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>47854062
Oh crap.

>>47853884
>Ber'helum and the Alliance have been looking at ways to potentially weaponize this but for now any attempt would result in damage to the ship in a best case scenario.

Wouldn't it make sense to deploy dedicated fire ships in that case? Throw out all the the sensor equipment and security measures, shove the remaining black hole machinery into a destroyer or light cruiser hull, put that stealth coating on the hull, and then fly it into enemy formations or capital ships.

>>47854146
So close

Didn't J-D manage to capture one of the early Neeran shroud generators a while back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTstNuaJXqM

Raider squadrons sent in by Drake and your other allies micro jump in outside of the effective range of energy weapons and begin to launch torpedoes and missiles. Squadrons generally fire off two volleys before changing course and jumping out.

Despite their range it doesn't stop elements of the enemy fleet from returning fire. Most of the big ships hold back for fear of hitting their escorts and even some of the corvettes have to watch for their starfighters.

Arron is still loitering in the area but is quickly pulling back to avoid being hit by stray fire.

Before the first wave of warheads even reach their targets the Nasidum forces decide how to counter your tactics. They launch their own barrage of torpedoes, multiple waves intended to deny your units places to micro jump in without the risk of encountering them.

"They're wasting a lot of torpedoes." observes Maybourne.

They're not really wasted if they keep your ships from doing their job. Kim had better hurry up and get that torpedo away before there are no safe places to approach from.

"The torpedo is away." reports Kim not long after.

"Really? I didn't see it launched."
"That was the point wasn't it?"

Interceptor missiles are launched by a few of the newer Aries built ships as the torped waves close in. There aren't enough to prevent all of them from reaching their targets. The occasional corvette is destroyed and larger ships that take enough damage pull back behind the rest of the screen.

The heavy warhead is quite close to the outer screen when it's detected. A few of the older model ECM battleships they have fitted with additional sensors must have picked them up.

Some nearby ships move to intercept while others pull back in an attempt to keep out of range. When a combination of weapons fire and proximity sensors set off the AM warhead it annihilates everything nearby, instantly erasing 2 corvettes squadrons and damaging 30 other ships.

Starfighters that were nearby also must have taken a heavy dose of radiation. Some of them pull back to carriers while others are launched to take their place.

Drake reports that the missile and torpedo screens launched by the enemy fleet are now making it almost impossible to safely deploy raiding forces against the main fleet. Unless you order otherwise they'll break off the attempt.
"They've more or less just mined the area around the station. We can try against the other fleets but there's no guarantee they won't do the same."

Intel reports that the enemy fleet is transmitting what may be a propaganda broadcast on the civilian com frequencies and via the public infonet in the region. They're announcing bounties have been placed on the heads of all Admirals and Nobles acting as fleet commanders in the region. This includes the Counts and Barons.

[ ] Jam them. Have hackers destroy data that reaches the net.
[ ] Counter them with bounties on their fleet commanders
[ ] "What's their bounty on me?"

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit I didn't get a fathers day card!
Back in 40-ish minutes.

>>47855337
>[ ] Jam them. Have hackers destroy data that reaches the net.
>[ ] "What's their bounty on me?"

>>47855337
>[x] "What's their bounty on me?"
>[x] Jam them. Have hackers destroy data that reaches the net.

>>47855337
>[X] Jam them. Have hackers destroy data that reaches the net.
>[X] Counter them with bounties on their fleet commanders
>[X] "What's their bounty on me?"

All of the above.

>>47855337
We have hackers?

>>47855920
Intel does. Someone has to train all of the Marine intrusion specialists and protect House data networks from hostile attack.

>>47855420
>>47855435
>>47855473

"What's their bounty on me?"
"Half of your landholdings and industry on Rioja, though they don't specify what parts."

That is... not a small bounty.

"Jam them. Get intel to destroy any of that data that reaches the net. We can't have the unemployed mercenaries or bounty hunters getting it into their head to join the opposition."

It's a good thing your personal guard was expanded.

Any additional security precautions you want to put in place?

>>47856190
>Any additional security precautions you want to put in place?
Wear our PA all the time. If it's in maintenance, wear cell armor instead.

>>47856190
Offer minor payments for intelligence that leads to the capture/neutralisation of enemy saboteurs.

>>47856190
>That is... not a small bounty.
Wow. Pure curiosity, but are we the highest bounty offerd?

>>47856951
>Many hundreds of millions in land and business

It's a damn narrow field I expect

>>47857032
Yeah, but if we beat out the local head of the Royal House it still counts as bragging rights.

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>>47856951
At present yes.
You have not broken the record for largest bounty in the history of the Dominion though.

>>47856190
Bounties placed on the leaders of any House siding with your alliance are also quite substantial. Fortunately most of them are listed as needing to take the person alive. Dead they're worth 10% of the full bounty.

As word of this gets out it may hurt morale.

For now you suit up in your armor and suggest that minor rewards be made available to those helping to prevent sabotage.You hope it doesn't lead to a witch hunt.

Once the last ships from the enemy fleet have arrived they open a channel to the Guild station and before long every ship that was docked begins to evacuate.

"What are they up to?" wonders Drake.
"They can't destroy a nav station." says Maybourne. "The Guild would blacklist them."

Once most of the ships have departed the main guns on the Chhogori are brought to bear and two of the turrets open fire. Beams from the Iratar siege weapons strike the upper and lower most points of the station core destroying the main communication and sensor arrays. Of the four beams one missed its target but it hardly makes a difference. No traffic is going in or out of the Relay from this end until they're rebuilt.

That may take months.

For now Nasidum and their allies look to be abandoning the station and have begun to align for a jump to attack Csontos. Smaller squadron level units are beginning to jump out in different directions, either to scout or begin raiding.

Can we counter-bounty the three lead commanders of the invasion fleet? Offer a significant portion of their fleet salvage as payment.

>>47857075
Can we drag a portion of their fleet out of jump with Bonrah's generator?

>>47857075
>Fortunately most of them are listed as needing to take the person alive
Who's unpopular enough to warrant the full bounty when killed?

>map
Where does the open route that's not to drh 2 lead?

>destroyed station
Can we use this to convince the terrans to allow a relief fleet through their territory?

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>>47857093
>Can we counter-bounty the three lead commanders of the invasion fleet?
>>47855337
>[ ] Counter them with bounties on their fleet commanders
Yes.

>>47857172
>Who's unpopular enough to warrant the full bounty when killed?
Generally lower ranked knights that might be too dangerous to capture. Mike for instance.

>Where does the open route that's not to drh 2 lead?
A Republic relay. They're neutral to the two sides as long as nobody sells their good quality plasma cannons. There are a large number of restrictions on transit through the region as a result of the Terran blockades.

The only real reinforcements that could come through there are mercenaries from PCCG space.

>destroyed station
The station was not destroyed, just the main communication and sensor arrays.

>>47857075
We should definitely use this as political leverage. Can we inform all guild stations we're in contact with about what they're doing? Might hamper future fleet movements by them.

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>>47857132
>Can we drag a portion of their fleet out of jump
The Grav Well that Ber'helum when to great effort to get to you? Possibly if you can get it into position in time. That could be very difficult as your fleets are parked back closer to the local Ruling House capital. The enemy has only a short jump to make, though with more ships.

Did you guys want to try and get a fleet into place for a drag and drop?
Remember that it takes time to disengage the gravity well once active so it will take time to retreat.

>>47857568
>A Republic relay.
Can we ask the Republic and isolationist Neeran for some low-key support? We stopped that city ship from crashing into their capital, after all.

>>47857623
Do we know how many ships have split off to go around the nav hazard?

>>47857623
Did we get get the drop them in minefield plan set up?

Sorry, my post didn't go through.

>>47857660
>Can we ask the Republic and isolationist Neeran for some low-key support? We stopped that city ship from crashing into their capital, after all.
Discreet inquiries will be made.

>Do we know how many ships have split off to go around the nav hazard?
Before the stations sensor arrays were destroyed your allied agents within the guild were reporting that a force was starting to jump towards the edges of the relay.
The sensor ship you had stationed in that direction has also picked up their movement. It's a force of several hundred ships at minimum and looks to include support craft and cargo ships.

>>47857706
>Minefield
You may not even have time to get there before they pass let alone power up the gravity well and deploy mines.
This would not be a battle suited to a minelayer action.

[ ] Try to intercept with grav well, we may catch some of them in time
[ ] Hold off and prepare for other operations

>>47858022
>[ ] Hold off and prepare for other operations

>>47858022
>[ ] Hold off and prepare for other operations
I think the enemy forces are still too concentrated at the moment.

>It's a force of several hundred ships at minimum and looks to include support craft and cargo ships.
I would guess they're planning to get the grounded ships into this fight.

>>47858022
[X] Hold off.

A shame we couldn't get a minefield in place, I mentioned it a few times in previous threads.

With the Nasidum fleet's arrival at Csontos they've begun a large scale bombardment to bring down the planetary shields. While they've been reinforced since the Ruling House retook the planet they're no match against such a large fleet.

Count Al'mari wants to contest the enevitable toop landing during the planetary assault with hopes of causing excessive casualties to the enemy. That won't be possible without the full support of the other commanders.

"Viscount Reynard, their fleet has settled into high orbit of the planet. Outside the gravity well still but it would take time for their larger ships to break orbit and jump. Do you believe this would be a good opportunity to bring our reserves and heaviest bombardment weapons into play?"

>What say?

>>47858701
It seems like a decent opportunity for a hit and run with our long range weapons. I'm not exactly comfortable commiting all our forces to a battle around the asteroid fortress at this point.

What do the other commanders think?

>>47858701
Do we know the location of their smaller ships? I feel like it's a pretty obvious trap.

>>47858926
Basically agree.

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Apparently I neglected to post these two responses.
>>47854140
You'd just be moving the black hole and the gravity well rather than projecting a cone of increased gravity.

>>47854462
>Wouldn't it make sense to deploy dedicated fire ships in that case?
Gravity well generators can be used as fire ships. Ones lacking the necessary containment systems would not be able to carry or generate a singularity.
>shove the remaining black hole machinery into a destroyer or light cruiser hull
An extremely large battleship is the size limitation imposed by current technology. At this point the miniaturization of technology necessary to use a BS instead of a Medium would actually make it more expensive not less.

This technology is still in its infancy.

>>47858958
>Do we know the location of their smaller ships?
A screen of more than 10k corvettes surrounds the heaviest elements of the enemy fleet at Csontos. Some of them are contributing to the orbital bombardment.

Smaller squadron sized elements are spreading out through allied space. Most of that region has been evacuated. The forward most logistics base has been sabotaged by engineering units that are standing by to destroy it. If they lose communications and are attacked they'll play it safe and detonate the station early.

>>47858926
>What do the other commanders think?
Earl Tarse-enic thinks it's a bad location to deploy the gravity well and too early to bring in the Siege Array. Instead they would prefer to set a trap along the main trade lane by positioning a fleet there that the enemy will detect and move against.

Baron Anitol and several others believe that all contact with the enemy should be avoided until more of their recon assets are destroyed. Two other groups are being prepared to help Mike's fleet in tracking down and destroying cloaked ships.

>>47858926
>hit and run with our long range weapons.
The siege array being incapable of a quick hit and run due to its deployment time would not be able to participate.
Forbearance and their escort, along with the Helios AM launcher might be fast enough.

[ ] Hit and run with fast light ships
[ ] Hit and run with long range ships
[ ] Do not contest Csontos, focus on killing enemy scouts
[ ] Do not contest Csontos, set a trap along main trade lane

>>47859853
>[ ] Hit and run with fast light ships

>>47859853
>[ ] Hit and run with long range ships
We should still focus on getting the enemy scouts. Setting a trap without getting rid of these first seems unlikely to work.

>>47859853
>[x] Do not contest Csontos, focus on killing enemy scouts


[x] Let Daska take over, oh god.

>>47859494
[ ] Hit and run with long range ships
Keep a constant pressure on them. We can't stop raiding them for even a moment or they will catch their breath.

>>47859853
[ ] Hit and run with fast light ships, focus on killing enemy scouts and set a trap along main trade lane.

That graveyard outside of everyone influence cut off by Nav Hazards. Since they brought a bunch of support ships that way can we expect them to set up a salvage base there? Its a lucrative source of replacement parts and depending what they brought with them, could use it to replace ship losses.

Also at this point I'm inclined to go full total war mode and deny them their grounded assets in our rear line by bombardment

>>47859991
>>47860013
>>47860039
2 votes for hit and raid in some manner and 2 votes for taking out the enemy scouts.

Either way more efforts will be put into taking out the scout ships.

The Run Alliance fleet commanders are disappointed by the lack of a decisive attack plan from you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl3WeXFnZBg

Drake and the other forward unit commanders send out additional skirmishing units to intercept the enemy squadrons scouting the forward areas.

Cloaked ships are apparently busy finding and disabling minor communications transmitters making it more difficult for sensor arrays to work in conjunction to track their movements. It will also make it easier for jamming to cut off your squadrons.

Hera reports that some of the enemy squadrons detected are made up of mercenaries. A few look to be equipped with some very advanced upgrades, or at least better than they'd usually be carrying.

"We're seeing numbers of a heavily modified Razor class with some of them. They seem to be carrying more of everything, even afterburners."

Com and sensor coverage of the forward areas begins to stutter from jamming and when they recover you see contacts of multiple units closing on Hera's position.

"Not this again. Boosalis to Drake, they're after my command ship. Performing a fighting withdrawal, it'll try to draw them away while my slower ships escape."

[ ] Send reinforcements
[ ] Let Drake handle it, focus on other enemies

>>47860829
>The Run Alliance fleet commanders are disappointed by the lack of a decisive attack plan from you.

I think we should try to bog down the enemy fleet around Csontos as long as possible. Just not with a large fleet action as our enemy will most likely have a definite advantage in that kind of engagement.

We should attempt constant raids with different tactics. Cold launch torpedoes, pot shots at hostile ships who are out of position with siege weapons, harassment of enemy recon elements. I'm sure the large pool of officers we have will be able even more ideas. Choosing between hit&run with certain ship types make little sense. If we can pull it off without significant losses, the idea is generally worth pursuing.

The enemies have commited to the invasion it seems, while we can deploy our forces where we want. We should take advantage of that.

>[x] Let Drake handle it, focus on other enemies

>>47861031
Anyone up for this plan?

>>47861031
>>47861148
I am game for this. Keeping up a constant array of attacks on their fleet will sap their stamina and moral as they are stuck here while we are not. With any luck they will send out forces to try to counter us which we can then envelop and destroy.

>[ ] Let Drake handle it, focus on other enemies
Drake is a big girl.

>>47861148
Sure, it's pretty much the only suggestion so far.

I have no idea how to fight an extended engagement on this level.

>>47861219
Yeah, it's definitely something we're new to.

Considering our enemy has just blown up the direct connection to the main dominion territory, I think they'll focus on taking as much infrastructure as quickly as possible.

We have an entire relay of manufacturing infrastructure available, while they don't. Even if every large ship in their fleet is filled with nothing but manufacturing modules, they'll never be able to outproduce us.

What we really need to make clear to our crews is that we can replace most equipment losses within a month or less, while replacing our soldiers isn't that easy.

>>47860829
>Enemy fleets
>1x Asteroid Fortress
>3x EX-Mega Super Heavy Cruisers
>?x Heavy Cruiser
>?x Heavy Carrier
>?x ?
Were our scouts able to find more about the enemy fleet?

I'm still of the opinion that Eldal and Sonia should do a solo infiltration mission to kill the three dukes in charge.

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Could we get a larger map of this area, please?

It's occurred to me that Sonia might not have the right mindset for this portion of the campaign.

In every engagement she's fought in, she's been either offensively raiding or skirmishing. By the time she was deployed to Shallan space, it had already ground to a standstill and we could trade back and forth quite reliably.

This is a pure defensive war, though. They have no fixed positions to attack, no critical infrastructure, nothing to tie them down. They could set a course for Rioja and bombard it from orbit and there'd not be a lot we could do about it.

As >>47861368 mentioned though, they have nothing to replace any losses either. We've already wiped out two corvette squadrons, which is two squadrons less we'll be sing deployed.

We need to bleed them at every step. Make any of their salvage attempts futile by thoroughly destroying ships we lose, harass any of their larger ships with fleets they can't catch. Traps, ambushes, mobile defenses.

We gotta make this space Vietnam.

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>>47861368
>Were our scouts able to find more about the enemy fleet?
These plus one Jupiter class transport that's been converted into a warship, similar to the one you fought at Magdalena.

>>47861603
Will do.

>>47861909
Do our allies know what kind of ships the ones without names are?

>Will do.
Thank you.

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>>47861603
Better?

>>47862078
>Do our allies know what kind of ships the ones without names are?
Top middle one is the Ceres asteroid tug modified into a carrier.
The other two are a pair of experimental heavy cruisers built over the past few years to compete for Alliance contracts.
Intel has designated the lower left as the "Boli" and lower right as "Chining."

>>47862418
Send warning about that fleet that went around the nav hazard if we have t done so yet.

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>>47862418
>Better?
Yes, thank you.

>"Chining."
Can part of the ship detach from the rest of the hull to act as a medium/heavium cruiser?

>Plan
Okay, here's a rough idea how a fighting retreat in 4 stages over the next few days or weeks could work. The yellow X would be a suggested location for the ambush one commander suggested.

>other
Has anybody we know recently commanded large scale defensive actions against neeran fleets? We could probably use some advice how to deal with this situation.

>>47861909
Please tell me they decided to skip medium cruisers entirely with that line-up.

Drake helps to pull her subordinate out of the fire, though with the new model Eminence II fitted with afterburners it's almost unnecessary.

Both report back on the new enemy Razor upgrade. It looks like they've been fitted for both ramming and boarding actions.

>>47862450
Ber'helum scouts from near the Terran side nav station are keeping watch for signs of the fleet.

The sensor ship that tracked their movement around the edge of the Nav Hazard could try to follow to see where they've gone.

>>47862791
>Can part of the ship detach from the rest of the hull to act as a medium/heavium cruiser?
No, it's a copyright infringement reference.

>>47862870
You are not that lucky. They do lack in terms of fast mediums though.

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>>47862939
Aww, it would make for a unique design. The base section is highly automated, so if it runs into trouble it can't deal with, part of the ship is dropped to act as an autonomous gun and drone platform, while the rest of the ship fucks off to safety.

>Ber'helum scouts from near the Terran side nav station are keeping watch for signs of the fleet.
Would it be feasible to mine space around the hostile worlds?

File: Spoiler Image (1.31 MB, 3200x2800)

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Two of the Ascendancy class ships are doing the usual Heavy Cruiser/Carrier thing. The third is not, being fitted largely for straight up combat.

Also
>>47861368
>1x Asteroid Fortress
NOTE: 1x Mobile Fortress
There is a difference which was discussed in previous threads.

>>47863036
>Would it be feasible to mine space around the hostile worlds?
It could be, but doing so will deplete a substantial amount of your mine reserves.

>>47861031
>>47862791

Current plan of action:
>bog down the enemy fleet around Csontos as long as possible.
>constant raids with different tactics. Cold launch torpedoes, pot shots at hostile ships who are out of position with siege weapons, harassment of enemy recon elements.

The main fleets will move up closer to support the raiding actions. When the enemy begins to deploy larger groups of its fleet in response your forces will stage fighting retreats to preselected locations. These will mainly be bases or colonies with heavier defenses.

If possible attempts will be made to set up a ambush along the main trade lane. Every effort will be made to hinder their advance or deny resources to their fleet.

The Count warns that if they split up to deal with your main fleets they may be reluctant to deploy along the main lane.

Are you otherwise ok with this course of action?

>>47863428
Would it be possible to evacuate production facilities from the area?

>The Count warns that if they split up to deal with your main fleets they may be reluctant to deploy along the main lane.
Which location would he suggest?

>Are you otherwise ok with this course of action?
Is this a sensible plan? I have no idea how large scale space strategy works in the 41st century.

>>47863428
Seem like the spirit of it as we've agreed to before. Fight tooth and nail. Give nothing and deny them everything.

>>47857568
>Generally lower ranked knights that might be too dangerous to capture. Mike for instance.

I would like to suggest we offer twice the bounty they receive on everybody who collects on a dead knight.

Random idea: New that REQM is doing a recap, would it be possible to do something like that next time we run a on/off thread? I think it could be enjoyable to see things through Linda's eyes, or Bekka's, or whoever could offer a new perspective.

posted before finishing the sentence last time.

>>47863428
>The Count warns that if they split up
I actually wouldn't mind them splitting up. That's smaller pieces we can pounce on with everything we have.

If they ever deploy one of their supers solo we should hit it with the array as hard as we can.

>>47863519
>Is this a sensible plan? I have no idea how large scale space strategy works in the 41st century.
Your allies agree that it seems sensible enough but extra care will have to be taken to prevent the attacking units from being overwhelmed.

>Which location would he suggest?
"Keeping them off the main lane will slow their overall advance and may help us more in the long term.
Battles along the lane will be much more decisive one way or another. It's more dangerous for our smaller numbers but offers some of the best chances to deploy the array and gravity well.
Each has their advantages and disadvantages to be aware of."

Baron Usela suggests that if a substantial fleet is lured onto the main line a good ambush point might be just before a heavily defended world, dragging part of their fleet out of FTL. Alternatively, trying to catch them between your fleet and a planet's defenses could work too but might be harder to avoid friendly fire.

File: My God! It's full of stars!.webm (2.72 MB, 718x404)

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>>47863774
Considered doing that the other day when I realised there wouldn't be time to run a full thread.
I don't know, we'll see.

>I think it could be enjoyable to see things through Linda's eyes
That reminds me. Linda is off having "FUN" aboard an experimental navigator ship investigating wormhole phenomena in ways that were not expressly outlined in her contract beforehand.

>>47864022
>Linda is off having "FUN" aboard an experimental navigator ship

Staying on Sonia's ship would have probably been more comfy at this point.

>>47863819
>Baron Usela

I can already see my phone turning him into Baron Useless tomorrow.

So apparently my boss wanted me to come into work this entire weekend but my spambox intercepted all of my co-workers emails, and my phone was still out of action until its card could be put into a new one late yesterday.

>>47864303
RIP in peace TSTG's job
It isn't that bad, right?

>>47864303
oh dear

take care of yourself

>>47864303
Ouch. Not good.

Hurray! MORE TIME FOR H&D!

>>47864339
He said not to worry about it so they must have figured something out. I will probably get bitched at by said coworker for the rest of the month.
Until I'm told otherwise I'm still heading in at noon tomorrow and will try to resume around 9PM EST.

Alright let's figure out this campaign.

>>47862939
>Ber'helum scouts from near the Terran side nav station are keeping watch for signs of the fleet.

I think we should start looking for a commander who's adept at micromanaging. Considering the relatively low number of ships sent around the nav hazard, I would suggest we try to deal with it mostly with reserve forces.

And those will probably benefit a lot from a hands-on approach.

>The sensor ship that tracked their movement around the edge of the Nav Hazard could try to follow to see where they've gone.
Seems dangerous, would a sensor ship be able to flee into deep space to avoid combat?

How long (threads) do you figure this invasion will go on for by the way?

>>47861909
>>47862418
>Top middle one is the Ceres asteroid tug modified into a carrier.
I was really worried that it could be a scrap cannon design.

>>47864820
As few as possible. It's taking longer than I thought it would to mentally get the ball rolling. This past Tuesday would have been much better.

Confirmation that Forbearance will be taking part in the hit and fade operations?

If yes roll 6d20 for Forbearance gunnery accuracy.

>>47865783
>Confirmation that Forbearance will be taking part in the hit and fade operations?
If we do I'd like to keep the ship's involvement limited, and make sure we know where the enemy ships with siege weapons are before we commit to a fight.

Rolled 51, 52, 25, 93, 53, 54 = 328 (6d100)

>>47865783
Big ass superheavy in hit-and-run work? I gotta see this.

Rolled 6, 13, 6, 11, 9, 10 = 55 (6d20)

>>47865783
Rollin thunder!

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>47865783
>>47865918
Seems like people want to bring forbearance. Better get my rolls in.
1

>>47865984
D100s.

>>47865918
The crew will attempt to jump the ship in where the heaviest weapons from the enemy fleet can't quickly be brought to bear.
Their EX Mega's will be prepared for subsequent attacks but the mobile fortress can't bring its most powerful weapons to bear along it's equator. Or at least this version cant.

>>47865959
Not really meant for it but the Forbearance is a little bit faster than most. It'll still need time to jump back out though.

>>47865959
>>47865996
Guys I asked for d20's.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>47865783
1

>>47865996
>D100s.
Oops, I'm an idiot. Sorry.

>>47866027
Just noticed that.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>47866037
2

Rolled 10, 8, 3, 1, 1, 1 = 24 (6d20)

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>47866054
3

Rolled 14, 17, 9, 9, 18, 14 = 81 (6d20)

>>47866027
Whoopsie.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>47866066
4

>>47866056
Yikes!

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>47866090
5

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>47866122
6

>10, 13, 6, 11, 17, 10
Not particularly impressive.

>>47866027
>It'll still need time to jump back out though.
Sideways jumping when?

>>47866166
Well, there goes that asset...

>>47866224
It's only a bad roll by Sonia's standards. It's still slightly above average for 6d20.

>>47866166
Ughhh, it's going to be one of those sessions where every roll is massively average when we need to perform well consistently.

>>47866526
I'm really tempted to stop rolling as we've always managed to miss a much better 4th roll so far.

>>47866590
If I hadn't posted we would have scored a 99 on the AM torp.

Drake and her people are kept busy countering the enemy squadrons scouting space nearest the nav station. Having so many ships assigned to help Mike in hunting down cloaked ships would have hurt their numbers if you hadn't diverted them from your own fleet.

The majority of your remaining fleets are used in the raids against the enemy main fleet in some capacity.

It's a good thing you and your allies produce torpedoes and other warheads because today within minutes after the first attacks are launched it's difficult to be certain just how many have been used.

"Expend your ordinance, not your lives." Is the general order of the day.

Forbearance makes its attack run, firing off its main guns at maximum range and hoping for a good hit. Escorting Monitors fire off their smaller plasma cannons and torpedo batteries in support.
One of the Iratar cannons gives a glancing hit but the rest are more on target, hammering the fortress shields and wrecking any of the smaller ships that might have been in the way.

They jump out before much in the way of return fire can be brought against them and it takes a half hour to set up for another attack run. It's another 30 minutes before a good opening appears during which time Kim has been using the Helios AM launcher as much as he dares.

Ruling House and Ber'helum ships have been doing their part as have the minor Houses but none of them have risked bringing in a heavy warship.

Understandably Foss has held back towards the 3rd line. They can't afford to throw away resources the same way you can.

>>47866749
>Understandably Foss has held back towards the 3rd line. They can't afford to throw away resources the same way you can.

Wouldn't it make sense to use his forces against the smaller fleet that's most likely sneaking around to the terran relay? They don't seem to have any ships with siege weapons.

Forbearance completes its second attack run then pulls back to a safer distance to see if the enemy will pursue. For now they're holding their position, weathering the storm as their troops take the surface of the planet.

Based on the hits Forbearance has been able to land on it so far intel estimates that it will take a sustained bombardment to bring down its shields. One that you couldn't afford to keep up.
It will take multiple hits even from the siege array in order to seriously harm it.

Earl Tarse-enic contacts you. "They've begun rotating their corvette screens and interlocking their shields in tighter wall formations. Heavy weapons like those on your super can break them but the repair bays on their carriers will cut down on overall losses."

"How long can they keep it up?"

"A long time. Long enough to take the planet and secure it against assault from our forces. They're already sending equipment to the surface. Industrial modules they brought with them. Who knows what other toys that fortress of theirs might be carrying."

[ ] Keep up the pressure
[ ] Try something else

>>47866847
You guys want to send him out in that direction?

>>47867035
Don't really know what else we can do other than to order everyone to focus fire on one target but I think we've been doing that already.

>>47867035
>Based on the hits Forbearance has been able to land on it so far intel estimates that it will take a sustained bombardment to bring down its shields.
Can we switch targets to the heavies and super heavies instead?

>>47867035
Ah fuck it, can we just start chucking asteroids at the planet now?

>>47867204
>Can we switch targets to the heavies and super heavies instead?
Yes, just be aware that some of them may be able to maneuver to avoid the worst of it. Because of this especially against heavy cruiser and carrier you'll have to hit a higher target number.

The other Megas will also be better prepared to target Forbearance in any more runs it carries out.

>>47867260
Yes, but be aware that you can still be charge for war crimes later if they hit the planet.

[ ] Keep up the pressure
[ ] Attacks by Forbearance against EX Megas (roll 6d20)
[ ] Attacks by Forbearance against Heavies (roll 6d20)
[ ] Asteroid bombardment

See you in the morning!

>>47867349
>[X] Keep up the pressure

>>47867349
>[x] Keep up the pressure

>They're already sending equipment to the surface. Industrial modules they brought with them. Who knows what other toys that fortress of theirs might be carrying."

They wouldn't risking bringing cloning technology, right?

>>47867349
>Choices

How much damage have the attacks done so far?

Rolled 18, 7, 3, 7, 16, 19 = 70 (6d20)

>>47867349
>[ ] Attacks by Forbearance against Heavies (roll 6d20)

Rolled 19, 13, 20, 7, 7, 7 = 73 (6d20)

>>47867349
[ ] Attacks by Forbearance against Heavies (roll 6d20)

Rolled 20, 1, 19, 15, 14, 20 = 89 (6d20)

>>47867349
[ ] Attacks by Forbearance against EX Megas (roll 6d20)

>>47870478
2 critical success, 1 critical failure and the rest decent. Not to bad. You can switch my vote to attack the heavies if noo e else wants to hit the megas

>>47868057
>They wouldn't risking bringing cloning technology, right?
While unlikely it's not impossible.
Unless the campaign were to last more than a month it would be of little use.

>>47868656
>How much damage have the attacks done so far?
Hard to say. Probably a wing of corvettes destroyed so far along with some light cruisers and battleships.

The attacks have forced them to expend large numbers of their interceptor missiles to shoot down incoming torpedoes.

By staying out of range your allies have only lost 3 ships.

>>47871054
I guess we do have a supply line advantage if we can keep them from seizing logistic bases and whatnot.

I feel we should prioritize that.

Anyways 20 13 20 15 16 20

Not bad.

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>>47870487
>You can switch my vote to attack the heavies if noo e else wants to hit the megas
3 votes for attacking the heavy cruisers vs 2 for Keeping up the pressure.

Forbearance jumps in once again, letting lose with their main guns. The forward guns land hits on on the Boli, once of them punching through a section of weakened shields. Aft guns strike a Talos heavy Carrier, doing enough shield damage to force them to roll, disrupting docking operations and damaging several smaller ships.

Return fire from the mega class ships hit Forbearance, one of them nearly punching through to the secondary shields, while others are only glancing hits. Two more shots pass through the same space seconds later, but after her jump.

"Looks like that did it. Elements of the Nasidum fleet are maneuvering and preparing to jump out of the system in pursuit."

The respective fleet commanders begin to recall the raiding forces and prepare to fall back. You're headed for the first logistics base when you get word that the Engineers have destroyed the fuel and munitions stores following an attack by enemy squadrons. It might have been a bit premature but better than the enemy getting it.

"Sir, it looks like the enemy fleet is splitting into two groups. The Fortress and half of their screen is remaining in orbit while all of the Mega class, 3 carriers and 2 heavy cruisers are launching on a pursuit course."

It looks like they're after Forbearance and its fleet. Did you want the respective allied fleets to pull back to the previously planned fallback points? Or did you want to try and combine your forces at one of the 4 locations?

>>47871555
This it is. The big moment. Draw them in with the Forbearance then jump in the rest of the frontline fleets and surround them. Bring in our Super Weapon and begin slagging their Megas while the generator holds them in place. With any luck we will be able to pincer them and inflict significant damage.

>>47871555
I think we should combine most of our fleets at the location with the least amount of larger static defences. Those siege guns will wreck anything larger than a medium cruiser easily, so we should avoid engagements around these for now.

Planet 4, maybe?

Also, have a token force keep up the raids.

How many ships do we have around the nav station to terran space?

Which turrets are the enemy super heavies using? The armored ones, or the other option?

>>47871617
>Draw them in with the Forbearance then jump in the rest of the frontline fleets and surround them.
The question is, where?

>Bring in our Super Weapon
It's back near Rioja hidden in the comet belt. It could probably be rushed to points 2 or 3 to more or less coincide with your arrival there.

>>47871652
>Which turrets are the enemy super heavies using?
Helios ones on the Mega class. They're sort of in between the two types of Alliance Turret.
The Fortress is using modified armored turrets with iratar guns but they're limited more by the design of the platform than the turret type.

>How many ships do we have around the nav station to terran space?
Not too many. Enough to patrol for incoming raiding units.

Question 1) Will you engage at 2 or 3 with the weapon array, or do battle near 4 without?

Question 2) Do you want Foss and his fleet (including one of your few supers) to look for enemies trying to connect with the grounded Bonrah fleets?

>>47872048
>Foss' super
I just don't see a way to make good use of that ship at the moment against the main enemy fleet. The siege weapons from 3 ex megas will very likely make short work of it, and unlike forbearance it cannot outrun them or engage them effectively at range.

Although I might be underestimating the strength of its shield compared to heavy cruisers.

>>47872303
The Sam Bellamy was upgraded as a result of its refit. It has anti-torpedo armor and shields just as strong as the enemy Mega class.
For long range firepower it only has the 2 Iratar siege cannons you've loaned them so it's not as good in a long range fight.

>I just don't see a way to make good use of that ship at the moment against the main enemy fleet.
It could act as an escort for the Array.

>>47872048
>enemies trying to connect with the grounded Bonrah fleets
A few questions about this:
-Are our scanner ships or arrays able to track the hostile fleet through the nav hazard?
-How long would it take for the grounded ships to return to space?
-How long would it take for some of our ships to relocate from the current area to these planets?

>>47872826
>-Are our scanner ships or arrays able to track the hostile fleet through the nav hazard?
There is some slight disruption from the hazard zones but they're mostly too far away to get a good reading.

>-How long would it take for the grounded ships to return to space?
Without damage to the planet? 20-30 minutes.
If they don't care about damage then roughly 4 minutes

>-How long would it take for some of our ships to relocate from the current area to these planets?
30-40 minutes best speed since not all are connected by a fast trade lane. The Ruling House still has a blockade force in place.

SURVEY! I'm headed to work!
surveymonkey com /r/ 6FQDSC7

>>47871555
In a perfect world. Stage fighting retreat to 4, have the array set up at 3 escorted by the mercs and the grav well as well as depolying the minefield. "Retreat in disarray", accidentally leak rally point pass 3, but have fleet rally at 3. When the enemy pursues with activate the grav well to trap the Supers right ontop of our fleet. Our fleet should be close enough that the big guns on the supers are of little use and the array can start to bombard them. Hopefully we can fuck them up before the rest of their fleet jumps out and back.

Lot of ifs and it depends on to many variables like not being spotted by cloaked ships and that the staged retreat dosnt become an actual rout and that they actually pursue us that far.

Otherwise just set up camp at 3. Its farthest away from the fortress so it should take awhile for it to get there if it has to come to the fleets aid.

>>47871555
Best bet as I see it would be to lead them to point 2. 1, 3 and 4 are colonies and the risk of civilian looses are thus much higher.

Converge around point 2 and make use of it's defenses to help stave off the enemy forces. With Forbearance, Pirate Mega and the RH Megas AND the siege Array we should be able to inflict some major damage on the assault enemy fleet. and once battle is engaged we can have one or two fleets jump them from behind.

Cripple their heavy ships there and they will be forced to relay on their Mobile Fortress and remaining heavies.

Making them attack 2 would also mean they are forced to expose their flank to attacks from 3 and 4 Also point 1 can serve as a good fallback point and large scale repair base..

>>47872921
Don't we have Medium Dominion Plasma weapon stations near 2? or was that 1?

>Linda is off having "FUN"
So, does continued contact with sonia give people a perk that grants them a lesser version of the best of 3 rolls rule but really fucks up their random encounter table?

>>47874213
I do believe we got 3 military stations around Magdalena that can take on a Medium cruiser. I don#t remember if they could solo them or could withstand the attacks of one indefinitely

We've upgraded several stations in the area with alliance shield platforms in the past. How well do these hold up against the iratar siege cannons?

This is gonna be a big one if we escalate against their 3 supers.

I hope we can persuade the Sulos forces to jump out when the battle starts to further the blow against the invaders.

>>30340403
>>30340504
Did the Alliance ever find out about this? Maybe the investigation into the nanite attack managed to uncover something?

>>47879779
I wouldn't be surprised if the sulos fleet is among those ships heading for the other end of the relay.

>>47879841
How old are the dead posts you're linking to and what are they about? I can't find them, too many archives have died recently.

>>47880307
>How old are the dead posts
A bit more than 2 years and 4 months.

> I can't find them,
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/30302243

>too many archives have died recently.
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/

>>47880466
Oh, the old Svidur coverup posts.

We've gotta find him one day. We just have to believe hard enough.

>>47880544
Do we know what imperial neeran do to isolationist they capture? I don't want to believe turning them into zombies and eating their organs is the standard procedure.

>>47842322


Aloha - over the past year I've been reading up on this quest and loving it. I am still too far behind to participate, but I want to thank TSTG and anons for bringing me hours of entertainment.

However, I do wonder about something. Back where I am at anons refuse vehemently Bekka's chance to join the special forces. Why? If you think big picture, then it makes sense for Sonia's siblings to branch out into different career paths. They will not only never measure up to her as a captain at this point, so if they wnat to make a name for themselves its easier done in different branches, but the Reynard Mega Corps that's slowly been growing can use various talents.

Anyhow, just my two cents - keep being awesome, while I keep reading (and upvoting) the archive!

>>47854898
I'm pretty sure we did. Although I'm not sure if we turned all of them over to the alliance. Can our house build them? One of these be super useful for our accelerator array.

>>47880748
>Why
The chance to survive an armed conflict on a ship with emergency teleporter, especially if you're on the bridge, seems pretty good in the House and Dominion universe at this point. Every other combat branch doesn't seem anywhere nearly as well off.

In addition to that, I was mostly worried Bekka would end up in an unmarked grave somewhere because spec ops troops don't seem to be worth the trouble capturing. I still think we should try to get Ethan in a career that keeps him out of the military.

>>47880748
>Why?
I think a lot of people felt that it would be a waste of Bekka's talent at piloting. I have to agree as everything we've seen in the quest so far points to that of ship commanding being a more prestigious position.

Furthermore, Sonia's always been a fleet combatant, but that hasn't ever stopped her going on her own Spec-ops missions at any time. If you think about it, joining the Fleet gives her a much wider range of options.

As >>47880894 said, Spec-ops troops -are- useful, but it's ultimately a more risky profession with less chance of survival.

(I think we should try turning Ethan into a genius Engineer to develop all the sweet loot we're going to haul back from the Dyson sphere.)

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>>47880968
>(I think we should try turning Ethan into a genius Engineer to develop all the sweet loot we're going to haul back from the Dyson sphere.)
"Ethan, I've seen you like 3 times in my life... are you still good at throwing stuff?
"Yes? Who are?"
"Excellent! You're going to become a STEM prodigy!"
"I... I need an adult."

Once these dumb wars are over Sonia should get a degree in something insane. Multi-dimensional physics so she can loot other dimensions more easily, or something like that.

>>47881028
>so she can loot other dimensions more easily,
TSTG already locked us down on that front when I specifically asked if we could use the Alliance wormhole generator to go to alternate realities and steal their loot.

>>47881068
He only said we should stop asking about it. If we actually started doing something...

I still want to reconnect to the original factions territory.

>>47881098
We should steal a Versa first.

> 02/24/14(Mon)21:36 No.30467639
>Dominion - Baron Dante Zvonimir
>Special: Walker unit/ boarding assault team

>Majority vote seems to be for the Terrans and Neeran, which is a little surprising considering the requests for cloaked ships earlier. Also, not one question about that Baron.

Huh, what a small universe.

>>47881802
What a masterfully crafted intertwining tapestry of story.

>>47879841
>Did the Alliance ever find out about this?
No.

This is why I worry about giving you guys as much fun stuff Sonia would never find out about because enough players will try to metagame it into the ground.
Admittedly you did ok with the somewhat weak salvage/Krath sidequest.

What Sonia is aware of having read reports about the incident:
The base it took place on was heavily damaged when the commander turned traitor and attempted to assassinate the highest ranking Alliance officers in the system. Had they been killed it would have left the local fleet with an uncertain chain of command when the Neeran attacked shortly afterwards.
Half the Admirals escaped and rallied their fleet but as they were outnumbered they were forced to retreat.
3/4 of the Terran Elite assault corvette pilots stationed there were also killed due to actions of the traitor before the battle started.

>Maybe the investigation into the nanite attack managed to uncover something?
The two things are unrelated if that's what you mean.
They have uncovered valuable intelligence about the Neeran as a result of the investigation. Unfortunately little of it can be shared with you due to restrictions imposed as a result of the civil war.

>>47854898
>Didn't J-D manage to capture one of the early Neeran shroud generators a while back?
>>47880894
>Although I'm not sure if we turned all of them over to the alliance. Can our house build them?
You captured some but they were handed over to the alliance for a salvage cash bonus. Your House R&D was stretched too thin just reverse engineering low quality cloaking shields. It was too advanced for your people to do anything with. Even now the advanced Rovinar cloak you've started using is more of a direct copy than anything built with your own tech.
Since the scans were taken of a prototype there may be weaknesses the Rovinar could use against it eventually.

Tons of lightning here. Hopefully will be able to keep posting.

>>47883036
>This is why I worry about giving you guys as much fun stuff Sonia would never find out about because enough players will try to metagame it into the ground.
That's pretty reasonable - but in the end you're the author and you can always just remind the players what Sonia knows and doesn't know.

>>47883036
>salvage/Krath sidequest.

Now that contact has been established with the other krath in watcher space, is it possible to avoid these scenarios?

>They have uncovered valuable intelligence about the Neeran as a result of the investigation.
Well, if the group was supposed to have AI support, they must have found a way to bring it along somehow on much smaller infrastructure than usual. Versa as an exchange officer soon?

>>47881098
Wait. The Centri cluster aint the original territories? Are we lost colonies?

>>47883442
During the world building threads the origins of the Factions in the Centri Cluster were discussed.

Basically they fled here from an alternate universe after an experiment went horribly wrong and seemed to be destroying all of subspace across the known universe. Side effects of this may also have been bleeding into real space. The end result was unknowable because as the event worsened FTL travel and communications in the areas closes to the epicenter degraded until they were unusable.

I haven't stated whether this is 100% canon or not.

After arriving in the Centri Cluster the Factions Treaty was created and the Terrans, Rovinar, Krath and the greater Dominion began settlement. Eventually this broke down into the Expeditionary Wars which lasted several centuries until the Faction Wars.

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>>47877765
>>47874213
>Don't we have Medium Dominion Plasma weapon stations near 2? or was that 1?
1 is Magdalena where you have stations which themselves have surrounding defensive platforms.
The decided upon defenses were more of a minimum of what you wanted built there. As other platforms elsewhere were completed additional available weapons were slowly sent there.

It looks like the vote is to pull back to the military base at 2, which is a planetary base. You've called ahead for them to be ready for your arrival.

The SRL Mercs and their Super will escort the array.

Space above the Bonrah worlds will be mined.

You have an opportunity to prepare the battlefield before the arrival of the enemy fleet.
As the planet lacks a suitable atmosphere for terraforming it's largely being used for hostile environment training, mining and construction. Your allies used an Alliance FOB to dig underground shafts for repair facilities. Corvettes will be able to make use of them quite easily. Launch repulsors can help push attack squadrons up to escape velocity.
There are surface based medium plasma cannons along with HAG grade repulsor mass drivers, heavy phase cannon emplacements and point defense.

A trio of linked civilian mining outposts have recently been evacuated.
All are protected by a planetary shield that covers most -but not all- of the planet.

Kim's people can set up a minefield but they do need time.

Bringing the Array into the system too early could spook the Nasidum fleet regardless of their strength and spoil a surprise attack.

What is your plan?

>>47884336
We didn't bring in the Grav generator?

Well, I would like to try and hide the array behind the planet if that's a thing that works.

Maybe we can bait them into committing to assaulting the planet since there isn't full coverage, make it look like there's a tasty target or something down there planning to hold out while the fleet tries to fight them off, and then the array comes in? Like maybe a commander with a huge bounty on her head?

It would be nice if we could set up the Grav well generator with a shit ton of mines to trap them along the lines they try to escape along as well, if we have any more forces for that.

>>47884495
>We didn't bring in the Grav generator?
It is available. Close enough to the front lines and mobile enough that you don't need special deployment time like the array does. Just time to shut it down and escape.

>Well, I would like to try and hide the array behind the planet if that's a thing that works.
It's likely that the enemy fleet will be large enough to detect it there.
It might be able to hide on the other side of the system near the gas giant or farther out in the system's Kuiper belt.

>It would be nice if we could set up the Grav well generator with a shit ton of mines to trap them along the lines they try to escape along as well, if we have any more forces for that.
It's possible, there's just the risk of spreading your forces too thin.

Drake and one of the allied Barons will continue harassment against the other half of the enemy fleet and try to counter their raiders as much as possible.

You can also recall Mike's team if you want. They're having a slow time hunting down the cloaked scouts but its proving effective. They have also confirmed that Aries stealth cruisers are active in the region as well after a scout their were tailing tried to lead them into a trap.

>>47884336
We seem to have an advantage over the enemy when it comes to the speed of our heavier assets.

I'd like to suggest we drop out of ftl some distance away from the planet, and put the grav well generator next to forbearance so they can't drop their ships directly on top of our long range guns.

We then slowly retreat towards the planet, using our superior speed to dictate the engagement.

It's probably a good idea to get our fighter and drone squads ready before the enemy arrives. Can the planetary base resupply those as well?

>>47884639
Okay, then I'm voting for hiding the Grav Generator in system along with the array and using those to trap them after they arrive.

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>>47884336
So we deploy the grav generator outside of the planets own field and protect it with a minefield and long ranged ships for support. A smaller force will guard their flank and act as a strategic reserve should no enemy force approach that flank.

Meanwhile our main force, with the Forbearance, deploys on the other side of the minefield. Meaning one side is protected so if the enemy wanted to flank us in turn they would either have to go through the minefield or go to the left.

The left side where the Array will jump in with the SRL scrap cannon and another fleet. The enemy force will be trapped between a fleet and a minefield and will be forced to fall back the way the came to get away. Giving us the perfect opportunity for massed fire and general havoc.

>>47884336
1) Hide some of our corvette forces on the planet, heavier ones elsewhere
2) Make it seem like Forbearance is stuck in orbit after a malfunction
3) Make it seem like the incoming SRL mercs are here to extract forbearance
4) See if they take the bait, spring the trap
5) Watch how the situation develops
6) Bring in the Array on one flank, the Generator on the other, and the rest of our forces reinforce the main group. It's a double-trap.

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>>47884650
Interesting strategy.

Be aware the Gravity Well would need to be moving in the direction of the planet before they activated their Grav generator or they'd quickly be left behind by your retreating forces.

>fighter and drone squads ready before the enemy arrives. Can the planetary base resupply those as well?
Yes, though they don't have drone production or repair facilities suited to fixing newer models.

>>47884656
Noted. Though particulars will still need work.

>>47884679
>A smaller force will guard their flank and act as a strategic reserve should no enemy force approach that flank.
Interesting. What's to stop them from hitting the weaker flank in force?

>>47884845
I think we should keep the heavy cruiser out of this battle, considering how easily forbearance managed to damage the one in the enemy fleet.

Use it to reinforce daska's fleet if possible, or keep it nearby so it can drop in to support units outside the siege weapons' effective range.

Have our allies upgraded the ship to a different version?

>>47884845
>Interesting. What's to stop them from hitting the weaker flank in force?
My hope is that they would not be approaching from "above" the minefield. But rather from below it as indicated on the likely entry vectors.

If they did so they would have to go a long way around the field to get to the weak flank, exposing themselves to long range sniper fire all the while. Or they would have to go through the field and content with sniper fire and brawler ships.

If nothing else then maybe the minefield could be extended to help cover that flank? I really do not know how large a field we could make so I limited myself to just the Gravity Well generator.

>>47885007
>I think we should keep the heavy cruiser out of this battle
We can ill afford to keep our larger ships out of the game when the enemy is bringing in 3 Mega class Supers to fight us along with several heavies.

>>47885050
>We can ill afford to keep our larger ships out of the game when the enemy is bringing in 3 Mega class Supers to fight us along with several heavies.

It's exactly what we should do. Their Megas are equipped to shit on stationary targets, other super heavy cruisers, and heavy cruisers. They're probably still mildly effective against medium cruisers, and very likely ineffective against anything smaller than that.

You wouldn't try to take out an anti tank gun with tanks just because you have them sitting around either. This battle will be won by the smaller ships, at least until we have deactivated the majority of those siege cannons.

>>47885176
>>47884845
Supporting this guy's strategy.

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>>47885007
>Use it to reinforce daska's fleet if possible
I assume you mean Drake?
>or keep it nearby so it can drop in to support units outside the siege weapons' effective range.
That may be difficult but they'll do what they can.

>Have our allies upgraded the ship to a different version?
Same version with the plasma weapon turrets though they've tried to fit as many general upgrades possible in the time available.

>>47885176
>and very likely ineffective against anything smaller than that.
Heavy phase cannon turrets and arrays found on supers are not always the best against smaller ships like corvettes. As you saw at Loran II however quantity has a quality all its own.

Then again, you didn't have emergency thrusters on your ships back then!

>>47885592
>Supporting this guy's strategy.
Keeping the heavies out of battle is only part of a plan I'm afraid.

>>47884495
>>47884656
1
Forbearance and Enemy fleet jumps in. Drop gravity well, array and everything else available on them.

>>47884650
2
Running battle

>>47884679
3
Gravity surrounded by minefield

>>47884783
4

Plenty of room for more.

Is Avun and her Sulos contingent present? Is there any way we can stealthily contact them? I would really like to try persuading her to abandon the battle or at least not shoot up her ships as much as possible.

>>47885937
Voting for 4 now since it seems like it covers 1 as well.

>>47885937
>>>47884495 (You)
>>>47884656 (You)

Can't delete a post too old, though.

>>47886034
>Avun and her Sulos contingent present?
Yes, though as the enemy are trying to operate as a more cohesive unit they're not differentiating between House IFF's at the moment. As a result there is some confusion as to which carrier group is under Avun's command.

>Is there any way we can stealthily contact them?
Not at this time.

Resuming in the morning btw.

>>47886343
Thanks for running!

A few ship questions:
1) Could we make a regular assisted cargo freighter? I figure you could have an empty midsection consisting only of the ship's primary structure and regular platforms onto which cargo could be locked.

Then when in orbit of the delivery destination the repulsors could gently lower the cargo directly into the atmosphere. I remember we had some gloves that could push and pull with repulsors so it's definitely possible.

2)modular superheavy
Could you take something like an ascendancy, scale it up, then cut out all the useless bits so it's just a cylindrical frame with engines, and add slots for medium cruise sized blocks to anchor in? The blocks would provide mission critical functionally and could be swapped out.

P10 bump

Bump

>>47885937
We could station a few squads of fighters behind the area the enemy is likely to appear in, and have them drop torpedoes into the engines of the enemy capital ships.

Do we have stealth drones?

>>47886883
>1) Could we make a regular assisted cargo freighter?
Yes, though it would need to be built with powerful tractor beams to lower cargo all the way from orbit. HLV's are usually used for that. They normally operate entirely on repulsors for cargo runs but have sublight drives as backup.

>2)modular superheavy
Doable. The Ceres heavy asteroid tug would probably be your best bet as a starting point.

>>47890732
>Do we have stealth drones?
A few squadrons of them. They've had their processors switched to non-Aries models so they're not quite as effective.

>>47885937
We've got 2 whole votes. One each for 1 and 4. No additional plans.

>>47891116
>We've got 2 whole votes. One each for 1 and 4. No additional plans.

What else is in the system? The minimap shows 3 planets but are there any asteroid belts or other stellar phenomena that could prove useful?

>>47891172
>What else is in the system?
The gas giant has plenty of moons and one small automated fuel refinery. Most of the asteroids in the system are trojans located at the gas giant's L4 and L5 lagrange points.

The outer system is relatively devoid of planets as it is believed the gas giant migrated inward over time.
There is a 4th planet, a very distant ice giant, bit it's roughly 100 AU out.
Comets are scattered through the system.

>>47891262
>Comets are scattered through the system.
Could we divert them to pass close to the planet and use the comets to hide ships?

Would it be possible to use them as kinetic projectiles like the neerans did against that one station a while back?

>>47891116
Only thing I want to add to 4 is a mine wall on the array/generator side that they will get squeezed into.

>>47891340
Would you prefer deploying mines before their arrival, which means they'll be detected and may spoil a trap, or deploy them while under fire?

>>47891373
Not the anon you're replying to but what if we strap a few mine layers to one a few of those comets and have them dropped while they pass through the area?

>>47891373
Under fire would be risky but the best reward so I vote that.

>>47891396
I like that idea A LOT. Making it look like the comet missed hitting them but deploying a trail of mines.

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>>47891396
There is a large comet currently inbound that could work, but it will require shifting the battlefield away from the planet. You'll be well beyond the effective range of the planetary defense weapons.

If used in conjunction with jamming and chaff it would allow you to hide mines, or even the gravity well generator. The generator will be the only significant gravity source nearby. The comet's well is pitifully small.

>>47891495
We could try to carefully shift the comet closer to the planet with the grav well generator.

>>47891502
That will take day or weeks. You have hours.

Comets are not known for being structurally stable. Accelerating it with ships and tractor beams would tear it apart.

>>47891512
Ah, okay. We could do the comet thing combined with plan 2. We'd just start in the area where the comet passes through, instead of relatively close to the planet.

Could our super fake some kind of ftl troubles that causes them to drop into the system early?

>>47891528
>Could our super fake some kind of ftl troubles that causes them to drop into the system early?
If anything they'd have to accelerate to get into the system early. But they still could fake drive trouble.


Headed to work. Will be back around 9PM EST.

Please discuss plans among yourselves if possible otherwise we'll have little choice but to resume on Saturday.

>>47891116
>We've got 2 whole votes. One each for 1 and 4. No additional plans.
Sorry. Been busy. I'll throw my vote to plan 1 if we can throw up a minefield where the Forbearance fleet will turn and face the enemy. So their fleet wont just keep steamrolling forward and destroy it while our fleets run after them from behind. Cause I assume we can go through our own mines without triggering them.

I don't know about you guys but I like all the plans. Not really sure which one I want to go for since they all have good elements.

Hitting them from all sides is a good idea I think. We have two avenues here, we can try to force them to cluster up to make it easier for the siege array to fuck them wholesale, or get them to spread out and make it easier to pick off groups of them.
I would definitely like mines deployed on the on the flank we hit with the array and generator to stop them from rushing at it though.

>>47892316
I have a preference for either 1 or 3. Plan 4 seems like it would leave us to spread out and the fighting will most certainly cause damage to the planet. Plan 2 on the other hand is not something that would work with the Array or the Supers. Array needs to move fast away in that case and it does not seem to be built for it. SRL Mega lacks speed and aft firepower. Forbearance has speed by is limited to aft weapons. Where as the enemy Megas can plink away at us with all their forward guns.

So plan 1 or plan 3

>>47892709
I dunno man, plan 1 seems like it'd need a lot of maneuvering on our part and if the enemy decides to stay at range we're kind of boned.

Plan 3 looks like we're spreading the battle line a little thin as well, and they'll just sweep around the minefield to get at the grav generator

>>47893722
If the enemy force stays at range then they will be destroyed by our Array. It has enough firepower to pose a serious threat to their Megas. If they also stay at range then they will be surrounded soon enough and they wont be able to leave due to the generator. Thus we can fight them until WE wish to leave or they get reinforcement.

Plan 3 problems can be solved by extending the minefield around the exposed flank. Our forces will also compress as the flanking force pushes the enemy into the minefield or pince them to it.

Which attack cruiser model do the isolationist houses prefer?

>>47894584
>Plan 3 problems can be solved by extending the minefield around the exposed flank
The only problem with this is that deploying a minefield AND a grav generator looks suspicious as fuck. If they suspect it's a trap the plan won't work.

>>47897005
Depends on if they are able to see before they jump in. Mines are very small after all and we can wait with turning on the Well until after they are engaged.

>>47898259
Well it was mentioned in the thread that in any plan, if we deploy the mines before the battle there's a pretty good chance they'll see them and realise it's all a ruse. That's why I think it's best to go for a plan that lets you deploy them when you need them as a backup, but not as a focal point of the defense.

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>>47891495
I would like to suggest a modified version 1.

Broken arrows show potential escape routes.

Difference:
+Forbearance fleet links up with one of the fleets before the engagements.
+Forbearance doesn't necessarily enter the planet's gravity
+Foss and the Array jump in later, using the planet's grav well to stop enemy ships from jumping them directly via ftl, although they have to remain vigilant because of the stealth crusiers the enemy is fielding

>>47862939
>though with the new model Eminence II fitted with afterburners it's almost unnecessary.
Does she like the ship so far?

Could we use the repulsors on the planet to deploy the mines mid combat?

The idea is to draw them in close to the planets gravity well and then trap them against it with the grav generator to force them to either surrender or fight to the death.

Having overwhelming firepower is the key here, and we want to either cripple or destroy the megas as much as possible.

I would really only want to deploy mines to protect the grav well generator, while our forces pin them down for the array to fuck up.

>>47898882
>Could we use the repulsors on the planet to deploy the mines mid combat?
...

Oh my god, that's given me a great idea.
The anti-matter torps the Helios siege cruiser fires are corvette sized aren't they?

We should draw them over the planet and fire them off as an antimatter artillery battery.

They won't see it coming.

>>47899747
Adding on to this, we could lay the mines in a defensive position early AND in a way that makes it seem like they were the trap.

They'll move in thinking the mines were our trickery, then get blasted with a full broadside of antimatter torpedos.

Traps within traps.

>>47899881
Too complicated. Just pin them down with the grav well, launch mines to defend it, and crush them with our array.

We can't afford to fuck up trapping them here, this could seriously fuck up their heavy hitting ability.

It's also our first foray with the array, so we need to maximize its utility before they know about it.

>>47899973
>launch mines to defend it,
If you're firing mines with a repulsor cannon, doesn't that just make it a big HE cannon? And in that case, wouldn't it be better to fire things with a greater energy density?

Reynard Medium Cruiser HE Flak Cannon when

>>47892709
>and the fighting will most certainly cause damage to the planet.
That's not really an issue since it isn't habitable.

>>47896742
The Nirium class is fairly popular with a few despite being a Ruling House design. Mostly because it's been in production longer and is more readily available.

The Dragoon is rapidly increasing in popularity among both sides.

>>47898882
>Eminence II
>Does she like the ship so far?
Yes.

>>47898965
>Could we use the repulsors on the planet to deploy the mines mid combat?
Possibly for the conventional mines. Not the AM mines.

>>47899747
>The anti-matter torps the Helios siege cruiser fires are corvette sized aren't they?
Not exactly. But they're not small either.

>fire them off as an antimatter artillery battery.
As the brits would say AM warheads can be "a bit dodgy." For safety reason its advised that only conventional mines be launched from the surface.

>>47900038
>Reynard Medium Cruiser HE Flak Cannon when
[Scribbling intensifies]

>>47900681
>As the brits would say AM warheads can be "a bit dodgy." For safety reason its advised that only conventional mines be launched from the surface.
Would a mixture of mines and AM warhead be possible?

>>47900776
I think we only have one module to produce anti matter and construct the torpedo, and that's on the helios medium.

>>47900814
We also have 2 - 3 hours of time to prepare and we should make the most of it.

All the time the AM module isn't in use is wasted.

>>47900884
>QM: Anon, you shouldn't put AM warheads on a planet.
>Anon: Hey guys, let's put AM on the planet.
>_>

>>47900776
"So would a mixture of mines and AM warhead be possible?"
Maybourne tries to figure out how to get that to work without destroying the entire allied base.
"Well, if we switched half of Kim's Battleships back to torpedo launchers instead of minelayers and had them park on the surface next to the launch repulsors that might work. It'll halve our AM minelaying rate though, and that's already slow enough as it is."

>>47900814
Kim's Cloaked fast battleships outfitted as minelayers can load mines with antimatter but cant construct the casings themselves. Large quantities have been stockpiled as part of the planning.

The Medium cruiser can build them in the field then load them.

>>47900987
The allure of being able to shout FULL BROADSIDE as the planet bombards them with a full salvo of Antimatter torps is too tempting to at least try.

>>47900776
This seems more cool than efficient or effective.

So I would rather not.

>>47901040
I'm not really a fan of grounding our cloaked battleships for that.

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>>47901073
>being able to shout FULL BROADSIDE as the planet bombards them

Baron Kelly laments that they hadn't stationed more weapons at this base.
"If we were to bring them low enough even simple phase cannons would have been enough."

Maybourne overhears this and has the idea to put it together with your surface launched mine idea.
"What if we just stuck a fleet underneath the planetary shield? It's not like the planet has an atmosphere we have to worry about damaging with a landing operation. Park under the shield and use it as an added layer of protection. If we jam sensors hard enough the dust the landings will kick up should hide us from view."

>>47901482
>What if we just stuck a fleet underneath the planetary shield?

Can we select the slowest ships in our fleet for this duty? It's kind of a waste if we park our elite maneuverable units there.

Can the Helios siege cruiser rapid fire AM torps?

>>47901747
>Can the Helios siege cruiser rapid fire AM torps?
Only lower yield ones. It was meant for the slow safe firing of higher yield weapons.

>>47901482
>What if we just stuck a fleet underneath the planetary shield
That seems like a decent idea for ships like the knight class cruiser and other slightly obsolete stuff.

>>47901890
>Only lower yield ones.
Can we charge it up before the battle with a bunch that it can release all at once?

>>47901482
I like this idea far to much.

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>>47902136
Safely? Only lower yield ones. Doing that with it's intended yield warheads runs the severe risk of completely destroying the entire ship. There would be nothing left to salvage.

Some suggested modifications, optimizations and warnings.

1 - Using the gravity well to bringing the array in at a good location and distance. Really you could do this with any of them.

2 - Having minelayers begin deploying in the wake of the retreating fleet. This might break up their formation a bit.

3 - Gravity well is good for either forcing the enemy to drop out at range, or stay put once they've reverted. With the large size of the well it can project, it could sit farther back in a safer location.

4 - Seems fairly well laid out. Just a question of what types of ships to put where they'll do the most good.

5 - Mostly reliant upon placement of the fleets, mines and grav well. A number of different tricks available.

6 - Generally good overall. Runs the risk of enemy fleet using planet to block fire from Array. This could be countered if Forbearance fleet becomes an anvil.

7 - Largely reliant upon baiting enemy fleet into close range of the planet. Leaves large number of ships stuck at bottom of gravity well reducing mobility options.

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>>47902136

>>47902279
>Safely? Only lower yield ones
I just think it seems like a bit of a waste to have a ship that needs time to charge a weapon have lots of time and do nothing.

Can we use it to rig some of the mines with AM torps?

Also,

[x] 4 or 6, which ever wins the vote first.

New survey!

surveymonkey com /r/ N2JS7RK

As usual, will be posted on wiki main page and twitter.

To many options and I think most of us are not really sure what would be the best. We really need to step up our game now that we are dealing with larger threats.

>>47902781
Personally the only one I think is less than great is the comet one.

Maybe we can roll to whittle it down or something.

>>47902279
I was under the impression for 7 that we were only putting older/slower ships under the shield, and that we would have Foss come in with the Array?

>>47903305
>I was under the impression for 7 that we were only putting older/slower ships under the shield,
2-3 people have asked for it so yeah?

>and that we would have Foss come in with the Array?
Yes he can stick with the array if you want him to / don't order otherwise.

[x] Mash all the plans together to create one SUPERPLAN

bump

Something to note, guys; logistics favors us in this situation. Usually we're raiding behind enemy lines, carefully conserving torpedoes and ships both. This time, they're the ones that have to ration ordinance. They may have more ships than we do, but it is much easier for us to replace losses than it is for them. We can afford to constantly nail them with torpedoes; the don't have that luxury. I'm choosing 5, because it allows us a variety of ways to press home our main advantage; continual access to extreme amounts of ordnance.
>Captcha is ships

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>>47902279
Plan 6 seems to have the highest number of votes.

You ask Kim if it would be possible to make use of the minelayers.
"If we were to swing in and cut across the line of the incoming fleets we could drop mines ahead of the Forbearance fleet. Once you've passed them and come about then we could arm them. That would protect your fleet from close combat and force them to expend more time and energy to come about to avoid hitting it."

"It would also prevent them from fleeing out of the Array's line of fire." adds Foss.

Tama looks it over.
"There is a chance the minelayers could come under fire but they should have some time to finish their work. You're going to want as many of the assault corvettes as possible on the flank with the reinforcements. The question then is where should we bring in the starfighters from? The Planet, the reinforcing fleets or both?

>>47907947
Both. If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

>>47907947
I think deploying most starfighters from the planet is the best course of action. They'll be able to harass any enemies trying to rush the array, and it will also enable them to support forbearance and the fleet close to the fleet.

The reinforcing fleets are likely to have more room to maneuver, so it should be easier for them to work around their relative lack of fighters.

>>47907947
I like this. Let's bring the starfighters up from the planet, they don't have the big engines to keep up at top speed anyways, but should be fine escaping the grav well since they're lighter and then we don't have to worry about them being vulnerable or outrun during deployment. They're sprinters as it were.

>>47907947
Launch starfighters from the planet, then we have full englobement.

Space being all 3D and shit.

>>47885050
>We can ill afford to keep our larger ships out of the game when the enemy is bringing in 3 Mega class Supers to fight us along with several heavies.
>>47885176
>It's exactly what we should do.

That just leaves whether you'll be bringing everything down on this enemy fleet or not.

The Ruling House also has a heavy cruiser in the relay. It's a mixed combat one like the one fielded by your allies rather than the all support model.

[ ] Keep the Heavies out of this
[ ] Bring in everything

>>47908364
> [ ] Bring in everything

Focus fire on each Mega in turn and they won't have time to slug it out.

>>47908364
Wait. ARE those megas designed for hitting stationary targets? I'd rather alpha strike than have them fuck up our super weapon if so.

Still maybe have our heavies hang back and play D. Let's keep the RH out of this too.

>>47908364
Can we pair the heavies with alliance shield platforms?