Twilik Campaign: Battle of Shakar, Part 1
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"Fifth Knight Brian Wilcolm reporting that our attack shall commence in
little under an hour at 1745 hrs, this 13th Day of the 44th Month of
interstellar travel. The enemy fleet has scattered evenly around the WP at
a distance of 1 light second. They have 2 Light Cruisers, 11 Destroyers, &
18 Frigates. This is more ships than last reports indicated. We have 2
Heavy Cruisers, 2 Light Cruisers, & 27 Destroyers. Even numbers, but ours
are bigger. We outweigh them by almost 20%. Given the close proximity of
their deployment to the WP, we expect to face mainly lasers & sprint
missiles. Even so, I still believe we can take this warp point. As such, I
have decided to commit our Basilisk & Gargoyle class ships to the first few
waves, with the other classes to follow. The 2 Light Cruisers will be the
primary targets for the first wave. They are currently positioned at the 12
o'clock & 6 o'clock positions. Each ship will alternate exit facings
between these two headings. This will allow at least half of the ships that
transit to be able to fire upon the Cruisers should their position have
changed since the maintenance was delivered. Follow up waves will be
adjusted to account for events that take place once combat begins. Wilcolm
out."
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"Our first wave was away at 1745 hrs. Basilisk 5 & 6 were followed by
Gargoyles 7, 8, 9, & 11. Initial reports are coming in. The second wave is
going in now.
Report from Wave 1: Basilisk 5 reports that the ships were in the same
locations as our last intelligence report indicated. The 1st enemy cruiser
took 2 hits from the Basilisk 5 even though the transit effects had
disoriented both ship & crew. To our surprise, it's already streaming
atmosphere. The other cruiser retaliates with no less than 5 lasers & 9
missiles from external ordinance, scoring 5 hits with its lasers & scoring
a remarkable 8 hits with its missiles. Basilisk 5 is gutted thru her cargo
hold & is little more than a smoldering wreck. Basilisk 6 strikes back,
scoring 3 hits. Sensors indicate a fluctuation in the 2nd cruisers drive
field as the lasers strike. One of the destroyers joins the fray, striking
at the wounded Basilisk with 3 lasers. All three hit, completing her
destruction. Gargoyle 7 continues the work Basilisk 5 started on the 1st
cruiser, flushing its external racks & internal launchers. Surprisingly,
half of the 6 externally launched missiles were on target. Fortunately, the
cruisers point defense only stopped 1 of them short of impact. The
internally launched ones were too fast for the point defense to engage, and
2 of the 4 hit their mark causing this ones drive field to cringe as well.
Another destroyer responds by shooting at the other Basilisk. 2 laser shots
& 4 missiles strike home and atmosphere starts leaking from the wound.
Gargoyle 8 continues the assault on the 2nd cruiser, hitting her with 3
sprint missiles & 4 standard missiles. The cruiser swats 2 of the standard
missiles down with its defensive suite. The drive field continues its
contortions. Another destroyer picks on the remaining Basilisk, slamming
her with 4 externally launched standard missiles & 3 laser strikes gutting
her back thru her life support. Gargoyle 9 hits the 1st cruiser with all
she has. Only 2 of her external missiles are on track & 1 is easily swatted
down. Of the 4 sprint missiles fired, only one finds its mark. The drive
field continues its dance. Another destroyer picks on the poor Basilisk 6,
killing her and then some with 3 direct laser hits & 4 missile strikes.
Gargoyle 11 opens up on the 2nd cruiser, attempting to make it pay for what
its consort did to Basilisk 6. Revenge is sweet. Even though the only
standard missile that was on track gets easily swatted down, the 3 sprint
missiles that reached their mark vaporized the 1st of the enemy cruisers.
Of the remaining destroyers, 3 fire on the Gargoyle 7, pounding her to
dust. Of the 18 frigates, only 3 open fire. The 1st frigate to fire,
destroyed Diplomat 7 with extreme prejudice while she was trying to get
back into the WP, hitting her will all 4 externally launched missiles & 3
lasers. The other 2 concentrate on Gargoyle 9, wrecking her back thru her
cargo hold."
Twilik Campaign: Battle of Shakar, Part 2
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As the reports from the 1st wave seem to indicate that the frigates &
destroyers both have the same armament, I had ordered the 3rd wave to
concentrate on destroying the frigates as they should be easier to kill &
to tell the fleet in Shakar to do the same once current targets are
destroyed.
Report from 2nd Wave: Gargoyle 12, Imp 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 all charge thru
the WP into a firestorm. They arrive just as the remaining enemy cruiser
blasts what little was left of Gargoyle 9 into tiny pieces as 4 lasers hit
home. Gargoyles 8 & 11 have moved ¼ LS toward the enemy line and begun
evasive maneuvers. Hopefully, this will allow them to evade some of the
fire the Clans have thrown our way. The enemy line, however, chose to hold
its ground, probably to keep the range to the WP open. Gargoyle 8 tries to
make the Clan cruiser pay for what it did to its sister ship, hitting her
with all 4 sprint missiles. It is clear the debt is paid when the glare
dies down. All that remains where the cruiser was is a field of small
shinny objects. The 1st clan destroyer to fire chooses to target one of the
new arrivals, hitting Gargoyle 12 with 3 laser hits. 2 of her guns are
melted metal. Gargoyle 11 strikes at the nearest destroyer now that both
clan cruisers have been eliminated. Of the 4 sprint missiles fired, only 2
find their mark and the shields go down. 3 more lasers hit Gargoyle 12 from
one of the other destroyers. Even as Gargoyle 12 takes this punishment, it
strikes out at the nearest destroyer with its one remaining Gun. The
combine punishment of the WP and the Clan pounding cause her shot to go
wide. 3 more lasers from another destroyer gouge into the hull of the
crippled Gargoyle 12, blowing her to pieces. Imp 6 turns her fire on the
destroyer which Gargoyle 11 targeted, of her 6 external standard missiles,
none find their mark. However half her internal ones hit, causing the clan
destroyer's drive field to buck. One of the destroyers sisters strikes
back, hitting with 2 lasers, melting the first launcher. Since Imp 7 is
pointed away from the destroyer that Imp 6 hit, it locks on to the nearest
destroyer, launching 6 external & 4 internal standard missiles. Of the 6
external ones, 2 are on target, however, the point defense of the Clan ship
bats one from the skies. The 4 internally launched missiles are fired in
sprint mode & 2 slam into the ship untouched, causing the shields to fail.
The ship responds by hitting Imp 6 with 2 laser strikes. Imp 8 targets the
damaged destroyer Imp 6 tagged. Only 1 of its external missiles is on track
while 2 of its internal ones are. The point defense crews kill the external
one. The drive on the destroyer continues to weaken. The destroyer protests
by striking Imp 6 with all 3 of its lasers, stripping away its last weapon
& most of its engines. Imp 9 strikes out at Imp 7's target, hitting with
only 1 internally launched missile. The external one that was on track
never made it due to defensive fire. A new destroyer comes to life and
wipes Imp 6 from space as 6 missiles and 2 lasers come home. The last of
our ships to fire is Imp 10. It targets the ship Imp 6 had been working on.
5 of its external missiles go wide, while the other is stopped short of the
ship. 2 internal sprint mode missiles manage to find their way in though,
causing the drive field to weaken even more. Of the 18 frigates, 10 fire, 3
of them hitting Imp 07 with 10 missiles & 8 lasers, blowing her to dust in
the process. 3 more hit Imp 08 with 8 missiles & 8 lasers, finishing her
off. The remaining 4 hit Imp 09 with 4 missiles & 11 lasers, turning her
into an expanding ball of gas."
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