A quick note to everyone: Preliminary planning is about to begin on the third mission in the Belgaroth arc, which'll begin in the first week of August. I hope you guys are ready, because this one's going to be sweet!

-Drac

Drac, please don't give me the ICs. I have no need for them.

1. I like how the missions come together to form a story. In today's society people don't come together and share and create creative writing. That is what I like about the VE because we do that here.

2. I don't like the lack of OOC collaboration on a mission. I think we should all just talk about the mission before hand on a different thread instead of writing a couple of quick sentences at the end of a In Character post.

Trick, I totally agree with you.

Hi there. Sorry bout my absence, my depression hit critical mass so I have had absolutely no motivation to do anything this week - then, to make it even more wonderful, the parents decided that it would be a good idea to take away my internet...so yeah, that's my reasons for no activity. Should be going on a course of anti-depressants soon, hopefully that'll help. Of course, my activity depends on my parents mood and how bad I feel each day.

So yeah, don't take my activity for granted, but I'll do what I can.

Okay, I'll bite. Missions this year. Well, I've only really been on the one, so my perspective is pretty limited. Still, here goes.

LIKE: There's plenty of options available - the mission has scope and vision, and that means that not only is there plenty of room for your main character's development, but you can explore your options by taking part in another part of the fighting as an NPC, as well as help out your friends in different units. Handy if your main character is stuck.

DISLIKE: Well, I believe a large problem is the lack of proper OOC (And yet on-topic) communication about the current mission, but my biggest peeve is how easily things can get bogged down. I know this is endemic in any RP, but I realized today that after a week-long absence, there was no new In-Character posts in the navy board.

That's my two cents.

Good to see some activity on the CD thread - welcome to the 2nd Fleet, Serpent!

Nightshrike, that means we're going to have to step up our game. Flensor, I need you to get a post down soon so we can move this along. If you're having trouble, just let me know and we'll figure something out. I know that we're behind Regents in numbers, but that just means that we're going to have to work harder to make sure we're the best Squadron in the Navy!

I know we can do it, so let's knuckle down and get those posts done, people.
-Le Dunny

Thanks, boss.

As promised, I'm going to open discussion on our next 2nd Fleet mission early. The mission itself should begin in about a week's time. A little later than I'd hoped, but RL hasn't allowed me to get as much done as I'd have liked.

Here follows a general outline of 2nd Fleet: High Stakes at Belgaroth:

As I've set things up so far, all the PC portions of 2nd Fleet and our main NPC ships will all begin this story at the shipyards over Belgaroth, finishing repairs and prepping for an upcoming mission. (This is one section we can discuss, I think, on whether a portion of the fleet should be on patrol in a nearby system.)

As the story opens, our SCAPs will be meeting with Drac on the station itself. As we're beginning, two enemy fleets arrive in-system at the same time. A spy, working for parties unknown, has arranged to trick both enemies into simultaneous attacks without either knowing. Both individual forces are somewhat more powerful than the 2nd Fleet forces in-system, but have no love for each other either. Everyone's attention is divided but, worse, we've been caught flat-footed with all the important (read: PC) SCAPs away from their posts.

As has been noted, all of that is open for questions and discussion. I'll likely throw in some more detail in a few days, too. For now, though, I'd like to open discussion on the following topics (and any others I haven't thought of):

-Whole fleet in-system, or part away?
-SCAPs, how're you getting back on your ships? Some craft are docked on the station, but others are picketed further out.
-Bridge Officers et all, how're you going to handle suddenly being thrust into combat without your Captain there immediately?
-Pilots, especially SCOs, how're you going to react when combat begins and no orders are forthcoming from the bridge?
-VENI operatives should also be considering Intelligence ramifications.

-Drac

I think it'd be more realistic to have part of the fleet away. If the spy was a good one, he or she'd try to plan the attacks for when as little of the fleet as possible is there. I know if I was the spy, I'd find out the patrol schedule and time everything around that. Although we're outgunned with both fleets, to me it seems more like a contingency plan in case the patrol is changed last minute. If the spy knew the meeting was happening and that all the SCAPs would be away, it'd make sense to know everything else that could matter.

As for how I'd respond, I have no position of authority but I'd be rather shocked/angry. If this is a meeting in our own space, I'd probably be shocked at how they could work together and angry that they not only caught us with our pants down but also that they disturbed my schedule and interfered with my day. I say this because, as a regular pilot, I don't have much other to do ICly. I imagine we wouldn't be on alert for such a simple meeting and with our fleet patrolling nearby and we'd be using down time. For those of us in the mess hall, or anywhere for that matter, we'd have to run at full speed to get into our flight suits, avoiding all of the other personnel who are rushing to their stations. A pileup or blockage in one of the hallways could spell disaster for reacting pilots, causing us to waste more time finding another route and working our way to our equipment and then to our fighters.

Of course, to the mischievous personnel who may know the ship inside and out, the blockage may be an excuse to use a new shortcut or faster route without being yelled at.

My two credits.

Space fleets are probably never found in any one place at the same time unless they're either prepping for an attack or otherwise believe the system they're in will be attacked and as such are stationed there to deal with it. Seeing how this scenario will catch us off guard my guess is it'll be easier to have a few ships away on individual missions, all in adjacent systems of course, as technically speaking each fleet is responsible for a certain slice of space and it'd be a poor tactical decision to spread out too thin. That said most of the fleet will likely be in the system considering the fact that repairs are undergoing at the time.

The SCAPs will no doubt attempt to return to their ships the same way they got to the station. Either they docked there with their capital ships or they took a shuttle. Once enemy forces will be reported they'll thus either undock or take that shuttle back to their own ships. The latter will now likely also require fighter escorts however - either from the fighters already flying CAP or the ones that will be launched after orders will thus be given.

BOs will likely not really be too affected by the absence of their SCAPs. They were after all trained to do a job rather than serve a certain individual and the fact of the matter is that job wouldn't change regardless of whom would call the shots. The XOs will in their capacity of acting captains order the others around in the manner they've been trained and seen their regular captains do in the past and the BOs will just follow those orders. That part should be fairly simple really.

Once the alarms will start ringing all combatants will instinctively run to their posts. For the pilots that means the hangars, where they'll hop in their fighters and prep for launch. If orders will take too long the SCOs will likely request permission to launch and some officer will eventually provide it. That said there's not really a reason for orders to take too long however, merely because the captain is no longer around. Heck, a captain could be sleeping, crapping, dying or already dead for all a crew knows or cares but that however will not really be enough to cripple the whole chain of command. Before the said captain leaves the bridge someone else will be appointed his representative after all. Should the captain suddenly die whilst commanding the ship then the next in line will swiftly take over - something that can be repeated as many times as it takes, or rather as many times as there are crewmen available to make it possible.

The way I see things:

First one faction will appear then the second one, both of them having either as many or even more/better ships than us. It would be stupid to mount an attack that wouldn't at least have a 50-50% shot of victory after all. Since the two other factions aren't working together they appearing at different locations and different times also makes sense. The second faction could appear anywhere from under 10 minutes to under a whole hour maybe.

Since this would be a VE system, one in which we'd have a whole base of operations even it's safe to say that entry would be restricted to non-VE vessels or otherwise vessels that we wouldn't have prior knowledge of (say independent merchants and ambassadors for instance). Suddenly having a whole fleet jump from hyperspace in our very backyard will no doubt instantly cause alarms to sound and a small amount of panic to set in. Most likely either the station or the flagship will attempt to communicate with the regular "who are you?" and "stay where you are or we'll open fire!" Since apparently neither will happen we'll likely enter a defensive formation and prepare to fight.

That I think is also the point where the SCAPs will try getting back to their ships, the XOs will be busy planning a defensive and the squadrons busy launching one after the other. The fight will start, with us at a somewhat disadvantage at first, the other faction will hop in and cause more chaos and as that second faction will begin firing at the VE forces and faction 1's forces we'll likely start praying for a miracle of sorts as it would just become apparent that our chances to win just got a whole lot smaller still.

A few of the away ships may return in time to help out but their return would not make too big a difference however. Besides, should we suddenly get a bunch of reinforcements then the other factions will leave as nobody is stupid enough to fight a losing battle unless really desperate and from this whole scenario that doesn't seem to be the case.

Overall I agree with Fyston's view of how things would go inside the ships when the alarms would start ringing and all. One note however: the chaos shouldn't really be as big as described there as chances are we'd have seen previous combat before or otherwise went with drills meant to improve reaction time and whatnot. So there should be less panic and somewhat more order instead.

I agree with Tosth that one faction could perhaps be a rival Imperial faction but I do however disagree that we'd be able to work together. They would've come to wipe us out as far as we know so suddenly being friendly and offering alliances (even temporary ones) would obviously be just a pile of crock. We'd know this and they'd know this so why would either side take such a risk? If anything, there would in fact be a higher chance of the two attacking factions to start working together only to supposedly split the profits afterward. After all they both came to destroy us so completing that objective should make them feel a whole lot better than potentially winning a skirmish with some other enemy all the while maybe being forced to return empty handed.

Perhaps its a warring Imperial faction. The factions had no love for each other and often attacked other factions as much, if not more, than the NR.

Alright. I'm following this scenario now. Thanks, guys.

If I may make a suggestion on this one (first time contributing to this thread so here goes).

I think the question of who allies with who is going to be based entirely on the timing of the two fleets' arrivals.  Like DeepSix said, the difference in arrival could be ten minutes, even an hour.  A lot can happen in either timeframe.

Basically, the fleet arriving last would, at first, sit back and watch, regardless of their plans/allegiances.  If our fleet (or part of fleet, as everyone seems to be in agreement that the 2nd fleet isn't all at Belgaroth) is on even footing with Invader Fleet 1, then they might just sit back and decide to engage the (exhausted) loser.  If, however, one fleet is clearly outdoing the other, I think they would engage the superior force to even the odds and ensure both rivals take similar levels of damage.  Would they bother with a declaration of help?  Maybe not.  They'd just start firing away.

Our one chance lies in getting reinforcements, as we will have to deal with both fleets eventually.  So it is that my Junior Bridge Officer would propose delaying tactics.  Stay near the planet and docks for support from there (planetary defence fighters, oribital weapons, etc) and focus on holding on.  Both rival fleets know they are in enemy territory, and know that help for us must be on the way.  The longer we last, the more nervous they will get, they have to know they are against the clock.  We have to find a way to use that!

Indeed, as the defenders we'll have an advantage. If this were a ground battle I'd have said we know the terrain but in space that no longer applies what with scanning equipment and whatnot. That said we would however retain our defenses - turrets and really big guns found on the station/shipyards aside from just our ships. So long as we stick close enough to those to allow them to provide cover fire we'll have a somewhat easier time. Either way we'll still end up taking heavy casualties however. As would be expected from such a scenario come to think of it...

I might as well start this.

Where am I starting?
-Well, I've been working on developing a story that takes place between the time of my transferance from the Chrome Fox to the Defiance. So, I'll be coming from Chalcedon with a Kaminoan NPC (I'll have the story up soon). I will be arriving some time after the battle has begun. I'll get to the Defiance with the NPC and after getting debriefed by Trykon, I will request the formation of an impromptu flight element/squadron (as I have come aboard as a medical officer and see more importance as a pilot at the moment). He will accept and, from that point on, I'll need to work on where I'll take my line.

How far am I from my combat position?
-Depends on the position of the Defiance.

How can I get there?
-Again, that will depend on the position of the Defiance when I enter the battle zone.

Who'll be with me?
-At first, only the NPC.

What general type of enemy will I attack?
-At the moment, I believe once I get the element set up, we will be playing more of a defence role. If not that, we'll be going after bombers.

More to come when I have some time to think about the rest of it. Hope this helps some.

-Where am I starting?
Aboard the shipyards, in the briefing room with most of the Fleet's SCAPs.
-How far am I from my combat position?
The Defiance is small enough that she'll be in a hangar at Belgaroth.  She's maybe a ten minute dash away, but thankfully not involving a trip through vacuum.
-How can I get there?
Run.
-Who'll be with me?
This is the interesting part.  I've been discussing things with Captain Grey, and Trick's apparently going to have company as he makes his way back to Defiance: at least four VENI operatives, who will take over the communications suite which was added to the Defiance during her last refit.  I'm not really sure what they're going to do, or what their presence might mean for my little corvette during the battle, but Grey has been explicit: they are VENI operatives and will be using the upgraded comms gear.  Maybe supplementary command and control?
-What general type of enemy will we attack? (Fighters, bombers, escort ships, mid-sized cruisers, main battle ships, etc)
Defiance will likely be darting around the battlefield with other small ships, exploiting enemy weaknesses as they develop.  If an enemy Destroyer turns failing shields away from the battle, for example, or job is to get behind them quick, punch 'em where it hurts, and get away.  Specifically, we'll be targeting larger enemy vessels, using our speed to get our turbolasers and missiles in place for devastating strikes after other Fleet elements have softened them up for us.
-Who'll we be attacking with?
The Reaper and the Hammer will be available to form a blockade-runner "wolf-pack" with Defiance, and we'll likely coordinate with the Warden-class ships of the fleet as well.
-How is that enemy likely to be laid out?
Well, the NR and Remnant forces will be approaching the shipyards from different vectors, and since we now know they're arriving nearly simultaneously, I'd imagine the situation will devolve into a free-for-all fairly fast.  As such, the battle lines will quickly blur, and our little wolfpack will rarely have a "secure flank."  Hopefully with the general confusion, though, we'll avoid coordinated tractor beams and gunnery.
-How is that enemy likely to attempt to counter our attack?
As I mentioned, if we were facing a single enemy, we'd be hindered by coordinated tractor-then-kill tactics, but my hope is that once there's a three-way exchange of fire, nobody will be able to be that single-minded.  If they try to focus on just us, a much bigger ship from the third faction'll come along and beat them up, is the idea.  We'll see what happens.

I'm still curious, though: what hardware do we have in-system, aside from the Fleet?  My understanding is that the shipyards complex is a collection of space stations, with no planet - is that correct?  What's the garrison/defensive weaponry involve?

I know the numbers provided were only meant to be used as examples and nothing else but still... shouldn't the arriving fleets be even stronger than that (125 vs 100)? Surprise attack or not we'd already have a perimeter holding a few extra defenses that'd at least somewhat diminish the efficiency of an ambush. Although the attackers would still have higher chances of winning, the difference in numbers/power would eventually cause them to sustain heavy casualties themselves. What then would be the point of crippling us if they'd end up crippling themselves as well? Even if they'd get a hold of the shipyards they wouldn't really be strong enough to hold them. Wouldn't they as such send a stronger force instead in order to further up their chances?

There is also something else that's somewhat bothering me - when and where those attackers arrive. A spy feeding info to both those factions is possible but it'd be incredibly difficult for said spy or the ones he'd work for to have enough pull with the other faction... assuming that is the said spy even works for either of them to begin with. Besides, spies collect data and send it up the chain of command. Missions however are then analyzed and given green light by generals, admirals and the like. It is from this point of view that I find it hard to believe both the Remnant and the NR would reach the same plan of attack.

Moreover, if said spy wanted to properly cripple all the involved parties then he'd suggest one faction to attack from one side whilst the other would come from the other. The faction caught in the middle (VE) would then be crushed first and because the fighting would be so close to the prize the other two would likely continue fighting each other afterward till one would be too damaged to afford to lose any more ships. That sort of scenario would lead to the almost guaranteed destruction of one faction and weakening or even crippling of the two other.

Where am I starting?

Aboard the HW, in either my own quarters or someone else's - drinking, smoking and gambling. Other guys will be NPCs unless anyone else aboard the ship is interest in these sort of activities.

How far am I from my combat position?

Between 5 and 7-8 minutes away depending on exact location, with another 1 or 2 minutes required to get into the flightsuit and pick up any other useful stuff.

How can I get there?

Same way I do every other time - walking, or in this case running, through the corridors and taking as many turbolift rides as needed.

Who'll be with me?

Depends on whether or not I start with any other PCs, in which case probably those guys. Might also meet some other squadron members along the way. Other than that a bunch of nameless NPCs scurrying around to their own posts.

What general type of enemy will we attack? (Fighters, bombers, escort ships, mid-sized cruisers, main battle ships, etc)

That's easy - lots of fighters and I assume quite a few bombers as well considering the nature of this mission.

Who'll we be attacking with?

Other squadrons, allowing the cap ships to focus on the big targets out there.

How is that enemy likely to be laid out?

That would depend on what exactly it'll be attacking with. As a rule of thumb however - small cap ships around larger ones, meant to both keep the fighters and bombers in check and also act as cannon fodder if needed be. Since they'd be the ones ambushing they'd likely already have their shields up, their weapons powered up and their fighters and bombers launching as soon as they will have finished exiting hyperspace.

How is that enemy likely to attempt to counter our attack?

Depends on whether or not this will be a specific attack. If we'll just return fire then the usual ROE likely apply. The big ships will try destroying other big ships and large defenses, the little ships will try and deal with the fighters, bombers, enemy little ships and small defenses and lastly the bombers will try taking out the enemy little ships whilst the fighters will try to keep them safe.