October, 2259
The first two refitted Vedra Valles Flt II Motherships are launched from the Strug orbital yards. The Flight II’s are much faster than the original version, fast enough to escape from hostile alien ships, and have an improved sensor suite.
Vedra Valles Flt II class Mothership 8000 tons 454 Crew 1319 BP TCS 160 TH 400 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 1-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 11/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 85% IFR: 1.2% Maintenance Capacity 618 MSP Max Repair 75 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 3000 tons Magazine 510
LP IC Fusion Drive (8) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 50 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 400,000 Litres Range 150.0 billion km (347 days at full power)
GB Anti-ship Missile (85) Speed: 22,400 km/s End: 7.4m Range: 10m km WH: 10 Size: 6 TH: 74 / 44 / 22
GB Active Search Sensor v2 (1) GPS 1050 Range 10.5m km Resolution 50
Basic Thermal Sensor v2 (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
Basic EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
ECM 10
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
The newly launched ships are dispatched to the Helium system, to replace ships assigned to the Helium Defense Group.
May 25, 2260
The first four Flight IV freighters are launched on this date. The new freighters will reduce the round-trip travel time to The Redoubt from 98 days to just 41 days, but, they are much more expensive than the older designs, enough that the old Flight III’s cannot be upgraded to the Flight IV’s.
July 8, 2260
The first two Tikhonravov class mother ships are launched from the orbital yards:
Tikhonravov class Mothership 15000 tons 917 Crew 2564 BP TCS 300 TH 750 EM 300
5000 km/s Armour 1-54 Shields 10-400 Sensors 33/33/0/0 Damage Control Rating 18 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 100% IFR: 1.4% Maintenance Capacity 1923 MSP Max Repair 84 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 6000 tons Magazine 612
LP IC Fusion Drive (15) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 50 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 800,000 Litres Range 160.0 billion km (370 days at full power)
Gamma R400/16 Shields (5) Total Fuel Cost 80 Litres per day
GB Anti-ship Missile (102) Speed: 22,400 km/s End: 7.4m Range: 10m km WH: 10 Size: 6 TH: 74 / 44 / 22
Standard Active Search Sensor v2 (1) GPS 4200 Range 42.0m km Resolution 50
Standard Thermal Sensor v2 (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
Standard EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
ECM 10
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
The Tikhonravov is 187% larger than the original Vedra Valles mother ship, and carries a strike group twice as large as the smaller mother ship. In addition, the larger ship has better sensors and is as fast as the latest version of the smaller mother ship.
December 26, 2260
Newly promoted Kadar Psenamy falls ill with a severe and chronic medical problem that forces him to retire. Five days later he dies. The Council declares a day of mourning for a fallen hero.
July 2262
Strugforming of The Redoubt is complete. The environment is now perfect for The Colonists, who now have a population of 35.5 million present on the planet. At this rate, it will only be a year or two more before the number of Colonists on The Redoubt outnumbers those left on The Sister, a fact the Colonists are overjoyed about. Not only are they leaving behind a radiation blasted environment, the way they look at it, they are leaving behind their old ways of doing things as well.
Their work complete, the twenty nine ships of the Strugforming group set out for Helium A VI, a Strug Home-like world with a breathable oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere in the inner system. The planet is way too warm for the Strug as it is, in spite of the breathable atmosphere, and has no resources to speak of. The Council has ordered that the planet be Strugformed to serve as a way station for Strug colonists headed towards yet undiscovered worlds beyond the Helium system.
December, 2262
The Council, bowing to public pressure, renames the Helium system to Psenamy’s System, honoring the fallen hero.
April, 2263
The first of the new Assault Jump Ships is launched from the orbital yards.
Cerberus Rupes class Assault Ship 15000 tons 1508 Crew 4045 BP TCS 300 TH 1400 EM 1800
4666 km/s JR 5-200 Armour 3-54 Shields 60-400 Sensors 33/33/0/0 Damage Control Rating 22 PPV 17
Annual Failure Rate: 150% IFR: 2.1% Maintenance Capacity 2022 MSP Max Repair 1849 MSP
Magazine 210
J15000(5-200) Aslt Jump Drive Max Ship Size 15000 tons Distance 200k km Squadron Size 5
IC Fusion Drive (14) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 520,000 Litres Range 104.0 billion km (257 days at full power)
Gamma R400/16 Shields (30) Total Fuel Cost 480 Litres per day
Twin 120mm C4 NUV Laser Turret (1x2) Range 96,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 8-8 RM 3 ROF 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 0
PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8 Armour 0 Exp 5%
AM Missile Launcher (6) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
AMM Fire Control v2 (2) Range 3.2m km Resolution 1
AM Missile (210) Speed: 32,000 km/s End: 1.6m Range: 3m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 309 / 185 / 92
Standard Active Search Sensor v2 (1) GPS 4200 Range 42.0m km Resolution 50
Standard Thermal Sensor v2 (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
Standard EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km
ECM 10
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
The Council immediately dispatches a battle group composed of the new Cerberus Rupes, four Tikhonavov class mother ships, two ADC’s, two CLE’s, and a Tithonium Chasma Flight II class scout to Psenamy’s System, from which they will probe the newly discovered systems beyond the adjacent systems, in an attempt to find the alien’s home world.
The battle group’s first target will be the Dusar system, beyond the Issus system, as Issus was the location of the most recent contact with the aliens.
June 4, 2263
The 3rd Battle Group arrives in the Dusar system. Odwar Bakke immediately orders the Tithonium Chasma class scout to begin probing the system. The scout activates its huge sensor array and moves away from the warp point, towards Dusar A-II, the innermost world of the A component. Meanwhile, the rest of the Battle Group maintains the lowest EM and thermal profile that it can, hovering just off of the warp point.
The scout moves away without incident, its sensitive sensors sniffing the area around the warp point for any sign of alien activity. The scout’s active sensors can detect either of the known alien ships out to 262.5 mkm’s, and its thermal sensors can do almost as well against the known thermal signatures of the alien ships. Unfortunately, a star system is a very large place, and even with the stupendous efficiency of its sensors, the scout can actually “see” very little of the system at its current range from the system primary, 4.3 billion kilometers. Once it enters the inner system its sensors will actually be able to cover a significant portion of the volume, but out here it can see very little. Therefore, the current plan is for the scout to run with its active sensors down, pausing periodically to activate them for a quick look before moving on.
July 9, 2263
The scout arrives at the warp point and rejoins the rest of the 3rd Battle Group. The probe found nothing, and included a visit to the tiny, dim, planet-less T7-VIII secondary star. The Group sets out for Psenamy’s system to report the Dusar system clear, and move on to the next target.
September 6, 2263
The 3rd Battle Group arrives in the Kar Komak system. This system is a single-star system, but unlike the Dusar system it contains a planet with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. The planet has far too much gravity to make it an acceptable target for Strug or Colonist colonization, but it is a possible home world for the aliens first contacted in the Helium system. The probe of this system begins exactly the same as the probe of the Dusar system, with the scout moving towards the inner system, pausing periodically to activate its sensors.
September 27, 2263
The Survey Group currently surveying the Dusar system makes a momentous discovery. Dusar A-IV is a Strug Home type planet with a carbon dioxide-nitrogen atmosphere. While surveying the planet for resources, the geo-survey ship detects what at first appears to be an outpost on the surface. Once all of the ship’s sensors are focused on the planet they determine that the outpost is in horrible condition, and appears to have been destroyed some time ago.
October 1, 2263
The probe of the Kar Komak system is complete, nothing was found. The 3rd BG departs the system to report in, refuel, and move on to the next target.
October, 2263
The first two Boreum Planum class Support Vessels are launched from the orbital yards. While these are technically civilian ships, they are designed as support ships for frontline fleet operations, and are designed to be fast enough to keep up with fleet ships and are armored as well.
Boreum Planum class Support Vessel 25300 tons 720 Crew 2591 BP TCS 506 TH 2880 EM 0
5691 km/s Armour 5-76 Shields 0-0 Sensors 11/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 20064 MSP Max Repair 100 MSP
Tractor Beam
Civ IC Fusion Drive (10) Power 288 Fuel Use 7.8% Signature 288 Armour 0 Exp 2%
Fuel Capacity 5,000,000 Litres Range 4560.1 billion km (9274 days at full power)
Basic Thermal Sensor v2 (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
Basic EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposes
October 22, 2263
The geo-survey of the Dusar system is complete. Several minor deposits of resources were found, but nothing of great interest. The geo-survey ship is sent back to Psenamy’s System to inform base of the discovery of the destroyed outpost.
November 19, 2263
The 3rd Battle Group arrives in the Hastor system, and begins probe efforts immediately. The Hastor system is a quaternary system, with two stars orbiting the central G5-V star, and a fourth star orbiting the secondary G5-V star. All of the stars orbit relatively close in, closer even than the warp point that the 3rd BG arrive through.
The original surveying ships found that the system contained two planets with potentially life-supporting atmospheres, so this system is viewed as a potential threat locus.
November 25, 2263
The gravitational survey of the Dusar system is complete, the system contains a total of two warp points. The survey group’s jump ship is currently en route to probe the newly discovered warp point.
One day later the jump ship probes the warp point and discovers that it links to the Kab Kadja system. This makes the Psenamy’s System----Issus----Dusar----Kab Kadja----Psenamy’s System a closed loop, although the Kab Kadja system contains two other warp links to other systems, both of which are scheduled to be cleared by the 3rd BG.
December 3, 2263
News of the destroyed outpost in the Dusar system arrives in the Home System, via the 2nd Cargo Group. Plans to survey the ruins are made, and a xenology team is put together under Junior Kadar Taweret. The team is transferred to a Dueteronilus Mensae Flight III class jump ship, which immediately sets out for the Dusar System.
December 27, 2263
The probe of the Hastor system is complete, and no sign of the aliens was found. The 3rd BG departs immediately for the Lothar system.
January 9, 2264
The xenology team is dropped off on Dusar A-IV, and begins work on the ruins immediately.
January 14, 2264
Work on eight ships is suspended in an attempt to save money. The Council is growing increasingly concerned about the severe duranium shortage looming on the horizon, coupled with a financial crisis that is threatening to throw the economy into chaos.
January 15, 2264
The 3rd BG, approaching the warp point to Lothar, detects a strength 1200 thermal contact on the warp point while still 376 mkm’s away. Odwar Bakke orders the 3rd BG to come to a complete halt and for all signatures to be minimized. Once that is completed, the scout is detached to approach the contact and hopefully determine its identity.
This contact is disturbing, in that its thermal signature is 50% more powerful than that of the largest alien ship previously encountered, and it becomes even worse when that fact is coupled to the fact that it wasn’t present when the survey group probed the warp point.
For five and half hours the scout approaches the warp point, then, when it reaches the maximum detection range of its active sensors, it stops and activates its large sensor array.
The contact is immediately resolved as a massive 66,900 ton ship sitting on the warp point. Based on the energy signature the contact does not appear to belong to the alien race first contacted in the Helium system. The scout comes to a halt and relays the information to Odwar Bakke. Bakke, after reviewing the information, orders the scout to begin attempts to communicate with the aliens, who will be designated the Kab Kadja aliens for now. Ultimately the Helium aliens will become known as The Enemy, as they are already universally called throughout the Allied Principalities (except for officially by the government, which has been trying to suppress the provocative name but will relent after the discovery of the new aliens).
Odwar Bakke is extremely troubled by the size of the alien ship, however, after conferring with his deputies he becomes convinced that the alien ship is likely a civilian ship, which typically are much larger than military vessels. After all, the Allied Principalities has fielded a 56,000 ton fuel refinery design. In his own thoughts, Odwar Bakke is not entirely convinced, but still, he projects an outward confidence for his officers and crews.
Within five days the contact group aboard the scout reports complete success! Communications are initiated with the aliens. It will take some time before anything of substance is learned, though.
March 5, 2264
Eight slipways (including five slipways dedicated to gunboat construction) are idle, and seven other slipways have had their work suspended to resolve the ongoing financial crisis. The Council has ordered R&D assets diverted towards increasing the efficiency of the commercial economy, although that project will take nearly two years to complete.
March 8, 2264
A survey jump ship probing a newly discovered warp point in the Kar Komak system discovers that it links with the Issus system, meaning that three of the four warp lines leading off of Psenamy’s System are linked together.
March 20, 2264
A Strug geo-survey ship discovers moderate deposits of eight different trans-newtonian resources on Kar Komak A-IV, all at availability levels of 0.8 or better. The site is immediately marked for future exploitation.
That same day, the Survey Group’s jump ship probes the second newly discovered warp point in the system, discovering a single-star system with a giant G5-III central star. The star’s outermost planet, a gas giant with a moon that could easily be colonized by the Strug, is approximately 112 billion kilometers away, or more than 252 days travel for the jump ship. The system is named Tonquere by the jump ship’s captain before he orders his ship back to the Kar Komak system.
April 19, 2264
The grav survey of the Kar Komak system is complete, revealing one additional warp point. The survey group’s attached jump ship sets out to probe the last warp point.
April 29, 2264
The Survey Group’s attached jump ship probes the last new jump point in the Kar Komak system, discovering a trinary system the commander names Helium II. The system contains numerous planets and moons, including several that are potentially life-bearing.
May, 2264
Odwar Bakke decides that his battle group has spent enough time in the Kab Kadja system watching what he now believes is a jump gate construction ship working on the warp point from Kab Kadja to the Lothar system. He would really like to probe the Lothar system, which is known to contains worlds with both methane and oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres, and is unique in Strug experience in that the system is buried deep within a nebula. After due consideration, though, Bakke decides that entering the system would be provocative, and foolish in light of the fact that his fleet is definitely not optimized for operations in a nebula.
After detaching the scout to watch the warp point, Bakke orders his fleet to return to The Redoubt.
May 28, 2264
The Strug establish an outpost in the Kab Kadja system, on a moon orbiting an outer gas giant. Currently the only residents are a diplomatic team working on expanding contact with the aliens, however, there are plans to expand the base with deep space tracking systems once the jump gate network is expanded to the system.
June, 2264
The Strug economy is suffering a shortage of duranium and gallicite. Construction of new mines has ceased for now, and twenty one slipways have been idled. The upside of this is that the financial crisis has eased and there is now a significant surplus every month. Due to this research priorities have been changed to increasing mining efficiency.
November 1, 2264
The Xenology team studying the ruins on Dusar A-IV makes a momentous discovery. Buried beneath the destroyed outpost are several still-functioning installations of unknown capability. At this time they appear to be automated, or at the very least robotically maintained, as they are still functional long after the base was destroyed. The team estimates that at least one full engineering regiment will be required to reactivate the installations and to convert them so that they can be used by Strug or Colonist populations.
December 12, 2264
The first two Sirenum Fossae class Dreadnoughts are launched from the orbital yards:
Sirenum Fossae class Dreadnought 15000 tons 1601 Crew 2905 BP TCS 300 TH 1000 EM 900
3333 km/s Armour 4-54 Shields 30-400 Sensors 66/66/0/0 Damage Control Rating 16 PPV 74
Annual Failure Rate: 300% IFR: 4.2% Maintenance Capacity 726 MSP Max Repair 252 MSP
Magazine 777
IC Fusion Drive (10) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 60.0 billion km (208 days at full power)
Gamma R400/16 Shields (15) Total Fuel Cost 240 Litres per day
Twin 120mm C4 NUV Laser Turret (1x2) Range 96,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 8-8 RM 3 ROF 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 0
PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8 Armour 0 Exp 5%
AM Missile Launcher (15) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
AS Missile Launcher (8) Missile Size 6 Rate of Fire 60
AMM Fire Control v2 (3) Range 3.2m km Resolution 1
Lg Missile Fire Control v2 (2) Range 113.4m km Resolution 60
New AS Missile (100) Speed: 26,700 km/s End: 53.1m Range: 85.1m km WH: 8 Size: 6 TH: 106 / 64 / 32
AM Missile (177) Speed: 32,000 km/s End: 1.6m Range: 3m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 309 / 185 / 92
Lg AM Active Search Sensor v2 (1) GPS 252 Range 2.5m km Resolution 1
Hvy Active Search Sensor v2 (1) GPS 8400 Range 84.0m km Resolution 50
Lg Thermal Sensor v2 (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 66m km
Lg EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 66m km
ECCM-1 (3) ECM 10
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
The two dreadnoughts are immediately sent on a training cruise with the rest of the home fleet, which has been training in the inner system for the past several months.
Update December, 2264
The Allied Principalities are stronger than ever before. The out-system population is now just over 65 million Colonists on The Redoubt in Psenamy’s System. This population comprises two thirds of the entire Colonist race, a fact for which the Colonists as a whole are extremely grateful. Given the fact that the conditions on The Sister remain decidedly unhealthy, with a radiation level of 1855, that attitude is easily understood.
Work on Strugforming a second planet in Psenamy’s System for use by Strug colonists is well underway, but, due to commitments to the Colonists there are no plans to begin shifting Strug colonists to Psenamy’s system until most or all of the Colonist population has been shifted to The Redoubt.
The Redoubt has become a fortress in fact, not just in name. Two Colonial Defense Base class PDC’s have been assembled by the engineering regiments assigned to The Redoubt, along with a Vistula Valles class Missile Defense Base class PDC. In addition, the 1st Assault Division, with its four assault brigades, is assigned to the colony both to provide defense and to stand ready for duties beyond Psenamy’s System as required.
The Redoubt has become a major naval base as well. Maintenance facilities sufficient to maintain the largest naval units in the Navy have been transferred to the colony, along with large quantities of fuel and maintenance supplies. In addition, recently constructed Fleet Resupply Ships have been busily transferring missile stocks from Home to The Redoubt, allowing forward deployed units to restock their magazines without returning to the Home System.
The civilian economy of The Redoubt is primarily focused on supporting the naval base, with the only other major employment being in the mining sector. Currently, the Council intends for the mining presence on The Redoubt to be temporary, as a forward base for the redeployment of mines from the Home System ultimately intended for richer sites beyond Psenamy’s System. The Redoubt boasts deposits of only two trans-newtonian resources, at decent availability levels in moderate quantities. Fortunately, one of the two resources present is duranium, which makes the effort somewhat economically feasible.
The Navy has expanded greatly in capabilities during the last several years, not only in terms of combat power but also in power projection capabilities and in terms of ability to support fleet units in distant deployments. The construction of 15,000 ton assault jump ships means that even the largest naval units are now free of dependence on the jump gate network, and fleet support vessels have been constructed which will allow the forward supply of missiles, fuel, and maintenance supplies to fleet units anywhere in known space. The one shortcoming that the Council wishes to address is the lack of a large civilian jump ship capable of escorting the largest civilian ships to systems not currently covered by the jump gate network. A civilian jump drive is currently on the drawing boards, but with all R&D capacity currently devoted to improving the dire economic situation throughout the Allied Principalities it isn’t clear when this project will move forward.
The aims and priorities of the Allied Principalities continue to be focused on transferring the Colonist population to The Redoubt, and on alleviating the current resource shortage.
[attachment=1:1dqa24zh]Map 2264.gif[/attachment:1dqa24zh]
Survey units have explored all warp links two jumps out from Psenamy’s System, except for the two systems adjacent to the Kab Kadja system. Lothar was not surveyed as it appears to belong to an alien race, while the survey of Hastor was delayed pending the outcome of negotiations with the aliens from Lothar.
Allied Principalities naval units have cleared all known systems of hostile ships, except for Lothar, obviously. To date, hostile alien ships have been encountered in Psenamy’s System and in Issus. The scientific team assigned to study the hostile aliens has come up with a very interesting theory, which, while it was initially ridiculed in scientific circles, has now gained new life and new credibility now that the research data from Dusar A-IV has arrived in the Home System. The Hostile Alien Research Team (HART) theorized some time ago that the ships encountered in Psenamy’s System and Issus were robotic guard ships left over from the long ago war that engulfed the Colonist civilization. This theory was largely based on the fact that no life-pods were ever recovered from the alien ships, and was bolstered by the examination and salvage of the destroyed ships.
Eighty-eight years ago there was a climactic battle in the Strug Home system as The Colonists on The Sister fought a desperate battle with invading ships apparently bent on destroying their colony. During the battle several missiles went astray and destroyed six large Strug cities. The Colonist civilization on The Sister was largely destroyed in the battle, but not before destroying the attackers. Almost fifty years later the Strug were finally able to begin exploring their system, only to encounter a resurgent Colonist civilization on The Sister. Unfortunately, the Colonists were under the grip of a hereditary dictatorship of priests dedicated to hiding from the race or races they referred to as The Great Enemy.
The HART theorized that the robotic ships were either left behind by the Colonist civilization as it retreated from The Great Enemy, or by the enemy to prevent a resurgence of Colonist civilization. This theory has gained tremendous credibility with the recovery of the installations in the Dusar system. The ruins on Dusar A-IV contain numerous artifacts and remains that are unmistakably Colonist in nature, and further study of the destroyed ships has revealed inscriptions and other material that appears to match closely with current Colonist writing.
The Council is leaning towards accepting this interpretation of the data, and the implications of this theory are immense. On the one grasper arm, the theory means that there is no active alien race out there waiting to be discovered and plotting against the Strug. On the other grasper, there may be systems full of automated weapons just waiting for Strug survey ships to fall into their targeting range, and there may even be Colonist or Enemy successor states out there, waiting to be rediscovered. In any case, the Council has become even more convinced that the Navy is essential to the continued survival and prosperity of the Allied Principalities.
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