The S.C.A.F flotilla orbiting around Tau Volantis.
The Tau Volantis Debris Field was an area filled with debris from the destroyed Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces vessels in the orbit of Tau Volantis. It was of substantial size and was surprisingly in a stable, low orbit.
The debris field had a number of damaged, but relatively intact vessels in it including the CMS Roanoke, the CMS Greely, the CMS Brusilov and the CMS Terra Nova. Besides spacecraft parts from the destroyed vessels, the debris field also contained a number of functioning SK-1P stations, a number of flight recorder satellites and a large number of active, homing mines.
Creation
The S.C.A.F flotilla arrived at Tau Volantis in 2311 to investigate the source of the Marker signal. Knowing that investigating a alien planet might have resulted in infection by a contagion, the S.C.A.F took measures to prevent the spread of contagion. One of the vectors of the infection would have been the vessels of the flotilla. In the event of a full scale, uncontrollable outbreak, the S.C.A.F determined that the most prudent course of action would be to disable or destroy the fleet.
With this in mind, the S.C.A.F deployed a frigate designed for mine warfare which had the capability to destroy the entire fleet. It's duties included monitoring the rest of the fleet, presumably for contagion.
The plan to destroy the fleet was put into action after the declaration of Scenario Five in 2314, meaning an extinction level outbreak and the battleship released all of it's hundreds of thousands of homing mines into the fleet, destroying most of the vessels and damaging the rest, rendering them useless as interstellar craft.
The mines also served to deter any possible future visitors from getting near the infected fleet and acting as a vector for the infection themselves.
Events of 2514
In 2514, Ellie Langford's ship presumably exited ShockSpace close to the debris field and fell victim to the mines. The group was forced to find refuge aboard a more intact vessel called the CMS Roanoke.
The USM Eudora exited ShockSpace close to the debris field and almost immediately was set upon by tens if not hundreds of automated mines and severely damaged to the point of destruction. The crew of the Eudora proceeded to search the Roanoke for Ellie Langford's team and a way to proceed to the surface of the planet illustrating both the sheer number of mines that must have been deployed and the effectiveness of small mines against ships.
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