Trekfire turn 60, pt 6
The First Battle of Territories Edge.
Where Pursuit 1 had been a walk over for the Hydrans and at Pusuit 2 the
Klingons had done the walking, Territories edge would turn out to be a
battle like none before.
The Hydrans and their allies (who would become known as the Kzinti) had
weight of numbers. They had a speed and manoeuvrability advantage. They had
an overall tonnage advantage in excess of 20%. Their fleet was in open
space, and was configured to fight a long range duel.
The Klingons had a slight technology advantage.
It would have to do.
The Kzinti and Klingon ships were reasonably well matched, but the Hydrans
lacked the missile technology of either. As a consequence, the Hydran
vessels were forced to close by half a light second more than the Kzinti
before they swung about. The scene was set for a classic stern chase, a set
piece battle that every cadet from any race has enacted over a hundred times
in the simulator.
As it was, the Klingons knew their art of war better. The first volley, rack
mounted weapons as well as internal launchers saw over half the Hydran
vessels loosing speed. In return the Klingon escorts of the first echelon
gun line were hammered, three out of nine being destroyed and a further two
reduced to half speed.
The Klingons took the initiative, and never let go of it for the rest of the
battle. B’moth ordered the Frigate squadrons forward with orders to knock
the enemy out of formation for the escorts and cruisers to destroy as they
fell into range. For the first time, Hydran strikefighters proved to be more
than a nuisance, swooping on the crippled escorts and destroying them with
close in strafing runs. B’moth countered by swinging his two cruisers, the
Bayonet and his flagship Battleaxe into a position to threaten the Hydran
fleet’s blind spot.
The Hydrans were forced to come to a new heading, and the fighters were
ordered to harry the cruisers. Although more Klingon ships would fall away
from the fleet as the battle progressed, no more would fall prey to
fighters.
From here it became a war of attrition. The Klingons pressed the fleeing
allies at every turn, doing enough just to pick a ship from the fleet then
moving on to the next. Testament to the Klingons gunnery skills, only two
enemy vessel were destroyed; every other “kill” was a drifting hulk that
could later be salvaged. The Hydrans who had started the battle closer bore
the brunt of the Klingon fury. Even though they were configured for a long
range fire fight, their missile technology was not up to the job, and it
quickly became apparent that they would be overrun piecemeal by the pursuing
horde. The Kzinti redoubled their efforts, and it became a race to see who
would loose their fast ships first. Hydran fighters were rendered
ineffective as B’moth took the initiative time after time, swinging his
cruisers to a new course at the last seconds of every fighter attack run,
either denying them his blind spot or a firing arc, but never allowing both.
Then B’moth struck. With the Hydrans reduced to the same speed as his
cruisers or less, he swung the Bayonet and Battleaxe out onto the flank.
Their fighters having little effect against the heavy shielding and armour
of the cruisers and falling prey to the active defensive systems of both
ships, this was a threat tha could not be ignored. As one, the Hydrans were
forced to swing about on a course now diverging by 120degrees from the
Kzinti. B’moth had split the fleet.
The battle had been bloody, and it was about to get worse. The Klingons had
only three vessels left capable of keeping up with the fleeing Kzinti. Two
F5Ls and an F5 were given the task of hobbling the runners. Four Kzinti long
range missile destroyers and a single frigate fled before them. The rest of
the fleets closed, and lasers came into play.
In the end, the task set for them proved too much for the Klingon frigates.
They managed to slow only two more vessels before they were destroyed,
allowing the Kzinti to turn back and attempt to rescue the bulk of the
fleet. Once more B’moth threw his cruisers out to threaten the flank, and
the Bayonet started to come under fire.
By now the fleets were in tatters. Of the Klingons, only the flagship
Battleaxe remained undamaged. No Hydran was unscathed, and the Kzinti had
only three destroyers completely intact. The battle hung in the balance, and
it would be decided on the outcome of three sets of missiles versus the
point defense of the Battleaxe.
It was the Hydrans who capitulated. They had born the brunt of the fighting
for the allies and had come off worse. Their fleet never large to start
with, further losses would be unacceptable. Almost amidst the Klingon fleet
and barely able to make headway, the Knight class destroyer Agincourt
dropped her drive field. The final pair of fighters broke of their attack
and headed for the bays of the last hybrid carrier still moving. Standing
sentinel, the Klingon fleet allowed the withdrawal.
The Kzinti withdrew with every ship, albeit with over half of their force
crippled. The Hydrans pulled away with only a single destroyer and a
frigate. Two more destryors were scuttled, but the last failed to activate
its charges and was taken by the Klingons as a prize. Three more Hydran
frigates were drifting lifeless and too far away to be destroyed.
In the end, The Klingons held the field. For all of the advantages they
held, the Kzinti and Hydrans lacked the last advantage that their foes had
possessed.
The Klingon Heart.
(
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