Ultra space battle brawl impressions5/26/2023 ![]() ![]() Starship Scuffles are routine in Space Opera, and may be used to establish the setting, throw a minor obstacle in the protagonists' path, introduce a villain, or even just provide a lead-in to other, more important parts of the plot. Note that such a confrontation need not be an epic Final Battle. The crew will scramble for Escape Pods at the last possible second (this step can be skipped if there is nobody important on board), and the subsequent Explosions in Space (with optional Planar Shockwave) will fittingly wrap up the action. If neither side is willing to retreat, sooner or later one of the Cool Ships is likely to suffer a Critical Existence Failure. ![]() ![]() If the quarry manages to slip away, there may be a Stern Chase. ![]() An honourable opponent will let them go a lowly Space Pirate may get out the boarding hooks instead, and prepare a Boarding Party. Once damage has had some time to accumulate, and the daring plan has had a chance to either work impressively or fail spectacularly, one of the ships will usually find it prudent to invoke the Thirty-Sixth Stratagem and attempt a Hyperspeed Escape. Famous British admiral Horatio Nelson once shocked the world and revolutionized warfare by discarding traditions and turning to risky new tactics, for example. note There may be possible parallels with the History of Naval Warfare here, as well. Unfortunately, such daring plans will usually Only Work Once. In a really dramatic battle, he or she may turn to daring and original plans - attempts at Stealth in Space (to turn the battle into a submarine analogy), aversions of Two-Dimensional Thinking, uncharacteristically creative applications of usually- Misapplied Phlebotinum, etc. The Captain will sit stoically at the centre of it all, providing important tactical guidance, such as " Reverse the Polarity!" or " Give me more power!" Everyone flails about as each enemy hit brings on a Star Trek Shake. On The Bridge, Bunnies will shout out damage reports while Explosive Instrumentation claims the life of many a Redshirt Ensign. The Engineer will rush to prevent Phlebotinum Overloads while avoiding the inevitable torrents of burning steam, providing essential Techno Babble all the way. Deflector Shields will flash and crackle as they slowly drop percentage point by percentage point. The Close In Weaksauce System - if it exists - will valiantly try to intercept enemy attacks, and fail. Two Cool Starships from opposing Space Navies will park within arm's reach of each other, and proceed to fire broadsides of Beam Spam and Macross Missiles at each other's Weak Spots. It may be The Climax of a tense standoff, the conclusion of a Stern Chase, or the outcome of a cunning surprise attack. The honour and military tradition of those long-gone days will often be evoked as well. Space Fighters have the Old-School Dogfight capital ships get this trope instead, and you can think of it as a " Very Old School Sea Fight." Founded on the idea that Space Is an Ocean, it harks back to the age of Wooden Ships and Iron Men, when large warships, making up in fire-power what they lacked in manoeuvrability, pounded each other with cannon fire until one finally took enough damage to be forced to withdraw (or until a lucky shot hit a powder magazine). This is the Supertrope for many tropes and clichés concerning Epic Ship-on-Ship Action note and not Ship-to-Ship Combat, which is something else entirely. ![]()
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