Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 Kzinti Battle Station No.6 has been destroyed. Force compositions: A powerful Klingon force descends on yet another Kzinti border Battle Station. The attackers have no fighters, but the Kzinti are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and have had to call up Police ships to pad out the numbers. This means that the defence will mostly be down to fighters and the few reasonably sized vessels with disruptor capability. To make matters worse, Kzinti morale is very low in this one, while the Klingons are riding high - word of the fall of Zelkrat must have filtered through to this region further to the east (or anti-spinward, if you prefer).  I won't describe it in detail, but suffice it to say that the Klingons spend most of their time wiping the fighters, while the Police ships bravely try to distract the enemy War Cruisers, but it is not to be. The Klingons lose a D7 crippled by a combination of attacks, including medium-range fire from the Battle Station, while the D5s cripple all...

I'm not even going to bother posting pictures of this one. The dice were not kind to the Klingons, and their admiral made some very poor moves as a result. They had two F5 Frigates and a C8 Dreadnought crippled. The one piece of 'good' news is that the fleet's second-in-command sacrificed an F5J penal frigate to clear a path through a large drone wave (basically, it went BANG!!!), which allowed the D7C to vaporise a Kzinti Destroyer.

 Third time lucky for the Klingons under Admiral Ulorf, all nice and snug in his favourite Battle Tug: Although Zelkrat has been defended effectively by the Kzinti at a considerable cost in Klingon ships, the invaders now have the upper hand, with a large fleet and near-parity in fighters. If Ulorf doesn't take the planet this time around, he will be forced to withdraw because he won't really have enough left to continue with this campaign. However, the canny Klingon commander knows exactly what he has been doing by trading mostly lighter ships for Kzinti fighters, and his assault force roars into the system. I've tried to show the relative fleet deployments in the following photo: In the foreground at the centre left is the Kzinti CVS Carrier group. Just to their right and behind the planet is the remainder of the planetary defence fighters, plus a Battlecruiser and Drone Cruiser. A bit more to their right is the Dreadnought, and then at the bottom right of the picture is ...

 Klingon Admiral Ulorf's force regroups, while a lighter contingent led by a D7C Command Cruiser tries to busy the Kzinti forces stationed at Zelkrat: I'm not going to go into this one in detail, because it was an easy Kzinti victory. Again there was a trade between Kzinti fighters and Klingon light ships, except this time the toll on the attackers was much higher. The Klingons lost an entire F5 squadron destroyed, together with a lone F5C Frigate leader. The Kzinti Dreadnought finished the battle by closing in fast on the D7C and crippling it with a flurry of disruptors, phaser-1s and phaser-3s just before the remaining attackers warped out to safety. The Kzinti only lost eight fighters. But that might be enough. Ulorf charges back in again with the heavy ships from his own force plus some of those that have just retreated. Although he has lost a large number of lighter vessels over two engagements, he now has the stronger fleet. By carefully husbanding his resources, he even ...

Zelkrat is the name of an important Kzinti planet at the western end of the their border with the Klingons, and it is only to be expected that the Boneheads will move on it with considerable force. Major elements of the Kzinti Home Fleet have been tasked with its defence, led by the venerable Chamberlain of the Patriarch's Household, Lord Mr'iarr, who last saw combat in one of the interminable civil wars that eventually ended with the father of the current Patriarch occupying the throne. He is a safe pair of paws in political terms, but isn't exactly a combat-savvy veteran. He is opposed by the famous Klingon Admiral Ulorf, who specialises in combat with the Kzinti. Like the Lyran Red Claw Duke, Ulorf rose to prominence during the Four Powers' War, and has been honoured as the choice to lead the attack on this target. Forces: Ulorf leads from a Battle Tug. His fleet comprises a D7 Cruiser Squadron; 2xD6 Cruisers; a D6D Drone Cruiser; a D6V Carrier Group; an F5V Light Ca...

https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/miniatures/scifi?tag=star+fleet+battles Above is the link to the Shapeways store for SFB. I have just ordered an unfeasibly large number of Kzinti fighters, because I'm going to need them. My plan is to turn the campaign into a miniatures game, using the rather lovely designs now available in abundance. I will use the 3788 Scale line of ships, with omni-scale fighters and shuttles. Here is the site's photo of the little Kzinti fighters: According to Amarillo Design Bureau's website, Shapeways 3788 are compatible with the old Starline metal miniatures. So that'll make life easier if I ever acquire any of those. The thing is, though, I am going to be moving to Abu Dhabi in August, and the reason for starting this monster campaign is to keep my gaming mojo while I'm over there. I also need to revitalise my painting after a really heavy year in my previous job - there are some very good reasons for me leaving that. Anyway, plastics ...

 Six Klingon forces have descended upon various battle stations and planets all along the border with the Kzinti - apart, that is, from the easternmost one, which is a bit too close to the Federation for comfort. The Klingons don't want to fight the flatheads (yet), so there is no point in giving them an excuse to help the Kzinti. Several of these attacks are really just meant to pin some of the Kzinti in place, and this first battle is one of those. The Klingons don't have enough assets to force the issue at the westernmost battle station, although of course they will seize an opportunity should it come their way. Force compositions:  The main Klingon fleet is strong enough to give the Kzinti a headache, if not to threaten the station itself. The Klingons are led by a D7C Command Cruiser. They have a D6M Mauler Cruiser; a D6D Scout/Drone Cruiser; a D5C War Cruiser Leader; 5xD5 War Cruisers; and an F5 Frigate Squadron. The defending Kzinti fleet is led by a Battle Tug. As well...

 I still have to play the various Klingon attacks on the Kzinti southern front, but here is their western situation after the three Lyran attacks have been resolved: The Red Claw and Pelt Hunter fleets are combining at the main Lyran Starbase that supports the offensive. Several crippled ships need repairing, but once those are paid for, the bad-tempered felines will amalgamate all of their forces on this front and drive on the Kzinti Starbase - it lies underneath the stack of counters just behind their fleets.  In total across all three battles, Lyran losses are considerable. The Kzinti have destroyed a War Destroyer Leader; a War Destroyer; 3xDestroyers; 4xLight Cruisers; and 3xHeavy Cruisers. They have also crippled a Dreadnought; 2xHeavy Cruisers; a Light Cruiser; a Scout Destroyer; a Destroyer; and a Frigate. In return, the Lyrans have destroyed a Battlecruiser; a Drone Frigate and an Escort Frigate. They have also crippled a Strike Carrier; an Escort Light Cruiser; an Es...

 This is the last of the fights at Kzinti Battle Stations on the border with the Lyrans. Forces as follows: The Lyran force is considerable, although they don't really have enough for a full second wave of ships. Their admiral is sub-standard, so I am rationalising him as the rather foppish and incompetent son of the fiery Red Claw Duke. One thing you may notice here is the presence of a couple of Lyran Jagdpanther experimental modular cruisers. These are supposed to be the first results of the development programme that will go on later to produce the Heavy War Destroyers. The Lyrans are only allowed to have two Jagdpanthers until Y181, so I have made both of them light carriers and put them together. This means that for the first time in the campaign, the Lyrans will have some fighter cover - finally. These are also good ships in and of themselves, so they make a fine addition to any field force. The opposing Kzinti are stretched as always, but the fleet values are still roughly ...

 Spring Y169 sees Meerclaw's second experience of combat as a fighter pilot. He is the most junior of the six pilots assigned to the Escort Carrier Seer and currently holds the rank of Pilot, 1st Class. This is the part he plays in the combat at Battle Station No.2 on the Lyran border: Meerclaw's Journal,  8.1.169 Our forces are spread relatively thinly across our border stations and planets because we expect to be facing the Klingons as well as the Lyrans. Our ship and its accompanying Escort Frigate remain with the main forces of the Count's Fleet. Count R'Rorash keeps his flag on the Strike Carrier Spectre , which has its own Escort Light Cruiser and Escort Frigate. The other ships here are the three Battlecruisers Quasar , Nova  and the Pulsar , fully rebuilt after its previous run-in with a Lyran Battlecruiser. We also have the Light Cruiser Mystic and a supporting Scout Frigate. This is not a full fleet by any stretch, but we should be able to give a good ...

 The powerful Lyran assault force begins to move in towards their traditional Kzinti enemies. The Kzinti left wing evens up a little. We now have six fighters in advance of a Light Cruiser; an Escort Frigate; an Escort Carrier; and a Scout Frigate. They are facing two Lyran Heavy Cruisers to their front, with a Battle Tug and Destroyer Scout to their right. The Kzinti fighters do the logical thing when faced by a superior enemy force and stay well out of range of point defence phasers and ESG force fields. Basically, this part of the Kzinti fleet is just going to do a little dance to tie up the opposition here, while hoping to survive. Many drone missiles start to be chucked, but these Lyrans have a lot of defensive power against that sort of thing. They also do quite a bit of damage to the fighter wing with phasers and disruptors. In the main part of the battle, the Kzinti fighter squadrons and Strike Carrier Group have advanced towards their Lyran enemies. You should be able to m...

 These are the deployments for the second battle of Spring Y169, a Lyran assault on a Kzinti Battle Station.  The Kzinti deploy in two zones. This is the first, well off to the left of the position of their Battle Station. Here they have concentrated a CVE Escort Carrier with accompanying Escort Frigate, followed by the CL Mystic  and a Scout Frigate. I decided to put the two latter ships together to try to increase the Scout's chances of survival. My Kzin hero Meerclaw is the no.6 pilot in the CVE's fighter wing. The Battle Station is glinting in the sunlight at the top centre of the photo above, with two pairs of admin shuttles deployed. Immediately behind is the station's fighter squadron. Behind and to the left is a CV Strike Carrier Group, and to the right is a squadron of three Battlecruisers. There is nothing further to the right of this lot - that's all the Kzinti have here. The right wing of the attacking Lyran force is comprised of two Heavy Cruisers and a Bat...

 Website of the guy who designed the Vassal module for F&E:  http://www.rindis.com  He Deserves a vote of thanks for that!

The Lyran Red Claw is about to launch a grand assault on Kzinti Battle Station No.2: The Combat Value of the attacking force is over 100 points, which makes this the strongest fleet I have seen in action during the campaign so far. But then, it's not entirely surprising given the force composition: a Battle Tug; a Command Cruiser, four Heavy Cruisers, a Fast Heavy Cruiser; a War Cruiser Squadron, three Light Cruisers and a Destroyer Scout. Nasty. The defending Kzinti have a Strike Carrier Group, together with a supporting Escort Carrier Group, three Battlecruisers, a Light Cruiser and a Scout Frigate. Their combat value is 10 points lower than the Lyrans, and that includes the Battle Station and all of the fighters. This is the fleet to which my Kzin protagonist Meerclaw belongs, so it's going to be fun writing about what transpires from his viewpoint. He is currently the no.6 pilot in the CVE fighter contingent. He might be getting promoted after this fight... I rolled very we...

 No photos, this time, I'm afraid. I played this one on a winter's weekday evening, and the pictures were rubbish. However, this was a short, sharp and rather vicious engagement, so I hope the narrative will work regardless. Fleet compositions: The Kzinti set up their relatively small contingent of ships close to the Battle Station for added protection. The centre left of the area contains their Light Carrier group with nine fighters deployed in front; behind and to their right are the two cruisers. The Carrier Tug and its accompanying Scout Drone Frigate set up directly behind the Battle Station, with a full squadron of twelve fighters. The station has no fighters of its own, since almost an entire squadron was destroyed in the previous battle. Off to the right of the station and held back a little are the last two Kzinti ships, a Frigate and Drone Frigate. The Lyrans warp in hard and fast. Facing the Kzinti Carrier group are two Frigates, two Destroyers and two Light Cruisers...