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Topic Summary

Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: July 11, 2015, 01:46:18 PM »

Thanks.  The idea I have in mind would be without NPRs so it wouldn't be affected as much, but it's unfortunate those issues are still outstanding. 
Posted by: MarcAFK
« on: July 11, 2015, 07:42:26 AM »

Pretty much just NPRs doing things that trigger endless errors like designing sensors that are too powerful or assigning too many salvagers to a wreck, there appears to be one related to ship history, there was one steve fixed involving NPR missile reloading or launching. And tge  there's the general ability to reduce 5 second increments significantly once we have the new sensor rules.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: July 11, 2015, 02:55:38 AM »

Mind mentioning which ones you are referring to?  I've read through most the 6.4 bugs thread and didn't see anything that I thought would be that problematic. 
Posted by: MarcAFK
« on: July 10, 2015, 06:17:45 PM »

Understood, there's quite a few severe bugs I'm hoping get wiped out in the next patch, the update might take a while yet.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: July 10, 2015, 02:45:11 PM »

After taking some time away from the game, I've decided to end this project.  I'm looking into a multi-faction Sol game with 6.4.3, early stages of planning it at this point .
Posted by: MarcAFK
« on: April 09, 2015, 02:28:41 AM »

Reading this campaign has sustained me through quite a few long sessions of waiting for turns to process. My vote would be for restarting in the new version at 2093, but it's not ideal.
Posted by: Sirce
« on: April 08, 2015, 11:32:57 PM »

Aww, I really enjoyed this although visit the forums semi-regularly.  You could do a multi-faction start which I think will bring more excitement to the campaign.  I would recommend some "event" that motivates all faction to go out in space kind of thing if you want to do realistic approach to the start.

I enjoy and learned a few things from your AAR a lot.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: April 06, 2015, 02:03:33 PM »

This is suspended again as I've run into a couple of bugs with the old version I'm using(again, can't upgrade without losing the campaign). 

I'm considering three options:  continuing just to see where the story goes with some workarounds that I really don't like, starting a new campaign based on a more realistic, multi-faction start beginning at present day, or just doing something else entirely other than an Aurora project.  I think I need to take some time to consider this. 
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 30, 2015, 12:17:21 AM »

Delois Woznicki Bio

Delois Woznicki was the first director to be born after the founding of SPACE, and upon her graduation from the academy she was heralded as the next great leader, being appointed within months to the comet Van Biebroeck.  Nobody, not Duling, EIghmy, or anyone else, has joined the civil service possessing greater natural talent for the role.  She hit all the major mining outposts:  Triton, Sedna, Machholz, and spent some time at Titan as well, but for decades it appeared she would never make the improvements needed to excel at management of large-scale economies as she clearly did in small-scale ones.  She spent the 60s and 70s as a mid-level manager for that reason:  a lot of time spent on Mercury, stints at Callisto and Europa as well.  When finally she made her breakthrough in the mid-80s, it didn't take long for her to be appointed to governor of Earth in '87, a precursor to winning the greatest landslide in electoral history in 2090.  Better late than never?  Perhaps, but humanity would have been much better off if Woznicki had developed her vision much earlier in her career.  An excellent career, but clearly the chance to be truly legendary was missed out on. 

Directorial Election:  April 5, 2093

Woznicki served just roughly two and a half years, less than her predecessor Burt tonerock(four years), which was less than his predecessor Riley Awad(six years).  There is a pattern developing here, but one that is not expected to continue under the new administration, whoever is to win it.   Her successor is expected to be in office for much longer, probably at least five years and possibly ten or more depending on who it is.  That alone makes it an important vote.  When combined with the recent report of the attack on ESF Alpha, lessons in colonization learned from the New Genesis colony, and the beginnings of the long-feared and anticipated Sedna Mineral Crash, it is a time of great importance for SPACE.  Turnover was expected to be very high, and the campaigning was fierce. 

Eleven were qualified, and seven of them made the ballot.  Unfortunately, it is the weakest field ever seen.  There are no truly excellent administrators around right now:  the last of them just retired.  Adding to the tension of the campaign was the fact that a trio distinguished themselves from the pack, a trio initially indistinguishable from each other in terms of their electability. 

** Ambitious, risk-taking Errol Igoe has been the governor at Titan for the past dozen years.  He's the foremost shipbuilding mind in SPACE, and desires to expand the navy to support more rapid colonization, along with designing a terraforming class of ship to be built en masse, avoiding requiring boots on the ground for such a task.  Igoe, 55,  has respectable but unimpressive skills in factory oversight and mining. 

** Long-respected Evelyn Kaczor has been Woznicki's governor on Earth during the past years.  She is not quite as skilled as the other two but makes up for it with a well-earned reputation as a straight shooter.  She also wants to expand terraforming efforts, espescially in the colonies, but via ground installations not ships.  Her time on Earth has significantly improved her talents in industrial administration.  Kaczor is also the youngest of the three at 52. 

** The most talented, and unfortunately also the most irresponsible which is why it's not in his pocket, is blowhard Russell Salvucci who has toiled on Mars for over a decade.  He's the 'senior statesman' of the group at 60, though 'statesman' is hardly an appropriate appelation.  Health is not a concern, unlike most of his age.  Salvucci's best skill is in the financial realm where SPACE has no concerned, he's also accomplished in mining but not particularly able in industrial or naval supervision.  Salvucci has made a career out of playing up mankind's worst fears and basest motivations.  During times of unrest he is well regarded:  during any other time he has tended to be barely tolerated. 

There is one long-shot, Ricardo Bloise of Mercury who is 48 and in excellent health with significant skills in mining, shipbuilding, and financials.  He doesn't have the rounded skillset or resume to really make a splash unless all three of the favorites falter though.  Just glad to be on the ballot are Gordon Semien of Venus, charismatic Michael Reneau of New Genesis, and Carl McCloe from the mining colony on Machholz who is really just looking for exposure here. 

In terms of drama, the election lived up to the buildup in this case.  It was a disaster for Errol Igoe, who ran probably the worst campaign ever seen.  Scandals, faux paus, missteps of every nature.  That left a two-way race, and just about as clear a distinction as you could make, between Kaczor and Salvucci.  This time, the forces of impatience and xenophobia were strong enough to get their way, and Salvucci won a very narrow victory.  Full results: 

Russell Salvucci -- 20.1%
Evelyn Kaczor -- 19.7%
Ricardo Bloise -- 14.5%
Gordon Semien -- 13.7%
Michael Renau -- 13.2%
Errol Igoe -- 12.9%
Carl Mccloe -- 5.9%

If merely a quarter of a percent had shifted their votes from Salvucci to Kaczor, a much different future would be upon us.  It was an election where emotion won out over logic.  Anger and distrust over the latest hostilities was as big a factor as any:  the people want action, regardless of how senseless that desire might be from an objective point of view.  Not all of the people, not even most of the people, but enough of them to put their man into the Director's Office.  Just enough.  The sentiment was described as 'maximum stupid' by some of the less charitable detractors of Salvucci.  One thing's for certain:  you can pile the status quo under a metric crapton of rubble now:  it won't survive the morning.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 26, 2015, 01:38:21 AM »

JANUARY - APRIL 2093

The latest year in the annals of SPACE began with some relatively not particularly important advances in research.  On February 10 the missile base was finished on Titan and the construction brigades headed back to Earth, and then eight days later there was a stunning development as Director Woznicki made a system-wide prime-time address.

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, SPACE naval assets have been attacked.  This is the news that was delivered to Fleet HQ just hours before as both of ESF Alpha's Explorer-class jump scouts reached Sol space.  The flotilla was damaged but no ships were lost and all are headed back to Sol, a journey which is expected to take several months.  An analysis of the data will be undertaken at that time. 

Woznicki wasn't done there, announcing that she would be retiring in early April to clear the way for her succesor to craft humanity's response to these events.  It was expected that the 64-year-old would step down this year or next due to declining health;  this just gave her an appropriate pretext for it.  The public was both angered and stunned, and intense debate broke out about what, if anything, should be done. 

The upcoming election dominated the news, though minor goings-on managed to penetrate the fog of rhetoric and speculation from time to time.  A new research complex was finished on March 22, notable because the missiles & kinetics field, dead for years due to high-ranking scientists taking all the space for other projects, got underway again with Deacon Palmer III taking the reigns for improving ordnance production. 


Research & Development

** January 8 -- Shield regeneration improved to 2.5(Dr. Deborah Barnhouse).  Overall stronger shields(designated Delta) will next occupy her team's time. 

** January 12 -- Minh Klausner finishes development of a 15cm HPM(microwave). 


Earth

January 12 -- Third and final jump-capable brigade transport is finished. 

January 27 -- Gato(J) finished, first of the jump-capable versions.  A second one is begun. 

March 22 -- Research complex finished. 


Personnel

January 12 -- Commodore Rodolfo Caley has improved his training to go along with elite-level initiative. 

Late January -- Luna governor Roxanne Harshberger has improved political connections to the accomplished level. 

Mid-February -- Dr. Benny Carpenter is reported to have died of natuarl causes  while working with the Chance Perj geology team.  Their shuttle is en route to Earth now for a replacement.     

March 16 -- Ricardo Bloise improves novice mining abilities,

March 17 -- Commodore Parker Lanzi has reached elite status in training.  Also, Ens. Ted Makinster, only weeks out of the academy, is added to Chance Perj's geology team.  He's something of a prodigy in surveying, and an exception is made to the normal requirements.  Making Commander at age 21 is certainly a good start to one's career.  The team heads back to Barnard's Star, where several years of surveying have achieved no results for reasons that boggle the mind. 


Colonial developments

February 10 -- The missile base on Titan is finished.  The contruction brigades will now head back to Earth. 

February 15 -- Sedna expands to 64. 

February 18 -- Colonization group leaves for YZ Ceti with terraforming installation from Mars, first group of colonists, and more infrastructure.   Lucio Choi(24 years old) is sent in as the first administrator.   

March 16 -- Sixth terraforming installation finished and sent to Mars, replacing the one sent to YZ Ceti a month ago.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 24, 2015, 01:50:12 AM »

JULY - DECEMBER 2092

The constant march of progress continued, August in particular was a buzz of activity for SPACE.  It was one of those times when a bunch of different things just happened around the same time.  The first bulletin was in the second half of July, as prodigy Norris Gunterman announced a working prototype of a reactor powered by what they are calling 'stellarator fusion'.  Don't ask, I have no idea how it works.  It is a significant leap forward however.  There is currently ongoing research into increasing reactor power in general, so no new specific blueprints will be developed until that is completed.  The Navy was most interested in the application of a new engine based on this naturally.  The concept, which is all it is at this point, is known as a 'magneto-plasma' drive system.  SPACE expects it will be at least a decade, and quite possibly longer, until such a thing becomes reality, and as we know from past experience, prototyping and refitting and all that rigamarole will take years after that.  It's coming though.  Eventually. 

August began with the cargo group departing for YZ Ceti, weighted down by a full load(130 sections) of infrastructure.  Then the first pair of Divisional Army HQs were readied a couple of weeks later, though it would be some time before officers could be reassigned.  Dorian Shelite was promoted to Major General to take Second Division, with Zoe Bean and Sterling Silvers Jr. narrowly passed over for the spot.  There was a lot more going on of less significance, as always check the supplementals for details. 

September 6 brought the second shipment of automines departing for asteroid 2004 XA192.  They'll be at this for a while, at least 40 are expected to start.  At that level gallicite reserves would last for more than 30 years, duranium for more than two and a half centuries, and more than 700 tons a year would be supplied.  Two days later the last Guardian squadron entered it's training phase.   20 of the Navy's 28 captains are COs on the corvettes.  That number is expected to remain quite static for the forseeable future.  Growth opportunities are significant in the ranks of the junior officers(106 Commanders, 91 Lt. Commanders and growing consistently) which is expected to make competition for the captain spots fierce in years to come.  Another two days, and the two divisional HQs for the Army were formally arranged with all the officers now in place.   At the moment there are only five brigades though, enough for just over one full division.  Director Woznicki sets forth a plan to have a full four-brigade division for each billion citizens on a world, with a brigade for a population of 100 million.  Every populated world already has a garrison battalion.  To put this into place, four more brigade HQs will be needed, and each of the three training bases begins recruiting one immediately.   With SPACE stretching it's legs galactically, the Army will need to expand to match.  With all that going on in a five-days stretch, the beauracrats were quite busy for a while.

September closed with the completion of commercial SY Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock.  Sun will expand to 30k as did the last one.  No more shipyards are considered to be currently needed.  This allowed the diversion of a full fifth of the factories into other endeavors.  Research, colonization, and new investment in factories/mines now occupy almost a third each of the output.  That result was far more important than the shipyard itself. 

The hits kept right on coming in early October.  A week in and there was the return of the colonization group from Luyten.  They had much to report from the New Genesis colony.  The population there had reached 1.03 million, with the industrial sector reporting in at almost 93%.  The only remaining step was to move in Forrestals from the jump to Luyten into the system itself and to the Luyten-Tau Ceti jump point, but that would need to wait until there was enough population to support staffing the maintenance facilities.  Other than that, New Genesis was up and running, fully functional. 

Gov. Michael Reneau has set a goal of having the industrial sector keep infrastructure sufficient to handle a year's growth at any one time.  The rest of the factories will work on producing automines.  Right now that ratio is set at a third of capacity on infrastructure, a ratio that will constantly need to be tweaked.  The colony has 19 tons each of duranium and corundium, with duranium slowly declining.  More mines are needed, and it remains to be seen whether the fledgling industrial centers set up will be equal to the task in time.  The first automine is nearly halfway finished though. 

One note to trumpet on the positive side, though small, was that the task group had brought back the first-ever shipment of minerals from outside Sol.  It wasn't a lot, but a surplus of 228 tons, only 20 of those in demand(mercassium, galacite, neutronium).   Not even a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, but it was something.  There was unfortunate news as the man tasked with keeping the primary mines on the large first planet in Lutyen 726-8, Edison Fredrickson, had been forced into retirement suddenly by an unforseen medical issue a few weeks prior.   This was clearly a job for the best free mining administrator, and Harley Reagen was the obvious choice. 

After that, it seemed as if everyone tired of the hectic activity of the previous couple of months.  Important events just fell of a cliff, and while there were various minor comings and goings, SPACE operations were pretty routine for the last several weeks of 2092.  Unquestionably the near-finalizing of transporting equipment and colonists to New Genesis and the shift in focus to the rich deposits awaiting in YZ Ceti was the biggest news of the year. 


Research & Development

** July 20 -- Stellarator Fusion Reactor research is finished by Dr. Norris Gunterman's team.   

** August 23 -- Company-sized combat drop module finished(Stanley Kogut). 

** November 4 -- Bessie Wallander finishes the latest upgrade to thermal sensors, and retasks to EM detection.   


Earth 

August 7 -- New research laboratory complex finished on Earth. 

Mid-August -- First-ever pair of Divisional Army HQs are now operational, First and Second Division incorporated on Earth. 

Mid-August -- The first Gato(J) is begun as well, and the Astilleros Espanoles SY reaches it's target of 30kt capacity.

September 6 -- Shipment of automines to 2004 XA192 leaves. 

September 8 -- The fifth and final Guardian squadron begins fleet training exercises. 

September 30 -- Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock commercial SY is finished and begins expansion. 

December 4 -- The last colony task group arrives at Earth from New Genesis.  Like the cargo group they will have shore leave now before joining the efforts in YZ Ceti.

December 7 -- Retooling finished for the new jump-capable Fletcher.  Construction begins on the first, due out in the third quarter next year. 


Personnel

August 23 -- Lt. Cmdr. Bandus Meian improves initative, now in the high accomplished range(279).  Unfortunately none of that changes his inflexibility and rudeness of manner, which hold him back from any real promise of promotion. 

October 29 -- Ricardo Bloise improves admin rating to 5.

November 6 -- The Navy is celebrating graduate Tracy Stransky as one to be fast-tracked.  Lt. Stransky is borderline elite in training right out of the academy.

November 9 -- Ricardo Bloise has hit the max with administrative knowhow.  He'll go as far as his skills, unforunately limited, will take him now. 


Colonial Developments

September 23 -- Tritanium exhausted on Comas Sola.  Now only duranium remains, and a little over two years of that.  At this rate by 2095 it will be the first comet(or any other body) that SPACE has completely mined out. 

December 16 -- Sedna is up to 63 complexes.  Despite this, it is still below it's peak production as returns continue to diminish ever-so-slowly. 
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 21, 2015, 08:06:38 PM »

**There was a lot to do even though the events of this time period were not particularly dramatic.  I also spent some time getting the naval officers into a spreadsheet to facilitate being able to identify promotions more quickly.**

JANUARY  - JUNE 2092

The mining outlook shows a more promising picture each year, but there's still plenty of work to do when you dive deeper into the numbers.  Duranium stockpiles topped 50kt by the start of the year, and by the time Sedna expires there will likely be enough stored up to last decades.  On the other hand production minus Sedna is at 79% of the current need, and only 51% when you take away the other duranium sources set to be exhausted during the same timeframe.  Since some of those mines will be redistributed, the actual readiness probably lies between those numbers.   Mercassium is the only mineral that continues to decline albeit only by a tiny amount. 

Not a whole lot happened until March, when another terraforming facility was sent off to Mars followed by the completion of blueprints for a Fletcher-sized jump drive and the deployment of the first jump-capable brigade transport.  The new design is quickly hammered out:

Fletcher 84i(J) Jump-capable standard freighter
Size:  49.1 kt
Crew:  230
Speed:  733 km/s
Fuel:  400k
Cargo:  25k
Cost:  850k

These will be used anytime a single installation needs to be transported to a different system, or when 'mid-size' ships need an escort they are also a much more cost-effective alternative to the massive North Carolina jump superfreighters.  They cost more than a third more than a standard Fletcher and the speed is less than three quarters of the original variant so insystem use would only be in case of emergency.  Vegesacker Werft SY will be prepared to begin the first of the class before the end of the year. 

At the end of March, there was the latest update from New Genesis as well.  The population there is up to 830k, with industrial efficiency at three-quarters of maximum.  One implication of the results there is already clear:  many new colonies, such as the hostile conditions in YZ Ceti, will require a lower number of construction factories to start with since they won't have enough manpower to operate them all.   Most of the comets have basic mining operations up and running, and the freighter is working non-stop to get all of the automines in place as duranium is at 18 tons and dropping.   From that point on, Gov. Michael Reneau will need to carefully juggle industrial priorities in order to make sure the colony has enough infrastructure but is also expanding mining and production facilities at an appropriate rate.  Much will be made of the New Genesis colony's experiences over the coming years and decades, especially in terms of fine-tuning SPACE's approaches to expansion going forward. 

On April 8, engineering was busy again with a new design as the Gato jump drive was finalized.

Gato-class jump-capable small freighter
Size:  9.95 kt
Crew:  51
Speed:  603 km/s
Fuel:  100k
Cargo:  5k
Cost:  204k

Again the jump model is slower and costlier than the original.   A fair number of these are expected to be needed.   Virtually every system SPACE colonizes is expected to either have a surplus of some minerals, a deficit in others, or in most cases both.  The Gato 84i(J) will serve as a delivery vehicle for these materials, and scheduling these trips will provide yet another beauracratic task.  The smallest commercial yard, Kvaerner-Masa, presently tasked with the Portland battalion transports which are not expected to be needed for the forseeable future, will retool and the first of the class should be in production by about the middle of the third quarter this year.   

Another week, and the MRD got some good news with the completion of the Guardian project so far as the shipyards are concerned.  The last three were pressed into service, and training exercises will begin as soon as their captains can be relocated from other assignments.  With a few shipyards still active, it is a welcome relief to the MRD that this resource drain is no longer required.  In the associated reassignments, Syrus Cassio's wait finally ended as he was promoted to Commander of one of the VIP jump shuttles(Caldwell 84i(J) class), while Dirk Blade was considered but narrowly passed over. 

On the 25th, SPACE lost a midlevel administrator as Governor Jedidiah Thone's retirement was announced.  Thone spent most of his career on important mining concerns, including the first asteroid administrator on Prokne to begin his career, and a stint on Triton in the late 70s.  For the past 11 years he has held the relatively quiet colonial posting on Io.

May began with news from Sedna.  The completion of a 62nd mining complex there was not worth any particular bulletin, but it was accompanied by a matter of more importance.  Gov. Ronald Waxman reported that the beginnings of lost efficiency have now come.  Accessibility of duranium is now just slightly down(89% as compared to the 90% it has been at since operations began decades ago).  It's just the start, but the long-feared Sedna crash has now officially begun.  The exhaustion clock is currently just over 14 years. 

The month ended with the departure of what is to be the last group of colonists sent to New Genesis, and a period of shore leave for the crews of the first cargo group returning from YZ Ceti.  Before the end of the year the transition of colonization efforts between the two systems will effectively be complete. 

June 12 brought more news on the research front, more a matter of future consideration than anything for the present time.  Dr. Julio Kuchler has completed theoretical research into electronic warfare, allowing for the creation of ECM and ECCM suites.  Practically speaking, ECM works to reduce the accuracy of beam weapons fire against a ship, and the range at which a missile fire control can effectively track the ship.  ECCM works to counter these effects.   SPACE's researchers will be more concerned with defensive ECM aspects, though no study of them is slated to begin quite yet.   


Earth

Early January -- Another pair of Forrestals scrapped. 

February 18 -- The third Guardian squadron completes training and returns to Earth for overhaul. 

March 23 --  First jump-capable Arleigh Burke is now ready.  A second will be ready soon, and the third hull is begun. 

April 2 -- The four new Caldwell(J) jump-capable VIP shuttles are now finished. 

April 14 -- Last three Guardians completed. 

April 25 -- Second of the jump-capable Burke's is finished. 

May 14 -- The third squadron of Guardians is deployed.  Having finished their training run, they'll join the first at the Epsilon Eridani jump point. 


Personnel

February 8 -- Another tiny increase in survey skill for Cmdr. Harold Graff, still definitely in the low novice category(3%). 

February 21 -- Cmdr. Jay Cin V improves survey marginally, and is now an accomplished crew trainer as well. 

February 29 -- Another tiny bump in Cmdr. Harold Graff's survey skill.  The aggregate effect of these improvements is nearing the point of being barely noticeable to a highly skilled observer.

March 23 -- Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Blade has some novice skill in training now.

April 12 -- Commodore Rosemary Tallant's crew training ability is now near the top of the scale.  The 46-year-old, presently in charge of the missile bases on Earth, is a serious candidate for the next chief of the navy. 

April 25 -- It is announced that Governor Jedidiah Thone(Io) is retiring at 64. 

May 26 -- A new administrator joins the cause, one with a solid starter ability in mining, Mr. Harley Reagen.  I expect SPACE will need every able hand in that department available for decades, so this is a good shot in the arm for the colonization efforts. 

June 19 -- Lt. Cmdr. Misora Hinonami improves initiative into the low accomplished range, and continues to be a top candidate for another promotion once her mandatory two years as a commercial CO are completed. 



Colonial Developments

February  10 -- Sedna expands to 61.  You would think they would stop building new complexes that are going to be useless in a little over a decade, but apparently the civilians are very short-sighted. 

March 15 -- A new terraforming installation is ready and sent off to Mars, which will give the red planet two once again. 

May 4 -- Sedna expands to 62nd complex. 


Research & Development

** March 23 -- Julio Kuchler has completed work on improving tracking time against missiles, now at a 40% increase.  He'll finish up theoretical electronic warfare research that is almost completed next. 

** March 27 -- The jump drive for the Fletcher is now ready, and Alejandro Otteson will move on to the Gato version, already mostly completed by Bartholf before the laboratory was required for a more pressing priority. 

** April 8 -- The new jump drive for the Gato is ready. 

** May 29 -- A new increase in shield strength, designated Gamma level, has been finished by Elliot Monks.  He'll spend the next year-plus working on cloaking efficiency, a project about 40% completed by junior researchers.

** Dr. Julio Kuchler completes Electronic Warfare research, and will next focus on fire controls extended the range of our beam weapons. 
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 15, 2015, 02:10:03 PM »

JULY - DECEMBER 2091

On July 13th, there was a little more news on the geosurvey front.  While nothing has yet been heard from the teams in Barnard's Star, the other two have finished the overhaul period at Earth and are outbound for YZ Ceti.  There are eight bodies, most expected to be large projects and take months to years to complete.  That is not to mention that it will take some weeks to get in position, but mining cannot commence until the initial survey is complete.  There will be a mix of automining and standard mines in the system eventually, but the richest, prohibitively hot A-I, will be the first to have a team.  Director Woznicki has been busy this month as well.  After working on her substantial political connections, for what reason I don't know since she's finished her last election, she has developed a bit of skill in population growth, one of her weak points. 

On the 28th there was more significant news, with the latest efficiency leap for jump drives being completed(Dr. Alejandro Otteson).   SPACE was waiting on this advance before putting into motion research projects aimed at new commercial jump drives.  Currently we have operational versions for the North Carolina at the top end, and also for the Arleigh Burke recently developed.  Two more are desired, one to fit a jump-capable Fletcher standard freighter, and another to fit the small Gato for smaller runs.  The option of a Long Beach-sized drive was considered but rejected, as it is not believed they will need to make jumps often enough to justify the investment.  A North Carolina can escort them through the jump when needed, and most of the time they will simply be on station in whatever system they are posted in.  Otteson himself will handle the new jump drives.  The freighters will have the same cargo capacity but will be significantly slower than their present counterparts, so they will only be used when needed to transport between systems.  In the case of the Gato's drive, it will be soley a single-ship drive as the small freighters are too small to mount a multi-ship jump drive given current capabilities. 

The very next day another task group returned from New Genesis.  This time, however, they will not be going back.  The colony has all that it needs.  It's time to head to YZ Ceti, which means the long debate about where to settle first, the 'primary' colony in the system, needs a resolution.  It's the kind of decision that is made only at the Director's desk.

There are eight bodies in the system that are in the 'marginally habitable range',  with colony costs from 6.77-8.65 with current technology.  At that level they are hostile enough that there will be some population available for manufacturing work but a minority.  Titan, for example, is nearly the low end of that range and has just under a quarter of it's population available for similar duties.  All of them will probably be developed eventually, but there are important mineral deposits on a couple of them.  Director Delois Woznicki decided not to make the choice on the availability of minerals since automines would need to take the lead early while available population focuses on terraforming and construction(esp. infrastructure).  Much later in the system's development, as more people become available a switch to standard mining may well occur ... but that would be a very long-term concern.  Given that reality, the fifth moon of the sixth planet, a super jovian, was preferable due to it's already thick atmosphere(nearly twice Earth's) and resulting somewhat more tolerable temperature. 

It was decided to go with a compound name for the various locations in the system, beginning with Quarry Hub for that moon as it would serve as SPACE's headquarters and control in YZ Ceti.    With that decided, over a hundred sections of infrastructure and a pair of mass drivers departed on a max cargo group the next day.  The trip to Quarry Hub is longer than the one to New Genesis, an average trip of about 9.3b instead of 5.7b kilometers.  Put another way, it's almost exactly a five-month trip each way, so the process of getting equipment in place will definitely take longer than before.  The promise is worth it though, many times over. 

After a quiet August, on September 18 a new logistical issue became apparent.  With a new squadron of Guardian corvettes readied, the total is now 17 of the 20 planned, and the final three will now enter production.  The process of reassigning was slowed because officers needed to be exchanged in multiple systems(Luyten and ESF Alpha which was by now a couple systems away), a situation which revealed the need for more Caldwell J VIP jump shuttles.  There are currently only two.   The order went out for four more, tripling to a total of six.  Efficiently moving personnel from one place to another is a necessity to ensure smooth operations throughout SPACE. 

By early October a new commercial shipyard had been finished and maintenance supply stockpiles reached the desired level, as Earth continues to clear up it's backlog of industrial projects.   As the calendar reached November, the Guardian project reached a crucial milestone with the deployment of the second squadron, this time to the Lalande 21185 jump.  Both dangerous jump points should be under the watch of the corvettes indefinitely from here on out. 

The first shipment to 2004 XA192, Sol's latest mining outpost, departed Earth ten days later.  It is nearly a three-month journey by freighter, so it won't actually be operational until next year. 

The first week of December brought significant industrial news from Earth.   Governor Evelyn Kaczor has made a significant breakthrough which will increase production significantly.  Over the next couple of weeks, SPACE celebrated a pair of population milestones.  Mars became the first colony to reach 100 million, and then within days Earth crossed the two-billion threshold. 



Personnel

July 1 -- Luna-born Stella Yon is sent to New Genesis to take command of the sensor base there. 

July 28 -- Lt. Cmdr. Misora Hinonami has already improved her training skill, jumping into the accomplished range.  Her determination, health issues notwithstanding, is showing through here as she works to build a resume that will allow her to move up in the Navy. 

December 6 -- Earth gov. Evelyn Kaczor has achieved a breakthrough in factory oversight, significantly increasing her accomplished ability in that field.  A noticeable, if marginal, decrease in required production times is being seen across the board.

Late December -- Dr. Leonel Wessels, currently working on a larger meson cannon, steps up to elite status.  There are now a record nine elite scientists who command half the available laboratories between them.  Wessels in the second in energy weapons, along with Salsgiver. 


Earth

Early July -- Retooling for the jump-capable Arleigh Burke is finished a bit ahead of schedule.  The first two of three planned are expected to be finished next May. 

August 4 -- Sol is back up to it's complement of two Fletcher 84i standard freighters as the new one is completed. 

Early August -- The second squadron of Guardians has completed its training, and returns to Earth for maintenance. 

September 18 -- Another four Guardians built, and a fourth squadron will soon begin training exercises.

September 29 -- New commercial shipyard is finished, the Astilleros Espanoles.  At least one more will be constructed.  Astilleros Espanoles will expand to at least 30kt. 

October 4 -- Earth has reached the desired reserve of five kilotons of maintenance supplies.  About two dozen factories will be switched to shipyard construction. 

October 18 -- New research lab completed.

October 27 -- Final pair of GW's finished. 

November 1 -- The second squadron of Guardians is deployed, there is now one at each of the dangerous jumps. 

November 5 -- The sensor base for YZ Ceti has been completed.  It probably won't be shipped out for quite a while but it's ready now. 

November 24 -- The colonization group returns to Earth.  The only thing left now is more colonist shipments to New Genesis.  They depart with another 30k souls a couple days later. 

December 10 -- KCI Naval SY, Kaiser Company Inc. in full, has been finished on Earth and the remaining factories are diverted to the commercial shipyard. 


Research & Development

** July 28 -- Alejandro Otteson finishes a significant advance in jump drive efficiency.  The practical effect is miniaturization, allowing a jump drive to be less than 17% of a ship's mass instead of the current required 20%.  On large ships, this can be a significant savings. 

** October 25 -- Elliot Monks is in the news again with the announcement that we can now cloak a kiloton-sized ship.  Wrapping up a project on improving shield strength will be his next task. 


Colonial Developments

Early December -- Mars becomes the first colony to reach 100 million population.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 08, 2015, 02:59:31 PM »


JANUARY - JUNE 2091

The biggest news early in the year came out of research & development, with three new advances in January alone.  On the 5th, both Deborah Barnhouse(ceramic composite armor) and Elliot Monks(thermal emissions reduced from 35% to 25%) had their announcements.  As if that wasn't enough, the first terraforming installation to be deployed to Titan left that same day.  Three weeks later, Jerry Bartholf's team announced that the new 9kt commercial jump drive for use with the Arleigh Burke brigade transports was ready.  The new jump-capable specs:

Arleigh Burke 84i(J) Brigade-level Troop Transport
Size:  28.3kt
Crew:  186
Speed:  637 km/s
Fuel:  300k
Capacity:  Five battalions/1 Brigade
Armament:  3x CIWS 79 battery
Cost:  710k

For now, Oregon SY will retool in order to build these.  The first one should be finished sometime around late summer of '92.  Three are expected to be built, which would allow for all six of the regular Burkes to be transported in three task groups of three each if desired.   

February began with a bang as well.  On the second, the current run of mass drivers which has taken up three dozen factories for years was completed.  It was time to count the cost for YZ Ceti, as almost all the equipment for New Genesis has been shipped.  The big difference is of course that more infrastructure will be needed to setup the colony there.  It would again require several mass drivers(seven in this case, six were sent to New Genesis).  Current estimates are that three and a half to four years will be required to built the necessary equipment.  It will almost certainly take longer than that to get the ground surveys done in the system, which have not even started yet.  It appears that will be the limiting factor on how fast humanity can expand.  The total cost is around 7.7m.

The next day, terraforming operations began on Titan, an initiative which deserves it own small chapter in the rundown.  This will be a much longer process than Mars and Luna are currently undergoing.  The atmosphere here is fairly thick, mostly nitrogen with 5% methane.  There's no point in even trying to make the atmosphere breathable here, at least not for a long time.  Temperature is the issue here, at -178 celcius it is survival suits and other specialized equipment for dealing with the frigid moon that cause the biggest problems.  Adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere to trap more of what little heat Titan gets is going to be the biggest concern for decades, if not centuries.  It's already a thick atmosphere(60% thicker than Earth), but if the temperature ever gets good enough(unlikely) the nitrogen and methane can be removed to lessen the pressure. 

In the middle of the month, on February 17th, the recently formed NGSF officially went into action. The first freighter and harvester have reached the system.  They jumped out with orders to report to their new headquarters.  The freighter will be tasked with deploying mass drivers and mines to the five mining outposts in the system:  administrators are en route to them already from New Genesis where they have been cooling their heels in preparation for this moment for years.  The harvester will naturally make it's way to Luyten B-III, where it will begin harvesting operations.  The jump ship reported that second journey will take a further two months, as it jumped back into Sol minutes later on it's way back to Earth. 

Another two days, and yet another bulletin as from Ganymede there was word that the last of Ticonderoga 82 sensor bases has come online.   Deploying and assembling the entire run of them took less than nine years.  The construction brigade is sent immediately to assist on Titan. 

There was relative quiet for a couple months, eventually broken by research again on the 27th of April.  Dr. Carmelo Constanza announced that improved fabrication techniques are ready, with a projected increase of 14% in output across the board.  Now that manufacturing has caught up to mining in terms of technological advancement once again, the pressure on the MRD will only increase. 

News has come in bunches this year, and it did so again.  On the last day of April, ESF Alpha departed Earth orbit, their overhaul complete.  They will return to the site of their most recent explorations, heading to Luyten 726-8, then to Tau Ceti, and then to the systems beyond it.  With the focus on YZ Ceti now, their work has become relatively less important to the public eye ...

May also waited until the very end to make it's presence felt.  Another task group returned from New Genesis, with a few tidbits on the colony's progress:

Luyten 726-8 Updates(New Genesis Colony)

March 15 -- Automine operations begin on Luyten A-I, the site of nearly a megaton of duranium. 

March 28 -- Sensor base is completed.  It is noted by Admin. Reneau that SPACE never bothered to send out a CO for it, and that request will be sent as soon as possible.  For now, the ten active construction factories will split 25% on new factories, 75% on new automated mines.  This is a ratio that will need constant adjustment.  Right now the work force is still lacking, with manufacturing going forward at only about a 43% -- and slowly rising -- efficiency.  Infrastructure can support more than three times the present population of 330k, and another 150k are inbound from the Sol jump which will aid considerably. 

April 25 -- The new colonists, the third such delivery, have been unloaded at New Genesis.  The manufacturing sector is now operating at 62%. 

April 26 -- Another first is established.  The Long Beach harvester assigned to New Genesis deploys at B-III, the first in the system or any system outside of Sol for that matter.  Here that will require a three-week trip back to the colony for shore leave bi-annually, a minor inconvenience all things considered. 

Back in Sol, ESF Bravo left Earth on June 15 for it's next voyage. It will take the four-month journey to Barnard's Star, then past it to Gliese 563.2.  It will be the first visit to the system in nearly a decade by the time they arrive.  Another round of exploration is underway. 



Colonial Developments

January 3 -- Corbomite exhausted on Herschel-Rigollet

January 5 -- A new terraforming installation headed to Titan, their first. 

January 12 -- The colony task group returns from New Genesis.  Another 150k colonists will leave with them, along with another mass driver and the rest of the automines needed for the system. 

February 4 -- Sedna expands to 58. 

February 19 -- Ganymede is the last moon to complete fabrication of it's Ticonderoga 82 sensor base.

May 16 -- Sedna expands to 59 complexes. 

May 19 -- The jump ship that brought the freighter and harvester to Luyten has returned to Earth.  A tanker and maintenance facilities that Earth no longer needs are next on the agenda, the last four factories that somehow have not been brought to New Genesis due to a clerical snafu, and of course more colonists though those will have to wait as the task group can't take them along with the needed space for the facilities. 

Early June -- Sedna expands to 60. 


Earth


January 3 -- Two more Forrestals scrapped. 

Early February -- SPACE's treasury reports that the balance has reached a billion credits for the first time.

February 23 -- The latest trio of Guardians is ready for service.  A third squadron begins it's training period, and another full squadron is begun in the shipyard.  It will be more than a year yet before all five planned squadrons have been constructed. 

May 13 -- A fifth military academy is finished on Earth.  That is all that will be built for now, the supply of manpower will be monitored now for the balance of the decade.

Late May -- It's a few months late, but one of the GW shuttles is finished with the overhaul and heads out to 40 Eridani to relieve the ship standing watch.  Better late than never, I think they say. 

May 28 -- Just a few days later, the next pair of GW's are finished and a final(for now) pair begun. 

June 4 -- Forrestal III scrapped. 

Mid-June -- Forrestal III scrapped


Research & Development

** January 5 -- Ceramic composite armour finished(Deborah Barnhouse)

** January 5 -- Elliot Monks finishes work on thermal emissions(reduced to 25%).  Shield regeneration and cloak miniaturization will be next up respectively for the two elite DS researchers. 

** January 26 -- Jerry Bartholf's team finishes testing of the new 9kt commercial jump drive for the Burke. 

** April 27 -- Construction rate improved(Dr. Carmelo Constanza). 


Personnel

January 30 -- New administrator Frances Laprade is one to watch.  She can already handle anything short of the director's office and has a wide-ranging beginner's skillset.  Also, the Energy Weapons field has a new elite man in Dr. Freddy Salgiver.  Only 29, he is tops in the field right now.  Combined with other developments, there are now no novice researchers with ongoing projects at all.  Long-term, that has to be a concern. 

Early February -- Cmdr. Harold Graff improves his training skills.  They are still considered to be in the novice category though. 

Late March -- Jedidiah Thone further improves his accomplished skill in shipbuilding.  Unfortunately this will be of no benefit to anyone with the 63-year-old still on Io. 

April 15 -- Earth governor Evelyn Kaczor has learned a bit about logistics in her new position. 

April 18 -- Four army and three navy officers have been dismissed. 

May 1 -- Ens. Misora Hinonami promoted to Lieutenant, and is now available to be given her first command. 

Early May -- Cmdr. Jay Cin V improves initiative, currently in the low end of the Accomplished range. 

May 28 -- Lt. Cmdr. Misora Hinonami takes her first command, the sensor base on Mars.
Posted by: Bryan Swartz
« on: March 07, 2015, 02:41:35 PM »

There was quite a bit of activity in the early months of 2091, so I decided to split off a couple things. 

2091 MRD SUMMARY

Duranium is up a rather astonishing 12kt this year, partly due to the scrapping of a lot of combat ships but at nearly 40kt a sizable emergency stockpile is now forming.  This gain is almost exactly the amount coming from Sedna, but unfortunately is not sustainable.  Mercassium held steady, showing small increases once the drain from the colony ships ended, while gallicite(1.8kt), corundium(100t), and neutronium(1.9 kt) all moved upwards.  It was a very good year on the mining front, but it will still be at least a couple of years before the picture can be reasonably clarified. 

Annual Supply as of January 1:

Duranium:  18.3 kt(+1.7%)
Neutronium:  3.24 kt(+2.5%)
Mercassium:  2.06 kt(-2.4%)
Corundium:  1.31 kt(+16%)
Gallicite:  926t(+16%)

Expansion of operations on Herschel-Rigollet provided some much-needed gallicite to help with use in ship maintenance needs, as well as making the corundium flow more secure.   

Policy Review

Director Delois Woznicki had some choices to make with this information.  It had become clear that a little more shipbuilding was regrettably necessary, which will further stress the system.  With a Fletcher-class freighter having been sent to New Genesis, another one would be needed to handle Sol's needs.  Additionally, it has become painfully obvious that more jump shuttles are needed.  There are four survey shuttles, the George Washington class, and three are always in operation.  The inadequacy of this can be shown that a replacement was needed to depart to relieve the shuttle currently in 40 Eridani with the xenology team ten days ago, but none will be ready for a couple months so it will have to stay over it's operational guidelines.  With the need for the class expected to only increase in future decades, the choice was made to double the number of vessels from four to eight. 

Also, with Herschel-Rigollet having reached it's complement of automines, the next destination for additional deployments had to be decided on.  By the middle of the year the full complement needed for the New Genesis start-up would be finished, and the rest would be kept in Sol until the groundwork for YZ Ceti was completed.  The uninventively-named asteroid 2004 XA192 was chosen.  Nearly a billion kilometers past Neptune orbit(5.4b km total), it's distance was one reason why it has not yet been developed.  XA192 will become the second asteroid(after Prokne) to be exploited by SPACE.  It holds nearly 200kt of duranium and about 24kt of gallicite, along with lesser amounts of tritanium and boronide.  The first shipment of automines should depart before the end of the year, and should aid in the diversification of duranium sources as operations on Sedna continue to tick slowly towards their final years.