Posted by: Steve Walmsley
« on: January 25, 2015, 11:46:40 AM »Gravitational surveys of Tokyo and Yokohama were completed in late Y214, revealing that both systems were dead-ends with no jump points other than those leading to Rigel. Routes for Rigellian expansion were now restricted to the Osaka and Nagoya systems. Osaka had three outward jump points, one of which was unexplored while the others led to Kyoto and Kawasaki, the latter being the location of the two alien shipwrecks. The survey of Nagoya was still underway but appeared promising with three new jump points already located. A small colony had been created on Osaka IV, which could serve as a base for future expansion down the Osaka chain. The Emperor also gave permission for a colony to be created on the airless planet Nagoya I to serve a similar purpose for future exploration in that direction. In Rigel, the first sign that supplies of minerals would become an issue in the future was the exhaustion of Mercassium deposits on the Rigellian homeworld. This was not an immediate issue as a stockpile of 40,000 tons had been built up. However, Mercassium was required for several vital purposes, including life support for ships, the construction of research facilities and the building of cryogenic transport modules for colony ships, so a new source would have to be found in the medium term.
Y215 was relatively quiet, as the Empire geared up its warship production. Three new Kongo class battlecruisers, Fuso, Hiei and Yamashiro, were launched on January 25th. In early May, the Rigellian homeworld exhausted its deposits of Boronide, used in many power systems. In November, the Imperial Rigellian Navy received the first four units of its second warship class – the Kagero class Destroyer. Akigumo, Arashi, Kagero and Kuroshio were energy-armed combatants designed for close combat. They would serve both as fleet escorts, defending the Kongo class battlecruisers or other capital ships, and independently, assaulting and defending jump points or raiding enemy commerce. Unlike the Kongos they were not reliant on a supply chain for their weapon systems, which would be vital if the Rigellian Empire found itself in a prolonged conflict.
Expansion of the Imperial Rigellian Navy continued in Y216 with the introduction of two new warship classes, the Nagara class Destroyer Leader and the Matsukaze class Destroyer Escort, plus the construction of three new Kongos, Hyuga, Mutsu and Nagato, and three new Kageros, Asagumo, Kasumi and Yamagumo. The single Nagara was a modified Kagero which replaced most of its armament with a newly designed jump drive and the most capable sensor suite of any Rigellian warship. Its intended role was to lead destroyer squadrons on independent operations. The Matsukaze class was a pure escort design, equipped with sensors and fire controls that could detect and track incoming missiles. Fifteen Tamuro-Soga Heavy Industries Dragon-1 Missile Launch Systems provided the firepower necessary to defend the fleet, launching ninety anti-missiles per minute. A large magazine capacity allowed the Matsukaze to carry more than six hundred defensive missiles. Three units of the class, Asakaze, Harukaze and Matsukaze were launched from the Yoshioka Orbital Shipyard in June Y216.
In addition to the warship production, several freighters and colony ships were produced, plus the first Azusa Maru class Tanker. Rigellian survey ships, particularly the Kashima class, were proving to have less endurance than had been anticipated which would become an increasing problem as surveying operations moved further from Rigel. With the introduction of the Azusa Maru, those survey operations could either by directly supported by the tanker or, more likely, supported by the creation of refuelling bases in key systems. The new tanker’s initial task was to establish fuel stockpiles at the two Rigellian colonies in Osaka and Nagoya. In July Y216, when the Azusa Maru made its deliveries, the populations of the colonies were 900,000 and 300,000 respectively.
In early May Y217 the first Rigellian jump gate construction ship was completed. Given sufficient time, the Kochiku Suru class would open up the universe for commercial traffic, including that owned by civilian shipping lines.
A second Nagara was constructed in June and three new Matsukaze class escorts were launched in August, along with a new Kagero. The Imperial Rigellian Navy now comprised nine Kongo class BC, eight Kagero class DD, six Matsukaze class DE and two Nagara class DL. By November, a jump gate had been constructed at the Rigel – Osaka jump point, allowing the Kongo class battlecruisers to enter Osaka. High Swordsman Takagi Isoruku, the senior officer of the Imperial Rigellian Navy, split his ships into two major formations; the First and Second Striking Forces. The Second Striking Force comprised three Kongos, three Kageros, three Matsukazes and a Nagara with the remaining ships forming the larger First Striking Force. High Swordsman Takagi ordered the Second Striking Force to proceed through the Osaka system to the Osaka – Kawasaki jump point, where the Kongos would be detached. The Nagara would open the jump points for the other six destroyer-sized vessels, and all seven ships would investigate the two wrecked alien ships while the Kongos provided cover in the case of a retreat. The Second Striking Force would be commanded by Swordsman of Stars Morimoto.
After refuelling at Osaka IV, the Second Striking Force rendezvoused with the geological survey ship Asahi, which was acting as a picket ten million kilometres from the Kawasaki jump point, on December 9th. As planned, the battlecruisers Fuso, Hyuga and Yamashiro remained with Asahi to cover the jump point while the Nagara and the other six destroyers entered Kawasaki and set a course to investigate the closer wreck. Twelve days later, they moved into orbit of Kawasaki-C III, just within sensor range of the wreck which was in orbit of Kawasaki-C I. After holding position for a day, they resumed their approach and arrived at the wreck without incident. As Kawasaki-C was less than three billion kilometres from the primary star, the squadron checked the planets of the primary star, finding nothing, before returning to Osaka due to a shortage of fuel. A tanker arrived to refuel the destroyers, after which they returned to Kawasaki to investigate the second wreck, more than six billion kilometres from the jump point in orbit of Kawasaki-B II. Again, they found nothing. It appeared that whatever aliens had been in the Kawasaki system at some point in the past were no longer present.
After conferring with the Emperor, High Swordsman Takagi authorised a full survey of Kawasaki. The gravitational survey ships Kashima and Katori and the geological survey ships Fuji and Hatsuse had already arrivedy at the Osaka – Kawasaki jump point and immediately entered the system. Meanwhile the Rigellian destroyers returned to Osaka to refuel once again. Along with the three Kongo class battlecruisers and a tanker they moved to the system’s remaining unexplored jump point, where once again they proceeded alone to investigate the system beyond. The new system, Kobe, had a yellow G4-V primary and eight planets, one of which was a long-term terraforming candidate with a colony cost of 2.35. Once the planets were confirmed as uninhabited another survey mission began, this time involving GSV Kawachi, GSV Sagami, GEV Mikasa and GEV Shikishima.
The capabilities of the Imperial Rigellian Navy improved significantly on February 26th Y218 with the launch of two 36,000 ton Akagi class carriers. Akagi and Kaga, plus the fighters they would carry, were the culmination of an intensive research and development program while the orbital shipyard from which they had been launched, the Takimoto-Sakai Naval Shipyard, was the oldest Rigellian shipyard and had been expanded for more than fifteen years to reach its current size. As the Akagi class was designed purely to carry, refuel and rearm fighters, its armour was relatively weak, especially given its size, and it carried no weapons. A capacious hangar bay enabled the Akagi to carry forty A6M Reisen fighters, the magazine capacity provided two full reloads for the strikegroup and the large fuel bays would permit the Akagi to support multiple long-range strikes. Any Rigellian Striking Force that included one or more carriers would be designated as a Carrier Striking Force.
The A6M Reisen was a twin-engined fighter capable of delivering three full-size anti-ship missiles at up to a billion kilometres from its mothership. Due to the size constraints associated with such a small craft, its fire control system was restricted to an engagement range of thirty-eight million kilometres. Therefore, the ASM-4 Comet had been designed with a higher speed but shorter range than the existing ASM-1 Meteor, used by the Kongo class battlecruisers. The A6M did have an onboard active sensor with a range of ten million kilometres but this was intended for emergency use only. It was anticipated that the fighters would attack within the sensor coverage of other fleet units. Initially, the plan was for this sensor coverage to be provided by a specialised fighter. However, a new destroyer-sized ship was under development that would have a sensor range that exceeded the operational radius of the Reisen.
The geological survey of Kawasaki, the system in which the pair of alien wrecks were located, revealed the remains of two alien colonies. One was a ruin, with the signs of ancient orbital bombardment, but the other appeared to have been abandoned rather than destroyed. Xenology teams were dispatched to both sites. The ruined colony was on Kawasaki-B II, in orbit of which was one of the alien wrecks. The planet had a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 0.17 atm and a surface temperature of -6C, making it a reasonable terraforming candidate, so the Emperor authorised the creation of a small Rigellian settlement. The abandoned colony was on the twenty-second moon of Kawasaki-C I, a gas giant that was the location of the second alien wreck. The moon was 5000 kilometres in diameter but had a low density that resulted in a gravity of just 0.2G – below the habitable range for Rigellians. Any colony on that world would have to be based in some form of orbital habitat or perhaps in underground colonies with artificial gravity. Neither technology was available to the Empire.
Investigation of the ruins required almost eight months. By late December Y218 the xenology teams finally deciphered the language and symbology of the aliens, known as the Pandesmos Empire, that founded the two colonies. In addition, the teams identified a large number of alien installations that were relatively intact and could be recoverable. Seventy-one installations were within the ruined colony and four hundred and forty-one were identified at the abandoned colony. Recovery of the alien installations would require specialised ground units and neither they, nor the means to transport them, existed. It would take some time before the Rigellian Empire could take advantage of this major discovery.
to be continued...
Y215 was relatively quiet, as the Empire geared up its warship production. Three new Kongo class battlecruisers, Fuso, Hiei and Yamashiro, were launched on January 25th. In early May, the Rigellian homeworld exhausted its deposits of Boronide, used in many power systems. In November, the Imperial Rigellian Navy received the first four units of its second warship class – the Kagero class Destroyer. Akigumo, Arashi, Kagero and Kuroshio were energy-armed combatants designed for close combat. They would serve both as fleet escorts, defending the Kongo class battlecruisers or other capital ships, and independently, assaulting and defending jump points or raiding enemy commerce. Unlike the Kongos they were not reliant on a supply chain for their weapon systems, which would be vital if the Rigellian Empire found itself in a prolonged conflict.
Code: [Select]
Kagero class Destroyer 9,000 tons 278 Crew 1558.8 BP TCS 180 TH 720 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 5-38 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 50
Maint Life 2.96 Years MSP 541 AFR 129% IFR 1.8% 1YR 92 5YR 1383 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 18 months Spare Berths 0
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-240 Ion Drive (3) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 17.9 billion km (51 days at full power)
25cm C4 Ultraviolet Spinal Laser (1) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 16-4 RM 4 ROF 20
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (7) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Katsumata Design Bureau KDB-128R Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (7) Total Power Output 31.5 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Muso-Murakami MM-75 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.9m km Resolution 120
Muso-Murakami EM-11 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
Expansion of the Imperial Rigellian Navy continued in Y216 with the introduction of two new warship classes, the Nagara class Destroyer Leader and the Matsukaze class Destroyer Escort, plus the construction of three new Kongos, Hyuga, Mutsu and Nagato, and three new Kageros, Asagumo, Kasumi and Yamagumo. The single Nagara was a modified Kagero which replaced most of its armament with a newly designed jump drive and the most capable sensor suite of any Rigellian warship. Its intended role was to lead destroyer squadrons on independent operations. The Matsukaze class was a pure escort design, equipped with sensors and fire controls that could detect and track incoming missiles. Fifteen Tamuro-Soga Heavy Industries Dragon-1 Missile Launch Systems provided the firepower necessary to defend the fleet, launching ninety anti-missiles per minute. A large magazine capacity allowed the Matsukaze to carry more than six hundred defensive missiles. Three units of the class, Asakaze, Harukaze and Matsukaze were launched from the Yoshioka Orbital Shipyard in June Y216.
Code: [Select]
Nagara class Destroyer Leader 9,000 tons 247 Crew 1371.8 BP TCS 180 TH 720 EM 0
4000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 5-38 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/33/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 20
Maint Life 2.44 Years MSP 476 AFR 129% IFR 1.8% 1YR 110 5YR 1651 Max Repair 126 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 18 months Spare Berths 1
Mitsuharu Syndicate MJD-90 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 9000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-240 Ion Drive (3) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 17.9 billion km (51 days at full power)
25cm C4 Ultraviolet Spinal Laser (1) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 16-4 RM 4 ROF 20
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (2) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Katsumata Design Bureau KDB-128R Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s
Small Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (1) Total Power Output 3.15 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (2) Total Power Output 9 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Nagumo Engineering AS-150 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 15120 Range 151.8m km Resolution 120
Muso-Murakami TH-18 Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
Muso-Murakami EM-33 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
Code: [Select]
Matsukaze class Destroyer Escort 9,000 tons 192 Crew 1482.8 BP TCS 180 TH 720 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-38 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 15
Maint Life 2.3 Years MSP 412 AFR 162% IFR 2.2% 1YR 105 5YR 1581 Max Repair 189 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 16 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 615
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-240 Ion Drive (3) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 17.9 billion km (51 days at full power)
Tamuro-Soga Heavy Industries Dragon-1 Missile Launch System (15) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Nagumo Engineering FC-20 Missile Fire Control (3) Range 20.8m km Resolution 1
AMM-3 Nova II (615) Speed: 33,600 km/s End: 4.8m Range: 9.8m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 156/94/47
Muso-Murakami MM-75 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.9m km Resolution 120
Nagumo Engineering MD-2 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 189 Range 20.8m km MCR 2.3m km Resolution 1
In addition to the warship production, several freighters and colony ships were produced, plus the first Azusa Maru class Tanker. Rigellian survey ships, particularly the Kashima class, were proving to have less endurance than had been anticipated which would become an increasing problem as surveying operations moved further from Rigel. With the introduction of the Azusa Maru, those survey operations could either by directly supported by the tanker or, more likely, supported by the creation of refuelling bases in key systems. The new tanker’s initial task was to establish fuel stockpiles at the two Rigellian colonies in Osaka and Nagoya. In July Y216, when the Azusa Maru made its deliveries, the populations of the colonies were 900,000 and 300,000 respectively.
Code: [Select]
Azusa Maru class Tanker 23,400 tons 139 Crew 1225.8 BP TCS 468 TH 1500 EM 0
3205 km/s Armour 1-72 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 33 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 3
Commercial Ion Drive (5) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 10,000,000 Litres Range 1242.6 billion km (4487 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami TH-6 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Muso-Murakami EM-11 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
In early May Y217 the first Rigellian jump gate construction ship was completed. Given sufficient time, the Kochiku Suru class would open up the universe for commercial traffic, including that owned by civilian shipping lines.
Code: [Select]
Kochiku Suru class Construction Ship 69,500 tons 285 Crew 1838.4 BP TCS 1390 TH 2100 EM 0
1510 km/s Armour 1-150 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 17 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days
Commercial Ion Drive (7) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 20.9 billion km (160 days at full power)
A second Nagara was constructed in June and three new Matsukaze class escorts were launched in August, along with a new Kagero. The Imperial Rigellian Navy now comprised nine Kongo class BC, eight Kagero class DD, six Matsukaze class DE and two Nagara class DL. By November, a jump gate had been constructed at the Rigel – Osaka jump point, allowing the Kongo class battlecruisers to enter Osaka. High Swordsman Takagi Isoruku, the senior officer of the Imperial Rigellian Navy, split his ships into two major formations; the First and Second Striking Forces. The Second Striking Force comprised three Kongos, three Kageros, three Matsukazes and a Nagara with the remaining ships forming the larger First Striking Force. High Swordsman Takagi ordered the Second Striking Force to proceed through the Osaka system to the Osaka – Kawasaki jump point, where the Kongos would be detached. The Nagara would open the jump points for the other six destroyer-sized vessels, and all seven ships would investigate the two wrecked alien ships while the Kongos provided cover in the case of a retreat. The Second Striking Force would be commanded by Swordsman of Stars Morimoto.
After refuelling at Osaka IV, the Second Striking Force rendezvoused with the geological survey ship Asahi, which was acting as a picket ten million kilometres from the Kawasaki jump point, on December 9th. As planned, the battlecruisers Fuso, Hyuga and Yamashiro remained with Asahi to cover the jump point while the Nagara and the other six destroyers entered Kawasaki and set a course to investigate the closer wreck. Twelve days later, they moved into orbit of Kawasaki-C III, just within sensor range of the wreck which was in orbit of Kawasaki-C I. After holding position for a day, they resumed their approach and arrived at the wreck without incident. As Kawasaki-C was less than three billion kilometres from the primary star, the squadron checked the planets of the primary star, finding nothing, before returning to Osaka due to a shortage of fuel. A tanker arrived to refuel the destroyers, after which they returned to Kawasaki to investigate the second wreck, more than six billion kilometres from the jump point in orbit of Kawasaki-B II. Again, they found nothing. It appeared that whatever aliens had been in the Kawasaki system at some point in the past were no longer present.
After conferring with the Emperor, High Swordsman Takagi authorised a full survey of Kawasaki. The gravitational survey ships Kashima and Katori and the geological survey ships Fuji and Hatsuse had already arrivedy at the Osaka – Kawasaki jump point and immediately entered the system. Meanwhile the Rigellian destroyers returned to Osaka to refuel once again. Along with the three Kongo class battlecruisers and a tanker they moved to the system’s remaining unexplored jump point, where once again they proceeded alone to investigate the system beyond. The new system, Kobe, had a yellow G4-V primary and eight planets, one of which was a long-term terraforming candidate with a colony cost of 2.35. Once the planets were confirmed as uninhabited another survey mission began, this time involving GSV Kawachi, GSV Sagami, GEV Mikasa and GEV Shikishima.
The capabilities of the Imperial Rigellian Navy improved significantly on February 26th Y218 with the launch of two 36,000 ton Akagi class carriers. Akagi and Kaga, plus the fighters they would carry, were the culmination of an intensive research and development program while the orbital shipyard from which they had been launched, the Takimoto-Sakai Naval Shipyard, was the oldest Rigellian shipyard and had been expanded for more than fifteen years to reach its current size. As the Akagi class was designed purely to carry, refuel and rearm fighters, its armour was relatively weak, especially given its size, and it carried no weapons. A capacious hangar bay enabled the Akagi to carry forty A6M Reisen fighters, the magazine capacity provided two full reloads for the strikegroup and the large fuel bays would permit the Akagi to support multiple long-range strikes. Any Rigellian Striking Force that included one or more carriers would be designated as a Carrier Striking Force.
Code: [Select]
Akagi class Carrier 36,000 tons 602 Crew 4288 BP TCS 720 TH 2880 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 3-97 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 25 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.07 Years MSP 1861 AFR 414% IFR 5.8% 1YR 578 5YR 8666 Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 140
Hangar Deck Capacity 12000 tons Magazine 1200
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-480 Ion Drive (6) Power 480 Fuel Use 36% Signature 480 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 2,250,000 Litres Range 31.3 billion km (90 days at full power)
ASM-4 Comet Anti-ship Missile (240) Speed: 28,800 km/s Range: 52.9m km WH: 9 Size: 5 TH: 96/57/28
Nagumo Engineering AS-150 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 15120 Range 151.8m km Resolution 120
Strike Group
40x A6M Reisen Fighter Speed: 8149 km/s Size: 5.89
The A6M Reisen was a twin-engined fighter capable of delivering three full-size anti-ship missiles at up to a billion kilometres from its mothership. Due to the size constraints associated with such a small craft, its fire control system was restricted to an engagement range of thirty-eight million kilometres. Therefore, the ASM-4 Comet had been designed with a higher speed but shorter range than the existing ASM-1 Meteor, used by the Kongo class battlecruisers. The A6M did have an onboard active sensor with a range of ten million kilometres but this was intended for emergency use only. It was anticipated that the fighters would attack within the sensor coverage of other fleet units. Initially, the plan was for this sensor coverage to be provided by a specialised fighter. However, a new destroyer-sized ship was under development that would have a sensor range that exceeded the operational radius of the Reisen.
Code: [Select]
A6M Reisen class Fighter 295 tons 3 Crew 58.4 BP TCS 5.89 TH 48 EM 0
8149 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.25
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 58% IFR 0.8% 1YR 3 5YR 50 Max Repair 12 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.2 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 15
Nakajima Sakae Fighter Engine (2) Power 24 Fuel Use 336.02% Signature 24 Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 1.8 billion km (62 hours at full power)
TSH Dragon-5B Missile Launch System (3) Missile Size 5 Hangar Reload 37.5 minutes MF Reload 6.2 hours
Nagumo Engineering FC-40 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 38.0m km Resolution 120
ASM-4 Comet Anti-ship Missile (3) Speed: 28,800 km/s End: 30.6m Range: 52.9m km WH: 9 Size: 5 TH: 96/57/28
Nagumo Engineering AS-10 Active Sensor (1) GPS 1008 Range 10.1m km Resolution 120
The geological survey of Kawasaki, the system in which the pair of alien wrecks were located, revealed the remains of two alien colonies. One was a ruin, with the signs of ancient orbital bombardment, but the other appeared to have been abandoned rather than destroyed. Xenology teams were dispatched to both sites. The ruined colony was on Kawasaki-B II, in orbit of which was one of the alien wrecks. The planet had a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 0.17 atm and a surface temperature of -6C, making it a reasonable terraforming candidate, so the Emperor authorised the creation of a small Rigellian settlement. The abandoned colony was on the twenty-second moon of Kawasaki-C I, a gas giant that was the location of the second alien wreck. The moon was 5000 kilometres in diameter but had a low density that resulted in a gravity of just 0.2G – below the habitable range for Rigellians. Any colony on that world would have to be based in some form of orbital habitat or perhaps in underground colonies with artificial gravity. Neither technology was available to the Empire.
Investigation of the ruins required almost eight months. By late December Y218 the xenology teams finally deciphered the language and symbology of the aliens, known as the Pandesmos Empire, that founded the two colonies. In addition, the teams identified a large number of alien installations that were relatively intact and could be recoverable. Seventy-one installations were within the ruined colony and four hundred and forty-one were identified at the abandoned colony. Recovery of the alien installations would require specialised ground units and neither they, nor the means to transport them, existed. It would take some time before the Rigellian Empire could take advantage of this major discovery.
to be continued...