The Between the Wars Years
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NB. In future all ships of other powers will use the EDA reporting name when reporting from an EDA viewpoint rather than the owning powers class name, which I have used up till now. Thus the Falakhon class becomes the Ettin class, the Nahid class becomes the Lich and the Falaq class becomes the Imp.
2031
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7th January 2031, EDA, Xanadu City, Titan. No. 10 Squadron, the Griffins arrived Mars to occupy the new Astrodrome recently assembled there.
29th January 2031, EDA Earth. The Adharma Ahmed research team, which specialises in defensive systems, completed work on thermal reduction: 35% normal.
25th February 2031, AME Block. Specification of the AMM-2 Spartan gained by the Otenyo espionage team for the AME.
There was considerably disquiet amongst EDA analysts, disturbed by the latest AME Block test launch of an interceptor missile. The missile, the Gazelle II, had the same characteristics as the AMM-2 Spartan, the current AMM of the EDA, and far ahead of the previous Gazelle I launch only seven months ago. Analysts are trying to puzzle out how this was possible given the current tech level of the AME Block.
Lieutenant Commander Lambert was less than amused. His latest appointment with the AME intelligence handler assigned to him had been less than stellar. He had intended to give them the specs for the old AMM-1 Spartan, but was caught out when the handler had told him they did not need it because they already had the full specification for that missile, what they wanted was the manufacturing tapes for the latest AMM. The handler assuaged his considerable doubts about the wisdom of this by pointing out that the AME had yet to build their first ordnance factory and by the time they did the AMM-2 would be obsolete, and he did substantially increased the cash payment. There was of course the unvoiced threat of what would happen if Elliot didn’t cooperate. What Elliot didn’t know was the latest batch of conventional industry slated for conversion to TN industry included a number of ordnance factories, although this would take a considerable time, it wouldn’t be as long as Elliot thought.
EDA, Xanadu City, Titan. Colonel Brooke Payne, currently commander of the 16th Engineering Brigade, has been forced to retire due to severe health problems
Major Matthews was sad to read in the latest Titan Bulletin that Colonel Brooke Payne, his first commander on Titan had developed a serious medical problem that would affect his long-term health and had been retired on health grounds. He recalled something of the accident that went round the Brigade rumour mill, apparently there had been a malfunction of one of the remote steerable dishes at the last installation the 16th Brigade had recovered, a deep space tracking station, but Matthews hadn’t known who the victim of that accident had been.EDA, Earth. The Acharya Ghosh power systems research team completed research on internal confinement fusion drives intended for military ships. This will lead in the longer term to new fighters and ships, however the commercial engine will be the first to be used in new Colony ships and freighters to try and reduce the passage time to Titan.
Islamic Block, Earth. Gwadar Naval Works completed its first orbital slipway. This is the first new orbital ‘Yard constructed since the Intruders arrived in system and the Islamic Blocks second.
Qeshm Naval ‘Yard, the Islamic Blocks principal ‘Yard added a slipway for total of four
27th March 2031, EDA, Earth. Port Southampton and Port Girona left the Varna Orbital ‘Yard. Port Rosoff and Bremen laid down. These will be the last of their class before the Port Mk III class freighters are introduced. Because of the cost they are unlikely to be refitted.
Port Calais Mk III class Freighter 45150 tons 466 Crew 1934.8 BP TCS 903 TH 1312.5 EM 0
4152 km/s Armour 1-112 Shields 0-0 Sensors 8/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 27 MSP Max Repair 110 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
Internal Confinement Fusion Drive E0.6 Commercial (15) Power 250 Fuel Use 6% Signature 87.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 66.4 billion km (185 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR7-R60 Nav (1) GPS 960 Range 7.7m km Resolution 60
Thermal Sensor TH1-8 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-8 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposes13th May 2031, EDA, Earth Port Malaga, a Port Mk II freighter came out of the slips to join the third Cargo Group.
No. 11 Squadron, the Golden Falcons received its last Hurricane F2. This is the first of two reserve squadrons with no fixed base, both will be Mars based in the interim.
11th June 2031, EDA, EarthThe EDA Resource Commission announced that the mining operation on Iapetus has exhausted the moon’s deposits of Uridium. However the Commission assured the UN that there were still substantial deposits of other TN elements, principally Boronide and Gallicite in the tens of thousands of tonnes range.
The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers, the Charles Augustin de Coulomb, Thomas Telford and Tung-Yen Lin left the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw Orbital ‘Yard bound for Mars. Arthur Casagrande, Ben C. Gerwick, Jr. and Benjamin Wright were laid down.
11th August 2031, EDA, EarthThe EDA Resource Commission announced that the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has exhausted the deposits of Gallicite. However the Commission assured the UN that the asteroid still had over 10,000 tonnes of accessible Duranium left.
The final planned strike fighter squadron, No. 12 the Rocketeers, received the last of its Hurricane F2s in a ceremony attended by Rear Admiral Boris Bogdanof marking the end of the F2 production run.
The Emily Davey industrial analysis research group completed work on improving the efficiency of construction factories by a further 14%.
17th October 2031, AME Block. The Miriam Kamathi missile and kinetic weapons research team completed work on size 10 missile launcher for a PDC in their efforts to further the design of the Blocks first PDC. This work led to the finalisation of the Olifant class PDC. However the available industry would take 300 years to complete the proposed number of PDCs.
Olifant class Planetary Defence Centre 15750 tons 1425 Crew 1838 BP TCS 315 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 10-55 Sensors 1/600 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 105
Troop Capacity: 1 Battalion Magazine 585
PDC Size 10 Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 10 Rate of Fire 75
Size 1 Missile Launcher (5) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 5
Missile Fire Control FC0-R20 (2) Range 360k km Resolution 20
AMM-2 Spartan (385) Speed: 41,100 km/s End: 2.1m Range: 5.1m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 397 / 238 / 119
Active Search Sensor MR60-R20 (1) GPS 12000 Range 60.0m km Resolution 20
Active Search Sensor MR0-R1 (1) GPS 80 Range 480k km Resolution 1
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 7 sections.23rd October 2031, EDA, Mars. The ice sheet on Mars has melted; the temperature has now reached -24.3 degrees C.
2031 Summary
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The year had seen the temperature normalise as the effects of the nuclear winter dissipated. The average citizen now had access to a much more varied diet rather than the ubiquitous protein bar. However, the EDA was concerned that vital industries had to be kept running in what was effectively a cold war with the Islamic Block. Economic or health migration was not allowed and sometimes brutally enforced. This included forbidding moving away from the heavily contaminated areas, which were the target of the Intruder bombing but still contained much of the EDA industry. Radiation continued to take its toll. The net effect was the population of Earth was below six billion for the first time in three decades. Some UN ambassadors from the worst affected regions pressed for the use of the newly discovered genomic modification centres to be employed to mitigate the effects of the radiation on their people, even though the scientists did not think this was currently possible and may never be possible.
The EDA Resource Commission reported that the commercial mining operations were continuing to gain strength. The mining operation on Callisto has been expanded from 12 to14 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has been expanded from 8 to 12 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Comet Sotak has been expanded from 7 to 9 civilian mining complexes and the mining operation on Iapetus has been expanded from 4 to 5 civilian mining complexes. On the transport front the commercial freight line, the Maggart Corporation had increased the number of Port class freighters they operate to six.
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Xanadu City on Titan continued to offer up its bounty. While termed a city, Xanadu sprawls over much of the Shangri-La plateau and was not the collection of urban dwellings the term city might suggest. Over the past twelve months the Engineering Brigades had recovered four mines, twelve automated mines, five construction factories, three ordnance factories, one fighter factory, two fuel refineries, one genetic modification centre, one R&D complex, one terraforming installation, eleven maintenance facilities, 1060 units of infrastructure, 4.6 million litres of fuel, 3750 tonnes of Sorium, 3150 tonnes of Uridium, 2500 tonnes of Boronide and ten internal confinement fusion drives. In addition data recovered made it possible to alter the human genome to increase the gravity tolerance of humans by 5%.
The Islamic Block had continued to expand its armed forces. It had constructed seven more Ettin class FAC and now had some thirty-two in service, but was still lacking in sensor craft. These vessels rarely left near Earth orbit, which was a concern in its self as it represented well over five hundred missiles available to strike any planetary target. There was at least a heavy assault brigade on the northern border of the Block and evidence of additional mobile infantry battalions on their eastern border. President Alam continued to foster good relations with the Africa and Middle Eastern Block, and while not a formal alliance they now had in place scientific and military cooperation treaties.
The African and Middle Eastern Block has continued to modernise the army and gain limited experience with the eleven Imp Class FAC transferred from the Islamic Block. The forty-four small missiles represented the whole of the AME TN nuclear deterrent at present. There were of course the thirty ICBM bases, which could contribute 300 size 24 missiles, but it was questionable if they could get through a modern anti-ballistic missile defence. The biggest bottleneck the AME face is the slow rate of conversion of its industry to TN technology.
2032
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21st January 2032, Islamic Block. Two FAC of a new class have left the new Gwadar Orbital ‘Yard. EDA analysts think they may be a new sensor class to replace the old Lich class. They have been given the reporting name of Umber Hulk.
25th February, EDA, Earth, The EDA Resource Commission announced that the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has exhausted the deposits of Vendarite and the remaining deposit of Duranium will be exhausted in just over six years.
29th April 2032, AME Block. The AME Block test fired their first large TN missile the Lion II. It was estimated to be size 10 and inferior to the weapons possessed by the North American Sector before it became part of the EDA. The AME still have the problem of putting it into production.
13th May 2032, EDA, Earth. The Queen Mary and Normandie, Nieuw Amsterdam Mk II class colony ships, left the Sing Koon-Seng orbital ‘Yard. The Nieuw Amsterdam and Flandre entered the ‘Yard to covert to the Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III Class. Unlike the Port class freighters this was an economical proposition as the conversion cost only 66% of new construction.
1st June EDA 2032, United Nations Governors Forum, EarthParticipating: Director Bha Karamchand, Deputy Director Lei Yi Ni, Deputy Director Ernest Digman, Governor of the Euro-Indian Sector Rurik Zinoviev, Governor of the South American Sector Helena Kozlov, Governor of Mars Haimati Ghatge.
In Attendance: Commander–in-Chief Naval Staff Rear Admiral Boris Bogdanov
Chief of Naval Intelligence Lieutenant Commander Amber Kent, Chief of Naval Operations Lieutenant Commander Sandra Massiah. Commander –in-Chief Ground Forces Major General Kiril Lazarev.
The main business at this meeting was to reorganise the Sectors. The massive Euro-Indian-Russian sector would give up India to the Chinese and Far East Sector as a subsector while the North American Sector would gain Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, which would assuage the populace of these countries who objected violently to being ruled from Beijing. However defence of the latter would still be the responsibility of the China and Far East Sector. The only alternative was to create the India as a new Sector, which Director Karamchand was loath to do. The South American sector would continue to be a separate sector for the meantime but would eventually merge with the North American Sector. While this reorganisation would concentrate a large proportion of the population in the Chinese and Far East Sector it was far less developed that the Euro-Russian Sector and the reorganisation made much more sense from a defence standpoint.
Representation was also made to recognise Titan as its own Sector. Up till now while it has had a Planetary Governor it has come under Mars Sector for administration.
21st July 2032, EDA, Earth. The Adharma Ahmed defensive systems research group completed work on cloaking efficiency 4. An updated series cloaking devices will be developed as resources allow.
8th August 2032. EDA, Xanadu City, Titan. After a meeting of the UN Membership Commission, Xanadu City has been recognised as a Sector and Nation in its own right even though its population is only 4.68 million. This recognises the uniqueness of Titan and will enable it to send a representative to the UN Assembly. In contrast the South American Sector is still classified as occupied and has no representation at the UN Assembly. The Planetary Governor, Marta Sarabia Cervantes, will be the first Sector Governor of Titan.
22nd August 2032. EDA, Earth. The EDA Commission on Alien Technology reported on the efforts to disassemble recovered alien technology from Xanadu, Titan. Seven advance geological sensors had been disassembled to give advances in that field of research.
5th September 2032, EDA, Earth. The Hao Long Qian sensor research group has finished work upgrading all EDA active sensors and fire controls and finally planetary sensor strength to take advantages of recent breakthroughs.
The Gomati Mk III Missile Boats Herring, Hawksbill, Lamprey, Lionfish, Mackerel completed at the Viktor Lenac orbital naval ‘Yard. Each Carrier now has an escort of five missile boats. There will be a hiatus in naval construction as new cloaking devices are designed and an escort design finalised in the New Year.
16th September 2032, EDA, Earth. The Adharma Ahmed defensive systems research group completed work on minimum cloaking size 20
26th September 2032, EDA, Xanadu City, Titan. The Sam Peacock geology team found 100,000 tons of Tritanium, accessibility 0.1 on Titan.
2nd October 2032, EDA, EarthPort Bremem, Port Rosoff, the final Port Mk II freighters left the Varne commercial orbital ‘Yard. These will be the last of the Mk IIs, the up-engined Mk III using the new commercial internal confinement fusion drive, which will make them some of the fastest ships in Sol System, will replace them. The ‘Yard is due to finish retooling by the end of the year, although new construction may be delayed beyond that as the original five Port class freighters are being sent for scrapping, now being uneconomical to keep in service.
16th October 2032, EDA, Earth. The EDA Commission on Alien Technology reported on the efforts to disassemble recovered alien technology from Xanadu, Titan. Seventy Epsilon R300/18 shields were dissembled to give knowledge of Gamma and Delta shields and shield regeneration rate 2 along with advances in Epsilon shields and regeneration rate 2.5.
28th October 2032, EDA, Earth. The Emily Davey industrial analysis team completed research into shipbuilding rate 750bp. The team is to be broken up and Professor Davey return to her original speciality of energy weapons research now that two budding scientist administrators in construction and production have joined the EDA scientific elite. This does mean that further advances in this area will be slower as neither of the new team leaders has much experience in administration of large research groups.
16th December 2032, Islamic Block. President Alva announced the transfer to the African and Middle Eastern block of two scout craft (EDA reporting name Lich) as part of the new mutual defence treaty signed in Addis Ababa last month. He also announced joint manoeuvres will take place early in the New Year for both ground and space forces.
24th December 2032, EDA, Earth. The Achayra Ghosh power systems research group completed work on an internal confinement missile drive. This will significantly upgrade all EDA missiles when put into production.
The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers, Arthur Casagrande, Ben C. Gerwick, Jr. and Benjamin Wright left the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard bound for Mars. The A.W. Skempton, Clifford Holland and David Steinman were laid down.
2032 Summary
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Radiation is the primary legacy of the Intruder Event, decreasing life expectancy and causing unrest across the planet. No population group on Earth has yet achieved a positive population growth. The colonies on Mars and Titan are experiencing crowding after private investors failed to supply as much infrastructure as projected leading to some unrest in those populations. Thus there is still a requirement to police the populace and garrison units are being increasingly employed for these duties, especially in the Islamic and AME Blocks where previously all their new ground forces emphasised attack over defence. The formal mutual defence treaty between the Islamic Block and the African and Middle Eastern Block came as an unpleasant surprise to the EDA.
EDA naval ship construction has reached a hiatus as several new systems are now available or will be in the near future, including new drives, shields, cloaking devices and missiles.
The EDA Resource Commission reported that the commercial mining operations were continuing to increase their profit margins, which has lead to increased investment. The mining operation on Callisto has been expanded from 14 to 16 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has been expanded from 12 to 13 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Comet Sotak has been expanded from 9 to 10 civilian mining complexes and the mining operation on Iapetus has been expanded from 5 to 8 civilian mining complexes. The commercial freight line, the Maggart Corporation had increased the number of Port class freighters and Nieuw Amsterdam Colony ships in service by one of each.
Over the past twelve months the Engineering Brigades had continue to recover installations from Xanadu. This year they had recovered five mines, eleven automated mines, seven construction factories, six ordnance factories, one genetic modification centre, four R&D complexes, three terraforming installations, one deep space tracking station, 380 units of infrastructure, half a million litres of fuel, 7875 tonnes of Boronide, 3600 tonnes of Neutronium, 14175 tonnes of Tritanium and 24 Tokomak fusion reactors, seventy Epsilon R300/18 shields, seven advanced geological sensors, four J9600(3-50) military jump engines and 29 compressed fuel storage systems and the knowledge to construct them. In addition sufficient data was recovered to achieve breakthroughs in mining production – 16 tonnes, fuel production 28,000 litres, thermal sensor sensitivity 14 and advanced geological sensors.
2033
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3rd January 2033, Islamic Block. Four more Ettin FAC left the Qeshm Naval ‘Yard, giving them 36 in all but still only two suspected scout craft after the transfer of the old Lich class to the nascent AME navy.
8th January 2033, EDA, Earth. Lieutenant Commander Lambert was walking towards Miriam’s flat down a long wide boulevard. Apparently there were some important people who wanted to meet him there tonight, he was already 30 minutes late but screw them, who were they to order him around. He was not particularly happy about this meeting; they did not seem to be too pleased with the data he had handed over lately. As Lambert strolled leisurely down the street he thought he recognised the woman in front of him, she was arm in arm with a man, who looked like he might be more comfortable in uniform. As he came up just behind them he heard the man’s guttural tones, a Russian, and the woman’s light soprano, that triggered a memory, it was Lauren Stewart, she was at the academy the same time he was, what branch had she gone into? He deliberately slowed his pace and fell behind them as he mentally worried the problem. As they approached the close which lead to Miriam’s flat a third person joined the couple in front of him, it was Alvin Bybee, and he knew what he did – counter intelligence! The group in front of him turned into the alleyway down which he could dimly make out other figures as he carried on past, He had only gone about fifty metres when the unmistakeable sound of shots rang out, a pause, then several more. Lambert picked up his pace and left the scene as rapidly as he could without attracting undue attention, five minutes later there was the wail of sirens.
Miriam looked at her watch, Elliot was late again and it had to be today of all days, the whole team was present, unusual but they were going to put the frighteners on Lieutenant Commander Lambert he needed bringing to heel and increase the flow of information from him. It was thought necessary to have some strong-arm backup. There was a knock at the door, Amos Werunga, whom Elliot already knew went to open the door, drawing his weapon as he did so. Amos opened the door, it was not Elliot! The man, no, men at the door had guns in their hands, Amos fired almost by reflex, the man staggered back, but the man behind him let loose with a machine pistol cutting Amos down. More men burst into the flat, guns were drawn and fired, lifeless bodies hit the floor.
The next day the news faxes were full of it an African and Middle Eastern Block spy ring had been caught and all five died in the shootout when counter espionage agents tried to arrest them. Elliot could only hope now he wasn’t implicated. He had been careful to remove any identifying marks off the files he had handed over, removing all the embedded tags he knew of and they were encrypted, he also sprayed any data chips he handed over with a DNAase/RNAase solution to remove his DNA, so they couldn’t get to him that way. He just hoped that Miriam had more sense that to write the keys down or leave the data unsecured, with any luck the data was already in the Embassy. If not and if SIS wanted into the files they would get in but it would take a considerable amount of effort and time. With the members of the ring dead hopefully they wouldn’t put too much effort into that. Worst of all from Elliot’s perspective was he would have to rein in his spending until another source of income could be secured.EDA, Earth. The Cassandra Mora Venegas espionage team operating in the Islamic Block managed to retrieve the blue prints of the new Umber Hulk class FAC, as EDA analysts suspected it was a scout/sensor FAC to support the Ettin class missile FAC. The Islamic Block class name is the Saf class.
Saf class Fast Scout Craft 1000 tons 88 Crew 187.6 BP TCS 20 TH 80 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 2-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 16% IFR: 0.2% Maint Capacity 59 MSP Max Repair 108 MSP Est Time: 2.14 Years
GB Nuclear Pulse Engine E90 (1) Power 80 Fuel Use 900% Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 2.0 billion km (5 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR0-R1 (1) GPS 24 Range 120k km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR10-R20 (1) GPS 2160 Range 10.8m km Resolution 20
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes.6th March 2033, EDA, Earth. The troop transports Saipan and Messina were laid down at the Electric Boat commercial orbital ‘Yard. The Okinawa was taken in hand to refit to the latest Mk III configuration, which replaced the current ion engines with the more powerful internal confinement fusion drives.
11th March 2033, EDA, Earth. With the completion of a further slipway at the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard, the Sir John Fowler, an Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformer was laid down.
10th June 2033, EDA, Earth The Lusitania, a Nieuw Amsterdam Mk II left the ways in the Sing Koon-Seng commercial orbital ‘Yard, and was immediately replaced with the Nieuw Amsterdam, Flandre and Queen Mary to be refitted to the Mk III standard.
18th June 2033, EDA, Xanadu City, Earth. Sam Peacock geology team found a new deposit of 100,000 tonnes of Neutronium, accessibility 1. They do not think that there are any more deposits to be found on Titan.
26th June 2033, EDA, Earth. The Steven Letcher missiles and kinetic weapons research team complete work on the three-stage thermonuclear warhead. This has lead to a redesign of the three principal ship-borne missiles used by the EDA. All existing contracts will be updated to specify the new missiles.
AMM-3 Spartan
Missile Size: 1 MSP (0.05 HS) Warhead: 1 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 31
Speed: 52500 km/s Endurance: 2 minutes Range: 6.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 1.65
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 1627.5% 3k km/s 527% 5k km/s 325.5% 10k km/s 162.7%
Materials Required: 0.25x Tritanium 1.153x Gallicite Fuel x50
Development Cost for Project: 165RPSIM-5 Phoenix
Missile Size: 4 MSP (0.2 HS) Warhead: 10 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 19
Speed: 40200 km/s Endurance: 7 minutes Range: 18.0m km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.175 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 175,000 km
Cost Per Missile: 5.5833
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 763.8% 3k km/s 247% 5k km/s 152.8% 10k km/s 76.4%
Materials Required: 2.5x Tritanium 0.175x Uridium 3.3391x Gallicite Fuel x600
Development Cost for Project: 558RPStar Flash 6 AS
Missile Size: 3 MSP (0.15 HS) Warhead: 9 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 17
Speed: 48500 km/s Endurance: 3 minutes Range: 8.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 4.85
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 824.5% 3k km/s 272% 5k km/s 164.9% 10k km/s 82.4%
Materials Required: 2.25x Tritanium 2.719x Gallicite Fuel x200
Development Cost for Project: 485RP8th July 2033, Islamic Block. The Qeshm Naval ‘Yard completed another four Ettin FAC. Bringing to forty the number now operated by the Revolutionary Guard. It was noticeable the time taken to complete this quartet was significantly faster than the previous vessels.
30th September 2033, Islamic Block. The Golab Razavi research group completed work to improve the industrial output of the Islamic Block by nearly 17%.
5th October 2033, EDA, Earth. The Achayra Ghosh power systems research group completed work on C5 capacitors. However a new generation of energy weapons will wait until a longer ranged, larger aperture weapons are developed.
11th October 2033, EDA, Earth. The Sam Peacock geology team on Luna increased the availability of the already surveyed Duranium deposits from 0.6 to 0.9. They also concluded that there were no more deposits of TN minerals to be found on Luna.
4th November 2033, EDA, Earth. The Nieuw Amsterdam & Flandre completed their refit, which entailed replacing the entire drive train and installing new internal confinement fusion drives. They will be replaced in the Sing Koon-Seng commercial orbital ‘Yard by the recently completed Normandie and Lusitania.
11th November 2033, Islamic Block, Earth. Two new Umber Hulk class sensor FAC left Gwadar orbital naval ‘Yard, bringing the total available to six.
7th December 2033, Islamic Block, Earth. The Qeshm Naval ‘Yard completed another four Ettin class FAC. Bringing to forty-four the number built.
30th December 2033, Islamic Block, Earth. Ordnance production has been increased by 20% after work by the Nasim Abbasi research group to streamlined processes.
2033 Summary
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The riots across the globe persist. Renewed efforts are being made to make Mars more attractive to EDA citizens and the population has now passed the 11 million mark.
The EDA Resource Commission reported that the commercial mining operations were continuing to increase their profit margins, which has lead to increased investment. The mining operation on Callisto has been expanded from 16 to 22 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has been expanded from 13 to 14 civilian mining complexes, and the mining operation on Comet Sotak has been expanded from 10 to 13 civilian mining complexes. The Maggart Corporation has continued to increase the number of Nieuw Amsterdam Colony ships in service. However the spiralling rates being charged by the company has lead to the resolution that a new freight carrier will be subsidised to start operations in the New Year.
EDA naval construction has halted for the moment. The much delayed Mountain class escort design seems no nearer being finalised so that construction can begin. The sheer number of Islamic FAC is beginning to worry planners, many of who now regret not moving earlier to absorb the Islamic Block. The elimination of an African and Middle Eastern Block spy ring and the successful operation against the Islamic Block has cheered the Intelligence community. The mutual defence treaty between the Islamic Block and the African Middle Eastern Block was causing headaches, where the old strategy was to pick off the weakest first, the EDA was now faced with having to take on both powers simultaneously. While it still dwarfed the combined opposition it had made the task that much harder, with the prospect of further damage to the fragile Earth a distinct outcome. There were also signs of the two Blocks moving closer together, with radical Islam spreading as the state religion amongst nations in the African Middle Eastern Block as the EDA is blamed for much of the Blocks troubles.
Xanadu has been designated the EDA strategic reserve for industry so much material has been recovered with barely 15% of recoverable structures investigated. This years recoveries include eight mines, thirteen automated mines, three construction factories, one ordnance factory, two genetic modification centre, three R&D complexes, two terraforming installations, one deep space tracking station, two fuel refineries, three maintenance facilities, one mass driver, 780 units of infrastructure, 8.5 million litres of fuel, 9575 tonnes of Boronide, 2700 tonnes Mercassium, 1050 tonnes of Tritanium, 12250 tonnes of Sorium and 88 internal confinement fusion drives.
2034
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9th January 2034, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation commissioned a new Port Mk III freighter.
The Steven Letcher missiles and kinetic weapons research group complete the development of a new suite of beam fire control systems.
Clifford Holland & AW Skempton, both Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers completed at the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard and set out for the Mars terraforming fleet. The Edgar Cardoso and Eladio Dieste were laid down in their place.
23rd January 2034, EDA, EarthThe Antosha Kurakin industrial processes and systems analysis research group completed work on increasing fighter production by nearly 17%.
28th January 2034, Islamic Block Work has finished upgrading all the Islamic block battalions by 20%, introducing improved weapons and training after research by the Golab Razavi research group.
17th February 2034, EDA, Earth. The Darr Trading Shipping Company founded aided by Government grants.
The Steven Letcher missiles and kinetic weapons research group has increased ordnance production by 20%.
5th April 2034, EDA, Earth. David Steinman and Sir John Fowler Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers complete at the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard and transfer to the Mars terraformer fleet. The Rudolf Diesel and Nicolaus Otto were laid down in their place.
17h April 2034, EDA, EarthThe Adharma Ahmed defence systems research group complete work on shield regeneration rate 2.5. Delta shields will be researched as an operational system as resources allow.
17h April 2034, Islamic Block, Earth. Four more Ettin class FAC left the Qeshm Naval ‘Yard. The Islamic block now operates forty-eight of these craft in four squadrons of twelve Ettins.
22nd June 2034, Islamic Block, Earth.[ Two new Umber Hulk FAC built. The Islamic Block now operates eight of these craft with two Umber Hulk Class scouts and twelve Ettin FAC per FAC squadron.
5th August 2034, Islamic Block, Earth. Slipway added to Qeshm naval ‘Yard. However activity appears to have decreased in recent months.
12th August 2034, EDA, Earth. A new class of terraformer has been laid down at the Deutsche Werfte commercial orbital ‘Yard after a recent expansion in capacity. The Astronaut class is the largest ship ever to be constructed in Sol System at 65,100 tonnes. They are also the first to use the new compressed fuel storage system. They will supersede the old Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers, being significantly faster and carrying two terraforming modules. However critics point out that these vessels cost two and a half times as much for only one extra module.
The first two ships to be laid down are the Neil Armstrong and the Yuri Gagarin.
Astronaut Class Terraformer 65100 tons 743 Crew 2520 BP TCS 1302 TH 962.5 EM 0
2112 km/s Armour 1-144 Shields 0-0 Sensors 8/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 24 MSP Max Repair 500 MSP
Terraformer: 2 module(s) producing 0.004 atm per annum
Internal Confinement Fusion Drive E0.6 Commercial (11) Power 250 Fuel Use 6% Signature 87.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 330,000 Litres Range 152.1 billion km (833 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR7-R60 Nav (1) GPS 960 Range 7.7m km Resolution 60
Thermal Sensor TH1-8 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-8 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposesThe Darr Trading Shipping Company commissioned its first ship a Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship, which will start on the Earth-Titan run for its maiden voyage.
1st September 2034, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation commissions another Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship in an effort to steal business from the new competition.
13th September 2034, EDA, Earth. Maggart Corporation commission yet another Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship in the space of a fortnight in a concerted attempt to squeeze out Darr Trading from the more lucrative routes.
The AME Block. Mining production has been increased by 20% after work by the Murugi Kamau research team. This will hopefully ease the mineral shortages plaguing the Block.
2034 Summary
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World pop now stands at 5917 million and all but the EDA Euro-Russian Sector now have population growth in positive figures, if only just, most with less than 1% growth. The populace worldwide is generally unhappy; martial law has yet to be relaxed anywhere on the planet.
The EDA Resource Commission reported that the commercial mining operations were continuing to increase their profit margins, which has lead to increased investment. The mining operation on Iapetus has been expanded from 9 to11 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Comet Sotak has been expanded from 13 to 15 civilian mining complexes, and the mining operation on Asteroid #11 has been expanded from 14 to 16 civilian mining complexes. The continued investment in Asteroid #11 is a little concerning since there is less than five years recoverable Duranium left. The Maggart Corporation has continued to increase the number ships in service adding two Nieuw Amsterdam Colony ships and two Port class freighters to their fleet. The new shipping line Darr Trading has commissioned its first vessel, a Nieuw Amsterdam colony ship of the latest design.
The cooperation between the Islamic Block and the African Middle Eastern Block continues to grow. The EDA now faces some 59 missile armed FAC in near Earth orbit ordered in five squadrons. This may be more than the EDA can comfortably handle that close to Earth even if they are now aging designs.
Xanadu recovery operation yielded seven mines, sixteen automated mines, one construction factory, four genetic modification centres, two R&D complexes, two terraforming installations, thirteen maintenance facilities, four fuel refineries, two deep space tracking system, 880 units of infrastructure, 6.5 million litres of fuel, 13375 tonnes Mercassium, 10 maintenance storage modules and 44 internal confinement fusion drives.
2035
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6th January 2035, EDA, Earth. The troop transports Messina & Saipan left the slips at the Electric Boat commercial orbital ‘Yard., giving the EDA a lift capacity of approximately a division. It was announced that all Mk II transports would be refitted to the improved Mk III standard.
Darr Trading commissioned its first Port Mk III freighter in an attempt to take business from the Maggart Corporation.
23rd January 2035, EDA, Earth. The Emily Davey research team completed work to upgrade terraforming modules to a 0.015 atm terraforming rate.
6th February 2035, EDA, Earth. The Edgar Cardoso and Eladio Dieste, Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers completed at the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard and moved to the Mars terraforming fleet.
17th February 2035, EDA, Earth. The Steven Letcher missiles and kinetic weapons research group completed work to improve missile agility by 33%. There are no plans to upgrade missile designs at present.
23rd February 2035, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation commissioned another Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship
29th February 2035, Xanadu City, Titan. The Sam Peacock geology team found a new deposit of 26994.49 tonnes Boronide, 0.9 availability on Tethys.
4th March 2035, EDA, Earth. The Adharma Ahmed defence systems research group completed work on composite ceramic armour.
3rd April 2035, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation commissioned a Port Mk III freighter. Rumours have it that they are attempting to drive their competitor out of business.
22nd April 2035, EDA, Earth. The Hao Long Qian sensor research group have completed research on grav sensor strength 36. Once work on EM sensitivity is completed a new suite of sensors for the Navy will be developed.
The Rudolf Diesel and Nicolaus Otto, Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers left the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard bound for Mars. The Elsie Eaves and Eugene Freyssinet were started in the vacated orbital construction docks.
28th May 2035, EDA, Earth. The Balducci Colony Group shipping line has been formed by Mr Balducci, an entrepreneur, who thinks there is a gap in the market for low cost passage to Mars by people wanting to escape the grim poverty of Earth.
10th June 2035, EDA, Earth. Two and a half years late the Mountain class escort cruiser design has finally been fixed and the JaingYang naval orbital shipyard is retooling for their construction. These will be the fastest warships yet built and some of the heaviest armoured. The Navy is disappointed it will not take advantage of the latest stealth technology, however it does meet the Navy’s aspiration for a speed of 5000 k/s.
Mountain class Escort Cruiser 8000 tons 749 Crew 1909 BP TCS 160 TH 280 EM 750
5000 km/s Armour 5-35 Shields 25-300 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 30
Annual Failure Rate: 128% IFR: 1.8% Maint Capacity 597 MSP Max Repair 115 MSP Est Time: 2.35 Years
Magazine 550
Internal Confinement Fusion Drive E6 Military (8) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 35 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 160,000 Litres Range 60.0 billion km (138 days at full power)
Delta R300/15 Shields (10) Total Fuel Cost 150 Litres per day
Quad R8/C4 Meson Cannon Turret (1x4) Range 80,000km TS: 12500 km/s Power 16-16 RM 8 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Fire Control S08 48-16000 (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Tokamak Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 AR-0 (4) Total Power Output 16 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Size 1 Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 5
Missile Fire Control FC1-R1 (2) Range 1.2m km Resolution 1
AMM-3 Spartan (550) Speed: 52,500 km/s End: 1.9m Range: 6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 542 / 325 / 162
Active Search Sensor MR1-R1 (1) GPS 84 Range 1.2m km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR23-R20 (1) GPS 1680 Range 23.5m km Resolution 20
Compact ECCM-2 (3) ECM 20
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes20th June 2035, EDA, United Nations Governors Forum. Participating. Director Bha Karamchand, Deputy Director Lei Yi Ni, Deputy Director Ernest Digman, Governor of the Euro-Russian Sector Rurik Zinoviev, Governor of the South American Sector Helena Kozlov, Governor of Mars Haimati Ghatge, and Governor of Titan, Marta Sarabia Cervantes.
In Attendance: Commander–in-Chief Naval Staff Rear Admiral Boris Bogdanov
Chief of Naval Intelligence Lieutenant Commander Amber Kent, Chief of Naval Operations Lieutenant Commander Sandra Massiah. Commander–in-Chief Ground Forces Major General Kiril Lazarev.
Director Karamchand opened the meeting welcoming the Governors of Mars and Titan, thanking them for their attendance. The meeting then started on the agenda, approving the minutes of he last meeting a year ago and continued on to items for consideration. The military appropriations were first up. Deputy Director Digman introduced the first item under this heading, the increase in naval lift capacity to two full divisions. This would increase the number of Okinawa class troop transports to six and add two additional vessels designed to accommodate the Divisional HQ unit. This was passed with little discussion, as it would provide work in the ‘Yards manned by Deputy Director Digman’s constituents in the North American Sector.
The next item called on Rear Admiral Boris Bogdanov to defend the delay in construction on the Mountain class escort cruisers, which he blamed on the scientists always promising more advanced technology tomorrow, but delivering next year. He managed to argue that the ships now just beginning construction were the best available and would add to the security of the EDA.
The next item was the proposal to recruit a new Ground Forces division. Major General Kiril Lazarev fielded this one putting forward the case that if there should be a major war on Earth that led to a nuclear exchange then while the naval forces at Mars or Titan could provide a nuclear riposte should all near Earth ships and bases be incapacitated, the only combat troops available to the EDA not based in the immediate combat zone were the 7th Cavalry Brigade on Titan and a couple of Garrison battalions on Mars. Major General Kiril Lazarev proposed that the 3rd (Expeditionary) Division should be formed, consisting of a heavy armoured brigade, an assault infantry brigade, a brigade of mobile infantry and a brigade of marines. Further this division would be based on Mars or even better Titan with its transports, which would be completely outside the range of any first strike by the enemies of the EDA. Deputy Director Lei brought up the fact that his Sector, China and the Far East, was still waiting the formation of the divisional HQ for the formations protecting his Sector even though the Brigades had been in place for years. It was agreed to fund three additional divisional HQ, one for the Chinese sector, one for the South American Sector and one for the short division in the Euro-Russian Sector in addition to the new expeditionary division, which would keep the designation of the 3rd Division.
As the meeting reached any other business Deputy Director Lei raise the point that it had been ten years since the formation of the EDA and its pledge to unite humanity. But after a promising start in South America the mission had faltered. The EDA was failing in its stated mission. Deputy Director Digman reminded Deputy Director Lei that that little South American war cost well over half a million civilian casualties. Governor Zinoviev asked what were they spending vast amounts of resources on the construction of the Defender class PDCs if not to prevent civilian casualties. Rear Admiral Bogdanov pointed out that with the Islamic Block having TN technology missiles, then it would be almost certain that some would get through causing considerable damage since it was unlikely the AMMs would get a chance to intercept any, meaning the meson cannons would have to bear the brunt of the attack. Chief of Naval Intelligence Lieutenant Commander Kent pointed out that at the last estimate the Islamic fleet had something in the order of six hundred missiles and at point blank range leakers were inevitable and a considerable percentage at that. Director Karamchand agreed that the aim of the EDA was unite humanity, but the planet still needed time to recover from the previous nuclear attack and a few years wait would not be too much of an inconvenience, another nuclear winter so soon after the last would be more than a little inconvenience. Another five years should see the EDA not only firmly established on Earth but Mars as well and it may well require some forced transport of the population to make Mars industrially viable. Thus lets get over one hurdle before dealing with the next. Governor Ghatge noted that the addition of green house gasses to the Martian atmosphere would very soon be complete and it would only take two or three years to add sufficient oxygen to the atmosphere to support earth based life. It would only require bulking up the Martian atmosphere with nitrogen and Mars would be open for mass immigration. The meeting ended with the decision that no precipitate action should be taken now but that Chief of Naval Operations Lieutenant Commander Massiah should start planning operations against the Islamic and AME Blocks with a time frame of within the next ten years with an aim to minimising environmental damage.
14th July 2035, EDA, Earth. The Balducci Colony Group commissioned its first ship a Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship, which will start on the Earth-Mars run for its maiden voyage.
11th August 2035, EDA, Earth. Elsie Eaves and Eugene Freyssinet, Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mk II terraformers complete at the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw commercial orbital ‘Yard. These will be the last of their class with some eighteen Mk IIs and seven Mk Is built.
The Howakistwerke orbital naval ‘Yard began construction of the first three Whale class munitions ships, Blue Whale, Grey Whale and Humpback Whale. These are some of the largest vessels ordered by the EDA Navy, only surpassed in size by the carriers. While unarmoured they conform to the Navy speed requirements and have two CIWS plus a few of the new electromagnetic shields for self-defence.
Whale class Collier 10000 tons 675 Crew 2034 BP TCS 200 TH 350 EM 300
5000 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 10-300 Sensors 24/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 16 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 133% IFR: 1.9% Maint Capacity 763 MSP Max Repair 280 MSP Est Time: 1.52 Years
Magazine 1620
Internal Confinement Fusion Drive E6 Military (10) Power 100 Fuel Use 60% Signature 35 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 315,000 Litres Range 94.5 billion km (218 days at full power)
Delta R300/15 Shields (4) Total Fuel Cost 60 Litres per day
CIWS-120E (2x4) Range 1000 km TS: 12000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Active Search Sensor MR313-R80 (1) GPS 22400 Range 313.6m km Resolution 80
Thermal Sensor TH3-24 (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
EM Detection Sensor EM3-24 (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
ECM 20
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes30th August 2035, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation commissioned another Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship in response to the new competitor on the Mars run.
5th September 2035, EDA, Earth. The Varne orbital commercial ‘Yard completed four Port Mk II freighters, Port Ostend, Port Brest, Port Valencia and Port Duisburg and laid down the first of the Port Mk III s, Port Vendra, Port Millazzo Port Nice, Port Genoa, for the EDA Transport Command.
2nd October 2035, EDA, Earth. The Adharma Ahmed research group completed work on the principal of a minimum hull size 15 cloaking system.
23rd October 2035, EDA, Earth. Darr Trading shaking off the attempts of the Maggart Corporation to stifle it at birth commissioned its second Nieuw Amsterdam Mk III colony ship
4th November 2035, EDA, Earth. The Maggart Corporation continued its assault on the business of its competitors by commissioning a new Port Mk III freighter.
24th December 2035, EDA, Earth. The Hao Long Qian research group completed research on beam fire control range 32000 kilometres, suggesting a new family of Navy fire control systems will follow in due course.
EDA, Mars. The surface temperature of Mars has now reached >13degC. The terraforming fleet and installations will now add oxygen to the atmosphere before bulking it up to one atmosphere with nitrogen. The fact this work is ahead of schedule throws into doubt the contracts recently issued for the giant Astronaut class terraformers.
29th December 2035, Islamic BlockFour of a new class of Islamic FAC have left the Qeshm naval ‘Yard. They appear to be a novel class. No details have been revealed. They have been given the reporting class name of Xorn.
2035 Summary
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The EDA Resource Commission reported that the commercial mining operations had a modest increased investment. The mining operation on Iapetus has been expanded from 11 to13 civilian mining complexes, the mining operation on Comet Sotak has been expanded from 15 to 17 civilian mining complexes, and the mining operation on Castillo has been expanded from 22 to 24 civilian mining complexes.
The new shipping line Darr Trading has commissioned its second Nieuw Amsterdam colony ship and its first Port class freighter. The Balducci Colony Company commissioned its first Nieuw Amsterdam colony ship. However the Maggart Corporation still has a strangle hold on the most lucrative routes and its share price at EDA $33 reflects this.
The Islamic and Africa Middle Eastern Blocks alliance continues to cause headaches for planners. Should they merge then the conversion of the sizable Africa Middle Eastern standing army to TN technology would be accelerated considerably and would pose a significant threat to the EDA. Fortunately this does not appear to be a serious threat yet. The question of missile defences is problematic; while there will be some 37 Defender class bases in operation by the end of 2038 and while linked by the latest AI technology they could only intercept some 296 missiles in point blank defence mode assuming all hit their target, which would be unlikely. Defence planners are said to be working on this. There is also a problem with missile supplies, each base taking 1150 AMM Spartan missile, most have the latest AMM-3 version, but some are still equipped with the old AMM-1 version and one is using the even older Guardian AMMs and are likely to be so for years as the CLE construction program eats into missile reserves.
This year recovery operations at Xanadu include thirteen mines, fifteen automated mines, four construction factories, two ordnance factories, one fighter factory, three genetic modification centre, three R&D complexes, two terraforming installations, two deep space tracking station, one fuel refinery, ten maintenance facilities, 540 units of infrastructure, 7.6 million litres of fuel, 675 tonnes Mercassium, 3600 tonnes of Sorium, 4050 tonnes of Boronide, 600 tonnes of Tritanium, 10 terraforming modules, 44 maintenance modules, and nine 25cm rail guns.
