Author’s Note: Alliance ship designs are at the end, as are the Alliance’s best guess as to the capabilities of the ships involved in this battle.
September 3, 2019
The President of the Alliance shook her head as she put the red phone down and turned to her advisors. “Well, that’s it. The Kaiser is convinced that the Africans aren’t negotiating in earnest, and that they do not intend to relinquish control over the Moon under any circumstances. And I have to say that I agree. After all, if they were serious they wouldn’t be tying their situation on the Moon to our nation’s control of Mars and Venus. Or am I wrong?”
There was a lull in the room as the advisors looked at each other. Finally, Emmet Granholme III grimaced and spoke. “Well, you can hardly blame them for trying to tie their actions in seizing the Moon to ours and the Reich’s actions when we seized Mars and Venus.”
The other Ministers looked at Granholme like he was a bug that had crawled into the room and was likely to scuttle out with a choice tidbit in his claws if they let him. Ever since being appointed Minister of Foreign Relations he had been warning that that particular rooster would come home to roost, and some in the administration had been convinced that he had been using his position to make sure that exactly that happened.
The President shook her head again. “Right or wrong, like it or not, this administration has stood firm on the principle that Mars is Alliance sovereign territory. We recognized the Japanese and Russian seizure of Titan in this same principle; however, we cannot and will not stand by and allow the Africans to seize what may be the last, best, source of trans-newtonian resources in the solar system.” She paused, but then continued before Granholme could build up steam for his counterargument. “The Kaiser and I are in complete agreement. The Africans must be convinced that the Moon belongs to humanity as a whole, not any one nation. Therefore, our nations will cooperate in a military mission to open the Moon up for exploitation, regardless of the desires of the Africans. Admiral Baldassano, I want you and your people to work with the Reich Raumarine to develop a plan to place Alliance and Reich troops on the Moon before the end of the year. Can you do that?”
Admiral Baldassano grinned. “You bet we can. We’ll have Marines on the Moon before the end of the year, and once those Marines are there, no one will dig them out!”
October 20, 2019, 0020 hours
Alliance City Class Cruiser London, in Earth orbit
Captain Connie Risper looked around her bridge in pride. She had worked long and hard to get where she was, and once here she had done her best to build a cohesive team that could work together to meet any challenge that might be thrown their way. And now they had their opportunity to show what they could do. In less than five minutes Operation Lunar Strike would commence, and the London would play a significant role in the battle.
Once again she looked around the bridge and saw her people hard at work. God she loved this ship! Even better, they were finally going to prove that they were the best in the fleet.
“Sir, we are coming up on time point alpha in one minute.”
“Very well. Defense Officer, is your department ready?”
“We are ready for initiation at your command, sir.”
“Very well.” She looked around the bridge one last time and then it was time. “Defense Officer, you may initiate.” She turned to the Sensor officer and nodded to her as well. Both officers turned to their stations and punched in the commands necessary to carry out their orders. Within seconds the cruiser’s sensors and shields went active.
“Sir, shields are coming up now. All lasers are charged and slaved to point defense fire controls.”
“Sir, the active sensor array is powered up. Information is being routed to the plot now.”
Everyone on the bridge turned to the plot, but the now information from the active sensors resulted in only minor changes. This close to Earth there was little that happened that didn’t get picked up by the huge sensor arrays on the ground and in orbit.
“Sir, we have orbit changes taking place!” The sensor officer was frantically keying in orders to her systems, and in seconds the changes appeared on the plot.
Captain Risper turned in surprise. It was too early for anyone else to react! “What! Who is it?”
“Sir, it is our civilian ships. They’ve broken orbit early! And now the Reich civilian ships are leaving as well!”
“Damn it! Has the flag signaled them?”
“Negative, no signal from the flag.”
“Very well, we’ll just have deal with this as it happens.” Damned civilians. As usual they had either misunderstood the plan or had decided to get out as soon as they could. She hunched forward, peering at the plot. The civilians were supposed to wait until the Alliance and Reich fleets were ready to move out. By leaving early they would alert the Africans that something was going on that much earlier. After a few seconds she shook her head. Short of shooting at the civilians there was little they could do about what was going on, and she was fairly sure that the Admiral wouldn’t see the humor in such a request.
Captain Risper’s attention returned to the plot, and she focused on the Moon and the African ships hanging over it. The Africans had twenty three ships there. The African warships ranged from 1,000 tons to 3,000 tons, substantially smaller than the London, but no one actually knew what their capabilities were. She wished they had more intelligence on their actual capabilities, but even so, the entire might of the Alliance and the Reich was assembled in orbit. Fleet command had even pulled ships out of long scheduled overhauls, and no ships had gone into refit since the mission planning started. That meant that the Alliance could field six 9,600 ton battlecruisers, ten 6,500 ton cruisers like the London, and twenty-six 4,600 ton destroyers. In addition the Reich had two 12,000 battleships, thirteen 6,500 ton cruisers, and twenty 3,600 ton destroyers in orbit and ready for the operation. That was a pretty heavy tonnage imbalance in their favor, and the Africans were known to be behind the Reich and the Alliance in technology. Still, in spite of all of that, no one actually knew what was going to happen, and neither the Reich Raumarine or the Alliance Navy had ever actually fought a battle with the new weapons. Or any weapons at all, to be honest.
“Sir, the Reich destroyer groups have engaged their engines and are moving out as planned.”
Risper’s trained eyes picked out the plots for the Reich destroyers. As per the plan they were to move out to flanking positions on either side of the Fleet’s course to the Moon. The Reich planners were closed mouth about their capabilities, but they had assured the Alliance’s officers that the destroyers would add little to the Fleet’s defense capabilities and that they would be better placed away from the other ships. They were moving out now at 5,000 kps, just within the maximum speed for her cruiser. Risper grimaced as the thought occurred to her that the Reich almost certainly wasn’t revealing the true maximum speed of their destroyers, which likely put it substantially above that of her own ship.
“Sir, the Japanese and Indians are bringing their shields and sensors up as well, and all known civilian ships have begun moving away from Earth.”
Now Risper could see that ships were exploding away from Earth in numerous directions as the civilians tried to get away from what was coming. Risper wondered what the Africans were making of what was going on. They’d be foolish to fight, but history was littered with foolish decisions.
Mogadishu, Capital of the African Confederation
Deep in a bunker buried outside of the capital, High Stalker Anen stood in a small conference room, facing a screen on a wall. The screen currently showed the Office of the Diktat, and it was obvious that the Diktat and his advisors were unhappy with the current turn of events.
“Yes sir, there can be no other interpretation. The Reich and the Alliance are preparing for a move on our forces guarding the Moon. The signs are clear. Our forces here and on the Moon stand ready. What are your orders?”
The Diktat scowled and glanced at his advisors. Their faces were inscrutable, but every one had been for seizing the Moon earlier this year. If the Diktat abandoned the Moon now, they would blame its loss on him and after such a loss of face he would be lucky to survive to the end of the year. On the other had, none were advocating taking action to salvage their position on the Moon now, because they didn’t want to be blamed if things went wrong. Everything was on the Diktat’s shoulders, and he knew it. After a few seconds the Diktat slammed his fist into the table in front of him. “They are trying to deny the African people their birthrights! Order the fleet to fight!”
The High Stalker stiffened to attention and saluted, but the screen had already gone blank. Anen’s mind was racing as he walked out of the conference room and into the Defense Center’s main communications room. “Raise the Fleet!”
Techs scrambled to obey as Anen considered his next move. By the time Great Hunter Amenope was on the line he knew what he had to do. “Great Hunter, we have our orders. You will stop anyone from landing troops on the Moon using whatever force you deem necessary. Do not fire on any ship until it moves towards your position, but do not hesitate to fire if they do so. Do you understand?”
The scowl on Amenope’s face didn’t change when he received his orders, but then he knew what the score was. His fleet was designed for hit and run actions, not a standup battle. They had little chance of surviving the coming action and he knew it. Still, they couldn’t allow the other nations to walk over the African people without a fight, as they had for hundreds of years. “Very well. I leave it to you to make our sacrifice count. Amenope out.”
“I will, old friend, I will.” Anen turned from the console lost in thought. The Diktat was a good man, and had tried to be a good ruler over the years, but recently he had fallen under the sway of “yes men” and men of vast ambition but little achievement. It wasn’t like the old days when they had fought the oppressors side by side, and they had known personally everyone of consequence in the government.
Anen looked around his command center. Yes, he thought after a minute, he trusted his aides and his staff implicitly. Most of them had been with him for over a decade.
He looked up at the plot again, and his face twisted with anger at the sight of the fleet hanging over the Moon. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be! His plan had been perfect! The whole reason he had pushed for the scout ships in the first place was to identify all of the colonies the other powers had placed in the distant corners of the system. Then, instead of deploying their fleet to the Moon, under his plan the fleet would be dispersed throughout the system to locations where they would be within range of the other power’s colonies, but far enough away to be out of sight. Then, if the other powers tried to force their way on to the Moon, then they could issue an ultimatum to the other powers, telling them that if they tried to undo Africa’s legal annexation of the Moon, that Africa’s fleet would undo their illegal annexation of the other planets, moons, and asteroids of the Solar System. After a few missiles landed on their precious colonies, the other powers would have no choice but to buckle under and grant Africa sole control of the Moon. The beauty of the plan was that it played to the strengths of their fleet, unlike the current plan, which he was convinced would fail on the fleet’s weaknesses.
He grimaced as he remembered that conversation. The Diktat had been livid when he had pointed out that their fleet was more suited to hit and run tactics than a stand up fight. He hadn’t wanted to hear the truth, and it was only later that Anen had realized that the other power brokers in the Confederation had purposefully trapped the Diktat in an untenable situation to break or overthrow him.
That thought galvanized Anen. Such a move could only entail his death or imprisonment, and that was only if he survived the inevitable defeat of the fleet. He turned to his chief aide. “Get me High Hunter Meryetre at the 48th Assault Division’s encampment. Now!”
Alliance City Class Cruiser London, in Earth orbit
“Engage!” Captain Risper settled back into her combat couch and watched in awe as the fifty nine ships of the combined Alliance and Reich fleets moved out of orbit. For all that the formation was more than a little ragged, it was still an awe inspiring sight. The fleets left orbit in two groups, Alliance and Reich. Both groups assumed a similar formation, with two troop transports buried at the center, flanked by either battlecruisers or battleships, and surrounded by cruisers and destroyers. The troop transports were the whole reason for the operation, and they must be protected at any cost.
“Status change! The African fleet is leaving Lunar orbit!”
Captain Risper’s eyes moved from the Earth portion of the plot to the Moon, and saw that the African forces were running from the oncoming fleets, but whether they were denying battle or trying to gain room to fight wasn’t obvious. The African fleet had split into two portions, with one made up of the thirteen 3,000 ton ships, while the other was composed of ten 1,000 ton ships. The smaller ships had accelerated to a brisk 4,000 kps, while the larger ships were poking along at 2,500 kps. “Very well. Maintain watch on the Japanese warships in orbit behind us. Leave the Africans for the missile ships.” If the Japanese moved it would be her ship, and the other Alliance cruisers, that would be on the spot. She intended to make sure that the London would be the first ship to spot such a move, if it happened.
“Missile launch detected! One hundred and eight…now one hundred and sixty missiles in bound from the African Fleet. Targets are confirmed in both the Reich and Alliance fleet. The missiles are closing in two waves at 10,000 kps. Time to impact, twenty five seconds.” The sensor officer’s voice had gone monotone as the stress forced him into a trained rote cadence, delivering the information the other officers needed.
“Alright everyone, this is it. Defense officer, confirm lasers charged and slaved to point defense fire control?”
All lasers are charged and ready, fire control shows ready on point blank fleet defense settings. The ship rumbled as the two big laser turrets traversed under AI control. At the front of the ship the limited traverse 15 cm main batteries were traversing as well, slaved to the same fire control as the turrets.
“Targets confirmed, the Normandy and the Tarawa, as well as the two Reich transports!”
Tension mounted in Captain Risper as the import of that announcement sank in. It wasn’t a surprise, of course, but still, the thought that the London and her sister ships, along with the other ships of the fleet, were all that stood between thousands of soldiers and a bloody and fiery death was sobering.
“Missile launch from the Reich ships! Forty nine missiles, outbound at 12,000 kps!”
“That’s the Reich anti-missiles we’ve heard about. I hope they are as good as the Germans claim.” Captain Risper sank into her couch as she watched the anti-missiles race away from the fleet, towards the oncoming enemy missiles.
“Multiple missile launches detected, all from fleet ships. Missile wave outbound towards the African ships.”
Risper could see one hundred and fifty eight allied missiles outbound towards the enemy ships. She grimaced when she noted that the Alliance salvo was noticeably late and more than a little ragged compared to the Reich missile launch. That didn’t matter as much as it might, given the fact that the smaller Alliance missiles were a third faster than the bigger Reich missiles.
Everyone on the bridge watched the plot with baited breath as the first wave of anti-missiles approached the African missile swarm. The two missile salvoes merged, then the African missile salvo emerged, reduced by eighteen missiles. The Reich ships got off a second, last second, anti-missile salvo, but the first wave of missiles was too close and the anti-missiles were vectored towards the lagging second group of missiles launched just after the first. Space around the fleet erupted in an intricate tracery of laser fire as the laser armed Alliance cruisers and destroyers fought desperately to keep the enemy missiles away from the vulnerable transports at the heart of the fleet. Dozens of missiles died as Alliance lasers swatted them from space, but there were too many to stop.
Captain Risper and her bridge crew watched in horror as twelve missiles streaked towards the two big Reich transports. Four peeled off and plunged into the lead transport, while eight swung past the lead ship and slammed into the second transport. Risper gasped as explosions blossomed around the two ships, neither of which had shields. Both ships disappeared into the explosions and Risper feared for the worst, but then the two ships sailed clear of the explosions, apparently none the worse for wear. Risper shook her head, wondering how thick the armor on those two ships was.
While all eyes in the fleet were fixed on the Reich transports the two Alliance transports were hit by a total of four missiles, but their heavy shielding stopped the missiles cold. The combined fleets had withstood the first missile wave and Reich anti-missiles were already winnowing the second wave of African missiles, and then Alliance lasers took their toll, leaving nine missiles to slam into the two Reich transports. Once again the transports weathered the storm, again leaving Risper to wonder just how thick their armor was.
Even as the Alliance and Reich fleets were weathering the storm, others were panicking below…
Tokyo, Imperial Japanese Capital
“Cho-sho Kasuda I have my orders from the Empress herself! You are to assist the Africans by disabling or destroying the American and German transports. You will have the assistance you demanded. Do you understand your orders?”
Cho-sho Kasuda stood at attention in his commander station buried deep within Homeland Defense Center One. His face revealed nothing, but he was appalled at this turn of events. An order from the Empress could not be refused, such a thought was impossible, but this was madness! He had thought that the assistance he had asked for would be refused, which would give him a tenable position to refuse the orders. Madness! “My orders are understood, and will be obeyed!” Turning from the wall mounted viewer, the Cho-sho ordered the attack to begin by focusing on the biggest of the Reich and Alliance ships, in the hopes that the heart of the allied fleets could be ripped out in one stroke.
Alliance City Class Cruiser London, in between Earth and the Moon
“Missiles closing on the African Fleet! Impacting in five…four…three…no defensive fires detected! Impact!”
All eyes turned to the plot, where it was instantly obvious that the Africans had grievously miscalculated. Reich and Alliance missiles were tearing apart the African ships, none of which had shields. The computers set to analyze the strike were indicating that the African ships had some armor, but obviously not enough. The allied missile strike was ripping them up. In seconds all but four were gone, and those were living on borrowed time as the remaining allied missiles reoriented on them.
“Missile launch detected!” The sensor officer’s voice was rising as the unexpected launch frayed his nerves. “Forty missiles inbound from the Imperial Japanese Fleet…wait…wait…Planetary Missile Launch Detected! Thirty two planetary missiles rising from IJN ground bases!”
“Damn! Reorient defenses to the rear! Radical course change 180 degrees, full speed towards the Japanese Fleet!” This was the moment that the London and her sister ships had been waiting for. The Japanese-African alliance was an unknown factor, and no one had been able to predict how the Japanese would react when Lunar Strike kicked off. The London and the other City class cruisers of the Alliance fleet had been tasked with blocking the IJN from the rest of the Alliance and Reich ships. Of all of the ships in both fleets, the City class cruisers were the best for the job, built to get in close and slug it out.
Risper’s eyes fixed on the missile icon representing the planetary missiles. That was the wild card no one had allowed for. Because of their size, planetary missiles were generally held to be ship killers, and they had to be responded to. However, such a response would cause untold death and destruction on the surface of the planet, so such a strike could only be authorized by the national command authority. This operation had just taken a huge step towards unleashing a storm that could destroy the entire planet…
Washington, D.C., Capital of the Alliance
And Tokyo, Capital of Imperial Japan
The tension in the command center had rocketed when the missile launch was detected. Still, this contingency had been planned for, and in seconds the President was on the hotline to the Shogun. The President had lost the coin toss with the Kaiser to determine who would make the call.
The conversation was short and sweet. “Shogun, if any more missiles are launched from planetary bases, the forces of the Alliance and the Reich will target the ground bases belonging to that government and destroy them with any and all forces under our control. We will not allow another launch.”
The Shogun was noncommittal and signed off quickly. In truth, the Japanese had never intended to launch more than that first wave. Either it would overwhelm allied defenses in conjunction with the ship-borne missiles, or it wouldn’t and a second wave wouldn’t be needed.
Alliance City Class Cruiser London, in between Earth and the Moon
The death of the last four African ships went unnoticed as the allied fleets turned their attention back towards Earth and the IJ Fleet. Ten Alliance cruisers, including the London, fell away from the fleet, turning back towards Earth and the new threat. The Imperial Japanese fleet had split into two, with four missile cruisers protected by four destroyers retreating from the combined fleet, and two cruisers and five destroyers headed straight towards the allied fleets.
“Missile launch detected! Launches detected by both Reich destroyer squadrons. Missile count is now two hundred…repeat, two hundred missiles outbound towards the Imperial Japanese missile cruisers.”
Risper gaped at the plot as the implications sunk in. The Reich had been cagey as to the exact capabilities of their destroyers, and there had been a lot of speculation. Now it appeared that the Alliance was going to have to change its estimation of their likely capabilities. Ten missiles each was a broadside worthy of a battleship or battlecruiser.
“Target clarification. The Japanese missiles are targeted on the Reich Battleships and the Alliance BC’s Nayarit and California.”
Risper shook her head and returned to the task at hand. The capabilities of the Reich destroyers were a problem for the future. Turning back to the close-range plot, Risper could see that the Japanese missile strike was going to be trouble. The Japanese had obviously upgraded their ship-borne missiles as the last time anyone had seen their missiles they had a max speed of 10,700 kps, while the missiles racing at them now had a max speed of 18,700 kps. Fortunately, the Japanese planetary missiles were much slower at 12,700 kps, and had fallen behind.
Captain Risper, and everyone else on the bridge, held their breath as the Japanese missiles raced for the big ships at the heart of the combined fleets. The plot made it clear that the Reich anti-missiles, which had been racing towards the now-destroyed African fleet, were out of position and racing back to interpose themselves in between the fleet and the oncoming missiles. What wasn’t clear was whether they would make it in time or not.
Tension mounted on the bridge as the Japanese missiles raced past the Alliance cruisers and plunged towards the combined fleets. At the last second a salvo of Reich anti-missiles raced past the fleet ships and immolated themselves against the Japanese missiles, taking out twenty-two Japanese missiles, leaving eighteen to Alliance point defense lasers. Once again the Alliance lasers reached out in a desperate tracery, searching for the incoming missiles whose only defense was speed. As before the Alliance lasers performed well, taking out all of the Japanese missiles aimed at Alliance ships. Three Japanese missiles made their way through everything the allied fleets could throw at them and slammed into the Reich BB Hessen’s shields, greatly reducing the big ship’s relatively weak shields.
Even as the Japanese missiles immolated themselves, missiles began spilling from the cruisers, battlecruisers, and battleships of the combined fleet, all aimed at the seven Japanese cruisers and destroyers racing towards the Alliance and Reich fleets.
Captain Risper and the crew of the London saw none of that, though, as they were otherwise occupied with the Japanese ships, which were now within 80,000 kilometers.
Her voice taking a crisp tone, Captain Risper began issuing orders. “Transfer the main batteries to Weapons control. Weaps, conform to the targeting plan downloaded from the flagship. Defense, you will retain control of the turrets for now. Helm, continue to close on the enemy, conforming to the fleet action plan previously loaded into the computer.”
“Understood.” The various officers around the bridge echoed the sentiment and then things grew quiet as the ship’s lasers began searching for the enemy. Based on the plan, the Alliance cruisers were dividing their fire between the two enemy cruisers, ignoring the destroyers for now.
“Shields heating up! We’re taking laser fire from the enemy! Computer analysis shows the enemy is using 12 cm lasers. Multiple hits, shields down by 10%.”
“No other fleet units reporting incoming fire. Our status has been reported to the flag.”
Captain Risper settled back. The enemy appeared to be concentrating their fire on her ship exclusively. If they managed to get through their shields, the ship’s armor wouldn’t stand up to much. It certainly wasn’t near as thick as the Reich’s armor.
As the London began taking fire, the Japanese planetary missile strike was closing on the battleships and battlecruisers at the heart of the fleet. Eight heavy missiles were targeted on each battleship or battlecruiser. Hordes of anti-missiles swarmed over the incoming missile wave, and in seconds the sixteen missiles aimed at the Reich ships were destroyed just short of the fleet. Alliance lasers didn’t do quiet as well, and three big missiles slammed into the Nayarit, reducing her shields by 20% but causing no other damage. The fleets had survived the planetary missile strike.
Once again the crew of the London were focused on other matters, chiefly their engagement with the approaching Japanese ships. In response to the four laser hits the London had taken, the Alliance cruisers scored fourteen hits on the two IJN cruisers, ten on the lead ship and four on the second cruiser. Neither cruiser appeared damaged, but the lead cruiser’s shields were down.
Captain Risper had her mouth open to congratulate her crew on their firing, but before she could speak yet another launch warning sounded.
“Missile launch detected! Fifteen missiles detected, launched by Indian ground bases. Targets currently unknown!”
“What the hell?”
New Delhi, Capital of the Indian Republic
Several minutes earlier…
“Naval Intelligence is 100% sure of this, Prime Minister.”
The Prime Minister looked troubled and outraged at the same time, which was quite a feat for such a taciturn individual. “Are they certain? The actions I take could plunge this nation into war!”
“Ma’am, as you know, the only hard evidence we have about the attack on our fleet at the Comet is about the missiles the enemy used. The information we have includes their maximum speed, explosive strength, and maneuverability. The missiles deployed by the African ships in the ongoing battle above match the three known parameters of the missiles used in the Battle of the Comet exactly. None of the other missiles used so far come even remotely close. The Africans were the ones who attacked. There is no other possibility.”
“Very well, I’ll accept your assurances. But at this point the African fleet has been destroyed, hasn’t it? I will not condone launching nuclear weapons at cities, even to avenge the murdered crews of our ships.”
“There is another option, Prime Minister. The Africans have six non-military ships currently moving away from the battle. The Reich and the Alliance seem to be ignoring them for now, but these ships are the key to the African nation’s continued exploitation of off-planet resources. If we take them out, then they will have to rebuild their entire military and non-military fleet. It will be a considerable setback.”
The Prime Minister looked intrigued. Even better, the non-military crews of the targeted ships would have time to abandon ship. “Very well. You are authorized to launch on the African civilian fleet. Leave them one ship, to pick up any survivors.”
Alliance City Class Cruiser London, in between Earth and the Moon
“Communiqué from Fleet Headquarters, Sir. It reads: ‘The Indian Republic has announced a strike at the remaining African ships. This action has been taken based on irrefutable evidence that the African nation was responsible for the attack on Indian ships.’ National Command Authority has warned the Indians that any further launches will be considered a hostile act, as will any launch against targets on Earth.”
The tension on the bridge, which had already been high, spiraled even higher. Global thermonuclear war seemed closer than ever before.
“Sir, the missile strike!”
Captain Risper raised her eyes to the plot and immediately saw what the sensor officer had seen. The latest salvo of Reich anti-missiles had overtaken the Alliance missile salvo inbound for the Japanese beam ships and was busily taking the Alliance missiles out. “Damn, someone miscalculated there.” Looking around the bridge she could see that her officers were unnerved, perhaps by the possibility that the Reich had done this purposefully. “Focus people. The enemy is the IJN cruisers over there that are doing their best to take us out.” The Alliance cruisers had closed to under 20,000 kilometers, and were still seconds away from recharging their weapons. “Depending on their recharge rate, the Japanese might…” Even as she spoke, the ship’s hull rang like a bell.
“Incoming fire, sir! Multiple hits. Shields down, armor penetrated forward! Forward shield room #1 holed!” The ship lurched drunkenly as the helm AI tried to take them out of the path of the laser fire.
Captain Risper’s heart swelled with pride as she saw her crew working quietly to deal with the damage. They were good people. Her attention snapped back to the plot as the sensor officer called out.
“Allied missile salvo approaching the Japanese fleet! The Japanese destroyers are in point defense mode, engaging incoming missiles. Impact! Multiple impacts on enemy ships!”
The plot told the whole story. The Japanese point defense had done its best, but the allied missile salvo was overwhelming, even after the Reich anti-missiles had attacked it. The allied missiles ripped through the Japanese squadron, which proved to have lighter shields than the equivalent Alliance ships, but heavier armor. In any case, their protection wasn’t enough as both cruisers and all five destroyers were gutted by the missiles. Two of the destroyers were actually taken out by secondary explosions ignited when one of their engines was destroyed.
Seeing the destruction wrought on the Japanese fleet, Risper was able to breath a little easier. One more salvo of Japanese lasers would likely have gutted her ship now that their shields were down and their armor holed.
With the near threat eliminated, Risper turned her attention to the remaining IJN ships, now on the far side of the Earth and running in full flight from two hundred Reich missiles now only seconds away from wiping them out.
“Communiqué from Fleet Headquarters, Sir. It reads: Cease fire! All units are to cease fire! The Japanese government has agreed to the Reich and Alliance demands for free travel to and from the Moon.”
Captain Risper’s eyes returned to the plot to see the Reich missiles, which were literally seconds away from obliterating the Japanese fleet, go into a holding pattern in an endless circuit around the Japanese fleet. Her mouth drew out into a smile. Those two hundred missiles were intimidating as hell. The Japanese weren’t likely to do anything with those missiles running rings around them!
“Helm, rejoin the fleet, maximum speed!”
Although the Alliance and Reich crews were celebrating their victory, the battle wasn’t over yet. Fifteen Indian missiles were still racing away from Earth, towards six African ships; three scouts, a freighter, a geo-survey ship, and a troop transport. By this time the Indian government had relayed its proof and intentions to the African government, which was loudly and vociferously protesting its innocence. The Indians were indifferent to the African protestations and the missiles flew on. Finally, recognizing the inevitability of the outcome, the African government ordered their crews to abandon ship, all except the geo-survey ship, which the Indians promised to spare.
Life pods spilled from the doomed ships, and a minute later the missiles slammed into the ships, destroying them all. Indian honor was redeemed.
Mogadishu, Capital of the African Confederation
“High Hunter Meryetre is reporting, High Stalker.”
Anen concealed the stress he felt as he turned from the plot. Everything depended on the High Hunter now that the fleet was gone. The Diktat’s only hope for survival would be to offer up his military commander for a scapegoat, and Anen had no interest in that. Especially when he had advised against this course of action in the first place.
Reaching his secure office, he keyed the comm-link. “Anen here Meryetre. Report.”
“My troops are in place and await the order, High Stalker.”
“They are to move in immediately,” High Stalker Anen said without hesitation. Now was not the time to be timid. “No prisoners.”
“Very well.” High Hunter Meryetre saluted and the link flickered out.
The die was cast, and his fate was in the balance. There was nothing to do but wait. Anen removed his sidearm and laid it on his desk in front of him. After a few minutes he stirred. “Have Hunter Huy report to me immediately, along with my personal guard.” Snapping off the comm-link Anen began pacing.
Twenty two minutes later High Hunter Meryetre reported in. “It’s done. The Diktat and all of his advisors. What now, Diktat?”
Anen grunted at the accolade. “I’ve got a list. We’ve got to round up these officers and politicians before word gets out. We don’t have much time.”
“Very well, Diktat. Service to the State!”
Over the next few hours twenty middle to high ranked officers and many, many politicians were arrested and ‘disappeared’. Anen’s new regime was secure, at least for now. Of course, arresting twenty out of a grand total of officers meant that the officer corps would be crippled for the time being, but with the fleet gone that wasn’t as big a problem as it might seem.
The Indians were not as easy to satisfy. Oh, they were more than happy when Diktat Anen announced that he and his loyal troops had overthrown the previous regime for incompetence and “International Adventurism”, but they were disappointed when Anen declined to turn the deposed leaders over to them. The resulting negotiations were short, on Indian insistence, and Anen was forced to make some critical concessions. He had little choice, with his regime still not fully in charge, the African fleet destroyed, and international opinion running strongly against Africa. In the end, Anen agreed to reparations, the scrapping of warships currently under construction, and a limitation on the size and type of mobile units built by African yards in the future.
The latest international flare-up was over, and everyone looked forward to everything going back to normal, at least for a short time.
Alliance Ship Designs:
State Mk 2 class Battlecruiser 9500 tons 839 Crew 1613 BP TCS 190 TH 800 EM 2250
4210 km/s Armour 5-39 Shields 75-375 Sensors 66/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 30
Annual Failure Rate: 180% IFR: 2.5% Maintenance Capacity 2424 MSP
Magazine 280
Gen Atomics MP Drive (10) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 47.4 billion km (130 days at full power)
Republic DS Delta Class Shields (30) Total Fuel Cost 525 Litres per day
Aegis Standard Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 3 Rate of Fire 30
Gerard Standard Missile Fire Control (2) Range 37.8m km Resolution 20
Gerard Systems Class C Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 7560 Range 75.6m km Resolution 60
Cyberdyne Class C Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 66m km
The primary difference between the original State class and the Mark 2 is the substitution of magneto-plasma drives for the older Ion engines, increasing the ship’s maximum speed from 3100 kps to its current 4200 kps.
The State has no anti-missile capability, and after observing the missile-heavy Reich designs, it is likely that this ship will be heavily escorted by destroyers in any future action.
City Mk 2 class Cruiser 6300 tons 629 Crew 1124.2 BP TCS 126 TH 640 EM 1140
5079 km/s Armour 3-30 Shields 38-375 Sensors 44/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 13 PPV 26
Annual Failure Rate: 105% IFR: 1.5% Maintenance Capacity 335 MSP
Gen Atomics MP Drive (8) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 71.4 billion km (162 days at full power)
Republic DS Delta Class Shields (15) Total Fuel Cost 263 Litres per day
15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser (2) Range 180,000km TS: 5079 km/s Power 6-3 RM 3 ROF 10 6 6 6 4 3 3 2 2 2 1
Twin 10cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser Turret (2x2) Range 90,000km TS: 12800 km/s Power 6-6 RM 3 ROF 5 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
Gerard Systems PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 12800 km/s 84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Cyberdyne MB Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 3200 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Thiesen GC Fast Reactor (2) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Cyberdyne Class A Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 3360 Range 33.6m km Resolution 40
Cyberdyne Class A Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 44 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 44m km
Approximately 70% of the Alliance cruisers involved in the Battle of the Moon were of this design, with the remainder being the older Mark 1R2 design. The primary difference, as with the battlecruisers, is the addition of the magneto-plasma engines for the Mark 2, yielding a much higher speed for the upgraded units.
In the aftermath of the battle, Alliance planners are again reconsidering the City design. While it mounts twin anti-missile laser turrets and a point defense fire-control system, it doesn’t have an active sensor capable of detecting missiles at anything longer than point blank range.
Currently, the only ship available to the Alliance Navy capable of detecting missiles at long range is the class scout.
Admiral Mk 2 class Destroyer 4400 tons 414 Crew 836 BP TCS 88 TH 480 EM 750
5454 km/s Armour 3-23 Shields 25-375 Sensors 44/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 2 PPV 13
Annual Failure Rate: 77% IFR: 1.1% Maintenance Capacity 238 MSP
Gen Atomics MP Drive (6) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 102.3 billion km (217 days at full power)
Republic DS Delta Class Shields (10) Total Fuel Cost 175 Litres per day
Twin 10cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser Turret (1x2) Range 90,000km TS: 12800 km/s Power 6-6 RM 3 ROF 5 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 180,000km TS: 5454 km/s Power 6-3 RM 3 ROF 10 6 6 6 4 3 3 2 2 2 1
Gerard Systems PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 12800 km/s 84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Cyberdyne MB Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 3200 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Thiesen GC Fast Reactor (1) Total Power Output 9 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Cyberdyne Class A Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 3360 Range 33.6m km Resolution 40
Cyberdyne Class A Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 44 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 44m km
As with the larger ships, the primary difference between the Mark 1 and Mark 2 versions of this class is the addition of magneto-plasma drives. Alliance designers are currently scrambling to find a way to include an anti-missile sensor in this ship’s sensor package.
Invasion class Troop Transport 5000 tons 309 Crew 624.2 BP TCS 100 TH 420 EM 900
4200 km/s Armour 5-26 Shields 30-375 Sensors 66/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 200% IFR: 2.8% Maintenance Capacity 78 MSP
Troop Capacity 1 Divisions
Rolls Royce Ion Engine (7) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 60 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 25.7 billion km (70 days at full power)
Republic DS Delta Class Shields (12) Total Fuel Cost 210 Litres per day
Cyberdyne Class C Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 66m km
This ship is heavily armored compared to other Alliance warships, and is intended to transport and land troops under fire, if necessary.
While a Mark 2 design exists, no units of this class have been upgraded to date.
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 Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 60% IFR: 0.8% Maintenance Capacity 148 MSP
Rolls Royce Ion Engine (4) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 60 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 93.5 billion km (248 days at full power)
Cyberdyne Class Sc Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 168 Range 1.7m km Resolution 2
Cyberdyne Class S Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 5040 Range 50.4m km Resolution 20
Cyberdyne Class C Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 66 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 66m km
Cyberdyne Class S EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 44 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 44m km
The Tracker class is currently the only Alliance unit that can detect missiles at anything over point blank range. Even so, its Class Sc sensor is still not optimal for this role, and Alliance designers are considering a new sensor to fill this role.
Alliance Missile
Standard II
Size: 3
Speed: 20,000
Endurance: 21 minutes
Range: 25 million km’s
Warhead Yield: 5
Maneuverability: 21
Reich Ships:
Hessen class Battleship:
Size: 12,000 tons
Known Speed: 3,000 kps
Shield Strength: Light (Strength 15 was observed during the battle)
Armor: Heavy
Armament: Ten anti-ship missile launchers (ROF=30 seconds), five anti-missile missile launchers (ROF=10 seconds).
Notes: It is apparent from their use during this battle that the Reich considers the Hessen class to be the lynchpin of their fleet. The ship is capable of both offensive and defensive missile combat, and appears to be heavily protected by both shields and armor.
Blucher II Class Cruiser
Size: 6,500 tons
Known Speed: 4,000 kps
Shield Strength: None
Armor: Unknown – suspected to be heavy.
Armament: Six anti-ship missile launchers, three anti-missile missile launchers. (Same ROF)
Notes: The Raumarine employs the Blucher class as if it was merely a smaller version of the Hessen BB. The ship is capable of both offensive and defensive missile combat, like the Hessen, but it has a much smaller broadside capability.
Scharnhorst II Class Destroyer
Size: 3,600
Known Speed: 4,000 kps
Shield Strength: None
Armor: Unknown – suspected to be heavy.
Armament: Observed to launch ten anti-ship missiles simultaneously.
Notes: The Alliance Navy greatly miscalculated in its pre-battle analysis of the Scharnhorst’s capabilities. Prior to the battle the Alliance Navy was convinced that the Scharnhorst was primarily an anti-missile platform, much like the Alliance destroyer design. Based on information received from the Reich prior to the battle, and observations made during the battle, it is clear that that analysis was dead wrong. The Scharnhorst is an offensive platform, capable of launching large numbers of the same anti-ship missile the bigger Reich ships use. Although the total magazine space and reload time is unknown, Naval Intelligence believes that this design achieves its high launch capacity by reducing the machinery involved in reloading, sacrificing sustained fire capability for a large first-strike capability.
Reich Missiles
Anti-Ship Missile
Size: 4
Speed: 15,000
Endurance: Unknown
Range: Unknown
Warhead Yield: 8
Maneuverability: 15
Anti-Missile Missile
Size: 1
Speed: 12,000
Endurance: Unknown
Range: Unknown
Warhead Yield: 1
Maneuverability: 30
Alliance Naval Intelligence was gratified to obtain first hand observations of Reich missile technology; however, the missile performance ratings listed above are surprisingly low compared to the latest Alliance technology. NI suspects that the Reich deliberately ‘stepped-down’ its missile’s performance to feed the Alliance false information.
Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)
Missile Cruiser
Size: 6,000 tons
Known Speed: 3,000 kps
Shield Strength: 15
Armor: Unknown, suspected to be moderate
Armament: Eight anti-ship missile launchers (ROF=45 seconds)
Notes: No known anti-missile capability.
Beam Cruiser
Size: 6,000 tons
Known Speed: 3,000 kps
Shield Strength: 18
Armor: Moderate
Armament: two turrets, each with three 12 cm lasers
Notes: This class is obviously intended as a close-in slugger.
Destroyer
Size: 3,500 tons
Known Speed: 3,000 kps
Shield Strength: 8
Armor: moderate
Armament: One triple 12 cm laser turret.
Notes: This ship has been observed to act in both the anti-ship and anti-missile role.
IJN Missiles
Long Lance Anti-Ship Missile
Size: 3
Speed: 18,700
Endurance: Unknown
Range: Unknown
Warhead Yield: 3
Maneuverability: 10
Planetary Anti-ship Missile
Size: 12
Speed: 12,700
Endurance: Unknown
Range: Unknown
Warhead Yield: 8
Maneuverability: 12
African Confederation
Large Warship
Size: 3,000 tons
Known Speed: 2600 kps
Shield Strength: None
Armor: Light
Armament: Ten missile launchers (Reload time unknown, believed to be in excess of 30 seconds)
Notes: This ship is the proverbial eggshell equipped with a hammer.
Small Warship
Size: 1,000 tons
Known Speed: 4,000 kps
Shield Strength: None
Armor: Light
Armament: Three missile launchers (Reload time unknown, believed to be in excess of 30 seconds)
Notes: Give its low salvo size and defenseless nature, Alliance officers are theorizing that this ship was intended for ambush operations like the one that crippled the Indian Fleet.
African Missile
Spear Anti-Ship Missile
Size: 2
Speed: 10,000 kps
Endurance: Unknown
Range: Unknown
Warhead Yield: 2
Maneuverability: 16
AFTERMATH
Alliance
The Alliance Navy is reviewing its anti-missile procedures and capabilities, and is considering the possibility of deploying an entirely new dedicated anti-missile platform. Alliance planners do not consider the IJN to be a credible threat except in an ambush or an Earth-orbit conflict because of the IJN’s slower overall speeds.
Reich
Raumarine officers were pleased with the overall performance of the fleet, however, in light of the missile capabilities revealed during the battle, the Raumarine has decided to upgrade its missiles in the near future.
Japan
The IJN was humiliated in this battle, and is currently reviewing its capabilities. The Shogun, while initially furious with the IJN, has come to realize that the fleet was facing the two largest and most advanced navies in the solar system alone, without support. After using the defeat as an excuse to retire several officers, the Shogun has thrown his support behind a program to increase the IJN’s capability to engage threats within the local area (local Earth-moon area).
Africa
Africa’s fleet was completely wiped out, and as a result of the disastrous battle the government fell to a military led coup. The coup was largely bloodless (aside from the copious amounts of blood spilled in the national command bunker when the Diktat and his Ministers were “brought to justice”).
The new government is building a military from scratch, and is limited in the types of ships it can build by the Treaty of New Delhi. Therefore, the African government has decided to concentrate solely on maximizing its capability to wage war in and around Earth. To do so it plans on building additional planetary defense centers, including PDC’s with rapid-firing anti-ship missile launchers. In addition, heavily armed and armored orbital bases are planned, as this type of unit will not fall under the provisions of the treaty, and should be superior to the other nation’s mobile units at orbital close-range combat.
The new Diktat of the African Confederation watched closely as the two major powers threatened Japan with an overwhelming response when that country used its ground based launchers to support its fleet in orbit. The new government is hoping that by deploying bases that are oriented towards anti-shipping strikes instead of anti-population, they will avoid such a censure if they are forced to use ground based missiles in the future.
India
India is very satisfied with the way the recent war turned out, for obvious reasons. While the observations gained of the capabilities of the other nations revealed just how weak the Indian navy is compared to the other major nations, Indian shipbuilding capacity is dangerously overstretched trying to convert India’s shipping to interstellar capability.
USSR
The USSR did not participate in this battle, and its observation of the other nation’s capabilities did not give its planners any reason to change their current designs or tactics. Russia is currently in the early stages of changing its orientation towards interstellar expansion now that it is well on its way towards developing the technology that India transferred earlier in the year.
