Persei-Aries War Resumes
Second Battle of Nakir's Riddle (14 Hercules)
FROM: ADVISORY OFFICE, UN HERCULES SCS REGIONAL COLONIAL CENTER
20:20 SOL GMT, 12 MAY 2522
BREAKAUTH: 181072.18J
CLEARANCE: NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY
SUBJ: SECOND BATTLE OF NAKIR’S RIDDLE (14 Hercules 5.22)
The situation in the Third Hercules War continues to build to a climax. In the latest engagement, naval forces of the Arab League have struck against the foothold recently established by the Holy Russian Empire in the “Khaizan’s Haven” caliphate in the 14 Hercules star system.
As noted in previous entries, the British are looking to end the Third Hercules War with a concerted strike at the regional “capital” of their greatest remaining enemy, the Holy Russian Empire. The obvious target is the Krasnaya Nadhezda (Red Hope) colony at 72 Hercules, but with expanded holdings and lucrative shipping leases already won in the UN “Redemption” Mandate in the 99 Hercules system, it’s unlike the British will be allowed by the UN to take full possession of 72 Hercules as well. Even in the 26th Century, overt imperialism only goes so far. So the British have been lining up allies for a concerted multi-national strike, most likely to include the Japanese Empire and the Arab League.
The Russians know these plans and have been working hard to upset them, creating distractions along British flanks by striking into neighboring star systems and disruptions among their allies. One of these initiatives has been an invasion of 14 Hercules system (Khaizan’s Haven caliphate), recently defeating an Arab cruiser task force these and planting a regiment of Russian Naval Infantry on the gas giant moon of Nakir’s Riddle.
The Arab League wants the moon back, and now. The Emir of Khaizan’s Haven knows full well that the British are about to invade 72 Hercules with the Japanese, and if the Arab League can’t take part in that invasion as well, they’ll be left out of the spoils when 72 Hercules is carved up by the victors. But the League can’t invade 72 Hercules if the Russians stall have a foothold on their own system, so the Mutamid battlegroup under Captain Rashid al-Maghrebi is given orders to retake the system post-haste. Failure is not an option. Eject the Russians, or don’t bother coming back.
However, it was al-Maghrebi’s Mutamid battlegroup that lost the earlier battle that gave Nakir’s Riddle to the Russians in the first place. That battle took place barely six weeks ago (24 March, 2522), and al-Maghrebi’s warships required extensive repairs in the aftermath. Even now, after a crash repair program, the ships are barely welded back together. In fact, the Almanzor-class hybrid cruiser-carrier Mutamid herself still has repair crews on board when she Darkstar waves out of Maalikmina shipyards to attack the Russian foe.
For their part, the Russians are also not in the best shape. Preparations to meet the expected Anglo-Japanese onslaught have demanded that their heaviest naval units in 14 Hercules be withdrawn to 72 Hercules. This has included, most importantly, the heavy cruiser Tatiana Mikhailovna, and half the “Night Witches” aerospace attack group aboard the strike carrier Novorossysk. But the heavily-upgraded light cruiser Admiral Lazarev has arrived as reinforcements, commanded by the redoubtable Captain Pyotr F. Myshaga, along with the American destroyer USS Cowpens, detached from Task Force Liberty.
In summary, this is an all-out, stand-and-die slugfest, with the real prize being operational time. The Arab League needs this win so they can push forward with participation in the Anglo-Japanese invasion of 72 Hercules, while the Russians need to retain their death-grip on Nakir’s Riddle to ensure that Arab reinforcements will not participate in that increasingly inevitable showdown.
ARAB LEAGUE: @muakhah
RUSSO-AMERICANS: @oriskany
ASSAULT VICTORY CONDITIONS (244 points)
The general situation of the Third Hercules War in mid-May, 2522. At the moment, both the Japanese (Rasmus) and British (Damon) have recent victories over the Russians, giving them the campaign choice where and when to strike next. They’re lining up for a combined strike on 72 Hercules, the big Russian capital here on the Hercules Rim. The third ally in the Anglo-Japanese alliance is the Arab League (muakhah), but before they can even contemplate joining in the shove into 72 Hercules, they have to smash the Russians out of their OWN backyard at Khaizan’s Haven (14 Hercules). This clash will come at the moon of Nakir’s Riddle, 22 satellite of the largest gas giant in the 14 Hercules system.
The Russians detect the Arabs making their approach via a high-speed vector through the eclipse shadow of Nakir’s Riddle. While Captain Myshaga sets Russians and American allies on his typical high-speed approach, al-Maghrebi’s approach is positively suicidal, rocketing into the battle area at nearly 60 kilometers per SECOND (speed 19 in game terms x3 = 57 kps). They thus instantly have the Coalition warships in a broadside, and in a withering fusillade at a range of 2500 kilometers (14 hexes), burn through the forward shielding and bow armor of the USS Cowpens. Sensors are hit, the ammo explodes in one of the forward 5-gigawatt rail gun turrets, and the forward magazines go up. A tough hit, but certainly survivable, until runaway chain-decompressions start tearing through the forward end of the destroyer. An investigation after the battle will reveal that these decompressions were the result of insufficient weld seams made the last time the Cowpens was repaired in pressure dock. Commander Rachel Collingsworth has to make the tough call, and deaf to the roars of Captain Myshaga over the comm, USS Cowpens has to break off from the engagement (game terms: one core box hit = 20% chance for a destroyer to break off, I roll a very unlucky 18). 
While the Cowpens continues to speed out of the battle, the Admiral Lazarev and the Mutamid almost race past each other, both cruisers screaming through high-speed turns and all engines howling in full reverse. The mass torpedo and missile strike launched from the carrier Abu Bashir and her aerospace group slams into the starboard bow of the Lazarev, doing heavy but survivable damage. What follows up, however, is an incredibly successful gunnery broadside from the Mutamid, Kashan, and Jeddah. All three ships score at least double their projected hit-rate (game terms, Maghrebi had 12 guns at a chance of 40% to hit, but scored ten hits), and while the upgraded accurate, upgraded hitting power barrage of the heavier Lazarev DOES INDEED leave the Mutamid a burning, powerless cripple, the Arab league ships in turn do the same to the Lazarev. Even as Russian and American torpedoes and the “Night Witch” fighters also cripple the carrier Abu Bashir (these warheads hitting, by contrast, less than 30% their projected hit rate, although I do admittedly get a lucky “cripple” check on Abu Bashir afterwards), the Russians have clearly lost this battle. Simply put, the League can lose the Mutamid and continue the fight. With the loss of the much more powerful Lazarev (and with the USS Cowpens already compelled to leave the battle area), this fight has suddenly become very one-sided. 
As the Cowpens breaks to port and raises steam to escape, the Arab League destroyer SHM Jeddah turns to pursue. The Novorossysk follows, if only to keep her forward torpedo array (the one real weapon the Russians have left) pointing toward an enemy target. But the destroyer Kashan turns behind Novorossysk in turn, and together with a strafing attack by some of Abu Bashir’s fighters (I throw another brick and only shoot down ONE of these fighters, I “should” have gotten at least 5-6), cripple Novorrossysk. Meanwhile, the rest of the League fighters and plenty of mass driver fire from the Kashan breaks up the last Russo-American torpedo strike on Kashan’s stern, our last despairing chance to at least cripple ONE of these destroyers and reduce this calamity to a “minor” defeat.
What can I say, this just WASN’T the Russians’ day. Full credit to Muakhah for using an unconventional attack plan and making it work, but between the Cowpens breaking off on Turn 01, the disastrous torpedo attack on Abu Bashir, the loss of most of the Night Witches before they even had a chance to fire, the luckiest broadside I’ve seen in a while crippling the Admiral Lazarev, and then the complete failure to break up the League fighter attack on the Novorossysk, suffice it to say that Lady Luck was giving my friend Muakhah the lap dance of the century all night long on this one. But of course commanders also make their own luck, and he also made the most of all his opportunities, didn’t get carried away and leave me an opening, and made sure the Russians and Americans were all crippled or driven off the table (thus giving me no opportunities to “cheese” any victory points). Well done, sir! And congratulations on what I think is your first MAJOR VICTORY (determining margin 40%+) in Darkstar. 
So that cinches it. The Arab League has decisively ejected the infidels from their Khaizan’s Haven caliphate, and the League is now set up to participate in the Anglo-Arab-Japanese invasion into 72 Hercules. With the extra campaign points afforded him by the MAJOR victory at the Second Battle of Nakir’s Riddle, Muakhah has upgraded two of his destroyer-class vessels to more Almanzor-class light hybrid cruisers (and paid for his command to get “Task Force” rating command, allowing him to field forces up to 500 points). So when the League goes into to claim their share of 72 Hercules, they’ll be a lot more powerful than they were here. THEN AGAIN, the Russian “spoiling attack” strategy they’ve been pursuing for the last several months has bought them a lot of time, and who knows what powerful new naval forces will be ready for the British, Japanese, and Russians when they finally launch the decisive, all-out invasion of “Red Hope.”
Vindication! After being torn apart by waves of Russian torpedoes in the past 2 games I decided to come screaming into battle. And it worked! With a lot of lucky dice rolls.
As Oriskany said
Lucky break off roll.
Lucky concentrated fire on the Lazarev.
And after that consistent good rolls to mop up with minimal casualties.
Finally got those sweet campaign points too!
Looking forward to the concerted strike to knock Russia out of the war once and for all!
Absolutely, @muakhah . Great game, and huge win for you! Congratulations!
Looks like Third Hercules War is finally starting to wrap up. Two more factions have now left the war (battle report coming up). We’ll see how this big smash into 72 Hercules goes. 😀