M'rr'shann in the Hydramax System
It is finally time to strike directly at the Hydran home planets. The Klingons have amassed more ships than us, basically because we took out two Hydran Starbases while they destroyed one. So they are heading directly for the capital. Our fleets are tasked with the two other main Hydran systems, Anthraxan and Hydramax. As Captain of the War Destroyer Dark Fury, I am assigned to the forces tasked with reducing Hydramax.
I see no action during the approach battles to the region, but I soon find myself in the thick of it in the vicinity of the second planet in our target area, Hypnokerm. Our initial assault is beaten off, albeit at the cost of large numbers of Hydran fighters. We should have the edge in attrition, though, because we have many light vessels. Due to losses in the war so far, our cruisers have taken a pounding, but like most Lyran fleets, we have extra command ships. This means that our fleets will be somewhat imbalanced in action, comprising whatever we can put together, but we hope the Hydrans are in no better shape.
This seems to be correct when we arrive for the first installment in which I am to play a part. Our fleet is led by the latest Duke of the Enemy's Blood clan in a Dreadnought, although due to the mixed nature of our forces the fleet itself comprises vessels from the Enemy's Blood, Foremost and Far Stars clans, of which I am a member. The Enemy's Blood does a good job of attriting the enemy in this engagement, losing mostly lighter vessels while we continue to degrade the enemy fighter contingents. The Hydrans are even using their diminutive police ships, a sure sign that the damage is hurting. Even so, they manage to fight us off again.
In my second battle here, the Dark Fury is the only one of our lighter vessels that survives unscathed. I am seeing quite a few unusual ships on both sides, unique even, such as one of our new Yaguarundi War Cruiser class carriers. Its fighters give a good account of themselves, but the Hydrans are just better at this sort of thing. Our main line of heavy ships is losing too many cruisers, so our own Far Stars Duke joins in. It is very unusual for two Dukes to be present in the field at the same time, but we need the weight of our clan flagship, even if it is one of the older Dreadnought designs. We warp out again after destroying huge numbers of fighters.
In my third battle of this campaign, I am put in charge of a light flotilla, leading two Frigates; a second light flotilla is similar, although that one is led by a Light Cruiser. It is clear that both sides are having to use their less effective vessels; fleet engagements are tough on the smaller ships. As we warp in again, my flotilla takes up station at the far starboard side of our fleet. Everyone else is concentrated in the distance. This means they will have superiority over the Hydrans in that sector, but my own immediate problem is the cruiser squadron heading for our little group: a Lord Bishop Command Cruiser and two Dragoons, with a full complement of those damned Stingers. Having said that, though, there is a distinct absence of enemy fighters near the planet itself, so the attrition must be really getting to them. We will just have to keep those cruisers busy while trying to survive at the same time.
In the event, it doesn't quite work out like that. The Hydran cruisers simply ignore us and turn in towards the main part of the fleet action after partially orbiting the planet. This gives us time to wipe out their fighter contingent, but unfortunately for our other light contingent, they are the ones who take the grief. Our leading Light Cruiser there is crippled and one of the Frigates destroyed; the other Frigate is heavily damaged. At the same time, the main forces clash, and there is a rather spectacular series of explosions as every one of the Hydran lead ships is targeted by our heavy vessels. Six Hydran light craft vanish from the screens in as many seconds.
This is when I get to see another new type of ship in action, because it turns out that one of our cruisers is in fact a Mauler cannon. I had heard rumors about this Romulan technology being passed onto us by the Klingons, but nobody has seen one before, and very impressive they are too. On closer inspection, one can see large battery components dotted around the ship, kind of like the battery packs that have been used to refit our trimaran hulls - only larger. The thing opens up on a poor Hydran police flagship, completely disintegrating it. They might be small, but those Hydran ships have very good front shielding; the Mauler simply shreds it as though it isn't there. The beam carries on and fries at least one Hydran fighter into the bargain.
However, the sacrifice of their small ships gives the Hydran command element an opportunity to close. Their Paladin Dreadnought is accompanied by a Dragoon Heavy Cruiser and something that looks similar, but is probably their version of a Fast Cruiser. They move to just outside ESG range and hammer the two Heavy Cruisers protecting the Mauler, heavily damaging both of them with Hellbore overloads. Our admiral sounds the call to retire the fleet.
The planet falls anyway; presumably the Hydrans are retiring towards their next line of defences. When we arrive for another go at Hypnokerm, it turns out that its bases have been blown by demolition charges. Presumably now that their main ships have lost most of their fighters, the Hydrans are going to retire on fixed installations that still have intact complements.
This is a correct supposition, because as we warp towards the next large sensor signature, it resolves itself into a Battle Station. According to previous intelligence, this should not be here, so the little guys have obviously been beefing up their capital defences to some extent. We know that they have made the choice to construct a new Starbase en route to their Old Colonies, so it looks as though they have secured the line of retreat for their fleet rather than pack everything into the capital. This makes a great deal of sense, but it will have been a difficult decision for them to make. They have a superb fleet, but they just don't have the economic strength to secure their lifeline and also invest heavily in their capital's defensive infrastructure.
This time, another surprise awaits us. As well as the newly constructed station, this sector contains a system defence Monitor with a full fighter complement. In total, there are three squadrons, plus a Battle Tug; there is, though, a distinct lack of small ships. Just a couple are escorting the Monitor. It looks as though the Hydrans are indeed running out of ships to put up against us, although of course the sheer size of the vessels this time means this fleet is still formidable. On our side, the loss of the two damaged Heavy Cruisers has meant that the Enemy's Blood Duke has had to press our CVL Light Carrier group into the line to plug the gap, even though we have no fighters left. Both sides are obviously feeling the pinch.
My little flotilla is again deployed wide to starboard of the main body, but this time we are uncomfortably close to the Monitor and the Battle Tug, as well as a couple of Dragoon Cruisers. The Hydrans really are putting everything they have left on the line here - and we still haven't reached the planet of Hydramax yet. We expect that to have even more fighters waiting for us.
Yet again, they manage to hold us off. I order my flotilla to slip towards our own Far Stars Light Dreadnought, which is looking a bit exposed with all those Hydran fighters coming towards it. We do really well, though, dispersing one of the enemy squadrons. This is repeated all along our battle line as the Hydrans lose all three squadrons to our firepower. There is one impressive moment when our main command element tears into a couple of Hydran Cruisers; with the help of the Mauler, they actually destroy a Dragoon Cruiser and a Fast Cruiser. However, in return the other enemy ships inflict heavy damage on our Far Stars flagship, wounding the Duke himself, and smashing our other light flotilla. Again, the Enemy's Blood Duke sounds the recall.
And again, the enemy have retired, this time to the planet Hydramax itself. They obviously just do not have enough fighters left to hold their Battle Station, which they blow with charges while we are reorganizing our own forces.
We now arrive at the last bastion of Hydran defence in this sector, and again the fleets are a mess - long gone are the days of tidy squadron formations. Now I know what the Academy instructors meant when they said that a serious campaign creates all sorts of odd ship combinations. Our Light Dreadnought has been replaced in the line by a Battle Tug; this is the first time I have seen one of these and a Dreadnought in action on our side as well as the Hydrans. Our orders are very strict: this is meant to be a quick pass to take out as many of the defending fighters as we can, and there are four full squadrons of them. In order to enforce this edict, the Enemy's Blood Duke initiates what we Lyrans call a Bloodfest. Basically, this is an enormous drinking bout that takes place before a significant battle where we could lose badly; the idea is to give everyone in the battle fleet such a hangover that our usual aggressive instincts will be dulled on the day itself. This way we are more likely to obey orders of restraint in the midst of combat.
My bridge crew is looking suitably ill as we assemble for the fight. Our fleet is divided into two separate wings and our post this time is on the starboard wing, next to the CVL Light Carrier group. This is welcome, because those ships have a grand amount of anti-fighter power. I concentrate my throbbing ears through my hangover; I think I look better than most of my own officers. Offset as we are from the planet itself, we nevertheless face a tough proposition: the enemy Paladin flagship itself is in our zone, accompanied by a Lord Bishop Command Cruiser and a Pegasus Scout. In fact, all of space is virtually crackling with the amount of electronic energy the Hydrans are putting out. It's not just my hangover; it looks as though they have committed every last vessel they have to this engagement, which includes quite a few of their smaller scout craft. They probably know that we still have reserves, and are planning to dish out as much damage as they possibly can before they have to relinquish the planet. At least, that's my hope. This could still take several attempts.
I order my flotilla to stay close to the CVL group because we need to protect the carrier; its economic cost is too high for us to risk losing it. This will not be easy, though, because as well as the enemy heavy ships, there are two fighter squadrons in our general vicinity. Then, to make matters worse, from the sensor shadow cast by the planet there emerges a Hydran Battle Tug, along with two Dragoon Cruisers.
We combine with the carrier escorts and the amount of grief we give the enemy fighters is impressive; the Escort War Cruiser and the Yaguarundi carrier both sport large numbers of phasers. We actually manage to destroy both squadrons for the loss one of my Frigates heavily damaged - not enough Stingers got through to put out more harm than that. There is a slight lull, and I realize with relief that the Tug and its friends have continued their orbital pathway, and are now heading off at an oblique angle away from us towards our command ships.
Even so, the three heavy vessels we initially saw are coming for us now that their fighters have taken most of the damage, and those Hydrans can sure make a mess. In quick succession the Escort War Cruiser is crippled and Escort Frigate heavily damaged. Between us, the best we can do is remove the Lord Commander's front port shield. At this point, though, our admiral sends the message to retire: the arrival of the Hydran heavies saw three Enemy's Blood Frigates simply evaporate. It doesn't all go the Hydrans' way, though, because our Mauler and Dreadnought manage to destroy the Monitor.
There is nothing else to worry about, because the Hydran admiral sends us a message: "We declare Hydramax an open planet. But don't worry - we will be back."
Upon closer inspection he is proven to be telling the truth; anything of military value on the planet has been either removed or destroyed, and our campaign is declared a success. We must have done so much damage to the Hydran fighters that they decided that another round with their ships could only result in further unsustainable loss.
Now we just wait for news from the other Hydran systems.
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