Push the Boundaries
Axis Empire continues its expansion toward the most distant frontiers. The three Magika exploration fleets, composed of 9 ships in total, have been reinforced with two new exploration vessels that will operate independently. The Council’s vote was clear: it was necessary to invest in finding new resources, deciphering the mysteries of the universe, and bending them to our advantage.
The two new Magika ships will be deployed at the borders: one in Alpha Centauri, where the population can now support ships up to 70,000 tons, and the other in the deep south, beyond 81 Draconis, as soon as the new colony is able to host adequate maintenance facilities. These two exploration ships will be based directly in these new colonies. The other Magika fleets will also be gradually assigned to the most remote frontiers, to the East and to the West.
Total Magika exploration ships: 11 + 7 scout fighters (128,000 tons total)
August 30th, 1962 – Incredible Discovery in WX Ursae Majoris
Captain Moa Berglund, commanding the Magika γ fleet, and her men have just discovered a jump point in Iota Ursae Majoris, on the south-eastern edge of the known maps. Despite limited supplies and scarce fuel, Berglund orders the fleet to make the jump and take a look at the unexplored system.
The sensors immediately reveal a place rich with celestial bodies: more than 60 planets and moons, plus hundreds of asteroids within extraction range. The most interesting planet is Ursae Majoris-A III, barren but with the potential to be colonized.
From Astronomical Command, Commander Orlando Abbitt orders Berglund to scan the planet, search for possible ruins, and return immediately at the base for resupply. Berglund’s eyes shine as the planetary scanner reveals its results. “There are ancient ruins!”
“Go down there immediately and investigate.”
Cadet Sigrid Pommer, aboard the Pathfinder fighter with his 3 crewmembers, dives through orbit and activates the sensors. No enemy ground units are detected. The ruins appear well preserved: a partially intact colony of some unknown civilization.
Magika γ completes the scan and begins its return to Earth. The new ships under construction, or other fellow explorers, will finish the examination of this promising system.
From ground command, Admiral Duce Hirofumi is informed of the important discovery. The immediate deployment of personnel and ground forces is ordered, commanded by Maggiore Marco Skorzeny, a rude soldier but also a Xeno artifacts expert. Transport units with a jump gate ship are sent toward WX Ursae Majoris, carrying around 120,000 tons of troops on board: 70 STO air defense units, 45,000 infantrymen, 25,000 assault and defense vehicles, 10,000 constructors, and 20,000 archaeologists. Arrival is expected during the first months of 1963.
The media of the Axis report the news of the archaeological discovery with fervor and excitement; the hope is to uncover rare alien artifacts and technologies that may provide a major boost to the expansion and defense of the Empire.
September 12th, 1962 – Rats in Luhman 16. Setting traps for raiders
Another sighting of a single Raider ship in Luhman 16, showing the same behavior observed two years earlier. The Raider scout lands on the uninhabited planet. The Karlstad T and Karlstad AM fleets are immediately deployed from Earth, just 1 jump away.
After a few hours, the two ships intercept the enemy contact without difficulty. The Raider attempts to disengage, but fails. During the attack, Warhead-1 missiles are tested first, used as anti-missile weapons but still capable, when launched in mass, of penetrating unshielded and low armor hulls. Shortly afterward, a Warhead-24 is launched from the Karlstad T, striking the enemy ship’s structure and causing it to explode.
Another victory for Lieutenant Yaroslav Makarov, a twenty-five-year-old officer with a promising future: 2 confirmed victories and 21,000 tons of enemy ships destroyed.
A trap!
Given the repeated Raider activity in Luhman 16, it is decided to organize a trap. Instead of ordering the recovery of the wreck, an exploration ship (Magika) is sent to cover the surrounding area with probes and sensors. In addition to the planet’s long-range detection system, the probes deployed by Magika will now also be able to detect any enemy approach in the area.
The hope is that the wreck will attract new Raiders. Luhman 16 is easily reachable from Earth’s spaceports: as soon as the sensors detect something, new interception fleets will be able to launch and, within a few hours, make a feast of the enemy. Will the trap work?
New Terraforming Colonies. November 1962
Incredibly, both Monoceri A II and Alpha Centauri A-III (Dwarf Colony) have been terraformed! An extraordinary success for the environmental engineers of the Axis, who managed to make these two systems habitable earlier than expected.
The small planet of Alpha Centauri A-III will become a key outpost for the northern colonies: it will be able to host 59 million people and will become an excellent mining world. We just have to wait few months that Water Vapour will condense as water on soil, then the work will be done. Terraforming modules are about to be transferred to Alpha Centauri B-III, which will receive the same fate as the twin planet of star A.
On Monoceri, the population can now reach 389 million inhabitants; it will therefore be possible to strengthen research with new laboratories and exploit the logistical bonus provided by the structures discovered on the planet. Work is still ongoing on the addition of Aestusium to increase the minimum temperature, which remains too low (-63 degrees). It will probably not be possible to fully terraform the planet, as it has an irregular orbit and extremely unstable temperatures, ranging from 30 degrees down to -63.
It will, however, certainly be possible to optimize infrastructure use and drastically reduce the number of facilities required. Meanwhile, the excess housing units, both on Alpha Centauri A III and on Monoceri, have been redirected toward Alpha Centauri B-III and toward Callisto, one of Jupiter’s moons, where the Axis will attempt to create a habitable environment in order to extract the numerous, but otherwise difficult-to-access, mineral resources.