Part 29: Clearing the Path, Sirius System, Sol Sector (Story)
28th December 2668, Sirius System, Sol SectorEpisode 4, Mission 1 - Clearing the Path
The Firekka launches fighters to knock out Kilrathi forces guarding the approaches to a Hakaga supercarrier.
Pre-mission cutscenes:
Apparently now it's personal for Trigger. Because he wasn't aggressive enough before.
Cutscene Video (Youtube)
: Captain?
: Trigger? You seem a bit quieter than usual today.: Just thinking of ways to get back at the bastards, Sir. : Until Warsaw, I only fought them because it's my job. But now, I really want their blood.: I hear that, man. What they did in Warsaw...: Don't worry though, they'll pay. Today's the day, Lieutenant. We're going to go and wipe out a nice big chunk of their fleet.: Just what I wanted to hear. 
Four e-mails this time, including the flight deck update. Firstly, Reismann has his now traditional start-of-episode grudging praise (if you're on the losing path he shouts at you instead).
IES Message - Received at 1605 hours GST on 2668.363 posted:
From: Commodore Hans Reismann (TCN, TCS Firekka)
To: Capt. William Bradshaw (TCSF, TCS Firekka)
Subject: Situation in Sirius
Captain,
Looks like we finally get to fight today. I don't know if it's possible for our fleet to stop the Kilrathi here in Sirius. We may still end up retreating further, all the way back to Sol. Be that as it may, however, it is our duty to inflict as much damage on the cats as possible - right here, right now.
You and your pilots had best be prepared for a very hard day. Right off the bat, we'll be launching a concentrated attack on the enemy fleet. Your wing's role in the attack will be to punch a hole through the enemy escort screen, and then to support the main assault.
The Firekka's fighter wing has managed to achieve an exemplary level of battle-readiness. Time and again, we've proven pilots from Gemini are just as good as any Confederation officers, if not better. I expect to see the same today - you show the fleet how we deal with cats in Gemini!
Reismann
We've got an intelligence update on the two new types of Kilrathi captial ship we can expect to run into in this Episode, including, of course, the massive Hakaga supercarriers:
IES Message - Received at 1620 hours GST on 2668.363 posted:
From: Lt. Col. Wesley Denisof (TCIS Sector Command, Sol Station)
To: All Personnel, Confed Armed Forces
Subject: Intel Report: Enemy capships
The following is a compilation of all known and relevant information regarding the new Kilrathi Hakaga-class "supercarriers". Also included is an update about the new class of enemy frigates.
Hakaga: at least five ships of this class have been spotted in Warsaw. These ships are clearly the core of the enemy strike force. If all five Hakaga carriers were significantly damaged or destroyed, it is believed the enemy would be forced to retreat.
Armament: at least 300 fighters. At least 30 heavy double-barrel turrets, including lasers, particle guns, and flak cannons. Presumably, the ship also carries a wide array of point-defense weaponry.
Damage capacity: extremely high. The ship most likely can take at least 3 direct torpedo hits without any significant loss of fighting ability. It is expected that 6 torpedoes would inflict significant damage (assuming all 6 torpedoes hit critical sections of the hull), but it most likely still won't be sufficient to completely disable the vessel. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that, if some of the torpedoes hit less sensitive portions of the hull, a ship of this class may endure as many as 12 torpedo hits.
Targu II: ships of this class had first been detected prior to the truce, but it is only as a part of the Hakaga fleet that they have appeared in large quantities. These new frigates appear to be based on a heavy bulk freighter design, most likely the Jakhari-class. Because of this, these ships are nowhere near as well shielded as a vessel of this size ordinarily would. In combat, their main role is to act as mobile defensive gun emplacements.
Armament: at least 10 heavy double-barrel turrets - a mixture of lasers and flak cannons. They do not appear to carry fighters.
Damage capacity: low. Only a single torpedo impact should be required to knock the ship out of action. However, the ship's strong turret defenses permit it to survive simply by shooting down incoming torpedoes. For this reason, approach angles must be chosen very carefully.
Lt. Col. Wesley Denisof, TCIS
Not entirely sure why they felt the need to send that message to the janitors on Caernarvon Station ("All Personnel, Confed Armed Forces") but if you must...
Thirdly,
Apparently an escort carrier ran into something in the Weslyn system. Says here it was the TCS Firek- waaaaaait a minute. We didn't see any of those. Cougar, have you been sending out contact reports while drunk again?
IES Message - Received at 1735 hours GST on 2668.363 posted:
From: Maj. Karl von Gombrowitz-Emden (TCIS Sector Command, Sol Station)
To: <unlisted>
Subject: Intel Addendum: Shok'lar Stealth Fighters
The TCS Firekka has reported sightings of a new class of Kilrathi stealth fighter (presumed to be the Shok'lar-class) in the Weslyn System. This is not the first sighting for these ships, although it is the first time Confed fighters have been able to engage the Shok'lar in combat. As it is highly probable these ships are also carried in the Hakaga strike force, it is recommended that all squadron commanders brief their pilots about these vessels.
Externally, the ship is remarkably similar to the Salthi-class light fighter - indeed, it is built around the same frame.
In terms of performance, we still know very little about the Shok'lar. Apart from the cloaking device, its second biggest asset is its speed - the Shok'lar can fly at approximately 700KPS without the use of afterburners, and its top speed with afterburners is around 1900KPS. However, its manoeuvrability is fairly unimpressive for a light fighter - it appears to be only slightly more manoeuvrable than the Drakhri.
The ship's gun loadout consists of two lasers and two mass driver cannons. Nothing is currently known about its missile loadout or its shields and armor.
Any further sightings of the Shok'lar should be immediately reported to TCIS, along with flight recorder data and gun camera footage.
Maj. Karl von Gombrowitz-Emden, TCIS
OK, this is a broadly accurate description of something that happens in the Episode 3 losing path missions, there's a couple of encounters with these Stealths. If you guys really desperately want to see them I could throw together a bonus video, though you won't get it for a while. As far as I knew this encounter didn't actually happen on the winning path - certainly nobody talks about it - as instead the Kilrathi cruiser in the system declines to engage the Firekka and the Hood which have it outnumbered and outgunned. So it being mentioned as something the Firekka did is a bit confusing, but there you go. This mail only appears if you didn't fight the Shok'lars in Weslyn in Episode 3; I do wonder if that's a bug and it's supposed to appear only if you did.
Finally, there's the flight deck update. Even Chief Henderson hates the Gladius (probably because I always bring them back wrecked):
IES Message - Received at 2005 hours GST on 2668.363 posted:
From: Chief Petty Officer Jean Henderson (TCN, TCS Firekka)
To: Capt. William Bradshaw (TCSF, TCS Firekka)
Subject: Latest flight deck status
Hey, Captain B.
My crews have finished prepping all those new fighters we've received. Finally, some real bombers - you better not lose them right away! By the way, we had to offload a few Stilettos and most of the remaining Gladii to make space for the additional heavies, but I'm sure nobody will be shedding any tears over that. So, here's what you got now:
Rapiers: 18
Sabres: 12
Crossbows: 6
Stilettos: 10
Gladii: 11
Jean
Next time on Standoff:
They have HOW many capital ships?
Actually, there's something for you guys to guess at so that I get a new page for the new episode. Including corvettes, how many Kilrathi capital ships feature in the next mission? As a clue, the objectives are "Destroy as many corvettes as possible", "Destroy as many frigates as possible" and "Destroy as many destroyers as possible". Mission update may appear tomorrow but is more likely the day after.