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

Zeroth Year After the Battle of the Sol System

TUCMS Krasnyy Molot, known to her crew as the Red Vodka, wasn’t much to look at. A big engine block and a bridge connected by a narrow spine containing crew quarters and the gravity tractor nodes needed to grab and secure large masses for cargo, she resembled a child’s drawing of a dog’s bone more than that of void-fairing cargo hauler. She had been sitting near the siberian space elevator, awaiting a cargo of cryo-frozen foodstuffs for one of the Diaspora Project shipyards when the Code Omega alert had come in. Now her captain and chief engineer were awaiting a very different cargo.

The missile pallets crawled up the siberian space elevator, still under heavy guard. Hard-suited technicians hung like limpets along the Krasnyy Molot’s spinal section, making tweaks to her massive gravity tractors, attaching quickly fabricated clamps and collars to her hull. Turning the Krasnyy Molot from a cargo carrier to a missile collier.

The Chief engineer squinted at the zoomed in image of the missile pallets on his display, then he swore softly.

“Sukin syn! Captain, are those really…?”

“Da, they are. And we are to place them and send the launch command.”

“This Battle Plan Masada, it really does commit everything. Even the things the Motherland kept locked in the closet and hidden in the cellar.”

“Weapons, arm the missiles. With the foe ships having no screens, we can launch sooner than anticipated.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. By your will. What are the targeting priorities?”

“The FF and DD class foe ships. They are smaller, but without inertialess drives they can not dodge, and without screens they can not survive even glancing hits.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. By your will. Missiles launching, salvo all.”

“Admiral, Tracking. Missile separation! Estimate three six inbound to Earth orbit! Flight time is eight hours. Targets appear to be TUCVG ships.”

“Only thirty six missiles? That is a tiny salvo. Guns, switch mass drivers to point defense mode.”

“Admiral, Guns. Aye Sir.”

“Tracking, any word on Earth Command’s ‘improvised weapons’?”

“Admiral, Tracking. I’ve got missile pallets on the siberian and north american space elevators. Big ones.”

“Tracking, clarify. How big?”

“Admiral, Tracking. Too large for Isoroku’s missile racks. Estimate each missile is four zero meters in length and five meters in diameter. Three missiles per pallet, so weight is approximately three hundred plus tons per missile. There’s a TUCMS cargo hauler, the Krasnyy Molot, at the siberian space elevator loading missiles. She’s loaded eighteen so far, and is only half full.”

“Admiral, Guns. Hostile missiles entering outer point defense perimeter.”

“Acknowledged Guns, engage at your discretion.”

“Admiral, Guns. Wilco.”

“Admiral, Combat information Center. Earth Command indicates that the TUCMS Krasnyy Molot is loading thirty-eight SS-X-35 missiles for orbital launch, complete with special weapons payloads.”

“CIC, confirm your last.”

“Admiral, CIC. Earth Command has confirmed release of three eight times Sierra Sierra dash Xray dash Three Five missiles, complete with special weapons payloads to TUCMS Krasnyy Molot. ”

“Tracking, are the dimension of the missile on the north american space elevator similar to the ones on the siberian space elevator?”

“Admiral, Tracking. Missile dimensions of the missiles on the north american space elevator are similar to missiles on the siberian space elevator. Additional missile pallets detected on the pan-asian space elevator. Missiles on pan-asian space elevator also similar in dimension to missiles on the siberian space elevator. TUCMS The Heavens Falling is loading missiles on the north american space elevator. TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù is moving into position to load missiles at the pan-asian space elevator.”

“Admiral, CIC. Earth Command confirms release of four zero times Lima Golf Mike dash Six Zero Seven Bravo missiles with special weapons payloads to TUCMS The Heavens Falling and release of three eight times Charlie Sierra Sierra dash Xray dash Five Five missiles with special weapons payloads to TUCMS Lóng Zhī Nù.”

“Admiral, Guns. Last incoming missile shot down in the outer pont defense perimeter. Requesting permission to resume offensive fire with mass drivers at this time.”

“Guns, Permission denied. Flush our missile tubes to add to Earth Commands missile strike. Link targeting solutions with nearby TUCVG ships and set up for mass driver time on target salvo attacks in the wake of Earth Command’s missile launch.”

“Admiral, Guns. Wilco. Synchronising missile targeting solutions with TUCVG Lord Keyes and TUCVG Dönitz.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Null effect of missiles on targets. Foe appears to have used meteor cannons firing cluster submunition projectiles as a long-range missile countermeasure.”

“Understood Weapons. Time to effective meteor cannon range?”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Time to effective meteor cannon range is one kymme.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. Foe missile launch! Estimate one one six incoming! Time to impact one kaksi!”

“Ottolu’Liekki, BIC. Re-designating three foe T-AG ships as T-AE plus figures. Highlighting on your displays now. Unknown if the indicated foe ships are controlling the incoming missiles or merely acting as firing platforms. Unable to determine foe missile warhead type: no distinguishable energy signatures detected.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. Second foe missile launch! Estimate two two eight incoming! Time to impact one kaksi! These missiles are smaller than the ones from the first salvo, origin appears to be foe DDs. Estimate foe DDs have salvoed all missiles.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Missile defense active.”

Earth Command, being for all intents and purposes a glorified coast guard operation in space, did not have the funding to build and maintain large orbital defense platforms. It had instead built a total of three ‘flagship’ destroyers (named for wet navy Admirals) and twelve frigates (named for rivers) which were deemed sufficient ships for the purpose of patrolling the Sol system and performing police and rescue operations on an as-needed basis. All fifteen ships were classified as cutters as tradition dictated.

The lack of funding for large ships or fixed defenses did not prevent Earth Command from making contingency plans anyway, including Battle Plan Masada. Under Battle Plan Masada, Earth Command would ask for (and receive) cooperation from all of the countries in the Sol system. In particular, Earth Command was interested in those countries stockpiles of heavy missiles and their corresponding payloads.

Missiles that, in previous ages, were known as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

“Admiral, Guns. Good effect of missiles on target. Requesting permission to engage with mass drivers as previously specified.”

“Guns. Permission granted.”

“Admiral, Guns. Acknowledged. Opening fire.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Shipkeeper. Screen generators one, three, and five offline. Time to repair unknown.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Cryer. Support Squadron Six reporting a mass casualty situation, status combat ineffective. Support Squadron Four is not responding to hails, mass casualty situation presumed, combat effectiveness presumed to be zero. Scout Destroyers Two and Five report status as combat ineffective, mission incapable due to battle damage.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. We are blind due to massive electromagnetic and radiological interference.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Missile silos one, three, five, and seven are disabled. Meteor cannons three, five, and nine offline. Meteor cannons one and seven online under local control.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, BIC. Foe missiles from T-AE ships were particle-merger in nature. Use of Weapons of Extermination by the foe is confirmed for the records. Foe DD missiles were armed with ‘standard’ high-explosive warheads.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Cryer. Scout Destroyers Three and Four reporting total screen failure, combat power unimpeded.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Weapons. Coordinated meteor cannon impacts on remaining screen! Screen failure imminent!”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Shipkeeper. Hull Breached! Multiple hull breaches between frame five zero and frame six two! Atmosphere loss limited to affected spaces.”

“Weapons, return fire on vector of incoming fire!”

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

“Scopes, time until we can see again?”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Scopes. Unknown time until we can see again. Unable to estimate if scopes are only degraded by electromagnetic and radiological effects or are totally non-operational.”

“Ottolu’Liekki, Cryer. Missive from Scout Destroyer Eight. Her status is combat effective. She reports Support Squadrons Four, Five, and Seven are dead in space.”

“Guns, focus your fire on hostile ships that are no longer showing those energy fields. let us knock out who we can while we can.”

“Admiral, Guns. Wilco. Shifting targeting priorities.”

“Admiral, Tracking. Mass driver rounds incoming from hostile ships.”

TUCMS Krasnyy Molot lumbered back from her launch position to her loading position atop the siberian space elevator for another load of missiles. Neither she nor her crew ever saw the meteor cannon shot that killed her.

The one thousand kilogram projectile came in with just shy of one thousand earth gravities of acceleration behind it. It stuck the Krasnyy Molot just behind the bridge and tore along her spine, exiting just below her engines. The severed halves of the wreck tumbled into the top of the serbian space elevator. The entire assembly began a tortuous, fiery descent to the Earth’s surface a hundred kilometers below. SS-X-35 missiles tumbled free from shattered pallets, adding their fiery reentry trails to the shower of debris.

The Luna shipyards took several impacts from misaligned meteor cannons firing down incorrect vectors, but the laws of physics care not for user error. Atmosphere and hydrogen fuel from ruptured storage tanks formed lethal plumes. The main drydock managed to catch two projectiles, but the force transfer tore it from a stable orbit and put it into a death spiral, bound for the lunar surface.

Another cluster of meteor cannon projectiles tore through a gaggle of TUCMS and civilian ships. They were no military threat, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, unable to shift orbits fast enough to get out of the line of fire. The spreading patterns of high-velocity debris tore into the TUCVG Yangtze and TUCVG Amazon. Both ships suffered catastrophic hull breaches, their atmospheres blasting out into the void in a matter of moments.