While the Malagrotta War and its immediate aftermath had occupied the attention of most of the Inner Sphere, a second conflict in the Periphery was ongoing that threatened to drag two of the Great Houses into open war. The Rim Worlds Republic had been facing escalating civil unrest since 2573, leading to an open revolt on the Rim capital world of Apollo in 2576 which resulted in the death of Gregory Amaris and the fall of the world to the rebels. With the ruling government fractured and temporarily leaderless, much of the Rim Worlds fell to the Rebel Rim Provisional Government before Admiral Hakim Wikiba, commander of the Rim Worlds Fleet, was able to rally loyal (or reasonably loyal) forces around himself and his puppet Richard Amaris.
By 2580, the war had largely stalemated. While the Rim Provisional Government and their Rift Republican Army held Apollo itself (by the barest margins), their strongest grasp was over worlds rimward of Port Veil, while Amaris loyalist forces held the coreward regions, and used their significant naval advantage to keep Apollo itself under continuous blockade, though the small force wasn't able to completely keep out a steady stream of blockade runners which brought supplies in and news out.
The flow of information was of particular use to the Lyran Commonwealth. Their news service could daily bring forth news of new atrocities of being committed by the Rim Worlds Government against its own population, all carefully curated to fan the flames of outrage against a barbaric periphery government, and the fears that if they were allowed to linger, they could threaten Lyran Worlds and Lyran people, just as the Taurians were now threatening Capellan and Davion worlds.
In the end, Viola Steiner had to "reluctantly" approve a peace keeping mission following tremendous pressure from both the public and the Estates General. The force was assembled in record time, and a convoy of four regimental battlegroups, escorted by three light cruisers, arrived over Apollo in April.
But the Commonwealth wasn't the only power looking to intervene in the Rim Civil War. House Amaris held dual citizenship with Terran Hegemony, and for almost a decade now, Terran military, industrial, and technical advisors had been operating in the Republic in large numbers. The promotion of Terran born specialists over native born citizens was even one of the many many grievances that had led to the civil war in the first place, and elements of the Rift Republican Army had openly targeted foreigners, such as at the military base at Camp Cameron. More importantly, with his diplomatic failures during the Third Andurien War and the refusal of the Capellans and Davions to form a joint coalition against the Taurian Concordat, the Amaris regime was in many respects the last fragment of Director General Ian Cameron's dream of a grand sphere wide alliance, and he was not prepared to give that up.
Thus while the Lyrans moved to secure Apollo, a Hegemony convoy was also moving through the Rim Worlds, having taken a long diversion through Free Worlds League territory to get there. The Lyrans knew about this expedition, as the Hegemony had approached them for permission to move through Lyran space first, but they were unaware that the transports for this fleet were entirely WarShips, heavily loaded with weapons to resupply Admiral Wikiba's forces, and that they had been given free rein to operate alongside the "legitimate" government of the Rim Worlds Republic and use whatever means necessary to complete their very broadly defined mission.
If either state had been aware of the other's intentions, things might have been different, but these forces were now on a collision course, and their superiors were very very far away.
Vampire class DestroyerIntended to command flotillas of Pinto class corvettes, the Vampire is currently the largest design being built by the Rim Worlds Republic. Though billed as a sleek, modern design, the Vampire is actually based heavily on the Terran Hegemony's unrealized V class destroyer, a very early WarShip design passed over in favor of the Essex. Though the hull design is arguably ancient, the Vampire has been heavily adapted to better match the capabilities of the fast corvettes it was intended to work with, mounting a much enlarged high power propulsion system, as well as the heavy point defense and close range anti-fighter batteries of the Pinto. Heavy weapons are mostly unchanged from the original V class specification, save for replacing the triple tube white shark mounts for quintuple mounts using the smaller, but more accurate barracuda missile. Though offered for export, the Rim Worlds Republic could find no takers competing against the Taurian built Concordat, and as such the only Vampires built operated with the Rim Worlds Fleet. At the time of the Apollo crisis, only a single Vampire class ship existed in an operable state, operating alongside Admiral Wikiba's fleet. Two other ships, crippled by sabotage, remained in reserve, functionally serving as parts stockpiles for the sole functioning example.
Commonwealth class Cruiser (2580 upgrade)Though the other two WarShips in the Commonwealth Peacekeeping Fleet were standard Commonwealth class cruisers, the flagship
Elrich Steiner was the lead ship of a brand new production run, primarily featuring improved armor protection and a modernized point defense grid, as well as small general refinements to the overall design that would make it easier to produce and operate. These new cruisers were intended to be the backbone of the rapidly expanding Lyran navy, and the Apollo Crisis would be their first trial by fire.
Vincent Mark 37A class CorvetteAdmiral Jannissa Franklin's audits of the Terran Hegemony's navy cast considerable doubts on the viability of the humble Vincent to operate effectively in a modern battlefield, and for that matter, the value of retaining the Vincent in service at all, with the Hegemony fielding larger and more capable destroyers in numbers that already dwarfed the entire fleets of multiple neighboring states simultaneously. With the rapidly accelerating arms race around the Hegemony killing any plans of cutbacks to the Hegemony fleet, the Vincent wasn't in any immediate danger of being taken out of service, but it was clear that the class at least needed an update to its capabilities, but at the same time, the admiralty wanted those updates quickly and cheaply.
The result of those efforts was the Mark 37A variant, which saw armor protection more than doubled to bring the ship closer in line with modern trends. In order to enhance the ship's bite, the main guns were likewise replaced by what was rapidly becoming the Hegemony's standard weapon, the Imperator 20 cannon. Re-engineering the mounts to handle the extra recoil of the larger guns caused some delays to the program, but the "smart modularity" design of the Vincent guaranteed that once a proper solution was developed, it could be quickly adapted to existing ships throughout the fleet as quickly as new mounts could be produced. Though the first of the Mark 37A upgrades were only ready for service in 2579, within a year, as much as a third of the class in Hegemony service had already been upgraded.
Six Vincent Mark 37As made up the relief convoy sent by the Terran Hegemony into the Rim Worlds Republic, their holds filled with supplies to bolster the Amaris Loyalist forces. Though technically their orders were only to "deliver and ensure the equitable distribution of onboard relief supplies and defensive weapons", the commanders of this flotilla had been instructed by Admiral Janissa Franklin to stretch those orders however they needed to to support the Hegemony's allies in House Amaris, and they were given free authority to engage any who might obstruct that mission.
Vampire class Destroyer
Mass: 300,000 tons
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Introduced: 2566
Mass: 300,000
Battle Value: 42,793
Tech Rating/Availability: E/E-X-E-F
Cost: 5,663,614,000 C-bills
Fuel: 4,000 tons (10,000)
Safe Thrust: 5
Maximum Thrust: 8
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 8
Heat Sinks: 469
Structural Integrity: 50
Armor
Nose: 25
Fore Sides: 25/25
Aft Sides: 25/25
Aft: 25
Cargo
Bay 1: Fighter (12) 2 Doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (
2 Doors
Bay 3: Cargo (22938.0 tons) 1 Door
Ammunition:
240 rounds of NAC/10 ammunition (48 tons),
200 rounds of Barracuda ammunition (6,000 tons)
Dropship Capacity: 1
Grav Decks: 1 (80 m)
Escape Pods: 30
Life Boats: 30
Crew: 26 officers, 79 enlisted/non-rated, 48 gunners, 64 bay personnel, 20 marines
Notes: Mounts 300 tons of standard aerospace armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV Class
Nose (130 Heat)
2 Naval Autocannon (NAC/10) 60 20(200) 20(200) 20(200) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/10 Ammo (60 shots)
10 Medium Laser 70 9(90) 4(40) 0(0) 0(0) Laser
5 Large Laser
FRS/FLS (75 Heat)
2 Naval Autocannon (NAC/10) 60 20(200) 20(200) 20(200) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/10 Ammo (60 shots)
15 Small Laser 15 5(45) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
RBS/LBS (120 Heat)
5 Capital Missile Launcher (Barracuda) 50 10(100) 10(100) 10(100) 10(100) Capital Missile
Barracuda Ammo (50 shots)
10 Medium Laser 70 9(90) 4(40) 0(0) 0(0) Laser
5 Large Laser
ARS/ALS (65 Heat)
5 Capital Missile Launcher (Barracuda) 50 10(100) 10(100) 10(100) 10(100) Capital Missile
Barracuda Ammo (50 shots)
15 Small Laser 15 5(45) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
Aft (130 Heat)
2 Naval Autocannon (NAC/10) 60 20(200) 20(200) 20(200) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/10 Ammo (60 shots)
10 Medium Laser 70 9(90) 4(40) 0(0) 0(0) Laser
5 Large Laser
Vincent Corvette Mk 37A
Mass: 420,000 tons
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Introduced: 2579
Mass: 420,000
Battle Value: 31,181
Tech Rating/Availability: E/E-X-E-F
Cost: 5,409,504,000 C-bills
Fuel: 2,000 tons (5,000)
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Sail Integrity: 4
KF Drive Integrity: 10
Heat Sinks: 493
Structural Integrity: 40
Armor
Nose: 48
Fore Sides: 49/49
Aft Sides: 49/49
Aft: 48
Cargo
Bay 1: Small Craft (4) 1 Door
Bay 2: Fighter (6) 2 Doors
Bay 3: Cargo (94970.0 tons) 1 Door
Ammunition:
200 rounds of NAC/20 ammunition (80 tons),
20 rounds of Barracuda ammunition (600 tons)
Dropship Capacity: 0
Grav Decks: 1 (60 m)
Escape Pods: 8
Life Boats: 0
Crew: 28 officers, 107 enlisted/non-rated, 24 gunners, 32 bay personnel
Notes: Mounts 335 tons of ferro-carbide armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV Class
Nose (20 Heat)
2 Capital Missile Launcher (Barracuda) 20 4(40) 4(40) 4(40) 4(40) Capital Missile
Barracuda Ammo (20 shots)
FRS/FLS (76 Heat)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/20) 60 20(200) 20(200) 20(200) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/20 Ammo (50 shots)
2 Large Laser 16 2(16) 2(16) 0(0) 0(0) Laser
RBS/LBS (76 Heat)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/20) 60 20(200) 20(200) 20(200) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/20 Ammo (50 shots)
2 Large Laser 16 2(16) 2(16) 0(0) 0(0) Laser
Commonwealth Light Cruiser (2580)
Mass: 700,000 tons
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Introduced: 2580
Mass: 700,000
Battle Value: 103,947
Tech Rating/Availability: E/E-X-E-F
Cost: 11,792,751,000 C-bills
Fuel: 5,000 tons (12,500)
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 5
KF Drive Integrity: 15
Heat Sinks: 3,200
Structural Integrity: 50
Armor
Nose: 98
Fore Sides: 98/98
Aft Sides: 98/98
Aft: 98
Cargo
Bay 1: Small Craft (4) 1 Door
Bay 2: Fighter (18) 4 Doors
Bay 3: Cargo (98456.5 tons) 1 Door
Ammunition:
40 rounds of Killer Whale ammunition (2,000 tons),
400 rounds of White Shark ammunition (16,000 tons),
200 rounds of NAC/35 ammunition (200 tons)
Dropship Capacity: 6
Grav Decks: 2 (145 m, 145 m)
Escape Pods: 30
Life Boats: 35
Crew: 50 officers, 140 enlisted/non-rated, 100 gunners, 56 bay personnel, 120 marines
Notes: Mounts 697.5 tons of ferro-carbide armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV Class
Nose (428 Heat)
4 Naval Laser 55 340 22(220) 22(220) 22(220) 22(220) Capital Laser
4 Capital Missile Launcher (Killer Whale) 80 16(160) 16(160) 16(160) 16(160) Capital Missile
Killer Whale Ammo (40 shots)
8 Small Laser 8 2(24) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
FRS/FLS (454 Heat)
8 Naval Laser 35 416 28(280) 28(280) 28(280) 0(0) Capital Laser
2 Capital Missile Launcher (White Shark) 30 6(60) 6(60) 6(60) 6(60) Capital Missile
White Shark Ammo (100 shots)
8 Small Laser 8 2(24) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
RBS/LBS (928 Heat)
8 Naval Laser 55 680 44(440) 44(440) 44(440) 44(440) Capital Laser
2 Naval Autocannon (NAC/35) 240 70(700) 70(700) 0(0) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/35 Ammo (50 shots)
8 Small Laser 8 2(24) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
ARS/ALS (694 Heat)
8 Naval Laser 35 416 28(280) 28(280) 28(280) 0(0) Capital Laser
2 Naval Autocannon (NAC/35) 240 70(700) 70(700) 0(0) 0(0) Capital AC
NAC/35 Ammo (50 shots)
2 Capital Missile Launcher (White Shark) 30 6(60) 6(60) 6(60) 6(60) Capital Missile
White Shark Ammo (100 shots)
8 Small Laser 8 2(24) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
Aft (348 Heat)
4 Naval Laser 55 340 22(220) 22(220) 22(220) 22(220) Capital Laser
8 Small Laser 8 2(24) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) Point Defense
