Project Overlord: A New Space Fleet for a New Era
An invited contribution from Dr. I.M.A. Blowhard, PhD; Department of Xenohistory, University of Cydonia.

As a prelude to the discussion of the first carrier class, and indeed the first true capital ship class of any type, to enter service with the XCOM Space Operations Agency, it is perhaps best to pause briefly to address what is certainly the most burning question for the modern reader who finds themselves perplexed by the near single-minded insistence by XCOM leadership on the space carrier concept in general, and particularly the insistence on the Firestorm class of fighters as the primary payload to be delivered into the battlespace. Indeed, despite the seemingly self-evident weaknesses of this approach, which would only later become apparent to XCOM leadership, insistence on the space carrier supremacy doctrine was driven by unspoken cultural and historical imperatives of the period. Thus, we now digress from the usual course of events and turn to the interrogation of these imperatives.



The iconic image of the alien battleship designated ‘Gangplank’, captured over Shanghai, China on 23 May 2015 by an unknown Chinese citizen, a jarring visual representation conveying the magnitude of the alien spaceborne threat. While the visual suffices to communicate this apparent threat, post-war analysis demonstrates that the load-bearing word here is not “threat” but rather “apparent”, as the designation of battleship for these vessels was frankly propagandistic at best. As one example, even from this iconic image it is readily apparent that the supposed battleship lacks a heavy main battery, rather bearing several arrays of drop pod deployment bays that properly designate the class as a heavy assault troopship with light secondary or defensive armament only. Coupled with the fact that the alien ‘battleship’ class is clearly intended, by dint of basic geometry, for spaceborne operations and is ill-suited to maneuver or combat in atmosphere, and it becomes rather less mystifying that a handful of small interceptor craft would be capable of taking down such a massive opponent despite the vast size differential. Nevertheless, such analysis was not done until well after the Long War had ended, by which time such pessimism was largely ignored (though not outright suppressed)  in a spirit of post-war hubris. Hubris aside, grasping the apparent magnitude of the threat represented by an alien flagship hovering over a major human city may lead the reader to appreciate the frankly mythological stature occupied by the Firestorm, which after all defeated this threat, in the popular consciousness.

For the first year of the Long War, alien UFOs had proven difficult at best to challenge in the skies of Earth. The Raven interceptors armed with air-to-air Avalanche missiles had proven capable of combating small, lightly-armed scout UFOs at 1-to-1 odds with only moderate losses, but engaging anything heavier was a risky proposition at best even with numerical superiority. The turning point finally came on 5 April 2016 with the launch of the first Firestorm-class interceptor armed with heavy plasma weapons, which engaged and defeated an abductor-type UFO above Kyoto with only superficial hull damage. The popular imagination was enthralled by the visceral image of a massive abduction ship bearing down on a major metropolis only to be swatted from the sky by a comparative gnat of sheer human ingenuity and temerity. This state of affairs would persist through the end of the Long War in September 2016, with the Firestorm class scoring an impressive ratio of 19 kills to only 4 lost interceptors, including not one but three ‘battleship’ kills at 2-to-1 odds, footage from which was endlessly replayed by major media networks worldwide. Post-war analysis indicated that the advantages for the Firestorm included superior maneuverability due its multi-role air/space environment design, heavy armor for its size, and near parity in firepower, factors which were in the decades following came to be considered as universal constants in a hypothetical future conflict.



Still image captured from declassified archival footage showing an early trial of the prototype Firestorm craft. Readily if indirectly apparent is the vast gulf in size between the Firestorm interceptor, originally a two-seater craft in prototype development before expanding to four seats in production models, and the alien battleship-class UFO shown in the preceding image. As the Firestorm class achieved early success in the skies and visuals of such encounters played on major news networks, this seemingly insurmountable size differential became emblematic not only of the success of the Firestorm itself, but a widely seized-upon symbol of human resistance in the face of a technologically superior alien force. Such heroic fervor infected even the highest levels of XCOM command, and while in practical terms the morale boost was a boon for the war effort the downstream effects on post-war decision making would lead to rather more mixed results.

The upshot in ultimate terms was a firm, perhaps even unshakeable, belief throughout XCOM headquarters that any alien foe could be soundly defeated by a handful of Firestorms and their intrepid crews.The principal problem of spaceborne warfare, then, had quite little to do with “what” and almost entirely to do with “how”. That is, given that the solution to any problem of alien origin was a half-dozen Firestorms at most, the only remaining question was how to deliver the Firestorms to the battlespace and keep them operational once there. Indeed, the existence of the Doc Stone class of patrol ships was a clear indicator of this difficulty, as the Firestorm class simply lacked the operational range to reach a distant station or area of operations, and once there lacked the range or organic sustainment capacity to hold that space unsupported. While the Doc Stone class appeared to solve this problem neatly enough, with other tangible combat advantages besides, ships of the class suffered from the intolerable limitation that they simply were not Firestorms and thus were not the preferred solution to any problem of alien origin. Thus, the problem to be overcome was that of delivering the Firestorms, and developing a class of space carriers was, naturally, the solution. It is this development process, designated as Project Overlord, to which we now turn.


On Carriers and What They Should Carry

Despite the universally agreed-upon presumption of Firestorm supremacy, the design payload of a space carrier class proved unexpectedly difficult for XCOM leadership to pin down. In principle, XCOM doctrine demanded a full flight of Firestorm. However, an unusual epidemic of questioning orthodoxy broke out at XCOM headquarters as several generals noted that XCOM had only a limited reserve of Firestorms available for deployment aboard carriers, with three dozen in service as of early 2052. While XCOM certainly had the manufacturing and resource bases to produce substantially more fighters, indeed the Firestorm fleet could easily have been doubled in number within a mere nine months, the officer training program and promotion track would not be so easily upscaled, leaving Space Defense Command with insufficient senior officers to command more than one or two new Firestorm squadrons. As the carrier fleet expanded, the limited availability of Firestorm commanders (and thus Firestorms) would force XCOM to compromise solar system defenses to fully load out the carriers. Of the objecting generals, several advocated for a mixed loadout of Firestorms and Ravens, carefully couched as a “stopgap” measure to avoid stepping overly much on the toes of the orthodoxy. Mentioned briefly, but hardly emphasized, was the concern by some minority of the dissenting generals that a Firestorm-only carrier wing would be too one-dimensional to meet the potential diversity of threats which may await in outer space. Proponents of Firestorm orthodoxy countered this concern by noting that splitting a carrier wing halfway between two capabilities would lack the concentration of force for either one to be successful, and so concentrating XCOM’s strongest capabilities would be the best way forward to meet the immediate need.

To settle this debate, an order had gone out from the office of Marshal Pinto for proponents of each approach to develop preliminary proposals addressing each position. The design requirements were sparse: displacement was fixed at 18,750 tons based on shipyard constraints, a minimum fuel range (less fuel for the fighter wing) of 20 billion km was specified, and an intrinsic Marazuki device would be mandatory as XCOM lacked any wormhole ship class capable of transiting a capital ship. After a rather lengthy incubation phase, spanning nearly a full calendar year in large part due to frequent reassessments of technological readiness, candidate designs for each proposed carrier variant were presented at a meeting of XCOM generals on 17 March 2052.

As the “challenger” proposal, the design featuring a mixed Firestorm/Raven wing was presented first, with its chief advocates being brigadier generals Andrée Bossé and Margaret Formanek, both with multiple Raven commands under their belts as well as experience commanding the orbital defense groups. Labeled A-1, the proposal featured a two-squadron strike wing of 6 Firestorms and 6 Ravens, with a heavy emphasis on endurance and repeated strikes resulting in some 700,000 liters of fuel and magazine space for up to 12 reloads of the Raven squadron. In particular, General Bossé emphasized the flexibility of the design, noting that while the prodigious magazine space could be considered excessive for a single Raven squadron, the ample stowage would be ideal for establishing new fighter bases at distant colonial stations, and would allow a carrier to maintain up to three Raven squadrons if this were ever deemed necessary. The proposal also featured a novel concept for a dedicated damage control section to enhance survivability of the valuable capital ship in the unlikely event of close combat, a bold inclusion given that designs for such components remained in the earliest drawing-board stages at the time.

    Project Olympus Proposal A-1     18,750 tons      377 Crew      2,541.2 BP      TCS 375   TH 1,500   EM 0
    4000 km/s   JR 3-50     Armour 4-62      Shields 0-0      HTK 100     Sensors 5/6/0/0     DCR 22-11     PPV 0
    Maint Life 3.03 Years    MSP 2,016   AFR 234%   IFR 3.3%   1YR 330   5YR 4,953   Max Repair 313.3 MSP
    Hangar Deck Capacity 3,600 tons    Magazine 462 / 0   
    Colonel   Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   FLG   
    Intended Deployment Time: 12 months   Flight Crew Berths 72   Morale Check Required   

    M5 Nimbus Marazuki Device    Max Ship Size 18800 tons   Distance 50k km    Squadron Size 3

    XN-500 Progeny Ion Drive (3)   Power 1500   Fuel Use 35.00%   Signature 500   Explosion 10%
    Fuel Capacity 1,463,000 Litres   Range 40.1 billion km (116 days at full power)

    BSM-4 Devastator (144)   Speed: 27,000 km/s   End: 12m    Range: 19.5m km   WH: 4   Size: 3.2

    XN/SPS-27 Grav Pulse Array (1)    GPS 5400    Range 49.5m km   Resolution 75
    XN/SPS-29 Grav Pulse Array (1)    GPS 1152    Range 29.5m km   Resolution 16
    XN/SLQ-20 Passive EM Sensor (1)    Sensitivity 6    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km
    XN/SAY-5 Passive Infrared Sensor (1)    Sensitivity 5    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

    Strike Group
    6x Firestorm III Interceptor
    6x Raven III Interceptor

The A-1 proposal, while fundamentally sound, was ultimately judged as unpersuasive by the majority of the generals. While the flexibility of the design was considered a high point, and indeed would inform later developments in the nascent XCOM carrier doctrine, the emphasis on leveraging Raven squadrons rubbed many the wrong way, while the initial concerns about splitting limited capacity between two different capability types remained largely unaddressed. Contrasted with the carefully thought-out features of the second, orthodox proposal which was presented immediately thereafter, the A-1 carrier proposal, while a workable design in its own right, ultimately suffered for failing to address the felt needs of the moment.

The “orthodox” proposal, designated B-1, was advanced by major general Cédric Kasereka and brigadier general Edward Knick, both of whom had experience commanding both Ravens and Firestorms in addition to current positions overseeing orbital defense formations, and were thus considered relatively objective relative to the debate at hand. Despite a 33% increase in hangar bay volume relative to the A-1 proposal, the lack of missile magazines and the reduced refueling load of only 300,000 liters freed up considerable tonnage, which was dedicated to thirty missile launch rails mounted in six armored clusters for emergency self-defense. Whereas the A-1 proposal had taken a damage control approach to the question of close combat, the B-1 proposal took the preventative approach of mounting sufficient offensive armament to destroy any alien vessel which might evade the Firestorm squadrons to make a close attack run. While the missile launch rails could not be reloaded in-situ, the total firepower was greater than that of two Raven squadrons, considered more than adequate to beat off alien opposition equivalent in capability to a Doc Stone-class patrol ship, or to weaken heavier opposition prior to interception by a Firestorm squadron.

    Project Olympus Proposal B-1     18,750 tons      366 Crew      2,549 BP      TCS 375   TH 1,500   EM 0
    4000 km/s   JR 3-50     Armour 4-62      Shields 0-0      HTK 90     Sensors 5/6/0/0     DCR 12-6     PPV 14.4
    Maint Life 2.49 Years    MSP 1,519   AFR 234%   IFR 3.3%   1YR 340   5YR 5,106   Max Repair 313.3 MSP
    Hangar Deck Capacity 4,800 tons    Magazine 96 / 0   
    Colonel   Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   FLG   
    Intended Deployment Time: 12 months   Flight Crew Berths 96   Morale Check Required   

    M5 Nimbus Marazuki Device    Max Ship Size 18800 tons   Distance 50k km    Squadron Size 3

    XN-500 Progeny Ion Drive (3)   Power 1500   Fuel Use 35.00%   Signature 500   Explosion 10%
    Fuel Capacity 1,053,000 Litres   Range 28.9 billion km (83 days at full power)

    Missile Launch Rail (8t) (30)    Missile Size: 3.2   Hangar Reload 89 minutes   MF Reload 14 hours
    XN/SPG-28 Missile Guidance System (2)    Range 24.1m km   Resolution 16
    BSM-4 Devastator (30)   Speed: 27,000 km/s   End: 12m    Range: 19.5m km   WH: 4   Size: 3.2

    XN/SPS-29 Grav Pulse Array (1)    GPS 1152    Range 29.5m km   Resolution 16
    XN/SPS-27 Grav Pulse Array (1)    GPS 5400    Range 49.5m km   Resolution 75
    XN/SLQ-20 Passive EM Sensor (1)    Sensitivity 6    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km
    XN/SAY-5 Passive Infrared Sensor (1)    Sensitivity 5    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

    Strike Group
    12x Firestorm III Interceptor

The inclusion of 30 Devastator launch rails effectively clinched the deal in favor of the Firestorm-only carrier loadout, particularly since this firepower dwarfed that which the single Raven squadron of the A-1 proposal could put into space at once, thus the B-1 design provided more of both offensive capabilities at once while meeting the cultural imperatives of XCOM leadership. In light of this complete tactical superiority, the potential strategic challenges of actually deploying sufficient Firestorm squadrons to fill out several B-1 carriers were considered surmountable, not least given the fairly long anticipated lead time for the carrier construction program to begin producing finished examples of the class.

Thus, Proposal B-1 for a Firestorm-only carrier class passed a vote of the assembled generals by a ratio of 27 in favor to 12 against, with Marshal Pinto abstaining. It would remain to be seen, on the basis of combat service, whether majority rule would in fact lead to the optimal decision being made.


Let He Who has Eyes to See

The success of the B-1 proposal did not, of course, indicate that the proposed design was by any means a specimen of perfection. Notably, observers on both sides of the debate expressed serious concern about the rather limited sensor capabilities of the class, which would leave it with limited capability to find and fix targets for the strike squadrons, not to mention a severe vulnerability to long-ranged attack. While the latter had been a tertiary concern at most for the original proposal team, which had been focused on designing the class to counter the known alien presence in 65 Hydrae, it was nevertheless valid and the assembled generals quickly agreed that using a high-value capital ship as the primary sensor platform for its own strike force would be a questionable tactic at best.

It was therefore resolved that the hangar space of the B-1 proposal should be modestly expanded to accommodate a small flight of scout craft. Provisionally designated as the Oracle class, these scouts were expected to displace on the order of 200 tons while providing primarily active search capabilities for both general scouting duties and for leading Firestorm squadrons to identified targets. Given this rough specification coupled with the need to minimize R&D time dedicated to developing new, bespoke components for a low-volume class, it will come as no surprise to the reader that the Oracle-class scout would be largely based on the proven Raven-class spaceframe, albeit with heavy modifications.

    Oracle class Scout     200 tons      4 Crew      35.3 BP      TCS 4   TH 30   EM 0
    7502 km/s     Armour 1-3      Shields 0-0      HTK 2     Sensors 1/1/0/0     DCR 0-0     PPV 0
    Maint Life 3.75 Years    MSP 15   AFR 40%   IFR 0.6%   1YR 2   5YR 25   Max Repair 15 MSP
    Major   Control Rating 1   
    Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   Morale Check Required   

    XN-30/B Peregrine Ion Drive (1)   Power 30   Fuel Use 551.14%   Signature 30   Explosion 15%
    Fuel Capacity 19,400 Litres   Range 3.2 billion km (4 days at full power)

    XN/SPS-22 Hydra Search Sensor (1)    GPS 192    Range 12.1m km   Resolution 16
    EM Scanner (1)    Sensitivity 1    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.9m km
    Thermal Scanner (1)    Sensitivity 1    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7.9m km

Readers may note that in addition to the capable active search sensor, which was of course optimized for detecting the 800-ton gravitational signature thought to be typical of the 65 Hydrae aliens, minimal passive detection capabilities were also present enabling the Oracle class to, in principle, serve as a stealth scout in a pinch. It is equally evident from the use of the same boosted engine as in the interceptor classes that this stealth role was clearly secondary and the class was primarily intended to lead Firestorm squadrons in offensive strikes. Less immediately apparent is the fact that the active search sensor, configured as it is to detect such small signatures, lacks the range to adequately support the BSM-4 Devastator missiles. While this latter point was not used as an argument against the A-1 proposal in the discussions detailed above, it was considered by many among XCOM leadership to be a post-facto justification for the decision to focus on the B-1 variant instead, since a Raven squadron would be unable to perform to its full capabilities with such anemic detection range on the supporting scout craft.


Scope Creep; or, Towards a Combination of Arms

While the generals were largely satisfied with the results of these carrier design meetings, two related, if not quite pressing, problems remained to be addressed. First, while the known alien opposition to this point could be generously described as “minimal”, there existed potential and indeed a strong likelihood that larger, more concentrated alien resistance might be encountered during XCOM space operations in the near future. Second, XCOM at this time was possessed of numerous military shipyards which had been built far in advance for just such an eventuality but represented, at present, little more than a drain on resources for no tangible returns. Thus, it would behoove XCOM to find uses for at least some of these idle shipyards which might better position the space defense forces for the eventuality of larger-scale anti-alien operations.

It was not lost on the generals that the carrier program which was about to kick into gear represented a natural basis on which to plan such expansion. As such, while the full scope of XCOM space building programs of the 2050s is beyond the present scope, the reader may find enlightening a brief summary of those planned classes which were conceived largely, if not entirely, to cover for potential weaknesses of large carrier fleets:

Despite the introduction of a small scout doctrine intended to keep the carriers very far away from any enemy which could conceivably deal significant damage, there remained a risk that an enemy - particularly an enemy with ample stealth technology - might outmaneuver the scout and fighter screen to approach the carriers themselves. The most pressing danger in such an event would be a large missile attack launched from beyond the range of the Devastator missiles mounted by the carriers. To meet this threat, the Fury-class escorts would be constructed to augment the carrier fleets. Following long-term XCOM weapons research priorities developed in the mid-2030s, the Fury class would take the form of 10,000-ton midsize vessels, each armed with a quartet of quadruple quick-firing laser turrets for anti-missile point defense.

While the combination of new-build carriers with existing Doc Stone-class patrol ships was envisioned to provide adequate colonial defense coverage for the near future, XCOM leadership did recognize the necessity for fighter deployments to provide colonial defense in the long term, particularly as fighter-based forces were still considered superior to heavier patrol ships for colonial defense. While the Proposal B carrier class would be able to transport both Firestorms and Ravens to any outlying colony without issue, ordnance transport remained an unmet need. This need would eventually be met by the Roswell class of 5,555-ton commercial-build ordnance transports, each capable of transporting 125 Devastator anti-ship missiles to an outlying military base, from which Raven-class interceptors could then be rearmed.

While these ship classes would be clear secondary priorities compared to the objective of getting as many carriers into space as possible in short order, their genesis nevertheless would be rooted in the budding XCOM space carrier program, and these classes would ultimately play significant, if supporting, roles in determining the ultimate success or failure of this bold new initiative.

----

OOC Notes:

Images taken from the XCOM Wiki are resized and rehosted here.

And so we are shocked to discover that this AAR is not, in fact, dead just yet. Indeed, we were shocked to discover this after the previous update, so shocked that our shock has persisted through the present one as well.

It is amazing what taking an overly long break can do for the health of one’s updates. As-planned, an A-1 type of carrier class was originally going to be selected, but this update never got off the ground as I could not generate sufficiently interesting conflict in the design history to justify such a spotlight despite several attempts. Finally, this most recent attempt led me to consider the obvious question - if Firestorms are so important, why bother with the Ravens? Thus, the update.

Lest any reader despair of a lost opportunity for ship chat, rest assured that we will see the full specifications for the Fury and Roswell classes at a later, more appropriate juncture.

Looking forward to how you set up the spoilers and NPRs to be themed within the XCOM universe and how much they will deviate technology wise from what they look like in universe. 

OOC Notes:

And so we are perhaps shocked to discover that this AAR is not, in fact, dead just yet. Or, perhaps not? I of course make no promises for the future, but for the present there shall be great rejoicing. Or cries of horror, each to his or her own I suppose.

Naturally, we celebrate with a spot of alien menace followed by a lengthy meeting and some rousing logistical discussion, truly the more things change the more they stay the same.

The AAR lives! I'm amazed that you still remembered enough to resume the story a year later.

While this displacement was, in principle, something XCOM was able to deal with given the deployment of the 3,125-ton Doc Stone class patrol ships, the alien technological advantage was another matter. Most worrisome was the 5,387 km/s top speed of the alien ship, slightly exceeding the 5,000 km/s top speed of the patrol ships after the recent round of refits. This, combined with the observed 237,000 km range of the alien weapons versus the 100,000 km range of the 508-mm plasma cannons, meant that the Doc Stones would be outpaced and outranged in a gunfight. That being said, the patrol ships were also armed with 18 BSM-4 anti-ship missiles apiece, which would have around a 50% chance to hit per missile and would be more than sufficient to give XCOM the advantage of a first strike against any alien ships encountered near a human colony, so the difficulty would be one primarily of interception rather than defense, a tolerable if not desirable state of affairs at least in the short term.

Given that these aliens are likely raiders, I imagine that commercial/civilian shipping insurance premiums are about to go up soon...

March 1, 2163, Rift System, 2nd Rift Incursion

Imperial Rift System Defense Forces
Stationed within the Rift: 7x10,000 ton Long Duration Missile Bases

Stationed at Rift Base (Moon 7, Planet VII)
Rift System Defense Squadron: 1xCV, 2xCVS, 2xBC, 3xDD, 48xStrike Fighters, 4xScout Fighters
Rift Base Orbital Missile Bases: 6xAggressor class Missile Bases, 6xSeige Class Missile Bases
Rift Base Orbital Fighter Bases: 5xAdamant class 17,943 ton fighter bases, 65 Eagle Strike Fighters, 5 Aegis scout fighters
Rift Base Ground Defenses: 5th Guard Division (132,242 tons), 69,000 tons of STO units

The deployment of forces in the Rift system has been controversial, with factions in both the navy and the senate pushing for deployments to the surrounding systems instead of within the Rift system itself, to quarantine the Rift system.  While dispersing forces to the surrounding system would not normally be considered, as each force would be weaker than a consolidated force in the Rift system, the unknown nature of the threat from the Rifters made such a deployment at least somewhat attractive.  After some delay, though, the Emperor resolved the impasse by issuing an Imperial decree ordering the establishment of a base in the Rift system. 

The selection of the base site then became a point of contention, but, as the Empire’s attention began shifting to the Bobruisk and their hostile neighbors the Oct’s, interest in the Rift system began declining.  This is where Captain Thornton Black came into the picture.  Captain Black was an ambitious young officer with highly placed and powerful patrons in both the admiralty and the senate.  He had begun his career as a pilot of a Forward class FAC, and moved on from there to be a science officer on a long-range survey ship, after which he rose to command another survey ship.  After several successful survey voyages, he was ready to make a move that would ensure his admiral’s stars and a bright future in the navy.  Even as the planners were arguing about what shape the deployment to the Rift system would take, and the size of the deployment, the Imperial government’s interest in the Rift system was declining.  Captain Black and his supporters saw this as the perfect time to seize an opportunity, and Captain Black stepped forward with a plan, cutting through the arguing bureaus and contending officers.  Perhaps with a sense of relief, his plan was rapidly approved with minimal oversight, and the transfer of forces to the Rift system began.  Captain Black was promoted to Commodore and given command of the new naval district, and oversaw its initial deployment and dispositions.  Unfortunately, as would eventually become clear, Commodore Black was an idiot.  His patrons had consistently covered up negative performance reviews, and no one senior to him knew that his peers considered him to be an arrogant, resentful, egomaniac with no real experience and at best an academic’s understanding of naval strategy and tactics. 

Commodore Black decided to locate the main base for the Rift system forces on a moon of the seventh planet.  The seventh planet was the primary star’s outermost planet, and had an orbit that most closely approached the Rift.  At the time the base was being established, the planet was quite close to the rift, and would allow any forces stationed there to respond quickly to any incursion.  However, for most of its orbit the seventh planet would be quite far from the Rift, and for at least half of the orbit it would be farther from the rift than any other body in the system.  This fact was pointed out to Commodore Black, repeatedly, but he was intolerant of criticism and once he had chosen the location, he refused to change his mind.  Thus, the base was established on a moon of the outer gas giant. 

With the base location decided, Commodore Black then began establishing the deployment of forces for the system.  By this time, the base, and its anchoring gas giant, had moved fairly far from the Rift, meaning that the system defense force now had an inconveniently long response time to an incursion.  Not being willing to admit to a mistake, Commodore Black developed a plan.  He requested the deployment of all existing long-duration missile bases to bolster his defenses.  These bases had been developed in the early days of interstellar expansion, when it had been thought that the Raiders were transiting standard jump points, and had been designed with ten-year deployment schedules as jump point interdiction units.  Once it was clear the Raiders had their own interstellar transit system and were not using jump points, the bases had been left with no reason for their existence.  Even so they had been modernized and had been deployed to bolster the defensive strength of colonies and forward bases.  Now, Commodore Black asked for them and all six were transferred to his command.  He ordered them deployed to the Rift, to act as an immediate deterrent to Rifter incursions, giving the system defense fleet time to move to the Rift. 

This deployment scheme found little favor with the officers of the system defense force, and even less with the officers of the long-duration bases.  The original commander of the base squadron protested the deployment as reckless and foolish, but was overruled by Commodore Black, and then, when she protested to fleet command in the solar system, she was relieved of her command by Black’s patrons in the admiralty.  Commander Gang, the former second in command of the base squadron, considered resigning to highlight the idiocy of Commodore Black’s deployments, but in the end decided to stay with his people and do the best he could to protect them.  And so, when Rifter ships began appearing in the Rift, Rift Base and its attendant gas giant, were, of course, on the far side of the system, and the Rift Defense Fleet was over a billion kilometers away, leaving the six long-duration bases on their own within the Rift.   

At 0538 hours on the 1st, three groups of Rift ships arrived within the rift, forming a triangle with its points close to the outer edge of the rift.  Two of the groups consisted of two ships each, and matched the designs seen in the last incursion.  These units had remained immobile, were equipped with short-ranged weaponry, and were presumed to be some sort of base.  The main group of twelve ships appeared closer to the Terran missile bases stationed in the rift than the other groups, but immediately set a course away from the bases.  The main group consisted of four heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, and three light destroyers. 

The commander of the missile base group, Commander Gang, ordered his crews to combat stations and to begin preparations for immediate launch on the main group.  Seconds later power failed on all seven long duration missile bases, leaving them drifting and helpless. 

The Rift system’s main fleet base orbited the outer moon of the seventh planet, which was currently just over one billion kilometers distant.  The contact message from the buoys at the Rift arrived fifty-five minutes after the arrival of the Rifter ships, and it took nearly another hour to organize the response.  The fighter bases orbiting the moon launched their fighters, which joined the Rift Defense Fleet’s fighters, and they set out to intercept the main Rifter fleet.  That put one hundred and fifteen fighters in space, racing towards the main Rifter group. 

Back at the Rift, Commander Gang’s crews finally restored power to the seven bases.  The chief engineers all agreed that the missile bases had been sabotaged by unknown software resident in the power system control computers.  With their system’s back up they were finally able to engage the enemy, however, the main fleet had moved beyond their range.  The four Rifter medium bases deployed to the edges of the rift were within their range, but were known to be equipped with short range weapons, meaning they were no threat and could be ignored for now.  Commander Gang decided to remain on alert against further incursions.  Besides, he had teams frantically inspecting the missiles in the base’s magazines.  Given the sabotage to the base’s power systems, he had no desire to launch nuclear-tipped missiles until they could be inspected. 

The Rifter fleet moved to a point just past 120 mkm’s from the bases in the Rift, then split.  The bulk of the fleet headed back towards the rift, and the bases stationed there, while the light destroyers split up and headed across the system.  One of the destroyers was headed towards the inner system, while the other two were headed in the direction of the jump point to the Omicron Tucanae system.  The fighters speeding away from Rift Base split, with each group intercepting a light destroyer, while on the missile bases stationed in the Rift, Commander Gang told his inspection crews to hurry, as they would have to engage the Rift main fleet before it could reach firing range of the bases. 

One hour and forty-five minutes later the Rifter fleet entered extreme range for the Archer IV ASM’s in the bases’ launchers.  Commander Gang waited to fire until the Rifter ships reached 20 mkm’s, then launched every missile in his arsenal.  Three hundred and fifty big ASM’s raced away from the bases at 35,000 km/s.  The Archer IV was the Fleet’s last-generation long range ship-killer.  The Archer V had recently gone into production, and was faster and had a longer range, but none were available in the Rift system.  The Archer IV was still a potent ASM though.  The IV still had the Empire’s best ECCM and active terminal guidance, two decoys, and a heavy warhead.  The strike was devastating.  When the explosions cleared, three of the Rifter heavy cruisers and three light cruisers were simply gone, wiped from space.  Two CL’s appeared to be untouched, and the remaining heavy cruiser had been heavily damaged and were drifting.  It was a stunning validation of the Archer IV ASM and the missile base concept.  Except for the two remaining mobile CL’s, and the fact that the bases had expended their entire missile supply in the massive alpha strike, leaving them with only short-ranged AMM’s to defend themselves.  And worse, the base’s magazines weren’t stocked with a full load of AMM’s due to an oversight at the time of deployment. 

Commander Gang and his crews watched, wondering whether the light cruisers were going to continue their charge, but they left the crippled heavy cruiser and set out on a tangent towards the outer system.  Five minutes later, though, they turned and headed inwards towards the bases.  Eight minutes later they were seven million kilometers from the bases, which opened fire with their anti-missiles.  Each salvo contained seventy AMM’s, and they sped away from the bases at 102,400 km/s.   

For a while the light cruisers played cat-and-mouse with the AAM salvoes, but in the end the bases, which did not have full stocks of the AMM’s in the first place, ran out before inflicting serious damage on the two remaining Rifter warships.  Once the bases ran out of defensive missiles, the Rifter warships closed and began firing at the bases at 150,000 kilometers range.  At that point Commander Gang ordered his crews to abandon ship.  Life pods began racing away from the doomed bases, and once they were all away the bases self-destructed. 

The Rifter ships, in an act disturbingly reminiscent of the Raiders, destroyed the life pods before moving away, eventually appearing on the sensors of a nearby sensor drone, apparently waiting for something within the Rift.  After several hours of loitering, they set out away from the oncoming fighters, towards the jump point to 82 Draconis.  One of the fighter groups diverted to chase the CL’s, having lost its light destroyer target, while the other fighter group continued chasing the two light destroyers headed towards the Omicron Tucanae jump point. 

At 2236 hours on the 1st, the heavy cruiser crippled by the missile bases repaired at least one of its engines and began moving slowly away from the Rift, following the light cruisers towards the jump point to 82 Draconis. 

By 0218 hours on the 2nd, the fighters from the Rift System Fleet had managed to close to 80 mkm’s from the two light destroyers they had been pursuing, finally picking them up on their own sensors and verifying their position and status.  The two LDD’s were hovering around the jump point to the Omicron Tucanae system, moving on and off of the jump point.  The Omicron Tucanae defense force had been warned via the ICN to expect visitors, so if the LDD’s jumped away they would be the problem of that system’s forces, but for now the Rifters seemed content to hover around the jump point. 

Several minutes later, though, one of the two LDD’s jumped into Omicron Tucanae, leaving the other LDD in the Rift System.  The Rift Defense Force fighters diverted towards the remaining LDD, which was moving away from the jump point.  Twenty minutes later the LDD jumped back into the Rift system.  The fighters continued on towards the LDD further from the jump point. 

At 0428 hours the fighters reached optimum missile range of their targeted LDD and launched eighty Sparrow IIb light ASM’s.  The missiles completely overwhelmed the LDD and left only scattered wreckage floating in space.  The fighters then turned towards the second LDD, which was now 60 mkm’s away and headed in the general direction of the Rift base’s location.  Just over an hour later the fighters were in position and launched a salvo of sixty-four Sparrow IIb light ASM’s at the fleeing LDD.  The result was the same, the LDD was left a drifting wreck.  Their targets destroyed, the fighter group turned towards the Rift, and the four Rifter bases located there.   

At 1349 hours the fighter group from the Rift System Defense Force arrived at its waypoint, one point five million kilometers from the two Rifter bases located to one side of the Rift.  The bases had proved to be tough to kill, so the group commander split her remaining missiles between the two, emptying the fighter group’s racks.  Two hundred and forty light ASM’s raced away from the fighters towards the two waiting bases.  The results were less than satisfying.  Forty-four missiles were intercepted by energy weapons fire, and one hundred and twenty-three were decoyed.  One of the bases suffered eleven penetrating hits, the other none.  The fighters turned towards their carriers, which were now approaching the Rift with the rest of the Rift Defense Force. 

While the fleet’s fighters had been tangling with the LDD’s and the bases, the fighters launched from the fighter bases orbiting Rift Base had been chasing down the two CL’s headed towards the jump point to 82 Draconis.  It had been a long stern chase, and from the first it was clear that the fighters wouldn’t be able to catch the CL’s before they reached the jump point.  Indeed, they were still 71 mkm’s from the jump point when the CL’s reach their target.  Both CL’s immediately jumped out to the 82 Draconis system.  The 82 Draconis system is a planet-less system located on the edge of the Kraken Frontier, two jumps from the 111 Virginis system.  There is no Terran presence in the system aside from sensor buoys located near the jump points. 

At 0108 hours on the 3rd the System Defense Fleet, having rescued the few life pods that had somehow escaped destruction and rearmed its fighters, launched its fighter group with orders to destroy the intact pair of bases on the far side of the Rift.  At 0211 hours the fighters launched three hundred and eighty-four missiles at the two bases.  It took forty seconds for the missiles to reach their targets.  Fifty-seven were stopped by energy weapons fire, two hundred and six were decoyed, and the remainder caused thirty-six penetrating hits between the two bases.  The fighters turned back towards their carriers.  The fighters landed and were rapidly rearmed, but Captain Kitzmiller, the CO of the defense force, decided against launching another strike as his carriers were low on missiles at this point, and at least three of the four bases had suffered significant internal damage.  The defense fleet retreated from the Rift at this point, but only to a ten million kilometer standoff distance. 

At this point the Rift forces in-system consisted of the four bases, three of which had suffered internal damage, and a damaged CA and undamaged LDD headed towards the jump point to 82 Draconis.  Two Rifter CL’s were known to have jumped out to 82 Draconis.  The fighters from the defense fleet had landed on their carriers, and the fighters from Rift Base were stationed at the jump point to 82 Draconis.  Captain Kitzmiller, who had taken some time to take stock of the situation, ordered the base fighter group to intercept the LDD and CA that were headed towards the jump point to 82 Draconis, and then to return to base, unless the CL’s returned from 82 Eridani.  That done, he ordered Captain Lynd to take her battlecruiser group into the rift, accompanied by their destroyer group, and eliminate the damaged bases.  Captain Kitzmiller’s carriers would remain outside the rift, on overwatch. 

The two battlecruisers and three destroyers of the Rift Strike Force opened fire at 0511 hours on the 3rd, at 346,000 kilometers.  All five ships targeted one of the bases, The destroyers scored several minor hits before one of the Mercury’s 30cm lasers carved deeply into the already damaged base, causing a secondary explosion that destroyed it.  The Terran ships shifted fire to the second base and began scoring hits, but this base was in better shape.  The Terran ships pounded the base until they reached 200,000 kilometers, at which point the BC’s 30cm lasers recharged and carved the base into three separate chunks.  Their mission here finished, the Strike Group turned for the second pair of bases, located on the far side of the rift. 

At 0637 hours the Strike Group was within range of its lasers and opened fire on one of the pair of bases, scoring several hits with the group’s smaller 15cm lasers.  The Strike Group came to a halt 150,000 kilometers from the bases and continued to pour fire into the immobile units, which did not return fire.  Whether they possessed weapons that couldn’t reach that far, or had been too damaged by the missile attack to engage was unknown.  At any rate it took five more salvoes before the targeted base blew up, at which time the group shifted fire to the last remaining base.  It took five salvoes to pound this base into scattered debris, after which the group turned to leave the rift and rejoin the carrier group. 

At 1235 hours, the LDD, which had dropped off everyone’s sensors, reappeared on the active sensors of the returning fighter group, which immediately went into pursuit.  The Rifter LDD turned and ran, but was much slower and had no chance of getting away.   Eighty minutes later the fighters had reached optimum firing range and launched 80 Sparrow IIb light ASM’s.  The LDD was completely overwhelmed by the missile strike and left drifting, powerless, as the fighters continued on towards the last Rifter heavy cruiser.   

At 2151 hours the base fighters had finally chased down the last Rift ship in the system, a damaged heavy cruiser.  The fighter group launched a salvo of forty light ASM’s at the CA.  The missiles were more than enough to destroy the last Rifter ship, after which the fighters headed for their home base.  The incursion was over. 

Landing Zone Gamma

'C' Battery, 4th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, supporting 3rd Infantry Division

"I say, what's that you're painting on that shell, Sergeant ?"
"Horsell's Revenge, sah"
"Oh, of course. Carry on."

"what was that about, Sergeant ?"
"I were at Horsell Common, the first Martian cylinder landed right there, it did."
"How come you never said before ?"
"Never thought I'd be ere to give them what for. Ten bloody years, and ere we are. Let's get this gun in action"

"Tripods, Left sector, Left Section Engage!"

The gunnery tables and calibrations for Mars have proven to be quite accurate, with fall of shot within 100 yards of the nominal distances. The thinner atmosphere and lower gravity also allows exceptional long range shooting to be undertaken, to the limit of our ability to distinguish targets with the available optical sights.

Landing Zone Beta

2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

"Can't raise Division or Brigade on the radio, sir"
"Problems with the equipment ?"
"Not on our end, sir."
"Alright, see who we can raise"

"I think the Martians must have hit the HQ, the other battalion we've managed to contact reports the same situation"
"Hmm. Well we're not going to get any replacements any time soon. Knox over at 5th Brigade is senior, she'll have to take over Division. Everett at the Ox and Bucks is senior so he should take Brigade. Did you get him on the radio ?"
"No sir, we couldn't make contact with them."
"Damn. We'll have to send someone out."

"Sergeant, take 5 men, and head to the Ox and Bucks position, see who's still in command there"
"Very good, sir"

"Nothing but craters and dead Martians far as the eye can see, Sergeant."
"Must be someone still alive, wait, I've got an idea. McCullough! play a tune on your pipes. If any of our lads are still alive, they'll let us know"

As the bagpipes played, the surviving Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry came out of their foxholes and trenches, waving and cheering.

Having repelled the Martian attack, albeit with significant casualties, 2nd Division have restored our chain of command by borrowing some command cars from 8th Cavalry Div, who have consolidated their own formations. We're still in the fight.