February 6, 2361
The Zog troop transport fleet arrives at the Planter home planet and begins unloading its troops. In short order eight full brigades are on the ground and moving to attack the Planters.
February 9, 2361
With the ground attack well underway, Major Dlevravrevliashav decides to send his depleted missile ships back to Zog Prime. Fifteen missile destroyers, three bombardment cruisers, and a jump cruiser depart shortly thereafter. Simultaneously, he detaches a group to probe the rest of the planetary system for more populations or bases belonging to the enemy.
February 10, 2361
A jump cruiser arrives in the home system with messages from the ground force commander in Gliese 563.2 about the Terran ruins in that system. The discovery electrifies the Science Directorate. They demand an immediate expedition to that system’s “B” component, however, the bulk of the survey fleet is in the yards for refit. The latest design of survey ship, with SCAM drives, will be capable of traversing the gulf in between the two components of the binary system; however, it will be more than a year before the ships will be ready.
Development of SCAM (Solid Compressed Anti-Matter) drive-equipped ships is well underway. SCAM drives are one of the new technologies obtained from New Birmingham, and will have a huge effect on the Zog fleet’s capabilities once it is deployed.
Later on this same day, in the Gliese-667 system, a new enemy population is discovered on Gliese 667 B-IV. The population is small, but there is a ground force present to defend it. After probing the population from orbit the group moves on. Major Dlevravrevliashav dispatches a strike cruiser from the main fleet to watch over the enemy population.
February 12, 2361
The detached force detects a second enemy colony, this time on one of the moons of an outer gas giant in the “B” system. Once again there are ground forces present to defend the colony. A strike cruiser is detached to watch the colony and the force moves on.
February 17, 2361
At 1046 hours on this date nine large ships appeared on the Zog fleet’s scanners, in-bound for the Planter home planet. Major Dlevravrevliashav had no desire to destroy ships he believed to be civilian, and thus valuable prizes, but he wasn’t going to let them approach either. In any case, he had been growing annoyed with the slow progress of the ground troops, and so, combining both problems into one he ordered the Planter ships to surrender, and ordered his strike cruisers to bombard the alien ground troops as an example of what would happen if they did not.
The planet’s atmosphere absorbed most of the torpedo’s damage, but it was thin enough that some made it through to the ground. After a short time, though, Major Dlevravrevliashav grew bored with the torpedo fire and ordered a missile strike. The sixteen anti-ship missiles caused extensive damage on the ground, and for Major Dlevravrevliashav that was enough. He called a halt to the bombardment after three salvoes, at least for now. The Planter ships turned away and fled towards deep space.
February 23, 2361
The Zog detachment completes its probe of the Gliese 667 system, finding no additional populations. Pursuant to its orders, the group sets its course for the warp point to home, to reinforce the detachment there.
March 22, 2361
A detachment of ships arrives in the Home System and reports on the victory in the Gliese 667 system.
May 7, 2361
Two enemy ships, a cruiser and a destroyer, make a run at the Zog fleet orbiting the Planter home planet. They launch missiles, all of which are destroyed before they can hit, and are in turn destroyed once they enter Zog missile range.
May 17, 2361
A destroyer class ship makes a run at the Zog ships guarding the warp point in the Planter home system. It is destroyed by concerted torpedo fire.
May 22, 2361
The Planter home world surrenders after its last organized ground force is destroyed. Zog forces are immediately set to gathering technical information and technology useful to the Navy.
The total population is very large, at 1.5 billion, and will require the bulk of the Zog ground forces currently in-system to garrison them. Three brigades are embarked and transported to B-IV to subdue the enemy colony on that planet.
The remaining troop ships are dispatched to the warp point to return home and collect garrison troops.
June 26, 2361
An unknown thermal contact appears in the Gliese 752 system. There are currently two groups of Zog ships in-system, the New Birmingham Guard Force, and a salvage group composed of a salvage ship and several freighters. The thermal contact appears on the warp point to the Herschel 5173 system, and after a short period of time begins heading in-system at 4089 kps.
The contact’s thermal signature and speed is consistent with a Planting Empire unit seen several times in the systems around their home system. The ship is small, and Zog intelligence believes it to be a survey ship.
The commander of the New Birmingham Guard Force dispatches a Dulalas class missile destroyer to run the alien ship down before it can cause any problems. Although the Planter ship is not known to be armed, the salvage group represents a considerable investment of resources, and is vulnerable.
July 25, 2361
The last ground forces on Gliese 667 B-IV surrender, along with the population. The Planters maintain a small population of approximately half a million on this planet, with infrastructure necessary to support them. There are no industrial or mining installations on the planet.
One battalion is left to watch over the conquered population and the balance of the three brigades are loaded for transport to the next enemy population.
August 6, 2361
A Zog cargo group arrives on the warp point connecting the Planter system to the Zog Expanses. The cargo group is carrying mines for Planter Prime, and is slated to carry away valuable installations for Zog Prime. The arrival of the cargo ships stimulates the local commander to detach several of his ships to run down two Planter Empire ships that have been hanging about at the edge of sensor contact range. Both Planter ships are destroyed in short order.
August 16, 2361
A newly launched geo-survey ship equipped with the latest SCAM drives is dispatched to the Gliese 563.2 system to probe the distant companion.
September 1, 2361
With the crisis past and the units in the Home System overhauled and resupplied, the Zog High Command decides to recall the guard groups assigned to Madras and New Birmingham and replace them with larger groups of warships from the Home System. The new guard groups will be composed of a jump cruiser and four missile destroyers each.
On this date the last known Planter outpost in the Gliese 667 system surrenders. The outpost on the sixth moon of one of the “B” component’s gas giants is a civilian mining complex.
Major Dlevravrevliashav is dissatisfied with the situation. Unlike the two previous Zog conquests, the Planter’s civilian ships have not surrendered with the fall of their last known population, indicating to him the fact that there may be additional Planter populations elsewhere. None of the systems in the Zog Expanses close to Gliese 667 have habitable planets; therefore, any additional Planter populations are either hidden in this system, or through an undetected warp point. The probe of this system was thorough, and Major Dlevravrevliashav is confident that all populations in the system have been subdued. Therefore, Major Dlevravrevliashav dispatches a group of ships to the home system to request a gravitic survey ship.
September 2, 2361
A Zog geo-survey ship arrives in the Gliese 563.2 system. After contacting the local commander the ship sets out on the long trip to the distant companion. The brand new survey ship, one of the first ships to be launched with the new SCAM drive (Solid Compressed Anti-Matter), has a top speed of 8,805 kps and will take one hundred and nineteen days to reach to single planet orbiting the companion star.
November 10, 2361
A jump cruiser escorting two damaged ships from the 1st Battle of Gliese-667 arrives in the Home System on this date. The jump cruiser relays the message from Major Dlevravrevliashav requesting a gravitic survey ship. Fortunately, there is one grav-survey ship awaiting refit. That unit is dispatched to Gliese 667 immediately.
January 2, 2362
The Zog survey ship finally approaches Gliese 563.2 B-I. The planet is a rocky planet with a gravity nearly three times that of Zog (2.1 G compared to Zog’s .77), in spite of the fact that it is much smaller than Zog Prime. Unfortunately, it orbits its M3-V primary at a mere 765,000 kilometers, giving it a surface temperature of 1096.7 degrees. Because it is tidally locked to the primary the dark side of the planet is extremely cold. When the approaching Zog ship reached 20 mkm’s from the planet it unexpectedly detected a high-tech presence on the surface. The EM and thermal traces from the dark side were low, but unmistakable. The commander of the survey ship ordered his crew to their stations and approached cautiously, fearing an Imperial trap. The Terrans were depicted as devious and treacherous in all of the Zog histories, and Zog experiences on New Birmingham certainly confirmed most of the old histories. No one on the survey ship could figure out how Terrans could survive on such an inhospitable planet isolated for so long, but in the time since their last encounter with their hated enemies, the Zogs had turned them into near legendary monsters, capable of nearly anything.
The Zog ship approached carefully, but received no sign that the contact on the surface of the planet knew that they were there. Slowly, cautiously, the ship eased itself into orbit and began a careful survey of the world.
Two days later the survey commander crouched in his cabin, staring at the results of the survey. They were mind-boggling. The planet below was a veritable treasure trove of trans-newtonian resources, all at high availability levels. Every known type of trans-newtonian resource was present, in vast, nearly inconceivable quantities, nearly free for the taking. The ship’s scientists had been debating non-stop since the planet’s nature had become clear, and had largely arrived at a consensus. The planet had obviously come from elsewhere, they opined. Its orbit around the M3-V primary was highly eccentric, and the planet’s southern hemisphere was marked by a vast impact crater. The scientists theorized that the planet originated elsewhere and was captured by this star when it fell inward and impacted another body that previously orbited either the primary or secondary star. As for the planet’s rich concentration of trans-newtonian resources, most of which were available either on its surface or very close to it, in contravention of all theories? Here the scientists still disagreed, but a sizeable contingent was convinced that this planet was in reality the remnant of a much larger planet, perhaps even a gas giant. They theorized that such a huge planet, when subjected to relatively nearby nova, had its atmosphere stripped away, exposing the metallic core to a wash of exotic material thrown free of the nearby exploding star. Flung free of its orbit, the reduced planet wandered for uncounted millennia, until it came to a rest here.
At any rate, no matter what its origin, the planet was an incredible find. Even better, orbital surveys of the Terran installation had revealed it to be a vast automated mining complex, obviously devoted to extracting the planet’s riches. Much of it was inactive after so many years, but the core of the complex was still working, and there were large stockpiles of refined trans-newtonian resources sitting in piles on the surface, waiting to be loaded on to freighters. He had attempted to land several of the ship’s boats near the complex, but automated defenses had fired on the boats and they were forced to withdraw. Clearly, troops would be needed to secure the complex. Even more clearly, to exploit this incredible find the government would have to develop an entirely new type of engine, one capable of bridging the gulf between the two distant companion stars. That was an engineering and research problem, though. For now it was the captain’s job to get the word back home. He immediately sent a message back to the waiting jump ship in the A component, but it would take three and a half days for the message to arrive. In the meantime, with the survey complete and the records secured, the survey commander ordered his ship to begin the long trip back.
Eighty four hours later the message arrived at the warp point to the Zog Expanses, where a freight jump ship had been posted, waiting for word of the survey. The jump ship immediately set out for home, a trip that would take forty days.
February 2362
Word of the discovery in Gliese 563.2 arrives in the home system. The message, while it announces good news, precipitates a bloody change in governments as internal forces realign in attempts to gain access to a lucrative new opportunity.
Ultimately, a senior bureaucrat makes enough promises to enough critical Zog bureaucrats to achieve mastery over his opponents. He announces a restoration of the Zog Holy Empire, with himself as Emperor.
February 17, 2362
Massive changes begin on Zog as the nation focuses its resources on accessing the incredible find in Gliese 563.2. Research is reprioritized, new shipyards are built, and a naval force is dispatched to the Gliese 563.2 system to secure the find. Orders are also sent to the two incorporated populations to begin reordering their populations to bring their resources to bear on the problem.
April 20, 2362
The Zog guard group over New Birmingham detects two thermal contacts at the warp point back to the Zog Expanses. These contacts are similar to the earlier contacts that turned out to be Planter survey ships. Missile destroyers are dispatched towards each to determine their status.
As expected, both ships turned out to be 2,200 ton Planter survey ships. Both were eliminated by two salvoes of missiles from the Zog destroyers.
April 28, 2362
Construction begins on three hyper-capable freighters, and a hyper capable troop transport, over New Birmingham. The ships will be launched mid-to-late 2363.
At approximately the same time, work begins on several support ships at the newly acquired yards orbiting Planter Prime.
June 7, 2362
The ongoing gravitic survey of the Gliese-667 system reveals a warp point five billion kilometers from the warp point to the Zog Expanses. Major Dlevravrevliashav dispatches the bulk of the force at the Zog warp point to probe the new warp point.
The Zog battle group jumps out of Gliese 667 and into a single-star system with a K5-V central star. The system is designated Gliese 680. The system contains five rocky inner planets and four outer gas giants. The third and fifth planets have an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and are habitable, with some support, for the Planters. The battle group heads inward to probe the two planets.
June 29, 2362
The Zog battle group detects a Planter population on the third planet. The CO sends word to the ship he left on the warp point, which jumps back to the Gliese 667 system via the jump gate built by the Planters.
Once word arrives on Planter Prime Major Dlevravrevliashav orders his troop transports to load four brigades of assault troops and deliver them to the newly discovered colony. Ten hours later the battle group confirms the presence of a second colony on the fifth planet.
August 10, 2362
Zog transports begin landing troops on Gliese 680 III. The transports will drop two brigades on III, and then move on to Planet V and drop two more.
September 13, 2362
At 1732 hours the Zog naval base on Gliese 563.2 A-I detects a thermal contact one billion kilometers away from the planet. The thermal contact strength matches that of the known Planter survey ship. The local commander dispatches his three missile destroyers to deal with the contact.
Twenty six hours later the alien survey ship was within range of the Zog missiles. By then the Zog active sensors had confirmed that the contact was indeed a Planter survey ship. The three DDG’s launched a total of twelve AS II missiles. Eight of the twelve slammed into the apparently unsuspecting target, completely obliterating it, leaving the other four to self destruct. The DDG’s marked the location of the wreck and then turned back towards the planet.
September 22, 2362
The gravitic survey of Gliese 667 is completed, revealing no new warp points. Major Dlevravrevliashav is reassured that the colonies in the Gliese 680 system are likely to be the only new Planter populations to be found.
September 27, 2362
The Planter colony on Gliese 680 B-V surrenders. The population is composed of 470,000 colonists and no installations.
The military is gaining increased authority in the Emperor’s council, largely due to their heavy involvement in the conquered territories. The military is currently supporting the Emperor’s isolationist policies, as they believe that the Empire must consolidate its holdings and increase defenses in the conquered territories. In exchange, the Emperor has agreed to a new military reorganization, which will give much more authority to military governors in the conquered territories.
October 3, 2362
The guard group over New Birmingham detects yet another Planter survey ship entering the system. The group commander dispatches a missile destroyer to take out the annoying survey ship.
October 8, 2362
The Planter survey ship in the New Birmingham system is destroyed by two missile salvoes from a Zog missile destroyer.
October 9, 2362
The final Planter colony on B-III surrendered on this date. This being the last free Planter population a number of Planter civilian ships surrendered as well. Initially sixteen freighters and sixteen colony ships in the Planter home system surrendered. The Zog forces had been aware of these ships, but had ignored them as long as they stayed away from the inhabited planets. Over the next several months five Planter survey ships would surrender as well, bringing with them information about five systems beyond Gliese 680. In addition, seven large gate construction ships surrendered as well, although some straggled in over the next several months. Finally, two Zogformer ships surrendered. All of these ships were a disappointment for the Zog conquerors. Their technology was old, and they were small and old compared to the latest Zog designs.
This left Major Dlevravrevliashav in total and unquestioned control of the Planter civilization. The total spoils were as follows:
Planter Prime:
Population: 1.58 billion
SY/Slipway: 9/23
Maintenance Facilities: 110
Industry: 1293
Fuel Refineries: 431
Mines: 1569
Automated Mines: 173
Research Labs: 35
Ground Unit Training Fac: 7
Fuel: 31,484,090
Supplies: 45,000
Resource Stockpile: 358,000 (total of all types)
In addition, there are two Planter colonies, each with approximately a half a million colonists, one in the Planter home system and the second in Gliese-680. There is a third Planter colony in the Gliese 680 system with a population of 2.35 million. Finally, there is a civilian automated mining complex in the Planter home system as well.
October 18, 2362
The Imperial Council agrees on a reorganization scheme. This has become an increasingly complex and pressing issue, not only for the military but also for economic reasons. Up to now the plan for conquered territories was to transport their industry and research facilities to the home world and to replace them with mines, converting conquered civilizations into resource extraction machines for the Zogs. However, the entire transport capacity of the Zog Empire had been completely absorbed for several years transporting industry and labs to the home world, and then mines back to Madras and New Birmingham. All indications were that the Planter Empire would be an even richer conquest, but a realistic evaluation of the Empire’s transport capacity showed that it was inadequate to the task of shifting large numbers of industrial or research facilities, especially in light of the plans to establish a massive presence in the Gliese 563.2 system. Therefore, the Council has decided to create industrial and research “nodes”, consisting of conquered races under the firm control of the Zog military. Such an approach will lessen demands on interstellar transport capacity. Couriers are sent out to all conquered territories with the new scheme. The courier to Gliese 667 additionally carries word of the promotion of Major Dlevravrevliashav to Colonel, and places him in command of a new formation, the Frontier Fleet, comprised of bulk of the fleet currently assigned to the Planter conquest operation.
November 7, 2362
Colonel Dlevravrevliashav has come to a decision about the course the Planter Empire will take under Zog guidance. First and foremost, the two Planter colonies are superfluous to Zog needs, and have no purpose that anyone could determine. Neither colony has any industrial uses, and, while the geo-survey of the Gliese 680 system has not been conducted yet, the survey in the Planter home system has revealed that the planet the Planter colony is on in the home system is barren, nearly devoid of resources. Additionally, the colonists are seen as frontier heroes by the Planter people, and are all independent minded. Therefore, Colonel Dlevravrevliashav orders the Zog freighter group now in-system to deliver mines to the Planter home world to remove all infrastructure from the three colony worlds. In Colonel Dlevravrevliashav’s view, this is an elegant way to solve the colony problems. The colonists will go away and he can consolidate his forces on the Planter home world. In addition, the slow death of their heroes on colonies will demoralize the Planters and put them in the proper state of mind to be broken to the will of the Zog.
