Fifth Year of the Diaspora Project, Zeroth Year of the Exodus

Zeroth Year After the Battle of the Sol System

The Far Strider’s central computer noted the detonation of fusion warheads in the Sol system and made a mark in its sensor record. Now almost half a light hour from the combat, everything its sensors could see had happened long enough ago that there was nothing the Far Strider’s central computer could do about it.

Far Strider’s sensors kept their silent witness, and its central computer kept a faithful record of the last stand of the Terran United Countries Void Guard.

“Admiral, Communications. TUCVG Amur reports loss of primary thrusters, continuing engagement”

“Admiral, Guns. Total mass driver ammunition is at five zero percent.”

“Admiral, CIC. TUCMS Krasnyy Molot and the siberian space elevator have been destroyed.”

“Admiral, Tracking. TUCVG Nile is dead in space, passing to CIC for analysis.”

“Admiral, Communications. TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù reports three eight times Charlie Sierra Sierra dash Xray dash Five Five missiles deployed and awaiting final release from Earth Command.”

“Admiral, CIC. TUCVG Nile took a hit to her bridge, estimate as combat ineffective due to total loss of command structure.”

“Admiral, Communication. TUCVG Amur reports as drifting out of control due to mass driver recoil. Her commander is requesting help from nearby tugs to stabilize his ship.”

“Admiral, Tracking. TUCVG Lena and TUCVG Mekong have collided. Passing to CIC for analysis. Alert! Hostile ships are shifting formation! Looks like they are maneuvering to shield injured ships.”

“Admiral, CIC. TUCVG Lena and TUCVG Mekong evaded into each other. Looks like a combination of combat damage and helm errors. Multiple hostile mass driver rounds are inbound in their projected course. Estimate that they will not be able to disentangle themselves before impact.”

“Admiral, Communications. TUCMS The Heavens Falling reports Four Zero times Lima Golf Mike dash Six Zero Seven Bravo missiles deployed and awaiting final release from Earth Command.”

“Admiral, CIC. Earth Command Actual confirms release of all missiles and their special weapons payloads to TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù and TUCMS The Heavens Falling.”

“Admiral, Engineering. Hull breach at deck two zero is patched, restoring atmosphere to sickbay at this time.”

“Admiral, Tracking. TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù and TUCMS The Heavens Falling have salvoed ICBMs and are returning to the space elevators to reload.”

“Admiral, Guns. Shifting fire patterns to avoid hitting friendly ICBMs.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. Scopes partially restored. We have eyes again! Foe missiles detected! Estimate eight eight incoming! Time to impact three satav!

“Weapons, switch meteor cannons to submunition projectiles and target those missiles. We can not afford more hits like the last ones.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. By your will.”

“Cryer, relay a Proclamation for all Scout Destroyers without screens at this time. They are to prioritize shooting down incoming missiles above firing at foe ships!”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Cryer. Transmitting proclamation now.”

“Shipkeeper, what is the status of our screen generators?”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Shipkeeper. Screen generators are non operational. Damage survey indicates they are not repairable out of onboard resources. I’ve got blown power relays, dead control units, and liquified heat sinks.”

“Understood Shipkeeper. Do what you can.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Shipkeeper. By your will.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Submunition projectiles highly effective against foe missiles. Estimate all foe missiles destroyed.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. I confirm all foe missiles shot down.”

“Steersman, continue to close the range and roll ship against incoming meteor cannon projectiles. I want what’s left of our screens to take the impacts.

“Ottolu’Liekki, Steersman. By your will.”

“Cryer, Proclamation for the Worldshaper Support Squadron. They are to drop back from the formation, then hide behind the fourth planet from the system’s primary star, using its mass and gravity as a screen against meteor cannon projectiles and missiles. Scout Destroyer Eight is to go with them as a close escort.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Cryer. By your word.”

“Weapons, if you’ve run out of missiles to swat from the void, crush the foe T-AE ships.

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. By your will.”

“Admiral, CIC. TUCMS The Heavens Falling just took a glancing hit amidships and is de-orbiting. She reports having enough thruster capacity to avoid the north american space elevator, but not enough to stay in orbit. TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù is changing orbits to use the north american space elevator in her stead. She reports that the pan-asian countries have depleted their stockpile of special weapons payloads.”

“Communications, get on the link to TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù. Order her to stockpile the ICBMs in low orbit instead of firing them immediately. We are going to need larger salvos to get through their new point defense scheme.”

“Admiral, Communications. Wilco.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Confirm kill on foe T-AE two. Targeting T-AE three now. Meteor cannon projectile count is down to five zero percent of maximum capacity.”

“Weapons, acknowledged.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. Foe T-AE 3 had deployed missiles. Passing locations and vectors to Weapons for prosecution.”

“Scopes, Weapons. Data received. Shifting targeting priorities. Selecting cluster submunition projectiles.”

“Admiral, Tracking. Hostile mass driver rounds inbound on the stockpiled ICBMs.”

“Tracking, time to impact?”

“Admiral, Tracking. Twenty two minutes.”

“Communications, get me Earth Command Actual. I need the firing codes for those ICBMs, and I need them now. We are in a use them or lose them scenario.”

“Admiral, Communications. Aye aye sir.”

“Admiral, Tracking. TUCVG Mississippi and TUCVG Dönitz have taken hits. Estimate both ships are now drifting hulks.”

Admiral Supesu gripped the shock frame of his command chair. It was a race against time. The TUCVG stood a chance if he could get the ICBMs launched before the incoming mass driver rounds wiped them out. The mass drivers were dealing heavy damage the the un-shielded hostile ships, but were about as useful as soft boiled eggs against a stone wall when they hit hostile shields. The ICBMs, much as he hated the idea of using them, had proved to be the only weapon he had that could knock down those shields.

“Admiral, Tracking. TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù just took three hits and is breaking up. It appears that the north american space elevator has been damaged by debris, possibly by an over penetrating mass driver round. Estimate north american space elevator as disabled at this time.”

“Admiral, Communications. ICBM launch authorization codes are in a secure file on your number three display. They require your DNA signature to unlock.”

Admiral Supesu cracked the seal on the gauntlet of his space suit. It was technically against regs to unseal the suit during combat, but the same could be said of putting that file on the TUMVG Isoroku’s datanet. Given the time limits he was working under, Admiral Supesu decided he would deal with the repercussions later. His hand went into the DNA reader, the six needles pricked his fingers and palm just hard enough to draw blood, and the file unlocked.

“CIC, spin up a dedicated secure communications link. Recipients are the Lima Golf Mike dash Six Zero Seven Bravo and Sierra Sierra dash Xray dash Three Five missiles sitting in earth orbit. Purpose is transmission of final release authorization and firing codes. I have to input the codes manually, so put the secure link on my number two display as soon as you have it.”

“Admiral, CIC. Wilco.”

Admiral Supesu pulled his gauntlet back on and hoped there was enough time left.

There would have been enough time had the Viimeinen’Lavia’Verta fired standard meteor cannon projectiles. The cluster submunition projectiles were only a few kilometers per second squared faster due to their reduced weight, but even a very small acceleration advantage over a long enough period of time amounts to a noticeable difference in velocity.

The edge of the cluster submunition projectile’s scatter pattern clipped the trailing ends of the ICMB missiles as the began to accelerate. A tiny handful escaped unscathed and continued on to attack the Empire flotilla. Some of the ICBMs twisted onto corkscrew vectors that took them through the dwindling TUCVG fleet and out of the battlespace to sail endlessly in the places between solar systems. A small handful slammed directly into TUCVG ships or large pieces of debris, activating their backup impact fuses. The resultant plasma blast fronts tore the TUCVG Isoroku and all of her fellow TUCVG ships apart.

Only three ICBMs were spun far enough around by impacts to point at Earth. Hastily retrofitted to not require targeting coordinates, as their global positioning systems did not work in space, they hit terminal velocity and obediently deployed their warheads. With only fifteen warheads per missile, and each warhead having a blast equivalent to ‘only’ three hundred and fifty thousand tons of TNT, the effects were devisating but localized. One warhead hit the Yellowstone Caldera, triggering a minor volcanic eruption (as far a super volcanoes are concerned) that sprayed ash high into the atmosphere. It was this ash that was the ruin of the defense of Earth, as it severed all laser-based light-speed communications links across the planet. Unable to coordinate any further defensive efforts, Earth Command was left helpless in the face of the enemy.

“Ottolu’Liekki, BIC. Particle-merger detonations have eliminated all effective opposition in this system. For the record, all particle-merger detonations, even those detected amidst foe formations and on the foe world, originated from missiles launched by the foe. This has been confirmed by sensor tracks from all surviving Empire ships. Heavy foe ground resistance is expected on the third world form this system’s primary star. Environmental conditions on the surface of that world are unknown, but expected to be extremely hazardous to any ground troops landed by this Scout-Clamant Flotilla.”

Ottolu’Liekki Vanha’Verta rested his head in his graspers and tried not to crumble. Of the seventy three ships that he had set out from the Corownworld with, only thirteen remained. His own ship, CL Viinein’Laiva’Elossa, no longer FTL capable, given her damaged state. Scout Destroyer Eight remained FTL capable, but that was all she was good for. All three of the other surviving Scout Destroyers were heavily damaged and would require extensive work by a repair ship before they could make it back to a shipyard. Of the transport and support ships, only the eight ships of the Worldshaper Support Squadron were intact, and all of them had suffered at least some damage.

Ottolu’Liekki Vanha’Verta raised his head, speaking slowly and clearly for the record, “Battle Information Center, confirm the status of the troop transports attached to this Scout-Clamant Flotilla.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, BIC. Null troop transports are part of the Scout-Clamant Flotilla at this time. They did not survive contact with the foe.”

“Battle Information Center, do you confirm that we do not possess enough surviving ground combat power to successfully prosecute a ground campaign on the third world form the primary star of this system at this time.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, BIC. BIC confirms that this Scout-Clamant Flotilla does not possess enough ground combat strength to successfully prosecute any ground or boarding operations against the foe in this system.”

Battle Information Center, given the foe’s indiscriminate use of particle-merger weaponry which the Empire classifies as World Breaker Weapons, do you confirm for the record that the standards set forth in the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat have been met?”

“Ottolu’Liekki Ensimmainen’Vanha’Verta, Battle Information Center. I confirm that the standards set forth in the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat have been met and exceeded.”

“Weapons, given the foe’s indiscriminate use of particle-merger weaponry which the Empire classifies as World Breaker Weapons, do you confirm for the record that the standards set forth in the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat have been met?”

“Ottolu’Liekki Ensimmainen’Vanha’Verta, Weapons. I confirm that the standards set forth in the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat have been met and exceeded.”

“Weapons, prepare for terminal bombardment against the third world from the primary star of this system and any remaining inhabited stations or colonies in this system in accordance with the Maail'Man'Loppu Diktat.”

“Ottolu’Liekki Ensimmainen’Vanha’Verta, Weapons. I will comply with your porclamation. Beginning terminal bombardment calculations at this time.”

The central computer of the Far Strider stopped attempting to monitor the events transpiring behind its thruster wash in the Sol system. Not out of any human want or desire, but simply because those events were beyond the range of its sensors. It calculated that it would take a total of three years of acceleration to get to its maximum sustainable velocity of 0.05 times the speed of light.

All three billion of is passengers rested peacefully in cryosleep, all but one totally oblivious to anything having gone wrong.