Captain’s Log
Defender Starship Fury CX+ 704
Orbital UTI 2616.02.31 Inclusive
Kraken special forces were engaged by elements of both DSS Fury and DSS Minstrel’s marine security personnel aboard the Proximan listening post at the edge of Rho Theta space. We sustained light casualties but managed to free the station’s personnel from the Kraken occupation and neutralize a nearby enemy spacecraft assisting in their attempts to jam communications with Skywatch headquarters. It is my opinion the enemy mission was an advance intelligence-gathering operation in preparation for a strategic move against systems inside Core space.
Captain Jason Hunter and DSS Argent were last contacted en route to a position near the Omicron 474 supermassive singularity. I have no information as to his mission, but it was clear he was operating under orders. At the time of Argent’s change of course, landing parties led by Commander Annora Doverly, M.D. and Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Moody were underway on two separate planets in the Mycenae Ceti system. Neither myself nor Argent have received definitive word regarding the success of either of those missions as of this date. The status of the president’s daughter, Shea Eileen Baines, cannot be determined at this time.
By order of Captain Jocelyn Vice, Perseus Force Recon has attached to elements of Task Force Nine designated escort for the battleship Constitution, set to arrive in Rho Theta space within the next 36 hours. The remaining deployed elements of Task Force Perseus remain under my nominal command until such time as Admiral Tucker issues appropriate orders to DSS Black Prince.
The mystery surrounding the destruction of the starship Sussex and the subsequent loss of the starship Curacao remains. Despite our best efforts and the heroic work of signals specialists and analysis teams from Rhode Island and Minstrel, we have yet to determine the nature or the identity of the vessel that destroyed a Sarn Invector destroyer minutes before apparently annihilating the Curacao and her crew of 46 officers and men at the edge of Proximan space. To the best of my knowledge, the unidentified vessel is allied with neither the Sarn nor the Kraken.
Admiral Tucker’s intelligence briefing indicates there may be as many as three “world burner” spacecraft deployed somewhere along the Mycenae Ceti frontier. If this is true there can be little doubt as to the Kraken Decarchy’s motives with regard to the Rho Theta system and the border between contested space and the Core Alliance. Admiral Tucker has deployed a wolfpack consisting of the starships Delaware, Connecticut and New Hampshire to pinpoint the invasion force location.
It is my opinion we have perhaps five to seven days before enemy forces move on Task Force Nine’s position in an attempt to capture the Missouri Jump Gate.
Respectfully submitted this date:
CDR Jayce Hunter
Task Force Nine
cc: Admiral Buford Tucker, Captain Jocelyn Vice, Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Islington
“Our reinforcements are six hours overdue.”
Lieutenant Commander Vance Drake recognized the little chill crawling up his neck. He had been watching the threat board in the combat information center of DSS Conquistador for what seemed like days. There was no question the unidentified contacts his formation had encountered were a cause for concern. Every test his specialists could imagine had been run on the cruiser’s sensitive instruments. They were working properly. It was the enemy that was confusing things. It had to be.
After the loss of Captain Santiago and Task Force 92 at Prairie Grove, every ship in Drake’s flotilla knew El Rey was next. As the preferred staging point for any attack against Dante’s Twins or Gitairn space beyond the Bayone system, El Rey represented a key flashpoint in any Skywatch attempt to hold the line against formations seeking to reach the Blackburn or Shasta jump gates.
High Command insisted that Core Space be defended, naturally. Their theory, such as it was, called for fleet and marine units to form battlelines at least one system beyond any gate that could grant enemy forces access to a Core system. This was necessary for two reasons.
Firstly, enemy fleets were dangerous enough to Skywatch vessels and crews. Planets were immense targets, and advanced warships had all manner of weapons that could incinerate civilian populations and structures. The very existence of the strike variant battleships and cruisers in the Skywatch order of battle was evidence of how seriously Skywatch took this capability. Second, disruptions in the operations of home systems were likely to create cascade failures elsewhere. Given enough distance and flexibility, Alliance interconnectedness was an important strength and a key advantage in both maneuverability and combat. It was also described as “less than resilient” by scientists and engineers who should have known better when it was designed. Core communications were a marvel of human accomplishment. They also had a bad habit of going straight to hell if so much as a single satchel charge popped off in the wrong circuit junction.
The problem with a battleline two systems out was exactly the thing Drake had already concluded was too dangerous. His flotilla was quite a bit heavier than Task Force 92, but they still didn’t have the horses to go toe-to-toe with the kinds of ships Captain Santiago reported detecting. And now, with reinforcements overdue–
Drake swiveled in his command chair. “Navigator, how long would it take to return to a safe transmission point for repeater three?”
“Two hours twenty nine minutes at optimal velocity.”
“What if we drop our drive fields and make a run for it?”
“We’ll be much easier to track at longer ranges, captain,” Lieutenant Isaac Ashbourne replied. “There is also the ground station to consider. Captain Henkel’s squad is going to need at least another half-day to repair the defense computers after the missile strike.”
“XO, we’ve got to get a status on those reinforcements. If whatever hit Prairie Grove shows up here unannounced, those defense computers aren’t going to be worth a handful of bent nails.”
The Conquistador’s executive officer got up from his station and stood at the conn, speaking quietly. “Vance, I get it. We’re stuck in God’s little half-acre west of the rock and east of the hard place. But if we deviate too far from our assigned mission its going to put all our future progress in jeopardy.”
“We’ve already lost the Arklow, Ike. Enrique was one of our best skippers. We’re cut off out here. We can’t broadcast without giving away our position. We’re stuck in orbit over a planet that contains nothing of value aside from a twenty-year-old defense grid that wasn’t all that effective when it was new. If an enemy formation pops up out of that dust cloud around El Rey Four or worse, takes out repeater three, we’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
“Twelve hours, sir. That’s all we need.”
“Arklow didn’t have any warning. We do. If I’m going up against a carrier of some kind I want to know where the hell she is and what the hell she’s doing before I put on my swimsuit and recline on a patio chair on the front lawn.”
“You think the Concordant may have been intercepted?”
“A distinct possibility. For all we know repeater three isn’t there any more either.”
“I’ll raise the signals team and see if we can hurry things along.”
“While you’re at it, I want Janice and Steve working on some better deployment recommendations. Right now this formation is six guys standing at a bus stop. One grenade is all it would take. Let’s move.”
“Aye, sir.”