CADET SCENARIO #5: ENCOUNTER 

Starships have many duties, one of which is controlling space by destroying (or threatening to destroy) anything that shouldn't be there. (This is the same principle employed by wet navy ships on Earth for about 30 centuries.) More often than not, two major powers claim the same territory. When that happens, both send a starship to enforce their claim, and the result is the classic single ship duel which is shown in this scenario.

PLAYERS: This scenario is designed for two players, but can be played by one player against the robot ship in Scenario #4.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: You will need the 16-Impulse Movement Chart, the Cadet Damage Allocation Chart, the counter for the Klingon Destruction , four of the Klingon drone counters, the counter for the Federation cruiser Constellation.

MAP: Use a map area from 0101 to 2817. Any ship that leaves the map has "disengaged" (i.e., gone home). It cannot be damaged further, but cannot return to the scenario.


SCENARIO SET UP
Place the Klingon ship in hex 0216 facing B.
Place the Federation ship in hex 2801 facing E.
For purposes of the acceleration limits, both ships were moving at speed 16 on the turn before the scenario begins.

SCENARIO LENGTH: The scenario continues until one ship has been destroyed or has voluntarily left the map. Since the robot ship cannot retreat, you will have to destroy it.

SPEED: The speed of each ship will be determined by the Energy Allocation Procedure at the start of each turn.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of each player is to destroy the opposing ship or to damage it so severely that the owning player will voluntarily leave the map.

DISENGAGEMENT:
Except in wartime (when destruction of ships is important to the long-term war effort), most races will allow a damaged ship to leave the map (the Klingons to avoid further damage to their own ship, the Federation for more noble reasons). Either player can, at the end of any impulse, simply announce that he is disengaging. The scenario is then over.

VICTORY: If one ship is destroyed, that player loses and the other player wins. If one ship disengages, that player has a draw (a tie, since he will claim to have damaged the enemy ship equally in his report to the admiral), while the other player has a tactical victory (he wins, but not as conclusively). If both ships are destroyed, both players lose.

ADVICE: The basic principle of starship combat is to deliver the maximum amount of damage against the weakest available shield over the shortest period of time. None of these qualities are absolute; you may often fire from a less than optimum position simply because you cannot reach a better one or because a better firing position would have other tactical liabilities. The fundamental differences between the two ships will dictate tactics. The faster firing disruptors and short-range phaser-2s call for close in-fighting, while the slower loading photon torpedoes call for an in-and-out style of combat, avoiding close contact when the torpedoes are reloading.

INSTANT REPLAY: After reading the plasma torpedoes rules in Scenario #6, you can use the Romulan ships in this scenario. or try any of the other cadet ships with weapon systems you have already learned.