A short update but there are some interesting developments. By the way, if anyone is wondering, I am controlling the three Earth-based powers but I have no idea what is happening with NPRs, etc. Any alien contact is random and controlled by the AI.
7th January 2028 cont
Captain Quinn Manard decides to continue on course toward the jump point. He realizes it is vital to notify NATO high command of the fast, powerful and possibly alien ship. His own ship has remained unmolested during its time in Epsilon Eridani so he assumes that for some reason it has gone undetected. If the unknown ship remains on the jump point he will be unable to escape but the only way to confirm that is to move within thirty-seven million kilometers and activate his own active sensor.
20th January 2028
Intrepid arrives at a point thirty-seven million kilometers from the Sol jump point. Over the last thirteen days there has been no sign of the unknown ship and no active sensor emissions have been detected. Captain Manard considers engaging his own active sensors to check for sure that the ship is no longer on the jump point. However, he is concerned his own sensor emissions may give away his position so he decides to risk a blind run, relaying on passive sensors to provide warning of alien engines or active emissions. Four million kilometers from the jump point, an active sensor is detected moving toward Intrepid at almost seven thousand kilometers per second. With no chance of outrunning the enemy warship, Captain Manard decides to try for the jump point and hope he gets lucky. With his own ship obviously detected, there is no reason to keep Intrepid's sensors inactive and the size of the unknown ship is quickly established as 6450 tons. Any hope of success for Intrepid is dashed when the first enemy volley wrecks her jump drive. Captain Manard has twenty-five seconds to rue his decision not to use active sensors earlier before a second volley obliterates his ship. Back in Sol, neither Intrepid nor the construction ship are expected back for over three months. All NATO eyes remain on Soviet and Chinese ships and there is no suspicion of any threat from Epsilon Eridani.
23rd March 2028
The first three Discovery class Geosurvey Ships are launched from the Bath Iron Works shipyard. As NATO has no idea of the events in Epsilon Eridani, the three ships are dispatched to that system to begin a geological survey as well as report back on the progress of Intrepid. Suspecting nothing, the NATO ships enter the jump gate. As soon as they arrive they are confronted by the huge wreck of the construction ship. While their sensors are offline due to the effects of transit, the implication is obvious and they immediately reverse course and jump back to Sol using their jump drives.
The first assumption of NATO high command is that either the Soviets or the Chinese are responsible for the destruction of the construction ship, and almost certainly Intrepid as well. The Independence carrier group has been sat on the jump point for several months so they know nothing has entered or left Epsilon Eridani during that time, which means a jump-capable ship must have transited into Epsilon Eridani prior to that time. This chain of logic creates great consternation within NATO's intelligence community has they have no knowledge whatsoever of any foreign jump-capable warships, especially ones that predate the Chinese Huangwens, which are the only known non-NATO jump ships. The first suggestions arise of a non-human power behind the destruction but these are quickly dismissed as fantasy by senior political leaders. Given the new détente with the Soviet Union, the primary suspect is the People's Republic but for the moment there is no evidence either way. Rear Admiral Tracey Ridgeway, commander of the Independence carrier group, is ordered to send a probe into Epsilon Eridani and determine who was responsible. Admiral Ridgeway decides upon a reconnaissance in force and sends a pair of R-26A Kraits, escorted by VFA-41 "Black Aces", a squadron of twelve F-24A Cobras, each armed with four AGM-1A Sabre anti-ship missiles. The fourteen fighters use the jump gate to enter Epsilon Eridani and will be followed five minutes later by the geological survey ships, which will provide an escort back into Sol.
The squadron emerges into Epsilon Eridani and holds position on the jump point, waiting for the effects of transit to clear so the Kraits can use their active sensors. Passive sensors immediately detect active sensor emissions near the wreck of Intrepid, just over two million kilometers from the jump point. With no way to return to Sol until the geosurvey ships arrive, the squadron CO, Lieutenant Commander Elliot MacDonald, orders his pilots to move away from the jump point on a course perpendicular to that of the approaching ship, trying to ensure it does not return to the jump point. The pilots are green and unnerved by the destroyed NATO ships and the unknown assailant. It takes over a minute before the squadron is moving. In the meantime, twenty seconds after the arrival of the NATO fighters, the enemy sensor emissions cease and they lose track of the unknown ship, at least until the Kraits' sensor come online. Finally, two minutes and twenty-five seconds after their arrival, the Kraits electronics recover and the unknown ship is detected once more. It is heading straight for the jump point, ignoring the NATO fighters, and is one point two million kilometers from its destination.
Lieutenant Commander MacDonald hails the 6450 ton ship, demanding that it cease its approach to the jump point or be fired upon. There is no answer. Moments later the ship reactivates its active sensor and changes course to chase the NATO squadron. MacDonald orders all his pilots to lock their missiles on the target and repeats his warning hail. Given the high speed of the unknown ship and its obvious hostility, he is beginning to doubt the assumption it is Soviet or Chinese. After a third warning is ignored, he takes a deep breath and orders his squadron to open fire. With no idea of the capabilities of the enemy ship and concerned about the effectiveness of the AGM-1A Sabre against such a fast moving target, he decides this is not the time for half measures and orders all twelve Cobras to each launch all four of their missiles. It takes forty seconds for all the pilots to declare their readiness to fire then forty-eight Sabres streak toward the enemy ship at 27,000 km/s.
Twenty-three missiles miss their target and four more are shot down by some type of point defence. The other twenty-one slam into the unknown ship and detonate their strength-6 warheads. To Lieutenant Commander MacDonald's amazement, the unknown ship emerges from the nuclear fire of the explosions, although it is obviously grievously wounded as its speed has dropped to 774 km/s and its active sensor appears to be offline. The Lieutenant Commander has a problem though. VFA-41 has expended all of its ordnance and the geosurvey ships will be arriving in just over a minute. Given the potential blindness of the crippled ship, he decides to take his squadron to the jump point and see if the enemy vessel changes course to intercept. It takes almost a minute to get his pilots turned around and moments later the three Discovery class ships emerge from the jump point a million kilometers away. The unknown ship immediately changes course back toward the jump point, although it is 770,000 kilometers away and moving slowly. Its weapons are unknown though so it may already be in firing range. MacDonald hails the new arrivals and requests that one ship return immediately to summon reinforcements. The survey ships also have green crews and unlike their previous visit they now have an visible hostile ship bearing down on their position. Minor panic ensues and it is seventy seconds before NSS Beagle transits into Sol. The unknown ship is 700,000 kilometers away and closing.
Rear Admiral Ridgeway is ready for such an eventuality and as soon as Beagle emerges with news of the hostile ship he launches a second Cobra Squadron, VFA-86 Sidewinders. They plunge into the jump gate, racing to the rescue. VFA-86's C.O., Lieutenant Commander Mason Noble, orders his pilots to launch individually as soon as they are ready. He believes that in this instance, speed is more important than coordination. Even so, the effects of the jump gate will scramble their fire control systems for two minutes or longer. VFA-41 arrives back at the jump point where Lieutenant Commander MacDonald detaches the two R-26A Kraits and orders them to move further away from the oncoming ship. Losing their sensors would prevent the Cobras from locating the target. Meanwhile, the three Discoverys each begin escorting pairs of Cobras from VFA-41 back into Sol. Finally, two minutes and five seconds after their arrival in Epsilon Eridani, the first pair of Cobras from VFA-86 each launch four AGM-1A Sabres, followed by three more Cobras over the next fifteen seconds. The first eight missiles are enough, destroying the unknown ship just 580,000 kilometers from the jump point.
With the hostile ship destroyed and the area around the jump point secured, Rear Admiral Ridgeway sends through an E-27A Sentinel Early Warning Craft. Although larger and slower, the Sentinel has a more powerful sensor than the Krait and is designed to be on station for some time. VFA-41 and VFA-86 both return to Independence to refuel and rearm while the geosurvey ships remain at the jump point to act as message couriers. The origin of the unknown ship remains a mystery, although its high speed, refusal to even acknowledge a hail and total belligerence are factors that boost the opinion of a growing minority of analysts who believe it was an alien ship and that NATO needs to closely investigate the habitable planets in Epsilon Eridani before sending any more vulnerable ships into the system. Due to the growing need to find out more about the intruder, a design is created for a class that can salvage the wreckage and attempt to learn its secrets. It will not be available for two to three years but the wreck is not going anywhere.
E-27A Sentinel class Early Warning Craft 400 tons 39 Crew 133.8 BP TCS 8 TH 36 EM 0
4500 km/s Armour 1-4 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 0% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 21 MSP
Pratt & Whitney F150 Ion Engine (1) Power 36 Fuel Use 7000% Armour 0 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 55,000 Litres Range 3.5 billion km (9 days at full power)
SN/APS-6 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 12600 Range 138.6m km Resolution 120Pegasus class Salvager 22,100 tons 462 Crew 702.4 BP TCS 442 TH 1350 EM 0
3054 km/s Armour 1-70 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 20 MSP Max Repair 200 MSP
Salvager: 1 module(s) capable of salvaging 500 tons per day
Commercial Ion Engine (9) Power 150 Fuel Use 7% Signature 150 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 232.7 billion km (881 days at full power)
With the Enterprise carrier group due out of overhaul within a month and the Ark Royal carrier group guarding Titan, Rear Admiral Ridgeway is given permission to take his group into Epsilon Eridani. Although it will be unable to leave until a jump gate is constructed on the Epsilon Eridani - Sol jump point, the second Gateway class construction ship will complete the Alpha Centauri - Sol jump gate within forty-five days and be available to begin that task. With the Soviet Union already set to gain an early advantage in colonization due to the destruction of the first Gateway, NATO high command does not want to waste any more time in ensuring that Epsilon Eridani is safe. The order of battle for the Independence carrier group is as follows:
1x Enterprise class Carrier: Independence
2x Virginia class Cruiser: Nevada, New Mexico
1x Redoutable class Command Ship: Richelieu
2x Daring class Area Defence Cruiser: Defender, Duncan
2x Spruance class Destroyer Escort: Jean Bart, Raeder
1x Rappahannock class Oiler: Tiber
2x McKinley class colliers: Mount Koscuiszko, Mount Logan
36x F-24A Cobra Strikefighter
12x F-25A Viper Interceptor
12x A-28A Python Attack Craft
3x R-26A Krait Recon Fighter
3x E-27A Sentinel Early Warning Craft.
Once its electronics have recovered from transit, the carrier group, accompanied by one of the geosurvey ships, heads for Epsilon Eridani II, a super-jovian around which orbit twenty-three moons, including two with breathable atmospheres. The Richelieu has its SN/SPY-19 Area Surveillance Array active, giving it a detection range of over 550 million kilometers.
[attachment=0:1o26xiaa]Eridani-1.GIF[/attachment:1o26xiaa]
28th March 2028
The Independence carrier group arrives in orbit of Epsilon Eridani II without any sign of any non-NATO shipping. NSS Beagle begin a survey of the moons, beginning with the likely future colony sites
9th April 2028
A survey of the ideal habitable moon orbiting Epsilon Eridani II is completed, with disappointing results. Huge quantities of Duranium and several other minerals are present but with only minimal accessibility.
Epsilon Eridani II - Moon 18 Survey Report
Duranium 64,980,000 Acc: 0.1
Neutronium 8,410,000 Acc: 0.3
Corbomite 1,000,000 Acc: 0.1
Sorium 10,000 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 16,000,000 Acc: 0.1
Corundium 18,490,000 Acc: 0.1
17th April 2028
Beagle detects a minimal thermal signature on the nineteenth moon; perhaps enough for one or two small installations. Discovery is standing by on the jump point to relay messages so Rear Admiral Ridgeway requests support from ground units. A single San Antonio class transport loads the 1st Marine Regiment on Titan and heads for the Epsilon Eridani jump point.
23rd April 2028
A second tiny thermal contact is detected on the second moon of Epsilon Eridani IV.
28th April 2028
The Soviet Union launches two jump-capable gravitational survey ships and two jump capable geological survey ships. The Project 1216 geo survey vessels transit into Alpha Centauri while the Project 1215 grav survey vessels head for Sol's outer four jump points to carry out probes.
29th April 2028
A San Antonio class troop transport unloads four Marine battalions and the Regimental HQ on the nineteenth moon of Epsilon Eridani II. They move in on the source of the thermal signature and quickly capture three unguarded planetary sensor stations, along with two hundred units of a unknown missile type. Examination of the size 5 missile suggests it is faster and has a much longer range than existing NATO anti-ship missiles. More evidence for the evil aliens lobby. In fact, the sensor stations may be the smoking gun as there seems no way that a Chinese or Soviet freighter could have entered Epsilon Eridani to deliver them. Partly because such a large ship would have been spotted by NATO sensors and partly because such a vessel would require a large commercial jump drive and there is absolutely no evidence of such a system being available to the Soviets or Chinese. Even the crews of the NATO ships in Epsilon Eridani are referring to the owners of the destroyed ship and the sensor outpost as the Eridani aliens. The marines begin embarking on the transport ready for the short trip to the site of the second population contact.
1st May 2028
A third thermal signature is detected. This time on the thirteenth moon of Epsilon Eridani IV. It would appear that whichever power is the owner of the sensor outposts, they intend on ensuring excellent passive sensor coverage of the inner system.
9th May 2028
Both sensor outposts on moons orbiting Epsilon Eridani IV are secured by the 1st Marine Regiment. A further two hundred anti-ship missiles are captured.
10th May 2028
A Soviet Project 1216 Molchanov class Razvedyvatel'niye Korabl' carrying out a geological survey of Alpha Centauri-A III suddenly detects the thermal signature of an unknown ship at almost point blank range. The commander of the Molchanov has barely time to broadcast a warning before his ship is struck by two powerful energy weapons. A second Molchanov and three non-jump-capable Project 1214 Kamenka gravitational survey ships are also in the system but all are far from the incident. Only hours earlier, the NATO Gateway class construction ship completed a jump gate at the Alpha Centauri - Sol jump point before leaving the system, so the Soviet ship is in direct contact with Soviet Fleet Headquarters on Ganymede and with a powerful Soviet task group on the Sol side of the jump point. That contact lasts another fifty seconds before the survey ship is ripped apart. Unlike the similar incident in Epsilon Eridani, the Soviets receive real time information and quickly establish that the unknown ship is faster and armed with more powerful energy weapons than any known NATO or Chinese warship. While they do not rule out involvement by another human power, they begin considering the possibility of an alien power far more quickly than NATO. The task group waiting at the jump point is ordered to proceed immediately to Alpha Centauri-A III and to locate and destroy the hostile warship. For the moment, the second geological survey ship, which is operating within the planets of the B component, and the three Project 1214 gravitational survey ships in the outer system, continue with their assigned tasks as they are all billions of kilometers from Alpha Centauri-A.
13th May 2028
The Soviet task group comprises a 30,000 ton Project 1201 'Orlan' battlecruiser, a similar sized Project 1206 'Krechyet' aviation cruiser and seven 13,500 ton missile cruisers, four of which are the Project 1200 'Berkut', designed for anti-missile combat, and three are Project 1204 'Atlant', a dedicated anti-ship platform. The Project 1206 carries twenty-four Sukhoi-40 fighters. With the task group less than half way to Alpha Centauri-A III, the suspected alien ship appears one hundred and fifty million kilometers away, at the edge of sensor range. Kontr-Admiral Demyan Bogdanov, commander of Raketnyy Korabl Otdel 02, or the Second Missile Ship Division, decides this is an ideal opportunity to test the Soviet Union's most powerful anti-ship missiles. While he could launch his fighters to deliver a longer ranged strike, Bogdanov is a firm believer in the primacy of large missile combatants over fighters. Once the approaching ship is within range, he orders one of his 'Atlant' class missile cruisers to launch half of its eighty P-501 'Garpun' anti-ship missiles. The P-501 is a size 8 missile with a strength-9 warhead, a range of over eighty million kilometers and onboard sensors that allow the Garpun to find its own targets if shipboard control is lost or its primary target is destroyed. At 22,500 km/s it is slower than the smaller NATO anti-ship missiles. Six Soviet missiles are shot down by the mystery ship's point defence and twenty-four fail to hit the rapidly moving target. The powerful warheads of the ten that do hit are sufficient to destroy the unknown ship.
Neither NATO nor the Soviet Union decide to inform the other of their respective encounters so both superpowers believe they are the only ones to face suspected alien ships in their annexed systems. As with NATO in Epsilon Eridani, the Soviet forces carry out a sweep of the planets in the system to ensure there are no more unknown ships.
17th May 2028
The second Gateway class construction ship arrives in Epsilon Eridani and begins construction of a jump gate at the Sol jump point.
28th May 2028
The Soviet task group has completed its sweep of the Alpha Centauri-A system and is heading into the Alpha Centauri-B system when it detects several new active contacts near Alpha Centauri-B V, a super-jovian with twenty-three moons. All the contacts are different types, with signatures of 6450 tons, 12,400 tons, 12,850 tons and 12,900 tons. They appear to share similar characteristic to the ship destroyed near the Alpha Centauri-A system, suggesting they have been built by the same power. The surviving Soviet geosurvey ship is operating in the Alpha-Centauri-B system and it is fortunate that it did not stumble across the small fleet before the Soviet warships.
This time, Kontr-Admiral Bogdanov decides to soften up the enemy ships with a fighter strike before moving in for the kill with his fleet. While the task group holds position just inside sensor range of the new contacts, twenty-four Sukhoi-40 fighters, each carrying three P-500 Palash anti-ship missiles, head for their targets at 7272 km/s. Soviet Fleet Headquarters on Ganymede is following the action via the relay provided by the NATO-built jump gate. Their analysts soon conclude that given the size of the new contacts and the KGB's best estimate of NATO and Chinese jump drive technology, that these ships are of non-human origin. The Soviet Union is going to war against an alien foe.
to be continued...
