Interesting but rough new game start.

So I started a new game yesterday, went back to the Argonian / Young Gun start because I just like being an Argonian. Anyway, its been quite interesting but unusually rough so far. Here's the story so far...



Things went pretty normal at first, I manage to get enough cash pretty quick to buy a Paranid Perseus fighter which is a nice interceptor. Using that I started capturing Minotaur Raiders from the SCA, most of them in the Trinity Sanctum III sector. For some reason since 2.5 the SCA have just loved sending Minotaur Raiders and Behemoths in there and I end up capturing quite a lot (well assuming the Paranid don't decide to "help" and blow the ship up, has made capturing the Behemoths tricky at times). I'd gotten 5 Minotaurs and a single Behemoth but was low on funds so I took a break from that to make some cash off missions and things. I also did the main plot line and got as far as constructing a dock at the HQ. I'd just finished refitting the one Behemoth with L Pulse Lasers and M Bolters (was still at rep 14 with the Argon and that was my highest rep so I was limited in my choices of equipment) and slapped a Captain Pearle paint job on the now re-christened DDA-01 Intrepid.



Meanwhile the Xenon have been wiping out Ianamus Zura and from what I could tell Company Regard. They'd made some intrusions into Hatvikah's Choice but the Argon had held the line so far (that was about to become a very thin line). The HOP must have been doing okay because they launched TWO full fleets complete with carries and resupply ships into both Second Contact -- Flashpoint AND Pious Mist II at the same time. The Godrealm Paranid got massacred and the fleet was moving around at will. The ANT fleet I thought had been wiped out (couldn't see any) and some of the HOP fleet move into Argon Prime and were attacking the wharf there. So, being a loyal Argon son I boarded the Intrepid and made best speed to Argon Prime. When I left I checked the map, there were two HOP destroyers, a couple of Gorgons and a couple of Nemesis and a handful of fighters. The Argon carried, supply ship and two destroyers were moving to engage so I figured I'd be lending a hand in what would otherwise be a lop sided fight favoring the Argon.



And that's when everything started going wrong.



By the time I got to Argon Prime I found that the entire HOP fleet had moved in and were smashing the wharf. They'd already destroyed one other station. The HOP had a total of:

7 Odysseys Sentinel Destroyers

1 Atlas Sentinel Supply Ship

3 Gorgon Sentinel frigates

3 Nemesis Sentinel corvettes

4 Theseus Sentinel heavy fighters

9+ Perseus Sentinel fighters



vs the Argon

1 nearly destroyed wharf with no defenses left

1 Colossus Vanguard carrier with apparently no fighters or defense drones

1 Nomad Vanguard supply ship

3 Behemoth Vanguard destroyers

3 Eclipse heavy fighters



and me in one refitted Behemoth with good engines (PAR All Around) and good shields (TEL) but mostly short range weapons.



What followed was a very tense and rough battle. I found out early I couldn't even get close to the HOP destroyers with all those missiles, I could set my guns to missile defense and they'd actually manage to shoot down 50-60% of the incoming barrage but with 2+ destroyers on me it was just too much and I had to retreat and make fast repairs... which was dicey with a green crew. So instead I concentrated on taking out the smaller stuff, almost dog fighting the Gorgons and Nemesis while staying well away from those destroyers.



Fortunately 4 of their destroyers were busy pounding what was left of the wharf, and that left the Argon fleet engaging the remaining 3 destroyers with me drawing off the light stuff. That was my first break. My second was that all that short range weaponry was just dandy for chewing up these fighters, corvettes and gorgons, and I manage to eliminate them all myself. By the time I'd take care of the S and M stuff I found that the other 4 destroyers had switched to going after the Argon fleet, the carrier and supply ship had both pulled back after having most of their shielding peeled off. One Argon Behemoth got itself surrounded and there was nothing I could do but watch as it got pounded by missiles until it was a wreck. The other two Argon Behemoths stayed together and supported each other and to my surprise they actually acted as if they had some brains. I tried engaging the HOP destroyers again and was again pushed back by heavy missile barrages. But in doing so I got 5 of them to chase me, which left the 2 Argon Behemoths in a 2 vs 2 battle (and what I didn't realize until later was the two HOP destroyers were both running with empty missile racks and one had some battle damage giving the Argon a real edge). With 5 destroyers gunning for me I was in trouble and all I could was run, but the managed to flank me I was about to be surrounded. The missiles were coming in from all sides, my bolters chattering away trying to shoot em down. I could just about see the end coming.



An then I got a surprise... and a beautiful sight.



I'd been so busy I had not been paying attention to where the Argon carrier and supply ship were... well, they had been paying attention. Just as LARGE barrage of missiles were closing to impact which would have been the end of me; the Argon Colossus comes up from under me an moves in front of me and took most of the barrage on its fresh shields. My jaw dropped.... the flippin Argon carrier actually did something smart and pretty much saved my bacon. If I could have bought the captain of that Colossus a cold one at a bar, I would have!



The supply ship moved in as well and drew some fire from the a couple of the other destroyers. That gave me to to break off and get my shields back up while making repairs. Not to mention raking one of the attacking destroyers at close range as I moved out taking out most of its upper guns and engines leaving it immobile.



With the remaining 4 combat effective HOP destroyers pounding on the Argon Colossus and Nomad, which were soaking up a LOT of missile hits, I swung around and finished off the one destroyer I had mauled. One down, six to go.



The two surviving Argon destroyers weren't far off and they had the two HOP destroyers on the defensive, so I hit the gas and joined them. Killing one and then the other HOP destroyer, which allowed the two Argon destroyers a break to recharge their shields and repair a few weapons as they turned to support their carrier. I came around hard and again hit the gas and dropped in behind another HOP destroyer.



Nice thing about that gutsy move the Argon Colossus had pulled, they'd emptied the missile racks of the remaining HOP destroyers. I grinned when I realized that and moved in close. They were untouchable with those missile racks but without them all they had were L Beam lasers and the Intrepid was fitted for close range knife fights. I got in tight, grabbed em by the belt buckle and slashed away with L Pulse and M Bolters blazing. One HOP destroyer after another exploded as I cut loose with everything I had and the other two destroyers joined in.



By the time it was over the Wharf was hanging on with only two of its original modules intact. The entire Argon fleet, except for the one Behemoth, had survived intact but damaged. An I'd survived too, with a crew that had gone from very green to an average of 2 stars across the board (Ablebodied crew!).



I headed to dock, by now I'd gone from rank 14 with the Argon to rank 22 (and -18 with the HOP) So I got my new rank, licenses and refitted and repaired the Intrepid with better weapons and headed out again.



By now the ANT fleet, which had been I don't know where, had regrouped and held the gate to True Sight, so that was locked down. Things on that end were looking good for the ANT and ARG, but the PAR were still facing a large fleet busy wrecking Pious Mists II.



I spotted another SCA Behemoth in Nopeleos Fortune VI and went after it with a couple of boat loads of marines (by boat load I mean a Hermes Vanguard with a captain and 20 marines x2) and succeeded in capturing my second Behemoth with few casualties. I got it back to Grand Exchange and from there to Argon Prime for a weapons refit, then on to a Teladi dock for shields and finally the Trinity Sanctum dock for an engine refit by which time I'd renamed it the DDA-02 Dauntless. So now I had two destroyers, and I'd also added 4 boat loads of marines to my small fleet.



My next target was a HOP Builder out by itself, that was a bloody fight. First 60 marines I sent in all got killed, so 4 more boat loads I hit it again with 80 marines. They just barely managed to capture it and got it underway to the TS III dock for repairs when the HOP fleet came after it and me.



So the Intrepid and Dauntless engaged first some Gorgons and Nemesis followed by their fleet of destroyers (another 7 of them). I figured I'd fight a delaying action and lead them away from the builder until it could make to the gate and escape. It was gonna get dicey though.



It was actually a little tougher taking the Gorgons and Nemesis out, I had missile launchers with heavy swarm missiles and L Plasma, which were about useless against those fast ships. But we got them down as the destroyers were closing. This was starting to look bad because the builder was moving slow and there was no way I could face off that kind of firepower; not with the way the HOP destroyers were staying grouped up.



Enter the calvary. The PAR, I guess not wanting to be left out, come charging in with 3 of their own destroyers, 2 Gorgons and 4 Nemesis plus some fighters. Well now we got a party! I swung about and with the Dauntless we opened up on the nearest HOP destroyer while the PAR came at em from behind. It got messy and both the Intrepid and the Dauntless took a beating but we held and the PAR did their damage. The HOP, with 3 destroyers lost pulled back to their supply ship. With my own destroyers in rough shape (and a lot of our repair drones destroyed by missile explosions) I decided to call it a day and head for the dock for refits and repairs. The PAR lost one destroyer and one Gorgon and one Nemesis but they held the field with their remaining fleet and the HOP disengaged.



So as it stands I have 2 Behemoth destroyers, 6 Minotaur raiders, 1 Heracles Sentinel builder, 1 Nemesis Sentinel (it bailed), and a Perseus fighter along with 6 Hermes Vanguard freighters... and the freighters and the fighter are the only ships I've actually bought. I'm working on repairing and refitting everything but funds are low so I'm taking a break from the war to make some money on missions and trades while I get my HQ station turned into something useful.



An that's where things currently stand.



I have yet to do my first build mission or build my first station (other than the dock at the HQ). So I have a LOT to do. But its been a heck of an interesting beginning to a new game.



It was also really nice to have some faction allies who actually did some smart moves and helped me out, did not expect that!