22 August 2378 After nearly a month long study the Hegemony Navy has completed their analysis of the Battle of ES – 09. The report was long and detailed, but several items stood out. Chief among them was the issue of electronic warfare.
As New Earth was colonized by refugees escaping with very limited possessions, next to no organization and all data on the Destroyer limited to hearsay, the Navy never attempted to develop a force specifically designed to deal with the alien, as they had no idea what such a force should look like. In addition in the early days any research into EW was very expensive, comparatively speaking, would be too bulky to be fitted on fighters, and any enemy systems could be countered by over engineering fire controls. As such no research into this particular area of science was ever done and the decision not to do so was never re-examined. This has proven to be a mistake for three reasons.
First and foremost according to the Commune it will be impossible for the Hegemony forces to target the Destroyer without any sort of countermeasures. Not difficult – impossible. The entire Navy may sit a hundred kilometers from the alien and they will not be able to achieve a target lock. And while some believe this is just a Commune misinformation this seems unlikely especially when the second reason is taken into account – neither the Administrator nor the Oversight Committee would see any need to preserve forces that could not fight the destroyer.
While it was almost certain the Commune would try to defend its territory, if a situation became desperate it was believed a negotiated withdrawal could be achieved. The basis for that analysis was the fact that a logic driven AI would not destroy forces that could help defend humanity against the aliens unless absolutely necessary and as such would let the carriers go rather than destroying them to make a point. However if the Hegemony forces were unable to deal with the Destroyer, then there was no reason to preserve them. Better yet, from the Commune point of view, the ships used to deal with the intruders were also unfit to battle the aliens, so despite heavy loses among human ships, humanity lost nothing when it comes to its defense.
The last reason why electronic warfare should not have been ignored, was the battle itself. The escorts had reasonable energy weapon armaments and their technology in that area was probably more or less on the same level as the Commune one. At the very least the gap was not as large as with the missile technologies. However the enemy used EW systems, albeit primitive ones, allowing it to score a lot more hits, proportionally, than the Hegemony. As a result, despite having better recharge times and tonnage advantage, all Hegemony escorts firing in unison were unable to kill an enemy frigate quickly enough to prevent it from withdrawing. In comparison the enemy was able to kill two destroyers at once. If proper counters were available it is likely each Hegemony salvo would kill an enemy ship. And while it would probably not be enough to change the outcome, at least it would result in much heavier Commune loses.
The second important item was the effectiveness of the point defense. Despite eight Hammurabi class frigates being present, each with fifty anti-missile launchers, mere seven hundred enemy shipkillers were able to get through massed defenses of four carrier groups and damage the Defiant. For comparison the Commune has almost completely stopped over five and a half thousand Hegemony missiles fired as a single, massive wave. The better performance of the enemy interceptors is one reason for the difference, and the must obvious one, but the Navy points out to its obsolete sensors. To put it simply detection and engagement ranges must be extended to properly utilize their anti-missiles and new, faster reloading launchers would also be beneficial. They point out that this is basically what allowed their enemy to defend himself so well – the Commune could engage the Tomahawks from nearly four million kilometers and they could launch more often as well. The improved reloading times are already in the research queue, but some resources will have to be redirected to improve the sensors and develop the proper electronic warfare systems.
The third item of note was the analysis as to whether or not the fighters are an optimal weapon. Admittedly they are very mass inefficient when it comes to the number of missiles they can launch. After all a warship like the Ra class destroyer carries ordnance directly, but a carrier launches smaller fighters that in turn launch missiles and the simple fact is that four carriers failed to get through point defense of a much smaller enemy fleet even when supported by the destroyers. However as the Navy points out this was due to the enemy defenses being much better than expected. After all seven hundred enemy shipkillers, about as much as can be launched by a full fighter strike of a Steadfast class carrier, managed to get through very powerful Hegemony defenses. Overall the failure of fighters in this particular battle cannot be used as a conclusive evidence that the small craft carry insufficient missiles.
The report also points out advantages of the fighters. First and foremost, they are almost impossible to detect. Second they can launch numerous strikes. A Ra class destroyer has to withdraw to a full scale naval base to have her launchers prepared for a next mission, but fighters can use carrier facilities for that. If accompanied by a number of colliers, a single carrier can launch several missions without having to return home. And last but not least fighters are much more flexible, allowing a single carrier to launch numerous, simultaneous strikes over different distant locations within a star system or to concentrate all that power on a single target. Considering those advantages and the performance of fighters against the ADS, the carrier doctrine is at the very least valid, if not superior.
The next item to be discussed was the ongoing debate of armoring and arming carriers. One side wants them to maximize their strike groups, leaving protection exclusively to the escorts. The other faction, which has been winning for the most part, wants the carriers to have reasonable protection and be able to defend themselves. The battle has been seen as a conclusive victory of the second group. Once again the carriers found themselves to be the primary target of long range strikes and the heavy armor of the Steadfast class, which exceeds that of the Ra class escorts, is the only reason the internal damage was so light. Overall when it comes to the current carrier construction practices, the Navy recommends no changes.
Two things that may seem important but were glossed over in the report where energy based point defenses and the amount of energy weapons in general within the fleet. The former weren't discussed because they are a long known problem which was supposed to be corrected by introduction of gauss cannons with next generation escorts. The latter was considered irrelevant as all warships, even the Hammurabis, had at least some armament and the enemy isn't supposed to close to energy range anyway. In short in the opinion of the Navy the recent battle wasn't lost because there were insufficient short range weapons. It was lost because the short range energy weapon exchange happened at all. And of course those weapons are being updated anyway, as they are seen the best armament for mop up operations.
Overall the Navy's recommendations are very simple. As the gallicite situation prevents naval expansion anyway, the time should be used to develop the next generation of engines, thanks to which the Hegemony would be only a generation behind the Commune, while also developing electronic warfare systems and maybe upgrading the sensors, launchers and short range weapons. Once new engines and EW systems are available and the gallicite situation is resolved, an entire new line of escorts should be designed. This of course will take several years, but the mineral situation won't be resolved any time soon anyway.
10th September 2378 All Commune warships that took part in the recent battles are now back in orbit of the Valhallan habitats. Three new cruisers and a frigate has been laid down to replace losses and repairs begun on other warships, but those will take several months to complete. With the crews and prisoners finally debriefed the Force is ready to provide analysis of both the fight with the Destroyer and the Hegemony.
The first part of the report deals with loses. The final civilian casualties are two million one hundred eighty four thousand six hundred and fourteen people, all Commune citizens who colonized Tadjoura in the Sahara system. Aside from alien habitats that could house almost nine million people, two priceless adaptable terraforming installations were lost as well as three tracking stations. The Force loses comprise two supporting space stations, two anti-missile bases, thirty two Piranha class gunboats, two Eel class fast scouts, twelve Vistuala class corvettes, two Maasvlakte class frigate leaders, nine frigates and three cruisers. Eighty eight hundred and seventy two naval personnel perished aboard those ships. In addition over thirty five thousand shipkillers and interceptors have been used, years if not decades worth of production. With those news out of the way the Force proceeds to present what they've learned.
When it comes to the battle of Peter's Crossing, there is not much to say, as it was well within expectations. Energy weapons were too weak to deal with the intruder and the only reason they did as much damage as they did was because the Destroyer didn't even try to run. At the current time the Commune warships can hope to fire a single volley of their energy weapons, and having enough of them to kill the alien in a single volley is simply not possible. Any fight involving this particular enemy in the future will have to rely on missiles.
The ECCM used worked as well as was hoped. The engagement ranges were still lowered, as were the hit chances, but at least the Destroyer could be properly targeted. Improvements in this area will be welcome but should not be priority.
The amount of ordnance used was enormous, but aside from improving the missiles themselves the Force sees no way to deal with this. A large gunboat force will have to be permanently stationed at Knossos and new missile production facilities will need to be constructed. Unfortunately while there is sufficient ordnance to re-arm the gunboats, there isn't enough to do it optimally. For example the Piranhas will need to be equipped with two different generations of shipkillers and the Sharks will have to use Arrows rather than Mistletoes. Because of this the Force does not recommend construction of new warships, instead preferring to modernize their current fleets especially since in a couple of years a very long chain of research projects will be complete, allowing for construction of completely new formations.
On the strategic level the Commune focus on speed coupled with the establishment of a new naval base on Mjolnir is probably the only thing that saved Knossos, as it allowed the reinforcements to arrive quickly enough. However it is once again pointed out that the enemy made poor decisions regarding their course and targeting priorities. Detection net should be extended beyond the Sahara system and the current speed doctrines should be maintained, possibly even improved upon.
The next part of the report deals with the battle of ES – 09 and that one was much more informative. First and foremost the current practice of using the largest and most cost effective fuel tanks have proven to be a huge weakness. The decision to use those originated from when the Force was originally established, when the Commune was very strapped for founding and resources and was never re-examined. Some officers pointed out the potential problems of this particular design practice, but as any battles were expected to be very short and very destructive, no one expected the fuel tanks to play a role. As the recent battle demonstrated however, that was not true. In the future a more robust and compartmentalized designs will be needed.
In addition ECM has played a significant role in reducing Commune loses, however the system simply does not get the attention it should. Those particular systems are added to the ships simply because they are available, but are never upgraded. Because of that all frigates were using second generation system despite the fact that fourth generation ones were available. And while those would not have changed what happened to the cruisers, they could probably cut the damage to the frigates to mere annoyance.
Another problem with the Commune designs is fire control allocation for anti-missile defenses. Usually ten or more Spear launchers are slaved to a single anti-missile fire control, but the number can get as high as sixteen in the case of Vistuala class frigates. However the enemy was using very small salvos of four missiles, which is why dozens if not hundreds of launchers were not engaging. This will have to be changed in the future designs, with the Force recommending that no more than six to eight launchers be slaved to each fire control. Some of course wanted to go further and lower the number to four, but as was pointed out, the only reason the Commune could afford to launch a single interceptor at each incoming shipkiller at any given time was the technological disparity. In case of more balanced forces, at any given time two or three Spears would be launched at any incoming missile, which means eight to twelve launchers would be utilized. Slaving six to eight launchers to each fire control seems like a reasonable compromise.
Next was the topic of static defenses, namely armor and shields. The former are an underfunded area of research while the latter are completely ignored, as any battles against the Destroyer or the Hegemony were expected to be short and violent. As the Commune prioritized striking enemies first and the regenerative nature of shields would be of no help in a short fire exchange, there was no point heavily developing those systems. However the recent battle was anything but short and at the very least heavier armor on frigates and cruisers would make an enormous difference. Shields could also be useful, although admittedly their high mass means they would be best utilized on larger vessels. Unfortunately no alien installations dedicated to defense have been found so far.
Last but not least there is the question of future energy weapons. So far the Commune has concentrated on railguns and gauss cannons as they make the best point defense weapons. However advanced versions of lasers and plasma carronades have been found and with some research those may become far better anti-ships weapons than anything the Commune has or will have in the near term. As such the Force recommends establishing a proper R&D sector on Tblisi, an already colonized planet which has access to ancient alien weapons manufacturing site.
Overall both the naval officers and the government officials are very pleased with how their navy performed in the recent conflicts, but this can still be improved upon. The lessons learned however won't be fully implemented until the current round of research completes, which will take about two more years.
21st November 2378 While the terms of the peace treaty that followed the Battle of ES – 09 were simple enough, there is still one item under negotiation – the release of Hegemony prisoners of war currently held in the Commune custody. While normally it would be a very straightforward issue with people released early, there is a complication, namely the Hegemony conscription.
As the Hegemony believes that every person should pull their weight in order to produce economy strong enough to support a navy capable of stopping the destroyer and protecting humanity, it is not unusual for the nation to round up unemployed and put them to work for minimal wages, which are barely enough to feed a person, but not large enough to pay for housing, for example. Prison labor is also a fact of life. The Commune already knew all of this, but what they did not know is that those who are unemployed can be conscripted for military service. Worse, unlike being put to work, where a person can try to find a normal job in their spare time, constriction is several years long with no option of withdrawal and extremely harsh punishments for disobedience, failure to perform duties or desertion. While the number of actual spacers who ended up serving this way is relatively small, it still amounts to nearly thirty percent of non-officers or about twenty three percent of the total naval personnel in the Commune custody. And most of those people do not want to go back.
On their end the Commune is hesitant to accept them. Their nation has lavish social spending that would potentially allow anyone to live quite comfortably without ever having to work. The reason the economy have not collapsed is that being unemployed and on social support for a long time carries significant social stigma, creating an enormous peer pressure to be productive. However if several thousand strong colony of outsiders were to be created and if they would abuse the existing system, they could start attracting similarly minded individuals, creating larger and larger underclass of citizens who refuse to work. This could eventually lead to the collapse of the entire society.
This is of course the absolutely worst case scenario, one very unlikely to come to pass as far as the Administrator is concerned. Even so it's on the mind of many Commune citizens, which is why the entire society is a very closed one and is one of the main reasons why there is no emigration from either the Hegemony or the Republic. Even so many feel, including the Oversight Committee, that sooner or later this has to be tested and allowing several thousand people who were for all instances and purposes slaves for another nation to settle would test the validity of those concerns.
And so, after rather lengthy discussion within the Commune government and media, those who were conscripted into Hegemony service and seek asylum will have it granted. The rest will be released to their homes on a Commune colony vessel which will be sent to the Washington system, without escort and crewed by volunteers, in case the enemy tries something. Even so it's very unlikely as the Administrator promises retribution should anything happen to the ship.
The Hegemony is extremely unhappy that their citizens are given asylum in the Commune and they classify the information. In fact they intend to issue a military gag orders to other members of the military regarding the situation and they will issue false certificates of death in battle. Fortunately they know it's probably unnecessary as only information travels between the Hegemony and the Commune, so there is no way for their citizens to leave their nation, even if they wanted to
2nd December 2378 The Republic develops magnetic confinement fusion drives, bringing their engine technology to the level of the Commune. They will now develop actual devices and they intend to upgrade all their warships to the new standard, but they will likely not do so for their commercial vessels.
14th December 2378 A Commune salvage group arrives near the wreck of the Destroyer. Due to being very old designs the trek took over two hundred days but now they are ready to work and provide humanity with some solid information about the alien warship.
7th January 2379 All Commune frigates and cruisers damaged during the Battle of ES - 09 have been repaired although it will be some time before the four lost ships are replaced.
24th March 2379 The Commune completes salvaging the Destroyer, recovering nearly a dozen intact components. As expected the alien is several generations ahead of humans in every area and unfortunately not enough of it has been recovered to seriously speed up Commune R&D. Even so these should help at least a little and will be delivered to various research facilities on Gagarin, Prkos, Eden and Falsterbo for study. Unfortunately as the salvage vessels and their accompanying freighters are very old designs, it will take them a lot of time to complete this task.
23rd April 2379 The Hegemony completes their recovery operations on Magnolia (Seattle II) with dozens of installations, mineral cashes and fuel tanks recovered. The most important finds for them are sixteen thousand tonnes of gallicite, fifty three automated mines, nine research laboratories and eight adaptable terraforming installations that require a significant amount of manpower but can be moved from planet to planet. Unfortunately there are currently not enough freighters so those installations will remain in place for the time being. This isn't such a big issue as it may seem however, as New Earth produces enough automated mines that transport ships are never empty, terraforming installations are working on Magnolia itself and while gallicite is very valuable without steady supply it wouldn't be used for anything anyway. The only installations that are currently wasted are research laboratories and factories, as there aren't enough workers on the planet to operate them efficiently. All the same new freighters are being constructed constantly so all those finds will be moved as soon as possible.
14th June 2379 It's been a year since the Destroyer entered human space. The Commune's situation can be best described as stable, but fragile. Their Piranha class gunboats are fully armed but with mixture of missiles from the second, third and fourth generation Arrows, with the original model serving as a reserve. Cruisers are armed with offensive ordnance but the various planetary bases are not and there is a significant shortage of anti-missiles with only few ships and installations having any Spears.
Despite this the situation is not as dire as it may seem. Obviously the Commune could not possibly fight an entire fleet of warships made by whatever race created the Destroyer, but that would almost certainly be true even if they were fully armed with the newest ammunition. On the other hand they should be able to deal with a single scout like the one encountered a year ago, the Hegemony is for all instances and purposes not a danger and won't be for years, enough space has been secured to allow industrial expansion without the need to liberate territory from either the ADS or the Specters and while the Republic is a little unhappy with the Commune destroying four carrier groups that may have defended humanity, they are still willing to help, making them a proven ally. And while admittedly their ships are slow, they are also very capable and with the new engines they will be able to arrive sooner if they are needed.
More importantly perhaps a long series of research into electronics, armor and energy weapons will be done in a year or so, which coupled with the recent expansion of naval yards will allow the Force to begin construction of new, better ships. To help the leadership decide which direction to take when those technologies become available, the officers working together with the Administrator and the Ministry of Trans-Newtonian industry prepared a full report of Commune's industrial and military resources.
There are a total of one hundred and nineteen systems known. One is home to alien race and under quarantine, one is infested by ADS, one is a classified connection to Hegemony space with two more known systems being under their control and two are under the control of the Republic. The rest is divided into five sectors, the list of which is given below as are the forces present in each of them.
The Capital Sector This sector has been downsized to only two systems – Baltic and Malbork. Once the very heart of the Commune not only in terms of position but also industry and population, it is no longer so with majority of manufacturing, research and mining moved elsewhere. However it is still the primary shipbuilding, administration and ground force training site and the home to the largest fleet. Most of the reinforcements that dealt with the Destroyer came from here and its central position means this will likely remain the case. Below is the list of populated planets.
Valhalla (Baltic system; population of 455 million people) – The gas giant with its seven inflated and spun up moons has been the Commune secret retreat after the destruction of Earth and for over a century their only home. By now, while still having diversified economy consisting of financing, manufacturing, ordnance production, administration, education and military training it's best known for its naval yards. In fact the only shipyard outside the capital sector is located in orbit of Knossos and produces gunboats. Even so as the population cannot expand, due to the limited space inside the habitats, the importance of the system diminishes with time. Fortunately enough colony ships are available that population control is no longer necessary as any surplus population can emigrate elsewhere and most inhabitants are willing to do just that.
Mjolnir (Baltic system, population of 250 thousand people) – The planet is not habitable for humans and the only settlement consists of a Stanford Torus like space habitat. The only function of the planet is to serve as a naval base in the inner system, to allow quicker response to new threats.
Peles (Malbork system, population of 167 million people) – The planet possessed no minerals or alien artifacts of value and is a dead end system connecting only to Baltic. However because of this position it is considered to be one of the safest planets in the Commune and as such there was a significant popular pressure to colonize it. In the end all commercial shipbuilding was moved there and by now the planet is home to a total of four shipyards with a total of twenty six slipways. Aside of that small manufacturing and financing industries are present and numerous mining corporations operate from the planet, extracting minerals from two moons and one asteroid.
Home Fleet The Home Fleet is technically responsible for protecting the Capital Sector, but its true main function is to serve as a strategic reserve. Almost all warships are produced here, after which they are trained and armed before being assigned to new formations and duty stations which coupled with the central location of the system makes it a logical staging area for any warship that isn't needed somewhere else. During the years parts of the Home Fleet took part in many operations most notably against the Destroyer and the Hegemony. The current list of warships is given below.
Task Force 101 (in orbit of Valhalla)
First Cruiser Division (awaiting replacement vessels)
Third Cruiser Division (undergoing refit)
First Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Second Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Third Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Sixth Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Seventh Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Eight Frigate Squadron (awaiting replacement vessel and refit)
Ninth Frigate Squadron (awaiting refit)
Seventeenth Frigate Squadron (undergoing training)
Fourth Gunboat Flotilla (awaiting refit)
Sixth Gunboat Flotilla (awaiting refit)
Seventh Gunboat Flotilla (awaiting refit)
Eight Gunboat Flotilla (awaiting refit)
Ninth Gunboat Flotilla (awaiting refit)
Courland Orbital Defenses (Six Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Biskupin Orbital Defenses (Five Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
New Prague Orbital Defenses (Four Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Valkyrie Missile Base (One Sorcerer class sensor outpost and five Malbork class missile bases)
3 Hyperion class battlecruisers on independent duties
3 Rugewit II class jump cruisers awaiting assignment
4 Elatha III class cruisers awaiting assignment
12 Vistuala IV class corvettes awaiting assignment
7 Moat class orbital weapons platforms awaiting assignments
4 Elatha III class cruisers under construction
1 Stockholm class frigate under construction
3 Moat class orbital weapons platforms under construction
Task Force 102 (in orbit of Mjolnir)
Third Gunboat Flotilla
Fifth Gunboat Flotilla
Tenth Gunboat Flotilla
Twelfth Gunboat Flotilla
Twentieth Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Third Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Sixth Gunboat Flotilla
Thirtieth Gunboat Flotilla
Thirty First Gunboat Flotilla
Thirty Second Gunboat Flotilla (undergoing training)
Thirty Third Gunboat Flotilla (undergoing training)
Thirty Fourth Gunboat Flotilla (undergoing training)
Mjolnir Orbital Defenses (six Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Other formationsPeles Orbital Defenses (two Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Sudetes Sector The Sudetes Sector is currently the heaviest populated and most industrialized one. The only industries not present are ground force training and shipbuilding. Once a site of major battles with the ADS it has been quite for decades. It connects both to the Republican and Hegemony space. The list of populated planets is given below.
Eden (Athens system, population of 450 million people) – The first readily habitable planet found and the most Earth-like one, it has seen heavy development. It has by now the most diversified economy in the Commune space which includes manufacturing, mining, research, ordnance production, fuel refining and education. Despite this there is still a lot of available manpower making some people champion for establishment of new naval yards above the planet. Despite the value however the planet itself is rather poorly defended leading the local government to construction of ground based fortifications. This was the first such project in the Commune, but not the last and more such installations will be built in the future.
Wieliczka (Sudetes system, population of 302 million) – Once the focus of the colonization and development, the planet itself is decreasing in importance. It was the first reasonable mining site and large extraction sector is present, but a lot better locations have been discovered so now most of it will be moved elsewhere. This however still leaves Wieliczka as a major fleet base, manufacturing and financial site, but for all instances and purposes the planet now serves mostly to support development of other, more important and promising colonies. It should be noted however that while the value of the planet has decreased, the importance of the system has not. It is still strategically placed, it's home to the largest fuel refining fleet in the Commune space and civilian mining companies are present on two moons with very large mineral deposits, producing significant amount of taxes.
Prkos (Adriatic system, population of 106 million) – The planet was initially colonized by private citizens without the government support, making use of abandoned alien habitats. However as an old alien missile and kinetic ammunition production complex was present, the Administrator begun developing the colony making it one of the largest R&D sites in the Commune and arguably one of the most important ones considering how heavily the Force relies on missiles. Small manufacturing, financing and ordnance production sectors are also present, but purely secondary.
Thesaurum (Adriatic system, population of 23 million) – For the longest time the planet was ignored as it had little to attract development. The mineral content was reasonable but everything present could be found elsewhere. However due to resource issues the Commune continued sending geological survey teams to double check orbital examinations to dozens of planets, especially the ones with potential for colonization. One such team found significant and easily accessible deposits of gallicite, currently the most coveted TN element in space. This led to massive government backed settlement and development and the colony has just begun producing reasonable, if still comparatively small, quantities of the precious mineral. This of course will change over time as new mines are moved from Eden and Wieliczka and new colonists arrive from Baltic. A small manufacturing sector is also present, currently busy building terraforming installations, as the planet is still not habitable for unprotected humans and won't be for several more years at least.
Ceylon (Pacific system, population of 15 million) – The planet itself has no value, but the system is bordering Hegemony space, which made it a logical naval base. However due to many heavy commitments in other areas the population and industrial growth has been slow. In the future the colony is expected to have numerous ground bases for protection, reasonable task force stationed there and a sizable ordnance production capability to support those installations, but this is still in the future as currently the industrial sector is busy building terraforming installations to modify the planet for human habitation. Interestingly once that is done the planet will be very similar to Earth in terms of gravity, day-night cycle and axial tilt which coupled with water coverage of forty three percent may make the colony as attractive for new arrivals as Eden itself.
Resplendecer (Andes system, population of 4 million) – The planet has been colonized by private citizens making their home in abandoned alien habitats and has little to offer other than that. The colony receives no government support and while it will continue to grow it will likely be relatively insignificant.
Second Fleet The Second Fleet was once the most important one in the Commune, responsible for cleaning the Sudetes Sector of ADS presence. However the events in the Knossos Sector continued to draw away available forces and by now the fleet is for all instances and purposes under strength considering it is bordering Hegemony space and responsible for protecting the most important and productive worlds in the Commune. It will be reinforced when possible, but the need to protect the nation from the Destroyer means it will from now on continue to be of lesser importance than the Home and Third Fleets.
One of the currently largest discussions revolves around the positioning of the fleet. It is headquartered at Wieliczka in the Sudetes system, a very important and strategically placed junction. All colonized planets within the sector are only two jumps away as is the Home system. However this means the arguably most important single planet in the Commune, Eden, is covered by only a thin shell of orbital defenses, locally assembled ground based missile bases and at most one frigate squadron. As such many people propose moving the fleet headquarters there, to better secure the planet, but it is very inconveniently placed. The Athens system has only three jump points, one leading back to the Commune space, one leading to the Republic and one leading to a small dead end chain of systems with no real value. As such it is very unlikely the fleet will be moved, but protection of Eden is still a hotly debated issue and will likely result in much heavier forces stationed in the system when additional ships become available.
The current list of ships assigned to Second Fleet is given below.
Task Force 201 (in orbit of Wieliczka)
Second Cruiser Division
Tenth Frigate Squadron
Fourteenth Frigate Squadron
Wieliczka Orbital Defenses (six Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Task Force 202 (in orbit of Ceylon)
Twelfth Frigate Squadron
Twenty Fourth Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Fifth Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Seventh Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Eighth Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Ninth Gunboat Flotilla
Ceylon Orbital Defenses (two Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Task Force 203 (in orbit of Eden)
Eleventh Frigate Squadron
Eden Orbital Defenses (two Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Eden Missile Bases (one Sorcerer class sensor outpost, one Citadel class missile base, two Rampart class missile bases)
Other FormationsPrkos Orbital Defenses (three Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Prkos Missile Bases (one Sorcerer class sensor outpost, one Malbork class missile base, one Citadel class missile base, three Rampart class missile bases)
Knossos Sector The Knossos Sector has been recently reorganized to include ES – 01 chain where the Atlantic system is located. As such it is not only the first line of defense against further Destroyer incursions, it also boarders Hegemony space and has seen a total of three invasions in the past fifteen years. The Third Fleet stationed here is becoming larger and more important with every day and while the population is smaller than that of either Sudetes or Capital sectors it is almost as important as those two due to its mineral deposits, alien installations and tax income. The list of populated planets is given below.
Knossos (Peter's Crossing system, population of 219 million) – The planet is currently one of the major targets of development. It is the home port of the Third Fleet, administrative center for the sector, the first line of defense against the Destroyer and the largest supplier of gallicite for the Commune. It is also a very Earth-like planet, if a little strapped for land and a home to the largest collection of commercial mining companies in the nation, operating a total of nearly two hundred complexes spread among six planets and moons, providing a significant tax income. In addition it is also the only planet outside the Baltic system to have any shipbuilding industry present. The biggest issue at the moment are manpower shortages, albeit only slight ones, making the extraction, manufacturing and ordnance production industries working at only ninety five percent of their theoretical capacity and making further economical expansion difficult.
Herinnering (Kvituchi Troyandy system, population of 49 million) – The planet was settled by private citizens inside abandoned alien habitats and has grown to its present size completely on its own. It is not habitable yet and the government provides no support for the colony, but once sufficient lift is available recovered alien terraforming installations will be moved here to modify the planet. As there are no TN industries present, the planet has a moderately large untapped workforce, but it has no minerals to extract and rather than making a new manufacturing sector here the government prefers to improve existing colonies. Overall despite the large population, the system has little strategic significance.
Gagarin (Caylay system, population of 31 million) – The planet is a target of a significant government development and will be the future R&D center for propulsion and energy related technologies, thanks to ancient, alien installation located there. A small manufacturing sector has also been established and is currently busy building terraforming installations.
Tblisi (Caucassus system, population of 10 million) – The planet has been colonized by private citizens making use of abandoned alien habitats and has grown to its present size completely on its own. It was also the first planet to be modified to human standards by recovered alien adaptable terraforming installations. The Commune is considering further developing the planet, as an alien laboratory would make it a perfect place for energy weapon related research, but due to other commitments the actual investment won't happen any time soon.
Tadjoura (Sahara system, no population) – The planet was once home to over two million people who settled here without government support in abandoned alien habitats but it has been annihilated by the Destroyer. There is talk about making the planet the first line of defense against further incursions, to better protect Knossos but it won't happen any time soon. The Commune strategy heavily relies on early warning and short travel times, so until the area of space around Sahara is better known and properly monitored, any defense there will simply not work. In addition there are no resources available in developing a new naval base at the moment.
Gibraltar (Atlantis system, population of 250 thousand) – The Gibraltar Naval Base is a little more than an asteroid serving as a gravitational anchor for orbital installations including a Stanford Torus like orbital habitat. Once home to the Fourth Fleet, a recent reorganization has made it home to one of the Third Fleet's task forces. Unfortunately due to recent events in missile shortages the base is not as secure as it once was and while missile bases have been prefabricated on Odin and construction brigades are already present, there is no lift available to move them, nor are there enough munitions to arm them. Despite that the base is still considered very important and will be improved and expanded when possible.
Third Fleet The original Third Fleet has been responsible for smaller Knossos sector and has been completely wiped out by the Destroyer. It has now been expanded both in size and area of responsibility as a recent reorganization added four systems, including Atlantic, to the sector which means now the Third Fleet is responsible for protecting the Commune from both the Destroyer and the Hegemony. This makes it arguably the most important naval formation in the Commune but in reality it is the second most important one, as the current strategy relies on Home Fleet to be able to reinforce any front that is threatened. Despite that it is still large and powerful force that will be further expanded as new ships, missiles and technologies become available. The list of ships is provided below.
Task Force 301 (in orbit of Knossos)
Fifteenth Frigate Squadron
Eleventh Gunboat Flotilla
Thirteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Fourteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Fifteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Sixteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Seventeenth Gunboat Flotilla
Eighteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Nineteenth Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty First Gunboat Flotilla
Twenty Second Gunboat Flotilla
Knossos Orbital Defenses (five Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Knossos Missile Bases (one Sorcerer class sensor outpost)
Task Force 302 (in orbit of Gibraltar)
Thirteenth Frigate Squadron
Sixteenth Frigate Squadron
Gibraltar Orbital Defenses (three Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Other Formations:
Herinnering Orbital Defenses (three Palisade class orbital weapons platforms)
Gagarin Orbital Defenses (three Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Tblisi Orbital Defenses (two Moat class orbital weapons platforms)
Phoenicia Sector Despite it size, the Phoenicia sector is relatively unimportant. It contributes fuel, minerals and research to the Commune but everything done here could be done elsewhere just as well if not better. It connects to the Republican space and there is a secret connection to the Hegemony system of Minneapolis, making it potentially very important strategically, but as resources are needed to develop other, more important colonies, the government support for the sector is currently very small. In addition while there was a plan to establish a new fleet in Phoenicia itself, the plan has been disrupted time and again by Hegemony and the Destroyer and as such there is still no permanent naval presence in the system aside from scattered orbital defenses. The plan however was not cancelled, only delayed, but its still unknown when the new fleet will be activated. The list of important planets is given below.
Falsterbo (Phoenicia system, population of 88 million) – As the system has the largest number of jump points known, making it an important junction, the government was working hard to develop the planet. Among other things it was supposed to be the largest R&D site in the Commune, doing research in areas not covered by other sites. However as gallicite problems become more prominent, new alien installations were discovered and the threat represented by Hegemony kept delaying formation of a new fleet, the government interest in the colony waned. What ultimately killed it were the very connections that attracted development in the first place. Most led to dead end systems or back into Commune space and those that didn't led to rather uninteresting parts. By now the planet grows entirely on its own without any support from the Administrator. Even so it still has a reasonable R&D sector and the small collection of factories keep adding to it.
Ljomi (Ung Stjarna system, population of 37 million) – The planet was colonized by private citizens using abandoned alien habitats and has grown to its present size completely on its own. There is no government interest in the colony and likely won't be, as the system is located inside a nebula, slowing commercial vessels to twenty five hundred kilometers per second. Once ancient, alien terraforming installations are available, the planet will be made habitable, but this is the extent of support the colony can expect from the rest of the Commune.
Zuiderzee (Dazbog system, population of 8 million) – The planet is considered to be the greatest achievement of the Commune engineering. Once a Mercury like world of enormous temperatures, a huge if thin shade has been assembled at the planet's L1 point and an atmosphere of numerous and complicated gases has been created, making the planet habitable for humans. It was a long, expensive experiment on enormous scale, attracted by the mineral deposits on the planet and the government is developing the new colony heavily. For now only extraction industries are present, and even those in small amounts, due to the sheer amount of commitments the Commune industry and shipping have, but in the future the planet will not only be an important source of TN elements, but most likely also an important missile production site. All of that however is still very much in the future, as currently mining has priority to support the coming naval expansion.
New Trinidad (Carribaen system, population of 6 million) – New Trinidad is one of the very rare readily habitable planets, but what made it even more unique is its ecology as there is no water present. This has attracted a number of scientist and adventurers providing the colony with slow but steady growth. Other than that however the planet has no strategic value.
Asimov (Troy system, population of 380 thousand) – The planet was once the largest ADS base known to date and site of the largest ruins outside the Phoenix system, but the former is gone and the latter has been almost completely recovered. Like many other planets it has been colonized by private citizens using abandoned alien habitats and the only strategic value the system has is its connection to the Republican space.
Berytus (Phoenicia system, no population) – Berytus is a gas giant moon in the Phoenicia system and the first fully automated mining colony in the Commune. It is and will continue to be heavily developed as it has over twenty four million tonnes of easily accessible gallicite, among other minerals.
Ahuthaya Sector For the longest time the Ayuthaya (formerly North-Eastern) Sector was off-limits to traffic due to alien presence. The need to keep ahead of the Hegemony and presence of alien installation on one of the planets finally made the Commune deal with the Specters and open the sector to development, but it is still the least important one in the nation. Only one planet has been settled with another one planned, but so far survey has failed to find anything that would attract further investment. The only feature of note is presence of an alien early industrial race in the Aurora system two jumps from Ayuthaya, but it matters little to the future of the Commune aside from having one potential chain of system unavailable for survey and development. This lack of importance means of course there is no fleet presence in the sector, aside from orbital defenses and while there are plans to change that, so that the last approach to the Capital Sector can be secured, those plans are far into the future. The list of important planets is given below.
Emesh (Lem system, population of 58 million) – Emesh is the site of a huge alien manufacturing complex which is the only reason the sector warranted any attention at all. By now the colony is a significant R&D site, but little more than that and with the population large enough to man all the installations there is no further government support coming. There is also small industrial sector in place, currently expanding planetary universities, but little else.
Gillard (Ayuthaya system, no population) – Due to its strategic location this will one day be a fleet base. Fuel and space stations are already present and the first bunch of infrastructure is en route. Within a couple of years the first colonists will arrive on the planet, but Gillard is considered low priority so any development will be very slow.
Overall the Commune has everything they need – a lot of living space, ample mineral deposits and vast collection of alien installations that will add research. Right now their priority is to develop what they have so its very unlikely any new planets will be colonized any time soon, unless something important is found.
