AAR - Crying over spilled Bloodwine

Subspace Network Reports
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Stardate:
97794.4
Filed By:
CMDR Barron, Mai'kull
Clearance:

LOCATION Bonav System, Archanis Sector

MISSION Defend/Prevent Hostile Klingon Incursion

OUTCOME Sucessfully Repelled Klingon Fleet

KEY PERSONNEL
USS Peacecraft [Yorktown Class]

  • Captain Dubois, Christian - Operational Commander

USS Saraswati [Brigid Class]

  • Captain Draz, Sanara

USS Sun-Tzu [Avenger Class]

  • CMDR Barron, Maikull

USS Sunrise [Soverign Class]

  • Captain Hanson, Rose

USS Endeavour [Endeavour Class]

  • Captain Mirazuni, Ayesha

USS Ajilon [Soyuz Class]

  • CMDR Salene, Na’Toth

NARRATIVE
-On Stardate 97794.4, USS Sun-Tzu picked up a priority one message reporting a fleet of Klingon ships were crossing into Federation Space. We arrived on location just behind USS Peacecraft and USS Saraswati with Captain Duibois assuming Operational Command. As indicated by sensors, the Klingon Fleet consisted of 1 Heavy Cruiser, 2 Battlecruisers, 3 Light Cruisers, and 5 Birds of Prey; all bearing the mark of House Jem’pok. Captain Duibois attempted to use diplomacy, and turn the Klingon fleet around, however, the Klingons remarked that we (Assuming Starfleet) were harboring House Mo’Kai fugitives, and that they would not leave without them, and immediately fired upon our ships.

Shortly after the Engagement, USS Endeavour and USS Sunrise joined in, with USS Peacecraft, USS Saraswati and USS Endeavour confronting the centralized Battlecruisers, and Heavy Cruiser; while USS Sun-Tzu and USS Sunrise engaged the auxiliary fighter crafts preventing them from flanking our main forces. Following this, USS Ajilon entered the ranks, and held back providing Tactical Analysis Support.

According to Tactical Logs, The Primary Engagement unfolded as follows:
• USS Peacecraft engaged Battlecruiser (Alpha) in a back-and-forth Firefight
• USS Saraswati engaged Battlecruiser (Omega); drawing the Battlecruiser away with a Gravity Well.
• USS Endeavour engaged both Battlecruiser (Alpha) and Heavy Cruiser sustaining Moderate Damage
Both Battlecruisers were heavily damaged, with Battlecruiser (Alpha) withdrawing, and Battlecruiser (Omega) being disabled, and calling for a surrender/cease-fire. The Heavy Cruiser Sustained Minimal Damage, but withdrew when Battlecruiser (Omega) surrendered.

The Secondary Engagement was between my ship, USS Sun-Tzu, USS Sunrise, the Three Light Cruisers (Alpha, Beta, Delta), as well as the Five Birds of Pray (Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, Echo). During the Initial assault, The Peacecraft and Saraswati engaged the Battlecruisers, leaving me to manage the lighter craft to prevent being flanked. Though the arrival of the Sunrise, it was still a 4to1 battle between our forces. I felt it prudent to disable the opposition quickly before they could overwhelm or outmaneuver our position, and focused fire on one ship at a time. I had ordered the engines of Bird of Pray (Delta) to be targeted, to disable it, but the shot ended up destroying the vessel.

The USS Sunrise ended up drawing the attention of two of the Light Cruisers, as well as 3 of the Birds of Prey to pull them away from the Primary Engagement, but was taking heavy fire from them as well. I ordered the Sun-Tzu to engage in an attempt to flank and pincer attack the Klingon ships between myself and Captain Hanson. Together we were able to disable Bird of Pray (Echo) but the Sunrise ended up being disabled from the heavy fire from the others. I then was able to Disable Bird of Pray (Gamma) which was breaking off to fight an auxiliary craft from the USS Endeavour.

It was at this point the Primary Engagement had ended, and the Klingon’s Flagship had surrendered. The two perusing Light Cruisers (Alpha, and Beta) that had disabled the Sunrise warped out of the system, as the Peacecraft moved in to envelop the Disabled Sunrise in their shields. Most other vessels had surrendered (if disabled) or fled the battlefield, with the exception of Light Cruiser (Delta) which was perusing the USS Ajilon. Captain Dubois ordered me to Engage the Light Cruiser and defend the Ajilon. I ordered Surgical Phaser Fire on the attacking ship’s weapon systems to disable it, while broadcasting for them to surrender/withdraw with the rest of their fleet.

It is unknown why, but the opposing ship surrendered, AND dropped their shields simultaneously, taking the full brunt of our phaser fire before my crew had time to react to their submission, and was immediately destroyed. Following this, all fleet ships regrouped, distributing repairs and collection of prisoners from the remaining disabled ships before setting course back to Deep Space 13.

RECOMMENDATION
The political ramifications of this engagement aside, Klingons don’t take loss well, and the survivors of this battle might seek ramification. I would suggest that patrols along the border be modified to encompass at least two ships or more in a patrol route, as Klingons generally fight like pack-predators. Thankfully there were multiple ships in range when this occurred.

RECOGNITION
All officers performed admirably, during this engagement, and Captain Dubois did well to manage the fleet.

OOC
Adds the [First Blood] and [Double-Kill] achievement medals to his personnel record
Great event, and thanks to @Sam for running it! Glad I didn’t mess up and make a fool of myself (which is a big irrational anxiety I have that usually keeps me to solo posts)! Look forward to doing more of these in the future!

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2
Stardate:
97796.1
Filed By:
CMDR Barron, Maikull
Clearance:

ADDENDUM
TO: RADM Bishop, @Sam

Why weren’t they cloaked?

I left this out of my main report, because it is purely speculative at this point, but I wished to raise the question because it has been eating at me as I continue to review the data from the battle. The Flagship speaking for the Klingon Fleet reported to have been crossing into Federation Space because “we were harboring members of House Mo’Kai” but why fly in allowing detection? If their goal was to extract or eliminate an enemy target, doing so under cloak would have been more favorable to that outcome, rather than flying in fully flagged.

Klingon battle tactics rely heavily on “Shock and Awe” and “Alpha Strike” principles, which is why they utilize their cloaking technology. Even if their flagships were uncloaked, there was no tactical reasoning why their support craft weren’t. Usual escorts for heavy cruisers remain cloaked to mask their numbers and positions, allowing the more heavily defended vessel to act as bait while the smaller vessels move to flank the enemy. Had their light cruisers and birds-of-pray been cloaked, they could have easily outflanked us in this battle.

Either Jem’pok wanted to force us into an open conflict with his forces (Which wouldn’t be the first time a Klingon has started a conflict on multiple fronts) for some political edge; or this battle was merely a distraction meant to draw our forces away from their true objective, performed covertly.

Signed,
Commander Barron, Mai’kull

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Stardate:
97797.7
Filed By:
CAPT Dubois, C.
Clearance:

After Action Report

ADDENDUM

This is to be considered a consideration of some strategic implications of the recent engagement against Klingon forces that took place in the Bonav System.
It is this officer’s opinion that there are three points that emerged from this event which deserve further consideration by this Command and, by large, by Starfleet.

  1. Our current Detection & Early Warning system is working. The timely identification of Klingon forces crossing our borders was probably the key element for ensuring a swift response and, consequently, to avoid further consequences. This should not allow us to feel complacent, however, as there are still some improvements that may be taken into account: for example, we do not know how effective the system will be in the case of cloaked units (though it may be presumed that the decrease in effectiveness that comes almost naturally by the use of cloaking devices may be deemed statistically irrelevant).

  2. Our Rapid Response capability should be enhanced. While it was possible to deploy a number of assets sufficient to counter the Klingon penetration, it should also be noted that, in case the Klingons should have deployed a more consistent fleet, or decided to pursue victory at all costs (including self-sacrifice), it is likely that our task force would have been, in the best of cases, forced to withdraw, or outright annhilated. No room can be left to chance. It is this officer’s opinion that the activities and schedules of Taurus Squadron should be updated accordingly: in particular, Command could take into consideration the option of deploying a more permanent and structured frontline patrol, made by units selected for their characteristics most relevant to this peculiar task, and supported by a ‘second-line’ structure, more properly similar to a Rapid Response task force, for swift support and coordination.

  3. Intelligence collection and delivery needs substantial improvement. There was no warning of an incoming Klingon attack, and such an intelligence ‘fog’ should be deemed as unacceptable. Information is always key to prevent unwanted events from happening, and this is all the more true if we want to avoid or prevent further Klingon forays into our territory. Improvement of our intelligence gathering capabilities (and, equally important, their swift and effective reporting) should be deemed a priority.

This is just a tentative, probably incomplete, list of what would be possible to take from an analysis of this skirmish from a strategic point of view. While the whole Task Force performed admirably, we must avoid complacency at all costs, lest our borders become less and less secure and more exposed to further spillovers of this civil war.

Cordially

Signed
CAPT Christian Dubois,
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Peacecraft

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