Month 141, Four Power War update:
The Unified Races was a government composed of two primary races, the Xanti and Axons, who had joined together against the ASR. The Axons also brought the Breen and the Andalon races into the Unified Races, as their subject races. The Breen and the Andalon races had no say in the governance of the UR and the Axons jealously guarded their control of the two races throughout the existence of the UR.
The Unified Races? territory is dominated by a loop of warp links that runs in between the two home worlds of the Xanti and Axon races. Almost all of the systems belonging to the UR can be found either on the loop itself or on branches coming off of the loop.
The UR collapsed following its unsuccessful war with the ASR when in Month 131 the Axons launched an attempt to conquer the Xanti home world and unify the UR under their sole control. The attempt failed when another race, the Imperial Chosen, intervened by launching an invasion of UR territory through a previously unsuspected closed warp point deep within UR territory. The system the Imperial Chosen invaded just happened to be on the main warp loop of the UR, fairly close to the Xanti home system. Fleets belonging to both the Axons and the Xanti were converging on the system, intent on destroying each other, but their civil war was called off because of the outside intervention. Putting off their hostility temporarily, the two fleets advanced on the Chosen. When it became clear that the Chosen had invaded with a superior fleet, the Axon fleet of corvette-carriers abandoned the Xanti fleet and left the system to set up defensive positions to cut the invaders off from the rest of the UR. The Xanti Fleet was subsequently chased down and destroyed.
The loss of the Malkhor system to the Chosen split the UR into two unequal portions. The Xanti were left with their homeworld and about 10% of the UR?s systems, while the Axons controlled the rest. The Axon high command collected the bulk of their corvette-carrier Legions at their connection to the Malkhor system and planned to mount a strong defense, in the hopes that the Chosen would move in the other direction, towards the Xanti. The Axons hoped that while the Chosen were occupied with the Xanti they would be given enough time to consolidate their control over the rest of the UR and rebuild their forces. They weren?t to be given enough time, though.
The Xanti, following the loss of their fleet and most of their territory, turned to their former enemies for help. The ASR agreed to send forces to help defend the Xanti home system in return for what amounted to the Xanti accepting an ASR takeover of their government. In the end the Xanti agreed and an ASR fleet moved into the Xanti system to assist in their defense.
In month 135 the 2nd Empire of Man, fearing a complete takeover of the Unified Races by the ASR, launched its own invasion of the UR through yet another closed warp point into the Breen system. The Terrans advanced cautiously, concerned about the Axon?s corvette-carriers. The Axons responded by pulling most of their Legions back from the front line against the Chosen and sending them against the Terrans. The Terrans detected the Axon ships entering the Breen system and retreated to their hidden entry point before being detected. The Axons were left with no target.
In month 138, while the Axon Legions were still hunting for the Terran Fleet, the ASR delivered an ultimatum to the Axons calling for them to surrender their leaders and submit to what amounted to ASR control of their society. The Axons responded by recalling their fleet from Breen and launching an attack into ASR territory, hoping to catch the ASR forces by surprise. The ASR, having been taken by surprise attacks from the Axons twice before, were not about to fall prey to them again, and instead the ASR fleet, using cloaking tech, ambushed the Axon Legions and destroyed them. The ASR fleet then went on to breach the Axon frontier defenses and then the defenses in the Axon home system in a series of lightning attacks. The veteran Axon Legions returning from Breen met the ASR fleet in the Axon home system and again the ASR used their cloaking technology to good effect. The ASR fleet under Gwynxa managed to destroy almost the entire Axon Navy in one battle in exchange for negligible losses, securing Gwynxa?s place in the hearts and minds of the ASR people.
With the Axon corvette-carrier Legions off to face the ASR, the Terrans were free to advance, but soon ran into Axon obstinacy. The Axons had left behind small groups of ships over the Breen planets and when the Terrans appeared they triggered orbital weapons systems that destroyed most of the population centers on all three Breen planets. The Axons did the same to the Andalons when the Terrans advanced into that system shortly thereafter. The Terrans were shocked by the willful destruction of the bulk of the two subject races, and rushed in supplies to help the survivors.
The Axon government, bowing to the inevitable, fled for the frontier vowing revenge. Three enemies, the ASR, the 2nd Empire, and the Imperial Chosen were gobbling up Axon territory, and the Axons had lost most of their fleets and shipyards. The Axon government, having no other choice, fled to a small frontier base set up before the war to support further colonization in a newly developing area.
While the Terrans were trying to help what was left of the Breen and Andalon races, and the ASR was consolidating its hold on the Axon home system, the Imperial Chosen were expanding their holdings as well. They had defeated the small force left behind by the Axons and taken the Axon system adjacent to Malkhor, and were now advancing towards Xanti Prime. The Xanti, seeing one of their last major extra-systemic holdings threatened, began putting pressure on the ASR to move their fleet forward to assist them in stopping the advance of the Chosen Fleet. Ultimately the ASR agreed in exchange for complete warp line information for the entire UR.
This brings us to the current date. Front Administrator Gwynxa, whose title was changed to Area Marshal under the ongoing reorganization of the ASR Navy, is intent on attacking the Chosen in two directions, and now has the astrogation data he needs to do just that. He is moving his fleet out of the Axon home system down the grand loop towards Xanti Prime, hoping to catch the Chosen from behind while they advance towards the Xanti. He is leaving behind minimal forces in each Axon system as they advance, so as to avoid dispersing his forces too much. It is a risky move, but he hopes to knock the Chosen out of Axon space completely by advancing aggressively. The Terrans are intent on advancing out of the Andalon system towards Axon Prime, which is now under ASR control although they do not know that. The Chosen are advancing towards Xanti Prime, unaware that the ASR is planning a masterstroke against them. The Axons have been defeated and forced to retreat from their home system, but they have not given up and have vowed to take revenge on their enemies.
Month 141, Day 7, Khalkfontein System, Axon territories
Admiral Stern, CO of the 7th Imperial Fleet, ordered his fleet into the Khalkfontein system without hesitation. The Axons were on the run and he believed that the best was to keep them on the run was to keep the pressure up. Aside from a small detachment left at the warp point back to the Andalon system, the entire 7th Fleet moved into the inner system, including the battle line.
The Khalkfontein system was a single system with nine planets, including one T type planet with a large Axon population. As far as the 7th Fleet?s scouts could determine there were no Axon ships present. The Fleet, escorting troop ships, dropped into orbit over the Axon planet on Day 7 without incident and the landings began immediately. The invasion moved forward like clockwork for almost twenty-four hours, at which time a drive field was detected heading in-system.
Imperial scouts were dispatched immediately to intercept the intruder, and the fleet was brought to readiness to either fight or run. Twenty hours later the scout reported that it had intercepted a small squadron of ASR ships. The ASR commander, a human from the Confederation, a member state of the ASR, was requesting a meeting with Admiral Stern.
The meeting took place a day later on the Imperial flagship as the two groups of ships watched either carefully. The ASR commander, Kontreadmiral Walden, proved to be friendly but adamant in his claim that this system was to be considered ASR territory. Admiral Stern had no wish to provoke an incident with the ASR, but also did not relish the idea of backing down. While his orders specifically forbade initiating combat with the ASR, they also gave him wide latitude in how he dealt with any encounter with them.
The fact that Imperial forces were on the ground gave Admiral Stern quite a bit of authority when he staked the Empire?s counterclaim on the system. The negotiations seemed at an impasse and so at this point both sides referred the political question of how to proceed up their respective chains of command and settled in to wait for an answer.
Month 141, Day 11, New Berlin System, 2nd Empire of Man
The New Berlin system is a heavily populated, heavily industrialized system deep within the core of the 2nd Empire. It is the Imperial Capital?s gateway to the rest of the Empire and is the beginning of the warp chain that connects the Core Sector with the New Frontiers Sector. Aside from the warp points leading to the Capital system and the New Frontier Sector, New Berlin also has two other warp points, both of which are extremely important. The first leads to the Atago system, the home of the Mitsubishi Heavy Mining Corporation and the 3rd Imperial Fleet, while the other leads eventually to the New America system and through it to the rest of the Empire. As of the last census the New Berlin system had almost 40.5 billion citizens on three habitable planets, two of which were type T. The binary system also contained two asteroid belts and numerous other moons and minor planets, and is the third most productive system and the fourth most populous in the Empire. Normally, a system this important would be heavily defended, but aside from occasional patrols and a small ground station that was primarily concerned with recruiting the system has no regular naval presence. This is because two of the Empire?s largest naval bases are within one jump. The Home System and the Atago System are the home bases for the 1st and 3rd Fleets, which normally puts the Empire?s largest concentration of naval might within one jump of New Berlin. These are not normal times, though. The bulk of the 3rd Fleet has been deployed to the far reaches of the Pax Sector to find and destroy the cyborg raiders that destroyed the Kitakyushu system colonies, and some of the 1st Fleet?s strength has been deployed to the New Frontiers and the Pax Sectors to deal with threatening situations in those distant locations. The 1st Fleet is still a formidable force, though, and the 3rd Fleet left behind a force deemed sufficient to guard its base. Everyone thought that New Berlin was as safe as it could be, deep within the heart of the Empire. Everyone was mistaken, though.
While business went on as normal in the far-flung worlds and colonies of the New Berlin system, unobserved in the outer system a previously unsuspected warp point began to disgorge ships. The closed warp point would have been well within detection range if the New Berlin system had been equipped with a deep-space detection net, but it was far down on the priority list for sensor buoys, so the new ships went undetected.
Fifty explorer class ships and fifty-nine corvettes entered the system in the space of a few minutes. After ensuring that their entrance went unnoticed, the explorer units spread out in a typical survey formation. Each tiny explorer ship was escorted by a corvette, which was in turn escorted by a protective shell of fighters. Eight corvettes set out for the inner system on a direct course for the system?s primary population center. A single corvette remained close to the closed warp point with its drives down, watching for anything that might try to cut off the other ships now spreading throughout the system.
Month 141, Day 13, New Chicago, 2nd Empire of Man
?Your Majesty, you have a priority call from Grand Admiral Parks.?
The Emperor turned from his economic advisors and activated his desk viewer. A second later Grand Admiral Parks appeared on his monitor and he knew, immediately, that something was wrong. Allison Parks was one of the most unflappable people he knew, and she looked like she?d seen a ghost. ?Yes, Allison??
?Majesty, I?m afraid I have grave news. We just received a report from the New Berlin system. They?ve detected seven separate drive fields headed in-system. The contacts are behaving in a manner consistent with explorer class ships surveying a system for warp points. At this time I am requesting permission to put the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Fleets on alert for immediate movement.?
The Emperor opened his mouth, then closed it and thought about the situation for a second. His first impulse was to ask her why she didn?t have the fleets moving already, but he knew why. The civil government was nervous about how much power the Navy had, and had, over time, acted to constrain the ability of the Fleet to act on its own. He had gone along with them because he agreed that the Fleet should be subordinated to the civil government, and also because it placated some of his critics who felt that he was too close to the Fleet, given his background. Playing for time while he thought through the situation he called up the travel-time display for the Core Sector on his perscomp and noted that it took just over ten hours for a message to go from the New Berlin system to the Capital via the ICN. ?Have they attempted to contact us, and has our naval station attempted to contact them?? He knew the answer, but he had to ask. If communications had been established, she would have already told him.
?No, your Majesty, they have not attempted to open communications. The New Berlin Naval Station has sent a challenge to the unknown contacts, but we won?t know anything for at least two hours yet.?
That was bad. ?This is not typical behavior for the ASR, is it??
?No, Sire, it is not. Their SOP is to send a single contact ship so as to avoid frightening the locals. In addition, they have decommissioned their explorer class ships or transformed them into planetary survey ships. They never use them to probe or survey systems, and they definitely would not use them in a contested or hostile system.? She hesitated for a few seconds, and then continued. ?This doesn?t seem like the Eaters, either. Their SOP is to send in a massive fleet to destroy the system populations first, and once that task is complete they presumably survey the system. That behavior pattern is consistent for all three known incursions.?
The Emperor shook his head, as if dispelling a secret fear he hadn?t wanted to voice. ?Well, that?s not definite, but somewhat of a relief in any case. Still, that leaves us not knowing who it is, doesn?t it?
?Yes, Sire, which is why I asked for the authorization to mobilize the fleets. Surveying an inhabited system without even attempting to make contact with the inhabitants is an inherently hostile act. Given New Berlin?s location, we must be prepared to respond with overwhelming force.?
After a few seconds consideration, the Emperor nodded. ?I agree. You have your authorization. I want a full report on the situation in two hours.?
Admiral Parks nodded and the screen went blank. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, the Emperor went back to his meeting on the state of the Empire?s economy, but his heart wasn?t in it.
Two and a half hours later?
?Sit down, Allison. I had hoped for good news, but I can tell that I?m going to be disappointed.?
Grand Admiral Parks took one of the seats in front of the Emperor?s desk and shook her head. ?I?m afraid that the news out of New Berlin is not good, Sire. The number of contacts has grown to twenty-one. They have refused to respond to multiple challenges. One of the contacts is headed directly for New Berlin Prime.?
?Is there any further information about the contacts??
?No, Sire. Their speed and behavior continues to be consistent with explorer class ships engaged in a warp point survey. The contact headed towards New Berlin Prime is moving at a sustained speed of 10,000 KPS, indicating that it too is composed of explorer class ships.?
?Or corvettes.? Once the Eaters had been dismissed, the possibility that the unknowns were Axons had moved to the forefront of the Emperor?s mind. Only one race used large numbers of corvettes, and the Axons were genocidal maniacs.
Admiral Parks looked uncomfortable. ?That is premature, Sire. It had occurred to us as well, though. That is why we are recommending such a strong response.?
?Go ahead.?
Admiral Parks activated the desk?s holo unit and a representation of the local warp chains appeared in the air between them. The Emperor didn?t really have to look at the display because he knew it by heart. New Berlin was in the center; with four warp links running off of it above, below, left and right. The system above was the Mining 107 system (MS-107), a fairly unimportant system with a small population of miners. The MS-107 system was part of the chain that led to the New Territories Sector. The Emperor was interested to note that an Imperial Fleet icon was showing in the system, in spite of the fact that the system housed no bases or other installations. The system to the left of New Berlin was the Atago system, home of the 3rd Imperial Fleet. The system to the right was the New Chicago System, Capital of the Empire and home of the 1st Imperial Fleet. Below New Berlin in the display was the Hamburg System, another heavily populated system that connected to New America. Out of the five systems only New Berlin and the Hamburg systems lacked Imperial Fleet icons.
Admiral Parks gestured at the MS-107 system. ?As you can see, we lucked out in that we have a squadron from the 2nd Fleet in MS-107. They were in route to the Capital to reinforce the 1st Fleet when this came up, and they are in a good position to move into the New Berlin system or block egress towards the New Territories Sector by the aggressor force. The 2nd Fleet detachment consists of two squadrons of superdreadnoughts and ten fleet carriers.? With a flick of her wrist Admiral Parks caused the fleet icon in MS-107 to dim, while the icon in the Atago system began flashing. ?Unfortunately, the bulk of the 3rd Fleet is in the Pax Sector, but there are some units still at the base that available for an emergency. While there are no battlecruisers available, they do have twenty carriers of assorted classes, along with escorts, available for deployment into the New Berlin system.? Another flick of her wrist and the 3rd Fleet?s icon dimmed and the icon for the 1st Fleet began flashing. ?As you know, the 1st Fleet has been depleted to supply reinforcements for the 4th and 7th Fleets. Currently we have three squadrons of monitors, one of superdreadnoughts, and seventeen carriers available. Not counting the assault ships, of course.?
The Emperor felt dismayed at the information on the display. They had taken a gamble deploying so much of the Core Fleet?s strength to the borders, and it was beginning to look like it was a gamble they were going to lose.
Admiral Parks flicked her wrist again and all three icons began flashing. ?We still don?t actually know that the unknowns in New Berlin are hostile, but their continued silence in the face of multiple challenges beamed at them from the inner system argues that they should be considered hostile until they demonstrate otherwise. Given the unknown nature of the threat, the critical nature of the Capital and the fact that the defenses on the warp point in this system leading to New Berlin are negligible, I propose that we order the 1st Fleet to take up defensive positions around the New Berlin warp point, while the other two fleets move into New Berlin.? She looked at the Emperor, wondering how he would respond to this bit of caution.
?Approved. Although it is unlikely, it is possible that this is a decoy attack by the ASR and the Free Republic, meant to draw our forces away from the warp point to Proxima. I?m sure that the Free Republic won?t forget that we did something along those lines to them when we launched our attack on the old Republic.?
Admiral Parks shook her head. ?I think that is unlikely, Sire. I think that if the ASR is going to come after us, they tell us to our faces that they are coming, not launch a surprise attack.?
The Emperor tended to agree with her, but if there was one thing he had learned ruling the Empire it was that sometimes things happened whether you wanted them to or not. ?I?m sure you?re right, if that is what they plan on doing, but given our history with the Free Republic I wouldn?t put it past them to launch a pre-emptive attack without the approval of the rest of the ASR, if they have the capability.?
Admiral Parks hesitated for a second, and then shook her head. ?It is a possibility we can?t ignore, which is why I want to keep the 1st Fleet as a reserve until we know more. The 2nd Fleet squadrons were headed for New Berlin anyway, and will be entering the system in seven days. The 3rd Fleet?s carriers can be in New Berlin in nine days. Given the layout of the system it is unlikely that they will be able to link up before the unknowns could intercept them, if they are so inclined, but I am uncomfortable ordering them to proceed independently when we don?t know anything about the enemy. I propose ordering them to link up in the outer system before proceeding into the inner system at their best speed. Finally, I?d like to have the bulk of the 1st Fleet detachment in New America move into the Hamburg system to block the unknowns from entering into that system.?
The Emperor sat back, staring at the display, wishing that he knew what was going on in the New Berlin system. After a minute he shook his head. ?Your plan is approved. Get those fleets moving.?
Thirty-six hours later?
?We have confirmation, Sire. New Berlin Station has confirmed that the contact headed towards them is composed of eight corvettes, preceded by several fighter squadrons.?
The Emperor felt like an immense weight had settled on his shoulders. ?And only one race we know uses corvette-carriers. Right??
?I think that we can assume that it is the Axons, Sire. I have sent orders to the New Berlin Station to begin sending hails and challenges in the primary Axon language, but there isn?t much else we can do, and I don?t expect that to have any effect. The Axons know Terran standard well enough, and in any case our standard challenges are in every known language. They could have responded at any time, if they wished.?
?What have the Axons done so far, aside from ignoring our hails??
?According to the reports, nothing. The primary group of eight corvettes scouted around the inner system and then they assumed a distant orbit over New Berlin Prime. They seem to be settling in. The other contacts have continued on what appears to be random courses consistent with a survey effort.?
?How long until the nearest naval units arrive in the system??
?The 2nd Fleet detachment will arrive in five and a half days, Sire. Of course, they will be in the outer system, nowhere near the inhabited planets.?
The Emperor sat hunched over his desk, his face set in a mask of worry and fatigue. Finally he looked up at the head of his Navy. ?Allison, get word out to the 2nd Fleet detachment and all of the 3rd Fleet units responding to this disaster. They are to disengage their safety interlocks and go to maximum speed. I want them in the New Berlin system as soon as possible and I don?t care how many engines they burn out to get there.? He rose and crossed to the large window that filled one side of his office. ?I want to be clear on this, Allison. One ship in orbit over New Berlin Prime in time is better than an entire fleet arriving there too late.?
?I understand, Sire.? The harsh look on her face softened for a second. ?We all do, Sire. I?ve already received requests from the 2nd and 3rd Fleets to do exactly what you?ve just ordered. We all understand the stakes.? Everyone had watched the Axons nuke the Breen and the Andalons. The thought that they now had the chance to do the same to Imperial worlds was intolerable. ?We must face the likelihood that we are going to be too late, though. After all, they have corvette-carriers in orbit over New Berlin Prime right now. They could bombard the surface with fighter-launched munitions any time.?
The Emperor shook his head. ?Believe me; I know the situation we are in. That?s why I want those ships out there now. I don?t know why they are delaying, but whatever the reason, it isn?t good. It does give us time to react though, so maybe it?s not all bad. We?ve got to try.?
?Yes, we do. Have you considered that they may intend to blackmail us?? Her staff considered that possibility the most likely at this point. No one could see any other reason why they?d wait, but then, they weren?t religious fanatics either.
?I will not bargain with genocidal maniacs! That has always been Imperial policy, and they should know that.?
?Yes, Sire, they should. Unfortunately, they have not demonstrated a significant capacity for recognizing what we consider to be reality, though.? She paused, wondering how far she could push it, then shrugged and plowed on ahead. ?They are holding hostage 40 billion people right now, and if they get into the Hamburg system they?ll have another 40 billion. You must be prepared for the fact that they may not leave you any good choices.? For a minute she thought she had pushed too far, but then the Emperor shook his head and sat down again.
The Emperor sat at his desk, looking like death warmed over. ?If the Axons try to blackmail me they will discover that they will not enjoy the consequences of their actions.? He stopped and drew a deep breath. ?Whatever happens it will be on my head. Keep me informed, Admiral.?
New ETA?s to the New Berlin system, at maximum speed:
2nd Fleet detachment: 2 days, 4 hours
3rd Fleet carriers and escorts: 3 days, 8 hours
Fifty-two hours later (Day 16)?
The nineteen ships of the 2nd Fleet detachment entered the New Berlin system in record time. So far they hadn?t suffered from any burnouts, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Shortly after entering the system they detected three drive fields, the closest of which was twenty-four light minutes away. Vice Admiral von Mellinthin, the CO of the detachment, ordered his ships to head for the nearest contact and began broadcasting challenges to all of the contacts.
Shortly after the Imperial detachment left the warp point the closest contact split into two separate contacts, one of which was headed towards them while the other was headed away. The other two more distant contacts also turned away, headed towards the inner system. Fifteen hours later the two forces had reached a range where they began getting some detailed information about each other. The Imperial force was able to confirm that the ship headed towards them was a corvette, with a single fighter running ahead of it. The Imperial CO immediately sent off a contact report to the ICN buoy at the warp point. Presumably the unknowns sent off a contact report of their own, but there was no way to confirm it.
After breaking fifteen light seconds range of the Imperial force the lone corvette turned away and accelerated to open the distance. Von Mellinthin immediately ordered a four-squadron strike wave launched from his carriers. The third generation strike fighters were the latest Imperial models, and because they had no external ordnance they were 50% faster than the corvettes even at their maximum.
While his fighters chased down the corvette Vice Admiral von Mellinthin broadcast continuous demands for the corvette to surrender, first in Axon and then in every known language. By now there was little doubt that the unknowns were Axons but Mellinthin believed in being thorough. The corvette?s emission signatures matched the known profiles of Axon corvette-carriers exactly. At the last minute the corvette launched its remaining fighters, but they were no match for the twenty-four Terran fighters and they died quickly. No Terran fighters were destroyed. The Axon corvette, having no other choice, self destructed after the last of its fighters was destroyed.
The Terran squadron immediately set out for the inner system at maximum speed. Their ETA to the inner system was four and a half days. One of the Axon contacts ran away from the Terran force at full speed, approximately 7,500 KPS faster than the Terran SD?s, while the other closed to twenty-four light minutes and hovered there, obviously shadowing the Terrans.
Twenty-four hours later (Day 17)?
?Excellency, we have detected a second Terran force entering this system from a different location than the first. They are present in unknown strength, and the nearest corvette is closing to determine their composition.?
The commander of the combined Legions turned to the Representative of the Prophet and bowed. ?Sire, the fact that we have detected a second contact so quickly is bad. It means that they either have significant patrols or that we are very close to several of their bases. In either case, I believe that we must abandon our hopes of discovering the warp points to other inhabited systems and proceed with our primary mission.?
The Prophet?s Representative pondered the situation as the commander waited nervously for a response. He was hesitant to give up the possibility of finding any and all warp point to other Terran systems. The more systems they could reach the more effective their plan would be. However, the commander had made it clear that his pilots were extremely green, and that in a stand up fight against equal numbers they would be unlikely to prevail. If the fighters were lost then so was all hope of completing the primary mission, in which case they might as well not return at all, as the Prophet?s Voice would certainly have them all executed for incompetence.
After some consideration, the Representative gestured his assent. ?Recall the carriers, Commander. Carry out our mission as soon as you have enough strength here. Inform me as to your timetable, so that I can broadcast the Prophet?s message to the infidels.?
The Commander sighed in relief and hurried away to begin the preparations.
Ten hours later?
Vice Admiral von Mellinthin?s head snapped around and his augments adjusted his vision and hearing so that he could focus on his communications tech?s station. The chime that drew his attention announced an incoming message, and in the current situation any incoming message was likely vital. He watched as the tech stiffened, then turned.
?Sir, incoming transmission. It?s from the enemy, sir!?
?Route it to my station.? After a few seconds the message was downloaded to his station and decoded. The display on his desk showed an Axon in elaborate robes. After a few second the Axon began speaking. ?This message is for the Terran people. I am the Voice of God?s Prophet. Your government has initiated a war of aggression against the peace loving Axon people. Terran forces have behaved brutally and sadistically, killing Axon civilians indiscriminately time and again. We have done what we can to prevent these atrocities, but because of the treachery of the Imperial government our fleets were out of position and unable to defend our innocent civilians.?
Vice Admiral Mellinthin gritted his teeth in anger at the bald lies coming out of the Axon?s mouth. Unfortunately, they didn?t stop. ?While we do not blame the Terran people as a whole, the Imperial Terran government is a genocidal organization that must be stopped. I now charge that the Imperial Terran Navy, in collusion with the Imperial Terran Government, bombarded both the Breen and the Andalon home worlds, killing billions for no reason other than sheer malice.?
Von Mellinthin?s mouth dropped open. It was a lie, of course, but what a lie. After a second he frowned. Often the bigger and more outrageous a lie was, the more likely it was to be believed.
?As I?ve said, we do not blame the Terran people, who have no doubt been duped by their renegade government. We cannot let the bombardment of three heavily populated worlds go unanswered, though. It is with a heavy heart that the Prophet has ordered that the Terran populations in this system are forfeit, to pay for the crimes of the Terran Empire against the Axon people. Remember always that we did not strike first, we only retaliated against an illegal regime.?
The message flickered out leaving von Mellinthin shocked. He knew that even now Axon missiles were likely falling on cities in the inner system and there was nothing he could do about it. After a few seconds he began to compose his own message to his superiors.
Even as the Imperial Terran ships raced for the inner system it was too late. The Axon corvettes had launched their fighters over an hour earlier. The fighters, over three hundred strong, had unleashed their anti-matter weapons on both habitable planets in the inner system. Every city and town was destroyed, as were many of the ad hoc refugee centers the city-dwellers had been evacuated to when the Axons had appeared. It had taken several strike waves to complete the destruction of the Terran populations, but the Axons were determined to do as thorough a job as they could in the time they had.
New Chicago, Imperial Palace
The Emperor and his Privy Council watched the entire message through in a silence that was only broken by the occasional low curse. The Council sat in silence after the replay ended, in collective shock. Unlike the Council the Emperor and Admiral Parks had already viewed the message, and they sat silently while it was played. The Emperor?s face could have been carved out of stone, and everyone not absorbed by their own emotions would be able to tell that he was very angry. In contrast, Admiral Parks looked physically ill, which perhaps wasn?t surprising given the fact that she was ultimately responsible for the state of the Core Sector?s defenses. When the playback ended they all sat stunned until finally the Emperor spoke. ?We haven?t got confirmation from the 2nd Fleet detachment that they have started bombardments, but that really doesn?t mean anything at this point. They have the capability and they?ve done it before. The next message we get from Admiral von Mellinthin will be confirmation of the destruction of New Berlin Prime and Secundus.? Several of the Council members shifted uneasily, but said nothing. If anything Admiral Parks managed to look even more discomfited than before.
Finally, the Minister for State spoke. ?This is going to be bad. If this gets out, there will be those who believe it, no matter how nonsensical. Those most likely to believe the lie would be those who have no experience with the Axons. The Atong, for example, know very little about the situation in the ASR and will have no other information to evaluate their claims and our counterclaims. Is there any way we can suppress this??
The Emperor nodded at Admiral Parks, who stood. ?For now knowledge of this message is limited to Vice Admiral von Mellinthin and those of us in this room. The message was beamed directly to the 2nd Fleet detachment in New Berlin and couldn?t have been received by anyone else.? Several of those present, most notably the Minister for State, relaxed, but then Admiral Parks continued. ?Unfortunately that is likely to change. This allegation is directed directly at us, the leaders of the Imperial Government. For this propaganda to have any effect they cannot and will not limit its broadcast to us. I expected that before they leave the system they will broadcast the message in the clear in a strong omni-directional manner that will be picked up throughout the system. While we can, of course, control the military units in the system, there will be numerous small colonies in the outer system and in the B component that will escape destruction and they will all undoubtedly receive this message.?
?We must go public then, and immediately.? All eyes turned to the Minister for State. ?If we try to sit on this, then it will look like we?ve got something to hide. It will give every conspiracy theorist and anti-Imperial out there ammunition to attack us and undermine our credibility when we try to defend our actions. We must get in front of this.?
?Well, this is all well and good but what I want to know is what we are going to do about this?? The anguished question came from Senator Busch, the senior Senator from New Berlin. Although he wasn?t normally a member of the Privy Council the Emperor had included him in every meeting since the start of the emergency. He had been silent since the message began, and some of them had forgotten he was there. Now no one wanted to meet his eyes. ?They are going to kill everyone in New Berlin. My family, hell, everyone?s family! They are all as good as dead, aren?t they, Admiral??
Admiral Parks met the Senator?s eyes and nodded. ?It is very likely that whatever is going to happen has already happened. In any case, none of our ships were going to be in position to stop them, no matter what. I?m afraid you are right, sir, the outcome at this point is a foregone conclusion.?
Senator Busch took a deep breath that was almost a sob and looked at the others. Assembled here in this small room were the most powerful people in the most powerful government ever built by man, and yet not one of them could change what was happening to his home. ?The Axons did this for spite. They know that this won?t stop us, or help them win their war. Hell, they didn?t even try to blackmail us into leaving their territory! They had to know that even if we withdrew from their territory after this they?d still be facing the ASR, and there is no way they are going to stop them. So it?s all for nothing. They did this for spite!?
The Emperor shook his head and if anything looked even more somber and morose then he had up to that point. ?Senator?James, we will do everything we can to help those who are left. I will personally make sure that everything that can be done will be done to help the survivors. You have my word on that.?
Senator Busch shook his head. ?Thank you, your Majesty. But that?s not what I mean. We must punish the Axons. They have bombarded five inhabited planets that we know of, two of them human planets. How much more proof do we need that they are genocidal maniacs that must be destroyed??
Again everyone in the room looked uncomfortable. Finally Hideo Fumita, CEO of the Mitsubishi Heavy Mining Corporation, spoke. ?The Axon message was packed with lies, but one thing they said was, perhaps, a universal truth. Can we hold the Axon people responsible for the actions of their government??
?The Axon people built those warships that launched the fighters. They crewed them. They supported the corrupt leadership that led them to this point. If they are not responsible, then who is??
CEO Fumita shook his head. ?What of the Axon planets that we already control? They had no knowledge of the attacks; they didn?t participate in them and couldn?t have stopped them. Do we destroy them as well??
Senator Busch wasn?t to be deterred. ?They are Axons, aren?t they?? The coldness in his voice and the callousness in his attitude would have been shocking any place else, but in this room, at this time, many of the people in the room couldn?t help but agree.
The Emperor was struck by not only by the emotion in Busch?s voice, but in the manner in which more than one of his advisors were nodding in agreement.
CEO Fumita nodded as if he understood. ?We all know your pain, but if we take this course we will turn their accusations into reality. How many other races will turn from us in disgust if we do this? How many enemies will we make??
The others nodded, and Senator Busch could see that he was losing them. He wasn?t ready to give up, though. ?There are others in the Senate that will agree with me, especially once this gets out.? He stood and walked to the door, then turned back. ?Forty billion people died today. They call out for revenge, and I?ll give it to them!? With that he left.
After a second CEO Fumita turned to the Emperor. ?He is right, there will be support for his position. There will be opposition as well. The Pax bloc, for instance, will never stand for genocide. I believe they would leave the Empire if we tried to enforce such a policy, no matter what the provocation. I have often thought that they would oppose any genocide, even against a clear and present threat like the Eaters.?
The Emperor sighed. ?I empathize with him, but we cannot allow this to happen. Hideo is right. If we begin nuking their planets, no matter what their justification, the other races will never forgive us, or forget. He is right about one thing, though. We cannot let this go. If we do then we don?t deserve our positions, and it won?t take long for the people to throw us out, one way or another.? He looked his advisors in the eyes, one by one. ?We have to come up with an alternative to genocide that is hard enough that everyone agrees that we resolved the situation but which stops short of genocide.?
There was some discussion before the meeting broke up shortly thereafter. Before he left, CEO Fumita cornered the Emperor. ?Majesty, the key is the Axon religion and their leaders. The leaders used their religion to justify this monstrous action. As the Axons said, they struck at our worlds because they cannot strike at our leaders. We are in a very different position than they are, though.? With that he left, leaving the Emperor with the germ of an idea.
Six hours later the news from New Berlin arrived and everyone?s worst fears were realized. The Emperor called an emergency session of the Senate, and with Senator Busch at his side he outlined the extent of the disaster and the accusations of the Axons. He also promised retribution against the Axons, although he was vague about the exact form that the retribution would take.
The Emperor?s speech before the Senate was recorded and distributed throughout the Empire. The most immediate reaction was panic. Every system with a sizeable population began demanding immediate protection from the Fleet, along with a simultaneous crusade to eliminate the Axons as a war making power. Following closely on the heels of the fear was anger, a fundamental anger at the crimes of the Axons that seemed to well up out of the planets themselves. Almost seven percent of the total population of the Empire died in the atrocity in New Berlin, and the people of the Empire weren?t about to forget it.
After making his speech the Emperor left the Senate building, which under a long-standing agreement that went back to the first Empire was beyond the Emperor?s power or authority. Once he left the Senators began a debate that raged for days. On one side were Senator Busch and his colleagues from New Berlin, along with their allies, who were pushing for the adoption of a policy of genocide against the Axons. Opposed to them, predictably, were the members of the Pax Bloc, who were fundamentally opposed to genocide for any reason. The pro-genocide movement had anger and public opinion behind them, and as time went on they gained support from the undecided that, for the moment, were in the majority. The Pax Bloc, though, could not be swayed and became increasingly strident in their opposition to a policy that they considered to be fundamentally evil.
As the debate raged in the Senate, the Imperial Navy moved into the New Berlin system in force. The detachment from the 2nd Fleet moved into the inner system and took up station over the devastated worlds of New Berlin Prime and Secundus, while the 3rd Fleet detachment went into pursuit of the Axon ships. The Axons had retreated at full speed once their bombardment of the inner planets was done, though. The carriers and cruisers that were all the 3rd Fleet had available to respond to the emergency were fast, but not fast enough to catch corvettes running at 20,000 KPS. Even worse, by virtue of their superior speed the Axons were able to break contact with the Imperial pursuers, disappearing into the vast outer system. Although a search was initiated immediately, the Imperial ships found no sign of the Axon fleet. They had disappeared; presumably back through the closed warp point they used to enter the system, although that was by no means certain.
The debate in the Senate raged for days, with no signs of letup. The battle lines had been drawn, and neither side seemed amenable to compromise. While the Senators argued the Empire girded itself for war. The people wanted results, and they wanted them now. As the debate dragged on and the initial anger waned, it seemed for a while that the Pax Bloc were gaining the upper hand, but then things changed yet again. The public?s mood, which had gone directly from fear to anger, and then to resignation, had swung again. Across the Empire news personalities and media commentators began asking difficult questions. If New Berlin, which lay at the very heart of the Empire, wasn?t safe, then what colony was safe? And where was the Imperial Navy? Why had such a powerful and important system been left completely unguarded? Who was at fault, and what was being done to punish them?
The Emperor, who was by this time a wily politician, knew that this would only get worse if he did nothing. Even worse, the questions, which were increasingly accompanied by accusations, had more than a little basis in fact. The simple fact was that New Berlin should have been defended, and there was no excuse for leaving it uncovered. The divisive Senate debate wasn?t helping the issue either. After considering the matter the Emperor called in Admiral Parks and explained what was going to happen. She had expected this moment, and had already prepared her resignation. The next step was much harder. The Emperor called in Senators Busch and Collins, the leaders of the Pax and Genocide Blocs, and sat them down for a frank discussion. The Emperor and his Privy Council had developed a plan
Ten days after the destruction of New Berlin, the Emperor went before the people yet again. In a dramatic announcement the Emperor told the rest of the Empire that Grand Admiral Parks and Fleet Admiral Robert Jameson, CO of the 1st Fleet, were resigning, effective immediately, along with their entire staffs. To replace Grand Admiral Parks the Emperor announced that, with the support of the Senate, he was promoting Fleet Admiral Angela Howard, currently the commander of the 4th Fleet, to the position of CNO, while Fleet Admiral Robert Wilson, commander of the 5th Fleet, would be taking over the 1st Fleet.
After announcing the resignations and promotions, the Emperor went on to tell the public that he and the new CNO would be making substantial changes to the current Naval and Fortress Command deployments. No details were given, but he did promise that every important system would be fortified in as little time as possible.
The new head of the Imperial Navy wasted no time in preparing a fortification plan for the Emperor?s approval. The Navy had always resisted dispersing its assets and had successfully lobbied to limit fortifications to nodal systems, but times had changed and everyone knew it. Under the new plan, all systems with a population of one billion or more would be fortified with limited warp point defenses and fighter bases orbiting all inhabited planets. The plan was carefully crafted so that the new fortifications would be sufficient to stop another raid of the same size as the Axon force that took out the populations in the New Berlin system. Professionals knew that such fortifications would be useless in the face of a concentrated attack by an enemy fleet, but even they were forced to admit that such fortifications would suffice to stop a limited raid. The fact that the proposed fortifications would not be sufficient to stop a raid composed of more than three Axon Legions, instead of the two that were used in New Berlin, was glossed over.
The new plan called for nine Skywatch class BS3 fighter-carrying stations to be deployed over each inhabited planet in the fortified system. The bases would be supported by tugs that would be capable of redeploying the bases if necessary. All of the fortifications would be built using planetary industry, as it would be too expensive and time consuming to build shipyards in every system to be fortified. The total complement and cost for each inhabited planet would be:
9xBS3
90xGBP
378xF3
Total cost for planetary construction, including munitions, is 126,864 MCr?s.
Note: the cost of any tugs and other systems, such as DSB?s and such, is not included as these will be drawn from the stocks of the nearest fleet base.
Design
SKYWATCH class BS3 10 XOg Racks 85 Hull TL 10
[1] S0x5Acx15Hs(BbS)TiVx12WaQVx12WaQVx12WaQLhVx6MgQWaDxZiQLhM2WaDxQ?Mg
85 RCP 142 FCP Trg:3 Def -3 Cost = 2591/ 129.5
HTK 85 S0x5 Acx15 Dxx2 Wax5 Vx42 Tix1 Mgx2
100x SM-a, 100x AFM, 166x fG, 166x fR-a, 166x fL, 290x fM2-a
The Emperor and the Senate approved the plan with little debate, however, the Senate tacked on a requirement for the Navy to fortify the New Berlin system with at least the same level of fortifications, if not more. Also, the Senate passed a resolution requiring the Navy to initiate a study of the cost to fortify all Imperial systems with 500-999 Million population levels, and a second study of the costs to fortify every system with 100+ Million residents. The results were staggering. The Senate, in its rush to approve a fortification plan, had glossed over the costs, and the new studies made it extremely clear just how expensive the entire undertaking was going to be.
The study showed that as of the current census, there were forty-two planets with 1billion or more residents, another sixteen with 500+ million residents, and one hundred and twenty four planets with 100+ million residents. The fortification costs for each plan are as follows:
Current plan to fortify systems with 1+ billion residents:
# of planets: 42
Costs: 5.3 million MCR?s
Monthly Upkeep: 48,951 MCr?s
500+ Million residents:
# of planets: 16
Costs: 2.02 million MCr?s
Monthly Upkeep: 18,648 MCr?s
100+ Million residents:
# of planets: 124
Costs: 15.7 million MCr?s
Monthly Upkeep: 144,522 MCr?s
Some of the above costs would be reduced because some of the above planets were in systems that already home to fortifications and shipyards, and therefore would not need new fortifications and/or the fortifications could be built at a reduced cost.
*********************************************************************************
ASR
Month 141, Day 1, in orbit over the Axon Home Planet
The bulk of the ASR fleet moved out of orbit, leaving a relative few ships behind to garrison the newly conquered Axon home planets. Area Marshal Gwynxa had given a rousing speech to the fleet, letting them know what their mission was going to be. They were going to be going up against the invaders of that were threatening the Xanti home world, and Gwynxa hadn?t pulled any punches. He made it clear that they were going up against a superior force, and that the fighting would be desperate. In spite of the odds the crewmembers of the ASR Fleet cheered with wild abandon. Gwynxa had taken them to glorious victories against the Eaters and the Axons, and they all believed he could do it again. They were ready to follow him wherever he led.
The fleet lifted out of orbit and set out at normal cruising speed for the warp chain that ultimately led to the Xanti home system. The chain is as follows:
Axia Prime-----Rigel-----Pandomn-----Suzar-----Elftan-----Malkhor-----Delgor-----Alkumar-----Valkha-----Xanti Prime
Rigel: Binary system with three habitable planets and three warp points. Heavily colonized by the Axons. The Axons brought in numerous Breen and Andalon slaves to work on Rigel-B-1, an ST type planet.
Pandomn: Binary system with one habitable planet and five warp points. Colonized by the Xanti but currently controlled by the Axons.
Suzar: Binary system with two habitable planets and two warp points. Suzar-A-2 was colonized by the Xanti, but the system is currently controlled by the Axons. Suzar-A-1 is an ST type planet, and as with Rigel-B-1 the Axons have imported large numbers of Breens and Andalons to work the planet.
Elftan: A single star system with two habitable planets and four warp points. This system was settled by the Xanti but has been conquered by the Chosen. Elftan is an ST planet with a mixed population of Xanti, Axons, Breen, and Andalons.
Malkhor: Binary system with one habitable planet and two known warp points. The planet was colonized by the Xanti. The system is currently controlled by the Chosen.
Delgor: A planet-less blue giant system with three warp points.
Alkumar: A binary system with two habitable planets colonized by the Xanti and two warp points.
Valkha: A red star system with no habitable planets and two warp points.
Originally Gwynxa had considered pushing his fleet to maximum speed to reach the Malkhor system as quickly as possible, as was requested by the ASR government, which was responding to the increasingly strident pleas from the Xanti. The ASR government had agreed to the original Xanti demands to launch an assault out of the Xanti system to stop the invaders where they were, but they recognized that the older ASR forces in the Xanti system could not hope to match the invading forces, and so had hoped that Gwynxa would somehow magically transport his fleet to the front lines to attack the enemy from the rear.
After analyzing the situation, Gwynxa had countermanded the orders he had originally issued to his commanders in the Xanti system. There was no way his fleet would be able to reach Malkhor in time to support them even if he ordered them to maximum speed, even if there were no burnouts, which there would be. And he wasn?t willing to allow his ships in the Xanti system to enter into a doomed battle just to placate the Xanti, who were recent enemies. If the Xanti wanted to threaten independent action, they could. It wouldn?t move him. His fleets would attack when they were ready, and not a second before.
The new orders dispatched to the ASR fleet in the Xanti system allowed them to advance into the system adjacent to Xanti Prime and set up a forward defense there, but they were not to advance beyond that point for any reason, no matter what pressure the Xanti tried to bring to bear.
The ASR Fleet under Gwynxa advanced ponderously out of the Axon system and passed through the warp point into the Rigel system without hesitating. A small detachment of ships was left at the warp point, and another was sent into the inner system, but Gwynxa had no intention of diluting his forces by leaving significant forces. The detachments were left merely to monitor the system and wait for the reinforcements and troops that were even now headed towards the Axon system from the massive shipyards in the Le Harve system.
Unknown to the ASR fleet, it was being watched as it crossed Rigel?s outer system. The retreating Axon Legions had left a detachment of their own to slow down any pursuit. The ten corvettes were under the command of a painfully junior commander who had been given unequivocal orders to stop the ASR advance in any way he could. He had stationed his command in the outer system slightly off of a direct line between the warp point to Axon Prime and the warp point that led to Xanti Prime. Once there he had powered down his drive fields to await the ASR survey ship that his commanders had assured him would inevitably come along. The commander was green, but he was fairly sure that his fighters could take care of any ASR survey ship ever built. He had no way of knowing that the drive field contact that finally appeared on his detectors wasn?t a single survey ship, and so he saw what he wanted. He ordered his ships into readiness and let their prey approach, until the contact was too close to run. Then, while the contact was still eighteen light minutes away, he ordered his ships to full speed.
The Axon?s anticipation of the chase died when the drive field contact resolved into ninety five separate drive fields when they finally reached twelve light minutes range. The Axon officer?s eagerness turned swiftly into horror when he realized that they weren?t closing on a solitary explorer ship but rather an entire fleet. His horror died along with him shortly thereafter when cloaked warships blew his tiny command out of space. By that time the Axon commander had launched his fighters, but the fifty-four Axon fighters were no match for the tidal wave of ASR fighters that overwhelmed them.
Although the Axon force was dealt with easily enough, and with no substantial losses, its presence worried Gwynxa. If the Axons had left one group of corvettes, they could easily enough have left more, and they would be behind his fleet. The small groups of ships he planned on leaving would be no match for fifty-four Axon fighters, and the Axons, if any were present, would have an easy time of disrupting his rear.
Gwynxa?s worries were compounded by the appearance of the Terrans in the Khalkfontein system shortly after the destruction of the Axon force. Fortunately, the Terrans seemed willing to talk, and Gwynxa left orders for his system commander to stall them as long as possible. Once his fleet dealt with the invaders threatening the Xanti he would be able to give the Terrans his full attention.
The ASR fleet passed into the Pandomn system without detecting any drive fields at all. As the fleet crossed the outer system towards the next warp point, a message from the Khalkfontein system commander caught up with them. The Terrans, who had seemed willing to talk, had changed their stance. They were now claiming that the Axons had found a closed warp point into their Empire and used it to launch a raid into Imperial space. The Terrans claimed that the Axons had nuked several Imperial worlds, killing billions, and they demanded that the ASR stand aside and allow them into Axon space to find their bases and stop them from launching further attacks. The Terran commander further claimed that proof of the Axon atrocities was being delivered to the ASR government through normal political channels on the ASR capital planet, and that while they did not want to fight the ASR, they were determined to get to the Axons one way or another.
Gwynxa considered the Terran message for quite some time. The death of so many Terrans didn?t shock him, as he had first hand experience of the depths of Axon depravity. To be truthful, the death of billions of Terrans didn?t really affect him one way or another, aside from as a factor in his plans. While considering the situation he realized that he could make use of the Terrans. His initial response to the appearance of the Terrans in Axon space was to prevent them from penetrating any deeper, as he did not trust them and didn?t want or need them for an ally. However, after encountering the Axon holdout force he had become more and more concerned about Axon action in his rear area. While it was true that he had nearly every supply ship in the ASR with him, they were still dependent on their supply lines and based on the astrogation information they had obtained they were bypassing branch lines with numerous Axon colonies. Each of these branch lines would have time to fester before ASR follow-on forces and troops arrived, and any of them could conceivably build up bases and corvette raiding forces to harass his supply lines. The problem was that he didn?t have enough forces to take care of all of the branches while still maintaining enough combat power to deal with the invaders. He realize now that the Terrans were the solution, though.
Gwynxa still didn?t trust the Terrans, and didn?t want them fighting next to his fleet, and truthfully, he really didn?t want them in his rear area. Unfortunately, he knew his government. He knew how the ASR Assembly would react to the razing of an entire heavily populated planet, whether it was full of Terrans or not. The Terrans would be given anything they wanted, within reason. Therefore, he decided to get in ahead of the central government and arrange things the way he wanted. A message was dispatched immediately to the Terran fleet commander offering him partial astrogation data and free passage behind his main fleet. The Terrans would be allowed to enter the branch lines that his fleet was bypassing and pacify them, and both the Terrans and the ASR would have joint transit rights of those systems. As long as the Terrans didn?t interfere with his fleet, they could go where they wanted to search out the Axon holdouts. Of course, Gwynxa had no intention of giving the Terrans complete astrogation data, but they had no way of knowing that. He had no doubt that the Terrans would jump at this chance.
As soon as the first message was away Gwynxa sent another to the Capital, informing his superiors of his actions. He had no real concern that they would disapprove or that they would try to prevent the deal from going through. He had complete authority in this area, and he really didn?t care what the meddlers in the Capital system wanted. All he cared about was finishing this job and getting on to the next.
That's it for now.
Kurt
