28 February 2051, 17:43Report from 65 HydraeThe 65 Hydrae system is located three wormhole transits from Sol, via the barren system of Wolf 359 and the Delta Pegasi system harboring the, at the time, nascent Pegasus Station. On this date, XCOM Headquarters received a series of transmissions from the geological survey ship Odyssey, which was then surveying the moons of the outermost gas giant in this system.
Colonel Kyle Bishop aboard Odyssey reported that an unknown grav pulse sensor contact had appeared on passive scopes three million km away at 13:27, in orbit of the gas giant itself. Based on the magnitude of the sensor contact, Colonel Bishop reasoned that the sensor was most likely intended for missile detection, implying that the contact was an alien warship with defensive armament. As even such a low-powered sensor would assuredly be able to resolve Odyssey at this distance, the colonel initially decided against retreating or abandoning the survey and Odyssey therefore held her position.
The situation near 65 Hydrae V at 13:27 on 28 February 2051.The alien contact immediately began burning towards Odyssey’s position at a blistering 5,387 km/s, confirming at least that running away would be futile for Odyssey at her paltry 1,600 km/s top speed. As the alien ship approached within one million km, Colonel Bishop ordered his command to go active on sensors, with the readings transmitted through the comm buoy at the entry wormhole terminus and relayed to XCOM Headquarters. The alien vessel opened fire at a range of 237,000 km, firing twice and scoring no hits, then again at 156,000 km with one hit. At this point, with retreat impossible and without defensive weapons, Colonel Bishop gave the order to abandon ship. The last transmission before the self-destruct charges went off was sent at 13:36, after the alien ship had fired a third time, and arrived at XCOM Headquarters more than four hours later.
The message was clear: humanity was once again at war with an alien race.
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1 March 2051, 08:00Emergency session of the XCOM Leadership CouncilThe night following the destruction of Odyssey was a sleepless one for everybody at XCOM Headquarters, with every last man and woman from the most junior analyst to Marshal Pinto himself scrambling to make sense of the encounter and the sensor readings from the erstwhile survey ship. Despite a pervasive sense of exhaustion the next morning, an emergency meeting was held featuring all of XCOM’s highest-ranking leaders at 08:00 the next morning. The goal of this meeting was to formulate a unified and effective response to the discovery of hostile aliens only three wormhole transits away from Earth.
Despite a long night of analysis, the readings taken by Odyssey in her last moments proved stubbornly confusing to XCOM. On one hand, the basic information seemed clear enough, the alien ship appeared on sensors as a 796-ton contact with an observed top speed of 5,387 km/s. On the other hand, thermal emissions analysis indicated that the alien ship’s engines put out enough power to move a ship of nearly 2,000 tons at this speed, calling the active sensor data into doubt. Furthermore, the vessel boasted twin lasers more powerful than any laser weapon in the XCOM inventory and two grav pulse sensors, including the missile detection system first observed and a high-power sensor that was most likely designed to detect larger vessels. Even the most pessimistic XCOM analyst doubted that this much capability, plus propulsion and other necessities, could be mounted on a mere 800-ton hull.
After some discussion, General Cao Bi Zhen seemed to hit on the answer. One of the few remaining veterans of the Long War still in XCOM service, General Zhen recalled that XCOM had on some occasions fought against aliens and (rarely) UFOs which had used cloaking technology, and he postulated that these data represented another occurrence thereof. As XCOM had not developed this technology, aside from a handful of bespoke genetic modifications during the war, it was impossible to estimate the actual size of the alien ship, but General Zhen suggested that the aliens were masking their thermal as well as active signature and therefore, given the observed armament, a minimum displacement of 2,500 to 3,000 tons seemed likely.
While this displacement was, in principle, something XCOM was able to deal with given the deployment of the 3,125-ton Doc Stone class patrol ships, the alien technological advantage was another matter. Most worrisome was the 5,387 km/s top speed of the alien ship, slightly exceeding the 5,000 km/s top speed of the patrol ships after the recent round of refits. This, combined with the observed 237,000 km range of the alien weapons versus the 100,000 km range of the 508-mm plasma cannons, meant that the Doc Stones would be outpaced and outranged in a gunfight. That being said, the patrol ships were also armed with 18 BSM-4 anti-ship missiles apiece, which would have around a 50% chance to hit per missile and would be more than sufficient to give XCOM the advantage of a first strike against any alien ships encountered near a human colony, so the difficulty would be one primarily of interception rather than defense, a tolerable if not desirable state of affairs at least in the short term.
The discussion therefore turned to the problem of interception, and more broadly the question of an offensive to face the aliens in 65 Hydrae. The preferable option, at least in the majority view of the time, would have been to deploy Firestorm and Raven squadrons to the system to hunt down and destroy the alien ship and any others. Preferable or not, however, this option was not yet available to XCOM as development of a suitable fighter carrier ship remained largely in theoretical stages due to chronic underfunding. The chief alternative, then, would be to refit the Doc Stone class with boosted engines which could outrun the alien ship. Even this option, while feasible, would require at least six months of lead time to develop the new engines and retool the existing shipyard for the refits, and assembling an offensive force would require substantial new construction in excess of current and projected security requirements. The third option, building a new class of offensive warships, was on the table in principle but would never get off the ground in practice. Aside from existing philosophical opposition to the concept, XCOM possessed no weapons besides missiles which were capable of matching or exceeding the known range of the alien weapons, and missile-armed ships were hardly a capability gap in the XCOM arsenal.
Ultimately, despite the desire for a strong response, the outcome of the emergency meeting proved conservative at best. The patrol ship engine upgrade program would be pursued, less in hope of mounting an offensive in the near future and more to effect some sort of capability upgrade that could at least be seen as addressing the alien menace. Aside from the refits, an additional four-ship order for the planned Doc Stone II-B class (later II-C due to minor changes in the electronics suite) was authorized. The first two ships of the modernized class, Melonhead Galine and Magnum Hass, were refitted on 1 February 2052 and immediately ordered to relieve Patrol Squadron 1 at Archer Station. Refits would continue two at a time throughout the year, alongside new construction in the other two slipways.
Otherwise, in an admittedly token gesture Pegasus Station would have its patrol ship complement doubled to 2 squadrons once the four ships currently finishing construction came out of the yards in June, with two new Whiskey Sierra wormhole ships ordered to support the logistical demands of moving patrol squadrons back and forth across XCOM space. Meanwhile, the XCOM research directorate was instructed to look into any possibility to speed up the timely introduction of technology needed to develop and construct carrier-class warships, so that the fighters presently in Earth orbit could be leveraged in a less restricted fashion.
OOC Note: It was only after writing the above that I noticed my mediocre Logistics scientist working on Hangar Decks grew +1 to his lab admin skill level. I choose to believe this means the game itself obeyed the orders of the XCOM leadership, clearly that is how this works.The Fuel Scare of 2053The Fuel Scare of 2053 was, despite the name, actually precipitated in December of 2052 when the newly-constructed transport ship Chatham was unable to withdraw a full load of fuel from planetary stockpiles at Earth. While the immediate difficulty was soon resolved, With Chatham merely having to wait two weeks for stockpiles to replenish, the larger question of fuel stockpile levels remained as the calendar ticked over to 2053, with the now ever-present possibility that a future new-build ship might be left unfueled. This danger loomed particularly large in light of the recent push to construct carriers and other warships in an unprecedented effort to expand the space defense forces in light of new alien threats.
In the long term, of course, the solution would be the continued expansion of the burgeoning fuel harvester fleet, this already being a long-range plan in motion about which little more could be done to accelerate progress. Indeed, ground-side production of sorium harvesting modules on Earth had already well exceeded the construction capacity of orbital shipyards constructing ships of the River class. Therefore, short-term stopgap solutions had to be sought aiming to bridge the fuel situation without eruption into a full-blown crisis until the harvester fleet could be expanded to meet demand. As curtailing extrasolar commercial shipping activity was considered entirely off the table, given the importance of a strong extrasolar colonial presence in XCOM grand strategic planning, attention turned to the utility of the Constellation-class force tenders. Here, a fruitful stopgap approach to the fuel situation presented itself, owing to recent changes in galactic cartography.
The major part of the galactic wormhole network known to XCOM as of 10 Jan 2053. While exploration had begun pushing the boundaries of known space beyond the reach of XCOM colonization efforts, the more interesting and salient change for XCOM strategic planners at this time was the expansion of the stable wormhole sub-network, which could minimize if not eliminate the need for the Constellation-class force tenders to escort colonization convoys through human space.The Constellation class, in the immediate calculus, was saddled with two significant disadvantages: on one hand, due to the expansion of the stable wormhole network from Sol out to the major colony sites, colonization convoys had little if any need for continued escort by tenders capable of fleet-level wormhole transits; on the other hand, the Constellation class had a nominal fuel loading of 4 million liters, very much in excess of what was truly necessary for routine convoy support duties and an amount which had yet to see any practical utility in contrast to the original vision for the class. While there remained some need for the class in its primary role, as the stable wormhole network was far from all-encompassing, a change in deployment orders and broader wormhole transit doctrine was called for in the service of lubricating the fuel situation.
As such, XCOM Space Logistics Command issued what would become known as the Stationary Tender Directive on 10 Jan 2053. Under this directive, all Constellation-class force tenders were to be detached from their assigned convoy formations, if any, and directed to transfer the majority of their carried fuel load to the planetary stockpiles on Earth, retaining a minimal 10% loading for general travel purposes. The force tenders Hydra, Virgo, Ursa Major, and Cetus would be ordered to stationary deployments at the wormholes to Procyon, Groombridge 34, 56 Cassiopeiae, and 96 Leonis respectively, where they would assist colonization convoys with wormhole transits as needed until the stable jump network could encompass those termini. The remaining force tenders would be forward deployed to established colonies along the frontier, to provide ready support to any transport groups which might be sent to destinations beyond the established colonial sphere. While the ongoing fuel use by the force tenders was minimal, offloading the excess fuel formerly allocated for utility and emergency rescue purposes was estimated to add some 22 million liters to planetary stockpiles at Earth in the short term, which XCOM leadership hoped would provide sufficient buffer to allow the fuel harvester construction program to close the fuel gap.
By 12 February, all active force tenders had deposited their excess fuel at Earth, and XCOM leadership was comfortable enough to declare the fuel scare over for the time being. For how long this non-scared state would persist remained to be seen.
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The Uridium Wire: Historical XCOM News BriefsNEW COLONIAL STATION TO OPEN 2051/07/21Brigadier General Theresa Everette, the newly-appointed commander of the Fourth Colonization Group, announced today that XCOM will open a new colonial station in the Groombridge 34 system. The colony, humanity’s fourth extrasolar dominion, will be located on the innermost planet of the system primary, a low-gravity world with no atmosphere to speak of. The general refused to take questions from reporters regarding a possible connection to alien structures reportedly discovered in the system last year…
GATEWAY TO ANDROMEDA 2051/10/24XCOM officials announced this morning that the wormhole to HH Andromedae has been stabilized and the New Hope colony in that system is open for civilian shipping. New Hope governor Abdul-Aziz Hana stated that this was a momentous occasion for the colony and for humanity at large, and spoke optimistically of the increased trade the new connection would bring. Later this morning, XCOM quietly announced a series of civilian shipping contracts totaling three-and-a-half million tons of life-support infrastructure…
XCOM SURVEY WING HITS DEAD END 2052/06/25Lieutenant Colonel He Yong Huan, spokesperson for the XCOM Survey Wing, announced today the discovery of a yet-unseen astronomical oddity. The system of Groombridge 34 has been confirmed to have only one wormhole into or out of the system, which is the connection from Luhman 16 through which the system was first discovered. The Groombridge 34 system has recently been a hot topic in online conspiracy theorist communities…
HEAVY FREIGHTER? MORE LIKE HEAVY BOONDOGGLE, EXPERTS SAY 2053/03/17Samsung Heavy Industries unveiled two vessels of a new 80,000-ton class of heavy commercial space freighter at their orbital shipyards today. The Pittsburgh class, with 50,000 tons of cargo space per ship, was developed with the intention of easing interstellar shipping bottlenecks as the current cargo fleet is strained beyond capacity. Experts say, however, that the 1.5-million liter fuel load of the new class will render it useless under the current conditions of austerity. Samsung representatives have declined to comment on rumors that construction on four additional Pittsburgh-class ships has been canceled given the current economic climate…
JOFFRION MEMORIAL SET FOR FRIDAY 2053/03/25The memorial service for renowned sensor and electronic systems scientist Dr. Lillian Joffrion will be held on Friday, 28 March at 4 pm. Dr. Joffrion worked with the XCOM organization for 32 years and was responsible for advances in extraterrestrial geological survey and deep-space wormhole detection technologies. XCOM officials have stated that Dr. Joffrion perished yesterday in an unfortunate heavy machinery accident on a classified S.O.A. base near Paris, France…
Summary excerpt from the personnel file of Dr. Lillian Joffrion, dated shortly after her untimely demise.----
Ship Construction6x Cydonia class Survey Ship: New Hope, Pegasus, Archer, Atlantis, Mora, Vinland
4x Doc Stone II class Patrol Ship: Iron Witch deGroot, Saltpeter Sobolev, Melonhead Galine, Magnum Hass
4x Doc Stone II-C class Patrol Ship: Frag Subramanium, Specter Gorman, Professor Peprah, Rainman Cordeiro
6x Doc Stone II-C class Patrol Ship (refit): Melonhead Galine, Magnum Hass, Doc Stone, Mora Fyodorova, Chilong Zhang, Steampunk Steele
2x Whiskey Sierra B class Wormhole Ship: Bravo, Zulu
12x Firestorm III class Interceptor
12x Berlin II class Cargo Ship
2x Pittsburgh class Heavy Freighter
3x Beijing II class Transport
1x Beijing II class Transport (refit)
1x Riyadh II class Tanker
1x Avenger class Troop Transport
5x Constellation class Force Tender
1x Constellation II class Force Tender (refit)
5x Gateway class Stabilisation Ship
10x River class Fuel Harvester
4x Obsidian class Orbital Miner
5x Mountain class Terraformer
Ground Unit Training3rd/4th MEC Assault Battalion (1st MEC Assault Brigade)
2nd MEC Assault Brigade: 5th/6th/7th/8th MEC Assault Battalion
3rd MEC Assault Brigade: 9th/10th/11th/12th MEC Assault Battalion
4th MEC Assault Brigade: 13th/14th/15th/16th MEC Assault Battalion
13th/14th/15th/16th/17th/18th/19th/20th Plasma Cannon Battalion
Xenoarcheology Brigade: Xenoarcheology Battalion Alpha/Beta/Gamma/Delta
22nd/23rd/24th Lunar Battalion (6th Lunar Brigade)
7th Lunar Brigade: 25th/26th/27th/28th Lunar Battalion
8th Lunar Brigade: 29th/30th/31st/32nd Lunar Battalion
ResearchFire Control Speed Rating 4000 km/s: Lillian Joffrion, 24 Jan 2051
Maximum Engine Size - 60: Arnim Rohde, 3 Aug 2051
EM Sensor Sensitivity 6: Dieudonné Mulumbu, 12 Aug 2051
Shipyard Operations: 5% Time/Cost Saving: Cécile Langlois, 25 Aug 2051
Commercial Magazine - Capacity 100: Stefanie Oliver, 5 Dec 2051
Hangar Deck: Louis Ebenhaever, 17 Mar 2052
Boarding Combat Capability: Yunus Sam, 4 Jun 2052
Xenoarcheology Equipment: Absalón Pelayo Monroy, 29 Jul 2052
Power Plant Boost 30%, Explosion 15%: Chiang Xue Guo, 5 Aug 2052
Active Terminal Guidance +15%: Stefanie Olivier, 13 Oct 2052
Delta Shields: Cécile Crèvecouer, 14 Dec 2052
Wealth Generation per Million TN Workers: 120: Cécile Langlois, 5 Jan 2053
Geosurvey Equipment: Charles Desmarais, 27 Jan 2053
Star Systems75 Ophiuchi: SS-08 Erebor, 26 Jul 2051
Pi Librae: SS-14 Atlantis, 7 Aug 2051
Van Biesbroeck’s Star: SS-08 Erebor, 20 Aug 2051
Lambda Delphini: WS-02 Sierra, 2 Sep 2051
116 Herculis: WS-02 Sierra, 5 Sep 2051
96 Leonis: SS-07 Cydonia, 15 Sep 2051
Zeta Sextantis: SS-07 Cydonia, 15 Dec 2051
61 Hydrae: SS-11 New Hope, 1 Jan 2052
Sirius: WS-04 Tango, 2 Jan 2052
Proxima Centauri: WS-04 Tango, 15 Feb 2052
Gamma Scorpii: WS-03 Echo, 5 Apr 2052
Vega: WS-02 Sierra, 29 May 2052
HIP 20968: WS-01 Whiskey, 4 Jun 2052
Barnard’s Star: SS-12 Pegasus, 8 Oct 2052
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OOC Notes:And so we are perhaps shocked to discover that this AAR is not, in fact, dead just yet. Or, perhaps not? I of course make no promises for the future, but for the present there shall be great rejoicing. Or cries of horror, each to his or her own I suppose.Naturally, we celebrate with a spot of alien menace followed by a lengthy meeting and some rousing logistical discussion, truly the more things change the more they stay the same.
