Federated Nations Campaign - Part 3

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

The approaching alien ships moved within their own sensor range of 61.3 million kilometres, then halted their advance at sixty million kilometres, well outside the effective fire control range of the Federation fleet. Both Guardian class escorts were already on full alert, ready for the missile attack that appeared increasingly likely. Sure enough, at 16:39 twelve inbound missiles were detected at 932,000 kilometres, Based on contact data, the alien anti-ship missiles were twenty percent larger than the RIM-1A Falchion and had a speed of 22,600 km/s. The two escorts began launching RIM-2A Sentinel anti-missiles. The Sentinel was only a fifth the size of the incoming missiles and only slightly faster at 24,000 km/s. Even so, it was designed to be agile enough to intercept fast-moving targets and its small warhead was sufficient for destroying something as small as a missile

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Even as the Sentinels began to intercept and destroy the alien missiles, a second wave of twelve appeared thirty seconds behind the first. The last of the first wave missiles was eliminated just 28,000 kilometres from the jump point but by then the second wave had closed to 400,000 kilometres and a third wave had moved into sensor range at 930,000 km. Commodore Hilgendorf began to consider whether to order his fleet to jump but the last pair of second wave missiles were destroyed at 62,000 km so he held off for the moment. Besides, he wanted to test his fleet's defences against the aliens offensive capability. He was also unaware of whether the alien missiles carried any onboard sensors. Even if he jumped, his fleet would have to wait some time before returning in case it found a horde of missiles at point blank range.

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The Guardian class escorts continued to cut it fine with the third wave, destroying the last missile at 29,000 km, but the next few waves were handled more easily. Commodore Hilgendorf began to breath a little easier. The Federation's luck finally ran out when a missile from the tenth wave slammed into Waterloo, shaking the destroyer to her keel. The strength-10 warhead left a huge crater in her armour. While there was no internal damage and the ship suffered no casualties, there was a hole all the way through her armour at the centre of the crater. leaving her vulnerable if she took a second hit in the same location. Taking no chances, Commodore Hilgendorf ordered the jump cruiser Kongo to escort Waterloo into Proxima Centauri

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Just as Kongo returned to Lacaille 9352 after leaving Waterloo in Proxima, a missile from the twelfth wave struck Guardian, inflicting similar armour damage. The Commodore could not pull out one of his two escorts without abandoning the system entirely so he decided to hold his position on the basis that there surely could not be many more incoming waves of missiles. His assessment proved correct as the fourteenth wave was the final one. Unfortunately, the last missile of the last wave hit Blenheim. In total, one hundred and sixty-eight missiles were fired against the Federation fleet and three penetrated its defences. The three ships that were hit, Waterloo, Guardian and Blenheim, suffered no casualties but they each had a large hole in their armour belt. The two escorts, Guardian and Protector, expended six hundred and ninety-six RIM-2A Sentinels, or eighty percent of their magazine capacity, leaving just one hundred and seventy-four between them. Plainly, another similar action was impossible without resupply.

Commodore Hilgendorf sent a report to Earth, detailing the events of the engagement. He pointed out that the alien attack involved relatively small numbers of anti-ship missiles in each wave and his force had been stretched to the limit in order to hold its position. The alien forces apparently had a source of resupply in Lacaille 9352 so if the four Achilles class ships also returned to the attack, the Federation ships would have no choice but to retreat. He therefore recommended that additional escorts be constructed, increasing the size of each destroyer squadron if necessary, and that either a new type of escort for close defence should be designed to intercept any missiles that broke through the anti-missile escort or a point defence system should be developed for general use. Finally, he suggested that some type of mine should be designed and built so that jump points could be defended without risking ships and personnel. While Commodore Hilgendorf was preparing and dispatching his report, the alien ships pulled back toward the inner system, once again heading toward the gas giant Lacaille 9352 V.

Two days after they departed, the two alien Apollo class ships moved within sensor range and began closing on the jump point once more. At 220m kilometres, the smaller Odysseus and Menelaus class ships that had accompanied the last attack were also detected. As before, the alien ships halted sixty million kilometres from the jump point. Commodore Hilgendorf was virtually certain they were launching a new missile attack and could see no other option but retreat. Rather than leave immediately though, he waited until he was sure the alien cruisers had emptied their magazines before ordering his ships back into Proxima. As soon as they arrived, they began moving to a point mid-way between the Proxima - Lacaille and Proxima - Alpha Centauri jump points from where they could monitor both. The Fourth Destroyer Squadron was dispatched from Earth to the same location to relieve one of the squadrons on station so it could return to Earth to reload its magazines. It would take six days to arrive. Commodore Hilgendorf sent an amendment to his earlier report suggesting that ammunition colliers should be built to allow forward replenishment of the destroyer squadrons. There was no immediate sign of any alien pursuit, possibly because the Apollos and their escorts were returning to their base to rearm once again. The respite was brief though as the two Apollos entered Proxima Centauri at 04:11 on September 1st 2072.

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The smaller escorting ships were also soon detected and all five alien ships began moving toward the general direction of the Proxima II colony. Well aware that his ships could not get withstand another attack similar to the one they endured in Lacaille 9352, Commodore Hilgendorf ordered them to move away on a course perpendicular to that of the aliens. His intention was to stay out of the aliens' sensor range while trying to keep his own ships within sensor range of the Lacaille and Alpha Centauri jump points and the colony. Meanwhile, the Fourth Destroyer Squadron and the jump freighter Brandenburg continued toward their position. Over the next twenty hours, the aliens kept their heading for the Proxima II colony and there was nothing that the outclassed Federation ships could do about it, except stay out of the way. At 00:17 on September 2nd, with the alien ships just three point five million kilometres from Proxima II, the colony reported twelve fast-moving thermal contacts. Seconds later, the entire settlement of 680,000 was obliterated by a series of thermonuclear blasts. It now seemed likely the aliens had detected the colony during their previous visit to the system but were unable to attack it due to their ammunition shortage. Once they had cleared the Federation forces from the Lacaille 9352 - Proxima jump point, they were able to return and destroy it.

The five alien ships moved into orbit of Proxima II, almost as if they were surveying their handiwork, then turned around and set a course for the Lacaille jump point. Commodore Hilgendorf was sorely tempted to station his ships on the jump point and try to prevent the aliens returning home. However, with limited numbers of RIM-2A Sentinels in the magazines of his two escorts and the aliens having expended only a dozen missiles, he realised that would be suicidal. Instead, he was forced to watch as the alien forces that had so far killed more than 730,000 humans were allowed to return to Lacaille 9352 unmolested. They finally exited the Proxima Centauri system at 20:48 on September 2nd 2072. The Fourth Destroyer Squadron rendezvoused with the First and Second nineteen and a half hours later, allowing Commodore Hilgendorf to send the First Destroyer Squadron back to Earth for resupply while he remained on station midway between the Alpha Centauri and Lacaille 9352 jump points with the Second and the Fourth.

After two weeks without any sign of further alien intruders, Commodore Hilgendorf requested permission to mount a rescue mission into Lacaille 9352 to allow the escape of the construction ship Golden Gate. By this time, the First Destroyer Squadron had returned, with its magazines full and the armour damage to Blenheim and Guardian repaired. Fleet Admiral Shaw gave permission but with the restriction that only one squadron could be risked, in case the aliens were defending the jump point. Hilgendorf selected the Fourth Destroyer Squadron, officially to give it some combat experience but unofficially because it had the least experienced crews of the three available squadrons and was therefore the most expendable.

The Fourth arrived in Lacaille 9352 late on September 17th. The FN/SPY-11 area search sensor on the jump cruiser Hiei found no alien contacts within two hundred and forty million kilometres. Golden Gate was located five hundred million kilometres from the jump point and completely unharmed. Captain Oliver Savard, captain of the Ramillies and commander of the Fourth, ordered Golden Gate to head for the jump point. Hiei temporarily jumped back into Proxima to advise the coast was clear, which allowed Commodore Hilgendorf to order the jump freighter Brandenburg, which had been holding at a safe distance, to move forward and enter Lacaille 9352. On September 19th, with Brandenburg already in the system but with Golden Gate still 350 million kilometres away, Hiei detected both Apollos and all four Achilles at maximum sensor range. They were heading directly for the jump point. Faced with such a strong enemy force, Captain Savard had no option but to abort the rescue and to order all his ships to fall back to the position of the First and Second Destroyer Squadrons in Proxima. The Golden Gate would have to wait a little longer. Before pulling out, Captain Savard suggested to the construction ship's captain, that she should hold her ship closer to the jump point so the next rescue attempt could proceed more quickly. The two Apollos briefly entered Proxima but by then the Federation ships were safely out of range and the aliens soon departed. Despite the lack of any alien pickets close to the Lacaille 9352 - Proxima jump point, they plainly had the jump point under some form of surveillance, most likely by planetary sensors. With the situation quiet once again, Commodore Hilgendorf decided to take his own Second Destroyer Squadron back to Sol for resupply, leaving Commodore Robert Rowley temporarily in command of the Federation Navy forces in Proxima Centauri.

By October 2nd, the Second Destroyer Squadron was back on the front line and Commodore Cornelius Hilgendorf had a new plan for a rescue mission. He suggested that alien planetary sensors were detecting the emissions from the powerful FN/SPY-11 area search sensors used by the Kongo class jump ships, rather than thermal emissions from the engines of Federation ships. Therefore he suggested sending Brandenburg into the alien-held system alone at low speed and without any active sensors. She would remain on the jump point and summon Golden Gate and then both ships would slip quietly out of the system. Although he had reservations, Fleet Admiral Shaw approved the plan, However he warned Hilgendorf that if this didn’t work then no more ships could be risked to rescue the stranded construction ship until the Navy had substantially increased its strength.

Brandenburg transited into Lacaille 9352 on October 3rd and found Golden Gate waiting 250 million kilometres from the jump point. Once more Golden Gate made a run for the jump point at her top speed of 1171 km/s. This time though, neither the construction ship nor the jump freighter had any idea what was happening around them. After so many failed rescue attempts, the captain of the Golden Gate, commander Helene Lachance, fervently hoped that her crew would finally make it home. Those hopes were dashed at 18:10 on October 4th when Brandenburg suddenly exploded. Commander Lachance turned her ship around and ran for deep space. Back in Proxima a few hours later, the brief appearance of the two Apollo class ships at the Lacaille 9352 jump point confirmed the almost certain loss of Brandenburg. Sickened by the loss of the jump freighter and her 740 crew, Commodore Hilgendorf retired to his cabin on board Waterloo and didn't emerge for nearly  two days.

to be continued...

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

The destruction of the Brandenburg brought the events of the previous eleven weeks to a denouement. After that point, the aliens seemed content to remain on the Lacaille side of the jump point while the government of the Federated Nations forbid any further ventures beyond Proxima. The construction ship Golden Gate was listed as missing, presumed lost. While surveying of existing systems continued, the ban on further expansion remained and all new jump points were left unexplored. Months went by and the Federation Navy continued to expand its capabilities, determined to be ready if hostilities resumed. Three new terraformers, two Gateway class jump freighters and four new colony ships were built, more than replacing the losses suffered during the brief conflict. The Proxima II colony was re-established, even though some radiation still remained from the recent attack, and three deep space tracking stations were transported to the planet so they could monitor the Lacaille 9352 and Alpha Centauri jump points. Two destroyer squadrons remained on station midway between the two jump points. Despite was he saw as a personal failure in the loss of the Brandenburg, the actions of Commodore Hilgendorf during the crisis were praised by his superiors and he was promoted to Rear Admiral in June 2073.

A sixth destroyer squadron was formed in September 2073, eleven months after the last alien encounter, comprising the new Agincourt class destroyers Imphal and Kohima and the Guardian class escort Warden. The order of battle for the Fifth Destroyer Squadron was completed by the new jump cruiser Chokai and a sixth jump cruiser, Myoko, was scheduled for delivery to the new Sixth Destroyer Squadron in November 2073. Two additional Guardian class destroyers, Watchman and Safeguard, were launched on September 18th 2073 and used to change the First and Second Destroyer Squadrons to a five-ship organization, comprising a Kongo, two Agincourts and two Guardians. Three more Guardians were laid down with the intention of making that the standard order of battle for all squadrons. The first ship of an entirely new class, the Manxman class Minelayer, was also launched in September. Intended to serve a dual role as both minelayer and collier, the Manxman had a large magazine capacity and a single Mk3 Minelaying System, which was essentially a very large, slow firing missile launcher for deploying captor mines or sensor buoys. When not tasked with a minelaying mission, the Manxman could be used to deliver additional ordnance to forward-deployed destroyer squadrons.

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Manxman class Minelayer    6000 tons     499 Crew     756.2 BP      TCS 120  TH 480  EM 0
4000 km/s     Armour 1-29     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 3     PPV 16
Annual Failure Rate: 96%    IFR: 1.3%    Maintenance Capacity 236 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 688    

Rolls Royce Falcon Ion Engine (8)    Power 60    Fuel Use 80%    Signature 60    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 75.0 billion km   (217 days at full power)

Mk3 Minelaying System (1)    Missile Size 16    Rate of Fire 240

FN/SPN-5 Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1280     Range 12.8m km    Resolution 80The first mine to be developed for use by the Manxman was the RGC-4A Thermal Captor Mine. Once deployed, the RGC-4A would use its thermal sensor to search for any non-Federation contacts. As soon as one was detected, it would release all four CGR-3A Apollo submunitions, passing on the target information. The fast but short-ranged Apollos would close on the target location, using their own onboard thermal sensors for the final approach and attack. Given their relatively short detection range, the RGC-4As would be deployed within a couple of million kilometres of a jump point or planet. Those intended for immediate attack as soon as ships transited would be deployed close to a jump point while others would be deployed further away so they would only attack very large targets or would attack as ships moved away from the jump point. Additional types of mines were planned in order to create a minefield with a multi-dimensional threat.

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RGC-4A Thermal Captor Mine
Buoy Size: 16 MSP  (0.8 HS)     Armour: 0
Reactor Endurance: 9 months
Thermal Sensor Strength: 1.2    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  1,200,000 km
Cost Per Buoy: 10.844
Second Stage: CGR-3A Apollo x4
Second Stage Separation Range: 2,000,000 km
Materials Required:    4x Tritanium   1.8x Boronide   1.716x Uridium   2.078x Gallicite
Development Cost for Project: 1084RP

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CGR-3A Apollo
Missile Size: 2.5 MSP  (0.125 HS)     Warhead: 4    Armour: 0     Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 20000 km/s    Endurance: 2 minutes   Range: 2.7m km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.129    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  129,000 km
Cost Per Missile: 1.961
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 200%   3k km/s 60%   5k km/s 40%   10k km/s 20%
Materials Required:    1x Tritanium   0.129x Uridium   0.582x Gallicite   Fuel x75
Development Cost for Project: 196RPOn March 7th 2074, Ferdinand Magellan arrived in orbit of the single moon of the tenth planet of Luyten 205-128, ready to carry out a geological survey. The system, which had not been investigated since its discovery in April 2072, was two jumps from Proxima Centauri via Epsilon Indi. Before surveying could begin, the ship's thermal sensors detected a faint contact on the planet, although planet was a generous description. The frozen chunk of bare rock was 1200 kilometres in diameter with a gravity of 0.05G, orbited at just two thousand kilometres by its tiny moon, which was in all probability a captured asteroid. Despite the barely detectable contact strength, just one sixtieth of the thermal signature of Ferdinand Magellan's own engines, her captain, Commander Andrew Doherty, was well aware of the importance of reporting any contact, no matter how apparently insignificant it might seem. Even though Magellan's sister ship, Sir Francis Drake, was due to join her in the system within a few days, he wasted no time in ordering an immediate course for the Epsilon Indi jump point, almost two billion kilometres away. Sir Francis Drake arrived on the morning of August 11th, to find Magellan heading toward her at maximum speed. Once the situation was explained, both ships transited into Epsilon Indi and travelled across the system to the Proxima jump point. As soon as they entered Proxima Centauri they were within the jump gate network and could send a message to Earth.

News of the faint thermal contact caused consternation at Fleet Headquarters. Given the nature of the barren planetoid on which it was discovered, it seemed unlikely to be an alien population. The most popular theory was some form of alien sensor outpost or listening station. In any event, it had to be investigated. The First and Second Destroyer Squadrons were on station in Proxima near the Lacaille 9352 and Alpha Centauri jump points while the Fourth was picketing the Proxima - Sol jump point. The Third was in Overhaul and the Fifth and Sixth were on training manoeuvres in Sol. Fleet Admiral Shaw ordered Captain Ethan Phillips to take the Fifth Destroyer Squadrons to Luyten 205-128 and look for any additional signs of life. The geological survey ship Sir Francis Drake was ordered to move back into Epsilon Indi and remain at the Proxima jump point. Ferdinand Magellan would accompany the Fifth into Luyten 205-128 and also remain at the jump point. With the two geo survey ships stationed at the jump points between Luyten 205-128 and Proxima, messages could be relayed between Captain Phillips and Earth.

The Fifth Destroyer Squadron arrived in Luyten 205-128 on March 24th and reached the tenth planet four days later, detecting the same thermal contact. The system had fourteen planets, ranging from a small Mercury-type world orbiting just 400,000 kilometres from the dim M5-V primary to a super-jovian way out at almost ninety billion kilometres. The only world of real interest was the second planet, which was a huge super-terrestrial world with a diameter of 29,000 kilometres and a planet-spanning ocean. The temperature of 7C was within the habitable zone but the gravity of 1.54 G was at the upper end of human tolerance and there was no oxygen in the dense atmosphere of Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. Although a future terraforming prospect, it had a lower priority than other planets closer to Earth.

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Finding nothing more at the tenth planet, Captain Phillips decided to investigate Luyten 205-128 II, on the assumption it was the most likely location for any additional alien installations. His ships travelled across the system without incident and arrived in orbit on April 4th. As Luyten 205-128 appeared to be devoid of any alien activity beyond the initial thermal contact, Captain Phillips ordered Commander Doherty to bring Magellan into the inner system and begin his geological survey while his squadron stood guard just in case. To ensure a message would be delivered if something untoward did occur, Sir Francis Drake moved across Epsilon Indi and took up position at the Luyten 205-128 - Epsilon Indi jump point.

In mid-May 2074, an alert was raised at Fleet Headquarters regarding the jump gate construction ship Akashi-Kaikyo. She was last seen entering the Ross 248 - Tau Ceti jump point after building a jump gate on the Ross 248 side and had been expected to return to the Sol system via the Ross 248 jump point in early May. She was now several days overdue. With the Fifth Destroyer Squadron deployed to Luyten 205-128, three squadrons in Proxima, a squadron in overhaul and a squadron guarding Earth, there were no available ships to send to Tau Ceti to search for the missing construction ship. As the Lacaille aliens, or the Scalies as they had become known to the Federation crews, had been quiet for eighteen months, Fleet Admiral Shaw decided to pull back the First Destroyer Squadron to the Proxima - Sol jump point, leaving the Second near Proxima II. This redeployment freed up the Fourth, which could then be dispatched to Tau Ceti.

On June 8th, the Kongo class jump cruiser Hiei, the Agincourt class destroyer Ramillies and the Guardian class escort Cerberus jumped into Tai Ceti. As the maximum squadron size for the jump drive on Hiei was three, the Agincourt class destroyer Fort Washington remained in Ross 248, awaiting the return of Hiei. As soon as the three ships arrived in Tau Ceti their passive thermal and EM sensors detected five strength 560 thermal signatures and an active sensor right on top of the jump point. Their own active sensors and fire control systems were affected by the jump and would not function for thirty seconds or more. The Fourth's commander, Commodore Oliver Savard on board Ramillies, ordered an immediate return to Ross 248 but the Fourth had not yet spent any time training as a squadron and they were slow to re-orient themselves for the jump. Ten seconds after they arrived in Tau Ceti, Ramillies was hit by four anti-ship missiles with strength-10 warheads. The first two expended themselves against the destroyer's armour belt and the third hit the weakened section, causing enough damage to knock out two missile launchers. The fourth missile struck nearby, blasting through the armour to damage a magazine and trigger the automatic ejection system. Unfortunately the ejection system partially failed, resulting in a devastating magazine explosion that ripped through the ship. Hit by the blast front, a second magazine exploded and Ramillies vanished in a ball of flame.

Stunned by the disaster, Commander James Lyon of the Hiei, now the senior officer in Tau Ceti, urged the Cerberus to get into formation. His own crew was rushing to get the jump engine online but their inexperience and rising panic was causing mistakes and the drive failed to activate. Forty seconds after they arrived his tactical officer reported fifteen small thermal contacts closing fast so Commander Lyon grabbed the 1MC and warned the crew to brace for impact. He closed his eyes as the tactical officer counted down the seconds to impact and then opened them as his death failed to arrive on schedule. Cerberus was the target. The escort was hit eight times and suffered the same fate as Ramillies. Her magazine and one of her Rolls Royce Falcon Ion Engines both exploded, leaving nothing but wreckage.

Twenty seconds later, with Commander Lyon measuring his remaining life in seconds, the jump drive finally came online. The helmsman didn't bother reporting the situation, he just took the ship through the jump point into Ross 248. Fort Washington was waiting and her commander, Captain Tagawa Tadako, was now the senior officer of what remained of the Fourth Destroyer Squadron. Commander Lyon urgently explained the situation and Captain Tagawa immediately accepted his recommendation that they should leave the area at once. While the exact nature of the ships in Tau Ceti was unknown as the squadron's active sensors didn't recover from jump shock before Hiei escaped, the speed and power of the missiles suggested the same alien race that was encountered in Alpha Centauri, Proxima and Lacaille 9352.

There was no immediate pursuit so Captain Tagawa reported the incident to Fleet Headquarters via the jump gate at the Ross 248 - Sol jump point and stated his intention to move to that jump point as quickly as possible. Fleet Admiral Shaw concurred with his action and sent a message to the construction ship Sydney Harbour, which was in the Sigma Draconis system building a jump gate at the Ross 248 jump point, warning her of the situation. The jump freighter Menin, which was fortunately stationed at the Sol - Ross 248 jump point, was ordered to proceed across Ross 248 into Sigma Draconis and retrieve Sydney Harbour.

It had been assumed the Lacaille aliens were content to stay in Lacaille 9352 so apart from jump point exploration, life had been returning to normal for the Federated Nations. Survey ships were operating on the frontiers of the forty systems of known space, locating jump points and mineral deposits, while construction ships were expanding the jump gate network to systems with planets suitable for future terraforming and colonization. The terraforming fleet, now numbering eight Genesis class ships, had returned to Proxima II. The settlement on Minerva had grown to almost ten million colonists with Proxima II and 70 Ophuichi III at 1.2 million and 820,00 inhabitants respectively. That growing confidence was shattered by the events in Tau Ceti. The Scalies plainly had ships in multiple systems and could now approach Sol through Proxima or through Ross 248. Given their obvious technological advantages, humanity's continued existence was probably conditional on their apparent reluctance to explore far beyond their sources of supply.

The President, supported by all three major political parties of the Federated Nations, ordered that all Federation Navy forces should be withdrawn to Sol, Proxima and Alpha Centauri in order to ensure the safety of Earth and her colonies. Fleet Admiral Shaw argued that while he agreed with the short-term need to defend Earth, adopting an entirely defensive strategy would hand the initiative to the Scalies and was not a viable long-term strategy. He proposed the mission of the Federation Navy should be two-fold. First and most important, it should ensure the survival of humanity. Its longer term aim should be to build an offensive force capable of removing the threat of the Lacaille aliens once and for all. To that end, he recommended withdrawing to the core systems as per the President's instruction, with the exception that pickets and listening posts be established in the outlying systems to provide warning of any alien movements. With Earth secure, the scientific and economic resources of the Federated Nations should then be devoted to increasing the strength, size and capability of the Navy until such time as the President agreed that offensive operations should begin. As the short-term effects of Fleet Admiral Shaw's strategy were very similar to his own views, the President accepted the recommendation, confident that the voting public would see his desire to protect them and that he would not be allowing any offensives any time soon.

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to be continued...

[Beersatron]

Steve, stop squishing bugs and write some more!

Please?  

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

Steve, stop squishing bugs and write some more!

Please?  

Steve