Fwurg

[Mercury]

((OOC: Though this battle involves player worlds, these worlds are not currently fleshed out and I want to draw them in the story more than I want to do a detailed statistics breakdown))

119

A Mandalorian Flanking Force has sneaked past Union sensor vessels and moved into Sector 9 -4. They have dropped out of hyperspace and have started bombarding the Azaryan home-world from orbit. The first attacks have targeted orbital defence cannons, military bases, bridges, mountain passes and general infrastructure.

Local forces report heavy casualties and suggest the Mandalorians may soon start landing in drop pods.

If Azarya falls, it may become a base of operations for Mandalorian efforts to sabotage Union supply lines as well as being a staging point for attacks on Komes, Meritonia, Suma and Veolia.

[Mercury]

120

Pods carrying Mandalorian elite have started landing on the Azaryan homeworld in small numbers, moving to take tactical objectives and destroy defensive positions. The situation appears to be evolving into a full scale invasion! It can only be hoped forces will arrive in time to defend the Azaryans!

[Mercury]

121

Mandalorians have captured several strategic points on the surface and most of the surface-to-space weaponry of the Azaryan military have been destroyed.

Additionally, massive bombardment with drop-pods onto the surface of the Azaryan world has begun, landing up an enormous army on the surface. The Mandalorian forces have established a foothold on the primary continent and are expanding rapidly, slowly overrunning local defences.

Azaryan defence forces report the Mandalorians aggressiveness is the only thing that outshines the quality of their armour which makes them very resistant to regular weapons.

[Mercury]

122

Azaryan ground forces face off against the Mandalorian invasion, being pushed back at every corner. Several area's have had to be evacuated of civilians due to the risk of artillery fire destroying homes and hives.

Food and medical necesities are in short supply and will soon become a significant problem on the world as Mandalorian forces are plundering supplies. The people remain brave however and resistance forces are being organised in case the occupation take hold. These militia's have already booked their first surprise victories, with Mandalorian ground forces seemingly ill trained to handle guerillia warfare.

[Veolian Commonwealth]

The fleet of veolian vessels drops out of hyperspace at the edge of the Hivarr system. Immediately the fleet starts up there sub-light engines, and begins acceleration towards Nest.

On the bridge of the Invincible Fury of the Dawn, admiral Shebi Naupaat looks at the daughter of his patriarch with a mixture of respect and annoyance. "Princess", he dared not use another title, "I am not sure what they teach you at the Jedi Order, but I do not see the wisdom in engaging two fleets without knowing when our backup arrives."

"Admiral, you should trust in the Force.", she replies as she sits down on the floor in lotus position. She looks out the window. "We will begin our attack immediately.", she puts her hands on her knees, palms up. "The praetorian and the komes fleets will be here in time". She finishes sitting down and closes her eyes.

The admiral feels a strange kind of mental pull in his head. He sees his wife on her ship the Cascade of Cutting Terror, giving orders. He sees the engineers already hoisting themselves in radiation protection and checking their repair kits. He sees deckhands already locking down bulkheads, and handing out weapons. He sees the harmony with which all members of his fleet act.

And above all, he sees himself, sitting down in his familiar chair. 'So this is what they teach...', is the last thought that runs through him before he gives in to the pull. He opens communications to the fleet: "This is admiral Shebi to the fleet. Engage!"

Her eyes closed, Ajava smiles.

[Praetorian Empire]

Only one minute later Praetorian cruisers and destroyers dropped out of hyperspace on the other side of the system. They were followed by the Praetorian flag ship, the sword of the stars. They immediately moved into the Hivarr system towards the Mandalorian Fleets.

After seeing that the Veolians had already opened fire the Praetorian capital ships started activated weapon systems. The voice of the Admiral could be heard through the communication system on all Praetorian vessels. "Weapon systems hot, engage!"

The long range batteries started firing while the fleet was still moving in closer.

A message was sent on a secure military channel to the Veolian Fleet. "This is admiral Tiberios Fimbria from the Sword of the Stars, we are here to assist."

[Senator Enrorgh of Meritonia]

The fleet of the Kingdom of Komès was the last to arrive at the edge of the Hivarr System. The first to arrive where the fleets forward cruisers and fighter-wings, these were the most modern in the fleet. The older main body of capital ship was not as fast and needed a bit more time.

The admiral knew that his ships would not only be outmatched by the Mandalorian Fleets, the Preatorian and Veolian ships would also be faster and better equipped to deal with the Mandalorian assault. Nonetheless the admiral was proud man, this was the highlight of his career and he had confidence in his men. They knew limits of their ships well enough and were prepared to do their duty.

Once the fleet had gathered at the edge of the system, the admiral ordered them to maintain a close formation and advance towards Nest. For moment the fighter wings and cruisers would serve to shield the older main body, as the capital ships fired their longer range batteries. As soon as they had closed in sufficiently, the more modern cruisers and fighter wings would carry the weight of the battle where the older capital ships would be used to refuel the fighters and protect the Praetorian and Veolian fleets.

As he sat down in his chair, he opened a secure channel to the Veolian fleets. "This is Admiral Geno Haelstein from the Aroy Sandero, we are ready to offer our assistance."

[Shebi Ajava]

Contrary to what their information says, the person contacting them from the veolian fleet was not fleet admiral Shebi Naupaat, but a veolian female.

"This is princess Shebi Ajava aboard the Invincible Fury of the Dawn", the image of the veolian woman replied, two lightsabers hanging from her belt. "We shall engage the main body of the Mandalorian invasion force. Admiral Fimbria, reinforce us at your discretion. Admiral Haelstein, please cut off the Mandalorian ground forces first to lift the siege."

She spoke with the comfortable authority of someone that has been doing this her whole life, even though her appearance belied that notion.

((OOC: I've arranged for the NPC fleet to go into the 'busy with the ground forces' holding pattern, should we run the battle.))

[Senator Enrorgh of Meritonia]

Admiral Haelstein considered the tactic of choice for a moment and then replied.

"Understood princess, we will focus our efforts on the Mandalorian dropships and run interference on the ground. Good luck."

The admiral subsequently gave new orders and the smaller fleet picked up speed as the moved into their new positions. The older capital ships, supported by a small squadron of fighter wings and a light cruiser escort would take a position in orbit around Nest and focus their efforts on bringing down the Mandalorian Dropshops and hinder their capabilities to supply the ground force. The larger part of the cruisers and most of the fighter wings however were to enter the atmosphere and assist the Azaryan defence forces on the ground with coordinated strikes at Mandalorian strategic positions and supplylines.

((OOC: Fine by me xD))

[Mercury]

((OOC: Can I get a reference post of which fleets exactly are in there and such, for my own sanity? I want to do round 0 on Monday, complete with situational description and such.))

[Gerben]

((OOC: Fleets currently in this combat are:

the First Shebi Fleet with Shebi Ajava present
the Praetorian Primary Fleet

and the Second fleet of the Kingdom of Komès (KK F2)))

[Brend]

((OOC: Would be nice if you (Mercury) would also at least name the fleets in your post somewhere... It would help my sanity if I didn't have to cross-reference with the intelligence stream :P

For the record:

• Mandalorian Fleet 943 - Briikase Bes'laar (4s)
• Mandalorian Fleet 944 - Kandosii (2s)

))

[Mercury]

123

The Union fleets arrived just as the Mandalians had taken control of some crucial points on the surface, though it was clear they had come in greater numbers than the Mandalorians had expected judging by their fleets scurrying to regroup!

((OOC: Round 0!))

((OOC: Absolutely awesome image courtesy of Elmer))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

The veolian fleet spearheaded the offensive, opening the battle in skirmish formation. Fighters and bombers were already deployed, and the fleet moved in past barrage distance to close with the enemy fleets.

((Combat, round 0: First Shebi Fleet: Skirmish Formation))

[Praetorian Empire]

The Praetorian Fleet engaged from the other side. They kept their distance and aligned the destroyers and cruisers for a long range barrage.

((Combat, round 0: Praetorian Primary Fleet: Barrage Formation))

[Mercury]

Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943)

The more powerful of the two Mandalorian fleets would not have any of the interference the two Union fleets were bringing to the fray below. Turning their vessels weapons from the planets surface to the arriving fleets, they did not hesitate for a moment but opened fire immediately upon the Veolian fleet.

The fleet took up defensive positions close above the atmosphere of the Azaryan homeworld, both to cover the landing vessels and to force the Union fleets to risk hitting the planet with any attacks on the Mandalorian fleet.

((Combat, round 1: Attacking First Shebi Fleet, Taking Defensive Advantage Actions

Attack: 3 / 3 / 3 - Standard Formation
Defence: 6 / 6 / 6 - Standard Formation

• First round of combat -2/-2/-2 on attack

))

Kandosii (MF 944)

The weaker fleet appeared to be primarily engaged in landing ground troops, but when the Union fleets arrived it soon turned out that they held some teeth in space as well.

A large volley of smaller vessels was launched at the Union fleets, dodging the long range fire to engage the Praetorians. From a distance, it would likely seem as if a swarm of Mandalorian bees was out to punish the people who had hit their hive - given that this was the Azaryan homeworld, the irony of the analogy was not lost on either side of the conflict.

((Combat, round 1: Attacking Praetorian Primary Fleet, Taking Offensive Direct Combat Action massive fighter launch (+0/+0/+2)

Attack: 1 / 1 / 3 - Standard Formation
Defence: 4 / 4 / 4 - Standard Formation

• DCA (+0/+0/+2)
• First round of combat -2/-2/-2 on attack

))

Surface

The battle on the surface continued, with local guerilla forces continuing to harass the Mandalorians. Between the chaos on the surface and in space, it is currently almost impossible to tell just what is going on down there, though large explosions have been reported.

[Unified Empire of Azaryan Colonies]

((OOC: Brend has notified me about the fact that various assumptions are being made about our homeworld. Some of them might be different from what I intended

Just to clarify some things here: The solar system the planet Nest (the Azaryan homeworld) is in, is somewhat different from your average one. There is an initial version in This topic. Even though the system is not final, the orbit of Nest is as is should be. No, it is not the medium planet, it is one of the large moons around the Ternary star in the cold orbit.

Just to clarify, the orbit with Nest is as follows:

It is a cold orbit with a trinary brown dwarf star with five large moons circling around it. The orbit also has a belt of trojan asteroids.
One of these moons is Nest, the other ones have some preliminary settlements, but less than 0.1 each.))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

First Shebi Fleet

The Shebi fleet launched their fighters in response to the opened fire from the Briikase Bes'laar fleet. Seeing that the stronger of the two Mandalorian fleets did not focus on fighter support, Ajava ordered immediate bomber runs on their capital ships.

The bulk of the Shebi fleet ignored the enemy fire and repositioned to allow their next attack wave, called the advance in veolian military tradition, to flank the Briikase Bes'laar fleet together with the Praetorians.

((Combat, round 1: Attacking Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943), Taking Offensive advantage action flanking ((Check: 6 = 2 Fleet Inner Attack + 2 Skirmish Inner Attack + 2 Jedi -- flanking together with the Praetorians))

Attack: 2 / 3 / 4 - Skirmish Formation
Defence: 4 / 4 / 6 - Skirmish Formation

• First round of combat -2/-2/-2 on attack

))

((OOC: We had already decided to take checks based on the fleet's rings, we didn't determine yet which modifiers were applicable. I'm now going by the 'stable' modifiers: Base rating + Style + Jedi + Army, as this seems the best reflection of a fleets capabilities. (Chriz and I are still in discussion about what to do with Jedi, we will post our findings and proposal in an OOC thread after this battle.)))

[Praetorian Empire]

Praetorian Primary Fleet

The Praetorian primary fleet was capable of keeping the swarm of fighters at bay with it's point defences.

The Praetorian capital ships ignored the Kandosii and moved into a flanking position on the Briikase Bes'laar fleet. Once they flanked the Briikase Bes'laar with the Veolians the Praetorian capital ships started focusing their long range fire at the capital ships of the enemy using the fact that they now had to dodge fire from two sides.

((Combat, round 1: Attacking Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943), Taking Offensive advantage action flanking ((Check: 6 = 4 Fleet Outer Attack + 2 Barrage Outer Attack -- flanking together with the Veolians))

Attack: 4 / 2 / 2 - Barrage Formation
Defence: 5 / 3 / 3 - Barrage Formation

• First round of combat -2/-2/-2 on attack

))

[Senator Enrorgh of Meritonia]

The capital ships that were still in orbit focussed their fire on the Mandalorian dropships, which still flew to and from the planet in order to provide the Mandalorian ground forces with additional troops and supplies. Admiral Haelstein refrained from active engagement and kept his small support of cruisers and fighters close by in order to limit the risk to his split up fleet.

On the surface however, the brunt of his cruisers and fighters were busy identifying key position of the Mandalorians and tried to make contact with the Azaryan guerilla forces, in order lend support where it was needed and cause maximum harm to the Mandalorians without risking the Azaryans.

[Mercury]

((OOC: Flanking is allowed as a combat action, and I think it is appropriate here, but you cannot both flank like this.

"The same advantage cannot be active twice in the same combat. Thus, if you have high ground, your opponent cannot also gain high ground unless they remove it from you."

This seems a bit odd to me so I have decided to ignore it for this situation and allow both of you to flank. I am unsure on the DC's but 6 seems reasonable, so both checks are approved))

Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943)

Both fleets explored the defences of the biggest Mandalorian ship group, without being able to cause any major damage - the defences of the Briikase Bes'laar were quite formidable and large defensive towers returned massive amounts of fire on the Veolian fighters, leaving their regular cannons time to take aim at their enemies capital ships.

((Combat, round 2: Attacking First Shebi Fleet, Offensive Advantage Action.

Attack: 5 / 5 / 5 - Standard Formation
Defence: 7 / 7 / 7 - Standard Formation

• Defensive Advantage (using planet)

))

Kandosii (MF 944)

Using the opportunity, the other Mandalorian fleet deployed their corvettes, using the planet for cover on one side while broadsiding the enemy.

((Combat, round 2: Attacking Praetorian Primary Fleet, Taking Offensive Direct Combat Action massive corvette attack (+0/+2/+0)

Attack: 3 / 5 / 3 - Standard Formation
Defence: 4 / 4 / 4 - Standard Formation

• DCA (+0/+2/+0)

))

Surface

As the Mandalorian Fleets bolstered their defences, ground forces continue their battle with local forces as well as their Meritonian reinforcements, with no clarity on who was winning as of yet.

[Praetorian Empire]

Praetorian Primary Fleet

The Praetorian primary fleet had some trouble handling the incoming bombers but did not receive any real losses.

The Praetorian capital ships ignored the Kandosii once more and dropped their altitude to match the distance from the atmosphere with the Briikase Bes'laar fleet. Once they were flying at the same distance from the planet they no longer risked accidentally firing at the planet. The capital ships continued their long range fire at the capital ships of the enemy and a bomber squadron was launched.

((Combat, round 2: Attacking Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943), Removing Defensive Advantage Action ((Check: 6 = 4 Fleet Outer Attack + 2 Barrage Outer Attack -- Removing their advantage by matching the same altitude above the planet and launching a unhindered salvo.))

Attack: 7 / 5 / 5 - Barrage Formation
Defence: 5 / 3 / 3 - Barrage Formation

• Offensive Advantage action (from flank)

))

[Veolian Commonwealth]

First Shebi Fleet

Aboard the Invincible Fury of the Dawn, the flagship carrier of the first shebi fleet, a holographic representation of the current battle presented Shebi Ajava with an interesting situation. The praetorians were once again ignoring their immediate assailant in favour of taking away the advantage of the larger Mandalorian fleet.

As the corvettes of the Kandosii manoeuvre to broadside the descending praetorians, Ajava orders the capital ships of the fleet to perform the first half of a Marg Sabl manoeuvre, taking care to note specific rotational vectors for each vessel. The capital ships angled their superstructure hull towards the incoming fire from the Briikase Bes'laar, and the fighters formed up in a clear attack pattern behind the cover of the capital ships. It was a simple manoeuvrethat was obvious to spot.

Incidentally, the now angled capital ships all had their capital weapon ports aimed at the Kandosii. So, instead of executing the expected second half of the Marg Sabl, the jedi knight used the angled position of the capital ships to fire a devastating salvo of capital ship fire into the broadsided corvettes of the Kandosii.

((Combat, round 2: Attacking Kandosii (MF 944), Offensive feinting maneuvre DCA (+2/+0/+0) ((Check: 4 = 2 Fleet Outer Attack + 2 Jedi -- ))
Attack: 7 / 6 / 7 - Skirmish Formation
Defence: 5 / 4 / 5 - Skirmish Formation

• Offensive advantage (using flank)
• Offensive DCA (+2/+0/+0)

))

[Mercury]

((OOC: Praetorian Primary Fleet

I understand there is some lack of clarity about removing advantage actions. For the purposes of this battle, advantages are global, which means the Mandalorian Fleet held the advantage against both your fleets and now that you have removed it (that action is approved) it no longer holds against anyone.

First Shebi Fleet

The Marg Sabl manoeuvre variation presumed the ship weapons are located on the large side of the hull. This does not seem unreasonable to me, construction wise so I see no reason to deny it. 4 is a bit of a low score, but the Kandosii are not a very powerful opponent, so I will say the result is approved))

The Praetorian fire did little harm against the Briikase Bes'laar defences, being unable to significantly penetrate their defences. The Briikase Bes'laars fire at the First Shebi Fleet was equally unsuccessful, causing only minor damage. The First Shebi Fleets surprise manoeuvre did damage the Kandosii, resulting in a lost effectiveness level for this fleet, while the Kandosii's completion of the attack ring on the Praetorians caused little damage as they scrambled to defend themselves. All in all, the success was on the Unions side.

Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943)

With their regular cannons re-aimed, the Briikase opened a massive barrage of mass driver ordinance - large depleted uranium shells accelerated to high speeds and used for blunt impacts. It was a crude, but effective weapon, roughly the equivalent of a large bomb. Surprisingly, the re-aim was not intended for the Veolians, but instead the attack targeted the Praetorian fleet!

The fleet did more than open fire though: using the recoil of the mass driver attack to help slow down to sub-orbital speeds, causing the vessels to drop into the planets atmosphere. This wasn't a gentle slowdown either - it was a brutally abrupt "now we stop moving forward and instead go downward" move.

The troops below on the ground would see the fleet coming down overhead, turning sharply some two kilometres above the ground and opening blaster fire upwards.

((Combat, round 3: Attacking the Praetorian Primary Fleet, Defensive Advantage Action, dropping into the atmosphere.

Attack: 6 / 6 / 6 - Standard Formation
Defence: 6 / 6 / 6 - Standard Formation

• Offensive Advantage (extended targeting sequence)

))

Kandosii (MF 944)

Losing ships left and right to the First Shebi Fleet's barrage, the Kandosii withdrew away from the Azaryan homeworld, ships dropping into hyperspace, to appear on sensors again shortly after, circling around the Trojan asteroids nearby to regroup into a new attack formation with Corvettes in the lead, Capital ships in the rear and fighters scattered throughout the entire fleet.

All fire in their retreat was aimed at the Praetorians, but it was more for show than a serious attack.

((Combat, round 3: Attacking Praetorian Primary Fleet, Taking Defensive Advantage Action, withdraw and regroup

Attack: 3 / 3 / 3 - Standard Formation
Defence: 4 / 4 / 4 - Standard Formation ))

[Praetorian Empire]

Praetorian Primary Fleet

The Praetorian primary fleet regrouped for another capital ship barrage. Noticing that the Briikase Bes'laar was now entering the atmosphere they targeted the engines of their capital ships. Using the fact that they were now entering the planets gravity and damage to their engines to limit their mobility even further.

After firing their barrage they moved to a standard formation and prepared for impact.

((Combat, round 3: Attacking Briikase Bes'laar (MF 943), Taking Offensive Advantage Action ((Check: 6 = 4 Fleet Outer Attack + 2 Barrage Outer Attack -- Using the fact that they they are in the planets atmosphere and impacted by the gravity of the planet and damage to their engines to limit their mobility even further.))

Attack: 7 / 5 / 5 - Barrage Formation
Defence: 6 / 4 / 5 - Standard Formation

• Offensive Advantage action (from flank)

))