[ooc]All in All I'm happy with how this turned out though it was much more complex and time consuming than I initially imagined. As is usual in these situations, things happened which prevented me from doing hobby work. My aurora campaign is no considerably more interesting but substantially messier, given the damage you all have wrecked upon my mightiest fleets.[/ooc]
A report prepared by Lt. Co. Jennifer Charleton to be delivered to Taylor Storey, Admiral of the 4th Fleet and Knight of the 12 Worlds
Delivered 13th May, 2142 at 00:14
In my capacity as Intelligence officer of the Fourth Fleet, it is my duty to inform you of the events of the day. Wormhole drones are still delivering periodic updates and as we are behind enemy lines in deep Ophiuchian space, intelligence will be even spottier than usual. Still, here is what we know for sure.
The fighting broke out at about 13:20 yesterday, though I understand the initial attack wave coincided almost exactly with the death of the Concordant. We can absolutely confirm that he is dead. Photographs were taken sometime before the destruction of the Raphael to that effect. The initial attack wave of interceptors and photon bombers damaged the light carriers of the command fleet, preventing fighter counterattacks. Conflicting orders paralyzed several large battle groups for about 3 minutes until both sides began exchanging cobalt torpedo fire nearly simultaneously. We have almost no good intelligence for the next three minutes. Several escort craft and laser frigates were severely crippled or destroyed, and the Coronado, which seems to have been the origin point of the rebellion, was presumed destroyed from a barrage of long ranged Polaris Missiles fired from the James Madison and significant torpedo hits to its fusion channels.
Initially elements of the command fleet were confident they could win the engagement due to superior craft under their control, but Griffiths and the cadre of officers under his command carried out a series of rather brilliant missile attacks on the command fleet's light destroyers, which significantly cut down on their readiness during the second round of torpedo fire.
The five minute self-destruct sequence aboard the Raphael was initiated at 13:26, at the authorization of Admiral Griffiths himself. It appears that the Discord's intention was never to hold the Raphael, but rather to disable the central organs of government and move on. It would have only been possible with the cooperation of one Duke, but we may never know which. Casualties aboard the Raphael were not nearly as high as they could have been, given the circumstances, 60-70 dead in in the initial uprising and another dozen or so killed when they were unable to make it to a life support pod before the reactor blew. Both of Franca's dukes are missing, presumed dead. In the crossfire, 2 light cruisers under Griffiths' command were able to penetrate the command fleet and pluck several life pods from the wreckage of the Raphael, including Admiral Griffiths and the nucleus of his rebellion. He is safe on the surface of Monticello as of 17:21 this evening...
Significant fighting in the Epsilon Eridani system concluded at about 13:35, with both sides sustaining heavy damage. The Coronado was able to effect significant repairs in the heat of battle and steam for Monticello, along with the remains of Griffth's fleet, We estimate the rebels still have a light cruiser, a destroyer escort, and one badly damaged carrier shielded from missile fire behind Monticello. Despite superior craft, the Command fleet and the loyal remnants decided to break for the Sol jump point rather than risk photonic antiship fire from the surface, It's still unknown whether Griffiths controls these planetary defense centers.
The uprising cannot properly be termed a success or a failure: While critical command and control functions necessary for the continuation of the concordance are all but destroyed, the planetary uprisings Griffiths appears to have counted on to cement his power did not manifest. He remains in control of 2/3rds of the Monticellan surface but his forces on Earth appear to be significantly outnumbered. Still, the fighting on both worlds is likely catastrophic, or will become so soon. The death toll could climb into the millions in the next few days. Griffiths did not seem to have counted on such steep initial resistance, rather critically, he seemed to have anticipated colonial guard laser frigates would have stood down, and the James Madison would have defected to his side, in the initial moments of the battle.
At present, here is what we know about the order of battle on both worlds where significant fighting has broken out:
Monticello:
Concordance Forces:
- 1 Garrison force protecting the Isthmus of Debuchy
Discordant Forces:
- 1 Mountaneer strike force massing at the southern extent of the Isthmus of Debuchy
- 1 Garrison force subduing or already controlling planetary defense centers around the Port of Kings
Forces loyal to Griffiths appear to control all major satellite, microwave, and ground communications, as well as the planetwide light rail and power generation infrastructure. They have blockaded all sanctioned spaceports. The planet is effectively closed to merchant traffic from planets that do not recognize Griffiths as "Supreme Commander." The economic damage this inflicts could be catastrophic in the months ahead and many actually cause a defection or two unless the blockade can be broken.
Earth
Concordance Forces:
- 1 Garrison Brigade (4 garrison battalions) holding Central Armenia
- 1 Garrison Brigade (4 garrison battalions) Holding Egypt and the Sinai
- 1 Special forces bridgade (2 marine battalions and a engineering battalion) at Mccord Airforce base, awaiting deployment to europe
- 1 Combat infantry brigade (1 assault infantry battalion and 3 mobile infantry battalions) mobilizing in the Sudan
- 1 Combat infantry brigade (1 assault infantry battalion and 3 mobile infantry battalions) mobilizing in Afghanistan
- 1 combat infantry brigade (1 assault infantry battalion and 3 mobile infantry battalions) mobilizing in russia
- 1 combat infantry brigade (1 assault infantry battalion and 3 mobile infantry battalions) mobilizing in outer mongolia
- 1 heavy assault brigade (4 heavy assault battalions) loading on troop transports in brazil
Central asian and south american forces seem most loyal to the Concordant, which makes sense given his nationality and political ties. The openly rebellious states seem confined to central and norther Europe, though there is always the possibility that the united states or Russia may switch sides...
Discord Forces:
- 1 Garrison Brigade (4 garrison battalions) holding france and western germany.
- 1 Heavy assault battalion (4 heavy assault battalions) massing near the caucuses for an attack on the central spaceport facilities in Armenia
- A mobile infantry battalion and scattered replacement battalions mobilizing in southern europe.
The Discord appears to be massively outnumbered but they are moving rapidly to secure the earth-based infrastructure underpinning the spaceworks of the first fleet. The First fleet is the largest and most powerful spacefleet but has been dry docked for repairs. Whoever can mobilize that fleet will effectively control Terran space, making the ground war irrelevant. Best estimates say that the First Fleet will not be spaceworthy for at least a month, perhaps two. Longer if supply lines to the spacedocks are cut.
As the situation stands, the second fleet appears to be completely crushed. While they maintain control of the space within low orbit of Monticello, their craft are all severely damaged and low on missiles and fuel. The command staff of the second fleet has been migrated to the surface and taken up new command duties. The command core of the Rebellion appears to still be Admiral Griffiths, Mark Hutchinson, Andre Rochat, and Luciana Tourinho, who are coordinating the rebellion from a garrison command post near the Sea of Calmar.
The loyal remnants of the second fleet and the command fleet has withdrawn to the Sol Jump Point, with the exception of the Missile Cruiser group centered on the James Madison, which is effectively besieging the planet. Its long ranged missiles will be able to destroy anything larger than 1000 tons that leaves low orbit. The group is operating under the immediate command of Colonial Guard commander Stephen Humphries and the Captain of the James Madison Du Quian E. Lt. Co. Renee Claude has already received an official UN commendation for her heroic fighting aboard the Raphael.
As far as is known, the man who killed the Concordant was a low level attache of a monticellan politician. He was killed in the initial phase of the uprising, along with Dr. Nathan French, Dr. Alexander Peacock, and Lt. Co. Gregoire de Saint Pierre. Currently, Concordance spaceforce activities have reverted to the command of Admiral Kate Watson of the Shipyard Fleets, though she is standing by to surrender all active concordance starships to the authority of Franca's chosen successor, who was delegated emergency powers by four of the five sitting admirals about an hour ago. You, of course, could not be counted on to vote, having just been informed of this now.
Power will likely formally revert to this individual within the next 24 hours. They have been charged with the mission of re-uniting Terran space and restoring the former power of the Concordance...
which brings me to the next and most critical part of the briefing....