Impavidus and Inceptris opened fire at a range of eighty million kilometres, with the Jaguar more than ten million kilometres from its home world and therefore not protected by the orbital bases. Whether any Enclave missiles were in flight or what their targets might be was unknown. Seven salvos were launched before Commodore Perine gave the cease fire order, leaving enough Javelins for six more salvos if required. Fifty-three minutes after launch the first wave of Javelins reached their target, scoring twelve strength-9 hits. The other eight missiles were hit by close range point defence. Eleven Javelins hit from the second wave, two of which penetrated the battleship’s armour. Each Jovian salvo arrived forty seconds apart, battering the 27,000 ton vessel. Two secondary power explosions were detected after the fourth salvo hit and the sixth was enough to destroy the target. The seventh and final wave was wasted but Commodore Perine was more than happy that the powerful battleship had been eliminated so much more easily than the previous vessel of the same class. The Second Battle Squadron moved back toward one of the salvage groups, both to make itself hard for self-seeking missiles to find and to protect the salvage group in case it had been targeted. There was no way to protect the other groups, which had abandoned their tasks and were trying to move as far away as possible from their previous locations. After several hours with no sign of inbound missiles, all three salvage groups returned to wrecks on which they were working to restart their operations. However, orders came from Admiral Charleston that once the current tasks were complete, the salvage ships should not operate so close to the Enclave home world that they could be targeted almost immediately by any newly launched warships.
Five days after the destruction of the Jaguar, the Skye Enclave launched a new Piranha class battleship. The Third Battle Squadron was still more than twelve hundred million kilometres from the Alpha Centauri-A system so the Second Battle Squadron would have to protect the salvage ships using its own depleted resources. While the high construction rates of the Skye Enclave continued to threaten Jovian operations in the area, Admiral Cassandra Charleston was in some way grateful that her forward deployed battle squadrons could engage the enemy battleships as they emerged from the shipyards. Otherwise the Enclave would be building up a formidable battleship force that would be far harder to defeat than its individual components. She ordered Commodore Perine to destroy the new target using whatever means necessary.
As the last Piranha had shown no sign of missile armament, Commodore Perine decided to hold position, guarding a salvage group ninety million kilometres from the Enclave home world, and wait for the enemy to come to him. However, the Piranha seemed be ignoring the Jovian task group as it headed sunward. Given his orders from Admiral Charleston, Perine had little choice but to order his ships to intercept, leaving the salvage group unprotected. The two missile cruisers launched a total of four salvos, holding back enough missiles for two more. The Piranha suddenly changed course, moving away from the Second Battle Squadron on a course that paralleled the orbit of Alpha Centauri-A III. Unfortunately, that changed the geometry of the attack and the eighty Javelin anti-ship missiles ran out of fuel less than a million kilometres from their target. Horrified at his mistake, Commodore Perine took his ships back to the closest salvage group, desperately hoping the Third Battle Squadron would arrive before the Piranha decided to take the offensive.
For three hours the Piranha continued to move away, raising hope within the Second Battle Squadron. Then it turned and headed directly for the Jovian task group. Unwilling to sacrifice the slow-moving salvage ships and freighters, Commodore Perine decided to stand and fight. He still had two full salvos of Javelins plus over seven hundred anti-missiles on board Aquila and Cygnus, although using those would leave the task group open to any serious missile attack. His last line of defence was the two laser-armed destroyers Pegasus and Charybdis plus the destroyer escort Agamemnon. The Third Battle Squadron was far too distant to play any part in the imminent battle.
Commodore Perine decided to hold fire until the Enclave battleship was at four million kilometres, within the range of the Gladius anti-missiles on the two Aquila class escorts. However, at ten million kilometres it suddenly reversed course, raising fears that it was armed with some form of short-range missile. Perine ordered his ships to pursue, closing the range by 800km per second. The Piranha headed for its home world, leaving Perine with the unpleasant prospect of following it into the engagement range of the orbital defences of Alpha Centauri-A III. However, conscious of his earlier mistake, he did not want to open fire until he was sure the anti-missiles would not run out of fuel. He waited until the range fell below three point five million kilometres, with the Piranha less than sixty million kilometres from the planet, before giving the order. So far there was no sign of incoming fire. As soon as Impavidus and Inceptris had launched the last of their missiles Commodore Perine ordered them to break formation and head for Sol to reload. There was no point in risking the valuable missile cruisers once they could no longer contribute to the battle.
The Gladius anti-missiles ground away the armour of the Piranha before the Javelins arrived, allowing the strength-9 warheads of the larger missiles to punch through and inflict internal damage. They also diluted the point defence fire, allowing a higher percentage of the Javelins to hit than if they had attacked alone. Secondary explosions wracked the hull of the Piranha after the impact of the anti-ship missiles and further waves of anti-missiles penetrated the armour. The battleship struggled onwards but its engines were wrecked and its interior was aflame. Atmosphere trailed in its wake like blood. Strength-1 detonations continued to batter the Piranha until it finally exploded, a few million kilometres from safety. Aquila and Cygnus had less than twenty percent of their ordnance remaining. Even so, until the Third Battle Squadron arrived, the Second had to continue its mission.
On July 4th 2204 a battle broke out in the Sol system approximately four hundred million kilometres sunward from the Alpha Centauri jump point. Forces of the Martian Union and the Republic of India were engaging a task group of the Zoltan Empire that was heading toward the inner system from the Typhon jump point. As far as Jovian sensors could determine, the Solarian forces were comprised of fast attack craft. None of the Solarian ships were within active sensor range of any Jovian vessel so this was based on emissions from the Solarian active sensors. The Zoltan task group comprised four ships, including Shar and Belial class destroyers, a Mammon class battlecruiser and a new type designated as Shiva class. The thermal signature of the Shiva suggested it was probably a destroyer but it had yet to enter Jovian active sensor range. Losses were heavy on both sides. The entire Zoltan task group was wiped out but the allied Solarian forces lost fourteen FACs; eight Indian Rajputs and six Martian Clemenceaus.
The first Gaia class Terraformer, a mobile terraforming platform with the same capability as three ground-based installations, arrived in orbit of Sparta on August 4th 2204. Terraforming the planet would take considerable efforts stretching over many years. While the atmosphere was sufficiently dense to allow the creation of a breathable level of oxygen, it also contained large amounts of methane and ammonia that would need to be removed before Sparta could be classed as an ideal habitable world. Even with the addition of the Gaia to the six ground-based terraforming installations, the current estimate was seventeen years just to remove the poisonous gases plus another seven years to add the necessary oxygen. As more Gaias were constructed and deployed to Sparta that forecast would be gradually reduced. Two more terraforming installations were based on the Athens colony in the Altair system. That planet already had a breathable atmosphere but was below the minimum human tolerance for temperature.
Gaia class Terraformer 84,750 tons 385 Crew 2089 BP TCS 1695 TH 900 EM 0
530 km/s Armour 1-171 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 15 Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 3
Terraformer: 3 module(s) producing 0.0045 atm per annum
Prometheus Stardrives PS-300C Commercial Ion Drive (3) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 17.1 billion km (373 days at full power)The Skye Enclave launched another Piranha class battleship on September 9th. By this point, most of the salvage forces had left and only a single salvage ship and single freighter remained, working on the hulk of the last Piranha class. The other freighters were delivering minerals and recovered ship components to the Jovian home worlds. Beside the salvage ship still operating in Alpha Centauri, one salvage ship was working on the wrecks from the recent Zoltan - Solarian engagement in Sol, a second was holding position some distance from Alpha Centauri-A while it awaited the return of the freighters and a third was en route to Sol to deliver tech information to the research facilities on Callisto. There were still many wrecks near the Alpha Centauri-A solar system so the minimal salvage activity was only a lull in operations. The Third Battle Squadron was back on guard while the Second Battle Squadron had returned to Europa for an overhaul. The Piranha headed sunward so the Third Battle Squadron broke away from the sole salvage vessel on an intercept course. The missile cruisers Imperator and Immortalis opened fire from seventy million kilometres, launching five initial salvos and two separate follow-up salvos before the Enclave battleship was overwhelmed and destroyed almost two hundred million kilometres from its home world.
Twelve days later, a pair of Latin Alliance destroyers carried out a raid against the Enclave home world. The first launched more than one hundred forty missiles, all of which were shot down. The second attempted to approach the planet and was destroyed by the orbital defences.
On November 13th, the deep space tracking stations on Sparta detected the thermal signatures of four Enclave Hammerhead class FACs at a distance of just one hundred and thirty-one million kilometres. With the Second Battle Squadron undergoing overhaul at Europa and the Third Battle Squadron deployed three billion kilometres away to guard the salvage operation, the defences of Sparta were limited. Two Orpheus class bases were in orbit, along with Agamemnon, an Achilles class destroyer escort from the Second Battle Squadron that had already completed its overhaul and returned to Alpha Centauri. Also in orbit were two Gaia class terraformers, an Athena class sensor platform and an Ares class troop transport. Between them the bases and the Agamemnon were equipped with thirty twin laser turrets. On receiving the alert, Admiral Cassandra Charleston considered ordering the non-combatants to run for it. However they were much slower than the FACs and would be easy targets if the Enclave ships bypassed Sparta. Therefore they remained in orbit where at least they had some protection. The Plataea colony was further from the Hammerheads and protected by a single Orpheus. With no offensive capabilities the only option for the Jovian defenders was to defend against the imminent attack as best they could.
The Hammerheads closed to thirty million kilometres before reversing course. To the great relief of the defenders, only sixteen missiles were detected and the Orpheus bases easily dealt with the inbounds. Admiral Charleston ordered the Third Battle Squadron to take up position along the likely return route of the FACs in an attempt to intercept them as they headed home. Two days after the attack, the Third Battle Squadron detected a new Hammerhead moving out from the Enclave home world toward the Alpha Centauri-B system. Unfortunately it reversed course, suggesting a missile launch, before the Third could get within range. Because the Hammerheads were so small, the fire controls of the Invictus class missile cruisers could not achieve a lock-on at long range and the Hammerheads were too fast to catch. Four incoming missiles were detected and destroyed. Over the next few days the lone Hammerhead carried out several more attacks, returning to its home world each time to reload. The Third Battle Squadron was unable to prevent the attacks due to the higher speed and greater effective range of the FAC.
On November 20th the construction of two Orpheus-M class Orbital Weapon Platforms was completed in Europa orbit. Their design and development was due to the success of the Enclave orbital defences at Alpha Centauri-A III. Each base had the same anti-missile capabilities as three Aquila class escorts. One base remained in Europa orbit while the other was towed to Sparta.
Orpheus-M class Orbital Weapon Platform 10,000 tons 216 Crew 1556.8 BP TCS 200 TH 60 EM 0
300 km/s Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 30
Maint Life 3.81 Years MSP 389 AFR 200% IFR 2.8% 1YR 42 5YR 632 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 34 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 1230
Prometheus Stardrives PS-60SE Ion Drive (1) Power 60 Fuel Use 11.14% Signature 60 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 16.2 billion km (623 days at full power)
Ares Missile Systems AMS-1A Missile Launcher (30) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
FN/SPD-9 Anti-Missile Fire Control (6) Range 15.8m km Resolution 1
Gladius Anti-missile Missile (1230) Speed: 33,600 km/s End: 2.1m Range: 4.2m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 145/87/43
FN/SPD-8 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 144 Range 15.8m km MCR 1.7m km Resolution 1
FN/SLR-2 Passive EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m kmA day later, a 9000 ton ship of a new type, designated as Alligator class, was launched by the Skye Enclave. The Jovian salvage ships were vulnerable because the Third Battle Squadron was out of position while it attempted to intercept the four FACs that recently attacked Sparta during their journey home. Admiral Charleston ordered the Third to abandon its interception attempt and head for the salvage ships. Unfortunately the Third was running low on ordnance, the Second was still in overhaul and the Enclave now had five FACs and a destroyer in service, so Charleston began to give serious consideration to temporarily abandoning the salvage operations.
As the Third Battle Squadron headed back toward the salvage ships it came under missile attack. Twenty-eight separate waves of three missiles each were detected and engaged. All were shot down by the task group’s laser-armed combatants. The new destroyer was firing from close to the Enclave home world. After the attack it returned home, reloaded and attacked again with the same pattern. Eight-four missiles in total, split into twenty-eight waves of three. This continued for several hours, with the destroyer never straying far from home and launching missiles at ever-increasing range. The sixth attack took place at almost two hundred million kilometres. Interspersed among the attacks from the Enclave DD were missile launches from two FACs, the one previously detected operating from the Enclave home world and a previously undetected companion. These were less frequent because the FACs had to close to approximately thirty million kilometres before launching.
By this point, the Hammerhead FACs that had attacked Sparta were approaching the Enclave home world. They were followed by three Jara class scouts of the Latin Alliance. The Alligator class destroyer launched its seventh attack against the Latin ships. The scouts were extremely fragile, evidenced by the fact the first hit triggered a secondary explosion, and appeared to have no active defences. All three were destroyed by the Enclave attack. Meanwhile, the Third Battle Squadron reached its destination, placing it close to the salvage operations and between those operations and the Enclave home world.
After reloading their ordnance, the Alligator and all six FACs broke orbit and set a course for the Alpha Centauri-B system, ignoring the Third Battle Squadron which was now almost three hundred million kilometres from the Enclave home world, close to three salvage groups. As the Enclave warships moved across the system, divided into two single FACs, a group of four FACs and the sole Alligator, Admiral Charleston ordered a fourth salvage group, which had recently entered Alpha Centauri, to reverse course and return home. The defences of Sparta still comprised two Orpheus bases and an Achilles class destroyer escort. As the FACs closed in, one of the two singles turned out to be a pair of FACs, taking the known number of Hammerheads to seven. Given their speed and the lack of any Jovian weapon system that could target them outside their own launch range, the Enclave FACs were proving to be difficult opponents. Fortunately, their small ordnance load of four missiles per FAC meant the orbital defences of Sparta could easily deal with their attack.
With the FACs heading back to their home world and the Alligator class destroyer approaching Sparta, Commodore Benitez detached first one and then a second Minotaur class destroyer with orders to intercept the Enclave ships as they returned to the Alpha Centauri-A system. The second destroyer was detached because Benitez realised that while the FACs could outrun one destroyer, two destroyers operating separately could perhaps trap the FACs between them. Cerberus had moved one point four billion kilometres from the Third Battle Squadron with Centaur halfway between its sister ship and the squadron when a new Jaguar class battleship was launched from the orbital shipyards of the Enclave home world. The production rates of the Skye Enclave shipyards were beginning to concern many Jovian officers. Benitez ordered Centaur to rejoin the squadron while Cerberus continued its mission.
Meanwhile, Admiral Charleston ordered the destroyer escort Agamemnon to leave Sparta orbit and attack the approaching Enclave destroyer. So far the Alligator had only launched missiles in waves of three, which the Achilles class could easily handle with its six twin laser turrets. Shortly thereafter the Third Battle Squadron came under missile attack. Two waves of eleven missiles and a third of five missiles were detected and destroyed by Achilles and Scylla, the latter being the remaining Minotaur class destroyer in the main body of the squadron. The assumed launch point was the Jaguar, which was still moving away from the Enclave home world on course for the Alpha Centauri-B system. Eleven hours later, a previously undetected Hammerhead class FAC suddenly engaged its active sensors thirty-two million kilometres from the Third Battle Squadron. Twenty-six minutes later the squadron was attacked by a single wave of four missiles, all of which were shot down.
Agamemnon came under attack as she closed in on the Enclave Alligator class destroyer. The Alligator launched its usual twenty-eight waves of three missiles, although on this occasion they were split into three separate attacks, presumably because the destroyer did not want to use all its missiles on a single 8100 ton target. Agamemnon brushed aside the attack without suffering a single hit and continued closing. The Alligator turned to run but Agamemnon had an 800 km/s speed advantage. With almost one hundred and sixty million kilometres separating the two ships it would be a long chase. Less than an hour after Agamemnon defeated the missile attack, Cerberus intercepted the first of the Hammerhead class FACs heading home after their attack on Sparta. The Jovian destroyer blew its target to pieces with a single salvo. Four hours later, Cerberus intercepted a pair of Hammerheads and destroyed both as they passed. Finally, after a further six hours, she met the group of four FACs head-on and started firing as soon as they entered maximum range. Two exploded as the Hammerheads closed, a third as they passed and the fourth as it began to open the range.
With the FACs destroyed, Cerberus set a course to intercept the Alligator class destroyer that was fleeing from Agamemnon. Meanwhile, Centaur re-joined the Third Battle Squadron, still holding station near the Jovian salvage operations. By this point, the Jaguar was seven hundred million kilometres from the Enclave home world and on course for the Alpha Centauri-B system. Agamemnon was still twenty-six million kilometres astern of the Alligator when Cerberus reached weapon range. Four devastating broadsides from Cerberus’s nine 15cm lasers and her single 19cm spinal laser smashed the Enclave destroyer into drifting wreckage. Agamemnon and Cerberus both headed for Sparta to seek protection from the approaching Jaguar class battleship. Sparta Skywatch had been reinforced by the arrival of the first Orpheus-M class missile-armed orbital weapons platform so a single Jaguar would not be able to penetrate its defences. Two days after the destruction of the Alligator, the Second Battle Squadron transited into Alpha Centauri after completing its overhaul at Europa.
The Jaguar continued toward Sparta, flanked by a lone Hammerhead ahead and to starboard of its course. The FAC’s course took it past Sparta at a range of almost four hundred million kilometres as it headed toward Jovian ships inbound from the Sol jump point. The Second Battle Squadron was still a billion kilometres away but was preceded by a civilian colony ship two hundred million kilometres closer to the Hammerhead. Two more civilian ships, three government-owned freighters and six government-owned colony ships were closer to the jump point. Back at the Enclave home world, the Third Battle Squadron detected the launch of two new ships, both of new classes. The larger was a 9000 ton destroyer, designated as Kingfisher class, while the smaller was 3750 tons and designated as Wolverine class. Given its size it was most likely some form of survey ship. The Kingfisher immediately set course for the Alpha Centauri-B system. The Wolverine headed into deep space, roughly thirty degrees out from the orbital path of Alpha Centauri-A III.
Commodore Kikugawa Takeo, commanding the Second Battle Squadron from the missile cruiser Inceptris, ordered the captain of the civilian colony ship to reverse course. The civilian captain refused to comply, insisting that the ships of the Denoon Transport Corporation did not take orders from the Federation Navy and that he had a schedule to keep. Fortunately for the intransigent civilian, the Hammerhead suddenly changed course toward the inner system of Alpha Centauri-B, apparently on course for the Latin Alliance population on Alpha Centauri-B II.
The Hammerhead altered course again, this time for the occupied Enclave colony on Alpha Centauri-B IV, known as Plataea. An Orpheus class orbital weapons platform was in orbit of Plataea so the colony would be safe from the normal four-missile salvo of the Enclave FAC. The Jaguar also continued to close. As it reached three hundred million kilometres from Sparta, four strength-1 energy weapon impacts and seven strength-10 detonations were detected in orbit of Alpha Centauri-B II. A Latin Alliance Allende class was almost certainly the target as its thermal signature dropped by twenty-five percent. Little was known about the Allende except that it was 31,450 tons and had been in orbit of the planet for several months. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed it could be a terraforming ship, although no sign of terraforming had been detected so far. Fifty seconds later a second salvo arrived and the Latin vessel was blown apart by a further eleven detonations. Shortly thereafter Plataea was attacked by the expected four missiles from the Hammerhead class FAC. All were shot down. While Admiral Charleston was tempted to order either Agamemnon or Cerberus to leave Sparta orbit and attempt to intercept the Enclave FAC, she was concerned the Jaguar might target any lone ship and even Agamemnon might not be able to deal with waves of eleven missiles at once.
Two hours later, eleven strength-10 ground-burst detonations were detected on Alpha Centauri-B II. All communication with the Latin Alliance colony on that world ceased immediately. The total population was not known but based on thermal and EM signatures Jovian Naval Intelligence estimated the number of Latin colonists was between three and five million. Unlike Sparta and Plataea, the Latin colony had no orbital defences. Admiral Charleston ordered the approaching Second Battle Squadron to conduct orbital reconnaissance once the threat from the Jaguar had been neutralised. The Enclave battleship was still on course for Sparta, apparently destroying the Latin population en passant.
Five hours after the destruction of the colony the Jaguar suddenly reversed course, heading away from Sparta, which was usually an indication of a missile launch. The bases and ships in Sparta orbit prepared to defend the colony. Four hours later the first inbound missiles were detected. In all, twenty-four waves of eleven missiles, two hundred and sixty-four missiles in total, were launched against Sparta. All were shot down by the laser-armed defences. Convinced the Jaguar now had empty magazines, Admiral Charleston ordered Cerberus to pursue the battleship. The Minotaur class destroyer was two hundred and seventy million kilometres from its target and had to complete its task before the Enclave Kingfisher class destroyer arrived on the scene. The Second Battle Squadron was still more than four hundred million kilometres from Sparta so was unable to launch its own pursuit.
Cerberus moved within weapon range and opened fire as the Jaguar reached one point three billion kilometres from Sparta. Despite the battleship being three times the size of the Jovian destroyer, it was completely helpless. Cerberus pounded the Jaguar with her powerful laser armament until it exploded under the onslaught. Her task complete, Cerberus set course for Sparta. The location of the Enclave’s Kingfisher class destroyer was unknown as it was no longer on Jovian sensors. However, Cerberus was faster and had not yet come under attack so it was unlikely the Kingfisher would pose an immediate threat.
Four days later, just as Cerberus was approaching Sparta, the Kingfisher was detected at a range of one billion kilometres by the Athena class sensor platform in Sparta orbit. By this time the Second Battle Squadron had arrived at Sparta, so it moved out to intercept the Enclave warship. Meanwhile near the Enclave home world, three Bulldog class ships had set course for the Alpha Centauri-B system. The Bulldog class was 31,200 tons and had a speed of 960 km/, meaning it was almost certainly an unarmed commercial vessel. Admiral Charleston’s orders not to fire on commercial shipping still stood. The Second Battle Squadron moved within ninety million kilometres of the Kingfisher and launched two salvos of Javelin anti-ship missiles. There was no sign of point defence fire and seventeen missiles from the first salvo struck the destroyer, several of which inflicted internal damage. The second salvo blew the Kingfisher to pieces.
A few days after the departure of the Bulldogs, twenty Doberman class ships of the Skye Enclave also set course for Alpha Centauri-B, split into a group of eight and a group of twelve. These ships were 18,600 tons with a speed of 1611 km/s. Until this point, the Dobermans had remained several hundred million kilometres from the Third Battle Squadron, which was still guarding the ongoing salvage operations, presumably seeking safety from powerful enemy warships. The best guess of Jovian Naval Intelligence was that the movement of the Bulldogs and Dobermans meant the Skye Enclave was setting up a colony on Alpha Centauri-B II. The Enclave must have recognised the reluctance of Jovian warships to fire on their commercial traffic, otherwise such a move would be suicidal. The warships of other Solarian powers though would not be so restrained. Plans were already underway to give the Federation Navy a boarding capability, allowing it to intercept and capture hostile ships in deep space. Those plans were now given extra urgency but it would still be almost a year before they could be brought to fruition.
Another Kingfisher was launched from the orbital shipyards of Alpha Centauri-A III and departed orbit soon thereafter, although not on a direct course for Alpha Centauri-B. On January 6th 2025, the Kingfisher was detected a billion kilometres from Sparta. Within thirty minutes, a second Enclave warship was detected, this time in a surprising location. A previously unknown Hammerhead class FAC engaged its active sensor within twenty million kilometres of two Jovian civilian ships from the Denoon Transport Corporation. The colony ship and freighter were both approximately four hundred million kilometres from Sparta in the direction of the Sol jump point and heading in opposite directions. The Enclave FAC had somehow bypassed the Alpha Centauri-B system without being detected and nothing could be done to prevent an attack on the civilian ships. Cerberus was dispatched from Sparta with orders to intercept the faster enemy vessel if possible but the mission would be one of revenge rather than protection.
Twenty-seven minutes after the FAC was detected, the Denoon freighter took two strength-10 hits. The cargo hold was destroyed and two engines were hit, although both remained functional. The colony ship was struck by one missile and lost an engine. The Hammerhead turned for home with Cerberus attempting to cut it off. Despite the speed advantage of the FAC, Cerberus carried out a successful intercept and destroyed the Enclave vessel as it crossed her bow. It was fortunate the raider was only a FAC. A full size Enclave warship could have wreaked havoc among the commercial shipping moving between Sparta and the Sol jump point.
On January 8th, a colony of the Skye Enclave colony was established on Alpha Centauri-B II by eight Dobermans, which confirmed them as colony ships. Twelve more Dobermans arrived shortly thereafter, adding more Enclave settlers. Until recently the planet had been home to a colony of the Latin Alliance. Admiral Charleston decided to ignore the new colony in the short term. If Jovian ground forces conquered the planet, they would be left in a difficult situation as Alpha Centauri-B II lay closer to the Enclave home world than Sparta and would be in the front line during any further Enclave raids. Once the orbit of Sparta, the third planet of Alpha Centauri-B, brought it to a position between any raiders and the new colony, a ground assault would be launched.
Over the next few weeks, the Alpha Centauri-B system came under increasing attack from Enclave raiders On January 9th the Second Battle Squadron intercepted and destroyed the second Kingfisher class with two salvos of Javelin anti-ship missiles. Twenty-four hours later a lone FAC successfully launched on Sparta and escaped. The missiles were shot down by the Sparta orbital defences. On the 14th, another Hammerhead was detected on a course that bypassed Sparta and allowed it to raid the traffic moving between Alpha Centauri-B and the Sol jump point. The destroyer escort Agamemnon was dispatched on an intercept course. Although she failed to catch the faster raider, she prevented any attack on commercial shipping by forcing the FAC to fire on her. All four missiles were shot down.
A new Enclave Eagle class destroyer had been launched on January 11th and set course for the Sol jump point. It had vanished from sensors and due to the orbit of Alpha Centauri-B, the star’s solar system no longer lay between the Enclave home world and the Sol jump point. Therefore Agamemnon only moved part of the way back to Sparta and rendezvoused with the Athena class sensor platform. Sparta no longer lay at the centre of the Athena’s sensor coverage but the Athena had to cover the direct route to the jump point while still covering Sparta and Plataea as much as possible. Two Athena IIs were under construction but were several months from completion and the only existing Athena II was with the Third Battle Squadron covering the salvage operation near Alpha Centauri-A. The redeployment of the Athena proved to be a wise decision as the Eagle was detected on a course that would have taken it outside the sensor range of the Athena if it was still in Sparta orbit. The Second Battle Squadron intercepted the Eagle and destroyed it with two waves of Javelins. Another FAC raid took place on January 26th. The Hammerhead was intercepted and destroyed by Agamemnon on its return journey.
Despite concerns the salvage operations close to the Alpha Centauri-A solar system would have to be terminated, due to the increasing number of Enclave ships being launched, it was still underway at the end of January 2205. The orbit of the Enclave home world meant the distance between the salvage ships and the planet had increased to five hundred million kilometres. The Third Battle Squadron remained on station to protect three Aeolus class salvage ships and ten Minerva class freighters, although the Enclave’s newly constructed warships seemed much more interested in attacking Sparta and the commercial traffic arriving from Sol.
On February 1st 2205, the first Jovian jump gate construction ship was launched from Kaspar-Hendel shipyard. There was no immediate task for the ship as all Jovian efforts were now concentrated on securing the Alpha Centauri system and boosting the defences of the Jovian home worlds. Jovian survey efforts were on hold and all survey ships had been recalled home. No more Janus class ships would be laid down in the near future due to the state of the Jovian economy. Even the construction factories on Io had lain idle for more than a year due to insufficient funds. Civilian mining operation were providing a small amount of income, approximately 6% of annual revenues, and another 5% came from taxes on the Denoon Transport Corporation. The rest was from direct taxes on Jovian populations and financial centres.
Janus class Construction Ship 90,000 tons 365 Crew 2111.2 BP TCS 1800 TH 2100 EM 0
1166 km/s JR 2-25(C) Armour 1-178 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 15 Max Repair 191 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days
Vesta Interstellar VJC-90 Commercial Jump Drive Max Ship Size 90000 tons Distance 25k km Squadron Size 2
Prometheus Stardrives PS-300C Commercial Ion Drive (7) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres Range 24.2 billion km (240 days at full power)On February 4th, the Enclave home world launched yet another new class; a 9000 ton Scorpion class destroyer. The ship immediately departed orbit en route to Sparta. Five days later, the Jovian Federation also launched the first of a new class, the Mithras class Ammunition Transport. Finally, the Jovian Federation would be able to create a stockpile of missiles on Sparta rather than sending the missile combatants back to Io to reload. While it would have been possible to use the missile cruisers or Aquila class escorts as ammunition transports, they were needed for other duties. The first task of the new ship was to transport Trident missiles to Alpha Centauri so they could be tested against the Enclave home world’s defences.
Mithras class Ammunition Transport 8,100 tons 160 Crew 991 BP TCS 162 TH 648 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 2-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/11/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.21 Years MSP 306 AFR 131% IFR 1.8% 1YR 84 5YR 1261 Max Repair 162 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 1309
Prometheus Stardrives PS-324 Ion Drive (2) Power 324 Fuel Use 51.1% Signature 324 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 380,000 Litres Range 16.5 billion km (47 days at full power)
FN/SPN-1 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 2080 Range 20.1m km Resolution 130
FN/SLR-2 Passive EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 11 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11m kmThe Enclave launched a Cobra class destroyer on February 10th and a Jaguar class battleship on February 14th. Four Cobras were already in service but for some reason they were holding position five hundred million kilometres from the Enclave home world in the opposite direction to the Third Battle Squadron. Jovian Naval Intelligence believed they might be missile-armed warships without ammunition. The newly built Cobra moved to join the other four while the Jaguar headed for the Alpha Centauri-B system. A day after the launch of the Jaguar, a small 2350 ton Enclave vessel, designated as Mamba class, was detected close to position of the Athena sensor platform. Agamemnon, which was holding station on the Athena, intercepted and destroyed it with her 10cm lasers.
More solo FAC raids took place on the 18th and 19th of February. In both cases Agamemnon attempted to intercept without success but forced the FACs to expend their missiles without scoring any hits. On the 21st, the Enclave launched two units of another new class, designated as Mongoose class destroyers. The Mongooses were much faster than other Enclave warships, with a speed of 5866 km/s. Unless the Enclave had made a radical breakthrough in engine technology, they were most likely some form of fast scout. They followed the Jaguar in the general direction of Sparta. The Jaguar moved into active sensor range of the Athena on February 23rd, nine days after departing Alpha Centauri-A III, and was accompanied by the Scorpion class destroyer that had launched ten days before the battleship. The two ships were nine hundred and thirty million kilometres from Sparta and on a direct course for the planet.
With Agamemnon detached to guard the Athena sensor platform, the Second Battle Squadron was less well protected than normal. Therefore Commodore Takeo decided to hold position in Sparta orbit in order to benefit from the protection of the orbital defences and pursue the Jaguar after it launched. The Enclave warships moved into attack range and the battleship launched twenty-three waves of eleven anti-ship missiles. The inbounds did not trouble the Orpheus bases and the Second Battle Squadron broke orbit to chase the retreating Jaguar. The Scorpion class destroyer moved away from the Jaguar to confront the approaching Jovian warships and was blown apart by two salvos of Javelins. The magazines on Inceptris and Impavidus were down to thirty-eight percent, enough for five salvos each. Their counterparts in the Third Battle Squadron, Imperator and Immortalis were at forty-six percent. The constant raiding was wearing down the Jovian ordnance supplies. As soon as the Mithras class ammunition transport had unloaded its cargo of Trident missiles, it would be sent back to Io to collect Javelins.
The two Mongooses were approaching the Alpha Centauri-B system so Admiral Charleston ordered the Second to abandon its pursuit of the Jaguar and move to Alpha Centauri-B VII, which lay between the Enclave destroyers and the rest of the system. The Minotaur class destroyer Centaur was ordered to detach from the Third Battle Squadron near Alpha Centauri-A and intercept the Jaguar on its way home. Another Minotaur, Cerberus, was still on detached duty from the Third and operating from Sparta. The Mongooses moved to a position four hundred million kilometres from the Second and held station.
On February 26th the Enclave launched a second Scorpion and a sixth Cobra. The rate at which the Skye Enclave was building new ships was beginning to seriously concern Admiral Charleston. While the new ships were being destroyed almost as fast as they were being built, they were wearing down the defenders. Ordnance stockpiles were decreasing, deployments were being spread out and the area requiring coverage was expanding as Alpha Centauri-B continued to move away from the Sol jump point. A mistake by the Federation Navy could be very costly. Five days later, Centaur intercepted the Jaguar a billion kilometres from the Enclave home world and destroyed it with laser fire. She reversed course and headed back to rejoin the Third Battle Squadron.
On March 4th, with the Second Battle Squadron still at Alpha Centauri-B VII, a Hammerhead moved past their position at a range of over a hundred million kilometres. Commodore Takeo detached the destroyer Pegasus and ordered to move toward the Enclave home world, intending for the destroyer to catch the FAC on its way home. The Hammerhead suddenly turned toward the Second Battle Squadron, apparently on an attack run. With Agamemnon still absent, the escorts Aquila and Cygnus readied their AMM launchers. At a range of thirty million kilometres the FAC turned for home. Assuming its missiles had been launched, Pegasus moved to intercept, closing almost head-on. The expected missiles never arrived at the Second Battle Squadron. While the Jovian tactical officers were still trying to figure out what the Hammerhead was doing, Pegasus was struck by two strength-10 detonations. While neither penetrated her armour, one caused sufficient shock damage to disable an engine. Pegasus continued closing, despite her reduction in speed, while her crew laboured to repair the engine. Commodore Takeo detached his other Minotaur, Charybdis, to pursue the FAC in case it tried to run from Pegasus. The Hammerhead changed course slightly, heading for the Enclave home world. Pegasus successfully repaired her engine, closed in and killed the FAC.
to be continued...
