Lord Admiral Haespateo looked at his plot. The Republican squadron was
closing to 12 LM from
his force. Scouts reported there was only 6 ships in the Republican force,
but no other data. At 12
LM, he'd know how many ships there were, but he wasn't worried. The 15th
Strike SQDN was his
command, and had 14 of the newest ships in the Fleet. 3 of the newest BCRs,
with the new
warheads, 6 short-range destroyers, with the new Ion and plasma weapons,
and only 5 of the new
Corvettes with the plasma weapons. He was supposed to have 12 of the
Corvettes, but a logjam in
the production of the new ECM package had delayed the conversion of his
ships, and when the
report of the Repub incursion came in, the 15th, as the closest force, had
to respond, otherwise
the Republicans would get bolder and try the Imperium at other places.
The Imperial Civil War was a decade in the past. 1/3 of the Imperium rebelled when the Emperor announced new taxation programs to fund his new ships. Unfortunately, the only point of contact at the time between the Rebels and the Imperium was the system of Baal. So many ships and men died in that system, including the Emperor. All for nothing, Haespateo felt. He'd been a cruiser captain then, one of the lucky ones, in that he'd made it OUT of Baal alive. Afterward, the Empress asked for and got a peace with the rebels, who called themselves the Human Republic now. Other points of contact had opened in the next decade, and now, the 15th raced to prevent the belligerent Republicans from stealing any systems from the Imperium.
The 15th crossed the magic 12 LM boundry, and the Republican squadron resolved itself into 3 of the new Dreadnought-sized ships and 3 Destroyers. According to Impsec, the SDs were a hybrid of capital and standard missile launchers, with a pair of the new primary beams each. The primaries can hit out to 3 LS, and penetrated shields and armor. NOT a good thing. The DDs packed a cap and 3 standard launchers each, not a worry there. He looked at the status boards for the 15th. 3 of the new Rhino-class BCR, with 8 cap launchers each, and enough of the new laser-torp warheads to put out 2 salvoes, and the XO missiles had full LT heads. His 6 DDs were of the new Clans-class DD, with 2 of the new plasma projectors and 2 of the new ion cannons on each. Finally, his 5 Imperial-class CTs were of the new designs, with 3 plasma projectors. All his ships had the new ECM system installed, so should give better than they get from the Reps.
Haespateo ordered his comm officer to contact the lead DN. The screen resolved to show a Republican officer, who glowered at him. 'You are in Imperial space, Captain. Please turn around and leave.' The Republican captain narrowed his eyes at Haespateo. 'I don't think so, Admiral. The Republic claims this system. Leave or die.' The Captain cut the comm, and Haespateo noted that the Repubs sped up to max speed.
The fleets closed to 15 LS, neither turning away. Admiral Haespateo ordered the corvettes and destroyers to increase to max speed and attack the DNs. He then ordered the BCs to move to cap range then turn to port, holding the range. The enemy opened fire first, 18 capital missiles targetting the corvette Cadia. 5 hit, crippling the CT, leaving their ECM and an engine room functional. After 30 seconds, the BCs were in range of the DNs, and flung 24 capital missiles at the enemy, all with the laser warheads. EDMs sped out, but did not affect the missiles, and they all exploded, sending lances of laser energy thru the enemy shields, damaging the armor belt and destroying the EDMs on the racks. The enemy SDs opened fire on the Rhino, hitting with only 1 missile, scratching the shields. The Clans squadron ignored the DNs to close to .5 LS from the enemy DDs, and opened fire, gutting all 3 DDs with a single salvo each, and the hulks drifted, lifeless and unpowered. The CTs held their fire, waiting to close with the DNs.
As their weapons recycled, Haespateo cursed. He had forgotten the slow recycle/recharge time on the plasma guns, which was twice as long as every other weapon system in the galaxy. However, since the Clans had mixed weaponry, they weren't toothless. The 6 DDs and 4 CTs passed the DNs at a quarter LS, and the DNs fired on the Bad Moons, damaging her up to the second engine room. Follow-up fire from the BCs and the CTs gutted the first DN. It then seemed that the leader of the Rep force had been killed, because the remaining DNs started running from the Imperial squadron. It was then easy as pie for the 15th to stay in the enemy's blind spot and destroy all 3 DNs in about 4 minutes.
The Imperial Civil War was a decade in the past. 1/3 of the Imperium rebelled when the Emperor announced new taxation programs to fund his new ships. Unfortunately, the only point of contact at the time between the Rebels and the Imperium was the system of Baal. So many ships and men died in that system, including the Emperor. All for nothing, Haespateo felt. He'd been a cruiser captain then, one of the lucky ones, in that he'd made it OUT of Baal alive. Afterward, the Empress asked for and got a peace with the rebels, who called themselves the Human Republic now. Other points of contact had opened in the next decade, and now, the 15th raced to prevent the belligerent Republicans from stealing any systems from the Imperium.
The 15th crossed the magic 12 LM boundry, and the Republican squadron resolved itself into 3 of the new Dreadnought-sized ships and 3 Destroyers. According to Impsec, the SDs were a hybrid of capital and standard missile launchers, with a pair of the new primary beams each. The primaries can hit out to 3 LS, and penetrated shields and armor. NOT a good thing. The DDs packed a cap and 3 standard launchers each, not a worry there. He looked at the status boards for the 15th. 3 of the new Rhino-class BCR, with 8 cap launchers each, and enough of the new laser-torp warheads to put out 2 salvoes, and the XO missiles had full LT heads. His 6 DDs were of the new Clans-class DD, with 2 of the new plasma projectors and 2 of the new ion cannons on each. Finally, his 5 Imperial-class CTs were of the new designs, with 3 plasma projectors. All his ships had the new ECM system installed, so should give better than they get from the Reps.
Haespateo ordered his comm officer to contact the lead DN. The screen resolved to show a Republican officer, who glowered at him. 'You are in Imperial space, Captain. Please turn around and leave.' The Republican captain narrowed his eyes at Haespateo. 'I don't think so, Admiral. The Republic claims this system. Leave or die.' The Captain cut the comm, and Haespateo noted that the Repubs sped up to max speed.
The fleets closed to 15 LS, neither turning away. Admiral Haespateo ordered the corvettes and destroyers to increase to max speed and attack the DNs. He then ordered the BCs to move to cap range then turn to port, holding the range. The enemy opened fire first, 18 capital missiles targetting the corvette Cadia. 5 hit, crippling the CT, leaving their ECM and an engine room functional. After 30 seconds, the BCs were in range of the DNs, and flung 24 capital missiles at the enemy, all with the laser warheads. EDMs sped out, but did not affect the missiles, and they all exploded, sending lances of laser energy thru the enemy shields, damaging the armor belt and destroying the EDMs on the racks. The enemy SDs opened fire on the Rhino, hitting with only 1 missile, scratching the shields. The Clans squadron ignored the DNs to close to .5 LS from the enemy DDs, and opened fire, gutting all 3 DDs with a single salvo each, and the hulks drifted, lifeless and unpowered. The CTs held their fire, waiting to close with the DNs.
As their weapons recycled, Haespateo cursed. He had forgotten the slow recycle/recharge time on the plasma guns, which was twice as long as every other weapon system in the galaxy. However, since the Clans had mixed weaponry, they weren't toothless. The 6 DDs and 4 CTs passed the DNs at a quarter LS, and the DNs fired on the Bad Moons, damaging her up to the second engine room. Follow-up fire from the BCs and the CTs gutted the first DN. It then seemed that the leader of the Rep force had been killed, because the remaining DNs started running from the Imperial squadron. It was then easy as pie for the 15th to stay in the enemy's blind spot and destroy all 3 DNs in about 4 minutes.