Strategy and Tactics

The Purpose of this section is to familiarize the officer with some of the better-known and more useful strategies - for use in battle or other engagements with unknown/hostile craft. Some of these maneuvers are classic Strategems, and are frequently named after their originator. others simply definitions of useful practices.

### Tactical Advantage

**Parameters**: a basic principle of battle and pursuit is that each is a test of superiority. the vessel with the fastest engines and/or highest tolerance power plant and/or strongest shield and/or best ordinance will win, depending upon the tactics used. Since no vessel is likely to possess superiority in all traits, tactics should be chosen so as to emphasize your strength and your opponents' weaknesses.

**Battle**: in battles that vessel initiating actions (maneuvering, firing weapons) has the Tactical Advantage, and the opposing vehicle is delegated to the role of reacting to the first evasive maneuvers, Raising shields). the principle axiom of battle is to establish and maintain (or regain) the Tactical advantage. The engagement Zone is the volume of space within each vessel's weapons firing range.

**Pursuit**: When a pursuit is underway , TA actually belongs to the fleeing ship. that vessel will get to make such choices as heading and speed. So long as it maintains a large enough separation as to remain outside the pursuers Engagement Zone, it may alter course and speed at will - even to turning about and attacking. Pursuit is simply a test of endurance . the fleeing craft will be attempting to reach safety ( its own planet of Fleet). thus it will choose whether flight or fight is better, and if the former will utilize full engine output. at such speeds one ship or the other may well suffer a set-back (structural, power plant, or propulsion failure). if the fleeing craft fails a battle will ensue. if the pursuer suffers a failure, the fleeing ship will decide whether to escape or turn about to attack.

### Battle Scenarios

**Impulse Jockeying** - at sub-light speeds,the opposing vessel will remain within the engagement zone for minutes at a time. therefore each will jockey for position ; maneuvering so as to best attack their opponent's sensitive areas. In orbit, the vessel in the highest orbit has the TA, as he can trap his opponent between his weapons and the planetary surface - reducing in his opponent's escape directions to two dimensions.
 **Warp Speed Overtaking** **-** When opposing vessels are headed along the same heading, how long they remain within the engagement zone depends on the difference between their speeds. if the starship is traveling at WF 6.1 (226.98c) and the enemy is traveling at WF 6.0 (216.0c), the starship will pass the other at 10.98 c, and thus the length of engagement will be on the order of microsecond - unless one or the other matches speeds - and can keep them matched.

**Warpspeed oncoming**: when two oncoming vessels are approaching at FTL speeds, the length of engagement will be even Shorter - on the order of nanoseconds. such attacks are marginal even with the best Tactical computer/weapon loop. to improve the odds, a starship can execute a conic-section (parabolic) interstion turn. this will result in the two vessels being matched in heading (and speed if desired).

### Evasive Maneuvers

**Warpspeed - Jogging**: If a starship does not wish to leave the Engagement Zone. but does wish to avoid enemy fire, it must not significantly alter course or speed. Evasive maneuvers normally involve jogging: minor random thrusting lo port-zenith-starboard-nadir - not enough to alter course, just enough to make the flight- path an unpredictable jagged line instead of a smooth function. Evasive logs are pre-loaded into the HeIm's Preset Panel. and can be executed instantly.

**Impulse - Veer**: The usual evasive maneuver at subIight speeds as one or more sudden impulse turns along any vector in order to avoid incoming enemy fire. Since all speeds are low. this will not remove the evading ship from the Engagement Zone.

**Warpspeed - Pho-Torp Screen Defense**: As the starship and enemy vessel approach.the starship launches a salvo of torpedoes carefully calculated so that all detonate simultaneously between the starship and its opponent. This momentarily overloads the enemy sensors, creating a screen behind which the starship can execute some unseen tactic such as launching a shuttle, pertaining a radical evasive maneuver, etc.

**Stationary - Kirk Defense Pivot**: Utilized if a starship cannot exit the Engagement Zone, and must protect a portion of its hull whose shields have failed against a mobile enemy. The starship pivots in place so that as the enemy vessel passes by on an attack run, the starships damaged section is kept turned-away. Success of this tactic depends upon such factors as starship maneuverability and enemy speed and firepower.

**Englobement - Corbormite Escape**: A vessel is englobed by becoming surrounded by four or more enemy vessels. With one enemy at each axis of a tetrahedron. all facing inwards, there is no chance for the victim to escape by warping away, as this would mean charging along an enemy‘s heading. The only way to escape englobement is to cause the enemy to back-up until they are not within point-blank range. and then try to out-race the one with a similar heading. This may be accomplished by bluff.

Re-Establishing the Offensive

**Impulse - Shadow Maneuver**: Another evasive scenario requires the presence of a large inert object (planet or asteroid) behind which the fleeing Starship can dart. The Instant that the Starshlp is screened from its pursuer's sensors, it executes an emergency impulse-pivot so that it exits the sensor shadow toward the enemy along a sector which takes the enemy by surprise.
 **Impulse - Sulu Maneuver:** Calls tor split-second timing and precise reflexes on the part at the Helmsman. When the starship is fired upon, lt shifts into warp, circles around its attacker [b]. goes sub-light again and fires from its unexpected direction. To be successful, all steps must be accomplished in minimum time, before the enemy can react. The only defense against this tactic is for the enemy to warp away the instant that the starship first shifts into warp.

**Warpspeed — Pho-Torp Screen Attack**: Utilized by vessels featuring rear-firing tubes. The fleeing starship launches a salvo of torpedoes, carefully timed to detonate simultaneously between the starship and enemy. This momentarily overloads the enemy's sensors. creating a screen ahead of which the starship can perform an emergency warp-pivot and attack.

**Impulse - April Maneuver**: Used to escape a powerful pursuer, but only of the fleeing starship has superior shield capacity. The starship chooses a course tangent to a near-by star. All shield power is focused between the starship and star, exposing an attractive stern target to the enemy. At closest approach to the star. Just when the enemy's shields begin to overload and he is about to break-ott pursuit - the starship locks tractor beams onto the enemy's bow, towing it to overload and destruction.

**impulse — Fire-Blossom Ploy**: A Klingon maneuver. Similar in initial set-up to the April Maneuver, but not quite as close to the star. At the closest approach to the star. the fleeing enemy jettisons one or more Anti-matter Containment Bottles into the star's corona, there to melt. The resultant detonation's shock-wave within the star's photosphere will engulf the pursuing vessel within a flare of ionized plasma, overloading it Shields and destroying it.
 **Warpspeed - Cochrane De-acceleration Maneuver**: If a starship is being chased by an enemy of equal or greater engine performance. It can reverse power and dump itself back to sub-light. The pursuer overshoots hls quarry. The starship can re-engage warp and chase the enemy for a stern attack, interrupt the dump and parallel the enemy for a flank attack, or re-engage warp and veer-off at an angle, escaping the Engagement Zone before the enemy can curve back.