Additional Background: At your discretion, use Admiral Dan's specs for the Jovali (royal?) fleet ships. They're cool.
Thanks for the compliment, Mark! Yeah, that's the Royal Navy, I guess you could say.
A) OBJECTIVELY CRITIQUE one of the answers to the hypothetical attacks in Question 2A.
I'm just going to compliment everyone else for remembering the orbital weapons platforms for the raider attack scenario. I didn't.
B) Answer one or more of the questions posed by the other participants in Question 2C. Remember, at this point your fleet has not yet arrived.
I'll go for Timo's scenario. (Why take the easy road?)
quote:A battered Kressari transport arrives at Lucrezea, claiming to have been attacked by a Dominion cruiser near Zechs. This is only the latest in a series of wild rumors about a Jem�Hadar vessel that has refused to believe in the stand-down orders and bitterly continues the war � and the rumors have never specified a ship as big as a cruiser before.
But the Kressari do have phased-polaron beam wounds on their ship to show. And so the flames are fanned and fueled. The Kressari are allied with the domesticated variant of Cardassians, and ship various produce from Lucrezea to the starving Union; the Lucrezeans insist that this is state-sponsored piracy, that the Bifourians are maintaining or even operating the Jem�Hadar vessel to hurt both the Lucrezeans and the tamer Cardassians.
The otherwise cooperative Bifourians balk at the insults. They suspend Kressari and other cargo runs across this part of the border �until the ghost ship is found and dealt with�. It doesn�t look like they are doing any �finding� or �dealing with� of their own, though.
If there is a Jem'Hadar warship loose in the sector, then all other bets are off. I'd send in Cerberus to perform a preliminary search mission in the region where the enemy ship was last reported. The Cardassians on Bifour can either help with the search, or get out of the way. And if they give even a hint that they've been supporting this rogue cruiser, then I'm going to come down on them like a ton of bricks once my fleet arrives. (Yeah, I've only got six ships, most of them light cruisers... I'll have to give it some thought. But the Cardies don't have to know that.)
However, in the interests of diplomacy I'll send a message to the Cardassians and inform them of our intentions and our demands. I'll bluntly point out that they're not doing anything to find this so-called "ghost ship," and if they won't, then that could be construed as support of the enemy. And I'm sure they remember quite well what happened the last time the Federation approached them as an enemy.
I have three concerns, though: First, there's the lack of conclusive sensor records as evidence from the attacked ships. Thus, aside from the polaron beam scars I have no real proof that it's the Jem'Hadar. And second, any fully-loaded freighter should be absolutely no match for even a partially-operational Jem'Hadar cruiser -- so why did they get away? And third, since previous reports indicated a smaller attack-ship type of vessel... how do we know there's not more than one Jem'hadar warship running around out there?
C) The fleet you requisitioned in Q1 arrives in full, with an additional present: the USS Aristophanes (Miranda-class, Saratoga-refit, NCC-31923). The Aristophanes is a Starfleet Academy training ship, and carries about a hundred cadets and a regular crew of twenty on a second year field cruise. They'll be spending a few months in Sector Gamma, helping out with routine assignments while having cadets spend a couple weeks at a time on your ships. So, adding the Aristophanes into the mix, maneuver your fleet according to the following scenarios. Make note of any political reactions from involved parties that may occur. The Rigorous has now gone to whatever fate you've recommended in Q1.
Oh, joy. I get to babysit a boatload of children. Assuming the Cardassians don't turn out to have three times as many ships and go on a major offensive (see Sector Beta), I'm going to make damn sure that none of these cadets gets promoted before they graduate. And I also don't want them running any suicidal attacks against enemy cruisers just to prove that they can do anything. Got that? The Aristophanes is free to roam the sector as the commanders/professors see fit. But the second any open hostilities break out, they're going to head back to Jovalis and take cover. Assuming they're not the only ship in the quadrant and are needed on a vital mission... QUESTION: What has happened with Captain Nall and her retirement? Has she left the sector, or is she still hanging around?
1) The Lucrezeans get their act together and purchase some ships to head up their militia. Their patchwork fleet includes a smattering of customized shuttles, two surplus Klingon Birds of Prey (D-12 class) from the Ferengi, and a Yridian destroyer. In response, the Bifour fleet moves a Galor and two Hidekis around Zechs, despite repeated statements that the Lucrezean government has no interest in expansion/retaking the former Federation colony.
Good for the Lucrezeans. I didn't expect them to purchase so many for such a small colony, though -- so I'll quietly tell Starfleet Command to nix that recommendation for selling them a surplus ship that I made in Question One.
Given that the two Birds of Prey are surplus, I'm going to assume that they do not have a cloaking device. The Klingons wouldn't give that stuff away anyway, and the Ferengi would've stripped something that valuable before selling the ship on to some colonial kicks.
As for fleet deployment, I won't make any changes. I've already got the Cerberus and the Tiamat in the general area (intended to patrol the Bifour IV border), and the shift of the Cardassian forces doesn't worry me that much.
Although I can understand the Cardassians' paranoia. Given that Zechs is a mining colony it's probably one of their most productive sources of raw materials -- they can't afford to lose that. I believe I should do a little intelligence gathering on Lucrezea to determine the nature of popular sentiment -- is the local government planning some expansion? Or are they just trying to pull together a defensive force sufficient to stand up to three Galors?
2) Whatever search party you sent out to find the USS Ki finds a gaggle of escape pods close to the pulsar in the adjoining sector, containing about a third of her crew. Your people eventually reconstruct that the Ki struck a gravitic mine left over from the Cardassian conflicts of the 2340s. The mine stuck the bridge, wiping out the command crew along with most of the saucer. Some wreckage of the ship is located where it should be, and the energy signatures match that of a larger-than-usual, but not unheard-of, Cardassian mine.
Crud. That's not good news at all. Yeah, the mine COULD have been left over from the previous conflicts... or it could have been planted by the Cardassians on Bifour. I won't make any accusations without proof (which we probably won't ever get), but it's extremely lucky that this random accident just happened to hit the Bridge and wipe out most of the saucer. This doesn't make me too inclined to deal kindly with these guys if hostilities come.
3) The separatist elements in Jovalis space are mostly concentrated in the Cluster, though no more than a third of any colony cylinder there is interested in separation. However, a bombshell is dropped when a cylinder holds a referendum not to separate, but to move -- separatists in a Deyal group cylinder want to move their home the Cluster. The vote succeeds, and the municipal government requests that Starfleet tractor their colony to its new home. Such an action will tie up your largest ship, or two of your smaller ships, for a couple months. However, the Jovalis government sees this as a legal action, so...
...So, if it's a legal action, then that means it's an internal matter. As in, the responsibility of the local government to handle their own affairs. If the colonists have no way to move their own station, they should have thought of that before holding the referendum!
I will sidestep the issue by telling them that there is no way for Starfleet to divert any starships for such a job. Which is completely true -- I can't afford to lose either Cerberus or my two Sequoias for a few months. If the colonists want to be moved, maybe they should contract out the Cardassians... (I won't say that to their face, though.)
D) Create another scenario like those in part C, except this time it involves your whole fleet. Feel free to follow up on the scenario you created in Q2.
Over the past four weeks, a large number of freighters from Bifour have been heading into and out of the Pink Nebula. The Cardassians say that they have discovered a brown dwarf star system within the nebula which contains a resource-rich asteroid belt, which includes dilithium. Soon, the Cardassians shift one Galor and two Hidekis to patrol the border near the nebula.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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A) OBJECTIVELY CRITIQUE one of the answers to the hypothetical attacks in Question 2A.
Well, first I’ll critique mine. Forgetting about the Jovalisi orbital defenses was a childish mistake. I set my sidearm to “spank” and self-apply. AND I make sure the defenses are programmed with entrapment-style firing patterns that belie the true abilities of the network until the enemy has maneuvered himself to a hopeless position.
It’s damn difficult to critique anything else. Several defensive strategies and tactics could work against these threats. Escorting the traffic is just as good a role for a starship in the anti-Maquis battle as sitting and protecting DS12 or the Cluster. If the battle actually ensues, the starships can in all cases rapidly switch tactics and location.
B) Answer one or more of the questions posed by the other participants in Question 2C. Remember, at this point your fleet has not yet arrived.
I’ll try the one by Identity Crisis. As I sent the Rigorous out on one final diplomatic sortie to the border planets, she will be in a position to respond. The Marauder is a pretty fast starship type, but the Galors might not outrun a Constellation. Spanking the poor bairns to speed, the Rigorous overtakes the Galors. Now, this sector isn’t just UFP space but Jovali as well, and probably mostly “international waters” anyway. So I can’t just summarily board and search the Ferengi vessel. But I can and will insist on escorting her all the way to Zechs, and if necessary, keep her out of transporter range of the planet until the the Cardassian inspection party boards the vessel. It’s in their full right to do that – I’m just there to moderate any ship-to-ship nastiness as long as the ship is on the UFP/Jovali side of the border.
If, OTOH, the space lane used by the Ferengi is in actual UFP space, I will board the Marauder. If it’s in Jovali space, I’ll ask them to send a ship to board the Ferengi. In fact, I’ll ask them to come anyway. In case the Ferengi try to flee, I want to have the Jovali there for credible back-up, so that I can more plausibly reject the inevitable Cardassian offer for help.
C) The fleet you requisitioned in Q1 arrives in full, with an additional present: the USS Aristophanes (Miranda-class, Saratoga-refit, NCC-31923). The Aristophanes is a Starfleet Academy training ship, and carries about a hundred cadets and a regular crew of twenty on a second year field cruise. They'll be spending a few months in Sector Gamma, helping out with routine assignments while having cadets spend a couple weeks at a time on your ships. So, adding the Aristophanes into the mix, maneuver your fleet according to the following scenarios. Make note of any political reactions from involved parties that may occur. The Rigorous has now gone to whatever fate you've recommended in Q1.
All right, now we’re talking business. Up till now, the sector has in fact been unguarded, what with my Clemenceau searching for the missing Ki weeks away from where I need her. As the fleet arrives, two of my three frigates assume patrol in the triangle between Joval/-is, Zechs and Lucrezea. In case the cloak-thieves of the previous question haven’t been caught yet, the modern sensors of my frigates will now alter that state of affairs. The third frigate (say, the Icy Falls)replenishes and prepares to take over later on, so that I can keep constant vigil.
The Canaris begins her reconnaissance mission, with elements of the former Rigorous crew aboard. In case the conference I arranged at Bifour orbit has led to increased cooperation, I’m willing to take observers from any party aboard the Canaris as she scouts out the border spaces. She will also begin laying extra sensor buoys along the border, just to be sure.
The Shaaja (assuming she even arrived, since she’s supposed to replace my former flagship, yet that flagship isn’t around to be replaced yet!) stands by to strike at the pirates if need be, remaining at full alert at Jovalis. I in turn stand by to move my flag from DS12 to the Shaaja if the need arises. The Venice sails to G’Sall and takes over the responsibility for the xeno-anthro mission, with some cadets aboard.
And the Aristophanes… Well, with a regular crew of only twenty, she won’t run very efficiently when the cadets are dispersed among my other vessels. I’ll leave her to go through defensive or other benign exercises at or near Jovalis initially. Later on, she will rendezvous with and escort the Venice on a mission to survey the class N planet a little more carefully, after that latter ship is freed from her obligations at G’Sall. I’m expecting the unexpected at the waterworld, but it’s not a high priority.
1) The Lucrezeans get their act together and purchase some ships to head up their militia. Their patchwork fleet includes a smattering of customized shuttles, two surplus Klingon Birds of Prey (D-12 class) from the Ferengi, and a Yridian destroyer. In response, the Bifour fleet moves a Galor and two Hidekis around Zechs, despite repeated statements that the Lucrezean government has no interest in expansion/retaking the former Federation colony.
The Canaris makes sure I have correct and up-to-date intelligence on the Lucrezean fleet. I’ve already made overtures to help with setting up the local militia, and I again offer to send my experts to familiarize the Lucrezeans with these ship designs. Heck, I myself am probably well versed in their technical details, seeing how they were brand new hot stuff back when I last met them…
The said advisors naturally travel to the planet aboard a starship. Namely, the Icy Falls, a potent combatant herself. She won’t make aggressive moves towards the Bifourians, and she will make sure the Lucrezeans don’t, either. The other two frigates prepare for a fallback defense in case the Bifourians for some mysterious reason make a run for Joval/-is, but they are also in range to rush to help Lucrezea if need be.
2) Whatever search party you sent out to find the USS Ki finds a gaggle of escape pods close to the pulsar in the adjoining sector, containing about a third of her crew. Your people eventually reconstruct that the Ki struck a gravitic mine left over from the Cardassian conflicts of the 2340s. The mine stuck the bridge, wiping out the command crew along with most of the saucer. Some wreckage of the ship is located where it should be, and the energy signatures match that of a larger-than-usual, but not unheard-of, Cardassian mine.
The Clemenceau is well equipped to rescue the survivors. Not so well equipped to find out whether this mine really was what it looks like, or something else. I will complete the rescue operations, yet I’d also like to collect a sample. Can the Bifourians give me maps or transponder codes of the old minefields? Could the domesticated Cardassians? I’ll deploy my runabouts and shuttles to locate and hopefully sweep further mines in the region. The Clemenceau is in no hurry to return to sector Gamma yet. And in case this is an overture to Bifourian nastiness, it’s nice to have a starship standing by behind their lines…
Plus, as long as the ship stays there, the presence of the Shaaja at the primary playing field won’t violate the rules of the game. Much.
3) The separatist elements in Jovalis space are mostly concentrated in the Cluster, though no more than a third of any colony cylinder there is interested in separation. However, a bombshell is dropped when a cylinder holds a referendum not to separate, but to move -- separatists in a Deyal group cylinder want to move their home the Cluster. The vote succeeds, and the municipal government requests that Starfleet tractor their colony to its new home. Such an action will tie up your largest ship, or two of your smaller ships, for a couple months. However, the Jovalis government sees this as a legal action, so...
…they are legally entitled to go out and push. I won’t push back. Heck, I even assign the former Rigorous chief engineer to assist in installing the required propulsion (and/or subspace field mass-reduction) hardware on the habitat. The timetable of the move will have to be stretched a bit without starships, of course. The Shaaja will provide assistance when available – perhaps an initial acceleration, after which the station is on its own, and then a series of gradual decelerations, so that if the Shaaja is unavailable for one of them, this won’t mean disaster yet.
If the situation becomes a major political hurdle, I could ask Starfleet for a tugship. And while waiting for her arrival, would assign the Aristophanes to full-time towing, with the Shaaja assisting every now and then.
D) Create another scenario like those in part C, except this time it involves your whole fleet. Feel free to follow up on the scenario you created in Q2.
It seems a Jem’Hadar ship is indeed loose on the sector. Your forces confront and corner it; the tiny attack ship tries to ram your ship, fails and self-destructs. Nobody is satisfied with the outcome. “This was not the horrible cruiser”, some insist; “You deliberately erased all proof of the ship’s origin”, others cry. “They are still lurking out there!”; “My aunt is a Changeling infiltrator!”; “Watch the skis!”; “The skiEs!”; “Sorry. Watch the skies!” “It’s a cookbook!”
As soon as you whack off one head of the rumor monster, another sprouts out. And then you run into the deadliest of them all: apparently, the surviving Jem’Hadar are about to unleash their horrid Quickening bioweapon on Lucrezea. Or Jovalis. Or Joval. It will arrive on an alien ship, perhaps a human one. Or Yridian. Or Kressari.
And then you capture a Bifourian extremist who says the whole thing was orchestrated by his movement, and that they will win no matter what. The bioweapon does exist, in the form of an infected person who has nothing to lose, and will arrive when and where Starfleet least expects him or her. And even capturing the carrier will only provide proof that the threat is real, leading to the desired panic.
Describe the logistics it will take to find this carrier and to control the possible planetary panic. Factor in the considerable number of weekly shipments these planets need to survive. Your starships will be stretched thin. What other assets do you have available?
posted
Hey Mark, check your PM's. (Note the apostrophe there. )
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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Sorry there, Dan; I got your e-mail too, but haven't had a chance to answer anything yet. I'll answer it tonight/tomorrow. Don't worry; we've got plenty of time.
As for Captain Nall, she's not in the sector, and is busy taking time off on Bolius. But she intends to do some civvie adventuring in her retirement, and if she ever passes by the sector again, she'll be sure to pop by Jovalis to say hello.
In the mean time, I've cobbled together my own personal ship comparison chart for Sector Gamma ships. Like my articles on the Jovali ships, this is my own perspective, but I figured I'd share it with the rest of you in case you'd like to use it.
And yes, I do know that the Jovali ships look pretty familiar. Just a coincidence.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: QUESTION THREE (Four Parts) A) OBJECTIVELY CRITIQUE one of the answers to the hypothetical attacks in Question 2A.
Hmm, well Timo and MinutiaeMan are clearly trying to start a trend of general niceness, and whilst I'd hate to see that continue I really can't see much to critique in any of the battle plans posted.
quote:B) Answer one or more of the questions posed by the other participants in Question 2C. Remember, at this point your fleet has not yet arrived.
Timo's looks the most interesting. My first thought is "Ketracel White". If these are JemHadar then where are they getting their fix from? Either they have the backing of a group who can supply the drug, or these aren't JH at all but someone pretending to be JH. I'll make a public broadcast stating the second option (but not the first) with some luck that will downgrade the threat in people's minds and halt the spread of panic. Until my fleet gets here there's not a lot I can do (the Ataturk is busy as visiting Bifour IV or searching for the Ki; and the Rigorous isn't up to chasing a JH ship, even if its only a bug crewed by non-JH). So apart from asking the Jovali and Bifour Cardies to pool inteligence on this alledged JH ship I'm just going to play the public relations game and site tight. When the fleet gets here we can go a-hunting.
quote:C) The fleet you requisitioned in Q1 arrives in full, with an additional present: the USS Aristophanes (Miranda-class, Saratoga-refit, NCC-31923).
Note that the Naginta and Assesgai will be patrolling the shipping lanes, specifically Jovalis - Federation Core and Lucreazea - Federation Core. They may also patrol the Jovalis - Lucrezea route if needed to but that area will mostly be covered by the Ataturk and the Indefatigable.
The Aristophanes will have a standing order to stay at least two light years away from the border.
quote:1) The Lucrezeans get their act together and purchase some ships to head up their militia.
Three warp capable warships for a population of 12,000? That's more firepower per head than any of the major powers! I'm going to apply diplomatic pressure to make these guys cool down a bit. I'm also glad that my best warship, the New Orleans class Indefatigable is patrolling the Lucrezea/G'Sall region. If things turn nasty she's a match for any one of these ships and could hold her own against two or even three of them.
quote:2) Whatever search party you sent out to find the USS Ki finds a gaggle of escape pods close to the pulsar in the adjoining sector, containing about a third of her crew.
I'll ask the Bifour Govt if they have any details on the extent and density of this minefield. Further I'll ask them if they want to start a joint clearance operation. On the quiet I'll also ask the main Cardassian Union authorities whether Central Command records have anything on this minefield. Whilst waiting for replies I'll put out a warning to all shipping and update the Starfleet star charts. The Ataturk will leave some marker bouys behind as she brings the survivors back.
quote:3)However, a bombshell is dropped when a cylinder holds a referendum not to separate, but to move – separatists in a Deyal group cylinder want to move their home the Cluster.
Ah hell. They couldn't have asked before the Rigorous was decommissioned could they? Well there's no need for to tie up two ships for the whole period. Welcome to Operation Newton - ships grab the cylinder with tractor beams and apply impulse thrust to change the momentum of the cylinder. Ships go off and carry out other duties. Cylinder drifts nice and slowly into new orbit. Ships return, grab cylinder with tractor beams and apply impulse thrust to stabalise orbit with respect to the rest of the cluster.
If the really want to be under tractor the whole time they can go and hire commercial shipping to do it. I'll use the Ushos and the Aristophanes to do the initial and final tractoring, in between the Ushos can get on with ferrying in supplies for the DS12 upgradinga and the Aristophanes can cruise round the sector doing training type stuff.
quote:D) Create another scenario like those in part C, except this time it involves your whole fleet. Feel free to follow up on the scenario you created in Q2.
Okay, following on from before... Whatever action you take the Ferengi and Cardassians start shooting at each other. After inflicting some damage they both turn tail and run in opposite directions. If your ship(s) was in the middle then it may have sustained some light damage as well.
All is quiet for a while until the Ferengi Marauder returns, but this time she has company - another Marauder, two smaller Ferengi ships and five Nausican corvettes. They head straight for Zechs. The DaiMon contacts you and says that he is a legitamate trader and will deliver his valuable cargo whatever it takes. He refuses to discuss what his cargo is, who on Zechs is the buyer, or why it is so profitable that he's hired mercenaries to get it there. He asks you to either stay out of his way or to provide an escort.
The Bifour Cardassians, who now have a Galor and two Hidekis around Zechs remember, say that they will not allow any cargo to be beamed down. They send a second Galor and another Hideki to Zechs, but these ships will arrive after the convoy, unless you do anything to slow it down - which is exactly what the Cardassians ask you to do.
Oddly enough, up to now intelligence hasn't suggested that anyone on Zechs has large amounts of money...
Over to you.
-------------------- "My theories appal you, my heresies outrage you, I never answer letters and you don't like my tie." - The Doctor
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A) OBJECTIVELY CRITIQUE one of the answers to the hypothetical attacks in Question 2A.
I'm afaid i'll have to continue the 'general niceness'...
B) Answer one or more of the questions posed by the other participants in Question 2C. Remember, at this point your fleet has not yet arrived.
I'll try Identity Crisis'...
I'd send the Rigorous to intercept, with a couple of the runabout equivilents; they should be able to force the Marauder to stand down or, if not, then they could neutralise her weapons. I would then have my ships escort her to Zechs where I would allow a joint Cardassian/Federation team to inspect her.
C) The fleet you requisitioned in Q1 arrives in full, with an additional present: the USS Aristophanes (Miranda-class, Saratoga-refit, NCC-31923). The Aristophanes is a Starfleet Academy training ship, and carries about a hundred cadets and a regular crew of twenty on a second year field cruise. They'll be spending a few months in Sector Gamma, helping out with routine assignments while having cadets spend a couple weeks at a time on your ships. So, adding the Aristophanes into the mix, maneuver your fleet according to the following scenarios. Make note of any political reactions from involved parties that may occur. The Rigorous has now gone to whatever fate you've recommended in Q1.
My fleet:
USS Thermistocles NCC-17212 Apollo class USS Indefagitable NCC-46381 Excelsior class USS Hyperion NCC-66047 New Orleans class USS Triumph NCC-65492 New Orleans class USS Manticore NCC-48062 Centaur class USS Indiaman NCC-7901 Deneva class
Plus the Aristophanes , which I’ll try and keep around the Joval system to try and ensure she doesn’t get into too much trouble- also this should free up the Triumph which would overwise be on station in this area. The remainder will take up their positions as recommended previously and the Indiaman will commence her recon/freight run around the sector, with added caution given the disappearance of the Ki .
1)The Lucrezeans get their act together and purchase some ships to head up their militia. Their patchwork fleet includes a smattering of customized shuttles, two surplus Klingon Birds of Prey (D-12 class) from the Ferengi, and a Yridian destroyer. In response, the Bifour fleet moves a Galor and two Hidekis around Zechs, despite repeated statements that the Lucrezean government has no interest in expansion/retaking the former Federation colony.
Well, the Thermistocles is , conveniently, assigned to patrol this sector so I’ll go up there and talk to the Cardassian commander and point out that the presence of such a (comparatively) powerful fleet at Zechs could be seen as threatening by the Lucrezeans (I would also imply that the Federation might not be over the moon about it). Also I would point out that Lucrezea doesn’t really have a large enough population to support a war against Bifour. Hopefully the Cardassians will see the sense in that and reduce their presence (after all, they do have the right to defend their territory). I would then warp down to Zechs and leave a few advisors to help them train on their new ships and act as moderators on their behaviour.
2) Whatever search party you sent out to find the USS Ki finds a gaggle of escape pods close to the pulsar in the adjoining sector, containing about a third of her crew. Your people eventually reconstruct that the Ki struck a gravitic mine left over from the Cardassian conflicts of the 2340s. The mine stuck the bridge, wiping out the command crew along with most of the saucer. Some wreckage of the ship is located where it should be, and the energy signatures match that of a larger-than-usual, but not unheard-of, Cardassian mine
Hmmm… Maybe I’m being a bit suspicious but it strikes me as being more than a bit convenient that the mine hit the bridge. Seeing as how mines are usually deployed in fields I’d scan for any other mines in the area. Also I’d request information on minefields in the area from the Bifourans and the Cardassians just to make sure. I’d certainly want access to any other records of Cardassian mines; presumeably the Indefagitable 's database will contain this information.
3) The separatist elements in Jovalis space are mostly concentrated in the Cluster, though no more than a third of any colony cylinder there is interested in separation. However, a bombshell is dropped when a cylinder holds a referendum not to separate, but to move - separatists in a Deyal group cylinder want to move their home the Cluster. The vote succeeds, and the municipal government requests that Starfleet tractor their colony to its new home. Such an action will tie up your largest ship, or two of your smaller ships, for a couple months. However, the Jovalis government sees this as a legal action, so…
… it’s not really my problem? Well, I’ll help anyway- I’ll send engineers from DS12 to assist them in fitting a drive system to the cylinde so they can move themselves � la DS9. I’d also assign the Aristophanes to assist (give the regulars plenty of time for very nasty drills to keep the cadets entertained )
D) Create another scenario like those in part C, except this time it involves your whole fleet. Feel free to follow up on the scenario you created in Q2.
The rebels crash the freighter into Zechs; the force of the impact and some antimatter explosives that had been carried on board cause huge amounts of damage and most of the population is killed. The Cardassians claim that the explosives used had Federation signatures and gather their fleet (plus an extra Galor and two more Hidekis whose origin is not known) to advance on Lucrezea. The Lucreazeans issue a desperate plea for help: they know they cannot stand…
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
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Hey guys, it's been about a week since Mark posted Question Three. Therefore, it's almost time for Question Four -- which Mark asked me to do a guest lecture for a few weeks ago. I'm putting the finishing touches on the scenario and will send it to Mark for approval before posting it here sometime either tonight or tomorrow.
And don't worry, this guest lecture won't be nearly as intensive as Timo's marathon campaign in Sector Beta.
As a preview and for use in Question Four, I've created a map of the Joval Star System:
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U> QUESTION THREE U>A You want me to critique the answers to Question 2A? Sorry, can’t do that – they’re all just too damned good, everyone appears to have covered all the bases quite nicely.
U>B I’ll answer all of them! Although my answers are not as detailed as the rest. A Cardassian Hideki-class warship emerges from the Purple Nebula, heading on a "southeast" vector. However, once it's clear of the nebula, it changes course towards Zechs... at Warp 2.3. Long-range scans indicate that the ship may be damaged, but the Hideki is transmitting no distress call, or any other messages for that matter. Bugger this for a laugh – I’ll move the Courageous to intercept and detain the vessel – I HATE spies! Oh, and to hell with what the Cardassians might say about the ship’s reason for being there – I’m gonna board the ship regardless of the consequences.
A battered Kressari transport arrives at Lucrezea, claiming to have been attacked by a Dominion cruiser near Zechs. This is only the latest in a series of wild rumors about a Jem’Hadar vessel that has refused to believe in the stand-down orders and bitterly continues the war – and the rumors have never specified a ship as big as a cruiser before.
But the Kressari do have phased-polaron beam wounds on their ship to show. And so the flames are fanned and fueled. The Kressari are allied with the domesticated variant of Cardassians, and ship various produce from Lucrezea to the starving Union; the Lucrezeans insist that this is state-sponsored piracy, that the Bifourians are maintaining or even operating the Jem’Hadar vessel to hurt both the Lucrezeans and the tamer Cardassians.
The otherwise cooperative Bifourians balk at the insults. They suspend Kressari and other cargo runs across this part of the border “until the ghost ship is found and dealt with”. It doesn’t look like they are doing any “finding” or “dealing with” of their own, though. I’d have the Courageous move to investigate the possibility of the Dominion cruiser while also move the combat-capable shuttles and runabout-type craft to positions along the boarder to assist. Don’t know what I’d do if I found the ghost ship – I lack the firepower. Maybe I’ll deploy some cloaked mines! I’m curious – if there is a Dominion warship in the area, where are they getting their supplies from? I think something is afoot here and so I’ll instruct my people to keep their eyes and ears open and also double-check the intelligence reports since the war.
A Ferengi Marauder class enters the sector and stops at Joval. The DaiMon makes no secret of the fact that Zechs is his next destination. The Cardassians send you a priority transmission claiming that this DaiMon is supplying arms to terrorist factions on Zechs. The Ferengi protests his innocence. The Cardassians say that they will not allow the Marauder to enter their space - but as Zechs is so close to the border this would almost certainly mean that any battle would take place in Federation space. And you do indeed hear that two Galors have crossed the border and will intercept the Marauder close to the Purple Nebula. How will you respond? I’ll move the Courageous to intercept the Cardassians and the Ferengi vessel and try to get the Ferengi to allow an inspection of his cargo. I’d try to avoid a confrontation with the Cardassians, but I’ll be ready for a fight. I’ll be looking for a non-violent solution, possibly agreeing to a similar approach to that of Timo as it appears to be the easiest. Knowing the Cardassians and the Ferengi the way I do – I’ll expect the worst.
A cardassian freighter preparing to leave Zechs is hijacked by a group of local revolutionaries. they demand that Zecks be given it's independance or else they will crash the freighter into the planet's main population centre. The Cardassians have no ships nearby and request your help. Well the Courageous is in orbit of Bifour so I’ll divert her there and disable the freighter and send a boarding party to detain the revolutionaries. While there I’d talk with the population to better my relationship with them.
C1 I’d shift my ships slightly closer to the boarder, but discretely and slowly so as not to alarm the Cardassians. I’d obviously want to observe the situation, but avoid a confrontation if at all possible.
C2 I’d have my search vessel (the Courageous) conduct intense scans of the area before heading back (scanning continuously en-route). I want to know if there are any other mines in the area that could pose a problem to my fleet operations. I’d also have the USS Bellerephon move in to assist my efforts as she’d have advanced scanners.
3) The separatist elements in Jovalis space are mostly concentrated in the Cluster, though no more than a third of any colony cylinder there is interested in separation. However, a bombshell is dropped when a cylinder holds a referendum not to separate, but to move – separatists in a Deyal group cylinder want to move their home the Cluster. The vote succeeds, and the municipal government requests that Starfleet tractor their colony to its new home. Such an action will tie up your largest ship, or two of your smaller ships, for a couple months. However, the Jovalis government sees this as a legal action, so…
C3 I don’t have a small ship (unless you count the USS Bellerephon and the USS Aristophanes,). I agree with everyone else – start the cylinder moving (with my two <Nebula’s) and then come back to slow it down when it reaches its target. Failing that – they can move it themselves, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.
D From Question 2: “Zechs hails you stating that they wish to join. The Cardassians are pissed and move a Galor and two Hideki’s to the planet, but the request still stands. The Cardassian forces begin landing ground troops into the capital on Zechs in an attempt to capture or kill the leading group. Zechs requests your assistance in defending their planet. What will you do? Which assets will you use? How will you deal with the Cardassians?”
OK – to top it all off (what with the troop landings and all), the Cardassians have now moved two more Galors and four more Hideki’s to Zechs. This clearly is a larger fleet than they were first thought to of had. Three Galors and six Hideki’s are bit of a problem, one that you need to deal with before you turn your attention to the troops. The problem is, your long-range sensors have detected at least four more Galors and six Hideki’s around the Bifour system. The forces around Zechs make up one third of the obvious Cardassian forces (oh and they have orbital weapons platforms too – about four dozen), and need to be dealt with.
How will you achieve space superiority around Zechs? (Be as detailed as you can please).
Tactical Note: Sensors indicate the presence of neutrino particles associated with cloaking devices. Assume more Cardassian vessels are in the area and cloaked (using stolen technology obviously) when planning your attack.
Have fun!
-------------------- If you cant convince them, confuse them.
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No, I live in the Christiana Towers at the University of Delaware.
Actually, ALL of the alien names I've used in the "You're the Admiral!" scenarios have been reverse-spelled words.
Noynac => Canyon Truoc => Court
And so on. Not the most imaginative method, but it works, right?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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All-righty then! Mark's given the go-ahead...
Question Four Guest Lecture by MinutiaeMan
A) Respond to one or more of the scenarios created by the other participants in Part (D) of Question Three. This time, you have your entire fleet at your disposal. (The events in the scenario for your response here do not have to affect the deployment of your fleet for the following questions -- unless you want them to.)
B) A civil war breaks out on Joval. In the past few years a pro-democracy movement has gained strength on the homeworld, particularly on the western continent which is the most industrialized region of the mostly-agricultural planet, and maintains the strongest off-world ties. Numerous local leaders call for the establishment of a planetary parliament and a full constitution. Monarch Ypaha Hrrays (supported by many of the more traditional politicians in his court) accuses the reformists that they are betraying the Jovali way of life, and refuses to allow the formation of a parliament. The provinces on the western continent respond by declaring independence. The monarch in turn accuses the rogue provinces of jeopardizing the security of the whole planet by instigating such division. However, when the provinces refuse to back down, Monarch Hrrays sends in ground troops to pacify the continent.
1) Provided is a map of the Joval Star System. How will you redeploy your task force once you hear of the fighting? As far as is known, all ships of the Jovali Royal Stellar Navy are in orbit of Joval -- for now.
2) The Jovalisi government urges the Monarch to accept reforms, but he refuses. Although he's not violently xenophobic, he's clearly wary of outside influences. However, Monarch Hrrays does agree to a brief private conference with you as the local representative of the Federation, to discuss the situation. What will you tell him, or ask him, at this meeting?
C) Despite declaring independence from Joval and joining the Federation, the Jovalisi have always maintained strong cultural and economic ties with the homeworld. The civil war on Joval threatens to spread to the various Jovalisi habitats -- it's obvious that many Jovalisi citizens will to get involved somehow. The majority of Jovalisi favor the rebels because of their common democratic beliefs, but there is a vocal minority of pro-monarchy activists, as well.
The local Jovalisi government's official position is in line with Federation policy -- the civil war is an internal matter, and they'll remain neutral. Of course, in practice that policy isn't worth much at all. Since the Federation does not have any high-ranking civilian officials in the region, it falls to you to set the Federation's policy and make sure that Starfleet is not dragged into any local conflict.
1) Both sides of the conflict on Joval are receiving support from various "interest groups" on Jovalis. They're sending medical supplies, foodstuffs, power cells, ships, weapons... even some troops (completely unofficially). However, not all of the materiel that's being sent is home-grown Jovalisi equipment: you start receiving reports of Federation-built phasers used in battles, and even a few small Federation ships used in limited space combat. There's also a vague reference to a rogue group called the Jovalisi Freedom Brigade which is using a group of Federation-built small craft (think Maquis-type ships here) to aid the rebel cause. What will you do in response to this intelligence?
2) In order to stop the flow of materiel to the rebels, the Jovali monarch orders a planetary blockade -- all incoming ships are stopped and searched. No vessels are allowed to land on the western continent where most of the rebels are based. The Jovalisi local government protests this blockade and demands it be lifted immediately. The western continent is the source of most of the trade between Jovali and Jovalis, and could seriously hurt Jovalis's economy if contact is cut off. A few Jovalisi ships try to run the blockade, but unsuccessfully. The Jovalisi Merchants' Guild requests Starfleet protection of their ships near Jovalis and the immediate lifting of the blockade over the western continent for neutral vessels.
3) In a surprise operation, a squad of rebel commandos manages to commandeer the Jovali heavy cruiser Dralliw -- apparently with the assistance of a number of mutineers on board. They escape from Jovali orbit, destroying one of the royal fleet's smaller frigates on the way out. The ship disappears into the asteroid belt, and Jovali forces do not pursue at the moment -- short of sending every remaining vessel in their fleet (one cruiser and three frigates), the Jovali are not likely to recapture their cruiser through conventional means. The rebels waste no time in proclaiming their victory and announce that the commandeered cruiser will be launching reprisals against the royal forces and any of their supporters.
4) Hostility is brewing between some of the more vocal pro-rebel and pro-monarch factions in some of the Jovalisi habitats. Several riots have erupted in colonies, especially in the Deyal Group, and there have been reports of roving gangs attacking supporters of the opposite faction. Leaders from several of the habitats ask you to provide assistance in order to maintain security.
D) Things start going south. Jovali royal ground forces are advancing across the planet, and refugees are streaming into the Jovalis colonies by the hundreds, then thousands. The various orbital habitats can handle the newcomers for the time being, but the longer the situation goes on, the more difficult sustaining them will be. Although the habitats are already close to their maximum, the flow of refugees shows no sign of decreasing as the fighting continues. The general estimate for the habitats as a whole is 3 weeks before a supply shortage develops. This estimate includes life support capacity, food supplies, and overcrowding, and assumes that the situation is not resolved and the flow of refugees does not diminish.
1) The vast majority of incoming ships carrying refugees are loaded past capacity and were built by Jovali, meaning that sending the refugees out of the system on the ships they cam in is not an option -- they simply aren't fast enough for a true interstellar journey, especially considering the overcrowding on board. What will you do with them?
2) A Jovali passenger ship enters Jovalis space, pursued by one of the surviviing Jovali frigates, the Llenrup. The large passenger ship has taken heavy damage; there are several hull breaches, their warp drive is offline, their shields destroyed. The captain of the Jovali frigate claims that the passenger ship is smuggling a cell of known rebels away from Joval; the passenger ship captain says that the Jovali navy is trying to keep refugees from leaving Joval.
3) A group of raiders have taken advantage of the confusion in the past weeks, and have started raiding Federation freighters carrying agricultural products to Jovalis, and on to the rest of the Federation. It's possible that the raiders are operating out of the asteroid field... and may even be using the cloaking technology that was stolen from G'Sall a few months back.
4) There are a series of bomb attacks in various Jovalisi orbital habitats. Although none has resulted in a major loss of life, the docking facilities of one station have been severely damaged. The attacks have been confined to the Cluster -- so far. How do you ensure the security of your home base, Deep Space Twelve? (Keep in mind the ongoing refugee situation, and the fact that many of the refugees may need medical attention at a Starfleet facility.)
E) After weeks of fighting, the royal faction's ground forces prevail. All of the major cities in the rebel provinces are occupied and placed under martial law. Monarch Hrrays begins issuing strict new edicts to ensure the "pacification" of the provinces. News from the provinces is scarce as the royal forces almost completely cut off the region from any offworld contact -- even after the war is declared to be over and the provincial governments surrender. The Jovalisi local government isn't happy with the developments and cuts off diplomatic relations with the homeworld, although they take no other action.
However, it seems that a guerilla war is still going on in some out-of-the-way areas, and the monarch is using this as an excuse to crack down. The Jovali royal navy has also failed to track down and capture the cruiser that was captured in Part (C). They seem to be laying low for now.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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Yay! Thanks, Dan. As a consideration to the other Admirals, please retain your answer (assuming you're making one of your own) until at least Sunday night.
And for Chris - many of the names are anagrams. Happy, happy, happy...
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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