Played another ambush scenaro tonight and decided to throw something different against my usual Centauri opponent. I've been favoring Chronus' of late and rarely using fighters. With the new fighter rules, ambush looked like the optimum scenario for a fighter heavy force. We played played on an open table with 5 BP worth of Centauri in the center and 3BP of EA on the ambush. The forces:
Centauri
Imperium -Primus
Vae Victus -Secundus
Lepus, Lupis, Pas Liati, Marmota, Canis, Serpentine -Vorchans
Alpharius, Betarius, Deltarius -Darknars
EA
Kitty Hawk -Avenger Fleet Carrier (4 SF, 4 TBolt)
Zhukov, Abrams, Bradley, Chamberlain -Nova Class Dreads. (8 TBolt, 8 SF)
SET-UP
As per the scenario, the Centauri set up in the center facing one short edge. The two cruisers were in the middle, with a Squadron of 3 Vorchans each Front and rear in right echelon formation. The Darknars were set at echelon left between the lead vorchans and the Cruisers.
The EA deployed on-line on the Centauri right as close as possible (about 9 inches), the Novas were side by side with the Avenger on the far left. The fighters were all deployed (allowed by scenario) and were arrayed across the front of the group. We join the action with the typical weak attempt at creative writing:
Turn 1
Lord Kiran was quite pleased with himself. His cousin had struck a blow against a human prototype warship, and had heavily damaged the human fleet. The alliance had been embarassed by their inabilty to react to the situation. Now he was preparing his own strike force to launch a lightning strike against the expected Human reprisal fleet. He knew the humans had no front line warships in the area and he would scatter their older ships with ease. He stood on the command deck admiring the fleet assembled outside his viewer when a klaxon sounded.
"What is it!" he ordered
"Sire, multiple jump points opening to starboard, I am reading 5 large craft and scores of fighters. Great maker! They are right on top of us...."
Captain Nigara looked at the scene that greated him with a feral grin. The centauri were caught napping and were about to pay the price. He gave the order to his assembled fleet:
"This is Nigara, all ships power to full. We must get among them before they get underway!" Twelve dozen fighters, his full complement, hit their afterburners and swarmed over the Centauri frigates. The 4 dreadnaughts' engines roared at full power, sending the ships into the midst of the enemy staging area.
"Saber Lead to saber flight, fox 3!" Missiles erupted from beneath the wings of the assembled Thunderbolts. Pilots watched as over a dozen impacted on the lead Vorchan. The ship simply distintegrated as its reactor was consumed by the explosions blossoming across its hull. Cobalt-blue pulses lit up the blackness as fighters continued to pound the Centauri hulls.
"All ships! Fire in the hole!" The order on the command net was punctuated by fire of a four dreadnaughts. The ships were already amongst the Centaur, pouring fire in every direction. The centauri were completly unprepared. another Vorchans and a Darknar frigate simply distintegrated under a assault. Three of the remaining Vorchans burned brightly, and a Darknar floated impotently through the battlefield.
Turn 2
"My Lord!" Kiran's aide caught him, as the ship shuddered. "Our fighter cover has been annihilated, the enemy carrier is sweeping around behind our position. I recommend we disengage and regroup at the alternate assembly point."
"Defeatest!" Kiran snarled, "Order our ships to attack. The Vae Victus and the Imperius will focus on the dreadnaughts. Send the surviving frigates to deal with the carrier. Without the carrier, the humans will have to withdraw. Now, focus all fire on the lead Dreadnaught!"
Nigara could see things were going well, 2 more of the Vorchans had been destroyed and the remaining frigates were all crippled. The enemy fighters had lost a very one sided dogfight, and the way was now clear for his fighters to launch their next sortie. He ordered the ships to alter their targets to focus on the Centauri command cruiser. Even now, he could see its engines coming to life as it joined the fray.
The two Centauri cruisers fired as one, the sky was briefly filled with a stream of energy bolts which all seemed to intersect on top of the Zhukov. The shear volume of fire was too much and the ship started to come apart.
"All elements, this is Sabre lead we need to take out the cruiser. Follow my lead"
Turn 3
"Damage report!" Kiran braced as the ship shuddered again.
A harried officer looked up from his console. "Engines offline, weapons offline. We are dead in space."
Lord Kiran, held back another curse. "Get repair crews down their now. Order the Vaw Victus to manuever to protect us. All surviving ships prepare to jump!" He winced as the flash of his last Darknar exploding overwhelmed the optic filters. "At least they took some of those thrice damned fighters with them......"
Nigara watched as fragments of the exploding ship glanced off the Bradley, shearing off several gun turrets. Other pieces sheared off part of the engine housing on the Centauri Secundus. "All ships, target the enemy command cruiser! Don't let it get away."
Turn 4
The ship was still burning. He could hear the screams of wounded men, pinned beneath debris all over the command deck. The humans had gone, he was sure of it. The power had stayed on long enough to see the Vae Victus and the Serpentine escape into hyperspace. The humans would not stay this far into Centauri space for long. If only he could live long enough to thank them for the lessons he had learned this day.......
....My thoughts
This was not even close. We kept playing, just to see if the Centauri could turn it around. In the final analysis, the EA lost 1 Nova destroyed and 2 crippled. 17 flights of fighters were destroyed, although 7 were recovered by the fleet carrier. The centauri lost everything but the Secundus and a crippled Vorchan. It looked like the game would turn around when the Centauri cruisers started firing, but the weight of Criticals kept them from achieving anything. (The turn 3 power fluctuations hit on the Secundus pretty much ended any hope of a centauri win)
This scenario was definately the optimum for fighters. Their high speed starting deployed let them get within range of the Centauri ships in the first turn, and the new fighter rules basicly gave them two rounds of fire, before the Centauri had a chance to fire back. Their ability to deliver crits, ensured that the Centauri never had a chance to do any real damage with the lighter ships. The command bonus and fleet carrier trait for the Avenger actually made it a worthwhile choice for this battle, a rare moment indeed.
$0.02
Apachex
Centauri
Imperium -Primus
Vae Victus -Secundus
Lepus, Lupis, Pas Liati, Marmota, Canis, Serpentine -Vorchans
Alpharius, Betarius, Deltarius -Darknars
EA
Kitty Hawk -Avenger Fleet Carrier (4 SF, 4 TBolt)
Zhukov, Abrams, Bradley, Chamberlain -Nova Class Dreads. (8 TBolt, 8 SF)
SET-UP
As per the scenario, the Centauri set up in the center facing one short edge. The two cruisers were in the middle, with a Squadron of 3 Vorchans each Front and rear in right echelon formation. The Darknars were set at echelon left between the lead vorchans and the Cruisers.
The EA deployed on-line on the Centauri right as close as possible (about 9 inches), the Novas were side by side with the Avenger on the far left. The fighters were all deployed (allowed by scenario) and were arrayed across the front of the group. We join the action with the typical weak attempt at creative writing:
Turn 1
Lord Kiran was quite pleased with himself. His cousin had struck a blow against a human prototype warship, and had heavily damaged the human fleet. The alliance had been embarassed by their inabilty to react to the situation. Now he was preparing his own strike force to launch a lightning strike against the expected Human reprisal fleet. He knew the humans had no front line warships in the area and he would scatter their older ships with ease. He stood on the command deck admiring the fleet assembled outside his viewer when a klaxon sounded.
"What is it!" he ordered
"Sire, multiple jump points opening to starboard, I am reading 5 large craft and scores of fighters. Great maker! They are right on top of us...."
Captain Nigara looked at the scene that greated him with a feral grin. The centauri were caught napping and were about to pay the price. He gave the order to his assembled fleet:
"This is Nigara, all ships power to full. We must get among them before they get underway!" Twelve dozen fighters, his full complement, hit their afterburners and swarmed over the Centauri frigates. The 4 dreadnaughts' engines roared at full power, sending the ships into the midst of the enemy staging area.
"Saber Lead to saber flight, fox 3!" Missiles erupted from beneath the wings of the assembled Thunderbolts. Pilots watched as over a dozen impacted on the lead Vorchan. The ship simply distintegrated as its reactor was consumed by the explosions blossoming across its hull. Cobalt-blue pulses lit up the blackness as fighters continued to pound the Centauri hulls.
"All ships! Fire in the hole!" The order on the command net was punctuated by fire of a four dreadnaughts. The ships were already amongst the Centaur, pouring fire in every direction. The centauri were completly unprepared. another Vorchans and a Darknar frigate simply distintegrated under a assault. Three of the remaining Vorchans burned brightly, and a Darknar floated impotently through the battlefield.
Turn 2
"My Lord!" Kiran's aide caught him, as the ship shuddered. "Our fighter cover has been annihilated, the enemy carrier is sweeping around behind our position. I recommend we disengage and regroup at the alternate assembly point."
"Defeatest!" Kiran snarled, "Order our ships to attack. The Vae Victus and the Imperius will focus on the dreadnaughts. Send the surviving frigates to deal with the carrier. Without the carrier, the humans will have to withdraw. Now, focus all fire on the lead Dreadnaught!"
Nigara could see things were going well, 2 more of the Vorchans had been destroyed and the remaining frigates were all crippled. The enemy fighters had lost a very one sided dogfight, and the way was now clear for his fighters to launch their next sortie. He ordered the ships to alter their targets to focus on the Centauri command cruiser. Even now, he could see its engines coming to life as it joined the fray.
The two Centauri cruisers fired as one, the sky was briefly filled with a stream of energy bolts which all seemed to intersect on top of the Zhukov. The shear volume of fire was too much and the ship started to come apart.
"All elements, this is Sabre lead we need to take out the cruiser. Follow my lead"
Turn 3
"Damage report!" Kiran braced as the ship shuddered again.
A harried officer looked up from his console. "Engines offline, weapons offline. We are dead in space."
Lord Kiran, held back another curse. "Get repair crews down their now. Order the Vaw Victus to manuever to protect us. All surviving ships prepare to jump!" He winced as the flash of his last Darknar exploding overwhelmed the optic filters. "At least they took some of those thrice damned fighters with them......"
Nigara watched as fragments of the exploding ship glanced off the Bradley, shearing off several gun turrets. Other pieces sheared off part of the engine housing on the Centauri Secundus. "All ships, target the enemy command cruiser! Don't let it get away."
Turn 4
The ship was still burning. He could hear the screams of wounded men, pinned beneath debris all over the command deck. The humans had gone, he was sure of it. The power had stayed on long enough to see the Vae Victus and the Serpentine escape into hyperspace. The humans would not stay this far into Centauri space for long. If only he could live long enough to thank them for the lessons he had learned this day.......
....My thoughts
This was not even close. We kept playing, just to see if the Centauri could turn it around. In the final analysis, the EA lost 1 Nova destroyed and 2 crippled. 17 flights of fighters were destroyed, although 7 were recovered by the fleet carrier. The centauri lost everything but the Secundus and a crippled Vorchan. It looked like the game would turn around when the Centauri cruisers started firing, but the weight of Criticals kept them from achieving anything. (The turn 3 power fluctuations hit on the Secundus pretty much ended any hope of a centauri win)
This scenario was definately the optimum for fighters. Their high speed starting deployed let them get within range of the Centauri ships in the first turn, and the new fighter rules basicly gave them two rounds of fire, before the Centauri had a chance to fire back. Their ability to deliver crits, ensured that the Centauri never had a chance to do any real damage with the lighter ships. The command bonus and fleet carrier trait for the Avenger actually made it a worthwhile choice for this battle, a rare moment indeed.
$0.02
Apachex
