Aurora IV - Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Emu!

[blue emu]

While our search for minerals has been frustrating and largely fruitless, we have had much more success in our quest for rocket fuel. Three of the gas giants in the Struve 2398 system have tested positive for atmospheric Sorium concentrations... one containing 82,800 tons, one 270,000 tons, and one 106,446,800 tons, all three at 100% concentration!

Once we develop these resources with orbital fuel refineries, we should have enough fuel to last us for hundreds of years.

Edit: In pursuit of this goal, we are retooling our 110,000-ton civilian shipyard for Orbital Fuel Refineries, and have laid down our first Atlas Tug.

 

[blue emu]

Known Space, December 1939.

The red rings indicate systems where the search for jump points is not yet complete. Note that at least three systems (Kuiper 75, Luhman 16 and Wolf 359) connect only to Sol or to each other... we seem to have a nice little corner of the galaxy all to ourselves.

Seem to. There is such a thing as "dormant" jump points, which are only visible from one end. So it's possible that a back-door exists into one of those three systems, or even into Sol itself.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Diary of Kapitän zur See von Mollendorf:

The "Planck" returned from Struve for a short vacation at home, where the crew was welcomed as heroes. Government, Scientists, Managers were all delighted with their findings, although for different reasons. Anyway, the gas giants examined in Struve obviously contain so much resources, that the Imperial Navy won`t run out of fuel for centuries. Literally. Unfortunately the Navy won`t get that big considering the lack of minerals to build ships. Fortunately, on the other hand, we have the Universe for ourselves anyway.

 

[blue emu]

SMR Hahn under Kapitan zur See Noco has located a jump point connecting Luyten 726-8 to Lacaille 8760. The new system contains two Mars-like worlds, both with thin Nitrogen / Oxygen atmospheres. Both are excellent terraforming candidates.

The two above-mentioned star systems are connected by a jump gate.

He is now heading inward to check the worlds for minerals... or inhabitants.

EDIT: The innermost of the two Nitrogen / Oxygen worlds contains no minerals... but it does hold the ruins of what appears to be an alien outpost! Could the owners still be around?

 

[blue emu]

SMR Mach under Kapitan zur See TheExecuter has located a jump point connecting 82 Eridani to HIP 9786. The new system contains what appears to be a large wrecked alien ship!

It also contains three colonizable worlds, several gas giants, 151 assorted moons and 60 asteroids.

Does it contain inhabitants, though?

 

[Noco19]

First Uranus, now first contact? I'm moving on up.

 

[blue emu]

... first contact?

First evidence of extraterrestrial life, anyway. So far, no sign of whoever built that outpost...

 

[Noco19]

I come in peace and for the Fatherland!

 

[blue emu]

Oooops...

SMR Mach under TheExecuter, in the newly discovered HIP 9786 system, is being painted by an active sensor!

The sensor is coming from a point far from any planet, so it presumably represents a warship. It has a range of nearly 200 million km, which dwarfs any ship-borne sensor of ours... and since it was switched on when the SMR Mach was still 110 million km distant and observing EMCON (ie: active sensor and transponder turned off), the aliens must have equally powerful passive sensors.

TheExecuter is now running down-range at full speed, intending to duck into a nearby Lagrange point and see if he can shake off the (presumably hostile) contact.

EDIT: Unfortunately, the unknown craft has at least three times the speed of the SMR Mach, so it should be able to catch us quite easily before TheExecuter has a chance to duck through the Lagrange point.

 

[blue emu]

Three hours and thirty-eight minutes after first contact, SMR Mach was hit by a salvo of at least nine strength-17 nuclear missiles. Many of the crew were killed in the explosions, and TheExecuter and the surviving crew took to the life-pods. None of our ships is close enough to attempt a rescue, even if the hostile aliens were not a factor.

The enemy was roughly 40 million km away at the moment of impact. Assuming a missile speed of 35,000 kps (just a guess, consistent with their sensor and warhead advantage), it must have taken about 20 minutes for the missiles to run out to range, and they were fired when the opponent had closed to about 43 million km away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, these clowns out-tech us by a HUGE margin. Strength-17 warheads? Picking us up on passives (during EMCON!) at over 100 million km?

I think we'll need to kill these dudes from outside their own firing range... which means not until we have effective Carrier forces and Battle Management Vessels.

 

[blue emu]

Kommodore Hyme in SMR Einstein has found a jump connection between Struve 2398 and the new system of Altair. The Altair system looks promising... nearly a dozen planets and over 100 moons, spread across a huge star system nearly 80 billion km across... but Hyme is short of fuel and consumables, so he is ordered to return to Earth for overhaul.

In other news, our first two Orbital Fuel Refineries have been laid down.

 

[KaiserBeer]

Oberst Henning's private letter to his wife:

Dear Helga, finally the question if we are alone in the universe has been answered. One of our spaceships travelling through one of the many solar systems we've recently discovered was the victim of an attack. Preliminary reports indicated casualties. The army should be put on high alert and the reformed units are probably going to mobilize - it's a normal procedure and you should not be alarmed. In a certain way, it's ironic: my grandfather fought the austrians in bohemia and the french in alsace. My father fought the Entente and the russians and I will probably be fighting an alien lifeform. If God gives each country a challenge according to it's greatness, as my father always said, we've certainly overachieved.

Miss you, Hen

 

[hyme]

Kommodore Hyme in SMR Einstein has found a jump connection between Struve 2398 and the new system of Altair. The Altair system looks promising... nearly a dozen planets and over 100 moons, spread across a huge star system nearly 80 billion km across... but Hyme is short of fuel and consumables, so he is ordered to return to Earth for overhaul.

In other news, our first two Orbital Fuel Refineries have been laid down.

What are the stats on the orbital fuel refineries?

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Diary of Kapitän zur See von Mollendorf:

Just returned from the Memorial Service to honor Kapitän and crew of "SMR Mach", which was lost a few hours after reporting an Alien contact. Although there is no evidence, it is probable that all 121 people aboard the ship are now dead.

These are the first victims in our just and peaceful task to bring German culture to the Universe. Some people are shocked to realize, that there are other lifeforms out there. Not me, though. What strikes me as odd is the fact, that they don`t recognize our intellectual and even more so moral superiority and have to compensate their inferiority with barbaric violence.

Right now, their Technology might be better than ours. But the Alliance between the Emperor and the Almighty will eventually bring our enemies to their knees. Amen.

 

[DragonOfAtlantis]

Journal entry 2, date xx:xx:19xx

--The entire entry has been deleted for profanity--

Bernd "Dragon of Atlantis" Vorholz

 

[TheExecuter]

RIP

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

RIP

You died for the Vaterland. What more can one possibly expect from life? Besides a proper widow`s pension, that is.

 

[hyme]

RIP

Hopefully, you have an heir to avenge you.

 

[blue emu]

What are the stats on the orbital fuel refineries?

109,950 tons
40 fuel refining modules
produces 1,600,000 liters per year at current tech
5,000,000 liters capacity
1 station-keeping thruster for 90 km/sec delta-v

Hopefully, you have an heir to avenge you.

Indeed. We have two exploration ships available, plus the usual assortment of freighters, colony ships, PDCs, planetary governors, scientists, surface geologists, xenologists, space marines... and soon a Tug.

 

[blue emu]

Since we encountered these aliens in the HIP 9786 system, we will call them "The Hippies" and set their naming conventions to a Hippy theme.

They even LOOK like Hippies!

Spoiler: Meanwhile, on board the Battlecruiser Reefer Madness...

On the bridge of the Battlecruiser Reefer Madness, Admiral Moon Unit Zappa scowled slightly and peevishly remarked "Hey, peeps... those German dudes just, like... flew right through our wormhole! That's not cool!"

His second in command, Commander Karma Wells, shook her head slowly and replied "Oh, wow, man... that's heavy. Should we, like... do something?"

The Admiral turned to his Gunnery Officer, Leaf Greene, and growled "Just get rid of them!"

Later that same day:

Kapitan zur See TheExecuter has been captured by the Hippies!
(along with the surviving 73 crew members)

We wouldn't know about this, in-game... but if an outpost exists in that system, maybe we can recapture him later!

In other news... we seem to have stumbled across some sort of interstellar freeway!

The yellow lines are jump gates connecting star systems. We didn't build any of them... we don't yet have a Gate Construction Vessel. Are we intruding into somebody else's space? No sign of them yet...