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C# Fiction > Stormtrooper's Fiction
Time's End AAR (TN start, custom race and solar system)
Stormtrooper:
NOTE: This AAR is a direct continuation of my previous one (http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12283.0 - History of Mankind after COVID-19 pandemic) and is meant to act as a DLC to it because I couldn't really abandon the universe of my previous work, not after all the time I spent on it. It is strongly advised to read the previous one before diving into this one.
Time's End
RISE OF CIVILISATION
THE GIFT OF THE SKIES
10121th BM (Before Monolith) hibernation cycle
Tribe leader Zhe was staring into the night sky just like he always did when the next hibernation cycle was about to begin. He firmly believed that before cooling down a body one should cool down mind first, and watching the Eyes of Gods was the best way to achieve that. But this one cosmic watch was different than all the others he saw before or after in his life.
During that cosmic watch a new entity appeared over the horizon, brighter than all the others that kept watching over the rising civilisation. But it didn't stay in one place: soon it began falling through the skies, closer and closer to the surface, until it eventually smashed against the ground, rather close to the hibernation dwelling. Zhe took his best guards and went in to investigate.
On the landing spot a mysterious, circle-shaped monolith has been found. It emitted a weak, purple-pink light, forming patterns as if it tried to speak in the languages of many tribes, but none of the thoughts expressed made any sense. However, one stood out. It was a simple, easy to read message:
We are the Humanity
Sleep tight little ones
Until you join us among the stars
We will keep you safe
GUIDANCE ERA
0-3250 AM (After Monolith) hibernation cycles
Solar and cosmic watches followed, entire hibernation cycles passed. At first the monolith was worshipped as a divine gift, but as Groaxians developed their technology and understanding of the nature and universe, they realised the true meaning of the expressions encoded on the monolith. For hundreds of hibernation cycles it served as a guide for civilisation development, since the further Groaxians pushed through the wonders of science, the more concepts they could understand, as if the monolith was specifically designed for them to act as an ultimate path to follow. It had such a huge impact on their culture that Groaxians started calling themselves "Groaxians" soley because that's how they were referred to in the monolith's messages. The name really stood out, because it looked very similar to their native languages. Their stellar guardians indeed knew them really well.
Even though nobody really knew what "Humanity" meant, since the term sounded so alien, as if it never should belong to any of the Groaxian languages, everybody realised it was the most powerful entity, and the only one that spoke directly so far. And so the civilisation rose from the tribal stage all the way through industrialisation up to the era when Groaxians not only knew that Qi was just a star like all the others they could see during cosmic watches, a giant burning ball of hydrogen, not only could differentiate between stars and planets, with Genesis being their homeworld and Vrath and Yatune the other two within their solar system, but also started dreaming of setting foot on these other worlds:
As soon as they got a basic grasp of how space works and scientists began their work on propulsion systems that could take them there and enclosed ecosystems maintaining enough atmospheric pressure and methane amount to allow surviving in the vacuum, Groaxians started wondering about the possibility of extragenesian life existing somewhere out there. In fact, the scientific communities largely agreed that the monolith was not a gift of gods, but rather of an alien civilisation, far more advanced than theirs. It filled the minds of rather pacifistic beings with joy and appreciation for the beauty of the universe.
But something wasn't right here. Among the sections describing space and its nature a warning has been found, with the math behind the general relativity theory acting as a key to decipher it, as if Humanity didn't want Groaxians to know about it earlier than after passing a certain scientific milestone. It spoke about "Dark Forest Theory", even though nobody could figure out what "forest" meant. One of the hypothesis, based on the knowledge extracted so far from the stellar gift, spoke about it being meant to represent a dense group of tall, slim plants covering a large area, something unheard of on Genesis, but possibly being an important part of ecosystem of Earth, Humanity's homeworld. The problem is, this meaning had nothing to do with the content of the warning.
It was talking about civilisations expanding across the universe with a finite amount of matter, about never-ending chains of suspicion caused by the distances and biological as well as cultural differences separating alien races, all this ultimately leading to inevitable war, war for survival and said finite resources, even if both sides could initially have friendly intentions. "Predator and prey in one", as the message described every sentient species ever existing, with best tactics to hide and never reveal one's position while actively listening for others and striking mericlessly, the sooner the better, as even less advanced civilisation could experience technological boom any moment and grow to become a threat. It also mentioned civilisations so advanced they'd destroy entire solar systems at a whim, if only they were to receive a set of stellar coordinates pointing at one.
Groaxians were devastated. Sometimes they waged wars, but it was a rare occurence. They coexisted peacefully with one another, shaping a better tomorrow together. The layout of their cities wasn't the most efficient one, either, as they firmly believed global peace is best maintained if everyone has inner peace as well, and large living space requirement and natural surroundings, without too much urbanisation around, was deemed to be the fundament of it. And at first they believed universe was just like them, vast and beautiful, with aliens helping each other and establishing alliances, with abundant resources allowing everybody to occupy as much space as one pleases.
But Dark Forest Theory stated the exact opposite. And yet, if Dark Forest was real, how come that Humanity shared their knowledge with Groaxians instead of wiping them out? But if Dark Forest wasn't real, how come Humanity put such a great effort to explain it, and on top of that do so in a way that'd make Groaxians learn about it just as they began drawing sketches of pioneer space programs? Since both assumptions seemed to be false, a third one has been established: there's more to it, something yet undiscovered, buried deep within the encodings of Humanity's gift.
Stormtrooper:
TAMING OF QI
3250-3307 AM hibernation cycles
As technology for detailed astronomical observations became more advanced, Groaxians could conduct a more detailed research about Vrath and Yatune. It was discovered both were extremly toxic and thus rather hostile for life: Vrath had an atmospheric pressure over 190 times higher than the one on Genesis. Also the composition of its atmosphere left a lot to be desired - it didn't contain any traces of methane, but extremely toxic sulphur dioxide was abundant instead and the surface temperature was beyond scorching. Meanwhile Yatune presented itself better, but only in comparsion with Vrath: on its own it was still a horrible place to live in. It was a very hot world, with temperatures well above melting point of water which would boil any Groaxian inside quickly. The air was filled with nitrogen and oxygen, the latter sometimes being used as a chemical weapon in the few wars that were fought on Genesis. Though if, hypothetically speaking, one would replace oxygen with methane and found a way to cool the planet down, it'd be a nice planet to settle down as the first baby step into the darkness of space.
Hibernation cycle 3265, scientists discover a new mixture of steel, titanium and plastics. This alloy lies a foundation for durable suits that could keep Groaxians shielded from the vacuum and solar radiation while keeping them cool enough and holding a decent supply of methane. It is also theorised that this material could be used for hull reinforcements of the space-capable vessels, making the dream of leaving Genesis's atmosphere and safely returning home come true.
Hibernation cycle 3278, engineers publish a first prototype of a methane-based engine that generates amounts of thrust yet unheard of. But despite being very powerful, initial tests show that on a cosmic scale the acceleration it generates compared to the amount of fuel it needs won't be even enough to come back from low orbit. Research continues, but so far no breakthrough is achieved.
Hibernation cycle 3282, scientists, desperate in their attempts to put a live Groaxian in orbit, came up with a new idea: since most of the spacecraft will be nothing but fuel tanks, the vessel will carry a small cabin into space and once in orbit, main fuel tanks, empty after liftoff, will be detached, falling back to the planet. According to estimations, they should safely burn within the atmosphere. The cabin itself will have just enough fuel left so it can deccelerate enough to drop from orbit and land safe and sound.
Hibernation cycle 3287, Stairway to Qi Project ends up being successful. First Groaxian-made vessel capable of leaving Genesis behind takes off and enters a stable orbit above it. A pair of equinoxes were the first organisms to have left Genesis, but with such outstanding results first Groaxians made it to space before next hibernation happened.
Hibernation cycle 3288, first permanent satellite has been launched into space. The probe was named "Guardian" and acts as a symbol of Humanity's supposed protection. More Guardians are expected to be launched in the next three hibernation cycles. Together they'll form the first space-based telecommunication array, connecting all Guardians under the first network of a global scope. Hope and enthusiasm of the new era grows and the warning about Dark Forest is pushed aside.
Stormtrooper:
Ever since Guardians floated above the Genesis's atmosphere, scientists and engineers worked solar watches and cosmic watches with barely any break, but reaching other two planets remained out of the question. Hibernation cycles disrupting their work didn't help, either. For many it became obvious that with the current scientific development level if space was to be ever conquered, more effort was needed, far more than what could be given when one has to hibernate periodically. It was the first time Groaxians found themselves limited by their biology and the environment of Genesis. And time lost in hibernation was not the biggest issue when tackling scientific challenges - mental evaluation has shown that these constant breaks disrupt scientists, making it hard for them to come back to what they have been working before, setting everything back.
Some proposed to build a high-tech complex for the scientists to work in which would be heated even when the temperature on entire world dropped below the average of -150 degrees. If placed near the equator, minimum temperature it would need to survive wouldn't drop below -130 degrees, though. However, such building, if it was to cover any significant amount of researchers, would eat a lot of power, far more than the entire Genesis infrastructure could provide. And it wasn't the worst issue - a lot of Groaxians argued that hibernation cycles aren't only about cooling the body. They're mostly about cooling down the mind and resetting it. The planet itself was reminding every living being that it's time to put the hard work aside and rest. It was an essential part of how everything evolved and trying to tinker with it could provide devastating results.
The stale-match was finally resolved in the hibernation cycle 3294, shortly before all life on the planet would enter cryostasis. A bunch of engineers proposed to assemble a research space station in orbit. That outright resolved the problem of heating and power requirements, especially that panels for harnessing energy directly from Qi were far more effective when the atmosphere didn't obstruct them. As for the problem of cooling down the mind, project authors pointed out that it only refers to the Genesis itself, and while sure, this is an essential part of the culture as well, environments in space are vastly different than the one in which Groaxians evolved and there's no way to deal with it except adapt. What is natural on the surface of a homeworld, is no longer natural beyond it and finding new ways of living is essential in the process of space conquest.
And so the project ended up being accepted. Modules were brought to orbit one by one by an improved version of rockets, this time hydrogen-fuelled which allowed for bigger cargo transport in one trip. Expanding the station to grant it all the assumed functionality was a long-term goal, but as everyone on the planet hibernated, a pioneer contingent of scientists was already put in space and could continue the work on new propulsion systems.
Hibernation cycle 3301, first significant breakthrough is achieved: physicists discover a way to harness energy directly from grains. It is beyond everyone's imagination, physicists that made the discovery included, that such power could be extracted from such tiny amount of matter. Space engineers instantly attempt to put this newly discovered nuclear power into propulsion systems, the ones that could send Groaxians into Yatune and Vrath.
While the work continues, Microelectronic soul readers have came up with a cybersoul mainframes capable of processing more data at once, faster than ever, by directly taking advantage of the cold genesian environment resolving many problems with overheating when using higher clocking frequencies. These new generations of machines could find application in autonomous ground survey vessels, which were proposed to be sent to do more detailed planetary research before first space conquerors could arrive. Not needing any life support whatsoever, they could endure the lengthy journey no Groaxian was able to take without space technology advancing far enough. New mainframes were a perfect opportunity to install all the necessary programs onto the ground vehicles without overburdening them.
Hibernation cycle 3306, first autonomous surveyors make a landing on Yatune. The sights are breathtaking and unimaginable: dense packs of tall, brown-green immobile organisms cover vast areas or often are found grouped together near rivers even if there's nothing but green plains in sight. Some regions contain loads of sand, though, meanwhile ice and snow, so common on Genesis, exists only near the poles. Water in all the other regions exists in a liquid form. Temperature readings show the planet's very hot, just as predicted during early observations, but at the same time life seems to be thriving there. Among the brown-green organisms lots of four-legged or flying animals find shelter. Their biology is a mystery. Initial observations confirm that nearly all green organisms seem to be responsible for poisoning the atmosphere with oxygen, however that remains true to only the static ones.
Autonomous scouts collet samples of biological matter and analyse them. Groaxians are shocked when they discover every single one of them either produces oxygen itself or needs it to breathe. And yet the planet seems so beautiful, even though it is very dangerous and lethal.
Hibernation cycle 3307, upon detailed studies it is revealed that the patterns of Yatune organisms match several yet incomprehensible shapes from the monolith. Ancient knowledge encapsulated within the fragments encoded with these shapes casts a new light on the Humanity. Yatune looks very similar to their homeworld, Earth. This is a natural environment for Humanity. They evolved on a planet that looked very similar and they brought their environment together with them when they set foot on Yatune. Among many gifts, they offer technology that makes it possible to shape many hostile worlds exactly how one pleases, allowing to "bring home" to the most distant parts of the universe.
The new wonder of technology divided Groaxians. Some claimed its beautiful that they should be able to bring genesian environment together with them and prepare all kinds of planets to make the suitable for comfortable life, but many opposed the terraformation of Yatune, claiming it's the first world of their Guardians discovered and as such should be preserved in its natural state. Once technology allows, colonisation will occcur, but the interplanetary inhabitants will live in a sealed megastructures, leaving the ecosystem of Humanity intact. The second option has gathered majority of the support among most communities.
As the basic research in space technologies picked up pace, first long-range spaceships allowing for long-term interplanetary missions were expected to arrive soon. As the dream of space conquest was finally coming true, leaders of the clans supporting the approach of leaving Yatune intact formed an alliance like no Groaxian has ever seen before, uniting with the single goal in mind: "join Humanity across the stars". And so hibernation cycle 3307 marked the creation of Groaxian Conglomerate, main body responsible for guiding the aspiring race through the void and darkness.
To further stress out the goals of the Conglomerate, the leader of this organisation started wearing the traditional outfit of a tribal leader from ancient times, just like the "first Groaxian", the one who witnessed the landing of the monolith:
The symbol of the arisen organisation was also significant - it consisted of expressions taken both from languages of the Groaxians and humans, representing the shape of the monolith and a star portrayed with a symbol Humanity was using, with half of the flag consisting of dark purple haze that nailed both hopes and fears of space explorations the young civilisation expressed:
Stormtrooper:
3308-3315 AM hibernation cycles
After putting tremendous effort, first interplanetary Groaxian manned spaceship was ready for its first journey. Advanced nuclear reactors gave it propulsion decent enough for it to reach both planets in the Qi system and come back with excess fuel just in case. Onboard facilities and sophisticated life support systems shall allow long-term survival of the crew inside. Methane recycling modules and Hets farms were proven to make the ship self-sufficient until something breaks and there are no more spare parts to fix it. The material used for hull construction was the same that Humanity has once used to build the monolith. Space suits were also reinforced with it, so landing even on the hellish world of Vrath shouldn't pose much trouble. Equipped with all kinds of sensors and laboratories needed for scientific endeavours, it was everything that was needed for discovering all the possible secrets of Qi:
--- Quote ---Anthraxus class Exploration Ship 2,500 tons 70 Crew 625.9 BP TCS 50 TH 50 EM 0
1000 km/s Armour 1-16 Shields 0-0 HTK 19 Sensors 0/0/0/5 DCR 2 PPV 0
Maint Life 7.25 Years MSP 313 AFR 25% IFR 0.3% 1YR 10 5YR 157 Max Repair 100 MSP
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Morale Check Required
Ground Composition Analysis Lab Environmental Control Module Methane Recycling System Extragenesian Material Containment Medical Bay Canteen Equipment Repair Workshop Onboard Telescope Astronomical Observatory Meditation Space Hibernation Center Flight Navigation System Hets Autonomous Farm Life Support System Personal Storage Recreation Space
Improved Nuclear Pulse Engine EP50.0 (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 12.37% Signature 50 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 202,000 Litres Range 117.5 billion km (1360 days at full power)
Geological Survey Sensors (5) 5 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes
--- End quote ---
A small fleet of them left Genesis and plotted course towards the other worlds. Just like their names suggested, they were meant to "bridge the gap between alien domains". First planet surveyed was Vrath, since it was expected that classifying everything found on life-bearing former world of Humanity would require significantly more work.
Despite being well-protected from harm, the extreme pressure and high gravity made the first space travellers not enjoy their stay on this toxic planet. They did what they were supposed to do and left, deeming the planet not habitable at all, not even after applying the gift of terraforming due to high gravity.
But Yatune was different. If only scientists could came up with structures separating Groaxians from the toxic and hot environment, this planet could be inhabited without much issues. But as crewmembers travelled across the lands in search for potentially good places to settle in the future, they stumbled upon something unusual: deep below the ground, scattered around various locations, ancient constructions were hidden. They didn't look like anything from Genesis: remnants of tall, densely packed towers made of all kinds of metals and reinforced glass. Sometimes ruins of them were sticking out of the ground, pointing at the sky. They were estimated to be at least as old as the monolith itself, although in worse condition. But still, most of them survived in relatively well-shaped. This was a miracle of engineering, to build such huge and tall structures that'd last so long even without maintenance. It was of no doubt that Groaxians were staring at the monument of Humanity and the way they shaped their territory.
It revealed how different they must have thought. While magnificent, the towers left very little spaces for large, open natural spaces, meaning most of the field of view must have been occupied by artificial constructions. How come humans tried so hard to separate themselves from their natural environment, even if it was a really beautiful one, was beyond the smartest philosophers. But just mere living space wasn't even the most shocking discovery: Extended studies of the technology artifacts and strange devices found within certain buildings gave solid evidence humans were hardly tinkering with their own bodies, replacing large chunks of flesh with electronic and metallic pieces, worshipping cybernetisation of themselves and everything around them. Even when fixing biological bodies, their medicine relied mostly on swarms of robots built on a microcosmic scale.
If Humanity was to inhabit alien environments, it must have been adapted to them, sure, but if they put such a great effort and implemented elaborate technologies to shape Yatune how they pleased, then why after colonising it they still insidted on isolating themselves from the biological domain as much as possible? The mission of Anthraxus fleet brought these questions back home, but nobody could answer them. It just didn't make sense at all.
Stormtrooper:
While Conglomerate stated it was not going to push into the direction Humanity has chosen, some opposed, claiming they developed and survived based on those technology and they gifted it for Groaxians so that they could benefit from it, too. But among the opposition, there was a special case group: the middlemen. Although their role in breeding was natural for them, some still felt dissatisfied. Sure, mental cooling workers claimed it a defect, something against nature, and insisted on treating the cases of unhappy middlemen, but it rarely worked. While many not wanting to have kids on their own, many accepted the way things were - it was natural for them, after all - some felt sad after witnessing dozens of males and females coming to them and multiplying, but them never getting a chance at procreation, only serving as a checksum to make sure the children of males and females will spawn healthy and providing their own genetic material only in case there was a defect that needed to be fixed ASAP.
For middlemen the way Humanity went seemed like a chance. A chance to fulfill their dreams, to alter their limiting biology, the source of their disappointment in life. A chance to become either male or female and spawn their own offspring rather than only act as a checksum, safety mechanism.
In the meantime, engineers improved on the Anthraxus design and prototyped three new types of interplanetary spaceships. Four times bigger than their predecessor, they were meant to transfer large batches of cargo and people into Yatune and allow the historic moment of permanently inhabiting a new world. Colonists were supposed to be transferred while in hibernation, with their cabins attached to the outer layers of hull so that it'd be easier to maintain the cryostais. The ships themselves, with their internal enclosed ecosystems, were meant to act as a temporary base of operations and home for the colonists until they develop on-site industry and build first external shelters for themselves.
--- Quote ---Erleax class Colony Ship 10,000 tons 73 Crew 476 BP TCS 200 TH 125 EM 0
625 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 HTK 17 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 3 PPV 0
MSP 589 Max Repair 100 MSP
Cryogenic Berths 30,000 Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 2
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Canteen Colonists Monitoring System Environmental Control Module Equipment Repair Workshop Flight Navigation System Hibernation Center Life Support System Medical Bay Meditation Space Methane Recycling System Personal Storage Recreation Space
Commercial Improved Nuclear Pulse Engine EP125.0 (1) Power 125 Fuel Use 7.83% Signature 125 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 123,000 Litres Range 28.3 billion km (523 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Colony Ship for auto-assignment purposes
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---Ghendror class Support Vessel 10,000 tons 39 Crew 169.9 BP TCS 200 TH 125 EM 0
625 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 HTK 16 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 10 Max Repair 31.25 MSP
Cargo 7,500 Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 2
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Canteen Environmental Control Module Equipment Repair Workshop Flight Navigation System Hibernation Center Life Support System Medical Bay Meditation Space Methane Recycling System Personal Storage Recreation Space
Commercial Improved Nuclear Pulse Engine EP125.0 (1) Power 125 Fuel Use 7.83% Signature 125 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 328,000 Litres Range 75.4 billion km (1397 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---Vroks class Transport 10,000 tons 73 Crew 307.4 BP TCS 200 TH 125 EM 0
625 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 HTK 28 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 3 PPV 0
MSP 557 Max Repair 80 MSP
Troop Capacity 7,600 tons Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 2
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Canteen Environmental Control Module Equipment Repair Workshop Flight Navigation System Hibernation Center Life Support System Medical Bay Meditation Space Methane Recycling System Personal Storage Recreation Space
Commercial Improved Nuclear Pulse Engine EP125.0 (1) Power 125 Fuel Use 7.83% Signature 125 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 28,000 Litres Range 6.4 billion km (119 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Troop Transport for auto-assignment purposes
--- End quote ---
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