Persei-Aries War Resumes
Battleship Smackdown at Delta Eridani
Once again, the heavens blaze with the fury of hypertech interstellar combat – another Darkstar game is in the books! This time I playtested the new Shahada al-Qadir (Witness of the Almighty) class battleship of the Arab League, recently requested by the Darkstar community and to be fair, it’s been on my “get around to it” list for at least six years. At last this “dreadnought of the star caliphate” is here, and she’s made a helluva splash.
Today’s game takes place in Delta Eridrani stay system, where a colonial caliphate of the Arab League is under threat from a Japanese invasion force. Spearheading the invasion, a Japanese fast-attack battlecruiser task force has been sent in to find, engage, and crush any Arab League naval forces in high orbit over the sub-earth analog world of Jadzistan (Delta Eridani 12.g), home of the Al Farashan colonies. Once the battle area is secured, the transport group of modified Shimada-class assault destroyers hidden in the star system’s cometary debris halo will Darkstar wave in to Jadzistan and put SNLF Marines onto the surface. The Japanese attack is perhaps a bit rushed, mounted in reprisal for recent cooperative Arab-Black Dragon raids mounted on Japanese colonies along the Hercules Rim. Warnings that there may be an Arab League battleship at Jadzistan are ignored by Japanese naval intelligence.
Here is the matchup for today’s game. Once more we have Rasmus’ task force built around his Sengoku-class battlecruiser IJN Nobunaga, escorted by the light cruiser Sendai Byo and the strike frigate Urakaze. The al Farashan caliphate indeed has a battleship defending her, the Qatil al-Shirir (Slayer of the Wicked), escorted by the hybrid heavy cruiser Ankara and the hybrid light cruiser Shalizar. Note these League cruisers carry lighter guns than is typical for their class, but instead carry a small aerospace strike group. Now, with three such strike groups together, we might see a sizable force of League fighters, bombers, and scouts. 
The engagement begins with both forces quickly detecting and vectoring toward each other, meeting over the planet’s dusk terminator. The Arabs would love to pivot to present a broadside, but they approach is still too fast and the Qatil’s maneuverability is no match for the Nobunaga. The Japanese easily make the pivot, presenting a port broadside and opening fire at 2700 kilometers. The heavy cruiser Ankara takes the worst of it, while limited League return fire (only forward guns can come to bear) hit the little Urakaze. 
The League task force makes a turn to port (finally) but even now the ponderous Qatil cannot turn and decelerate at the same time. The Japanese could make a decelerated s-turn here and cut behind her fantail, but instead they opt for a medium range broadside. The problem here is that because of their residual approach speed, they’re presenting port quarters (and thus engines and reactors) while the League presents their starboard quarter. Meanwhile, the Urakaze makes a mad run straight at the Ankara. It’s a bold move, and the Ankara is indeed cruelly hammered by all Japanese ships, but for now the reeling heavy cruiser remains (minus torpedo bays and one of her forward EPC turrets, of course). The good news is that the League aerospace strike is largely neutralized, taking enough damage that their "Ahrasyfa" (Storm) Class IV torpedoes don’t do enough damage to disrupt any of Nobunaga’s critical systems. In fact, three of the League’s ““Mylekinir” (Fire Angel) fighters are shot down before they can even launch missiles. One problem is again Qatir’s maneuverability, even now she can’t swing her stern around to get a broadside on the Japanese or launch her aft torpedo array. 
The tide turns. As the Qatil finally manages to slow down and recover the task force’s bombers (they are JUST close enough to do so in a single turn), the Japanese fleet divides. Sendai and Urakaze streak up to again hit the Ankara’s bow (but the heavy cruiser has rolled on her back to protect her starboard bow), but the Ankara and Shalizar have crossed the stern of the Nobunaga. In fact, the Urakaze and Sendai Byo are cut off, caught between the two League cruisers. It’s a brutal exchange of point-blank gunnery, the two battleships all but forgotten as the cruisers eat each other alive. Even the League fighters make a desperate strafing run, only for ten more of them to be shot out of the sky by Nobunaga’s longed-ranged mass driver support. The Sendai Byo is crippled, the League actually lifting fire so she does not explode. This isn’t just “chivalry of the stars,” note how many League fighters, scouts, and warships would be in the blast wave of such a titanic detonation. The Urakaze also goes down, despite having her bridge AND forward magazines knocked out and then brought back online by her valiant crew. The one ray of hope for the Japanese (besides that slaughtered squadron of fighters) is the heavy cruiser Ankara, AGAIN hammered by a blistering salvo … but somehow, she remains operational. 
As the Sendai Byo and Urakaze spin off into space, the vengeful Nobunaga makes a turn to port, presents a broadside, and blows the front HALF of the Ankara practically off the keel. The bridge is horribly damaged, the magazine goes up, all forward weapons are lost, shields are down, three sensor suites are lost, maneuvering thrusters are hit, hangars are gone and casualties are … in a word … horrific. The captain never even asks permission, Ankara hits full flank speed and makes best speed out of the battle area. Meanwhile, the Qatil has FINALLY managed to get her speed under control where she can actually start to make normal maneuver turns (she’s about to careen off the map), her broadside is right across the Nobunaga’s stern but distance, inferior sensors, and upgraded Japanese shielding dampen the effect of her guns. Her bomber bays, however, are busily turning around another strike of “Demkikham” (Vengeance) bombers. The Shalizar’s broadside is perhaps more effect, having cut closer to the Japanese battlecruiser but taking a hammering from her aft batteries for her trouble. Another torpedo strike has now hit the Nobunaga, meanwhile, only steadily chipping away at the battlecruiser’s massive stern, engineering spaces, and powerful shielding.
Finally, the end comes. Qatil re-launches her wing of “Demkikham” bombers, along the very last of her forward torpedoes. The Shalizar cuts RIGHT behind the Nobunaga to assist what the League hopes will be the coup de grace … but the point-blank fire of Nobunaga’s aft EPCs and especially plasma projectors all but burns the Shalizar in half. Yet Shalizar has also just fired, and at less than 200 kilometers, her guns can hardly miss. The EPCs and lasers of the Shalizar cut deep, along with the aerospace torpedoes, warships torpedoes, and even strafing of the bloodied “Fire Angel” fighters. The Shalizar takes horrific internal damage, fully 40% of her crew is killed or wounded, and immediately raises maximum speed out of the battle area. For just an instant, the two battleships are alone. But decompressions and explosions within the Nobunaga leave her crippled and adrift as well, and this rather savage fight is finally over. 
This game was scored as an “Assault” (judged by points LEFT STANDING on the table rather than what was damaged or destroyed). I’m not gonna lie, the Arab League has won this one pretty handily. Although the Qatil al-Shirir (Slayer of the Wicked) has been damaged along her port side, no critical systems are hit and she remains on station to support at least most of the surviving aerospace craft. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have put a battlecruiser up against so many aerospace craft with no aerospace cover of its own (we all know how that goes, sci-fi or historical). The good news that Rasmus has finally accrued enough campaign points to unlock the “Fleet Command” campaign upgrade, allowing him to greatly expand his battlecruiser’s escort force to include torpedo-heavy corvettes and especially light carriers. Next time fighters and bombers start flying at the Nobunaga, they’ll get even more of a hot reception.
The WRS (warship record sheet) of the Japanese battlecruiser Nabunaga. It’s just too much torpedo damage, which couldn’t knock her out, but opened up the armor so the valiant stern-rake of the Shalizar could close down Nobunaga’s lights. It’s a brutal tactic, and costs plenty … but if it trades the League a light cruiser for a battle cruiser … I’ll take it. 
Speaking of brutal, the horrific hammering of the Ankara is plainly evident. Note how she took heavy damage on three sides, bow, port bow, and starboard bow. This is the ship’s captain maneuvering to present new armor and shields to the enemy with each successive salve (when possible). This means the Japanese had to give Ankara “the business” no less than three times, time when those guns were desperately needed elsewhere. Conversely, note the Shalizar, all but burned IN HALF with a single EPC / plasma salvo from the Nobunaga … and this was only aft guns. ALL aft core boxes have been marked off, Darkstar Drive, Life Support, Med Bay, Aft Hangar, meaning that … yeah, Shalizar’s crew took hellish losses on this one. 
And the blades of the wicked shall chip and shatter, and the righteous shall move among them, slaying as they will.
I may be a little biased, but great to read another battle report featuring an Arab League Victory
Thanks very much @muakhah, glad you liked it! 😀
Finally got to see the plasma stern cover, burned all armor and more off the Shalizar, and then 3 heavy EPC …. the WRS say it all
Hell yeah. Especially considering all that dam age on Shalizar’s WRC was a SINGLE SALVO – and only aft guns off the Nobunaga.