Campaign set-up
Non Real Stars
3 NPRs
Difficulty 200%
Conventional Start with 1000m population, 2000 CI, 1 shipyard (1000 ton single slipway) and 30 RL
TN Tech just learned.
Chronicle of the Rigellian Empire
Published by Oxford University Press, Y561 NCE (New Calendar Era)
N.B. All measurements and astronomical terms have been converted to Solarian standard for ease of reading. The Rigellian calendar is explained within the background section but all dates are converted to Solarian standard thereafter. Any other notes from the publisher will be in italics within parentheses and preceded by PN:.
Preface
This chronicle is the work of the Department of Imperial History at Emperor’s College, established by Emperor Jimmu and given a Royal Charter to record the expansion of the Rigellian Empire into space. While the department records a vast amount of information about the functioning of the Empire, detailing the minutiae of day to day life is not the focus of this particular chronicle. Instead, it is intended to provide a broad overview of events, with greater detail added only for those incidents that will be of significant interest to the reader. The Chancellor of the Emperor’s College is ultimately accountable for the content of the chronicle, although in reality that is more of an honourary responsibility. For all intents and purposes, the creation of this Chronicle is the primary task of the Official Historian of the Empire, who is resident at the College and may request direct access to the Emperor or the military leadership - a necessity if the chronicle is to reflect not only the actual events but the intentions behind them. It is not within the purview of the Historian to judge or try to influence Imperial policy but he is allowed to provide commentary on the potential ramifications of any decisions by the Emperor or his advisors.
Astrographical Background
The Rigel system is an astronomical rarity, with a total of four stars. Rigel-A is a bright yellow-white F1-V main sequence star orbited by a total of seven planets, including four small and airless rocky worlds, a gas giant and two superjovians. Three of those planets lie well outside the orbit of Rigel-C, at distances of 56, 95 and 181 billion kilometres, making them virtually inaccessible. Rigel-B, a yellow G1-V star, orbits the primary at 2.25 billion kilometres and is itself orbited by a sparse asteroid belt and a single rocky planet with four moons.
Rigel-C is a G3-V main sequence star orbiting twelve billion kilometres from the primary with seven planets and a substantial asteroid belt, all of which are within two billion kilometres. The two innermost worlds have high gravity, dense atmospheres and searing surface temperatures. Four of the others are gas giants with a total of seventy-two moons between them while the seventh planet is a tiny rocky world, airless and freezing. The homeworld of the Rigellian Empire, which is known officially as Rigel Prime to distinguish it from the entire star system but is generally referred to simply as Rigel, is the third moon of the first gas giant. As this means the Rigellian race evolved on the third moon of the third planet of the third star, it is no surprise that the number three has assumed great significance in Rigellian mythology. Even in the modern era the numeral is still considered lucky and old traditions linger on; for example a family without at least three children is considered incomplete. The Rigellian homeworld has gravity of 1.0G and a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere of 1.00 atm with 0.20 atm of oxygen. The average surface temperature is 15.9C. Rigel Prime is tide-locked to Rigel-C III, orbiting once every three days at a distance of 532,000 kilometers. As the gas giant is over 150,000 kilometres in diameter it fills a considerable portion of the Rigellian sky for the facing hemisphere. Nine other moons orbit Rigel-C III so the combination of those moons, the proximity of the huge gas giant and the four stars in the system results in a constantly changing backdrop to Rigellian life that has inspired artists and poets since ancient times.
Rigel-D is of spectral class G4-V and is almost identical to Rigel-C in terms of mass and luminosity. However, it orbits at 840 billion kilometers so the two stars could not be more different from the perspective of the Rigellians. It is only since the unification of the Rigellian race, four centuries ago (PN: two centuries Solarian Standard Time), that the star has been accepted as being an integral part of the Rigel system. Rigel-D has three rocky planets, two gas giants and a superjovian, all orbiting within 700 million kilometres, plus a dense asteroid belt. One of the rocky planets, Rigel-D I, has the same hellish conditions as Rigel-C I and Rigel-C II. Collectively these three planets are known as Jigoku worlds, after a place of fire and damnation in Rigellian mythology. The other two rocky planets in the Rigel-D system are twin worlds, each approximately 5000 kilometres in diameter and orbiting each other at a distance of just 27,500 kilometers. Neither is suitable for habitation though as they lack atmospheres and the surface temperatures are below -100C. The three gas giants have twenty-five moons between them. In total, the large asteroid belts orbiting Rigel-C and Rigel-D plus the small belt orbiting Rigel-B, have more than six hundred asteroids between them that are worthy of surveying as potential mining sites.
With Rigel-C and especially Rigel-D at considerable distances from the system primary, at first glance the Rigel system could be viewed as difficult to effectively explore, which would restrict Rigellian expansion. However, armed with the knowledge gained from the recent breakthrough into trans-dimensional physics, Rigellian scientists believe that points of weakness in space-time will exist within the orbits of super-jovians, or particularly massive gas giants, approximately sixty degrees behind the location of the planets in question. These areas of weakness, known as Masaki Points, after the scientist that first theorised their existence, should allow future Rigellian spacecraft to jump from one to another. Five Masaki Points are believed to exist, including one in the orbit of Rigel-C III less than one hundred million kilometres from Rigel Prime. One of the remaining four, located in the orbit of Rigel-A VII, is effectively useless as it is more than a hundred billion kilometres from the closest planet. The other three theorised Masaki points are believed to lie in the orbits of Rigel-A IV, Rigel-C VII and Rigel-D V. While there is no Masaki Point near Rigel-B, that solar system is the least important and also is within two billion kilometers of the Masaki Point in the same orbit as Rigel-A IV.
Rigellian Calendar (This section from Oxford University Press)
This section is included here after the astrographical background to allow the reader to understand the basis for the calendar. The Rigellian homeworld orbits Rigel-C III every three (Solarian) days. Rigel-C III orbits its parent star every 181 days and Rigel-C orbits the primary every 451 (Solarian) years. These astronomical facts form the foundation of the Rigellian calendar.
The basic unit of time is the Cycle, based on the orbit of the Rigellian homeworld around Rigel-C III. Lighting conditions on the surface of Rigel Prime do not follow the same day-night sequence as a planet in a more conventional orbit. The hemisphere facing away from the gas giant has a relatively even period of sunlight and darkness based on its facing relative to Rigel-C. The hemisphere that constantly faces Rigel-C III has a period of darkness when it passes between Rigel-C and the gas giant then a second period of darkness during ’daytime’ when the gas giant blocks the sunlight. In addition, both hemispheres are affected by the positions of Rigel-A and Rigel-B, which both contribute ‘sunlight’, and by solar eclipses caused by the nine other moons of Rigel-C III. This variety of light sources and light blockers means each Cycle is different and the pattern has not repeated within recorded Rigellian history.
A Rigellian Year is comprised of sixty cycles divided into three seasons of twenty cycles each. Once every three Rigellian years the final season is twenty-one cycles, with the extra cycle being a time of festivals and celebrations with their origins in several different religions. The Rigellian calendar also has a Great Year, comprising 910 Rigellian Years, based on the orbit of Rigel-C around the primary star. To aid the reader, all Rigellian dates in this chronicle have been converted to a format that will be more familiar to a Solarian audience. Dates will follow the Solarian format and years will be based on the unification of the Rigellian home world, with the unification taking place in year 1. The discovery of Trans-Newtonian physics, known to the Rigellian Empire as Trans-Dimensional physics, took place at the start of year 200. At that point the Empire began converting its conventional industry to the new technology.
Ranks of the Imperial Rigellian Navy (in descending order)
High Swordsman
Swordsman of Many Stars
Swordsman of Stars
Swordsman of Worlds
Swordsman
Samurai
Chronicle of the Rigellian Empire - Chapter 1
The breakthrough into Trans-Dimensional Physics occurred early in Y200. Emperor Jimmu directed his administrators, scientists and military leaders to concentrate their efforts on converting existing industry and researching new technology that would improve economic, construction and production capabilities. Against the advice of his military, the Emperor decided to postpone the construction of any spacecraft until the Empire’s general level of technology was increased, although he did allow the construction and expansion of shipyards alongside the industrial expansion.
It required more than eight years to convert all the Rigellian industry to trans-dimensional technology. At the end of that time, the Rigellian industrial base included eight hundred construction factories, six hundred mines, four hundred fuel refineries and two hundred ordnance factories, although for the moment there was no ordnance to build. During the same period, six shipyards and two additional research facilities had also been constructed. Research and development finally moved on to ship-based systems and in October Y209, the first two Rigellian spacecraft were launched – a pair of Kobyashi Maru class freighters. Emperor Jimmu had maintained his view that technology should be significantly upgraded before any ship designs were finalised, which meant designs based on nuclear thermal or nuclear pulse engine technology had been passed over in favour of waiting for the superior ion drive technology. A third Kobyashi was constructed several months later.
Kobyashi Maru class Freighter 41,700 tons 195 Crew 754.2 BP TCS 834 TH 1800 EM 0
2158 km/s Armour 1-107 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 11 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15
Commercial Ion Drive (6) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 20.9 billion km (112 days at full power)
Almost a year later, in August Y210, three Kamakuta Maru class colony ships were launched. They were based on very similar technology to the freighters, except for the replacement of the cargo hold with cryogenic transport modules and the addition of a passive EM sensor. The colony ships were used to establish a colony on Rigel-A II, with the necessary infrastructure was transported by the freighters. The planet was inhospitable, with a surface temperature of 154C and no atmosphere. However, it provided a Rigellian presence in the Rigel-A solar system and gave the Empire valuable experience in the setting up of off-world colonies. The hostile environment of Rigel-A II raised the question of terraforming, which lead to a new research project to develop ship-based terraforming systems.
Kamakuta Maru class Colony Ship 29,100 tons 242 Crew 1192 BP TCS 582 TH 1800 EM 0
3092 km/s Armour 1-84 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 26 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Cryogenic Berths 50000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15
Commercial Ion Drive (6) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 25.0 billion km (93 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami EM-8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
A month later, the first non-commercial vessels were launched from the Kazuyoshi Marine orbital shipyard. Fuji and Yashima were both 8000 ton geological survey vessels, designed for long-term deployment in deep space. Within the previous three years Rigellian scientists had made a breakthrough into jump point theory, building on the knowledge gained from the Masaki Points. The newly theorised Jump Points were areas of space-time even weaker than the Masaki Points and would allow jumps across interstellar space, although in this case pairs of jump points in different star system were directly linked, making them less flexible than their in-system equivalents. In addition, a special ‘jump drive’ would be needed to open the jump points for transit. Development teams transformed this theoretical knowledge into a working drive and the Fuji class became the first ‘jump-capable’ Rigellian design.
Fuji class Geological Survey Vessel 8,000 tons 207 Crew 1185.75 BP TCS 160 TH 450 EM 0
2812 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/4 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.7 Years MSP 926 AFR 51% IFR 0.7% 1YR 36 5YR 537 Max Repair 128 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 60 months Spare Berths 1
Mitsuharu Syndicate MJD-80 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 8000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-225E Ion Drive (2) Power 225 Fuel Use 25.57% Signature 225 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 88.0 billion km (362 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami MM-30 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 4320 Range 31.5m km Resolution 120
Muso-Murakami EM-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Geological Survey Sensors (4) 4 Survey Points Per Hour
What lay beyond the Rigel system was a matter for energetic debate. Some Rigellian scientists (and the senior members of the remaining Rigellian religions) believed that Rigel was home to the only sentient species in the universe, while other scientists shared varying degrees of concern regarding the possibility of technologically advanced and potentially hostile aliens. The former group saw no point in wasting time and resources on militarising space while the latter strongly believed that building warships that never saw action was infinitely preferable to the Empire finding itself defenceless against an alien invasion force.
With Rigel facing significant population growth, due to the long-standing tradition of large families and the lack of the war and disease that had restricted such growth in the past, Emperor Jimmu wished to concentrate resources on expansion and the founding of colonies in other star systems. He was not entirely without sympathy for the more militaristic faction (who preferred to be known as the realistic faction), so while he did not authorise the development of weapon systems for the Fuji class, he did order the class to be equipped with a capable sensor suite so that it could detect any signs of alien life and report back to the homeworld. He also instructed Rigellian scientists to develop more military-related systems so that warships could be quickly developed if the need arose. Additional military shipyards were built and expanded with the same philosophy in mind.
Another new class was launched in September Y210 – the Nenryo Habesuta class Fuel Harvester. The Nenryo Habesuta was built in anticipation of the Fuji class finding gaseous Sorium in the atmosphere of gas giants and superjovians. Once a source of Sorium was located, the harvester would be sent to orbit the planet in question in order to extract and refine the Sorium into fuel. This was by far the largest Rigellian design to date and benefitted from the large commercial shipyard that was built within the first few years after the discovery of trans-dimensional physics and had been expanded ever since.
Nenryo Habesuta class Fuel Harvester 116,250 tons 537 Crew 2150 BP TCS 2325 TH 1500 EM 0
645 km/s Armour 1-212 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 12 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Fuel Harvester: 40 modules producing 1280000 litres per annum
Commercial Ion Drive (5) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,500,000 Litres Range 37.5 billion km (673 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami EM-8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
The decision to build the Nenryo Habesuta class was vindicated by the discovery in October Y210 of twenty million tons of accessibility 0.8 Sorium in the atmosphere of Rigel-A III. Two months later, 390,000 tons of accessibility 1.0 Sorium was discovered in the atmosphere of Rigel-C VI. While the latter planet was harder to reach and had far less Sorium, the higher accessibility was the deciding factor in making Rigel-C VI the destination of Rigellian fuel harvesters for the foreseeable future. By the end of September Y211, the addition of Asahi, Hatsuse and Shikishima meant that five Fuji class vessels were in operation. Unfortunately, with the exception of the two Sorium discoveries, the results of their geological survey of the Rigel system were very disappointing. Significant quantities of minerals were found on the innermost two planets of Rigel-C but at minimal accessibility. Several asteroids did have higher accessibility deposits but in very limited quantities. It was obvious to the Emperor and his advisors that the future needs of Rigellian industry could not be met without mining colonies in other star systems.
Rigel-C I Mineral Survey
Duranium 163,081,800 Acc: 0.1
Neutronium 540,225 Acc: 0.2
Corbomite 396,900 Acc: 0.4
Tritanium 13,505,630 Acc: 0.1
Boronide 63,680,400 Acc: 0.1
Mercassium 22,325,620 Acc: 0.1
Vendarite 41,024,020 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 6,890,625 Acc: 0.1
In January 2011, the first Jeneshisu class Terraformer was launched from the Yasuda Orbital Shipyard. Its initial task would be to create an atmosphere of anti-greenhouse gas for Rigel-A II in order to dramatically lower the temperature. Alone, it would need decades to carry out such an endeavour so additional terraformers would be constructed. The population on Rigel-A II was growing rapidly, primarily because a civilian corporation, Kasai Shipping Lines, was offering passage to the new colony and using the proceeds to transport infrastructure to the planet. Despite the inhospitable conditions there were sufficient would-be settlers to make this a successful business model.
Jeneshisu class Terraformer 61,750 tons 310 Crew 1589.2 BP TCS 1235 TH 1200 EM 0
971 km/s Armour 1-139 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 16 Max Repair 500 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Terraformer: 2 module(s) producing 0.0024 atm per annum
Commercial Ion Drive (4) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 14.1 billion km (168 days at full power)
The process of finding mining sites outside the Rigel system began on October 27th Y211 with the launching of Kashima, the first gravitational survey vessel. The Kashima class was based on the Fuji design but had twenty percent more hull space dedicated to engines at the expense of survey sensors and fuel. As the Kashima would spend more time travelling between survey locations and less time actually surveying than the Fuji, this was believed to be an acceptable trade-off. Time would tell if the reduced endurance would prove to be an issue. The Kashima also had a more capable active sensor as a result of improvement in overall sensor technology.
Kashima class Gravitational Survey Vessel 8,000 tons 206 Crew 1100.5 BP TCS 160 TH 540 EM 0
3375 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/3/0 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.54 Years MSP 860 AFR 51% IFR 0.7% 1YR 35 5YR 521 Max Repair 128 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 60 months Spare Berths 0
Mitsuharu Syndicate MJD-80 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 8000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-180E Ion Drive (3) Power 180 Fuel Use 27.28% Signature 180 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres Range 61.9 billion km (212 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami MM-42 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 5760 Range 42.1m km Resolution 120
Muso-Murakami EM-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
The first jump point was discovered in June Y212. As Kashima was needed to continue the survey of the Rigel system, the geological survey ships Fuji and Yashima were assigned the task of exploring whatever lay beyond the jump point. Fuji, under the command of Swordsman Terakado Kiyonaga (PN: Rigellian names have the family name first followed by the given name), carried out the first interstellar transit in Rigellian history on June 22nd Y212. The ship appeared an instant later eight hundred million kilometers from an orange K8-V star with five planets, none of which were habitable. The system was named Tokyo. Yashima transited and held position at the jump point while Fuji moved in-system to carry out a geological survey and check for any sign of an alien presence. Tokyo proved to be another disappointment, with extremely limited mineral resources.
A second jump point was discovered on July 10th Y212. The geological survey ships Asahi and Shikishima carried out the probe and discovered Osaka, a much more promising system with a G5-V primary and eight planets, two of which had nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres and acceptable gravity. Osaka IV had an atmosphere of 0.20 atm with 0.03 atm of oxygen and a surface temperature of -44C. Osaka V had a breathable atmosphere of 0.43 atm but the surface temperature was -100C. The mineral survey yielded vast quantities of accessible Duranium and one huge deposit of accessible Corundium which would ensure the Empire had sufficient supplies of those two minerals for decades, perhaps centuries. Equally large deposits were found of several other minerals, although these were at minimal accessibility and spread between different locations.
Osaka III Mineral Survey
Duranium 45,277,130 Acc: 0.9
Neutronium 19,829,210 Acc: 0.1
Tritanium 9,678,321 Acc: 0.2
Corundium 22,061,810 Acc: 0.9
Gallicite 3,721 Acc: 0.1
Osaka IV Mineral Survey
Duranium 66,355,200 Acc: 0.8
Corbomite 26,625,600 Acc: 0.1
Boronide 24,206,400 Acc: 0.4
Uridium 9,000,000 Acc: 0.3
Osaka V Mineral Survey
Duranium 82,355,780 Acc: 0.9
Sorium 37,711,880 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 16,016,000 Acc: 0.1
Corundium 26,071,240 Acc: 0.1
Katori, the second Kashima class, and Mikasa, the sixth and final Fuji class, were launched on October 22nd Y212. Katori joined the ongoing survey of the Rigel system and soon thereafter discovered two new jump points, leading to the systems of Yokohama and Nagoya. Yokohama was a planetless white dwarf system while Nagoya had a yellow-white F3-V primary and seven planets, none of which was close to habitable. The innermost planet was colony cost 2.00 but had no atmosphere and a surface temperature of 72C, making it a poor candidate for potential terraforming. No further jump points were found in Rigel and the gravitational survey of the system was completed in February Y213. After a brief overhaul, Kashima and Katori moved into Osaka, the best of the four systems connected to Rigel, to begin a new survey.
In April Y213 Kashima found the first jump point in Osaka. Mikasa carried out the transit and entered Kyoto, a system with two rocky planets and a single gas giant, none of which yielded any significant mineral deposits. Three months later Mikasa entered a second jump point, this time with considerably more interesting results. The new system was named Kawasaki and, like Rigel, was comprised of four stars. The primary was a blinding white A0-V, orbited by an orange K0-V at two point seven billion kilometres and a yellow G6-V at nine billion kilometres. The G-class star had a planetless white dwarf companion at less than four hundred million kilometres. Two planets, orbiting the K-class and G-class stars, had thin nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres and surface temperatures close to the habitable range for Rigellians, making them good terraforming candidates. Three additional bodies, all of which lacked an atmosphere, were colony cost 2.00. In total, Kawasaki had ten planets, almost fifty moons and more than a hundred asteroids. Unfortunately, there were no Masaki points in the system, which meant the distant solar system of the G-class would have to be reached by normal means. Of far more interest than Kawasaki’s astrographical idiosyncrasies was the pair of wrecked alien spacecraft.
The first wreck was 16,300 tons and located near a gas giant in orbit of the K-class star. The second was 8,250 tons was in orbit of the second planet of the G-class star, one of the two nitrogen-oxygen worlds in Kawasaki. Swordsman Takemago Katsumi, commanding officer of Mikasa, immediately ordered his ship out of the system to raise the alarm. Three other ships were in Osaka; the gravitational survey ships Kashima and Katori and the geological survey vessel Shikishima. Swordsman Takemago contacted Swordsman of Worlds Nagumo Rintaro on the Kashima, the senior office in the system, and provided a report on the wrecks in Kawasaki. Swordsman of Worlds Nagumo ordered Takemago to hold his ship ten million kilometres from the Kawasaki jump point with her active sensors engaged, providing warning of any alien pursuit, then ordered Shikishima to head for Rigel to warn the Emperor. For the moment, Kashima and Katori continued their search for additional jump points
The arrival of Shikishima triggered near panic at the Imperial Palace. No Rigellian warships had even been designed, let alone constructed, and now Mikasa had provided not only firm evidence for the existence of sentient alien life, but also evidence that a battle had taken place just two transits from Rigel. The Emperor demanded that a battle fleet be constructed immediately. His military advisors warned that many of the technical systems required for new warships were not available due to the decision to concentrate on economic expansion. In addition, Duranium production was not keeping pace with demand and no stockpile was available. However, there was some good news in that much of the background technologies that would support military development were available and military shipyards had been constructed and expanded. In the meantime, Shikishima was ordered to hold position ten million kilometres from the Rigel – Osaka jump points, providing a second picket line in case anything unfortunate happened to Mikasa. The Emperor forbade any more jump point exploration until sufficient warships were available to cover the operation, although gravitational surveys of the known systems would continue.
By the end of October Y213, new systems had been developed and the design of the first Rigellian warship, the Kongo class battlecruiser, had been finalised. Retooling began at the Kazuyoshi Marine orbital shipyard, which had built the Fuji class survey ships, Unfortunately, the retooling process alone would take six months so the first Kongo would not even be laid down until April Y214. To speed up the overall process, all of the primary components for the new class would be built in factories while the retooling process was underway. Beginning missile production was much faster so the new ships would have a ready stockpile of ordnance by the time they were completed. Kazuyoshi Marine was the second largest military shipyard, with three slipways of 15,000 ton capacity. An even larger military shipyard was available but was reserved for a larger class that was still in the concept stage. Two smaller military shipyards, both with three slipways of 9000 tons, would be used for escorts and energy-armed warships once a number of planned research projects were completed.
Meanwhile, life in the Rigellian Empire continued. The gravitational survey of Osaka was completed in November Y213. One additional jump point was discovered, although not explored due to the Emperor’s moratorium. Work on commercial designs, such as freighters and colony ships, was winding down with the emphasis changing to warship production. However, a few ships were still under construction, including a new freighter design with double the capacity of the original Kobyashi Maru and a variant of that design that included a jump engine. The first jump freighter was launched at the end of Y213. As there had been no sign of aliens entering Osaka from Kawasaki in the previous six months and Mikasa was still picketing the Kawasaki jump point, the Emperor gave permission to begin limited exploitation of the Osaka system. The jump freighter was stationed on the Rigel – Osaka jump point to provide an escort for transiting ships, which allowed an expedition of freighters and colony ships to establish a small colony on Osaka IV. While it did not have the best mineral deposits in the system, it did possess large quantities of accessible Duranium and was the most hospitable of the potential colony sites. As very few automated mines were available, a colony with lesser minerals but good terraforming potential appeared to be a better long-term prospect.
Kobyashi Maru - Mod 1 class Freighter 82,500 tons 350 Crew 1379.8 BP TCS 1650 TH 3600 EM 0
2181 km/s Armour 1-168 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 10 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Cargo 50000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15
Commercial Ion Drive (12) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres Range 17.6 billion km (93 days at full power)
Kobyashi Maru - Mod J2 class Jump Freighter 82,500 tons 439 Crew 1942.8 BP TCS 1650 TH 3600 EM 0
2181 km/s JR 2-25(C) Armour 1-168 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 15 Max Repair 227 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 1
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15
Mitsuharu Syndicate JD-820 Commercial Jump Drive Max Ship Size 82500 tons Distance 25k km Squadron Size 2
Commercial Ion Drive (12) Power 300 Fuel Use 6.19% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 3,250,000 Litres Range 114.5 billion km (607 days at full power)
Muso-Murakami MM-15 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 2240 Range 15.1m km Resolution 140
Muso-Murakami TH-6 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Muso-Murakami EM-8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
Kongo, Kirishima and Haruna, the first three Kongo class battlecruisers, were launched from the Kazuyoshi Marine Shipyard in early September Y214. Because all of their major components were pre-built, their construction took less than four months, requiring little more than creating a framework within which to assemble those components. The Kongo class was uncompromisingly designed as a long-range missile combatant, intended to target enemy warships beyond the range at which they could respond. Recent advances in sensor technology allowed the creation of sensors and fire controls with a range of one hundred and fifty million kilometers without being prohibitively large. The Kongo could carry one hundred and sixty-eight Meteor anti-ship missiles and launch them in salvos of twelve. Three more Kongos were laid down and once again most of their components were already available so their construction time would only be a few months.
Kongo class Battlecruiser 15,000 tons 372 Crew 2184.72 BP TCS 300 TH 1200 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 5-54 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/33/0/0 Damage Control Rating 7 PPV 60
Maint Life 2.41 Years MSP 637 AFR 257% IFR 3.6% 1YR 150 5YR 2256 Max Repair 126 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 840
Sakurai Drive Systems SDS-240 Ion Drive (5) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 800,000 Litres Range 17.1 billion km (49 days at full power)
Tamuro-Soga Heavy Industries Dragon-5 Missile Launch System (12) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 40
Nagumo Engineering FC-150 Missile Fire Control (2) Range 151.8m km Resolution 120
ASM-1 Meteor Anti-ship Missile (168) Speed: 24,000 km/s Range: 140.1m km WH: 9 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Nagumo Engineering AS-150 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 15120 Range 151.8m km Resolution 120
Muso-Murakami EM-33 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 33 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 33m km