[Spoilers] ACtV - why didn't....

After the battle of Walther, the Volsung support base was captured intact, along with 8-9 warships who were in the repair bays and did not engage in th battle, and several freighters. The freighters were to be used to take the surviving Volsungs and their planetary based dependants to the nearby Silesian authorities.

But what about the warships and the base? Text has it being destroyed after the battle so any remaining Volsungs would not be able to use it. But why destroy it all?

The repair bays were designed to be moved and reused (after they were compressed to their mobile shape, which was not a quick procedure), and several of the ships were just in the repair bays for quick repairs/maintenance, while others were opened up for serious upgrade/repair.

The Station had several orbital warehouses of spare parts and (one would assume ) ammo reloads for the Volsung fleet. Hauptman, the shipbuilding expert Lady Calvendale sent on the mission, looked through the warehouses for evidence of who was supporting (and Hiring) the Volsungs, offering some evidence of Andermani support back to their Admiral.

With all that in mind, why didn’t Manticore or the Andermani look for any reparation or prizes? Manticore lost 5 warships against the Volsungs, why didn’t Captain Clegg grab an extra Frigate or Destroyer to replace the Gemini or the Phoenix? (especially since the Volsungs had several models the Manticorians also had). Since Manticore was always short of super expensive missiles, why didn’t the Casey at least replace it’s spent missiles from the base’s supply? Or at least pilfered a couple boxes of quality hexes from the parts warehouses?

Here’s what I would have done – Top off the Casey’s magazines and supplies from the base, in any extra cargo room, grab more missiles and supplies.

I’d love to grab one or all of the modular shipyards – but that would take time, manpower and (most importantly) a freighter. If one could easily be detatched, haul it out past the hyperlimit and hide it somewhere you can come back to

Quickly look at the surviving warships, and seal up any that have impellers, enviro, and hyper, fill their ammo and cargo spaces, and put skeleton crews on them, and move them out of the system. Do a quick jump to a random point in deep space and rendezvous with the Casey. Do a quick review of which ship is in the best shape/most compatible with the Manticorian fleet, how thinly the Casey’s manpower can be safely spread, then ferry the selected ship(s) home to Manticore.

Return with the resources and crew necessary to grab the rest of the ships and the modular shipyard as quickly as possible.

Now, we know that the Axelrod fleet sent to destroy the Volsungs appeared in Walther 30 minutes before the Casey left the system so there was a time limit that the Casey could stay in the system (Also they didn’t know when the rest of the Volsung fleet would return), but the Casey and the Andermani didn’t know that.

Still, I’m surprised the Casey didn’t grab as much swag as possible and try to grab a Frigate or Destroyer to replace the losses, especially when we repeatedly heard the issues with the costs of such components and weapons.

So why didn’t they – and more importantly, what would you do?

To avoid ... difficulties, maybe, between Manticore and Anderman? Who gets which vessels after the battle could make the cooperation between both forces during the battle a tiny little bit difficult, don't you think? So, they went for a clear cut: Noone gets any surviving ships or other mobile installations. Not Manticore, because they simply doesn't have the people on the spot to man one or two of the juicier prizes (like a light cruiser or a heavy cruiser) - and not Anderman, because they already have enough vessels for their needs. By the way, how do you make sure, the vessels haven't some hidden (and unexpectedly bad) surprises in them, which bite the prize crews in their collective ... posteriors? We talk about a mercenary outfit, after all - not your ran-of-the-mill-piratical crap.

Eagleeye wrote:To avoid ... difficulties, maybe, between Manticore and Anderman? Who gets which vessels after the battle could make the cooperation between both forces during the battle a tiny little bit difficult, don't you think? So, they went for a clear cut: Noone gets any surviving ships or other mobile installations. Not Manticore, because they simply doesn't have the people on the spot to man one or two of the juicier prizes (like a light cruiser or a heavy cruiser) - and not Anderman, because they already have enough vessels for their needs. By the way, how do you make sure, the vessels haven't some hidden (and unexpectedly bad) surprises in them, which bite the prize crews in their collective ... posteriors? We talk about a mercenary outfit, after all - not your ran-of-the-mill-piratical crap.

Don't tell me that you wouldn't have at least tried to get 4 replacement missiles - or at least a box of accursed hexes? Something tells me that the Andermani missiles are superior to the Volsung's hardware, but was roughly comparable with the RMN's - so they would be taking something the IAN didn't want or need.

Also, the Volsungs destroyed 5 RMN ships in the last battle - Making the RMN due a piece of skin - I dare say taking a single prize wouldn't be out of the question.

Only the Casey's rail gun launchers allowed the destruction of the 2 missile platforms - a tactic which probably saved the Amdermani a hull or 2 in the ensuing battle, that alone should have indebted the Andermani enough to take 1 ship in restitution.

My guess:
1) no prize crews available to move the ships away.
2) uncertainty about the whereabouts of the rest of the Volsungs... i.e. you can't occupy the station and wait for prize crews coming back, so the easiest way to take care of the problem is to simply destroy everything...
3) this was no official expedition, just a raid, in an out...

Theemile wrote:After the battle of Walther, the Volsung support base was captured intact, along with 8-9 warships who were in the repair bays and did not engage in th battle, and several freighters. The freighters were to be used to take the surviving Volsungs and their planetary based dependants to the nearby Silesian authorities.

But what about the warships and the base? Text has it being destroyed after the battle so any remaining Volsungs would not be able to use it. But why destroy it all?

The repair bays were designed to be moved and reused (after they were compressed to their mobile shape, which was not a quick procedure), and several of the ships were just in the repair bays for quick repairs/maintenance, while others were opened up for serious upgrade/repair.

The Station had several orbital warehouses of spare parts and (one would assume ) ammo reloads for the Volsung fleet. Hauptman, the shipbuilding expert Lady Calvendale sent on the mission, looked through the warehouses for evidence of who was supporting (and Hiring) the Volsungs, offering some evidence of Andermani support back to their Admiral.

With all that in mind, why didn’t Manticore or the Andermani look for any reparation or prizes? Manticore lost 5 warships against the Volsungs, why didn’t Captain Clegg grab an extra Frigate or Destroyer to replace the Gemini or the Phoenix? (especially since the Volsungs had several models the Manticorians also had). Since Manticore was always short of super expensive missiles, why didn’t the Casey at least replace it’s spent missiles from the base’s supply? Or at least pilfered a couple boxes of quality hexes from the parts warehouses?

Here’s what I would have done – Top off the Casey’s magazines and supplies from the base, in any extra cargo room, grab more missiles and supplies.

I’d love to grab one or all of the modular shipyards – but that would take time, manpower and (most importantly) a freighter. If one could easily be detatched, haul it out past the hyperlimit and hide it somewhere you can come back to

Quickly look at the surviving warships, and seal up any that have impellers, enviro, and hyper, fill their ammo and cargo spaces, and put skeleton crews on them, and move them out of the system. Do a quick jump to a random point in deep space and rendezvous with the Casey. Do a quick review of which ship is in the best shape/most compatible with the Manticorian fleet, how thinly the Casey’s manpower can be safely spread, then ferry the selected ship(s) home to Manticore.

Return with the resources and crew necessary to grab the rest of the ships and the modular shipyard as quickly as possible.

Now, we know that the Axelrod fleet sent to destroy the Volsungs appeared in Walther 30 minutes before the Casey left the system so there was a time limit that the Casey could stay in the system (Also they didn’t know when the rest of the Volsung fleet would return), but the Casey and the Andermani didn’t know that.

Still, I’m surprised the Casey didn’t grab as much swag as possible and try to grab a Frigate or Destroyer to replace the losses, especially when we repeatedly heard the issues with the costs of such components and weapons.

So why didn’t they – and more importantly, what would you do?