Gratuitous Federation & Empire

 The struggle over Midketh has come to define the General War on our front against the Romulans as the fighting goes back and forth. Nobody knows what the locals think of it all; the just seem to be shrugging their shoulders and getting on with their lives, while ostensible ownership repeatedly swings between us and our enemies. On this particular occasion, I take part in yet another approach battle to the place as Captain of the Battle Destroyer Bonecrusher.  Our fleet takes very heavy damage, although we actually have quite a civilized little combat in our part of the line. Our flotilla efficiently removes the front shields of a couple of War Eagles, which are then destroyed by our carrier group; our Heavy Destroyer squadron then blows away the King Eagle that was leading the formation. In return, the Bonecrusher  and our flotilla leader both take heavy damage, while we lose another Battle Destroyer completely. Elsewhere, casualties are heavy, and we are ordered to reti...

 It is now Autumn Y175, and our forces are ready to go onto the offensive. It has taken three years, but all vessels have now been repaired and the Old Colonies shipyard re-established. At on point we will be able to aim for the Klingon forces occupying our capital, but at the moment we need to make a demonstration in force. My friend the Bird-man Kooth has been busy gathering intelligence on the Lyran fleet dispositions in his cloaked Orion Heavy Cruiser Deathblow , and he joins the fleet as we bear down on the Lyrans at Phthaa III, their main forward base in our territories. The Deathblow  is heavily damaged in the initial exchanges, and then it is my turn as Captain of the Traveller Cruiser Entangler , a Hellbore ship, as we reach towards the planet itself. My first engagement is very successful. The Entangler  leads two Horseman Cruisers in close proximity to a Destroyer flotilla. Our main enemy is a War Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Group based on their War Cruise...

 All Klingons are taught from an early age that there is a tide in the affairs of war, and what is now being called the General War is no exception. Having reached the high water mark against the Kzinti home systems, our Coalition with the Lyrans is now on the defensive as the big cats and their Federation allies launch a major counteroffensive, driving us back on both fronts. Our opponents have chosen their moment well, with many of our ships still crippled in the yards and bases scattered across our domains. They have also increased the momentum of the arms race by fielding the first in a new generation of superheavy carriers. Designated as the CVA, these huge ships usually carry two full fighter squadrons or their equivalents on adapted dreadnought hulls.  Although I have not seen our own new large vessels, I do know from reports from the main front against the Federation that not only have we responded in kind, but that our High Command has deployed a new class of battlesh...

 Our fleets tend to be smaller than our more powerful neighbours in the Federation and, of course, the Romulans, but ours ships tend to be very powerful for their relative class sizes. My Battle Destroyer Bonecrusher  is no exception, and we participate in two battles as we retake the important planet of Midketh. Our intervention means that the conflict is now being called the General War, because pretty much everyone is involved, bar the isolationistic Tholians and a few minor powers. The Romulans are fighting on two fronts, while we only have the one against them, so we are able to match them fleet for fleet, at least at the moment, and certainly she for ship. Even so, the fighting is intense, and in this campaign we lose a Carrier destroyed and a Dreadnought crippled in return for the destruction of a Superhawk Command Cruiser as the plants. The reason for the constant fighting in and around Midketh is its location in what used to be neutral space, midway between the Romula...