Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Eleven: The End of an Era and Death of a Legend
January 25th 3060 at 0105 System Standard Time (SST) an unknown event tripped the sensor nets of the New Earth Strategic Space Defense Command. The event occurred just outside of a restricted area near Harbor Prime. While the event didn’t have the signature of a major invasion, it did warrant further investigation. A nearby patrol craft, identified as APC 109, was dispatched to investigate the event, alerts were being issued to SSDC Headquarters on New Earth. Across the Tau Ceti system Ready One Fighters were placed on alert as the situation developed. On Harbor Prime, defenders were ordered to their stations.
During the opening hours of the invasion, location would play a critical role in the defense of Harbor Prime. Unlike most shipyards of old that were built in open space, New Earth had built their facility just within the asteroid belt of the system. To further making their shipyards defendable, massive asteroids were tugged in to the area creating a maze of obstacles. A network of large and small asteroids would be moved in to locations to tighten the defensive lines. A large number of manned gun emplacements were built with intersecting fields of fire. This helped to make the facility more defensible as well as had the added effect of being in a heavy gravitational area. This prevented raiding Jumpships from jumping within striking range of the valuable facility.
Harbor Prime was more than just a shipyard, it was also a major research and development center. It was also a hub of mining operations. An ore refinery was built at the site to ensure a steady flow of resources to the shipyard. To accommodate the personal of the facility, two orbiting asteroids were hollowed out and living facilities were constructed. Within years of the project starting, Harbor Prime had the population of a medium sized city.
Even though there were a number of other construction sites that supported the facility, Harbor Prime quickly became a fully self-sustained facility thanks to a large number of hydroponics chambers. Other asteroids were mined for ice and building materials. This was why the planners choose this location to build Harbor Prime. The beauty of its location is more than ready resources. Also that direct attacks on the facility would be hard to carry out.
All eyes from the regional command center on Harbor Prime to the Command Center on Lanna and the SSDC Headquarters on New Earth watched carefully as the two tracks closed on each other. One track was of the source of the unknown event and the other was of APC 109 slowly closing on the other. Echoing over the speakers were the voices of the men and women aboard the small APC 109. Tensions across the Tau Ceti system were growing as seconds passed.
As time passed and tensions were reaching their peaks, a second event appeared on the SSDC sensor nets. This second event occurred on the opposite side of Harbor Prime. Once more, SSDC didn’t have enough information to tell what the second events was. These two events could have been a pair of asteroids moving from behind larger ones. This area of space within the Tau Ceti system is very active with sensor tracks. The site was known for false alarms and because of this fact, it was assumed that this area would be a prime target for raiders to jump near Harbor Prime.
Thanks to years of conditioning, the SSDC Commander at Harbor Prime knew better than to take anything for granted. With this second event the likelihood that this was a false alarm was becoming less likely. As per regulation, a general alert to all other SSDC Sites within the Tau Ceti System was issued. As sirens and lights indicated the alert, years of training kicked in. From Harbor Prime to both Recharging Station, the sailors, soldiers and pilots of the SSDC rushed to their stations.
Command of the situation was transferred from Harbor Prime to SSDC Headquarters in New Earth’s massive Defense Complex on Aires. It was at this moment that Shift Duty Officer, Commodore Christopher Lyon, assumed command for the defense of New Earth during this critical hour. The way New Earth’s military operates, the SSDC Shift Duty Officer is senior military commander till the Joint Chiefs can assume command of New Earth’s Military. This chain of command would allow New Earth to maintain a level of military order during the opening hours of the invasion. Already Commodore Lyon was assuming that this was no false alarm.
As the crisis developed higher ranking SSDC and other military leaders failed to report in with SSDC Command, which was protocol during a general alert. It was during this critical time that the first report of assassinations started to reach SSDC Headquarters. The husband of a regimental commander assigned to 5th Marine Division reported his wife was murdered. After receiving word that two other regimental commanders had died in separate ‘accidents’ Commodore Lyon assumed the situation had gone from bad to worse.
Acting as Senior Military Commander of New Earth during his shift, Commodore Lyon issued fail safe protocols. Across New Earth, SSDC sites started to seal themselves off from the outside world. Massive SDS guns and missile batteries turned skyward. One key part of the protocol required that all surviving members of New Earth’s Senate and their families as well as the President and his family were evacuated from the Capital to a secret base deep in the Kasin Mountains. GMP Officers reported back to SSDC Headquarters on Aires that the majority of the Joint Chiefs had been assassinated or were otherwise missing.
SSDC bases across the entire system went on full alert, as SSDC officers made futile attempts to reach critical military leaders. The scope of the assassinations were just becoming apparent. Meanwhile APC 109 was making its way towards the first event as a second craft was already being dispatched towards the other event. Commodore Lyon still wasn’t sure if the entire system was under attack, or if this was just a raid on Harbor Prime, or if the assassinations was a separate independent crisis that was developing.
It was clear that answers had to be found and only that lone patrol craft could get them. Acting on the information he did have, the Commodore Lyon ordered New Earth ships in and around Harbor Prime to scramble. He also stepped up New Earth’s defensive posture. In doing so, New Earth Defense Command sites across New Earth slowly came alive. Commodore Lyon was faced with a critical decision. He could order SSDC forces to make best speed for Harbor Prime or keep them close to New Earth. While there were no other indications that New Earth was facing an invasion, he didn’t trust the overall situation.
Commodore Lyon couldn’t answer the question on rather this a raid on the vital ship yards or a full scale invasion of the system? APC 109 slowly closed on it target. The highly specialized craft was armed with much more refined sensors than that of the standard SSDC sensor buoy that had triggered the alarm in the first place. The likelihood that this was an isolated event was diminishing quickly as the crew of APC 109 reported something interfering with their sensors.
Before the crew could identify what was interfering with their sensors, they reported being attacked by hostile fighters. It was clear that Harbor Prime was under attack at this point, however the nature of the attackers was still unknown. At this point, no one knew if this was a full scale invasion by the Lyrans or was this a raid by another source. The entire event was being observed back on New Earth by President McGray. The Commodore Lyon ordered APC 109 to press forward despite the attacking fighters.
While trying to fend off the waves of fighters, APC 109 pushed closer to the source. Thanks to real time data sharing through the SSDC Network, those observing the event across the Tau Ceti system were able to see what the crew of the Patrol Craft were seeing. Those who doubted the network and its usefulness were finally silenced once and for all. Even though the event was 1.8 AU from New Earth, this data sharing was vital in the early hours of the invasion.
The network was no small task or of trivial importance. Without this vast data sharing network, real-time information would be impossible and updates would take hours to receive. As the pilots of APC 109 fought their wave through fighters, an image starting to emerge in the blackness of space. Everyone was on the edges of their seats was the brave crew pushed through the enemy lines towards the heart of the grouping. Just as the image became clear, APC 109 was destroyed by hostile fire.
With all data cut off, the last image the crew of APC 109 saw was frozen on the main viewers of the SSDC Headquarters and the Lanna Control Center. There was no doubt anymore, New Earth was under Lyran Invasion. Frozen for all to see was the unmistakable image of a Lyran Alliance Fox Class Corvette. Behind it was at least two other Lyran warships. Escorting the warships were a number of dropships.
They were still at range from Harbor Prime but it was clear that the Lyrans were on the move. A general alert was issued across the entire NEDC and Civilian Command Centers. Across New Earth powerful air raid sirens signaled the beginning of the invasion. Broadcasts across New Earth were interrupted alerting the civilians of the crisis. Other APC’s were ordered to keep their distances as they continued to feed real-time updates to the SSDC on New Earth while New Earth’s three warships at Harbor Prime were on the move to intercept the invaders.
As burning debris of APC 109 drifted away from the Lyran ships, the massive ships of the Lyran fleet continued on their track for Harbor Prime. The death of APC 109 was not the end of New Earth’s ability to track the Lyran fleet. It wasn’t long before Specter A2’s were shadowing the two fleets reporting the Lyran’s progress. As the clock ticked down, it became clear that the two attack runs were created to maximize the Lyran’s advantage. Their paths were set at forty five degree angels off each other. The overall plan called for a pincer attacking using the speed of their fleet to force the defenders back.
Task Force Scheer, named after the Lyran Flagship, consisted of the LAS Scheer, an Essex Class Destroyer, along with two Fox Class Corvettes was escorted by a heavy number of fighters and their supporting dropships. Task Force Vilseck consisted of the LAS Vilseck, a Fox Class Corvette and two other Fox Class Corvettes. Like Task Force Scheer, Task Force Vilseck was being escorted by a large number of fighters and their supporting dropships. For the mission planners, defeat was never once considered a possibility. They had numbers and tradition on their side. Lyran Intelligence had reported that New Earth’s navy had never been tested in battle. But they had trained for battle during the past decade.
As alerts were sounding across the entire Tau Ceti System, already the forces of New Earth’s navy were moving in to position to engage the invading Lyrans. Rear Admiral Safi Larue, commander of the Harbor Prime Defense Command, knew what the stakes were. He knew all too well that he had to protect Harbor Prime with everything he had available. Admiral Larue knew that his units were outnumbered. But what he did have was up to date intelligence on the number and locations of his enemy. This allowed him plan out his defense strategy. Admiral Larue ordered Harthford Shipyards’ Security Force to support the 1st Marine Division in the defense of the shipyards.
Admiral Larue assigned the three fighter wings of Harthford Security Forces to remain close to the shipyards just in case any enemy fighters slipped through. Against traditional wisdom, he ordered his refuelers to set up a forward refueling and staging area for defending fighters. Normal wisdom would call for fighters to land at their bases and refuel and rearm. This could be a timely task that left fighters in the middle of a defense vulnerable to attack during landing operations.
He picked two points on the map that were beyond the field of battle that would serve as his forward refuel and rearming points. One point was assigned to the Security Force refuelers while the other point would be assigned to the refuelers that belonged to the 1st Naval Reconnaissance. Because of the two separate pincers that were moving on the shipyards, Admiral Larue was forced to divide up his fighters and limited number of supporting dropships.
But that didn’t mean that his forces were out gunned. Two weeks ago, the NEWS Bismarck, an Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser, was relocated to the shipyards. This relocation was done so that the training crew of the Bismarck could assist the crew of the newly constructed Maverick with their space trails. The two warships had been conducting combat training for the past two weeks. The Maverick, an Aegis II class Fast Attack Cruiser, was just about to receive their space combat certifications.
More importantly than that, the elite NEWS Enterprise, a modified Aegis II Fast Attack Cruiser and pride of the New Earth Fleet, nicknamed the Big E, had arrived at the shipyards for routine maintenance. While the Enterprise didn’t have her dropships, she did have her elite Death's Brigade Naval Air Wing. This gave Admiral Larue an additional third unit of deep space refuelers. He assigned the Death’s Brigade refuelers to a third point creating a support triangle around the shipyards for his defending fighters.
As Admiral Larue prepared to defend Harbor Prime from the Lyrans, SSDC Sensor Nets detected more hyperspace jumps closer to New Earth. The nearly two and a half hour break between the two separate forces jumping in to the Tau Ceti System were confusing to SSDC Commanders. No one could understand why the two forces didn’t jump in at the same time. The truth was, that a last minute change to the invasion plan was not relayed to the attacking warships which jumped in from a separate system from where the rest of the forces were jumping from. This delay allowed New Earth to be much better prepared than the Lyrans were prepared for.
Admiral Larue ordered the five combat dropships of the 6th Support Squadron under the command of Captain Jenn MacCarthy to remain close to the shipyards and watch for an end run by any enemy dropship. He ordered the NEWS Enterprise along with her supporting fighters to engage the three lone Fox class corvettes. To support the Enterprise, he assigned three addition fighter squadrons. Admiral Larue took the remaining fighters, the NEWS Maverick along with his own Bismarck to engage the two Foxes and that Essex class destroyer
Meanwhile back on New Earth, a dispute over Chain of Command was just becoming settled. The Admirals in command of both Recharging Station Commands were eager to join the battle. Filled with the deep desire to assist in the defense of New Earth, units were begging to be allowed to relocate to New Earth. Commodore Lyon knew the importance that the recharging stations would hold during the larger battle for New Earth. Despite being out ranked by more than a couple Aerospace and Naval officers, Commodore Lyon was acting under the full authority of the New Earth Congress and the New Earth Constitution. Commodore Lyon for both commands to remain at their station.
Because of the assassinations, many New Earth units were slow to answer the alert. It was clear that Lyran Intelligence’s plan to remove the head of New Earth’s military was working perfectly. However one key failure was the attack on New Earth’s SSDC Headquarters. The plan was to pump poison gas throughout the massive complex. However a series of five C-Bill tamper switches alerted SSDC personal of the plot as it was being carried out. This allowed techs to shut down the ventilation system till the gas could be isolated and the saboteurs could be captured. New Earth’s SSDC would be able to play a critical role throughout the invasion.
Despite this failure, much of the NEDC was left without critical senior officers. Because of these assassinations, much of New Earth’s military was in a state of confusion during the opening hours of the invasion. While New Earth’s military desperately attempted to adapt to the leadership crisis, it was up to the Lyran invasion force to finish the job. Because of poor timing, New Earth was allowed critical time to recover from the assassinations. Still New Earth units were still railing from the assassinations and it was up Lyran Invasion force to end the residence on New Earth. A task that was fumbled by the Lyran Invasion force.
It had only been three hours since the first alert was tripped near Harbor Prime, already New Earth’s SSDC was fully prepared to defend the system. Watching from SSDC headquarters on New Earth, the controllers at SSDC Headquarters was able to count the number of Jumpships jumping in to system. Thanks to timely alerts, Specter Flights were shadowing the invaders giving up to date information. SSDC Controllers were able to track the dropships as they sped their way towards New Earth. There was no doubt that New Earth was going to be invaded. But for Commodore Lyon, that didn’t mean that Tau Ceti system had to fall to the Lyrans. Taking a lesson from his mentor, General Death, Commodore Lyon enacted a long game plan in order to save New Earth from the invaders.
Commodore Lyon knew that without access to Tau Ceti’s vital jump points, the Lyrans would be forced to use highly risky pirate points. As he watched the Lyran dropships speeding their way toward New Earth on his screens, he could see that they hadn’t made any attempts to take either station at the moment. Overall survival of Tau Ceti and New Earth would rest with who controlled Tau Ceti’s two primary jump points. Years before, New Earth leaders knew how important these two jump points were. Because of that, millions of C-Bills were vested in protecting the two stations.
The two vital jump point stations held the largest collection of senor and transmission buoys throughout the system. Because of this, there could be no sneaking up on the two vital points. However that didn’t mean either station couldn’t be overrun by sheer force of numbers. The jump points had to be protected if the steady flow of supplies were to continue to flow towards New Earth. Because of this, Commodore Lyon directed as many local assets towards the twin recharging stations. This move effectively took those units out of action during the opening hours of the invasion.
It was a move that bothered many subordinates and senior officers alike. The prevailing argument was that a massive space battle could have avoided the landings across New Earth. However by redirecting New Earth’s vital combat dropships and Patrol Craft to the two jump points, this allowed much of the Lyran force to land unopposed. However in redirecting his forces to the Jump Points, this forced the Lyran commanders to rethink their original plan of attacking the Jump Points during the opening hours of the invasion. Instead they choose to hold off attacking the two jump points till they could secure a foothold on New Earth. By that time, the Lyrans had lost too many space assets to mount an attack on the jump points.
Analysts would all agree that the fate of New Earth rested upon those two recharging stations. History would show that the long series of failures by the Lyran Ground Forces during the invasion of New Earth began with failing to secure the recharging stations as soon as they jumped in to system. Without the use of either of the two major jump points supporting their land forces became too costly for the Lyrans. Because of this, the flow of reinforcements slowed further weakening their combat effectiveness.
Holding the two recharging stations would ensure that New Earth would be able to receive a steady stream of supplies from their Chaos March allies. It was this stream of supplies that made the blockade of New Earth even harder to maintain. While during the opening days of the invasion, Commodore Lyon would be ruthlessly criticized by subordinates and superiors alike, he would be acquitted by History and labeled a hero of New Earth.
As forces across the Tau Ceti system were on the move, it would be Commodore Hall’s elite Big E that would have the next crack at the Lyrans. Already the lives that were lost aboard APC 109 was on everyone’s mind. As the two units drew closer, Commodore Hall was planning out his opening shots. Thanks to long range scans by Specters shadowing the Lyrans, Hall knew what he and his crew were up against. By the time the two units entered sensor range of each other, Hall had already issued his orders to the crew of the Enterprise.
The three Foxes were designed to be fast raiders with a stronger than average weapons systems for their size. However they were up against the very best of New Earth’s navy, the Aegis II. The Aegis II Class had been a joint secret project with the NAIS that married speed with firepower to create a strong fleet support ship. The Aegis II was actually designed to work side by side with the smaller Fox Class Corvettes. But not only did the Aegis II carry larger range of weapons, it was designed purely with speed and acceleration in mind.
With many Admirals favoring extremely expensive battleships for their flagships, The Aegis II was designed to fill in the role of Fleet Command ship. An armored Combat Information Center was built in the heart of the ship. From here, powerful computers could monitor the battle with real time updates. Built with holographic technology, Commodore Hall could step in to the center of the battle and command his ships just be simply talking to them. The Aegis II also carried over three times the armor of the original Aegis Class and over four times the armor of the small Fox Classes. With heavier weapons, thicker armor and better speed, the Aegis II's out classed the Fox Corvettes in each field.
The Big E had long legs and Commodore Hall was pushing those legs to close the ranges rapidly. Beyond her speed, the Big E was the personal Flagship of General Death. General Death ordered a series of aftermarket ‘modifications’ that gave the Enterprise an even greater edge. Instead of using the market standard Ferro-Carbide, the Big E was fitted with equal tonnage of the more advanced Lamellor Ferro-Carbide Armor. This increased the level of protection offered to the Big E.
Thanks to their extreme training protocols, Commodore Hall knew his crew had a strong advantage over the Lyran crews. With this in mind, he order his ship to fire at extreme ranges while the two battle groups were still traveling towards each other. As the powerful Naval Lasers and Heavy naval PPC ripped towards the Lyrans the Enterprise scored the first round of hits. Commodore Hall ordered his gun crews to target the Lyran supporting dropships instead of the Corvettes. The hits scattered the fighter and dropship screens around the three Corvettes. At the current ranges, the Corvettes were incapable of returning fire. But this would change quickly as the ranges closed.
Within minutes, the Lyrans were able to open fire with their own powerful Naval Autocannons. While the Lyrans had the Big E outgunned at this point, it was the hit-miss ratio that was hurting the Lyran gun crews. The gun crews of the Corvettes were scoring one hit for every six shots fired while the gun crews of the Big E were hitting nearly three times as often. As ranges closed, the Big E’s next set of large weapons were getting in to range. But this was not the only surprise Commodore Hall had for the Lyrans.
Before the battle was joined, Commodore Hall deployed a number of his fighters in a special role. Using the asteroid field as cover, these specially selected fighters moved parallel the Lyran Corvettes. With the Lyran fighter and dropship screens scatted thanks to the Big E’s large weapons, the Lyrans were in prefect position to be flanked. Normally the fighter and dropship screens would protect the warships against attacking fighters. However those defending screens were scattered.
What made these fighters dangerous was that they were fitted with specially modified Killer Whale Missiles like massive torpedoes. To answer the guidance problem that the missiles had, techs removed the internal guidance systems and added more explosives. They fitted the missiles with a very advanced gyrostabilizer to ensure that it would fly straight. Fitted with proximity sensors so even a near miss would cause the missile to explode and thus doing some damage to the target. By reducing the guidance and fuel the missile had to carry, the missile’s additional explosives doubled the yield.
There wasn’t time to train pilots to conduct torpedo attacks on enemy warships. So Commodore Hall selected his best pilots for this highly risky attack. As the two fleets were nearly upon each other, Commodore Hall ordered his torpedo fighters to carry out their attacks. At first, the six fighters were hardly even noticed by the defending fighters. The first torpedo attack crippled a Claymore and Achilles class dropships and they would not return to the battle. This also caused the three corvettes to react to the new threat and shift their attention away from the Big E. At the same time and covered by the chaos his fighters were causing, Commodore Hall ordered the Big E to conduct a nose over aft flip.
As the Lyrans were taking fire from defending fighters, the massive engines of the Big E fired at full force. A nearby Lyran dropship was raked with the Big E powerful exhaust bloom. Thanks to the Anti-Missile System added to the Corvettes, the three torpedo attacks proved to be fruitless. However, to the surprise of the Lyrans, the massive Big E was flipping over and slowing down rapidly. Her structure groaned in protest but having the structure of a ship nearly twice her size, the Aegis II was designed for such maneuvers. The three Corvettes attempted to turn to match the Big E, but they lacked the thrust needed to carry out the maneuver.
As quickly as Hall’s fighters showed up and carried out their attacks, the six torpedo fighters dove for the cover of the asteroids. Thanks to the cover fire from supporting fighters, all six fighters managed to disengage the battle and withdraw. They made best speed for a forward refuel and resupply point set up by Admiral Larue. The fighters would be able to return to the battle refueled and rearmed for another attack run. This turn around speed proved critical in the defense of Harbor Prime.
As the two fleets became managed in combat, the Big E turned to the Corvettes as they desperately attempted to match the Big E’s maneuver. The Big E was finally able to show off her broadside. It was at this point that the odds drastically changed. A brave Fox dared to challenge the Big E in a close in slugfest. Commodore Hall ordered the Big E’s powerful broadside to open up. The Big E’s first broadside ripped through the smaller corvette’s armor like a hot knife through butter.
The brutal broadside ripped open the corvette’s side causing massive damage to the ship causing loss power and venting life giving atmosphere. The Fox drifted passed the Big E as the two remaining corvettes attempted to circle to gain a better firing position on the Big E. What the Lyran’s didn’t realize was that the Big E along with her sister ships had more than enough heat sinks to fire every single weapon she had. To cover their actions, the Lyran’s ordered their supporting dropships and fighters to conduct attack runs on the Big E.
When the Aegis II was designed and built, it was assumed that the most common threat that she would face was going to be enemy fighters and dropships. Because of this the Aegis II class was designed more like a carrier than just a simple warship. The Big E carried a large number of fighters in to battle and she also was fitted with almost a hundred anti-fighters weapons across her superstructure.
With the Big E’s fighters engaging the Lyran dropships, the Lyran fighters saw the Big E as an easy target. They swooped in on their own attack runs only to be greeted with a hail storm of fire. As the anti-fighter mounts opened up, a number of Lyran fighters were simply blasted from the space around the Big E. The others were driven off by the intense anti-fighter fire.
Those few dropships that cross the Big E’s sights didn’t fare much better against the Big E’s broadside. A group of Achilles simply ceased to exist when they took direct hits from the Big E’s Naval Autocannons. Because of the way the Aegis II was designed, there was no withdrawing beyond weapon’s range without disengaging the combat. The remaining Lyran dropships were driven back and forced to withdraw from the Big E’s range. This allowed the Big E to turn her guns on to the last two Corvettes.
As the Lyran dropships turned and attempted to precede on towards Harbor Prime, they were engaged again with fighters from the Big E. The battle was eating up fuel faster than both sides had calculated. However for the defenders, fuel was only a few minutes away at a refuel point. While the Lyrans had to land on their dropships to refuel. In normal situations, this wasn’t a problem but during combat this was a nightmare. An advantage that Commodore Hall pressed all day long.
With the odds slowly slipping from their favor, the Lyrans attempted to press their advantage. The captains of the two corvettes devised a plan that would allow them to attack the Big E from the bow and aft. It was hoped that they could avoid the Big E’s powerful broadside. One thing that they didn’t take in to consideration was training. While the crews of the two Lyran ships had only a few months of training with their ships. Commodore Hall and his crew had nearly a decade to master their own ship. Seeing the two ships on their approach Commodore Hall ordered his ship in to another high G burn and ordered a flat spin on the ship’s Z axes.
Fresh from refuel and rearming, Hall ordered his torpedo fighters back in to action. Despite knowing that the two ships were fitted with anti-missile systems, Commodore Hall needed to buy his crew time to execute the High G maneuver. The fighters dove of the Corvettes without question. Their attack didn’t cause much damage, but it was enough to buy the Big E some critical time. Just at the two Corvettes were ready to carry out their attacks, the Big E was ready to face them.
The one Corvette racked the Big E with naval weapons fire shredding armor and inflicting damage deep within the Big E. Explosions within the Big E crippled the mighty warship’s jumpdrive. The K-F Drive Coils and the K-F Field Initiators were both badly damaged. However the effects of the damage was limited by sealed compartments and self-sealing sections of the massive warship. The second Corvette’s fire caused only minor damage across the Big E’s armor belt.
Despite the damage, Commodore Hall didn’t back down as he ordered his ship in to a barrel roll and unleashed the Big E’s broadside once more. As the attacking Corvette was attempting to retreat, two massive naval autocannon shells ripped open the Corvettes transit drive system, Power Plant, and Engineering Sections. The powerless Corvette tumbled away from the battlefield with no hope of regaining power. The last remaining Corvette also took massive damage from the Big E but was still able to activate its lithium-fusion batters and jumped out of system.
In the wake of the battle, the Big E stood victorious over two badly damaged Fox Class Corvettes. The remaining Lyran fighters and dropships continued to press the attack, however with the destruction of two more Claymores at the hands of the Big E, the remaining Lyrans had no choice but to surrender. In total, serval Lyran Dropships and fighters surrendered to the Big E and her powerful guns. As the remaining Lyran ships were being secured, Commodore Hall deployed his Marines to the two crippled Corvettes to secure them as well. The last thing he wanted was one or both Corvettes regaining power and launching a surprise attack on them.
Noting the damage and the need to get his ship back to the fight as soon as possible, Commodore Hall ordered his crews from general quarters to repair details. He ordered his fighters to link up with the refuelers and give aid to Admiral Larue who was already facing over whelming odds. While this match up would go to the defenders, it must be noted that Commodore Hall and his crew had been training and fighting together for over a decade. It was expected that the Enterprise would prove to be a harsh obstacle to overcome.
The next battle between Admiral Larue’s fleet and the second Lyran fleet was more to what the Lyran military analyst suspected. Unlike the Big E, the Bismarck didn't enjoy the same advantages that the Aegis II classes did. The Bismarck, an Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser, originally built and named the St. Lawrence for the SLDF was nearly three hundred years old. She was found in the Tau Ceti system near a gas giant. The Bismarck was repaired as part of a gift from Comstar for services rendered by the Hurricane Legion. Despite being refitted with the best New Earth could afford at the time, she was a far cry from more modern Inner Sphere Warships.
However she was still a proud ship that had allot of fight left in her. A fact that the Lyrans were about to find out. The Bismarck and Maverick made their approaches on the Lyran fleet while fighters spread headed the attack. As Admiral Larue fleet spread out to engage the enemy, the Maverick made its extreme rang shots on the Essex. Unlike the Big E, whose gun crews had scored better than average hits at extreme range, the green crew of the Maverick only scored a few hits against the Essex.
The Essex shook off the damage with stride as she returned fire with a Barracuda Missile. The missile hit the hardened armor of the Maverick and caused little damage. Admiral Larue ordered his gun crews to rake the two attacking fox corvettes. Scoring much higher hit ratios, the corvettes were forced to give the Old Lady (The official nickname of the Bismarck) a wide berth. Lacking the anti-fighter weapon mounts of the Aegis II class, the Bismarck suffered heavily under Lyran fighter counter-attacks. Despite the heavy armor, the fighters focused their efforts on slowing the Old Lady down.
While her armor held, the attacks did cripple the massive ship's port engine. This cut the Bismarck's thrust in half. Seeing the danger that the Bismarck was in, the Maverick swung in to provide fighter cover with its own guns. With the Essex in her cross hairs, the Old Lady raked the Destroyer with a full broadside. The broadside railed against the destroyer's armor forcing the ship to withdraw to conduct field repairs. This bought the two New Earth warships some breathing room but the battle was far from over. Sensing blood in the water, one of the Corvettes closed in on the Old Lady and racked the larger ship with fire. The damage was further focused on the Aegis crippled port engine.
With the focus on the Essex destroyer and one of the corvettes drawing fire, the last corvette was able to slip past the line. The Lyran ship accelerated to flank speed as it made a dash for Harbor Prime. Knowing that his own ship was unable to catch the corvette, Admiral Larue ordered the Maverick to abandon the Bismarck and stop the corvette before it reached the shipyards. It was a fateful choice but one that had to be made if the shipyards were to be protected.
It was in this moment that the Aegis II earned its reputation as one of the fastest warships ever built. Despite at a full burn, the Maverick executed a high G spin on its axis back towards the shipyards. The order was given for flank speed and its powerful engines glowed brightly as fuel was flooding in to the twin burners. At the moment the Maverick was traveling backwards while it bled off speed. But soon its momentum started to build in the direction of the shipyards. The mighty ship groaned as its speed started to build. The Lyran ship had the advantage but that wouldn’t last for long as the Maverick’s speed continued to build.
The corvette opened fire with a series of Barracuda missiles on the Maverick. The missiles scored minor hits, which the Maverick brushed off. In return, the green gun crews of the Maverick hammered the aft sections of the corvette with powerful naval lasers and heavy Naval PPC’s. As the Maverick closed the gap on the corvette, the corvette was drawing closer to the shipyards. However the SSDC had a ruthless surprise waiting for the Lyran Corvette.
Once in range, the corvette found itself being fired upon by weapon emplacements. New Earth’s SSDC had taken massive naval weapons and mounted in to armored turrets on nearby asteroids. The onslaught rippled wholes in to supporting dropships and inflicted damage upon the Lyran Corvette. The New Earth fighters and dropships that were ordered to hold back were finally able to jump in to the action. As fighters and dropships from both sides swarmed around the shipyards, the Lyran Corvette was within firing ranges on the shipyards.
The Lyran corvette opened fired on the shipyard. The Archon-Prince Victor, another Aegis II which was being built for the Federated Commonwealth, took several hits to its unarmored haul. The ship would be critically damaged and a nearby construction ship would be blown to pieces. The explosion would badly damage a section of the slip where the Victor was being built. As the Lyran corvette completed its first and only pass on the shipyards, the Maverick hammered away at the corvette. The Maverick continued to rack the corvette with powerful naval weapons as it continued to give chase on the corvette.
Between the heavy weapons from the Maverick and from strategic weapon mounts, the incoming fire finally took its toll on the corvette. With its massive transit drive blown to pieces and its K-F Drive destroyed, the corvette lost power. The corvette drifted helplessly surrounded by the death and destruction that it had just caused. The remaining dropships and fighters that escorted the corvette were quickly isolated and destroyed or captured. With the shipyards damaged but otherwise secured, the eyes turned back towards the Bismarck and the remaining of the Lyran assault force.
Round two was about to start between the Bismarck and the Essex class destroyer. No longer aided by the Maverick and her anti-fighter weapons, the Bismarck had to rely on her own fighters for defense against attacking Lyran fighters. The two Lyran ships had regrouped and were moving in on the Bismarck. He kept his larger APC’s closer to his haul hoping to deploy them in a surprising boarding action. As his crews fought fires across the engineering sections, he added to bait by turning off his running and exterior lights.
Admiral Larue had the Bismarck play dead while drawing the Lyrans in closer. Know from this engagement as the man of steel nerves, he did nothing as the last remaining Lyran corvette fired upon the Old Lady at long ranges. The Lyrans took the bait and assumed that the Old Lady was dead in space.
At medium range, Admiral Larue surprised the Lyrans with a full broadside that all but crippled the last corvette. The badly damaged corvette attempted to activate its lithium-fusion batters to jump out of system. However the damage to the corvette prevented the ship from being able to jump. Admiral Larue ordered his APC’s in to action. Using their superior speed, the five APC’s rocketed from behind the Old Lady and attached themselves to the damaged corvette. Within minutes, the Lyran crew found themselves fighting a brutal struggle for their own ship.
As the battle turned against them, it was clear that the Lyrans didn’t have the advantage anymore. Lacking the lithium-fusion batters, the Essex was here to stay till her K-F drive was recharged. The destroyer turned and gave the Bismarck a powerful broadside with its Naval PPC's and Lasers. Admiral Larue ordered the Bismarck to roll as the Old Lady started to rebuild her thrust. It took most of her thrust but the Old Lady finally managed to get above the Destroyer. However the Old Lady simply didn’t the thrust needed to keep the advantage. The Lyran destroyer was able to counter the move.
Unleashing its Naval Auto-Cannons, the Lyran destroyer hammered the broadside of the Bismarck. The incoming fire caused more damage to the Old Lady’s already battered engineering sections. A lucky critical hit knocked out the Old Lady’s K-F drive. Admiral Larue fired another broadside in to the Destroyer, gutting the nose of the Lyran Warship. Shortly thereafter, a crippled APC conducted a suicide attack on the Lyran destroyer. With its weapons firing so much that they were glowing red, the small patrol ship slammed in to the bridge of the destroyer. Another broadside from the Bismarck racked the spin of the destroyer triggering secondary explosions. Admiral Larue ordered the remainder of his forces back as the destroyer ripped itself apart as its Naval Auto-Cannon ammunition bunkers exploded. The death of the Lyran destroyer signaled the end of the first round of the Invasion of New Earth.
While the Big E had been able to drive off her attackers, the Old Lady had failed to protect the shipyards. Considerable damage had been inflicted on the shipyards, taking serval slips out of service. However the vital repair yards would remain in service during the invasion. While the Big E would be fully repaired before the end of the Invasion, the NEWS Bismarck would never jump again as her K-F Drive was too badly damaged to be repaired. Instead components would be used on repairing the Big E. Despite not having a K-F drive, the Old Lady would have the remaining damage repaired.
During the two battles for Harbor Prime, the Lyrans had lost a number of dropships and four of their five Corvettes. In addition to this, the loss of LAS Scheer was a costly loss to the Alliance. While these losses were painful for the Lyran Navy, these losses could easily be replace. However the Lyrans were able to effectively limit New Earth’s shipyards and its navy during the invasion. The battles forced the Maverick to be stationed close to the shipyards to protect them from further attack. This would effectively take the Maverick out of the opening battles for New Earth its self. The Bismarck and Enterprise would be down for months undergoing major repairs. A number of defending dropships and fighters were also lost during the battle. These were losses that New Earth couldn’t easy afford. Because of this, the first round would go to the Lyrans.
Back on New Earth, Air Raid Sirens were alerting every one of the coming invasion. While most citizens were running for shelters, one citizen however dawned an old Lyran Commonwealth Navy uniform. A uniform that hadn’t been issued in over thirty years. With his uniform looking as if it was just issued yesterday, Former Captain Ben Hushner dawned his captain’s hat and made his way to the dock district of Balitor on Aries.
During the Civil War, Captain Hushner had been the commanding officer of the New Earth sea going naval warship Bizmark. After serving twenty years for crimes against humanity, Captain Hushner’s career and family life was in ruin. He moved to Balitor, Aries to follow his former command the NEWS Bizmark which was being used as a naval officer training ship. He took on a job as a janitor working for the New Earth Navy. For years following his release, former Captain Hushner cleaned up after the young men and women who would go on to become the officers of the New Earth Navy. His dairy reflected that each day he longed for a way to regain his lost honor in the eyes of the very people he was meant to protect. He often wrote about watching the ‘Pride of New Earth’s Seas’ (the NEWS Bizmark) returning to port after training missions from his own backyard.
With their leaders assassinated, the cadets of the 43rd Training Battalion were formed up at the Bizmark as per their protocols. However the group had no leadership and no orders, so they waited as the invasion began. At 0800 SST, Former Captain Hushner along with a handful of former Bizmark officers, walked up to the great warship and the leaderless cadets. After a short argument between Cadets and the former commander of the Bizmark, it was agreed that Captain Hushner would take command of the Bizmark once more. After thirty years, Captain Hushner finally had his chance to redeem himself and his ship.
As the mass media were reporting of the Lyran landings across New Earth, the cadets were getting the Bizmark ready for departure. It was under Captain Hushner’s harsh and relentless leadership that made the hasty departure possible. Working against the clock, the Cadets and their elderly mentors pressed the massive warship in to service in remarkable time. Just before the ship was ready for departure, a group of SSDC Marines and New Earth Provisional Guards arrived to scuttle the mighty ship before it could be captured by the Lyrans. Instead, thanks to Captain Hushner, they were convinced to joined the make shift crew. Within hours, the Bizmark was sailing from the harbor and in to New Earth’s history.
1315 SST: Lyran fighters from the 1st Alarion Jaegers, hoping to strike a morale blow against the defenders of New Earth, bombed anchorages around Aries. While one of their primary targets was the Bizmark, they ended up sinking or badly damaging eleven other naval ships that were caught at the anchorages. Due to double assignments and heavy defending fighters around Aries, no search was made for the missing Bizmark. It was reported back to Task Force Command by the commander of the fighter wing that the anchorages were in flames and all ships there were sunk or burning. No report was made one way or the other regarding the Bizmark. It was only assumed that the Bizmark was among those ships sunk or burning.
1335 SST: The alarms signaling the incoming invasion had been sounding across New Earth for almost twelve hours. Thanks to the efforts of the SSDC, military units across New Earth had plenty of time to prepare for the coming Lyran invasion. Thanks to a well-developed government operated Emergency Broadcast System, civilians have been kept up to date with the latest information. Because of these two factors, the vast majority of the civilian population were safely secured in shelters across New Earth when the first bombs started to fall. However the storm was just getting underway. With the experienced warriors of the Hurricane Legion assigned to the Star League Defense Force, New Earth's future rested in the highly trained troops of the 6th and 7th Corps.
President McGray had activated the New Earth Provisional Guard when the first alarms were activated. In terms of the defenders of New Earth, what played out during the morning of January 25th, 3060 was a well-organized combat readiness operation. For decades, New Earth Defense Command had been conducting hundreds of drills in response to a possible Marik invasion, a Draconis Combine raid. Thanks to these drills, the men and women of New Earth’s Home Guard were ready to prove themselves and defend New Earth from invaders.
During the critical hours before the first Lyran dropship landing, President McGray had ordered military units near the Capital to assist in the evacuations of the Capital City. As much as he wanted to spare the city of the fighting, he knew it would be a vital prize. Instead he choose to save lives.
1400 SST: With reports of the first wave of attacks on New Earth military sites being received and against the pleading of his personal guard, President McGray chooses to remain within the Capital City to cover the evacuations of the city’s population. During these critical hours, President McGray personally oversaw the civilian evacuations and the manning of emergency shelters. President McGray’s greatest fears was the number of possible civilian casualties as a result of this invasion. He directed his personal guard to assist as he took to the streets to coordinated evacuations personally.
When word came that a nearby hospital had not been able to fully evacuate to their assigned shelter, McGray sent elements of his own guard and his personal transport to aid in the evacuation. During this time, The Old Guard reported to the President that the entire New Earth Senate had been safely evacuated to their secret bunkers within the nearby mountains. The only member of New Earth’s leadership that remained in the Capital was President McGray, himself. New Earth Defense Command reported a large number of enemy dropships making their final approach near the Capital. The only unit that stood between the Capital and the enemy was a lone Provisional Guard Company.
1420 SST: Lyran combat drops were made north northeast of the capital city, near the town of Brentwood. Specters were able to identify the Lyran unit as the 14th Lyran Guards under the direct command of General Goldberg. Charlie Company of the 2nd Battlemech Battalion of the New Earth’s Provisional Guard were the first ground units to engage the Lyrans. The short battle lasted only a few minutes as the New Earth Provisional Guard unit made their stand near Memorial Park. The 360th Lyran Armored Cavalry Regiment along with the 15th Ford Mechanized Infantry Regiment encircled Charlie Company. Despite being outnumbered, the smaller New Earth unit fought to the last man as the rest of the 14th Lyran Guards made their way towards the Capital.
To the south of the Capital a second Lyran unit was making their landings. The 1st Skye Jeagers quickly organized south west of the Capital with orders to seize President McGray who was still reported within the Capital. With two forces closing on the city, General Goldberg ordered his units to encircle the city and cut off further evacuations. General Goldberg announced his plans of a swift attack on the Capital with his intention to capture the New Earth Government and end the fighting. He joked to his men that he plans to be having dinner in the Presidential Palace by night fall.
Acting on information from Lyran Intelligence a flight of fighters from the 1st Alarion Air Wing intercepted an unarmed civilian air transport. The transport, New Earth Air, Flight 628, had departed from Summerhaven prior to the invasion beginning. Once the invasion begin, the transport changed course and was heading to the city of Franka for an emergency landing. The Alarion fighters intercepted the transport sixty miles north of Fanka. After verifying the identity of the transport, the fighters were ordered to shot down the transport by Lyran Intelligence. The order came directly from Storm Chaser. Unknown to the pilots, aboard the transport was Karen Tetsuhara Death. The Alarion flight shot down the transport and killed all two hundred passengers and crew aboard. The actual fate of Flight 628 wouldn’t be discovered months after the invasion.
1645 SST: The combined forces of the 14th Lyran Guards and 1st Skye Jeagers move on the Capital city of Wiedergeburt. After meeting with stiff opposition from New Earth forces, the Lyran Forces were able to breach the city. Lyran over flights of the city reported that the Presidential Guard was still within the city near the main train station. They were helping evacuate the civilian population. General Goldberg ordered a mech battalion of his 14th Lyran Guards, a mech company from the 1st Skye Jeagers along with support units to move on the Wiedergeburt’s main train station. Their orders were to capture President McGray. The rest of the Lyran units were to fan out and secure the city.
1700 SST: the bulk of the 1st Skye Jeagers encounter 2/7th Brigade of the 7th NEDF Corps on the outskirts of the capital city. After a brief exchange the 2/7th Brigade was forced to withdraw. Despite missing some of their senior leadership, the unit was able to withdraw in an orderly fashion from the city. The 1st Skye Jeagers, hoping to have a repeat of the engagement with Charlie Company of their own give pursuit. Fighting for survival, 2/7th continued to withdrew further east by northeast away from the city. This drew the 1st Skye Jeagers from the city. General Goldberg reinforced the 1st Skye Jeagers with four mercenary commands from the invasion’s reserve force.
At the same time, 24th Lyran Guards along with the Winfield’s Regiment complete their landings on Cancer north of the frozen Grober Ploner Bay. Due to the inexperience of the 24th, Task Force Winfield was held up for hours as the green unit attempted to regroup after their combat landings. This delay enraged General Goldberg who boosted the success of his own unit to the Task Force commanders. He ordered them to “hurry the hell up and get moving.â€
It was the orders of Task Force Winfield to engage New Earth forces in and around Cancer’s Proving Grounds and secure the vital training center. Because of the Landing Site’s location, it was assumed that the Task Force would experience no resistance during their landings. Once the 24th was finally ready to begin their march, a nasty seasonal arctic storm showed up on the radar of the Lyran support ships. General Goldberg ordered the Task Force to ignore the storm and press southward. It would be a fateful order that would led to the destruction of Task Force Winfield.
Task Force Alarion, which was made up of the 1st Alarion Jaegers and six mercenary commands of mostly armor and infantry units, attempted landings on Aries. Despite being warned that Aries was heavily guarded against such landings, the officers of Task Force Alarion choose to conduct their landings anyway. The Task Force Commanders choose to make their landing just outside the city Balitor. Their goal was to secure the former capital and its vital naval yards. Once this critical port was secured the Task Force would then move on to the Headquarters of the NEDC. It was assumed that much of the defenders had been gassed by Lyran Intelligence before the invasion began. There was no report that this attack was successful and all evidence indicated that it had failed.
The lofty goals of Task Force Alarion would never be achieved. Even before the Task Force could begin their landings, they were taking heavy fire from Aries’ space defense emplacements. The onslaught of weapons’ fire cut the Task Force’s dropships to ribbons. Nearly half of the Task Force’s dropships was lost before they even hit the ground. The Victor’s Hell Riders, a Mercenary unit made of a Battlemech Battalion ceased to exist when their Overlord took a direct hit from a surface mounted heavy Naval PPC. The dropship exploded in midair killing all aboard. Because of this intensive fire, units of Task Force Alarion became hopelessly isolated from each other as their dropships crashed to the ground.
Major Karl Heinz, senior commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Alarion Jaegers, found his unit cut off from the rest of the Task Force when his dropship crash landed. He ordered his unit to conduct a movement action to link up with other Task Force units, however resistance was intense. Just arriving from Sagittarius, elements of the Old Guard linked up with the 8th Marine Division and the Fort Kari Cadre to hammer at the isolated units of Task Force Alarion. The survivors of Task Force Alarion found themselves quickly surrounded just as they were crawling from the wreckage of their dropships.
On Pisces, the experienced 5th Alliance Guards conducted their landings just north of Summerhaven. However as they conducted their combat landings they were hit hard by the full weight of the 6th Corps. Thanks to the early warnings and up to date information, the surviving commanders of the 6th Corps were able to rally the unit and conducted a forced march for Summerhaven. After a ten hour forced march, the unit was in position to oppose the 5th Alliance Guards just as they were making their landings. As the battle was joined, this would become one of the most critical battles of the invasion.
1830 SST: General Goldberg's forces pressed through brutal street fighting against organized resistance from local GMP and Presidential Guard units. After hours of intensive combat, the Lyran Forces managed to force the defenders from the Main Train Station. Shortly their after, it was reported that the train station was secured by Lyran Forces. General Goldberg’s Battalion was just reaching the city center and the Presidential Palace.
The New Earth defenders attempted to withdraw from the city but were cut off by Lyran Forces. Colonel Michelle Addison, the Commander of the Presidential Guard transmitted a call which was intercepted by Lyran forces. The grave message told the story for the Capital. She informed NEDC that her unit was becoming over run and would soon be unable to protect the President. Major John Campbell, acting commanding officer of the 2/7th Combat Brigade informed Colonel Addison that the 7th Corps would not be able to render aid to her unit in time. The message was clear that the Presidential Guard and the President were cut off from help.
During the height of the battle and against the urging of Colonel Addison, President McGray boarded his own Battlemech and joined the battle. President McGray’s Marauder took to the field to fight alongside his body guard unit as they withdrew back on to the grounds of the Presidential Palace. His message was clear, “we all have to fight if we are to save New Earth.†President McGray led his unit in a desperate effort to retake the main train station. The Presidential Guard managed to press the Lyrans back from the Main Train Station.
During that bitter battle, the last Refugee Train managed to escape the city before Lyran fighters knocked out the rail lines. General Goldberg, sensing a quick end to the war on New Earth called in reinforcements with orders to capture or kill President McGray. As the battle for the Capital City was coming to a close, the Presidential Guard was once more forced back towards the Presidential Palace. The few supporting New Earth units within the city had been destroyed leaving the Guard to stand alone.
At the Congressional Mall, a large grassy area only a few blocks away from the core of the fighting, a large number of Battlemechs conducted a high speed, low attitude combat drop. The highly risky move impressed General Goldberg leading to the false assumption that these Mechs were elements of the 1st Skye Jeagers who had been summoned back to secure the city. Before anyone knew what was going on, this new unit fired on the rear elements of the 14th Lyran Guards. An intercepted transmission told the story of who had taken the field.
“Mr. President, I am sorry that the Death’s Brigade was late. We have orders from the Senate to escort you and your unit to a secured LZ†the voice was none other than Former General Jake Death. To the surprise of Lyran Intelligence, Jake Death was still alive. Nightingale had been ordered to assassinate him the night before. Under the combined fire of the two elite units, the out flanked 14th Lyran Guards were forced to withdraw after taking heavy losses. General Goldberg's units were unable to stop their prize from slipping away. Thanks to the rescue by the Death’s Brigade, the Presidential Guard was able to conduct a fighting retreat to a secured landing zone created by a combined force from Death’s Brigade Dropships and CyberDrone Security Force.
2045 SST: The Death’s Brigade and the Presidential Guard arrived at their secured landing zone miles from the city. With the 14th Lyran Guard being forced to hold their ground, the two units boarded their dropships. As he dismounted his Warhammer, within his own Fortress Class Dropship, a lone shot ripped through the air. It was an incredible shot at ranges that pushed nearly four kilometers. The shot struck Jake Death in the base of the neck causing him to fall from his mech. Former General Death would be pronounced dead by medics as President McGray held him.
2200 SST: Death’s Brigade and the Presidential Guard were the last New Earth units west of the Kasin Mountains. The two elite units were in full retreat from Sagittarius. The 1st Skye Jeagers had half of the 7th Corps on the run northeast of the Kasin Mountain Ranges. The remaining units of the 7th Corps had been reported abandoning their posts in the low lands of Sagittarius and in full retreat towards the Kasin Mountains.
General Goldberg reported that the invasion was on track and that Sagittarius was all but secured. During the final hours of January 25th, General Goldberg carried out a massive parade through the downtown streets of the Capital. The victory parade ended at the Presidential Palace where he proclaimed he was moving his headquarters.
After the parade he ordered the remaining 14th Lyran Guards to secure the outlining areas around the Capital. He divided up part of the 14th to secure the Conceptopolis Spaceport and the strategically important Fort Nicolaus. The 1st Skye Jeagers were ordered to pursue elements of the 7th Corps and destroy the unit. General Goldberg turned his attention to the island of Ebrahim and the valuable Wyvern Castle, which had been the family estate of Jake Death since the 3030’s.
Thanks to the efforts of Lyran Intelligence the head of the snake had been severed. According to analysts New Earth was ready for the fall. In one day, Lyran forces had secured Sagittarius, the battle for Pieces was well underway. However the invasion of Aires was on the verge of disaster. The death of beloved General Jake Death was a blow that was meant to cripple New Earth and its military. Both Archon Katherine Steiner and General Goldberg gave credit for the killing of Jake Death to the 15th Ford Mechanized Infantry Regiment of the 14th Lyran Guard. However a later independent investigation credited the assassination to a Lyran Intelligence assassin.