Mixed results in Af Leporis
28 Oct 2015Kaocraft
Took the Aleksander to AF Leporis to aid in a crime sweep. Was actually smart enough to re-fit the cargo rack space with shield cell banks, and I swapped out the kill warrant scanner for a shield booster. Not sure if the booster was worth it. The only one they had for sale was D-rated which only adds 8%. Well anyway better safe than sorry.The crime sweeps were challenging and progress was slow. Lots of railgun-sniper Asps on the enemy side and not many big ships on our side to distract them. On my first outing I was nearly blown to pieces and had to retreat with a shattered canopy, hurrying to get to a station before life support gives out. After repairing at Murray Platform, I returned and I found a friendly Imperial Clipper. I decided to stay in its shadow to pick at its targets, weakening their shields so that the Clipper's larger guns could finish them off. At one point I saw a friendly Anaconda and made a B-line towards it, only to discover that it's shields were down and the hull was at 8%. It was wisely hanging out at the edge of the battlefield and I decided to back off lest I lure any fighters its way.
I returned to the Clipper and continued to seek out its targets. Most of the ships were Asps and Vultures whose hulls seem to be pretty resistant to my beam lasers. The cannons work Ok once their shields are down, but Vultures and Asps are agile enough that it's tough to consistently line up shots with the slow cannons, which meant I had to chase each kill for a while. Managed a few kills before realizing I had wandered well away from the protection of the Clipper, and was now on the edge of the battlefield, when another railgun Asp started slamming me from below. I tried to orient myself towards it, and activated a shield cell as I did so in an attempt to save my rapidly depleting shield, but it was too late and the Asp rotated into my view just as it was unloading another punch from its dual railguns. The Shields went down. The Asp was almost 3 Kilometers away, so I dropped weapons power into engines and punched the boost, turning the Aleksander around in a wide, fast, hopefully difficult to hit arc, until I was mooning my enemy and putting some distance between us.
Cobras are fast. Until Guatamaya's engineers unveiled their Imperial-branded variant of the Eagle fighter craft last month, the Cobra had the honor of being the fastest ship in the galaxy. Now it's only second best, but that's more than enough when you're trying to outrun an Asp. I punched the boost a second time and put the Aleksander into a broad, spiraling barrel roll to throw off its aim. I didn't bother with chaff since railguns are always on fixed mounts anyway. It was working. Shots were still coming but only one of them connected. Any hit from a rail is substantial but this one didn't knock out any of my systems, only producing hull damage. I hit the boost again. Over 4 Kilometers between us and we were now well outside the battlefield with no other ships around. Boost again. 5K. Angry messages are coming over the comms. Boost again, and the Asp has disappeared from my radar just as my shields begin to come back online.
I should have low-waked out of there and back to the station for repairs, but screw it. My shields now back online, I split all of the Aleksander's power between systems and engines, and flip back around towards the crime sweep area. A few moments later and my sensors pick up the Asp at the very edge of their range. I boost towards my adversary. He fires and misses. I'm not bothering with weapons right now as we're still too far for my beams to have any effect. There's a lot of distance to cover and now we're "jousting," which is a bad idea, but if I can close the distance between us and get behind him, the superior speed and turning ability of my cobra should allow me to keep out of his railgun sights. Another snap from the railguns. This time they connect, but my shields hold. I boost again, rotating 90 degrees and angling my ship to one side of the Asp, so that as we close the distance he will have to use his weak yaw thrusters in order to keep me in his sights, while I can employ all the advantages of pitch, roll, and vertical thrust to stay just on the edge of his line of fire. It's risky and nerve-wracking but it works. A final pair of rail shots flash just above my canopy, and then we pass each other.
I divert some systems power to engines and throttle back until I am at an ideal maneuvering speed. I begin to turn around and so does the Asp. A turning battle begins and our thruster contrails trace a pair of blue concentric nested spirals in the void as we each try to circle in on one another. I engage vertical thrust which tightens my turn radius at the expense of overall speed, putting my arc inside of his. A moment later and his backside is in my sights. I quickly divert full power to weapons and open fire as I close in behind the Asp.
A full discharge of the beam lasers brings the Asp's shield most of the way down before he deploys chaff, sending the crosshairs of my gimbaled weapons all over the place. I reallocate engine power and bide my time, maneuvering into a more favorable position while my instruments readjust to his chaff. By the time the gimbals have calmed down, I am within 300 meters and staring into the glow of his engines. I let loose with both barrels of my cannons and adjust power again. The lasers back at full power by the time the twin cannon shots have made their impact. My second cannon volley is complimented by a sustained beam laser discharge and then the enemy's shields are down. The Asp tries to boost away but I use the last of the Aleksander's engine capacitors to boost with him, still laying on the hurt with dual beam lasers and cracking his hull with cannon fire whenever I can line up a shot. The Asp boosts a second time, and with my engine power depleted I am unable to boost after him, but it doesn't matter - the Aleksander's cannons have already pummeled his hull down to 35%, and there's no way he's outrunning me long enough to rebuild his shields.
I throttle up to pursuit speed and try to line up a few more cannon shots before he is out of range. I don't bother with the lasers - they need to recharge and they're ineffective at long distances anyway. I think maybe 2 of my 6 cannon shots connect, but that's enough to drop his hull another 10%. The Asp is now a distant speck trailing a long blue plume behind it. I can't see the ship anymore, but my instruments indicate he is turning around. Perfect! I guess he wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Sure enough, the distance indicator is showing smaller and smaller readings, and a moment after I notice this fact, a flicker of railgun fire passes to my left. We're jousting now. I shrug and put full power in shields as I make the approach.
The Asp is close enough to see now, and evidently close enough to see me. A second pair of railgun bolts impact squarely into my front, knocking out one full shield layer. Damn those things are powerful. I have only two layers left, which in this particular situation should be plenty. I half-heartedly barrel-roll spiral towards him in a weak parody of an evasive maneuver, and he whiffs the second railgun shot. At this point we're close enough that I begin unloading my cannons. He's coming straight at me so it's an easy target, and i just keep laying into him as we hurdle towards each other. Another rail-bolt connects and my shields drop another layer. We're close enough for lasers now, so I give him full beams along with the continued cannon fire. Less than 800 meters and closing fast. I connect with another cannon volley just as his railguns drop my third and final shield layer. 300 meters, and then I hear a cracking, popping sound, and I see that the hull of his ship, now so close it is about to impact mine, is beginning to sputter and spark. And then it explodes, sending fire and ship pieces in all directions. We are still hurtling towards each other and I am flying through the explosion, with flames and fragments of hot metal bouncing off my canopy before disappearing behind me.
He *did* go out on a blaze of glory. Good on him.
Satisfied with myself, I take a moment to regain my composure (and recharge my shields), before pivoting the Aleksander back towards the Crime Sweep zone. I've got a method to deal with those railgun Asps now. Lure them out and duel them out.
I return to the battle and take down many targets, always luring the Asps out when they appear, and dueling them. It's time consuming but it works and it saves my ship. Some are easier than others, and a few of them are smart enough to fly backwards and snipe me as I try to catch up with them, but the speed of the Aleksander (and the occasional shield cell battery), always allows me to close the distance and get behind them eventually.
A few dozen kills later and I've earned my merits for the week. I make one last visit to Murray Platform before starting on the long road back to Kamadhenu.