Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 First of many battles, that is, as the northernmost Lyrans forces pounce on a Kzinti Battle Station. I've decided to take the game photos from the perspective of the defenders from now on - consistency makes life easier. Above is the left of the Kzinti fleet looking upwards towards the attackers. The Kzinti have a Command Cruiser and Fast Battlecruiser here; the approaching Lyrans have much more. Although Lyran forces in the centre are very powerful - Dreadnought and three Heavy Cruisers - so are the Kzinti. The defending cats have a Battle Station with full complement of fighters plus a Light Carrier group with its fighters. Eagle-eyed (cat's-eyed?) observers will note a couple of extra counters outside the Battle Station. I decided not to use all of the rules that make sense in a single-ship engagement, since they clutter everything too much at fleet level. However, since this is a fixed position defence, I let the Battle Station launch its four admin shuttles for extra 360 ...

 These are the force compositions for the first of three Lyran attacks on Kzinti Battle Stations: The fleet breakpoints are almost identical, so this should be a good fight. Note that the Lyrans have plenty in reserve to follow up with a second wave, albeit a much lighter one. Relative deployments from the defenders' perspective:: The extreme left of the Kzinti deployment has the Command Cruiser flagship paired with a Fast Battlecruiser. The Battle Station itself is just off to the left of the photo above, which mostly shows the remainder of the Kzinti forces to its right. From the left, you can see the station's fighters, deployed quite far in advance; then following them and to their right comes a smaller squadron of fighters and their Light Carrier Group; three Frigate-class ships (an FFK, a Frigate and a Drone Frigate); and finally at the far right of the fleet is a Carrier Tug with its squadron out front. It is also supported by a Scout Drone Frigate. This last is quite a ...

 It is Spring Y169 and the Coalition has been busy. Here are the Lyran dispositions: Three full fleets have crossed into Kzinti space to contest the border Battle Stations, while even more new ships have moved northwards. The Far Stars clan has arrived in the Southwest portion of the map as a strategic reserve to help deal with an expected Hydran offensive. That gives the Lyrans two reserve fleets in this part of their domains. The Klingons have been even busier, with six fleets, some of them very powerful, attacking the Kzinti and also the one planet of strategic significance in the neutral zone. This is how the whole situation looks. The Kzinti Marquis' Fleet has used reserve movement to aid in the defence of the neutral planet. There will be three battles against the Lyrans and six against the Klingons. The Coalition has also sent some raiders into Kzinti space to disrupt their economy. You can just about see the first of two Klingon Reserve Fleets in the southern part of their ...

 The initial burst of activity by the Lyrans has ceased, and this is how the situation looks:  The two halves of the Red Claw fleet have retired to their main Starbase to regroup and repair, while another two fleets have arrived, waiting to join in the next wave of attacks. Here are Meerclaw's comments: As a combat veteran, and having survived my first mission, I am promoted to Pilot 1st Class. This makes me of equal rank with my old friend Sr'esint from the Academy, but since he was commissioned before me, technically he will be first in line for any further promotions. In wartime, there are two ways this can happen. The first is by becoming part of a cadre of experienced pilots fitting out a new arrival at the front. The other is dead cat's boots. We all know that this is a temporary lull as the Lyrans ready themselves for a major offensive, and we expect the Klingons to launch an invasion in the early spring just to make matters worse. We do get some shore leave - well, ...

 The second game gets underway:  Photos taken from behind the Lyran fleet. The two Lyran Heavy Destroyers run almost immediately into a heap of trouble in the form of fighter and carrier drones from the CVS group immediately to their front. Unlike in the previous engagement, however, I have decided to use electronic warfare to eliminate drones. The larger Lyran vessels are easily capable of taking care of themselves, so rather than support them, it seems much more sensible to counter the Kzinti missiles. The combination of defensive power plus a burst of static from the Lyran Scout Destroyer takes care of the incoming. Further into the Lyrans' centre, their two Light Cruisers and Heavy Frigate encounter a Kzinti FFK frigate leader, amply support by disruptor fire from their heavier ships. Over at the Lyran extreme right, their Command Cruiser and War Cruiser Leader are facing a cruiser squadron with CVE group support, including more fighters. Back on the Lyran left, the enemy ...

 A second battle takes place at the approaches to a Kzinti Battle Station on the Lyran Border, as the Kzinti Duke's Fleet engages half of the Lyran Red Claw forces.This time the photos are taken from behind the attacking Lyran ships, and I even managed to get some of it played in daylight. Not bad for winter here. Above is a photo of the left wing of the Lyran deployment: two Heavy Destroyers, then a Heavy Cruiser, and then two Light Cruisers. Some of the counters aren't quite right, but they are close enough for me to be able to keep track. Moving into the centre of their force, the Lyrans have another Heavy Cruiser, a Heavy Frigate, and a Battle Tug with a Scout Destroyer in close support. The sunlight is causing some trouble, but I hope you get the gist anyway. The right wing of the Lyran fleet comprises a Command Cruiser and a War Cruiser Squadron. Overall, the Lyrans are powerful as individual ships, but the Kzinti are good on the defence with their drone missiles and figh...

  Again, the fleets are evenly matched. This time, though, the compositions are different. As a major nobleman, the Kzinti Duke's flagship is the Dreadought Hegemony . The Lyrans suspected the Kzinti would react in to protect their Battle Stations with a force like this, so they have committed a Battle Tug to the fight. As usual, the overall superiority of Lyran ships is countered by the number of Kzinti fighters. Morale is different from the previous engagement. I rolled low for the Kzinti and average for the Lyrans. I am rationalising this in campaign terms as part of my ongoing narrative. The Lyrans are here to force a battle, but are not really expecting to break through to the Battle Station itself. They will of course take the opportunity should it arise. The Kzinti Duke, while a capable admiral, is a bit tired from constant warfare. A star of the Four Powers' War, Duke S'Mau is starting to feel a bit old for this sort of thing. He and his subordinates are also well a...

The respite offered us by the Lyrans' disengagement is put immediately to good use. We have done well locally, with the two enemy Destroyers that engaged our little carrier force having disappeared from our sensors. They did not explode, which means that our drone assault was enough to cripple them and force them into silent running to escape, but not enough to destroy them entirely. The same cannot be said of another pair of Destroyers that encountered the force of Sabre's  fury; the Strike Carrier's full squadron combined with its own formidable weaponry to reduce the two enemy ships to dust. The Lyrans must have decided to leave due to the removal of four ships at the same moment. We sweep our immediate area, and to our relief we manage to retrieve the intact cockpit escape pods of our two friends, Sr'esint and Prash. Like the fighters of all the major powers, our cockpits have in-built safety releases. When the shipboard computer detects massive incoming, it ejects ...

I have decided to follow the career of an officer from each of the major powers, and the Kzin is the first one. I thought it might be interesting to see what happens to each of them as they try to survive through the General War. 1.7.168 I am Meerclaw, Pilot Second Class. I am one of the first graduates of the accelerated Pilots' Programme, set up in anticipation of looming war with the Lyrans and, most likely, the Klingons. Now that the mysterious Organians seem to have departed our area of the galaxy, it is only a matter of time before these old enemies attack in force. Nobody knows where the Organian Peacemakers have gone, but rumours include an even more serious diplomatic mission than preserving the fragile balance of power. Together with my classmate Sr'esint, I am assigned to the Escort Carrier Seer, which is stationed at our Western Starbase. This is part of the prestigious fleet of Count R'rorash. I am to be the lowest ranking pilot in the Seer's  wing, which i...

  Again, apologies for the photo quality - best I can do indoors on a British winter evening. Anyway, this is taken from behind the Kzinti fleet, and I hope you can make out the details okay. The two Kzinti Frigates and Light Cruiser of their left wing have sprinted forwards, opening up a gap with the cruisers to their right. The Lyrans are more evenly paced. The white counter near the top left shows a Lyran ESG destroying the wave of drones launched by the Kzinti Light Cruiser. Elsewhere, drone missiles have appeared in abundance from the Kzinti fleet, especially the carrier groups. The combination of fighters and carriers makes these stacks of missiles very potent, and unfortunately for the Lyrans they are heading towards the two pairs of Destroyers. Fortunately for the Lyrans, though, this means that the main Kzinti strike ammunition is not going anywhere near their more valuable vessels. Above is a close-up of the advanced Kzinti left. The Light Cruiser in the centre of this ph...