Neziul
shylarahWell, the Arctic certainly is becoming busy. Here I was picking it for its isolation XD
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Elder Tales: Chroincles of the West; A Log Horizon AU Role-Play
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10 yrs ago
Forum: Casual Roleplay
Sooo @Denny, want to update the approved characters section?
Naw just browsing
Posted. Sneaky Ashtar and their sneaky jump drives.
Anuria Orbit
Born of Steel, Forged in Fire
Flag Bridge
Commodore Rammael glared at the holosphere surrounding her. The display was amazingly high fidelity, rendering the fiery battle so clearly she could have believed she was standing on Born of Steel’s hull rather than deep in its flag bridge. With a thought, a sub-display opened in front of her, rendering the battle in a more tactical view, enemy ships represented by orange stars while her own were blue. She’d somewhat underestimated how tightly the Vaegir were willing to form up; their ships were practically touching in some places. The tight formation was causing some losses to friendly fire, but it was also making it physically impossible for Rammaels heavy energy weapons to hit the enemy flagship.
The Vaegir counterfire was also causing some problems. Having engaged them before, Rammael knew to expect a veritable sandstorm of kinetic rounds and missiles, and she’d tried to plan for it, but other objectives had limited her flexibility. The Ashtar cruisers were more or less fine for the moment, their shields constantly flashing and steadily draining under the withering Vaegir response. Her corvette packs were also faring quite well. A few dozen of them were lost to the initial salvo, but once they were accelerated to combat speed and dispersed away from the cruisers--where most of the Vaegir firepower was concentrated--they did considerably better. The problem was the fighters. In order to exectue the precise tactical jump that brought them into battle, the entire fleet had been tucked in close together. On arrival, their close formation rendered them vulnerable to the massed Vaegir counterfire. The cruisers and corvettes had enough shielding to take the first few rounds as they loosened formation, but the fighters did not, and the Vaegir cut huge swathes through their ranks. It was unfortunate, but an inevitable consequence of the overall manoeuvre. With their numbers reduced, they’d be best used on the offensive, assaulting the Vaegir from lateral vectors and keeping clear of the main barrages directed at the Ashtar heavies. This would leave the Vaegir fighter craft without any direct opposition as they closed on the Ashtar cruisers, but the elegant ships had some effective tools available to them.
The last of the Swiftwinds crossed out of the fleet’s firing solution. “All ships, engage defensive batteries at full power, direct polaron flak shell full ahead and match it with the fighters positions as they close for attack.” Rammael commanded. Missiles, shells and Vaegir fighters abruptly began to explode in the space between the two fleets as polaron packets exploded in their midst, flooding the void with blasts of coherent energy. Flak remained an incredibly useful tool on the battlefield, but as with most things, the Ashtar had decided that crude projectile flak wasn’t good enough for them, and had developed an unnecessarily sophisticated counterpart of their own. As enemy fighters continued to close, the flak shell morphed and twisted with them, sophisticated AI’s and psionicly linked gunners tracking and predicting their positions.
Ashtar corvettes were now running rampant across the battlefield, grouping and dispersing on a whim to take out targets of opportunity. Seven of them spotted a battleship with shields weakened by heavy weapons fire. As one, they each launched their omega torpedoes, the first two wiping away the last of the battleship’s shields and the remaining five smashing into the hull. Four of the corvettes abruptly died in chain detonation of nuclear ordnance, but the surviving three raced on, wreaking havoc.
The first massive salvo of missiles directed at Imperator Kirov had contended with half a fleet’s worth of point defense before reaching their target, only then to have to deal with the battle carrier’s own point defense. Suffice to say, not enough survived to do any noteable damage. But that was only the first salvo. Rammael watched the tactical displays on her flag bridge. As they shifted to open fire on her own ships, the Vaegir were slowly exposing their flank. She glanced up at the charge timer on the fleet’s jump drives. Ultimately, she did want to keep her options open, so she discarded the idea of executing another tactical jump. Besides, she had missiles for that. “Prepare another salvo of shipkiller warheads, jump capable, high burn drives….Fire.” Another massed salvo shot their launch tubes, and abruptly disappeared with a flash. Vaegir tracking systems were confused for a few seconds, then abruptly reacquired the missile salvo...coming at high speed from the opposite side of the fleet, boring in directly on Imperator Kirov.
Born of Steel, Forged in Fire
Flag Bridge
Commodore Rammael glared at the holosphere surrounding her. The display was amazingly high fidelity, rendering the fiery battle so clearly she could have believed she was standing on Born of Steel’s hull rather than deep in its flag bridge. With a thought, a sub-display opened in front of her, rendering the battle in a more tactical view, enemy ships represented by orange stars while her own were blue. She’d somewhat underestimated how tightly the Vaegir were willing to form up; their ships were practically touching in some places. The tight formation was causing some losses to friendly fire, but it was also making it physically impossible for Rammaels heavy energy weapons to hit the enemy flagship.
The Vaegir counterfire was also causing some problems. Having engaged them before, Rammael knew to expect a veritable sandstorm of kinetic rounds and missiles, and she’d tried to plan for it, but other objectives had limited her flexibility. The Ashtar cruisers were more or less fine for the moment, their shields constantly flashing and steadily draining under the withering Vaegir response. Her corvette packs were also faring quite well. A few dozen of them were lost to the initial salvo, but once they were accelerated to combat speed and dispersed away from the cruisers--where most of the Vaegir firepower was concentrated--they did considerably better. The problem was the fighters. In order to exectue the precise tactical jump that brought them into battle, the entire fleet had been tucked in close together. On arrival, their close formation rendered them vulnerable to the massed Vaegir counterfire. The cruisers and corvettes had enough shielding to take the first few rounds as they loosened formation, but the fighters did not, and the Vaegir cut huge swathes through their ranks. It was unfortunate, but an inevitable consequence of the overall manoeuvre. With their numbers reduced, they’d be best used on the offensive, assaulting the Vaegir from lateral vectors and keeping clear of the main barrages directed at the Ashtar heavies. This would leave the Vaegir fighter craft without any direct opposition as they closed on the Ashtar cruisers, but the elegant ships had some effective tools available to them.
The last of the Swiftwinds crossed out of the fleet’s firing solution. “All ships, engage defensive batteries at full power, direct polaron flak shell full ahead and match it with the fighters positions as they close for attack.” Rammael commanded. Missiles, shells and Vaegir fighters abruptly began to explode in the space between the two fleets as polaron packets exploded in their midst, flooding the void with blasts of coherent energy. Flak remained an incredibly useful tool on the battlefield, but as with most things, the Ashtar had decided that crude projectile flak wasn’t good enough for them, and had developed an unnecessarily sophisticated counterpart of their own. As enemy fighters continued to close, the flak shell morphed and twisted with them, sophisticated AI’s and psionicly linked gunners tracking and predicting their positions.
Ashtar corvettes were now running rampant across the battlefield, grouping and dispersing on a whim to take out targets of opportunity. Seven of them spotted a battleship with shields weakened by heavy weapons fire. As one, they each launched their omega torpedoes, the first two wiping away the last of the battleship’s shields and the remaining five smashing into the hull. Four of the corvettes abruptly died in chain detonation of nuclear ordnance, but the surviving three raced on, wreaking havoc.
The first massive salvo of missiles directed at Imperator Kirov had contended with half a fleet’s worth of point defense before reaching their target, only then to have to deal with the battle carrier’s own point defense. Suffice to say, not enough survived to do any noteable damage. But that was only the first salvo. Rammael watched the tactical displays on her flag bridge. As they shifted to open fire on her own ships, the Vaegir were slowly exposing their flank. She glanced up at the charge timer on the fleet’s jump drives. Ultimately, she did want to keep her options open, so she discarded the idea of executing another tactical jump. Besides, she had missiles for that. “Prepare another salvo of shipkiller warheads, jump capable, high burn drives….Fire.” Another massed salvo shot their launch tubes, and abruptly disappeared with a flash. Vaegir tracking systems were confused for a few seconds, then abruptly reacquired the missile salvo...coming at high speed from the opposite side of the fleet, boring in directly on Imperator Kirov.
@OzerathYou hath a reply. Feel free to kill as many ships as you want, just try and keep the Imperator Kirov in working condition, okay? xP
I'll mostly be calling attacks and targets, leaving the results to you.
Anuria System
Oort Cloud
Ashtar Capital Ship Perhaps it is Best to Redefine the Rules of Engagement
Far, far, far, far, far from the reach of Anuria’s sun, beyond the most distant planet, not even truly in the solar system, Rules of Engagement rested serenely amongst an ever growing network of repair and construction yards. As a fleet support variant capital ship, Rules of Engagement was equipped with internal repair facilities corvettes, a massive swarm of repair and resupply drones, and a mining ships. These extra facilities significantly compromised her hangar availability for combat vessels, and necessitated reduced armor in some locations, but her shield and weapon emplacements were the match of any mainline capital ship. The idea behind her design was to reduce dependency on fragile fleet tenders without overly compromising combat performance, and the sheer size available to her builders had made accomplishing the design objectives quite simple.
The fact that she had transformed into a fully operational shipyard was not originally part of the design, but over the course of her 50 year stay in Anuria, it had been surprisingly easy to put together. Mining ships brought in a steady supply of raw materials from the surrounding Oort cloud--occasionally journeying farther in system for certain heavy metals--which nanofabricators could turn into components required by the yards. The Anuria task force was now almost completely supplied by Rules of Engagement; arms and armor, tanks, ships, fighters, anything the task force could need. It had gotten to the point where the Anuria system was actually generating more ships and materiel than it required; cruisers from Rules of Engagement’s yards were occasionally sent off towards the distant Sakturi front.
The ship’s excessive isolation was a matter of security; the Ashtar were absolutely not willing to let her be damaged, and no one was likely to stumble across Rules of Engagement this far out. Incoming and outgoing ships were forbidden from jumping or gating directly to Rules of Engagement’s location; instead, they had to approach at sublight from randomly assigned points. It usually tacked on several extra hours to any journey, and more than one heavily damaged ship had not survived the trip, but they were acceptable sacrifices.
On the bridge of the cruiser Born of Steel and Forged in Fire, Commodore Ayluna Rammael was enduring one such journey now. They never failed to test her patience, but she recognized that the protocol was a good one. That much jump activity from a single point would set off every gravitic sensor in the system, regardless of how far away they were. She set about reviewing the plans for the attack on the Vaegir fleet.
The primary objective was the destruction of the Imperator Kirov, the centerpiece and tactical heart of the Vaegir fleet. The loss of one ship would of course not cripple the Vaegir, but it would serve as a severe blow to C&C capabilities and morale, both on world and at home. They would also be vulnerable to further attack, enough that the Ashtar hoped to be able to drive them from Anuria’s orbit with two or three follow up attacks. Bearing in mind the relative disposability of Ashtar personnel and materiel, the ops plan was bold, bordering on suicidal. The attack fleet was smaller than would be expected, and its heavy elements were dominated by Vigilance assault cruisers, with comparitively few Archangels present. The usual swarms of Strelnikov corvettes were flying in close formation, but they were also joined by tight formations of Swiftwind fighter drones. Traditionally, it was prudent to send fighters ahead of the main fleet in engagements to bear the brunt of the defenders’ opening fire, but that also meant giving them warning of an incoming attack. This time, the fighters would use their own tiny FTL drives to jump in simultaneously with the rest of the fleet. They would be extremely vulnerable on arrival, but that hardly mattered.
A light beeping interupted Rammael’s thoughts. She looked up at the surrounding holodisplay, seeing that the fleet had arrived at its designated departure coordinates, some 283 lightminutes from Rules of Engagement. She nodded to her Operations officer. “Jump.”
Within milliseconds of eachother, the entire fleet dissapeared in a series of flashes, reappearing well in system at a standard holding position of five lightminutes from Anuria.
“All ships report jump successful. Spooling up for phase two tactical jump,” the ops officer reported.
“Recon probes?”
“We are linking in now. The Vaegir remain at last reported position. Probes report stealth systems remain operational, no overt signs of detection.”
“Very well. Signal all ships to action stations. Begin jump countdown.”
The lights all over the ship dimmed to a slightly darker blue, and an alarm klaxon sounded twice, then was silent. The crew received no further prompts, but anyone who missed the audio-visual cues could not possibly miss the general quarters message echoing through the local psynet. Externally, armoured carapaces slipped over windows and other structural weakpooints, weapons reared on and powered up, while delicate sensor arrays retreated into protected alcoves, all of it suddenly veiled by the shimmering of multiple shield layers.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly, until there was just the one left. Each second lasted an eternity, until finally “5...4...3...2...1...Jump”.
A flash, a feeling of deep discomfort from muted gravitational forces, and the fleet abruptly appeared at point blank range from their Vaegir opponents.
“Anti-ship ordnance on all missile tubes, lock on Imperator Kirov at range and fire. Energy weapons, bear on Vaegir screening elements and fire, clear us a path.”
Born of Steel and the rest of the Ashtar ships roared into action, beam weapons and pulses of omega fire lashing out at nearby Vaegir ships while a veritable holocaust of missiles headed for the armored carrier at the heart of the Vaegir fleet.
Oort Cloud
Ashtar Capital Ship Perhaps it is Best to Redefine the Rules of Engagement
Far, far, far, far, far from the reach of Anuria’s sun, beyond the most distant planet, not even truly in the solar system, Rules of Engagement rested serenely amongst an ever growing network of repair and construction yards. As a fleet support variant capital ship, Rules of Engagement was equipped with internal repair facilities corvettes, a massive swarm of repair and resupply drones, and a mining ships. These extra facilities significantly compromised her hangar availability for combat vessels, and necessitated reduced armor in some locations, but her shield and weapon emplacements were the match of any mainline capital ship. The idea behind her design was to reduce dependency on fragile fleet tenders without overly compromising combat performance, and the sheer size available to her builders had made accomplishing the design objectives quite simple.
The fact that she had transformed into a fully operational shipyard was not originally part of the design, but over the course of her 50 year stay in Anuria, it had been surprisingly easy to put together. Mining ships brought in a steady supply of raw materials from the surrounding Oort cloud--occasionally journeying farther in system for certain heavy metals--which nanofabricators could turn into components required by the yards. The Anuria task force was now almost completely supplied by Rules of Engagement; arms and armor, tanks, ships, fighters, anything the task force could need. It had gotten to the point where the Anuria system was actually generating more ships and materiel than it required; cruisers from Rules of Engagement’s yards were occasionally sent off towards the distant Sakturi front.
The ship’s excessive isolation was a matter of security; the Ashtar were absolutely not willing to let her be damaged, and no one was likely to stumble across Rules of Engagement this far out. Incoming and outgoing ships were forbidden from jumping or gating directly to Rules of Engagement’s location; instead, they had to approach at sublight from randomly assigned points. It usually tacked on several extra hours to any journey, and more than one heavily damaged ship had not survived the trip, but they were acceptable sacrifices.
On the bridge of the cruiser Born of Steel and Forged in Fire, Commodore Ayluna Rammael was enduring one such journey now. They never failed to test her patience, but she recognized that the protocol was a good one. That much jump activity from a single point would set off every gravitic sensor in the system, regardless of how far away they were. She set about reviewing the plans for the attack on the Vaegir fleet.
The primary objective was the destruction of the Imperator Kirov, the centerpiece and tactical heart of the Vaegir fleet. The loss of one ship would of course not cripple the Vaegir, but it would serve as a severe blow to C&C capabilities and morale, both on world and at home. They would also be vulnerable to further attack, enough that the Ashtar hoped to be able to drive them from Anuria’s orbit with two or three follow up attacks. Bearing in mind the relative disposability of Ashtar personnel and materiel, the ops plan was bold, bordering on suicidal. The attack fleet was smaller than would be expected, and its heavy elements were dominated by Vigilance assault cruisers, with comparitively few Archangels present. The usual swarms of Strelnikov corvettes were flying in close formation, but they were also joined by tight formations of Swiftwind fighter drones. Traditionally, it was prudent to send fighters ahead of the main fleet in engagements to bear the brunt of the defenders’ opening fire, but that also meant giving them warning of an incoming attack. This time, the fighters would use their own tiny FTL drives to jump in simultaneously with the rest of the fleet. They would be extremely vulnerable on arrival, but that hardly mattered.
A light beeping interupted Rammael’s thoughts. She looked up at the surrounding holodisplay, seeing that the fleet had arrived at its designated departure coordinates, some 283 lightminutes from Rules of Engagement. She nodded to her Operations officer. “Jump.”
Within milliseconds of eachother, the entire fleet dissapeared in a series of flashes, reappearing well in system at a standard holding position of five lightminutes from Anuria.
“All ships report jump successful. Spooling up for phase two tactical jump,” the ops officer reported.
“Recon probes?”
“We are linking in now. The Vaegir remain at last reported position. Probes report stealth systems remain operational, no overt signs of detection.”
“Very well. Signal all ships to action stations. Begin jump countdown.”
The lights all over the ship dimmed to a slightly darker blue, and an alarm klaxon sounded twice, then was silent. The crew received no further prompts, but anyone who missed the audio-visual cues could not possibly miss the general quarters message echoing through the local psynet. Externally, armoured carapaces slipped over windows and other structural weakpooints, weapons reared on and powered up, while delicate sensor arrays retreated into protected alcoves, all of it suddenly veiled by the shimmering of multiple shield layers.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly, until there was just the one left. Each second lasted an eternity, until finally “5...4...3...2...1...Jump”.
A flash, a feeling of deep discomfort from muted gravitational forces, and the fleet abruptly appeared at point blank range from their Vaegir opponents.
“Anti-ship ordnance on all missile tubes, lock on Imperator Kirov at range and fire. Energy weapons, bear on Vaegir screening elements and fire, clear us a path.”
Born of Steel and the rest of the Ashtar ships roared into action, beam weapons and pulses of omega fire lashing out at nearby Vaegir ships while a veritable holocaust of missiles headed for the armored carrier at the heart of the Vaegir fleet.
I'll expand a little on my space fleet but I was originally planning on putting the Observer (my HQ Invasion Carrier) and the entire invasion fleet in a small orbit near the pole. So you'll probably be fightning me if nobody objects.
Double post go!
The Ashtar main base there would be problematic for a polar orbit.
I suppose anybody orbiting anywhere in the planet's immediate vicinity would be problematic, due to the treaty limitations on bombardment, while ground guns have no limitations firing back. I ended up putting the Ashtar main space presence farther out in the system, that might work for people? Orbit the moon, orbit a different planet, orbit a big ol asteroid?
So who currently controls the space over the Arctic Northlands? My opening post will involve a Frigette class ship accidentally jumping into that sector with no support and damaged, so I just want to know/warn whoever will be shooting it to hell has the troops aboard desperately attempt to escape the doom vessel.
Ashtar are based there, they don't exactly maintain a massive fleet presence there (no point setting up a central point for people to assault), but they have a good bunch of ships there and heavy anti-orbital emplacements on the surface.
So your frigate should be nicely obliterated :p.
EDIT: Aaaand somehow I missed Legion's post. We'll have to chat about that.
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