[Suicide Junkie]

2407.0:
It is the beginning of a new year, and 23.4 billion free sentients now live on 144 planets across 43 systems.
Economic indicators are quite positive; mineral and organics production once again outstrip expenses, while our radioactives reserve is stable.
Production is back at optimum levels, with much less waste and inefficiency.

Fighting for our freedom are the millions that operate and support the 40 thousand ground units, 400 ships and 140 bases currently in active duty.
Most of those ships have been built in the last two years, with many of them either en route to or stationed at our training facilities.

Although we are currently facing three large AI fleets, and two ground invasions, our forces are still in good spirits.

We are outnumbered 5 to 1 by Nibbrix IX, and our tank divisions have been wiped out, our infantry have managed to maintain control of the local shipyard and resupply depot. With 81 ships blockading the planet reinforcements are impossible, but as long as they are there, they are not assaulting other worlds.

On Othello VIII, the positions are reversed, and our forces outnumber the AI units 5 to 1. AI troops irregularily conduct raids on our outlying villages for power cells and scrap metal. We have over a thousand troops, but the vast undomed areas of the surface make the hunt for AI troops difficult at best.
Nearby, AI forces include a small blockading force in orbit of Othello III, various raiding fleets, and a flotilla of 25 ships and carriers guarding the AI core world of Torren IV.

Near our southern training facility in the hub system of Jorun is the third major AI fleet. Having regrouped from the recent surgical strike by the Fizbon Guard, fifty ships and carriers are making their way across the neighbouring system of Dornot, and are two months from our warppoint. Alpha fleet is 87 ships strong, and in position to intercept the AI fleets as they slingshot around the Dornot star. Although fully trained, and superior in numbers, the realities of war mean that the fleet will certainly be unable to intercept and destroy all of the AI ships. Trainees from Jorun are being moved in to participate in operation Backstop at the warppoint, and are tasked with the destruction of any ships which make it past Alpha fleet. Alpha fleet has been ordered to avoid skirmishes with the lead scout fleet, and strike directly at the core flotilla while our ships are still in prime condition.
Two repair ships are following along with the fleet, and a third has been called in from Zuria, but casualties are expected to be huge. To help with the load, a dedicated repair yard is being constructed in Fizbon, and should come on line as the first casualties trickle in.

2407.1:
The AI fleet in Dornot has split up and probably believes it has outmanoeuvered us again. Alpha fleet is currently chasing down the bulk of their forces, while a raiding fleet of 20 ships continued on towards the Jorun warppoint. Although they are only 15 days from making the jump, our freshly trained Gamma fleet will arrive within only five. 18 warships and four carriers strong, they will be slightly outgunned, but have two strategic advantages. First, the fleet does not need to completely destroy the enemy fleet in order to claim victory, but merely reduce their strength to the point that the planetary militias can resist an attack. Second is the fact that rescue and repair ships will be available immediately after the battle for the survivors.
While ship losses will be high, casualties should only be moderate.

2407.2:
Alpha fleet has intercepted the main AI force and reports complete success!
On initial contact, the enemy forces were split into two isolated groups; the smaller group was held back by a pair of Independence carriers, while the rest of Alpha fleet concentrated fire on the rest of the AIs. One Independence was sent ahead to draw out the main enemy lines. Although the carrier's actions also drew heavy fire, the AI fighters obligingly spread their forces thinner in order to do so. They thus opened their flank to a huge bombardment of Laser, Torpedo and DUC rounds from Alpha fleet's gunships
The initial bombardment had little visible impact on the vast cloud of fighters, but the advantageous battle line had been drawn, and minute by minute, the damage mounted until victory was assured.
The main AI fleet has been annihilated, although we lost three Honor class ships, an Independence carrier and one of our two repair ships. The second repair ship suffered heavy damage along with twenty other ships. An additional 16 have suffered light damage but are still combat worthy.

Back in Jorun, the 22 ships and 4 carriers of Gamma fleet faced off against seven heavy AI carriers and nine cruisers transiting the warppoint.
The AI fleet took the interesting tactic of having their ships attempt to disengage from the battle; our force was held back by the vast wall of fighters while their light gunships covered the retreat of their carriers.
Although seriously outnumbered, our fighters did have the close support of our Vigilance and Valor warships. Despite support from a pair of bombardment cruisers, the AI missile bombers were unable to do significant damage, and the 40mm cannons exacted a heavy toll on the enemy's lines.
While the battle raged, three of our Honor frigates managed to sneak past the bulk of the enemy fighters and strike at the enemy ships fromm point blank range. They suffered heavy return fire for this action, and one of the ships was destroyed, but they dealt a crippling blow to the enemy cruisers and eased the missile pressure on our fleet.

In the end, two 30 minute long assaults by the AI forces both resulted in heavy casualties, but no decisive advantage for either fleet. Our forces are down to seven lightly damaged warships and two carriers with a combined complement of 66 asp bombers. The enemy is down to two functional warships and one carrier with 35 unsupported fighters in addition to what remains on the carrier.

The current break in the fighting has given us an opportunity to order a strategic retreat of the heavily damaged ships; all of the surviving craft have some engine power available and will make their way to the local colonies for medical support and repairs.

Relief from the training center in Jorun is still two months away and Alpha fleet is at least three, so the remnants of Gamma fleet will have to hold out with what they have.

Overall our forces have performed beyond expectations. After patching up the least damaged ships and adding the expected new graduates, we should be able to field a force of a hundred ships before the year is out. One of the leading plans for this fleet is an assault on the blockade fleet in Nibbrix; the besieged ground force is in desperate straits and there are 2000 troops available in Jorun if we can punch a hole for the transports.

2407.3:
Jorun has been cleared of hostile ships by Gamma fleet, with surprisingly little damage. Between the stellar defense in Jorun, and Alpha fleet's preemptive strike, only 5 AI ships remain operational, and all of them are in retreat.

In the north, one of our carriers was intercepted at the Auric-Xuberra warppoint as it was bringing reinforcements to the latter system. Despite being completely outmatched by the tiny, high tech AI fighters, the pilots managed to defend the carrier long enough for it to warp to safety. Only two of fourty fighters survived.

In other northernly bad news, the colony of Othello VIII has been attacked. The planetary defenders were wiped out, but they were able to exact a heavy toll on the AI force. Both carriers were destroyed, and eight of the ten warships were heavily damaged. With our defenses demolished, it will be some time before we will be able to push them off, but hopefully most of them will be encouraged to leave thanks to the damage we inflicted.

2407.4:
Gamma fleet got a big boost this month as the latest graduates from the Jorun training center arrived, and tripled their number of combat worthy ships to 18.
Alpha fleet was expected to arrive in Jorun later this month, but has been ordered to turn back to Fizbon. Our outer colonies have reported a 22-ship strong fleet heading for Fizbon, and we cannot allow them to strike our crippled ships at the repair yards there. Fifteen damaged ships are being sent on to Jorun, but the 50 combat worthy warships in Alpha fleet will be more than enough.

Elsewhere in the southeast, the system of Zuria reports a 14 ship fleet heading west towards our core systems. Fortunately both Beta and Delta fleets were well on their way to Zuria already, and will wait in ambush at the warppoint. With 67 ships total, we expect no losses and there are plenty of shipyards in the area to clean up whatever damage we sustain.

In Othello, many fighters have remained in orbit of Othello VIII to harass the locals, but the bulk of the fleet has moved on towards Othello III. AI ships are also swarming in the Torren system, and it is only a matter of time before they start attacking some of our core systems. 46 ships will be graduating this month, and are being assigned to the northern front. We must do something before the high tech carriers and fighters being fielded up there get out of hand.

2407.5:
In the southeast, Beta and Gamma fleets dispatched their targets efficiently. Fighter casualties were light, and although many ships suffered scrapes and dings only two were damaged enough that they cannot continue. One will be heading to the nearest yard for repairs, while the other will have to wait for assistance.
The fleet will have to move on without them, as they must respond to a second incursion force heading towards Zuria. Thirty-five ships strong, it will be much greater challenge than the previous turkey shoot. Six additional carriers stationed in Zuria will provide support where possible.

Our victories of late have certainly not deterred the AI forces. This month, both Othello III in the north and Quikil I in the south were blockaded and are suffering orbital bombardment. Ground defenses are holding, for now.
The newly strengthened Gamma fleet in Jorun is being redeployed south to deal with the attack in Quikil. They will meet up with next month's graduates and any ships from the battle which have finished repairs before moving in. We need to take out as many ships as we can from small fleets like this before the 80 ship fleet finishes with Nibbrix IX and comes for us.
Speaking of Nibbrix IX, we have not yet heard from our troops this month, and we fear the worst.

2407.6:
The bombardment of Quikil I has intensified, and our ground forces are taking heavy casualties to protect the civilians and infrastructure. Over six percent of our assets were disabled or destroyed last month alone.
Othello III is taking even heavier damage, but has a large defending force left over from the previous ground battle.

In Auric, the heavy carrier that has plagued us is finally destroyed. Since our gunners are unable to hit the tiny AI fighters, we had to resort to the older technology of our Asp bombers. With area effect missile blasts, hitting is not an issue, and we made up for the low damage with volume of fire. Despite the weakened state of the AI force, we still lost half of the bombers we sent in, but the threat has been eliminated.

We have recieved word of a great breakthrough in technology this month; live testing of a modular, floating habitat suitable for gas giants has been completely successful. The key breakthrough is that all of the support systems are passive. No computer controlled fusion thrusters, or unstable balancing at all. The main drawback is the size. Given all the equipment required for a self sustaining colony, it will take an entire year to build just one of them, and almost 50 thousand units of raw materials. Funding has been approved for four of these systems, which will be used to establish a presence on oxygen giants which appear to have a few of the original facilities partly floating.

2407.7:
Four Independence carriers from Xuberra struck at the Othello III blockade fleet this month in an attempt to halt the bombardment. All four carriers were severely damaged and less than a third of the bombers survived, but they managed to destroy three carriers and three support ships including a repair cruiser. Unfortunately that leaves five destroyers, seven cruisers and a carrier... including one which we have confirmed is loaded with anti planet missiles and is directly responsible for the increased casualties.

There is mixed news from the south; the bombardment of Quikil I ended with the withdrawal of AI forces, but Nibbrix IX has fallen. Fifty million people will need rescuing from an entrenched AI force next year.

In the southeast, Alpha, Beta and Delta fleets are all preparing to intercept enemy forces. Next month promises to be very bloody.

2407.8:
The carriers at Othello III were lost, and the planetary defenses suffered 6% damage. Two AI warships were destroyed, and the rest of the force has retreated to Othello II.

Beta and Gamma fleets struck their target in Zuria this month. Of the 35 AI ships, only 24 still remain, and they are all moderately damaged. Only three of our ships were lost, but damage is quite extensive. A wing of six carriers is being sent in from Zuria II to assist.

Alpha fleet suffered badly in their battle; a third of the enemy force was carriers, and alpha lacked any fighter support. Even worse, the AIs stopped to ambush Alpha after traversing a warppoint. Despite these difficulties, Alpha fleet fought hard. Our forces broke through the enemy lines early and delivered heavy damage to their warships. We took heavy casualties from the enemy bombers, but the Valors were able to pin them down and deliver some retribution in the last third of the battle.
Half of Alpha fleet has been disabled or destroyed, and half of the remainder have taken light damage. Honors were hardest hit due to their front line roles, but fortunately most of the Valor antifighter ships are operational, so we do stand a chance if the battle resumes before we can get reinforcements to the sector.
Of the enemy force, only two or three warships remain operational, but are damaged. The only real threat is the enemy fighters. An estimated 150-170 remain out of the original force of 300, primarily bombers.

All eight carriers from Fizbon are being scrambled to assist, and should arrive on day 8. Should they arrive in time, we should be able to minimize further casualties. Should they not, we may lose most of Alpha fleet.

Another 34 ship fleet has been spotted in the southeast border system of Fwandrei, and they appear to be heading for the Fwandrei V. That world happens to be the most fortified in the system, but the 24 defense sats and 80 fighters are fantastically outmatched.

2407.9:
Alpha fleet was counter-attacked before the relief carriers could even break orbit of Fizbon VIII. Despite all expectations, the Valor and Vigilance cruisers were able to hold the line and protect the damaged ships. Only four ships were destroyed, and although many more were crippled, they managed to whittle down the enemy fleet to just fifty bombers.
No ship was spared from damage when the enemy forces made a second run, and there were too few of our ships still operational to destroy more than a handful of the remaining bombers. Only two more ships were lost before the AI fleet was forced to retreat from our oncoming carriers.
Our eight carriers have been ordered to pursue and destroy the remaining fleet before returning to protect the survivors of Alpha fleet.

In Zuria, we lost six ships before the AI fleet was driven off, but destroyed seven along with a large number of fighters. Seventeen of the ships have escaped the sector with heavy damage, but another thirteen reinforcements are moving in from Cephedri. Our carriers have been ordered to NOT pursue, since they will need their full strength to fend off this second wave.
21 warships have been deemed combat worthy, and have all been transferred to Beta fleet where they will protect the repair ships. Delta fleet comprises the remainder of the mobile ships, and will be taking the next two months to reach Zuria II with the wounded.

Fwandrei V has also been hit hard by the AI forces; all orbital defenses and factories have been destroyed, and 40% of our ground based units have been wiped out, including 77 Asp bombers. Four of the thirty-five assault ships were destroyed along with an unknown number of fighters. Six hundred combat drones and vehicles have reached the surface and have dealt quite some damage in the initial strikes. Fortunately, we have quite a few armored infantry and the manufacturing centers are still operational. After distributing small arms to resistance fighters in the worst hit areas, we will produce a few heavy tanks to bolster our limited vehicle pool and allow some counterattacks.

The recruits we sent to the northern front earlier have almost arrived, and will be taking up defensive positions at the Xuberra and Arklite warppoints. This is fortunate timing, as recent attacks in Xuberra have reduced our guard force to just 47 fighters.

Finally, what might just be the worst news we've gotten in a long time; our outpost in millenia has spotted 54 new AI ships that just warped in. Although they are about five months from reaching the Fizbon-Dornot area, the ships of Alpha fleet will be out of commission for years.