5th August 2356
With the past week being completely uneventful, Alfaro orders his ships back to the jump point. He will wait there for a couple more weeks before heading home.
15th August 2356
Nothing new happened in the ES – 60 system for quite some time, but it will still be nearly half a year before the tanker is back. As such Alfaro decides to stay in the system.
16 September 2356
The Commune has enough spare freighters to settle a new planet. In addition they had a stable economy for a couple of years now allowing them to expand their fleet. As such they decide to create a new naval base and a whole new formation. The question is: where should they put it?
There are two obvious choices. One is ES - 10 system and the other is ES – 35. The former is adjacent to a known system with large alien presence of at least three sixty thousand tonne vessels and something potentially larger. However the jump point in the ES – 38 system (where the aliens were first discovered) has been picketed for years and no alien even tried to approach it. In addition the ES – 10 system is devoid of any resources of note.
The ES – 35 system is not exactly on the front lines, but it could still support offensive operations. In addition while only one sixty thousand tonne enemy vessel has been found in ES – 60 indicating smaller alien presence, the system has been previously scouted, which indicated the alien forces moved there after the initial discovery and exploration of the system. As such it is possible more enemies will be coming, possibly even beyond ES – 60 system and into the Commune space. As such ES – 35 would not only allow strikes into enemy territory, but would also serve as a roadblock protecting approaches to the capital and to the Kvituchi Troyandy system, which is linked directly to ES – 35. Even more importantly perhaps, the candidate for colonization in the system has large and easily accessible deposits of many TN elements, making it an excellent mining location.
The debate is relatively short and ES – 35 GH5 II has been chosen for settlement. The system has been renamed Peter's Crossing after the developer of the Administrator AI and the planet, which once held alien ruins, has been named Knossos after the supposedly oldest European city.
The elements of the First Fleet currently in the ES – 60 system will form the new Third Fleet stationed at Knossos. Two more gunboat flotillas and two more frigate squadrons will be constructed in Baltic to bring the Home Fleet up to strength.
24th October 2356
The wreck of the gunboat in the ES – 60 system disappears. The Third Fleet will investigate.
28th October 2356
The Third Fleet finds nothing.
7th November 2356
The Third Fleet has been holding station near the disappeared wreck for over a week finding nothing. As Alfaro's ships are beginning to have maintenance problems, especially gunboats, he decides to retreat to Knossos. The first space stations, which will be already crewed, will arrive soon, providing safe harbor for his vessels.
13th December 2356
On Ares there is a growing pressure on the Hegemony government to terraform the planet. After Poseidon has been colonized to stimulate civilian expansion into the primary component, the mining colony had problems attracting trade, leading to shortage of infrastructure. While Poseidon has enough for over four hundred and fifty million despite having population of only three hundred and sixty, Ares has enough for two hundred and two million and that space is filled to capacity.
The Hegemon himself is unwilling to terraform the planets. First and foremost, he wants to keep all TN industry in one place for efficiency and security. After all it's easier to defend one planet than, say, three. Second, manufacturing and transporting of infrastructure has provided significant boom to the civilian economy. In fact, taxation of various civilian activities such as trade, passenger transport and infrastructure freight provide almost eighteen percent of the Hegemony's budget. And third while maintaining the infrastructure is manpower intensive, it also provides a significant amount of jobs on the planets in question.
Because of all this, the government is trying to resist the pressure but it remains to be seen whether or not the policy will change.
23rd January 2357
The population of Wieliczka now exceeds one hundred and ten million making it easily the most populated world in the Commune. Odin, which has a population of one hundred million, is filled to capacity, but Eden houses eighty eight million people and is currently the main focus of state sponsored colonization, with few other colony convoys moving to Prkos and Knossos. Unfortunately as Wieliczka is tidally locked and relatively small, it cannot support large population, although hundreds millions more can still live comfortably there.
The Sudetes system itself is quite possibly the second most important one after Baltic. Aside from its large population, which is still insufficient to man all the installations, the system is strategically important and home to a large fleet base. There are also numerous civilian mining operations ongoing on many moons and comets and government facilities are under construction. In the future the system will become an administrative center for a large sector, likely containing the systems of Adriatic and Athens.
4th August 2358
The Commune launches five new Hannibal class troop transports, capable of traveling at over three thousand kps while transporting an entire division at once. The limited speed of the previous generation transports have severely limited their usefulness, as they were so busy moving around recovery teams it was impossible to find lift for offensive operations against ADS ground outposts. That should no longer be a problem, although most troops are providing security for said recovery teams and it will be a while before new battalions can be trained.
Hannibal class Troop Transport 101 600 tons 546 Crew 2474.5 BP TCS 2032 TH 6300 EM 0
3100 km/s Armour 1-193 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 15 Max Repair 61.25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 1
Troop Capacity: 21 Battalions Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
Segura Aerospace Industries Mid Range Commercial IF Drive (18) Power 350 Fuel Use 2.18% Signature 350 Exp 3%
Fuel Capacity 2 000 000 Litres Range 162.5 billion km (606 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
7th October 2358
Thanks to enormous advanced made in sensor technologies on Eden, the Commune designed new versions of their vessels with better sensors and fire controls across the board. The Eels III will have almost twice the detection range as before for ships as small as two thousand tonnes while the fire controls of the Piranha gunboats will have several million kilometers more range for objects as small as seven hundred and fifty tonnes, like the alien fast attack craft encountered in ES - 60. However, the large number of those vessels means upgrades will not be made. Instead new formations will be made from those new ships.
The Palisade class orbital weapon platforms, Stockholm class frigates and Vistula class corvettes will have new anti-missile sensors with nearly three times the detection range. The corvettes will also have new, better fire control for their anti-missiles. Passive sensors on the frigates has also been upgraded, although by only sixty three percent. The Palisades will not be upgraded, while the larger vessels will be modified depending on yard availability.
The biggest difference will be seen in the Maasvlakte class frigate leaders however. Their small size and the need to squeeze jump engine meant relatively poor sensors. Now the range of their actives have been tripled and the sensitivity of their passive increased by sixty percent. Unfortunately the resolutions remained the same, which means the longest ranged detection system is optimized for ships of eight thousand tonnes or more. While that is a relatively poor resolution – Vistualas for example would remain undetected for long – the class was designed during the height of the ADS war. Changing resolution to detect alien gunboats was a possibility, but doing so would actually decrease the range, which was considered unacceptable. Detection of such small enemies will be left to the next generation of warships, which are in conceptual stages. Despite that the Maasvlakte has become much more useful in a fleet command role thanks to the recent changes. Upgrades will be made depending on availability.
Maasvlakte II class Frigate Leader 10 000 tons 234 Crew 1974 BP TCS 200 TH 1232 EM 0
6160 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 72/72/0/0 Damage Control Rating 7 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.67 Years MSP 864 AFR 114% IFR 1.6% 1YR 173 5YR 2590 Max Repair 308 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Spare Berths 0
Nutiu Engines Limited Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 10200 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Ungureanu-Tudor Medium Internal Fusion Drive (2) Power 616 Fuel Use 54.83% Signature 616 Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 1 250 000 Litres Range 41.0 billion km (77 days at full power)
Olsson-Nordin Palisade CIWS (2x6) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 28800 Range 409.8m km Resolution 160
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Missile Detection System (1) GPS 216 Range 38.9m km MCR 4.2m km Resolution 1
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Medium Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 72 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 72m km
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Medium EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 72 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 72m km
ECM 20
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
10th December 2359
Fifty thousand Commune colonists disembark from a privately charted colony ship on a ES – 54 KH3 III filling abandoned alien habitats. The system itself is a dead end one, connecting only to Peter's Crossing making it reasonably secure.
7th March 2360
The Fourth Frigate Squadron escorts a Commune construction ship into the ES – 60 system, recently controlled by an alien race. The task will take a year to complete, after which the CDF intends to conclude a thorough exploration and survey of the system.
12th March 2360
The Commune designs their two largest warships yet, each massing twenty five thousand tonnes.
The Elatha class cruiser has been designed for long term deployments and is the first Commune warship to be a true multi-role one. She is equipped with more anti-missile launchers than Vistuala class corvette, has anti-ship and anti-missile railguns and is the first warship to be equipped with new, long range Trebuchet missiles. Those are twice the size of Arrows and just as fast, but have range of nearly two hundred million kilometers and on board active sensors. The decision was somewhat controversial as Elatha carries only a hundred and forty of them in box launchers and has only two fire controls. Using existing Arrows II would double the number of launchers and simplified missile production and logistics while cutting range by two thirds, which many considered an acceptable trade. However as the cruisers are easier to find and target than gunboats, the CDF officers wanted to give her an ability to soften the opposition from as far as possible.
Another potential weakness of the design is its range, which is the same as Stockholm class frigates. As Elatha can stay in deep space for three years, many saw it as a perfect ship for patrolling the Commune space, which would require much longer range. The upper echelons of the CDF however prefer to rely on their sensor abilities to detect the enemy. Their ships are supposed to be fast and located at strategic positions for quick reaction and as such they wanted a ship that can stay a long time in place, picketing a planet or a jump point, for which the range was relatively unimportant.
Elatha class Cruiser 25 000 tons 528 Crew 5346.6 BP TCS 500 TH 3080 EM 0
6160 km/s Armour 8-76 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/18/0/0 Damage Control Rating 17 PPV 146
Maint Life 3.2 Years MSP 2272 AFR 294% IFR 4.1% 1YR 334 5YR 5008 Max Repair 308 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 1012
Ungureanu-Tudor Medium Internal Fusion Drive (5) Power 616 Fuel Use 54.83% Signature 616 Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 2 500 000 Litres Range 32.8 billion km (61 days at full power)
Markowicz -Barczak Aerospace Industries 100 mm Railgun (6x4) Range 40 000km TS: 6160 km/s Power 3-4 RM 4 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Markowicz -Barczak Aerospace Industries 250 mm Railgun (3x4) Range 200 000km TS: 6160 km/s Power 15-4 RM 4 ROF 20 5 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 2
Stanciu Orbital Systems Railgun Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256 000 km TS: 6000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Baizura Aeromarine Tokamak Fusion Reactor (5) Total Power Output 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Hadisapoetro-Kartiko Heavy Industries Medium Box Launcher (140) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Jurga -Bakowski Anti-Missile Launcher (20) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Villagomez Heavy Industries Missile Fire Control (2) Range 38.9m km Resolution 1
Iagar Heavy Industries Long Range Missile Fire Control (2) Range 245.9m km Resolution 40
Spear (452) Speed: 52 000 km/s End: 7.4m Range: 23.2m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 277/166/83
Trebuchet (140) Speed: 40 000 km/s End: 82.1m Range: 197m km WH: 5 Size: 4 TH: 133/80/40
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 28800 Range 409.8m km Resolution 160
Hernjadez Systems Small Missile Detection System (1) GPS 36 Range 6.5m km MCR 706k km Resolution 1
Hernjadez Systems Small Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
Hernjadez Systems Small EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
Compact ECCM-3 (6) ECM 30
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Trebuchet missile
Missile Size: 4 MSP (0.2 HS) Warhead: 5 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 40000 km/s Engine Endurance: 82 minutes Range: 197.0m km
Active Sensor Strength: 0.36 Sensitivity Modifier: 180%
Resolution: 160 Maximum Range vs 8000 ton object (or larger): 810 000 km
Cost Per Missile: 3.826
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 400% 3k km/s 130% 5k km/s 80% 10k km/s 40%
Materials Required: 1.25x Tritanium 0.216x Boronide 0.36x Uridium 2x Gallicite Fuel x1965
At first glance the Rugewit class jump cruiser is an enlarged version of the Maasvlakte class frigate leader, but nothing could be further from truth. Aside from the fact that it possesses much more sensitive sensors, both active and passive, it possesses additional set dedicated for gunboat detection. But the most important change is the jump drive.
The jump drive on Maasvlakte is quite limited, capable of escorting only two additional ships through a jump point. It was designed to allow the frigate squadrons – and gunboat flotillas if need be – to transit jump points without a gate, but as the entrance into ES – 60 demonstrated, it is practically useless for jump point assaults. In fact considering the alien gunboats are almost certainly equipped with energy weapons – as they were never seen firing from even a relatively short range – if the ES – 60 jump point was defended, the battle in that system could end up being a disaster.
For that reason the jump drive on Rugewit was designed for entry into defended enemy territory. It can escort up to five additional warships and can emerge from a jump point at up to five hundred thousand kilometers from it. Unfortunately, the distance and vector are random, so it's still possible to emerge inside enemy firing range. Even so the new drive is a huge improvement over the previous ones.
Rugewit class Jump Cruiser 25 000 tons 623 Crew 5609 BP TCS 500 TH 3080 EM 0
6160 km/s JR 6-500 Armour 10-76 Shields 0-0 Sensors 180/180/0/0 Damage Control Rating 31 PPV 0
Maint Life 3.31 Years MSP 4417 AFR 158% IFR 2.2% 1YR 612 5YR 9173 Max Repair 942 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 0
Kaminski -Szafraniec Cruiser Sized Jump Drive Max Ship Size 26000 tons Distance 500k km Squadron Size 6
Ungureanu-Tudor Medium Internal Fusion Drive (5) Power 616 Fuel Use 54.83% Signature 616 Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 3 000 000 Litres Range 39.4 billion km (74 days at full power)
Olsson-Nordin Palisade CIWS (2x6) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Cahyono Putro-Saleh Gunboat Detection System (1) GPS 5400 Range 251.0m km Resolution 15
Cahyono Putro-Saleh Long Range Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 57600 Range 819.7m km Resolution 160
Holmqvist-Ivarsson Missile Detection System (1) GPS 216 Range 38.9m km MCR 4.2m km Resolution 1
Cahyono Putro-Saleh Large Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 180 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 180m km
Cahyono Putro-Saleh Large EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 180 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 180m km
ECM 30
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
24th November 2360
The survey ship Diamond has been working in recently discovered ES – 70 system for quite some time without any problems. Suddenly she detects several active sensor emissions coming from ADS ships.
The system is only two jumps from Kvituchi Troyandy and thanks to alien gates it's connected to the Commune network, allowing the doomed ship to send information in real time. The system has been scouted by one of the Copernicus class ships, but apparently those scouting missions are insufficient. The Diamond is destroyed thirty minutes after the contact by anti-ship missiles.
This is the first contact with the ADS in years and some begun to hope all of their space has already been explored and cleared. It's clearly not the case, but there is still the question of response. The Third Fleet is short one frigate squadron, leaving two gunboat flotillas and one frigate squadron on station. The problem is the nearby ES – 60 system, where an aggressive alien race has been encountered, and the destruction of one of their gunboats and later salvaging of its wreck suggests a third race may be present as well. As such Third Fleet will not be moved unless necessary.
The Second Fleet has only the gunboat flotillas ready. One frigate squadron is returning from refits and the other one still has one frigate in yards. As the area around Sudets and other nearby colonies like Eden or Prkos has been quite for decades, it would be possible to release all those forces for offensive operations. Unfortunately the distance from Wieliczka to the ES – 70 system is quite significant. In order to conduct offensive operations in that system a fuel stockpile in Kvituchi Troyandy will have to be established which, considering the low speed of tankers, may take half a year.
25th December 2360
The jump gate on the ES – 60 jump point is complete. The construction vessel leaves the system while the Commune Fourth Frigate Squadron decides to perform one quick flyby of some of the objects hoping to find something with their now improved sensors.
20th January 2361
Iberia is now habitable for unprotected humans. Gniezno will be the next destination of Republican terraforming installations.
10th April 2361
Elements of the commune Second Fleet consisting of First Frigate Squadron supported by the Third and Fourth gunboat flotillas gather at the ES – 70 jump point, ready to enter the system. There are no enemy pickets, allowing the humans to enter unopposed.
12th April 2361
Four ADS frigates of eighty three hundred tonnes are detected four hundred million from the human forces. The Second Fleet moves to engage.
As the Commune warships try to enter their firing range, waves of missile begin to close on them. Each consists of thirty shipkillers. Rear Admiral Eligiusz Malinski, commanding the force, orders his vessels to turn about to extend the engagement window. Not a single missile managed to get close to the Second Fleet, but the corvettes expanded over a third of their ordnance to achieve this. The human force turned around and resumed their pursuit of the enemy frigates, which split into two groups. One consisted of three ships and was much further and a lone warship was about one hundred and fifty million kilometers away. Presumably the three more distant enemies had longer ranged missiles and begun heading home after the attack. That meant it was likely more shipkillers will be coming soon, but as they would have been launched by only a single ship, they should pose little danger.
The expected attack materializes eighty minutes later and consists of waves of ten missiles. This time Malinski doesn't even try to extend the engagement window, plunging straight towards the missiles and trusting his defenses. The ADS attack fails to score any hits.
Believing the enemy to be out of ordnance and not wanting to give him time to rearm, the Admiral orders the Third Gunboat Flotilla to break formation and attack. While his forces are gaining ground, Piranhas are over a thousand kps faster than his frigates, which will make a large difference.
13th April 2361
The Third Gunboat Flotilla closes to forty three million kilometers and opens fire. Three Piranhas launch their ordnance, which is expected to at least cripple the lone ship. Fortunately it's enough to destroy the enemy outright.
Nine hours later nine more Piranhas open fire, targeting the three frigates moving together. All three are annihilated.
The Third Flotilla heads back to rejoin the other vessels, while the Second Fleet as a whole moves further in system.
23rd April 2361
The Second Fleet completes their flyby of the inner system, which also includes two cold gas giants, just in case. No sign of enemy is found, so the human ships head back to Wieliczka.
18th October 2361
The last two commercial shipyards arrive at the Commune colony of Peles, allowing Courland industry to operate at ninety seven percent efficiency. Unfortunately the population of sixty eight million living on the planet is insufficient to work all the construction factories, financial facilities and four shipyards, but it's steadily increasing so it's only a temporary problem.
29th November 2361
Fifty thousand Commune colonists disembark from a privately charted colony ship onto ES – 67 FFDH3 III. The planet is a site of alien ruins and some living spaces have been recovered already. It's the ninth colonized planet outside the Baltic system.
20th March 2362
Four Commune mobile infantry brigades land on one of the asteroids in ES – 15 KU4 system and begin their assault on an ADS outpost. There are no defenses and the two listening posts present are quickly secured. Nearly a hundred anti-ship missiles have also been found, but the Commune has no interest in them.
15th April 2362
The second outpost in the system has been secured. Two more tracking stations have been captured.
16th April 2362
The gravitational survey of ES – 60 GDLLH4 has been completed. To the considerable surprise of the Commune it is a dead end system. As the aliens fought there has also been encountered in ES – 38, and in much greater numbers, the assumption was that the species possesses the knowledge of jump points as well as an ability to traverse them. However the only known route would take them through Baltic, and no such ships have ever been detected there. The previous assumption was that there was some kind of connection between the ES – 60 and ES – 38 system, but with the latter being a dead end other possibilities are being considered.
First is the possibility the aliens do not know of jump points and spread out at sublight speeds. The two systems where they have been encountered are quite distant from each other in normal space, but it would matter little. Adding credence to this theory is the lack of any observed transits by that race coupled with the fact that the jump point towards the Commune space in the ES – 38 system has been picketed by a Copernicus class ship for years now and no alien have ever approached it.
The second possibility is that there is another connection between the two stars, two of which two possible. On leads through currently inhabited systems of Kvituchi Troyandy and Peter's Crossing. The other one leads through ES – 55 system, the only one connected to ES – 60, which has been traversed a lot, during gravitational survey, jump gate construction and offensive operations and through ES – 59 which has been connected to the Commune jump network but not surveyed. However no alien activity has ever been spotted in any of those systems, not counting ADS activity in Peter's Crossing. In fact, the very existence of ADS there argues the aliens haven't come close to the star.
The third and least likely possibility is that the aliens moved through Commune occupied space before humanity has arrived there, after which they have not left their systems.
The first possibility would be the most convenient for the Commune as it would reduce the aliens to localized threats. The third is almost as convenient but also the most unlikely one. The second explanation is currently considered to be the most likely one and due to the recent presence of ADS in Peter's Crossing the ES – 55 and ES – 59 systems are the most probable enemy entries into the human space. As such the Fifth Frigate Squadron will be dispatched to the letter to perform a detailed flyby with gravitational survey being conducted there as soon as possible. A listening post of two planetary sensor stations will also be established.
3rd May 2362
Traversing ES – 55 the Fifth Frigate Squadron detects an ADS ship. This type of vessel has been encountered before, always lurking in deep space, never engaging and always running away from threats, which means it's almost certainly a long endurance scout. The Commune force changes course to intercept and destroys the alien with railguns.
28th May 2362
The flyby of the ES – 59 system is complete, with no aliens found. Fifth Frigate Squadron will remain in place to oversee survey operations.
30th June 2362
An ADS outpost on ES – 44 GU5 I has been captured without a fight by Commune ground forces. Two tracking stations and nearly three hundred missiles has been found. As this was the last known ADS outpost, the four mobile infantry brigades will now head home.
19th August 2362
While the government is still debating whether or not to build ground based fortifications on the Commune planets, the local government on Eden builds a single Citadel class PDC for testing purposes. This will significantly improve the defense of the planet, currently orbited by only two Palisade class orbital weapon platforms.
19th February 2363
The Republic launches their first tugs. Their first task will be to transport the one commercial shipyard orbiting New Atlantis to Ukraine, as the capital is experiencing manpower shortages.
After over four decades the Phoenix system is bristling with life. The total population is nearly five hundred and ten million split between eight planets. New Atlantis is operating nearly sixty research complexes, all recovered from ancient ruins which has still not been fully explored. Germany is operating over three hundred construction factories, fourteen ground force training facilities and over three hundred financial institutions. More planets will be colonized within the next couple of decades and the Republican budget is healthy, with reasonable annual surplus. The government feels the time has come for their nation to begin naval and territorial expansion.
Their biggest problem right now is their still low population which is both producing little taxes and allows manpower shortages to occur. To that effect the government plans to prioritize options requiring as little workforce as possible, such as orbital fuel harvesters, space stations for maintenance operations, automated mines and construction brigades for ground based manufacturing. There is already enough ground force training installations to accomplish the last part and new commercial yards will be added to produce enough space stations and harvesters to support the Navy.
Another step to be taken will be to spread the existing industry, making each planet specialize in a certain area. New Atlantis is already specializing in research and development, mostly because it's the only planet capable of supporting the effort thanks to it's population of one hundred and ninety million. For comparison the second most populous planet – Germany – has population of seventy seven million. In the future that planet will be reduced to ground force training and financing, as they are already experiencing manpower shortages, which means construction factories will likely be moved elsewhere.
Mining is currently done mostly on New Atlantis, Gniezno and Iberia, using automated mines. If an opportunity presents itself another planet may become home to manned mining installations, currently stored and inactive in the capital. Commercial shipbuilding will be done on Ukraine, but due to the enormous distances military shipbuilding, which will require a proper basing and support facilities, will have to be done in the inner system, close to jump points, which means either Gniezno, Seine or Albion. The decision has not yet been made, although it looks like Gniezno will be future heart of the Republican Navy. A planet will also have to be chosen for missile production, but no decision about that has been made yet.
As noted above, preparing Phoenix to venture into the stars again will be a long and difficult process, but the most important part – making the decision to take the risk – has already been done.
12th April 2363
Exploring a new jump point a Commune survey ship enters ES – 80 GH4, a rather unremarkable system with the exception of three alien wrecks, one of which belongs to the ADS. This is only the second sighing of the race in this particular region of space with the previous one occurring in Urn Stjarna. The Second Frigate Squadron is dispatched from Baltic to investigate.
18th May 2363
The gravitational survey of the ES – 67 FFDH3 system is complete with a staggering total of eleven jump points found. Even more disturbingly four of those points were partially dormant, creating new connections to systems already surveyed. Such connections were discovered previously, but never in such numbers, making the Commune question security of some of their systems, like Malbork. There is nothing they can do about that however.
Unfortunately neither oh those connections manages to shorten travel distances in any meaningful name, and the system itself is located in sparsely populated area of the Commune space. As such, despite the large potential of the system, said potential will likely be wasted.
12th June 2363
The Second Frigate Squadron completed their scouting of the ES – 80 system finding no sign of aliens.
24th August 2363
After over four decades of work the Hegemony finally feels confident about moving back into interstellar space. Their population is well over twenty two hundred million, their industry is strong, and their technology is at least at the same level it was when the Destroyer arrived, and in some cases it's actually better. Their first naval designs are ready and hulls are already being laid down.
The biggest problem faced by the Hegemony during the design process was lack of hard data regarding the Destroyer. The people who ran to Sanctuary have done so during the very earliest stages of the attack with little more than clothes on their back, which was the whole reason why it took so long for them to reclaim their technology. As such, rather than trying to develop anti-Destroyer force, the Hegemony has decided to simply build the best Navy they could.
The heart of that Navy will consist of carriers, which will allow the humans to deliver long range attacks against their enemies with little risk of being attacked in return. Smaller vessels will also be used for escort or detached duty. And of course exploration and jump gate construction ships will also be needed.
The X-203 is a large construction vessel capable of building a pair of jump gates in a year. She's slow, but she'll spend most of her time on construction anyway and her long range will make her very useful. Shanbhag Steel Services, the largest yard orbiting New Earth, is already retooling.
X-203 Paveway class Construction Ship 78 850 tons 310 Crew 1924 BP TCS 1577 TH 2400 EM 0
1521 km/s Armour 1-163 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 15 Max Repair 48 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days
Weightman-Auch Commercial Ion Drive (10) Power 240 Fuel Use 3.04% Signature 240 Exp 4%
Fuel Capacity 2 250 000 Litres Range 168.9 billion km (1284 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
The X-204 is a dedicated long range, long endurance exploration vessel, capable of both geological and gravitational survey and equipped with full sensor suite to detect enemies before she herself can be detected. Twelve are planned, and the first six are already being laid down in the Francill-Stelman Manufacturing.
X-204 Benjamin Franklin class Exploration Ship 10 000 tons 264 Crew 1670.6 BP TCS 200 TH 600 EM 0
3000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 84/84/2/2 Damage Control Rating 14 PPV 0
Maint Life 5.57 Years MSP 1514 AFR 55% IFR 0.8% 1YR 82 5YR 1234 Max Repair 300 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 60 months Spare Berths 0
Giesy Aero Engines Experimental Jump Drive Max Ship Size 10000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Giesy Aero Engines Military Ion Drive (1) Power 600 Fuel Use 30% Signature 600 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 2 000 000 Litres Range 120.0 billion km (462 days at full power)
Drechsler & Hertwig Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 16800 Range 235.2m km Resolution 100
Drechsler & Hertwig Medium Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 84 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 84m km
Drechsler & Hertwig Medium EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 84 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 84m km
Improved Gravitational Sensors (1) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
Improved Geological Sensors (1) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
The X-206 will be the first carrier of the Hegemony Space Force and in many ways will serve as an experiment. Massing eighty thousand tonnes she will be capable of carrying a hundred fighter bombers with enough fuel and ammunition for three strikes. She will also have a powerful sensor suite to direct her fighters and limited defenses.
The detractors of the carrier doctrine point out just how large and powerful a missile armed vessel of this size would be. The fighters will be able to launch four hundred missiles, which is a significant number, but an eighty thousand tonne battleship could potentially launch thousands. On the other hand they have to agree that with the fighter range of over a billion kilometers it's very unlikely a carrier group will enter enemy weapons range, making fighters potentially much better weapon when it comes to avoiding loses. Whatever the merits, the carrier concept has backing of the Hegemon, which means the decision has already been made and it's unlikely to change.
X-206 Defiant class Carrier 80 000 tons 1356 Crew 9300.6 BP TCS 1600 TH 4800 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 4-165 Shields 0-0 Sensors 84/84/0/0 Damage Control Rating 68 PPV 20
Maint Life 1.49 Years MSP 4941 AFR 752% IFR 10.5% 1YR 2508 5YR 37614 Max Repair 560 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 25000 tons Magazine 3692
Giesy Aero Engines Military Ion Drive (8) Power 600 Fuel Use 30% Signature 600 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 10 000 000 Litres Range 75.0 billion km (289 days at full power)
Hackmann-Schwabach Anti-Missile Launcher (20) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Tsai-Luo Anti-Missile Fire Control (2) Range 11.8m km Resolution 1
Tomahawk (800) Speed: 24 000 km/s End: 50.1m Range: 72.2m km WH: 8 Size: 4 TH: 80/48/24
Patriot (492) Speed: 31 200 km/s End: 2.5m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 197/118/59
Tsai-Luo Missile Detection System (1) GPS 84 Range 11.8m km MCR 1.3m km Resolution 1
Abdi Incorporated Battle Area Managment System (1) GPS 112000 Range 1 108.7m km Resolution 200
Drechsler & Hertwig Medium Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 84 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 84m km
Drechsler & Hertwig Medium EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 84 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 84m km
Strike Group
100x X-205 Falcon Fighter-bomber Speed: 4800 km/s Size: 5
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
The X-205 will be primary – and so far the only – fighter of the Hegemony. Equipped with four missile launchers and relatively long range sensors they will be very dangerous when working in groups. Better yet, their size of only two hundred and fifty tonnes will make them very hard to detect.
X-205 Falcon class Fighter-bomber 250 tons 4 Crew 60 BP TCS 5 TH 24 EM 0
4800 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.4
Maint Life 11.14 Years MSP 15 AFR 5% IFR 0.1% 1YR 0 5YR 3 Max Repair 20 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 16
Masinde Aerospace Industries Fighter Ion Drive (1) Power 24 Fuel Use 336.02% Signature 24 Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 15 000 Litres Range 3.2 billion km (7 days at full power)
Eshleman-Burrell Design Bureau Box Launcher (4) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Towne Incorporated Tomahawk Fire Control (1) Range 82.3m km Resolution 100
Tomahawk (4) Speed: 24 000 km/s End: 50.1m Range: 72.2m km WH: 8 Size: 4 TH: 80/48/24
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
The X-207 is a multi-purpose destroyer capable of engaging a wide variety of threats over short and medium range. They can serve in either carrier escort role or on detached duty and perform equally well.
The design does however have some controversies. For example point blank defense had to be performed by lasers, but the bulk of short range anti-ship firepower is tied to particle beams, which required additional research delaying the development. As such to save on the costs, many wanted to give the ship a pure laser armament. In the end however, the designers pointed out that the Hegemony vessels will probably be quite slow compared to those of either the Destroyer or other potential aliens, and as such unable to dictate the range. As particle beams had constant damage potential over their entire range, they made more sense as the Hegemony anti-ship weapon of choice.
The second controversy was the use of the same ship to ship missile as the fighters were using, which had relatively short range. In this case it was done because Falcons were supposed to serve as a long range striking force, while the destroyer were supposed to fight only when something got through. Not only that but using the same components and missiles simplified the development process and logistics.
Overall the X-207 has much to prove, but most agree that the vessels are an impressive piece of engineering. The first three has already been laid down.
X-207 Ra class Destroyer 20 000 tons 450 Crew 3303.4 BP TCS 400 TH 1200 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 4-65 Shields 0-0 Sensors 14/14/0/0 Damage Control Rating 9 PPV 155.55
Maint Life 1.86 Years MSP 929 AFR 355% IFR 4.9% 1YR 341 5YR 5121 Max Repair 300 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 2
Magazine 856
Giesy Aero Engines Military Ion Drive (2) Power 600 Fuel Use 30% Signature 600 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1 500 000 Litres Range 45.0 billion km (173 days at full power)
Liu-Liu Ordnance 190mm Spinal Near Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 270 000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 9-4 RM 3 ROF 15 9 9 9 6 5 4 3 3 3 2
Twin Liu-Liu Ordnance Point Defence Laser Turret (3x2) Range 90 000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 6-8 RM 3 ROF 5 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
Liu-Liu Ordnance Particle Beam (5) Range 200 000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 10-4 ROF 15 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Ga-Fen Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 320 000 km TS: 5000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Ga-Fen Point Defence Fire Control (1) Max Range: 80 000 km TS: 20000 km/s 88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Woessner-Terwilliger Cybernetics Nuclear Reactor (11) Total Power Output 49.5 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Eshleman-Burrell Design Bureau Box Launcher (120) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
Hackmann-Schwabach Anti-Missile Launcher (16) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Tsai-Luo Anti-Missile Fire Control (2) Range 11.8m km Resolution 1
Towne Incorporated Tomahawk Fire Control (4) Range 82.3m km Resolution 100
Tomahawk (120) Speed: 24 000 km/s End: 50.1m Range: 72.2m km WH: 8 Size: 4 TH: 80/48/24
Patriot (376) Speed: 31 200 km/s End: 2.5m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 197/118/59
Drechsler & Hertwig Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 16800 Range 235.2m km Resolution 100
Tsai-Luo Missile Detection System (1) GPS 84 Range 11.8m km MCR 1.3m km Resolution 1
Drechsler & Hertwig Small Thermal Sensorr (1) Sensitivity 14 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 14m km
Drechsler & Hertwig Small EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 14 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 14m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
The X-208 frigate is an almost pure escort design equipped mostly with anti-missiles and point defense lasers. However as carriers have no offensive armament of their own, and can carry only three strikes, the designers wanted to make sure a carrier group won't find itself unable to fight back, which is why they have also included limited offensive beam armament. Even so, due to their small size and lack of offensive missiles, those frigates are expected to be little more than escorts for other, larger vessels.
Unlike the carrier and the destroyers, the frigates haven't been laid down yet. They will use the same yard as X-204s when those have completed their production.
X-208 Enki class Frigate 10 000 tons 271 Crew 1826.6 BP TCS 200 TH 600 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 14/14/0/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 53.4
Maint Life 2.44 Years MSP 685 AFR 133% IFR 1.9% 1YR 158 5YR 2375 Max Repair 300 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 372
Giesy Aero Engines Military Ion Drive (1) Power 600 Fuel Use 30% Signature 600 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 750 000 Litres Range 45.0 billion km (173 days at full power)
Twin Liu-Liu Ordnance Point Defence Laser Turret (4x2) Range 90 000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 6-8 RM 3 ROF 5 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
Liu-Liu Ordnance 190mm Spinal Near Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 270 000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 9-4 RM 3 ROF 15 9 9 9 6 5 4 3 3 3 2
Ga-Fen Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 320 000 km TS: 5000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Ga-Fen Point Defence Fire Control (2) Max Range: 80 000 km TS: 20000 km/s 88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Woessner-Terwilliger Cybernetics Nuclear Reactor (8) Total Power Output 36 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Hackmann-Schwabach Anti-Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Tsai-Luo Anti-Missile Fire Control (2) Range 11.8m km Resolution 1
Patriot (372) Speed: 31 200 km/s End: 2.5m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 197/118/59
Tsai-Luo Missile Detection System (1) GPS 84 Range 11.8m km MCR 1.3m km Resolution 1
Drechsler & Hertwig Small Thermal Sensorr (1) Sensitivity 14 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 14m km
Drechsler & Hertwig Small EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 14 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 14m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
The Tomahawk has been chosen to be the Hegemony's shipkiller. It's a relatively well balanced design with good speed and strong warhead, but it also has short range and very limited sensors. The range is not considered a problem, as the missile sill be used primarily by fighters. The sensors, while limited, were not supposed to find targets on their own however. Those were added purely to allow Tomahawks to find new targets when the previous one was destroyed, which should increase the missile usage efficiency. If it does not, the feature will likely be removed from future versions.
Tomahawk Missile
Missile Size: 4 MSP (0.2 HS) Warhead: 8 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 24000 km/s Engine Endurance: 50 minutes Range: 72.2m km
Active Sensor Strength: 0.07 Sensitivity Modifier: 140%
Resolution: 200 Maximum Range vs 10000 ton object (or larger): 130 000 km
Cost Per Missile: 3.312
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 240% 3k km/s 80% 5k km/s 48% 10k km/s 24%
Materials Required: 2x Tritanium 0.042x Boronide 0.07x Uridium 1.2x Gallicite Fuel x720
The Patriot will be the anti-missile of the Hegemony. While some people consider it to be somewhat slow, it is also more maneuverable than the alternatives were.
Missile Size: 1 MSP (0.05 HS) Warhead: 1 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 19
Speed: 31200 km/s Engine Endurance: 2 minutes Range: 4.6m km
Cost Per Missile: 0.8192
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 592.8% 3k km/s 190% 5k km/s 118.6% 10k km/s 59.3%
Materials Required: 0.25x Tritanium 0.5692x Gallicite Fuel x25
