This is the 3rd of 3 posts today

By mid-November, the salvage ship Cenotaph had salvaged the wrecks of the Vorchan squadron that Valiant had destroyed close to the Mortis – Belial jump point. The wreck of an Equalizer, one of the Ascendancy’s newest ships, was 800,000 km from the far side of the jump point. However, a 10,209-ton Aggravator class was sat on the Belial – Mortis jump point, monitored by an auspex buoy. While the Vorchan ship had not destroyed the buoy, Inquisition Intelligence still believed it was a warship due to the emissions from a known sensor with a resolution of 5 – an augur array designed to detect small craft. By this point, Valiant had returned to Erebus and had been replaced by a much stronger picket, comprising the cruiser Iron Duke, the strike cruiser Angelic Blade and the light cruiser Bloodhawk. Iron Duke was a veteran ship, responsible for destroying more Xenos tonnage than any other warship in the Imperial Navy.

Battlefleet Mortis
Lunar class Cruiser: Iron Duke
Dauntless-B class Light Cruiser: Bloodhawk
Dread Argent class Strike Cruiser: Angelic Blade
2x Thunderhawk class Assault Transport
2x Aquila-C class Lander

Rear Admiral Celestine Vetriano, based on the naval headquarters in Erebus, authorised Battlefleet Mortis to enter Belial, eliminate the Aggravator and cover Cenotaph while she salvaged both wrecks. The three ships conducted a squadron jump, arriving 20,000 km from the jump point. The Aggravator immediately launched a salvo of fourteen size-9 torpedoes. Lord-Captain Raphael Justinian, commander of Iron Duke, ordered all his ships to fire as soon as jump shock cleared. Until then, point defence was off-line, so there was nothing the Imperial squadron could do to prevent thirteen of the torpedoes slamming into Angelic Blade, taking down her shields and inflicting a single strength-9 hit to her armour. The new Vorchan torpedoes were twenty-four percent faster than the older model and had a fifty percent larger warhead.

With a speed of 4162 km/s, the Aggravator was slightly faster than the Imperial Navy warships and tried to flee. It managed to open the range to 40,000 km before it was ripped apart by a simultaneous salvo from Iron Duke and Bloodhawk. The hospital ship Benedictio Caelestis, which had been waiting in Mortis, transited into Belial to pick up the Vorchan survivors, followed by Cenotaph which began its salvage operations.

On December 10th 4007, the new Dauntless class light cruisers Bellator Stoicus and Vanguard joined the Imperial Navy, increasing the number of units in the class to sixteen. No more would be built for the foreseeable future as a program was underway to refit the ships of the class to the Dauntless-B design, which included upgraded sensors, a combat information centre, a shield strength increase of almost thirty percent and improved fuel capacity. Minotaur and Righteous Fury were completed a week later, the seventh and eighth Lunar class cruisers. Work began on upgrading Agrippa and Holy Flame to the Lunar-B class, which included similar upgrades to the Dauntless-B, except the increase in shield strength was sixty percent.

On December 25th, the new flagship of the Imperial Navy was launched from the Omnis Mechanica shipyard. Retribution was a 120,000-ton battleship, twice the size of the Lunar class cruisers and with twice their armament, plus a shield strength that was one hundred and forty percent greater than the Lunar-B and almost four times the strength of the original cruiser design. In addition to her sixteen torpedo launchers, eight lance batteries, thirty-six weapon batteries and thirty-six light weapon batteries, she was the first major warship to mount the new spinal lance battery, although that would also be included in an updated design for the Firestorm-B class frigate. The primary use of the Retribution would be in offensive operations, especially in the jump point assault role where her massive shield strength would protect her until jump shock wore off.

Retribution class Battleship      120,000 tons       3,696 Crew       19,186.3 BP       TCS 2,400    TH 9,600    EM 25,560
4000 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 6-216      Shields 852-426      HTK 659      Sensors 18/24/0/0      DCR 86-7      PPV 586
Maint Life 2.00 Years     MSP 13,593    AFR 1340%    IFR 18.6%    1YR 4,514    5YR 67,704    Max Repair 1,500 MSP
Magazine 3,104 / 0   
Commodore    Control Rating 4   BRG   AUX   CIC   FLG   
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months    CDE 20%    Morale Check Required   

RM-1200 Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 120000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-1200-MB (8)    Power 9600    Fuel Use 34.92%    Signature 1200    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 4,551,000 Litres    Range 19.6 billion km (56 days at full power)
Valentinian-Stern VS-71 Void Shield (12)     Recharge Time 426 seconds (2 per second)

Gothicus-Caliban GC-18-200 Spinal Lance Battery (1)    Range 225,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 56-4    ROF 70       
Gothicus-Caliban GC-12-200 Lance Battery (8)    Range 200,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 37-3.75    ROF 50       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-20 Weapons Battery (36x4)    Range 160,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 12-4     ROF 15       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-10 Light Weapons Battery (36x4)    Range 40,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
MK I Energy Weapon Fire Control  (6)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-477 Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (6)     Total Power Output 286.4    Exp 5%

MK I Standard Torpedo Launcher (16)     Missile Size: 24    Rate of Fire 1960
MK I Torpedo Fire Control (4)     Range 19.4m km    Resolution 10   ECCM-1
MK I Standard Torpedo (128)    Speed: 25,000 km/s   Range: 9.4m km   WH: 25   Size: 24   TH: 3,000 / 6,000 / 12,000
MK I Small Augur Probe (4)    Speed: 4,000 km/s    Range: 3,794.9m km    WH: 0    Size: 4    TH: 400 / 800 / 1,600

MK I Battleship Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 28800     Range 121.9m km    Resolution 120
MK II Fighter Detection Array (1)     GPS 210     Range 15.8m km    Resolution 10
MK II Torpedo Detection Array (1)     GPS 21     Range 7.3m km    MCR 658.1k km    Resolution 1
MK I Large Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  38.7m km
MK II Large Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 18     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  33.5m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Sensor 1    Fire Control 1    Missile 1   

In Ragnarok, a Pax Imperialis diplomatic station was towed into orbit of the first planet to allow communication attempts with the new Xenos race. Within ten days, full communication was established with the race of bulky armoured reptilians, which referred to themselves as the Clavian Consciousness. The Clavians caused an atavistic  reaction from the Terran linguistics team when video contact was initiated, due to their resemblance to a Terran crocodile, albeit one with six legs, an upright posture and a spinal ridge of armoured spikes. There was little warmth in their reaction to the arrival of the Imperium and they requested to be left alone, although they agreed to accept the continued presence of the diplomatic ship.

Regardless of whether their claim to desire isolation was genuine, the Clavians were a potential threat to the Imperium and would require a substantial fleet to be maintained indefinitely in Altair. That would seriously impact the Imperium’s ability to fight an effective war against the Vorchan Ascendancy, just at the moment when new ships were adding a significant offensive capability. Based on the limited intelligence available, the Inquisition believed the Consciousness might be confined to a single system. Therefore, Lord Admiral Varnus ordered a survey of the Ragnarok system and the deployment of an Argus class ELINT Vessel to gain intelligence on the population. If the Inquisition theory was confirmed, the Imperial Navy would launch an all-out assault to eliminate any threat from the Clavians, led by the battleship Retribution.

On February 17th 4008, the first Cobra class destroyer joined the Imperial Navy. Development on the Cobra was started when the first Drukhari Raptor appeared, with the aim being to develop a ship that could detect and eliminate the advanced Xenos raider at long range, without needing to match its speed. Changes to the design were made as improved sensors and shields became available. The Cobra was much smaller than other torpedo-armed combatants and the first Imperial warship without weapon or lance batteries. It was not intended for independent operations, but rather to protect colonies from raiders and to provide launch capability to small squadrons.

Cobra class Destroyer      15,000 tons       377 Crew       2,119.7 BP       TCS 300    TH 1,200    EM 2,130
4000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 3-54       Shields 71-426       HTK 79      Sensors 6/8/0/0      DCR 12-8      PPV 43.2
Maint Life 2.28 Years     MSP 1,559    AFR 150%    IFR 2.1%    1YR 406    5YR 6,092    Max Repair 600 MSP
Magazine 875 / 0   
Lord-Captain    Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 18 months    CDE 20%    Morale Check Required   

RM-150 Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 15000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-1200-MB (1)    Power 1200    Fuel Use 34.92%    Signature 1200    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 529,000 Litres    Range 18.2 billion km (52 days at full power)
Valentinian-Stern VS-71 Void Shield (1)     Recharge Time 426 seconds (0.2 per second)

MK I Standard Torpedo Launcher (6)     Missile Size: 24    Rate of Fire 1960
MK I Torpedo Fire Control (1)     Range 19.4m km    Resolution 10   ECCM-1
MK I Standard Torpedo (36)    Speed: 25,000 km/s   Range: 9.4m km    WH: 25   Size: 24    TH: 3,000 / 6,000 / 12,000
MK I Small Augur Probe (2)    Speed: 4,000 km/s    Range: 3,794.9m km    WH: 0    Size: 4    TH: 400 / 800 / 1,600

MK II Frigate Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 11340     Range 76.5m km    Resolution 120
MK II Fighter Detection Array (1)     GPS 210     Range 15.8m km    Resolution 10
MK I Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
MK II Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 1    Missile 1       

A few days later, an Ascendancy fleet, composed of previously unknown ships, transited into Belial from Hades, detected by a buoy recently placed by Oculus Nox. The composition was unusual. It appeared to be a cut-down version of a battle fleet, featuring the usual six Conqueror missile cruisers, but with only one Impaler instead of four and two Punishers instead of three. They were accompanied by an Abhorrent class destroyer, two Ambusher class escorts and two 20,500-ton ships of a new type, designated as Extinguisher class. Given the amount of traffic moving between Hades and Vorchan, and vice versa, the lack of offensive operations against the Imperium and the makeshift nature of the new fleet, Inquisition Intelligence began to consider the idea that the Ascendancy was engaged in a war against another Xenos race. Lord Admiral Varnus decided that more information was needed on events in Hades and beyond.

Given the huge fleet that was found guarding the Hades – Belial jump point during the last probe of Hades, gaining that information seemed unlikely. Even so, an Aquila was dispatched to transit the Belial – Hades jump point. To the surprise of the two-man crew, the only ship on sensors was an Aggravator class destroyer. Unfortunately that was enough. The Aquila was destroyed by a torpedo before it could return to Belial. A survey frigate in the Azrael system, adjacent to Beta Hydri, was ordered to abandon its survey and attempt to reach Hades, but it was ten weeks away. Another option was to force the Penumbra – Avernus jump point, where a stand-off had existed for several years. However, the Imperial navy now had the Retribution class battleship and within three months would have a pair of refitted Lunar class cruisers. A successful jump point assault was now a possibility.

On April 28th 4008, an Aquila attempted a transit into Avernus. The same Vorchan squadron of two Punishers frigates, a 19,673-ton Rampager class of unknown capability and two Ambusher class escorts that had been present in August 4006 had been joined by an Equalizer class scout. The Aquila emerged 40,000 km from the jump point and remarkably survived the first salvo, but not the second. Two days later, another Aquila transited from Belial into Hades and found the jump point was deserted. Acting with the sense of aggression that had started to permeate the Imperial Navy since the promotion of Lord Admiral Varnus, Battlefleet Mortis had moved up behind the scout and was stationed on the Belial – Hades jump point. It was not long ago that a huge fleet had guarded the jump point and now there was no defence at all.

Four days later, with the survey frigate Ordo Revelare less than a day from entering Hades, the Aquila detected active emissions from a pair of Conqueror class missile cruisers, fifteen million kilometres from the Hades – Belial jump point and closing. Their heading was from the outer system, rather than the Ascendancy colony on Hades II. In retrospect, it was probably unwise to probe the system, several days before the survey frigate arrival, rather than immediately beforehand. The Conquerors moved within sensor range and the entire fleet was revealed. It was Vorchan Nonus, last seen in orbit of the Vorchan home world.

Battlefleet Mortis, comprising the cruiser Iron Duke, the light cruiser Bloodhawk and the strike cruiser Angelic Blade, was now in a difficult situation. It had moved to the Belial – Hades jump point in anticipation of the Aquila confirming the presence of the single destroyer detected two months earlier, whereupon the squadron would have transited and eliminated it. How they were faced with a full battlefleet and could not retreat unless it transited and caught them in deep space. Conversely, they were seriously outgunned if they tried to defend the jump point but it was better than the alternative. The Aquila transited back into Belial and attempted to probe Vorchan, where it was killed by an Aggravator class destroyer. Battlefleet Mortis waited at the Belial – Hades jump point for two days, then retreated back into Mortis, along with Ordo Revelare. Despite the constant skirmishing, there seemed little chance that the Imperium could move into Belial and beyond without a serious commitment of forces that were simply not available, at least in the short-term.

In May 4008, Citadel and Redoubt, the first pair of Citadel class defence monitors, were launched from the Sol Invictus shipyard. The Citadels were intended for long-duration jump point defence duties and could remain on station for up to five years. Their design was uncompromisingly based on maximising offensive firepower at the expense of almost everything else. With twenty-four weapon batteries and twenty-four light weapon batteries, they mounted twice the firepower of a Dauntless class light cruiser, despite being twenty percent smaller. This was achieved by sacrificing shields, jammers, passive sensors and most of the armour, plus replacing the engines with a single, highly boosted drive that allowed full warship speed at the expense of anything beyond minimal range. The role of the Citadel Defence monitor was to destroy anything that emerged from a jump point, before it could recover from jump shock. A pair of Auriga Gravis class tugs towed Citadel and Redoubt to the Penumbra – Avernus jump point, where they replaced the existing ships of Battlefleet Penumbra.

Citadel class Defence Monitor      24,000 tons       1,124 Crew       4,874.2 BP       TCS 480    TH 1,920    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 3-74       Shields 0-0       HTK 218      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 26-10      PPV 240
Maint Life 5.48 Years     MSP 6,300    AFR 177%    IFR 2.5%    1YR 353    5YR 5,293    Max Repair 960 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 60 months    CDE 20%    Morale Check Required   

Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-1920-DB (1)    Power 1920    Fuel Use 220.84%    Signature 1920    Explosion 24%
Fuel Capacity 263,000 Litres    Range 0.89 billion km (62 hours at full power)

Astaroth Kinetics AK-20 Weapons Battery (24x4)    Range 160,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 12-4     ROF 15       
Astaroth Kinetics AK-10 Light Weapons Battery (24x4)    Range 40,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
MK I Energy Weapon Fire Control  (4)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-477 Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (4)     Total Power Output 190.9    Exp 5%

MK I Commercial Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 1920     Range 31.5m km    Resolution 120
MK I Torpedo Detection Array (1)     GPS 16     Range 6.4m km    MCR 574.5k km    Resolution 1

On July 2nd 4008, the battleship Retribution and the Lunar-B class cruisers Agrippa, Holy Flame and Minotaur joined the two Citadels, the survey frigate Peregrinus Aetheris and an Aquila at the Penumbra – Avernus jump point. The Aquila, with a volunteer crew, transited first to update intelligence on the Vorchan defenders. The Xenos fleet remain unchanged from the previous transit: two Punisher class frigates, two Ambusher class escorts, an Equalizer class scout and a 19,700-ton Rampager of unknown capability. The Aquila was attacked by an Ambusher and crippled, but not destroyed. Lord Admiral Varnus authorised the assault to begin immediately.

The three cruisers jumped as a squadron, arriving close to the jump point, with Retribution jumping separately and appearing at 40,000 km. Retribution attracted the most fire, suffering thirty-one strength-3 hits, but that only reduced her shield strength by eleven percent. Holy Flame also took several hits, with a similar drop in shield strength. One of the Vorchan warship attacked the Aquila, destroying it with bombardment cannon that would have been better used against the Imperial capital ships. The Vorchan fleet broke up, with the Equalizer fleeing, the Punishers and an Ambusher moving in the opposite direction, while the second Ambusher and the Rampager remained near the jump point



Holy Flame quickly recovered from jump shock and blasted a Punisher frigate into scrap metal before it could fire a second time. The second Punisher and an Ambusher returned fire, dropping the cruiser’s shields to forty-six percent, before Agrippa eliminated the second Vorchan frigate and Holy Flame took out the Rampager, which had never fired. The Equalizer was known to be unarmed, which left the two fast-firing but fragile Ambushers as the only threat. They focused on Holy Flame and her shield strength continued dropping until she destroyed one herself and Retribution, finally recovered from jump shock, took out the other and the Equaliser simultaneously. Holy Flame was at twenty-seven percent shields and would have suffered armour damage without the recent upgrade. The assault was an unqualified success, removing the blocking force and allowing Peregrinus Aetheris to begin a survey of Avernus.

Minotaur returned to Terra with the Vorchan survivors. Interrogation of those survivors provided full gravitational survey data on Tartarus, located two transits further out than Avernus via Gehenna, and revealed the location of two outward jump points, in addition to the known jump point to Styx. In late August, Peregrinus Aetheris discovered a pair of jump points seven hundred million and one point three billion kilometres from the Avernus - Penumbra jump point, which was relatively close give the mass of the Avernus primary, an yellow-white F9-V with twice the luminosity of Sol. As the system was in Ascendancy territory and anything could be waiting just beyond the new jump points, an Aquila was dispatched from Sol to investigate. Meanwhile, Astra Incognita arrived to assist with the survey.

On September 10th 4008, the Aquila transited the closer of the two jump points and discovered Crucible, an unremarkable orange K0-V system with six planets and eighty moons. After a sweep of the inner system that found nothing, the Aquila returned to Avernus and probed the second jump point, which led to Methuselah, a red dwarf system with a similar collection of system bodies. In October the survey operation was further reinforced with the arrival of Ordo Revelare. By February 4009, the survey was approximately seventy-five percent done, at which point Astra Incognita moved into the adjacent Charon system, from where Ascendancy forces had arrived in the past. The Charon side of the jump point was stabilised. She had barely moved away from the jump point, when she detected the approach of an Equalizer class scout, which fled when she changed course to intercept.

On February 23rd, Astra Incognita discovered a stabilised jump point in Charon. Given the potential for a hostile fleet to be located beyond it, an Aquila was dispatched from Terra to probe it On March 14th 4009, it transited and was blown to pieces by a squadron of five Vorchan warships; three Punisher class frigates, an Impaler escort cruiser and an Ambusher class escort. The system beyond the jump point had a red dwarf primary and three planets, one of which had a trace nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere and extensive ice sheets. It was named Purgatory. The Purgatory  - Charon jump point was not stabilised, which suggested there was another jump point in Charon that led deeper into the Ascendancy.



The Equalizer that was briefly detected by Astra Incognita entered Avernus and conducted reconnaissance, monitoring the Imperium survey operations, the deployment of auspex buoys at jump points and the arrival of the frigates Vengeful and Vortex, as they took up a picket position at the Avernus – Charon jump point. The capital ships had all returned to Terra, leaving the defence monitors to guard the Penumbra - Avernus jump point. The Equalizer had a speed of 5,488 km/s and ran away at the approach of any Imperial Navy warship, so a Faustus-B interceptor, with a speed of 8000 km/s, was deployed to Avernus. As the Equalizer seemed to be moving between the Charon and Penumbra jump points, the Faustus followed the same route and soon detected the Vorchan scout. A single shot was sufficient to disable its engines, so a strike cruiser was dispatched from Sol to board it.

Faustus-B class Interceptor      2,400 tons       69 Crew       606.9 BP       TCS 48    TH 384    EM 0
8000 km/s      Armour 1-15       Shields 0-0       HTK 18      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 15
Maint Life 3.54 Years     MSP 1,079    AFR 92%    IFR 1.3%    1YR 132    5YR 1,982    Max Repair 267 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months    CDE 20%    Morale Check Required   

Nuclear Gas-Core Engine  EP384.00 (1)    Power 384    Fuel Use 285.77%    Signature 384    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 196,600 Litres    Range 5.2 billion km (7 days at full power)

Gothicus-Caliban GC-18-200 Spinal Lance Battery (1)    Range 225,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 56-4    ROF 70       
MK I Faustus Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 8,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-40 Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 4.1    Exp 10%

MK II Starhawk Augur Array (1)     GPS 252     Range 11.4m km    Resolution 120
MK II Fury Augur Array (1)     GPS 3     Range 2.3m km    MCR 208.1k km    Resolution 1
MK II Shuttle Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 0.6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  6.1m km
MK I Shuttle EM Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 0.8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.1m km

On April 13th, an Aquila transited a newly-discovered stabilised jump point in Charon and discovered Hesperus, a planetless red dwarf system. While there was no sign of life, the Hesperus – Charon jump point was stabilised and therefore the most likely route deeper into the Ascendancy. In Avernus, Thunderhawks from the strike cruiser Eternal Defiance captured the crippled Equalizer, confirming it was a scout design equipped with ion engines. Eternal Defiance moved to join the two frigates on the Avernus – Charon jump point.

In June 4009, Cognitrix Stellarum completed a survey of the Ragnarok system, home to the Clavian Consciousness, finding a single outward jump point. So far, no Clavian ship had even approached the Altair jump point. Therefore, the Imperial Inquisition theorised that even though the Consciousness was a Trans-Newtonian race, it had never developed the concept of jump point theory – at least so far. Study of their home world by the ELINT vessel Cassandra had determined their population was eight hundred and twenty million with approximately two and a half thousand installations. In addition, data was obtained on the design of an orbital mining ship, which had nuclear pulse engines – a generation behind Imperium designs.

Cognitrix Stellarum transited the sole outward jump point, located three hundred and sixty million kilometres from the primary, and emerged at the edge of a binary system of two K-class stars, each with five planets. As the Clavian system was named Ragnarok, the Adeptus Astronomica decided to name any system beyond it using an ancient Norse theme, so the binary became Asgard. At first glance, Asgard-A III was an ideal habitable world, with a breathable atmosphere, a temperature just within the lower end of human tolerance and liquid oceans covering almost half the surface. However, data on its eccentric orbital path showed a likely temperature range between -78C and 32C, so the conditions would become decidedly unpleasant as Asgard-A III moved out to aphelion.

For humans, Asgard-B III was a much better option, with a temperature range within human tolerance and oceans covering 90% of the surface. The dense nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere was not breathable, but could be made so with the removal of 0.03 of oxygen, although given the 19,200 km diameter of the planet that would be a slow process. As the B component was within two and a half billion kilometres, Cognitrix Stellarum launched an Augur probe at Asgard-B III, then headed in-system to launch a similar probe at Asgard-A III. Neither probe found any sign of life.

A fourth survey cruiser arrived in Avernus in July, by which time the survey of the system was complete. In late August, the survey of Charon was also nearing completion and Peregrinus Atheris was already in Hesperus and moving to its first survey location. The frigate Vengeful moved into Charon with the intention of picketing the Charon – Hesperus jump point. While she was still a day from her destination, a 20,500-ton Extinguisher class ship was detected on the far side of the jump point by a recently placed buoy. Vengeful was forced to reverse course when the Extinguisher entered Charon and set course for the Avernus jump point at 4146 km/s, in case the Xenos warship was armed with torpedoes. The newer Ascendancy designs had both a range and speed advantage over Imperial Navy ships.

A day after contact with the Extinguisher, a Vorchan destroyer squadron – the fourteenth encountered so far – approached the Hesperus - Charon jump point from the same direction as the Extinguisher. After destroying the buoy in Hesperus, the squadron jumped into Charon, where an Aquila that had been picketing the jump point was already fleeing toward the Avernus jump point. Within a minute of transit, the buoy on the Charon side and the Aquila had both been eliminated. Leaving the Imperium with no visibility of the squadron, or the preceding Extinguisher. The three survey frigates still in Charon were ordered to move to the Avernus jump point after completing their survey tasks.

On August 28th, the Extinguisher was detected by a buoy on the Charon – Avernus jump point. Thirty minutes later, it jumped into Avernus using a squadron transit and arrived 125,000 km from Battlefleet Avernus, which comprised the strike cruiser Eternal Defiance and the frigates Vengeful and Vortex. This was a very different situation to the usual half-suicidal standard transits used by Vorchan fleets in the past. The Extinguisher was already at long-range and faster than the Imperial Navy warships. It would also recover from transit much more quickly. Battlefleet Avernus targeted the Extinguisher and a set a pursuit course.

Fortunately, the Extinguisher set a course for the Penumbra jump point, which allowed Battlefleet Avernus to close to 100,000 km, and all three Imperial ships opened fire within a few seconds. Both frigates were Firestorm-Bs and inflicted strength-18 hits with their spinal lance batteries, accompanied by over fifty strength-1 hits from the squadron’s weapon batteries. Only a single hit penetrated the Vorchan shields and armour, but that was sufficient to drop its speed to 3110 km/s. Two more weapon battery volleys, both from close range, left the Ascendancy warship dead in space, although the amount of punishment it could apparently absorb caused great concern. All Imperial ships ceased fire, allowing Eternal Defiance to launch a boarding operation that captured the crippled ship within three minutes. The Extinguisher was an unarmed military jump tender, equipped with ion engines, but otherwise demonstrating a similar level of technology to Imperium designs.

Extinguisher class Military Jump Tender    20,499 tons      386 Crew      3,265.3 BP     TCS 410   TH 1,700    EM 1,110
4146 km/s    JR 4-100      Armour 13-66       Shields 37-341       HTK 78      Sensors 18/18/0/0      DCR 8-3      PPV 0
Maint Life 0.81 Years     MSP 796    AFR 420%    IFR 5.8%    1YR 988    5YR 14,819    Max Repair 744.2 MSP
Magazine 0 / 66   
Lord-Captain    Control Rating 3   BRG   ENG   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

J30750(4-100) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 30750 tons    Distance 100k km     Squadron Size 4
Ion Drive  EP425.0 (4)    Power 1700    Fuel Use 32.54%    Signature 425    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 850,000 Litres    Range 22.9 billion km (64 days at full power)
Delta S37 / R341 Shields (1)     Recharge Time 341 seconds (0.1 per second)

CIWS-120 (3x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 12,000 km/s     ROF 5       
Size 22 Decoy Launcher (3)     Decoy Size: 22    Hangar Reload 234 minutes    MF Reload 39 hours

Active Search Sensor AS56-R110 (1)     GPS 7920     Range 56.2m km    Resolution 110
Thermal Sensor TH3-18 (1)     Sensitivity 18     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  33.5m km
EM Sensor EM3-18 (1)     Sensitivity 18     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  33.5m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Sensor 1    Fire Control 1    Missile 1   

At the far side of known space, an Aquila transited the Belial – Hades jump point to check for defenders and found no sign of hostile ships. The survey frigate Virtus Aeterna was waiting in Belial and immediately entered Hades to begin a gravitational survey. Finally, the Imperium would be able to gain survey data on what was plainly one of the Ascendancy’s core systems. On August 31st, the Vorchan destroyer squadron in Charon was detected entering the Charon - Purgatory jump point, so the survey frigates in the system changed their headings back toward the Hesperus jump point.

Five days later, a group of sixteen Aggressor class ships, 24,000-tons and travelling at 1670 km/s with commercial engines, appeared near the Charon – Purgatory jump point, heading for the latter system. Their course suggested they had arrived from Hesperus. Even more convinced that Hesperus was the route to the Ascendancy core systems, Lord Admiral Varnus had dispatched the battleship Retribution, four Lunar class cruisers and two carriers to Avernus, with orders to assault any jump point discovered by the survey frigates, including Purgatory. In the meantime, the frigate Vortex took up a picket position on the Charon – Hesperus jump point, while Oculus Vigil replaced the destroyed buoys.

On September 18th 4009, Peregrinus Aetheris detected a stabilised jump point in Hesperus. An Aquila was sent to investigate. A few hours later, the buoy on the Hesperus – Charon jump point detected the approach of an Equalizer class scout, although not on a heading that corresponded to the location of the new jump point. The Equalizer took up station on the jump point and made no attempt to transit, so Vortex jumped into Hesperus and pursued it, destroying it with a single salvo as soon as jump shock wore off. The Aquila transited the new jump point and was blown to pieces by two destroyer squadrons – the fifteenth and sixteenth to be encountered. The resources available to the Vorchan Ascendancy seemed endless. The system itself, comprising a planetless K5-V star and a pair of distant comets, was named Mordred.

Two weeks later, Retribution and the cruisers Imperial Wrath, Holy Flame, Iron Duke and Justicar launched a jump point assault on Purgatory. An Aquila transiting just before them confirmed the defensive force was still three 18,700-ton Punisher class frigates armed with bombardment cannon, an Impaler escort cruiser, an Ambusher class escort and a 36,500-ton Reformer class with commercial engines. Retribution, jumping with Imperial Wrath. was the focus of the defensive fire, taking twenty-nine strength-4 hits, a pair of strength-6 hits and six strength-2s that reduced her shields by sixteen percent. The other three cruisers arrived nearby and all five Imperial Navy warships started to open the range, reducing the effect of further defensive fire until they recovered from jump shock.

Five seconds after transit, Justicar opened fire and obliterated one of the Punisher class frigates. Instead of pursuing the Imperial fleet, the remaining Vorchan ships sets a course for the inner system, while the Impaler began launching light torpedoes Within twenty seconds, all of the Imperial ships had recovered from shock and opened fire. Retribution destroyed the Impaler, Justicar destroyed another frigate with her second salvo, while Imperial Wrath crippled the third. The battle was effectively over before it began. The remaining Vorchan ships were eliminated with minimal resistance. The carriers Archon Kort and Rhadamanthine entered the system to join with Retribution and the cruisers, then the fleet headed in-system, with the exception of Imperial Wrath, which remained to picket the jump point.

Two days after the battle in Purgatory, an Aquila transited a newly discovered stabilised jump point in Hesperus and emerged three billion kilometres from the Vorchan home world. It was instantly destroyed by a Vorchan battle fleet stationed on the Vorchan – Hesperus jump point. The defending fleet was the twelfth battle fleet to be encountered, four of which had been eliminated, and had the standard composition, plus an Aggravator class destroyer.

The Inquisition had theorised Hesperus was on the path to the Vorchan system, but no one had expected the sudden connection. The discovery of the new link created a circular chain of eleven systems. Starting from Caliban, adjacent to Sol, the chain progressed via Nyx, Erebus, Beta Hydri, Mortis, Belial, Vorchan, Hesperus, Charon, Avernus, Penumbra and back to Caliban. The route was shorter via Hesperus, but there was not a single planet, moon or asteroid in any of the systems beyond Penumbra. Even the planets in Penumbra were further away than the Caliban jump point. The only system that provided real estate suitable for a forward base was Purgatory, assuming it could be secured, and even that was three transits and seven billion kilometres from the Vorchan home world and not on the direct route.



For now, the picket would be maintained at the Mortis – Belial jump point and offensive operations would focus on the route via Charon and Hesperus, although there many systems flanking that route that would need to be checked, including a known population in Tartarus, two jumps from Avernus via Gehenna. In the meantime, the temporarily-designated Battlefleet Purgatory, comprising Retribution, three cruisers and two carriers, continued to close on the three planets in the Purgatory system, one of which had a trace oxygen – nitrogen atmosphere.

In Hesperus, a buoy on the Charon jump point detected the approach of two Crusader class troop transports, along with an Impaler escort cruiser, an Enforcer class frigate and a new design of 10,200 tons, designated as Demolisher class. The frigate Vortex was stationed as a picket on the far side of the jump point. The approaching fleet destroyed the buoy and transited into Charon.

Unusually, the two transports came through the stabilised jump point, but the three escorting warships conducted a squadron transit, arriving 63,000 km from Vortex. The Imperial frigate immediately opened fire, scoring a hit with her spinal lance battery and seventeen strength-2 hits with weapon batteries on the Enforcer, reducing the speed of the Xenos frigate to 2,487 km/s. Vortex’s commander, Captain Leonatus Merrick, knew he had far less time than usual to engage the Ascendancy ships before they recovered from jump shock, so he attempted to close the range. The Enforcer ran for the Avernus jump point, while the other escorts headed for the troop transports.



The strike cruiser Eternal Defiance was en route to the Charon – Hesperus jump point, although thirty-six hours away, so Captain Merrick decided to reverse course and attack the undamaged escorts. Vortex targeted the smaller Demolisher first, as Merrick suspected it was an escort with short-range but fast-firing weapons and he did not want to face that while trying to get close to the Impaler. A volley from the light weapon batteries, followed by a full broadside was sufficient to kill the Demolisher, by which time the Impaler had recovered from jump shock and launched a wave of forty-two light torpedoes with a speed of 48,000 km/s. The Ascendancy had apparently improved its light torpedoes too.

Thirty-seven torpedoes struck Vortex, accompanied by eight strength-2 hits inflicted by the Enforcer class frigate, which was still on course for the Avernus jump point, but less than 70,000 km away. Vortex’s shields were reduced to twenty-seven percent. Her crew was not used to a rapid response from the Vorchan during a jump assault and struggled to target the Impaler, which launched a second wave of light torpedoes. Forty of them detonated, blasting down the Imperial frigate’s remaining shields and causing significant armour damage. Vortex finally responded with a full broadside at point-blank range, smashing through the larger ship’s slowly raising shields and penetrating its armour in seven places.

The Impaler’s speed fell to 1,338 km/s, but its weapon were mostly intact, as it launched a wave of thirty-nine more light torpedoes, just as the retreating Enforcer scored six strength-1 hits on Vortex. Vortex continued to fire on the Impaler with her light weapon batteries, as the main batteries had a fifteen second recycle time, inflicting further internal damage. All thirty-nine light torpedoes hit Vortex, even as she continued firing, and she suffered damage to non-critical system due to three separate armour penetrations. Forty percent of her armour had been wiped away, leaving her extremely vulnerable. Vortex’s main batteries fired once again and the battered Xenos cruiser finally exploded, but not before launching another twenty-two torpedoes. Somehow Vortex survived their attack with the loss of more armour, her fire control jammer and more non-critical systems. The Enforcer continued to snipe as the range increased, but only inflicted further armour damage.

With the Impaler and Demolisher destroyed and the Enforcer at long range, Vortex took the opportunity to move out of range of the Xenos frigate, while her shields were restored, and instead targeted the two Crusader troop transports. Once both were eliminated and her shields were at two-thirds strength, Vortex set off in pursuit of the damaged Enforcer. Once within 180,000 km, she came under fire from seventeen bombardment cannon, two of which scored strength-1 hits. The Enforcer did not have any detectable shield strength, which suggested that the earlier damage had disabled her shield generator. Vortex held the range at 155,000 km, from where she could wear down the Vorchan warship with her main weapon batteries while taking minor hits in return on her shields.

A strength-18 hit from Vortex’s spinal lance battery effectively ended the contest, as the Enforcer ceased all movement. It still had ten operable bombardment cannon, so Vortex continued firing. Eventually, the Xenos warship ceased fire and Captain Merrick considered allowing Eternal Defiance to arrive and board it, but the older Vorchan ships lacked any technology not possessed by the Imperium. Even the 15cm bombardment cannon had been replicated, although not deployed on any Imperial designs. Instead, the spinal lance battery skewered the helpless escort cruiser and it exploded.

While Vortex had won a famous victory, the implications were extremely concerning. The Ascendancy was now using squadron transits, even for the escorts of troop transports, so the days of single Imperial frigates defeating Vorchan destroyer squadrons were now firmly in the past. Any jump point pickets would have to be substantially reinforced. Vortex rescued the Ascendancy survivors, then remained at the jump point until she was relieved by Eternal Defiance, after which she visited Purgatory to pick up the life pods from the recent battle and then headed home to Terra for repairs. In the inner system of Purgatory, Battlefleet Purgatory found a small Ascendancy colony and eliminated its surface-to-orbit defences. There was no sign of Vorchan ships.

By October 20th, Retribution and the other cruisers had moved to the Charon – Hesperus jump point, which the exception of Iron Duke, which remained in orbit of the small Ascendancy colony on Purgatory I. The frigate Vengeful had adopted a picket position at the Charon – Purgatory jump point. The survey frigate Astra Incognita entered Purgatory and headed in-system to survey the planets. Two hundred and eighty million kilometres from the jump point, she detected sensor emissions from an Enforcer class frigate and a Savage class destroyer fifty million kilometres ahead. Both ships had been detected before as part of a destroyer squadron. Astra Incognita immediately reversed course. Iron Duke left orbit of Purgatory I and also headed for the Charon jump point, while Holy Flame and Justicar left their position at the Charon – Hesperus to support Vengeful. They were two days away. The replenishment ship Civitas Fidelis was also in Purgatory and transited immediately into Charon.



Vengeful entered Purgatory and moved to support Astra Incognita, hoping their combined weapon batteries could provide sufficient defence to limit the torpedo salvos from the destroyer squadron, if she could get there in time. Once it became obvious that the Xenos ships were pursuing Astra Incognita, she engaged her sensors to confirm the enemy fleet comprised three Savage and one Abhorrent class destroyers, plus an Enforcer class frigate and an Impaler class escort cruiser. Unfortunately, Vengeful was still a hundred and fifty million kilometres away when Astra Incognita detected thirty-six inbound torpedoes.



Astra Incognita managed to shoot down one torpedo and two more missed. The rest detonated on target and caused massive internal damage, including her engine, weapon batteries, jump drive and all but one of her survey sensors. A second, equally large salvo, arrived thirty minutes later and obliterated the crippled survey frigate. Vengeful was forced to retreat through the jump point. Given the new squadron transit tactics of the Vorchan Ascendancy, her chances of defending against a jump point assault were slim, so she was ordered to escort Civitas Fidelis as the replenishment ship fled toward the Hesperus jump point at 2000 km/s.

The Vorchan destroyer squadron transited when Vengeful and Civitas Fidelis were two hundred million kilometres from the jump point and immediately destroyed the jump point buoy, vanishing from sensors. Vengeful left Civitas Fidelis, as she would reach Holy Flame and Justicar before the Vorchan could catch her, and reversed course to locate the Xenos fleet. There was no sign of them near the jump point, so Vengeful set a course for the undefended Charon – Avernus jump point, in case that was their destination. Numerous unarmed ships were in Avernus, moving up to support combat operations, and would be easy prey for the Vorchan destroyers. Meanwhile in Hesperus, a buoy on the Mordred jump point detected the approach of Vorchan Decimus, a known Ascendancy battlefleet, from the direction of the Vorchan jump point. What was more important in Mordred and beyond than the presence of large Imperial Navy forces in Charon was unknown. The auspex buoy was eliminated by a trio of light torpedoes.

With Vengeful halfway to the Charon – Avernus jump point, the Vorchan destroyer squadron was detected by Holy Flame and Justicar as they approached the Charon – Purgatory. Wherever the Xenos ships had been during the frantic effort to locate them, they were now back on sensors. They briefly transited back into Purgatory as the two cruisers drew closer, then returned to Charon and set a course for the Avernus jump point. Holy Flame and Justicar changed course to intercept and soon came under attack from a wave of thirty-six torpedoes of the older 19,000 km type. Sixteen torpedoes, were shot down. Fourteen detonated against Holy Flame’s shields, reducing them by a quarter. Four further waves of thirty-six torpedoes attacked, approximately twenty minutes apart, each with similar results, followed by a smaller wave of thirty and several waves of twelve, none of which had any real effect other than the consumption of maintenance supplies to deal with occasional weapon failures.

Once within range, Holy Flame and Justicar launched their own salvo of sixteen standard torpedoes at the Impaler class escort cruiser. Three torpedoes and forty-two decoys were hit by defensive light torpedoes. Eight more were distracted by the Impaler’s own decoys, leaving five to detonate their strength-25 warheads on target, sufficient to blast down the shields of the Xenos warship and inflict internal damage. The Impaler dropped out of formation, with its speed reduced to 1659 km/s, although its shield generator was obviously undamaged as the shields regenerated to full strength. The launchers were intact too, as it fired a volley of forty-two light torpedoes as the cruisers approached.

Even as the cruisers ploughed through the hail of Xenos torpedoes, eliminating many of them with point defence fire and absorbing the rest on their shields, Holy Flame launched a new salvo of eight standard torpedoes. Seven struck the Impaler, causing crippling damage and ending the constant stream of light torpedoes. Holy Flame fired her lance batteries as the two ships passed the stricken Impaler, leaving wreckage in her wake, then the cruisers ran down the remaining Vorchan warships, eliminating the Enforcer frigate first then massacring the helpless destroyers, which had exhausted their torpedoes.

In mid-November, interrogation of the prisoners captured in the recent engagements in Charon and Purgatory yielded technical information on 20cm bombardment cannon. Two weeks later, an Aquila transited the fourth jump point to be found in Hesperus and entered Circe, a G5-V system with three unremarkable planets, nineteen moons and a scattering of asteroids and comets. A few hours after transit, a new Vorchan class transited into the system. Designated as Terminator class, it was 180,000 tons and equipped with commercial engines. The Terminator remained on the Circe – Hesperus jump point, so Imperial Wrath was detached from the Imperial fleet gathered at the Charon – Hesperus jump point. A week later, after travelling across Hesperus, she entered Circe, obliterated the Terminator with a single volley and took up position on the Circe – Hesperus jump point. The Aquila moved into Hesperus to watch for approaching ships.

With the Imperium’s attention focused on the systems around Charon and Hesperus, there was less emphasis on the previous constant skirmishing around the Belial system. Oculus Nox entered the system twice to place buoys but was almost detected and destroyed. The one buoy she did successfully emplace, on the Belial – Hades jump point, detected multiple commercial ships over several weeks. However, given the loss of Spectre on a previous commerce raid, the limited number of available capital ships and the new jump point assault tactics of the Ascendancy, no further raids had been mounted. There was some consideration of deep space interceptions between the Hades and Vorchan jump points, but the speed advantage of the latest Vorchan designs made that a risky proposition.

However, Lord Admiral Varnus managed to find an alternative. Several years earlier, a Raptor class ship of the Drukhari had been captured and repaired. Since then, it had remained in orbit of Terra. That ship, now renamed Noctis Venator, was dispatched to Solara Hydri, where it resupplied and conducted a brief overhaul, before refuelling from Auxilium Divinum at the Mortis – Belial jump point and entering the latter system, where it took up a position just off the direct route between the Hades and Vorchan jump points. Noctis Venator had high speed, capable passive sensors and a small cross-section due to her cloaking device, making the advanced Xenos-constructed vessel ideal for commerce raiding.

Raptor class Raider      11,531 tons       361 Crew       3,660.7 BP       TCS 23    TH 413    EM 0
7468 km/s      Armour 1-45       Shields 0-0       HTK 71      Sensors 24/8/0/0      DCR 4-3      PPV 24
Maint Life 0.60 Years     MSP 793    AFR 266%    IFR 3.7%    1YR 1,320    5YR 19,802    Max Repair 861.1 MSP
Magazine 0 / 66   
Lord-Captain    Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Magneto-plasma Drive  EP861.12 (2)    Power 1722.2    Fuel Use 34.52%    Signature 206.6688    Explosion 11%
Fuel Capacity 900,000 Litres    Range 40.7 billion km (63 days at full power)

25cm Bombardment Cannon (3)    Range 320,000km     TS: 7,468 km/s     Power 16-5     ROF 20       
Beam Fire Control R320-TS7450 (2)     Max Range: 320,000 km   TS: 7,450 km/s    ECCM-2   
Stellarator Fusion Reactor R7 (3)     Total Power Output 22.1    Exp 5%
Size 22 Decoy Launcher (3)     Decoy Size: 22    Hangar Reload 234 minutes    MF Reload 39 hours

Active Search Sensor AS50-R94 (1)     GPS 4512     Range 50.3m km    Resolution 94
Active Search Sensor AS9-R1 (1)     GPS 32     Range 9m km    MCR 812.4k km    Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH3-24 (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  38.7m km
EM Sensor EM1-8 (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
Cloaking Device: Class cross-section reduced to 10.0% of normal
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 2    Missile 2   

On January 7th 4010, the troop transport Chalice of Redemption landed the 2nd Imperial Armoured Corps, with almost a thousand heavy tanks, on Purgatory I, site of a small Ascendancy colony. The defenders comprised approximately three thousand infantry with minimal heavy weapon support. After a battle that lasted less than thirty-six hours, the victorious Imperial guard troops secured the colony, home to forty-seven automated mines, a refuelling station and an ordnance transfer station.

In Belial, six 96,000-ton, commercial-engined Vorchan ships of a new type, designated as Skychaser class, transited into the system from Hades. Noctis Venator intercepted the fleet and destroyed each ship in turn. At this point, Battlefleet Mortis, guarding the Mortis – Belial jump point, comprised the Dauntless-B light cruisers Bloodhawk and Divine Crusade. Lord Admiral Varnus decided to move the two ships up to the Belial – Hades jump point while the hospital ship Benedictio Caelestis picked up the Vorchan survivors and the salvage ship Reliquary, inbound from Erebus, recovered the wreckage. The cruiser Minotaur and the carrier Ferrum Aeterna, based at the Erebus naval base, were ordered to Mortis, along with the strike cruiser Angelic Blade from the squadron guarding Solara Hydri.

That left only three light cruisers and a frigate in Erebus, plus a light cruiser and a destroyer at Solara Hydri, but Varnus decided the time was right to add pressure to the Ascendancy while it was under threat on the Hesperus front. Why the Vorchan Ascendancy was not reacting with more force to the various Imperial incursions remained a mystery, although the Inquisition still believed it was possible the Ascendancy was engaged with an unknown adversary.

Two days after the arrival of Bloodhawk and Divine Crusade at the Belial – Hades jump point, eight 84,000-ton Scorcher class ships jumped into Belial, accompanied by an Impaler escort cruiser and two Ambusher class escorts. The Impaler was instantly obliterated, following quickly by the small 9300-ton escorts. Seven Scorchers were rapidly blown to pieces before the sole survivor recovered from jump shock and escaped into Hades. Sixteen hours later, an Aquila was sent through the jump point, confirming no Ascendancy presence. Noctis Venator took the opportunity to move into Hades, where she detected the retreating Scorcher at sixteen million kilometres, moving at just 286 km/s. Rather than destroy it, the stealthy raider began shadowing the fleeing ship. As Noctis Venator moved away, a Vorchan destroyer squadron moved to the Hades – Belial jump point in her wake, but declined to transit into Belial.

In mid-February 4010, Astra Fidelis was surveying the Damocles system, two transits outward from Nocturne via Morpheus, when she detected Vorchan Primus, the first Ascendancy battlefleet to be detected and not seen since February 4002, when it was observed in Avernus, nine transits from its current location. Damocles was seven jumps from Sol and six from the Vorchan system, with both Beta Hydri and Nocturne on the direct route, and was therefore considered to be a safe area for survey ships. Astra Fidelis was operating with active sensors on, which is why she detected the Xenos fleet at sixty-five million kilometres, close to the lone planet orbiting the primary.

The 15,000-ton survey frigate disengaged her active sensors and ran for the Morpheus jump point. Unfortunately, the Vorchan battlefleet had detected her approach and gave chase. Astra Fidelis could not outrun her pursuers and was destroyed by two salvos of torpedoes. The presence of the twenty warships of Vorchan Primus in Damocles was a threat to Nocturne, Beta Hydri and Erebus, all systems that were thought to be behind the lines and had recently contributed ships to Battlefleet Mortis, which was forward deployed in Belial. Oculus Nox had recently laid buoys in Morpheus and at the Damocles – Morpheus jump point, so there would at least be some warning if Vorchan Primus approached.

This is the 1st of 3 posts today

On January 3rd 4005, the war against the Vorchan Ascendancy became even more complex, when a second Xenos race made its presence known. A new ship type designated as Raptor class, travelling at the concerning speed of 7468 km/s, was detected by the tracking station at the naval base on Orpheus III, three jumps from Sol via Caliban and Penumbra. The colony of six million had been established to support exploration beyond Orpheus, which had two outward jump points leading to Acheron and Lethe, which in turn had one and three outward jump points respectively. Sufficient maintenance facilities were in place to support up to 56,000 tons of ships and the Firestorm class frigate Gladius was in orbit. A single Colony Security Regiment was on the surface. The security regiment was a new type of formation, intended to protect smaller colonies, with both ground and surface-to-orbit elements. The regiment comprised six hundred Guardsmen, sixty Chimeras, sixty heavy weapon teams, four weapon batteries, four light weapon batteries and a single lance battery.

The closest support was in the adjacent system of Penumbra, where Battlefleet Caliban was deployed on the Avernus jump point. As there had been no attempt to assault the jump point in several years, Lord Admiral Zagan ordered the fleet’s two Dauntless class light cruisers to head to Orpheus III. The Imperial Navy was almost fully committed to defending the points of contact with the Vorchan Ascendancy, including the rotation of warships for overhaul and shore leave, plus the deployment of the Erebus Invasion Force to support Battlefleet Nyx. In the short-term, Zagan authorised the deployment of the strike cruiser Dread Argent, the light cruiser Bloodhawk and the frigate Sphinx from Battlefleet Terra, leaving a cruiser, a carrier, two strike cruisers and a light cruiser in Terran orbit, plus several ships under overhaul. Strategically, any planning for an offensive into Beta Hydri and beyond would have to be abandoned until the new threat was assessed. Orders went out to finish the survey and salvage operations in Beta Hydri, then withdraw to Erebus and defend the Erebus – Beta Hydri jump point. Ships would be reassigned from the system as soon as they became available.

The Raptor was on a course that seemed to originate from Orpheus IV directly toward Orpheus III. The frigate Gladius had her active augur array online but was not detecting the ship as it moved closer. Initially, given the speed of the Xenos vessel, this was assumed to be a high tech sensor jammer. Over time, consternation grew as the ship drew closer, passing within half the maximum sensor range, then a third. At ten percent of normal range, without any active contact, the crew of Gladius was not far from outright panic. Without an active lock they could not engage the Raptor if it was hostile. Finally, it moved within the six million kilometres range of the frigate’s missile detection sensor and registered as a vessel of just 1,153 tons, explaining why the primary sensor had found it difficult to detect.

The Xenos vessel continued on course, drawing closer and closer to Gladius and Orpheus III. Both the frigate and the security regiment were under orders not to fire unless fired upon. At 294,000, almost double the range of the frigate’s weapon batteries, the Raptor opened fire with three 25cm bombardment cannon, missing with all three shots. There was no way a warship of 1,153 tons could mount three large bombardment cannon, so it appeared to be utilising some form of cloaking technology to reduce its cross-section. Gladius remained in orbit, trying to draw it closer before trying to return fire.

The lance battery on the colony fired at 180,000 km, without success. The weapon batteries followed up a few seconds later at 145,000 km, scoring four armour hits. The Xenos warship returned fire, inflicting three strength-5 hits on Gladius and dropping her shields to sixty percent. As the Raptor came about, Gladius finally fired – missing with her lance battery but scoring three strength-1 hits from her weapon batteries, one of which caused a streamer of atmosphere to appear. It seemed the Xenos ship paid for its stealth with minimal passive defences. The Raptor began opening the range, so Gladius pursed at 4000 km/s, receiving a pair of strength-4 hits before the Xenos vessel moved out of weapon battery range. As it would take time for the lance battery to recharge, Gladius reversed course.

The Raptor closed to 168,000 km, just outside weapon battery range and held the range open as it pursued Gladius, which moved back toward the planet trying to draw the Raptor into range of the planetary weapon batteries. The Xenos vessel began circling the planet at 200,000 km, staying out of weapon range, and fired on Gladius again as she entered orbit. Her shields were at twenty-seven percent.  Her commander, Captain Raziel Karkasy, ordered his ship away from the planet in the opposite direction to the Raptor, but it still refused to enter weapon battery range of the planet, remaining at 195,000 km/s. The planetary lance battery tried another shot at extreme range and missed, then Gladius moved back to the planet and fired her lance battery, with similar results.

The engagement became a game of cat and mouse with the Raptor refusing to enter weapon battery range of either the frigate or the planet, while sniping with its bombardment cannon. In turn, the security regiment and the Gladius tried extreme range lance battery shots, hoping for a critical hit before the Raptor realised the range of the lance batteries. Gladius opened the range between lance attacks, using the planet as a shield. Every lance shot missed, but the Raptor could not wear down the frigate’s shields from long-range. Suddenly, as Gladius approached the planet, and missed once again, the Raptor charged toward her. Both the frigate and the security regiment fired their weapon batteries at 125,000 km, scoring ten strength-1 hits, two of which penetrated armour. The speed of the Raptor dropped to 3,734 km/s. Gladius immediately altered course toward the damaged Xenos warship.

The Raptor continued on course and fired again, inflicting three strength-8 hits that took down the frigate’s shields and damaged her armour, including one penetration that breached the hull. Gladius fired again at just 12,000 km, scoring twenty-one strength-4 hits that blasted the Xenos ship into scrap metal. There were no life pods. Gladius returned to orbit to await reinforcements. Due to the range and speed advantages of the Xenos ship, Lord Admiral Zagan authorised Archon Kort to leave Battlefleet Caliban and enter Orpheus, leaving just the Lunar class cruiser Thunderchild and two frigates on the Penumbra – Avernus jump point.

The new Xenos race was considerably more advanced than the Vorchan Ascendancy, although only a single ship had been detected so far so there was no way to determine the extent of their Empire. The other puzzling aspect of the Raptor’s sudden appearance was that all three of the jump points in Orpheus – leading to Penumbra, Acheron and Lethe – had auspex buoys deployed on both sides.  There was no way for the Raptor to enter Orpheus unless there was a fourth, undiscovered jump point or the Raptor had an alternative form of interstellar travel.

On January 7th, an Aquila-R probed the Nocturne jump point and found no sign of Vorchan ships, so it headed in-system to check the planets. A colony with a signature of TH-460, EM-455 was detected on Nocturne III. The planet was a Venusian world so it was likely to be some form of automated mining outpost. As the Aquila drew closer, it came under fire from surface-based weapon and took a single hit that wiped away a third of its armour. The lander retreated and circled around to check the other inner planets. Two days later, the Aquila detected a large Xenos colony on the eighth moon of Nocturne IV, a cold, Terra-sized body with ice sheets and an atmosphere of nitrogen and methane. The signature of TH-13400, EM-16600 indicated a population similar to that on Caliban I.

There were now six known Ascendancy colonies; two in Nocturne, three in Beta Hydri and one in Tartarus, with the most recently discovered being the largest. The Aquila headed back to the Beta Hydri jump point, but detected a Vorchan destroyer squadron between the orbits of the third and fourth planets. Rather than run, the lander used its superior speed to stay at twelve million kilometres, from where it could shadow the Xenos squadron. Unfortunately, the appearance of a single size-9 torpedo proved that the Ascendancy could track the small target at that range. The Aquila successfully evaded the inbound torpedo and two further attacks. Its gallant resistance finally ended when the fourth torpedo detonated.

Three weeks after the battle in Orpheus, with no further sign of the new Xenos race, the various reinforcements were formed into a new fleet, known as Battlefleet Orpheus. The frigate Gladius was en route to Terra for repairs.

Battlefleet Orpheus
Dictator class Carrier: Hammer of Justice
Dauntless class Light Cruiser: Aegis, Bloodhawk, Dauntless
Dread Argent class Strike Cruiser: Dread Argent
Firestorm class Frigate: Sphinx
Thunderhawk class Assault Transport
24x Starhawk class Bomber
36x Fury class Interceptor
4x Aquila-C class Lander

On February 25th, the sixth Lunar class cruiser, Agrippa, joined the Imperial Navy. She would help considerably in reducing the strain caused by so many capital ship commitments. A month later, the survey frigate Astra Incognita completed a geological survey of Beta Hydri and moved into Nocturne, where a buoy had been emplaced on the Beta Hydri jump point, to conduct a gravitational survey. Approximately thirty hours after leaving the jump point, the Vorchan destroyer squadron that was known to be in the system was detected approaching the jump point from the opposite direction. Shortly thereafter, the buoy was destroyed. By this point, Battlefleet Nyx had recreated into Erebus so several of its ships could return home for overhaul. While the Xenos vessels did not pursue Astra Incognita, they were potentially blocking her exit from the system.



By the end of May, there had still been no further sighting of the Xenos race detected in Orpheus. Concerned about the weakness of Battlefleet Caliban, due to the detachments to Battlefleet Orpheus, Lord Admiral Zagan ordered a probe of the Penumbra - Avernus jump point by an Aquila-R. The small lander detected two Punisher class frigates and an Ambusher class escort stationed on the Penumbra jump point before it was destroyed. The three ships effectively blocked Imperial entry into the system, short of a major attack, but did not pose an offensive threat

In July 4005, the Dauntless class light cruisers Clarion of Wrath and Sanctified Blade joined the Imperial Navy, increasing the number of ships in the class to thirteen. At the end of the month, Astra Incognita discovered a jump point in Nocturne that led to Morpheus, a system with a sub-giant G5-IV primary and three planets, one of which had large ice sheets and a thin nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere. The entry jump point was five billion kilometres from the star, so Astra Incognita returned to Nocturne to continue her survey.

At the far side of known space, two jumps out from Orpheus, the survey frigate Vox Tenebrae had recently discovered Cerberus, a large binary system comprising an F7-IV sub-giant primary with five planets and an orange K9-V companion, orbiting at nine billion kilometres, with six planets and a large asteroid belt. Vox Tenebrae was in the midst of a gravitational and geological survey, when she found a ruined city on the surface of Cerberus-A IV, a cold, Terra-sized world with a thin nitrogen atmosphere. Two Ordo Xenos formations were dispatched from Terra to investigate.

In August 4005, the survey frigate Umbra Viator completed a survey of Mortis, which lay beyond one of the four outward jump points from the Ascendancy system of Beta Hydri. She discovered two new jump points that led to the planetless systems of Lilith and Belial. She entered the latter, which had a brown dwarf primary, to begin a new survey. She quickly found two outward jump points, both of which were stabilised. As there had been no evidence thus far that the Vorchan Ascendancy had stabilisation ships, this was either the edge of their core territory, or perhaps a new Xenos race entirely. The scout frigate Spectre had recently been overhauled at the new Imperial Naval Base in Erebus, so she was dispatched to Belial via Beta Hydri and Mortis.



In September, a pair of Vorchan 6,700-ton Stalker class ships jumped into Penumbra and were immediately blown apart by an understrength Battlefleet Caliban. As there was still no sign of the new Xenos returning to Orpheus, the strength of Battlefleet Orpheus was reduced, with a carrier and a light cruiser transferred back to Battlefleet Caliban. On September 24th, sensor emissions from a second Raptor class ship were detected in the Aeolus system, five jumps away. Aeolus had buoys on all four of its jump points and was home to a small naval base, so it seemed unlikely that the Raptor had entered the system normally. This sighting all but confirmed that the new Xenos had some alternative method of interstellar travel.

Aeolus was a compact trinary of three red dwarfs. The B component orbited at a similar distance to Terra, which was very close in stellar terms but nothing compared to the C component, an M9-V eight million kilometres from the primary that completed an orbit every seven days. The only planet in Aeolus, a barren Mars-sized world, orbited the C component at 200,000 km and had a surface temperature of eight hundred degrees. A small asteroid belt, huddled within two million kilometres of the B component, was home to a small Imperium colony with a population of one million, located on one of the larger bodies. A Domus Machinarum class maintenance base was in orbit, providing basing facilities for up to 32,000 tons of warships, although none were present. A security regiment was on the surface. The Raptor was detected close to the barren planet orbiting the C component.

Domus Machinarum class Maintenance Base     101,911 tons     1,016 Crew    2,305.3 BP    TCS 2,038   TH 0  EM 0
1 km/s      No Armour       Shields 0-0     HTK 128      Sensors 5/8/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 14    Max Repair 100 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    CDE 20%   
Maintenance Modules: 20 module(s) capable of supporting ships of 32,000 tons

MK I Commercial Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 1920     Range 31.5m km    Resolution 120
MK I Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
MK I Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km



A small task group, comprising a carrier, a light cruiser and a strike cruiser, was dispatched from Terra, but it would not arrive in Aeolus for two weeks. If the new Xenos could truly strike anywhere within using jump points, every colony would require a defensive force capable of engaging them successfully. In Aeolus, the Xenos vessel disengaged its sensors and vanished. Days passed with no further contact so it appeared the small colony had gone unnoticed.

On October 11th 4005, Spectre transited the first of the two stabilised jump points in Belial. She emerged in Hades, a system with an M0-V red dwarf primary and four planets, the second of which was a hot desert world, with small liquid seas and an atmosphere similar to Terra. Spectre moved in-system to investigate. Four hundred million kilometres from the planet, she was intercepted by a Vorchan destroyer squadron, composed of previously undetected ships. As usual, the formation included three Savage class destroyers, an Abhorrent class destroyer, an Enforcer class frigate and an Impaler class escort cruiser.



Spectre had a speed advantage, so she began to work her way around the pursuing Xenos warships in an attempt to get a closer look at the inner system. She stayed just out of their active augur range to avoid coming under torpedo attack and followed a wide arc, eventually moving between the squadron and the planets. After a close pass of Hades IV, confirming no Ascendancy presence, she set a course for Hades III. Halfway between the two planets, she detected an EM signature of 6400 from a Vorchan colony on Hades II, the near-habitable world, which was similar in size to the Vorchan colony on Beta Hydri III. Shortly afterwards, a pair of Conqueror class missile cruisers in orbit of the planet engaged their augur arrays. They were not from any of the known Vorchan battle fleets.



As Spectre moved closer to Hades II, she detected the rest of the expected fleet of twenty ships, moving out to intercept. This new battle fleet was designed as Vorchan Octavus. Spectre could not fight either of the fleets closing on her position and could not afford to be trapped between them. However, she had not yet reached active augur range of the colony, so she continued on course for another twenty minutes. There was nothing in orbit that she could detect, although it was possible there were ships with sensor jammers. In any event, Spectre could not delay her withdrawal any longer, so she began to move away, trying to pass between the respective active augur ranges of the two Xenos fleets and escape toward the jump point.

Within minutes of changing course, Spectre detected another fleet, comprising an Impaler escort cruiser, two Ambusher class escorts and eight 84,000-ton ships of a new type, designated as Scorcher class. The Xenos fleet was on course for the jump point and moving at 286 km/s, so the Scorchers were likely to be some form of commercial vessel. Spectre now had the destroyer squadron on her port side, the new fleet on the starboard and Vorchan Octavus closing from the port quarter.



Spectre threaded her way through the narrow gap between the approaching Ascendancy warships and used her superior speed to pull away toward the jump point. Four days later, she transited into Belial, where a new Vorchan destroyer squadron was waiting on her exit jump point. Spectre emerged 40,000 km from the Xenos ships and immediately came under fire from an Enforcer class frigate, suffering ten strength-4 hits that took down her void shield and slightly damaged her armour. The four destroyers in the Vorchan squadron, three Savage class and an Abhorrent, launched a salvo of thirty-nine torpedoes. Spectre, still suffering from jump shock and unable to use her point defence, was struck by twenty-two strength-6 detonations. Her armour was shredded, losing over half its mass, and she took multiple internal hits, although the damage was confined to non-critical systems, except for the loss of one of her two fire controls.

Even as the torpedoes were impacting, a further nine anti-ship torpedoes were launched, along with forty-two light torpedoes from the Impaler. The light torpedoes arrived first, inflicting a further twenty-two strength-1 hits, seven of which penetrated the remnants of the armour. Once again, the damage was confined to fuel and crew quarters. Moments later, five of the larger torpedoes detonated and the Enforcer scored three minor hits with its second volley. Spectre lost a weapon battery, but was still functional. Three quarters of her armour had been vapourised.

Spectre was heading away from the Vorchan destroyers at 4000 km/s, while the Xenos squadron headed in the opposite direction, so the range had opened to 150,000 km. While she would soon be out of range of the Enforcer and the destroyers would need several minutes to recycle their launchers, there was no escaping the light torpedoes of the Impaler. The second salvo dealt a critical blow, disabling the scout frigate’s sole engine. Dead in space, she could not escape the constant barrage and finally exploded when the fourth salvo arrived. The number of Ascendancy ships in Hades and the swift arrival of a second destroyer squadron to ambush Spectre, plus the first stabilised jump points to be encountered, suggested that Mortis was the most likely route to the core systems of the Vorchan Ascendancy.

By this point, the naval base on the third moon of Erebus III had grown to a population of eight million, primarily housed by infrastructure taken from the occupied Vorchan colony on the fifth moon. Seventy maintenance facilities were in place, plus a Domus Machinarum class maintenance base. The light cruiser Divine Crusade was in orbit, along with a pair of frigates undergoing overhaul, a salvage ship and a jump tender. The base was in the ideal location to support an offensive into Beta Hydri and beyond, so Lord Admiral Zagan ordered an expansion of the facilities to the point where it could support a permanent battlefleet and supporting assets, independent of Terra. This would be known as Battlefleet Erebus and would replace Battlefleet Nyx.



A few days after the destruction of Spectre, Umbrae Viator completed her survey of Belial. One stabilised jump point remained unexplored, but given the significant Vorchan activity in the area, a long-range Aquila-R lander was dispatched from Erebus to conduct the probe. Umbrae Viator was ordered to transit back into Mortis and begin a survey of Lilith. The Aquila transited the unexplored jump point on November 29th discovering a system with an orange K5-V primary, five planets and twenty-six moons. The second planet was 27,000 km in diameter, with gravity of 2.06G and a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 1.2 atm. Ice sheets covered a quarter of the surface and the temperature was -32C. The conditions were a close match to the Vorchan environmental tolerances. The Aquila headed in-system to confirm if this was the Vorchan home world.

Half a billion kilometres from the planet, the Aquila detected two 48,000-ton commercial vessels, each of a previously unknown type and designated as Abomination and Charger classes. Eight hours later, she encountered a new ship of the 72,500-ton, commercial-engined Gladiator class, escorted by an Impaler. The lander altered its heading to avoid proceeding on a direct course between the jump point and the planet. On December 3rd, the Aquila detected a population signature slightly smaller than that of Terra. The Vorchan home world had finally been located and the system was named accordingly. Vorchan was seven transits from Sol and four from Erebus, the nearest Imperium system.

The Aquila moved within twelve million kilometres and engaged its active augur array. In orbit of the Vorchan home world was a battlefleet, designated as Vorchan Nonus, a destroyer squadron and six 18,700-ton ships of two new types, designated as the Annihilator and Decapitator. Both classes had shields strengths of 110, which was stronger than any previously known type, including the larger Conquerors. It was possible they were a recent, more advanced design. Within minutes of entering sensor range, the Aquila came under attack from a single torpedo, which missed. The tiny craft survived two further torpedo attacks, then used its 4000 km/s speed to evade any pursuers and run for the jump point. Unfortunately, yet another destroyer squadron, the tenth to be encountered so far, was waiting on the Belial – Vorchan jump point. The Aquila was obliterated by point-blank fire from an Enforcer class frigate.

With the home system of the Vorchan Ascendancy finally located, long-terms plans could be made to eliminate the deadly threat to the Imperium. The Erebus naval base would be the starting point for a major offensive, but  a forward base would have to be secured in Beta Hydri, and potentially Mortis too, and the systems surrounding the approach to Vorchan either cleared or blockaded to prevent flanking attacks. Surveying those systems would also be a priority, despite the high risk to the survey frigates. Finally, the other avenue of attack, via Avernus and Gehenna, would also be investigated to determine if a shorter route existed. This course of action would require clearing the Vorchan blocking force on the Avernus – Penumbra jump point.

In late December 4005, the Firestorm class frigates Achilles and Manticore joined the Imperial Navy, taking the total number of Firestorms to sixteen. In January 4006, the Ordo Xenos formations in Cerberus completed their survey of the ruined city, identifying one hundred and five potential recovery locations. On January 9th, an Aquila transited the Beta Hydri – Nocturne jump point to check if it was clear and was immediately destroyed by the Vorchan destroyer squadron that had been in the system for some time. Astra Incognita was in Nocturne, carrying out a gravitational survey.

The Xenos ship detected briefly in Aeolus reappeared in Caliban on February 9th 4006, approximately one hundred and thirty-five million kilometres from the harvesting operation at Caliban II and twenty million further from the Caliban Prime colony. In addition to a dozen fuel harvesters, three other space stations were in orbit of Caliban II: a Domus Machinarum maintenance base, a 500,000-ton Arca Vitae class orbital habitat and a tiny Arca Munitorum maintenance pod with supplies for the maintenance base. They were all guarded by the light cruiser Flame of Purity.

Arca Vitae class Orbital Habitat      501,712 tons       46 Crew       299.7 BP       TCS 10,034    TH 0    EM 0
1 km/s      No Armour       Shields 0-0     HTK 31      Sensors 5/8/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 0    Max Repair 200 MSP
Colonist Berths 200,000   
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    CDE 20%   

MK I Commercial Active Augur Array (1)     GPS 1920     Range 31.5m km    Resolution 120
MK I Electromagnetic Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
MK I Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

In orbit of Caliban Prime were eleven terraforming stations, four Universe class mass conveyors, the light cruiser Sanctis Legate, the frigates Vengeful and Vortex and the first Faustus class Interceptor, a fast 2400-ton ship armed with a single Gothicus-Caliban GC-18-200 Spinal Lance Battery. The Faustus was designed to engage targets from outside their own weapon range, using the slow-firing lance battery to inflict devastating damage. In this case, the Raptor was known to have a weapon range of 300,000 km so that would not be possible, but the Faustus was also the only ship in the system capable of catching the Raptor, due to the latter’s maximum speed of 7,468 km/s. The Raven Watch planetary defence regiment was on the surface of Caliban Prime.

Faustus class Interceptor      2,400 tons       69 Crew       604.9 BP       TCS 48    TH 384    EM 0
8000 km/s      Armour 1-15       Shields 0-0       HTK 19      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 15
Maint Life 3.47 Years     MSP 1,078    AFR 92%    IFR 1.3%    1YR 137    5YR 2,055    Max Repair 267 MSP
Captain    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months    CDE 20%    Morale Check Required   

Nuclear Gas-Core Engine  EP384.00 (1)    Power 384    Fuel Use 285.77%    Signature 384    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 185,000 Litres    Range 4.9 billion km (7 days at full power)

Gothicus-Caliban GC-18-200 Spinal Lance Battery (1)    Range 225,000km     TS: 8,000 km/s     Power 56-4    ROF 70       
MK I Faustus Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 8,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-40 Gaseous Fission Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 4    Exp 5%

MK I Starhawk Augur Array (1)     GPS 192     Range 10m km    Resolution 120
MK I Fury Augur Array (1)     GPS 2     Range 2m km    MCR 181.7k km    Resolution 1
MK I Shuttle Thermal Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 0.5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  5.6m km
MK I Shuttle EM Augur Array (1)     Sensitivity 0.8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.1m km

The Raptor headed in-system on a course for Caliban Prime. The four warships all deactivated their shields and disengaged their active sensors, hoping to lure the Raptor close to Caliban Prime. It was a risky course of action, considering the Xenos vessel was faster and armed with longer-ranged weapons, but it was a better option than trying to engage in deep space. At sixty-five million kilometres, the Xenos ship suddenly reversed course. The Faustus was dispatched to pursue, but its speed advantage was only 550 km/s. The Raptor disappeared from sensors in roughly the same location as it appeared.

The Faustus maintained its course and detected the Raptor just outside the orbit of Caliban VII, two hundred and fifty million kilometres from the Caliban Prime colony, at which point the Raptor began to pursue the interceptor. Rear Admiral Uriel Maxim had responsibility for Caliban and Penumbra. He ordered the Faustus to shadow the Raptor and lure it toward the inner system, while the light cruiser Sanctis Legate closed in from Caliban Prime. However, when Sanctis Legate moved within sixty million kilometres, the Raptor reversed course again. The Faustus moved around the Raptor and ahead of it, then reversed course and charged it head on.

In response, the Raptor opened fire at 300,000 km with its three 25cm bombardment cannon, missing with every shot. The Faustus returned fire at 220,000 km, albeit with a very low chance to hit, and missed, then tried to retreat out of range while its lance battery recharged. Aided by a course change by the Raptor, the interceptor opened the range to 280,000 km before the Xenos vessel fired a second time, inflicting a strength-2 hit that penetrated armour but did not cause any internal damage. A third shot at 292,000 km caused an engine explosion that blew the 2400-ton craft to pieces. The Raptor continued outwards and vanished from sensors once again.

Ten hours later the Raptor briefly reappeared. For the next two days, it continued to lurk at long-range, moving in and out of sensor range. When it first appeared, the carrier Ferrum Aeterna had been dispatched from Terra with the intention of transferring a squadron of Fury class interceptors to Caliban Prime. After it entered the Caliban system, Ferrum Aeterna launched a dozen Starhawks toward the general area in which the Raptor was manoeuvring. When the Raptor appeared for the fifth time, the Starhawks were further out-system and began to move in behind it, but could not reach launch range before it disappeared.



It took a further two days, three further sightings and the assistance of a pair of Fury interceptors with their lower resolution sensors before the location of the Raptor was finally pinned down. The Starhawks gave chase, achieved a target lock at 900,000 km and launched their torpedoes. Seven missed on their first pass, three struck decoys and the other two detonated, leaving the Raptor dead in space. Seeing a chance to capture the Xenos raider, Rear Admiral Maxim ordered the other torpedoes to be self-destructed and requested a strike cruiser from Terra. Eternal Defiance broke orbit and would arrive in four days. In the meantime, the Starhawks headed back to their carrier, while one of the Furies maintained a sensor contact on the Raptor. Ferrum Aeterna was dispatched to the area as cover.

Four days later, Eternal Defiance moved within 400,000 km of the still-disabled Raptor, holding her Thunderhawks on board to protect them from any remaining weapons. At 320,000 km, the Raptor fired, missing with all three shots. After missing again at 240,000, the Raptor finally scored a strength-4 hit at 160,000 and a strength-8 hit at 90,000 km. The strike cruiser launched both Thunderhawks, which deposited their space marines and landed back on Eternal Defiance before the Xenos warship could fire again, then moved away to let the boarders do their work. After two minutes of brutal, intense combat, the Raptor was secured by the space marines.

Disabling and capturing the advanced Xenos vessel had required skill and cooperation from many different Imperial Navy ships and attack craft and cost the lives of fifty-four crew on board the Faustus. The reward would be access to examples of the Xenos technology. The engines were Magneto-plasma Drives, two generations ahead of the Imperial Navy’s gas core drives, while the Stellarator Fusion Reactor was one generation ahead of the Imperium’s recently-developed, but not yet deployed, magnetic mirror fusion reactors. The fire control systems were equally advanced, while the cloaking device and the three 25cm bombardment cannon were far ahead of anything the Imperium could produce. Many more physical examples would be required before they would be replicated, but the capture of the Raptor was the starting point.

Raptor class Raider      11,531 tons       361 Crew       3,660.7 BP       TCS 23    TH 413    EM 0
7468 km/s      Armour 1-45       Shields 0-0       HTK 71      Sensors 24/8/0/0      DCR 4-3      PPV 24
Maint Life 0.60 Years     MSP 793    AFR 266%    IFR 3.7%    1YR 1,320    5YR 19,802    Max Repair 861.1 MSP
Magazine 0 / 66   
Lord-Captain    Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Magneto-plasma Drive  EP861.12 (2)    Power 1722.2    Fuel Use 34.52%    Signature 206.6688    Explosion 11%
Fuel Capacity 900,000 Litres    Range 40.7 billion km (63 days at full power)

25.0cm C5 Far Ultraviolet Laser (3)    Range 320,000km     TS: 7,468 km/s     Power 16-5     ROF 20       
Beam Fire Control R320-TS7450 (2)     Max Range: 320,000 km   TS: 7,450 km/s    ECCM-2   
Stellarator Fusion Reactor R7 (3)     Total Power Output 22.1    Exp 5%

Size 22 Decoy Launcher (3)     Decoy Size: 22    Hangar Reload 234 minutes    MF Reload 39 hours

Active Search Sensor AS50-R94 (1)     GPS 4512     Range 50.3m km    Resolution 94
Active Search Sensor AS9-R1 (1)     GPS 32     Range 9m km    MCR 812.4k km    Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH3-24 (1)     Sensitivity 24     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  38.7m km
EM Sensor EM1-8 (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
Cloaking Device: Class cross-section reduced to 10.0% of normal
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 2    Missile 2   

The Xenos themselves were long-limbed, tall and muscular humanoids with pale skin. Their computers proved impossible to decrypt, but enough physical material was available to determine that they referred to themselves as Drukhari and appeared to be a race of raiders. Every Imperial colony would require protection against their depredations and that protection would need to be capable of detecting, pursuing and engaging, as the Drukhari did not seem to favour a fair fight.

Between Progress and Politics

The Trans-Newtonian era pressed forward, shaped as much by votes and visions as by the ruins unearthed beneath Earth’s scarred surface.

On 19 May 0008, the House of Representatives voted decisively on HSCR000053, a motion that reflected confidence in the Federation’s scientific leadership. After a successful campaign to reduce fuel consumption by ten percent, spearheaded by Atalanta Chiron, the promise of another ten percent saving was met with cautious optimism. The motion passed with 376 votes in favor against 171, underscoring a majority willingness to push efficiency further amid ongoing economic and logistical challenges.

Later that year, the Federation’s gaze turned sharply toward the weapons technologies glimpsed within the ruins. On 29 September, a suite of motions concerning laser armaments, labeled under HSCR000054, was debated. The vote to blueprint Federation-owned laser technology based on recovered Imperium designs passed resoundingly (434 to 113). This milestone marked a critical step in translating relics of the past into tools of future power. Complementary proposals to research 10cm laser focal sizes and infrared laser applications also succeeded, albeit with narrower margins, signaling cautious but determined investment.

Yet not all proposed research earned approval. Two motions, targeting spinal mount applications and capacitor recharge improvements, faced rejection by the House, revealing lingering disagreements about the pace and focus of military technology development. These setbacks tempered the momentum but did little to stall the broader campaign of innovation.

The dawning of 0009 brought a breakthrough with the mastery of pressurized water reactor technology. On 3 April, HSCR000055 passed (328 to 219), sanctioning the development of nuclear thermal engines that promised to redefine propulsion possibilities. However, attempts to leverage newly recovered research laboratories into expanded laser research met resistance. An initial proposal on 1 October was overwhelmingly rejected, only to be succeeded by a narrowly passed motion reallocating the lab for fuel efficiency projects under Chiron’s guidance. By late November, with a second recovered lab, laser research was finally given a robust green light, the House approving the motion with a commanding 423 votes.

Amid these legislative developments, leadership appointments reflected evolving priorities. Brigadier General Marenus Kaesoron’s promotion on 16 October 0008 to command Engineering Company 0004 II marked a subtle shift. Unlike his predecessors, Kaesoron’s academic background and expertise in decontamination, combined with two decades of service, brought a scientific rigor to the military-scientific effort. His trustful nature and methodical approach contrasted with the more politically minded or hard-edged commanders before him, signaling an institutional embrace of expertise alongside martial discipline.

The two engineering companies pushed forward relentlessly. From the first month of 0008 through the final days of 0009, their logs tell a story of steady accumulation: automated mines, deep-space tracking stations, maintenance supplies, and vast caches of fuel, often measured in millions of liters. Thousands of alien artifacts were retrieved, sometimes in the hundreds per month, offering tantalizing clues about the Imperium’s lost technologies and culture. Each recovery reshaped understanding and opened new avenues for research and production.

Especially the discovery of an abandoned genetic modification center in June 0009 was more than just another entry in the excavation logs; it was a fracture in the Federation’s collective conscience. For years, whispers had circulated in quiet corridors, rumours dismissed as relics of paranoia, that the pre-Fall Imperium had meddled not only with machines and metals but with flesh itself. The unearthed facility laid bare those shadows.

Inside the crumbling labs, engineers and scientists uncovered remnants of experimental biotechnologies, cryptic data archives, and the skeletal remains of beings whose very existence blurred the line between human, machine, and something altogether different. These were not simple augmentations or prosthetics, they were evidence of deliberate hybridization of a society striving to transcend mortality and physical limits through synthesis.

The revelation cut deep across the political spectrum. To some, it was proof of the Imperium’s hubris, a cautionary tale of tampering with nature that ended in collapse. To others, it was an opportunity, a forbidden knowledge that might propel the Federation into a new era of evolutionary advancement, securing supremacy through perfected bodies as much as perfected machines.

Debates erupted within the House and among the populace. Ethical quandaries surfaced: Was the Federation prepared to inherit this legacy, with its attendant risks and moral ambiguities? How far could progress be pushed before the essence of humanity was lost? Activists and traditionalists alike warned of a slippery slope, of sacrificing soul and identity at the altar of power.

Yet behind closed doors, whispers of research agendas and secret projects began to stir. The line between fear and fascination blurred, as the Federation grappled with the price it was willing to pay.

Regardless of the rumours and in reality, infrastructure remained a focus: financial centers, ordnance factories, naval headquarters, and construction factories reemerged from ash and dust. Each facility promised to accelerate the Federation’s recovery but demanded careful political balancing to ensure resources were allocated without igniting fresh tensions in an already fractured House.

In the closing months of 0009, as Engineering Companies 0004 I and II continued unearthing mines, laser components, and artifacts, the Federation stood poised between cautious optimism and the ever-present specter of internal dissent.  These recoveries, catalogued with clinical precision, fueled ambitions beyond mere survival; they sparked visions of reclamation, advancement, and renewed strength. The victories in research and recovery were hard-won and fragile. The political machinery that enabled them remained finely balanced, requiring steady hands and pragmatic coalitions.

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Echoes of the Imperium

The first day of 0006 began with a decree that cut through the House like a blade. Wilder’s first act as President was not a speech or a promise of unity but a signature: a mandatory conscription program binding every citizen not only to civilian service but to the military reserve. It was the bargain that had bought him Militarist support against Astaroth, and it passed as Presidential Legislation without a single vote cast. The Federation had entered a new era under arms.

That same day, the new coalition made good on another campaign vow. The long-stalled research into orbital geological survey sensors, promised to the Trade Party during the frantic post-election negotiations, was restored to the queue. It was a small motion compared to the sweeping conscription act, but it signalled the new government’s priorities: security and expansion bound together.

On 24 April, Brigadier General Tyche Aegaeon, a friend and army equal of Wilder, was appointed to command the newly formed “Archaeological Company 0004 I.” Aegaeon, forty years old, patient, and methodical, had built his career on a network of favours and quiet nepotism, often using his rank to secure posts for relatives and allies in the army and navy. For him, the appointment was more than duty, it was a calculated step in search of the next promotion.

By spring, with the economy stabilising and Aegaeon’s team almost ready to deploy, the House reopened one of the most bitterly contested debates left from Valance’s term: Powered Infantry Armour. The April vote was a blow to Wilder’s Militarist base when the proposal failed, 252 to 295. Three months later, he refused to let it die. As the second Engineering Company was authorised to dig deeper into the ruins of Earth, the President pushed the armour vote back to the floor. This time it passed by an overwhelming margin, 403 to 144. The Federation’s soldiers would walk into the Trans-Newtonian age clad in the first true evolution of ground warfare since the Fall.

That same June brought a revelation that cut deeper than any bill or vote. The ruins, now fully surveyed, revealed their makers. The race that had once ruled Earth bore the name the oldest prophets had whispered: the Imperium. The language, when translated, matched the words preserved in the most ancient books to survive the Fall. Over 1,500 abandoned installations were identified as viable for recovery, waiting for trained engineers to breathe life into them. For the first time in living memory, history and faith converged into fact.

Not every step forward was clean. The question of armour materials erupted into one of the fiercest legislative battles in recent memory. When Acmon Sabazios, the leading materials expert, proposed abandoning conventional alloys in favour of Trans-Newtonian Duranium, the House recoiled. The first vote failed. A second attempt, reframed around civilian applications, was crushed even harder. It took a third, desperate rewrite emphasising environmental and safety benefits to break the deadlock. HSCR000046-C passed 379 to 168, but the fight left the chamber raw and divided. Duranium would shape the Federation’s armours, but the cost in political capital was steep.

In a closed cabinet session on the 20th, Wilder was warned by his own coalition leaders that his political power was running dangerously thin. Any attempt to invoke Presidential Sway, even within his constitutional rights, would see the fragile majority dissolved overnight. Outraged, he reached to the Exodus Council, invoking what he called his divine mandate to rule unchallenged during his term. Their answer was cold and pragmatic: after the Schism, no one would trade rights for faith again. Even a President could not resurrect that age.

Autumn brought the first tangible fruits of Wilder’s militarised research agenda. Active tracking sensors returned to the queue, propulsion refinements to cut fuel use by ten percent passed narrowly, and the economy, bolstered by the first trickle of resources from the ruins, began to breathe again.

Then came the dig.

On the second of September 0007, Brigadier General Aphrodite Silenus, newly promoted, authoritarian and conservative, took command of the freshly minted “Engineering Company 0004 I.” Coming from a poor family, and incapable of delegating, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Before the ink on her appointment had dried, she had ordered every unit to march to the nearest ruin and begin excavation. What followed over the next four months would rewrite the Federation’s understanding of itself. Vendarite by the thousands of tons. Automated mines. Alien artifacts. Ultraviolet laser batteries stripped and studied for their secrets. Construction factories and refineries long buried under ash. Wealth enough to rewire the economy. By December, the Federation was living off the bones of its dead predecessors, its coffers swelling with every unearthed supply chain.

With the salvage came ambition. The completion of advanced active sensors reignited the long-muted question: if the Federation could see beyond its cradle, could it finally build what it saw? The need for damage control systems passed with 423 votes in favour, and with it, the first blueprint of a fleet that did not yet exist.

The final discovery came almost by accident. A propulsion breakthrough using nuclear radioisotopes led engineer Deiad Aulis to the first design schematics for military pressurised water reactors. It was the quiet spark of something larger, power systems not for factories or transports, but for ships. Regardless, the debate over the first space warship was short-lived.

And that was not the only dream not surviving the year. On the last days of 0007, as the Federation reveled in the wealth pulled from the dirt, a motion to restart all dormant projects failed spectacularly. The House was not ready to open every tap at once, no matter how rich the veins of the past. For all the gold and steel clawed from the ground, restraint still ruled the House.

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March 24, 2165, Sol System
On this date the 1st Expeditionary Force departs Terra, bound for the base in Upsilon Puppis, in the Bobruisk territories.  The fleet consists of fifty-five warships of various classes, and two hundred and forty-one strike fighters.  It is by far the largest fleet deployed to the frontier by the Empire to date.  The fleet’s departure is marked by planet-wide celebrations and holidays.  The young Emperor himself attends several of the celebrations and the public is ecstatic at the display of the Empire’s might.  Much is made of the complement of the fleet.  Legendary ships are leaving Terra to subdue the alien hordes and make the galaxy safe for humanity.  The CVA’s Allegiance of Terra, Angel of Retribution, and the Eternal Crusader, and the dreadnoughts Pegasus, Andromeda, and Sauron all by now were legends to the people of Terra, their defenders and avengers of past wrongs committed by the aliens who had devastated the planet over and over again for decades.  Accompanying the mighty ships were the backbone of the navy, the carriers and battlecruisers that had defended the empire for decades now against hivers and raiders and every threat imaginable.  Legendary ships like the battlecruiser Saturn, that had single handedly destroyed five rifter ships, and the carriers Japan, France, and Canada, whose fighters had been involved in battles for longer than many citizens had been alive.  These ships were the shield and sword of Terra, and they carried the hopes and dreams of the empire with them.  They had always won their battles, and always returned. 

The fleet commander is Vice Admiral Wiley Paglinawan, flying his flag aboard the heavy carrier Allegiance of Terra.  His orders are to advance to the base in the Upsilon Puppis system, where he will fuel his ships and give his crews shore leave.  Once readied his fleet is to advance to the Oct controlled HP 84051 system.  Once that system is secure, the fleet will then advance on the Oct home system of Rho Camelopardalis and eliminate all Oct resistance, clearing the way for a base to be established in the system and for troops to be brought in to subdue the Oct home world. 

Support squadrons of tankers, UNREP ships, and munitions carriers have been stationed at the base in Upsilon Puppis.  In addition, two corps of Guards units, and two corps of Marine assault units, along with heavy armor support, have been prepositioned in Upsilon Puppis, and an additional three corps of Guard units, logistical support, and a brigade of the Guard’s latest Titan assault tanks are en route to the base, and will arrive shortly after the fleet. 

During the outward voyage, Admiral Paglinawan isolates himself from his staff and the day to day running of the fleet.  While he justifies it by telling himself that he is focusing on the coming campaign, in truth he fears that the stress he feels will become obvious to his staff and his subordinate commanders.  He fought tooth and nail for this assignment, by doing everything he could to promote the War Party’s cause both within and without the Navy.  But now that he had command of the largest fleet every deployed, the reality of the situation felt like it was crushing him.  He was leading the fleet against an implacable enemy that was known to possess superior technology, and which had an unknown sized navy and capabilities.  His orders were to take and secure the HIP 84051 system, and then to advance into the suspected oct Home System of Rho Camelopardalis and destroy the Oct fleet.  The Navy’s senior staff and the Regent believed that the Octs had been depleted by their long war with the Bobruisk, and that the Imperial Navy would crush the remnants of their fleet.  And he had believed right along with them, right up until the fleet left and he realized that their success or failure would be hung on him.  If the fleet succeeded, his success was assured, and nothing would stop is rise to the pinnacle of the navy, and maybe beyond.  If they failed, though, he would be through.  He’d either be disgraced or dead, and his long and successful career would end in failure.  The weight was crushing him, along with the unknowns they faced. 



May 8, 2165, Upsilon Puppis system
The 1st Expeditionary Fleet has arrived and completed refueling.  Admiral Paglinawan has given its crews liberty while he and his staff begin final planning for the attack.  Perhaps fortuitously, the war between the Bobruisk and the Oct’s has flared up again, with extensive fighting in the 86 Cygni system.  In addition, a large Bobruisk fleet was observed transiting into the Rho Camelopardalis system.  After absorbing this new information, Admiral Paglinawan decides to cut his crew’s liberty short to take advantage of the fighting.  The fleet will depart in twenty-four hours. 

On the 9th the fleet departed, after absorbing several of the ships guarding the base at Mu Puppis.  The fleet was now organized into four jump point assault groups, a carrier wing, a missile combat group, a boarding group, and an escort group.  It would take them just over twenty-four hours to reach the jump point to the 86 Cygni system. 

May 10, 2165, 0456 hours, 86 Cygni system
86 Cygni System: Located 13 jumps and 38.5 billion kilometers from Terra, deep within Bobruisk territory, one jump from the suspected Bobruisk home system and two jumps from the suspected Oct home system.  It is a single-star system, an M3-V primary orbited by five planets, two terrestrial, two gas giants, and a super Jovian class planet.  None can be considered habitable or easily terraform-able for Terrans. 

The Bobruisk have one known colony/base in system.  This is a small outpost, located on the outermost moon of the fifth planet, a gas giant.  The moon was confirmed to possess minor resource deposits by Terran survey ships. 

At the time that the Terran fleet entered the system, several sensor buoys deployed by the survey group are still operational.  There is a cluster of wrecks, some belonging to Bobruisk naval ships, around the jump point to the Oct controlled HIP 54051 system on the far side of the system. 

The 1st Expeditionary Fleet enters the 86 Cygni system and immediately strips the latest data from the sensor buoy closest to the jump point.  The most recent combat was three days ago, close to the jump point to the HIP 48051 system.  At the current time there were life pods belonging to both the Bobruisk and the Oct’s scattered throughout the wreckage close to the jump point. 

The jump point to the Oct controlled HIP 48051 system was on the far side of the system from the fleet’s current location.  There were no active ships of either side detected in the system, and the Bobruisk outpost on a moon of the fifth planet was still present, indicating that the Oct hadn’t penetrated too far into the system.  Admiral Paglinawan ordered the fleet to set course for the inner system, as the first step towards advancing to the jump point to the Oct controlled system. 

May 12, 2165, 86 Cygni system
The 1st Expeditionary fleet reached the inner system without incident.  A single Bob battleship was detected transiting through the inner LaGrange point to the orbit of the fifth planet, but no other ships were detected.  Admiral Paglinawan ordered his fleet to follow the Bob ship.  After transiting there was no sign of the much faster Bob ship, so Admiral Paglinawan ordered the fleet to advance on the jump point. 

May 13, 2165, 86 Cygni system
 The fleet’s passive sensors detect a single Oct ship moving at 18,055 km’s towards the fleet.  The ship is of an unknown class and type.  Admiral Paglinawan orders the carrier Japan to launch its fighters to intercept the contact.  An hour later the fleet detects the Bob battleship, in between the fleet and the Oct contact, running back towards the fleet and away from the Oct ship.  The Bob ship is approximately 700 km/s slower and will eventually be overhauled by the Oct ship. 

At 0659 hours the Bob battleship passes the fleet and continues in-system.  The Oct ship, meanwhile, has turned to a course towards the jump point to the Mu Puppis system, on a course that puts them on a tangent with the approaching Terran fighters.  Shortly after that the Oct ship drops off of the fleet’s sensors.  The fighters continue towards its last known location.  Fortunately, it soon reappears on the fleet’s sensors. 

The fighters continue to pursue the contact, while the fleet heads for the jump point.  The pursuit has now turned into a stern chase, and the fighters, while faster, are only 1,200 km’s faster.  It will take them over fifteen hours to chase down the Oct ship.   

Finally, at 0401 hours on the 14th, the Japan’s strike group has reached firing range, at 900,000 kilometers from their target.  The target is an Oct LDD, which is 8,585 tons.  The fighters launch eighty Sparrow III light ASM’s with laser warheads.   This is the Empire’s first use of laser warheads, which trade of damage for standoff detonation range to avoid point defense fire.  The Oct LDD seems to be lightly armored, as a relative few penetrating hits eliminate the ship when something inside explodes, ripping the ship apart.  The fighters turn back towards their carrier, which, along with the fleet, is approaching the jump point to the Oct controlled system. 

May 15, 2165, 1303 hours, 86 Cygni system
The 1st Expeditionary Force has reached its assembly point three million kilometers from the jump point to the HIP 84051 system, and the Japan’s fighters have returned and rearmed.  Admiral Paglinawan orders his carriers to launch their fighters, and in short order one hundred and fifty-six strike fighters are en route to their watch station one million kilometers from the jump point.  With the fighters on their way, Admiral Paglinawan orders his three assault groups to move to the jump point.  Finally, he detaches the DDE Chimalli to pick up the life pods drifting near the wrecks close to the jump point.  Once the Chimalli has the Oct and Bob survivors on board, she will return to the forward base in Upsilon Puppis.   

Forty-six minutes later the Chimalli has recovered all of the survivors at the jump point and his headed towards the two groups of pods in between the jump point to the HIP 84051 system and the jump point to the Bob home system. 

With the DDE clear, Admiral Paglinawan orders the assault groups to jump into the HIP 84051 system.  The three groups, composed of three dreadnoughts, three assault carriers, five battle cruisers, a jump cruiser, and three destroyers, immediately jump out. 

The assault groups arrive in the HIP 84051 system, scattered around the jump point, but find no defenders.  Their only company are the eighty wrecks silently drifting near the jump point, including the wreck of a Terran survey ship that had apparently made a run to the jump point, only to be destroyed just short of it.  There are Bob life pods near one of the wrecks, a Defamatory class light battleship, meaning that the ship hadn’t been destroyed all that long ago.  The wrecks mostly belong to Bob warships, although thirty-one are unknown, indicating that they are likely Oct warships of some sort.  Two of the wrecked Oct warships are close to the size of Bob light battleships, at 35,975 tons, while the bulk are 16,278tons, or between an Imperial DD and BC in size.  There is a stream of wrecks headed across the system towards the jump point to the suspected Oct home system, along with a group of wrecks in orbit over the third planet.  In all there are one hundred and thirteen wrecks in the system.