Starting Forces:2x Dominator class CA:
Emperor’s Wrath, Ultima Praetor1x Defiant class CJ:
Defiant3x Firestorm class FF:
Firestorm, Maelstrom, Vortex1x Tempest class FJ:
Tempest4x Apollo class GSV:
Achilles, Agamemnon, Apollo, Arethusa4x Venture class GEV:
Valiant, Venture, Voyager, Vigilant2x Cerberus class TJ:
Cerberus, Medusa2x Hercules class TG:
Hercules, Atlas5x Carrack class FT
3x Caravel class CS
10 January 2300GEV Venture discovers fourteen million tons of accessibility 0.8 Duranium on Venus, along with a similar deposit of Tritanium and minimal accessibility deposits of Neutronium and Gallicite. Unfortunately, the concurrent survey of Mars confirms that no minerals are present. Nevertheless, a small colony is established on the red planet to incentivise civilian shipping operations.
14 January 2300GEV Voyager detects 4.5 million tons of Sorium at 0.7 accessibility in the atmosphere of Saturn. Twelve hours later, a jump point is discovered on the inner edge of the asteroid belt, just two hundred million kilometres from Earth. Rather than divert one of the eight survey ships, the head of the Imperium High Command, Vice Admiral Asteroth Cain, orders the commercial jump tender Cerberus to break orbit of Terra and transit the new jump point.
Cerberus arrives one hundred and forty-three million kilometres from a Y class brown dwarf, known only as WISE 0855?0714, located 7.3 light years from Sol. The mass of the primary is little more than 1% of Sol so the system is fairly compact, with two gas giants, two dwarf planets, seven moons and more than one hundred asteroids within a billion kilometres of the star. All the rocky bodies are barren and freezing. Cerberus returns to Sol and holds position on the jump point. The Emperor issues an edict, stating that the first star system to be explored by humanity must have a more inspiring name than WISE 0855?0714. Therefore, the Imperium will adopt a policy that lesser known stars will be named to honour great victories or past Heroes of the Imperium. In this case, with the symbolism that WISE 0855?0714 will be humanity’s first gateway to the stars, it is renamed Tannhauser Gate.
5 February 2300With many of the inner system bodies surveyed by the four Venture class Geological Survey Vessels and so far no planets or moons with more than two or three easily accessible minerals, Vice Admiral Cain orders Vigilant into Tannhauser Gate to begin the first extra-solar survey. The other Ventures continue their mission in Sol.
8 February 2300A second jump point is discovered in Sol, just outside the orbit of Saturn. The commercial jump tender Medusa is ordered to investigate. She jumps on February 17th 2300 and emerges within half a billion kilometres of the red dwarf star HH Andromedae. All five planets in the system are gas giants, two of which are tide-locked. The other three has fifty-four moons between them. The system name is shortened to simply Andromeda.
7 March 2300Agamemnon discovers a third jump point in Sol close to the orbit of Uranus. It is thirty-six degrees of arc clockwise from the Andromeda jump point and almost a billion kilometres further out. As Medusa is stationed on the Andromeda jump point, Vice Admiral Cain orders her C.O., Captain Ezekiel Maladon, to conduct his second exploration mission.
15 March 2300Medusa jumps into Alpha Centauri, arriving four point six billion kilometres from the yellow G2-V primary. The companion star, an orange K1-V, is currently at a similar distance, although its orbit will bring it within one point two billion kilometres in four or five years. Alpha Centauri-A has four planets; a tide-locked gas giant, a terrestrial world with five moons and two dwarf planets. The rocky worlds and one of the moons are between colony cost 2.00 and 2.90. With no atmospheres, two with low gravity and only one with water, they will probably not be targets for terraforming when that technology is available.
Alpha Centauri-B has four terrestrial worlds and a gas giant, with a total of twenty-four moons. One planet, with a thin nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 0.14 atm, would be an ocean world if the temperature wasn’t -98C. Medusa returns to Sol to report. Voyager, currently in the Jupiter Trojans, is ordered to complete its immediate task and then move into Alpha Centauri.
10 May 2300The gravitational survey of Sol is completed. Apollo and Arethusa have already moved into Tannhauser Gate to conduct a new survey, so Achilles and Agamemnon head for Andromeda.
19 May 2300Given the low mass of the Tannhauser Gate brown dwarf star, the survey of Apollo and Arethusa progresses quickly and reveals two jump points within one hundred and thirty million kilometres of the primary. Vigilant has recently completed her geological survey of the system, which located several small but useful mineral deposits on asteroids, so she moves to investigate. The first jump point leads to YZ Ceti, a planetless red dwarf system that is renamed as Nocturne. Vigilant begins a geological survey of the system’s three comets.
25 May 2300Galenus Interstellar Colony Limited, a newly-formed civilian shipping line, launches a small freighter
29 May 2300With the gravitational survey of Tannhauser Gate completed, Apollo probes the second of the new jump points and discovers the system of Bernard’s Star. The M4V red dwarf star is orbited by ten planets, including five terrestrial worlds, two superjovians, two gas giants and a dwarf planet. Unusually, one of the terrestrial worlds has ten moons and a moon of the inner superjovians is larger than Terra. Apollo and Arethusa begin a gravitational survey.
6 July 2300The Terran Academy is increased in size by 50%. The Imperium is suffering a significant gap between income and expenditure which cannot continue beyond the short term. As the Imperium has a lack of experienced planetary governors, especially in the area of wealth management, the Academy has been expanded and an administrator has been assigned the role of Academy Commandant.
17 July 2300Voyager explores a jump point in Andromeda that leads to the white dwarf star WD 1145-645, which has two dwarf planets, each with a small moon, and three comets. The system is renamed Taranis.
31 July 2300The first Trans-Newtonian ground forces are trained. The basic manoeuvre formation for the infantry of the Imperium is the Imperial Guard Company. An Imperial Guard Regiment comprises four companies plus a headquarters formation. Each company includes six hundred Guardsman, eighteen Autocannon (CAP) teams to enhance the anti-infantry firepower, twelve Lascannon (LAV) anti-tank teams, six Hydra flak platforms (MAA), eight supply vehicles, a Vox Caster unit to direct orbital fire support and the company headquarters. The regimental headquarters formation comprises thirty-six heavy mortars, thirty supply vehicles, twelve Hydra flak platforms, six Land Crawler construction vehicles and the regimental HQ. A regiment is intended to operate a whole, although companies may be detached to guard outposts or conduct small raids. The Cadian Regiment is the first to be fully trained.
5 September 2300The gravitational survey of Andromeda is completed. One additional jump point has been discovered in addition to the jump points to Sol and Taranis. Agamemnon carries out the probe mission and emerges in Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Sol in real space terms but two jumps away via Andromeda. The M6V red dwarf star has five unremarkable planets, ten moons and a small, scattered asteroid belt. Agamemnon and Achilles begin a gravitational survey and Voyager soon arrives to conduct the geological survey.
12 October 2300Apollo and Arethusa complete their survey of Bernard’s Star, revealing three new jump points. The survey ships conduct probes, which reveal the following systems:
- Epsilon Eridani: An orange K2-V primary with a single unremarkable planet
- Sirius: Bright A1V with D1-VII white dwarf companion. The primary has two terrestrial planets with one moon each. One of the terrestrial worlds is the first realistic terraforming target. It has a 1.16 atm nitrogen-methane atmosphere, with traces of ammonia and water vapour, and a liquid ocean covering 63% of the surface, Gravity is 1.08G and the temperature is 79C. The dominant terrain is Rift Valley. The other terrestrial world is Venusian. The downside is that the jump point is at 8.4 billion km.
- Procyon: F5-IV sub-giant with white dwarf companion. There are two rocky planets, one of which is a terrestrial colony cost 2.00 world with high mountains. The planet has oceans covering 79% of the surface, a nitrogen – methane atmosphere of 0.3 atm and temperature of 40C.
24 October 2300Voyager completes the geological survey of Proxima. As the ongoing gravitational survey has located a new jump point, she investigates and discovers a binary with L-class and T-class brown dwarves. The primary is planetless, while the companion has a single dwarf planet and a dense asteroid belt. The system is renamed from Luhman-16 to Macharia.
2 January 2301A team led by Ophelia Gordian completes research into the Terraforming module. Terra has only four commercial shipyards, three of which are tooled to build freighters, colony ship and fuel harvesters while the fourth is of recent construction. Therefore, a space station is designed with five terraforming modules. The Gaia class Terraforming Base will be built in orbit of Terra by construction factories supported by the Spaceport and towed to its destination by one of the Hercules class tugs.
Gaia class Terraforming Base 126,550 tons 516 Crew 2,713.2 BP TCS 2,531 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s No Armour Shields 0-0 HTK 69 Sensors 5/6/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 13 Max Repair 500 MSP
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Terraformer: 5 modules producing 0.0025 atm per annum
Commercial Active Augur Array (1) GPS 1440 Range 23.6m km Resolution 120
Commercial Electromagnetic Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 19.4m km
Commercial Thermal Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 17.7m km
14 January 2301Voyager transits a recently discovered jump point in Macharia and enters 61 Cygni, a binary system of two orange K-class stars. The K5-V primary has four terrestrial planets and a dwarf planet, while the distant companion has six planets and a small asteroid belt. Three of the planets are colony cost 2.00 but all of them lack water and atmosphere so are not good terraforming prospects. The system is renamed Anvilus.
23 January 2301The first Ambrosia class fuel harvester is built by the Taurus Shipbuilding Company. The ship is dispatched to the adjacent system of Andromeda, where the fourth planet is a gas giant with 70,000 tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium. The commercial jump tender Medusa will escort her into the system.
27 January 2301Apollo and Arethusa complete the gravitational survey of Nocturne and probe two newly discovered jump points. They lead to Hesperus (formerly Ross 128), a red dwarf star with four planets, and Arcadia (formerly Groombridge 1618), an orange K8-V star with five planets. Neither has any good terraforming prospects. So far, the Imperium has entered fourteen systems without finding any habitable worlds or significant mining opportunities.
27 March 2301Venture is conducting a geological survey of the Hesperus system, located three jumps from Sol via Tannhauser Gate and Nocturne. She discovers thirty-six million tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium in the atmosphere of Hesperus IV. This is likely to become the long-term fuel production centre of the Imperium once more harvesters are constructed. Apollo and Arethusa are also in Hesperus, carrying out a gravitational survey. With less than half the system surveyed, two new jump points have already been located.
1 May 2301The Gaia class terraforming base is completed by the construction factories on Terra. For the moment, the base cannot leave the Sol system, due to the 75,000-ton maximum capacity of the jump drive on the Cerberus class tenders. While a jump point stabilisation ship has been designed, there is no shipyard large enough, except for the single slipway shipyard of the Taurus Shipbuilding Company, which is currently tooled for the Ambrosia class fuel harvester. A new yard is being expanded but is only at a capacity of 24,000 tons, while the other two commercial yards are building freighters and colony ships.
To solve this problem, the Gateway class Jump Stabilisation Station has been designed. This can be built by construction factories and then towed into place at a jump point where it can carry out the stabilisation process.
Gateway class Jump Stabilisation Station 50,700 tons 116 Crew 1,093.1 BP TCS 1,014 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s No Armour Shields 0-0 HTK 13 Sensors 5/6/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 13 Max Repair 1000 MSP
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Jump Point Stabilisation: 180 days
Commercial Active Augur Array (1) GPS 1440 Range 23.6m km Resolution 120
Commercial Thermal Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 17.7m km
Commercial Electromagnetic Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 19.4m km
Construction of Typhoon, the second Tempest class jump frigate, is completed by the Torgaddon Enterprises Shipyard. The ship joins her sister in orbit of Terra.
A civilian mining colony is established on Venus, which should help a little toward the deepening financial crisis faced by the Imperium. Half of the Imperium’s slipways are empty and expenditure still significantly exceeds income. A research project is underway to boost the civilian economy.
12 May 2301GEV Venture probes the inner of two unexplored jumps in Hesperus. She arrives among the Trojan asteroids of the sixth planet of Tau Ceti, three billion kilometres from the yellow G8-V primary. The system has eight planets in total, including two gas giants, two dwarf planets and four terrestrial worlds. Tau Ceti III has a nitrogen – CO2 atmosphere of 0.45 atm with 0.01 atm of oxygen, ice sheets covering a third of the surface and a temperature of -46. The dominant terrain is Tundra. The available water means that it does have some potential for terraforming, although the CO2 would have to be reduced to no more than a trace, which would result in the temperature dropping even lower. Venture begins a geological survey.
14 May 2301Voyager arrives in Hesperus and heads for the other unexplored jump point. She discovers Gryphonne
(formerly EV Lacertae), a red dwarf with eight planets, and begins a geological survey.
12 June 2301The first Gateway class Jump Stabilisation Station is completed at Terra and towed to the Tannhauser Gate jump point.
23 June 2301The First Light Armour Company completes training on Terra. Each light armour company comprises sixteen Hellhound Anti-Infantry Tanks, which mount two Autocannon on a medium tank chassis, Two Salamander Command vehicles, two Hydra Flak Tanks and two Supply Vehicles. The light armour companies are intended to provide support to Imperial Guard Regiments as required.
9 July 2301Valiant transits an unexplored jump point in Taranis. She discovers Lorentian (formerly IRAS 21500+5903), a dim M9-V red dwarf orbited by three gas giants.
23 July 2301Incandescent, a Firestorm class frigate, is completed in Terra orbit.
28 July 2301The first Gateway class platform is completed and towed to the Tannhauser Gate jump point.
19 August 2301Achilles transits unexplored jump point in Taranis and enters Eta Cassiopeiae, a binary with a planetless G0-V primary and an orange K7-V companion orbiting at eleven billion kilometres. The companion has nine unremarkable planets and almost a hundred moons. Meanwhile in Sol, the Firestorm class frigate Incendrius, the fifth of her class, is launched from the Eisenhorn Navy Yard.
19 October 2301Vanguard, the second Defiant class Jump Cruiser, is launched from the Cain Naval Shipyard.
24 October 2301A civilian mining colony is established on the comet Faye. Both mining colonies are being taxed to aid the income of the Imperium.
28 October 2301The Sol – Tannhauser Gate jump point is stabilised. The Gateway class platform is towed into Tannhauser Gate so it can work on stabilising the far side.
30 October 2301A second Terran shipping line, Morax Colony Limited, has been formed. The existing shipping line, Galenus Interstellar Colony Limited, has two freighters and a colony ship in service.
20 November 2301Vigilant explores a jump point in Arcadia, a system three jumps from Sol via Tannhauser Gate and Nocturne. She discovers the binary system of Typhon (formerly Herschel 5173), which comprises an orange K3-V primary, a red dwarf companion orbiting at seven billion kilometres and a total of fifteen planets, one hundred and fifty moons and a hundred asteroids. Despite so much real estate, there are no bodies with colony costs less than 5.00. The Imperium continues to struggle to find habitable worlds, even with twenty known systems.
9 December 2301A team led by Exalta Invictus finishes a research project into boosting the civilian economy. Due to the financial crisis, Terran construction factories have been inactive for several months so the additional income should allow them to at least partially resume construction work.
23 May 2302Arethusa conducts the first jump point exploration in six months when she transits the single new jump point found during the survey of Gryphonne. She emerges four hundred and forty million kilometres from Prospero (formerly Gliese 438), an orange K0-V star with eleven planets, almost sixty moons and a substantial asteroid belt. The innermost planet is a terrestrial world with a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.38 atm, acceptable gravity and a temperature of -9C. The atmosphere has sufficient oxygen but it comprises 37% of the atmosphere, which is too high for humans. Although that could be corrected relatively easily, the planet also lacks any water, which is a more significant problem to solve. Arethusa begins a gravitational survey and will soon be joined by Apollo.
5 July 2302With only two locations left to survey, GSV Agamemnon discovers an unexplored jump point in Alpha Centuari. Sol has three jump points, which lead to Tannhauser Gate, Andromeda and Alpha Centauri. While the jump point networks beyond the first two have been explored out to three or four jumps, this will be the first system to be investigated beyond Alpha Centauri. Agamemnon transits into the Athena system (formerly Groombridge 34), a binary of two red dwarf stars. The primary has five planets, seventy-three moons and more than three hundred asteroids, while the companion, orbiting at twenty-four billion kilometres has six planets and thirty-five moons.
Athena-A II is the most habitable world discovered outside the Sol system, with a colony cost of 0.18. The planet is huge, with a diameter of 25,000 kilometres, double that of Terra, and gravity of 1.71G, just within human tolerance. The average temperature is -30C, although as Athena-A II is tide-locked, the inhabitants can live in the temperate zone between the light and dark sides. Water covers 30% of the surface and the dominant terrain is forested mountains. Even though Athena is only two jumps from Terra, the jump point layout means that Athena-A II is sixteen billion kilometres away. There are now three Gateway class stabilisation stations in service with a fourth being construction. Once the fourth station is ready, it will begin work on the Sol – Alpha Centauri jump point.
