January, 2014
The Alliance Navy, in conjunction with Space Dynamics Corp, completes a long-term research project to increase the capability of Alliance missile systems. Currently, the Alliance fields the following missiles:
Thor ICBM
Size: 10 Speed: 1,000 kps Endurance: 0
Range: 0 Warhead: 40 Maneuver: 10
Standard ASM (Anti-Ship Missile)
Size: 3 Speed: 12,000 kps Endurance: 30 min.
Range: 21.4 mkm Warhead: 5 Maneuver: 22
Valyrie Planetary Defense Missile (PDM)
Size: 10 Speed: 15,600 kps Endurance: 48 min.
Range: 45 mkm Warhead: 10 Maneuver: 17
Armor: 1
Ancient PDM (Discovered on Mars)
Size: 10 Speed: 19,000 kps Endurance: 55 min.
Range: 63 mkm Warhead: 15 Maneuver: 10
ECM: 20
Three new missiles are planned utilizing the new technology:
Standard II ASM
Size: 3 Speed: 20,000 kps Endurance: 21 min.
Range: 25 mkm Warhead: 5 Maneuver: 32
Valkyrie II PDM
Size: 10 Speed: 18,000 kps Endurance: 42 min.
Range: 45 mkm Warhead: 15 Maneuver: 15
Armor: 1
Sprite AMM
Size: 1 Speed: 24,000 kps Endurance: 52 min.
Range: 75 mkm Warhead: 1 Maneuver: 10
Both the Standard II and the Valkyrie II were designed to retain the same approximate range of their predecessors to avoid the need to design and deploy new tracking systems. This self-imposed limitation allowed the Alliance designers to increase the other capabilities of the missiles. Standard doctrine for the Alliance generally means increasing the speed and maneuverability of the missiles rather than warhead capacity.
The new Sprite Anti-Missile Missile is intended to be deployed in the new Planetary Missile Defense Center:
PD AM Defense Center class Planetary Defense Centre 9950 tons 610 Crew 2489.2 BP TCS 199 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 18-41 Sensors 1/252 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 12
Magazine 512
PDC AM Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 5
Gerard Systems AM Missile Fire Control (3) Range 5.0m km Resolution 1
Cyberdyne Class S Active Search Sensor (5) GPS 5040 Range 50.4m km Resolution 20
This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 20 sections
The completion of the Missile Improvement Project came at a fortuitous time. Naval Intelligence believes that the Reich is well advanced in its research on Magneto-Plasma Drive technology. The implications of a Reich lead in this area are serious and far-reaching, and the Alliance Council has mandated that the Navy immediately begin research into advanced drive systems to match the projected Reich capabilities.
April, 2014
The units of the 1st Battle Group, including the cruiser Lexington, are placed in overhaul status.
The Russians and the Japanese formally protest the Reich?s placement of a listening post on Tethys, one of Saturn?s inner moons. The Reich?s government declines to discuss the matter, merely noting through a spokesman that neither of the two protesting governments had formally claimed the moon, and so had no basis to complain. In addition, the Reich Raumarine has been placing listening posts throughout the asteroid belt, and has warned the other nations to stay clear of its bases.
May, 2014
The first of the Alliance?s new Tracker class scouts is launched this month.
Tracker class Scout 2750 tons 261 Crew 653.4 BP TCS 55 TH 240 EM 0
4363 km/s Armour 1-17 Shields 0-0 Sensors 66/44/0/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 0% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 148 SP
Rolls Royce Ion Engine (4) Power 60 Engine Efficiency 0.7 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Max Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 93.5 billion km (248 days at full power)
Cyberdyne Class C Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Signature 1000: 66m km
Cyberdyne Class S Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 5040 Range 50m km Resolution 20
Cyberdyne Class Sc Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 168 Range 2m km Resolution 2
Cyberdyne Class S EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 44 Detect Strength 1000: 44m km
These units are intended to operate independently, or in support of the Battle Groups if necessary. In particular, their Cyberdyne class Sc active sensors are intended to support the Groups in the anti-missile role.
June, 2014
The Alliance Council, which has grown concerned about the Reich?s ?land-grab?, authorizes the Alliance?s first asteroid mining mission. The target is a particularly rich asteroid in the inner belt.
July, 2014
The Reich government has announced that its exploration teams on Venus have discovered and activated an Ancient terraforming installation, thus finally proving the theory that both Mars and Venus were terraformed at some point in the past. Reich scientists are planning on using the Terraforming Installation to further modify Venus? atmosphere.
August, 2014
The Alliance 1st Battle Group, on maneuvers in the inner system, intercepts a transmission from Titan. The interception is purely random chance, and at first the transmission is assumed to be either Russian or Japanese. Further analysis at OSI?s computers at Langley reveals a startling fact: the transmission is, in fact, European in origin. Although the coding cannot be broken in a reasonable amount of time, the coding itself is distinctive, enough so that the OSI can give the Alliance Council a report on the incident clearly pointing at Reich involvement of some sort on Titan.
The Alliance Council fears that this means that the Reich is working with the USSR and the Empire, and such an unholy alliance could have only one target, the Alliance. All Alliance military forces are put on alert and intelligence gathering activities are increased.
December 9, 2014
Three Russian troop transports depart for Titan, escorted by all four Soviet cruisers. According to the Soviet government, the transports are loaded with mobile infantry divisions to bolster the Soviet defenses at the Titan colony.
The Japanese government burns up the radio-waves in between Moscow and Tokyo, then begins loading its own transports. In addition the Japanese government recalls its fleet, which is spread across the inner system conducting training exercises. It will take four days for the scattered Imperial Fleet to assemble in Earth orbit.
December 10, 2014
All of the activity has convinced the other powers that something is happening on Titan. As a result, the other powers recall their warships and turn every sensor they have towards Titan. It soon becomes clear that the Russians and the Japanese forces on Titan are fighting a large scale battle across the surface of that distant moon.
December 11, 2014
While the other fleets are assembling over Earth, the Indian Republic dispatches its six armed ships on a course that will ultimately take them to their Comet colony.
December 13, 2014
Russian reinforcements arrive on Titan and are immediately thrust into battle. The Russians have been fairing poorly to date, but now their warships are overhead and the Japanese on the ground must watch the skies in fear.
Late in the day the Japanese Imperial Fleet departs for Titan, escorting two troop transports loaded with infantry divisions. The Imperial Fleet consists of four 6,000 ton cruisers and four 3,500 ton destroyers.
As the Japanese ships depart the USSR?s missile bases activate their active sensors and target the departing ships. In response, the Japanese ground bases go active themselves and begin targeting the Russian bases, which in turn began targeting the Japanese bases as well.
Fearing a devastating nuclear exchange on the surface of the Earth, the Reich and the Alliance both go active as well, and inform the two governments that they will target the forces of the first nation to launch.
All across the planet attack warning sirens sound, and for the first time in recent memory the populations of cities are told to retreat to bomb shelters for real, instead of as part of a training session. Tensions build as the Japanese Fleet leaves orbit, but it soon becomes clear that the Russians are unwilling to be the first to launch and when the Imperial Fleet crosses the orbit of the Moon the Russians stand down and deactivate their sensors. The Japanese and the two major powers soon follow suit.
The Alliance and the Reich both dispatch a squadron to shadow the Imperial Fleet.
December, 15, 2014
With the Japanese Fleet still five days out, the USSR announces a total blockade of Titan, warning all other nations to remain beyond five million kilometers. The announcement warns that any ship approaching within five million kilometers of Titan will be engaged and destroyed by the People?s Armed Forces. By this time it has become apparent to all that things are going badly on Titan for Soviet ground forces, although it isn?t clear yet if their reinforcements will be enough to turn the tide.
The Imperial Government doesn?t respond officially, but their unofficial response is clear, the Imperial Fleet doesn?t waiver from its course towards Titan.
December 16, 2014
Three African warships leave orbit on a course that would take them towards Saturn.
December 18, 2014
Heavy ground combat continues on Titan. The Russians have managed to stop Japanese advances, but have suffered heavily casualties to do so. The Japanese have suffered very heavy casualties as well, and are now depending on the reinforcements en route aboard the Imperial Fleet.
Back on Earth, the Kremlin has announced that the Marshal of the Soviet Union, Vanechka Belkin, has retired for health reasons. As no one has seen her in several days, and rumors of her arrest by the KGB over the debacle on Titan have been rampant, everyone assumes that the ?health reasons? were related to a 9 mm slug lodged in her brain.
December 20, 2014
10:13 hours: The Imperial Fleet is now just under seven hours and approximately 50 million kilometers away from Titan. Sensors on the Alliance ships show the Japanese ships raising their shields. As of yet the Alliance ships don?t have the Russian ships on their sensors. The Reich has an advantage in their listening post on Tethys and they can see that the Russian ships are just now leaving Titan orbit on a course towards the oncoming Japanese Fleet. The Russian ships have accelerated to 3,333 kps, substantially faster than their previously observed maximum speed. At the same time the Russian troop transports set out at a tangent away from the oncoming fleet.
11:33 hours: Alliance sensors have now picked up four in-bound contacts headed for the Japanese Fleet. The Alliance squadron has now dropped back to approximately 5 million kilometers behind the Japanese Fleet, so as to remain out of the approaching battle. The new contacts are just over 24 million kilometers in front of the Japanese ships.
11:53 hours: The Japanese Fleet launches its first missile salvo at the oncoming Russian ships. The salvo consists of a total of sixteen missiles from two different cruisers, and each missile is traveling at 10,700 kps.
Forty-five seconds later a second salvo is launched, and then every forty five seconds after that another salvo goes out like clockwork.
The Japanese ships kept up a steady stream of missile launches for six minutes, a total of eight salvoes, and then fell silent.
12:15 hours: Later analysis of the battle and all available data would show that the Russian ships didn?t detect the incoming Japanese missiles until they were less than five seconds away from impact. It was at this point that communications between the four ships of the Russian fleet spiked, just as the missiles went into final acquisition mode.
The same analysis would show that the Russian ships had no shields at all.
Still, even though the Russian ships gave every impression of being surprised by the incoming missiles, whatever point defense weapons they were using worked. Only two missiles broke through in the defensive fire and they both missed their targets.
The next salvo faired slightly better, with four missiles breaking through the defensive fire, and of those, one hit the target ship.
The third salvo faired even better, with eight missiles breaking through the defensive fire, but of those only two hit their target. The same Soviet ship had now been hit by three Japanese missiles, but so far it showed no ill effects.
The fourth salvo scored with two hits on the same cruiser, which continued in formation with its sister ships. The fifth scored two hits, the sixth scored four, the seventh scored three, and the eighth scored three hits. The Japanese missile barrage scored a grand total of seventeen hits on the same Russian cruiser, for an expenditure of one hundred and twenty-eight missiles, and the targeted ship showed no sign of damage.
After the last missile went in the Japanese ships came to a halt for two minutes, then started again on their course towards Titan, straight into the oncoming Russian ships. The two groups were just under ten million kilometers apart and closing at a combined speed of 5,333 kps. Shortly after resuming their course towards the Russians, the Japanese troop ships turned back towards Earth and accelerated to 3,400 kps, keeping clear of the Russian warships.
12:48 hours: With the two groups of ships separated by just 250,000 kilometers, the Japanese missile cruisers turned back towards Earth and began retreating at 1,000 kps.
12:49 hours: When the Japanese ships reached 70,000 kilometers they began bombarding the Russian ships with 12 cm lasers, scoring at least six hits on the same ship targeted before. The Russian ships failed to respond, and the Japanese Admiral ordered his ships to turn away in a bid to keep the range open. Unfortunately for the Japanese, their ships were at least a 1,000 kps slower than the Russians.
The second salvo of laser fire from the Japanese scored even more hits, and this time they finally managed to burrow through the Russian ship?s armor and caused interior damage, slowing the enemy ship. Still the Russians hadn?t replied. The third round of laser fire gutted the Russian ship, and still the Russians hadn?t replied.
Finally, just as the range dropped to point blank, and the Japanese missile cruisers began firing on the Russian ships again, one of the Russian ships fired their first broadside of the battle. The Russian ship targeted a Japanese destroyer, and the targeted ship was rocked by eight massive kinetic impacts which stripped away its shields and penetrated deeply into its armor.
The next five seconds was chaotic. The first wave of Japanese missiles slammed into the Russian battle line while they were trying to get their shots off at the Japanese ships. Three missiles slammed into a second Russian cruiser, which was then pummeled by point blank laser shots which cut through its armor and eviscerated the ship, knocking a second Russian ship out of the battle. At the last second the two Russian ships which had not fired their main batteries at the Japanese ships panicked and put them on point defense rather than offense.
At this point the Russian commander realized his danger and turned back towards Titan, perhaps to open the range. It was too late, though. Both of his remaining cruisers pounded one of the Japanese destroyers doggedly trailing them, but the Japanese gave as good as they took, flaying open the armor of one of the two remaining Soviet cruisers and causing some internal damage. With the Russians retreating the Japanese commander ordered his ships to come about and pursue.
The Japanese concentrated their laser fire on one of the two undamaged Russian cruisers, heavily damaging it, while the Russians desperately tried to get their weapons working.
Finally, the last remaining undamaged Russian cruiser managed to get its rail guns up and pounded a Japanese destroyer, crippling it. It was too little and too late, though. The Japanese continued targeting the cruisers with everything they had, and in short order a battered Kirov exploded, but not before striking back at an already damaged Japanese destroyer and crippling it.
The destruction of the soviet cruiser seems to motivate them, and shortly thereafter all three remaining cruisers get their main batteries working and concentrate their fire on a Japanese cruiser.
Twenty seconds later a second soviet cruiser is destroyed by concentrated missile and laser fire, while a Japanese cruiser is slowly pounded into scrap. It took the Japanese another minute to destroy the last two soviet cruisers, but then, suddenly, the battle was over and the Japanese were the victors.
The Japanese destroyed the four cruisers of the soviet fleet without losing one ship in the battle, although they are forced to scuttle a heavily damaged destroyer later on. One of the Japanese beam cruisers suffered moderate internal damage, and a destroyer suffered light damage to its armor.
After picking up their life pods, and leaving the soviet pods to the vagaries of fate, the Japanese fleet continued on towards Titan to deliver its desperately needed reinforcements.
Later Soviet analysis of the data sent back by their cruisers would point to a design flaw in their power systems that put their main rail gun batteries out of action for most of the battle. One out of ten members of each of the design team, the engineering team that approved the design, and the construction team are executed and another one in ten is sent to Siberia.
December 22, 2014
Heavy ground fighting continues on Titan with the soviets continuing to get the worst of it, although losses continue to be heavy on both sides. Although reports from the USSR deny this, the Japanese government claims to be on the verge of breaking soviet resistance on Titan.
December 26, 2014
The Soviet troop transport group returns to earth orbit while the uninvolved nations watch the two combatants carefully. The Japanese make no move to attack the returning soviet ships, and ultimately tensions ease, if only slightly.
December 27, 2014
The Japanese government reports that its forces on Titan have destroyed the last organized Russian forces on Titan, and that they are moving to secure the Russian mining complexes. The Russian government denies this report, and claims that its forces are fighting on, but decries the Japanese move to seize its mining facilities and claims that there will be dire consequences for the Empire.
December 31, 2014
The Japanese government announces that its forces have taken complete control of the surface of Titan, including the Russian automated mining complexes and the Russian mass driver. In addition, the Japanese announce that they have captured soviet geology teams sent by the USSR to survey Titan, and Kapiyteyn Petrenko, the Soviet military commander of their Titan base.
