Nemesis Campaign

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 2

June 7th  1920 hours/Patrol Vessel 12, near Asteroid belt

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 12 waited at the Command Station.  The magnetic field fluxed only slightly as the crew guided the ship just inside of this system's debris field.  The Commander had opted not to travel inside the debris field, to improve the sensor range.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 had directed that Patrol Vessels 12 and 23 were to find and destroy any enemy support vessels they could locate.  They were to engage enemy combat ships without protective fields, and evade any that had them.  But finding enemy ships was difficult enough.  In the debris field, it was almost impossible.  The goal was to destroy enemy ships, not just hunt them.
   The field of the Command Station wavered.  The sensors were picking up vessels of the native race.   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 12 altered the field at his station.  The protective field around Patrol Vessel 12 sprang to life, and then so did the field of Patrol Vessel 23 moments later.  The ships altered course toward the enemy vessels as the crews prepared for combat.


   1920 hours/Queen Mary, 12 light minutes from Hygea Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir locked her station.  "Alphas times two.  Bearing three zero three.  Ascension minus one three.  Speed two three three zero kilometer per second and accelerating.  On course bearing one eight one degrees zero ascension per respect to Sol. Range eight point two seven light seconds.  Changing aspect."  Jude watched her monitor as the contacts displayed on it.  They were coming about on a course for the convoy, and accelerating.  They didn't have any real speed advantage yet, but that could change quickly.
   "All ships, locks stations, battle stations."  She knew she didn't need to give the order.  All of the crews would already be well on their way to battle stations.  Jude saw several intercept courses plotted on her monitor.  She checked the sensor record and quickly keyed in for the most direct intercept that could be managed. "Helm, plot a course for the convoy to disengage and transmit."  The sensor return clouded as the 'shield'  generators engaged.  Sensor returns then recorded the shields on the Attack Escorts Keely Sereg and Elise engaging, along with the US Vigilance.  'We will find out just how well these systems are going to work', Jude decided.
   The sensor returns showed the two Alphas beginning to turn away from the convoy.  'Don't like to fight on equal terms, do they.'  The trailing Alpha was drawing in range and firing solutions flashed across Jude's monitor.  
   "Two new contacts, inbounds."
   They grey haze cleared for a moment.  Maneuver thrusters fired.  "Missiles away."
   Jude watched the sensor returns as the alien weapons closed.  In a few moments it was clear that the Queen Mary was the target. "I hope like hell the US got these shields right," Jude said to no one in particular. And then the sensor returns clouded as the Queen Mary passed through the wash of superheated particles.  The ship didn't even budge as it passed through the waves of plasma.  "Field generators down to twenty five percent capacity."  Jude heard the update from Engineering on the comm, but still checked her monitor.  Sure enough, the Queen Mary had just been hit twice, and not a scratch on the hull.  
   The monitors were also showing that the trailing Alpha had lost its protective field in the exchange, and had vented to clear damage.  "OK people.  This fight is far from over.  Get that second launch online NOW!"  In the absence of any emotion in the voice synthesizer, volume was just going to have to do.
   The sensors were showing another pair of alien inbounds.  Just as Jude was about to let the crew know that they needed to get their act together, her monitor flashed with firing solutions and then the ship stuttered its drive as the four missile bays deployed.  Seconds later the Queen Mary heaved and stuttered its drive again, this time in response to alien detonations.  Jude checked her monitor.  Only one of the alien missiles had made intercept, but it had managed to force the shield generators off line, and had torn through the outer plating and baffles.  But the defenses had held.  No inner compartments had been breached.  'Ok Brenna, lets see if your tactics will work.'  "Helm, bring us hard about, one eight zero degrees.  Comm, signal the Elise, Sereg, and Vigilance to continue pursuit."  Jude waited through the flashes of grey and blue, then back to normal vision, and back to the grey haze once again.  The plan was that a damaged ship would turn away from combat to extend the range.  If the aliens tried to continue firing on the damaged ship, they would be firing at the extreme end of what appeared to be their effective range.  As that was occurring the other 'friendly' ships would close and fire with much greater accuracy on the aliens.  The aliens would either have to allow the damaged ship to disengage, or face an engagement with unfavorable intercept ratios.  Now they would test that theory.
   

   1922 hours/Patrol Vessel 12, near the Asteroid belt

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 12 watched as the enemy Combat Vessel began to disengage.  The other three enemy ships that were continuing the pursuit were no larger than Attack Vessels or Patrol Vessels.  The Combat Vessel carried over half of the firepower of the enemy ships.  Its protective field had collapsed, but to continue remaining in range of the Combat Vessel could be devastating.  The Commander decided that engaging the three remaining enemy ships, as the Patrol Vessels attempted to disengage was the better course of action.
   The enemy support ships had been guarded by four escorts, all of which had deployed protective fields.  The enemy had only deployed one ship with protective fields to guard the last group of support ships, and they had never placed protective fields on ships as small as Attack Vessels before.  This would bode poorly for future battles if the native race now equipped all of their fighting vessels with protective fields.  But that was a concern for another time.  Right now they had to survive this engagement.  They were still being pursued by three enemy ships just under five light seconds away, and Patrol Vessel 23 had been badly damaged.  The torpedo bay had been damaged but could still launch, and worst of all its command section had been destroyed and Patrol Vessel 23's Commander killed.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 12 could feel through the sensors as the enemy vessels launched their three weapons, even as the two Patrol Vessels deployed their torpedoes.  The inbound weapons finally closed the gap and the Commander could sense as the first detonation left Patrol Vessel 23 drifting, with its drive unable to reengage.  Before the stricken Patrol Vessel could launch another torpedo, a second enemy weapon intercepted the ship.  The detonation was far too close for anything to survive.  It was one on three now, and all of the pursuing ships still had protective fields in place.
   Even as the next torpedo deployed, the Commander decided that this engagement could not be won.  The three inbound enemy weapons detonated along the path of Patrol Vessel 12 and collapsed the protective fields. The Commander altered the field at his station ordering the crew to engage the drives at the maximum possible output.  The Patrol Vessel would only be able to maintain that level of acceleration for a short period, but perhaps they would extend the distance beyond the native race's maximum range.  The flare from the drive would make targeting almost impossible, but it was about survival now.  Not winning.


   1923 hours/Attack Escort Keely Sereg, 11.787 light minutes from Hygea Colony

   Commander Brittany Bortz watched the sensor returns.  The Alpha's drive bloom had greatly increased its thermal signature, and the ship was beginning to accelerate away.  It would take less than a minute to pass beyond maximum weapons range.  Another three missiles had already been launched from the two Pan Euro ships and the US Q ship, and would make intercept in the next few seconds.  The US Vigilance was already beginning to fall behind, it wouldn't be able to make even one more launch.  It was just the Elise and Keely Sereg now.  The sensors were showing the last Alpha was venting to clear damage.  At least one of the missiles had found its target.
   The order came through on the tight beam link.
   
   PER ADMIRAL J KUSHNIR

   ATTN COMMANDER BORTZ

   REDLINE DRIVES.  ENGAGE AND DESTROY ALIEN ALPHA.

   That was it then.  Brittany keyed in for Engineering to redline the particle accelerators.  The EM bleed from the drive bloom would make firing solutions more of a guess than a given, but orders were orders.  Brittany watched as the monitors confirmed that the Keely Sereg was no longer losing range on the Alpha, and that the missile bay was still able to deploy without too much loss of speed for the ship.  The Alpha was launching missiles also, but seemed to be blinded by its own drive bloom as badly as the Pan Euro ships.
   Brittany watched as the salvos crossed in space.  One after another.  Four launches. Five launches.  Six launches.  At 1927 hours with twelve out of the 18 missiles deployed, the Elise reported that an alien weapon had forced their shield generators to 30 percent.  The ship was undamaged but a second intercept would rip into the Attack Escort, if not destroy it.  Moments later the comm section picked up a transmission from Commander Dana Breiholz on the Elise.

   ELISE BREAKING PURSUIT PER ORDER ADMIRAL J KUSHNIR

   GOOD HUNTING

   It was just the Keely Sereg and the Alpha now.  Six missiles were left on board.  Correction, five now with another out bound.  And particle accelerators ready to overheat at any moment.  The Alpha's shields were down, but it was far from destroyed.  The alien ships seemed far more durable than their size would indicate.
   "Alpha has lost drive bloom.  No restart."  Finally, the alien ship was now just a coasting target.  Lights flashed on Brittany's monitor.  She felt as cold as ice.  The Sereg had just lost cooling on the superconductors for the particle accelerators.  The drive was down.  Both the Sereg and the Alpha were drifting ships.  Easy targets with no redlined drive bloom to cloud the sensor returns.  For the next few moments it was going to be a race to see which ship could rain death on the other fastest.  And that was assuming the last five missiles would be enough to destroy the Alpha.
   The sensors showed that the Elise was coming about.  It was too quick for the Queen Mary to have rescinded the earlier orders; Dana was doing this on her own.  But it would take her minutes to come about and close the gap with the drifting ships.  And this was going to be over in seconds.


   1929 hours/Attack Escort Elise, 11.80 light minutes from Hygea Colony

   Commander Dana Breiholz watched the sensor returns.  The Alpha and the Sereg were both drifting, and both deploying missiles as quickly as they could.  The Sereg's shields were holding, but it was only a matter of time.  Dana never imagined that she would have ordered her ship to redline its drives to catch a coasting ship, but here they were.  Weapon Conn was plotting that it would be less than 60 seconds until they reached maximum launch range.  'Come on Keely, hold out one more minute.'
   The sensors recorded secondary explosions from the Alpha, but the ship was still there.  It was hard and fast doctrine to fire on the alien ships until there was nothing left.  They seemed to be able to deploy missiles until the entire ship was torn apart.  The Sereg was launching again, and then the sensors recorded something strange.  No warning lights.  No indicators.  The Alpha hadn't launched.  Time slipped by, and still no more weapons from the stricken alien ship.  Was it dead?  Had the last of the crew been killed by the internal explosions, but the ship survived?  To capture an alien ship, what a prize!
   Warning lights flashed on Dana's monitor.  Her hopes sunk as she looked for another inbound.  None.  It was worse.  The Elise had just blown containment on the particle stream of banks two through four.  They weren't going anywhere.  Now there were three ships drifting along together.  
   At least the Alpha wasn't shooting anymore.  
   Of course, Dana thought, they will be calling for someone who can.


   1929hours/Patrol Vessel 12, near the Asteroid belt

   Second Engineer of Patrol Vessel 12 crawled away from the damaged station.  The hardened inner launch bay still had power.  The Second Engineer could sense that 21 of the crew were still alive in the bay.  Of the 317 crew originally aboard, they were all that was left.  He knew what had to be done.  They all knew.  There were no more torpedoes to launch.  Three of the crew were already attempting to transmit the current situation to any ship in range.  The Second Engineer was waiting to take care of the last task.
   The scuttling charges were nearby, but the Engineer Station was no longer responding.  He would have to be closer to activate the system, and destroy the ship.  With the drive down and no acceleration, there was no longer any danger in leaving a station.  Just manipulating the magnetic fields so that you didn't float away from the deck.
   The Second Engineer waited until he could sense that the others had done all they could to transmit what was known.  It was time.  He touched the device in two places and began to alter the fields.  It would take a moment, and then the system would detonate with a force that would vaporize the Patrol Vessel.  He finished the task, and waited.
   And could feel a new fear spread through the crew.  The charge had failed...


   1932 hours/Queen Mary, 11.82 light minutes from Hygea Colony

   Jude stared at the monitor.  'What in the hell have we gotten ourselves into,' she thought.  'We've got two Attack Escorts just coasting, and an Alpha just sitting there with them.  By now that Alpha has let every alien ship out there know that the Sereg and Elise are sitting targets.  It will take days to fix the drives on the two Attack Escorts, but we can't afford to abandon those ships.  We are going to have to stay and fight whatever comes.'
   Jude wished she could take a big breath.  Rub her temples.  Something other than lie locked at her station, tapping her fingers.
   'The Elise has drifted to only one half of a light second from the Alpha.  Her sensor array is picking up energy readings from the ship.  It probably still has some crew on board.  We can't afford to lose anyone on any of the ships in a boarding action, with the battle that is sure to come.  We can't board, but somebody is going to have to come out here and do just that.  We CAN'T leave.'
   'I'd thought the biggest battle I might have to fight in the next few weeks would be for Earth.  But it’s now, and here in the middle of nowhere.  Over what might be the biggest prize of this whole war.  But how in the hell are we going to board and take the vessel?  And then how do we keep the aliens from destroying it while the damned thing just sits there.'
   'Good lord Brenna, did you ever see this one coming....??'

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204  part 3

June 7th  2035 hours/Rhein Mein AFB, Germany, Earth

   Feldwebel Tanya Frank ran across the tarmac.  Her squad was only meters behind her as they raced to the waiting ship.  'What in the hell has happened that they need us right now,' she wondered as they reached the huge vessel.  It was many times bigger than the largest cruise ship she had ever seen.  It could carry 50,000 troops and their supplies, or ten times that many colonists.  Right now it was going to carry her and the entire cyborg brigade.  Her squad formed up on her as she came to a stop.
   The rest of the platoon and company began to fill in the formation as space model cyborgs began to issue loading orders.  Human ground crews were loading equipment Tanya had only familiarized herself with.  The cargo holds were being loaded with supplies for micro-g ops. 'I've probably had about three days of micro-g training, and none of it in this body,' Tanya thought.
   Orders flashed on Tanya's HUD.  'Time to load.  They say that full acceleration in a 'borg body is something you just have to experience to understand.  Guess I'm about to get my chance.  I just wish they would tell me where we are about to go.  Wherever it is, they want to get there in a hurry.'


   2050 hours/US Space Station, Earth orbit

   Admiral Bradley Walters sat at his desk.  He knew that if he had a human face and someone walked in right now, they would run for the door as soon as they got a look at him.  Mad was an emotion he had passed half an hour ago.
   The civilian government had vetoed every attempt to transfer combat ships to support the crippled Euro group.  They had forbidden the use of ground troops to attempt boarding of the Alpha floating helpless out by the belt.  It had taken a monumental effort to get them to allow a Survey Tender to go as a troop lander.  The Pan Euro Troopship, actually just a quickly prepared civilian Colony Ship, had no bay to load and land the troops it was now carrying onto shuttles.  Since the survey craft the Survey Tender carried were too small to effectively move troops, a civilian GTOS had been transferred to the Tender's bay.  The GTOS was a tight fit in the Tender's bay, but could carry a full company of cyborg troops.  It wouldn't be comfortable, but it could get the Euro troops to the Alpha without having to dock the Troopship.  Losing a GTOS and a company of troops was better than a whole Troopship with a Brigade onboard it the Alpha managed to self destruct during the operations.
   Possibly the most important battle that would be fought in this war and the only contributions the US could make were an armed freighter and a taxi service.  It was a good thing the office was empty.


   2120 hours/Queen Mary,  11.76 light minutes from Hygea Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir sat locked in her station.  Information streamed across the screen in front of her.  It all said the same thing.  This battle was about to be fought by cripples or ships and troops completely unprepared or unfit for what was about to happen.
   Seven ships were about to leave Earth.  Jude wished there were more, but she was leaving Brenna with the equivalent of a Light Battle Group to defend the Earth.  That wouldn't be enough to face down much of an alien force.  Brenna would have to depend on the ground based defenses to fight the battle.  If the aliens showed up with a swarm of their small ships, it would be devastating.
   The Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat had only been in service for hours now.  She and the two Attack Escorts of the 4th Light Battle Group would be the combat element of the seven ships.  The crews had barely been onboard long enough to fly the ships.  Now they would have to fight for their lives against alien ships with months or perhaps years of combat experience.  
   Both of the Pan Euro's Mobile Repair Ships were in the group.  They would try desperately to get the drives of the Elise and Keely Sereg online, but it would take at least a week to get the work done.  During that time they would simply be targets, with no 'shields' to protect them.  They represented nearly one third of the Pan Euro's space borne construction capability.  Losing them would be unthinkable.
   The Troopship was just as much of a target as the Repair Ships.  It would have to rely on the US Survey Tender to ferry the Cyborg Brigade of the 13th Mechanized Division to the Alpha.  The troops had almost no micro-g training, and no idea of what they were fighting.  The losses they would take were impossible to predict.  Jude was sure it wouldn't be a cake walk.
   Seven ships, all with little training or no weapons.  Troops that would fight an enemy they were completely unprepared for.  Jude looked at her monitor.  The aliens would come with more ships.  The only question was how many and how long.


   2305 hours/Patrol Vessel 17,  36 light minutes from the location of Patrol Vessel 12

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 considered the situation.  The faint transmissions from Patrol Vessel 12 made it clear that it was unable to self destruct, and was accompanied by four enemy vessels.  Two of the enemy vessels appeared to be drifting with Patrol Vessel 12, unable to maneuver in anything but the most rudimentary ways.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 had ordered Patrol Vessels 13 and 24 to rejoin the main group of ships.  They would meet in the debris fields and move from there to the next target.  The real question was what that would be.
   The native race would be rushing ships to the location of the stricken Patrol Vessel and their two crippled ships.  This would present an unusual opportunity to attack the enemy's colonies while their defenses were weakened.  The problem would be with the losses the Patrol and Attack Vessels might sustain.
   The group would eventually have to destroy or rescue the crippled Patrol Vessel.  The two stationary enemy ships were also a tempting target.  The support ships that would arrive to assist the drifting enemy vessels would also be easy targets. But if the Patrol Group lost too many ships attacking a colony, they might be unable to address the situation with Patrol Vessel 12 adequately.  It would take time for the group to gather, and Patrol Vessel 12 was still transmitting.  As the situation progressed, the Commander would have to make a decision.


June 8th 0350 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 4 light seconds from Uranus

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan rechecked the course plot as the drive shut down on the Yari.  Maneuver thrusters fired as the Yari came about onto its new course.  In just over 100 hours they would reach their destination of Neptune's orbit.  The sweep past Uranus had been uneventful.  No alien contact.  No evidence of new habitats on any of the moons.  The aliens seemed to have given up on this planet, which was all right with Jack.
   The grey haze settled back in as the main drive engaged.  The Yari would accelerate to over 4500 kilometers per second before the drive would scale back its output.  They would then cruise at that speed for the next four days.  The Chinese ships should be well behind them at this point.  Soon the US and Euro ships would begin the mission that would hopefully allow the Chinese to hit a much weaker target at Triton.
   That was if everything worked out.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 4

June 8th  1540 hours/Patrol Vessel 12

   The Second Engineer of Patrol Vessel 12 could find some satisfaction with what they had accomplished.  They had found and rescued another 12 of the crew.  They now numbered 33.  The crew had also sealed off several of the areas around the launch bay and had restored life support functions to those areas.  They would be able to survive for nearly five orbits of New Home 3 around its planet.  They had rudimentary sensor arrays erected, and had prepared the magnetic field generators for use.  The fields were not up at the moment.  They would wait for a more appropriate time.
   The crew had also recovered some of the personal weapons stored in lockers on the ship.  The crew had rigged several devices to defend areas and built other improvised weapons that could be used should the native race try to board Patrol Vessel 12.
   A communication array had also been improvised, and contact with Patrol Vessel 17 had been established.  The limited information the sensors were gathering was being transmitted to the Commander of Patrol Vessel 17.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 had ordered the ship to continue transmissions and resist any enemy boarders with all available means.  The crew of Patrol Vessel 12 was willing to fight to the end.
   The one nagging problem was that no attempt had been able to repair or activate the self destruct systems on Patrol Vessel 12.  The vessel and its crew were doomed to wait, surrounded by enemy ships, until they were either rescued or destroyed.


June 9th  0020 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, in the debris field 34 light minutes from Patrol Vessel 12

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 considered the situation.  The ships of the Patrol Group had gathered in the debris field of this system.  The four Patrol Vessels and three Attack Vessels should be enough to drive the enemy ships from the area of Patrol Vessel 12, allowing the Mobile Repair Vessel to effect repairs on Patrol Vessel 12's drive.  They would also be able to load torpedoes into the still functioning launch bay and return Patrol Vessel 12 to some semblance of combat capability.  With the reduced number of ships capable of fighting the native race, losing even one was painful.
   But having the native race capture Patrol Vessel 12 would be even more painful.  Perhaps intolerable.  If Patrol Vessel 12 could not be rescued, it would have to be destroyed.  The Council of Elders was allowing the Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 to use his discretion in determining how to resolve the problem.
   The Hive Vessels would be nearly useless in supporting an attack on the native vessels near Patrol Vessel 12.  Using them to attack a colony could draw ships away from Patrol Vessel 12, but supporting the Hive Vessels would also deplete the Patrol Group.
   For long moments the Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 pondered the situation.  At last he began to alter the field at his station and issue commands.  The two Hive Vessels activated their drives and began to move away from the main group.  The four Patrol Vessels launched their entire complement of scout craft to accompany the Hive Vessels.  It would take them time to reach their target, and the mission would likely destroy all of the scout craft in the end.  But they would hurt the native race, and might draw the enemy's attention from Patrol Vessel 12.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the field at his station again and felt the Patrol and Attack Vessels engage their drives and begin the move to either save or destroy Patrol Vessel 12.


   0310 hours/Queen Mary, 11.73 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir looked over the status updates.  Her monitor flashed with constant changes.  The 4th Light Battle Group had arrived in record time for such new crews.  Even more amazing was the fact that none had damaged the particle accelerators or drive shields of their ships.  The ships of the 4th LBG were currently docked with the Queen Mary, Elise, and K. Sereg to offload missiles and supplies.  The convoy escorts had expended most of their ordinance in the running battle with the crippled Alpha drifting nearby.
   The Pan Euro Troopship was docked with the US Vigilance, off loading both the troops of the German 13th Mech Infantry and their supplies. Survey Tender 1 was also docked with the Vigilance unloading missiles rumored to have been purloined from the ground based defenses of the US.  Jude wondered if that was wise, but also wished she had thought to request extra ordinance from ground based stores.  The GTOS in the Survey Tender's bay would be added to the one carried by the Vigilance and used to land troops on the alien vessel.  With luck the Alpha would be uninhabited or undefended, but the sensor readings seemed to indicate something was active inside the hull.
   The Mobile Repair Ships 1 and 2 would not arrive for another two days.  Estimates said it would take at least 6 days to repair the drives of the Elise and Sereg sufficiently for them to make way and return to Earth.  That was 8 days for the aliens to show up.  The 4th LBG with only days of training, the Queen Mary with its outer plating and baffles burned away, and a converted US freighter would have to hold back the worst the aliens could dish up for over a week.
   "God help us, how are we going to make this work?"


June 10th  0800 hours/GTOS-74, 11.72 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   Feldwebel Tanya Frank wondered how anyone could get used to this constant kaleidoscope of colors.  The drive of the GTOS shut on and off, over and over again.  Briefings had shown that the Alpha was in a slow roll on 2 axis, but fairly stable on the third, so that the landing would be fairly easy.  'If this is easy, find someone else for the hard ones,' Tanya thought as the shuttle pitched over and over.
   "Twenty seconds till drop.  Prep for M-CAST."  Tanya heard the announcement from the shuttle crew.  There would be no touch down on the alien vessel.  They would be launched at the hull from over 100 meters away.  With luck the troops would land together.  Realistically, they assumed that 5 to 10 percent wouldn't make landing or would fail to lock to the hull, and the rest would be scattered across an alien ship nearly half a kilometer long and as thick as a twelve story building was tall.
   "Squad, unlock from stations, lock weapons and thrust packs.  Prepare for drop.  Form up on my mark."  Tanya looked at her squad as they readied themselves.  She never could tell how anyone felt.  They all looked the same.  Maybe a slight female or male build to comfort the brain riding inside, but that was it.  Her squad was the support squad for the platoon, and carried heavier crew served weapons.  Tanya didn't.  One of the privileges of rank.
   The two lower hatches of the bay opened.  Great gaping holes into blackness.  As Tanya moved forward two platoons lined up beside the abyss.  Her platoon on one side and the Headquarters Platoon on the far side of the bay.  Red lights flashed on her display and a flat voice sounded in her head. "Drop." Tanya stepped into darkness and keyed the thruster.
   Tanya felt the thruster slam her down.  No funny colors but the world seemed to rocket by with no station holding you in place.  A great grey black shape leapt into view as her thrusters fired to brake the drop.  Four anchor cables fired as Tanya slammed into the hull.  Three ripped free as she bounced away, and then slammed back down as the fourth held.  Tanya bounced again and again.  'Damn hull isn't magnetic at all,' Tanya thought as retracted the cable and came to a stop.  She looked around and felt horror and relief in the same moment.  Beside her gaped a hole nearly thirty meters across gouged completely through the hull.  A few meters farther and she would have missed the ship.
   Tanya looked at the hull.  The grey black material was blistered and buckled.  Shredded in areas.  "Teach your asses to mess with us." Tanya said to no one in particular.  Tanya pulled out the M27A in her left hand and fired a series of 'bolts' into the hull of the ship.  A few bounced away or tore clear through, but most stuck.  They looked like long nails with a flange to stop them from over penetrating.  They had small loops at the end to hook cables to, and would allow the magnets in cyborgs hands and feet to 'grip' on them.  Tanya put up the 'bolt gun' and pulled out her 18mm PzGw 94.  It was much like her old model 93, but was a gyroc and designed for micro-g combat.  It also cut her ammo load in half as the rounds were much bulkier.  Tanya's shoulder launcher for the three 25mm 'Rollover' missiles had slight modifications for space use, but was nearly the same.  She also carried the LE/SR 9mm rifle for close work.  It was also a gyroc with limited ammo capacity, but when your main weapon only carried 50 rounds it was definitely comforting to have.  It also carried a three round 30mm under barrel grenade launcher.  You had to be secured to fire the grenades as they weren't recoilless, but they packed a punch.
   Tanya checked her HUD to see how the assault was progressing.  She could see a few troops near her, but not many.  She stopped as she tried to take in the numbers.  Less than 40 percent had made landing.  Most were near her location.  It seemed the ship had been able to vent just as the troops had dropped, blasting most away into space.  The two GTOS were busy trying to pick up whoever they could, but it was hopeless.
   Her HUD showed that of the six troops around her, she was senior.  "Ok all of you, form up on my position.  Ten meter spacing.  I want half covering the outer hull and the others this damned hole in the ship."  She heard the troops respond but wasn't paying attention.  She was busy checking the HUD for whoever was the senior member of the company left.  Of the 38 left on the hull, one was the same rank as Tanya.  The rest were junior.  All of the senior NCO's and Officers were gone. She wanted to take a deep breath, but knew she couldn't.  Orders from the Battalion Commander on the US Vigilance scrolled on her HUD.

ATTN FELDWEBEL T FRANK

SECURE AREA OF SECTORS 57A - F , 58F , 59E , 60C - E

PREP AREA FOR MOVEMENT INTO HULL

SECURE FOR SECONDARY GTOS DROP

   Tanya brought up the display of the Alpha.  The area she needed to secure was the edge of the gaping chasm in the hull.  'Guess this is now the front door.'  It would take half an hour to get everyone in position.  Maybe a little longer if the aliens had any more surprises.  It would take about twenty minutes for the GTOS to load and prep for the next drop after they finished rescue ops.  Suddenly her HUD fuzzed over.  She changed over to direct pick up for the visual but still found the display suffered from some static.
   "What is going on?" Tanya heard from the soldier nearest her.
   "I don't know, but keep your eyes open.  We aren't alone on this hulk."


   0812 hours/Queen Mary, 11.72 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   "What are you trying to tell me?"  Jude looked at the transmission from the Vigilance.  She wasn't fond of dealing with ground troops, and this wasn't helping.  "I know the magnetic fields just came up on the Alpha.  So does every ship within fifteen light seconds of this point.  What is the problem?"
   "Admiral, I don't know if we can land anymore troops on the ship with those fields up.  It’s hard enough trying to get the landers in synch with the Alpha's rotation as it is.  The magnetic fields will play havoc with our instruments.  Not to mention possibly shoving the lander back out into space.  The fields might even tear apart a ship as small as a lander.  If the fields don't tear the lander apart, they will definitely throw anyone we try to drop onto the hull back into space.  What I'm trying to say Admiral is I don't think we can risk another drop."
   Jude looked at the monitor and thrummed her fingers on the armrest of her station.  The reports made it obvious that most of the first drop hadn't made it onto the hull.  What had landed probably wouldn't be able to seize the ship.  They would need more troops on the 'ground' as it were.
   "You say we can't drop.  The first drop didn't seem to work to well anyway. Take both landers and prep for docking.  We will fire on the Alpha to collapse the magnetic fields and hope we don't blow the thing apart.  We will lose the troops on the hull when we do, but that might be the only way."
   Jude was sure the face on the other end wouldn't be happy right now, but it was just a blank faceplate.  "You have your orders.  The Queen Mary will launch in 15 minutes." Jude cut the link and locked her station.  "Weapons Conn, full safety release.  Prepare to fire on the Alpha. Launch from bays one and two."


   0821 hours/Outer hull of damaged Alpha

   Tanya looked at the transmission on her HUD.  'No way.  They wouldn't.  This can't be right.'

ATTN FELDWEBEL T FRANK

MOVE TO INTERIOR OF HULL AND SECURE

MAGNETIC FIELD ON ALPHA ENGAGED

PAN EURO QUEEN MARY TO LAUNCH ON ALPHA AT 0827 HOURS

SEEK POSITIONS WITH PROTECTION FROM DRIVE DETONATION OVER HULL

MAY GOD BE WITH YOU

   'Oh ****, that's in six minutes!  What did I ever do to deserve being nuked twice?!'  "People, load up.  We are moving into the hull.  This real estate is about to get hot."  Tanya looked over the edge of the twelve story drop and began firing bolts into anything she could hit.  "Come on people, we need to move."  Tanya looked over to see the 12 troops she had gathered around her begin to pepper the inner decks with bolts, just as she had done.
   "Team A, move forward."  Tanya looked up to see the other adhoc platoons that had formed moving forward.  She looked down to see that Team A was settling into the ruins of the Alpha's outer baffles.  Tanya stepped over the edge and grasped a bolt. "Team B forward.  Team A cover.  Bounding over watch."  Tanya settled in with Team A to watch Team B's progress.  The HUD showed that all of the groups were moving into the hull.  Several of the teams were switching on auxiliary lights.  The hull was very cold even for a hulk in space.  Thermal returns were little more than a blue black mass.  It made it easy to maintain operating temps though, which was a problem in space with no atmosphere to vent excess heat.
   Suddenly the hull erupted in geysers of blue and white gas.  Soldiers were flung out into space.  Others held to bolts for dear life, just as Tanya did.  In moments it was over.  Seven members of her squad had been ripped from the ship.  Tanya could see warning lights on her HUD warning that her suit was dangerously cold.  Some of the servos were reporting failures.
   Then Tanya saw something she would never forget.  Something half crawled, half floated from a gap in the hull.  Something that looked like a horrible mix of a lobsters body, dozens of long insect like legs, tentacle like projections from wherever a leg met the body, and all of it covered with ridges resembling fish scales.  But there was no head.  Nothing that resembled one at least.  And hovering around it were a half dozen 'things' that seemed to follow it without being attached in any way.  One of the 'things' had already turned toward one of her squad and then rocketed at the soldier.  It struck with an explosion that ripped apart the cyborg and the deck he was hanging onto.
   Less than a heartbeat later the last two members of Team B fired on the monster, but both of their weapons simply detonated in their hands.  Parts of the cyborgs were ripped away as weapons left brittle by the near absolute zero gas shattered.  Tanya threw her bolt gun at the creature and saw the weapon slam into the side of it.  The creature drifted a few meters before it stopped and reoriented itself.  Tanya wondered how it was able to do that with no thrusters, no attachments. She pushed herself back into the gap of the outer baffle as a 'thing' pointed toward her.
   The world went white again as two missiles from the Queen Mary detonated less than a kilometer from the hull.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204  part 5

June 11th 0235 hours/Scout Craft 103, 10.5 light seconds from the fourth planet

   The pilot of Scout Craft 103 began preparations for the final approach.  The crew of eight were arming the weapons in the bay, and making the last checks on the drive.  The small ship began to accelerate towards the planet ahead.
   Shortly the native race would become aware of their presence, but it would take much longer for the small arrays on the Scout Craft to pick up any enemy vessels.  It would not matter, as they were not here to deal with the enemy ships.  The sensors on the Scout Craft were more than capable of detecting and tracking the planet.  As they began the attack runs, the sensors would be able to detect and lock onto the native race's habitats.
   With luck some on the Scout Craft would return home.  All the crews knew that it was a rare occurrence for that to happen.


   0239 hours/Interceptor MkIIb Andrew Jackson, 0.5 light seconds from Mars

   Captain James Gauld locked his station as the message came in from the Mars Colony.  The ground based sensor array had detected an unknown contact at 8 light seconds from the planet and closing.  No magnetic signature had been detected, but at that range only small vessels would be unidentifiable.  It could be a lost small craft, but it was unlikely.
   New orders flashed onto James' monitor.  They were from Captain Mitchell Vass of the Franklin.  All four of the Interceptors were to lock stations and begin acceleration toward the new contact.  If the contact was a group of alien small craft, it was likely they had other battle line ships in support of them.  James checked the course plot.  It took them around Mars in a slow loop and then out to the new contact.  If Alphas or Deltas were out there, at least the Task Force wouldn't be too far from the Mars Station and its five Military Modules.


   0242 hours/Scout Craft 103, 4.25 light seconds from the fourth planet

   The Pilot of Scout Craft 103 felt the destruction of Scout craft 134.  No enemy vessels had yet been detected, nor any inbound weapon, but they often fired on the scout craft from beyond the range of their sensors using the invisible weapon that so easily penetrated the magnetic protective fields.
   There they are.  As always this race closes to continue firing on small craft.  Four enemy Patrol Vessels moving faster than Scout Craft 103 would ever be able to achieve.  It was still too far from the planet for maximum drive output.  Too many of the Scout Craft would be destroyed by their own drives before they could reach the target.
   The Pilot began evasive maneuvers to reduce the enemy's ability to target the small craft. There was nothing else that could be done but continue on and hope to reach the target.


   0244 hours/Interceptor MkIIb A. Jackson, 2.25 light seconds from Mars

   James knew they would never be able to stop so many small targets before they reached the planet.  It was like trying to swat at a cloud of gnats.  But every gnat that they could kill was thousands of lives that would be spared in the next few minutes.
   The laser capacitors charged and discharged over and over.  The drive stuttered to allow the output coupler to align on a target and the launch bay to deploy another missile.  One alien bomber after another perished in the inferno of light and flame.  Forty eight had originally been detected approaching Mars, and the last two minutes had seen eleven of them destroyed.  Seconds ago the Jackson's array had detected the first launches from the Mars Station.  It was only able to bring three of the Military Modules to bear, but that almost doubled the firepower targeted on the alien craft.
   The sensors had also detected that the small ships were now showing an increased thermal bloom and had begun accelerating again.  It would be less than two minutes before they would reach position to begin an attack on the Mars Colony.  Two minutes to destroy 37 bombers.
   James had only heard stories or seen edited news footage of colonies that had been bombed by the aliens.  He was sure that was about to change.


   0246 hours/Scout Craft 103, 15000 kilometers from Mars

   The Pilot of Scout Craft 103 began the deceleration routine to enter the atmosphere.  The group was coming in too fast, but the orbital defenses and enemy Patrol Vessels were taking a terrible toll on the group. The Pilot fired braking thrusters and locked the sensor returns into the course plot.  The rest of the crew had readied both of the weapons for deployment.
   The pilot could feel nearly a dozen and a half Scout Craft destroyed by the enemy's weapons or torn apart by the thin atmosphere of the planet.  At 2000 kilometers per second even a wisp of gas could rip a craft apart.
   The first weapon deployed as the sensors completed the launch solution.  Moments later the second weapon deployed.  The enemy defenses on the planet were firing now, tearing apart even more craft as the space based defenses continued their onslaught.
   The Pilot checked the sensor update.  Only twelve of the Scout Craft had deployed their first weapon, and only four had survived to deploy their second.
   The Pilot of Scout Craft 103 knew there was no hope of escape.  The rest of the crew could sense what was happening as he changed course, but made no attempt to intervene.  The other surviving Scout Craft had already followed suit.


   0249 hours/Interceptor MkIIb A. Jackson, 0.5 light seconds from Mars

   The sensor returns and visuals piled up on the screen at James' station.  Great clouds of dust and smoke covered chunks of the red planet's surface.  Sixteen bombs had found their targets, vaporizing or shattering habitats.
   Most disturbing had been the last moments of the four bombers that had not been destroyed.  They had all changed course toward the planet.  No attempt to escape.  They had all slammed into the atmosphere above the colony.  None had reached the surface, but several tons of material breaking apart against even the thin atmosphere of Mars had been just as effective as any bomb.  James had read of the suicide ships that had blown themselves apart to protect the alien colony on Triton.  This was different.  Dying to protect your own was one thing.  Suicide to kill an enemy was another.
   The calls for help were beginning to fill the channels.  Cries, screams, and sometimes worse.  James didn't wait for any order.  He keyed in the commands for the ship's boat to be prepped for deployment.  It was to assist in rescuing and relocating survivors in any way possible.
   James keyed the override and shut down the drive bloom, then unlocked his station.  He got up and began to move across the bridge.  There was too much that needed done now.  Watching the horror unfold below would wait.  It would be there for a long time.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204  part 6

June 12th  0315 hours/Attack Escort Keely Sereg, 11.71 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   Commander Brittany Bortz moved through the Engineering section to check on the progress.  The two Mobile Repair Ships had arrived and begun work on the two stalled out Attack Escorts.  It looked like they might finally be able to get the Sereg and Elise back in the fight.
   Brittany pulled up the status of particle accelerator banks one through four.  She was almost glad no one could see a frown on her face.  The work was going at a snail’s pace.  The Mobile Repair Ships weren't one of the orbital shipyards.  The facilities and equipment they carried was limited by the small amount of space that could be managed in a mobile hull under acceleration.  The Repair ships would never be able to match the acceleration of an Attack Escort, but over 4000 kilometers a second was a lot to ask of construction and fabrication equipment.  Let alone the hull that had to hold them securely.
   For the moment they were going to be docked together, for a long time.  Until the Sereg could get under way, she was going to have to protect the Repair Ship.  Unfortunately, the rest of the group had used the Sereg and Elise as floating missile stores.  The Sereg was down to only seven missiles in the launch bay.  That would last about three minutes in a real fight.  It was enough to destroy an Alpha, but nothing more.
   Brittany headed back for the bridge.  The aliens had attacked Mars only hours ago.  They had used another mass of small bombers, but not a single warship.  It wasn't hard to figure out what they were saving their heavy hitters for.
   'It won't be long until it is our turn,' she thought.  'And we're a sitting duck.'


   0850 hours/Launch Bay of Patrol Vessel 12

   The Second Engineer of Patrol Vessel 12 checked the status of the life support systems.  The drive detonations near the hull had collapsed the magnetic fields again and killed three of the crew.  Life support had nearly failed, but was still holding.  The protective field could be erected again, but it was too late now.  The enemy had managed several landings in the time the fields were down.  The Patrol Vessel was crawling with the enemy.  There was no real hope of killing them all, only of slowing them as they secured the ship.
   The traps and weapons the crew used had claimed many of the creatures native to this system, if that is what you could call them.  The enemy seemed to be nothing more than machines.  Robots of some kind designed to resemble some strange form of life.  And like a machine they killed without remorse.  They massed more than four times what any crew member did and were incredibly strong, but they were too large to move down the corridors and access ways easily.  Many were destroyed for every compartment they seized.
   In the end it would not matter.  There were only 13 of the crew left, and not enough weapons left to arm even that many.  The crew would not be able to hold out longer than one more rotation of New Home 3 around its planet.  They would all be dead long before the life support ran out.
   The Second Engineer manipulated the field around him and moved down the corridor from the launch bay.  Three more of the crew followed him.  It was time to destroy more of the machines.

   0912 hours/Interior of damaged Alpha, 11.71 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   Feldwebel Tanya Frank crawled through the small passage.  The aliens were much small than humans, with corridors barely three feet in diameter.  The aliens tended to favor hexagonal construction, which made the corridors feel more like a tube than a hall.  It was much like fighting in an enormous maze of tunnels than the inside of a ship.
   The rest of the squad was spread out through the 'tunnel' as they moved through the ship. Compartments were widely dispersed with a great deal of the hull devoted to simply supporting the rest of the ship against the drive's acceleration.  Tanya was fairly sure that the Pan Euro's ships probably incorporated a lot of supports also, but it seemed like such a waste of space.  This must be the cost of riding a nuclear explosion to get from place to place.
   "Keep your spacing and your eyes open people. The techs say that the launch bay should be no more than 70 meters ahead.  They aren't likely to give up the one area the techs think is fairly intact without a fight."  Tanya knew that the rest of the squad knew all this, but it helped to calm her nerves to talk.  The aliens had an unnerving way of attacking without ever being there.  The aliens seemed to be able to manipulate objects at a distance from their bodies.  Even a cyborg wasn't immune to this manipulation if they got too close.  It seemed limited to a few meters, but allowed them to activate weapons and booby traps without even having to be in the area it was located.
   Tanya's HUD caught movement.  A small cylinder had come through a small hole in the tunnel thirty meters ahead.  Tanya had seen enough of them to know what was about to happen.  A blinding flash threw Tanya against the wall as the cylinder rocketed into the lead squad member and detonated.  Tanya held onto the 'bolt' in her hand as the explosion subsided.  She quickly stuck her foot on a bolt and aimed her PzGw 94 at the walls of the tunnel.  She fired over and over through the walls.  One of the aliens was somewhere nearby.  It would be luck if the squad managed to kill it, but they had to try.  It was the only thing they could do.  The second trooper in line had fired a 'Rollover' missile off his shoulder at the tunnel where the weapon had appeared.  Then the second and third.  More explosions rocked the tunnel and Tanya was almost shaken loose from her position.
   Thirty seconds later and the tunnel was quiet.  No more attacks from the aliens, no gas trying to vent them from the ship.  "Ok, let’s move up.  You don't want to be the last ones that make it to the party."
   Red letters flashed across Tanya's HUD.  

   SECURE AREAS.

   4TH CO ON OUTER HULL PREPARE FOR EVAC

   ALIEN MAGNETIC SIGNATURES DETECTED

   ALIEN WARSHIPS INBOUND

   "Ma'am, what are we supposed to do now?"  Tanya looked at the troop who had opened up the comm link.
   "Hope the space jockeys hold 'em.  I don't think the aliens plan of leaving this crate for us to take home."  Tanya braced herself on a pair of bolts.  'Surviving two nukes is a bit much to ask of a grunt's luck.  I doubt I'm going to get lucky a third time.'


   0918 hours/Queen Mary, 11.71 light minutes from Hygeia Colony

   "Magnetic signature contact bearing two three eight degrees ascension plus six.  Range approximately fifteen light seconds.  Course zero seven five at zero ascension.  Approximate speed seven zero zero zero kilometers per second. Accelerating."  The Sensor Officer was already locking his station.
   Admiral Jude Kushnir locked her station and keyed the 'All Ships' link.  "All ships lock stations, battle stations, Battle Group Four attack formation.  Survey Tender One, withdraw from area course zero six zero ascension minus three.  Mobile Repair One and Two blow docking link and follow Tender One.  Vigilance ninety degrees my port and hold station.  Helm, give me a direct intercept for the contact and get us moving."
   Jude pulled up the sensor return on her monitor, and then the course plot as the helm updated it.  The world turned grey as the drive engaged and the Queen Mary began to move.  It would take three minutes for the Queen Mary to close the range enough to resolve the contact.  Until then, they would just have to hope it wasn't anything bigger than a couple of Alphas.  Anything more than that and they wouldn't be able to stop them from reaching the crippled Alpha or the two stalled out Attack Escorts.
   "Helm, upload the protocols from Rear Admiral Muldoon.  Transmit to all ships.  Prepare to execute on my command."  Jude sat as the range closed.  'I hope this works as well out here as it did for you in training Brenna.'
   Time seemed to crawl by.  Jude knew her fingers were rattling away at the armrest, but couldn't stop them.  Too much was riding on this.  It had to work.
   "Contacts resolved, Alpha times four, unknown contact times three.  Logging new contact, designating as Echo One, Two, and Three.  Range eight light seconds and closing.  Closing at one four zero six zero kilometers per second.  Weapons range in four zero seconds."  The Sensor Officer continued with a stream of information but Jude was concentrating on the Weapons Conn as the plot for firing solutions began to stream across her monitor.  Jude rechecked the sensor data on the new contact.  They appeared to be of nearly the same mass as an Attack Escort.  That would make them smaller than the Alphas.  'I hope they crack easier than the Alphas,' Jude thought as she keyed in for a firing solution on Echo Two.
   Jude quickly keyed in a new course that would bring them between the Sereg and the alien ships.  The Sereg was off by itself.  If the aliens followed the Queen Mary they would increase the range between them and the crippled Alpha.  If they didn't they would give Jude a chance to get in behind them and catch them between the missiles of the Elise and the mobile groups.
   "New contacts, inbounds time seven.  Target is the Queen Mary."  Those words from the Sensor Officer caught Jude's attention.  Jude keyed the comm link again.  "Helm, execute maneuver protocols."  Jude knew this was going to be a two edged sword even if it worked.  The maneuver protocol Brenna had worked out would trade speed for angular acceleration, much like the old aircraft of centuries past would dodge and weave but also bleed off speed.  The ship would trade speed for angular acceleration, using deflection of the drive bloom and even skewing the hull against the solar wind to create erratic and rapid aspect changes.  But even with the drive running wide open the ship would still slow from lost thrust and drag.  But at long range it might just be enough to defeat the alien's ability to make intercept.  Hopefully it would take them time to learn to copy it.
   The Queen Mary stuttered its drive momentarily as the launch bays deployed.  She was the first to break range and her missiles would lead the volley in.  The world slammed back to grey and blue as the drive re-engaged.  The inbounds continued to close as the launch bay began to prep the next four missiles.  The sensors clouded as one detonation after another filled space with waves of plasma.  Moments later the sensors cleared.  Only one of the alien weapons had made intercept.  The magnetic field generators had been reduced to half of their normal output, but were still online.  Jude then watched as the missiles homed in on Echo Two.  The return lost resolution as the Queen Mary's missiles detonated along Echo Two's path.  And then the sensors were able to resolve the ship, but now it was three separate pieces tumbling through space.
   "Yes. Weapon Conn all ships, target priority Echo contacts until destroyed."  Jude watched as the remaining missiles from the other ships tried to reorient on the remaining Echoes.  The five drive detonations from the other ships' missile didn't even manage to drop the protective field on a single contact.  'I know you haven't done this much, but we have to do better.' Jude thought to herself.
   "Contacts changing aspect, coming about onto course zero zero two ascension minus two.  No change in velocity. Inbounds times six detected, target Queen Mary."  The Sensor Conn was staying on top of the alien movements, in spite of the rapid aspect changes the Queen Mary was making were now playing havoc with the Phoenix Array's readings.  Jude keyed the comm link again.  "All ships target Echo Three."  We just need to tear them apart one at a time.  The first volley turned them.  Now we need to shake their confidence even more.  The drive stuttered again as the Queen Mary deployed four more missiles.
   

   0922 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, 8 light seconds from Patrol Vessel 12

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the field at his station bringing the group about on a new course.  The unusual movements of the enemy vessels were making targeting a nightmare.  Two volleys had failed to drop the protective field on the enemy Combat Vessel.  In the mean time Attack Vessels One and Three had been destroyed.  Attack Vessel Two was at half power on its protective fields.  It would take little more to destroy it.  The Patrol Group had lost almost 30 percent of its firepower for no discernable gain.  This battle wasn't over, but how many more ships could they lose.
   The Patrol Group came on line at just over five light seconds from the enemy line.  The Combat Vessel had dropped back, indicating that its protective fields were weakening.  To pursue it would be foolish though.  It would bring them into easy range of the smaller enemy ships while leaving the Combat Vessel still on the edge of range.
   The strange enemy maneuvers had cost them speed though, and that would give the Patrol Ships an edge.  The torpedoes of the Patrol Vessels seemed to have a slight edge in range on the native race's weapons.  As the third volley of torpedoes left the Patrol Group, no return launches were detected.  'Now we need to keep this range,' thought the Commander of Patrol Vessel 17.
   The Commander felt disappointment wash through the crew as the third salvo failed to drop the protective fields on any of the enemy ships.  The maneuvers of the native race were working, but it would only be a matter of time until they were reduced to nearly stationary targets.
   A sudden course change and reverse carried the enemy ships away from the Patrol Group as the Commander tried to maintain the tenuous range where the native race was unable to engage.  The enemy Combat Vessel had rejoined the smaller enemy ships and was again accelerating.  The erratic maneuvers had ceased as the native vessels attempted to regain speed.  The Commander altered course to bring the slower ships into range and sensed the launch of all five torpedoes.  It was obvious that at least one made intercept with the enemy Combat Vessel, but the protective field did not collapse.
   With disgust, the Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 turned the Patrol Group away to disengage.  It would be impossible for the slower enemy ships to regain weapons range.  The Patrol Group had lost two of its Attack Escorts, in addition to the two lost Patrol Vessels that had started the whole situation.  The Commander began to compose and transmit the message to the Elders that the mission had failed, and that additional support would be needed to resolve the situation.


   0927 hours/Queen Mary, 2 light seconds from crippled Alpha

   Jude tried to relax as the remaining alien ships disengaged.  None of the Pan Euro or US ships had been damaged; although the Queen Mary's shields were close to collapse.  It would take hours to bring them all back online.  What had convinced the aliens to disengage baffled Jude.  The Pan Euro ships hadn't been able to manage a launch on the alien ships for the last four and a half minutes.  The aliens might have been able to keep up the battle of maneuver versus speed for hours, targeting one launch after another that the Pan Euro ships would never be able to reply to.  Perhaps the aliens were low on missiles.  Perhaps they had been called away.  If the Chinese ships had been detected on the way to Neptune, that would be possible.
   Regardless, for the moment, the group was safe.  They had destroyed two alien ships without any losses.  It couldn't get any better.
   "Comm, transmit to Earth, attention Heavy Escort Tatianna and Rear Admiral Muldoon.  Tell her the maneuvers worked, and that I owe her a night on the town.  As you were.  Address that message to Vice Admiral Muldoon."  Jude unlocked her station and stood on the deck.  She had spent enough time locked in that bench.  She wanted to see her cabin again.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 7

June 12th  2210 hours/Elders Chambers, New Home 1 (Eris)

   The Elders were not in agreement, but a decision had to be made.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 had sent the message that Patrol Vessel 12 was still in the enemy's possession, and that it would require more assets than were available to resolve the situation satisfactorily.  Two Attack Vessels had been lost attempting to recover or destroy Patrol Vessel 12.  Those losses reduced the Patrol Group's strength to only five vessels.
   The nearest ships to Patrol Vessel 12 were two Combat Vessels, and it was believed that they would be adequate to resolve the situation.  Most of the Elders agreed, but others believed the time it would take for them to reach the location of Patrol Vessel 12 was too great.  The native race would have already seized and moved the vessel before the Combat Vessels could arrive.  Others felt that the two Combat Vessels were much more valuable for the defense of the colony they were stationed at.   The Combat Vessels were currently stationed at New Home 3, and this was the colony that the native race had already attacked.  New Home 3 would be the most likely target should the native race attack again.  The fleets stationed at the other New Homes were too far to reach Patrol Vessel 12 in a timely manner.
   The Supreme Elder had not exercised his authority in Council since they had arrived in the New System.  The Council had debated and reached consensus in all other matters, and the Supreme Elder had not been required.  This matter was not being resolved, and the issue was not one that could wait indefinitely.
   The Supreme Elder altered his field to indicate that he was going to address the Council.  The assembled Elders representing the New Homes of this system quieted.  The Supreme Elder wasted no time with formalities, or with pleasantries to soothe to others gathered in the Chamber.
   "No further Vessels shall be sent to the inner parts of this system to resolve the issue of Patrol Vessel 12.  Patrol Vessel 12 will be declared lost to the native race.  Efforts will be directed towards combating the native race and strengthening the defenses of the colonies."
   The assembled Elders' fields betrayed either gratitude or reluctance with the Supreme Elder's decree, but none dared question it.  The Council moved on to other matters as the Supreme Elder returned to quietly monitoring the progress of the Council.


June 14th  1025 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 38 light minutes from Neptune

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan looked at the sensor returns.  Two alien vessels had been detected over five minutes ago.  Both were of a design first recorded at Neptune.  The vessels there had been suicide ships that simply detonated themselves as they approached human vessels.  It was believed they were most likely an unarmed commerce ship of some sort, but that had never been proven.  The last five minutes had convinced Jack that for once the Intel jokers had gotten something right.
   The two alien ships, code named Romeos, had not reacted to the presence of the Yari or the three Pan Euro ships.  For five minutes they had trailed the vessels at 8 light seconds.  The Romeos' current course was almost a direct line for Neptune.  It would take them over three days at their current speed to reach the planet.
   "Helm, maintain course and speed with Romeo One and Two.  Alert me to any course or aspect change in the contacts.  Comm, transmit to Captain Robert McNeely that we will follow the contacts to ascertain their destination.  Order the two Attack Escorts to fall back to a position fifteen light seconds behind the Yari and Red October and maintain that interval."  Jack listened as the crew acknowledged the orders, but was lost in his own thoughts.
   'We've made it past the first hurdle.  Now we just have to hope the rest of the plan works.'


June 15th  0800 hours/Interceptor MkIIb A. Jackson, 0.5 light seconds from Mars

   Captain James Gauld settled back into his station.  He had never thought that he would feel such relief on a warship.  Compared to assisting with rescue efforts on the ground, the spartan interior and hard vacuum of the Jackson seemed comforting and restful.
   After James first trip ground side to assist in rescue efforts, he had decided that all of the crew, regardless of rank, would be assigned a rotation to the surface.  The crew needed to see the cost of failing to stop the aliens.  They needed to know this wasn't just readouts and news broadcasts.  This was real people.  Men, women, even children who were dead or dying.  They needed to see the dead, the crippled, the orphans and widows.  The crew needed to understand that the training wasn't just an interruption of their day, or just something to get through so they could get back to their work.
   Cyborgs didn't actually tire from work, other than mentally.  They also didn't have to worry about people guessing how they felt from the look on their faces.  You didn't have to worry about looking scared, or crying.  But you could see the change in the crew as they came back from the rescue ops.  The way they sat quietly at their stations, or found a quiet corner to just sit and do nothing in.  What they were seeing and doing on the surface was changing the man or woman inside the shell.
   That new person wouldn't see training, or fighting, the same way again.  It wasn't about getting through all of this alive.  It was about ANYONE getting through this alive.


June 17th  1445 hours/Armed Science Vessel Red October, 20 light seconds from Neptune

   Captain Robert McNeely sat locked at his station.  The Red October and the US Yari were playing a dangerous game.  No one knew just what ships would be defending the alien colony at Triton.  No one knew where they were stationed in respect to that colony, or what their patrol patterns would look like.  Or how they would react to what was about to happen.

   ATTN RED OCTOBER

   ACCELERATE TO 14000 KM/S

   ENGAGE AND DESTROY ROMEO 2

   Robert looked at the order on his monitor.  He knew it was coming, now would be the moment of truth.  He keyed in the command prompt for combat acceleration and to prepare for launch.
   Minutes crawled by as the Red October and Yari came up to speed.  The distance to the Romeos began to close.  As the ships reached 4.5 light seconds from the Romeos, the alien ships began to increase their thermal signature and accelerate.  It was too late for them at that point; the Red October had reached combat speed and entered into range.  The drive stuttered as the first two missiles deployed. Four seconds later the sensors recorded the Yari launching another pair of missile targeted at Romeo One.  Time crawled as the missiles crossed the intervening space, and then destroyed their targets.  Both Romeos disappeared in the missiles' drive detonations.
   Five magnetic signatures sprang to life near Triton.  They were only 7.5 light seconds away.  Robert keyed in the commands to bring the Red October about and decelerate slightly.  'We've let them know we're here.  Now we'll see just what they are going to do about it.'
   Minutes filed by as the Red October maintained its distance from the magnetic contacts.  None of the alien magnetic signatures had begun to move from their location.  'It would seem they have either increased the orbital defenses, or any ships they have are unwilling to leave the vicinity of the planet.'  "Comm, send the current sensor readings to Earth Station.  Helm, prepare to receive course plot from the Yari.  Upon receipt, implement course."
   Robert watched the monitor.  The aliens were either getting more cautious, or were running short of mobile units.  It would only be a few more minutes until loiter time was up and Rear Admiral Ryan would send the new course.  If the aliens weren't going to come out to play, it was time to find some new playmates.
   "Captain McNeely, course received from the US Interceptor Yari.  Loading course and preparing to engage drive."  The Helmsman had already uploaded the course to Robert's monitor.  The course would take them in long slow circles around Neptune looking for more shipping to intercept.  If they didn't find anything, it would give them a front row seat for when the Chinese Fleet arrived.
   'If we are still here, we may have to offer to lend the Chinese a hand.  I know that the crews of the Mary QoS. and Rachel Pierce would like a chance to repay the aliens for the last time they came out here. For that matter, there aren't many ships left in the Pan Euro fleet that don't have a score to settle with the aliens.  Including this one.'  Robert looked at the projected course plot for the Chinese.  'Seven more days until the Chinese arrive.  For once, I think I'm looking forward to seeing a Chinese ship.'


June 18th  2350 hours/Queen Mary,  11.70 light minutes from Hygiea Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir felt relieved as the display showed that the Attack Escort Elise had successfully fired its drive system.  The Sereg had gotten her drive online nearly six hours ago.  Now both of the Attack Escorts were operational, if not perhaps 100 percent reliable yet.  It would take time, and a more thorough overhaul, to ensure the ships were completely combat ready.
   The troops on board the crippled Alpha had secured most of the ship, with only what was believed to be the weapon launch bay still in alien 'hands'.  Several bodies of the aliens had been recovered for study, although the alien body's composition made study very difficult.  They seemed to live in a temperature range only a few dozen degrees Kelvin.  Simply storing the damned things without evaporating them from ambient heat was a problem.
   The troops were gathering a great deal of information on the ship also.  Much of it was designed for much colder temperatures, but a great deal of it was capable of surviving much more heat.  It was hoped that the ship would be completely secured in the next few days.  Then it would be up to the crews of the two Mobile Repair Ships to simply disassemble the whole thing for shipment.  Then it could be reconstructed at Earth and studied.
   If the aliens would just leave them alone for the next few days....

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 June part 8

June 20th  0525 hour/Launch bay of Patrol Vessel 12

   The Second Engineer of Patrol Vessel 12 waited.  These would be the last moments of his life.  There were only two other members of the crew left.  They were each waiting by the two access hatches that the machines were within meters of.  Both hatches had secondary bulkheads a few meters from the main access to the bay.  Both of the crew members were prepared to activate the 'bombs' affixed to the bulkheads as soon as the machines broke though.  The machines no longer blew up the hatches, having found that most would hold pressurized gas that would vent over them.  The machines seemed to be designed for much hotter environments, and reacted poorly to a gas at an appropriate temperature.  It often left them damaged or destroyed.  Regardless, they now drilled through hatches and controlled the venting of the compartment before they entered.  In this case they would be blown apart as soon as they started drilling.
   After the bombs had been detonated, the Second Engineer would activate the over ride to all the hatches his station could control and would vent the ship one last time.  It would vent the crew and many of the machines into space.  The Second Engineer knew he could do this at any time, and did not have to wait for the bombs.  The machines killed by bombs could be killed by venting, but the Second Engineer could not waste the crew's efforts to build the defenses that now stood.  He would wait for the machines to try and breach the bay before he vented the ship.

   0715 hours/Interior of damaged Alpha, 11.70 light minutes from Hygiea Colony

   Feldwebel Tanya Frank felt the ship heave.  The hum of the hull vibrated right through the bolt she was holding.  Messages flashed across her HUD, and she tried to read them before they were overwritten.  It seemed that one of the platoons had managed to reach the launch bay and was beginning breaching procedures when all contact with them was lost.  That wasn't unusual.  The fact that ships nearby were reporting huge portions of the Alpha had just vented, including the launch bay, was unusual.
   Tanya had been slightly miffed when her squad had been assigned to cutting through various bulkheads, tunnels, and panels in an attempt to reach the bay from a much more heavily damaged section of the ship.  The brass wanted a third route into the bay in case the first two access points proved too heavily defended.  Tanya was sure the aliens didn't have that many defenders left, or they would be using them to fight.  Tanya had seen this assignment as a waste of time, and hated the grunt work it entailed.
   Now it looked like the only soldiers left alive on the ship were all located in the more heavily damaged sections, which the aliens had been unable to vent.
   As it stood, at least as far as Tanya could tell, her squad was the only one left in position to assault the launch bay.  It would take them over 6 hours to reach it at their current pace.
   'I sure as hell hope we have better luck than the rest of the... well everybody...'


   1510 hours/Queen Mary, 11.70 light minutes from Hygiea Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir looked over the reports coming in from the cyborg troops.  It appeared the Alpha was now secured.  No further aliens were found in the launch bay when the troops finally got to it.  The danger would be if some had escaped to other parts of the ship and could still operate systems from those locations.  To order the Mobile Shipyards forward to begin disassembly of the alien ship would be costly if the aliens could damage the Shipyard and its crew.
   "Order the troops to begin a thorough search of all available spaces, Mobile Shipyard One is to dock with the Alpha and begin disassembly procedures."
   It was dangerous to risk the construction ships.  It was also dangerous waiting for the aliens to return.  The first problem could damage one ship.  The second problem could destroy all of the ships.  Jude didn't want to sit here any longer than necessary.


June 23rd  1650 hours/Cruiser Chiang Kia Shek, 12 light minutes from Neptune

   "Admiral Hu, we have transmissions that we believe are from a US vessel in our vicinity. All ships lock stations."
   Admiral Hu watched the Captain.  He seemed unfazed to receive a transmission from a human ship so far out in the system.  'Good.  He will need that calm when we finally get to Neptune.'
   "Communications, copy of translation to my station."  Admiral Hu watched as the translation scrolled onto his monitor.
   
   FROM REAR ADMIRAL J RYAN

   TO ADMIRAL OF CHINESE FLEET

   REQUEST PERMISSION TO JOIN FLEET FOR ACTION AT TRITON IF THAT
   IS INTENTION

   CURRENT GROUP AS FOLLOWS
   US INTERCEPTOR TIMES ONE
   SCIENCE VESSEL TIMES ONE
   PAN EURO ATTACK VESSEL TIMES TWO

   WILL AWAIT RETURN TRANSMISSION

   Admiral Hu thought for a moment.  The US Admiral seemed to know the Chinese group was coming, and about where to find them.  It would also appear that he had been out here for some time.  The US officer would likely have information of alien activity near, if not necessarily at, Triton.  Three extra combat vessels with long range capability, even if they were small, would be of some value.
   "Helm, find a point on our course 6 light minutes from Neptune and relay that to communications.  Communications, transmit to US ship contact point provided by helm.  Indicate to approach with magnetic field down.  Employment of magnetic field will be considered hostile act."  Admiral Hu watched as his orders were carried out.
   'That will give us almost twelve hours to find out what this American knows, and if his ships will be of any use.  Perhaps I shall have to learn English so that I can speak with these American and Euro Captains.'
   Admiral Hu thought for a moment. 'No, more likely they will need to learn Chinese.'


   2200 hours/Queen Mary, 11.70 light minutes from Hygiea Colony

   "WHAT.  This can't be right.  You will NEED to work FASTER."  Admiral Jude Kushnir wished she could actually yell and get red in the face.  Simply raising the volume on the voice output seemed inadequate.  The cyborg faceplate on the monitor seemed unfazed by Jude's 'yelling'.
   "Admiral, that is the best estimate I can give you.  If we were back at Earth, it would still take over a month."  Captain Hall of the Mobile Shipyard seemed very mechanical and matter of fact.
   "I want to see the projected timeline and progress report immediately.  Dismissed." Jude turned off the connection with disgust.  Three months??!  There is no way I can park half of the Pan Euro's combat forces here for the next three months!  Captain Hall had said that to remove only what they felt were functioning parts of the alien technology would take over a month.  And that was only a small fraction of the ship.  The Alpha likely held a treasure of information in the damaged hull, if they had the time to get it all out.
   Jude settled into the chair in her cabin.  This 'bit of good luck' was turning into a nightmare.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204/ part 9

June 24th  2020 hours/Armed Science Vessel Red October, 25 light seconds from Neptune

   Captain Robert McNeely gave the order for the Pan Euro ships to raise their 'shields'.  The Chinese Admiral Hu had given the order to raise the protective fields.  This didn't feel right.  It was definitely not a Pan Euro operation. There was no attempt at subtlety.  No clever use of stratagem.  Robert had transmitted the new maneuver protocol to the Chinese, and they had flatly refused it for this operation.  Raising the shields at this range from the planet would give the aliens ample time to have ALL of their defenses online.  The aliens would be ready and waiting with everything they had.
   Robert had decided that the Chinese had only two goals.  First was to show the aliens that nothing they could do would be able to stop the Chinese war machine.  The second was retribution.  The Chinese Admiral intended to simply move forward and destroy anything that opposed him.  And when the opposition had been crushed, the genocide would begin.


   2028 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 18 light seconds from Triton

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan keyed in the orders for the Yari to begin accelerating.  The Chinese group had begun the move to reach combat speeds.  The Yari would easily be able to match the much larger Chinese ships.  No contacts had yet appeared on the sensor returns, but Jack knew they were out there.  In the next few minutes the aliens would come to battle stations and the dying would begin.  Space would be lit by explosions and burning wreckage.  With luck the Yari wouldn't be one of those burning wrecks.
   Jack knew that Meagan would be back on the US Space Station by now.  She would have heard the briefings for Admiral Walters.  She would know where he was, and what was about to happen.  Jack keyed the over ride of the comm system and sent the short message he had written for Meagan over the last few hours.  That he missed her, was proud of her, and that everything would be alright.  He knew that at least two of the three weren't lies.


   2031 hours/Cruiser Chiang Kia Shek, 14 light seconds from Triton

   Admiral Hu watched the sensor returns on the monitor.  Magnetic signatures were appearing around Triton.  It was impossible to distinguish one from another at this range, only that they were there.  In two minutes they would be close enough to begin identifying what defenses awaited them.
   Hu checked fleet status next.  The Missile Frigates Anhui, Hubei, Hennan, and Shangxi were in good formation around the Shek.  They had all seen combat before.  The crews were ready for what was about to happen.  These five ships had fought the aliens to a standstill near Mars before.
   The Attack Frigate Yunnan would lead in the Close Assault Escorts Matsu, Taiwan, Penghu, and Kinmen.  The Yunnan was a good ship, with a strong captain.  He would not falter.  The smaller ships in formation with him had only been in service months, and much would be asked of them.  They would be tasked with closing upon Triton, then intercepting and destroying enemy forces as they came out from Triton.  Reducing the defenses at close range when they reached the moon, and most likely dying as they did this.  Hu was not sure that the ships' crews would be capable of this level of service, but if they drew fire from the Cruiser and four Frigates, that would be enough.
   The plan was for the Assault Group to close on Triton, while the ships capable of long range engagements orbited the moon at 4.5 light seconds.  The Assault Group would close and draw fire, while the heavier ships began the bombardment.  The US and Euro ships would also orbit at 4.5 light seconds, although the entire foreign group would only be able to launch as many missiles as the Shek could alone.  Their contribution would still account for 25 percent of the long range launch bays available, and that was worth the presence of the little ships.
   Any ship losing its magnetic protective field would fall back from the engagement.  If the initial attack failed to reduce all of the defenses, surviving ships would regroup, restore the protective fields, and then make a second assault.  If this also failed, then the possibility of retreat might be considered.


   2033 hours/Armed Science Vessel Red October, 8 light seconds from Triton

   "Five magnetic contacts, bearing three five seven, ascension minus one.  Delta Class times two identified, designating One and Two, accelerating.  Third drive bloom detected.  Sierra Class, also accelerating, designating Three.  Three stationary platforms with magnetic signature, designating Four, Five, and Six.  Two additional stationary platforms, designating Seven and Eight."
   The Sensor Officer continued reading off information but Robert was busy pulling up data on the Sierra Class.  The only known contact had been at Triton, and it appeared to be an unarmed vessel that had detonated close to the US Task Force during the previous expedition to this moon.  The Chinese Admiral had declared that mobile alien assets would be the priority targets, to be followed by orbital defense platforms, but Robert intended to ignore the Sierra if anything was still shooting at them.
   Robert checked the course plot and saw that it was just over two minutes until they reached the 4.5 light second barrier to the moon.  At that point the Red October would execute a hard turn.  As the main drive shut down to allow the ship to maneuver, the two launch bays would deploy the first salvo.  The Rachel Peirce and Mary Queen of Scots would hold close formation and launch then also.  The US Interceptor was 2000 kilometers directly below the Red October to avoid the wash from the drive blooms as the three Pan Euro ships turned.  The US ship would also make the turn and launch, but on Admiral Ryan's command, not his.
   The Chinese ships were 0.75 light seconds away, at an equal distance from Triton as the Red October.  Part of the Chinese group would turn and launch at 4.5 light seconds, while a second group would close with the alien defenses at Triton.
   Robert's attention was suddenly pulled back to the Sensor Officer's report. "New contacts.  Eleven, no thirteen inbound. Eight launches from surface of Triton. Targeting plot in progress.  Target appears to be the Chinese vessel Shek."  Robert stopped and checked the sensor readings.  From the surface of Triton?  There had been no surface launches during the last engagement!
   Targeting solutions began to appear on Robert's monitor.  The two Deltas had entered range.  The sensors showed that the Shek and two other Chinese ships had already launched on the Deltas.  Roberts selected for Delta One and keyed in for launch.  The ship lurched only slightly as the drive cut out and the missiles deployed.


   2036 hours/Cruiser Chiang Kia Shek, 5.75 light seconds from Triton

   Admiral Hu coldly reviewed the sensor returns.  The two alien combat ships had been torn apart by the swarm of missiles that had converged upon them.  The Shek had also suffered in this first exchange, but not nearly as much.  The protective field was down and the plating had been damaged in several areas, but had held.  The inner hull was still intact.  Regardless, another salvo like the first from the aliens would likely destroy the ship.  Admiral Hu keyed in the orders for the Shek to come about and disengage from the battle.
   The Shek's drive shut off and on as the maneuver thrusters brought the ship's course about hard to starboard.  "Communications, direct the Missile Frigates and US Officer to shift fire to the orbital defenses."  There was little data on the remaining alien ship, but it lacked any protective fields.  The short ranged missiles of the Yunnan and Assault Escorts would tear the last alien ship apart.
   

   2036 hours/Attack Frigate Yunnan, 3.5 light seconds from Triton

   Captain Ng saw the readings on the protective field drop suddenly.  Half of the generators were off line.  The sensors had caught the slight magnetic pulse of the largest base as it had fired the mass driver the aliens used.  The projectile was too fast for the sensors to see, but the Chinese had learned to detect the pulse as the weapon fired.  It made little difference.
   "Launch all bays now."  Ng knew that more of the projectiles could appear at any time, and that several of the eleven inbound alien missiles were bearing down on the Yunnan.  The drive stuttered for a moment as the two short range missile bays and the single long range bay deployed their weapons.  Moments later the last alien ship, a mere half light second away, disappeared as the short range missiles detonated.  Debris of the alien ship cluttered the sensor returns as the Yunnan passed by the wreckage.
   Four seconds later the Yunnan disappeared as four more alien warhead detonated along the ship's path.


   2037 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 4.5 light seconds from Triton

   Jack watched as the small Chinese ships pushed on toward Triton as fire erupted around them.  Two of the three orbital bases were now burning and tumbling.  The last was still firing, but missiles continued to pour in from the Chinese and Pan Euro ships.  It would only be seconds before it was also destroyed.  There were two other structures orbiting Triton, but neither had protective fields or had launched any weapons.
   "I want targeting solutions on the ground launchers NOW!" The ground installations were now the main threat.  The four launch sites were each firing a pair of the alien weapons every thirty seconds or so.  They would tear apart the small ships rushing toward the moon if they weren't silenced.
   "Chinese Escort Two had been destroyed.  Escort One has lost protective field and is venting.  Orbital Platform Six has broken apart, falling from orbit.  Inbound times eight from surface.  Targeting Chinese Escorts. “The Sensor Officer was having a hard time keeping up with the volume of data piling up.  "Weapons away."  Jack felt the ship shudder as the twin bays deployed.  He checked the magazine status to see that eighteen missiles remained.  In less than five minutes the Yari would empty her launch bays.
   Jack checked the sensor updates to see that several of the Chinese missiles were now targeting the surface sites.  They appeared to be focusing on the target that Jack had designated for the Yari.  'They may not be ours, but those crews are good.'
   "Chinese Escorts firing on surface sites.  Detonations on surface, unable to resolve target data.  New launches from surface.  All sites still active."  Jack listened as the Lieutenant Commander Bill Dunn continued to rattle off data.  He seemed to only be limited by the speed of the voice synthesizer as he continually spouted information.  Jack flipped up a visual feed to be greeted with the site of the dark moon flashing as Chinese missiles slammed into the surface.
   "New targeting from surface inbounds.  Inbound times four targeted on Red October."  Bill's voice pulled Jack's attention back from the visual to the sensor feed.  He felt the ship lurch again as the bays deployed another pair of missiles and then the drive slammed the world back into the grey blue haze of combat acceleration.  Jack watched as the Red October broke from formation and began the evasive maneuver protocol, but the alien missiles seemed unaffected.
   "Red October shields down, venting, thermal signature at half prior emission level, decelerating.  Chinese Escort One destroyed, Escort Three shields down.  All surface sites still active, eight launches detected."


   2039 hours/Red October, 5.5 light seconds from Triton

   Robert tried to dig the fingers of his left hand into the arm rest of his station.  The left arm brackets had broken free and each aspect change of the ship slammed his arm back and forth across his station.  Cyborgs were strong, but hundreds of G's were more than they would ever be able to withstand.  It would only take a little more before the flailing limb either destroyed his body or his station. And then it suddenly slammed back across the side of the station and stayed.
   The world was still grey blue so the drive was still up.  Robert plugged his right finger into the access port for the uplink to his HUD.  Data began to light up the inside of his face plate.  "smeg."
   "Yes sir. smeg it is."  The voice of midshipman Gretta Deeter made Robert suddenly realized he had spoken out loud.  Looking past the lights seemingly floating in front of him, he could see that the helmsman was still at her station.  Looking farther he could see that she seemed to be the only one.  The rest of the bridge crew looked to be dead, or to have been vented.  "Get us the hell out of here Gretta."  Robert seldom used first names, but this wasn't the time for formality.
   "Already on it sir.  The last of the particle accelerators are red lined.  We still have a few folks talking in Engineering on the comm link, but that seems to be it."  Gretta sounded calm, but so would any cyborg.
   "Gretta, I can't get any sensor data at my station.  Can you?"  Robert could tell from the heading that Gretta had brought the Red October onto a heading away from Triton, but that was it.
   "I've got a minimal feed Captain, but some data is coming in. The Chinese ships are breaking off.  The Yari, Mary and Rachel are hanging behind us.  Oh crap.  It looks like we've got more inbounds.  I can't tell, but I bet several are targeted on us."
   Robert thought for just a moment, and then spoke.  "Gretta, if this girl has got it in her, implement the evasive protocol.  We can't take another hit."  Robert knew that the violent maneuvers would likely kill him, but there was no other choice.
   "Sir, this ship barely manages a straight line right now.  It’s been an honor to serve on her, and with you."  Robert thought he could almost hear some emotion, even through the synthesizer.
   "The honor has been mine Gretta."

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 10

June 24th  2320 hours/Emergency Elders Chambers, New Home 3 (Triton)

   The Elders of New Home 3 took stock of the situation.  The loss of life was difficult to gauge, but would be extensive.  The native race had not specifically targeted any of the centers of population or industry, but the sheer number of weapons they had detonated over the surface ensured that they had destroyed several cities.
   The population of the planet had finished evacuations into the deep subsurface shelters.  There were only enough to hold 20 percent of the original population of New Home 3, but they were incredibly secure.  The depth of the underground shelters made them nearly impervious to attack.  It would require a weapon capable of shattering the moon to destroy them.
   The rest of the population was still in the process of dispersing from the cities and workspaces.  When they were spread across the surface it would be much more difficult to target and destroy what was left of the families which the underground shelters had been unable to hold.  The production centers would still be easy targets, but they could be rebuilt if the surface was still capable of supporting life when the attack was finished.
   That was assuming that there was anyone left alive.


June 25th 0430 hours/Elders Chambers, New Home 1(Eris)

   The Elders were in an uproar.  The Supreme Elder assessed the situation, attempting to disregard the wild magnetic flux of the other elders in the chamber.
   The space based defenses of New Home 3 had been destroyed by the enemy, and two of the four surface installations had been targeted, but all of the surface defenses were still operational.  The two unarmed space stations above New Home 3 were still undamaged, which meant the native race may be running low on weapons.  The population was taking emergency precautions against further attacks.
   The surface installations had proven a two edged sword, as they had apparently driven the enemy ships back from the planet, but had drawn some fire onto New Home 3 and its populations.  Those killed in the attack were estimated at one million.  Almost two million more had evacuated to the underground shelters.  That left six million still on the surface and vulnerable to attack.
   The ships of the native race had lost nearly one third of their number, but had only withdrawn a short distance from the moon.  The surface installations were still able to track the enemy’s magnetic signature, but not the exact number of ships or their activity.  They were likely to be redistributing ordinance, restoring the protective fields of their ships, and making repairs.  Possibly reloading the ships magazines if they had additional ordinance placed on support ships.  It was likely the native race would attack again soon.
   The Supreme Elder decided this was not a situation that would allow the assembled Elders to squabble over an appropriate action.  The Elders would want retribution, or relief of New Home 3, but none would be willing to sacrifice the defenses of their colony to do so.  Fights would likely erupt over what the appropriate response was, and who should support it.  This delay would be intolerable.  Right or wrong, a decision would have to be made now.
   The Supreme Elder moved to the center of the chamber.  Various elders moved from his path, making the required gestures to recognize the Supreme Elder's dominance.  Most of the elders were too self involved to notice.  The Supreme Elder focused his will and created the flux that would bring the chamber to order.  Only a few could manage to control the extensive fields required of an Elder.  Only one in a system (it was believed) would evolve to wield the power that signified a Supreme Elder, and the great power that his or her fields could attain.
   The Supreme Elder waited as the Elders quieted before he addressed the group.  The Supreme Elder's decision was simple.  ALL ships would be brought to the vicinity of New Home 3 where they would assemble for an attack on the enemy forces there.  Such support ships as could be spared would load torpedoes from the surface or orbital defenses of the unassailed New Homes and then join the assembled warships for suicide attacks upon the enemy.  The enemy forces would be driven from New Home 3 or destroyed.
   The Supreme Elder could feel the tension in the chamber.  This course would either save New Home 3 or doom the entire race.  Most feared that if the various Home Defense Fleets were destroyed, that it would leave their colony open to attack.
   They did not seem to understand that if the assembled fleets could not destroy this enemy now, the New Homes were already doomed.


   0835 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, debris field 12 light minutes from Patrol Vessel 12

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 knew that this message left no room for interpretation.  The Patrol Group would leave now.  They would likely be the first vessels to arrive near New Home 3, but would wait for the Defense Fleets of the other New Homes before they would attack the enemy ships.
   The Commander knew this was right, but wondered if it was wise.  If the Patrol Group was to leave the inner parts of this system, not only would Patrol Vessel 12 be left to the enemy, but it would free the native race to use ships it now had tasked to protect the inner system for attacks in the outer system.  To destroy the enemy warships was important, but the native race could build more.  Destroy their populations and you crippled that ability.
   And this plan depended on the enemy vessels to still be at New Home 3.  If New Home 3 was destroyed before they could arrive, all of the race's ships would be far from where they were needed.  Particularly if the enemy had enough warships to manage an attack on another New Home while its defenses were weakened.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the field at his station.  Patrol Vessel 17 began the long voyage to New Home 3.  The Commander wondered if he would ever return to the inner system again.


   (Earlier) 0410 hours/US Space Station, Earth orbit

   Lieutenant Commander Meagan Ryan sat in her cabin.  An emergency meeting for Admiral Walters had just adjourned.  Meagan had been able to identify the magnetic signature of the 'Baron' at the attack on the forces under Admiral Kushnir's command near the stricken Alpha.  It had managed to escape.  The enemy tactics were changing, exploiting slight advantages of their technology.  That wasn't what was on Meagan's mind now.
   Reports had been received that the initial Chinese attack on Triton had been driven back after inflicting substantial damage to the aliens.  A follow up attack was planned, but unlikely to destroy the alien surface defenses until the ships could be resupplied with additional missiles.  Even the big Chinese ships didn't carry enough ordinances to reduce the alien defenses.   More missiles were leaving now for the Yari and Euro ships, but they would take weeks to reach them.
   It had been originally intended for the Yari and Euro ships to attack alien 'commerce' in an attempt to draw defenses away from Triton, and hopefully draw the 'Baron' to the out system where it would be less of a threat. It was hoped that the Red October and Yari might be able to find and destroy the 'Baron', but considered unlikely as the outer system was such a large area of space.  That had now changed.
   It was considered likely that the 'Baron' would be enroute to Triton to support alien efforts to relieve their colony.  With projections showing that destruction of the alien colony could not be accomplished with the resources currently available at Triton, it was likely that the 'Baron' would be able to arrive before the battle was resolved.  Admiral Walters considered this an opportunity.
   A message had just been sent to the Yari and her crew.

   ATTN REAR ADMIRAL JACK RYAN

   IN EVENT OF ENGAGMENT OF ALIEN MOBILE FORCES:

   PRIORITY GIVEN TO IDENTIFICATION OF ALPHA CODE NAMED BARON

   PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO ENGAGMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF
   BARON

   ALL OTHER PRIORITIES SECONDARY UPON IDENTIFICATION

      The Baron would be there long before any US supply ships.  The most dangerous ship the alien race had was headed straight for her father.  He was supposed to find it.  Fight it.  With more than half of his missiles already gone.  Without the Red October's help.  Alone.
   Meagan stared at the message.  Then she pulled up the note her father had sent her hours before.  The words blurred as her eyes filled with tears.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204  part 11

June 26th 1200 hours/Cruiser Chiang Kia Shek, 9.5 light seconds from Triton

   Admiral Hu moved to his station and keyed on his view screen.  The darkness of space and flickering of stars was interrupted by a single dark grey sphere.  It would be almost invisible, except for the dark red splotches across its surface where fires burned or the rocks still shown from the heat of nuclear detonations.  Occasional small bright flashes marked the secondary explosions that still occurred.  Admiral Hu switched from the external view to fleet status reports.
   The Shek would stand the next 8 hours at General Quarters while the Frigates Anhui and Hubei stood down. Hu would be able to review all of the Frigates' activities over the last 16 hours as the Shek started its rotation.  It would give the lie of normal operations to this deployment.  This was no human colony that they orbited now.  And the ships they waited on were not routine or scheduled movements.
   The status reports showed that the Frigates and Shek had half of their normal load out of missiles on board.  This may be a problem, as many more missiles had been expended upon the surface defenses than had been anticipated.  Actually, there had been no anticipation of ground defenses.  During a second attack on the moon 24 hours ago, nearly fifty missiles had been expended to destroy two of the surface installations.  The other two were still undamaged.  Worse, during the first attack the Penghu had gotten close sensor readings of the surface before it was destroyed by alien fire, showing what looked to be entrances to extensive underground shelters.  It was possible that simple bombardment of the surface would be unable to destroy the alien presence on Triton.  Ground troops might be required to clear the planet.
   The Penghu had also identified that one of the unarmed orbital structures had been some form of shipyard.  Two ships somewhat larger than a Frigate had been docked to it.  During the second attack the US and Euro ships had destroyed the shipyard and the two vessels docked to it.
   Those findings, and Hu's recommendations, had been transmitted to the Chinese Ministry.  They would decide the appropriate response, and whether the information would be forwarded to the US and Pan Euro governments.  Hu saw no reason for China to bear the full weight of a ground offensive against an alien settlement, but combined operations after the Queensland Incident might prove problematic.
   The good news had been the update from the Ministry that the Cruiser Ho Chi Minh was complete, and would soon begin its shakedown operations while cruising to Triton.  Accompanying it would be several cargo ships carrying additional missiles, routine supplies for the Chinese ships, and possibly ground troops.  It was unlikely they would arrive before the aliens counterattacked, but the Shek Group could fall back from the planet to join with the Minh if the alien counterattack proved too large.  It was likely that the US and Pan Euro would also send ships and supplies, making the reinforcements even more formidable.
   For now they would wait.  And for once, it was the alien's turn to watch as their colony was destroyed.


June 27th 1430 hours/Queen Mary, 11.70 light seconds from Hygeia Colony

   Admiral Jude Kushnir looked over the orders from Earth again.  It would stretch the Pan Euro's Forces thin.  Perhaps too thin, but there was no other choice.  The battle for the crippled Alpha drifting nearby was important.  The battle that was occurring near Triton was vital.  The aliens had committed large groups of ships to attack the inner system.  They would likely commit everything they had to the battle for Triton.
   The reports from US Rear Admiral Jack Ryan indicated that the alien settlement on Triton was too extensive to destroy with the assets on hand.  The Chinese had lost one of their Attack Vessels, plus four more ships in the same size range as Pan Euro Attack Escorts.  Word was that the Red October had survived the attack, but only just.  Her comm system could no longer reach the inner system, and the US report had showed the ship would likely be down for months if she could even be repaired.
   The Chinese had confirmed that extensive underground shelters existed, and that it would require surface landings to secure the moon.  They had also indicated that they would be moving their newly completed cruiser, supplies, and ground troops to Triton.  The Chinese had indicated that Pan Euro and US ships were welcome to accompany the group.  The next few hours would see that happen.
   The Pan Euro Troopship had finished loading the bulk of the 13th Mech Inf at Earth, and was now headed to finish loading the remaining cyborgs troops of that division.  The US Vigilance would return to Earth and load an armored brigade, while negotiations were underway between the US and FSC to have the Mary Reed carry a second armored brigade.  The US would also send a cargo carrier to hold the supplies and equipment of both the US and Pan Euro troops, plus Survey Tender One with its lifter to help drop troops on Triton.  The 4th Light Battle Group would also go to support the 3rd LBG already at Triton.  A Mobile Shipyard to effect repairs on the Red October, and a civilian cargo liner carrying supplies and ordinance for both LBG's would also be going.
   And if this wasn't enough, Jude didn't have a clue what they would do about it.  There was nothing left to be spared.


   1520 hours/Mary Reed, Ft Hood TX, Earth

   The Dutchman watched the monitor as loading progressed.  The ship was just barely done with her refits and she was off again.  This time with a load of US soldiers bound for Neptune.  And a whole lot of trouble.
   The new sensor array and 'shields' seemed to be working.  They had better be.  The Dutchman was sure the odds of getting to Triton without running into the aliens were slim to none.  The Mary Reed would be more capable in combat, but rumor was the aliens were getting better too.  That was bad because the aliens started off damned good.
   The monitor showed that loading was complete.  The Dutchman keyed in for the crew to lock stations.  They wouldn't actually need to; as the Mary Reed would be limited in her acceleration by the US soldiers she was carrying.  Combat acceleration would kill all of them.
   Of course, so would parking like a sitting duck when the aliens showed up.


   1900 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 9.5 light seconds from Triton

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan checked the updates from the US Space Station.  It looked like help was on the way.  That was good because Jack was sure they would need it.
   Jack had to admit that he was impressed with the Chinese so far.  He had watched five Chinese warships fly right into the midst of the alien defenses and proceed to bombard both orbital and surface installations, with no question, and no hope of survival.  The other five Chinese ships had shown a standard of training and skill as high as any US or Euro vessel, and they were bigger than any US or Euro group.  Much bigger.
   The Chinese repair ship had also proved to be of high quality.  The Chinese ship had docked with the Red October and repaired not only her life support system, but gotten her advanced sensor array and both missile bays back online.  They had also managed to get her magnetic field generators back up to half their normal output.  The Red October had needed to load new missiles from the Rachel Pierce and Mary Queen of Scots, and the repairs were more jury rigged than permanent, but she could fight.  So much for the Chinese being a backward and outdated power.
     It even sounded like the Chinese were sending another one of their big ships out here.  What it would take to support such a large battle group at this distance from Earth boggled Jack.  The supplies they would consume had to be enormous.  And the number of launch bays the Chinese would have when the new ship arrived would be more than the entire US and Euro battle fleets combined.
   The Chinese were a good ally.  Hopefully they would stay that way.


June 29th  2200 hours/Beijing, China

   Minister Po sat at his desk and relaxed.  The alien defenses at Triton had been smashed.  What was left now could be destroyed at the Chinese fleet's leisure.  With the Minh bound for Neptune, along with a number of smaller US, Euro, and FSC ships, the aliens stood no chance in retaking the colony.  Any alien relief force would be destroyed.  Then the hunt for any remaining alien colonies could begin.
   The Chinese Ministry looked on the coming ground combat as an opportunity to gain an insight into the alien make up and technology base.  It would be costly in the short term, but very helpful in the long run.  The fact that the Euro and US would have some chance to gain from this was regrettable, but their ground forces had shown themselves to be very capable.
   The best news was that the schematics for the new class of ship had been completed and were even now being taken to the Venus Station.  She would not be constructed at Earth, as allowing the other powers to gain sensor data on her construction was unthinkable.  She would mass twice what the largest Euro combat vessel did, and carry twice as many launch bays.  The new ship would be named for the cruiser lost in action near Mars, but she would be known as the 'Heavy Cruiser' Mao Tse Tung.
   She would guarantee Chinese dominance in space.  And on Earth.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 12

///////////////////////////////////
Overview

OK, where to start.....
This month saw a lot happen inside the game.
It saw even more happen outside the game.
I guess I usually start with the economic overview first, so here it goes...

For the Pan Euro,
This was a month of good and bad luck.  Without rehashing what is in the story, she just seemed to find herself in serious trouble, and then got back out of it.  Economics wise she was solidly back in second place, with about 94% of China's income. Militarily she was second also, but a LOT farther back. Research was plodding along, and she continued slow but steady colonization and IU investment.  A new destroyer, the Queen Victoria, was started, and she could claim one full BG and two LBG's.  The Red October was going to be in bad shape for a minimum of 5 months regardless how she worked it, but she got lucky on her emergency repair rolls and it was still pretty useful at the month's end.  She had also captured a Nemontian PV (which is a story all its own), and was the first to get some info on the aliens.  All in all a good month for the Euro.
Her one sore point was that she failed to get her roll for S's to regenerate in one hour.  She would still have to put in for repairs to get them back up.

For China,
China was stalled economically.  No where to colonize, and no space left for IU.  He had an edge on the Euro, but knew that was going to start slipping as she continued with her growth.  The survey of Saturn's moons had begun, but he didn't know what he was going to get, and wouldn't find out for about 4 more months if all went well.  Truth be known he hadn't planned on taking Triton completely out as he figured he could draw more alien ships leaving it as bait, and would also ensure the safety of his survey if the aliens were busy elsewhere.  He just hoped his newest CL would get to Triton in time. Pretty strong tactics for a kid.
He had also had me look over the next ship he planned to start building in July, to make sure there were no mistakes in the cost/systems/etc.  It would be the game's first CA, and looking at his design I was pretty sure the Nemotians would be toast when it hit the board.  As would every other ship currently in the game if they came up against it.

For the US,
The US still took a pretty good hit this month with the loss of 20 PU on Mars.  He started this month at only 82.5% of China's income, and the loss on Mars was just making it worse.  He started building another MkIII (the Naginata) and continued colonizing Mars and emplacing IU, but he knew he was a long way back in the field.  The problem that he was running into was the limit of what Mars could hold without cleaning up the radiation caused by the Nemotian's attacks.  The AB was still there though.
He had planned to start building a pair of MkIIb's in July, but was getting rather attached to his little Q Ship the Vigilance.  It was doing a multitude of roles to include warship, troop transport, and landing platform.  He was even looking at adding an X and turning it into a truly multi-role ship.
Choices, choices....

For the FSC,
The oldest girl's group kind of sat back quietly this month.  Not much she could do with her one and only ship down for refits.  At the end of the month she did work out a deal with the US to ferry troops for them, as the only other ship the US had that could serve that role was the Vigilance.  She felt fairly safe doing this and leaving her population unguarded, as it looked like China was going to be too busy to try and take her over for the coming months.  The US and Euro were looking to buddy up with her against the growing might of China.  She continued her research, and hoped she could get the project on S's regenerating done so she could get her RDS started on her pet project.  She had to give up on IU placement this month, but did manage a trickle of colonization to the AB.  Her income was only 20% of China's.  She spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to come up with extra income.

For the Nemotians,
This was probably the best month the players had so far against the Nemotians.  The only ships they lost to action were five Chinese ships - one that was outdated, and four purpose built to be destroyed.  China wasn't really feeling the pain on that one.  The Euro tried over and over to lose ships, but always managed to squeak by.
For the Nemotians it was a horrible month.  They started it ready for a new offensive.  They ended it having lost two ES's, two CT's, two DD's, a BS1, two BS0's, a SY, three FT4/SYM, two PDC's, two FT1's, and had one of their two most valuable colonies blockaded after it lost 14.2 PU and IU.  But it wasn't a total write off (close though).  They did manage to make their roll for EL3 which would help their now shaken economics for the next month. And they made their roll to develop the st, which would have a major impact on planetary bombardments in the months to come.  The Hive ships would become some of the most hunted vessels out there.  Right after Patrol Vessel 17/'The Baron'.

Rule Mongering,
OK, lets start on some of the rule bending this month.  Part of it has already been covered in the comments thread so that section will just be a rehash/copy of that.  The taking of PV12 will be another story though.

This was the month the oldest boy brought to my attention that Plasma Torpedoes don't do x3 dmg vs no drive field.  He was pretty proud of himself.  I wasn't.  A loooooonnnng (and sometimes heated) discussion involving all of the players ensued.  A lot of options got tossed around including restarting the game. No one wanted that (especially China).  The possibility of a new weapon system was approached, but looked rather daunting to me. It was also considered to have the PT's go to the standard rules in July, but that would really put a kink in the story (and to me looked like it would make the Nemotians push overs).  In the end, the concensus came down to this:

1.  We would allow PT weapons to keep triple damage in this game vs no drive field - for the Nemotians only. Should they ever meet another PT using race, it would use standard rules.
As a concession to the players, Pta's from this race would be suseptible to EM.  If the Nem. were to develop Pg's or Ptb's, they would follow normal rules for EM and damage.  I liked that for the Ptb as it would make them longer ranged/more accurate/good counter to the EM, but lose dmg in the trade off.  Sounded like what the Nemotian research path would look like.  It would make the players look at what a ship was armed with as how they would approach it.

2.  EM would be allowed for use by CP engines with specific rules as follows:
     a.  A ship would have to accelerate by one from its current speed.  If currently at max speed it would require detuning (which we had already house ruled was ok for CP and added 1 to max speed) to perform the EM so it was best done by a ship at one below max.
     b. EM could only be used by CP ships with a TM of 2 or less.  When using EM, the ship would still lose MP equal to its TM.  Max EM for a CP ship would be -1.  If subtracting the TM from the ship's speed would result in a speed of 0, EM could not be used. This ment that any ship using EM would slow down every turn, and would have to eventually resume normal movement to regain speed.

As an example, if your ship was at speed 4 last turn with a TM of 2, this turn it would add one for accelerating, and then subtract two for EM for a net speed of 3. When this ship reached a speed of 1, it would be unable to use EM the next turn as the net speed would be 0.  It was really a two edged sword against the Nemotians, as they had a one hex range advantage with their weapons.  It made you harder to hit, but after a few rounds guaranteed that the bad guys would find that 'sweet spot' and could fire on you without return fire.  It made the development of the Rb imperative so the players could always maintain fire while they manuevered.

As a last concession to the players, I agreed to not let the Nemotians use EM until month 20.  Seemed only fair, they had taken extra dmg for the last 17 turns.  Two turns exclusive use of EM wasn't too much to ask.

Our previous games had only one minor race that used PT, and my inexperience with PT's, and the Ultra rules, kind of got us into a bit of a bind on this one.  We house ruled it away because the players were fairly proud of what they had accomplished, and didn't want to start over (well, the oldest girl may have, but she didn't push the subject.  Her little project she was working on had her fairly excited

As for the taking of PV12, that was pretty much a spur of the moment thing that turned out to really get interesting and exciting.

It started with PV12 getting hammered down to only having the Pta left, and then I didn't check where I was at on ammo in the running battle with the Elise/Sereg and managed to run out of torpedoes. I decided it would scuttle as it had a really good roll. Then the silly ship failed its roll to scuttle.  So I figured the crew would die off when their life support ran out.  Then they made their roll for emergency repairs on the Qa. But not one other system.  So here I was with a ship that wasn't going anywhere. On top of that, the Euro had detuned two of its Attack Escorts in the battle, and then managed to blow rolls for both of them. Now two Euro ships were stuck by PV12 with burned out engines.

They say that the true test of intelligence isn't what you know, its what you do when you don't know.  This was one of those time.

It looked like an opportunity for fun.  I could have just ruled the US/Euro couldn't take the ship and made them destroy it, but that seemed to easy, and the stakes looked pretty high with the Elise/Sereg waiting to be nuked.  So I decided to make it higher.  Ultra has no boarding rules, and we don't own Crusade to borrow that set, so I used what we did have.  We agreed to steal the SFB's boarding party rules with some adjustments.

Turns would take one day each.

A ship could have one boarding party for each HS still active.  This gave PV12 nine with its Pta (6), restored Qa (1), and two S's (2).

Using boarding parties from a ship's crew to attack another would shut down HS equal to the parties employed. (The US/Euro wanted none of that.)

Qv could be turned into boarding parties on a 1 Qv to 10 boarding parties ratio.  I figured the Qv was really a lot bigger than that, but had no experience in ship to ship combat, how the ship worked, etc. so the Qv would be less efffective, take bigger losses, etc.

I ruled that Qv would still need half an H to support them, just like in a planetary assault, and that the H would cover the whole month.

We ruled gigs were too small to move troops effectively.  GTOS could move boarding parties like shuttles did in SFB's, only two boarding parties per trip.

Shields could block movement, but were easy enough to knock back down.  They just used up the good guys missiles they wanted to save for the defense.

When boarding parties were gone, successes took over Qa (control spaces) on the ship.  When all Qa were captured, the ship was captured. The story uses the launch bay, but I figured for the story one system was as good as another.

At this point the battle for PV12/defense of the Elise&Sereg really took off for the US and Euro.  It proved rather entertaining for all involved.  The possibility of future boarding actions had me a little concerned, but I didn't figure it would happen all that often.

 That should be enough for the first pass.  The next post will be the write up of the battles for the month and the ships (and other things) involved.

You will need to bear with me on the next several months in the game.  They will be fairly long.  This became one of the most pivotal and involved times in the game.

[procyon (OP)]

June 2204 part 13

///////////////////////////////////////
Overview part 2

For the curious, here are the ship rosters for the battles this month.

Attack on Convoy 058

Detachment - Nemotian Patrol Group

Patrol Vessels 12 (BG+1), 23 (BG-1)
Class:  CT      16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1]  cg x3


Convoy Escort Group
Admiral: Jude Kushnir (LG+2)

Pan Euro Forces
Queen Mary (BG)
Class:  DD      30HS
[2] S S S S A A A Hs Qa Mgs (Cp) (Cp) Qa Ra Ra Ya Ra Ra (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Attack Escorts Elise (BG+1) , Keely Sereg (BG)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (Cp) [6/1]

US Forces
Q Ship Vigilance (BG-1)
Class:  FT2      16HS
[2] S S Qv Qv Qv Ya Ra H H H (Bsa) Qa (Cp) [4/1] gtos x1

This was the battle that started the ball rolling in the inner system.  
The Patrol Vessels never even got close to the convoy.  The escorts can just pick them up from too far away.  If you want to try and break through to the freighters, you could just swipe the convoy from March 2204.  It would be pretty close, and would do the job. (What this means is I've managed to lose the ship list for the FT's, but know the convoys were pretty consistent from group to group.)
In the game, I had intended to just run the PV's in to their max range, fire a few shots, and break off after causing some damage.  I oopsed and got the PV's one hex too close and got hammered.  I tried to run PV 12 at redline (detuned) to see if I could shake off the pursuit, or at least run them out of missiles.  Well, I ran out first.  Got smashed up in the exchange - down to just the Pta - but my wife managed to blow her rolls for engine burnout on both of the Attack Escorts.  The Queen Mary lost her armor, but otherwise was fine.  What the Euro was short on were missiles.  They shot away over half of the total amount they carried.


Bombing of Mars Colony

Scout Craft Detachment - Nemotian Patrol Group

48 cg's with two dumb bombs each


US Task Force One

Interceptor MkIIb B Franklin (BG) , JFK (BG) , A Jackson (BG-1) , Z Taylor (BG-1)
Class: CT      16HS
[2] S S S H Mgs Qa Ya Lb Ra (cpCp) [6/1]  cg x1

Mars Space Station
Class:  SS      162HS

• H Qa (SY2)

Mercury Station Military Modules 1- 4 , 6 (BG-1)
Class:  SS      12HS

• S S H Qa Lb Ra

Mars has 106.7 PU at this time.

This battle is less about the ships, and more about how quickly you can shoot down the little gig's.  Swatting all of them before they reach the planet is just about impossible.  The loss for the US was 20 PU when all was said and done.
The oldest boy also tended to try and figure out when he could get just as good of odds on the ASV table without shooting missiles, so that he could conserve them in case he was attacked afterward by the main alien group.  He was always expecting the big alien ships to show up in support, or to attack shortly after when the Interceptors would be low on ordinance.  He got lucky on that one.  I had hoped to draw off reinforcements headed for PV12 and try to get my wife's ships (Euro) to head for Mars instead.  
Things just never seemed to work out for me this month.


Battle for PV12

Nemotian Patrol Group

Patrol Vessels 12 (BG)
Class:  CT      16HS
[2] S S X X X X Qa X X X X Pta [0/0]

Patrol Vessels 13 (BG+1), 17 (BG+2) , 24 (BG-1) , 25 (BG-1)
Class:  CT      16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1]  cg x3

Attack Vessels 1(BG-1), 2 (BG-1) , 3 (BG-1)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S H Ya Qa (Cp) Pta [6/1]  


Allied Security Group
Admiral: Jude Kushnir (LG+2)

Convoy Escort Group

Pan Euro Forces
Queen Mary (BG)
Class:  DD      30HS
[2] S S S S X X X Hs Qa Mgs (Cp) (Cp) Qa Ra Ra Ya Ra Ra (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Attack Escorts Elise (BG+1) , Keely Sereg (BG)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (X) [6/1]

US Forces
Q Ship Vigilance (BG-1)
Class:  FT2      16HS
[2] S S Qv Qv Qv Ya Ra H H H (Bsa) Qa (Cp) [4/1] gtos x1

Pan Euro 4th Light Battle Group

Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat (BG-2)
Class:  CT      16HS
[2] S S S Hs Mgs Qa Ra Ra Ya (cpCp) [6/1] cg x1

Attack Escorts J Reynolds (BG-2) , G Vetra (BG-2)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (Cp) [6/1]

Support Group

Survey Tender 1
Class:  FT0      5HS
[2] H (Bsa) H Qa (Cp) [6/1]  gtos x1

Mobile Shipyards 1 , 2
Class: FT4      30HS
[2] H H H Qa (Cp) (SYM2) [2/1]

The Pan Euro ships start a little short on missiles.  The 4th LBG had 10 salvos on each ship, the QM had 11 salvos, while the Elise and Sereg had 7 each.  The Vigilance had a full load out as Tender 1 carried missiles from the US Earth PDC's in its extra hold.  The Elise has drifted to 3 hexes (at 4 o'clock) from PV 12, while the Sereg is 19 hexes back from PV 12 dead astern of it.
As far as the battle went, I thought starting out that the Nemotians had a fair chance at either chasing off/damaging the Euro/US group, destroying PV 12 if they wouldn't run, and maybe even a chance to hit the support vessels (the Euro Mobile Shipyards are slow and should have been easy targets).  The 4th LBG was just out of the yards and in no shape for a fight, while the best ships were either damaged or immobile.  Should have been an easy time for the aliens.  And then, once again, things just didn't seem to work out for me.
This was the first battle that EM was used.  At first I tried to close and get in range of either PV12 or the support ships.  The first salvo from the QM at 19 hexes out landed all four missiles on one of the AV's and took it out. The Jurkat and Vigilance teamed up to knock down the shields on another AV.  My launch was a lot less spectacular.  The next round the Jurkat took out the S down AV while the QM about took down the S's on the last AV.  Still no love from the Nemotian launches.  I decided to try and use my speed advantage to park at 21 hexes and rain in torpedoes.  Problem was, with the Euro's bonus to initiative, I could never win.  With them constantly moving last, they were able to keep me stuck just past max range most of the time.  When I could get in, my hit ratio was horrible.   I was pretty sure I was going to run out of torpedoes, and be pretty useless if another opportunity presented itself.   Down 2 AV's, the last about S's down, over a third of my torpedoes gone, and two hits for one dmg on the QM to show for it - I decided to break off and concede the whole affair.
At this point, with my luck, I was really beginning to dread the next battle at Neptune.

Attack on Cargo Movement 1277

Nemotian Convoy

Small Support Vessel (BG-2)  (x2)
Class:  FT1      12HS
[2] A H H H H A H H H H Qa (Cp) [6/1]


Allied 'Ryan' Group
Admiral Jack Ryan (LG+2 / Navigator)

Interceptor MkIII Yari (BG+1)
Class: CTf      16HS
[2] S S S Hs Mgs Qa Ya (Cp) Ra Ra (Cp) [7/1]  cg x1

Armed Science Vessel Red October (BG+1)
Class:  FGf      22HS
[2] S S S S A A H Qa Mgs Xp (cpCp) Ra Ra Ya Qa (Cp) [7/1]  cg x1

This battle (if you call it that) took place close to Neptune, about 30 hexes out or so as I remember.  They wanted to see if they could draw out any defenses from the planet.  If the response was big, they would accelerate to speed 7 and try to get the defenders to burn out engines chasing them.  If it was smaller, they would lure them toward the Mary QoS and Rachel Pierce waiting at 20 LS out.  If nothing happened, they would just try to find other shipping to shoot up or follow.
If you wanted an alternate battle, you could have the two Combat Vessels at Triton attempt to go after the Yari and Red October.  It would be a pretty tough battle when you add in the two waiting Attack Escorts.  All it turned into for us was a chance to cost the Nemotians a few ships (payment to the CFN for replacement), and see how many missiles the US/Euro would be short for the battle at Triton later in the month.
For the short time the Nemotian DD's lasted at the actual battle of Neptune, I think this would actually have been the better use of those ships.  They would likely have accomplished more than the single launch each made against the Chinese.  If someone runs it out, let me know if they actually have any luck with it.  Remember that the Allied Group can use EM but not the Nemotians.  Just swipe the stats for the Nem DD's and Euro Attack Escorts from this next battle.


Second Battle of Neptune

Nemotian Defense Fleet 2

Combat Vessel 1 (BG) , 3 (BG)
Class:  DD      30HS
[2] S S S A A H Qa (Bsa) (Cp) Mg Mg Mg (M1) Qa (Cp) Kb+ Ya (Cp) Pta [6/1]  cg x3

Defense Base Mk I  (x1) (BG)
Class:  BS1      30HS

• S S S S A A A H Qa Mg Qa Ya Kb Pta Kb

Note: Kb's are turret mounted on a BS1 so 360 degree fire.

Defense Base Mk 0  (x2) (BG)
Class:  BS0      15HS

• S S S A A H Qa Mg Ya Pta

Planetary Defense Installation (x4) (BG)
Class:  PDC      28HS

• A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A Pta Pta

No triple damage modifier for PDC's hit with nukes.
Remember PDC's only have 60 degree blindspots for the Pta's.
If facing 1 is directly toward Neptune, they are on facings 2,3,5,6. (Triton is TL'ed)
Two of the PDC's have empty HS for the left most 2 armor, on facings 2 and 5.

New Home 3 Shipyards (BG-1)
Class:  SS      82HS

• H Qa (SY2)

New Home 3 Support Station (BG-2/CFN Terminal)
Class:  SS

• (H H Qv) x60 (Bsa) (Bsa) (TCF) H Qa
• gtos x2

(for those who like shooting civilian assets)

Mobile Repair Ships 2 ( 9 , 10 docked at shipyard for reactivation)
[2] H Qa (Cp) (Cp) (Cp) (SYM2) [6/1]
PT x12 on board #2 for detonation

Neptune will fill the hex it is in.
Proteus is an O1m at 2tH from Neptune.
Triton is an O1m at 5tH from Neptune with 180PU, 90 IU, RDS x1.
Triton has planetary fallout shelters for 36PU (you can't nuke 'em).
(Players didn't know about fallout shelters at start of battle.)


Chinese Shek Group
Admiral:  Hu (LG+1 / Decisive)

Cruiser Chiang Kia Shek (BG)
Class:  CL      45HS
[2] S S S S S S S A A A A Qa Qa Mgs H (cpCp) Ra Ra (Cp) Qa Ra Ra Ya Ra Ra (CpCp) [6/1]  cg x1

Missile Frigates Anhui (BG+1) , Hubei (BG+2) , Shangxi (BG+1) , Henan (BG+1)
Class:  FG      22HS
[2] S S S S Qa Hs Qa (Cp) Ra Mgs Ra Ra Ya (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Attack Frigates Yunnan (BG+1)
Class:  FG      22HS
[2] S S S S A A A Hs Qa (Cp) Ra Mgs Qa Ga Ga (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Close Assault Escorts Matsu (BG-1) , Taiwan (BG-1) , Kinmen (BG-1) , Penghu (BG-1)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S S A A A H Qa Ga (Cp) [6/1]  


Allied 'Ryan' Group
Admiral Jack Ryan (LG+2 / Navigator)

Interceptor MkIII Yari (BG+1)
Class: CTf      16HS
[2] S S S Hs Mgs Qa Ya (Cp) Ra Ra (Cp) [7/1]  cg x1

Armed Science Vessel Red October (BG+1)
Class:  FGf      22HS
[2] S S S S A A H Qa Mgs Xp (cpCp) Ra Ra Ya Qa (Cp) [7/1]  cg x1

Attack Escorts Mary Queen of Scots (BG+2), Rachel Pierce (BG+1)
Class:  ES      12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (Cp) [6/1]

This battle sets up the events for the next few months.  Neither the US/Euro, or the Chinese wanted the Triton Colony destroyed out right. Then they found out when the Yunnan/Assault Escorts ran right up to Triton that they weren't going to take it out anyway.  They also discovered that the PDC's were going to be hard nuts to crack, and the players were going to use up a lot of missiles getting it done.  The PDC's could also ignore the EM from the ships.
The battle saw the loss of the Yunnan and Assault Escorts, and the Red October getting hammered.
And yes, once again, the Nemotians got hammered at this battle also.  The CV's were taken out the first round they came in range.  The bases lasted less than two full rounds.  The PDC's held out pretty well, but that had more to do with the players wanting to conserve missiles to engage the ships that would come to relieve the colony.  The Nemotians lost 14.2 PU and IU, two PDC's, two DD's, all three bases, the three Mobile Shipyards and the SS/SY.  This just wasn't my month.

This last battle also set the stage for the Third Battle of Neptune and the ground war there.
The next few months brought a few events and turns that no one had really looked for....

And a show down everyone had been waiting for.

Again, thanks for reading.

[procyon (OP)]

July 2204 part 1

July 1st 1715 hours/Pan European Space Station, Earth orbit

   Admiral Jude Kushnir sat in the briefing room by herself.  The 'afternoon' briefing had been informative, and depressing.  'If all of the data shows that we are finally winning, why do I feel like we are losing?' She thought to herself.
   She looked out the viewing port in the briefing room.  From here she could see the Queen Mary settled into a slip.  Workers dotted the ship's hull, cutting away the damaged plating in preparation for repairs.  The ship would be down for a week or so to have the plating and baffles replaced, and then the Elise and Sereg would take their turns in the yard.  The repairs the two Attack Escorts had received from the Mobile Shipyards were holding up well, but the ships needed a good inspection here at the yards, if nothing else.
   Brenna was now 'baby sitting' the captured alien ship and the Mobile Shipyard that was busy trying to disassemble the thing.  'Three months is a long time out there.  Especially when the aliens know exactly where you are.  If they show up with the strength they challenged us with earlier, she will never be able to hold.  She could get her ships out of there, but the Mobile Shipyard is too slow.'  Jude looked out the viewing port for a long while.  'But I don't think Brenna will run.'
   Jude looked out at the Queen Mary again.  'The video feeds from Ian on the Mary QoS makes the QM look shiny and new.  The Red October looks like a survivor from a banger race or demo contest.  They aren't even sure that she will make the trip home.  Captain McNeely doesn't sound like he is much better off than the ship.  The report is that he had his left arm removed.'  Jude sat and thought some more.
   'We don't have a ship on line bigger than a Heavy Escort, and only two of those. The US has a single Task Force, and can't move it.  We have been reduced to deploying Light Battle Groups as we have nothing else we can spare.'  She looked out to the slip beside the Queen Mary to see the meshwork of supports and systems in the slip beside her.  'And the Queen Victoria is still months away from being finished.  The Lady Di is just a pipe dream.'
   Jude noticed her fingers thrumming away on the armrest of her chair.  Here on the station it actually made noise.  Jude forced herself to stop and turned her chair back to the table, then laid her head down until she heard the 'click' as it touched the surface.  'We're winning, but it will only take one mistake, one battle to go against us.  And then it will be over.'


July 2nd 0020 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, 3 light seconds from Jupiter

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 waited.  The magnetic signature of the nearby planet, along with its many moons would make it difficult for the native race to find his ships.  The orders were to return to New Home 3, but the Support Vessel that brought the Patrol Group's routine supplies was due to arrive shortly.  The Commander had transmitted orders for the Support Vessel to divert from it scheduled resupply point in the debris field to here at the giant planet.  The debris field was simply too close to the enemy at this point, and waiting for it to cross the distance to the debris field would slow them even more.  The giant planet would still allow the ships of the Patrol Group to dock with the Support Vessel while being hidden from enemy ships.
   And then they would be able to resume the trip to New Home 3, and the enemy ships waiting there.


July 2nd 0210 hours/Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat, 3 light minutes from Jupiter

   Captain Michael McWilliams reviewed the status reports and ship logs for the 4th LBG, Mobile Shipyard 1, and the Troop Transport.  The movement was going smoothly.  The Troop Transport was the most difficult ship to manage from an astrogation stand point.  The brigades of powered armor troops on board made ‘standard’ drive acceleration impossible.  With the ship limited to sustained acceleration of 2 or 3 G’s, and maximum acceleration of less than 30 G’s, she was a slow and ungainly duck.  She could go faster, but it would doom all the troops onboard.  Normal human bodies just weren’t meant to ride a nuclear fireball.
   His ships had performed well in their first engagement with the aliens.  None had been damaged, and the sensor logs showed that several of the launches from the 4th LBG had intercepted the Echo's they had targeted.  Now they would have a month to practice what they had learned.  Then they would likely face combat again near Neptune.  But if not then, eventually.
   Captain McWilliams then changed the monitor display to show the current sensor returns.  Every time it left him with a sense of wonder.  This was a large group of ships.  Six of them were combat vessels, and one was enormous.  The Chinese 'Cruiser' dwarfed the rest of the convoy.  It supposedly carried as many launch bays as all of the other combat ships put together.  'This is truly a multinational fleet.  Every Earth power with the ability to move in space is represented here.  The Pan European, the US, the FSC, and even China.  Not just warships either.  Troop Transports, landers, supply ships, repair ships, tenders.  Thirteen ships in all.  And we even have two more ships due to join the group soon.'
   Mike flipped the display over to show the projected course plot.  It had changed slightly.  The US had detached one of the Interceptors from Mars with a cargo carrier.  It held extra equipment and supplies for the ground troops, along with additional missiles 'raided' from the Mars Space Station.  They were to rendezvous with the main group in the next few hours.  It would stress the US ships' engines to try and catch the convoy, so a waypoint had been designated for the ships to meet.  The main body of the convoy would stop at Jupiter while the US ships caught up.  The group would then continue on toward Neptune, and whatever awaited them there.

[procyon (OP)]

July 2204 part 2

July 2nd  0845 hours/Heavy Interceptor Esme Jurkat, 1 LM orbit at Jupiter

   Captain Michael McWilliams double checked the course plot.  The convoy was cruising at a leisurely pace of 775 kilometers per second.  At one light minute from Jupiter this left the ships pulling a constant 1.8 G's in angular acceleration.  The troop transports would be able to maintain the life support for the human occupants, while the cyborg crews could move about the ships with ease.  Most were on work details or simply enjoying the novelty of being able to walk around the ship without magnetic assistance.
   Mike was checking the status of the preparations for launch of the ship's boat.  With Jupiter so close, it had been decided that a quick sweep of the space around the giant planet was in order.  The US ships would not arrive for almost 24 hours, and it would only take the little boat two hours to reach Jupiter, another hour to sweep the moons, and then the two hour return trip.  The sweep would be done long before the US ships were even in sensor range.
   A new contact was logged as the FSC Mary Reed launched its ship's boat.  The small craft was going to move along the convoy's course plot about 15 light seconds ahead of the main group.  It would then maintain that interval to ensure the civilian ships didn't blunder into any unexpected surprises.  The little boats had limited sensor suites, but they were much harder to detect than a full sized vessel.  They also didn't weaken the defenses of the convoy by drawing off combat vessels.
   There was no lurch as the Esme's small boat launched from its bay.  The ship was already well within the craft's tolerance for launch stress.  The contact was logged as it separated from the Heavy Escort and moved away to start its sweep.


   0905 hours/E.J. Ship Boat, 7.5 light seconds from Jupiter

   Midshipman Mary Reeves watched the sensor returns and adjusted the thrusters as the ship's boat approached Callisto.  They were to perform sensor sweeps of the moons and Jupiter's upper atmosphere.  They couldn't pass by every rock that was in orbit of the big planet, just the largest ones, plus any of the smaller rocks that happened to intersect their course.
   Mary brought the boat into a rough orbit of Callisto, at 50,000 km from the surface.  It had been some time since any alien contact had been made at Jupiter, but routine sweeps were made to ensure that the aliens did not attempt to establish any permanent installations.  Jupiter was too close to the inner system to allow the aliens a foothold there.  It was also close enough to the inner system that Mary was sure the aliens wouldn't want to create any permanent installations.  She watched as the sensor array began a surface scan of the moon.
   And then she stared.  The sensors had registered the drive bloom of another small craft lifting off the surface of Callisto.  An alien craft.  Mary quickly altered course and tried to break away from the alien craft, but could only manage to open the gap to 0.75 light seconds.   Mary tried to break contact, but the alien ship refused to be shaken.
   Mary checked her monitor.  The RSO had already begun a transmission to the Esme.  The alien ship was too small to have come from Neptune by itself.  A larger ship had to be nearby.  A warship.  And it would be moving to destroy them.  It would take the message a minute to reach the Esme.  It would take the Esme 20 minutes to reach Jupiter at best speed.  But it wouldn't leave the convoy for just a ship's boat.
   Mary quickly keyed in a small message to her children.  She had become a cyborg five years ago after a long bout with cancer.  Her ex had divorced her even before the cancer had forced her to make the choice to give up her body.  But the children had never deserted her.  They still visited 'mom' whenever they could.  And Mary didn't want the only message they got to be the dry notification the military would send them.
   She piggybacked the message to her kids on the transmission to the Esme for rebroadcast to Earth.  She then turned back to the sensor returns.  She had managed to get an extra five years with her kids.  If this was how it ended, at least she had that.


   0910 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, Orbit of Europa, Jupiter

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the field at his station.  The four scout craft the Support Vessel had brought were deployed to sweep the space near the great planet and take positions on several of the moons to monitor for the approach of enemy vessels.  The resupply operations were nearly complete.  Only Patrol Vessel 25 was docked with the Support Vessel and loading missiles into its launch bay.  Now one scout had reported contact with a small craft of the enemy near the outer most large moon.  The scout craft was now following the interloper.
   The Commander issued the orders for the Support Vessel and two Hive Vessels to move away from the giant planet.  The Support Vessel would proceed 15 light seconds ahead of the Hive Vessels to scout the path and draw fire if the native race had ships on that vector.  Two of the remaining scout craft would follow the enemy contact at a range of 3 light seconds.  The Attack Vessel was to follow the new contact at a range of 5 light seconds.  The Patrol Vessels would then follow at 6 light seconds behind the Attack Vessel.  The last scout craft would follow 10 light seconds behind the Patrol Vessels to prevent the enemy race from slipping behind the group.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 was sure that the enemy scout would not lead them to any unarmed vessels.  The native race would even now be moving them to safety.  But it was likely that any vessels the native race had sent this far from the inner system were bound for New Home 3.   It would be easier to fight the warships here than to allow the enemy to gather and concentrate his strength.  Any enemy ship stopped here would be one less they would have to face there.
   An ambush lay ahead.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 intended to make the native race lose more than what they had planned.


   0915 hours/Cruiser Ho Chi Minh, 1 LM from Jupiter

   Captain Meng locked his station and checked the translation of the Pan Euro transmission.  The Pan Euro Captain had reported that his small scout ship had made contact with an enemy bomber near the moon Callisto.  The contact had been made nearly ten minutes ago, and the bomber seemed to be content to simply follow the Pan Euro boat.  That was curious.  The aliens had to have warships nearby to support the small bomber.  Why had they not used them to destroy the small Euro boat?
   Regardless, the Pan Euro Captain had announced his intention to move the Pan Euro warships to a location along the boat's flight path and either destroy the bomber if no warships were following it, or to engage any alien vessels that might be trailing the boat.  He had requested the aid of the Minh in the event that the alien presence was significant.  That would leave only the US and FSC ships to guard the convoy.
   Captain Meng changed his display to the current sensor returns.  The magnetic protective field could create ghost contacts on the returns, but for the moment the space around the convoy seemed clear.  An opportunity to engage and destroy alien vessels stationed near the inner system would help to insure the safety of Chinese holdings and shipping while the fleet was engaged at Neptune.
   "Comm, request from the Euro Captain sensor feeds from the scout and projected course plots.  Indicate that we will accompany their 'Battle Group' to intercept the bomber and any possible alien warships.  Also indicate that we will coordinate tactically with the Euro ships, but will not assume a subordinate position in the engagement.  Tactical command of the Minh will remain with me."  Captain Meng waited as the message was sent, and for the few minutes it took the Euro Captain to reply.  By the time the sensor feed and course plot was translated, the Minh was locked and ready for combat acceleration.


   1033 hours/Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat, 31 light seconds from Jupiter

   Captain 'Mike' watched the sensor returns.  The ship's boat and alien small craft were closing.  They had entered sensor range 30 seconds ago, but at a range of 6 light seconds they both still merged into one contact on the sensor returns.  The craft would likely be invisible at that range if Midshipman Reeves hadn't turn on the small boat's beacon.  The intense radio signal was echoing off the small vessel tailing her ship.  The radar signature was diffuse but traceable.  
   For the moment, there were no other contacts.  That could change quickly though.  The ships were positioned two light seconds away from the course the two small craft would take.  All of the crews were at general quarters, with the ships' protective fields and drives off.  They would appear as no more than a small grouping of rocks.  Three quarters of a light second away the Chinese ship sat dead in space, another slightly larger rock.  With luck any alien warships following behind the small craft would be unaware of the Pan Euro and Chinese ships' presence until they launched.  With luck they would be able to destroy most if not all of the alien ships that would arrive.
   Mike was fairly sure that wouldn't happen though.  The aliens were far too good.  Mike hoped to catch the aliens in a trap.  He would be satisfied if he didn't get caught in one himself.
   A warning flashed on Mike's screen as he heard the Sensor Officer call out.  "New Contact.  Small craft.  Possibly more than one.  Range at five point seven five light seconds.  Heading, bearing, speed identical to EJ ship boat."  Mike considered the situation.  One or two more small craft were no great threat.  They were to small to carry any real weapons capable of harming a warship, and their speed was to slow to catch one even if they could.  Perhaps the warships that carried the small alien ships were unwilling to risk themselves chasing a little boat.
   A new warning flashed on the screen.  Mike looked down even as he heard the Sensor Officer.  "New contact.  Range eight point zero light seconds.  Speed two three zero zero kilometers per second.  No acceleration.  Drive thermal signature low.  No magnetic signature.  Bearing zero three zero ascension minus four point five.  Heading one four six ascension minus zero point three.  Contact identified as Echo.  Designating as One."
   "All ships Battle Stations.  Weapon Conn, I want a firing solution on Echo One.  Feed to my station.  Comm, tightbeam to the Chinese ship.  Let them know we are tracking a single contact and the bearing for it.  Prepare to broadcast launch commands to the Reynolds and Vetra."  Mike tried to relax.  This wasn't the first time the 4th LBG had been in combat.  But it was his first time as the Commander.
   Mike watched as the EJ's boat and the alien craft following it resolved, and then as the next two small craft following them resolved on the sensors.  Slowly the Echo was drawing nearer.  It took six minutes for the Echo to draw in range, and then it continued to draw even closer.  It seemed to be in no hurry.  Simply following the little ships as they moved along.  No protective field.  No attempts to maneuver. No...
   "New contacts.  Range eight point two five light seconds.  Alpha times four.  Speed, bearing, heading as Echo One.  No magnetic signature.  Low thermal.  No acceleration. Designating as Alpha One, Two, Three, Four."
   Mike could feel the cold creeping down his spine.  The Alphas wouldn't be in range anytime soon.  And the Echo would likely discover that the 'rocks' were actually ships when it passed close enough.  This would be no easy ambush.  The small Echo was the alien's bait.  The 4th would either have to fire on it and give themselves away, or be discovered if they simply sat and did nothing.  And then the Alphas would start the real battle.
   It would be four on four if and when the Echo was destroyed.  Mike hoped they would have the advantage then.  The Chinese ship was much larger than an Alpha.  That should count for something.
   Of course if the 'Baron' as the US had codenamed him was one of those Alphas, that advantage might not be enough.

[procyon (OP)]

July 2204 part 3

July 2nd  1035 hours/Cruiser Ho Chi Minh, 31.75 light seconds from Jupiter

   Captain Meng watched the sensor readout as the small alien warship drew to a range of three light seconds.  The second group of alien ships was also visible on the sensor returns now.  At a range of over 6 light seconds they would be unable to intervene in what was about to happen.  In the next few moments the lead alien ship would be able to identify the Pan Euro Group and the Minh.  Meng had no intention of letting it discover anything other than its own doom.
   "Protective field to full power, all bays launch."  Meng watched as the crew carried out the orders.  The sensor returns clouded momentarily as the magnetic field generators came online.  The crew had not yet completely calibrated the sensor array for the magnetic flux from the generators.  Then the ship shuddered slightly as the six bays deployed their missiles.
   "All particle accelerators to maximum output, engage drive, combat acceleration."  The world changed color as the Minh lurched forward.  The Pan Euro group had also launched missiles on the small alien ship.  'The ship will already be gone by the time their missiles can reach it.'  Meng watched the sensor returns as the missiles closed.  The alien ship must have detected the launch, as it was beginning to maneuver.  And then it raised its protective fields.
   "WHAT IS GOING ON?"  Meng looked at the sensors as the bridge crew also tried to sort out what had just happened.  The small alien ship had just seemed to 'jump' nearly 12,000 kilometers from where it had been.
   The Sensor Officer was the first to respond. "Captain, the magnetic flux of our generators seems to have created a.... sensor echo of the alien ship.  When it employed its magnetic field, we were able to fix its location."  The hesitations in his response gave away the emotion his voice synthesizer did not.
   "Weapons Conn, update data on target."  Meng looked over towards the three crew manning the weapon consoles.  "Captain, the missiles will be unable to correct for the relocation.  Current velocity is too great for the maneuver thrusters to compensate."  Meng could only watch as the six missiles from the Minh streaked harmlessly away into space.


   1036 hours/Patrol Vessel 17, 25.25 light seconds from Jupiter

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 sensed the enemy ships as they erected their protective fields.  There were four, and one was an Assault Vessel.  This would bode poorly.  The Assault Vessel seemed to be having a problem with its initial targeting, as all of its weapons had missed.  The three smaller enemy vessels had managed to collapse the Attack Vessel's protective field, but nothing else.  The Assault Vessel had corrected for whatever had went wrong by the second launch as the Attack Vessel disappeared in the detonations of the enemy weapons.  
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the field at his station and increased the output to the drive.  Patrol Vessel 17 and the rest of the Patrol Group began to close on the enemy ships.  Orders were sent for the two scout craft that had been near the Attack Vessel to close with the nearest enemy ships.  They would not be able to harm them, but the enemy would not know this.  The scouts might be able to draw fire or force the enemy to maneuver around them.
   The enemy ships were close enough to engage, and Patrol Vessel 17 shut off its drive just long enough to deploy a torpedo from the launch bay.  The Assault Vessel was to far away to target, but the enemy Patrol Vessel was easily within range.  Four torpedoes sped toward it as enemy weapons closed on the Patrol Group.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 could feel the protective field collapse on his ship as the enemy weapons detonated.  He could sense that none of the enemy ships had lost their protective fields.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 altered the course of his vessel to disengage from the combat.  This battle was not starting well.  They could not afford to lose any more ships.


   1037 hours/Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat, 31.25 light seconds from Jupiter

   Captain 'Mike' McWilliams checked the status of the magnetic field generators.  Two thirds of the bank had burned out from the first alien salvo.  One of the Alphas had lost its protective field and broken off, but the other three were still in range.  The Minh was too far to launch yet, but was coming around to close the gap.  Two small alien craft were closing rapidly with the 4th LBG.  Mike wondered it they carried nukes inside.  The aliens had used suicide attacks before.
   "Helm, bring us sixty degrees starboard.  Weapons Conn, firing solution and launch on Alpha Three."  Mike could feel the drive shut down several times as the ship came about onto its new course and the two missile bays deployed their weapons.  The sensors were also showing three more inbound contacts.  'Probably targeted on the Esme.  The shields won't take another hit like that first one.'
   Mike watched the sensor returns as the weapons crossed in space.  The Chinese had launched three missiles on the alien bombers closing on the 4th LBG.  Both of the bombers disappeared in the sensor haze from the detonations.  Seconds later both were tumbling through space.  'Looks like the Chinese figured out how to shoot.'  The Esme's missiles, along with those of the Vetra and Reynolds closed on Alpha Three and detonations again clouded the sensor returns.  The sensors had almost cleared when the alien missiles detonated.
   Suddenly the blue-grey haze was gone, replaced with rushing white clouds as the bridge vented.  Mike could feel his station shaking with the violence of the argon blasting through the bridge to clear any debris.  As the cloud disappeared, Mike looked at his monitor to check the sensor returns and damage reports, but it was only a black mass in front of him.  Looking about he could see that the bridge had been breached in two areas, each several square meters in size.  The return of the grey haze told him the drive had survived.
   'I wonder if anything else works', Mike wondered.  He plugged his fingers into the port on the arm of his station and saw lights begin to blaze across his faceplate.  The sensor array had survived, as had both of the launch bays.  The drive was still functioning normally.  'We are still in this fight.  We just can't let that happen again.'  Checking the returns on the Alphas, Mike saw that a second was disengaging with its magnetic field down.  The Chinese ship was slowing and coming about to join the 4th LBG's formation.  'That should chase off those last two.'
   The Attack Escorts had come about more quickly than the Esme, and both had moved beyond their maximum engagement range.  One of the Alphas seemed to have overshot the battle and was nearly 6 light seconds away.  That left only one Alpha in range of the Esme, and the Esme in range of it.  "Firing solution and launch on Alpha Four."  Mike tried to remain calm as he saw another inbound contact appear.  It had to be targeted on the Esme.  Another hit would rip the crippled ship apart.
   Suddenly the sensors clouded over and all readings were lost, then came back a few seconds later.  "What is the problem?"  Mike hoped that someone was still alive at the Sensor Conn to respond.  
   "Captain, the Reynolds had to pass through the drive wash of the Chinese ship to hold formation.  The Reynolds still has her shields up, but the spray as the magnetic field passed through the charged particle stream was too great for the array to compensate.  Inbound still tracking, sir."  Lieutenant Kathleen Wells voice reminded him that there were still more pressing problems.
   

   1039 hours/Attack Escort Giovanni Vetra, 32.75 light seconds from Jupiter

   "Reduce drive output twenty percent.  Firing solution on the first Alpha to break range."  Commander Cameron Watson watched the tactical display.  'The Esme got lucky and slid past the last alien missile.  If those Alphas want another shot at her, they will have to come into range of us first.'
   The two Alphas were currently 6 light seconds from the Vetra.  Alpha One had managed to overshoot the battle, and Alpha Four had closed formation with it.  But they had been moving when the battle started, and that speed advantage would let them close while the 4th LBG was still coming up to full combat speeds.  Maneuvering around the large Chinese ship as it had joined the formation had cost them more speed.  It would only be a minute before the Alphas could close to firing range again.
   "Sir, Alpha Four in range. Missile away"  Cameron could feel the ship lurch only slightly as the missile deployed. Two inbound missiles had also appeared on the sensors.  "Inbound times two.  Targeted on Jurkat."  Cameron listened as the Sensor Officer recited off more information, but it was obvious that the aliens were set on destroying the damaged Heavy Escort.  The Vetra would never be able to destroy both of the Alphas before one of them got lucky.
   "Comm, let the Reynolds and the Chinese ship know that I intend to come about.  Helm, plot a course change to bring us directly back at the Alphas and then transfer it to Comm."  'If we can't get them to back off, we're going to have to chase them off.'  Cameron felt the Vetra's drive stutter as the maneuver jets fired.  The tactical display showed the Reynolds and the Chinese ship were also coming about.  A few seconds later the Alphas mirrored the movement.  'Ok Mike, now get your ass out of here.'
   The Vetra shut down its drive again as another missile launched.  Two inbound missiles also showed up.  'Shoot at someone who's not a cripple and see how well it works for you.'  Cameron waited as the alien missiles closed.  The sensors clouded as the detonations spewed clouds of plasma through space.  The shield generators pushed the waves of super heated particles aside, but payed for it as one third of the generators burned out.
   "They are riding the edge of their range.  It is going to take them a few seconds for their sensors to pick up our course changes at this distance, and then a few more to react.  Helm, bring us about again,  bearing one one seven.  Redline the reactors.  They shouldn't be able to hold range if we do this right."
   Cameron waited, and then felt the ship heave as the Helm tried to bring the ship about with the drive wide open.  The sensors blurred as the EM bleed from the drive washed past the drive shield.  Targeting would be impossible, and the Alphas were nearly invisible.  After thirty seconds the Vetra had come about, and it looked as if the Reynolds and Minh had followed.  "Give us another thirty seconds of redline and reduce output to max combat acceleration."  Cameron waited as the clock counted down and the drive finally reduced its output.  The sensors cleared to show the Alphas had fallen back to 6 light seconds behind the group.  Speeds had equalized between the groups.
   "Good work Helm." Cameron regarded the tactical display.  'You won't be able to catch us now, so let’s see how long you are interested in playing chase.'
   Ten minutes later the last two Alphas broke off.


   1058 hours/Heavy Escort Esme Jurkat, 65 light seconds from Jupiter

   Midshipman Mary Reeves brought the ship's boat into the landing bay.  The Esme looked bad.  The plating and baffles had been torn away in several places, and hull breaches were obvious in at least three.  In the bay were at least three crews preparing for external work.  As Mary climbed out of the pilot's station, she wondered if maybe she hadn't been better off in the little boat.
   As she walked away from the boat, Chief Engineer Mulins approached Mary.  "Glad to see you made it back Midshipman Reeves.  Your on Work Crew Two.  We will move out onto the hull after we dock with the Mobile Shipyard.  With luck we can have her back on line in a few hours.  If not, we'll probably be headed home."
   Mary remembered what the hull had looked like on her landing approach.  She doubted that a few hours would be enough.