Fleet Evolution – The growth and change of Clan Snow Raven

[marauder648]

Fleet Evolution – The growth and change of Clan Snow Raven.

By standing mostly aloof of the growing political infighting that started to boil over during the Political Century the Ravens under the leadership of Khan Ewan McCorkell were well positioned when ilKhan Corian Tchernovkov proposed a series of efforts to calm inter-Clan tensions, one of which was the NWP or New WarShip Programme.  Originally intended as little more than a thought exercise the NWP was supported by Clan Snow Raven as well as Clan Cloud Cobra, but it was less well received by other Clans who tended to view Aerospace assets as second cousins at best to OmniMech’s.
Other efforts included some technology sharing (such as recycling technology or farming equipment) but several Clans still sent Scientists to the various meetings and seminars related to the NWP. 

Perhaps more successful than ever intended, the Clans came away with several designs that would eventually be produced, all-be-it fitfully and in an uneven manner, but again here, the Ravens took the lead, perhaps fearful their naval strength would be rivalled by any major building amongst the other Clans.

This lead to the solidifying of the ‘Two Clan Standard’ by the Raven’s leadership, a very deliberate decision to maintain the naval strength to fight and defeat the next two most powerful Clans naval forces, relying on the fleet as a guarantor of their strength and security. 

To this end the Ravens would lay down and eventually complete the following ships over the period 2930 - 2968

Fredasa Class – 6 (One traded away)
Typhon Class – 5
Thebes class – 1
Bagration class – 2
Nightlord class – 1

This slow construction level was due mainly due to the way the Clans conducted ‘business’ as well as the more limited resources available in the Homeworlds and Kerensky Cluster which the Clans would in turn compete for.  But this still meant that a ship was completed roughly every two and a half years which is still a considerable feat.

Heading towards REVIVAL and Fleet Revolution I

After the execution of ilKhan Tobias Khatib the birth of the Warden and Crusader factions was simply inevitable and wisely, the Ravens didn’t choose a side, remaining ostensibly neutral in The Great Debate.  Like the Sharks, the Ravens held a position of privilege thanks to their huge naval yards which were used by all the Clans to keep their JumpShips and WarShips in service as well as serving as the main ship building slips at Lum.  This helped the Ravens remain ‘neutral’ in the Crusader/Warden divide but it did not mean they didn’t take advantage of opportunities when they saw them and indeed had ‘many irons in the fire’.  This included trade agreements with the Falcons, Bears and Wolves although the Wolves closeness to Clan Coyote kept Wolf/Raven relations cool at best.

In 3001 Clan Snow Raven launched one of the largest exercises carried out by the Clan’s military forces and was the largest movement of Raven forces since KLONDIKE.  Ninety percent of the Raven’s Naval reserve was recalled to the Lum system to take part in a two-week long exercise called ‘Fleet Evolution I’, which covered many aspects from individual vessel engagements to full on Star vs Star battles.  The final engagement between the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ forces was as near a full fleet clash as could be simulated. 

This exercise revealed several significant flaws and doctrinal gaps in the Raven’s military capabilities.  In truth, they, like many other Clans were so use to a naval battle being formal duels that it had crystalized their doctrine and methodology. But during Naval Evolution I the ‘Red’ team were under orders to fight unconventionally and ‘think like Pirates’ and during the build up to the exercise the Star Admirals on the Red Team and the Officers under them made an extensive study of records and recordings from The Amaris Civil War as well as the Reunification War and would in turn base their tactics on those.

Whilst the Blue Team fought according to the Raven’s long established doctrine, their lack of experience fighting against an equal opponent who did not fight honourably was jarring and several Captains didn’t know how to react and thus had their ships ‘destroyed’ and during the final fleet clash the ‘Red Team’ won by claiming the destruction of the Blue Team’s flagship.

Whilst ships performed very well in individual clashes or as pairs, there was a noticeable lack of discipline amongst WarShip Captains during larger engagements with Blue Team forces constantly trying to engage in one on one duels and obvious difficulties were encountered when trying to coordinate large groups of ships. This was largely due to the Star Admirals of each Star viewing themselves as equals in rank and wanting to do their own plans.  Red Team also had problems with Captains and fighter crews being very unfamiliar and uncomfortable with having to fight ‘dirty’ as well as suffering the usual problems of command and control with no Star Admiral being in overall command but all viewing themselves as equals.

With an Invasion of the Inner Sphere becoming a distinct possibility, but with a complete lack of intelligence on the state of the Inner Sphere, the Ravens quietly assumed the worst.  That any attack force would be met with WarShips and fighters that would refuse to fight on the Clan’s terms.  And the cold hard truth was that the Ravens were not ready for such an engagement.  Even with the loosening of their rules of engagement the Red Team still didn’t perform well in its role as aggressors and both fleets suffered significant breakdowns in control and tactical sense, a rather poor showing for ‘the naval Clan’, something the Raven’s kept VERY quiet.

Another Fleet Evolution was planned for 3004 and another in 3009 and the Ravens worked furiously to overcome the gaps in skills and knowledge that Fleet Evolution I had exposed.  Just as importantly it would lead to the FRAM Programme.

The FRAM (Fleet Refit And Modernization) Programme was a series of overhauls and refits for the WarShips in service to Clan Snow Raven carried out over the years between Fleet Evolution I and III with the last ship the CSR James McKenna completing her refit in 3011.  There was talk of restarting the NWP and constructing newer vessels to replace the oldest ships in service but the economic realities the Clans faced as a whole mean that this programme was simply not an option.  Economically speaking the FRAM Programme was just more viable.  This didn’t mean it was cheap, and the more extensive refits done to ships like the CSR Mountbatten and CSR Blizzard consumed a large quantity of resources and kept the ships out of service for months or even years. 

Servicing such a large number of vessels was also hampered by the lack of available slips at Lum.  Whilst the largest naval yards built by man save the huge yards at Titan, there was only so many docks and slips available, especially as other Clans continued to use the yards themselves.  A solution came in reactivating the SLS Singapore and SLS Home One from their place in the Ravens Naval Caches.  The huge Newgrange class YardShips could take a pair of destroyer sized vessels or a single cruiser at a time.  But, reactivating them took six month a piece further slowing down the programme.  The Ravens also didn’t want to weaken their fleet too much lest they invite a flurry of trials so ships usually went in for a refit when another came out.
Fleet Evolution II

Fleet Evolution II showed that the Raven’s attempts to resolve the flaws that Evolution I had quite painfully revealed.  The Blue Fleet was now under centralized command of the most senior Star Admiral and others were to follow his (or in this case, her) orders.  The Red Team was also more organized and in a change to the exercise fielded a larger number of fighters and DropShips although this was NOT announced to the Blue Team.  The exercise that followed was largely a success and showed that the FRAM I and II refits were worth their investment and although only a few ships per fleet had the refits at the time, they were far more capable than their un-refitted brethren. 

This time the Blue team won, claiming victory when they were able to land forces on the Red Team’s ‘moon base’ with the Blue Team’s refitted ships leading the offensive during the final battle of the exercise.

The Cost and the cost of friendship.

Of course with the resources being devoted to their naval and aerospace arm the Raven’s did have to pay a cost, and this was the further dwindling of their ground forces.  Discounting the fleet capacity, the Ravens were a third-rate Clan with a Tourman that was little larger than that of Clan Goliath Scorpion, all be it with more modern equipment and the Raven’s did suffer defeats in several trials losing more than they won.  But, thanks to their vital position as the main shipyards of the Clans there wasn’t too much a risk of these defeats starting a deluge of Trials without destabilizing the Kerensky Cluster if fighting broke out for the utterly vital yards of Lum. 

The Ravens still maintained good relationships with other Clans but were careful not to show either Warden or Crusader faction too much favour, watching both sides carefully during the discussions about the Dragoon Compromise, quietly pleased that the Wolves fleet would decrease in strength with the ships given over to the Dragoons.  The Ravens used their other great weapon, politics, to keep out of the growing factionalism that was splitting the Clan, offering to refit one Clans vessel whilst informing others that the ship might not be available as well as trading away older Mech’s and Aerospace fighters whilst maintaining a core of their own.  The highlight of this period was the Raven’s bargain with Clan Blood Spirit, trading away a full Galaxy’s worth of Mech’s in return for a trio of WarShips. But, in truth the FRAM refits and newly built ships that were part of the NWP were straining the Raven’s manpower.  Even by allowing test down and second line pilots and Warriors to serve in more extensive roles than might previously have been ‘allowed’ the Ravens were suffering from manpower shortages that now threatened the expansion and modernization of the fleet and thus the guarantor of their security.  It was decided to retire the Vincent Mk42’s the CSR Huninn and Munnin as well as the Whirlwinds CSR William Adams and Drake.  The two Whirlwinds would be transferred to Clan Smoke Jaguar upon the ascension of ilKhan Leo Showers whilst the Vincents would be converted into a semi-mobile facility with an endo-steel forge and several manufacturing plants on it. The ‘ships’ were under the joint ownership of Clan Snow Raven, Diamond Shark and Cloud Cobra. 

Compromise and REVIVAL

In 3009 a veritable bombshell hit the Homeworlds and Kerensky Cluster, with the first intelligence reports from the Wolfs Dragoons arriving and being disseminated.  When the sorry state of the Inner Sphere was revealed the Ravens suddenly had a fleet that didn’t have a real opponent to fight.  Instead of the threat of squadrons of WarShips belonging to the House Lords, there was only wreckage and ruin and nothing large than a JumpShip or DropShip in active service to threaten them.  With the strain of the FRAM refits still being felt and with many ships still to undergo their own modernizations, the Ravens were forced to cancel several major construction programs and focus on the ongoing FRAM refits.  Recognizing that they lacked the strength to take part in an operation in the Inner Sphere as this would require huge numbers of ground forces that they lacked the Ravens were quite happy to compete with the Diamond Sharks as the main movers of goods and material within Clan Space, serving both Warden and Crusader equally.

The capture of the CSV Outbound Light and subsequent interrogation of her crew was the final spark that would start the build up to Operation REVIVAL and having had time to gather their strength and numbers to rebuild the Ravens were ready to bid and Trial for a place in the Invasion when Clan Coyote struck.  Stung by their defeats over the decades and their contraction of power within the Homeworlds, the Coyotes saw the Raven’s as a fairly weak target.  Whilst none could contest their naval might, on the ground the Coyotes felt they had the advantage.  The newly elected Khan Lynn McKenna ordered an immediate counter attack and the bloody ground fighting soon wore down both Clans until mutual exhaustion separated the combatants. The few WarShip clashes had been quickly decided and the Coyotes didn’t press matters further. On the ground they had the advantage but when their next attack was denied Safcon and met with a full Naval Star, they knew they could not push too far.  In 3044 the Snow Ravens would also be approached by their long-time friends in Clan Ghost Bear with a proposal of an alliance and friendship.  The Bears, having won their place in the Invasion were working on a pair of simply gargantuan vessels but lacked the capacity to finish them at least within the next decade.  Offering mining rights and favourable trade agreements that would have (and indeed did) make the Diamond Sharks go green with envy, the Raven’s agreed to help the Bear’s build their monsters and would even provide escorting cruisers for them.  This came at the right time, as the Raven’s were in the process of ‘gifting’ their Whirlwinds to the Jaguars and in return were given what the Jaguars called junk.  The CMS Thor a relatively intact Kimagure class cruiser that was recovered from Clan Mongoose’s naval cache.  With the Jaguars wanting nothing to do with anything belonging to the fallen Clan, the Ravens were more than happy to take the cruiser off them as a fair swap for the two destroyers they had given up.

Despite not winning a place in the Invasion and with their ground forces still recovering from the conflict with the Coyotes, Lynn McKenna ordered the largest naval exercise yet which would also include ground forces and even Garrison forces.  This huge movement of ships, troops and equipment was called Naval Evolution IV and was used to both show the Raven’s strength and capabilities as being undiminished despite the recent war and to reorganize the Naval Stars into something more uniform.

Fleet Command Star

James McKenna (Flagship) - McKenna (FRAM II)
Blood Raven - Thebes
Bonaventure – Potemkin (FRAM I)
White Terror – Aegis (FRAM I)
Blue Lancer- Aegis (FRAM I)

Swift Wing Naval Assault Star

Mountbatten – Texas (FRAM II)
Eden Rose – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Snow Raven – Nightlord
Lord Death – Aegis (FRAM I)
Blue Quest – Aegis (FRAM I)

Brim Naval Assault Star

Blizzard – Cameron (FRAM II)
Kerensky’s Hope – Cameron (FRAM II)
Snowflake – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Scabbard – Aegis (FRAM I)
Lord Death – Aegis (FRAM I)

Ice Storm Assault Star

Ice Storm – Cameron (FRAM II)
White Cloud – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II)
Storm Crow – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II)
Avalanche – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II)
Rook – Potemkin (FRAM I)

Circe Battle Star

Black Justice – Aegis (FRAM I)
Morning Violence – Aegis (FRAM I)
Blue Quest – Aegis (FRAM I)
Magpie – Congress (FRAM II)
Treachery – Potemkin (FRAM I)

Yorktown Carrier Battlegroup

Yorktown – Ark Royal
Ark Royal - Conqueror
Conqueror – Conqueror
Thor – Conqueror
Corvidae – York

Chimera Naval Strike Star

Hecate – Typhon
Typhon – Typhon
Aetos Dios – Typhon
Chimera – Typhon
Minotaur - Typhon

Black Beard Strike Star

Black Beard – Fredasa
William Kidd – Fredasa Flight II
Black Bart – Fredasa Flight II
Anne Bonny – Fredasa Flight II
Ching Shih – Fredasa

Bonaventure Strike Star

Bonaventure – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Bloody Talon – Lola III (FRAM II)
Spur – Lola III (FRAM II)
Vision of Terra – Lola III (FRAM II)
Void Talon – Lola III (FRAM II)

1st Logistic Flotilla

Wild Swan – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Tenacity – Volga (FRAM I)
Vulture – Bagration
Condor – Bagration
Scavenger – Volga (FRAM I)

1st Merchant Group

Nestling -Carrack
Venture Star – Carrack

Each Star was also not a single fixed unit, ships could be detached and reassigned for operations at very short notice and were to integrate with their new squadron-mates within a few days.  The Yorktown Carrier Star was only a paper grouping, the carriers very rarely operated together as a single Star and were often spread amongst the Assault and Battle Star’s.  The end result was a far more balanced fleet with logistic elements concentrated together without being part of a Combat grouping.  There was concern over the large number of Potemkin’s in the combat Stars but Khan Lynn McKenna only wanted this to be this way until a new flight of Thebes class ships could be completed to replace them.  Whilst the Potemkin’s firepower and protection made them fine as ‘Ersatz Battleships’ the huge ships were not really built for the role and their placement within combat formations was a necessity born out of a lack of suitable replacements.
Thanks to the resources they were getting from the Bears as well as were to receive from the Inner Sphere thanks to the agreement with Clan Jade Falcon who had loaned the Bonaventure Strike Star and Circe Battle Star’s in return for resources from their planned occupation Zone, the new Thebes class ships would be in service by 3060 which would lead to another reorganization of the Naval Stars when the Potemkin’s were rotated and formed together as the 2nd Logistics Flotilla. 

Despite the many challenges they had faced, Clan Snow Raven had assured its naval supremacy, having shaken off the dust and overcome complacency and arrogance to assure that the Clan would thrive no matter what would come when the Children of Kerensky returned to the Inner Sphere.


Relating to this thread - https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=61404.0

[Kasaga]

Love it bro

[Starfox1701]

You sure your not putting a tro or field manual together? 8)

[marauder648]

You sure your not putting a tro or field manual together? 8)

[Maingunnery]

 :thumbsup:

Very interested to see where this is going.

 8)

[Daryk]

Still not a clan fan, but this IS interesting...  :thumbsup:

[marauder648]

Operation REVIVAL  Waves 1 - 3

Whilst not officially involved in Operation REVIVAL, thanks to their shipping capabilities the Ravens along with the Diamond Sharks were guaranteed a place as the logistical backstop to the Invasion.  At the ‘request’ of IlKhan Leo Showers the Ravens and Sharks would provide JumpShips to carry supplies to and from the Inner Sphere.  Both Clans agreed to allow the use of fifty percent of their DropShip Fleet and Clan Diamond Shark also offered the use of several of their Potemkin class ships, at a cost of course. 
Clan Snow Raven in turn offered to supply the escorts for the convoys of JumpShips and would guard the Jump Points that the convoys would arrive at before DropShips made an in system burn, the IlKhan decreed that the Raven’s ships were there to escort, not attack, this order was intended to stave off any Raven Captains ‘getting any ideas above their station.’ 

Despite this the Raven fleet was mobilized for REVIVAL, working with the Falcons, Sharks, Bears and other invaders to coordinate a movement and escorting scheme.  The biggest hold-up was the sheer distances involved.  The Clans would be operating at the end of supply line that was six months long, the establishment of a Command Circuit cut this in half but also consumed the use of many JumpShips including many of the large Monolith class that could have been the backbone of the Invasion.  The Wolves argued that supply depots be established closer to the Inner Sphere but the IlKhan overrode this, calling it cautious to the point of cowardice.  Angered but chastened by the IlKhan’s rebuke the matter was dropped and the Command Circuit authorized. 

The actions in the Periphery didn’t need WarShip support but saw the final stages of the Transport Plan take shape as well as the moving of several dozen Comitatus class JumpShips to act as (barely) mobile fighter garrisons at points that were deemed vulnerable to attack should any Spheroid power attempt a counter attack.

The Raven’s also brought forwards the first of their newly developed Roc class Assault Dropships to join the escort groups as well as trading them to both Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf.  The Roc itself was an oddity in all but the Raven’s Tourman as Assault DropShips had all but vanished from the military of the other Clans.  Developed to act as part heavy escort and part super-heavy fighter in space and in atmosphere the Roc was developed in answer to a call from Khan Lynn McKenna who had ordered that the Raven’s have their own counter to any House Lord Assault DropShip.  It was reasoned that whilst the Inner Sphere lacked WarShips of their own, history had pointed out that DropShips were still a threat and the Clans lacked enough WarShips to have them everywhere.  So, a Roc (which in Clan deployment levels counted as a full Star by itself) could both patrol Jump Points as well as act as a heavy escort to friendly JumpShips without having to divert WarShips.

Wave One

On March 7th, 3050 Operation REVIVAL was launched with all ships leaving their rally points in a unified jump at 0500hrs towards their targets. Along with the Invading Clans were the ships of the Bonaventure Strike Star, the Chimera Strike Star and elements of the Swift Wing Assault Star jumped into the Inner Sphere as part of Operation REVIVAL. 

In the initial systems struck, the Clans hit so hard and fast that Steiner, Kurita and Rasalhague aerospace assets had no time to take off and in one system a JumpShip was destroyed when it tried to flee, another boarded.  In some systems there was opposition in space, all be it one that was quickly overwhelmed and the JumpShips were never threatened as all the fighting took place either in atmosphere or low orbit.  But it did give some useful insight into how the Spheroids fought and several wrecked fighters were recovered for examination (usually taken from the Jaguars who viewed the wreckage as useless garbage.)

Wave One saw problems starting to form though.  With every world taken and subdued, the Clans supply chain was getting longer, and this in turn took more JumpShips to maintain the Command Circuit but there simply were not that many JumpShips.  Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon started raiding their caches to try and reactivate as many JumpShips as possible whilst loaning two score of the craft from the Sharks and Ravens.  But these would take time to reach the Inner Sphere and could not be integrated into the Command Circuit or supply chain fast enough and shortages started to appear.  This problem was starkly apparent in the Bear Occupation Zone as the Bears were forced to halt their assault early as units ran low on munitions and spare parts and were unwilling or unable to accept the reality of their situation.  The destruction of Edo on Turtle Bay was an event of great import, following the destruction of the city by the CSJ Sabre Cat the Clans would bid away their WarShips from any operations, save for when several took the spirit of the IlKhan’s order rather than the word of it with several Clans continuing to use WarShips as ‘transport assets’.  Lacking much in the way of naval opposition the Ravens pulled back all but the Bonaventure Strike Star to the Homeworlds, with the Strike Star remaining in the Periphery as a strategic reserve, perhaps the only one the Invaders really had that was close to hand.

Wave Two

Launched on schedule, Wave Two ran into harder opposition with the Bears and Jaguars both suffering logistics issues in their rush to push ahead.  The Bear’s reduced the size of their Wave Two operations whilst the Jaguars pushed ahead and suffered for it.  It was at the end of Wave One that the CJF Golden Merlin was attacked by FedCom aerospace assets over Trell I, the transport cruiser was lightly damaged in the exchange and had proceeded towards her target and as Wave Two progressed, it became more obvious that the Inner Sphere was finally reacting to the Clans and more and more units were faced in battle.  There was a huge surge in rebellion against Clan rule, something that the Clans were, as a whole, not use to and the invading Clans reacted in their own ways to put down any rebellion as they saw fit.  One particularly successful ‘terrorist’ ploy saw a bomb smuggled onto a MR-1 shuttle before it docked with the Invader CSR Harriers Den, the explosion crippled the JumpShip and damaged a nearby ship with debris from the explosion.  Distance and time were now telling and most Clans, save the Wolves who were being well serviced by their JumpShip fleet were suffering from severe supply shortages.  This was partially resolved when IlKhan Showers ordered that each invasion corridor be assigned a Potemkin class vessel from the Homeworld that would act as a mobile supply depot.  More a band-aid rather than a real solution, it still took months for the ships to arrive and they were only just on station in time for the launch of Wave Three.

Wave Three and the Battle of Radstadt

Bolstered by additional JumpShips from The Free Guilds the Invaders pressed ahead with their plans, but the Jaguars and Bears were at the end of their logistical tethers, only just saved by the arrival of the Potemkin’s from the home worlds, each huge ship carrying thousands of tons of munitions, Mechs, Battle Armour and OmniFighters.  Victories were still won but at a higher cost in bullets, lives and material, and yet the Clans continued to send JumpShips to the Inner Sphere ‘in ordinary’ that is empty, carrying DropShips that didn’t carry any goods but were expected to receive them from conquered worlds and take them back to the Homeworlds for processing.  This was especially prevalent in the Falcon Invasion Corridor and the order to rescind this order then became political as it could have been seen as a sign of weakness.  Despite the great and bloody battles at Twycross and Wolcott, the engagement that changed the whole nature of the Invasion was the Battle of Radstadt.  On October 31st 3050 the CWS Dire Wolf as well as the CSJ Firecrest, CJF Janice Hazen and CGB Ursa Minor were all in orbit over the recently conquered world of Radstadt having carried their Khans to meet aboard the Dire Wolf to convene a Grand Kurultai aboard the Wolf Cruiser.

But before the meeting could take place Crown Prince Haakon Magnsson, Prince of the Free Rasalhague Republic arrived in system on his Star Lord class JumpShip the FRRS Norseman along with three escorting Scout class JumpShips carrying Assault DropShips and the Flying Drakons.  All four ships arrived at the same jump point that the Clans WarShips were sat at, and the Clan forces were caught completely flat footed with all ships at cruising stations with a quarter of the crew at action stations and no weapons active.  Whilst the Norseman’s Lithium Fusion battery was being charged as quickly as possible, the Flying Drakons launched themselves at the nearest Clan WarShip, the Dire Wolf.  Even as Warriors scrambled to their fighters the FRR craft were making strafing runs and in desperation as the cruiser lacked any point defence, its massive particle cannons and autocannons useless against targets at such close range, OmniMechs were ordered onto the hull to defend the cruiser.  In the few minutes it took to launch the Dire Wolf’s own escorting DropShips, a quartet of Overlord C’s as well as a star of fighters from the Wolves Golden Keshik were also in the void.  Other Clan ships were also scrambling to join the battle but they were still several minutes away and unable to engage without risking hitting the Dire Wolf.

On the main forwards observation deck IlKhan Showers observed the battle spurning the offer to withdraw into the CinC buried deeply in the hull and he was joined by several Wolf Officers including their Khan and the Precentor Martial of ComStar.  Although they had surprise on their side the Rasalhague fighters and DropShips were being forced away from the Dire Wolf by the fire of the Overlords and the more powerful Clan OmniFighters.  Still they had caused significant damage to the big ship, several thruster ports were disabled, two turrets jammed and there were several fires aboard.  Even as the Norseman jumped out, nearly burning out her jump-core to charge her batteries so quickly, Kapten Tyra Miraborg turned her battered Shilone towards the Wolf cruiser and went to full throttle. 

The last valiant charge of the Flying Drakons saw six of the charging fighters destroyed as well as their last DropShip, but Tyra’s fighter broke through although sorely damaged with the brave Kapten mortally wounded.  She maintained control of her craft all the way up to the point that it slammed into the hull of the Dire Wolf just aft of the A-frame of the forwards section of the ships jutting prow section, a mere twenty meters from the forwards observation deck.  The impact knocked the cruiser several dozen meters to the side, knocking most of the crew off their feet but the armour held. Barely. The ferocious kinetic impact however sent a hail of shrapnel and hull fittings hurling through the bow section as well as sparking a serious fire as several circuits shorted out and sparked as emergency oxygen tanks leaked into the cruisers decks.  The impact also bent the frames of the Dire Wolf’s neck which added to the damage as it warped her dorsal keel.  The primary observation deck was badly hit by the impact, several sections of the roof and hull bracing failed and the impact sent debris hurtling across the space with a stanchion slamming into the IlKhan before continuing on to hit the main observation blister, causing it to splinter and crack.  It was only a combination of luck and bravery by damage control teams as well as Bondsman (Phelan) Kell and Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht that Khan Ulric Kerensky was rescued from the observation deck before the HarJel sealant over the observation blister failed utterly and the compartment was exposed to the vacuum of space.  The IlKhan’s body was not recovered. 

Following the political fallout of the attack and the death of the IlKhan, the Dire Wolf was forced to return to the Homeworlds and would undergo a full overhaul and refit not unlike the FRAM II refits carried out by Clan Snow Raven.  For the Ravens who had spent so much blood and treasure on the refits of their fleet, much to the derision of the other Clans, it was a moment of vindication.  Simulations carried out by the Ravens proved that had the Dire Wolf been even partially refitted to the FRAM I standards they had suggested, the Spheroid attackers probably would not have got within 200 km of the Cruiser and the IlKhan would still be alive.  The shocking lack of preparedness by the Dire Wolf’s Commander as well as that of the other Clan WarShips also came in for sharp criticism.  None of them had a CAP active and their weapon systems were down to save on maintenance, such oversights in the Ravens would see a ship’s Captain face a trial of Position but the other Clans somewhat lax view on WarShip battles and coordination had very much come back to bite them in the arse.  This data was then utterly suppressed by Khan Lynn McKenna, the Wolves had helped the Ravens in the past, and she would not throw red meat to the other Clans by giving them any evidence that this could have been prevented with due diligence that was, at least to the Ravens, blindingly obvious. 


Sorry for the slow updates, going home to celebrate my birthday and work mean i've not been able to work on this as much as i'd like but I am glad you folks are enjoying it.  As always, any thoughts and comments are most welcome.

You can find the Dire Wolf's refit here - https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=61404.msg1409235#msg1409235

[cawest]

nice update.  can not wait for more

[DOC_Agren]

Well done :thumbsup:

[marauder648]

Thank you :) I'd not actually read the battle of Radstatd and I have no idea if it was in a book or not so I did my own version of it that, in my mind made more sense.  As we know most Clans don't really practice naval manouvers so the Dire Wolf and the other ships were probably scattered all over the Jump Point and were stood down from action stations.  It does not explain the laxity in not even having alert fighters up around the WarShips though, so I figured it was like this

1/3 of the crew were on duty with it being basically the equivalent of a night shift, nothing going on.
1/3 of the crew were preparing the Dire Wolf for the meeting of the Khans and were either cleaning, organising or tidying uniforms and polishing boots.
1/3 of the crew were off rotation and either in their bunks or in the mess hall/exercise areas.

I can also imagine the Norseman and her squadron mates jumped in very close to the Dire Wolf, if only by accident, but they were already at action stations in case of emergencies, and with the last Prince on the FRR aboard, you're going to be at action stations.

So, short range, total surprise and a ship that's basically not prepared to go to action stations (possibly the hangars are cleared to accept shuttles from the other Clans WarShips and the like resulted in the FRR craft being able to get their initial licks in near unopposed.  I also don't like the idea of a ships bridge being in the bow section, you know, one of the most obvious areas to hit.  So head-canon, the 'bridge' is just a big ass meeting area/briefing room with one hell of a view.  Instead the bridge is buried in the hull of the ship, like a modern Warship where in reality the CinC is the brain of the ship, the Captain gives the orders from the bridge and the CinC carries out those duties.  In space warfare it makes no sense for the Captain and brains of the ship to be in an exposed firing position and considering the somewhat 'hard' nature of B-tech's sci-fi setting thats what I went with, all headcanon of course :)

[Starfox1701]

Its been a few years since I reread the relevant book in the blood of Kerensky trilogy but it sounds close enough to be a government report. Good stuff overall.

[marauder648]

The Battles for Lum and Evacuation.

The Steel Viper Assault of 3065

The Steel Vipers, still holding a grudge towards the Ravens and feeling shamed by their eviction from the Inner Sphere struck at Lum in March of 3065 with the intention of claiming as much of the world as they could. 
Following their eviction from the world of Homer, the Ravens were starting to consolidate their naval forces around their more important possessions and none were more important to them than Lum. 

Defending against the Viper’s assault were elements of the Chimera, Circe and Ice Storm Naval Stars but all the ships were initially scattered over the system with only the CSR Corvidae actually in orbit.  Faced with a large number of hostile WarShips and fighters moving with their DropShips the Ravens reformed their Naval stars into a reinforced Ad-Hoc Naval Star under the overall command of Star Admiral James Howe.  Refusing to offer Safcon the two naval forces first engaged outside the orbit of Lum’s moon Jannah. 

Centred around the CSV Dark Asp the Viper forces fighters and Assault DropShips fought hard to keep the swarming Raven fighters and DropShips from reaching the WarShips and transports and casualties on both sides.  One unpleasant surprise was the first combat experience against the new Mercer class DropShip which proved to be a dangerous opponent.  Out-massed the Raven formations split to bracket the Viper’s arrowhead formation and inflicted significant damage to the CSV Zalman’s Endeavour as well as the CSV Steel Python, but the CSR Typhon was badly damaged and forced to withdraw.  The CSR Black Justice was able to fatally damage the CSV Snake Pit and the destroyer would burn up in Lum’s atmosphere, unable to pull out of the gravity well with her damaged engines.  But the Viper assault did manage to push the Raven’s aside, and all ships were damaged, some worse than others. 
The fighter battle continued all the way down to the surface with several Viper DropShips being destroyed, the worst loss being the Lurking Viper an Overlord C which was destroyed over the capital. 

Forced away from their initial landing zones the Vipers were met on the ground by Raven defenders and were given rolling air support from the WarShips in orbit whilst the Viper formation moved above their landing zone. 

There was brutal fighting on the ground with little thought given to Zellbrigen and despite mounting losses and having mostly second line forces on world, the Ravens were able to deny the Vipers most of their objectives, all be it at horrific cost to the ground forces.  This was backed up by a tight naval blockade by the Raven WarShips as other ships arrived in system, denying the Vipers the chance to resupply.  After a week of fighting the Swift Wing and Yorktown battlegroups arrived in the Lum system heavily outnumbering the Viper forces. 
Forced to fall back to their DropShips with their gains the Viper fleet withdrew towards the Jump Point, hounded all the way by the vengeful Ravens who inflicted severe damage on several more WarShips as well as claiming Khan Zalman’s DropShip during the evacuation.  Heavy losses and significant damage to Lum saw the Ravens unable to fully pursue the Viper forces or seek a measure of vengeance against them, but by claiming the life of the Viper’s Khan and driving off the Viper forces it was very much a moral victory for the Ravens even as several cities burned on the world below.

The Star Adder and Goliath Scorpion Trials – The beginning of the end - 3068

With tensions building in the Homeworlds and inter-Clan fighting sharply on the rise the Ravens took steps to reinforce their own holdings whilst preparing for the worst of eventualities.  Following The Great Refusal and the Abjuration of Clan Ghost Bear the Ravens had been in ultra-secret talks with representatives of the government of the Outworlds Alliance.  The budding plan was that the Ravens would move into the worlds to the ‘east’ of the Alliance current holdings, worlds long since abandoned with the planned Capital being the world of Wynn’s Roost.  In turn the Alliance would receive technology, trade and military assistance from the Ravens to secure their borders with both Clan and Alliance acting as equal partners.

In truth the Ravens could see which way the wind was blowing, the Great Refusal had altered Clan society in ways unheard or undreamed of and the Clans’ leadership didn’t like the look of it.  A new home in the relative safety of the Outworld Wastes would give the Clan room to grow and expand and it was felt that in time they would come to dominate their Spheroid ‘friends’.  Resources would be plentiful and there was security in distance and plans were well ahead when on the 16th of December the Lum system came under attack by a considerable number of Star Adder WarShips who declared a Trial of Possession for the orbital assets around Lum.

What would follow as three days of skirmishing and clashes before the two forces met and fought in a true naval clash that was one of the largest in Clan space.  The engagement claimed scores of fighters and a dozen DropShips with the CSA Tehuantepec and Exodus Avenger destroyed in the fighting.  Heavy damage was also done to the CSA Constantineau and CSA Admiral William S. Preston.  But this wasn’t without cost, the CSR Avalanche was destroyed as was the CSR Magpie. Whilst all other ships present were damaged.  The firepower of the CSA Sovereign Right was pitted against the CSR Mountbatten but as the flagships clashed the Star Adders were forced to slowly withdraw to save their forces.  With damage mounting the Ravens withdrew back to Lum to put the most damaged ships into drydock for immediate and urgent repair, whilst the battles survivors also worked to restore their fighter groups as well as re-arm and refuel those that could still fly.

And it was then that naval Elements from Clan Goliath Scorpion entered the system. 

With their Flagship docked and their ammunition and fighter supplies depleted the Raven WarShips came about to engage the Scorpions who, like the Vipers declared a Trial of Possession for all orbital facilities in the Lum system.  With SaKhan Broderick Sukhanov injured and unable to respond, Star Admiral Thomas Waters declared that they would meet the Scorpion challenge with all their assets.

As the battle drew closer to the Lum yards, the CGS Sagitta was hit by weapons fire from the Lum yards, a trio of gauss slugs that were actually aimed at a Scorpion fighter. The Scorpions immediately returned fire, declaring the Yard and all other facilities were now legitimate targets and the battle devolved into a huge free-for all.  Over three days of near constant combat the yards suffered 50% damage with Prime Slip A and C both being destroyed. 

Claiming victory, the Scorpions stripped and claimed several undamaged yards for themselves, leaving the Ravens naval facilities badly damaged and half gutted.  It was a significant defeat for the Ravens, one that would have historic consequences.

Evacuation

Recovering from these battles Khan Lynn McKenna called a council of the Blood Named and proposed that Clan Snow Raven ‘find a new roost’ as even with their naval strength, the Ravens position was becoming increasingly untenable as they were slowly abandoned by their Allies on the Council who looked to themselves as fighting continued to consume the Homeworlds.

The vote to evacuate the Homeworlds was rather less climatic than one might expect with a 82% majority ensuring that the Ravens would follow their Khan and begin the evacuation of their space.  Over the next two years the Ravens would work frantically to reactivate and repair as many ships and JumpShips as they could whilst stripping factories and preparing them for transport to their new home.  They were assisted in this by Clan Diamond Shark who were also busy preparing to flee to the Inner Sphere and the two Clans often worked together during the preparation period. 
Unfortunately, this came to an end when Clan Diamond Shark came under assault by Clan Steel Viper and their newest WarShip the immense CSV Perigard Zalman a Leviathan Prime class Battleship.

The strike happened within days of the planned exodus to the Outworlds Alliance and the space around Lum was utterly full of JumpShips that were still frantically taking on cargo and civilians.  A second huge fleet of ships was also forming up at Hellgate and the Ravens split their forces between both systems to guard the convoys whilst the first and second Convoy groups, including the vital Potemkin class ships, each fully loaded with civilians and industrial equipment were already en-route to the Inner Sphere save the Rook and Snowflake that were still taking on material and personnel.

The battle that ensued dwarfed the earlier clash over Lum in terms of ferocity as well as danger as JumpShips began leaving as quickly as possible.  The edge the Ravens had in experience and skill was countered by the monstrous amount of firepower that the Zalman could bring to bear.  Fighting hard to keep the Vipers away from their JumpShips the Ravens managed to save the CSR Snowflake at the cost of the CSR Blizzard, the battlecruiser interposing herself between the Zalman and the fleeing Snowflake that was carrying many thousands of lower caste civilians as well as a full load of factory equipment.
Still, after seven hours of fighting the CSR’s Rook, Vision of Terra and Blizzard had all been destroyed, as had 75% of the Ravens fighters and DropShips.  In return they had damaged the Viper’s massive battleship as well mauling her escort group, but the Ravens were not trying to destroy the invaders, they were saving their convoy.  The Raven’s also managed to evacuate the CSR Fort Victoria and Goliath, two NewGrange YardShips that formed the main core of the Lum Naval Yards, denying these ships and their facilities to anyone who wished to use them. 

In the Ghent system a join Viper and Adder strike force assaulted the massive convoy in system but here the attackers met the Hellgate Naval Star, a reinforced Naval star consisting of all six Thebes flight II class ships.  Unaware of the Battle over Lum the Raven Star Admiral declared all assets would fight to defend the convoy and this was when the Vipers called in their Adder allies leaving the Raven’s outnumbered and forced to defend the convoy from two hostile formations that were closing in on the slow moving JumpShips and were to arrive within minutes, meaning one group couldn’t be defeated in detail without exposing the convoy and its tens of thousands of civilians and millions of tons of cargo to the Adders or Vipers. 

Concentrating their fighters against the Adder forces, supported by the CSR Iskandar the fighters and DropShips would attempt to hold off the Adder Star whilst the other five ships would engage the Perigard Zalman and her escort group.  The Ravens didn’t declare a Batchal and simply turned and opened fire, focusing on the huge bulk of the Perigard Zalman and the Potemkin CSV Serpentes.
The Serpentes was heavily hit but remained firing whilst the Zalman focused on the CSR Horus crippling her with repeated broadsides before blowing the Raven cruiser in half.  The Fredassa class corvette Arcadian Asp, making a hard burn for the convoy was targeted and eliminated her primary reactor giving out before a ball of white light consumed the ship and crew.  Despite this though the Raven cruisers could not damage the Viper’s newest Battleship quickly enough and her guns reaped a fearsome tally.  The Iskandar was also fighting for her life managed to gut the Black Lion Admiral William S. Preston whilst the Raven fighters crippled the CSA Exodus Crusader, the layout of the York class well known to the Raven pilots. 

But weight of numbers and firepower told its own story and despite heavy damage the Zalman remained in action, her guns ripping into the Raven cruisers.  Still, though it cost them their lives and ships, the Raven WarShips were able to prevent a massacre of the JumpShips and although eighteen JumpShips were destroyed and another dozen taken as Isorla the remaining seventy-nine JumpShips made their escape and made a rendezvous with the other Raven convoys.

Arrival at the beginning

The public declaration of the arrival of Clan Snow Raven into the Outworld Wastes would come six months after their arrival when the CSR James McKenna jumped into orbit over Alpheratz, carrying a full diplomatic staff to set up an embassy as well as the parts for a new water purification plant as a sign of friendship. 
International reaction was mixed, both the Combine and Federated Suns were deeply alarmed about the arrival of a Clan ‘in the outback’ who had arrived in unknown strength or intent.  The Ghost Bears were welcoming to the Ravens and offered their friendship and trade with their Clan brethren and their new ‘allies’. The Word of Blake was furious, but with the Jihad picking up steam, and the Successor lords looking to their own borders there was little that could be done about the new arrivals.
But in their depleted state the Ravens were in no position to do anything other than eradicate pirate bases that they found.  With their WarShips and JumpShips spent after the long journey to the Alliance it was enough that they could put down and establish temporary facilities.  The reality of the Ravens arrival had changed their agreement with the Outworlders and changes had to be made.  Whilst the Ravens would keep to the outer reaches of the Alliance and largely away from the Omniss dominated centre, the Ravens agreed to establish a major shipyard at Quatre Belle as well as a compound on the Alliances capital.  The Ravens would have to rely on mobile factories that were being built on their Potemkin class ships that were not being used as orbital habitats whilst more facilities were built up at Wynn’s Roost with construction being heavily assisted by the Outworlders in return for technology and protection against pirates.

The political fallout in the Alliance was mixed, the pacifist Omniss’ had considerable political power and they viewed the presence of the Clans as an anathema to them and everything they believed in.  It was only after several Pirate raids and notable pirates themselves were destroyed or brought to justice that the Omniss’ support for the Raven’s presence went anything above tepid.  But the economic boost that came won over most Alliance citizens and many new jobs were available in the area now under Raven stewardship as they rebuilt their infrastructure and went on a diplomatic charm offensive whilst the Raven’s surviving YardShips were working overtime to refit and repair the badly damaged ships they still had left.

[Vition2]

Very nice update.  Compared to canon they got out of the homeworlds with significantly more, but that darned Levi PRIME has to show up and ruin the day like always.  :D

Honestly kind of hoping for a group of overstrength naval stars consisting of a Thebes, two Typhons, a Conqueror, and 2 other warships (wishful thinking for 5 more Typhons and another pair of Conquerors... :)) )

[cawest]

if the Ravens open a jumpship repair area, that might be a way to infuse new funds to help the rest of the fleet. 

[Vition2]

if the Ravens open a jumpship repair area, that might be a way to infuse new funds to help the rest of the fleet.

Well, they have a lot going on right now in this AU.  They've got the development of two shipyards - one in Quatre Belle, the other in Wynn's Roost - their Potemkin are spoken for in upgrading the living conditions of the Outworlders, and they are industrializing Wynn's Roost and potentially the other three nearby worlds (Wynn's Roost, Vangburg, Nerum, and Renorsal are all located in a virtual cluster), not to mention repairing their still significant warship fleet.

Eventually they might get things up and running, and if they can manage to stay out of the Jihad they can probably be mostly up and running by the time things wind down.  But as is they are stretching themselves really really thin.

[Starfox1701]

With that kind of firepower the toaster lovers are going to make them a priority target and assuming they get off light Stone and probably the Bears are go in to want them onboard for the counter offensive and the battle of Terra. I get the feeling the body count is far from done on their fleet losses.

[cawest]

With that kind of firepower the toaster lovers are going to make them a priority target and assuming they get off light Stone and probably the Bears are go in to want them onboard for the counter offensive and the battle of Terra. I get the feeling the body count is far from done on their fleet losses.

yea that is alot on there plate, but they will have to repair there own jumpships.  callit it two or three snow raven starlords then open a slip to repair an OA or even a shipping lane ship. 

you have the parts then we have the slip and the techs.  just bring your check book or a drop ship full of supplies  >:D. 

its your stroy... i will enjoy what ever you write.   

[marauder648]

CSR James McKenna - Geostationary orbit over Wynns Roost. - 3068

Down below on Wynn's Roost the world was alive with industry. Lower caste workers were throwing up prefabricated shelters and housing at a massive rate whilst the first proper landing field for DropShips was full to capacity as more ships unloaded their material so it could be put to use building the Snow Raven's new home.  But until then the landed DropShips scattered round the landing field would serve as temporary homes and hurredly converted Potemkin class ships would be the Raven's factories to rebuild their sorely depleted Tourman.

Ever since bumping into the Outworlders in 3065 the cautious and careful approaches made to the Spheroids had paid off and indeed they had 'come through for them' when the Ravens really needed them to.  Not that, in reality the Outworlders could halt the Ravens if they so chose to simply dominate the region through military force.  But hindsight had shown that didn't work for the Jaguars or Vipers, and it still hamstrung the Falcons.  And whilst not going for a full integration like the Bears had done, plans were afoot for a seperate but equal policy between the Alliance and Snow Ravens.  But the Clan had to get on its feet first, and had seemingly arrived at the worst possible time. 

The Word of Blake was on the move following the collapse of the Spheroid's sham of a Second Star League and conflict was breaking out across the Inner Sphere.  But, distance had its advantages and so far, there had not been any attacks on the Ravens or the Outworlds Alliance.  But, part of their agreement with the Outworlders was to ensure the safety of their space and so even in its depleted state, the fleet was patrolling, stopping ships for inspection and showing their claws.  And no JumpShips were permitted anywhere near Wynn's Roost as the system and those in the surrounding cluster were all under Raven juristiction and heavily patrolled and monitored. 

And they had to be, the Ravens were horribly vulnerable, the Clans capital was the CSR James McKenna whilst the Genetic repository was secreted away on the CSR Anne Bonny and she was lurking out in the systems Oort cloud as a security measure.  Whilst the civilian administrators and Factors had managed to 'set up shop' in prefab buildings on the world below in what would become McKenna City the Khan still controlled from the deck of her flagship and was leading the diplomatic and military efforts to secure her Clan's future leaving the SaKhan and Factors to build their future. 

The actual state of the Fleet made for grim reading.

Fleet Command Star

James McKenna (Flagship) - McKenna (FRAM II)
Blood Raven - Thebes
Bonaventure – Potemkin (FRAM I)
White Terror – Aegis (FRAM I)
Blue Lancer- Aegis (FRAM I)

Swift Wing Naval Assault Star

Mountbatten – Texas (FRAM II) – Badly damaged – Laid up awaiting repair.
Eden Rose – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Snow Raven – Nightlord - Damaged
Lord Death – Aegis (FRAM I) - Damaged
Blue Quest – Aegis (FRAM I) - Damaged

Brim Naval Assault Star

Blizzard – Cameron (FRAM II) – Destroyed during the Evacuation
Kerensky’s Hope – Cameron (FRAM II)
Snowflake – Potemkin (FRAM I) – Badly damaged
Scabbard – Aegis (FRAM I) - Damaged
Lord Death – Aegis (FRAM I) – Destroyed 3068

Ice Storm Assault Star

Ice Storm – Cameron (FRAM II)
White Cloud – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II) - Damaged
Storm Crow – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II) - Damaged
Avalanche – Sovetskii Soyuz (FRAM II) – Destroyed 3068
Rook – Potemkin (FRAM I) – Destroyed during the Evacuation

Circe Battle Star

Black Justice – Aegis (FRAM I) – Destroyed during the Steel Viper Assault of 3065
Morning Violence – Aegis (FRAM I) - Damaged
Blue Quest – Aegis (FRAM I)
Magpie – Congress (FRAM II) – Destroyed 3068
Treachery – Potemkin (FRAM I)

Yorktown Carrier Battlegroup

Yorktown – Ark Royal
Ark Royal - Conqueror
Conqueror – Conqueror
Thor – Conqueror – Crippled during the evacuation – laid up for repairs.
Corvidae – York  - Disappeared during the Evacuation – feared lost to Misjump

Chimera Naval Strike Star

Hecate – Typhon
Typhon – Typhon – Scuttled during the Evacuation – still undergoing repairs at Lum at the time and could not be recovered.
Aetos Dios – Typhon – Badly damaged
Chimera – Typhon - Damaged
Minotaur – Typhon - Damaged

Black Beard Strike Star

Black Beard – Fredasa – Destroyed during the Evacuation
William Kidd – Fredasa Flight II
Black Bart – Fredasa Flight II – Destroyed during the Evacuation
Anne Bonny – Fredasa Flight II
Ching Shih – Fredasa

Bonaventure Strike Star

Bonaventure – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Bloody Talon – Lola III (FRAM II) – Destroyed 3068
Spur – Lola III (FRAM II) – Destroyed 3068
Vision of Terra – Lola III (FRAM II) – Destroyed during Evacuation
Void Talon – Lola III (FRAM II)

Hellgate Naval Star

Horus - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation
Thoth - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation
Huginn - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation
Muninn - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation
Iskandar - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation
Sirocco - Thebes Flight II Heavy Cruiser - Destroyed during Evacuation

1st Logistic Flotilla

Wild Swan – Potemkin (FRAM I)
Tenacity – Volga (FRAM I)
Vulture – Bagration – Crippled during the Evacuation – in orbit over Wynns roost as a storage hulk pending inspection and repair.
Condor – Bagration
Scavenger – Volga (FRAM I) – Destroyed during the Evacuation

1st Merchant Group

Nestling -Carrack – Destroyed during the Evacuation
Venture Star – Carrack – Damaged during the Evacuation, currently serving as a spare parts storage site.

Fleet Support group

Mobile Factory 01DSR (Formerly CSR Huginn and Muninn – Vincent Mk42 Corvettes) – Destroyed 3068
Fort Victoria - Newgrange Yardship
Goliath - Newgrange Yardship – Damaged during the Evacuation
Home One - Newgrange Yardship
Singapore - Newgrange Yardship – Damaged during the Evacuation
Heracles – Liparius Mobile repair yard – Destroyed at Lum during the Evacuation
Tokiwa – Antares Fleet Tender – Badly damaged during Evacuation
Vulcano – Antares Fleet Tender – Barely reactivated at time of evacuation – scuttled
Wabash – Antares Fleet tender
Meuse – Antares Fleet Tender

Totals

Pre 3068 Totals

58 x WarShips on active service
6 x Ships undergoing reactivation and refit for service

Losses and damage

18 x WarShips Damaged and in need of yard work for repairs
20 x WarShips destroyed

Current active and undamaged ships

25 x WarShips

Immediate Priorities - Military

1 - Secure space around Wynns Roost and surrounding systems
2 - Repair SLS Goliath, SLS Singapore and begin repairs on SLS Tokiwa.
3 - Prioritise repairs to return ships to active service at soonest possibility.  Heavily damaged ships to be repaired last depending on available resources.
4 - CSR Condor to form the core of orbital facility over Wynns Rest.
5 - Continue reactivation of Ex Star League naval yard at Quatre Belle.

Immediate Priorities - civilian

1 - Continue construction of prefabricated buildings and shelters for housing and food storage
2 - Continue development and growth of farmland found suitable to the south east of city site, this includes well drilling
3 - First factories to be un-crated and operational within 8 months of unloading
4 - Find suitable location for safe and secure storage site for genetic data and begin construction of a Blood Chapel.
5 - Begin construction of more permanent housing and quarters along pre-established and pre-planned lines of development.

And these were just the initial problems.  But it was to be expected when you had picked up as many people, facilities and resources as you could carry and just ran.  Challenges that had to be met and overcome.

[Maingunnery]

That hurts...  :'(

[Vition2]

That certainly does hurt, but they do still have 37 warships on their roster (at least for now, hehe) - just that nearly half of them are significantly damaged to some degree.  That they got away with 4 yardships and 4 fleet tenders (which also have limited repair capabilities) is a massive success and a significant starting point.

Given time to build up (hah), two fully functional and fairly large shipyards can be built up - neither one may be as large as the Lum naval yards but if the Antares are folded into the shipyards the overall capacity of the combined yards could be larger.

Even with just 19 warships on the active roster they have a good bit to make sure their important areas are well defended - enemies targeting the extremities will cost them or their allies significantly though.

[cawest]

have you thought about the break down of "normal" jumpships?

[marauder648]

have you thought about the break down of "normal" jumpships?

Noooo no idea about how many ships they have.

[Starfox1701]

Lord that hurts but it could have been very much wores

[Kasaga]

Looks like the Hegemony in Exile and your Snow Ravens should start talking...

[Daryk]

I see a couple of duplicate listings (at least Lord Death and Blue Quest)...  ???

[Vition2]

I see a couple of duplicate listings (at least Lord Death and Blue Quest)...  ???

Good catch, and they were duplicated in both lists.

[marauder648]

Ahh a quick fix, i'll do it when not at work (On coffee break now )

[cawest]

if I may suggest, a few hunters, but a core of odyssy's  and with a few escorts of Comitatius (captured?).  some Tramps (LF) mixed in with , star lords but more Monoliths.  would think they would take as many jumpships that could carry weapons, attack small craft, and fighters to protect the cargo ships with out any defense.  this would help spread out the load on a few escorting warships. 

[marauder648]

The Years of Tumult - The Jihad and the Liberation of Terra

With conflicts and violence boiling up across the Inner Sphere, the Raven’s ordered what would be called a self-imposed close blockade of territory they held or protected.

Whilst the Outworld Alliance’s space was too big for them to cover, important systems were not.  The basic fundamental of the close blockade was a stop and search order.  Any JumpShip that entered Outworld territory would have to do so at the Zenith or Nadir Jump Points.  Here the ship would be halted and any cargo inspected.  Unauthorized use of a Pirate Point would be met with deadly force and any DropShip that refused the order to halt would be fired into without exception. 

This imposed significant delays on JumpShips and would cause a slight economic downturn for the Alliance but as a security measure it was very effective.  The spread of Q-Ships, DropShips or even, most heinously, JumpShips armed with weapons to surprise and destroy the unwary was countered by the Blockade. 
Another goal of the blockade was self-imposed isolation.  The Raven’s knew they could really not afford to anger their neighbours.  The Outworlds Alliance Military, such as it was, was brave and skilled, but vastly out-numbered and considerably behind the curve with technology.  And, with their Tourman still in poor shape, the only strength they really had was with their WarShip and DropShip fleet and this had to be preserved.

In March 3067 the CSR White Cloud and her DropShips were enforcing the Blockade in the Quiberas system, itself just a jump away from the vital Quatre Belle when the DCS Ivory Tower a Mule Class DropShip was detected heading in system by patrolling fighters.  Coming to a halt the DropShip signalled she was awaiting inspection the White Cloud and her escorts closed the range to send over an Elemental Detachment and Lower Caste technicians who would perform the actual inspection.  When less than 200 miles away the Ivory Tower opened fire with concealed weapons, firing a salvo of nuclear missiles at the White Cloud.  At action stations the ships AMS batteries engaged as did those of the nearest escorts including the Roc class Assault DropShip Hooked Claw.  Of the eight missiles launched before the Ivory Tower was destroyed, one managed to breech the AMS screen to impact with the cruiser.  The blast heavily damaged the port side, disabling several weapons and causing several internal fires that were combatted by venting the affected sections to space.

Despite this the ship was able to withdraw to Quatre Belle for repairs but it was the nature of the attack that shocked the Ravens.  Nuclear weapons were simply not used and utterly loathed by the Clans as a whole and being one of the few Clans who had suffered at the hands of a nuclear blast in their past, this form of attack held a special place in the Raven’s hearts.

The bodies recovered from the wreckage of the Ivory Tower all pointed to the ship being one of Combine origin, as did data recovered from a badly damaged hard drive.  The result was fury amongst the Raven Trueborn but Khan McKenna held them in check even though it cost one Star Admiral his life when he challenged the Khan over her decision and order to not retaliate and to ‘keep their powder dry.’
Still this saw a rise in tensions between the Ravens and the Combine as well as the crippling of the DCS Dieron Star when the ship was found scouting the edges of an Alliance system, but with the Jihad near crippling their realm, the Combine could not respond save in the strongest diplomatic language.
These relations reached an all time low when Civilians, trying to flee Galedon entered Alliance space and were fired upon and destroyed by Raven WarShips rather than risk the spread of the then unknown bioweapon that had blighted Galedon and its populace.  Over two weeks, nearly sixty thousand civilians were killed and eight JumpShips were destroyed with all hands.  These acts nearly ended the alliance between the Outworlds Alliance and Clan Snow Raven which lead to a Clan Council in 3069 over the world of Dante. 

Crisis and Retaliation.

Although it may have been seen as somewhat ironic that the Bloodnamed Warriors of Clan Snow Raven would hold a council over the ultra-pacifist world of Dante and its Omniss practitioners there was no jokes when two JumpShips arrived in system in the middle of the Council Meeting.  The CSR Ice Storm was caught in the emergence wave of one JumpShip and suffered horrific damage which would cause a magazine explosion a few minutes later whilst hostile Pocket WarShips were launched and engaged the Clan WarShips.  With their own fighters and DropShips launched for security a dogfight ensused but before the attacking craft were destroyed the recently repaired CSR Storm Crow was damaged by a nuclear missile that wrecked her engine section.  One escape pod was tracked heading to the surface of Dante and the Ravens followed, determined to find who had caused the bloody and damaging attack.  It took two weeks but the Ravens would discover several hidden bases all manned by personnel from the Word of Blake who were also reciving support from a large number of Omniss followers who simply didn’t know better. 
But to the Clan Warriors, ignorance was not an excuse and an all out assault with orbital fire support and repeated airstrikes from WarShips in orbit saw the Blakist cells crushed and those taken subjected to brutal and often invasive interrogation that proved that Dante, thanks to its position in Alliance space and its Omiss populace had been used as ‘half way house’ to not only send agents to infiltrate the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine but as a base for Blakist supported Pirates and Q-Ships that had been lauching attacks in the area.

Now the victim of two nuclear attacks and finding a major Blakist plot within their own territory, Clan Snow Raven began to mobilize with the intent of carrying the war to the Blakists.  But, such was the state of their industry and military that any offensive action could not be done alone, and would not be able to be launched until at least 3074.
The release of information that the Blakists might have the children of the Not Named Clan serving them was more than enough to spur Clan Ghost Bear into action and the Bear’s rampaged across their borders, hitting Blakist held worlds in the Draconis Combine before throwing three full Galaxies at Lutien to destroy any and all Blakist precense there, the Falcons and Wolves were also on the move with both Clans striking out at Blakist holdings and suffering counter attacks and Khan Lynn McKenna knew a tipping point had been reached. 

In a joint statement with President Avellar, Clan Snow Raven declared open hostilities against The Word of Blake at the same time that the hastily reorganized naval Stars were jumping into systems under Blakist control or thought to be Blakist bases.
Linking up with their long time friends and allies the Ghost Bears over Luthien the Ravens offered to help the Bears repair their WarShips at Quatre Belle and suggested that the two Clans fight together against those sheltering The Not Named.

Both Clans would be part of the Coalition lead by Devlin Stone and were heavily involved in the battles to drive the Blakists to extinction. 

Operation SCOUR and Task Force CRONUS

With the Protectorate crumbling and Coalition forces now in position to assault the very heart of the Blakists powerbase on Terra the planning for the Assault began as did the gathering of might for the assault.

Devil Stone agreed that as part of their agreement with the Clans involved in the assault, they would be the first to jump into the system, but none of them would be allowed to land troops on Terra or Luna. Instead he gave them free hand to organize the assault on the outer Solar system and Mars.

The first and most important target in the outer solar system was the naval yards at Titan which served as the main Blakist naval base and repair facilities.  Reconnaissance had also indicated a large number of WarShips and DropShips around the Titan Yards making them the likely HQ for the Blakist fleet.  The plan for the assault was starting to form when it very nearly fell apart.  Clan Nova Cat who would be assisting the House fleets in their attack on Terra demanded that Clan Ghost Bear give them some of their Aesir and Vanir class assault DropShips in a Trial of Possession which the Ghost Bear’s immediately refused.  The Raven Star Admiral present at the meeting declared that the Nova Cat’s claim for the DropShips was “..politically motivated, and militarily an exercise in stupidity, and that to take a WarShips closely knit escort group from her on the eve of battle could resulted in disaster.”
The Raven’s then offered their own reserve force of Titan and Roc class DropShips that were due to arrive at a staging point and offered in the spirit of friendship were to be given to the Cats without any Trial.  The Sharks also offered to trade the Cats some newly built Noruff Assault DropShips at Price as well as supplying some to the ships involved in the attack on Titan.

With diplomatic feathers smoothed down the planning for the assault on Titan and the ships involved were coordinated.  It was to be a pure Clan effort with WarShips from Clan Wolf, Jade Falcon, Ghost Bear, Diamond Shark and Snow Raven taking part in the engagement.  Although the commander of this fleet would be the Ghost Bear Star Admiral, her Aide De Camp would be the most senior Snow Raven Star Admiral who was involved with the actual planning of the fleets composition.

Task Force CHRONUS

Assault Naval Star

CGB Great Bear – Leviathan II class Battleship (Flagship)
CSR James McKenna – McKenna class Battleship
CSR Snow Raven – Nightlord class Battleship
CGB Ursa Major – Nightlord Class Battleship
CSR Yorktown – Ark Royal Class Heavy Fleet Carrier

Battle Naval Star

CJF Jade Aerie – Black Lion II class Battlecruiser
CJF White Aerie – Black Lion II class Battlecruiser
CWS Stealthy Kill – Black Lion II class Battlecruiser
CJF Blue Talon – Aegis class Heavy Cruiser
CJF Hawker – Sovetskii Soyuz class Heavy Cruiser

First Escort Star

CSR Hecate – Typhon class Destroyer
CSR Chimera – Typhon class Destroyer
CSR Minotaur – Typhon class Destroyer
CWS Jerome Winson – Liberator class Heavy Cruiser
CSR Void Talon – Lola III class Destroyer

Second Escort Star

CSR William Kidd – Fredasa Flight II class Corvette
CSR Anne Bonny – Fredasa Flight II class Corvette
CSR Ching Shih – Fredasa class Corvette
CJF Green Lantern – Congress class Frigate
DSS Predator – Lola III class Destroyer

Support and Reserve Group

CSR Bonaventure – Potemkin class Assault Ship
DSS Titanic – Potemkin class Assault Ship
CJF Golden Merlin – Bagration class Assault Ship

126 DropShips
1030 fighters aboard WarShips

The fleet would deploy in a double echelon with the Battle and Assault Stars shielded by the two Escort Stars, these would in turn shield the Support group and all vessels were fully loaded with Assault and Carrier DropShips, not a single troop carrier was present with it being a mix of Aesir, Vanir, Roc, Noruff and Arcadia Assault Ships as well as a large number of Carrier and Titan class carrier DropShips.
The Snow Ravens had insisted on a heavy escort group of Assault DropShips and fighters and for many such a gathering of craft represented the last gasp with the operation stretching the exhausted Clans to their limit.  Many WarShips were carrying second line fighters like the Ammon or Tyre simply due to a lack of suitable replacements and over half the CSR Yorktown’s air group was actually freeborn volunteers from the AAA.

The plan called for the fleet to move forwards with scouting elements looking for any Blakist traps or hidden units, engaging the defenders as they came out.  The Clans and more specifically Clan Snow Raven also had a hand in planning the assault on Terra and here they had insisted that the forces attacking the Homeworld be reinforced.

Task Force EARTHBOUND

CGB Rasalhague - Leviathan II class Battleship
DSS Terror of the Deep – Nightlord Class Battleship
CJF Emerald Talon – Nightlord Class Battleship
LAS Invincible – Tharkad class Battlecruiser

CSV Invisible Truth – Cameron class Battlecruiser – Flagship
DCS Takashi – Kirishima class Heavy Cruiser
CSR Ark Royal – Conqueror class Battlecarrier
NCS True Vision – Congress class Frigate

NCS Blade – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
NCS Chronicle – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
NCS Path of Honour – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
NCS Promise – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser

NCS Remembrance – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
CJF Gold Talon – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
CJF Blue Talon – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
CJF Chaos Sailor – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser

DSS Blood Lust – Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser
NCS Hunter – Lola III class Destroyer
NCS Rover – Lola III class Destroyer
NCS Anna Rosse – York Class Escort Frigate

DCS Dieron Star – Kyushu class Frigate
DCS Victory at Wolcott – Kyushu class Frigate
DCS The Lair of Mighty Wyrms – Tatsumaki class Destroyer
NCS Far Vision – Vincent Mk-42 class Corvette.

LAS Katherine Steiner – Fox Class Corvette 12/5
LAS Katrina Steiner – Fox Class Corvette
LAS Robert Marsden – Fox Class Corvette
FSS Indomitable – Fox Class Corvette

FSS Admiral Michael Saille – Fox Class Corvette
ISS Excalibur – Zechetinu II class Corvette
DSS Kraken – Potemkin Class Assault Ship 40/25
DSS Red Tide – Potemkin Class Assault Ship 40/25

1036 Fighters aboard WarShips
155 DropShips

When these two fleets departed their rallying points on 14/08/3078 they were the largest conglomerations of WarShips seen since the Second Succession War.  Following in their wake, once the Sol system was secure was scores of JumpShips that were carrying the assault forces that would liberate the Homeworld of Humanity from the shroud that had fallen over it.

[I am Belch II]

I like this. Hope to see more. The Ravens are all aerospace all the time, thats why I like them.