Personal log, Vizeadmiral Patrick Behren
We have become dangerously complacent, giving aliens a wide berth and attempting diplomacy from afar. This left us blind to the biggest threat humanity has faced yet. We left when we observed signs of combat, and even our trading partners remain tight-lipped. Perhaps they fear an opportunistic attack.
Today, earth is celebrating the first victory of humankind over an alien aggressor. We know almost nothing about them - unlike the others they never responded to our hails. Their only communication consisted of lethal beam fire and ramming attempts against our exploration ships. We found no civilian traffic, and no population centers. They either came from jump points we are not aware of, or from the far side of the various wormholes that have been sighted near our home system.
When a hostile transit into Sol was detected, a small task force of our most capable four 13500t beam cruisers - not even fully worked up yet - brought the 39000t vessel to task. Despite an incredible enemy ECM suite, they could land hits at ca. 230,000km while the enemy could only respond below 200,000km. Careful handling meant nothing penetrated our shields, but the analysis of the wreck (no survivors) raises grave concerns.
This was no battleship. If enemy shipbuilding practices mirror our own, it was an escort vessel - armed with small laser turrets designed against targets going at 100,000km/s, more than twice the speed of our most capable missiles. Their weapon technology, antimatter-based propulsion systems and electronic warfare capabilities are generations ahead of our own.
The Office of Naval Construction is in chaos. Our laser monitors can't be relied on to defend jump points, they'd struggle to score a single hit at point blank range. Our missile forces remain untested, but even if the weapons themselves are effective against the sophisticated point defence we know they have, we don't have enough ammunition to repel a major incursion. Also, no supply train for continuous operations - missiles have so far been treated as the final option if everything else fails, and to be avoided if at all possible. The victorious fast wing may well turn out powerless the next time, our margin of speed and range was marginal and we faced no weapon above 10cm in calibre.
All future designs will have to take asymmetric warfare against a superior opponent into account. In the long run, we must get our hands on their technology. Boarding technology and the formation of a Marine corps are being considered, even though we have no idea if we could operate their ships if captured. Regardless of the route chose, earth is preparing for a war of annihilation and all trans-Newtonian industry is repurposed for defence.
The planned operation against the robotic guardians adjacent to Sol, the first offensive action in space, will proceed at reduced strength. While a far cry from the new threat, their technology is superior to ours in most most areas, and one planet harbours an installation that could revolutionise missile and kinetic weapon research.
Will others scour the ruins of earth one day, trying to make sense of our culture while desperately looking for anything that helps them stave off an unknown and implacable enemy? Only a few years ago, I felt privileged to be born in a time where the stars are open for exploration, rather than just a source of wonder and longing. Now, I rest uneasy thinking of the secrets they hold.