8th May 2042
Twenty Eridani freighters arrive in Gorshkov and the four Eridani salvage vessels begin recovering the Houma wrecks. Based on the wreckage, the general level of Houma technology is lower than that of the Republic. Evidence is found of magneto-plasma drives, stellarator fusion reactors and sensors with perhaps 75% of the capability of their Eridani equivalents. However, Houma electronic warfare capabilities are far superior. ECM-5 and ECCM-4 components are recovered.
When the Eridani finish salvaging the first four wrecks and begin recovery of the remaining three, the Soviet Union gives up the race. It has salvage ships on site but Soviet freighter designs have always been slow due to the need to keep shipbuilding costs down. Eridani freighter designs have always emphasized speed, making them far more costly to build than their Soviet equivalent but also far more useful when a freighter has to be somewhere in a hurry. The Soviet Union does have five new Project 1207C freighters under construction, a design equipped with internal confinement fusion drives, With a top speed of 3016 km/s, it is still significantly slower than the comparable Eridani Atlas Mod 2, which has a top speed of 4338 km/s.
Project 1207C Antonov-C class Gruzovoe Sudno 37,300 tons 294 Crew 807.2 BP TCS 746 TH 2250 EM 0
3016 km/s Armour 1-99 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 14 Max Repair 62 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 20
Commercial ICF Drive (9) Power 250 Fuel Use 6% Signature 250 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 40.2 billion km (154 days at full power)
Atlas Mod 2 class Freighter 46,100 tons 476 Crew 1247 BP TCS 922 TH 4000 EM 0
4338 km/s Armour 1-114 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 17 Max Repair 62 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
Commercial Internal Confinement Fusion Drive (16) Power 250 Fuel Use 6% Signature 250 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 65.1 billion km (173 days at full power)
To avoid losing a similar race in the future, the Soviet Union stations a salvage ship and six freighters near the Sol - Gorshkov jump point.
16th May 2042
Two Eridani shipyards complete retooling. The Chantiers de l'Atlantique naval shipyard begins building a pair of Rigel class Destroyer Leaders. The Atlantic Marine commercial shipyard, which has been carrying out a series of expansion projects, begins work on two Titan class Superfreighters. The Titan, at 213,950 tons, is by far the largest ship ever designed by the Eridani Republic, and has a cargo capacity equal to five Atlas Mod 2 class freighters. The Titan is also the fastest Eridani freighter design, with a top speed of over 5000 km/s. The Titan is intended to operate with the Pegasus Mod 2 class salvage ship, proving huge cargo bays that can take on board particularly large alien components from wrecks as well as storing large quantities of smaller components and recovered minerals.
Titan class Superfreighter 213,950 tons 1978 Crew 6312.2 BP TCS 4279 TH 21562 EM 0
5039 km/s Armour 1-318 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 18 Max Repair 78 MSP
Cargo 125000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 50
Commercial MCF Drive (69) Power 312.5 Fuel Use 4% Signature 312.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 63.1 billion km (144 days at full power)
SN/SPN-49 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 4320 Range 71.0m km Resolution 120
17th May 2042
Houxin, the Chinese salvage ship, begins salvaging a number of small Goavelha wrecks near the Sol - Gorshkov jump point
2nd June 2042
The Soviet Union has seventy-two Tupolev-50 bombers based on Ganymede. These obsolete craft are capable of slightly more than 4000 km/s and can carry four Garpun series anti-ship missiles. They have remained unarmed due to missile shortages for many years. The Soviet Union is finally in a situation where its major missile combatants are armed with relatively modern missiles and there is a stockpile of P-501 Garpun-As on Earth. The bombers are ordered to fly to Earth, reload and return to their bases on Ganymede. While the bombers and their missiles are obsolete, Jupiter's orbit is taking it within three hundred million kilometers of the Sol - Epsilon Eridani jump point. The bombers could add an extra three hundred missiles to any attack launched by the Soviets in the inner Sol system, which would at the very least provide a significant distraction for Eridani point defence.
11th June 2042
The supplies of Neutronium retrieved from Kostinbrod Prime have allowed the Soviet Union to retool several shipyards. The Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard is now setup to refit the existing Project 1200 escort cruisers to the new Project 1200C design, which has heavily boosted internal confinement fusion engines and a top speed of 7666 km/s. The modified engines provide 15% more power than a regular engine but are more likely to explode when damaged. The 61 Kommuna Shipyard has been retooled to refit the Project 1221 'Nevsky' railgun cruisers to the new engines. While the rest of the technology of the designs is much older than the engines, the Soviet Union has to make the best use of its limited resources and refitting existing ships is the quickest way to create fast warships to compete with the Eridani.
Project 1200C Berkut-C class Raketnyy Kreyser 13,500 tons 1233 Crew 2825.6 BP TCS 270 TH 2070 EM 0
7666 km/s Armour 4-50 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/16/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 47
Maint Life 3.5 Years MSP 1112 AFR 171% IFR 2.4% 1YR 139 5YR 2085 Max Repair 384 MSP
Magazine 510
Boosted ICF Drive (18) Power 115 Fuel Use 78% Signature 115 Armour 0 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 210,000 Litres Range 35.9 billion km (54 days at full power)
200mm Railgun (2x4) Range 160,000km TS: 7666 km/s Power 12-3 RM 4 ROF 20 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1
MR-504 Podkat Railgun Fire Control (1) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
B-301A Anti-Missile System (15) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
B-405A VLS System (24) Missile Size 5 Hangar Reload 37.5 minutes MF Reload 6.2 hours
Volna-300 Missile Fire Control (3) Range 28.0m km Resolution 1
Garpun-BAL Missile Fire Control (1) Range 84.1m km Resolution 120
P-500 Palash (24) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 62.5m Range: 90m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80 / 48 / 24
9K50 Strela-25 (390) Speed: 36,000 km/s End: 2.1m Range: 4.5m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 204 / 122 / 61
Voskhod MR-920 (1) GPS 11520 Range 68.7m km Resolution 180
Fregat MAE-30 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 384 Range 30.7m km Resolution 1
Gurzhor-16 EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 16 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 16m km
ECM 20
Project 1221B Nevsky-B class Tyazholyi Kreyser 13,500 tons 1598 Crew 2643.2 BP TCS 270 TH 2070 EM 0
7666 km/s Armour 6-50 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 81
Maint Life 4.31 Years MSP 979 AFR 182% IFR 2.5% 1YR 85 5YR 1270 Max Repair 160 MSP
Boosted ICF Drive (18) Power 115 Fuel Use 78% Signature 115 Armour 0 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 51.3 billion km (77 days at full power)
100mm Railgun (6x4) Range 40,000km TS: 7666 km/s Power 3-3 RM 4 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
200mm Railgun (9x4) Range 160,000km TS: 7666 km/s Power 12-3 RM 4 ROF 20 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1
MR-502 Podkat Railgun Fire Control (2) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
MR-504 Podkat Railgun Fire Control (3) Max Range: 192,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
Gas-Cooled Reactor (10) Total Power Output 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Voskhod MR-1500 (1) GPS 19200 Range 140.2m km Resolution 120
ECM 20
16th June 2042
The second phase of Eridani colonization is underway and involves far greater distances than the original colonization of Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti. A larger and faster colony ship has been designed to facilitate this new colonization effort and the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard has been retooled. Three Edens are laid down.
Eden class Colony Ship 101,850 tons 1297 Crew 5564.4 BP TCS 2037 TH 12500 EM 0
6136 km/s Armour 1-194 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 34 Max Repair 78 MSP
Colonists 200000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 40
Commercial MCF Drive (40) Power 312.5 Fuel Use 4% Signature 312.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 88.4 billion km (166 days at full power)
15th July 2042
The Eridani Republic sells the last of its old ion-engined cruisers to the People's Republic of China. From an Eridani perspective, the seven ships, comprising two Virginia class cruisers, three Daring class area defence cruisers and two Redoutable class command cruisers, are too old and obsolete for effective refits. However, they provide a useful addition to the much lower technology Chinese fleet.
2nd August 2042
Almost thirty months after the initial design of the revolutionary new Soviet cruiser, the Project 1300, was completed, a shipyard has been retooled to build it. The delay was partly caused by the Neutronium shortage but mainly by several major design changes that caused the shipyard to twice cancel retooling after it began and in one case retool to a new design after completing the retooling process for an earlier version. The changes involved upgrades to new engine technology, greater armour protection as a result of new armour technology and the replacement of the main armament by a new 250mm fast-firing railgun. The design notes from the original Project 1300 are shown below, with appropriate changes for the new model. Note that the engines for the Project 1300D are not as powerful as those on the Project 1200C and Project 1221B as they lack the boosting technology and also that the tracking speed of the MR-510 Podkat Railgun Fire Control is now less than the ship's maximum speed due to the engine upgrade. Soviet designers hope to resolve these issues but further design changes have been forbidden until the first pair of Project 1300Ds are under construction.
The Project 1300D, which still lacks an official class name, incorporates several brand new technologies and is intended to run down hostile warships while defending against enemy missile attack without the use of ordnance. As well as better armour protection than the Kirov class battlecruisers, the Project 1300D is equipped with shield generators, a first for any Soviet warship. The primary active defence against missiles is provided by four twin gauss cannon turrets, another new technology, capable of firing twenty-four gauss rounds between them every five seconds. The main armament comprises six 250mm railguns supported at point blank range by the gauss cannon firing in offensive mode. The 250mm railguns also provide a secondary point defence function. New fire controls for both the gauss cannon and railguns have been designed, incorporating the latest Soviet advances in fire control technology.
The Project 1300 dedicates a significantly smaller proportion of its mass to offensive firepower compared to earlier designs because it is primarily focused on defence. Admiral Borisov and the Soviet design team for the Project 1300D believe this vessel will prove survivable even against superior numbers of hostile missile combatants and will finally provide a solution to the ordnance supply problems that have plagued the Soviet Union for many years.
Project 1300D class Gvardeysky Kreyser 23,600 tons 2104 Crew 5042 BP TCS 472 TH 3500 EM 4500
7415 km/s Armour 9-73 Shields 150-300 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 11 PPV 116
Maint Life 3.13 Years MSP 1469 AFR 405% IFR 5.6% 1YR 225 5YR 3374 Max Repair 150 MSP
Military ICF Drive (35) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 450,000 Litres Range 57.2 billion km (89 days at full power)
Delta R300/15 Shields (60) Total Fuel Cost 900 Litres per day
Twin R3 Gauss Cannon Turret (4x6) Range 30,000km TS: 20850 km/s Power 0-0 RM 3 ROF 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R15 250mm Railgun (6x4) Range 200,000km TS: 7415 km/s Power 15-5 RM 4 ROF 15 5 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 2
MR-510 Podkat Railgun Fire Control (2) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 6250 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
MR-511 Gauss Fire Control (2) Max Range: 80,000 km TS: 20000 km/s 88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (5) Total Power Output 30 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Voskhod-2 SR Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 21 Range 2.3m km Resolution 1
Voskhod MR-151 Active Sensor (1) GPS 15120 Range 151.8m km Resolution 120
ECCM-3 (1) ECM 30
11th August 2042
The Soviet scout Okean, located at the Gorshkov - Sol jump point, detects sensor emissions from another Swarm Queen en route from 82 Eridani.
17th August 2042
The most populous extra-solar human colony is now Novaya Zemlya, which has a population of five hundred and twenty-one million, exceeding that of the second largest, Roanoke, by eight million.
20th August 2042
The Eridani surveillance frigate Oracle detects the approach of the Swarm Queen on active sensors.
22nd August 2042
Eridani Naval Intelligence learns that Eridani civilian shipping lines have been trading with a Houma colony in the Wolf 46 system, located beyond Kostinbrod. While the shipping lines have not strictly kept this a secret, they have not exactly advertised their activity either. Apparently, a representative of the Takagi Freight Corporation contacted the Houma during their recent excursion into Gorshkov and negotiated the sale of infrastructure to support a growing Houma colony. The size of the Houma population in Wolf 46 is unknown but Eridani merchant ships have encountered more than forty different thermal signatures in the system, most of which they believe to be commercial vessels. Sending a military expedition to investigate might be considered hostile by the Houma Empire so some form of specialized freighter that can conduct covert surveillance is being considered. In the meantime, the trading will be allowed to continue.
(Actual in-game: Where are those civilian freighters going? Wolf 46?? What the hell is in Wolf 46? Houma ships! I don't have a trade treaty with the Houma so what are my civilian freighters doing next to all those Houma ships?(checks foreign relations) Hmm, maybe I do have a treaty! It looks like the Houma granted me trade access and I didn't notice but my Shipping Lines did… Oops! Based on their cargos I think Eridani freighters are providing the infrastructure to build up a Houma colony )
2nd September 2042
Six Eridani monitors and three Chinese Spruance class destroyer escorts advance to meet the Swarm Queen approaching the Gorshkov - Sol jump point. As soon as the first laser shot hits the shields of the Queen she launches her brood of twenty Soldiers. All nine allied ships head back to the jump point as the Soldiers close in at 10,000 km/s. The first Swarm volley hits one of the Chinese destroyer escorts, damaging two engines and taking out its only fire control system. The Chinese ship is effectively disabled by the first shot. The other two Chinese ships exact revenge with their fast firing 15cm laser turrets, killing Swarm Soldiers as quickly as all six Eridani monitors combined. Unfortunately, not quickly enough to save the wounded Spruance, which is blown to pieces by meson fire. A second Spruance loses a single engine before the combined Eridani - Chinese force wipes out the Soldiers. The Queen is dispatched by several minutes of sustained laser fire.
3rd September 2042
Three Goavelha survey ships with a speed of 4527 km/s are detected heading toward the Gorshkov - Sol jump point. The monitors enter Gorshkov and destroy the Goavelha scouts as they approach.
12th September 2042
The Soviet Union develops a new anti-ship missile. The P-509 Ametist-B is a multi-warhead missile, designed to release three fast-moving sub-munitions when it is within fifteen million kilometers of its target. The sub-munitions are faster than the P-507 Garpun-D and have greater total warhead strength, although they lack onboard sensors. The P-509 is designed to overwhelm point defence and is intended to be used in large numbers against a well defended Eridani task group.
P-509 Ametist-B
Missile Size: 8 MSP (0.4 HS) Warhead: 0 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 18700 km/s Endurance: 67 minutes Range: 74.8m km
Cost Per Missile: 9.1501
Second Stage: P-508 Yakhont-B x3
Second Stage Separation Range: 15,000,000 km
Overall Endurance: 1 hours Overall Range: 94.9m km
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 187% 3k km/s 60% 5k km/s 37.4% 10k km/s 18.7%
P-508 Yakhont-B
Missile Size: 1.5 MSP (0.075 HS) Warhead: 4 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 48700 km/s Endurance: 7 minutes Range: 20.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 2.2167
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 487% 3k km/s 160% 5k km/s 97.4% 10k km/s 48.7%
Materials Required: 1x Tritanium 0.9667x Gallicite Fuel x250
21st September 2042
All Eridani PDCs on Earth are transferred to Chinese control and Earth is officially abandoned by the Eridani Republic. While there has been little Eridani interest in the homeworld of humanity in recent years, evacuating the last of the population and handing over control of the Earth-based territory is still an emotional step, especially for those Eridani citizens who grew up on Earth. There are still a number of Eridani civilian mining operations in the Sol system but none of their minerals are currently being purchased by the Eridani government. The transferred PDCs include one Cheyenne, four Fortress, one Horus and one Davis-Monthan. Also transferred are thirty-six obsolete F-24A Cobra fighters, twelve of which are armed with AGM-1B Sabre anti-ship missiles. Each Fortress has a full load of sixty BGM-10A Soliferrum anti-ship missiles and the Cheyenne has one hundred and fifty AGM-1A Sabres in its magazines. The PDCs are out of date by Eridani standards but will significantly boost Chinese capabilities, especially with regard to long range active sensors and hangar capacity. The Horus has sensors with a range in excess of one billion kilometers and the Davis-Monthan can hold more fighters than an Enterprise class carrier, although it lacks the facilities to re-arm them.
Cheyenne class Planetary Defence Centre 24,450 tons 451 Crew 2275.6 BP TCS 489 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 10-75 Sensors 1/630 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 3000 tons Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions Magazine 600
Guardian CIWS (4x6) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
AGM-1A Sabre Anti-ship Missile (150) Speed: 27,000 km/s End: 39.7m Range: 64.3m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 90 / 54 / 27
SN/SPY-20 Small Target Detection System (1) GPS 12600 Range 309.9m km Resolution 20
SN/SPY-19 Area Surveillance Array (1) GPS 50400 Range 506.1m km Resolution 120
Davis-Monthan class Fighter Storage 22,950 tons 515 Crew 2400 BP TCS 459 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 9-71 Sensors 1/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 20000 tons
Fortress class Planetary Defence Centre 19,550 tons 712 Crew 1373.6 BP TCS 391 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 12-64 Sensors 1/84 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 60
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions Magazine 366
Mk8 Guided Missile Launching System (10) Missile Size 6 Rate of Fire 20
SN/SPG-29 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 128.8m km Resolution 120
BGM-10A Soliferrum Anti-ship Missile (60) Speed: 36,000 km/s End: 34.7m Range: 75m km WH: 9 Size: 6 TH: 120 / 72 / 36
SN/SPS-28 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 10080 Range 128.8m km Resolution 120
ECCM-1 (1)
Horus class Planetary Surveillance Base 2,000 tons 190 Crew 1047 BP TCS 40 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 5-14 Sensors 1/672 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
SN/SPY-34 Small Target Detection System (1) GPS 6720 Range 210.4m km Resolution 20
SN/SPY-33 Area Surveillance Array (1) GPS 80640 Range 1,030.6m km Resolution 120
13th October 2042
The second planet of the GJ 1002 system, located three jumps from Epsilon Eridani, becomes an ideal habitable world. As GJ 1002 II is hardly a name to inspire colonists and is already being referred to as Tutu, the system is renamed Gateway and the colony, which has a population of over a million, is named Barbican. Gateway leads to Heintz-299, which has a total of eight jump points. All but one of the surrounding systems have been surveyed and have a total of nine unexplored jump points. One of these systems is TW Piscis Austrini, five jumps from Epsilon Eridani and on the edge of explored space, which has a terraformed ideal habitable world that has been the primary focus of recent Eridani colonization efforts. The population of TW Piscis Austrini II is twenty-eight million and its colonists have been campaigning for several months to have their unofficial colony name adopted in place of the current astronomical designation. President von Kolbe grants their request and the colony is renamed Faraway.
24th November 2042
Due to the proliferation of Eridani warships, the somewhat ad hoc organization of the Republican Navy is no longer suitable. After many hours of work with his staff, Admiral Thorn announces a new fleet organization structure primarily based around the twelve Eridani carriers. Three Carrier Battle Groups are each centered on a pair of fleet carriers and the six light carriers are equally divided between two Expeditionary Forces. The escort groups for the Expeditionary Forces and two of the Carrier Battle Groups are identical, comprising a Churchill class jump cruiser equipped with ultra-long-range sensors, two Eridani class cruisers equipped with one hundred and fifty anti-ship missiles and powerful 20cm laser batteries, two Sentinel class escort cruisers, each of which has twenty-four 10cm laser turrets for point blank defence, and two Daring Mod 2 class area defence cruisers to provide long-range anti-missile defence. The third Carrier Battle Group has a slightly smaller escort group, with no Churchill, a single Eridani and one of the Daring Mod 2s replaced by a Daring Mod 1A. All of the ships in the carrier forces are capable of 7000 km/s, with the exception of the fleet carriers, which have a top speed of 6250 km/s. The carrier forces are all based in Epsilon Eridani, although the Second Expeditionary Force will soon depart to explore the nine known jump points in the systems surrounding Heintz 299, starting with TW Piscis Austrini, the location of the Faraway colony.
First Carrier Battle Group
2x Enterprise class Fleet Carrier: Akagi, Ark Royal
1x Churchill class Jump Cruiser: Emperor Meiji
2x Eridani class Cruiser: New Amsterdam, New Plymouth
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Defender, Garrison
2x Daring Mod 2 Area Defence Cruiser: Daikyu, Diamond
Second Carrier Battle Group
2x Enterprise class Fleet Carrier: Enterprise, Independence
1x Churchill class Jump Cruiser: Abraham Lincoln
2x Eridani class Cruiser: Barbican, Faraway
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Guardian, Sentinel
2x Daring Mod 2 Area Defence Cruiser: Diomede, Diligence
Third Carrier Battle Group
2x Enterprise class Fleet Carrier: Clemenceau, Graf Zeppelin
1x Eridani class Cruiser: Tau Ceti
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Holdfast, Steadfast
1x Daring Mod 2 Area Defence Cruiser: Dangerous
1x Daring Mod 1A Area Defence Cruiser: Deadly
First Expeditionary Force
3x Illustrious class Light Carrier: Illustrious, Implacable, Invincible
1x Churchill class Jump Cruiser: Churchill
2x Eridani class Cruiser: Bermuda, New Horizon
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Bastion, Constant
2x Daring Mod 2 Area Defence Cruiser: Daedalus, Destiny
Second Expeditionary Force
3x Illustrious class Light Carrier: Indefatigable, Indomitable, Irresistible
1x Churchill class Jump Cruiser: Bismarck
2x Eridani class Cruiser: Roanoke, Jamestown
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Faithful, Protector
2x Daring Mod 2 Area Defence Cruiser: Dagger, Damnation
Another substantial Eridani asset is the Planetary Assault Force. The four 97,000 ton Leviathan class troop transports can each carry an entire division. They are supported by the much smaller and older San Antonio troop transports, each capable of transporting a brigade. For planetary assaults against defended targets, the four Iwo Jima class assault carriers provide a strikegroup of five Dropships and an Angel class Dropship escort. The Iwo Jima is a very old design equipped with ion engines and has a top speed of 3750 km/s. Given that an assault carrier is likely to be going in harm's way, the Eridani Navy decided an upgrade program was necessary and two of the Iwo Jimas are already being refitted to the Mod 1 variant, equipped with magnetic confinement fusion drives and a small number of shield generators. The rest of the systems on board are still obsolete but the upgrade will significantly extend the useful life of the Iwo Jima class, allowing time for a suitable replacement to be designed and built. The escort group for the carriers and transports comprises the sole surviving Alexander class jump cruiser, Leonidas, two Sentinel class escort cruisers and four Daring Mod 1A area defence cruisers.
Planetary Assault Force
1x Alexander class Jump Cruiser: Leonidas
2x Sentinel class Escort Cruiser: Redoubt, Resistance
4x Daring Mod 1A Area Defence Cruiser: Devonshire, Diana, Dionysus, Disdain
4x Leviathan class Troop Transport
2x San Antonio-C class Troop Transport
4x San Antonio class Troop Transport
4x Iwo Jima class Assault Carrier
4x Angel class Dropship Escort
20x LCU class Dropship
Iwo Jima Mod 1 class Assault Carrier 14,400 tons 791 Crew 2336.2 BP TCS 288 TH 2250 EM 450
7812 km/s Armour 4-52 Shields 15-360 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 9 PPV 0
Maint Life 4.47 Years MSP 913 AFR 184% IFR 2.6% 1YR 74 5YR 1110 Max Repair 62 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 6000 tons
Rolls Royce RR125MC Fusion Drive (18) Power 125 Fuel Use 40% Signature 125 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 400,000 Litres Range 125.0 billion km (185 days at full power)
Epsilon R360/15 Shields (5) Total Fuel Cost 75 Litres per day
Guardian CIWS (2x6) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
SN/SPN-49 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 4320 Range 71.0m km Resolution 120
ECM 20
Additional combat forces include the First Monitor Squadron, which is deployed at the Sol - Gorshkov jump point, the Second Monitor Squadron, currently in Roanoke orbit and small planetary defence forces at New Plymouth in the Tau Ceti system, the Faraway colony in TW Piscis Austrini and the newly established colonies in TZ Arietis and Gliese 105.
First Monitor Squadron
6x Cerberus class Monitor: Centaur, Cerberus, Chimera, Gargoyle, Kraken, Medusa
6x Valhalla class FAC
1x Asgard class Fast Scout
Second Monitor Squadron
6x Cerberus class Monitor: Basilisk, Charybdis, Cyclops, Manticore, Minotaur, Scylla
12x Valhalla class Mod 1 FAC
2x Asgard Mod 1 class Fast Scout
Faraway Defence Force
2x Daring Mod 1A ADC: Desperate, Dauntless
5x Mackenzie class Maintenance Vessel
New Plymouth Defence Force
6x Valhalla class FAC
1x Asgard class Fast Scout
TZ Arietis Defence Force
1x Wolverine class FAC Tender
6x Valhalla class FAC
1x Asgard class Fast Scout
Gliese 105 Defence Force
1x Wolverine class FAC Tender
6x Valhalla class FAC,
1x Asgard class Fast Scout
The support elements of the Eridani Republican Navy are considerable. Twenty-five terraformers are creating new worlds for Eridani colonists while twenty-four fuel harvester bases extract Sorium from the gas giant around which New Plymouth orbits. The venerable survey forces comprise six ion-engined ships, equally split between gravitational and geological survey ships. They are currently en route to the Faraway colony in order to support planned jump point explorations in the TW Piscis Austrini system. The Eridani Navy has plans for a new generation of survey ships, although those plans are on hold for at least a year until ongoing research into cloaking technology can be completed. The four Oracle class surveillance frigates of the Scout Squadron usually provide valuable service as picket ships. Oracle is deployed at the Gorshkov - Sol jump point, Parnassus at the Sol - Epsilon Eridani jump point and Pythia at the Faraway colony. They are also attached to combat forces as required to provide long range sensors. Delphi is temporarily assigned to the Third Carrier Battle Group as that formation lacks a dedicated sensor ship, although her top speed of 5000 km/s means she will be left behind if combat operations demand it.
Terraforming Fleet
1x Daring Mod 1A ADC: Decisive
25x Genesis Mod 1 Terraformer
Fuel Harvesters
6x Hermes II class Fuel Harvester
16x Hermes class Fuel Harvester
Survey Forces
3x Galileo class Gravitational Survey Ship: Galileo, Kepler, Newton
3x Discovery class Geological Survey Ship: Discovery, Endeavour, Victoria
Scout Squadron
4x Oracle class Surveillance Frigate: Delphi, Oracle, Parnassus, Pythia
The centralized support forces are generally based in Epsilon Eridani and deployed as necessary to support ongoing operations. These include salvagers, colliers, tankers, tugs, freighters, colony ships, FAC tenders and jump gate construction ships. Many of these classes are old designs with low speeds, although in several cases their intended role can still be fulfilled. Their engine types, speed and general capabilities are shown below. As the oldest model of freighter is rarely used and the oldest model colony ship lacks the speed for increasingly long-range operations, consideration is being given to selling twenty Atlas class freighters and twenty Mayflower class colony ships to the People's Republic of China. This possibility will become increasingly more likely once the new Titan class superfreighters and the 100,000 ton Eden class colony ships enter service.
General Support Forces based in Epsilon Eridani
3x Gateway class Jump Gate Construction Ship - Ion Engines, 1173 km/s, 180 day construction time
4x Pegasus Mod 2 class Salvager - Internal Confinement Fusion, 5090 km/s, 500 tons per day
6x McKinley class Collier - Ion Engines, 3750 km/s, Magazine capacity 1000
3x Rappahannock class Tanker - Ion Engines, 3750 km/s, Fuel capacity 4.7m litres
2x Hercules class Tug - 30x Commercial Ion Engine, 5739 km/s without payload
2x Wolverine class FAC Tender - Magneto-plasma Drive, 1534 km/s, Maintenance support 1000 tons
20x Mayflower class Colony Ship - Ion Engines, 3021 km/s, 50,000 colonists
11x Mayflower Mod 1 Colony Ship - Magneto-plasma Drive, 4051 km/s, 50,000 colonists
21x New England class Colony Ship - Magneto-plasma Drive, 4081 km/s, 100,000 colonists
9x New England Mod 1 class Colony Ship - Internal Confinement Fusion, 5092 km/s, 100,000 colonists
2x Kobyashi class Jump Freighter - Ion Engines, 2142 km/s, 5 cargo holds
20x Atlas class Freighter - Ion Engines, 2500 km/s, 5 cargo holds
7x Atlas Mod 1 class Freighter - Magneto-plasma Drive, 3470 km/s, 5 cargo holds
20x Atlas Mod 2 class Freighter - Internal Confinement Fusion, 4338 km/s, 5 cargo holds
2nd December 2042
The Houma Empire has recently granted trade access to the Soviet Union and Soviet freighters are visiting Houma populations in Wolf 46 and the adjacent Gliese 63 system. Although the Eridani Republic is only aware of Wolf 46, the Soviet Union gained knowledge of Gliese 63 when it conquered the Kostinbrod home world. Soviet shipping lines are state-controlled in all but name and relay sensor data back to Soviet Fleet Headquarters on Novaya Zemlya. The EM signature, which is a good indication of population size, of Gliese 63-II is 180,000. This compares to 140,000 for the Chinese population of 2835m on Earth and 77,000 for the Earth-based Soviet population of 1315m. There are also thermal signatures for almost one hundred Houma ships in orbit, although the Soviet freighters lack active sensors so detailed information is unavailable. Soviet analysts believe this sensor data confirms Gliese 63 as the Houma home system and provides a strong indication that the Houma Empire has economic power to rival or even exceed that of the Eridani Republic. Admiral Borisov decides to rename the system Houma. He advises the Politburo that the Soviet Union should make every effort to avoid conflict with the Houma Empire and over the long term should attempt to enlist them as an ally. The Politburo agrees and trade access is granted to the Houma Empire. Whether this will result in Houma freighters visiting Earth or even Novaya Zemlya will depend on Houma astrographic knowledge, the extent of which is unknown.
22nd December 2042
A J-30B Vanguard from the Second Expeditionary Force enters the third jump point of TW Piscis Austrini and emerges in Gliese 884. The system has an orange K7-V primary, seven planets and a small asteroid belt. Gliese 884-II has a thin nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere, gravity within the acceptable range and a surface temperature of -57C. Hardly a vacation spot but a definite terraforming candidate. The Vanguard waits until jump effects recede and checks the surrounding area with its active sensors then jumps back into TW Piscis Austrini and lands on its carrier. The Second Expeditionary Force advances into Gliese 884 and begins a sweep of the inner planets.
6th January 2043
A J-30B Vanguard transits the second jump point of TW Piscis Austrini and discovers FK Aquarii, a binary of two red dwarf stars. Each star has a solar system of five planets. FK Aquarii-A II has a nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere of 0.16 atm and its gravity and temperature are within human tolerance. A high priority for terraforming. The third planet of the A component has a slightly more dense nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere but the surface temperature is -75C. The Second Expeditionary Force advances into FK Aquarii, picks up the scout and begins a sweep of both planetary systems.
3rd February 2043
The first three Orion class destroyers are launched in Roanoke orbit
11th February 2043
The Barbican colony in the Gateway system has reached a population of twelve million. A FAC squadron is dispatched to the colony to quell rising concern about an alien attack on the unprotected world. A Wolverine FAC Tender is also being dispatched to provide maintenance support for the six Valhalla Mod 1s and Asgard Mod 1 class scout, although at 1534 km/s it will take some time to arrive.
20th February 2043
A geological survey of FK Aquarii-A II, a high priority for terraforming, reveals large quantities of minerals, with Duranium at maximum accessibility
FK Aquarii-A II Survey Report
Duranium 2,695,842 Acc: 1
Neutronium 8,054,244 Acc: 0.1
Corbomite 8,803,089 Acc: 0.9
Tritanium 5,798,464 Acc: 0.6
Boronide 1,776,889 Acc: 0.7
Mercassium 1,065,024 Acc: 0.5
Vendarite 10,679,820 Acc: 0.1
Sorium 90,601 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 8,300,161 Acc: 0.1
Gallicite 12,737,760 Acc: 0.1
21st February 2043
The Second Expeditionary Force re-enters TW Piscis Austrini and moves through Heintz 299 into the system of Ross 780, which has three unexplored jump points. Over a period of two weeks, all three are probed by J-30B Vanguards and the Expeditionary Force conducts a sweep of the inner systems of the first two.
Delta Pavonis A yellow G8 primary orbited by eight planets, the third of which has acceptable gravity and a breathable atmosphere. A surface temperature of -15C gives the planet a colony cost of just 0.68 and makes it a priority for terraforming and colonization.
Lacaille 8760 Red dwarf system with three planets, two of which have nitrogen - oxygen atmospheres. The atmosphere of the second planet, which has a surface temperature of 60C, would be breathable except for the presence of 0.04 atm of flourine. The third planet is extremely inhospitable, with a temperature of -117C and an atmosphere of only 0.13 atm.
Lacaille 9352 Huge red dwarf system with nine planets, a hundred moons and almost five hundred asteroids. The ninth planet orbits at two hundred and forty billion kilometers, sixty times further away than Pluto is from Sol. Of far more immediate interest is the stable wormhole nine hundred million kilometers from the jump point. The Second Expeditionary Force enters the system after the initial J-30B Vanguard has checked the area around the jump point and the jump cruiser Bismarck activates her primary sensor, which has a two billion kilometer range. There is no sign of any Invader ships. The commander of the 2EF, Rear Admiral Barney Cabot, decides not to spend any further time in the system. Once within the jump gate network, he intends to request that the scout frigate Delphi be sent to Lacaille 9352 to monitor the wormhole.
8th March 2043
The first two Titan class superfreighters are launched by the Atlantic Marine Shipyard in Roanoke orbit. They are the largest mobile spacecraft ever built by any human power.
5th April 2043
A severe Gallicite shortage has resulted in the Soviet Union moving all of its automated mines from Ganymede and the inner moon of Alpha Centauri-B V to a new mining colony on the second moon of Alpha Centauri-B IV. In addition to reasonable quantities of accessible Gallicite, the new colony has a significant amount of accessibility 1.0 Neutronium, which is also in very short supply. Although there is no Duranium available on the moon, the Soviet Union has 50,000 tons stockpiled on Novaya Zemlya.
Alpha Centauri-B IV Survey Report
Neutronium 193,782 Acc: 1
Tritanium 30,066 Acc: 0.8
Boronide 287,657 Acc: 1
Sorium 11,985 Acc: 0.8
Uridium 19,041 Acc: 0.8
Gallicite 52,872 Acc: 0.7
1st August 2043
The Second Expeditionary Force completes the exploration of the jump points in the systems surrounding Heintz 299. In total, nine new systems have been discovered, taking the total number of known Eridani systems to fifty-eight, thirty-six of which are claimed by the Republic. Several worlds with terraforming potential have been identified in the new systems. Of far more immediate concern are the stable wormhole in Lacaille 9352 and a second wormhole in Gliese 784, a system two jumps from Heintz 299 via Gliese 832. The system of Gliese 1, which is directly connected to Heintz 299, remains unsurveyed due to the presence of the Swarm.
10th August 2043
The two Chinese Spruance class destroyer escorts at the Sol - Gorshkov jump point are forced to return to Earth for overhaul due to a serious maintenance problems.
15th August 2043
The Eridani surveillance frigate Oracle, picketing the Gorshkov - Sol jump point, detects the approach of a Houma Guisarme class survey ship. The Houma have yet to enter Sol and the approaching ship causes a flurry of activity at Eridani Fleet Headquarters on Roanoke. So far the Houma have proven friendly and a trade agreement is in place so after consultation with the President, Admiral Thorn decides to let the ship enter.
