Systems Check, A Test Scenario

[Progflaw99]

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Location: Space Debris Field, Undisclosed Location
Objective: Test Prototype Ship
Test Team 1: [member="Buruk Surhaai"] | [member="Sko'saht"]
Test Team 2 (Prototype): [member="Likar Kejis"]

Debris was scattered about this area of space, but where the debris dropped off into nothingness, that is where the concealed hull of the Hra'nadetr Jair'Galaar-Class strike cruiser laid in wait. Its systems had been mostly powered down, it's electronic signature minimal and shrouded by the derelict hull of a long destroyed star destroyer. Once he received confirmation that the other ship in his formation had successfully entered the system the ship planned to engage its engines, thrusting itself out of the immediate debris and into open space. On its bridge, Buruk Surhaai, the Alor'ad of Clan Vhe'viin stood, his eyes scanning the console before him. They were prepared, now they waited. Once their ally showed up, they would begin the exercise.

Grudgingly at first he'd agreed to help his fellow vod, his brothers, to test out a new prototype ship. After considering it however, he was now glad he had agreed. Space was never his first love, the soft feel of earth beneath his feet much more his calling. As such, he had forced himself into space conflict, he needed the training. Times had changed, and no longer were battles simply fought over regions on one planet, they were fought across the verse. He looked to his XO, a lithe blonde of their clan, Aria. He spoke.

"Battle Stations. Maintain silent running until our ally enters the system."

Silently the woman nodded, passing on the commands to the helmsman and comm officer. A high frequency sound was emitted through the ship, just enough for the human ear to pick up. That was the signal and the entire crew rushed to battle stations. They did not want to be caught unaware. For this exercise, weapons had been modified to a much lower output, their load of torpedoes replaced with dummy warheads, only ion charges to disable ship systems had been installed. There was a limit to how far they wanted to go to test this prototype and as such, they'd agreed to use non-lethal methods to test the new systems. That didn't mean they had no true weapons, but they were not to be used. Buruk was prepared however to switch out the dummy load with live torpedoes at a moment's notice if required. Getting caught with his pants down was never an acceptable situation. At least not when it came to battle...

 

[Sko'saht]

Dropping out of warp the corvette blasted local space with a jammer before going into stealth and accelerating away. It's black hull with the white stripes blended in decently well with the debris as it settled into the outskirts of the field. Scans had identified the two other ships in the area and marked them down as friendly and hostile respectively.

Sko'saht sat on the bridge looking over the field layout and plotting the courses of the nearest pieces of debris in his head. Used to doing this with asteroids it had become more important skill with the lack of shields or heavy armour plating while near wrecked ships. The Acthnak might be able to fend off lighter debris but that console was coming a bit to close.

"Helm adjust course five degrees to heading oh-four and position us between and above the frigate and the cruiser on the edge of the field." Opening his communications he opened channels to the friendly strike cruiser. "Achtnak is on station and standing by for the engagement. We will send our targeting data to you from the edge of the field and position ourselves for an attack once they enter."

Ships:
Bearsloth Corvette (Achtnak)

Torpedo complement:
17x Dummy Photon Torpedos (Blue nosed for identifying it as non-explosive),
17x Dummy Intruder Missiles (Blue nosed),
6x Active Intruder Missiles (Yellow nosed to mark as active)

 

[Likar Kejis]

Location: Empty space, several hundred kilometers from the debris field.​

Objective: Win the test scenario.​

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[member="Buruk Surhaai"] | [member="Sko'saht"]​

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Likar stood on the bridge of the prototype vessel, surveying every minute detail of the holographic projection before him. It contained a representation of everything their sensors could currently see, and whatever else they had mapped since arriving minutes ago. It also maintained a projection of their field of view, allowing the Ebranite commander to easily discern the sensor shadows in which his enemies might be hiding. Unfortunately, the debris field created far too many of these shadows for the feature to be of any significant use to him at the moment. A single hand unclasped itself from behind his back and rose to gently stroke his chin as he pondered the possibilities ahead. He knew at least one of his opponents in this test was fairly new to space combat, and accustomed instead to the rigors of ground campaigns. That could possibly mean he was a two-dimensional thinker, not used to applying a third dimension in his tactics and combat maneuvers. Likar didn't wish to commit to that assumption, however, and merely noted to himself that it was likely.

"Sir, why are we not moving to a position within the debris field? Given our lack of long range options the cover it provides would be invaluable."

It was the voice of his XO that disturbed his reverie, a young Ebranite like himself and one of the few that had accompanied him off their homeworld.

"Never assume you are the first to arrive at a battle, Ghent. For all we know both our enemies may be hiding within that field, waiting to ambush us as soon as we enter. There are over two dozen pieces of debris in that field more than large enough to hide a cruiser behind. Besides, we're here to test the ship, and that means determining how well it fares without its strengths. We'll wait for them to make the first move"

The younger Ebranite nodded his understanding, then rejoined his commander in studying the display in the center of the bridge. The ship in question was a brand new model of assault freighter, recently christened the Daba'r. Half of her missile complement and a third of her remaining ammunition loadout had been converted to simunitions for this exercise, rounds that would look and fire like the real thing yet do no actual damage beyond a splotchy new coat of paint. The crew already knew their stations and was alert at their posts, ready and waiting for whatever the exercise may bring them.

And then, as if on cue, the corvette they were scheduled to fight appeared in the system, almost dangerously close to the debris field. "Brave captain, that one." Static flickered throughout the holo-display as the jammer burst permeated their sensor picture, but quickly faded to reveal the corvette had vanished from their screens. "Ah, yes. I remember this captain from the war games over Bandomeer. He likes to play hide and seek. Although that time he was on my side."

It was only a scant few minutes later that a comm signal burst out of seemingly empty space, and Likar issued a quick command to mark the location and focus optical scanners on the area. "Not a wise move, Sko'saht. Once you have an advantage it's best to maintain it until you can use it."

"Comms, open a channel to anyone within listening range. Use standard encryptions."

"Aye, Sir. Channel open."

"I'm going to go ahead and assume you've both arrived, and give you the opportunity to choose the first engagement. I will remain where I am until you open fire, or in the case of your stealth vessel, until I see you. May your tactics be sound and your luck good. Daba'r out." He ended the message decisively, making it clear that he was not interested in further banter before they actually got down to business.

 

[Progflaw99]

Buruk heard the transmission from the ally vessel but made no immediate response. The would be ready now, and his ship was much too large for his comfort, at least to be this close to the debris field. He nodded to the XO, in turn she gave the order to the con. The ship's systems came to life, lights and engines humming loudly within the ship. As the hull of the cruiser began to nose out of the debris field, an incoming transmission was received. Buruk smirked. His opposition had arrived. Out here in open combat, that is where the torpedo cruiser would excel. Launch the torpedoes too early though hand it would give the enemy too much time to maneuver away from them. Instead, the ship changed its heading, angling itself towards open space.

"Looks like we've got a contact! still a ways off. Appears to be similar size."

He had to play to his ship's strengths.. he knew that much, but what were they? He'd done a small bit of studying on the subject of space combat, but even then his focus was on boarding, not the strange, asynchronous practice of ship to ship combat. Even so, he tried his best to come up with a plan. Inhaling slowly, he responded.

"Good. Get them off our starboard bow, I want all weapons systems trained on them. Wait for my command to fire. I want a half salvo as soon as we get within optimal range, keep half in reserve. I want to see how he adjusts."

The cruiser lumbered on, closing the distance between the two ships. He tried to keep his ally on sensors as best he could, but he was largely on his own, and Buruk deferred to his ally on how to use his ship best. In that sense, he was a novice, his quick thinking usually able to get him out of most tough situations. The Jikar continued on it's course, weapons prepped once the ship got within range. For now, they held their fire, no point in wasting his loadout and firing pre-maturely. That would bring a swift end to this exercise.

[member="Likar Kejis"] | [member="Sko'saht"]​

 

[Sko'saht]

"Helm forwards at slow speed. Let's let the cruiser go ahead of us while we drop behind them. Once there go best possible speed while shadowing." As the Verpine gave his orders brought up the passive scanners on his console and what little he'd been allowed to know about the prototypes ships specifications. He was used to working with more information then this but it'd have to do.

Judging by what the scanners were telling him and the information he had the rear only had eight point defense emplacements. Now he just had to figure out how to get behind the ship and close enough where it wouldn't just destroy his volley. How he wished this ship could do a microjump to within a kilometre or two of the enemy.

Ships:
Bearsloth Corvette (Achtnak)

Torpedo complement:
17x Dummy Photon Torpedos (Blue nosed for identifying it as non-explosive),
17x Dummy Intruder Missiles (Blue nosed),
6x Active Intruder Missiles (Yellow nosed to mark as active)

[member="Buruk Surhaai"] [member="Likar Kejis"]

 

[Likar Kejis]

[member="Buruk Surhaai"] | [member="Sko'saht"]​

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True to his word, the Daba'r remained entirely stationary as the opposing cruiser came into view, though the crew inside was far from idle.

​

"Queue primary missile tubes two and three, full complement. I want them ready to engage before they can get a shot off. Ensign Griggs, how is it looking on those scanners?"

"You were spot on, Sir. I'm tracking a slight visual distortion against the backdrop of the debris field, moving away from the source of that transmission."

"Excellent. Keep your eyes peeled and don't lose it. He's going to try and sneak up on our aft, where our point defenses will have the poorest coverage."

Unfortunately for Sko, this wasn't the first time Likar had encountered a stealth ship, or indeed even the very one he now faced. He had witnessed the verpine's tactics firsthand on a prior occasion, though not been in full command of his own side during that same battle. That gave the Ebranite a distinct advantage in this battle, as neither of his opponents knew the full scope of his ship's capabilities, or even the preferred tactics of the man commanding it. That alone may have been enough even in a lesser ship than this, but this was a state of the art vessel designed for the sole purpose of battle. In short, they really didn't stand a chance.

"Let me know when the cruiser reaches attack range, but do not move until it has opened fire. We let them come to us."

 

[Progflaw99]

As the ship turned to port, it brought its starboard weapons to bear in the direction of the enemy ship, a 30 degree angle off his bow. Buruk narrowed his eyes at the three dimensional battlespace before him. He didn't see how this was going to work. Out here in space, there was no cover. There was no flanking the enemy. This engagement would have to be direct, all in or all out. He was much more conditioned to the battlefield, not the wide range of motion here in space. He nervously tensed his jaw. There was nothing for it. His weapons would likely have range on the enemy ship, he needed to find a way to use that to his advantage. Reversing his order, he directed the ship in a straight on formation, where most of his weapons would be able to fire... directly forward.

"Come to starboard, prepare to fire a half salvo, hold the second in reserve."

Quickly the ship centered it's nose on the enemy, swinging from left to right to allow the majority of its guns and torpedo tubes to fire. A single half volley of torpedoes silently launched from their tubes, aimed in front of and off to the side of the enemy's prow. They aimed to lock the ship in a hail of torpedoes, forcing them into another barrage. Unless they had incredible maneuverability, it was unlikely they'd escape unscathed. Though he knew the torpedoes wouldn't deliver what they would consider a kill shot, delivering blows of any kind would be beneficial in the long run.

[member="Likar Kejis"] | [member="Sko'saht"]​

 

[Sko'saht]

The corvette fell into a trailing position behind the cruiser. The space where it was shimmered as the stars were warped by the speed of ship as moved. Falling directly behind the cruiser the view from the bridge was of the engines filling the view.

"Helm ahead full and let's use their ion trail to disguise our own. Match their every move until they fire torpedoes or I say differently." Sko said and tapped the console in front of him to bring up the targeting data. "Weapons prep tubes one through ten with proton torpedoes and the remaining seven with Intruders. Hold fire until we are to their rear then aim for their point defense and engines. At the very least we should overload their shield generators."

Ships:
Bearsloth Corvette (Achtnak)

Torpedo complement:
17x Dummy Photon Torpedos (Blue nosed for identifying it as non-explosive),
17x Dummy Intruder Missiles (Blue nosed),
6x Active Intruder Missiles (Yellow nosed to mark as active)

[member="Buruk Surhaai"] [member="Likar Kejis"]

 

[Likar Kejis]

[member="Buruk Surhaai"] | [member="Sko'saht"]​

"Sir, they've reached firing range and are launching torpedoes. Looks like a half-volley if my readings are right."

"Very good. Where is the stealth ship?"

"I've lost it sir, it seems to have moved directly behind the cruiser to break line of sight."

"Clever, but it won't save him. Prepare for microjump and set coordinates five hundred meters aft of the cruiser, starboard side. Load flak and prep starboard broadside, begin queuing missile tubes one and four."

"Aye Sir. Torpedoes to impact in fifteen seconds. Engage point defense?"

"Negative. Maintain position and hold fire."

"Aye Sir. Impact in ten seconds."

"Jump coordinates set?"

"Aye, course laid in. Five seconds to impact."

"Jump."

The torpedoes streaked in at the frigate, all fury and ill-intent, and then in an instant their target was simply no longer there. The torpedoes soared through the now-empty space, doomed to simply carry on until their fuel reserves were depleted or the timers ran out on their warheads. The ship re-appeared an instant later, nearly as soon as it had left, only now it was positioned behind and to the starboard side of the enemy cruiser, and right next to the still-cloaked stealth ship.

"Griggs, is that stealth ship where I think it is?"

"Aye Sir, directly off our starboard side. The disruption is plain as day in the ion wash."

"Excellent. Range flak to detonate in proximity and fire."

Thirty-six cannons erupted in the direction of the stealth corvette, pseudo-munitions primed to detonate in proximity to the un-shielded and under-armored ship. Were they the real thing, the much smaller vessel would no doubt be doomed, but as things were it would receive nothing more than a new and annoying paint job to simulate damage. Regardless of the outcome of the first salvo, however, Likar was already giving out orders for the next few maneuvers.

"Hard turn to starboard. Engage any counter-fired missiles with point defenses. Load high-explosive shells and fire on the cruiser's engines as we come about. Prepare missiles for firing, designate the corvette as primary and the cruiser as secondary targets."

"Aye Sir."

In spite of the size of the Frigate, the maneuver as it spun around was more agile even than what the corvette would be able to manage, even were it entirely undamaged, and was far beyond the capabilities of the cruiser. Even should they attempt to bring the bulk of their firepower to bear, the Daba'r would beat them to the punch, and Likar only wished he could see the faces of the other captains as they realized this.