29th October 2110
Mars, Cydonia, Storm Industries HQ
Alex Storm spent the afternoon in his office reading the daily reports. Suddenly his phone began to ring. It was his secretary, Miss Greenwood.
„Mr. Storm, Admiral Stephens has an urgent message, he wants to meet you.“
„Thank you, let him in.“
......
„Good morning Mr. Storm. I have a report from Captain Joel Warren, who’s on SDC Andromeda. You should see this.“
The Admiral hands over the report.
„Finally! Great news, this is a discovery of huge importance, but how are we supposed to mine this out from a gas giant? I mean have we any equipment that can do that?“
„Yes Sir, we have. It’s a complicated system, but our scientist insist that its viable and can do the job.“
„Perfect, good job! Captain Warren will recieve the Pioneers Cross to motivate him further. Order him to hold position and with active sensors ward off any ship until I manage to claim the giant for ourselves. Go now!“
„Yes Sir!“
Neptune report:
Sorium: 1,188,480 x 1
Giant King class Fuel Harvester 33,650 tons 170 Crew 718 BP TCS 673 TH 300 EM 0
445 km/s Armour 1-92 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 13 Max Repair 30 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 3
Fuel Harvester: 10 modules producing 240000 litres per annum
Stormdrive NTE-30 Nuclear Thermal Engine (4) Power 75 Fuel Use 9.9% Signature 75 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,500,000 Litres Range 80.9 billion km (2104 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposesPlanned ships of this class: SS Giant King(under construction), SS Jovian Queen(uc), SS Giant Lord, SS Poseidon.
17th November 2110
Neptune, 02:00 GMT
„Captain! The thermal sensor reports a Chosa class Syndicate ship surveying Proteus.“
„Activate the sensors!“
„The sensors are activated. A second and a third contact detected, location Nereid! Its a Chosa and an Apollo of the ISA!“
„Send a message to every ship in the area.“
„I am Captain Joel Warren from SDC Andromeda. Neptune and its moons are Storm territory. Leave the area, our ships are armed and I will not hesitate to fire on intruders!“
30 seconds later
„Sir, the ISA ship is leaving, but the Gensei did not change course.“
„Arm the torpedoes, they have ten minutes to call home or leave, we will then fire a warning shot.“
..........
Meanwhile on GSS Chosa
..........
„Radio operator, send this message to New Tokyo.“
„GSS Chosa.>NTHQ: Perseus class Storm ships detected with military grade active sensors on. They want us to leave the area. They are probably armed. Returning home. End.“
........
„Sir, the Syndicate ships changed course too.“
„Very well.“
22nd November 2110
Earth, Geneve, United Nations Security Council, with the presence of the Storm Industries and Gensei Syndicate representatives.
With the help of a spy in the ranks of the Storm Industries, namely Miss Greenwood, secretary of Alex Storm, the Gensei Syndicate realized why the Storm ships refused access to any ship to Neptune. The Syndicate which had only 26 fuel refineries on Mars and 30 in construction could not allow, that the Storms will be the only ones who could mine out the precious Sorium from the planet.
Before Alex Storm managed to claim that territory, the Syndicate uncovered before the Security council the thruth about the Sorium-rich atmosphere of the Gas Giant.
Miss Reiko of the Syndicate presented the idea of shared access to the planet.
„That’s nonsense!“
„We did not said anything, when the Syndicate claimed Saturn, we did not said anything, when the ISA claimed Venus and the Moon, so why we should allow you to profit from our discovery? Did you know dear representatives of the UN, that the Syndicate undermined the space around Saturn? From now on Neptune will be guarded by the ships of the Storm Defence Corps! We will not allow any traffic, civilian or military to enter the territory of the Storm Industies around the planet!“
The ISA and the UN quickly accepted the claims of the Storms.
Behind the scenes Tanenaka Reiko prepared an assault against Storm ships around Neptune. Confident in their superior designs the Storm Industries felt safe. The SDC Andromeda and the SDC Perseus were withdrawed to Mars for resupply and overhaul, with the arrival of the battle group led by the SDC Panther.
22nd December 2110
Two ships of the Tsugaru class minelayer joined the fleet, the GSN Tsugaru and the GSN Okinoshima. Operation Dragondance, a lightning strike against Storm ships will begin, when sufficient supply of the new KS-106 Chokyori long range missiles will be produced.
10th January 2111
A top missile expert of the ISA developed a new reloading mechanism, that will decrease the reload time for the size 4 missile tube.
6th March 2111
A second Spectre class destroyer joined the ISA, the ISN Shadow.
The Tsugaru class minelayers fired up their engines and are heading in the direction of Saturn, after they are sure, they can’t be tracked anymore, they change their course to Neptune. In the same manner does the main blattle group. The active sensor emissions from the Panther(Intelligence codename: Mellifleur) are easily detectable on Mars. Operation Drangondance started. Because the Perseus class frigates were in the „dry dock“ for overhaul, New Tokio was safe from any attack from them.
29th March 2111
Finally the Syndicate ships succesfully maneuvered to the designated position without beign detected. They are now cca. 100m km from Neptune. Since the shields are not very fuel efficient, the SDC ships kept them offline.
At 09:00 GMT a volley is prepared to be fired from the Tsugaru class minelayers. Since they got no time to train after construction, they need more time to begin firing. After firing 13 missiles the minelayers reversed course and headed to Mars to load the KFK-10 type mines, which will be layed in the vicinity of New Tokio. Because Saturn has a long orbital period, 29,5 years, this form of defence is possible for a time.
29th March 2111, 18:18 GMT
Location: SDC Panther, Neptune.
The interior of the ship is illuminated by flashing red lights, an alarm is raised.
„Commodore! We have incoming missiles. TCS 10. Distance 350k Km, Speed: 3000 klicks per second. It seems that they are Gensei in origin!“
„ What?! Maximum speed! Helmsman, change course to Triton! Activate shields! Crew to battlestations!“
„Radio operator, send a message to the HQ!“
.........
-MSG-
SDC PANTHER>SDCHQ
MISSILES INBOUND, SYNDICATE IN ORIGIN.
NO SENSOR CONTACT. WAR?
-END-
..........
18:19
„Sir, 16 size 3 new contacts. It seems, that they were released from the size 10 missiles.“
„Maintain the course. If they are thermal guided, we have a chance to get out of their detection zone. How are the shields?“
„Ajax and Achilles have 5 points each. We have 7.5 shield points.“
18:20
„Sir, the missiles missed us, they did not detected our thermal signatures! The second wave has only five missiles. “
„Very good. Wait until the second wave misses us and then change course to the original bearing of the missiles.“
Meanwhile on GSN Kasuga...
„Commodore Taji! The Chokyoris failed to detect any signature!“
„Ensign, activate the sensors! Helmsman, full speed, course Neptune!“
.........
„Commodore! Active sensor emissions detected! Kasuga class, distance 100m klicks.“
„Change course to the Kasuga!“
18:26
„Shields fully charged Sir!“
„Good.“
30th March 2111
00:14
„Commodore, active sensor contact with the Syndicate ships! 5 new contacts. 3x Asahi, 2x Minekaze, and one Kasuga.“
„Launch the wolfpack, order them to target the Kasuga!“
00:28
„Wolfpack launched, preparing to fire weapons.“
„Sir! The Wolfs report, that their fire controls are being jammed by the Kasuga. Minimal engagement distance is 52m km.“
Meanwhile on GSN Kasuga...
„Commodore-san, we are in range. Only three ships are detected. A Panther and two 9,400t ships, Ajax class, capabilities unknown.“
„Target the Panther, fire two waves of KS-8s!“
„Hai!“
00:45
„Sir, the Wolfs began launching the Pulsars.“
„Maintain the course, order them to launch all their missiles and then return to rearm.“
2:08
„Hostile missile contact! 6x Size 8, 7500 klicks per second, distance: 765k km.“
„Evading maneuvers!“
2:10
„Another wave detected, same composition. First wave distance 28k km.
„Let’s test our defences, prepare for impact!“
The whole crew of the ship as one person awaited the impact, three big detonations shaked the ship, no internal damage was detected..
„Report!“
„Two missiles were destroyed by the 105mm turrets, three hit, one missed. No armor damage, shields on 45% Sir.“
„Target the next wave with the 152mm guns too.“
...............
„Commodore-san, three missiles managed to impact. Two were shot down. No damage to the ship, shields at 25p. Recharge rate is 9.2/min.
„Fire all our missiles at the Panther. The rest will be destroyed by pulse cannons.“
..............
From the second wave four missiles hit reducing the shields to 11 points. The shielding thechnology of the Storm Industries is faring well against the Syndicates KS-8 missiles. 13 missiles are remaining in the magazines of the Kasuga, which will be fired right away.
2:19
„Sir, the shields are fully charged again. STS-34 Pulsar impact ETA: 15 minutes.“
„Very well.“
2:20
„Commodore-san, Storm missiles detected, 12x size 3, speed: 7500 kph, distance: 1.11m km.“
„Interresting, the intelligence said, that the Panther is a pure beam platform, maybe those two 9,400t ships carry these missiles. Order the escorts to engage them with the Spears.“
2:21
„Sir a second wave is detected. Same 12 size 3 missiles.“
„Change course, evading maneuvres!“
„24 KM-1s intercepted two missiles. 10 remain in the first wave.“
„Order the frigates to engage the missiles with their pulse cannons.“
„Three more hits Sir.“
2:22 - Storm
„The first wave was reduced to two missiles Sir.“
„Let’s hope, that they run out of anti-missiles quickly.“
Few seconds later...
„The first wave was totally annihilated.“
„Has the Wolfpack rearmed? If so, launch them again and fire another 6 volleys.“
„Yes Sir!“
2:23 – Syndicate
„Commodore-san, the last missile of the second wave was shot down by our CIWS.“
„How many anti-missiles have left in our magazines?“
„The magazines on the Asahi’s are on 63%.“
„Remind me, when we return home, to congratulate the desinger of these fine ships.“
2:25 – Storm
„Sir, only two waves remained from the original six so far.“
„I think this battle will be decided the old way... with guns.“
2:26 – Syndicate
„Three missiles got trough from the fifth wave Sir, impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...“
The three surviving missiles managed to hit the Kasuga penetrating two layers of armor on three spots.
„Damage report!“
„Three 4 megaton nuclear blasts. Two layers of armour penetrated on three places, no internal damage. One more wave incoming.“
„Let’s hope, that they shoot themeselves dry soon.“
2:28
„The last missile of the sixth wave was destroyed sir.“
„How many KM-1s we have?“
„The magazines are on 31% Sir.“
2:31 – Storm
„The Wolfpack launched another 6 volleys Sir. We have 20 Pulsars in magazines on the Ajax and Achilles.“
„Call them back for rearm.“
3:24 Storm
„A new wave of 6x size 8 missiles Sir!“
„Evading maneuvres, maybe there are more waves following, not just two as before.“
3:26 Storm
„A second salvo detected! The first one is 19k klicks away!“
„Brace yourselves!“
„Impact!“
The Panther was engulfed by a nuclear explosion once again, magically it survived the explosion of three 7 megaton nuclear missiles.
„Three missiles were shot down, but three managed to impact. No damage to the armor, shields on 54%.“
„Perfect.“
3:27 – Storm
„A third salvo was detected Sir, but it consists of one size 8 missile only.“
„Hah, the swan song of the Syndicate.“
From the second salvo only two missiles managed to hit the ship damaging her shields, the only missile of the last salvo was reduced to dust quickly.
3:35 – Syndicate
„Commodore-san, none of our missiles managed to deplete the shields of the ship.“
„We will close in to the range of the pulse cannons then.“
„Sir, new size 3 missiles incoming.“
„Reverse the course!“
3:38 – Syndicate
„The first volley was destroyed, but GSN Ariake is out of missiles.“
„Another note, when and if we return home, remind me to recommend a design of a dedicated munition ship to supply our ships with missiles.“
3:40 – Syndicate
„Ensing, report!“
„The second salvo is destroyed, GSN Asahi: 3 missiles, GSN Wakaba: 35 missiles.“
3:42 – Syndicate
„We have no missiles left in our magazines and there are three more waves inbound Sir.“
„We will maintain our course to draw fire, meanwhile GSN Minekaze and GSN Nokaze will split from the main group and engage the Storms with their pulse cannons from a safe distance.“
„Message sent to the frigates Sir, Commander Yuriko from GSN Minekaze calls us.“
„On screen.“
„Taji-san, we will be proud to accomlish this mission for the glory of the Gensei Syndicate!“
In the same second GSN Kasuga was hit by a single STS-34 Pulsar, which hit an undamaged part of the armor.
Twenty seconds later two more missiles hit the ship, but none managed to penetrate deeper than two layers. The Kasuga was from now protected by her Close In Weapon Systems only. Two more salvos were detected.
3:43 – Storm
„The two Minekaze class frigates left the formation and are heading in our direction.“
„Launch the Wolfpack again and fire all twenty missiles on these two ships.“
At the same time eight missiles from the fourth wave hit the Kasuga and in some places they penetrated the fourth layer of the armor. The two Minekaze class frigates managed to destroy some missiles from the fifth salvo, the Kasuga can take a lot of punishment with her seven layers of composite armour. The last volley consists of four missiles only.
3:46 - Syndicate
Seven missiles hit the ship and at two spots the armor was grinded down to the seventh and final layer. No internal damage was detected. The last salvo was reduced to dust by the excellent gunners on the Minekaze class Frigates.
Soon after that new missiles were detected by the Asahi’s. The Frigates CIWS managed to shoot down six missiles, one hit the Nokaze and two hit the Minekaze. With their five layers of composite armour the damage was negligible. The last missiles of the Wolfs were destroyed by the long range pulse cannons.
4:00 – Storm
The Ajax class FAC Tenders were withdrawn, since they have no offensive weaponry and their only role is to transport the Wolf class corvette, which by now have no missiles. This battle, as predicted by Commodore Mitchell Mills, commander of the SDC Panther, will be decided by beam armed ships.
7:16 – Storm
At 7:16 the SDC Panther is in range of ther 134mm Pulse Cannons of the Syndicate Frigates. The maximal range of the Panther’s Meson cannons is 60,000 km, but she has an 54 kps speed advantage.
„Report!“
„Shields are at 83%“
„When we are in range target only one ship with all guns.“
„Yes Sir!“
Since the crew of the Syndicate Frigates was more inexperienced in fleet maneuvres than their SDC colleagues, the task of reversing course to maintain the distance took more time than the commanders expected. Therefore the Panther managed to close the distance to 55k km and began firing from her three 152mm Meson Cannons.
„Sir, no successful hit so far, the enemy ECM systems are jamming our fire controls.“
At the same moment the shields collapsed and the next shots from the Minekaze’s landed on the armor penetrating it on two places to the second layer of five.
After three minutes of combat the Panther did not managed to score any hits, while the Syndicate ships slowly grinded away her armour.
7:20 – Syndicate
„Continue firing!“
Suddenly a meson projectile managed to hit the Minekaze.
„Damage report!“
„Sir, our active sensor was destroyed! The Nokaze will activate her radar to paint the target.“
As soon as the crewman finished the sentence another projectile destroyed the ECM device on the GSN Minekaze, ceasing the jamming of the Panthers fire controls. The Panthers armour was by now penetrated at some places to the fifth layer, and an engine, the R-84 small object sensor and the secondary fire control were destroyed. Commodore Mills realized that there is too late to turn back, the only option is to fight.
7:21
The Panther is badly damaged, but continues to fight. She’s streaming atmosphere trough six giant holes in her hull, with one engine out her speed decreased to 780 kps. Commander Kurkawa Yuriko of the GSN Minekaze ordered to close the distance to give her a Mercy shot.
Suddenly a lucky shot managed to hit the bridge of the GSN Minekaze, killing Commander Yuriko instantly. Commander Takeuchi Tsunemi on the GSN Nokaze took command, but the Syndicate Frigates were in chaos. That was enough for the Panther to land another hit on the Minekaze, destroying the only reactor of the ship
Commodore Mitchell quickly realized, that the GSN Minekaze is unable to fire for some reason, so he ordered to target the GSN Nokaze. The distance was closed to 19k km, so the one remaining 105mm turret of the Panther joined the shootout. The lax training of the Syndicate crew showed it’s effects.
7:22
The frigates remained motionless since the death of commander Yuriko. When the frigates finally began moving a meson projectile hit and destroyed the only fire control of the Nokaze. Each ship was incapable of firing, but at least they moved away from the damaged Panther. A minute later one of the engines of the fleeing Nokaze was hit and destroyed, reducing her speed to 744 kps. Her fuel storage was hit a few seconds later. The ship was therefore disabled and became a sitting duck. The Panther changed targets once again. The well trained crew of the Panther scored hit after hit.
7:24 The Panther knocked out the fuel tanks of the Minekaze as well, the two ships were at the mercy of Commodore Mills.
7:26 After two minutes of continuous hail of meson projectiles the hull of the GSN Minekaze explodes, 65 crewmember survived and were picked up by the Panther. Commander Tsunemi seeing the destruction commits suicide after he sent a message of the unconditional surrender.
Given the bad condition of the Panther the SDC battlegroup waits until the captured Nokaze repairs one of his engines. After that they will head at top speed to the Zone.
Operation Dragondance was a complete failure, the Syndicate was overconfident in their designs. Will they learn from this experience? We will see in the next chapter.
Notes:
1. See chapter one for the ships designs.
2. The words Storm and Syndicate at some events mean where the event takes place and who is speaking.
