The Battle of Ivan’s Star
Task Force Kenga included an Ann Arbor class Destroyer as well as the original TAS Gibraltar.
It was evenly matched with the Drengin fleet.
But the Drengin had something that the humans did not: Long-ranged missiles
These instantly took out the Frigates. The Drengin Doom Giver class had twice the armor as the Terrans who relied heavily on shields. Shields are indeed very useful but having the shields annihilated before they reached weapon range is a problem:
The Ann Arbor class ships could go toe to toe but there was only one of them in the fight.
Eventually only the Ipsi (the Ann Arbor class) remained:
It was time for a new ship class.
From Kalamazoo
Equipped with the new Plamsa pod plans sent from Earth, protected by Thulium alloy and an array of shield generators, the Kalamazoo class was hoped to turn the tide.
The question was would it come soon enough?
While the Kalamazoo classes were rushed into service, the Drengin were methodically taking out our mining bases.
Rematch
Task Force Gilda was led by one of the first of the Kalamazoo class ships, the TAS Rapids and escorted by a host of B-5 Pursuers.
Gilda also had a couple of Kalamazoo class Destroyers in the group.
Looking at a Kalamazoo vs. an Ann Arbor class ship really showed a big difference in capability:
The Kalamzoo class had slightly better weapons but was heavily armored. The Drengin Doom Givers remained mostly the same. Their defenses were not remotely in the same league as the Kalamazoo but their weaponry was much better. The Doom Givers continued to rely on their kinetic based weapons.
The B-5s weren’t able to do any damage before going down. Their particle beam weapons just could not penetrate the armor of the Drengin cruisers.
The Rapids, the new Kalamazoo class ship, was absolutely devastating the enemy with two different kills. Two Drengin Guardians.
The Gigamass plating on the Doom Givers were still mitigating the green plasma beams.
And now, the Drengin had closed the distance and a hail of Neutronium balls began wearing down the armor and shields of the Rapids.
Finally, a DoomGiver goes down. The first kill of the war.
At this stage, the Rapid’s armor was absolutely gone.
Shields down. Armor gone. It was just hull vs hull. Now it was just hull to hull.
Unfortunately, the Drengin had slightly more hull to spare.
Now it was down to the last two ships in each fleet. The TAS Canton and a Drengin Sadist. Drengin power vs. Terran defense.
Unfortunately, their punch was stronger their the Terran ability to take it.
In the end, the Drengin fleet came out on top.
However, Commander Voss was not too concerned. The TAS Rapids had done well and a whole fleet of Kalamazoo class ships would soon be in the war.
It wasn’t over yet.
