Tigress Spinward Marches Deployment

[McPerth]

I also wonder if the Droyne's use of psionics makes them seen as dangerous in the Imperium (and more so in the SM, where the Zhodani are near and psionics, I guess, more feared).

 

[Swiftbrook]

Both... But, maybe, it's more like to control access to the worlds. Droyne traders might fly in and out, and some non-Navy may fly in and out, but it's all controlled to a greater or lesser degree.

I think there would be free travel by Droyne between Andor and Candory. They are limited to Jump-1 so they can go any farther. Outside contact would be minimal at best.

 

[savage]

Tigress

I think there would be free travel by Droyne between Andor and Candory. They are limited to Jump-1 so they can go any farther. Outside contact would be minimal at best.

Yeah for now. What about lowering contact with other Imperium Droyne worlds.

The Battleships serve multiple purposes and one of those would be keeping the Droyne in. A foothold in that region, political statement to a potential expansion by the Imperium, loyalty to the Darrians, Keeping Sword Worlds out, etc.

I'd always assumed that additional vessels of every ship we're available for special missions during peace or war. This is a permanent special mission assignment.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

The Trigress dreadnoughts may have had better things to do once Virus hit, the Zhodani showed themselves to not be the threat they are after the Frontier Wars and so on.

I would suggest that maybe that the TL rating found in pre-1248 sources might be understated. Does anyone offhand know the New Era TL for the two systems?

 

[Swiftbrook]

The Trigress dreadnoughts may have had better things to do once Virus hit, the Zhodani showed themselves to not be the threat they are after the Frontier Wars and so on.

I would suggest that maybe that the TL rating found in pre-1248 sources might be understated. Does anyone offhand know the New Era TL for the two systems?

According to "The Regency Sourcebook"

Andor went from 9 to D (+4 levels)
Candory from 8 to E (+6 levels)
Both are marked as Red Zones

Interesting.

 

[Carlobrand]

According to "The Regency Sourcebook"

Andor went from 9 to D (+4 levels)
Candory from 8 to E (+6 levels)
Both are marked as Red Zones

Interesting.

Sounds like somebody - er, some droyne - was holding back a bit of info from the 1085-1105 Imperial survey team. :smirk:

(I'm seeing Candory at TL9 in 1105.)

(add: oh wait - errata.)

 

[Swiftbrook]

Great Input!

IMTU: There will be four Tigress-class Dreadnoughts to enforce the red zone blockade of Candory and Andor. One on station at each planet, two on general patrol in and around the subsector. These will not be detached from the Spinward Marches Batron, but will be ships on special assignment. Also, these ships will be slight variations of the standard Tigress. Instead of carrying 300 heavy fighters, they will carry 100 heavy fighters, 10 Dragon class SDBs and have a 6000 dton large craft bay. In practice, the 10 SDBs from the patrolling Tigress will remain on station at Candory or Andor so there will be 20 SDBs in-system.

Also, operations at Candory are quite challenging. The system doesn't have a gas giant and no contact, even for the navy, is allowed with the planet. All fuel must be brought in by tanker. Several tankers will be on permanent assignment shuttling fuel from Andor to the blockading ships at Candory.

 

[Carlobrand]

...Also, operations at Candory are quite challenging. The system doesn't have a gas giant and no contact, even for the navy, is allowed with the planet. All fuel must be brought in by tanker. Several tankers will be on permanent assignment shuttling fuel from Andor to the blockading ships at Candory.

Build a fuel processing station on a little ice asteroid? Spinward Marches Campaign credits the system with two planetoid belts; there's probably an ice body that can be pressed into service somewhere in that.

 

[Dagrill]

I also wonder if the Droyne's use of psionics makes them seen as dangerous in the Imperium (and more so in the SM, where the Zhodani are near and psionics, I guess, more feared).

Yes, I can see the 3I fearing what would happen of 2 races of mind control specialists got friendly and decided to take over the 3I...

Kind Regards

David

 

[Dagrill]

I look at this from the other side of the glass. One Tigress is complete overkill for the entire subsector. There is no real threat of invasion, leading, trailing, spinward or rimward. No planet or multi-planet political unit in the area would have the funds to build anything close to threatening a single Tigress. Significant Zhodani forces are half a sector away and Aslan even farther.

Now an invasion from either Alsan or Zhodani to get to Candory & Andor would make for an interesting adventure.

Hi,

Aslan Ihatei from Asyuh, 1121 are only seven J4's 5 Sisters and D268 via low pop or low tech worlds, they could be at the edge of Imperial space in under 3 months and get reinforcements in 5 months (with 3 jumps per month).

Whilst nothing could threaten a Tigress there's only so mush 300 fighters can achieve before being overwhelmed, it would make more sense to station Cruisers and Carriers, how many Ihatei would be able to fight a Strike Carrier?

Regards

David

 

[Carlobrand]

...Whilst nothing could threaten a Tigress there's only so mush 300 fighters can achieve before being overwhelmed, it would make more sense to station Cruisers and Carriers, how many Ihatei would be able to fight a Strike Carrier?...

Tigress is an impressive ship, but it is not ideal for ship-to-ship combat against capital ships. It is just as vulnerable to meson spinal fire as its smaller cousins - in fact, that spherical design makes it a bit more vulnerable - and it's just as dead when it takes a hit. Being larger in that context means you lose more when it dies.

Tigress is actually ideal in the detached duty role, functioning as a mobile base with 430 missile batteries for bombardment and counter-SDB work and a large number of fighters for patrol and surface attack. Needs only an accompanying troop transport to make worlds tremble.

 

[GrayPennell]

The 208th fleet is deployed as the main patrol fleet for the Five Sisters. It is based at Ideratie. I have always considered it an understrength independent minded fleet where the book was tossed out long ago in return for getting the job done with little resources. This subsector is the hive of villainy to rival some other places. If you mention the Five Sisters to anyone outside of the Spinward Marches they just shrug and go ahh the Marches. As for the Droyne depending on your setting the Imperium is just starting to figure things out so early on the embargo units are pretty small while 1200 I am sure they are bigger.

 

[Swiftbrook]

The 208th fleet is deployed as the main patrol fleet for the Five Sisters. It is based at Ideratie. I have always considered it an understrength independent minded fleet where the book was tossed out long ago in return for getting the job done with little resources. This subsector is the hive of villainy to rival some other places. If you mention the Five Sisters to anyone outside of the Spinward Marches they just shrug and go ahh the Marches. As for the Droyne depending on your setting the Imperium is just starting to figure things out so early on the embargo units are pretty small while 1200 I am sure they are bigger.

IMTU the presence of 2 to 4 Tigress class dreadnoughts changes everything. A good chunk of my 208th fleet are multiple transport squadrons, making regular trips to and from Glisten, the nearest TL 15 system, crossing District 268. I haven't determined the make up of the rest of the 208th, but it does get benefits from the need of a good, long supply route. They're not a forgotten, back-water, outpost. Because of the two Droyne worlds, the 3I takes this subsector seriously, and the people in and around it know it! Why to you think the 3I made this a subsector way out here and not just District 267?

 

[savage]

Droyne

Why to you think the 3I made this a subsector way out here ...

Simply put. Expansion. I think the Droyne are not as much of an issue as people would like. They have the resources of 2 worlds and make a good excuse. Stephen appears to prefer stabilization to expansion but if Lucan or Dulinor's bids had been successful it might have been an entirely different scenario.

 

[Carlobrand]

Simply put. Expansion. I think the Droyne are not as much of an issue as people would like. They have the resources of 2 worlds and make a good excuse. Stephen appears to prefer stabilization to expansion but if Lucan or Dulinor's bids had been successful it might have been an entirely different scenario.

They incorporated 13 systems surrounding two Droyne systems, worlds 7-8 parsecs from Imperial borders at closest, ignoring a score of intervening worlds, for expansion and not because of the two Droyne systems at the heart of that sector?

CT Supplement 3: "The Five Sisters subsector is only sparsely settled, and depends upon Imperial payrolls for most of its internal economy. Some colonisation attempts were begun under the auspices of Emperor Paulo I in 740, but all developmental activity was stopped in the psionic suppressions of 800. The region has been under naval administration since."

It really sounds like the Droyne are at the heart of things and have been for the past 3 centuries, both literally and figuratively. It's not at all clear that the Imperium is aware of Droyne psionic culture, but the tie-in between the cessation of development activity and the presence of two red-zoned Droyne worlds at the heart of the sector is hard to overlook. The Imperium had contact with the Droyne of Andor and Candory prior to the suppressions, and according to Alien Module 5 the Droyne are pretty frank about their use of psionics - except in the presence of Imperials. Ergo, it is likely that the local Imperials were aware of at least some psi-using Droyne prior to the suppressions, even if the Droyne have learned to be careful in Imperial presence since. And then we also have the possibility of Ancient relics on the two worlds. All in all, I would say that the Droyne are the key to Imperial presence in the subsector.

 

[McPerth]

Tigress is an impressive ship, but it is not ideal for ship-to-ship combat against capital ships. It is just as vulnerable to meson spinal fire as its smaller cousins - in fact, that spherical design makes it a bit more vulnerable - and it's just as dead when it takes a hit. Being larger in that context means you lose more when it dies.

Tigress is actually ideal in the detached duty role, functioning as a mobile base with 430 missile batteries for bombardment and counter-SDB work and a large number of fighters for patrol and surface attack. Needs only an accompanying troop transport to make worlds tremble.

I guess Tigress main mision would be, as you point, detached duty and to show the flag as independent unit (or with little needed support), just making Imperial presence felt (and feared).

As such, I guess the Tigress in SM would be patroling it (one per subsector or so) and making "good will" visits to main planets.

If, as most of you say, two Tigress are patroling the Droyne worlds in Five Sisters, I guess its main mision would be to make clear the importance the Imperium gives to it, as the blockade could be maintanined as efficientely (if not more) with lesser units. If such importance is given to it, I guess those two Tigress are independent from the Tigress squadron in SM, being an independent (or semi independent) unit attached 208^th fleet (according to MT:RS the one in Five Sisters) or even answering directly to the SM fleet HQ.

 

[rancke]

They incorporated 13 systems surrounding two Droyne systems, worlds 7-8 parsecs from Imperial borders at closest, ignoring a score of intervening worlds, for expansion and not because of the two Droyne systems at the heart of that sector?

Sure. If Andor and Candory had been the primary concern, the Imperium wouldn't have let a subsector border prevent it from securing the worlds on the fourth side of the 'box' of surrounding worlds, the ones in Urnian. But if the main aim was to expand into the Five Sisters subsector, it makes sense that they would stop at the subsector border.

CT Supplement 3: "The Five Sisters subsector is only sparsely settled, and depends upon Imperial payrolls for most of its internal economy. Some colonisation attempts were begun under the auspices of Emperor Paulo I in 740, but all developmental activity was stopped in the psionic suppressions of 800. The region has been under naval administration since."

It really sounds like the Droyne are at the heart of things and have been for the past 3 centuries, both literally and figuratively. It's not at all clear that the Imperium is aware of Droyne psionic culture, but the tie-in between the cessation of development activity and the presence of two red-zoned Droyne worlds at the heart of the sector is hard to overlook.

My take is that Andor and Candory were spotted and noted in one of the early Scout exploratory sweeps and then surveyed some time later. At some point, perhaps in 610 (when District 267 was declared), perhaps earlier, Andor and Candory probably became client states. In 802, the two worlds were interdicted because of their blatant use of psionics and refusal to give it up. (I've never been able to take seriously the egregiously silly claim that Andor and Candory weren't discovered until 802).

I guess Tigris main mision would be, as you point, detached duty and to show the flag as independent unit (or with little needed support), just making Imperial presence felt (and feared).

Tigress. They are named for great cats, not rivers.

If, as most of you say, two Tigris are patroling the Droyne worlds in Five Sisters, I guess its main mision would be to make clear the importance the Imperium gives to it, as the blockade could be maintained as efficientely (if not more) with lesser units. If such importance is given to it, I guess those two Tigris are independent from the Tigris squadron in SM, being an independent (or semi independent) unit attached 208^th fleet (according to MT:RS the one in Five Sisters) or even answering directly to the SM fleet HQ.

My guess is that one or at most two Tigresses at a time would be deployed in Five Sisters and that they would come from the squadron at Rhylanor. And probably only intermittently.


Hans

 

[McPerth]

Tigress. They are named for great cats, not rivers.

Right, my fault

Fixed

 

[savage]

Five Sisters

They incorporated 13 systems surrounding two Droyne systems, worlds 7-8 parsecs from Imperial borders at closest, ignoring a score of intervening worlds, for expansion and not because of the two Droyne systems at the heart of that sector?

They do not surround the Droyne worlds with Imperium worlds. The Imperium worlds are on the Imperium side.

CT Supplement 3: "The Five Sisters subsector is only sparsely settled, and depends upon Imperial payrolls for most of its internal economy. Some colonisation attempts were begun under the auspices of Emperor Paulo I in 740, but all developmental activity was stopped in the psionic suppressions of 800. The region has been under naval administration since."

Colonization is the primary reason for entering 5 Sisters, District 268 centuries ago. Extremely good point. Why not abandon it if their is Droyne fear? The Psionic suppression is not the only key. The Frontier Wars also had political ramifications in the region slowing/stopping colonization.

It really sounds like the Droyne are at the heart of things and have been for the past 3 centuries, both literally and figuratively. It's not at all clear that the Imperium is aware of Droyne psionic culture, but the tie-in between the cessation of development activity and the presence of two red-zoned Droyne worlds at the heart of the sector is hard to overlook. The Imperium had contact with the Droyne of Andor and Candory prior to the suppressions, and according to Alien Module 5 the Droyne are pretty frank about their use of psionics - except in the presence of Imperials. Ergo, it is likely that the local Imperials were aware of at least some psi-using Droyne prior to the suppressions, even if the Droyne have learned to be careful in Imperial presence since. And then we also have the possibility of Ancient relics on the two worlds. All in all, I would say that the Droyne are the key to Imperial presence in the subsector.

The 2 Droyne worlds are not a threat to the 11,000 world Imperium unless the Droyne have impacted all the colonization in neighboring worlds through Psionics across multiple parsecs. There are many worlds with Amber zone.
And not politically controlling District 268 and buffering the Imperium in 5 Sisters makes some sense.

The research station is probably working on the Droyne problem instead of blasting them flat. Stephen is more peaceful than some of the predecessors. The situation lacks a lot of basic information. For example, Do the Droyne have an Ancient warship as well? It is an easy assumption, expansion stopped from the Frontier Wars and treaties not the Droyne road bump.

 

[Swiftbrook]

If, as most of you say, two Tigress are patroling the Droyne worlds in Five Sisters, I guess its main mision would be to make clear the importance the Imperium gives to it, as the blockade could be maintanined as efficientely (if not more) with lesser units.

I assume the word "several" means three or four. I can't imagine placing one Tigress at each world on static blockade duty. If they ever practiced with their jump drive, they'd be away from the world they're blockading for around three plus weeks. That's unacceptable. I have at least one spare Tigress to rotate in and give the other two relief.