The Price of Victory

[Psycho0124]

Operation Firestorm was nearing an end. The enemy carrier and capitol ship fleet had been eradicated clearing the way for the southern arm of the pincer attack to continue unopposed. Unfortunately, there was more work to be done for the 7th fleet to proceed in the north to complete the invasion plan.

My previous command; the Devestator class Cruiser "Stormwind" was somewhat the worse for where but it had done its job well. My new charge was the 7th fleets Devestator class crusier "Demolisher". Little did I know the name would be quite fitting for the role the ship would play in its next mission.

The assignment was simple. Assault a Hegemony Dragon class Carrier which was hindering the fleets advance. When I arrived on the bridge, the ship was idle in space awaiting commands. My first order of business was to check the fleets disposition and sensor contacts. I noticed that there was a Volanaris class destroyer not far from my position and seemingly free of escorts. Alone and nowhere near a match for my ship, the kill should be an easy one. The nav point was set and I began the attack.

The ship came into range and I saw that the destroyer had not turned to face me. Presented with a perfect side angle to the ship, I quickly targeted the fusion core and unleashed the grazers. Within seconds, the shields dropped and the ship became a burning cloud of wreckage. The kill was quick and clean. It was then that I saw the unmistakeable outlines of a Separatist Goliath class Carrier and its 2 Wolf class destroyer escorts nearby. While the seperatist carrier was not the object of my mission, the presence of this second carrier and its fighter compliment in the sector was going to make things that much more difficult for the other ships in the Alliance fleet. The hunt was on.

I set a nav point to bring me near to them at 750kph. When I arrived, the destroyers began thier assault on my ship. While lacking torpedo weapons, the Wolf class can still be quite a threat even to a ship as large as the Demolisher. Heavy armor and well guarded internal systems make assaults on these type of destroyers little more than a slugging match. A few lucky torpedo hits disabled the first Wolfs beam weapons and some of its PDA systems so I moved on to the carrier. The second destroyer was still on the far side so there was a minute or two alone with the Goliath.

Grazers blazing and torpedos slamming into the belly is always a good way of convincing an enemy carrier to jump away and the Goliath and her 2 destroyer escorts did just that. Left behind were 2 Baikal class frigates ripe for the picking. I hammered the first with torpedos untill the kill was made. The second seemed to be having problems with its sheilds as they hadn't risen above 50%. I brought the stern of my cruiser around and allowed its 3 rear facing PDA battieries to finish her off.

The area was clear and it was time to get back to work. Repair crews were working to repair the forward PDA and some slight damage to the #3 grazer but the ship was still quite ready for more. Apon checking the nav, I saw that 2 friendly Asher class destroyers were engaging a pair of Hegemony cruisers and thier Broadsword class escorts. I had to act soon or the ships would be lost. The nav was set to bring me just in front of the cruisers at 1000kph. I hit the Autolfight function and prepared for the attack run.

I came within range of a Broadword class destroyer first. It was occupied with the Ashers and so was facing away from me. I acted quickly and opened fire on its weapon systems, knocking out its Nike launcher as well as 2 of its forward beams. This was enough to convince the destroyer to turn and begin fireing on my ship. I turned my attention to its point defence systems and finally begain launching vollies of torpedos to finish the ship off.

My ship was quickly approacing the 2 enemy cruisers so I wasted no time to start adjusting my course to bring me below them. Dropping the nose and engaging thrusters, I also used the main drives to alter the ships direction and when the course was safe, I turned to face my prey. Both were proceeding at full burn to the pair of friendly Ashers and failed to respond to my approach. The first was an Imperial class ship and did not survive long to regret this mistake. A full barrage of Grazer fire disabled its fusion reactor and its shields dropped to zero. The 4 Athena torpedos finished the unprotected hull within seconds.

The second cruiser was of the Vendetta class, a far more formidable enemy. I unleashed the grazers apon its aft reactor and managed to disable it. The shields fell to zero and then quickly returned to 100%. The more heavily armored second reactor was now powering them. I saw that the ship was launching torpedos at one of the Ashers so I had to act quickly. Using my beams to disable its torpedo systems was working its hull down slowly. The first Asher class destroyer gave a call of "going down" as its hull broke apart from the Vendettas heavy attacks. It now began fireing its remaining weapons on the second Asher. The Vendettas PDA systems were still quite effective at destroying the torpedos I was launching on it but this kept the batteries too distracted to stop the second Ashers torpedo fire. Thier drones hit the hull and the ship was finished.

The close range death blasts from both the cruisers had taken thier toll. When the Vendetta had prematurely exploded, I was only 15km out and many of the ships subsystems were down for repairs. Only 2 of the grazers will still operational and the flight computer had been disabled leaving the Demolisher adrift and on fire. After quickly replacing the necessary componants and getting the blazes under controll, the ship was now able to move on to its assigned mission.

Swarms of fighters were issuring from the Dragon which was now visable in the southwest corner of the sector. Escorted only by a pair of Volanaris destroyers and 2 Tiger class frigates, the assault was still within the capability of my wounded Devestator. I set 2 nav points to bring me in at a right angle to the enemy fleet, again at 1000kph.

When I arrived, both the Volanaris destroyers turned to engage. I managed to disable the firsts beam and torpedo weapons while severely damaging its hull. Its fusion reactor had also taken a hit which weakened its sheilds significantly. This allowed me to slide past and unleash my aft PDA cannons onto its hull to finish it.

Beams begain impacting on my cruisers forward PDA cannon and it was quickly offline. This cleared the path for the torpedos which were now spewing from the remaining Volanaris. My shields were at 100% but the damage to the hull was still significant. To my dismay, the Athena launcher began flashing red in the caution window. Luckily, my high speed allowed me to slide past the attacking volanaris which presented me with its soft side section while giving some relief from the heavy weapons fire. I acted quickly and fired on its now exposed fusion reactor with my 2 operation grazers. The remaining Athena launcher was just enough to finish the job.

I was now in range of my target. The Hegemony Dragon class carrier Baldreed. Again I adjusted my course to bring me below the target and started working on its exposed point defence systems. The third cannon I hit seemed to be a weak point as its hull had dropped to 60%. By now the way was clear for the few remaining torpedos left in my inventory and I wasted no time in unleashing them on the newly found soft spot. The 2 torpedos and a barrage of grazers brough its hull to 30%.

It was then that I heard the sound that every commander dreads; the sound of fighter based anti-ship missiles slamming into the hull. I quickly looked down at my radar to see the familiar sight of a swarm of fighters and fast approacing missiles. One of the missiles must have hit the shield generator and I watched with dismay as my sheilds quickly bled down. Tenacious to the last, I continued fireing on the carrier, determined to make the loss of the Demolisher come at a high price to the enemy. It was then that I saw the Dragons hull slip down to zero.

The large number of fighters in the area had interfiered with the carriers quantum drives preventing it from jumping away quickly. This in concert with my luck in finding a soft spot on its belly had given me just enough time to destroy it. There was a moment of silence before the carriers core went critical and the hull shattered in a blinding flash. It was after a few seconds that I noticed that the sound of the missile impacts had ceased. Apparently my close proximity to the carrier had forced the attacking fighters well into the Dragons blast radius. All of the attacking fighters as well as the fast approaching cloud of missiles were caught in the shockwave and destroyed. The Demolisher was given a reprieve from certian destruction on nothing more than lucky timing and positioning.

Despite my seemingly infinite luck today, all was not well with the Demolisher. Becuase of the damage from the missiles, my shields were nearly gone when the Baldreed exploded. In addition to this, I was a mere 14km from the ship at the time of the blast.The Demolisher was again adrift and very much on fire. Thrusters, shields, weapons, and main drives were all offline. Nearly every system that was still functioning was showing a flashing yellow caution warning.

To check that the surrounding area was clear of further threats, I went to the nav screen. While the nearby space was quite empty now, I spotted 3 Tiger class frigates in a line, preying on allied flighters just to the north. Thier calls of "mayday" and "going down" could be clearly heard over the radio. The Demolisher still had a job to do.

Repair crews worked quickly to bring the main drives and flight computer online. The massive fires were extingushed and my cruiser began its slow march to the remaining Hegemony Frigates. By the time I had arrived, one of my grazers was now partially functional and taking advantage of the Tigers poorly protected Fusion reactors, the enemy fell with little effort.

To my dismay, I then spotted several more contacts on my radar. They were a squadron of F5A Raptors left over from the Baldreeds fighter compliment. They were approacing fast and were likely armed with anti ship missiles. My shields were now functioning again but it would never be enough to protect my damaged hull from the assault. I quickly set a jump destination and the countdown began. Second later, the tell-tale cloud of sensor contacts indicating anti-ship missiles appeared from the squadron of fighters. One last attempt at revenge for the loss of thier carrier Baldreed. Amazingly the quantum drives were still operational and the jump to safety was made.

Little did I know, the jump was not to safety at all. Instead, I appeared just behind one of the Wolf class destroyers I had encounted erlier. It was still severely damaged from our previous encounter and so I began the fight. With 2 of my remaining 4 torpedos and a barely functioning Athena launcher, I was able to finish it off.

What I saw then presented me with a difficult decision. Off in the distance was the wounded Goliath Seperatist Carrier I had fought erlier in the mission. To my amazement, its second Wolf destroyer escort was not with it. It seems the carriers drives had been damaged and its escorting destroyer had gone on without it. With its hull at a dangerous 30%, perhaps my wounded Devestator could make one last kill. I set the nav point and began my run.

Appreoaching from its aft, I saw that the carrier was trying to flee off the sector grid under normal thrust. This carrier still had the potential to cause quite a bit of grief to the Alliance fleet in the sector if it were allowed to escape. I was going to make sure that it did not have this chance. Making use of the ships thrusters, I brought my course under the carrier to hit the belly that I had battered in our previous battle. Taking my time wiht my 2 working grazers, I disabled its ventral PDAs and launched my last 2 torpedos. I realized I had made a mistake with my course just as its hull dropped to zero. I was again far too close to the ship.

The flash engulfed my cruiser and for the 3rd time in this mission, the Demolisher was on fire and adrift. I dont know what made me make the decision. Perhaps it was greed for the glory and prestiege many commanders fall victom to. Perhaps it was the burning hate for the enemies which had developed with the loss of previous ships in battle. I would hope it was the concern for the Alliance vessles that could be damaged or destroyed later if I refused to act. I cant say for sure but when I spotted the last Wolf class destroyer off in the distance, I made the decision to finish it off. To completely eradicate the enemy fleet from the sector and put an end to the conflict here.

The repair crews were again working feverishly to bring systems back online. As I was out of torpedos, I deactivated the launchers and focused my repairs on the forward beams. The damage was very heavy in the forward sections and the repaired and even replaced componants would operate for a few seconds and promptly fail. The ship was quickly running out of spare parts. To give the crews time to work, I set several nav points to bring me around in front of the Wolf. I couldnt end the mission yet as the ship would have made its way out of range to the north and escaped. I was determined.

When I arrived about 200 kilometers off the bow of the Wolf, all 4 of the grazers had failed again. The 3 aft PDA cannons were still functioning and there was a chance that the repair crews could get one of the beams working so I set my course to intercept the wounded wolf at 750kph. If I was still unarmed when I arrived and unable to finish it off, the momentum would at least allow me to escape with my ship intact. I began the autonav procedure and crossed my fingers.

The Demolisher arrived 60km off the nose of the wolf. Luckily the repairs had worked and I had 2 working grazers. Closing fast, I targeted the ship and waited for fireing range. At the same instant, both ships began fireing. In the first volly, my barely functioning grazers were lost. The thrusters also began flashing red in the caution display. The ship was out of controll and on a colission course. At the same instant, both I and the enemy captian realized this and began to turn. Even at full burn on the main drives at a high angle, without the assistance of thrusters it was just not enough to alter the high speed course.

The sound of 2 massive capitol ships slamming togather at high speed must be amazing. Ironicly enough, in space, only the 2 ships that collide will hear it. The Demolisher slid broadside into the Wolf class destroyer at over 600kph. Her captian could only watch horrified while the event unfolded.

The Wolf class Destroyer broke apart like a pane of glass with a brick thrown through it. Several large pieces of debris began spinning wildly in all directions. The colission and the following explosion caused very nearly fatal damage to the Demolisher. Nearly fatal. The price of victory was high in the battle. Many Alliance ships and strike craft were lost but today, that price did not include the Alliance Cruiser Demolisher. The ship was again left completley disabled and on fire. Alarms sounded throughout the ship suggesting the crew abandon the wounded vessle. Its hull sat precariously at 1 or 2% but it was intact. Every last enemy threat in the sector was gone and the mission was over.

This is an accurate account of the mission I played if you can believe it.. Sometimes dumb luck happens and you come out alive even after some hard battles and some bad decisions. I recieved many thousands of points and a promotion to admiral at the end of this mission as well as a medal for the wreckless and rash behavior. Go figure.. I played this mission late last night and I actually had trouble going to sleep thinking about it.

This is such a great game [:D]

[wdboyd]

Great AAR.

[Adonnay]

Great story... I always waited for the moment where the Demolisher would explode, but it made it out alive!

[Zanthras]

Pretty intense battle...great story. Try to catch some screen captures (F12) in you can, always great to see some visual along with the text. Of course when you have two Broadswords bearing down on you pictures seem like the last thing to worry about...
 
I could hear it now...
 
CO: hey XO, where's my digital cam?
XO: but captain, we have two Broadsword class destroyers targetting our fusion reactor!
CO: sure XO, let me find that cam and I'll be right with you on that.
XO: CAPTAIN! THEY'RE FIRING!!
CO: Ah! Here it is!!
BOOM!
 
I guess it proves the old adage..."A picture is worth a thousand words"...but not a thousand lives.
 
I'm looking forward to your next mission report, good luck and Godspeed!

[Psycho0124]

Hey thx guys. When I saw this section, I didnt really expect to ever make a contribution to it. This mission seemed worthy of reporting tho.

I hadnt even thought of taking pics of the battle. I guess I could go though and get some pics of the ships involved in the combat. I do remember thinking how stunning a sight it was to see the kilometer long Devestator fireing grazers up at the bellies of two 1.5km long Hegemony crusiers at close range. I just wish I had gotten a shot of that colission. Its going to be very hard to orchistrate another one of those with such a small ship.

[Moriartie]

Very well written Psycho.
But why try to recreate it? Why not try a new "episode" in the life of "$Rank Psycho and his continuing missions to rid the universe of Hegemony Scum". Just remember to do screenshots next time - you can pause the game at relevent times so as it doesn't get in the way. Also whilst paused you can set up the camera for a more "cinematic" shot (or 10).

[Player 5]

Nice. . . just one thing, why didnt you just come to a stop before engaging that last wolf so you could repair and go around behind it, instead of going in front?

<EDIT> nvm. . . im not used to such heavy damage and im used to repaired systems staying up, until one of my more recent battles.