23rd August 2033
While still more than two billion kilometers from the yellow-white F5-IV sub giant primary of the Procyon system, Colonial EM sensors detect emissions from a large active sensor with an estimated range of 336 million kilometers directly ahead. The allied fleet is 364 million kilometers away so it is probably out of alien active sensor range. In addition, whatever ship is mounting the sensor only appears to be moving at 1000 km/s so even the slower Chinese ships can easily stay out of its way. Commander Campoverde, eager to prove the mettle of the Colonial destroyers, suggests to Commodore Yuan that the rest of the fleet should hold position while he takes his own ship, Sphinx, closer to the new contact. The Commodore agrees and the single Pegasus class destroyer moves ahead of the rest of the fleet. At two hundred million kilometers from the alien, Sphinx's EM sensors detect strength-600 shields. Neither the Colonial Alliance nor the People's Republic have shield technology and even if they did, they would require a very large ship to mount such powerful shields. The speed of the alien ship remains at 1000 km/s and there is no sign of any other threat so Sphinx continues to close in, on the basis that she can turn and run if anything happens.
As Sphinx moves within her own active sensor range she finally get a good look at the alien ship. It masses 60,000 tons. While the Colonial Golden Gate class construction ship is slightly larger, this is plainly a pure warship. Its out-masses the entire allied fleet by a significant margin. Sphinx retreats to join the rest of the fleet and both Commodore Yuan and Commander Campoverde request instructions from their governments. There are no possible Chinese reinforcements as they have already committed their entire navy so it is down to the Colonial Fleet. Rear Admiral Williams advises the Colonial leadership that this alien ship represents a serious danger to Earth and recommends an all out effort to destroy it. After some discussion they agree and order the other six Pegasus class destroyers to head for Procyon. The eight allied ships in Procyon are ordered to watch the huge alien warship but make no attempt to engage. Colonial defences now comprise the PDCs on Earth and Alpha Centauri and the FAC squadrons at Earth and Epsilon Indi, supported by minefields at the Epsilon Indi - Lacaille 9352 and Alpha Centauri - Earth jump points.
The eight allied warships in Procyon retreat before the alien ship, moving back along their previous course, towards the jump point. Active sensors detect the wrecks of the ten Yinchuan class frigates on September 3rd and the fleet holds position for a while. The destroyers Pegasus and Minotaur join the fleet a day later and Centaur, Gryphon, Medusa and Phoenix arrive on September 6th, along with the second ranking officer in the Colonial Fleet, Rear Admiral Clyde Fleisher. As the Colonial strength in Procyon now far exceeds that of the Chinese ships, he takes command of the allied fleet. The fleet is still close to the site of the first battle and the alien ship is two hundred million kilometers away.
Rear Admiral Fleisher knows he may need the combined firepower of all ten destroyers but he doesn't want to waste missiles. On the other hand, he doesn't want to under commit and reduce the alien shields, only for them to recharge. To make best use of his available ordnance, he needs to quickly assess the results of each salvo; to do that he needs to be as close as possible to the alien ship. Working on the assumption that the alien ship might have a similar armament to its smaller siblings, he decides to take his fleet to a range where each missile salvo will hit before the next one is fired. With a forty second reload time and a missile speed of 22,500 km/s, that range is 900,000 kilometers or less. To be on the safe side, he orders one of the Chinese frigates to precede the rest of the fleet by one million kilometers, acting as a tripwire. Commodore Yuan isn't happy about how Rear Admiral Fleisher is using one of his ships, but given recent events and accusations, he can see no alternative but to obey orders.
The allied fleet closes in, expecting an attack at any moment. The alien behemoth glides along, apparently oblivious to the small ships in its path. At 800,000 kilometers Rear Admiral Fleisher gives the order to open fire. Eighty RGM-5A Javelins streak toward the enemy ship, arriving thirty-five seconds later. Eight are shot down by some type of point defence fire. The other seventy-two explode against the shields, reducing them by seventy percent. Suddenly, just as the second wave of Colonial missiles is launched, twenty of the 800 ton alien gunboats launch from the larger vessel, which is obviously some type of mother ship. Rear Admiral Fleisher immediately orders his force to reverse course and accelerate to maximum and engage the new contacts, even though that will allow the carrier to recharge its shields.
Seventy-two second wave missiles slam into the alien mothership, flattening the shields but having no other apparent effect. The next missile volley is directed against five of the alien gunboats, which have already closed to within 500,000 kilometers of the four Chinese warships. Two Pegasus class destroyers engage each target. Meanwhile the mothership's shields are recharging rapidly, increasing by two points of shield strength every second, or eighty points in the time required for Colonial missile launchers to reload. There is time for two waves of missiles to strike the alien gunboats before they reach meson cannon range of the Chinese ships. Seven are destroyed and two are crippled. The first volley of mesons is from extreme range and only one hit is scored, taking out a laser on Yinchuan 07. Chinese return fire scars the armour of a gunboat with four minor hits. The next alien attack is more serious and wrecks the damaged frigate, destroying her fire control, a reactor, the bridge, a second laser and one of her engines. She is effectively out of the fight.
The Chinese are veterans now and retain their composure under extreme pressure. Concentrated laser fire rips apart a gunboat. Yinchuan 07 blows up under heavy fire then two more alien ships explode. So far in this engagement the aliens have moved to point blank range and stayed there; now they pull back to 60,000 km. Another wave of Colonial missiles is launched. This time there is no immediate concern about ordnance running out so Rear Admiral Fleisher accepts there may be wasted missiles. Yinchuan 06 is hit by two volleys and left dead in space then Colonial missiles take out two more gunboats. Unfortunately, the automated firing software on two destroyers has selected immobile gunboats too far away to affect the Chinese ships so the missiles from those destroyers streak past the desperate close range battle and take out the two cripples. Yinchuan 06 continues to take fire from the six surviving gunboats but somehow holds together. The two Chinese Houjian II destroyers move out of range as the gunboats hold position near the crippled Chinese frigate. Commodore Yuan orders them to reverse course but there are several seconds of confusion before they obey those orders.
Another wave of Colonial missiles smashes into the alien formation. Their accuracy is terrible, killing just two of the five targeted gunboats and damaging two more. A fifth is missed by all sixteen missiles directed against it. The survivors concentrate their fire on Yinchuan 06, which has lost all engines, weapons and electronic systems. The Houjian IIs finally get back in the fight and kill a gunboat with close range laser fire. It is too late for Yinchuan 06 though and the gallant frigate explodes when her reactor takes a critical hit. The only surviving unit of the original thirteen Yinchuan class frigates is Yinchuan 05, currently undergoing repairs in the Wu Hu Shipyard. Revenge is swift as the Houjians rip apart a gunboat and then Colonial missiles obliterate the last two. Despite losing two frigates, the stand of the outnumbered Chinese warships kept the alien gunboats away from the Colonial destroyers, allowing them to use their superior firepower without coming under direct attack.
Attention returns to the alien mothership, which has recharged two-thirds of its shields. The first wave of Colonial missiles wipes out the shields and inflicts minor armour damage, adding to the armour damage caused by the previous attack. The second wave easily overcomes the regenerated strength-80 shields, scoring seventy-two strength-6 hits. There is no sign of any damage, nor is there any fluid loss or reduction in speed. A third wave hits. As before, eight are shot down but seventy-two strike the target. This time, fluid loss accompanies eleven hits and the colossal ship slows to 933 km/s. Thirty of the fourth wave missiles cause internal damage. The mothership's powerful active sensor shuts down, its speed falls to 532 km/s and its shield regeneration rate drops dramatically. The fifth wave delivers the coup de grace and the mighty alien warship vanishes from Colonial and Chinese sensors. As with the gunboats, there is no sign of wreckage.
Only two Chinese warships remain and the Colonial fleet is low on missiles, with just 260 RGM-5A Javelins between ten ships. It would take several trips for the two Colonial minelayers to transport enough missiles for all ten destroyers so Rear Admiral Fleisher decides to transfer all available missiles to just two ships while the rest head home to replenish their ordnance. He believes the alien mothership was likely to be the last resistance in the system but, just in case, he orders the four warships remaining in Procyon to pull back to the jump point until the bulk of the Colonial Fleet returns.
28th September 2033
The Colonial fleet is reassembled at the Procyon - Sol jump point, accompanied by the two Chinese Houjian II destroyers. Every RGM-5A Javelin missile in the Colonial inventory is now in the magazines of the ten destroyers and two colliers and Manticore only has half her standard loadout. If there any many more battles like the previous one, the Colonial Fleet will be out of missiles. The twelve ships move towards the primary, once again attempting to reach the planetary system.
16th October 2033
As the allied fleet moves within active sensor range of Procyon II, they detect eight 6000 ton contacts in orbit. Although a different design, they are from the same race as the mothership and the gunboats. As these are far less intimidating than the mothership and there is no sign of shields, Rear Admiral Fleischer decides to move to fifty million kilometers and launch missiles to test their defences. Two of the enemy ships are each targeted by three destroyers; forty-eight missiles in total. Thirty-five minutes later the missiles arrive and destroy both alien ships. As far as the Colonial tactical officers can tell, in both cases eight missiles were sufficient in both cases and the other thirty-two missiles self-destructed. Rear Admiral Fleischer surmises they must be civilian or commercial shipping of some kind and instructs six destroyers to each fire a single salvo at the six remaining alien ships. Two are destroyed by the first salvo and the other four by a smaller, follow up salvo.
With Colonial sensors clear once again, the allied fleet resumes its course toward Procyon II, which is the most promising candidate for Chinese colonization. They arrive in orbit without further incident. While the fleet moves to check out the other two planets in the system, the Chinese summon gravitational and geological survey ships to begin work.
21st October 2033
The fleet visits Procyon I and Procyon III, plus its system of nine moons which includes a very good terraforming candidate, and confirms they are free of any alien forces. Rear Admiral Fleischer wishes the Chinese well and his fleet sets course for home. Due to the spirit of good will that now prevails, the court of enquiry investigating the conduct of Commander Ryokai settles for a reprimand on his record. No further action will be taken.
1st November 2033
Colonial scientists develop the technology for the Magneto-plasma Drive. Work begins on developing new engines based on the technology.
30th November 2033
The Scylla class command ships, Scylla, Charybdis and Kraken, are launched from the Blohm + Voss Shipyard. Their impressive sensor suites, flag bridges and jump drives will allow them to lead a squadron of Pegasus class destroyers or act as command ship for a survey force. New task forces will be created so that the command ships and their squadrons can benefit from a full staff. The recent development of Magneto-Plasma technology means the new command ships are out of date in terms of their main engines. However, as there are no immediate plans to upgrade the existing Pegasus class destroyers, this will not be an issue for the foreseeable future.
10th December 2033
The People's Republic informs the Colonial Alliance of some very disturbing news. What was thought to be a near-habitable world in the Procyon system has turned out to be completely uninhabitable. The background radiation level on the planet's surface is beyond even the worst estimates of a nuclear holocaust on Earth. Chinese scientists estimate that it will take over three hundred years for the radiation level to return to normal. Even automated mines would be rendered inoperative for the next two hundred years. They can only guess that the aliens in Procyon either completely wiped out whoever was living on the planet, or perhaps were the last survivors of some global disaster. Fortunately, the fifth moon of Procyon III can be terraformed with only slightly more difficulty. The oxygen in the atmosphere is already thirty percent of the required level and the surface temperature is just outside the habitable range at -7C. There are also substantial and accessible deposits of Duranium, Neutronium, Tritanium and Boronide plus less accessible but still significant deposits of Mercassium, Vendarite, Uridium and Gallicite. The Chinese are planning on making this moon their primary colonization site.
1st January 2034
Colonial scientists develop Ceramic Composite Armour, which will enable the Colonial Alliance to construct lighter or better armoured ships. With the new armour now available, work begin on designing a warship powered by a Magneto-plasma Drive
2nd March 2034
The Blohm + Voss Shipyard begins retooling to build the new Valkyrie class destroyer. The Valkyrie is a larger, faster and more powerful version of the Pegasus, with a top speed of 5600 km/s, two additional missile launchers and a far larger magazine capacity, capable of holding one hundred and ninety anti-ship missiles compared to one hundred and twenty-eight for its predecessor. Although for the moment this will be the RGM-5A Javelin, by the time the first Valkyrie is launched a newer missile should be in service.
Valkyrie class Destroyer 10000 tons 980 Crew 1550.6 BP TCS 200 TH 1120 EM 0
5600 km/s Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 10/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 40
Annual Failure Rate: 160% IFR: 2.2% Maint Capacity 485 MSP Max Repair 96 MSP Est Time: 2.05 Years
Magazine 760
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (14) Power 80 Fuel Use 70% Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 64.3 billion km (132 days at full power)
Mk 1 Guided Missile Launching System (10) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 40
CF/SPG-3 Missile Fire Control (2) Range 72.0m km Resolution 75
RGM-5A Javelin Anti-ship Missile (190) Speed: 22,500 km/s End: 47.6m Range: 64.3m km WH6 Size: 4 TH: 75 / 45 / 22
CF/SPS-4 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 7200 Range 72.0m km Resolution 75
CF/SQR-6 Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 10 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 10m km
CF/SLR-5 EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m km7th April 2034
The Chinese report that a civilian colony ship has been destroyed in the Procyon system by meson weapons. Fifty thousand colonists were killed. They request military assistance from the Colonial Alliance under the terms of the agreement to recognize Colonial sovereignty in the Alpha Centauri chain. The incident occurred not far from the jump point and the only three Chinese warships left in service are moving to investigate. Six of the Pegasus class destroyers are in overhaul so the other four, led by the command ship Charybdis, abandon their training exercise in Alpha Centauri and set course for Procyon. It would appear the alien threat has not been eliminated. Whether that is due to alien stragglers or because Procyon is merely an outpost of a larger Imperium is a matter of serious concern for both China and the Colonial Alliance.
21st April 2034
The Second Destroyer Squadron arrives in Procyon. Due to the presence of Charybdis, they are able to detect any alien ships at a greater distance than before, although the fire controls on the Pegasus class DDGs will still be restricted to a fairly short range. They wait four hours for the arrival of the slower moving Chinese ships and the total force of eight ships heads for the last known location of the colony ship. The CF/SPS-11 Area Search Sensor on Charybdis has a 264 million kilometre range so the wreck is quickly found. As the ships draw within twenty million kilometers of the wreck they detect a single gunboat heading for them at 10,000 km/s. Once within range, two of the destroyers fire full salvos at the solitary alien gunboat and blow it to pieces. Given the location of the incident with the colony ship, which was not far from the scene of the first combat against the aliens in Procyon, it seems likely this was a straggler from that battle, though why it escaped detection and destruction remains a mystery. The Colonial Alliance agrees to keep its ships in Procyon for a few weeks to ensure there are no further incidents. The two Houjian II class destroyers are each assigned to a different colony fleet while the Yinchuan class frigate escorts the Chinese freighter fleet to provide close escort. The Colonial destroyers move to the Chinese settlement on the fifth moon of Procyon III.
2nd May 2034
Earth's Duranium deposits are exhausted. Tritanium, Vendarite and Corundium will soon follow, leaving only low accessibility deposits of Uridium and Gallicite. The mineral supplies for all human powers must now come from other sources. The surface temperature of Earth is continuing to rise and is now 31.7 degrees, a rise of 9.7 since the sun's luminosity started to increase.
Earth Mineral Report
Tritanium 5,356 Acc: 0.14
Vendarite 2,638 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 95,317 Acc: 0.2
Gallicite 100,717 Acc: 0.2
Corundium 4,838 Acc: 0.14
28th July 2034
The South American geology team responsible for the mineral discoveries on Mars has located another large deposit, increasing the planetary total to over half a million tons.. Mars is currently serving as the primary Duranium mining site for all the Earth-based powers except the Colonial Alliance. Given the difficulties in establishing the mining colony on Ross-154 II, which still only has a population of 4.9 million, because of the distance involved and the high colony cost, the Colonial Alliance decides to establish a short-term colony on Mars for the purposes of mining Duranium.
2nd September 2034
Five Callisto class Fast Attack Craft are built by the Rotterdamsche Shipyard in Alpha Centauri. The Callisto is an updated version of the Hyperion FAC equipped with a Magneto-Plasma Drive. A new RGM-5B Javelin Anti-Ship Missile, also with an MPD, is now in service. It is identical to the RGM-5A except for the increase in speed to 30,000 km/s.
Callisto class Fast Attack Craft 1000 tons 49 Crew 144.4 BP TCS 20 TH 160 EM 0
8000 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 9.6
Annual Failure Rate: 8% IFR: 0.1% Maint Capacity 90 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP Est Time: 7.02 Years
Magazine 64
Rocketdyne Boosted MPD (1) Power 160 Fuel Use 700% Signature 160 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 12.9 billion km (18 days at full power)
Mk4 Box Launcher (16) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
CF/SPG-3 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 72.0m km Resolution 75
RGM-5B Javelin Anti-Ship Missile (16) Speed: 30,000 km/s End: 35.7m Range: 64.3m km WH6 Size: 4 TH: 100 / 60 / 308th September 2034
The People's Republic of China launches three frigates of a new class. The Yinchuan II is apparently equipped with 15cm Near Ultraviolet Lasers that will allow it to outrange the alien gunboats encountered in Procyon, Ion Engines that increase its speed by fifty percent, improved armour protection and greater maintenance capacity so it can repair a damaged fire control system. It is 2500 tons, the same size as its predecessor. A further two frigates are due for completion within two weeks.
5th October 2034
The extremely skilled, or perhaps extremely lucky, Candela Parales Paredes geology team of the USAN has located 100,000 tons of accessibility 0.6 Boronide on Mars.
4th January 2035
The Atlantis Shipyard in Alpha Centauri has been retooled to produce the Colonial Alliance's first escort ship. The Thermopylae class Destroyer Escort carries almost a thousand RIM-8B Scutum Defence Missiles and is equipped with twenty-four Mk5 GMLS that have a ten second rate of fire. A single Thermopylae will be able to launch almost one hundred and fifty Scutums per minute and will provide the first line of defence against hostile missile attack. Two ships are laid down initially and are scheduled for delivery in April 2036. Construction of the first three Valkyrie class destroyers is well underway and they should be delivered in November 2035.
Thermopylae class Destroyer Escort 10000 tons 850 Crew 1583.8 BP TCS 200 TH 1120 EM 0
5600 km/s Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 24
Annual Failure Rate: 160% IFR: 2.2% Maint Capacity 495 MSP Max Repair 96 MSP Est Time: 2.07 Years
Magazine 984
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (14) Power 80 Fuel Use 70% Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 64.3 billion km (132 days at full power)
Mk5 Guided Missile Launching System (24) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
CF/SPG-14 Missile Fire Control (4) Range 1.1m km Resolution 1
RIM-8B Scutum Defence Missile (984) Speed: 40,000 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 3m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 293 / 176 / 88
CF/SPD-12 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 96 Range 1.1m km Resolution 11st March 2035
China launches the first three Houjian III class Destroyers. They have the same improvements as the Yinchuan IIs and are equipped with a battery of six 15cm Near Ultraviolet Lasers. They also have a far more capable active sensor than the Houjian II. The new Mk5 Active Search Sensor has a seventy million kilometer range and is comparable to the Colonial CF/SPS-4 Active Search Sensor mounted on the Pegasus and Valkyrie class destroyers. China's combat fleet is now moving beyond the capabilities of its pre-Procyon Incident fleet.
9th March 2035
The ever-resourceful USAN geology team locates 100,000 tons of accessibility 0.1 Neutronium on Mars. The Colonial Alliance begins an enquiry into the competence of the commander of the Colonial survey ship that found no evidence of minerals on Mars.
11th March 2035
India has built a small planetary defence centre on Earth. It is most likely armed, which would make it their first military unit.
14th March 2035
The USAN geology team finds a further 100,000 tons of Boronide. At the Colonial enquiry, the commander under investigation is asked if he is sure he surveyed the right planet. The exact words of the head of the inquiry team are "You know it’s the red one, right?"
30th April 2035
The USAN geology team finds an additional 200,000 tons of Duranium, taking the total known deposits to 735,000 tons of accessibility 0.9 Duranium. Finally, they announce that they do not believe any further deposits can be found, much to the relief of survey officers from the other nations. The official finding of the Colonial enquiry is that at the time of the Mars survey, the geological survey sensors were affected by unusually high sunspot activity, rendering them less sensitive than normal.
18th June 2035
India has built a PDC on Mars, matching the one recently built on Earth. This is the only human military installation on Mars. Colonial Intelligence believes the components for the PDC were manufactured on Earth, shipped to Mars in freighters and then assembled by a small number of construction factories.
22nd June 2035
For several weeks, Indian colony ships and freighters have been observed travelling into Ross 128, the system beyond Earth's fourth jump point. Colonial Intelligence believes it is likely that India has established an out-system colony on Ross 128 II, which has a thin oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere with about seventy percent of the oxygen pressure required for humans and a surface temperature of 54C. An ideal candidate for terraforming.
20th August 2035
Alpha Centauri-A II has become an ideal habitable world, confirming it as the future capital of the Colonial Alliance. The existing population of one hundred and thirteen million will be increased as quickly as possible once the current focus on Mars is no longer required. The terraforming installations on Alpha Centauri II will now be moved to Epsilon Indi I. The recently established Colonial settlement on Mars has expanded to fifty million in little over a year and runs almost four hundred mining complexes, easing the Duranium crisis afflicting the Colonial Alliance, as well as all other Earth powers. The colony in Epsilon Indi has eleven million inhabitants while the planned long-term mining colony on Ross 154 II is at six point five million. One hundred and thirty-seven automated mines are in operation on Titania, a moon of Uranus.
In terms of the Martian colonies of the other powers, China has a population of thirty-six million, India eighteen million, the USAN fourteen million and the Non-aligned States six million. China has a small colony in Procyon and India is believed to have a small colony in Ross 158. All the powers have automated mining colonies in the Sol System
17th September 2035
The Republic of India launches two ships of a new class. India has been increasing its number of freighters and colony ships but these ships are small and faster than any previous Indian design. According to news reports within the Republic, the 3600 ton ships are missile-armed Rajput class frigates, India's first warships. Their capabilities and technology are unknown. In recent months, India has been establishing a military capability, although they assure the other Earth powers that this is purely to allay the security concerns of Indian voters.
13th October 2035
The Union of South American Nations has constructed a small troop transport and is transporting several garrison battalions to Mars to quell unrest in their colony. The Colonial Alliance already has a single garrison battalion on the planet.
17th November 2035
The first three Valkyrie class destroyers, Ragnarok, Valhalla and Valkyrie, are launched from the Blohm + Voss Shipyard. Three new ships are laid down, identical to the first three except for using a slightly more fuel efficient version of the Magneto-Plasma Drive. Most of the primary components for the new ships have already been built by construction factories so they are scheduled for delivery in February 2036.
to be continued...
