4th April 2030
NATO launches the first in a new class - the Saratoga class scout frigate. The Saratoga is designed for ultra-long deployments as a jump point picket. It will normally be positioned approximately ten million kilometers from the jump point and will rely on its small size and the use of passive sensors to avoid detection. A small active sensor is also included in the design for emergency use.
Saratoga class Scout Frigate 1,000 tons 114 Crew 173.8 BP TCS 20 TH 60 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 25/22/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 2% IFR: 0% Maint Capacity 434 MSP Max Repair 30 MSP Est Time: 37.54 Years
Rolls Royce RR60 Ion Drive (1) Power 60 Fuel Use 60% Signature 60 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 40,000 Litres Range 120.0 billion km (462 days at full power)
SN/SPN-14 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1575 Range 17.3m km Resolution 75
SN/SQR-21 Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 25 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 25m km
SN/SLR-17 EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 22 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22m km5th April 2030
Seventy-two F-24A Cobras launch two hundred and eighty-eight AGM-1A Sabre anti-ship missiles at the two alien ships in orbit of Tau Ceti V. The 12,400 ton Themistocles class and the 12,850 ton Achilles class are each targeted by half the missile wave. Alien anti-missiles begin intercepting the Sabres two point one million kilometers from the gas giant and the impressive salvo rapidly disintegrates. Just twelve missiles reach their targets, all of which hit the Themistocles. The one hundred percent hit rate of the missiles that do penetrate the enemy defences indicates the alien contacts are almost certainly bases rather than ships. The Cobras return to their carriers and reload
Three hours later, Rear Admiral von Kolbe orders a new strike against the alien bases. The seventy-two Cobras are accompanied by twenty-four A-28A Pythons, each armed with four BGM-5A Broadsword Multi-warhead Missiles. At two point five million kilometers from its target, the BGM-5A is designed to release three SGR-4A Dagger sub-munitions. The admiral hopes that by launching the Broadswords ahead of the Sabres, they can tie up the alien point defence long enough for the Sabres to reach their targets. As the first stage of the BGM-5A is only 10,000 km/s, the fighter strike has been ordered to close to three point five million kilometers before the Pythons launch their missiles, making it easier to coordinate with the much faster Sabres. At three point six million kilometers from Tau Ceti IV, one of the F-24A Cobras suddenly explodes as it is struck by an incoming missile. The alien sensors and fire control are plainly superior to either their NATO or Soviet equivalents. All the fighters reverse course and try to get outside hostile sensor range. Seven more Cobras are hit and destroyed before the onslaught ceases.
[attachment=0:y71a35pz]Deadfighters.GIF[/attachment:y71a35pz]
Rear Admiral von Kolbe orders the survivors to continue with the attack and the BGM-5As are launched from a range of four point one million kilometers. One hundred seconds after the launch of the Broadswords, which are three point one million kilometers from their target, the Cobras launch their AGM-1A Sabres. Given the speed differential, the Sabres will rapidly catch up with the much slower Broadsword first stages. Unfortunately the plan goes awry almost immediately. Five seconds after the Cobras launch, the first anti-missiles start intercepting the Broadswords. All ninety-six are quickly destroyed before they can release their sub-munitions and the wave of Sabres is intercepted at two point eight million kilometers. As before, the NATO missile wave is quickly reduced in size and Rear Admiral von Kolbe expects that very few will reach their target. Until, that is, the million kilometer long chain of fading explosions ceases one point eight million kilometers from Tau Ceti IV and the remaining one hundred and fifty-four AGM-1As proceed unmolested. The aliens appear to have run out of ammunition. Seventy seconds later, their ordnance supply problems prove fatal for both bases. After recovering its fighters, the Enterprise / Graf Zeppelin carrier group heads back to the jump point while the geosurvey ships Discovery, Endeavour and Victoria begin a survey of Tau Ceti
14th April 2030
The Soviet Union launches Petr Lebedev, the first project 1218 'Lebedev' class Salvager and the Soviet's Navy first salvage ship. Her first mission is to recover the various alien wrecks from Alpha Centauri
22nd April 2030
A NATO geosurvey survey finds the remains of an abandoned and partially intact alien colony on the seventh moon of Tau Ceti IV. Presumably, this is what the alien bases were guarding. A xenology team is dispatched to the system immediately. The moon itself is a hot and steamy world, half the size of the Earth with two thirds of its surface covered by oceans. The average surface temperature is 72C and the 0.25 atm atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
23rd April 2030
Minimal thermal contacts are detected on the eighth and ninth moons of Tau Ceti IV. NATO analysts believe these are more of the small alien sensor outposts which were encountered in Epsilon Eridani. A troop transport is dispatched from the Second Expeditionary Force, now based at the Jamestown colony in Epsilon Eridani.
24th April 2030
The two NATO Pegasus class Salvagers return to Earth after salvaging all the alien wrecks in Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti except for the two bases. They bring with them technical data on sensors and almost forty intact components from alien ships, varying from electronics to power systems. In most cases, the ship components use superior technology and all of them are disassembled in an attempt to learn about the alien systems. Although no breakthroughs are made, advances are made toward potential breakthroughs in several areas of technology.
29th April 2030
A destroyed alien outpost is found on the second moon of Tau Ceti IV. Unlike the seventh moon of the same gas giant, this world is cold and barren. The temperature is -50C, there is no atmosphere and what little water remains is bound in small polar ice caps. The gravity is too low for extended human habitation.
29th April 2030
A second destroyed alien outpost is found on the fifth moon of Tau Ceti IV. This is the largest moon of the gas giant and has a thin but toxic atmosphere of ammonia, nitrogen and methane. Tau Ceti IV has only nine moons in total yet those include two sensor outposts, a partially intact abandoned colony and two destroyed outposts.
14th May 2030
A brigade of the UK Royal Marines lands on the ninth moon of Tau Ceti IV and finds it defended by robotic soldiers. The Marines launch an immediate assault and heavy fighting ensues.
20th May 2030
NATO discovers a ruined alien outpost on Tau Ceti VI, the fourth ruin site in the same system. Tau Ceti VI is a super-terrestrial world with a diameter of 27,000 kilometers, compared to 12,000 km for Earth, resulting in a gravity of 1.85G, which is beyond the upper limit for long-term human habitation. The nitrogen - oxygen atmosphere is more than three times as dense as Earth's atmosphere and the oxygen content is far too high for human tolerances. Surface temperature is -63C and the entire planet is covered in a thick ice sheet. If this planet was closer to the Tau Ceti primary or if the atmosphere contained greenhouse gases, it would very likely be an ocean world.
20th June 2030
The Royal Marine brigade on the ninth moon of Tau Ceti IV eliminates all the robotic defenders and captures two tracking stations, two hundred and fifty-five alien anti-ship missiles and over four thousand anti-missile missiles. The anti-ship missile, designated the SS-N-33 Sorcerer, has a speed of 30,000 km/s, a range of one hundred and fifty million kilometers and a strength-8 warhead. The anti-missile, designated the SA-N-34 Gargoyle, has a speed of 65,000 km/s and a range of six million kilometers. While the Sorcerer does not match the size of any NATO launchers, it is smaller than the Mk4 Box Launchers mounted on the A-28A Python and Virginia class cruiser. Unfortunately, the Python does not have the fire control for such a long range. The Virginia has a fire control with a range of over one hundred and twenty million kilometers but only eight box launchers. The SA-N-34 Gargoyle can be launched by the Daring class Area Defence Cruiser, although the Daring has a maximum fire control range of two million kilometers so it will be unable to take advantage of the missile's maximum range.
25th June 2030
The Royal Marine brigade is transported to the neighbouring eighth moon of Tau Ceti IV and encounters a second force of robotic defenders. 45 Commando is hit hard during the landing and suffers thirteen percent casualties.
28th June 2030
All the NATO maintenance facilities that were originally located on Earth have been transported to the Jamestown colony in the Epsilon Eridani system, making it the only NATO base that can overhaul the major warships of the NATO naval forces, including the five Enterprise class carriers. The Enterprise / Graf Zeppelin carrier group pulls out of Tau Ceti and heads for Jamestown to refuel and carry out much needed overhauls while the Ark Royal / Akagi carrier group leaves the fleet base at Titan and heads for Tau Ceti to cover the ongoing survey operations. A single Virginia class cruiser remains behind to watch the automated mines on Titan and the enormous fuel harvesters in orbit of Saturn. The Independence carrier group remains on station at the Sol - Epsilon Eridani jump point.
With the growth of the colonies in Epsilon Eridani, the Titan fleet base is rapidly declining in importance. Based at Jamestown, the NATO carrier groups are better protected from any Soviet or Chinese aggression due to the chokepoint at the Sol - Epsilon Eridani jump point. Any attack on Jamestown has to come through that jump point, which can be heavily defended, rather than from any direction as was the case with Titan. Titan is still important in term of mining, with two hundred and seventy automated mines in operation, and Saturn is still the primary fuel source for NATO. Even so, one by one the vulnerable fuel harvesters are being towed to Epsilon Eridani V by the two Hercules class Tugs. While the Sorium in the atmosphere of the gas giant in Epsilon Eridani only has accessibility 0.6, compared to 1.0 for Saturn, the harvesters are much easier to protect. There is the possibility of moving them to Tau Ceti, once the system is secure and the alien threat fully assessed, as it has a gas giant with 0.7 accessibility. Tau Ceti also has some promising locations for the automated mines currently on Titan.
19th July 2030
Copernicus and Newton, a pair of Galileo class gravitational survey ships, are launched from NATO's Norfolk Navy Yard in orbit of Earth. They set course to join their two sister ships, Galileo and Kepler, which are engaged in a survey of Tau Ceti.
20th August 2030
The Royal Marines secure the eighth moon of Tau Ceti IV, capturing a single deep space tracking station and a similar missile stockpile to that found on the ninth moon.
8th September 2030
A NATO construction ship completes the jump gate link between Sol and Barnard's Star, allowing non-jump-capable Chinese ships to have access to the system. Unbeknown to NATO and the Soviet Union, the Chinese also have access to 70 Ophuichi because of an alien jump gate connecting that system to Barnard's Star. The Gateway class heads for Epsilon Eridani while the Chinese begin organizing a colony expedition to the third planet of 70 Ophuichi.
21st September 2030
A Chinese xenology team deciphers the language and symbology of the alien race that once had two colonies in 70 Ophuichi, located on the third and fourth planets, and identifies them as the Gak Consciousness. Based on recovered data, the Gak appear to have been fairly new to Trans-Newtonian physics and at the time of their demise their general level of technology was probably lower than the Chinese. Fourteen alien installations on 70 Ophuichi III and sixty more on 70 Ophuichi IV have been identified as intact enough for possible recovery and reactivation.
6th October 2030
The Soviet salvage ship returns to Earth after salvaging the alien wrecks in Alpha Centauri and recovering a large number of alien ship components. Disassembly of the intact systems, which include over fifty missile launchers, is sufficient to significantly improve Soviet missile launcher reload rate technology and advance knowledge in the fields of sensors and power systems
18th October 2030
The BAE Systems shipyard, which has two 9000 ton capacity slipways and is tooled to build the Daring class Area Defence Cruiser, is towed from Earth to the Roanoke colony in Epsilon Eridani. While Jamestown will act as the major maintenance and overhaul base for the NATO naval forces, Roanoke will eventually be the primary shipbuilding centre. As the colonies are both on moons of the same gas giant, they can still both be protected by the same defending ships.
24th October 2030
NATO completes the gravitational survey of Tau Ceti, finding two new jump points. The four Galileo class survey ships split into pairs and head for the jump points.
3rd November 2030
All fourteen of NATO's Hermes class fuel harvesters have been towed from Saturn to Epsilon Eridani V. The only significant NATO installations remaining in the Saturnian system are two hundred and fifty automated mines and twenty-four Okinawa class maintenance bases on Titan, guarded by a Virginia class cruiser and a Cheyenne class planetary defence centre.
7th November 2030
Exploration of the two jump points in Tau Ceti leads to the discovery of YZ Ceti and Van Maanen's Star. The former is a dim red dwarf with three planets and twenty-one moons, none of which are terraforming prospects. The latter is a planetless white dwarf. Copernicus and Newton begin a survey of YZ Ceti while Galileo and Kepler carry out the same task in the Van Maanen's Star system.
22nd December 2030
Chinese scientists develop Ion Engines, bringing the People's Republic in line with the other two powers in terms of drive technology, at least until NATO completes its research into the Magneto-Plasma Drive.
22nd January 2031
NATO completes a survey of YZ Ceti. It is a dead-end system. This means that besides the entry from Epsilon Eridani, the only route out of Tau Ceti is now Van Maanen's Star. A survey of that system is well underway and has yet to find any jump points
8th February 2031
The 25th Engineering Brigade of the People's Liberation Army restores an alien automated mine to full operation on 70 Ophuichi III. This is the first successful recovery of an alien installation by China. NATO and the Soviet Union have both discovered alien ruin sites but have yet to decipher the alien languages, so in this field of endeavour China is well ahead of its rivals.
3rd March 2031
NATO completes a survey of the Van Maanen's Star system. This too is a dead end system, which leaves NATO only one avenue for expansion. A review of the astrography of the NATO territories is in order. Epsilon Eridani is the initial system annexed by NATO and connects to Sol, Tau Ceti and Teegarden's Star. Tau Ceti connects to two more systems, Van Maanen's Star and YZ Ceti, both of which have been surveyed and confirmed as dead-end systems. Teegarden's Star has only one additional jump point, which links to TZ Arietis. TZ Arietis is therefore the system through which all further NATO expansion must take place. A survey has revealed three jump points, none of which have been explored. After refueling, resupply and overhauls for the Discovery and Galileo class survey ships, NATO's exploration focus will be redirected to those jump points.
8th April 2031
Pénélope Jean's Propulsion Research Team completes its research into Magneto-plasma Drive technology. Development of a series of engine designs based on the new technology begins immediately.
25th April 2031
The People's Republic of China has explored eight systems in the Bernard's Star chain, the most recently discovered of which is Gliese 722, five jumps from Sol. Gliese 722 has a yellow G5V primary, similar to Sol although slightly smaller, and just two planets; a barren rocky chunk close to the star that is barely larger than an asteroid and a hot steamy, terrestrial world with a carbon dioxide atmosphere and vast oceans. The wrecks of five unknown alien spacecraft are in close orbit of the star. A Jinan class geosurvey ship has surveyed both planets and has begun work on the third moon of the outer planet. All is proceeding normally when it suddenly explodes amid a hail of anti-ship missiles. A Huangwen class gravitational survey ship, which is monitoring the Jinan from the jump point, detects eighty-four strength-6 nuclear detonations. The source of the attack is unknown. The unarmed Huangwen immediately jumps from Gliese 722 into Gliese 748 and heads for home to raise the alarm.
11th May 2031
Terraforming installations on the NATO colony of Roanoke have raised the surface temperature above freezing, removing the need for infrastructure and making it the second ideal habitable world in Epsilon Eridani. Terraforming efforts will now focus on New Amsterdam, a colony cost 2.00 world which requires a substantial amount of oxygen to make its atmosphere breathable. Bermuda, the fourth NATO colony in Epsilon Eridani, is also colony cost 2.00 but has no atmosphere at all. The four colonies in Epsilon Eridani are as follows:
Jamestown (Epsilon Eridani II - Moon 18): 43.2 million population, 240 maintenance facilities, 145 construction factories
Roanoke (Epsilon Eridani II - Moon 22): 19.5 million population, 14 terraforming installations, 3 shipyards.
Bermuda (Epsilon Eridani II - Moon 17): 9 million population, 92 mining complexes
New Amsterdam (Epsilon Eridani III): 4.8 million population, 7 terraforming installations.
NATO also has a colony of fifty million on Mars, although without any accompanying industry or installations.
16th May 2031
The Soviet Union has explored eight systems in the Alpha Centauri chain, four of which form a single line of systems from Alpha Centauri through Ross 154 and Wolf 1061 to Gliese 588. Gliese 588 has three additional jump points, connecting to Luyten 768-119, Luyten Palomar 914-54 and Gliese 563.2. Luyten 768-119 and Gliese 563.2 have both had gravitational surveys. The former has a single jump point that connects to Kuiper 75. Although the latter is a dead-end system, it is still of some interest due to the presence of three terrestrial worlds, one of which has an almost-breathable atmosphere. A Soviet Project 1216 Molchanov geosurvey vessel is heading for the inner system of Gliese 563.2 when it detects emissions from two active sensors, both of which are quickly identified as matching the alien race encountered in Alpha Centauri. The geosurvey ship is operating alone and has no way to warn Fleet Headquarters without leaving the system. Fortunately, it detected the emissions at almost two hundred million kilometres so it turns to run. Unfortunately, the alien ships give chase and have a 3000 km/s speed advantage. Thirteen hours after the initial contact, the Soviet survey ship is destroyed by a missile salvo.
18th May 2031
A Chinese Huangwen class survey ship arrives in 70 Ophuichi with news of the alien attack in Gliese 722. The largest jump-capable Chinese ship is 2250 tons so the People's Republic has no way to send its small fleet of warships beyond 70 Ophuichi. Even so, half their active fleet is immediately dispatched to that system to picket the jump point to Gliese 701, as any alien fleet from Gliese 722 would have to pass through Gliese 748 and Gliese 701 to reach 70 Ophuichi. All Chinese survey operations are immediately suspended.
29th May 2031
NATO launches three first three Illustrious class light carriers. With recent developments in engine technology and improvements in sensor technology expected within four months, the carriers will remain in Earth orbit until they can be refitted to an updated design.
2nd June 2031
The four NATO Galileo class gravitational survey ships and the Enterprise / Graf Zeppelin carrier group arrive in TZ Arietis on a mission to probe the system's three unexplored jump points.
5th June 2031
The initial transit of the first jump point is carried out by a J-30A Vanguard Jump Scout from the Enterprise. The 300 ton jump-capable fighter provides a low risk method of ensuring the jump point is clear before sending in survey ships. The star is quickly identified as GJ 1002, a red dwarf fifteen point three light years from Sol. It has two planets, both of which are tidelocked to the star and therefore lacking any moons. The inner planet is a small, barren hot world similar to Mercury. GJ 1002 II is a terrestrial world similar in size to Earth which has a thin nitrogen - carbon dioxide atmosphere and a temperature of -22C. A potential long term terraforming candidate. An A-28A Python armed with recon drones is escorted into GJ 1002 by Galileo and dispatched toward the inner system. One hundred and twenty-five million kilometers from the star, the Python slows to a halt and launches a RLN-7A Shadow passive recon drone and a RLN-6A Raven active recon drone at each planet. None of the four drones finds any sign of life so Galileo and Copernicus move into the system and begin a gravitational survey. Once the Python and the Vanguard return to Enterprise, the rest of the NATO force heads for the next jump point.
13th June 2031
The second unexplored jump point in TZ Arietis leads to Gliese 105, a binary system with an orange K3V primary star and an M4V red dwarf companion. The K-class star is planetless while the dwarf is orbited by two small terrestrial worlds. The jump point is three point five billion kilometers from the primary, which means the planets are outside the operational radius of the A-28A Python. Instead, the gravitational survey ship Newton heads in-system while her sister ship Kepler monitors her progress from the jump point.
24th June 2031
As a result of great concern within the Soviet Politburo that the Soviet Union is falling well behind NATO in terms of expansion into space, the Politburo holds an emergency meeting focused entirely on the astropolitical situation. Presentations are made by senior military leaders, economic planners and scientists. So far, the Soviet Union has established three extra-terrestrial colonies, a brief summary of which is shown below:
1) Mars: Population 25.6m. No Industry.
2) Alpha Centauri-B III: Population 8m. 43 construction factories, 10 mining complexes, 3 terraforming installations.
3) Alpha Centauri-A III: Population 1.8m. 3 terraforming installations.
Three reasons are given to the Politburo for the limited amount of colonization in comparison to NATO. Firstly, the distance from Earth to the colony sites, although that is slowly improving as the orbit of Alpha Centauri-B brings it closer to the Sol jump point. Secondly, the smaller 'civilian' sector. The two state-controlled companies that provide non-military freighters and colony ships, Kazakov Transport and Matveyev Marine, have thirteen ships between them, only two of which are colony ships. NATO has five civilian shipping lines with a total of thirty-two ships, nine of which are colony ships. In fact, the People's Republic of China has the most privately-owned colony ships with eleven. The two Chinese shipping lines also have thirteen freighters. The third reason is the disruption caused by the combat in Alpha Centauri, in particular the loss of four colony ships from Kazakov Transport which crippled early colonization efforts.
Economic solutions to the colonization problems are limited. Two shipyards with a total of five slipways are dedicated to the production of Project 1213 'Chirikov' colony ships. Thirteen have been produced so far and five more are under construction. Unfortunately, the Soviet economy is faltering and the concentration on colony ship production has resulted in cutbacks in other areas. Many Soviet factories lie idle due to a lack of funds to pay for construction. Even with the great effort in this area, the Soviet Union has been out-produced by NATO which has nineteen colony ships in service and a twentieth under construction. This is partly because NATO's shipbuilding technology is more advanced so they can produce new ships more quickly. China has ten colony ships in naval service and three under construction. Both NATO and the People's Republic have provided subsidies to the civilian shipping lines. This approach is not possible for the Soviet Union given its current financial situation.
A scientific solution is also unlikely. Economic problems have limited the growth of the Soviet Union's research sector, which has a total of thirty-five research facilities. This compares to sixty-two for NATO and thirty for China. In terms of growth within this sector both NATO and China are outpacing the Soviet Union and the number of Chinese research facilities is expected to surpass the number of Soviet facilities in the medium term. Given this disadvantage, there seems no way for Soviet scientists to devise a way to offset the numerical advantages of the other two powers. NATO is already ahead in terms of shipbuilding technology and the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) believes NATO has already developed the next stage of engine technology and is preparing to build a new, faster colony ship.
Which leaves a potential military solution. The Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye (GRU) estimates that since 2025, NATO military strength has grown in comparison to that of the Soviet Union. While the Soviet Navy has received a third Project 1201 'Orlan' class battlecruiser, eighteen Tupolev-50 bombers and a landing ship, NATO has built two further Enterprise class carriers with full strike groups, three light carriers and a pair of Daring class area defence cruisers. Once again, NATO's economic advantage is the root cause of the growing imbalance. The strategic planners from Soviet Fleet Headquarters point out that NATO's military strength in the Sol system is minimal, with lone Virginia class cruisers guarding both Titan and the Epsilon Eridani jump point plus planetary defence centres on Earth and Titan. However, the rest of NATO's forces, including five carriers, their escorts and strike groups, could be waiting at the far side of the Sol - Epsilon Eridani jump point. The lack of NATO military targets within Soviet striking range actually makes a war harder to win because achieving sufficient tactical and strategic surprise for an effective first strike is impossible. It would be possible to launch a massive strike against NATO population centres on Earth in order to eliminate NATO's economic strength but it would prove extremely difficult to prevent the inevitable NATO counterstrike from destroying Soviet population and industry. Such a scenario would simply leave China as the dominant power.
The fleet planners put forward an alternative strategy. Rather than attempt to cause sufficient damage to NATO to offset the economic imbalance, they suggest that the Soviet Union could attempt to take over all of the industrial power and non-military shipping of the People's Republic of China. If successful, this would increase Soviet industrial and scientific capacity beyond that of NATO. Although NATO would retain its current advantages in technology and military capability in the short-term, a much stronger Soviet Union would be able to overcome that in the longer term. The best estimate of the GRU is that the Chinese military is much weaker than that of the Soviet Union and it has not expanded since 2025. In addition, half of the known Chinese warships recently departed the Sol system via the Barnard's Star jump point, leaving their forces in Sol at half strength. Unlike NATO, the missing Chinese forces would be insufficient to overcome the Soviet Navy. Until this point in the meeting, an air of despondency has slowly growing among the Politburo members. Now they see a real opportunity to drastically alter the balance of power and demand more detailed information on the proposed plan.
The head of the Soviet Navy, Vitse-admiral Vladimir Melnikov, takes over the presentation and lays out the GRU intelligence data for the People's Republic of China, starting with known ships and their current location, a summary of which is shown below. The Sol - Barnard's Star jump point is abbreviated as BSJP.
Warships
Luhu class: 12,000 tons. Speed 2500 km/s. Armament unknown. 12 units. 6 in Earth orbit, 6 left Sol via BSJP in May 2031.
Houjian class: 12,000 tons. Speed 2500 km/s. Armament unknown. 4 units. 2 in Earth orbit, 2 left Sol via BSJP in May 2031
Jiangwei class: 12,000 tons. Speed 2500 km/s. Armament unknown. Active sensor detected with 36m km range.
8 units. 4 in Earth orbit, 4 left Sol via BSJP in May 2031
Jianghu class: 750 tons. Observed Speed 5333 km/s. Armament unknown. Active sensor detected with 3.2m km range.
24 units. 23 in Earth orbit. Six units left Sol via BSJP in October 2028 and only five returned. Location of sixth unknown.
Planetary Defence Centres
Kaifeng class PDC: 21,450 tons. Armament unknown. Active sensor detected with 720m kilometer range. 2 units, both on Earth.
Hainan class PDC: 66,000 tons. Armament unknown. 8 units, all on Earth.
Support Ships
Dalian class Survey Ship: 800 tons. 6 units, all in Earth orbit.
Hegu class Troop Transport: 22,150 tons. 2 units. Both currently in the asteroid belt en route to BSJP
Huangwen class Survey Ship: 2250 tons. 2 units. Last sighted in Sol in September 2027 and August 2028. Left via BSJP.
Jinan class Survey Ship: 2250 tons. 2 units. Last sighted in Sol in March 2030 and January 2031. Left via BSJP
Luda class Colony Ship: 13,250 tons. 20 units, including civilians. Seventeen units on sensors, in Earth orbit or on approach.
Luda II class Colony Ship: 14,500 tons. One unit, civilian-owned. In Earth orbit
Xian class Freighter: 23 units, including civilian. Only four on sensors, en route to Earth from BSJP
Yinchuan class Terraformer. 56,400 tons. 5 units. All ships of this class left Sol system via BSJP in September 2030.
The main concern for the GRU is their lack of information on the armament of the Chinese units. In particular the ten planetary defence centres on Earth. Chinese military technology is generally lower than that of the Soviet Union and both KGB and GRU operatives have reported that the Chinese are relying on energy weapons alone and that the PDCs are for ground force protection. Even so, that human intelligence is yet to be confirmed. Assuming the Chinese have no missile capability could be fatal. On the other hand, a saturation bombardment of the PDCs would cause considerable collateral damage to Chinese industry. As the intent of the campaign is to capture that industry, rather than simply neutralize the Chinese, that would be an undesirable outcome.
Vitse-admiral Vladimir Melnikov lays out the objectives for proposed campaign. All of the Chinese military assets remaining in the Sol system are in Earth orbit or in Chinese territory on Earth. Therefore the primary objective is to concentrate as much time-on-target firepower as possible on those units with minimal or no warning for the Chinese. One of the two Raketnyy Korabl Otdel has recently completed training operations near Ganymede so it will head for Earth for an announced overhaul, accompanied by all ninety Tupolev-50 bombers which should remain undetected by Chinese sensors. At the point of launch, the location of which is yet to be determined, the second Raketnyy Korabl Otdel will depart Ganymede for the Bernard's Star jump point to intercept any returning Chinese warships. No shipyards or support ships will be targeted as they will prove valuable assets if they can be captured.
There are three variations of the plan. Red Sunset assumes that the human intelligence provided by Soviet operatives is correct and therefore the PDCs are not targeted. The launch will be at forty million kilometers from Earth to avoid counter-fire if the intelligence is incorrect and the Chinese PDCs are indeed missile armed. This range estimate for the potential Chinese missiles is based on the thirty-six million kilometer sensor range of the Jiangwei class. Red Twilight assumes that the Chinese do have missiles but still does not target the PDCs. Instead, the initial launch will be from 500,000 kilometers, which is outside energy range of the Chinese. After taking out the Chinese ships in orbit and eliminating any ship-launched missiles, the Soviet ships will move to Earth and use their anti-missile systems to counter any missile launch from the Chinese PDCs against Soviet ground targets. Red Night is a worst case scenario which calls for maximum effort against the Chinese PDCs. In this variation, the two Soviet aviation cruisers will launch their fighters just before the attack, which risks alerting the Chinese but adds the firepower of the fighters to the initial strike. In all versions of the plan, the destruction of the Chinese fleet is followed by a ground invasion by Soviet forces, supported as necessary by orbital bombardment of enemy troop concentrations. After several hours of heated debate, the Politburo decides to proceed with Red Twilight.
to be continued...
Steve
