Legacy Station Xinjab Prime, Saisei Sector March 4th 2258 “My son the diplomat, who could have ever believed it” said the Lord Marshall semi-sarcastically as he walked down the ramp of his shuttle. “You mean, our son the diplomat” said Iakia Blair as she walked down next to her husband. “Mom, Dad what a wonderful surprise! I’m glad to see you!” said the Sky Marshall as he walked toward his parents, giving his mother and hug and exchange a very serious salute with his father. The Lord Marshall preferred if his son kept it strictly professional in front of his men. The reason was something about respect and strength or some such that Mrs. Blair didn’t agree with. “Lord Marshall, this is General Trix Asha of the Inixil Federation and this is General Grixxel of the Xinjab” said the Sky Marshall politely introducing his new companions. “It is a pleasure to meet you Lord Marshall. Your son has told us much about you” said General Asha with a bow. “Yes…it is an honor…to meet the…progenitor…of our...resurrection..” said General Grixxel. His speech had gotten a little better since they were offered medical treatment and upgrades by the Ashqa engineers in the expedition but the long-term damage to their organic components couldn’t be easily reversed. Thus all of the legacy units were still defective in some form, but still very much alive. “Well it is an honor to meet you both. My son’s discoveries of your two people’s have caused much talk back home. I think that this discovery may soon come to rival my victories in battle” said the Lord Marshall with a bit of contempt in his voice. He still wasn’t a 100% proud of his son’s choice to be a diplomat instead of a warrior but it was his choice to make. A choice that with that way things were going in the Imperium, might benefit it in the long-run or so he hoped. “Yes I do hope that they will. However gentlemen there will be a time and a place for that. Right now, I would like to speak with my parents privately. I haven’t seen them in close to six years and would like to catch up with them. If you don’t mind” responded the Sky Marshall rather politely. “Of course Sky Marshall” said the two generals politely. They saluted and went off back to their duties while the Blair’s headed to the Sky Marshall’s quarters for dinner. Back in the SM quarters, Mrs. Blair did the typical mother thing, exclaiming her joy and all her son’s accomplishments and showing all the emotions that she had to keep in check when in front of the SM’s men. After getting that out of her system, the three sat down and began to talk about how things were going back home and out here on the fringe. Mrs. Blair was extremely happy that her son had taken this assignment for surely he would have been involved in the VT war back home. The Lord Marshall however was more interested in the status of the projects that his son had convinced him to spend billions of credits on and the relationship between the Inixil, Xinjab and the Imperium. “Well Dad, all the information on the Xinjab and Inixil has been in my reports. The Xinjab are extremely loyal inspectiods. They would do just about anything for us. They’ve constantly been open and very very adamant about rebuilding their civilization. When we unleash the Phoenix next week I’m sure they will be very enthused with the results that their loyalties have brought.” The Lord Marshall shook his head in agreement. For all his disagreements with this son’s “play nice with everyone” policy, he had to admire his commitment to the key values of the Imperium. It was becoming more evident to him that these could be achieved and shown through other means aside from violence. “You know, I’m extremely impressed with how you’ve handled that situation. Slowly growing their trust and making this our little bastion of strength out here on the fringe of space. But do you really think that the Inixil can be trusted to respect it?” said the Lord Marshall very plainly. “Well, I don’t know yet. It’s too soon to tell. From what the SMS has gathered on them, they’re a couple notches down from us technologically speaking. But in numbers I could imagine them being a threat. I know that resources are stretched because of the war, but we could do for some more ships to… keep the peace, so to speak. Construction at the Legacy shipyards are slow going because of the lack of raw materials but I think that the Inixil might be able to help with that.” “I see, your reports stated that you would be able to mine more of the planet once you got the Phoenix up and running. Plus giving you more materials to trade with the Inixil will most certainly bolster your ability to defend yourselves against them or any others out here.” “Oh you boys and your constant talk of battle and mistrust…”interrupted Mrs. Blair rather rudely. “I’m sorry Mom, we shall save the talk of war for another time… let’s enjoy a nice quiet family dinner…” said the SM looking over at his father. The Lord Marshall nodded conceding the point. He knew his wife wanted to spend time with their son without something work related coming up and thus he would give her this night. He was almost certain that the next few days would be very busy with the unveiling of the Phoenix Project.
NIS Aphrodite Xinjab Prime, Seisei Sector March 14th, 2259 “Lord Marshall, all systems report to go. We can commence whenever you are ready” stated Sky Captain Bryme. He had been given command of the Aphrodite at his request as a reward for his work with the Xinjab. The Aphrodite was an Athena class support cruiser built in the Seisei shipyard for the Phoenix Project. The Aphrodite had been specially modified with terraforming equipment instead of the normal fleet support. These modifications would allow for much faster operations than ground based terraforming equipment. Experiments had also determined that atmospheric detonation would yield much better dispersal patterns than their ground based equivalents. The construction of the Aphrodite followed the findings of early experiments. The Aphrodite’s carried orbital dispersion equipment which allowed for it to dump resurrection particles in the atmosphere. The Aphrodite’s was also equipped with particle dispersion missiles which were designed to quickly dissipate radiation and other harmful particles in the atmosphere. The Asqha engineers had been slightly apposed to this modification since the same thing could have been accomplished more effectively with a ground based array. However, to satisfy their military backers, they decided to go along with the idea. With a lot of patience and hard work the Asqha had managed to modify the ships systems to accommodate the project. And now, it would be time to see their work come to fruition. The Lord Marshall shook his head in disagreement. “No sir, this isn’t my command. I’m just here to observe. The honor goes to my son, the military governor of this sector.” The Sky Marshall was rather shocked but tried not to let it show. He smiled and nodded toward his father before stepping forward toward the viewscreen. “Captain, you may begin at once. Let us fulfill our promise that we have made to our friends.” “Aye sir!” said Bryme with a smile. “Fire particle dispersion missiles!” The ship rocked slightly as the forward missile tubes shot out 2 dozen particular dispersion missiles which sailed quickly across the night sky toward their destinations. “10 seconds till detonation …5….3…2…1…detonation….” reported the tactical officer with a bit of enthusiasm in his voice. The crew watched as several dozen green explosions filled the night sky. The light was a reaction between the particles dispersed in the missiles and particles collected in the atmosphere. The Ashqa had noted the extreme violent reaction that would be created by the two particles and had suggested that the surface be evacuated to Legacy Base where the shielding was much better. Scans from the base provided that this was a wise precaution because the shielding on the surface habitats may not have been enough to protect the inhabitants from the shift in particle density. After an hour or so of particle shift, the levels began to stabilize as the harmful particles were absorbed by the dispersed particles. The whole reaction process was very complicated and not something that anyone outside the science team understood. All the Sky Marshall knew was that after the particle shift was over, it was safe for the Aphrodite to continue with the second part of the operation. At Bryme’s command, the ship moved into orbit and began to dump the resurrection particles into the atmosphere. Cleaned of the harmful radiation, the RPs were able to take hold in the atmosphere and began to breathe life back into the planet. As the ship moved over its various waypoints, the ground base terraformers began to react with the RPs. The reaction was similar to the one done by standard terraforming methods except exponentially faster. What would normally take years to complete was done in a matter of hours. The science crews watched their instruments in amazement as the readings were off the charts. They had never seen anything like it before. As with most experiments, the simulations paled in comparison to actual results. A mood of jubilation overtook the crew as they excitedly continued their results. A day later after things had normalized, small teams were sent down to confirm the readings. After a few days of study and observation, the planet was deemed habitual without hardsuits or the need to stay within the shielded compound. For the first time in 500 years, a person walked on the surface of Xinjab Prime without a hard suit. General Grixxel was for the first time in a long time, truly happy. The sense of accomplishment in the expedition was truly great. The celebration that followed rivaled those given following great military victories. For those involved, this felt much more filling than winning a battle as they had created something that they would be long lasting. After the speeches and presentations, the various members of the expedition retreated back to their quarters. General Grixxel had joined the LM and SM at their request. “SM Blair…I wish to thank you…for all of your…hard work… and dedication to my…people…we thank you…” said Grixxel, extremely emotional at the whole situation. The SM nodded. “You are very welcome; I told you that we would do this for you. However, the restoration of Xinjab Prime was the first step. Soon we will restore the other planets in this system. However, that will take some time. Building infrastructure and other support systems does take a while. But all that is useless unless there are people to live there an inhabit them.” Grixxel looked at Blair with depression in his eyes. He knew that this people were mostly gone and those that still remained weren’t exactly keen on retaking their old homes. Those that remained were cybernetic warriors, not normal Xinjab capable of reproduction. The SM could sense the sadness in the general. He had spent enough time with him to read his body language. “General, you misunderstand me. We have the technology to bring life back to your world in more ways than one.” The SM watched as the general’s eye perked up. “We have the ability to reconstitute your race through cloning. We have learned enough about your race to successfully begin the process. By the time all the construction is completed and your worlds are ready to be recolonized, there will be thousands of your people ready to join the Imperium Citizens settling these worlds.” The general’s eyes flared a little more as the thought of his people being repopulating the new worlds. “Yes, that would be most acceptable…but still… we would in a similar situation….like our brothers in the Malan…no???” The SM averted his gaze to his father who stepped forward. “No, in the Malan Coalition, your people are treated as second class citizens. In the Imperium you would all be considered equals among us.” The SM grumbled a little bit. He knew that that wasn’t exactly the case. The Novans were more apart of the Imperium than the Xinjab were and they were still treated as second-class citizens. The SM also knew that if the Xinjab didn’t pull their weight, his father would have them… dealt with. Something that, he hoped wouldn’t happen. For all his talk of progressiveness, his father was still a Remen at heart. And old ways were hard to change. But for the sake of the General’s spirit, he decided to go along with the ploy with the confidence that the General would live up to his commitments to the Imperium. “I have already authorized the resources to continue the rebuilding of Xinjab Prime into its former glory. With the success of the Phoenix Project, I will make sure that my son is given everything he needs to continue with his commitments to you and your people. All the worlds within this sector will be brought back to life, on that, you have my word” spoke the Lord Marshall patting the General on the shoulder. A semi-forced smile left the SM’s face as he looked at his father. Either he was up to something or his father had really turned over a new leaf. He had the latter but wouldn’t be surprised by the former. After a little more ideal chat, the group dispersed to get some rest after a very eventful day.
Victory! Last week Imperium High Command announced that the war with the Varass'tahg is over. After a decisive victory over the VT forces on the edge of the Maries System, the VT have decided to accept the Imperium's terms of surrender. As of November 25th 2259, Imperium forces will begin to oversee the final withdrawal of VT units from the Rafa Sector. Command expects that all VT forces should be withdrawn by March of next year. Several provisional governments are being setup in locations that were once ruled by the VT. Arrangements are being made to allow for the smooth transfer of power. The Lord Marshall has expressed great joy and the success of the operation. "While the costs of victory were high, the overall benefits easily outweigh them. The Imperium has learned a lot in this first expedition outside of our space. We have learned our strengths and how to utilize them successfully. However more importantly, we have learned that we have deficiency in certain areas. These issues will be addressed over time to make the Imperium a stronger power!" INN sources have also revealed that the Imperium fleets are being reorganized into new battle groups following the aftermath of the war. These new battle fleets will be redeployed to protect existing and newly claimed Imperium territories. These territories include the still to be integrated Rafa Sector territories and the still building Xinjab territories. Command has also made noises about signing the Victory Station Defense Accords and plans to deploy a Battle Group to join the stations defenses. While some of these changes are still controversial, all of them are steps that a growing power such as the Imperium will need to take if they wish to expand their galactic footprint. The INN will continue to follow these stories as they continue to trend across the net. Stayed tuned for additional details.
Imperium High Command Nova Prime, Nova Sector November 8th 2259 Sky Marshall Renolds looked over the report in front of him. It was a detailed combat report regarding the capabilities of the Imperium’s fleet during the war. The report was broken down into various sections for discussion with the various Fleet Officials. The first section was related to the Imperium Missile Doctrine. Missile Doctrine The report had found that Imperium missile doctrine had been rather effective against pirate and mercenary forces that lacked solid fleet coordination. The heavy missile barrages however proved ineffective against VT forces because of their solid PDAs. Hit percentage dropped from 70% to about 60% when engaging VT forces. The advent of the disrupter missile has aided in hit percentage raising the overall accuracy of Imperium CapX missile strikes to about 75%. The effectiveness of the CapX once a target was hit was undeniable. The fusion warheads quite easily ripped through most soft targets like frigates and corvettes. Destroyers and above took several more hits but still didn’t standup to much damage. The problem didn’t lie with the ordnance used but the left of the battles. Battles during the war tended to last several hours to a few days of running strikes. Even with the new smaller CapX missiles, escort class vessels only had about 5 reloads before they were out of missiles. And with close to half of the ships armaments devoted to missile storage and launchers, the Imperium escorts were often under-gunned when engaging in close combat, something that the VT had chosen to exploit. The Broadsword Class Assault Destroyer was originally designed with this in mind. However despite the Broadsword’s heavy armament, the Whitestar Class Destroyer, while originally developed as a scout, had more success at close range due to its more powerful and plentiful beam armament. It was found that the Broadsword was better served as a light bombardment ship as opposed to close in support destroyer. These revelations lead to the next section of the report, Close Combat. Close Combat The Gladius Class Assault Destroyer and Scythe Class Combat Cruiser were both designed to address Imperium’s weakness in close combat. Up until their encounter with the VT, Imperium Command had figured that the Broadswords and Snub Craft could keep the enemy at bay. However the speed of VT craft quickly closed the distance and got into the middle of Imperium formations. This proved problematic for the Imperium carriers as the majority of the carrier’s firepower was devoted to point defense against missiles, and not against close range attack by warships. Unfortunately, the war ended before these new ships could see combat. But combat scenarios have shown that the new classes do have some new merit. Implanting the new ships in close combat roles throughout the fleets will add to protection and give commanders new flexibility. Fleet Breakdown The fleet scale battles between battle groups and task forces of the Imperium Fleet’s and VT have shown the need for fleet reorganization. Up until the last year of the war, command had held anything smaller than a destroyer back in reserve. Stealth Corvettes weren’t deployed in active combat and only used as scouts. Command didn’t see the value in deploying these ships in combat. However, with the failures in missile doctrine and the need for more screening ships, command finally began to deploy corvettes and frigates into battle groups. Analysis of VT fleet doctrine shows that use of corvettes and frigates have saved many capital ships and the less expendable destroyers from destruction. Their speed and maneuverability make them ideal as anti-fighter and anti-missile platforms. The Mace Class Escort Corvette has proven to be a very useful weapon against pirates. They are expected to join main fleet lines along side main combatants next year. When used in numbers, these ships are expected to make great supporting elements when used along side the bigger destroyers in the task force. In terms of heavy vessels, the Kratos Class Heavy Cruisers and Righteous Fury Class Battleships have proven to be indispensible in combat. The Heavy Cruisers have provided much needed close in support for Imperium Carriers. More of these vessels are expected to join Imperium fleets as cruiser class vessels become more and more important to Imperium formation. The Righteous Fury Class Battleship however has proven to be the most important fleet asset available. The RFCB has shown the ability to support a number of operational types. Their snub craft allow them to operate as carriers and their firepower offered them the ability to go toe-to-toe with other enemy capital ships. In many engagements they had been the saving grace. It is the recommendation of this report is that the RFCB should be at the center of their own task forces with the Hammer of Justice in support. It is also suggested that the deployment of Dreadnoughts become standard in Imperium Fleets. The VT use of the Battle Dreadnought brought much pain on the smaller Imperium ships. While Imperium battleships could often go toe-to-toe with them when used in numbers, this isn’t ideal or always possible. This is due to the small number of Imperium Capital ships available. It is the suggestion of this report that an accelerated program to build battleships and dreadnoughts be accelerated, along with the expansion of escort ships of all classes. This is to give fleet support a more well-rounded fighting ability and increase their overall lethality. We believe that following these suggestions will be key to the next phase of Imperium Fleet development. End Report
Imperium High Command Nova Prime, Nova Sector November 10th 2259 “So gentlemen we are all in agreement that we will do our best to implement these new fleet recommendations?” finished Sky Marshall Renolds. “Yes, I think that would make the most sense. However I do think we need more tactical flexibility in here with more light cruisers. Especially for the RFBGs.” added Sky Marshall Santos. “I can agree with that. The order for the new Scythe Class Cruisers is expected to be filled in 2261. However until then we will be forced to rely on the Daggers for close-in support.” “Yes, but it should also be noted that the Daggers have held up well in combat. It was only when dealing with the VT combat cruisers did we learn of their weaknesses… Remember they were created for their C&C abilities not necessarily their combat prowess.” Sky Marshall Renold’s nodded, “This is true, thus why these wars should be treated as… painful learning experiences. In any event, I feel confident that these new ships will allow for a better rounded fleet.” “Agreed, so the next question about the fleet is deployments” stated Santos switching the slide on his datapad. “Yes, as you know, the Lord Marshall has agreed to deploy forces to Victory Station in addition to our other commitments” said Renolds as he overlooked the room. “The humans have agreed provided we sign the Sentient Rights Provision and the Victory Station Accords.” The room grumbled, “Do they seriously think we are some sort of barbarians or something?” interjected Sky Marshall Reed. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s mostly a formality. They will be far too busy to care what we do. They’re sending all their ships to fight the Sorensians. They’re just happy to reinforce the station. Not that it needs it…” said Renolds. Santos shook his head, “You’re right, Victory Station is a trade hub, nothing more. The Sorensians tried attacking it before and failed. No reason to think they’d try that again.” “So why are we sending one of our battle groups there again?” questioned Reed. “Because it’s a PR move, nothing more, nothing less” finished Renolds. “Alright, well, I suppose that makes sense.” “Yes, and when we finish the Hyperspace Relay Network, we will be able to increase our ships patrol efficiency by 15-20% if not more when coupled with other technologies” said Santos rather excitedly. “Meaning we can do more with less and can survive with smaller fleets than the other major star powers.” “But that doesn’t mean fleet expansion will stop. The war set us back a couple years in ship production, but soon we will have new shipyards online. In the better part of 5 years, we should be able to completely replace our losses.” “If things continue on their present trajectory we could see our national profile expand greatly in the next decade. And little moves like this Victory Station one will certainly pay dividends” said Renolds with a smile. The other SM’s nodded in the affirmative. They could see the logic in the plan. Not that they really agreed with it. But they knew that the SMS were watching so they played along.
A New Beginning With the completion of terraforming operations on Xinjab Prime, construction crews can now begin the great task of rebuilding cities for the colonist. While most of the cities suffered heavy damage during the bombardment, there are several sections which can be saved and renovated. These sections will be the heart of the new cities and serve as the basis for construction of the rest. General Grixxel has authorized the destruction of large parts of cities that cannot be saved. He gave this comment to the expeditionary command. “While I wish to see…our people’s hard work….preserved…I must face the reality that… Our time is over… While our people maybe gone…their spirit lives on… we will not forget the past… but we won’t let it stop our future…” From a historical standpoint, the sections of the cities that can be saved will serve as a sort of memorial to the once great species. The rest will be destroyed and rebuilt in the name of future progress. While this has appeared to sadden some of the Xinjab warriors, they have slowly come to understand the realities of their situation. They continue to embrace it and help everyone move forward toward a brighter tomorrow. Upon hearing of the revival of their species by the Imperium, several thousand Xinjab descendants have decided to make their way to the Seisei Sector from the various drifter colonies they had established in other regions. Like wise, members of the Inixil Star League have also volunteered to come and be apart of the expedition. They will join the Xinjab in creation of this new wonderful planet. On a more technical note, expedition command has decided to experiment with cloning Xinjab to help repopulate the planet. The Department of Science and Technology gave this statement, “While the Imperium is no stranger to cloning troops for battle, this is a semi-radical departure from that reasoning. Expeditionary Command has requested our assistance in repopulating the Seisei Sector. Using colonist and means of natural reproduction it could take several generations for the Xinjab to become a viable species again. Through our current plan, the process could be cut in half, thus allowing the sector to begin to thrive quicker than it would have other wise.” While there are some opponents to this move, the majority of Imperium Citizens seem to be behind this move. Sky Marshall Blair himself wants to see the Xinjab thrive again as well. Given the rather long life spans of both Imperium Citizens and the Xinjab, it is entirely possible that this could be done within their lifetimes. Should this be a successful project, it will show that Imperium science and technology can be used for other things besides war. This is something that the Sky Marshall himself has been eager to prove and so far has been rather successful. Stay with INN as we bring you additional updates regarding the expedition in the Seisei Sector.
