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I was trying to be reasonable with the Ospreys, you said they had 500 shields and Tritanium armor. I realize that by saying Tritanium Armor you don't just mean the 50 you get from the upgrade. Considering that the Ospreys were outnumbered 18 to 14 from the start, and ~Rebel~'s Destroyers fired first, I figured it was reasonable to assume that 4 of the Ospreys would get attacked by 2 Destroyers in the first pass, and with 2 Destroyers worth of torpedoes, that should be enough to destroy them. The rest should have shields greatly weakened by a torpedo salvo. When the Firefoxes came in, they would add to that damage, so I went for 3 more destroyed and 3 disabled. In turn, several Destroyers would have been destroyed by the Ospreys, though the Ospreys weren't shooting quite as long, it was close, and the Destroyers don't have near the shielding. If you want to meet in the middle on this, since the surviving Destroyers would mostly be badly damaged, I'll give you one more destroyed by the Lightnings.
============
Preparing to go into hyperspace, Macavenger recieved a secret FTL message from Mr. Navarone. The Matar fleet pursued the Rebels as they began the run into hyperspace. While mostly arriving too late, a few torpedoes did get there fast enough to pick off a Typhoon Carier and another Komodo.
Arriving in the Matar system, the fleet quickly recognized the danger from the defense drones and pulled away from the planet before dropping into their range, then held up at the edge of the system. Opening a channel on a secret frequency, Macavenger broadcast to the surface. "Code Orange in effect." Seconds later, a Rebel fleet burst from hyperspace from the direction of Yemuro. They quickly came around the area covered by drones to meet with Macavenger's fleet, escorting 2 modified Bulk Freighters. Admiral Davies on the R.S.S. Victory opened a channel. "Hello, Macavenger, Mr. Navarone sent me out with a fleet. Skyblade was busy on other duties, but we managed to free up this fleet to come out here for you. How do you propose to get the troops down through the drone grid?" "We'll use ~Rebel~'s fleet, what's left of it. They're equipped with cloaking devices, so they'll be able to get down to the surface to land the troops. They can provide air support once there too. I've alerted the resistance cell, they'll be ready to guide your troops around and provide whatever other assitance they can." Davies looks surprised. "How did you know i was going to be going down there?" "Well, I seem to recall using the first cloaking device to insert you on Luna a few years back." "True. Well, I'll head over to ~Rebel~'s ships then, to go to ground." "I reccomend you locate the control center for these drones first, and take it over. Most of the crews here are exhausted, and a stay on the ground would be a real boon." "Will do. See you later."
After this exchange, the R.S.S. Annihilator broke from the rest of the fleet and entered hyperspace, bound for Yemuro. It then landed on New Istanbul, where Macavenger scheduled a meeting with an Alliance representative.
------------------ So go on the internet game sites and bash all the PC users!
(deleted)
(This message has been edited by David Arthur (edited 07-08-2001).)
A few hours later, the Alliance attaché on New Istanbul returned Macavenger's call. "Before we begin, I must warn you that if the recent Rebel fleet movements in our territory are an attempt to intimidate us and force a settlement, it will not work. The Alliance is more than adequately prepared to defend itself. However, perhaps I am over-reacting. What did you wish to discuss?"
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Macavenger, remember that in EV, it's impossible to land, dock, or enter hyperspace without decloaking first. Also, just to make it clear, the defence drones are largely controlled by onboard computers, and only receive general guidance from ground control. (For example, they can be told to concentrate on a certain ship, or to fire semi-randomly until they hit something, and then concentrate on it - useful for cloaked ships.)
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Macavenger open negotiations with the Alliance attaché. "You are overreacting, the Rebellion has no designs on making any moves against the alliance whatsoever. I am here to discuss with you the new policy about blocking all military traffic in all alliance systems. We currently have operations in progress attempting to liberate New Britain and Hogdson's World. With the restrictions, it would be nearly impossible for us to get warships or military supplies through in the event of Confederation counterattacks. We do have plans to liberate more Confederation worlds that will allow us to move ships in to defendd the civilians there more easily, but we will not be able to accomplish this before your restrictions go into effect. So we are requesting a stay on this order for one month, in the Ymuro system here only, to allow us to better protect these worlds. Is this acceptable to you?"
~Rebel~'s destroyers made there way through the Defence Drones. In oreder to confuse any possible interdiction effort by the drones, they started at random points around the world and made their way in at high speed, manuvering through the field. They joined back together over the planet's main airfield, and decloaked just above it. Settling down on the field, Rebel troops began to flood from the Destroyers to secure the planet, while the Destroyers Proton Turrets fired at armed Confederate installations. Some civilians showed up with Plasma pistols and began to help out however they could. Within two hours, the capital and some important military control centers had been captured. While the Rebels found the controls for the Defence Drones a bit primitve, they did find the general controls available to reprogram them to fire only at Confederation Warships. After that, the remaining ships of the X-Fleet and Macavenger's Assault Carriers were called down to rest and refuel in shifts, increasing strength and moral of the troops.
"Mr. Macavenger - strange name, is it Dutch? - I cannot agree with this proposal," explained the Alliance attaché. "What you are asking is that we tacitly aid you in your war, which would be a complete violation of our charter and our neutrality. I will not lie to you. Many of our people distrust the Rebellion, and are finding it difficult to reconcile your recent actions with the causes that you profess to follow. Your stated objective is freedom, and yet recently, your government seems to be concentrating more on capturing the planets of the Confederation than reinforcing your own territory."
------------------
"Minister?" came the voice over the office-door intercom.
"Come on," answered the Minister.
Admiral Charles was not pleased. "The rebels have now stormed Hodgson's World, and somehow they've reprogrammed the defence drones to fire on us."
"Aren't the drones supposed to be incapable of firing on us? Oh, well, sue the software developer, and send the FTL override command."
"What should I have them fire on, Minister?"
"Have them target the shipyards and other military centers, and make sure the override can't be overridden. Tell them to ignore all commands from sources other than Earth."
"Yes, Minister."
Macavenger departed New Istanbul, and headed back to to Palshife to report to Navarone, and get his Rebellion Admiral's commision.
On the ground at Matar, The last of the ships was heading back up into space. Admiral Davies was in the Hogdson's World Capital, considering how to tighten the defense. "Now that our fleet has recovered, we don't need those drones to defend us, and I don't trust them, since they're Confederate models. We're going to have to do somethnig about them. Let's power them down and bring them to the planet to look at them, see what should be done." As he turned to the control board, all the drones went red and started firing at surface targets. "All ships, destroy those drones!" he shouted, then punched in an override. As he suspected, it didn't work. The drones, under orders to fire on ground installations, didn't defend themselves against the Rebel onslaught, and began falling fast. The 6 Assaul Carrier mk. IIs took out nearly 20 in the first 10 seconds with their Fusion beams. Drones began dropping rapidly to Torpedoes, Rockets, Precision Bombs, and just plain turret fire. Within 2 minutes, more than half of them had been destroyed.
Since I don't know the internal communication capabilities of the drones, David, I'll give you a chance here, but unless the drones themselves have FTL comm capability, they're done. How'd you find out that they had been reprogrammed exactly?
Quote
Originally posted by Macavenger: Admiral Davies was in the Hogdson's World Capital, considering how to tighten the defense.
Let's call it Hodgson's City.
Originally posted by Macavenger: How'd you find out that they had been reprogrammed exactly?
The drones maintain a FTL monitoring link with the CSN offices on Earth at all times, so whatever orders have been sent up automatically appear in a monitoring station in the MOD. Also, they are programmed to give higher priority to orders from CSN than to orders from the planet.
However, I must make clear exactly what these drones ~are~. They're really more like a small space station than a large ship, so destroying them takes more than just a few rocket hits.
------------------ David Arthur (url="http://"http://members.aol.com/darthur1/talon-ev/")Talon Plugin for Classic EV(/url)
(This message has been edited by David Arthur (edited 07-10-2001).)
Ever since the dramatic battle of Sol that destroyed Stardock Alpha, Admiral Skyblade and his fleet have been on leave at Pashlife. After two weeks of a much-needed vacation, Admiral Skyblade is again summoned by President Navarone.
"Admiral, it's back to business again," the president began with a serious look on his face. "We will never forget the Rebellion's triumph at Sol, but we still have a long war to fight before we bring the Confederation to it's knees."
"I understand, sir," Skyblade replied. "Ever since our assault on Sol, the Rebellion has been on the offense. However, new ships developed by the Confederation, such as the new 'Osprey' for example, have a slight chance on turning the tide of the war. So as for 'business' you say, what do you have on your mind, Mr. President?"
"I have plenty on my mind, Admiral, and I'm depending on you to ensure it gets done. We have fleets all over Confederation space currently assaulting Confederation battlegroups wherever they think is necissary. But the war will never end if we continue fighting like this. I want all Rebel fleets to be pulled back to ground zero, and prepare for a large scale offensive that will spread out across all the Confederation worlds."
Admiral Skyblade ran through his thoughts for a second. "Appeals to me, Mr. President. Although the plan is nothing new from our last month's worth of assault activity, the Confederation would be quite disorganized if the Rebellion were to launch yet another large scale offense. But we can be sure that the Confederation will know we're coming. If they notice our fleets being suddenly withdrawn to friendly space, they can expect a nasty offense."
"Correct, Admiral. The Confederation will atleast know the Rebellion is preparing an offense, but the question is where. I am giving the entire operation over to your hands, Admiral, and I'm depending on you to choose the most appropriate hostile worlds and fleets to assault, and hopefully catch the Confederation's weak spots. For now, I'll send a comm transmission to all Rebel fleets ordering a temporary withdraw. I'll give you a week to plan a major attack Admiral, and make it a good one."
Admiral Skyblade rose from his chair and saluted. "Yes sir. I'll approach you with the battle plans before they are executed."
Jonathan Navarone leaned back in his seat and placed his glasses on his desk. "Best of luck, Admiral. Remeber that all fleets with the exception of two Rebel Navial Divisions will be devoted to the offense. Make your decisions wisely. Have a nice day, my friend."
With that, Admiral Skyblade turned and exited the President's office.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Comm transmission to all Rebel fleets. Immediate withdrawel from current locations is ordered. Set course for nearest friendly worlds, and await further orders from Admiral Skyblade. Upon arrival at nearest friendly world, remain on defense."
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The monitoring station at the Confederate Ministry of Defence on Earth was currently tuned to the defence drones orbiting Hodgson's World. A technician called to the supervising officer, "Admiral! They're firing on the drones! Should I respond?
"By all means," answered Admiral Charles. "Set the drones to fire on any vessels that attack them, and to return to their surface targets if the assault ceases."
Another technician noted a strange occurence on his monitoring screen. "Admiral, the rebel fleets seem to be withdrawing from our systems."
"I wonder if they've taken to much of a beating from our Navy, or if this is just some strategic trick," mused the admiral. "Probably the latter; these rebels aren't the type that gives up easily. In any case, I'd better inform the Minister. Commodore Henderson, take over."
He strode out of the room towards the lifts.
"This is ISN, the Interstellar News Network. Today's top story: the Confederation Senate has approved a plan to build a new space station orbiting Earth. The cost of new facility, dubbed Ostia Starport, will be split three ways between the central government, Earth, and private sector investors. It will replace the old Stardock Alpha, a spaceport built by the United Nations of Earth early in the Great Expansion, which was destroyed by the Rebellion earlier this year. The new station will have a state of the art fault-tolerant reactor core designed to prevent the use of similar tactics against it. Ostia will serve both to repair and refit Confederate starships and to house civilians and act as a place of business for private interests. Construction is slated to begin next week, with the first phase of the station to become fully operational within four months."
Seeing the drones shift their strategy, most of the ships back off. The six Assault Carriers move as a group, firing Fusion Beams simultaneously at single targets. They are able to neutralize a drone every few seconds this way, overwhelming the target before it can fire anything serious at them. Soon, all the drones have been cleared out, though massive damage has been done to Hogdson's World's spaceports and other facilities. Rebel engineers immediately set to work rebuilding them. Additionally, many Confederate loyalists are shaken to the Rebel side by the assault, not believing that the Confederration could resort to a planetary bombardment of several areas with many innocent civilians, even if military installations were the main targets. Civilian casualties were serious, especially at spaceports. All serious pockets of Confederation resistance on the surface have by now been destroyed, so combined with the population's shift, the world quickly became truly a Rebel world.
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Macavenger, now a Rebel Admiral, calls Skyblade to his office. "Admiral Skyblade, greetings. I have heard that you will be planning a massive offensive against the Confederation soon. I will be commanding the new FX1-Fleet, which will use new F Class Rebel Cruisers, Assault Carrier Mk.IIs, and possibly some new experimentals. I would like to hit Polaris first in our campaign, with my fleet alone or with support. We have recently captured Hogdson's World in the Matar system, and I've recieved word that a Confederation bombardment from orbiting drones has swung the citizens almost completely over to our side. With the new Alliance regulation against military traffic coming soon, we need a better way to get ships into Matar in case the Confederation decides to counterattack. While it is adequately defended for now, this may not remain the case. I have a fleet being prepped now to go to the Propus system to blockade most Confederate ships from getting to the Polaris system, so the Confederation will not be able to reinforce it. This could also give the impression that our main thrust will be at Polaris, and you could strike elsewhere. After Polaris, I would like to proceed to Rigel and reclaim it. I feel we have responsibilities to citizens there. After that, I will help out wherever I can with the overall attack. Do you agree with my plans here? If not, there should be sufficient time to alter them."
"This is ISN, the Interstellar News Network. In late-breaking news today, the Colonial Senate of Hogdson's World approved a resolution today in a surprising 5-2 vote. The resolution states that the Confederation is no longer welcome in the system, and it is turning its loyalties fully toward the Rebellion. The majority opinion gave the Confederation bombardment of the world from defense drones today as a primary reason for the change in thought, and noted that it would have been difficult for the Rebellion takeover to go more bloodlessly. A dissenting opinion said that armed rebellion is wrong no matter what the cause, and should never be supported. One Senator resigned in protest when the resolution passed. A survey of 1607 locals showed that 86% of residents supported the change, with a 2% margin of error."
Remember David, you aren't the only one who can make political moves and use the ISN, you just do it the most. You'll need to update that political map now too. Oh, and in my last post where I mentioned the Capital of Hogdson's World, I meant the Capital Building, not capital city.
For the Rebels here, some new stats for certain ships carrying new tecnology:
Assaut carrier Mk.II This is a heavily modified Rebel Destroyer, so more than 4 weapons is OK here. 250 Shields 50 Armor Speed: 250 Accl: Good Turn: Avg 1 Heavy Fusion Beam 4 Proton Turrets 2 Missile Racks and 10 Missiles 2 Torpedo Launchers and 15 Torpedoes 4 Mantas 4 Foxfires
F Class Rebel Cruiser Same basic design as the old one, but newer weapons and tecnology, my current modified original-style Rebel Cruiser resembles this. 600 Shield 100 Armor Speed: 225 Accl: Avg Turn: Avg 2 Heavy Fusion Turrets 2 Torpedo Launchers and 25 Torpedoes 2 Missile Racks and 25 Missiles 8 Mantas
I can't stop David from reading this stuff, but the Confederation has no access to it, so keep that in mind David.
My FX1-Fleet will be made up of an undetermined number of these, plus possibly some new ships, I will post those if any come. Anyone else who wants these new ships can have some in their fleet, but probably not the whole fleet. The strength is taht these are upgraded versions of older designs, so we don't have to lay new keels and build from there, just put older ships in drydock for a bit.
(This message has been edited by Macavenger (edited 07-10-2001).)
By the way, I'm not actually playing anymore. Macavenger and Captain Skyblade, you are the Rebel commanders now, so just do well.
------------------ Winning is easy; losing is an art.
Not even when you get back from camp? :frown:
Originally posted by Macavenger: Remember David, you aren't the only one who can make political moves and use the ISN, you just do it the most.
I have no objection to you using the news networks and politics. What I do object to is how you somehow turned precision computer-guided defence drones firing their guns on military targets with human supervision into a full-scale bombardment of civilian areas.
Sorry, Macavenger. I'm concentrating on Reign of Chaos II on the EVO boards.
Originally posted by David Arthur: **I have no objection to you using the news networks and politics. What I do object to is how you somehow turned precision computer-guided defence drones firing their guns on military targets with human supervision into a full-scale bombardment of civilian areas. **
No, I didn't. You'll note I mentioned somewhere(I think in the ISN section) that the majority of the targets were military. However, you aalso mentioned shipyards. Those and similar facilities will have civilians in them. Also, destroying them makes interstellar commerce much more difficult, which will bring shortages of things and make citizens a bit cranky. Since the Rebellion is now rebuilding such things as fast as they can, it makes them more popular with the people. And of course, they're mad at the Confederation for doing something like that to them.
Originally posted by Macavenger: However, you aalso mentioned shipyards. Those and similar facilities will have civilians in them.
I never said that any shipyards were going to be destroyed. I said that shipyard targets would be considered. Keep in mind, these drones were designed for use in space combat, in which case they would often be used along with military starships, so they need to be precise enough to hit enemy ships without hitting friendly ships as well. For the same reason, they are precise enough to hit military targets - such as the warships in the shipyards - without killing civilians as well.
There were no military ships left there, they'd all gone up on defense duty. In general, you have to realize that any time you fire at a planet from orbit, there will be civilian casualties. Even with ver precise drones, there are things to consider. Atmospheric conditions, shifting wind currents, gravity, etc. none of which apply to space combat. Even at military targets, the chances of civilian casualties, even from schrapnel, are high, and the chances of some shots missing are overwhelming.
Originally posted by Macavenger: There were no military ships left there, they'd all gone up on defense duty..
However, if you notice, there ~were~ military ships on the ground when I started firing. Then, when they took off, the drones were reprogrammed to fire on them in space.
Originally posted by Macavenger: Atmospheric conditions, shifting wind currents, gravity, etc. none of which apply to space combat.
Tell me, how do atmospheric conditions, shifting wind currents, and gravity affect a forced energy discharge? I suppose certain atmospheric conditions could weaken it a little, but not enough to make it miss. The main objective of the surface attacks was to damage Rebel equipment, and that's what they've done.
(This message has been edited by David Arthur (edited 07-12-2001).)
Well, for the conditions, I thought the drones used projectiles of some sort, since you originally called them flak drones.
Let's look at it this way. At a distance of 100 miles, which would be a very low altitude for drones like this to be firing from, a difference of a thousandth of a degree would be a difference of about 10 feet on the ground. While I concede that the accuracy would be high, you will have some misses of at least 20 or 30 feet while they dial in the range. It would be easy to hit, say, a large fuel tank when you were aiming at a ship, and cause a huge fire that would spread to civilian property, for example. Firing at shipyards, which will be close to cities, a slightly errant shot could easily hit a residential building directly. There is no way to attack a planet that way without a fair amount of collateral damage.
Why don't we get on with the story now, we don't need to bicker about this forever, do we?
Originally posted by Macavenger: Well, for the conditions, I thought the drones used projectiles of some sort, since you originally called them flak drones.
The idea was drones that mount multiple types of weapons, both projectile and energy discharge. The energy discharge is what was used against the planet, since the projectiles would be too inaccurate.