Meerclaw's War

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 is itself comprised of two flights. Sr'esint has better grades than I do in maths and astrophysics, so he has been commissioned above me as Pilot First Class. I performed better in physical terms, having superior reflexes even for a Kzin. At one point in the simulators I managed to eject my cockpit before my craft was 'destroyed' by a Lyran ESG, the fighter pilot's worst nightmare. These bubble guns, as we call them, destroy all physical material that comes into contact with their energy field. I am, though, content; not only do I respect Sr'esnt's intellect, I have also come to regard him as a friend.

Our Flight Leader is called Crorri; the fighter Wing Commander on the Seer goes by the name of M'Row, and rumour has it that he was one of the final group of pilots who fought in the Four Powers' War before the Organians brokered their peace treaty. M'Row doesn't say much, but when he does, you listen. He has a quiet demeanour appropriate to a veteran. As well as being Wing Commander, he takes personal care of the First Flight; his pilots are called Prash and So'auw.

We are all anticipating the call to arms, so it comes as no surprise when the ready sirens wail. We pilots all troop into the hangar bay of the Seer to watch the comms vid as Captain C'nar begins his briefing. It is short and to the point. "As you no doubt were all expecting, the Lyran Red Claw Fleet has been detected crossing into our space after violating the Neutral Zone. It has split in two and is heading for the two most southerly of our three border Battle Stations. We have been ordered to Station No.2; the Duke's Fleet will be moving to intercept at Station No.3."

Some murmuring breaks out at this news, and meaningful glances are exchanged. The Duke's Fleet is stationed strategically at another Starbase, covering the intersection of Lyran and Klingon attack routes; High Command seems to have no choice but to commit the Duke to the Lyran Front. This will of course weaken the Klingon Border, and we all know what that means. 

Captain C'nar continues. "Our orders are to offer battle to the Lyrans in advance of Battle Station No.2. Sensors indicate that the portion of the Red Claw that is converging on the station is no larger than our own fleet. This means that they do not have enough force to engage both us and the station. High Command thinks that they have enough vessels to destroy the station if we do not intervene, but not enough to engage us and the station at the same time. We therefore believe the Lyrans will take the proffered opportunity for battle. Having declared war now, they have to engage us in some form or other."

Having studied the strategic overview classes at the Academy, I know what the implications are here. The Lyrans have moved first in order to draw the Duke's Fleet out of position. The Red Claw's attacks will be a strong feint and will have to be met with equal force; what matters after that will be for the Klingons to decide. Not much remains to be said.

14.7.168

The Count's Fleet arrives at Battle Station No.2, having left behind many of the auxiliary craft at the Western Starbase. We ready ourselves for combat and take up position a couple of days later on the approach run to the station itself.

16.7.168

Battle is joined. Our fleet forms up under the capable command of Count R'Rorash, who places his flag aboard the powerful Strike Carrier Sabre. Our much smaller carrier is stationed at the extreme right of our fleet, accompanied by our Escort Frigate. We fighters have already launched, and our Wing will lead the way, with the two ships following immediately behind. This is strict accordance with doctrine; the combination of the fighters and the carrier will produce the rolling effect of waves of drone missiles, so we should do well against whatever the Lyrans deploy directly facing us.

Fortunately for us, it transpires that the enemy has deployed two Destroyers in tandem, with a Light Cruiser lurking off to our port side. I am too busy with my instruments to see what else is going on, but my training tells me that the Lyran ships should be matched by our carriers and fighters. I also realise that their most powerful ships will be elsewhere in their line, and I shudder to think who will end up fighting those.

Now that the Lyrans have warped in for sure, the engagement opens. We fly straight towards the opposing Destroyers, and they keep in line towards us. Individually, Lyran ships tend to be stronger than ours, with a combination of good phaser batteries, disruptors, a reasonable number of point defence phasers - and, of course, the dreaded ESG. The bubble gun has a dual capacity; used defensively it can help a Lyran shrug off quite a large number of drone missiles. Offensively, of course, it can pulverise our fighters. A quick mental calculation as I open up the throttle fills me with quiet confidence; our carrier force has local superiority, so that means the Lyrans will have their claws full with drone attacks. This in turn should force them to use the ESGs to protect themselves, and even then it probably won't be enough. What really worries me is the added presence of the Light Cruiser, but then there's not a lot we can do about that as well.

Time flies quickly as we close; in reality, it probably takes about five minutes for us to reach optimal engagement range. Our Advanced Attack Shuttles carry two main drone missiles as well as a Phaser-3 cannon; these are considered to be point defence weapons on a starship, but this means they are small enough to be mounted on a fighter. Coming up against the Lyrans also means that I won't have to think about the chaff pod I carry for use against enemy missiles. This will be a reasonably straightforward case of drone missiles plus a dose of fighter phasers for our two prime targets.

We follow standing orders as designed for this kind of situation. Flight Leader Crorri leads Sr'esint and I against the rightmost enemy Destroyer; so far everything is just like the training simulators. However, I am rudely awakened from my reverie when my fighter shakes with the impact of a medium-range disruptor bolt from the enemy to my front. Shipboard disruptors do more damage as one closes, especially if we get within the dreaded overload range of 80,000 Claws, but they were never really designed to be aimed at fighters; our small size helps to protect us. The one drawback of the weapon, though is that its energy cannot be held; once charged, it must be discharged. Various bolts go fizzing through space as the fleets close, and rather than waste his energy entirely, the Destroyer Captain aims at our small Wing in the hopes of scoring some damage. In this he succeeds. It is not serious, but it is enough to remind us of the stakes in battle. I am surprised at how calm I remain; it is just as described by the veterans, as the training takes over. For this I volunteered; for this I trained.

Wing Commander M'Row snarls in anticipation as our carrier group's drones slam home. Or, rather, fail entirely under a hail of phaser power, tractor beams and, yes, ESG fields. Our carrier adds its disruptors and longer range phaser fire from behind us, and M'Row orders us to adopt standard skirmish positions. This means loosing our fighter phasers well before we reach optimal range, but it does mean that we do not get too close to the enemy vessels. This is a common Kzinti fighter tactic when faced with superior opponents. We will not do as much damage as we would have liked, but then it keeps our small Wing around long enough to make another pass.

The forward shields on each of the Lyran Destroyers flare from the combination of phasers and disruptors; although they have not been penetrated, the Lyrans have used up great amounts of energy defending themselves. Their return fire is negligible.

I now realise why M'Row sounded so pleased; the Lyrans will be unable to stop our second (but final) fighter drones, and the carrier will add even more, as well as its energy weapons. His instincts are proven correct, as both Destroyers are struck multiple times.

A cry goes up from M'Row's First Pilot, Prash, and another from my friend Sr'esint. As I feared, the enemy Light Cruiser has swung towards us, closing swiftly to engagement range. Although it does not overload its disruptors, the full fury of its energy weapons destroys the fighter craft of our two compatriots. It is also lined up for a full ESG sweep of our remaining four fighters, including myself; I can only hope that our two friends ejected in time, but the same cannot be guaranteed for us.

It seems like a miracle when the expected assault fails to materialise; the Lyran fleet has engaged warp drives to return home. 

That was close!