Sol System,
SLE station 1, (Formerly Pluto)
Port Elysium
Jan 2nd 2321
“I hope you enjoyed your new years gentlemen, but there is no rest for the wicked.”
The briefing room was filled with brass. Captains, XOs, the command staff of half a dozen statesmen class starships, marine support units, and embarked combat wings. The stadium seating and closely packed seats made it look more like a classroom than a high-security room deep inside of one of the American Union’s most important facilities.
The woman standing up front was 175 cm tall, looked to be in her late 20s, maybe early 30s, with short reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. She clearly had some curves on under her suit jacket and pants, though from her rather hard gaze and powerful voice it was clear that she wasn’t just there to be eye-candy. The heavy lanyard she had on was showing off dozens of access keycards and badges indicating just how well connected someone like her must be. Being pulled behind her was a rolling suitcase, over-filled with binders, documents, and electronics.
“The incoming administration has already signaled it will approve a fat operating budget increase for ISOC, that means the war against the Magnetic Assembly will go into full swing after the inauguration.
You gentlemen will form the first wave.
As you know, our ships don’t have the range to reach the Hawking System AND fight a battle against the Assembly. We will need to recapture and repair the SLE in the Atlantica system before we can take the fight to them.
Your battlegroup will arrive in system through use of both the Pluto SLE and support from an FTL ship being hired out from the Kingdom of Vice and Virtue. Once in system you will proceed to Atlantica Proper to secure the infrastructure around the planet and the support of the local government.
It will be two weeks before further reinforcements will arrive, but time is on our side here. The Magnetic Assembly can not match our numbers. The long trip to Atlantica will even things out a bit, but we expect that their side will exhaust long before ours does. While in-system you will have operational authority but we recommend not engaging their forces unless you have at least a three to one advantage in numbers. Rest assured that those numbers will be marching through the Pluto SLE as fast as we can send them.
Now do you have any questions about the overall strategy here or can we move onto the specific intelligence we have regarding the Assembly and Atlantica?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Colonel Dick Richardson, Captain of the Huey Long, said, raising his hand. “Now, aah’m sorry if aah step on yur toes, in all, but do we know fur sure that we can outnumber the Assembly’s forces? From muh reading, they do a lot of modifying of civilian ships to fill out their fleet.”
There was a clear look of exasperation that washed over the woman’s face as she heard the man speak, “By the Charging Bull’s COCK do they not teach you how to speak at Johnson Space Center?” Her voice making her objection to his tone quite RIDGID. She was looking right at him, that exasperation quickly being formed into a burning anger as if it was a tungsten lance being dropped from orbit “It doesn’t matter if the Assembly has 20,000 ships. They can only send a small number at a time through their SLE into Atlantica. For each of their warships that go through the SLE we will be sending a Statesman. We’re both have the same limitations in numbers because of the SLE… however we have hired a fold-ship from the Kingdom of Vice and Virtue. They will be bringing additional supplies that will allow us to bring additional Statesman in right at the start. Furthermore: We have shipyards around Earth, Jupiter, Mars, and New Texas producing ships with the full backing of the American Union’s military-industrial complex. The Magnetic Assembly only has their facility on Rotislav. When it comes to the homefront we outmass them greatly. We can be certain they will run out of ships to send before we do.”
Dick looked like he was chewing on a lemon, but managed to say, “Yes, ma’am,” without letting his annoyance get the better of him.
Baron Roberto Virtù stood in his black, white and gold captains uniform watching over the briefing his pair of guards and his fox eared assistant standing behind him and to his sides. He listened but didn’t say anything and nodded internally that the deal was being adhered too.
“If there are no other questions about overall strategy...” She said, pressing a button against the wall to bring up a projection of the Atlantica system. “The Magnetic Assembly’s forces have been focused around the system’s SLE. That whole place is a wreck, and it looks like their strategy has been to hold onto the SLE’s remains so that we can’t rebuild it. They are probably hoping we’ve lost the will to fight. We will be inserting from the other side of the system, far away from their forces. This will give you time to assess the situation and decide how to react. Communication with Atlantica proper has been spotty at best, but you should have a clear shot from your entry point to the planet. We will be giving you broad authority to take whatever action you see fit once you arrive in orbit. The Foldship on loan from the KVV will be heading back as soon as it finishes dropping you off and restocking your supplies.”
Their hostess would wait for a moment, and seeing that there were no questions she would continue.
“The Magnetic Assembly is largely using S4 series ships. These things are basically civilian freighters Descent acceleration and range. Unarmored, but lots of redundant systems. On approach the main guns of a statesman, or even the point defense systems, should be able to shred these things once you get within range. We’ve seen them outfit these ships with containerized weapon systems. Typically that means missiles and lasers. They will have the advantage in missile number, and they will have the advantage in range with their laser systems. You have your own missiles and point defenses to deal with their missiles. We’ve also put another meter of silica aerogel armor on your ships to help with the lasers. The thick armor of a Statesman should be more than enough to keep your ship functional while it gets into gun range.
It is important to note that we’ve been reviewing the results of the battle with the 6th fleet. They lost an entire ship to do electronic warfare and your ships have been outfitted with additional E-war systems for protection against electronic system intrusion. You’ve got Cyber-experts onboard so don’t ignore them if they have something to say.
Finally, your onboard marine compliments don’t have heavy gear like tanks or mecha to back them up. If you need that you’ll have to procure them on-site on atlantica. Our boys know how to drive M-216 Paxton Tanks, so don’t expect them to know how to drive an Atlantica AM-120 Berger Tank on their first day planetside.”
“These marine attachments, are they familiar with Atlantica’s terrain and do we have a plan once we can secure landings for them?” Horace asks.
The Baron looked at the battle map and both understood it yet it was a very alien concept to him. He had arbitrated many vendettas but none were on a scale like this. There was little rhyme or reason to this form of fighting, just throwing ships at eachother like children in a mudpit. Then again what should he expect from these barbarians. He was professional enough to not let his emotions leak onto his face though the fox eared assistant did take a step back and away from her master.
“These are New Texas’ Finest, pulled from local marine groups. They aren’t familiar with Atlantica’s Terrain but they have plenty of experience from a high gravity deathworld. Your individual Marine Group commanders are responsible for telling you what they’ll need when they are on the surface. These men are all motivated type-As so expect them to want to be self-sufficient. Despite being driven, remember that they are still light infantry, meaning they aren’t bringing their own tanks or other heavy gear. They’ll need support from above in a real fight.” She said, pausing for a moment before pivoting to talk about their intelligence on the Magnetic Assembly, “The Assembly doesn’t have ground forces on Atlantica as far as we can tell. At least, not officially. If they had something like tanks then the local government would have spotted them already, and we’ve got nothing to indicate that they snuck heavy equipment to the planet before the war. The Magnetic Assembly did develop naval vessels in cooperation with Atlantica Electromotive before the war, but last we spoke with the local government all of those hulls were accounted for at their naval yard. That leaves the local population, sympathizers, and other troublemakers to deal with when you arrive. Also keep in mind, Heram Wazu kicked off this whole thing, and that man is known to pull off large operations using scraps. Don’t expect a cakewalk here. Dig in your heels and drag it out if you have to. We don’t need a win here but the current administration won’t survive a loss.”
Colonel Richardson nodded, making notes on his datapad, apparently happy to go into a battle of attrition.
“Right then, good luck out there…”
SLE station 1, (Formerly Pluto)
Port Elysium
Jan 2nd 2321
“I hope you enjoyed your new years gentlemen, but there is no rest for the wicked.”
The briefing room was filled with brass. Captains, XOs, the command staff of half a dozen statesmen class starships, marine support units, and embarked combat wings. The stadium seating and closely packed seats made it look more like a classroom than a high-security room deep inside of one of the American Union’s most important facilities.
The woman standing up front was 175 cm tall, looked to be in her late 20s, maybe early 30s, with short reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. She clearly had some curves on under her suit jacket and pants, though from her rather hard gaze and powerful voice it was clear that she wasn’t just there to be eye-candy. The heavy lanyard she had on was showing off dozens of access keycards and badges indicating just how well connected someone like her must be. Being pulled behind her was a rolling suitcase, over-filled with binders, documents, and electronics.
“The incoming administration has already signaled it will approve a fat operating budget increase for ISOC, that means the war against the Magnetic Assembly will go into full swing after the inauguration.
You gentlemen will form the first wave.
As you know, our ships don’t have the range to reach the Hawking System AND fight a battle against the Assembly. We will need to recapture and repair the SLE in the Atlantica system before we can take the fight to them.
Your battlegroup will arrive in system through use of both the Pluto SLE and support from an FTL ship being hired out from the Kingdom of Vice and Virtue. Once in system you will proceed to Atlantica Proper to secure the infrastructure around the planet and the support of the local government.
It will be two weeks before further reinforcements will arrive, but time is on our side here. The Magnetic Assembly can not match our numbers. The long trip to Atlantica will even things out a bit, but we expect that their side will exhaust long before ours does. While in-system you will have operational authority but we recommend not engaging their forces unless you have at least a three to one advantage in numbers. Rest assured that those numbers will be marching through the Pluto SLE as fast as we can send them.
Now do you have any questions about the overall strategy here or can we move onto the specific intelligence we have regarding the Assembly and Atlantica?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Colonel Dick Richardson, Captain of the Huey Long, said, raising his hand. “Now, aah’m sorry if aah step on yur toes, in all, but do we know fur sure that we can outnumber the Assembly’s forces? From muh reading, they do a lot of modifying of civilian ships to fill out their fleet.”
There was a clear look of exasperation that washed over the woman’s face as she heard the man speak, “By the Charging Bull’s COCK do they not teach you how to speak at Johnson Space Center?” Her voice making her objection to his tone quite RIDGID. She was looking right at him, that exasperation quickly being formed into a burning anger as if it was a tungsten lance being dropped from orbit “It doesn’t matter if the Assembly has 20,000 ships. They can only send a small number at a time through their SLE into Atlantica. For each of their warships that go through the SLE we will be sending a Statesman. We’re both have the same limitations in numbers because of the SLE… however we have hired a fold-ship from the Kingdom of Vice and Virtue. They will be bringing additional supplies that will allow us to bring additional Statesman in right at the start. Furthermore: We have shipyards around Earth, Jupiter, Mars, and New Texas producing ships with the full backing of the American Union’s military-industrial complex. The Magnetic Assembly only has their facility on Rotislav. When it comes to the homefront we outmass them greatly. We can be certain they will run out of ships to send before we do.”
Dick looked like he was chewing on a lemon, but managed to say, “Yes, ma’am,” without letting his annoyance get the better of him.
Baron Roberto Virtù stood in his black, white and gold captains uniform watching over the briefing his pair of guards and his fox eared assistant standing behind him and to his sides. He listened but didn’t say anything and nodded internally that the deal was being adhered too.
“If there are no other questions about overall strategy...” She said, pressing a button against the wall to bring up a projection of the Atlantica system. “The Magnetic Assembly’s forces have been focused around the system’s SLE. That whole place is a wreck, and it looks like their strategy has been to hold onto the SLE’s remains so that we can’t rebuild it. They are probably hoping we’ve lost the will to fight. We will be inserting from the other side of the system, far away from their forces. This will give you time to assess the situation and decide how to react. Communication with Atlantica proper has been spotty at best, but you should have a clear shot from your entry point to the planet. We will be giving you broad authority to take whatever action you see fit once you arrive in orbit. The Foldship on loan from the KVV will be heading back as soon as it finishes dropping you off and restocking your supplies.”
Their hostess would wait for a moment, and seeing that there were no questions she would continue.
“The Magnetic Assembly is largely using S4 series ships. These things are basically civilian freighters Descent acceleration and range. Unarmored, but lots of redundant systems. On approach the main guns of a statesman, or even the point defense systems, should be able to shred these things once you get within range. We’ve seen them outfit these ships with containerized weapon systems. Typically that means missiles and lasers. They will have the advantage in missile number, and they will have the advantage in range with their laser systems. You have your own missiles and point defenses to deal with their missiles. We’ve also put another meter of silica aerogel armor on your ships to help with the lasers. The thick armor of a Statesman should be more than enough to keep your ship functional while it gets into gun range.
It is important to note that we’ve been reviewing the results of the battle with the 6th fleet. They lost an entire ship to do electronic warfare and your ships have been outfitted with additional E-war systems for protection against electronic system intrusion. You’ve got Cyber-experts onboard so don’t ignore them if they have something to say.
Finally, your onboard marine compliments don’t have heavy gear like tanks or mecha to back them up. If you need that you’ll have to procure them on-site on atlantica. Our boys know how to drive M-216 Paxton Tanks, so don’t expect them to know how to drive an Atlantica AM-120 Berger Tank on their first day planetside.”
“These marine attachments, are they familiar with Atlantica’s terrain and do we have a plan once we can secure landings for them?” Horace asks.
The Baron looked at the battle map and both understood it yet it was a very alien concept to him. He had arbitrated many vendettas but none were on a scale like this. There was little rhyme or reason to this form of fighting, just throwing ships at eachother like children in a mudpit. Then again what should he expect from these barbarians. He was professional enough to not let his emotions leak onto his face though the fox eared assistant did take a step back and away from her master.
“These are New Texas’ Finest, pulled from local marine groups. They aren’t familiar with Atlantica’s Terrain but they have plenty of experience from a high gravity deathworld. Your individual Marine Group commanders are responsible for telling you what they’ll need when they are on the surface. These men are all motivated type-As so expect them to want to be self-sufficient. Despite being driven, remember that they are still light infantry, meaning they aren’t bringing their own tanks or other heavy gear. They’ll need support from above in a real fight.” She said, pausing for a moment before pivoting to talk about their intelligence on the Magnetic Assembly, “The Assembly doesn’t have ground forces on Atlantica as far as we can tell. At least, not officially. If they had something like tanks then the local government would have spotted them already, and we’ve got nothing to indicate that they snuck heavy equipment to the planet before the war. The Magnetic Assembly did develop naval vessels in cooperation with Atlantica Electromotive before the war, but last we spoke with the local government all of those hulls were accounted for at their naval yard. That leaves the local population, sympathizers, and other troublemakers to deal with when you arrive. Also keep in mind, Heram Wazu kicked off this whole thing, and that man is known to pull off large operations using scraps. Don’t expect a cakewalk here. Dig in your heels and drag it out if you have to. We don’t need a win here but the current administration won’t survive a loss.”
Colonel Richardson nodded, making notes on his datapad, apparently happy to go into a battle of attrition.
“Right then, good luck out there…”