DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER

Outer System Skirmish

Suji’s Refuge – Jade Dawn Star System (Xi Scorpio C)

Xi Scorpio War, 24 January 2518

The Xi Scorpio War has raged on now for a little over a year.

After an initial bloodbath breaking into the Xi Scorpio stellar group at the Battle of Kitami Shima, the “Pacific Alliance” (Japanese-American naval task force) has steadily beaten back the “Black Dragons” of the Khitan-Tunguska Free State, planet by planet, system by system.  Although they have liberated the “Flower of Hokkaido” colony in Xi Scorpio D (the rare and precious Earth analog planet that everyone’s fighting over), the Pacific Alliance now pushes into the Black Dragon colonies (in fact, originally Chinese and Russian colonies) of Jade Dawn (Xi Scorpio C) and Heilong-Novopromorskiy (Xi Scorpio A/B) to ensure the Black Dragon threat never reemerges .

One of the war’s recent turning points was at the horrific Battle of Tamakura, near a Galilean moon of the Tamakura gas giant of the Xi Scoprio D system.  Although the Pacific Alliance won that battle, both fleets took tremendous damage, with heavier units expected to be in dry dock for weeks if not months.  As a result, the Pacific Alliance can only maintain the pressure on the beaten Black Dragons with a small destroyer task force built around the destroyer USS Oriskany.  This sets up a series of small skirmishes in the Jade Dawn star system among destroyers, frigates, and the occasional light cruiser, one of which is presented here.

BACKGROUND:

While the Oriskany and Princeton are engaged at Kosyang 71 (moons of another nearby gas giant in Xi Scorpio C), Commander Raymond Cruz (aboard the newly-arrived U.S. Marine Corps Buford-class light carrier/aerospace assault ship USS Tarawa) is slinking around the rim of the Jade Dawn star system.  His mission is to secure a lodgment somewhere on the far side.  Escorting him is the “hardest working tin can in the U.S. Navy”, the Valcour-class destroyer USS Valley Forge under Commander Garrison Heathe.

“Ghosting” around the edge of the star system in a series of first-magnitude Darkstar waves (excruciatingly slow but quiet and almost impossible to detect), the Tarawa and Valley Forge use the star’s gravity to curve their trajectory.  They creep around the system’s spinward edge, staying just inside the Kuiper Belt until they approach a series of rocky planetoids known as Suji’s Refuge.  These are the remains of a large terrestrial moon once in orbit of an outer gas giant, turn to shreds by gravitational tides and left to drift along the system’s cold outreaches.

Also in Suji’s Refuge, however, is a small supply and surveillance installation of the Khitan-Tunguska Free State.  Not picking up on the automated beacon’s passive sensors, the Tarawa and Valley Forge are soon detected and by the end of their third day on station, the Americans are being approached by a small but powerful Black Dragon battlegroup.

This force is made up of three of their oldest “friends” in the Xi Scorpio War, the Russian-built Novgorod frigate Malayslovets, the old Chinese Nanchong class missile destroyer Huangdi, and their flagship, the Xhia-class light missile cruiser Meikang, a veteran of the Xi Scorpio War from as far back as the very first battle at Kitami Shima.

The Americans accelerate to approach the Black Dragons but keep their approach slow, in no hurry to engage the Meikang battlegroup and the vastly superior gunnery.  As the Tarawa begins launching her aerospace group (the elite U.S. Marine Corps squadron, VMF/A-391, the Tigersharks), the Black Dragons are screaming in at an insane speed of almost 50 kps.  The Americans spot the Huangdi first, so Cruz is able to duck his two ships behind drifting KBOs to screen themselves from immediate torpedo lock.  This also means that while both American warships can see acquire Black Dragon targets and fire full torpedo spreads, only some of the Black Dragons can do the same back at them.  Hopefully this will equalize the some of the Americans’ disadvantage in numbers and firepower.

But the veteran Meikang, a nemesis from all the way back to Kitami Shima, sees this move and deftly skirts around the debris, the Malaynovets tucked tight into her wake.  The Black  Dragons loose a massive torpedo wave.  The Americans fire off a spread as well, then turn on their wakes and hairpin turn away.

Things start off well for Cruz’s battlegroup . . . two of these American Mark 48 gravitic torpedoes hit the frigate Malaynovets, one from the Tarawa and one from the Valley Forge.  Lucky strikes on the port bow touch off the forward magazine and the little Malaynovets is soon crippled and adrift in space.  Meanwhile the slower Black Dragon torpedoes still haven’t hit and the Tarawa has all her Marine F/S-44 “Corsair” fighters and F/A-81 “Avenger” torpedo-bombers launched.

Despite the Americans striving to keep their distance, Black Dragon gunnery soon has the range on the Valley Forge, and a few heavy 7-gigawatt rail gun hits are scored on her fo’c’sle.  The Meikang and Huangdi press through the drifting “asteroid wall,” and finally there is no more cover for the Americans.  Cruz keeps pivoting back, to keep the range open as long as possible, but the Valley Forge is sluggish due to its jarring hits.  The Meikang and Huangdi line up for a perfect  1400 km broadside – and torpedoes – 52 of them – slam into the Valley Forge even as she fires on the Huangdi.  Marine “Hawkeye” scouts shoot down one torpedo, and mass drivers shoot down ten more . . . but the rest hit the shields and one actually gets through.  The barrage of 7-gigawatt rail guns that immediately follow from the Meikang is worse, along with the 30kg plasma jets from the Huangdi.  The whole front end of the Valley Forge is basically sheared off, including a jarring explosion of the forward magazine, torpedo bays, and scout ship bays.  Personnel losses are heavy, and the Valley Forge is crippled and adrift, burning in space.

Meanwhile, the Marine pilots of VMF/A-391 loose their ordinance at the Black Dragons.  They have lined up a perfect strike straight at the stern of the Meikang, coordinating with a second spread or torpedoes from the Tarawa.  The Black Dragons have shot down all the Mark 48s, which means the Meikang’s enhanced ECM and shielding suite can only take so much, and five ASM-56 Harpoon torpedoes, along with four ASM-92 Hellfire missiles, hit the hull.  The Meikang is blown out of the battle, her two centerline engines are completely blasted out of the hull, the starboard reactor shuts down, the bridge implodes in a decompression, one of the ship’s magazines go up . . .

The Tarawa turns on her wake and heads away, not eager for a gunnery duel with a vengeful Black Dragon destroyer.  The Huangdi pursues, slinging out more torpedoes.  The Tigersharks fall in behind her for a gunnery run, intercepted by Black Dragon scout planes.  One Avenger is shot down, and three Marine Corsairs are shot down by Huangdi’s mass drivers.  The Tigersharks’ gunnery run doesn’t knock out the Huangdi, but causes critical damage to her aft sections, especially her stern shielding, sensors, and aft weapons.

Cruz realizes the Huangdi has no aft weapons or shields, so will probably try to keep her bow pointed at the Tarawa.  Judging by Huangdi’s vector and velocity, he’s able to turn the Tarawa again on her heel and have her forward torpedo tubes ready to engage where the Huangdi will be.  Sure enough, the Huangdi veers right where expected, and Tarawa looses four more torpedoes.  Two of Huangdi’s torpedoes hit Tarawa in turn, damaging sensors and maneuvering thrusters, but the Tarawa’s return strike, especially a second gunnery run by the bloodied Marine Tigersharks, take out Huangdi’s port engines and damage port reactor.  She loses power and is set adrift.

The skirmish at Suji’s Refuge is an American win, albeit a bloody one.  The Meikang was about to be scuttled, but again this lucky ship somehow survives, ejecting that starboard reactor just in time and somehow surviving the thermonuclear explosion just a few kilometers away.  The Valley Forge is almost in worse shape, requiring 63 days of repair to bring her back on line.  So for the next few weeks, the Tarawa will have to secure that foothold at Suji’s Refuge alone.  The battlegroup flagship, USS Oriskany, will help her out, leaving the Princeton at Kosyang 71, assisted by the newly-arriving Shepard-class frigate sent from the Kurokawa system by task force commander Captain Daniel Chealtham, USS Ronald Evans.

The Americans have basically won the Jade Dawn system (Xi Scorpio C) at this point.  But until American cruisers and bases . . . and especially the Japanese squadron under Hiromi Ozawa . . . can get up here, it won’t be secure.  For now it’s up to “Battlegroup Oriskany” to hold it, or at least maintain a presence, against inevitable Black Dragon counterstrike out of Heilong-Novprimorskiy (Xi Scorpio A-B binary)

Black Dragons have crippled Valley Forge (58 points), shot down five fighters, one bomber all double elite (24 points), plus 1 bank point = 83.  Americans have crippled Meikang  (70 points), Huangdi (40 points), Malaynovets (20 points ) = 130.   Americans win by 47.  Minor Pacific Alliance Victory.