A moment in time. (Krenim timeline 4064)

Krenim 2403.3

Over the next month the Imperium focused on internal development. There were two focal points which could be significant for the future.

1) While the Necron continued their failure to communicate despite holding a small colony in a Krenim system, 2 destroyer class ships were noted to enter. A number of what could be considered colony vessels had been observed skirting the adge of the system, and the Imperium had avoided expansion deeper into Necron space, but these were the first definite warships seen to approach Krenim colonies.

2) History notes that the Solenoid and Krenim had no formal contact before this date however records show there actually was a tentative approach by the Solenoid in this month. The Imperium had replied with a counter proposal however diplomatic contact was strained when a Solenoid craft unexpectedly exited a warp point into Krenim space. The Krenim defence forces were unable to identify the class as it was destroyed by the defences. The other side of the warp point was Omega society space and it had been naturally assumed 3rd parties would be warned about the entrance. Krenim authorities sent a message of condolence to the Solenoid. The effect of this mistake on relations with the Solenoid was only to be guessed at and diplomatic officials spent the next week in a state of worry. There were inevitable comparisons to when the Krenim similarly encountered the Devnull. On that occasion the result had been the loss of the Krenim colony ship to a Devnull warship previously unfamiliar with the Imeprium. However then quick negotiations, on both sides, settled the border before any more conflict could erupt.

TO: Captain Vres (Comamnding TS 138)
FROM: Commander Mel't (Chief Historian, TS 138)
RE: Imperium timeline 4064. Focal points.

Report dated, timedate 2403.4 1153.

The History department has made an observation that can be considered highly significant for the consideration of any future temporal incursions.

As is known the result of a temporal incursion is not always 100% forseeable. Although all possible effort is put into the calculation of an incursion it is outside the purview of a scientific endeavour such as this to determine the psychological result of the removal of established focal points. With the restoration, or unforseen reduction, of Krenim power a psychological effect is common as the Krenim psyche changes due to outside stimuli. If drastically reduced the Imperium can turn into an extremly hostile territorial power as it fights for it's survival. Even on occasions when the Imeprium grows it can also become xenophobic. On some occasions it can grow and even be in conflcit but still be friendly to other races. The result cannnot always be predicted.

The Imperium of timeline 4064 can be briefly described as such. Dominant. It can almost be considered a match for the next 3 powers combined. Part of the explanation of this power is the Imperium of this timeline's willignness to conduct population exchange. It actively exchanges citizens with the other powers including the next significant power [crosslink:Devnull]. The exchange goes both ways and under effective management can be cosnidered in part an explanation of the Devnull growth. For the Imperium this poses a significant problem.

With the influx of foreign workers they have been assigned roles in the development of Krenim colonies. Best suited to those colonies with an atmosphere matching their homeworld on occasion they consist of the entire colonies population. Should a temporal incursion be focused on their race as a whole the result would be the removal of these valuable popualtions from the Imeprium. In the absence of the now non-existant race their position would be filled by Krenim colonists, but the effect on facility efficiency is unknown. Alternatively the Imperium might be found to have replaced them with colonists from another race. It is the role of a timeship to edit timelines and not manage them but it is recomamnded that to strengthen this timeline perhaps the Imeprium should be guided to allow an influx of alternate colonists should in future current exhange partners be the focus of a temporal incursion.

As of the date 2404.1 the Imperium has retained it's preeminent position. Despite optimistic estimates the Krenim have not reached a position of equaling the next three ranked powers, although they are in a good position. Hemmed in as they are on all sides by alien empires the Imperium strives to maintain good relations with other powers. Not being threatened the Imperium sees no need to loom over others but instead concentrates on internally ensuring it's dominance. Diplomatic efforts, successful as they are, are affected somewhat by the fact that the 3 power plan that drives the Imperium must deal with the fact that it is not always the same 3 powers. It seems to be a mistake to assume that if a power can approach a certain level it will maintain that level as opposed to other powers. Influence seems to fluctuate widely, sometimes month by month. The condition of the surrounding powers are as such.

The Devnull. Currently ranked 3rd in power, it is a level 27 culture (as opposoed to the Imperium of the time, of 64K). The Imperium quickly agreed on a treaty after contact but the two sides of the border have not communicated since. Due to the lack of information forthcoming the Imperium is cautious but expects no short term threat.

The Omega. The Imperium was actually surprised to discover when it investigated that it was only 7th in power (close to 18K). Of the Imperiums neighbours the Omega are on the best terms communicating regularly with no conflict. Of the neighbouring empires it is the closest thing to an ally in the Imperium's view.

The Zentraedi are an empire the Imperium is aware of, however no contact has been established. Ranked 4th in power, and a 26K society, it's exact extent or location is not known. Rumours exist that they are a warlike race but the Imperium does not endeavour to investigate further.

The nearest rival the Imperium has is the Necron. a 30K empire from what information the Imperium has gathered. The Imperium attempted discourse when they were first encountered, but only received silence as a reply. It is not known if the Necron even received the hail. Some call for extra attempts while others say no reply is to be expected. Confident of their power the Imperium sits and watches but the Necron growth is worrying. They occupy a single planet in one of the Krenim's border systems and observed movements and buildup of forces has the Krenim concerned.

Finally the Kray'aed are the last empire to have contact with the Imperium. Barely qualifying as an empire, as other civilisations freely are, it has rebuffed all efforts to an agreement the Imperium has offerred.

The Imperium is aware of other races, namely the Solenoids and Faqs. Relations have been established along with beneficial trade agreements.

No other races are known of

Commander Vrenas strolled down the sensor pit comrpising a large portion of the regional headquarters. The Krenim military was not very large, or at least not as large as some desired, but it's technology was unequalled. Forced to share systems with unpredictable aliens it closely monitored potential threats. It had been reasonably quiet, it was always reasonably quiet. Vrenas liked to think he obeyed the finest traditions of the Imperium's military, but the truth was the Imeprium military barely had any traditions. From the day the Imperium expanded into other systems it had never faced any real threats. Oh there had been occasional unexpected, and brief, conflict with other races as they were encountered, but on these rare occasions it involved nothing more than the ineviatble problems caused by suddenly encountering races whose existance had not previously been known. On all occasions borders had been established. In some cases the aliens were relatively powerful and so agreements were reached. In others the aliens either refused to talk or so barely registered as threats that their opinions one way or the other were irrelevant. No, no actual notable conflict had ever developed and so the Imeprium's military and it's development, either in power or tradition, was severely curtailed. Still Vrenas did his best with what he was given, and if not particularly strong, in an attempt to avoid antagonsiing the neighbours, at least he didn't have much to want. He considered all this as he walked. Then a technician motioned for him. He strolled over.

"Yes, what do you have to report?"
"Sir, sensors have shown the Necron fleet breaking orbit"

The Necron, an enigmatic, apparently artificial race, had a sole colony in this system. Grabbed as the Imperium was in the process of annexing the system it had not originally been considered a problem. Only a minor nuisance, it was at least better to have an enemy you could see then a threat lurking on the far side of a wormhole. It had been a matter of concern of late. The Necron had started what could only be considered a buildup. Alien vessels entered the system to take position over the colony. The colony itself had launched a couple of dozen fighter squadrons as protection and an orbital base had been emplaced. Krenim leadership had looked on in interest. It was unimaginable that any rational being would actually launch an attack considering the gulf in power but it had been enough for precautions to be implemented. The local shipyards had built several warships just in case they were needed. Could it be the Necron were about to attack?

"Are the alien ships heading towards us?" Vrenas queried.
"Negative Sir. They have set a course towards their orginal wormhole"
"They're leaving?"
"Yes Sir"

Vrenas stood back. It was puzzling. Why send the ships to the system in the first place if only to abandon the protection of the colony. The fighter squadrons and the base were still there but Necron force in the system had now been considerably reduced. It was very confusing. To his knowledge nothing had changed, so what could have caused the seeming change in priority? Nevertheless he decided to forward the infomration on. Perhaps the higher command was aware of something he didn't know.

Around Admiral Vnerus people rushed about putting last minute touches to the preparations. The Admiral took a minute to read his book. A play by the ancient poet Sordheln, Vnerus found the words were still quite appropriate these days.

'The quality of mercy must be earned,
and not strewn gratis on the common ground
as pearls for rooting swine, to any fool
who staggers eyeblind into his own folly
and cries "Oh pity me!" Else mercy's self
grows cheap and tawdry from her overuse.'

Vnerus moved futher down the page

'And who beyond child's years is such a fool as to believe flesh is cut without blood shed?'

of course Sordheln's contemporary Hayam put it blunter,

'No one ever won a war by caring about the other guy.'

Vnerus put down his book as an aide came up.

"We are ready, Admiral"

"Very good. Lauch the attack then"

"Yes sir" said the aide, saluting.

The Krenim had a close relationship with time, especially the concept of cause and effect. Throughout their history when on the many occasions conflict had erupted it was considered only natural to contemplate the cause of conflict, and the quickest means to end it. Why kill an enemy only to allow his children to grow up feeling anger and a wish for revenge?. Best really to wipe out all possibility of future conflict. Unbeknownst to the Imperium of this timeline that had naturally lead to the UberImperium's policy of eradicating all possible threats from the space/time continuum. It had long been Krenim strategy that when faced with a threat it was best to go right for the heart of the problem. The Necron had declared war on the Imperium and so naturally the council considered to aim for the top. In this case what little information was available said the Necron worshipped a form of gods called the C'tan. These C'tan, it was claimed, lived inside suns, or ate them, the information wasn't very clear. Anyway it was clearly best to remove their homes or at least what they ate. The fact that it was suns being considered was barely relevant, except of course if the whole Necron gods thing was false at least they could remove entire systems of the enemy. Vnerus himself had created the plan. Entitled Operation Quality, He thought the name was rather appropriate

eloquent.

Of course the Imperium has always expected a threat from the Devnull, that's why when they asked for contact with other empires we were happy to comply.

[Just a bit of a joke :)]

We were unaware the Devnull were shut in since they clearly had access with the Omega. It is unfortunate that the border we agreed on is a hindrance.

While we are OC, the Necron have always been seen as the prime threat. I know their story and there's no chance of negotiations. That and it being Romulus where, while a nice enough guy I gather, it seems ineviatble that we never get on in a game. We have 3 games (I'll dispense with code names)

Shadows vs Goauld: different sides of a looming conflict.
Asurans vs Peacekeepers: Though unforseen, war did eventually break out.
Krenim vs. Necron: pretty inevitable really.

Our playing styles just seem to guarantee conflict.

I'm interested in finding out exactly how it is you think your technology is better? apart from the estimates thing. Soemone did say I was deficient in some areas and offerred a trade. I thanked him for the information and promptly researched those areas.

PS. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel bitter towards him or anything. We just both seem to like empires with a bit of bite and of course there's only enough room in a game for one of our type. In comparison to the usual empire I like the Krenim are outgoing Federation types. An empire mind you I would never play. The closest I get is the Terran Empire. Last time I RP this heavily 3 other empires ganged up on me before we were halfway done because my empire simply couldn't be allowed to live in a sane universe.

ah I see the problem. The Imperium has tried it's best not to be hostile or bloodthirsty. I was wondering what gave the impression. I only just realised I shouldn't have used Shakespearean dialogue from the Terran Empire. It's just I've always loved that passage.

Edit: It may be a moot point soon. I noticed last turn it took about 15 minutes to run, and this time it barely made it, by which I mean it actually took longer than the 20 minute limit PBW has to do turns.

PS. and really, Sundevil as the name of a Necron systen? It was so obvious I had to target it first.

oh right, yes I guess so. I didn't think of that. You must have lots of little techs whereas I focus on big stuff. I was going to say I must have more RP worth because I've been in the lead but it only now occurrs to me you could have traded for a lot. I tried that a bit but generally other races didn't have anything I didn't by myself. There's a big difference I guess between several level of small weapons and several levels of stellar manipulation.

in fact now you bring it to my attention, how the heck did the Solenoid get so much? I smell a lot of tech trading.

ah well I don't suppose there is any need to worry as long as we avoid fighting each other

It's just not in my nature to trade unless I have to. I can't avoid the idea that I might be giving technology to a potential threat. I believe in this game there have been 3 offers of trade. I went with the first one. I thought I had an agreement with the second only for him to suddenly refuse even though I offerred him what he asked for, and the third I thought it was easier to just research what was being offerred.

The controversy over the Krenim Imperiums wide scale policy of using Star destroying weapons from the beginning has tended to, understandably, overshadow the fact that from the beginning of what was to become termed the Ne-Krenim war the Imperium did utilise fleet elements. The beginning of the war had started with the movement of the Necron to cut off access to the shared border system of Xanthar. Krenim reconnaisance elements had already established that the Necron had the ability to close warp points, one of their "carnage closer" ships being in the fleet detected crossing the system. The closing of the warp point was irrelevant, the Imperium long having the ability to open new ones, but the closing would cut off the border defence force forcing them to take a long journey to join with the strike forces already being formed. The decision was taken to pre-emptively move into Xanthar. As expected the Necrons moved to the border Warp point. The border militia, comprising out of date warships, met and fought the Necron fleet. Although they managed to do substantial damage the militia fleet was destroyed. Support elements attempted to flee but were pursued and destroyed. The Necron force then halted and began the preperations for the closing of the warp point.

At the same time a task force tasked with the elimination of Necron supply depots on the Necron colony in Xanthar entered the system through a warp point opened by the Imperium, while elsewhere "Operation Quality", the plan to substantially erode Necron strength by destroying their core systems, was launched, the Assault Fleet headed towards Xanthar VIII. The Necron fleet in the system moved to close the new warp point but it's protection was not a priority. Substantial reserves protected the other end and a new one could be opened at the Imperiums choosing. The Assault Fleet moved into orbit of Xanthar VIII. Necron fighter elements moved to intercept but meeting overwhelming PD from the Krenim fleet none approached any closer than 30 km. Necron orbital bases were observed to already be venting atmosphere, it being theorised an accident or drastic attempt to refit them all but removing their structural inegrity. It took only a few volleys by the forward task force to send them falling from orbit. Necron defences on the planet launched waves of plasma missiles but as with the fighters none made it through the curtain of defensive fire. The Assault Fleet began an orbital bombardment, precisely targeted, that desrtoyed all Necron presence on the planet as well as it's defences. Damage to the structural integrity of the planet based facilities was sufficiently light as to leave most of them intact. The planet no longer having any population, the facilities were left abandoned.

The planet having been neutralised it was decided to deal with the Necron fleet. As mentioned the warp point closer was irrelevant, although it's destruction would be a positive contribution to the war effort. It had been observed with the destuction of the border fleet that the Necrons kept their support ships within the safety of their fleet, whereas Krenim policy was to keep support elements a safe distance from fighting. Necron tactics having been assessed it was decided the advance taskforce only had enough speed to close with the Necron ships. The Advanced detachment would be slightly outnumbered but analysis was positive about their chances.

The Fast Fleet moved to intercept the Necron fleet as it fled, and the two forces met near the Xanthar storm. It had long been established that space battles were a quick affair. With the amount of power used by modern weapons no ship could hope to survive a full on battle for longer than 2 or 3 minutes. On some occasions a victor might mop up afterwards but generally two forces of equal size would be forced into a quick exchange of fire before the victory of one side or the other was determined.

The two forces swept in towards each other. A number of Necron ships were already retreating, having been damaged in the initial border skirmish, and several in the attacking fleet were themselves venting debris as the Necron threw them into the battle. The two forces approached, with the Necron firing missiles. These were generally dealt with by escorts, although as the range decreased the response time of PD was limited. The Necron broke first, turning to port. This enabled the Krenim fleet to approach their stern, the range having been decreased to near point blank they opened fire with continous barrages, while the Necron responded likewise. Krenim fire was decisive and half the Necron fleet was destroyed ot crippled in return for about half as many losses. Notable was that a Necron Scythe Direct Cruiser judged disabled began to open fire on a nearby nearly disabled Krenim cruiser destroying it. As the battle moved away it continued to fire destroying two damaged Krenim escorts. Other recovering ships were mercifully out of range. The surviving half of the Necron fleet turned to starboard but was unable to pull away from the Krenim pursuit. It underwent a series of turns to no effect as the Krenim fleet finished it off. The moment when the Carnage closer was destroyed was unwitnessed in the fury.

The end result was a decisive victory by the Krenim, although not without substantial damage to nearly all Krenim survivors. Of 21 ships, 6 were destroyed, 2 Escorts and 4 cruisers, 1 ship was disabled, and 1 immobilised, and 6 damaged but operational. The only Necron survivors were 2 ships, previously damaged that retreated as battle began, and 2 ships immobilised that would be finished off afterwards, including the malevolent Direct crusier. It was noted that even all but destroyed the Necron did not hesitate to prey on the helpless survivors of ships that were no longer capable of posing a threat. Orders to act likewise were issued.

I sort of have to agree, and what's more the first one has a range of 50 LY. I can almost reach any system in the game, though granted that might just be the size map we have. Also the star destroyer mentions what size star it can destroy but it doesn't seem to matter as it starts at the top.

I suppose I should also look at strategies. In the first battle my warships were destroyed, fair enough, but then my support ships instead of retreating just flew around the sector map until they were destroyed.

Hopefully this series will give the general idea.

Devnull, if you'll request my combat files in a treaty I'll give them to you. I've meant to for the last 2 turns but I end my turn without remembering to and then go "Damn!"

I'm not actively fighting anyone else. The Fegets broke off the treaty I had with them for some reason so I don't know, in the near future perhaps. They seem to have a treaty with the Necrons, along with the Axis, but I haven't seen any of their ships yet.

What surprised me was I really thought computer controlled ships would be invulnerable to ship capture because there aren't any crew to overcome. Of course it having happened I now see the problem with that.

Tis as I feared. Wide spread use of Stellar weapons fatally destabilises the fabric of reality.

ie. generating the next turn broke down.

and this just as I offerred a bilateral disarmement treaty.

The Imperium pretty much figured that out after about the 5th single ship trying to break in.

oh and it's caused technically by it not being the long way round. It means that somehow the passage via the wormhole I just opened is, if anything, a single sector shorter so even if you can't see the route the AI tries to take a short cut. There's an exploit with it I avoid but I've never thought of using it to set traps for the AI. I'll have to remember it

Romullus put the latest turns on 1.71, otherwise it doesn't work. You might have to either play it with a 1.71 install or make one. Just copy the mod folder to the new install if that. things are going to be delayed a bit anyway as I have carpal tunnel or a pinched nerve in my arm. I'm having to type this with my good hand key by key.

The History of the Ne-Krenim war.

For the first few months the Ne-Krenim war went in favour of the Krenim. The existence of Necron warp controlling ships had been noticed before hostilities had erupted but the Necron had seemed unprepared for the Krenim use of such technology. Quickly one, then another system, filled with Necron colonies, had been destroyed. Krenim scientists, along with the aid of Reconnaisance ships, triangulated the position of Krenim systems and they were targeted. This ended with the opening of a warp point into what was considered the Necron home system. Follwoing procedure this was targetted with a Stellar torpedo droneship. The events that happened next were controversial, both afterwards, and continuing, and at the time. With the wide scale use of Stellar weapons instability in surrounding space was observed. Reaching for dozens of Light years and throughout the Imperium as well as nearby empires, people talked of feeling that they had relived entire months. Orders were issued, and then seemingly repeated with only minor changes. Some developed the idea that destroying Stars, the linchpins of space, was destroying the fabric of space. To continue to use them invited destruction of all existence. It was at this stage that the Fegets, an ancient race the Imperium had failed to initiate trade with, openly condemned the Stellar weapons, crying that it destroyed Underspace. The Imperium didn't know of Underspace but could not deny that with their special conenction to time all could feel something was continually going wrong. In an attempt to stop the breakdown of space some demanded the Torpedo ship be recalled. Others said the Imperium had an oppurtunity to decisively cripple the Necron. The Torpedo was halted as debate raged. Then another break was detected. The Torpedo was recalled. By this stage Necron forces intercepted it. The Droneship easily evaded Necrron fighters but soemhow was caught by a mixture of fighters and a warship. Video feed from the Torpedo was interupted at the same time and so how exactly it was destroyed was unknown. Its loss was not a major drawback, the Imperium had plenty ready for use.By this stage it had been determined that the breaks were a symptom of natural incompatibility. A modification of the system would fix it. Feget cries however had been growing. There existed the potential that they might actively fight the Imperium. The Imperium leadership was not certain it could handle the combined forces of 2 empires, 3 if the the recent declaration of war from the Unknown Zentraedi was genuine. The Axis forces were beign propped up by the Necrons for their own reason and for this, and other reasons, would not have a part anytime soon.

Then in the pause after the withdrawal of stellar weaponry, as the Imperium began to consider other avenues, the Nercron grabbed the initiative. Krenim warp points into the heart of Necron space began to mysteriously collapse. Pathways were lost, but one leading from Deneb to Necron prime, the presumed Necron capital, was left open. The Necron launched an assault back though the wormhole. They had leaped when first it had been opened, and the initial probe by virtue of its speed had gotten though, allowing observation, and so the vital corrections needed to simultaneously open and use a warp point to penetrate with the torpedo whose failure was mentioned previously. However a large Necron fleet had blocked the Deneb Warp point. That same fleet, or one matching it in strength had launched an attack. The Imperium naturally had their own guard forces on the Deneb end and it destroyed the main force. There were minor failures, the drone force through some mistake of programming expended themselves ramming the Necron ships, when they were supposed to just fire on them, but seeing as it was their first use in combat problems were only to be expected. The Imperium was triumphant, but not without taking serious losses. The new battleships performed about as well as could be expected but were quickly lost, Necron fire apparently being concentrated on them by virtue of their size alone. Their failure was put down in some part because being new only a few had made it to the front line. As well the Deneb point was only one of a number of access ways, all of which had to be guarded. While fighting erupted at Deneb point, a second force encountered periodic attempts by Necron forces to break through. Appearing one by one the Necron ships were easily destroyed, in total comprising what was felt to be a substantial loss by the Necron. Experts however soon pointed out that their failed attempts at invasion could not be considered an intentional attack. Both sides were by this point using drone ships, full sized warships with Robotic control, although in the Necron case this went without saying. The weak attacks were, the experts said, ships taking the wrong route to Deneb point by way of a warp point the Krenim had opened but the Necron had left open, instead closing the warp point leading from the previously destroyed sytem to Necron prime.

The Drone ships were becoming a matter of concern within Krenim command. It was true they freed up Krenim personel to man the facilities that built in rapid succesion ships for the Fleet, but they had their faults. At one point, before sensors were upgraded, a cloaked Necron scout ship slipped though. The Imperium had experimented with cloaking, initially with it's recon missions to locate Necron systems, but a flaw seemingly inherent in the technology no matter whcih race developed it meant it needed to decloak once a month to refuel. This failure, which made the previously invisible ship apparent, left much to be desired invalidating as it did the prime requisite of a succesful cloaking system, and along with the fact that both sides used temporal sensors, the technology had fallen out of favour. It did allow a Necron ship to slip though though. Stricter sensor standards were implemented and interceptors were sent to destroy the spy. Outpacing them however it eluded destruction until it entered a storm. It was at this point that a fundamental flaw with the drone ships was discovered. Their implementation had been partly because of the knowledge that the Necron had placed boarding parties on their ship. The experts had said that the enemy couldn't board and capture a ship if it had no crew to overcome, a pronouncement that in retrospect turned out to be a mistake, and yet no one realised the flaw in the logic. Half hearted excuses that the breaks had had adverse effects on peoples thinking were given short shrift. In the storm shields were rendered inoperable. The Necron scout's boarding party easily captured the Drone ship, although its boarders could not do so before the ship destroyed the scout. The newly Necron ship was under no risk of escaping, delivering advanced technology to the Necron, and was soon destroyed when an unarmed drone ship rammed it, but the failure of one of its intrinsic qualities was a matter of concern.

Meanwhile fleets were massed for a renewed assault on the Necron home system. The Imperium had long guaranteed protection from such warp point attacks as it had utilised against the Necron by the simple expedient of maximising the number of warp points in the home system, the rules of physics stating that a system could have no more than 10 warp points. It was unknown if the enemy had actually tried and failed to reach the Krenim home system, but it was clear from observance that additional warp points were appearing in the Necron home system and so it was urgent that an assault be launched before it was innacesible. Fleets needed to be massed though, and so the attack was delayed. With the ships ready warp points were generated, only for them to collapse, the limit having been reached.

In Deneb The Necron survivors of the first attack were fleeing in system. Newly arrived battleships pursued them, but battleships were large ponderous vehicles and built to defend warp points not pursue smaller craft. they made an effort, and one Necron ship was destroyed but 5 others evaded pursuit. The battleships were recalled and faster cruisers sent instead. The cruisers and their escorts intercepted and destroyed the by now low supplied ships but at this time what came to be called the second battle of Deneb point started.

The battle started when two succesive waves of drones came through. Only small attacks, first 9 drones, then 4, they were easily destroyed although the Imperium did take loses, 2 escorts destroyed and several ships damaged . Both sides had clearly developed drones, but they had not previously been used in combat. The Necron had seemingly developed theirs further and the Drones took longer to destroy than estimated. The Krenim finished this stage in a good position covering the warp point. However there was one vital problem. The Krenim carrier had been stationed well away from the warp point, a buerecratic bungle recorded it didn't have any fighters, perhaps lost in previous abttle, but the truth was it did have fighters on board, 71 of them. In the first fight the carrier headed inwards launching its fighters. That stage ended before they could engage though and they reboarded their carrier. With further waves though the fighters did not make an appearance, seemingly stuck on their mothership. With the large use by the enemy of drones it cannot be estimated just how much the fighters could have contributed. In the end they were lost when their carrier, unable to use the wepaons it was designed to carry, was destroyed during the following fighting.

The third Necron wave comprised 10 destroyers along with 10 Cruisers, and the Krenim outnumbered them 3 to 1 with superiority in hull sizes as well. 28 Frigates, 40 crusiers, a carrier, long since phased out of general use, and 3 battleships. The Imperium did well totally destroying the enemy, but took equal loses, at leats on paper. A closer look showed some serious problems. Instead of 10 destroyers the Imperium lost 9 frigates, a minor advantage to the Imperium, however they also lost a battleship, and many ships that seemingly survived the battle, infact were seriously damaged, one being disarmed and half a dozen disabled. A result, soon to become important, was that the combined fleets were dangerously out of position. Then the next wave came.

Only a small one, a lone destroyer, hardly considered a wave in some circles, it was soon dealt with. But the seeds of future problems became apparent. Krenim fleets comprised task forces with all the drone ships within such linked into a datanet. Many ships had been damaged and the combined datanets took over, guiding the ships to safety. The lone destroyer was dealt with by a task force comprising 3 cruisers and twice as amny escorts, but at the same time retreating away from the warp point, and the other major task forces, still quite powerful also retreated AWAY from the warp point. This was followed by several more drone waves. The entry point practically unguarded they destroyed several helpless ships before ships could move in and destroy them. After the drones came a new cruiser of a class not previously seen. Half the ship seemed to be filled with Plasma missile launchers, sacrificng protection. It detroyed more damaged ships before single handedly dispatching 2 battleships. It then proceeded to pursue a task force. With the emergence of another wave of droens the Krenim ships finally turned back. The main force destroyed the Lone cruiser but the drones were heavily armed with direct energy weapons utilising plasma. Krenim warships had PD defence but this was aimed at existing missile weapons and the defunct fighter arm. They were not equipped to combat drones, and what energy weapons they did have were having difficulty hitting the nimble drones. The smaller of the two task forces was destroyed befotre the Drones swept on to attack the support train. The remaining task force headed for the rampant drones finally dispatching them, although not before the support train was destroyed.

What followed were more drone waves with the occasional warship in support, but with every engagement the Krenim ships sufferred more damage. The end came when two drones and two more overly armed direct fire cruisers entered. The Krenim task force at a glance appeared strong and managed to destroy the drones but could not handle the cruisers which with massive broadsides destroyed them. As the wreckage cooled more Necron crusiers appeared as reinforcement leaving the Necron in control of the Warp point with 10 warships and 4 drones. Considering the amount of fighting it could not be considered a fault that the task forces were seperated, however what was apaprent was that the the Krenim had not considered the sudden introduction of drones. Krenim policy was to have dedicated escorts with PD but these had been the first to suffer and their loss left the ships less protected. The Necron ships, with their heavy armament were also a surprise. The planned areas of attack were elsewhere and modern ships had been sent there instead. The protectors of Deneb point were old designs outclassed by modern enemy ships. 30 escort frigates, 40 cruisers, 3 battleships, and 1 carrier (with its helpless 71 fighters) were lost in return for 47 drones, 11 destroyers and 15 cruisers.

After the loss at Deneb point the call went out to all fleets to move to Deneb and stop the Necron invasion. Their original plans were finished in the face of the inability to open a wp to the Necron home and they were deperately needed. A Necron scout force of 4 drones had just penetrated the home system as the fleets arrived. Appearing behind the enemy the recalled fleets destroyed them without pause, then continued on to Deneb.

The Necron forces floated above the multiple warp points in Deneb. Stationed close to the warp points to quickly intercept any Krenim forces they were taken by surprise as dozens of Drones appeared. The first Necron cruiser died within seconds under a hail of missile fire, its Point defence unable to cope with the quantity of fire. A second cruiser joined it within seconds. Even as the remainder were engaged a Necron warp closing cruiser appeared through another wormhole. It may not have even realised what was happening but it was soon destroyed from multiple fire from the 2 fleets that appeared behind the drones. The Krenim forces quickly cleared all Necron presence from the system. Taking up a position mirroring that of the now cooling Necron wreckage the Fleets combined to target Necron ships as they continued to appear, one or two every few days, accompanied by a handful of drones each time. The enemy caught unawares hardly put up a fight as they blundered into the trap. The urgency of defending from further invasion had prompted the Krenim command to skip its usual careful build up before acting and a probe ship was sent, likewise breaking into the enemy home system. It was swiftly destroyed but this had always been expected. Its last communication showed what it had faces, over 100 light fighters and nearly half as many medium sized ones. Quick simulations showed the enemy force would not pose much of a threat to the Krenim combined fleet but nonetheless it was decided to send the drone forces through first. Near obsolete they were soon to be replaced and though they could not target the enemy fighters they would at least draw fire.

The Combined fleet broke through. As expected the enemy fighters wasted their fire on the drones while the fleet used PD to destroy them all. The enemy had reinforced the warp point with a handful of ships and some mines but these forces were quickly destroyed. What followed were several days as the Krenim fleet patrolled the warp point contacting further Necron forces as they arrived. Several months earlier the Axis had fallen and surrendered to the mercy of the Necrons, what there was of it. The ships the Krenim forces continued to destroy where Axis vessels. As obsolete as the drones quickly being lost day by day they did not pose much of a challenge, at least one being boarded and turned against its old masters, if only for a short period before being lost. The ships continued to fight, gradually being dispersed around the sector. This allowed modern Necron ships when they arrived to destroy several battleships that were not designed to fight one to one but instead as part of a larger group.

By the end of the month the Krenim fleet was broken into two forces. The smaller force of 10 ships was left in the warp point sector while the other much larger one of 25 cruisers had strayed out of the sector as it turned following an engagement. The Necron had several ships on the warp point but they were not engaged with the smaller force. Sensors detected many small elements, mostly small groups of drones and Axis ships, streaming into the system and heading for the wormhole. The fleet moved to recombine and engage them.

Captain Benuk stood looking at the large monitor taking up the front of the bridge. It wasn't the view from the monitor he was focussing on though but instead he considered recent events. The Krenim response fleet had broken through from Deneb, but had soon been met a strong response from the Necron, unsurprising since the break through was into their home system. What followed was a sequence of pushes back and forth. The Necron would fight back, and throw their forces in as they arrived, strength of numbers would eventually prevail and the Krenim fleet heavily damaged. The Krenim, who preferred to mass before an aasult, would then throw their reinforcements in together and take the warp point, only for further Necron forces to arrive. Both sides were roughtly equal and the present push back and forth could continue for years at this rate. Krenim ship numbers were larger, and generally of better quality, but those damned Necron drones appeared in such numbers as to remove the advantage the Krenim had. A war of attrition would be costly and what more might not even be succesful. A different solution was needed. Benuk's thoughts returned to the briefing by Admiral Vrenus before the latest campaign. In it he outlined new plans to break into enemy territory. The assembled capatins had watched as Vrenus went over the recent fall of the Axis. The Imperium had been significantly stronger than the Necron menace up until that point. The Axis had apparently been servants of the Necron, but secretly they had a secret resistance movement. This movement had passed on information, and although none of it had been specific, Krenim command had easily determined vital secrets. For instance the Axis had never actually said where the Necron home system was but from other information the Krenim had made a guess. A guess which had been correct, and so the Krenim had atatcked the Necron's home system. That front had fallen into a stalemate after the unfortunate failure to destroy the system star. Indirectly however the Krenim use of star destroying weapons had had an unforseen benefit. The Axis had asked not to have their systems targetted, and had supplied a list of systems to avoid. They had not explained which was their home system however. Soon after the Axis had been annexed by the Necron, amking the Necron stronger. To open a second front and divert some of the Necron reinforcements, Vrenus explained, a warp point would be opened to an Axis system. The Necron were clearly sending their forces to their home front and so would be out of position, at least for a few months, unable to respond.

The plan had been carried out. Command had had a hunch which system was the Axis home system, although there were no firm facts to base such a decision on, and launched the attack. They had been wrong.

Krenim forces had penetrated in strength before it became apparent it was only a secondary system. The number of targets were few and so apart from a few drone attacks on nearby colonies the Krenim forces paused. Benuk broke off a few squadrons of drones and sent them
investigate. On egroup went to attack what appeared to be the system capital, and another group investigated a nearby warp point. The Necron sent a few sparse defenders which were soon dealt with, then came their real response.

This time Benuk did focus on the screen. nearby 15 enemy warships, and 10 times as many small craft, were approaching. A substantial force. The Necron must have detached as many forces nearby as they could. Pity the Krenim had no intention of facing them. As Benuk watched the enmy force semed to slide off the screen. In space the Krenim force was turning back to the warp point. As the enemy approached, the Krenim fleet withdrew through the warp point. With the last ship having withdrawn the war point pulsed and closed. Meanwhile the Krenim fleet moved elsewhere.

Benuk and his fleet moved on to the next front. The assault on Dupplin had been a waste of effort. There had been no major targets and placing his fleet there was a waste of ships when they could be used elsewhere to upset the fragile balance that stalemated the war. Someone in the command hierachy, Benuk wasn't sure who, had realised that given a list of systems the Axis had deemed theirs wouldn't it make sense that the first system was their home. Benuk hoped whoever it had been had been promoted. The fleet was massed and a wormhole opened. The initial forces entered without any resistance, and the main task force followed. This time intelligance had finally got it right. The fleet had appeared in the midst of amajot system. Every palnet detected was inhabited and the screen centered in one particular sector. The planet glowed in the elctromagentic spectrum and even from this distance fields of light could be seen shining from the dark side. Undoubtedly it was the Axis Homeworld, now under the control of the Necron. The occupancy was clear, but hardly any warships were detected, and the possible reason became clear. Further scans detected every warp point in the system. One was only an AU away but clearly headed in the same direction as the attack came from. Some system which by the vagaris of warp travel the fleet must have passed through while in the subspace realm warp parthways travelled through. The next nearest however was promising. Judging from its position it headed towards the Necron home system. Although the intiial assault on the Necrons' home system was stalemated with vast forces sitting on either end of the entry point, there still remained small drone forces in the system. The drones had fallen out of favour lately, their effectiveness was u