Iron Stars - GCG-8905 Listening Post (UNW)

The UNW fleet translates into the edge of the system GCG-8905, a black hole where the Chimeran Ascendency has staged a listening post. The fleet translating into the system is large, staging in a picket at the edge of gravity well, hoping to block any incoming or outgoing traffic. The listening post ahead is hard to detect, as is any ships that might be guarding it. Scanners are roused from their dormancy during the spike jump, and UNW special operatives are called to the bridges of their various ships as a shared comms channel is opened to plan the assault.

1:14 PM

(there;s no world anvil scouting report for this, so I will make one)

The listening post occupies a large space station sitting at the edge of the gravity well on the other side of the system, interference from the gravity well makes it difficult to scan for it or any escorting ships.

7:58 AM

Rocks and tumbling junk form the stellar bodies in this region, a collecting place for all the loose trash of the universe.

Dr. Truffles appears via hologram from his office on his ship. "Howdy team. Ain't gonna be able to get down there myself, but I'll be here if you folks need to go over strategic decisions or need you some logistical support. I know y'all got this handled though!"

(if no one wants to do this I'll just do the mass combat and fleet battle with someone instead)

(Let's get ready to boogie folks)

3

The hologram broadcast ends with the sound of a toilet flushing. Shortly afterward, Dr. Truffles emerges onto the bridge of the Vox Finalis, still rubbing hand sanitizer into his palms. "Sorry bout dinner last night folks. Reckon that shellfish turned wrong being in the hold so long. Now, where was we in the planning."

5

"Truffles! How many times do I have to tell you to stop taking calls from your bathroom projector..." Reza shakes his head in mock-disgust and he laughs soon after

In a distant corner, Gurk Samson is thumbing through a book entitled Governing Your First Planet: A Practical Guide. Hearing voices, he packs the book up and joins the others. "I think we have so far established the listening post is hard to detect, and any defending fleet will also be hard to detect. So I suppose the question is how bold we want to be in the approach."

Barnabas Strasny wanders onto the bridge, face pointed downward at his compad, which has a map of the ship displayed on it. “Sorry I’m late. This ship is kinda big, and I got lost on the crew decks. Did you know that somebody has set up a whiskey still in one of the break rooms?”

Reza turns to Gurk and pulls out a heavy white leather bound tome. He begins flipping through the pages as he speaks, "I may have a solution if we can somehow infiltrate the listening post itself... Do we have any high definition pictures of a Chimeran individual? If so I would be able to alter our appearance so as to appear and smell Chimeran. And assuming they use some sort of vocalization to speak, we would be able to sound like them as well."

(We have the autopsy data from the NMC and Cicero)

Reza looks through his dataslab and sees the autopsy report of a captured Chimeran. He pulls up a handful of photos and spends the next several minutes studying them very intently "Yes these should work... So if we can figure out a plan to get inside the listening post undetected, I can make us look, sound and smell like Chimerans... Might help us infiltrate further into the post and disable the communications array so they cannot send an alert further in to their territory..."

A wraith shuttle might let us approach undetected, but would be risky," says Gurk. "Could we teleport onto the platform if we get in range of the docking bay?"

(You can’t teleport onto other ships or stations with teleport pads) (edited)

"Hmm... I seem to recall that Barnabas is a teleportation specialist... If they have learned the advanced technique we could attempt such a thing. Otherwise they would not be able to..." (Would need the Deep Intrusion Technique to be able to teleport into somewhere you haven't been or cannot see) (edited)

(Did someone say Deep Intrusion??) “I’ve been studying how to get into places I’ve never been before. If we can get up close, I can give it a try.”

Proceus joins the group talking to truff, steaming mug of pretzel coffee in hand. “Man, this is actually pretty good… Oh, hey guys! If you’re going to infiltrate someplace, I can go. I’d probably be more use there than in a ship’s battle station.”

Dr. Truffles smiles at Proceus. "Reckon least I can do is snacks after serving y'all bad shellfish." He turns to Reza and mouths apologetically to him. "It's dern quiet in there!" Dr. Truffles turns to Barnabas. "How many folks you reckon you can take? Though I reckon it'll depend on if they got any ships in the space too." (Neko question, is this going to be split between fleet battle and away team, or one then the other, or PAFO?)

(Is this where I post to join in?)

(ye)

“Um…. Sorry… I, uh - I’ve never been to a war before.” an electric blue slyth woman slinks into the room almost apologetically. Her forked snakelike tongue flits in and out of her mouth nervously, and probably annoyingly. She looks around the room at the gathered powerhouses around her and seems to sink into herself - had she been warm blooded, she would probably have turned beet red. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. Or really why were in a war. But I’ll do what I can.” Three of her arms move in sync, resting fists on her hips in a false display of self confidence. Her fourth arm moves awkwardly and is slow to catch up with the rest, as if she is unused to its weight, and a faint mechanical whir can be heard through her armor as it moves. She looks out of place and terrified. “Gurk, Barnabas, Proceus - good to see you again after Chloe.” She turns to Reza and Dr. Truffles and regards them with deference. “Hello. Hello. I am Iumi.” (edited)

Dr. Truffles smiles at Iumi. "Howdy, I'm Dr. Truffles. This here's Reza Collins. We was heading towards the galactic south for a few months anyways on a bit of personal business and figured we'd come see y'all off. Though given the great job y'all did on Chloe, I ain't sure how much help two arcane scientists'll be." He grins a bit ruefully at Reza. "Though for two scientists who try to avoid war, we tend to find ourselves in em with fair disturbing frequency."

Anyone who isn't deaf can hear the argument outside the room. "Yes I know "technically" I am a stowaway but my intention was simply to see where this ship was going! I thought maybe I would save resources and just go wherever this ship was headed and take samples there! How was I to know this ship was going to war? Some signage would be nice" A marine and Utan walk by the door. He glances in the room as the Marine begins to respond. His eyes quickly land on familiar faces. He steps away as Marine protests. "At ease, I've arrived at my destination, I'm here for the council of the war. You passed my test great job!" He smiles and gives a thumbs up to the Marine as he strides over to the group. The Marine shakes his head and walks off. "Sorry to interrupt, I am Lamarck, and I am here for the war, yep, that's why I'm here. Love me some war." He smiles nervously at the circle. Nodding to those he knows.

“Hey there, Iumi, good to see you again. And Lamarck, good to meet you. You wanted war? Looks like you found some.” Barnabas turns to Truffles. “How many people can I take? Hmm, I don’t really know. Maybe three? And remember I haven’t actually done it yet. If you want to come, you’ll be taking your chances.” (I do have Burdened Apportation to go with Deep Intrusion)

pm1988

Dr. Truffles smiles at Proceus. "Reckon least I can do is snacks after serving y'all bad shellfish." He turns to Reza and mouths apologetically to him. "It's dern quiet in there!" Dr. Truffles turns to Barnabas. "How many folks you reckon you can take? Though I reckon it'll depend on if they got any ships in the space too." (Neko question, is this going to be split between fleet battle and away team, or one then the other, or PAFO?)

(One then the other )

1

"Hello Lamarck, Iumi, Gurk! Very nice to meet all y'all! Reza Collins, High Mage at your service" the young man with a brown tunic and calf high leather boots bows. His beard is perfectly manicured and his hair cropped closely on the sides. The most remarkable feature is his perfectly white leather bound tome that he has in one hand. There is magnificent gold filigree on the covers and spine. "To be fair though, Truff... It's not like we are some hedge mages pledging our loyalty to whatever robber baron is about. But point taken... We do end up in war far more often than I would like... Bad for research!"

Dr. Truffles chuckles. "So it is, though reckon Lamark here is looking to, how does the Terran saying go? Make lemons out of lemonade? Pleasure to meet you Lamarck!" Dr. Truffles considers what Barnabas says and scratches his chin. "I reckon I'd be willing to be a guinea piggen, I can get us all invisible if we get aboard. Though I reckon we gotta win us a fleet battle first."

Thulee appears as a hologram amongst the gathered team. "Heey, sorry I'm late. How lovely to see you all once more... Gurk, Lamarck, Iumi. Strange circumstances... again... but yeah, here we are. Oh and Reza - great to see you as well. I'm still pursuing leads from our ritual where we conjured that fellow Medican." Thulee looks around the other unfamiliar faces of Barnabas, Proc and Truff and gives them all a nod "Hey there, Thulee Blue. How can I help?"

Iumi perks up at the sight of Thulee. “Thulee! Hello! Where’s your friend?” She says, a tinge of nervous excitement in her voice. “Where’s Mushk?” (edited)

One of the defection officers raises a hand, cutting through your meeting with an urgent report.

“Sorry I’m late.” Kila’s hologram appears and she seems a little flustered. Noticing the officer waiting to report, she sits down abruptly. “Sorry again. Go ahead. Sorry.”

Ships have been detected, and it is thought the sensor station might be close by. It is hard to tell how many contacts given the greasy smear of possible contacts across the detection screen, but they move in ways that orbital junk cannot, and more information will be coming in over the next several minutes.

Dr. Truffles looks at the others. "Reckon they know we're here. Should we put out a call for surrender? I'm thinking there ain't no element of surprise to ruin."

“Seems the decent thing to do,” says Gurk. “On the off-chance it doesn’t work I’ll be near the guns.”

"Might as well try, even though they probably won't accept." Proceus turns to follow Gurk to the weapons stations "I'll probably be more useful shooting things than at anything else. "

Dr. Truffles nods and presses a few buttons on the planning table on the bridge. "Comms, can y'all broadcast this on all frequencies and in all known languages, with a copy of the Bill of Sentient Rights?" He takes a deep breath and begins. "This is Lord Governor Truffles of the Iron Stars Federation. Unless you're whole fleet is hiding out in that there accretion disk, which I reckon it ain't given how far we is from y'all's capital, y'all are hopelessly outgunned. If y'all power down y'all's non-essential systems and engines, prepare for boarding, and turn over the listening post, y'all have my word that no harm will come to you. We'll keep y'all comfortable for the remainder of the war and return y'all to y'all's families when it's over. If our sensors detect weaponry, we will not hesitate to open fire." Dr. Truffles flips a few switches to transfer to the fleet comms. "This is Dr. Truffles to the UNW fleet. Launch all fighters. Stormfront, Highhammer, take up positions wide on either side of the Vox. I want the corvettes and frigates in a picket line, and the Currus ready to paint a target on any speck out there looks like it's fixing to power up a weapon. Hold fire until my command." He cuts the comms and looks at the others. "Reckon we all better get to our battle stations. Be safe y'all."

(program/int from whoever is at comms)

!roll 2d6+2 !NPC Program/int

Lamarck Roll: [3, 3] Result: 8 Reason: NPC Program/int

!roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [4, 4] Result: 8

Ships are detected in the space around the listening post, and the post itself is also detected. There are calls of sharks in the void, as several light vessels are detected on scans, along with four blurred contacts that vanish almost as soon as the scanner passes over them. Six corvettes, a free merchant doing refueling work, and a strange looking heavy frigate look to be the meager defense for this flank of the Chimeran star systems.

Lamarck taps the screen and turns to the comms officer. "The screens broke, I saw shapes right there that dissappeared. That shouldn't happen right?" He smiles nervously to everyone in the room. "Right? Ships don't just dissappear like that"

"They shouldn't" The sensor officer agrees, but a further scan of the area does not cause the mystery contacts to appear once again.

"I could think of a couple of magical explanations... but I don't know of anyone who has the power to weave such a powerful spell form that could wipe a ship away from a broad spectrum of scanners..."

"This seems bad," says Gurk. "What makes the heavy frigate strange-looking? If it's the only anomalous object we can see, shooting that first seems like our best option."

(its outside visual range right now, but based on the scan it looks very bulbous and oblong)

Iumi’s eyes dart towards the more experienced members of crew. “Is this… normal? What should we do?” She looks ready to bolt out of her seat.

Reza shakes his head, "Definitely not normal... We had best prepare for a fight as it seems our Chimeran friends are not interested in surrender." Reza walks forward to the captain's chair of the UNW Flagship, Vox Finalis. "The Final Voice... how fitting for a Titan. Sound General Quarters! To your stations everyone!" Reza turns to the side to look at a camera that isn't there, "Never been the captain of a warship! And to think that this is normally that golden boy Billy's ship of choice. I hope it chaps his butt to hear that I am in his chair."

6

(Did anyone here want to be on other ships or do we all want to work together on the flagship?)

(This is the current list we have worked out in our OOC server.)

Reza - Vox (captain)
Truffles - Currus (captain)
Barnabas - Stormfront (captain)
Iumi - Vox (engineering)
Kila - Gavilan (captain)
Gurk - Vox (gunnery)
Larmarck - Vox (jack-of-all-trades)
Proceus - Vox (jack-of-all-trades or perhaps comms)

7:37 PM

Dr. Truffles looks at everyone and smiles sheepishly. "He... uhh... he does that sometimes. Barnabas, Kila, reckon we should head for the shuttles to our commands?"

"Well if no one tells them, how will they know what's going on in this noggin' of mine?!" Reza taps away furiously on his dataslab, "May the Ancestors be with you, Truffles. See you on the other side!" (edited)

Dr. Truffles pats Reza on the shoulder as he walks by to the elevator off the bridge. "You to buddy. We got us a long fun road trip full of research after this. Don't go making me do it alone." He waves to the others who are staying on the Vox. "Y'all stay safe. Keep the ship safe too! She just came on out of dry-dock and Harkoni'll be mighty cross with us if we ding up the paint job. Feller was sending me messages about the budget the whole trip down here."

Barnabas heads for the shuttle and waves at the rest of the crew. “Good hunting, everyone!”

(Let’s get an initiative roll for each ship and I can get a turn order together when I wake up)

"Bah! Harkoni is stuffy old man... And you can tell him I said that too! I'm gonna change the paint job just to spite him! Or maybe ill just make it look like it when we make it back to UNW Space... The look on his face would be priceless!" Reza begins issuing orders and guidance to the various department heads sitting on the bridge. Giving the order to deploy the two fighter squadrons. Marines begin assembling at the various boarding tubes on either side of the massive flagship. "Mistress Iumi! Engage the Grav Eddy Displacement Field. Mister Samson, bring guns online and begin calculating firing solutions! We will want to engage as soon as we can get a good scan. Proc buddy! Let's see if we can clean up this signal some more as we come about! And Lamarck! Don't really know ya buddy, but please jump in where you feel you can help!" Reza reaches up to his necklace and closes his eyes momentarily. A muttered piggen word later, armor plates begin unfolding and wrap the young man in his Icarus Harness, "Hope those Chimerans brought their brown pants! Take us in Pilot..." (edited)

5

(4 for the Stormfront)

UNN Segadora - 9
UNN Desmond O'Shea - 9
Equos x2 (UNN Currus) - 8
UNN Cornelius Hardt - 7
UNN Currus - 6
UNN April Kincaid - 4
UNN Robert Tanzer - 4
UNN Joshua Collins - 3

(4 for HighHammer)

(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QIHOf4--l_P9ZfkifxOl8m5brf6oQG2LXhTKDWgY_3A/edit?usp=sharing) (I need to put in our ship stats tomorrow, but I'm setting up a combat tracker for all you cool cats. Remember to roll your attacks at a +2 from the Fleet Targetting Array on the Currus! unwemoji

)

Ship Combat: GCG-8905 Listening Post (UNW)

Tracker Current Ship,Target,Target Base Speed,Target Speed Modifier,Attack Bonus Against...,Target AC,Target AC Modifier,Weapon Used,Target Base Armor,Target Armor Modifier,Reduce Damage Rolled by...,Damage Dice,Weapon Notes UNN Vox Finalis,,,, Speed Modifier,,,, 0,,,, FTA on Field?,,,, ,,, Situ...

10:34 PM

(By checking the FTA on Field box.)

(Vox Finalis - 9; Equos Squad (Vox Finalis) - 5; Harrier Squad (Vox Finalis) - 7) (edited)

(Galivan init - 6)

!roll d8

Nekosmash Roll: [4] Result: 4

!roll 6d8

Nekosmash Roll: [7, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1] Result: 19

!roll d8

Nekosmash Roll: [3] Result: 3

UNN Segadora - 9 Vox -9 UNN Desmond O'Shea - 9 Equos x2 (UNN Currus) - 8 ~~CA Escort 1 (damages)~~ UNN Cornelius Hardt - 7 Harrier -7 Galivan-6 UNN Currus - 6 Equos Squad-5 ~~CA Escort 2 (damaged)~~ CA X-Frigate ~~CA FM~~ UNN April Kincaid - 4 Stormfront- 4 UNN Robert Tanzer - 4 High hammer -4 ~~CA Escort 3 (damaged)~~ UNN Joshua Collins - 3 ~~CA Escort 4 (damaged)~~ ~~CA Escort 5 (damaged)~~ ~~CA Escort 6 (damaged)~~ (edited)

7:33 AM

(Escorts are speed 3, FM and X-Frigate are speed 2)

Nekosmash pinned a message to this channel. 6/8/2022 7:33 AM

(I think you are missing the Stormfront, Highhammer, Galivan, and Vox - we were letting captains roll their own, so the posts are separate from Truff’s post - sorry for the confusion)

(Stormfront - 4, Highhammer - 4, Galivan -6, Vox -9; Equos Squad (Vox Finalis) - 5; Harrier Squad (Vox Finalis) - 7)

(Okay . Fix soon)

8:03 AM

(Okay)

8:03 AM

(Yeah I assumed he collected them)

(Are the CA ships all frigates? or cruisers as well?)

(think they were all frigates - 6 corvettes, a free merchant and the weird looking heavy frigate)

(Yeah they’re all frigates.

1

Being the furthest ship out on the flank of the formation, the captain of the UNN Segadora orders the engineering department to fire the reactor and the ship cuts in towards the listening post. The ship's three plasma batteries heat up and fire three quick bursts at the last known location of the Ascendancy escort corvettes, before the pilot roles the nimble frigate to a more defensive position within the debris field. UNN Segadora Support Department: Engineering (0 CP) Boost Engines (20 CP) 12v8 (Speed +2) Fire All Weapons (3 CP) +5 to hit (+3 base, +2 FTA) Plasma Beam 1 vs CA Escort 1 (speed modifier to hit +0) (23/14, AP 10) Plasma Beam 2 vs CA Escort 1 (speed modifier to hit +0) (6/8, AP 10) Plasma Beam 3 vs CA Escort 1 (speed modifier to hit +0) (7/12, AP 10) Evasive Maneuvers (2CP) 12v9 (AC+2)

(One hit)

10:11 AM

The corvette is damaged and confined within its formation it is forced to continue sailing through its own debris cloud as it steams toward the fight

10:11 AM

(Vox is up)

Reza takes a deep breath as the escort frigates beging coming into view of the UNW Flagship. He closes his eyes for a moment to steel his nerve before he begins issuing orders, "Mistress Iumi, increase speed! As fast as she'll go. Let's catch up to those escorts. Rerouting all non-essential power to your department." (Fix/Int 14v8; Success! +2 Speed. New Speed 3) "Proceus, see if you can't fry the computers of that strange frigate... Don't want that thing to escape, whatever it is!" (Contested Prog/Int Rolls. Prog/Int 8 v ?) "Mr. Samson, do you have a target lock? Yes? Good! Fire full spread, let's pepper their fleet and see what shakes out!" (Escort 1: Nat1/miss - Grav Cannon 1) (Escort 2: 18/11 - Grav Cannon 2 - AP 20) (Escort 3: 25/37 - VTI 1 - AP20) (Escort 4: 23/26 - VTI 2 - AP20) (Turn:)

Support Department (Engineering)
Boost Engines (0 CP) - Success 14v8; +2 Speed
Crash Systems (-2 CP) - Contested; 8v?; ?
Fire All Guns (-3 CP) - 1 shot on each Escort 1-4

(Just need a Prog/Int roll from the X-Frigate comms dept, Nekobabe) (edited)

(Passes)

11:17 AM

Damage is spread across the escort vessels 2 through 4 and though nothing has been enough of a volley for a kill shot , the engineering crew aboard each is making difficult choices right now about where to spend their time. The chaos is still of benefit.

11:17 AM

(Desmond o Shea is up)

The UNN Desmond O'Shea breaks after the Segadora, following the attack pattern of it and the Vox Finalis and peppering the Ascendancy escorts with more fire.

UNN Desmond O'Shea
==================
* Support Department: Engineering [0 CP]
* Boost Engines [0 CP](11v8)[Speed +2]
* Fire All Weapons [3 CP](Attacks Below)
* Evasive Maneuvers [2 CP](12v9)[AC +2]

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 1 [13/18](AP 20)
2. Plasma Beam vs CA Escort 2 [17/13](AP 10)

(doesn't get through armor with the plasma beam, but does hit)

1:10 PM

The beam strikes the second ship for just a moment, as a torpedo runs long. The thick armor of the Mosk built vessel doesn't seem to be in danger of failing for the moment.

1:10 PM

(Equos)

Dr. Truffles settles into the command chair on the UNN Currus. He takes a moment to reflect on the history of the ship, originally commissioned to bring emergency supplies to Shalini, and later converted into a support ship for the UNW fleet. He runs his hand along the smooth wood of the chair, carved from wood native to his adopted home by a piggen craftsman as thanks for the aid. He looks around at his crew, gives them an encouraging smile, and then opens a comm channel to his escort fighters. "Equos 1, Equos 2, this is Dr. Truffles. I ain't too fond of the look of that bigger frigate. You folks reckon you can work on gumming her up while our folks take care of the escorts?"

Equos 1 (UNN Currus)
====================
* Support Department: Comms [0 CP]
* Crash Systems [0 CP](11v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](8v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](4v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]

Equos 2 (UNN Currus)
====================
* Support Department: Comms [0 CP]
* Crash Systems [0 CP](7v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](9v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](7v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]

The X-Frigate continues sailing, evidently unbothered by the legion of scrap code, viruses, and other technological detritus sent its way through both metaspace and quantum channels .The ship itself is dark, and has not moved, and you notice several elements only seen in one other ship out in the universe right now, the silent star.

1:50 PM

Escort 1 does what it can to bring its flak guns onto the streaking fighters, trying to eliminate the electronic traffic that might eventually overwhelm the X-Frigate, or easily one of the others. Its twin flak batteries pound the sky, trying to cause hits or damage wherever possible. !roll 2d20+1

1:50 PM

!roll 2d20+1

Nekosmash Roll: [15, 10] Result: 26

!roll 2d6

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 3] Result: 8

(16/8 on Equos 1 , second shot is a miss, going to use my remaining 2 command to fire a third shot)

1:51 PM

The second battery reloads quicker than the first, hoping to redeem themselves for their previous loss and perhaps avoid a lashing by the slave overseer in charge of that section of the gun deck.

1:51 PM

!roll d20+1

Nekosmash Roll: [10] Result: 11

(if a 12 misses those, then it is the Cornelius Hardt up)

(Both miss unless there is a mechanic I'm missing. Both classes of fighter we have have 19 AC and 8 Armor Value.)

The captain of the UNN Cornelius Hardt follows the other frigates in on their attack vector, focusing the fire of their ship on the already damaged first escort ship.

UNN Cornelius Hardt
=================
* Support Department: Engineering [0 CP]
* Boost Engines [0 CP](11v8)[Speed +2]
* Fire All Weapons [3 CP](Attacks Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 1 [19/13](AP 20)
2. Plasma Beam vs CA Escort 1 [12/11](AP 10)
3. Plasma Beam vs CA Escort 1 [18/12](AP 10)

(I just figured 16 was close, no harm then)

1

(Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing a goof.)

Escort 1 is destroyed by a concentrated hail of fire from the Cornelius Hardt, sending wreckage into the void.

2:49 PM

(Harrier is up)

The Imago Dei Fighter-Bombers of the Harrier Squad streak forward to engage the various escort ships. Their Torpedo Tubes and Impact Charges cycle after each ordinance is fired. Each fighter begins choosing targets of opportunity among the various escort frigates. A pair of Torpedoes and Impact Charges are shot toward each ship hoping to thin the herd of their defense fleet.

Support Department (Gunnery)
Fire All Guns (-1 CP)
Fire All Guns (-3 CP)

Torpedos (AP 20) Ammo 6/8:
Escort 1: 19/15, Crit/30
Escort 2: Miss x2
Escort 3: Miss x2
Escort 4: 19/10, 17/16
Escort 5: Miss x2
Escort 6: 18/15, 17/14

Fractal Impact Charge (AP 15) Ammo 6/8:
Escort 1: Miss, 16/6
Escort 2: 18/9, 18/9
Escort 3: Miss, 14/4
Escort 4: Miss, 15/9
Escort 5: Miss, 17/11
Escort 6: 18/2, Crit/21

3:25 PM

(I didn't see that Escort 1 was destroyed. if those attacks could go to Escort 5, that would be cool. if not im fine with losing those attacks on Escort 1 and we can just blow the ship to pieces) (edited)

(The wreck is blown to pieces, we might have swept the escorts, gotta do some math here)

(all damaged, some are close)

7:35 PM

(Galivan up)

Kila hails her engineering team follow the lead of the other ships, and catch up with the escorts. "Re-routing non-essential power to you." She grits her teeth as they report the engines are unresponsive. Gunnery is instructed to pepper the remaining escorts and she instructs the pilot to take evasive maneuvers. (Galivan Support Deparment Engineering Boost Engines (0CP) (fail) Fire all guns (3CP) Escort 2: Plasma beam 1 - miss (AP10) Escort 3: Plasma beam 2 - 19/11 (AP10) Escort 4: Torpedo - miss (AP20) Evasive Maneuvre (2CP) (fail) (edited)

5

Escort 3 is crippled by the previous bomber wave, and the plasma beam from the Galivan is enough to reduce what was already a burning wreck of a ship into an entirely destroyed one. Escape pods begin jettisoning, carrying lucky members of the crew planetside.

8:12 AM

(currus)

Dr. Truffles surveys the battlefield, scratching the tuft of fur on his chin. "Reckon the more shooty ships got the escort covered. Keep painting targets with that fleet targetting array, and let's see if we can't try to disable that frigate. Reckon it's got some tech we may want on it."

UNN Currus
==========
* Support Department: Comms [0 CP]
* Crash Systems [0 CP](7v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](8v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]
* Crash Systems [2 CP](11v?)[vs CA X-Frigate]

The X-Frigate doesn't seem to be effected by the waves of electronic interference crashing against it, and continues sailing at its anchor point within the rapidly dwindling Chimeran formation.

11:15 AM

(Equos squad is up )

Seeing the Currus struggle to conduct an effective EWAR attack on the mysterious frigate, the Fighters break and begin targetting the engines of the X-Frigate. They take a pair of passing shots at the drive of the vessel. Turn:

Support Department (Gunnery)
Target System (-1 CP)
Target System (-3 CP)

Flak Emitter Battery (AP 10)
13/5, 15/5, 12/6, All others are a clear miss with nothing higher than a 10.

(edited)

(No hits)

3:03 PM

The strong armor protects the vessel, just barely, from what you can tell, and the hard-shell horseshoe crab like ship plods on through the void.

(Who’s up?)

(CA escorts)

1

(Didn't have time to get back to this yesterday)

8:12 AM

The damaged escort 2 brackets the Desmond O'Shea, trying to bring down the submarine like vessel in revenge for drawing blood and destroying a friendly. The plasma beams flash in the darkness, an unleashment of both guns, twice, for maximum broadside.

8:12 AM

)support department, gunnery. fire all guns x 2 for 3cp each, just going to have to eat that last point)

8:12 AM

!roll 4d20+2

Nekosmash Roll: [20, 10, 5, 3] Result: 40

!roll 3d6

Nekosmash Roll: [2, 1, 1] Result: 4

!roll 3d6

Nekosmash Roll: [3, 3, 1] Result: 7

(crit/12 , I don't think a 12 gets through AC, so just the crit)

8:18 AM

The X-Frigate begins building some kind of charge as lighting wreathed spines on its underside collect charge. A forked bolt of lighting is sent forward the O'Shea, following up the plasma beam shot. Looking at the beam, you can see that somehow it has collected the electronic jamming energy sent at it, to be sent back as a weapon of destructive power.

8:18 AM

!roll d20+8

Nekosmash Roll: [4] Result: 12

THe nimble ship narrowly avoids the beam, lighting dancing off the hull but not able to do any further damage.

8:19 AM

The Chimeran Free merchant looks to be adopting flight procedures, and begins to run.

8:19 AM

!roll 2d6+3

Nekosmash Roll: [6, 2] Result: 11

(April Kincaid up)

The UNN April Kincaid moves to intercept the fleeing free merchant, attempting to stop it from escaping and warning the Ascendancy of the invasion from this direction.

UNN April Kincaid
=================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire All Weapons [1 CP](Attacks Below)
* Fire All Weapons [3 CP](Attacks Below)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Free Merchant [14/6](AP 20)
2. Plasma Beam vs CA Free Merchant [5/9](AP 10)
3. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Free Merchant [11/13](AP 20)
4. Plasma Beam vs CA Free Merchant [21/12](AP 10)

Nekosmash

(crit/12 , I don't think a 12 gets through AC, so just the crit)

(Is the crit just the 4 damage doubled to 8? Any armor piercing on that if so?)

(I forgot to roll a second set of damage dice so the 12 is right. Plasma beams are ap 10)

(Oooh, sorry, I thought the 12 was the second attack, my b.)

Heavily damaged, the free merchant is bleeding fire, gas, and fuel from several rents in the armor, though it is not quite enough to kill it.

12:32 PM

(stormfront)

Aboard the Stormfront, Barnabas watches the free merchant starting to flee and grips the sides of the command chair. "Let's get everything focused on the guns - I want that free merchant blasted out of here."

(Star Captain adds 2 CP)
Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
Fire All Weapons: [1 CP] (attacks below)
Fire All Weapons: [3 CP] (attacks below)
Fire All Weapons: [3 CP] (attacks below)

Grav cannon #1 vs. CA Free Merchant: (19/14, 14/16, 17/17) (AP 20)
Grav cannon #2 vs. CA Free Merchant: (miss, 19/10, 21/19) (AP 20)
FLak emitter battery vs. CA Free Merchant: (miss, 19/10, 21/19) (AP 10)

(edited to fix CP used) (edited)

THe free merchant is destoyed and its wreck is pitted with a second series of explosions. A billowing and slowly expanding cloud of flame and debris signals the demise of the fleeing ship.

2:09 PM

(Robert Tanzeer is up)

The UNN Robert Tanzer sees one of the escort ships preparing to move into a firing position, and flies to intercept, releasing two torpedoes from its bays.

UNN Robert Tanzer
=================
* Support Department: Engineering [0 CP]
* Boost Engines [0 CP](10v8)[Speed +2]
* Fire One Weapons [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 4 [18/6](AP 20)
2. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 4 [11/8](AP 20)

(Iumi asks "Hey isn't he still alive? Why is our ship named after him?")

(Robert being back is OOC knowledge I think, as far as any of us know he died a hero

)

2

(Cool, in that case, she just thought it)

9:11 PM

(actually she didnt because OOC nvm)

1

(Escort 4 is damaged, Lamark is up)

pm1988 pinned a message to this channel. 6/10/2022 10:16 PM

Lamarck gawks at spectacle in front of him, watching the ships catch on fire. His eyes grow wide and he takes of his glasses and rubs his eyes. The pilot turns back "Sir your orders, we need to start moving or we'll be left behind. Sir are you okay sir?" Sir please we need to do something! He snaps his glasses on and orders "Ah umm yes I suppose I guess at this point we fire? Yes lets do that fire at the ones that are left, we don't want to embarass ourselves in front of the other ships! If we take one down then I'll get to keep this job!"

UNN HighHammer
===========
* Support Department: Engineering [0 CP]
* Boost Engines [0 CP](10v8)[Speed +2]
* Fire All Weapons [3 CP] (Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP] (Attack Below)

1. Grav Cannon vs CA Escort 4 [7/18](AP 20)
2. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 5 [17/14](AP 20)
3. Grav Cannon vs CA Escort 6 [10/15](AP 20)

Dr. Truffles scratches his chin and tries to smile helpfully. "Uhh, Lamarck. That there green button'll get you to your ship comms. The blue one's fleet comms."

A different voice, slightly deeper but cleary still Lamarck comes over the comms. "Uh yes this is Lamarck, that was someone else who said that, but I took care of it so we don't need to worry about it, pressing blue button now."

7

One of the Grav shots is true, and Escort 5 is torn to pieces as the impact sunders it almost entirely in half. The crew would not have warning to get to escape pods, nor would ejecting be any use to them without being able to leave the system.

9:28 AM

(Joshua Collins is up)

The UNN Joshua Collins follows the attack vector of the other corvettes, launching a salvo of torpedoes at the remaining escorts before looping around and attempting to disable the X-Frigate.

UNN Joshua Collins
==================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapons [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](3rd Attack)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 4 [Crit/28](AP 20)
2. Torpedo Launcher vs CA Escort 6 [22/20](AP 20)
3. Torpedo Launcher vs CA X-Frigate [5/3](AP 20)[Target System: Engines]

(edited)

8

The frigate is not disabled and the torpedo runs long but escort 4 and 6 do not share the same fate, each destroyed

6:52 AM

(Segadora is up. With those down there’s nothing left in the order this round)

The UNN Segadora moves in and begins the process of surrounding the frigate, firing two plasma beam shots at its engines in an attempt to disable it.

UNN Segadora
============
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [19/5](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [12/5](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

(Enemy drive reduced by 1)

6:31 AM

(Vox up)

While the Vox moves into optimal firing position, Gurk grits his teeth and opens the comms. "I'm still concerned about these missing sensor "smears," he says. "In particular, I'm concerned they're stealthed boarding torpedoes or otherwise designed for point blank attacks. "I suggest someone with the right skills tries a close-range scan around our biggest ships, focusing on likely attack vectors for potential boarders. "I also suggest we get soldiers and repair teams positioned around potential boarding sites, as a precaution. I think we should all be braced for a surprise, here." Gurk switches off, and refocuses on the guns.

"We are concerned as well, but until our sensors can pick them up there isn't much we can do. Marines are at the ready in boarding tubes and lets get them at strategic places throughout the ship!" Reza turns to the Marine Commander on the bridge,"Ensure we are prepared for counter boarding!" "Here we go folks! We need to get that last escort down and disable the special looking frigate." Reza turns to the side to speak to the camera, "CIC seriously needs to come up with better names... X-Frigate? Really?!" Reza continues to tap away at the various control systems. He accesses the root controls for the power couplings and begins manually overriding the various power flow rates. Warnings begin popping up to confirm the modifications and the High Mage clears them almost immediately. He diverts half of the extra power to the guns and the other half to the communications department. (Above and Beyond, Fix/Int 16 v 9; +4 CP) "Mistress Iumi! See if you can't help our gunnery department! Scrub their ECM!" (Defeat ECM; Contested Prog/Int 9v11; Fail) "Mister Samson, let's take out that last escort and fire a shot at that weird Frigate's engines!" (Target System X-Frigate; Fire All Guns Escort 2. Attacks Below)

Turn:
Above and Beyond 16v9 +4 CP
Defeat ECM - X-Frigate -2 CP 9v?
Target System [X-Frigate Engines] -3 CP (11/6 AP 20)
Fire All Guns -3 CP - Escort 2
Grav Cannon Shots = (19/18, miss; AP 20)
VTI Shots = (23/36, miss; AP 20)

(edited)

!roll 2d6+2

Nekosmash Roll: [5, 4] Result: 11

(I beat that ECM check, so are the results in that box the true ones, or do I need to calculate something)

(11/6 on the X-Frigate. the values on Escort-2 do not change)

(Frigate is not hurt)

9:29 AM

Escprt 2 is destroyed by the massive capital grade weapons of the UNW titan

9:29 AM

(desmon o shea up)

The UNN Desmond O'Shea pulls abreast of the other frigates attempting to disable the Ascendancy frigate, but a gravitational wave from the black hole rocks the ship and both shots go wide.

UNN Desmond O'Shea
==================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [1/7](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [7/5](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

The frigate continues sailing untroubled as its armor insulates it nicely from the incoming fire

10:43 AM

(Equos)

Dr. Truffles radios the Equos fighters escorting the UNN Currus. "Reckon there ain't much that can hurt us left. Why don't y'all head on over and try to help out with disabling that there frigate."

Equos 1 (UNN Currus)
====================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Flak Emitter Battery vs CA X-Frigate [-2/4](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Flak Emitter Battery vs CA X-Frigate [12/6](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

Equos 2 (UNN Currus)
====================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Flak Emitter Battery vs CA X-Frigate [9/3](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Flak Emitter Battery vs CA X-Frigate [0/4](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

Explosions break about the stout hull as the anti fighter rounds explode in space and do not seem to be able to punch through much of anything.

12:13 PM

(Hardt)

The captain of the UNN Cornelius Hardt, seeing the inefficacy of the beam weaponry and smaller rounds, fires two torpedos at the lone frigate.

UNN Cornelius Hardt
====================
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA X-Frigate [9/9](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Torpedo Launcher vs CA X-Frigate [2/6](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

(keep track of magazine use too, not sure if compact or not, but most of our ships are either empty, or at 1/2 a mag right now) The torpedoes sail past, unable to hit their specific target due to the amount of guidance needed.

2:51 PM

(Harrier)

The Harrier swarm maneuver and encircle the fleeing X-Frigate. Their weapons begin locking on to the engines of the mysterious frigate and a wicked salvo of torpedos streak out into the void. Many have trouble locking on to the electronic signature of the vessel and fly harmlessly into the black hole event horizon

Turn:
Support Department (Gunnery) 0 CP
Fire One Weapon + Target System -1 CP 
Fire One Weapon + Target System -3 CP

Torpedo | Ammo 4/8 | AP 20
14/7, 14/12, 15/12, 14/9, 8x miss (Nothing higher than a 13)

The torpedoes run long, striking harmlessly off in space as thick armor and needing a pin point shot hampers any gunnery solutions

(Galivan up!)

Following the lead of the other ships, Kila targets the odd frigate's engines, rerouting power and providing navigation reports to the gunnery team.

Galivan

Support Department: Gunnery (0CP)

Fire one gun, target systems x2 (6CP)

Plasma 1: engines: 16/5 (AP10)
Torpedo: engines: crit/15 (AP20) [Ammo: 6/8]

(edited)

5

9:41 AM

(I haven't halved the damage - should I do that or do you do it Neko?)

(you can halve it, that helps me a lot)

(Done)

(engines reduced by an additional 1, but not entirely destroyed yet)

(and Currus is up)

Dr. Truffles directs the UNN Currus behind its escort fighters. "Alright gunners, reckon we can finish off that engine and then board!"

UNN Currus
==========
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [0/4](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]
2. Plasma Beam vs CA X-Frigate [Crit/11](AP 10)[Target System: Engines]

(edited)

4

The engines begin sparking before the blue flames of its thrusters power down. The ship still has weapons, and cannot be boarded at the moment.

(We on the Vox Equos squad now I think?)

(Yes)

The Equos swarm maneuver and encircle the fleeing X-Frigate. Their weapons begin locking on to the guns of the mysterious frigate and attempt to defang the lone survivor of the Chimeran fleet at GCG-8905

Turn:
Support Department (Gunnery) 0 CP
Fire One Weapon + Target System -1 CP 
Fire One Weapon + Target System -3 CP

Flak Emitter Battery | Flak, OC | AP 10
16/4, rest are clear misses

(that is a miss too,)

7:13 AM

The X-Frigate begins charging its lightning based cannon again, hoping to strike the O'shea and further capitalize on the ship's wounds.

7:13 AM

(fire one gun, fire one gun)

7:13 AM

!roll 2d20+2

Nekosmash Roll: [18, 10] Result: 30

!roll 2d20

Nekosmash Roll: [17, 3] Result: 20

(18/20 AP 20 )

7:13 AM

(other is a clear miss)

7:14 AM

The bolt crackles, connecting the two ships in the dead of space for what feels almost like an eternity, the beam forming a static laden bridge of energy between the two ships, before the bolt slowly dies away leaving fire and scorched metal in its wake.

(The Desmond O'Shea is at 21 HP.)

11:31 AM

The UNN April Kincaid moves in to give the UNN Desmond O'Shea cover, firing two torpedoes in an effort to defang the lone frigate. (Both clear misses.)

UNN April Kincaid
===============
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon [0 CP](Attack Below)
* Fire One Weapon [2 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems [1 CP](1st Attack)
* Target Systems [1 CP](2nd Attack)

1. Torpedo Launcher vs CA X-Frigate [4/10](AP 10)[Target System: Weapons](1/4 Ammo)
2. Torpedo Launcher vs CA X-Frigate [5/9](AP 10)[Target System: Weapons](0/4 Ammo)

The Kincaid's attack run is firey and powerful, but the shots are unable to punch through the thick armor.

11:47 AM

(Stormfront is up)

The Storefront adjusts its bearings to give its gravcannons the best possible angle on the X-Frigate’s cannon mount. It fires its gravcannons slowly, aiming to get as precise an attack as possible.

UNN Stormfront
===============
* Star Captain adds 2 CP
* Support Department: Gunnery [0 CP]
* Fire One Weapon x 3 [4 CP](Attack Below)
* Target Systems x 3  [3 CP]

1. Grav cannon vs CA X-Frigate [18/6](AP 20)[Target System: Weapons]
2. Grav cannon vs CA X-Frigate [12/7](AP 20)[Target System: Weapons]
3. Grav cannon vs CA X-Frigate [6/7](AP 20)[Target System: Weapons]
(Damage is already halved in the numbers above)

(lightning gun is disabled, and so is the vessel entire)

12:54 PM

(I believe this takes us out of initiative)

(So we have a listening post and a disabled X-Frigate to investigate?)

(correct)

1:19 PM

(can probably split this off into two boarding actions if we want, unless we want to just doomstack them one at a time)

(Splitting into two sounds good)

(Yeah, we have a ton of people, let's split.)

1

(agreed)

(Thulee is in for boarding, just ok'd with Neko)

(React to this for Listening Post)

5

7:29 AM

(React to this for experimental frigate)

5

(Solace will be wading in as well)

(I'll give anyone still hanging about out there a chance to vote, I plan to get these moving close to the end of the work day)

(I think with the UNW winning the space battle we're about solid as far as mechanical things we need this thread for, if you want to roleplay a bit of post battle stuff we can, but I've made two new threads for the missions we're about to break into. I'll award XP for the battle and the following mission when its done, since anyone leveling up would be stuck doing it mid mission which we don't allow)

1