Meerclaw is promoted to Squadron Leader

 I have not seen direct action for quite a while now, but that is because our fleets are mostly consolidated at Homeworld. As a Light Carrier, the Tempest is not considered to be a front line ship, more as a feeder of fighters forward to the heavier Strike Carriers as and when they are needed. This suits me because it gives me time to familiarize myself with the logistical workings of a carrier vessel, knowledge I am sure will come in useful in the future.

The Coalition offensive stalled after devastating several of our outermost home system planets, and then we received a respite when the Klingons decided to attack the Federation. The Flatheads were beginning to make signs of entering the war on our behalf anyway, so the Boneheads must have decided to pre-empt that decision and strike first. While the Lyrans retire to their main forward staging post of Zimdars, the Klingons divert their main effort on our front against the Marquis' Starbase, which has been cut off from direct contact with Kzintai. The Federation, however, must have been expecting exactly this development, and the intervention of their 3rd Fleet saves the Starbase from the first wave of Klingon assaults.

High Command calculates that the combination of the wider war plus damage to the Coalition fleets in our territory means they will be relatively weak, even if only temporarily, so a counteroffensive is mounted against the Klingons. We decide that the best strategy is to pick on one of our enemies at a time; even with our forces concentrated as they are, we do not have enough power to take on both the Lyrans and the Klingons. The major planet of Kindlai is recaptured from the Klingons, which incidentally allows us to re-establish direct communication with the Marquis' Fleet and send some reinforcements.

The Klingons simply ignore us and concentrate their entire complement on the Marquis' Starbase, and we receive word that it has fallen after a valiant defence; many ships are crippled or destroyed on both sides, with the Federation forces bearing the brunt of the assault. They clearly want to preserve as much of the Marquis' forces as possible. The Feds even lose a Battle Tug destroyed, but the same campaign finally sees the demise of the great Klingon commander Ulorf.

Our own next counterattack is aimed against the Lyran build-up at Zimdars. Instead of waiting for us, they come out fighting and I watch on the vidscreens as a series of six vicious engagements sees us take more losses. Nevertheless, we manage to press them back. Basically, we are using the age-old strategy of shorter internal lines to mount attacks with limited goals; the results are costly, of course, but we do not foresee the Coalition making any more major moves towards our home planets again in the near future. My old friend Sr'esint is promoted to Squadron Leader on the CVS Sabre, and I take over as Squadron Leader on the Tempest, which effectively makes me third-in-command.


Kzinti CVL - from the electronic rulebook for F&E

According to communiques from High Command, the Klingons and Federation are engaging in a titanic struggle across their mutual border zones. Several Federation Battle Stations have been destroyed, but apparently large numbers of vessels have intervened and their main Starbase seems to have survived intact. As Squadron Leader, I have the right to see Intelligence reports in the main staff briefings on the Tempest, and these include suggestions that the Flatheads have deployed a new and even more powerful type of carrier; classed as a CVA, this thing is based on a Dreadnought hull and carries two full squadrons of their most advanced fighter craft. Maybe we should build something like this ourselves?

One other question remains, though. If the Federation has deployed this much weight against the Klingons, many of those ships surely had to come from somewhere else. What will the Romulans do?

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