Persei-Aries War Resumes
Bloody Raid at Kayashenko 17
FROM: UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL COLONIAL CENTER
19:55 SOL GMT, 15 APRIL 2521
BREAKAUTH: 181072.18J
CLEARANCE: SECRET (NATIONAL)
**UNITED NATIONS COMMUNIQUE**
Even as major naval engagements continue to unfold along the spinward shoulder of the Hercules Rim (specifically at the embattled Hawking’s Star colonies in the HR6806 system), simultaneous engagements are reported along the Hercules Rim’s coreward shoulder as well. Although perhaps smaller in scope, these skirmishes are perhaps even more ferocious in intensity – proof that while the Americans, Japanese, Russians, and British throw the bulk of their firepower into the Hawking’s Star maelstrom, other powers are taking the opportunity to strike at the “back door” of the Hercules Rim warzone.
Recently, the “Black Dragon” rebels of the self-proclaimed Khitan-Tunguska Free State sought to take advantage of American and Indian preoccupation in the Hercules Rim. Accordingly, the Black Dragons launched a number of long-range raids out of the remote Khaizan’s Haven colony (14 Hercules system), striking at American outposts at the Port Halsey at Vega (Alpha Lyra system) and the Indian Bhogavati colonies (HD176051 system). Both of these raids came to ruinous failure, one at the hands of Battlegroup Shalya of the Indian Republic, the other thanks to the American destroyer USS Oriskany.
Forced not only to make an ignominious exit from the war, the Black Dragons had to vacate the 14 Hercules system entirely under threat of American or Indian reprisal. Due to the vast distance from Port Halsey or Bhogavati, however, the Americans and Indians were not the first power to reach 14 Hercules … it was their allies, the Holy Russian Empire, with a cruiser sortie from their colonies at Krasnaya Nadhezda (72 Hercules).
However, even the Russians found they were not the first to lay a new claim on Khaizan’s Haven. A new player had joined the war, the Arab League, their Al Fihri battlegroup dealing the Russians a sharp defeat and chasing them out of the 14 Hercules system. Running up their flag at the Khaizan’s Haven colony and formally joining the “Renkei Alliance” with the British and Japanese, the Arab League’s successes were a welcome respite from the recent setbacks suffered by the Alliance.
Not content to rest on their laurels, the Arab League has struck again at the Russians, determined to help the Renkei Alliance win the Third Hercules War and, in the bargain, win a stable and recognized mandate for their new 14 Hercules colony.
Wary of overconfidence, the Arab League’s strike does not come directly at the major Russian colony and naval base at 72 Hercules. Rather, it strikes at a smaller outpost in the United Nations “open system” of Redemption (99 Hercules), specifically at the 17th moon of the massive Russian-owned “Kayashenko” gas supergiant.
The Holy Russian Navy naturally has a presence here, but they aren’t alone. With them are a pair of US Navy destroyers, USS Valley Forge and Vincennes, part of a battlegroup originally tasked with showing an American presence in Khaizan’s Haven, now tasked with lending weight to American claims for a share of the UN mandate in Redemption / 99 Hercules.
Americans and Russians: Jim (Oriskany)
Arab League: @muakhah
214 points: RAID
Here we see the current state of the Third Hercules War. While the spinward shoulder of the Hercules Rim continues to see battles focused on Hawking’s Star, the Arab League has launched a strike at Imperial Russian holdings in the UN Mandate of the Redemption (99 Hercules) system. While the Americans have no claim in 99 Hercules yet (part of the reason they’re fighting this war), they’re here to help their Russian allies, and perhaps convince the UN to lease them holdings in 99 Hercules in the process.
Here is the match up. As we saw at the Second Battle of Hawking’s Star, the Americans and Russians are fielding heavily-upgraded, elite units against a relatively new ... but much larger ... enemy battlegroup. The Americans have the nigh-legendary destroyer USS Valley Forge, detached from Task Force Oriskany, and her sistership USS Vincennes from Task Force Liberty. The light strike carrier CPK Novorossysk mounts a small but very elite aerospace strike group, one of the best in the Holy Russian Navy. On the other side we have the Arab League flag ship SHM Al Fihri, a curious hybrid design, part light cruiser, part light fleet carrier. Two Basra class destroyers (Mersin and the new Buraydah) escort her, along with the Khalifa class light carrier SHM Abu Bashir. Altogether the Arab League outguns the Russo-American battlegroup about 2:1 in both warships and aerospace, but crew experience, technology, and speed could easily tip the balance here.
The Americans and Russians set a very fast intercept approach, straight at the enemy, their vector refracted only by the gravity of the Kayashenko 17 moon. The League cuts to port and presents a starboard broadside, launching fighters from their two carriers and ranging out the defenders with long-ranged laser and EPC fire.
Things get very nasty ... very fast. As the SHM Al Fihri and Abu Bashir cut toward their enemy, the USS Vincennes re-accelerates, making a high-speed turn to starboard to cut directly across the Al Fihri’s fantail at point-blank range. The aggressive destroyer Buraydah darts forward to cut across Vincennes’ stern. Valley Forge sweeps down to cut across Buraydah’s stern. Mersin rushes forward to put a broadside across Valley Forge’s bow. By now the Al Fihri, Abu Bashir, and Novorossysk have completed their aerospace launches, with the Russian Tupolev Tu-97 “Zvesburya” (Star Storm) bombers and Mikoyan-Guyevich MiG-103 “Tunguska” fighters releasing a hail of torpedoes and missiles at the stern of the Al Firhi, along with a swarm of American Mark 48 gravitic torpedoes launched from the Vincennes and Valley Forge. Arab “Mylekinir” (Fire Angel) fighters scream into the Russian bombers, and elite or not, all the Russian bombers are shot down even as they release their ordinance. Arab “Demkikham” (Vengeance) bombers fire off a two-pronged hail of torpedoes at the Vincennes. It’s an incredible release of violence released into a volume of space just a few dozen kilometers across.
Here’s a zoom-in of what’s happening. The Al Fihri reels under the impact of torpedoes and missiles, even as her aft batteries of 8MgKv lasers and EPCs slash into the Vincennes’ starboard bow. An instant later the Vincennes’ broadside of 5GW rail guns and 6MgKv lasers slash open the already-wrecked stern of the Al Fihri, backloading two engines and blowing her port reactor clean out of the hull. The Al Fihri loses power, crippled. An instant later the Vincennes is struck by the hail of Arab torpedoes and missiles, and likewise loses power ... even as the Buraydah fires a point-blank broadside into her stern as well. The Vincennes’ reactors instantly go critical, but the engineering crew fails to eject the reactors in time. The ship actually DETONATES, killing at least half her 249 crew, including her skipper, Commander Yvonne Alliston. The blast wave smashes into the Abu Bashir, the Valley Forge (which is almost crippled as a result), the already-crippled Al Fihri (almost setting off a SECOND explosion), the Mersin, and the Buraydah the set off the explosion in the first place. Four Arab League scouts are also lost in the blast. The Valley Forge fires a broadside that cripples the Buraydah, even as she is hammered by the Buraydah’s aft guns, the blast from the Vincennes, and the broadside of the Mersin. In short, two ships are crippled here, one destroyed outright, and EVERYONE damaged with the sole exception of the carrier Novorossysk, which has wisely kept a more sensible distance from this collision. 
With her nose and port bow smashed open, Commander Garrison Heathe of the Valley Forge is forces to break off the engagement. He makes best steam away from Kayashenko 17, the Novorossysk racing after her to provide mass driver cover from a potential missile strike of Arab fighters (and also not to be left behind). But the Arab commander, Captain Rashid al-Maghrebi, is playing it safe. He pulls his fighters back to defend his two remaining ships from torpedoes fired by the Valley Forge and Novorossysk. The gambit pays off, the last Russo-American torpedo strike is defeated, the Russian strafing attack doing some damage to Mersin’s starboard engines, but fortune smiles on the Mersin and she does not lose power. 
This raid at Kayashenko 17 has been small, sharp, fast, and incredibly brutal. The loss of USS Vincennes comes as a startling blow to the Americans, the worst single loss of life suffered by the US Navy (110 officers and men) since the opening days of the Xi Scorpio War. The Arab League destroyer SHM Buraydah will also be lost, her skipper forced to evacuate and scuttle the ship (detonating her reactors) before she is captured by Russian assault marines four hours later. 
An updated campaign chart, tracking the “victory level” of the factions involved in the war. This 3-point victory actually puts the Arab League AHEAD of their initial campaign requirements for victory (different factions have different victory / defeat thresholds depending on their government’s commitment to the Third Hercules War). So technically, this should be it for the Arab League. They’ve won, and their commanders receive “cease-fire” orders from the League’s regional governor. The Americans and Russians have been forced to recognize their claim on the Khaizan’s Haven system, meaning the Arab League would accept peace and end their participation in the war. However, @muakhah wants to keep playing these captains ... :D ... and player fun trumps spreadsheets. So the Arab League’s “commitment threshold” is increased by 3 points, meaning their government TURNS DOWN the terms offered by the Russians and Americans. To balance the campaign chart, the Coalition of Eagles must also gain three commitment threshold points (putting both alliances at a total of 28 points). I assign the three new points Russians (1) and especially the Corporate Consortium (2), based on the proximity of their holdings at Krasnaya Nadhezda and Ragnarssonland (72 Hercules and Gliese 649, respectively), reflecting their hardening stance toward Arab League aggression and refusal to come to peace terms. 
Captain Cavendish sat at the dining table in the ward room of HMS Agamemnon, somewhat surprised as the duty signals officer interrupted the evening meal to hand him a portable data terminal, “Priority signal from headquarters, sir” Cavendish scrolled through the message before returning the PDT to the Lieutenant, “Thank you, Harrison, please signal HQ that message is acknowledged” “Aye aye, sir” “Dismissed” The signals officer quickly left as Cavendish stood to address the room, “Ladies and gentlemen, attention please” The hubbub of conversation died away as the assembled officers of battlegroup Agamemnon shifted their attention to their commander. “I… Read more »
Thanks @damon for the great little mini-story and salute to USS Vincennes. 😀 So far the British have indeed had a rough ride in the Third Hercules War. They tend to win these wars, however, having won in the Psi Serpentis, Second Hercules, and Aegean Path wars. They were allies with the Americans in the Andromeda Arc War (against the Japanese and Panasian Union), where the Americans and British actually lost (partners in defeat!) And hey, you totally won with the British in Duchess Annabelle’s War. 😀 The late commander of the Vincennes, Yvonne Alliston, started as a Lt. Commander… Read more »
A nice fast, perhaps overly aggressive game! I swear I don’t intend to explode ships!
Getting the hang of a mix of stuff, glad I shot down the Russian bombers.
Captain Yasminah al-Qadiri now has been involved in two exploding ships and has scuttled her own vessel twice… strike two!
I had a great time and I’m glad Oriskany underestimates the Arab EPCs at close range!
Great game @muakhah . 😀
After the battle I was updating your campaign points … so far I think your force has two losses and two wins, meaning you have +1, +1, +2, +2 … 6 points. Three of your ships now have the 6 required campaign points to buy their first upgrade (carrier Abu Bashir has only been in 2 battles, she has 4 points).
So some of your commanders are ready to make their first upgrade purchase! 😀
I think Yasminah al Qadiri has only been in the last three and so would only have 5 points.
As for Rashid and Hayden. I’m going to take your advice and give them both commander’s luck. Maybe with their guidance Yasminah won’t lose another ship any time soon.
@muakhah : So your …
First battle was only Al-Fihri and Mersin (loss)
Second Battle was Al-Fihri and Mersin and Zarqa (loss)
Third Battle was Al-Fihri and Mersin and Zarqa and Abu Bashir (win)
Fourth Battle was Al-Fihri and Mersin and Buraydah and Abu Bashir (win)
Giving your commanders:
6, 6, 5, and 4 points respectively?
That sounds right to me. Thanks