Battle of Theta Iota:
Terran Alliance Forces: 5 Combat Squadrons (a total of 32 ships – mostly the newer Nexus class Missile Cruisers along with a handful of Nova Missile Cruisers and Longbow Heavy Fighters) – of which only Ranger & Wolf Squadrons actually engaged the enemy (6 Nexus Cruisers each).
Drengin Empire Forces: 2 Killer Fleets (a total of 12 ships, consisting mostly of the M-5 Thra’kath Battle Frigates, armed with 2 Kra’tak missile launchers each and protected by advanced Barrier Shields)…which was a part of the Hunter-Killer First Group that had decimated the technologically inferior Torian Battle Fleets in the beginning of the war.
Outcome: Major Allied Victory
Casualties: The Drengin lost all 12 ships and more than 700 personnel. The Alliance lost 5 ships and 2 more were damaged. Almost 200 personnel lost their lives in this battle.
The T.A.S. Courageous facing off against the Drengin Battle Frigates and Escorts
Analysis: The Drengin Commander, on realization that he had walked into a trap, decided to spring a surprise of his own. He sent one of his Killer Fleets to the left, to flank the approaching Wolf Squadron at an oblique angle, hoping to surprise the Alliance with this bold move and earn enough time to launch a first strike. The plan worked and the Drengin ships launched their missiles first, destroying one of the Nexus cruisers and damaging another. That was when things started going wrong for them.
The original strike did not do as much damage as hoped and the Allied ships replied with a withering missile salvo of their own. As the battle progressed and the Drengin Commander moved his main Killer Fleet to attack the already engaged Wolf squadron from the flanks, disaster struck. Commander Alex Gordon, in a bold move, moved his Ranger Squadron out of formation and attacked from the right flank. The initial missile salvo destroyed one-thirds of the Drengin ships and stopped them from launching their attack on the beleaguered Wolf Squadron. The battle soon turned into a deadly melee, as ships weaved to evade incoming fire, while streams of deadly Harpoon missiles, their exhausts glowing brightly against the darkness of space and exploding vessels lit up the darkness of space.
The Drengin force, though surprised, was still formidable and a total of 5 Alliance Cruisers were destroyed and a few others damaged, before their last ship succumbed to the punishing Terran missile bombardment.
Aftermath: Although the Alliance suffered significant losses in this battle, it was a great victory for them. This was the first time ever that any race had managed to defeat and demolish Drengin Killer Fleets and the first to do so despite having the same number of ships (the Torian fleets had been no match for any of these fleets and the Altairians too had taken casualties). The battle showed that, at last, the Alliance had become a military force to reckon with and its ships were no pushovers. The Torians took this opportunity to declare war on the Drengin again…with the Altairians coming to their aid once again.
A few months later, Allied scientists came up with a new and very destructive weapon – the Photonic Torpedo. Using a super-condensed concentration of FTL Photonic particles, this warhead could inflict terrible damage on an enemy ship. Not to be outdone, Polaris, Orion and SpaceTech Industries submitted their plans for 3 radical new ships, which would serve to revolutionize the Allied Navy and form the backbone of the new and powerful Terran Starfleet for many years to come.
The first was the modified Nexus Torpedo Cruiser. Having the same specifications as the original Nexus (though a 100 feet longer), the only difference was that 3 Cydonis Photonic Torpedo Launchers replaced the 3 Harpoon AMS Launchers, thereby seriously enhancing the Nexus’s firepower. Alliance Command embarked on a massive modernization program to upgrade as many Novas and older Nexuses as possible.
The second ship was the Warhammer class Battleship. More than 2,200 feet long (almost twice as large as the Nexus), this monster was armed with 5 Photonic Torpedo launchers, had a crew of 100 souls, advanced sensors and was as fast as any other Alliance ship, other than the new Enterprise-NX1 class scout ships.
The third and most revolutionary ship was the Enterprise-NX1 class Advanced Exploration Cruiser. Equipped with 3 Novaris Warp Drives, the NX-1 could move at speeds of upto LH 12 (easily one of the fastest ships in the known universe), had highly advanced sensors (2 Survey Suites and 1 Sensor Array), which enabled it to detect ships upto 7 parsecs away (as compared to the 2-3 parsec detection range of most other ships) and had a range greater than any other Alliance ship.
This ship was conceptualized as a part of the new tactical doctrine that had been drawn up by Alliance Command. In any attack the NX-1s would use their superior speed and range to go into enemy territory and record all enemy movements. This information would be transmitted to the main Alliance Battle Force, which would then re-deploy its ships for maximum effect. It was theorized that these NX-1 (as had been the case of the centuries old AWACS planes) would make it virtually impossible for enemy fleets to sneak up on the Allied forces and give Starfleet the edge in any conflict.
The T.A.S. Enterprise was upgraded to this version and immediately re-deployed back into Drengin space to monitor events. Alliance Command was sure that with its new sensors and enhanced speed, the Enterprise would be able to outrun any pursuers. The T.A.S. Terra, which was tracking an Arcean Battle Fleet in the Dark Yor system, was similarly upgraded and more ships were constructed in the Scottlingas II shipyards.
Terran Alliance Forces: 5 Combat Squadrons (a total of 32 ships – mostly the newer Nexus class Missile Cruisers along with a handful of Nova Missile Cruisers and Longbow Heavy Fighters) – of which only Ranger & Wolf Squadrons actually engaged the enemy (6 Nexus Cruisers each).
Drengin Empire Forces: 2 Killer Fleets (a total of 12 ships, consisting mostly of the M-5 Thra’kath Battle Frigates, armed with 2 Kra’tak missile launchers each and protected by advanced Barrier Shields)…which was a part of the Hunter-Killer First Group that had decimated the technologically inferior Torian Battle Fleets in the beginning of the war.
Outcome: Major Allied Victory
Casualties: The Drengin lost all 12 ships and more than 700 personnel. The Alliance lost 5 ships and 2 more were damaged. Almost 200 personnel lost their lives in this battle.
The T.A.S. Courageous facing off against the Drengin Battle Frigates and Escorts
Analysis: The Drengin Commander, on realization that he had walked into a trap, decided to spring a surprise of his own. He sent one of his Killer Fleets to the left, to flank the approaching Wolf Squadron at an oblique angle, hoping to surprise the Alliance with this bold move and earn enough time to launch a first strike. The plan worked and the Drengin ships launched their missiles first, destroying one of the Nexus cruisers and damaging another. That was when things started going wrong for them.
The original strike did not do as much damage as hoped and the Allied ships replied with a withering missile salvo of their own. As the battle progressed and the Drengin Commander moved his main Killer Fleet to attack the already engaged Wolf squadron from the flanks, disaster struck. Commander Alex Gordon, in a bold move, moved his Ranger Squadron out of formation and attacked from the right flank. The initial missile salvo destroyed one-thirds of the Drengin ships and stopped them from launching their attack on the beleaguered Wolf Squadron. The battle soon turned into a deadly melee, as ships weaved to evade incoming fire, while streams of deadly Harpoon missiles, their exhausts glowing brightly against the darkness of space and exploding vessels lit up the darkness of space.
The Drengin force, though surprised, was still formidable and a total of 5 Alliance Cruisers were destroyed and a few others damaged, before their last ship succumbed to the punishing Terran missile bombardment.
Aftermath: Although the Alliance suffered significant losses in this battle, it was a great victory for them. This was the first time ever that any race had managed to defeat and demolish Drengin Killer Fleets and the first to do so despite having the same number of ships (the Torian fleets had been no match for any of these fleets and the Altairians too had taken casualties). The battle showed that, at last, the Alliance had become a military force to reckon with and its ships were no pushovers. The Torians took this opportunity to declare war on the Drengin again…with the Altairians coming to their aid once again.
A few months later, Allied scientists came up with a new and very destructive weapon – the Photonic Torpedo. Using a super-condensed concentration of FTL Photonic particles, this warhead could inflict terrible damage on an enemy ship. Not to be outdone, Polaris, Orion and SpaceTech Industries submitted their plans for 3 radical new ships, which would serve to revolutionize the Allied Navy and form the backbone of the new and powerful Terran Starfleet for many years to come.
The first was the modified Nexus Torpedo Cruiser. Having the same specifications as the original Nexus (though a 100 feet longer), the only difference was that 3 Cydonis Photonic Torpedo Launchers replaced the 3 Harpoon AMS Launchers, thereby seriously enhancing the Nexus’s firepower. Alliance Command embarked on a massive modernization program to upgrade as many Novas and older Nexuses as possible.
The second ship was the Warhammer class Battleship. More than 2,200 feet long (almost twice as large as the Nexus), this monster was armed with 5 Photonic Torpedo launchers, had a crew of 100 souls, advanced sensors and was as fast as any other Alliance ship, other than the new Enterprise-NX1 class scout ships.
The third and most revolutionary ship was the Enterprise-NX1 class Advanced Exploration Cruiser. Equipped with 3 Novaris Warp Drives, the NX-1 could move at speeds of upto LH 12 (easily one of the fastest ships in the known universe), had highly advanced sensors (2 Survey Suites and 1 Sensor Array), which enabled it to detect ships upto 7 parsecs away (as compared to the 2-3 parsec detection range of most other ships) and had a range greater than any other Alliance ship.
This ship was conceptualized as a part of the new tactical doctrine that had been drawn up by Alliance Command. In any attack the NX-1s would use their superior speed and range to go into enemy territory and record all enemy movements. This information would be transmitted to the main Alliance Battle Force, which would then re-deploy its ships for maximum effect. It was theorized that these NX-1 (as had been the case of the centuries old AWACS planes) would make it virtually impossible for enemy fleets to sneak up on the Allied forces and give Starfleet the edge in any conflict.
The T.A.S. Enterprise was upgraded to this version and immediately re-deployed back into Drengin space to monitor events. Alliance Command was sure that with its new sensors and enhanced speed, the Enterprise would be able to outrun any pursuers. The T.A.S. Terra, which was tracking an Arcean Battle Fleet in the Dark Yor system, was similarly upgraded and more ships were constructed in the Scottlingas II shipyards.
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