First the Siege of Pavlov's House, then the Battle of Midway - yes, I'm apparently in a mood for World War II inspiration right now .

I got this idea while typing a reply to the escort carrier thread.

OK, so according to some other poster, it may be possible to make maps really big, as in 8x8 km. This, coupled with the nature of the Escort Carrier (launch fighters from out of range of attack), gives me an idea, based on a major battle of the Pacific Ocean.

The Battle of Midway was fought between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy over Midway Atoll, which was strategically important due to its location in the middle of the Pacific. It housed a small airbase, a radar, a little harbour, and not much else.

The battle was characterized by fighters and carriers. The Japanese tried to bomb the Heck out of Midway and the US carriers. The Americans tried to defend Midway, while simultaneously bombing the Heck out of the Japanese carriers. But to sink the Japanese carriers, they first had to find them, which as a matter of fact they did.

So here's the battle in First Strike:

     Background
The Imperial Navy, as part of their campaign of expansion in the Outer Rim, is attempting to destroy a Border Control Station controlling the outskirts of Imperial space. Diplomacy has collapsed, and the Empire has decided that its protectorate star system is better off under direct Imperial rule.

An initial strike by fighters are to decimate the station's defenses before boarding parties can secure the station. The fighters will be launched from outside sensor range and then strike, for then to disappear back into the darkness. For the Imperials to succeed, the carriers must be kept mobile and hidden. For the defenders to succeed, the carriers must be hunted down and destroyed.

     Order of Battle

The Border Control Station is defended by gun platforms and several support vessels capable of deploying mine fields and sensor units (see this thread); fighters and bombers; a scout ship with long-range sensors; and several docked military ships, as well as merchants awaiting or undergoing inspection at the time of the attack.

The station's main defense, however, consists of fighters. It has squadrons of outdated or last-generation fighters, such as Z-95 Headhunters, Y-Wings, T-Wings, or some other design. A possible fighter wing could be one squadron of Z-95 Headhunters and one squadron of Y-Wings.

The Imperial assault consists of several escort carriers, each of which is escorted by light warships such as Corvettes, Lancer Frigates, or other. Each carrier carries a generous complement of fighters - TIE Fighters, TIE Bombers, and TIE Scouts. In addition, one of them has an Escort Shuttle docked to it.

     Game-play
The Imperials will need to be keeping their carriers moving and hidden, and their fighters attacking from "out of nowhere", changing directions on their way in so that their source remains unknown. They also need to deploy patrols to keep enemy scouts from finding the carriers.

The defenders must balance defense and carrier hunting, trying to avoid Imperial patrols and locate the carriers. They must also defend the station from attack, deploying weapon platforms, sensors and mine fields strategically to detect incoming fighters and prevent them from effectively striking.

If crucial targets on and near the station are destroyed, the Imperials win. If the Carriers are 'sunk', the Imperials lose.