Years 84 - 85: " .... Is a Friend Indeed"
The Celebration of Janus, usually a time of relative madness across every Roman territory, went largely unnoticed this year. The battle still raging in the Mareid system was far too important, the fate of the empire possibly hanging in the balance. Could Praeceptus di Bartolomei and what was left of "Marcia" outlast the superior numbers and firepower of 2nd Bouquet? Would our Ix'Idar allies stay by our side as 1st Navy Cluster rapidly dwindled in size?
It did not take long to find out, although it seemed like an eon. Before Januarius had expired the sound of the victory cornu rang out over the city. (Another "tradition" introduced by the Princeps: she felt that broadcasting the ancient trumpets gave victory a sense of the old triumphs. Having soldiers march around the streets blowing the old musical instruments definitely boosts public confidence and support. She is a genius.)
A strangely compelling sound, calling the plebs out to celebrate
Not long after the first brief messages arrived through hyperspace, more details including visuals were available. The enemy fleet, reduced to a single destroyer, could be seen desperately attempting to flee. It is not clear whether it survived: if our sailors were content to let it go nobody will hold it against them.
Victory: the sole surviving DQT vessel makes its escape
The reason for such a relaxed view of the navy failing to eliminate the enemy completely was apparent when the casualty lists were provided. The navy suffered dreadfully. Not one cruiser survived the battle, and only two corvettes. A third of our destroyers were lost. Across the entire empire, the joy of victory was tempered with the knowledge that so many of our men and women would never return, having given their lives for Rome. No funerals: the ashes of the dead would forever circle Mareid.
The final cost: most of "Marcia" has been destroyed in obtaining victory
Unexpectedly for many here in the capital, there was a huge swell of gratitude and friendship for our Ix'Idar allies. Praeceptus di Bartolomei himself led a massive ceremony to both mourn the Ix'Idar dead and confirm the bond between our races. As he emphasised during his oration, broadcast across both empires, regardless of the courage and sacrifice of the Roman soldiers and sailors, we would have been defeated by the DQT without the contribution of 1st Navy Cluster. Had the Ix'Idar not sent a fleet at the crucial moment, Terra itself could have been bombarded into ruins. We owe those crustaceans a great deal.
A temple built for the Ix'Idar god of warfare: at least that is what we told the visiting journalists (they were not allowed inside)
After a few days of exultation, reality returned. We may have won a battle, possibly a decisive battle, but the war continued. The rebuilding of the destroyed Nova Roma spaceport required an upgrade to allow it to handle cruisers and while the fighting had raged the physicists had kept working on the problems of plasma acceleration. They completed that project and began to investigate the design of an orbital sensor array. Again that celebration was muted: the death of Nennius Zhang deeply affected the scientific community.
Still, life goes on. Antonella Hernandez, a biologist, took over Columba I and more analysis of battle debris revealed secrets of disruptors and subspace sensors. There was some alarm at the loss of Columba III, or at least at the unknown manner of its loss. Far away from Terra, at the very "eastern" edge of the galaxy, it entered the Algorab system and reported finding what it described as a "Spectral Wraith" close to the sun. That was it: contact was lost almost immediately. With the DQT war still to be won, not a lot of attention could be given to a possible threat so far away. Even so, in some dusty office somewhere in the Imperial Navy headquarters, someone will have been delegated to prepare a contingency plan for the future. The loss of our ship and its scientific crew will not have been in vain.
All the information sent by the ill-fated ship
There have been more developments in the war, largely positive. "Marcia" (or what is left of it) has begun to bombard the planet of Bulb in the Mareid system and a fleet of transports has been ordered to move there and prepare for invasion. That should make the enemy more likely to come to the negotiation table. Just as encouraging, an Explorator corvette on the other side of DQT space is being followed by an enemy fleet. Although the news may not sound too good, the navigator in charge of the unarmed vessel headed straight for Ynessa, where "Marcus" was waiting for the DQT ships to arrive.
As 2086 began there was a sense of déjà vu: twelve months ago a battle was raging in the Mareid system, now a battle has begun on the opposite side of enemy space, in the Ynessa system. It had been thought that "Marcus" would have an easy time of it, as the fleet chasing our scout vessel was small and lightly armed. Unfortunately the DQT have been working hard, both in research and production. Another fleet has appeared, apparently following first, and this one contains a battleship.
A challenge for "Marcus"
Praeceptus Gabriella Bello, showing that her warlike surname was warranted, did not hesitate. No help could be expected, it was up to her and her ships to deal with the two enemy fleets and, while defeating them, find out what she could about the new class of spaceship.
The DQT battleship "Defender of Yax Imix"
Even while our ships manoeuvred into position and waves of missiles were launched at the closest enemy fleet, our scientists were at work. The Engineering division, having finalised the design of what are being called "Marauder Missiles" will start immediately to design our own battleships and the necessary spaceport improvements to manufacture and supply them. The Physics division, not to be left behind, completed its work on orbital sensor arrays and began an investigation into developing a disruptor weapon analogous to those that our enemies use.
Surprisingly the battle of Ynessa did not last too long. Even the battleship did not survive the combined firepower of our entire fleet, once its escorts had been eliminated. A well deserved promotion for the Praeceptus, and a mass of debris for our scientists to analyse.
In what is now becoming routine, attention switched to a completely different area. A small group of our ships has been escorting a science ship charged with surveying previously unexplored regions controlled by the Citizen Alliance of Kha'Zann. The Columba II was damaged but escaped and our warships ran for Sirius. There is some concern however: the Kha'Zann fleet is far more powerful than the handful of ships we have in the homeworld systems, and Sirius is still repairing the damage done after the last attack.
"Marcia", busy bombarding the planetary defences of Bulb, was the closest (and in fact the only realistic) defence. Nevertheless, the Princeps stayed firm. We would not recall the main fleet, not without something more substantial than the presence of an enemy fleet nearby. Construction yards were commissioned to produce a few more ships, all we could afford, and we waited.
Our other combat fleet, "Marcus", was also busy. Having cleared Ynessa of tow fleets, it settled down to reduce Golden Flower to rubble. Twelve armies had been loaded from Trast, now defended by its own Tiyal defence units, and were on their way to Ynessa to invade the planet. The DQT was not yet finished however, and two more fleets entered the system. Bad judgment on the part of the DQT meant that they arrived separately, and they posed little threat to our ships, though it did mean the bombardment had to be abandoned temporarily, allowing the defenders to repair the damage.
Still, the year ended with vision from Mareid of our invasion shuttles spiralling down to Bulb. That should show the DQT that their defeat is only a matter of time.
The planetary defences in ruins, our armies can land to deal with the militia