Note: Change in fuel consumption from this point (see recent post in mechanics for details). Warships are generally unaffected. Commercial vessels use less fuel and missiles use more fuel. All existing ships and missiles have been updated to the new rules.
The First Star Legion, now comprising the missile cruiser Emperor's Wrath, four frigates and three patrol vessels, moved to the innermost jump point in Sol, located less than one hundred million kilometres from Jupiter. The new Constellation class survey ship Sagittarius carried out the probe. She emerged six billion kilometres from a yellow G2-V star very similar to Sol. Spectral analysis identified the star as Stein 2051, located eighteen light years from Earth. Eight planets orbited the primary, including six gas giants with one hundred and twenty-seven moons between them. The innermost moon of the innermost gas giant was larger than Mercury and had a nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere of 0.35 atm, not quite breathable with only 0.07 atm oxygen but certainly an excellent candidate for terraforming. The surface temperature was 38C, just within the upper edge of human tolerance. Six more moons of the same gas giant had sufficient gravity to support colonization and their temperatures varied between -11C and 44C , due to differing albedoes. None of the moons had any atmosphere but, theoretically, they could all be transformed into ideal habitable worlds. Sagittarius reported her findings and the geological survey vessel Solemn Oath was sent into the system to check for signs of life. Rear Admiral Lucifer Thaddeus requested that one or more of his patrol vessels be allowed to protect the survey ship as they could be escorted into the system by Sagittarius. That request was denied by Vice Admiral Sturm on the basis that any powerful force would probably destroy the escorts as well. Sagittarius remained on the Stein 2051 side of the jump point to relay any messages from Solemn Oath.
Three hundred and seventy million kilometres from the innermost gas giant and its moons, Solemn Oath detected an EM signature approximately 85% the strength of Terra's own signature emanating from the moon with the nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere. The survey vessel relayed the contact information to Sagittarius, which jumped into Sol to inform the First Star Legion and the rest of the Imperium. Given the apparent size of the population, Vice Admiral Sturm was surprised the Terran ship had been allowed to move so far across the system without being intercepted. Rear Admiral Thaddeus contacted his superior and suggested that perhaps the aliens were a different race than those encountered in Alpha Centauri and did not yet have spaceflight capability. Sturm was forced to consider this as a possibility so he sent an order back to Solemn Oath to slow down in order to reduce her thermal signature but continue approaching the moon. He also began talking to Terran ship designers about a dedicated scout, with large passive sensor arrays.
For three days Solemn Oath continued to close the innermost moon of Stein I with no sign of any alien ships. Finally, only nine million kilometres from her destination, she detected the emissions from five active sensors, located 400,000 km/s from the moon and moving toward her at 1817 km/s. She also finally picked up a thermal emission from the moon, which registered as only 41% that of Terra, representing a lower level of industry than the Imperium. The combination of slow moving ships and a low thermal signature from the moon indicated these aliens were less technologically advanced than those in Alpha Centauri. Rear Admiral Thaddeus was eager to take the First Star Legion into Stein 2051 to eliminate the threat, and erase what he regarding as the stain on his record from the defeat in Alpha Centauri. However, this jump point had no gate so there was no way for him to take anything larger than the Aquila class patrol vessels into the system. Solemn Oath was ordered to reverse course, outrun the alien ships, and head back to the jump point, six billion kilometres distant. The first Imperial jump gate construction ships were already being built but would not be ready for almost a year.
By April 2304, with no sign of any alien incursion from Alpha Centauri or Stein 2051, a decision was made to reduce the defensive forces at the two jump point. It was placing too much strain on the Imperial Navy to maintain two Star Legions on active deployment with a third guarding Terra. At some point, crews would become too tired and ships would start to fail. The missile cruisers from the First Star Legion, which included the recently-constructed Divine Right, and the missile cruisers and destroyer escorts from the Third Star Legion were withdrawn to Terra for overhaul. The laser-armed combatants of the two Legions remained on guard duty for the moment and the Second Star Legion maintained watch over the homeworld. There were no plans to investigate any more jump points until the Navy could be strengthened. Death Guard joined the Fleet in July and her sister ship Storm Guard was laid down. A second slipway was being constructed for the Asteria Shipyard, which would speed the rate at which new units could be added to the class.
On September 3rd 2304, construction of two capital ships fully complaint with the recommendations of the Antimachus Naval Reforms began at the Prometheus Shipyard. The Praetorian class combined a powerful battery of railguns, a formidable armour belt and a hangar bay capable of holding up to 6000 tons of long-range strike craft. In search of a new hull designation for this powerful vessel, the Emperor tasked his official historian with searching whatever records were available from the ancient past. After several days of frantic activity, the historian announced that he had found a number of references to something called a Battlestar. The records were fragmented but the Battlestar was apparently equipped with kinetic weapons and a hangar bay and its prowess in battle was documented by multiple sources. The Emperor was impressed and issued an official proclamation that the capital ships of the Imperial Navy should all be referred to as Imperial Battlestars. The Praetorian class was capable of surviving in intense close-quarters combat or attacking long-range targets with its strikegroup.
The design of the fighters that would eventually form that strikegroup provoked considerable debate. Initially, attempts were made to design a railgun-armed fighter but met with little success due to the size of the railgun. After that failure, Vice Admiral Sturm stated his belief to the Emperor that the fighters should be missile-armed. Patriarch Antimachus, who continued to intervene in military matters, warned against the dangers of carrying explosive ordnance on board a ship, citing the destruction of the Righteous Fury and the Defiant, and insisted that kinetic weapons were much safer and cheaper. Sturm pointed out the fighters would be carrying the missiles in new single-shot launchers that were under development, not in magazines. The only magazine would be on the Praetorian and that would be behind the Battlestar's massive armour. He also promised that the Navy would continue improving ordnance ejection technology for future magazine designs. Eventually the Emperor came down on Sturm's side, agreeing that fighters would be missile armed for the moment because of the limitations of current technology. However, he also ordered the admiral to ensure that future Imperial research programmes included the development of a kinetic weapon small enough to be used in fighters.
Praetorian class Battlestar 34,500 tons 674 Crew 4799 BP TCS 690 TH 2760 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 12-94 Shields 0-0 Sensors 12/12/0/0 Damage Control Rating 16 PPV 60
Maint Life 2.5 Years MSP 1391 AFR 595% IFR 8.3% 1YR 308 5YR 4626 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 112
Hangar Deck Capacity 6000 tons Magazine 400
Terradyne ION-120 Military Drive (23) Power 120 Fuel Use 54% Signature 120 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 2,250,000 Litres Range 21.7 billion km (62 days at full power)
AKR-9 15cm Railgun (6x4) Range 90,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 9-3 RM 3 ROF 15 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
AKR-3 10cm Railgun (8x4) Range 30,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Railgun PD Fire Control (2) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 38 30 22
PanTerra FCB-128 Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Large Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (5) Total Power Output 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Reichmann Industries AS-100 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 19440 Range 100.4m km Resolution 135
Reichmann Industries AMD-2 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 1.9m km Resolution 1
Pegasus Systems TH-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
Pegasus Systems EM-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
Shipbuilding continued at several other yards, although overall shipbuilding was still less than in the years following the breakthrough into Trans-Newtonian physics. In September, two new Constellation class survey ships, Aquarius and Phoenix joined the Fleet, along with three Conqueror class troop transports. In November, two New Frontier class jump gate construction ships were launched from the Rhea Shipyard. One of the ships headed out to the Stein 2051 jump point to begin work while the other remained in Terra orbit. The jump points to Proxima and Alpha Centauri already had jump gates and Terra's other five jump points were still unexplored. With the discovery of a new alien race in Stein 2051, the Emperor's moratorium on exploration was back in place until the strength of the Imperial Navy was increased.
Conqueror class Troop Transport 49,000 tons 339 Crew 1682 BP TCS 980 TH 2100 EM 0
2142 km/s Armour 4-119 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/6/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 21 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Troop Capacity: 11 Battalions Cargo Handling Multiplier 20
Terradyne ION-300 Commercial Drive (7) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 34.6 billion km (187 days at full power)
Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1600 Range 9.6m km Resolution 100
Pegasus Systems EM-6 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
New Frontier class Construction Ship 64,700 tons 235 Crew 1677 BP TCS 1294 TH 1500 EM 0
1159 km/s Armour 1-143 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 16 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days
Terradyne ION-300 Commercial Drive (5) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 52.5 billion km (524 days at full power)
The first Terran fighter was built at the start of December 2304. The Cobra class was equipped with three box launchers and had an operational range of one point six billion kilometres. As it was barely faster than its mothership and lacked any significant active or passive defence, the Cobra would have to rely on its small size to escape detection while it moved within range of its missiles. Initially the Cobra would be armed with the Gladius anti-ship missile that was designed for the Emperor's Wrath class missile cruisers. In the longer term, a new missile designed for fighter launch would be designed. That would take some time though as Terra's ordnance factories had been shut down to free up badly-needed manpower.
Cobra class Fighter 238 tons 2 Crew 40.5 BP TCS 4.75 TH 21 EM 0
4421 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.25
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 47% IFR 0.7% 1YR 2 5YR 34 Max Repair 14 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 months Spare Berths 5
Magazine 15
Terradyne ION-21 Fighter Engine (1) Power 21 Fuel Use 240.6% Signature 21 Exp 17%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 3.2 billion km (8 days at full power)
Medusa Box Launcher (3) Missile Size 5 Hangar Reload 37.5 minutes MF Reload 6.2 hours
Romanov Systems RS-25 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 25.9m km Resolution 100
To resolve the manpower shortage, Imperial freighters began transporting mining complexes to the Moon, which had substantial deposits of 0.9 accessibility Duranium. By this time, the Luna colony had expanded to a population of almost eighty million, mainly due to commercial shipping making use of the brief travel time from Terra. As part of a long term plan to make the Moon into an ideal habitable world, five terraforming installations on the surface and four Genesis class terraforming bases in orbit had created a greenhouse gas atmosphere of 0.07 atm.
Genesis class Terraforming Base 101,700 tons 410 Crew 2334 BP TCS 2034 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 1-194 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 14 Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 6
Terraformer: 4 module(s) producing 0.004 atm per annum
Construction of the Sol - Stein 2051 jump gate was completed on February 22nd 2305. A small scouting force consisting of the jump-capable survey ship Orion and the patrol vessels Leonis and Volantis transited into Stein to check the area around the jump point was clear. Orion was capable of escorting the small squadron back through the jump point if they encountered trouble. After twenty-four hours with no incidents, a construction ship transited the gate in Sol and began constructing a gate on the Stein side of the jump point. Aquarius and Phoenix were also sent into the system to begin surveying the outer ring of gravitational survey locations. At the start of April, the geological survey ships Covenant and Testament entered Stein and headed for the outermost planets, none of which were closer than three billion kilometres from the alien population. Given how close Solemn Oath approached that population, apparently without being detected, the risk to the survey ships was deemed acceptable.
In mid-April two Terran salvage ships joined the Imperial Navy. Nova and Eclipse would be able to salvage alien wrecks, such as those close to the Alpha Centauri - Sol jump point. It was hoped this would aid in the Imperium learning about the alien technology and might perhaps result in the recovery of intact alien ship components. Both ships were dispatched immediately, along with freighters to carry any such components, to the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point. Four Exidium class frigates from the Second Star Legion currently guarding the jump point would provide cover for the operation.
Nova class Salvager 21,000 tons 190 Crew 680 BP TCS 420 TH 1200 EM 0
2857 km/s Armour 1-67 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 20 Max Repair 200 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 24
Salvager: 1 module(s) capable of salvaging 500 tons per day
Terradyne ION-300 Commercial Drive (4) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 40.4 billion km (163 days at full power)
Both salvagers and all ten Minerva class freighters arrived at the Alpha Centauri jump point on May 21st 2305. The Exidium class frigate Audax transited the jump gate to check the area was clear and immediately detected three strength-720 thermal signatures from alien ships at point blank range. There was just time to broadcast a warning through the jump point before a salvo of anti-ship missiles smashed into Audax, blasting through her armour and taking out half her weapons and three of her five engines. Her commander, Captain Maxim, desperately tried to cut through the chaos on the bridge and get his ship back through the jump point but the crew did not respond quickly enough. A second salvo blew the frigate to pieces thirty-five seconds after her initial transit. The three Exidiums on the Sol side of the jump point prepared for an alien transit, while the freighters and salvage ships fled back toward Sol. There was no immediate counter-transit by the alien ships and as the minutes passed, the Terran crews began to breathe easier.
Seeing an opportunity, Vice Admiral Sturm ordered the Third Star Legion to leave orbit and head for the Alpha Centauri jump point. Despite the protestations of Rear Admiral Thaddeus, eager to avenge his defeat at the hands of the same aliens, that the First Star Legion was the better choice, Vice Admiral Sturm was unmoved. The Third was the strongest Legion in terms of firepower as the Second was under strength anyway while the First had lost both of its Defiant class ships and three of its four patrol vessels were on detached duty. Sturm ordered the survey ships Cassiopeia, Perseus and Sagittarius to accompany the Third Star Legion and also instructed the freighters and salvage ships to hold position a day out from the jump point.
On June 6th, the Third Star Legion under Rear Admiral Helena Cestus, transited the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point. Her force comprised the missile cruisers Relentless and Sword of Retribution, the Defiant class escorts Adamant and Guardian, seven Exidium class frigates, including three temporarily assigned from the Second Star Legion, and five Aquila class patrol vessels. While the main body of the Legion went through the jump gate, the 4500 ton Aquilas were sent through in squadron transits with the Constellation class survey vessels acting as squadron leaders. Rear Admiral Cestus ordered the survey ships to depart as they had dropped off the Aquilas. Every other ship was ordered to attempt to disengage as soon as it received significant armour damage. The battle plan, as devised by Vice Admiral Sturm, was to soak up missile fire while the Terran ships waited for the effects of transit to wear off.
The Legion arrived in Alpha Centauri and found the jump point deserted. The alien ships had apparently left while the Third Star Legion was en route, although active sensors were off-line so it was possible they were nearby but out of passive sensor range. Captain Maxim and 82 other survivors from Audax were still alive in their life pods, albeit on almost their last gasp of air. Audacia moved in and picked them up. The three survey cruisers departed and Rear Admiral Cestus called the salvage ships forwards. Because of their position it took a full day for them to arrive and begin work.
Over the course of the next five days, all six small alien craft were salvaged. In addition to a large amount of data on the alien engine technology, Nova and Eclipse recovered a dozen box launchers, two active sensors and two fire control systems. Those would be taken back to Terra for further analysis. As the alien defenders were absent, the two ships began salvaging the wrecks of Andromeda and Audax, both of which were on the jump point. It took ten days to salvage Andromeda, after which one of the salvage ships and half the freighters transited back into Sol and headed for Terra. The salvaging of Audax still had two days to run when a wave of twenty-one missiles appeared at one point two million kilometres. Adamant and Guardian began launching their Dagger anti-missiles. Rear Admiral Cestus ordered Nova and four accompanying freighters to abandon their salvage operations and depart immediately. For the moment the Third Star Legion held position, covering the withdrawal of the lightly armoured auxiliaries.
Six missiles were destroyed by Daggers and eleven more were destroyed by the combined laser fire of the frigates and patrol vessels. The remaining four struck Averruncus, a Minerva class freighter. Remarkably, the only damage beyond four large holes in her hull was the destruction of her cargo hold. Four engines were hit but all continued to function. The second wave of alien missiles was targeted on Aequitas, also a freighter. She was unluckier than her sister ship and lost half her engines. Rear Admiral Cestus urged the freighters to get clear of the battle zone but their crews were obviously panicking at being under fire, which was not speeding things along. Seventy seconds after the first incoming missiles were detected, Nova and the freighters finally entered the jump gate.
With the auxiliaries safely out of the system, Cestus ordered her warships to withdraw. It would take some time to organize the simultaneous jump though and the missile waves continued arriving. The third wave, which was presumably targeted on one of the freighters, sought a new target and selected Ursus, one of the patrol vessels. Despite the impact of seven missiles that blasted away most of her armour, she didn't suffer any internal damage. Unfortunately the next wave also homed in on Ursus and ten hits smashed the small ship into wreckage. The missile cruiser Relentless suffered a total of eleven hits from the next two waves of missiles. Her armour absorbed all the damage but was holed in one location. Moments later, the Third Star Legion jumped backed to Sol. Once again, the aliens declined to pursue through the jump point.
The operation had been a success in terms of the technical data and components recovered from the wreckage of the alien ship but had resulted in the loss of a patrol vessel and damage to a missile cruiser and two freighters. Once again, Patriarch Antimachus oversaw a board of inquiry. The main conclusion once again was that weapon mix of the Imperial Navy was unsuitable for withstanding missile attack and that acquisition of new railgun-armed ships should be increased. A secondary conclusion was that it was not cost-effective to salvage in a potential combat zone unless the wreck in question was an alien vessel that might provide new technology.
The jump gate at the Stein - Sol jump point was completed nine days after the conclusion of the events in Alpha Centauri, while the freighters and salvage ships were still on their way back to Terra. Relentless had also been dispatched home for repairs along with the three frigates of the Second Star Legion that had been deployed at the edge of the Sol System for over a year. The First Star Legion was earmarked for the first offensive operation in Stein but as the first two Battlestars would be completed in August and September, the operation would be delayed until then.
Praetorian joined the Imperial Navy on August 22nd 2305. Her strikegroup of twenty-four Cobras and one Boa landed on board within hours of the Battlestar's launch. The Boa was a new design and only two had been built. As the Cobras did not have onboard active sensors, the Boa would provide sensor information if the strikegroup was outside shipboard sensor range. Praetorian also took on board her ordnance load of Javelin anti-ship missiles for the fighters. The Javelin was a new design with a larger engine and shorter range, albeit based on the same technology as the Gladius. The second Battlestar, Dies Irae, was completed two weeks later. Only eight of her twenty-four Cobras plus a Boa were available so she would begin her first campaign with a reduced strikegroup.
Boa class Fighter-Scout 230 tons 4 Crew 65.5 BP TCS 4.6 TH 21 EM 0
4565 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 46% IFR 0.6% 1YR 12 5YR 178 Max Repair 48 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 months Spare Berths 3
Terradyne ION-21 Fighter Engine (1) Power 21 Fuel Use 240.6% Signature 21 Exp 17%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 3.3 billion km (8 days at full power)
Reichmann Industries AS-30 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 5280 Range 30.2m km Resolution 110
Javelin Anti-Ship Missile
Missile Size: 5 MSP (0.25 HS) Warhead: 9 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 25200 km/s Engine Endurance: 24 minutes Range: 36.9m km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.0249 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24,900 km
Cost Per Missile: 3.8652
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 252% 3k km/s 80% 5k km/s 50.4% 10k km/s 25.2%
Materials Required: 2.25x Tritanium 0.0153x Boronide 0.0249x Uridium 1.575x Gallicite Fuel x250
Development Cost for Project: 387RP
On September 9th 2305, the First Star Legion launched its campaign against the aliens in Stein 2051. Rear Admiral Lucifer Thaddeus now carried his flag in the Battlestar Praetorian. The order of battle for the First was as follows:
2x Praetorian class Battlestar: Praetorian (flag), Dies Irae
2x Emperor's Wrath class Missile Cruiser: Emperor's Wrath, Divine Right
4x Exidium class Frigate: Exidium, Sanguinarius, Ultoris, Vindicta
2x Guard class Escort: Death Guard, Storm Guard
2x Aquila class Patrol Vessel: Leonis, Volantis
32x Cobra class Fighter
2x Boa class Scout-Fighter
Several Terran survey ships were already in the system. Aquarius and Phoenix had almost completed a gravitational survey, finding three new jump points so far, while Covenant and Testament had surveyed every planet and moon that orbited more than seven hundred and fifty million kilometres from the star, with the exception of several moons of the third planet where Testament was still at work. Covenant had pulled back to the Sol jump point. The fact that none of the survey ships had been intercepted combined with the low observed speed of the ships encountered by Solemn Oath suggested that the Stein aliens were less technology advanced than the aliens in Alpha Centauri. The First Star Legion transited into Stein and set a direct course for the alien population on the innermost moon of the innermost planet.
Nine days after the transit, with the First Star Legion still two billion kilometres from the planet, five alien ships were detected at one hundred million kilometres, maximum range for the best Terran active sensor. The tactical computers on the Imperial warships identified four separate classes of ship and assigned them class designations. A rumour within the Imperial Fleet was that the class designation software used by the tactical computers relied on a list of hostile class names provided by the Emperor's favourite nephew, aged 9. The software designers, Tacman Industries, steadfastly refused to comment on the rumour. The alien fleet comprised an Obliterator, a Warmaker and two Doombringers, all of which were 16,500 tons, plus a smaller 8250 ton Deathblade class. Their speed was 1818 km/s. For the moment the computers still classed them as neutral contacts, as the Stein aliens had not taken any offensive action against Imperial forces. However, the Emperor had ordered the Navy to treat all aliens as hostiles. Sometimes described by the less religious members of the Imperial Navy as a Shoot First, Salvage Later policy.
Rear Admiral Thaddeus wished to test the alien defences so he ordered Emperor's Wrath and Divine Right to fire a single volley of Gladius anti-ship missiles at the smallest alien ship. Seventy minutes later the missiles arrived. Five were destroyed by point blank point defence fire; the other fifteen all struck their target. On Imperial tactical displays, the icon of the alien ship was replaced by a wreck marker. Thaddeus remarked to his chief of staff that if the aliens weren't hostile before, they certainly were now. He ordered Emperor's Wrath and Divine Right to each fire two volleys at the other four ships.
Doombringer 001 was hit by all twenty missiles from the first salvo and streamed atmosphere from every hit, which indicated her armour was only strength-2, much weaker than her Imperial opponents. Her speed dropped to 544 km/s and she fell behind the other three ships. As the second salvo streaked in, four of Divine Right's missiles were destroyed mid-flight, presumably by anti-missiles. The ten missiles from Emperor's Wrath all smashed into Doombringer 001 and it blew up, leaving the six remaining missiles from Divine Right with no target. While the Gladius was intended to rely on guidance from the firing ship, it included an onboard thermal sensor as backup. The six missiles reversed course and homed in on the thermal signature of the Warmaker class ship. All six hit and once again every impact resulted in a loss of atmosphere. The alien ships were simply no match for the Imperial missiles and one by one they were blown to pieces, in two cases accompanied by multiple magazine explosions. Sixty Gladius missiles were still in flight when the last alien ship died.
Read Admiral Thaddeus requested support from salvage ships to examine the alien wreckage while the First Star Legion proceeded on course. Sixteen minutes after the last alien ship was destroyed, four more contacts, all 8250 tons, were detected at the edge of sensor range. Emperor's Wrath and Divine Right only had forty percent of their missiles remaining so he ordered them to fire launch two salvos each, targeting all four ships between them. Three of the alien ships were destroyed and the fourth was damaged. A follow-up salvo destroyed the last ship fifty million kilometres from the First Star Legion. The two missile cruisers had enough missiles remaining for four salvos each.
Thaddeus detached the frigates Ultoris and Vindicta to pick up any alien survivors, interrogate them if possible and begin learning the alien language to make future interrogation more effective. Eight hundred and sixty prisoners were recovered from the alien life pods. The Stein aliens were bulky bipedal creatures, with a brown exoskeleton and lobster-like claws. Their heads were tall and narrow with a vertical slit that appeared to act for both breathing and eating and large compound eyes on either side. Communication proved very difficult and nothing was learned from the prisoners, despite the enthusiasm of the interrogators.
Five days after the one-sided massacre that could hardly be called a battle, the First Star Legion moved within active sensor range of the planet. Eight more ships were detected in orbit, ranging from 16,150 tons to 23,600 tons, plus a large shipyard complex. Whether these were military or civilian ships was unknown. A population was also detected on the sixth moon, with an EM signature about 1/7th that of the first moon. Rear Admiral Thaddeus ordered his two missile cruisers to target one volley on the smallest alien ship. Nine missiles were destroyed as they approached and the other eleven were destroyed by point-blank fire. At least some of the ships in orbit were defence bases.
Thaddeus slowed the First Star Legion down to 2000 km/s to reduce the rate of approach then launched his thirty-two Cobras, each armed with three Javelin ASMs. Meanwhile, three more alien ships appeared on sensors, twenty million kilometres beyond Stein I and heading toward the alien population at 964 km/s. The fighters closed to twenty-five million kilometres and launched their Javelins, targeting just two of the smaller alien bases. Twenty-three missiles were destroyed by point blank point defence fire. Forty more detonated on target, destroying both bases. Suddenly, within the space of a few seconds, eleven new wrecks appeared, all of which were 1650 tons. Tactical computers estimated they were all the same type, designated as Defiler class. The active sensors on the Imperial ships had not detected these small ships but the thermal sensors on the remaining Javelins had picked them up after their primary targets disappeared. The fighters headed back to the Battlestars to re-arm.
Given the lack of anti-missiles launched at the wave of Javelins, Rear Admiral Thaddeus decided to take his force further in for the possibility of an energy-range engagement. While he had enough Javelins left for a second launch and a partial third launch, the new missiles were in short supply so he was keen to preserve them if he could. His main fear had been that the alien bases might launch large waves of anti-missiles if he moved too close, but that seemed to be less likely now. Eleven million kilometres from the alien population, six new ships were detected. Designated as Styx class, they were 2600 tons. The First Star Legion continued to close.
Two point five million kilometres from the planet, one hundred and four incoming missiles were detected with a second wave a few seconds later. It appeared the aliens did in fact have a significant number of anti-missiles, although they were only moving at 10,000 km/s. Rear Admiral Thaddeus ordered all ship with railguns or lasers to fire them in defensive mode and the missile cruisers to open fire on a base identified as Malignant 003. The fighters were all re-armed so he ordered those to launch and engage two bases identified as Decimator class. A hail of kinetic rounds greeted the alien missiles as they reached point blank range and explosions filled the sky just short of the First Star Legion. Praetorian killed twenty-four inbounds with her railguns while Dies Irae accounted for nineteen. The other ships dealt with another twenty-six. Because of their relatively slow speed, some of the missiles were also missing their targets. Just twenty from the first wave impacted on Praetorian's armour and only ten from the second. Emperor's Wrath and Divine Right began launching their own missiles followed a few moments later by a mass launch from the fighters.
The massed railgun and laser fire of the First Star Legion was holding back the massive weight of alien missile fire. Each incoming wave numbered over a hundred missiles but less than ten percent were scoring hits. Ten hits were scored by the third wave and eight by the third. Thaddeus ordered the Legion to reverse course, increasing the time between incoming salvos so that the 15cm railguns on the Battlestars and the 15cm lasers on the frigates and patrol vessels could recharge. Praetorian was hit fourteen times by the fifth wave. The missiles only had strength-1 warheads so they were having little impact on the Battlestar's armour. The sixth wave scored twelve hits on Praetorian, while the seventh was targeted on Dies Irae and resulted in only three impacts.
The fighter-launched Javelins reached the alien bases, destroying both Decimators. The eighth wave of alien missiles vanished from Imperial sensors, probably because they were under control of the Decimators. A third of the Javelins didn't impact before the enemy bases were destroyed and sought new targets, homing in on a pair of Damnation class ships. The Damnations were 23,600 tons each but apparently very fragile. Their minimal armour couldn't protect them and both were obliterated. Twenty Gladius missiles from the two Terran missile cruisers arrived next. Eight were killed by point-defence fire; the other twelve struck Malignant 003 and every one resulted in a loss of atmosphere. Thaddeus ordered another course reversal and the First Star Legion headed back toward the alien population. A second wave of Gladius missiles arrived at the alien moon, the first ten of which destroyed Malignant 003 and the second ten inflicted considerable damage on Damnation 003. Each missile cruiser now had just ten missiles in its magazine. Praetorian and Dies Irae had sixty-four Javelins between them.
With no more incoming alien fire, Rear Admiral Thaddeus ordered weapons tight. No ship was to fire unless fired upon. As the First Star Legion approached the inner moons of the gas giant, three ground forces contacts were detected. Strength-76 on the inner moon, strength-30 on the sixth moon, where there was also an EM signature of a large colony, and strength-20 on the eleventh moon. Rather than bombard the alien worlds, Thaddeus saw an opportunity to capture the alien industry and shipyards. He requested ground forces from Terra to launch an invasion. Vice Admiral Sturm and Emperor Magnus both concurred.
In 2305 the ground forces of Imperial Terra were organised into Legions and Auxilia. Each Legion comprised two and a half thousand Legionnaires equipped with powered armour and was organised into four chapters and a headquarters unit, each of approximately five hundred men. Each Legion was assigned both a numeric designation and a name, such as Legio I Astral Knights or Legio II Black Templars. The chapters bore the name of the Legion plus a designation as to its seniority within that Legion, such as Astral Knights Primus, Astral Knights Secundus, etc.. An Auxilia unit was similarly organised but usually bore only a numeric designation, although rarely a name could be assigned to an Auxilia unit that distinguished itself in battle. This was considered a great honour. The primary difference between the two was that Legions were mobile infantry generally used for offensive operations while Auxilia were less capable and served as garrison troops. The five Imperial Legions in service in September 2305 are listed below. Four Auxilia units were also available.
Legions:
Legio I Astral Knights
Legio II Black Templars
Legio III Death Eagles
Legio IV Grey Wolves
Legio V Storm Bringers
Three Conqueror class troop transports, escorted by two Defiant class destroyer escorts from the Third Star Legion, picked up four Legions, two Auxilia and a pair of replacement units and departed Terran orbit, bound for the moons of Stein I. Meanwhile the First Star Legion moved into orbit of the second moon, from where they could keep a close watch on the alien homeworld. Six small Styx class ships, one Defiler class and one 23,600 ton Damnation class remained in orbit of the first moon of Stein I but there was no offensive action from the aliens. Three 36,300 ton Forsaken class were twenty million kilometres away, heading toward the system primary at 964 km/s. Rear Admiral Thaddeus ordered his two missile cruisers to break formation and head home for new ordnance and requested a tanker to refuel the ships that remained in Stein. The frigate Exidium was detached to chase the fleeing Forsakens. The Damnation class broke orbit to run as well. It had been damaged earlier and was limping along at 423 km/s. Exidium obliterated it en passant before running down and destroying the Forsakens. Thaddeus believed the Damnations and Forsakens were probably civilian vessels, perhaps colony ships and freighters, but saw no point in letting them escape to run around the system and their value after an alien surrender would be minimal, given their apparent obsolescence.
On November 5th 2305, six weeks after the First Star Legion cut through the defences of the Stein aliens, Imperial ground forces began landing on the innermost moon of Stein I. Two days after the beachhead was established, four Legions launched on attack on the defending ground forces. The initial clash was fierce and the Imperium did not have the same advantage in ground technology as it did in space. Two chapters of Legio I Astral Knights and a chapter of Legio III Death Eagles all took heavy casualties. Two enemy units suffered losses before giving ground. Legio V Storm Bringers was already en route to provide reinforcements but would not arrive for four weeks. Two Auxilia had already landed with the Legions and would provide cover against a counter-attack.
During the next few weeks, the pace of combat slowed as the Imperial Legions slowly gained ground, pushing the defenders, or the 'lobsters' to use the terminology of the legionnaires, back toward their centres of population. Half the chapters involved in the battle had sustained losses but the Stein aliens were taking casualties too. Legio V Storm Bringers arrived on December 6th and was sent into action without delay by the commander of the Imperial forces, General Morgan Grizmund, known by his men as Grizzly, due to an unfortunate correlation between his name, his demeanour and his spectacular facial hair. The reinforcements had an immediate effect, allowing a concentration of force that allowed two Legions to break through the defensive line. Two alien battalions suffered significant casualties during the battle and a third in the retreat. Before they could regroup, the Grey Wolves Legion surrounded and destroyed one of the enemy formations. The aliens finally managed to form a new defensive line close to what appeared to be their capital city, but the losses taken in the retreat had given the Imperial force both the initiative and a clear superiority in numbers. General Grizmund took full advantage, launching one attack after another to grind down the enemy. Three replacement units had been landed along with the Legions and Auxilia, which was allowing the Legions to replace some of their losses, albeit slowly. The defenders appeared to have no such reserves.
Full communication was finally established with the aliens on January 8th 2306, after Terran linguists had spent many weeks with the more cooperative prisoners. The aliens identified themselves as the Andarmax and their government as the Andarmax Khanate. The prisoners could not understand why Imperial Terra had launched an attack against them as they were a peaceful civilization who would have welcomed Terrans as trading partners. The Emperor dismissed this as alien propaganda and urged General Grizmund to seek final victory. The General made use of the communication break through to contact the Andarmax leadership and demand their unconditional surrender. Great Khan Raia, leader of the Andarmax, demanded that the Imperials leave his world immediately or be destroyed. Unfortunately for the Khan, even as his spoke, the last of his ground forces were being wiped out in a desperate last stand. Even then, the Khan refused to surrender, urging his population to rise up against the alien invaders. While the Imperial Legions had proved sufficient to destroy the Andarmax ground forces, the population of the planet was 1150m, greater than the population of Terra. Five Legions and three Auxilia were insufficient to force the surrender of the population.
The last Auxilia on Terra was loaded into a troop transport, leaving the homeworld bereft of ground forces. Even so, General Grizmund estimated he currently had only sixty percent of the strength he would need. Replacement of combat losses and the arrival of Auxilia IV would help but not enough. More Legions and Auxilia were needed. Sufficient chapters to form two new Legions were being trained but the best estimate was it would take seven months for Legio VI to be ready and ten months for Legio VII and even they might not prove sufficient. The Emperor gave the order that research into ground forces equipment must be given priority. If new troops could not be trained quickly, then the existing forces would be as well equipped as possible. In the meantime, the First Star Legion and General Grizmund's legionnaires and auxiliae would have to hold in place. Rear Admiral Thaddeus was especially concerned about the Andarmax shipyard launching new enemy warships but his requests to destroy it were denied.
His fears were realised on March 9th 2306 when a 1000 ton spacecraft emerged from the shipyard. The First Star Legion reacted quickly and opened fire, destroying the small Andarmax vessel, but not quickly enough. Four nuclear warheads detonated among the Imperial ground forces, inflicting significant losses on three Legion chapters and an Auxilia unit, killing 800,000 Andarmax civilians and destroying several industrial installations. Five days later a second FAC appeared. This time, the Imperial frigate Sanguinarius opened fire instantly and vapourised the target with eight 15cm lasers. Rear Admiral Thaddeus repeated his request to destroy the shipyard but again it was denied. Vice Admiral Sturm pointed out that his powerful force should be able to deal with a few FACs. Two Andarmax vessels of the same type were launched within the next two weeks and on both occasions Sanguinarius destroyed them before they could launch their missiles. The frigate was achieving quite a reputation within the Imperial Navy.
On the ground, the Legions and Auxilia were slowly crushing the resistance of the Andarmax civilian population. New weapons had been issued and an individual legionnaire was now 40% more effective than when the invasion took place. Auxilia IV had landed, freeing up a Legion for counter-insurgency operations. Great Khan Raia was still at large but General Grizmund believed it was only a matter of time before he was tracked down. In order to make use of any available resources, he ordered two of the troop transports to return to Sol and transport construction brigades to what was now being referred to as the Andarmax system, rather than Stein 2051. While they could not conduct offensive operations, they could provide static defence. The round trip would require eleven weeks.
The Khan, his bodyguard detachment and his chief advisors were all killed in action on June 11th 2306 after being cornered by the Storm Bringer Primus chapter, equipped with new advanced power armour. Five days later, the Andarmax Khanate formally surrendered. The Andarmax civilization relied on strong central control, with the Great Khan issuing decrees to lesser Khans who in turn passed on those orders to their own subordinates, the Kavkhans. With that central authority removed and no recent history of independent action among the lesser Khans, they acquiesced to the new central power, Imperial Terra. Despite the subservience of their leaders, there was still great resentment among the general Andarmax population.
The fall of Andarmax Prime brought a host of material benefits including many captured installations, mineral and fuel supplies and several items of new technology, although the shipyard was smaller than had been expected, with a single commercial yard and a single military yard. It would be a Herculean task to transport the new installations back to Terra, especially with only ten freighters in service and a thirteen point five billion kilometre round trip. The Omegus Freight Corporation would play a key part as they had five large and six small freighters in service, along with five colony ships, two passenger liners and eight fuel harvesters.
New Technology
Combat Drop Module - Company
Minimum Jump Engine Size - 12
Enhanced Radiation Warhead (50% Yield, 2x Radiation)
Fuel Storage - Tiny
Captured Installations
44,000 ton Commercial Shipyard - 2 Slipways
2,000 ton Military Shipyard - 4 Slipways
10x Research Facility
272x Construction Factory
83x Ordnance Factory
106x Fuel Refinery
417x Mine
51x Automated Mine
93x Maintenance Facility
2x Ground Force Training Facility
2x Deep Space Tracking Station
1x Mass Driver
Fuel: 20m Litres
Maintenance Supplies: 37,000
Andarmax Prime Mineral Survey (mineral stockpile)
Duranium 290,813 Acc: 1 (8,200)
Neutronium 47,598 Acc: 0.2 (5,600)
Corbomite 9,126 Acc: 0.44 (14,000)
Tritanium 16,393 Acc: 0.2 (1,500)
Boronide 31,485 Acc: 1 (25,400)
Mercassium 30,968 Acc: 0.6 (15,900)
Vendarite 94,138 Acc: 0.2 (6,400)
Sorium 127,868 Acc: 1 (18,700)
Uridium 4,292 Acc: 0.38 (18,700)
Corundium 106,039 Acc: 0.9 (10,700)
Gallicite 12,788 Acc: 0.7 (19,200)
In the meantime, there were still two Andarmax populations on other moons of Andarmax I. The sixth moon had EM and thermal signatures that suggested a significant population, although not on the same scale as Andarmax Prime. Four Legions were transported to the moon to launch a new ground offensive. They could not be absent for long though as the Andarmax homeworld was smouldering, both in terms of damage to its cities and the mood of the population. Legio VI Tiger Claws was formed on Terra on July 11th 2306 and immediately dispatched to the Andarmax system.
The fighting on the sixth moon was hard with no quarter given on either side but the garrison was only three battalions of troops. The population of seventy million, which lacked any industry, surrendered on August 7th. Apparently this population was comprised primarily of a religious sub-group within the Andarmax that had been exiled to the moon so they would not cause disruption on their homeworld. They did not recognise the authority of the Great Khan, beyond his ability to destroy their colony if they attempted to leave. The Emperor gave orders that this population should be transported back to their homeworld so all the Andarmax could be garrisoned on the same planet. When Vice Admiral Sturm pointed out that this might inflame the situation on Andarmax Prime, Emperor Magnus replied that had little interest in the squabbling of alien heretics. The ten Imperial Vesta class colony ships left Terra with half a million human colonists that would settle on Andarmax Prime. Once they had dropped off their cargo, they would begin repatriation of the Andarmax colonists on the sixth moon. Meanwhile, Praetorian and Dies Irae returned to Terra so that Dies Irae could take on her full complement of fighters and both Battlestars could rearm, refuel and undergo an overhaul. The third Battlestar, Dominion, joined the Fleet on August 22nd.
Next the attention of the Imperial Legions turned to the eleventh moon, which had a small thermal signature. After a month-long campaign, the two battalions on the surface were destroyed. A population of 480,000 surrendered to the victorious Imperial ground forces. This moon was effectively a prison for political prisoners. It seemed the Andarmax method of dealing with dissent was to banish the dissenters off-world. They were all scheduled for transport back to their homeworld. In November 2306, a newly constructed Vulcan class fuel harvester base was towed from Terra to Andarmax I, the gas giant around which Andarmax Prime orbited, as it had over 400,000 tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium. Although some fuel had been recovered on the Andarmax homeworld, the base, and additional harvesters that would be deployed over time, would provide a longer term supply for the occupying forces.
The fourth Battlestar, Imperator, was launched on December 4th. No more Battlestars were laid down for the moment as the Imperium was researching several new technologies that would feature in the next generation of Battlestars. All four Battlestars plus the six Guard class escorts constructed so far were assembled into a new formation that would be known as the First Battlestar Legion. Rear Admiral Lucifer Thaddeus was assigned to command with Praetorian as his flagship. The three Star Legions would remain with the following orders of battle:
First Star Legion: 2x CG Emperor's Wrath, 2x Defiant, 4x FF Exidium, 2x PV Aquila
Second Star Legion: 2x CG Emperor's Wrath, 2x Defiant, 3x FF Exidium
Third Star Legion: 2x CG Emperor's Wrath, 4x FF Exidium, 4x PV Aquila
Detached Forces: 2x Aquila
The First Star Legion was deployed at Andarmax Prime and would likely remain there for the foreseeable future. The Third Star Legion and elements of the Second were in Terra orbit, with the three frigates of the Second deployed at the Sol - Alpha Centaur jump point. The patrol vessel Draco was guarding the Fuel Harvesters orbiting Uranus while her sister ship Scorpii was in Terra orbit. The two ships periodically changed roles after deployments of approximately a year. The First Battlestar Legion began a series of training exercises to ensure that it would be as ready as possible for any future offensive operations, such as clearing the far more advanced aliens out of Alpha Centauri.
to be continued...
