Hostile Takeover.

 

'The small flotilla of ships was busy surveying the system. The Brakiri called it Retaria, the Centauri records called it X-37456 and the Humans called it P-4789-R. Whatever its designation, it was an uninteresting system centered around a Brown dwarf star, and notable only for the dense protoplanetary disk that appeared upon initial investigations to be rich in various metals, and a small, but valuable, quantity of Quantium 40. Kalora had been sent to stake a claim on behalf of the Resha-Kar corporation of Brakir, and had wasted no time upon arrival in decommissioning the Earth Alliance navigation beacon that staked their claim to the system. possession was 90% of the law, and the earth alliance had not seen fit to post any ships to guard their claim. The surveys had been positive, if a little tedious, but Kalora was relishing the investments that could be made with her share of the profits. The musings were disturbed when a Jump point opened and a small force of Earth ships entered the System. She hailed them and put on her best 'we beat you to it' face. "Earth Alliance Vessels, this is Director Kalora of the Resha-Emissary, this system has been claimed by the Resha-Kar corporation, on behalf of the Brakiri Syndicracy. Please leave the system immediately' She waited a few seconds for the response. 'This is the Earth alliance Destroyer Furious to the Resha-Emissary, this system has been claimed by the Earth Alliance, WE have authority here'. So, Kalora mused, they were either bluffing, or prepared to vigorously defend their stake. 'Emissary to Furious, we are prepared to defend this system, if you do not leave immediately, we will be forced to fire on your ships, we will not warn you again, Emissary out'

Following the end of our first campaign, we decided to get in some practice games before jumping into a new one. It also gave us the opportunity to pick different fleets, and I have chosen Brakiri, and my opponent for today, David, has picked Earth Alliance. The EA are a force i really quite like, and I have some practice with them. The Brakiri on the other hand, while I can make some initial judgments about how they might perform they are completely new to me.

The Mission we are playing will be a standard space superiority, with randomly generated terrain, and will be 5 Raid points.

The Earth Alliance Fleet

David is busy painting his fleet, and doesn't have any Hermes ready, so this fleet represents more or less what he has available. It's a powerful fleet for certain, the Omega packs a long range punch, with the Olympus' adding some long range firepower with their missiles, and the Nova and Artemis' being quite powerful brawlers. I prefer the early earth Nova with the heavy plasma, but the 3rd Age Nova is no slouch and can overwhelm more lightly armoured ships with sheer volume of fire.

Omega Destroyer, EAS Furious.

Nova Dreadnought, EAS Nelson

2x Olympus Corvettes, EAS Styx and EAS Valhalla

2x Artemis.Heavy Frigates, EAS Aeneas and EAS Dido

8x Aurora Starfury flights

Brakiri Resha-Kar Corporation

Based and basecoated, the fleet moves into action.

I've decided to name my own corporation 'Resha-Kar' following the Brakiri practice of naming their corporations after the 2 largest clans involved in their formation. I'm drafting their fluff at the moment and I will share it when its ready.
For my fleet I wasn't sure exactly where to start, The Brokados seems like a sensible choice, the EA have some of the best fighters, and since I was expecting to face lots of fighters, having the ability to recycle some of my own, as well as boosting their dogfight by +1 would mean I wasn't severely outclassed by auroras if they brought an avenger, and might even have parity if they didn't. The EA can bring a lot of fighters even without a dedicated carrier. For my next choice I was strongly considering a Halik, they are an excellent anti-fighter platform with Escort and Anti-fighter 8, but that would mean I was spending 2 of my 5 points just to counter fighters. The Halik isn't the best armed ship I can take. Instead I opted for a Brikorta to give me access to a total of 12 falkosi's, which I judged would be barely adequate. To give myself some punch, I opted for a pair of Haltona's. Their Beams are solid weapons, having an above average number of dice to roll, but are slow firing in return. To maximize the effectiveness of the graviton pulsars on all my ships, I took a Shakara scout so that i had the chance of being able to re-roll misses with them. With most of the force picked, I then took an Ikorta, just in case I could board anything, and then 2 pairs of Kabriks. They are excellent patrol ships offering good utility and excellent firepower, but have the resilience of a wet paper bag. If I could get them into a good position, then they could do some damage, if not.....

2x Haltona-class frigate (miniatures are Anatophs), Resha-Defender, Resha-Shepherd

1x Brokados-class battle carrier (miniature is a Torsha), Resha-Emissary

1x Ikorta-class light assault cruiser, Resha-Attacker

1x Brikorta-class light carrier, Resha-Porter

1x Shakara-class scout cruiser, Resha-Vanguard

4x Kabrik-class police ship. Resha-Bailiff, Resha-Sheriff, Resha-Judge, Resha-Justice

4x Breaching pods (Tobraki assault shuttle)

12x Falkosi flights

Setup

The Table was very dense with terrain, a great many rolls of a 6 were made, and the absurd number of asteroid belts and their density meant that at CQ4 it would be very difficult to traverse them without taking damage. The Brakiri lost the rolloff for deployment.

The two forces deploy to meet each other

I deployed both the Haltonas and the Brokados centrally, I was intending to use the large dust cloud to shield myself from the long range Earth Alliance fire. The Omegas Beam is no joke, and the pair of Olympus' have long range missiles. On my left is the Ikorta and a pair of Kabriks, and on my right the Brikorta and another pair of Kabriks, with the shakara chilling in the middle. The Earth alliance counter deployed with their entire force on my right.

The EA force deploys along one flank

Turn 1

The two small forces moved toward each other, on the Brakiri right, the Resha-Sheriff, Resha-Bailiff, and Resha-Porter moved towards the small planet that was forming in the protoplanetary disk, the Resha-Shepherd, Resha-Defender and Resha-Emissary maneuvered towards the large dust cloud and interposed it between themselves and the Earth Alliance force. 

The fleets move into position

The Resha-Judge and Justice turned towards the Humans, also keeping the dust cloud between them, while the less maneuverable Resha-Attacker moved forwards along the left flank. The Resha-Vanguard moved along the rear of the Brakiri formation. The Emissary and Porter both scrambled fighters, and the Earth Alliance ships attempted to do likewise. The EAS Styx, EAS Aeneas and the EAS Nelson maneuvered towards the planet, while the remainder of the human ships started moving towards the main Brakiri force.With the majority of the Brakiri ships hidden, and the Vanguard well out of weapons range, the only activity was fighters and breaching pods launching on both sides, and taking up position ready to move as soon as the circumstances allowed. Director Kalora was delighted at the efficiency of her crews as they managed to launch every single fighter on both carriers, while the Earth Alliance struggled being shocked at how aggressive the Brakiri were in defending their claim.

Turn 2

The Attacker emerged from the cover of celestial phenomena to present a tempting target, and the EAS Furious saw the opportunity and turned to bring it's main armament to bear, her starfurys forming a screen between the Brakiri force and their own. Seeing this maneuver, the Defender and Shepherd both moved into the dust cloud to bring their Graviton Beams into range. Kalora kept most of the fighters back to protect her ships, but some swarmed into the earth fighters in an attempt to overwhelm them and defeat them in detail.

Falkosi's engage the starfurys

Towards the planet, the Sheriff and Bailiff emerged bringing the Aeneas into weapons range, being careful to keep away from the Nelson. The Kabriks are police ships and not intended to fight true warships, rather, board and search civilian ships for contraband, or chase off the occasional raider. they were backed up by the Porter as it lined up its laser cannon on the Heavy frigate. The Falkosi flights from the Porter surged forward and engaged the starfurys, overwhelming a part of the force, and the same happened to the Furious' screen. The Furious responded, its Heavy Laser cannon clipping the Attacker and causing moderate damage. The Aeneas and Styx both concentrated their fire on the Sheriff, and directly hit the ships barely armoured citadel, killing or wounding almost the entire crew, but not before it and the Bailiff unleashed fire at the Aeneas, to little effect. the Heavy frigates interceptors stopping the majority of the fire, a quick pulse of the Heavy frigates thrusters meant that the Laser shot from the Porter missed its mark as well.

The Shepherd and Defender fire at the EAS Furious

The Furious had left itself open to attack though in moving to fire on the Attacker, and the Defender and Shepherd both fired their Graviton Beams into the ship. The Shepherd fired at the prow of the ship, and the Defender the rear. damage was heavy as the beams damaged the Destroyers engines, knocked one of the ships reactors offline reducing power to the weapons, and mauled the hammerhead, knocking the heavy pulse cannons offline completely. fire from the Defenders secondary weapons scattered or destroyed one of the flights of starfurys. The Furious was heavily damaged, but still very much in the fight.

Turn 3

The Valhala and Dido moved to interpose themselves between the Furious and the Brakiri ships, while the Furious itself focused on the now damaged Attacker. This provided the Shepherd and Defender the opportunity to bring the majority of their Graviton Pulsars into action, and they surged into the gap, with ships on all sides, Falkosi fighters in formation to screen against incoming fire. The Justice and Judge, both saw the chance to move into weapons range, and they too moved to engage the Valhalla, 

The Brakiri ships surge into a gap and fire in all directions

Around the planet, the Earth alliance ships used the gravity well to outmaneuver the porter, attacking it from multiple angles, while the small carrier frantically corkscrewed to try to avoid some, any of the incoming fire. The Porter found itself being fired upon not only by the Styx and the Aeneas, but also by the rear battery of the Nelson. Miraculously they only caused minor damage. The Styx found itself in a bad situation though, Breaching pods launched by the Sheriff and Bailiff previously fired their engines and latched on to the ship. even as the Styx poured fire into the Porter, Brakiri troops made short work of the small marine contingent, and started to fan out towards vital areas. 

The Resha-Porter finds itself in a hot spot.

The Defender and the Shepherd poured fire in all directions, damaging the Dido and Valhalla but failing to penetrate the interceptor screen of the furious, The Justice and Judge added to the fire against the Valhalla, and left the ship heavily damaged. Meanwhile, return fire against the 2 Brakiri Frigates was fierce, but ultimately only caused minor damage. The Attacker was not so fortunate, the ship had attempted to avoid the Omega as it opened fire, but was unsuccessful, the ship directed all it's power ro the main armament and the constant beam sliced through the ship, from bow to stern, and from port to starboard. the Ikorta class ship detonated spectacularly.

EAS Furious lines up a shot at the Resha-Attacker

 The Brakiri did manage to win space superiority, mopping up the last Human fighters, and with 3 Earth Ships damaged, 2 of them heavily, and the Graviton beams on the Haltonas now recharged, the Brakiri decided to press their attack.

Turn 4

The Defender and Shepherd maneuvered behind the Furious as it passed, turning to aim their forward weapons at the rear of the destroyer, the Emissary too moved through the dust cloud and aimed it's Heavy laser at the Omega-class destroyers flank, catching the huge human ship between itself and the Brakiri frigates, it was itself surrounded by the Valhalla and Dido. The Nelson poured power into the engines, trying to get into range to cover the Furious.

The Nelson races to support the Furious

Towards the planet marines from the Aeneas counter boarded the Styx, but the Brakiri marines had taken up defensive positions and slaughtered the humans as they desperately tried to eliminate the threat. the Brakiri were bringing up heavier equipment to cut through the Olympus' thick bulkheads. Even as this fight was going on, both the Aeneas and the Styx poured fire into the Porter, but again, the ship weathered the majority of the fire, its interceptors stopping the bulk of the weapons fire, and damage control teams moving swiftly to secure damaged areas.

Marines from the Aeneas try to save the Styx

The fighting around the Furious was fierce, The Valhalla and Dido targeted the Justice and scored some serious hits, the police ships small crew suffering heavy casualties, with those still ablebodied only just able to man the vital stations. The Furious unleashed its rear laser into the Defender, but as it connected the armoured hull, the Defender and Emissary fired their main weapons, the Graviton Beam tore the engines to pieces, wrecking them completely, and the Laser fire from the Emissary carved through the ships heavy hull knocking every reactor offline. The Furious was dead in space, its shot into the Defender amounting to little more than scorched hull plating.

The Brakiri catch the Furious in a crossfire

 Everywhere around the Furious was crisscrossed with weapons fire. The Nelson opened up with its forward battery into the defender, but the Falkosis deflected most of the fire. the light fire from the defenders rear battery overwhelming the Dreadnoughts interceptors and landing a glancing hit. The Shepherd, seeing the Omega lose power, instead targeted the Dido, the Graviton Beam tearing the ship to pieces. The Valhalla too succumbed to the Brakiri weapons, damage to the ships weapons and engines rendered it dead in space. 

'This is Director Kalora to the remaining Earth Alliance ships, Stand your ships down immediately. You have illegally attacked Resha-Kar ships in a Brakiri owned system. If you do not comply, I will consider you pirates, treat you accordingly and lodge a formal complaint with the security council, Kalora, Out'

Conclusion.

Brakiri 30 - 8 Earth Alliance

We left the battle at the end of turn 4, the Earth Alliance had lost half their capital ships and all their fighters, and while the Nelson was in a position to move in on turn 5 and shoot in multiple directions, it likely would not have been enough.
I think the game was decided on turn 1. The Earth alliance had positioned themselves concentrated on one flank, and then split their forces, one half going after the small force by the planet, the other moving towards the bulk of the Brakiri fleet. Ideally the EA should have dealt with the smaller flanking force first, and then used the planet to maneuver to face the Brakiri who would have been racing to catch up. As it was, the split forces meant that the EA couldn't deal with the Brikorta and Kabriks in a timely fashion, the Porter took a ridiculous amount of fire and was still above half damage. I was also surprised I managed to actually get breaching pods into contact with something. The counter boarding on turn 4 meant that they hadn't started to go through the crew yet, but it wouldn't have taken very long for thr Brakiri troops to really have a negative effect on the Olympus' crew.

The Omega was both fortunate, and unfortunate. It got off a ridiculous shot at the Ikorta on turn 3, but had left itself open to lots of flanking shots from the Haltosas and Brokados. and the EA allowed the pair of Haltosas to maneuver into position to use most of their weapons in all directions for 2 full turns, and that was where most of the damage was caused.

The Kabriks were as fragile as I expected, Hull 4 and only 6 crew means a couple of hits and they are finished, but in return they are a great initiative sink, and have good firepower and utility from 3 troops, and a breaching pod per ship.

I also made very poor use of the Shakara, it failed every single scout role, and I kept it well back so the Comms Disruptor was never used. There was also nothing to combo the Disruptor with. If I was to make any change, it would be to swap the Ikorta foir a Haltana gravitic frigate. I'm fairly certain that they would work best in pairs, but the Gravitic Shifters could really have interfered with the intentions of the Lumbering EA ships, especially if a Comms Disruptor hit them beforehand which would almost guarantee an unintended turn.

The lack of speed is something i will have to get used to, but outside of the bigger ships, they are surprisingly maneuverable. the Ikorta and Brikorta being the exceptions with a single turn only at skirmish.

Overall, I'm moderately pleased with how things turned out, I made a few mistakes (comment below if you spot them) but they didn't have a decisive impact on the match.

Thanks for reading, and I will see you again, next time