Aurora 4x
Fiction => Aurora => Chrislocke's Fiction => Topic started by: chrislocke2000 on August 05, 2013, 05:27:25 PM
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Prelude
2058 January
Luyten 310:
Major General Alex Thornton stood motionless atop a small hill gazing up at the azure glow of Luyten 310’s now familiar setting sun. In front of him the shadows slowly lengthened against the neat rows of still fresh white grave stones. In the distance the first lights from the Tamarind Union’s principal conurbation where coming to life whilst overhead drones from the 111th Heavy Assault battalion darted to and fro, continuing their vigil against further unrest.
Finally the last of the day’s sunlight and its feeble warmth ebbed away leaving Marks as a shadowy figure in the twilight. Thornton stood for another hour, determined to commit memory the names and faces of the men and women he had lost. Finally satisfied, Thornton snapped off a last sharp salute and turned to make his way back down the hill to the divisional staging area where the fleets heavy lift shuttles stood waiting for embarkation.
After four months of heavy ground fighting and a further eight months of arduous counter-insurgency actions the three divisions of the Terran Federation All Arms forces had finally managed to restore a semblance of order on the Tamarind’s home world. Production was almost up to 60% of estimated capacity, people had starting paying their taxes again and the number and intensity of riots had fallen to such a level that the Admiralty no longer felt the need for the ongoing deployment of all three divisions. The TFAA was also close to completing the training of eight new battalions of garrison troops from the more supplicant citizens - potentially allowing for a further draw down of troops. Expectations and rumours were abound as to who else might get off the rock.
After nearly 8 months in space and having endured more than four months of intense street to street fighting Thornton was finally going home.
Commodore Emma Thorp stood to one side of the CIC watching the dawn break across the Eastern Hemisphere of Luyten A IV. To her left the tactical plot showed the ships of Carrier Group Charlie arrayed in high orbit whilst below them the troop ships of the two TFAA task groups hung almost in the atmosphere whilst they waited for the landing shuttles to return. Further out the two Salvage task groups continued their herculean task of clearing the system of the hundreds of wrecks left over from the invasion and the Tamarind Union’s apparent war with the Followers of Khom. With the wrecks being the only readily available source of Duranium in the system their work was of particular importance. Finally, sat some 2.4bn km distant were the aging frigates of strike group alpha which were sustaining the picket of the Iota Persi jump gate.
Whilst her fleet officers busied themselves monitoring the embarkation of the troops and the refuelling of the fleet Thorp silently fumed. Despite the crushing defeat that the fleet had inflicted on the Union and the apparent superiority of their technology to the Republic, Thorp remaining unconvinced about the Federation’s hold on Luyten. The ships had expending a huge portion of their missile stockpiles both taking the system and then defending it against the Republic. Missiles were now finally being built on the planet but it would be months before they would have full bunkers again and longer still before any sort of strategic reserve was formed. Meanwhile the link to Earth remained tenuous at best. With no jump gate network in place the Federation was still heavily limited in the supplies it could send forward even before the 48bn km round trip was taken into account.
Despite all of this Thorp had now received orders to further spread out both her ships and troops in order to secure a further outpost of the Union’s. That particular colony had been discovered in Iota Persei of all places, a system just one jump from the Follower’s own home system. If there was a way to kick a hornet’s nest when your pants were down this was surely it. Her one en-route relief group of a further six aging frigates were now going to have to be immediately deployed just to cover the troop ships. She could see that the troops were going to be mightily unhappy when they found out they weren’t actually heading home.
Administrator Laura Bolton tossed fitfully in her bed. Outside the drone the of the troop shuttle engines made sleep all but impossible, not that she was having much luck sleeping at the best of times in any case. Laura had initially been elated when she was elected to govern the Union’s home planet however it had taken a matter of days to realise she had been served a truly poisoned chalice. What really rankled was she couldn’t for the life of her figure out just who back on Earth she had upset so much to be given the job.
She had been expecting the mass civil disobedience when she set out. What she hadn’t been expecting was the Union’s disastrous economic conditions. The planet was devoid of Duranium and several other critical minerals, there had been critical under investment in research, maintenance facilities, off world mining and fuel production. Of those not conscripted into the forces some 110m were left unemployed and deeply unhappy. Laura could only imagine what kind of state the Union had run to keep a lid on it all.
The TFAAs salvagers had been a life saver. By providing a small source of minerals it had enabled the Unions industry to be restarted, new militia to be trained and the maintenance facilities at least brought to the stage where they could support the Navy’s ships. It was however a temporary patch on a far larger issue. As the army got a grip on the population and more people went back to work the demand on minerals was going to grow massively, likely causing the population to spiral back into open revolt, yet she still had no idea on how to address the situation and the clock was ticking.
Delta Pavonis
Administrator Morris slumped back on his bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. The 27 hour day continued to play havoc with his internal body clock even after more than a year on the planet. That, combined with the gruelling pace of the development of the colony, which left him attempting to juggling an increasingly complex work load was starting to have a significant impact on his health. The local doctors had already warned him that he risking long term illness if he continued as he was.
But what choice did he have? The discovery of huge quantities of easily accessible Neutronium, easily the rarest and most sort after of all of the trans newtonium minerals, on the planet in 2024 had led to a frenzy of activity by the Federation. Adding in the fact that the planet was ripe for terraforming and that it had substantial quantities of other minerals as well had made it the number one piece of real estate outside the Sol system.
Ever since then there had been a steady stream of colony ships with families keen to make their fortune, freighters with mines and planetary infrastructure and the TFAA with their PDCs, deep space tracking stations and battalions of garrison troops. The population now numbered over twenty one million and showed no sign of slowing. Much more of this and Morris simply wasn’t going to be able to cope. God forbid the day when the huge terraforming ships stationed in orbit actually got the atmosphere breathable and unleashed the final constraints on the growth of the colony.
Sol
John Carter leaned back in his desk chair, a half full tumbler of scotch in his hand and a broad grin on his face. The last year had been frantic, with the on-going shortages of Neutronium, the Federation’s finances stretched to the limit and the on-going war with the Tamarind, John had had little chance to do more than just run from one crisis to another. Now however the founding of the mining colony on Delta Parvonis and the successful invasion of the Union’s home world and their subsequent surrender had brought both security of resources and a glut of wealth to the Federation. The twin boon was fuelling a surge in growth around the whole of the federation and the latest opinion polls showed that the population’s opinion of the Federation was at an all-time high.
Admittedly the Federation was now running a huge deficit to fund the growth but even at current rates it would have over twenty years to rebalance the economy – more than an age in the world of politics.
Meanwhile the industrial and military might of the Federation continued to grow. Advances in science meant that even the ships of the Mech’s could no longer match the Federation’s fleets and all of the other races so far encountered appeared to be similarly well behind their numerous advances.
The hard work had indeed paid off and now John felt like celebrating. Swivelling in his chair, John moved to look down on the vibrant lights of London sprawling out 30 floors below his penthouse office suite before lifting his glass in salute and downing the remainder of his drink.
A decidedly frostier atmosphere hung in Rear Admiral Shots briefing room where he sat glaring at his staff officers. The fleet had just lost yet another of its deep space survey vessels to the Mech’s. The Federation’s continued refusal to allow the formation of an appropriately armed exploration wing was costing the Navy yet more hulls and the lives of good men. It was also stretching his remaining resources.
Carrier Group Bravo was already boosting away from Sol, headed for Mu Arae, the location of the Navy’s most recent loss. Meanwhile Carrier Group Charlie remained stretched out trying to secure both Luyten and the surrounding systems. Carrier Alpha was headed back in system from the most recent encounter with the Mech’s and would surely need its bunkers and magazines refilling once more, placing yet more strain on the military’s infrastructure. A fourth carrier group was being constructed but that was months away meaning it would be well over a year before the crews were adequately trained to actually take up active service. The Navy was so far stretched it had been forced to bring its first generation, 28 year old, frigate groups back to the front lines.
Someone in government needed to start paying note to the Navy. The Federation was simply grow to fast and too far for the Navy to keep up. Shots knew it was just a matter of time before even the superhuman efforts of the fleet failed to deliver and when that happened all hell was going to break lose.
Eta Cassiopeiae
Administrator Dominic Shah stared wearily at Colonel Atkins latest set of reports. Despite the heavy presence of the 11 mobile infantry battalions the population continued to raise regular protests against the apparent indifference of the Federation to their situation. Finally however it seemed that someone back on Sol was taking note as the latest missive from back home indicated that the TFAA were now moving to mobilise and install a number of PDCs on the planet. As far as he was concerned they couldn’t get there soon enough as he had to admit she felt much the same was as many of the colonists.
Eta Cassiopere had once been the darling system of the empire. As a dead end system it was seen as highly defensible, it also benefited from excellent resources and had a number of potentially terraformable worlds. Then the discovery of Alien ruins on AII, one of those close to Earth like planets, had led to a frenzy of scientific activity which had catapulted the system to the heart of the Federations extra solar policy.
Then came what is only referred to now as “the incident”. Royal Engineers had uncovered a vault of robotic soldiers close to the same time that a clerical error had led to their supposed security detachment being delivered to the wrong planet in the system. The robotic soldiers had quickly overwhelmed the poorly armed engineers but in doing so lost control of the planets mass driver. It took the TFAA over two months to take back control of the colony and restart the mass driver by which time every last one of the 250,000 colonists and almost all of the infrastructure that had been on the planet had perished under the bombardment of mineral packets from the outlying planets.
Despite the resulting capture of several intact Mech troop ships, which resulted in massive leaps in engine and sensor technology the system never recovered. The lure of yet unidentified technology continued to draw colonists back but from when there had been a flood of new settlers there was just a trickle and even this dried up once the last of the ruins had been uncovered.
Whilst the outer planets were asset rich, the 16bn km one way journey from the jump gate to them had severely curtailed the amount of infrastructure and mines being delivered, especially since Delta Parvonis had been opened up.
GJ 1065
Colonel Isabella Foster forced herself to take some slow deep breaths, a relatively difficult task given that she was hanging upside down in the buried circuitry of another of the Mech’s abandoned installations. After more than two years on the planet as CO of the 41st Engineer Brigade Isabella had helped to recover numerous industrial installations, mineral stock piles, ship components, several significant scientific finds and even the occasional vault of robotic soldiers, yet the thrill of actually getting one of the installations up and running never went away. Gingerly she reached forward to finish replacing the corroded terminals that would hopefully bring yet another installation back on line. Moments later and the now familiar crackle of machinery coming back to life fed through her suits microphones. With a satisfied grunt Isabella pinged her number two to haul her out of the whole.
Tonight the brigade would celebrate another successful restart but there would be little rest for them and the other five brigades on the planet. With almost three hundred potential sits still to be explored the expedition was still really only just getting started.
107 Piscium
Kai Winter stifled a yarn whilst following Commander Rhys Hodgson through the cramped hallways of the planets recently constructed anti-missile defence centre. Kai knew he should be paying more attention but he struggled when the subject matter wasn’t one of his areas of expertise in construction and ship production.
Originally tasked to help build the fledgling colony on 107 Piscium, the gateway system between Sol and the empires of the Tamarind Union, the Followers of Khom, the Democratic People’s Republic of Caleb and the Kunming Commonwealth, Kai had thrown himself into his work setting up the necessary infrastructure for the several million colonists, the TFAAs ground forces and defence bases and ostensibly the Navy’s forward operating area in this area of space needed.
The successful invasion of the Union’s home planet, just one jump away, had however brought development of 107 Piscium to a grinding halt and with it the needs of his skills. What he needed now, more than any tiresome preening by the latest Navy boy to land on the rock, was a way back to civilisation.
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2058 March
Iota Persei
Thornton inched forward in order to get a better view of the enemies’ positions. Within moments he was met with the dull hum of rounds passing overhead in the thin atmosphere whilst several more rounds kicked up dirt close by. Thornton hurriedly completed his scan then dropped behind the relative safety of the scree sloop he and his command team were lying on.
The initial invasion of A-III had gone well with the limited opposition to their landing seeming to indicate that the Int. boys had for once gotten in right in their assessment of the Union’s remaining ground forces.
Two weeks in however and it was clearly proving not to be the case. The 114th and 121st had already taken significant casualties in the advance to date and as far as Thornton could work out they were facing close to a divisional force of well equipped, motivated and well positioned defenders. What’s more those defenders had managed to suck his forces forward allowing a number of effective counter attacks to his flanks.
High in orbit above them the frigates of Striker group Bravo, with no energy weapons equipped in their aging hulls, watched on helplessly.
Thornton knew he was going to need to make a move soon but with one Brigade tied up keeping the drop zone secure he just lacked the troops for the required push. Something needed to change and soon. Not for the first time he briefly lamented his efforts to get his men home first.
2058 April
Mu Arae
Commodore Catherine Miller on board the light cruiser Gaul watched as the ships of Carrier Group Bravo slipped past the tumbling debris of the four Mech cruisers and six FACs they had so far encountered and destroyed in the system. Some 1.2bn km ahead the black box of the wrecked Type 1102 survey corvette continued to broadcast the ship’s distress code, a bleak reminder of the continuing dangers of exploring space in unarmed vessels.
The Mech presence in the system was higher than most recent encounters prompting Fleet to initiate a full planet by planet sweep of the system before more survey vessels were dispatched to look for more potentially salvageable remnants of the Mech society.
Iota Persei
Thornton hunkered down in a small shell scape looking out at the slumped bodies of his men. Although he couldn’t see their faces through the visors of the Mk VII’s powered armour he knew they were hurting.
Another month of heavy fighting had seen his troops make a number of significant gains against the Union’s forces but it had cost them more men and equipment then he wanted. Most were also anxious about the departure of the troop transport group and Striker Group Bravo. Much as they had ben near enough useless to date it was at least comforting that someone was up there watching.
It had taken the Int. boys more than two weeks to work out they had seriously screwed up on their estimates of the opposing force but at least they were now rushing to try and resolve the problem with a further division in Luyten being ordered to make ready for departure despite the expected lack of coverage that would leave on the Union’s still restless home planet. That had however required the measly force of Striker Group Bravo to cover the transfer back to Luyten leaving Thornton’s men without either a means of retreat or any protection. Worse yet, there were rumours spreading that the Followers of Khom had made a number of probing attacks on the ships of the recently brought forward Striker Group Alpha task group which was currently protecting the Luyten jump gate – their only eventual way out of the system.
Unbeknownst to Thornton, the rumour mill had for once gotten it entirely correct. Striker Group Alpha had already engaged and destroyed two hostiles in system and was now starting to run low on missiles.
2058 May
Iota Persei
Thornton sat in the old command post of once had once been one of the Union’s garrison troops. Strewn around him lay several data pads setting out in more detail then he cared the extent of the casualties the Division had so far taken. The 121st were nearly at one third strength, whilst three others had lost a third of their fighting strength. Very few of his units were left at full strength and at this rate the battle was going to turn into one of slow attrition as they gradually lost their ability to fight any decisive engagements.
After another month of heavy fighting he had finally managed to move several battalions of 120 Brigade into flanking position that had allowed them to roll up several hostile units, savaging them in the process. The assault had however run out of steam, bogged down with a stretched supply line and a lack of fresh forces to maintain the momentum.
Picking up the nearest data pad he forced the thoughts from his mind, his men were relying on him more than ever to pull them through this and he was damned if he was going to sit on his arse waiting for some Navy hot shot to come swinging back round to rescue them.
Eta Cassiopeiae
Administrator Shah watched on as the last of the PDC components were offloaded from the freighter fleet now hanging in orbit around the planet. It would still be more than six months before the first of the two anti-missile batteries would be operational and of course the Navy had not as yet deemed to actually deliver any missiles to shoot with however the air on the street was already calming. Perhaps there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel for Dominic.
2058 June
Iota Persei
The incessant beeping of a high priority incoming message finally roused Thornton from his fitful sleep. Bleary eyed, Thornton struggled to read the time stamp in the corner of his suit's HUD. On reflex he reached his hands up to rub his eyes only for them to hit the armoured visor. Cursing, he resorted to blinking rapidly to try and clear his blurred vision. The failed attempts of his admittedly meagre engineering team to get the Union's command post environmental system to provide a tolerable atmosphere for them had meant that almost all of the troops were continuing to rely on the forward NBC decontamination units as the only facilities where they could strip down from their suits, take a shower and eat something other than the piped energy slush their suits normally provided, With mounting casualties the forward the field hospitals were also stretched and had started leaving patients in the NBC containers meaning there was a rapidly reducing amount of space in those in any case. This now left all the able troops spending weeks on end confined to their suits. Not a problem for their Mk18's which had been designed to allow the troops to fight for extended periods in inhospitable environments but it brought a new meaning to the term "dirty war".
Finally he managed to focus, it was just past 4 am Zulu time, he had been asleep for all of 45 minutes. Thornton's eyes widened when he finally looked down to the message ping, it was coming in on a heavily encrypted carrier wave, one that had not been released for use in the system given the Follower's unknown Intel gathering capacity in the system. What's more the carrier wave had a naval identifier, the relief fleet wasn't due back in orbit for another 45 days or so even on the most optimistic basis. Thornton jabbed down on his wrist communicator set to complete the authentication codes and accept the message.
A few seconds later the authentication procedures completed and his suit received a burst data packet along with a short voice comm. " Major General Thornton, this is Commodore Alex Shaw of the temporary Task Group Cobra. Apologies for the one way comm and lack of more advanced warning, the Followers have been increasingly active in the system so we had to get in range for a focused burst transmission. We are inbound the planet, approximately 100m km out, ET full comms established 4 hours 23 mins, ET lower orbit achieved 5 hours 13 mins. Attached data pack contains handshake protocols and fire control procedures for low orbit energy weapon targeted ground bombardment missions as well as weapon packages available for deployment. Request full SITREP, insertion point co-ords and initial fire missions at 0848Z. Shaw out."
Thornton leapt from the dusty corner of the small room he had been using to sleep in, thumbing the general broadcast switch for his command group as he did so. "I want everyone in the command post and ready for an O group in two minutes. Battalion commanders are to move all reserve units to 30 minutes NTM and complete full RESUP of all forward units by 0700Z". He screamed down the mike. Judging by the closing speed the Navy boys were redlining their engines to get the ships into orbit as fast as possible and the only ships with the weapon packages on the table were the carrier groups escort destroyers. Someone had taken a mighty gamble splitting up the fleet to deliver the orbital support he so desperately needed and having waiting for nearly two months he was damned if his men were now going to be late to the fireworks.
Still tens of millions of kilometres away, Commodore Shaw paced nervously about the command centre of the light carrier Ecuador. The Cobra task group, made up of the Ecuador and the Type 312 destroyers England, Estonia, Ethiopia and Fiji hurtled towards the planet at 5500kms. As guessed by Thornton the task group was indeed pushing their engines to the limit. Commodore Thorpe had reacted immediately once she understood the extent of the plight of the troops. However she had just broken most of the rules in the book by splitting her Carrier group from its protective force of destroyers. Shaw was under strict instructions to get in, destroy the hostiles and get back to the Carriers as soon as possible. He knew therefore that the next couple of hours were going to be critical. If the ships did not deliver a significant blow to the Union’s forces over the course of the first few orbits they would likely entrench themselves further, greatly reducing the Task Group’s impact and in turn stretching the time they would have to remain in orbit.
At 0848 exactly, the watch officer reported that a secure comms link had been established with the TFAA’s ground forces and that they were receiving the requested information as well as a great slug of fire missions. Shaw’s C&C team immediately sprang into action analysing the information and allocating the fire missions to each of the destroyers.
Shaw flicked his comms line. “120 zero alpha, this is Cobra”. Nothing but light static greeted him. Shaw tried again “120 zero alpha, this is Cobra”. Another moment of static then a gravelly voice responded “Cobra, 120 zero alpha, data sent, confirm insertion time and fire control acknowledgement. 120 standing by for execution of operation Punchbag per SITREP. H-Hour set at 0923Z”. Shaw grinned, he had heard that Thornton was one tough nut professional. Looking up he got the nod from his ops team whilst at his monitor fire solution data started scrolling across his tactical display. “120 zero alpha, SITREP and fire missions acknowledged, insertion at 0919Z, fire missions will commence 0921Z, confirm operation Punchbag, out”. Clearly Shaw would need to leave the pleasantries with the Major General to some other time.
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2058 July
Luyten 1305-10
Laura Bolton watched on as the latest consignment of salvage was delivered from the orbiting reclamation group. The delivery could not come soon enough to feed the prodigious appetite of the Union’s old industrial might. In the last few months Laura had managed to raise output by over twenty per cent through careful negotiation of the civilian elders. Whilst this was working wonders to steadily improve the living conditions of millions of the civilian population it was placing a huge strain on immediately available resources.
Unfortunately, the recent departure of four further Brigades of troops in support of the Iota Persei expedition had pretty much smashed all of the gains she had fought so hard for these last few months. Levels of civil disobedience had rocked just days after their departure leaving Brigadier Charlotte Steele with too many incidents and too few troops to deal with them.
Whatever the troops were doing in Iota Persei, Laura hoped they would be back soon, otherwise things could well spiral back out of control.
Mu Arae
Commodore Miller sat back in her command chair listening to her officer of the watch. “All ships report secure and ready for jump. Carthage reports jump engines spun up and ready for warp bubble initiation.” “Carry on Commander” responded Miller, “let’s get this fleet home for some well-deserved R&R”.
Carrier Group Bravo had finally completed its extensive scan of the system, identifying a single Mech listening post as their only remaining presence in the system. With the location marked it would now just be a matter for the TFAA to decide if they wanted to launch an expedition to take the facilities and what stores they may still contain.
In the meantime Miller had 51 days before her return to Earth. A chance to finally catch up on the mountains of paper work queued in her data pad. “All systems green, initiating jump” called the officer of the watch whilst Miller mused as to why on earth it was still called paperwork.
Iota Persei
Thornton picked his way carefully through the broken remains of what looked to have been a mining facility. Ahead lay the first of the Union's habitat domes whilst all about him lay the signs of a military force in full route. Gun emplacements and munitions boxes lay abandoned along with many more personal items, a sure sign that the few remaining troops were rapidly losing the will to fight. From his Brigade commander's reports he knew that, aside from a few pockets of resistance, the situation was the same across the whole of the battle front. It was surely now just a matter of weeks and a mopping up exercise to take full control of the planet and force the surrender of the civilian population.
The arrival of Commodore Shaw's task group had been pivotal in turning the tide of the battle both in terms of the huge re-balancing of the opposing forces and the massive morale boost it had given the men. Even he had to admit that it had been a mightily impressive display of fire power. The five ships of the task group had hit the atmosphere still travelling at several hundred kilometres per second, a speed that even in the relatively low atmospheric pressure of the planet would have instantly destroyed any not TN vessel. As it was the resulting shock wave had rattled everything on the ground within several hundred kilometres whilst the ships themselves left huge glowing contrails of light as they smashed through the atmosphere.
The engagement timing had worked like clockwork with the destroyers opening up on the front lines with their 15cm lasers mere moments before his troops had begun their advance. The barrage had left the Union's troops in disarray and unable to effectively repel the assault. Subsequent passes by Cobra had smashed the Union's QRF units and their flanking positions enabling the TFAAs troops to force a number of salients deep into enemy territory, cutting many of them off from one another.
Wishing to keep collateral damage to a bare minimum, the task group had ceased firing long before the wealth of targets had dried up. Instead they had then just hung in close orbit, acting as an hugely effective deterrent to any attempts by the Union to redeploy or consolidate their remaining forces. By the time the task group departed some ten days later the tide had been well and truly turned. Subsequently, whilst the Union's forces had continued to fight for every scrap of ground, forcing the TFAA to pay for their advances, their smashed supply lines and isolation had meant those who did continue to fight were quickly destroyed.
Commodore Shaw sat re-reading the report he would soon need to send up the line, checking for any discrepancies or contradictory statements for the third time. In a few hours his temporary task force would jump back into Luyten 1305 and with it his command of the group. Then he would be left having to answer for his actions.
By all accounts the mission had been a huge success. Cobra’s new suicidal orbital insertion had allowed them to achieve near complete surprise on the hostile forces allowing Thornton’s men to surge forward. Unfortunately the lack of a full atmospheric survey and the hasty engagement had meant that destroyers had been unable to adequately compensate for the diffractive effects of the atmosphere. This was immediately corrected but not before a number of stay shots had incinerated several habitat domes and civilian facilities. Thankfully the level of casualties were very low but it would likely still lead to a formal court martial as demanded by the Federation.
Following the formation of the Federation, shortly after the end of what is now only referred to as “The Last War” one of their first acts had been to ban the military’s use of lethal weapons against civilian populations no matter where they were or what they stood for. He would undoubtedly be held to account and would surely be the scapegoat if any self-serving Politian back on Earth needed someone to fall on their sword.
Shaw’s revere was broken by the chime of his intercom. “Sir, all ships report secure and ready for jump. Our jump engines are spun up and ready for warp bubble initiation.” “Very good Lieutenant” replied Shaw, “Initiate jump and please send the data pack I’m forwarding to you now one we re-establish communications with Commodore Thorp.”
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2058 August
Sol
Administrator Carter clapped politely whilst watching the bulky forms of the latest Type 422 light cruisers, the Holland and Hungary, eased their way out of the docks. The ships would immediately begin a short shakedown cruise followed by an intensive year of training before being released to the Navy for final commissioning. Carter couldn’t quite figure out Rear Admiral Shots, one minute he was screaming for additional ships and then the next he was demanding they waste a year further refining their training. That coming after he had already dismantled the Navy academies’ previous training regime, substantially raising the bar and slowing down the through put of new recruits. By the time the next three carriers came off the line the Navy’s academies were going to be all but bare.
At least the research campuses were making good progress with recent breakthroughs in the design of fast attack engines, fire control systems and ship building techniques. Hopefully the boffins were going to be able to design some smaller vessels to provide useful in-system defence without the expense of significant maintenance facilities and ordnance.
Meanwhile he knew he was going to have to push Howl a lot harder if he was ever going to get the growth rates on Delta Pavonis up to acceptable levels. He had a lot of his own personal investments tied up in that system and there was no way he was going to let some half incompetent member of his team wreck that opportunity for him. In fact, Carter thought, now may be the ideal time to find a more competent person to take on that role.
As if on cue his pa pinged him, interrupting his thoughts. “Sir, message from Rear Admiral Shots, Carrier Group Bravo has just made the jump back into Sol. Commodore Miller reports the destruction of 4 destroyers and 6 fast attack ships. The Task Group suffered no casualties and successfully completed a full sweep of the system. One Mech outpost located, expects a listening post. Miller now making cruise speed to Earth for resupply and rearm”. Carter grinned, this was just the positive news he needed to help staunch the outcries of those calling for armed escorts for the survey corvettes and should probably earn him a few points jump in the polls.
Iota Persei
“Sir, the 141st reports all clear as well. That completes the sweep of all of the hab modules and the mining facilities. As far as we can tell all of the mines are automated and there’s not so much as a bunch of caretakers living in all these buildings”. “Ok Colonel, I want a defensive perimeter set up by 1730Z, drop zones cleared and logistics on line by 2355Z. Oh and find me someone who can hack into their computers and tell my why those crazed idiots just fought to the last to defend a virtually empty chunk of rock. Thornton out”.
Thornton turned to his naval liaison, “Captain would you please signal the fleet that we have now secured the planet and found no signs of civilians. For what it’s worth you can also send them the latest SITREPs from each of the Brigades”.
With the troops occupied, Thornton turned his attention to the finally tally of casualties his command had suffered as a result of the. The results on the readiness state of many of the units made grim reading:
111th – 82%, 112th – 89%, 113th – 70%, 114th – 70%, 120th – 84%, 121st – 39%, 123rd – 69%, 132nd – 84%, 134th – 71%, and the 143rd – 72%. In all he had lost almost three battalions of troops in the assault. Whilst he recognised that the losses could have been far worse had the Navy not intervened and the relief Division not arrived 15 days ago, the extent of the losses left him angered by both the TFAA’s poor Intel and the pointless fanaticism of the Union’s troops.
Several hours later Thornton got another ping. “Sir, Captain Evans here from the 120th combat engineer support group. We’ve just managed to crack the encryptions on all of these mining facilities and thought you’d want to see the results straight away, looks like we are sat on a goldmine. No wonder those fuzz heads fought so hard for it”.
Thornton quickly flipped on his data pad to check the results and had to admit they seemed pretty impressive even for just a grunt like him.
Duranium 2,238,730 0.7
Neutronium 886,617 0.8
Corbomite 6,730,852 0.6
Tritanium 994,214 0.7
Boronide 1,163,347 0.6
Mercasium 0 0
Vendarite 2,040,053 0.1
Sorium 2,147,791 1.0
Corundium 158,493 0.3
Gallicite 574,418 0.7
With that kind of mineral wealth no wonder the Union and the Followers had been fighting over the system. Trouble was that meant that the Followers were probably in no mood to give up on the find whilst the Federation desperately needed the resources to maintain the Union’s planetary economy. Thornton sat back, thinking about it, it was probably the worst find they could have made. This end of the Federation was unlikely to be getting friendly any time soon and that meant his men would likely be called upon again and soon.
2058 September
GJ 1065
Colonel Foster sat back in her desk chair re-listening to the brief transmission she had just received from one of the Union’s appropriated mineral survey vessels. It appeared that someone back on Earth had finally taken note of the number of finds her engineers had been finding and were now looking to capitalise on her efforts.
A gate construction ship was due in system in the next ten days or so. Once complete the gate would connect GJ 1065 to the wider Federation network enabling far more rapid communication and more importantly an easy means to send the bulk freights of the merchant navy through to collect the precious installations.
Worryingly the message also contained orders for her to divert one the engineer brigades to re-configured the huge swaths of habs on the planet to sustain a population of Union civilians. Quite how she was going to manage the security of both the dig sites and the habs going forwards was beyond her at the moment.
Finally she realised that her quiet corner of space was about to get a whole lot busier as the Navy had now ordered all of the three unexplored warp points to explored by a two jumps out in order to ensure there were no surprised lurking round the figurative corner.
Luyten 1305-10
Commodore Shaw was feeling decidedly better than he had for quite a few weeks. The latest reports back from Major General Thornton had confirmed that Iota Persei A-III had contained nothing but automated mines and empty hab modules when he attacked the planet’s defensive forces. Whilst still not off the hook yet, the fact that there had been no actual loss of civilian life would go a huge way to mitigating any findings of the court and would hopefully save his career. His chance for a fleet command of his own might not yet be over.
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2058 October
Luyten 1305-10
Commodore Shaw stood stiffly to attention, waiting for the holo-imager to connect. The air conditioning units of the TFS Gaul’s wardroom were struggling to cope with the combined heat of the packed room and the various comms equipment that had been hastily installed for the court-martial. Shaw could feel sweat starting to bead on his forehead but wasn't sure if it was the heat or the looming camera drone that was causing it. The fact that it was three in the morning local time was not helping either but that was just one of the challenges of the trial. Whatever the verdict, he just wanted it over with now.
With no senior ranking officer in the system the Navy had decided to make use of the recently completed jump gate network to facilitate a remote trial back from back on Earth. Despite the wonders of FTL comms and the relay networks of the jump gates it still took over 8 hours for messages to travel one way between the two. This had resulted in a painfully long trial which was now in its second month. Ordinarily it should have taken no more than a few days for the judge to reach a verdict.
Shaw had no idea which way it was going to go, the Earth based prosecutor had argued vehemently that he should stand trial for crimes against humanity despite the complete lack of casualties given that civilians were expected to be present when he performed his attacks on the planet. They had picked apart every order he had given and decision made in the run to the planet and the subsequent attack. The defence had done a similarly excellent job in justifying his decisions, highlighting the lack of information available, the desperate position of the TFAA's own forces and the on-going threat of the Followers in the system as well. The media attention that the case was getting was not helping either and Shaw could not help but think that the decision may in some way be getting decided by public sentiment back home - fortunately or not, that was equally split in opinion.
In front of him the holo-imager buzzed into life as it down loaded the long awaited data package from Earth and with it the verdict. The room quickly hushed and many unconsciously leaned forward to listen despite the extensive PA system. Shaw dared to flick a quick look to Commodore Thorpe, she was looking equally uncomfortable and rightly so. It was her orders that had led to the attack and forced the departure from standard operating procedures. If the decision went bad for him it was more than likely to have a knock on impact for her own command.
Finally the glow from the imager coalesced into the view of an equally packed court room back in London Greenwich. Seated at the centre of the throng was Rear Admiral Shots, his usual stony expression giving nothing away. Clearly with a cue from somewhere out of the camera's field of view, [Thorn] began. "I'm not going to sum up the case again as we have all worked through too many iterations of that already. Suffice to say that this has been a difficult case that has highlighted yet again how war can bring out both the greatest and worst sides of human nature, It is precisely because of this that the Navy remains absolutely dedicated to the principals and laws laid down at the founding of our dear Federation now almost 40 years ago". Shaw swallowed hard. "It is these same laws that demand a fair and full trial for any accused, the right for justice, free from bias and external influence and the duty of those discharged with upholding the law to remain objective and impartial". Shaw grimaced, this was increasingly sounding like a political conclusion given the pains that the rear admiral was going to to say it wasn't. "Therefore, having carefully weighed up the arguments for both the prosecution and defence this court finds Commodore Shaw, on the three counts as follows". Shaw realised he was holding his breath and forced himself to start breathing slowly again. "On the count of war crimes against non-combatants, not guilty. On the count of reckless endangerment of non-combatants, not guilty. Finally, on the count of negligence in the performance of his duties the court finds Commodore Shaw guilty".
Shaw rocked back on his heels, fighting to remain calm. Just as he feared, it was the full political stich up. By finding him not guilty on the more serious charges they had absolved Commodore Shaw of any repercussions and kept who they consider to be the most capable leader in the region firmly in place. Whilst he would avoid any capital punishment the charge of negligence undoubtedly meant the end of his career.
"In setting sentence the court has taken into account both the severity of the crime and Commodore Shaw's long, distinguished and unblemished career with the Navy. The court believes that this isolated incident is one that Commodore Shaw can learn from. He is therefore stripped of his rank of commodore and all of the rights and privileges and demoted to the rank of captain. Furthermore he is stripped of his captaincy of the TFS Ecuador with immediate effective. Captain Shaw will return to Earth on the next available transport for final debriefing and reassignment. Court dismissed".
The roar of the London court echoed through the PA system as it was matched by a similar clamour in the Gaul's wardroom. Shaw grasped the edge of the table to steady himself, not quite believing the roller coaster of events. In two sentences Shots had managed to hang him out to dry, reel him in and deliver a defiant statement to the politicians of Earth. There were certainly interesting times ahead.
In the background he could just make out the sounds of Shots calling his court room to order whilst Commodore Miller attempted to do much the same on her own ship.
GJ 1065
Colonel Isabella Foster listen idly to the chatter between the ground station and the massive gate construction ship now hanging in space some 2.38bn km. The ship had arrived right on cue and had immediately set to work constructing a stable gate back into 107 Piscium. The whole process was expected to be completed before the end of the year.
In the meantime the ship’s ability to maintain a small warp tunnel back into Federation space had spurred a new lease of life for the hundreds of troops and engineers previously cut off from the wider world often for months at a time. A substantial black market in data transfer allowances had quickly developed as many sought to communicate with loved ones back home or just hear the latest news on the battle with the Followers.
Foster was however far more interested in the results of the probes of the three other jump points in the system and what they might mean.
Iota Persei
Thornton took once last look around before trudging up the ramp of the shuttle waiting to take him and his command group back up to the waiting transports which were in turn making ready for the trip back to Luyten 1305-10. Behind him the 63rd, 64th, 68th and 69th assault infantry Brigades continued to dig back in, their orders to reinforce the defences until PDCs could be manufactured and brought out. Now out of sight but still at the forefront of his mind was were the graves of the young men and women he was again leaving behind.
Sol
Rear Admiral Shots stood, a glass of champagne in his hand, making small talk with a variety of minor signatories. After the pain of the recent court martial he was glad to be able to take part in some more positive outings. In front of him the huge orbiting construction that was the Mars Shipyards panned out, dwarfing every other structure in space within the Federation. This was in many respects the true heart of the Navy and his seat of power. Even now workers continued to expand the multiple slips and update the manufacturing facilities.
Today would see the launch of the final three Project 001 ModE light carriers, the Gambier Bay, Long Island and Nassau. Despite being an old design, with the first ship laid down in March 2043, they have proven their worth on countless occasions showing that the old carrier doctrine of Earth’s past sea going navies continued to remain relevant even in the space age. Each would take a short shake out flight before heading to Earth to collect their complements of fighters and bombers before embarking on a rigorous training regime that would likely last a year. These last three carriers would bring the Navy’s total complement up to twenty and would complete the back bone of Shots’ fourth carrier group.
Now complete, the Navy’s ships would undergo a period of modernisation with the primary objective to bring all vessels up to date with the still relatively new MCF drive engines. The task was going to be significant and would require a huge amount of juggling, especially with the demands from Luyten. Those problems were for another day though, for now he was going to enjoy himself at the launch party.
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2058 November
Luyten 1305-10
Thornton stood on the shuttle ramp breathing in the atmosphere. After more than six months of life either inside his combat armour or on board a space ship it was good to be finally breathing fresh air once more, even it did have the many unfamiliar smells of an alien planet. Behind him a steady stream of wounded were being carried or helped off of the shuttle before being whisked away to the now well-developed field hospital facilities.
It was strange, thought Thornton, not a year past he and his men were fighting and dying over the very same patch of ground. Now it was their home from home and a place to rest and recuperate. Thornton was now resigned to not seeing Earth for a long time.
Meanwhile back in orbit Commodore Thorpe was intently studying a report she had just received from the planetary survey vessel Atlas 041 which was currently operating one jump out in Kappa Ceti. Apparently, whilst the crew were focused on completing their insertion burn for the survey of the inner most planet, their ship’s limited thermal and EM sensors had picked up an unidentified contact on the surface. Apparently it had taken a while for the ship’s systems to cross reference known emission patterns before confirming the presence of more Union industry, by which time the ship had achieved full orbit. Thorpe was highly dubious about the last part of the report, suspecting that the crew had grown lax in managing the sensor stations whilst performing their monotonous task.
The ship had subsequently plotted an evasive route and promptly lost any readings on the settlement before a full analysis could be performed. Thorpe made a mental note to have the crew taken through a thorough debrief when they returned. In the mean time she had the more pressing matter of working out what the hell to do about it.
Iota Persei
Commander Alice Marsden, acting CO of Strike Group Alpha was growing worried. There had been three incidents of significant failures in the Task Group’s systems in the last month alone. It was however unsurprising given that they had been out on picket duty ever since taking the long journey out from Earth. Whilst hanging in orbit above the Union’s recently liberated colony left less stress on the ship hulls the sheer time spent away from dock meant the list of deemed maintenance required was growing longer and longer. Marsden’s chief engineer was doing a great job maintaining the systems as best he could but there was a limit to even his prodigious skills.
Eta Cassiopeiae
Deep in the bowels of the recently constructed anti-missile defence centre, the Naval staff worked methodically but efficiently through the final test cycles and check lists. About him administrator Shah could hear machinery coming to life whilst the light levels in the command room gradually increased as more and more displays and tactical plots came winked into life.
Finally the PDC commander turned to Shah. “Sir, I’m pleased to report that the base is now fully operational”. “Thank you Lieutenant” responded Shah. “Now if you will excuse me I need to go and make an announcement to colony. I’m sure all of us will sleep better knowing that the Navy is here watching”.
GJ 1065
Colonel Isabella Foster read the most recent reports with approval. To date her engineers had been able to convert enough hab units to house over three million Union citizens and had also updated 21 mining platforms for their use once they turned up. Despite the gruelling schedule to get ready for the new arrivals her engineers had also managed to uncover a stockpile of over 7 million litres of fuel and another research facility.
2058 December
Sol
Standing in-front of the holo imager Rear Admiral Shots returns the salute from Commodore Miller. “Good hunting Miller, please keep me informed of any developments as soon as possible”. “Thank you Admiral” replied Miller. “I’m sure it won’t be too hard for us to work out what the Followers are up to and I’m pretty sure Commodore Thorpe will be happy to see us as well”.
High in Earth orbit Miller cut the comms line before turning to her ops officer. “Well that’s it Carl, orders are in. Prepare the Task Group for immediate departure. I want all crew back on board and umbilicals detached by 0730 Hours. Plot a course for the Epsilon Eridani jump gate. Notify me when we are ready to get under way”.
Shots had finally relented and decided to send another carrier group out to Luyten with orders to complete a recon in force of the Followers home system to assess their true level of threat. Whilst there had been no further incursions into Iota Persei for several months the Int boys were concerned that they were now holding back ships for a big push. A push that that the Navy’s currently deployed assets in Ota Persei might struggle to repel. Whilst the old frigates of Strike Group Alpha and Bravo had proven to be more than a match for the ships of the Followers in the past, they held very limited ammo stores which made them unsuitable for any sizeable engagements.
Meanwhile back in London Administrator Carter was looking at the latest reports from the fuel harvesters based in Gilese 674 with a certain level of incredulity. If the report could be believed it would appear that the harvesting group had been dragged out of orbit when the Super Jovian they were stationed above passed through one of the system’s lagrange points. They were now stuck helpless in deep space with no immediate prospect of rescue given that the Navy’s tugs were still two hundred odd days out from Sol trying to drag three of the Unions main shipyards back to Mars.
Given the likely political fall out of this monumental cock up, not to mention the impact it was likely to have on the share price of a number of the main contractors involved in the setup of the fuel harvesters, Carter decided that this was news best kept buried. At least until he could sell down his shares in those companies without anyone noticing.
GJ1065
Colonel Foster sat in the command post. Around her most of the senior members of both the engineering teams and TFAA had congregated to watch the final moments of the jump gate becoming operational. In the background she could hear the comms chatter from the construction vessel as they ran through the final power up checks.
A few moments later there was a round of applause from all those present as the captain confirmed gate power up and field stabilisation before bidding them farewell and taking the first jump through the gate as tradition dictated. Shortly there after the data feeds sprung into life as the previous restrictions on comms bandwidth were removed.
Foster clapped along with the rest of the team but privately she couldn’t help think that part of the magic of the remote system had just been lost.
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Don't you worry, Foster, there are plenty of other systems left for you ...
:o This is well written, I'm sure you have the ears and eyes of all of us!
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More please :)
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Thanks for the comments. I'm on hold at the moment so there will be a short intermission before further updates. I've played slightly further forward and am looking forward to getting the action down.
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2059 January
GJ 1065
Just days after the completion of the jump gate Colonel Foster was back in the command post watching the transit of the old Union’s colony and transport ships. As far as the Navy could tell all of the ships were decades old, symptomatic of the Union’s focus on military might and its previous long running war with the Followers. However, what it lacked in modernisation was made up for in mass. The 33 ships of the colony group were capable of shifting 1.65 million colonists in a single run whilst the 25 ships of the freight group could load 625,000 tons.
Foster excused herself from the command post. With that many colonists arriving and the huge research facilities that the cargo vessels were here to move to Luyten she had an awful lot of work to do and not much time to do it in.
2059 February
107 Piscium
“All ships report jump complete Commodore”. “Thank you captain” responded commodore Miller, “All ships are to lay in a course to A-IV and make ready to re-provision and re-fuel. Inform the captain of the Bushmaster that I shall be transferring across to his ship in the next 15 minutes. And captain, make sure the crew get a bit down time whilst I’m away. I have a feeling things are going to be getting pretty hectic for the next month or so and I want everyone operating at their best for this operation”. “Aye aye commodore” responded the captain, “we will have the ships and crew waiting and ready for your return”.
Some ten minutes later the 17 remaining ships of Carrier Group Bravo began the journey in system whilst the Bushmaster took a slightly different heading toward the jump gate of Luyten 1305-10.
Meanwhile, down on the planet Administrator Winter mused over the recently received comms from the carrier group. As far as he was aware the task group based in Luyten wasn’t due to be relieved for at least another year and if this carrier group was doing that why would they be making a detour for fuel and supplies from his small colony? They certainly had the legs to make the journey from Earth to Luyten. Something was up, something big. If he played his cards right this might just be the opportunity he had been waiting for to get off of the rock. Winter activated his PA system and started making calls.
2059 March
Luyten 1305-10
Commodore Thorpe was surprised to see the priority courier ship comm light winking at her from the side of her bunk. With the jump gate network now established all the way back to Earth there was very little need for courier ships in any of the Federation’s established systems. Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes she flicked the comm button.
“Commodore, this is the captain of TFS Bushmaster, apologies for the lateness of the contact. We are inbound from Earth. The bods back home have identified a number of urgent software updates that we seem to be having problems transmitting over the jump gate network. We expect to be in orbit in three days and I would appreciate it if you can organize an O group for then so that our chief software engineer can properly brief all of the ship’s captains on the proper installation of the updates”. “Thank you Captain, no apology required. We will have the captains and their chief engineers assembled for then. Please notify the Gaul when you are ready to come aboard, Thorpe out”.
Thorpe finished rubbing the sleep from her eyes before getting out of the bunk. There would be no more sleep for her tonight and likely not for a few nights to come. The rather coarse coded message indicated that someone senior was inbound on the Bushmaster and, whoever it was they were bringing plans for a significant operation. What did confuse her was the open coded message; they had swept the system in detail for any further signs of both the Union and the Followers and whilst there was still some dissent on the planet she could not fathom members of the Union siding with their previous enemies.
Luyten 1305-10: TFS Gaul
The wardroom was again full with the ranking officers of the carrier group, all of them contributing to the steady drone of hushed conversations. To the end of the room a briefing holographic projector had been set up, flanked by a pair of lecterns.
“Stand Up!” came the shout from the ensign stood by the wardroom door. Immediately all of the conversation ceased and the officers braced themselves. A few moments later Commodores Thorpe and Miller strode into the room and each took a stand next to one of the lecterns.
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen, at ease” began Commodore Thorpe. “For the past eighteen months you and your crews have performed way above the highest standards of service expected by the Navy. Despite being stretched we have held the line against repeated incursions from the Followers and supported our troops in routing out the last of the Union’s outposts. You should all be proud of our achievement.
Regretfully our diplomatic efforts with the Followers of Khom have made no progress towards finding a peaceful solution to their continued drive for vengeance against the previous civilians of the Union. We therefore find ourselves unacceptably stretched across too many fronts to guarantee the safety of all of the Federations citizens, no matter what race they belong to. This is an unacceptable situation but, with the help of Commodore Miller, one that we plan on changing”. Thorpe turned to Miller her right hand outstretched, “Commodore Miller”.
“Thank you Commodore” replied Miller, “it has now been over five years since the last federation survey ship entered the Followers home system and first made contact with them. We have never completed a full survey of their system nor had the opportunity to scan their home world either passively or actively. Whilst we have encountered a number of their ships that appear to be technically inferior to our own we have no idea whether they are simply sending obsolete vessels to probe our defences.
In short we know very little about the strength or disposition of the Followers’ forces, their industrial capacity, colonized worlds or technological advancement. Quite simply we know too little about them to plan and execute an effective response to the current situation”. Miller paused, taking her time to look into the eyes of many of the assembled officers.
“Over the course of the next month we are going change that. Command has authorized a full recon in force of the Followers’ home system and has released Carrier Group Bravo to support your own carrier group in achieving this operation”. Miller looked down at her data pad and tapped in a few commands.
“You will all now have your individual briefing packs for Operation Columbus ready for your review. Our mission is to complete a full scan of the Followers’ home system before recovering back to Luyten and 107 Piscium. I say again, our mission is to complete a full scan of the Followers’ home system before recovering back to Luyten and 107 Piscium. Our diplomats are still hopeful that a peaceful resolution can be reached and as such our rules of engagement are not to engage the Followers’ ships unless in self-defence – we are not to fire unless fired upon”. A number of murmurs rippled through the room. Miller raised a placating hand to quiet the room. “I recognize that this is not ideal however we must remember that there is likely to be a large contingent of civilian shipping present in the system and as yet we do not have the information to identify them”.
Miller turned back to his data pad and activated the holo viewer between the two lecterns.
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7695/6mum.jpg)
“Operation Columbus requires the simultaneous execution of two warp point assaults tens of light years apart. With the distances involved we will be unable to utilize normal comms to coordinate these assaults and hence the operation will be reliant on pinpoint timing. The full details of the operation are included in your briefing packs however I will provide a brief summary here before taking questions.
H-hour is set for 0600Z on 25th March. Carrier Group Charlie will depart Luyten at 0900 on 19th March and rendezvous with Strike Group Bravo in Iota Persei. Strike Group Bravo will immediately redeploy back to Luyten to provide a mobile defensive force. Once on station Carrier Group Charlie will form a temporary task group – Drake, to be commanded by Captain Sutton. Drake will consist of the following vessels:
The type 401 and 402 jump ships Czech Republic and Deutschland the type 312 destroyers England, Estonia, Ethiopia and the type 422 area defence light cruiser Ecuador.
The TFS Adder and Anaconda will also detach from the task group to form independent scout groups.
At H –3 hours Drake will proceed to the Delta Trianguli jump point and execute a transit as soon as H-hour is reached. Once through Drake will head in system at flank speed engaging any targets as required to clear the entry point. Once the jump point is cleared the TFS Deutschland will move back to the jump point in order to signal for the rest if the task group to jump through and take up position.
Drake shall then proceed in system, its’ task to draw any hostile units away from the inner planets in order to allow the Adder and Anaconda to make close in scanning passes. If resistance is significant or as soon as the scanning passes are complete to the satisfaction of Captain Sutton the entire task group will withdraw back to 107 Piscium under the cover of the fighter wings. The recombined task group will then stay on station in 107 Pisicum until relieved by Strike Group Bravo.
My own carrier group will execute a similar operation with the temporary task group ‘Marco Polo’ consisting of the ships Carthage, El Salvador, Finland, Formosa, France and Gambia, executing a transit into the system from the 107 Piscium jump point at H-hour. The Carrier group’s fighters will also support Marco Polo as soon as the jump point has been cleared.
Intel believes that Followers are likely to concentrate any mobile defensive forces they have against the first sizeable force detected. This should therefore give the other temporary task group and the scout ships ample space to manoeuvre and complete the mission.
Given the existing lack of intel on the system the situation is likely to evolve rapidly. I will therefore be assuming overall command of the operations of all Federation vessels operating within Delta Trianguli for the duration of our presence. Be prepared for rapid changes of plan.
I need not remind you that we found the Followers’ ships fighting in the Union’s home system when we conducted our own operation to liberate the Union’s citizens from the yoke of their government. We must not underestimate their capabilities.
Now any questions?”
The noise in the room rose markedly as thirty voices responded in unison and Commodore Thorpe was again required to raise her arms to quiet down her officers. “Please, please, one question at a time, I promise I will respond to all of you” shouted Commodore Miller over the on-going glamor in the room. Thorpe sighed, it looked like the boys back home had decided to stick their size tens right in the middle of it and just when things seemed have started quieting down.
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2059 March (continued)
Delta Pavonis
Administrator Howl sat in her office re-reading the latest missive from Earth. The news she had both feared and hoped for had finally come in - she was going to be replaced within the next few weeks. Apparently the decision makers back on Earth had decided to try and make Delta Pavonis more self-sufficient and that meant bringing in construction factories. Howl’s own expertise was firmly in mining alone so she could understand the logic, however it was going to be a major blow to her career. Her replacement, Conor Benson, was one of those true high flyers with skills across the board. No doubt he would be kick starting the development of the colony whilst further improving the mining yield. Well good luck to him she thought.
Howl’s thoughts turned to her next assignment, a mining outpost in the Groombridge system. The whole operation was largely automated and required only a skeleton crew to man. It was likely going to be a very quiet posting.
Sol
Carter sat back in his chair, a tumbler of Whiskey in his hand and a grin on his face. After several weeks on wrangling he had finally convinced parliament to approve the transfer of Conor Benson to Delta Pavonis. Conor had already provided him with a detailed review of the current mining operations and areas of potential operational efficiencies. If they proved in any way accurate it would be a close to 14% increase in yield from the mines. What’s more he had also convinced them to contract out the transport of 25 construction facilities to the planet – a lucrative contract which his own shipping line would inevitably win the lion’s share of.
Now all he had to do was sit back and wait for news from Delta Trianguli to come back in. Things were certainly shaping up for war and that meant more contracts and potential substantial restitution payments.
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Operation Columbus
25th March 05:59Z
Commodore Thorpe sat in her command chair half listening to the comms chatter between the two task groups whilst watching her tactical display. Some 50m km distant the ships of Drake hung in space around the Delta Trianguli jump point waiting for the last few seconds before H-hour.
It wasn’t long before the watch officer’s reports cut out the rest of the chatter. “Czech Republic and Deutschland report jump drives spooled up and ready to jump, all other ships report cleared for action. Jump in 4, 3, 2, 1, Jump". Thorpe watched the ships of Drake wink out from her display before flicking her comms switch. “All ships, Drake has completed its’ jump. Now we must wait and be ready to support them as needed. I’m sure I can rely on all of you. Thorpe out”.
Slowly the minutes ticked by. If all was going to plan the two temporary task forces would have completed their simultaneous jumps into the system and would now be heading to their respective waypoints. As the minutes turn into hours a hush descends on the command deck, the silence only broken by the watch office calling out the total mission time.
“T plus 3 hours thirty”, calls the watch officer. Thorpe looks down at her data pad, the ships from both Marco Polo and Drake should have now reached their stand-off positions in the system and all going well the Deutschland would be heading back to the jump gate now.
“Commodore, I’m getting an authenticated message from the Deutschland via the jump gate”. Thorpe leaned forward in her chair, “put it through ensign”.
“Commodore Thorpe, this is Captain Sutton. I’m pleased to report that both jump gates are clear of hostile forces, you are clear to proceed with phase 2. As you can hear, we’ve also been able to strip most of the encryption from the Followers’ jump gates and will start to upload the latest scans of the system as soon as we have finished purging the systems. Sutton out”.
Thorpe leaned back in her chair, thoughtful. The news was just a little too good to be true for her cynical nature. If the Deutschland had been ambushed on jump in more than enough time had passed for the Followers to have gained control of the ship and sent a fabricated message. Jumping the now largely unprotected carrier group into the system could well be suicide. She just hoped that Miller had a similar sense of caution. “Ensign, please open a second encrypted channel to the Deutschland, use one of the reserve protocols. Send the following message and request acknowledgement: Phase 1 incomplete, proceeded as ordered”. The ensign looked confused but sprung to the task nevertheless.
“Commodore, message has been acknowledged” noted the Ensign.
25th March 1300Z
Thorpe breathed a sigh of relief when the Deutschland re-emerged from the jump gate. Almost immediately her comm line sprung back into life. “Commodore, Sutton here, apologies for the confusion, we thought we could shave a few hours off the mission time and get a lead on Marco Polo. The jump gate is clear. We will continue with Phase 2”. “Thank you”, replied Thorpe, “I appreciate your initiative Captain but on this occasion I think we all need to stick to the plan, Thorpe out”.
Thorpe turned to his watch officer, “inform all ships that Phase 1 of the operation is complete and to prepare for jump to Delta Trianguli”.
25th March 1800Z
Thorpe felt the usual wave of nausea pass through her as the Gaul completed the jump through the gate. Across the bridge the lights flickered and monitors threw out static and distorted images whilst the ship’s systems struggled to clear the interference generated by the jump.
“Ensign, I want confirmation of completed jumps ASAP, let’s get our data feeds up and running and the tactical plot generated. Comms see if you can raise Commodore Miller, Drake and Marco Polo. I want to be in this system for as little time as possible”. Thorpe remained tense in her chair, despite having confirmation that the jump point was clear she still felt apprehensive whilst she waited for the ship’s systems to confirm that was the case.
Several minutes later Thorpe got her answer. “Commodore, all stations report successful reset, scan is active, no contacts. All ships report jump successful and holding position at the gate. I’ve raised the other task groups and all have confirmed successful completion of phase 1”.
“Thank you Ensign, please ask the Anaconda and Adder to break formation and begin their runs”. “Yes Ma’am”, responded the Ensign, “Ma’am the Adder is reporting massive thermal and EM signatures from A-II. There are also quite a few Union wrecks in the system as well as a few from unidentified classes. From the looks of the plot it seems that there was some sort of battle in the orbit of A-II”.
Thorpe looked at the plot carefully, if Earth was any kind of benchmark then the emissions indicated a population of over a billion people and an industrial base only slightly less developed. “Ok, order the ships to continue in system”.
26th March 2312Z
“Commodore! Adder reports four contacts at 263mkm on a bearing of 208 degrees. Contacts are on a course of 006 degrees speed 5890kms. Course shows them on an intercept with Drake. Combat system has labelled the contacts ‘Tiera’”. Thorpe clenched her fist; the Followers’ ships were moving at more than double the top speed previously observed for any of their ships and were several hundred kms faster than Drake. The fleet would not be able to avoid engaging those ships if they chose to press an attack.
Thorpe tapped her comms screen, “Commodore Miller, I assume you are getting the latest fees from the Adder?” “Indeed, let’s see if the Adder can get past those ships and move further in system. Drake is almost in active sensor range; let’s find out how large those ships are. We can then turn the Drake out system to see if they follow” replied Miller. Thorpe scowled before responding, “Ok let’s go with that but I want Drake to recover back towards my carriers to ensure we can keep them covered”. “Agreed, just remember that we are under strict instructions not to initiate hostile action”, responded Miller.
27th March 0436Z
“Drake reports active sensor contact with the four Tieras. Cross section indicates 6450 ton hulls. Drake confirms they are on an intercept with them”, reported the watch officer. “Understood, please inform Captain Sutton that he should continue in system for the next three hours before coming about on a bearing of 350 degrees”, responded Thorpe.
For the next five hours Thorpe watches the multiple task groups advance across the system whilst the hostile contacts continue to be lured away from the main scout groups. It would be several days before either the leading scout groups made their transition across the system or the hostile contacts closed to engagement range. With the frustratingly slow pace of manoeuvre involved with such large distances involved Thorpe decided to it was time to rotate the crew and get some rest herself.
29th March 1737Z
Thorpe strode back onto the bridge. The last two days had been spent staring at the largely empty tactical plotter. So far the scout ships had failed to locate any further shipping traffic in the system and no further ships had moved to intercept the still approaching Marco Polo. Anaconda was also reporting that she had completed the initial pass and was now repositioning for a closer pass of the planets.
The four contacts had continued to trail Drake and were now 273.8mkm away. After several conferences with Miller they had decided to continue to run Drake for another two days. This would position the task group firmly under the cover of Carrier group Bravo’s fighter wings and should ensure that the Navy would be able to win any engagement if it did occur.
1st April 0849Z
“New contact reported by Adder, new vessel type, the system has classed it the Loviatar. Contact is at range 245.6mkm on a bearing of 336 degrees moving at 2790 km/s, looks like it is on an intercept course with them” reported the watch officer.
Thorpe looked down to check the tactical plot:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img585/2448/1vk0.jpg)
“That sounds a little more like what we were expecting to find in system, instruct the Adder to come to a bearing of 278 degrees and burn for A V. Make sure they retain a minimum 100mkm distance from the contact at all times and let me know of any further updates. We need to give Marco Polo a few more days to complete their active scan of A-II. Let’s see if we can avoid any engagements between now and then”.
2nd April 0734Z
The officer of the watch calls out another contact “Adder reports picking up thermal readings from moon 10 of the fifth planet. Readings are very weak, suspect a listening post or similar”.
Several hours Thorpe got another call from the watch officer. “Commodore, Marco Polo reports first active scan of the home world complete. Sensors are showing a number of contacts in orbit as well as a very substantial shipyard complex. I’m sending you the current plot now. Commodore Miller has order Marco Polo to continue the approach to see if it can pick up any readings on ground forces”. “Very good”, responded Thorpe, “I will be up shortly. Let me know immediately if there is any change”.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img189/3111/qb8h.jpg)
3rd April 0917Z
“Contact contact”, shouted the junior watch officer. “Marco Polo reports nine inbound vessels at 501mkm on a bearing of 70 degrees. Speed 2789km/s. Cross sections indicate eight 6450 ton vessels and one 12,900 ton ship. They are on an intercept course with Marco Polo. Commodore Miller has ordered Bushmaster to trail the new contacts. Marco Polo is continuing with its’ close pass of the central system”.
Thorpe took another look at the tactical plot. Miller was starting to cut things fine with both Drake and Marco Polo. She would be amazed if this little stunt didn’t completely ruin any chances of a negotiated settlement with the Followers.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img32/3743/qvgr.jpg)
An hour later the still excited junior watch officer piped up again, “Commodore, it looks like that fleet has picked up the Bushmaster, they have reversed course and are now on an intercept with them instead”. Now that was a stroke of luck thought Thorpe. The Bushmaster could easily out distance the Followers in system fleet and that would now give Marco Polo more than enough time to complete its’ run.
“Commodore, message from Captain Sutton, he reports that the four Tieras are now within 100mkm of Drake”.
4th April 0132Z
Marco Polo reports that it has completed its runs past the inner system. Marco Polo also reports the identification of only very limited ground forces present, possibly no more than brigade strength. No further contacts have been made and no potential civilian shipping has been identified. The Marco Polo will now head out system via A VI for a final close scan before extracting back to the 54 Piscium jump gate.
Thorpe continues to read through the scan data in detail. From the information received to date it looks like the Followers were actually on the losing side of the war with the Union. Their naval power is clearly limited and it would appear that the home planet was subject to a bombardment from the Union before their ships were destroyed.
4th April 2014Z
“Commodore Thorpe, Captain Sutton is reporting that the Tiera contacts are now within 55mkm of his task group and are continuing to advance. He has issued warnings on all channels for the ships not to close past 40mkm. He is also requesting an update to the rules of engagement to allow him to fire if they cross that range”. “Understood Ensign, please contact Commodore Miller and request a conference channel with myself as soon as possible”, replied Thorpe.
Several minutes later Thorpe’s comm display indicated that the channel had been activated. “Good evening Catherine”, started Thorpe. “Judging by the dogged determination of that Followers task group I think we are going to have a fight on our hands pretty soon. I’m loathe to authorise any form of pre-emptive strike though. Can you get a couple of squadrons up to shadow the contacts, see if we can scare them off?”
Miller took a few moments to respond, “yes, I agree with you on both points, we will launch the copperheads and checkmates in five minutes. They will reach engagement range before they cross Sutton’s 40mkm line. If they do try anything we will take them out of the sky. Miller out”.
“Ensign, get me Captain Sutton”, barked Thorpe.
On the tactical plot Thorpe watched the fighters launch and hurtle towards the Followers ships.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img839/191/do94.jpg)
Several hours later the watch officer gave a further update “Commodore, Captain Sutton reports that none of the Tieras have responded to his hails and they have now closed to within less than 30mkm. The Copperheads and Checkmates are holding position 20mkm astern the contacts, no sign they have been detected”.
5th April 1124Z
“Drake just reported that all of the Tieras have gone active on sensors. The Task group is going to full alert and is requesting release of safeties on all weapons”. On the other comm channel Thorpe could hear Miller ordering the fighters to close range to 15 million km and giving weapons release to Sutton.
An hour later Thorpe gets a further update from Sutton, it looks like the Followers have finally listened to our warnings and have slowed to 5500km/s. They are now keeping distance at 25.7mkm. The two fighter squadrons are also reporting low on fuel and Commodore Miller has ordered them to return to the carrier group.
8th April 1308Z
Thorpe gets a call from Miller. “Catherine, it looks like those ships are going to stay hot on the heels of Drake all the way to the Iota Persei jump gate. Recommend you jump out your carrier group before they get an active scan on main assets in the system. Please take up your stand-off position in case they try to follow you through. I think that Bravo will be able to cover Marco Polo’s withdrawal. We will send a coded message through the jump gates once clear”. “I agree”, replied Thorpe, “we will jump out in three hours once Drake is closer to the gate. I will let Captain Sutton know our intentions, Thorpe out”.
(http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/497/0xoj.jpg)
Three hours later Thorpe orders her Carrier group to jump back out of the system and to take up station 50mkm from the gate.
15th April 0708Z
Thorpe is pacing her quarters when she finally gets the long awaited for message from Commodore Miller. Marco Polo has been able to avoid any further contact with the Followers and has re-joined the main task group. Carrier Group Bravo is now pulling back to 107 Piscium from where Miller will dispatch her report back to Earth and request further orders.
Thorpe finally sits back down at her desk. The last two Months have been draining for the whole crew with hours spent at high alert and widespread sleep deprivation. Despite the ordeal she is happy that they have continued to perform, reinforcing her opinion that breaking up well train crews should be a last option.
Thorpe taped her comms panel to makes a task group wide announcement, “crew, this is Commodore Thorpe, I have just received word from Commodore Miller that Carrier Group Bravo has completed its’ withdrawal from Delta Trianguli and was able to do so without further contact with the Followers. Due to your unwavering dedication and exemplary execution of your duties operation Columbus has been a complete success. Thank you all. The efficiency of our operation has meant that we have beaten Strike Group Bravo back from the docs and hence we will be staying in Iota Persei for a little while longer whilst we wait for them to replace us. In the mean time I am standing down all ships from high alert. Please take the opportunity to get some rest – you deserve it”.
[Edited to cut down the size of the maps]
-
2059 April
Sol
The deep salvage group returns to Earth having spent the last 9 months collecting further surviving components from the wrecks of several Mech ships in Luyten 968. Rear Admiral Shots immediately tasks the group to return to Mu Arae where 9 further wrecks await analysis and possible salvage. The collected components continue to help Earth’s scientists make progress in a number of fields and hence the recovery of these wrecks remains a priority.
Shots is interrupted by a ping on his comms line, “Sir, I’m sorry to chase but the shuttle needs to launch in the next five minutes if you are going to make to the commissioning ceremony”. “Thank you Paula”, Shots replied to his PA, “let them know I will be out in 2 minutes”.
Shots stood up from his desk grabbing his cap and No.1 dress uniform jacket as he went. He grimaced at the thought of bidding farewell to another brave group of crew that had volunteered to man the Federation’s latest batch of survey vessels. Whilst significantly more advanced than prior marks and housing more sensitive passive sensors he still felt it was madness to continue to send armed vessels into the unknown. Parliament had however made ti very clear that that was exactly what he was going to do so at the very least he was going to personally see off every one of the crew.
Luyten 1305-10
Major General Thornton stood at the top of the temporary podium taking the salute from the latest Union troops to pass out of basic training. Command felt that this latest batch would be sufficient to help maintain control of the general population and also to start replacing the TFAA’s own troops stationed out on Iota Persei. He caught himself grinding his teeth as he thought back to the last few weeks of bitter arguments with command over their decision to start training further cadres of Union troops as assault infantry. For him he still saw the war as a raw wound in the hearts of most of the Union population. To now train and equip them as assault infantry seemed madness to him. Nevertheless command had insisted on the change of approach and thus he was forced to start the process. He just hoped to God that the Union would not have the opportunity to turn on them.
Groombridge 34
Administrator Joanna Howl flopped onto the small bunk bed in the bare room she had just been assigned by the mining caretaker crew. Having been crammed aboard the small civilian courier ship for over a month following her abrupt departure from Delta Pavonis the confines of the room were, in that moment, lost on her. She was asleep before she had even thought to get changed or make up the bunk.
Eta Cassiopeia
Dominic Shah stood before a large congregation of the local population. About him banners fluttered in the blustery breeze of the planet whilst somewhere distant a fairly poorly practiced brass band attempted to play various up-lifting anthems. Behind him the imposing ceramic composite hanger doors of the newly completed fighter base stood ajar whilst to his side stood Commander Leon Buckley, the head of the local Navy detachment.
Shah raised his hands to quiet the crowd before speaking into the microphone floating just next to him. “Good people of Eta Eta Cassiopeiae, you have worked for many years through good times and bad times to make this world your own, a world the Federation can be proud of and one that can lead the way in pushing out the boundaries of human development. I can tell you now that the Federation is indeed proud of all that you have achieved and that, despite the billions of kilometres that separate us, they remain concerned and focused on all of our wellbeing. It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare the completion of Fort Windsor and to formally hand it over to our brave men and women of the Navy who will undoubtedly continue to watch over and protect all that we have built”.
With a flourish Shah turned to cut the garish red ribbon draped across the hanger door with the oversized scissors in his hand. The crowd roared their approval. Still smiling Shah turned back to wave at them all, amazed he was managing to keep a straight face. The latest missive from command was that the fighter factories were full out producing new starfurys for Luyten. It would be some time before any fighters actually found their way to the new base. He just hoped it took the civilians a while to figure that one out.
-
2029 May
Sol
Carter was angry, really angry and his office had just borne the brunt of his frustrations. Spread around him on the floor was the remains of most of the objects that had, until recently, been neatly arranged on his desk. In one corner of the room a growing red stain spread across the beige carpet where a rather expensive bottle of pre-war Brunello di Montalcino lay shattered. Directly across from him the glass door to his office was cracked and below it laid the dented data pad upon which sat the half read operation Columbus report from Commodore Miller.
Outside his office Carter was dimly aware of his PA hurriedly packing up for the evening. Good he thought, that left him space to rant in private.
Carter paced back and forth, his shoes crunching on the bits of broken crystal decanter scattered on the floor. For the third time he ran through his crumbling plan wondering how he had gotten it so wrong. With the previous belligerence of the Followers, combined with the lack of any tangible diplomatic progress, he had been sure they would respond aggressively to the fleet's intrusion into their home system. Sure, he had had to give on the terms of engagement to get Parliament's buy in for the mission but they had practically buzzed the home world for goddess sake. What more provocation did they need? It would have only taken one stay shot from an itchy fingered junior to spark the shooting and force the Federation into seizing control of the planet.
He had only had to read the executive summary of Miller's report, which indicated the Followers were very little threat, to know she had firmly put the nail in the coffin for his plans. He was certainly going to have to put the brakes on the careers of both Miller and Thorpe going forwards. Thinking about it, what he really needed was a more senior voice in the Navy making sure his point of view was appropriately reflected. That was something he would need to set in motion soon.
Carter finally stopped pacing, his anger replaced with deep musing. The opportunity to gain control of another large population just two jumps from the Union and the resultant levels of trade income that would bring was just too good an opportunity to just let slip through his fingers. Half absently he scanned the floor until he spotted an intact tumbler before stooping before a cupboard to retrieve a decanter of scotch.
Pouring himself a large measure, Carter sat down to think some more. Perhaps there was in fact some way for him to rescue the situation, he just needed to spend some quality time thinking about it. Before long Carter was smiling again.
Not far from Carter, Shots sat back from his own desk scratching his head. The logistical challenges of refitting most of the Navy's ships to the new ModE2 engine standard was proving to be a lot more substantial than originally thought. The latest headache was with the 1 series of destroyers that formed the backbone of support for both Alpha and Bravo carrier groups. Whilst subsequent updates to the 2 series had made limited changes to the weapon systems and fire controls, a redesign of the engine bays meant that the shipyards could no longer refit the 1s to the new standard without digging the old tooling equipment back out of storage and reinstalling it. Latest estimates put the process at several months and would have a knock on impact on efforts to upgrade the three shipyards concerned, not to mention the cost. He was already cringing at the thought of having to explain that one to another parliamentary committee. Similar problems were likely to be had with the more venerable Project 001 aircraft carriers which probably meant two rounds of retooling and a significant delay in expanding the slips ready to take the new 101 and 111 designs.
His ops team had run the numbers on a variety of different options from doing nothing and living with what they had all the way to just scrapping the existing fleet and starting again. None of it made much sense to him given the existing operational demands on the fleet and in any case they would be unable to commence the refits for several months in any case until Carrier Group Delta's various vessels completed their run up training. No, the only thing for it was to go back to the more basic designs for a period and bear the inevitable backlash from Parliament in the process.
His mind made up Shots starting issuing orders through his data pad. With the decision made there was no point wasting further time and once done he could finish writing up his official citations for Commodores Miller and Thorpe. As far as Shots was concerned the two of them had done an incredible job of completing Parliament's barmy request for a recon in force of the home system whilst avoiding the whole exercise descending into outright war with the Followers. What's more they had clearly shown that the Followers were no real threat to the Federation. That gave him the chance to release Miller's task group and get some of the carriers into refit as soon as she was back.
GJ1065
Colonel Foster sat reading the latest reports from her command group. Work on restoring the many installations continued at a remarkable pace. In fact the engineering units were starting them far faster rate than the slow commercial ships of the old Union could hope to move them off planet. At present she had four research facilities sat waiting to go, not to mention the numerous ordnance factories, mass drivers and fuel refineries all waiting to be either manned or moved.
The Union colony had grown to over 3.4m whilst the largely completed conversion of infrastructure meant that there was now capacity for upwards of 5.7m civilians. Foster had also taken the decision to transfer to them the two uncovered terraformers so they could immediately start to improve conditions further.
Whilst Foster was still somewhat reminiscent of the earlier days on the planet when then had more of a struggle to get the basics working she could see how the colony was now flourishing and was happy to be part of it.
Iota Persei
With the excitement and stress of operation Columbus now over and the Followers true weakness uncovered Thorpe was spending more of her spare time thinking through the wider security situation in region. The identified Union settlement in Kappa Ceti remained unresolved but with the more limited threat from the Followers and the continued presence of carrier group Bravo in 107 Piscium it seemed that she now had the ideal opportunity to deal with the situation.
All the evidence pointed to a small undefended settlement in the system which meant the fleet should be able to safely secure the system for the TFAA with the minimum of ships allowing the swift capture of what she hoped was the last of the Union’s planets.
After several days of further planning Thorpe was happy with the details and the drafted orders and shortly afterwards the temporary task group Minotaur consisting of Deutschland, England, Estonia and Adder streaked away towards Luyten 1305-10 with a fresh objective and new orders for Major General Thornton.
2059 June
Luyten 1305-10
Thornton carefully reread the orders pack he had recently received from Commodore Thorpe. If the int boys had finally gotten it right for once then the operation planned should go almost as smoothly as Thorpe envisaged. However, with the memories of Iota Persei still fresh in his mind, Thornton wasn’t going to leave that to chance. He would therefore take Thorpe’s suggestion of sending a Brigade as just that and ignore it entirely. No, as far as he was concerned they were going to land in Divisional strength or not at all.
Sighing, he stood up to go and find his adjutant and tell him the good news.
Sol
Rear Admiral Shots sat in the Navy's primary briefing room. Situated deep under the rolling hills of the Chilterns in the Navy's primary fighter base, the briefing room remained cool despite the bright summer sun currently baking old England above. With just six of his key command staff present in the large room and its' huge old dark oak oval table dwarfing them all the room felt eerily empty to him. It probably didn't help that no one was talking; instead all of them included Shots were sat transfixed to the developing spectacle currently playing out in front of them on a large holo display.
On the screen was the live stream covering Parliaments debate on the Followers situation following Miller's successful completion of operation Columbus. As far as Shots had been concerned the debate should have been an open and shut case. The Follower's very limited threat meant that there was significant time for a diplomatic solution to be reached whilst the Navy's recent show of force in their home system was seen by most as surely being a huge boost to getting their negotiating team back round the table. In addition, the identification of another significant source of TN minerals just one jump out from Luyten 1305-10 in Kappa Ceti meant that Iota Persei was no longer the strategic must have for the region, giving Earth's own diplomats some more room to give ground on if absolutely necessary. Indeed, it appeared to Shots that the only thing that needed debating was just when and how to try and remake contact with the Followers.
However, judging by the exchanges in parliament over the last few hours, it appeared that he and his fellow officers had been well wide of the mark. Despite the clear evidence from Commodore Miller that the Followers posed no real current threat, Earth's politicians were continuing to treat them as a major concern. The house was now in the closing throws of debating the findings of a number of economic and military projections that had been prepared by the Joint Intelligence Committee. That was a broader concern it its' own right as neither he nor his immediate staff had been aware of any such piece of work being commissioned, let alone the inflammatory findings.
In the worst case scenarios the projections showed the Followers dedicating their substantial industrial might to rapidly rebuilding their fleet to a stage where it could successfully engage a carrier group within just three years from now whilst it would only be a matter of 18 months before they were capable of overwhelming the current defences on 107 Piscium. The report showed similar growth in the their ground forces and further expansion of the large shipyards leading to the Federation having a large aggressive military force in their back yard within five years at the outside.
These projections had been seized upon by Administrator Winter who had personally undertaken the arduous journey back from 107 Piscium to give Parliament a full update on the reality of the conditions, the level of tension in the region and the need for pre-emptive action. Whilst a number of politicians, including administrator Carter, were opposed to further military action there was a clear growing consensus from the commons that this was the only option available to the Federation if they were going to maintain long term peace in the region. It was, quite frankly, the last course of action Shots had been expecting and something that would throw all of his team's carefully laid plans into chaos.
Finally the arguments and discussions began to quiet down, Carter took the podium. "Today we have heard compelling arguments for both action and inaction in respect of the looming threat from the Followers of Khom. We must recognise that whatever decision is made here today will have consequences for our beloved Federation not just now but potentially for all time. The very way we live alongside fellow races in this galaxy and the way they view us will be irreversibly changed if we take the decision to act. However, what I have heard from our honourable members today, is that act we must if we are to avoid far more serious consequences for both ourselves and our valiant armed forces”.
Carter turned to the speaker. “Sir, it is with a heavy heart that I must therefore propose the following motions: that this house decides not to attempt further diplomatic negotiations with the Followers but instead moves to complete a quick clinical strike in the home system followed by occupation so that we can eliminate this threat once and for all”. Carter nodded to the Speaker before sitting back down, the high definition holo viewers picking up a glint of a tear in his right eye.
No sooner had Carter sat down then the administrator of 107 Piscium, Kai Winter, stood to second the motion. Less than half an hour afterwards the first votes begun to be registered.
Back in the operations room Shots sat in stony silence whilst in Parliament the whips came forward to give the results of the vote to the Speaker. Around him the rest of his command group also watched on in silence.
Having received the votes the Speaker stood, a similar hush falling over the commons “The ayes to the right 285, the no’s to the left 272. The ayes have it”. On both sides of the house MPs roared their approval and disapproval alike.
Back in the operations room Shots swore.
107 Piscium
Brigadier Hayward, commanding officer of the 210th MI battalion and acting commander of the planet was sat in the claustrophobic officer’s mess enjoying some remarkably fresh boiled eggs when a young lieutenant burst into the room. All eyes swung to watch him as he strode over to Hayward.
“What is it Lieutenant?” barked Hayward, upset at having his breakfast disturbed. “Sir, we’ve just received a communication from Survey group Bravo. They just completed an exploration of one of the jump points in TZ Arietis”. “So what?” replied Hayward, “the results of survey jumps are hardly cause for concern for us grunts on this rock”. “Sorry Sir, I didn’t explain correctly, we got the report because the survey group has just jumped back into 107 Piscium from TZ through an unmapped jump point”.
Hayward did well not to inhale a spoonful of egg. “Good Lord Lieutenant, yes you were absolutely right to bring this to my attention. Let’s get straight to the ops room. Earth will want to hear about this as soon as possible. We need to inform Commodore Miller as well”. Before long Hayward was ushering the Lieutenant out of the door. If this was right it would put paid to years of assumption that you could indeed perform a full sweep of any system for relevant jump points. That would have a massive impact on the Navy’s tactical assessment and approach, not to mention that 107 now contained two potential routes through which to reach Earth.
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2059 July
Iota Persei
Claxons wail across the carrier task group as the long range sensors on-board TFS Czech Republic pick up the transit of a Suma Class vessel belonging to the Followers. Within moments Commodore Thorpe is on the con. “All ships, all ships, action stations. Ethiopia and Egypt will engage the hostile contact. All crews to their fighters, depressurise the launch tubes and standby”.
Seconds later 32 Harpy Mk4 ASMs launch from the two destroyers and hurtle towards the Followers’ vessel. Just twelve minutes and 30 seconds after launch the missile impact on the hull of the hostile vessel, tearing it to pieces.
“Anaconda, detach from the task group and collect the survivors from that wreck. That might be something useful we can learn from them, Thorpe out”.
Sol
Carter is sitting in his restored office smoking a cigar, in front of him sits Administrator Winter. “You realize that you will need to return to 107 in the short term, at least until the war with the Followers is over. It wouldn’t do for you to be seen as abandoning your post now action is going to be taken”.
“Of course”, replied Winter, “I appreciate all of the support you have given me these past few months and that we were able to come to a mutually acceptable solution. A couple more months on that rock will be fine just as long as I have your assurances that a reassignment back to Earth will be forthcoming and the appropriate share of returns on this venture finds their way to me”.
Carter grinned before grabbing his whisky tumbler and raising it in salute towards Winter. “You have my word on that Kai, this little venture would not have been possible without you. I fully intend to keep up my side of the bargain. Now we should spend some more time working through the logistics of the operation and the civilian shipping support that will be required”.
“Absolutely, my initial estimates are showing a requirement for almost a million extra colonists and 725,000 metric tons of cargo capacity for the initial wave alone. Here, let me take you through my figures in detail”. Winter handed Carter a data pad and started pulling up projections.
Giliese 33
Miller was busy working through maintenance rosters when the message from Rear Admiral Shots came through. “Catherine, new orders I’m afraid. Parliament has decided that the Followers need dealing with. We are currently working up a plan here and will send detailed orders shortly. In the meantime I need you to take your task force back to 1305-10 right away and begin work up training with Commodore Thorpe”.
Miller cursed under her breath before composing a short confirmatory response to Shots. Despite being that much closer to Earth the response time was still measured in hours so effective two way communications remained impossible. She then stole herself to inform the task group. She had a lot of crew who had been looking forward to some R&R time back home following their successful sortie. This was going to go down like the proverbial lead ballon.
Sol
Back in Naval HQ Shots and his command group were busy grappling with the logistics of the operation as well. The 2nd Troop transport group has only recently left from Earth, bound for Luyten 1305-10 with reinforcements. Without the lift capacity he would be exposing the invading force to several months of having to fight on their own before the transports could make the round trip to Luyten and back to Delta Trianguli. He was also conscious of the growing maintenance backlog on Carrier Group Charlie’s vessels. Whilst they were spending most of their time in orbit and able to make use of the maintenance fasciitis, the frequent sorties were starting to add up. This operation was likely to push some of the ships towards the red line of three years without overhaul. He was just glad that the opposing forces were so limited. As it was the Navy was still going to be stretched defending Luyten whilst attacking the Followers.
Iota Persei
“Commodore Thorpe, Strike Group Bravo reports in position and ready to take over picket duty”. “Thank you Lieutenant”, responded Thorpe, “Lay in a course for the Luyten gate and a standard orbit for A-IV once we have made the jump. Cruise speed and please notify me when we are ready to make the jump, Thorpe out”. Thorpe smiled; she was finally getting her task group back to their home from home.
Luyten 1305-10
Carrier group Charlie is 21 hours out from the Union home world when the fleet gets a transmission from Strike Group Bravo. “Commodore, there has been another incursion from a single Followers’ vessel. We have destroyed the ship and are remaining on station. TFS Belgium is now conducting a rescue mission to collect the Followers’ life pod. Will update once operation is complete”.
That was two incursions this month alone. Perhaps, thought Thorpe, the Navy had not gotten away with operation Columbus quite as cleanly as they had thought. She immediately began to prepare an update report for Rear Admiral Shots. Despite their lack of the resources the Followers still had the ability and clear intent to cause problems in the region.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton is busy pounding one of the treadmills down in one of Fort Spitbank’s cavernous troop transport bays when he gets a call from Commander Hodgson, the head of escort task group. Thornton takes a few minutes to wipe the sweat off his forehead and swing some water before responding. “Commander, Thornton here, how can I help you”? “Sir, we are now about two hour from orbital insertion. Our sensors have now picked up a significant contingent of ground forces on the planet, looks to be close to divisional strength”, replied Hodgson.
Thornton grimaced, this was going to be just like Iota Persei all over again. “Thank you Commander. I’d like a full active scan of the planet before we drop. I need to know if we are dealing with any civilians on the planet or if it’s another remote mining facility. I’ll need another O Group with my officers once you have the results. We will need to move H hour for the drop back two hours”.
Two hours later Thornton got his answer. “Sir, we are detecting both thermal and EM signatures coming from the surface. There is definitely a small civilian population on the planet”. Thornton cursed softly under his breath. “Ok, thank you for the update commander. Please prepare for troop drop in 90 minutes. I’ve issued orders for the troop transports to make an immediate return to Luyten to transport a further division of troops to the planet. We will secure the landing site and dig in until the reinforcements arrive”.
2059 August
GJ 1065
Colonel Foster is once more neck deep in alien machinery when her suit’s comm unit blares out a general alert across all of the local channels. It takes her a moment to register the alert before spurring herself into action. Before long both Foster and her tech team are racing back through the ruins towards Colonel Fletcher’s command post.
After fifteen minutes of hard running she finally makes it to the command post for the ten battalions on infantry tasked with the protection of the two colonies. “Colonel, what’s the situation?” asked Foster. Fletcher, a relatively young colonel, turned to face Foster. “It looks like some of your people managed to disturb a bunch of combat drones. First reports match them to the same type that destroyed the colony on Eta Cassiopeiae when we first started excavating the ruins over there. Looks to me like the previous inhabitants had a serious aversion to sharing their dirt”.
I’ve got the 23rd and 28th containing the situation at the moment. The 29th and 30th are also on their way but that means I’m going to have to take cover away from the rest of the dig as I already have the 35th and 2nd tied up with the darn Union colonists. I need you to get all of your people out of the dig asap and please tell your people not to poke around in any more bases until we have this sorted”.
Fletcher took a deep breath to avoid a sharper retort. “No problem Colonel, I’ve already issued the orders to the teams, the men will be happy to run resupply for the infantry. None of us want another EC on our hands. Let me know if we can be of help elsewhere”.
Sol
After over a month of planning and wrangling, Shots felt he finally had a workable plan for the invasion of the Followers home system. He had now set the invasion date for the 1st of October having relented on his original 1 December option in the face of intense pressure from parliament. The increased activity in Iota Persei reported by Commodore Thorpe had spurred parliament to push for faster action leaving him the bare minimum of time to get his and the TFAA's forces in place.
The recent deployment of troops to Kappa Ceti was a particular concern for him. With civilians present, he knew Thorpe had no option but to dig them out down on the ground and if things got bogged down there it could delay the whole operation. Not to mention the possibility of having to redeploy Thornton's troops before they had a chance to rest and recover from that operation. They could only hope that the delay had not given the Followers time to train significant additional troops or get many extra vessels commissioned. Shots sighed, it was a far from ideal plan but there again it had been many years since he had last been able to actually put forward one of those.
Shots decided to flick through the plan for Operation Head-Start one final time before hitting send. Knowing now how limited the enemy forces were he planned to concentrate the attack through the Iota Persei gate but commit only the full strength of Miller's carrier group plus a detachment of destroyers and light cruisers from Thorpe's own carrier group to the operation. Thorpe's carriers would have to sit this one out as they were needed to maintain protection in Luyten 1305-10.
In a mirror image to operation Columbus the destroyers and light cruisers would perform combat jumps into the system and ensure the gate remained clear before bringing in the carriers. The whole task group would then proceed in system, destroying targets as identified although primary targets would be the task group of fast movers that had been previously encountered. Planetary defence bases would also be destroyed at range although there were strict instructions to avoid damaging the shipyards if at all possible. Once the planetary orbit was cleared the main combat vessels of the group would take up position in orbit of the planer in order to engage any vessels being launched by the Followers and also protect against any attacks from previously undetected ships returning to the planet.
The two troop carrier groups would remain in Iota Persei until the system had been swept and the planetary defences cleared. Strike group Alpha would then act as escort for the ships bringing them into system and also covering their retreat. Strike group bravo would also move in system to secure the Iota Persei jump point. To minimise the impact of the limited lift capacity in the region the second wave of troops would be shipped to the colony in Iota Persei before commencement of hostilities for more rapid transit to Kapa Ceti once the initial waves of troops were dropped off.
If all went to plan the Navy would be able to destroy the hostiles in detail whilst the initial wave of troops overcame the defenders. The following wave of troops should then be enough to take full control of the main population centres and force surrender from the Followers authorities. As far as Shots could make out the later would be the real challenge and would require Thornton to strip the other colonies in the region down to the bare minimum. There was more than likely to be a loss of some control over the still unruly Union citizens.
The only positive to come out of the rush plans was parliaments concession to allocate a chunk of Earth's manufacturing capacity towards building the numerous replacement engines for the fleet. With these being pre-built he was looking at a far faster turnaround on the refits that should enable him to get Carrier group Alpha back out in space in a matter of months and that would tie nicely into Carrier group Charlie finishing off its final shake down training exercises. If that went to plan he could finally relive Thorpe from duty in Luyten and get her ships back to the yards for their much needed overhauls and refits. Satisfied that he had prepared as far as possible he finally wrapped up the orders and hit send.
Back in London administrator Carter was having a similarly tough time. After over a year in space the tug group had finally managed to haul the Unions main military shipyards back to Mars. The huge achievement was currently somewhat overshadowed by the massive strain the new docs were placing on Mars’ infrastructure and work force. Thousands of workers had urgently been diverted to the new structures to stabilize the plethora of problems and failures arising as a result of the long journey.
Consequently the existing dock yards had been left with little more than a bare minimum crew to operate. Immediate projections showed close to a 25% drop in productivity and severe delays in the refit schedule of the fleets carriers and support destroyers. Broader figures showing the impact on the stock price of the various associated civilian shipyards was looking similarly dire.
Pacing back and forth in his office as was often his way in time of stress, Carter finally hit upon an elegant short term solution that was likely to see him praised by parliament and the population whilst hiding his serious miscalculations on worker requirements on the red planet. Two of the shipyards would immediately be towed to Earth where unemployment levels remained stubbornly high. This would provide a massive injection in employment whilst relieving the strain on Mars. At the same time he would restart the Mars colonist initiative with some additional incentives for both the shipping companies and the colonist. He could then ship the yards back at a later date once they were better able to support them. The plan would mean a slight delay in resolving the fuel harvester bug but the run of the main jump tankers to Luyten meant that there was enough fuel in Sol to see them through that delay.
Carter smiled; it seemed even in complete muck ups he was able to come out smelling of roses. Looking out across the vista of London Carter decided that a celebration was in order.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton sat cleaning his rifle for the second time that day. Over the past few weeks he had urged his men to improve their temporary defences, fine-tuned the firing arcs assigned to each defensive perimeter, made detailed plans for the break out and assault of the colony and sent out increasingly aggressive patrols. To date however there had been no signs of movement from the Union troops who appeared to be content to just sit and watch the actions of the TFAA and quite frankly Thornton was now a little low on useful things to do until his reinforcements arrived.
Once more he glared at the count down on his data pad which showed that the transports were still 25 days out. Thornton went back to cleaning his rifle again.
Back on GJ 1065
Foster sat fidgeting on the examination table whilst one of the army medics worked with a dermal knitter to close up the large gash on her left arm. Around the room several other members of her immediate command group were also receiving treatment for a range of injuries, none of which were life threatening. In front of her stood Colonel [Hodgson] with a particularly large scowl on his face.
"Colonel" started Colonel Fletcher, "I thought I had made it explicitly clear that your engineering units were to fall back to the colony structures and were not, under any circumstances, to engage with the Mechs. I'm quite frankly amazed that you got out of that skirmish with such light casualties. The infantry are of course delighted that you were able to deal with the breach but you were very fortunate this time - things could have easily turned out disastrously. I must insist that any future problems are immediately sent up the chain to the QRF reserve who I have specifically tasked to deal with instances just like this".
Foster glared back at Fletcher, "Believe me Colonel, the team and I had no intention whatsoever of getting involved in the fighting and we would have stayed well away from the area had your forces' overzealous use of close support fire not ruptured a number of the primary heat relays supporting the habitats of nearly 250,000 Union colonists. If we hadn't moved to fix the problem when we did we would have been looking at a serious loss of life. Also, if your men had managed to hit more of the mechs and less of the habitats there wouldn't have been any of their drones left to engage us once we got to the area. Ow!" Foster turned to glare at the medic. "Sorry Ma'am, but if you don't hold still this is going to hurt more and there is a good chance you will be left with more of a scar" responded the medic.
Foster grunted assent before turning back to Fletcher. "As I was saying, we are more than happy to stay in the rear echelon whilst the fighting is continuing and I will make sure that we make use of the QRF if we do need to move forward. Can I please just ask in return that you get your men to be a little less enthusiastic with their heavy weapons. We have a lot of civilians in the area and I'm sure I don't have to remind you what happened to Commodore Shaw and his gung-ho attitude last year".
Looking slightly chastised Fletcher gave a more measured response: "Hmmn yes of course, I will clarify the rules of engagement with the men. Just please let one of my staff know before you make any more charges to the front. I hope your arm is feeling better soon". With that Fletcher wheeled about and stomped off out of the room. Finally Foster sat back to allow the medic to do his job.
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2059 September
Eta Cassiopeiae
Dominic Shah almost leapt from his bunk as he was startled awake by a thunderous roar arcing across the sky that left even the sealed panes of the hab units rattling across the colony. Immediately fearing another mech invasion Shah grabbed his data pad and with shaking fingers tried to locate the connection code for Commander Buckley, the current OC of the PDCs.
After what seemed an age Shah finally managed to bring up the details and get a call through. The call was answered almost immediately and Shah was greeted by the unexpectedly grinning face of the Commander. “Good morning Administrator, I trust you didn’t receive too rude an awakening from our latest arrivals”? “What”? croaked Shah in response.
“My apologies Administrator please let me explain. You will be delighted to hear that we have just taken delivery of two of the Navy’s most experienced and renowned fighter squadrons – the Kestrels and the Buzzards. What is more, I can also report that the men have been pulling double shifts and have literally just a few hours ago completed the installation of the detection net. We now have a fully operational defensive grid on the planet”.
Shah felt himself gawping at the Commander and shut his mouth with a click of teeth. “That is excellent news Commander, perhaps next time you might like to provide a little more warning”? Outside Shah could hear the wail of sirens and shouting coming from the streets. “Seeing as the Navy is up and about, might I suggest that you rouse a couple of the garrison units to try and calm the millions of people your fly boys have just scarred the living hell out of. I will see you in my office at 0900 promptly for a fuller debrief”.
Before Buckley could respond Shah shut the link. Dumping the pad back on the floor where he had only recently rescued it, Shah crawled back into to bed. With some luck he might salvage a few more hours sleep before he had to go and placate the population yet again.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton looked on as the troop shuttles disgorged another battalion of the TFAA’s finest. At the current rate the rest of the division would be unloaded within the next eight hours. He had tentatively set H hour at 0430Z on 30th September. It didn’t give the newly arrived troops much time at all to get in position but he wanted to hit the Union before they had a chance to re-organise in response to the latest drop. At least they had decided not to try and attack his own positions whilst the troop ships were away for the past month.
2059 October
Sol – Fleet Command
Captain (formally Commodore) Shaw was sat in the operations centre pouring over the latest set of projections and plans prepared by his staff. With the refitting of the Navy’s older ships with newer engines now in full swing and the delivery of the bulk of the Union’s old military shipyards; the time was fast approaching when the Navy would need to decide on a strategic direction for the next long term plan.
Shaw leaned back in his chair, massaging his temples and closing his eyes as he did so. He had been at the review for almost three days but was little closer to coming up with a viable, politically acceptable plan which he was comfortable presenting to Shots then when he had started.
Whilst the refit of the carriers was going smoothly, thanks in large to the previous Neutronium crash and resulting freeze on changes in design, the more modern destroyers and light cruisers with their multiple variants were proving far harder to schedule. The best he could come up with at the moment was a rotation of vessels between the carrier groups to free up ships of the same class for refit before retooling was required. This would greatly speed up the process but would leave deployed carrier groups incomplete for periods of time. It would also completely muck up the maintenance cycle across the task groups which would undoubtedly cause more issues later down the line.
The long term plan was proving to be an even thornier issue. Whilst the carrier platform had proven to be incredibly effective over the past twenty years it was beginning to place an increasing strain on the logistics back bone of the Federation as evidenced by even the limited engagements with the Mechs, Union and Followers. If the core carrier doctrine was to be continued and expanded on the Federation would need to make significant additional investment in ordnance facilities and colliers. That was likely to be unpalatable to the politicians who were keen to push broader economic growth.
Additionally the Navy’s past practice of moving their obsolete fighters to provide coverage to the Federation’s various colonies was looking to Shaw like being an increasingly misguided move. The more limited range and fire controls of the Hammerheads meant that they would have little hope of mounting multiple sorties against any attacking fleet before it reached the colony and they were increasingly at risk of having to enter the enemies own engagement range in order to launch their missiles. That meant that realistically the Navy needed to divert more resources to the replacement of all land based fighters which in turn would mean current facilities would not be able to meet the demand for new carrier based fighters. Again that meant further unpalatable investment in military infrastructure.
Finally and probably most challenging was how the Navy continued to provide an effective defence to its’ widely distributed home planets and colonies. Experience had already shown that even with vessels based in neighbouring systems they would, more often than not, be unable to respond in time to an attack. In many instances the fleets were acting as a deterrent through the threat of retribution more than an interventionist role. It was clearly impossible to base a combat effective force at every planet, which to Shaw’s mind meant the only option was to create an extensive early warning system throughout every system that was within two to three jumps of a colony. Manned EW platforms were simply untenable so that left buoys. Even then this would clearly be another massive undertaking requiring additional ships and further ordnance production capacity.
Sighing, Shaw gave his temples one last rub before bending back down to the task at hand.
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Rear Admiral Shots was in the final stages of completing a long grinding tour of the new shipyard facilities. In truth he had had no requirement to see them but his press officer had insisted that he spend more time away from HQ being seen by both the crew and the Federation’s citizens. Consequently, whilst he maintained a smile and asked the usual range of harmless questions of the staff he met along the way, his mind was really focused on the evolving problems out in the Union sector.
Shots now recognised that his original timetable for the invasion of the Followers Home world had been woefully over optimistic. Latest reports from Major General Thornton indicated that the TFAA were again meeting stiff resistance from the last of the Union’s troops and that the operation was likely to take several months to complete. Much as he wanted to rescind Commodore Thorpe’s orders and get on with the invasion he knew he couldn’t undermine her without some serious long term repercussions and he needed all the allies he could find. He was therefore wrestling with the idea of ordering an interdiction of the Followers system to destroy their current fleet, block any commercial ships from delivering material to the planet and preventing the build-up of new vessels.
He was pretty sure he would be able to keep the carrier group on station in the system for 6 to 8 months without the need to resupply them. That should be more than enough to allow for further delays in the mop up in Kappa Ceti and would allow him to announce the commencement of the operation now giving him some breathing space with Parliament. What he really needed to do was to get the ops to running the simulations to make sure it would work. Still smiling, Shots silently urged his hosts to hurry up and get the tour done with.
GJ 1065
Colonel Foster stood at the edge of one of the ruined construction factories that had been destroyed in the fighting with the Mechs. It was two weeks since the infantry had declared the last of the Mechs dealt with, however she was still unable to get back to work. Below her the infantry were back, working methodically through the remains of the various drones making sure they were completely destroyed. There had already been a number of instances where apparently shut down drones had sprung back into life causing a number of casualties amongst the engineers. Consequently Foster had had to take a back seat again whilst the Infantry cleared the dig of all of the drone remains.
Not that there wasn't other work for the engineers to get on with. Several installations had been badly damaged in the fighting which needed making safe, not to mention the further repairs to the Union's hab units and packing up two more of the huge research facilities for shipment back to Luyten 1305-10. The trouble was all of that work took her and her teams away from their passion of unearthing new discoveries in the alien ruins.
Foster took one last look at the excavation before making her way back towards the command tent. Hopefully she could get the structural work completed in the next few days so they could get on with the excavation once the Infantry gave the all clear. Foster was soon lost in her thinking as she wandered along the streets, absently scratching her still healing arm.
Kappa Ceti
“Sir, Minotaur will be over the horizon in approximately two minutes, expect to re-establish comms in just under five”. “Very well sergeant”, responded Thornton, “as soon as you have established contact please send the priority request”.
Thornton went back to his pacing whilst he thought through the last months actions and their situation. The first few weeks of the battle had gone well with limited losses experienced by his troops and substantial gains made. He had not however been able to bring any decisive victories to bear given his limited man power leaving him unable to effectively pin the enemy.
The situation had however turned for the worst about two weeks ago when two brigades had strung themselves out trying to encircle several Union battalions. It was exactly what the Union had been waiting for, enabling a swift counter attack that had left the TFAA with four badly mauled battalions and the loss of their marginal advantage over the Union. Since then the Union forces had counter attacked on a number of occasions leaving further heavy casualties on both sides.
The invasion was rapidly turning into one of heavy attrition, one that the TFAA could not afford to fight if they were to undertake the invasion of Delta Trianguli any time soon. The situation was being further aggravated by the slow speed of the TFAA’s troop transports – latest estimates gave it another 80 days before his third assault infantry division could get to them.
Thornton was broken from his revere by his communications sergeant speaking, “Sir, link established, I have Commander Hodgson on”. “Thank you sergeant, please put him through”, responded Thornton.
“Commander Hodgson, good day to you. I’m uploading my latest sitrep for immediate transmittal to Navy command and Earth HQ. I will tell you now that I’m requesting release of your ships for fire missions on the Union forces. We simply don’t have the man power to dig them out without further heavy losses. I expect that you will want to verify any orders with Rear Admiral Shots so please make the necessary arrangements. If orbital strikes are not approved we will be pulling back to defensive positions until further reinforcements arrive. Thornton out”.
Thornton immediately went back to his planning board. Not giving Hodgson a chance to respond would not exactly endear the man to him but he was in no mood to discuss the situation and right now he needed to work out how to minimise further casualties.
2059 November
Sol – Navy Command
Rear Admiral Shots sat at his desk, in front him his display screen was scrolling through the orders he had just prepared for Thornton and Miller. They weren’t orders he was particularly pleased to be issuing but were probably the best he could do in the circumstances.
Parliament had been in uproar when they were made aware of not only the substantial delays in dealing with the Followers but also the poor performance of the cream of the TFAA. Thornton’s request for an orbital strike had been point blank refused whilst others had expressed grave concerns over his apparent aversion to aggressively engaging with the enemy in accordance with his orders. Few seemed to grasp what they were actually asking of their troops.
The upshot of it all was that he needed to instruct Thornton to continue engaging with the Union troops and to order Miller to initiate phase 1 of Operation Head-start. It meant that the men of the TFAA were likely to incur heavier casualties whilst the ships of Carrier group Bravo were going to be exposed for months longer than necessary. No, he didn’t like the plans one little bit but if he was going to continue to have a voice in parliament and help the longer term development of the Federation’s forces he was going to have to put these ones through.
After one final read through, Shots hit send.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton finished reading Shots’ orders for the second time before standing up to address his command staff. Inside he was fuming and it was a testament to his self-control that he was able to maintain his normal outwardly calm persona.
“Listen in everyone”, began Thornton, “orders are back in from Earth, we are to continue to press the Union’s forces whilst we wait for the 3rd Division to arrive. I know many of our units have suffered a number of casualties in this battle to date but we can’t afford to let their forces re-group; especially not after all we have already achieved to date. The Union forces continue to demonstrate themselves to be both a tenacious and wily, they make us pay for every inch of ground we take and ruthlessly exploit any weaknesses in our lines”.
“However, we no longer have to accept this state of affairs. From now on we are going to take a more measured approach to operations, we will creep forward as slowly as necessary, forcing them to make the errors and meeting us on our own terms alone. With a change in tempo we can frustrate the enemy, forcing them to retain their full alert state and stopping them recovering from the casualties we have already inflicted to date.
I want a full O group at 0745Z with orders dispatched to every battalion commander by 0600Z. We have regrouped our forces by 1800Z and ready for the change in operations by 2100Z. I want an 8 hour notice to move out in the next 15 minutes and preliminary orders for my review in the next three hours. Now let’s get to work”.
Luyten 1305-10
Miller sat in her command chair watching the task group break orbit. Fortunately she would have the best part of several weeks to finalise her plans for the invasion of Delta Trianguli. Following a brief exchange of messages with Shots she had at least been able to procure the attachment of Strike Group Bravo to support the initial gate assault and to secure the jump point. She had not however had any luck in getting Shots to release further carriers to support her. That was particularly irking her given how reticently she had allowed the TFS Princeton to be detached from her task group to redeploy several fighter wings. Miller could only hope that the Followers had not been able to use the last few months since their last visit to substantially improve the systems defences.
Sol – London
Carter was pleased to see that the invasion was finally getting under way. The continuing complaints from the under staffed Martian shipyards, despite the fact that he had redirected the whole of the Federation’s colony ships to resolving the issue, was becoming tiresome. Hopefully the news of the invasion would finally get it out of the headlines and stop Parliament breathing down his neck. Also, with the fuel harvesters now back in orbit and producing in Gliese 674 he now had the chance to move the tugs back to Luyten 1305-10 where they could stand ready to snatch any shipyards from the Followers.
Operation Head-Start
Iota Persei
Miller was once again at her command chair on the bridge. The carrier group had rendezvoused with Strike Group Bravo approximately two hours ago and both task groups were now hanging in space 42 million kilometres from the Delta Trianguli jump gate. In a few short minutes the light jump cruisers and destroyers would detach from the task group to form the assault squadrons whilst the carriers hung back. Unlike the previous recon in force, the whole re-constituted task force would then make its way in system, engaging and destroying any ships en-route. Miller glanced at the mission clock, H minus 55 seconds and counting.
Miller thumbed her comms switch “This is Commodore Miller, in a few short moments we will commence operations to finally deal with the continued aggression of the Followers. This was a fight that Federation did not want, a fight that we endeavoured to avoid, to try and resolve. Yet despite our efforts the Followers have insisted on taking the path to conflict and war. Today we are going to show them the error of their decision, that the Federation is not to be crossed, that the resolve of our forces is more than up to the task. Today we show them that the Federation Navy is more than up to the task of stopping them in their tracks. I have absolute faith that all of you will do what is necessary to help bring this war to a swift and decisive conclusion. Miller out".
Delta Trianguli
14th November 22:33
The two temporary task groups made up of the ships Carthage, Gambia, Formosa, El Salvador, France and Galicia complete the jump into Delta Trianguli. Conscious of the impact of the jump on their sensors the two temporary task groups immediately break from the jump gate to take up a position 20Mkm in system.
Five minutes later no contacts have been picked up and the crews of the two task groups relax a little. Carthage immediately heads back to the jump gate to signal the rest of the group that they are free to jump through.
15th November 00:14
Strike Group Bravo completes the jump into Delta Trianguli and immediately moves back to the gate in order to take up its’ defensive duties.
15th November 05:23
Miller’s carrier group joins with the two temporary task groups and starts to make its’ way in system towards the Followers home world on the planet A-II.
16th November 19:08
Miller is sat eating dinner in the ward room when she finally gets the call she has been waiting for for the past day. “Commodore, we’ve just picked up the four Tiera class vessels on an intercept course. Reciprocal heading shows they have come from the home planet”.
“Thank you Ensign, I shall be up to the bridge shortly, in the meantime please contact the Breton and Casablanca and let them know I intend to use their squadrons to engage and destroy the enemy vessels. Miller out”.
Fifteen minutes later the four squadrons of Starfury fighters streaked towards the hostile contacts at a combined closing speed of almost twenty thousand km/s.
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17th November 01:53
The four squadrons reach engagement range and immediately launch 5 salvoes of missiles at each vessel. Experience from previous engagements in Iota Persei has shown the Followers’ ships to have very limited defensive measures leading Miller to believe that this would be more than sufficient to destroy them. With the missiles inbound the fighters continue to close with the hostiles, ready to fire their three reserves volleys if needed.
Just over thirteen minutes later Miller is proven to have been unnecessarily conservative with her estimates of how much punishment The Followers’ ships could take. All four are destroyed by less than 3 salvoes each whilst sensor data indicates they had only a single layer of armour. Clearly the ships had sacrificed all defences in order to achieve their speed.
Miller immediately recalls the fighters to refuel and rearm. From the last recon there was likely to be a more substantial although slower force further in system and she was keen to make contact with them as soon as possible.
17th November 14:17
Miller didn’t have to wait long, little more than 12 hours later the watch officer on board TFS Carthage notified the fleet of eight new contacts. “Commodore, data in from the Carthage shows six Kalevala, two Hiisi and one Loviatar class vessels closing at 2789 km/s. All ships except for the Loviatar class mass 6,450 tons; the Loviatar is a big one - 12,800 tons. We are not currently detecting any active sensor emissions from the vessels”.
“Very well Lieutenant, please instruct the Breton, Casablanca and Charger to launch a full strike. Bring all ships to action stations. Please also place the Bushmaster and Copperhead on standby for rescue operations”, responded Miller.
Miller sat back, whilst she knew it would be almost five hours before the fighters reached firing range it was difficult not to stay transfixed on the tactical plot.
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17th November 20:37
Miller is deep in thought considering where she is going to stage her fleet whilst waiting for the troop ships when she is abruptly interrupted by the blaring of claxons. “Lieutenant report!” shouted Miller.
“New contacts, bearing 156 degrees, range 36.3m km, speed 4000 km/s. They are on an intercept. Cross section ping indicates 1000 ton ships, class not previously identified ma’am” came back the watch officer.
“All ships, all ships dead stop. Get me commander Fleming, I need to know when they expect to be able to achieve a firing solution on those ships and tell the independence I want to see her alert fighters in space in the next two minutes” responded Miller who was working hard to hide her shock to the crew and keep her tone balanced.
(http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/5442/cp83.jpg)
It took Fleming less than 10 seconds to come back. “Commodore, those ships are too small for our fire controls, we won’t have a firing solution until approximately 3mkm out”. Fleming’s voice was strained as he struggled with the effects of the massive deceleration of the fleet which not even the inertial compensators could fully mask. Miller unconsciously clenched her fists. How the hell had they managed to miss those ships on their last recon?
Miller quickly banished the thought from her mind. The Navy had lost a number of vessels, including two carriers to hit and run attacks from FACs in the past but she had no intention of allowing the Followers to add to that tally. With her main fighter squadrons were well out of position and the screening destroyers unable to engage, her only option then was to use the interceptors to take them down.
“All ships come to a bearing of 240 degrees, execute immediately. Independence, get those vessels out of my sky. All crews to battle stations”. Twenty seven minutes later the two squadrons of interceptors – the Night Owls and Peg Leg Petes report reaching engagement range and immediately commence firing their entire ordance at the rapidly closing hostiles.
Two minutes later with the missiles streaking towards the hostiles the two squadrons turn and burn for the Independence to refuel and rearm. Meanwhile on the bridge of the Egypt Miller watched the missiles track inbound whilst silently urging them onwards.
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At 21:10 exactly the interceptors’ missiles slam into the Followers’ ships. Multiple explosions are detected and despite the low yield warheads of the missiles, which were designed around engaging enemy fighters, most of the hostiles are destroyed. As the sensors resolve the interference from the explosions its apparent that eight vessels have been destroyed, four are dead in the water and only two continue to close with the fleet. Miller and the whole of the crew breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The relief is somewhat short lived however when the Independence reports that it is unable to rearm its’ interceptors. The somewhat garbled message that comes back indicates that a logistics muck up months ago back in Sol has left the Independence loaded with anti-ship missiles which are not compatible with the interceptor’s rail launchers.
Miller reacts immediately by ordering the six destroyer escorts to detach from the fleet and engage the remaining hostiles.
17th November 22:43
Having finally closed to engagement range the TFS Finland launches a salvo of 6 Harpy Mk5 ASMs at each of the two remaining FACs. Minutes later both vessels are torn apart by the heavy missiles. Commander Fleming, on board the Finland, notifies Miller that he intends to continue towards the wrecks of the other vessels and destroy the disabled ships with energy weapon fire.
With the immediate danger passed Miller approves the action before returning her focus to the six other fighter wings which had just completed their initial launches against the main hostile fleet.
Just two minutes later the fighters report missile interception of the hostiles with complete success. Once more the Followers appear to have had no missile defence with every missile fired impacting on the hostiles. The result is the total annihilation of the fleet with many ships torn apart by internal magazine explosions.
Miller looks on grimly; this wasn’t a victory, more a cull.
By 00:11 the destroyers have completed the destruction of the remaining FACs and have begun rescue operations. Miller in turn detaches the Bushmaster to pick up the survivors from their initial engagement before standing the crews back down and heading to her own bunk for some rest.
19th November 07:11
The carrier group reaches Miller’s assigned stand-off position and immediately launches a full strike of six fighter wings towards the Follower’s home planet and its’ orbital platforms. Miller is relieved to see that no further platforms have been built since their last visit.
(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7654/k8kn.jpg)
The Followers once more show that their defences are woefully inadequate when the entire wave of missiles reaches their targets unopposed, eliminating all of the orbital defences in a single strike.
With the primary mission objective achieved Miller takes stock of her position. Whilst she has used more than half of her carriers’ ordnance the task group has expended almost none of its ASMs or AMMs and remains well stocked with both fuel and maintenance supplies. Despite the issues with the interceptors the initial phase of the operation has been a resounding success for the Federation. Now all she had to do was hang on to her position whilst the TFAA wrapped up its efforts in Kappa Ceti and got themselves over to her.
Back on Kappa Ceti
Thornton was busy looking through the latest reports from his battalion commanders. Against all expectations it appeared that his revised tactics were having a demonstrable impact on the course of the battle. Over the course of the last month the Union troops had shown themselves to be largely inflexible in the advance, enabling the TFAA troops to inflict heavy casualties on them. Casualties amongst his own two divisions were still mounting but nowhere near the rate of the Union.
Latest estimates showed his force ratio to now be above two to one which gave him more options. He had already been able to pin and destroy to enemy units as a result of being able to free up some men across the narrowing front.
Whilst his relief troops remained almost 55 days out the situation on the ground was looking substantially better. In fact, if the battle continued as it had over the past twenty days or so he might not actually need them after all.
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Another great chapter, keep it up!
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2059 December
Delta Trianguli – 1st December
Less than 12 days after the last of the orbital facilities were destroyed Miller’s task group detects the launch of a new Suma class 6450 ton vessel by the Followers. Within the hour the ship has broken orbit on an intercept course with the carrier group. Miller is incredulous, the captain and crew of the ship must know that they are vastly outnumbered and out gunned. Could they really be that aggressive or blindly obedient to their superiors though Miller.
Putting the more philosophical considerations aside and conscious of her dwindling stocks of ASMs for the fighters, Miller decides to allow the vessel to close to engagement range with the destroyers. Previous engagements involving the Suma class has shown it to have the characteristic lack of armour of most Followers’ ships. Miller therefore assigns just two destroyers. Less than 24 hours after its’ launch the Suma class vessel is destroyed.
Anderseriks
Lieutenant Commander Natasha Sanders, captain of the survey vessel known simply as Charlie or ‘the little c’, is sat in her command chair waiting for the initial sensor readouts to start coming in. A veteran survey vessel commander, Sanders has learned the hard way just how dangerous uncharted space can be and no longer launched head first into a new survey mission.
Little c had just completed the jump through an uncharted point in the EG 453 system, a system that was in turn connected to GJ 1065 – the Federations key archaeological dig and site of the new Union colony.
Finally the officer of the watch spoke up “Captain, initial readings indicate that we have just jumped into Anderseriks. The system is coming up in our data base as one identified from captured Mech planetary data. We have red flag for possible hostiles”.
When don’t we have a red flag for possible hostiles thought Sanders. “Very well Ensign, bring us to a full stop and inform engineering I want the jump engine re-spooled and ready to go as soon as possible. Let’s wait for the optical scan to complete before we do anything else”.
“Aye aye Captain” responded the ensign. Moments later the ensign looked up from his plot. “Captain” he started with a somewhat less well composed voice than before, “optics are picking up a large number of wrecks around the inner planet and asteroids. We’re showing seven wrecks estimated to be in the 15,400 ton range, one 22,000 tonner and four 7,700 tons”.
“Put it up on my plot please, ranges and bearings to” responded Sanders far more calmly.
“Yes Ma’am. Ranges are 2.3bkm and 2.4bkm on bearings of 26% and 20% respectively. We are 2.1bkm from the nearest celestial”.
Sanders looked over her plot for a short while before responding. “All crew, this is the captain, we have identified a large number of wrecks in system indicative of heavy Mech activity. We will therefore retire to GJ 1065 where I will send details to Navy command. Whilst we are waiting for the jump drive to spool I want all crew to remain at stations. I will be instigating emissions reduction plan Alpha in 15 minutes which will stay in place until we jump out. Take the chance to get some hot food down you now. Sanders out”.
Luyten 1305-10
Laura Bolton stood, perched against the edge of her desk, listening to her advisor group run through the current weeks update. By all accounts things were going pretty well. Factory production remained stable and, at least in the short term, they had been able to deal with the mineral issues. The planet now had a reasonable stock of missiles with which to bunker the defensive silos and they had more fuel then she knew what to do with.
The only downside was the raising pressure from the civilians to further improve the defensive measures in the system. Clearly they remained unsettled from the Federation’s own invasion of the planet. The departure of some of the key carrier groups and attendant vessels looks like it had been interpreted by many as the Federation abandoning them. The old frigates simply were up to the task of convincing the population that the Federation still meant business.
They had already had to police a number of significant demonstrations and things were starting to turn uglier again. Clearly she was going to have to put more pressure on the Navy to increase its’ presence in the system. In fact they could potentially release the remaining military shipyard in orbit for restart so the planet could at least develop their own defences better. Politically she knew that one was going to be a tall order but she at least had to try.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton was busy working his way through the latest reports from his front line commanders. He was getting consistent reports that the Union troops had managed to overreach themselves in their rush to retake the ground the Federation had recently given up.
In fact, a particularly decisive engagement with the Union in one sector meant that he now had more free troops to spare and the change to reform several brigades for offensive duties. Whilst it was still early days he could sense the tide of the battle swinging back in the favour of the TFAA with casualty rates down for them but way up for the Union.
Sol
For once Rear Admiral Shots is back down on Earth, but yet again he has been forced to attend yet another ceremony. This time it was at the Federation’s key fighter construction facilities based close to the old Indian city of Mumbai. As ever the heat and humidity were oppressive whilst his less than practical dress uniform meant that he was undoubtedly in for another uncomfortable day.
In less than half an hour the 256th Mk1 Starfury would be running off the production line. It would be the last of the current class of fighter to be produced and meant that all four carrier groups could now be equipped with the considerably more developed fighters compared to the old Hammerheads.
It also meant that the factories would soon be able to begin construction on the new, even more advanced Mk 2 starfuries with the scout and tanker variants. All he needed now were some more modern carriers to base them from.
2060 January
GJ1065
Having finally received the all clear from the infantry, Colonel Foster was, when the call came in back where she liked most neck deep in the plumbing of an ancient piece of machinery. “Colonel, sorry for interrupt you but thought you might want to listen in on a broadcast we’ve just received. One of the survey vessels jut jumped back in system, seems like they’ve just run into Mech central just a couple of jumps out from here. They are calling for the cavalry right now”.
“No need to apologise sergeant”, replied Foster, “patch me into the broadcast. I’ll wrap up here and head back over in about fifteen minutes. See if you can find out any more information on this system they’ve found”. “Yes Ma’am”. After a few moments of static the sound of the survey vessel’s captain came over the comm. As she listened to the details Foster began to rush through her clean up before grabbing a scooter to head back in. Before long she was roaring through the largely empty streets of the old colony at a perilously fast rate to make it back to command as soon as possible.
By all accounts this was indeed likely to be one of the most significant finds in the Federation’s history of space exploration, potentially surpassing even the huge finds on GJ 1065. With the prospect of a new system back out on the fringe, new planets to explore and discoveries to uncover Foster firmly intended to be one of the first to get back out there. It was likely only a matter of time before the Navy sent a task group to clear the system and once that had been achieved the civilians would be in there in their droves, eager to capitalise on potential Mech technology. If she was going to get out there ahead of the pack she was going to have to pull a lot of strings and fast.
Luyten 1305-10
Sat in high orbit above the Union’s old home world Commodore Thorpe listened to Lieutenant Commander Sanders’ report on the newly discovered system of Anderseriks. With her own fleet and that of Miller’s already tied up on operations there wasn’t any question of being able to support them with her own task group. Any forces would need to come from Sol but that would leave Earth itself less well protected. She certainly didn’t envy Shots when that one made it back home.
Thorpe quickly dictated a response to het data pad to send back to Sanders before compiling a lengthier update to Shots. Incidents like these showed just how stretched the Navy was out here and just why they needed reinforcements.
Sol
Shots had assembled his whole operations team to discuss the response to Sander’s broadcast. The whole thing had already managed to leak to the press and Carter was back in parliament whipping up a storm regarding the safety of the Federation’s citizens and the need to act. He therefore needed to come up with the Navy’s response as soon as possible. Unfortunately that was easier said than done.
Whilst carrier group Alpha had undergone the engine upgrades for almost all of its vessels and now stocked a full complement of Starfuries it remained without an effective anti fac detection sensor and was thus susceptible to any Mech fac strikes. His only alternative, carrier group Charlie did have the necessary sensor system but it still had several ships in refit and had not yet operated as a single task group. Either way it would also mean stripping Earth and the surrounding systems down to a single carrier group for protection.
Given the need to try and come up with the ‘least worst’ solution Thorpe had decided to involve his broader team as they had better insight into the intricacies of the current fleet deployments and limits. Wrapping the large conference table with his knuckles Shots called the meeting to order. It was going to be a long and likely painful process so the sooner they got on with it the better.
Kappa Ceti
After another month of heavy fighting Thornton was back at the TFAA’s main landing site to watch the arrival of the additional Division of troops. Yet again they had managed to time their arrival perfectly. Over the past two weeks Thornton’s men had destroyed nine hostile units and inflicted heavy casualties on many others. As he had predicted the battle was fast turning into a route for the Union and it would now only be a matter of weeks before he was able to achieve complete victory.
Knowing that his men would have almost no down time before they were once again shipped off to Kappa Ceti would however take the opportunity to reorganise his troops to make sure only the freshest battalions began the journey and undertook the initial landing. Hopefully that would give the other men that had seen the heaviest fighting at least a few months to recover.
2060 February
107 Piscium
Captain Aridan Booth sat at his command chair listening to his engineering teams continue to work through the field checks of the rest of the fleets new engines. His task group, carrier group Alpha, was now just over three weeks out from Earth and making excellent progress towards GJ 1065 and onwards to their eventual objective of Anderseriks. So far all of the engine checks had proven positive, testament to the skills of the dockyard engineers who had managed the substantial remits in such a short amount of time. The only galling fact was that the lead jump ship, the TFS Cayman Is remained on the older generation of engines, having been forced to depart before a shipyard could be retooled to perform the necessary upgrade; meaning that the fleet could not yet stretch its’ legs to the full. That aside it was good to be back in open space and heading for the frontier again; the ships and crew had spent too long getting used to life in orbit and they needed the kick to restore their operational skills.
Booth thought back to the frantic activity that had taken place in Sol on the tail of the message from Lieutenant Commander Sanders. Navy command had taken a few days to respond to both the message and the calls from government; when they did they called for calm and the need to carefully weigh up the appropriate response. Behind the scenes however he knew that the Navy had been thrown into crisis mode with working out how to adequately respond without stripping Earth's own defences.
After much wrangling and no small amount of lobbying on his part, Shots had finally agreed to send a full task group to investigate the new system and deal with any Mech presence. The task group would be closely followed by a salvage group, survey vessels and a xenoarchaeology team in case further ruins were identified. The decision to send Alpha group was finally made on the basis that the newly refitted ships would be able to make the return journey almost 40 days faster than the currently formed Delta group and hence would minimise exposure for Earth.
In return for the rapid deployment of the carrier group Shots had been able to extract a number of concessions from the defence spending oversight committee allowing the immediate commissioning of four new 18,000 ton cruisers, the opening of the shipyards on Luyten to construct a series of new littoral defence light cruisers for the region. It was a fantastic outcome for the Navy but not without its’ risks. Booth only hoped that he could complete the mission with the minimum of problems and make it back to Earth with the minimum delay.
Kappa Ceti
Thornton wandered through the broken habitat domes stunned at what he was seeing. All around him was the smouldering remains of the small colony they had just spent almost five months fighting over. Initial sweeps showed that there wasn't a single large structure left standing and no signs off life anywhere. It was possibly the worst outcome to the battle that Thornton could have envisaged.
Just two days ago the TFAA had routed the last of the Union troops and finally cleared the way to the small colony. The advance had been delayed by a day whilst the last men of the relief division had made landfall; right on schedule as predicted by Thornton. All of the troops had mobilised and were ready to start occupying the colony when the explosions had begun. Thornton could only be thankful that the delays in mounting had meant his own men were not in the buildings when the destruction began.
"Sir, report just in from the engineers" reported one of his HQ staff, "they confirmed the use of weapons grade explosive at all of the site scanned to date. Based on the complete structural failure of the buildings the engineers initial conclusion is that the Union troops must have placed demolition charges some time ago. It looks like they were hoping to take some of us with them as a last act of defiance. If it's any consolation none of the civilians would have suffered once those charges went off".
"Thank you for the update" replied Thornton, biting off each word as he continued to stare at the ruins about him. "Have the engineers complete a full sweep for any unexplored ordnance and instruct the 68th and 69th to take up defensive positions. All other troops are to pull back and start preparing for uplift. Notify task group Manticore of our findings and that we will be ready to move in the next five days. I will finish my own tour of the area and will be back at the command post in the next couple of hours".
2060 March
Sol
Carter sat in his office, his feet up on his desk and a data pad propped up in his lap. In front of him the live stream from parliament was showing the opposition gleefully tearing strips off of the prime minister and his colleagues over the atrocious outcome in the battle for Kappa Ceti. Current estimates based on the number of destroyed habitat domes put the death toll at somewhere in the region of 250,000 civilians. A small but vocal minority were calling for the immediate court martial of Major General Thornton for his handling of the attack and the failure of his troops to secure the domes before they were sabotaged. That was never going to happen given Thornton's track record and the rather more pressing need for someone out there to oversee the invasion of a substantially larger world.
Carter grinned; it was funny how Thornton’s inaction which had resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands was going to let him off scot free whilst captain Shaw’s actions that had arguably saved many lives had more or less ended his career. A start reminder to all how politics could ride rough shod over such basics as common sense.
For Carter though the important thing had been that there was no discussion of changing the plans for Kappa Ceti, it seems no one wanted to open that can of worms given the Navy’s current presence in the system and the somewhat forceful nature of their presence. Even if they had been able to reason with the Followers it was incredibly doubtful that they would ever find a path back to peace, at least not without a level of restitution that would likely cripple the Federation for years to come.
That left the rather more appealing opportunities of greater investment in the armed forces and further improvement of the civilian shipping fleet to improve lift capacity. There was certainly money to be made from all of this and in Carter’s mind that could only be a good thing.
Delta Trianguli
Miller watched on as the third Suma class vessel the Followers had sent at them was obliterated by a volley of 18 Harpy Mk 4 missiles from the task group’s attendant destroyers. Miller had ceased trying to ponder quite what the Followers thought they may achieve through such a fruitless exercise. Instead, Miller was focusing on keeping her ships and crew as ready as possible for the eventual invasion and trying to limit the inevitable erosion of effectiveness as their deployment stretched into long months.
Whilst she had been shocked about the news from Kappa Ceti in other ways she was relieved. The lack of a need for a garrison force either to defend the old colony or to keep the population in check meant that the TFAA could wrap up operations sooner than expected and get on with the invasion in front of her. The sooner they did that the sooner they could stop the Followers throwing away the lives of their own Navy personnel.
In fact Miller did not have to wait much longer. Little more than two weeks after the last Followers’ ship had been destroyed the ships of Trooper 1 and 2 along with their escort jumped into the system and immediately headed for the Followers’ home world. Within hours Commodore Webster, Miller’s notional 2ic, had formed up a detachment consisting of the task group’s destroyers and one light cruiser and was poised to join the escort for the final assault.
Anderseriks
Captain Barnett listened anxiously as the watch officer intermittently broke the silence across the bridge with the countdown for the task group’s sensors to clear. Knowing that Sanders’ scout ship had been able to enter the system unmolested, Barnett had decided to execute a standard transit in order to bring all of his vessels through at one time before heading towards the planets some 2.3bn km distant. However with the countdown seemingly stretching into eternity he was beginning to regret his actions.
Finally the sensor cleared and, to the relief of Barnett, quickly confirmed that there were no large vessels within 500m km of them. Updates also confirmed the extensive number of wrecks in the system and the tell-tale signatures of Mech ships. Keen to complete his sweep Barnett immediately orders the task group to move in system with the TFS Britain, Bulgaria and Burma running point some 50m km ahead of the main group.
With the stress of the initial jump behind them, Barnett was pleased to see the crew quickly fall into the fleet high alert routine. Whilst not something that could be maintained in the long term Barnett had decided that the short five day journey into the system would mean that they were likely to come across any hostiles sooner rather than later and hence warranted the higher on-board tempo. It didn't hurt that the large number of wrecks on scan and there for everyone to see were helping to focus the crew's minds.
Four days in but still with no signs of hostile activity the task group's long range sensors began to sweep the outer planets and asteroid belt. Given past experience with the usually fast responding and highly aggressive Mechs Barnett was now pretty certain that their charge across the systems was going to end in a false alarm. He would finish his sweep of the planets to ensure no mine fields had been left in orbit then immediately head for home. Checking his mission clock he noted that the task group still had six more hours to go before its' sensors would cover the system's second planet around which many of the wrecks were clustered. With one last check round the bridge Barnett assigned the comm to his watch officer and headed back to his room for a bite to eat and a few hours’ sleep.
Five hours later he was back up on the bridge watching the scan range slowly tick down. About him he could feel the tension in the bridge beginning to grow. If they were going to encounter any hostiles they would undoubtedly be round the planet. Once more the tension mounted on the bridge only to be replaced by a mixed wave of disappointment and relief as the sensors finally confirmed that there were no large Mech ships in orbit of the central planets. Frustrated with the experience Barnett once again retired to his office to catch up on the never ending paperwork before retreating to his bunk. He was still thinking through a revised rotation plan for the crew when he finally passed out.
Siren wails cut through Barnett’s sleep, jerking him awake. Instinctively, before he had wiped the sleep from his eyes, he slapped the bridge comm control. “Ensign report”. An excited response greeted him. “Sir, sensors have just picked up a new contact at planet AII, database search is not matching it to any known configuration of vessels we have previously encountered. This might be a first conta…” “What’s the range and what it’s doing?” interrupted Barnett. “Sorry Sir, range 237m km bearing 16 degrees. No movement or sensors detected”. “Thank you Ensign, bring the fleet to a full stop. I will be up in a few minutes and shout if it does anything in the meantime”.
(http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5080/e0nw.jpg)
Barnett hurriedly pulled on a fresh jumpsuit before making his way up to the bridge thinking furiously as he went. If this was a new alien race had they destroyed the Mechs in this system or stumbled on it like them, were they a hostile species and did they have other ships in the system?
Finally Barnett made it to the bridge. “Ok, Ensign tell me what we know.” “Sir, contact was detected at 04:45Z at a range of 237.54m km. Sensor indicates a cross section of 80 so in the 4000 ton range. Vessel is in close orbit of Planet AII. We have not detected any changes of position or any signals being transmitted. No active sensors detected and we are not picking up any thermal emissions at this stage. Ship is active and appears to be running a survey of the planet. As far as we can tell it’s not detected us.”
“Very good Ensign” replied Barnett. “Instruct all vessels to hold position. I want one squadron of Starfuries on high alert; rotate the rest of the crews of to get some sleep. Comms please begin broadcasting our standard greeting messages. Let’s see if we can talk to our new friends”.
Five minutes later the comms officer reported a response on one of the FTL subspace channels. “Sir, we are getting a set pattern response coming through, initial analysis seems to indicate that whoever they are they are running a base 16 standard. It’s going to take the commuters a while to even start trying to make sense of this”. “Ok, well neither our sensors nor our message appears to have spooked them so let’s see if we can make progress on contact. Comms, keep working on it and let me have twice daily updates on any progress. In the meantime let’s see what else we can find out about this system”.
Two days later Barnett gets another call from the bridge. “Sir, contact has just broken from orbit, current track shows them heading for an asteroid approximately 5m km closer to us. Speed, err speed is 6,250km/s”. Barnett spits coffee across his desk. Baring the Mechs that was the fastest ship the Federation had ever encountered, matching the speed of their most modern warships. If they were that technologically advanced they could pose a serious threat to the Federation, especially in this relatively poorly defended area of space. Barnett composed himself before replying “ok, keep me informed of any further changes and notify the crew that I intend to stay on station until the end of the month. If we haven’t made further progress by then we will drop a first contact comms probe to continue efforts before returning to GJ 1065 to report our findings to command”.
Delta Trianguli
Thornton could feel the build-up of vibration as his assault shuttle ploughed through the near Earth atmosphere of the planet, its pilot strained to get the small craft on the ground as quickly as possible. On his tactical screen he could see the multiple drop units of both Divisions making landfall. So far there had been only sporadic fire from the ground, seeming to back up the low orbit pass which had failed to identify anything but a small ground force. Perhaps just for once thought Thornton, his men might actually catch a lucky break.
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Could you post designs for some of your ships? Like that 18000 ton cruiser and the littoral light cruiser?
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Awesome story.
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Thanks, Captain Shaw is going to spend a bit of time musing over the current fleet and ship designs in the next installment so you will see a bunch of the designs then. This is a 5.7 campaign (I was waiting for Steve to fix some of the bugs in 6.1 before switching but got so far along in this one I decided to use it as the base for the fiction) so I'm not dealing with the same fuel and crew constraints you see in current version designs.
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I seem to have been plugging away at this update for an age. Work has been horrible so a reasonable chunk of the following has been tapped out on the blackberry when I've find the odd ten minutes of free time so apologies in advance for any glaring language issues in this update.
2060 April
Delta Trianguli
Thornton was sat on a small wooden park bench with his face raised to catch the glow of the mid afternoon sun. About him he could hear the chirping of birds and, with his combat suit's helmet propped next to him, he could smell the heady aroma of flowers. Thornton sighed, with a little imagination he could believe himself to back on Earth enjoying a warm summer day rather than being billions of miles away in the centre of what had until very recently been a war zone on an alien planet. Giving himself just a few more moments to enjoy the heat on his face and the remarkably fresh air Thornton finally stretched out before prizing his eyes open once more.
Before him the reality of the situation was plain to see; the city's central park in which he was sat had been largely commandeered by his division HQ as it was both close to the Followers' existing government buildings and provided plenty of open space to set up the various command modules whilst allowed for an orbital transit zone. About him, heavy machinery continued to finish preparation of the site whilst troops, still clad in their full combat armour patrolled the hastily erected perimeter walls. Thornton grimaced, it would probably be years before the park was returned to its' previously more restful state.
A beeping from his comm unit reminded him that he had an O group to deliver in a little under fifteen minutes. Thornton cancelled the alarm before grabbing his helmet and heading back to the main command module. On the way he thought back to the events of the last month. The battle for the planet could barely be called such a thing, as expected, the remains of the Followers' ground forces were little more than several battalions of infantry, a brigade HQ and a regiment of engineers. Thornton's own battle hardened divisions of heavy assault and assault infantry had quickly overrun all of their positions and destroyed all opposition. Less than a week later, the clergy who appeared to act as both the spiritual and political leaders of the Followers, pronounced their unconditional surrender and quickly moved to hand power to the Federation before retreating to support the faith of their population.
The Federation's huge surge in troops on the planet had meant that they had more than enough man power to instigate strict controls whilst they worked to implement a transitional government and representative body for the population. Looting and rioting had, so far, been kept to an absolute minimum but the close controls combined with the destruction of much of the communications and power infrastructure meant that the industrial output of the planet was heavily curtailed and, if experience was gone by, would likely result in a substantial recession that would take years to pull them out from.
In the meantime Thornton needed to get his men moved from a war footing to a policing role as quickly as possible. The sooner they could show the citizens that they were not here to hurt them the better. Thankfully, the fact that the atmosphere was more than breathable for them meant the job would be substantially easier - it was always harder to win the hearts and minds of people from behind an armoured visor.
GJ 1065
“Sir all vessels report jump complete and in formation”. “Very good ensign”, replied Captain Barnett “Comms, initiate hand shake protocols with the jump gate transceiver and send the data packet as soon as you have confirmation that our codes have been accepted and we have a secure channel. Inform administrator Barrett that we have completed our sweep of the system and will be staying in orbit for a short while whilst we wait for new orders. Let me know as soon as we get a response from Earth on that report, I’ll be in my cabin for the next few hours”.
Barnett was well aware that the signal would take longer than that to reach Earth, let alone the time they would spend making a decision on the next actions to take. Given the Federation’s fairly poor record of encounters with alien civilisations he was pretty sure it was going to cause a mini riot back home.
Sol – Navy HQ
Rear Admiral Shots was down in guts of the Navy HQ’s lower levels where he was working through his daily 50 laps of the pool. It was five thirty in the morning and the pool was almost completely empty. Not that he had to worry about having space to swim as the rest of the pool’s users kept a respectful distance. Shots enjoyed his morning swim as one of the few times he was not in touching distance of a comms unit and able to get some peace and quiet.
Five laps into his swim Shots noticed a young ensign stood at the far end of the pool, data pad in hand and a look of agitation on his face. For a few moments Shots wondered whether he could get away with pretending not to notice him before deciding to give into the inevitable and swimming over.
As Shots came to the edge of the pool the young officer came sharply to attention before saluting. “Please ensign, I’m hardly in a position to return your salute now am I” remarked Shots. “Apologies sir, I’ve been sent down by Mr Booth, he asked me to apologise on his behalf for disturbing you this morning. He has received a priority message from Captain Barnett in GJ 1065 which he feels requires your immediate attention”.
“Please stop apologising and go fetch me a towel, then go and tell Mr Booth that I will be up with him in ten minutes. I assume whatever the message I’ve got time to at least dry myself off”? “Yes sir, of course sir”. The Ensign caught himself half way towards another reflexive salute from being dismissed, grabbed a towel for Shots and left at a very brisk walk”.
A little more than ten minutes later Shots was up in the briefing room with a large mug of coffee, one of his few vices, in his hand. In front of him were arrayed most of the senior intelligence and planning staff. Shots took a large gulp of coffee, whatever it was; it was unlikely to be good news for him.
“Sir, apologies again for the urgency of this briefing, we have just received a report from Captain Barnett. As far as he could ascertain there is no remaining Mech threat in Anderseriks”. “Well that hardly feels like cause for concern Commander” replied Shots before Booth could continue.
“We quite agree sir. Unfortunately that’s not the problem. Whilst performing his sweep the carrier group made contact with a new alien race. From the behaviour and size of the single vessel encountered Barnett concluded that it was most likely a system survey ship of some sort and we would concur with that opinion at this stage. As a result of the contact Barnett followed protocol and backed off out of the system whilst deployed a suite of our standard first contact probes to attempt to establish communications”.
“Whilst the alien ship made no hostile moves we have to assume that there is at least the chance that this alien civilisation was responsible for the destruction of the very significant Mech presence. Combined with the fact that the ship was observed travelling at some 6,250 km/s it is possible that we have just encountered a race that is technologically superior to the Federation and capable of significant force projection”.
Shots, took a moment to take a few sips of his coffee, using the time to compose his response. “Ok everyone this just became our top priority. GJ 1065 just became our potential new front line; I want a plan of action to have that system appropriately fortified in the next six months. We are going to need even more ships for the Luyten cluster so let’s go back to the drawing board on the current refit programme. What we need now are more hulls, not faster ones. Make sure you get Captain Shaw up to speed as soon as possible”.
Shots paused for a few moments to further think through the problem before continuing “Ok we need a more immediate response on deployments as well. Let’s keep a destroyer detachment in GJ 1065 and get the rest of Alpha back to Luyten to relieve Commodore Miller. I want to see options on further deployment of our survey group into the system and onwards; finding their base of operations or better yet their home world will give us a huge advantage if it ever moves to conflict. In the meantime, unless anyone thinks otherwise, let’s try not to provoke them with more military ships and active sensors in system”.
“Last but by no means least”, continued Shots “we need to sort out our civilian response. Let’s make sure we have our best diplomatic team ready to jump on this once we have comms. Otherwise I want that area a no go zone for any civilian shipping and, if at all possible, let’s try and keep this piece of news out of the press at least until we have some idea of what we are dealing with”.
“Now what are everyone else’s thoughts on the current situation and this planned response”? Shots sat back to finish his coffee whilst he listened to the room descend into a barley contained argument of proposal and counter proposal.
Sol – The Seychelles
Carter was sat on the veranda of his beachside villa looking out over the crystal blue ocean of the Indian ocean. The island, Ile du Nord, which was owned by an elaborate series of trusts and holding companies, now served as one of Carter's favourite retreats. It was well removed from the bustle of London, exceedingly private and one of the few paradise islands to have escaped the ravages of the Last War.
Unfortunately much of the beauty of the island was lost on him at the moment given the past two weeks of almost non-stop partying not only around the globe but also on an unbelievably opulent cruise to Mars and back. The whole of the Federation had been in a state of jubilation following the news of the Navy’s and TFAA’s success in forcing the Followers’ surrender. With the wars that had plagued the last four years of the Federation’s history now over and the wealth it had brought likely to fund a long period of growth the Federation’s citizens had every reason to be happy. Seeing an easy way to boost his standing, Carter had immediately embarked on a tour of the key cities with lavish celebrations at every step.
Unfortunately for Carter, the combined technological might of the Federation had still failed to come up with an easy and reliable cure for a serious hangover. Consequently Carter had been busy focusing on as little as possible for the last hour, waiting for the throbbing in his head to ebb when the priority alert on his data pad chimed.
Carter groaned and rolled over, attempting to block out the noise with the beach towel on his lounger. The beeping was however incessant and before long he was forced to roll back and hit thumb the com pad.
"This had better be unbelievably important Mrs Gladstone" seethed Carter when he saw it was his finance director calling.
"If it wasn't I wouldn't be calling you now would I?" quipped back his rather formidable and equally aggressive employee. "We've just had news in from our salvage group in GJ-1065. Despite the all clear in Anderseriks some jump start Captain Barnett from the destroyer detachment the navy left there is denying access to the system. Something to do with further surveys being needed or some such twaddle. The news has already leaked out, Endtech Industries is tanking fast, the stock is already down 256 bps in pre trading. Looks like it will be a bloodbath".
"Jesus bloody Christ" swore Carter. "Ok we need to get this contained and fast. Get me some counter chatter out there, malicious rumours, attempts at stock manipulation, anything. Oh and get someone arrested over it and make it public. If we take much more of a dive on that our debt covenants are going to start biting. Looks like I'm going to need to call in a few favours to get this lot moving again. It’s going to take the best part of the day to get rolling so I want regular updates on that stock price".
Carter killed the link and immediately put in a call to navy HQ. He knew just the person for the job. Surprisingly enough his head was starting to feel much better.
2060 May
GJ 1065
Captain Barnett sat in his ready room scratching his head. Two weeks ago he had received orders to secure the EG 453 jump gate, which linked the system with Anderseriks, and prevent any civilian shipping from entering the area. The orders had been explicit around the avoidance of further contact with the Sakies, as they had come to be known, until full communication was achieved.
His latest set of orders was however a complete U-turn. He was now meant to take his small task group straight back to Anderseriks and to protect the salvage group currently in system whilst they recovered the Mech wrecks. He’d known HQ to procrastinate at the best of times but changes in tack like this were almost unheard of. What’s more, as far as he could tell from the news feeds Parliament had been surprisingly quiet on the situation as well so there was no sign of the usual political manoeuvring that may have otherwise been the cause for such a change in tack.
For the third time he checked the authentication codes half hoping that the orders were some kind of hoax. However they once again checked out.
Finally Barnett stood up and made his way to the bridge to organise the mission.
Sol - Mars Shipyards
Captain Shaw was sat at his temporary desk looking over the detritus littering the room. Half drunk coffee cups, drinks cans and take away cartons festooned the few areas of his desk not piled high with data pads, technical summaries, design proposals and scribbled notes. The side wall that was filled with his holo display was crammed full of more information included maps of the known system and contact reports.
Directly in front of him, sat on a hastily cleared section of desk, was a presentation data pad. After months of procrastination, u turns, changes in policy, bitter political rows, in fighting and confirmation of yet more alien life Shaw had finally managed to complete the Navy's new strategic plan. He wasn't sure if it had been three days or four since the intel on the new aliens had landed and he had last managed to sleep but that didn't matter now. They had an agreed plan and they could finally get moving.
As all good plans went this was a relatively simple one. The Navy's base of operations would be split in two with the formation of a second fleet based in Luyten. Responsibility for the Federation's systems would fall as follows:
Home Fleet:
Sol
Alpha Centuri
Groombridge 34
Eta Cassiopeiae
Epsilon Eridani
Proxima Centuri
Delta Paconis
Giliese 674
Epsilon Indi
Union Fleet:
Luyten 1305
Delta Trianguli
107 Piscium
Iota Persei
Kappa Ceti
GJ 1065
54 Piscium
The most heated debate had been around the allocation of responsibility for 107 Piscium. Whilst remote from Sol the system acted as a gateway to what were now referred to as the core worlds and the birthplace of humanity. Sol therefore saw it as their duty and right to defend this key system. However the relative logistics of the Home fleet instead of the Union fleet defending the system made this choice, aside from the political angle, nonsensical.
Shaw had finally resolved the stand-off by nominating one of the Home Fleet's carrier groups as the quick reaction force to reinforce the system or fight any rear guard action back towards Sol.
With the responsibilities of the systems resolved Shaw had turned his attention to the current and projected future requirements of the navy.
The carrier groups had proven themselves time and again to be effective offensive units and demonstrated that large single volleys of missiles were able to overcome all but the most heavily defended opponents. Their use in subsequent actions in Luyten and Delta Trianguli had however shown a number of critical weaknesses:
-The weak armour and lack of direct fire weapons meant they were unable to participate in any planetary inter diction operations;
-The task groups were capable of burning close to half a year's missile production in a single engagement which put significant strain on the Federation's industrial capacity and ability to fight a prolonged war;
-They were heavily reliant on maintaining and controlling the engagement distance to hostile forces. In defensive operations this meant that they would be unable to hold ground against an enemy capable of advancing through several fighter strikes; and
-They were heavy consumers of fuel and crew.
Shaw's conclusion therefore was to restrict the use of the carriers to offensive operations and mobile defence, to reduce the navy's overall proportion of carriers to other combat vessels and to balance construction with less missile based vessels.
As well as splitting the existing task groups, new task groups would be built around one of three broad roles being offensive operations, mobile system defences and stationary defences. Whilst many ships would be designed around dual roles this new structure paved the way for the construction of more specialised combat vessels, namely Littoral light cruisers and orbital weapon platforms. Given the noted limitations in fighters the navy would cease its current policy of using redundant fighters as the key defence for colonies, limited them instead to ancillary support only.
The change in tack meant that all further upgrades on the existing carrier task groups would be cancelled in favour of the immediate retooling of the available shipyards. A further investment in a series of smaller slipways to facilitate the construction of a new generation of frigates and the orbital platforms would also be made, including the development of more shipyards around Luyten 1305. These would however be limited to building the defence vessels in order to appease to still powerful political resistance against rearming the Union population.
The years of shipyard expansions and slipway increases had led to past designers pushing the design limits for the size of vessels launched. Unfortunately the many smaller outposts and colonies in the growing Federation had nowhere near the maintenance capacity to keep these vessels supported and left a significant strain on the manufacturing base as men and materials were shifted to try to build additional maintenance facilities.
Shaw had therefore further concluded that mobile system defence ships should be restricted to destroyer vessels or smaller whilst orbital defences were addressed through the construction of smaller but more numerous weapon platforms. A similar tack would also be taken with the carrier support vessels with increased numbers of smaller vessels to take on the tasks of force recon and interdiction.
This had led to the design of two new, largely energy weapon based, combat vessels. First and foremost was the new breed of Type 511 cruisers. Built around a pair of triple 20cm Ultraviolet Laser turrets the vessels would be able to dominate near space with an engagement envelope of over 300k km making them ideal warp point offense and defence platform. They were also the first breed of ships to be considered entirely self-sufficient with active and passive sensors and anti-missile defences allowing for potential single vessel deployments.
These vessels would serve primarily as the core escorts for the new carriers, significantly reducing the number of vessels to stay attached to the carrier task groups.
Type 511 class Cruiser 18,000 tons 1442 Crew 4201 BP TCS 360 TH 2250 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 8-61 Shields 0-0 Sensors 16/22/0/0 Damage Control Rating 24 PPV 150.1
Maint Life 4.77 Years MSP 2042 AFR 185% IFR 2.6% 1YR 147 5YR 2211 Max Repair 240 MSP
Magazine 384
MCF Drive E5 (18) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 515,000 Litres Range 103.0 billion km (190 days at full power)
Twin 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (2x2) Range 120,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
Triple 20cm C5 UvL Turret (2x3) Range 320,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 30-15 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Twin GC 20r8 (2x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (2) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (2) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1) Total Power Output 4 Armour 0 Exp 5%
MCF Reactor 10-1 (4) Total Power Output 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Size 4 Box Launcher (96) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC106-R50 (4) Range 106.9m km Resolution 50
Harpy 5 (96) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 28.2m Range: 84.6m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 233 / 140 / 70
Active Search Sensor MR110-R120 (1) GPS 8640 Range 110.4m km Resolution 120
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1) Sensitivity 16 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 16m km
EM Detection Sensor EM2-22 (1) Sensitivity 22 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22m km
The second core vessel design was the Type 431 Littoral class light cruisers. These were essentially scaled down versions of the Type 511 cruisers, with reduced armaments and range but substantial first strike power with 80 box launchers to enable crippling first strikes. These vessels would be operated in packs and act as the primary force to defend systems the more developed systems in the Federation.
Type 431 class Light Cruiser 12,000 tons 999 Crew 2716.4 BP TCS 240 TH 1500 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 7-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 16/22/0/0 Damage Control Rating 17 PPV 101.47
Maint Life 4.58 Years MSP 990 AFR 164% IFR 2.3% 1YR 77 5YR 1152 Max Repair 240 MSP
Magazine 320
MCF Drive E5 (12) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres Range 51.0 billion km (94 days at full power)
Twin 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (2x2) Range 120,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
20cm C5 Ultraviolet Laser (4) Range 320,000km TS: 6250 km/s Power 10-5 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Twin GC 20r8 (1x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (1) Total Power Output 4 Armour 0 Exp 5%
MCF Reactor 10-1 (3) Total Power Output 30 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Size 4 Box Launcher (80) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC106-R50 (4) Range 106.9m km Resolution 50
Active Search Sensor MR110-R120 (1) GPS 8640 Range 110.4m km Resolution 120
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1) Sensitivity 16 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 16m km
EM Detection Sensor EM2-22 (1) Sensitivity 22 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22m km
ECM 10
Finally the navy would also build a new series of shipyards for the construction of a series of 6,000 ton weapon platforms that would be capable of immediate deployment to new colonies whilst maintenance facilities were constructed to eventually provide direct support to them. These platforms would again be self-sufficient and would need no ordnance.
Given current turret designs work was needed to create a weapon system appropriate for the platform, however based on the use of a single cruiser turret Shaw had demonstrated a proof of concept design. With smaller turrets the platform would be able to fit substantially more engineering facilities, allowing for far longer deployments without support:
Type 271 class Orbital Weapon Platform 6,000 tons 506 Crew 1586.6 BP TCS 120 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 5-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 70.64
Maint Life 2.63 Years MSP 578 AFR 82% IFR 1.1% 1YR 118 5YR 1768 Max Repair 240 MSP
Triple 20cm C5 UvL Turret (1x3) Range 320,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 30-15 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Twin GC 20r8 (3x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (3) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
MCF Reactor 10-1 (2) Total Power Output 20 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
GJ 1065
Colonel Foster was fuming. Sat in here command tent she could hear the comms chatter between the Navy destroyers escorts and the salvage group as they prepared to jump out of the system and on to Anderseriks. Up until two weeks ago she had firmly been expecting to go with them as a lead consultant for the exploration of any identified ruins. That plan was smashed when Captain Barnett slapped an embargo on any civilian ships heading into system.
With the closure of the system, the survey vessel she had spent so many weeks and favours over to get redirected to GJ 1065, had run out of reasons to stay. That ship was now on route to Delta Trianguli to urgently re-survey the systems. A rather too successful piece of sabotage had managed to wipe the data banks of all mineral deposit information in the system. That one piece of spite had probably done more damage to the Federation's war efforts then the combined actions of the rest of the Followers' military might.
What really infuriated her though was the complete U turn in orders no more than a few weeks later. She was thus having to watch the rest of expeditionary force head off to find goodness knows what whilst she was left stranded on the planet. The only good piece of news out of the last few weeks was the reported recovery of another research facility, yet another fantastic find for the team.
-
June 2060
Sol – London
Shots and Miller stood in awkward silence outside of the personal offices of the minister for defence. They had been waiting to be called in for a supposedly urgent meeting for close to 35 minutes. As the minutes ticked by, Shots felt a growing sense of unease about the meeting, quickly finding himself running through recent decisions to see if he had made some glaring error.
The room, a homage to a time long past was not helping with his unease either. In one corner of the room a relic from before the war, a grandfather clock, kept up its monotonous ticking refusing to allow Shots to ignore the minutes creeping by. Meanwhile net curtains imparted a defuse light that gave an almost surreal feel to someone so accustomed to modern lighting. Matched with pre-war furniture of actual wooden tables, real leather upholstered chairs and finished with muted green paint the room was clearly designed to both humble and impress. Unfortunately for Shots it was having its desired effect.
Normally Shots would have taken the time to catch up in more detail with Miller's recent deployment and her actions in Luyten and Iota Persei. However, just prior to the call, Shots had broken the news to Miller that her task group was no longer going to be getting the much heralded engine upgrades. That particular bit of news had not gone down particularly well with Miller, especially given her recent long journey back from Luyten especially for the refits.
Miller had started her response with those immortal words "with all due respect sir" and, as expected after that, had gone downhill from there. Understandably therefore, small talk was not exactly forthcoming now.
What Shots really wanted to do was give Miller some space to blow off steam and take some time to properly absorb the reasoning for the change in plan. That just wasn't going to happen right now so he could only hope that whatever the minister wanted it would be short and they could go their separate ways for a while.
Finally the large old oak door in front of them creaked open to reveal the ministers chief secretary. "Rear Admiral Shots, Commodore Miller, the minister will see you now" intoned the secretary in a deep baritone voice clearly honed from years of announcing guests.
Inside, the minister's office was equally dated and stuffy with the same net curtains, leather chairs and an enormous ancient heavily scared mahogany desk at its centre. There was even pen and paper on an old blotter whilst what looked to be a halogen desk lamp created light and shadow on equal measure. A single screen, discreetly perched on one side of the desk seemed to be the only concession to the modern world.
Behind the desk, sipping from a delicate looking cup sat the minister; now close to eighty years of age he was due to retire within the next six months. Shots knew better than to think him past his prime though; the man had retained his incredible intellect, sixth sense on political matters and a tongue that could flay a person at twenty yards. Both Shots and Miller had felt the sharpness of that tongue in the past and neither of them was in a rush to feel it again.
Finally the minister carefully set his cup and saucer down on the side of the desk "Catherine, Sam, so kind of you to find the time in your no doubt hectic diaries to come and meet with me today. Please do take a seat" started the Minister whilst he gestured towards the two large deep russet brown leather arm chairs that had been pulled in front of his desk. "Would you like some refreshment, tea perhaps?"
"Tea would be wonderful, thank you minister" piped up Miller whilst Shots was still preoccupied with easing himself into the low legged chair. "Excellent" replied the Minister whilst sending his under-secretary scurrying with the slightest nod of his head. Shots dared to take a moment to glance over to Miller who, like him, was now ensconced in her chair and peering up at the Minister before smiling a thanks to him.
"So to business then; I wanted to spend some time chatting through with you the findings from the paper that Shaw chap recently sent round. He's certainly come up with some interesting ideas as to what to do with the fleet now we have all this extra real estate to keep an eye on. Perhaps the two of you would be so kind as to give me your initial thoughts on the paper."
"Of course Sir" responded Shots "In summary I think that Captain Shaw has done an excellent job with consolidating our combined thinking on the future direction of our Naval forces, especially given the rapidly emerging situation over the last few months and the achievements of the TFAA". Shots knew he was being vague and the monologue was unlikely to stand scrutiny from the Minister but he desperately needed to buy some time to try and work out where this was going. The joint chiefs had already signed off on the plan and right now the shipyards were already retooling for the new task group designs.
Unfortunately Shots had no time to think any further on the matter; the minister took his pause for breath as an opportunity to commence a barrage of questions which ably demonstrated his acute understanding of the plan. The questions lasted for well over an hour, forcing himself and Miller to team up to address the intricate challenges being raised. In fact Shots could feel the tension between the two of them quickly evaporate as they fell back into their comfortable role of the Navy against the government.
Just as their flow was being to work well the Minister unexpected changed tack. "This is all well and good Admiral but what I'm really interested in is what's missing from the plan".
"I'm sorry sir", replied Shots "I'm not quite sure what you are alluding to. As I would hope myself and the Commodore have ably demonstrated to you, this is an excellent, well-constructed and thought out plan that gives our Navy a clear and effective plan for the next Decade".
"Yes yes, Admiral, you are quite right but please forgive my addled old brain. As far as I can recollect there was no reference to the leadership of the Navy's forces in what will clearly be a time of great change"?
"Ah no sir, you are quite right, Captain Shaw's remit was to cover just the Navy's vessel designs, task group composition and deployment". So this was it thought Shots, out with the old and in with the new.
"Oh good, I thought that was the case; so I've taken it upon myself to consider these aspects directly with the Cabinet, Commodore Miller".
Hearing the abrupt change in tone Miller hauled herself from the chair to stand at attention in front of the minister's desk before he continued.
"You have on numerous occasions aptly demonstrated your gift of leadership and the management of the most complex tactical problems all in the face of significant adversity. It is therefore the unanimous decision of the Cabinet that you be promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral with immediate effect. You will review your full orders in due to course but in summary you will return to Luyten where you will commission and lead a second fleet HQ for the defence and operations from the Luyten cluster".
Shots could see Miller grow at least an inch as she received the news.
"Thank you sir, it will be my honour”. “Excellent”, replied the minister before Miller could go on. “I expect that you will ant to start making preparations for the journey back to Luyten just as soon as possible. You also have my leave to pick your new command staff and replacement task group leaders as you see fit. Just please try to avoid promoting too many people, we don’t want all this change going to people’s heads”.
“Off course not sir, I already have some excellent candidates in mind”. “Great, that’s settled then”, interrupted the minister once more. “Now Admiral Shots, we clearly can’t have two rear Admirals running the show. I’m therefore promoting you to the rank of Vice Admiral. You will retain responsibility for Earth fleet and provide additional direction to Admiral Miller as required. I hope you have some very capable juniors on board with you as your command just got a whole heap more complicated”.
Shots pulled himself to his feet as soon as possible, but not being quite as spry as the new Admiral Miller, never quite made it before the minister continued.
“Well that just about wraps up our business for today I think. I shall look forward to seeing the progress reports on the new task groups, the deployment and the command appointments in due course. Good day to you”.
Shots and Miller turned to leave the room, seeing his secretary already miraculously at the door and holding it open. However, just as Shots was about to walk through the door the minister called out.
“Oh Admiral Shots, one last thing if I may; I was very impressed with Captain Shaw’s plan. I think the young man has suffered more than enough from us bickering politians. Please be so kind as to inform him I’ve decided to reinstate his rank of Commodore with immediate effect”.
“Yes sir” replied Shots as he strode from the room with a large grin on his face.
Anderseriks
"Sir, all ships including the civilians report jump complete and ready to proceed in-system". "Thank you Ensign", replied Captain Barnett "Instruct the salvage group to lay in a course for the wrecks furthest out system. Inform the task group that we will be adopting a standard defensive screen with the assumed direction of threat from the planets. I want all ships on actives as soon as possible. Let's not forget we have an unknown alien vessels out there", and we are pretty badly set up for any passive scanning or small ship engagements so can't afford a less aggressive stance thought Barnett to himself.
Barnett thumbed his fleet broadcast controls "All hands, all hands, this is Captain Barnett. We have just successfully made the jump in system and are now heading for the initial objective. We are potentially in disputed territory here and therefore I am going to need your full focus and attention for the next few months. If you see anything odd, anything at all, please report it to your superiors immediately. Every minute could mean the difference to the whole task group. I recognise that this is a long active deployment and I have therefore asked each of the ship's captains to draw up a revised rota system to give you all as much down time as possible whilst we maintain a heightened alert status. As always I have faith that you will all fulfil your roles to the upmost of your abilities and help ensure this mission is a success. Barnett out".
Delta Trianguli
Administrator Benjamin Coles was sat in his temporary office, deep within the perimeter of TFAA’s temporary barracks and base of operations. Coles had a stinging headache. Trying to get the economy of an occupied planet with a largely unhappy population was proving far more painful than he had imagined. The regular riots made an effective stock take of what was actually available almost impossible whilst coordination of any areas outside of direct military control was still a long way off.
The latest news from the survey vessels hastily brought in to re-perform scans for TN minerals was not good. Stocks of duranium on the home planet were all but exhausted as were most of the other minerals needed to keep the population's industry going. The one significant resource of duranium in the system turned out to be being jealously guarded by a bunch of die-hard militia. The TFAA had already dispatched a full division of troops to take control of the moon in question but it would likely be more than a month before he could even think about getting any mines out there; not that he had any freighters to do that in any case. More frustrating was the lack of salvagers available to take advantage of the tens of thousands of tons of wreckage littering the system as had been the case in Luyten.
In fact, given the circumstances he was firmly of the opinion that administrator Bolton had had it pretty easy compared to him. That didn't help him feel any better though when he had to request additional minerals from Luyten to give him something to work with. No doubt the powers that be back on Earth would be comparing his performance to date with that of Bolton and drawing some unhelpful conclusions.
Still it was nothing he could address now he thought, chiding himself for his wandering thoughts. Taking a swig from a bottle of water Coles selected another data pad at random from his pile, ready to try and address whatever problem that one held.
July 2060
Anderseriks
Barnett was starting to feel a little better about his task group's current situation. The transit in-system had been uneventful so far with no further sign of any of the new alien's ships. What’s more, the latest strip of the comms buoy had revealed that the Federation’s language algorithms had finally been able to translate the alien’s language.
The Aliens, or more correctly, the X’Ching Hive as they called themselves, appeared to be a race of large insects that looked to all purposes much like giant versions of the praying mantis found back on Earth. Their language was a complex series of whistles, clicks and hums generated by what passed as a throat and one of the smaller inner mandibles. It was a language that no human could ever hope to replicate and hence the Federation would forever need to rely on translators to communicate with the X’Ching.
Past that Barnett’s intelligence team had been unable to learn almost anything else about the new race. The X’Ching had left a short holo message, from which they had the high level understanding of the physiology of the race, but that was it. The message had obtained only a perfunctory greeting and a request for the Federation to respect their borders and property. There had been no response to the Federation’s standard messaging offering an ongoing dialogue and the possibility of building relations between the two races.
Whilst that would no doubt frustrate the diplomatic teams, Barnett was less concerned. If the X’Ching just wanted to be left alone, that would suit him and the war weary Navy just fine. All he therefore needed to concentrate on was getting the salvagers in system, the wrecks recovered and then getting everyone back out system.
Barnett's musings were brought to an abrupt halt by a priority alert from Captain Booth on the TFS Burma, the Type 301 Destroyer that was acting as the task group's jump tender and sensor platform for the duration of the operation. Barnett immediately touched the flashing icon on his command console to accept the tight beam channel hook up.
"Captain, we've just picked up a very strong active search sensor coming from a ship that looks to be in orbit of the 2nd planet. Wavelength analysis shows it's optimised for detected vessels in the 6000 ton range and we estimate effective range of over 280mkm, that's a little better than our own actives. Signature analysis confirms that it belongs to the Chigs; I’m sending you the sensor data now".
(http://imageshack.com/a/img15/1182/ne83.jpg)
Barnett immediately punched a few more icons to bring his executive officer into the conversation. "David, I've got Captain Booth on the com, they've just picked up an active sensor from an X'Ching vessel somewhere in the vicinity of the 2nd planet. I want the combat net up and running with full sensor sharing asap and get our liaison officer to let the civvies know what's going on; just try not to panic them. Commander what else can you tell me?".
"Well there's been no movement detected since we first picked up the single a few moment ago, our estimates of their sensor range put the task group firmly outside their detection range although if their passives are anywhere near as good as ours they will likely be picking up our own main active sensor as well. I've just had a look at the current plot and from what I can tell the current group of wrecks will remain outside of their sensor range if they stay in the planets orbit. I've had my navigation officer look at our current plot, that won't take us through their detection range at any point either".
"Ok, given we can keep good tabs on them on passives please go ahead and shut down your main search sensor, let's see if we can remain as innocuous as possible. They might not want to talk to us but I'm not taking that as reason for them to ignore us as well. Based on the current situation I see no reason not to proceed with the initial phase of the mission or to change our ongoing readiness state given current separation. I do however want a watch officer manning an open coms line with the X'Ching at all times, let's make sure we are asking questions first".
Barnett took a look at his watch. "Ok, I think that's it for the moment. David please organise an 'O' group for the task force commanders, including our civilian friends, for 18.30 hours. We can reappraise the situation at 18.15, that should have given the X'Ching more than enough time to react to our presence so I will make a final go no go decision then. Oh and one last thing, can we please make sure that the crew and junior officers refer to these Aliens by their proper name, the last thing I want is some comm going out calling them bugs or Chings and discovering we just mortally offended them".
GJ 1065
Colonel Foster was unfortunately back to ineffectual fuming; one of the other Engineer brigades had managed to disturb another vault of robotic soldiers and this time round the infantry had wasted no time in deployed a section of men to provide close cover for her and her immediate command. What that meant in reality was that she was near enough under house arrest whilst the rest of the infantry dealt with the hostiles.
Foster more than recognised much of her anger stemmed from her inability to act, that wasn’t however helping matters. The infantry had at least let them tune into the command net so they could follow the progress of the engagement. In some respects that helped but in others it only raised her ire given the standing plan to let the robots throw themselves at the troops defensive lines rather than bring the fight to them. Of course it made perfect tactical sense but also dragged out the action leaving her team spending more time sat feeling on somewhat the worse side of useless.
Delta Trianguli
Thornton was reading the latest round of reports with satisfaction. The assault division dispatched to moon 10 had just reported the surrender of the colony and the discovery of a sizeable civilian mining operation on the moon. There were also some substantial piles of Duranium which just needed shipping back to the Followers home world.
Meanwhile back on the planet it appeared that his slow and measured response to the ongoing demonstrations and riots was starting to pay off. Whilst still a frequent event, Thornton could sense the mood swing with the demonstrations that did occur having lost much of their original lustre and energy compared to a few weeks back. More and more of the Followers were clearly recognising that the Federation wasn’t going to be going anywhere soon and were starting to trickle back to their jobs.
He was pretty sure that the neither the planetary governor nor the commander of the carrier group were going to see it quite that way through as the increased production was placing further strain on the pitiful flow of duranium. This was delaying completion of the current round of PDCs and was also preventing the support yards from helping to maintain the ships in orbit.
Fortunately a heavy lift freighter was on route from Luyten with over 8000 tons of duranium and 2000 tons of tritanium on board, unfortunately it was one of the Union’s old freighter designs making the journey a painfully slow one.
Luyten 1305-10
Administrator Laura Bolton sat in her newly commissioned office admiring the view from her 18th floor corner window. The new office sat just outside the Union’s capital and from this height she was able to see the myriad of scintillating lighting so beloved by the Union population.
After several months of blood sweat and tears the Union engineers had finally completed the massive extension of the regional administrative buildings allowing Laura to open its doors with a significant amount of pomp an ceremony almost exactly on time and to budget.
With unemployment across the continent still at close to 8% there had been no problems at all recruiting the additional staff who job it would be to help provide oversight and coordinate the economies of not just Luyten but now GJ 1065 and Delta Trianguli a well. Their efforts would help to lift the economic performance of the entire region and in turn hopefully project her own career to more stellar levels.
August 2060
Anderseriks
1st August 1400Z
“Sir, message just received from Lieutenant Commander Collier; they’ve completed salvage operations on the first wreck and are happy to report the successful recovery of a couple of sensors, five engines and five troop drop compartments. Commander Collier is now convinced these wrecks are the same design as the Mech troop transports that have previously been captured”.
“Very good Ensign” replied Barnett “please send my congratulations on a great start to the operation to the Commander and ask her if she would be so kind as to provide an updated estimated time to complete the salvage of the other wrecks”. “Aye aye sir” responded the ensign.
Barnett sat back in his chair, the mission was continuing to progress well with no further communications from the X’Ching and no discernable reaction from their vessel to either his task group’s progress into the system or their obvious focus on the wrecks.
1st August 1353Z
“Sir, message from Captain Booth, they’ve just detected the X’Ching vessel breaking orbit. Current track puts them on a course for our current location”. Barnett jerked upright in his chair, “Relay that plot to my console; have we received any messages from them”?
“Nothing received sir, Captain Booth reports that the vessel has accelerated to just under 4000 km/s and confirms they are on an intercept. Current time to our location is just under 20 hours”.
“Ok, that gives us a little bit of time to play with. Inform the salvage group that they are to suspend operations and make immediate preparations to get under way at short notice. Let’s see if we can raise this lot, I’d rather avoid any sort of incident with them”.
1st August 1623Z
Two and a half hours later Barnett was starting to feel the pressure. So far the X’ching had failed to respond to any of their hails or requests to talk. He’d also discovered that simply switching off the salvagers wasn’t much of an option. The salvage crews had already started cutting into the next wreck and this was now being largely held in once piece by the multiple tractor beams of the main salvage vessel. Switching those off would result in the wreck rapidly twisting itself apart, potentially triggering unexploded ordnance or still active reactors that had not yet been checked and cleared by the salvage crews.
“Sir, Captain Booth reports that we are likely entering the X’Ching’s active sensor range”. The ensign listened to his counterpart on the TFS Burma for a few more moments. “Sir, they’ve definitely spotted us, sensors are detecting a tight beam comms array directed at our vessels. Message is coming through, Burma running the translation now”.
Captain Barnett hunched forward in his seat. “Well ensign, what exactly are they saying to us”? “Sir, the comms team are reporting some difficulties with the new language. It’s not a tone that was included in the original package. Ok, they think they have it. We are required to leave the system immediately, this system and its’ resources belong to the X’Ching. Sir, the message appears to be repeating in a loop”.
“Ok, I’ve heard enough, I think we’ve outstayed our welcome here. Tell the salvage team to drop that wreck, we are just going to have to take a risk on it. All civilian vessels are to break for the jump point at best speed. The escort group will drop a little way behind to cover the move”.
1st August 1828Z
Finally Barnett gets the report he has been waiting to hear from his watch officer. “All ships report underway, the salvage group have managed to successfully jettison that wreck without damage although their systems are going to need a complete refurb before using again”.
A few minutes later Barnett also gets another update from Captain Booth: “It looks like the X’Ching have changed course in reaction to our move, plot projections show they are now headed straight for the EG 453 jump point. I think we must assume that they both aware of the jump point and our use of it. Given the speed of out civvies they are going to overhaul us well before we make it to the gate”.
Barnett spent a few moments digesting this latest info before responding, “Ok, let’s just keep an eye on them for the moment. In the meantime we will bring the task group up to the salvage group. Are we certain that we are responding to them on the right frequencies”? “Yes sir, replied the comms officer, we are using the same broad frequency spread as we did for initial contact as well as the frequencies they have used to communicate with us”.
“In that case we shall continue to maintain a passive stance, continue to broadcast on all frequencies and withdraw from the system in the shortest time possible. Exo, we are past watch change over and nothing is going to be happening for a good while. Please rotate the crew. I’m going to go down as well, ping me if anything changes”.
2nd August 0849Z
Barnett has been back on the bridge for over three hours. The continuing efforts of his comms officers have yielded no response from the X’Ching. Meanwhile their vessel has continued to gain ground towards the jump point and has also narrowed the distance to less than 250mkm. Barnett is beginning to get concerned. At the current rate the X’Ching’s vessel will easily make it to the jump point ahead of them, at best meaning they will be able to confirm the Federation vessels’ point of origin. They would also be well positioned to follow them back towards GJ1065 and the substantial population now in place there. At worst it could also mean that he would have no option but to engage the hostile if he needed to fight his way back through the jump point; not something he relished the prospect of given the great lumbering civilian vessels he was escorting.
“Ok, listen up people. We can’t allow that vessel to either get in front of us or trail us through the jump point. We are therefore going to take some measured steps to attempt to change the status quo. Comms cease broadcasting the broad spectrum messages and just send a tight beam request on repeat asking them to withdraw back to the second planet whilst we depart from the system. I also want a warning that they should not get within 250mkm of our task group. Any such action shall be considered a hostile act.
2nd August 0949Z
The tension on the bridge has risen significantly over the last hour as the X’Ching vessel has continued to close with the task group and is now at 227mkm, well within the warning zone.
“Sir, still no respond to our hails, we know they are receiving as we are getting a handshake confirmation from their own comms systems.
“Right, we are going to have to take this up a notch then to see if they will notice us. Inform the Burma that I want her to go active with her main sensor and that she should perform a full scan of that vessel” responded Barnett.
A few moments later Burma reported activating their sensor, seconds after that the sensor operator starts to call out, “Contact, contact, range 227.9mkm, bearing 284 degrees, ten craft all massing 8000 tons”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img30/4041/adx1.jpg)
Well thought Barnett, that probably solves the riddle as to whether those wrecks were already here or if the X’Ching were behind them. “Thank you, please continue to monitor the X’Ching task group and report and changes of course and speed and make sure you have those feeds sent down to the Int. team, I would all the information possible on those ships”. Barnett worked to keep a steady tone in his voice as he continued to issue further orders. He could see that the bridge crew were unnerved by the new contacts and their lack of communication so he knew maintaining an air of calm would be critical in keeping the crew focused.
2nd August 2009Z
Barnett was back on the bridge again. About 15 minutes ago the X’Ching had slowed to match their speed with his own task group. With their converging vectors it now just be a matter of time before the two task groups got uncomfortably close. Barnett had therefore resolved to take action if the X’Ching continued to avoid has warnings and broke 200mkm separation.
7th August 0042Z
Barnett was back on the bridge. The two task groups had continued to inch closer together over the past five days despite the increasingly aggressive warnings been sent to the X’Ching. A little while ago the X’Ching task group had broken his self-imposed 200mkm exclusion zone and were showing no sign of altering their course.
Barnett took one last look at the plot, willing the X’Ching to change course, before tapping the ship address icon. “All hands this is the Captain. Regretfully I must inform you that the X’Ching have failed to respond to our hails and requests to allow us to withdraw from the system without interference. A little over ten minutes ago their task group moved to within 200mkm of our own. We cannot allow them to get any closer to our unarmed vessels. Therefore it is my intention to turn our escort group directly towards the X’Ching and attempt to force them to back off. We will then use our superior speed to catch up with the salvage group before exiting the system. If our efforts fail we will engage the X’Ching sensor vessel, eliminate their ability to track us and withdraw.
As I’m sure you are all aware, the Federation can little afford to open hostilities with yet another race so I am counting on all of you to retain a cool head and follow your orders to the letter. Barnett out”.
7th August 0442Z
“Sir, range to X’Ching now 160mkm, no detected change in speed or bearing”. “Thank you ensign” replied Barnett, “All ships prepare to lock hostiles as soon as we reach fire control range”.
Five minutes later claxons sounded across the bridge whilst alerts flashed across Barnett’s console. “Sir sensors are showing that the X’Ching just achieved target lock on us at over 159mkm”. Barnett grimaced, that was almost 40mkm further than his own destroyers’ fire controls. “Cancel that alert, looks like they are sending their own warnings around not getting too close. Let’s continue to close but reduce speed to 2500 km/s to show we have detected them”.
Thirty seconds later the sensor officer reported again “Sir, the X’Ching are changing course, they’ve come to a bearing of 244 degrees and have accelerated to 2500 km/s”. Around the bridge Barnett could see his watch officers grinning to one another. “Ok people, it looks like they have finally responded, let’s keep on our current bearing and speed. We need to keep pushing them away from the salvage group so they have enough time to jump clear. Drop our speed down to 2450 km/s, we can afford to let them gain some more distance from us now”.
7th August 0713Z
“Vampire, Vampire! We have thirty two inbound missiles, range 6.4mkm”. Barnett took a moment to register the news before half leaping at his command panel to raise the task group. “All ships action stations, emergency reverse on my con officer’s mark, lay in an intercept for the Salvage group, anti-missiles engage as soon as in range” shouted Barnett.
In the background he could hear the follow on orders from the deck and half subconsciously he braced himself for the crushing deceleration of the extreme manoeuver he had just ordered. Meanwhile he stared down at the plot trying to think of the best plan of action.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img854/4589/3f1k.jpg)
Moments later his body was slammed into the back of the acceleration crouch as the Burma flipped before going to full power. As the Gs piled on he could see the first touches of tunnel vision whilst the destroyed hummed from the strains that not even its’ Transnewtonian hull could fully compensate for. Then, just as soon as the pressure had hit it dropped away, leaving the task group heading back to the Salvagers at over 6000 k/ms.
“Contact update, missiles appear to be in four salvos of 8, speed just 15,000 km/s, the computer has graded them size 16. Our anti missiles should be able to deal with these quite easily” reported the warfare officer. “Well please ensure that you do, I don’t a single one of those lumbering beasts anywhere near my task group” responded Barnett.
“Vampire, Vampire! New contacts, range 1mkm, we have another 160 inbounds. Britain and Bulgaria report engaging”. "Say again number of inbounds Ensign" responded Barnett, not quite believing what he had heard. "160 new inbounds sir, speed 30,000 km/s". This time Barnett responded immediately “order the AD ships to limit anti missiles to two per incoming, set gauss cannon to final defensive fire”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img801/6127/fm72.jpg)
Almost coldly the warfare officer started to read out the results of the anti-missile fire.
“First intercept, 25 hits”.
“Second intercept, 22 hits, range to contacts 405kkm”.
“Third intercept, 23 hits, range 166kkm”
“Fourth intercept, 33 hits, range 47kkm”
Barnett hit the comm to the task group, this time unable to contain the stress in his voice “all ships evasive manoeuvres now”. Then, the moment his own message finished, he heard the voice of his watch officer over the general band "all hands Brace Brace Brace".
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Great to see this update. It is a great addition to one of the best stories running right now.
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so the taskgroup and the salvagers are about to go boom boom and the navys doctorine is about to be thrown into chaos
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Really, what were they expecting poking about in somebody else's home system, but surely any navy would have considered it to be worth the risk, perhaps the risk might have mitigated with smaller thermally shielded ships sneaking around the system, watched by large passive sensors.
Great story so far, I'm impressed by the diverse characters populating the story, it really does draw a rich picture compared to the alternative which would be dry recital of statistics and numbers.
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Anderseriks
7th August 0720Z
“All stations report” shouted Barnett at his bridge command staff the moment the bone crunching changes in direction, plotted entirely by the ships on-board navigation systems, ceased.
“Sir, all stations still shows green across the board, looks like nothing got through to us. Sensors are showing twenty three 4 megaton explosions. Our final wave of anti-missiles picked off another 33 before they hit and the gauss cannons caught another six. Reports from the other vessels are coming in now sir”.
“Ok, let’s get the last of those missiles out of our sky. I don’t want anything that big getting anywhere near us”.
“Aye sir, Britain and Bulgaria are engaging now. Reports are in from the task group. Looks like Britain took a couple of hits but her armour holding. Bolivia took the brunt of the hits and is reporting armour breaches in three locations. She’s lost a couple of tubes but otherwise is holding together. Lieutenant Commander Sykes is reporting heavy casualties though; initial estimates are over 60 dead, the full report is going to your screen now”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img716/8199/txt6.jpg)
Barnett thumped the rest of his command chair at the news. “Right, we can’t sit alongside the salvage group and leave those ships to lob missiles at us all day long. Lay in a news course, target is their sensor vessel. We will close to our own missile range and engage those ships. Instruct the Bolivia to do her best in getting those tubes operational, I want our maximum possible weight of fire when we do engage”.
7th August 0722Z
“Sir, the Britain and Bulgaria report all remaining missiles destroyed. AMM reserves are at 70% and 72% respectively although they are reporting a mix of mark 3 and mark 4 Stirges. Bolivia is reporting commencement of repairs. Burma reports that the hostiles have accelerated back to their apparent maximum speed of just under 4000 km/s . Estimated time to maximum firing range is eleven and a half hours”.
Barnett grimaced. His task group were more than likely to come under multiple attacks over that period. He could only hope that the X’Ching had very few of those monstrous missiles to throw at them. Thank god his ships got the engine upgrade before that plan was axed.
7th August 0922Z
“Sir, Bolivia is reporting that they have successfully repaired one of their launchers. They are continuing to work on the other two and are confident they will be completed before the task group reaches engagement range. “Excellent news, give my compliments to the commander” responded Barnett.
7th August 0927Z
“Vampire Vampire! 32 new Size 16 contacts. Range 6.25mkm, speed 15,000 km/s”
“All ships, emergency break and reverse course on my con officer’s mark” shouted Barnett into the comm.
“All ships responding, sir Britain and Bulgaria and reporting an error in the reset of their fire controls, they’ve both launched a volley at the incoming”.
God damn it thought Barnett, as if we don’t have enough problems to deal with. “Order them to do an emergency flush of the system and reset for 2v1 at 1mkm”.
7th August 0933Z
“Vampire Vampire, 160 new contacts, range 980kkm, speed 30,000 km/s. Britain and Bulgaria indicate successful launch”.
“Very well, alert all ships to prepare for evasive manoeuvres” responded Barnett far more calmly than before.
“Interception, 35 hits, range 621k”.
“Interception, another 35 hits, range 383k”.
“Interception, 18 hits, range 264k”.
“Interception, 4 hits, range 145k”.
“Interception, 25 hits, range 26k”.
“All ships evasive manoeuvres, brace for impact” call Barnett.
Moments later Barnett is slammed into the side of his seat from more than just the ship’s violent manoeuvres, leaving him partially stunned. Around him the lights flicker briefly before coming back to full strength. Shaking his head to try and remove some of the stunning effects of the impacts his ship has just taken Barnett croaks out orders. “Exo, get me a full damage report, sensors how many got through, comms get me updates from the rest of the task group”.
After what seems an age to Barnett the reports started coming back. “Sir, looks like we took about 19 hits, the armour held but only just, we’ve got a few patches where the whole armour belt has ablated” reported the exco.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img713/628/8g4m.jpg)
“Sir, Task Group report, Burma took one hit and Bolivia got hit again but no further internal damage, we took the brunt of it this time. Britain and Bulgaria are down to less than 45% of their stores of AMMs and both have used nearly all of their Mark 4s. Their Gauss cannon took out another couple of missiles and it looks like we managed to evade another 5 or 6” reported the comms officer.
A few moments later the Britain reported destroying the heavy but very slow size 16 missiles and Barnett turned the task group once again towards the X’Ching.
“Exo, let’s start rotating the crew off stations, give them a chance to get some food and a cat nap, this is going to be a long chase”.
7th August 1136Z
“Vampire Vampire! 32 size 16 contacts. Range 6.25mkm, speed 15,000 km/s”
This time it was the turn of the executive officer to respond as Barnett charged back up towards the bridge from his ready room. “All ships, reverse course, prepare to engage incoming missiles and set for evasive manoeuvres”.
Barnett made it back to the bridge and his command chair as their second volley of anti-missiles streaked towards the recently detected wave of 160 size 2 missiles. As before the huge wave of missiles slowly weathered the storm of their own anti-missile fire but this time the Mark 3s were showing their age and lesser impact as fewer hostile contacts were picked off.
Once again the cry to brace for impact went out, then everything went black.
7th August 1139Z
Barnett groaned as he came to. His head felt like it was being hammered and he was pretty sure he must have cracked a few ribs. Slowly his senses began to return, the smell of acrid smoke in the air burned at his nose whilst he could vaguely hear shouting above the ringing in his ears. Barnett concentrated on taking some steadying deep breaths, willing his blurred vision to clear.
Finally his vision and hearing cleared enough so he could make out the bridge once more. A number of his crew remained slumped in their crash couches whilst others were shouting into their comm units. The whole room was dimly lit by the emergency lighting system that added a sense of surrealism to the scene in front of him. Elsewhere several consoles had been sprayed with fire suppressant foam.
Barnett’s eyes eventually landed on his first officer “Exo report”. His exo swung round to address him “Ah sir, thank goodness you are ok. That last salvo really pummelled us. We have multiple hull breaches and several of our engines are off line. There’s also damage to the missile systems and we were forced to eject ordnance when some of the magazines got hit. It’s looking pretty bad but we are still operational. Reports are still coming in but it looks like we lost about 80 of the crew. I’ve put the damage control teams on the engines as a priority. What is your orders sir”?
(http://imageshack.com/a/img822/3052/o82i.jpg)
“What about the rest of the task group?” asked Barnett. “We lost the Bolivia sir, sensors are still coming back on line but it looks like she suffered multiple hits before one of her engines had a catastrophic failure which tore the rest of the ship apart” responded his exo.
“Good God, are there any survivors”?
“We’ve picked up several life pod distress beacons, I was just about to ask the Burma to take the lead for the task group and begin recovery operations when you came round” responding the exo.
“Ok, let’s get the task group back together and those life pods picked up. I want a full damage report and weapons status for all vessels”.
7th August 1150Z
“Sir, Burma reports taking 174 survivors on board, including Lieutenant Commander Sykes” informed the exo. “Thank you lay in a new intercept course for the X’Ching task group, best speed for all vessels until we can get our engines up and running again”.
“Sir, do you think that’s wise?” queried the exo. We won’t survive another volley and the two area defence vessel have less than 20% of their ammunition remaining. Despite our damage we are still substantially faster than them and could easily out manoeuvre them”.
“I quite agree with you. Unfortunately I seriously doubt we would be able to either out run or out manoeuvre those missiles of theirs. We are already more than four hours inside their known maximum flight range so even if we turn around now we aren’t going to evade them. Our best hope therefore is to continue to push them away from the Salvagers for as long as possible and hope it gives them enough space to get away”.
7th August 1220Z
“Sir, Burma is reporting that the X’Ching task group has changed direction to 328 degrees. That puts them on a course for one of the two unexplored jump points in system”.
Barnett smiled, that was the first piece of good news he had heard just about all day. “Ok, update our course to continue to track in, with any luck they’ve run out of missiles to lob at us”.
7th August 1848Z
“Sir, range is now down to 59.2mkm”.
“Ok, time to give these X’Ching a taste of Federation firepower. Exo, I believe that our rules of engagement allow us to fire on the X’Ching in these circumstances, do you concur”. “I do sir” responded the exo. “In that case please instruct the warfare officers to open fire with all available launchers. Primary target is the Heimdall. We will retain three follow up volleys for use depending on effect”.
Four minutes later Barnett’s warfare officer reported all missiles clear from their tubes, diagnostics green and arming sequence completed.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img5/5683/3ypk.jpg)
7TH August 1909Z
“First volley has intercepted the target. No sign of anti-missile missiles. We lost four to point defences but 17 Harpies found their target. Spectrographic analysis indicates at least two hull breaches. The Heimdall appears to have dropped out of formation as a result” reported the warfare office.
“We just lost 8 of our second wave 397k from target, looks like they have woken up over there and started deploying anti-missiles”.
“Five more have been intercepted 147k from target”.
“Impact impact, nine hits detected. The Burma reports losing contact with the X’Chings active search sensor; that last volley must have taken it out. The Heimdall is still running but its’ slowed to just 1575 km/s”.
Tough little ship thought Barnett as he continued to watch the trace of closing missiles. Moments later Barnett smiled with satisfaction as the last few missiles left from the third volley ripped into the Heimdall leaving nothing but a wreck.
Despite the destruction of their main sensor vessel the X’Ching task group continued to engage and destroy a large number of the subsequent volleys of Harpy 4s. By the end of the assault just one additional ship was showing signs of internal damage.
Barnett looked at the display for a few minutes considering his options. His two missile destroyers still had several more volleys of anti-ship missiles left so there was a chance he could inflict more damage on the hostile vessel. However, he was near enough defenceless from any counter attack, his own ship had already taken a serious beating and the crew had been pushed hard for the last few days. He needed to get out of this system as soon as possible, bring the news to the wider Federation and get his own ships repaired. Fortunately, with the X’Ching’s only apparent sensor vessel destroyed, he should be able to exit the system without being detected.
Having made up his mind Barnett started to issue orders for the long journey home.
Eta Cassiopeiae
Administrator Shah was back in his office after yet another bruising round of negotiations with the settlement’s civilian representatives. Whilst the delivery of the hammerhead fighters had done a fantastic job of helping to alleviate the people’s concerns over protection, unfortunately it had also given them the chance to think more about the terrible rates on unemployment on the planet.
Shah had already undertaken a programme of manufacturing expansion but with limited facilities already in place the rate of expansion was being far outstripped by the population growth. What he really needed now was the shipment of several more factories from Earth so he could at least make the planet a little more self-sufficient. He could also bring forward the much demanded series of ordnance factories that would ensure the planet had munitions to actually use in its PDCs and fighter squadrons.
Sighing he started to open up the comms channels to Catherine Short, the sector administrator back on Earth, to see if she could help move the process along even a little bit.
September 2060
Sol – Navy Command
Vice Admiral Shots was sat back in the main briefing room of Navy command nursing a sore head and a large mug of coffee. Around him sat the similarly bleary eyed and slightly dishevelled members of his command group as well as a couple of government officials and junior ministers. He’d left his seat just four and a half hours earlier having ordered the emergency response committee to take a short break. They had now been working on a response to the clear and present danger of the X’Ching aliens for close to three days straight but had made little progress towards an agreed response.
Since the news of the X’Ching’s aggression broke across the news waves two days ago much of the planet was in uproar. Parliament had been forced to deploy troops in several cities in order to try and contain rioting whilst a further detachment was deployed around Navy HQ, keeping a wary eye on a large group of demonstrators that had gathered outside the main entrance. In a matter of days the voice of the anti-expansionist movement had gained a huge amount of weight and with it popular support. In fact most of the protestors sat around HQ were with the anti-expansionist movement.
In stark contrast many more people were demanding immediate retaliation through the launch of a huge expeditionary force to find the X’Ching home planet and remove the threat for good. They were urging the acceleration of the Navy’s exploration programme to make sure such alien menaces could be found and dealt with before they found Earth. More than one of the riots had been the result of fighting between the groups with these very different points of view. Such a range in views were also being expressed by the members of the response committee which was why it was taking so long to try and agree on some sort of middle ground that would hopefully keep all sides at least somewhat mollified.
Having spent well over a day picking apart the sensor and optical recordings of the Anderseriks encounter including watching the destruction of the TFS Bolivia and working through the casualty list, Shots was more than ready to consider such a response. Unfortunately the Federation’s current Navy was unlikely to be up to the task, largely as a consequence of the Federation’s real estate and population expanding nearly threefold in the last few years whilst the Navy itself had perhaps grown by no more than 25%. The need to defend so many planets along with so large a swath of space was already stretching them and the associated infrastructure to the limit. Any expedition at this stage would therefore either need to be very limited or require large areas to be left virtually defenceless and that certainly wasn’t an option.
Looking around Shots could see that they were still waiting for a few of the committee to remerge after last night’s recess so he grabbed one of the intelligence reports to reread whilst he was waiting.
The report was depressingly short, reflective of the limited information the intelligence officers had access to. Consequently much of it was conjecture based upon the best estimates of both the intelligence and scientific community.
Captain, or rather Commodore Barnett following his recent promotion, had performed admirably with the limited resources he had to hand. Managing to force a retreat by the X'Ching whilst protecting the salvage group had been a fantastic feat even if it had evolved no small amount of luck as well - just one more volley of those massive missiles would have likely devastated the remaining ships in his task group. As it was, loosing just one vessel and suffering significant damage to one more in return for the destruction of one enemy vessel and damage to at least a few more when the enemy significantly outnumbered them was undoubtedly a good outcome despite the loss of life it had entailed.
All of the information pointed to the X'Ching being a race that was somewhat less advanced than the Federation; but that margin appeared to be a lot narrower when compared to every other race encountered to date. In particular it looked like their warhead technology was at least on a par with the Federation.
The analysis of their missile technology was a definite concern. The whole scientific establishment agreed that it would be impossible for the X'Ching to build size 2 missiles with the size of warhead seen as well as having such a huge range. All indications where therefore that the size 16 missiles were in fact some sort of long range single use launch platform for those size 2 missiles. The result was massive waves of small but relatively hard hitting missiles which clearly had the capacity to rapidly saturate all but the most significant levels of defensive fire. In fact analysis showed that if the anti-missile destroyers had not been carrying the mark 4 Stirges the destroyer's own defences would have been overwhelmed by every volley.
Exactly how far from their targets the missiles separated was unknown but it was clear that if they could intercept these larger, far slower, missiles before they would need far fewer anti missiles to protect against attack. A new class of anti-missile, the Imp, had already been given approval and would be put into detailed design immediately. The new missile would have a range of at least 30mkm ensuring that the latest anti-missile fire controls could take full advantage of the maximum possible engagement range.
On the sensor side the X'Ching appeared to mount a capable sensor package although general consensus was that the the task group and the salvage group were not detected until the first wreck was salvaged. One area where the federation seemed to have a clear advantage was in the field of propulsion. Whilst they couldn't be certain that the speed advantage was due to technological advantage rather than engine space allocation or efficiency the speeds of their missile indicated either ion or magneto plasma technology. Whatever the situation, the substantial speed advantage of the recently upgraded destroyers had significantly helped Barnett to manage the tactical situation and had reignited the discussion as to whether all of the Federation's current Navy vessels should have their engines upgraded.
Finally it looked as if the X'Ching vessels were particularly well armoured having required a large number of hits from the heavy hitting Harpy missiles. It meant that they would probably need volleys of between 30 and 40 Banshee missiles to destroy a single target.
All in all the Intelligence community had concluded that fighter strikes from beyond the range of the X’Ching’s own missiles should be more than possible and, given the effectiveness of the relatively small throw weight of the destroyers, should also be highly effective in engaging the X'Ching vessels. That therefore just left the few fairly thorny issues of how to free up the carrier groups from their various defensive duties in order to deploy them against the X'Ching, how to locate their home world and how to push the Federation's logistics chains far beyond their current limits.
So far the committee had at least agreed that the land based defences around GJ 1065, Luyten 1305-10 and 107 Piscium should be substantially upgraded. To achieve this Luyten's economy would be refocused on military support. They had also agreed that the design and construction of orbital defence platforms needed to be accelerated. The massive shipyard retrieved from the Followers would therefore be repurposed to build the platforms rather than more littoral cruisers whilst the design of a twin laser turret would also be brought forward.
Looking up Shots realised that the remainder of the committee had since filed back into the briefing room and were waiting for him to recommence proceedings. Shots took a few calming breaths before calling the meeting to order, it was likely to be another very long day.
Sol – London
Carter was back in his office, his recent trip to the shipyards in orbit around Mars cut short by the news of the hostilities with the X’Ching. Carter knew it would only be a matter of time before someone at Navy command stopped worrying about the X’Ching and started to wonder as to exactly where the orders to go back into Anderseriks with the salvage group and just a lightly armed escort came from. Given the loss of life and the fact the Federation might once again be teetering on the brink of war he also knew that anyone who started asking those questions was unlikely to be put off by the false trail that had been laid.
What he needed was a highly credible fall guy, someone who would have had the connections to pull it off and the motivation to do so, someone who was willing to blackmail, cheat and steal to make it to the top. A wry smile spread on Carter’s lips, he knew just the person who would fit the bill nicely.
After straightening his tie and checking his appearance in a small mirror Carter sat back down at his desk. He paused for a few moments, thinking of what exactly to say, before activating the holo imagers and recording his message.
107 Piscium – The Belorussia
Barnett was sat in his quarters gazing out at the star field being projected on one of the walls. He had just spent more than four hours working through the last of his personal condolence letters for all the crew members he had lost in Anderseriks. Each one of those letters had made his recent promotion more bitter than the last and, not for the first time since making it back to Federation space, he was again replaying the battle in his head, looking for where he might have avoided the engagements or prevented the destruction of the Bolivia.
A knock at the door brought him out of his contemplation. After the battering they had received in Anderseriks a number of the Belorussia’s internal systems including the comms had been working intermittently at best. Given the list also included some of the life support systems the crew had understandably resorted to more old fashioned methods of communicating with one another rather than focus their time maintain less critical areas. “Please come in” called out Barnett. A moment later his exo entered his cabin.
“Sir, I’ve just had the latest reports up from the boatswain. The last survey shows no further deterioration in the running repairs. The team paid particular attention to the missile tube actuators after that last pressure build up, no further signs of problems there. All the other bulkhead seals are showing green as well”.
“That’s good news but I want to keep up with the four hourly inspections for at least a few more cycles. Being this far out in deep space with only patchwork covering several chunks of our hull I think it best we stick to the prudent side of safe don’t you think?” replied Barnett.
“I quite agree. Latest navigation update puts us in orbit at the Luyten dockyards in fifteen and a half days’ time. The crew will have more than enough of a chance to relax then”.
“Ok, carry on. Just make sure you get a shift in the bunk as well. I know we are all stretched with the reduced crew on top of the repairs but I need you sharp to make sure we don’t miss anything before it’s too late”.
“Aye Sir” replied the exo before saluting and making his way back out of Barnett’s cabin, leaving him to return to his musings.
GJ 1065
For the first time in months Colonel Foster wasn’t either cooped up in some small barracks or up to her neck in alien technology. This time she was busy overseeing the massive ground works that would form the foundations for the prefabricated PDCs that were due to be shipped in from Luyten in the next few months. Foster was also the happiest she had been in months; the news of the tragic events in Anderseriks had at first been quite shocking especially when she thought of all the effort she had gone to in order to get a herself and a small unarmed scout ship into that system. However, over the last few days that shock had turned to thankfulness for her good fortune; it seemed to her that perhaps fate had played a role in preventing her from getting to the system.
There was however little time to celebrate her good fortune, the schedule set by Navy command meant that her engineers were in for a gruelling couple of months and she would need every ounce of her wit and knowledge to make sure they hit that target. Not one of them were complaining though, the sooner they got the sensor suite and missile defences up and running the better.
107 Piscium – Planet A IV
Kai Winter smiled at the couple of administration staff he passed as he sauntered towards his office. Ten minutes earlier his data pad had pinged to inform him of a priority encoded message from administrator Carter back on Earth. With the war ended Kai was finally going to get off this rock and back to a plush job back on Earth. He was therefore savouring the walk up through the labyrinth of tunnels and passageways that connected the habitats.
Finally, after a leisurely fifteen minute stroll and with a mug of fresh coffee in hand, Kai settled down in front of his desk before keying in his command codes to access the secure comms system that was reserved for the military and senior civilian administrators. In front of him the holo projector sprung to life displaying Carter’s familiar face and office surroundings.
“Kai, first of all let me congratulate and thank you for the incredible job you have been doing through these pressing times. Your contribution to the broader war effort has most certainly been recognised by all of us back home and again I can’t thank you enough for your efforts. As I’m sure you are aware, with the cessation of hostilities between ourselves and the Followers we have moved to focusing our efforts on rebuilding the economies of both the Union and the Followers. Alongside out efforts the Navy is redeploying a number of carrier task groups to the area to ensure the continued safety and security of all three member races of the Federation. The management of our fledgling colony on 107 is therefore moving firmly under the remit of the Navy who will be leading efforts to continue its’ development. That means that your work there on 107 is done”.
Kai smiled and raised his coffee cup in mock salute to Carter’s image; the man had actually kept up his end of the bargain.
“However, the threats to the Federation are far from over, as has been amply demonstrated by our illustrious Navy’s recent encounter with the X’Ching. The Federation therefore continues to need great men like you to help protect our freedoms and everything else we have fought for since returning to the stars.
The council has met in response to this new threat and, as part of its' response, has unanimously voted to reassign you to the post of Governor of the Union’s home world in Luyten 1305-10. You will be responsible for leading more than a third of the Federation’s population and to reinvigorate their ailing economy as we prepare to face the X’Ching. Congratulations Kai and God speed to you”.
The holo recorder cut off abruptly at the end of Carter’s message. It took a stunned Kai a few moments longer to register that he was not in fact returning to Earth. A few moment after that he also realised he had just tipped half a cup of still scalding hot coffee over his lap. The scream that followed could be heard in the adjoining office block.
Glad you are enjoying the story so far. I have to say I'm finding some of the combat a bit more tense where my main characters are involved. I'm also pretty surprised that Barnett survived Anderseriks
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"... and when you're using political authority you are using force, and force is violence, the supreme authority from which all other authority is derived. Naked force has resolved more issues throughout history than any other factor. The contrary opinion - that violence never solves anything - is wishful thinking at its worst. People who forget that always pay."
The only good bug, is a dead bug.
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Fantastic story. I love the characters and their adventures. I'm looking forward to the day Mr. Carter gets nailed to the wall.
Thanks and keep up the great work.
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I really like Barnett's story this time around. Great work.
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I did not expect that battle to be a stalemate, you got lucky, and we got an exciting resolution to the chapter.
I have a question, I can see where most of the events are coming from, gameplay wise, but the unemployment and rioting, is that an invention for RP? Or was there riot caused by part of your fleet leaving the planet unprotected as the task group left for anderseriks? Or someother trigger?
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September 2060
Sol – Navy Command
Vice Admiral Shots was sat back in the main briefing room of Navy command nursing a sore head and a large mug of coffee. Around him sat the similarly bleary eyed and slightly dishevelled members of his command group as well as a couple of government officials and junior ministers. He’d left his seat just four and a half hours earlier having ordered the emergency response committee to take a short break. They had now been working on a response to the clear and present danger of the X’Ching aliens for close to three days straight but had made little progress towards an agreed response.
Since the news of the X’Ching’s aggression broke across the news waves two days ago much of the planet was in uproar. Parliament had been forced to deploy troops in several cities in order to try and contain rioting whilst a further detachment was deployed around Navy HQ, keeping a wary eye on a large group of demonstrators that had gathered outside the main entrance. In a matter of days the voice of the anti-expansionist movement had gained a huge amount of weight and with it popular support. In fact most of the protestors sat around HQ were with the anti-expansionist movement.
In stark contrast many more people were demanding immediate retaliation through the launch of a huge expeditionary force to find the X’Ching home planet and remove the threat for good. They were urging the acceleration of the Navy’s exploration programme to make sure such alien menaces could be found and dealt with before they found Earth. More than one of the riots had been the result of fighting between the groups with these very different points of view. Such a range in views were also being expressed by the members of the response committee which was why it was taking so long to try and agree on some sort of middle ground that would hopefully keep all sides at least somewhat mollified.
Having spent well over a day picking apart the sensor and optical recordings of the Anderseriks encounter including watching the destruction of the TFS Bolivia and working through the casualty list, Shots was more than ready to consider such a response. Unfortunately the Federation’s current Navy was unlikely to be up to the task, largely as a consequence of the Federation’s real estate and population expanding nearly threefold in the last few years whilst the Navy itself had perhaps grown by no more than 25%. The need to defend so many planets along with so large a swath of space was already stretching them and the associated infrastructure to the limit. Any expedition at this stage would therefore either need to be very limited or require large areas to be left virtually defenceless and that certainly wasn’t an option.
Looking around Shots could see that they were still waiting for a few of the committee to remerge after last night’s recess so he grabbed one of the intelligence reports to reread whilst he was waiting.
The report was depressingly short, reflective of the limited information the intelligence officers had access to. Consequently much of it was conjecture based upon the best estimates of both the intelligence and scientific community.
Captain, or rather Commodore Barnett following his recent promotion, had performed admirably with the limited resources he had to hand. Managing to force a retreat by the X'Ching whilst protecting the salvage group had been a fantastic feat even if it had evolved no small amount of luck as well - just one more volley of those massive missiles would have likely devastated the remaining ships in his task group. As it was, loosing just one vessel and suffering significant damage to one more in return for the destruction of one enemy vessel and damage to at least a few more when the enemy significantly outnumbered them was undoubtedly a good outcome despite the loss of life it had entailed.
All of the information pointed to the X'Ching being a race that was somewhat less advanced than the Federation; but that margin appeared to be a lot narrower when compared to every other race encountered to date. In particular it looked like their warhead technology was at least on a par with the Federation.
The analysis of their missile technology was a definite concern. The whole scientific establishment agreed that it would be impossible for the X'Ching to build size 2 missiles with the size of warhead seen as well as having such a huge range. All indications where therefore that the size 16 missiles were in fact some sort of long range single use launch platform for those size 2 missiles. The result was massive waves of small but relatively hard hitting missiles which clearly had the capacity to rapidly saturate all but the most significant levels of defensive fire. In fact analysis showed that if the anti-missile destroyers had not been carrying the mark 4 Stirges the destroyer's own defences would have been overwhelmed by every volley.
Exactly how far from their targets the missiles separated was unknown but it was clear that if they could intercept these larger, far slower, missiles before they would need far fewer anti missiles to protect against attack. A new class of anti-missile, the Imp, had already been given approval and would be put into detailed design immediately. The new missile would have a range of at least 30mkm ensuring that the latest anti-missile fire controls could take full advantage of the maximum possible engagement range.
On the sensor side the X'Ching appeared to mount a capable sensor package although general consensus was that the the task group and the salvage group were not detected until the first wreck was salvaged. One area where the federation seemed to have a clear advantage was in the field of propulsion. Whilst they couldn't be certain that the speed advantage was due to technological advantage rather than engine space allocation or efficiency the speeds of their missile indicated either ion or magneto plasma technology. Whatever the situation, the substantial speed advantage of the recently upgraded destroyers had significantly helped Barnett to manage the tactical situation and had reignited the discussion as to whether all of the Federation's current Navy vessels should have their engines upgraded.
Finally it looked as if the X'Ching vessels were particularly well armoured having required a large number of hits from the heavy hitting Harpy missiles. It meant that they would probably need volleys of between 30 and 40 Banshee missiles to destroy a single target.
All in all the Intelligence community had concluded that fighter strikes from beyond the range of the X’Ching’s own missiles should be more than possible and, given the effectiveness of the relatively small throw weight of the destroyers, should also be highly effective in engaging the X'Ching vessels.
That therefore just left the few fairly thorny issues of how to free up the carrier groups from their various defensive duties in order to deploy them against the X'Ching, how to locate their home world and how to push the Federation's logistics chains far beyond their current limits.
So far the committee had at least agreed that the land based defences around GJ 1065, Luyten 1305-10 and 107 Piscium should be substantially upgraded. To achieve this Luyten's economy would be refocused on military support. They had also agreed that the design and construction of orbitl defence platforms needed to be accelerated. The massive shipyard retrieved from the Followers would therefore be repurposed to build the platforms rather than more littoral cruisers whilst the design of a twin laser turret would also be brought forward.
Looking up Shots realised that the remainder of the committee had since filed back into the briefing room and were waiting for him to recommence proceedings. Shots took a few calming breaths before calling the meeting to order, it was likely to be another very long day.
Sol – London
Carter was back in his office, his recent trip to the shipyards in orbit around Mars cut short by the news of the hostilities with the X’Ching. Carter knew it would only be a matter of time before someone at Navy command stopped worrying about the X’Ching and started to wonder as to exactly where the orders to go back into Anderseriks with the salvage group and just a lightly armed escort came from. Given the loss of life and the fact the Federation might once again be teetering on the brink of war he also knew that anyone who started asking those questions was unlikely to be put off by the false trail that had been laid.
What he needed was a highly credible fall guy, someone who would have had the connections to pull it off and the motivation to do so, someone who was willing to blackmail, cheat and steal to make it to the top. A wry smile spread on Carter’s lips, he knew just the person who would fit the bill nicely.
After straightening his tie and checking his appearance in a small mirror Carter sat back down at his desk. He paused for a few moments, thinking of what exactly to say, before activating the holo imagers and recording his message.
107 Piscium – The Belorussia
Barnett was sat in his quarters gazing out at the star field being projected on one of the walls. He had just spent more than four hours working through the last of his personal condolence letters for all the crew members he had lost in Anderseriks. Each one of those letters had made his recent promotion more bitter than the last and, not for the first time since making it back to Federation space, he was again replaying the battle in his head, looking for where he might have avoided the engagements or prevented the destruction of the Bolivia.
A knock at the door brought him out of his contemplation. After the battering they had received in Anderseriks a number of the Belorussia’s internal systems including the comms had been working intermittently at best. Given the list also included some of the life support systems the crew had understandably resorted to more old fashioned methods of communicating with one another rather than focus their time maintain less critical areas. “Please come in” called out Barnett. A moment later his exo entered his cabin.
“Sir, I’ve just had the latest reports up from the boatswain. The last survey shows no further deterioration in the running repairs. The team paid particular attention to the missile tube actuators after that last pressure build up, no further signs of problems there. All the other bulkhead seals are showing green as well”.
“That’s good news but I want to keep up with the four hourly inspections for at least a few more cycles. Being this far out in deep space with only patchwork covering several chunks of our hull I think it best we stick to the prudent side of safe don’t you think?” replied Barnett.
“I quite agree. Latest navigation update puts us in orbit at the Luyten dockyards in fifteen and a half days’ time. The crew will have more than enough of a chance to relax then”.
“Ok, carry on. Just make sure you get a shift in the bunk as well. I know we are all stretched with the reduced crew on top of the repairs but I need you sharp to make sure we don’t miss anything before it’s too late”.
“Aye Sir” replied the exo before saluting and making his way back out of Barnett’s cabin, leaving him to return to his musings.
GJ 1065
For the first time in months Colonel Foster wasn’t either cooped up in some small barracks or up to her neck in alien technology. This time she was busy overseeing the massive ground works that would form the foundations for the prefabricated PDCs that were due to be shipped in from Luyten in the next few months. Foster was also the happiest she had been in months; the news of the tragic events in Anderseriks had at first been quite shocking especially when she thought of all the effort she had gone to in order to get a herself and a small unarmed scout ship into that system. However, over the last few days that shock had turned to thankfulness for her good fortune; it seemed to her that perhaps fate had played a role in preventing her from getting to the system.
There was however little time to celebrate her good fortune, the schedule set by Navy command meant that her engineers were in for a gruelling couple of months and she would need every ounce of her wit and knowledge to make sure they hit that target. Not one of them were complaining though, the sooner they got the sensor suite and missile defences up and running the better.
107 Piscium – Planet A IV
Kai Winter smiled at the couple of administration staff he passed as he sauntered towards his office. Ten minutes earlier his data pad had pinged to inform him of a priority encoded message from administrator Carter back on Earth. With the war ended Kai was finally going to get off this rock and back to a plush job back on Earth. He was therefore savouring the walk up through the labyrinth of tunnels and passageways that connected the habitats.
Finally, after a leisurely fifteen minute stroll and with a mug of fresh coffee in hand, Kai settled down in front of his desk before keying in his command codes to access the secure comms system that was reserved for the military and senior civilian administrators. In front of him the holo projector sprung to life displaying Carter’s familiar face and office surroundings.
“Kai, first of all let me congratulate and thank you for the incredible job you have been doing through these pressing times. Your contribution to the broader war effort has most certainly been recognised by all of us back home and again I can’t thank you enough for your efforts. As I’m sure you are aware, with the cessation of hostilities between ourselves and the Followers we have moved to focusing our efforts on rebuilding the economies of both the Union and the Followers. Alongside out efforts the Navy is redeploying a number of carrier task groups to the area to ensure the continued safety and security of all three member races of the Federation. The management of our fledgling colony on 107 is therefore moving firmly under the remit of the Navy who will be leading efforts to continue its’ development. That means that your work there on 107 is done”.
Kai smiled and raised his coffee cup in mock salute to Carter’s image; the man had actually kept up his end of the bargain.
“However, the threats to the Federation are from over, as has been amply demonstrated by our illustrious Navy’s recent encounter with the X’Ching. The Federation therefore continues to need great men like you to help protect our freedoms and everything else we have fought for since returning to the stars.
The council has met and in response to this new threat has unanimously voted to reassign you to the post of Governor of the Union’s home world in Luyten 1305-10. You will be responsible for leading more than a third of the Federation’s population and to reinvigorate their ailing economy as we prepare to face the X’Ching. Congratulations Kai and God speed to you”.
The holo recorder cut off abruptly at the end of Carter’s message. It took a stunned Kai a few moments longer to register that he was not in fact returning to Earth. The scream that followed could be heard in the adjoining office block.
2060 October
Delta Trianguli
Whilst administrator Coles was still stuck in his temporary office deep within the TFAA base he was much happier with the overall situation. A freighter had finally arrived from Luyten bringing with it the much needed supplies of minerals to get the Followers’ economy on the mend. It had also meant the reopening of the planet’s maintenance facilities. That was providing a welcome relief to the many crew of the carrier group and frigate task force still in orbit.
Coles had also been able to secure enough construction factories to commence work on a new basic defensive network for the planet. First to be built were a pair of anti-missile defence centres along with a large active sensor array. With many of the Followers’ work force still boycotting their jobs progress was still painfully slow but at least it was progress.
Meanwhile Thornton was also still hard at work slowly expanding his forces’ sphere of influence across the major cities. Several of the cities, including the capital, had responded well to the army’s light touch tactics with a marked reduction in levels of civil disobedience in those locations. In fact the response had been so good in a few cities that Thornton was now planning the handover of policing back to the Followers’ own civilian forces there. Once the handover was completed he would be able to move his own forces into more of the outlying towns. He would then repeat the process until the whole of the population was back under direct civilian control.
Looking at the long term plan Thornton’s main concern was the lack of troop training facilities available on the planet. Experience showed that locally trained garrisons were really the only effect way to maintain an enduring peace and unfortunately he was going to be able to make progress on that front for quite a while.
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Commodore Shaw was back in his own briefing room surrounded by an array of technical drawings, data pads, half eaten meals and numerous coffee cups. Sat with him were most of the shipyard’s key engineers and designers. They had been working together tirelessly over the last few weeks in response to the Navy’s engagement with the X’Ching and their consequent demands for an acceleration of the defensive programme.
Fortunately for Shaw the urgent demands had also come with a reallocation of resources to the military. This had primarily consisted of more than 30 research labs that enabled the accelerated development of two key new pieces of equipment.
First and foremost was the completion of the 20cm twin laser turret for mounting on the Federation's first orbital weapons platforms. With the reduced size turret compared to the triple turret used on the prototype the engineers had been able to drastically increase the number of engineering spaces as well as thicken the armour.
The result was a platform that could sit in orbit around a planet or even on station near a jump point for well in excess of six years without the need for maintenance facilities. The armament of three twin gauss cannon turrets along with the twin laser turret gave excellent protection against missile attack whilst providing area protection. The lacks of ordnance requirements further support the role of forward defence base.
Type 271 class Orbital Weapon Platform 6,000 tons 499 Crew 1587.4 BP TCS 120 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 7-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 60.77
Maint Life 7.48 Years MSP 1323 AFR 36% IFR 0.5% 1YR 41 5YR 622 Max Repair 240 MSP
Twin 20cm C5 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (1x2) Range 320,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 20-10 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Twin GC 20r8 (3x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (3) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
MCF Reactor 10-1 (2) Total Power Output 20 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Having finalised and received approval for the design just a few days ago Shaw's team was now frantically trying to complete the manufacturing plans so that the first batch could start construction in the waiting Luyten shipyards.
The second piece of equipment to have been hurriedly developed was a new missile fire control for anti-missile engagements. Designed to be used in conjunction with the most powerful missile detection sensor currently deployed the new fire control would make maximum use of the search sensors range as well as the stocks of Mech long range anti-missiles recovered over the past ten years. Whist not immediately backwards compatible with the Navy's existing area defence vessels due to its' increased size, it was hoped that it could be deployed in relatively short order as part of the new wave of Federation vessels being built.
In fact Shaw's next big challenge was to draw up and get approved plans for the new Type 423 area defence light cruisers within the next few weeks in time for the re-commissioning of one of the Union's old shipyards. The shipyard was now on route from Earth following administrator Carter's hugely successful drive to build the Mars workforce up to a level where all shipyards could be appropriately manned. With the huge investment in shipping all of the colonists out to Mars it wasn't just the needs of the Navy that was driving that particular deadline.
Setting his own mug down to one side Shaw stood to call the room to attention. With the amount of work they had to do he needed to get the team organised and focused.
Luyten 1305
Surrounded by a small army of civil servants and a number of the Union’s local dignitaries Kai was slowly making his way through his fourth extended tour of a construction facility since arriving landside some two weeks ago.
Kai had spent the two weeks before that cooped up on a small civilian freighter prior to arriving on Luyten. During that time his shock at being posted to a highly visible position further away from Earth in total contradiction to his wishes had turned to anger and a seething hatred of Carter. He had however been able to tame much of his anger as well. Kai realised that his only real chance to hit back at Carter would be through exploiting his new found position to the best of his ability. That meant that however much he despised the posting he needed to excel in his work, building more allies in the military and government before he made his move. Finally, though he was loathe to admit it to himself, he was quite proud of his new position and the challenges it presented no matter what his route had been to get there.
Despite his short time on the planet Kai had already realised that the Unionists were woefully behind in their working practices. The methodologies he'd put in place back on 107 Piscium where he had been forced to make the best use of every available person were way ahead of the Union's own. Fortunately those new methods could easily be implemented here, substantially improving the planet's industrial output. That would be a great feather in his cap for his longer term plans.
Now all he had to do was somehow get a full grip on just how bad the current situation was and to manage the rapid implementation of some fundamental reforms that would undoubtably be met by strong resistance from some. Hence has now touring a number of the planet's facilities, not just to see what a state they really were in but to also start winning the hearts and minds of the people he would need to rely on to start his plan in motion.
In the meantime he would busy himself radically improving the industrial might of the planet and making sure the factories met the urgent demands for ship components from the Navy.
Luyten 1305-10 Shipyards
Barnett stood in front of one the Belorussia's few remaining operational air locks watching as the side lights showed it cycling through the connection sequence. As the final lights turned green Barnett gave the cap of his immaculate Blue No. 1 dress a final touch to make sure it was straight.
Ahead of him the pressure door rolled back into its' recess with the usual hissing sound of the air in the two compartments equalising. With it came the smell of fresh clean air, reminding him of the crews struggle with the life support systems over the last few weeks of their journey. Involuntarily Barnett took a deep breath of the crisp air before making his way through the airlock and onto one of the many port decks within Luyten's massive shipyard complex.
Arrayed around the dockside airlock stood many of the crew and officers from the carriers of Alpha group along with hundreds of the dock workers and engineers; at their head stood the Rear Admirals Miller and Coles. As Barnett stepped through the airlock the thump of hundreds of boots echoed across the cavernous bay as all of the men and women present came sharply to attention. To one side a rating piped aboard Barnett with a very old but still used traditional boatswain’s pipe.
Barnett brought himself to attention before saluting the two senior officers in front of him. “Permission to come aboard sir” asked Barnett.
“Permission granted” responded Miller, the more senior of the two. “It is both an honour and privilege to be able to welcome you back on board. All of us have seen the reports of your actions and those of your fine crew. From now on the name Belorussia will by a synonym for courage, audacity and unrelenting commitment to duty. You have demonstrated all that is great in our Navy and why the people of the Federation should have such faith in us”. Striding forward Miller grasped Barnett’s hand with both of her own, shaking firmly “you are truly welcome back aboard”.
A wave of clapping rippled out from Barnett and Miller, the noise growing louder and louder as it spread to all ranks and corners of the bay. Before long it was a thunderous applause.
GJ 1065
With the foundations having been laid several days ahead of schedule Foster's team were already back in the ancient abandoned city looking for likely installations that they might bring back to life. Foster meanwhile was sat back in their command post pouring over one of the ancient data storage devices that they had discovered several months back.
Whilst the work was often gruelling she was happy to have something to stay focused on. The news of a potential hostile alien race just a few jumps from the planet and the possibility of GJ 1065 becoming the battlefront sent shivers down her spine. Not for the first time she wondered whether they would have any chance of completing their research before wider events overtook them.
Foster forced herself to put those thoughts to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on the task in hand. Picking up another analyser she scanned the data device for a fourth time, trying to decipher some method for downloading its contents. It was then that the thought occurred to her that rather than trying to use her equipment to complete the work she should be using the alien's own technology.
Stuffing the device into a large ruck sack Foster headed back off into the city to one of the abandoned research facilities that was still awaiting dismantlement and shipment back to Luyten. Routing power to one of the laboratories took only a few hours after which it took her a few more hours to get one of the labs analysers up and running. By this time it was deep into the night but Foster continued to push on, driven by the familiar need to try and get something to work.
Finally she had the data device hooked up and an analysis program running. As she watched the now familiar script of the aliens start to scroll across a display and in turn get translated by her own data pad Foster slowly drifted off to sleep.
Foster awoke some time later to the sound of a soft beeping coming from the analyser. Stifling a yarn Foster looked over at the screen to seem reams of data scrolling down the screen. It took her a few moments to register that it had worked. Excitedly she started to skim through the data to she what had been uncovered.
It was just after breakfast that Foster finally made her way back towards her own command tent with a broad grin on her face. Not only had the data decryption worked but it looked to her that the information stored included some incredibly advanced mining control algorithms. The algorithms would likely substantially boost the output of any mining facility and could be a huge boon to the Federation.
2060 November
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Shots and Shaw stood shoulder to shoulder in the small viewing gallery overlooking the No.2 shipyard. In front of them the newly expanded, cavernous 24,000 ton docks stretched away into the distance. The floor of the dockyard was a hive of activity with men, machines and materials. In a few moments the first sections for the keels of the new Project 101 carriers would be laid down. Once completed the ships would be the largest in the Federation Navy and would likely be the vessels to take any fight to the X’Ching.
Project 101 class Carrier 24,000 tons 1338 Crew 3919.4 BP TCS 480 TH 3000 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 4-74 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 28 PPV 15.65
Maint Life 4.06 Years MSP 1837 AFR 256% IFR 3.6% 1YR 178 5YR 2674 Max Repair 144 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 9000 tons Magazine 1152
MCF Drive E5 (24) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,550,000 Litres Range 232.5 billion km (430 days at full power)
Twin GC 20r8 (1x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Banshee 6 (526) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 16.5m Range: 49.5m km WH: 5 Size: 2 TH: 200 / 120 / 60
Wyvern 3 (100) Speed: 47,400 km/s End: 4m Range: 11.5m km WH: 2 Size: 1 TH: 410 / 246 / 123
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
Strike Group
28x Starfury Mk2 (T) Fighter-bomber Speed: 15000 km/s Size: 5
4x Starfury Mk2 (S) Fighter-bomber Speed: 15000 km/s Size: 5
6x Wasp Mk3 Interceptor Speed: 22727 km/s Size: 3.3
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
Both Shots and Shaw were on a tight schedule as in just a few more hours’ time they would need to transfer over to No. 9 shipyard to witness the laying down of the keels for the Navy’s first four Type 423 area defence light cruisers. The new light cruisers would form the back bone of the area defences for both the new carrier and cruiser groups and hence were a vital element of the new task groups’ composition.
Type 423 class Light Cruiser 12,000 tons 967 Crew 2860.4 BP TCS 240 TH 1500 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 7-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/28/0/0 Damage Control Rating 18 PPV 49.3
Maint Life 4.74 Years MSP 1192 AFR 144% IFR 2% 1YR 87 5YR 1303 Max Repair 288 MSP
Magazine 846
MCF Drive E5 (12) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 410,000 Litres Range 123.0 billion km (227 days at full power)
Twin GC 20r8 (2x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (2) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Size 1 ML RoF 5 (18) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 5
Missile Fire Control FC41-R1 (3) Range 41.6m km Resolution 1
Stirge 5 (846) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 3.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 550 / 330 / 165
Active Search Sensor MR40-R1 (1) GPS 288 Range 40.3m km Resolution 1
EM Detection Sensor EM2-28 (1) Sensitivity 28 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 28m km
ECM 10
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
With the latest round of designs completed Shaw was looking forward to at least a few weeks of relative calm to re-gather his thoughts and deal with the piles of admin that had been piling up.
Luyten 1305 -Shipyards
Barnett was once again stood with Rear Admiral Miller in the main loading bay of Shipyard No. L1. In front of them the men of the Belorussia were filing back on board the vessel through the freshly repaired airlocks. Barnett still couldn’t quite believe that it had taken the shipyard only a little over a month to affect all of the numerous repairs needed; however his chief engineer was more than happy so that gave him a lot of comfort.
With the repairs completed, his crew thoroughly rested and replacement crew assigned Belorussia was ready to put out to space once more. Barnett wasn’t therefore going to waste any further time sloping around the Luyten docks. Somewhere out there were the X’Ching and he had a debt to repay for the Bolivia that he intended to make.
With a final salute to Miller, Barnett about turned and strode back onto his vessel, ready to face whatever the X’Ching might care to throw at him.
GJ1065
After her success with the last data storage device, Foster and her team had redoubled their efforts to seek out and test other data stores. They had also been back through all of the devices that they had previously found and run those through the jury rigged lab. In each case they had finally been able to read the data stored but to date nothing of anywhere near the worth of the first device had yet been found.
Most of the team were now back in the old laboratory waiting for the last of the latest pile of devices to be analysed by the ancient machinery. The team's initial excitement at Foster's first find was slowly wearing off with the monotony of the task ahead however Foster remained focused.
Three hours later many of the team had headed off to grab some food and sleep, leaving just Foster and some of her closet team members to keep watch on the machine which unfortunately gave no indication of the time required to analyse each device.
Finally the machine gave out a very dull bleep and the now familiar scroll of information started to appear on the labs monitors. One of Foster's team stepped forward to start checking the data. Moments later the assistance gave out a whoop, startling Foster from her perch. All of them rushed forward to see what had been discovered this time round.
Fifteen minutes later all of them were grinning and congratulating themselves on a job well done. The final round of data included full details of the alien's manufacturing processes, all of which were substantially ahead of the Federation's. Implementation of these was likely to prove another massive boon and would substantially contribute to the Federation's output.
GJ1065 – Low orbit
Commodore Conor Stevenson was sat on the bridge of the TFS Long Island, the lead ship for Carrier Group Delta. After a charge across six systems the Federation's newest carrier group had finally arrived in orbit around the GJ 1065 colonies. About him his deck officers were already busy arranging for the refuelling bowsers to come up from the planet along with replacement maintenance supplies. His weapons officer was also busy liaising with the home defence detachment to organise the offloading of a number of the area defence light cruisers’ stock of Stirge Mk5 missiles and the replacement with a batch of long range anti missiles previously recovered from one of the Mech listening posts.
Looking down at his plot he could see the detachment of destroyers from carrier group alpha and the ageing, but not to be underestimated, frigates of strike group alpha. It was a sizeable force but one that could not be maintained in the system and hence could only be a temporary solution to the rapidly evolving situation.
Stevenson’s orders had been to make best speed to GJ 1065 and there assume overall command of Federation’s naval assets in system. His mission was to protect the colony and prevent the X’Ching from penetrating Federation space. With the size of the systems involved he had no way of covering all of the jump points as well as the colony and that meant he would need to forward deploy at least some ships. The question was which ones? To decide that he needed to get a measure of the men who would be under his command.
Stevenson turned to his comms officer “please send my compliments to TFAA commander and local administrator and ask if they would do me the pleasure of joining me for diner this evening. Could you also send invites to the commanders of each of the destroyers and frigates we have in orbit with us. Suggest an informal dinner and please notify the stewards and the cooks that we will be receiving guests this evening”.
December
Sol - Navy HQ
Shots was yet again back in the main briefing room along with the rest of the emergency response committee. Around him many of the committee members were talking loudly whilst others were arguing amongst themselves. A few hours earlier they had received an urgent transmission from one of the Type 1103 survey corvettes that had been operating beyond Anderseriks before the hostilities with the X'Ching had broken out.
Thankfully the commander of the corvette had picked up the wreck of the Bolivia on jumping back into Anderseriks and had therefore taken a circuitous route back out to EG243 and onto GJ 1065. Sensor readings from the corvette showed that many of the Mech wrecks previously present in the system had disappeared but no further XChing activity had been detected by the otherwise limited sensors.
The information was useful but hardly warranted the convening of the emergency committee. The bomb shell that had caused that was the corvette's detection of a new thermal signature near to the Beta Virginis jump point. All indications were that there was yet another alien race in the system, one that could well be working alongside the X'Ching.
Whilst the corvette had been performing just a jump point survey in Beta Virginis it had detected two potentially habitable worlds and jump gates constructed on the two identified jump points identified to date in the system. There was therefore also a possibility that these new aliens had at least a base of operations in the system and have also just been encountered by the X'Ching.
That possibility aside, the Federation might well be facing not one but two hostile alien species located just a few jumps from one of their most important colonies and a population of over five million people. Up to a few hours ago the Federation's naval forces were looking stretched but adequate, they were now looking woefully lacking.
Shots peered down at his data pad looking at the disposition of the forces currently available to him.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img534/4729/ngv6.jpg)
Three of the four carrier groups along with the two ageing frigate groups were already deployed in the Luyten area. Only two of the carrier groups had full stocks of missiles and broader reserves across the region were limited, certainly not enough to support any extended engagement. Aside from the carrier groups the Federation's forces were still limited to fixed defences on some of the primary planets and wings of largely obsolete fighters. If they had any chance of meeting this growing threat they would need to accelerate efforts to release the carrier groups from defensive duties and substantially strengthen their combat service support.
Shots' most pressing concern though was his serious lack of information on the X'Ching and the complete lack of information on the recently encountered aliens. Such fundamental questions such as whether they were acting in concert with one another, had just encountered each other or were at war urgently needed answering. Without further information it would be virtually impossible for them to form an appropriate response. That meant he was going to have to send ships back into Anderseriks and, if necessary, deeper into X'Ching territory.
Until then he would need to run a delaying action with many of the emergency committee members, parliament and the broader public. He didn't fancy his chances of keeping that up for long which meant he was going to have to push Stevenson hard to get him the information he needed.
Given the limited forces available to Stevenson, Shots was doubtful that any recon in force was going to be possible whilst still leaving sufficient protection for GJ 1065 and the approaches to 107 Piscium. That meant a more covert operation was called for. Unfortunately the Federation's recon resources were just as limited; Stevenson was going to have to think outside the box on that one as he wouldn't have much of a chance. What he could do though was move all of the region's sensor corvettes and as many survey vessels as possible to GJ 1065 for forward deployment. Sadly it would likely mean casualties but with no time for alternatives it was the best he could go for.
Shots stood and excused himself from the room for a short break. He had some urgent orders to issue away from the ears of some of the committee.
GJ1065 – low orbit
Stevenson was sat in his cabin working back through the plan he had formulated in respond to Shots’ orders. The last three weeks since the emergence of the survey vessel and news of another alien race had been a blur of activity and preparation.
As good as his word, Shots had organised the transfer of four of the Federation’s Type 161 scouts to be transferred to his command. Whilst not jump capable they were the fastest ships in service and mounted substantial passive sensor arrays that should allow them to observe the X’Ching and the aliens covertly. Aside from that he had received just one jump capable survey ship, which whilst not the oldest in the Federation, was close to it.
The plan was relatively simple. Using the survey vessel and the TFS Burma he would create a relay between GJ1065 and Anderseriks to enable close to real time feedback from the scouts. This would both maximise reaction time and help to ensure that any information gained was not lost in subsequent action. Two of the scouts along with the Burma would remain in EG453 whilst the other two scouts and the survey vessel would attempt to enter Anderseriks. If successful the survey vessel would remain on station whilst one scout attempted to move in system and the other moved towards the Beta Virginis jump point. Should that phase prove successful the Burma would move up to Anderseriks whilst the survey vessel tried to insert one scout into both the unexplored jump point and Beta Virginis.
His main carrier group would remain in orbit along with the frigates whilst the destroyer detachment lead by Commodore Barnett moved forward to cover the EG453 jump point.
Having completed his review, Stevenson penned a short missive to shots before heading up to the briefing room to deliver his orders to the now assembled ships officers.
GJ1065 – Belorussia
Barnett was back on the bridge, his destroyer task group hanging in space just 50mkm away from the EG453 jump gate. Several hours previously the scout group had separated from his task group to continue the mission and were now closing on the jump point.
Barnett had been back in system and reunited with the rest of his task group for less than five days before the orders from Commodore Stevenson had come in. He was still unhappy with Stevenson’s approach, having advocated a stronger recon in force given the known X’Ching forces and their clear hostility. Stevenson had however been unmoved by Barnett’s arguments and hence we was stuck with following through on the plan.
“Sir, Burma reports reaching the jump gate, they are spooling their drive and expect to make the jump in the next few minutes” reporting the comms officer. “Thank you, please get me a connection to Captain Booth” replied Barnett.
A few moments later the image of Captain Booth appeared on his screen. “Captain, I don’t have to remind you just how dangerous this mission is. You are to proceed with extreme caution; I want the rest of my task group back in one piece”. Booth grinned “don’t you worry sir; I’ll make sure we bring her back in, you still owe me that bottle of scotch from the last time we save your hide and I plan on cashing that it”. Barnett grinned back “happy hunting captain”.
Moments later the screen went blank as the ships of the scout group jumped.
Things are getting even more interesting! Re the rioting and disputes that just my war of RPing the significant cuts you get in manufacturing output when you capture a population.
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2061 January
Delta Trianguli
Thornton sucked down another deep breath of the thin atmosphere as his body struggled to cope with the little oxygen available. Sweat beaded across his forehead and trickled down the back of his sodden combat vest despite the chill of the day. All about him the men and women of his division were working similarly hard as they jostled for position and struggled to get ahead of him. They were about eight miles into a run with a few more gruelling miles to go through the rocky terrain.
Since hearing about the X'ching and with the security situation on the Followers' home world continuing to improve, Thornton had ordered training to be stepped up considerably. He thought it would only be a matter of time before the TFAA were called on once more and he was damned if he and his men weren't going to be more than ready for it.
The weekly run had become something of a ritual for the division and a source of intense competition between his brigades. The PT instructors had also taken it upon themselves to give additional training to anyone who failed to beat the "old man" resulting in particular struggles as soldiers and officers alike pushed to get ahead of him.
In an effort to take his mind of the burning in his lungs and legs Thornton focused his mind on his current plans. With the completion of the first wave of PDCs almost complete, he had finally convinced Coles to schedule the construction of several training facilities. Hopefully those would be up and running in the next six months or so and the first trained troops would be passing out before the end of the year. That would greatly free up his own forces, namely the three divisions of troops still based on the planet. He just hoped that there was indeed enough time.
Luyten 1305-10
Kai was sat in his comfortable, recently refurbished office working through the days to do list. Glancing over at his calendar he realised it was six weeks to the day that he had first stepped foot on Luyten. Funny, he thought, it felt to him that he had already been there far longer given the routine he had already fallen into.
The anger at his transfer still simmered away but he was keeping that in check whilst he worked on rebuilding the Luyten economy. In fact there were even some days when he barley thought of the mis-justice netted out to him by Carter, such was his immersion in dealing with the planet's many issues. That had not however stopped him from putting the first stages of his plan in train.
At present he was wrestling with the Navy's demands to build many of the new orbital weapon platforms components in the factories rather than the shipyards. Production was going well, in fact too well with latest projections showing that they would run short of Uridium before they managed to complete the components. He had already requested the surplus store located on Delta Trianguli to be sent over but that would not arrive for another twenty days and was in any case only a short term fix if the Navy expected him to produce successive batches.
For the moment then he had decided to restart the planet's automated mine construction programme by diverting a sizeable chunk of industry to those efforts. The diversion would have the dual effect of both slowing down the component construction, allowing the delivery of additional minerals, and starting to build the infrastructure needed to meet the longer term mineral demands of the region.
GJ 1065
With the first of the three PDCs now assembled and the carrier group in orbit, Foster was feeling a lot happier about the security of the planet and, more importantly, her archaeological dig. The advances made by her teams over the last few months meant any questions from Earth as to whether the dig should be terminated and her engineers evacuated had ceased. She was therefore now planning on how to open up one of the previously unexplored sectors of the city which looked to be more of an industrial centre.
The logistics were becoming increasingly difficult as they continued to turn over more of the industrial facilities, fuel refineries and maintenance facilities to the Union's colony. On top of that they needed to continue clearing space for the growing number of habitation facilities required by the Union who, unfortunately, were particularly badly suited to the planet's atmosphere.
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Commodore Shaw was back in the viewing gallery of Navy yard 6 to watch the launch of the latest batch of Type 232 close escort frigates. Whilst hardly the largest or most heavily armed or armoured vessel in the fleet, the Type 232’s three twin gauss cannon turrets with individual fire controls gave them an unsurpassed point anti-missile capability.
Having recognised the benefits of such relatively cheap to build and easy to maintain vessels the Navy was now investing heavily in increasing the numbers in service. Unfortunately they had a way to go with only six of the older Type 231s and three of the more modern 232’s in service. Three more were in overhaul whilst those to be launched today would need to spend close to a year in shake down and training before they could be deployed.
At least now they had a fourth slip completed and starting construction with two further slips also planned. If everything went as hoped this would give Shaw more than enough of the escorts to protect the new carrier groups.
Anderseriks
Commander Charlton stared wearily at the scope in front of him; about him many of the rest of the crew were looking similarly tired. His ship, the Bushmaster was a Type 161 corvette, a vessel that had not been designed for long periods of high tempo independent operation. Consequently the crew all had to work additional shifts and, having been at it for nearly four weeks; it was starting to have an impact.
Since leaving GJ 1065 in December with the rest of the scout group they had made their way slowly through EG 453 where they had left one of the other corvettes and the Burma. They, the Cobra and the survey ship had then jumped into Anderseriks. There they had left the survey vessel, whose old engines and limited sensors made her more of a hindrance than a help for the task ahead.
Cobra was heading directly for the unexplored jump point to check for any activity there whilst his own ship was moving towards the site of the previous wrecks. Not that that there were many left. Since the Federation’s last visit all but three of the wrecks in the asteroid field had gone whilst there was just two left around the innermost planet. The wrecks of both the Bolivia and the X’Ching’s vessel were also still present. What was far more interesting though was the appearance of a large wreck on the Beta Virginis jump point. Analysis indicated this was from one of the new alien’s.
If that was the case it was possible that the X’Ching were fighting them as well; perhaps the Federation had finally found an ally rather than an enemy. At this stage it was rather hard to tell though as it appeared that the comms buoy left had made almost no progress in translating the limited number of transmissions received from the aliens before the ship was destroyed. In any case it was significant information that needed to be relayed back to Earth.
Meanwhile he was already thinking about the best way to get a closer pass of the gate once he had swept past the wrecks. However whilst still close to a billion km from the wrecks Bushmaster’s limited EM sensors began to pick up a hugely powerful active search sensor from the inner planet area.
“Sir, we’ve interpolated the sensor readings and calculated a range of just over 500mkm; that’s twice the range of the sensor readings the Burma picked up in its’ last encounter. Combat AI has assigned it to a new vessel accordingly. Wave length analysis shows that it is tuned for 6000 ton vessels, just the same as before”.
“Ok, let’s steer clear of that coverage for the moment. Nav, plot a new course to just outside that sensor range, let’s see if we can pick up anything else before we attempt a closer pass. Con, bring us down to 4000 km/s, let’s keep our engines running a little cooler for the moment”.
2061 February
Sol - London
Carter was stood at the head of a large board room table glaring down its' length at the rest of the assembled directors. Behind him a series of less than positive projections for the Federation's economy, industrial orders and his conglomerate's performance illuminated the room's smart wall.
"Let me get this straight, despite our order book being fuller than it has ever been, despite making record profits for the fifth year in a row and despite paying all of you god awful amounts of money our share price has dropped more than fifteen percent in the last three days alone. Would one of you please care to explain exactly what is going on to me?"
"Sir, it's that leak of the latest expenditure figures" began one of the Directors. "Whoever dropped the initial set of reports has continued to drip feed the press with more information. That's stopped us from getting it buried and we've had no luck in getting it discredited. Unfortunately, the analysts have taken note and run some re-forecasts based on those numbers. Based on current spending levels the Federation will be bankrupt in a little over nine years ignoring any of the planned expansion during that time or the likely costs of any war with the X'Ching. In fact they've already pointed out that if it hadn't been for the reparations received from both the Union and the Followers the Federation would already be bust. The markets are now pricing in an expected significant contraction in governmental spending in the next few years. With our high exposure that's hitting us more than most".
"Shut up you idiot" snapped back Carter "I know exactly what's happening in the markets, what I want to know is whether this is the first throws of a hostile takeover, some positioning to win our government contracts or something else"?
"We've still got no insight as to where the leak came from but there weren't that many people even in central government that would have had access to those numbers. It shouldn't therefore be too long before we have a good idea" replied Carter's head of security.
"I've not picked up any rumours in the market on potential takeovers. Even with our share price depressed it would require a massive rights issue by any of our competitors. Any book building of that sort of size and we would know about it" noted the finance director.
"Same here" noted the marketing director "I've not seen any sort of push into our contracts, no renegotiations demanded or anything similar".
"Well I simply refuse to believe that someone went to that kind of effort to get the information leaked so carefully just out of the goodness of their heart. I want to know who it was and why they did it and I want to be certain they are not going to do it again". Carter leaned forward with his knuckles on the table, looking into the eyes of each of the board members in turn. "Do I make myself clear"?
Ascent rippled round the table to which Carter nodded. "Ok, in the mean time I want all of you working through an appropriate response to this news. I want to see our share price back up by the end of the week. If it's not I will be coming up with some more direct incentives for you all" Carter gazed across the board room one more time, making sure his message had sunk in, before striding off through the board room door.
Anderseriks - TFS Bushmaster
"Contact, contact, range 325mkm, bearing 294 degrees" called out the electronic sensor operator.
Charlton stood up from his command chair and walked over to the ESO's station. "Con, bring us to a dead stop but keep the engines warm, I want to be able to move at a moment’s notice if needed. Nav, please lay in reciprocal course and prepare to execute on my mark. Now what else do we have on these new contacts?" asked Charlton as he reached the sensor station.
"Sir, spectrographic analysis just coming in, thermal signature matches X'Ching craft, output is 1056, we don't have any data base information on the exact outputs of previous craft but that would put them close to our light cruisers. We've got nine contacts in total with three signature variances, combat AI has tagged them as differing classes of vessel. So far there's no sign of movement, looks like they hanging round the planet just like the last lot did". Charlton leaned down to look at the scope for himself:
(http://imageshack.com/a/img839/416/7g15.jpg)
Charlton grimaced, that was an awful lot of new contacts for what were likely either larger or more advanced vessels compared to those previously encountered. The fact alone that the X’Ching could field ships with sensors more than twice as powerful as those last seen was cause enough for concern, let alone the clearly larger naval forces they had at their disposal.
Right, it’s my intention to hold here for a while and see if we pick up any movement. Signal the rest of the group and send them our sensor logs, also ask our friends from the survey wing to relay readings back down the chain. Inform Cobra that we will wait for further orders but they should continue with their own sweep as planned".
Charlton turned to address the rest of his bridge crew. "Listen in everyone. We are going to have to play the waiting game over the next couple of days at least which could well be the most dangerous part of our mission to date. We know just how aggressive these X'Ching can be and the extensive range of their weapon systems. What we don't know is just how many of them are in system or what their own passive sensor capabilities are. I want all of you to assume that we are being tracked and to remain appropriately vigilant".
Just over eight hours later Charlton got his response.
"Ok everyone, orders are back in from fleet command. We are staying on station whilst the Cobra completes her sweep of the Beta Virginis jump point. We will then rendezvous with the Cobra before pulling back to the EG 453 jump point. We are then going to stay on station to provide an early warning to fleet of any X'Ching movements towards GJ 1065. This is going to be an extended deployment so I want section heads running up revised roster proposals straight away. Engineering, I’m going to want the engines ticked down and set for minimal emissions once we are in situ but ready if we need to move so get me your projections on cold start sequence completion. I also want to see your maintenance schedules and current projections on stores usage. Get to it all, we have a lot of work to do before the rendezvous".
2061 March
GJ 1065
It was a Sunday morning and Foster had taken her customary spot in one of the many coffee houses that had opened up to serve the additional Navy crews who were rotating through shore leave. Looking around her Foster could hardly remember what the colony had been like when she had first arrived. With more than five million Unionists on the planet it felt and looked more like a small city than a frontier outpost.
Despite is being less than three months since the encounter with the X’Ching it occurred to Foster that a sense of normality had already returned to the colony. The presence of the carrier group and its’ support vessels in orbit was proving to be a reassuring calm to the general population. Civilians were no longer hurrying between buildings and levels of traffic within the domes appeared to be returning to pre-crisis levels.
The completion of more of the PDCs had also buoyed the population and the troops alike and Foster found herself worrying less and less about the menace of the Chigs and more on the mundane of her daily working life.
Grasping a large steaming coffee mug in both hands, Foster kicked back in her deep sofa and stared out of the window at the bustle in front of her. She had to admit that life was good on planet; perhaps it was time to think about settling down and stop haring about the galaxy in search of that next great find.
GJ 1065 – TFS Long Island
Commodore Stevenson was feeling remarkably less relaxed than Foster. So far the recon group had managed to identify a significant additional Chig force in Anderseriks whilst the appearance of the wreck associated with the new alien race seemed to confirm just how aggressive the Chigs were.
Having seen the initial reports from Charlton he was going to remain cautious and make sure his men did nothing to stir what was undoubtedly one hell of a hornet’s nest.
Stevenson’s one only real area of comfort was that there was no evidence of the Chigs operating in the EG 453 system which left him with a least a bit of a buffer between them and the Federation. He wasn’t however stupid enough to think that it would remain that way and hence was busy drawing up a set of contingency plans in case they did start to take an interest in the system.
In the meantime he would continue to push the local administrators to help him build up the military forces and support network. As far as he was concerned their defences remained woefully lacking, especially in the face of the Chigs apparent preferred tactic of huge volleys of missiles.
Anderseriks
"Sir, message from the Cobra; their passive sensors have just picked up another task group of nine X'Ching vessels sat on the Beta Virginis jump point. Thermal contacts are at 880 and there are no matches in their output signatures to previous vessel types".
(http://imageshack.com/a/img545/6317/yihb.jpg)
"Thank you ensign, send the data to my console. Please instruct the Cobra to break off from their current fly past and to plot a course for the rendezvous. Con, execute our extraction plan. Exo, you have the bridge, I'm going below to look through these contacts and compile a report to headquarters.
Back in his quarters Charlton spent some time looking through the information amassed to date.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img21/8881/pcnu.jpg)
To date the Federation had identified 26 vessels from the X'Ching operating in the system. That was a substantial tonnage of ships. The replacement of the previous task group on the inner planet indicated to him that they were clearly protecting something down there; perhaps they had made a significant find, one which could give them a serious technical advantage. It was certainly concerning given how plausible that might be.
The disappearance of the wrecks would also indicate broader operations by the X'Ching and likely by ships they hadn't yet seen.
All in all it looked to Charlton that the X’Ching were steadily building up their presence in the system. IF they behaved anything like the Federation that meant that it would just be a matter of time before they felt sufficiently prepared to expand further out and that would take them into direct conflict.
He fervently hoped that the brass back home was coming up with some sort of plan to deal with them. In the meantime however he needed to keep his crew and own small task group focused and doing their jobs.
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Shaw was sat in the offices of Jonathan Akhtar, the civilian administration tasked with the day to day running of the shipyards, watching on in awe as Akhtar rapidly tweaked a few more of the delivery schedules for yard 8. Shaw was in for his weekly progress report and scheduling review but had arrived early so he just sat quietly and enjoyed the show.
As the appointed Navy liaison for the shipyard, Shaw had built a great working relationship with the man over the last few months but he was still amazed at his capacity to keep such a close watch on every small aspect of the construction schedules, to spot potential issues before the arose and to maximise the resources he had available. All in all Akhtar was proving to be invaluable with his ability to drastically reduce the construction times required for the Navy’s vessels. It was particularly impressive given just how many ships were in construction around Mars alone:
(http://imageshack.com/a/img577/7705/fsnc.jpg)
Shaw grinned, in front of him his plans for the expansion of the Navy were taking shape and it was quite a rush to see the sheer scale of effort that was going into making those plans a reality.
The Federation might be stretched at the moment but Shaw was confident that it would only be a matter of a few short years before the Navy was more than ready to avenge the destruction of the Bolivia.
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Great update. I really enjoy your characterization. There appears to be a missing word though.
"Glancing over at his calendar he realised it was six to the day that he had first stepped foot on Luyten."
That is near the top in Kai's segment.
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Great update. I really enjoy your characterization. There appears to be a missing word though.
"Glancing over at his calendar he realised it was six to the day that he had first stepped foot on Luyten."
That is near the top in Kai's segment.
Thanks glad you are enjoying it and fixed!
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2061 April
GJ 1065
Sirens wailed across the forward operating base compound. Inside the all ranks mess there was pandemonium as officers from the 2nd mobile infantry battalion shouted orders to their men whilst they scrambled to comply. Only in one corner of the mess there remained an air of calm.
Sat amongst a group of her officers and NCO's, Foster sat sipping her coffee whilst watching the frantic activity. Having been through numerous alerts as well as being forcibly prevented from acting on the front line the engineers no longer paid much head to the various alarms; especially when they were so well back from the excavation sites.
Five minutes later and the room was close to empty, leaving turned over chairs and half eaten meals littering the space. Foster glanced over to one of her NCO's "Hiller, would you be so kind as to shut off that infernal racket, I'd quite like to enjoy the rest of this coffee in peace".
"Yes Ma'am" responded Hiller with a mock tone of deference before standing up to go and fiddle with the alarm system. After years of working so closely with one another her command structure had become increasingly flat and less formal; certainly not what was expected by the brass at home. Foster was however more than happy that when push came to shove the command structure remained effective and this way she got a lot more from her team.
A few minutes later the alarms finally ceased. Foster sighed and slumped back into her chair in appreciation. The team were due to rotate forward in the next couple of hours and she was glad of the short respite.
Moments later however the silence was once again broken by the faint but unmistakable high pitched staccato sound of RH212 assault rifles firing on automatic and accompanied by the intermittent thump of 45mm grenades. Years of living and working out in the planet's thin toxic atmosphere had acclimatised the team to its' disorienting effects on sound. All of the engineers therefore immediately recognised just how close to the camp the firing was.
It took Foster a few moments to register before her brain kicked back into to gear. "Everyone get suited up, we need to get out of here. Karl, Richards you're with me, we need to get up to the CP and find out what's going on. The rest of you get over to the barracks and make sure the rest of the men are suited, armed and ready to move out. Hiller, I want our command net up and running in the next five and a sitrep from company commanders in 15".
Foster was already halfway back into her environment suit by the time she had finished her immediate orders, as were the rest of the group. Moments later they had cycled through the airlock and back outside. Behind them was left nothing but their own half-finished meals and an eerie hush.
"Ok Major, what on Earth is going here"? Demanded Foster to the manic officer she had found in charge of the 28th Mobile Infantry’s CP.
The Major barley glanced her way before noticing her rank slides and bringing himself to an abrupt halt on his current task. "Ma'am there's been a major excursion of Mech robotic infantry in sector RSA4. It's caught all of us by surprise, the 28th are already reporting heavy casualties although comms with them are patchy. We are struggling to get ahead of their pace of advance to set up a proper defence.
Foster quickly brought up the location of the fighting on one of the CP’s virtual map whilst more information flooded into her own console through the just activated combat net.
"That can't be right" exclaimed Foster, "we cleared that sector months ago; everything there is either unsalvageable or just in the process of being prepared for off world transport".
"You tell that to the bloody Mechs" retorted the Major. "We either missed something or the devious little buggers have worked out that it's better to keep quiet for a while before pouncing on us. Whatever's happened, they certainly caught us off guard here. Your team need to evac back to the main CP point before the local situation gets any worse".
The Major turned to the holo map in front of him, there were a worrying number of red markers lighting up the display and apparently all too few blue forces between themselves and the threat. "Actually it looks like we are pretty much cut off from reserve at the moment, god those things move fast".
"Not that fast" responded Foster, "I've seen them in action quite a few times now. They are far more methodical in the way they advance and consolidate; we also know they always sweep for non-combatants before moving on. They must be getting into the sector from more than one point, somewhere they haven't been engaged by us at all". Foster started to scan the map in earnest, trying to make sense of the shifting patterns of hostile troop movements.
"There!" she pointed to one region on the map, "they must be coming up through Research Facility alpha 4, it's the only undamaged facility in the area that's got the spread of networks underneath which they could be using".
The Major peered at the map "I think you're right" looking over his shoulder he shouted at one of the other troopers in the command post "Sargent, get me a flight of recon drones over to grid 38216652 right this minute". The Major turned back to Foster. "We'll know well enough in the next few minutes, if you're right we are in a whole heap of trouble as we can't hope to contain them in both locations. It'll just be a matter of time before they can build up enough numbers to overwhelm us here. Excuse me, I need to make a report up to HQ".
Foster took the time to call up her men, making sure they were ready to move. She was still talking to them when the Major returned.
"Colonel, the drones have confirmed your suspicions, we've got a break out in two locations behind our main lines of defence. HQ is forming a plan but right now I need your men deployed forward to help us slow the advance".
"Of course Major, happy to help where we can" confirmed Foster. "Karl, finish getting everyone formed up and ready to move out. I want platoon commanders ready for a briefing from the Major in ten. Oh and get one of the team to dig out my combat plates and webbing from Block 23G, it's in there somewhere".
"Sorry Colonel" interrupted the Major "HQ also gave me explicit orders not to let you or any of your senior staff near the fighting. I'm afraid you are going to have to sit this one out".
Foster was about to launch into an immediate protest when a priority signal came through from HQ, stopping her in her tracks. "Beak break, break break, all stations this is Zero Alpha, we've analysed the Mech's current advance and force build up. Our estimates show that we won't have time to airlift forward enough units before your positions are over run. You are hereby ordered to cease attempted containment protocols and pull your men back to 38536640. Sierra Oscar One Three has been tasked to provide immediate strike capability and is currently manoeuvring for position.
ETA for horizon clearance and establishment of ground handshake is 14:59:30Z, first overhead pass will be 15:18:25Z. Your immediate task is to identify fire missions which are to be cross checked and ready for upload by 15:00:00Z. You've got till then to get your men clear. Once completed you will link back up with the reserve and re-establish containment protocols. The 35th will be in the air inside 45 minutes, ETA 17:15, they have been tasked with relieving you. Zero Alpha out".
Foster was stunned, the call sign Sierra Oscar was for a space orbital asset which meant they planned to us the massive firepower of the Navy’s destroyers. Glancing at her display she realised they had a little over an hour and a quarter before the whole area got flattened by the carrier group's escort vessels. On top of that the selected rendezvous point was more than three kilometres to the South. Not much for a simple stroll down the road but a substantial distance to cover when they were likely to be conducted a fighting retreat and remaining in contact with the Mechs.
Five minutes later Foster was sat in a rushed O group with a couple of the company commanders who had been pulled back from the fighting. In front of her the Major was pointing out his planned route back through to the RV. “Once we have pulled back from immediate cover Alpha company will take up defensive positions at the edge of the old terraforming factory grounds; Bravo and Charlie company along with the engineers will move through the site to this area two hundred meters to the South”.
As she looked on Foster’s eyes suddenly went wide with realisation. “The plans not going to work” she blurted out. Around her every pair of eyes in the room turned to look and she realised she would have to explain herself pretty quickly.
“The Union colony has been operating every operational terraforming installation we’ve found since we arrived. They’ve been pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere like crazy as the first phase of making the planet properly habitable for them”.
“So what?” interrupted the major. “Don’t you see?” responded Foster, exasperated but not entirely surprised. “We’ve not done a survey of the planet since the Federation originally detected the ruins; all of the Navy’s atmospheric data is now way out of date. If the Navy fire without the correct adjustments for atmospheric diffraction they could just as well flatten us and more importantly they may well fail to destroy the Mech’s secondary beachhead”.
It took the Major a few moments to consider the ramifications of Foster's statement. "Thank you Colonel, unfortunately though I don't think we are going to be able to do much about it. We don't have the weapons to collapse the research facility or the men to contain the Mechs in the area. I'll notify HQ of your concerns but for the time being we will continue with the existing plan; let's just hope that the Navy can hit the target. It's now even more imperative that we get sufficiently clear of the area".
"There is another way to bring down that research facility major" replied Foster. "We have detailed structural schematics on all of the research facilities and the underground transport system that was used by the workers to get around this area of the city. We also know that all of the major facilities were built on a series of seismic dampeners to deal with this planet's less than stable tectonic plates. If we took out enough of those dampeners the whole research facility would collapse under its' own weight".
"And just how on earth do you propose that we collapse those dampeners and what with?" retorted the major, clearly unused to having his briefings interrupted, even if it was a senior officer.
Foster took a deep breath before responding as she knew that what she had in mind was likely to be exceedingly dangerous and with only a limited chance of success. She would also need to put quite a few of her men's lives on the line. But what choice did she have? The Navy could very well totally miss the mark and cause untold damage to the wider city, not to mention the risk of hitting their own men. No, thought Foster, there wasn't much of a decision to be made at all.
"Simple Major, my engineers have a full supply of mk89 charges which we use for clearing sites and breaching installations. They will work perfectly well as demolition charges. With the structural plans it won't take long to figure out which dampeners we need to destroy to bring the whole thing down. We can also use the old service tunnels to get in under the Mechs. It will be close to get in and out in time but I'm confident that my men and I can do it".
"I'm sorry Colonel but that's madness; those tunnels could well be crawling with mechs and even if you did manage to find a way through in the time you would still need to locate and rig the dampeners and then extract without a single one of you being detected. Now we really can't afford to waste any more time on the matter, we must focus on planning and executing an orderly withdrawal".
"Damn it! You need to listen to me Major" shouted back Foster as she banged her fist on the side of the holo map to emphasise her point. "Even if the Navy hit their target there's no certainty that it will have the desired effect. This is the only way to be certain of stopping even greater casualties and avoiding the destruction of the very stuff you are here to protect. Now you are either going to help me do this or get the hell out of my way".
The Major looked stunned by Foster’s outburst but composed himself quickly. “Ok, Colonel I can’t order you to pull back but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you go into that hornet’s nest unescorted. Can your men ready, you’ll have a section of my best to go down there with you. I’m afraid there’s just no way I can spare any more men. Now get the hell out of my O group, I’ve still got a withdrawal to orchestrate”.
Foster nodded before getting up to leave, she was almost at the door before the Major called out to her. “Oh and Colonel, take care down there, we will leave the orbital strike to the last possible moment but if I don’t see that facility destroyed I will be calling in that strike”.
“Understood Major” replied Foster before hitting the door cycle to enter the external airlock.
***
Twenty minutes later Foster found herself deep within the transport tunnels far below the old city. Ahead of her the squad of infantry were setting a punishing pace as they pushed to get in and out of the area as quickly as possible. Despite being in good shape Foster could already hear her own ragged breathing echoing in her helmet whilst she struggled to suck down enough oxygen. The combined weight of the environment suit, body armour and packs stuffed full of charges meant that the engineers were struggling to keep pace with the infantry in their combat armour with its’ powered assistance.
Sucking down another deep breath Foster glanced down at her forearm mounted display to check their progress. Thankfully they had made excellent progress and were already close to the Research facility boundary. That also meant they were well within the Mech’s expanded perimeter.
A few minutes later the colour sergeant leading the infantry signalled a halt. “Ok, passives are starting to pick up EM activity up ahead; looks like there are at least some Mechs down here with us. Everyone switch your suits to full passive, we will move forward in two minutes once the suit radiators have cooled a bit. Colonel, make sure you keep your men close to us, it’s going to be hand signals from here on in only”.
Still panting to regain her breath, Foster watched as everyone’s lights went out, plunging the tunnel into darkness. It took just a few moments before her suit’s own passive sensors built up enough information to start displaying an enhanced image of her surroundings but it was long enough to send a chill down her spine.
Finally they started to move forwards once more but at an altogether slower pace. To the front the infantry now crept forward in covering pairs, carefully sweeping the area. To Foster they resembled ghost like apparitions, flickering through her dim and grainy view whilst their stealth systems worked to confuse her own passive sensors.
After another five minutes of slow jogging Wade, the colour sergeant, signalled another halt before his men fanned out in a defensive pattern. Being so used to the comms system it took a few moments for Foster to realise that he was also signalling her. Hefting her pack to better balance the load she crept forwards to where he was crouching.
As she got near to him one of the darker shadows resolved itself as his outstretched arm. Taking a few more steps Foster reached out her own hand to grasp his wrist. Moments later she heard the soft crackle of her headphones coming to life, indicating that their two suits had established a hard link.
"Colonel, we are just about on top of the access hatches you indicated for the seismic dampeners. I'll leave one fire team here to cover our exit, the rest will come down with you and help set the explosives. By my watch we have a little over twenty five minutes to gain access, plant the explosives and be on our way if we don't want to be fried by our own Navy".
"That's going to be cutting it fine" remarked Foster. "This tunnel bisects the facilities main foundations so we will need to split the demolition team into two squads. I'll lead the team covering the western section whilst Hiller will take the Eastern area. I'm afraid that means we will also need to split your own men down further".
Wade nodded consent. "Ok, each team will have to make do with a two man escort. Let's just hope we don't run into anything down there. I'll pair one of my men and come with you and I'll get one of my more experienced corporals as one of the pair for your other team. I need to go brief the men quickly on the demolitions given the lack of time we had on the way down here".
"Of course Colour, I need to do the same with my own men. I also appreciate the offer of help but I'd prefer to let my own people set the charges. It won't more than a couple to fail to do their job to stop this brute from coming down. Given that we'd better get on with it then". Letting go of the colour sergeant's arm before he had a chance to respond, she turned to motion her own men forwards, directing them to some of the large grates in the floor.
Moments later the tunnel bathed in a mix of vivid blue lights and dancing shadows as the engineers used their cutting tools to gain access to the lower level. Foster could do nothing but wait as the heavy grates were cut free.
After what seemed like an age the first of her own two teams ceased cutting and lifted away a large section of the floor. Two of the infantry immediately moved forward to check the hole before easing their way down into the pitch darkness below.
With no signs of any activity from below she watched as her own four men lowered themselves in after the troops.
Moments after the last of them had disappeared from sight she felt a hand on her arm. Turning, Foster could see that the other section of grating had also been removed and the colour sergeant was already lowering himself in. Realising that she was going to have to follow him Foster took a deep breath before making her way over to the hole to wait for the rest of the men to descend.
Looking in she could make out nothing but an inky blackness that not even her suit's sensors could penetrate. A wave of apprehension washed over her and she had to reach out a hand to one side of the grate to steady herself. In her mind childhood memories of lying scared in bed in the middle of the night tumbled forth. Knowing this time that there really were monsters lurking somewhere in the dark left her routed to the spot for what seemed like an age but was in fact just a few seconds. Quickly reasserting her own discipline, Foster grasped the rope that had been hooked to the grate and slowly started to lower herself down.
Foster knew that the descent was going to be less than ten meters but the complete lack of visual inputs left her feeling like she was hanging in an abyss. A feeling that grew worse with every hand hold down when her feet failed to touch the floor.
After what seemed like an age her feet finally found the uneven floor of the bedrock upon which the research facility had been built; causing a small sigh of relief to escape her lips. Before she could stumble away from the rope a hand reached out to steady her before gripping her wrist.
"Ma'am, looks like we are going to have to do this pretty much blind" reported one of her sappers. "Thankfully the sergeants picking up a few details with those hyped infantry sensors of theirs. We've crossed referenced the outputs to the original structural survey and have a pretty good overlay which I'm sending over now".
On her HUD the blackness was quickly replaced with the faint green glow of the overlay. It was a pretty poor image but thankfully it would be enough for them to work from. It also brought back to her a sense of perspective on just how big the cavern underneath the facility was. Thankfully they would only need to destroy the central dampeners to cause a collapse.
"Thank you Clifton "responded Foster with real sincerity. "We've got 17 charges to lay and a little over 19 minutes to do it. Let's get linked up with the rest so we can co-ordinate locations. We are going to have to split into two yet again to do this".
With the complete lack of light and only the faint emissions coming from each of their suits it took the team another couple of minutes to get into a herringbone formation. More precious moments were spent assigning demolition points to each team before they were finally ready to go.
Ten minutes later and Foster had just finished setting the explosives on her fifth charge. She had four more to set and a little over seven minutes to do it in. Not for the first time she attempted to wipe the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand before remembering the futility of the action. At least they had started with the farthest out charges so there would be less time spent walking between the dampeners.
With the charge set Foster stretched out a hand to grab hold of the sergeant's suit once more. Next to her she could just make out the sapper Clifton, who was accompanying her doing the same. They had quickly worked out that it was far better to let the infantryman lead them rather than stumble through the darkness on her own.
Without the immediate task of having to place and set another charge Foster once again became painfully aware of just how much the world about her had shrunk to the confines of her suit. With almost no stimulus from outside, her breathing now seemed impossibly loud whilst her eyes easily picked out the edges of the HUD and the blackness all around. Once again she needed to summon her willpower to quash the mounting claustrophobia.
Six more tortuous minutes passed before they managed to reach the last dampener and were able to start placing the ninth and final charge. Holding the charge in place to allow Clifton to glue it in in position Foster glanced down at her internal chronometer. They had just under a minute to go to finish with the charges and move the fifty or so meters back to the hole in the ceiling and their way out of there. By her calculations the other team, who had one last charge to place should already be on their way back out of the cavern.
They had nearly finished securing the last of the charges when the unmistakable clanging sound of metal striking bare rock rang out across the cavern. To Foster the sound was almost deafening given the long periods of enforced silence that they had been working in. Moments later Foster felt her arm being grabbed and heard her intercom click on.
"We need to move now" urged the Wade.
This time Foster wasn't in any mood to disagree. "Ok, we are near enough done here anyway; lead on".
It took the three of them little more than half a minute to cross back to where they had entered. At the bottom of the rope they found the second infantry man holding the line steady.
Grasped his shoulder the Wade linked the four of them together.
"What the hell was that noise"? he demanded as soon as the connection was confirmed.
"I think one of the sappers got some of his tools knocked out on the way back through the gate Sarge" replied the soldier. "I'm holding down this end to stop everything swinging around like mad".
"Ok, good thinking, we'll get these two up and out then get ourselves the hell out of here as well. Keep a good hold of that rope; they are going to have to go up one after the other".
Foster was too focused on getting out to notice the sergeant's poor manners. "Right, my man will go up first. You two, don't hang around for us to get clear, we're getting behind schedule".
The sapper wasted no time grabbing the rope and started to haul himself back up into the darkness. Having counted to ten Foster grabbed the rope for herself and started climbing.
Whilst the reduced gravity on the planet greatly helped the climb, her heavy suit and gear, combined with her own long exposure to the environment once again left Foster panting for breath.
With her teeth gritted, Foster was continuing to drag herself back up the rope when her suit's helmet was filled with its' dull off-key warning tone. Glancing down at the graphics on the edge of her vision Foster struggled to refocus her eyes. It was precious moments later that she realised her suit was picking up significant EM and Thermal spikes from within the cavern; clear signs that an active Mech was in the close vicinity. Avoiding the fruitless desire to try and look around the cavern, Foster instead turned her attention back to the rope and the rest of the climb.
She had made another couple of feet before the cavern about her was suddenly illuminated in a flash of UV light. Foster was dazzled despite the automatic filters blocking out most of the glare. She was still blinking the light from her eyes when a massive weight hit her from above, wrenching the rope from her hands and sending her plummeting back into the darkness below.
***
Foster hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from her and sending a sharp lance of pain across the left side of her ribs. Whatever had knocked her off the rope had half landed on her as well, effectively pinning her legs. Despite the pains Foster knew she had been lucky to get away from the fall so lightly; if it had been Earth gravity she would have most likely broken something.
As Foster tugged at her feet the command net came to life with the sounds of barked orders from Wade. “Contact contact, all units to go active, demolitions teams to evac immediately. We have at least one scout unit in the Eastern cavern, maybe more so expect reinforcements any moment. Looks like the Colonel and her man are down. If we are not out in the next minute start to fall back without us. You need to reach a safe distance before the charges go”.
Foster scrambled to activate her own suit’s active sensors and comms unit so she could at last see what the hell was holding her down and to let the pair of infantry know she was still alive. The thought of being left behind in the caverns didn’t bear thinking about.
With her own sensors finally online Foster looked down at her legs to see how she could possible get herself free. To her horror se realised it was the body of Clifton, lying in a twisted heap on top of her. Foster could immediately see the gaping hole across his right collar bone that had more or less severed his right arm as well.
“I’m ok” yelled Foster into her microphone, “but I’m going to need some help getting out of here”.
“Keep still” whispered back the colour sergeant “that scout is coming back round for another pass”.
Foster immediately froze. Looking down at her previously ignored HUD she could see a clear EM and heat signature moving about in the cavern. From its’ pattern of movement it looked to be jumping from one dampener to the next, keeping itself 5 meters or so off the ground. It was definitely heading in her direction.
Minutes seemed to tick by as it made its erratic progress towards her location and the base of their exit route. If the Mech got through to the tunnels above from there it would land right at the backs of the rest of the small team.
“200 meters, 180 meters, arm your grenades” whispered Wade to his fellow soldier. “Wait for it, wait for it, now”!
From the corner of her vision Foster saw the bright flare of four smart grenades launching away from the infantry. On her HUD they described a snake like wave as they dogged towards their intended target. At fifteen meters the grenades flared, indicating they had triggered the air burst of micro munitions.
Faster than any human eye could follow either follow or mind could make sense of, the Mech’s shoulder mounted micro point defence system started picking off the munitions. In the fractions of a second it took for the grenades to reach their target many of the munitions were destroyed whilst the Mech was already moving and returning fire.
Had the infantry only thrown one grenade the Mech may well have defeated the attack but there were just too many incoming projections for it to deal with. One of the contact munitions struck its’ upper left leg where moments later it fired a shaped charge that cut through almost all of it. Another connected with the Mech’s abdomen, sending molten material deep into its’ internals. Other kinetic rounds caught its’ sensor package, effectively blinding it whilst a standoff charge tore off the clawed hand holding it to the dampener. More still dug holes in armour and ripped deep into exposed joints.
Despite the horrendous damage the Mech however remained partially operational. As it fell its’ main UV laser lanced out at the last projected source of the attack. One beam caught the infantry man who was still in the act of trying to take cover after he had thrown the grenades. The beam played across his right arm and back, flash heating the area and causing parts of his armour to blister and split. Although the heavier armour was able to keep out the blast it left the man with scalded skin and several damaged servos.
Wade was moving before the Mech hit the ground. With his RH212 rifle in the shoulder he sprinted forward using the power of the combat suit to propel him far faster than any Olympic sprinter of the 21st century. Within moments he had an angle on the crippled Mech that was already trying to drag itself up from the ground.
With his rifle slaved to the suit’s targeting systems and guided by automatic inputs to his arm servos Wade couldn't fail to miss; even when a hundred meters distance and sprinting over rough ground.
The Mech jerked as the barrage of 4mm armour piercing incendiary rounds slammed into its' frame. Whilst some were deflected by its’ considerable armour many more penetrated, wrecking further havoc on its' system.
Wade wasn't looking at the Mech or even wondering if he was hitting it. Trusting to the suits technology to do that job for him he was instead focused on reaching the next piece of available cover ahead of him. With his rifle's magazine dry Wade slammed into the base of another dampener before looking around to check the results of his attack.
One quick glance told him all he needed to know; the Mech was finally down and the immediate area clear. With a grunt of satisfaction Wade rolled to his feet, smoothly slotting another magazine into his rifle with practiced efficiency as he did so.
“The Mech’s down but we need to get out of here right now. Anyone of us are sitting ducks on that rope if another makes it in here before we’re gone. Archer, go help the Colonel, I’ll be back with you in 20 secs”.
Foster breathed a sigh of relief before returning her attention to trying to get her legs clear. She was still struggling when the infantryman returned and quickly pulled the body off of her before offering his hand to help her stand.
Foster grabbed it thankfully but as she pulled to stand a blinding stab of pain flashed back through her ribs; clearly she had done more damage than she thought. The pain caused her to stumble and if it hadn’t been for the quick reactions of the infantry man she would have likely fallen back to the floor.
“Ma’am are you ok?” asked Archer with clear concern in his voice.
“I think I must have cracked a rib or two in that fall. I’ll be fine, just give me a moment to steady myself”.
Foster tapped on her forearm panel, ordering the suit’s limited medical support facilities to give her a strong pain killer an anti-inflammatory. It wasn’t much but it was the best she could hope for until they managed to get back to a proper medical facility.
Having made it back to the exit point it only took Wade one glanced at the battered form of the Colonel to realise she wasn’t going to be able to make it out of the cavern on her own.
“Right, Archer get your arse up that rope on the double and make sure everyone up there is moving out. We will follow you out. Colonel, I think you better come back up with me”.
Turning to her he clasped his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her in until she was standing mere millimetres from him. At that distance her eyes were firmly level with his chest and she had to tilt her head back to still see his visor.
“Put your arms around me please ma’am. We will be up in a jiffy”.
Uncharacteristically Foster did as she was asked. Wade in turn quickly hooked several straps onto Foster’s own armour, pulling them still closer together. Satisfied with the fastening, Wade reached out for the rope and began to climb hand over hand in a fast flowing movement. Not for the first time since starting the mission Foster envied the infantry’s powered armour.
The short trip back up to the tunnels passed in a blur for Foster as the cocktail of drugs went to work numbing the pains in her ribs.
Back in the tunnel Foster was grateful to see that at least all of the rest of her men and all of the infantrymen had made it. Some of the infantry were setting up claymores in the hope that they would slow down any Mechs moving to their location.
Looking down at her chronometer Foster realised they had less than 12 minutes to reach a safe distance and set off the charges bore the Navy made its’ first pass. If things were going to plan the destroyer would have already risen above the horizon and received the initial fire control plans.
“Forget the mines, we have to go right now” called out Foster to Wade.
“I hear you loud and clear ma’am” replied Wade. “Everyone drop what you are doing and move out now”.
With the clock ticking the team began a mad dash back down tunnels; caring little for if they were now detected. Foster pushed herself onwards, conscious that she was getting close to the limit of her abilities. Try as she might she the men in front of her were starting to inch away.
Just as she was feeling her pace starting to slacken off Foster felt her left arm being hooked before being dragged forward at an even faster pace. Glancing over she saw the expressionless helmet of Wade by her side.
"Thanks" she gasped as she ran.
"Don't thank me just yet" replied Wade in an altogether far less breathless voice. "The claymores just activated and my sensors are going off the scale. Looks like we've managed to really piss them off back there. I reckon we've got no more than a few minutes before they catch up with us".
"That's not going to be enough time" panted back Foster. "Need at least another K to get safe".
"Well you better run like hell then; I'll be dammed if we've gone to all this effort only for you lot not to make it back out". With that Wade let go of Foster's arm, propelling her forward a little further before starting to bark orders to his men.
Foster ran on for a few more meters before she realised what the infantry were doing. Coming to an abrupt halt she turned to face the colour sergeant.
"Don't for one minute think we are leaving you lot down here. We're all in this together".
"I've not got time for this Colonel" retorted Wade, "you've done your job now lets us get on with ours. You have to get clear to set those dems off otherwise there are going to be one hell of a lot more casualties than just us. There's just no way to stop those Mechs and get clear".
Foster cast about herself desperately thinking of another option. The blasts from the Research facility were likely to create a huge pressure wave through the tunnels that would collapse much of them and likely throw anyone unlucky enough to be in them around like a rag doll. Wade was right, without a clear run they had no chance of getting to a safe distance and they just couldn't afford to turn their backs on them.
If they couldn't achieve distance then they needed to find a solution where they were. Unfortunately there was almost no cover in the tunnels and no other immediate exit routes. The only option then was make their own cover.
"Hiller, how much of this tunnel do you think we would need to take down to block the pressure wave and how many of the demolition charges do we have left"?
"I'd reckon a good five metres or so to be certain" responded Hiller. "We've still got three of the dems left, the two spares plus one we didn't manage to place before we got the orders to get out of there. Don't know how that's going to help though colonel, if we set those things off in here we will be just as dead".
"But not if we shape the charges just to hit just the roof no?" queried Foster.
"I guess so but we are going to have to strip down the charges, construct some sort of firing mount and improvise a replacement trigger mechanism. That's going to take a bit of time".
"Well by my count we've got a little over eight minutes before we are all toast so I suggest you get on with it right away. Pull back another 80 meters round this curve in the tunnel and set them up there. I'm going to speak to Wade about those trigger devices".
"Colour, do your men have one of those claymores left? I've got a plan to save all of our necks but you are going to have to hold off those Mechs for at least seven or eight minutes to let us do our job" asked Foster over the comm.
There was a short pause before Wade responded. "Colonel, if you don't mind me saying, I've met some stubborn officers in my time but you really do take the crown. Speak to Evans, he should have a few left. Then get yourself back round the corner, this little spot is about to get awfully interesting".
Grabbing the claymore Foster jogged back round the corner to a scene of frantic activity as the remainder of her engineers worked to strip the explosives and dig out a series firing pits. With the drugs having finally taken effect Foster was feeling a lot more focused again and she quickly joined the team in rigging up the improvised explosives.
***
Back down the tunnel Wade lay on his front, sighting his rifle down the tunnel. His men had managed to pull up a good section of the old rail lines and support beams with which to build some protection but it was all woefully lacking as far as he was concerned.
Two tense minutes passed with no signs of activity then his suit started to register the first pings of movement in the tunnel from where they had just come. Thankfully it looked like the Mechs were going slightly slower than expected, clearly conscious of further traps. As the seconds ticked away the reading grew rapidly; they were no more than 500 meters distant and closing.
"Steady boys" whispered Wade. "We need to hit them with everything we've got in our first volley if we've got any hope of stopping them".
Up ahead his sensors began to pick out the multi spectrum beams of the Mech's own active sensors as they swept forward.
At three hundred meters he could make out 15 to 20 Mechs moving down the tunnel in a staggered formation. There was a mix of Mechs with a number of scouts like the one they had destroyed previously but backed up by the larger, more heavily armed and armoured assault units. They were going to be a real problem for them. As Wade's range finder counted past 200 meters he gave the order to fire.
All about him the section of the tunnel was illuminated with the muzzle flashes and tracers of the squads rifles as they poured rounds down the tunnel.
Up ahead the scout units reacted immediately, diving to the sides and into the track recesses whilst the heavier Mechs lurched onwards. Rounds scattered off many of the Mech's heavy armour but a few clearly managed to punch through as a couple went down.
The response was almost immediate with pulses of UV lasers pummelling the temporary barricades, quickly turning them to slag. Behind him one of the men cried out as one of the heavy lasers found it's mark, punching through the unfortunate soldiers armour.
With the heavily armoured Mechs now at the fore and largely impervious to the infantry's small arms fire they continued to advance rapidly, continuing to fire as they went.
Wade looked around him. With the weight of fire coming in from the Mechs most of his men had their heads down, reduced to taking the occasional pot shot. Their own fire had slackened considerably as a result, allowing the Mechs to close faster. Wade new that if they made it to hand to hand combat he and his men would be ripped to pieces in moments.
Seeing that the Mechs were now less than a hundred meters away he called out new orders. "Everyone prime the last of your smart grenades and wait for me signal". Given his men just a few seconds to comply he started the count "Three, two, one, go!"
Wade twisted and flung his own single remaining grenade to join the ten from the rest of the squad. Another man was hit as he threw, decapitating him in a flash of molten metal. The grenades instantly ignited, flying their weaving route to the Mechs. Five of them were destroyed before they reached stand off distance but the rest burst, showing the whole of the tunnel and the exposed Mechs with a barrage of munitions.
The front two assault Mech's took the brunt of the blasts with multiple contact munitions connecting before setting off their charges, tearing great holes in their armour through which other munitions were able to reave yet more damage. About them other Mechs were also caught in the blast, loosing limbs, weapon systems and sensors.
The carnage only slowed them for a short period of time though. Two of the other assault Mechs picked up the battered bodies of their recently fallen kin, hefting them as shields whilst they stomped forwards whilst all the time continuing to fire on the Infantry's positions. Other Mechs that would have been incapacitated by their injuries had they been human slowly got to their feet as well to re-join the fight.
With almost all of the heavy munitions they carried expended Wade knew they had little chance of holding them off for much longer. "Everyone prepare to pop smoke and fall back under its cover".
"Sorry Sarge but I don't think I'm going to be able to manage it" came the reply from of his men. "One of my legs has been shot up pretty bad and the lower half of my suit is pretty messed up and all".
"Well we're just gonna have to drag your arse out of here then aren't we. No way I'm going let you get off ruining that rather expensive piece of tax payer bought kit" growled Wade. "Pop smoke now, we will fall back another 50 meters and hit them again when they come through".
In front of him his view of the tunnel was quickly obscured as the smoke worked rapidly to fill the tunnel. With a high crystalline and metallic dust content the smoke also worked as an excellent refractor, leaving most of the Mech's lasers largely ineffective. Unfortunately it also ruined the Infantry's own targeting systems and left them firing blind.
"Move move move" shouted Wade as he turned to help grab the injured man. "Colonel, we are pulling back, how are you doing with the explosives"?
"Almost there Colour" came the response from Foster "we just need a few more minutes to get them set up".
"Please hurry Ma'am, I'm not sure we going to be able to give you that long".
Having gone another 50 meters along the gently curving tunnel Wade stopped to hand off the badly injured man to the soldier who had followed him into the caverns and was himself suffering.
"Get yourself past the engineers and set up to provide covering fire, we are likely going to be coming past you in an awful hurry in a few moments time" ordered Wade.
With just five men now left under his command Wade once again spread them out and waited for the Mechs to reappear. He didn't have to wait long. First through was a scout unit, scampering along the side of the tunnel. It went down in a barrage of fire but not before it had reported back the troops positions to the rest of the Mechs. The Infantry desperately scrambled to move position but it was two late for two of them as laser fire from the two emerging assault Mech's tore into them.
The infantry's own return fire managed to catch the leg of one Mech, dropping it to one knee but it wasn't enough to stop it.
"Grenades and smoke now!" shouted Wade, throwing his own last smoke grenade into the mix. Just two last smart grenades were launched by his few remaining men which meant they were pretty much out of anything that could serious hurt them. Wade detected only one making it to standoff range before the tunnel was once again obscured by the smoke.
"Pull back" shouted Wade before turning and running himself. Checking his own stores he realised he had just a couple of magazines left for the rifle and a few basic fragmentation grenades. Sprinting round the corner he shouted out to the engineers "fall back, fall back we've got them hot on our heels".
Rounding the curve of the tunnel he could see some of the engineers frantically digging in a charge whilst several more had pulled further back to help his other two men pull up some more tracks for an even hastier barricade.
"Sarge, message through from Sierra Oscar One Three, they have a firing solution and are charging weapons" reported his 2ic.
"I don't want to hear it corporal" snapped back Wade. "Just help me get these engineers moved back to that barricade".
Wade could almost feel the Mech's weapons being trained on his back as he raced to Foster's position. Grabbing her arm he pulled her pulled her upright. "Now Colonel" he shouted.
"We need a few more moments, we've not set the remote detonator yet".
"There's just no time; will the claymore set it off if its near to them when it goes?" asked Wade.
"Yes but we've stripped out the arming mechanism, there's no way to set it off".
"A burst of 4mm will do just fine now let's get moving". Wade pulled at Foster, none to gently and, with the force of his powered armour behind him, she was powerless to stop herself being dragged backwards.
"Ok, I heard you. Everyone pull back with the infantry now" shouted Foster to her own men.
All of them scrambled one again to move the 100 odd meters down the tunnel. Behind them the diffuse beams of the Mech's lasers were getting increasingly coherent again, they were almost through the second smoke screen.
Wade dived for cover in the railway pit as one of the beams played across the side of his helmet. For a moment his sight was filled with an unbearable glare that left him with spots in front of his eyes and a flaring pain across the side of his face. Rolling onto his stomach he turned to see the Mechs advancing level with the improvised explosives, their lasers already playing across the far to insubstantial barricades just set up.
A burst of fire from the soldiers, supported with the engineer's side arms, rang out but it barley slowed the Mechs. Meanwhile Wade watched as the damage to his suit started to cause a series of malfunctions. Almost immediately his HUD flickered and died along with many of the suit's other systems, including its targeting routines.
"Someone hit the claymore now" he screamed, hoping that if his comm had gone down someone might still hear him.
"No shot no shot" came the message back from his men. All of them were too high up and didn't have an angle on the small container, even if they were to expose themselves to the withering fire that the Mechs were hitting them with.
Wade breathed deeply. He was the only one with the shot and he was going to have to do it the old fashioned way. Mentally shutting out the cacophony of noise about him and the pain in his face, he took a few more breaths to slow his breathing. This was it, do or die.
With his rifle close to being up in the aim, he rolled over into the middle of the tracks to get the angle he needed. Twenty five years of hard training and endless drills took over as he smoothly brought his rifle up into the prone position to gaze through the basic but functional emergency iron sights. Half exhaling his last breath to hold still he slowly squeezed the trigger.
A puff of dirt about a foot in front of the claymore's remains showed him he was low. Breathing again he readied himself to take another shot. Above him one of the Mechs detected his movement and sent a burst of laser fire in his direction. Several struck the ground in front of him, leaving smoking scars whilst a third caught his back. Decompression alerts immediately went off in his head and his suit's re-breather systems were ripped apart.
Still Wade didn't flinch. Instead he breathed out gently once more and squeezed the trigger.
For a split second he thought he missed yet again before a searing light followed by deafening boom rang out. Ahead of him the tunnel and the Mechs were engulfed in rock, dust and smoke as the shock wave from the blasts rolled out over them, bringing the tunnel roof down with it.
Struggling to breathe, Wade rolled onto to his back to look up at the remains of the barricade. Over the comm unit he could hear Sierra Oscar One Three counting down for their firing run. "Hit it he grumbled" before blacking out.
***
Up on the barricade, lying behind the body of another of the soldiers, Foster quickly tapped in the activation codes and hit execute. Almost immediately the whole of the tunnel was filled with a deep resounding vibration which shook chunks of material from the walls and set Foster's teeth chattering. Foster tried to curl herself into as small a ball as possible, knowing that the shock wave was still to come.
Moments later it smashed into the collapsed section of tunnel in front of them. Even with more than five meters of rock and stone between them the blast hit like a hammer. Large boulders were thrown clear of the collapsed ceiling whilst smaller stones exploded outwards, every bit as dangerous as a bullet.
Despite being more than a hundred meters down the tunnel the few remaining men and women were showered with stones and dust. For the remaining engineers that were less well protected, the stones brought another wave of pain as they pummelled their bodies.
For Foster, everything was obscured by the heavy dust. Fresh waves of pain rolled across her back where she had been caught by some of the rocks. Inside her helmet she could hear the urgent shouts of the infantry Major.
"Abort, abort, I say again abort. The facility has been destroyed"
"Roger that Two Eight Alpha, Sierra Oscar One Three aborting run in now"
Foster couldn't help but giggle to herself, the pain told her she was still alive and by all accounts they had actually managed to collapse the research facility as well. Groaning, she slowly staggered to her feet, wobbling slightly from the ringing in her ears.
As the dust settled Foster began to make out other signs of movement around her. Her HUD was however showing just five other active identifiers. Of the sixteen of them that had gone in it looked like just six had made it this far. A too brief glance of the list showed her that Wade wasn’t one of them.
“Everyone sound off now, we need to send a sit rep and sort out getting the hell away from here. I need to know if any of you are hurt and to what extent” called out Foster in a terse tone.
Moments later she had the confirmation she suddenly dreaded, Wade wasn’t responding, two of the remaining men had serious injuries and the last three had been pretty knocked about. Foster quickly organised for one of the more able men to conduct a quick search for the bodies of the others and to collect tags whilst she and the other two went to work helping the injured as best they could.
“Colonel, you better get down here right away; It’s the colour sergeant, I think he still alive” called out the soldier she had detailed to sweep the area from the bottom of the rail pit. Forgetting her injuries Foster jumped into the rail pit to see for herself.
***
Wade groaned as he slowly came to. Bright light seemed to burning through his eyelids making them stream. Taking a breath more pain erupted along the length of his wind pipe and deep into his lungs whilst half the left hand side of his face felt like it was on fire. As he became more aware of his surrounds he realised he was flat on his back and there was a gentle swaying motion.
Daring to squint open one eye he could see the vivid blue sky of GJ 1065 above him through the crinkled hard plastic screen of a casualty evac bubble. Another breath brought about a coughing fit and more pain. Hawking, he spat out a lump of redish brown flem. That can’t be good he absently thought to himself.
“Mr Wade are you alive in there?” questioned Foster over the inbuilt intercom.
“Just about” he croaked back. “Did we do it?”
“Of course we did” quipped Foster “it was my plan after all”.
“So what the hell happened to me? I feel like I’ve been smoking fifty a day and just played 80 minutes against the Lions”.
“Well, aside from getting shot up, bringing half the tunnel down on your head and having a good go and trying to breathe this planet’s delightful atmosphere not that much. We’ve just moving to link up with a few of the forward units to help us lug your sorry arse back to a med facility. We may have cut off the Mech’s advance through the research facility but they are still swarming all over the place out here”.
Wade thought about retorting but decided he’d pushed his luck with one of the planet’s most senior offices about as far as he wanted for the day. Instead he closed his eyes again, determined to make the most of the lift back to camp. Despite his injuries he was in no doubt that he would be back in the front line before long.
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Really good piece, enjoyable read. Keep it up!
Ian
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Seconded, first class work, Better than some published fiction I have read recently.
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Thanks guys. That last update picked up a little bit of a life of its' own there. In one five day increment I released mechs, lost about 52% on one of my infantry battalions and had a research facility destoryed as a result of the fighting. Not exactly what you want when trying to build up the planet as a forward base against the Chigs.
Next update will be a bit more along the usual lines but if people are enjoying the larger chunks of fiction I may have another go at an extended piece when the next interesting chunk of action occurs.
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Erryone loves good writing, btu you do have to balance it with actually progressing the game. I would say just get going on a bit of fiction when the situation grabs you.
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April 2061 (Continued)
Luyten 1305-10
For the first time in months Kai was back up in space, sat in the VIP lounge of the Union's main commercial shipyard facility. Today the Union were due to launch the first of the new series of bulk freighters. Capable of hauling 50,000 tons of material at a speed in excess of 4,750 km/s, they were being hailed as the solution to the Federation's logistics problems. The various Union dignitaries were therefore quite understandably seeing this launch as a pretty big deal for them. Unfortunately for Kai that also meant that he had become the unwitting guest of a launch ceremony which, even by Union standards, was pushing the limits on acceptable pomp and ceremony.
Kai glanced down at his watch, hoping that none of the Union members would notice; it was the height of bad manners for anyone to show anything but their full an utmost attention when an honoured guest. Kai had to suppress a groan, they have been up in the preliminary reception for over three hours now. From memory there was still an upper reception, including sermons from all of the major religious leaders before the actual launch ceremony began and then of course would come the post launch celebrations. He was beginning to wonder if they would even manage to get back down to the planet to deal with his far more pressing problems.
Whilst the launch of the freighters was great news, their construction along with the hurried build of the new orbital platforms had placed a massive strain on the planets already limited reserves of Duranium and Uridium. At current rates of consumption the planet would run out of reserves in the next few weeks. So far he had been unable to find any solution outside of shutting down most of the industry for several months whilst several freighter loads were brought up from Earth. That was going to go down badly with all of the dignitaries he was currently smiling at and being stuck up here he was unable to try and progress any alternative plans.
Spotting a waiter with a fresh tray of drinks Kai made a bee line for him; if he was going to be stuck up here for the rest of the day he might as well make the best of a bad situation
2061 May
Sol - Navy HQ
Vice Admiral Shots took another gasp of breath before diving back below the water. It was a little after six in the morning and Shots was back in the pool doing his morning laps. With the pool to himself and a solid rhythm established, Shots' gradually cleared his mind so he could concentrate on the thorny issue of the X'Ching.
Outside of the Mechs the Chigs were the only alien race so far encountered by the Federation that had been a match for their own fighting vessels. By all accounts, the previous engagement in Anderseriks had been far too close for comfort and could have easily resulted in the destruction of an entire destroyer detachment.
The latest intelligence, fed through the painfully exposed chain of unarmed survey ships, showed that they were capable of fielding at least two task groups close to the size of a Federation carrier group. Whilst they still had no idea of the whereabouts of the Chigs' home world and hence how far forward the groups were operating he thought it very unwise to consider them incapable of projecting their forces deep into Federation space.
The complete lack of response to the Federation's attempts to communicate with them, coupled with their aggression was a further major concern. At least with both the Followers and the Union the Federation had been able to understand their demands and drivers and could form a response shaped around this understanding. In this case they had no idea how the Chigs thought and hence what might be their response to any Federation action. It also meant they had no idea as to whether the Chigs were already planning further action.
Whilst many in parliament were advocating a defensive stance Shots knew all too well the challenges of trying to keep a substantial force perpetually on high alert. The massive distances involved also meant that if the Chigs did decide to attack they would most likely be left largely unable to respond in any meaningful way for an uncomfortably long time.
As much as it pained him, Shots had to admit to himself that the only real way he saw for them to deal with the threat was to go on the offensive before they did. That would however need a massive logistics push and the release of at least a second carrier group for mobile operations.
With the first batch of cruisers due out of the docks imminently and the progress made on the new orbital weapons platforms he thought that they could be ready to move within the next six to nine months; assuming he could get enough of a stockpile of munitions and fuel forward to GJ 1065. It would also necessitate some significant lobbying of government and that meant he would need to call in some old favours.
By the time he had finished working out the outline details in his head Shots had managed to cover more than double his normal number of laps. Invigorated both by the extended work out and having a clear plan of action Shots headed back to his office to start putting his plans into action.
In the meantime he would just have to hope that the currently deployed carrier group could deal with any further aggression from the Chigs.
GJ 1065
Wade lay face down on the hospital bed, looking through the same narrow hole for his face that had been his only view for the past couple of weeks. Although there was a small data pad for him to look at the lack of activity and knowing that his fellow troops were still fighting outside was slowly driving him mad.
It also didn't help that almost the whole of his back was itching like crazy where the destroyed nerves on his back were rapidly re-growing under the intensive course of growth hormone injections and stem cell applications.
Behind him Wade heard the door to his room open and the sound of booted feet approach his bed. Over the past few weeks he had become very good at recognising the different footfalls of the various doctors, nurses and military personnel visiting him. Sure enough a few moments late the site of a small pair of standard issue combat boots appeared in his field of vision.
"Good afternoon Colour Sergeant" said Colonel Foster, catching Wade off-guard somewhat. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come visit. The Mech's having been putting up a real fight these last few weeks and we've only just really managed to regain the upper hand. The doctors also had you out like a light for the first few weeks after our mission; said they needed to keep you sedated whilst the deeper wounds were repaired so there wasn't a lot of point visiting before then in any case". Foster paused for a moment before continuing. "Sorry I'm wittering, how are you feeling?".
"Much better than I was thank you ma'am; although my back is still itching like hell and just lying here isn't much of a cop".
"Well if it's any consolation I can tell you just how many Mechs we reckon we managed to flatten under that research facility".
"So it worked then?" asked Wade.
"Like a dream. We must have taken out close to a battalion of them. Not to mention completely cutting off that route of attack. What you did down in that tunnel may well have saved all of us. In fact I have it on good authority that you may well have been recommended for a medal or two".
Wade groaned. "To be honest ma'am I'd be happy with just a working back and a chance to get back out there and take it to them again".
"Well I think you may have missed your chance this time round. By all accounts we've managed to take out the bulk of them so its just a case of moping up and re-securing the area. Don't worry though, I'm sure you will get your chance. The Brigadier is assigning several more battalions to the dig in case something like this happens again. With the amount of the city still left to clear we will undoubtedly find more of them".
Foster paused again for a few moments and Wade thought she was about to leave when she spoke once more. "The doctors tell me you are pretty lucky to still be here. If you'd been an inch higher on the floor or that shot had been an inch lower it would have ruined your spine. Not to mention you having breathed in this atmosphere for goodness knows how long.
I suggest you count your lucky stars and make the most of rest. Once you are up out of that bed command are going to put you through the real horror - facing the press and your growing fame".
In front of him Wade watched Foster's feet move as she turned to leave. "Oh and Colour, I'm glad to see you doing so much better. I'll try and swing by again before you get discharged".
A little while later, having replied their conversation in his head a few times, Wade realised he was quite looking for to seeing the quirky young Colonel again.
Anderseriks – TFS Bushmaster
“Sir, one of the wrecks in group bravo just dropped off the scope” called out the junior rating currently manning the sensor suite.
Charlton flipped open his tactical display to look at the feed for himself. Although he and the crew were growing restless, having seen no further signs of activity in the system for the past seven weeks, he wasn’t about to charge in either.
After a few more minutes of musing Charlton decided on a course of action; “comms, notify fleet HQ of the loss of contact and that we will be moving forwards to try and identify the cause. Please also request the Cobra to jump back in system to cover the EG 453 jump point”.
Charlton turned to his exo, “ok, let’s get ourselves set for the run forwards. We will move in at best speed until we are a billion out then slow for the final approach”.
Approximately 36 hours later Charlton was roused from his sleep by a message from his exo. “Sir, sensors have just picked up an active search sensor in the vicinity of the remaining two wrecks. Analysis indicates it’s the same as the one we last picked up around the inner planet”.
“Slow us to 5k km/s but maintain course. I want to make sure we have whatever else is out there detected and logged before heading back. Make sure you keep HQ informed; I’ll be up for handover in just under five hours. Call me if anything changes”.
Carlton was close to the end of his shift when the rating on sensor suite called out new contacts. “Contact, contact, range 613.7m km, bearing 28 degrees, four new vessels identified and tagged. Thermals are showing 1760, they’ve got to be big brutes”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img809/1748/jift.jpg)
“Thank you ensign” replied Charlton, his tiredness from the long shift quickly forgotten. “Let’s hold off with any supposition for the moment and keep focused on our jobs. We will continue with our current course and speed then slow further as soon as we are in the sensor range”.
Charlton sat back in his chair. He was expecting to see a number of new contacts around the wrecks on the assumption that they had deployed salvagers. Given that there was no jump gate on the unexplored jump point and no signs of construction Charlton also thought it likely that the larger ships were jump capable. The question now was, had they appeared in system with their own additional escorts or were they just relying on the already present task group. If the first, that could well mean they felt they already had good control of both this system and those on route to wherever the ships had come from.
Charlton is back on the bridge when the watch officer calls out the detection of the whole of the hostile task group which was previously spotted at the inner planet. This time however Charlton decides to continue closing to make sure there were no smaller vessels also in situ.
Just over four hours later Charlton is rewarded for his perseverance when the watch officer calls out a new contact with a far smaller thermal signature in the vicinity of the existing target task group.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img845/7832/u9gs.jpg)
Four hours later Charlton decides they are close enough. “Con, bring us to a dead stop. Nav, plot a course back to the jump gate for minimum transit time. Engineering, bring the engines down to 10%. Everyone else, we are now in an excellent position to observe the enemy and all indications are that we have not been detected. It is therefore my intention to stay on station for the next couple of weeks and see if we can pick up any further intelligence for the bods back home”.
With his crew busy Charlton took the time to study his plot in a bit more detail. There were an awful lot of hostile ships out there and if the Chigs were able to spare that many just to escort some salvagers God alone knew how many more vessels they might have in their fleet. As far as he could tell things were not looking at all good for the Federation and its' Navy.
2061 June
Sol
Shaw was back on Earth for the first time in over six months, having finally found a window to take a few weeks leave. Not that it would make much of a dent in the months of accrued leave he technically still had to take. It did however give him a great opportunity to sit back and watch the show for the launch of the Navy's latest warships rather than having to sweat over orchestrating the whole thing. He even felt a momentary twinge of guilt knowing that he had left Admiral Shots to field all of the senior parliamentarians and reports. A sip from the ice cold glass of larger sat on the bar in front of him worked wonders to banish those thoughts.
Despite having tracked down a small old world bar that was well off the beaten track it was still busy with a mix of factory and office workers. Many of the clientele, including himself, were watching the holo viewer that was sat in one corner of the bar. On it was a view of the Mars shipyards showing yard eight and its' slowly retracting slipway doors. The camera position and the timing of the launch had been carefully planned to show the launch of the new vessels as the yards past the terminator and were bathed in glorious sunlight.
In the background a commentator was busily describing the launch procedure whilst the matt black hulls of the four Type 511 cruisers, the Astoria, Atlanta, Birmingham and Brooklyn, emerged from the shipyards. Back in the bar Shaw could hear several oohs and ahas from the assembled drinkers, especially when four wings of the Federation's latest Starfury Mk2 fighters roared past the cruisers in close formation. Shaw grinned, with elections coming up the government were clearly out to make a statement on just how active they were being in consolidating the security of the Federation.
Raising his glass in salute to the new vessels Shaw took a long gulp, savouring the icy cold of the beer. Shaw knew that in few short weeks all four of the new cruisers would be heading to Luyten 1305-10 where they would be placed under the command of the Luyten command fleet. They would be the first Federation warships to leave the system without having first completed a strenuous training session. That would now be done in Luyten where they could simultaneously provide protection to the Union population.
Whilst there were no official plans as yet, Shaw was also pretty sure that they would use the cruisers as a chance to free up carrier group Delta from defensive duties. That would finally give the Federation the opportunity to take a more aggressive stance with the Chigs.
Realising that his glass was empty Shaw motioned to the bar tender for another.
If he suspicions were right things were going to be getting incredibly hectic in the next couple of months. That meant no more leave and probably no chance of another trip back to Earth any time soon.
Sitting back in his chair, Shaw sipped his fresh drink. If that was the case he was going to make damn sure he made best of the calm before the storm.
Luyten 1305-10
Kai was pacing up and down in his office waiting for his next appointment. Knowing that it was going to be a difficult conversation to say the least he was half dreading it and half wishing he could just get it over and done with.
Finally he got the buzz from his PA indicating that his guest was on the way up. Hurriedly Kai sat back down behind his desk, grabbing a data pad to look at whilst he did so. Moments later the door to his office swung open. Kai looked up with one of his well-practiced and most disarming smiles fixed on his face.
He was just standing up when his guest, Rear Admiral Miller, spoke in a decidedly frosty tone. "Spare me the pleasantries administrator Winter".
Keeping his smile, Kai stood nevertheless, proffering one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Rear Admiral Miller, so good to see you again and congratulations on your new position with the TFN. I'm just sorry that we have to meet in these more difficult times".
Glaring at him, Miller stalked the rest of the way into the office to take a seat. Kai waited for her to be seated before taking his own seat again.
Kai was too short what he had just done but for whatever reason Miller seemed to relax somewhat once she was seated. Sighing she continued in an altogether more apologetic tone.
"Sorry Kai, I've just come a two hour meeting with my head off operations and the ships' captains. All of them are screaming bloody murder over the lack of operational maintenance facilities. I've got a list of repairs as long as my arm and chief engineers crying out for replacement spares. The last time we spoke you promised me you would have the facilities back up and running in a matter of weeks; that was nearly eight weeks ago now. What on Earth am I meant to be telling them?".
Kai sat back in his chair, unconsciously scratching his head as he did so. "I know what I said and I can only apologise again for the delay. As you know, this planet was pretty much stripped off minerals by the time we managed to liberate it. We are still years off of having a balanced extraction industry capable of supporting not just us but Delta Trianguli as well. Between trying to get that up and running and Earth's constant demands for getting the defence bases built there just isn't the minerals to round".
"I quite understand your conflicting demands Kai. What you need to understand is that I have a full carrier group floating up there with orders to be ready for immediate deployment. If those ships have to go into a full overhaul before deployment it may well put the security of this entire sector at risk. I simply must insist that you scale back some of your industrial work to allow the maintenance facilities to run. The Navy and Parliament back home just won't stand for this so unless I see some movement pretty soon I'm going to have to start making my own arrangements".
"Now come on Admiral" retorted Kai, trying to sound hurt by Miller's last thinly veiled threat. "We are both on the same side hear and in any case I have some very good news for you on the minerals front. I've managed to redirect one of the salvage groups from Delta Trianguli to us. They will arrive in under a week and by all accounts have enough minerals and salvaged components to keep both our industry and maintenance facilities going for a good few months".
"Well that is good news" replied Miller, "but it hardly deals with the longer term issues of trying to keep the Navy up and running out here no does it" she continued.
"I quite agree and that's exactly why I've also secured the delivery of over 25,000 tons of minerals from Earth's strategic reserves. The freighters will be arriving in just a couple of months so as long as we are careful with the salvage we will be fine for the foreseeable future".
"Hmmn, well it seems that you finally have the situation under control then Kai. Just make sure you deliver on it, otherwise we won't be having anywhere near as pleasant a conversation next time round".
-
2061 July
Anderseriks
"Sir, we just lost contact with the last of the wrecks" reported Commander Charlton’s warfare officer.
Charlton grimaced, over the course of the last six weeks he and his crew had been forced to watch helplessly as the Chigs slowly reaped the harvest of the Mech wrecks. The loss was a double blow for the Federation given that they had both lost the opportunity to gain further valuable tech and had had to leave it for a hostile race to salvage.
"Ok, bring the ship up to action stations and get our engines warmed up, I want us ready to react to anything that task group does as soon as possible" he responded.
Five minutes later the warfare officer reported again. "Sir, the hostiles are moving. Speed 1,750 km/s, bearing 243 degrees. Plot suggests that they are on an intercept course for the wreck of the Bolivia".
"Helm, bring us about, I want a plot for a point 75m km equidistant from the two remaining wrecks on the side closest to the EG 453 jump point. Keep her at 3,000 km/s. WO, let me know if we lose contact with any of the task group. I'm going down to my cabin to log a report to HQ; let me know if the situation changes. XO you have the deck".
Six days later Charlton was again back on the bridge watching the slow advance of the large Chig task group from their new position. HQ had responded to his latest report with more vague assurances that relief vessels were being dispatched and little indication of how they were reacting to the Chig's heavy military presence and clear consolidation of the system. He was therefore resigned to at least a couple more months stuck out in the system with largely no support from the Navy's fighting vessels.
Charlton's musing was interrupted by an excited call from the duty WO. "Sir, we've just detected a vessel breaking free from the main task group. They've accelerated to 5500 km/s and are on an intercept course for the EG 453 jump point".
Charlton leaned forward in his chair, thinking furiously. The Chig's had just demonstrated that they had vessels capable of speeds well in excess of what was previously thought. Whilst that would have significant ramifications for the Navy's plans his more immediate consideration was what it meant for the old and slow survey vessel currently acting as their link back to the Federation.
As far as he could tell there were no Chig vessels anywhere near the jump point so it was possible that they were just moving to secure the area. However if they had been detected then the vessel would need to make best speed as soon as possible if it was to avoid being overtaken.
"Comms, signal Lieutenant Commander Saunders on the survey vessel and give her the update on the new hostiles movements. Please also suggest that they signal the Cobra and get them to jump back in system for a better scan of that jump point. We will hold here for the moment but if it looks like that ship is going to get between us and the jump gate we will make best speed back to ensure we are not cut off".
A few moments later Charlton listened as the comms officer reported the message sent and confirmed that Saunders would bring the Cobra back in system.
Less than ten minutes after the order had been given the Cobra appeared on the tactical plot. Almost immediately the comms officer reported a message from the Cobra as a new hostile contact flashed up on Charlton's plot. "Sir, Cobra is reporting a new contact 8.45m km off the jump point on a bearing of 343 degrees. Target is stationary and no active sensor emissions detected".
Seeing the new threat, Charlton responded immediately. "Helm, lay in a course for the jump gate at best speed and execute immediately. XO, please bring the ship to full alert. Signal the Cobra and let them know we are on our way".
With his orders issued Charlton looked back over to the plot. Even at best speed it would take them more than 36 hours to make it back to the jump point and the rest of small task group; far too much time to be able to react should that new contact prove to be anything more than a scout. However, given its’ lack of movement, lack of active sensors and low thermal emissions he thought it unlikely.
What was more concerning was the speed of the other closing contact. If the vessel near to the jump point was a scout it could well trail them back to GJ 1065; continuing to report their position. That would likely allow the closing contact to catch up to the relatively slow survey vessel well before they made it back through EG 453. For the moment though he could only wait to see how the situation evolved.
A stressful day and a half later the Bushmaster was closing rapidly on the jump point. For the whole of that time the hostile contact near the jump point had made no sign of any movement whilst the contact from the main task group continued to close.
The journey had however given Charlton more than enough time to consider what course of action to take and with the jump just minutes away he issued his orders. “Comms, signal the rest of the task group. Inform them that we will be making the jump back to EG 453 immediately on our arrival and will then be making best speed for GJ 1065 gate. If there is no sign of pursuit after two hours we will establish a new picket point within passive sensor range of the Anderseriks jump point”.
15 minutes later the small task group jumped out of Anderseriks and back into EG 453 with still no sign of any movement from the Chig’s own scout vessel.
EG 453
With his small task group reassembled and heading for the GJ 1065 gate Charlton sat in his acceleration couch watching his tactical plot for any signs of activity at the Anderseriks jump point. Unfortunately for him he did not have to wait long.
“Contact contact, range 7mkm, bearing 337 degrees. Single vessel detected, thermal profile matches the Chig vessel detected near the Anderseriks jump point sir” reported the warfare officer.
“Thank you, let’s wait and see if they plan on doing anything before reacting shall we” responded Charlton.
Five minutes later Charlton had his answer. The hostile ship had closed to 7mkm and was maintaining the same course and speed as his small task group.
Charlton took a few moments to consider the situation. The Chig vessel was undoubtedly keeping them within sensor range and was more than capable of outrunning his task group’s old survey vessel. If the larger contact was still on route from the main Chig fleet then his own task group would be overhauled in a little over a week unless he abandoned the survey vessel.
Finally Charlton made up his mind. “Comms, I need a priority message to Commodore Barnett. Inform her that we have been forced to retreat from Anderseriks and are now being trailed by a hostile scout. Also send them the latest upload on their deployments and that vessel that broke from the task group. Request a detachment to enter EG 453 and destroy the hostile before they follow us to the GJ 1065 gate”.
With the message sent Charlton could only hope for a rapid response from the rest of the carrier group. In the meantime he and his crew would just have to put up with the unwanted guest.
Delta Trianguli
Thornton watched on as his men once again made their steady way into the waiting shuttles. In a few short days the whole of the 1st heavy assault division would be loaded on the troop transports and headed for GJ 1065.
The move was ostensibly being driven by the need to reinforce the local infantry battalions in response to the recent significant Mech activity in the ruined city there. Thornton was far from convinced though. Whilst official reports from Anderseriks were few and far between, he knew from his own contacts in the MOD that there was a significant build-up of the X'Ching in that system and they appeared to have a lot of interest in one of the planets there.
For him then this was likely far less about providing additional protection to the local population of Unionists and far more about forward staging an assault division for action in Anderseriks. If that was the reality he would need to keep his men and equipment at an even higher state of readiness than now.
Ever the pessimist, he was already working through some planned training regimes on opposed ground assaults and thinking through the logistics of bringing in reinforcements. That thought left a scowl on his face. Despite his repeated protestations with the Navy and the MOD there had still been no advances in the design and launch of a new series of troop transports for the Federation’s rapidly growing ground forces. He knew that that was going to bite someday and unfortunately it was probably going to be him and his men who would bear the brunt of it.
Resigned to whatever the move did have in store for him Thornton took one last look around, as was his way, before heading back to join his troops for the lift.
Sol - Earth
Regional administrator Catherine Short was sat in one of the government's main briefing rooms, a short walk from Downing Street on the site of the old war office. Around the table were sat a number of her close aides and several economic advisors.
The recent urgent demand for minerals by Administrator Winter had prompted a root and branch review of the Federation’s current and projected mineral demands. Unfortunately the results were not looking good. Whilst Sol was well provided for and could, even with the massive shipbuilding programme that was underway, easily meet the demands for the foreseeable future the same could not be said for either the Follower's or Union's home planets.
Both planets appeared to have invested heavily in local industry and mining facilities but had spent next to no effort on establishing off world mining facilities. As a result of their lack of foresight both planets had a critical lack of key minerals and no easy way of quickly increasing production.
Reports from both planets showed that ongoing psi-ops were continuing to work effectively at reducing unrest and improving the productivity of those planets. That perversely caused more of an issue on the minerals due to the lack of locally extractable minerals leaving a growing imbalance between production and consumption.
With their combined potential output well in excess of Sol, that meant that in just a few short years the Federation would be unable to supply the necessary minerals to the industrial bases and shipyards of all three of its' home worlds.
As soon as Short had realised the predicament she had set up a new working party to try and find the best solution to the problem. With the challenges of substantial logistics, a huge range of planets and resources to consider and the politics of major change that solution was proving exceedingly hard to resolve. In their current meeting alone, that had already dragged on for more than six hours, they had managed to achieve little more than identify a wide range of differences in opinion.
Unfortunately, much as Short wished she could just call the meeting to a close and go and get some much needed rest, she had little option but to try and find a way through all of the internal bickering and disputes and find a solution to what would shortly become nothing less than a major disaster.
2061 August
EG 453
Commodore Barnett stood on the bridge of TFS Belorussia watching as the plot updated for the task group’s first sensor sweeps. 899m km ahead of their current position was Charlton’s scout group and the pursuing Chig vessel.
Barnett wasn’t happy with just how close the hostile ship had made it to the GJ 1065 gate - a result of having to wait for one of the jump cruisers to join the picket task group from its’ previous station in orbit around the planet in GJ 1065. What he had to do then was make sure that ship never made it back to the Chigs’ command.
“Nav please plot an intercept course for the hostile contact, maximum speed. Comms, inform Commander Charlton that we will be engaging the enemy as soon as we have achieved a firing solution”.
Meanwhile, on-board the Bushmaster, Charlton and many of his crew breathed a sigh of relief when the transponder for Barnett’s task group appeared on the plot. They had been running from the Chigs for more than nine days, placing tremendous stress on the crew.
After more than 17 hours of pushing his ships hard, Barnett’s relief group finally got an active sensor sweep on the Chig vessel. At four thousand tons the ships was substantially larger than the Federation’s own scout corvettes yet it had a lower thermal signature. It appeared that the Chigs had found some way to reduce the emissions of their engines; something that could prove to be a critical piece of information in future engagements.
It was another four hours before the hostile ship had closed sufficiently for the group’s missile destroyers to engage. Yet again Barnett could not fathom the enemy, surely they had detected the Federation’s active sensors so what possessed them to continue their pursuit was beyond him. Sighing, Barnett issued the order to fire.
Less than fifteen minutes later little more than an expanding field of debris was left of the Chigs’ vessel after 12 Harpy mk4 missiles tore it apart. Sensors were however picking up a number of signals that looked to be coming from life pods. Barnett grinned, perhaps now they might finally start to get some answers.
Sol - Mars Orbit
Shaw stood in Shipyard No. 6's observation deck musing on the Federation's continued military build-up. Outside, the running lights of the latest Type 232 frigate threw dancing patterns of lights against one of the slips, marking the departure of the Federation's newest vessel.
Not too many years ago the launch would have brought up enough military brass and dignitaries from Earth to fill the observation deck several times over. Now however Shaw was the only senior officer there to mark its' launch; a sure sign of just how large the Federation's ship building programme had become. It was also clear to him just how much the public were taking it all for granted, something that bothered him far more than the lack of actual crowds.
In reality the Federation was more stretched then it at ever been with more colonies to protect and the looming threat of the X'Ching to no doubt deal with. So far at least the politicians back on Earth seemed to recognise the need to prioritise the continued growth of the Navy and the huge demands on the treasury that came with it.
With the billions of pounds pouring in each month Shaw had also been able to boost the fighter factories back on Earth as well as commission the construction of two new shipyards to take on the expanded frigate production. That meant he was well on track to being able to deliver a full complement of fighters to the new carriers once they were launched and give them an appropriate complement of combat scout escorts.
Glancing round the near empty room though he couldn't help but think that the Navy's prime had passed and it wouldn't be long before the politicians turned their focus and the money to things that mattered more to their voters.
Luyten 1305-10
Rear Admiral Miller sat at her desk absently listening to the comms chatter between her fledging Naval base and the recently arrived squadron of Type 511 cruisers. The ships were in the process of loading almost 400 Harpy Mk5s in order to complete their ordnance load out; an eye watering two thirds of her entire stock of ship based ASMs. Better to be up there where they can be put to good use, rather than down here just taking up space she reminded herself.
Miller could hardly gripe either. The ships arrival, which had been extensively publicised, seemed to have finally put the Union's population at ease. The local police commander had reported a near total cessation of protests regarding the lack of protection afforded the locals - never mind the fact that the present carrier group had been able to sweep up the entirety of their previous defences. With any luck the minority of the population that were still complaining about the Federation's occupation of their planet would finally see some sense and get back to work as well. Miller wasn't however going to hold her breath on that one.
Miller had formally taken command of the squadron three days ago when the ships had arrived in orbit. Since then her head of operations had been busily briefing the captains on the planned training exercises to bring the crew fully up to speed. Miller was extremely impressed with the proposed programme which would hopefully shave several months off of the previous schedule. That was good news given the recent action in EG 453 and the ongoing threat of the Chigs. As far as Miller was concerned, the sooner she could get the static defences and littoral cruisers up and running to release her other carrier groups the better.
2061 September
Groombridge 34
Administrator Howl was perched in her small cramped office, deep within the crust of the barren planet she had been calling home for these past two years.
Since implementing the mining system updates that were recovered from the ruins of GJ 1065, Howl had had little more than regular maintenance requirements and the infrequent visits of one of the mineral freighters to keep her occupied. It was a simple routine that suited her well and one that she was happy with, having come to terms with the fact that she wasn't cut out to be a leader of a major colony.
That however looked like it was going to be changing in the not too distant future. The missive glaring from her data pad were orders to start planning and ground works for the delivery of an additional 45 auto mines.
That was almost a 30% increase in the total capacity of her existing facility. It would mean a reasonable increase in the number of crew she would have to manage as well as more frequent trips from the freighters. That in itself wasn't too much of a concern for her; what really worried her was just how much more of a strategic resource the mines were going to become. It would likely mean the arrival of troops, planetary defence centres, orbital defences and very much the end of the quiet happy life she had managed to carve out for herself after her previous fall from grace as the governor of Delta Parvonis.
Luyten 1305-10
Administrator Kai Winter was down in the city's main spaceport personally overseeing the much needed delivery of over forty thousand tons of TN minerals from Sol. Whilst there was no real need for him to be there he had decided to make absolutely certain there were no last minute cock ups having already incurred the wrath of both the Regional Administrator and the Rear Admiral.
The minerals were going to provide some much needed breathing space for the still recovering economies of both the Union and Followers home worlds and hopefully allow for the continued conversion of auto mines and their redeployment to the mineral rich planets discovered in Iota Persei and Kappa Ceti.
However, that was only going to work if was able to re-prioritise more of the local industries towards the work. With the current effort on expanding the local fleet, defensive facilities, maintenance facilities, troop training and a whole host of other areas that was looking like a tall order. In fact he was already making plans for another delivery of minerals from Sol given the current rate of consumption and extended lead times. That would likely cause yet another almighty stink with the politicians back home but if he was going to avoid yet another shut down before the end of next year without compromising the war effort they would just have to suck it up.
Unfortunately for Kai it also meant that he had had to put his efforts to deal with the back stabbing Carter on hold whilst he got his own house in better order. The leaks had been satisfying though largely ineffectual which meant that Kai was going to have to find some other way to hurt the man. He already had a few ideas but between battling with his own problems and trying to effect any actions without leaving a trail he had simply run out of time for the moment.
Sol – Earth
Carter was back in his office busily working through the myriad of financial updates from his various business interests across the Federation. Looking around his desk and the litter of data pads still to work through Carter set down the pad in his hand and stood up to stretch. Slowly his back unkinked and he breathed a satisfied groan as his back finally popped back into alignment. Realising that it was going to be a long evening, Carter wandered over to his drinks cabinet to find a suitable bottle of red to help him through.
Five minutes later and standing with a freshly decanted glass of Château Mouton-Rothschild in hand, Carter looked back over the pile of data pads and, not for the first time, wondered if it would actually be worth the risk to have all of the disparate reports loaded onto a single pad. An A.I. could complete much of the analysis in a matter of seconds rather than the hours it currently took him. Carter however quickly pushed the thought from his mind; given just how much of his success over the years had come from maintaining a healthy paranoia over anyone's knowledge of the extent of his true financial interests and level of influence in the economy. Sighing, Carter wandered back towards his desk and the waiting piles of data to be sifted and actioned.
At least the reports were not making anywhere near as grim reading as those of six months ago thought Carter. Whilst the Federation's economy was still in a structural deficit and the main markets continued to be depressed as a result of concerns about Chigs; the rapidly improving performance of Luyten and Delta Trianguli meant that they were well on the way to reducing that deficit. That, combined with the expected curtailment of the Navy's construction requirements in the next five years, meant there should be some light at the end of the tunnel. All he had to do then was time moving his interests from the various shipyards to the substantial maintenance facilities before shorting out the shipyard stocks.
His team’s efforts on the now infamous leak had resulted in excellent progress being made in repairing most of the damage although he was not quite done with seeing heads roll in the PR department for letting the info get out there in the first place. The investigation into tracing the leak was proving to be less productive as the investigators were moving very carefully so as not to tip off the perpetrator. That meant they had to wait for scheduled maintenance cycles on the jump gate communications ansibles before stripping the backbone data and digging out the routing of the message. It was all far too slow for Carter's liking but at least progress was being made.
Six hours later and with just the final drops of wine left in the decanter Carter finished his review. His work had confirmed that the business was back on the up and he had identified quite a few new potentially lucrative opportunities in the process. In fact Carter was feeling positively happy for the first time in months as he carefully fed the data pads through his office incinerator.
2061 October
EG 453
2nd October 2257
Commander Ross Graham sat in his chair watching as the minutes slowly ticked through third watch. Following the destruction of the Chigs’ scout vessel more than a month ago Commodore Barnett had kept the carrier group on high alert with Graham’s own vessel, the scout corvette Boa, deployed less than 200mkm from the Anderseriks gate. There hadn’t however been any sign of further Chig activity since then and even allowing for reduced speed, the previously detected task groups would have had more than enough time to reach the gate.
Whilst his crew continued to work with all due professionalism he could feel their restlessness beginning to mount and knew it would only be a matter of time before they started getting sloppy. As it was through all of military history, no matter how more advanced the weapons got, the challenges of maintaining morale and responsiveness were acute worries for any defending force. Something Graham was certainly seeing the realities of now.
Unfortunately there was little that he could do about it at the moment. The Bushmaster and Cobra were both undergoing a significant overhaul back in Luyten. That would leave them unavailable for redeployment for at least another six months and left it to his ship and the Copperhead to maintain a watch on the two approaches into the system.
Graham was still musing over his predicament when the contact alert signal blared across the bridge. True to his expectations the crew reacted immediately and just moments later the warfare officer was making his initial report.
“Sir, jump transit detected, we have twenty two new contacts on the Anderseriks gate. Thermal profiles match the Chigs, looks like both of the task groups that Charlton encountered there, plus a few additional ships”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img855/2380/74t10.jpg)
Graham thumped his control panel to sound actions stations. “Bring us about and lay in a course for the GJ 1065 gate, initial speed 5000 km/s. Execute as soon as we have a green board for emergency acceleration. Comms send a priority message to the Commodore with the contact details; inform him that I intend to make an immediate withdrawal whilst maintaining passive sensor contact with the hostile force”.
Moment later the Boa’s engines roared into life, forcing all of the crew down into their acceleration couches. Behind them the Chig forces were similarly accelerating towards the GJ 1065 gate.
-
2nd October 2301
Commodore Barnett, the commander of the Carrier Group Alpha detachment was in a deep sleep when the message came through from Graham. It took him a few moments to process the information but in less than ten minutes the carrier detachment was heading deeper into EG 453 on an intercept course with the hostiles.
3rd October 0015
Back in Luyten 1305-10, Rear Admiral Miller is similarly roused from her sleep as news of the new contacts makes its’ way back along the communications network. After a hasty briefing with intelligence and ops officers Miller orders Carrier Group Delta to move forward from GJ1065 and to engage the enemy whilst the carriers and immediate escorts of Carrier Group Alpha are also dispatched from their orbital stations above Luyten.
Miller knows that the departure of the main fleet is going to result in considerable consternation in the local population and that would more than likely manifest as more marches and riots but she saw little option. By the time the fleets were breaking orbit Miller was already briefing Kai Winter on the likely unrest about to come his way having already forewarned Sol HQ.
3rd October 0215
“Sir, passive sensors are picking up a new contact, range 48.7m km, bearing 342 degrees, speed 5000kms, track shows contact is on a similar course to us. Thermal signature is just 140, looks like it’s another Chig scout vessel” reported Charlton’s warfare officer.
Charlton stood up and walked over to the warfare officer’s station so he could get a look on the full size tactical plot. For the last couple of days he had been running his ship at the apparent top speed of the Chig task group, just 4400kms. He had also been forced stay an uncomfortably close 187m km from the hostiles in order to stay in contact with the smaller vessels to ensure they had not split off.
Given the proximity of the vessel Graham is left with no choice but in an effort to outrun the hostile even though it would mean breaking thermal sensor contact with the main body.
“Helm bring us to 5500kms. Comms, notify the fleet that we are being forced away from the main task group and will likely loose contact in several days”.
8th October 1600
With so many jumps behind him, Commodore Stevenson barely registers the disconcerting effects of the jump into EG 453 and moments later his bridge is back to its usual level of hushed efficiency as his crew rapidly confirm the successful jumps of the rest of Carrier Group Delta. Stevenson takes a brief look at the updating plot before hitting his general broadcast.
“All vessels, all vessels, this is Commodore Stevenson. I have been ordered by Rear Admiral Miller to take command of all Federation vessels in the system and co-ordinate our response to the approaching X’Ching force. Please stand by for updated orders, Stevenson out”.
“Comms, send the orders packs to the rest of the fleet. Nav, plot in an intercept course to Commodore Barnett’s group, flank speed. XO, I’d like an O group with the carrier captains and the strike planning staff scheduled for 0600 tomorrow and let’s bring the group to standby stations”.
With his immediate orders delivered, Stevenson returned to the plot and the rather substantial task of preparing for what could be the Federation’s largest ever space combat.
10th October 0530
On board the TFS Belorussia, Barnett’s warfare officer reports that the task group is being actively painted by the Chigs’ sensors. Looking up at the plot Barnett can see that his task group is still more than 500m km from the Chigs’, putting their active sensors at least on a par with the best that the Federation has. For Barnett the news only reinforces his earlier estimates that, unlike other races encountered to date, the Chigs were far closer if not superior to the Federation in their technical advances.
Despite the active sensors, Barnett orders her own ships closer, determined to get the Denmark’s ultra-powerful high resolution sensors to bear on the hostile fleet. He is also fairly confident that nothing in the Chig arsenal to date has shown any capability of being able to engage them at over 200m km.
10th October 1155
Lt Commander Hale, CAG for the Starfury MkI fighters in Carrier Group Delta, was sat in his acceleration couch listening as the rest of his small crew completed the pre-flight checks whilst checking the straps of his own five point harness. In front of him the small tactical plot on his console overlaid the count-down timer to launch as well as showing the ever decreasing distance between themselves and the large flotilla of Chig ships.
At a range of 1bn km the hostiles were still well outside the technical 1.4bn km endurance of the fighters for a strike and return however, with both fleets closing at close to 10k km/s they were now just within range. Commodore Stevenson had ordered the fighters to action stations mere minutes after they had crossed the maximum range. He was clearly keen to start engaging the hostiles.
Glancing out from the heavily armoured canopy Hale could see that the other seven fighters from his own squadron, the Sluggers, being carefully manoeuvred into their individual launch tubes. In a few short minutes they would be catapulted into space under more than thirty gees of acceleration, allowing them to clear the carrier and ignite their own engines less than a second after launch. It was an exercise that never failed to thrill, even if the vast majority of that acceleration was never felt by the crew.
Moments later, his fighter was loaded into the short thirty meter long tube. As the rear doors sealed them away from the hanger deck a series of dull red lights winked on to illuminate the launch rails.
"Launch control, Sierra Foxtrot 192 has greens across the board and is ready for immediate" called Hale’s pilot.
"Roger 192. Break Break. All flights standby for immediate in five" replied the launch controller.
In front of him a series of amber warning lights flicked on whilst the lights in the cockpit also dimmed and the mechanical voice of his fighter's flight computer completed the countdown. The moment the countdown completed Hale was slammed into his acceleration couch as his fighter was propelled down the rails towards the heavy composite armoured doors. As always, just as he was sure they would slam into the doors, the release mechanism triggered allowing them to slide through at the last possible moment. Seconds later the fighter was under a heavy burn, heading straight for the Chigs along with the group’s other squadrons: the Rebel Riders, Hell Razors, Flying Dragons, Tridents, Flying Boars and Kangaroos.
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10th October 2000
Barnett was roused from his sleep by the Belorussia’s duty WO. “Sir, you are going to want to see this, the Denmark just made active sensor contact with the Chig task group. They are reporting over 200,000 tons of vessels in the group with a mix of six, eight and twelve thousand ton vessels”.
Barnett sat bolt up in his cot. “I’ll be up in five minutes”.
Barnett dressed as fast as he could. The Chig fleet was significantly larger than he had ever contemplated and also contained a large number of vessels massing more than they had previously encountered. It looked like they were going to have a serious fight on their hands.
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10th October 2300
“Sir, contact update; the hostile fleet has come about and is heading back towards the jump gate. They will be out of the Denmark’s active sensor range in approximately 183 minutes.”
“What’s the estimated time to target for the fighter?” responded Stevenson.
“Just over 530 minutes sir”.
Stevenson cursed quietly to himself under his breath. From a quick check he could see that his fighters still had the fuel to continue the flight but if he held off firing until his own ships had narrowed the distance enough to paint the hostiles they would need to burn yet more fuel.
“Comms, signal Commodore Barnett. Inform him that she is to follow the hostiles but under no circumstances break 200m km separation”.
11th October 0120
On board the Type 422 light cruiser, the TFS Holland, alert sirens blared as the ship’s long range anti- missile active sensors pick up eighty massive size 16 inbound missiles. Before the crew had time to react the ship’s own automated systems launch a full barrage of AM missiles.
Seconds later the XO, who had the late watch, hit the emergency manoeuvres alarm which in turn sounded across all of the vessels in the task group. On board the Holland the ship’s own fifteen second countdown warning blared across the intercom ahead of the fleet’s normal emergency deceleration when faced with incoming missiles.
Down in his cabin Captain Knowles could do little but strap in knowing he has no chance to reach the bridge before his ship begins to manoeuvre.
Moments later the crews of the carrier alpha detachment are forced deep into their acceleration couches as the whole of task group makes the violent change of course. Despite the warnings, there are more than a few crew who have been unable to get to stations; many are thrown across the living spaces and into bulkheads leaving a trail of broken bones and blood. Miraculously however no one is killed.
In less than ninety seconds the whole task group manages to reverse course whilst the rapid firing missile tubes on the Holland have released 160 AMMs to intercept the incoming missiles. Knowles makes it to the bridge just in time to watch them home in.
“Sir, sensor reports all inbounds destroyed. Analysis indicates that a 1v1 ratio would have been sufficient when using those Mech missiles” reported the warfare officer.
“Excellent, that was a job well done. Make sure the rest of the ships are aware of the new engagement parameters. Comms, open a channel to the Commodore, inform him of our results and please note that I would recommend staying on our current course for at least another five minutes to ensure there are no further inbounds are out there” replied Knowles.
It wasn’t until he sat back in his chair that he realised his hands were trembling from the rush of adrenalin brought on by the sudden attack.
Meanwhile back on the Belorussia, Barnett has recovered enough to start considering the implications of the latest attack. The Chig’s certainly had weapons capable of hitting them at ranges in excess of two hundred million but, based on recent experience they were reliant or huge multi-stage missiles to deliver those weapons. Unlike previous encounters there had been no swarm of smaller missiles following the huge ones. It was therefore likely that the TFS Holland had been able to detect and intercept the missiles before they reached separation range, something that had only been possible because a) the Holland had substantially better sensors and fire controls than the rest of his area defence destroyers and b) the store of Mech AMMs on board with their range ten times that of the Federation’s own AMMs.
Without the Holland his task group would have likely faced several hundred fast moving missiles rather than just the 80 slow moving one. With a reasonable number of Mech missiles on board and the proven interception rate Barnett is confident that he can deal with any additional strikes. After ordering the Holland to conserve the Mech missiles for long range engagements he turns his task group back around and continues to close with the Chigs.
11th October 0553
Barnett’s detachment of ships finally closes the range on the Chigs to below 206m km, allowing them to paint the hostiles with the Denmark’s high resolution sensor. The scan reveals another four vessels in the 4000 ton range bringing the enemy task group to twenty six vessels.
Barnett immediately orders his task group to match speed with the retreating vessels to ensure the group can provide the necessary firing data to the rapidly approaching squadrons of Starfurys.
11th October 0644
After nearly nineteen hours of hard burn the fighter groups reach their launch point some 41.5m km astern of the Chig fleet. Since launching, Commander Hale had struggled to keep all of his squadrons in combat formation, largely due to the lack of training on the part of the Saipan’s replacement squadrons.
As the distance ticks down Hale raises the fighter group. “All ships stand by for launch on my mark, cross check targeting parameters and confirm master arms are clear in turn”.
Moments later the squadron leaders begin to confirm firing solutions set when the orderly stream of calls is interrupted by the excited calls of the Rebel Riders’ squadron leader. “Fox 1, Fox 1 all missiles have cleared the tubes and show green across the board”.
Hale was caught agape before his wits caught up. “All ships all ships cease fire, I say again cease fire. Do not engage until my mark”.
Hale fumed, he had just lost 12.5% of his strike capability to the ineptitude of one of the new crew. Such a mistake may have cost them dearly but it was nothing he could do about it now. His only hope was to launch the rest of the missiles as soon as possible and hope that any missile defence was still busy with the early launch when his main strike arrived.
“All ships, standby to launch in three, two, one, launch” instructed Hale.
The rest of the squadrons reacted immediately, launching 64 missiles each at their pre-determined targets. Despite being a tail chase the missiles, which had been designed around fighting the Mechs, would catch the Chigs in a little under 15 minutes.
It wasn’t until thirty seconds later that Hale realised the second major mistake of the Saipans’ fighters and crew. Apparently one of the wings had been left loaded with the now aging Banshee Mk3 missiles which were both slower and substantially shorter ranged than the current Mk5 standard. That was it thought Hale, heads are going to have to role once we get back from this engagement.
11th October 0658
With the missiles just 700k from the hostiles Hale’s passive sensors picked up five nuclear explosions and the same number of Banshee missiles disappeared from his plot. Hale grinned, although the Chigs looked like they had a reasonable missile detection range their strength of fire would be nowhere near enough to eliminate a significant number of the inbounds before they hit.
Thirty seconds later his estimate was proven true as more than 230 missiles intercepted the Chig task force in blinding flashes of nuclear explosions. Moments later, as the on-board sensors completed their analysis Hale’s weapon officer starts to report the results.
“Sir, sensors show that 48 missiles were destroyed by point defensive fire. Primary target, the Jormungandr was hit by 47 missiles, no evidence of hull breaches detected. Two other vessels, one 8000 ton and one 6000 ton have dropped out of formation. A number of others have indications of hull breaches but the remainder of the fleet looks to be largely undamaged as a result of the engagement”.
“Roger that, transmit sensor logs to the Corregidor for tactical analysis. Stevens, lay in an intercept course for the carrier group and transmit to the other squadrons once cross check complete. Gordon bring us about as soon as we have coordinates and set for maximum burn. We will give it half an hour then start a downtime rotation, I get the feeling we are going to be heading straight back out” responded Hale.
Back on Stevenson’s flag ship, the TFS Long Island, the command crew were desperately trying to interpret the results and work out the implications for the current engagement. It was the first time in the history of the Federation’s fighter force that a full carrier strike had not delivered a devastating blow to the enemy.
The sheer number of hits that most of the vessels had taken showed that they were massively armoured as well as having a significant point defence capability. It was just lucky for the Federation that the same could not be said for their AMM defences.
Stevenson poured through the data and his intelligence officer’s assessment. At first pass it looked like the carriers simply would not have enough ordnance to take down all of the Chig hostiles. Stevenson knew he would need to reduce the Chig’s anti-missile capability significantly if he was to succeed. That meant a focus on any sensor vessels as well as their escorts.
After a further hour of planning Stevenson issued his next set of orders for an immediate follow on strike. The carrier group would continue to hound the Chigs until they were either abandoned the system or they were destroyed.
11th October 0910
“Vampire Vampire, 80 new inbounds detected, 144 degrees at fourteen point four million clicks. Missiles are closing at 25k km/s, all AMM tubes show successful initial launch, next launch in two seconds” called out the Holland’s warfare officer.
This time Knowles, the captain of the area defence light cruiser, wasn’t fazed by the alert. The last wave of Chig missiles had been destroyed with consummate ease. “Thank you, report when firing complete. Helm maintain our current course and speed”.
Less than three minutes later the warfare officer reported all of the inbound missiles destroyed with a perfect hit ratio.
“Very good” responded Knowles, “please ask Commodore Barnett for permission to come alongside the Britain and China and for them to provide us with a replenishment of Mech AMMs. I don’t want us caught short if these Chigs have more of those monstrous missiles to throw at us”.
11th October 1617
Less than two hours after touching down from his last disastrous sortie Hale was back in the cockpit, once again burning for the Chig fleet with all eight of the carrier group’s fighter squadrons.
The last two hours had been more or less a blur of activity for him. The reprimand he had received from Commodore Stevenson had been swift and blunt; he wasn’t under any false impression that anything less than perfection was going to absolve him of his fighter wing’s actions.
After that he had thrown himself at checking and rechecking the load outs for all of the fighters as well as preparing and delivering a detailed plan for the follow on strike. That had left precious little time for him to have some stern words in turn with the Saipan’s fighter crews before finalising the checks on his own fighter and setting up for launch.
Finally, with the manic turn around behind him, Hale was able to relax slightly whilst double checking his strike plans and target allocations. Hale’s stomach was grumbling and his eyes bleary from lack of sleep but he knew that would have to wait until he was absolutely certain that the follow on strike would run like clockwork.
11th October 2217
“Sir, missile fire control is reporting a firing solution on the trailing Chig frigate” stated Barnett’s WO in a somewhat expectant tone.
Barnett took a quick look at the tactical plot. Since the fighters initial strike all but one of the damaged Chig vessels had apparently been able to repair all of their engine damage and re-join the main fleet. The one remaining frigate was still limping along at barely 1,000km/s which had allowed Barnett’s task group to gain rapidly. It also meant that the inbound fighters would pass very close to the frigate before reaching their own firing range which wasn’t something Barnett was keen on.
“Very well, XO, bring us to action stations, I want a full spread launch of 12 ASMs as soon as you” ordered Barnett.
Just over twenty two minutes later a cheer erupted across the bridge of the Belorussia as the WO reported the destruction of the enemy frigate.
“Silence please everyone” scalded Barnett, “we may have just taken first blood but there is still a huge hostile fleet out there and just because they are heading away from us does not mean we are winning”.
12th October 0755
Hale was woken by the shrill buzzing of his alarm. Yawning, he carefully extracted himself from the tiny recess that served as one of the fighter's three bunks. Below him he could hear his WO still snoring loudly. Hale wasn't surprised that the alarm hadn't disturbed him; the rapid turnaround of the fighters had left precious little time for the crew to prep for the next strike, let alone get some food and rest. Hale leaned down to give his crewman a good prod to get him moving before finishing getting dressed himself.
After a quick trip to the head and a couple of energy bars Hale made his way up to what could only loosely be called the bridge. Clambering into his own seat he asked for an update from his No. 2.
"Morning Sir. We're about five minutes out from weapons range and twenty five from our designated launch point. The Chigs are still on course; no change from them except that that last trailing ship looks to have repaired its' engines and caught back up with the main body. The other squadrons have just starting reporting in to confirm at action stations. We are all strapped down here and ready to rock and roll".
"Excellent. Let me know as soon as they've all reported in. I want a full weapons check and targeting confirmation in five and I want a double check from those reprobates off of the Saipan. We need to give these Chigs more than just a bloody nose this time round".
"Aye aye Sir" responded Hale's 2ic.
Twenty five minutes later Hale listened in as the crews across the strike group reported completing their final checks.
"Sir, all fighters report ready to fire; targeting cross checks and safety releases confirmed. Handshake is green across the board, all fire controls have authenticated and accepted slave command; master arm is red".
Leaning forward, Hale flipped open his firing command panel "Fire control master confirmed, firing in three, two, one, mark". Hale hit the launch icon.
Hale's own fighter immediately lurched as the 8 Banshee mk5 missiles streaked away whilst back in the cockpit he scanned the readouts to confirm a successful launch. It only took him a few moments to realise something had gone seriously wrong yet again as the plot showed just 48 salvos had launched.
"What the hell is happening?" he snarled.
It took more than ten seconds of frantic analysis before Hale's WO responded. "Sir, it's the Saipan's fighters again. It looks like the software patch to update their systems from the Banshee 3s to the 5s didn't complete. They are resetting the system now".
"Goddam it, get those missiles in the sky right now" shouted Hale. He knew that a second mucked up strike was unlikely to be accepted by his superiors as reasonable no matter how badly trained some of the crews were.
"Sir, reset complete, missiles firing" called out the WO.
Hale clenched his fists. All he could do now was wait and hope that the staggered launch would still prove to be effective.
12th October 0811
Fortunately for Hale he had less than fifteen minutes to ponder the second potentially disastrous action of his fighter group before the initial wave of missiles struck the Chig task group. It took the passive sensors of his fighter a few seconds to analyse the cacophony of explosions and release of energy that resulted.
“Sir, sensors show 211 hits as well as numerous secondary explosions. We are detecting five new wrecks in the vicinity of the task group; looks like we got their main sensor vessels, a couple of the destroyers and a couple of the frigates. Another frigate appears to have dropped out of formation and has slowed significantly. All destroyed ships appear to have launched life pods”.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img849/8962/9m08.jpg)
Hale grinned, that was better than expected given the uncoordinated fire. It also looked like the Chig’s AMM fire had been even less effective than last time round. That had undoubtedly helped mitigate against the poor actions of his group. Now with any luck the destruction of the sensor vessel would leave the remaining salvos of missiles a clear flight into their targets.
His smile was however short-lived as his warfare officer reported sixty one banshees in the second wave destroyed by AMM fire and a further twenty three destroyed by point defence fire. The resulting hits left two more of the destroyers streaming atmosphere and dropping back from the main group but that was all.
Hale tersely ordered his fighters back to the carriers.
12th October 0930
Having spent the last hour pouring through the data and his intelligence officers' analytics of the last fighter strike, Commodore Stevenson stood up from his seat, stretching to try and unknot the stiff muscles in his back. Aside from the abysmal performance of the fighter crews from the Saipan, the lack of really significant damage to the Chig task group was causing him real concern. After reloading the fighters from this sortie the carriers would be down to less than 30% reserves; that equated to less than a full reload for the entire fighter group for a fourth and final strike before exhausting their supplies of Banshee missiles.
Stevenson had already decided not to launch the Saipan's fighters for a further sortie. Their inability to coordinate their launches had already cost the fleet a significant portion of its' strike capability and he was in no mood to make the same mistake a third time round. Holding back the Saipan's fighters would however allow the carriers to redistribute enough munitions to enable two further full strikes against the Chigs.
The good news was that his intelligence officers believed that many of the destroyers were already damaged and that they should take fewer additional hits to finally destroy. The bad news was that there was a strong risk of the 12,000 ton hostiles being just as well armoured as the Chigs' sensor vessel. That might mean each of the ten remaining cruisers could need upwards of 128 missiles each to destroy. That was more missiles than an entire strike could deliver in one go even before the impact of their point defence was taken into account. There was therefore a very real possibility that he would exhaust his fighters’ ordinance before fully eliminating the Chig task group.
Depending on how effective the next two strikes were that would leave him with either the option of moving his destroyers into missile range or moving closer to engage them with energy weapons. Given the limited volley size from the destroyers the first option could be exceedingly costly in terms of ordinance whilst the second option risked exposing his ships to significant counter fire should the Chigs' point defence prove to be effective anti-ship weaponry as well. At least he wouldn't need to make that decision for a day or so.
Spying his XO to one side of the bridge, Stevenson made his way over to hand over command. With the formalities completed he then headed for his cabin to prepare a full report on the battle so far and to detail his recommendations for the immediate withdrawal of all partially trained fighter crews from front line duty.
13th October 0542
Hale watched on as the missiles from his fighters’ third strike speed towards their targets. This time the launch had gone exactly to plan which was one small piece of consolation for him. Hale was in no doubt that following the battle he would be looking at disciplinary action for his failure to adequately train his fighter crews; irrespective of the fact that they had been sent to him for operations whilst still completely green.
Following the second less than successful strike against the Chigs Hale had pushed his crews even harder in an effort to try and make up for the recurring mistakes of the Saipan’s fighter crew. Consequently they had been able to turn around and re-launch in less than two hours, close to the record for the Navy. With the 3rd straight mission it was however sapping the energy of the crew and he knew that they would be unable to keep up the current tempo of attacks for much longer. If yet another follow up strike was ordered he would need to give the crew at least a few hours downtime at turnaround if they were to stand any chance of completing the mission without further incident.
A few moments later the missiles struck and Hale was forced from his melancholy as he worked to assess the immediate impact.
“Sir, sensors show 272 hits, they still managed to knock more than 100 of our birds out of the sky. New wrecks detected looks like we got two more of their destroyers and one of their frigates. Two more destroyers and one light cruiser have also dropped out of formation. We’ve picked up a number of large secondary explosions as well”.
“Thank you” replied Hale. “WO, set all weapons to safe and cycle a fire control flush. Nav lay in a course for the carriers and execute as soon as you have confirmations from the rest of the wing; then go and get yourselves some rest, you’re going to need it”.
Back on board the TFS Belorussia, Barnett also noted the growing numbers of wrecks and life pods that were being left behind by the still retreating Chig fleet.
“Xo, I think it’s time we did something about those life pods. Please inform Commodore Stevenson that I will be dispatching the China and the Congo to begin rescue operations immediately. With any luck we will find some more talkative crew and might get to the bottom of what they are trying to achieve”.
13th October 0630
On board the TFS Congo, Sergeant Tallow stood in the main cargo hold airlock double checking his kit and that of his nominated buddy. Around him the other 18 members of the ship’s security detachment were similarly teamed up and were rechecking their personal body armour and environmental systems. In the background he could hear the radio chatter of the rest of the crew as they worked to finish loading the first of the Chig’s life pods into the cargo hold.
Seeing that everyone had completed their checks Tallow unslung his carbine before trigging his unit comms. “Listen in everyone. In a few minutes we will be taking custody of the first Chig survivors. We are going to be the first humans to make direct contact with these aliens and how they will react to us is completely unknown. We are therefore going to do this strictly by the numbers. Our first and foremost duty is the protection of this vessel and the crew on-board her. However, I need not remind you that, until we are told otherwise, these aliens will be our prisoners of war and shall be afforded all of the rights and protections of the 2031 London treaty. You will not fire unless you, one of your fellows or this ship is directly threatened, any questions?”
With no response from his team Tallow turned to face them, bringing his carbine up to the shoulder as he did so. “Port Arms!” he bellowed. Down the line all of his men brought their own carbines to the shoulder. “Make Ready!” In unison the men pulled magazines of 200 2mm case less flechette rounds, the standard ammunition for ship board personal weapons, snapping them into position and swiftly cocking their carbines. With their carbines loaded, the squad stood ready and waiting for the command to go.
After what seemed like an age Tallow’s command net finally sparked to life with the XO confirming completion of loading and pressure equalisation in the hold. Ahead of them the temporary air lock and decontamination chamber cycled to green. Tallow motioned his men forward into the hold, carbines at the ready.
In front of them the Chig life pod sat at the edge of the cargo bay door, a squat octagon some five metres in diameter and about two metres high. One side the pod was partially melted whilst other sections of the matt hull were charred, clear evidence of the violent destruction through which it had come. Aside from the single airlock on one side there was no other evidence of any other ports or means of entry to the pod.
Around the cargo hold the men fanned out, taking up fire positions to cover the pod's one apparent hatch.
"Jones, Taylor, Anderson, you know the drill, move in" ordered Tallow across the unit's comms link.
The three men in question quickly slung their carbines, swapping them for sets of cutting tools and field probes, before moving up to the hull of the pod. Moments later the cargo hold was bathed in near blinding light as the attached cutters seared several holes through which the probes could be placed.
Tallow watched on through the dimmed visor of his personal armour, fighting the urge to attempt to wipe the beads of sweat that had broken out across his brow. The cutters were taking a lot longer than expected to breach the pod's hull, leaving them all straining to maintain their firing stances.
Eventually however the cutters stopped and the three men were able to insert a number of probes before hooking them up to scanners.
"Sergeant, we've breached the hull. Sensors are showing an oxygen rich atmosphere with high moisture content and multiple trace elements. Temperature is at about 45 degrees C in there and its pretty humid as well, looks like a sauna. We are picking up at least thirty life signs as well” reported Jones.
“Ok, get those readings up to environmental; let’s hope they won’t take too long matching the atmosphere for this place as it’s going to get mighty sweaty in here pretty soon. In the meantime let’s pull in some of the heavy duty cutters, I don’t fancy waiting a couple of hours to get through that main hatch of theirs” responded Tallow.
Fifteen minutes later the team were back at the hatch with their cutting tools. Around the cargo hold many of the surfaces were now covered in condensation as the room continued to warm to the new air temperature. It took another ten minutes of hard work before the hatch finally relented to the cutters and dropped to the floor. A thin mist spilled from the doorway as the two atmospheres began to equalise.
The men around the hatch immediately sprang away whilst others moved forwards with their carbines raised, trying to make out any detail in the gloom of the pod’s innards. Across the pa system in the cargo hold came the unmistakable sound of the Chig’s language, a shrill mix of chirps, clicks and whistles, as the bridge crew announced their capture and orders to leave the pod, promising no harm would come to them.
After the message had repeated for the third time with no apparent response from the Chig’s Tallow got a ping from the XO. “Sergeant, you’re going to have to go in there and pull them out. Remember, you are outnumbered so any sign of trouble pull your men back and leave us to flush the atmosphere”.
“Roger that, moving now” responded Tallow before signalling for several more of his men to follow him in.
Peering into the still hazy interior of the pod Tallow could see that the ceiling high was little more than 1.8 meters high, meaning he would need to stoop inside. A deep red light with a far greater infra-red output then the ship’s own lights illuminated a short one and a half meter long corridor that ended in another hatch. The walls inside appeared to be made of a similar substance to the hull although swirls and undulations in the texture gave it an almost organic look. Tallow stepped inside.
At the inner hatch Tallow could see two simple catches that looked to be opening mechanisms. The hatch itself was just a metre and a half high. Having tried just one catch it looked like he would need to operate both at the same time. Slinging his carbine, Tallow knelt before the hatch and grabbed both catches to operate them whilst behind him two of his men crammed into the passage to take up firing stances over his head.
A short chirp signalled the activation of the hatch which quickly retracted into the walls revealing a single internal octagonal room less than three metres in diameter. The room was bathed in the same deep red light whilst a sheen of water on some of the walls showed just how hot and humid the atmosphere was. Aside from a single metre high dark octagonal pedestal that was sat at the centre of the room, the only feature of the room were yet more octagonal hatches about 80 centimetres in diameter interspersed around the whole of the outer wall.
Keeping his eyes and his carbine trained on the room, Tallow activated his comm "Talk to me Evans, where the hell are they all?".
"Sarge, the sensors are going off the scale here. I don't know how they've done it but it looks like most of this interior is some sort of semi organic compound. I'm getting more readings from the wall but the sensors are struggling to work out where the pod finishes and where the crew begin".
"Alright team" responded Tallow, "looks like we are going to have to do this the old fashioned way and actually use our eyes. Squad one will advance in pairs with me and cover off all these hatches. We pop these things one at a time. Move up".
Confident that his men were covering him, Tallow stalked forward, quickly covering the distance to the nearest of the octagonal hatches. With one final check of his men's positions Tallow reached out to activate what looked to him to be the locking mechanism.
Almost immediately the hatch panel took on a translucent quality as the space behind was illuminated in the same deep red glow of the main compartment. Tallow had just a few moments to register an apparent dark shape at the centre of the space before the hatch flipped open disgorging a torrent of think greenish yellow liquid and the writhing form of a Chig.
For a few precious moments Tallow was shocked into inactivity before his well-honed training kicked back in. Registering movement from some of his men, Tallow immediately barked orders for them to hold fire whilst in front of them, the Chig slowly clambered upright.
With the thick viscous liquid clinging to much of its’ yellowish mottled body, the Chig rose up on four long multi-segmented legs which supported an entirely insect-like body of three chitin covered and ridged segments. Four more limbs sprouted from its’ upright thorax, two from the front and two from its’ shoulders. The front limbs were heavily jointed and ended in dextrous looking four fingered hands. The shoulder limbs in contrast were longer and just double jointed, ending in two fingers with short claws. Eight ink black lidless eyes looked out on Tallow from the Chig’s small broad bony head whilst its’ series of mandibles worked furiously, emitting a staccato of clicks and buzzing noises.
At full height the Chig stood little more than five feet high, it wore no clothes or adornments to speak off, just a small back pack on the upright portion of its’ body along with what looked to be some sort of comms unit on one arm. A final ridge of what appeared to metallic material appeared to be fused directly to the Chig’s body in a ring about its’ shoulders.
“What the hell is this thing saying?” asked Tallow.
Moments later the voice of the XO came on across the command net. “Sergeant, the Chig seems to be given you a set of designations which as far as we can tell are the same as our name rank and number. We think it’s actually looking for orders. Hold still we are going to try something”.
A buzz of similar sounding clicks and buzzes played out from Tallows own external speaker and almost immediately the Chig stopped its’ own speaking.
“Ok that worked” stated the XO. “We think the Chigs have very much a hive like structure similar to insects back on Earth. It looks like we have captured a number of worker type specimens that we presume have little self-initiative. We will know more once we get them back to a facility for proper examination. In the meantime we are going to order this one to release the rest of the crew and have them move to the temporary holding cells. See if you can some samples of that goo and look for any food stuffs or liquids, we need to work out how to keep this lot fed”.
“Right you are sir, we will maintain a watch on them until they are safely away and finish our sweep as soon as the area is fully secured” responded Tallow with a tone that clearly let the XO know he was less than convinced.
13th October 0825
“Sir, message from the Congo, they’ve managed to rescue 250 Chigs from the lifepods. They are also reporting that all of the Chigs rescued are entirely passive and that they have been able to strip several databases from the pods” reported Barnett’s comms officer.
“Excellent news, have them continue with the rescue operations and forward those databases for analysis by the int boys” replied Barnett.
13th October 0931
“Sir, enemy task group has reduced speed to 3000 km/s, maintaining same course and formation. No further detonations or secondary explosions detected” reported Stevenson’s sensor operator.
“Order the task group to reduce speed to match. We are close enough for a further fighter strike. I want our destroyer escort to take the opportunity to move forward to Barnett’s own task group as well. I suspect he will need all the missile tubes available if we are going to have to slug it out in ship to ship combat” replied Stevenson.
Looking down at his plot Stevenson could see that several of the damaged Chig vessel had managed to make engine repairs and were now moving at just over 3000 km/s. It looked to him that the main fleet was slowing down to allow them to re-join. A sensible move given their substantial point defence, unfortunately it wouldn’t make his job any easier.
13th October 1311
The TFS Congo reports the successful rescue of a further 400 prisoners of war along with several more database caches. Meanwhile Barnett composes a short message to Colonel Foster back on GJ 1065, asking her to begin preparations for a prisoner of war camp to house in excess of 2,000 Chigs.
13th October 1351
After yet another punishing turn around Hale’s fighters launch for their fourth and final strike on the Chigs. Not only are the flight crew exhausted but the deck crew are starting to raise concerns over the strains the tempo of operations is putting on the airframes themselves.
Hale is less then interested though. After finally getting a smooth strike on the last operation he is now heavily focused on getting the next one correct as well in an effort to try and erase his less than exemplary track record. Fortunately for him the rapidly dwindling ordnance situation has made it an easy decision to launch again with just the six squadrons of fighters rather than the task group’s full complement of eight. Hale is now counting on the far more experienced crews to ensure the next strike is also a success.
13th October 2338
China and Congo complete their rescue operations. Both now have their holds crammed full of Chig survivors and although they remain entirely passive they are putting a significant stress on the ship’s environmental systems even before the extra stress of the changed environment is considered.
Barnett requests that the two vessels be allowed to return to GJ 1065 to drop off the survivors but his request is overturned by Stevenson who has now wish to reduce his fighting power at this stage of the engagement.
14th October 0122
Hale was once again back in the cockpit of his fighter listening in as his crew went through the run in checks, fire control assignments and weapons release confirmations. Whilst the reduced distance had allowed for a shorter burn the crew had also had less opportunity to get some rest and Hale could sense they were being pushed to the limited. He knew however he just needed a few more hours of performance from them and then they could get the rest they deserved.
Looking down at the plot he could see that their task was still a significant one. Since their last strike all but one of the ships has been able to repair its engines and re-join the main task group meaning their point defence would still pose a major obstacle. Clearly the Chigs had very advanced damage control capabilities in vessels given the pounding they had received from three successive strikes.
After a few more moments Hale got the green light from his weapons officer confirming that the squadrons were ready to fire. Half holding his breath, Hale hit the launch order.
It’s a few moments later before Hale finally breathes out having seen a green board for all 384 missiles. Yet again however the missiles start dropping as the Chigs’ AMMs engage. Not only do they have fantastic damage control but they have deep bunkers though Hale ruefully.
Another 83 missiles are shot down by AMM fire and a further 20 by point defence before the rest slam into the remaining ships. Unbelievably however, when the scanner clears Hale can see that they have only managed to destroy another of the destroyers and one of the cruisers. Whilst three more of the cruisers appear to have taken damage and have dropped out of formation the remainder continue on course.
Exasperated Hale orders his fighters to return to the carriers. With their ordnance now depleted they will take no more of a role in the remainder of the battle.
Back on the TFS Long Island Stevenson decides that he can’t afford to allow the remaining ships to escape and repair. He therefore orders Barnett to close the distance with his destroyer group and engage the hostiles with ship to ship missiles.
16th October 1907
After more than two days of hard pursuit Barnett’s task group closes to ASM engagement range. Barnett immediately orders the launch of an initial strike from all six of his destroyers to test the remaining defences of the Chigs.
Less than three minutes later five salvoes of 72 missiles each streak away from the task group towards the Chigs. With the number of damaged vessels in the target group Barnett has spread the fire in the hope of causing several more ships to drop out of formation and allow and easier follow up kill.
Unfortunately Barnett can do nothing but look on as all but three of the first salvo are destroyed by a mixture of AMMs and point defensive fire whilst none of the second wave make it through the still prodigious defensive systems.
Finally, the third volley scores 21 hits, forcing two of the already badly damaged cruisers to drop out of formation.
Of the 26 missiles that hit from the fourth volley one causes a critical failure with a strength 16 power explosion ripping through one of the already lagging cruisers, leaving it little more than a drifting wreck.
23 missiles from the final volley make it through the Chigs’ defences heavily impacting one of the cruisers and tearing apart the two remaining destroyers in a series of massive secondary explosions.
With six cruisers and four frigates still active Barnett decides to expend most of his remaining ordnance with a follow up wave of four volleys. Given the significantly reduced number of missiles intercepted in the last wave he hopes that the Chigs’ store of AMMs has finally run dry. He is also hoping that the loss of the last two destroyers will have curtailed their still effective point defence systems.
16th October 2002
Fortunately for Barnett his hunch proves right. The next four salvoes smash into the Chig fleet with only point defence reducing their numbers.
The trailing cruiser is destroyed along with two more in the main body whilst another two drop out of formation.
Barnett can’t quite believe the punishment the Chig vessels have taken. His missile destroyer group is down to less than 15% of its’ ordnance and he is worried he simply does not have the munitions left to finish the job, let along defend against any counter attacks into the system
Barnett decides to conserve his remaining missiles and orders Captain Booth of the TFS Burma to lead an energy weapon engagement. Only three of his more modern destroyers are actually laser armed and he therefore decides to send forward two of his area defence destroyers as well.
17th October 0004
After a tense couple of hours in which Booth has held the crews at high alert, his task group closes to within 100k km of the first trailing Chig cruiser. The task group does not however encounter any missile fire which seems to confirm that the Chigs have exhausted their stock of missiles.
The triple 15cm Ultraviolet lasers of the three Type 312 destroyers make quick work of the first cruiser, systematically pounding it into wreckage.
Booth leaves Barnett’s task group to conduct rescue operations and immediately heads for the next trailing cruiser.
17th October 0137
“Vampire Vampire; we have forty nine missiles inbound” shouted the Burma’s warfare officer as the detachment closed to within 250kkm of another of the trailing cruisers.
Booth instinctively grasped the rests of his acceleration couch as the ship’s AI took control of the helm, immediately throwing it into a series of violent evasive manoeuvres.
Moments later the Burma shook even more violently and Booth knew they had been hit.
“Warfare, I want a full spread ASM launch now. XO, report” called out Booth as he continued to grit his teeth against the ongoing violent manoeuvres.
“Sir, we’ve taken five hits. Light damage only to our armour belt. It looks like that cruiser was one of their main missile combatants. It must have been holding fire until we were too close to react. Looks like our AMMs got 33 of the missiles though and point defence the other 4. We also knocked out six of those heavy missiles. Thankfully their last one missed”.
Ten seconds later the warfare office reported the complete destruction of the Chig cruiser as 36 Harpy 5 missiles slammed into its’ already damaged hull.
“Ok, set an intercept course for the remaining Chig vessels. We will fire a full salvo at the last cruiser as soon as we get within 20mkm then follow up with a further energy engagement to finish them off”.
17th October 0520
“Sir, sensors are showing 22 hits on the cruiser, looks like they still managed to destroy 14 of our missiles with point defence. Spectrographic analysis indicates that it has suffered hull breaches and it also appears to have dropped out of formation with the frigates. Tactical thinks that the ship is likely still largely operational and capable of an ASM launch” reported Booth’s warfare officer.
Booth clenched his right fist, the only sign of the frustration he was feeling. His destroyers had just 18 more missiles left between them and whilst his two area defence destroyers still had good stocks of AMMs, they were the precious Mech missiles.
“Let’s give them one last salvo. We will re-evaluate once we see the results from that hit. Fire when ready please” replied Booth.
Less than fifteen minutes later Booth got his answer as 13 missiles were shot out of the sky, leaving just five to impact the cruiser and of those just two causing internal damage.
Booth pinched the top of his nose, trying to relieve some of the built up pressure that was causing his head to throb. “Signal Commodore Barnett, inform him that we have expended all of our ASMs and that we shall wait to re-join his task group before commencing a further energy weapon engagement”.
17th October 1637
With his task group reconstituted and closing rapidly with the damaged cruiser that had now been abandoned by its’ frigate escort; Barnett decides to expend the last of his last ASMs in an effort to avoid another point blank missile launch.
Incredibly the last of the Chig cruisers manages to shoot down 6 missiles and survive another twenty five before finally between torn apart by a series of large secondary explosions.
With the destruction of the cruiser the four remaining hostile ships of 4,000 tons each quickly accelerated up to 5,500km/s and started to open up the distance from the destroyers.
17th October 1642
Having spent several minutes examining the plot and checking his task group’s status Stevenson reluctantly orders Barnett to break off the chase and re-join the main body of the task group. Whilst his task group had been able to comprehensively destroy the Chig invasion force they were now more than four billion kilometres from the nearest friendly jump gate without offensive ordnance and with ships straining to cope with the influx of prisoners of war.
In short he was in no position to deal with any possible counter attack or other reasonably large Chig task group and might similarly expose his own vessels to a protracted chase and attrition as they ran back to the safety of GJ 1065.
Since commencing the engagement his task group had managed to expended 411 Harpy Mk4s, 414 Harpy Mk 5s, 128 Banshee 3s and 1304 Banshee 5s as well as several hundred Mech AMMs. An inordinate amount given the lack of really effective AMM fire the Chigs put out. If this last engagement was anything to go by then Stevenson thought that Federation would need a significantly enlarged military industry to support the war.
In the meantime he could do little but pull back and await the arrival of Carrier Group Alpha to relieve his fleet and battle weary men.
-
looking forward to the next installment ...
-
October, Elsewhere In the Federation
GJ 1065
Thornton stood in the main landing field control centre, watching on as the last of his Division of heavy assault troops disembarked from their transports. It was the first time in a long time that he hadn’t actually had to oversee a combat drop, leaving the pace of the exercise feeling painfully slow, especially when he thought of the many tasks ahead of them.
For starters the troops would need to help modify some of the planet’s significant infrastructure facilities in order to house the recently captured Chig POWs. Those POWs would in turn need to be guarded whilst the rest of the planet’s defences were reinforced. All the while he would also need to find time for him men to both train and prepare for work up exercises when the assault infantry units currently being trained both on Luyten and back on Earth arrived in a four or five months’ time.
Thornton was also particularly unhappy about the broad spread of men between the young colony of Unionists and the massive archaeological dig half way round the planet. That was something that would need to be addressed in time, but judging by the rather terse conversation he had had with Colonel Foster on the subject, it wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
On the plus side the Engineers had done a fantastic job of getting the barracks assembled and in good working order which meant he should be able to get his men settled then back to work quicker than he originally expected. He was also sure that the availability of hot showers and decent fresh meals would go a long way to help improve the morale of his men who were never in the best of spirits when cooped up on Federation’s aging and now painfully slow transports.
Luyten 1305-10
With the panic of the Chig’s attempted invasion now several weeks past and her carrier groups reorganised to provide relief in EG 453, Rear Admiral Miller had finally found the time to review the combat data from the engagement in more detail.
Following the poor performance of the Saipan's fighter crews in the last engagement Miller had ordered a hasty root and branch review of the state of training within the rest of the fighter wings under her command. It hadn't taken long for her ops team to complete the review and the results made grim reading indeed.
As well as the Saipan, the fighter wings of Belleau Wood, Cabot, Cowpens, Monterey and Princetown were all crewed by pilots who were unpractised in fleet manoeuvres and co-ordination. That meant that of the twelve carriers with fighters on board a full half of them were unlikely to be able to participate in significant fleet actions without an intensive period of training. That drastically cut down her options on the deployment of her forces, especially in the face of the Chigs where it was clear that only overwhelming waves of missiles were sufficient to penetrate their defences.
With the current deployments between Luyten and Delta Trianguli Miller was therefore faced with the need to pull a large number of her forces off active duty and back onto the training roster just when she needed them most. It also meant that she would have to send Carrier group Delta pretty much straight back out to EG 453 as soon as they had had the chance to resupply and re-arm. She knew Stevenson wasn't going to be particularly happy about the turnaround and the fact that he would have no chance to give his ships an overhaul before returning to deep space.
About the only positive that Miller could see at the moment was that the first six orbital weapons platforms were due for completion early next month and with any luck they would be in position around Delta Trianguli before the end of the year. That would enable her to free up one of her carrier groups and help manage the sudden training demands.
Her first jump capable pure scout vessel was also due for completion soon which would provide some better placed eyes and ears in EG 453 for the rest of the fleet. The corvette sized vessel was small, incredibly fast and equipped with high sensitive passive sensors.
Type 161 (J) class Corvette 3,000 tons 290 Crew 893 BP TCS 60 TH 500 EM 0
8333 km/s JR 1-50 Armour 2-18 Shields 0-0 Sensors 70/70/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.4 Years MSP 558 AFR 24% IFR 0.3% 1YR 23 5YR 352 Max Repair 360 MSP
J3200(1-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 3200 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 1
MCF Drive E5 (4) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 155,000 Litres Range 186.0 billion km (258 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR201-R16 (1) GPS 5760 Range 201.6m km Resolution 16
Thermal Sensor TH5-70 (1) Sensitivity 70 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 70m km
EM Detection Sensor EM5-70 (1) Sensitivity 70 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 70m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Miller reached for her data pad, she had a lot of orders to prepare and a likely upset Commodore to try and placate.
Sol
Commodore Shaw watched on as the first batch of the latest Type 313 destroyers - the Kuwait, Laos, Lapland, Latvia and Lebanon were launched from Navy yard 5. Equipped with the latest 20cm UV lasers, improved resolution fire controls and a magazine of 138 Harpy missiles they were a significant addition to the fleet.
Type 313 class Destroyer 9,000 tons 1033 Crew 1982.2 BP TCS 180 TH 1125 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 5-38 Shields 0-0 Sensors 16/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 60
Maint Life 3.29 Years MSP 551 AFR 162% IFR 2.2% 1YR 77 5YR 1157 Max Repair 240 MSP
Magazine 552
MCF Drive E5 (9) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 100.0 billion km (185 days at full power)
20cm C5 Ultraviolet Laser (2) Range 320,000km TS: 6250 km/s Power 10-5 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
MCF Reactor 10-1 (1) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Size 4 ML RoF 20 (12) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 20
Missile Fire Control FC106-R50 (2) Range 106.9m km Resolution 50
Harpy 5 (138) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 28.2m Range: 84.6m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 233 / 140 / 70
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1) Sensitivity 16 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 16m km
ECM 10
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
The Navy had already ordered another five to be laid down immediately and Shaw was back up in Mars orbit to make sure that the slips could be turned around as quickly as possible. Shaw did however have his reservations on the continued build out of the current destroyer design. Whilst clearly exceedingly capable in their primary role of close support and the medium range engagement of larger numbers of small ships, their rapid but low weight of fire had proven to be a significant disadvantage in the latest engagement with the Chigs.
Shaw had already suggested the replacement of the existing launch system with a series of VLS cells however concerns by the senior brass over an inability to reload away from dock facilities, not to mention the 30% reduction in total ordnance carried had stopped that suggestion in its tracks. Never mind the fact that the Navy still had no dedicated colliers to actually perform such a task.
Still sore from the bruising he had received at the hands of the politicians, Shaw was in no mood to try and push his case and hence had decided not to push the matter at the stage.
November
Sol – London
A deep resonating chime from the room's ancient grandfather clock told Shots that he had been waiting for less than fifteen minutes in the ante room for the Minister of defence. Resigned to a wait of at least another half an hour or so Shots started to mentally run through how he was going to try and manage the upcoming meeting. Since the action in EG 453 just a few weeks ago his command had been working relentlessly on trying to identify the Navy's next best course of action whilst also trying to make sense of the reams of data obtained both during and after the engagement. Consequently, he now had to try and deliver a summary of the output of several thousand man hours of work to the minister in a little under a couple of hours.
Fortunately for Shots, he had continued to build a strong working relationship with the Minister and had grown more comfortable with his often probing, complex questions. Unfortunately his companion, Professor Patrick Cairn from the Edinburgh institute of applied Trans-Newtonian physics was not. From the corner of his eye Shots could see him frantically flipping through a large actual physical notepad whilst his already ruddy complexion was starting to take on a worryingly dark shade of purple.
Before Shots was able to try and calm the man's nerves the double doors to the Minister's office swung open to reveal his personal aide. "Gentlemen, the Minister will see you now. If you would be so kind as to come this way" he boomed.
A few moments later and the two of them were sinking into the deep leather bound armchairs arrayed in front of the Ministers' perpetually over stacked and chaotically arranged desk. Judging by how little time they had been kept waiting, Shots knew that the minister was keenly interested to hear first-hand about the actions of the fleet, their findings to date and what he thought it may mean for the Navy in the long run.
"Admiral Shots, so good of you to come and see me and a pleasure to meet with you as well Professor Cairn, I found your papers on gravimetric entanglement to be some of the best I've read" beamed the Minister.
Shots smiled back, he knew just how quickly the man could change and just how vicious his tongue was. Thinking back a year to when some poor fool in the civil service had dared to suggest that the Minister had reached retirement age was enough to send shivers down his spine even now.
Stepping in-front of the Minister's ancient desk Shots pulled a small silver device from his pocket and flicked the single switch before setting it down.
"My apologies Minister, the information we are about to discuss remains highly classified and I am therefore required to take every precaution to ensure that our conversation today is neither recorded nor overheard by anyone else".
"No need to apologise Admiral, I quite understand the sensitivity of the matter at hand".
"Thank you for being understanding. We will just need to give the device a few minutes to sweep the room to ensure there is nothing untoward and to build up the scrambling field".
"Well in that case why we don't you take the opportunity to pour us all some fresh tea, my valet seems to have disappeared just when I need him yet again".
Shots smiled to himself, he may well be the Admiral of the fleet, the most powerful fighting force in the history of humanity and the known galaxy but when it came to dealing with the minister it was wise just to do as asked.
A few minutes later, and with the two visitors clinging to what looked to be frighteningly fragile cups, the device emitted a small beep before displaying a series of three green lights. Seeing that the room was secure and no bugs had been found Shots started the briefing.
"As you are aware minister, we recovered a significant amount of information from the Chig life pods as well as learning more about them albeit that has been indirect only. To date none of the prisoners of war have responded to any of our interrogation techniques and our intelligence team are now doubtful that we will ever extract any useful information directly from them".
"Yes yes, I’m quite aware of all that thank you" interrupted the minister.
"What I really want to understand from you is this basis for upgrading the assessed threat to critical after your fleet managed to smash apart a far larger hostile fleet with virtually no damage to itself; and don't give me any of that mumbo jumbo claptrap about their significant defensive capabilities and the strain on our ordnance production".
"Of course sir" replied Shots "I just wanted to clarify some of the limitations in our current data gathering efforts before presenting you with our assessment as I'm sure you will have plenty of questions on the matter".
The minister looked back at the Admiral from over the top of his ancient spectacles and bone china tea cup, with a thoughtful expression. "Quite correct Admiral, please continue".
"To put it bluntly sir we now think we got hit by some of the Chigs older, less capable fighting vessels. We think they were probably just probing our defences and we could well face a far more sustained and significant attack in the near future".
"Ok Admiral, you have my attention, now just how did you get to this conclusion"?
"To be frank sir, we uncovered a number of critical pieces of information that have so far not made it into any of the official parliamentary reports".
The minister arched a single eyebrow. "Go on".
"At this stage we thought it potentially too sensitive to release to Parliament as a whole due to the risk of inappropriate use for some political manoeuvring or leakage to the press which could well cause significant unrest.
Firstly, the large commercial freighter designs we had reportedly uncovered were in fact for a heavily armoured troop transport. The vessel itself is substantially ahead of any of our own transports. At close to 37,000 tons it's capable of transporting a full nine battalions and has a cruising speed that's close to double our own ships. It's capable of those speeds as it's equipped with Magnetic Confinement Fusion drive engines, the same as our own most recent vessels. Whilst it is unarmed it has very heavy armour which could likely absorb a significant attack, indicating to us that they may well expect to deliver troops in an active theatre. It also indicates to us that the Chig are more than capable of planet side military operations as well as space borne. We must therefore assume that there is a threat of a ground invasion as well as orbital bombardment of our population centres and ground installations.
Given the significant performance gap between our own limited troop lift capacity and the Chigs I've already instructed Commodore Shaw's design group to look at designing a comparative troop transport and associated jump capable ship that will allow us far better force projection and reaction time in the future".
Shots reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a couple of pieces of paper which he handed to the Minister. "We've summarised the full stats for you here. Apologies again for not having this in a briefing pack for you but the Int boys were insistent I should not be taking any of this information out of the intelligence centre in electronic format".
(http://imageshack.com/a/img673/5974/rHlCBD.jpg)
"Now, turning to second design you can see minister that this vessel is a collier as already more widely reported. What wasn't mentioned were some of the components of that vessel. First and foremost it appears to be supporting a number of shield generators and at this point I will hand over to professor Cairn to explain further".
(http://imageshack.com/a/img913/9223/ImJMTZ.jpg)
The professor, seeming somewhat startled by the mention of his name took a few moments to shuffle his papers before beginning. "Yes of course. Well members of my team have long theorised that it would be possible to project a gravimetric bubble around a ship that was not only capable of deflecting kinetic impacts but also redirecting almost all forms of directed energy as well. To date however the scientific community has paid little attention to the theory as all of our initial calculations have shown the need for massive generators in order to generate even a basic field. Current day armour tech has been far more effective and less costly to consider the need to take this area forward.
These blueprints turn our accepted wisdom on its head. Whilst we have absolutely no idea on how they have achieved it the Chigs appear to have succeeded in designing a generator some five times more efficient in terms of power to weight ratio as well as being substantially faster to both charge and recharge. What they have achieved is really quite astounding”.
"Thank you professor" interrupted Shots. "If our calculations are correct, this ship's couple of shield generators would be capable of deflecting three or maybe four of our ASMs and would be recharged within five minutes or so. Whilst that is not a huge number we must remember that this is purely a logistics vessel and hence other combat vessels may carry substantially higher numbers of generators. Ships equipped in such away could easily replenish their shields between our typical fighter strikes, hence eliminating our ability to wear down hostile vessels through successive strikes.
Probably more worrying though are the engines that the Chigs have mounted on this ship. Whilst they are no more advanced than our own they have, unlike our own designs, continued to boost the engine output at the costs of efficiency. This ship is therefore some 500 km/s faster than our own fleet standard. If this is the case across the Chig fleet, and we see no reason why it would not be, then we may well loose our ability to dictate the range at which we choose to engage these more modern vessels.
I've discussed the option of retrofitting our own ships with power boosted engines but the task is a daunting one to say the least. Not to mention the logistical problems of trying to recall the whole of the Luyten fleet to affect such an upgrade. We are looking at revising successive versions of our current ships but that will also be a long way down the road. We must therefore plan on the basis that we will lose our speed advantage at some point in the future".
Shots paused to take a sip of tea and to give some time for the information to sink in. As expected it didn't take the minister long to grasp the implications of their findings.
"So in essence, not only would we lose the ability to simply give ground in a defensive operation, the Chigs could well utilise our own tactics against us in any offensive operation as well. Hmmn, in fact any engagements in smaller systems or where we don't detect them well in advance would leave us having to fight toe to toe, whilst if we are deep into enemy territory we are unlikely to be able to simply retreat to safety. In fact, the more I think about it the more I believe we are going to have to look at the need to refit our offensive vessels with faster engines".
"Understood minister, unfortunately the bad news does not stop there either" responded Shots.
"A chunk of the data also revealed schematics for a high yield warhead some 25% more efficient than the best we can currently manufacture. The good news is that we have been able to reverse engineer the schematics and design our own version. The good professor here has been through the information and believes that it would have taken us well over a year of dedicated research by the majority of our campuses to work it out for ourselves. The bad news is that the Chigs have obviously had this tech for a while and will have likely already been manufacturing missiles to make best use of this advance".
Shots once again turned to the professor, "would you be so kind as to explain our current challenges with this information"?
"Yes of course Admiral. I'm told that simply releasing this new found technology is out of the question. Our citizens believe and trust in our technical superiority and military might and much of the peace that the Federation has seen has been predicated on its' ability to protect its people. Revealing this technology would very likely cause a great many of our people to doubt that trust and could lead to significant social and economic disruption. Thus far from helping the war effort this may well damage it.
Of course it would be madness for us not to make use of the technology and hence we have begun a programme of slowly introducing elements of the findings into the work of one of our more junior researchers in this field. If all goes to plan the young lady in question is going to make a miraculous breakthrough in her studies within the next month that will rapidly advance our missile construction capabilities. We will of course have to provide her with some sort of award and recognition but we think the price is worth the return".
"Thank you professor, I would agree that that makes for a pragmatic approach to the problem and we can of course always give her early retirement if the fame goes to her head. In the meantime I assume you are not wasting any time in actually designing the new marks of missiles to make use of this leap" enquired the Minister.
“I believe that Commodore Shaw is giving the designs the final once over as we speak” replied Shots. "We have already set out the designs for a new series of ASM, AMM, AFM and fighter based ASM. Between the new warheads and engine technology we are going to be able to produce substantially better performing missiles and are going to be able to reduce the number of role specific missiles we build - that will really help with the logistics in the long run".
"Well I must admit I think I would look at that finding as a glass half full issue. Whilst the Chigs clearly do have superior technology in some areas this last engagement has allowed us to narrow the gap with little additional effort on our part. We now better understand their capabilities and are well positioned to adapt. Now is there anything else I should be aware of"?
"Unfortunately sir there is one more finding that we need to discuss" sighed Shots. "Along with the details of the missile construction data we found developed theories on how one might be able to cloak a ship in a form of distortion field that could make detection significantly harder for our Trans- Newtonian sensors to pick up. I won't admit to even beginning to understand the physics behind it but it looks to us that the Chigs have evolved this far enough to make a workable solution just a few steps away. We of course have no idea as to whether the Chigs have actually developed such a field generator or the eventual effectiveness of such a piece of equipment but given our current findings on their engine technologies I find this piece of information particularly worrisome. If they are building ships that can largely evade our fleet sensors we could well lose any current tactical advantage we may have and could well be reduced to just hopping from one jump gate engagement to another".
The Minister paused for a few moments, clearly thinking through the conversation "Hmmn, I can see how concerning that would be and at present I can only see one practical next step given the current disposition and requirements of the Navy. Against my otherwise better judgement we are going to have to let the salvagers back into EG453 to see if they can uncover any further information on the Chigs and their technology. We need to be sure of what we are dealing with before we make any significant counter attacks into their territory".
"That was our conclusion as well sir. I have issued orders for Admiral Miller to keep a carrier group on point in EG453 as soon as she has worked through the logistics of reorganising her carrier groups and ensured they are rearmed. I’ve also released several more scout craft to help ensure nothing slips past into GJ 1065. The group will retain an active sensor sweep on the Anderseriks jumps gate and engage any further hostiles that enter the system. In the meantime we will dispatch the two salvage groups operating in the Luyten cluster with orders to recover the considerable number of wrecks in the system. The salvagers will start with the wrecks closest to the hostile gate in order to make best use of any delayed reaction time from the Chigs to the loss of their last fleet. We will at the same time maintain strict operational security by moving the jump vessels away from the jump point so we can make sure there is no inappropriate communication of findings.
It's no doubt going to be a risky operation and I would hate to think what would happen if the two salvage groups got caught so deep into the system but I agree, we can't lose the opportunity to further close the gap between ourselves and the Chigs".
"I quite agree Admiral, just please don't make it in any way easy for those Salvagers to get the rights to the system. I want as many blocks as we feel comfortable putting in their way. If they even get the whiff that we actually want them doing this they are going to suck the treasury dry on fees, not to mention thinking about why we would accept such horrible rates".
"Don't worry Sir, I promise you we will give those leeches a run for their money".
Sol – Mars Shipyards
Shaw was yet again back in Mars orbit having caught a lift on one of the freighters dedicated to running the necessary minerals and equipment from Earth to keep the shipyards running. He was looking forward to the launch of the ships in question he had come to see both in a couple of days’ time and just a few weeks after that. The first batch would they would mark the first of the Type 501 jump capable cruisers to be completed. Whilst less heavily armed than their Type 511 counterparts their ability to combat jump a squadron of three cruisers plus itself the vessels would fundamentally improve the value and capabilities of the existing cruisers which would no doubt have a leading role in taking the fight back to the Chigs.
Type 501 class Cruiser 18,000 tons 1614 Crew 4687.8 BP TCS 360 TH 2250 EM 0
6250 km/s JR 4-50 Armour 9-61 Shields 0-0 Sensors 350/70/0/0 Damage Control Rating 30 PPV 54.99
Maint Life 5.23 Years MSP 4255 AFR 129% IFR 1.8% 1YR 260 5YR 3899 Max Repair 625 MSP
J18000(4-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 18000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 4
MCF Drive E5 (18) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres Range 150.0 billion km (277 days at full power)
Triple 20cm C5 UvL Turret (1x3) Range 320,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 30-15 RM 4 ROF 10 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Twin GC 20r8 (2x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S08 160-10000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (2) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
MCF Reactor 10-1 (2) Total Power Output 20 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR552-R120 (1) GPS 43200 Range 552.1m km Resolution 120
Thermal Sensor TH25-350 (1) Sensitivity 350 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 350m km
EM Detection Sensor EM5-70 (1) Sensitivity 70 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 70m km
ECM 10
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Once launched, the two jump cruisers would immediately be dispatched to Luyten 1305-10 where they would join the Type 511s currently on work up training exercises there. With a little luck that would mean all of the cruisers would be fully trained, armed, overhauled and ready for combat operations within the next eighteen months.
Thankfully the Navy had also recognised the importance of these new ships and had therefore signed off on the pre-construction of many of the components needed for the next batch of vessels. Once completed in a few months’ time, these would be used to rapidly speed up the construction of the next two ships and therefore hopefully catch up to the already well progressed construction of the next four Type 511 cruisers.
The second, and possibly the more significant batch of ships to launch would be the TFS Okinawa, Puget Sound and Tripoli. At 24,000 tons the Project 101 carriers would become the largest combat vessels in the Federation’s arsenal. Capable of carrying four wings of Starfury Mk 2 fighters as well as a wing of Wasp interceptors each carrier could not deliver more than double the firepower of the existing carriers but do so at close to double the range and without the requirement for a ship based active sensor. The carriers were also better armoured and, for the first time, carried their own point defence gauss cannon.
Project 101 class Carrier 24,000 tons 1338 Crew 3919.4 BP TCS 480 TH 3000 EM 0
6250 km/s Armour 4-74 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 28 PPV 15.65
Maint Life 4.06 Years MSP 1837 AFR 256% IFR 3.6% 1YR 178 5YR 2674 Max Repair 144 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 9000 tons Magazine 1152
MCF Drive E5 (24) Power 125 Fuel Use 50% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,550,000 Litres Range 232.5 billion km (430 days at full power)
Twin GC 20r8 (1x8) Range 20,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S06 48-20000 (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Banshee 6 (516) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 16.5m Range: 49.5m km WH: 5 Size: 2 TH: 200 / 120 / 60
Griffin 1 (60) Speed: 50,000 km/s End: 6m Range: 18m km WH: 4 Size: 2 TH: 383 / 230 / 115
Active Search Sensor MR5-R1 (1) GPS 48 Range 5.2m km Resolution 1
Strike Group
4x Starfury Mk2 (S) Fighter-bomber Speed: 15000 km/s Size: 5
6x Wasp Mk3 Interceptor Speed: 22727 km/s Size: 3.3
28x Starfury Mk2 Fighter-bomber Speed: 15000 km/s Size: 5
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
Although it would still be another month or so before all of the carriers complement of fighters were complete and they could start training, just having them in system would likely create a huge boost to the morale of the civilian population.
In the meant time though Shaw knew he would be kept more than busy continuing to manage the still frantic construction schedules of the military and civilian shipyards alike as well as finishing the build out of the new frigate shipyards and the designs of the vessels to be built by them; not to mention the new troop carrier that Shots had personally asked for.
Catching himself from getting too caught up in the future plans Shaw stopped himself from thinking any further ahead, wanting to enjoy the current moment. Whilst part of him still yearned for a return to active service and a chance to once again lead a task force into battle he knew that he had found a sweet spot for his talents in his current role and that the satisfaction from getting the job done could be just as good as that felt from a successful mission.
Luyten 1305-10 - Navy Command
A gentle tap at her door caused Miller to look up in irritation having been deeply absorbed in the latest "her eyes only" intelligence update from Sol HQ. The report's findings made terrifying reading and the last thing she needed were distractions whilst trying to take on board all of its' contents. A second, slightly louder tap, sounded on her door. Miller sighed, whatever it was, it would likely to be important given they had managed to both get past her attendant and were willing to upset her after she had given express orders not to be disturbed.
Carefully shutting down the data pad and placing it in the top of her desk Miller called out in a stern terse voice "Come In".
The door opened to reveal Lieutenant Commander Samantha Fuller, her chief logistics officer looking in a somewhat harried state. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you Admiral but something has just come up that I thought needed you immediate attention".
Seeing the state of her staff officer Miller decided to remain polite and understanding, at least until she knew whether it really was an issue. "Of course Samantha, don't worry about it in the least, please come in and close the door behind you".
The door had barely sealed before Fuller started talking again. "I've just come from the low orbit maintenance facilities where I was hoping to do a quick inspection on Commodore Stevenson's ships before they headed off again. As part of that I was looking at the requisition logs to see what sort of spares etc they were after, thought it might be helpful for designing the longer term overhaul schedule. Anyway, I'm digressing. The point is that I realised that the destroyers are asking for more than 800 Harpy Mk5 ASMs. I had no idea they had managed to burn that much ordnance otherwise I would have raised it earlier but the fact is that we have barely 500 Mk 4s in stock and almost no Mk5s at all. As it stands we would be sending them back out to the front line with very little to shoot with".
Miller ground her teeth. She had been arguing with the civilian administrators for the past six months over the need to increase ordnance production both in Luyten and Delta Trianguli. That under investment was going to bite now and most likely even worse in the near future if any more significant engagements like the last had to be fought, especially so given the Top Secret report she had just been reading.
"Ok that really is a problem for us. Well done bringing this to my attention straight away. What are the stocks of other ASMs looking like at the moment, I assume we can at least rearm them with some slightly less advanced missiles whilst we continue to build up our stocks?" responded Miller.
"I'm afraid we are in a pretty bad position with those as well. I had a check done whilst on the way down to see you and from what I can ascertain we only have 48 Harpy Mk2s and 8 Mk3s in stores. I also took the time to check with the stocks in Delta Trianguli, 107 Piscium and GJ 1065. Their entire stores consist of AMMS and reloads for the fighters ".
"In that case we are going to have to strip the missiles out of Carrier Group Bravo’s destroyer escorts although it means we will be more than a month delayed in getting the ships back out to EG 453. Hmmn, we might also have to look at sending a reduced detachment now and then follow on with the remaining destroyers once we have them resupplied.
"Ma'am, there is another option we might consider. The cruisers currently out on training exercises all have full stocks of ASMs, that's just shy of 400 missiles which would be more than enough to allow us to deliver a full complement to each of the destroyers. I know that would strip the cruisers of a large part of their fire power but given we are keeping them back here for at least another twelve months or so I would think that would be manageable".
Miller considered the proposition for a few moments. “I knew there was a reason I made you my chief of logistics. That’s an excellent idea. See to it that the cruisers are recalled from training immediately. I will inform Commodore Stevenson that we should be able to have him on his way in a matter of weeks”.
Luyten – Main civilian administration block
Kai stood with his arms crossed starring defiantly at Rear Admiral Miller sat across the meeting room table.
"For the last time Admiral, I simply cannot divert further manufacturing facilities to support the construction of the next wave of orbital weapons platforms. The mineral situation between ourselves and Delta Trianguli remains critical and I have been reliably told by central not to expect any further mercy runs from Sol. If I divert any more of our existing manufacturing outside of the already significant commitment made to boost arms factories and build sufficient maintenance facilities to service those monstrous cruisers you now have blundering around the system we simply won’t have the minerals to support anything. I'm sure you would agree that it would be far better for the Federation to receive its next batch of platforms a little behind the Navy's original schedule rather than not at all".
For a few short moments Kai thought he may have actually won the argument with the Admiral. Unfortunately she was just drawing breath.
"Mr Winter, I need not remind you that just a few short weeks ago the Navy fought it's largest ever battle against a race that so far we no almost nothing about. I'm sure I don't also need to remind that the carrier group in question failed to destroy the hostiles in their entirety despite expending every single missile at their disposal.
The threat of the Chigs is every bit as large as it ever was despite our victory. If we don't build adequate defences now to allow us to get on the front foot we risk having no way to protect those precious mines of yours. You may well manage to build them but they will be of little use as smoking, irradiated ruins which is exactly what they will be if just one of those hostiles get through.
Whilst I know I can't order you to change the build schedules I must insist that you redouble your efforts to find more capacity to support the Navy. I would hate to have to take this up with central command and administrator Carter whom I'm sure would be dismayed to hear about your lack of enthusiasm for the war effort".
Kai bristled. He had no idea just how much sway Miller might have with Carter but he did know he couldn't afford another show down with the man, especially when his own plans were so far from fruition. Kai therefore decided that a slightly more conciliatory approach was going to be needed.
"Admiral, off course I'm more than aware of the current situation and the massive undertaking of the navy to keep us all safe. The reality though is that if we focus on ship construction now we will very likely run out of minerals before we complete them and, as far as I'm aware, a half-finished ships are just as useless as no ships at all.
Now I know that the first batch of system patrol craft is still quite a few months from completion. If we used that time to finish the current build of mines we should be able to divert some of the industry then to getting the next batch produced. In the meantime we can focus on rebuilding the stocks of Harpy missiles that your people seem to have already managed to burn through during the Chigs last incursion. I know it doesn't meet your immediate requirements but in the circumstances it's absolutely the best we can do for you".
Miller glared back at Kai, still fuming from the need to have this conversation in the first place. She knew however that she had to temper her arguments carefully. To date the Navy had released only very sparse details to the general public and wider government on the Navy's findings so she knew that Kai was entirely unaware of just how large a threat they thought the Chigs were. As far as he was concerned they had fought a decisive battle against another technologically inferior enemy rather than a lucky engagement with an aging part of the enemy fleet. She knew therefore that she wasn't going to be able to push the point much further without potentially alerting him to a deeper concern.
"Ok Kai, I'm going to accept your proposal but only on the condition that you give me at least 75% capacity for however long it takes to build a full stock of engines, sensors, lasers, fire controls and launchers for a full wing of the literal cruisers".
"Done" responded Kai with no hesitation, confident that by the time another half year had passed the threat would have abated and he would have little problem renegotiating with the Admiral then.
Miller stared back at him for several long moments, worrying Kai that he may have given in too easily. However, just as he was about to speak in his defence Miller extended her hand across the table to shake on it.
"Done".
Sol – London
Carter was back in his office after another hectic day of negotiations and favour pulling. Since finding out from one of his inside men in the Navy about the tens of thousands of tons of Chig wrecks left littering the EG 453 system he had been working like a mad man to make sure it was the salvagers that were backed by his own companies that won the contract to recover them and any components that might still be functional.
The black market value of real Chig warship parts would be huge when sold to the right private collectors and he had a long list of them already lined up. If they also managed to find some new technologies in the process it could send the stock prices soaring.
Carter was pretty pleased with himself. The costs of securing the contract had been pretty minimal as far as he was concerned. Although the civil servants had fought a particularly vicious battle over salvage rates, customs requirements and security precautions he was sure that he would be able to more than make up for it.
Getting his company to the front of the line had also proven to be pretty easy. Once his people had been able to find out who the chief engineer on the key competition's salvagers was it had taken only a night of expensive drinks and a couple upmarket escorts to get him into an appropriate compromising situation that he was keen for his wife not to find out about and certainly not see the holo images of. With just a little guidance he had therefore been more than willing to pronounce the discovery of a number of stress fractures in the ships' engine struts and the need to bring them in for a comprehensive overhaul. That had put them out of commission for six months and out of the running.
There had been one small blip in the plan when the captain of one of the salvagers that had previously been active in Anderseriks had quit at the news of the deployment. It had taken a few frantic hours to find a suitable replacement but fortunately they had been able to convince one of the Navy officers to take early retirement and join the team. They might not be the best option for the replacement but they still had solid engineering skills. In any case, any slowdown in the salvage rates would be more than made up for by the fact they were actually bale to fulfil the contract.
For some reason though Carter wasn't 100% happy about the situation and it bothered him that he couldn't put his finger on why. The bidding for the contract had been no less fierce than usual and his usual trawl of Navy contacts hadn't revealed anything unusual yet there was something still not quite right about the process. In fact it was almost as if the process had been too usual given the unusual circumstances.
Carter started pacing, his customary response when he needed to think. The deal was far from clean and he needed to work out how to get to the bottom of it before he found himself outsmarted and out of pocket.
GJ 1065
Foster stood in one of the environmental control rooms that managed the newly sectioned off segment of infrastructure. The Infrastructure, which they had been hastily reconfiguring to house the Chig POWs was almost complete although the scattered lines of piping, partially re-soldered control boards and wiring hanging from exposed panels in the ceiling bore testament to just how much work had been needed. Foster was also far from happy from the end result. Whilst they had had the environment running as required for just over a week now the level of effort to maintain it had been huge.
Without purpose built infrastructure they would be facing a long painful road of ongoing maintenance and management to keep the environment in an optimal situation for their captives. They would also need to train up a large number of the population to help them run the infrastructure if Foster was ever going to get her people back to working on the dig or improving the ground defences further. To date she had had little to do with the Unionists so turning over the facilities to them to run was a particular concern.
Unfortunately, with the Carrier group now in orbit and already sending down the first wave of transports she had run out of time to improve the facilities any further or make better plans for the ongoing upkeep of them. As it stood they had had to commission double the capacity so they could flip the prisoners between the two compounds whilst sections were cleaned out to deal with the ultra-high humidity levels. Trying to find a solution to that problem with the facilities available was going to take time they no longer had.
Thornton had also been pretty unhappy to hear that he would need to be guarding double the number of facilities compared to the original plans. In fact Foster had to suppress an involuntary shudder when she thought back to the less than pleasant experience of breaking the news to him. Over the years Thornton had built up quite a reputation and Foster had found out the hard way that he had earned every bit of it.
December
Sol – Navy HQ
Shots was back down in the depths of the base once again enjoying having the pool to himself for a morning swim and some clear time to collect his thoughts. Since the manic rush of activity after the last Chig incursion Shots had had precious little time to himself and virtually no chance to swim. He was therefore relishing the period of relative calm and the chance to get some exercise in.
He was feeling particularly happy as today he would be signing off on the new missile designs as well as the salvage contract for the Chig wrecks in EG 453. As far as he was aware both plans had worked flawlessly. Jay Black, a little known scientist of little importance had made the breakthrough in warhead technology actually ahead of schedule whilst the Federation’s main missile specialist, Kieran Dennis, had managed to complete the research on the miniaturisation of magnetic containment engines that enabled their use in missiles.
Armed with the two new technologies, Commodore Shaw had quickly helped to progress the design and prototyping of a match of new missiles that would drastically improve the combat effectiveness of the Navy. With the proof of concepts now having been taken through live firing all that was left was for Shots to officially approve their adoption by the Navy. Every ordnance factory across the Federation could then begin to produce the new weapons.
Similarly the plan to allow salvagers back into EG 453 was getting close to fruition. Two salvage groups were already on station in GJ 1065 waiting for final approval to jump in and again all they needed was a signature from Shots. The only crinkle in that process was the underhand tactics taken by one of the companies which meant the Federation would be short of the other Salvage team until they could clear up the supposed issue with their engines. As much as he would love to tell them there were no issues he wasn’t go to reveal the extent of the Navy’s own information gathering capabilities to either corporation.
Shots felt sure that if they could just continue to make the same steady progress they had been making for another year they would be hugely well placed to take the fight back to the Chigs and ensure the security of the Federation. In the meantime though he would just enjoy the water and the peace.
Delta Trianguli
Lieutenant Commander Alfie Pollard, commander of the Orbital Weapon Platform Imperial and squadron leader for the six platforms newly delivered to Delta Trianguli, stood stiffly to attention whilst the formal handover of defensive responsibilities for the system were completed.
From the corner of his eye he could just make out Administrator Coles. Much to the chagrin of Pollard, Coles clearly had other things on his mind as he was paying almost no attention at all to the ceremony. Fortunately for Pollard he had received an extensive brief from Commodore Webster before he had departed along with the rest of Carrier Group Bravo so he had a good idea of what to expect from the man.
Pollard wasn’t however entirely correct in his assessment. Whilst Coles was somewhat distracted he wasn’t at all disinterested in Pollard. In fact he was very keen to find out more about the officer in whose hands the protection of the planet had been left. Unfortunately he had far more immediate matters to contend with.
The planet’s supply of Duranium had once again reached critical with less than ten months of supplies left to fuel the current levels of industry. Not that that was very high in any case as the Followers were still far from accepting their membership of the Federation. Daily riots and strikes remained common place leaving the planet deep in the grip of an ongoing recession from which he was struggling to help them escape.
These days Coles was quite frankly happy that two full divisions of troops remained on the planet to keep the peace, especially now that Thornton had departed, leaving him to deal with a far more amiable Lieutenant General. About the only good thing that was going for him at the moment was that they had managed to stay on schedule to convert the numerous but largely useless manned mines to automated ones. That had at least kept regional administrator Bolton off his back for a few months.
Coles could really only hope that the population would have somewhat more of a change of heart in the not too distant future and get on with going back to work and pushing the economy forward. Until then he was going to have to continue the delicate juggling act and that meant little time to foster any close ties with the new lieutenant.
Luyten
“Ma’am, I’d thought you might like to know that the Coral Snake just signalled jumping from the system. Commander Johnson reported all systems nominal and that they were continuing on to take up position is support of Carrier Group Delta over in EG453”.
“You’re right, I’m very happy to hear we finally have the first of our scouts up and running and more importantly it means we have now shown to the rest of the Federation that, despite our problems, Luyten is more than capable of contributing to the war effort” replied Admiral Miller.
A few moments later Miller received another ping from her operations officer.
“Ma’am, if you liked the last update I think you are going to be over the moon with this one. We’ve just received a signal from the TFS Buffalo. Her and her sister ship the Cheyenne have just jumped in system and are heading for the planet to resupply before commencing their work up training. It looks like Sol was good on its’ word for sending us the first of the jump cruisers”.
“That is indeed excellent news. Could you please send a signal back welcoming them to the Luyten fleet. Please let the Captains know that I would be delighted to entertain them as dinner as soon as they make the planet. Could you please also let commander Finch know we have new vessels in system that will need a set of codes and passphrases uploaded to their cores as soon as they make dock” beamed Miller.
“Aye aye Ma’am, will do”.
EG 453
“Sir, message received from Commodore Stevenson. The Commodore sends his complements and notes that Carrier Group Delta is now in position and ready to assume responsibility for the system” reported Rear Admiral Coles’ comms officer.
“Ok, it seems our short stint here is done for the moment. Nav please lay in a course for the GJ 1065 jump gate and onwards to Luyten. It seems that Admiral Miller has some other plans for us and is in a rush to share them. Helm, you may engage as soon as the rest of the task group has confirmed course and ready to get under way.
Comms, please return my compliments to the Commodore and wish them a thoroughly boring and uneventful stay. I will be in my day cabin if required, meanwhile XO you have the bridge” responded the Admiral as he stood up to leave.
Whilst projecting an air of calm, Admiral Coles was still seething inside. His own task group and so far spent the whole of the war with the Chigs defending the back echelon of the Federation’s forces and now they were getting sent to the rear yet again to repeat training when his replacement had already been out of dock for over a year and had had the honour of engaging the last wave of Chigs. To have his command effectively removed from him in deference to a more junior officer was, as far as he was concerned, a massive slight by Miller.
One thing Coles knew he was going to be doing when he got back to Luyten was make dam sure that Shots was aware of the appalling treatment he had received at the hands of Miller and do his level best to get her replaced.
Eta Cassiopeiae
Administrator Shah slumped back into the chair in his office. He had just endured a three hour roasting from the planets elected civilian representatives. It seemed that no matter what he did the civilians always wanted more and somehow expected him to magic the answer out of thin air for them.
Not a week past, having scrimped and saved on minerals for the best part of a year, the colony had finished the construction of fifteen new factory complexes; bringing much needed work to the population and a base from which to expand.
Far from pacifying the population though this had led to the redoubling of complaints about the state of the systems defences and the lack of munitions for the aging Hammerhead fighter squadron assigned to them. In fact it, it was probably only the continued presence of the 12 battalions of mobile infantry that had so far prevented the complaints from turning into outright protest.
He had really therefore had no choice but to accede to the representatives wishes to redirect the manufacturing base away from continued expansion and into the construction of a series of ordnance factories instead. As far as Shah was concerned these were a complete waste of time given that if the fighters were actually called upon the Federation would have likely already fallen.
Not for the first time Shah thought about pushing for a transfer but having now been on the planet for as many years as he had it now felt a little too much like home to him; even if it did drive him half mad from time to time.
Phew, that update took a bit longer than planned to get sorted. I've managed to play up to mid Feb so hopefully can get the next update out a little sooner. I'm keen to see what all these new ships can do...
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Moar?
You should get your own sub-forum and parse the updates out into individual threads since this is a very enjoyable 'epic'.
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Moar?
You should get your own sub-forum and parse the updates out into individual threads since this is a very enjoyable 'epic'.
Seconded!
Keep them coming!
Ian
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Glad you are enjoying it, am working through the next instalment now. Agree that the one post is getting a little unwieldy so will ask Erik to move.