After Action Report:
They sent a fucking battleship at our convoy.
The storyline of Red Embers essentially says that the Scorpion Empire can clone their generals, especially considering that all the ones we fought post-Mission 2 were clones.
This is confirmed by the opening dialogue in Mission 7, which states that the scorpions were forced to use the originals rather than the ones cloned in the Scorpion Empire’s secret base in Antarctica.
Now, let’s set that aside for some gameplay mechanics that tie into this.
In conquest/CC, every nation has their array of generals, both good and bad.
Gameplay-wise, this is to provide both buffs and challenges to commanders both weak and strong.
While some of these generals/admirals, such as Guderian, Manstein, Zhukov, Konev, Monty, Patton, etc are obtainable by the commander, others like Vorishilov, Pound, Stilwell, Juin, etc are not obtainable.
For the practical part this is because ET doesn’t add every single general to the shop for various reasons (ROC generals not being present due to legal trouble, Göring being a war criminal, no god Yamamoto for various reasons) or adds them later (Inonu, Vasily, Pahlavi, Qasim, Kimmel, and Novikov all used to be unobtainable)
However, there might be an actual reason for this lore-wise.
Lore-wise, the Scorpion Empire in Red Embers only cloned their own generals and mind-controlled the rest, instead of just copying and spamming all the generals they literally just mind controlled (and all the mind-controlled Soviet generals were in Antarctica so distance wasn’t a problem either).
This would also be a reason as to why many less satisfactory generals aren’t in the general shop, as there would be no need to store the genetic data and clone generals that weren’t very good at their job. (However for progression there are “bad” generals in the shop)
Additionally, Commanders may deploy their own generals even if there is already a default copy on the map, and may have them fight for any country the commander pleases (IE Manstein fighting for the USSR or God Roko at the helm of a German King Tiger).
This general copy doesn’t affect the general already on the map (and the general copy can attack the original general (Manstein vs Manstein duel, anyone?).).
Additionally it’s more than possible to play with several copies of several different generals (say 2x Yamamoto on The Last Toll), despite regular logic stating otherwise.
The general limit counter also factors into this as well.
While gameplay wise it forbids players from spamming 50 generals, lore-wise the limit might be the number of times that the commander may clone their generals (IE they may only use the cloning device 12 times on hard 3-star campaigns).
Adding onto that, Challenge Campaign 1980 (Level 9), CC 1960 and CC 1980, and ROSE Nightmare has the commander controlling Scorpion forces with the same ability to clone their generals as in every other part of WC4, which means that the commander had access to the same technologies as the Scorpion Empire from the beginning of the game.
Which leads back to Red Embers and the other parts of the Scorpion Empire’s tech.
In Mission 2, Osborn and the rest start up what is essentially a dual-purpose cloning/mind control machine deep within Antarctica.
And in ROSE Nightmare, The Final Countdown (Army Group), and now Cracks in the Ice Curtain Hard (Patton, Chernyakhovsky, Rommel, Kluge, Yamamoto, MacArthur, Richthofen, and Vatutin are mind-controlled at the start, and can be “shocked” back to their senses if their respective fortress is destroyed ), it’s established that the Scorpion Empire can mind control generals into doing their bidding.
This also solves the “fighting against their own country/Manstein/Roko sliming all of Germany/USSR” part when it comes to an Allied/NATO general fighting for the Axis/WTO, and vice versa.
So that begs the question.
Are our generals mind-controlled clones of the originals?
2297
Fleet Composition
United Nations Stellar Guard
Lisbon-class Light Cruiser (UNSG): UNSGC Endurance (WCL-44)
Antarean Republican Stellar Guard
Aukani-class Destroyer: ARSGC Aukai (WDD-13)
_________________
"Semper Paratus. Aukai (WDD-13), Do you know what that means?"
"No, Endurance (WCL-44)."
"It means Always Ready in Latin. It was the motto of the old USCG pre-unification, but is now the current motto of the United Nations Stellar Guard."
"Always ready for what exactly?"
"To Search and Rescue, and to Defend every friendly vessel against every threat imaginable."
"That's similar to how the Imperial Navy used to work, but go on."
"We hear a transponder, or even the slightest distress signal, and we respond. No matter how big or small the cutter in question is, no matter how big the threat may be, she must respond anyway."
"It doesn't matter what we may find, or whether the compass* in your hand shakes or not."
"Even in the deadliest space storms, we sail in to rescue everyone we can."
"Even against pirate battleships, we respond, even if the fight is futile."
"Even in the thickest asteroid fields, we weave between asteroids to reach a vessel in distress,"
"We respond. We respond, no matter how afraid we may be of what we may find, no matter how dangerous it may be."
"And that, my friend, is the promise that every UNSG cutter is beholden to."
"And soon, dear cutter, you'll follow that promise as well."
*This is a handheld computer used for navigation outside of the navigation console. As it appears as a compass, it is called such despite not actually being a compass. Commonly used by shipsouls for navigation purposes when not at the nav console.
2328
Experimental Destroyer
Ship Name: TBD
Hull Number: DD-640
Guns: 6x 25" railguns/6x 25" plasma emitters (A/XY)
Torpedoes: 15x 240" (610cm) (Type 83K2/Mark 20)
ASW: 20x 125" (317.5cm) Mark 13
___________________________________
Orion Naval Yards, United Nations
"Beautiful ship, dont'cha think? Six of the UN's best destroyer guns, and fifteen of the Orion Arm's meanest torpedoes."
"I'm glad you made the switch from 53s to 61s for this one."
"Why not use the best torpedoes in the galaxy?"
"If all goes well, we may just have an edge against the ANRG when it comes to destroyer quality. Although, the price tag is rather dissuading..."
"It's a sunk cost for this one. She's just left the yards and is ready to undergo trials."
"You know?"
"What?"
"Humans and Antareans make a great team."
"Yeah, you're right on that one. Human guns, Antarean torpedoes, and a joint venture on everything else."
"Although, I still wonder what you'll name this one..."
"STRIKE CRAFT INCOMING! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"
“Yes. For that matter, I am glad that someone I know actually decided to attend the festivities tonight.”
“You know them?”
“We’ve been great friends for a long time, before coronation even. Let them call me whatever they wish, it'd be quite awkward otherwise.”
"Nothing. Hold my beer, will ya?"
"Sure, no problem-"
"Wait a second... That's one of the phrases... I'm taking this to the higher ups before something explodes. Or implodes. Or breaks. Or whatever it is you humans do."
KSNS Kanishtai (CV)
5/10/2277
“This is an open transmission from the fleet carrier Kaniahtai, to all Imperial K’sella Navy warships who are in a state of rebellion against the Empire of K’sella and her Government.”
“Why do you fight for the ones who ended our Great Leap Onward with a single gunshot?”
“Why do you fight to betray our Antarean brothers and sisters, who have honored the Kaniara Pact every time we have come under attack?”
“Why do you fight to shackle our economy to Earth, our resources bound by foreign companies and corporations who care not for the K’sella people?”
“Why do you wish to tear apart everything we have built through sedition and rebellion?”
“Why have you betrayed our nation, K’sella?”
"It ain't that bad."
"Asgtian hurricanes are built different! I should know because I've lived here all my life!"
"Come on, it-"
"I'm telling you! It's a Category 5! In Anakanai of all places! We gotta leave before-"
*sigh*
"EVERY WAFFLE HOUSE IN THE COUNTY IS CLOSED!"
"They forgot what happened last time? Same procedure as 2 decades ago. If they refuse to change course, you are to force them out of Aranai by any means necessary. Fire warning shots at them, then blow them out of the stars if you have to."
_________________________________
December 17th, 2207
"Caron, you are clear to commence FONOP."
Aranai, Antarean Empire
It was a normal day on patrol for Taraina and her sister ship Kasarana.
"Taraina, are you on the comm?" Kasarana transmitted from her comm console.
It didn't take long for Taraina to answer back.
"Affirmative, I'm on the comm." Taraina replied back, as she glanced towards the sensor consoles - an instinctive habit, one she didn't really need to do as she was the ship's machine spirit.
Still, Taraina couldn't help but feel a bit of fear.
"I've been reading the orders from the Vice-Admiral about the UN destroyers in Aranai." Taraina questioned. "Do you really think we should engage her in battle?"
"If it leads to that, yes." Kasarana answered. "But if cooler heads prevail, they’ll be heading homebound."
"Those destroyers are six hours away." Kasarana simply stated over comms. "We're to follow what the Admiralty has laid out for us, and find out what the hell they're doing in Aranai, and torpedo them if they don't comply or they open fire. Understood?"
"Affirmative, sister. Moving to intercept..."
________________________
Canonically, >!both UN destroyers were bumped and lightly damaged by the pair of Antarean ships, causing them to flee back to Orion.!<
However, in this prompt, the Antarean destroyers Taraina and Kasarana would, after a series of unfortunate events, fire several shots at the Human destroyers, before destroying both with torpedoes.
"And yet, he's eating my Chili Mac IBR, and he still insists that he didn't touch my food."
"So how did he open, heat up, and serve my Chili Mac IBR without laying his hands on it?"
"Some magic trick? Having another Marine spoon-feed him? How could he have possibly opened up, heated up, served, and ATE my Chili Mac IBR without laying his hands on it?"
"I'm not even mad, but still, HOW?"
Footnote:
The Antarean Infantry Battle Ration was known for being extremely good in taste, variety, and nutrition, and is the standard issue field ration to all Antarean soldiers, officers, and the like.
It is a luxury in any other military and some Human units have given up coffee and other luxuries on several occasions simply to obtain it.
𝙰 𝙼𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙰𝙶𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙰𝙳𝙼𝙸𝚁𝙰𝙻𝚃𝚈
𝟻:𝟷𝟺:𝟸𝟷𝟻𝟹 𝟷𝟻𝟷𝟽 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂 (𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙰𝙽)
𝙰𝙸𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙰 𝟶𝟺 (𝙱𝙱)
𝚄𝙽 𝙽𝙰𝚅𝙰𝙻 𝚅𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙻𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙰𝙽 𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙽 𝙱𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝙴𝙳 𝚄𝙿𝙾𝙽 𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚅𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙻𝚂 𝙸𝙽 𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙴𝙻 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙳𝚁𝙾𝚂 𝙲𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙵𝚄𝙻𝙻 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙸𝙽 𝙵𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙵𝚁𝚂𝙸𝙰𝙽 𝚁𝙴𝙱𝙴𝙻𝚂
𝚆𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝙴𝙳 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙾𝚈𝙴𝙳 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙴𝙳 𝙲𝚁𝚄𝙸𝚂𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙾𝚂𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙾𝚈𝙴𝚁𝚂
𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙽 𝟼𝚃𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝟾𝚃𝙷 𝙵𝙻𝙴𝙴𝚃𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷𝙳𝚁𝙰𝚆 𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙼 𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙴𝙻 𝚃𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙳𝚁𝙾𝚂
𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙴𝙻 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙽 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙳𝚁𝙾𝚂 𝙸𝚂 𝙰𝚃 𝚂𝙸𝙴𝙶𝙴
𝙴𝙽𝙴𝙼𝚈 𝚁𝙴𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙰𝚂𝙶𝚃𝙸𝙰 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙾𝙽𝚃𝙷
𝙸 𝙰𝙼 𝚁𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚄𝚁𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂 𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙼 𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙿𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚈 𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙼 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙺’𝚂𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙰 𝚃𝙾 𝙳𝙴𝙵𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝙰𝚂𝙶𝚃𝙸𝙰 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚅𝙴 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙳𝚁𝙾𝚂
𝙼𝙰𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙼𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚂𝙿𝙴𝚁
- 𝚅𝙸𝙲𝙴 𝙰𝙳𝙼𝙸𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝙰𝚂𝙺𝙰𝙻 𝙰𝙽𝙺𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙰𝚁, 𝙰𝙸𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙰
Sometime in 2330
Asgtia Naval Station, Republic of Antares
"But still, I must deny this one. Marines beat you to the catch, Captain."
"All the coffee that arrived yesterday was already claimed by several Marine and Naval Infantry units of various different nations by 0530."
"And the logistics office opens at 0500..."
"Ah! You know what, Captain? Come back next time a convoy arrives, okay? Maybe at 0300-0400ish with your requisition forms, then wait 'till 0500 for the doors to open."
"That way, you beat the Marines and Naval Infantry at their own game."
"I hate to stoke interservice rivalries, but I really can't do anything else until Maindrosite plantations bring harvest in two years, or while S-boats and commerce raiders still destroy our freighters."
Hey! It's the author.
Since battleship slugfests are the flashiest facet of naval and space combat, many writers (myself included) tend to neglect the usefulness of PT boats and destroyers (and torpedo spam as a whole)
This is my attempt to mention this doctrine for once (as I’ll be focusing on the K’sella Civil War and the National State’s torpedo cruisers and PT boat spam)
Since me simply narrating the various types of Terran naval doctrine out there is kind of boring on it’s own, I'll have Richelieu do this section (With some flair, of course!)
Author, out!
__________________________________________
Sometime in 2307
Bonjour, Capitaine!
I am the Moskva-class battleship Richelieu, designated BB-67.
Battleships like myself are among the most powerful ships in the galaxy, each bristling with the best weaponry, and shielding/armor so great that lesser guns falter against our kind!
But capitaine, we have a weakness, and we French had pioneered the very instrument that exploits it.
We are quite vulnerable to torpedoes. Scratch that, very vulnerable to torpedoes.
But Richelieu? What tactics could humble the greatest ships in the galaxy?
Jeune École, capitaine.
Young School, or so the English call it. In fact, Jeune École was created to counter the Royal Navy's dominance over the waves in a potential war between the Third French Republic and the British Empire.
It is a practice that simply evolved from the first self-propelled torpedo, ideally maximizing both the 'fish' in the water (void in much later times), and the amount of platforms said 'fish' could fire from.
This is what lead to the introduction of the torpedo boat - a boat with one, two, or even four torpedoes, designed to attack much larger vessels en masse, and the torpedo cruiser - a similar concept, but with a much larger platform.
The cost disparity between torpedo boat and battleship is immense - roughly $5000 in 1942 to build an 80' Elco torpedo boat, versus the Iowa-class at roughly $100,000,000 in 1942.
Even if one party lost a hundred PT boats to sink one battleship, the costs of doing so would barely make even a fraction of the cost and time spent to construct and commission a battleship similar to the Iowa-class.
However, Jeune École has a weakness, and it is that it can be easily defeated by dedicated screen ships, known as ‘contre-torpilleur’, or ‘torpedo boat destroyer’, equipped with rapid-firing main guns to dissuade torpedo boats from making proper attacks - and I hate to say this, to serve as torpedo shields for the ships they are escorting.
You may know these ships as simply ‘destroyers’.
But that is not all, capitaine, there is more.
Torpedo boats are not well known for their range, which is almost always abysmal compared to their prey or even their destroyer counterparts.
So while Jeune École is a powerful tool, similar in both use and range to a dagger, it is not a doctrine designed for power projection, rather the denial of the enemy’s power projection within one’s own space.
Essentially, it is perfect for defensive use - the UN used swarms of PT boats directly after the Great Invasion to deter the rising Antarean Empire, and the National State of K’sella used both torpedo boats and torpedo cruisers to great effect against the young Republic of K’sella Navy and what UN forces were present.
But, capitaine, remember that it is not a doctrine which will inherently take the fight to the enemy homeworld.
That is the duty of other doctrines - Jeune École is simply a stopgap for species which want to deter superior powers despite their lack of a significant shipbuilding industry.
But remember this, capitaine.
David killed Goliath with a single stone,
And a single torpedo can fell even the largest battleship if placed right.
Jeune École simply maximizes the amount of torpedoes in the fight.
"They built them with much more 'dakka' than most at their time. If there were historical battle ratings then much of low and mid tier would be almost unplayable because their ships were just that good for their time period."
Examples:
The destroyer Hatsukaze is at the same battle rating as the Antarean destroyer Aukani due to her armament of five 25-inch railguns, despite the latter having been commissioned several decades later.
The first dreadnought battleship in the galaxy, UNS Dreadnought, is at the same battle rating as AIS Omikron. Omikron was commissioned almost two decades later.
And humanity's first fleet carrier, Wright, is at the same battle rating as the Antarean fleet carrier/battleship conversion Asgtia, which was commissioned almost a decade later.
4/28/2329
Antares, Republic of Antares
ITNS S-99 (Type XVIIB S-boat)
"Let them pass. I can see the red cross on their IFF tag."
"Why's that? We aren't Orion Convention signatories."
"It'd be a waste of a torpedo that could be used to torpedo a human troopship or a freighter. G9s aren't cheap, you know?"
"I'll call it off, then."
"Good."
"Affirmative. It's a human tactic that they insist we use. Every ship's got a great deal of autonomy."
"And they want us to use it?"
"Well, if they're going to send their ships to fight alongside us, we ought to fight the same way they do."
"Very well, I'll send the word. I sure hope they aren't bluffing when it comes to this..."
"Also - Admiral, before you yell at me or my ship over comms for not getting the requested items in their entirety, I am letting you know that I have pulled every single string I could get to get good coffee for your ships and sailors, but we're simply out of everything. Even the fake coffee supplements are gone."
"Coffee is completely gone. Bad harvest on Maindros, a forest fire and insurgency on Asgtia, and Kanahuai's still occupied, not to mention the S-boats causing shortages of everything because they blow up every third merchant ship."
"This year's been a real pain train for anyone who likes coffee this year. We've also lost another reefer two weeks ago to the damn stealth boats - Akshan Marii, the one that had all that ice cream, tea, and coffee from Earth."
"Trust me, we're just as frustrated as you, but I'm just a supply ship captain and can't do nothing about it except ask the Admiralty again, which is busy with other things."
"So, we won't have any coffee until the lanes are open again."
"And frankly, I wouldn't care how the lanes are opened..."
1/15/2309
Aragrai City, Asgtia, Republic of Antares *
"This is Radio Aragrai."
In the years since the Antarean Empire collapsed, Aragrai had always been wracked by organized crime, with protection rackets and other illicit activity rife, with an underequipped police department and a National Guard that's too overstretched and underfunded to do anything.
"Aragrai's businesses have collectively decided to stop paying protection fees after several businesses, incliding Akani's Eatery, were shot up by gangsters and mafia last week."
Aragrai is a city of small business owners, many of which are veterans on both sides of the UN-Antarean War.
"We are now to be the target of a collective terror campaign by the elements of organized crime and criminality."
And when they shot up Akani's Eatery - a small restaurant, the owner of which was well-known across Aragrai for his altruistic business practices, it galvanized the city into resistance.
"They can bribe and threaten our officers and prosecutors, but they cannot bribe and threaten the people."
More and more people rallied to fortify the Asgtia Veterans Association building, as arms caches and radio equipment began to amass within it's confines, while wartime Antarean Civil Guard stashes were unearthed and distributed to any Asgtian or Human veteran and business owner who'd enterd through the double doors of it's entrance.
"We won't tolerate organized crime in our city anymore, no matter what species they're from. Human, Antarean, it does not matter, all are equal under the hammer of justice."
No more would the Asgtian people tolerate the organized crime that has wracked Aragrai.
"Bet remember - do not blame all of humanity for the actions of a few, even if the mafia is human-dominated. There are more righteous Asgtians and Humans who have built their lives in this city through sweat and grit, than there are who are aligned with the forces of crime."
And no more would they stand against the mafia and the gangs alone, be they human or otherwise.
"And remember, they cannot threaten nor kill all of us, so you must stand strong in the face of threats and attacks, for the future of our city depends on it."
For the mafia and the gangs can threaten a magistrate or a politician, but they cannot threaten everyone.
"Sons and Daughters of Aragrai, To Arms. Cast the leeches out from the city you call home."