5150 Campaign – S4f – Convoy Run

[Activation: Star Navy 4, Hishen 1 – Hishen moves first followed by the Star Navy. Star Navy activates first followed by Hishen. All ships are active.]

[Hishen movement phase]

With her Captain dead and her bridge smashed the remaining crew of Exeter are unaware of the torpedo attack. The two deadly missiles gracefully and silently pass by her anti aircraft gun zone without a shot being fired and slam into the Frigate.  As her Hull is breached from the first torpedo, more of Exeter’s crew are killed. The second damages her Engine reducing her maximum speed. Still, by a miracle of the gods, the Exeter holds together.

The three transport ships move forward one cycle.

With her Thrusters damaged, the heavy cruiser Emden cannot turn. She maintains her current velocity and moves forward two cycles.

The Destroyer Yorck maintains her velocity of two cycles and continues to close the gap towards Warspite. She moves forward two cycles.

The Patrol Ship Van der Tamm accelerates to two and a half cycles and moves forward two cycles.

The Millennium Falcon accelerates to four cycles and moves forward four cycles and turns to starboard one aspect.

Of the small craft, only the X Wing and Darkest Star are In Sight and dogfighting range and they will act in that order.

The X Wing gets in the first shot. Of the eight pulse cannon rounds that stream towards Darkest Star, two of them are on target and one punches through the Vipers shields straight into the cockpit. Darkest Star is rendered unconscious. His velocity slides to nil as he remains in the sights of the X Wing.

[Star Navy movement]

With Exeter’s engine damaged her maximum speed is reduced to one cycle. She moves forward one cycle.

Ajax maintains her course and velocity and moves forward two cycles.

Warspite moves forward one cycle and turns to port one aspect. She needs to start to close the distance on the escaping enemy transport fleet.

Mardaddy increases his velocity to three cycles (his current maximum velocity with his damaged engine) and moves forward three cycles to get as quickly as possible from the combat zone.

Tony maintains his velocity of three cycles and sideslips two cycles to starboard. He is intent on finishing off Emden with gun fire and another torpedo strike.

Pessa moves forward three cycles and maintains the Millennium Falcon in arc. He intends to launch a spoiling attack using a HARM missile (which can disrupt the Falcon’s anti aircraft guns or her long range sensors).

Boomer and Zabadak move forward three cycles and turn to port one aspect with the intent of launching missiles and torpedoes at Yorck.

Intend on saving his fellow pilot, Vampifan accelerates to four cycles, moves forward two cycles, turns to starboard two aspects and moves forward two cycles. He’s now In Sight and dogfighting range of the X Wing.

He calls out for support over the ham and Colgar6 accelerates to three cycles, moves forward two cycles, turns to starboard two aspects, moves forward one cycle and turns to starboard one cycle. He hits the afterburners but they fail to operate. It seems they ran dry in the last mission and cannot be used. He slams his operating console with his fist in frustration.

Vagabond attempts the same manoeuvre. His afterburners work and he is propelled forward another eight cycles, right under the nose of Warspite.

Quinton knows that Vagabond only just avoided a collision with Warspite and so he decides to support the main attack. He accelerates to three cycles, moves forward two cycles, turns to starboard one aspect, moves forward one cycle, turns to starboard one aspect and hits the afterburners which propel him another ten cycles forward right in front of and within rail gun range of Emden. “Perfect” he thinks to himself. “If the capital ships can bring down her shields I’ll finish her off.”

Vampifan, the X Wing, Darkest Star and Vagabond are all In Sight but Darkest Star is currently unconscious and Vagabond used his afterburners so neither of them can participate in the dogfight.

The X Wing pilot is the first to react. With no velocity he has limited options but Vampifan is in his arc of fire so he decides to simply put a burst his way. Two of the rounds are on target and both penetrate his shields. They damage his engine and gun systems.

With his guns damaged and the air frame of his Viper now having taken multiple hits, Vampifan is practically combat ineffective. He has saved Darkest Star from being blown away by the X Wing but in doing so has put himself in grave danger.

Keen to put himself out harms way, he side slips two cycles to port, placing himself out of arc of the X Wing.

[Star Navy activation]

Darkest Star shakes his head as he starts to come too. Groggily he starts to get his bearings but can’t act this turn.

Warspite fires twenty anti aircraft rounds at the X Wing. The enemy fighter is a sitting duck and with a velocity of zero and with damaged shields his craft is hit thirteen times. The craft evaporates into a million tiny pieces.

Warspite also fires her four beam batteries at Emden. One of the rounds is on target and penetrates Emden’s shields, breaching her Hull. The Emden is almost a floating wreck with her thrusters, engine, plasma, beam and anti aircraft batteries all damaged and now her hull is breached.

Whilst Exeter’s beam battery is out of action her projectile battery is still operational. She fires a heavy slug at her opponent and despite her bridge being smashed and her hull being breached she is still able to get the round near the enemy cruisers hull. But Emden’s shields hold and she doesn’t suffer any additional damage.

Ajax fires a plasma battery which misses and a beam battery which impacts near Emden’s hull but again her shields hold.

Tony fires a torpedo at Emden. With no anti aircraft defence the missile slams home smashing her bridge and killing her capitan. Whilst the ship is still operational she is a literal wreck.

Pessa fires a HARM missile at the Millennium Falcon hoping to disable her anti aircraft batteries before she gets a chance to fire but the wily rebel pilot, Han Solo, evades the missile.

As Zabadak turns he fires a HARM missile at Yorck. He targets Yorck’s sensors, trying to blind the enemy destroyer. Yorck uses her counter measures to try to evade the missile but they are ineffective. The missile hits home and Yorck’s long range sensors are damaged meaning that she can only fire at ships that she can see within five cycles.

Boomer fires his last torpedo at Yorck. As the torpedo enters visual range Yorck’s anti aircraft batteries erupt spewing forth ten rounds at the missile which destroys the torpedo.  

With Emden’s shields still operational, Quinton cannot damage the enemy cruiser.

[Hishen activation]

With her sensors damaged, the destroyer Yorck cannot target any Star Navy ships.

All of the weapons on the cruiser Emden are damaged but her damage control personnel work furiously away trying to bring her systems back on line. They focus on her thrusters, hoping to get her mobility repaired so that she can attempt to turn and get away from the fight. They fail to repair the thrusters this cycle but they’ve made progress and they will be repaired next cycle.

The Millennium Falcon fires her two anti aircraft batteries and a fire and forget missile at Pessa. Ten anti aircraft rounds rain down towards Pessa and three are on target but only one penetrates. The Raptor’s shields flicker as they go down.

As the fire and forget missile approaches Pessa he skilfully throws the Ratpor to the left and the right and dodges the projectile.

Van der Tann fires a fire and forget missile at Zabadak. Zabadak doesn’t see the missile till too late and it slams into his Raptor damaging his guns and penetrating the cockpit. Zabadak is stunned by the force of the blow and his velocity drifts to zero as he loses control of the ship.