Dramatic SFB: Territorial Marking Fleet Y175 T7 Ready to advance

[Boyd Steere]

*Lyran Front:*



*Convoy Raid #564  *

After incoming warp field signatures matching Lyran waveforms were picked
up by a deep space listening post, Cheeth-Sub-Admiral dispatched a task
force to intercept the hostiles and defend shipping in that border sector.
Unfortunately, the site of trouble was so remote, and the threatening ships
so near, that only our destroyers had the strategic speed to reach the area
in time to organize and protect a convoy.



These are the *ancient enemies.  *Of course, we sent every destroyer we had.



Three Lyran war destroyers accompanied by a war cruiser-scout pounced from
the black.  They sprinted towards the convoy as if it were a herd of prey
beasts, warp nacelles glowing with radiated heat.  Five defending Kzinti
destroyers, including a scout, were ordered to General Quarters by the
commodore on the war destroyer leader *Pursues Movement.  *Both fleets were
at Weapon Status III - but the Kzinti were accelerating from a sluggish
speed 6 from their station alongside the ungainly freighters, while the
Lyrans streaked down upon them at speed 30.



[In the compact bridge of the war destroyer leader *Pursues Movement*, the
Kzinti command crew crouch in a low, red light, their pupils dilated, faces
illuminated from below by monochrome displays]



SENSOR OFFICER: Conn sensors, contacts Serval One and Alley Cats Two,
Three, and Four at 20 standard distance units bearing just off our bow,
closing at max speed.



COMMS OFFICER: Freighters report breaking off as ordered, Speed 9.



COMMODORE: All ships: scatterpacks launch!  Helm, Speed 10 until we recover
the empty shuttles, then accelerate to 16.  Keep us between the enemy and
the freighters.



HELM OFFICER:  Course laid in.  But they’re triple our velocity, sir,
they’ll flank -



COMMODORE: Drones launch.



WEAPONS OFFICER: [Perking ears, paws hovering over arrays of illuminated
keys] Conn weps, confirmation: how many, from which ships, sir?



COMMODORE: [Roars, gouging claws in the metal of his chair] *All of them!!*



Tactical displays bloomed with a dozen drone tracks radiating out from the
Kzinti ships, then two dozen.  The Lyrans banked to course D, laying
T-bombs to one side and cutting behind them, taking out 9 drones from the
seeking cloud.  Waveguides crackled with the Lyran scout cruiser’s breaking
lock-ons for half a dozen more seekers, but the scatterpack shuttles
resisted its jamming and blossomed to add another 25 drones to be followed
in towards their targets by the accelerating Kzinti destroyers.  The lead
Lyran ship, war destroyer *Fang*, activated an ESG to counter incoming
drones, but one of them burst as a multi-warhead just before impact,
consuming most of the field’s strength.

As the Lyrans sweep around the Kzinti into direction E, the freighters
madly zig-zagged in directions F and A to evade as they built up speed.
The Kzinti warships managed to keep themselves interposed between the
faster Lyran pursuers and their prey, heading C and D towards intercept,
until the distance closed to 10-15 hexes by mid-turn.  With 30 drones in
space and Kzinti racks ready to fire more, as well as 7 ESG’s still charged
and ready to activate, the two sides were impulses away from mayhem that
would cost both sides far more than the freighter cargoes were worth.

SENSOR OFFICER: Conn sensors, contacts are turning to course D. They’ve . .
. disengaged into high warp!

COMMS OFFICER: Lyrans are broadcasting – that they’ve completed their recon
patrol of *their* territory.

COMMODORE: [Smiles toothily] Comms, send them our fondest wishes for a
dangerous journey home and that we’re looking forward to the next visit
from our ancient enemies.

COMMS OFFICER: Aye, sir.

COMMODORE: [Considers, licking his paw] And tell the freighters to get back
into convoy formation at once.  This won’t be the last we see of those
ships.

*(Encounter resolved.  Territorial Marking Fleet victory by Lyran
disengagement)*
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