Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)

ShadowArxxy - Omake - We Come Bearing Wonderful Headaches (Part 4)

ShadowArxxy

Well-known member
Comrade
Omake: We Come Bearing Wonderful Headaches, Part IV

---

System Defense Command, Hilton Head, Terra

“Incoming! Precentors, we have incoming jump signatures at the nadir jump point! Six incoming signatures -- one in the four hundred thousand ton range, two in the seven hundred thousand ton range, two in the seven hundred fifty thousand ton range, and one in the eight hundred twenty five thousand ton range!”

The Comstar adept manning the system defense console murmured a quick prayer to Blake. “Jumps completed, and we have positive warbook recognition on all six incoming WarShips. They are SLNS Mars, SLNS Darius, SLNS Nelson, SLNS Beowulf, SLNS Alexander, and SLNS Athena -- all Star League Defense Force ships known to have been among Kerensky’s exodus. Their IFF transponder signatures are in accordance, but have been changed from SLDF to Wolf’s Dragoons.”

“Wolf’s Dragoons? The mercenaries have WarShips?” The First Circuit was remotely ‘sitting in’ on the system defense, and Myndo Waverly’s tone was even more acidic than usual.

“This confirms certain long standing suspicions.” mused Precentor ROM out loud. “The Dragoons are connected to Kerensky.”

“Suspicions which you saw fit to hide from the First Circuit?!”

“Suspicions which we were unable to confirm being anything more than rumors and which were irrelevant to our actual work.”

“Enough bickering.” growled the Primus. “Given that none of the Com Guard reserves will be able to reach us in time, having any friendly WarShips available to meet these ‘Griffons’ in space is the only good news we’ve had in weeks. And six large SLDF WarShips should considerably overmatch the single Griffon WarShip seen at New Avalon.”

“Unless the Griffons have more WarShips in reserve, as they implied.”

“Obviously a bluff.” sneered Myndo. “A Periphery world couldn’t possibly support large-scale WarShip production. Two or three at the very most.”

“And yet a month ago we would have all agreed that a Periphery world couldn’t possibly have any WarShips.”

“That was YOUR failing!”

Tiepolo signed and turned his attention to the system defense console just as it began to chime with fresh jump signature warnings.

“Incoming!” The adept gasped. “Multiple jump signatures at danger-close separation; we will not be able to identify individual ships until they emerge. The...the collective tonnage is in the millions of tons.”

“The same tactic Kerensky used to take the jump point defenses.” pondered Tiepolo, his inner historian fascinated. “They don’t know if we have the SDS online.”

“Jumps completed....fifteen WarShips, all of unrecognized class.”

“FIFTEEN!?!??!”

“Six WarShips of seven hundred fifty thousand tons, six WarShips of one million tons, and three WarShips of two and a half million tons." reported the adept faithfully. "The large three are of two types, two of one and one of the other, while the two sets of six are of a single type each. Collar count is three hundred thirty -- fifty each on the 2.5-million ton classes, eighteen each on the million tonners, twelve each on the three-quarters. The DropShips are all of one hundred thousand tons, three different models identified, two of which are a broad match for the sensor data obtained from New Avalon. They are maneuvering out of the jump point at a base acceleration of two Gs.”

At least Myndo Waverly wasn't saying anything now, thought Tiepolo in despair.

----

Despite the gross mismatch in tonnage and firepower between his six ships and the fifteen which the Imperial Griffon Navy had brought to Terra, the Captain of the Athena was absolutely exultant. With the total lack of WarShips among the forces of the Inner Sphere, it had seemed that the entire naval Warrior contingent assigned to Wolf’s Dragoons was doomed to fade away without the slightest opportunity to earn even the last morsel of glory. But today, they would die as Clan Warriors should!

“Ah, Wolf’s Dragoons. We were wondering if you would answer Comstar’s call for aid. . . I suppose you couldn’t resist the prospect of an actual naval battle.” There was something deeply disturbing about the Griffon admiral’s tone and posture on the video screen. “Tell me, what brought Clan Wolf all the way back to Terra -- in Clan Widowmaker ships, no less? Little Nicky Kerensky forgot his binky, quiaff?”

Jaime and Joshua Wolf very nearly fell out of their command chairs. “What!?!?!?”

“I am Admiral Patricia McEvedy, of Griffon’s Roost and of Clan Wolverine. If you are Wolves, Widowmakers, or any other of Little Nicky's dezgra fools, we have a Trial of Annihilation to finish!”

“Neg!” Jaime Wolf surged to his feet. “Clan Widowmaker’s treachery against Clan Wolverine was uncovered, and Clan Widowmaker was subjected to a Trial of Absorption by Clan Wolf! There is no need for . . .”

“Clan Widowmaker’s treachery was known during the Trial of Annihilation, Wolf.” purred Admiral McEvedy with mock sweetness. “Your admission merely confirms how utterly dezgra your precious Kerensky was. But be good dogs and run! Crawl back to Strana Mechty and tell the Grand Council that Clan Wolverine waits for them on Terra, if they dare come!”
 

Thors_Alumni

Well-known member
[X] Send forces to investigate (from Jump Point flotillas)

We need to investigate this, Better to destroy any forward op bases before they can have a defending fleet brought in. The reason these don't is because the Drac's think that they have been undetected. or maybe its the Amaris Remnants.
 

kelgar04

Well-known member
[X]Send forces to investigate (from Jump Point flotillas)

I’m strangely getting an ARGUS platform vibe from it from the honorverse book Short Victorious War.
 

Artifex

Well-known member
One thing we should get onto asap I feel is LF batteries for deploying scout dropships into potentially hostile environments.

Another thing I'm kind of confused about. Currently it seems that we're kind of tied to a specific pattern of planets - they have been explored already and are in some kind of huge star map database where all their data, etc. has been collated. But considering that we kind of know only 4-5 actual star systems in our neighborhood (Dracs, FFR, NRI, Calliope & 1-2 I'm missing at the moment) wouldn't that mean that we potentially have several more possible candidates in our radius of 30 LY? Space is vast after all...

How would we go about trying to discern those? Telescopes, etc. pp.? Jumping around blindly, praying to hit neighborhood of suns to recharge our charges?

Pretty sure the Explorer Corps in the inital wave of settlement kind of operated on that basis?
 

Culsu

Agent of the Central Plasma
Founder
One thing we should get onto asap I feel is LF batteries for deploying scout dropships into potentially hostile environments.

Another thing I'm kind of confused about. Currently it seems that we're kind of tied to a specific pattern of planets - they have been explored already and are in some kind of huge star map database where all their data, etc. has been collated. But considering that we kind of know only 4-5 actual star systems in our neighborhood (Dracs, FFR, NRI, Calliope & 1-2 I'm missing at the moment) wouldn't that mean that we potentially have several more possible candidates in our radius of 30 LY? Space is vast after all...

How would we go about trying to discern those? Telescopes, etc. pp.? Jumping around blindly, praying to hit neighborhood of suns to recharge our charges?

Pretty sure the Explorer Corps in the inital wave of settlement kind of operated on that basis?
There are at least four unexplored systems within 30 LY of Griffon's Roost PLUS Calliope + Capricorn, with the latter two being sparse on astrographic data. You're not running out of stuff to explore and colonize and fight over in your neighborhood anytime soon. 😅 Besides, it's not as if some kind of new astrographic survey type event chain can't happen in the future, now can it?

[X] Send forces to investigate (from Jump Point flotillas).
Go in hot, and with everything you can gather on short notice. Nukes included, if need be. This looks like the establishment of a massive FOB + defenses, and if it is that we need to clear it out immediately. Capture the station if possible, nuke it to smithereens and mine the area if not.
 
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Jarow

Well-known member
[X]Send forces to investigate (from Jump Point flotillas)

It's too bad we scrapped the enterprises (admittedly they're slow enough that it would be suicide to send them), it'd be nice to be able to send them
 

Thors_Alumni

Well-known member
[X]Send forces to investigate (from Jump Point flotillas)

It's too bad we scrapped the enterprises (admittedly they're slow enough that it would be suicide to send them), it'd be nice to be able to send them
We didn't scrap them, They are in museums.
 
Turn 52 - Illuminate The Night

LordSunhawk

Das BOOT (literally)
Owner
Administrator
Staff Member
Founder
Turn 52 - Illuminate The Night

One of the Oligarch’s that you haven't yet gotten anything concrete on is in communication with the lawyers you have under surveillance. It appears that, contrary to the others wanting to fulfil personal vices, he is wanting something more professional, namely he is working with the law firm to try and fabricate blackmail material against various Imperial Broadcasting Corporation journalists, editors, and producers in an effort to exert influence.

Specifically, he is arranging for individuals with identical physical builds, that is height, weight, general musculature, hair color, and skin color to the targets to be taped raping and abusing various of the ‘acquisitions’, then through advanced 3d digital editing techniques which you are told are nearly impossible to detect without knowing in advance that they are present altering the footage to show the targets committing the crimes.

Fortunately for you, knowing in advance allows you to take subtle countermeasures. Each of the targets is discretely contacted by the Special Branch, briefed on the threat, and measures are taken. When the blackmailers arrive and start making threats, the targets go along with it, the entire thing happening on camera. You then arrange for the targets to be ‘randomly’ assigned stories that just happen to take them off the air for extended periods of time as they travel to Nowy Gdansk to report on provincial elections there in one of the Arcologies.

One of the benefits of this is that you are able to identify several more lower level corrupted officials and companies that are supporting the oligarchs and may have escaped notice otherwise.

[]Strike Now
  • 83% Chance of lawfully convicting all primary perpetrators
  • 40% Chance of also sweeping up the entire support network
    • If Successful (Primary)
      • Ends ‘the Weak’
      • +15 Approval Change
      • +10 Politics
      • +5 Approval
      • +4 Support Chamber of Delegates
      • +4 Support Imperial Senate
    • If Successful (Secondary)
      • Prevents future “Official Corruption” Meta-Events for 50 rounds
      • Grants “Champion of the Weak”
        • 1 reroll of any negative or neutral meta-event or dynasty luck check
      • One time +2% GDP all planets
[]Continue Surveillance
  • Continue ‘the Weak’ through next update
[]Continue Surveillance while turning loose Intelligence interrogators on captured accessories
  • Has a chance of accelerating the process of lawfully convicting all targets
  • Has a chance of weakening the case against all targets

Janet is pretty firm in her conviction that you need to remain patient and let the investigation develop. She wants to wipe out everything at once, in the hopes of keeping this from ever happening again.

Each of the Jump Point picket forces send a single unit on a recon run. Imagery developed during the mission shows medium sized modular space stations that appear to be purely for logistics, with large numbers of aerospace fighters and Achilles dropships buzzing about.

This could be catastrophic, if given the ability to mass forces, the Dracs could build up enough to overwhelm any defense you could mount by sheer raw numbers alone.

Thanh has her child transferred to an Iron Womb and boards HMS Ramillies. The other four Royal Sovereigns, the two newly completed Devastations, five Tyrannosauruss, ten Troodons, a pair of Megaraptors and a quartet of humble Defiants form an ad hoc formation and boost for the Zenith force concentration. These are all ships that had been awaiting assignment, so concentrating them this way doesn’t weaken any of your defensive positions.

They are almost halfway there when a second pair of emergence waves are detected, ten Drac Monoliths arrive, carrying swarms of additional Achilles, Avenger and Leopard-CV dropships, along with 5 vessels that look like somebody sawed off the top half of an Overlord and mounted a big ball turret.

Thanh makes the decision to continue to attack, the enemy massively outnumbers her, but she has the mass advantage and she strongly believes that she has the tech and tactical advantage as well. She arranges her forces in a deep formation, with her heaviest hitters to the rear well-screened by the lighter units.

The enemy comes out to meet her, one hundred and thirty dropships and near 600 enemy fighters, the vast majority of which are Sabres. As the forward screen of Defiants get close Thanh discovers what those modified Overlords are… they mount light sub-capital cannons which immediately open fire on the swift little dropships. Their accuracy is abysmal, obviously they haven’t managed to fully crack fire control over these ranges.

As they closed Thanh narrowed her eyes, the enemy formations were… looser than she’d expected from previous engagements. If anything it more closely resembles the formations involved in the attack on the jump point defenses…

Kamikazes…

She orders her formation to prepare for evasive maneuvering and focuses fire away from the enemy aerospace fighters and solely on the enemy dropships, as those were the only actual threat. And she orders nuclear warheads armed for her Piranha and Manta Ray missiles.

Her own sub-cap weapons open fire, her targeting systems far more capable and refined than the Dracs, resulting in multiple hits forcing enemy dropships to fall out of formation, but they continue coming on hard. The first salvoes of nuclear-tipped missiles lance out at the enemy, causing their targets to bloom into debris on impact, but she has only so many missiles, and only so much time. The relative closing velocity is such that there is no way she could extend the engagement and simply pound the enemy, she had too little delta-v in comparison to the enemy, who were slashing in at five and a half gravities.

Still they came… and as the formations started to interpenetrate Thanh forced herself to watch as the four Defiants that made up her outermost picket physically interposed themselves between the incoming Drac Achilles and her far slower ‘capital’ ships… and paid for their courage with their lives as they and the enemy dropships became nothing but brutally brilliant flares of plasma upon impact.

The Dracs numbers were being whittled away, bit by bit by bit… but too slowly. The Troodons that made up her second line of escorts were next in the fire and suffered the same grim fates as the much lighter Defiants, protecting the main force from kamikaze rams.

HMS Basilisk destroyed a pair of Avengers with her final volley, moments later joining them in death as she was rammed by an onrushing Achilles. HMS Nautilus managed to score a kill on one of the modified Overlords, silencing it, as well as an Achilles before dying in a ball of fire when rammed by an Avenger.

HMS Savage died hard, ripping off the wing of one onrushing Avenger before pinwheeling into an enemy Achilles. HMS Harpy managed to flush her Piranha racks into an incoming Avenger, but was unable to reload fast enough to destroy an Achilles that rammed her head on. HMS Acorn accounted for three Leopard-CV before dying to a ram from an Avenger. HMS Alarm briefly led a charmed life, evading three enemy Avengers, killing two of them, before a pair of Achilles pincered her and all three died together.

HMS Brisk managed to cripped two incoming Achilles that had been targeting other ships, before she herself died to an Avenger. HMS Chameleon accounted for one Achilles in addition to the one that rammed her amidships. HMS Comet almost survived the merge, killing three Leopard-CVs and an Avenger before being clipped by a crippled Achilles. She was the only Troodon to manage to launch escape pods. HMS Fury tore into the enemy formation like her namesake, but in the end was ripped apart by a kamikaze Avenger after causing significant damage to multiple enemy dropships.

The Tyrannosaurus-class HMS Wear hammered the remaining forces alongside her sisters before deliberately interposing herself between a damaged Achilles and HMS Pallas, saving the Devastation at the cost of her own life. HMS Ribble managed to intercept one of the two Achilles that were going for HMS Lord Warden, but the other managed to kill the cruiser in a brutal fireball moments after the death of Ribble.

By the time the Dracs reached the main battle line of five Royal Sovereigns they were a broken force. But they were still utter and total fanatics, at least on the dropships. The majority of the Drac aerospace fighter pilots were ejecting from their birds rather than continuing the battle, which made sense since your intelligence is that most of them were conscripts who probably didn’t want to be fighting in the first place.

A broken and defeated force, but the ten surviving Avengers and three surviving Achilles were not about to surrender. Final desperate defensive fire and evasive maneuvers saved four out of the five battleships, but HMS Hood was struck by a single Achilles. For a moment it looked like the massive battleship would survive the impact, but moments later she detonated in a massive fireball, killing all aboard.

Thanh grimly presses forward, marking the ejected Dracs for pickup as POWs and leaving behind small craft to begin recovery operations for any survivors. The modular station is undefended, the jumpships having departed hours before the engagement even started. Thanh signals for the Dracs to surrender, in response, they instead trigger the self-destruct in a final show of defiance.

SARAH detects a force at least as large as this one on an inbound trajectory, with indications that the station itself is being ‘towed’ along with the rest to provide logistical support. It will be over three months before they arrive, and by their trajectory they are bypassing the jump point defenses entirely, heading straight for Griffin’s Roost.

Thanh has already started to boost back towards home, and despite her damage she’ll arrive before the enemy. She brings with almost 500 prisoners, all conscripted residents of Nowa Warszawa. And less than two dozen survivors of her lost vessels.

Admiral Benjamin recommends drawing in the mobile jump point defenses to Griffin’s Roost to boost the number of screening units available in the event of more kamikaze attacks. Right now Home Fleet only has four Troodons and six Tyrannosauruses as screening elements for their Devastations… and that is plainly insufficient.
[]Approve Partially, either Zenith or Nadir mobile units pulled in
[]Approve in full, all pickets pulled in
[]Refuse
 

Knowledgeispower

Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
[X]Approve in full, all pickets pulled in.
Well those loses are painful. It's a good thing we can replace them rather quickly all things considered

By the way @LordSunhawk can we tow the forts at the jump points to reinforce the defenses of Griffin's Roost? Because without their screens they're kinda screwed in the event of a major attack
 

ShadowArxxy

Well-known member
Comrade
[X] Continue Surveillance
[X] Approve in full, all pickets pulled in.

Against forces of this size, our pickets are tripwire forces. . . but we're already alerted, and there's no need for further sacrifice today.
 

ShadowArxxy

Well-known member
Comrade
I just can't understand the reasoning behind this attack. These numbers can't be sustainable, are they desperate to defeat us?

Having never actually fought our heavy units before, they certainly did not expect anywhere near that level of casualties; they expected their sheer numbers to allow them to *win* while taking llight losses below CLG, as they have in several past engagements.
 

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