[FH] Breaking News - KraVak attacks in Sol System

New Year Offensive A Big Win For Earth

New Guardian Times, London, January 2nd, 2194

The New Year Offensive, in which a Kra'Vak invasion fleet was battered
for eight hours, has ended in a notable and much welcomed Human victory.

Before the aliens succeeded in escaping their losses were increased by
the destruction of two destroyers, a frigates, and a tactical carrier.
Figures are still incomplete, but the latest blance-sheet of losses is:-

Kra'Vak:
Destroyed - three destroyers, seven frigates, two strike cruisers, a
heavy cruiser, two tactical carriers and a battledreadnought.
Damaged - three battleships (one heavily, one badly), two heavy carriers
(one badly), four escort cruisers (three heavily), two strike cruisers
and five light transports.

UN led coalition defence force:
Destroyed - two destroyers, a heavy destroyer, three frigates, three
light cruisers, a patrol cruiser, a battleship, two light carriers and a
strike carrier.
Damaged - three destroyers (one badly), four frigates, 2 light cruisers,
a patrol cruiser (heavily), three heavy cruisers (one heavily), one
battlecruiser, two battleships (minimal damage), three superdreadnoughts
and a heavy carrier (badly).

Yesterday's communiqué issued by Admiral Batson, Commander-in-Chief of
the United Nations Coalition Fleet, said "The enemy appears to be
withdrawing. Contact was broken off at 23:00. Additional damage was
inflicted on two enemy strike cruisers, but until all reports are
verified it is impossible to state whether these are in addition to
those already reported. The entire alien landing strike force was
destroyed, as was a reserve escort screen. A number of Earth vessels
were destroyed, but near-by rescue pods meant that the actual loss of
life was minimal. The enemy vessels have withdrawn from the immediate
vicinity of Earth, though there is continued activity around Mars and
the Jovian moons remain under siege."

Combat experts in Geneva said this afternoon that "in the early stages
of the battle Human fighters engaged Krak Kips from carriers to prevent
them entering the atmosphere and striking Earth directly. Bases on Luna
were hit during the opening sorties of the battle, but the Human defence
screen soon cut off the Kraks in that quarter. Later carrier-based heavy
strike fighters and torpedo-bombers flew through the Krak fighter and
point defence screen and pressed home attacks on their mother ships. The
final stage of the battle largely came down to the exchange of direct
fire with the Kraks strike support force and an all out push to prevent
the penetration of their landers into Earth's atmosphere. This was
achieved with the loss of a number of Human assests, though thankfully
there was a minimal loss of life." The UNSC spokesman went on to say
that the coalition force has pulled back into Earth orbit, to regroup
and so as not to over extend (in case of renewed attacks). However, a
small recon force is still seeking to regain contact with the main Krak
fleet. Meanwhile there are reports of a sporadic action off Mars and a
larger force is understood to be harassing the Jovian moon bases.

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Aliens On Mars!

New Guardian Times, London, January 3rd, 2194.

The latest news from Mars is extremely grave. While the people of Earth
cheered with relief as the Kraks were turned from our doorstep, the
people of Mars were in mourning today. Early yesterday morning a large
Krak force landed south of Middleton Dunes. As this report goes live all
contact has been lost with the Dunes and Kraks are advancing on Severns,
while Jalal at Jamsah and Ojika Jima are already caught up in heavy
fighting.

It now seems likely that the people of Mars shall pay heavily for the
decision to concentrate defensive forces around Earth. We all have to
face the fact that the possibility of dislodging the aliens from their
present position is small and that within months all of Mars may have
fallen. The remaining pockets of resistance on the Tokalau Isthmus are
now virtually surrounded. The speed of the initial attack has left
little time for the evacuation of the local mariports and townships,
though many have escaped thanks to the unstinting bravey of the local
forces, who have refused to abandon their position. Reinforcements from
across Mars have para-hopped on to the eastern flank of the mauraders
and more troops head to Mars from Earth, but the situation is grave.
There is an increasing fear that the entire Margaritifer Sector will
fall within the next few days.

Fearing a repeat of the violent anarchy that broke out after the first
attacks on Centaurus, leaders have called for moderation in the
reporting of the events unfolding on Mars. We feel however that the
situation is now so clear that a militarily imposed silence is
ludicrous. The people of Earth can only be better armed for knowing how
gallantly their Martian cousins are resisting the alien onslaught. We
have been forced from our usual reserved reporting, by the nauseating
rumours started by sensationalists on the tabvids that Human will and
the people of Mars have in some way failed. They have not failed in any
way! Whether in leadership, gallantry or endurance no troops in any
battle at any time have ever fought better.

The initial wave of attacks was marked by high energy kinetic hits
arriving in the area of Middleton Dunes just after 2am MMT. Soon after
the sky was bright with the flares of landing alien drop troops and by
dawn grav driven landing craft filled the Martian atmosphere with
hellish roaring. The local militias had been called to battlestations
with the news of the imminent fall of the Jovian stations three days
ago. Undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief as the defenders of Earth
turned that assault aside, they can only have been shocked and horrified
when they found themselves the new focus of the alien aggression. All
contact with the Middleton Home Guard was lost by 7am MMT. As far as
comms reports reveal, by the time the 31st RNAR from Fort Alten and the
Preobrajenski Division stationed at Vologansk moved into the Isthmus at
10:11am MMT the Dunes had been overrun and the defences at Jalal at
Jamsah and Ojika Jima were under attack. The defensive positions at the
Dunes failed to stem the Krak long enough for the NAC and ESU forces to
reach them, but they have slowed the advance long enough for the hasty
construction of defensive bulwarks on the approaches to the other major
Isthmus settlements and the evacuation of a good number of the
non-combatants in the area. In spite of the fact the transport corridors
are flooded with refugees, the Human operations are being carried out
faultlessly.

The early collapse of the Dunes and small advance positions along the
corridors to Jalal at Jamsah and Ojika Jima has enabled the Krak to push
on fast; the vehemence of their attacks no less shocking here than on
the other worlds to have felt their brand of violence. Despite the
violent attacks the lines around Jalal at Jamsah are being held by the
IFeds in the east down to the mariport of Al Jamsah and by local
Zehwaani to the west down to the edge of Osuga. Simultaneously the Krak
have advanced rapidly through the Arda and pierced the Japanese defence
on the southwest Tsuru frontier. The defence forces have resisted
stoutly, and in every case where they have lost ground they have
regained it by immediately counter-attacking. It seems that these
aliens, much like Terran sharks, are taken a back by frontal atta...
Sorry fresh comms has just been filed and it appears that the gains will
be temporary, as the overwhelming savagery of the Kraks is again
battering the lines back to the core strong points in the outer habdomes
and ring suburbs of the main settlements of Jalal at Jamsah and Ojika
Jima. The IFeds are making a fighting withdrawal back into central Jalal
at Jamsah, with some of the newly arrived 53rd OU Drop-Cav in conformity
on their eastern flank. The IFeds are withdrawing with their western
flank almost completely exposed as the Europian naval forces securing
the shores of Eos Chasma are now heavily engaged with amphibious Krak
grav forces. The little vision we're getting from the area shows the
withdrawal is happening along roads and across country that is being
heavily bombed and still dotted with fleeing refugees. The eastern
corridors are apparently becoming heavily congested with retreating
mechanised transports. 

We must apologise for the incomplete coverage, but we have to stress
that heavy fighting is underway as we speak and that there is heavy
alien jamming of the area. The intermittent satellite feeds we are
getting are now showing mayhem as Human forces are being pushed back
under heavy fire and Krak armour is streaming through the gap opened by
the collapse of the naval defences on the coast... Jalal al Jamsah has
just taken a direct hit... the dome has gone down... a third of the city
is just rubble... We've lost the satellite, but it appears Jalal al
Jamsah is under heavy assault and may not hold much longer, we can only
extend our prayers to every brave soul currently caught in this horror. 

Our satellites are still down, but direct comm feeds are reporting that
armoured Kraks are now directly threatening Severns. It appears that the
alien forces are using the gap along the western shores of the Tokalau
Isthmus to threaten the flank and rear of all the Human forces in the
west. News is filtering in of an NAC counter-offensive. Yes we can
confirm in an endeavour to stop this flood, a combined NAC-ESU force is
moving down to the Arda and has linked up with a Japanese
counter-attack. Although an orbital recon is reporting launching of
small alien craft and a new wave of landing ships. With the Kraks so
vastly more numerous, the success of our valiant defenders may only be a
local one and we must still prepare ourselves for the ultimate loss of
the entire region.

The multinational defense forces are now faced with the problem of
manning a thinning and continually extending front while under heavy
attack from land, sea and space. While we must be realistic and brace
for worse news to come, we should not despair. The fact that this
impromptu coalition force has quickly formed the necessary defensive
line in spite of continued bombing and assaults by powerful alien
formations is proof of the heroic nature and efficiency of our
commanders and troops even in the face of an enemy of epic proportions.
These light armoured and rapidly deployed detachments, supplementing
their anti-tank guns with field artillery, are keeping pace with their
encirclement and resisting to the bitter end every attempt to penetrate
their lines.

As this bulletin draws to an end, one obvious question remains. What
does the future hold? We can only say for sure that it will hold the
deaths of many valiant soldiers this day. While it is against our nature
to abandon our homes, it is now only pragmatic to hope that, faced with
such horrific attackers, the defensive forces can withdraw east in good
order and join the collective Human forces gathering in Aureum and
Arsinoes. The end is not yet. The Martian forces may still succeed in
fighting their way out of the net. They maybe able, by a supreme effort,
even to keep the Tokalau Isthmus in our hands. What is attempted and how
much of our lands the aliens will hold are still unknown, but we can
never deny the valour shown this day on Mars.