Gratuitous Federation & Empire

My new command, the Double Cruiser Ace , is transferred to the Romulan Front to fight as a Federation auxiliary in tandem with another cartel's Heavy Cruiser.  The DCR is a strange and ungainly vessel, an early attempt to produce a reasonably heavy vessel by welding two CR Light Cruisers together. Our option mounts are configured for plasma torpedoes; this will give me an opportunity to see an entirely different technology in action from warfare in the Kzinti or Hydran regions. In the event, our two ships are crippled when we come up against a major Roman command contingent; our sacrifice, however, permits the Federation ships to close against the other Romulans and win the engagement. Definitely a peculiar ship!

 Heavy fighting continues across our former territories as we fence mightily with the Coalition forces. Our homeworld itself seems to be safe, and the damage previously wrought to our infrastructure by the invaders has mostly been repaired; it is rumored that we have even been able to re-establish some defensive installations on the planets nearest Kzintai. I fight in several more engagements before being promoted to Captain of the CVL Light Carrier Tempest . Our previous captain is promoted to command of the CVS Strike Carrier Sabre , which has been crippled in one of the many combats that have been taking place. As usual, our forces allied with the County are facing the Lyrans, and it shows in the list of crippled heavy ships. Unfortunately, the Count's heir C'Rorish is killed in action as the Sabre  is crippled, so a replacement captain is needed. The toll among our crews and noble officers continues to be high; although we would not say that the situation has stabilized, w...

 Fighting continues to be heavy across Kzinti space, and my new command, the D5W Soulstealer , is one of the casualties. In conjunction with another of the new D5W class and a D6M Mauler Cruiser, we are targeted by an enemy CVA group, and our vessels pay the ultimate price. I am, though, able to mitigate the worst of our losses by giving the order to abandon ship before a huge drone wave impacts and vaporizes all three vessels. Our situation is not helped by our position well to the port of the main fleet, and although we avoid the incoming missiles for as long as possible, it really was only a matter of time. Our sacrifice, however, is not in vain as the rest of our force sees of the enemy in fine style - basically, we were used to attract their attention while our main thrust went in elsewhere. The timely order manages to save most of my valuable crew. The usual post-campaign logistics re-arrangements begin as the Kzinti Marquis' Fleet beats a hasty retreat. The D5C Rabblekiller ...

 I have to report the loss of my Orion Heavy Cruiser Deathblow  in action over the Hydran planet of Phthah III. The Hydrans are on the offensive now, driving towards their homeworld, and on the way Phtah III is liberated from the Lyrans. The Deathblow  is tasked with protecting a Hydran Tug carrying Scout pods, and the Hydrans use our vessel to absorb the ESG power of three Kyran War Cruisers. One can of course see an ESG ram being lined up, so we are able to abandon ship in plenty of time, but our ship's sacrifice saves the Tug. Our s is in fact the only loss on the Hydran side in the battle, because their cruisers are easily able to mop up the Lyrans in return. This is in fact a typical use of resources by the canny Hydrans; all they lose in the battle are fighters and our Orion auxiliary, while they force the Lyrans onto the back foot and secure Phthah as a forward base.

 The Romulans press their attacks beyond Midketh, attacking our depleted forces at one of the border Battle Stations. This is the next phase of their offensive: now that we have been forced back into our own territory, they will reduce the border stations before deciding where to strike next. As Captain of the Battle Destroyer Bonecrusher, I take part in two battles. Fighting is extremely intense, even by our standards, and  it is the heavier ships on both sides that pay the price. We lose a full carrier group as well as the station, but the enemy pays a heavy price: a Condor Dreadnought and a Vulture Early Dreadnought both crippled, with another Condor destroyed outright. As our forces retire and reform, I am promoted to Captain of the Battle Destroyer Leader Hunter .

 I take part in two engagements as we launch a huge assault on the Hydran Starbase that stands between us and their Old Colonies. Our forces are decimated in the attention, and the Klingons also take heavy casualties, as do the Hydrans. However, they manage to hold us off. For some reason their Starbase has been named 'Midway' in honor of a naval battle famous from Terran history; it remains to be seen whether this campaign is a similar turning point. The Dark Fury  is destroyed in the intensive fighting, and as a trimaran specialist I am given command of one of our clan's few War Cruisers, the Cold Fang . Image of a Lyran War Cruiser from Deviant Art.

 The Coalition must have rebuilt their strength and repaired their warships after taking the Hydran homeworlds, because they mount an enormous offensive on the Hydran Starbase that stands between them and the Old Colonies. The little guys fight with an admirable combination of ferocity and tactical cunning as they fight off wave after wave of enemy attacks, shattering the Lyrans completely and mangling the Klingons as well. My cruiser the Deathblow  takes part in two engagements, strangely enough on both occasions facing off against other mercenaries. The first one is a newly-built Battlecruiser, the first time I have seen one of those. Our ship of course comes off the worse, but the exchange is followed up by a hail of hellbores from a Hydran cruiser squadron with full fighter support; the enemy drifts off, crippled. We are not so fortunate in our second fight, where again we are met with another Orion vessel, this time a CR Cruiser, and the shoe is on the other foot. We win ...