Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 The Lyrans and Klingons regroup, repair and reorganise, then go in again: It looks nice and clean right now, but this is sure to get messy. There is an enormous Lyran assault force attacking the Kzinti Count's Starbase, while the Klingons hit three Battle Stations and an important planet further into Kzinti territory. I have no idea how long these will take to play through...! I would love to have painted fleets to play these as ongoing battles, remaining set up for as long as they take, but I just don't have the resources. So I am going to start with the series of Lyran attacks on the Count's Starbase. The eagle-eyed will notice that another pirate vessel has appeared, a Battle Raider situated perfectly to disrupt the Lyran logistics network just behind their front line. The Orions are becoming active.

 Our battered forces regroup and withdraw to the Count's Starbase. Fortunately, Count R'rorash has survived the damage done to the CVS Sabre , and is in fine fettle as he supervises preparations and logistics for what we all expect to be a major showdown with the Lyrans at the Starbase itself. Reports are coming in of various battles that have been taking place all along the borders with the Lyrans and Klingons. We did quite well on our front, with Commodore C'Rorish being promoted to Constable of the Count's Marches after his excellent performance against the Lyrans at Battle Station One. Although his forces were eventually degraded to the point where he had no choice but to withdraw, he managed to evacuate the entire station before blowing it with demolition charges to prevent it falling into the claws of the Lyrans. Our own battle against the Red Claw himself went rather less according to plan, but between us and the unexpected success at Battle Station Three, we hav...

 This is how everything looks for the Kzinti after they get a chance to reorganise. Moving from left to right as you look at it, i.e. spinward to anti-spinward, you will see that here are no Battle Stations left on the Lyran Border. Here, the Count's fleet has amalgamated with several smaller forces to form a solid defence at the Count's Starbase. The planet immediately behind that has various auxiliaries plus the planet itself ready to send extra fighters to help with the expected attrition at the Starbase. To the south, or rimward, the Knight's Fleet and the Home Fleet have quite good defensive forces at the two Battle Stations that the Klingons were unable to reduce during their opening offensive. The same is true for the Prince's Fleet at the other end of the border. The Duke's Fleet has concentrated at the Duke's Starbase, and the detachment from the Marquis has garrisoned the important Kzinti planet in hex 1504. The Duke is not expecting the Klingons to at...

 The Klingons' initial offensive has ground to a halt with, it is fair to say, mixed results. Losses are as follows: Klingon vessels crippled: a C8 Dreadnought; a D7C Command Cruiser; four D7 Battlecruisers; two D6M Mauler Cruisers; a D6D Drone Cruiser; a D5C War Command Cruiser; three D5 War Cruisers; an F5C Frigate Leader; four F5 Frigates; and two E4 Escorts. Kzinti vessels crippled: two Destroyers; an Escort Light Cruiser; a Heavy Frigate; an FFK Frigate Leader two Escort Frigates; and three Police Corvettes. Klingons destroyed: a C8 Dreadnought; an F5J Penal Frigate; two F5C Frigate Leaders; four F5 Frigates; and an E4 Escort. Kzinti destroyed: two Destroyers; a Frigate; and two Escort Frigates. All in all, apart from the C8 Dreadnought, neither side actually lost any ships of importance destroyed, everything in fact being on the light side. The main disparity comes in the number of Klingons crippled, almost swamping Klingon logistics and support facilities, as can be seen in ...

 I am sub-commander Rubik, recent graduate of the Academy on Klinshai with highest honours. I have been assigned as Tactical Officer and second-in-command of the F5 Frigate Axe . This level of posting is traditionally the one made available to the best graduates, and I arrive just in time to join in the initial offensive that opens the war against the Kzinti in conjunction with our Lyran allies. We attack all along the border. My own part in this phase of the war is rather brief. Our ship is part of a standard Frigate Squadron on the anti-spinward side of the border, quite close to the junction between our territory, that of the Kzinti Marquis, and also that of the Federation. We are under strictest orders not to provoke the Flatheads, instead being ordered to form up as part of the famous Battle Group Blood in a probing action towards Kzinti Battle Station Seven. Let me explain. Battle Group Blood is the name assigned to an ad hoc  formation that is usually tasked with the mo...

 As expected, the final Klingon attack of their initial offensive of the war comes to a halt. Their last attack group is really only intended to pin Kzinti forces. Given the pattern of the battles that have taken place so far, this is not surprising. The Klingons tend to exchange ships (preferably light ones) for Kzinti fighters over several engagements before finally taking their objective, but this strategy requires the Klingons to have local superiority, something they do not have in their attack on Kzinti Battle Station Seven. The attackers make a single pass, exchanging an F5 and an E4 crippled, along with another E4 destroyed, plus severe damage to their Mauler Cruiser, for a bunch of Kzinti fighters. The Klingons then retire across the border, honour apparently satisfied.

 The day after our forces and government have been dismissed by Klingon Commodore Uklik, I receive a surprise visit. I am somewhat at a loss because of the sudden capture of our beloved home world, even though it is only to be expected in the midst of a Great War between the Kzinti and their Coalition enemies. Former Council Member Zriewk, sister of the deceased pilot Sqiath, calls on me. She is the youngest person ever to be elected to our Democratic Council, and her sheer ability led to her being tipped by many as a future Leader. All that, of course, is now a dream at best. She has an interesting proposal for me - two, in fact. "I'll get down to business," she says, in the straightforward manner of our people. "I mourn Sqiath, but I am also realistic. I have been approached by a representative of the Daven Cartel. They are offering places to any of our personnel who might like to become mercenaries against the Coalition and, perhaps, the Kzinti."  "I mus...

 A few days after the Kzinti leave, the Klingons arrive. To be honest, I am surprised that they did not immediately take over our beloved home world, but when they do turn up it quickly becomes apparent that someone has been putting a lot of thought into their occupation. Our military, such as it is, have decided unanimously to present ourselves in full dress uniform, massed in parade in front of the dais on which is gathered our Democratic Council. The first Klingon to set foot on the soil of Zursk is the Klingon Commodore himself, Uklik. He is followed by a seemingly unending procession of shuttles carrying an entire marine force. There must be more than two thousand of them, disembarking from several troopships in space over our heads. They are accompanied by 200 elite Klingon personnel, and I know enough to realise that this signifies the presence of one of their famous commando cruisers. We wait in silence. Once the Klingons forces have arranged themselves into a parade ground...

 I am Kooth, Birdman of the planet Zursk. I have the distinction of being the only one of our aviators to have kept to his fighter throughout the three space battles in the skies above our planet. The long-expected war of the Lyrans and Klingons in alliance against the Kzinti Tiger-Men finally began with a pair of probes by the Lyrans towards two Kzinti Battle Stations, followed by all-out assaults by both of the Coalition powers. As expected, the Klingons moved a substantial force under old Admiral Or'ok towards us. We know that they have long coveted our planet because its strategic location in the Neutral Zone between Kzinti and Klingon space will provide either power with a useful staging point for further attacks. Our ruling democratic council chose wisely in buying Kzinti defensive fighters, because this means that our munitions and supplies are compatible with the substantial detachment the Tiger-Men send to help us from their Marquis' Fleet further to anti-spinward near...

 I've decided to put this one together as a full mini-campaign report, as opposed to individual battles. I hope this will help it make more sense as a narrative of the Klingon campaign to take an important neutral planet. The ageing Klingon Admiral Or'ok leads a major expedition to secure the independent planet of Zursk as a major stepping stone against Kzinti territory. This is one of six Klingon attacks that are taking place in this period; the others are against the Kzinti themselves. Is is fair to say that at this point the Klingon offensive is seeing mixed success. However, Or'ok has quite an impressive list of assets to deploy, including marine transports and commando vessels, as you can see from the force list above. He leads from his favourite C8 Dreadnought and makes his initial attack with a CV Tug plus escorts; a single D6V Carrier, fronted by an F5J Penal Cruiser; a D7 Battlecruiser; a D6M Mauler Cruiser; a D6D Drone/Scout Cruiser; and a squadron of D5 War Cruis...