Campaign Updates

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

Given the time pressure, I am not going to get too creative with the campaign reports. I'll just record notable events as they happen.

1st January 1889
The British Empire begins its long-awaited journey into space. The Pelorus class survey cruisers Pandora and Pegasus commence a gravitational survey of the solar system, while Pelorus, Perseus, Prometheus and Proserpine start surveying system bodies for mineral deposits. As part of the non-aggression pact agreed in the years leading up to Exploration Day, all five Solarian powers agreed that no one would survey the home worlds of the other powers, or any moons around the same planet. This agreement means that Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and all associated moons are out of bounds for any Royal Navy survey vessel. Another article of the pact involved an exchange of information on civilian vessels such as freighters and colony ships. The Naval Intelligence Department of the Royal Navy added to that knowledge in recent years by using ground-based tracking stations to identify a number of additional alien classes in orbit of Venus, based on their thermal signatures.

Venus is close enough to Earth for ground-based sensors to detect four Khanate ships departing Venus orbit, plus a ship of the Martian Empire is detected on a course from Mars that will pass within ten million kilometres of Earth.  The vessels leaving Venus and Mars have not been previously detected, probably because their thermal signatures would be negligible when stationary. The Majestic class battleship Caesar engages her Type 1 Active Search Sensor and paints three of the Venusian ships. One is a 7330-ton Ogadei class traveling at 2578 km/s, slightly slower than the 2625 km/s of the Pelorus, while the other two are 8012-ton Kublai class with a speed of 2358 km/s. A second Ogadei is on thermal sensors but too far away for an active contact. Naval Intelligence is working on the assumption they are survey ships, similar in function to the Royal Navy Pelorus class. The Martian ship is a Luhu class of 6915 tons with a speed of 2892 km/s.



5th January 1889
HMS Prometheus finds five million tons of accessibility 0.6 Duranium on Earth’s moon. This discovery will ensure a supply of this vital mineral for the foreseeable future. A colony will be established on the Moon to exploit the valuable resource.

Luna Survey Report
Duranium:   5,107,464   0.60
Corbomite:   980,278   0.20
Uridium:   1,207   0.70

7th January 1889
The first Jovian ship in the inner system is detected by HMS Prometheus as they both pass close to Mars. Five days later a ship of the Hegemony of Titan is detected in the asteroid belt. The survey forces of the Solarian powers are coming into close proximity, although the prohibition of surveying home worlds is being observed by all parties.



16th January 1889
HMS Pandora detects a jump point eight-four million kilometres from the orbit of Jupiter. Jupiter itself is little more than one hundred million kilometres from the jump point and moving closer in its orbit. The second class cruiser HMS Medea is dispatched to investigate. On arrival she finds four Jovian ships already stationed at the jump point, including a Pampeiro class of 15,287 tons, two Almirante Saboia class ships of 7636 tons and a huge Sao Paulo class ship of 69,057 tons. All three Jovian classes are new to Naval Intelligence. The Pampeiro is similar in size to the Majestic class battleship while the Almirante Saboias are equivalent to the Edgar class heavy cruisers. Given that the Jovians received information on Trans Newtonian technology at a similar time to the British Empire, Naval Intelligence does not believe the Sao Paulo could be a warship, although its function and the reason for its position on the jump point remain unclear.



18th January 1889
HMS Medea transits the jump point and emerges one point four billion kilometres from the primary of a red dwarf binary. Based on spectral analysis of the star, the system is identified as Groombridge 34, located in the northern constellation of Andromeda. The origin of the nomenclature is entry number 34 in ‘A Catalogue of Circumpolar Stars’, published posthumously in 1838 by British astronomer Stephen Groombridge. For normal usage, the 34 will be dropped from the name so this becomes simply the Groombridge system. Coincidentally, the captain of Medea, Commander Miller, shares the same first name as the original discoverer of the system.

Groombridge-A has just three planets, all of which are tide-locked; a dwarf planet, a gas giant and a terrestrial world. The latter has a vast ice sheet and a thin nitrogen atmosphere, although the temperate of -119C makes this far from a habitable world. Groombridge-B orbits at twenty-four billion kilometres from the primary and has six planets, fifty-seven moons and almost a hundred asteroids. The innermost planet is completely covered in ice, has a temperature of -59C and a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 0.77 atm, including 0.02 atm of oxygen. British scientists believe that planets such as Groombridge-B I can be ‘terraformed’, although the technology required to do so is not currently a scientific priority. In any event, the companion star is so distant that a colony would not be practicable. The fifth planet of the companion is a superjovian and therefore has a Lagrange Point but no matching point exists in the primary system.

While HMS Medea remains on the jump point to provide jump capability, the Apollo class second class cruiser HMS Sirius leaves Earth orbit to conduct a reconnaissance of the planets of Groombridge-A. Sirius returns to Sol without incident on January 28th, by which time a group of Venusian ships is already stationed on the Sol – Groombridge jump point. HMS Sirius remains on station to monitor traffic, while HMS Medea returns to Earth.

2nd February 1889
The civilian White Star Line launches its first ship, a 34,500-ton freighter capable of 928 km/s.

3rd February 1889
A second jump point is discovered only ninety million kilometres from Sol and inside the orbit of Venus. HMS Medea and the Apollo class cruiser HMS Andromache are dispatched to investigate. On arrival, they detect four Martian ships, a Jiangwei, a Houjian and two Yinchuans, all of which are the only known members of their classes. A Grendel class of the Hegemony of Titan is also on station, one of two members of that class. The location of the other Grendel is not known.



4th February 1889
HMS Andromache transits the new jump point and discovers the Alpha Centauri system, a binary with a G2-V primary, similar to Sol, and an orange K2-V companion star orbiting at three and a half billion kilometres. Although Alpha Centauri is the name in general use, based on the designation given by Johann Bayer in 1603, it also bears the traditional name of Rigil Kentaurus, which is a Latinisation of the Arabic name Rijl al-Qin??rus, meaning 'the Foot of the Centaur'.

The system has nine planets, five of which orbit the primary, and each star has a large asteroid belt. There are only six moons in the entire system. Four planets have either ice sheets or oceans. Of those four Alpha Centauri-A III has no atmosphere, while Alpha Centauri-B II and Alpha Centauri-B IV have nitrogen – methane atmospheres of 0.79 atm and 0.42 atm respectively. The real prize is Alpha Centauri-A II, which has a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.74 atm, including 0.22 atm of oxygen, that would be breathable except for 0.026 atm of CO2. With gravity of 0.86G, temperate of -7C and vast oceans covering 92% of the surface, Alpha Centauri-A II would require only minimal terraforming to become an ideal habitable world. A British colony will be established as soon as possible. The survey cruiser Prometheus is diverted from its geological survey of the asteroid belt to begin a geological survey of Alpha Centauri.

5th February 1889
Ground-based tracking stations on Earth detect a number of Venusian freighters moving across the inner system. Naval Intelligence is very keen to know their destination so the Apollo class cruiser HMS Intrepid is ordered to shadow one of the freighters. It soon becomes apparent they are heading for the comet Van Biesbroeck, presumably to establish a mining colony for the Khanate. HMS Intrepid moves into orbit of the comet and confirms the presence of a small colony.

8th February 1889
HMS Sirius, stationed on the Groombridge jump point, detects a group of ships from the Hegemony of Titan arriving at her location. Apparently all the powers are now well into their gravitational surveys of Sol.

12th February 1889
HMS Pelorus, under the command of Commander Lewis Abbot, completes a survey of the comet Machholz, on the inner edge of the asteroid belt. The mineral deposits are significant for such a small body and will no doubt be of interest to all the Solarian Powers. The First Naval Lord, Sir Arthur Hood, consults with Queen Victoria and the Prime Minister, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, before ordering the creation of an automated British mining colony on the comet.

Machholz Survey Report
Duranium:   45,641   1.00
Neutronium:   20,023   0.80
Boronide:   18,573   0.70
Vendarite:   121,563   1.00
Corundium:   22,783   0.90
Gallicite:   49,994   0.80

18th February 1889
HMS Prometheus (CDR Lucas Walsh) completes her survey of Alpha Centauri-A II, revealing deposits of all eleven Trans-Newtonian minerals, including almost four million tons of accessibility 0.6 Duranium. Sorium and Corundium also have mid-level accessibility and Vendarite is 0.9. The rest are minimal accessibility. Even so, the mineral deposits increase the already high value of the planet. This location has the potential to be a point of future conflict between the Solarian powers.



22nd February 1889
HMS Prometheus detects a Jovian Niteroi class ship passing through the inner system of Alpha Centauri-A. The Niteroi is 7637 tons and capable of 3273 km/s. Three have been detected so far. Naval Intelligence believes the class is either a scout or a survey ship.

1st March 1889
A Martian colony is detected on the asteroid Eros. This is assumed to be a mining colony as the asteroid has maximum accessibility deposits of Duranium, Uridium and Corundium.

Eros Survey Report
Duranium:   16,191   1.00
Uridium:   6,715   1.00
Corundium:   9,792   1.00

3rd March 1889
HMS Proserpine (CDR Lewis Connor) encounters a Jovian Tapajo class ship while conducting her gravitational survey of Sol. Naval Intelligence designates the Tapajo as a gravitational survey ship.

8th March 1889
HMS Perseus (CDR Jake Hunt) completes a survey of Neptune, finding 24,760 tons of gaseous Sorium at 0.8 accessibility. Uranus has already been surveyed without success and both Jupiter and Saturn are out of bounds by treaty, so this is the only gaseous Sorium in Sol. The four Ambrosia class fuel harvesters will be deployed at Neptune in the short term, but the deposit will soon be exhausted.

10th March 1889
Using the jump tender HMS Hermes to provide entry into Alpha Centauri, the five Atlas class freighters and five Athena class colony ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary establish a settlement of five hundred thousand on Alpha Centauri-A II. The new colony is named Jamestown. As far as Naval Intelligence is aware, this is the first extra-solar colony established by any of the Solarian powers. The Apollo class second class cruiser Andromache is stationed in orbit. As the connecting jump points in Sol and Alpha Centauri are both close to their respective stars, the distance between Jamestown and Earth is less than one billion kilometres.

11th March 1889
HMS Prometheus completes her geological survey of the only comet in Alpha Centauri and finds large, mid-to-high accessibility deposits of seven minerals. Sir Arthur Hood authorises a second automated mining colony.

Alpha Centauri Comet #1 Survey Report
Duranium:   323,695   0.70
Neutronium:   173,702   0.60
Corbomite:   42,884   1.00
Boronide:   54,067   0.60
Vendarite:   32,944   0.90
Uridium:   70,046   1.00
Corundium:   243,298   0.50

18th March 1889
HMS Intrepid (CDR Jack Stephens) transits a newly discovered jump point just inside the orbit of Uranus, aided by HMS Medea. She arrives half a billion kilometres from a white dwarf, orbiting by two planets and a substantial asteroid belt, which is quickly identified as Carrington’s Star. Richard Christopher Carrington is an English amateur astronomer whose 1859 astronomical observations demonstrated the existence of solar flares as well as suggesting their electrical influence upon the Earth and its aurorae; and whose 1863 records of sunspot observations revealed the differential rotation of the Sun. He suffered from a severe illness in 1865 which would have had far more serious consequences without the availability of Trans-Newtonian technology. Instead, he went to make numerous new discoveries, including the closest sole white dwarf to Earth, which became known as Carrington’s Star.

Neither of the planets, nor their combined twenty moons, are of any immediate interest, especially as the warmest body in the system is -236C. Even so, HMS Intrepid conducts a brief reconnaissance before transiting back into Sol. A new Jovian Niteroi class ship is detected during a sweep through the moons of the inner planet, a superjovian, increasing the known members of the class to four.

4th April 1889
HMS Pandora (CDR Oscar Barry) encounters a Hegemony Skadi class ship while conducting her gravitational survey of Sol. Naval Intelligence designates the Skadi as a gravitational survey ship. Three units of the class have been identified.

5th April 1889
Near-Earth space is particularly busy, with ships of various powers at Mars, Venus, the Alpha Centauri jump point, the comet Van Biesbroeck and the asteroid Eros, plus several ships in transit.



17th April 1889
HMS Pelorus is currently the only survey cruiser conducting a geological survey of Sol as HMS Prometheus is in Alpha Centauri and the other four ships of the Pelorus class are engaged in the gravitational survey of Sol. She moves into orbit of the comet Whipple, currently between the asteroid belt and Jupiter, where she encounters two Hegemony freighters and detects a Hegemony colony on the surface. Whipple has almost two hundred thousand tons of accessibility 0.9 Duranium and ninety thousand tons of accessibility 1.0 Neutronium.

21st April 1889
HMS Intrepid enters Sol’s fourth jump point, slightly further out than the Carrington’s Star jump point and fifty-three degrees anti-clockwise around the Sun. The red dwarf star is identified as Vogel-128 and has two unremarkable planets. Hermann Carl Vogel is a German astrophysicist, born in 1841 in Leipzig, then part of the Kingdom of Saxony. He pioneered the use of the spectroscope in astronomy and since 1882 he has served as the director of the Astrophysical Observatory, Potsdam. With access to Trans-Newtonian equipment, he complied a catalogue of lesser known stars, including the star now known as Vogel-128. While there will no doubt be many encounters with stars from the Vogel Star Catalogue, this first system will henceforth simply be known as Vogel and further stars will be given suitable alternative names.

The jump point is almost at the edge of the possible range for an M4-V red dwarf, two point seven billion kilometres from the primary. HMS Intrepid carries out a reconnaissance mission of the two planets.

1st May 1889
A small base is established at Jamestown, sufficient to maintain up to 8000 tons of ships. HMS Andromache remains in orbit.

10th May 1889
Four Atlas class freighters of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary arrive at the Machholz mining colony to unload automated mines. They detect six Hegemony ships in orbit. Five are 40,000-ton Gotterdammerung class and the sixth is a Tyr class of 6,356 tons. The functions of the ships are unknown but there is no sign of a Hegemony colony on the comet. The working theory of Naval Intelligence is that the Gotterdammerungs are orbital mining ships and the Tyr is some form of escort. A tracking station will be moved to the comet to monitor further alien activity.



15th May 1889
HMS Intrepid and HMS Medea return from their mission to explore Sol’s fourth jump point. Their direct course to Earth takes them close enough to Mars for their active sensors to scan the ships in orbit, resulting in a huge amount of useful intelligence. The complete list of known Martian ships is as follows:

Alien Class Intelligence - Martian Empire
5x XX Xining   84,250 tons   Thermal 84
1x XX Jiangwei   73,200 tons   Thermal 1,600   1,092 km/s
5x XX Changsha   59,850 tons
8x FT Su Small F4   34,650 tons   Thermal 640   923 km/s
8x CS Su Small C4   22,000 tons   Thermal 640   1,453 km/s
1x XX Houxin   20,100 tons
15x XX Kaifeng   19,300 tons
1x XX Luda   17,700 tons   Thermal 800   2,253 km/s
15x XX Houjian   12,850 tons   Thermal 282   1,092 km/s   AS #61
9x XX Dalian   12,850 tons
3x XX Hegu   12,800 tons   AS #61
3x XX Hainan   12,700 tons   AS #61
10x XX Jinan   12,500 tons
4x XX Luhu   6,900 tons   Thermal 400   2,892 km/s
16x XX Yinchuan   6,400 tons   Thermal 140   1,092 km/s   AS #61
7x XX Huangwen   6,400 tons
1x XX Chongqing   6,400 tons
1x XX Zunyi   6,400 tons
4x XX Jianghu   5,400 tons   Thermal 200   1,836 km/s
8x FH Su H4   Thermal 320   248 km/s
3x XX Xian   Thermal 200   1,724 km/s
Total Known Tonnage 2,293,300

The British Empire currently has 258,000 tons of military-engined shipping, including unarmed survey cruisers, and 1.5m tons of commercial-engined shipping. 2.3m tons of Martian shipping has been identified so far, but that does not count the eleven ships of the Su H4 and Xian classes as no tonnage data is available. The tonnage differential is very concerning to Sir Arthur Hood.

14th June 1889
The Sol – Groombridge jump point has been stabilised. This technology is not available to the British Empire, although a research project to develop a Stabilisation Module for a ship is close to completion. Naval Intelligence now believes the 69,000 ton Jovian Sao Paulo class ship, which has recently transited into Groombridge, was a ship equipped with a Stabilisation Module. The Venusian Mongka class and the Hegemony Berserker class, both of which are 73,000 tons and have been stationed on the same jump point for several months, are also designated as Stabilisation Ships.

18th June 1889
The Sol – Alpha Centauri jump point has been stabilised.

24th June 1889
The gravitational survey of Sol is complete. The six Pelorus class survey cruisers are all dedicated to geological survey duties. HMS Pegasus and HMS Pelorus are both in the Greenwich Belt, named after the Royal Greenwich Observatory which mapped most of the objects beyond Neptune. HMS Prometheus is in Alpha Centauri and HMS Perseus has recently begun a survey of Carrington’s Star. HMS Proserpine and HMS Pandora are still in Sol but en route to Groombridge and Vogel respectively.

25th July 1889
A colony of the Venusian Khanate is detected on the comet Wolf.

31st August 1889
A colony of the Venusian Khanate is detected on the comet Schaumasse.

1st September 1889
HMS Prometheus completes a survey of Alpha Centauri-B III and discovers mid-to-high accessibility deposits of all eleven minerals. The planet is now a high priority for colonization. Although there is no water or atmosphere on Alpha Centauri-B III, it is only 2000 km in diameter, so it will become a terraforming priority as well, once the technology is available.

Alpha Centauri-B III Survey Report
Duranium:   96,800   0.80
Neutronium:   220,900   0.60
Corbomite:   864,900   0.80
Tritanium:   32,400   0.60
Boronide:   40,000   1.00
Mercassium:   774,400   0.50
Vendarite:   240,100   0.70
Sorium:   592,900   0.60
Uridium:   62,500   0.70
Corundium:   160,000   0.60
Gallicite:   220,900   0.60

2nd September 1889
After HMS Proserpine completed her brief geological survey of Groombridge, she began a gravitational survey and located a jump point almost immediately. The jump-capable second class cruiser HMS Medea arrives from Sol and transits the new jump point. She emerges three billion kilometres from a red dwarf star with three planets and a moderate-sized asteroid belt. The star is noted in the Vogel Star Catalogue, albeit without any special designation except the catalogue number.

In recent months, there has been a lively debate among the upper echelons of government regarding what to name minor star systems, as simply using the Vogel catalogue numbers would become confusing as the number of known systems grows. Eventually, it was decided to use the names of cities or regions from classical antiquity, which would provide a suitable level of gravitas and avoid any debates regarding the use of names from the modern world. On that basis, the new system is named Thebes. HMS Medea conducts a reconnaissance of the inner system without incident and sets course for Earth.

24th September 1889
HMS Pandora has joined HMS Proserpine in Groombridge to assist with the gravitational survey. She detects a new jump point close to the primary. HMS Medea is passing through the system en route to Sol, so she diverts to investigate. She discovers another unremarkable red dwarf system, this time with eight planets and over forty moons, which is named Aeolis.

26th September 1889
Construction factories on Earth complete the first Argus class Jump Stabilisation Station. The Argus can be towed into place and stabilise a jump point in a similar way to the Jovian Sao Paulo class. The most important jump point is the link from Alpha Centauri to Sol. However, a Hegemony Berserker class Stabilisation Ship is already at work in Alpha Centauri while the Jovian Sao Paulo is at the Groombridge – Sol jump point. For the moment, the Argus will remain in Earth orbit.

Argus class Jump Stabilisation Station      50,725 tons       116 Crew       1,092.1 BP       TCS 1,014    TH 0    EM 0
1 km/s      No Armour       Shields 0-0     HTK 13      Sensors 5/5/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 0
MSP 13    Max Repair 1000 MSP
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   
Jump Point Stabilisation: 180 days

Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100
Type 2 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

2nd October 1889
A pair of Atlas class freighters are launched by the Harland & Wolff orbital shipyard, the first new ships to be completed since Exploration Day are completed.

4th October 1889
The Roanoke colony of 200,000 settlers is established on Alpha Centauri-B III.

23rd October 1889
Two Ambrosia class fuel harvesters are completed by the Thorneycroft Shipyard. The two Hercules class tugs tow them to Neptune, where they join four existing Royal Fleet Auxiliary harvesters plus twelve Venusian harvesters, ten Jovian harvesters and eight from Mars.

24th December 1889
The 5th Infantry Division, comprising the East Yorkshire Regiment, Bedfordshire Regiment, Leicestershire Regiment and the Prince of Wales’ Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment, plus the associated divisional assets, is trained on Earth. The division will be deployed to Alpha Centauri, with the Prince of Wales’ Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment stationed at Roanoke and the rest of the division at Jamestown.

29th December 1889
HMS Prometheus completes her long geological survey of Alpha Centauri, which began on February 6th. As well as the major mineral discoveries at the Jamestown and Roanoke colonies, she identified a considerable number of asteroids with thousands of tons of highly accessible deposits. Development of Orbital Mining technology will be a priority in 1890. HMS Prometheus begins a gravitational survey of the system.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

3rd January 1890
The Pembroke Dockyard completes the Apollo class second class cruisers HMS Indefatigable, HMS Naiad and HMS Scylla. HMS Indefatigable is dispatched to join HMS Andromache at Jamestown colony, now generally referred to in Royal Navy communications as Jamestown Station.

18th March 1890
The Pelorus class Survey Cruisers HMS Pioneer and HMS Psyche are launched from Portsmouth Dockyard. HMS Pioneer moves into Alpha Centauri to assist HMS Prometheus in her gravitational survey, while HMS Psyche joins the effort to survey the Greenwich Belt in Sol.

26th March 1890
A Jovian colony with a thermal signature of 815 is detected on the asteroid Terpsichore.

8th May 1890
Research into the Terraforming Module is complete.

18th May 1890
HMS Medusa arrives at the first jump point to be discovered in Alpha Centuari and detects four Hegemony ships, including a Berserker class Stabilisation ship. The other Solarian powers are exploring at least at quickly as the British Empire. HMS Medusa enters the jump point, emerging three billion kilometres from Lalande 21185, the brightest red dwarf observable in the northern hemisphere and part of the constellation of Ursa Major. The celestial coordinates of Lalande 21185 were first published in 1801 by French astronomer Jérôme Lalande of the Paris Observatory in the star catalogue Histoire Céleste Française. The system is planetless and will be known simply as Lalande.

20th May 1890
HMS Pandora discovers over three hundred million tons of accessibility 0.9 Sorium in the atmosphere of Aeolis IV, two transits from Earth via the Groombridge system. This is the only significant source of accessible gaseous Sorium in known space. A Jovian Sao Paulo class Stabilisation ship with escorts is already in Aeolis, on the Groombridge jump point. A Martian Luhu class of 6,900 tons is in the same location.

24th May 1890
Several new ships join the Royal Navy; the 7500-ton Edgar class protected cruisers HMS Grafton and HMS St George, an Ares class troop transport and two Atlas class freighters.

5th July 1890
The first Gaia class Terraforming Station is constructed in Earth orbit. A Hercules class tug, also recently completed, tows it to the Jamestown colony. Two new Ambrosia class fuel harvesters are towed to Aeolis IV. The gaseous Sorium in the atmosphere of Neptune is already down to 14,000 tons due to the large number of harvesters from four different powers, so the six Royal Fleet Auxiliary harvesters in orbit will also have to relocate to Aeolis. To protect the mining operation, a new colony and fleet base will be established on Aeolis II.

6th July 1890
A 5445-ton Jianghu class of the Martian Empire arrives in orbit of the Jamestown colony and remains for several days. Naval Intelligence classes the Jianghu as a geological survey vessel.

11th July 1890
The New Plymouth colony is established on Aeolis II. Three hundred thousand settlers are landed in the first wave.

23rd July 1890
The Venusian Khanate establishes a colony on the comet Machholz, where one hundred and fifty British automated mines are in operation. The five Hegemony Gotterdammerung class orbital miners that were previously in orbit of the colony departed in May 1890 for an unknown destination.

13th August 1890
Five maintenance facilities and a tracking station are delivered to the New Plymouth colony on Aeolis II, which now has a population of 650,000. The tracking station detects the thermal signature of a Jovian Parati class ship in orbit of Aeolis III, a moonless gas giant. The Parati class is known to be 9,385 tons and four units have been detected. Parati 002 is the ship in Aeolis. Based on this observation, Naval Intelligence is classing the Parati as a geological survey vessel.

1st September 1890
HMS Hawke, an Edgar class protected cruiser, arrives at New Plymouth. She will be stationed at the new base to protect the colony and the harvesters in orbit of Aeolis IV.

3rd September 1890
The Majestic class battleships HMS Hannibal and HMS Jupiter are launched from the Devonport orbital shipyard. The Royal Navy now possesses nine battleships, including the lone jump-capable Centurion class, eight protected cruisers, nineteen second class cruisers and eight unarmed survey cruisers.

15th September 1890
The gravitational survey of Carrington’s Star is completed. No jump points were found, which means there are only three routes out of Sol, rather than four.

21st September 1890
Five Hegemony ships of a new type, designated the Kolga class, transit into Alpha Centauri, along with an Asgard class. This is the fourth Asgard to be detected and it is known to be 12,750 tons. The size of the Kolga class is unknown as the ships were detected on thermal sensors by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tug that was passing through the jump point. The Apollo class cruiser HMS Thetis is dispatched from Earth to locate the alien ships and gain more information. She enters Alpha Centauri and finds the six Hegemony ships stationed on the jump point. The Kolga class is 33,300 tons.

28th September 1890
HMS Thetis remains on the Alpha Centauri – Sol jump point. A week after taking up station she detects nine Hegemony colony ships inbound from the B component of the system. The small Roanoke colony is on Alpha Centauri-B III but has no tracking station. That is corrected immediately with the dispatch of a freighter from Earth. The Apollo class cruiser HMS Intrepid is also sent into Alpha Centauri to update intelligence on the solar system of the B component.

1st October 1890
As HMS Intrepid leaves the solar system of Alpha Centauri-A, she passes close to a new Jovian ship that is designated as the first Comandante Varella class. The function of the 20,567-ton ship is unknown but is also on course for the solar system of the B component.



4th October 1890
Ten Jovian colony ships enter Alpha Centauri and head for the B component. There is plainly great interest from all the various powers in the solar system of Alpha Centauri-B.

6th October 1890
HMS Intrepid arrives at the Roanoke colony on Alpha Centauri-B III and detects colonies from the Martian Empire, the Jovian Federation and the Hegemony of Titan on the surface. A 20,000-ton Hegemony ship of unknown type, designated as Norn class, is in orbit. The British colony comprises 200,000 settlers and the Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment is providing a garrison force. The alien interest in the planet is no doubt due to its large accessible mineral deposits, combined with a colony cost of 2.00. However, the dwarf planet is only 2000 km in diameter and tide-locked, resulting in a maximum population capacity of around sixty million. A multi-way conflict is possible unless alternative colony sites are discovered. HMS Intrepid will remain in orbit and a small base will be established to support her.

Alpha Centauri-B III Survey Report
Duranium:   96,800   0.80
Neutronium:   220,900   0.60
Corbomite:   864,900   0.80
Tritanium:   32,400   0.60
Boronide:   40,000   1.00
Mercassium:   774,400   0.50
Vendarite:   240,100   0.70
Sorium:   592,900   0.60
Uridium:   62,500   0.70
Corundium:   160,000   0.60
Gallicite:   220,900   0.60



2nd November 1890
With HMS Intrepid in orbit and a tracking station at Roanoke, the alien activity around Alpha Centauri-B can be monitored much more effectively. As expected, alien ships are visiting Alpha Centauri-B III and the signatures of the alien colonies are growing. However, there are also a number of Jovian ships passing by the colony and heading into the asteroid belt. HMS Intrepid conducts a short patrol to investigate.



By travelling around the asteroid belt and checking those areas where the freighters have visited, HMS Intrepid locates five Jovian colonies on different asteroids, one of which also has a colony from the Hegemony of Titan. The five Hegemony Gotterdammerung class orbital miners that departed orbit of the comet Machholz in May are discovered in orbit of a sixth asteroid.

12th November 1890
British scientists complete their research into the orbital mining module. There are a considerable number of asteroids in Alpha Centauri with accessible minerals so this research will eventually boost the long-term mining capacity of the Empire.

13th November 1890
A Venusian colony is detected on the comet Wild in the Sol system. Venusian colonies have now been detected on five different comets.

19th November 1890
A Venusian colony is established on Alpha Centauri-A II, the same planet as the Jamestown colony of three million.

29th November 1890
A sixth Jovian asteroid colony is detected in the Alpha Centauri-B solar system

15th December 1890
Thirteen Martian ships are detected heading for the Alpha Centauri jump point. Their speed of 3100 km/s is the fastest detected for any Martian ship and is consistent across a number of different classes, which suggests these may be warships. Although this is a thermal detection, the sizes of the ships are already known from previous observations; five 19,300-ton Kaifengs, three 12,900-ton Houjians, three 12,500-ton Jinans and two 12,850-ton Dalians. Their destination beyond the jump point is unknown, but this is a formidable force with almost two hundred thousand tons of probable warships. The entire warship strength of the Royal Navy is only two hundred and sixty-five thousand tons. The second class cruiser HMS Thetis is dispatched from Earth to catch and shadow the Martians.



HMS Thetis transits into Alpha Centauri and finds the Martian fleet on the jump point. In addition to the ships detected in Sol, the Martian fleet includes three Yinchuan class of 6430 tons and two Huangwen class of 6450 tons. There are five Xining class on the jump point of 84,250 tons, presumably some form of commercial shipping. On the basis of the data so far, Naval Intelligence is designating those Martian ships with tonnage of at least 12,000 tons and a speed of 3100 km/s as battleships, which includes the Kaifengs, Houjians, Jinans and Dalians. Those ships of 6000 tons or more and a speed of 3100 km/s will be classed as protected cruisers. Based on all detected ships of the same type, that gives the Martian Empire a fleet of forty-nine battleships and twenty-three protected cruisers. The Royal Navy has nine battleships and eight protected cruisers.

Naval Intelligence points out that if the other alien races have similar total fleet sizes, the British Empire is in an extremely difficult situation. War must be avoided at all costs until defences have been massively improved. The best scenario would be wars between the other races. Sir Arthur Hood advises that Earth’s defences must be improved with extreme urgency, even if that means building orbital fortresses instead of mobile forces.

Four hours after its arrival in Alpha Centauri, the Martian fleet leaves the jump point and heads for the Alpha Centauri-B solar system. HMS Thetis shadows the alien ships at a distance of ten million kilometres. Many alien freighters and colony ships, heading to the Sol jump point from the direction of Alpha Centauri-B, pass the Martians and their Royal Navy shadow during their voyage.

19th December 1890
The 33,300-ton Kolga class ships of the Hegemony of Titan move into in orbit of the Roanoke colony on Alpha Centauri-B III. They are apparently terraforming ships as a trace atmosphere of oxygen is forming on the previously airless body. While that appears to be good news, the surface temperature on Titan is -44C, so if the Hegemony really intends to terraform the planet, they will presumably reduce the temperature from the current 7C.

25th December 1890
The gravitational survey of Alpha Centauri is complete. The only jump point found was to Lalande.

26th December 1890
The large Martian fleet enters orbit of the Roanoke colony. HMS Thetis moves to join HMS intrepid in orbit, forming what will be known as the Roanoke Squadron. In addition to the Martian ships and the Hegemony terraformers, there is a single Hegemony Asgard class of 12,777 tons in orbit. The thermal/EM signature of Roanoke is 67/80. The other colonies on Alpha Centauri-B III have the following signatures; Martian 92/116, Hegemony 52/73, Jovian 50/53.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

10th January 1891
HMS Terpsichore, the twelfth Apollo class second class cruiser, joins the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, just at the time when the Royal Navy needs to expand to counter large alien fleets, the Empire is suffering a shortage of Duranium. No more Apollos are under construction.

11th January 1891
A large fleet from the Hegemony of Titan has joined the Martian fleet in orbit of the Roanoke colony. The Hegemony force includes five 19,189-ton Gungnir class, five 12,777-ton Asgard class, four 12,690-ton Gladsheim class, two 12,767-ton Garm class, three 6390-ton Hel class, three 6.356 Tyr class, a 6390 –ton Troll class and a 6390-ton Thor class, all of which are capable of 3286 km/s. Naval Intelligence applies the same classification for hull designations to the Hegemony designs as was used for the Martian Empire. Those ships above 12,000 tons are classed as battleships, while those above 6000 tons are classed as protected cruisers.



27th February 1891
The Venusian Khanate establishes a colony on Alpha Centauri-B III, site of the Roanoke colony. All five Solarian powers now have colonies on the planet.

14th March 1891
A jump point is discovered in the Vogel system, beyond Sol’s outermost jump point. HMS Medea conducts the probe and arrives in another of the Vogel Star Catalogue systems, appropriately enough as the system from which she arrived was named after the creator of the catalogue. The system is a red dwarf binary with a planetless primary and three tide-locked planets, including two superjovians, orbiting the companion star. The recently formed Royal Naming Commission designates the new system as Thrace.

20th March 1891
Two new Ambrosia class fuel harvesters are launched from the Thorneycroft Shipyard. The existing eight harvesters are all in orbit of Aeolis IV, a superjovian two transits from Earth with three hundred million tons of accessibility 0.9 Sorium. As this is likely to be the Royal Navy’s primary fuel supply for many years, a fleet base was established at the New Plymouth colony on Aeolis II in August 1890. That base has recently been expanded. The New Plymouth Squadron comprises the protected cruiser HMS Hawke and the second class cruiser HMS Terpsichore.

23rd April 1891
HMS Pioneer detects two jumps point in Lalande, the only known system beyond Alpha Centauri, which are barely more than forty million kilometres apart. One jump point has already been stabilised, which demonstrates how far ahead the alien powers are in the survey efforts. The Medea class second class cruiser HMS Magicienne is dispatched from Earth to investigate.



25th April 1891
HMS Medusa transits a recently discovered jump point in Aeolis. She emerges in the Alexandria system, which has an orange K4-V primary, eleven planets, ninety-three moons and two hundred and thirty asteroids. The entry jump point is close to the edge of the system at four and a half billion kilometres. While none of the many system bodies are even close to habitable, the star is relatively young at three billion years so there is a higher chance of finding mineral deposits.

26th April 1891
HMS Perseus encounters a Martian Xian class ship while conducting her gravitational survey of Aeolis. Naval Intelligence classifies the Xian as a gravitational survey vessel.

30th April 1891
HMS Perseus and HMS Psyche discover two more jump points in Aeolis. HMS Medusa investigates. The first system is 61 Cygni, which first attracted the attention of astronomers when its large proper motion was first demonstrated by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1804. In 1838, Friedrich Bessel measured its distance from Earth at about 10.4 light-years, very close to the actual value of about 11.4 light-years; this was the first distance estimate for any star other than the Sun, and the first star to have its stellar parallax measured. Among all stars or stellar systems listed in the Vogel Star Catalogue, 61 Cygni has the seventh-highest proper motion, and the highest among all stars or systems visible from Earth.

The system has two K-class stars with masses around two-thirds of the Sun. The primary has seven planets, including three colony cost 2.00 tide-locked terrestrial worlds and two gas giants with fifty moons between them. 61 Cygni IV has a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.23 atm, large seas covering thirty-eight percent of the surface and a temperature of -5C, making it an excellent candidate for terraforming. The B component has five planets and seven moons. A dwarf planet and two of the moons have ice sheets but no atmospheres. They range between colony cost 3.98 and colony cost 4.84. HMS Medusa scouts 61 Cygni-A IV as it has an atmosphere that could support some form of life, then heads back into Aeolis to check the second of the new jump points.

6th May 1891
Meanwhile, HMS Magicienne arrives at the pair of jump points in Lalande. The first leads to Tegea, a red dwarf star with a single, unremarkable terrestrial world. The second connects to Epsilon Indi, a trinary star system with an orange K5-V primary and a pair of brown dwarfs orbiting each other over two hundred billion kilometres away. The constellation Indus (the Indian) first appeared in Johann Bayer's celestial atlas Uranometria in 1603. The star atlas Uranographia, produced in 1801 by German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, places Epsilon Indi as one of the arrows being held in the left hand of the Indian. The two brown dwarfs, both of which are planetless, were discovered much more recently.

The primary has only two planets. The inner is a terrestrial world with a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.284 atm and a surface temperature of -11C. However, there is no water on the surface, making the planet much harder to terraform. Epsilon Indi-A II is a gas giant with ten moons. HMS Magicienne moves back into Lalande, where she will remain for the moment in case any further jump points are discovered.

15th May 1891
HMS Medusa transits the remaining unexplored jump point in Aeolis and discovers a red dwarf system with six comets but no planets. The system is named Smyrna.



20th May 1891
A new colony of the Venusian Khanate is detected on Alpha Centauri-B II. The planet is not particularly appealing for a colony, as it has a nitrogen – methane atmosphere of 0.87 atm and a surface temperature of 81C. There are extensive mineral deposits but mostly at minimal accessibility. The new colony makes the situation in the Alpha Centauri-B solar system even more complex.

Alpha Centauri-B II Survey Report
Duranium:   11,491,218   0.20
Neutronium:   141,376   0.10
Corbomite:   3,024,121   0.10
Mercassium:   1,069,156   0.10
Vendarite:   13,786,369   1.00
Uridium:   2,862,864   0.10
Gallicite:   4,879,681   0.10



24th May 1891
The gravitational survey of Thebes is completed by HMS Pandora. No jump points were discovered. She heads back through the Groombridge system to Earth, where she will begin an overhaul.

4th June 1891
Two new survey cruisers, HMS Pomone and HMS Pyramus, are launched from the Portsmouth Dockyard orbital shipyard. They will be assigned to geological surveys of the recently discovered systems. A British civilian mining colony, Bowen Mining and Refining, is established on Haumea in the Sol system.

30th June 1891
HMS Pelorus, conducting a geological survey of Thrace, is joined in orbit of the third planet by a Hegemony Woden class ship of 5,573 tons. As the planet is a superjovian, this is sufficient for Naval Intelligence to class the Woden as a geological survey vessel.

11th July 1891
The gravitational survey of Aeolis is complete. Four jump points have been identified; the entry point from Groombridge plus the connections to 61 Cygni, Alexandria and Smyrna. The fleet base at New Plymouth on Aeolis II has been upgraded again to support up to 17,600 tons of shipping. The jump-capable second class cruiser HMS Medusa has been added to the New Plymouth Squadron.

15th July 1891
British shipwrights and scientists have combined their efforts to build a new weapon; the Twin 3” QF Gauss Cannon Turret. The new turret is combined with a new fire control that will allow it to engage torpedoes moving at up to 16,000 km/s without loss of accuracy. This weapon will replace the 4” QF Railgun on future designs. Shipyards have also been expanded in the last two and a half years so those same shipwrights have created three new ship designs that are larger and more capable than their current equivalents.

The Canopus class battleship is one-third larger than the Majestic class and has increased armour protection. The number of 8" Ultraviolet Lasers has been increased from four to six and the six 4” QF Railguns have been replaced by two Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turrets. The small secondary fire control systems have been replaced by two fast-track fire control systems. Finally, the Canopus has a spare reactor to ensure it can suffer damage and keep fighting at full capacity. This new design will bring Royal Navy battleships into line with the larger Martian and Hegemony battleships. The Devonport Shipyard, which is currently building the last two Majestics, will begin retooling immediately. The first Canopus should be laid down in May 1892.

Canopus class Battleship      20,000 tons       519 Crew       2,894.5 BP       TCS 400    TH 1,600    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 8-65       Shields 0-0       HTK 113      Sensors 15/5/0/0      DCR 11      PPV 92.64
Maint Life 2.02 Years     MSP 1,017    AFR 284%    IFR 4.0%    1YR 331    5YR 4,964    Max Repair 200 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P400 Triple Expansion Stardrive (4)    Power 1600    Fuel Use 40.0%    Signature 400    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 858,000 Litres    Range 19.3 billion km (55 days at full power)

8" Ultraviolet Laser (6)    Range 256,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 10-4     RM 40,000 km    ROF 15       
5" QF Ultraviolet Laser (6)    Range 160,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 4-4     RM 40,000 km    ROF 5       
Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turret (2x6)    Range 10,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 10,000 km    ROF 5       
Dreyer Primary Fire Control System (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s     96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Dreyer Fast-Track Fire Control System (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
R16 Improved Pebble Bed Reactor (4)     Total Power Output 65.2    Exp 5%

Type 1 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 7560     Range 50.5m km    Resolution 105
Type 10 Torpedo Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 4     Range 2.4m km    MCR 260.7k km    Resolution 1
Type 2 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 5 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 15     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  30.6m km

The Diadem class Protected Cruiser is fifty percent larger than the preceding Edgar class and is almost as large as the smaller alien battleship designs. The Diadem has increased armour protection and significantly upgraded armament. The number of 6" C3 Ultraviolet Lasers has been doubled to four, a fourth 5" QF Ultraviolet Laser has been added and the three 4" QF Railguns have been replaced by a Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turret. A fast track fire control system has replaced the older secondary fire controls and the torpedo detection sensor has been upgraded. The Chatham Dockyard should complete retooling for the new design at the end of December 1891, shortly after it completes the last two Edgar class protected cruisers.

Diadem class Protected Cruiser      11,250 tons       301 Crew       1,590.8 BP       TCS 225    TH 900    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 6-44       Shields 0-0       HTK 67      Sensors 5/5/0/0      DCR 6      PPV 52.32
Maint Life 2.20 Years     MSP 530    AFR 169%    IFR 2.3%    1YR 147    5YR 2,210    Max Repair 150 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P300 Triple Expansion Stardrive (3)    Power 900    Fuel Use 46.19%    Signature 300    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 576,000 Litres    Range 20 billion km (57 days at full power)

6" C3 Ultraviolet Laser (4)    Range 240,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 6-3     RM 40,000 km    ROF 10       
5" QF Ultraviolet Laser (4)    Range 160,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 4-4     RM 40,000 km    ROF 5       
Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turret (1x6)    Range 10,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 10,000 km    ROF 5       
Dreyer Primary Fire Control System (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s     96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Dreyer Fast-Track Fire Control System (1)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
R15 Improved Pebble Bed Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 29.8    Exp 5%

Type 6 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 3780     Range 35.7m km    Resolution 105
Type 11 Torpedo Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 12     Range 4.4m km    MCR 475.9k km    Resolution 1
Type 2 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

The Eclipse class Second Class Cruiser will fulfil the escort role current taken by the four 3,750-ton Astraea class second class cruisers. The two Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turrets of the Eclipse, combined with the fast-track fire control system, should be twice as effective against hostile torpedoes compared to the Astraea’s six 4" QF Railguns, although the Astraea would be more effective in an anti-ship role. The Eclipse also has improved armour protection and a more capable sensor suite compared to its smaller predecessor. The Pembroke Dockyard is retooling to build the Eclipse and should lay down the first ships in January 1892. There are no plans for the moment for a successor to the twelve Apollo second class cruisers or the four Medea jump-capable second class cruisers as they are intended primarily for scouting and patrol duties and to provide a presence at colonies.

Eclipse class Second Class Cruiser      6,000 tons       134 Crew       799.4 BP       TCS 120    TH 480    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 4-29       Shields 0-0       HTK 34      Sensors 5/1/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 32.64
Maint Life 2.02 Years     MSP 249    AFR 96%    IFR 1.3%    1YR 81    5YR 1,218    Max Repair 120.00 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P240 Triple Expansion Stardrive (2)    Power 480.0    Fuel Use 51.64%    Signature 240.00    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 362,000 Litres    Range 21 billion km (60 days at full power)

Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turret (2x6)    Range 10,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 10,000 km    ROF 5       
Dreyer Fast-Track Fire Control System (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0

Type 11 Torpedo Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 12     Range 4.4m km    MCR 475.9k km    Resolution 1
Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100
Type 9 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.9m km
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

26th July 1891
A new armoured regiment, the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), is trained on Earth.

28th July 1891
The New Haven colony of 200,000 settlers is established on Epsilon Indi-A I, three jumps from Sol via Alpha Centauri and Lalande. The planet has a thin atmosphere of 0.28 atm of nitrogen and 0.006 atm of oxygen, but lacks both water and any accessible mineral deposits. The colony is intended to provide a presence in the system, which is on a possible route for further exploration, and to provide the site for a potential future naval base location. A tracking station was landed with the first colonists.

1st August 1891
The Providence colony of 200,000 settlers is established on 61 Cygni-A IV, three jumps from Sol via Groombridge and Aeolis. As with the New Haven colony, the primary intention is to establish a presence in the system and deploy a tracking station. However, in this case the atmosphere of 0.23 atm already includes 0.043 atm of oxygen and large seas cover more than a third of the surface area, making the planet an excellent candidate for terraforming. Unfortunately, there are no mineral deposits.

15th August 1891
Five 44,415-ton Heimdall class ships of the Hegemony of Titan arrive in orbit of Aeolis IV, accompanied by a 12,777-ton Asgard class battleship and a Tyr class protected cruiser. Aeolis IV is the Royal Navy’s primary fuel production location and ten Ambrosia class harvesters are in orbit. Naval Intelligence classes the Heimdall as a fuel harvester.

16th August 1891
The civilian White Star Line launches its fourth ship. Two freighters, a colony ship and a liner are now in service with the shipping line.

8th September 1891
HMS Magicienne transits a new jump point in Tegea, three jumps from Sol via Alpha Centuari and Lalande. She discovers a red dwarf from the Vogel Star Catalogue with six planets and over fifty moons. The Royal Naming Commission assigns the name of Corinth. Corinth II is the most interesting planet with a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.89 atm, including 0.027 atm of oxygen. However, the planet lacks water and the surface temperature is -43C. A terraforming candidate but not high priority unless a geological survey reveals accessible deposits.

14th October 1891
HMS Magicienne is providing support to the survey operations around Epsilon Indi and Tegea, sometimes referred to as the Twin Systems because the jump points from Lalande to the two systems are so close together. She moves from the latter to the former and investigates a new jump point located by HMS Proserpine. It leads to the planetless K-class star Groombridge 1618. This star was first identified as entry 1618 in the work A Catalogue of Circumpolar Stars by Stephen Groombridge published posthumously in 1838. As there is already a system named after Groombridge, the Royal Naming Commission renames the system to Tyras.

16th October 1891
A large force from the Venusian Khanate has moved into orbit of Alpha Centauri-A II, home to the Jamestown colony and a Venusian colony. Jamestown has a population of four million and a small fleet base with a capacity of 11,200 tons. The Venusian colony seems to be slightly smaller based on its EM and thermal signatures. Working on the assumption that all Venusian ships with a speed of 3161 km/s are warships, Naval Intelligence believes the Venusian fleet is even more powerful than the Martian and Hegemony fleets in orbit of Roanoke.

The Venusian fleet includes five 25,603-ton Yuan class battleships, three 17,078-ton Chakhar class battleships, three 17,071-ton class Timurad class battleships, two 17,050-ton Mughal class battleships, three 8,541-ton Hazara class protected cruisers and two 8,509-ton Manchu class protected cruisers. The Royal Navy squadron in Jamestown orbit comprises the Apollo class second class cruisers HMS Andromache and HMS Indefatigable, each of 3,750 tons.

28th October 1891
HMS Magicienne returns to Tegea to investigate a jump point detected by HMS Pomone. She transits and finds herself in the already known Groombridge system. The new link brings Tegea within two jumps of Sol.



19th November 1891
The 6th Infantry Division is formed, comprising the Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment), the Royal Irish Regiment, the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Lancashire Fusiliers. The division is deployed to the growing New Plymouth colony on Aeolis II. The New Plymouth Squadron has been reinforced and comprises the Edgar class protected cruisers HMS Hawke and HMS St George, the Medea class second class cruiser HMS Medusa, the Apollo class second class cruiser HMS Terpsichore and the Astraea class second class cruiser HMS Cambrian.

23rd November 1891
HMS Gibraltar and HMS Royal Arthur, the last two Edgar class protected cruisers to be constructed, launch from the Chatham Dockyard orbital shipyard. There are eight Edgars in total. Within a few weeks, Chatham Dockyard will begin work on the first Diadem class protected cruisers.

5th December 1891
The gravitational survey of Thrace is completed without finding any jump points. As Thrace is the only system beyond Vogel, that ends any further exploration via Sol’s outermost jump point. As Carrington’s Star was also a dead-end system, Alpha Centauri and Groombridge are the only routes out of Sol.

30th December 1891
HMS Magicienne transits the first jump point to be discovered in Corinth and emerges in Tau Ceti, which has a yellow G8-V primary, thirteen planets and almost one hundred and fifty moons. Tau Ceti is the Bayer designation for this star, established in 1603 as part of German celestial cartographer Johann Bayer's Uranometria star catalogue. The second planet and three moons of the third planet are colony cost 2.00, although they all lack water and atmosphere.

Note: To speed the testing along, I have reduced the truce countdown by 5 years. It will now run out in 2 years from this point.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

28th January 1892
HMS Psyche, surveying the Smyrna system adjacent to Aeolis, discovers two jump points simultaneously. HMS Medusa, from the New Plymouth Squadron based on Aeolis II, enters Smyrna to investigate. The outer of the jump points leads to Thebes, a system that connects to Groombridge and was previously believed to be a cul-de-sac. The inner leads to a planetless brown dwarf named Corcyra.

27th February 1892
HMS Medusa transits a new jump point in 61 Cygni and finds a planetless white dwarf designated as Pergamum.

30th April 1892
HMS Medea transits a new jump point in Epsilon Indi and discovers Odessus, a brown dwarf star with a single planet and two moons.

14th May 1892
A small colony of the Hegemony of Titan is discovered on one of the few scattered asteroids in Epsilon Indi. The 350 km diameter asteroid is colony cost 2.00 LG for humans due to the gravity of 0.033G. However, the Titanese evolved on Titan, which has a gravity of only 0.137G, so the asteroid may well be within their normal habitable range. In fact, the reason that the British Empire is only sharing Alpha Centauri-A II (Jamestown) with the Khanate, while all five Solarian powers have colonies on Alpha Centauri-B III (Roanoke) may be down to their respective gravities of 0.86G and 0.17G. This gravitational differential may mean the Empire can settle worlds that are completely uninhabitable for the Martian Empire, Jovian Federation and Hegemony of Titan. The gravity of Venus is 0.95G, so the Khanate could prove to be the main rival of the Empire on larger worlds.

5th June 1892
The Argus Stabilisation Station stabilises the Lagrange point of 61 Cygni-A V, allowing easy travel between the two stars of 61 Cygni system, which lie sixteen billion kilometres apart. When the project began, it was hoped the companion solar system might have useable mineral deposits, but the results of the geological survey were disappointing.

8th June 1892
The last two Majestic class Battleships, HMS Hood and HMS Renown, are completed at Devonport Dockyard. The first two Canopus class battleships are laid down.

24th June 1892
British scientists complete their development of the Electronic Intelligence and Analysis Module. This is a new concept for monitoring the electronic emissions of alien ships and populations. Given sufficient time, the ELINT module will determine the characteristics of enemy sensors and a detailed breakdown of alien populations, including their size and available installations.

The first ship class to mount the new device is the Leander second class cruiser. The Leander is a modification of the Apollo second class cruiser, with the intention to convert one or more Apollos to this design rather than building new Leanders. The Apollo’s secondary armament is removed and the power plant reduced accordingly. The EM Sensor has been removed as the ELINT Module has a built in EM detection capability and the active sensor replaced with the smaller Type 7. Finally, the crew quarters and engineering deck have been expanded, allowing the Leander to remain on station for longer. HMS Sirius will be the first Apollo to be converted at the new Swan Hunter Shipyard.

Leander class Second Class Cruiser      3,750 tons       103 Crew       587.9 BP       TCS 75    TH 300    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 3-21       Shields 0-0       HTK 28      Sensors 5/5/0/0      DCR 2      PPV 8
Maint Life 3.13 Years     MSP 245    AFR 45%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 38    5YR 565    Max Repair 150 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P300 Triple Expansion Stardrive (1)    Power 300    Fuel Use 46.19%    Signature 300    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 176,000 Litres    Range 18.3 billion km (52 days at full power)

5" QF Ultraviolet Laser (2)    Range 160,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 4-4     RM 40,000 km    ROF 5       
Dreyer Primary Fire Control System (1)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s     96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
R8 Improved Pebble Bed Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 8.1    Exp 5%

Type 10 Torpedo Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 4     Range 2.4m km    MCR 260.7k km    Resolution 1
Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
ELINT Module (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

17th July 1892
HMS Medusa transits a new jump point in 61 Cygni, the third in the system, and emerges two point six billion kilometres from Kapteyn's Star, an M2-V red dwarf with seven unremarkable planets. The star, 12.8 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Pictor, was discovered the Dutch astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn while working as professor of astronomy and theoretical mechanics at the University of Groningen. Without Trans-Newtonian technology it is doubtful he would have discovered the star until much later.

21st July 1892
The first pair of Hephaestus class orbital mining platforms are completed by the Cammell Laird shipyard. They are towed to the comet Machholz to join the one hundred and fifty automated mines already in place.

24th August 1892
HMS Medea transits a new jump point in Odessus, a recently discovered brown dwarf system adjacent to Epsilon Indi. She enters another brown dwarf system with two planets and a solitary moon, which is designated as Nicaea.

4th September 1892
HMS Psyche, a Pelorus class survey cruiser, is conducting a solo gravitational survey of Corcyra, a brown dwarf system two jumps beyond the naval base at New Plymouth and discovers a new jump point. Normally, a Medea second class cruiser would conduct the jump, so that the survey cruisers remain on the task and also would be able to relay a warning if the Medea failed to return. However, HMS Medusa, the Medea class based on New Plymouth is in 61 Cygni to support that survey and Earth is four jumps away. HMS Psyche conducts the probe herself.

She enters the Andromeda system, comprising a red dwarf from the Vogel Star Catalogue with five players, sixty-seven moons and two asteroid belts with almost three hundred asteroids. Andromeda II is covered by an ice sheet and has a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.31 atm, including 0.05 atm of oxygen. The main downside is the temperature of -118C, but the planet is still a reasonable terraforming candidate. HMS Psyche returns to her survey of Corcyra.

5th September 1892
The Jamestown colony reaches a population of ten million. The other Empire colonies include Luna 4.8m, New Plymouth 1.9m, Roanoke 1.2m, New Haven 0.2m, Providence 0.2m.

6th September 1892
HMS Medea explores a new jump point in Odessus. She emerges one point seven billion kilometres from the red dwarf star Lacaille 9352, orbited by a single planet and a scattering of asteroids. The star, too faint to be seen with the naked eye, was first listed by the Abbé [Abbot] Nicholas Louis de La Caille (1713-1762), who named 15 of the 88 constellations. He was the first astronomer to systematically observe the entire night sky by studying the stars of the southern hemisphere at the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of Africa, with just a half-inch refractor. His posthumously published 1763 catalogue of 9,766 stars was compiled from 1750 to 1754. The system will be known as Lacaille.

17th September 1892
HMS Psyche transits another new jump point in Corcyra. She discovers Sigma Draconis, a K0-V orange star noted in 1603 as part of Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. Sigma Draconis has seven planets, one of which is colony cost 2.00, although it lacks an atmosphere.

3rd October 1892
Martian ground forces are detected on Alpha Centauri-B III, home to colonies from all five Solarian powers, including the British Roanoke colony. The orbit of the planet is becoming increasingly crowded as a fleet of the Jovian Federation has joined those of Mars and the Hegemony. The only British ground force at Roanoke is Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment.



On Alpha Centauri-A II, home to the Jamestown colony, the Venusian Khanate has landed a large ground force at its own colony. British forces at the colony include the 5th Infantry Division with four infantry regiments, plus the 3rd Regiment Royal Artillery equipped with STO weapons.



30th October 1892
Ground forces from the Hegemony of Titan land on Alpha Centauri-B III

31st October 1892
HMS Sirius is refitted from Apollo class to the new Leander class ELINT-capable second class cruiser. She is dispatched to the Roanoke Station, where she will replace HMS Intrepid, with the latter returning to Sol. Her mission will be to study the alien populations on the planet and the sensor emissions of the ships in orbit.

15th November 1892
The first pair of Admiral class orbital defence monitors are laid down at the Portsmouth Dockyard orbital shipyard, previously used to build Pelorus class survey cruisers. The Admiral class is intended for deployment in orbit of colonies to provide anti-torpedo defences and was designed in response to the large number of alien battleships in service. The class is equipped with eight of the recently developed Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turrets and four fast-track fire control systems. The Admiral is self-mobile, albeit only at 525 km/s, and has a limited sensor suite, with the focus on torpedo detection. The first two ships should be completed in July 1894.

Admiral class Orbital Defence Monitor      10,000 tons       251 Crew       1,367 BP       TCS 200    TH 105    EM 0
525 km/s      Armour 5-41       Shields 0-0       HTK 55      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 4      PPV 130.56
Maint Life 1.78 Years     MSP 363    AFR 188%    IFR 2.6%    1YR 142    5YR 2,127    Max Repair 93.6 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P105E Triple Expansion Stardrive (1)    Power 105    Fuel Use 26.78%    Signature 105    Explosion 7%
Fuel Capacity 252,000 Litres    Range 16.9 billion km (373 days at full power)

Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turret (8x6)    Range 10,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 10,000 km    ROF 5       
Dreyer Fast-Track Fire Control System (4)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0

Type 11 Torpedo Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 12     Range 4.4m km    MCR 475.9k km    Resolution 1
Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

19th December 1892
HMS Proserpine finds a single new jump point in Nicaea, which leads to Thessalonica, a red dwarf system with seven planets and over five hundred asteroids. Thessalonica is the first system to be discovered by the Royal Navy that is six transits from Sol, via Alpha Centauri, Lalande, Epsilon Indi, Odessus and Nicaea.



31st December 1892
The Venusian Khanate announces it will be withdrawing from the Solarian non-aggression pact, giving the required one Earth-year notice. With the Khanate out of the pact, there is little point in the other races remaining, so they also withdraw. Therefore, on 1st January 1894, the conditions of the non-aggression pact will no longer apply. This does not mean immediate conflict, but it does mean that conflict is possible if relations deteriorate.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

3rd January 1893
The White Star Line launchers its seventh ship. Four freighters, two colony ships and a liner are currently in service.

8th January 1893
HMS Medea explores two jump points in Tyras, adjacent to Epsilon Indi. The first is Lacaille 8760, a red dwarf in the constellation Microscopium, originally listed in a 1763 catalogue published posthumously by the French Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. As there is already a system named Lacaille, the system will be known by its other common designation, AX Microscopii. It has four unremarkable planets. The second jump point leads to a minor, planetless star from the Vogel Star Catalogue that is named Ancona.

12th January 1893
Venusian ground forces land on Alpha Centauri-B III.

5th March 1893
The four Gaia class Terraforming stations in orbit of Jamestown have lowered the CO2 in the atmosphere to the point where it is no longer a dangerous gas, making the atmosphere breathable. Removal of the CO2 has also lowered to temperature to -13C, resulting in a colony cost of 0.12. Aestusium will be added to the atmosphere to increase the temperature and make Alpha Centauri-A II an ideal habitable world.

9th March 1893
HMS Naiad is the second Apollo class to be converted into a Leander class. She is deployed to the Jamestown colony to monitor the Venusian colony and fleet.

10th March 1893
The Avalon Colony is created in the Andromeda system, three transits beyond New Plymouth via Smyrna and Corcyra and five jumps form Earth. On the advice of the Admiralty, the British government has decided to adopt a long-term strategy of only expanding in those areas that lie beyond New Plymouth, which in effect means through the 61 Cygni and Smyrna systems. Although the Aeolis system, in which New Plymouth is located on Aeolis II, lacks minerals in general, it does have a huge supply of accessibility 0.9 gaseous Sorium, which is the reason that the largest naval base outside Earth orbit is at New Plymouth. Using the Aeolis system as a primary base will ensure fuel supply and extending on a narrow front will lead to discovering new systems before any other races with a more general approach. The Avalon colony of 800,000 settlers is the first step in that expansion.

11th March 1893
HMS Pelorus discovers one point three million tons of accessibility 1.0 Duranium on a colony cost 2.19 planet in the Sigma Draconis system, adjacent to the Corcyra system that also connects to Andromeda, site of the Avalon colony.

Sigma Draconis III Survey Report
Duranium:   1,364,552   1.00
Tritanium:   200,704   0.70
Corundium:   56,644   0.50
Gallicite:   1,449,616   0.50

28th March 1893
HMS Pelorus discovers another one point five million tons of accessibility 0.8 Duranium, plus large deposits of four other minerals on Sigma Draconis IV, which is colony cost 2.00. British colonies will be established on Sigma Draconis III and IV as soon as possible. Neither has an atmosphere, but both are only 2,800 km in diameter, making terraforming much easier.

Sigma Draconis IV Survey Report
Duranium:   1,506,848   0.80
Neutronium:   132,496   0.40
Boronide:   1,073,296   0.30
Sorium:   1,132,096   0.80
Corundium:   1,658,944   0.80
Gallicite:   196   0.50

1st May 1893
The first three Eclipse second class cruisers, HMS Eclipse, HMS Juno and HMS Minerva, are launched from the Pembroke Dockyard orbital shipyard. With the agreed truce in Sol running out in eight months, their defensive capabilities could prove very valuable. Three more ships are laid down.

2nd June 1893
HMS Sirius has been monitoring alien populations on Alpha Centauri-B III for seven months. As a result, she has learned new information about the Venusian, Hegemony and Martian colonies, although the Jovian colony is proving more difficult as security appears to be much tighter. The largest colony is Martian, with 2.6m population and 85 installations, following by the Hegemony of Titan with 1.6m and 32 installations and the Khanate with 0.56m and 8 installations. The population of Roanoke is 1.2m.



14th June 1893
HMS Pioneer explores two jump points in Tau Ceti. The first leads to a planetless red dwarf named Ithoria. The second takes HMS Pioneer to the Bernard’s Star system. Edward Emerson Barnard, born December 16, 1857, is an American astronomer commonly known as E. E. Barnard, and is recognized as a gifted observational astronomer. He is best known for his discovery of the high proper motion of Barnard's Star in 1881, which is named in his honour. Without the new technology provided by Trans-Newtonian Physics, his discovery would have been made decades later. The M4-V red dwarf has four planets, two asteroid belts close to the star and a significant number of Trojan asteroids in the orbit of Barnard’s Star IV, a huge superjovian.

21st June 1893
The Science Medal Second Class is awarded to Commander Lucas Walsh of HMS Prometheus for his discovery of one hundred system bodies with minerals. HMS Prometheus has been conducting a geological survey of Alexandria, adjacent to Aeolis, for almost two years.

7th July 1893
The Columbia and Nova Scotia colonies are established on Sigma Draconis III and IV respectively. Each has a population of 400,000. Within a day of the colonies being established, HMS Pelorus finds the first new jump point in the system. She investigates and discovers Delta Pavonis, yellow G8-V main sequence star with eight unremarkable planets.



16th July 1893
HMS Scylla becomes the third Leander second class cruiser, following her refit. She is ordered to the British mining colony on the comet Machholz, as it is will soon pass close to Mars, allowing HMS Scylla to monitor the planet. Once the two draw further apart, HMS Scylla is ordered to leave the comet and remain within thirty million kilometres of Mars.



10th October 1893
HMS Andromeda and HMS Diadem, the first pair of 11,250-ton Diadem class protected cruisers, are launched from Chatham Dockyard. Two more Diadems are laid down.

15th October 1893
A new weapon system has been developed for the Royal Navy; the Orpheus Torpedo. Naval Intelligence believes the other Solarian races already possess torpedoes, but leading up to Exploration Day the British Empire had other research priorities. The Orpheus has a strength-6 warhead, speed of 20,000 km/s and a range of 31.5m km. Development of the Orpheus has led to three new designs.

The Lightning class Torpedo Boat is intended for short-range operations around friendly bases. It can launch six Orpheus Torpedoes at targets up to thirty million kilometres with external sensor support and half that distance using on-board sensors. The Lightning is very fragile however, especially as any hit on a torpedo launcher will detonate the torpedo held within. A dozen Lightnings have been ordered and should all be completed within a year. This rate will increase as new production facilities are constructed.

Lightning class Torpedo Boat      499 tons       7 Crew       66.5 BP       TCS 10    TH 52    EM 0
5210 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 1      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 30
Maint Life 2.83 Years     MSP 40    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 7    5YR 109    Max Repair 26.25 MSP
Magazine 30   
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 15 days    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P52B Triple Expansion Stardrive (1)    Power 52.5    Fuel Use 591.73%    Signature 52.50    Explosion 17%
Fuel Capacity 27,000 Litres    Range 1.6 billion km (3 days at full power)

Torpedo Launcher (6)     Missile Size: 5    Hangar Reload 111 minutes    MF Reload 18 hours
Type 12 Torpedo Fire Control (1)     Range 31.4m km    Resolution 100
Orpheus Torpedo (6)    Speed: 20,000 km/s    End: 26.2m     Range: 31.5m km    WH: 6    Size: 5    TH: 66/40/20
Type 14 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 720     Range 15.2m km    Resolution 120

The Pathfinder class Scout Boat will serve as the eyes and ears of a Torpedo Boat Squadron. It has the same primary active sensor as the Apollo second class cruisers, plus a secondary sensor designed to detect hostile torpedo boats. Passive sensors are minimal. Two Pathfinders are ordered and should be completed within a year.

Pathfinder class Scout Boat      499 tons       16 Crew       99.8 BP       TCS 10    TH 52    EM 0
5210 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 3      Sensors 1/1/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 2.25 Years     MSP 12    AFR 20%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 3    5YR 48    Max Repair 36 MSP
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 15 days    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P52B Triple Expansion Stardrive (1)    Power 52.5    Fuel Use 591.73%    Signature 52.50    Explosion 17%
Fuel Capacity 29,000 Litres    Range 1.8 billion km (3 days at full power)

Type 6 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 3780     Range 35.7m km    Resolution 105
Type 15 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 240     Range 13.3m km    Resolution 10
Type 9 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.9m km
Type 8 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.9m km

The Havock class destroyer is designed for much longer-ranged torpedo operations than the Lightning and may operate with the battle fleet. While twice as large as the Lightning, the torpedo armament is only 67% greater due to the need to provide hull space for the extra endurance, plus a larger active sensor. In normal operations the Havocks will be deployed in flotillas with a second class cruiser, almost certainly an Apollo, as the lead vessel. This will give the flotilla better sensor coverage and provide a role for the Apollos as they become relatively less powerful in an age of increasing hull sizes. The first two Havocks, HMS Havock and HMS Hornet, are laid down at the Short Brothers Shipyard.

Havock class Destroyer     1,000 tons       12 Crew       107.4 BP       TCS 20    TH 80    EM 0
4001 km/s      Armour 1-8       Shields 0-0       HTK 4      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 50
Maint Life 2.24 Years     MSP 46    AFR 80%    IFR 1.1%    1YR 12    5YR 185    Max Repair 40 MSP
Magazine 50   
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 10 months    Morale Check Required   

Parsons P80 Triple Expansion Star Drive (1)    Power 80    Fuel Use 89.44%    Signature 80    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 54,000 Litres    Range 10.9 billion km (31 days at full power)

Torpedo Launcher (10)     Missile Size: 5    Hangar Reload 111 minutes    MF Reload 18 hours
Type 12 Torpedo Fire Control (1)     Range 31.4m km    Resolution 100
Orpheus Torpedo (10)    Speed: 20,000 km/s    End: 26.2m     Range: 31.5m km    WH: 6    Size: 5    TH: 66/40/20

Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100

31st October 1893
ELINT analysis of the Venusian colony on Alpha Centauri-A II reveals it has a population of 13m and 333 installations. The Jamestown colony on the same planet has a population of 11.3m and 46 installations.

22nd November 1893
HMS Intrepid completes her refit and becomes the fourth Leander second class cruiser. There are no plans to refit further Apollo second class cruisers.

14th December 1893
ELINT analysis of the populations on Alpha Centauri-B III has yielded new information. Enough intelligence has been gained to determine the size of the Jovian colony as 0.96m population and 7 installations. Intelligence on the Martian and Venusian populations reveals that the 97 known Martian installations comprise 96 mines and 1 factory, while all 8 Venusian installations are mines.

15th December 1893
With the end of the non-aggression pact only two weeks away, the British government decides to begin withdrawing installations and forces from Alpha Centauri. While there are numerous suitable mining sites, especially at Roanoke, the large number of warships in close proximity makes this a very dangerous system. The British effort will move solely to those systems beyond the New Plymouth Naval Base in Aeolis. The Leander second class cruisers HMS Sirius and HMS Naiad will remain in orbit of Roanoke and Jamestown respectively, along with sufficient maintenance facilities plus a tracking station.

29th December 1893
As diplomacy will be even more important in the coming months and years, a small diplomatic station, Babylon One, has been constructed in Earth orbit. Vice Admiral Benjamin Cunningham will command the station and lead the diplomatic efforts with the other Solarian powers.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

1st January 1894
As the non-aggression pact has expired, each of the five Solarian powers, including the British Empire, is contacting the other powers with a view to improving relations. For the moment, there are no demands for territory, although this may change in time. Every race understands that making demands in Sol or the immediate surrounding systems is likely to lead to nothing but war, but the situation will change as systems further out become more developed. The Empire will concentrate on building up in Aeolis and beyond with a view to making claims in that area.

20th January 1894
As part of the surveillance of Mars by HMS Scylla and the Martian colony on Alpha Centauri-B III by HMS Sirius, intelligence is being gathered on a variety of topics. Due to loose communications security by the Martian Empire, Naval Intelligence learns the summary information for a Martian ship class known as the Yinchuan II. The ship is faster than current Martian warships designs and is equipped with Ion engines that are a generation ahead of current Royal Navy warships. No Yinchuan IIs have been observed directly so it is possible the design is not yet in service. Even so, it is a worrying development. The one positive note is that the Martian tracking speed appears to be lower than the British equivalent.

Yinchuan II class Destroyer Escort      8,040 tons       168 Crew       1,010 BP       TCS 161    TH 625    EM 0
3887 km/s      Armour 3-35       Shields 0-0       HTK 41      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 44.74
Maint Life 1.22 Years     MSP 235    AFR 172%    IFR 2.4%    1YR 163    5YR 2,448    Max Repair 156.25 MSP
Shang Xiao    Control Rating 2   BRG   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Ion Drive EP312.5 (2)    Power 625.0    Fuel Use 63.25%    Signature 312.5    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 650,000 Litres    Range 23 billion km (68 days at full power)

Twin Gauss Cannon R100-100 Turret (2x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 12000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 10,000 km    ROF 5       
CIWS-120 (1x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 12,000 km/s     ROF 5       
Beam Fire Control R48-TS12000 (2)     Max Range: 48,000 km   TS: 12,000 km/s   
Active Search Sensor AS11-R1 (1)     GPS 72     Range 11.7m km    MCR 1.3m km    Resolution 1

28th January 1894
The Jovian Federation is conducting a geological survey of Sigma Draconis IV, home to the Nova Scotia colony and five transits from Earth. If the Jovians decide to establish a colony due to the mineral deposits on the planet, this could prove to be a significant problem as Sigma Draconis is part of the area which the Empire wishes to claim. It is very unlikely a British claim would be accepted without evidence to substantiate that claim, such as a colony of reasonable size, perhaps a few million, and would become even less likely if the Jovians establish a foothold. Therefore, as soon as the evacuation of assets from Alpha Centauri is completed, a major effort will be made to send colonists into Sigma Draconis.

30th January 1894
As a result of ELINT surveillance of Venus, technical information on particle beam strength 3 has been acquired.

1st February 1894
Intelligence data on Mars reveals that is has a population of 888m and 2300 installations. The current population of Earth is 1,088m. Meanwhile, HMS Pyramus explores a newly located jump point in Andromeda and discovers Epsilon Eridani, a K2-V orange star with three terrestrial planets. Epsilon Eridani is an Earth-sized world of high mountains and vast deserts, with a temperature of 63C and a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere of 0.72 atm including 0.02 atm of oxygen.

14th February 1894
The first pair of Havock class destroyers are launched by the Short Brothers Shipyard

15th March 1894
HMS Proserpine discovers a million tons of accessibility 0.9 Sorium in the atmosphere of Delta Pavonis II, one jump beyond Sigma Draconis. If the Empire can make a successful claim on the latter system, the gas giant in Delta Pavonis will provide a secure fuel source.

19th March 1894
ELINT data on Venus reveals that is has a population of 1258m and 3146 installations.

23rd March 1894
HMS Pyramus discovers substantial accessible mineral deposits on Epsilon Eridani I, located seven transits from Earth via Groombridge, Aeolis, Smyrna, Corcyra, Andromeda and Proxima. The planet has a colony cost of 4.48 and lacks both water and atmosphere. The temperature is a staggering 576C, although the colony cost is relatively low as the planet is tide-locked, creating a semi-habitable band at the terminator that could house up to a quarter of a billion people.

Epsilon Eridani I Survey Report
Duranium:   8,644,482   0.80
Neutronium:   4,410,000   0.50
Corbomite:   1,535,121   0.30
Tritanium:   21,609   0.10
Sorium:   1,147,041   1.00
Uridium:   233,289   0.10
Corundium:   3,572,100   0.90
Gallicite:   603,729   0.60

30th March 1894
Six Lighting Torpedo Boats and a Pathfinder Scout Boat are now in service.

7th May 1894
HMS Pandora explores a jump point in Pergamum and discovers a red dwarf with five planets and over eighty moons. The star is from the Vogel Catalogue and is named Syracuse

23rd May 1894
Alpha Centauri-A II, home to the Jamestown colony, becomes an ideal habitable world. Terraforming efforts will now focus on the Nova Scotia colony in Sigma Draconis.

5th June 1894
ELINT analysis of the Venusian colony on Alpha Centauri-A II reveals it has 416 mines and no factories.

19th June 1894
The Royal Navy is boosted by 60,000 tons of new warships; the first two Canopus class battleships, HMS Canopus and HMS Vengeance, plus the first two Admiral class orbital defence monitors, HMS Anson and HMS Howe. This provides a major boost to the Fleet and the defence of Earth ahead of the planned claim on Sigma Draconis.

20th July 1894
Because of the chance of conflict in the near future, the Edgar class protected cruisers HMS Edgar and HMS Endymion are being dispatched from Earth to Aeolis IV to guard the eighteen Ambrosia class harvesters. They will be supported by the New Plymouth Squadron with two more Edgars and three second class cruisers based at Aeolis II. The Martian Empire and the Hegemony both have harvesters at Aeolis IV, protected by two warships each. As the ships pass close to Mars on the direct route to the Groombridge jump point they scan the ships in orbit, including three of the 160,000-ton Zhuhai class. There are seven known units in the class and as yet their capabilities are unknown, beyond the fact they have commercial engines. Three previously unseen Kaifeng class battleships are detected along with two new Dalian class battleships.



27th July 1894
The Martian Empire conducts a geological survey of Sigma Draconis IV, home to the Nova Scotia colony. In recent weeks, an Ares class troop ship has landed the 3rd Infantry division on Nova Scotia in case foreign colonies are established in the system and hostilities do occur.

1st August 1894
The Eclipse class second class cruisers HMS Diana, HMS Dido and HMS Isis are launched from Pembroke Dockyard. No more warships will join the Royal Navy until May 1895, apart from destroyers and torpedo boats, which means the next few weeks will be the optimum time to make a claim on Sigma Draconis. The Edgar class protected cruiser HMS Royal Arthur and jump-capable Blake class protected cruiser HMS Blake are dispatched to Sigma Draconis to protect the colony. The Majestic class battleship HMS Victorious and the Eclipse class cruiser HMS Minerva are sent to reinforce Aeolis in the first voyage outside of Sol for any Royal Navy battleship.

6th August 1894
Analysis of ELINT data has enabled British scientists to replicate a Martian technology that will increase the reload rate of torpedo launchers.

12th August 1894
British diplomats issue a formal request that the Jovian Federation and the Martian Alliance accept British control of Sigma Draconis due to the established colonies in the system. As far as Naval Intelligence is aware, the Hegemony and Khanate have not yet discovered Sigma Draconis. The Martian and Jovians both accede to that request and state they have no significant interest in the system. The British forces in Sigma Draconis will watch for signs of Hegemony and Khanate ships so they too can be warned away.

The claim on Sigma Draconis effectively cedes Delta Pavonis to the Empire as well because the former provides the only access to that latter. The next objective for the Empire is to create a well-established colony in Andromeda so that too can come under British control, which would mean Epsilon Eridani becomes British as well.

2nd September 1894
ELINT data provides a significant boost in understanding one of the Venusian active sensors.

9th September 1894
Twelve Lighting Torpedo Boats are now in service, along with two Pathfinder Scout Boats.

15th September 1894
Two new Havock class destroyers are completed, taking the total for the class to eight; HMS Ardent, HMS Boxer, HMS Bruiser, HMS Daring, HMS Ferret, HMS Havock, HMS Hornet and HMS Lynx.

11th October 1894
A population of the Hegemony of Titan is detected on the twelfth moon of Aeolis IV, site of the Empire’s fuel harvesting operation. There is also a Martian colony on the eighth moon, both powers have warships guarding their fuel harvesters at Aeolis IV and Hegemony warships and commercial vessels are at their colony. The British colony of New Plymouth on Aeolis II has been reinforced, but there is considerable scope for tension in the system. The Leander class second class cruiser HMS Naiad is ordered to depart Jamestown and head for Aeolis IV to gain ELINT data on the alien populations. The Apollo class second class cruiser HMS Thetis moves to Jamestown to maintain a picket at the colony and keep an eye on the Venusians.

If conflict did erupt over Aeolis and the Royal Navy was forced to withdraw, it would cut off one of the two routes to Sigma Draconis and Andromeda, the other being via Thebes. Therefore, the short-term objective will change to securing Thebes to ensure safe passage to other territories in case of a dangerous situation in Aeolis.



10th November 1894
HMS Prometheus explores a newly discovered jump point in Delta Pavonis. This is a particularly important transit as it lies in a jump chain that the Jovian Federation and the Martian Alliance have accepted is British territory. She emerges in Rhodes, a binary with an orange K7-V primary and an M0-V red dwarf companion orbiting at fifteen billion kilometres. There are fifteen planets and eighty-seven moons in total with seven planets and a third of the moons in the primary solar system. Although two planets are colony cost 2.00, neither has an atmosphere and one also lacks water. The system is also old at 8 GY, so the chance for minerals is relatively low. Even so, there is a lot of real estate so there is a chance a valuable mining site may be found. Rhodes is a reasonable first step in the exploration of British-owned space.

24th November 1894
The New Brunswick colony of 500,000 settlers is established on Thebes II.

25th November 1894
Analysis of ELINT data from Venus shows that the planet has 1296 factories and 604 mines. A spaceport and a cargo shuttle station are both present.

9th December 1894
A deep space tracking station delivered to the New Brunswick colony reveals three small Jovian populations in the asteroid belt that lies between Thebes I and Thebes II.

10th December 1894
A second Argus class Stabilisation Station is constructed in Earth orbit. While the original Argus was used only rarely due to the stabilisation efforts of other races, plus a desire to restrict travel into systems that the Empire intended to claim, there is now a need for stabilisation of jump points within British-controlled space.

11th December 1894
Due to the growing chance of conflict and the build-up of the other powers, particularly in Alpha Centauri, the system has been declared a military-restricted zone and closed to civilian traffic.

31st December 1894
A new civilian shipping line, the Cunard Spaceship Company, has been established

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

31st January 1895
The Empire’s pre-eminent propulsion scientist, John Harding, has been killed in a tragic air-car accident. He will be very hard to replace. His work on Ion Drive propulsion will be taken over by Naomi Weston, although her administrative skills are far less and only five facilities will now be allocated to the task.

17th February 1895
HMS Pegasus transits a jump point in Epsilon Eridani. This is another important transit as it currently represents the only way out the jump chain beyond Andromeda, a system that will be claimed by the Empire once Thebes is secured. The system beyond comprises an old red dwarf primary, designated as Macedonia by the Royal Naming Commission, six planets and seventy moons, none of which are particularly noteworthy.

21st February 1895
Intelligence data reveals that the Martian Empire has a positive view of the Jovian Federation

23rd March 1895
HMS Proserpine transits the second new jump point to be found in Delta Pavonis and emerges in Achaea, a planetless red dwarf system.

9th April 1895
HMS Prometheus, conducting a survey of the recently-discovered Rhodes system, two jumps beyond Sigma Draconis, finds five million tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium in the atmosphere of Rhodes-A VI. While this is on the frontier of known space, it is relatively safe, as the Martian Empire and the Jovian Federation have recognised the British claim to Sigma Draconis while the Khanate and the Hegemony have not yet been detected in the area. An operation to move the Ambrosia class fuel harvesting platforms will begin once the necessary jump points have been stabilised.

11th April 1895
Venus is close enough to identify the ship in orbit that is serving as the point of contact for Diplomatic relations. The Alghu class is 9,138 tons with a maximum speed of 4513 km/s. Two units are known. Alghu 001 is in orbit of Venus while Alghu 002 was last spotted in Alpha Centauri in October 1894. The ambassador identifies himself as Khan Inalchuk Delger.

3rd May 1895
The first Phoenix class Salvager is launched. In the event of a war, the Phoenix will be used to salvage alien wrecks, as well as those of the Empire, in the hope of recovering valuable technical information and minerals.

Phoenix class Salvager      43,955 tons       352 Crew       1,026.9 BP       TCS 879    TH 1,760    EM 0
2002 km/s      Armour 1-110       Shields 0-0       HTK 93      Sensors 5/5/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 0
MSP 14    Max Repair 200 MSP
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   
Salvager: 2 module(s) capable of salvaging 1000 tons per day

Commercial Improved Nuclear Pulse Engine (11)    Power 1760    Fuel Use 4.05%    Signature 160    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres    Range 50.6 billion km (292 days at full power)

Type 7 Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 20.3m km    Resolution 100
Type 2 EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 4 Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

9th May 1895
The second pair of 11,250-ton Diadem class protected cruisers, HMS Argonaut and HMS Ariadne, are launched from Chatham Dockyard.

9th April 1895
HMS Prometheus discovers substantial mineral deposits on Rhodes-B III, a colony cost 2.00 planet lacking atmosphere but with an ice sheet covering 68% of the surface. With the new discovery, plus the Sorium deposits in the atmosphere of Rhodes-A VI, the system is becoming valuable, despite initial pessimism.

Rhodes-B III Survey Report
Duranium:   3,251,250   0.50
Neutronium:   4,410,000   0.60
Corbomite:   3,240,000   0.30
Tritanium:   2,175,625   0.10
Mercassium:   5,405,625   0.50
Vendarite:   4,515,625   0.10
Sorium:   1,265,625   0.10
Corundium:   4,950,625   0.10
Gallicite:   5,760,000   0.70

25th July 1895
A new civilian shipping line, the Great Western Spaceship Company, has been formed.

1st August 1895
ELINT Analysis of Venus reveals the Khanate has 240 refineries and 360 maintenance facilities on the planet, plus an ordnance transfer station and a refuelling station. Analysis of the Venusian and Martian colonies on Alpha Centauri-B III reveals they have no research facilities or ground force construction complexes.

22nd September 1895
Three Eclipse class second class cruisers, HMS Amphion, HMS Arethusa and HMA Phaeton, join the Royal Navy. Nine of the class, equipped with two Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turrets, are now in service. Three more are laid down and will be the final units of the class.

4th November 1895
HMS Pomone enters the first new jump point to be discovered in Rhodes and emerges in the system of Herschel 5173, eight transits from Sol. Herschel 5173 is a binary comprising an orange K3-V star with five planets and a red dwarf companion at six point seven billion kilometres with seven planets. Both stars have asteroid belts, with the companion belt being much larger. Two planets and a large one asteroid are colony cost 2.00, although all would require extensive terraforming.

The primary star was first catalogued by German-born British astronomer and composer Frederick William Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, Herschel followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, before migrating to Great Britain in 1757 at the age of nineteen. He is most famous for his discovery of the planet Uranus. This was the first planet to be discovered since antiquity and Herschel became famous overnight. As a result of this discovery, King George III appointed him Court Astronomer. The system will be known officially as Herschel.



20th November 1895
The second pair of Admiral class orbital defence monitors, HMS Collingwood and HMS Rodney, are launched from Portsmouth Dockyard. Each ship is armed with eight Twin 3" QF Gauss Cannon Turrets.

7th December 1895
A survey of Herschel-A II, a colony cost 2.00 dwarf planet without water or atmosphere, reveals over four million tons of accessibility 0.9 Duranium plus deposits of nine other minerals with low to medium accessibility, albeit relatively small deposits for four of those minerals. Even so, this is a valuable discovery.

Herschel-A II Survey Report
Duranium:   4,333,568   0.90
Neutronium:   2,073,600   0.50
Corbomite:   9,216   0.30
Tritanium:   369,664   0.70
Boronide:   565,504   0.80
Vendarite:   215,296   0.50
Sorium:   921,600   0.40
Uridium:   36,864   0.30
Corundium:   36,864   0.30
Gallicite:   30,976   0.30

11th December 1895
HMS Psyche explores a jump point in Pylos and discovers Eta Cassiopeiae, the first system to be found nine transits from Earth. Eta Cassiopeiae has a G0-V primary with four terrestrial planets, three of which are colony cost 2.00, plus a K7-V companion with eleven planets and almost a hundred moons. Three of the companion planets are also colony cost 2.00 terrestrial worlds. Two of the six colony cost 2.00 worlds have water and one of those has a dense nitrogen atmosphere with a small amount of ammonia. Unfortunately, the system has an age of 10 GY, lowering the chance if useful mineral deposits. Eta Cassiopeiae was assigned its name by the German astronomer Johann Bayer in 1603, in his star atlas Uranometria. The binary nature of the system was discovered by William Herschel in August 1779.

3rd January 1896
In Thebes, the New Brunswick colony has reached 5.1m population. British diplomats have prepared messages for the other powers requesting they leave the system. The messages will be sent as forces from each power are detected in Thebes. The problem is likely to be the Jovian Federation, who have five small populations on asteroids in the system.

5th January 1896
Technical details of Gauss Cannon Launch Velocity 20,000 have been obtained from the Venusian Khanate.

7th January 1896
HMS Pioneer enters a new jump point in Macedonia, at the end of the Andromeda chain, and discovers Neapolis, a red dwarf system with three planets.

8th January 1896
A message is sent to the Jovian colonies in Thebes, asking the Federation to leave the system. The Jovian Federation rejects the British Empire claim on the basis that there is an insufficient presence to justify the claim and warns that future claims will damage relations.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

This is the last update for this campaign and doesn't include the combat covered in the videos. Its purpose has been served though in terms of testing Diplomacy and NPR vs NPR combat.

1st March 1896
British scientists complete their research into Ion Drives.

21st March 1896
Hercules class tugs begin moving the Ambrosia class fuel harvesters from Aeolis IV to Delta Pavonis II. The latter system is connected to Sigma Draconis and therefore much safer than Aeolis.

1st April 1896
Even after the end of the non-aggression pact, it was generally accepted that Sol and the immediately adjacent systems were neutral territory and that any attempt to claim them would lead to conflict. That mutual acceptance has now ended. Naval Intelligence reports that the Jovian population on Alpha Centauri-B III has been transferred to the Venusian Khanate, which probably means that the Jovians have accepted Venusian control of the system. The British colonies of Roanoke and Jamestown in Alpha Centauri receive messages from the Martian Empire, the Venusian Khanate and the Hegemony of Titan, requesting that British forces leave the system. The message from the Venusians is the least diplomatic. It is reasonable to assume that similar messages are also being sent between all the Solarian powers.

Most of the Empire’s assets in Alpha Centauri were removed in recent months. The two colonies each retain a tracking station and a few maintenance facilities and the respective populations are seventeen million for Jamestown and less than three million for Roanoke. A Leander second class cruiser is based at each colony for intelligence purposes. There is no appetite among the British leadership for a war over Alpha Centauri, so as colony ships become available they will be used to evacuate the populations. The focus will remain on Sigma Draconis, Andromeda and the systems beyond.

5th April 1896
A Hegemony survey ship transits into Sigma Draconis and immediately vanishes from sensors. This is the first sign of the Hegemony in the system, so a message will be transmitted claiming the system for the British Empire when the ship is detected again.

6th April 1896
HMS Albion and HMS Glory, the third and fourth Canopus class battleships, are completed. There will no further units of the class as new engines will be available within months, resulting in a new design. The Martian Empire, the Venusian Khanate and the Hegemony of Titan have sent new messages requesting that the British Empire pulls out of Alpha Centauri. With colony ships and freighters still on their existing missions, this will lead to increasing tension until the populations can be evacuated.

7th April 1896
HMS Pandora explores a new jump point in Rhodes, two jumps beyond Sigma Draconis. She discovers a star from the Vogel Catalogue that is named Megara. There are only two planets, a moon and nine asteroids in the system. The second planet is a colony cost 2.08 terrestrial world dominated by Tundra. The nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere is 0.3 atm, with 0.07 atm of oxygen, making the planet a very good terraforming candidate. Large lakes cover fifteen percent of the surface and the temperature is -60C.

20th May 1896
Tensions have continued to escalate. Merchant Navy ships are evacuating colonists and installations from Jamestown, but messages continue to arrive from alien powers. A group of thirteen Martian battleships and five cruisers is detected heading for the comet Whittle in the Sol system, the site of a Hegemony colony, while in Alpha Centauri a similar force breaks orbit of Alpha Centauri-B III, home to the Roanoke colony and colonies of all the other powers.

Suddenly, Martian ground forces on Alpha Centauri-B III open fire with surface-to-orbit weapons, destroying a Hegemony Hel class protected cruiser. Eighty-five strength-3 impacts are detected, along with forty-eight strength-1 impacts plus a strength-8 secondary explosion.





The Hegemony ships immediately break orbit, exchanging energy weapon fire with the Martian ground forces as they depart. Missiles launches follow shortly thereafter. Based on observation of the Hegemony ships by Roanoke and HMS Sirius in orbit, the 19,189-ton Gungnir class battleship has ten size-6 torpedo launchers, the 12,777-ton Asgard class battleship is armed with seventeen size-1 torpedo launchers, the 12,767-ton Garm class battleship is armed with twelve railguns, the 6390-ton Hel class protected cruiser is armed with three size-6 torpedo launchers and the 6356-ton Tyr class protected cruiser is armed with gauss cannon. A 9,200-ton Martian STO ground force signature is also detected.



Sixty-eight strength-1 missile warheads detonate on the surface of Alpha Centauri-B III as size-1 Hegemony torpedoes are targeted against the Martian STO units, plus they suffer further energy weapon attack. As the planet is primarily desert terrain, there are limited fortification options for the STO units, which makes them vulnerable to the ship-based attack. A wave of fifty-three size-6 torpedoes flies past the planet toward the Martian fleet that departed orbit earlier and is eighteen million kilometres away. Presumably the distant Martian fleet is also launching missiles.



Despite the incoming barrage, the Martian STO units are still in the fight. The large calibre weapons fire again, inflicting fifty-four strength-3 hits and destroying a 65,750-ton Hodur class. The function of the Hodur is unknown. There are six known Hodur class ships, including the one just destroyed, and are usually detected alone. They may be a large freighter or colony ship. The Hegemony responds to its destruction with another ferocious bombardment of the Martian STO units. Sixty-eight strength-1 detonations and seventy strength-3 energy weapon impacts are recorded. The collateral damage to the Martian colony is considerable. Almost half of the original population of twelve million has been killed and perhaps forty mines destroyed. While the colony was not under direct attack, it suffered collateral damage from the Hegemony attack on the surface-to-orbit units.

A third salvo of Hegemony size-1 missiles strikes the planet and the Martian STO units are silenced. Based on the intelligence data being constantly updated by Naval Intelligence, the remaining Martian population is approximately four point seven million. One hundred and forty installations remain from a pre-bombardment total of almost two hundred. Sufficient dust has been blasted into the atmosphere to lower the temperature by two point three degrees, while radiation effects will slow growth and reduce production by approximately two percent. The impact on the other inhabitants of Alpha Centauri-B III is minimal compared to the devastation inflicted on the Martian colony, at least so far.

Another wave of larger missiles is launched by the Hegemony warships, most of which heads away from the planet toward a group of six Martian ships that seem to on course for the Sol jump point. Five of the ships are 84,000-ton Xining class terraformers. Naval Intelligence notes the reload time for the Gungnir and Hel classes is twenty-five seconds. A third wave heads for the main Martian fleet.