Fifteen days after the Confederation Frigate Frostwind's victory over the Star Kingdom Intruder Sir Tanelorn, the Confederation Light Cruiser Ascension arrived at Beaumaris with escorts to assume patrol responsibilities for the system. They were transiting the system when an alert was recieved from a small mining colony. Star Kingdom ships were active in the system, refueling from the more distant gas giant! Ascension's commander managed to lead his flotilla into an interception position, catching the Star Kingdom Battlecraft Tender Stevedore as she was running for the jump limit. The Star Kingdom Corvette Lord Marcus, on escort duty, detected the Confederation vessels and managed to hold them off, buying time for Stevedore to launch her flotilla of Starlance class Battlecraft into combat. Stevedore's flotilla commander was confident that her fast, hard-hitting Starlances could make short work of Ascension and her escorts, but the fortunes of war proved her wrong...

The Combatants:

Confederation Patrol Flotilla

Confederation Torpedo Frigate TF-111

A light, fast vessel designed for patrol and escort duties, the TF paid a heavy price in durability for its agility and powerful missile armament.

TF-3911 TF-021 TF-A1357F2-000100-20009-0 MCr1661.179 1500dtns
Batteries (all bear):            5   1   Crew=41. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=21. Cargo=11.5. Fuel=555. EP=105. Agility=5. 
Marines=0. 20dtn Lifeboat. Onboard Fuel Treatment.

Confederation Frigate Nightwind

Sister ship to the CSS Frostwind, a patrol and escort vessel.

FF-2308 Frostwind FF-D4356F2-440100-47808-0 MCr3888.086 4kdtns
Batteries (all bear):         4     311 1   Crew=58. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=44. Cargo=28. Fuel=1440. EP=240. Agility=3. Marines=25.
Backup Model/3fib Computer. 2 30dtn Ship's Boats.
Onboard Fuel Treatment. 4 Pilots

The lightest Confederation class to sport a Meson spinal mount, the Ascension is designed as a patrol leader and heavy escort vessel.

CL-3311 Ascension CL-L4334F3-851106-678C9-0 MCr24412.78 25kdtns
Batteries (all bear):         A   4 64218   Crew=216. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=164. Cargo=441. Fuel=8500. EP=1000. Agility=0. Marines=100. Backup Model/6fib Computer. 6 30dtn Ship's Boats.
Onboard Fuel Treatment. 12 Pilots

Confederation Gunned Pinnaces (8 Total)

KG-8811 Gunned Pinnace KG-0205521-230000-10001-0 MCr30.7 30dtns
Passengers=10. Cargo=4. Fuel=1.5. EP=1.5. Agility=1. Crew=2. TL=12

An experimental design, intended to improve crew survivability in hostile encounter ship abandonment situations. It proved too expensive for normal use, especially since the Confederation’s opposing forces (with one notable exception) stringently followed accepted rules of conduct when it came to lifeboats and rescue of distressed starcrew.

QB-9987 Military Lifeboat QB-0203321-040000-00000-0 MCr20.1 20dtns
Pass=1. Elow=11 (Capacity 44). Cargo=0. Fuel=1. EP=0.6. Agility=3. 
TL=12

Star Kingdom Battlecraft Tender Stevedore

A light battle transport, carrying a full flotilla of Starlance class Battlecraft.

BT-0790 Stevedore BT-L7323D3-050106-60000-1 MCr13287.55 25kdtns
Batteries (all bear):         A   2 6       Crew=145. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=116. Cargo=726. Fuel=8250. EP=750. Agility=2. Marines=75.
Carries 6 30dtn Ship's Boats and 10 1000dtn Battlecraft
12 Pilots

Heavily armored, agile and equipped with a powerful and well-supplied missile system, the Starlance serves a variety of roles from system defense to planetary assault support.

BF-7727 Starlance BF-A1068F2-C00100-00009-0 MCr1481.532 1kdtns
Batteries (all bear):                   1   Crew=21. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=0. Cargo=8. Fuel=80. EP=80. Agility=6. Marines=5.
Onboard Fuel Treatment.

Star Kingdom Patrol Corvette Lord Marcus

A light patrol and escort vessel.

LP-1128 Lord Marcus LP-B1355F2-400100-80009-0 MCr1954.99 2kdtns
Batteries (all bear):                 1   1   Crew=44. TL=12.
Passengers=0. Low=31. Cargo=12.5. Fuel=700. EP=100. Agility=2. 
Marines=15. 30dtn Ship's Boat. Onboard Fuel Treatment. 2 Pilots

Star Kingdom Armed Ship’s Boat (7 carried total)

KB-9988 Ship's Boat KB-0205521-230000-10001-0 MCr30.7 30dtns
Passengers=10. Cargo=4. Fuel=1.5. EP=1.5. Agility=1. Crew=2. TL=12
Craft has a bridge.

On to the battle!

Round 1: Range automatically long. Confederation Initiative. Stevedore in the reserve, Lord Marcus in the line. All Confederation ships in the line. Stevedore launches all Battlecraft.

Marcus, seeing how overmatched it is by Ascension and company, takes evasive action – emergency agility. Marcus is pretty lucky, but she’s unable to avoid all the carnage coming her way – TF-111 spills some of Marcus’ fuel, and Ascension scores minor hits on her fuel tanks and missile bays. Nightwind fails to connect with the wildly dodging Star Kingdom corvette.

Round 2: Star Kingdom initiative, range remains at long. Marcus joins Stevedore in the reserve, as the ten Star Kingdom Battlecraft take up attack formation.

Ascension lashes out at the oncoming Battlecraft, striking one with a nuclear missile. BF-2’s thick hide absorbs most of the blow…the Battlecraft takes significant damage to her missile bay, but presses on. This will be the usual kind of damage the Battlecraft will take throughout the battle. TF-111 and Nightwind both miss completely, as the Battlecraft launch a storm of nuclear missiles at Nightwind. Her point defense is useless against the intensity of the bombardment, and the hapless Confederation frigate takes fuel, weapon and maneuver drive damage across the board.

Round 3: Confederation initiative, range closes to short. Marcus and Stevedore still in reserve.

The Confederation flotilla manages to close with the swarming Battlecraft. The Battlecraft manage another series of hits on the lightly-defended Nightwind, knocking her maneuver drives down to 50% capability, spilling even more fuel and knocking out her weapons systems down to the last sandcaster turret. So far, Nightwind has been a toothless missile magnet. TF-111 manages a light weapons hit on BF-3, but it is Ascension that truly hits the mark. Firing at a wide range of targets, the Light Cruiser manages light hits on two Battlecraft, and a remarkable solid Meson hit on BF-6. The luckless Battlecraft, in an instant, goes from a dangerous foe to a lifeless, powerless hulk, two dozen men blasted out of existance as the power compartment and main compartment are consumed in a fireball (three separate Crew-1 hits, a power plant hit and a power plant disabled critical).

Round 4: Confederation initiative, range remains short. Marcus and Stevedore in the reserve, Nightwind, now weaponless, retreats to the Confederation reserve and begins damage control operations.

Having driven off Nightwind, the Battlecraft turn their attentions on the smaller Confederation torpedo frigate. TF-111 proves a far more nimble target, deftly evading scores of missile strikes. Where Nightwind was seriously damaged by such an attack, TF-111 escapes with minor damage to her maneuver drives and to her missile bay. She fails to connect with her opponents, but Ascension continues to reap weapon-damaging hits on the attacking Battlecraft – four hits on four separate craft, two of them relatively serious (Weapon-3).

Round 5: Star Kingdom initiative, range increases to long. Marcus, Stevedore and Nightwind are in the reserve.

TF-111 manages a light weapon hit on a Battlecraft, and Ascension gets an amazing second Meson hit. Another Star Kingdom Battlecraft – BF-4 – is decrewed and depowered in one shot. Ascension’s missiles are also effective, garnering two more light weapon hits. The Battlecraft return fire, scattering light weapon hits across Ascension’s spinal mount, fusion guns and missile bays.

Round 6: Confederation initiative, range returns to close. Marcus, Stevedore and Nightwind are in the reserve.

TF-111 continues to press the attack, scoring a good weapon hit on BF-1. Ascension’s missiles continue to score a scattering of weapon and fuel hits, though she takes some fuel hits and loses a sandcaster battery in return. The Battlecraft’s missile systems are starting to wear away in the face of continuous pressure from Ascension’s missile bays, though her fusion guns, lasers and particle accelerators have yet to score any hits on the elusive Battlecraft. As for Ascension’s Meson spinal, it has hit two shots out of six – an amazing record, though it misses this round.

Round 7: Star Kingdom intitiative, range returns to long. Marcus, Stevedore and Nightwind are in the reserve.

The Battlecraft and the Ascension trade fire, with Ascension getting slightly worse of it – a maneuver hit, and a laser battery and PAW battery are silenced. Two Battlecraft take significant hits on their missile bays.

Round 8: Star Kingdom initiative, range remains long. Marcus, Stevedore and Nightwind are in the reserve.

More weapons fire, TF-111 has missed twice in a row. Nightwind successfully completes repairs to her maneuver drives, but she is still weaponless. Ascension’s remaining particle accelerator connects, as do two of her missiles, causing a scattering of missile hits on three Battlecraft. Due to the degraded performance of the Battlecraft missile systems, Ascension’s point defense systems (repulsors, sandcasters, nuclear dampeners, lasers and fusion guns) are able to stop all incoming missiles. The battle has turned against the Star Kingdom Battlecraft completely, and the Star Kingdom flotilla commander gives the order to withdraw.

Round 9: Star Kingdom intiative, range remains long. Marcus, Stevedore and Nightwind are in the reserve. BF-8 and BF-9 remain in the line, the six other surviving Battlecraft retreat to the reserve. Nightwind repairs her missile bay to factor-3.

The two Battlecraft try to hold the line against the rampaging Confederation light cruiser, but their missiles are easily swatted aside by her repulsor bays. The Star Kingdom flotilla commander realizes that Ascension should have been her first target, as her point defense system prevents damage unless she is overwhelmed. The Battlecraft suffer harshly…BF-9 is hit by two missiles, and BF-8 is struck by a missile and an amazing Meson hit! Three strikes on such difficult targets, the Ascension’s twenty-man spinal mount crew will not be buying their own drinks for some time to come. With BF-8 lifeless and driveless, the chance of Stevedore – now completing loading operations – managing to jump safely out-system becomes remote indeed.

Round 10: Star Kingdom initiative, range remains long. Lord Marcus rejoins the line, as does Nightwind. Stevedore, now loaded with six of her eight Battlecraft, begins jump preparations – she’ll jump at the end of this round.

Lord Marcus throws herself into harms’ way, desperately trying to hold off the oncoming Confederation force. She is pounded mercilessly, TF-111 hitting her with missiles and lasers while Ascension’s gunners find her an easy target compared to the faster Battlecraft. In a flurry of missile, laser, particle beam and Meson hits, Lord Marcus is pounded to death – fuel tanks shattered, crew killed, jump drive knocked out, power plant damaged, she is left a glowing hulk. In the moments before she dies, one of her gunnery officers makes the most telling strike against the Confederation ships of the entire battle – a single missile hit on the TF-111. The doughty torpedo frigate, which had successfully stood up to the missiles of an entire Battlecraft flotilla, suffers an interior explosion when her nuclear dampener overloads…three dozen of her crew are killed or disabled, and her screen is down. A skeleton crew at the controls, TF-111 turns to run. But then – with the last missile of Ascension’s last barrage – the last Star Kingdom combat vessel’s weaponry is silenced. BF-9 loses her last missile tube, and watches helplessly as Nightwind and Ascension roar past her to bring Stevedore under their guns.

Breakthrough step:

Stevedore fends off some missiles with her point defense, and is saved from Meson death by her dispersed structure. The six missiles and two laser hits, however, play havoc with her unarmored frame. Internal explosions knock out her maneuver drive, the majority of her weapons systems, and much of her computer capabilities. Her screens fail, and some 6% of her fuel is lost. She still has enough to jump…except that there is no one at the controls. Of her crew of 145, only two are still on their feet – the rest are dead or dying, burned and blasted where they stood. The commander of Ascension transmits a demand for surrender to the survivors, and the Battlecraft crews – trapped with their ships in the twisted and jammed carry cradles of the crippled Stevedore – have no choice but to comply.

The Confederation flotilla immediately dispatched all boats, ferrying her carried marine company in waves onto the captured ships which were secured without further incident. The flotilla commander, though badly injured, was retrieved alive from the charnel house her command bridge had become, and was placed in medical low along with the forty-one other badly injured survivors of the Stevedore.

Lord Marcus was so badly damaged that she was judged too hazardous to board. Two boat crews from the Nightwind volunteered to search her for survivors, but the Confederation flotilla commander deemed the likelihood of success too low to justify the risk. Five hours after the first exchange of fire, Lord Marcus was completely destroyed by precision Meson fire. The three Meson-crippled Battlecraft were finished off in a similar fashion.

The Confederation flotilla commander ordered replacement crewmen from Nightwind’s low berths onto the TF-111, and canabalized Nightwind’s nuclear damper to repair the damaged one on the torpedo frigate. Nightwind was then sent back to base with battle reports, wounded, prisoners, and repair orders, while Ascension and TF-111 towed the wrecked Stevedore and the captured Battlecraft deeper into the Beaumaris system and continued their patrol.

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Copyright 2001 Walter G. Smith