[GZG] [GZG Fiction] Battle of the Two Moons - 1 of 4

In a shift from our reporting of the land war on Mars, today we are honoured
to bring you the newly declassified report of the Battle of the Two Moons by
the great Admiral Jomei Miyake himself...

After Action Report - Kassen Kasei Ni Tsuki (Battle of the Two Moons) -
Admiral Miyake Jomei

Opening Moves

With the aid of the magnificent Heavens our united squadrons fought with the
iteki besieging Kasei and succeeded in all but annihilating them.

We have spent many patient and obedient months following command's strategy of
waiting and striking once we were judged to be in a position of strength. We
could not afford to attack impudently, risking the loss of our fleet and
leaving the skies of Kasei naked before the iteki. We
therefore concentrated our strength in a mid-range orbit, so we were
placed to put ourselves between the foe and the surface if need be.

We have quietly prepared the tsuki of Kasei, Phobos and Deimos, by stealth
over many months. A torrent would have been quickly noticed, but the trickle
that leaked in every time the iteki fleet passed over the horizon went as
unnoticed as the drip that slowly fills the lake. Likewise the iteki showed
not an inkling of the new gunnery systems coming in on the daily shuttle runs.
These runs did not go unmolested, but it is clear that if the enemy had known
what gold was on board they would never have let them reach us. The men and
new officers have integrated quickly, the technicians have worked tirelessly
to get the new systems installed and operational and the crews have drilled
until they could not stand with exhaustion. It has been an admirable
performance by all involved.

Once all was prepared, we performed the ritual of farewell and began our
opening moves. Our heavy cruisers were used as guard-ships, distributed
on watch in the lowest and highest of our orbits (according to plan), while
the main fighting squadrons in the core of our formation made ready for
battle, so as to be ready to set out immediately. We slowed so we would end up
with out tail in the same hemisphere as that of the lead edge of the iteki
fleet. We were to begin the battle with the next sighting of them.

Thus it came about that on May 30th 2196, at 22:00, the low-orbit
cruiser Hatsuyuki reported over fleetnet: "Enemy sighted clearing the horizon,
steering 0 minus 5 degrees relative to our heading."

All the crews of our fleet leapt to their posts. We began our slow climb at
once, each ship proceeding in order of its appointed place. We had to go
painfully slowly as to drag the iteki with us. Internally each ship secretly
made its dispositions to receive the enemy. At 22:20 the other
(left-most) lower-orbit guard-ship, the Yubari, reported: "Bulk of the
enemy's fleet is in sight. They are mirroring our climb, offset by 15
degrees."

The Chiba (Captain Chiba Ken'ichi) squadron, the Simmons (Commander Mark
Simmons) squadron and the main cruiser squadron (under the direct command of
Vice Admiral Sacha Chuikov) were matched and in contact with the enemy from
22:40 to 23:10, 350 km below the orbit of Deimos. Thereafter these vessels
were constantly in the neighborhood of the iteki, and even took some light
fire from them from time to time. Nevertheless they held their nerve in the
slow climb, only returning with light, glancing fire. They successfully kept
in constant touch with the enemy fleet, all the while conveying accurate and
frequent reports of the alien's state. It became apparent that the iteki were
marshaled in two columns line ahead, with a slight concentration of the
largest ships a third of the way along the column. The strongest vessels were
in this ball, and extending up the right column to behind its head. The weaker
and smaller vessels, and fighter platforms, followed in the rear, with their
speed a slow but steady 2mu.

I was therefore enabled to adopt the strategy of sliding past Deimos before
directing my main strength, at about 23:30 from the higher orbit back towards
Kasei, with the object of attacking the head of the left iteki column. At this
point my line ceased its rise and slide into a flatter formation, almost all
in the same orbital envelope. This saw the main squadron, the armored and
strike cruiser squadrons, and the two destroyer squadrons reach a point about
7.3 kilometers above the head of the Iteki columns at roughly 23:40. From this
point, with the object of attacking the enemy's left column, they steered port
30 degrees. At about 23:45 the Simmons squadron, the cruiser squadrons, and
the Chiba squadron had reached attack positions, while still keeping a light
touch on the enemy. At 23.50 the two fleet's positions stabilized for the
first time at a distance of 6.2 kilometers, with the Kra'Vak fleet sitting
below our port bow. As had been expected, the right column of iteki was headed
by two Kylies but then came a Katsumi, Katana, Kickback, Kenny and two Kontos.
The left was lead by a Kontos, three Kylies, Kenny and a single Katsumi. At
the very tip between the two columns, were a pair of Kermits, which seemed to
be acting as forward scouts. The rear, which was visually obscured by the sun
rise, but clear on our EW screens, were two Kimono, a Kylie and a squadron of
moderate sized cruisers and heavy destroyers.

At this point I ordered the whole combined human fleet into action, and at
23:55 I broadcast to all ships: "The fate of Mars rests in our hands. Let
everyone do their utmost or die in the trying."

Shortly there afterwards the main squadron bore down on the head of the
enemy's column in a diagonal direction. The armored cruiser squadron followed
to the rear so that the formation became a single column ahead. The Chiba,
Simmons, and the Chuikov squadrons, in accordance with the previously arranged
plan of action, dropped straight down to attack the rear of the enemy's
column.