January 10, 2365
The Zog survey ship in Woolley 9559 discovers an active outpost on the innermost moon of Woolley A-III. Shortly after detecting the outpost the ship’s sensors detect six very large missiles orbiting the planet itself. The survey ship immediately broke off and headed for the warp point. As a precaution, given the problems the Zogs have had in this system to date, a courier had been posted at the warp point. As he retreated, the commander of the survey ship sent an emergency message to the courier. For some unknown reason the automated missiles remained quiescent and the Zog survey ship was able to retreat.
Eighty five minutes later the message arrives at the warp point. The courier immediately jumps out and transmits its message to the next courier in the chain that leads back to Zog Prime. The message will travel all of the way to Zog Prime before it turns around and travels back out to the capital of the Frontier Sector on Planter Prime. It will take just over a day for the emergency message to reach Planter Prime.
Shortly after receiving the message Colonel Dlevravrevliashav dispatched a group of eleven warships to deal with the threat. This time the warships would remain in the system until the survey was completed.
February 30, 2365
At 2336 hours a Zog task group consisting of two bombardment cruisers, two area defense cruisers, two strike cruisers, and four missile destroyers reached Woolley 9559 A-III. The area defense cruisers immediately began engaging the large missiles orbiting the planet, while the strike cruisers began raining torpedo fire down on the automated outpost on the innermost moon.
The anti-missile missiles made short work of the large alien probes orbiting the planet, and the outpost on the moon was completely obliterated by a single salvo of torpedoes from the strike cruisers. With the threat neutralized the Zog survey ship was free to restart its survey efforts. The Zog task group remained in orbit around the third planet, to ensure that nothing else interfered with the survey ship.
June 2, 2365
Zog Gravitic Survey Ship 001 had been assigned to probe the warp points in the Gliese 752 system at the start of the year. The Zog Empire had been for some time been isolationist and non-expansionist, however, the Emperor had given the Navy leave to expand the boundaries around the Empire’s critical systems. The Gliese 752 was one of those critical system, as it contained the conquered Terran colony of New Birmingham. Therefore, Survey Ship 001 had been dispatched to probe its six unexplored warp points. It had completed probes of four of the warp points, and found completely uninteresting systems. It was now going to probe the fifth warp point.
As it had with all of the other probes, the survey ship jumped through the warp point with its sensors active. Of course, once it arrived on the far side its sensors were scrambled, but that was expected. What wasn’t expected was the three ships hovering right at the limits of the ship’s detection range. In seconds the ship’s tactical computer had identified them as 7,200 ton automated warships. The survey ship jumped out and immediately dispatched contact warnings both to the system commander and to the relay ship at the warp point leading back to the Empire.
The local system commander had seven warships under his command, which he was confident was enough to destroy the three automated warships. He declined to leave orbit, though, as his mission was to protect the Zog investments in the colony below.
Colonel Dlevravrevliashav dispatches a group of seventeen warships from the frontier fleet base in the Planter home system to deal with the automated warships.
June 3, 2365
A Zog geo survey ship working in the Gliese 555 system, which had been the scene of Frontier Fleet battles with automated warships, discovers a partially intact city on one of the inner planets. The ship continues with its survey.
June 16, 2365
Zog researchers complete a long-term project to develop a “cloaking” device designed to drastically reduce a ship’s sensor cross section. Zog researchers have been working on the various aspects of this system for years, and this is the first one that the high command felt was compact enough to deploy. The Mark III Cloaking Device is 1,000 tons, can cloak an 8,000 ton ship, and will reduce the ship’s cross section by 93%. Zog engine technology currently deployed with the fleet reduces its engine thermal signatures to 35%, and recent advances will reduce that signature even more. All of this means that the Zog fleet has the opportunity to become nearly invisible.
The Emperor and his military council agree to institute an immediate refit program for the home fleet. While in general the Zog Navy eschews refits, in this case they are willing to make an exception for the home fleet in order to gain the benefits of the new technology. This is mostly because of concerns about the power of the Frontier Fleet. This technology will be reserved to the Home Fleet.
July 20, 2365
The 4th Group of the Frontier Fleet, under the command of Squire Ieproptlas, arrives on the warp point to the Gliese 694 system, where automated warships had been sighted by an exploration ship.
After clearing the far side of the warp point the entire group entered the system to hunt down the automated warships. By the time the group is assembled on the warp point three alien ships were on the Group’s scanners, in bound 115 mkm’s in-system from the Zog warships. The 4th Group consists of a jump cruiser, two bombardment cruisers, four area defense cruisers, and nine missile destroyers of various types. Squire Ieproptlas detached his jump cruiser to watch the warp point while the rest of the Group heads out to confront the alien ships.
Squire Ieproptlas waited until the two groups of ships were 24 mkm’s apart before launching. Seconds later ninety missiles raced away from two Zog destroyers, aimed at the three alien ships. These were 1st generation anti-ship missiles, which were all that the Frontier Fleet had available at the time the Group left the Planter home world. Approximately one third of the Group’s ships were equipped with 1st generation missiles, in order to conserve the limited stocks of the more advanced 3rd generation missiles available to the Frontier Fleet.
When the Zog missiles were just 2 mkm’s from the alien ships a group of thirty missiles appeared on the Zog screens 1.5 mkm’s out an inbound at 32,000 kps. Zog AMM’s were immediately launched by the vigilant missile defense officers. Twenty five seconds later a second salvo of thirty missiles appeared in front of the Zog ships. Zog AMM’s were doing well against the alien missiles, with the latest 3rd generation AMM’s scoring nearly 100% kills, while the older 2nd generation AMM’s were only scoring 50% hits against the agile attack missiles.
By the time the third incoming missile wave was on their scanners, the Zog missile wave slammed into the enemy ships. Ninety 1st generation anti-ship missiles attacked the alien ships, none of which had any active missile defenses. All ninety hit their targets, breaching the alien ship’s armor in several places, but all three ships continued on their course, albeit somewhat slowed. Squire Ieproptlas ordered a second strike of forty five missiles to be launched immediately.
The Zog fleet easily withstood the missile attack, although the incoming missile waves penetrated to the inner defense zone several times. In the meantime the Zog offensive strike reached the three enemy ships, only to be absorbed by their armor once again. All three enemy ships were slowed, but all three were still intact. Squire Ieproptlas ordered a third strike of thirty missiles to be launched immediately.
The third attack was enough to overwhelm the alien ships. As the fleet had expended approximately a third of its missiles, Squire Ieproptlas ordered the Group to return to the New Birmingham fleet base to replenish its missile stocks.
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In July, 2365, a widespread and bloody coup rocks the home planet, bringing a group of young Zog leaders to power. They rose to power promising to represent the will of the people, and to sweep away the corrupt old bureaucracy and aristocracy, both religious and civil. This initiates a widespread purge of former leaders from all factions. The military is largely exempted, mostly because it has promised to remain aloof from the political fray.
After several weeks of fighting the so-called New Leaders take up the reigns of the bureaucracy and initiate their new platforms. These new platforms include expanding the Empire’s borders and the elimination of the conquered races due to the long-term threat that they represent. These attitudes find widespread support amongst the people, many of whom distrust the alien races that have been conquered by the Navy and Army.
The New Leaders immediately run into the inertia that brings so many Zog plans to a screeching halt. The few remaining exploration ships can be re-tasked to expand the borders from their current duties, but there are relatively few left. Also, the military immediately objects to the initial command to begin bombardment of the conquered territories. While some of the installations captured on the three conquered planets could be transferred back to Zog Prime, with great effort and expense, not all of them could. For example, thirteen ground unit training facilities had been captured and were tied to the planets where they were initially found. Eliminating the local race would render those installations useless. Plus, the military had grown dependent on the local populations as a source of supplies and construction capacity. Eliminate those supply bases and the military’s ability to forward base its ships would go with the populations.
A short period of wrangling between the new government and the military ensues. The military requests the ability to relocate Zog populations to replace the alien populations, a request that is summarily denied as the New Leaders are firm believers in the old Edict that prohibits Zog colonization. The new government is adamant that the alien races must be eliminated, however, it is at a loss once the military points out that the Zog government currently does not have a way to eliminate those populations without also rendering the planets that they inhabit useless, and also incidentally destroying much of their industrial infrastructure. The New Leaders are thus diverted into a search for a relatively quick and non-destructive method to eliminate the untrustworthy alien races and the entire program is put on hold until a method can be developed.
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August 3, 2365
Zog survey ships operating in the territory around Gliese 563.2 receive orders from the New Leaders ordering them to expand the borders surrounding the critical system out to three jumps, to ensure that no dangerous alien races could threaten the wealth found in that system. In addition, the New Leaders send orders to Colonel Dlevravrevliashav ordering him to use the Frontier Fleet to support and guard the survey ships operating in that area.
The Frontier Fleet has been strained by deployments to this area, as Zog ships are not designed for long independent deployments, and the closest support facilities to Gliese 563.2 are those on the Planter home world. There are several somewhat habitable planets in the stars nearby, though, and Colonel Dlevravrevliashav begins a political campaign within the bureaucracy to secure permission to start a colony close to Gliese 563.2 in order to establish a forward base for his units. This campaign is initially received poorly back home, as the current government is firmly behind the “No Colonization” policy for Zogs, and is loath to allow the establishment of an alien population so close to a critical system. The need is obvious, though, and the debate persists.
September 6, 2365
The Zog Frontier Fleet detachment completes its circuit of the Gliese 694 system, finding no additional automated warships. With the system cleared the group commander orders his ships back to the Frontier Fleet’s home base in the Gliese 667 system.
October 30, 2365
A Zog exploration ship, having completed the warp point survey of the Gliese 563.2 system, jumps out to probe the first of two new warp points. The ship discovers the Gliese 526 system, a single-star system with an M4-V primary, an extensive asteroid belt, and a large number of planets and moons. The ship jumps back out and moves on to the other unexplored warp point.
November 30, 2365
A xenology team working on Gliese 555 A-II has completed its survey of the ruins located there and has discovered 969 crypts with potentially intact installations.
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