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Description

Still frame from my short movie project 'Battle of Comet Echostar', my first true animation project which I have up on my YouTube. I had a lot of fun putting it together though I've have next to no background animation experience so it was a bit of a struggle getting it all to look cohesive, and my setup would've probably made any seasoned animator cry.

Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSz9RV…

Lore:

Between the end of the first solar system civil war in 2115 and 2153 there would be a significant buildup in tension between refugees from a then dying earth, their counterparts on Mars, and the Martian and other minor world colonies controlled by genetically engineered humans (often refereed to as Martians) who were responsible for their establishment as far back as 2035. People had been flooding to Mars from Earth since the late 2080's due to it largely becoming uninhabitable, and the Martians blamed these migrants for a plethora of problems that began to plague Mars soon after their initial arrival. Tension boiled over in 2153 as Martian extremists seized control of a number large military assets on Mars and Ceres with many supportive governments following suite. Several colonies with a human majority resisted but within a month humanity had effectively lost control of not only Mars, but the whole of the asteroid belt as well as the Saturn and Proxima systems. What remained of humanity's fleets after a number of surprise attacks left most of it crippled initially organized to individually defend their remaining assets which included the Moon, Pluto, Luhman 16, and TRAPPIST-1 with next to no cooperation between the factions. The first year of the war was a confused struggle as neither side was particularly organized, with captains and entire divisions changing sides on a whim. One battle in particular saw 23 different factions fighting each other.
This would change in early 2154 with arrival of forces from TRAPPIST which included fleet admiral Isaac Fletcher and his flagship USS Sagittarius who helped relieve Lunar Defense forces who had been under constant attack since the start of the war. From there they were able to get Pluto's cooperation as well as a number of outer solar system, exoplanet colonies, and warlords. In March, joint forces under the Sagittarius were able to capture Saturn and its moons, limiting the now organized 'Coalition of Ares' ability to refuel its fleets. The Sol Alliance began to win more and more battles from there, largely forcing the Coalition back to the asteroid belt where it became too difficult to meet them on equal terms due to the mass amounts of new vessels being pumped out by Ceres. In November, the massive interstellar comet I/2151 U4 Echostar made its entry into the inner solar system, blanketing it the largest, densest coma in recorded history, making visual navigation in some areas impossible and screwing with long range communications. The comet was to pass relatively close to Ceres, so it was decided to use it as cover to launch a surprise attack on the industrious world. Sol forces amassed nearly 2,800 ships and made for the comet on the 20th, arriving by the 26th. They however ran strait into a fleet of nearly 4,000 Coalition ships hiding in the coma with a similar intent. Both sides were caught off guard and engaged each other from a distance of about 8,000 km.
Coalition fire was wildly inaccurate but the shear volume of fire caused significant loses for Sol forces in the opening minutes, who were still trying to organize into combat formations. In ten minutes, Sol forces had lost nearly 400 ships, so vice admiral Hana Yuuta of the JSDF Kongou decided that his remaining ships were to rush the Coalition lines. Most Coalition ships were bow-oriented, meaning their only armament was fixed in their bow while most of Sol's ships had turrets, so they'd be at a significant advantage if Yuuta could get his ships in between the Coalition's forces. Sol forces would make a mad dash over the next half hour in what would come to be known as the 'greatest cavalierly change', owing to the charge being spearheaded by the Polish OST-8 Wing Winged Hussars.
As the charge occurred a second Coalition force tucked in near the comet nucleus opened up, creating a crossfire situation. Simultaneously, the Sol''s Third fleet under the Sagittarius dropped in from warp just above the comet relative to the engaging fleets, and moved to assist the Second fleet which had been engaged up to this point. However they were quickly swatted by a third coalition fleet, suffering heavy losses. Their arrival caused enough confusion for the second Sol fleet to reach the primary Coalition fleet, engaging in a point blank brawl. The other two Coalition fleets were no longer able to engage them due to the risk of friendly fire, allowing the Sol fleet to completely wipe out that Coalition division. The Second and Third fleet then turned their attention to the fleet that engaged the Third, dispatching them as well. Around this time, a small task force under the fleet carrier USS Enterprise arrived and began to assault the fleet near the nucleus, inflicting serious damage, and forcing their remaining ships to hide behind the nucleus itself. In the confusion, the destroyers USS Laffey and USS Evans were able to sneak through enemy lines to directly engage the Coalition's flagship, FNRF Thunderer, destroying it and killing most of the Coalition's senior staff in the process. Additionally, while her fighters were engaged, the Enterprise herself initiated a gunnery duel with the Coalition's fleet carrier USS Shangri-La. Enterprise was able to drop Shangri-La's shields and rather than risking damage to her ship and crew, captain Mari Lugo surrendered.
A final push to the nucleus by Sol's remaning ships forced what little was left of the Coalition to retreat back to Mars, ending the battle with a decisive victory for the Alliance, but at a high price. The coalition lost nearly 3,800 of their ships, their entire senior fleet command, their fleet carrier, four escort carriers, and their only large battleship while the Alliance lost around 1,500 ships. All told, nearly 280,000 lives were lost in the span of four hours, with the battle being the most expensive in human history with the total value of assets lost being greater than the United States spending during WWII.
The Coalition would not be able to organize its forces effectively for the remainder of the war and would be forced into unconditional surrender six months later.

Description

Still frame from my short movie project 'Battle of Comet Echostar', my first true animation project which I have up on my YouTube. I had a lot of fun putting it together though I've have next to no background animation experience so it was a bit of a struggle getting it all to look cohesive, and my setup would've probably made any seasoned animator cry.

Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSz9RV…

Lore:

Between the end of the first solar system civil war in 2115 and 2153 there would be a significant buildup in tension between refugees from a then dying earth, their counterparts on Mars, and the Martian and other minor world colonies controlled by genetically engineered humans (often refereed to as Martians) who were responsible for their establishment as far back as 2035. People had been flooding to Mars from Earth since the late 2080's due to it largely becoming uninhabitable, and the Martians blamed these migrants for a plethora of problems that began to plague Mars soon after their initial arrival. Tension boiled over in 2153 as Martian extremists seized control of a number large military assets on Mars and Ceres with many supportive governments following suite. Several colonies with a human majority resisted but within a month humanity had effectively lost control of not only Mars, but the whole of the asteroid belt as well as the Saturn and Proxima systems. What remained of humanity's fleets after a number of surprise attacks left most of it crippled initially organized to individually defend their remaining assets which included the Moon, Pluto, Luhman 16, and TRAPPIST-1 with next to no cooperation between the factions. The first year of the war was a confused struggle as neither side was particularly organized, with captains and entire divisions changing sides on a whim. One battle in particular saw 23 different factions fighting each other.
This would change in early 2154 with arrival of forces from TRAPPIST which included fleet admiral Isaac Fletcher and his flagship USS Sagittarius who helped relieve Lunar Defense forces who had been under constant attack since the start of the war. From there they were able to get Pluto's cooperation as well as a number of outer solar system, exoplanet colonies, and warlords. In March, joint forces under the Sagittarius were able to capture Saturn and its moons, limiting the now organized 'Coalition of Ares' ability to refuel its fleets. The Sol Alliance began to win more and more battles from there, largely forcing the Coalition back to the asteroid belt where it became too difficult to meet them on equal terms due to the mass amounts of new vessels being pumped out by Ceres. In November, the massive interstellar comet I/2151 U4 Echostar made its entry into the inner solar system, blanketing it the largest, densest coma in recorded history, making visual navigation in some areas impossible and screwing with long range communications. The comet was to pass relatively close to Ceres, so it was decided to use it as cover to launch a surprise attack on the industrious world. Sol forces amassed nearly 2,800 ships and made for the comet on the 20th, arriving by the 26th. They however ran strait into a fleet of nearly 4,000 Coalition ships hiding in the coma with a similar intent. Both sides were caught off guard and engaged each other from a distance of about 8,000 km.
Coalition fire was wildly inaccurate but the shear volume of fire caused significant loses for Sol forces in the opening minutes, who were still trying to organize into combat formations. In ten minutes, Sol forces had lost nearly 400 ships, so vice admiral Hana Yuuta of the JSDF Kongou decided that his remaining ships were to rush the Coalition lines. Most Coalition ships were bow-oriented, meaning their only armament was fixed in their bow while most of Sol's ships had turrets, so they'd be at a significant advantage if Yuuta could get his ships in between the Coalition's forces. Sol forces would make a mad dash over the next half hour in what would come to be known as the 'greatest cavalierly change', owing to the charge being spearheaded by the Polish OST-8 Wing Winged Hussars.
As the charge occurred a second Coalition force tucked in near the comet nucleus opened up, creating a crossfire situation. Simultaneously, the Sol''s Third fleet under the Sagittarius dropped in from warp just above the comet relative to the engaging fleets, and moved to assist the Second fleet which had been engaged up to this point. However they were quickly swatted by a third coalition fleet, suffering heavy losses. Their arrival caused enough confusion for the second Sol fleet to reach the primary Coalition fleet, engaging in a point blank brawl. The other two Coalition fleets were no longer able to engage them due to the risk of friendly fire, allowing the Sol fleet to completely wipe out that Coalition division. The Second and Third fleet then turned their attention to the fleet that engaged the Third, dispatching them as well. Around this time, a small task force under the fleet carrier USS Enterprise arrived and began to assault the fleet near the nucleus, inflicting serious damage, and forcing their remaining ships to hide behind the nucleus itself. In the confusion, the destroyers USS Laffey and USS Evans were able to sneak through enemy lines to directly engage the Coalition's flagship, FNRF Thunderer, destroying it and killing most of the Coalition's senior staff in the process. Additionally, while her fighters were engaged, the Enterprise herself initiated a gunnery duel with the Coalition's fleet carrier USS Shangri-La. Enterprise was able to drop Shangri-La's shields and rather than risking damage to her ship and crew, captain Mari Lugo surrendered.
A final push to the nucleus by Sol's remaning ships forced what little was left of the Coalition to retreat back to Mars, ending the battle with a decisive victory for the Alliance, but at a high price. The coalition lost nearly 3,800 of their ships, their entire senior fleet command, their fleet carrier, four escort carriers, and their only large battleship while the Alliance lost around 1,500 ships. All told, nearly 280,000 lives were lost in the span of four hours, with the battle being the most expensive in human history with the total value of assets lost being greater than the United States spending during WWII.
The Coalition would not be able to organize its forces effectively for the remainder of the war and would be forced into unconditional surrender six months later.