Starship Operators 7

After Renna’s funeral, the crew has no time to rest, as the Kingdom is sending 4 battleships to deal with the Amaterasu along with its ally, the Xiu defense ship Shenlong. Finally we get some major capital ship action, and it’s sure to be a doozy.

Since Xiu’s military commanders have no actual combat experience due to their history of peace, all the combat plans are to be made by Shinon. She begins combat simulations with Ciska playing the role of the Kingdom, in order to devise a strategy that would allow them to survive against seemingly impossible odds. Trial after trial, she loses badly in the simulation no matter what she tries. Ciska, on the other hand, has developed what seems to be the perfect combat strategy for the Kingdom, and guesses that this will be their method of choice. I was irritated at how he was so smug about winning every match – of course you’re going to win, you doofus, it’s 4 on 2!

On the other hand, we get a peek at the Kingdom commanders debating their approach strategy. One of them proposes that they all rush in at once and overwhelm the rebels with their numbers, but a more cautious member believes that only a sure-fire method should be used against the crafy Amaterasu. He suggests that the Kingdom should request an extra battleship, so as to make the odds so overwhelming that the Amaterasu would have to flee and lose face, thus dropping their public support to nil. Naturally, one of the more militaristic commanders objects to this coward’s tactic, and demands an explosive solution. Thus, the captain of the most powerful warship, the famed Conquistador, suggests that his ship faces the Shenlong alone, while the other 3 gang up on the Amaterasu for a sure-fire win. In a fit of political bickering, one of the other commanders objects simply because he doesn’t want a former Alliance ship having all the glory of a 1-on-1 battle broadcasted on the Galaxy Network instead of a Kingdom ship. Instead, he demands that the standard Kingdom tactics be used, with a pair of ships engaging each rebel.

I love all this second-guessing and political maneuvering! It just goes to show that there’s a lot more going behind the scenes that you might think. Meanwhile, Shinon has thought of an unusual idea. If the parameters of the ship were changed, the Amaterasu might have a chance at winning…but how can she implement these changes?

Fast forward to the tactical meeting with the Xiu commanders, where Shinon unveils her battle plan. Here’s the breakdown of the opposition; note that because the crew doesn’t know most of the opposing ship names, they make up codenames for them. The biggest ship is the Conquistador, an extremely powerful heavy cruiser with a long-range plasma cannon (similar to that of the Amaterasu) and short range laser cannons. Next up is its escort, the Dragonfly , which is unusual in that it only has short range pulse lasers attached to its apex, making it seemingly useless. However, the AESOP A.I. has deduced that the apex can detach and move autonomously, much like a fighter craft. Not only that, but the apex is able to warp in and out of space very quickly, allowing it to make hit-and-run strafes and avoid getting hit. These two ships are engaging the Shenlong. On the other side, we have the battleship Hammerhead , which has a reinforced front hull that the Shenlong’s weapons can’t penetrate, but the Amaterasu’s plasma cannon can. Accompanying it is the Hedgehog (the enemy captain was offended when he heard his ship being referred to as this on the Galaxy Network), which sports quad laser cannons.

Now, if you’re a fan of space combat strategy games, you’re probably already salivating over the possibilities. On paper, the odds of survival for our protagonists is virtually nil, but Shinon’s plan just might let them win. Apparently, it involves a couple rescue pods, and a buttload of small transport ships. Timing is of the essence in this plan, and she’s betting heavily on her predictions of the enemy’s behavior and responses.

As the crew of the Amaterasu prepares for war, the Xiu commanders mull about their predicament, and how old fogeys like them could have never come up with such a radical plan. But being the stubborn crusts they are, they secretly decide on a change of plans…

Stay tuned for more! Same Starship time, same Starship Channel

Related posts:

1. Starship Operators 8
2. Starship Operators 11
3. Starship Operators 6