Session 1 - Trenchant Fire
Session 1 - 14 Jan 2025 - Trenchant Fire
After a six month transit from Depot/Old Expanses, the Iron Horse battlegroup arrived in their penultimate stop, the backwater system of Teta Lise, for a wilderness refuelling.
Iron Horse arrived twenty seconds off astrogator Sandor MIKLAS’s predicted time, winning him 20 credits from Cdr Eirin KUSHIIDA. DeShannon arrived a moment later, but the two close escorts seem to have ballsed up the calc and arrived late.
Launching the CAP, combat picked up a faint thermal signal with no transponder, and requested permission to relax EMCON and paint it with LIDAR. It turned out to be two small ships - which INI classified as a Type-T and a Type-M - the latter with only residual thermal signature. INI then outdid themselves, identifying the specific ship as the ex-INS Trenchant, a patrol ship in Colonial Fleet service, paid off to long term readiness 40 years ago.
Halloway gave the order to intercept, and the CAP sped off, with the Alert-5 pair catapulting out moments behind them to join up as a flight of four.
With Iron Horse’s drives limited to 3g, DeShannon was released to chase Trenchant down, but it was clear that the fighters would reach it long before it made the 100d limit, as they redlined to 12g.
Highball-1-3 suffered G-LOC on the way in, and Highball-1-2 took a fatal hit from Trenchant’s plasma turrets. A now-angry 1-1 and 1-4 got under Trenchant’s guns and started laying waste with their fusion guns, knocking out one turret. The Type-T launched a missile salvo, and the second half of Highball launched on Alert-30 was ordered back under the cover of DeShannon’s point defence envelope (which handily wiped the salvo out.)
The remaining seven fighters of Highball 1 & 2 attempted to take out the Type-T’s jump drive, but just killed it in the process.
A boarding team led by Chief Ruger breached the bridge, taking two prisoners, both wounded, one critically.
SAR found S/Lt Karra “TYPHOON” Vail and recovered her to the Iron Horse’s hospital facility. Halloway had to choose between saving her or the critical pirate prisoner, and of course chose Vail - waiting in the medical facility to be present as the prisoner died. “Keep your enemies human.”
Capt. Sarina Halloway
Captain’s Log - Session 1 (Teta Lise pirates)
INS Iron Horse arrived at penultimate jump point - Teta Lise - enroute to Pesacce and ultimately Keine.
Excellent translation, arrived almost simultaneously with DeShannon and re-established contact. No sign of Gerenuk and Firebrand upon arrival.
Immediate sensor contact detected within local volume - two vessels, one displaying sustained thermal activity signature and one residual. Active vessel identified as sub-kT Type T Patrol Corvette, ex-navy service (40 years post-decommission) without active transponder. Likely pressed into service for piracy. Passive vessel identified as sub-kT freighter. No drive activity; damage to cargo bay.
Iron Horse assumed condition 2 and initiated intercept burn alongside DeShannon, launching an alert fighter flight to join post-jump CAP and proceed on intercept package. Pirate vessel failed to respond to intercept package’s hail attempts and bolted for 100d limit while opening fire. HighBall’s evasive maneuvers severely limited the effectiveness of enemy fire, however Highball 1-2 was hit and destroyed before the intercept package was able to enter minimum turn radius.
Iron Horse responded with a missile salvo as insurance while the intercept package destroyed the pirate vessel’s weapon systems and disabled their jump drive. Enemy vessel was breached and hulked while a boarding team was able to retrieve two prisoners - one CAT1 - and limited intelligence materials. SAR flight was able to retrieve Highball 1-2 alive, though in critical condition.
Crash team capacity did not extend to encompass both CAT1 patients; executive decision was made to prioritise preservation of INS personnel.
Personal note: We lost a fighter and a damn good pilot today. Kalla Vail survived, but they will never fly again. That’s on me. We have missiles; we could have entered parley at stand-off while keeping CAP outside effective range, rather than risk the intercept package on a berserker charge. We all know the risks when we sign up; we all know that any of our lives or careers could end at any moment. It’s the price we pay; the butcher’s bill.
We have to tell ourselves that it’s worth it; that the mission is worth the price we pledge in those we commit to completing it. Those pirates would have gone on to destroy countless more lives had we not ended their operation today. They knew the price of their actions too. Everyone does.
In truth, though, if I could do it again, I wouldn’t trade one Vail for ending a thousand of these murderous cut-throats and their shitty little backwater operation. Not exactly an auspicious first combat operation on this command, and especially not after six months of running the clock with barely a day’s breathing room. You need to do better, Sarina - especially if you want to earn their trust."
