One hour after the detection of emissions from the Lynx, Jovian sensors recorded fourteen strength-1 detonations one point five million kilometres from Alpha Centauri-B III. Given the distance from the planet it was likely these were anti-missiles intercepting incoming Primus anti-ship missiles. Over the next thirteen minutes a further one hundred and sixty-six similar detonations were detected in the same general area. No explosions were detected in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B III. After an hour the strength-1 detonations resumed, with more than a hundred recorded within a seven minute period. Two further attacks took place within the following thirty minutes but still without any sign of a successful hit on the Secundus ships. Given the number of detonations detected, the four attacks consisted of a large number of missiles waves but with relatively small numbers of missiles in each wave.
Twenty minutes after the attack, a single strength-1 energy weapon impact was detected in the same location as the Primus Lynx, now twenty million kilometres from Alpha Centauri-B III, followed by sixty-three strength-1 detonations. Given the number of missiles being used against the Lynx and that the two Secundus ships in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B III were both in the range of 16,000 tons, it seemed likely they were orbital weapon platforms rather than mobile units. It was unlikely they could mount so many launchers as well as engines. Ten seconds later, two energy weapon impacts and a further sixty-two strength-1 detonations were accompanied by a strength-18 secondary power explosion. Emissions from a second Lynx class ship were detected in the same location as the first. A third salvo hit, resulting in another secondary explosion and the loss of the EM contact from Lynx 001. Three more salvos followed in swift succession inflicting a total of one hundred and seventy-five additional hits, probably on Lynx 002 given the lack of wreckage or .further secondary explosions. After a gap of twelve minutes two further salvos impacted, resulting in the appearance of two Lynx class wrecks.
Three days after the destruction of the Lynxes, Oceanus, which was still in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B IV, detected active emissions from four more Primus ships approaching Alpha Centauri-B III; Scorpion 001, Shark 001, Komodo Dragon 001 and Jaguar 001. Based on information gained during Hera’s active sensor sweep, the Scorpion and Jaguar classes were both 27,000 tons, the Komodo Dragon was 18,000 tons and the Shark was 9000 tons. For several hours the Secundus bases successfully defended against a number of different missile attacks. In all, three hundred and twenty-eight strength-1 detonations were detected within two million kilometres of the planet. After the engagement the sensor emissions from Scorpion 001 continued closing on Alpha Centauri-B III while the other ships headed for the Alpha Centauri-A system.
Two hours after the attack on the Secundus bases three strength-1 detonations were detected a million kilometres from Scorpion 001, which was twenty million kilometres from the planet. More detonations appeared every few seconds, closing quickly on the Primus warship. In all twenty-eight defensive detonations were recorded, along with eight strength-1 energy impacts, before the Scorpion was struck by twenty-nine strength-1 explosions. It appeared the Secundus bases were repeating their offensive use of anti-missiles but the Primus were destroying some of the inbounds with their own anti-missiles. Five seconds later twelve more energy weapon impacts were detected and fifty-one hits on the Scorpion. The Secundus missiles were coming in large, closely spaced salvos and overwhelming the Primus defences.
Within the space of just ninety seconds the Scorpion killed seventy-one incoming missiles with its energy-based point defence but received a further three hundred and thirty-one hits. A second Primus ship, not yet detected by Oceanus, was located 90,000 kilometres to starboard of Scorpion 001 and received thirty-one hits. Eleven strength-1 energy weapon impacts and five strength-3 energy weapon impacts were detected close to the targeted ship prior to missile impact. Only nine missiles were struck by defensive anti-missiles after the first two waves hit Scorpion 001. The 27,000 ton Primus battlecruiser was slowed from 3200 km/s to 3022 km/s, which was probably acceptable from the Primus point of view given the damage it received.
Four minutes after the last Secundus missile struck the Primus ships, fifteen strength-1 energy weapon impacts and twenty strength-1 detonations were detected in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B III. The Primus were apparently striking back with their own anti-missiles used in offensive mode. Every few seconds the same pattern was repeated. Fifteen point defence interceptions and twenty missile impacts. The Secundus point defence was obviously very accurate but limited in terms of the number of weapons. There was no sign of defensive anti-missiles, which suggested they may have been expended by defending against the numerous previous attacks by the Primus and in attacking the Lynxes and the Scorpion. The Secundus were struck by nineteen waves of Primus anti-missiles before firing ceased.
After a pause of fourteen minutes the Primus attack resumed. A second assault equal in ferocity to the first finally overwhelmed the Secundus defenders. Point defence faltered and fell quiet, allowing every incoming missile to strike its target. When the explosions finally subsided there was nothing in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B III except wreckage. Scorpion 001 and whatever additional but undetected ships accompanied it moved into orbit of the planet. They remained only for a few minutes before heading way on a course of 338 degrees with no apparent destination ahead of them. The Primus ships that departed earlier were heading for the solar system of the primary on a course of 45 degrees.
Meanwhile in Typhon, the geosurvey ship Tethys had moved within forty million kilometres of the inhabited world before being intercepted by three alien ships. She halted her approach and engaged her active sensors. In addition to the three ships close by, all of which were 9300 tons, there were a further twenty-four ships and a shipyard complex in orbit of Typhon V. Tethys hailed the alien ships, which responded and seemed prepared to establish communication. After a day of exchanging linguistic information, Tethys headed toward the jump point in order to reduce any suspicions the aliens might have about a ship lingering in their system for too long.
Full communication between the Jovian Federation and the Primus was established on March 26th 2200. The alien race, which appeared to be indigenous to Alpha Centauri, called themselves the Skye Enclave. A diplomatic team was left on the small alien colony on Alpha Centauri-B IV in an attempt to improve diplomatic relations. From what the team could learn, the war with the Secundus was a very recent event, starting shortly before the Jovian Federation entered the system. Ancient tales among the ancestors of the Enclave told of visitors from a world that orbited the brightest star in the sky visiting thousands of years ago. The visitors exploited the resources of the Enclave home world and killed anyone who interfered. Those visits were halted after a great war in the heavens. Nothing had been heard from those visitors in all the centuries since that time and they eventually became demonic equivalents in the Enclave’s primary religion. Even when the Enclave achieved space travel, the dread of the Visitors was so great that travel to the solar system of Alpha Centauri-B was initially forbidden. Eventually scientific curiosity defeated religious dogma and an expedition was sent. They attracted the attention of a fleet of hostile warships that launched an assault on the Alpha Centauri-A system. After the Enclave defeated the assault with heavy losses, they counter-attacked and defeated the last of the alien ships in the battle recently witnessed by Oceanus. However they found no sign of any inhabitants on Alpha Centauri-B III. The best theory available was that the attacking ships were the last of the Visitors, guarding a long-dead world. In contrast, communication with the Secundus, if any of them survived, was deemed to be impossible by the Federation’s top xenolinguists. No progress at all had been made in deciphering the transmissions received from Secundus ships.
On April 7th Oceanus completed a geological survey of Alpha Centauri-B III, the world that the Secundus defended in their last battle. As the Skye Enclave had stated, the world was uninhabited. However, Oceanus found a deserted but intact alien city on the surface, presumably once a colony of the Secundus. A city that would no doubt have a large number of installations that could be recovered or reactivated. A detailed study of this world could potentially advance Federation science and provide an edge in any future conflicts, either against aliens or other Solarian powers so a xenology team was immediately dispatched from Ganymede to begin a study of the ruins. Plans were laid to train construction brigades that would travel to the planet to recover any intact installations once the xenology team had learned their secrets. An immediate problem though was the lack of any troop transport ships so this would became a high priority for Jovian industry and the Federation Navy. A second issue was that the Skye Enclave might react negatively to the Federation establishing a colony in what they probably regarded as their own system. In any case, it would likely be at least eighteen months before any installation recovery could begin.
Alpha Centauri-B III Survey Report
Duranium 149,299,200 Acc: 0.5
Neutronium 5,062,500 Acc: 0.6
Boronide 70,056,900 Acc: 0.1
Sorium 58,522,500 Acc: 0.1
Corundium 70,056,900 Acc: 0.5
On April 23rd communication was established with the alien race in the Typhon system. They referred to themselves as the Zoltan Empire, which sounded a little ominous to the Jovian contact team. While far less forthcoming than the Skye Enclave they were content to maintain contact, so a diplomatic team was assigned to the Zoltan in an effort to improve relations.
The Jovian xenology team on Alpha Centauri-B III completed their work much faster than expected finally making the key breakthrough at the end of April 2200. As far as they could tell, the language and symbology of the deserted city was not the same as the brief communications from the Secundus, which led to a re-evaluation of the history of the Alpha Centauri system. It appeared the Secundus must have been the aggressor in the ancient war, killing or driving away whatever alien race previously inhabited Alpha Centauri-B III and then leaving a force to guard the conquered planet. There was no sign of any bodies or atmosphere in the wrecked Secundus ships so they were likely to have been entirely under the control of a computer and could have remained in orbit for thousands of years before being disturbed by the Skye Enclave. The xenology team identified over fifteen hundred installations that could potentially be recovered.
On May 22nd Helios transited a newly discovered jump point located between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus on a bearing of 131. She emerged in Luhman 16, a planetless binary of two brown dwarves 6.6 light years from Sol. Ten days later she probed a seventh jump point at a similar distance from Sol but on a bearing of 70 and found herself ten billion kilometres from Sirius, a blinding white A1-V star with a white dwarf companion. Both stars had a single planet. A Venusian world orbited the primary while a superjovian with seven tide-locked moons orbited the white dwarf. A sparse asteroid belt also orbited Sirius-A.
Helios arrived at the Sol – Proxima jump point on June 9th to await the arrival of the geosurvey ship Prometheus which had recently completed a survey of the Proxima system. The only significant discovery was several million tons of accessibility 0.5 Duranium and three other minerals on Proxima I, a terrestrial world with a trace atmosphere that orbited just 1.35m kilometres from the red dwarf star. A jump gate had been constructed on the Sol – Proxima jump point by one of the other Solarian powers since Prometheus transited, although there was no corresponding gate on the far side. A similar gate had also been constructed on the innermost Sol jump point, which led to Wolf 359.
Proxima Centauri-A I Survey Report
Duranium 5,712,200 Acc: 0.5
Corbomite 2,683,044 Acc: 1
Mercassium 43,264 Acc: 0.3
Vendarite 1,971,216 Acc: 0.1
The gravitational survey of the Sol system was completed on July 29th. A total of seven jump points had been found, leading to Wolf 359, Proxima, Barnard’s Star, Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Luhman 16 and Typhon.
In Alpha Centauri, Hyperion and Hera remained at the Sol jump point while Oceanus had returned to Europa for an overhaul. On August 5th 2200 Hyperion detected an approaching vessel of the Skye Enclave. The ship was 61,900 tons and moving at 968 km/s. It was possible the Enclave had detected the two Jovian ships and was simply sending a ship of its own to investigate. However, given the size and speed of the vessel the most likely explanation was a construction ship. The Enclave would probably send a smaller, faster ship to investigate a sensor contact. Admiral Charleston ordered the two ships to withdraw from Alpha Centauri to avoid any dispute with the Enclave. For the moment there was no way to recover anything from the deserted city on Alpha Centauri-B III so there seemed little point in potentially antagonising the Enclave without any commensurate gain.
The next few months passed relatively quietly. That period of calm ended on November 24th when a 2850 ton vessel of the Zoltan Empire transited into Sol. The alien ship, designated as Velsharoon 001, immediately began moving away from the Sol – Typhon jump point at 2016 km/s. The Jovian destroyer Minotaur was picketing the jump point and requested instructions from naval headquarters. Aware of the potential consequences of her next decision, Vice Admiral Cassandra Charleston consulted with the President before ordering Minotaur’s C.O. to hold his position. A single scout was no immediate threat to the Jovian home worlds and despite the potential intelligence gains for the Zoltan Empire it was not sufficient provocation to start an interstellar war. Whether the other seven Solarian powers would take a similar view would be revealed in the near future.
On December 12th, the 61,900 ton ship of the Skye Enclave that had approached the Alpha Centauri - Sol jump point in August transited into Sol, conclusively demonstrating the Enclave had surveyed its own system and increasing the probability the vessel was a construction ship. After transit the alien ship, designated as Panther 001, held position on the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point. Twenty-four hours later a 73,000 ton Zoltan ship, designated as Loki 001, transited from Typhon and took up station on the Sol – Typhon jump point. Both alien races adjacent to Sol were apparently constructing jump gates into the Sol system, which would enable their warships to transit.
Four days later, four strength-1 energy weapon impacts were detected close to the Sol – Alpha Centauri jump point followed by eight strength-7 warhead detonations. The Jovian destroyer Cerberus and the sensor platform Hera were on the jump point, along with large vessels from Russia, India and China that were most likely construction ships. The likely target though was Panther 001, the probable construction ship from the Skye Enclave. As to the identity of the attacker, there was only one serious possibility.
A 7750 ton Russian Skory class vessel was within 100,000 kilometres of the jump point. However, given its known high speed Jovian Naval Intelligence believed this was likely a fast scout. At twenty-four million kilometres were four Chinese Xia class FACs, now moving away at 4500 km/s. Further out, at close to one hundred and fifty million kilometres was a task group of five Chinese ships, three of which were 8450 tons and two were 16,900 tons. Finally, an even more substantial Chinese force was at three hundred million kilometres, comprising two 25,350 ton battleships, six 16,900 ton cruisers and a single 8400 ton ship. It appeared the Chinese had decided that an alien incursion into Sol was unacceptable and launched humanity’s first interstellar war. Admiral Cassandra Charleston ordered Cerberus and Hera to maintain their position to observe events and dispatched the escort Volantis from Europa orbit to provide missile defence.
Two minutes after the initial attack, the Jovian ships on the Alpha Centauri jump point detected emissions from low power active sensors. Twenty-five seconds later four more strength-1 energy weapon impacts were detected but no detonations. The Enclave ship had apparently fended off a small follow-up attack. If, as suspected, the Enclave vessel was a construction ship it was unable to transit and escape. Thirty minutes after the first attack the Panther was struck again, suffering nine hits from four separate salvos, and its thermal signature dropped by 50%. Over the next nine hours two 16,900 ton Chinese ships, a Dalian and a Zhanjiang, closed on the jump point until they reached point blank range. The Enclave ship was obliterated by more than twenty strength-6 energy impacts.
One hour after the destruction of the alien vessel, the Jovian sensor platform Hera suddenly exploded under the impact of six strength-10 nuclear detonations. Cerberus took two similar hits that staggered the entire ship. Apart from the Russian Skory and the Russian and Indian construction ships on the jump point there were only Chinese ships in weapons range. Captain Coleman Belmonte ordered his ship to battle stations and contacted naval headquarters requesting immediate clearance to open fire on the nearby Chinese ships. Admiral Charleston was still in the Jovian operations centre after monitoring the attack on the Enclave vessel. She ordered Cerberus to leave the vicinity of the jump point immediately but to hold its fire. Other Chinese ships within Sol were not in positions that suggested a general attack on the Jovian Federation was in progress so the isolated attack at the jump point made little sense. She believed it was possible long-range Chinese missiles intended for the destroyed alien ship had targeted the Jovian vessels instead. Two of the four Jovian missile cruisers and three of six escorts were in overhaul so the Federation was in no shape to begin a major war. However, just in case this was a deliberate attack she also ordered Minotaur to withdraw from the Sol – Typhon jump point and head for home.
Twenty minutes passed without further incident so the Federation issued a strong protest to the People’s Republic of China and demanded an immediate explanation for the attack. Before the Chinese could respond the situation deteriorated further when ten more strength-10 nuclear detonations were detected astern of Cerberus on the jump point. Assuming the Chinese missiles had not targeted their own ships, it seemed likely that either the Russian or Indian construction ships had just taken a hit. Whether those nations would be as restrained as the Jovian Federation was unknown.
Twenty seconds later, the Russian construction ship on the jump point exploded under heavy fire from the Chinese ships that had destroyed the Enclave Panther class. Simultaneously, over seventy strength-3 energy weapon impacts were detected 60,000 kilometres from Earth in the direction of the Moon and thirty-eight strength-1 detonations were detected in Earth orbit. A dozen Russian Krivaks, 20,200 ton ships moving at 1855 km/s, left Lunar orbit heading away from the Earth. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed these were colony ships seeking safety. Still in orbit of the Moon were three Kievs and three Nanuchkas, all of which were 15,350 tons. A Russian task group of five cruiser-sized and two battleship-sized ships was twenty million kilometres from the Earth/Moon system with six destroyer-sized ships at the edge of the asteroid belt.
Twenty-one Chinese ships were in Earth orbit, comprising six Ludas at 36,750 tons, a single 34,150 ton Luhu, eight Nanchangs at 24,150 tons, four Xinings at 16,800 tons and a pair of 16,450 ton Hegus. The best guess of JNI was that the first three types were commercial, probably freighters and colony ships, but that was not confirmed. The other major Chinese forces were within two hundred and forty million kilometres of the Sol – Alpha Centauri jump point. Dalian 001 and Zhanjiang 001, both of which were 16,900 tons and had destroyed the Enclave and Russian construction ships, were still on the jump point itself. Fifty million kilometres away was a Jiangwei and two Zunyis, all of which were 8450 tons. Further out, active contact had been lost with the destruction of Hera and only the emissions from three active sensors contacts were visible.
The JNI estimates of Chinese class types were reinforced by the departure of the Luhu, Ludas and Nanchangs from Earth orbit in the opposite direction to the Moon. Twelve strength-1 detonations were detected 60,000 kilometres from Earth, possibly Chinese AMMs destroying Russian missiles. It appeared the Russian forces in orbit of the Moon launched against Earth within a few seconds of their construction ship being destroyed. The combat close to Earth intensified with over forty defensive energy weapon impacts followed by sixty strength-1 detonations in the same location as one of the departing Ludas. Ten seconds later, a second Luda was struck by seventy-six missiles.
Russian fire turned on those Chinese units, most likely defensive bases, still in orbit of Earth. The Chinese defensive fire was formidable with between seventy and eighty incoming missiles from each salvo being destroyed by energy weapon fire and a further ten to fifteen by anti-missiles. Around ten to twenty missiles from each attacking salvo struck the Chinese bases, inflicting strength-1 hits. Even though the Russian salvos were ten seconds apart, it took almost seven minutes before one of the bases finally exploded under the battering. The destruction of the base apparently changed the Chinese strategy and they went on the offensive. Defensive explosions and energy weapon impacts appeared in close proximity to the Moon while the attack on Earth faltered as the Russian Federation changed to a defensive posture.
Despite the Chinese salvos being only five seconds apart the Russian defence proved more resilient, with no Chinese missiles penetrating from the first few salvos. The Russian anti-missiles also appeared to be more effective, shooting down more incoming missiles than their Chinese counterparts. After the assault had continued for over four minutes, with over fifty salvos launched at the Moon, the Chinese attack had still failed to score a single hit. Suddenly the action changed again, with nineteen strength-1 detonations detected 50,000 kilometres from Earth but on the opposite side to the Moon. It was possible the Chinese bases were reacting to a missile attack from the Russian task group at twenty million kilometres.
More strength-1 detonations were recorded, this time in the general area of the Chinese commercial shipping fleeing from Earth but none of the explosions appeared to be hits on the Chinese ships. The ongoing detonations did not seen to follow the normal pattern as more than half were relatively close to Earth but these were interspersed with explosions around 700,000 kilometres and as far out as one point three million. All were in the general direction of the Russian task group. One analyst in the Jovian operations centre suggested that the Chinese orbital bases were firing AMMs at incoming anti-ship missiles, or even at the Russian task group, but the Russian lunar bases were firing AMM at the Chinese AMMs. The Russian AMMs were probably superior based on the conflict between the two sets of orbital bases so it was possible they were chasing down the Chinese AMMs being fired in the opposite direction. A Martian Union task group was also in the vicinity. Eleven ships ranging from 9350 tons to 28,000 tons were one point two million kilometres from Earth and closing. The Martians were less than 250,000 km from the closest Chinese freighters but did not appear to be involved in the battle, at least for the moment.
Another twenty detonations were recorded, almost one point five million kilometres from Earth, followed by a pause of thirty seconds, the longest since the action began. Suddenly, after a burst of sixty energy weapon impacts, Jovian sensors recorded thirty-five strength-1 detonations on the surface of Earth. The Russians had changed their targeting to a direct bombardment of either Chinese ground forces or the civilian population. Over the next thirty seconds a further eighty ground bursts were detected. Despite intensive defensive energy weapon fire, there was no sign of any intercepting Chinese missiles so Jovian observer began to suspect the Chinese bases had run out of missiles.
Suddenly, strength-1 detonations were detected two point seven million kilometres from Earth in the direction of the Russian task group. These explosions were half a million kilometres ahead of the fleeting Chinese shipping so the only realistic explanation was Chinese interception of incoming Russian anti-ship missiles. Despite the poor performance of their AMMs, the Chinese missile detection sensors obviously had impressive range. The Russian orbital bases continue to pound targets on the Earth’s surface as a further fifty-eight impacts were recorded from two separate salvos. A further ten strength-1 detonations were detected three million kilometres from Earth before the action subsided, at least for the moment. It appeared that both the Russian and Chinese bases had exhausted their ordnance.
The pause lasted less than a minute. One of the Chinese Luda class freighters was struck by eight missiles with strength-11 warheads, resulting in two huge secondary explosions which tore the ship apart one point five million kilometres from Earth. The origin of the missiles was almost certainly the Russian task group less than twenty million kilometres away. More salvos wreaked havoc on the defenceless freighters and there were no more defensive AMMs. Within a few minutes, three more Luda wrecks appeared and four other ships, including a Nanchang and the sole Luhu dropped off Jovian thermal sensors due to engine damage. Several of the detonations were strength-9 rather than strength-11 which indicated the task group was firing two different types of anti-ship missiles.
The target of the Russian task group changed to the Chinese bases in Earth orbit. While they had apparently run out of AAMs the energy-weapon bases still provided a formidable defence. Based on the defensive fire the attacking salvos were comprised of either twenty-four or fourteen missiles and based on the intervals between that fire one type was being fired more often but travelling more slowly. Only when two types of salvos reached Earth at the same time was there any penetration of the Chinese defences. Over the course of several minutes twelve strength-11 detonations were recorded in Earth orbit but hundreds more missiles were shot down. In parallel with the attack on Earth, the commercial shipping was hit again. Two Nanchang class colony ships were destroyed and several more disappeared from thermal sensors. The sole 34,150 ton Luhu class, the function of which was still undetermined by Jovian Naval Intelligence, was also destroyed.
While the attack on the Chinese bases was still underway, a pair of 9000 ton Skye Enclave ships, designated as Tarantula class, transited into Sol. Cerberus was thirteen point five million kilometres from the jump point and still able to detect the ships in the general area. On the jump point itself were two ships, one Chinese and one Indian, both of which were probably construction ships. The 16,900 ton Chinese cruiser Zhanjiang 001, known to be armed with fifteen lasers, was one point seven million kilometres from the jump point while a similar-size cruiser, Dalian 001, armed with eight lasers, was at five million kilometres. Further out was an 8450 ton Jiangwei at forty-two million kilometres and a pair of 8450 ton Zunyis at forty-eight million kilometres. No other ships of any nationality were within Cerberus’ active sensor range but the active emissions of three more Chinese ships and a Russian Skory class were within two hundred and fifty million kilometres. Admiral Charleston ordered Cerberus to hold position for the moment and observe.
The closest Chinese ship changed course and headed directly for the jump point. Meanwhile near Earth a Luda class freighter was struck by a dozen anti-ship missiles and blew up. On the Alpha Centauri jump point five strength-1 energy weapon impacts were detected. Either the Chinese construction ship was taking fire or it was defending against hostile missiles. Given the proximity of the two Tarantulas, the latter seemed more likely. Five more energy weapon impacts were detected fifteen seconds later. After a pause of thirty seconds, three more were recorded, along with a pair of strength-10 detonations and a huge strength-33 secondary explosion. The thermal signature of the Chinese construction ship, designated as Han 003, fell from 2401 to 1950, confirming the energy weapon impacts were defensive in nature.
It appeared the two Enclave ships were launching their missiles independently in salvos of five, rather than concentrating them in one salvo, which allowed the construction ship to defend itself more effectively. The construction ship’s point defence shot down all the missiles from the fourth Enclave salvo but two more penetrated from the fifth and one from the eighth. While the two Enclave warships struggled to destroy the construction ship, Zhanjiang 001 was closing rapidly. Another strength-10 detonation accompanied the tenth Enclave salvo, reducing the thermal signature of the Han even further. Near Earth the intensity of combat was falling rapidly, with apparently small salvos being shot down by Chinese orbital bases but no further attacks on Chinese commercial shipping. The period of relative quiet was interrupted by the destruction of a Russian FAC only ten thousand kilometres from Earth. Why the small warship had ventured within range of the Chinese bases was unknown.
As the Zhenjiang moved within 250,000 kilometres, the two Tarantulas moved away but the Zhenjiang was faster and the Enclave ships were struck by energy weapons at maximum range. The Zhenjiang could recycle its lasers every ten seconds and continued fire as it closed the range. The Enclave destroyers changed their targeting to the Chinese cruiser, which was also protected by an effective point defence system. Only one missile from the first two salvos exploded against its armour. With fifteen fast-firing lasers, the Zhenjiang was a fearsome opponent at close-range, especially when its targets lacked the speed to escape. Energy weapon impacts changed from strength-1, to strength-2 and then strength-3. Secondary explosions wracked one of the Enclave warships and it staggered to a halt. A barrage of strength-6 hits from point blank range blasted it into wreckage. The second ship had nowhere to run. With no jump gate on the Sol side of the jump point it could not escape back into Alpha Centauri without a jump drive. As the Tarantula was 9000 tons and armed with five missile launchers it seemed unlikely it would be jump-capable. The end came quickly when the Zhenjiang closed in for the kill. All the Chinese ships within range of Cerberus’s sensors turned and headed for Earth.
Near Earth combat had halted, at least for the moment. The Chinese had lost one of their Xining class orbital bases, all six Luda class freighters, two Nanchang class colony ships and a single Luhu class. The Russians had a lost a single, suicidal fast attack craft. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed that somewhere between fifteen and twenty thousand missiles had been expended in the combat around the Earth-Moon system. The nearby Russian task group had moved away during the combat and was at twenty-two million kilometres. Five ships of 15,500 tons changed course and headed for Earth while two larger vessels continued to move away. The remaining six Nanchang class colony ships continued to move away from Earth but were heading in the general direction of the approaching Russian warships.
An hour after the destruction of the two Enclave Tarantula class destroyers, the Chinese colony ship furthest from Earth was struck by sixty strength-1 detonations within the space of a few seconds. The origin of the missiles was almost certainly the Russian warships, now less than seven million kilometres from the colony ship and fourteen million from Earth. A follow-up salvo arrived six minutes later and destroyed the Nanchang. Within the next few minutes the other five Nanchangs, most of which were already damaged, were subjected to a battering from what were probably Russian anti-missiles. One by one, all five were blown to pieces. No Chinese commercial vessels remained on Jovian sensors. In fact, the only Chinese forces within the asteroid belt were the bases in Earth orbit.
Those bases were the obvious next target of the Russian task group and came under sustained missile attack forty minutes after the destruction of the last colony ship. Given the number of defensive energy weapon impacts the Russian salvos were ten seconds apart and comprised forty missiles each. The Chinese beam-armed bases continued to perform extremely well against inbound missiles and few penetrated the wall of laser fire. Almost three thousand anti-missile missiles were launched against the bases. One hundred and thirty-nine struck their targets.
The five Russian cruisers, split into a group of two in the lead with the rest a million kilometres astern continued closing on the Earth/Moon system. The first pair bypassed Earth and moved into Lunar orbit. Shortly thereafter they began launching missiles against Earth, presumably loaded from the Russian ordnance reserves on the Moon. For some reason the first salvo caught the Chinese by surprise, possibly because they assumed the Russians had ceased their assault, and one of their orbital bases suffered fourteen strength-9 hits. The Chinese were fully alert by the time the second salvo arrived and all fourteen missiles were destroyed. Subsequent salvos were equally ineffective. However, while the Chinese were concentrating on the incoming missiles the other three Russian ships slipped past Earth, passing within a few thousand kilometres, and made their own rendezvous with the Moon.
The Russian attacks on Earth intensified with salvos of twenty missiles ten seconds apart now interspersed with the ongoing fourteen-missile salvos from the first two cruisers to re-arm. Based on the fact the second group were apparently launching salvos of twenty missiles, rather than the forty-missile salvos of their earlier attacks, it was possible there were only enough missiles on the Moon to arm one ship. Even with the additional firepower though, the Russians could still not break through the stubborn Chinese defences. All five remaining Chinese bases were no doubt suffering from some degree of damage and the two missile bases could not contribute to the defence. Even so, the three laser-armed bases were holding back the Russian onslaught with only the occasional leaker.
Whichever Russian ships were launching anti-missiles ran through the available ordnance quickly and ceased fire. Twenty-seven missiles out of four hundred penetrated the Chinese defences. The two cruisers launching anti-ship missiles, designated as Minsk class, were moving away from the Earth/Moon system toward the orbit of Mars and continuing to fire. One of the original group of three, designated as Neustrashimy 001, was moving to join them, while the others, designated as Kalinin class, settled into Lunar orbit. Since the initial salvo, none of the anti-ship missiles launched by the two Minsk class had struck a target and that pattern continued until they too exhausted their ordnance. The Minsk class cruisers linked up with the Neustrashimy, reloaded at the Moon and launched a further two hundred and fifty missiles at Earth without any success. The battle of the Earth/Moon system was over for the moment but would no doubt resume as Russian and Chinese ships deployed much further afield headed home.
to be continued...
