Tactical Maneuvers

Tactical Maneuvers are used by a starship engaged in a combat to either maximize their ability to attack or defend themselves.

Attack Maneuver

Standard Maneuver

Maneuver	Description
Alpha	Starfleet’s most basic offensive maneuver, attack pattern Alpha involves a mostly straight-on approach to the target, with some slight vectoring to the side based on the ship’s weapons complement and the target’s movement.
Beta	The ship dives down between two enemy ships, firing at least once at each of them (and hoping they will miss it and hit each other, if aligned properly).
Gamma	Approaching the target closely, the ship jinks to starboard of the target, then dives beneath it to emerge on its port ventral side, firing as it goes.
Delta	The ship makes a broad arc turn around one or more ships, attacking them as it goes.
Epsilon	The ship climbs steeply, veering to port or starboard, then quickly dives back down, firing at targets as it goes.
Zeta	The ship swoops up from underneath a target to attack its vulnerable ventral side.
Eta	The ship swoops over the target from starboard to port, then back again from port to starboard (sometimes diving underneath in the process), firing as it goes.
Theta	A longstanding favorite of many of Starfleet’s more daring officers, the Theta attack pattern works best when the ship is outnumbered by at least three to one. The ship flies amidst its enemies, jinking (and even rolling) so that it can use as many of its weapons on as many targets as possible.
Iota	An all-out, straightforward frontal attack.
Kappa	A long, relatively shallow dive to one side of the target (usually whichever way allows the ship to bring the most weapons to bear on the target, or which uses the target ship to provide cover from other ships’ attacks).
Lambda	From a superior position, the ship arcs down and around its target to port, firing as it goes.
Mu	The ship flies on a carefully-calculated arc through a battlefield, firing at multiple targets.
Nu	The ship comes up from beneath the target(s) and loops up and over it/them.
Xi	The ship rolls from one side to the other, giving its weapons maximum exposure so the Tactical officer can attack several targets.
Omicron	The ship veers back and forth across the battlefield like a darting swallow, attacking vulnerable targets.
Pi	This maneuver may only be used by ships which have four or more weapons (of any type) which they can bring to bear on a single target. The ship swoops over or past the target at reasonably close range (within no more than Medium range for all weapons), firing all available weapons in a multiple weapon attack.
Rho	The ship swoops in from an aft dorsal angle to attack the target from behind.
Sigma	While seeming as if it will pass by a particular target, the ship turns to face it head-on and attacks.
Tau	The ship flies through the heart of a battle, jinking back and forth to avoid enemy attacks as it fires at choice targets.
Upsilon	The ship dives straight down at, or climbs straight up at, the target, firing forward weapons.
Phi	This maneuver is a flexible one designed to keep a vessel's most powerful phasers toward a target for as long as possible. The ship flies above its target in a diagonal pattern which allows it to fire its phaser and keep it locked on the target in continuous fire mode.
Chi	This maneuver is a flexible one designed to keep a vessel's most powerful phasers toward a target for as long as possible. The ship flies below its target in a diagonal pattern which allows it to fire its phaser and keep it locked on the target in continuous fire mode.
Psi	The ship approaches its target from an angle which gives it the most possible surface space to fire at (with Starfleet ships, that usually means from directly above or below, but it varies from ship to ship).
Omega	As the ship approaches the target head-on, it jinks to one side and dives steeply from one end of it to another.

Specialized Manuever

Maneuver	Description
Circumvential Attitude	This maneuver requires two or more ships. To use it, the ships surround a single target on as many sides as possible, attacking it from every angle and cutting off any attempts to escape.
Cochrane Deceleration	This maneuver only works when the ship is being pursued by an enemy within close proximity. The vessel will decelerate suddenly to allow the enemy to pass by, enabiling it to fire forward weapons.
Lorca Manuever	Developed by Gabriel Lorca in the 23rd Century, the vessel will use its Faster Than Light Drive to enter into close proximity to attacking vessels. Once the enemy vessels swarm the ship, the vessel will drop torpedoes as mines set for proximity detonation and then reengage its FTL Drive to quickly extract itself before the mines detonate.
Lure	The ship will play dead, simulating itself to be a derelict or too badly damaged to function.
Picard Maneuver	Developed by Captain Jean-Luc Picard when he commanded the U.S.S. Stargazer, the Picard Maneuver works against a single target and confuses the enemy sensors by relying upon a starship’s ability to move at faster than light velocities without the other ship realizing where it’s gone. The ship must start out sufficiently far enough from its target that it takes more than five seconds for light to reach the target. The ship will make a microwarp jump, thus moving from its current position to one much closer to the target before the target realizes that the ship has moved (since the ship travels faster than the light from its previous position). The ship drops out of warp and fires on the target, striking key points to inflict as much damage as possible before the opponent realizes what happened.
Repulse	Best used with a Class 0 or Class 1 vessel, in a Repulse maneuver a ship can slip past one or more ships blocking its path. First the ship must successfully reverse its deflector’s polarity. Then will increase speed in an effort to pass by the target ships. The deflector polarity will push the other vessel(s) away, allowing the ship to pass if successful; however, if unsuccessful the vessel will not be able to pass the opponent or may even collide with it.
Riker Maneuver	Created during a battle against the Son’a by Commander William Riker of the Enterprise, the Riker Maneuver is a specialized maneuver that may only be performed in regions of space filled with dangerous, combustible substances such as metreon gas or sirilium. The ship will pass through the gas for several moment, collecting it with its Bussard Collectors, and will then vent the ramscoops in the presence of the enemy to surround the enemy in the combustible material, projecting the gas back toward the enemy. The vessel will then detonate the gas, typically through a Torpedo and leave the area. Not without risk, the torpedo may detonate in an undesirable location, the enemy could ignite the gas on their own while its being collected, or the gas could even naturally ignite while being collected.
Scraping	This maneuver allows a ship to temporarily knock another ship’s thrusters offline. To perform it, a ship must have active shields and brush up against the target ship, which must also have active shields. The vessel will adjust polarity of its shields prior to impact in an effort to overload the systems of the opponent vessel. At the time of impact, if successful, the thrusters and engines of the opponent will overload and be disabled. If not correctly executed this maneuver can, and will, result in damage to the pilot's vessel.
Shield Ricochet	Only small ships (Class 0 - 2) can use this maneuver against larger vessels. The ship, using its thrusters heads straight for the larger vessel, then turns in just the right way to “bounce” off of the opponent's shields. This can be a good way to trick or distract the crew of the larger ship momentarily and can then allow a direct assault.
Staggered Approach Vector	Requiring two or more ships; these vessels will approach a target in a staggered formation, attacking the target with multiple shots. This allows an enemy to be attacked from multiple angles; however, it does increase the risk of friendly fire.
Triangular Envelopment	This maneuver is similar to circumvential attitude attack posture, but is more limited. It requires three ships, which surround the target on the same plane at bearings equal bearings to initiate an assault.
Wolfpacking	This maneuver requires three or more ships (typically ones which are significantly smaller than their target) to surround a target and coordinate their attacks against an opponent. Similar to a staggered approach vector this allows attacks from multiple angles, but increases the likelihood of friendly fire damage.

Evasive Manuever

Standard Maneuver

Maneuver	Description
Alpha	The ship jinks to one side and dives.
Alpha 2	The ship climbs steeply out of harm’s way.
Beta	The ship jinks to the side and dives slightly, back to the other side and dives steeply, then climbs about one ship length.
Beta 2	The ship peels off to port or starboard, then executes a sort of turn designed to bring him up underneath an enemy ship (perhaps one which was pursuing him).
Gamma	The ship climbs slightly, then dives down.
Gamma 2	The ship arcs upward to port, then peels swiftly down to the side from the apex of the arc.
Delta	As it flies along a relatively straight vector, the ship jinks slightly from one side to the other (known as “rocking” the ship).
Delta 2	The ship jinks to starboard, then jinks to port and dives slightly, then jinks back to starboard in a steep dive.
Epsilon	The ship climbs slightly, then jinks hard to port or starboard.
Epsilon 2	The ship arcs to port around its opponent, then peels downward and starboard.
Zeta	The ship dives slightly, then jinks slightly to port or starboard and lunges forward.
Zeta 2	The ship peels off to the side, climbing as it does so, then dives straight down.
Eta	The ship dives steeply, then jinks to port or starboard and climbs slightly.
Theta	A short, rapid dive followed by a quick series of jinks and turns designed to throw off the aim of any opponent.
Iota	A quick, complex maneuver involving several rapid turns.
Kappa	The ship does a “barrel roll”to go from being in front of a ship to above and behind it.
Lambda	The ship jinks hard to port or starboard and then drops back.
Mu	The ship jinks hard to port or starboard and then “slides” downward in a shallow dive.
Nu	The ship jinks hard to port or starboard and then climbs in a shallow, curving arc.
Xi	The ship veers to port or starboard in a broad arc, then suddenly jinks in the opposite direction.
Omicron	The ship jinks downward in a slight dive to port or starboard, then climbs steeply.
Pi	The ship jinks upward in a slight climb to port or starboard, then dives steeply.
Rho	The ship turns on its side, then falls away in a steep drop to port or starboard.
Sigma	The ship dives steeply, turning on its side towards the bottom of the dive and then climbing steeply and levelling out at the end of the climb.
Tau	A full starboard roll.
Upsilon	The ship makes a half-roll to port and drops down.
Phi	The ship jinks to the right, upward, and then to the right again.
Chi	The ship dives or climbs to port or starboard, executing a long S-turn as it does so.
Psi	The ship climbs in an arc, but before reaching the expected top of the arc darts quickly forward.
Omega	The ship engages in a complex, stomach-turning series of rapid turns which make it difficult to track or follow.

Specialized Manuever

Maneuver	Description
Close maneuvering	Designed for usage by a smaller vessel facing a larger opponent, in this maneuver the smaller ship closes in on a larger ship, completing complex, erratic orbits around the enemy to make it more difficult to attack.
Kavis Teke Elusive	Developed thousands of years ago by the Menthars during their war with the Promellians, the Kavis Teke Elusive Maneuver involves a quick, slightly climbing jink to starboard. Then, equally as quickly, the pilot executes an arcing climb to port and slightly back, which not only helps him avoid enemy fire, but in a pursuit situation can put him above and behind his pursuer.
Kirk Maneuver	Officially known as Defensive Pattern Kirk Epsilon, this is a series of erratic maneuvers designed to be used by a vessel facing off against a cloaked opponent. The series of movements is designed to maximize the ability to locate the attacker and is especially helpful in situations where the enemy vessel can fire while cloaked.
Kumeh Maneuver	The ship maneuvers behind a planet or other form of physical cover.
Presenting minimal aspect	Starfleet vessels are designed so that from some angles (primarily forward ones), they have a relatively small profile, or “aspect.” Presenting this aspect to a foe makes it much harder for him to target the ship successfully, because he has less surface to aim at.

Real World

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