EDA 13: Exploration out of 70 Ophiuchi.
Part 2: The Invasion of Wolf 629-A II.
29th December 2063. Wolf 629.Rear Admiral Kuznetsov received a communication from Sol (via the Star Gate network and the R7 Pathfinder stationed in 70 Ophiuchi to act as a communications relay) to inform him of the progress of the reinforcements. Battle Group Forrestal was about to enter 70 Ophiuchi and would arrive Wolf 629 in about two weeks. In addition there would be two ground force divisions arriving from 70 Ophiuchi within ten days at Wolf 629-A II, one, the 5th Expeditionary Division, would arrive in regular transports with an assault transport group to support it, the other was the 3rd Expeditionary Division which would have to load directly into the attack transports from Asgard, having been based there before the war. They would have to spend a minimum two days in drop capsules in transit. To minimise the time the troops would spend in the capsules Kuznetsov was directed to take down the planetary defences if possible and reconnoitre the planet. He thus had to face the problem he had earlier deferred. Kuznetsov came up with a daring strategy, which like the action in V1581 Cygni depended on a combined strike from his remaining available fighters and the missile cruisers.
2064
1st January 2064. Wolf 629. Battle Group Téméraire closed to with in 65 million kilometres of the planet to confront the planetary defences. There were two classes of orbital bases, three Zhanjiang class of 12,700 tonnes and four Chongqing class of 12,750 tonnes. There was also an orbital shipyard of 30,000 tonnes, which the Admiralty were keen to capture intact if possible. A new contact was detected moving away from the orbital ‘Yards. It was given the designation of Zunyi 019; this class of 34,850 tonnes was tentatively identified as freighters.
At 15:30 the combined squadrons of the Aces and the Rocketeers launched, twenty A3B Vengeance and twenty elderly Typhoon F1 strike fighters, leaving Bulldog Squadron in its kennel. At 6:06 the CGs Burgundy, Cardigan, New South Wales, Newfoundland and Norfolk began to expend their SIM-1 Longbow missiles in combined salvos of fifty, their targets spread between the seven bases. At 16:40:37 the reduced Battle Group Strike Wing reached their pre-designated firing position 12.48 million kilometres from the alien planet and loosed their barrage of 260 Star Flash missiles. The SIM-1 Longbow missiles were at this time about 8-9 million kilometres from their target. It was to be the closest to a time on target attack yet for the initial salvos.
16:42:17 The first AMM interceptors reached the advancing missile wave at 4.9 million kilometres from the planet, forty-one Longbows were taken out of the first salvo of fifty. 30 seconds after that another 37 Longbows died. Every thirty seconds two or three-dozen Longbows were intercepted, but they were doing their job, so far the wave of Star Flash missiles had been ignored. Then a minute into the interception envelope twenty-six Star Flash joined thirty-seven Longbows in death, as brief flares of nuclear energies marked their interception. The AMM system on the orbital bases appeared to go into overdrive, five seconds later another twenty-six Star Flash disintegrated as the interceptors found them. For thirty-five seconds the Star Flash wave was hit time after time, another hundred were knocked out, then final point defence took its toll of a further 29. The tidal wave of missiles was faltering. The timing had been a few seconds out for a perfect time on target, the Star Flash salvo was leading the Longbows by five or ten seconds owing to the destruction of the leading Longbow salvos and received the aliens full attention. But sixty-nine missiles made it through and immolated themselves against the orbital bases, From the ground to any alien stupid enough to look up would see whole new constellations spring briefly into existence before their optic nerve burned out as multi-megaton warheads detonated in low orbit. Armour boiled into space, hulls peeled open to vacuum, casualties were minimised as the crew were suited up in anticipation, but the ionised plasma and the invisible fingers of hard radiation sleeting through their bases burnt many. A solitary base died, Zhanjiang 003, breaking up, sending a spectacular shower of shooting stars over the planet below, all but the very largest pieces burning up in the atmosphere. All the other bases were leaking atmosphere. However, there were still twenty-four Star Flash missiles looking for a target. Whether the defenders were preoccupied with the oncoming Longbow salvos or whether their sensors had been temporarily blinded will never be known, final point defence got two, but the remaining Star Flash missiles hurtled themselves against the bases, more close contact detonations buckling hull plating, severing structural members, driving daggers of fiery destruction deep into the heart of the bases, then five large internal explosions were detected by the Battle Group, strength 40+, marking the demise of four more bases as they broke up, many fragments of them falling onto the planet below. Two of the Chongqing class and the two remaining Zhanjiang class had been destroyed. This left but two damaged bases to protect the planet. There were still the bulk of the Longbow salvos incoming. It seemed impossible that where seven had failed two could succeed, but wave after wave, the two bases kept on destroying the approaching missiles. Seven hundred and twenty Longbows had been launched against the bases in salvos of fifty at thirty second intervals, the Herculean efforts of the two surviving orbital bases drew admiration from all who watched the plot in operations room throughout the ships of the Battle Group as they struggled to maintain the line, in the end many were willing them to succeed, and succeed they almost did. Of the seven hundred and twenty SIM-1 Longbow missiles launched against them they intercepted seven hundred and nineteen, one solitary missile made it through. The final missile further battered orbital base Chongqing 001. Of the nine hundred and eighty missiles sent against the bases ninety-two had got through, less than 10%.
On the flag bridge of the Téméraire Rear Admiral Kuznetsov was intently studying the holoplot, the alien planet burning red like a baleful eye in the middle of it, its sun a pale ember 26 million kilometres distant. The two orbital bases were like two sparks orbiting the planet with blue fireflies depicting the Longbows sent against them. “ Xopowo ” he muttered as the final missile struck home. But he now had a quandary, he had 496 SIM-1 Longbow missiles left on his missile cruisers after emptying the munitions carriers and Bulldog squadron had 16 Star Flash remaining. He had thousands of Spartan AMMs with a range of 6 million kilometres, but he was loath to close to such a short range without first neutralising the orbital defences. Had the bases run out of missiles or had they finally just missed. He needed to know one way or the other. If he used all his remaining Longbow missiles the Battle Group would have no long-range firepower left. Eventually Kuznetsov made up his mind and issued his orders. “ Burgundy, Cardigan, New South Wales and Newfoundland will launch ten missiles each, half targeted on Chongqing 001 and half at Chongqing 004.” The results of this attack would decide whether he sent his escort cruisers in for a close look at the planet or not.
15:52:27 the missile cruisers fired their final salvo. Thirty-eight minutes later Kuznetsov had his answer as fifteen missiles, unopposed, tore the two stations apart. They had indeed run out of AMMs. The remaining missiles were destroyed in case they targeted the ‘Yards. Battle Group Téméraire drove in towards the planet. 20 million kilometres out the presence of ground forces, estimated combat strength 904, were detected.
By 21:39 Battle Group Téméraire controlled Wolf 629-A II orbital space and had completed search and rescue operations. Leaving the CGs Norfolk, Newfoundland and New South Wales with the CLEs Carpathian, Etna and Mount Fuji to retain that control the Battle Group departed to guard the jump point and await resupply.
07:53 4th January 2064. Wolf 629.As the Battle Group approached the jump point Ming 010 slipped past and entered 70 Ophiuchi. Admiral Kuznetsov was not about to let these homicidal aliens get any intelligence on 70 Ophiuchi, thus the CG Cardigan was detailed to transit into 70 Ophiuchi and destroy the vessel.
18:12. 70 Ophiuchi.
Cardigan emerged from the jump point and waited until its sensors stabilised, locked on target and loosed three SIM-1 Longbows at the fleeing vessel, not yet a million kilometres from the jump point. A minute later Ming 010 was reduced to a tumbling wreck. Cardigan recovered survivors and then rejoined the Battle Group in Wolf 629.
03:00 5th January 2064. 70 Ophiuchi.The 3rd Expeditionary Division began loading on Asgard for their extremely uncomfortable trip to their drop zone.
03:00 6th January 2064. 70 Ophiuchi. The three Elephant class munitions vessels had arrived at the Wolf 629 jump point. Battle Group Téméraire transited into 70 Ophiuchi briefly to re-ammunition its carriers and took on SIM-1 Longbows for the CGs left behind at the planet before transiting back into Wolf 629 rearmed.
09:00 7th January 2064. Wolf 629. 5th Expeditionary Division combat dropped on the alien planet. Combat operations began shortly thereafter.
19:15 8th January 2064. Wolf 629. 3rd Expeditionary Division grounded on the alien planet. Major General Charumati Koul commanding is senior officer on the planet.
10:00 10th January 2064. Wolf 629. Battle Group Forrestal finally arrived in Wolf 629. The bulk of Battle Group Téméraire moved back to cover the alien planet. The gravitational survey squadron also re-entered Wolf 629 to try and discover whether the alien exploration vessels had found other jump points that would need to be followed up.
11th January 2064. Wolf 629. The first ground battles on the alien planet took place; these were fairly small-scale affairs but amply served to demonstrate the native army’s early advantage. Commando Trepel suffered 42% casualties when ambushed, but the 7th Armoured Brigade came to their rescue severely mauling two enemy formations. The troops were finding it difficult to adjust to the heavier gravity that necessitated them recalibrating their weapons and support systems.
10:00 A new contact was detected leaving the orbital ‘Yards, designated Kaifeng 007 of 32,650 tonnes. The role of this vessel is unknown but does not appear to be a combat vessel.
Gliese 526.The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Gliese 526-A asteroid #292 has been increased to 52 civilian mining complexes.
16th January 2064. Wolf 629. Combat really got into its stride on the planetary surface. It was not going the EDAs way; the 9/12 Royal Lancers suffered 17% casualties as enemy armoured units forced the brigades back into the bridgehead. Commando Trepel was devastated when caught in the open and reduced to less than 30% effectives. 16e Bataillon de Chasseurs received 47% losses when mauled by enemy assault units. In the same action 1er Régiment de Tiraileurs had 38% casualties inflicted on it and the 1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutists received 28% casualties.
If reinforcements were not committed soon the invasion was in real danger of being thrown off planet. If that occurs then nuclear bombardment would be a real prospect, permissions arriving with Battle Group Forrestal. EDA Director Karamchand was in no mood to let this band of murderous aliens loose to threaten the EDA and the colonies in 70 Ophiuchi.
The Expeditionary Divisions pulled back to their original beachhead perimeter and awaited reinforcements; Major General Koul was of the opinion that he had insufficient strength to conquer the planet with his current forces. General Koul estimated the enemy forces at about three divisions.
A new alien ship was detected leaving the orbital ‘Yards, Hegu 009 of 74,650 tonnes. This class is thought to be a Star Gate construction vessel.
21st January 2064. Wolf 629. A new alien ship was detected leaving the orbital ‘Yards, Hainan 019 of 22,200 tonnes. It is thought this class may be colony transports.
Sol. The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Callisto has been increased to 142 civilian mining complexes.
26th January Gliese 526 The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Gliese 526-A asteroid #292 has been increased to 53 civilian mining complexes.
27th January 2064. Wolf 629. 1st Armoured Division and 8th Orbital Assault Division were delivered to Wolf 629-A II. With these reinforcements Major General Koul decided on a series of probing attacks that could be developed into a full scale offensive if successful. In the time between the previous offensive and this one the EDA forces had spend the time adjusting their equipment for the higher gravity on this world and hoped to acquit themselves better in this offensive than the last.
1st February 2064. Wolf 629. The probing attacks met with considerable success even if the 3rd Commando brigade HQ and one of its battalions the 382nd Naval Infantry Regiment both suffered in excess of 40% casualties as they were caught up in a counter-attack which was repulsed with heavy losses to the attackers. The 137th Guards Orbital Drop Battalion lost 35% of their effectives on their first deployment but acquitted themselves admirably savaging an enemy assault infantry battalion. The 9th Horse Regiment, 9th Armoured Brigade, suffered 18% vehicle losses as they pushed out of the beachhead perimeter, but in return inflicted heavy casualties on two enemy formations. In contrast to the previous offensive six enemy battalions suffered between 25-50% casualties with three more taking in excess if 15% casualties. General Koul decided to continue with the offensive for now; he is expecting replacement battalions to arrive within the next twenty days on Transport Group Wellington and the 2nd Armoured Division and 4th Mechanised Division to arrive in approximately thirty days aboard the Transport Groups Eisenhower and Guan Yu.
5th February 2064. Wolf 629. The ground offensive continued. Most EDA battalions suffered minimal losses except for the 61st Orbital Assault Brigade HQ was caught in the midst of a fast moving engagement that saw three enemy units receive over 40% losses. The Brigade HQ suffered 42% casualties in the battle. Many other alien battalions were roughly handled, nine of the alien battalions lost significant numbers of combatants. 106th Naval Infantry Regiment, 3 Commando Brigade suffered 19% losses as they extended the EDA’s hold on the current land mass and carried out a series of special operations, one designed to obtain a foot hold on the major continent on the planet. In the latter operation the Grenadier Guards, Brigade of Guards sent in to secure the new base of operations received over 10% casualties.
6th February 2064. Wolf 629. Commodore Nii Yuan Qing, Flag officer, Battle Group Forrestal watched the holoplot on the Flag deck of the Zuikaku as Ming 004 approached. He was unconcerned as reports indicated this class had no military capability. He was shocked then to see it make transit, EDA survey vessels are not jump capable and he had not realised this alien vessel was. Rear Admiral Kuznetsov’s instructions were that no intelligence of 70 Ophiuchi was to be allowed the aliens. Commodore Nii quickly turned to his flag lieutenant, “which is duty missile cruiser now?” The lieutenant replied “it’s the Crimea, Commander Thomas commanding sir.” Commodore Nii thought for a moment then said “Order the Crimea to pursue and destroy that survey vessel. Commander Thomas is then to patrol the 70 Ophiuchi side of the jump point and to secure it from any unauthorised transit using lethal force if required.” The lieutenant smiled slightly at the last part as he transmitted the orders; so far they had no way to communicate with the squids, so lethal force was the only option available.
70 Ophiuchi.13:41:07. Commander Leon Thomas clenched his stomach muscles as his ship entered the jump point, it always affected him this way, his stomach did a series of somersaults then settled down as the cruiser emerged into 70 Ophiuchi. “Weapons, set up a firing solution on that alien vessel, five birds should do it,” he ordered, barely hearing the “aye, aye sir” in reply.
13:41:57. The Crimea shuddered ever so slightly as the missiles left their launcher. A good time thought Thomas, 50 seconds from transit to sensors online to launch; it would look good at his next review. Twenty-five minutes later bright new stars shone briefly in 70 Ophiuchi. Ming 004 was turned in to scrap, those of the crew fortunate enough ejecting in life pods. “Pilot, plot a course to recover survivors,” ordered Thomas.
13:58 The Crimea had only been underway for a short time when Scan announced “bogy, bearing 195, forty-two kays.” Thomas looked at his repeater screen; there glowing red was the icon representing Ming 009. He immediately ordered “Weapons, engage hostile, same salvo as before.” There was a brief “aye sir,” as the weapons officer began inputting targeting data into the missile down link.” Five seconds later the Crimea vibrated as missile ports irised open and five launchers cycled sending death incarnate on its way. In a double handful of seconds it was all over, star shine lit up the hull of the defenceless Ming 009 as fusion warhead exploded, plating slumped and melted, gaping holes allowed the expanding fireball into the hull incinerating everything it touched. “Like shooting fish in a barrel, Pilot amend our course to pick up both sets of survivors and return us to the jump point” was Commander Thomas’s final comment.
04:43 7th February 2064. Wolf 629. Commodore Nii looked with a jaundiced eye at the plot on the Flag bridge of the carrier Zuikaku, Two Ming class had transited into 70 Ophiuchi and Rear Admiral Kuznetsov, senior officer in system, had been on the com asking what the hell was going on. Ming 001 was making a beeline for the jump point, and had now passed ten million kilometre mark that he had decided would mark the point at which he destroyed any alien vessel. Nii looked up “order Essex to open fire” was his brief comment as he returned his gaze to the holoplot. Ten seconds later five SIM-1 Longbows left the missile cruiser Essex on their way to deliver destruction to Ming 001. Another two minutes twenty seconds later and Ming 001 was reduced to a few modestly sized chunks of flotsam, the power core having cooked off and added to the devastation. “Order the Kamnik to rescue survivors” was Nii’s only comment. Ming 006 was poised just 124 million kilometres out; it looked keen to join its sister in death.
09:39, Flag bridge, Zuikaku. Commodore Nii had been staring at the plot for over three hours, Ming 006 was still on course, undeviating. “Who is duty cruiser” asked Nii. “Flanders sir” his flag lieutenant replied. “Pass the word to have them prep for a launch on Ming 006” said Nii. “Yes sir” was the only reply.
10:50. Ming 006 drove on at its maximum velocity of 5244 k/s, passing that line only visible in Zuikaku’s holoplot. “Tell Flanders, permission to open fire granted. Order Bighorn to pick up survivors.” said Commodore Nii in a resigned voice. Five minutes passed and Ming 006 met the same fate as its sisters, a collection of wreckage that would eventually fall into the star given enough millennia.
Nii sighed, it wasn’t over yet; Ming 011 was 300 million kilometres out and closing fast.
00:55 8th February 2064. Wolf 629. There was a knock at the cabin door “Sir, you wanted to be notified if there were any more incursions.” “With you in a moment” came the muffled reply. No more than thirty seconds later the cabin door swung open, Commodore Nii stood there, in a creased uniform that he obviously hadn’t taken off for more than 24 hours, dark shadows under his eyes. “Six Huangwen class of 2,250 tonnes on approach, all have entered the exclusion zone, the closest has passed the ten million kilometre line, it’s thought they are some form of survey craft and many be jump capable, that’s in addition to Ming 011 which is still on approach” said the flag lieutenant helpfully as they hurried down the passageway and into the flag bridge a short distance down the corridor. The pair entered the flag bridge and went over to the holoplot. “Right” said Nii decisively “ this is what I want done, order Devonshire, Kent and Northumberland to target the Huangwens, target them with two missiles each, Have Surrey do the same thing to Ming 011, we really have no need to destroy them if they are non-combat vessels and this will conserve missile stocks.” The flag lieutenant moved off to transmit the orders.
0113. Nuclear tipped Longbow missiles found the onrushing ships apparently oblivious to their fate. In the blackness of space warheads flared releasing their pent-up energies against the defenceless targets. “Sir, Huangwen 004 and 005 still on approach” stated the flag lieutenant flatly. “Have Northumberland launch another missile at each,” said Nii. As it happened another missile was too much for Huangwen 004 and 005 to bear and they broke up as their crew struggled to evacuate the ships.
01:21 Ming 011 was slowed but not deterred, with something of a heavy heart Nii ordered a follow-up strike from the Surrey. Once again the vessel could not stand the shock and suffered structural failure. Nii shrugged, he had done his best to avoid unnecessary casualties, but this was war and approaching a hostile fleet was not conducive to a long life. With a nod to his Flag Lieutenant he returned to his cabin. Ming 007, 008 and 012 were heading in his direction; no doubt he would have more customers in a few hours time. He left orders for minimum force to be used but under no circumstances was any alien vessel to be allowed to pass through the jump point. This time when he retired he undressed and lay on the bunk shortly dropping off into a troubled sleep dreaming of squid-like beings writhing in a furnace.
04:57 Huangwen 006 managed to repair an engine, but instead of retreating it headed once more for the jump point. Devonshire fired a single missile and awaited results. Six minutes later Eastern Ghats was about its mission of mercy.
05:03 Huangwen 001 and 006, obviously having made repairs took off once more for the jump point. Devonshire and Essex launched one missile each that sealed their fates; the escort cruiser Eastern Ghats moved in to pick up survivors.
15:02:42, Huangwen 002 succeeded in making repairs and started towards the jump point. Within seconds a Longbow from the CG Essex ended her run in a burst of nuclear flame.
07:03:07. 9th February 2064,Wolf 629. Ming 007, seemingly ignorant of the fate of its sisters, entered the exclusion zone and was hit by three missiles fired from the CG Essex. All survivors were recovered.
10th February 2064. Wolf 629. EDA troops were for the first time approaching a major habitation centre. The enemy seemed determined to bar the way, throwing an entire division at the advancing EDA forces. The EDA casualties were high, 106th Naval Infantry Regiment, 3 Commando Brigade suffered 31% casualties, 508th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Mobile Infantry Brigade lost well over a third of its effectives, 4th Battalion Parachute Regiment, 10th Assault Brigade suffered 37% losses, 137th Guards Orbital Drop Battalion suffered 26% losses. Even headquarters units were not immune, 9th Armoured Brigade Headquarters and 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters were in the thick of the fighting, both had nearly 20% losses, clerks and IT specialists having to pickup a gauss rifle to repel their assailants. But the enemy was hit harder; a dozen battalions were savaged, a couple estimated to have lost at least 50% of their effective fighting strength and most lost in excess of 20%. Dozens of the peculiar alien walkers, dull red ovoid bodies pocked with weapons pods perched on clusters of bent stilt-like legs littered the battlefield like broken insects.
05:38:42 Ming 008 entered the exclusion zone around the jump point with predictable effects; The Devonshire ended the vessels run on the jump point. Ming 008 was one of the fortunate ones merely being immobilised.
20:18:47 Ming 012 entered the exclusion zone. The Devonshire once more stopped the vessel well short of the jump point and the CLE Eastern Ghats picked up the life pods that had managed to eject.
20:38:32 Ming 005 true to form entered the exclusion zone making a run for the jump point as had all her sisters. The Essex was not about to let her past and fired three missiles. The Ming 005 was fortunate in that she must have suffered engine damage and came to a halt but remained intact to join Ming 008 and Huangwen 003 as hulks within the exclusion zone.
11th February 2064. Wolf 629. 00:25:37 Ming 003 entered the exclusion zone, CG Flanders launched three SIM-1 Longbows at her. 00:53:32 Ming 003, the last of the Ming class continued on its way to the jump point ignorant of its fate rushing to meet her. Three detonations turned missile components into an ionised plasma that ate into the lightly protected vitals of the vessel, structural integrity was lost and the ship just fell apart. Those of the crew lucky enough to make it to the life pods waited miserably for rescue.
00:53:37 Ming 005 must have been working flat out to repair the engine damage she had suffered as suddenly her thermal signature went from zero to 320 and she resumed her run for the jump point. The Essex, which had taken over as duty cruiser, loosed a single missile, at 01:16:02 Ming 005s run ended in a totally predictable fashion, A single warhead blossomed against her hull and pieces of her started to take on divergent courses. Life pods were recovered.
07:30. A clear-eyed Commodore Nii regarded the holoplot on the Zuikaku’s flag bridge. The plot still showed the hulks of Ming 008 and Huangwen 003, and was a blaze of orange wreck markers indicating the graves of most of the Ming and Huangwen class vessels. “At least today should be quieter,” thought Nii, the aliens having run out of these particular ships. Sadly Nii contemplated the mindless fanaticism or blind obedience of the aliens that sent these ships to their deaths with absolutely no hope of success.
15th February 2064. Wolf 629. 7th Hussars, 7th Armoured Brigade was pushing forward on a broad front towards the next alien city when three brigades of alien units attacked it. The 7th Hussars began to fall back but there were so many alien battalions that it was impossible to set up a defensive line. The 7th was forced to fall back on the rest of the brigade when the alien advance was halted, but in the process the 7th Hussars lost 50% of its armoured vehicles. The 5th Armour Regiment, 9th Armoured Brigade tried a flank attack to relieve some of the pressure and was given a bloody nose, losing over a third of its strength. The 6th Assault Brigade Headquarters was also overrun in the fighting and they also lost a third of their effectives. Nine enemy battalions had significant losses, six losing between 20 to 40%, so it was not all one-sided.
Sol.The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Callisto has been increased to 143 civilian mining complexes.
17th February 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage group #2 finally arrived in Wolf 629 after salvaging the alien wrecks in 70 Ophiuchi. The Group immediately set to work recovering the alien wrecks clustered around the 70 Ophiuchi jump point.
20th February 2064. Wolf 629. The ground offensive was still going well for the EDA. The seventeen enemy battalions that last week came close to destroying the 7th Hussars this week found the boot on the other foot. The 3rd Expeditionary Division moved up and enveloped them dealing out serious damage to them all, one alien battalion reportedly had over 60% casualties and another suffered over 40% casualties, eight more battalions lost between 20 and 40% of their effectives. There were only very light casualties in EDA battalions. The only alien success was to disturb Major General Koul’s lunch when several guided munitions landed amongst the 3rd Expeditionary Division’s headquarters unit, killing a handful of the General’s staff.
Salvage Group #2 found evidence of thermal sensor sensitivity 24 in a wreck of the Ming class.
Sol. Five Queen class colony transports launched, the Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Caroline, Queen Anne, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary II. Their first mission will be to take involuntary colonist from Africa to Bryan’s World. Governor Filkins of the African Sector has ordered deportations in order to quell the rampant lawlessness in the sector. Since Governor Bryan is desperate to get colonists for his planet it seems an ideal match. The Shimonoseki Shipyard and machinery works ‘Yard laid down the next five vessels in the contract.
22nd February 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 found evidence of electronic hardening level 0 in a wreck of the Ming class.
25th February 2064. Wolf 629. The ground offensive was as intensive as ever. The latest push on a densely inhabited area of the planet saw several EDA units suffer considerable losses, 2-61st Orbital Assault Battalion “Wad-Ras” lost 31% of its effectives, the 1er Régiment de Tiraileurs received 27% casualties, the 58th Infantry Brigade HQ lost 38% of its staff when caught up in the heavy fighting. Set against this two alien battalions were totally destroyed, eleven alien battalions were severely hurt, four suffered in excess of 30% casualties, and three more 20% losses.
Troop transport Group Wellington finally arrived five days late. It ferried a garrison brigade down to the surface along with ten replacement battalions. It looked like the other transport groups would face even longer delays; fortunately they were not urgently required.
27th February 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 found evidence of composite armour in a wreck of a Ming class vessel.
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29th February 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 found evidence of magneto-plasma drive technology in a wreck of the Ming class. The inference was that the aliens were at a slightly lower tech level than the EDA.
The ground war entered a quite phase as both sides regrouped, the EDA for another push, the aliens to strengthen their defences. In continuous skirmishing the 98th Drop Brigade was heavily involved in combat, the 217th and 1065th Drop Battalions both suffering over 30% casualties. Ten alien battalions were involved in the action, two had similar casualties to the 217th and 1065th and three more lost over 20% of their effectives.
SolProfessor Dai Yong Ju’s sensor research group completed beam fire control the S08 150-32000.
The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Callisto has been increased to 144 civilian mining complexes.
Gliese 526The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Gliese 526-A asteroid #292 has been increased to 54 civilian mining complexes.
2nd March 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 recovered geological sensors from a Huagwen class wreck, evidence that the Huangwen class were geological survey vessels.
5th March 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 found evidence of improved gravitational sensors in wreck of Ming class confirming they were gravitational survey vessels.
The ground war was still in a quite phase, however soldiers still died, Paratrooper battalion 263 lost 23% of its establishment and 174th MI battalion suffered 17% losses. The enemy were somewhat harder hit having twelve battalions in action, three battalions loosing over 50% personnel and equipment and another four well over 20% losses. The quality of the alien troops had noticeable declined and it was theorised that they were beginning to put barely trained recruits into the line.
Sol. The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Callisto has been increased to 145 civilian mining complexes.
Tian-Peng Yi energy weapons research group completed development and prototyping of the Sunburst Mk III space mine.
70 Ophiuchi. The EDA Resource Commission reported that the Shura Ulyanov geological survey team carrying out a geological survey of Asgard, 70 Ophiuchi-A IV had found a new deposit of 100,000 tonnes of Corundium (0.1). The Shura Ulyanov Geology Team does not believe any new mineral deposits can be found by the further geological survey of 70 Ophiuchi-A IV.
7th March 2064. Wolf 629. Part of The reason for the aliens determined if suicidal attempts to pass the jump point to 70 Ophiuchi have now been revealed on completion of the gravitational survey for Wolf 629. The system possesses but a single jump point, that to 70 Ophiuchi. This information also confirmed this was the aliens home system.
10th March 2064. Wolf 629. The EDA resumed the offensive pressing the defenders on the smaller continent hard. This was a bad day on the battlefield for the aliens, they lost one battalion in its entirety, another lost over 70% of its establishment, and two more lost 50%. The EDA did not escape scot-free, the 58th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment lost 35% of its vehicles while the 35th Armoured Regiment took 27% casualties and the 4th Battalion; The Parachute Regiment lost 22% of its men. The EDA now controlled half of the smaller continent and was pressing hard on the remaining continental landmass that encompassed much of the planet.
Communications were finally achieved with this belligerent race. It calls itself the Republic of Sutama. At least the troops can now issue proper instructions to the part of the population they have already conquered, rather than having to rely on point and gesture.
13th March 2064. Wolf 629. Transport Group Eisenhower delivered the 4th Mechanised Division the Wolf 625-A II.
15th March 2064. Wolf 629. The pace of combat stepped up with a Republican counter-attack which caused considerable losses to the 77th Armoured Regiment and the 8th Marine Regiment, which both took over 20% casualties. The unlucky 6e Bataillon de Chasseurs, not fully recovered from its previous losses took 29% casualties, reducing it to 40% of its original strength. The Republicans lost a battalion and had ten others savaged, most lost 20% of their strength. The counter-attack failed to gain significant ground, any gains being lost when the 4th Mechanised Division entered the fray. Further EDA reinforcements were landed as the Guan Yu Transport Group arrived with the 2nd Armoured Division on board.
20th March 2064. Wolf 629. The landing of the 2nd Armoured Division enabled General Koul to launch a fresh offensive on a another front, the armoured brigades rolled over the opposition, completely routing and destroying four Republic battalions, a whole Republic division was brought to bay, four Republican battalions leaving the plains before them strewn with the wreckage of more than half of their armour with a leavening of EDA designs. Another four battalions fell back in disarray. Republican forces were in full-scale retreat.
Sol. Professor Dai Yong Ju’s sensor research group completed development of a new MR92-R20 sensor.
Tian-Peng Yi energy weapons research group completed development and prototyping of a new model CIWS, the CIWS-320. These components were all that was required for the River class independent survey cruiser to start their production run in the General Dynamics ‘Yard, which has begun retooling for the class. This class is intended to augment the Geologist class in the geological survey of star systems. It was as capable a survey vessel as the old Geologist class if considerably larger. No one would ambush these ships and expect to escape unharmed. These vessels are also intended to explore some of the more distant B components of binary systems.
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River Mk I class Independent Survey Cruiser 12750 tons 1128 Crew 7644.6 BP TCS 255 TH 441.6 EM 2760
7215 km/s Armour 5-48 Shields 92-300 Sensors 42/1/0/6 Damage Control Rating 30 PPV 69
Annual Failure Rate: 130% IFR: 1.8% Maint Capacity 3747 MSP Max Repair 720 MSP Est Time: 2.33 Years
Magazine 200
Rolls Royce Overdrive ICF Drive E5.2 (10) Power 184 Fuel Use 52% Signature 44.16 Armour 0 Exp 12% Hyper Capable
Fuel Capacity 690,000 Litres Range 187.3 billion km (300 days at full power)
Theta R300/20 Shields (23) Total Fuel Cost 460 Litres per day
Triple 15cm C6 X-Ray Laser Turret (1x3) Range 384,000km TS: 33300 km/s Power 18-18 RM 7 ROF 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 4
30cm C12 X-Ray Laser (2) Range 384,000km TS: 8000 km/s Power 24-12 RM 7 ROF 10 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 20 18 16
CIWS-320 (2x10) Range 1000 km TS: 32000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Fire Control S08 150-32000 (1) Max Range: 300,000 km TS: 32000 km/s 97 93 90 87 83 80 77 73 70 67
Fire Control S08 192-10000 (1) Max Range: 384,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 95 92 90 87 84 82 79 77 74
Solid-core Anti-matter Power Plant Technology PB-1 AR-0 (13) Total Power Output 41.6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Solid-core Anti-matter Power Plant Technology PB-1 AR-0 (1) Total Power Output 1.6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Size 4 Box Launcher (50) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC184-R20 (2) Range 184.3m km Resolution 20
SIM-2 Longbow (50) Speed: 40,000 km/s End: 51m Range: 122.4m km WH: 9 Size: 4 TH: 453 / 272 / 136
Active Search Sensor MR6-R1 (1) GPS 192 Range 6.1m km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR614-R80 (1) GPS 19200 Range 614.4m km Resolution 80
Active Search Sensor MR122-R20 (1) GPS 3840 Range 122.9m km Resolution 20
Thermal Sensor TH3-42 (1) Sensitivity 42 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 42m km
Advanced Geological Sensors (2) 6 Survey Points Per Hour
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes 25th March 2064. Wolf 629. Two full Republican divisions were thrown into the battle as the EDA made major inroads on the major continent. Unfortunately the result was less than the Republic desired, three battalions simply disintegrated, a further five battalions suffered 40-60% losses with less than seven battalions escaping with casualties in single figures. The Republic was on a downward spiral from which it was finding it impossible to recover.
29th March 2064. Wolf 629. On the minor land mass the 77th Armoured Regiment ran into a poorly executed ambush, while losing 36% of its personnel and equipment, but six Republican battalions were annihilated by the rest of the 9th Armoured Brigade that moved up in support. Twenty-three other battalions were damaged as other divisions moved the front ever closer to the alien minor seat of government on the smaller continent. A major reason for the failure of the ambush was the quality of Republican forces involved.
Beta Canum Venaticorum. The EDA Resource Commission reported that the Shi Feng Li geological survey team carrying out a geological survey of Beta Canum Venaticorum-A III had found a new deposit of 100,000 tonnes of Gallicite (0.1). The Shí Feng Li Geology Team does not believe any new mineral deposits can be found by the further geological survey of Beta Canum Venaticorum-A III
1st April 2064. Wolf 629
Salvage Group #2 salvaged a size-7 missile launcher from the wreck of a Republican Changsha class warship that was used to launch Sentinel Anti-ship Missiles with a 7-megaton warhead against the GEV Simpson. These large missiles were inferior in all respects to the much smaller size-4 (and obsolete) SIM-1 Longbows used by EDA Battle Group.
3rd April 2064. Wolf 629. Rear Admiral Kuznetsov’s reasoning over the purpose of the large 74,650 tonne Republican vessel that sat on the jump point to 70 Ophiuchi for the last four months was vindicated as the ship just completed construction of a Star Gate and then hurriedly moved away. Why the Republic of Sutama should require nine such vessels and then not use them until the entrance of EDA ships showed them the location of the jump point is one of life’s little mysteries. Fortuitously it also opened direct communications to the Admiralty at Sol, although still with a time delay in excess of ten or eleven hours.
4th April 2064. Wolf 629. 1st Armoured Division was in combat once more; the entire smaller continent except for a single long peninsular was in EDA hands. The Scots Guards lost 17% of its establishment while the 702nd Tank Destroyer battalion lost near a third of its specialised vehicles in the fierce fighting. The Republicans lost one and a half brigades with another dozen battalions receiving significant casualties of between 20-50%.
10th April 2064. Wolf 629. The final Republican redoubt on the smaller continent fell with the loss of twelve battalions. Two more divisions managed to evacuate to the larger land mass but lost the majority of their equipment, twelve more battalions suffering losses of up to 50% of personnel and equipment. The 1st Armoured Division was once more in the thick of the fighting, the 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment suffered a third of the establishment as casualties, but this was the only significant loss the EDA received in this engagement.
15th April 2064. Wolf 629.The 28th Orbital Drop Battalion took 28% losses as they attempted to secure an important geographical feature on the major continent. Unfortunately they dropped into the middle of a Republican reserve formation. More fortunately the 2nd Armoured Division was able to take advantage of the 28th’s assault, which turned into a spoiling attack and rescued them from further losses. The Republicans had three divisions in action, but the quality differences were really beginning to tell as one division was all but destroyed, only three battalions escaped complete destruction. The other divisions were forced to fall back with more heavy losses. Republican units were going into battle with only minimal virtual training now.
20th April 2064. Wolf 629. This was the last engagement in which the Sutamans were able to field a full division. They still had one major production centre left and needed to defend it. But having lost most of their organic aerial reconnaissance ability they stood little chance. The EDA brigades went through them like a hot knife through butter, ten Sutaman battalions were destroyed, another ten took heavy casualties, many would never fight again their remnants being absorbed into other units.
25th April 2064. Wolf 629. The last large-scale battle loomed before the EDA expeditionary forces. The 3rd Expeditionary Division faced a little over three brigades of Sutaman troops; they could no longer scrape together a full division. They fought tenaciously but were outclassed by EDA firepower. Seven battalions were smashed and would never reform; another four were routed with heavy losses in personnel and equipment.
Sol. The Tian-Peng Yi energy weapons research group completed development and prototyping of a new model size 15 missile launcher intended for a new class of minelayers.
The Mammoth, Mastodon, Pachyderm, Elephant Mk IB munitions carriers were laid down in the construction bays of the Qiuxin Naval ‘Yard.
Elephant Mk IB class Collier 12500 tons 780 Crew 3530.4 BP TCS 250 TH 672 EM 1320
7680 km/s Armour 5-47 Shields 44-300 Sensors 54/96/0/0 Damage Control Rating 26 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 208% IFR: 2.9% Maint Capacity 1059 MSP Max Repair 240 MSP Est Time: 1.56 Years
Magazine 2088
Rolls Royce Inertial Confinement Fusion Drive E5 (12) Power 160 Fuel Use 50% Signature 56 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 310,000 Litres Range 89.3 billion km (134 days at full power)
Theta R300/20 Shields (11) Total Fuel Cost 220 Litres per day
CIWS-320 (3x10) Range 1000 km TS: 32000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Active Search Sensor MR614-R80 (1) GPS 19200 Range 614.4m km Resolution 80
Thermal Sensor TH3-54 (1) Sensitivity 54 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 54m km
EM Detection Sensor EM3-96 (1) Sensitivity 96 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 96m km
ECM 30
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes29th April 2064. Wolf 629. The Sutamans fielded a little over two brigades; their equipment patched and repaired, the battalions with little if any seasoning of trained NCOs or officers. Their replacements, officers with minimal training, learning hard lessons on the battlefield, many of them fatal. The two legged invaders just kept on coming, The central committee had not been wrong when they assured the Sutaman population that a new era of galactic domination was beginning, they just got who was going to dominate who mixed up. In the ensuing engagement a whole brigade was mangled, never to reform, no unit escaped casualties; the other brigade retreated in poor order losing a battalion in the process.
70 Ophichi. The atmosphere of Midgard, 70 Ophiuchi-B II, is now breathable although a little thin and the surface temperature was still -39
oC.
3rd May 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 salvaged an MR1080-R75 active search sensor and an FC1080-R75 missile fire Control from wreck of the second Republican Changsha class warship. This large sensor and fire control dwarf all but those used on the fleet scouts of the EDA. The fire control was particularly interesting since the usual EDA missile fire control is an FC184-R20, quite myopic compared to the Sutaman one. Strangely the Sutaman missiles did not appear to share this great range.
Salvage Group #2 also found evidence of thermal reduction: signature 100% normal within the wreck.
4th May 2064. Wolf 629. It was the end game on Sutama, the last functional combat brigade tried to fight the advancing Earth Authority Divisions and was cut to pieces for its trouble. Two battalions utterly destroyed, the other two routed with heavy losses. This was the end of any effective resistance, never again would the Sutaman walkers take the field.
Gliese 526. The EDA Resource Commission reported that the civilian mining operation on Gliese 526-A asteroid #292 has been increased to 55 civilian mining complexes.
9th May 2064. Wolf 629. The 2nd Armoured Division advanced on the final large habitation centre on the planet, this one contained the major seat of government of the Republic of Sutama and one would have supposed would be defended to the death, but only two battalions of Sutamans opposed the EDA, hastily formed units of raw recruits given a weapon and sent out, they had no heavy weapons and little personal protection. The first Sutaman battalion tried to stand its ground but was crushed and utterly destroyed with very little effort by the armour of the 7th Armoured Brigade. With this example before them the second battalion fled the field, dissolving back into the population. The gates of the city lay open and unguarded.
Sol. The Electric Boat Orbital ‘Yard completed a further five Resource class fuel harvesters. They will initially be deployed in Sol harvesting Sorium from the gas clouds of Saturn.
13th May 2064. Wolf 629. Salvage Group #2 found evidence of internal armour zero within wreck of a Xia class warship.
15th May 2064. Wolf 629. Elements of the 7th Armoured Brigade surrounded the Palace of the Arch Chancellor of the Sutama Republic; barring their way was a solitary light battalion, more a police unit with little in the way of heavy weapons than a combat formation. It tried to hold up the advance of the Earth Authority armour but was simply out classed and melted away. Thus ended the last active resistance on Wolf 629-A II.
20th May 2064. Wolf 629. The Republic of Sutama surrendered to EDA forces unconditionally. Many Sutaman ships in Wolf 629 surrendered to elements of the EDA Navy. Nineteen freighters (now known as the Krivak class, formally the Zunyi class), nineteen colony ships (now known as the Udaloy class, formally the Hainan class), seven terraformers (now the Sovremenny class, formerly the Kaifeng class) and seven Star Gate construction vessels (now the Kara class, formerly the Hegu class) surrendered. One damaged GEV of the Huangwen class (now the Kiev class) also surrendered. The crews of two Star Gate construction vessels drove their ships into the systems star rather than surrender. One vessel still held out and refused to surrender, Ming 008, fanatical to the end, but being immobilised was unable to destroy the vessel in the manner of its compatriots. The Sutaman vessels would need to have upgraded propulsion units installed before they became integrated into the support services of the EDA Navy. The work would be carried out at Sutama and the vessels eventually turned over to EDA crews.
General Koul took the unconditional surrender of the few remaining militia squads of the planetary forces of the Republic. The ferocity of the fighting was illustrated by the fact that while the EDA did not lose a single operational battalion, of the ten replacement battalions shipped in only one remained, the rest being used to fill the ranks of the operational units. Three divisions would remain to garrison the planet and Battle Group Forrestal would also remain in system.
The populace seemed strangely cowed, if not relieved at their situation. Once vocoder units had been manufactured to allow easy communication between the species it slowly became apparent that an all-powerful elite had dominated this rich planet for centuries. The average member of the race was schooled to strict obedience at the expense of initiative and innovation. The society was very stratified, most of the 3.1 billion beings on the planet enjoyed quite a frugal existence “for the good of the race” and only the elite had a luxurious and pampered lifestyle. They had relatively recently discovered jump point theory, but a crucial mistake in the calculations had lead them to believe that the gravitational survey points were much farther out than they actually were. Thus they failed to locate the sole jump point in the system. They had already started building a fleet of colony transports, terraformers and Star Gate construction vessels and because of the blind obedience of the vast majority of the population, saw no reason to stop. When Battle Group Téméraire appeared the Sutamans knew exactly how they had arrived and the ruling elite decided it was their opportunity to explode into the Galaxy. The explosion just didn’t go they way they anticipated.
Several significant tech advances were recovered from the Sutaman databases so far interrogated, these include enhanced radiation warheads, shipbuilding rate 1600 BP, shipbuilding rate 2100 BP, shipbuilding rate 2750 BP, shipbuilding rate 3500 BP, active grav sensor strength 60, active grav sensor strength 80, active grav sensor strength 100, 20cm railgun, railgun launch velocity 4, fire control speed rating 10,000 k/s, 12cm microwave, focal aperture, microwave focusing tech 2. In addition reparations to the value of 42,672 were paid over.
Investigation of the tech base revealed that far from being at a lower tech level than the EDA as initially supposed the Sutamans were at least the equal of the EDA if not ahead, just not in propulsion systems and missile technology. In sensor technology they were considerably ahead of the EDA, and contrary to Rear Admiral Kuznetsov’s assumptions they could see very well what came through the jump point, although the missile cruisers probably would not have shown up at that range being cloaked. The fighter squadrons were fortunate indeed not to suffer losses and had they loitered either before or after launching their missiles losses could have been severe. The Temerario AMM the Republic used had a range of some 18 million kilometres, outranging the old Star Flash 7 AS carried by the EDA fighters by a comfortable margin. Some 2500 plus Temerario anti-missile missiles were recovered from the planet. Shipbuilding was another area the Sutaman’s excelled in, capable of building ships more than twice as fast as the EDA. It is a puzzle why they did not capitalise on this and build FACs during the war, several of which could have completed before the end of the war to contest near Sutaman orbital space.
Sutaman researchers appeared to be at best mediocre in comparison to the EDA. Of the research projects ongoing, only two were allowed to continue, one was to develop a 25cm railgun, the other to increase the shipbuilding rate to 4600 BP. The rest had been working on technologies already developed by the EDA. The initial plan had been to ship all research facilities to Earth, however it had not been anticipated how many there would be. The facilities would now be moved in phases and the development of a whole new suit of sensor modules for the Navy would be undertaken on Sutama.
The orbital ‘Yard complex consists of six naval and twelve commercial ‘Yards. Most were in the process of adding further construction bays, none having more that three and some only one. The disposition of these facilities has yet to be decided.
Director Karamchand put pressure on Deputy Director Ernest Digman who was currently Governor of the North American Sector, to accept the Governorship of Sutama. This posting was currently second only to Sol Sector Governor in importance with a larger power base than all but one other Sector. The North American Sector was taken over by Zella Bourque. The North American Sector had never really recovered from the bombing it received during the Unification War and was facing increasing depopulation as the inhabitants emigrated from the heavily contaminated former United States to newly settled and unspoilt planets.
SutamaPop: 3146.06 millions
Colony Cost: N/A
Annual Wealth: 18121
Deep Space Tracking Stations: L5
Military Academies: L3
Shipyards: 18/37 (6 Naval complexes)
Maintenance Facilities: 195
Construction Factories: 2464
Ordnance Factories: 614
Fuel Refineries: 1233
Mines: 2651
Automated Mines: 491
Mass Drivers: 1
R&D Laboratories: 184
Ground Force Training Facilities: 18
21st May 2064. Wolf 629. The carrier Saratoga rescued the immobilised Kiev 001 GEV and transported it to Sutama for repair.
Ming 008 still refused to surrender, so after 24 hours trying to negotiate, Newfoundland fired one missile to destroy the vessel and give the crew the fiery end they so ardently desired.
Fifteen minutes later it was apparent that not all the crew of the Ming 008 shared the desire to embrace their own discontinuation and several life pods launched from the stricken vessel. Battle Group Forrestal picked up survivors and made its way to Sutama to assume its duty as system picket. Thus was the end of the war with the Republic of Sutama.
