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SharkHunter
Vice Admiral
Posts: 1608
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:53 pm
Location: Independence, Missouri
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The suggested counter to the Sag-C's plus freighter approach seems to be a "star system chock full of hidden SDF pods, and the fact that they're not going to deploy one freighter per pair of Sag-Cs. And the fact that Keyhole makes the big new battlecruisers that much better. Agreement on all counts...
However, that doesn't mean the counter is workable. Given that no one outside the GA has shoals of MDM SDF pods, AND Keyhole capable battlecruisers available. So for my "ammo freighter" (an HMMAMC sans offensive weaponry) plus -C's approach, add one bit of timing: by the time anyone builds a 2.5MM kTon BC(p), Mycroft ought to be in wide distribution, the supporting ships are carrying Lorelies, and you still have a "too many star systems needing too few ships problem to address". Let's game this out.
So... let's say I give you those 6,000 pods, heck, make it 60,000 and a really decent nodal defense force, say 'Frontier Fleet's best' but not with the first line FTL resources that I have. I'll even specify those FF best ships are all upgraded to handle Cataphract DDMs. In theory, you've got my missile count outnumbered by a factor of what, 50-500:1?
To win, all I have to do is get one cruiser to your high planet orbitals with even 50 missiles left, with you not having a ship or ships in the right place to take me out.
Because as a squadron commander, I'm no fool, so I'm going to show your system government something they want to see, which is the "opportunity for expanded trade", here's your bribe.
I'm going to send in a scout first in the form of a dispatch size, which will carry some useful diplomatic tidbit, incoming financial data, whatever. Something along the lines of sign here, and my freighter can be here in a week, we do two of these systems every six months, yada yada yada.
Once the dispatch boat hypers back to me it gives mes me a dang good map of your defenses, so that I know what my ships will do on the way in, and the best possible That gives me the best possible system entry points/vectors. Freighter comes in to begin trade, emptying several bays worth of Lorelies, mycrofts, mistletoe drones soon after arrival and sending my sneaks on their merry little way to their assigned points. Maybe even towing their own sets of pods. May do some trade and then the big ship departs.
Meanwhile, my two pre 'loaded for bear' -C's with as many pods as possible choose the appropriate time to hyper into your system from way out using the mapped/selected but non-standard vector (above the ecliptic, gas giants in optimal positions to help me disappear, whatever), going into stealth nearly immediately, and stay that way until a few hours before my pod's tractors run out of juice... or heck, I've got unpowered racked pods, there's a concept... power cords, etc.]
Do you really think I won't find a direction and vector that I can control well enough to win? I only have to survive along ONE vector. By the time I reach my best "attack point" all of my hidden resources have been mapping and approaching your pods, nodal ships, etc. or positioning themselves to flash the 'bad $hit happening in your star system' signal far far away from that vector. Then I pull the trigger, all controlled FTL.
I've now got 1200 missiles per- plus pods times two -C' cruisers . Your shoals of pods start disappearing in 500 megaton blasts (mistletoe) and your outer nodal ships are getting blown away from my own mycroft controlled pods? All of your ships are headed out to take out attacking ships that don't exist, [the lorelies], abandoning my vector.
Do you really think I won't win?...
Perhaps you've forgotten... Space is big.
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All my posts are YMMV, IMHO, and welcoming polite discussion, extension, and rebuttal. This is the HonorVerse, after all
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Freak accidents, ala Thunder of God or Monica, show that battlecruisers can be defeated by superior tech heavy cruisers, but generally it's not something to count on.