Author Topic: Vasudan history  (Read 49828 times)

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Offline Colonol Dekker

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I played through FS1 on insane, Atens are weak.............
Campaigns I've added my distinctiveness to-
- Blue Planet: Battle Captains
-Battle of Neptune
-Between the Ashes 2
-Blue planet: Age of Aquarius
-FOTG?
-Inferno R1
-Ribos: The aftermath / -Retreat from Deneb
-Sol: A History
-TBP EACW teaser
-Earth Brakiri war
-TBP Fortune Hunters (I think?)
-TBP Relic
-Trancsend (Possibly?)
-Uncharted Territory
-Vassagos Dirge
-War Machine
(Others lost to the mists of time and no discernible audit trail)

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Secret bomb God.
That one time I got permabanned and got to read who was being bitxhy about me :p....
GO GO DEKKER RANGERSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Offline Mars

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Yeah, like that one ST mission, with ~6 Atens, that I can play on insane in a Herc

 

Offline Taristin

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I played through FS1 on insane, Atens are weak.............

I played FS2 on Insane. The Colossus is weak.

The ships were designed with important roles in mind. That the campaign was created without taking those roles into account isn't the fault of the ship.
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Offline Mars

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That's true, the Atens were designed to protect convoys, however, they fail miserabley even to do that.

 

Offline Taristin

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I believe that there was meant to be several Aten in each convoy (several being 5 to 7) and a **** load of Anubis and a few Seth/Horus, etc in escort. In a situation as such, you in an unshielded Apollo or Valkyrie with a few wingmates would be hard pressed to destroy the convoy.

More so back then than in the FS2 universe, no ship was meant to perform every role by itself. No ships were meant to be protect all vessels. There was supposed to be some sort of cooperation between fighters and capships.

FS2 just threw all that out the window with the Deimos and Sobek, though.
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Offline Mars

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Makes sense, that is of course assuming that the Aten is cheaper than other cruisers, but I've heard a lot less beliveable statments.

 

Offline Prophet

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Ok. Get things in to perspective here. Aten has only 6 turrets, thats an obvious limitation. But it still is a decent light cruiser. It was designed in the dark ages before FS1 and we have no idea about the standarts of those times. But we know that the design was already seasoned in FS1. When you take in to account the lack of shileding fighters had, even one turret is enought to cause damage (wich is generally considered undesireable in combat). And while it is true that a lone aten causes little trouble to a human pilot, even without shields, isn't this also the case with terran cruisers? Minor inconvenience, be it aten or fenris.

The aten is without a doubt hoplessly inferiour design at the time of FS2. After the fighters became shileded, fighters gained superiority over any cruiser, this you cannot deny. But before shield technology, aten was a formidable ship, that presumably could be produced and deployed in great numbers. This is the most important thing to remember here... Aten is ****ing old! But when it was young, it presumably was wery much able to kick ass.

See what i'm talking about?
I'm not saying anything. I did not say anything then and I'm not saying anything now. -Dukath
I am not breaking radio silence just cos' you lot got spooked by a dead flying ****ing cow. -Sergeant Harry Wells/Dog Soldiers


Prophet is walking in the deep dark places of the earth...

 

Offline Taristin

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Makes sense, that is of course assuming that the Aten is cheaper than other cruisers, but I've heard a lot less beliveable statments.

Well, there is what Prophet said above, and there's also the commonly held belief that the Vasudans did build cheap swarm craft (such as the Anubis) in conjunction with superior heavy assault/intercept ships, such as the Seth and Horus respectively. In such cases, it wouldn't be terribly far fetched to say that the Aten was the capship equivalent to an Anubis. If situations were ever dire enough that a squad of fighters and a few aten couldn't protect a convoy, a Typhon would be deployed. And in such situations, Terran pilots would **** the proverbial brick. (Remember that the Typhon was the pinnacle of Vasudan engineering when it was launched.)
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Offline Roanoke

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And the Typhon tech decsription tells of how a single Typhon decimiated an entire terran fleet in their first encounter.

 

Offline Eishtmo

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And the Typhon tech decsription tells of how a single Typhon decimiated an entire terran fleet in their first encounter.

Actually, it doesn't quite say that.

Quote
When the first one was sighted at the Vega Engagement, it was laughed at by our technicians as a foolish display of non utilitarian design. The subsequent destruction of the GTD Eisenhower and the total decimation of the 4th fleet changed their minds very quickly.

It never says the Typhon did it alone, but it certianly led the charge.  That and we don't know the exact nature of the Vega Engagement.  It could have been a series of traps, surprise attacks or just sheer numbers that won the day.
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Offline Roanoke

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suffice to say the Typhon kicked ass.

 

Offline Taristin

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Terran lovers will always say that there were traps and heavy bombardments. Vasudan lovers will say that a typhon did it almost single handedly.

Of course, Im on the side of the Typhon >..>;;
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Offline Eishtmo

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I see no reason why it can't be both.  After all, traps mean you were smarter than the stupid Terrans, and heavy bombardments meant you were smart enough to bring enough bombs.

It's all in how you look at it.
Warpstorm  Bringing Disorder to Chaos, And Eventually We'll Get It Right.

---------

I know there is a method, but all I see is madness.

 

Offline Taristin

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Ill concede that point.
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Offline Mad Bomber

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It never says the Typhon did it alone, but it certianly led the charge.  That and we don't know the exact nature of the Vega Engagement.  It could have been a series of traps, surprise attacks or just sheer numbers that won the day.

Here's what I wrote on the Vega Engagement. Certainly not canon, but what the hey.
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Offline Eishtmo

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Guest viewing is off for that forum.
Warpstorm  Bringing Disorder to Chaos, And Eventually We'll Get It Right.

---------

I know there is a method, but all I see is madness.

 

Offline Mad Bomber

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Well then, take this! (paste)

The Vega Engagement

Event Date: April 9, 2332
Outcome: Decisive Vasudan victory

The Vega Engagement is the most widely-recognized name of the Third Battle of Vega, and is widely regarded as one of the most botched campaigns the GTA ever attempted to mount (save for the ill-fated Operation Midway). It is also the first recorded battle in which a PVD Typhon-class destroyer participated.


Prelude to Invasion

Though the GTA 3rd Fleet had briefly succeeded in attacking Vega in the autumn of 2331 during Operation Cardinal Spear, the loss of the jump nodes to and from the Talnia system forced the 3rd Fleet to retreat to Beta Aquilae to avoid being cut off from supplies.

It should be noted that the 3rd Fleet did leave a Karnak-class orbital facility around Vega II in ruins, which Vasudan subterfuge had led them to believe was a major shipyard facility. It was in fact an ore processing facility, not a shipyard in and of itself.

GTA Command found this out in November of 2331 with the capture of the Aten-class PVC Djulran, which had been built at a shipyard orbiting the third moon of Vega V. Upon learning that the Vasudans still had a viable shipyard so close to Terran space, the GTA Security Council and the Admiralty drew up Operations Dao and Jian for the invasion of Vega.


Operation Dao

Operation Dao came first. Its objective was to mislead the Vasudans about the Terran fleet's disposition and intentions.

The 3rd and 4th Fleets both entered Vega, but while the 4th (led by the GTD Eisenhower) moved to the system's outer fringes to await the order to attack, the 3rd (led by the GTD Agamemnon) had to do the duty of two fleets at once, in order to keep the Vasudans confused.

The first few raids went well, but the Vasudans began to catch on to the Terran subterfuge. Eventually, a Vasudan pilot crashed his explosives-laden Amun-class bomber into the side of the Agamemnon, decompressing an entire section of the ship and leaving a rather large hole that the Terrans' vigorous attack plans would not let them repair.

The Vasudans knew there were two fleets in system by the number of supplies coming through the Beta Aquilae node. But they were apparently only engaging one of them, rather than the two they originally thought they had been. They brought in the Typhon-class PVD Victory from Deneb, completed only a month before at the orbital shipyards in Vasuda and equipped with the newest and deadliest fighters, bombers, and weaponry.


Arrogance and Disaster

Admiral Bryant, commander of the Eisenhower, nearly laughed himself out of his chair at the Vasudans' new destroyer design. In his words (recovered from black box recordings) "...it looks more like a fragile sculpture than a warship." Thinking it was a minimal threat to the Eisenhower and its fleet, Bryant gave the order to commence Operation Jian.

Almost immediately upon the Eisenhower entering range of the Vasudan shipyards, the Victory jumped in at close range, emptying a fusillade of weaponry at the bewildered Terrans and taking comparably low damage from the Eisenhower's guns. Bombers and fighters streamed out of the Victory and pummeled cruiser after cruiser into oblivion.

The Agamemnon quickly got wind of its sister ship's predicament and, leading the 3rd Fleet, jumped in to rescue the 4th. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Eisenhower, which was completely obliterated by Vasudan bombers shortly afterwards, along with its foolhardy Admiral Bryant.

The Agamemnon attempted to lead a retreat away from the area, but its engine was damaged as it entered subspace and it emerged, disabled, about 8000 kilometers away from the battle. Several Terran cruisers followed the Agamemnon in an effort to defend it, but the Vasudans quickly deciphered their transmissions and followed them.


Gallantry and Retreat

Despite receiving heavy damage, the Leviathan-class GTC Foundation managed to fight off several waves of Vasudan fighters and bombers, with the help of the tattered remnants of the ill-fated GTD Eisenhower's fighter complement. This gallant defense gave the crippled GTD Agamemnon time to repair its fighterbay and subspace drive, and rally the scattered survivors of the 3rd and 4th Fleets.

The GTC's Foundation and Camisard then assisted a hodge-podge strike force from the Agamemnon in counterattacking the PVD Victory, in hopes that it would be delayed and unable to pursue them. The strike was a partial success, as it deprived the Victory of a significant portion of its fighter force, but did not inflict significant damage to the Victory, as at the time no one in the GTA knew of any critical weaknesses in the Typhon-class design.

The Agamemnon and the remnants of the 3rd and 4th Fleets were forced to fight their way past a sizable Vasudan blockade to escape to Terran space. The GTC Foundation was instrumental in holding off the PVD Victory's pursuit, going so far as to park itself directly in the Victory's path.

The Foundation ended up being physically towed out of the way, allowing the Victory to catch up to the damaged Agamemnon in Beta Aquilae. The near-dead Foundation dogged the Victory anyway.


The Khendu Incident

As it turned out, the Victory's CO, Admiral Khendu, disobeyed direct orders from both the Vasudan Military Directorate, and the Parliament itself, in order to pursue the Agamemnon into Beta Aquilae. He had then neglected to inform his crew of the matter and had ordered radio silence.

The GTC Foundation (as well as a pair of fighters it housed on external docking collars) ended up working alongside a set of Vasudan deep operatives from N'airaskh to deliver the true orders to the Victory's crew, and capture Admiral Khendu. As such the Foundation and its crew were temporarily branded as traitors to the GTA and were forced to fight for their lives alongside the elite N'airaskh cruiser and fighters.

Khendu was subdued by members of his bridge crew, upon their hearing of his deception, and the Victory immediately recalled all fighters and headed back to Vega. The Vasudan operatives escorted them home.

This happened just in time to save the GTD Agamemnon from destruction. The Foundation's traitor status was revoked, and the Agamemnon limped back to an Alshain orbital facility for extensive repairs, with the Foundation escorting it.


Aftermath

The Vega Engagement was one of the last major battles of the T-V War, setting up a three-year-long period of attrition and overall static boundaries, with Vega, Sirius, and Antares contested. Almost everything to one side or the other of those systems remained under the reasonably firm control of GTA or PVN forces (with the exception of raiding parties, usually on the part of the Vasudans).



I gave a nod to Ace's Cardinal Spear campaigns by mentioning the Agamemnon. The Foundation will be making several major appearances in my campaign, ETF. And of course Cordova Sr. is its captain. 8)

A
djulran is a type of demon from Vasudan mythology. It had the head of a monstrous carnivore (complete with menacing, pointy teeth), and the overall body structure of a particularly muscular Vasudan male, but with an apsu-hek scale carapace and long bone claws. Djulrakh were known for their love of tearing their foes' limbs off one by one and eating them, so naming a cruiser after a djulran is clearly meant to inspire fear.

"Jian" is the Chinese word for a type of straight sword, while a "dao" is a type of curved sword. Given this, you can see why Terran Command thought it would make sense to name their operations this -- Operation Dao to do a curved, roundabout path to distract the Zods, and Operation Jian to go straight for the Shipyard when they least expected it.

One other thing: You might be wondering why the PVN decided to go easy on the GTA and let the Agamemnon and Foundation live. They were going to call for a week-long cease-fire so that the Terrans could have time to accept the terms of surrender. Naturally, the GTA refused.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2006, 12:30:04 am by Mad Bomber »
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Offline Sarafan

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Extremely well done story!  :yes: :yes: :yes: Tell me you have more of this, please!

 

Offline Mad Bomber

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Of course. I've got a whole slew of similar Tech Entries. They're viewable via the link in my sig. :)

Tis unfortunate that guest reading on SG isn't allowed. But it's not like there's a registration fee or anything.
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Offline Mefustae

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I don't suppose you'd mind if I were to use that version of history in a campaign of my own? Only as a brief retelling by a rather history-obsessed SOC pilot during a mission, not as a campaign itself of course.