One of the larger moons on 1438 has a dense atmosphere with very high CO2 content. The planet appears to have been largely razed and fires are still burning. Thick clouds of smoke cover the planet, and there appears evidence some nukes may even have been used. Scans indicate little life is left...

A closer scan does indeed indicate the presence of a single bug ship. Rather than a planet wide war, there seems to have been a process of extermination. No advanced non-bug technology is identified by your scans, but the scans are reduced in effectiveness by the smoke.

Some continents are 'burnt earth', others are still burning. The clouds do filter the lasers and plasma's reducing their range.

A large swarm of bugs rose above the clouds to greet you, but many were destroyed before they got near. Only a few manage to dive back to the cover of the clouds, and fewer yet manage to disappear with out being traced at high speed to the surface. when you analyse the sensors about 10 seem to make it back to some sort of cover.

A survey ship is dispatched with two fighter, one flown bu Brutus, as escorts. There is some ground fire targeting the surveyor from several directions. It is ineffective while above a lot of smoke though, as the smoke filters it out. They would like to survey from lower down to get better readings, but await direction.

24 July 2188, System 1539, Supplies: 5600 person days, Vatfacs can cover all, $87,496,300