On April 15th 2307, Legio VII Crusaders was formed on Terra. The Legion would remain on the homeworld as sufficient ground forces were now deployed in Andarmax to keep the restive locals in line. Two Auxilia units were also in training and would be deployed to Andarmax Prime to replace two of the Legions when they were ready. By the middle of June the situation on the Andarmax homeworld was calming down as the population become more accustomed to the presence of Imperial troops. Resentment was still strong but the pre-disposition of the Andarmax to accept centralised control made the task of the occupation forces easier. Industrial production began to pick up, although it was still at perhaps 40% of pre-war levels. On July 2nd, the last few Andarmax colonists from the sixth and eleventh moons were returned to Andarmax Prime. This caused some initial public order problems due to the religious differences but the Andarmax quickly decided they hated their occupiers more than each other and the trouble subsided, at least for the moment.
On July 21st 2307, the Terran tug Hercules arrived at the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point towing the first Sentinel class Jump Point Defence Base. The Sentinel was designed for point blank defence of a jump point against transiting ships and was equipped for long-term operations, with luxurious crew accommodations and a spacious engineering deck. With eight 20cm railguns and ten 10cm railguns, the base had more close-range firepower than a Praetorian class Battlestar. The armour belt was thicker than the Battlestars, although total armour was less due to the smaller size of the base. The Sentinel and its planned sisters would allow the Imperial Navy to free up its mobile units for offensive operations. A slightly upgraded version of the base would soon be available, armed with the new Antimachus Kinetics AKR-12B 20cm Railgun, which had a 15 second recharge time, plus more powerful reactors.
Sentinel class Jump Point Defence Base 15,000 tons 479 Crew 2841 BP TCS 300 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 15-54 Shields 0-0 Sensors 12/12/0/0 Damage Control Rating 19 PPV 86
Maint Life 11.14 Years MSP 2249 AFR 94% IFR 1.3% 1YR 33 5YR 499 Max Repair 192 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 120 months Flight Crew Berths 3
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range N/A
AKR-12 20cm Railgun (8x4) Range 120,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 12-3 RM 3 ROF 20 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
AKR-3 10cm Railgun (10x4) Range 30,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PanTerra FCB-128 Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Railgun PD Fire Control (5) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 38 30 22
Large Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (6) Total Power Output 54 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Reichmann Industries AS-100 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 19440 Range 100.4m km Resolution 135
Reichmann Industries AMD-12 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 192 Range 11.5m km Resolution 1
Reichmann Industries AS-30 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 5280 Range 30.2m km Resolution 110
Pegasus Systems TH-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
Pegasus Systems EM-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
On November 2nd, the First Battlestar Legion prepared to enter Alpha Centauri. The aliens in that system were known initially as the Alpha Centauri aliens, which was shortened to the Centauri aliens and eventually they were simply referred to as the Centauri. Praetorian, Dies Irae, Dominion and Imperator had full magazines, their strikegroups were at full strength and they were accompanied by eight Guard class escorts. Four Constellation class survey ships were ready to conduct squadron transits with the Guards while the Battlestars went through the gate. Two Sentinel bases were positioned at the jump point to cover any withdrawal. Rear Admiral Lucifer Thaddeus gave the order and the sixteen Imperial ships jumped into harm's way.
Thermal sensors immediately detected three strength-720 thermal signatures at close range. Active sensors and weapons were offline. Thaddeus ordered the four survey ships to get out of the system as quickly as possible and ordered the escorts to get into formation with the Battlestars. Five seconds after transit, active sensor emissions were detected from one of the Centauri ships and all three alien vessels started moving towards one of the survey ships. Rear Admiral Thaddeus ordered an immediate pursuit. He had drilled his crews for several weeks in the inner Sol system before the operation began so they had some training in fleet manoeuvres but not as much as he would have liked. It would still take some time for them to respond to orders.
Ten seconds after transit, the escort Doom Guard brought her sensors online and finally had a good look at the three Centauri ships, designated as Abomination class, that had caused so much trouble for the Imperial Navy. Surprisingly, their displacement was only 8000 tons. Thaddeus instructed the commander of Doom Guard, Lieutenant Commander Vladimir Agramos, to switch his weapons to offensive mode and engage as soon as he was able. Moments later, seven missiles struck the survey ship Orion, inflicting considerable internal damage. The Constellation class survey ship had no armour to speak of but the Admiral had counted on the Centauri following their earlier pattern and engaging his largest ships.
Seconds continued to tick by without any Imperial warship opening fire. Some ships were still affected by degradation of their systems due to jump-blindness but others were recovering and not firing due to the inexperience of their crews in quickly locking up the hostile targets. Another salvo of seven missiles struck Orion and the fragile survey ship exploded. For some reason it appeared that only one alien ship was firing. Finally, Doom Guard opened fire and scored fifteen hits with her 10cm railguns. Each hit was only strength-1 but the escort had a very high rate of fire. Doom Guard continued firing, inflicting twelve more hits. The three Abominations accelerated to 4500 km/s and headed away from the jump point, before reversing course as some of the Guard class ships finally got underway. Doom Guard continued her hail of kinetic rounds and was joined first by Death Guard and then by War Guard. There was no sign of any atmospheric outgassing from the Centauri warships but their armour was being shredded.
The Abominations kept reversing course, as if confused by the different squadrons of Imperial ships surrounding them. Seven missiles struck Cassiopeia, completely gutting the survey ship and destroying all four of her Terradyne ION-90FE Military Drives. Four Guard class escorts were now firing and kinetic impacts covered the lead alien ship. Confusion reigned as the Abominations started to move away from the jump point with the Imperial ships in pursuit while the two undamaged survey ships finally got underway and moved toward the jump point to escape. The Centauri were taking an amazing amount of punishment with several railgun rounds striking every second but they were slowly creeping toward the 30,000 kilometre maximum range of the Guard class ships due to their 500 km/s speed advantage.
Five missiles slammed into Death Guard, causing significant armour damage but not penetrating. Two of the Centauri ships were almost certainly out of ammunition. Kinetic rounds continued to smash into the lead Abomination with no sign of atmosphere loss. Read Admiral Thaddeus began to suspect the ship was operating with no atmosphere on board, although it was still running at 4500 km/s so it was possible the armour had yet to be penetrated. All three alien ships moved out to 31,000 km/s and the Imperial escorts were forced to cease fire. The Battlestars' 15cm railguns had a range of 90,000 kilometres but were still suffering from the effects of the passage through the jump gate, as were the fighters in their hangar bays.
As the Abominations moved to 43,000 km from the Imperial ships, the Battlestar Praetorian opened fire, scoring fourteen strength-2 hits on Abomination 001. She was joined moments later by Dies Irae, which inflicted nineteen hits, although by this point the increasing range meant they were strength-1. Even so, the damaged ship finally slowed down, still with no sign of atmosphere loss. The two undamaged Abominations suddenly reversed course and headed straight for the pursuing ships while their damaged sister continued to run. Every Guard class ship targeted the approaching alien vessels, as did the fire controls for the 10cm railguns on the Battlestars but the Centauri flashed past before they could lock them up. Read Admiral Thaddeus ordered four of his Guard class ships to pursue Abomination 001 as it had slowed to 2250 km/s while every other ship reversed course to chase the undamaged targets. The change of orders caused confusion among the still relatively inexperienced crews, allowing all three Centauri ships to rapidly open the range. No further missiles salvos had been detected which perhaps indicated that the damaged alien ship had been the one firing the missiles and was no unable to continue, either through internal damage or running out of ordnance.
The Terran warships finally started moving but it was too late for the Cassiopeia, still moving toward the jump point at 1 km/s. One of the Centauri ships rammed her, completely destroying the helpless survey ship and reducing its own speed by half. Abomination 002 and Abomination 003 then reversed course again and headed straight for the Battlestars, splitting apart due to the difference in their speed. Realising they intended to ram. Thaddeus once again ordered his ships to come about and to change targets to Abomination 003, which was the undamaged alien ship. Impacts from the 15cm railguns on the Battlestars begin to spread across the armour of the Centauri vessel as the Imperial ships halted then tried to move off in formation.
As Abomination 003 reached 30,000 km, every railgun on four Battlestars and four escorts was contributing to a kinetic storm engulfing the ship. The main body of the Imperial fleet was still not moving as 8000 tons of alien ship charged through that storm at 4500 km/s. Rear Admiral Thaddeus shouted for everyone to brace for impact as the apparently unstoppable Centauri vessel shrugged off countless impacts and filled the view screen. An explosion tore the Abomination class apart less than a thousand kilometres from Praetorian
(Author Note: Not artistic licence - that really happened!). Thaddeus starting breathing again and ordered his ships to fire on Abomination 002.
Just five seconds after the destruction of Abomination 003, the four Guard class escorts chasing Abomination 001 moved within weapon's range and a second alien ship died. The third Centauri continued to close on the Battlestars and their escorts but it was already damaged and moving too slow to catch them. The Imperial warships moved within weapon range and blew it pieces with sustained fire. Finally, after years of fearing the Centauri, the ships that had inflicted such grievous damage on the First Star Legion had been destroyed by the Imperial Navy. Rear Admiral Thaddeus contacted Vice Admiral Sturm and requested salvage vessels to investigate the alien wreckage. Meanwhile, the First Battlestar Legion re-assembled and headed in-system. All ninety-six Cobras had remained on board their motherships throughout the battle so the fleet had its full load of ordnance.
Phoenix and Perseus, which had fled the system during the battle, returned to begin a gravitational survey of Alpha Centauri. Their sister ships Cassiopeia and Orion had been the only casualties of the battle, operating in an environment for which they were plainly not suited. The Emperor, Admiral Sturm and even Patriarch Antimachus agreed that a jump-capable warship was necessary, although the Patriarch stressed that it would obviously be armed with railguns.
Ten days after the battle, the First Battlestar Legion had visited all four planets orbiting the primary, without finding any sign of alien ships or populations, and was heading for the solar system of the companion star. Eleven days later, on December 13th 2307, a tiny thermal signature was detected on Alpha Centauri-B III. There was no EM signature so this appeared to be a single installation, perhaps a sensor station. Rather than destroy it from orbit, Rear Admiral Thaddeus decided he would rather know what he was dealing with. A Conqueror class troop transport was dispatched from Terra with Legio VII Crusaders on board. After checking the fourth and fifth planets of the B component, the First Battlestar Legion headed back toward the Sol jump point.
On January 19th 2308, the First Battlestar Legion arrived back in Terran orbit to a heroes welcome. Death Guard began repairs at the Asteria Shipyard while a ninth Guard class escort, Imperial Guard, joined the Legion. While there was considerable consternation among the nobles of the Imperium and the senior officers of the Imperial Navy that no Centauri populations had been found in Alpha Centauri, which suggested their homeworld lay elsewhere, the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point was guarded by two Sentinel class bases. With the Andarmax under occupation, the Centauri ships eliminated and the Alpha Centauri jump point secure, exploration of the other five jump points could begin, although Rear Admiral Thaddeus was keen to run some extensive fleet training exercises first.
In late January, the geological survey ship Covenant detected a second small thermal signature on an asteroid orbiting Alpha Centauri-B. This too appeared to be a Centauri installation, or perhaps two as it was twice the signature of Alpha Centauri-B III. A troop transport was mid-way across the system, heading for the latter world, so Legio VII Crusaders was ordered to secure both locations. The transport arrived at Alpha Centauri-B III on February 22nd 2308 and unloaded the legionnaires. They quickly located and captured a single deep space tracking station. Legio VII re-embarked and headed for the asteroid, where they secured two more tracking stations. Its task completed, the Legion headed for home.
On Andarmax Prime, after almost two years of occupation, the population was becoming accustomed to Imperial rule. Emperor Magnus declared the Andarmax should be classed as a subjugated race, rather than simply occupied. In fact, there were increasing complaints from the aliens that the Imperium was not providing sufficient defensive forces to guard them in case of alien attack. With an Imperial population of two million on the Andarmax homeworld, it was inevitable that news of the Centauri would spread and that news was now causing concern among the Andarmax, especially without their own Navy to protect them. The First Star Legion remained in orbit but the Andarmax demanded the same level of protection as Terra. The Emperor was not interested in the demands of a vanquished alien foe so the Imperial ground forces ensured any particularly vocal protests by the lobsters were short-lived.
In July 2308 Perseus and Phoenix completed a survey of Alpha Centauri without finding any new jump points, which raised the question of how the Centauri ships came to be in the system. There was no sign of any Centauri colonies except for the two listening posts so the only explanation was that they entered the system via the Sol jump point at some point in the past. Emperor Magnus was firm in his belief that the Centauri were the aliens described in the ancient texts that started the Great War and the Andarmax were likely to be their minions. Both survey ships returned to Earth for overhaul while Hercules was ordered to tow one of the two Sentinel class bases guarding the Sol - Alpha Centauri jump point to Uranus where it would guard the eighteen Vulcan class fuel harvester bases in orbit of the gas giant.
On January 2nd 2309, after a year of training exercises and overhauls, the First Battlestar Legion was ready to begin active operations once more. Emperor Magnus had recently lifted the moratorium on new exploration so the Legion's first mission was to cover the Imperial survey forces as they probed the five unexplored jump points in the Sol system, starting with jump point two, midway between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. Phoenix transited on January 7th and discovered Wolf 359, a red dwarf system with six planets, none of which were even remotely habitable, and almost five hundred asteroids spread across three belts. The geological survey ships Covenant and Testament entered the system to begin a survey while a jump gate construction ship began work on a gate on the Sol side of the jump point.
By early February, after a month of Terran activity in Wolf 359, there was no sign of any alien presence in the system so Perseus and Phoenix commenced a gravitational survey while the First Battlestar Legion moved to jump point four. Aquarius carried out the probe and emerged a billion kilometres from Lalande 21185, a red dwarf star orbited by five planets, one of which was an excellent terraforming candidates. Lalande 21185-II had ideal temperature, gravity of 0.56G and a nitrogen- oxygen atmosphere of 0.16 atm. The third planet was a possible terraforming candidate, although with a surface temperature of -68C and no oxygen in the 0.33 atm atmosphere. The geosurvey ship Concordance was dispatched sunwards to check for any sign of life.
On March 1st, Aquarius transited Sol's fifth jump point and entered the Ross 128 system. As with Wolf 359 and Lalande 21185 the primary was a red dwarf, in this case an M4-V class star orbited by six planets, four of which were gas giants and two were frozen rocks. Solemn Oath moved into the inner system and surveyed the moons of the inner planet without encountering any alien ships. Aquarius and Sagittarius began a gravitational survey while the First Battlestar Legion returned to Terra so its crews could enjoy some shore leave. All eight gravitational and geological survey ships were now deployed so the probes of the remaining two unexplored jump points in Sol would be delayed.
By April 2309, terraforming operations had been underway on Luna for seven years. Fourteen Genesis class bases, each with four terraforming modules, were in orbit and three terraforming installations were in operation on the surface. This colossal effort resulted in Luna becoming an ideal habitable world, with a breathable atmosphere and average surface temperature close to that of Terra. Seas had formed and flora was spreading across the lunar landscape. Terra and Luna were now twin worlds. The lunar population was one hundred and fourteen million, compared to over a billion on Terra. The primary industry was mining, as Terra's own deposits were becoming depleted and the remaining ore was harder to access. Luna had over a million tons of accessibility 0.9 Duranium, which would be key to the Imperium's economic future. Shortages of Duranium were already causing production delays
Two new Legions were founded on Terra on May 2309; Legio VIII Angels of Death and Legio IX Blood Ravens. The chapters of both Legions were comprised of Assault Infantry and used a new version of powered armour that emphasised offence over defence. They had twice the firepower of the other seven Legions but only half the defensive strength. Two more Auxilia had been trained, taking the total number of Auxilia to six, all of which were stationed on Andarmax Prime.
In June, two new Battlestars joined the Imperial Navy. Armageddon and Apocalypse were the first two members of the Armageddon class. Almost forty percent larger than the Praetorian class, the Armageddon was faster, with improved armour protection, eight 20cm railguns instead of the six 15cm of the older design and with 50% more point defence railguns. The electronics suite was far better, including a primary sensor with a 300m kilometre range, triple that of its predecessor, and fire controls with faster tracking capabilities. Hangar capacity was increased by a third and magazine capacity was doubled, allowing a strikegroup of thirty-two Mk II Cobras, a new design much faster than the Mk I, that could carry out multiple long-range strikes. Two sister ships, Cataclysm and Devastation, were already under construction and would be ready within a year. The Armageddon class Battlestars would form the core of a new Second Battlestar Legion.
Armageddon class Battlestar 48,000 tons 962 Crew 7540 BP TCS 960 TH 4800 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 14-117 Shields 0-0 Sensors 12/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 27 PPV 92
Maint Life 2.04 Years MSP 2651 AFR 682% IFR 9.5% 1YR 850 5YR 12749 Max Repair 315 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 68
Hangar Deck Capacity 8000 tons Magazine 800 Cryogenic Berths 400
Terradyne MPD-320 Military Drive (15) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 3,000,000 Litres Range 23.4 billion km (54 days at full power)
AKR-12B 20cm Railgun (8x4) Range 120,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 12-4 RM 3 ROF 15 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
AKR-3 10cm Railgun (12x4) Range 30,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5
PanTerra Improved Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
PanTerra Improved PD Fire Control (3) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 38 30 22
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (12) Total Power Output 72 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Javelin II Anti-Ship Missile (160) Speed: 35,800 km/s End: 23.5m Range: 50.4m km WH: 9 Size: 5
Reichmann Industries AS-300 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 44100 Range 298.2m km Resolution 140
Reichmann Industries AMD-2 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 1.9m km Resolution 1
Pegasus Systems TH-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
Pegasus System EM-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Strike Group
32x Cobra Mk II Fighter Speed: 6736 km/s Size: 4.75
1x Boa Fighter-Scout Speed: 4565 km/s Size: 4.6
Cobra Mk II class Fighter 238 tons 2 Crew 51 BP TCS 4.75 TH 32 EM 0
6736 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.25
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 47% IFR 0.7% 1YR 3 5YR 45 Max Repair 19 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 months Spare Berths 5
Magazine 15
Terradyne MPD-32 Fighter Engine (1) Power 32 Fuel Use 336.02% Signature 32 Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 2.3 billion km (3 days at full power)
Medusa Box Launcher (3) Missile Size 5 Hangar Reload 37.5 minutes MF Reload 6.2 hours
Romanov Systems RS-45 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 45.4m km Resolution 100
Javelin II Anti-Ship Missile (3) Speed: 35,800 km/s End: 23.5m Range: 50.4m km WH: 9 Size: 5 TH: 119 / 71 / 35
Perseus and Phoenix failed to find any jump points during the gravitational survey of Wolf 359 and were redeployed to survey Lalande 21185. Aquarius and Sagittarius located two new jump points in Ross 128. Both survey ships transited back into Sol and headed for a rendezvous with the First Battlestar Legion at Sol's unexplored sixth jump point. Sagittarius carried out the probe and emerged in Luyten 726-8, a binary of two red dwarfs eight hundred million kilometres apart, with each star orbited by five planets. The second planet of the primary had a breathable atmosphere and gravity close to that of Terra. It would have been ideal if not for the surface temperature of -28C and was an excellent candidate for terraforming. The geosurvey ship Concordance entered the system to check for an alien presence.
On August 15th, Concordance discovered the ruins of an alien colony on the near-habitable world, evidence of a third alien race within one jump of Sol. There were no mineral deposits so it was possible the planet had been a mining colony that was abandoned, although another possibility, which greatly concerned the Emperor and senior Navy officers, was that one alien race had destroyed a population of a second. From the point of view of Emperor Magnus, it was becoming apparent the galaxy was filled with alien threats. A xenology team was formed on Earth and the patrol vessel Orcus was assigned to carry the team to Luyten 726-8 II.
The last unexplored jump point in Sol was transited on October 5th 2309 by Aquarius. She emerged three billion kilometres from a red dwarf with the rather uninspiring name of NN 3193. The system had seven unremarkable planets, most of which were gas giants and rocky iceballs, with the exception of a Venusian world close to the star. Solemn Oath was sent in to investigate. Several senior officers in the Terran Survey Command expressed their concerns to Admiral Sturm about the sacrificial tactic of sending unarmed geological survey ships into unexplored systems to search for signs of an alien presence. He informed them that plans were in place for an armed jump-capable warship but for the moment the Battlestars would provide cover at a distance while the geological survey vessels carried out their hazardous task.
In December 2309, a new Atlas class Tug towed a Genesis class terraforming base into orbit of Luyten 726-8 II, a near-habitable world with the ruin of an alien colony. Most of the surface was covered by two enormous ice caps. The base had been in operation less than three weeks pumping a safe greenhouse gas into the atmosphere when the ice caps began to melt as a result of the gradual temperature increase. The rate of melting rapidly increased, forming new lakes and seas and sending the temperature soaring as a result of the change in albedo. In a matter of weeks the planet went from an average surface temperature of -28C to +8C, transforming Luyten 726-8 II into an ideal habitable world.
Atlas class Tug 53,000 tons 520 Crew 2466 BP TCS 1060 TH 8000 EM 0
7547 km/s Armour 1-125 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 29 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Tractor Beam
Terradyne MPD-400 Commercial Drive (20) Power 400 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 400 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 64.1 billion km (98 days at full power)
In the first three months of 2310, gravitational surveys were completed in Lalande 21185, Luyten 726-8 and NN 3193, finding nothing in Lalande and three new jump points in each of the other two systems. Three systems connecting to Sol were now confirmed as cul-de-sac systems; Alpha Centauri, Lalande and Wolf 359. The other five systems adjacent to Sol had a total of thirteen unexplored jump points between them. Emperor Magnus gave his permission for the Imperial Navy to begun searching the next ring of systems for any alien presence, beginning with the three unexplored jump points in Andarmax. The Second Battlestar Legion, now reinforced by Cataclysm and Devastation, was still undergoing training exercises in Sol so the First Battlestar Legion, led by Rear Admiral Lucifer Thaddeus in Praetorian, moved into the Andarmax system to support the Terran survey forces.
Meanwhile on the Andarmax homeworld, where four years had passed since the surrender, the indigenous population was demanding equal rights with humans. Restrictions on the Andarmax had gradually been lifted as resistance subsided and the rate of industrial production was at eighty percent of pre-war levels, although total production was much lower as a large number of Andarmax installations had been transported to the Sol system.
In August 2310, the xenology team in Luyten 726-8 finally deciphered the language and symbology found in the alien ruins on the second planet. The aliens apparently referred to themselves as the Republic of Kawich. Approximately forty installations were identified as recoverable. Six construction brigades were already in place ready to begin the recovery operation.
By October, the three jump points in Andarmax had been explored, leading to the systems of Groombridge 34, V1581 Cygni and QY Aurigae, none of which had any habitable planets or alien ships. The eight survey ships of the Imperial Navy, split equally between geological and gravitational, were carrying out detailed surveys of all three system, while the First Battlestar Legion returned to Terra for resupply, shore leave and overhaul. Meanwhile, two new ship types had been launched from the Asteria and Cronus shipyards. The Sword class frigate and Vigilant class frigate leader were designed to operate in a squadron of four, with three Swords and a single Vigilant. The Swords provided the firepower with four AKR-12B 20cm Railguns while the Vigilant provided the jump drive and long range sensors. Unlike the Battlestar Legions, these frigate squadrons would operate outside the jump gate network. One of their primary tasks would be probing unexplored jump points and investigating the systems beyond, a role that in the past had fallen to unarmed survey ships. This would also enable the Battlestar Legions to provide cover at a distance, rather than moving to each jump point as it was explored. The First Frigate Squadron, comprising Vigilant, Sword, Sabre and Scimitar, left Earth orbit on October 27th for their first mission - to probe the two unexplored jump points in Proxima Centauri.
Sword class Frigate 6,400 tons 170 Crew 1170 BP TCS 128 TH 640 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 8-30 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 28
Maint Life 2.24 Years MSP 343 AFR 109% IFR 1.5% 1YR 92 5YR 1384 Max Repair 160 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 0
Terradyne MPD-320 Military Drive (2) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 530,000 Litres Range 31.1 billion km (71 days at full power)
AKR-12B 20cm Railgun (4x4) Range 120,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 12-4 RM 3 ROF 15 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
PanTerra Improved Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (3) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Reichmann Industries AS-50 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 6300 Range 50.4m km Resolution 100
Reichmann Industries AMD-2 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 1.9m km Resolution 1
Pegasus Systems EM-8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
Vigilant class Frigate Leader 6,400 tons 145 Crew 1162 BP TCS 128 TH 640 EM 0
5000 km/s JR 4-50 Armour 8-30 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.56 Years MSP 454 AFR 81% IFR 1.1% 1YR 97 5YR 1451 Max Repair 315 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 3
Cryogenic Berths 200
Gryphonne Dynamics MJ-66D Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 6600 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 4
Terradyne MPD-320 Military Drive (2) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 530,000 Litres Range 31.1 billion km (71 days at full power)
Reichmann Industries AS-300 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 44100 Range 298.2m km Resolution 140
Pegasus System EM-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
The First Frigate Squadron discovered Barnard's Star and Epsilon Indi beyond Proxima Centauri. Neither system held anything of interest and only had five unremarkable planets between them. The squadron moved to Ross 128, which also had two unexplored jump points. The outer jump point led to HIP 51317, a red dwarf system with ten planets, none of which were habitable or realistic candidates for terraforming. All four Terran ships headed sunward to check for any sign of alien presence. Half a billion kilometres from the jump point, a quarter of the way to the star, they detected four Centauri fast attack craft moving at 10,525 km/s. This time the 950 ton Centauri craft held the range open and soon after the contact was made a salvo of missiles streaked toward the Imperial ships.
The three Sword class frigates attempted to use their 20cm railguns in offensive mode but only shot down two incoming missiles. Sabre exploded after being hit forty times by missiles with strength-7 warheads. As the remaining ships turned to head back to the jump point, Sword suffered fourteen hits from missiles looking for a new target after Sabre was destroyed. Her armour suffered significant damage but was not penetrated. The four Centauri fast attack craft departed in the direction of the LaGrange point of the ninth planet and soon disappeared from Terran sensors. On 12th December 2310 the three surviving frigates transited into Ross 128 and alerted Terra via the jump gate network.
The First Battlestar Legion was in overhaul and the Second was at the end of a long training exercise, with crews needing some rest and recreation before heading out to the frontier. In any event, although a jump gate was in place in the Ross 128 side of the jump point, there was no corresponding gate on the far side. A gate would have to be built before the Battlestars could both enter and leave the Centauri-occupied system. Vice Admiral Sturm ordered the Second Battlestar Legion to return to Terra for shore leave and overhaul before it was sent out to HIP 51317. The First Frigate Squadron was ordered to defend the jump point and the newly built Sword class frigate Katana was dispatched from Terran orbit to bring the squadron back up to full strength.
On December 28th 2310, Imperial Terra's ninth Battlestar was launched from the Hyperion Shipyard. Pegasus was a new design, based on the previous Armageddon class but intended to operate fighters armed with gauss cannon, a new type of kinetic weapon, instead of missiles. Although only thirteen percent larger than the four Armageddons her hangar deck capacity was fifty percent greater, primarily because of the space freed up by the removal of magazines. Her armour was slightly thicker, the number of 10cm railguns was increased from twelve to fifteen and two additional point defence fire controls were added, allowing Pegasus to engage more incoming salvos. Her sister ship Cerberus would be ready within a month.
Pegasus class Battlestar 54,400 tons 1089 Crew 8542 BP TCS 1088 TH 5440 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 15-127 Shields 0-0 Sensors 12/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 31 PPV 101
Maint Life 2.03 Years MSP 3042 AFR 763% IFR 10.6% 1YR 981 5YR 14715 Max Repair 315 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 138
Hangar Deck Capacity 12000 tons Cryogenic Berths 400
Terradyne MPD-320 Military Drive (17) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 3,000,000 Litres Range 20.7 billion km (47 days at full power)
AKR-3 10cm Railgun (15x4) Range 30,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AKR-12B 20cm Railgun (8x4) Range 120,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 12-4 RM 3 ROF 15 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
PanTerra Improved Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
PanTerra Improved PD Fire Control (5) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 38 30 22
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (13) Total Power Output 78 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Reichmann Industries AMD-2 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 1.9m km Resolution 1
Reichmann Industries AS-300 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 44100 Range 298.2m km Resolution 140
Pegasus Systems TH-12 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
Pegasus System EM-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Strike Group
50x Viper Fighter Speed: 8000 km/s Size: 4
5x Raptor Scout Speed: 4000 km/s Size: 8
A significant issue for Pegasus and Cerberus was that only nineteen Vipers had been completed so far, out of a planned one hundred. Terra's fighter factories were failing to keep pace with her shipyards. The Viper was smaller and faster than the missile-armed Cobras and was equipped with dual AKG-1 Gauss Cannons. The gauss cannons were inaccurate and inflicted only strength-1 hits but they had a high rate of fire, with each Viper firing six shots every five seconds.
Viper class Fighter 200 tons 2 Crew 46 BP TCS 4 TH 32 EM 0
8000 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 40% IFR 0.6% 1YR 3 5YR 40 Max Repair 16 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months Spare Berths 8
Terradyne MPD-32 Fighter Engine (1) Power 32 Fuel Use 336.02% Signature 32 Exp 20%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 1.3 billion km (46 hours at full power)
AKG-1 Gauss Cannon (2x3) Range 30,000km TS: 8000 km/s Accuracy Modifier 17% RM 3 ROF 5
Fighter Fire Control (1) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Since the surrender of the Andarmax, Imperial terraformers had been working to modify the atmosphere of their homeworld to make it more acceptable to humans. By January 2311 they succeeded, bringing the average temperature below 38C. This was still perfectly fine for the Andarmax as their acceptable temperature range was from 8C up to 68C, a benefit of their tough exo-skeleton. Terraforming activity was also underway on the Proxima colony and on the second planet of Lalande 21185.
The Andarmax system was increasing in importance in other ways. The gas giant around which Andarmax Prime orbited had several hundred thousand tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium. As the long-standing source of fuel for the Imperial Navy, Uranus, had only accessibility 0.8 Sorium, a major operation was underway to tow all the Vulcan class fuel harvester bases into orbit of Andarmax I. Twenty-four of the twenty-eight bases in service were already in place and three more were en route, towed by Atlas class Tugs. A single Vulcan remained in orbit of Uranus but even that was scheduled for transfer to Andarmax. These extremely valuable pieces of Terran logistical infrastructure would be far easier to defend in their new location, just 200,000 kilometres from Andarmax Prime instead of three billion kilometres from Terra. The First Star Legion remained in orbit of the Andarmax homeworld, although it was scheduled to be relieved by the Third Star Legion which had just completed extensive fleet training exercises.
On March 25th, two new Legions were formed on Terra. Legio X Golden Dragons and Legio XI Red Wolves were both comprised of Assault Infantry. Ten of the eleven Legions were now on Terra, while Legio VI Tiger Claws was deployed on Luyten 726-8 II to guard the engineers excavating the alien ruins. Thus far, nothing of particular note had been found. Most of the alien installations were either automated mines or beyond repair. A single construction factory and one fuel refinery had also been recovered.
The Second Battlestar Legion, comprising the Armageddon class Battlestars Apocalypse, Armageddon, Cataclysm and Devastation, arrived at the Ross 128 - HIP 51317 jump point on June 21st 2011. The First Frigate Squadron was still at the jump point and had been joined by a jump gate construction ship and a tanker. A jump gate was already in place on the Ross 128 side so the Battlestars would be able to enter HIP 51317 but unable to withdraw until a new gate was constructed on the HIP 51317 side of the jump point. Rear Admiral Helena Cestus was in command on the Apocalypse and had already agreed with Vice Admiral Sturm that her ship would enter and clear the system while the construction ship carried out its task. While there was a theoretical danger of the Battlestars being trapped in the hostile system, the Terran senior officers and crews all believed the Imperial Navy was now capable of handling any Centauri threat and the danger was minimal.
All four Battlestars transited without incident. The jump point was two billion kilometres from the red dwarf primary, while the wreckage of Sabre was approximately five hundred and seventy million kilometres from the jump point. None of the ten planets or hundred plus moons appeared to be even remotely habitable so the Second set course for the wreck. After an hour with no sign of any enemy activity, the construction ship transited in and began work.
Seven hours after transit, two 8000 ton Centauri warships moving at 4500 km/s were detected at the Second's maximum sensor range, three hundred million kilometres. Rear Admiral Cestus ordered a strike to be launched by sixteen Cobra Mk IIs, each carrying three Javelin anti-ship missiles, to test the defences of the enemy ships. The Battlestars ceased forward motion to allow the Cobras to quickly move away from the fleet. Six hours after leaving their hangar bay, the Cobras launched their Javelins from a range of twenty-five million kilometres. The missiles had a strength-9 warhead and a speed of 25,000 km/s. Out of forty-eight launched, twenty-eight struck their targets. There was no reduction in the speed of the enemy ships.
Even as the first strike headed back to the Battlestars, Cestus ordered a second strike of thirty-two Cobras to be launched and began withdrawing her ships toward the jump point. This time, ninety-six Javelins were fired, split equally between the two targets. A total of thirty-seven detonations were detected and both Centauri ships were destroyed. Thirty-nine Terran missiles remained and were self-destructed. The Battlestars reversed course and headed back toward the wreck of Sabre. The forty-eight Cobras landed to refuel and re-arm.
Fifteen hours after the engagement, active sensor emissions from a single Centauri FAC were detected at a range of eight million kilometres ahead of the Battlestars' course. Within seconds, Apocalypse was struck by fifty-six missiles with strength-7 warheads, inflicting considerable damage to her armour but penetrating no deeper than halfway through the armour belt. The missiles were undetected and not engaged by the fleet's weapons. Rear Admiral Cestus demanded an explanation and her chief of staff suggested it was possible the combined closing speed of the missiles and the Battlestars allowed the missiles to cross the 210,000 km maximum detection range of the Reichmann Industries AMD-2 Active Sensor before their presence was registered by those sensors. Detection and localization of contacts only required about five seconds so taking into account the 5000 km/s speed of the fleet, the missiles would have to have been travelling at least 37,000 km/s. There was no way for single FAC to launch so many missiles so it was possible that other, as yet undetected, ships were in the path of the fleet. In any event, four Cobras were launched to destroy the FAC.
The FAC continued to close at a speed of 10,525 km/s. As the fighters moved to intercept, the primary sensors on the Battlestars detected four FACs in total. The enemy ships had approached within the range at which those sensors could detect such small targets. The four Cobras in flight launched at one target and destroyed it then headed back to their mothership. Nine more fighters shot from their launch tube and headed toward the incoming FACs. Due to the size of the targets, the fighters had to close within one point eight million kilometres to lock on their fire control systems. The twenty-seven Javelins took all three Centauri ships. Rear Admiral Cestus noted in her log that for future Battlestar designs, a longer ranged missile detection sensor was required and that a sensor specially intended to detect FACs should be created. The four Battlestars recovered their fighters and pressed on into the inner system.
Twenty hours after the destruction of the four Centauri FACs, the Second Battlestar Legion arrived at the wreck of Sabre without further incident. Rear Admiral Cestus ordered her ships to begin a sweep of all the planets in the inner system to look for signs of Centauri activity. By July 7th, seventeen days after entering HIP 51317, the Battlestars were back at the Ross 128 jump point, where they would have to remain for a hundred days while they waited for the jump gate to be constructed.
