14th June 1908The Formidable class battleships HMS Britannia and HMS Dominion join the Royal Navy. With the Empire's largest orbital shipyard, the Portsmouth Dockyard, now free, the first of a new class of battleship is laid down. Since its move from sea to space, the Royal Navy has lain in the shadow of the Imperial Fleet. The Martian Jianghu class battlecruisers in particular are larger, better armed and, until recently, faster than the British battleships. Admiral Sir John Fisher made his primary goal as First Space Lord to change that situation. With the assistance of skilled British scientists and engineers and in particular the brilliant propulsion expert Eleanor Manning, he is finally ready to accomplish that goal. The Dreadnought class battleship is a quantum leap in technology and capability for the Royal Navy. At 38,400 tons, HMS Dreadnought is seventy percent larger than the preceding Formidable class and twenty percent larger than the Jianghus of the Imperial Fleet. Her armament includes a powerful battery of the new Mk 2 torpedo launchers, backed up by a secondary battery of 20cm lasers. Her electronics fit comprises new active sensors with substantially improved range and upgraded EM sensors plus newly developed ECM and ECCM installations. The depth of the armour belt is one third greater than the Formidable class and total armour is twice as great. Above all, her new fusion-based engines give her the speed to outrun and out-manoeuvre her opponents. Her size and cost are so great though that she will require almost two years for construction.
Dreadnought class Battleship 38,400 tons 924 Crew 7118.4 BP TCS 768 TH 4800 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 16-101 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/33/0/0 Damage Control Rating 16 PPV 148
Maint Life 1.66 Years MSP 1854 AFR 737% IFR 10.2% 1YR 801 5YR 12016 Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 1
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons Magazine 1700
Parsons PN8 Internal Fusion Drive (12) Power 400 Fuel Use 40% Signature 400 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres Range 23.4 billion km (43 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (8) Range 256,000km TS: 6250 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Barr and Stroud FX-5 Primary Laser Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s
Tokamak Fusion Reactor (4) Total Power Output 32 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Mk 2 Torpedo Launcher (20) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 40
Barr and Stroud FT-4 Torpedo Fire Control (2) Range 227.7m km Resolution 120
Mark VII Whitehead Torpedo (340) Speed: 32,000 km/s Range: 180.3m km WH: 9 Size: 5 TH: 106/64/32
Type 8 Active Sensor (1) GPS 22680 Range 227.7m km Resolution 120
EM33 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
ECCM-1 (2) ECM 20
27th June 1908The Federation Navy jump cruiser Aimak, exploring a new jump point in Sarai, discovers Tsagaan Baishin, a system with a yellow G8-V primary and ten planets, one of which has a thin nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere and the wrecks of six unknown ships in orbit. The Khaghan Federation has no way to salvage the alien wrecks but development of the required technology is now a priority.
29th June 1908British xenologists complete their study of the ruins on Berlin II. The alien outpost that once resided on the planet was a colony of the Kumbhraj Star Empire. Fourteen of the original installations are identified as potential targets for recovery.
15th July 1908Three new Warrior class heavy cruisers join the Royal Navy. HMS Achilles, HMS Alexander the Great and HMS Leonidas are designed with both fleet operations and jump point defence in mind. Their spacious crew accommodations and large engineering departments will support longer deployments than any other dedicated warship. Their active sensors and fire control use some of the new technology employed in HMS Dreadnought and they are the first Royal Navy class in service with ECM.
Warrior class Heavy Cruiser 12,800 tons 378 Crew 2399 BP TCS 256 TH 1280 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 8-48 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 11 PPV 60
Maint Life 4.53 Years MSP 1289 AFR 119% IFR 1.7% 1YR 102 5YR 1531 Max Repair 160 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 0
Parsons PN4 Magneto-plasma Drive (4) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres Range 22.0 billion km (50 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (10) Range 256,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Barr and Stroud FX-5 Primary Laser Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (7) Total Power Output 42 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Type 7 Active Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.9m km Resolution 120
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
ECCM-1 (1) ECM 10
5th September 1908The Khaghan Federation launches its first two second generation geological survey ships. The Beki class is larger and faster than the Ogadei and has greater endurance.
Beki class Geological Survey Vessel 4,000 tons 66 Crew 505 BP TCS 80 TH 300 EM 0
3750 km/s Armour 1-22 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/3 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 79 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 0
Ghazan-150 Commercial Ion Drive (2) Power 150 Fuel Use 9.28% Signature 150 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 121.2 billion km (374 days at full power)
Tumen-1 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1000 Range 5.0m km Resolution 100
Geological Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
26th November 1908One of the new Federation Beki class survey ships makes a valuable discovery in the Sarai system. While the gravity of the moon is too low to support a colony, it will be an ideal location for automated mines. There is already a Khaghan colony of 220,000 in the same system, located on the innermost planet of the primary star.
Sarai-B III - Moon 6 Mineral SurveyDuranium 776,258 Acc: 0.9
Neutronium 379,456 Acc: 0.9
Tritanium 345,744 Acc: 0.9
Boronide 170,569 Acc: 0.7
Mercassium 132,496 Acc: 0.7
Vendarite 784 Acc: 0.8
Uridium 354,025 Acc: 0.9
Gallicite 470,596 Acc: 0.8
1st December 1908The Khaghan Federation launches a second trio of 20,000 ton Chakhar class battleships. The six battleships remain in orbit of Venus for the moment while a Federation construction ship builds a gate between Darkhan and Kharkhorin.
17th December 1908The British Empire launches RFA Atlas, a ship equipped with a tractor beam that will allow it to tow other ships or even shipyards. Her first task is to tow the Swan Hunter orbital shipyard, which has three slipways of 8000 ton capacity currently tooled to build the Tribal Mod 1 destroyer, through the Sol - Victoria jump point to the colony on Victoria-B II. The colony has a population of thirty-four million, housed in huge domes to provide atmosphere and protect them from the normal surface temperature of -50C. One hundred and forty fuel refineries have been transported to the colony from Earth, along with four terraforming installations. While the long term future of British colonization is probably within the Proxima chain, the only colony currently within that chain is Berlin IV, with a population of one point three million. For the moment, any efforts to disperse British industry to avoid catastrophic losses in a future war will have to rely on Victoria.
24th January 1909A jump gate is constructed on the Darkhan - Kharkhorin jump point, opening up the alien-occupied system to the Federation fleet. T'mjn orders Orlok Tegus Tegus, a great war leader of the Khaghan, to take the six Chakhar class battleships into Kharkhorin and destroy the alien menace.
5th February 1909The Sarai system, located four jumps from Sol via Darkhan, Kerait Ordos and Tenduk, is the primary long-term colonization target of the Khaghan Federation. It is a quadruple system of two G-class stars and two red dwarfs, with a total of sixteen planets, one hundred and thirty-nine moons and almost five hundred asteroids. Minor modifications to the atmosphere of the innermost planet of the primary will result in an ideal habitable world and three other bodies in the system are colony cost 2.00. The near-habitable world has ten million tons of accessibility 0.6 Duranium and deposits of every other mineral. The recent discovery of significant accessible minerals deposits on the sixth moon of Sarai-B III has boosted the value of the system even more.
Sarai-A I Mineral SurveyDuranium 9,999,392 Acc: 0.6
Neutronium 534,361 Acc: 0.9
Corbomite 4,439,449 Acc: 0.1
Tritanium 5,798,464 Acc: 0.1
Boronide 1,449,616 Acc: 0.7
Mercassium 149,769 Acc: 0.1
Vendarite 5,193,841 Acc: 0.1
Sorium 3,108,169 Acc: 1
Uridium 6,880,129 Acc: 0.1
Corundium 6,656,400 Acc: 0.1
Gallicite 14,645,930 Acc: 0.1
A small colony of 270,000 has been established on Sarai-A I. Federation colony ships and freighters are expanding the settlement, although colonization has been slow due to the limited range of the Khaghan ships and a lack of tankers to establish a fuel depot in Sarai. Second generation colony ships and freighters, with greater speed and longer range, are under construction and two tankers are being built at the Hulan orbital shipyard. Sarai has four jump points, leading to Tenduk, Tsagaan Baishin, Origiin Ord and Arlyn Balgas. Tenduk is the route home to Sol while the other three systems have yet to be surveyed. A probe of Tsagaan Baishin in June 1908 revealed the wrecks of several alien ships in orbit of the third planet.
The gravitational survey of Sarai is now complete and the two Zanabazar class ships that carried out the survey have now rendezvoused with the Aimak II class jump cruiser Aimak Dorov at the Tsagaan Baishin jump point. Due to the continuing problems with transporting fuel to the frontier, the jump cruiser has less than one percent of its fuel remaining, having expended the last of its supply reaching the jump point. The Zanabazars are at 35% fuel but that will be sufficient to begin the survey. All three ships will have to wait for a tanker to get home. Aimak, the original Federation jump cruiser, is three billion kilometres away at the Tenduk jump point and also out of fuel, as she sacrificed the last of her supplies to provide the Aimak II with sufficient fuel to reach the Tsagaan Baishin jump point. Also in Sarai are an Ogadei class geological survey ship and a new Beki class geological survey ship, plus the first Hazara II class colony ship.
The two Zanabazars vanish into the Tsagaan Baishin jump point. Less than a minute later, eight ships from an unknown alien race transit into Sarai. Six have thermal signatures of strength-720 while the other two are strength-1440. Aimak Dorov engages her active sensors, targets the closest ship with its railguns and attempts to run. The active sensor scan reveals six ships of 8800 tons, four of which are designated as Graig Wen class and the other two as Rhinog Faw, plus two different ships of 17,600 tons, designated as Moelfre and Gwynydd, all of which begin heading away from the jump point. The class names used by the Khaghan tactical computers are derived from the Cymru, an ancient civilization on Venus that thrived among the mountains of the northern continent. The Cymru quarried stone, mined other minerals from the mountains and domesticated the hardy mountain Ovis, a horned mammalian creature that provided both food and clothing.
By the time Aimak Dorov brings her weapons on line, the aliens are 100,000 kilometres away and out of range. A few moments later she is struck by two strength-12 hits from energy weapons mounted on one of the two Rhinog Faws, followed a few seconds later by two more hits from the second. The alien fleet holds position at 180,000 kilometres and the Rhinog Faws continue firing. Aimak Dorov finally gets underway but she is badly damaged and her speed has been reduced to 750 km/s. She is reduced to wreckage by the third alien volley. The fate of the two Zanabazar class survey ships is unknown but their chances of survival cannot be high.
The Hazara II class colony ship is a billion kilometres from the alien fleet and already en route to the Tenduk jump point. The two geological survey ships are ordered to abandon their mission and make their way back to the jump point via a dog-leg course, avoiding the location of the alien fleet. The aliens themselves vanished from sensors as soon as Aimak Dorov was destroyed. The jump cruiser Aimak jumps into Tenduk and sends a signal to the Mughal class jump freighter on the Tenduk - Kerait Ordos jump point. The freighter transits that jump point and relays the message to Venus via the jump gates on the Kerait Ordos - Darkhan and Darkhan - Sol jump points. With an immediate threat to Sarai the plan to eliminate the alien presence in Kharkhorin is abandoned. The six Federation battleships, just two hundred million kilometres from the Darkhan - Kharkhorin jump point, are ordered to reverse course and head towards Sarai, although for the moment they will be unable to pass beyond the Kerait Ordos - Tenduk jump point due to the lack of jump gates.
15th February 1909In the ten days following the destruction of Aimak Dorov there has been no further sign of the alien ships, so the survey ship Beki, passing through the solar system of Sarai-B, is ordered to use a Lagrange point jump to the distant C and D components of Sarai where she can continue her work with minimal risk of being attacked.
17th February 1909The Sophie Kelly Geology Team, working on the innermost planet of the Munich system, makes several new mineral discoveries, increasing the amount of known Duranium deposits from half a million tons to almost four million and increasing the accessibility from 0.3 to 0.6. A previously unknown Gallicite deposit of one point seven million tons has been located and the accessibility of Sorium increased from 0.1 to 0.3. There is already a small colony of 50,000 on Munich I, located four jumps from Sol via Proxima, Madras and Berlin, and the planet has a thin nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere of 0.12 atm. Gravity is acceptable at 0.44G and the surface temperature of -7C is just within human tolerance. The Duranium and Gallicite discoveries make this planet a good location for manned mining complexes. Unfortunately, the British Empire has just four old ion-engined colony ships with a total carrying capacity of 200,000 and the planet is too far out to interest the civilian shipping lines. A significant build-up in carrying capacity is needed, which in turn will require large amounts of Gallicite for the colony ship engines, a mineral that continues to be in very short supply. It is ironic that Munich I could solve the Empire's Gallicite shortage but it is that very shortage which will make the planet hard to exploit.
Munich-A I Updated Survey ReportDuranium 3,892,050 Acc: 0.6
Neutronium 4,443,664 Acc: 0.1
Corbomite 5,997,601 Acc: 0.9
Boronide 649,636 Acc: 0.1
Mercassium 1,110,916 Acc: 0.1
Vendarite 984,064 Acc: 0.6
Sorium 346,921 Acc: 0.3
Uridium 923,521 Acc: 0.1
Corundium 311,364 Acc: 0.7
Gallicite 1,695,204 Acc: 0.7
9th March 1909The Khaghan survey ship Ogadei Gurav arrives safely at the Sarai - Tenduk jump point. There is still no sign of the alien ships and the battleships cannot reach Sarai to search for them until a path of jump gates is created. The expansion of the Federation is halted by a multitude of alien threats. As the aliens are showing no sign of attacking the colony in Sari or approaching the Tenduk jump point, T'mjn and the Council decide to reverse their earlier decision and use the battleships against Kharkhorin, rather than leaving them idle. The six Chakhars leave their picket position in Kerait Ordos and head for the Darkhan jump point.
22nd March 1909HMS Chatham, HMS Dartmouth and HMS Southampton, the first three Town Mod 1 class light cruisers, join the Royal Navy. The Town Mod 1 is an upgrade from the preceding Town class that incorporates fusion-based engines, electronic counter-measures and substantially improved sensors and fire control. The three ships will operate with the Dreadnought class battleships currently under construction.
Town Mod 1 class Light Cruiser 9,600 tons 216 Crew 1885.4 BP TCS 192 TH 1200 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 6-40 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 15
Maint Life 2.53 Years MSP 614 AFR 147% IFR 2% 1YR 133 5YR 2000 Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 2
Magazine 735
Parson PN8 Internal Fusion Drive (3) Power 400 Fuel Use 40% Signature 400 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 540,000 Litres Range 25.3 billion km (46 days at full power)
Anti-Torpedo Launcher (15) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Barr and Stroud FA-3 ATT Fire Control (3) Range 20.8m km Resolution 1
Mark VI Whitehead Anti-Torpedo Torpedo (735) Speed: 60,000 km/s Range: 21m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 260/156/78
Type 9 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 189 Range 20.8m km MCR 2.3m km Resolution 1
Type 7 Active Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.9m km Resolution 120
EM11 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
ECM 20
31st March 1909The six Chakhar class battleships of the Khaghan Federation transit into Kharkhorin. An Ogadei class survey ship was destroyed in the system in November 1904 by forty-four small alien ships with thermal signatures of strength-160. Since then, due to the Federation's limited power projection capability, there has be no attempt to confront the alien forces and the system has remained off-limits. To the surprise of Orlok Tegus Tegus, commanding the Federation battleships, there is no sign of the wreck of the Ogadei. He surmises the aliens must have salvaged the wreck. After waiting at the jump point for an hour, he orders the ships to proceed sunward to search for an alien presence. A Mughal II class jump freighter transits into the system and holds position on the Darkhan jump point to monitor events in Kharkhorin.
Chakhar class Battleship 20,000 tons 528 Crew 2750.04 BP TCS 400 TH 1200 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 8-65 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 7 PPV 90
Maint Life 2.05 Years MSP 602 AFR 457% IFR 6.3% 1YR 191 5YR 2867 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 770
Cheren-120 Military Engine (10) Power 120 Fuel Use 63% Signature 120 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,500,000 Litres Range 21.4 billion km (82 days at full power)
12cm Railgun V2/C3 (8x4) Range 40,000km TS: 3000 km/s Power 6-3 RM 2 ROF 10
Jagun-1 Railgun Fire Control (2) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 3000 km/s
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (6) Total Power Output 27 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Qasar-5 Missile Launcher (8) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 75
Qasar-1 Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 15
Ulaghan-2 Point Defence Missile Fire Control (2) Range 9.0m km Resolution 1
Ulaghan-1 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 65.7m km Resolution 120
Chagatai Gurav ASM (100) Speed: 21,600 km/s End: 71.8m Range: 93.1m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 72/43/21
Nassan Gurav AMM (270) Speed: 25,200 km/s End: 5.7m Range: 8.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 92/55/27
Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 90 Range 4.5m km MCR 490k km Resolution 1
Primary Search Sensor (1) GPS 14400 Range 65.7m km Resolution 120
One hundred and thirty-five million kilometres into the system, fifty 800 ton alien ships are detected at a range of four point five million kilometres, heading straight for the Khaghan ships at 10,000 km/s. The short detection range is due to the resolution of the primary sensors of the battleships, which can only detect such small targets at one point two million kilometres. Fortunately the Chakhars are also equipped with missile detection sensors with a four point five million range and those sensors have detected the aliens. With the anti-ship missile fire control systems suffering from a similar myopia, the eight Qasar-5 ASM launchers on each battleship are linked to the Ulaghan-2 point defence missile fire controls, which would normally operate in conjunction with the smaller Qasar-1 AMM launchers. Each battleship picks a separate target and opens fire. The cycle time of the Qasar-5 is seventy-five seconds, so by the time a second volley is fired at a new set of targets the fast-moving attack craft have closed to three point five million kilometres. Orlok Tegus Tegus orders his ships to head for the jump point to reduce the rate of closure.
The first Khaghan salvo reaches the alien fleet. One ship is destroyed by a large secondary explosion, a second is left dead in space and three more take hits but continue at full speed. One of the damaged ships begin trailing some form of fluid rather than the atmosphere that would normally be expected as a result of armour penetration. The next salvo is less effective. Although all six targets take damage, none of them are even slowed. After four salvos of Chagatai Gurav anti-ship missiles have been launched, Orlok Tegus Tegus decides to add the fire of Nassan Gurav anti-missile missiles. Despite the Nassan series of missiles only having a strength-1 warhead compared to the strength-6 warhead of the Chagatai, each battleship has ten Qasar-1 AMM launchers that fire every fifteen seconds. Given the relatively meagre results of the first two salvos and the closing speed of the aliens, he realises he is going to need all available firepower. Each salvo of Nassan Guravs from each battleship is targeted on a different alien ship. Due to the faster firing rate of the Qasar-1, every enemy vessel is targeted before the sixth volley of Chagatai Guravs is launched. The rate of hits is less than thirty percent and damage is limited.
By the time the horde of attack craft reach one million kilometres, four have been destroyed and four have been crippled. The remaining forty-two continue to close the gap at frightening speed. The Federation battleships have expended almost half of their anti-ship missiles and a third of their anti-missile missiles. The rate at which the enemy ships fall out of formation increases as the battleships begin working their way through their targets with Nassans for a second time. The small warheads penetrate chinks in the armour of the alien ships opened up by earlier waves of missiles and destroy key systems. At 500,000 kilometres, thirty-three remain combat effective.
At 117,000 kilometres, with twenty-seven attack craft still at full speed, the battleship Kovsgol is hit by some form of energy weapon that passes through her shields and armour. One of her 12cm railguns is struck but survives. The railguns on the battleships only have a range of 40,000 kilometres so in energy combat the Federation warships are significantly out-ranged and they are rapidly running out of ordnance. Ten seconds later, the alien craft slow slightly to maintain a range of 60,000 kilometres and fire again. Kovsgol is hit eleven times and loses her primary search sensor and one of her two Ulaghan-2 missile fire controls. Orlok Tegus Tegus orders his ships to reverse course and attempt to close within the range of their railguns - a difficult task given the speed of their opponents. It only takes him a few seconds to realise he has made a mistake. Only six enemy vessels have actually been destroyed so far. Many more have been crippled. In the confusion caused to his inexperienced crews by his order to reverse course, he has left his ships floundering in a fixed location and allowed any new enemy cripples to remain within range. He changes his decision again, ordering the fleet to resume its original course and creating even more confusion.
Kovsgol continues to take damage, losing a railgun, a missile launcher, one of her railgun fire control systems and part of her magazine capacity. Fortunately, much of the incoming fire is directed against internal systems that are capable of withstanding some damage, so not every hit results in the loss of one of those systems. The battleships continue to launch missiles against the now stationary alien ships, gradually reducing their number. As soon as the thermal signature of a target disappears, indicating the loss of its engine, a new target is chosen. While the cripples remain in range for the moment they will be left behind once the fleet is organised and moving again. Kovsgol loses her second Ulaghan-2 missile fire control and switches to her Ulaghan-1 fire control. At the current range, even the resolution of the Ulaghan-1 is sufficient to target the hostiles.
The Federation battleships finally sort out their formation and begin moving toward the jump point once again. Kovsgol lags behind her five sisters due to the loss of one of her ten engines. Only ten alien attack craft are capable of following. They continue to concentrate their fire on Kovsgol, destroying reactors, railguns and magazines. The gallant battleship returns fire, using whatever weapons and fire controls she has left. The last of the fleet's Nassan Gurav anti-missiles are used to destroy another alien ship, leaving each ship with just twenty-eight Chagatai Gurav anti-ship missiles. The Nassans have done their job through, wearing away the armour of the enemy attack craft. The next salvo of Chagatais destroys three ships and cripples two more, leaving only four in pursuit of the Khaghan battleships. Kovsgol suffers occasional hits as the Qasar-5 launchers recycle then two more attack craft are blown apart and a third left dead in space. The last alien ship capable of movement suddenly breaks away and heads in-system.
The battleship Altai Tavan launches a full salvo of Chagatai Guravs at the fleeing ship while the other intact battleships, most of which have just twelve anti-ship missiles remaining, begin launching single missiles at the stationary enemy cripples scattered across the wake of the battle. While the battleships could move within energy range and use their railguns, that would expose them to return fire from any of the attack craft that retain their weapons. One by one the cripples vanish as the Khaghan missiles find their mark. The eight missile salvo from Altai Tavan unerringly closes in on the fleeing ship and blows it to pieces. The battle is won but the Federation fleet is virtually out of ammunition. Orlok Tegus Tegus orders his ships to head for the jump point where they will have to wait for several months until a jump gate is constructed.
6th April 1909In Kharkhorin a week has passed within incident. The Khaghan crews are starting to believe that no further attacks will be forthcoming from the aliens they have started to call Khorins, when a hostile contact is detected at sixty-four million kilometres. The new Khorin ship is a formidable 60,000 tons, three times the size of the Khaghan warships, and moving at 1100 km/s. Despite his dismay at being confronted by such a powerful foe when his ships have already exhausted almost their entire ordnance load, Orlok Tegus Tegus orders his ships to move out and confront the hostile battleship in order to protect the vital construction ship on the jump point. At least this time the range will be chosen by the Khaghan. The six Chakhar class battleships have forty-two anti-ship missiles between them and no anti-missile missiles. This battle will have to be fought at point blank range using the battleships' secondary armament of eight 12cm railguns. Kovsgol has concentrated her shipboard repairs on her energy armament and has all her railguns and both railgun fire controls operational.
As the alien behemoth reaches eighteen million kilometres, Federation EM sensors reveal shields of strength-600. Orlok Tegus Tegus is well aware that his ships are far outclassed in terms of technology but have nowhere to run. They could use their superior speed to stay out of range but if the alien warship is allowed to destroy the construction ship, the Chakhars will be unable to leave the system. Besides, Tegus knows his crews would mutiny if he ran around the system for months trying to avoid combat. There is only one option. Destroy the alien ship or die trying.
At 80,000 kilometres, every ship launches its remaining anti-ship missiles. Almost every one hits, reducing the Khorin battleship's shields to strength-366. Simultaneously, the alien warship launches twenty of the small attack craft that were encountered a week earlier. Tegus instructs his crews to ignore the attack craft and concentrate fire on the mothership as he doesn't want to give the huge ship time to recharge its shields. The mothership is armed with a large number of the same meson-based energy weapon mounted by the attack craft, except that it fires every five seconds instead of ten. The Federation fleet charges into a hail of fire. Once again Kovsgol is the target and is hit hard. Within a few seconds she is out of formation with over half her engines destroyed. Hostile fire switches to the battleship Onon-Balj. After twenty seconds of withering fire, she is combat ineffective. All her fire controls are destroyed, along with half her railguns and ninety percent of her engines.
Every combat-capable Federation ship keeps firing, battering down the powerful shields of their opponent. Suddenly, the alien mothership rams Onon-Balj and both ships vanish in a colossal explosion. Orlok Tegus Tegus is stunned. The Federation battleship was out of the fight and the Khorin were quickly gaining the upper hand in the brutal point blank slugging match. There was no apparent reason for the mothership to ram. The twenty fast attack craft remain though and they have adopted their familiar tactic of holding the range at 60,000 kilometres while pouring in meson fire. Tegus orders his ships to attempt to close the range. A futile gesture unless the aliens somehow miscalculate but one that has to be made.
Kovsgol blows up, finally surrendering to the torrent of fire that engulfs her. Enemy fire switches to Khan Kentii. In an attempt to take advantage of the Khorin tactic of concentrating on one target, Orlok Tegus Tegus orders Khan Kentii to head for the jump point, trying to bring the attack craft within weapon range of the other three surviving battleships. The attack craft just change target to another battleship, Khangal Kuruu. Next, Tegus tries splitting up his ships, once again trying to engineer a situation where one or more can get within weapon range. The attack craft react to every move, keeping the range open and always manoeuvring away from the closest ship, while continuing to fire every ten seconds. The battleship Chakhar is the third to die, swiftly followed by Khan Kentii and Khangal Kuruu. The flagship of Orlok Tegus Tegus, Altai Tavan, is the last to fall and the fleet commander does not survive her destruction.
The Mughal II class jump freighter that has been watching from the Darkhan jump point transits into Darkhan to relay a report to Venus. News of the disaster causes serious dissension within the Council. Despite the record of T'mjn and his strength of personality, for the first time there are rumblings among the clan chiefs regarding his leadership. T'mjn is well aware he must avenge the defeat in Kharkhorin or his grip on power will start to slip. Three more battleships will be available within four months but he cannot send them into action without better weapons and greater knowledge of what lies within Kharkhorin. Research efforts are redirected to improved energy weapons and faster missiles. He also orders design work on a stealthy scout craft. The greatest of Khaghan scientists, Temulun Yeran, is an expert in defensive technologies and has already developed many of the technologies required to reduce the cross-section and thermal signature of a ship.
28th April 1909HMS Sapphire transits a newly discovered jump point in Budapest, a system two jumps out from Berlin via Munich. She arrives two point five billion kilometres from Beta Comae Berenices, a G-type star about one third brighter than Sol. The star has four terrestrial planets, the fourth of which has gravity similar to Earth, a surface temperature of 45C and a nitrogen - methane atmosphere of 0.97 atm, plus a single gas giant with three moons. The fourth planet also has the wreck of a Courbet class Automata ship in orbit. Beta Comae Berenices is eighteen billion kilometres from Earth via the intervening jump points and about thirty light-years through Einsteinian space. The wreck indicates a potential Automata presence so HMS Sapphire departs the system and heads for Munich, where a message can be sent to Earth via the jump gate network.
30th April 1909The British Empire launches HMS Carnarvon and HMS Devonshire, the first two Devonshire class Survey Cruisers. Until their launch, the only geological survey ship in service was HMS Eclipse, last survivor of the original four ships of the Eclipse class. The Devonshires are the first dedicated survey cruisers to have their own jump drive, allowing them to operate independently of the jump-capable Scout Cruisers. While the Eclipse class was armed with four Mk1 Torpedo Launchers, the Devonshire is armed with a pair of 20cm Ultraviolet Lasers, removing the need for ordnance and giving the ship a jump point defence capability. Her top speed is two-thirds greater than her predecessor and she has more fuel-efficient engines. HMS Carnarvon and HMS Devonshire will allow the geological survey program of the Empire to get back on track and their first mission will be to visit the unsurveyed systems in the Proxima chain.
Devonshire class Survey Cruiser 10,000 tons 240 Crew 1635.4 BP TCS 200 TH 840 EM 0
4200 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/33/0/3 Damage Control Rating 9 PPV 12
Maint Life 4.46 Years MSP 920 AFR 88% IFR 1.2% 1YR 75 5YR 1122 Max Repair 147 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 0
MJD-100B Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 10000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Parson PN9E Internal Fusion Drive (2) Power 420 Fuel Use 14.35% Signature 420 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,250,000 Litres Range 156.8 billion km (432 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (2) Range 256,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Barr and Stroud FX-5 Primary Laser Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s
Tokamak Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Type 7 Active Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.9m km Resolution 120
EM33 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
Geological Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
ECM 20
14th May 1909The Khaghan Federation is starting to encounter its first resource shortages. The reserves of Gallicite and Tritanium in particular have dwindled with Sorium and Mercassium stockpiles also causing concern. No off-world Khaghan mining colonies have been established, primarily because the Sarai system is seen as the future resource centre of the Federation. Due to the recent arrival of the Cymru in that system and no way to remove them, at least in the short-term, plans for industrial expansion are on hold. T'mjn orders one of the colony ships waiting at the Sarai - Tenduk jump point to approach the colony on Sarai I via a circuitous route to see if any Cymru ships will appear to attack the Khaghan vessel. Since the destruction of the Khaghan jump cruiser on the Tsagaan Baishin jump point, there has been no sign of the Cymru. If they have left the system, T'mjn intends to resume colonization.
The Hazara II class colony ship arrives unscathed and deposits its fifty thousand colonists on Sarai I. On hearing the news, T'mjn orders the other ships waiting at the jump point to resume normal operations. The geological survey ship Ogadei Gurav is ordered to move directly to the Tsagaan Baishin jump point to confirm the absence of the Cymru ships.
21st May 1909Rome is a red dwarf binary system six transits from Sol via Proxima, Madras, Berlin, Munich and Istanbul. HMS Eclipse is surveying the planets of the B component while HMS Adventure and HMS Foresight have recently completed a gravitational survey, finding one new jump point. HMS Emerald escorts the two survey cruisers through the jump point into a planetless red dwarf system where they encounter Aimak Gurav, a Khaghan Aimak II class jump cruiser. There are a few tense moments before communication is established. Jaghunchi Tolui Boke, commanding Aimak Gurav, orders the three Royal Navy vessels to immediately leave the system, which he refers to as Suurin, and to also leave Rome, which he refers to as Soltaniyeh.
Captain Joseph Gould, commanding HMS Adventure and the senior British officer in the system, informs his Khaghan opposite number that his ships will withdraw through the jump point as requested but that the Rome system is a long-established part of the British Empire and will not be abandoned. He informs Jaghunchi Boke that any attempt to enter the Rome system will be met with force and suggests that Boke contact his superiors before initiating any action that both sides might regret. Before the Khaghan commander can formulate a response, HMS Emerald activates her jump drive and the three British cruisers transit back into Rome. The Empire's jump gate network already extends to the adjacent Istanbul system and Rome will join that network within two months when RFA Aeolus completes a new jump gate on the Rome - Istanbul jump point. Captain Gould orders HMS Emerald to travel the three billion kilometres to the Istanbul jump point to deliver the news to Earth while his own ship and HMS Foresight hold position on the jump point, ready to engage any transiting Federation ship with their torpedoes.
In Suurin, Jaghunchi Boke is faced with a dilemma. His instinct is to attack, even given the odds, but his duty is to inform the Federation of the events on the frontier. Suurin connects directly to the key crossroads system of Kerait Ordos, which is on the Federation jump gate network. His ship is almost three billion kilometres from the jump point but faster than the Royal Navy cruisers, which are designed for endurance rather than speed.
29th May 1909HMS Emerald is still en route to the Rome - Istanbul jump point when a Khaghan survey ship is detected entering orbit of Rome-B II. Already in orbit of the same planet is a shuttle named Antares. The Antares was built in February 1904 and has been used since that time to transport small teams around the Empire. She is currently waiting for the Sophie Kelly Geology Team to complete its survey of the planet. HMS Eclipse is two hundred and twenty million kilometres away, surveying the asteroid belt of the B component, so Captain Gould orders her to intercept the Khaghan vessel.
Antares class Shuttle 375 tons 10 Crew 60 BP TCS 7.5 TH 34 EM 0
4533 km/s JR 1-50 Armour 1-4 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Life 59.13 Years MSP 100 AFR 1% IFR 0% 1YR 0 5YR 1 Max Repair 10 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 120 months Spare Berths 0
Shuttle Jump Drive Max Ship Size 400 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 1
Shuttle Engine (3) Power 11.2 Fuel Use 20.29% Signature 11.2 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 118.3 billion km (301 days at full power)
An active sensor sweep from HMS Eclipse as she closes in reveals the Khaghan vessel is one of the recently launched 4000 ton Beki class survey ships. The intelligence services of the three powers maintain a close eye on the electronic signals emanating from each other home worlds. While they may not know the capabilities of new ships, it is relatively easy to determine their designations. HMS Eclipse hails the Beki and instructs it to depart the system via the Suurin jump point, without exceeding 2500 km/s.
Jaghunchi Tegus Jurgaghan, commanding the Beki Khoyor, is in a difficult position. There are no other Khaghan ships in the system and his own ship is unarmed. If the imposing 10,000 ton Royal Navy cruiser sitting 50,000 kilometres off his bow chose to do so, it could destroy his ship and no one from the Federation would know its fate, except that it failed to return home. He considers defying the order or running, especially as he believes his own ship is faster than the British cruiser, based on past scans by other Khaghan ships of this particular alien vessel and the instruction to not exceed 2500 km/s. However, while Beki Khoyor might outpace the ship, it wouldn't run very far if the British ship turned to out to be armed with missiles. Reluctantly, he accepts the demands of the alien cruiser and Beki Khoyor heads for the Lagrange point of the B component's ninth planet with the cruiser following in her wake.
30th May 1909Aimak Gurav transits into Kerait Ordos and transmits a report of the confrontation at the Suurin - Soltaniyeh jump point to Venus. T'mjn is faced with another humiliation. With the recent loss of the six Chakhars there is no way to force an entry to the Soltaniyeh system. Even if he could devote sufficient forces to do so, the growing strength of the Royal Navy in the Sol system would make the result of an interplanetary battle uncertain. The Council meets to discuss the incident and T'mjn is forced to admit the current weakness of the Federation Navy means a diplomatic solution is the only realistic short-term option. He does point out that the British Empire is not currently hostile and given the multiplicity of alien threats, it would be wise to maintain the status quo in any event. There are no habitable worlds in Soltaniyeh and the only terraforming candidate is far less attractive than Sarai I, so attacking a non-hostile race for possession of a system of limited value would be inadvisable even if it were possible. The Council is forced to agree with his logic but the perception of his weakness increases. T'mjn at least has the minor satisfaction of informing the British Empire of the incident before they hear of it from their own sources.
The British Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, is surprised to hear of the events in Suurin and even more surprised at the agreement of the Khaghan Federation to respect a border at the Suurin - Soltaniyeh jump point. He was informed by the Naval Intelligence Department of the Royal Navy that six 20,000 ton Federation ships left the Sol system some months earlier, so there was some concern those ships could be used to launch an unprovoked attack on a British colony via some unsuspected chain of jump points. Sir Henry, still weak from a heart attack that might have proved fatal were it not for the radical improvements in medical science over the preceding decades, consults Admiral Sir John Fisher and they agree to dispatch the Warrior class heavy cruisers HMS Alexander and HMS Leonidas to the Rome system to guard the Rome - Suurin jump point.
1st June 1909HMS Emerald transits into Rome and reports the events in Suurin. Her crew is surprised to learn the Khaghan Federation has already informed the Empire and agreed to the Suurin - Rome border without a fight. HMS Emerald is asked to deliver a message to Captain Gould, ordering him to hold the Rome - Suurin jump point until the heavy cruisers arrive. While Sir Henry and Sir John are relieved that a potentially explosive situation has apparently been defused, they are also taking precautions in case the Federation is not being entirely truthful about its intentions.
5th June 1909Ogadei Gurav arrives at the Sarai - Tsagaan Baishin jump point without incident. Initially, it seems that the Cymru warships that destroyed Aimak Dorov must have returned to Tsagaan Baishin. That assumption is cast aside less than twenty minutes later when nine strength-1 explosions cut holes in her paper-thin armour. There is no sign of her attackers but the Ogadei has extremely limited passive sensors and no active sensors. Ogadei Gurav runs for the Tenduk jump point. A second wave of missiles hits eighteen minutes later, suggesting the Cymru are some distance from the Tsagaan Baishin jump point. Two more waves are sufficient to destroy the fleeing survey vessel. Once again, operations in Sarai come to a halt.
to be continued...
