First Battle of Kilrah - 2667: Difference between revisions

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The '''Battle of Kilrah''' was a major battle fought during the final years of the [[Terran-Kilrathi War]].  
{{infobox military conflict
| conflict    = First Battle of Kilrah
| partof      = the [[Terran-Kilrathi War]]
| image      = [[image:WC3-Kilrah.png|250px]]
| caption    = Kilrah
| date        = 2667
| place      = [[Kilrah System]]
| coordinates =
| map_type    =
| latitude    =
| longitude  =
| map_size    =
| map_caption =
| map_label  =
| territory  =
| result      = Confederation victory
| status      =
| combatant1  = [[Terran Confederation]]
| combatant2  = [[Empire of Kilrah]]
| combatant3  =
| commander1  = Commodore [[Thaddeus O'Brian]] {{KIA|alt=yes}}
| commander2  = Crown Prince [[Thrakhath nar Kiranka]]
| commander3  =
| units1      = [[Strike Force Valkyrie]]
| units2      = [[Kilrathi Home Fleet]]
| units3      =
| strength1  = ''[[TCS Tarawa]]'' <br /> * 45 Fighters <br> * 10 Marine Landing Craft <br> * 500 Marine Commandos <br> ''[[TCS Intrepid]]'' <br /> ''[[TCS Kagimasha]]''
| strength2  = 3 Carriers (''[[KIS Karu]]'', ''[[KIS Torg]]'' and an unnamed carrier) <br> 2 [[Fralthra-Class Cruisers]] <br> 4 [[Ralatha-Class Destroyers]] <br> 6 [[Kamekh-Class Corvettes]]
| strength3  =
| casualties1 = * ''TCS Tarawa'' severely damaged, spending months in dry dock. <br>* 283 crew members on ''Tarawa'' [[KIA]]. <br>* 30 of 44 pilots [[KIA]]. <br>* ''TCS Intrepid'' destroyed.<br>* ''TCS Kagimasha'' destroyed.<br>* Unknown number of members of First Marine Battalion [[KIA]].
| casualties2 = * Six Carrier Construction Slips Destroyed.<br>* Six Carriers Under Construction Destroyed.<br>* Cruiser Assembly Facility Destroyed<br>* Over 4,000 Kilrathi Technicians KIA.<br>* One High Level Design Team KIA.<br>* Two Orbital Stations Destroyed.<br>* Four Kamekh Corvettes Destroyed in Kilrah System.<br>* One Fralthra Cruiser Destroyed in Baragh System.<br>* Roughly 90 fighters destroyed throughout the entire battle
| casualties3 =
| notes      =
}}
 
 
 
The '''First Battle of Kilrah''' was a key part of [[Operation Back Lash - 2667|Operation Back Lash]]. It involved a [[Terran Confederation]] task force assigned to strike directly into the [[Kilrah (star system)|Kilrah system]].
 
 


==Background==
==Background==
The Terran-Kilrathi War had been raging on between the [[Terran Confederation]] and the brutal [[Kilrathi Empire]] for over thirty years prior to the late 2660s. The [[Kilrathi]] had always had the upper hand in the War, but finally, in the year 2668, humanity was turning the tide against their hated enemies. The [[Battle of Vukar Tag]] was in progress but was so far proceeding in humanity's favor, and Confed had just succeeded in destroying the [[Society of the Mandarins]], an alliance of human traitors committed to the Kilrathi cause. Kilrathi losses were higher than in any previous year, and Crown Prince [[Thrakhath nar Kiranka]] was losing his credibility as a competent commander of the Kilrathi Armed Forces. However, the Kilrathi were far from defeated. They still had millions of troops and over twice the carrier force of the Terran Confederation, along with an endless supply of war materials. Confed High Command realized that if they were to continue their momentum, they had to deprive the Empire of their war supplies and cause some severe damage to their navy.  
===Confederation Situation===
By the mid-2660s the Terran Confederation and [[Empire of Kilrah|Kilrathi Empire]] had fought each other to a virtual standstill. However, starting in 2665 the Confederation began to suffer heavy losses, particularly in carriers. 2666 proved to be particularly disastrous for the Confederation, with nine carriers destroyed and the ''[[TCS Austerlitz]]'' so heavily damaged that she would remain in dry dock until 2668. The Confederation was left with seven fleet carriers to cover the entire front. [[Operation Back Lash]] was developed in response to the Confederation's desperate situation. The Confederation needed time to bring more heavy carriers, then under construction, on-line. Military commanders had war gamed a scenario that, while very risky, could provide huge rewards. [[Strike Force Valkyrie]] was an essential part of that plan. The [[Kilrathi Home Fleet]] was to be lured into an ambush at [[Vukar Tag]] by four Confederation carriers and their escorts. In order to split the Home Fleet, Confederation planners incorporated Strike Force Valkyrie into the overall plan. One of the newly constructed [[Wake-Class Escort Carrier|Wake-class escort carriers]] and two escorts were to penetrate into the [[Kilrah (star system)|Kilrah system]] using a recently-discovered jump line that made the trip considerably shorter and would offer the best chance to cause a dilemma for Crown Prince [[Thrakhath nar Kiranka]] when the strike force exposed itself at a critical moment. By striking at the home system while the Kilrathi Home Fleet went to redeem the honor of Emperor [[Joor'rad nar Kiranka]]'s  mother, Dowager Empress [[Graknala nar Kiranka]], by retaking Vukar Tag, Thrakhath would be put in an untenable position and forced to split his fleet. This was the key to Operation Back Lash.
 
===Kilrathi Situation===
The Kilrathi military, operating under the command of Crown Prince Thrakhath, had to respond to the dishonor caused by the Confederation invasion and continued occupation of Vukar Tag. They were fed information by a hidden burst signal facility (the Confederation had deliberately let it remain active for this very purpose) on the surface of Vukar Tag. It captured images of Confederation marines looting and then destroying the Dowager Empress' estate. The castle had special meaning for the Crown Prince who had spent some time there as a cub. The insult to the Imperial family was clear and had to be avenged. The entire Home Fleet with ten carriers and several legions of Imperial Marines would sortie to retake Vukar Tag.
 
==Orders to Strike Force Valkyrie==
Admiral Banbridge orders to Strike Force Valkyrie:
 
<blockquote style="font-style: italic">"Your mission is to drive straight into the heart of the Kilrathi Empire and to launch a strike on their home system...If anything will split off the home fleet it will be this action. We've traced out a route into the Empire which will follow back trade lanes, using a recently discovered jump point that will take you across a dozen sectors in a single leap. From there, you'll be down into the bottom side of the Empire nearly five hundred parsecs from here and just four jumps from their home world of Kilrah. You'll then drive straight up, relying on speed and stealth. The key point, however, is that you will let the Kilrathi know you're coming...that's the heart of the plan. We expect that once you've completed that long jump, the Kilrathi home fleet will be over halfway out here to Vukar and then, suddenly, you push the backdoor alarm bell. They'll be between a rock and a hard place. They won't know about the trap waiting at Vukar, but they will know about you. We expect that interior defenses will be damn near stripped for their offensive. Ignore you, and the home planet gets a hell of a shaking up. Abandon the offensive and race back home and honor is lost for not immediately retaking Vukar...They'll walk into the trap with part of their fleet missing and we'll smash it to pieces. If it works, it just might trigger a political crisis that could bring down the Emperor himself and at the very least we'll have bagged half a dozen of their finest capital ships."</blockquote>
 
==Opposing Forces==
===Strike Force Valkyrie===
'''Strike Force Commander''': Commodore [[Thaddeus O'Brian]]
 
* Flagship: ''[[TCS Tarawa]]'' ([[Wake-Class Escort Carrier]])
** 45 fighters (One Squadron each of [[P-64 Ferret|Ferrets]], [[F-44 Rapier II|Rapiers]] and [[F-57 Sabre|Sabres]])
*** Wing Commander: Captain [[Jason Bondarevsky]]
** [[First Marine Commando]] Battalion (500 Marine Commandos)
*** Commander Officer: Colonel [[Jim Merritt]]
*** Air-to-Ground Co-ordinator: "The Talker," Major [[Svetlana Ivanova]]
** Ten Marine Landing Craft
 
* ''[[TCS Intrepid]]''
** Captain [[Grierson]]
 
* ''[[TCS Kagimasha]]''
** Captain [[Teng]]
 
===Kilrathi Forces===
====Kilrah System====
* Forces Deployed Against Strike Force Valkyrie
** Seventy-plus fighters of various makes ([[Sartha]], [[Dralthi]], [[Grikath]] noted)
** 4 [[Kamekh-Class Corvette]]s
** 1 Confirmed Orbital Base
 
====Division of Kilrathi Home Fleet====
'''Force Commander''': Crown Prince Thrakhath
 
* Force Entering Kilrah System
** 1 Carrier
** 2 [[Fralthra-Class Cruiser]]s
** 4 [[Ralatha-Class Destroyer]]s
** 2 [[Kamekh-Class Corvette]]s
 
* Blockading Forces
** 2 Carriers
*** ''[[KIS Karu]]''
*** ''[[KIS Torg]]''
 
==Penetrating the Empire==
Strike Force Valkyrie spent five days running at full speed into the Empire. They had only encountered a lone transport which ''Tarawa'' pilot, [[Etienne Montclair]], destroyed. In a system predetermined by Admiral Banbridge's staff, Wing Commander Jason Bondarevsky launched in a Ferret and deliberately sent out active radar scans in order to attract attention from Kilrathi forces. He was able to lure six [[Sartha]] back to the ''Tarawa''. However, Commodore O'Brian had chosen to alter the plan and scrambled eight ships to intercept them before they sighted the strike force. Bondarevsky conspired with Doomsday on Commlink 2331 to allow the Kilrathi to spot the strike force despite O'Brian's intentions. Upon completing the mission, Bondarevsky and O'Brian had a heated argument on the bridge of the ''Tarawa''. Serious charges were cast about by both parties. O'Brian was on the verge of turning the strike force back when Captain Grierson arrived and reinforced Bondarevsky's position by forcing the strike force forward through intelligent use of his position as a fellow ship captain. This ensured that the planned trap for the Kilrathi was now set.
 
==The First Battle of Kilrah==
Strike Force Valkyrie penetrated the Kilrah system and immediately launched a reconnaissance sweep composed of Ferrets. They reported twenty five plus Kilrathi fighters (Sartha, Dralthi and several Grikath) and three Kamekh-class corvettes on an intercept approach. In the ensuing dogfight, the Kilrathi force was destroyed in exchange of the loss of one fighter and one seriously damaged.
 
===Assault on Largkza===
''TCS Intrepid'' and ''Kagimasha'' bombarded [[Largkza]]'s surface for an hour before eight Sabres and four Rapiers made an anti-point defense strike using new [[Space-to-Ground Anti-Radar Submunition Missile]]s. The weapon broke into fifty submunitions and tracked individual radars, radio links, laser trackers, point defense guidance systems, and subspace transmitters. One Sabre was lost before release, however, the seven remaining Sabres each released four of the missiles for a total of 1,400 warheads. Hundreds were destroyed before reaching their targets, but hundreds more still made it through to destroy Kilrathi point defenses. Jason Bondarevsky launched a single anti-radar missile after the initial strike to catch any Kilrathi systems that had stayed off-line during the attack.
 
Ten landing craft carrying the 500 commandos made their assault following the strike by the ''Tawara'''s fighters. One was shot down making the landing while the other nine reached the surface to begin their mission. At the same time, another group of Dralthi had sortied from Kilrah to intercept the strike force but was stopped by [[Janice Parker]]'s mixed force of Ferrets and Rapiers.
 
At this point in the battle, Bondarevsky took a mental tally of kills and losses. Fifty plus Kilrathi fighters destroyed as well as four corvettes. The ''Tarawa'''s flight wing had lost five Ferrets, five Rapiers and one Sabre. He also saw Kilrah in the distance noting, ''"It looked similar to Earth, a beautiful blue green sphere, hanging in the blackness."'' (This differs from the game vision of a red tinted planet seen in the image at the beginning of this article.)
 
The battle waged for another hour with Bondarevsky attacking several ground targets, but Montclair's Sabres were inflicting the most damage on secondary targets revealed by the marines as they took out phase-shield generating systems. The attack ripped apart barracks and construction areas, the heavy single-missile matter/anti-matter warheads throwing debris twenty kilometers above the moon's surface.
 
===Enter the Crown Prince===
Crown Prince Thrakhath was delayed in entering the Kilrah system because the Kilrathi fleet's jump had gone awry. Instead of placing his force of one carrier and eight escort ships into the Kilrah system hours ahead of Strike Force Valkyrie, they had jumped into the system beyond Kilrah. As a result they were delayed in reaching Kilrah by several hours and the previous navigator committed [[Zu'kara]] in atonement for the error. Thrakhath's other carriers had moved around the flank to cut off escape routes for the Confederation forces.
 
When Thrakhath's carrier did jump to the Kilrah system they found Strike Force Valkyrie fully engaged in assaulting Largkza. They were screened by an asteroid field and launched [[Strakha]]s to interfere with the ongoing operations.
 
The ''TCS Tarawa'' suffered a hit and fires broke out in the Combat Information room disrupting communications between Bondarevsky and the carrier. Captain Grierson on the ''Intrepid'' informed Bondarevsky of the situation. They had three and a half hours before the carrier and escorts became a serious threat.
 
It was at this point that Commodore O'Brian initiated an immediate withdrawal to the jump point. This sparked the final confrontation between him and Bondarevsky over the communications channel. O'Brian was willing to leave the marines and any fighters that did not reach the carrier behind, and relieved Bondarevsky of command and placed him under arrest for insubordination. Bondarevsky called him a coward and threatened to kill him once he arrived on the ''Tarawa''. The carrier had already turned away from Largkza and was moving out-system at full speed when Bondarevsky landed. Bondarevsky informed Grierson of the situation and instructed him to rescue and provide cover for as many marines as possible.
 
Bondarevsky landed on the ''Tarawa'' and made his way to the bridge when, while en route, a tremendous explosion shook the carrier. A Kilrathi [[Kamikaze|kamikaze attack]] had slammed into the bridge killing everyone, including Commodore O'Brian. Bondarevsky assumed control of the carrier and had a new bridge set up in flight control overlooking the flight deck. His first order was to get the carrier back into the fight.
 
===Valkyrie on the Run===
From the bridge of the ''TCS Tarawa'' Jason Bondarevsky was now in de facto command of the strike force. Technically, Captain Grierson outranked Bondarevsky, but Grierson deferred to Bondarevsky for the duration of the fighting.
 
The ''Tarawa'''s radar was knocked out by the kamikaze and had to rely on ''Intrepid'' for information on Thrakhath's approaching forces. They reported, ''"The enemy carrier is closing in at flank speed, with a spread of two cruisers and four destroyers forward and two corvettes to the flanks. Will arrive in twenty-seven minutes. We have a second wave of inbound fighters as well, fifty plus."''
 
The ''Tarawa'''s flight wing had been reduced to eight Ferrets, eight Rapiers and six Sabres that were still in flying condition. Damage Control on the ''Tarawa'' reported airlocks had been established around the hull breach near the bridge, however the engine room was still cut off from the rest of the ship except for a radio link. The inertial dampening system was out of phase, by less than one thousandth of a second, but it made all maneuvers noticeable. The status of the jump engine was in question as the jump control officer had been killed. The infirmary and forward crew bays were also destroyed. One fifth of the crew had been lost, over a hundred dead and forty wounded.
 
The marines on Largkza had accelerated their timetable and had begun their withdrawal. The ''Intrepid'' in the mean time landed on the surface and extracted two landing ship crews before lifting off. One crew was lost while trying to lift off. The two landing craft docked with the ''Intrepid'' shortly afterwards and a further three on the surface lifted off to rendezvous in orbit.
 
After briefly recovering fighters for rearmament, Bondarevsky delivered a short speech to the crew and prepared to take on board the landing craft which were lifting off the surface of Largkza. The landing craft carrying Svetlana Ivanova was hit by a [[Heat-Seeking Missile|heat-seeking missile]] launched from the surface. It lost power and impacted back on the planet. After an emotional exchange between Bondarevsky, Merritt and Ivanova, Ivanova detonated the anti-matter mines. The damage to the facilities on Largkza was extensive and Svetlana and the 34 marines on board were killed in the blast.
 
Fifty of ''Tarawa'''s crew were causalities from the kamikaze strike and the ship itself needed time to effect repairs to its shield generator and jump drive. Bondarevsky knew the jump points would be blocked and found an alternative in the gas giant [[Igrathi]]. During the three hour run to the planet the ''Tarawa'' lost three Ferrets, two Rapiers and a Sabre in exchange for a dozen enemy fighters (mostly Grikath and [[Jalkehi]] fighters) and a single torpedo hit on a Ralatha destroyer which forced it to withdraw from the chase. As they neared Igrathi, the ''Intrepid'' and ''Kagimasha'' began trading torpedo salvos with the Ralathas still chasing them. One appeared to carry an improved engine system that allowed it to afterburn a dozen klicks per second faster than the ''Tarawa''.
 
Bondarevsky ordered his escorts to smash the orbital base while instructing his navigator to fly them directly through the debris field and fully extend the [[ram scoops]] to slow the escort carrier down. As the carrier slowed, Bondarevsky ordered all fighters to immediately return to base. He signaled his escorts to rendezvous in thirty hours at 17:24 [[CST]]. The plan was to confuse the Kilrathi. Using an unmanned landing craft loaded with an matter/anti-matter mine as a cover, the three Confederation ships planned to drive into Igrathi's atmosphere. Meanwhile, the ''Tarawa'''s fighter wing was landing at twenty second intervals while [[Janice Parker]], commander of the Ferret squadron, remained on station behind the carrier to provide some cover for the landing fighters.
 
Multiple Kilrathi capital ships and fighters were still closing on the Confederation ships. Six Grikath bombers intercepted the carrier and launched six torpedoes. Five of the torpedoes were destroyed by the combined fire from anti-torpedo guns and missiles on all three Confederation capital ships. Janice Parker destroyed the final torpedo by flying her Ferret directly into it. The mine aboard the unmanned landing craft was detonated which provided the cover necessary for the three Confederation ships to dive five hundred kilometers into Igrathi's ammonia and sulphur atmosphere. The Kilrathi ships used high energy microwave bursts to search for the Confederation ships, but without success.
 
Bondarevsky addressed the crew of the ''Tarawa'' briefly:
 
<blockquote style="font-style: italic">''"All hands. We've managed to elude the Kilrathi attack by diving into the upper atmosphere of a gas giant where their sensing devices can not find us due to atmospheric interference. As you can guess, any type of visual search is like looking for a feather in a blizzard. We will rendezvous with our escorts in a little less than thirty hours. In those thirty hours we are going to repair our ship and our damaged fighters and we are going to come back out kicking. Congratulations on a job well done. Merritt's marines smashed half a dozen carriers under construction and a hell of a lot of equipment. Our task force has downed over seventy enemy fighters, four corvettes, one orbital base, along with a number of probabilities and damaged. I'm proud of you, and the Confederation is proud of you. All damage control officers, weapons officers, and engineering officers report to the temporary bridge in one half hour. Thank you and keep it up, Tarawa. I'm damned proud to be part of this team."''</blockquote>
 
Prince Thrakhath's force took defensive positions to intercept possible approaches to Kilrah. Destroyers were left to scan Igrathi. A picket line of cruisers and corvettes was stationed between Kilrah and Igrathi while the carrier carrying the Crown Prince was stationed in high orbit above Kilrah. In a conversation with the Emperor, Thrakhath learned of the developing situation at Vukar Tag. A Confederation task force had been detected entering the system as Kilrathi landing operations commenced. The [[Battle of Vukar Tag]] had been joined.
 
===Making Repairs and Burying the Dead===
For the next 29 hours, the crew of the ''Tarawa'' worked to repair the damage suffered during the first phase of the fighting. The ship had sustained serious structural damage. In a conversation between Bondarevsky, Montclair, the bridge staff and a twenty-five year fleet veteran named Jim who was a transfer from the ''[[TCS Concordia (CVS-65)|Concordia]]'' the damage control situation was assessed. Jim had replaced the senior Damage Control Officer, a fresh from the Academy graduate who had died on the bridge. The bridge itself had been completely destroyed by the kamikaze hit with all hands lost. The Launch Control Room had been transformed into a backup bridge, a feature the Wake-class was not designed with. Helm Control, Combat Information, Navigation and Damage Control stations had been set up in the space and the only major station missing was Radar. The long range scanner had been completely destroyed in the kamikaze strike. Three of the six main keel beams had structural cracks running down them. These along with hundreds of other fractures in the hull allowed air to leak while also allowing Igrathi's toxic atmosphere to seep in. Some of the structural damage was repaired with durasteel salvaged from a wrecked Ferret. Fires remained in the aft crew quarters but were under control. These fires had polluted the air in the section and the air filtration system would require a couple of days to clean the section out. The shield generators had been damaged allowing no more than 75% power. The engine room was now in direct contact with the rest of the carrier through a pressurized corridor established by damage control.
 
The flight wing had suffered almost 50% causalities. 23 of 44 pilots remained, not including Bondarevsky who was now acting-captain. Two marine pilots were qualified to fly Ferrets but neither Bondarevsky or Montclair wanted to risk their lives against Kilrathi fleet pilots unless it was absolutely necessary. Bondarevsky promoted Montclair to Wing Commander. Bondaresvky also promoted [[Kevin Tolwyn]] to squadron leader for the Rapiers and "Round Top" Chamberlain for the Ferrets. Seven Ferrets, eight Rapiers and five Sabres were all that remained of the fighters in flying condition.
 
The officers made their way to the flight deck for a brief funeral ceremony for those who had been killed. Bondarevsky made a short remark and read the 23rd Psalm. Bodies were pushed through the airlock into Igrathi's atmosphere. Colonel Merritt came forward and symbolically ordered two sergeants to push a pair of jump boots with a helmet placed on top through the airlock as well. Thirty seven minutes later Strike Force Valkyrie emerged from Igrathi's atmosphere on a course directly towards Kilrah with ram scoops closed.
 
===Changing "Maneuvering Tactics and Close-In Tactics Forever!"===
Bondarevsky's plan was to distract Thrakhath's forces by launching a Ferret and Marine landing craft armed with "old-style atomic weapons" that would be easily detected by the Kilrathi. Prince Thrakhath's forces quickly detected the ships and made all effort to make sure they did not reach Kilrah. Thrakhath had been informed by the Emperor of the disaster suffered at Vukar Tag as well as ordering him to make sure no Confederation attack touched Kilrah. This worked directly into Bondarevsky's plan.
 
With ram scoops closed, the three Confederation ships accelerated rapidly. As they crossed eight thousand klicks per second, the Ferret and landing craft were launched towards Kilrah. Kilrathi forces responded with overwhelming strength towards the two small ships. The three Confederation capital ships then fired their maneuvering thrusters to turn perpendicular to their flight path. The landing craft was rammed by a Sartha and the Ferret was destroyed. ''Kagimasha'' was also rammed by a Sartha completely destroying the corvette and killing everyone on board.
 
The ''Tarawa'' and ''Intrepid'' cruised fifty kilometers over Kilrah's north pole using their tractor beams on the planet to slingshot them towards jump point F-One / Vuwarg jump point. In less than ten seconds, the two ships put Kilrah a hundred thousand kilometers astern. They would arrive at the jump point in seven hours and thirty two minutes. They had an estimated five million kilometer lead on any Kilrathi forces.  


During the first half of 2668, Confed High Command and Special Ops made plans to launch deep-space strikes and raids on Kilrathi military facilities and naval yards located deep within Kilrathi airspace. Most of the Kilrathi's military strength lay within its borders where its vast array of shipyards and colonies worked tirelessly to commit new ships to the frontlines. It was decided that the destruction of these facilities were the key to ultimate victory over the Empire, so Confed moved quickly to commission several new starships to undertake this task.
Prince Thrakhath admitted to himself that though the maneuver by Bondarevsky had been "brilliantly executed", it was also "an exercise in futility". It had bought the Humans a bit more time. He realized he had not thought the situation through a Human's perspective where a chance to hit the enemy home world took priority over living another day. Thrakhath ordered the ''KIS Karu'' to block the jump line from the [[Baragh]] to [[Rushta]] systems. ''KIS Torg'' was ordered to block the Baragh to [[Xsar]] system jump line. Thrakhath's task force moved to block the Baragh to [[Lushkag]] system jump line. He ordered that thirty reserve fighters be delivered from the palace guard to his carrier to replenish losses suffered in the battle. Thrakhath's carrier was to move towards its blockade point two hours after the Confederation ships completed their slingshot maneuver.  


==Planning the Battle==
Seven hours and thirty two minutes later the Confederation ships jumped from the Kilrah system to [[Vuwarg]]. The battle had become a stern chase.
Over the course of the year, Confed High Command arranged for several deep-space strikes against key Kilrathi bases and planets located deep within Imperial airspace. Among these attacks was easily the most dangerous mission any human being dared to accomplish: An attack on the Kilrathi homeworld of [[Kilrah]]. A mission of this magnitude would require some of the finest ships and soldiers Confed had to offer, so Admiral Wayne Banbridge commissioned the famed ''[[TCS Tarawa]]'' to the mission. The ''Tarawa'' had already played a key role in securing Confed's victory at Vukar Tag, and now was to be assigned to Strike Force Valkyrie. The ''Tarawa'' would be accompanied by two escorts, the ''TCS Kagimasha'' and the ''TCS Intrepid'', as well as a full complement of marines. Their mission would be to destroy the Kilrathi construction facilities on Largkza, Kilrah's second moon. This would disrupt the assembly of several of their carriers, whose numbers were overwhelming Confed's own carrier fleet. Once this was done, Strike Force Valkyrie would stay in the system until Prince Thrakhath called parts of the Kilrathi Home Fleet at Vukar Tag to eliminate the humans at Kilrah. Confed could then conquer Vukar Tag while ''Tarawa'' and her team fled Kilrah. However, they would be on their own due to the dangers of sending an entire fleet to pull them out.


Strike Force Valkyrie set out towards Kilrah on 2667.175 with Captain Thaddeus O'Brian in command of the ''Tarawa'' and famed pilot [[Jason Bondarevsky]] on the flight squad. The fleet jumped to Kilrah through a newly-discovered jump point that straight to the Kilrathi homeworld, its crews fully aware that they might not come back alive.
==The Return to Confederation Space==
===Running to Baragh===
In the system after Vuwarg, Strike Force Valkyrie encountered a Kilrathi orbital base. It was taken out in a sharp attack led by Grierson, several Sabres, and a company of
marines. It was then stripped of durasteel, emergency air canisters and a light shuttle craft. They also removed half a dozen of the base's mass driver mini guns, which were welded to the ship just forward of the landing airlock for point defense. The gun crews were volunteers and had to go [[EVA]] to reach them.  


==Strike Force Valkyrie==
Two days later, the Kilrathi had two Frathlas and four Ralathas only six hours behind the Confederation ships. Two hours and twenty eight minutes later the Confederation ships jumped into the Baragh System.
*Flagship: ''TCS Tarawa'' (Escort Carrier)
*''TCS Intrepid'' ([[Southampton-class Destroyer]])
*''TCS Kagimasha'' ([[Venture-class Corvette]])
*Three Flight Squadrons
*1st Marine Battalion (500-1,500 Marines)
*Ten Landing Craft


===Commanders===
===Battle of Baragh===
*Captain Thaddeus O'Brian (Captain of the ''TCS Tarawa'')
As soon as Strike Force Valkyrie entered Baragh, they encountered Prince Thrakhath's picket forces. One carrier was parked on the edge of an asteroid belt in system and had deployed a belt of mines forward. Another carrier was deployed on the far side of the system, several hours' travel from the Confederation's location. The third of Thrakhath's carriers was also jumping in on the far side of the system as well. A fourth carrier was detected jumping in system from the [[Jugara|Jugara system]] but it was also several hours away was shrouded by heavy jamming and an asteroid belt.
*Captain Grierson (Captain of the ''TCS Intrepid'')
*Captain Teng (Captain of the ''TCS Kagimasha'')
*Wing Commander [[Jason Bondarevsky]]
*Major Svetlana Ivanova (1st Marine Battalion)


==First to Kilrah!==
Bondarevsky ordered all fighters launched and to push towards the Jugara jump point. Strike Group Alpha moved to attack the closest carrier, led by Montclair. The strike consisted of six Rapiers and three Sabres. Tolwyn led the Rapiers covering Montclair. ''Tarawa'' had a Combat Air Patrol ([[CAP]]) led by "Round Top", consisting of six Ferrets, two Rapiers and two Sabres. Strike Group Alpha made an attempt on the Kilrathi carrier but scored no hits and only Montclair and Tolwyn survived.  
Strike Force Valkyrie penetrated the Kilrah System on 2667.175 and immediately launched the attack on Largkza, the second moon of Kilrah. ''Tarawa'' launched all ten of its landing craft, which deployed the entire First Marine Battalion on Largkza, where they stormed the construction yards and prepared to destroy the facilities with mines. Many marines, including Major Svetlana Ivanova, were killed during the battle. However, the marines were wreaking havoc on the Kilrathi bases. As planned, part of the Kilrathi Home Fleet returned from Vukar Tag and attacked the ''Tarawa'', but unfortunately the ship was severely damaged by [[Strakha Stealth Fighter]]s. During the ambush, one Strakha made a suicide run on the carrier's bridge and killed the entire bridge crew, including Captain O'Brian. Jason Bondarevsky assumed command of the ''Tarawa'' and moved quickly to save the marines, most of whom managed to escape while others died when their landing craft were destroyed in Largkza orbit. Before she died of her wounds Major Ivanova detonated the mines in the facility, destroying six carriers, six construction yards, a cruiser construction facility, and killing thousands of Kilrathi personnel. Having completed their mission and facing overwhelming odds, Strike Force Valkyrie prepared to evacuate the Kilrah System.


==Piercing the Heart==
The ''Intrepid'' moved into position to intercept an inbound cruiser while ten [[Gratha]] fighter-bombers made an attack run on the bow of the ''Tarawa'', while the CAP was engaged astern. Seven torpedoes were launched. Six torpedoes were downed by point defenses however one slammed into the armored bow. This hit caused the forward twenty meters of the bow to shear off, taking the thirty five members of the volunteer crews on the salvaged Kilrathi turrets to their deaths. Amazingly, the ''Tarawa'''s hull held despite the massive damage. The armored bow had been an add on to the original transport design. It was simply welded on and was not integrated into the hull. Shields were knocked down to only eight percent.
The ''Tarawa'' succeeded in its assault on Largkza, but lost nearly 100 crew members. The vessel was critically damaged with its Helm, Combat Information Center, Communications, Weapons Control and Damage Control all put out of commission, so Bondarevsky commanded the vessel from the flight deck. Shields were down, there were many air leaks, long-range scanners were damaged, and the Inertial Dampening System that cloaked the vessel was down, leaving ''Tarawa'' with few means of defense. Desperate to save the vessel, Bondarevsky piloted the vessel to Kilrah's first moon, Igrathi. There, repairs proceeded on the ship, and then the strike force launched an attack on Kilrah itself when Prince Thrakhath attacked. ''Tarawa'' launched a shuttle and a [[P-64 Ferret Light Fighter]] loaded with nuclear weapons to attack Kilrah, but the attack failed when both craft were shot down. One of ''Tarawa'''s escorts, the ''TCS Kagimasha'', was destroyed when a Sartha collided with the vessel, killing the entire crew. The ''Tarawa'' and the ''Intrepid'' used their tractor beams to slingshot around Kilrah by aiming their respective beams at the planet, and then fled to the nearby Baragh System.  


==Ambush at Baragh==
A Kilrathi fighter positioned itself in front of the flight deck airlock and pumped mass driver rounds into the hangar. A Ferret's fuel tank detonated, destroying the fighter and killing the pilot inside. The flight deck became chaotic when the Kilrathi fighter was destroyed by a Rapier being chased by two [[Drakhai]]. This was a fighter from the ''TCS Concordia'' which was using a Kilrathi [[IFF]] to mask its identity. Admiral Tolwyn had intercepted a Kilrathi message stating the ''Tarawa'' had gone through the F-One / Vuwarg jump point, and rushed to aid the strike force after the battle at Vukar Tag was essentially over. As Thrakhath's carrier moved out of its minefield, the ''Intrepid'' engaged a Fralthra and both ships were destroyed by torpedo spreads fired at point-blank range. When Montclair and Kevin Tolwyn landed, they informed Bondarevsky that the fourth carrier from Jugara was the ''Concordia''. Admiral Tolwyn had launched fighters to cover the ''Tarawa'' and a strike force to drive off the remaining Kilrathi. Thrakhath chose to curb his losses and disengaged, while the Confederation forces withdrew to Jugara and, ultimately, back to Confederation space.
The ''Tarawa'' and the ''Intrepid'' finally escaped the Kilrathi Fleet at Kilrah and made it back to the Baragh System in the Vukar Tag Sector, where the Battle of Vukar Tag remained in progress. Unfortunately, ''Tarawa'' found no safety in this system as it was tracked down by three enemy carriers, one of which launched a torpedo strike that slaughtered 35 crew members on the ''Tarawa''. With their sensory and surveillance hopelessly damaged, the ''Tarawa'' was forced to rely on the ''Intrepid'' to keep their intelligence updated. Sadly, the ''Intrepid'' was destroyed in an act of self-sacrifice when it and its crew faced off against a Kilrathi cruiser. Both vessels engaged each other in a massive exchange of missiles, killing everybody on both ships. Fortunately, help finally arrived when the famed ''[[TCS Concordia]]'', under the command of Admiral [[Geoffrey Tolwyn]], jumped into the system disguised as a Kilrathi carrier. The ''Concordia'' and her fighter wing succeeded in defeating the Kilrathi pursuers, and the surviving forces from Strike Force Valkyrie fled to human space.


==Casualties==
==Casualties==
===Strike Force Valkyrie===
===Strike Force Valkyrie===
*''TCS Tarawa'' severely damaged''
* ''TCS Tarawa'' severely damaged, spending months in dry dock.
*Nearly 200 crew members on ''Tarawa'' KIA; 30 of 44 pilots KIA.
** 283 crew members on ''Tarawa'' [[KIA]].
*''TCS Intrepid'' Destroyed
** 30 of 44 pilots [[KIA]].
*''TCS Kagimasha'' Destroyed
*''TCS Intrepid'' destroyed.
*Unknown number of members of First Marine Battalion KIA.
*''TCS Kagimasha'' destroyed.
*Unknown number of members of First Marine Battalion [[KIA]].
 
===Kilrathi Forces===
* Heavy losses on the Kilrah satellite of Largkza:
** Six Carrier Construction Slips Destroyed
** Six Carriers Under Construction Destroyed
** Cruiser Assembly Facility Destroyed
** Over 4,000 Kilrathi Technicians Killed
** One High Level Design Team Killed


===Kilrathi Home Fleet===
* Two Orbital Stations Destroyed:
*Six Construction Yards Destroyed
** One in Kilrah System
*Six Carriers Destroyed
** Second cannibalized and destroyed in unidentified system
*One Cruiser Construction Center Destroyed
 
*At least one Cruiser Destroyed
* One Fralthra Cruiser Destroyed in Baragh System
*Unknown number of Starfighters
* Four Kamekh Corvettes Destroyed in Kilrah System
*Over 4,000 Kilrathi Dead
* Roughly 90 fighters destroyed throughout the battle


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
Strike Force Valkyrie suffered significant losses during the attack on Kilrah and almost all vessels. The ''TCS Tarawa'' was so badly damaged that she narrowly avoided decommissioning by the insistence of Admiral Tolwyn and Jason Bondarevsky, who was promoted to Captain for his leadership during the battle. Despite these losses, the devastation to the Kilrathi Home Fleet was far greater. With the loss of six carriers, several construction facilities and over 4,000 naval personnel and soldiers, the Battle of Kilrah was a clear victory for humanity. The attack deprived the Kilrathi Navy of a large amount of irreplaceable equipment and starships, and it proved to be an enormous humiliation for the Kilrathi as a whole. Humanity regained hope that they would win the War against their bloodthirsty rivals, strengthening their resolve and giving humanity an advantage on the battlefield.  
Strike Force Valkyrie suffered significant losses during the attack on Kilrah. Only the ''TCS Tarawa'' survived the raid and was so badly damaged that she narrowly avoided decommissioning and scrapping only by the insistence of Admiral Tolwyn and Jason Bondarevsky. ''Tarawa'' also received the unique distinction of having ''[[First to Kilrah]]'' painted on her hull directly under where the bridge had been located. Bondarevsky was promoted to Captain for his leadership during the raid. Jim Merritt was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of the [[First Marine Regiment]]. He replaced a female commanding officer named Gonzales who was killed during the Kilrathi bombardment of Vukar Tag.
 
Despite these losses, the devastation to the Kilrathi Home Fleet was far greater. With the loss of six carriers, several construction facilities and over 4,000 naval personnel and soldiers, the First Battle of Kilrah was a clear victory for humanity. The attack deprived the Kilrathi Navy of a large amount of irreplaceable equipment and war ships, and it proved to be an enormous humiliation for the Kilrathi as a whole. The complementing Confederation victory at Vukar Tag was a victory equal to the success of the raid on Largkza. Humanity regained hope that they would win the war against their enemy, strengthening their resolve and giving humanity an advantage on the battlefield.  


The success of the Battle of Kilrah prompted the Terran Confederation to assemble and commission about another dozen Escort Carriers, all of which would participate in deep-space raids on high-profile Kilrathi targets deep within the depths of the Kilrathi Empire. Within a year, these strikes effectively rendered the Kilrathi Military undermanned and deprived of equipment. By the end of 2668, The Kilrathi Empire was losing the War, forcing its leadership to enact daring plans to destroy humanity before losses could mount any higher. Unfortunately, this series of events culminated in the return of exiled Baron [[Jukaga nar Ki'ra]], who would turn defeat into victory with the proposal of the 2668 Armistace on 2668.191.
The success of the First Battle of Kilrah prompted the Terran Confederation to assemble and commission about another dozen Escort Carriers, all of which would participate in deep-space raids on high-profile Kilrathi targets deep within the Kilrathi Empire. Within a year, these strikes effectively rendered the Kilrathi military undermanned and deprived of equipment. A further seven carriers were destroyed by Confederation forces. By the end of 2668, the Kilrathi Empire was losing the war, forcing its leadership to enact daring plans to destroy humanity before further losses were suffered. This series of events culminated in the return of exiled Baron [[Jukaga nar Ki'ra]], who would turn defeat into victory with the proposal of the [[False Armistice|2668 Armistice]] on 2668.191.


==External Links==
*''[http://wcnews.com/|Wing Wing Commander Combat Information Center]''


[[category:Military Conflicts]]
{{#set:source=[[Wing Commander: End Run]]}}
[[Category:Battles of the Terran-Kilrathi War]]

Latest revision as of 13:24, 18 April 2012

First Battle of Kilrah
Part of the Terran-Kilrathi War
WC3-Kilrah.png
Kilrah
Date 2667
Location Kilrah System
Result Confederation victory
Belligerents
Terran Confederation Empire of Kilrah
Commanders and leaders
Commodore Thaddeus O'Brian (K.I.A.) Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka
Units involved
Strike Force Valkyrie Kilrathi Home Fleet
Strength
TCS Tarawa
* 45 Fighters
* 10 Marine Landing Craft
* 500 Marine Commandos
TCS Intrepid
TCS Kagimasha 		3 Carriers (KIS Karu, KIS Torg and an unnamed carrier)
2 Fralthra-Class Cruisers
4 Ralatha-Class Destroyers
6 Kamekh-Class Corvettes
Casualties and losses
* TCS Tarawa severely damaged, spending months in dry dock.
* 283 crew members on Tarawa KIA.
* 30 of 44 pilots KIA.
* TCS Intrepid destroyed.
* TCS Kagimasha destroyed.
* Unknown number of members of First Marine Battalion KIA. 		* Six Carrier Construction Slips Destroyed.
* Six Carriers Under Construction Destroyed.
* Cruiser Assembly Facility Destroyed
* Over 4,000 Kilrathi Technicians KIA.
* One High Level Design Team KIA.
* Two Orbital Stations Destroyed.
* Four Kamekh Corvettes Destroyed in Kilrah System.
* One Fralthra Cruiser Destroyed in Baragh System.
* Roughly 90 fighters destroyed throughout the entire battle




The First Battle of Kilrah was a key part of Operation Back Lash. It involved a Terran Confederation task force assigned to strike directly into the Kilrah system.


Background

Confederation Situation

By the mid-2660s the Terran Confederation and Kilrathi Empire had fought each other to a virtual standstill. However, starting in 2665 the Confederation began to suffer heavy losses, particularly in carriers. 2666 proved to be particularly disastrous for the Confederation, with nine carriers destroyed and the TCS Austerlitz so heavily damaged that she would remain in dry dock until 2668. The Confederation was left with seven fleet carriers to cover the entire front. Operation Back Lash was developed in response to the Confederation's desperate situation. The Confederation needed time to bring more heavy carriers, then under construction, on-line. Military commanders had war gamed a scenario that, while very risky, could provide huge rewards. Strike Force Valkyrie was an essential part of that plan. The Kilrathi Home Fleet was to be lured into an ambush at Vukar Tag by four Confederation carriers and their escorts. In order to split the Home Fleet, Confederation planners incorporated Strike Force Valkyrie into the overall plan. One of the newly constructed Wake-class escort carriers and two escorts were to penetrate into the Kilrah system using a recently-discovered jump line that made the trip considerably shorter and would offer the best chance to cause a dilemma for Crown Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka when the strike force exposed itself at a critical moment. By striking at the home system while the Kilrathi Home Fleet went to redeem the honor of Emperor Joor'rad nar Kiranka's mother, Dowager Empress Graknala nar Kiranka, by retaking Vukar Tag, Thrakhath would be put in an untenable position and forced to split his fleet. This was the key to Operation Back Lash.

Kilrathi Situation

The Kilrathi military, operating under the command of Crown Prince Thrakhath, had to respond to the dishonor caused by the Confederation invasion and continued occupation of Vukar Tag. They were fed information by a hidden burst signal facility (the Confederation had deliberately let it remain active for this very purpose) on the surface of Vukar Tag. It captured images of Confederation marines looting and then destroying the Dowager Empress' estate. The castle had special meaning for the Crown Prince who had spent some time there as a cub. The insult to the Imperial family was clear and had to be avenged. The entire Home Fleet with ten carriers and several legions of Imperial Marines would sortie to retake Vukar Tag.

Orders to Strike Force Valkyrie

Admiral Banbridge orders to Strike Force Valkyrie:

"Your mission is to drive straight into the heart of the Kilrathi Empire and to launch a strike on their home system...If anything will split off the home fleet it will be this action. We've traced out a route into the Empire which will follow back trade lanes, using a recently discovered jump point that will take you across a dozen sectors in a single leap. From there, you'll be down into the bottom side of the Empire nearly five hundred parsecs from here and just four jumps from their home world of Kilrah. You'll then drive straight up, relying on speed and stealth. The key point, however, is that you will let the Kilrathi know you're coming...that's the heart of the plan. We expect that once you've completed that long jump, the Kilrathi home fleet will be over halfway out here to Vukar and then, suddenly, you push the backdoor alarm bell. They'll be between a rock and a hard place. They won't know about the trap waiting at Vukar, but they will know about you. We expect that interior defenses will be damn near stripped for their offensive. Ignore you, and the home planet gets a hell of a shaking up. Abandon the offensive and race back home and honor is lost for not immediately retaking Vukar...They'll walk into the trap with part of their fleet missing and we'll smash it to pieces. If it works, it just might trigger a political crisis that could bring down the Emperor himself and at the very least we'll have bagged half a dozen of their finest capital ships."

Opposing Forces

Strike Force Valkyrie

Strike Force Commander: Commodore Thaddeus O'Brian

Kilrathi Forces

Kilrah System

Division of Kilrathi Home Fleet

Force Commander: Crown Prince Thrakhath

Penetrating the Empire

Strike Force Valkyrie spent five days running at full speed into the Empire. They had only encountered a lone transport which Tarawa pilot, Etienne Montclair, destroyed. In a system predetermined by Admiral Banbridge's staff, Wing Commander Jason Bondarevsky launched in a Ferret and deliberately sent out active radar scans in order to attract attention from Kilrathi forces. He was able to lure six Sartha back to the Tarawa. However, Commodore O'Brian had chosen to alter the plan and scrambled eight ships to intercept them before they sighted the strike force. Bondarevsky conspired with Doomsday on Commlink 2331 to allow the Kilrathi to spot the strike force despite O'Brian's intentions. Upon completing the mission, Bondarevsky and O'Brian had a heated argument on the bridge of the Tarawa. Serious charges were cast about by both parties. O'Brian was on the verge of turning the strike force back when Captain Grierson arrived and reinforced Bondarevsky's position by forcing the strike force forward through intelligent use of his position as a fellow ship captain. This ensured that the planned trap for the Kilrathi was now set.

The First Battle of Kilrah

Strike Force Valkyrie penetrated the Kilrah system and immediately launched a reconnaissance sweep composed of Ferrets. They reported twenty five plus Kilrathi fighters (Sartha, Dralthi and several Grikath) and three Kamekh-class corvettes on an intercept approach. In the ensuing dogfight, the Kilrathi force was destroyed in exchange of the loss of one fighter and one seriously damaged.

Assault on Largkza

TCS Intrepid and Kagimasha bombarded Largkza's surface for an hour before eight Sabres and four Rapiers made an anti-point defense strike using new Space-to-Ground Anti-Radar Submunition Missiles. The weapon broke into fifty submunitions and tracked individual radars, radio links, laser trackers, point defense guidance systems, and subspace transmitters. One Sabre was lost before release, however, the seven remaining Sabres each released four of the missiles for a total of 1,400 warheads. Hundreds were destroyed before reaching their targets, but hundreds more still made it through to destroy Kilrathi point defenses. Jason Bondarevsky launched a single anti-radar missile after the initial strike to catch any Kilrathi systems that had stayed off-line during the attack.

Ten landing craft carrying the 500 commandos made their assault following the strike by the Tawara's fighters. One was shot down making the landing while the other nine reached the surface to begin their mission. At the same time, another group of Dralthi had sortied from Kilrah to intercept the strike force but was stopped by Janice Parker's mixed force of Ferrets and Rapiers.

At this point in the battle, Bondarevsky took a mental tally of kills and losses. Fifty plus Kilrathi fighters destroyed as well as four corvettes. The Tarawa's flight wing had lost five Ferrets, five Rapiers and one Sabre. He also saw Kilrah in the distance noting, "It looked similar to Earth, a beautiful blue green sphere, hanging in the blackness." (This differs from the game vision of a red tinted planet seen in the image at the beginning of this article.)

The battle waged for another hour with Bondarevsky attacking several ground targets, but Montclair's Sabres were inflicting the most damage on secondary targets revealed by the marines as they took out phase-shield generating systems. The attack ripped apart barracks and construction areas, the heavy single-missile matter/anti-matter warheads throwing debris twenty kilometers above the moon's surface.

Enter the Crown Prince

Crown Prince Thrakhath was delayed in entering the Kilrah system because the Kilrathi fleet's jump had gone awry. Instead of placing his force of one carrier and eight escort ships into the Kilrah system hours ahead of Strike Force Valkyrie, they had jumped into the system beyond Kilrah. As a result they were delayed in reaching Kilrah by several hours and the previous navigator committed Zu'kara in atonement for the error. Thrakhath's other carriers had moved around the flank to cut off escape routes for the Confederation forces.

When Thrakhath's carrier did jump to the Kilrah system they found Strike Force Valkyrie fully engaged in assaulting Largkza. They were screened by an asteroid field and launched Strakhas to interfere with the ongoing operations.

The TCS Tarawa suffered a hit and fires broke out in the Combat Information room disrupting communications between Bondarevsky and the carrier. Captain Grierson on the Intrepid informed Bondarevsky of the situation. They had three and a half hours before the carrier and escorts became a serious threat.

It was at this point that Commodore O'Brian initiated an immediate withdrawal to the jump point. This sparked the final confrontation between him and Bondarevsky over the communications channel. O'Brian was willing to leave the marines and any fighters that did not reach the carrier behind, and relieved Bondarevsky of command and placed him under arrest for insubordination. Bondarevsky called him a coward and threatened to kill him once he arrived on the Tarawa. The carrier had already turned away from Largkza and was moving out-system at full speed when Bondarevsky landed. Bondarevsky informed Grierson of the situation and instructed him to rescue and provide cover for as many marines as possible.

Bondarevsky landed on the Tarawa and made his way to the bridge when, while en route, a tremendous explosion shook the carrier. A Kilrathi kamikaze attack had slammed into the bridge killing everyone, including Commodore O'Brian. Bondarevsky assumed control of the carrier and had a new bridge set up in flight control overlooking the flight deck. His first order was to get the carrier back into the fight.

Valkyrie on the Run

From the bridge of the TCS Tarawa Jason Bondarevsky was now in de facto command of the strike force. Technically, Captain Grierson outranked Bondarevsky, but Grierson deferred to Bondarevsky for the duration of the fighting.

The Tarawa's radar was knocked out by the kamikaze and had to rely on Intrepid for information on Thrakhath's approaching forces. They reported, "The enemy carrier is closing in at flank speed, with a spread of two cruisers and four destroyers forward and two corvettes to the flanks. Will arrive in twenty-seven minutes. We have a second wave of inbound fighters as well, fifty plus."

The Tarawa's flight wing had been reduced to eight Ferrets, eight Rapiers and six Sabres that were still in flying condition. Damage Control on the Tarawa reported airlocks had been established around the hull breach near the bridge, however the engine room was still cut off from the rest of the ship except for a radio link. The inertial dampening system was out of phase, by less than one thousandth of a second, but it made all maneuvers noticeable. The status of the jump engine was in question as the jump control officer had been killed. The infirmary and forward crew bays were also destroyed. One fifth of the crew had been lost, over a hundred dead and forty wounded.

The marines on Largkza had accelerated their timetable and had begun their withdrawal. The Intrepid in the mean time landed on the surface and extracted two landing ship crews before lifting off. One crew was lost while trying to lift off. The two landing craft docked with the Intrepid shortly afterwards and a further three on the surface lifted off to rendezvous in orbit.

After briefly recovering fighters for rearmament, Bondarevsky delivered a short speech to the crew and prepared to take on board the landing craft which were lifting off the surface of Largkza. The landing craft carrying Svetlana Ivanova was hit by a heat-seeking missile launched from the surface. It lost power and impacted back on the planet. After an emotional exchange between Bondarevsky, Merritt and Ivanova, Ivanova detonated the anti-matter mines. The damage to the facilities on Largkza was extensive and Svetlana and the 34 marines on board were killed in the blast.

Fifty of Tarawa's crew were causalities from the kamikaze strike and the ship itself needed time to effect repairs to its shield generator and jump drive. Bondarevsky knew the jump points would be blocked and found an alternative in the gas giant Igrathi. During the three hour run to the planet the Tarawa lost three Ferrets, two Rapiers and a Sabre in exchange for a dozen enemy fighters (mostly Grikath and Jalkehi fighters) and a single torpedo hit on a Ralatha destroyer which forced it to withdraw from the chase. As they neared Igrathi, the Intrepid and Kagimasha began trading torpedo salvos with the Ralathas still chasing them. One appeared to carry an improved engine system that allowed it to afterburn a dozen klicks per second faster than the Tarawa.

Bondarevsky ordered his escorts to smash the orbital base while instructing his navigator to fly them directly through the debris field and fully extend the ram scoops to slow the escort carrier down. As the carrier slowed, Bondarevsky ordered all fighters to immediately return to base. He signaled his escorts to rendezvous in thirty hours at 17:24 CST. The plan was to confuse the Kilrathi. Using an unmanned landing craft loaded with an matter/anti-matter mine as a cover, the three Confederation ships planned to drive into Igrathi's atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Tarawa's fighter wing was landing at twenty second intervals while Janice Parker, commander of the Ferret squadron, remained on station behind the carrier to provide some cover for the landing fighters.

Multiple Kilrathi capital ships and fighters were still closing on the Confederation ships. Six Grikath bombers intercepted the carrier and launched six torpedoes. Five of the torpedoes were destroyed by the combined fire from anti-torpedo guns and missiles on all three Confederation capital ships. Janice Parker destroyed the final torpedo by flying her Ferret directly into it. The mine aboard the unmanned landing craft was detonated which provided the cover necessary for the three Confederation ships to dive five hundred kilometers into Igrathi's ammonia and sulphur atmosphere. The Kilrathi ships used high energy microwave bursts to search for the Confederation ships, but without success.

Bondarevsky addressed the crew of the Tarawa briefly:

"All hands. We've managed to elude the Kilrathi attack by diving into the upper atmosphere of a gas giant where their sensing devices can not find us due to atmospheric interference. As you can guess, any type of visual search is like looking for a feather in a blizzard. We will rendezvous with our escorts in a little less than thirty hours. In those thirty hours we are going to repair our ship and our damaged fighters and we are going to come back out kicking. Congratulations on a job well done. Merritt's marines smashed half a dozen carriers under construction and a hell of a lot of equipment. Our task force has downed over seventy enemy fighters, four corvettes, one orbital base, along with a number of probabilities and damaged. I'm proud of you, and the Confederation is proud of you. All damage control officers, weapons officers, and engineering officers report to the temporary bridge in one half hour. Thank you and keep it up, Tarawa. I'm damned proud to be part of this team."

Prince Thrakhath's force took defensive positions to intercept possible approaches to Kilrah. Destroyers were left to scan Igrathi. A picket line of cruisers and corvettes was stationed between Kilrah and Igrathi while the carrier carrying the Crown Prince was stationed in high orbit above Kilrah. In a conversation with the Emperor, Thrakhath learned of the developing situation at Vukar Tag. A Confederation task force had been detected entering the system as Kilrathi landing operations commenced. The Battle of Vukar Tag had been joined.

Making Repairs and Burying the Dead

For the next 29 hours, the crew of the Tarawa worked to repair the damage suffered during the first phase of the fighting. The ship had sustained serious structural damage. In a conversation between Bondarevsky, Montclair, the bridge staff and a twenty-five year fleet veteran named Jim who was a transfer from the Concordia the damage control situation was assessed. Jim had replaced the senior Damage Control Officer, a fresh from the Academy graduate who had died on the bridge. The bridge itself had been completely destroyed by the kamikaze hit with all hands lost. The Launch Control Room had been transformed into a backup bridge, a feature the Wake-class was not designed with. Helm Control, Combat Information, Navigation and Damage Control stations had been set up in the space and the only major station missing was Radar. The long range scanner had been completely destroyed in the kamikaze strike. Three of the six main keel beams had structural cracks running down them. These along with hundreds of other fractures in the hull allowed air to leak while also allowing Igrathi's toxic atmosphere to seep in. Some of the structural damage was repaired with durasteel salvaged from a wrecked Ferret. Fires remained in the aft crew quarters but were under control. These fires had polluted the air in the section and the air filtration system would require a couple of days to clean the section out. The shield generators had been damaged allowing no more than 75% power. The engine room was now in direct contact with the rest of the carrier through a pressurized corridor established by damage control.

The flight wing had suffered almost 50% causalities. 23 of 44 pilots remained, not including Bondarevsky who was now acting-captain. Two marine pilots were qualified to fly Ferrets but neither Bondarevsky or Montclair wanted to risk their lives against Kilrathi fleet pilots unless it was absolutely necessary. Bondarevsky promoted Montclair to Wing Commander. Bondaresvky also promoted Kevin Tolwyn to squadron leader for the Rapiers and "Round Top" Chamberlain for the Ferrets. Seven Ferrets, eight Rapiers and five Sabres were all that remained of the fighters in flying condition.

The officers made their way to the flight deck for a brief funeral ceremony for those who had been killed. Bondarevsky made a short remark and read the 23rd Psalm. Bodies were pushed through the airlock into Igrathi's atmosphere. Colonel Merritt came forward and symbolically ordered two sergeants to push a pair of jump boots with a helmet placed on top through the airlock as well. Thirty seven minutes later Strike Force Valkyrie emerged from Igrathi's atmosphere on a course directly towards Kilrah with ram scoops closed.

Changing "Maneuvering Tactics and Close-In Tactics Forever!"

Bondarevsky's plan was to distract Thrakhath's forces by launching a Ferret and Marine landing craft armed with "old-style atomic weapons" that would be easily detected by the Kilrathi. Prince Thrakhath's forces quickly detected the ships and made all effort to make sure they did not reach Kilrah. Thrakhath had been informed by the Emperor of the disaster suffered at Vukar Tag as well as ordering him to make sure no Confederation attack touched Kilrah. This worked directly into Bondarevsky's plan.

With ram scoops closed, the three Confederation ships accelerated rapidly. As they crossed eight thousand klicks per second, the Ferret and landing craft were launched towards Kilrah. Kilrathi forces responded with overwhelming strength towards the two small ships. The three Confederation capital ships then fired their maneuvering thrusters to turn perpendicular to their flight path. The landing craft was rammed by a Sartha and the Ferret was destroyed. Kagimasha was also rammed by a Sartha completely destroying the corvette and killing everyone on board.

The Tarawa and Intrepid cruised fifty kilometers over Kilrah's north pole using their tractor beams on the planet to slingshot them towards jump point F-One / Vuwarg jump point. In less than ten seconds, the two ships put Kilrah a hundred thousand kilometers astern. They would arrive at the jump point in seven hours and thirty two minutes. They had an estimated five million kilometer lead on any Kilrathi forces.

Prince Thrakhath admitted to himself that though the maneuver by Bondarevsky had been "brilliantly executed", it was also "an exercise in futility". It had bought the Humans a bit more time. He realized he had not thought the situation through a Human's perspective where a chance to hit the enemy home world took priority over living another day. Thrakhath ordered the KIS Karu to block the jump line from the Baragh to Rushta systems. KIS Torg was ordered to block the Baragh to Xsar system jump line. Thrakhath's task force moved to block the Baragh to Lushkag system jump line. He ordered that thirty reserve fighters be delivered from the palace guard to his carrier to replenish losses suffered in the battle. Thrakhath's carrier was to move towards its blockade point two hours after the Confederation ships completed their slingshot maneuver.

Seven hours and thirty two minutes later the Confederation ships jumped from the Kilrah system to Vuwarg. The battle had become a stern chase.

The Return to Confederation Space

Running to Baragh

In the system after Vuwarg, Strike Force Valkyrie encountered a Kilrathi orbital base. It was taken out in a sharp attack led by Grierson, several Sabres, and a company of marines. It was then stripped of durasteel, emergency air canisters and a light shuttle craft. They also removed half a dozen of the base's mass driver mini guns, which were welded to the ship just forward of the landing airlock for point defense. The gun crews were volunteers and had to go EVA to reach them.

Two days later, the Kilrathi had two Frathlas and four Ralathas only six hours behind the Confederation ships. Two hours and twenty eight minutes later the Confederation ships jumped into the Baragh System.

Battle of Baragh

As soon as Strike Force Valkyrie entered Baragh, they encountered Prince Thrakhath's picket forces. One carrier was parked on the edge of an asteroid belt in system and had deployed a belt of mines forward. Another carrier was deployed on the far side of the system, several hours' travel from the Confederation's location. The third of Thrakhath's carriers was also jumping in on the far side of the system as well. A fourth carrier was detected jumping in system from the Jugara system but it was also several hours away was shrouded by heavy jamming and an asteroid belt.

Bondarevsky ordered all fighters launched and to push towards the Jugara jump point. Strike Group Alpha moved to attack the closest carrier, led by Montclair. The strike consisted of six Rapiers and three Sabres. Tolwyn led the Rapiers covering Montclair. Tarawa had a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) led by "Round Top", consisting of six Ferrets, two Rapiers and two Sabres. Strike Group Alpha made an attempt on the Kilrathi carrier but scored no hits and only Montclair and Tolwyn survived.

The Intrepid moved into position to intercept an inbound cruiser while ten Gratha fighter-bombers made an attack run on the bow of the Tarawa, while the CAP was engaged astern. Seven torpedoes were launched. Six torpedoes were downed by point defenses however one slammed into the armored bow. This hit caused the forward twenty meters of the bow to shear off, taking the thirty five members of the volunteer crews on the salvaged Kilrathi turrets to their deaths. Amazingly, the Tarawa's hull held despite the massive damage. The armored bow had been an add on to the original transport design. It was simply welded on and was not integrated into the hull. Shields were knocked down to only eight percent.

A Kilrathi fighter positioned itself in front of the flight deck airlock and pumped mass driver rounds into the hangar. A Ferret's fuel tank detonated, destroying the fighter and killing the pilot inside. The flight deck became chaotic when the Kilrathi fighter was destroyed by a Rapier being chased by two Drakhai. This was a fighter from the TCS Concordia which was using a Kilrathi IFF to mask its identity. Admiral Tolwyn had intercepted a Kilrathi message stating the Tarawa had gone through the F-One / Vuwarg jump point, and rushed to aid the strike force after the battle at Vukar Tag was essentially over. As Thrakhath's carrier moved out of its minefield, the Intrepid engaged a Fralthra and both ships were destroyed by torpedo spreads fired at point-blank range. When Montclair and Kevin Tolwyn landed, they informed Bondarevsky that the fourth carrier from Jugara was the Concordia. Admiral Tolwyn had launched fighters to cover the Tarawa and a strike force to drive off the remaining Kilrathi. Thrakhath chose to curb his losses and disengaged, while the Confederation forces withdrew to Jugara and, ultimately, back to Confederation space.

Casualties

Strike Force Valkyrie

  • TCS Tarawa severely damaged, spending months in dry dock.
    • 283 crew members on Tarawa KIA.
    • 30 of 44 pilots KIA.
  • TCS Intrepid destroyed.
  • TCS Kagimasha destroyed.
  • Unknown number of members of First Marine Battalion KIA.

Kilrathi Forces

  • Heavy losses on the Kilrah satellite of Largkza:
    • Six Carrier Construction Slips Destroyed
    • Six Carriers Under Construction Destroyed
    • Cruiser Assembly Facility Destroyed
    • Over 4,000 Kilrathi Technicians Killed
    • One High Level Design Team Killed
  • Two Orbital Stations Destroyed:
    • One in Kilrah System
    • Second cannibalized and destroyed in unidentified system
  • One Fralthra Cruiser Destroyed in Baragh System
  • Four Kamekh Corvettes Destroyed in Kilrah System
  • Roughly 90 fighters destroyed throughout the battle

Aftermath

Strike Force Valkyrie suffered significant losses during the attack on Kilrah. Only the TCS Tarawa survived the raid and was so badly damaged that she narrowly avoided decommissioning and scrapping only by the insistence of Admiral Tolwyn and Jason Bondarevsky. Tarawa also received the unique distinction of having First to Kilrah painted on her hull directly under where the bridge had been located. Bondarevsky was promoted to Captain for his leadership during the raid. Jim Merritt was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of the First Marine Regiment. He replaced a female commanding officer named Gonzales who was killed during the Kilrathi bombardment of Vukar Tag.

Despite these losses, the devastation to the Kilrathi Home Fleet was far greater. With the loss of six carriers, several construction facilities and over 4,000 naval personnel and soldiers, the First Battle of Kilrah was a clear victory for humanity. The attack deprived the Kilrathi Navy of a large amount of irreplaceable equipment and war ships, and it proved to be an enormous humiliation for the Kilrathi as a whole. The complementing Confederation victory at Vukar Tag was a victory equal to the success of the raid on Largkza. Humanity regained hope that they would win the war against their enemy, strengthening their resolve and giving humanity an advantage on the battlefield.

The success of the First Battle of Kilrah prompted the Terran Confederation to assemble and commission about another dozen Escort Carriers, all of which would participate in deep-space raids on high-profile Kilrathi targets deep within the Kilrathi Empire. Within a year, these strikes effectively rendered the Kilrathi military undermanned and deprived of equipment. A further seven carriers were destroyed by Confederation forces. By the end of 2668, the Kilrathi Empire was losing the war, forcing its leadership to enact daring plans to destroy humanity before further losses were suffered. This series of events culminated in the return of exiled Baron Jukaga nar Ki'ra, who would turn defeat into victory with the proposal of the 2668 Armistice on 2668.191.

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