Rubik takes stock

 Our newly-repaired F5E Escort Axe Guard, the first of its kind, is assigned to a D6CV along with a smaller E4E as part of the first wave against the Kzinti Duke's Starbase. Our fleet is led by Admiral Ulorf, our leading strategist on all things Kzinti. We attack in two groups; the battlecruisers are all off to our starboard side, while we are in a battle group with Ulorf's C8 Dreadnought, an F5V Light Carrier; an F5C Frigate leader; and a tug carrying drone pods.

Our half of the fleet ends up facing most of the Kzinti, and we take a hammering - gloriously, of course. We go right into the middle of them, and the Axe Guard's weaponry shows its worth against Kzinti fighters, as does the superior fire arcs of our phasers. At one point all of our ships dance our famous Klingon oblique manoeuvre, as we cut loose with everything we have. The carnage is tremendous, with Kzinti fighters exploding all over the place, but they are just too many - and they have the support of their main ships as well. The Axe Guard is relatively fortunate in that we only take heavy damage; our E4E is crippled and D6CV destroyed completely by more drone missiles than I can count - not that I have the opportunity, since I am too busy shooting our weapons in all directions. The G-racks prove themselves with a load of anti-missile slugs against the enemy attack shuttles. The two other frigate-class vessels are also heavily damaged, while Ulorf somehow survives a battering that leaves his C8 crippled. He splits the incoming missiles across two shields.

Having made our battle pass, we leave. This is my fourth fleet battle, and it is the first time my ship is not crippled. My friend Khek-Merk is not so lucky, though; he has been killed in action. I am now Captain of the Axe Guard, with the rank of Full Commander. Promotion seems to come thick and fast on the Kzinti Front - if you survive at all, that is.

I have to sit out the rest of the contest, and a long one it is. Disruptor fleets tend not to destroy many vessels, but the ever-growing stream of crippled vessels limping to our rear areas tells the tale of a heroic enemy defence. Eventually, though, we wear them down.

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