From: "Wasserman, Kurt" Subject: [CON] AAR - Kra'Vak vs NRE (FLAVOR TEXT-LONG) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 16:29:01 -0500 It had been a long time preparing for Stalk. Even for a Stalker fleet as experienced as that of 1st Rank Stalk Commander Kr'rt, waiting grows tiresome. Heading into Hu'man space would be a good thing for him and his crew. The only wrinkle in this great plan was that there was no response from their final refueling station, nor from its picket ships. This breach of protocol was troubling. ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- (From the translated logs of 1st Stalk Commander K'zirt, 1st Talon Wz'Zel fleet) ------ Our transition into N-space went as smoothly as I expected of my seasoned crew. The Lan'K'Ster Refueling Station has not answered our hails and we are having difficulty finding any sign of the picket ships defending the station. I have ordered the fleet into Stalk at best fleet speed. ------ P'zerp in Detection has informed me that he has found a message cannister from one of the picket ships, the Krn'Tok. I knew the captain of that one. The logs have revealed that they were destroyed by a Hu'man fleet of some size that overwhelmed them. There is no mention of what happened to the station so our only option is to advance. Five killercraft patrols have been launched. One squadron is still in crates and not operational. ------ P'Zerp reports that the Hu'man fleet has just appeared. Their flagship appears to be the largest ship we have enocuntered so far. Definitely in the heavy dreadnought class. There are several battlecruisers as well as a good number of the frsshtookk missile firing ships that have plagued us since we first encountered the Hu'mans. They will be our priority targets. My fleet is deployed in tight maneuver formation and the order is out to Confront. Rumors have been spreading through all of the fleet that these Hu'mans do not recognize when they are losing. We shall see. ------ The firing has started. Our maneuvering swung the entire fleet out of range of the first salvo of Hu'man missiles. Our railguns have scored several strong hits on the Hu'mans including a penetrating shot from my Hunter. That gunner is to be commended. His shot struck very deeply into one of the frsshtookk missile cruisers. I am finding it curious that there is very little long range firepower coming from the heart of their fleet. Our railguns are striking with deadly effect but the Hu'Man response at range is minimal. I am also noting that we have local space superiority. This is a rare moment. My killercraft have already dispatched the Hu'man's and have vectored in on the HDN. ------ My killercraft have encountered a new class of Hu'man ship. It is capable of putting forth a staggering amount of point defense fire. Nearly half of my craft were killed in the first tu'run of engagement. The remainder scored significant dmage that succeeded in stripping most of the HDN's armor away. I shifted priority targeting to this escort ship to preserve our space superiority and tore deeply into it. The Hu'mans have been cycling their targets, acheiving hits on the closest of my ships rather than the largest. This behavior has allowed me to keep my heaviest railguns intact though my Hunter has suffered greatly in the past tu'run. Reports of life support failing come in from many of my ships but they know their duty. Their first priority is to keep our weapons working. ------ With the Hu'man escort cruiser severely damaged, my killercraft are able to more effectively attack. Their losses are high but Flight 226 is undamaged and score admirable damage. This is a great day for them for they will surely be promoted. My railguns are piercing the HDN again and again. The Hu'mans are not responding to our surrender codes and they keep fighting despite the crippling damage to their heaviest ship. The rumors then were true. I order the fleet into Slay. ------ The Hum'ans are in retreat now. Their HDN disintegrated followed by a number of their smaller capital ships. After detaching a Du'kak frigate into sensor range of the station, its fate was apparent. Teh Hu'mans had ravaged it and were in the process of pilfering its technology. Unfortunately, they were able to escape prior to my fleet's arrival. I can not help but wonder how many of the the "Alien Artifacts" they captured are really food prep units and not computers at all... ------ The Hu'mans have taken their survivors and left the system. Not once did they respond to our requests for their surrender. Valiant as this may have been, it was a horrible waste of resources. Surely they would rather be alive and incorporated into our clan rather than dying! How can such a single-minded race survive long enough to travel the stars? Pursuit is possible but I have decided my priority now is to secure this sector. I have lost many great warriors today but they will be welcomed into the Hunter's Halls with honor. ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- For: 1st Commander House Wz'Zel Naval Affairs Of: 1st Stalk Commander K'zirt, 1st Talon Wz'Zel fleet About: Action at Lan'K'Ster'Pah 12122.1.2.1.33.131 On our way to Stalk the Hu'mans in [SECTOR EDITED], we were scheduled to resupply at the Lan'K'Ster Refueling Station. We were unable to establish communications with the station so we approached in Stalk. We determined that the sector was not secure. A large Hu'man fleet had intruded there. We immediately moved to Confront. Hu'man forces included 2 new types of ships that have not been encountered before. One, a ship in the Heavy or Super Dreadnought class and a close escort cruiser capable of intense but short ranged defensive fire. We have seen these defensive systems in action but not in such a focused role. The battle was violent but brief with the Hu'man flagship being destroyed as well as several other Hu'man ships. The Hu'man fleet seemed to be short of longer range weapons. I was able to keep my ships closely organized and in our optimum range. This was what won the drahl for us. Given our losses, my fleet is temporarily unable to proceed with the primary mission. I am securing the sector until reinforcements and replacement security ships arrive. The Hu'man goal in this sector was to strip the refueling station of our technology. They were successful to a degree but they paid the price for their arrogance. But this was not simply a military victory for us. We have salvaged several Hu'man artifacts from the post-battle debris. As all the Hu'man ships were destroyed by fire, there is little to claim. Amongst the salvage are several Salvo Missiles that lost tracking, 2 Killercraft pilot suits, 2 Killercraft life pods. There were no surviving Hu'mans left in sector. The most important prize of this engagement was a nearly intact fire control system for their point defense cannon. Damage/Loss Summary ------------------------------------ 1 Dreadnought (New paint needed, left-side waste disposal port) 1 Light Carrier (18 Killercraft lost to enemy fire) 1 Hvy Cruiser (Moderate structural damage, 1 Hunter CA (Salvageable/Life Support/FTL Drive/Main Weapons) 2 Destroyers (1-Salvageable/Life Support, 1-Power Core Explosion) 1 Frigate (Salvageable/Life Support) 2 Corvettes (1-Scrapped/Life Support/Main Drives, 1-Power Core Explosion) Commendation Requests ------------------------------ Ship: "Strength and Speed" Unit: Pilots of Killercraft Flight 226 Award: Silver Swords Cause: Valor and honor attacking the Hu'man DN Ship: "LightYear" Unit: ALL Award: Silver Claw Cause: Valor and honor for using itself to shield the flagship from a missile salvo Ship: "Hunter's Hammer" Unit: Gunnery Crew #2 Award: Diamond Spear Cause: Exceptional skill disabling a Hu'man Missile Cruiser Ship: "First Strike" Unit: Damage Control Teams 2 and 3 Award: Silver Claw Cause: Saving "Hunter's Hammer" by attaching Life Support feed between ships. Respectfully Submitted, 1st Rank Stalk Commander Kr'rt, 1st Talon Wz'Zel fleet