Meerclaw and the Gunboats - Part One

 Captain's Log, Stardate 178.5.12

We are on approach to a Lyran Battle Station that has been placed near the site of one of our County's old border stations from before the war - the same one, in fact, that we defended against the initial wave of invasion almost ten years ago now. It feels strange to be revisiting this region. Much has happened during the intervening time. Our forces have managed to keep the Coalition at bay after their major assault on our capital planets destroyed much of our military infrastructure. Painstaking efforts have combined with timely financial aid from the Federation to stabilize our situation, albeit at great cost. Much of Kzinti space is now an open battlefield as fleets criss-cross in various attempts to advance beyond a stalemate. Our current strategic situation is quite good, with the combined Count's and Duke's Fleets now attacking towards the original border zones for the first time. The Marquis' Fleet is operating in conjunction with the Federation 4th Fleet in a similar situation against the Klingons; reports from that front indicate that our Alliance forces are even pressing them back into what used to be the neutral zone. It all feels rather strange; in ten years I have progressed from being a newly qualified fighter pilot to squadron leader and now Captain of a Light Carrier.

My immediate concern is the upcoming attack. Campaign attrition is making adequate fleet composition difficult, indeed impossible. Although our force has plenty of fighters due to a high concentration of carriers and support vessels, we are lacking in dedicated escorts. Perhaps even more seriously, standard combat ships are also in short supply, meaning that we are having to use carriers in effect as cruisers in the main line - the hope is that the fighters will help absorb the punishment the Lyrans no doubt have waiting for us.

Count R'Rorash, the most senior surviving noble in the entire Hegemony, has divided our attack into two main claws. As Captain of the Battlecruiser-class CVL Tempest I am in command of the port wing; my ship is accompanied by a newly constructed Medium Cruiser squadron and two of the new Heavy War Cruiser class. Unlike the Tempest, these ships are optimized purely for combat duty and lack the amenities necessary for the long multifunction patrols so common in peacetime. R'Rorash himself is leading our starboard wing aboard the CVA Titan, together with the Strike Carrier Sabre and an assortment of ad hoc supporting ships. The Tempest is the most expensive vessel in my command in financial terms, being a carrier. R'Rorash has theorized that placing the heavier combat designs with us will enable us to close with the station itself, drawing its fire. In the meantime his impressive carrier force will remove any enemy in their area before moving in from the flank to hit the station itself. Timing will be crucial here; we will need to bear the brunt of the enemy's firepower and then shift away from the vicinity of the main target just as R'Rorash makes the assault proper.

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