Spring Y169: First Klingon move on Zelkrat

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 Carrier Group; and 2xF5 Frigates. Another full fleet is in reserve to come in upon another sweep should it prove necessary; Ulorf is far too canny and experienced to think he can degrade the Kzinti defences enough in a single assault.

The Klingons are facing are facing Mr'iarr in a Kzinti Dreadnought, together with a CVS Strike Carrier Group (12 fighters); a Battlecruiser; a Drone Cruiser; and three Destroyers. Since this Klingon attack is aimed at a major planetary centre, the Kzinti also have six ground-based Phaser-4 stations as well as another two fighter squadrons. This gives them 36 fighters in total (!). They have no reserve ships apart from a Carrier resupply vessel, which carries a supplementary fighter squadron to replace combat losses in-theatre. The Kzinti are also expecting quite a campaign to take place in the skies over Zelkrat.

At the top right of the photo above you can see Zelkrat, with its two fighter squadrons deployed. Behind and to the left of the planet as you look at it are the three Kzinti Destroyers next to the CVS Carrier Group; in front of the fighters from the carrier is the Kzinti Dreadnought. There is a lot of combat power concentrated here. 

Of course this means that the defence has to be weaker elsewhere, with only the Battlecruiser and Drone Cruiser deploying to the right hand side of the planet.

Facing the main Kzinti force is a large proportion of the attack: three D7 Cruisers at the top left as you look at it, then the D6V carrier group.

In a straight line that leads directly towards Zelkrat is the Battle Tug, with a couple of F5 Frigates out front. 

Then there is the F5V Light Carrier and its fighters, with the three remaining D6-class ships on the far left of the Klingon deployment, or the top right of the photo above. These are two D6 Cruisers and a D6D Drone Cruiser.

The shot above gives a reasonable idea of the relative deployments, glinting in the sunlight. As usual, the smaller craft become embroiled first, with an almost immediate clash between the right side fighter squadron from the planet and the F5V fighter wing. Several fighters on both sides take minor damage from an inconclusive engagement; neither side is yet prepared to risk closing more fully.

Showing typical Klingon aggression, the Tug and its Frigates head straight for the planet; the two Frigates get in some early shots, and begin to degrade the shield of one of the ground bases. The Battle Tug uses its disruptors as well. In return, the planetary defences severely damage the front shield of F5 Frigate no.2, while the Kzinti Destroyer Squadron uses disruptors and Phaser-1s at medium range to put severe damage onto the no.2 shield of the same ship. At the same moment, the Klingon D6 vessels put overloaded disruptors into the Kzinti fighters engaged against the F5V squadron, beginning a pattern that will continue throughout as the Klingons try to knock out as many of the defending fighters as they can. The D6V joins in, destroying a fighter and damaging another with overloaded disruptors. The D6D does what it does best by using bursts of electronic warfare static to disrupt enemy missile targeting systems. Rather relieved that the superior weight of Klingon force in their part of the battle seems to be directed against the many fighters, the Kzinti Battlecruiser and Drone Cruiser use disruptors and Phaser-1s at medium range to damage the front shield of the E4 that is escorting the F5V Carrier. 

Over on the other side of the field, the D7 Cruiser squadron finds itself lined up for a perfect oblique attack on the Kzinti Dreadnought at medium range. The Kzinti flagship has plenty of spare power, however, and soaks it all up for no discernible effect.

Back in front of the planet, the F5 Frigates and the Battle Tug have carried out a textbook drone missile assault on the planetary defences, knocking out the Phaser-4 battery that already had a damaged shield from energy weapons. However, the three Kzinti Destroyers turn in on the Klingon Frigates and destroy both of them in rather spectacular fashion. One goes down from a combination of Disruptors and Phaser-1s at range 4, while the other is simply unable to withstand a wave of twelve drone missiles launched by the Destroyers. This is the first time these particular Kzinti vessels have appeared in the campaign, and quite vicious they are too. Each carries four drone racks, with two disruptors and, unlike most Kzinti ships, four phaser-1s; earlier Kzinti designs tend to favour phaser-3s. A squadron of these packs quite a punch! At the same time, the Battlecruiser and Drone Cruiser remove the front shield of the E4 escorting the F5V Light Carrier.

The planet's fighter squadrons and the Klingons fighters mix it up rather viciously in a series of dogfights. Much fun is had by all, as well as much damage. However, the fighters from the Kzinti CVS group elect not to get involved, instead targeting one of the E4s escorting the D6V carrier and damaging its no.2 shield. In the meantime, the Klingon D6 and D7-class cruisers continue to pour firepower into the fighter melees, scoring more hits on their Kzinti targets. The larger Kzinti fighter squadrons would normally overpower the Klingons, but not on this occasion - fire support from the cruisers is turning the tide here.

The big question now is where will the Kzinti Strike Carrier Group turn its attention, and the answer is provided when the three ships swoop in towards the enemy Battle Tug. Now that the F5s have both been vaporised, and with the rest of the Klingon fleet busy sweeping up fighters, the Kzinti have obviously decided to try their luck against the Tug while it is relatively isolated. They don't dare get too close, though, and a combination of Disruptors and Phaser-1s at range 5 severely damages the Tug's no.2 shield. The two remaining ground bases join in, seriously damaging the Tug's front shield as well. In return, the Klingon damages the front shield of the Escort Frigate.

Over on the other side of the battle, the Kzinti Dreadnought announces its arrival by turning inside the fighter melees and unloading a spread of overloaded Disruptors onto the already damaged front shield of an E4 escorting the D6V Carrier, crippling it and forcing it to drift out of the battle in silent running mode.

The dogfights continue in the meantime, and lots of hurt is dished out by both sides. The Klingons, however, are getting the better of the two squadrons from the planet, due to their cruiser fire support. The Kzinti fighters are spreading hits across the enemy fighters, but aren't quite managing to down any of them - they need more time, and that is something the Klingon cruisers will not allow. The fighters from the Kzinti Strike Carrier have managed to keep out of this mess, though, and close to range 2 on one of the D6V Carrier's escorts; it goes BOOM! In retaliation, the two D6 Cruisers briefly turn their attention from the enemy fighters and take out the no.2 shield of the Kzinti Battlecruiser, inflicting a few internals. In conjunction with the Drone Cruiser, the Kzinti vessel cripples the E4 Escort in front of them with a drone strike.

The main event, though, is the continuing struggle between the lone Klingon Battle Tug and the Kzinti CVS group. A Battle Tug is an ungainly thing, to say the least, and the Kzinti carrier puts a spread of overloaded Disruptors into and through the Tug's no.2 shield, inflicting enough internals to wipe out a whole load of cargo storage. Not that the Tug cares; it now manages to turn its less damaged front shield to face the Kzinti ships and blasts the Escort Frigate with its eight disruptors. The tiny Kzinti vessel disengages by warping out immediately. 

The final act of the battle occurs when the Kzinti Dreadnought puts a perfect overloaded disruptor spread into and through the no.6 shield of one of the D7s. Hitting with every single shot, it gives the Klingon 14 internals. The Klingon carriers scoop up their fighters and the attackers warp out - as it happens, they hadn't lost a single fighter, so all those cruisers shots more than compensated for numerical inferiority.

This was a classic Klingon-Kzinti engagement. The boneheads wiped out 20 fighters, while the big cats stripped away the smaller enemy ships. Disruptor fleets are very precise, but don't tend to do too much damage at any one moment, so the battle becomes one of subtle degradation, punctuated by lucky drone hits when too many missiles manage to overwhelm someone's defences. Long range sensors detect another wave of Klingons moving to attack positions, so the Kzinti will be up against it again soon. Shields are repaired, as are minor groups of internal damage, so all of the same Kzinti ships will be present and ready. Logistically, many of the destroyed fighters are replaced by the strategic resupply asset that was assigned to this fleet, but even so the Kzinti will be down some fighters plus the destroyed ground base. Old Lord Mr'iarr has done well, mostly because of the professionalism of his subordinates. It remains to be seen how long the defenders can keep going like this...