Nemesis Campaign

[procyon (OP)]

August 2204 part 12

Overview part 2

This month had several encounters, some of which barely qualify as 'battles'.  I'll try to get most of them in.

August 22nd / The Alarm

Nemotian Forces

Patrol Vessel  1 (BG) , 2 (BG)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] / cg x1, st x1

Chinese Vessels

Survey Vessel Marco Polo (BG) , Xu Fu (BG)   FT0 / 7HS
[2] A Hs (Bsa) H H Xp Qa (cp) [4/1] / cg x2

This wasn't much of a battle, but it was actually important.  The trick was getting lucky enough for the survey vessels to live long enough to transmit a warning.  If they hadn't, the Chinese Frigates would have been at Earth instead of Venus, and China's SS there might have suffered a great deal more.  Of course, they might have made some difference in the Battle of Earth if they had been available, but it is doubtful.
As for the setting, we used the commerce raiding rules for getting off a message when attacked.  The Patrol Vessels were skimmimg the dark side of the asteroid belt trying to avoid detection or make escape possible while they were moving to make a fly by of Venus.  The Survey Vessels were in open space returning from Saturn.  If you play through the month, and don't get the message to Earth on this one, you could alter the later scenarios to leave the Chinese FG's at Earth and see what happens.
It occured to the middle boy that he could have launched the gigs to try and ensure a message gets sent (they were in range of the Venus SS comm range), and try to see if he could get the Nemotians to use up more torpedoes, but he didn't during the actual battle.


August 24th / Battle at Mars (4th or 5th ?? we had quit counting at this point)

Nemotian Forces

Patrol Vessel  17 (BG+2) , 13 (BG+1) , 25 (BG+1)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] / cg x1, st x1
4 additional cg

US Task Force 1

Interceptor MkIIb A Jackson (BG-1) , B Franklin (BG) , JFK (BG)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S S H Mgs Qa Ya Lb Ra (cpCp) [6/1] cg x1

US Support Group

US Q Ship Vigilance (BG)   FT2 / 16HS
[2] S S X Qv Qv Ya Ra H H H (Bsa) Qa (Cp) [4/1] cg x1 , gtos x1

US Survey Tender 1 (BG)   FT0 / 5 HS
[2] H X H Qa (Cp) [6/1]

US Mars Space Station (BG-1)   SS / 82HS
{0] H Qa (SY2 o o o o o o o o o o) [0}

US Mars Station Defense Modules 1 - 5 (BG-1)   SS / 12HS
{0] S S H Qa Lb Ra [0}

The object of this battle was for the Nemotians to try and destroy as many mobile warships as possible without destroying the SS.  In fact, coming in range of the SS was something to avoid.  The Nemotians needed to give the US a reason to continue guarding the planet but thin out the mobile assets that could be moved out system.  If the SS was destroyed, the ships might move to Earth and have to be fought there also.
There is also another MkIIb Interceptor docked to the SS but unprotected by the S's (per the rules - doesn't make sense to me but it wasn't worth fighting over if it favored me).  At this point the hull would be finished but only the engine room finished.  It could be a valuable target, but the Nemotians didn't know about it on the way in and avoiding fire from the SS was part of the orders, so I decided to leave it alone.  The extra gigs are from the other Patrol Vessels.  They were there to give the impression that this was the main offensive for the month and that the Nemotians were hurting bad.  They were never intended to reach the planet, just to draw fire and give a false impression.
The damage to the Vigilance is lingering damage from the landing at Triton, while the damage to the Survey Tender was the result of a bad random event roll for the US (he never could seem to get an even break early in the game) resulting in a small craft accident destroying the small craft and its bay.  This one just looked like the most likely to have suffered an accident.  And yes, the SS is still down one defense module.  It just wasn't as large of a priority as ship building.


August 24th / Dance with the Devil


Nemotian Forces

Patrol Vessel  7 (BG) , 8 (BG)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] /  st x1

Pan Euro Forces

Heavy Escort Tatianna  (BG+2)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S S H Mgs Qa Ra Ra Ya (cpCp) [6/1] cg x1

The PV's start separated by 20tH at speed 1 with shields down.  The Tatianna starts 2 tH's off the course of PV 8 with shields down at speed 0.

This battle got its name from my wife shortly after it started.  I was forced to move along slowly as those were the op orders I'd written trying to avoid detection while searching for the lost PV12.  When the battle started it was a constant 'dance' for the Tat' trying to keep just one of the PV's in range for as long as possible, without it slipping away.  Then moving to good range while staying out of the Pta's 'sweet spot' in its range bracket and trying to hold the second PV at as long a range as possible.  She managed to pull it off fairly well and got lucky with a string of rolls, always seeming to get at least one of her missiles to hit.  My rolls weren't so good, but she did a good job of leaving me a pretty poor chance of getting a hit in.
She had only been hit once when PV 8 bit the dust.  Having lost one more ship than I had intended to, I decided to break off and not risk crippling damage to PV8 before the real reason for the group being in system came to pass.


August 25th / Fly By

Nemotian Forces

Patrol Vessel  1 (BG) , 2 (BG)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] /  st x1


Chinese Forces

Missile Frigates Sichuan (BG-2) , Gansu (BG-2)   FG / 22HS
[2] S S S S Qa Hs Qa (Cp) Ra Mgs Ra Ra Ya (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Venus Space Station (BG-1)   SS / 162HS
{0] H Qa (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o) (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o ) [0}

Venus Station Defense Modules 1 - 6 (BG-1)   SS / 11HS
{0] S S H Qa Ga Ra [0}

Mobile Construction Ship (BG)   FT4 / 30HS
[2] H A H Qa (Cp) (SYM1 o o o) [2/1] cg x1

Also at the SS are the partial hulls of one CL, and one CA.

This wasn't so much a battle as an attempt to avoid one.  The PV's were to make a high speed pass and try to get within combat sensor range without getting damaged.   The Frigates only made one launch at the PV's, and so did the SS.  Nothing made any hits and he didn't try a second launch when the PV's turned around and disengaged.  The goal was to just get a look at what was there.  Two CT's against a pair of FG's (even if they were poor crews) and a SS just looked like a losing proposition.  The orders were to look and avoid losses.  If you want to try and fight it out, be my guest.


August 30th / Battle of Earth

Nemotian Forces

Assault Vessel 1 (BG) , 2 (BG)   CL / 45HS
[2] S S S S A A A H Qa Qa (cpCp) (M1) Mg Mg Mg Mg Kb+ Kb+ (Cp) Qa Pta Ya (CpCp) Pta [6/1] cg x3  salvos - 14 (AV1) / 13 (AV2)

Patrol Vessel  1 (BG) , 2 (BG) , 7 (BG) , 13 (BG+1) , 17 (BG+2), 25 (BG+1)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] /  st x1  salvos 14 each
all st carry PtaM x1 and bombs x6
PV 17 has its armor destroyed and the Hs operating under emergency repairs

Hive Vessel 1 (BG) , 2 (BG)   ESf / 12HS
[2] (Bsa) x9 H Qa (Cp) [6/1] st x9
all st carry PtaM x1 and bombs x6

Light Support Vessel 4 (BG) , 5 (BG) , 9 (BG) , 11 (BG)   FT1/12HS
[2] S H H H H A H H H H Qa (Cp) [6/1]
all carry PtaM x7

Mobile Repair Vessel (BG)    FT4 / 30HS
[2] H Qa (Cp) (Cp) (Cp) (SYM o o o) [6/1]  cg x1


Earth Forces

US Task Force 2

Interceptor MkIII Naginata (BG-1) , Sai (BG-2) , Kama (BG-2)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S S Hs Mgs Qa Ya (Cp) Ra Ra (Cp) [7/1] cg x1

US Earth Command

Western Zone Defense Bunker (BG)   PDC / 36HS
Eastern Zone Defense Bunker (BG)   PDC / 36HS
{0] A A A A A A A A A A Mg Mg Lb Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra [0}

US Earth Station Shipyards (BG-1)      SS / 162HS
{0] H Qa (SY2 o o o o o o o o o o) (SY2 o o o o o o o o o o ) [0}

Partial Hull of FT2 in orbit (as Int MkII hull at Mars)

FSC Support Group

Converted Freighter Mary Reed (BG-2)   FT2 / 16HS
[2] S S S S X Qv Qv H H Ya Ra Qa (Cp) cg x1
(BG-2 for repairs)

Hidden Missile Silo (BG) x2


Chinese Earth Defense

Surface Defense Site One (BG)   PDC / 32HS
Surface Defense Site Two (BG)    PDC / 32HS
{0] A A A A A A A A A A Mg Mg Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra [0}

Chinese Earth Space Station (BG-1)      SS / 162HS
{0] H Qa (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o) (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o ) [0}


Pan Euro 3rd Battle Group

Queen Mary (BG-2)   DD / 30HS
[2] S S S S A A A Hs Qa Mgs (Cp) (Cp) Qa Ra Ra Ya Ra Ra (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Attack Escort Isabelle (BG+1) , Catherine (BG+1) , Elise (BG-2) , K Sereg (BG-2)   ES / 12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (Cp) [6/1]

Pan Euro 3rd Light Battle Group

Armed Science Vessel Red October (BG)   FG / 22HS
[2] X X S S X X X X X X ( X Cp) Ra Ra Ya Qa (Cp) [7/1] cg x1

Heavy Escort Tatianna  (BG+2)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S S H Mgs Qa Ra Ra Ya (cpCp) [6/1] cg x1

Attack Escort Kathleen (BG-2) , Scarlett (BG-2)   ES / 12HS
[2] S S S A Hs Mgs Ya Ra Qa (Cp) [6/1]

Mobile Shipyard 2 (BG)      FT4 / 30HS
[2] H H H Qa (Cp) (SYM2 o o o) [2/1] cg x1

Pan Euro Ground Defense
Ukraine Defense Center (BG)   PDC / 32HS
Azores Defense Center (BG)   PDC / 32HS
{0] A A A A A A A A A A Mg Mg Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra [0}

Ok, this battle was a massive engagement for this campaign.  To avoid making this a very long section, just read over the battle in the text (sorry).  The AV's launched their gigs and had them circle around the planet to try and draw the defenders out in the wrong direction.  The Hive Vessels and Repair Vessel never got any closer than 120 tH to Earth, they are just included for completeness.
The Support Vessels were in with the main body of ships but continued on toward Earth when the rest broke off in an attempt to draw fire.  If they had ACTUALLY rammed, they would have done 6pts (x3), or 2pt on a miss (6pt x3 / 10 FRU).  The shuttles do 2pts (x3) in a ram, or 1pt on a miss (2pt x3 / 10 FRU).  The goal was to hit the SS and any other vessels under construction.  Second priority was to take out mobile units.  Nothing was actually targetted on the ground, but the st carried bombs just in case the opportunity had presented itself.
The Earth also has six large civilian SS in orbit, which I won't detail but would type up if someone was really interested.  They could have survived several shuttles ramming them quite handily.  I couldn't tell which was which as they were all grouped on the back of Earth when the st made it to Earth so they had no MP to get sensor data.  I wanted most to ram, not get shot down, so I spread out the st and put one or two on each.  In the end the US and Euro lost a SY, while China lost one and had the second damaged by a miss.
Admiral B Walters (LG+1) was on the US SS. Admiral J Kushnir (LG+2) was on the QM, R Admiral B Overturf (LG-1) was on the Naginata, Commodore R McNeely (LG) was on the R October, while the Commander of Fleets (LG+1) was on AV1.
Several of the Pan Euro ships were reduced in grade, as was the M Reed due to repairs or refits this month, which didn't help the defenders one bit.  The R October is in bad shape, with the itilicized systems operating on emergency repairs.  A lot of ships were low in grade as they were still shaking down.  


August 31 / Battle of Venus

Nemotian Forces

Patrol Vessel  1 (BG) , 2 (BG) , 7 (BG) , 13 (BG+1) , 17 (BG+2), 25 (BG+1)   CT / 16HS
[2] S S A A Hs (Bsa) Qa Mg Ya (cpCp) Pta [6/1] /   salvos 10 (PV17) , all others 9 each
PV 17 has its armor destroyed and the Hs operating under emergency repairs

Chinese Forces

Missile Frigates Sichuan (BG-2) , Gansu (BG-2)   FG / 22HS
[2] S S S S Qa Hs Qa (Cp) Ra Mgs Ra Ra Ya (Cp) [6/1]  cg x1

Venus Space Station (BG-1)   SS / 162HS
{0] H Qa (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o) (SY1 o o o o o o o o o o ) [0}

Venus Station Defense Modules 1 - 6 (BG-1)   SS / 11HS
{0] S S H Qa Ga Ra [0}

Mobile Construction Ship (BG)   FT4 / 30HS
[2] H A H Qa (Cp) (SYM1 o o o) [2/1] cg x1

Also at the SS are the partial hulls of one CL, and one CA.

This one is for all the marbles.  After the attack on Earth the middle boy knew this was about taking out ships and SY's.  He did his best to get in one SS launch and then hid it behind Venus.  The FG's died quickly, but tore up a PV on the way in.  He knew that if the SS hid behind the planet that I would have to enter the same hex to force the fight.  At that range the Ga on the SS come into their own.  The point blank exchange tore up the damaged PV and one other in a single round.  It was obvious that the Patrol Group would disintegrate even if I did win.  The Nemotians couldn't afford to lose the bulk of their fleet, so I settled for taking out the ships under construction.  If the CA and CL here had ever been completed, the game would have been over.  After a few days to analyze the scans of the ships under construction, I'm sure the Nem. would have realized that also.


Here is the quick and dirty update for the ground war on Triton.

Losses for the Pan Euro of 0.4 QV, US of 0.2 QV, and China of 0.5 Qv.  Not too horrible, but when you don't have much to start with it becomes significant. Losses for the Nemotians are academic.  They used MC to raise a number of Qv (50) and H, which were nuked or lased early in the month.  The players figured out pretty quickly the extra 10 PU on the assault chart was going to hurt them, and that 50 Qv would soak all of the damage they would do without affecting the base population of the moon.  Nuking the Nemotian Qv took out a number of the PU and IU on the moon.  What didn't die then disappeared at the end of the month.  What damage the players Qv did just lessened the number of nukes the players had to drop.
It was decided between myself and the players that the glassing of Triton came so extremely late in the month that the modifier for the nukes would be applied to September.  It was just a matter of a few hours.  The players could have easily waited until it had been Sept, but why bother.  So the modifier for the last nukes to the assault table roll would be carried over. With their precarious supply situation, they would need the bonus.  But the modifier for income, etc, would apply to the first of the month. (Ok, I had a weak moment.) The players did make it very clear that they would AVOID any damage to the RDS on the planet.  They were still hoping to capture it.
The Nemotians still had 36 PU in shelters on the moon, and would grow by 0.7PU at the start of the month.  The players would have 23.1 Qv on the planet combined (mix of EL1 and 2), but not enough H to supply all of them.  The Euro and US would have adequate supplies for September, but the Chinese had actually come up 0.1 H short of full supplies for August and would have nothing for September unless the Euro and US gave it to them. Even then the Euro and US would only be able to supply half of the Qv the Chinese had on the moon.  That issue was still up for debate at the beginning of the next turn.
With the mod to the Nemotian's income for the players' Qv on the planet, the Nemotians would actually have just enough PU to generate a whole 8.3 MC.  How that was going to be spent (Qv and H) was fairly obvious.  With such a small population and only 18.0 IU left after the bombing, it wasn't like they were going to start any major construction.
The big question was if the players would be able to get any H to the moon before the start of the next month.  If the troops ran out of supplies, it would be over for them.

PS, I had to change the format for the boxes of the TM and SPD of the PDC and SS as the site seems to recognize what I put in normally as the notation for a bullet. 

[procyon (OP)]

Empire states beginning turn 21

Pan Euro  (EL 2)
Holdings - Earth, Luna, Colonies on +/- 5LM of Main Belt
GEV  1448.2 MC
Treasury from turn 20  124.9 MC

SS w/ SY x2 at Earth (one damaged)
PDC x2 on Earth

Pan Euro Senior Admiral/Brenna Muldoon (BG+3/Trainer)

3rd Battle Group (Rear Admiral Robert McNeely BG)
A.S.V. Red October (BG)
A. E. Catherine (BG +1)
A. E. Isabelle (BG +2)
A. E. Elise (BG +2)
A. E. Keely Sereg (BG)
Mobile Shipyard 2

4th Battle Group (Admiral Brenna Muldoon BG+3/Trainer)
Destroyer Queen Victoria (BG-1)
A. E. Mary Queen of Scots (BG +1)
A.E. Rachel Pierce (BG+1)
A.E. Giovanni Vetra (BG)
A.E. Justin Reynolds (BG)
Mobile Shipyard 1

3rd Light Battle Group (Commodore Stephan Vasilakos BG)
H. E. Tatianna (BG +2)
A.E. Kathleen (BG)
A.E. Scarlett (BG)

Independantly Assigned Vessels
Pan Euro Troop Support Ship
Pan Euro Troop Transport
Survey Vessels Michaelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt - mothballs


China  (EL1)
Holdings - Earth
GEV  1577.2 MC
Treasury from turn 20  36.6 MC

SS w/ SY x2 at Venus
PDC x2 on Earth

Chinese Senior Admiral/Admiral Hu (BG +2/Decisive)

Shek Group (currently Admiral Hu)
Cruiser Chiang Kai Shek (BG)
Missile Frigate Anhui (BG +1)
Missile Frigate Hubei (BG +2)
Mobile Construction Vessel Zhuang

Minh Group (Vice Admiral Y Ming BG -1)
Cruiser Ho Chi Minh (BG)
Missile Frigate Shangxi (BG +1)
Missile Frigate Henan (BG +1)

Independantly Assigned Vessels
Troop Lander 1
Troop Lander 2


United States  (EL2)
Holdings - Earth, Mars, Colonies on +/- 4LM of Main Belt
GEV  1253.7 Mc
Treasury from turn 10  112.6 MC

SS w/ SY x1 at Mars
SS w/ SY x2 at Earth (one damaged)
PDC x2 on Earth

US Senior Admiral/Admiral Bradley Walters (BG +2)

Task Force 1 (Rear Admiral James Gauld BG)
Interceptor Mk IIb JFK (BG)
Interceptor Mk IIb J Madison (BG -2/shakedown)
Interceptor Mk IIb A Jackson (BG -1)

Task Force 2 (none assigned at beginning of month 21)
Interceptor Mk III Sai (BG / BG-2 shakedown)
Interceptor Mk III Kama (BG)

Task Force 3 (Rear Admiral Jack Ryan BG +2/Navigator)
Interceptor Mk III Yari (BG +1)
Interceptor Mk IIb Z Taylor (BG)

Independantly Assigned Vessels
Q Ship Vigilance (BG)
Troop Support Ship 1 , 2
Survey Tender 01 , 02


South Seas Free Space Consortium (FSC)
Holding - Earth, small Main Belt Colony
GEV  314.4 MC
Treasury from turn 20  29.2 MC

Ground Based Industry equal to SY x2

Senior Space 'Officer'/ 'The Dutchman' BG +2/Courageous

Vessels
Converted Freighter Mary Reed (BG +1)

Hidden Missile Silo x2


Nemotian Consolidate
Holdings - Eris/Dysnomia - NH 1, Orcus - NH 2, Sedna NH -4, Triton(Neptune) - NH 3,  Pluto/Charon - NH 5
GEV  1304.7 MC
Treasury from turn 20  3381.9 MC

SS w/SY x1, Base Station Model 1 x3, PDC x6 at Eris
SS w/SY x1, Base Station Model 0 x2, Base Station Model 1, PDC x6 at Orcus
Base Station Model 0 x2, Base Station Model 1 at Sedna
PDC x6  at Pluto

Patrol Group
Squadron 1
Patrol Vessels 2 (BG +1) , 7 (BG +1)
Squadron 2
Patrol Vessels 13 (BG +2) , 17 (BG +3)
Mobile Repair Ship 4

Combat Group
Assault Vessel 3 (BG)
Hive Vessel 1 (BG) , 2 (BG)

Escort Group
Patrol Vessel 24 (BG)
Attack Vessels 4 (BG -2) , 5 (BG -2)

Mobile Repair Ships 6 - 8 / in mothballs
Survey Vessels 1 - 5 / in mothballs

/////////////////////////////
Once again I am skipping over the ground troop deployments.  If you are interested let me know and I will try to find time to add them in.

It doesn't take a long comparison to the turn 11 update to see that the players have grown some economically, while their fleets have maintained fairly constant level with improving crew grades.  They don't have lots of ships, but what they have are good.
On the other side of the coin, the Nemotian Fleets have pretty much evaporated into a few well trained ships.  Gone are the large fleets of the turn 11 post.  The treasury is dwindled to 1/4th what it had been.  The only thing increasing is the number of stationary defenses.  The game looks on paper as if it is about to grind down into the slow reduction of the Nemotian New Homes as their ability to project force disappears.
The Nemotians will be hampered even more by an initiative the Pan Euro will take in turn 21 (September 2204).  It gets pretty tough for the bad guys in the coming months.

Thanks again for reading.  Hope you have enjoyed the story so far.

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204  part 1

September 1st  0645 hours/South African Shipyard, Earth

   The Dutchman walked carefully on the scaffolding along the hull of the Mary Reed.  The workers were doing a good job patching the myriad holes in the outer hull left from the landing on Triton.  The aliens had shot the old girl up pretty good, but the foremen were saying repairs would be finished late on the third.  'They are in an awful hurry to get us back out again.'
   The Dutchman turned around and looked out at the assembled machinery and supplies scattered through the yard.  'As soon as we clear the docks they will start work on another ship.  They say it will be a modified version of the Kestrel.  I wonder how modified.'
   He turned and continued down the scaffolding.  'In three days we will head back out system with a brigade of troops and as many supplies for them as we can hold.  Only this time we'll be on our own.  No Euro, US, or Chinese ships to protect us.'  The Dutchman began climbing down the steps and looked out at the materials for the new ship and thought about the Kestrel and Marie Celeste. 
   'Our luck can't hold out forever.'


   0820 hours/Armed Science Vessel Red October, docked to Pan Euro Space Station, Earth

   Rear Admiral Robert McNeely looked at the orders on the monitor again.  'First promotion I haven't wanted.' he thought.  'And command of the 3rd Battle Group.  Of course half of my command is either undergoing repairs or conducting them.'  Robert looked at the visual display on the monitor and could see the Red October from the cameras on the station, along with the Isabelle docked to Mobile Shipyard Two nearby.  'The station looks as bad as we do.'
   Robert looked up at the crew standing around the bridge.  It was unusual to see them unlocked from their stations.  Life had become a ritual of waiting locked in an acceleration 'couch' for the next alien contact.  Another cyborg 'walked' onto the bridge, adjusting its footing as it moved down what would be a wall to Robert.  'Leave it to Stephan to make an entrance.'
   "Welcome aboard Commodore Vasilikos.  Congratulations on the promotion and command."  Robert had been notified of Stephan's promotion and assignment to command the 3rd Light Battle Group, and had invited him to join him on the station for the upcoming briefings.
   "Thank you, Bob.  Amazing what they do to punish you if you disobey orders."  Stephan unlocked his boots from the wall and pushed off.  His boots snapped onto the deck and he walked toward Robert.
   "Yes.  If you had gotten your ship nearly blown apart you could have made admiral like me."  Robert hated how everything came out in monotone, but he knew Stephan would be able to appreciate the sarcasm.
   "Hey, god knows I tried.  Some folks just don't have the talent."  Stephan leaned on the monitor in front of Robert.  "So why the invite.  The chow here isn't any better than on my ship."
   "Briefing.  We need to go over the operations and intel from Command.  With Admiral Kushnir gone and Admiral Muldoon three weeks out, we're in charge of ops here in the inner system."  Robert got up from his station and motioned Stephan toward the hatch.  "Starts in twenty minutes."
   "Leave it to you Bob to find the one thing less fun than chow."


   1400 hours/Beijing, China

   Li Xue walked up the boarding ramp.  She tried to look calm as she approached the entry to the lifter.  She had trained for the last six months on the equipment she would be expected to use, but had never actually left the Earth.  Xue stepped into the cabin of the lifter and saw the others strapped into couches in tight racks like sardines.  Her knees began to feel like rubber and she closed her eyes for a moment, then walked down the narrow isle to where a human robot was directing her.  Somewhere inside the black metal body was bits and pieces of a person, but you couldn't tell from looking.
   Xue climbed into her couch and felt cold, hard hands strap her in.  She closed her eyes again and took slow deep breaths.  That was what they told you to do.  Not to panic, just breathe.  She could hear the last few of the passengers as they climbed into their couches and were strapped in.  Her stomach started to growl, and she remembered that it had been nearly a day since she had eaten.  She breathed deeper and tried to ignore it.
   Xue felt a warm hand hold hers, and felt tubing being hooked up to the small IV site in her hand.  Her hand tingled and burned for a moment as she heard a soft voice tell her to relax and she was going to be alright.  Xue felt like she was already floating, and they hadn't even left the ground yet.  She knew in a moment she would fall asleep, but when she woke up she wouldn't be on Earth.  Or even in the lifter.  She was going to sleep for the next few weeks on a big ship, and when she woke up she would be on Titan.  Along with tens of thousands of other colonists.

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204  part 2

September 2nd 0200 hours/Sector 52:04, Surface of Triton

   Oberfeldwebel Tanya Frank crouched behind the jagged crystalline feature she had chosen as cover.  Her squad was spaced out across the bleak landscape beside her.  She looked back to see the US 'tank' pop up above the small crest it was sheltering behind.  Tanya's HUD glowed with the IR signature of the laser cannon as it silently fired.  A moment later it was again below the crest of the icy 'sand' dune.  Geysers of sand rocketed up in plumes as alien return fire struck the position.
   "Why do they bother Tanya?  They're only heating the dust."  Tanya heard Heinz, the leader of Team B, talking to her.  She looked over her jagged cover to the alien complex nearly a kilometer away.  The entire area was shrouded in clouds of dust and ice particles thrown up and suspended in the low gravity.  The aliens had learned that the clouds of dust rendered the US lasers much less effective, and made targeting for the Pan Euro Rollover and Lancer Missiles nearly impossible.  It didn't seem to bother the alien mass drivers though. 
   "Who knows why the Americans do anything. At least they don't waste any of our ammo doing it." Tanya answered. She settled back behind her cover and checked the time.  'Half an hour to go.  Then we get another chance to die.  Of course with the supplies we have left, dying is pretty much a certainty.  Just a question of when and how.' 
   Tanya called up the scans from the US ship Taylor of the complex.  The Intel folks back on Earth seemed to think this particular collection of mud and ice piles was important.  Some sort of production, command, or research facility that made it more important than every other pile of ice that had been flattened by the nuclear bombardment of the surface.  Of the hundreds of complexes that had dotted the surface of Triton, this was the last one standing.
   The aliens seemed to realize that little fact also.  They had retreated into the underground shelters everywhere but here.  They had fortified the area, and garrisoned it with every 'battle suit' and support weapon they seemed to have.  The first probes yesterday had even discovered a few new ways the aliens had come up with to kill you.  The most colorful was the gouts of plasma they seemed to channel down magnetic field lines.  It was short ranged, but looked like it could cut through a spaceship hull.  Power armor and cyborgs didn't stand a chance.
   So in half an hour with what supplies they had left, and for however long they had before they died from the hellish environment, the troops on Triton were to try and take the alien complex and transmit any information that could be gained back to Earth.  Intact if possible.  Please and thank you.  First abandoned, and now sent on a suicide mission.
   Tanya checked her '93, and reseated the magazine. Twenty seven minutes left.
   'Guess I don't have anything better to do.'


September 3rd 1105 hours/Elders' Chambers, New Home 1 (Eris)

   The Elders reviewed the information that had been gathered recently.  The attack on the enemy holdings in the inner system had went well, with substantial losses incurred - but lower than projected.  Repairs were already under way on the Assault Vessel and Patrol Vessel 17.  When the Assault Vessel returned to New Home 5 it would undergo extensive refits.  The magnetic field generators would be strengthened, while the mass drivers would be removed to make room for additional torpedo launch bays.  The torpedoes had proven to be more useful in engaging the enemy warships, if less accurate on the whole.
   Due to the durability of the enemy orbital installations, the orbital shipyards of New Home 1 would begin construction of modules to allow the station to be protected by multiple magnetic field generators.  This would allow it to withstand raids by the native race, and prevent it from suffering the same fate as the orbital installations of the enemy home planet.
   The fleet of ships used to survey the possible colonization sites in this system were also in the process of being scrapped for the materials in them.  They would be unnecessary for a great deal of time, perhaps generations.  The systems of the vessels could be put to better use constructing warships.
   The last order of business was the identification and attack of the research center on New Home 3.  The enemy had spared it from destruction and now seemed intent upon its capture.  Steps might have to be taken to ensure its destruction if it was likely that it would fall.
   What had once been anticipated as a rapid elimination of the native race had become a grinding and protracted struggle.  One with no sure and lasting signs of victory.


September 4th 0445 hours/US Q Ship Vigilance, Mars orbit

   Commander Scott Moreland watched the visual feed as the newest Interceptor MkIIb, the James Madison, undocked from the Mars station and fired it maneuver thrusters.  Seconds drifted by as the large ship turned and drifted away.  Then the feed dimmed as the dampers kicked in and the Madison engaged its drive for the first time. 
   "OK ladies and gents, lets take this old can in and get the dents taken out of her.  Helm, plot the course for docking with Mars Station."  It was finally time for the Vigilance to get repaired from the landings on Triton.  Survey Vessel One would be next, as soon as the Vigilance was finished.
   "Aye, Captain."
   Scott heard the helmsman.  It was now almost a joke that he was only a commander.  The Vigilance had been in as many engagements as most US vessels, and more than some.  The commander of the Madison was a Captain, but had never even seen combat.  It had always been common usage to call the commander of a vessel captain, regardless of his rank.  But on this ship it held special meaning.
   Scott flipped his display over to the sensor returns and saw something else that held special meaning.  As the Madison moved away from Mars and joined the other ships of Task Force 1, three other icons lit up the screen.  Holding formation about one light second behind the US ships was the Pan Euro 3rd Light Battle Group. 'Let the aliens come back now for a little tussle.' Scott thought.
   Word was that not only had Pan Euro Admiral Muldoon transferred the 3rd Light BG to Mars, but she had authorized the sale of Pan Euro Heavy Supply 02 to the FSC for no more than what it would cost to unmothball Heavy Supply 03. Everyone knew that although the FSC had committed to supporting the troops on Triton, they didn't have the ships to actually do it.  The admiral everyone now called 'Battling Brenna' had given them the lift capacity to actually try.
   Of course the rumor mill was also wondering if she was flexing her new muscles, or trying to get fired from her new post.  It was no secret, even in the US, that she had made most of the civilian government very upset.

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204 part 3

September 5th  0330/University of Cambridge, England

   Henk Leering studied the monitor screen as the readouts began to scroll across it.  His eyes burned as he strained to look over the data, and he tried to rub it away. It only succeeded in making everything blurry.  He heard footsteps behind him and slowly swiveled his chair around.
   "I brought you some more coffee.  Your habit of staying up till all hours and drinking this rubbish will be the death of my marriage."  Thomas O'Connell sat the cup of dark black liquid on the counter beside Henk, and then sat on the stool beside him.  "Any progress with the modifications to the alien field generator?"
   Henk leaned back in his chair and stretched. Then he picked up the cup and held it to his nose and breathed deeply.  "You do a horrible job of making coffee Thomas."  Henk blew across the top of the cup and took a short sip.  "Not that I care."  Henk sat the cup back down and turned the monitor to face Thomas.  "The readings are difficult to analyze.  I think we are making progress.  We have been able to verify the gravitomagnetic precession induced in a secondary body, but correlating the field to calculate the frame dragging on the base and secondary branes has been a nightmare.  It’s definitely happening, but doing it in a useful way...."  Henk reached for the coffee again.
   Thomas looked at the screen, and then reached up to scroll through the data.  Long minutes passed.  Finally Thomas leaned back from the counter.  "Henk, you've got more done than anyone would have guessed.  Hell, no one even thought of this before you.  Keep working.  If anyone can get this bloody thing to work, it's you."
   Henk took another sip of the coffee and grimaced.  "Thomas, your pep talks are as bad as your coffee."
   Thomas looked at him.  "Henk, do you really think you can get these things to move a ship without needing a nuclear blast to push it along at a useful speed?"
   "Yes.  And you'll even be able to ride on the damned thing without needing to get turned into a machine to do it.  Unless the emissions from the generator turn out to be lethal."  Henk took one last sip of the coffee and turned the monitor back to face him.


September 7th 0645 hours/Cruiser Chiang Ki Shek, 144 light minutes from Sol

   Admiral Hu reviewed the repair progress reports.  The baffles of the Minh had been damaged for months now.  With the return trip to the inner system taking a month to complete, it was a perfect opportunity for the Zhuang's crew to utilize their ship's facilities and equipment.  It would take three weeks to complete the repairs if work went at the current pace, but that would still see everything finished several days before they arrived at Venus Station.  The Shek was also in need of repairs to its outer baffles, but it would have to wait until work on the Minh was finished.
   Reports also indicated that work was underway at the Venus Station dismantling the remains of the damaged defense modules.  The two damaged sections were to be cut away and replaced with two new modules.  The new additions would essentially be the same as the previous sections, but the missile bays were to be replaced with laser capacitors and batteries.  It was hoped the lasers would provided a better defense against the high speed bombers that had attacked Earth, while still providing adequate short range protection against the alien warships.  The new doctrine for Venus Station was to avoid any long range engagements unless forced, and to rely on short ranged weaponry to engage alien ships should they move close enough to prevent the station from using the planet as a shield.  If alien ships remained several light seconds from the planet and spread out enough to prevent the station from using Venus as protection, they would be easily engaged piecemeal by the defending cruisers and frigates.
   The first colonists were also on their way to Titan.  The Troop Transports that would have been loaded with additional soldiers and supplies for the combat on Triton were now being pressed into use as colony ships.  With the destruction of every Manchuria Class Armed Colony ship, the Troop Transports were the only ships capable of moving non-cyborg personnel.  They would be on their own though.  No defenses could be spared for the convoy or new colony.
   Admiral Hu turned off the monitor and tried to relax.  It was still a long trip home.


September 10th  2206 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 32 light seconds from Sedna

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan waited as the Sensor Conn completed their sweep.  The group of alien ships had made their last course alteration ten hours ago and then begun a straight line run toward the dwarf planet Sedna.  Jack had ordered the Yari to break off and complete a sweep of space near the planetoid, in hopes of picking up the alien convoy again.  The possibility that an alien warship might be hiding behind the huge ball of ice and rock, or an alien sensor post was hidden on the surface, was to great to risk following the alien ships any closer to the overgrown asteroid.  The Yari was more than fast enough to reacquire contact with the alien ships if they did not stop at Sedna, but so far the sensor returns had been clean.
   "Sir, no contacts.  We are too far to get accurate scans of the surface of Sedna to confirm any alien structures there. Orders sir?"
   Jack listened to the Sensor Officer's report, and thought for a few moments. "Helm, take us away from Sedna to a range of one light minute, then plot a course for the return trip to Neptune.  Forward course plot to my station when finished.  Do not engage drives for Neptune until I have reviewed the course.  Comm, when we reach one light minute from Sedna I want a tight beam transmission to the Taylor with our current position and all sensor data on the alien ships for the last twelve hours.  Have the Taylor confirm receipt on broadband transmission per standard encryption protocols.  Inform me as soon as you have confirmation."  Jack tapped several keys as he checked first one screen, and then another. 'We are just too short on supplies to hang around, and I can't risk tipping off the aliens that we know anything about Sedna.  If they have a colony here, we need our attack to be a complete surprise.'
   Jack quickly typed out a short note to Meagan and tagged it onto the transmission queue.  When the Taylor got the transmission, they would forward the note along with everything else.  'It's been weeks since I've let her know I'm alive.  She has to be worried sick by now.  She will probably hear about our transmission and know from it that we are still out here, but a note from dad should do a lot for frayed nerves.'
   Jack tapped on the keys to confirm the transmission.


September 12th  1950 hours/New Delhi, India

   Chairman Mukata slumped in the chair.  The meeting had been grueling, and the board members less than cooperative.  It had been necessary to convert several of the Consortium's 'industrial assets' into capital.  Sale of corporate property was not a new thing, but doing it for less than a specified profit margin was.  The pressing nature of the new operation to support the surface combat at Neptune had left Mukata no choice but to sell for less than the established margin.  Without the capital, the FSC would be unable to support both the combat operation and ongoing research at the same time, let alone purchase a Pan Euro cargo ship at a ridiculously low price.  Mukata knew just what the answer would be if the board was given a choice between delaying the current endeavors or selling assets.
   But there had been no time to consult the board before the decision had to be made. 'They are going to make sure I understand that I don't have the authority to do this on a regular basis.  I definitely do not like these marathon meetings and the endless questions.'
   'It’s done though.  By the end of this month our space fleet will have doubled in its number of ships, both combat and commercial.  And with some luck, the Queensland research group will begin to show some results soon.' 

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204 part 4

September 13th  0855 hours/Sector 52:04, Surface of Triton

   Oberfeldwebel Tanya Frank dropped the magazine from her PzGw 94 and pulled another from her harness.  She looked up as she seated it in the weapon.  The NMI had turned her display into a mass of white lines so she disabled it.  She spotted the two US soldiers setting up their heavy lasers on the 'balcony' above, along with one of her squad members.  The US troops were to be the anti armor team for her squad.  The US M174 Laser was bulky, and the backpack sized power supply even more so, but it was one of the few weapons capable of tearing holes in the alien armored suits that didn't use precious ammo.  Hauptgefreiter Ludwig Schimmelpfennig was with them to add a little punch to the group.  Only one member of any squad was allowed to carry Rollover's to conserve the precious missiles, and Ludwig seemed to have a talent for picking out the alien suits and bringing them down.
   Tanya checked the HUD for her squad's status.  She was already short two troops and couldn't afford to lose anyone else.  She scrolled down through the list to the extra soldiers assigned to her.  The fact that she had picked up a second squad when their Feldwebel had fallen was only making it more difficult to keep everything organized.  Add a pair of US troops, and the need to coordinate with a nearby Chinese platoon and Tanya knew that if she had any hair, it would have been pulled out by now.  Tanya shut off the strings of text, poked her head and weapon up above the twisted piece of machinery she was squatting behind, and fired a dozen flechette rounds across the open area.  Settling back down she waited for the inevitable return fire.  Chunks of ice and metal spun through the 'air' near her as pieces of her cover were ripped away.  Dust and ice billowed as a nearby detonation churned up clouds of it.  On the IR display Tanya could see the US soldiers targeting the suits firing on Tanya's position, the laser leaving glowing streaks as it sliced through the dust in the air.  The lip of the balcony disappeared as some alien support weapon ripped most of it away.  The trail from a pair of Rollover's told Tanya that Ludwig was still alive, but the US equipment ricocheting off the ceiling told her that the laser team hadn't been as lucky.  As even more of the balcony disappeared in an explosion of fragments and debris she doubted even Ludwig was alive.  Two of her squad tried to hop up and then use their maneuver packs to come down near an exit from the section of the building they were in, but only one made it.  The other trooper was left cart wheeling several meters off the floor as he was hit by several alien weapons.
   Tanya rose up and finished emptying her '94.  "FALL BACK.  FALL BACK."  She watched as several soldiers were cut down trying to leave their positions.  She had seen over a dozen alien suits plus dozens of unarmored aliens moving toward them.  The whole 'room' was a mass of bullet and weapon impacts occasionally obscured by clouds of dust as explosions ripped through the area.  "HQ GET THE TAYLOR ONLINE.  REQUEST FOR ORBITAL SUPPORT THIS LOCATION."
   The world suddenly spun out of control and Tanya felt her maneuver pack firing wildly.  She came to a stop near a wall and looked back to see that her cover had turned into another cloud of dust and debris.  An alien suit came floating through the dust and turned toward her.  Tanya watched as the front of it was suddenly torn into a dozen fragments.  Tanya had only enough time to see the Chinese 37mm Gun crew that had saved her before they also disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris.  Tanya tried to flatten out as much as she could and began to pull herself along the floor.  As she reached a blast hole in the wall she crawled through, pulled out her 9mm LE/SR and turned to look back the way she had come.  Four aliens were rapidly floating towards pieces of cover.  Tanya fired short bursts at each of them and watched as each alien in turn was sent spinning in the low g.  Then something exploded near her hole and clouds of dust blocked even her IR and UV returns.  Tanya looked about her for a moment and then pushed off toward the nearest bit of cover.
   "HQ to Oberfeldwebel Frank.  Support request granted.  Time to fire mission 30 seconds.  HQ out."  Tanya crouched down as low as she could and waited.  If she hadn't gotten far enough away, it wouldn't matter what she did.  An alien weapon sailed out of the hole she had just crawled through and detonated, churning up more dust.  And then the wall it had come through disappeared in a million fragments, along with the rest of the building as the US ship destroyed it.


September 16th  1500 hours/US Interceptor MkIII Naginata, 2 light seconds from Earth

   Commander Jason Collins III absently checked the sensor returns.  The surface based installations would be able to detect any alien ships long before the Naginata could, but it was a good habit to get into.  Dwelling on the sensor returns was not something Jason enjoyed though.  Most of the ships defending Earth were actually under repairs.  The only other US Interceptor, the Sai, was docked to the US Space Station.  The Sai had been damaged so badly that the crew had been forced to leave the ship.  The life support systems had been so badly compromised that even a cyborg would find the environment of the ship hostile.
   The Pan Euro had a Battle Group stationed at Earth, but the only ship larger than an Attack Escort was a floating wreck being repaired at the nearly ruined Pan Euro Space Station.  Of the four Pan Euro Attack Escorts, one was in terrible shape and being repaired while the other three rotated time at general quarters so that only one Attack Escort was combat ready at any given time.  The deployment of the Pan Euro 3rd Light Battle Group to Mars helped protect the last intact US Space Station and Shipyard there, but it definitely left Earth a little light on mobile defenders.  Mars now had more combat ships protecting it than Earth did.
   Jason checked the date.  It was still a week away from the arrival of the Pan Euro 4th Battle Group.  'With a Pan Euro Royalty Class warship, the 4th BG is real power and protection.  The 4th BG carries nearly as many launchers as the US has surface launch sites.  Until then we'll have to rely on those surface defenses.  Four small ships just won't scare the aliens very much.  Not if they show up with the number of ships they brought last time.'
   Jason cleared his monitor and brought up the duty log.  'Three hours till it’s our turn.  I wonder if the civilian channels have anything interesting on today.'  Jason brought up a broadcast listing and began to scroll down the list.


September 18th  1720 hours/Elders' Chambers, New Home 1 (Eris)

   Reports of activities and progress were presented one after another to the Elders.  The flux in the personnal fields of the Elders was disconcerting to those who brought data for them.  The news brought a mix of conflicted emotions on the part of the assembed Elders. 
   The defense of New Home 3 was slowly being crushed by the enemy ground forces but the research facilities had been almost completely destroyed in the fighting.  No action would be needed to ensure the native race gained nothing from that facility.  Only one enemy ship remained in orbit of New Home 3.  It was possible that the other ships were still waiting just beyond sensor range, but a patrol to ensure this might be required.  The fields betrayed that several of the Elders beleived that if New Home 3 could be successfully relieved, the population might be evacuated to New Homes 2 and 4.
   Funding for the project to mount weapons on the external hull of the Combat and Assault Vessels had been stopped as it had proven impossible to implement at the current time.  Torpedoes were simply too large of a structure to support under the immense acceleration of a warship in combat.  This discuvery had come to embarass several of the Elders who had supported the project's additional funding.  The resources had been reallocated to the project to miniaturize the current mass driver designs.  This project was proving more promising and the first functional prototypes should be available for testing in the near future.  Deployment of the system would give current designs a much greater advantage in an engagement, and surface deployment would allow the New Homes to protect themselves from enemy bombardments.
   The largest expenditure under review was a new construction project at New Home 5.  A new orbital construction platform was being assembled there, to replace the lost capacity of the facility destroyed at New Home 3.  It would not be functional for quite some time, but was considered necessary.  With current fleet levels unacceptably low, construction of new vessels was a priority as were the facilities to build them.
   The Elders continued to review and plan.  The war would need constant attention to be won.

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204  part 5

September 21st  2015 hours/Ministry of Defense, Beijing, China

   Minister Po looked out the window at the rain.  It had rained for several hours.  Not that the weather had slowed down the number of meetings, conference calls, and messages.  Everyone had questions, suggestions, or orders.  What no one had was a good answer or extra funds.  Not that Po intended to give out any of those either.
   Po turned around and picked up the papers from his desk.  Most sensitive information was still stored on paper, as the computerized networks were to easily compromised.  The first packet covered the activities at the Venus Station.  Work would be finished by month's end on the two new defensive modules there.  The effort to salvage the wreckage of the two cruisers that had been under construction when they were destroyed by the aliens was also progressing nicely.  The ships hadn't even finished having the hull frameworks finished so much of the equipment and electronics were still intact or awaiting shipment to the station.  Projections showed that materials to construct another cruiser in the Minh class would be available and the cost would be minimal.
   The other packet went over the details of the scrap and salvage operations on the station here at Earth.  It represented half of China's space based construction capability.  Many of the ministers had fought fiercely to spare it, and have it repaired.  Po knew that he had created a number of enemies when he had finally managed to get the confirmation to disassemble the mammoth structure.  It was a great loss, but it would provide the raw materials to begin construction of new war and support ships.  Few cared to see the ray of hope in the disaster this situation was.
   The last booklet was a report based on transmissions from Triton.  The troops there were reaching critical levels on many supplies.  The power armor troops in particular were less able to withstand the environment of the distant moon.  They would begin dying in considerable numbers soon.  The FSC supplies might help, but there was simply no way the two ships that had been recorded leaving Earth could carry enough supplies, even if everything on them was directed toward the Chinese troops.
   Po saw the screen on his desk flashing.  'Someone else, with more bad news or criticism.'  Po turned his chair back around to face the rain.


September 24th  0005 hours/Queen Victoria, sunside of the asteroid belt

   Admiral Brenna Muldoon watched as the sensor returns confirmed the transmission she had just received.  The Chinese ships were breaking off from the rest of the convoy.  Their course would carry them toward Venus.  It was common knowledge the Chinese had an installation in orbit of the planet.  It was conjectured that they may have a small site on the surface, but it had never been confirmed.  Most 'experts' considered it unlikely.  Of course most of those experts would have considered an alien race arriving in the solar system and engaging in a war with the human race unlikely also.  'They have something worth guarding there.  Don't know what, but it can't seem to guard itself.'
   Brenna looked over the course plot.  It would still be several days before they reached Earth, and alien interception of the convoy was possible.  'The Vic's crew is still a bunch of new grads from the academies, but the rest of the battle group has been through the wringer a couple of times.  We should be alright even if we encounter anything out here.  What we can't beat, we can still run from.  In a few days we'll be home, and shortly after that the 3rd Battle Group should be finished with repairs.  Then we won't have to worry about running anymore.' 
   Brenna pulled up the latest training schedules for both battle groups.  Devising tactics and training regimens for a new weapon system is hard enough.  Doing it for one that isn't even in service yet is harder still.  But they would start soon.  Groups would pull away from Earth to go on 'Patrol' or 'Escort' duty.  And when they were safely away from Earth the new protocols would be tested, revised, and finally revised again when the operational system was deployed.  Whether the system could even be installed in the current ship design was yet to be seen.  It may need a whole new class or classes of ship.  Regardless, Brenna had to have some framework ready when the new missiles came into service.
   As hard as working on the training was, it was still easier that the work waiting for her at Earth.  The ceremony for her promotion and the change of command ceremonies.  Then the memorial ceremonies for Jude.  Jude.  Probably the last person who even began to understand her.  For decades they had enjoyed each others company or shared fears and doubts.  When one would falter, the other would be there.  They had always had an arrangement in the service.  Brenna would get the crews ready to fight, and Jude would lead them through it.
   But now Jude was gone.  Brenna would have to carry the burdens they had shared.  And she would have to do it in situations where failure meant more than just a black mark on your record.  It might make the difference between whether there was anyone left to keep records or not.  There would be no more chances to make mistakes.  No time to cry for lost friends, and the loneliness that waited.


September 30th  1900 hours/Converted Freighter Mary Reed, surface of Triton

   The Dutchman looked over the status reports.  'That was a lot easier than last time.'  There were no reports of damage incurred during the landing, either from the aliens or just the environment of the moon.  The troops were off loading without any resistance from the aliens.  The cargo ship was reporting the same thing.  No damage.  No alien contact.  'We might make it back to Earth without needing something fixed or repaired for once.'
   Suddenly the monitor began to fill with messages.  The soldiers were filing report after report.  'Are the aliens just concentrating on the troops?'  The Dutchman began to check the reports. One after another they said the same thing.  First a few, and then into the dozens.  And still the reports kept arriving.  The Dutchman sat locked at his station and switched over to the external visual feed.  And then he could see it for himself.
   The Mary Reed had touched down less than a kilometer from the main Chinese base camp.  All indications were that they would be lowest on supplies, so it had been decided to off load in their cantonments first.  It appeared that wouldn't be necessary here.  There was row after row of bubble tents set up for the power armor soldiers to use.  For them to sleep in, dine in, and train in.  Now to die in.  Large sections of the bubble tents were now flat, the atmosphere converted to a thin layer of snow over the corpses of the soldiers that had died inside of them.  Not just a few.  Hundreds of tents.  Thousands of soldiers.  More than what the FSC had brought.  Perhaps twice what had come on the Mary Reed.
   The Dutchman shut off the feed.  They had come to help fight one war, and found two.  They had planned for the battle against the aliens.  The other would be against Triton itself.

[procyon (OP)]

September 2204  part 6

////////////////////////////////////////
Overview

This month was a welcome break for all sides from the combat of the last few months.  The players spent the month waiting for and dreading another attack, but the Nemotians were just in no shape to even try another offensive.
As there were a few events that didn't make it into the story for the month, we will get straight to the tale of the tape.

For the Pan Euro,
This month saw my wife pull her last full strength combat group back into the inner system.  She also decided that although she was in bad shape, she was the best off of the 'non-Chinese' players.  The US Mars Station represented the last undamaged and well protected SY so she shipped a LBG to help protect Mars.  She suspected that if the Chinese were pulling back from Triton and scrapping the SS at Earth, that their holdings at Venus were intact but in danger.  She then decided that the next target would likely be Mars (again) now that Earth's SY's were in a shambles.  With the US barely able to scrape together a task force of three ships she decided a LBG would go a long ways to help protect Mars' SY.
She also decided that if the FSC was going to try and handle the ground combat at Triton they would need some help.  She knew that the oldest girl had only a pittance to work with and almost no ships to her name.  The Euro still had one FT mothballed in orbit that had escaped attack so she offered to sell the one in service to the FSC for the cost to unmothball the other.  I don't think she realized that what she sold them actually had more cargo capacity that all of the FSC ships at that point put together.  Without it the FSC initiative was pretty much doomed.
Economically - she only repaired ships to keep down costs and poured everything she could into IU and colonization of the AB.  She started her research on Ica and pumped up her research on missiles.  She was hoping to be in good enough economic shape for the refits and construction she envisioned occurring in the next few months. She was beginning to worry that the aliens were no longer the main threat.  She couldn't out muscle the Chinese so she would need to out tech them - just as she had done at the beginning of the game.

For China,
This month was the first in a long time to see the middle boy spending MC on colonization (maybe since the game started come to think of it).  His largest expense was building the two new SS defense modules at Venus, but this was more than covered by scrapping the SS at Earth and salvaging the two ships at Venus.  (Why you can salvage a partially built ship that gets destroyed, and not a finished one that get destroyed is beyond me, but the oldest boy was pushing for this rule [M1.04.1] as it would help him also.)  He finished the month with over 1500MC in his treasury, so it was obvious what his plan was.
I was fairly sure he had decided that if he pulled his ships off the line, the US and Euro would be forced to deploy their assets to cover the inner system.  They would spend their time and resources trying to repair damage and maintain their current fleets.  While they were busy with the aliens he was going to use his large combat force to lock down Venus.  He would then begin, once again, to construct his monster.  Once it was finished he would crush the aliens and then the other players.

For the US,
The oldest boy followed much the same plan as the Euro.  He mostly repaired ships that were damaged and poured everything he could afford into colonization and IU.  I think he could also see that if the current war with the aliens ended, the status quo would end.  He was also the small dog of the group with almost no ability to defend himself from the Chinese and limited ability to support the Euro.  He would need more income and ships to redress the balance.
But he still had his eye on defeating the aliens - along with strengthening his fleet - so when he salvaged the Q ship at Earth he used what he got to start another one.  He wanted to be able to deploy several of them to support landings on any other alien world.  He had decided that it would be impossible to catch up to the Euro and China using IU growth and colonization.  The best way to even things out was to capture an alien population and gain that income in tribute.
And so began the plot to hit the alien colony he had found, by HIMSELF....

 For the FSC,
This month saw the FSC stretch itself to the financial limit.  Between research, repairs, some colonization, building a new ship, and then having to come up with the MC to buy the bargain Euro FT, the oldest girl had to scramble and scrape to come up with the required cash.  In the end she made it - but only by cutbacks on some things she would like to have spent more on.
She took over the die rolls for the ground combat this month even though she was only on the moon for the last few days.  She got some incredible rolls for the assault phase but ended up destroying the research complex when she tried to make the roll to capture it.  Actual combat losses for the players were next to nothing.  Losses from lack of supplies killed over fifty times what combat did.
Her research projects were getting close to completion though so she was hoping to wrap up the combat on Triton quickly.

For the Nemotians,
Although building up the fleet was THE big priority, I had decided that the current crop of ships was not adequate in the prevailing combat environment.  Battles had gone from the players' ships being pushovers to them going toe to toe with bigger ships and winning.  After a good hard look at the Nemotian ships I decided that they were badly in need of upgrading.
First and foremost they lacked adequate defense.  Euro DD's and Chinese FG's packed as much shielding as Nemotian CL's, while Chinese CL's had almost double the shields.  The players CT's and ES carried the same or heavier shielding as the alien DD's.  The Nemotian CT's had the lightest shields of any design.  With shields being THE big defense of the game, depth in this area was obviously far more important than it had been in any previous game I had participated in.  Increasing the number of shields on the designs was first on the list.
Second was getting point defense on line.  Even the pitiful Da would be a huge advantage.  In our more standard Ultra game, the players have pretty much decided that two HS of armor tended to stop more damage than the Da did.  In this game with no one having datalink yet and one or two hits in a volley being the norm, a Da could cut the number of hits in half. The first chance for success would come in month 22, so I hoped it wouldn't take long.
The last issue on redesign was the kinetic weapons.  I decided that the small range advantage of the Pt system was ruined by current use of K's.  The K needed to get closer and the current designs forward mount forced you to close continually with your target, giving the R's an advantage.  It also cut the DD and CL's firepower in half if you choose to break off combat.  If the K's were swapped out for Pt's then the range issue and withdrawal ability would be solved. I hoped these three changed would increase the Nemotians staying power.
I decided to shield the SS's as the players' designs had proved (surprisingly) durable.  I didn't arm them as the modules don't link, have poor grade, and were in nearly all ways inferior to the PDC based defenses I had installed on all the larger New Homes.  But the ability to endure fire long enough to force an attacker to loiter in range of the PDC's - allowing them to take a toll on an attacker - was important.  If the SS's proved difficult to damage it would discourage raids to take them out.
The biggest concern was the rapid down spiral of the Nemotian treasury.  The war would soon be limited to only what their income could support.  With an income only 50MC's a month more than the US, and 150 to 200MC less than the Euro or China, I had no illusions of what that would entail.  Even more than in the case of the Euro vs. China, I needed to be able to out tech and out fight my opponents in the coming months.

A note on the ground combat is in order.  The battle was nearly a success for the players, with victory being a little over 20 points away.  The combat losses were only 0.1Qv for the players.  Losses were much higher than that though.  The Euro and US had enough supplies for all of their troops for the month.  The Chinese had only a small amount plus whatever the Euro and US decided to send them.  To their credit my wife and oldest boy sent every last spare H they had to the Chinese, holding nothing back for next month.  The Chinese put it all into combat with none reserved for troop maintenance for the Qv that wasn't supplied.  With unsupplied troops in an extreme environment, well you can figure out where this is going.  The loss to aliens of 0.1Qv (which the Euro decided to absorb saying she was taking the lead in most of the combat) was dwarfed by the loss of 5.4 Qv for the unsupplied Chinese battalions.  Death due to lack of supply now rivaled death due to combat.  The middle boy stated that nothing less than victory was going to save the players at Triton anyway and holding something back just to lose made no sense.


As a sad side note this game has currently stalled out just past turn 100 due to the oldest boy moving out (-at age 20 he was due).  None of the younger kids are ready to take over such a convoluted game and division of the US holdings into the other powers has proven problematic.  But seeing that it has taken me over a year to get to month 21 in the story there should be at least another four years of work for me to get through (probably longer as it gets more complicated).  Hopefully we can resolve the current issue of the US(USN) in that time.
Of course the oldest girl (who graduates high school this year) and the middle boy (graduating in three more years) may create more issues to deal with.  Perhaps as the younger kids grow this campaign will get reborn in a new form much as our New Empires campaign has.   Time will tell.......

Again, thanks for reading.

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204 part 1

October 1st  0300 hours/Elder's Chambers, New Home 1 (Eris)

   The Elders began to leave the Chamber.  It was time to rest.  Much had been decided, but not without much debate.  First had been a review of the progress in the work on the last Assault Vessel.  Repairs had been completed and work had started fitting additional magnetic field generators into the hull.  Interior plating had been removed to allow for the installation.  This concerned some due to the presence of a weapon used by ships of the native race that could penetrate the magnetic fields, but it had been decided that strengthening the fields was more important.  Next work would begin on removing the mass drivers and fitting additional torpedo bays into the vessel.  This had also created much discussion as the mass drivers had shown better intercept rates on the enemy ships and were able to create nearly limitless numbers of projectiles from the fuel carried on the Assault Vessel.  But they would be replaced.
   The most difficult decision had been made concerning the survivors on New Home Three.  A sortie would be made to the planet to determine if the native race was still present in force.  It would place more vessels in peril at a time when no vessels could afford to be lost.  But the survivors could not afford to be abandoned either.  With the balance in the war shifting every last member of the race could spell the difference between victory and extinction.
   It had also been decided that if ships were to approach New Home Three the native race would reinforce that area after the sortie.  There would only be one true chance to evacuate the planet and it would be when the sortie was made.  If the planet was guarded there would be no evacuation but if it wasn't this would likely be the only chance.  To that end six of the Colony Vessels that had brought the race to the New Homes had been assigned to accompany the sortie.  They would load and carry as many survivors as was possible.
   It would take time to prepare for this.  There were many details to look after and many transmissions to be made.  But the first step had been taken.


October 2nd  2015 hours/Beijing, China

   Minister Po relaxed in his home.  Events were again beginning to go according to plan.  The setbacks were large but not insurmountable.  The disassembly and salvage operations were nearly complete and the combat groups had returned to Venus.  It was time to begin the preparations for the next move.  The Zhuang would begin repairs to the Shek while Venus Station would begin construction of two new Missile Frigates.   They could be completed much more quickly than a cruiser should the aliens be planning a second strike at Venus.  Untrained frigates had fared poorly against alien warships, but when supported by two cruiser groups and the Venus Station they should fare well enough.
   The loss of the units under construction at Venus had nearly ruined Po, but as soon as the newest frigates cleared the slips a new heavy cruiser would be started.  With the Shek and Minh Groups standing guard in addition to the Venus Station's own defenses, this ship would be completed.
   Minister Po leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.  'Then we will destroy all our enemies, alien or human.'


   2230 hours/Mary Reed, orbit of Triton

   The Dutchman sat and checked the updates from South Africa and Australia.  Preparations for the second support convoy to Triton were nearly complete.  The newest FSC 'warship', the Krait, had been completed a few days ago.  It had been based on highly modified designs of the Kestrel.  Smaller and faster than the Mary Reed, she now included the latest technology.  Her cargo and passenger capacity was only a fraction of the Mary Reed but in combat she should be just as dangerous.  At least that is how it looked on the drawing board.  Real life always seemed to have its own ideas of how things would work out.
   That small cargo capacity was going to be a problem though.  The Mary Reed and FSC Heavy Cargo Lifter 1(formerly Pan Euro he thought) had barely been able to carry half of the ordinance the troops had consumed in prior months of combat.  Up to this point ground combat had actually been favoring the US/Euro/Chinese troops.  But they had been adequately supplied and given orbital support by the US Interceptor Taylor.  The ground troops would have barely half the supplies available and with the battle moving underground would have no support from the orbital laser.  That wasn't good.   Next month would only see the Krait and a much smaller cargo ship arrive.  They would bring less than half what this mission had provided.  Next month could be a disaster.  At least no one was going to starve or freeze this month.  FSC Major General 'Ricky' Billings had taken command.  A veteran of the battle to defend the New Queensland Complex from the Chinese, he had ensured that supplies would be distributed to everyone left on the surface of Triton.  No exceptions.  Of course next month that might not be possible.
   "Sir, loading complete.  The last of the Chinese troops are aboard."
   "Good. Helm, plot a course for home and engage drive as soon as the board is green. Acceleration at 10G's and hold."  Pulling one of the Chinese Brigades off the surface should help with the supply situation.  They don't have enough bullets for them this month, and it will be one less brigade to support next month.  Of course with Chinese troops on board we will be limited to what we can do in combat.  Standard acceleration would crush them.
   'It also doesn't hurt to rub China's nose in the fact that we rescued their troops either.' he thought.

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 2

October 5th 0930 hours/US Space Station, Earth

   Admiral Bradley Walters felt the magnetic snap of his boot locking onto the work scaffold as he stepped off of the small lifter.  The lifter was filled with materials for the workers on the station to continue their repairs with, but space had been made for an admiral. 
   Bradley walked along the platform and looked at the wreckage of Slip One.  The slip had taken the brunt of the blast, but had protected the second shipyard by simply being in the way.   Bradley could see where the metal and composites had been burned or shattered by the wash of superheated particles.  It was hard to imagine a wisp of gas no denser than the air on Mars being able to cause this sort of damage.  But make that gas out of protons and electrons heated to nearly one million degrees, and then slam it into an object at over twenty percent of light speed and the damage was substantial.  A single proton would bury itself inside of a structure.  It would transfer its kinetic energy to heat as friction slowed it, and then rapidly heat the atoms around it.  In fractions of a second the transfer of heat and expansion it caused would turn into a shock wave shattering the materials around it.  Where the particle had lodged the heat transferred would be too great for the atomic structures to withstand and materials would break down.  Composites would fuse or oxidize while metals would lose temper and alloys char. 
   The magnetic pulse and radiation had burned up most of the electronics in the slipway.  It had also taken out the command staff areas of the station.  Most of the staff areas had been located in the outer rings to provide gravity for the personnel stationed there, but that had put them in a vulnerable position.  The electrical surge had traveled through the outer ring and destroyed nearly all of the living quarters for the military staff.  For the first time in nearly one hundred years, the Space Command and Control section was now located on the planet.  Plans were in the works to update the electronics and defenses of the station, but repairs would have to be made first.
   Bradley looked at the workers around him.  Equipment was being moved and mounted.  Sections of damage were being cut away.  New materials were being used to start frameworks for later construction and repairs.  Nearly all of the equipment of Slip Two was now moved out onto the hull of the station to assist in the repairs.  It placed the equipment and workers in a vulnerable position but there was no other option.  The US needed both of the slips operational.
   The inspection was only part of the reason Bradley had come to the station.  He looked out to the form in Slip Two and waited.  Lights flashed as mounting bolts were blown.  Streaks of white sprouted from the dark form and it began to move.  Drifting and spinning at the same time. Slowly at first and then faster.  It cleared the Earth's shadow and the object shined.  A long white structure of struts and cylinders with a great circular mirror at the end.  She was the Steadfast, the second of the US Q Ships to enter service.  It became smaller as it drifted away and was joined by two other faint dots in the dark sky.  And then the three dots became streaks of light, shooting stars in the darkness.
   For the coming months the US would have to place even greater reliance on the Q Ships.  With the equipment at Earth Station needed for repairs or upgrades, it would be many months before another ship could be started.  The US needed more ships than what the single slip at Mars could produce.  Ground based industry here at Earth would have to take up the slack but the Interceptor designs were not compatible with ground based launch.  Shipping the materials to orbit and assembling them there was terribly expensive.  The Q Ships were designed from freighters though and were made for landings on the Earth's surface.  Two more of the freighters the Q ships were based on lay in storage on the surface, set back for the day when the current ships in service had worn out.  Those two could quickly and cheaply be refitted and launched in the coming months.  They were a poor substitute for the Interceptors on paper, but in service had proven very capable.  For the next few months a fair percentage of the US Fleet would consist of converted civilian freighters.
   The Steadfast's first voyage would see her bound for Mars with two FSC companion ships.  At Mars the three would be joined by the Vigilance.  The four ships, laden with supplies, would then begin the nearly month long trip out system to Neptune.  Bradley knew those supplies were vital to the men and women trapped on the frigid moon far from home, but that wasn't what had inspired him to watch it leave.  On the Steadfast was one other small bit of cargo.  A bit meant for Rear Admiral Ryan.  A message that would crush one person as the supplies would save countless others.


October 7th  1500 hours/Queen Victoria, Earth orbit

   Admiral Brenna Muldoon stood beside the podium absently listening to the speaker address the gathered crowd of reporters.  Soon it would be her turn to make a statement.  As the ceremony and conference had been called for her promotion and assignment to the post of Commander, Pan European Space Forces, she would be expected to make a speech full of thank yous, condolences, and assurances that she would see the Pan Euro protected from any threat.  No matter how she actually felt it would all come out in the dull hollow monotone of her voice synthesizer.  To be honest, she had actually recorded it earlier and intended to simply replay it now.  She was not required to take questions at this ceremony and didn't intend to.
   Brenna's thoughts were to busy with the details of the command she had assumed.  That the Red October had been cleared for service that morning.  That Commodore McNeely would take the Red October and the rest of 3rd Battle Group out to the belt on convoy escort and patrol duties.  The reports on the newest missile research and work on what could be a revolutionary ship drive system if the scientists can actually make it work.  Trying to make plans on how to integrate these things into the tactical plans and ops based on projections that were likely just wild guesses.  The piles of daily administration and minutia that impeded any work that actually needed done.
   And the fact that all of it, even this ceremony, reminded her of all the old friends she had lost.  Esme, 'Liz, and now Jude.  All the friends she had spent so much time with.  Decades with.  Friends who had taught her. Helped her.  Looked after and protected her.  She had thought she was alone before - cut off from the rest of humanity by the body she was trapped in and the service she had lost herself in.  But now she knew that was a lie.  Now the world would turn to her and depend on her, for help and protection.  For hope.
   Now.  When she was truly, crushingly, alone.


October 10th  0215 hours/University of Cambridge, England

   Henk spun a pen around his finger over and over as he sipped on his coffee.  Waiting.
   "Will you please stop that." 
   "Something wrong, Thomas?"  A small smile was beginning to creep into Henk's carefully practiced blank expression.
   "You know quite well what is wrong.  Put the pen down.  I can't concentrate with you doing that."  Thomas picked up his cup of tea and glared at Henk.
   "Ya.  I don't want to start a food fight with hot beverages."  Henk sat the pen on the desktop.  "But why do you need to concentrate.  You asked me to take a look at this.  Not the other way around."
   "Yes, yes.  Fine.  What do you think?  Will it actually work?"  Thomas took a long sip of the tea and set it down near the pen.
   "Well, I can't see a reason why it wouldn't.  I am almost ashamed I didn't think of it myself.  You should be able to use this to modify the generated field and reorient the output of the multiple field lines on a single axis over quite a distance.  Get the harmonics right and you could move things around a couple thousand kilometers from your generator.  Doubt it would work near a planet with a substantial inherent magnetic field of its own.  You wouldn't be able to keep the fields aligned.  A version of this is probably how the aliens manage to manipulate objects without touching them."  Henk swiveled his chair to face Thomas.  "Who came up with this?"
   "Damned if I know.   Best as we can tell it came from some group of Chinese university students, but that could just be a cover story.  Two thirds of the world won't be able to check and see if they are, while the last third will be looking for folks that aren't there.  When China discover the folks behind this aren't in China, they aren't likely to share that fact with the rest of the world.  Pretty good cover story if you think of it."  Thomas picked up the pen and pointed to the screen both men had been looking at for the last two hours.  "See this.  Whoever it is either has access to classified data on the alien field generators, hacked their way into a database and stole it, or managed to figure the bloody things out for themselves.  Then they managed to take it a step farther."
   Henk chuckled.  "I don't know Thomas.  Sounds like a drunken frat prank from a bunch of college grad students to me.  They make this priceless discovery that could make them rich, but it is based on stolen data that would get them killed or jailed forever if they told anyone.  So what do they do?"  Henk started to chuckle and could see the grin forming on Thomas' face also.
   "Yes Henk.  They spammed the whole world with it." 

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 3

October 13th  2245 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 8 light seconds from Triton

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan felt the slight jostling as the Yari docked with the other half of Task Force 3, the Interceptor Mk IIb Taylor.  The helm announced "Docking complete.  Hard seal confirmed."  The crew began unlocking their stations to move about the bridge.  Jack could here Captain Wilson on the comm link.  "OK folks; let’s make this happen as fast as we can.  The Taylor has a job and we're keeping her from it."
     Jack knew that the troops on the ground depended on the Taylor for support, but the Yari was desperately in need of the supplies stored on Captain Brown's ship.  The surveillance of the alien convoy had taken a considerable amount of time and this had put an unhealthy amount of wear on the Yari.  Interceptors were immensely strong.  They had to be in order to survive the drive bloom that moved the ship.  Even with the design focus on structural integrity the drive's acceleration placed incredible stress on nearly every system on the ship, and routine maintenance was necessary to replace components before they failed.  The linkage in the forward section of the missile storage areas was beginning to show unacceptable amounts of wear, and nearly one third of the magnetic field generators were close to being taken out of service.     The last supply drop at Triton had left the Yari's stores in Captain Brown's ship.  It would take time to off load the material into the Yari's hold and during that time both ships would be vulnerable.  If the ships stayed in orbit of Triton while they were docked it would be visible to any sensor arrays that the aliens may still have operating on the moon.  Jack had ordered the ships to move out to eight light seconds - over the protests of Captain Brown. The number of support requests from the surface had dwindled now that most of the fighting had moved into the underground shelters of the aliens.  They should be able to cope for the next hour.
   From this distance the aliens would find it difficult to identify what the Interceptors were doing, but they would know the ships had not left.  The Interceptors could identify any alien ships moving near the moon and would have adequate time to respond, thereby avoiding danger to the Interceptors.  The greatest danger was to the ground troops.  If alien ships arrived they could launch multiple times on the soldiers and their supply depots before the Interceptors would be able to intervene.  Of course if the Interceptors were destroyed while they were docked, the aliens would be able to complete many more launches.
   "Sir, Engineering reports that it will be twenty five minutes until the materials are on board and secured."
   Jack looked over the reports on the shields.  "Comm, relay orders to Captain Brown to resume station at Triton following separation.  Captain Wilson, we will not lock stations following separation.  Prep the crew for full diagnostics of all systems.  All preventative maintenance and service checklists to be completed."  Several of the crew paused in their work as he spoke.  Jack knew the crew was looking forward to getting some free time away from their stations, but this wouldn't exactly be what they had been hoping for.
   "Folks, we're a long ways from home and we're not in the good part of town.  Get this girl ready to fight, then you can rest."


October 15th  0300 hours/Surface of Titan

   Li Xue took off the weighted belt and hung it on the rack by the door.  She rubbed at the muscles on her lower back trying to ease the constant ache.  Wearing 15 kilos of lead all day to try and reduce the amount of 'bouncing' wasn't something she enjoyed.  Li walked slowly to her bunk and sat down.  Hers was the bottom bed on a stack four high.  'At least I got lucky there.'  She looked around the room at the rest of the beds and women.  She shared this bay with 31 other women, and likely would until she returned to Earth.
   Li looked at the far wall of the bay.  Her bay was set along the outer wall of the habitat, and the interlocking grey-black hexagons stretched from floor to ceiling.  She wondered how many of them she had helped make.  All day long she had worked in the plant producing the six sided 'panes' that were fitted together to form the outsides of the habitats.  They were made from a type of 'fiberglass' made from the abundant hydrocarbons on the moon.  She decided having her bed far from the wall was also a good thing.  The four inch thick panes kept out the noxious atmosphere, but the cold still crept through.  'A cold draft on my sore back is just what I need.  Then the cramps could go from uncomfortable to unbearable.'
   "Are you alright?"  It was Mae Ling.  She was younger than Li, but they worked together in the fabrication section and had become friends.  'Quite a bit younger to be honest.' Li thought.  'A lot more coordinated too.  How does she gets in and out of that bed four meters off the floor so easily?'  Li looked up to see the bright face of Mae looking over the edge of the top bunk.  'I'm old enough to be her mother.'  Li thought.  Suddenly Mae pulled herself over the edge of the bed and made the slow motion fall to the floor.  'It's like watching a movie, only I'm in it.'
   "It just my back.  Sore again.  Those panels don't feel like they weigh much but they are so awkward."  Li could see Mae nodding, but she had seen Mae move the two meter sections around like it was nothing.
   "Lay down." Mae said.  "On your stomach silly.  How can I rub your back if you’re looking at me?"
   Li rolled over and wondered how Mae could always be so cheerful.  Then Mae was wrapping her legs around the bed frame for leverage and massaging the muscles of her back.
   "I got to go outside today, Li."  Mae said.  "It dark, cloudy, and smoggy.  I was hoping to see the rings of Saturn, but you can't see anything in the sky.  It looks like a parking lot at midnight out there.  With rocks on it.  Except the stream was fun.  It is kind of like syrup, and if you stick the foot of your suit in the stream it starts to boil."
   Li perked up at the last part.  "Really?"  Then she put her head back down.  Her back was finally beginning to unknot.
   "Yes, but I was really hoping to see the rings.  Is your back feeling better?"
   "Very much.  Thank you.  Is there something I can do for you?" Li said.
   "Hey, it's your turn to rub my back tomorrow.  Wearing those belts is murder."  Mae stood and launched herself up to the top bunk.  "Eight more hours and its back to work.  See you then."
   "Good night, Mae."  Li lay in her bed and wondered if Mae's back actually hurt.  'Maybe this place is hard on even the young kids.'  Li closed her eyes and went to sleep.

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 4

October 17th  0740 hours/ASV Red October, asteroid belt 8 light minutes from Hygiea Colony

   "Sir, we have sensor contact with Pan Euro Standard Cargo number zero eight six.  They report that the drive shield is intact but the particle accelerators suffered damage when the coolant system failed.  They report twelve crew on board.  They do not have a ship's boat or lifter, only docking equipment."
   Rear Admiral Robert McNeely listened to the Communications Officer absently.  He was watching the sensor returns on his monitor.  Something had happened in the belt and they were here to find out what.  About twelve hours ago Convoy #041011 had lost two ships in a matter of seconds.  A third had suffered drive damage as it had fled.  Luckily the other twelve made it safely away from the area and had been diverted to Mars.  'I'm sure it had to be alien warships, but why let twelve ships get away and leave the cripple unmolested?  Unless it is bait.'  
   "Prep the Ship Boat for deployment.  We will transfer the crew of 086 to the Red October."  Robert knew it was going to take two trips for them to transfer the freighter's crew, and that docking would be faster.  He simply didn't want to risk tying down the Red October in a dock if alien warships were near.
   "Sensor Conn, locate the nearest wreckage from the destroyed ships.  Helm, as soon as the survivors are on board move us close enough to get a good scan of the debris.  Comm, get a download of the sensor logs from Standard Cargo 086.  Transfer all of our sensor data on any wreckage and 086's sensor log to the scientific crew for analysis.  Notify all ships we will be maintaining general quarters until further notice."  The convoy had indicated in its distress broadcasts that they had lost two ships to unknown causes and that their sensors had shown no alien ships present.  Perhaps the instruments on board the Red October would be able to determine what had happened.  Pirates were not unknown, but there was no sense in blowing up a ship before you looted it.  No, this was the aliens.  But where were they?


   0830 hours/Patrol Vessel 17,  12 light minutes beyond the debris field

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 17 (the Commander of Fleets to everyone that isn't on this ship the Commander thought) issued the order for the Patrol Group to adjust their velocity and maintain this position outside the debris fields, then shut down their drives and magnetic protective fields.  'They seldom come looking for us beyond the debris fields.  With our drives and fields down, we should be safe.'
   The Commander replayed the ship's log and sensor returns from the recent engagement.  The Patrol Group had managed to disengage rapidly and avoid sustaining any losses, but the Commander wanted to know if there was any way to avoid an encounter at such close quarters in the future.  The last Support Vessel had only brought four Scout Craft.  That made it impossible to emplace an effective screen around the Patrol Group.
   The Commander rechecked the sensor logs, but the first enemy contact only became visible at less than four light seconds.  Moments later it and a second contact had entered weapons range.  To its credit the Patrol Group had been able to react quickly and destroy both contacts.  Initial sensor readings had shown that both ships were likely the native race's version of Support Vessels, but during the last few contacts with enemy Support Groups they had been guarded by enemy warships.  Avoiding those warships had been a priority, so the Patrol Group had engaged drives for combat acceleration and disengaged before any enemy vessels were able to close into weapon range.
   The Commander closed the logs.  For the moment it appeared the only action that could be taken was to relocate the group outside of the debris fields.  There were other important tasks to attend to.  The Mobile Repair Vessel had finished the modifications to Patrol Vessel 17.  Most of the internal baffles and plating had been removed to make room for additional magnetic field generators.  The number of field generators on Patrol Vessel 17 had now been doubled.  Some of the Elder's had argued that removing the plating would leave the Vessels vulnerable to the enemy weapon that seemed to be able to bypass the protective fields.  The Commander could still remember the forceful transmission he had sent to the Assembly of Elders.  In it he had admitted that this weakness would be present, but that if the Elders were to review ALL available sensor logs that NO Vessel had been destroyed in combat by that weapon system.  Several ships had sustained damage, but all had been destroyed by drive detonations of enemy torpedoes.  For that fact any measure that could reduce damage from enemy torpedoes should be taken.
   Patrol Vessel 17 and Assault Vessel 2 were now the first examples of this initiative.  The unfortunate side effect was the necessary recalibration of nearly all the instruments on board Patrol Vessel 17.  The additional magnetic flux would continue to interfere with sensor, weapon, and drive operation until all of the calibrations were complete.  Risking an engagement with a Patrol Vessel in such a state was not an option.  The Elders would most likely disagree with that assessment.  They would want to see as many enemy vessels destroyed as possible.  They would not consider that losing more Patrol Vessels just to destroy a few enemy support vessels was foolish.  With fleet levels so low, every Vessel was valuable and not to be risked needlessly.
   The Commander checked the progress on the recalibration.  Much still needed to be done.


October 20th  2100 hours/Queensland Research Facility, Earth

   Chairman Mukata walked down the hallway.  He hated having to deal with cyborgs, but the board had decided this Jager fellow needed to be reminded that it was costing a considerable amount to continue funding his work.  Work that had so far shown no usable results.  The continued diversion of resources and assets from more 'profitable' endeavors would require some results quickly.  With the financial strain of the deployment and support to Neptune that the FSC had undertaken, funding for 'frivolous' projects would not be tolerated.
   He would also be reminded that his status as an immigrant to the FSC could be revoked.  The penalty for a nonresident trespassing on secure FSC property was very severe.  He also needed to understand the fact that members of his immediate and extended family could also suffer as they were 'detained and questioned' concerning any possible 'breach of security'.
   The problem was that unlike a person it was nearly impossible to see whether these 'reminders' were having any effect.  A shiny black polycarbonate composite faceplate showed no emotion.  Most models also had neural filters in place to reduce any signals to the cyborg body that could be due to emotional or adverse stimuli.  This was necessary to avoid unwanted reactions to the acceleration they would undergo on ships with a nuclear drive and improved performance under combat conditions.  
   It also made the damned things nearly unreadable from a human point of view.
   "Identify."
   Mukata stood at the entrance to Bay 3. The flat voice addressing him was just as emotionless as the one he would have to deal with.  Mukata turned to face the small lens and said "Chairman."  The door slid open as the voice and face recognition software verified his identity.  Mukata stepped into the bay and was greeted by the view of an enormous structure with dozens of workers perched on it.  Just as many workers were scattered about the floor attending to other tasks and equipment.  Three sets of robotic production equipment were cutting and joining materials, fabricating parts for whatever this thing was.  Mukata finally spotted the black form of Jager standing near a portable monitor looking over some sort of data.  Mukata slowly picked his way through the equipment until he reached the cyborg.  At least the workers had the decency to move quickly out of a board member’s way.
   "Jager, we need to speak."  Mukata waited as the cyborg finished whatever he was typing into the computer and then turned.  "I need to know how far you are from completing your work."  Mukata gestured to the large structure beside them.  He watched as Jager turned to look at the structure, then back to him.
   "That isn't the system.  We haven't completed the design work on that yet.  This is simply the frame and bay for it."
   Mukata looked at the blank faceplate and saw his own reflection and could see that his face was betraying much more emotion than Jager ever could.  It wasn't a happy emotion right now either.  "This is WHAT!  You haven't even begun work fabricating the systems yet?  What have you been spending all of your funding on?!  If we find any accounting discrepancies...do you understand what the consequence will be!"  Apparently the workers nearby did as they tried to put distance between themselves and the Chairman.
   "Chairman, you need to understand this isn't like designing a new radio and installing it in your limo.  First we have to get an idea what it is that we are going to make, then we have to design something that will hold it while withstanding the stress of several thousand G's.  Then we have to figure out how to get the two together so they will not only withstand that stress, but still be able to function during it.  This is just the first small step."  Jager stood as still as stone while Mukata listened to the flat monotone of his voice.   Mukata took a deep breath to try and gain some control.  'The board will want this cyborg destroyed, and me along with him.'  Mukata thought.
   "This project is going to cost too much in its current form, and it would seem your progress is inadequate.  I can assure you the board will not allow you to remain in control of this project.  This lack of progress will have dire consequences for you and your family.  Do you understand?"  'It will also have rather poor consequences for me, assuming they let me live.'  Mukata looked at the cyborg.  It might as well have been a statue for all he could tell.
   "Chairman, the board can replace me if they chose, but I don't believe that will reduce the project's cost or speed its completion.  I would expect it to do the opposite actually.  We are nearly finished with the design stage of the system and hope to begin fabrication of a prototype by the end of next month.  When that occurs we will be able to release a number of our developers, their staff, and equipment for other projects.  This should reduce our current expenditures by twenty to twenty five percent."
   The cyborg was still standing like a statue.  Mukata was trying to put on his best poker face.  Jager needed to be motivated to speed the completion of this project.  But at the same time even twenty percent of his budget would be able to pay for the entire operation at Neptune, with some left over to spare.  Mukata put on his hard, cold, you could be dead by next month look.  "You can cut cost by no less than twenty percent by the end of next month? And show a completed prototype design?"
   The cyborg just stood there.  "This is an entirely new field.  I can't guarantee results.  My best projections would give a completed design schematic, not prototype, and completion of the design teams work by end of next month.  We would start prototype work at that point if this frame is complete.  Either projects completion, either the frame or the schematic, will reduce cost by no less than twenty percent."
   Mukata looked at the black figure in front of him.  "I can guarantee what will happen if there are no results or cost reductions by the end of next month.  I want a full report on all current projects and research along with an accounting of all expenditures for the board's review before I leave."  Mukata turned and began to make his way out of the bay.  He was not sure if this Jager understood the seriousness of the situation, but the promise of a twenty percent reduction would keep them both alive for one more month.


October 26th  2250 hours/Ministry of Defense, Beijing, China

   Minister Po tried to maintain a calm facade.  This was not his embarrassment.  Others had been instrumental in the landings and combat on Triton.  His faction had stressed simple destruction of the aliens, or any enemies of the Chinese Empire, through space borne assets.  Not getting bogged down in ground actions.
   The problem was that this was an embarrassment for the Chinese Empire, and he would have to share in it.
   It had been announced that a full brigade of Chinese soldiers would return to Earth on board FSC ships.  Actually, on just one FSC ship.  Having another power bring home her troops was bad enough for China.  That it was the smallest of the space faring powers made it worse.  Today had been an outrage.
   The FSC ship, commanded by a known pirate called 'The Dutchman', had landed not in China to the heroes welcome that was prepared.  He had landed near the Queensland Complex.  The world watched the countless video feeds as ragged Chinese troops filed off the ship, help and aided by the FSC personnel.  In the background were the remnants of the wreckage left from China's nuclear strike on that site.  Interviews of the soldiers had been broadcast.  Interviews detailing the lack of supplies and mass deaths of Chinese soldiers left on Triton.  Making public the decision to only support combat effective units at the expense of all other personnel.
   The worst was the video of soldiers requesting asylum in the FSC, and pledging to join THEIR military in support of those who had rescued them.  Po was sure that any who had spoken out against China would need that asylum.  Of course their families here in China might not fare as well.
   Debate was raging on the floor amongst the Ministers.  'What is the appropriate response?  Should there be any retaliation for this outrage?'  On and on.  Po knew it was only those individuals venting their outrage and fury.  In the end nothing would be done.  Those troops who wanted to come home would come home.  Parades would still be held, and celebrations in their honor.  Those who did not...well, there had never been any expectation of anyone coming home.  It had been ensured that anyone who could be a security risk had been evacuated from the moon before the last Chinese ship had departed.  Those left were an embarrassment, but not a liability.

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 5

October 27th  1415 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, orbit of Triton

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan sat locked at his station.  It was the Yari's turn at general quarters, which meant a lot of time spent locked in your station.  On the far side of Triton the Taylor was just standing down.  They had watched from the sky of Triton, but no requests for ground support had been made.  The combat was purely underground now, and definitely one sided from reports that came through.  Only a small fraction of the aliens were armed now, with many small underground enclaves wiped out with no loss of human life.  There were even reports of unarmed aliens attempting to fight power armor or cyborg troops.  Twenty kilo creatures, even if they could 'push' you from a few meters away, stood no chance against power armor.  Most reports of this seemed to occur when immature specimens were present.  'Even this race fights to protect their young.' Jack thought.  'Of course if any creature didn't, it wouldn't survive very long.'
   A small box popped up on Jack's monitor.  He keyed it open.  It was simply a message from Captain Brown indicating that they were going to begin running diagnostics on most of their equipment.  With the Vigilance and Steadfast due to arrive in the next 24 hours, he wanted to be ready.
   Jack closed the message and wondered if it had been relayed by the ground station on Triton or if the Taylor's boat had sent it.  With the Taylor on the far side of Triton, they were cut off from each other.  With surface combat nearing an end, Captain Brown had requested that the ground troops place a communications relay team on a particular site.  The standard station of the Taylor would become a position above Triton directly in line with Neptune.  The Yari would take up the exact opposite position.  Since Triton was tide locked to Neptune, a surface site that put Neptune just on the moon's horizon would be able to see both ships and relay messages.  The ground troops had been only too happy to finally grant a request from the Taylor.
   The problem was when the Taylor closed down to the surface for a fire mission.  At that point it would lose line of sight on the ground station.  To remedy that a ship's boat had been stationed one quarter of a light second from Triton.  It could relay messages quite easily in that situation.  It had actually made the ground site unnecessary as the extra half second delay using the boat was actually rather prompt considering most space comm traffic lags.  But the ground site was still in use, and good back up.
   A red warning prompt flashed on Jack's monitor.  He could hear the Sensor Officer calling out new contacts even as he opened the alert message.  "New contacts times three.  Alpha times one.  Echo times two.  Range of seven point five light seconds.  Speed is four six seven zero clicks per seconds.  No delta v.  Bearing zero three two, ascension zero point two.  Course zero six one, ascension minus two.  Magnetic signature now present."
   Jack checked the tactical plot to see that the aliens were closing directly on Triton.  The Yari was far enough from Triton they would be easy to see.  Of course if the aliens didn't have communications with the surface, the Taylor might come as a bit of a surprise.   Jack could hear Captain Wilson calling out orders to get the drive on line and begin acceleration toward the alien ships.  The Yari would need to come up to speed, but had to turn rather quickly.  If they got too close this fight would be over quickly.  First priority was that the Taylor needed to know.  With Triton in the way they were blind to what was happening.  "Comm, alert the Taylor to these contacts.  Order them to hold position until they have battle stations."
   "New contacts times six.  All contacts classed as Tango.  No magnetic field.  Same bearing and course as initial contacts. Trailing Alpha by one light second."  Jack quickly pulled up what data they had on the Tango class while the world turned into a grey haze as the drive engaged.  Tangos had only been noted in two prior engagements and were the large slow moving ships he had destroyed in the closing parts of the battle at Uranus.  They were apparently unarmed but had been used here at Neptune as suicide ships.  Their slow acceleration and low top speed had made them ineffective at that battle.  'Of course, if they simply aim for Triton and our troops, they will be plenty fast enough.  But we need to worry about the ships that can shoot right now.  It's three on one and they've got the speed advantage. For all we know that's the 'Baron' out there.'
   Jack could hear Captain Wilson continuing to give orders.  "Helm, bring the ship to full combat acceleration.  Bring course to zero niner zero.  Weapon Conn, begin plot for firing solutions."  At least Wilson wasn't going to let the aliens get too close.  Everyone knew that the US intercept rates were better only at the very long and very short ends of combat range.  The trick was not letting them get past the end of the Hera Missile's effective range but inside the alien’s engagement envelope.  Getting shot at when you couldn't shoot back was a good way to die.
   Jack cut in on the comm link.  "Weapon Conn, priority of fire to Echo One.  They've all got just one launch bay, let’s take the easy kills first.  Helm, try to hold range at five light seconds."  Jack watched the sensor returns as the alien ships altered course slightly.  'We are just too slow; they are going to be able to dictate a lot of this engagement.'
   The Sensor Conn cut in again.  "Alpha and Echoes changing aspect and thermal signature.  Coming about on heading zero zero three.  Accelerating.  Range five point two light seconds and matching course to us.  New contacts times three, inbounds.  Time to intercept nineteen seconds."
   Jack looked at the sensor readings.  They were too slow.  They could implement the evasive maneuver protocol, but it would slow the Yari down even more.  They might shake a few intercepts but would never be able to return fire.  The Yari would just have to weather this storm as she came up to speed.  Jack watched as the inbounds closed.  Suddenly the sensor returns cut out as the weapons detonated along the Yari's course.  Warning boxes flashed on Jack's monitor as shield generators went off line.  Two thirds of them.  But the shields had held and nothing had reached the hull.  'We can't take much more of that.'


   1418 hours/Patrol Vessel 24, 5.25 light seconds from Triton

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 monitored the sensor returns.  Through them he could feel that the enemy Patrol Vessel was trying to disengage, but it would be impossible.  This ship was no stranger to combat.  Patrol Vessel 24 had fought the native race twice already and served alongside the current Commander of Fleets.  The enemy vessel would not escape in time.  The second Patrol Vessel hiding behind New Home 3 was a coward.  If it chose to hide, they would be able to destroy both of these enemy vessels in detail.  Together the enemy ships might have had a chance for at least one to escape, but now the second enemy ship was in range and had not even started accelerating.  It would never be able to escape.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 felt the drive stop and then a second torpedo leave the ship.  Moments later torpedoes left from both Attack Vessels 3 and 4.  Neither of those vessels had seen combat before this, but were performing well.  Although they were smaller and carried fewer torpedoes, they could still launch as quickly as a Patrol Vessel and their magnetic protective fields were just as strong.  The Commander sensed the torpedoes detonate one after another, and then could feel that the enemy vessel had lost its protective field.  'Good.'  It would die soon enough.
   The Commander sensed that the firing solutions for the third launch were beginning to cancel themselves out.  The enemy Patrol Vessel had turned again.  It was banking behind the great planet that New Home 3 orbited.  This enemy commander was no fool either.  His comrade may be a coward but his ship was vulnerable with its fields down.  The planet would be able to protect him while giving him more time to come up to speed.  The planet would prevent any successful launches for a short time, but the enemy ship would clear it soon. 
   The problem was that if the enemy Patrol Vessel used the planet's gravity, he could turn back toward Patrol Vessel 24 and bring the group into range. Patrol Vessel 24 could stop accelerating to prevent this, but if the group did and the enemy ship had turned away while continuing to accelerate, he would be able to successfully disengage.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 ordered the ships to continue accelerating.  The enemy vessel was vulnerable.  Its commander would try to disengage.  If he did not, he would be quickly destroyed now that his protective field was disabled.  And then the last enemy ship would be destroyed.


   1419 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 0.5 light seconds from Neptune

   Jack looked at the pre-plot of the firing solutions.  The ship's boat at Triton was still forwarding sensor data from the troops on the ground.  The aliens would have to guess what he was about to do, but he knew where they were.
   "Clearing Neptune.  Sensor lock on Echo One. Missiles away."  Jack watched as the sensors picked up the outbound missiles, and then moments later the inbounds from the alien ships.  'We are still too slow to try and shake those birds.  We need to come up to speed.'  Jack thought.  "Helm, continue full acceleration. Bring us to course one two zero and get us away from those inbounds.  Our only defense is going to be distance for the moment."
   The Comm Officer cut through.  "Taylor is reporting battle stations."
   Jack quickly punched the Comm over ride.  "Randy you hold position till those ships clear Triton.  Then give 'em everything you've got.  They will turn to follow us and it'll bring 'em right to you.  Don't screw this up."
   Jack watched as his missiles followed Echo One and then clouded the sensors as their drives overloaded and turned them into clouds of plasma and radiation.     "Echo One, shield down."  Jack wanted to grin as the Sensor Officer confirmed what he was seeing on his monitor.  Then Jack turned his attention to the three inbounds quickly closing on the Yari.  'With all of our shields off line, we really could use some luck right now.'


   1420 hours/Interceptor MkIIb Z Taylor, orbit of Triton

   "OK people.  You know what the plan is. You can do this.  NO ONE is better than you.  You've conducted more fire missions with this ship than every crew in the history of the US put together.  MAKE THIS HAPPEN."  Captain Randall Brown knew that gripping the ends of the armrests wasn't going to help, but he hoped his pep talk could.  They were about to try something they knew could be done.  They had seen the records of what Leffler and the Discovery had done at Ceres and this crew had put more time in on a laser battery than anyone.  They just needed to get this right.
   "Contacts times three clearing Triton.  Range at zero point five light seconds.  Closing.  Sensor lock." 
   "Firing solutions coming on line." 
   "Drive engaged."
   The crew was spouting off the information as it came up.  Getting everything ready.  It was now or never.
   "Helm, get us as close to Echo Two as you can.  Lock Hera firing solution on Echo One and launch.  Hold on laser battery.  Five meter colmination, emergency dump on the capacitor. I want the shortest pulse you can get. Wait for Echo Two to launch. Target launch signature." Randy watched as his screen filled with data.  Changed colors as the drive cut in and out for the missile launch, then back in.  Reports of launches from the Alpha and Echo One.  And then the launch from Echo Two.
   Randy felt the drive cut out, allowing the output couplers to align for the laser battery.  Waited for the capacitor to release its energy and send a bolt of light speeding through the vacuum of space.
   'We've put fire on over a thousand targets in less than three months. Now we just need to hit a bullet with a faster bullet.'

   
   1420 hours

   Attack Vessel Three had restarted its drive after launching the torpedo.  The Attack Vessels had been made to carry the same magnetic defenses and weapons as a Patrol Vessel, but in a smaller and cheaper package.  This required some compromises.  One had been that although the internal launch bay was still hardened, it was much more vulnerable than on a Patrol Vessel.  Attack Vessels also had minimal external plating and baffles.  The bay was still protected from the hull battering wash of particles and heat generated by a drive detonation.  It was also safe from the rapid heating of the enemy's energy weapon that painted a ship with a beam which rivaled the surface of a star, then shattered away sections from the surface of the hull as they violently expanded. 
   But it was never designed to stop a smaller beam.  One that carried the same energy and put it on an area only ten meters across.  A brief pulse that coursed down only thirty meters of the Attack Vessel's hull, generating heat that rivaled the core of a star.
   All of it focused on the small magnetic signature left by the torpedo's launch.
   The crew never had time to react as a light brighter than any star pierced the Attack Vessel and turned the launch bay into so much melted composites and super heated gas.


   1421 hours/Patrol Vessel 24, 0.75 light seconds from Triton toward Neptune

    The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 struggled to control both his station and the battle around him.  'How could the second enemy Patrol Vessel cause so much damage.  The first launch from the second enemy ship had crippled Attack Vessel 4 and left it nearly blind, and Attack Vessel 3 had reported that its launch bay had been destroyed.  How?!  A second launch had destroyed Attack Vessel 4.  Now Attack Vessel 3 was trying to disengage while the second enemy Patrol Vessel was coming around behind Patrol Vessel 24.  The first enemy vessel was moving at a speed that Patrol Vessel 24 could not match and would soon be out of range.  Abruptly the drive of Patrol Vessel 24 shut down and the ship began to vent.  They had been hit with whatever invisible weapon the enemy used.  Plating had been shattered along one side of Patrol Vessel 24.  It was now two on one against him.  How had the battle changed so quickly?
   The Commander looked hard at the situation.  The second enemy Patrol Vessel was trying to get behind his ship, but it was to slow.  It did not have the speed to dictate the tactical situation.  The first enemy Patrol Vessel was bereft of protective fields and damaged.  It apparently had suffered no drive damage but couldn't withstand many more intercepts.  'It will be reluctant to engage Patrol Vessel 24 while our magnetic fields are intact.'  This situation was less dire than it might seem.  But the second enemy Patrol Vessel still had its magnetic fields and had shown itself to be a dangerous opponent.  If Patrol Vessel 24 turned to face the second enemy vessel it could be caught between two enemy ships with only its single launch bay.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 altered the field at his station and a message sped away across the void.  The native race was not the only ones capable of surprises. 'Now we will see who is caught in the middle.'


   1422 hours/Interceptor MkIIb Z Taylor, 1 light second from Triton along moons orbital path

   "Captain, shields at thirty percent strength.  Third launch coming on line."  Randy listened to the reports as the crew struggled to get the ship up to speed and behind the Alpha.  If they could hang onto the fleeing ship they just might take it down.
   Red boxes flashed on his screen.  Even before he could open the prompts the Sensor Conn was on the comm link. "Change in contacts Tango Two and Five.  Increase in thermal signature.  Speed now seven one five zero kilometers per second.  Accelerating.  Magnetic field detected on both Tangos.  Redesignating as Bravo One and Two.  Magnetic pulse detected."
   "Damn, those ships have mass drivers." 'At least they missed us.  Otherwise we'd have been hit by now.'  Randy looked at the sensor returns.  The two 'Bravos' were closing on not only the Taylor, but Triton.  'If we disengage they are going to hammer our troops.  We need to keep them busy, but this isn't going to be easy.'  Randy keyed open the comm link.  "Helm, bring us around to course two two three.  Continue full acceleration.  Weapon Conn, change launch priority to Bravo One."
   "Captain, aspect change on the Yari.  She's coming about and implementing the evasion protocol.  She's going to re-engage the Alpha."
   Randy checked the sensor returns.  Sure enough the Yari was coming about.  'Lord knows we need the Alpha off our back, but you’re going to get yourself killed Jack.'  Randy quickly typed a small note to Rear Admiral Ryan for transmission.
   
      ATTN REAR ADM RYAN

      FIRST ROUNDS ON ME WHEN WE GET BACK HOME
      GOOD HUNTING


   1423 hours/Interceptor MkIII Yari, 8.75 light seconds from Triton

   "Come around and fight damn it."  Jack stared at the sensor returns and tried to will the Alpha to change course.  The few moments stuttering the drive and changing aspect had cost the Yari speed.  He had hoped to avoid the next launch from the Alpha.  Instead the alien had continued changing course and turning back toward the Taylor.  The Yari needed time to come back up to speed and get the Alpha in range.
   Randy was giving the aliens hell though.  The two armed alien freighters had managed to batter down the Taylor's shields and even caused her to vent.  But the Taylor had hammered Tango Two.  Several times.  Now they were locked in a twisting battle.  The Taylor was faster and pouring fire into the lead Tango, and at the same time maneuvering to avoid letting the second Tango line up a shot.  'But he's a sitting duck for that Alpha.'
   Seconds ticked by and then the first Tango disappeared as its drive shield failed.  Jack watched as the Taylor maneuvered to bring the second armed Tango in line for attack.  He watched as Randy's ship began to rapidly change aspect and decelerate.  Employing the maneuver protocol to avoid the launch from the Alpha.  But it was too little, too late.  The Taylor and her crew disappeared in the drive detonation of the alien missile.
   The Alpha was beginning to come around toward the Yari again.  Its shields were still up, as were those on the second armed Tango.  'If I give the order, this crew will take us in against those ships.  Even with us damaged and outnumbered.  But we can't win.  God help the soldiers on that moon.'
   "Helm, bring us about to heading zero niner niner.  Full combat speed.  Comm, broadcast for the Vigilance and Steadfast.  Let them know what happened here and our position.  We're going to need their help to save anyone left alive when we get back."
   'And we will be back.'


   1431 hours/Armed Colony Vessel 7, 1 light second from New Home 3

   The Commander of Colony Vessel 7 waited as the ships formed up.  The Patrol Vessel had suffered minor damage to its exterior plating but that was all.  Attack Vessel 3 had lost its launch bay, but was otherwise operational.  All four of the unarmed Colony Vessels had escaped harm.  Armed Colony Vessel 1 had been destroyed but his ship, Armed Colony Vessel 7, had survived undamaged.  Now was time for it to fulfill its purpose. 
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 had issued orders to Colony Vessel 7.  The Commander altered the field at his station and reached his perception out through the sensors of his vessel.  Sensed the signatures of the enemy troops on New Home 3's surface.  Their supplies and heavy weapons.  Then felt the pulse as the mass driver launched the packet of metallic hydrogen at the surface.
   Then felt satisfaction as he sensed the detonation on the surface, and the enemy died.

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 6

October 27th  1810 hours/Patrol Vessel 24, 4 light seconds from New Home 3

   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 waited impatiently at his station.  Most of the enemy troops and their supplies had been destroyed.  A number had sheltered underground and that was regrettable.  With the loss of Armed Colony Vessel 1, there was no longer enough capacity to evacuate the entire population remaining on New Home 3.  A million and a half survivors could be loaded, but that would still leave nearly a quarter of a million that would be unable to make the trip.  With enemy troops still on the surface of New Home 3, there was little hope for those left behind.  There would be no more rescues.
   No further contact had been made with warships of the native race, but it was only a matter of time until they returned.  One enemy Patrol Vessel had escaped destruction and would carry news of the attack.  The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 had orders only to clear the space around New Home 3 long enough to complete landing and loading the Evacuation Group.  The mass drivers of the Armed Colony Vessels were to destroy what enemy troops they could target and then the group was to depart. 
   The Commander knew he had disobeyed those orders by committing the Armed Colony Vessels to combat against an enemy Patrol Vessel, and that the loss of Armed Colony Vessel 1 was going to be a serious blemish on his record.  He was also sure that it had been necessary for the Evacuation Group to clear the space around New Home 3.  One and a half million lives saved would be more important than a single Armed Colony Vessel lost.
   The Commander of Patrol Vessel 24 felt the field at his station alter as the message announcing that the last of the Colony Vessels had completed loading passengers was received.  The Commander altered the field at his station to send a message of his own to the group.
   It was time to leave.

October 28th  1930 hours/7 light minutes from Triton

   Rear Admiral Jack Ryan looked over status reports on his monitor.  They had managed to rendezvous with the convoy bound for Triton, but the next step was not so clear.  The convoy included three armed ships, the US Q Ships Vigilance and Steadfast, and the FSC Armed Freighter Krait.  Four on two was good odds but deceptive in this case.  The Steadfast and Krait were only weeks out of dock and the crews were unprepared for combat.  The Vigilance was a veteran of several battles but was still in the process of recalibrating and checking systems after the recent repairs at Mars Station.  The Yari was in even worse shape.  The shields had been restored to function, but portions of the missile storage bays had been damaged, along with most of the electronics on the bridge.  Many of the systems on the bridge were now operational, but it would take little to knock them off line.  It would only take a little more for the ship to come apart.
   'Regardless, we have to go back.  The aliens may have reinforced but it seems unlikely.  If they had any more assets nearby, they would have committed them to the attack.  If there are any troops left alive on the ground, the longer we wait the more of them will die.'  The thought of the ground troops made Jack remember Randy.  Captain Brown has spent the last few months doing everything he could to keep those troops alive.  It now included dying to protect them.
   'We need to hurry back.'
   For the moment the Yari wasn't going anywhere.  She was docked to the Steadfast.  The supplies they had loaded only days ago had ended up vented during the battle.  The crew was in the process of loading on the bare minimum required to keep the Yari operational, but it was still going to take time.  As soon as that was complete, the group would begin the move to Triton.  'What we're going to do when we get there, well, I've got six more hours to figure that out.
   Jack looked up to see a cyborg standing at attention in front of his station.  It was a vaguely female form holding a small metallic tablet. 'Must be from the Steadfast.  No one on this ship would bring me a report.' Jack looked again and noticed no name or rank was displayed on his HUD.  'Strange.  Looks like this one is put together from odds and ends of several different models.  Hell, looks like it might even be from several manufacturing sites.  Not all of them US by the look of it.'
   Jack paused for a moment to think.  No name or rank, and the model is indistinct.  'Is she a spook?'  Jack had heard of cyborg spies before, but always dismissed the whole thing as rumor control.  Scuttlebutt was that they were cobbled together to make them fit in about anywhere, particularly with civilian models.  They were supposed to be dropped on other nations colonies.  They could survive in most any environment, and conduct surveillance on otherwise unreachable locations.  They had no intrinsic identity, and using onboard programs could copy another 'borgs ID software settings and blend into a foreign population.  'But why in the hell send a spook out here.  There isn't anyone out here other than aliens to look at, and they are underground.  It won't be easy to get a look at them.'
   Jack suddenly realized that Triton wasn't the only possible site this spook would want to go.  'They know about our little trip to Sedna back home.'  Jack could feel himself slump into his station.  'My ship is shot to hell, and they are going to expect me to get this girl on the ground at Sedna so she can begin surveillance on any aliens there.'  Jack sat back up at his station.  'This isn't going to work if that is the plan, and whoever ordered this insane little mission is about to be disappointed.'
   Jack stood up and held out his hand.  "Alright whoever the hell you are.  Give me the damned orders and report in."  The cyborg in front of him handed the tablet over and Jack began to key in a code to unlock whatever message it held.
   Jack sat down heavily in his station and the tablet drifted absently across the bridge as the crew fell silent.  Jack felt as if he had been hit by lightning as the cyborg had reported in.
   "It me daddy.  Lieutenant Commander Megan Ryan, reporting."

[procyon (OP)]

October 2204  part 7

October 29th  0610 hours/Elders' Chamber, New Home 1 (Eris)

   The Elders assembled to review the latest developments.  First among them were the transmissions from Patrol Vessel 24 that one and a half million survivors had been rescued from the surface of New Home 3.  The destruction of one Armed Colony Vessel had left the group unable to completely evacuate the survivors, resulting in several hundred thousand being left behind.  The pain of leaving that many behind to their inevitable doom would weigh heavily on all those involved.  But so many had been rescued that would also have died, that this operation would be declared a great victory and those involved in the rescue would be remembered in tales for generations to come.
   Also of great interest was the news on the small mass driver system.  It had finally been completed and initial tests had shown promise.  The development team had been able to demonstrate successful interception of surface launched torpedoes from New Home 1 by the new rapid-fire mass driver.  Initial tests had shown about a 20 percent interception rate, but this was expected to improve as crews gained familiarity with the system and the software of the system was refined.  Projections indicated that when properly deployed the pattern density it could project should be capable of nearly a 50 percent interception rate on the torpedoes of the native race.  It was even feasible that a single installation would be capable of deploying several patterns of the 0.2-gram projectiles with sufficient densities that intercepting multiple inbound torpedoes in an incoming salvo would be possible.
   The elders took little time in confirming the installation of the new defensive system on all available Patrol Vessels and the remaining Assault Vessel.  If possible two of the new defensive systems would be installed on the large ship, but even a single installation would vastly improve its ability to engage the native race.
   It had been a long time since the Assembly of Elders had heard so much good news in a single meeting. 


   1925 hours/GTOS 23, orbit of Triton

   Lieutenant Commander Megan Ryan wanted to get sick or close her eyes, but she couldn't do either one.  The inside of the lander seemed to spin and roll out of control as the drive fired and cut out.  'It's just a routine landing on the surface.'  Megan tried to tell herself that over and over again.  It made no difference.
   She was still adapting to this new body.  She had passed the initial testing and training, but was far from finished.  'I haven't adjusted to all of this yet.  I should have waited.'  Her head started to hurt from the vast overload of her senses and she finally keyed off the visual feed.  It didn't stop the vertigo but at least eased the pain somewhat.
   'Did I make a mistake?  Is it to soon?'  Just thinking made her head throb more.  'It normally takes four months to complete the testing and classes, undergo everything it takes to adjust to 'the change'.  But I need to do this.  If I didn't, Admiral Walters wouldn't have ok'ed it.'
   The headache began to fade as she heard the comm system announce they were landing.  Turning the visual feed back on the grey haze had disappeared and she started to feel better.  A slight jostling let her know the ship had touched down.  Megan unlocked her station and moved toward her equipment.  It was time to test her theory.  She had studied the alien ship's magnetic fields longer than anyone she knew.  But this was definitely uncharted territory.


October 30th  1255 hours/Sector 20:25, 4500 meters below the surface of Triton
   Oberfeldwebel Tanya Frank held her hand up and signaled the squad to halt.  Not that they were going to go anywhere if she stopped.  The tunnel they were in was a tube just a little over a meter and a half wide.  But ahead the tunnel widened as it intersected with another tube.  This was always the sign that another 'shelter' was ahead crawling with aliens.  Perhaps hundreds of them.  Tanya raised her 18mm and fired down the tunnel ahead.  The tunnel filled with dust as chunks of the walls tore away.  It would be impossible for the alien 'suits' to operate down here so the flechettes would do just fine.  The aliens were difficult to see on thermal readings, and using lights just seemed to be good way to get yourself killed.  So every chance you got you cleared the tunnel ahead.
   This operation was different though.  Not your usual search and destroy.  They were babysitting some US 'borg that was obviously a spook.  Wouldn't show up on anyone’s display as anything but an outline.  No code number, name, rank, anything.  Just a shape.  Which meant they had to be careful as the automatic weapon safeties wouldn't prevent you from shooting it.
   Tanya moved into the tunnel and stood up.  She moved forward and signaled for the squad to advance.  What they were looking for was ahead.  They really needed more troops if they were going to crack a nest of the aliens.  But once again, that wasn't the plan.  'What the hell is the plan though.  Might be nice if they told us.'
   Tanya looked at the US 'borg and tried to figure out what the thing was wearing/carrying.  It looked a little like a generator, an antenna array, and a keyboard.  Nothing like any weapon she had ever seen.  The US lasers sometimes looked a little strange, but they at least resembled a rifle.  Not this though.
   Tanya stopped and dropped to one knee.  Her HUD was showing movement ahead.  Dozens of aliens. Most of them were smaller. Immature. But the bigger ones were moving forward.  Tanya had seen it before.  The grown aliens would try to close and ''push' you into walls or each other. Some could even mess with the electronics on a cyborg if they got close enough.  But these were too far away.  They would never get the chance.  Tanya raised her weapon.
   "Hold your fire."  It was that damned US spook.  She hadn't spoken in German, but the translators had handled it.  The aliens kept closing.   In seconds they would be to close.  'We don't have this sort of time, and we aren't dying this way.'   Tanya aimed at the closest alien, and then stopped.
   She lowered the weapon and looked.  They had all stopped and were hesitating.  Then as one the aliens settled to the floor of the tube with their longer tentacles tucked underneath them.  "What the hell just happened?"  Tanya risked a look back at the US 'borg.
   
   1226 hours/Brood Mother 218, 4500 meters below the surface of Triton

   The Brood Mother was not sure if she had done the right thing, but they would surely have died anyway.  All of them, including the young.  She was prepared to die, but didn't want to.  No one wanted to.  But all the machines could do was kill.  And they were good at it.
   But what had just happened had shocked her.  It had never happened before.  There was no emotion to it.  No soul.  It was definitely a machine.
   And it had said only one thing over and over.
   "Stop.  Live."
   "Stop.  Live." 
   "Stop.  Live  ....."