C# Fiction > Empire of the Stars

Empire of the Stars - Updates Thread

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Steve Walmsley:
Background
Japan entered World War I on the side of the Allies in 1914, seizing the opportunity of Germany's distraction with the European War to expand its sphere of influence in China and the Pacific. Soon after Japan declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914, Japanese and allied British Empire forces moved to occupy Tsingtao fortress, the German East Asia Squadron base, German-leased territories in China's Shandong Province as well as the Marianas, Caroline, and Marshall Islands in the Pacific, which were part of German New Guinea. In 1916, the Imperial Japanese Navy made a detailed survey of Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands, with the intention of establishing a major naval base. During the survey, the Navy made a startling discovery: a massive, partially buried structure that was eventually determined to be a crashed alien spacecraft.

Within twelve months, under conditions of great secrecy, a group of top scientists from across the Empire of Japan had been assembled at Truk. The secure, isolated location allowed the Imperial Navy to maintain complete security for many years. Not even the Imperial Army was aware what was underway at Truk. At first, progress was glacially slow. As time passed and the scientists began to activate the remaining intact systems, the gradual flow of knowledge become a flood. An understanding of the Trans-Newtonian principles on which the spacecraft was based began to develop. The Imperial Navy’s scientists discovered that another dimension, which they named the Aether, existed alongside our own. The Aether had fluidic properties and was far more compressed in terms of distance between objects compared to ‘normal’ space. Eleven new elements were identified that existed primarily in the Aether but could be extracted and refined for construction purposes. Although the ramifications of these early discoveries were profound, it would take decades to fully realise their potential.

By 1926, ten years after the discovery, the Imperial Navy was testing primitive jet aircraft in the remote Marshall Islands and developing armoured vehicles for the Special Naval Landing Forces. In 1932, the Imperial Navy launched the first lunar probe from Bikini Atoll and two years later Kaigun-shōsa (lieutenant commander) Fuchida Mitsuo became the first man to walk on the Moon. The other major powers remained completely oblivious until  the Imperial Navy finally acted in June 1939. Orbiting spacecraft launched a series of nuclear strikes against Soviet, Chinese, American, British, French and Dutch targets. Every major military base in the Pacific was struck and destroyed, along with numerous cities across the globe for ‘demonstration’ purposes. The other major powers of the time were incredulous at the apparently miraculous advancements in Japanese military technology. The Imperial Japanese Army was equally stunned and its influence rapidly diminished thereafter, effectively coming under the control of the navy.

Across the globe, valiant efforts were made to withstand the irresistible forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy, but they were in vain. Despite desperate and rapid strides in many fields of science, engineering and military technology, the lead of the Empire of Japan only increased as it took full advantage of the knowledge extracted from alien computers. By 1945, the wars were over and the Empire of Japan dominated the globe. The next fifteen years were spent consolidating the Empire’s gains and pacifying the conquered territories, while the Imperial Navy built up its forces for the next stage of Japanese expansion. A shortage of personnel to oversee a global domain resulted in the introduction of women into the Imperial Navy in the late 1940s and even non-Japanese by the late 1950s. By 1960 (Imperial year 2620), the Earth was firmly under control and the Empire of Japan looked outward, preparing to become an Empire of the Stars.

Scenario
•   Starting population is two billion with standard TN setup.
•   Normal starting RP and BP.
•   Ruin chance is increased from 20% to 25%.
•   All spoilers active except Rakhas.
•   System Count is 30 for Raiders, 60 for Swarm and 100 for Invaders.
•   10 NPRs. 50-100 LY
•   NPRs can generate other NPRs with a 10% chance.
•   NPRs generate Precursors and Raiders
•   Minor Races set to 100%
•   Limited Research Admin
•   Hostility Modifier +20
•   Survey Speed 25%
•   Sol has six jump points

Earth Survey Report
Duranium:   353,700   1.00
Neutronium:   246,200   1.00
Corbomite:   251,300   1.00
Tritanium:   112,700   0.40
Boronide:   91,900   0.70
Mercassium:   158,600   0.80
Vendarite:   296,000   0.70
Sorium:   335,450   0.80
Uridium:   127,200   0.90
Corundium:   358,800   0.50
Gallicite:   197,000   1.00

SJW Note: The following designation systems are inspired by the actual Imperial Navy or Imperial Army designation systems, but they have been adapted for Aurora and modified and/or simplified for easier understanding.

Small Craft Designation System
In the 1920s, the Empire developed the Military Aircraft Designation System to specify the intended function of the variety of aircraft developed at the time. This designation system was modified for the early interstellar era to cover any spacecraft design of 1000 tons or less and comprises four parts: the Small Craft Type, the Navy Design Request Number, the Manufacturer and the Variant. The Design Request Number is effectively an increment to the number of existing designs for small craft of that type.

For example, for a theoretical A6M2, the A represents a ‘Carrier-based fighter’, the 6 indicates this is the sixth type of carrier-based fighter to be designed, the M designates the manufacturer as Mitsubishi and the number indicates this is a second variant of that type. A ‘variant’ in this context will generally indicate an improvement to the design due to new technology, without changing the basic design principles or adding any new capabilities.

A longer version of the designation system includes the year of service expressed as ‘Type’, followed by the last two digits of the Imperial Year and often an official name. For example, the Mitsubishi A6M1 ‘Reisen’ Type 00 Carrier Based Fighter would have entered service in Imperial Year 2600 (1940).

Small Craft Type
A   Carrier-based fighter
B   Carrier-based missile attack
D   Carrier-based energy attack
E   Reconnaissance
F   Observation
G   Planet-based missile attack
H    Long-Range Patrol
J   Planet-based fighter
L   Troop Transport
M   Geological Survey
P   Planet-based energy attack
R   Gravitational Survey
X   Experimental (used with other designations)

Manufacturer
A   Aichi   
D   Showa
G   Hitachi
H   Hiro
K   Kawanishi
M   Mitsubishi
N   Nakajima
Si   Showa
W   Watanabe/Kyushu
Y   Yokosuka
Z   Mizuno

Electronics Designation System
Electronics systems have a designation in the format Type x Go-Mark/Model-Variant. Type is a numeral that indicates the last two digits of the Imperial Year, Mark is the function of the sensor, Model is the general usage of the sensor and Variant indicates how many times the design has been updated. For example, a Type 12 Go-13B Navigation Sensor was originally designed in Imperial Year 2612 (1952) and will serve as an active search sensor for commercial shipping. The B indicates an update from the original design.

Mark 1: Active Search Sensor
Mark 2: Missile Detection Sensor
Mark 3: Energy Weapon Fire Control
Mark 4: Missile Fire Control
Mark 5: Thermal Detection
Mark 6: EM Detection
Mark 7: Fighter Detection

Model 1: Warships
Model 2: Capital Ships
Model 3: Commercial Vessels
Model 4: Small Craft
Model 5: Minimal operable size

Vehicle Naming System
Vehicle naming comprises three parts: a Type numeral that indicates the last two digits of the Imperial Year, a kana designation for size and a second kana designation for the number of incremental designs. For example A Type 14 Chi-Ro Battle Tank, is the second design of a medium vehicle and entered service in Imperial Year 2614 (1954). The Type 8 Ke-Ha Light Tank, is the third design of a light vehicle and entered service in Imperial Year 2608 (1948).

Ke: Light
Chi: Medium
Ju: Heavy
O: Super-heavy

Incremental Naming (Iroha) – First 12 Only.
I: 1st
Ro: 2nd
Ha 3rd
Ni: 4th
He: 5th
To: 6th
Chi: 7th
Ri: 8th
Nu: 9th
Ru: 10th
Wo: 11th
Wa: 12th

Notes on Historical Updates
1)   This history is in the form of a diary, with incidents of note recorded in present tense at the time of their occurrence.
2)   The first use of each Imperial ship name in this diary (beyond the original OOB) will be accompanied by an English translation.
3)   Japanese names are presented as family name followed by given name.
4)   Star systems will be assigned a Japanese name, except in cases where the existing name is already in general use by 1960

January 1st 1960 – State of the Imperial Japanese Navy
During the 1950s, Japan focused on the development of lasers, propulsion, armour and tracking systems, which led it to deploy warships with boosted gas core engines capable of 4000 km/s, protected by ceramic composite armour and armed with 20cm lasers for attack and 10cm railguns for defence. This approach did not include any research into missiles, shields and electronic warfare and allowed only minimal research into economic and logistics systems. These would be developed over time. While the existence of aliens remained theoretical at this point in Imperial history, there was sufficient concern about the potential threat to build a fleet on the assumption that the threat was real and immediate.

The main drawback of the energy-armed focus of the Imperial Navy was extreme short-range compared to a theoretical missile-armed opponent. As a result, the Akagi class carrier was designed to project power hundreds of millions of kilometres from the battle fleet. With that in mind, the design prioritised hangar space above all else,  allowing the Akagi to carry sixty A1M1 ‘Raiden’ (Lightning Bolt) fighters and a pair of Aichi E1A class scouts. The Imperial shipwrights intended that once the Empire of Japan developed effective missiles, the strikegroup would be updated to include missile-capable strike craft and the carrier would be refitted with a magazine. Shown below is the Akagi design as of January 1960. The carrier lacks a jump drive, so requires either a stabilised jump point or a jump-capable escort, such as a Kongo-class battlecruiser.

Akagi class Carrier      36,000 tons       621 Crew       3,991.3 BP       TCS 720    TH 2,880    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 2-97       Shields 0-0       HTK 158      Sensors 5/6/0/0      DCR 21-5      PPV 0
Maint Life 2.68 Years     MSP 4,340    AFR 494%    IFR 6.9%    1YR 863    5YR 12,942    Max Repair 360 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 17,000 tons     
Kaigun-Taisa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Flight Crew Berths 340    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-720-B Gas-Core Drive  (4)    Power 2880    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 720    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres    Range 22.2 billion km (64 days at full power)

MK I Active Sensor (1)     GPS 6480     Range 50.1m km    Resolution 120
MK I Missile Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 6     Range 3.4m km    MCR 304.7k km    Resolution 1
MK I Commercial Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
MK I Commercial EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

Strike Group
60x Mitsubishi A1M ‘Raiden’ Fighter   Speed: 8001 km/s    Size: 5.5
2x Aichi E1A Scout   Speed: 6001 km/s    Size: 5

The Kongo class battlecruiser is the only capital ship design of the Imperial Navy in service at the start of the interstellar era. With strong armour and twenty-four Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Lasers, the Kongo was designed for close combat with any potential alien threats. The battlecruiser is jump-capable, has a small hangar bay for a E1A scout and is equipped with four fixed launchers for Gekkō (Moonlight) Reconnaissance Drones.

Kongo class Battlecruiser      36,000 tons       1,191 Crew       5,586.5 BP       TCS 720    TH 2,880    EM 0
4000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 8-97       Shields 0-0       HTK 230      Sensors 10/12/0/0      DCR 20-5      PPV 208.8
Maint Life 2.06 Years     MSP 2,939    AFR 518%    IFR 7.2%    1YR 923    5YR 13,838    Max Repair 450 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons     Magazine 32 / 0   
Kaigun-Taisa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 5    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KMJ-360 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 36000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-720-B Gas-Core Drive  (4)    Power 2880    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 720    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 1,425,000 Litres    Range 15.8 billion km (45 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser (24)    Range 256,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 10-3.5     ROF 15       
Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun (20x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
Type 15 Go-31A Laser Fire Control (4)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
Type 12 Go-31A Railgun Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
R-40 Gaseous Fission Reactor (4)     Total Power Output 160.4    Exp 5%

Fixed Drone Launcher (4)     Missile Size: 8    Hangar Reload 141 minutes    MF Reload 23 hours
Type 11 Go-41 Drone Guidance (1)     Range 14.9m km    Resolution 120

Type 12 Go-12A Capital Ship Sensor (1)     GPS 17280     Range 81.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 12 Go-21A Missile Detection (1)     GPS 6     Range 3.4m km    MCR 304.7k km    Resolution 1
Type 10 Go-61A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 12     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  27.4m km
Type 8 Go-51A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km

Strike Group
1x Aichi E1A Scout   Speed: 6001 km/s    Size: 5

The Nagara class light cruiser serves as the workhorse of the Imperial Japanese Navy, intended to fill most day-to-day tasks and deployments, as the carriers and capital ships will only be deployed against significant threats. The main armament comprises twelve Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Lasers, supported by a secondary battery of railguns for point defence. The Nagara has a small hangar for an Aichi E1A scout and a 500-ton drop bay for a Naval Landing Force, used to capture disabled ships or unprotected alien outposts.

Nagara class Light Cruiser      18,000 tons       595 Crew       2,604.4 BP       TCS 360    TH 1,440    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 6-61       Shields 0-0       HTK 116      Sensors 10/12/0/0      DCR 10-5      PPV 108
Maint Life 2.21 Years     MSP 1,404    AFR 259%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 386    5YR 5,797    Max Repair 360 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons     Troop Capacity 500 tons     Boarding Capable   
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 5    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-720-B Gas-Core Drive  (2)    Power 1440    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 720    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 762,000 Litres    Range 16.9 billion km (48 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser (12)    Range 256,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 10-3.5     ROF 15       
Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun (12x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
MK I Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
MK I Railgun Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
R-40 Gaseous Fission Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 80.2    Exp 5%

MK I Active Sensor (1)     GPS 6480     Range 50.1m km    Resolution 120
MK I Missile Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 6     Range 3.4m km    MCR 304.7k km    Resolution 1
MK I EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 12     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  27.4m km
MK I Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km

Strike Group / Ground Forces
1x Aichi E1A Scout   Speed: 6001 km/s    Size: 5
1x Naval Landing Force

The Sendai class light cruiser is almost identical to the Nagara and can be constructed in the same shipyard. A jump drive has been added to the design in exchange for the drop bay, hangar bay and two railguns.

Sendai class Light Cruiser      18,000 tons       610 Crew       2,780.8 BP       TCS 360    TH 1,440    EM 0
4000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 6-61       Shields 0-0       HTK 115      Sensors 10/12/0/0      DCR 10-5      PPV 102
Maint Life 2.15 Years     MSP 1,465    AFR 259%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 425    5YR 6,368    Max Repair 360 MSP
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KMJ-180 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 18000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-720-B Gas-Core Drive  (2)    Power 1440    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 720    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 757,000 Litres    Range 16.8 billion km (48 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser (12)    Range 256,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 10-3.5     ROF 15       
Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun (10x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
MK I Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
MK I Railgun Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 4,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
R-40 Gaseous Fission Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 80.2    Exp 5%

MK I Active Sensor (1)     GPS 6480     Range 50.1m km    Resolution 120
MK I Missile Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 6     Range 3.4m km    MCR 304.7k km    Resolution 1
MK I EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 12     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  27.4m km
MK I Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km

Small Craft
The Mitsubishi A1M ‘Raiden’ class fighter is the primary power projection asset of the Imperial Navy. Although it is lightly-armed, it is intended to be deployed en masse, overwhelming the enemy with numbers at point-blank range. The MK I cannon is a half-sized version of the Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun used by warships for point defence.

Mitsubishi A1M ‘Raiden’ class Fighter      275 tons       1 Crew       47.1 BP       TCS 5    TH 44    EM 0
8001 km/s      Armour 1-3       Shields 0-0       HTK 1      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 1.65
Maint Life 1.83 Years     MSP 10    AFR 55%    IFR 0.8%    1YR 4    5YR 56    Max Repair 22 MSP
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 days    Morale Check Required   

Kotobuki Ha-1 Gas-Core Engine (1)    Power 44.0    Fuel Use 844.23%    Signature 44.00    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 7,600 Litres    Range 0.59 billion km (20 hours at full power)

MK I Cannon (1x2)    Range 10,000km     TS: 8,001 km/s     Power 1.5-1.5     ROF 5       
MK I Cannon Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 8,000 km/s    ECCM-0   
R-1B Gaseous Fission Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 1.5    Exp 10%
MK I Fighter Sensor (1)     GPS 2     Range 1.5m km    MCR 136.2k km    Resolution 1

The Aichi class scout is a ubiquitous design, used by almost all major warships for short-ranged reconnaissance operations.

Aichi E1A class Scout      250 tons       4 Crew       38.3 BP       TCS 5    TH 30    EM 0
6001 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 1-3       Shields 0-0       HTK 2      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years     MSP 0    AFR 49%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 3    5YR 40    Max Repair 15 MSP
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KSJ-25 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 250 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-30-B Gas Core Drive (1)    Power 30    Fuel Use 431.33%    Signature 30    Explosion 15%
Fuel Capacity 31,000 Litres    Range 5.2 billion km (9 days at full power)

MK I Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1440     Range 23.6m km    Resolution 120
MK I Minimal EM Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 0.6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  6.1m km
MK I Minimal Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 0.5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  5.6m km

Imperial Japanese Navy Order of Battle January 1960
4x Akagi class Carrier: Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, Soryu
4x Kongo class Battlecruiser: Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima, Kongo
12x Nagara class Light Cruiser: Abukuma, Isuzu, Kinu, Kiso, Kitakami, Kuma, Nagara, Natori, Tama, Tatsuta, Tenryu, Yura
6x Sendai class Light Cruiser: Jintsu, Naka, Niyodo, Oyodo, Sendai, Yubari
8x Asagiri class Survey Cruiser: Amagiri, Asagiri, Miyuki, Murakumo, Sagiri, Shinonome, Shirakumo, Yugiri
240x Mitsubishi A1M class Fighter
24x Aichi E1A class Scout
6x Shinshu Maru class Troop Transport: Kaimei Maru, Kumagawa Maru, Kumano Maru, Shinshu Maru, Nojima Maru, Sakito Maru
6x Akatsuki Maru class Replenishment Ship: Akatsuki Maru, Kenyo Maru, Kyokuto Maru, Nichiei Maru, Tatekawa Maru, Toho Maru
6x Chitose class Jump Tender: Chitose, Chiyoda, Kamoi, Mizuho, Nisshin, Notoro
5x Asama Maru class Colony Ship
10x Kansai Maru class Freighter

Imperial Army
4x Combat Division, each with three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment. 100,000 tons each.
5x Shore Battery, each with eight lasers and twelve railguns.
2x Engineer Regiment
2x Geosurvey Regiment
2x Xenoarchaeology Regiment

Steve Walmsley:
22nd January 1960
The survey cruiser Murakumo (Gathering Clouds) discovers a jump point only fourteen million kilometres from Sol.

23rd January 1960
Shinonome (Morning Twilight) discovers a jump point just inside the orbit of Jupiter

26th February 1960
The survey of all inner planets and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn is complete. There are no significant mineral deposits.

5th March 1960
Murakumo discovers two new jump points, one in the asteroid belt and the other just outside the orbit of Saturn.

8th March 1960
Murakumo enters the outermost of the four known jump points and emerges two hundred and seventy million kilometres from Barnard’s Star, a planetless red dwarf. As this is a well-known star, the existing name will be retained.

16th March 1960
Murakumo enters the second of the four known jump points and discovers Proxima, another planetless red dwarf.

19th March 1960
Shinonome enters the innermost of the four known jump point and emerges in Wolf 359, a red dwarf with a single Venusian planet and a small asteroid belt. So far, the systems discovered have been underwhelming. The system nomenclature is due to Max Wolf, a German astronomer who created a star catalogue in 1919. Many of those catalogued stars still bear his name, including Wolf 359. As this is adjacent to Sol and only one of many systems from the catalogue, it is renamed Okami, which is Japanese for Wolf.

20th March 1960
Yugiri (Evening Mist) discovers 700,000 tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium on Neptune.

21st March 1960
Murakumo enters the third of the four known jump points. So far, all the jump points have connected to stars within a few light years of Sol. This time, she arrives a little over four hundred million kilometres from a K2-V orange star more than seventy light years from Sol. There are two terrestrial planets, both with atmospheres and liquid water. The first is 7800 km in diameter and has a nitrogen-methane atmosphere of 0.26 atm, with 9% hydro extent. The second is 16000km and has a carbon dioxide – nitrogen atmosphere of 0.69 atm, with 39% hydro extent. Both have a surface temperature of 27C. Murakumo launches a pair of Gekko (Moonlight) reconnaissance drones towards the two planets then follows in their wakes. The system is named Tsushima, the location of the great victory of Admiral Togo in 1905.

The drone approaching the first planet detects an alien ship in orbit, slightly smaller than a Nagara class light cruiser at 16,589 tons. Imperial Naval Intelligence (INI) assigns this ship the reporting name of Falcon. The aliens will be known as the Tsushima aliens until some form of contact can be established. The Imperial Navy will need more intelligence on the size and capability of the alien forces before an offensive strategy can be devised. In the meantime, the Sendai class light cruiser Jintsu (a river in Gifu and Toyama prefectures) is dispatched to the system to begin contact, while the Nagara class cruisers Abukuma (a river in the Tohoku region) and Tama (Mountain Top) picket the Sol – Tushima jump point. Murakumo continues in-system to begin her survey.



22nd March 1960
A second alien ship, designated as Red Kite, which is 7,333 tons and has military engines, joins the Falcon at the first planet.

24th March 1960
Communication attempts are underway, although Murakumo receives an unintelligible communication that appears to be some sort of demand.

3rd April 1960
The geological survey of Tsushima I reveals thirty million tons of accessibility 0.8 Duranium. This could be extremely valuable to the long-term prosperity of the Empire.

Tsushima I Survey Report
Duranium:   30,420,000   0.80
Corundium:   4,435,236   0.10

6th April 1960
A Kansai Maru class freighter delivers a deep space tracking station to Tsushima II. This planet was chosen as the location because it is mountainous and therefore easier to defend. The cruiser Jintsu has made minimal progress in translation attempts and the aliens seem to be increasingly agitated. As Murakumo is surveying the second planet, Jintsu has moved there to cover her. Plans are laid for a diplomatic ship to handle relations with the aliens, but it will be months before it can be built.

16th April 1960
Two shore batteries and the 10th Infantry regiment are delivered to Tsushima II.

21st April 1960
The Red Kite returns and along with the Falcon has moved into orbit of the small Imperial outpost on Tsushima II. More unintelligible communications are received.

26th April 1960
Murakumo completes the survey of Tsushima II. Her sister ship Amagiri (Mist in the Sky) arrives to assist with the ongoing survey of the system.

Tsushima II Survey Report
Duranium:   13,107,200   0.70
Neutronium:   12,960,000   0.10
Corbomite:   54,169,600   0.10
Tritanium:   3,097,600   0.10
Boronide:   28,729,600   0.10
Uridium:   44,089,600   0.10
Corundium:   22,278,400   0.10

10th May 1960
Four freighters and two colony ships travel into Tsushima to establish a small colony of 200,000 on Tsushima II. Two more shore batteries are delivered.

18th May 1960
The Akamatsu Carrier Corporation launches its first freighter

21st May 1960
The rest of the 4th Division is transported to Tsushima II. Over ten thousand infantry and two hundred tanks are now on the  surface of the planet to support the shore batteries. Jintsu remains in orbit.

5th July 1960
The unintelligible messages every few days cease and the Falcon leaves orbit, disappearing into the outer system. Communication attempts have made some progress, but full comms have not been established.

21st July 1960
A second Falcon class ship of the Tsushima aliens appears in the inner system. Rather than move to the planet, it conducts a series of manoeuvres nearby, moving at 3677 km/s, then moves away out of sensor range.

15th August 1960
Falcon 001 returns and takes up position sixty million kilometres from the Imperial colony on Tsushima II, which has now reached 700,000.

28th August 1960
A fifth jump point is discovered in Sol by the survey ship Sagiri (Mist), close to the orbit of Neptune.

31st August 1960
Amagiri discovers a jump point in Tsushima. The light cruiser Kitakami (a river in Rikuchu province) is dispatched from Sol to investigate. She will picket the jump point while her Aichi E1A class scout conducts the transit.

1st September 1960
Full communication is finally established with the aliens. The aliens are known as the Scimitarans and their state is the Scimitar Empire. Visual contact is initiated and reveals the aliens are humanoid in shape, but vastly different to humanity. They are large and powerful, with gray, leathery skin, large recessed white eyes and bony protuberances on top and sides of their triangular shaped skulls. Despite being on board spacecraft, they wear metallic body armour. The overall impression is one of arrogant menace.



7th September 1960
Sagiri transits the recently discovered fifth jump point in Sol and arrives in the system of Groombridge 34, a red dwarf binary with eight planets, seventeen moons and an asteroid belt. Four rocky planets orbit the primary, including a  terrestrial world, slightly larger than Earth, with a breathable atmosphere of 1.3 atm. The planet is entirely covered in frozen ocean, with the few islands dominated by boreal forest. The temperature is -46C, although that is near the planet’s aphelion of 49m km. The perihelion is at 35m, which will take the temperature to the upper end of human tolerance at 33C. As the orbital period is only 83 days, the conditions on the surface will be constantly changing. The planet is tide-locked so the maximum colony cost is only 0.31, but the maximum population is around thirty million. Terraforming, once the technology is available, could help in improving that situation.

The companion star at twenty-five billion kilometres has three terrestrial planets, a gas giant and an asteroid belt. The only planet of note is the third, which has an ice sheet and a thin nitrogen-methane atmosphere, but the surface temperature is -112C. Given the potential of the system, it is assigned the new Japanese name of Osaka. As the jump point is on the edge of the system, Sagiri moves sunward so she can launch a Gekko reconnaissance drone at the near-habitable world of Osaka-A III.

12th September 1960
Kitakami arrives at the new jump point in Tsushima. She launches her Aichi E1A, which immediately transits. On arrival the scout detects a huge fleet of Scimitar ships waiting on the jump point. Within seconds, a 33,777-ton ship designated as Raptor class destroys the scout in a hail of railgun fire.

1x Sabrehawk: 68,970 tons
4x Solarhawk: 50,654 tons
1x Raptor: 33,777 tons
5x Gyrfalcon: 33,768 tons
2x Nightfalcon: 33,755 tons
4x Warbird: 16,883 tons
1x Sunhawk: 16,855 tons
1x Harrier: 16,855 tons
2x Peregrine: 16,855 tons



Imperial naval Intelligence estimates that if all the ships are military, and the commonality of tonnage around 16,850 tons and 33,750 tons suggest that could be the case, then that represents a jump point defence force with eight light cruisers and eight battlecruisers, plus five larger ships that could be some form of super-battleship. This defence force is comparable to the size of the entire Imperial Navy, excluding carriers.

The system itself is a G5-V yellow star, slightly less massive than Sol, with four planets and over sixty moons. The fourth moon of the first planet, which has a Mars-size Jungle world with a breathable atmosphere, is potentially the Scimitar home world. However the parent gas giant has a very eccentric orbit, which brings it from its current distance of one hundred and forty-six million kilometres to just sixty-one million, which will likely boil the oceans. The atmosphere already includes a significant amount of water vapour. Either the Scimitarans are extremely well-adapted to the periodically hellish conditions on their home world, or the parent gas giant has recently suffered some form of gravitational event that caused its orbit to radically shift. The second planet is a superjovian with twelve times the mass of Jupiter and just moving away from a close pass, so that could be a contributing factor.

In any event, the treacherous attack without warning and the close proximity of the Scimitar Empire makes this a grave situation for the Empire of Japan and for all of humanity. The powerful Scimitaran fleet cannot be allowed to enter Tsushima. On that basis, Kitakami is ordered to hold position and destroy anything transiting the jump point. The Nagara class light cruisers Tama and Abukuma, currently at the Sol – Tsushima jump point, are ordered to immediately transit and join her. At the same location is the Sendai class light cruiser Naka (a river in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures), which remains in place to provide jump-capability and to ensure no Scimitaran ships can enter the Sol system. Finally, the Kongo class battlecruisers Kirishima (a volcano on Kyushu) and Haruna (dormant stratovolcano in Gunma Prefecture) and the light cruiser Kuma (a river in Higo province) depart Earth orbit with orders to join the force being assembled on the Tsushima – Scimitar jump point.

Jintsu, still in orbit of Tsushima II, is ordered to pursue and destroy the Falcon class ship still holding position sixty-two million kilometres from the planet. Her speed of 4000 km/s gives her an advantage over the Falcon’s apparent maximum speed of 3677 km/s. Jintsu takes fifty-four hours to run down the fleeing Falcon. Once within weapon range, she discovers the alien ship has a jammer that affects her fire control systems. While accuracy is affected, the alien ship appears to be unarmed so the end result is not in doubt. Several volleys of laser fire are sufficient to penetrate the target’s weak armour, slow the Falcon and then destroy it. INI classifies the Falcon as a scout.

19th September 1960
Kitakami detects the second Falcon approaching the Tsushima – Scimitar jump point. She opens fire when the ship is within range and inflicts several penetrating hits. The ship continues its approach, trying to escape to its home system before Kitakami can inflict enough damage. The Japanese light cruiser sets a reciprocal course and a second volley at 15,000 km is enough to destroy the Scimitaran scout.

20th September 1960
A third, previously unknown, Falcon class scout approaches the Scimitar jump point. This time the alien ship retreats after being hit. Kitakami seeks permission to pursue, which is given, then chases down the scout, scoring numerous hits. After one devastating volley, with eight penetrating strength-4 hits, the Falcon is left dead in space. Instead of destroying the ship, Kitakami moves alongside the hull and begins a boarding attempt with the forty-two members of her naval landing force. After eight minutes of intense combat, the alien ship is secured without any Japanese losses.

The Falcon is more advanced in some areas than Japanese technology, such as her first generation sensor, missile and fire control jammers, but behind in others, such as nuclear pulse engines, which are a generation behind the Imperial Navy’s gas core drives. Forty-six percent of its mass is engines, which means that Scimitaran warships of similar technology, with presumably less engine mass than the scout, should be significantly slower than their Japanese equivalents. Unfortunately, until the Imperial Navy develops tractor beams, the captured scout will remain where it is. It has insufficient damage control capability to repair its own engines.

21st September 1960
A new Falcon class scout transits into Tsushima from Scimitar, appearing 38,000 km from Kitakami, then runs for the inner system. Kitakami gives chase and destroys the ship i[n two volleys.

22nd September 1960
A Gekko drone from Sagiri arrives at the near-habitable planet in the Osaka system, detecting a population of a new alien race, with a sensor signature approximately 1% that of Earth. The news causes great concern within Combined Fleet headquarters. Two alien races had now been detected adjacent to Sol. There was no sign of any shipping, so Sagiri was given the go-ahead to continue with her survey. The Nagara class light cruiser Kinu (a river flowing across the Kanto plain) was ordered to the Osaka system to provide cover, while the Sendai class light cruiser Niyodo (a major river on Shikoku) was ordered to picket the Sol – Osaka jump point. It was quickly becoming apparent that the Imperial Navy would need some form of long-term picket vessel to cover choke points instead of dispatching light cruisers to perform the role.

9th October 1960
The first Hosho class Diplomatic Ship is launched and ordered to Osaka to attempt communication with the alien race. There has been no contact from the aliens, unintelligible or otherwise, even though Kinu is in orbit.

2nd November 1960
Sagiri completes her survey of Osaka III and finds large, accessible deposits of all eleven Trans-Newtonian minerals; an extremely valuable discovery. Daigensui-Kaigun-Taisho Takagi Razan, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, issues an order for a colony to be established on the planet, testing the reaction of the silent aliens already in place.

Osaka-A III Survey Report
Duranium:   849,600   0.90
Neutronium:   257,400   0.60
Corbomite:   210,300   0.50
Tritanium:   167,400   0.70
Boronide:   458,100   0.60
Mercassium:   216,300   0.80
Vendarite:   591,000   0.70
Sorium:   513,900   0.70
Uridium:   397,800   0.50
Corundium:   181,800   0.90
Gallicite:   163,800   0.40
 
15th December 1960
Asagiri (Morning Mist) detects a sixth jump point in Sol, just inside the orbit of Neptune. She moves to investigate and discovers Alpha Centauri, a binary system with a G2-V primary, similar to Sol, and an orange K2-V companion. The primary has five rocky planets, including one with a small ice sheet and a thin oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. A single terrestrial world orbits the companion. She moves closer and launches a drone at the planet with an atmosphere and does not detect any sign of an alien presence.

12th February 1961
Two new troop transports, Sanka Maru and Tamahoko Maru, are constructed in Earth orbit.

23rd February 1961
Amagiri transits a newly discovered jump point in Tsushima to find Kagoshima, a large system with an F6-IV sub-giant primary and seven planets. The third planet, orbiting half a billion kilometres from the star, has a breathable atmosphere, a minimal amount of surface water and a temperature of 42C. The dominant terrain is mountainous desert. The entry jump point is within the inner system, at roughly the same distance as Kagoshima III, so the survey vessel immediately launches a Gekko drone.

On approach to the planet, the Gekko detects yet another alien race, this time in the form of a fleet of twenty ships, ranging in size from 9600 tons to 29,000 tons and massing approximately 350,000 tons in total. There is no sign of a population. This is the third alien race within two jumps of Sol. One point three million kilometres from the planet, the drone is destroyed by a missile, which suggests these new aliens are hostile. The light cruiser Yura (a river in Tango province) is dispatched from Earth to picket the Tsushima – Kagoshima jump point and a new diplomatic ship is laid down. As the system is large, Amagiri is ordered to continue her survey but remain several hundred million kilometres away from Kagoshima III.





The Imperial Navy is being stretched in many different directions and lacks the number of ships needed to maintain even its current deployments, when the need for overhauls and protecting Earth in taken into account. A major shipbuilding program is required.

8th March 1961
Shinonome completes its survey of Okami and enters the first of two new jump points and discovers Lalande 21185, a red dwarf with four unremarkable planets. The celestial coordinates of Lalande 21185 were first published in 1801 by French astronomer Jérôme Lalande of the Paris Observatory in the star catalogue Histoire céleste française. As this name has been in place for a hundred and sixty years and very few stars still bear his name, the system will be named Lalande and all future stars with the same nomenclature will be renamed.

16th April 1961
There is still no attempt at communication from the alien population on Osaka III and no sign of any alien ships, even though a small Japanese colony has been established on the planet. Imperial Naval Intelligence has theorised the aliens are primitive and do not have the ability to detect the Imperial ships, communicate or realistically defend themselves. The planet is extremely valuable, so that theory is enough to dictate the Empire’s course of action. The entire 2nd Division is on Osaka III and awaiting orders. Daigensui-Kaigun-Taisho Takagi gives the order to invade the alien colony.

There is no resistance and the aliens quickly surrender to the advancing Japanese forces. The population is approximately thirty-three million, comprised of amphibious creatures with long necks and large black eyes. While full commination has yet to be established, Imperial linguists have determined the alien species refer to themselves as the Rasheed. There is no industry, supporting the theory that they are at a pre-industrial stage of development. Even though the aliens are weak and dishonourable, they can still serve as labour for the Empire of Japan in its efforts to exploit their home world’s resources. One of the three alien threats has been removed, but the Scimitarans and the new Kagoshima aliens are likely to prove much harder to subdue.

31st May 1961
Murakumo, transferred from Tsushima after the completion of the survey in that system, enters the second unexplored jump point in Okami and emerges in a brown dwarf system. The system is named Waisei Ichi, which roughly translates into English as Dwarf One.

18th August 1961
Construction factories, engineers and minerals have been delivered to Osaka III, enabling the Empire to begin the creation of forced labour camps for the Rasheed.

30th September 1961
Shokaku (Crane Flying in Heaven), the fifth Akagi class carrier is launched from the Yokosuka Dockyards. Her strikegroup of sixty Mitsubishi A1M fighters is still under construction.

21st January 1962
Two large Scimitaran ships transit into Tsushima; a 68,970-ton Sabrehawk, which has commercial engines and a 33,768-ton Gyrfalcon with military engines. This is the first Scimitaran activity since the last of their four Falcon class scouts was destroyed in Tsushima in September 1960. The aliens in the adjacent Kagoshima system remain quiescent and have shown no interest in entering Tsushima. The Imperial Navy maintains a strong jump point picket of two battlecruisers and three Nagara class cruisers, although the original picket ships have departed for overhauls in Sol and new ships have taken their places.

Scimitar JP Picket Squadron
Kongo class Battlecruiser: Hiei, Kongo
Nagara class Light Cruiser: Nagara, Natori, Tenryū
5x Aichi E1A class Scout:



Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga Suzu, captain of the battlecruiser Kongo (a mountain in Osaka Prefecture) and senior officer present, orders all his ships to fire on the Gyrfalcon. The battlecruiser Hiei (a mountain near Kyoto) and the light cruiser Nagara (one of the Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain) open fire immediately, inflicting massive damage. The Gyrfalcon suffers thirty-five strength-10 laser hits and over a hundred railgun hits. Forty hit penetrate her armour. To the great surprise of the Imperial Navy crews, the Gyrfalcon survives, although it is dead in space. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga orders his ships to cease fire and instructs Nagara and Natori (a river in Miyagi prefecture) to begin boarding operations. He also orders the light cruiser Tenryu (Heaven’s  Dragon – also a river) to disable the commercial engined vessel and board it.

The marines from Nagara and Natori find the crew of the badly damaged Gyrfalcon to be difficult opponents. Even though only armed with light personal weapons, the Scimitarans still kill twelve of the boarders before finally being overwhelmed. The Gyrfalcon is armed with sixty-six missile launchers that fire every ten seconds.  While it appears to be designed to engage hostile missiles, it would prove a fearsome opponent in a close-range battle. Only the effects of jump shock and the fast reactions of the Japanese crews prevented any damage.

Gyrfalcon class Escort Cruiser      33,769 tons       694 Crew       3,781.7 BP       TCS 675    TH 1,984    EM 0
2937 km/s      Armour 6-93       Shields 0-0       HTK 201      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 16-4      PPV 66
Maint Life 0.90 Years     MSP 1,119    AFR 570%    IFR 7.9%    1YR 1,240    5YR 18,605    Max Repair 710.2 MSP
Magazine 2,167 / 172   
Kaigun-Taisa    Control Rating 2   BRG   CIC   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Nuclear Pulse Engine  EP248 (8)    Power 1984    Fuel Use 45.44%    Signature 248    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,300,000 Litres    Range 15.2 billion km (60 days at full power)

Size 43 Decoy Launcher (4)     Decoy Size: 43    Hangar Reload 327 minutes    MF Reload 54 hours
Size 1 Missile Launcher (66)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
Missile Fire Control FC13-R1 (14)     Range 13.2m km    Resolution 1   ECCM-1

Active Search Sensor AS11-R1 (1)     GPS 69     Range 11.4m km    MCR 1m km    Resolution 1
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Sensor 1    Fire Control 1    Missile 1   

Fortunately, the Gyrfalcon can repair its own engines. Otherwise it would have to remain in place until tractor beams can be developed and deployed and they are at least three years away from deployment at the current rate of research. The Falcon captured eighteen months earlier is only being held together due to regular resupply and will fall apart soon. The technology in the Gyrfalcon, especially its missile launchers, is far more valuable and it must remain intact until it can be taken apart at Earth.

Tenryu slows the Sabrehawk to 463 km/s before launching her marines. Three are lost in the boarding attempt and a further six in the battle with the Scimitaran crew. The commercial-engined vessel is a construction ship, designed to stabilise jump points and allow non-jump-capable ships to transit. Similar technology is years away from development by the Empire of Japan, so if the ship could be repaired and put into service, it would be of great value. Due to the foresight of Tenryu’s captain, Kaigun-Chūsa Haruguchi Maya, one of the first female starship commanders, it still has engine power remaining so can be moved to Earth under its own power.

Sabrehawk class Construction Ship      68,971 tons       260 Crew       1,573.4 BP       TCS 1,379    TH 1,024    EM 0
742 km/s      Armour 1-149       Shields 0-0       HTK 72      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 14    Max Repair 1,000 MSP
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   
Jump Point Stabilisation: 180 days

Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine  EP128.0 (8)    Power 1024    Fuel Use 4.05%    Signature 128    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 12.9 billion km (201 days at full power)

CIWS-120 (2x4)    Range 1000 km     TS: 12,000 km/s     ROF 5       

5th April 1962
Two new Asagiri class survey cruisers, Fubuki (Snowstorm) and Shirayuki (White Snow), are completed by the Sasebo Naval Dockyards.

26th April 1962
Three new Nagara class light cruisers, Kashima (a shrine in Hitachi province), Kashiwara (a city in Osaka prefecture) and Katori (a shrine founded by Jimmu Tenno, the divine first emperor), are completed by the Kure Naval Dockyards. This addition to the cruiser fleet will ease pressure on the Imperial Navy, as its tries to address its many commitments.

9th May 1962
Sagiri completes the survey of Osaka, finding two new jump points. She transits both, discovering Shōbara, a planetless M6-V red dwarf, and Tosa, a planetless M8-V red dwarf. She begins a survey of the latter.

13th June 1962
Yamashiro (a province that translates as Mountain Castle), the fifth Kongo class battlecruiser, is launched by the Maizuru Naval Dockyards.

27th June 1962
The survey of Proxima, located beyond Sol’s second jump point, is completed. The system has a total of six jump points. The survey cruisers Fubuki and Miyuki (Deep Snow), probe the five outward jump points, which lead to Epsilon Indi, Koga, Minato, Sirius and Aomori. There are four planets and fourteen moons in Sirius, all of which are barren and extremely hot, plus three planets in total in the other four systems, none of which are of any interest.

6th September 1962
A geological survey of Sirius I reveals substantial, accessible mineral deposits. Sirius I is a barren, tide-locked dwarf planet, orbiting less than seventy million kilometres from an A0-V primary with eighty times the luminosity of Sol. The surface temperature is 955C and the colony cost is 7.64. The Empire of Japan is close to developing terraforming technology and this planet seems an obvious candidate.

Sirius-A I Survey Report
Duranium:   691,488   0.80
Neutronium:   1,254,400   0.80
Corbomite:   112,896   0.70
Tritanium:   1,132,096   0.40
Mercassium:   432,964   1.00
Vendarite:   828,100   0.70
Sorium:   1,254,400   0.90
Uridium:   254,016   0.80
Corundium:   15,876   0.90
Gallicite:   802,816   0.30

27th June 1963
Zuikaku (Fortunate Crane), the sixth Akagi class carrier is launched from the Yokosuka Dockyards. Her strikegroup comprises sixty Mitsubishi A1M2 fighters, a modification of the original A1M1 with greater range, plus two Aichi E1A scouts.

13th September 1963
Two Scimitaran ships of a new 7871-ton type, designated as Star Eagle, transit into Tsushima. The picket squadron is comprised of the same ships as the last transit eighteen months ago, except for the light cruiser Yura replacing the light cruiser Tenryu. Nagara and Natori open fire immediately, each targeting a different ships. The Star Eagles are each destroyed by twelve laser hits. Meanwhile in Kagoshima, the large alien fleet from the other known alien race is maintaining position and refusing to communicate.

Scimitar JP Picket Squadron
Kongo class Battlecruiser: Hiei, Kongo
Nagara class Light Cruiser: Nagara, Natori, Yura
5x Aichi E1A class Scout:

23rd October 1963
Known space has grown to thirty-three systems, eighteen of which lack any planets and two are occupied by hostile aliens. The lack of habitable worlds is disappointing, although the conquest of Osaka III has offset that considerably. The most recently discovered system is a black hole, three transits from Earth via Barnard’s Star and Nagasaki, with a mass eighty times that of Sol.

Steve Walmsley:
23rd December 1963
The Sabrehawk captured from the Scimitar Empire stabilises both sides of the Sol – Tsushima jump point. The Empire has now developed stabilisation technology, but is still in the process of retooling a shipyard before it can lay down the first Japanese-built ship.

18th April 1964
The first Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun' (Iridescent Cloud) class Long Range Patrol craft is launched from the recently-constructed Kawanishi Naval Shipyard. The H1K will fill a variety of roles, including long-range reconnaissance, jump point picket and commerce raider, and can remain on deployment for up to three years. Its first task will be to deploy the newly developed Zuiun (Auspicious Cloud) Sensor Buoy at all of Sol’s jump points.

Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun' class Long Range Patrol      1,000 tons       19 Crew       107.8 BP       TCS 20    TH 60    EM 0
3000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 1-8       Shields 0-0       HTK 8      Sensors 1/1/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 4.58
Maint Life 4.76 Years     MSP 41    AFR 32%    IFR 0.4%    1YR 3    5YR 45    Max Repair 30 MSP
Magazine 24 / 0   
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KSJ-100 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 1000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-60 Gas Core Drive (1)    Power 60    Fuel Use 90.37%    Signature 60    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 129,700 Litres    Range 25.8 billion km (99 days at full power)

MK I Light Cannon (1)    Range 10,000km     TS: 4,000 km/s     Power 0.75-0.75     ROF 5       
Type 23 Go-34A Light Cannon Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 32,000 km   TS: 3,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
MK I Light Cannon Power Plant (1)     Total Power Output 0.8    Exp 10%

Type 23 Fixed Missile Launcher (2)     Missile Size: 12    Hangar Reload 173 minutes    MF Reload 28 hours
Type 23 Go-44 Missile Fire Control (1)     Range 21.1m km    Resolution 120   ECCM-1
Zuiun Sensor Buoy (2)    Speed: 0 km/s    End: 0m     Range: 0m km    WH: 0    Size: 12    TH: 0/0/0

Type 23 Go-14A Patrol Sensor (1)     GPS 1008     Range 19.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 23 Go-54A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1.5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  9.7m km
Type 23 Go-64A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1.8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  10.6m km

23rd April 1964
Three new ships are completed:  the survey cruisers Oboro (Haziness Diffusing the Moonlight) and Usugumo (Thin Misty Clouds) and the light cruiser Sakawa (a river in Sagami province).

11th June 1964
Two Sendai class light cruisers, Noshiro (Large Passage Through a Plain - a river in Ugo Province) and Yahagi (arrow-maker –a river in Mikawa province), are launched from the Kure Naval Dockyards.

23rd September 1964
Two more Star Eagles transit into Tsushima from Scimitar. They are quickly destroyed by the battlecruiser Haruna and the light cruiser Kinu.

9th December 1964
The survey of the Mitaka system, three jumps from Sol via Proxima and Epsilon Indi, reveals a total of eight jump points, a record for a single system. Known space is now forty systems.

16th December 1964
Fuso (Land of Divine Mulberry Trees), the sixth and final Kongo class battlecruiser is launched.

4th February 1965
The survey cruiser Sagiri discovers two extremely valuable bodies in the Takamatsu system, six transits and eleven billion kilometres from Sol, using the shortest route. Takamatsu II is a barren dwarf planet two thousand kilometres in diameter with a stable orbit and a surface temperature of 43C. The sixth moon of Takamatsu III is even smaller, at eighteen hundred kilometres. It is also barren and much colder, ranging from -165C to -180C due to the orbit of its parent gas giant. Even so, both worlds will be relatively easy to terraform, once that capability is available. The first Amateratsu class terraforming station has already been constructed, but remains in Earth orbit until it is joined by the first Tug.

Takamatsu II Survey Report
Duranium:   1,548,800   0.80
Neutronium:   302,500   0.90
Tritanium:   313,600   0.80
Mercassium:   250,000   0.70
Vendarite:   476,100   0.60
Uridium:   220,900   0.60
Gallicite:   902,500   0.90

Takamatsu III - Moon 6 Survey Report
Duranium:   793,800   0.80
Tritanium:   2,025   0.80
Boronide:   385,641   0.90
Vendarite:   571,536   0.60
Uridium:   81   0.90
Corundium:   480,249   0.80
Gallicite:   492,804   0.60





14th February 1965
The seventh Akagi class carrier, Ryujo (Dragon and Phoenix), is launched from the Yokosuka Dockyards. The strikegroup of sixty Mitsubishi A1M2 'Raiden' class fighters and two Aichi E1A class scouts has already been completed by the Empires fighter factories.

4th April 1965
The Nagara class light cruiser Agano (a river mouth at Matsusasaki town) joins the Imperial Navy.

10th April 1965
A research team led by Nagata Masamori develops the technology for Ion Engines. This will initiate a new round of engine designs and subsequent refits for the Imperial Navy.

18th May 1965
The eighth Akagi class carrier, Zuiho (Auspicious Phoenix), is launched from the Yokosuka Dockyards. There is no strikegroup available as fighter construction was halted in January 1965 in anticipation of Ion technology being available.

23rd May 1965
An Eikai Maru class tug, the first of two planned vessels in her class, is constructed in Earth orbit. The Eikai Maru is a temporary solution while the first of the 140,000-ton Shokai Maru class tugs is under construction. Four fuel harvesting stations and two terraforming stations are in Earth orbit awaiting deployment.

Eikai Maru class Tug      51,966 tons       410 Crew       1,184 BP       TCS 1,039    TH 3,840    EM 0
3694 km/s      Armour 1-124       Shields 0-0       HTK 135      Sensors 5/6/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 14    Max Repair 100 MSP
Tractor Beam     
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   

Koga-Murakama KC-240 Gas-Core Drive  (16)    Power 3840    Fuel Use 2.89%    Signature 240    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres    Range 239.5 billion km (750 days at full power)

Type 12 Go-13A Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1440     Range 23.6m km    Resolution 120
Type 8 Go-53A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 10 Go-63A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

28th August 1965
Koshu Maru and Amakusa Maru, the first Japanese-built stabilisation ships, are completed by the Otsu Marine Industries orbital shipyard. They join the captured Scimitaran stabilisation ship, which has already stabilised both sides of the jump points from Sol to Proxima and Osaka, in creating a stable pathway from Sol to Takamatsu.

6th September 1965
The survey cruiser Shirakumo (White Clouds) explores a jump point in Mitaka, three jumps from Sol via Proxima and Epsilon Indi, and finds Kochi, a red dwarf system with three terrestrial planets, four moons and a handful of asteroids. The second planet has a Nitrogen – Methane atmosphere and a small amount of surface ice, so the cruiser launches a Gekko reconnaissance drone to check for signs of life. The drone detects eight ships of the Kagoshima aliens; a 19,426-ton Terror, a 19,228-ton Devastator, two 9622-ton Avengers and four 9620-ton ships of a new type, designated as Raptor class. As the drone moves closer it detects a tiny strength-65 thermal signature, possibly indicating a few installations on the surface, but there is no sign of any settlement. Moments later the Gekko is intercepted and destroyed by an alien missile.



Until now, the Kagoshima aliens have not been detected anywhere apart from in orbit of Kagoshima III, a planet without any obvious population. This new sighting is also in orbit of a planet without a population. For some reasons, these aliens are guarding uninhabited worlds. There is no known path between Kagoshima and Kochi that does not pass through Sol. Kagoshima has been surveyed, with a single outward jump point leading to Sapporo, a system with a yellow-white F7-V primary, seven planets and almost five hundred asteroids. So far a survey of that system has not revealed any alien presence, so the Kagoshima aliens are not picketing the adjacent systems to their main fleet. Their motivations remain a mystery.

However, this new fleet in Kochi is much smaller than in Kagoshima, so it gives the Imperial Japanese Navy an opportunity to test their capabilities in battle. A fleet is assembled in Earth orbit comprising four Akagi class carriers, four Kongo class battlecruisers and eight light cruisers. The powerful fleet is given the designation of Kidō Butai, or Mobile Strike Force.  In the absence of the Kidō Butai, Earth is covered by four carriers, one of which lacks fighters, and thirteen light cruisers. Two battlecruisers and two light cruisers are deployed at the Tsushima – Scimitar jump point and two more light cruisers are in orbit of Osaka III, home world of the Rasheed.

Kidō Butai
Akagi class Carrier: Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, Soryu
Kongo class Battlecruiser: Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima, Kongo
Nagara class Light Cruiser: Abukuma, Isuzu, Kinu, Kuma, Tama, Tatsuta, Tenryū, Yura
240x Mitsubishi A1M 'Raiden'
20x Aichi E1A

22nd September 1965
The Kidō Butai arrives in Kochi and moves toward the alien fleet in orbit of the second planet. In total, the fleet has one hundred and seventy-six railguns available for point defence, along with the cannon of the fighters if that becomes necessary. For offence, and emergency defence, the Kido Butai also has one hundred and ninety-two 20cm lasers. The Kido Butai is forty million kilometres from the planet when it comes under missile attack, with ten salvos of three missiles each travelling at 44,163 km/s



Unfortunately, the alien missiles are laser torpedoes, which completely negates the Kidō Butai’s railgun point defence. Laser torpedoes have been discussed in a theoretical sense by Japanese scientists, but the technology has not been developed by the Empire. The alien design detonates its warhead over sixty thousand kilometres from the target, generating a laser that inflicts a strength-3 hit from that range. The fleet’s own laser weapons are able to intercept, but with reduced accuracy compared to a point-blank defence. Thirteen missiles are destroyed. The other seventeen all strike the battlecruiser Kongo. The laser hits penetrate through almost forty percent of her armour belt, with two in the same location penetrating to seventy-five percent.

The captain of the Kongo, Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga Suzu, is also the senior office in the Kido Butai. He orders the four carriers to launch their two hundred and forty Mitsubishi A1M 'Raiden' fighters, collectively known as the 1st Air Fleet for historical reasons, and station them sixty thousand kilometres in front of the fleet, where they can help to intercept any follow-up attack. An hour passes, and then a second, as the Kido Butai moves within ten million kilometres of Kochi II. The missile strike appears to have been a one-off, perhaps from fixed launchers that will take hours to reload. Even so, Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga decides to retain the fighter screen as the Kido Butai continues its approach.

When the planet comes within range of the Japanese high-resolution missile detection sensors, they detect ten 1000-ton craft, designated as Ghost class, that are invisible to long-range sensors, except at close range. It seems likely they were the origin of the laser torpedoes. They also detect a ground forces signature of 20,000 tons. Whatever the Kagoshima aliens are protecting, they are serious about it.

At one point three million kilometres from Kochi II, a missile launch is detected. These missiles are smaller than in the previous attack, with only one-sixth of the thermal signature of the earlier missile wave, but much faster at 77,200 km/s and in greater numbers, with ninety-one inbounds detected. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga orders the fighters to fall back to close protection of the fleet, believing the new missiles are too small to be laser torpedoes. Ten seconds after the first launch, an identical second wave is launched. The Imperial Japanese Navy is about to face its first real test in combat.



The A1M ‘Raiden’ fighters move into close defensive formation with the Kido Butai and destroy thirty-two of the inbound missiles. Twenty-four more are killed by the fleet’s railguns. The other thirty-five strike the battlecruiser Kongo with strength-1 warheads. One missile hits in the same location as the double laser hit over two hours earlier and almost penetrates the armour. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga authorises the use of the Kido Butai’s 20cm lasers, despite concern over the effect of the wear and tear of continuous fire on the fleet’s maintenance supplies. Even so, their rate of fire will mean they can only engage every other salvo.

The second wave inflicts thirty-eight strength-1 hits on the light cruiser Kinu. The 20cm lasers add only three missile kills, despite one hundred and ninety-two shots. The problem for the Kido Butai is that with so many missiles inbound, the number of shots that can be assigned to each target is limited. Often multiple shots hit the same missile, while other missiles escape unscathed. Adding the 20cm lasers is mainly increasing  overkill.

With a steady stream of missiles approaching and more than a third of each wave penetrating the defences of the Kido Butai, Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga realises his carriers, with their thin armour, are extremely vulnerable. Despite the risk in sending them without escort, he orders all four to retreat toward the jump point, leaving the fighters with the rest of the fleet.

Thirty-one missiles from the third wave strike Kongo, with two penetrating the weak spot in her armour. One hit takes out her primary sensor and the other strikes crew quarters. Eighteen are killed; the first Japanese casualties since the Empire went into space. The Kido Butai is almost five minutes from the planet, with new waves arriving every ten seconds. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga considers sending his fighters ahead, as they can arrive in two and a half minutes, but decides to hold his force together for now, with the exception of the retreating carriers.

Thirty-two missiles from wave four hit Kinu, further damaging her armour but not yet penetrating, and thirty-eight missiles from wave five hit Kongo, fortunately missing the hole in her armour. By this point, the two ships have each lost twenty percent of their armour volume, but the battlecruiser has more weak spots due to the earlier laser torpedo attack. The Kagoshima aliens seem to be alternating attacks between the two ships.

That pattern holds true, with Kinu under attack from the sixth and eighth waves and Kongo from the seventh and ninth. Neither suffers any internal damage, but their armour is disintegrating under the constant bombardment. The Kido Butai is nine hundred and sixty thousand kilometres from Kochi II; four minutes from orbit and three minutes from maximum weapon range. The hostile missile waves continue to arrive every ten seconds.

After the tenth wave, Kinu is down to almost fifty percent armour and after the twelfth she has six separate holes straight through her armour belt. One missile each from the eleventh and thirteenth wave penetrates Kongo’s armour. She loses her boat bay, but otherwise the damage is minimal. With the fourteenth wave already inbound, and probably targeted on Kinu, Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga orders the light cruiser to hold formation until after that wave arrives, then Kinu and his own damaged Kongo will break formation and retreat to the jump point before suffering significant casualties.

Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga’s intuition is proved correct. Six missiles from the fourteenth wave penetrate the light cruiser’s armour, destroying two railguns and half of the troop transport bays, killing eight crewmen and twenty marines. Kinu and the battlecruiser Kongo reverse course and prepare to ride out yet another missile wave while the rest of the Kido Butai continues toward the planet. The two ships destroy only three missiles from the fifteenth wave, with the other eighty-eight detonating on Kongo’s battered armour. She loses two railguns, one of her four engines and thirty-two crewmen. As Kongo can now only make 3000 km/s, Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga orders Kinu to move ahead and both ships continue to retreat at their best speed.

Nobunaga hoped that by pulling the damaged ships back from the main fleet, and the protection afforded by massed point defence, that the aliens would change targets to a closer, undamaged target. That does not prove true for the sixteenth wave, which passes the main body of the Kido Butai and attacks Kinu once again. By this point, the lasers of the main body have recharged and manage to destroy ten of the attacking missiles from a hundred and fifty thousand kilometres. Kongo destroys one with her own lasers and Kinu’s railguns shoot down two more. Seventy-eight survive to reach the light cruiser.

Two of Kinu’s 20cm lasers are destroyed, along with a railgun, her boat bay, one of her two reactors and two-thirds of her fuel storage. The light cruiser’s crew quarters and engineering decks are also hit and seventy-five percent of her armour has been blasted away from the hull. Thirty-one crewmen are killed. Fortunately, both her engines remain intact, but her captain, Kaigun-Chusa Ishimura Kuri, is becoming concerned about his battered ship’s ability to withstand another attack.

Wave seventeen passes the fleet and heads for Kongo. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga considers ordering the 1st Air Fleet to leave the main body and provide cover, but it will take some time to arrive and even more time to move back if the aliens change their targeting. For the moment, he leaves it in place. Kongo is hit by eighty-seven missiles and loses several systems, including another engine. Her speed is down to 2000 km/s. In retrospect, keeping the ships with the rest of the fleet would have been the wiser choice, but Nobunaga believed the aliens would react to closer and larger threats. Their single-minded devotion to killing the two retreating ships was unexpected.

Wave eighteen breaks the pattern. Instead of the expected attack on Kinu, the missiles target Kongo with devastating effectiveness. Over twenty missiles penetrate her armour, destroying six of her lasers, two railguns and both of her remaining engines. The crippled battlecruiser is helpless and completely open to attack. Even if the 1st Air Fleet was directed to provide cover, it would take over thirty seconds to arrive. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga cannot sacrifice the protection of the fleet, so he orders the Kido Butai to press on and avenge his ship. Moments later another eighty-six missile slam into Kongo, followed ten seconds later by eighty-seven more. The gallant battlecruiser still manages to shoot down several of the inbounds, but the end is near.



Somehow, Kongo survives the twenty-first missile wave. Most of her weapons are gone and almost five hundred of her crew are dead, but she still has her missile detection sensor and five railguns, enabling her to shoot down three missiles. That defiant resistance ends with the loss of all four or her reactors, leaving her no way to recharge her weapons. All ninety-one missiles from the next wave strike the crippled battlecruiser and she explodes. One hundred and eighty-nine crew escape to the life pods, leaving over a thousand bodies in the wreck. Kaigun-Taisa Nobunaga chooses to perish with his ship, refusing to escape in a life pod.

Command of the Kido Butai passes to Kaigun-Taisa Akita Toshiro, commander of the battlecruiser Kirishima. His remaining force of three battlecruisers and seven light cruisers, escorted by the 1st Air Fleet, is 442,000 km from Kochi II. Another wave of ninety-one missiles launches from the alien fleet. As the crews prepare to see which ship will be the next target, the missiles flash past the Kido Butai and head for the damaged light cruiser Kinu, which is 1,140,000 km from the planet and heading for the jump point.

The twenty-fourth wave is targeted on the light cruiser Yura, within the main body, and arrives while the missiles of the previous wave are closing on Kinu. With most of the fleet’s point defence still intact, sixty-three missiles are hit and destroyed. The remaining twenty-eight inflict armour damage on Yura. Moments later, Kinu is struck by eighty-eight missiles, more than half of which penetrate the remnants of her armour belt. The damage is catastrophic, with more than a hundred of her crew killed in that single attack. One engine survives and she continues on course at 2000 km/s.

The aliens seem to lose interest in Kinu, or she is out of range, as waves twenty-five and twenty-six are both directed against the battlecruiser Hiei, without achieving even a fifty percent penetration of her armour. The Kido Butai is 280,000 km from Kochi II and about to enter weapon range. Kaigun-Taisa Akita orders all ships to reserve their lasers for offensive operations only.

The twenty-seventh missile wave also targets Hiei, scoring thirty-six hits. Simultaneously, the Kido Butai opens fire on the two largest alien ships: the 19,426-ton Terror and the 19,228-ton Devastator. The laser fire is at close to maximum range and significantly degraded by the aliens’ electronic warfare systems. Only eight strength-1 hits are registered.

When the Kido Butai reaches 220,000 km from the planet, the battle takes a very unsettling turn. The enemy possesses a devastating energy weapon, capable of inflicting strength-18 hits at long range that penetrate armour far more effectively than lasers. Even against undamaged battlecruiser armour, more than half of the weapon strength is directed against internal systems. The four Raptor class ships possess three weapons each and a further sixteen are located on the planet’s surface, for a total of twenty-eight. Hiei is hit twice, losing two of her four engines, a laser and two railguns. The previously undamaged Kirishima is struck nine times and suffers appalling damage. All four engines and the jump drive are destroyed, along with sixteen lasers and eight railguns. She is stationary and almost out of the fight.

The stunned Japanese tactical officers quickly identify the alien weapon as a particle lance, a technology that would likely takes decades for the Empire to develop from a standing start. In combination with the alien electronic warfare capability, this demonstrates just how out-matched the Imperial Navy is in terms of technology. With Kirishima disabled and Hiei badly damaged, any retreat under constant missile fire would likely cost the Empire those two ships. Besides, Kaigun-Taisa Akita Toshiro is not a commander who retreats. Informed by his tactical officer that the particle lance is likely to have constant damage across its range and a long recharge period, he orders every ship, including the fighters, to charge the enemy at their best speed. The fighters are ordered to target the Devastator, which has been identified as the source of the missiles, then the Raptors, while the ships target the surface-based weapons. The capabilities of the Terror and the two Avengers remain unknown.

Hiei continues to be the target of the missile waves and due to its separation from the rest of the Kido Butai due to engine damage, it cannot defend itself effectively. Eighty missiles hit, with two penetrating to cause minor damage. The Kido Butai opens fire on the planet, destroying four of the surface-based weapons. The four Raptors and two Avengers break orbit and move away at a speed of 5819 km/s, quickly passed by the ten small Ghosts moving at 8370 km/s. Hiei is hit again with eighty-two missiles, although none penetrate her armour.

Kaigun-Taisa Akita changes his orders. His fighters are the only option to catch the Avengers and prevent them from sniping at long-range against the Kido Butai, so he orders them to avoid the planet and pursue. His single intact battlecruiser Haruna and three of the light cruisers are ordered to target the aptly-named Devastator, to prevent its constant bombardment of Hiei.

As the fighters change course to move around the planet, they come under attack from seven particle lances on the surface, with one A1M ‘Raiden’ being hit and destroyed. This would represent a relatively fast recharge for the known particle lances, raising the possibility this is a second, shorter-ranged battery – especially considering the Raptors did not fire. That is confirmed when the sensor officers update their contacts. Hiei is targeted by another wave of missiles but for now her armour continues to absorb almost all the damage. Kirishima is still dead in space.



The light cruisers Abukuma, Tatsuta and Yura target the surface from 120,000 km, supported by Hiei at 180,000 km and Kirishima’s much-diminished laser battery at 220,000 km, without registering any hits. Moments later, the battlecruiser Haruna and the light cruisers Kuma and Tenryu, all in the rapidly shrinking main body of the Kido Butai, attack the Devastator, scoring seventeen strength-3 hits, one of which inflicts internal damage. That is not enough to prevent another wave of missiles being launched against Hiei. Several penetrate her armour and she loses a railgun. The light cruiser Isuzu hits one of the surface-based particle lances, but the Japanese crews begin to wonder when the remaining alien wonder weapons will fire again.

Hiei, Kirishima, Abukuma, Tatsuta and Yura fire again, destroying two more surface-based weapons, while the light cruiser Tama gets a hit through the armour of the Devastator. The targeting of the Devastator changes to the fast approaching Kido Butai and the battlecruiser Haruna receives her first hits of the battle. The change is too little too late. Haruna, Kuma and Tenryu open fire from 40,000 km, scoring thirty-two strength-9 hits, twenty-six of which penetrate the armour of the alien ship, although given its armament it is almost certainly an orbital base. Leaving the damaged base to the cruisers, Haruna changes her targeting to the planet. Meanwhile, the fighters are closing on the six 9600-ton alien ships that are moving away and outside weapon range of the Kido Butai.

The alien particle lances recharge and fire. The Raptors are too far away to target the Japanese ships, so they attack the fighters, destroying six. The seven surviving surface-based weapons from the first battery to fire target the relatively undamaged battlecruiser Haruna. Every shot hits and penetrate her armour. Suddenly Haruna vanishes in a colossal secondary explosion, almost certainly from one of her engines, that leaves nothing but drifting wreckage. The alien Devastator class base is finished off by the light cruiser Tama, but what would have been a satisfying blow against the enemy is completely overshadowed by the stunning loss of Haruna.

Kaigun-Taisa Akita, directing the battle from the crippled Kirishima, orders every remaining ship to fire on the planet. The Terror class ship, also probably a base, has still played no part in the battle so he is content to ignore it. The fighters are 48,000 km from the Raptors and will be in range within thirty seconds. Four more STOs are destroyed, then four survivors from the secondary STO battery open fire on the light cruiser Isuzu. Only two hit, but that is enough to take out both her engines, two lasers and two railguns.

The fighters close in on the six fleeing 9600-ton ships and open fire. Their combined firepower completely obliterates one the four Raptors. The two Avengers return fire with railguns, similar to those on ships of the Imperial Navy. Four A1Ms are lost. Kaigun-Taisa Akita gives the fighters the order to fire at will, so they all choose individual targets and close to point-blank range. The engagement turns into a brutal close-range, with the fighters constantly strafing the armour of the five remaining ships while the two Avengers wreak havoc with their massed railgun fire. A dozen fighters are destroyed before a second Raptor explodes, then eight more before the first Avenger is destroyed.

The aliens are in serious trouble by this point, with their armour reduced to remnants and their internal systems badly damaged. Another fighter is destroyed, and a second crippled, then both reaming Raptors explode simultaneously. The second Avenger kills two more fighters before it is overwhelmed. Thirty-five A1M ‘Raiden’ fighters have been destroyed in the pursuit, but all six of their targets have been eliminated. Combined with their defence of the Kido Butai during constant missile attack, the 1st Air Fleet has performed superbly.

At Kochi II, the survivors of the Kido Butai continue to bombard the surface, destroying the particle lances one by one until they are finally wiped out. The Kagoshima aliens still have the Terror class base, their ground forces and the ten small Ghosts, running too fast for the fighters to catch, but their threat is over. Kaigun-Taisa Akita considers an attempt to capture the last base, but dismisses it, instead ordering the fleet to obliterate it. It lasts ten seconds before exploding.

The Battle of Kochi has ended as a glorious victory for the Imperial Japanese Navy, but the cost is very high. Two of the four battlecruisers committed to the operation have been destroyed, a third is crippled and dead in space and the fourth has significant internal damage and is reduced to half speed. One light cruiser is disabled, a second is crippled and retreating and a third has armour damage. Thirty-five fighters have been lost. Almost three thousand crewmen, marines and pilots were killed. Only the carriers that pulled back early in the battle and five of the eight light cruisers escaped damaged. A new decoration, the Battle of Kochi Award, is bestowed on all officers who took part in the gallant action.

The light cruiser Tama rescues the four hundred survivors from the Haruna and the Kongo, then moves to picket the jump point from Mitaka. As Hiei is the only jump-capable ship in the system, due to the damage to Kirishima’s jump drive, she also begins the slow journey to the jump point at 2000 km/s. The remaining ships, including the carriers, maintain position near the cripples while they begin repairs to their internal systems using their remaining maintenance supplies. A pair of replenishment ships are en route from Earth.

Four hours after the battle, the ten Ghost class ships reappear on sensors heading for Kochi II, possibly in an attempt to rearm. Kaigun-Taisa Akita dispatches the 1st Air Fleet to intercept. The fighters destroy nine of the Ghosts as they pass, leaving a single ship still on course for planet. The light cruiser Abukuma is detached to intercept and scores two laser hits, disabling the Ghost’s engine and allowing the fighters to catch up and destroy it. The only remaining aliens in the system are on the surface of Kochi II. A ground invasion will be required.

Eight hours after the battle, Kirishima has managed to repair two of her damaged engines and the light cruiser Isuzu has repaired one of her engines, giving both ships a speed of 2000 km/s. Kaigun-Taisa Akita detaches the light cruisers Abukuma and Tatsuta to watch over Kochi II, then orders the Kido Butai to begin its journey back to Sol point at the speed of its slowest ships. Wrecks litter the system in its wake. The Empire of Japan does not have any salvage ships, although the technology has recently been developed. That will now be a priority.

Steve Walmsley:
2nd October 1965
Shinonome is conducting a geological survey of the Kyoto system, five transits from Sol, which has eight planets and a moderate-sized asteroid belt. The innermost planet is a barren terrestrial world similar in size and surface temperature to Mercury. Despite the unappealing conditions on the surface,  Kyoto I proves to be a very attractive place, at least from a geological perspective. Shinonome discovers two and half million tons of accessibility 1.0 Duranium, substantial accessible deposits of Neutronium, Boronide, Mercassium and Uridium and small or low accessibility deposits of five other minerals. Combined with the discoveries in Takamatsu earlier in the year, the survey of Sirius I in 1962 and the conquest of the Rasheed home world, the Empire of Japan is building up a substantial potential resource. The challenge in the coming years will be to exploit those opportunities.

Kyoto I Survey Report
Duranium:   2,571,912   1.00
Neutronium:   1,285,956   0.60
Corbomite:   11,664   0.40
Tritanium:   2,205,225   0.10
Boronide:   352,836   0.90
Mercassium:   1,476,225   0.80
Vendarite:   531,441   0.20
Sorium:   72,900   0.30
Uridium:   210,681   0.70
Gallicite:   4,100,625   0.30

27th October 1965
The survey cruiser Shirakumo conducts an orbital survey of Kochi I and finds a Ruined Colony on the surface. The mineral deposits are minimal, so this ancient ruin is apparently what the Kagoshima aliens were guarding. During the recent battle, the Imperial Navy ships detected no atmosphere streaming from damaged alien ships and no sign of bodies. Based on this evidence, Imperial Naval Intelligence has theorised the aliens are the remaining robotic guardians of a dead civilization, With that in mind, INI has assigned them the reporting name of Zuijin; the warrior guardians of Shinto mythology.

3rd December 1965
The human population on Osaka III has surpassed that of the indigenous Rasheed, except for those in labour camps. Twenty-one million humans are on the planet, along with one hundred and forty construction factories and seventy-two mines transported from Earth. Approximately twenty million Rasheed have been conscripted to form one hundred and eighty-six forced labour mining camps and fifteen forced labour construction camps. A further twenty million Rasheed remain in the planet’s original towns and cities. They will all be put to work for the benefit of the Empire, once the necessary additional camps have been constructed. To celebrate this milestone, the planet is named New Osaka.

16th December 1965
The Third and Fifth Divisions land on Kochi II to confront the Zuijin ground forces. The total force includes over twenty thousand infantry, a thousand machine guns, two hundred and forty Type 14 Chi-Ro Battle Tanks and a similar number of Type 8 Ke-Ro light tanks. A variety of light howitzers, anti-tank guns and field guns provide support. The transport capacity for the entire force was 200,000 tons. The size and capability of the Zuijin forces is unknown except for a ground forces signature of 17,600 tons, which suggests a force in the 50,000 – 60,000 ton range.

As battle is joined, the Japanese infantry get their first real look at the Zuijin. Their forces are entirely robotic, with the bulk of the force comprised of humanoid robots over two metres tall, well-armoured and armed with machine guns. They are supported by much larger machines of three to four metres, armed with a variety of heavy weapons and armour similar to that of the Japanese battle tanks. The engagement is fierce with no quarter given on either side. The Zuijin have the technology edge, while the Japanese have numbers and determination.

The initial clashes result in heavy casualties on both sides, but the greater numbers of the Imperial Japanese Army soon begin to tell. Each robot or Mech destroyed hurts the Zuijin more than the loss of a Japanese infantryman or machinegun. After six days, every Zuijin has been hunted down and eliminated. Japanese casualties include almost two thousand infantry, two hundred machine guns and fifty tanks. With the planet secured, two Xenoarchaeology regiments are summoned from Earth to begin an investigation into the ruins.

9th February 1966
Kashii (a shrine on Hakuta Bay), the eighteenth Nagara class light cruiser, is launched from the Kure Naval Dockyards. This was the last Nagara under construction. The focus of the Kure dockyard will now shift to refitting the existing ships, once all the requisite technology is available.

14th March 1966
The survey cruiser Amagiri probes one of three remaining unexplored jump points in Mitaka and discovers Sakura, a red dwarf system with five planets, one of which has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere with 0.05 atm of oxygen and extensive ice sheets. Amagiri launches a drone at the planet, Sakura III, and detects a single 19,405-ton Vanquisher class ship of the Zuijin, the capabilities of which are unknown. Kochi, scene of the recent battle, is also adjacent to Mitaka. The drone is not intercepted and moves into orbit, where it also detects a 20,000-ton ground forces signature.

Kaigun-Taisho Nagata Tokimoto, commander of the combat forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy, considers an attack on this new Zuijin target. On the assumption the planet has surface-based particle lances, he believes the best option would be a fighter strike from long range. After the loss of Kongo and Haruna, there are only four Kongo class battlecruisers in service and only the Kongos have the jump drive required to escort the carriers into Sakura. However, Hiei and Kirishima have just been deployed to the picket of the Tsushima – Scimitar jump point, after completing repairs, while Fuso and Yamashiro have only recently returned to Sol and are in overhaul. An operation will be launched once at least one battlecruiser is available.

4th April 1966
The fuel stockpile on Earth has fallen below ten million litres, which is seriously hindering the operations of the Imperial Navy. Four hundred refineries on Earth are producing nineteen million litres per year, but that is only a fraction of the total fuel capacity of all Japanese ships, which is over one hundred and fifty million litres. Four fuel harvesting stations are in orbit of Neptune and produce a further nine million litres a year. Three more have been constructed but remain in Earth orbit, due to the time taken for Eikai Maru, the lone 52,000-ton tug currently in service, to tow the 130,000-ton stations to Neptune. A second Eikai Maru class will be available at the end of May and the first 140,000-ton Shokai Maru class tug will be completed in July.

7th May 1966
Yoshino (a town in Nara prefecture), the last of nine Sendai class light cruisers, is launched from the Kure Naval Dockyards.  As part of the planned refit programme, all the Nagara and Sendai class ships will be refitted to a common upgraded design, that lacks a jump drive. A new jump drive-capable class will be designed to replace the Sendai class.

The first pair of Imperial Navy salvage ships, Kasashima Maru and Kasuga Maru, are also completed, along with the first five Kansai-Ro Maru class freighters. Two freighters are assigned to each of the salvage ships, which are dispatched to Tsushima and Kochi respectively.

25th July 1966
A much smaller version of the Kido Butai arrives in Sakura, under the command of Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi Shiro, captain of the carrier Shokaku. Four Akagi class carriers are escorted by the battlecruiser Yamashiro and the light cruisers Kashima and Sakawa. Two hundred and forty A1M and A1M2 ‘Raiden’ fighters are embarked.

Kido Butai
Akagi class Carrier: Hiryu, Shokaku, Soryu, Zuikaku
Kongo class Battlecruiser: Yamashiro
Nagara class Light Cruiser: Kashima, Sakawa

The Kido Butai moves across the system to within one hundred million kilometres of Sakura III and holds position while Yamashiro launches a Gekko reconnaissance drone to confirm the presence of the Zuijin Vanquisher and the ground forces.  Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi orders all two hundred and forty fighters to conduct a strike mission. The target is the Vanquisher, plus any ground-based weapons. Three and a half hours later, the fighters are 250,000 km from the planet with no resistance so far.

At 227,000 km, they come under fire from sixteen surface-based particle lances. Four fighters are hit and destroyed. At 107,000 km, the Vanquisher launches forty size-11 missiles. The missiles move in the opposite direction to the oncoming fighters and detonate, unleashing laser beams from over a hundred thousand kilometres away. Fortunately only two fighters are targeted, probably due to the Vanquisher having a limited number of fire control systems. Both are destroyed. Another fighter is lost to a second battery of seven particle lances.

The ‘Raiden’ fighters close to point-blank range and open fire on the Vanquisher. Two volleys are sufficient to blow the 19,400-ton base to pieces. Their attention turns to the ground-based weapons. Within the space of thirty devastating seconds, the fighters streak across the icy landscape, strafing every particle lance emplacement they can find. Three are lost to hostile fire, but the surface is scoured clean of threats. The fortified Zuijin ground force is a much harder target and will require an invasion force. The fighters, minus ten of their number, head back to their carriers. Once again, the 1st Air Fleet has proven to be a highly effective force.

3rd October 1966
The ruins on Kochi II have been surveyed. Sixty-two sites of interest were discovered for the potential recovery of installations or resources.

4th November 1966
The 3rd and 5th Divisions land on Sakura II and engage the Zuijin ground force. The battle is just as brutal as on Kochi II. After six days, the planet is secured, albeit with the loss of three thousand infantry and numerous armoured vehicles.

25th November 1966
A colony of one point five million is established on Takamatsu II.

26th November 1966
The carriers Akagi and Kaga are refitted to the Akagi II class. The main changes in the updated design are new engines and active sensors.

Akagi II class Carrier      36,000 tons       621 Crew       4,379.3 BP       TCS 720    TH 3,600    EM 0
5000 km/s      Armour 2-97       Shields 0-0       HTK 158      Sensors 5/6/0/0      DCR 21-5      PPV 0
Maint Life 2.47 Years     MSP 4,481    AFR 494%    IFR 6.9%    1YR 1,015    5YR 15,225    Max Repair 450 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 17,000 tons     
Kaigun-Taisa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Flight Crew Berths 340    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-900-B Ion Drive  (4)    Power 3600    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 900    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres    Range 22.2 billion km (51 days at full power)

Type 25 Go-11B Search Sensor (1)     GPS 8640     Range 66.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 25 Go-21B Missile Detection (1)     GPS 8     Range 4.5m km    MCR 406.2k km    Resolution 1
Type 8 Go-53A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 10 Go-63A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

Strike Group
60x Mitsubishi A1M2 'Raiden' Fighter   Speed: 8001 km/s    Size: 5.5
2x Aichi E1A Scout   Speed: 6001 km/s    Size: 5

30th November 1966
The light cruisers Nagara, Natori, Isuzu and Tenryu are refitted to the Nagara II class. The improved components include engines, reactors, fire control systems and sensors. The boat bay has been removed. Despite the recent development of 25cm far ultraviolet lasers, the Imperial Navy shipwrights decided to retain the existing armament to increase the speed at which the twenty-seven Nagara and Sendai class light cruisers can be updated.

Nagara II class Light Cruiser      18,000 tons       600 Crew       2,825.1 BP       TCS 360    TH 1,800    EM 0
5000 km/s      Armour 6-61       Shields 0-0       HTK 117      Sensors 10/16/0/0      DCR 10-5      PPV 108
Maint Life 2.05 Years     MSP 1,480    AFR 259%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 471    5YR 7,066    Max Repair 450 MSP
Troop Capacity 500 tons     Boarding Capable   
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-900-B Ion Drive  (2)    Power 1800    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 900    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 789,500 Litres    Range 17.5 billion km (40 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser (12)    Range 256,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 10-3.5     ROF 15       
Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun (12x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
Type 25 Go-31B Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 5,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-40 Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 80    Exp 5%

Type 25 Go-21B Missile Detection (1)     GPS 8     Range 4.5m km    MCR 406.2k km    Resolution 1
Type 25 Go-11B Search Sensor (1)     GPS 8640     Range 66.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 25 Go-61B Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31.6m km
Type 8 Go-51A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Dete1ct Sig Strength 1000:  25m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 1    Missile 1   

Ground Forces
1x Naval Landing Force

17th December 1966
The survey cruiser Amagiri discovers a ruined settlement on Sakura III, reinforcing the theory that the Zuijin are the automated remnants of a lost civilization. The troubling question for Imperial Naval Intelligence is who or what was powerful enough to destroy the technologically advanced Zuijin and where are they now?

7th March 1967
All available deposits of Boronide are exhausted on Earth and almost every other mineral is becoming harder to extract. It is increasingly urgent that substantial new sources of mineral are established before those on Earth run out entirely. New Osaka has one hundred and thirty-two mines, plus two hundred and three forced labour mining camps, but Earth is still home to sixteen hundred mines. The fuel situation is also critical, with just two million litres on Earth.

Earth Survey Report
Duranium:   142,580   0.83
Neutronium:   56,377   0.51
Corbomite:   59,857   0.53
Tritanium:   31,972   0.27
Mercassium:   21,347   0.29
Vendarite:   145,888   0.69
Sorium:   163,915   0.78
Uridium:   3,719   0.15
Corundium:   251,570   0.50
Gallicite:   26,910   0.35

8th May 1967
The survey of the ruins of Sakura III is complete. Twenty-seven sites of interest have been identified.

7th June 1967
The survey cruiser Asagiri discovers Takahama, a red dwarf binary four jumps from Sol via Proxima, Aomori and Kushiro. This is the fifty-ninth known system. The primary and companion have two and three planets respectively, with the second planet of each star having a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Takahama-A II is a warm ocean world, larger than Earth, with about eight percent of the surface covering by mountainous islands and an atmosphere of 0.62, including just 0.01 atm of oxygen. Takahama-B II is a super-terrestrial planet, 24,000 km in diameter, with high gravity and a dense atmosphere of over 3 atm, including 0.51 atm of oxygen. Seventy percent of the surface is ocean. Vast rift valleys cover much of the land area. Asagiri launches reconnaissance drones at both.

Takahama-A II appears to be uninhabited, but the second drone detects Zuijin forces in orbit of Takahama-B II, comprising a Devastator class missile defence base, armed with ninety-one light missile launchers, a Terror class base, a 19,287-ton Ravager, and three ships of 9628-tons: a Hunter, Impaler and Razor. Apart from the Devastator, the capabilities of the Zuijin ships remains unknown. The drone is destroyed by missiles before anything else can be learned. Kaigun-Taisho Nagata Tokimoto, commander of the combat forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy, decides to wait until he has a substantial force of upgraded ships.



4th July 1967
The ongoing survey of Sirius, two jumps from Sol via Proxima, reveals a jump point that is probed immediately, resulting in the discovery of Kapteyn’s Star, an M0-V red dwarf with two planets. The inner planet, which has a thin nitrogen-carbon dioxide atmosphere and a few small lakes, is home to pair of Zuijin bases: a Devastator and a Terror. The Devastator would no doubt cause high casualties in the case of a fighter strike, similar to that in Sakura. However, a new fighter type, the A2M ‘Shinden’ (Magnificent Lightning), has recently began construction, so Kaigun-Taisho Nagata begins to consider a strike using the older A1M ‘Raiden’s, once the new fighters are in service in sufficient numbers.

Mitsubishi A2M 'Shinden' class Fighter      275 tons       1 Crew       62.7 BP       TCS 5    TH 66    EM 0
12002 km/s      Armour 1-3       Shields 0-0       HTK 1      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 1.65
Maint Life 1.36 Years     MSP 10    AFR 55%    IFR 0.8%    1YR 6    5YR 87    Max Repair 33 MSP
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 days    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-66-DB Ion Engine (1)    Power 66    Fuel Use 1331.73%    Signature 66    Explosion 24%
Fuel Capacity 5,600 Litres    Range 0.28 billion km (6 hours at full power)

MK I Cannon (1x2)    Range 10,000km     TS: 12,002 km/s     Power 1.5-1.5     ROF 5       
Type 25 Go-34A Cannon Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 51,200 km   TS: 12,000 km/s    ECCM-1   
R-1B Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 1.5    Exp 10%

Type 25 Go-24B Fighter Sensor (1)     GPS 2     Range 2m km    MCR 181.7k km    Resolution 1

24th October 1967
Another Zuijin outpost is detected in Sendai, three jumps from Sol via Proxima and Aomori. In orbit around the second planet, an Earth-sized world with an almost breathable atmosphere, are three bases: a Devastator, a Terror and a Vanquisher. There are now four active Zuijin systems, including Kagoshima. Kaigun-Taisho Nagata continues to wait, despite impatience from some of his senior officers, for more of the Imperial Navy to undergo refits.

13th March 1968
The 1st Hiko Sentai (air group), comprised of twenty-four Mitsubishi G1M 'Donryu' (Storm Dragon) Long Range Strike craft becomes operational on Earth. This is the first Imperial Navy unit armed with missiles. Each G1M carries a pair of Rakurai (Lighting Strike) anti-ship missiles with strength-12 warheads and is designed for long-range attacks from planetary bases. In addition to its warhead, the Rakurai has ECCM, active terminal guidance and five decoys.

Mitsubishi G1M 'Donryu' class Long Range Strike      500 tons       3 Crew       64 BP       TCS 10    TH 63    EM 0
6250 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 5      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0-0      PPV 3.6
Maint Life 1.71 Years     MSP 25    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 10    5YR 155    Max Repair 31.3 MSP
Magazine 24 / 0   
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 18 days    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-62-B Gas Core Drive (1)    Power 62.5    Fuel Use 193.35%    Signature 62.5    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 58,400 Litres    Range 10.9 billion km (20 days at full power)

Type 23 Fixed Missile Launcher (2)     Missile Size: 12    Hangar Reload 173 minutes    MF Reload 28 hours
Type 26 Go-44B Missile Fire Control (1)     Range 19.9m km    Resolution 120   ECCM-1
Rakurai Anti-ship Missile (2)    Speed: 31,250 km/s    End: 4.3m     Range: 8m km    WH: 12    Size: 12    TH: 125/75/37
Type 26 Go-14B Strike Sensor (1)     GPS 768     Range 19.9m km    Resolution 120

1st June 1968
The first Sagami Maru class troop transport is completed. Due to the recent invasions and requirement to move survey and engineer regiments to various parts of the Empire, the ten Shinshu Maru class transports are overworked. The Sagami Maru has four times the capacity of its smaller sister and can carry an entire division.

Sagami Maru class Troop Transport      183,735 tons       896 Crew       3,594.9 BP       TCS 3,675    TH 7,500    EM 0
2040 km/s      Armour 1-287       Shields 0-0       HTK 298      Sensors 5/6/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 12    Max Repair 320 MSP
Troop Capacity 100,000 tons     Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 10   
Kaigun-Shōsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   

Koga-Murakama KC-300 Ion Drive  (25)    Power 7500    Fuel Use 2.89%    Signature 300    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres    Range 25.4 billion km (144 days at full power)

Type 12 Go-13A Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1440     Range 23.6m km    Resolution 120
Type 8 Go-53A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 10 Go-63A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

12th June 1968
The battlecruisers Hiei and Kirishima have been refitted to the new Kongo II class. This is a much more extensive update compared to the light cruisers and includes new engines, reactors, sensors, fire controls and weapons. The Kentaro-Sakura KS-25A Far Ultraviolet Laser is a significant upgrade to the earlier Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser, albeit with a five second longer recharge time. Twenty-four of the older weapon have been replaced by sixteen KS-25As. The secondary railgun battery has been replaced by eight twin 12cm laser turrets, which provide point defence but can also contribute offensive firepower out to 200,000 km.

Kongo II class Battlecruiser      36,000 tons       1,134 Crew       6,837.9 BP       TCS 720    TH 3,600    EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 8-97       Shields 0-0       HTK 222      Sensors 10/16/0/0      DCR 20-5      PPV 215.04
Maint Life 1.91 Years     MSP 3,374    AFR 518%    IFR 7.2%    1YR 1,192    5YR 17,885    Max Repair 450 MSP
Kaigun-Taisa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KMJ-360 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 36000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-900-B Ion Drive  (4)    Power 3600    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 900    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 1,521,000 Litres    Range 16.9 billion km (39 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-25A Far Ultraviolet Laser (16)    Range 256,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 16-4     ROF 20       
Twin Kentaro-Sakura KS-12A Turret (8x2)    Range 200,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 8-8    ROF 5       
Type 27 Go-31C Turret Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s    ECCM-2   
Type 27 Go-31C Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 5,000 km/s    ECCM-2   
R-35B Stellarator Fusion Reactor (4)     Total Power Output 143.1    Exp 5%

Type 25 Go-21B Missile Detection (1)     GPS 8     Range 4.5m km    MCR 406.2k km    Resolution 1
Type 25 Go-12B Capital Ship Sensor (1)     GPS 23040     Range 109.1m km    Resolution 120
Type 25 Go-61B Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31.6m km
Type 8 Go-51A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 1    Missile 2   

31st August 1968
Kasagi (named after Mount Kasagi - literally Conical Hat), the first in a new class of light cruisers, is constructed by the Matsuoka Marine Industries orbital shipyard. In broad terms, the Kasagi will replace the jump-capability of the older Sendai class, the remaining units of which of which will be converted to the Nagara II class. The Kasagi uses the same updated weapons as the Kongo II, but with an emphasis on defence, and is the first class to mount the Type 28 Go-71B Fighter Detection sensor.

Kasagi class Light Cruiser      18,000 tons       546 Crew       3,382.3 BP       TCS 360    TH 1,800    EM 0
5000 km/s    JR 3-50      Armour 6-61       Shields 0-0       HTK 109      Sensors 10/16/0/0      DCR 10-5      PPV 97.28
Maint Life 2.32 Years     MSP 2,174    AFR 259%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 550    5YR 8,251    Max Repair 450 MSP
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Komatsu KMJ-180 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 18000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KM-900-B Ion Drive  (2)    Power 1800    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 900    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 787,500 Litres    Range 17.5 billion km (40 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-25A Far Ultraviolet Laser (4)    Range 256,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 16-4     ROF 20       
Twin Kentaro-Sakura KS-12A Laser Turret (6x2)    Range 200,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 8-8    ROF 5       
Type 27 Go-31C Turret Fire Control (1)     Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s    ECCM-2   
Type 27 Go-31C Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 5,000 km/s    ECCM-2   
R-35B Stellarator Fusion Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 71.6    Exp 5%

Type 25 Go-21B Missile Detection (1)     GPS 8     Range 4.5m km    MCR 406.2k km    Resolution 1
Type 25 Go-11B Search Sensor (1)     GPS 8640     Range 66.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 28 Go-71B Fighter Detection (1)     GPS 160     Range 13.8m km    Resolution 10
Type 25 Go-61B Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31.6m km
Type 8 Go-51A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 1    Missile 2   

11th November 1968
All eight Akagi class carriers have been refitted to the Akagi II class. Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu and Shokaku each have strikegroups of sixty A1M ‘Raiden’ fighters. Zuikaku and Ryujo have strikegroups of A1M2 ‘Raiden’ fighters, which have greater range. Akagi has sixty of the faster A2M ‘Shinden’ fighters. Zuiho lacks a strikegroup, but additional A2Ms are under construction.

19th February 1969
The fuel crisis is easing, due to the construction and deployment of eighteen fuel harvesters, six of which are a new, larger hull, but a new crisis has arisen; the Empire of Japan is running out of manpower. Only two million people out of Earth’s population of 2,254m are unemployed. The Mars colony has a population of ten million and they are entirely dedicated to running over a hundred financial centres. The human population on New Osaka has reached forty million, but with less than one million unemployed. The planet has over a hundred construction factories, two hundred and twenty mines and more than four hundred forced labour mining camps. The remaining ‘free’ Rasheed population is a little over two million.

The only other colonies of note are three million settlers on Tsushima I, a colony originally established to counter any territorial claim by the Scimitar Empire, plus two and a half million on Takamatsu II, which will eventually become a major mining colony. The lack of manpower will halt the Empire’s recent attempts to increase its research and shipbuilding capacities, to further improve the fleet, and to build financial centres to combat a growing wealth crisis.

Steve Walmsley:
22nd February 1969
With the refit programme well underway, Kaigun-Taisho Nagata decides to conduct a combat test of The 1st Hiko Sentai and its twenty-four Mitsubishi G1M 'Donryu' Long Range Strike craft. The target is the Zuijin presence in Kapteyn’s Star, three transits from Sol via Proxima and Sirius, which consists of two bases; a Devastator class, armed with ninety-one light missiles, and a Terror class, the armament of which was unknown but suspected by Imperial Naval Intelligence to be focused on short-range point defence. The raid has two purposes: test the capabilities of the Rakurai anti-ship missile against Zuijin defences and determine the defensive capability of the Terror class. Destroying either base is considered highly unlikely, so the raid is primarily for intelligence gathering. The target is nine billion kilometres from Sol and the G1M has a range of eleven billion. Therefore, Kaigun-Taisho Nagata orders the forward deployment of Kenyo Maru, an Akatsuki Maru class Replenishment Ship, before the raid is launched. A Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun' class Long Range Patrol craft is also dispatched to the Sirius – Kapteyn’s Star jump point to provide jump-capability for the G1Ms.

Akatsuki Maru class Replenishment Ship      30,000 tons       185 Crew       699.3 BP       TCS 600    TH 1,200    EM 0
2000 km/s    JR 3-50(C)      Armour 1-86       Shields 0-0       HTK 64      Sensors 5/6/0/0      DCR 1-0      PPV 0
MSP 10,014    Max Repair 75 MSP
Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 1   
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   

Komatsu KMC-300 Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 30000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Koga-Murakama KC-240 Gas-Core Drive  (5)    Power 1200    Fuel Use 2.89%    Signature 240    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 9,654,000 Litres    Range 2,003 billion km (11591 days at full power)
Refuelling Capability: 50,000 litres per hour     Complete Refuel 193 hours

Type 12 Go-13A Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1440     Range 23.6m km    Resolution 120
Type 8 Go-53A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Type 10 Go-63A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

Kenyo Maru arrives in Kapteyn’s Star and takes up position at the Sirius jump point, four billion kilometres from the inner system. Shortly after notifying Combined Fleet headquarters of her incident-free arrival, the ship detects a single strength-4 energy weapon impact less than a million kilometres from the location of the two Zuijin bases, in orbit of the first planet. That is followed almost immediately by eighty-one strength-1 warhead detonations, a strength-94 secondary explosion and the appearance of a 9,890-ton wreck of unknown origin. Someone, or something, is being engaged by the Zuijin. The raid suddenly takes on a completely new dimension. Kaigun-Taisho Nagata allows the strike craft to continue their mission, while reassembling the Kido Butai to mount a real attack and discover the identity of the new aliens.

7th March 1969
The 1st Hiko Sentai is delayed from entering Kapteyn’s Star, due to the late arrival of the slow-moving Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun'. They finally begin their four-billion kilometres approach to the first planet, just as the Kido Butai enters the system. Kaigun-Taisho Nagata has assembled a fleet of four carriers, both Kongo II battlecruisers, the new Kasagi class light cruiser and six Nagara II-Ro class light cruisers. The II-Ro is a minor update of the Nagara II, with an improved missile jammer and second generation ECCM for its fire control systems. The Kido Butai is once again under the command of Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi Shiro, who led the fleet during the fighter strike on Sakura III. Haruguchi decides to wait on the result of the missile attack before moving his fleet deeper into the system.

Kido Butai
Kongo II class Battlecruiser: Hiei, Kirishima
Akagi II class Carrier: Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, Soryu
Nagara II-Ro class Light Cruiser: Jintsū, Kashii, Kashima, Kashiwara, Kuma, Sakawa
Kasagi class Light Cruiser: Kasagi
240x Mitsubishi A1M ‘Raiden’ fighter

14th March 1969
The 1st Hiko Sentai moves to within five million kilometres of Kapteyn’s Star I, confirming the presence of the two Zuijin bases, without any sign of hostile action. Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi gives the attack order and the twenty-four G1Ms launch forty-eight Rakurai anti-ship missiles at the Devastator class base: the first missile attack in the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Eleven strength-1 detonations are detected a million kilometres from the target, but the hostile missiles only strike decoys. Fifteen more decoys are destroyed at 800,000 km, along with two Rakurai. As the decoys are destroyed, the missiles become easier targets and they start to vanish from Japanese tracking monitors. Even so, thirty-five make it through the defensive missile screen. Fourteen strength-1 energy impacts are registered as the Rakurai reach point-blank range. Thirty detonate their strength-12 warheads, seventeen of which destroy the Zuijin’s own decoys. Thirteen strike the Devastator and one penetrates the armour.

Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi regards the attack as a success and a great demonstration of the potential for further Rakurai attacks. He orders the 1st Hiko Sentai to return to Earth, reload and conduct a second raid before his own ships move in. Meanwhile, the Kido Butai will hold position and look for further evidence of the unknown alien race.

25th March 1969
Minato is a system only two transits from Sol, via Proxima, yet is has never been surveyed. The system primary is a planetless M4-V red dwarf, with only three small comets for company. Imperial Navy survey ships have bypassed Minato to focus on more promising candidates further from Sol. However, the four Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun' class Long Range Patrol craft have been used to deploy Zuiun Sensor Buoys on both sides of every jump point within two transits of Sol. The senor buoy on the Minato – Proxima jump point detects an 9,336-ton ship from an unknown alien race, approaching at 3,735 km/s.

With the Kido Butai deployed in Kapteyn’s Star, this is not ideal timing. Minato is only three jumps from Kapteyn’s Star, but there are buoys in-between that would detect any ships moving between them, so this may be a second new race. A force comprising the carrier Ryujo and the Nagara II class light cruisers Kitakami and Niyodo is immediately dispatched from Sol to picket the Proxima – Minato jump point, although the squadron lacks jump capability and the jump point is not stabilised. Kaigun-Taisho Nagata orders Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi to detach a pair of light cruisers to remain in Kapteyn’s Star to monitor the second G1M strike and watch for aliens, then bring the rest of the Kido Butai to Proxima. Until the threat can be evaluated, the Imperial Japanese Navy must prepare for the worst.



Within an hour, the alien ship, designated as Medina class, transits into Proxima and is detected by the buoy on the far side. Proxima has six jump points, including Sol and Minato, and is a vital junction system at the heart of the Empire of Japan. The greater danger is that the alien ship is a single transit from Sol. A survey of Minato is now of the highest priority, but the closest survey ship is over a month away. After a day spent stationary on the jump point, the Medina transits back into Minato and moves out of range of the sensor buoy.

10th April 1969
A  new 7,535-ton ship of the Minato aliens, designated as Tikatha class is detected approaching the Proxima jump point from the Minato side. Shortly thereafter, it transits into Proxima, where Ryujo, Kitakami and Niyodo are stationed on the Minato jump point, along with a Hosho class diplomatic ship. The Kido Butai is in Proxima, en route from the Sirius jump point to the Sol jump point. The aliens seem willing to attempt communication, so Kaigun-Taisho Nagata decides to hold all forces in place for the moment.



20th April 1969
The 1st Hiko Sentai returns to Sirius and launches a second strike against the Devastator class base. Twenty-two of the forty-eight Rakurai reach the target, with eight being distracted by decoys. Of the fourteen missiles that detonate on target, ten penetrate the armour. Imperial Naval Intelligence believes this may have seriously damaged the missile base, so Kaigun-Taisho Nagata orders the two light cruisers that remain in the system, Sakawa and Kashii, to approach the planet and test its defences, but to remain outside the estimated 240,000 km range of the Zuijin particle lance weapon.

29th April 1969
As Sakawa and Kashii move within four point five million kilometres of Kapteyn’s Star, they detect a ground forces signature of 4400 tons. Given the contact size, this is likely to be a surface particle lance battery, without the usual supporting ground force. They continue to close, closely monitoring the Devastator. At just over one point four million kilometres, they detect a launch of forty-eight light missiles. Both ships reverse course, as the Devastator still has half its launchers operational, and prepare to defend themselves. Only six missiles are hit by their point defence. Forty-one strike Sakawa, although her armour is not penetrated. There is no follow-up attack, so they pull back to the Sirius jump point.

24th May 1969
The survey cruiser Amagiri completes a survey of the Hadano system. Hadano is part of an eight system loop (Sol – Proxima – Epsilon Indi – Mitaka – Sakura – Hadano – Yao – Lalande – Okami – Sol) and is roughly equidistant from Sol in either direction. There is a small colony in the adjacent system of Sakura, created by the civilian shipping lines to take advantage of infrastructure found in the local Zuijin ruins. In addition to the known jump points to Sakura and Yao, Amagiri discovers a third, unexplored jump point. The new jump point is stable and it was not stabilised by the Empire of Japan. This could be another sign of the Minato aliens, as could the  mysterious wreck in Kapteyn’s Star, or the Empire could have encountered three new alien races within three months.

As communication attempts are underway at the Proxima – Minato jump point and the survey cruiser Asagiri is at work in Minato without interference, Kaigun-Taisho Nagata recently ordered the Kido Butai back to Earth for a brief overhaul, leaving Ryujo, Kitakami and Niyodo as the Minato jump point picket. Sakawa and Kashii remain in Kapteyn’s Star. Hadano has no stable jump point to the rest of the Empire of Japan, so a jump-capable ship is required to enter the system. The two Kongo IIs and the single Kasagi are in overhaul, the two Kongo Is and five of the six remaining Sendai class light cruisers are undergoing refits and the next Kasagi will not be completed until August. The only available jump-capable ship is Yubari, an un-refitted Sendai. She is immediately dispatched to Hadano in the company of Abukuma, a Nagara II-Ro. Three Kawanishi H1K 'Saiun' leave in their wake to deploy sensor buoys at the Hadano jump points. Amagiri heads for the new jump point to conduct a probe, but she is at the far side of the system and thirty days away at her top speed of 2100 km/s. Despite starting in Sol orbit, the warships will arrive first.

4th June 1969
Full communication is established with the Minato aliens, although disturbingly because they learn to understand Japanese before the Empire can decipher their language. The alien species refers to themselves as the Velsharoon, while their form of government is a theocracy, officially known as The Covenant of Velsharoon. In appearance, the Velsharoon are even more alien than the Scimitarans. Their heads are long and similar to that of a shark, while their bodies are bearlike and covered with long spines. That apparent strength will be useful once the necessary labour camps are established. For now, the Empire will focus on establishing their military strength, their level of  technology and the location of their major populations. The Tikatha class is a diplomatic ship, so the Hosho will remain in place to maintain relations in the interim, covered by the three Imperial Navy warships.



6th June 1969
Two survey cruisers, Amagiri and Fubuki, are already at work in Minato. They are joined by Yugiri. So far, no jump points have been found.

19th June 1969
As the light cruisers Yubari and Abukuma draw close to the unexplored jump point in Hadano, they detect active emissions from a Covenant Tikatha class diplomatic ship apparently waiting for their arrival. While the aliens in Kapteyn’s Star have yet to be identified, Imperial Navy Intelligence is now confident that the aliens in Hadano and Minato are the same race. Somewhere, in unexplored space, there is be a connection between the two systems. The Imperial Navy must now find it.

Thirty minutes later, that comfortable conclusion is shattered when an 8,732-ton ship from a new alien race, designated as Hegu class, is detected on the same jump point. Somehow, two different alien races have found the jump point into Hadano and they are apparently allied, or at least not hostile. The cruisers continue onwards and take up position on the jump point.



The Empire of Japan is faced with a grave situation. The Covenant of Velsharoon and the new alien race have access to the core of the Empire. There is potentially a third alien race probing the borders in Kapteyn’s Star and the Imperial Navy continues to guard the Tsushima – Scimitar jump point, just one transit from Sol, against the hostile Scimitar Empire. In addition, there are four Zuijin-occupied systems, although they do not seem to pose an offensive threat.

Daigensui-Kaigun- Taisho Takagi Razan, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, determines that the strategy of the Imperial Navy will be to explore the systems beyond the known points of contact, identify potential choke points, establish well-defended colonies in those systems and, if necessary, enforce its claim to that territory. to do that, The Imperial Japanese Navy must expand significantly. Unfortunately the Empire is simultaneously facing a wealth crisis, a manpower crisis and the exhaustion of the mineral resources on Earth. Existing resource stockpiles will last for a while, but unless New Osaka and the recently established Takamatsu colony can replace the supply of those resources, shipbuilding may soon be severely constrained.

20th June 1969
The new aliens in Hadano appear willing to attempt communication. The Hegu class ship is apparently a diplomatic ship, so it is possible that the Hadano aliens and the Velsharoon are also attempting communication and not already friendly powers.

26th June 1969
The survey cruiser Amagiri transits the unexplored jump point in Hadano and discovers Kaizu, a planetless red dwarf star. There is no immediate sign of any alien ships, so she begins a gravitational survey.

12th July 1969
The battlecruisers Fuso and Yamashiro are refitted to the Kongo II class.

23rd July 1969
Zuiho is assigned her full strikegroup of sixty Mitsubishi A2M2 ‘Shinden’ fighters and two Aichi E1A scouts. All eight carriers now have full strikegroups. With several ships completing refits recently and everything relatively quiet at the points of contact in Proxima and Hadano, Kaigun-Taisho Nagata decides to return to the unfinished business in Kapteyn’s Star. The 1st Hiko Sentai are dispatched on their 3rd mission, followed by the reconstituted Kido Butai.

Kido Butai
Kongo II class Battlecruiser: Fuso, Yamashiro
Akagi II class Carrier: Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, Soryu
Nagara II-Ro class Light Cruiser: Kashima, Kashiwara, Ōyodo, Sendai
240x Mitsubishi A1M Fighter

29th July 1969
Full communications are established with the Hadano aliens, which refer to themselves as the People's Republic of Xiama. As a species, they are known as the Xiamen. They are grey-skinned, hairless and humanoid in overall shape, with fangs in an elongated jaw, menacing yellow eyes and large ears. They have the overall appearance of a ferocious rodent. With a Hosho class diplomatic ship now on the scene, diplomatic relations are established. So far, the Xiamen have shown no inclination to leave the jump point or bring additional ships into Hadano, but that might change. There is an urgent need for more intelligence. In Sol, the second Kasagi class light cruiser, Takasago (literally High Sand, but also a famous play), joins the Imperial Japanese Navy.



6th August 1969
Two new ships from the Covenant of Velsharoon appear at the Minato – Proxima jump point: a 68,469-ton Dhamar with a commercial engines and a military-engined 16,270-ton Sidon. Imperial Navy Intelligence theorises that this may be a stabilisation ship with escort.

16th August 1969
With the Kido Butai at the Sirius jump point, the twenty-four Mitsubishi G1M 'Donryu' long range strike craft launch their third attack on the Zuijin Devastator in Kapteyn’s Star. This time the defences are weakened and most of the Rakurai make it through the defensive missiles. Just before impact, Japanese sensors detect twenty-two strength-1 energy impacts, probably from the Terror class base, and two strength-18 energy impacts, confirming the presence of particle lances on the planet. The Devastator has no more decoys and is blown to pieces by thirty-six hits. With the Devastator eliminated, albeit at the cost of one hundred and forty-four anti-ship missiles with the same total build cost as a Nagara II light cruiser, the Kido Butai can move in much closer to the planet.

24th August 1969
A probe of a recently discovered jump point in Iwakura, five transits from Sol and two beyond Mitaka, reveals a connection to Yao, a system adjacent to Hadano. The galactic map is becoming ever more complex. On the positive side, the survey cruiser Sagiri can now move through Hadano into Kaizu and assist the search for Xiamen and Velsharoon systems.

25th August 1969
The Kido Butai moves within half a million kilometres of Kapteyn’s Star I without any resistance. According to Imperial Naval Intelligence, the known range of the Zuijin particle lances is 240,000 km, so Kaigun-Taisa Haruguchi orders two of his light cruisers move to 245,000 km and open fire on the Terror class base. The attack results in only a few strength-1 hits, but there is no return fire. Haruguchi orders the other two light cruisers and the two Kongo II class battlecruisers to join the attack. At the chosen range, the 25cm lasers of the Kongos inflict three times the damage of the 20cm lasers of the light cruisers.

The tactic is expensive in terms of maintenance supplies, needed to keep all their weapons firing, but far less expensive than risking warships inside the range of the deadly particle lances. The first armour penetration occurs after four minutes of continuous fire. A further eight minutes of fire is required before the Zuijini base finally explodes. The six warships have used between twenty and forty percent of their maintenance supplies. With the Terror eliminated, the carriers launch their two hundred and forty fighters to attack the surface-based particle lances.

Six fighters are lost as soon as they enter Zuijin weapon range and three more before the reach the planet. After that point, their vastly superior numbers and fire rate are decisive. Every single particle lance is strafed into oblivion before they can fire again. A small ground forces signature of 1600 tons remains: most likely a guard force for the surface-to-orbit weapons.

15th September 1969
With the survey of Minato almost complete, Fubuki finds a stable jump point three point five billion kilometres from the Proxima jump point. She transits and discovers an orange K0-V star with six planets, six moons and a scattering of asteroids. The third planet has a nitrogen – oxygen atmosphere that is almost breathable. Liquid oceans cover fifty-eight percent of the surface. The surface temperature is -25C and the dominant terrain is Taiga. The jump point, devoid of any Velsharoon ships, is only one point seven billion kilometres from the star so Fubuki immediately launches a Gekko reconnaissance drone. There is no sign of life.

Daigensui-Kaigun-Taisho Takagi Razan orders Kaigun-Taisho Nagata, commander of the Imperial Navy’s combat forces, to take and hold the near-habitable planet. Any required support ships, freighters and colony ships will be made available. The system is an ideal location for the choke point strategy devised by Takagi, so due to its importance it is named Truk, after the base that was the foundation of the modern Imperial Japanese Navy.

16th October 1969
The survey cruiser Yugiri locates a stable jump point in Truk and moves to investigate. The system beyond is a planetless K2-V star. Based on the naming of Truk, Imperial Naval Intelligence has decided that the nomenclature for all future systems in the chain will be Pacific islands. The empty system is named Palau. Yugiri returns to Truk to continue the survey there.

22nd November 1969
The survey cruiser Sagiri probes a jump point in the Kaizu system, beyond the contact system of Hadano. She enters a planetless white dwarf system and encounters a new type of Xiamen ship - 7714 tons and designated as Jinan class - stationed on the Kaizu jump point. As both Xiamen and Velsharoon ships were encountered in Hadano, Imperial Naval Intelligence decides to continue the Pacific island theme. The white dwarf system is named Makin. Sagiri begins to survey, leaving Amagiri to complete the survey in Kaizu.

11th December 1969
The conversion of New Osaka into a colony of the Empire of Japan is complete. All of the indigenous Rasheed are now at work in four hundred and seventy-four labour camps, fifteen of which are construction camps and the rest are mining camps. One hundred and fifty construction factories and two hundred and forty-two mines are also at the colony. The Japanese population is forty-seven million. New Osaka is an ocean world with only half a percent of the surface available to colonise. Therefore, three Amateratsu class terraforming stations are slowly removing water vapour from the atmosphere to increase the surface area.

24th December 1969
The 5th Division lands on Kapteyn’s Star I to eliminate the remaining Zuijin ground forces. There are approximately five hundred of the standard robotic troops, but only a limited number of the larger mechs. The battle lasts less than two days before all the Zuijin forces are wiped out. Six hundred Japanese troops are killed.

26th December 1969
A colony of one million is established on Truk III. The planet does not possess any mineral resources, but its strategic location on the only approach to Minato and Proxima is vital. An Imperial Navy base here can push the point of contact two transits further away from Sol. Truk III is near-habitable, so a terraforming station is already in orbit.

16th January 1970
A Medina class ship of the Covenant of Velsharoon is detected in Makin. Once again, Xiamen and Velsharoon ships are co-existing in a system, so it is difficult to tell the relationship between them, or who claims the system.

22nd January 1970
All light cruisers of the Nagara, Nagara II and Sendai classes, twenty-seven ships in total, have been refitted to the Nagara II-Ro class. A twenty-eighth ship, Niikata, is under construction. Many of the components being used to build the new ship were recovered from the wrecks of the two battlecruisers lost in the Battle of Kochi.

Nagara II-Ro class Light Cruiser      18,000 tons       600 Crew       2,847.9 BP       TCS 360    TH 1,800    EM 0
5000 km/s      Armour 6-61       Shields 0-0       HTK 117      Sensors 10/16/0/0      DCR 10-5      PPV 108
Maint Life 2.05 Years     MSP 1,488    AFR 259%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 472    5YR 7,073    Max Repair 450 MSP
Troop Capacity 500 tons     Boarding Capable   
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Koga-Murakama KM-900-B Ion Drive  (2)    Power 1800    Fuel Use 45.08%    Signature 900    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 789,500 Litres    Range 17.5 billion km (40 days at full power)

Kentaro-Sakura KS-20A Ultraviolet Laser (12)    Range 256,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 10-3.5     ROF 15       
Takashi Kinetics TK-10A Railgun (12x4)    Range 10,000km     TS: 5,000 km/s     Power 3-3     ROF 5       
Type 27 Go-31C Laser Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 256,000 km   TS: 5,000 km/s    ECCM-2   
R-40 Magnetic Mirror Fusion Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 80    Exp 5%

Type 25 Go-21B Missile Detection (1)     GPS 8     Range 4.5m km    MCR 406.2k km    Resolution 1
Type 25 Go-11B Search Sensor (1)     GPS 8640     Range 66.8m km    Resolution 120
Type 25 Go-61B Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  31.6m km
Type 8 Go-51A Passive Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 10     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  25m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers:   Fire Control 1    Missile 2   

Ground Forces
1x Naval Landing Force

5th February 1970
Amagiri finds a second new jump point in Kaizu and investigates. There is a Xiamen diplomatic ship on the Kaizu side of the jump point and a Velsharoon diplomatic ship on the far side, in a red dwarf system with a single Venusian world. There is still no way to determine the layout of their respective territories and no sign of a link between the systems beyond Hadano area and the systems around Truk, where only Velsharoon ships have bene detected. The system discovered by Amagiri is named Eniwetok.

15th February 1970
Newly emplaced sensor buoys on the Kaizu – Makin jump point detect two groups of Xiamen ships. The first comprises a Zhanjiang of 20,000 tons with commercial engines, escorted by a military-engined Han class of 16,565 tons. They are detected moving toward the Makin side, then transit into Kaizu and set course for the Eniwetok jump point. The second group arrives four hours later, following the first, and comprises a Ming class of 26,850 tons, a Nanchang of 18,000 tons and two Kaifeng class ships of 13,262 tons. Only the Nanchang has commercial engines. These are the first substantial Xiamen forces to be detected. Whether they are heading home or somewhere else is unknown, but both Makin and Eniwetok will be surveyed in due course.

19th February 1970
Fubuki probes a second stable jump point in Truk. She enters a binary of two yellow-white F7-V stars with a total of five planets. Three are Venusian worlds and the other two are barren, hot worlds. The system is named Samoa. There is still no sign of any Velsharoon populations.

11th March 1970
The survey cruiser Shirayuki discovers a ruined outpost on the ex-Zuijin planet Kapteyn’s Star I.

1st April 1970
A pair of Xiamen ships, a 13,262-ton Kaifeng and a commercial-engined, 68,855-ton Xian arrive at the Hadano – Yao jump point, detected by a recently-emplaced sensor buoy. INI designates the Xian as a possible stabilisation ship, which means the Xiamen have survey ships in Hadano that have identified the jump point. Yao is three jumps from Sol via Lalande and Okami. Unfortunately Hadano has no planets and neither does the first outward system, Kaizu, so there are no chokepoints in which to establish a base. The two routes inward from Hadano are Sakura, which has a small colony, and Yao, which is also planetless and has three further inward jump points to Lalande, Kobe and Iwakura, all of which eventually lead to Sol. Trying to establish large colonies to claim control over all the existing routes within Japanese space would be difficult and expensive and detract from the urgent need to establish mining colonies. The only realistic option is to find the core systems of the People’s Republic of Xiama and create a choke point closer to the source of their ships.

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