The absolute finest cultural sensitivity training has been made mandatory for all officers of the Imperial Navy, I see. As it should be, of course.
Imperial Space Force would be the correct name. The Imperial Navy is an actual navy that protects the Imperium floating cities over the oceans of Earth.
======================
> Memoirs of an Imperial Space Force Officer
> Be 41
> Live in The Current Year + 145
> Emperor shouts "Ave Victoria!".
> Shout "Ave Victoria!" and salute the Emperor.
> Emperor shouts "Ave Victoria!" again.
> Shout "Ave Victoria!" and salute the Emperor again.
> Remember good old days just before joining Schola Sancta Terra, when was part of the Imperial Youth movement.
> Joined death squad to hunt down mutant scum who willingly have chosen to no longer be human, festering hive cities.
> Pal with weird tastes invites me to an Anime convention at a hive city, unaware of my membership.
> Convention is filled with furry mutants and also some scalies and others even weirder, all who once were human.
> At first I was like:
> *Cringe*
> Then I was like:
> *Purging Intensifies*
> "Friend" calls me a bunch of words ending with -ist and goes on and on like a gigantic crybaby.
> I summarily judge this ex-friend as a traitor to mankind and *BLAM* this heretic mutant lover with a bit of sadness. May Imperial justice always be fair. The Emperor Protects.
> Pile up horrible doujins all over the convention with heretical drawings of mutant women with cat ears among other abominations for book burning ceremony.
> Be given the honor to be the one who shall light the fire that will purge all such degeneracy and consign it to oblivion.
> Nothing of value was lost. Bonfire was really large by the end of the ceremony.
> Stench of some really low quality imported junk food from Japan called pocky is overwhelming.
> Suddenly I wake up and realize all of that was a no more than a dream, I have no idea what an "Anime", "doujin" or "pocky" is.
> What the hell did I just dream of and why?
> Some quack reads my comments in the Net and claims I dreamed of an alternate universe.
> Don't care personally about this, just sharing with fellow anons for entertainment.
> HFY³--Anonymous copypasta dated from 2160
The Daily Stormemes, 27th of May, 2163
Editorial: The Hos of Babylon
A cancer still festers upon every continent of the planet, a remnant of the "progressive" degenerate non-civilization which ashes the Imperium built itself from, purifying the filth and crushing the enemies of its superior values, when necessary. A cracked, corrupted corpse of long lost cultures, of peoples who lost their identity, their roots, who forgot their past and have forsaken their future, betraying in the most abject and vile way their ancestors. Why imperial authority refuses to end forever the remnants of such blight is a mystery. At least very restrictive migration policies prohibit the genetic sewage of these necropolises from ever leaking out of this planet.
"Why should the hive cities be called non-civilizations?", first-time readers may ask. They are non-civilizations for their absolute denial of every foundation of any successful civilized society: Blood, Honor and Soil.
The Denial of Blood: behold a sewage of rootless dregs of the dregs of mankind, inferior beings without any real cultural identity which combine the genetic flaws and the worst traits of all peoples on Earth, a septic tank of human genes thrown into a gigantic totem of consumerism commanded by gigantic capitalists who control finances, media, "education", everything with absolute power, where atomized and doomed individuals exist for no other purpose than to be exploited. The open borders of hive cities are no more than the open mouth of a Venus flytrap to ensnare and devour fools who think they will find prosperity and dignity in the self-proclaimed "culturally rich and tolerant" hellhole every hive city is. The only tolerance is the tolerance over the most crass abuse, cruelty, inhumanity and exploitation and the only enrichment has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with the ever-expanding wealth of a monstrously decadent, cowardly and immoral elite of useless parasites to mankind. Beyond what is evident, who knows what horrors happen in the dark corners of Earth where creepy cults these Babylons are always attracting congregate? Human sacrifices, babies thrown to pyres in the name of false gods, babymeat cannibal black markets? Even worse?
The Denial of Honor is obvious. There is no honor or honour(sic) to be found anywhere within a hive city. It's normal for a "best friend" to stab the other "friend" in the back for only one cent or even for less. No ties to anything result inevitably into a culture of selfish pursuit of wealth, power and pleasure above everyone and all else in this soulless theme park, a dark and twisted parody of authentic cultures. No binding promises ever are respected in such a place except at gunpoint or through force of contractual legislation also enforced at gunpoint. Even families are just a facade, blood ties as worthless as "friendship". Babies in most hive cities are literally merchandise to be bought and sold in slave markets, and not even one individual will speak up against families that conduct such an abominable act against their own children for selfish interest. Truly a spectacle of horrors, the ultimate form of democracy in all its grotesqueness, the proof of the superiority of the Fourth Way and that all the ideals of the "Enlightenment" are lies, lies of a false Enlightenment which once threatened to cast a veil of perpetual darkness, a funeral wreath upon mankind only barely avoided thanks to the bravery of the forerunners of our great movement who resurrected their peoples from degeneracy.
The Denial of Soil comes most evidently from the lack of any official borders, for the spider always welcomes the little insects blindly immigrating to its web. The denial of soil also has another meaning in the heavily stratified hive: most inhabitants have less than illegal migrants stopped at the border checkpoint of every society that isn't a hellhole: their living standards and work conditions are analogous to slavery, even in imperial hive cities where explicit slavery is forbidden, and they are truly denied soil and any form of private property: every single piece of land belongs to a tiny minority arguably even worse than the worst xenos scum, for only the greatest monsters in human guise have any chance to rise to the top of the hive city societal pyramid, ensuring through genetic inheritance their descendants will always be born like their parents, a minority so devoid of humanity their mindset is as reptilian as that of the Lizardpeople Hegemony. We have no hesitation to affirm they are a greater threat than the xenos and should not be considered human, therefore their extermination would not be a crime against mankind but a favor to mankind.
Will we one day pay the highest price in a distant or not so distant future for toleration of such corrupted and immoral enclaves within our Imperium that reward dishonor, treachery, cowardice, decadence and all other traits that shape up only heretics, traitors and the greatest of all internal enemies? What will it take for the authorities to wake up, an entire hive city becoming 99% inhabited by grotesque, reviled anthropomorphic parodies of natural animals who once were human and making nuclear purification the only solution? Hopefully not before a wiser Emperor cleanses the planet of these festering tumors. Time will tell.
The Emperor was reading this peculiar piece with relative lack of interest, just the usual thoughts to be expected from the most radical National-Humanists, yet after finishing this relaxing reading for the pursuit of inner peace, she commented:
If they knew the crooked vermin who rule every single hive city have a "dead man's switch" at their disposal, they wouldn't be so eager for the annihilation of these remnants of the Old World Order. Containing them is the only option that won't result in billions of deaths, and while they surely are probing us for weaknesses, trying to corrupt and infiltrate our government and institutions, paying shills through their intelligence agencies to puppeteer protests and so on, for the next centuries it is unlikely our civilization will be weak enough to fall into their lies. Hopefully we shall lift the greatest and finest off this Earth long before the first symptoms of decline hit this empire and force more final measures to prevent them from subverting and subjugating the Imperium.Why keep the knowledge of these "dead men' switches" a state secret even now?Because, Chancellor Marta, the effectiveness of such threats is much weaker without general knowledge of their existence. There will be a Day of Reckoning, but not in our lifetime. I suspect the goblin elites have their own reasons to not publicize their dead men' switches, perhaps they are afraid letting everyone aware of it could backfire against them. A dead man's switch is no defense against those who would rather die free than live as slaves and are ready to initiate the ethic cleansing of their oppressors without remorse or hesitation.Ethic cleansing? Did I hear that correctly?Yes.And?And Might is Right. In the wars we fight the victors are heroes who do nothing wrong and the losers are always vilified war criminals. This is how "history" is written since the beginning of time. Essentially, the only war crime is to lose.I see. Now, changing the subject, about the disassembly of alien technology, things are going very well. All captured ships are on the way to Sol, there was no attempt at the Abaddon system from the xenos to engage our forces. The first captured destroyer should be here by the end of June.While the gains from disassembling particle beams are not expected to be high or much useful, the salvage will definitively help, alien ships broken down to construct more imperial spacecraft for the Space Force, an ironic process in many ways. Perhaps far more tempting was the lone destroyer(?) in the Grimgor system, but the Justicar armor would have to be repaired and space marine squadrons reinforced first. The Emperor this time would be more clear. By 12th of July of 2163, an explicit Imperial order was given for the Strike Cruiser to head to the Grimgor system and capture the solitary alien ship guarding its jump point.
Meanwhile, in 17th of July the ELINT ship was returning to friendly territory for another overhaul, and by 22nd of July reserve forces of space marines were available to reinforce the squadrons that suffered losses in the previous boarding actions and also mostly likely for those which will suffer further losses in the ongoing operation at Grimgor.
The signs of past battles lingered, the folly of sending short ranged Gauss cannons against the frigate flotillas still there, but this would be a dangerous operation. The target for boarding would be faster than the previous alien ships that were successfully boarded. Yet, those who were ready to risk death in this daunting task knew no fear.
At 26th of July, 13:54:30, the shout of "Ave Victoria" was given while three particle lances tore through the shields of the Justicar, now reduced to 76%. This was a salvo from only one Bank 007. A whole fleet of these alien ships armed with particle lances could have been devastating beyond measure. While the alien vessel was recharging to fire again, the assault shuttles emerged to a far riskier boarding action, for this alien ship had a speed of 6766 km/s.
Battle Report:
13:54:35 - Heavy casualties suffered during boarding attempt, 42 out of 115 space marines lost. List of fallen heroes:
I Romulus Ravens - 7 losses. 5 Plasma Bolter, 2 Fireteam Leaders
II Northern Varangians - 10 losses. 7 Plasma Bolter, 3 Plasma MG. Survivors not reporting any attempts to breach armor. Total squadron loss might have happened.
Either MIA or the most senior surviving officer of the Northern Varangians disbanded them to reinforce other squadrons.
III Duranium Triarii - 11 losses. 8 Plasma Bolter, 2 Plasma MG, 1 Fireteam Leader
IV Space Wolves - 7 losses. 5 Plasma Bolter, 1 Plasma MG, 1 Fireteam Leader
V Ultrasolarii - 7 losses. 5 Plasma Bolter, 1 Plasma MG, 1 Fireteam Leader
Given the extremely close maximum speeds and pointlessness of destroying the alien ship while boarding is underway,
Justicar is ordered to jump back to the Omicron Piscis Austrini system. The surviving space marines are on their own.
13:54:40
Justicar strike cruiser successfully disengaged and left the Grimgor system, heading back to Epsilon Leonis Minoris. Bank 007 does not attempt to pursue it through the jump point.
13:57:40
Space Marines breached through Bank 007 armor and commence their courageous offensive.
Round 1: 12 gecko pelts collected. Ultrasolarii lost 1 Plasma Bolter marine without a Spiritual Liege here to Mary Sue them.
Round 2: 25 gecko pelts collected. Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma MG and 1 Plasma Bolter. Ultrasolarii lost another Bolter marine.
Round 3: 17 gecko pelts collected. Ultrasolarii lost 1 Plasma MG. Fate of II Northern Varangians remain uncertain.
Round 4: 15 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 5: 21 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 6: 22 gecko pelts collected. Romulus Ravens, Duranium Triarii and Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma Bolter each.
Round 7: 11 gecko pelts collected. Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma Bolter marine.
Round 8: 15 gecko pelts collected. Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma MG and Romulus Ravens 1 Plasma Bolter.
Round 9: 12 gecko pelts collected. Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma Bolter marine.
Round 10: 10 gecko pelts collected. Duranium Triarii lost 1 Fireteam Leader and Ultrasolarii lost another Plasma Bolter.
Round 11: 11 gecko pelts collected. Duranium Triarii lost 1 Plasma MG.
Round 12: 12 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 13: 12 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 14: 18 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 15: 19 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 16: 11 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 17: 15 gecko pelts collected. Space Wolves lost 1 Plasma Bolter marine.
Round 18: 12 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 19: 13 gecko pelts collected. Ultrasolarii lost 1 Plasma Bolter.
Round 20: 12 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 21: 13 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 22: 11 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 23: 12 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 24: 10 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 25: 14 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 26: 10 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 27: 16 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 28: 10 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 29: 7 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 30: 9 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
Round 31: 11 gecko pelts collected. No casualties.
26/July/2163 14:29:30
Bank 007 is successfully captured by the space marines despite very heavy losses, including all 23 proud
and fearless II Northern Varangians, their complete loss confirmed once control of the vessel was established.
72 out of 115 space marines gave their lives to secure this victory with not even a single shot from spaceship weapons fired. The II Northern Varangians have crossed the Gates of Valhalla and ascended to the hall of legends, they shall never be forgotten. Their bravery is an example for all.
Press F to Pay Respects
o> o> o> o> o> o> o>With this victory, the technical details of Zun V, the particle lance destroyer, were now available, and made it clear Imperial propulsion technology was still lagging behind the xenos tech, only the general fuel efficiency was better, which allowed for designs with more emphasis on speed over efficiency compared to the alien ships without taxing fuel logistics too much, which in turn made such technological advantage less tactically useful for the xenos than it would be otherwise.
Zun V class Destroyer 13,892 tons 414 Crew 3,457.5 BP TCS 278 TH 1,880 EM 0
6766 km/s Armour 6-51 Shields 0-0 HTK 90 Sensors 11/11/0/0 DCR 3 PPV 72
Maint Life 0.32 Years MSP 466 AFR 515% IFR 7.1% 1YR 1,455 5YR 21,821 Max Repair 470 MSP
Lord-Captain Control Rating 2 BRG ENG
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
Internal Fusion Drive EP940 (2) Power 1880 Fuel Use 46.13% Signature 940 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,250,000 Litres Range 35.1 billion km (60 days at full power)
Particle Lance-18 (4) Range 240,000km TS: 6,766 km/s Power 55-5 ROF 55
CIWS-200 (1x4) Range 1000 km TS: 20,000 km/s ROF 5
Beam Fire Control R320-TS5000 (2) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Tokamak Fusion Reactor R6 (4) Total Power Output 22.9 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor AS105-R125 (1) GPS 15750 Range 105m km Resolution 125
Thermal Sensor TH1-11 (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km
EM Sensor EM1-11 (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 26.2m km
ECCM-2 (1) ECM 20
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes
Disassembly of its engines would help but also delay production of more cruisers due to retools, and in any case, such research would take time. For now the focus of propulsion research was on even better overall fuel efficiency. However, something else was happening.
This might be their home system. We might have finally located it. Why else would such reinforcements arrive this soon?Maybe, but it could as well be a very important star system for the xenos instead.Observation through the conveniently ignored recon satellite identified the arrival of 2 other Zun V class particle lance destroyers towards the jump point by August the 2nd. Maybe Grimgor is the home of the Lizardpeople Hegemony as hypothesized.
We need more shipyards. At least eight. Look at that! So many particle lances. We are lucky they seem afraid of going in an all-out assault against our space for now. Twenty-five destroyers with three particle lances each. For now we have only one strike cruiser, one heavy cruiser still undergoing refit and thirty-four frigates. They lack jump drives though, so if we deploy everything we have at a jump point against such mass, were them to thrown everything on the offensive, we could have a chance of victory despite the fact the Space Force is outnumbered by far right now. They have much, much more in tonnage of combat vessels and only one shipyard is already in shape to build 15,000 ton cruisers for now.Attacking their home system would be more suicidal than the latest boarding action that barely succeeded given the casualties. This limits immediate strategic advance opportunities to securing a refueling station at the Endovelicus system, and that is it. Preparations for the invasion of their mining colony at Psi Indi are far from complete.At 5th of November, research of extreme temperature adaptation for ground forces was complete. While it was questioned if the so called "Forlorn Hope", as the space marines that would engage in planetary combat as the first wave of offense would become known as, would truly become better with this adaptation that would make their equipment more expensive and slow to produce, the mining colony was very cold and the first wave was deemed better focused on quality given the odds it would have to face while reinforcements were underway. The overall structure would differ a lot from the armored legions, using a new type of unit that was larger than a regiment but smaller than a legion, a trio, roughly one third of a legion, commanded by a very different type of legion HQ formation.
Infantry Legion HQ
Transport Size: 29,994 tons
Build Cost: 2,194.3 BP
2x Legion HQ m2
749x Logistics Motorcycle (LamCom)
48x Aquila m2 Motorized AA
164x Lupus m3 Mech Rocket Artillery
Each HQ would command 3 trios.
Forlorn INF Trium
Transport Size: 10,000 tons
Build Cost: 520.9 BP
6x Space Support Director (LamCom)
250x Logistics Motorcycle (LamCom)
1000x Ice-7 Forlorn Plasma Rifleman (2163)
92x Ice-7 Forlorn Plasma MG (2163)
16x Ice-7 Forlorn Flak Team (2163)
20x Ice-7 Forlorn BFG Team (2163)
2x Trium HQ (LamCom)
And each trio would command, in addition to the troops directly in its formation, two cohorts:
Forlorn INF Cohort
Transport Size: 9,999 tons
Build Cost: 507.5 BP
2x Cohort HQ (LamCom)
255x Logistics Motorcycle (LamCom)
1121x Ice-7 Forlorn Plasma Rifleman (2163)
100x Ice-7 Forlorn Plasma MG (2163)
10x Ice-7 Forlorn Flak Team (2163)
20x Ice-7 Forlorn BFG Team (2163)
A total of about 120,000 tons of ground units that would conquer Psi Indi A-1, including logistics, once the time was right and they were constructed. The greatest difference compared to armored legions was the replacement of logistics trucks with smaller motorcycles, which could not supply units outside of their own formations but were much cheaper. To recover losses in these units a formation with nothing but more logistics bikes would be built to be deployed to a planet a while after the front lines were secured.
Replacement Logistics Bikes
Transport Size: 120,000 tons
Build Cost: 2,400 BP
12000x Logistics Motorcycle (LamCom)
Other infantry waves, if necessary, would not have the "luxury" of heavy power armor or specialized equipment for extreme temperatures. Besides that detail they would be identical to Forlorn Hope units. A similar replacement unit for logistics trucks was also defined, and the cost difference was no small matter.
Replacement Logistics Trucks
Transport Size: 119,970 tons
Build Cost: 4,798.8 BP
1935x Logistics Truck (LamCom)
Despite that difference, the cheaper logistical option would be reserved for infantry legions, simply because the regimental model with 20,000 ton regiments instead of 30,000 ton trios made the necessary granularity of logistics when not using vehicles more inconvenient and likely to result in losses of firepower that were not worth the cost reduction. Besides, armored units weren't the first choice when time and cost to build ground forces were at a premium anyway.
And so the year of 2163 was coming to an end. It was a year of great victories and heroic deeds.
By 18th of January of 2164, the number of particle lance destroyers protecting the Lizardpeople Hegemony home system increased to 26. There was no offensive battle plan feasible with the existing imperial forces against such numbers. The only way to conduct a successful jump point assault was not readily available with existing technology: to jump away from the range of the lances and second: use weaponry which doesn't perform horribly at longer distances in the way plasma does. Research was already happening to fix both: first to allow for jump drives that can achieve greater distance squadron jumps and second, research into missiles, which would likely be the only path in the future for the small 3,000 ton crafts of the Imperium to remain relevant outside of trade lane interdiction and convoy raiding.
In February 2164, the Badger 006 (Zun IV) was finally scrapped, the first boon of the victorious boarding assaults during the previous year.
The necessity of jumping away from the range of the particle lances was finally closer at hand by March. Max squadron jump radius was now 250,000 km. However, the lances had a range of 240,000 km, making that too close for comfort for future jump drive designs. Further research to increase the maximum radius to 500,000 km was immediately initiated.
One of the most limiting factors of any plans involving ground troops was the fact that, outside of limited room for boarding action, there was no real transport available for ground forces. Until now. in 31st of March finally the Ecce Signum, the first Strategic Troop Transport, was completed and unfortunately obsolete on arrival. The shipyard would have to be retooled to the also technically obsolete Magneto-Plasma upgrade of this design.
Expeditionis class Strategic Troop Transport 50,000 tons 300 Crew 2,949.5 BP TCS 1,000 TH 2,500 EM 0
2500 km/s Armour 15-120 Shields 0-0 HTK 96 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 186 Max Repair 156.25 MSP
Troop Capacity 20,000 tons Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 6
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Tartaruga PEB MION-C625 (4) Power 2500 Fuel Use 2.24% Signature 625 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 393,000 Litres Range 63.3 billion km (292 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Troop Transport for auto-assignment purposes
Immediately Ecce Signum loaded 4 geological survey units to verify possible mineral wealth in Venus.
Geosurvey Battalion
Transport Size: 4,989 tons
Build Cost: 394.4 BP
22x G.E.O.D.E. m1
1x Battalion HQ (LamCom)
3x Aquila m1 Motorized AA
In 21st of April they concluded their survey with the following report:
"Conclusion: Useless unless overpopulation of humans with exceptionally
below average intelligence justify sending idiots there thinking it is a tropical paradise."
They headed to Ganymede which might have undiscovered Trans-Newtonian reserves immediately after.
And in 7th of May they found out their survey of Ganymede was yet another complete waste of time.
For now no location with potential for ground based geological survey was anywhere safe and firmly under imperial control, so these battalions would remain idle.
Intelligence was not idle on the other hand, although not all of their discoveries were useful. They just found out the location of another system known by the Lizardpeople Hegemony, with nothing but a number to define it. It was just a number really, for it has just a star with no planets orbiting it. As useful as three stooges with chainsaws.
By June an important milestone in the buildup of the Imperial Space Force was achieved. The shipyard responsible for the light cruisers was ready to build both light cruisers and armored replenishment vessels, and immediately began the construction of the Carnifex.
Carnifex class Light Cruiser 7,500 tons 191 Crew 1,579.7 BP TCS 150 TH 1,021 EM 2,910
6805 km/s Armour 8-34 Shields 97-404 HTK 42 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 3 PPV 32.4
Maint Life 3.09 Years MSP 985 AFR 129% IFR 1.8% 1YR 155 5YR 2,330 Max Repair 255.2 MSP
Troop Capacity 100 tons Boarding Capable
Captain Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months Morale Check Required
Itaipu Trinuclear MagPlasma-510 (2) Power 1020.8 Fuel Use 51.21% Signature 510.4 Explosion 14%
Fuel Capacity 512,000 Litres Range 24 billion km (40 days at full power)
Gellar Manufactorum Theta Scutum 97 (1) Recharge Time 404 seconds (0.2 per second)
TriOptimum PAX-15 Plasma Autocannon (6) Range 60,000km TS: 6,805 km/s Power 6-6 RM 10,000 km ROF 5
Taurus CEMB-5 Turret (1x5) Range 50,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
Marques Eletro CT 240Mm-6750 (1) Max Range: 240,000 km TS: 6,750 km/s 96 92 88 83 79 75 71 67 62 58
Marques Eletro CTU 240Mm-20k (1) Max Range: 240,000 km TS: 20,000 km/s 96 92 88 83 79 75 71 67 62 58
Alfaro Aeromarine Stellarator R36 (1) Total Power Output 36.6 Exp 7%
Camara Sistemas Microsensor m1 (1) GPS 11 Range 6.1m km MCR 545.7k km Resolution 1
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes
If strategically useful it would also be capable of building this, or a yet to be designed upgrade of it using internal confinement fusion thrusters.
Auxilia class Replenishment Ship 7,500 tons 168 Crew 1,417.4 BP TCS 150 TH 1,021 EM 2,910
6805 km/s Armour 8-34 Shields 97-404 HTK 36 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 8 PPV 8.4
Maint Life 16.02 Years MSP 9,095 AFR 56% IFR 0.8% 1YR 67 5YR 1,001 Max Repair 255.2 MSP
Troop Capacity 100 tons Boarding Capable Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 2
Captain Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months Morale Check Required
Itaipu Trinuclear MagPlasma-510 (2) Power 1020.8 Fuel Use 51.21% Signature 510.4 Explosion 14%
Fuel Capacity 512,000 Litres Range 24 billion km (40 days at full power)
Gellar Manufactorum Theta Scutum 97 (1) Recharge Time 404 seconds (0.2 per second)
Taurus CEMB-5 Turret (1x5) Range 50,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
Marques Eletro CTU 240Mm-20k (1) Max Range: 240,000 km TS: 20,000 km/s 96 92 88 83 79 75 71 67 62 58
Camara Sistemas Nanosensor m1 (1) GPS 3 Range 2.7m km MCR 244k km Resolution 1
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes
The fact what is essentially an armored logistics vessel capable of surviving the rigors of combat was designed to have its own complement of space marines and the ability to conduct limited boarding assaults was just one of the many influences of the boarding operations that succeeded during 2163. Certainly would be a surprise to those expecting such a humble design would be defenseless and have no offensive capability whatsoever.
Things were quiet over the year. With the forces the aliens had to defend their home system too massive to be defeated with available forces, offensive legions still being trained at the ground unit training facilities on Earth and the retooling for the Atlas Class Dropship, which would be able to drop an entire legion at once, still ongoing because such was a 275,000 tons troop transport, there was no readily available strategic move for the Imperium to try that would be sensible, at least for now. Until, in 24th of July:
A mostly commercial convoy escorted by puny warships armed with only Gauss cannons was detected at an uncharted jump point in the Xenophon system, Survey I fleet kept their distance and attempted to avoid engagement at any costs, perfectly sensible given they have no armor, shields or weapons.
Cautious maneuvering was performed and when the hostile fleet was far away enough, the Survey fleet headed to this jump point, jumping a single recon satellite through it. This identified it as another jump point leading to the Abaddon system. One more uncharted jump point to go.
28th of July, and with no more hostiles detected, another probe is jumped into the unknown. This is the 2-Gruis system, renamed Yagnoloth. Ultimately unremarkable and uninteresting, yet it could be part of another route into the Lizardpeople Hegemony home system of Grimgor.
After this Survey I is recalled to Sol, with recon probes monitoring hostile fleet moves across the charted jump points.
At the end of August and beginning of September of 2164, a large fleet moved to the Xi Piscis Austrini system, only for it to return to Xenophon and wherever it came from. Later on 2 Barge Class PD(presumed as point-defense for now) ships and 3 Zun IV particle beam destroyers arrive from the Manticore system to XPA. These moves seem to not be going anywhere for now
An important milestone that shall be employed in future jump drives is achieved at 16th of September, for now the maximum radius of squadron jump could be raised to 500,000 km, very far from the dreaded particle lances protecting the reptilian home system.
October 15th, and finally the second cruiser of the Imperium was no longer undergoing refit, ready for action. The Vindico was now as modern as it can be until Internal Confinement fusion is researched.
Vindico m3 class Heavy Cruiser 15,000 tons 426 Crew 3,035.6 BP TCS 300 TH 2,042 EM 6,870
6805 km/s Armour 8-54 Shields 229-536 HTK 93 Sensors 16/16/0/0 DCR 8 PPV 77.4
Maint Life 2.28 Years MSP 1,177 AFR 209% IFR 2.9% 1YR 305 5YR 4,582 Max Repair 357 MSP
Troop Capacity 100 tons Boarding Capable
Lord-Captain Control Rating 3 BRG AUX ENG
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months Morale Check Required
Itaipu Trinuclear MagPlasma-510 (4) Power 2041.6 Fuel Use 51.21% Signature 510.4 Explosion 14%
Fuel Capacity 1,025,000 Litres Range 24 billion km (40 days at full power)
Gellar Manufactorum Theta Scutum 229 (1) Recharge Time 536 seconds (0.4 per second)
TriOptimum PAX-60 Heavy Macro Cannon (3) Range 480,000km TS: 6,805 km/s Power 96-6 RM 10,000 km ROF 80
Taurus CEMB-5 Turret (1x5) Range 50,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
ALLE T10 Railgun (4x4) Range 50,000km TS: 6,805 km/s Power 3-3 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
Marques Eletro CT 480Mm-6750 (1) Max Range: 480,000 km TS: 6,750 km/s
Marques Eletro CTU 240Mm-20k (1) Max Range: 240,000 km TS: 20,000 km/s
Marques Eletro CT 240Mm-6750 (1) Max Range: 240,000 km TS: 6,750 km/s
Alfaro Aeromarine Stellarator R30 (1) Total Power Output 30.4 Exp 7%
Camara Sistemas Microsensor m1 (1) GPS 11 Range 6.1m km MCR 545.7k km Resolution 1
Camara Sistemas Sensor EM-16 (1) Sensitivity 16.5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 32.1m km
Carneiro ST 1.5x m1 (1) Sensitivity 16.5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 32.1m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a c for auto-assignment purposes
Unfortunately it wouldn't survive a concentrated barrage of particle lances, but it might not have to endure them at all, considering how large the squadron jump radius of future jump drives can go now.
A worrisome sight would happen by the end of October.
They were there, so dangerously close to the few Imperium assets in this system, yet they luckily did nothing but to dare to linger so close to Sol. Yet, by the time the two cruisers were by that jump point on either side, they were no longer there.
The final reaction to this xenos show of either strength or foolishness was to prepare a minor operation is ready. The World Eaters, long frustrated, are unleashed upon the xenos refueling base of Endovelicus A-1 while the Vindico and the Justicar orbit the same planet, ready to pick them up once they are finished.
The complete lack of opposing ground forces results into 23 very ragingly furious space marines wearing snakeskin boots when the refueling base at such extremely hostile planet with gravity above 2g was fully secured with no resistance by 11th of November. Wait, that is not snakeskin!
By the end of November, at last, all planned frigate flotillas were constructed. 35 3,000 tons ships that were not as capable as the cruisers, limited in range, but still served a very important strategic role. For now frigate production would cease completely outside of reinforcements over future casualties.
Furthermore, that force that was spotted in Huehuetlan was once again detected by probes at the jump points. This time their presence would no longer be suffered.
Yet, by 4th of December, another force was spotted elsewhere. 45 Bark Class ships stood at the Jump Point to Manticore in the Xi Piscis Austrini system. They use commercial propulsion and therefore are presumed to be either freighters or colony ships. Ripe targets if only any fleet was close enough to hunt them down.
Three days later these 45 ships and their escort force, which showed up a few days later, retreat back into the Manticore system. Such behavior makes no sense, what are they doing? Meanwhile the same hostile fleet found lingering close to Sol before is now detected at the jump point to Endovelicus in the Huehuetlan system. Frigate Strike Fleet ordered to hold position at the jump point to Epsilon Leonis Minoris. 35 frigates are far from a weak defense.
Intelligence is doing its job well, and by 9th of December 2164 some piece of mostly trivia for now finds its way into the files of the Imperium intel:
Yabon V class Survey Ship 14,592 tons 222 Crew 1,233.6 BP TCS 292 TH 1,692 EM 0
5797 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-53 Shields 0-0 HTK 66 Sensors 22/33/1/0 DCR 6 PPV 0
Maint Life 1.02 Years MSP 317 AFR 284% IFR 3.9% 1YR 307 5YR 4,606 Max Repair 169.2 MSP
Kapitan vtorogo ranga Control Rating 2 BRG SCI
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Morale Check Required
J14700(3-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 14700 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Internal Fusion Drive EP564.0 (3) Power 1692 Fuel Use 12.86% Signature 564 Explosion 6%
Fuel Capacity 3,800,000 Litres Range 364.4 billion km (727 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH2-22 (1) Sensitivity 22 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 37.1m km
EM Sensor EM3-33 (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 45.4m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes
This would definitively be handy to board for reverse engineering.
By 10th of December, the eighth Naval Shipyard was constructed on Holy Terra. Unfortunately continual capacity expansion will take a long time before all of them are ready to allow for rapid cruiser production and, for a few, rapid destroyer production.
In 21st of December, the fleet previously detected in Huehuetlan is spotted once more. Frigate Strike Fleet heads towards them to wipe them out and create more TN mineral reserves for the military buildup program.
More of a convoy raid than of a real battle, with most ships being commercial and the only hostile weaponry very short ranged Gauss cannons from PD escorts. Besides some minor armor damage, Frigate Strike Fleet emerged almost unscathed by the time the battle was over. Upon their return the number of Lizardpeople in captivity surpassed 10,000 and some mostly useless laser tech was acquired from the survivors.
2164 was not a very intense year in the war against the Lizardpeople Hegemony. It might become phony for a while again and the Imperium certainly proved it could hold its small territory with the forces currently available. By 13th of January of 2165 finally the Bank 007 was scrapped. The disassembly of its particle lances was far from useful, but its internal fusion thrusters were a different matter, closing the technological gap even further.
Only by 2170 the preparations for the first ground invasions against the Xenos would be completed. For now the plan was to ignore the dozens of particle lance armed ships protecting their home system at Grimgor and to instead focus on conquering their other holdings. Apparently they were already cut off from much of their space in the jump point network, by accident mostly rather than design. For the moment, there was a kind of stalemate outside of foolish alien deployments of mostly commercial targets near Sol. Eventually that would change, one way or another.