Carrier Alvin Katz

CLASS: Tempest

CREW: <TRA color="#ff0000"/>CLASSIFIED

ARMAMENT: <TRA color="#ff0000"/>CLASSIFIED

This formidable ship patrols Omega-52, guarding the heart of the Coalition from invaders.

Bold letters on the ship's aft hull plating proclaim "Katz lives!", a statement of the vessel's symbolic value to the Coalition. The Alvin Katz is more than a warship. It is a testament to the courage of the Coalition's people, and proudly carries the name of a hero.

The Alvin Katz, named after a historical leader of the Coalition, was the first Tempest-class carrier to leave the docks of Mykolaiv back in 823 AS. Acting as an advanced forward operating base, this ship has traveled all across the Omegas projecting the Coalition's military power.

In its first major operation, the Alvin Katz struck into Rheinland. Its task force helped liberate political prisoners from Vierlande Prison in Hamburg, escaping before Rheinland forces could fully retaliate. Following this mission, emergency orders were issued to the fleet to proceed to Omega-48.

After the Red Hessians redeployed Battleship Kassel from Omega-48, there were concerns that their bases were left vulnerable to Corsair attack. These fears ultimately proved accurate when, in 827 AS, the raiders of the Cretan battleship Fes launched an attack on Planet Tangier. The CPW Alvin Katz was faced with its biggest challenge yet as it defended the planet together with a small Hessian garrison.

The battle was fierce, and the Alvin Katz task force took heavy casualties from the Corsair assault. The Hessian installation orbiting the planet was destroyed in a last-ditch push by the Fes, but it was costly for the Corsairs: they took many losses themselves and could not capture Tangier before the Fes was forced to withdraw by a counterattack from the Alvin Katz.

Although the battle was a victory for the defenders, it took a severe toll on the Alvin Katz fleet, with the flagship itself sustaining moderate damage and crew loss. The fleet spent some time over Tangier in desperate need of repair and refit, often flying patrols with unarmed hulks as decoys and unable to perform many of its duties. Fortunately for the Coalition, it was not get caught in any major engagements before being recalled for a refit. On the way back through Omega-48, the carrier had a near run-in with Battleship Athos, but it only amounted to skirmishes between the fleets' escorts.

In 831 AS, Carrier Alvin Katz was reintroduced into service after being repaired and refitted with new upgrades at Mykolaiv. It received new shipboard electronics, optimized subsystems and newly built strike craft wings, and its seasoned crew has been joined by fresh recruits. At the head of a proper fleet once more, this formidable ship now patrols Omega-52 to guard the heart of the Coalition from invaders.

Bold letters on the ship's aft hull plating proclaim "Katz lives!", a statement of the vessel's symbolic value to the Coalition. The Alvin Katz is more than a warship. It is a testament to the courage of the Coalition's people and proudly, carries the name of a hero.

## News

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.
Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.
While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

For decades the Zoners of Freeport 9 have kept themselves safe from Corsair reprisals by offering useful services, with their biodomes providing Crete with respite from the famines that once ravished it. Despite this, outrage has swept Omicron Gamma after a flight of Hunters killed Commander Juan Garcia, before retreating back to the No Fire Zones of Omicron Theta.
The Council of Elders have ordered the administrator of Freeport 9 to attend Planet Crete to hear their demands. Elder Garcia has vowed that the station's halls would "run red with blood" unless the Zoners turned over all BHG aboard the Freeport. The Zoners are yet to respond, likely trying to anticipate how the Corsairs will react.

The Corsairs see the Pygar colony as a direct competitor for the region's scarce resources, with Elder Garcia warning that there would be "dire consequences" should Freeport 9's biodomes reduce or divert their exports to Planet Crete. Whispers of alien ruins and Artifacts discovered below Pygar's surface may also antagonize the Corsairs, who rely on the Artifact trade as a source of wealth. The hardship of Pygar's extreme conditions and the uneasy relationship with the Corsairs has already led many colonists to consider a return to the now liberated Gran Canaria.

## Rumors

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*