March, 2018
The retooling of the Indian orbital yards is finally completed and construction is started on humanity’s first Jump Ship. The Ganga will be launched in September, 2019.
April, 2018
The Indian Republic launches its new Solar Survey vessel. The ship is relatively small at 3,000 tons, and most of the other nations are dismissive about its potential. The Indians have stated that the ship’s mission will be to study the solar wind and solar gravity fields throughout the solar system, as a way of better understanding the sun and solar evolution. In the years since trans-Newtonian technology was discovered, technological research has focused almost exclusively on this new area of innovation, to the detriment of other scientific areas of research. After a brief spurt of interest the other nations forget the Indians and their research ship. None of the other nations even bother to shadow the new science ship.
August 4, 2018
The Reich launches two ships hailed as the “largest and most effective warships in the solar system”. The Hessen class battleships are significantly larger than the Alliance’s State class battlecruisers, at 12,000 tons compared to 9,600 tons. Like all Reich warships they have no visible weaponry, but given the Reich Raumarine’s preoccupation with missiles this is perhaps not surprising. The two new ships appear to have a maximum speed of 2,600 kps, considerably slower than the refitted Blucher class cruiser’s demonstrated maximum speed of 4,000 kps.
April, 2019
The African Union launches two 4,000 ton ships from its orbital yards. While the Union has been launching a steady stream of 4,000 and 1,000 ton ships over the last few years, these two new ships stand out. Long-range optical surveys reveal that fully 60% of the ship’s mass is devoted to three large sensor arrays. Alliance Naval Intelligence analysts believe that the African Navy is attempting to overcome its sensor technology deficiencies with sheer size.
Immediately after launching the two ships split up. One, joined by two African warships, departs on what appears to be a survey of the inner system. It heads for Mercury, and then from there into the Asteroid Belt, where it makes a leisurely circuit of the entire belt. The other remains in Earth orbit for now.
May, 2019
The Indian gravitic survey of the solar system is 73% complete. Their second gravitic survey ship will be complete later this month, while the third will launch next year. The Indians will launch Humanity’s first interstellar ship in September of this year. So far, they have been able to maintain secrecy and none of the other nations are suspicious of their activities.
June, 2019
Alliance cybernetic teams on Mars recover an Ancient terraforming installation. The installation is perfectly preserved, and the Martian Colonial Government immediately puts it to work fine-tuning Mars’ atmosphere.
In the meantime, the African scout ship has completed its circuit of the solar system, ending at Neptune. It beams its findings back to African Naval Command on Earth, setting into motion a series of events that will threaten to drag the entire solar system into war.
Upon receipt of the message on Earth, the African government begins preparations for moving large numbers of troops and materiel.
July 8, 2019
The African scouting group returns to orbit from its mission. The two warships escorting the scout immediately upon returning peel off and join their fellow orbiting warships. Shortly thereafter, the sole African freighter begins loading unidentified cargo. At the same time, the lone African troop transport begins loading the 1st African Marine Division.
The other nations are slow to take note of these developments. Africa is considered by most to be a minor player at best, and its lack of solar colonies has convinced the other nations that it has no ambitions in this area. Therefore it isn’t until the African troops are actually unloading on the Moon that the other nations awake to the fact that something is going on. By the time the various intelligence agencies had become aware of African activities and had passed the information up the chain to their political masters, the African transport had returned, loaded the second wave of troops, and was on its way to the Moon again.
By that point alarms were sounding all over the planet as the governments became aware that something was going on. Ambassadors were called in and calls were placed. Throughout it all the African government remained silent. Finally, seven hours after the first troops began unloading on the Moon, the African government issued the following statement:
“The African Union, on behalf of its citizens, whose essential productivity and good natures have for too long been abused and taken advantage of by the other nations, hereby claims the Moon as sovereign African territory. African troops are even now digging in to secure Africa’s newest province, and any interference with Africa’s legitimate operations within its territory by any other nation will be met by deadly force.”
The announcement sent reverberations around the world. Every government secretly viewed the Moon as its own territory, even though none had bothered to garrison it. In addition, all of the governments viewed the Moon as a last resort for trans-newtonian minerals, all of which were available there, albeit at low availability levels. Each government had an emergency backup plan of shifting mines to the Moon once resources began to run out elsewhere, and now, with the African seizure of the Moon, those plans were threatened. The Africans, who had been minor players only hours ago, were now in possession of what could be Mankind’s last and best source of trans-newtonian minerals. That could not be allowed.
Moments later the Shogun of the Japanese Empire sent a message to the Ambassadors of the other four nations informing them Her Majesty’s government supported the African Union in its determination to provide for the future of the African people. The message indicated that the Japanese Fleet stood ready to support the Africans, should anyone be foolish enough to try to interfere with their legitimate exercise of national power. Even before the Japanese government issued its statement of support the Imperial Japanese fleet was on the move. The Japanese Fleet was en route to a position 75,000 kilometers from the Moon, in between the Moon and Earth.
The Alliance government denounced the African seizure of the Moon and called for the Africans to withdraw immediately. In response to the rapidly soaring tensions on Earth, the Alliance Navy High Command ordered all units to leave Earth orbit and move to holding stations equidistant from the Earth and the Moon. Unfortunately, the bulk of the Alliance Fleet was scattered throughout the inner system on training exercises and would take anywhere from eighteen hours to a day and a half to return. The only combat units currently in orbit and ready for action were the battlecruiser Nayarit and ten Admiral class destroyers.
The Reich government soon followed the Alliance’s lead and issued a strongly worded denunciation followed by an order for its ships to withdraw from Earth’s orbit. The Reich also had some ships out on maneuvers, although not as many as the Alliance. Unfortunately, both Hessen class battleships were on the far side of the Sun, just outside of Mercury’s orbit, and would take twenty-one hours to return.
The Indian government called for calm, and offered to broker negotiations between the other nations. Not wanting its ships to be caught in the crossfire, the Indian government also ordered its ships to move away from Earth. Virtually the entire Indian Navy was in the Asteroid Belt on exercises, and would take just over a day to return.
That left the Russian government. The Russians were still smarting from the loss in the Second Sino-Soviet war, and their resource extraction capabilities were only now returning to what they were before they lost Titan. Losing the Moon was bad, but seeing the Japanese align themselves with the Africans was worse. The Premier ordered the Russian Space Fleet to full readiness and called in the Indian Ambassador. The two nations had signed a secret trade and defense treaty some months before, and the Premier now claimed that the Moon belonged to all nations, therefore its seizure by the Japanese and Africans constituted an offensive act against both their nations, as defined by the treaty. Further, the Premier stated that the USSR would act unilaterally to protect the interests of all mankind, if they were forced to do so.
The Indian Ambassador to the USSR communicated the Russian Premier’s requirements to her government as quickly as possible. While the communiqués were crossing back and forth, the African troop transport was loading more troops for their new base on the Moon. While the Indians were still digesting the message from the USSR, and the Reich and the Alliance governments were trying to come to a consensus as to what to do, the African troop transport left orbit with two more divisions, bound for the Moon.
Incensed that the Africans were ignoring them, and convinced that the Japanese had joined in to embarrass the USSR, the Premier issued an ultimatum, stating that if the African transport returned to Earth it would be shot down. The Russian fleet was ordered to move into position behind the transport, barring the route back to Earth. The Russian and Japanese Fleets were now just 170,000 kilometers apart. Russian, then Japanese and African ground bases lit off their sensors, and soon thereafter the fleets activated their sensors. In every major city on the planet nuclear alarms began sounding and citizens began evacuating to shelters.
While sirens sounded in downtown New Delhi, the President of the Republic made a quick decision. The Republic was dead set against a war over the resources of the Moon, because in a matter of months their gravitic survey of the solar system would be done. Not long after that they would begin probing other systems and the resources of entire solar systems would be mankinds for the taking. Compared to that the Moon was small potatoes. A war now would ruin everything, destroying the Republic just before its triumph. In a desperate attempt to avoid a disastrous war, the President called the Premier direct and told him about their “breakthrough”.
The Premier was rocked by this news and demanded proof. In the end the Indian President agreed to send complete information on Jump Theory, enough to allow the Soviets to begin researching gravitic survey instruments and jump engines almost immediately. After consulting with his chief scientists the Premier decided to allow the Africans and the Japanese to take the Moon. Even as the African transport began its return trip to the Earth the Premier ordered his fleet to stand down and return to its holding station away from Earth.
If the Africans and the Japanese were shocked at the meek reaction by the USSR they didn’t show it. Of course, they still had the Alliance and the Reich to deal with. Even as the Premier and the President of India discussed the jump drive, the President of the Alliance and the Kaiser were in a teleconference, discussing their response to the African seizure of the Moon. Their options were limited. While their combined fleets were surely strong enough to take on the combined fleets of the Japanese and Africans, and their strategic nuclear forces and ground forces were far superior to those of the allied nations, any conflict on or around Earth would be very destructive. Both had relied on a policy of Mutual Assured Destruction to avoid a potentially disastrous military buildup on and around Earth, but that policy now worked against them. The Japanese and Africans had enough missiles on Earth to seriously damage or destroy both the Reich and the Alliance, and because of the reliance on MAD neither of the major powers had any defense against the other nation’s nuclear forces.
The next hour was tense, but in the end the Reich and the Alliance decided to rely on negotiations to gain access to the Moon if they needed it. Both reasoned that even if the negotiations failed they would still have more than enough military strength to force access if they needed it.
The crisis passed, and eventually everyone’s military forces returned to their original positions, with the exception of the Africans, who were busy establishing a military and economic base on the Moon.
September 18, 2019
India completes its survey of the solar system and when the final gravitic survey information is integrated into the warp map of the solar system Indian scientists discover that Humanity’s home system has no less than nine jump points!
September 24, 2019
The first Ganga class jump ship is launched from the Indian orbital yards. The Indian government has issued statements claiming that this ship is a scientific research and support ship for the ongoing solar survey effort.
After a short period the Ganga, along with a Raiput class cruiser, leaves orbit headed for Jump Point #4. The Indian government has decided to avoid Jump Points 1-3 for now, as JP #1 is just outside of Earth’s orbit and currently very close to Earth, JP #2 is just inside of Mars’ orbit, and JP #3 is in the asteroid belt. A ship jumping out of the solar system through any of these JP’s might be seen, and sooner or later someone would come to investigate. The small task group will reach JP #4 in just under twenty days.
October 14, 2019
The Indian squadron transits out of the solar system. (See separate post – Voyage of the Ganga)
October 20, 2019, 0020 hours
The Battle of the Moon (see separate post – Battle of the Moon)
November 1, 2019
The Treaty of New Delhi is signed between the African Confederation and the Indian Republic, with the Alliance, the Reich, and the Japanese Empire as cosigners. Africa agrees to scrap all warships under construction and to cease building any and all warships characterized as “First strike” missile boats like those they deployed prior to the Battle of the Moon. To verify their compliance, Africa is forced to allow Indian inspectors access to their shipyards. In addition, Africa agreed to reparations to India for the losses they suffered at the hands of the African fleet. Finally, the African Confederation, and by extension Japan, is forced to agree in principle to the concept that the Moon belongs to Mankind in general, and to no one nation. In exchange, Africa is allowed to keep their assets currently on the Moon.
Intelligence Report, December 2019
Alliance
The Alliance now maintains two extra-planetary colonies, the Mars Colony and Asteroid Resource Extraction Base (AREB) #1. The Mars Colony now boasts 59.5 million colonists and is a mining powerhouse for Alliance industry. Approximately 40% of the resources mined by Alliance mining corporations are extracted on Mars, and this percentage will go up as Earth’s resources are inevitably exhausted. AREB-1 is now at its full projected capacity of 102 automated mining complexes, and will exhaust the primary resources of the asteroid within approximately one year. Stellar Resources, the consortium that put together the AREB program, is now scouting new sites for the project.
The Alliance has no immediate plans to emplace mines on the Moon, in spite of the recent battle over access rights. Although Lunar resources are known to be immense, they are relatively inaccessible, and the Alliance intends to exploit other, more accessible deposits first.
The Alliance Navy is undergoing a reorganization based on its experience in the Battle of the Moon. Firsthand exposure to the Reich’s capabilities and tactics has given the Alliance commanders and planners much to think about in terms of the best possible way to deploy Alliance assets.
Currently, the Alliance maintains three colonial defense stations on Mars, each capable of launching two planetary defense missiles per minute, and a planetary defense anti-missile station capable of launching twelve anti-missiles every five seconds. In addition, the 1st Colonial Army, which is composed of ten divisions, is based on Mars.
The European Reich
The Reich’s Venus colony is composed of 42.6 million residents. Based several recent close flybys by Alliance scouts, the Reich has greatly expanded its construction and mining capabilities on Venus. In addition, the Reich has established a naval base on Venus capable of servicing all but its largest ships. The state of the Reich’s defenses on Venus are unknown, but are suspected to be approximately equivalent to those that the Alliance maintains on Mars.
The Reich has established a large listening post on Tethys to watch the Japanese operations on Titan, and in addition, the Reich has established at least four listening posts in the asteroid belt. Alliance Naval Intelligence suspects that there are more listening posts scattered throughout the solar system, but has had no luck in locating them.
Analysis of orbital surveillance has shown that the Reich’s Earth-based construction and mining capacity has surpassed that of the Alliance, which has caused much consternation amongst the Alliance Council of Ministers.
Relative Ship Strengths:
Battleships
Reich: 2
Alliance: 0
Battlecruisers
Reich: 0
Alliance: 6
Cruisers
Reich: 13
Alliance: 12
Destroyers
Reich: 22
Alliance: 28
Survey Ships (one each)
Freighters
Reich: 16
Alliance: 14
Colony Ships
Reich: 4
Alliance: 2
Troop Transports
Reich: 2
Alliance: 2
While many within both governments thought that the joint action in The Battle of the Moon would foster closer relations between the Alliance and the Reich, the opposite is actually true. The growing concern over resources is overshadowing everything, and both of the major nations are eyeing each other as their major competitor. This is caused a general cooling in relations between the two powers.
USSR
The USSR has established two extra-planetary resource extraction efforts, one with approximately thirty automated mines on an asteroid, and the second with approximately forty automated mines on Oberon, a moon of Neptune. Surveillance efforts have confirmed that the USSR has not deployed any fixed defenses to either site, but they have deployed at least one mobile infantry division to each site to protect their investment.
The USSR did not participate in the Battle of the Moon, a fact that has caused more than a little consternation in Alliance Naval Intelligence. NI’s assessment prior to the battle was that it was very likely that the USSR would become involved in the battle if the Japanese did, in order to punish the Japanese for their humiliating defeat off of Titan. The USSR’s non-involvement remains a mystery as the Soviet government has refused to comment on the matter.
Alliance orbital surveillance of the USSR has revealed the following information concerning their economy/military strength in relation to the Alliance’s:
Construction Capacity: 68% (+8% change from 2017)
Mining Capacity: 83% (no change)
Shipyards: 2/7 compared to 4/11
Divisions: 43 compared to 30 Alliance divisions
The USSR People’s Space Navy is currently composed of twelve 6,000 ton cruisers, fourteen 3,500 ton destroyers, three 3,500 ton troop transports, two colony ship, seven freighters, and one survey ship. The cruiser’s armament is now known to be rail guns and gauss cannons, and the cruisers are known to be heavily armored.
The USSR has largely withdrawn from international affairs over the last year.
Japanese Empire
The Japanese maintain approximately 140 mining complexes to Titan, and the Empire has shipped approximately ten divisions to the moon to protect their interests.
Alliance orbital surveillance of the Empire has revealed the following information concerning their economy/military strength in relation to the Alliance’s:
Construction Capacity: 55% (+4% from 2017)
Mining Capacity: 71% (+4% from 2017)
Shipyards: 2/7 compared to 4/11
Divisions: 28 compared to 30 Alliance divisions
The Imperial Japanese Space Navy is composed of seven 6,000 ton cruisers, eight 3,500 ton destroyers, two 3,500 ton troop transports, seven freighters, one colony ship, and one survey ship. The IJN suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Moon, and has not recovered as of yet.
Indian Republic
The Indian Republic surprised the world when they attacked African ships at the height of the Battle of the Moon. Their revelation of the facts surrounding the attack on their fleet and the proof that they had carefully maintained decisively turned world opinion against Africa and led to an Indian brokered peace settlement.
Alliance orbital surveillance of the Republic has revealed the following information concerning their economy/military strength in relation to the Alliance’s:
Construction Capacity: 25% (no change)
Mining Capacity: 31% (no change)
Shipyards: 2/5 compared to 4/11
Divisions: 32 compared to 30 Alliance divisions
The Republic has fielded a space fleet composed of five 5,500 ton cruisers, six smaller warships ranging from 2,850 tons to 3,500 tons, one troop transport, eleven freighters, and four science vessels of various classes.
African Confederation
The African Confederation lost nearly their entire space fleet during the Battle of the Moon. The Indian Republic agreed to leave them one ship, their survey ship, to pick up the life pods from their other ships. In addition, the Treaty of New Delhi forced the Confederation to scrap all warships under construction. The Confederation has recently begun reconfiguring their medium sized shipyard to build a troop transport so that their ground troops deployed to the Moon can be relieved.
Alliance orbital surveillance of the Union has revealed the following information concerning their economy/military strength in relation to the Alliance’s:
Construction Capacity: 25% (no change)
Mining Capacity: 45% (+1% change)
Shipyards: 2/5 compared to 4/11
Divisions: 39 compared to 30 Alliance divisions
