The substantial shipbuilding program of the Skye Enclave continued with the launch of Eagle and Cobra class destroyers on March 7th 2205. The Cobra moved off to join its sister ships some distance from the Enclave home world while the Eagle set course for Alpha-Centauri-B. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed the only explanation for the behaviour of the Cobras must be that they were missile-armed but lacked any ordnance. Given that there appeared to be no shortage of anti-ship missiles, based on recent Enclave raids against Sparta, that indicated they were escorts armed with AMMs. The orbital defences of the Enclave home world were probably consuming all the production of AMMs in order to refill their magazines.
A day after the launch of the new destroyers a powerful Russian task group entered Alpha Centauri. Since the Sino-Russian war, the Russian Navy had been rebuilding its fleet, concentrating on larger warships. The task group comprised five 23,250 ton battleships, including two Borodinos, two Frunze and a Kanin, plus three 15,450 ton battlecruisers – a Novorossiysk, a Baku and a Neustrashimy. They were on a direct course for Sparta, now almost three billion kilometres from the Sol jump point. The Second Battle Squadron and the orbital defences went on alert but it seemed unlikely the Russian were hostile as they passed a number of undefended commercial vessels en route. On March 13th the Russian task group entered orbit of Sparta and its commander sent his regards to the planetary governor. After only a few hours they departed and headed back to Sol. JNI believed the visit was a less-than-diplomatic message from the Russian Navy than despite the losses suffered in the war against China, it was now a major force once again.
Even while the Russian task group was carrying out its flag-showing visit to Sparta, the raids by Enclave warships against the Alpha Centauri-B system continued. On March 11th a Scorpion class DD was destroyed by two salvos of Javelins from Inceptris and Impavidus. Three days later a FAC was chased away by Agamemnon. The two missile cruisers killed an Eagle class DD on the 18th, leaving them with just ten Javelin anti-ship missiles each. A second Eagle attacked two weeks later, forcing Inceptris and Impavidus to expend those remaining missiles. The Enclave destroyer was damaged but still mobile so the Second Battle Squadron closed in and finished it with one hundred and sixty Gladius AMMs from Aquila and Cygnus.
On April 13th, the third Achilles class destroyer escort, Ajax, was launched in Europa orbit and immediately set course for the Alpha Centauri jump point. The first of a new 18,000 battlecruiser class was launched by the Skye Enclave. Jovian Naval Intelligence had exhausted its list of animal designations for new ship classes so the new ship was designated at Baldwin 001. Future classes of the Skye Enclave would follow a medieval theme. The Baldwin headed for Sparta, preceded by the same Hammerhead class FAC that had raided Sparta on several occasions. Agamemnon moved out to meet the FAC, forcing it to launch its missiles, which the destroyer escort shot down, and retreat. The Second Battle Squadron, now with full magazines after the arrival of the Mithras class ammunition transport, sent five salvos of Javelins against the Baldwin class battlecruiser.
The Enclave warship shot down half the missiles in the first four waves but its point defence was out of action when the fifth salvo arrived and blew it to pieces.
Ajax arrived at Sparta on April 25th and was sent to relieve Agamemnon, which was still guarding the Athena class sensor platform, as well as mounting occasional forays to chase away FAC raids. Agamemnon moved to Sparta for an overhaul. Jovian freighters had been transporting maintenance facilities to Sparta over the previous year and the colony was now capable of maintaining ships of up to 12,000 tons, which included all current Jovian warships as well as the orbital defences. The Second and Third Battle Squadrons could now be permanently based in Alpha Centauri, removing the need to return to Europa for overhauls. Odysseus, the fourth Achilles class destroyer escort, arrived at Sparta on May 10th and was assigned to the Second Battle Squadron.
Two days later, the first in a new Jovian class was launched from the Richter Marine Shipyard. The Nike class Dropship could transport and combat drop a full battalion of troops. A ship equipped with standard drop modules was unable to transport troops for long periods due to the cramped condition. However, the Nike had cryogenic combat drop modules, which meant the troops could be placed into cryogenic storage until needed. While the Nike would still need tankers or some form of carrier to operate beyond one point eight billion kilometres from its base, it could be held on the carrier without that carrier requiring any troop transport bays. The other notable feature of the Nike was its high speed, which would enable it to launch boarding operations against slow-moving ships, such as freighters. The Nike would operate in conjunction with the Pallas class Dropship Carrier, three of which were under construction but would not be ready for more than five months. The Pallas could transport a single Nike and was capable of maintaining the same speed as Jovian warships. The task of the Pallas would be to move close enough to enemy ships for the Nike to be able to use its high speed to catch and board them. For the moment the single Nike was ordered to move to Sparta, refuelling en route.
Nike class Dropship 2,500 tons 62 Crew 446.8 BP TCS 50 TH 480 EM 0
9600 km/s Armour 1-16 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0.39 Years MSP 56 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 144 5YR 2166 Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.9 months Spare Berths 0
Cryo Drop Capacity: 1 Battalion Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Prometheus Stardrives PS-480G Dropship Engine (1) Power 480 Fuel Use 316.79% Signature 480 Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 160,000 Litres Range 3.6 billion km (4 days at full power)
Pallas class Dropship Carrier 6,000 tons 117 Crew 771.6 BP TCS 120 TH 480 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 1-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.73 Years MSP 321 AFR 72% IFR 1% 1YR 62 5YR 930 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 2500 tons
Prometheus Stardrives PS-240 Ion Drive (2) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 290,000 Litres Range 15.5 billion km (44 days at full power)
FN/SPS-3 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 9600 Range 105.6m km Resolution 100
The Skye Enclave launched new Eagle and Cobra class destroyers in early May. The Eagle attempted to attack Sparta and was destroyed on May 13th by the Second Battle Squadron. The Cobra moved to join its sister ships, which continued to avoid action. On May 15th the Russian Navy returned to Alpha Centauri, this time with a force of six battleships and two Baku class battlecruisers. The Russian task group passed several hundred million kilometres behind Sparta in its orbit and headed for the Alpha Centauri-A solar system. With the Russians halfway between the two stars and no sign of new Enclave attacks, Admiral Charleston ordered the Second Battle Squadron, reinforced by the overhauled Agamemnon, to move to Alpha Centauri-A in case the Russian presence created an opportunity for the Federation Navy to attack the orbital defences of the Enclave home world. Before leaving, Impavidus and Inceptris each replaced sixty of their one hundred and thirty Javelins with the multi-warhead Tridents. Back in Sol, an Enclave Mamba class survey ship was destroyed on the edge of the Mars-Jupiter asteroid belt by a pair of Star Viking warships. How this survey ship had managed to enter Sol was unknown.
On June 2nd 2205 the Skye Enclave launched a Black Widow class destroyer and an 18,000 ton class battlecruiser of a new type, designated as Aragon class. Both moved away from the Enclave home world in the opposite direction to the Third Battle Squadron which was guarding salvage operations within the asteroid belt that lay between the orbits of Alpha Centauri-A I and Alpha Centauri-A II. Seven freighters and one of the salvage ships were en route to Sparta, guarded by the escort Orca, which had been detached from the squadron. The actions of the two new warships suggested the Enclave could be running low on missiles. Even the lone Hammerhead that had launched several raids on Sparta was now taking up position at a safe distance from all Jovian forces. In addition, two Russian Oscar class geosurvey ships were operating within the asteroid belt of Alpha Centauri-A without interference.
The Russian task group arrived in orbit of the Enclave colony on Alpha Centauri-A II on June 9th. Given past history, it was unlikely that Enclave would respond well to six battleships in orbit of their colony. The Russian warships remained in orbit for several hours and then headed for the Enclave home world. Once again, after remaining for a few hours, they departed. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed this visit was for a similar reason to the visit to Sparta in March – demonstrating the power of the Russian Navy to the other local governments. Even so, it was surprising that the Enclave was willing to let such a powerful force enter orbit. Perhaps the almost constant combat within the Alpha Centauri system had made the Enclave wary of adding a new enemy.
Despite the lack of any confrontation that might weaken the orbital defences of Alpha Centauri-A III, the Second and Third Battle Squadrons were now both in the vicinity of the Alpha Centauri-A solar system. Admiral Charleston decided that this was a good a time as any to test the new Trident missiles, especially as the Third Battle Squadron had been deployed for almost a year. Its ships needed an overhaul and its crews needed shore leave. If the test did not take place immediately, it would likely be delayed for several months. The ammunition transport Mithras was dispatched to the Third Battle Squadron with Trident missiles and additional Javelins. Admiral Charleston ordered the two squadrons to rendezvous at a point one hundred and fifty million kilometres from the Skye Enclave home world. By June 18th, the Second and Third Battle Squadrons had formed a combined fleet with the following order of battle:
4x Invictus class Missile Cruiser: Inceptris, Immortalis, Impavidus, Imperator
4x Minotaur class Destroyer: Centaur, Charybdis, Pegasus, Scylla
3x Achilles class Destroyer Escort: Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus
3x Aquila class Escort: Aquila, Cygnus, Volantis
1x Mithras class Ammunition Transport: Mithras
1x Athena II class Sensor Platform
The combined fleet closed to sixty million kilometres and launched five salvos with forty Trident missiles in each wave. The bus vehicles of the multi-warhead missiles were moving at only 4200 km/s and required several hours to reach their release point, four million kilometres from the Enclave home world. Each missile released four Gladius AMMs, creating a total of one hundred and sixty missiles in each of five waves. The empty missile buses continued onwards as well, presenting the defences with a total of one thousand inbounds. The Gladius sub-munitions were travelling at 33,600 km/s, which Jovian Naval Intelligence believed was much faster than the Enclave anti-missile missiles.
The first sign of defensive fire was the detonation of twenty-one defensive missiles just over a million kilometres from the planet. Twenty-nine further detonations were detected as the first wave closed in on its target - one of the seven Komodo Dragon class orbital weapon platforms believed to be armed with AMMs. Forty-two energy weapon impacts were detected in orbit, leaving sixty-eight Gladius, all of which struck the Enclave base. The defenders fared better against the second and third waves with the OWP taking forty-two and forty-seven hits respectively. A single hit from the third wave resulted in a loss of atmosphere. Each wave was being struck several times on the way in, which meant the Enclave bases were probably launching huge amount of AMMs. Assuming a three to one engagement ratio, a single launch against one wave of Jovian sub-munitions would consume almost five hundred AMMs. With five waves and each one engaged multiple times, the Enclave defences would be expending thousands of missiles.
The fourth wave scored thirty-two hits, none of which were internals. By this time the missile bus vehicles from the first three waves had also been destroyed by anti-missiles. The fifth wave suffered fewer losses to AMMs on the way in and scored eighty-nine hits, eight of which breached the hull. The reduced number of AMM hits suggested a corresponding reduction in the number of missiles being launched. Impavidus and Inceptris each had ten Trident missiles remaining so they launched a sixth wave, half the size of the others. Meanwhile the remaining bus vehicles from the initial attack were struck by AMMs. Wave six suffered even fewer hits on its approach toward Alpha Centauri-A III, losing thirty-four out of eighty sub munitions. Unfortunately all forty-six missiles that reached the planet were destroyed by point defence fire. Even so the low loss rate was a very encouraging sign, especially as it those losses were suffered in ones and twos every few second rather than as a result of large defensive salvos. The twenty bus vehicles of the sixth wave came under attack but only half were destroyed. Given the extremely low speed of those vehicles the defensive missiles were unlikely to miss, which meant the salvo size of the AMMs was very low. The remaining ten were destroyed thirty seconds later. Mithras reloaded each missile cruiser with thirty Javelins then headed back to Sparta.
The defensive fire from the Enclave missile bases appeared to be faltering, leaving the combined fleet with the same decision faced by several other Solarian navies; whether to advance into offensive AMM range. Admiral Cassandra Charleston ordered Commodore Armand Benitez, commanding the combined fleet, to approach the planet and determine the effectiveness of its defences. Admiral Charleston believed that with three Aquilas and three Achilles in the task group, they have good missile defence against a moderate threat, although they still would not able to withstand the huge salvos directed at other Solarian fleets in the past. However, the indications were that orbital defences of the Enclave home world were finally running out of ordnance. The combined fleet closed in, making two course reversals at forty million and thirty-five million kilometres in an attempt to throw off any incoming AMMs, but still expecting to be attacked at any moment. At eighteen million kilometres from the planet, with no sign of incoming fire, a strength-678 ground force contact was detected on the planet. Resolution-1 active sensor emissions were detected from the three Barracuda and seven Komodo Dragon class orbital weapon platforms,, confirming them defensive bases. Given the size of salvos launched against attacking ships, JNI believed the Dragons were the missile platforms.
The ships of the Second and Third Battle Squadrons continued closing until they halted at a mere one hundred and forty thousand kilometres. well inside maximum range of the 15cm and 19cm lasers on the Minotaur class destroyers but outside the estimated range of any energy-based point defence on the three Barracudas. While the destroyers could only inflict strength-1 hits at that range, the Skye Enclave appeared to have no weapon that could strike back. The only danger was the launch of a new warship from the huge orbital shipyards, massing over three point five million tons, or the production of new missiles by ordnance factories on the surface. Starting with the Komodo Dragon class base targeted by the Tridents, the four destroyers systematically massacred all seven missile-armed bases.
Admiral Charleston, monitoring the battle from Federation Navy Headquarters on Europa, ordered Commodore Benitez to pull his ships back to eighty million kilometres. The Commodore obeyed under protest, arguing that the remaining defence bases and orbital shipyards were completely helpless. Charleston was considering a longer-term strategy. The energy-armed bases could be destroyed whenever the Federation Navy chose to do so. However, the ground forces of the Jovian Federation were not strong enough to mount an invasion of the Enclave home world and she would not allow a bombardment of the civilian population to force a surrender. The other Solarian powers would not be as merciful though so the remaining energy-armed bases would be needed to defend against any Solarian missile attack. Admiral Charleston intended the Enclave shipyards to become the property of the Jovian Federation at some point in the future so she saw no point in destroying them either. While they could produce further Enclave warships, she believed the Federation Navy would be able to deal with any that threatened its colonies. Besides those warships might also prevent another Solarian power conquering the Enclave. It was a gamble but the potential future payoff would be worth it.
With no immediate threat, the combined fleet was divided into its constituent elements. The Third Battle Squadron, minus the Athena II sensor platform, set course for Sparta for an overhaul. The Second Battle Squadron held position eighty million kilometres from the Enclave home world, positioned to intercept any new warships that might head for Sparta and also to intercept the Aragon class battlecruiser, the Black Widow destroyer and the eight Cobra class destroyers if they decided to abandon their safe havens a billion kilometres away and attempt to reach their home world. Agamemnon was detached from the Second to guard the last salvage ship operating in the Alpha Centauri-A system, working on the wreck of a Piranha class battleship in the asteroid belt.
Two Enclave Mongoose class fast scouts were operating on the edge of the Alpha Centauri-B solar system. Due to their high speed of over 5800 km/s, they had been impossible to run down. As the Third Battle Squadron was returning from Alpha Centauri-A, Commodore Benitez detached one of his Minotaur class destroyers and ordered Cerberus to sortie from Sparta. The two destroyers acted as beaters, moving in on the Enclave scouts from opposite direction and forcing them to run toward the Third Battle Squadron. Once within range Immortalis and Imperator launched one salvo of twenty missiles at each scout. Both were crippled, allowing Centaur and Cerberus to run down the scouts and destroy them with lasers.
With the threat from the Skye Enclave lower than it had been in recent months, Admiral Charleston decided to deal with the recently established Enclave colony on Alpha Centauri-B II. The colony was established after the Enclave used orbital bombardment to wipe out a Latin Alliance colony on the planet. The Third Infantry Brigade and the Fourth Assault Infantry Brigade landed on July 9th and secured the planet within a few days. The population was just under one point five million and the only installations were a pair of deep space tracking stations.
On July 11th the Skye Enclave launched an 18,000 ton ship of a new type, designated as Warhorse class. The Second Battle Squadron was holding station eighty million kilometres away with orders to intercept and destroy any Enclave ships heading for the Alpha Centauri-B system. The Warhorse departed orbit heading in the opposite direction so Commodore Benitez decided to conserve his ordnance and let it go. A few days later the powerful Russian task group, comprising six battleships and two battlecruisers, re-entered Alpha Centauri, passing Sparta on July 19th and heading for the Alpha Centauri-A solar system. So far there had been no conflict between the Russian Federation and the Skye Enclave but the Russians had already won one war while the Enclave usually reacted aggressively when a Solarian power continued to violate its space. Admiral Charleston was very concerned that if conflict did break out, the reduced defences of the Enclave home world would not withstand the Russian battle line. That concern increased when a seventh Russian battleship entered Alpha Centauri on the 23rd of July.
The Russian Federation had bombarded Chinese civilian targets on Earth so Admiral Charleston could see no reason why Russia would show any restraint against an alien home world if its defences were eliminated. Therefore she ordered the Second Battle Squadron to approach Alpha Centauri-A III, while remaining outside the range of the orbital defences, so it could be in a position to defend the planet against a Russian missile attack. While the Enclave was at war with the Jovian Federation, Admiral Charleston was not prepared to allow the massacre of non-combatants. Besides, she intended to capture as much of the Enclave industry as possible when the Jovian Federation was ready to launch an invasion. In the meantime, she accelerated the timescale for the capture of the Enclave colony on Alpha Centauri-A II. Meanwhile, a new Athena II sensor platform arrived at Sparta, which allowed the older Athena I platform to be stationed at the point where the direct route from Alpha Centauri-A to the Sol jump point intersected the orbit of Alpha Centauri-B. For the moment the sensor coverage of the two platforms overlapped, but that would change as the orbital path of Alpha Centauri-B took the star further from the jump point.
The Russian task group entered orbit of Alpha Centauri-A II on August 1st 2205 and the Enclave home world a day later. Both visits passed without incident and the task group headed for home. On August 17th the Enclave launched a new Piranha class battleship. The Second Battle Squadron had moved some distance from the planet but was still well within missile range. The Piranha headed for the squadron and ran straight into a hundred Javelin anti-ship missiles launched from Impavidus and Inceptris. It did not survive. Mithras departed Sparta orbit with replacement missiles. For the second time, the visit of a Russian task group had accelerated Jovian for operations against the Skye Enclave. On this occasion it was the invasion of the Enclave colony on Alpha Centauri-A II, the largest ground operation to date. One brigade of assault infantry and three brigades of mobile infantry landed on August 23rd and began offensive operations soon thereafter. Three defending battalions suffered casualties in the initial attack.
Six days after the landing, a previously unknown Hammerhead class FAC appeared fifteen million kilometres from the two troop transports in orbit of Alpha Centauri-A II. Fortunately they were escorted by Agamemnon, an Achilles class destroyer escort, and Cerberus, a Minotaur class destroyer. Four missiles from the FAC were shot down by Agamemnon. The Hammerhead ran for the Enclave home world to reload and was intercepted by the Second Battle Squadron. A salvo of ten Javelins was sufficient to destroy it. The FAC was presumably launched by the Enclave while the Second Battle Squadron was too far from the planet to detect it. Therefore, Admiral Charleston ordered the squadron to move closer to the planet in order to detect and destroy any further FACs launched from the orbital shipyard.
As the Second Battle Squadron moved close to the Enclave home world it came under missile attack. Three salvos of four size-5 missiles were detected and the active sensor of a single Hammerhead was detected on the far side of the planet. Given the number of missiles, there were probably three attacking FACs even though only one set of emissions had been detected. The squadron continued on course for the Enclave home world, destroying the inbounds with a combination of AMMs and laser fire, and detected the three suspected Hammerheads closing on the planet from the opposite direction, presumably to reload. Impavidus and Inceptris launched five missiles at each FAC from four million kilometres, which, due to the resolution of their fire controls, was close to maximum range. All three were hit and destroyed less than half a million kilometres from the planet. Another Hammerhead, that had been lurking on the edge of sensor range, was en route to the Enclave home world, although still several hundred million kilometres away. It appeared the Skye Enclave had produced new stocks of anti-ship missiles. The Second Battle Squadron moved around the planet so it would be in position to intercept the FAC before it could reload.
As it waited, four other FACs were detected approaching from a different direction. Obviously the Enclave home world had been constructing FACs but had no missiles available. The FACs had moved to a safe distance from the Jovian forces near the Alpha Centauri-A solar system while they awaited production of sufficient ordnance. Now those FACs were returning home. The Minotaur class destroyer Pegasus, detached to intercept the new arrivals, caught and destroyed each one with laser fire. The single FAC closing from long range turned out to seven FACs once it entered active sensor range. Pegasus and her sister ships Charybdis went out to meet them. Despite the 700 km/s speed advantage of the Hammerheads they could not pass the two Jovian warships quickly enough to avoid destruction. The Second Battle Squadron was now effectively acting as a goalkeeper, preventing all attempts by Enclave warships to return home.
The Nike class Dropship arrived at Alpha Centauri-A II, where ground combat was still underway. Her fuel was down to 2%, due to her powerful but very inefficient engines, so she refuelled from the troop transports in orbit. Admiral Charleston intended to use the planet, or more accurately the small Jovian task group in orbit, as a base from where the dropship could operate against Enclave commercial traffic. Her first mission was against a group of six Shark class ships two hundred and twenty million kilometres from the planet. The 56th Assault Infantry Battalion was combat dropped at very close range from the lead ship. 95% of the battalion’s five hundred men successfully landed on the 28,750 ton hull and blasted their way inside with breaching charges. The crew of the Enclave vessel only put up limited resistance and the ship was soon secured. Those crew members that surrendered identified the ship as a Raven class Terraformer. The engines were ion drive technology, similar to existing Jovian warships but one generation behind the latest Jovian research. However, the ship did include a close-in weapon system, or CIWS, which was a self-contained anti-missile unit using gauss technology. The Federation Navy had nothing comparable. The Raven was sent to Alpha Centauri-A II to unload the Jovian infantry while Nike headed for the same planet to pick up a new battalion.
Raven class Terraformer (ex-Enclave) 28750 tons 83 Crew 779 BP TCS 575 TH 300 EM 0
521 km/s Armour 1-83 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 17 MSP
Spare Berths 60
Terraformer: 1 module(s) producing 0.002 atm per annum
150 EP Commercial Ion Drive (2) Power 150 Fuel Use 10.61% Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 5.9 billion km (130 days at full power)
CIWS-120 (1x8) Range 1000 km TS: 12000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
On September 3rd, the Hercules class tug completed the towing of an Orpheus orbital weapon platform from Europa to Alpha Centauri-A II in anticipation of the Jovian ground forces successfully capturing the colony. Due to its proximity to the Enclave home world it seemed likely the planet would become the focus of any Enclave counter-attacks. Meanwhile the Nike class dropship continued its operations against the remaining Raven class terraformers. Each one was boarded and captured in turn by a different infantry battalion, with casualties in each battalion ranging from two to seven percent. While the diversion of effort slowed down the capture of Alpha Centauri-A II, the ground combat was going well with one defending battalion already wiped out and three more suffering serious casualties.
Nike launched a much longer-ranged operation on September 18th that targeted a 31,200 ton Bulldog class ship located almost a billion kilometres from the Enclave home world. The ship did not appear to detect the approaching dropship until it was relatively close, although its ability to avoid the 9600 km/s was extremely limited given its maximum speed of 961 km/s. Even so the freighter tried to evade as best it could and the drop went badly Sixty percent of the assaulting troops missed the target or hit too quickly. Those that missed were incinerated by the drive plume or drifted off into space. The two hundred survivors quickly secured the Enclave vessel, which was identified by the crew as a Blackjack class Freighter. None of the technology on the ship was beyond the Jovian equivalent. Both the dropship and the captured freighter headed for Alpha Centauri-A II. Further operations against targets moving faster than 600 km/s were suspended.
Blackjack class Freighter (ex-Enclave) 31,200 tons 83 Crew 392 BP TCS 624 TH 600 EM 0
961 km/s Armour 1-88 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 8 Max Repair 37.5 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
150 EP Commercial Ion Drive (4) Power 150 Fuel Use 10.61% Signature 150 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 16.3 billion km (196 days at full power)
The Jovian ground forces on Alpha Centauri-A II achieved a major breakthrough in mid-September, smashing through the last line of Enclave defences. Three Skye battalions died in place trying to hold the line. The planetary governor could see no way of holding back the Jovian forces and surrendered on the 19th of September 2205. The population of eighty-nine million was far larger than the two occupied Enclave colonies in the Alpha Centauri-B system (three million on Plataea and one point eight million on Alpha Centauri-B II). There was sufficient infrastructure for the colonists Alpha Centauri-A II but no industry. The planet’s atmosphere was Nitrogen, Ammonia and Methane and had a colony cost of 2.00 for humans.
The environmental tolerances of the Skye were quite different to humans. The Skye homeworld was an icy super-terrestoid planet almost twice the diameter of Earth with gravity of 1.11G and an average surface temperature of -28C. As a result the preferred temperature range of the Skye was much lower than humans. In fact the upper end of their temperature tolerance was one degree below the low end of human tolerance. In general they preferred higher gravity than humans but because of the wide range of human gravitational tolerance, humans could actually withstand both higher and lower gravity than the Skye. Beside temperature, the other major difference was in atmospheric oxygen content. The atmospheric pressure of the Enclave home world was twenty-three percent higher than Earth and the oxygen content was sixty percent higher. Earth was just within the minimum oxygen content for the Skye.
The Enclave home world launched lone Hammerhead class FACs on the 8th and 29th of September. In both cases the FAC pulled away from the planet in the opposite direction to the Second Battle Squadron and launched before it could be attacked. The four-missile salvos were shot down and the FACs were destroyed before they could rearm. The absence of the Komodo Dragon class missile bases was proving decisive as the Federation Navy could now intercept new Enclave warships as they launched.
With the Alpha Centauri-A system much safer for Jovian ships than in recent months, the geological survey was resumed. The first target was the new conquered Alpha Centauri-A II. More than thirteen million tons of accessibility 0.8 Duranium was discovered along with substantial, albeit less accessible, deposits of six other minerals.
Survey Report on Alpha Centauri-A II
Duranium 13,624,200 Acc: 0.8
Neutronium 455,625 Acc: 0.1
Boronide 14,976,900 Acc: 0.1
Vendarite 4,473,225 Acc: 0.6
Corundium 1,946,025 Acc: 0.1
Gallicite 3,080,025 Acc: 0.1
On October 10th, a new 60,000 ton Intruder warship entered Alpha Centauri from Lalande. Unlike the previous ships, this one was moving at 1200 km/s rather than 1000 km/s. Still very slow compared to Jovian warships but it suggested the Intruders could be improving their technology. The gravitational survey ship Selene was close to the Lalande jump point, watching for any Intruder incursions. Initially the huge warship, designated as Eclipse class, chased Selene but once it became obvious the survey ship was faster, the Eclipse set course for the Alpha Centauri-A solar system. Given its relatively slow speed it would take more than a month to cover the distance from the Lalande jump point. Despite the timeframe, Jovian non-combatants ships began to evacuate the Alpha Centauri-A system. The captured Raven class terraformers headed for Plataea at their top speed of 521 km/s. The salvage ships and their accompanying freighters headed for home as they completed their currently assigned tasks. Six infantry and assault infantry brigades were loaded on to the three Ares class troop transports, leaving only reserve battalions on Alpha Centauri-A II to act as a garrison.
Despite the looming threat of the Eclipse, Jovian operations continued against the Skye Enclave. The destroyer Pegasus had been sent far out from the rest of the Second Battle Squadron, operating with sensors off to avoid detection. By mid-October it had moved to the far side of the Warhorse class battlecruiser that was holding station a billion kilometres from the Enclave home world. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed this was a missile combatant that lacked ordnance. The destroyer engaged its sensors and moved to attack. The Warhorse was only capable of 3200 km/s compared to 4000 km/s for Pegasus and was unable to run out of sensor range because the destroyer was behind it and the sensor coverage provided by the Athena II sensor platform accompanying the Second Battle Squadron was ahead. The 18,000 ton warship was run down and blown to pieces by the Jovian destroyer.
The Russian Navy returned to Alpha Centauri in late October, with a battleship task group visiting both the Enclave home world and the conquered colony on Alpha Centauri-A II. Despite fears that the Skye Enclave would use its remaining orbital bases to attack the Russian ships as they entered orbit, the visit passed peacefully and the Russians headed for home. In Sol, another incursion by the Zoltan Empire resulted in two separate battles. A Malagard class destroyer was involved in a brief engagement with a flotilla of Martian fast attack craft, resulting in the loss of one Clemenceau class FAC and the destruction of the Malagard. Several hours later a 28,000 ton Suffren class battleship of the Martian Union attacked a Zoltan Mammon class battlecruiser and an escorting Belial class destroyer. Both Zoltan ships were destroyed by several salvos of missiles with strength-9 warheads at a range of approximately one hundred and seventy million kilometres. There was no sign of return fire.
As the Eclipse moved within half a billion kilometres of the Enclave home world, Admiral Charleston gave orders to the Second Battle Squadron to intercept. As previous Intruder ships had caused significant problems for the Enclave, she wanted to engage the enemy before it could attack either the orbital shipyards or the remaining orbital bases. As the troop transports had finished loading the six brigades that assaulted Alpha Centauri-A II, they were ordered back to Sparta. Their escorts, Cerberus and Agamemnon, were detached and sent to reinforce the Second Battle Squadron, giving it a strength of two missile cruisers, three Minotaur class destroyers, two Achilles class destroyer escorts, two Aquila class escorts, an Athena II class sensor platform and the Mithras class ammunition transport. Because the Second was leaving its position close to the Enclave home world it would not be able to intercept any newly launched Enclave warships. However, most of the non-combatant vessels of the Federation Navy has already been withdrawn from the Alpha Centauri-A system. Only a single salvage ship, two freighters and the Nike class dropship remained in the vicinity.
Based on the previous engagements between the Intruders and the Skye Enclave, Jovian Naval Intelligence believed the alien warship was armed with some form of energy weapon. Therefore, given the strength of its shields, the commander of the Second Battle Squadron, Commodore Kikugawa Takeo, decided to move close enough to use the missiles of his Aquila class escorts in offensive mode before opening fire. He was also concerned about the potential that the warship was some form of carrier or that it was escorted by smaller vessels, as JNI analysis of the previous battles suggested that additional undetected Intruder craft had been destroyed by the Skye Enclave. Closing to within range of the escorts’ resolution-1 sensors would also resolve that question.
The Second Battle Squadron moved to within four million kilometres of the Intruder Eclipse without detecting any escorts, which left the possibility that the 60,000 ton vessel was some form of carrier. As the Enclave had only been attacked by the still theoretical ‘escort craft’ after they launched missiles at the mothership, Commodore Takeo decided to fire a single salvo from one of his missile cruisers in an attempt to provoke the Eclipse to launch any parasite warships it might be carrying. If there was no response, his ships would unleash their full firepower. Less than three minutes after launch the salvo of ten Javelin anti-ship missiles reached their target. All ten were destroyed by point defence fire and there was no sign of any additional Intruder ships. Takeo ordered a new single salvo from both missile cruisers, testing the limits of the enemy point defence before launching all his ordnance. The larger salvo fared no better, with all twenty Javelins destroyed short of their target. Takeo was now faced with a new problem. The point defence of the alien warship was so formidable that his missiles would be ineffective. The two Aquilas could add their fire but their missiles were faster than the Javelins so coordinated salvos were not possible. The other option was his three Minotaur class destroyers, which would only be effective if they could take down the alien shields faster than they could regenerate while remaining outside the range of any offensive energy weapons on the huge vessel. In addition, if the Eclipse was carrying parasite craft they would be launching very close to the Second Battle Squadron.
Commodore Takeo gave the order to pull back for the moment. The Third Battle Squadron would be available with a few days when its constituent ships completed their overhaul at Sparta. It was possible the Third could arrive before the Eclipse forced an engagement by attacking either the Enclave home world or the recently conquered Skye population on Alpha Centauri-A II. Takeo decided the best course of action was to delay until a battle became unavoidable. Given the ineffectiveness of missile attack against the Eclipse, Admiral Charleston had little choice but to approve his actions. The Second Battle Squadron moved to a position between Alpha Centauri-A II and Alpha Centauri-A III from where it could react to different threats. The Eclipse set a direct course for Alpha Centauri-A II, still moving at 1200 km/s and eventually the Second Battle Squadron was forced to move to the planet, which was defended by a single Orpheus class orbital weapons platform. When the Intruder warship moved within fifty million kilometres it changed course, moving ahead of Alpha Centauri-A II in its orbit and into the asteroid belt of the primary. Just as Commodore Takeo was beginning to believe the immediate crisis was over the Intruder changed course and headed directly for the planet once again.
As the Eclipse reached four million kilometres, Takeo ordered Aquila and Cygnus to fire a single volley. The shields of the alien warship had not yet been hit and he was still concerned that parasite warships might launch once battle was joined. While the defences of the Eclipse were formidable, he hoped the faster Gladius missiles might penetrate. Once again all twenty missiles were taken out by point defence. While the Second Battle Squadron could retreat out of range, the Orpheus class orbital weapon platform was only capable of 312 km/s and would be in serious trouble if the Eclipse moved within weapon range. Therefore Commodore Takeo ordered it to begin moving away while the Second Battle Squadron broke orbit and headed for the approaching behemoth. Takeo intended to begin firing as soon as his Minotaurs were within range and then try to hold the range open to 150,000 kilometres. All ships were ordered to target any parasite warships as priority targets.
The Second Battle Squadron reached 150,000 kilometres and Takeo gave the order to open fire. The three Minotaurs immediately discovered that the Eclipse had such strong electronic countermeasures that it was not possible to score a hit at such a range. Takeo ordered his ships to close to 100,000 kilometres. Unfortunately the squadron had not trained for fleet manoeuvres so close to hostile warships. All previous battles had been at long range or against enemies that could not move into weapon range. Confusion and disorder reigned as the ships tried to coordinate their manoeuvres, resulting in them holding position while the Eclipse closed in. At 132,000 kilometres Charybdis managed to score a single strength-1 hit with one of her nine 15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Lasers. Within seconds twenty new contacts were detected, designated as 800 ton Avenger class fast attack craft. The destroyer Pegasus came under immediate attack by some form of meson weapon that bypassed her shields and armour and she lost one of her fire controls.
Commodore Takeo ordered all ships to fire at will with each ship targeting different FACs. This only added to the existing confusion as each ship tried to identify and confirm its targets. Firing procedures and target changes at short notice had never been rehearsed. Takeo knew that if he survived the battle, he would insist on an intensive training program for all Federation Navy battle squadrons. Pegasus was hit again, losing one of her two remaining fire controls, two 15cm lasers and several non-combat systems. Aquila was the first ship to enter the fight, launching ten Gladius AMMs as the third volley from the alien FACs struck Pegasus once more, destroying her active sensor and two reactors. The situation would have been far worse were it not for the low damage of the meson weapon. Several systems had been hit and remained operational despite minor damage.
Pegasus gained some revenge when her weapons came on-line and she scored three hits on one of the FACs. A massive strength-27 secondary explosion blew the 800 ton vessel apart. Cerberus and Charybdis damaged five different FACs between them while six of Aquila’s missiles struck another. Both Invictus class missile cruisers joined the fight, launching five missiles at each of four different Avengers. The Second Battle Squadron had yet to get underway though. The Eclipse class mothership was at 96,000 kilometres and closing. The Javelins reached their targets, destroying one FAC and damaging two more. Pegasus was hit again, losing two more lasers and both her primary fuel storage tanks. Only a small emergency tank of 50,000 litres remained. The Minotaurs fired again, inflicting further damage on three Avengers. Several of the damaged FACs were streaming some form of liquid, rather than the expected atmosphere, almost as if they were bleeding. In addition, the Avengers disintegrated when destroyed, leaving no wreckage behind.
The two Achilles class destroyer escorts were ready to fire but could not lock on their 10cm laser turrets. Their fire controls were designed for point blank engagement and the Avengers were holding at 50,000 kilometres. The FACs fired again and Pegasus lost a laser, a reactor and the last of her fuel, leaving her unable to manoeuvre. The Second Battle Squadron finally got underway, pulling away from the Eclipse which had closed to less than 80,000 kilometres, but Pegasus could not follow. The crippled destroyer continued to fire with whatever weapons were left, her crew knowing there was no chance of escape. Her sister ship Charybdis killed a third Avenger, skewering it with her 19cm spinal laser, and moments scored her second kill as a pair of 15cm laser hits resulted in a catastrophic strength-37 secondary explosion. Pegasus came under fire from the Eclipse as it moved within 60,000 kilometres. Unlike the Avengers, which had a ten second recycle time, the Eclipse could fire every five seconds. The gallant destroyer was battered by a hail of meson fire.
Pegasus was unable to withstand the assault and exploded after the third broadside from the Eclipse. The destroyer had been a valuable asset to the Federation Navy. Under the command of Commander Onishi Hitoshi she had destroyed thirteen Enclave warships and bases, with a total tonnage of 71,550 plus one of the Intruder FACs. Commander Hitoshi and seventy-seven of her two hundred and sixty-three crew made it to the life pods. The loss of Pegasus was a serious blow because the Minotaurs were proving the best defence against the Avengers. The missile cruisers only fired every forty seconds, the Aquilas could not generate enough firepower due to the strength-1 warheads of their AMMs and the Achilles were too short-ranged. Cerberus proved the point by killing another FAC, leaving fifteen still in action, albeit with varying states of damage.
The Invictus class missile cruisers launched a second salvo, killing three FACs between them. A fourth was destroyed by Aquila as her Gladius AMMs finally hit something vital while two more FACs were left dead in space. Commodore Takeo could sense the battle was changing in his favour. Charybdis became the target of the nine Avengers still pursuing the Second Battle Squadron, losing one her lasers, her EM sensor and one of her primary fuel tanks. In their haste to inflict damage on the Jovian ships the Avengers moved too close, straying into range of the two Achilles class destroyer escorts. Agamemnon and Odysseus destroyed one FAC and damaged two more. Charybdis scored her third kill of the battle but suffered the loss of her second primary fuel tank. Despite relatively minor damage, she would be in serious trouble if the emergency tank was hit.
Cerberus destroyed two Avengers simultaneously, Gladius missiles from Cygnus destroyed a third then Charybdis picked off one of the cripples. The Intruder threat was melting away. The last Avenger within weapon range scored a final hit on Charybdis, disabling one of her fire controls, before being obliterated by a full broadside from Cerberus. Four more FACs survived but all were dead in space. Every Jovian ship ceased fire except for Cerberus and Charybdis, which picked off the cripples at long range. The Second Battle Squadron had defeated the twenty Avenger class FACs for the loss of Pegasus and minor damage to Charybdis. However, the Eclipse remained and her powerful shields were intact. The task group was holding at 100,000 from the Intruder mothership so the two Minotaurs opened fire with their lasers. It quickly became apparent that they could not defeat the recharge rate of the Intruder’s shields.
While the Second Battle Squadron could easily remain outside weapon range, Alpha Centauri-A II with its population of almost ninety million Skye was only two point five million kilometres away, with the Orpheus class orbital weapon platform not much further away. Aware that the Eclipse had only attacked Pegasus once it was within 60,000 kilometres, Commodore Takeo ordered his ships to close to 70,000 kilometres. This was a significant risk as the squadron was still unused to reacting quickly as a formation in close combat situations. On the basis that the Eclipse might move within range during the manoeuvre he ordered his missile ships to open fire. While the missiles might not penetrate the point defence, it would be far better for the Intruder weapons to be firing at missiles rather than ships. The two Aquilas and one missile cruiser opened fire as the Eclipse closed to 70,000 kilometres. All thirty missiles struck the shields and detonated without any sign of point defence. Commodore Takeo realised the missiles were covering the distance between the two forces before the Intruder electronic systems could detect and track them. While that scuppered his plan to distract the Eclipse point defence, it meant his ships would be a lot more effective than he had believed.
The Second Battle Squadron was still trying to organize itself when the Eclipse moved within weapon range. Charybdis suffered eleven hits, losing a fire control, a laser and an engine and slowing to 2666 km/s. The range fell to 52,000 km and she was hit again, losing another laser and several non-critical systems. The shields of the Intruder mothership were falling, mainly because of the hits from twenty Javelin anti-ship missiles, but the Jovian destroyer was in serious trouble. A third volley from the Eclipse took out two more lasers, her bridge and another engine. With a top speed of 1333 km/s she could barely outrun the enemy mothership. A fourth and fifth volley followed at five second intervals and Charybdis exploded. Only forty-eight of her crew made it to the life pods and her captain was not amongst them. The Eclipse was at 40,000 kilometres and the Second Battle Squadron was still not underway. Commodore Takeo cursed the lack of preparation within the Federation Navy for this situation and swore that in the future Jovian crews would not be sent into action without the training required to operate as a fleet.
The Aquila class escort Cygnus was struck hard, suffering twenty-two meson hits. With the Eclipse only 28,000 kilometres away its accuracy was devastating. The escort suffered severe internal damage which critically included both engines and its fuel storage. The Second Battle Squadron finally got underway but Cygnus could not follow and was destroyed by the follow-up salvo. The range opened rapidly but not fast enough to prevent one more volley from the Eclipse, directed against the missile cruiser Inceptris. Inceptris lost two missile launchers and twenty percent of her magazine capacity but fortunately nothing that would slow her down. The surviving ships of the Second Battle Squadron finally moved out of weapon range but without Charybdis and Cygnus and with Inceptris reduced to eight launchers their ability to take down the shields of the Eclipse were significantly reduced.
Another salvo arrived from the missile cruisers and the shield strength of the Eclipse was reduced to strength-97. Cerberus and Aquila could not keep pace with the regeneration rate by themselves but they could at least hold that regeneration in check during the forty-second reload time of the AMS-5A launchers on the Invictus class cruisers. The fourth salvo of Javelins finally took the shields down and inflicted armour damage. The seventh resulted in the same streaming of fluid that had been detected when the Avenger class FACs were damaged. By the time the tenth wave of Javelins had struck the Eclipse, Aquila had run out of missiles, which meant the Intruder shields would now recharge more between the salvos of anti-ship missiles. Apart from the missile cruisers, only Cerberus was firing and her lasers could only inflict strength-2 hits at the current range. The eleventh Javelin salvo resulted in a strength-23 secondary explosion. By this point the Eclipse had taken a significant number of internal hits and its speed had fallen to 880 km/s. The thirteenth salvo of Javelins finally completed the destruction of the Eclipse, just as Impavidus’ magazines ran dry.
The battle against the Intruders had been a costly one. Almost five hundred officers and crew had been killed, two Minotaur class destroyers and an Aquila class escort had been destroyed and Inceptris had taken internal damage, reducing her offensive capability by twenty percent. This was a serious blow for the Federation Navy as no major warships were under construction except for a pair of Achilles class destroyer escorts. This was partly due to financial problems and partly because new technology was being researched and developed and new construction was being delayed until that was available. Aquila and Impavidus were out of ordnance and Inceptris had only eighteen missiles. Fortunately the Mithras class ammunition transport was accompanying the Second Battle Squadron and still had ninety-four Javelins. The available missiles were split between the two missile cruisers and, with the exception of Cerberus and Aquila, the squadron headed back to the Enclave home world to resume its station. Cerberus was equipped with emergency cryogenic storage for up to two hundred people so she picked up the life pods from Pegasus, Charybdis and Cygnus before setting course to rejoin the Second Battle Squadron. Aquila headed for Sparta, which had a stockpile of Gladius AMMs.
to be continued...
