WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS WITHIN!!
Tales of the Union.
Friend or Foe? (7)
10th March 80. Giglas 126-49. The Union was pushing out the boundaries once again. Survey Task Group 3 made its way to Giclas 126-49 and began exploring the jump points in that system. The squadron had already probed two other jump points revealing the systems of Gliese 875 and EG 283, which apart from the odd mineral deposit were not very interesting. Then on the 10th March the Squadron entered Iota Piscium. The seventh planet stood out with an HI of 0.79. Captain Scot Tyler, Commander of Survey Task Group 3 more than half expected to find another Imperial colony, as it was the sort of frigid world beloved of the Imperial Devarians. Captain Tyler decided to first carry out a geological survey spiralling in-system surveying the system bodies as they went before charting the systems jump points. The Squadron broke into single ships and commenced survey operations.
20th April 80 Iota Piscium. As the Venture class survey vessels of the 3rd Survey Squadron surveyed the systems asteroid belt Venture B-009 passed within 500 million klicks of Iota Piscium-A VII the thermal and EM sensors indicated the presence of an alien HT population, but the signature was not that of an Imperial colony. There did not appear to be any associated ships patrolling the system. It was assumed this was a planet-bound civilisation.
25th April 80. 6 Ceti. An exploration of a jump point in the Gliese 864 system revealed the new system of 6 Ceti. This was a solitary F5-V star that was a jump beyond the system of HIP 108308 where the first Destroyer squadron was encountered. 6 Ceti was notable as 6 Ceti-A V had an HI of just 0.08. However the mineral surveys were not so good, 29,000 tons of duranium and a similar one of sorium were the only significant mineral deposits in the system so it would be some time before 6 Ceti-A V would be colonised.
18th May 80 Iota Piscium. Venture B-007 decided to close the alien home world and to its surprise the threat board lit up with a large number of contacts. Three ships of the Tauret class, 36,350 tons and 1386 k/s, three of the Dedun class, 23,650 tons with a velocity of 1386 k/s, Three of the Hathor class, 14,200 ton, three of the Aker class 14,200 tons, one of the Ua class 7100 tons, two of the Ptah class, 7100 tons as well as 72000 tons of orbital installations. Ground forces only gave a signature of C42, low for the size of the population. Communications protocols were initiated by the communications specialists in the Survey Squadron. The aliens appeared to be ignoring the survey vessels, even when one ventured a geological survey of Iota Piscium-A VII, assumed to be the alien home world.
23rd May 80 Iota Piscium. Another population of the aliens was detected on Iota Piscium-A VI complete with a ground force signature of C30. The planet had substantial duranium deposits in the megaton range. It was assumed this was a mining colony.
24th May 80. Iota Piscium. The survey squadron completed their geological survey of Iota Piscium and commenced a gravitational survey of the system. As the squadron began its work an alien vessel was detected in the asteroid belt, designated Sottef 002 of 2,500 tons. From its track it appeared to be on a geological survey mission.
29th May 80. Gram- Avalon-A II. Agate, Spinel, Opal and Amethyst (Gem Mk II class) left the orbital ‘yards at Gram - Avalon-A II and were assigned to Survey Task Groups 4(G) and 5(G).
30th May 80. Iota Piscium. A new jump point was located and fixed within the orbit of Iota Piscium-A VI. This was well into the inner system and there was none of the traffic associated with it if the aliens had already discovered its presence.
15th June 80. Iota Piscium. An alien colony was detected on Iota Piscium-A II with a ground forces signature of C10. Again there were substantial mineral deposits on the planet.
23rd June 80. Iota Piscium. As the vessels of Survey Task Group 3 went about the gravitational survey an alien vessel of the Candace class, 2,750 tons and capable of 3272 k/s was detected. It appeared to be performing a gravitational survey of the system.
20th July 80. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. Lithium, Hafnium, Rhenium, Strontium, Tantalum and Titanium, the first Argon class escorts to be refitted to the Argon Mk VB2 standard left the orbital construction ‘yards in Gram - Avalon-A II orbit.
24th July 80. Iota Piscium.A second alien vessel of the Candace class was detected; it also appeared to be performing a gravitational survey of Iota Piscium.
30th September 80. Gram - Avalon-A II.Falchion, Foil, Gladius, Katana, Longsword and Machete (Sword Mk IB class) left the orbital ‘yard complex at Gram - Avalon-A II. They were initially assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon prior to forming the nucleus of Task Force 6. The Mk IB had an improved EW suite and a longer service life between scheduled maintenance.
Sword Mk IB class Missile Cruiser 15000 tons 1513 Crew 8549.5498 BP TCS 300 TH 336 EM 3600
14000 km/s Armour 3-54 Shields 120-400 Sensors 54/1/0/0 Damage Control 39 PPV 60
Annual Failure Rate: 0% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 3206 MSP
Magazine 1040
MilSpec SCAD E2.75 (20) Power 210 Fuel Use 27.5% Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 325,000 Litres Range 141.8 billion km (117 days at full power)
Sigma R400/20 Shields (15) Total Fuel Cost 300 Litres per day
CIWS-500 (2x10) Range 1000 km TS: 50000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Size 4 Missile Launcher (15) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 20
Missile Fire Control FC230-R16 (3) Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
Firestar IV (260) Speed: 64,000 km/s End: 32m Range: 123m km WH: 10 Size: 4 TH: 362 / 217 / 108
Thermal Sensor TH3-54 (1) Sensitivity 54 Detect Signature 1000: 54m km
Active Search Sensor MR230-R16 (1) GPS 2880 Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
ECCM-6 (3) ECM 60
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes 22nd October 80. Iota Piscium. Full communications with The Iota Piscium aliens was established. The aliens named their polity the Asran Council. The alien’s appearance was a vaguely humanoid body form with insectoid features and too many limbs. Negotiations about the site of a permanent embassy were begun but all indications were that they would be drawn out.
27th October 80. Devaria- Delta Aquilae-A IV. VentureC-001, Venture C-002, Venture C-003, Venture C-004, Venture C-005 and Venture C-006 (Venture Mk 1C class) left the construction bays at Devaria - Delta Aquilae-A IV. Five will constitute Survey Task Group 7. This is the latest iteration of the Venture class featuring updated ECM and two twin gauss turrets replacing the single quad in the Mk IB version.
Venture Mk 1C class Survey Ship 7,500 tons 700 Crew 5715.3 BP TCS 150 TH 134.4 EM 2880
11200 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 3-34 Shields 96-400 Sensors 54/1/4/4 Damage Control Rating 34 PPV 21
Maint Life 4.55 Years MSP 2024 AFR 105% IFR 1.5% 1YR 159 5YR 2382 Max Repair 750 MSP
J8000(3-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 8000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
MilSpec SCAD E2.75 (8) Power 210 Fuel Use 27.5% Signature 16.8 Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 390,000 Litres Range 340.4 billion km (351 days at full power)
Sigma R400/20 Shields (12) Total Fuel Cost 240 Litres per day
Advanced 20cm X-Ray Laser (1) Range 800,000km TS: 12500 km/s Power 10-10 RM 7 ROF 5 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 9 8
Twin Gauss Cannon R5-50 Turret (2x10) Range 50,000km TS: 52500 km/s Power 0-0 RM 5 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
CIWS-500 (1x10) Range 1000 km TS: 50000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Fire Control S01.4 34-50000 (2) Max Range: 68,000 km TS: 50000 km/s 85 71 56 41 26 12 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S04 400-12500 (1) Max Range: 800,000 km TS: 12500 km/s 99 98 96 95 94 92 91 90 89 88
Gas-core Anti-matter Power Plant Technology PB-1 (1) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR230-R16 (1) GPS 2880 Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
Active Search Sensor MR7-R1 (1) GPS 24 Range 7.7m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH3-54 (1) Sensitivity 54 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 54m km
Improved Gravitational Sensors (2) 4 Survey Points Per Hour
Improved Geological Sensors (2) 4 Survey Points Per Hour
ECM 60
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes 24th December 80. Gram – Avalon-A II. Emerald (Gem Mk II class)left the Starglider ‘Yard in Gram - Avalon-A II orbit and assigned to Survey Task Group 5(G).
4th January 81. Gram – Avalon-A II. NoDachi, Rapier and Sabre (Sword Mk IB class) left the construction bays at the Gram - Avalon-A II orbital ‘yard complex and were initially assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon prior to joining Task Force 6.
10th January 8. Gram – Avalon-A II. The jump cruiser Warspite (Vanguard Mk IB class) left the ‘Yard at Gram - Avalon-A II and was initially assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon prior to joining Task Force 6.
17th January 81. Gram – Avalon-A II. The jump cruisers Valiant and Audacious (Vanguard Mk IB class) left the construction bays at the Excalibur - Avalon-A I V orbital ‘yard complex and were initially assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon prior to joining Task Force 6.
17th January 81. Gram – Avalon-A II. Flamberge, Greatsword, Scimitar and Xiphos (Sword Mk IB class) left the construction bays at the Excalibur - Avalon-A I V orbital ‘yard complex and initially assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon prior to joining Task Force 7.
23rd April 81. S.W. Burnham 157-A II A team on Zwickau - S.W. Burnham 157-A II led by Denis Marx completed research into the Hellcat IIIB missile. 2500 will be built to replace stocks of captured Hellcat missiles expended. The IIIB is a much improved weapon over the Destroyer missile, much faster, longer ranged and with double the hitting power.
Missile Size: 6 MSP (0.3 HS) Warhead: 16 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 27
Speed: 60000 km/s Endurance: 50 minutes Range: 180.0m km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.54 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 540,000 km
Cost Per Missile: 11.715
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 1620% 3k km/s 540% 5k km/s 324% 10k km/s 162%
Materials Required: 4.75x Tritanium 0.54x Uridium 8.35x Gallicite Fuel x3750
Development Cost for Project: 1172RP 8th June 81. Gram – Avalon-A II. Amber, Citrine, Garnet, Jasper, Malachite, Sunstone and Topaz (Gem Mk II class) left the construction ‘yard at Gram - Avalon-A II and were assigned to Survey Task Groups 5(G) and 6(G).
8th August 81. Phi-2 Ceti. Captain Scott Tyler developed a medical problem which affected his long term health, however for the time being he will remain as senior officer of Survey Task Group 3.
17th August 81. Gliese 16. Eventually, after long negotiations with the Asran Council, Venture B-008 obtained permission to explore the single jump point found leading out of Iota Piscium in the inner system in exchange for all information on the star system revealed.
Venture B-008 entered the jump point and discovered Gliese 16, a dim M0-V star without a planetary system. Venture B-008 began a gravitational survey, sensors active but not expecting any hazards. However a few hours into the survey pattern the MR230-R16 search sensor registered a hostile contact, rapidly followed by twenty-one more. Horde gunboats of an unknown class were bearing down on Venture B-008. It had to be assumed the gunboats possessed the usual meson cannon, but the range was unknown. The Venture B-008 was armed with one of the latest 20cm advanced X-ray lasers. Captain Tyler turned his ship towards its entry jump point, but instead of outrunning the Horde he allowed them to close. Tyler intended to use that laser. Things were going to plan, the Horde had closed to just outside the Venture B-008’s engagement range when disaster struck. A contaminant entered the solid core anti-matter chamber, the engine stuttered, then stalled completely, leaving the Venture B-008 dead in space. It should take an hour to strip down, clean and restart the engine, but by calling in all the engineering and weapons staff they were able to strip it down, clean it and perform a crash start on the engine, none of the gentle introduction of reactants specified in the manuals. The Horde were just over 69,000 klicks away, Tyler braced himself for the impact of the Horde meson beams when the engines woke, roared to life, anti-matter exhaust rushing from the vessels venturi, propelling the ship forward. The ship took off at its full velocity of 11,200 k/s, at the same time the weapons staff rushed to man their weapons, activated targeting systems and brought the lead gunboat under fire. The range opened rapidly as the X-ray laser sliced into the Horde craft, shearing them in two. It usually took two hits to kill a gunboat, but occasionally one hit was sufficient to tear them apart as the destructive beam of X-rays carved its way into the guts of the fragile craft. In the space of five minutes, firing every five seconds the laser ripped apart all twenty-two gunboats. Their shattered remains littered the field of combat with their vital fluids now solidified in the cold vacuum of space.
Venture B-008 returned to Iota Piscium after informing Star Corps Command via ansible. Task Force 4 was detailed to deal with this infestation, but negotiating safe passage with the Asran Council took an inordinate length of time.
3rd September 81. Gliese 16. Three weeks later Task Force 4 arrived in Gliese 16. As the Task Force closed the primary, the automated voice of the combat comp rang out over the bridge coms system of the fleet scout Pioneer. “Hostile Ship Contact! Contact ID: 002, Class ID: Augalsil, Race ID: The Horde, TCS 1200. Hostile Ship Contact! Contact ID: 002, Class ID: Gomaithil, Race ID: The Horde, TCS 120.”The alert continued until all the miners had been identified and enumerated.
The fleet had found the Augalsil class brood mother along with ten Gomaithil class miners 3000 million klicks from the jump point and only 1000 million klicks from the dim red dwarf. Task Force 4 consisted of:
Task Group 4.1 - Jump Ship – Diligence. Missile Frigates -Escarpment, Scree, Spire and Mountain. Fleet Scout - Pioneer.
Task Group 4.2 - Jump Destroyer - Aglaranna. Missile Boats - Medusa, Kraken and Imp. Escorts - Cobalt. and Hassium.
Task Group 4.3 - Jump Destroyer - Ashen Shugar. Missile Boats - Kobold, Hydra and Minator. Escorts - Iron and Rhodium.
Task Group 4.4 - Jump Destroyer – Rhuagh. Missile Boats - Ogre, Orc and Pegasus. Escorts – Ruthenium and Osmium.
8th September 81. Gliese 16. It took a few days for the Task Force to move into position; finally at a range of 100 million klicks the missile frigates opened fire on the Gomaithil class miners. This was followed by Imp Kobold, Hydra and Medusa simultaneously launching 196 Firestar IV missiles accompanied by a further forty missiles from the frigates at the brood mother. Inevitably when the damage to the brood mother reached a critical point another horde of gunboats were released which were then picked off by the waiting frigates.
10th September 81. Gliese 16. As the Task Force withdrew through Gliese 16 a fleeting contact with the Asran Council vessel Candace 002 was obtained. One couldn’t help but wonder what the Asran vessel would have done had the Union not cleared the infestation in Gliese 16.
16th September 81. Gliese 16. Survey Task Group 3 returned to Gliese 16 and completed the gravitational survey and found a new Jump Point in the Gliese 16 System. The Asran Council had been impressed by the reports its survey vessel provided on its return concerning the action it had witnessed in Gliese 16. So much so that they eventually finalised the agreement for an official embassy on the Asran home world and also leased a vast tract of one of the more inhospitable continents to the Union with permission for the Union to base ground forces there and conduct war games.
8th October 81. Iota Piscium. The 4th Sky & Light Division, 8th Assault Division and the 12th Leviathan Division arrived and deployed on the Asran home planet. At the same time Task Force 5 arrived in Giclas 126-49. Star Corps HQ had decided to dispatch Task Force 5 to Giclas 126-49 in an effort to discourage the Asran Council from exploring in the direction of Wolf 906 out of Giclas 126-49. Task Force 5 was the newest task force in the Star Corps. Task group 5.3 was deployed at the Wolf 906-Giclas 126-49 wormhole while the rest were deployed at the Giclas 126-49 Iota Piscium jump point. Task Force 5 consisted of:
TG 5.1 - Jump Escort Cruiser - Vanguard. Missile Cruisers - Raider, Relentless and Reliant. Fleet Scout -Farsight. Escort - Neon.
TG5.2 - Jump Escort Cruiser - Swiftsure. Missile Cruisers - Renown, Resolution and Revenge. Fleet Scout – Scanner. Escort - Nitrogen.
TG5.3 - Jump Escort Cruiser -Superb. Missile Cruisers - Broadsword, Claymore and Cutlass. Escort - Ruthenium.
TG5.4 – Jump Destroyer - Valheeru. Missile Boats - Bayard, Bicorne, Bunyip and Camelopard. Escort - Yttrium.
15th October 81. Iota Piscium. The 9th Marine Division joined the rest of the Union forces deployed on the Iota Piscium-A VII military reserve. Personnel returning from R&R elsewhere on the planet said the population’s attitude to them ranges from ambivalent to outright hostility. The Asran Council appeared to have several factions, a vocal minority of which wanted the aliens out. Major-General Wang passed on his concerns to Star Corps HQ.
18th October 81. Phi-2 Ceti. Exploration of the single unexplored jump point in the Gliese 16 system revealed the new system of Phi-2 Ceti. Survey Task Group 3 began the survey of Phi-2 Ceti. It was a promising system even though it was on the “wrong” side of Iota Piscium, there was an HI 0 planet in system and at least one other good terraforming candidate. Captain Tyler decided on a jump point survey first, followed by a geological survey of the system. The survey began with some trepidation since the wreck of a Destroyer Las Palmas class warship accompanied by two wrecks of unknown origin orbited the fourth planet from the F7-VI star. The Destroyers had been here. The question was, were they still here?
23rd October 81. Phi-2 Ceti. 17:46. Lieutenant Abigail Gregory, captain of the Venture B-009 surveyed her bridge, all stations manned as they surveyed the scheduled gravitational survey point. An air of quiet confidence permeated the compartment. The calm of the bridge was shattered as a search sensor alarm triggered the battle comp. “Hostile Ship Contact! Class ID: Dragonera, Race ID: Destroyer, TCS 20, Contact ID: Dragonera 006” blared out in a mechanically voice from the scanner and weapons stations. There was an almost imperceptible pause and the announcement repeated itself, but substituting Dragonera 007 for Dragonera 006. Lieutenant Gregory snapped “Raise shields” as her first response quickly followed by “weapons team close up. Comms, alert the rest of the squadron. Crew to defence stations!” Captain Tyler, captain of B-008 and the Task Group senior officer, had already shown what a well handled 20cm X-ray laser could do and she was determined to emulate his action. “Pilot, plot an intercept course, maximum burn. Execute!” She knew from the fleet database she was facing two Destroyer 1000 ton fast attack craft, and while they were armed with missiles the attack craft were slower than the B-009. If she could weather the missiles she was sure she could take them, she had a 1200 k/s advantage. What was not known was just how many missiles these craft carried. The Dragoneras had been picked up at 230 million klicks and their Otlichny A/S missiles had a range of 38 million klicks so it would be a while before anything more happened (examples of these missiles along with examples of the Hellcat and Bugbear missiles had been recovered from captured Destroyer bases).
38 million klicks came and went, the Destroyers were obviously having a problem with the B-009’s ECM, perhaps they did not have the space to carry ECCM? At 20:39 the sensors picked up two salvos of seven size 6 missiles approaching, rather more than Lieutenant Gregory had hoped for. There was a sharp crack of a discharging capacitor as the 20cm laser fired at the missiles, to no effect, followed by the shudder and roar of the quad gauss turret as it ejected a stream of projectiles into the path of the oncoming missiles, it managing to shatter three of the missiles. Finally there was the rattle of the CIWS as it coughed into life and churned out its own stream of projectiles managing to account for four of the approaching missiles at a mere 1000 klicks from the vessel. This still left seven homing on the B-009. Three of the remaining missiles fell away as they lost terminal guidance lock as the B-009 tried to shake them off with evasive manoeuvres. There was just enough time for the first officer to announce over the ship intercom, “brace for impact” as the four remaining missiles exploded virtually in contact with the B-009’s shields, four twelve-kiloton detonations rocked the B-009 to its keel, the ship staggered under the hammer blows, circuit breakers popped and were quickly slapped back into place. The shields held, diverting the hellish energies and radiation around the hull, rather than allowing it through. Undamaged the vessel charged on after her foes. “Now it’s my turn” thought Lieutenant Gregory.
The Dragoneras turned away with B-009 in pursuit. The enemy attack craft twisted and turned, narrowly avoiding the probing finger of the X-ray laser as it sought for them. More than once they caused Gregory to overshoot, but eventually the pilot conned the ship into a firing position, four hours and six minutes after they attacked B-009, it was the Dragoneras’ turn to be attacked. The laser found Dragonera 007 first and with ease carved sizable chunks out of her, damage increasing as the range wound down. Four minutes was all it took to reduce Dragonera 007 to so much scrap and then it was Dragonera 006’s turn. It took only a handful of minutes to rip apart Dragonera 006, it looked like an invisible knife was cutting into the unfortunate craft slicing sections off until there was no structural cohesion left. Excitement over Venture B-009 returned to the routine business of surveying. “Crew to survey stations” was Lieutenant Gregory’s order which closed out the action.
24th October 81. Phi-2 Ceti. Venture B-009 and Lieutenant Gregory had only resumed the gravitational survey for ten scant hours before once more the sensor array was announcing the arrival of fresh Destroyer forces. This time there was no option to endure the attack before counter attacking, there were six ships in the Destroyer squadron, Neptuno 003, Reina Sofia 002, Reina Sofia 003, Bergantin 002, Patino 002 and Patino 003. Neptuno 003 was all of 13,400 tons, while the others were all new classes to the Union Star Corps. Discretion was the order of the day and Survey Task Group 3 successfully withdrew from Phi-2 Ceti. The Destroyer squadron was reported to Star Corps Command and the Survey squadron picketed the Gliese 16 system.
Soon after the contact with the Destroyer squadron the Union ambassador met with the Asran Council. He laid out the capabilities of the alien Destroyers, backed up by scanner readouts of the recent action. He offered a squadron of ships to protect the Asran home planet for the duration of the emergency, since the Union appeared to be more advanced technologically, going solely on the speed of the Council vessels. The Union ships would be less than 10,000 tons and equipped only with beam weapons. The Council after some heated discussion amongst themselves agreed to this. However it was obvious there was some opposition to the decision. But the decision seemed final and binding. Thus Task Group 5.5 consisting of the jump destroyer Selket and escorts Chlorine, Cobalt, Lithium, Rhenium and Titanium left Gram –Avalon-A II orbit enroute to their new posting.
2nd November 81. Iota Piscium. Task Group 5.5 entered the Iota Piscium system and obtained clearance from Iota Piscium traffic control to proceed in system.
13th November 81. Iota Piscium. Captain Ashley Holden watched the scanner repeater at her command station. The Task Group made orbit of Iota Piscium-A VII in perfect formation, shields raised in honour of the planet they were arriving at. She noted that the Asran Council ships of the Aker and Ua classes along with the orbital Hathor class bases all had active search sensors, estimated as MR12-R1 models. The Selket had no sooner gained orbit than the ship shuddered, the first officer screamed “incoming!” The Aker class vessels had opened fire on the Union Task Group. “All ships draw off by 49,000 klicks, return fire!” was Holden’s shocked reply over the intership com. As one the well drilled squadron pulled away from the planet as the weapons teams sorted out their allocated targets, this was simple for the Selket, with her single quad laser turret, but much more complex for the escorts with two 20cm lasers and five dual gauss turrets. Fortunately targets were allocated by the fire control computer on Selket and transmitted to the rest of the Task Group. Each of the large 14,200 ton Aker and Hathor classes got two 20cm advanced X-ray lasers or the advanced 15cm quad from the Selket. The smaller 7,200 ton Ua and Ptah classes received the output of twenty-five twin gauss turrets.
Within ten seconds all the Asran vessels were streaming atmosphere and fire from the aliens slackened as their rail guns did not appear to have the range of the Union gauss cannon. This was fortunate for the Selket as she had received 75 hits from gauss cannons and another fusillade like that and she would have been in trouble. Lithium now however was targeted by the Hathor bases and was attacked by 81 Glamdrsol anti-missile missiles armed with a one-kiloton but did they not penetrate her shields.
Fifteen seconds into the action and the orbital base Hathor 004 broke up, pieces started to rain down on the planet below, the Asran Council forces fell temporarily silent. A further five seconds and the escorts Ua 002 and Ptah 002 came apart at the seams, life pods spilled from the stricken vessels. Lithium was the target of the paltry Asran response, seven Glamdrsol anti-missile missiles bounced of her shields. This was the last offensive action the Asran navy would ever be able to take.
Twenty-five second into the action and Aker 002, disintegrated, along with Ptah 003, Hathor 002 and Hathor 003, littering the orbitals with wreckage and life pods, all return fire had ceased. Thirty seconds in and Aker 003 and Aker 004 joined their sister, adding their own fragments to the orbital litter and subsequent bombardment of the planet below. Although she had destroyed the Asran Council navy Captain Holden was still absolutely furious, “Comms get me Major-General Wang and tell him we have been attacked, Weapons start targeting their ground forces, let’s see what 15 and 20cm advanced X-ray lasers can do through their poor excuse for an atmosphere (it was 0.62 atmosphere thick).
Within ten seconds super heated air was rushing away from the laser strikes as they cauterised the Asran garrison battalions, the beams visible only because of the ionised air caused by their passage as they crisscrossed the bases destroying all they came near, fire bursting out of any combustible material, fanned by the hurricane of superheated air generated by the beams. Twenty seconds later the Asran army ceased to be. Some hours later Union forces fanned out from their wilderness base and took control of the planet. The Asran Council had fallen in a minute! Although it was a few days before full Union control was established. Three freighters, one colony ship, two gravitational and two geological survey vessels surrendered. Some early technology on rail guns that was novel to the Union was also obtained with reparations, amounting to some 89,023 shillings. However only three automines were present on the planet, a fraction of the number expected.
A message was dispatched via the jump gate to Giclas 126-49 to call in Task Force 5. Task Group 5.5 moved on to Iota Piscoium-A VI and the deadly beams cut through the thin atmosphere, turning infrastructure incandescent, it took just five seconds to destroy two garrison battalions and persuade the governor of the colony to surrender. The force then moved onto the mining colony on Iota Piscium-A I, this time only one escort deployed the terrible beams, but the dome below exploded from the impact of the twin beams, exterminating the colony.
When task Force 5 arrived at Asran – Iota Piscium-A VII orbit Commodore Zhang was appalled at the destruction wrought by such vessels.
9th December 81 Phi-2 Ceti. Commodore Zhang did not tarry long in Iota Piscium and soon pressed onto Phi-2 Ceti to deal with the Destroyer threat and who knows perhaps to find the Destroyer home world at last. Task Force 5 paused at the jump point from Gliese 16 to Phi-2 Ceti, formed into the different task groups and entered Phi-2 Ceti using combat transits, but there was nothing sitting on the jump point. The fleet then moved towards Phi-2 Ceti-A IV.
10th December 81. Phi-2 Ceti. The long-range sensors on the fleet scouts’ Farsight and Scanner soon detected Destroyer forces as the task force moved in system. The scouts discovered two orbital bases one each of the Mistral and Cabo Fradera class which orbited Phi-2 Ceti-A IV in company with one of the Tramontana class troop transports. The squadron previously detected by Venture B-009 was also located, on course to intercept the task force. It still consisted of the same six ships, Neptuno 003, Reina Sofia 002, Reina Sofia 003, Bergantin 002, Patino 002 and Patino 003. Finally on a bearing of 56
o and a declination of 2
o there was another vessel of the Tramontana class.
14th December 81. Phi-2 Ceti. The two opposing fleets closed until at a range of 110 million kilometres the Union R class cruisers opened fire, taking advantage of their longer ranged fire control and after all their missiles were free! Each R class vessel was allocated one of the opposing ships and firing commenced. The 13,400 ton vessels of the Neptuno and Reina Sofia classes were each targeted by 36 missiles while the smaller Bergantin (6,700 tons) and Patino (6,650 tons) classes received the attention of 24 Hellcats.
Thirty-nine minutes later the Destroyers own Hellcat missiles intercepted their vessels. This was the first time they had been used in anger and they were not as effective as the Union’s own smaller Firestar IV, they lacked onboard guidance and had a smaller warhead, but as stated before, they were free. It was noted that the Destroyer point defence was not terribly effective, after this initial exchange of fire none of the larger vessels were streaming atmosphere after weathering the storm of exploding missiles although their thermal signature did decrease. However all was not well with the Bergantin 002 and Patino 003 and while they did not leak atmosphere they suddenly exploded scattering internal components and distorted hull sections across the void.
The R class cruisers resumed the action and fired another two dozen Hellcats at the larger vessels but only twelve at the surviving but sorely hurt Patino 002. Another 30 minutes passed and once more the firmament was alive with the actinic points of light that signified warheads detonating around their targets, unleashing their hellish power. For Patino 002 a dozen Hellcats were too many and she joined her wreckage with that of her sister. The Neptuno 003 also did not fare well with this second exchange of Hellcats, the first salvo of twelve missiles brought her to a stop and the second dozen just tore her apart, few segments larger than a couple of compartments survived. The Reina Sofia class though were made of sterner stuff and weathered even this storm.
Twelve minutes later the first of the Destroyer launched Hellcats approached the Union task force. Due to the newness of the jump escort cruisers and the crews’ unfamiliarity with their systems the anti-missile weapons officers had set their engagement range far too short, the escorts’ weapons officers had effectively stood down waiting to see this new wonder weapon in action. (There were a series of court marshals’ regarding this incident held on Gram at Star Corps HQ.) So the first two Destroyer salvos went in unopposed, the missile cruiser Relentless, Commodore Zhang’s flagship, was their target. The Relentless was fortunate in that she mounted the proven CIWS-320 system which prevented disaster as its stream of depleted uranium slugs took out eight missiles. The remaining twelve slammed into Relentless, nuclear powered lances probing her defences for any weakness. Shields collapsed, but enough held to divert the hellish energies spawned by the Hellcats away from the hull. Weapons officers on the jump escort cruisers Vanguard, Superb and Swiftsure scrambled to reset their boards, and fifteen seconds later their vessels echoed to the noise of the Arrow IV anti-missile missiles as they left their launchers. The next few seconds were harrowing for Commodore Zhang in Relentless as the Hellcats streamed in. However the AMMs were very effective, the Relentless had to only deal with a single leaker which her CIWS system handled adroitly. The new AMM system was able to lock on to enemy missiles at over 4 million klicks from the fleet and none made it through to be targeted by the escorts gauss cannon. The rain of missiles appeared to last a lifetime, but in reality it was over in eleven minutes, and a handful of minutes after that Union Hellcats burst on the Reina Sofias, it took only half-a-dozen to reduce both vessels to wreckage. Having vanquished the Destroyer squadron the fleet pressed on to Phi-2 Ceti-A IV.
20th December 81. Phi-2 Ceti. Task Force 5, still dispersed into its discrete task groups gained a position from which to engage the two orbital bases around Phi-2 Ceti-A IV. The six R class cruisers engaged the Cabo Fradera 003 with 72 Hellcats while the Sword class cruisers attacked Mistral 003 with 90 Firestar IVs. There then followed one of the mysteries of warfare. The ninety Firestars in two waves, arrived a good seventeen minutes before the Hellcats and were all intercepted by AMMs and point defence, none reached their target, but of the Hellcats, all hit the Cabo Fradera, none were intercepted and the base disappeared in a blizzard on nuclear detonations. The R class then engaged Mistral 003 and once more none of the Hellcats were intercepted by a base which had minutes earlier taken out ninety attacking missiles. Needless to say the base did not survive the experience. It was with some disappointment that Commodore Zhang received the news that the planet Phi-2 Ceti-A IV was silent on both the EM and thermal sensors. It was empty. If it had been the Destroyer home world they were no longer there. The other possible home world for the Destroyers in the system was Phi-2 Ceti-A II, but that too was dead in both the EM and thermal spectra. Phi-2 Ceti was not the Destroyer home system.
The fleet continued on its approach to Phi-2 Ceti-A IV, arriving within 19 million klicks at 14:19 on the 21st, the search sensors on the JCLEs located twenty-four mines in orbit of the planet. The task force closed to 17 million klicks and engaged them successfully with Arrow IVs. Finding nothing else of interest the fleet dispersed, each task group checking out the planets of Phi-2 Ceti for more nasty surprises. But all they found were a couple of Destroyer bases on Phi-2 Ceti-A I and Phi-2 Ceti-A I-Moon 3 complete with their own active cybernetic ground forces. They would have to wait for the construction of jump gates to allow the passage of troop transports as the Union still had no jump ship capable of taking the transports through a jump point.
28th December 81. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. Rocket (Relentless Mk II class) first of the new Mk II R class cruisers left the orbital construction complex in Excalibur - Avalon-A IV orbit. This version used the latest Milspec SCAD engines to increase performance to 14,000 k/s. The design also featured improved protection with more shields larger magazines and an updated CIWS.
Relentless Mk II class Missile Cruiser 15,000 tons 1620 Crew 8522 BP TCS 300 TH 336 EM 4800
14000 km/s Armour 3-54 Shields 160-400 Sensors 54/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 37 PPV 72
Maint Life 3.29 Years MSP 2486 AFR 257% IFR 3.6% 1YR 347 5YR 5210 Max Repair 289 MSP
Magazine 984
MilSpec SCAD E2.75 (20) Power 210 Fuel Use 27.5% Signature 16.8 Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 325,000 Litres Range 141.8 billion km (117 days at full power)
Sigma R400/20 Shields (20) Total Fuel Cost 400 Litres per day
CIWS-500 (1x10) Range 1000 km TS: 50000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Size 6 Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size 6 Rate of Fire 30
Missile Fire Control FC230-R16 (2) Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
Hellcat IIIB (164) Speed: 60,000 km/s End: 50m Range: 180m km WH: 16 Size: 6 TH: 540 / 324 / 162
Active Search Sensor MR230-R16 (1) GPS 2880 Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
Thermal Sensor TH3-54 (1) Sensitivity 54 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 54m km
ECCM-6 (2) ECM 60
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes 1st January 82. Phi-2 Ceti. The dispersed task groups closed around the shy Tramontana 005, so it could not avoid coming into range of at least one task group. This was not a straight forward exercise but the now battle hardened ships of the task force were up to the task. Even when in range these vessels were tough and it took most of Task Group 5.1’s remaining Hellcats. The process was repeated to eliminate Tramontana 006, Task Group 5.1 exhausted its magazines and Task Group 5.2 had to administer the coup de grace with the more expensive Firestar IV missiles. These operations took the Task Force well into the New Year
With the system secure it was turned over to Survey Task Group 3 and Task Force 5 retired to Iota Piscium for R&R.
5th January 82. Gliese 912. An exploration of a jump point in the 6 Ceti system by Survey Task Group 2 revealed the new system of Gliese 912. The system consisted of a dim red dwarf, three planets, a handful of comets and sixteen moons. The only interest was in a deposit of better than five megatons of duranium on Gliese 912-A III with an accessibility of 0.6.
2nd February 82. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. The jump cruiser Resurgence (Vanguard Mk IB class) completed at the orbital complex in Excalibur - Avalon-A IV orbit.
12th March 82. Phi-2 Ceti. A survey vessel from Survey Task Group 3 discovered a partially intact alien city on Phi-2 Ceti-A II.
21st March 82. Phi-2 Ceti. A survey vessel from Survey Task Group 3 discovered the ruin of an alien colony on Phi-2 Ceti-A IV. This was the first time two ruins have been found in the same star system.
24th March 82. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. The jump ships Eclipse, Encounter, Enterprise and Escapade (Endurance Mk III class) left the construction bays in Excalibur - Avalon-A IV orbit and were assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon before joining their operational task groups.
Endurance Mk III class Jump Ship 11,400 tons 1168 Crew 10710.1 BP TCS 228 TH 252 EM 3600
13815 km/s JR 6-1000 Armour 3-45 Shields 120-400 Sensors 42/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 38 PPV 33
Maint Life 4.16 Years MSP 4697 AFR 129% IFR 1.8% 1YR 436 5YR 6535 Max Repair 2250 MSP
J11400(6-1000) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 11400 tons Distance 1000k km Squadron Size 6
MilSpec SCAD E2.75 (15) Power 210 Fuel Use 27.5% Signature 16.8 Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 255,000 Litres Range 146.4 billion km (122 days at full power)
Sigma R400/20 Shields (15) Total Fuel Cost 300 Litres per day
Advanced 20cm X-Ray Laser (2) Range 800,000km TS: 13815 km/s Power 10-10 RM 7 ROF 5 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 9 8
Quad Advanced 15cm C6 X-Ray Laser Turret (1x4) Range 560,000km TS: 55500 km/s Power 24-24 RM 7 ROF 5 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 5
CIWS-500 (2x10) Range 1000 km TS: 50000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Fire Control S04 400-12500 (2) Max Range: 800,000 km TS: 12500 km/s 99 98 96 95 94 92 91 90 89 88
Fire Control S12 300-50000 (1) Max Range: 600,000 km TS: 50000 km/s 98 97 95 93 92 90 88 87 85 83
Gas-core Anti-matter Power Plant Technology PB-1 (1) Total Power Output 4 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Gas-core Anti-matter Power Plant Technology PB-1 (4) Total Power Output 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR230-R16 (1) GPS 2880 Range 230.4m km Resolution 16
Active Search Sensor MR19-R1 (1) GPS 60 Range 19.2m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH3-42 (1) Sensitivity 42 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 42m km
ECM 60
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes 28th April 82. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. The missile cruisers Redoubtable Ranger Rapid (Relentless Mk II class) completed at the orbit ‘yard complex orbiting Excalibur - Avalon-A IV and were assigned to Training Squadron – Avalon before joining their operational task groups.
16th May 82. Excalibur – Avalon-A IV. Surveyor and Inspector, (Super Scout Mk I class), left the orbital ‘yard complex at Excalibur - Avalon-A IV and were assigned to Training Squadron- Avalon prior to their operational deployment.
1st June 82. Phi-2 Ceti. Troop Transport Task Group 5 delivered the 4th Sky & Light Division to Phi-2 Ceti-A I. Occupation of the destroyer base would proceed once the Division’s base was secured.
1st June 82 05:02:56,Phi-2 Ceti. The 4th Sky & Light began their operation to clear the Destroyer base on the planet. They were facing the usual Destroyer cybernetic soldiers and managed to destroy nearly a third of the two enemy formations. Unfortunately the mechanical monsters caught the 228th Mobile Infantry Battalion off-guard and it suffered 25%of its suits decommissioned, though there were few fatalities.
6th June 82 . Gram – Avalon-A II. Captain Scott Tyler has been promoted to Squadron Leader. Squadron Leader Tyler is between appointments after a successful posting in command of Survey Task Group 3 during which he was awarded the Star of the Union and the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross after defeating twenty-two Horde gunboats single-handed.
13th June 82 05:02:56,Phi-2 Ceti. The 4th Sky & Light pressed its attack on the Destroyer base, the fighting within the base confines was unremitting and saw the destruction of many of the Destroyer mechanical berserkers. One unit of Destroyer automatons suffered estimated losses of 95%. The other lost a third of its cybernetic slayers.
25th August 82. Mu Cygni. The terraforming of Meadow - Mu Cygni-B IV has been completed. It will receive its first colonists in the next few weeks. The planet will become an agriculture/resort planet once a suitable biosphere has been introduced. Meadow - Mu Cygni-B IV is the second of three planets in the B component to be successfully terraformed. A final planet in the A component will be the last to be terraformed in this system. All but the final candidate will specialise in farming, light industry and/or entertainment. The last is currently a mining colony.
22nd October 82. Xi Pegasi. The atmosphere of Orchard - Xi Pegasi-B V has just become breathable. This is the third of four planets in the system which have undergone terraforming operations. This planet is now open for colonisation and will specialise in agriculture, light industry and resort facilities.
19th June 82. Phi-2 Ceti. The last few Destroyer mechanisms were found and destroyed deep within the complex. The only task now remaining was to clean up the base and take stock of any munitions stored there.
24th June 82. Phi-2 Ceti - Moon 3. The 4th Sky and Light turned its attention to the next Destroyer base located on the third moon of Phi-2 Ceti-A I. This operation turned into an anti-climax as there were no garrison units left in an operational state, age had taken its toll.
Each base was found to contain 465 Hellcat missiles, 2964 bugbear anti-missiles and 14 Otlichny missiles. There were enough Hellcats to resupply Task Force 5 and have over 300 left in stock.
26th November 82. Iota Piscium. A scapegoat was being sought after 250,000 colonists died after being stranded on an inhospitable mining colony in Iota Piscium system. They should have been landed at the new Union colony of Holden – Iota Piscium-A VI; instead they were disembarked on Iota Piscium-A IV, a barren mining colony. One avenue of investigation was disaffected Asran officials from the previous administration, several of whom still worked within system traffic control, may have deliberately misdirected the colonists’ ships.
15th December 82. Iota Piscium. Cargo Task Group 11, consisting of three Amon class freighters appropriated from the Asran Council after its fall and pressed into Union service, approached their destination, Asteroid #65 in the inner asteroid belt. As the freighters approached their feeble thermal sensors suddenly indicated the presence of an Asran Council colony already present on the asteroid with an EM and thermal signature of 320. Fortunately the group commander was a Union citizen, a Devarian, he was on duty and saw the sensor report so the crew had no chance to hide the evidence. The commander made a hurried call to Task Force 5, Commodore Zhang himself joined in the communications to ascertain the true facts, it was almost unbelievable, a holdout Asran Council colony! The 9th Marine Division was hurriedly tasked with bringing the wayward colony under control.
18th December 82. Iota Piscium. The 9th Marine Division finished unloading and immediately commenced hostilities against the perfidious Asran Council holdouts.
24th December 82. Iota Piscium. The Marine Division made a careful advance against the Asran colony. The marines caught and pinned the 6th Asran garrison battalion and inflicted severe casualties on it, 50% of the unit was killed or incapacitated.
1st January 83. Iota Piscium. The combat on Asteroid #65 continued. The Asran Asteroid garrison battalion decided to try its luck by ambushing the 212th Marine battalion, only to find they had a Basilisk by the tail, they were lucky to escape with a bare 25% of the battalion in any condition to continue the fight; the remnants of the 6th were decimated as they attempted to withdraw from the field. Elsewhere the Asran 7th battalion lost 45% when it tried to prevent the advance of the 215th Marine Brigade.
8th January 82. Iota Piscium. Fierce fighting continued on Asteroid #65. The 6th Asran battalion was severely mauled by the advancing Marines, losing over half their remaining establishment. The 7th and the Asteroid battalions did not escape either with combined casualties in the region of 30% as the Marines completed encircling the small colony.
Gram- Avalon-A II. The jump cruisers Glory and Zealous and the missile cruisers Zhanmadao, Jain, Pulwar, Kilij, Shamshir, Saif, Sidesword and Spatha (Sword class Mk IB) left the ‘Yards in Gram - Avalon-A II orbit to join Training Squadron – Avalon.
13th January 83. Iota Piscium. Major General Wang appealed to the defenders of the Asteroid #65 mining colony to lay down their arms, but he was rebuffed and had no choice but to order the final attack on the administration building held by the remnants of the three Asran battalions. The end was predictable, and all three battalions disintegrated, no longer a fighting force. The Marines spent the next week cleaning up, clearing unspent ordnance and removing outlying posts that were by-passed in the initial landings.
18th January 83. Iota Piscium. Major General Wang was surprised when the accounting of the asteroid #65 colony was completed. He was expecting a ghost colony such as the Imperials were fond of. Instead he had an operational mining colony with 58 automines and a mass driver. This accounted for the missing automines that were expected to be surrendered on the fall of the Asran Council.
End of Part Seven.
