Persei-Aries War Resumes
British Raid on McClusky-Ramirez
FROM: UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL COLONIAL CENTER
01:20 SOL GMT, 25 JULY 2521
BREAKAUTH: 181072.18J
CLEARANCE: SECRET (NATIONAL)
**UNITED NATIONS COMMUNIQUE**
War has returned to the spinward shoulder of the Hercules Rim. After a period of relative calm following the bloody Battles of Hawking’s Star (HR6806), heavy naval action is again reported along the far “western” edge of the Third Hercules War.
Not content to await renewed American aggression against the Hawking’s Star colonies or perhaps the Outer Hebrides (Mu Hercules), this time the British have resolved to strike first. The Royal Navy has launched powerful elements of the Agamemnon Task Force (Commodore Edward Cavendish) out of the Outer Hebrides’ Woodward Yards in a raid against a remote American outpost along the edge of their Vega colonies (Alpha Lyra).
Although their force includes the heavy cruiser HMS Agamemnon, the light fleet carrier HMS Vindictive, and the destroyer HMS Sheffield, the powerful light cruiser HMS Retribution is still undergoing an engine overhaul and repairs, and will not take part in the raid. Cavendish respectfully warns that his battlegroup is understrength and the Port Halsey base at Vega houses very powerful American naval formations. The Admiralty has overruled him, however, citing that he’s not been ordered to attack Port Halsey itself, only a small outpost at the outer ice giant McClusky-Ramirez. In any event, the Americans must be struck, and now, before they regain their balance and lash out against British colonies in the Hercules Rim.
Indeed, the Americans are building up a powerful invasion force for a renewed effort. Eager to reinforce this operation (and thus secure a share of the spoils), the Holy Russian Empire has also deployed light and medium battlegroups to Vega. Thus, when the Agamemnon and her escorts drop out of their Darkstar waves and vector toward McClusky-Ramirez, they find not only the American heavy cruiser USS Shiloh (Rear-Admiral Virginia Saunders) maneuvering to intercept, but she’s escorted by light carriers, destroyers, and frigates of the Holy Russian Empire’s Krikalev carrier battlegroup.
The American outpost is an automated listening post, refueling point, and navigation beacon that’s actually nestled in the clouds of the McClusky-Ramirez (Neptune analog) ice giant. Control of the station isn’t exactly vital (in game terms, this is still a RAID and not an ASSAULT), what really matters is destruction of enemy warships. Whichever side deals out the bloodier nose here will have a marked advantage in the outer orbital zones of the Alpha Lyra system, and thus this sector of the Hercules warzone.
Holy Russian Empire: Rasmus
United States: Oriskany
United Kingdom: Damon
384 points per side (optional, +100 points for control of the station)
RAID victory rules
Current disposition on the Third Hercules War. Despite a series of bone-splintering battles, nothing much has actually changed in what the media is starting to call “The Iron Triangle” of Vega, Hawking’s Star, and the Outer Hebrides. So far all the big wins here have been defensive ones, where enemy invasions one way or another have been defeated. The Americans and Russians are still winning the war of attrition, however, and the British are slowly being ground down out here. Some say a marked lack of support from their Japanese allies is to blame. 
Here’s the matchup. Yes, the British are heavily outnumbered, but their ships are all very heavily upgraded with elite crews. Rasmus’ Russian force is more or less brand new, and contains much lighter ships. The gravity special rules are to the right. Yes, this is a GAS GIANT battle, where gravity rules are f***ing brutal and can kill a ship without even being fired on. “Outside” the gas giant atmosphere (right side of the board), the rules are less severe. “Inside” the atmosphere, however, the gravity rules get crazy, plus there are atmospheric friction rules and enormous sheets of lightning. Why even mess with that side of the table? To hide from your enemies, to drag them down with you, or to be the closest ship to the station (bonus 100 victory points). But it’s dangerous, make no mistake. (SPOILERS - there IS a math mistake here, I address this later).
The opposing formations make their approach, start launching fighters and torpedoes. Looks like the British are trying to keep the “gravity gauge” (keeping themselves between the enemy and the planet, forcing the enemy to turn INTO gravity to engage them) or maybe they’re just keeping their options open to move toward the American station later. The Russians, meanwhile, are already having communication problems with their American allies, the USS Shiloh and the two Sovnya class destroyers aren’t exactly in close formation. Meanwhile, the Russian carrier CPK Krikalev remains well back, escorted by the frigate CPK Krasnoi. 
The Russians abruptly bolt toward the British, HARD. The USS Shiloh, even with her upgraded thrust and tactical initiative bonuses, cannot completely keep up (she’s over triple the weight of those Russian destroyers). This is bad news for the Americans, as the whole British aerospace group is now launched and the Americans are perilously on their own when it comes to aerospace defense. The Russian battlegroup commander realizes this, and rather than escort his bombers, sends his fighters to protect the Shiloh from the massed British torpedo and missile strike. It saves the Shiloh, although she still takes three Model 41 gravitic torpedoes in her port engines and reactors. The Russian aerospace bombers can’t quite reach the British meanwhile, and the Agamemnon puts a broadside into the destroyer Pavyy Topol that all but blows her bow off, while the HMS Sheffield damages the Levyy Topol so badly that she’s being forced to break off. Although the Sheffield takes withering damage in return, she remains operational. This is not going well for the “Coalition of Eagles” so far.
Things continue to go badly for the Americans. The USS Shiloh is by far the heaviest warship on their side, but it is deftly outmaneuvered by the Agamemnon (the fastest heavy cruiser in Known Space), who puts a broadside right into her stern at point-blank range. The damage is horrific, but it is misplaced. Vital engines and reactors are largely missed, and the Shiloh, by the grace of God, survives what should have killed her outright. Meanwhile, the Shiloh tries to shoot back as best she can, her forward guns taking grim vengeance on the HMS Sheffield, who is crippled by Shiloh’s massive 10-gigawatt rail guns. The Russian aerospace and torpedo strike hits the stern of the Agamemnon, but again not enough hits ... and what does hit ... hits in the wrong place. The Agamemnon survives as well. 
The tide turns with ... with thunderclap speed. USS Shiloh beats HMS Agamemnon on initiative, despite Agamemnon’s slightly faster speed. As Agamemnon maneuvers away from the planet and accelerates to escape velocity, the Shiloh comes hard about in a fishhook turn and powers down after her, using the planet’s gravity to pull her down sideways, thus slip-stepping INTO Agamemnon’s hex and putting a broadside across Agamemnon’s stern at less than 100 kilometers. It’s beyond point-blank, and the Agamemnon is beyond doomed. Rear-Admiral Saunders fires her turrets in turn, intent on CRIPPLING Agamemnon but careful not to MURDER the ship by exploding her engines. This isn’t just “star chivalry” – it’s also so Shiloh can put the extra guns into the stern of the carrier HMS Vindictive, which has already started landing her bombers for a second strike. 
The battle is over. Note the Agamemnon’s speed after she lost power, with the gravity rules she BARELY has escape velocity. Two more hexes back ... or with one less point of velocity, her drift speed would have reached zero BEFORE she reached the end of the board, which means she then starts drifting back, first at speed 1, then 2, then 3 ... She would be pulled forever into the crushing incineration of the McClusky-Ramirez gas giant. The carrier Krikalev and the cruiser Shiloh move a little closer to the station just to ensure they claim those 100 bonus points, while the Sheffield drifts off the table safely. Yes, she’s pointing obliquely toward the planet, but will in fact be saved by a gravity slingshot that will fling her hulk out into open space where she’ll eventually be recovered (game terms, she exits off the bottom of the map before the left side of the map, meaning she escapes). 
Now HERE is where I made a pretty bad mistake, and realized it only when I was writing up this AAR. When I was building this scenario, I assessed the British point cost for the cruiser Retribution, not the less expensive carrier Vindictive. This meant the British were shortchanged 15 points. That’s five more elite bombers they should have had, or ten more torpedoes, easily enough to cripple the Shiloh or Krikalev. So I’m counting the Shiloh as “crippled” – which makes this a Russo-American MINOR victory instead of a MAJOR victory. Note: even if the Shiloh had been crippled, the biggest possible difference those bombers could have made, the Russo-Americans win by 78 because the Shiloh’s position dictates they still own that station. Thus, the campaign points here are assessed as a MINOR VICTORY, despite the MAJOR VICTOY that was recorded on the table. 
Been waiting a few days for this update and it doesn’t disappoint. The rules for that gas giant are really cool. Long range caution becoming an up close knife fight is always a fun read.
Thanks @muakhah – yeah, I have to clarify those Gas Giant rules just a smidge … they were written for a long-ago scenario (note the mention of a specific gas giant “Nazarovo”). I’ve run a couple of these and almost no one wants to go down into the pretty clouds! I can’t imagine why …
When the Shiloh went out of position I had a real ‘shark smells the blood’ moment, I really thought I had a chance to take out a big chunk of points with one volley.
F#@&ing dice…
Thanks @damon – hey, I’m all honesty, like I outline in that last slide, you’ll see where I made a bonafide mistake in the points and available ships in that game. You were shortchanged by 15 points (cost of Retribution vs. cost of Vindictive). So if that game felt unfair… it was. 15 points was only about 4% of the total, but that would have been 5 more elite bombers, 10 more torps hitting on 10s. 4 of them might have hit vs Shilohs shielding of 6 … so yeah, could EASILY have made a big difference. This is why… Read more »
No worries mate, war isn’t fair, mistakes happen, dice are plastic demonic bastards put on this Earth to torment me, it’s all good.