>CREW AUDIO LOG
>QUASAR, CMDR
>AMAROK, STL. DESTROYER
>9632.37654777175 GSY
Personal log, Commander Quasar,
Our retrieval mission was considered a success, though I had my concerns about the events that took place. Too many new developments for my liking. The unknown vessels, and our questionable stealth have been nagging at me for the past few hours, particularly the former. We don’t even know if the items retrieved are of value yet.
I don’t know what it is about those vessels, but they seem to strike an odd resemblance to something. Not sure what. But something. Combat data analysis indicated those battlecruiser-class vessels mount a single main weapon. Its appearance and design suggests the weapon is not some heavier variant of an ion cannon, but a railgun. If true, I can imagine a single round obliterating armour on any large vessel at long range. Whatever this vessel is, it seems to take inspiration from Vaygr battlecruisers and their trinity cannons; a first-strike weapon designed solely to hit hard.
Despite the attack philosophy, it’s difficult to say whether elements of the Vaygr in the ranks of the Raiders are behind this. It only seems like the most likely explanation, because it is the only plausible one. No, I suspect there’s more to this. The Raiders are really pushing forward with attacks in the galaxy, but there’s no reason for the change in behaviour.
I’ve been informed Basilisk will be sent on another retrieval mission. They’ve been tasked with infiltrating smaller Raider fleets to capture fleet commanders for interrogation. I suspect I may receive such assignments in the future for Amarok.
Still, the other concern to be addressed is of our stealth technology. Engineers and technicians have combed through every bit of software and hardware even remotely related to the cloak generators, and they haven’t found a single fault. No significant waves or fields leaking from the hull either. The only conclusion here is that the Raiders have improved their sensors to counter our stealth. Analysis of the combat data hasn’t come up with anything conclusive, but one theory has been brought up about certain behaviours observed by Raider vessels.
At some point during our mission, we noticed activity from the surrounding vessels. This was around the time we suspected we might have been detected. Reviewing combat data, it was noted that one of those battlecruisers got within four klicks of us, during the time our Infiltrators were away. Soon after, other ships started repositioning. Therefore, Fleet Intelligence suggests avoiding this vessel by at least five klicks, with a recommendation of ten, as well as extending avoidance to Rancors and Vindicators, in anticipation of potential retrofitting.
Whether these new sensors are omni-directional has yet to be determined. A ship’s sensors have always been ineffective in the direction of their drives, due to significant interference. Therefore, the aft-facing dead zone, or ‘cone of silence’ should still apply. Whatever the case, our navigation through an enemy fleet will now need to take avoidance into account, and to make better use of dead zone positioning.
Of course, considering how data links are established within a fleet, ships’ sensors are networked. If you’re in one’s dead zone, another could still detect you, depending on your position. Can’t even interrupt that data link. At least, not practically. Laser data transmission might be line-of-sight, but one ship in a fleet of ten is just going to reroute data via another, if a link is physically blocked.
In response to the potential existence of these new sensors, research division has prioritised development of cluster torpedoes for stealth destroyers. Type E, Mark One anti-subsystem torpedoes. Visually identical to Type D, with the same cloaking features. The warhead however, contains two halves, with eight uncloaked torpedoes in each. Thankfully, these torpedoes have proper guidance systems, due to smaller plasma containment fields. It’s intended to take out large numbers of sensors in one go, leaving fleets isolated from their networks and blind to our position. I wonder if they can be used on fighters and ‘vettes as well …
In other news, word on the streets back home was that we returned days after some magical incident in Ponyville. Apparently, every form of magic was sapped planet-wide, which probably explained why Aurora had been moored in orbit for a while. Interesting to note that no crew outside our solar system was affected, but knowing Princess Twilight, the research division will likely test the effective range of this sapping. Fleet Intelligence seems to be on edge. Given the global scale, the event was impossible to cover up, meaning our enemies might one day find a way to use that against us. I suspect contingencies will be implemented in the near future.
>LOG TERMINATED