Although Beta Comae was neutralized in a matter of days, the Kafer attack bogged down for almost two full months after the defeat of the Anglo-German squadron in early September. This was largely the result of Rochemont's Relief Expedition, which struck at Hochbaden at about the same time the Beta Comae invasion was getting under way. Although "Triumphant Destiny"
reacted quickly and threw the bulk of its ships back to Hochbaden to defeat the attack, it caused enough disruption (in combination with previous losses) to force the Kafers to call a lengthy halt for repairs, regrouping, and assembly of reinforcements. The main fleet returned to Beta Comae in mid-November of 2301 to prepare for the critical campaign for control of Kimanjano.
2300 AD
Colony World
Profile
Nous Voila
SCALE
1 Triangle Side =
km.
K E Y
STAR DATA
P L A N E T D A TA
Satellite Name Size (km) Core Type Orbit Radii Density Bases
COLONY DATA
Date Pop.
Nationality Est. Facilities
Key
BN Beanst alk HI Heavy Industry OF RP Rocket Planes
CP Catapult M OT Orbital Terminal Sc Scramjets
F Farming Mil Military Base Out Outpost Sci Scient ific Base Fnd Foundation Nav Naval Base PN Power Net SPS Solar Power Satellite
FP Fusion Plant ets U University
Primary: Name X, Y, Z Coords.
Luminosity.
System Nature
Spec.
Radius Effective Temp.
Mag.
Mass
Dist. from Primary au Name
Size.
World Type.
Atm.
Atm.
Press.
Composition
ATM Avq. Temp.
Surf.
Core Type.
Escape
Water Presence %
Inner Outer
System
Primary
5 au
au
au
au
200 au
300 au
400 au
500 au
600 au
700 au
NOUVE U NICE
T R R I N
ame
xlOOO) Bases
Orbital Factory Mining
ODI Orbital Defense RC Rock Class
-(
Grav.
.km
Vel.
(
k m / s (
System
10
15
15
100 au
HORNETS' NEST ships are deployed within three hexes of it. The human fighters enter from the far edge of the other mapboard.
The Kafers cannot move fur- ther than three hexes from the planet until one of the human vessels is sighted.
Humans can break off their victory points for occupying the system; they gain one point for each human fighter destroyed. The humans get one point for each Kafer fighter destroyed and one point for each 10 points of damage the Kafer battleship takes. High score wins.
Kimanjano, DM + 34 2342 (5 December 2301) —Elements of the Kafer fleet have entered the Kimanjano system from the Beta Comae Berenices region, according to official military sources. Facing them in the star system, which holds the French colony of Fromme, is a Ger- man squadron under Kommodore Roehler, a Japanese force under Rear Admiral Nakajima, and French Aerospatial units attached to the French Foreign Legion. As of the time of this report, no actual contact has been made between the human and Kafer fleets, but Admiralty sources
Kimanjano, DM+34 2342 (12 December 2301) —In the first major clash of arms in this system, Rear Admiral Nakajima's squadron has been defeated in a running battle with Kafer forces. Though no Japanese ships were actually lost, the squadron suffered heavy damage and chose to withdraw to its base at Joi (61 Ursae Majoris) for needed repairs. Kommodore Roehler, commanding the German ships at Kimanjano, has reportedly filed a protest with the Admiralty
Kimanjano, DM+ 34 2342 (18 December 2301) —The last German military vessel evacuated the Kimanjan o star system today following the loss of the frigate Hannover in an une- qual battle agains t the Kafers. The French o rbital defense complex at the planet was destroyed by Kafer vessels shortly after the German withdrawal, and landings on the planet by Kafer assault troops are known to have commenced. However, at last report, fighters of the French Foreign Legion were continuing to fly interception missions against Ka fer space forces from their secure, undiscovered bases elsewhere in the system, and human ground forces augmented by local colo- nial militia were preparing to contest Kafer control of the colony world.
It is unknown, as yet, when and how Terran space forces will be able to return to the system with enough force to drive the Kafers away and rescue the important colony world. Authorities at the Admiralty Liaison Office were unavailable for comment at the time of this report.
BEFORE THE INVASION
Prior to the ou tbreak of war, the Kimanjano system, despite its being vital to hu mans as the hub of the French Arm , was very poorly garrisoned and almost comple tely und efended in space.
Aside from the Aerospatial Arm of the French Foreign Legion and a small o rbital defense c om-plex, the world of Kimanjano was virtually unprotected from any serious Kafer attack.
Following the fall of Hochbaden and Dunkelheim to the Kafers, during the period of grace afforded by the slow-down in the advance of their invasion, large numbers of regular troops were moved to Kimanjano to build up its ground-based defenses. Terran authorities assumed that if the Kafers did strike the system, th ey would be unable to do so in su fficient forc e to take it
or hold it and would therefore concentrate on attempting to drop ground troops on the planet in hopes of harassing the colonies there, much as they did in their original assault on the Eta Bootean world of Aurore, nearly three years earlier.
At the same time that Kimanjano's ground forces were being stiffened, German and Japanese squad rons were arriving from 61 Ursae Majoris to form a space force, bu t the Germans and Japanese were too busy continuing a rivalry that had developed before the war to cooperate as they should have. And very little further effort was expended by Terran military leaders toward reinforcing these defenders, particularly after the victory at the First Battle of Beta Comae Berenices, a human victory that made a major defense force at Kimanjano seem unnecessary.
Thus, although ground forces were strong on Kimanjano, space-based defenses remained very limited. The one major advantage possessed by the defenders of Kimanjano was a network of French Foreign Legion fighter craft outposts hidden in the outer reaches of the Kimanjano system, a legacy of the War of German Reunification. These outposts, basing a total of fifty-odd French fighter craft would soon serve as an effective deterrent to Kafer operations.