Part II of the Federation campaign. As this is a test campaign, there is not a lot of incident and it is more a record of the Federations expansion. I will probably begin a more involved campaign with multiple starting races for either v1.6 or v1.7
7th September 2023
Federation scientists complete their work on improving the yield of missile warheads and begin working on a new AS-6 Heavy Anti-Ship Missile. The AS-6 is short ranged at 288,000 km but retains the 18,000 km/s speed of the AS-1 Fast Anti-ship Missile and has a strength-5 warhead, compared to the strength-3 warheads of the AS-1 and AS-2
17th September 2023
It takes less than two weeks to finalise the production design for the AS-6 and the Federation?s ordnance factories immediately begin building the new missile. Federation scientists begin background research on electronic warfare.
14th October 2023
The Buckland class survey ship Etheridge discovers scattered ruins on Sheffield IV.
7th November 2023
Two new Genesis class Terraformers are launched. The other three members of the class are still in Stevenage where they are adding oxygen to the atmosphere of the fourth planet. Although there are worlds, such as the fifth moon of Leyland-B II, that may be easier to terraform, the Stevenage system is adjacent to Earth and has no other jump points, making it a far safer location. The two new ships head for Stevenage.
9th December 2023
The survey of Leyland is completed, revealing one new jump point.
27th December 2023
The survey of Belfast, adjacent to London, is completed. The system has a total of five jump points.
1st January 2024
The current state of the Federation?s colonies is as follows. Figures for January 2020, if available, are in parentheses
Earth
Population: 1086m (1000m)
Naval Academy: Level 4
Maintenance Facility: Level 2 (Level 1)
Commercial Freighter Facility: Yes
Shipyards: 20
Construction Factories: 817 (800)
Ordnance Factories: 231 (200)
Fighter Factories: 200
Fuel Refineries: 400
Mines: 800
Automated Mines: 6 (160)
Research Facilities: 45 (40)
Ground Force TF: 10
Missile Silos: 100
Fighter Bases: 5 (4)
Deep Space Tracking Station: 6 (1)
Fuel Stockpile: 18.5m litres (5m)
Cardiff II
Population: 3.68m
Construction Factories: 29
Deep Space Tracking Stations: 2
Cardiff One Mining Colony
Automated Mines: 132
Jamestown Mining Colony (Sol)
Automated Mines: 61
There is also a Terraforming Project on Stevenage IV and an Archaeological Dig on Manchester-III
12th January 2024
Research into general electronic warfare is completed and work begins on an ECCM installation to partially combat the alien ECM.
22nd April 2024
The survey of Londonderry reveals three new jump points.
27th April 2024
The first two Valkyrie class destroyers are completed, beginning the long process of rebuilding the Federation Fleet so it can return to Swansea. It is fortunate the aliens have allowed the Federation enough time to improve its capabilities and the Admiralty cannot understand why no alien ships have tried to enter Cardiff from Swansea. It is possible they have not yet surveyed the system or may be adopting their own policy of non-expansion.
12th May 2024
Research into ECCM-1 is completed. Federation scientists turn their attention to Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology. This meets with the approval of both tactical schools within the Admiralty as it will lead to better propulsion systems. The beam proponents want faster ships and the missile advocates want faster missiles.
17th May 2024
The deposits on Corbomite and Gallicite on Earth have been exhausted. Although there are substantial stockpiles of both minerals, a new supply will eventually have to be found. The Cardiff One asteroid mining colony still has about 26,000 tons of Gallicite but no Corbomite. The Jamestown asteroid mining colony has no deposits of either mineral. Cardiff II has fifty million tons of Corbomite, albeit at 0.5 accessibility, and seventeen million tons of accessibility 1.0 Gallicite, so one option is to move some mines from Earth to the new colony.
22nd May 2024
A gravitational survey of Cambridge finds two new jump points.
2nd July 2024
Two more Valkyries are launched along with the first Crimea class Troop Transport.
Crimea class Troop Transport 10000 tons 675 Crew 983 BP Signature 200-660
3300 km/s Armour 1 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Troop Capacity 5 Divisions Cargo Handling Multiplier 10 Replacement Parts 20
De Havilland DE7 Ion Engine (11) Power 60 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 123.4 billion km (432 days at full power)
4th July 2024
A survey of the Newcastle system locates two new jump points.
24th July 2024
As a result of a long training program, ten engineer units have been created. These will be deployed to colonies to assist in construction.
27th July 2024
A gravitational survey of Oxford reveals the system has a total of three jump points.
22nd August 2024
A new Victory class missile cruiser is launched from Earth?s shipyards.
29th September 2024
To improve the effectiveness of the Victory class missile cruiser, an update is planned for the three existing ships. The number of launchers will be increased from twelve to fifteen, an ECCM-1 installation will be added and the ordnance load will be changed to concentrate on the new AS-6 Heavy Anti-Ship Missile. The changes are made at the expense of magazine capacity, fire control redundancy and sensor range. Although this will change the optimum engagement range of the ship, it will allow greater damage at short range, which is essential against the far superior technology of the aliens in Swansea. Both the existing Victory and the new Victory II classes are shown below.
Victory class Missile Cruiser 10000 tons 1163 Crew 1878 BP Signature 200-720
3600 km/s Armour 1 Shields 22-300 Sensors 15/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Magazine 2200 Replacement Parts 10
De Havilland DE7 Ion Engine (12) Power 60 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 123.4 billion km (396 days at full power)
Gamma R300/14 Shields (11) Total Fuel Cost 154 Litres per day
S4 Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 30
Missile Fire Control S03-120 (1) Range: 1200k km
Missile Fire Control S02-080 (1) Range: 800k km
AS-1 Fast Anti-ship Missile (382) Speed: 18,000 km/s Endurance: 33 secs Range: 594k km Warhead: 3 Size: 4
AS-2 LR Anti-Ship Missile (96) Speed: 12,000 km/s Endurance: 75 secs Range: 900k km Warhead: 3 Size: 4
AF-1 Anti-Fighter Missile (36) Speed: 30,000 km/s Endurance: 20 secs Range: 600k km Warhead: 1 Size: 4
PD-2 Large PD Missile (36) Speed: 24,000 km/s Endurance: 12 secs Range: 288k km Warhead: 1 Size: 4
High Resolution Thermal Sensor HRT5-15 (1) Strength 15 Detect Signature 10: 1.5m km Det Signature 100: 15m kmVictory II class Missile Cruiser 10000 tons 1228 Crew 1852 BP Signature 200-720
3600 km/s Armour 1 Shields 22-300 Sensors 6/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Magazine 1600 Replacement Parts 10
De Havilland DE7 Ion Engine (12) Power 60 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 123.4 billion km (396 days at full power)
Gamma R300/14 Shields (11) Total Fuel Cost 154 Litres per day
S4 Missile Launcher (15) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 30
Missile Fire Control S03-120 (1) Range: 1200k km
AS-1 Fast Anti-ship Missile (60) Speed: 18,000 km/s Endurance: 33 secs Range: 594k km Warhead: 3 Size: 4
PD-1 Point Defence Missile (80) Speed: 24,000 km/s Endurance: 25 secs Range: 600k km Warhead: 1 Size: 2
AS-6 Heavy Anti-Ship Missile (300) Speed: 18,000 km/s Endurance: 16 secs Range: 288k km Warhead: 5 Size: 4
High Resolution Thermal Sensor HRT2-6 (1) Strength 6 Detect Signature 10: 0.6m km Detect Signature 100: 6m km
ECCM-1 (1)
7th November 2024
Two new Mayflower class colony ships are completed, taking the total for the class to nine, as well as the sixth Valkyrie class destroyer. As the colony fleet can now transport almost one million colonists, the Admiralty begins to consider establishing additional colonies, most likely in the York system which has an ideal habitable world. For the moment, the fleet will continue to concentrate on Cardiff. A strategic decision has also been taken to move the Federation?s primary ordnance production facilities to Cardiff II because of the locations of the necessary minerals. Missiles require Gallicite, Tritanium and Sorium. Two of those minerals are no longer available on Earth or on the Jamestown mining colony and Sorium on Earth will likely be exhausted within the next two or three years. In comparison, all three minerals are mined at the Cardiff One asteroid mining colony and when that is exhausted, there will still be considerable quantities of the minerals on Cardiff II?s only moon.
18th November 2024
The fourth Ark Royal class carrier, Albion, is launched and shortly thereafter takes aboard her strikegroup of twelve Lancelot heavy bombers, twenty-four Merlin fighter-bombers and twelve Galahad interceptors.
1st December 2024
According to the results of a gravitational survey, the Brighton system has six jump points. Because of the Admiralty?s ban on expanding the Federation?s frontiers, there are now twenty-four unexplored jump points spread across nine star systems.
7th January 2025
The seventh and final Valkyrie class destroyer is completed.
12th February 2025
TFS Valhalla, the first of four Valhalla class cruisers, rolls off the production line, followed two weeks later by the her sister ship, Gladsheim.
2nd March 2025
Research into Stellarator Fusion Reactor technology is completed. This will allow the construction of more powerful reactors and opens up the way for research into more advanced engine technology. Although work begins immediately on developing magneto-plasma drive technology, this will be the most ambitious research project to date and it will be well over a year before Federation scientists can even consider designing an actual engine.
17th April 2025
TFS Asgard, the third Valhalla class ship, is completed
21st April 2025
A gravitational survey of the Newport system, three transits from Sol, reveals six additional jump points
30th April 2025
The survey ship Etheridge discovers scattered ruins on a planet in the Plymouth system. Scattered ruins have also been discovered in Cambridge and Sheffield, with more extensive ruins and a damaged alien installation in Manchester. So far only the ruins in Manchester have been investigated and, as yet, no progress has been made. To increase the rate at which the ruins can be assessed, a second archaeological team is created under the command of Captain Toby Scott. This team is dispatched to Cambridge as the ruins on Cambridge-III are the closest to Earth and may provide some clue as to the motivations of the alien ship which attacked Federation forces in that system.
2nd May 2025
A new colony is established on York IV. Almost one million colonists disembark from the nine Mayflower class ships and begin the task of creating their new home. As York IV is well within human tolerances, no special environmental infrastructure is required. The other major extra-solar colony on Cardiff-II has reached a population of ten million.
12th May 2025
TFS Ragnarok, the fourth and final Valhalla class cruiser, is launched from Earth?s shipyards, completing the planned reinforcement of the Federation Navy, and the Admiralty begins final preparations for a return to Swansea to avenge the loss of Admiral Rowley?s task force. The mobile warship strength of the Fleet now comprises:
4x Ark Royal class carrier: Albion, Ark Royal, Audacious, Avenger
3x Victory II class missile cruiser: Valiant, Vendetta, Victory II
4x Valhalla class heavy cruiser: Asgard, Gladsheim, Ragnarok, Valhalla
1x Illustrious class escort cruiser: Illustrious (Inviolate under construction)
7x Valkyrie class destroyer: Basilisk, Centaur, Cerberus, Manticore, Medusa, Pegasus, Valkyrie
5x Tribal class destroyer: Afghan, Aztec, Inca, Xhosa, Zulu
4x Trafalgar class destroyer escort: Agincourt, Crecy, Talavera, Trafalgar
2x River class patrol ship: Aegean, Amazon
17th May 2025
Einstein, Hawking and Kepler complete the gravitational survey of Birmingham, finding three new jump points. As all three ships are low on fuel they set course for Sol.
12th June 2025
A new Task Force, comprising the seven Victory II and Valhalla class cruisers and the twelve Valkyrie and Tribal class destroyers, breaks Earth orbit bound for the Swansea system. The four Ark Royals, the Illustrious and the Trafalgar class destroyer escorts remain behind to protect Earth while the River class patrol ships continue their convoy escort duties. All three Victory IIs finally have their full complement of the new AS-6 Heavy Anti-Ship Missiles while the other ships will rely on speed and close range laser firepower.
9th July 2025
The Task Force arrives in Swansea and immediately sets course for the companion star.
29th July 2025
Twenty days after entering Swansea, the Task Force detects a ship at eighty million kilometers, heading straight for them from the direction of the asteroid belt around Swansea-B. According to sensor readings, its speed, size and shield strength all match the ship that destroyed Admiral Rowley?s force. The fleet commander, Commodore Jordan Peters, orders his crews to battle stations and fervently hopes his own battle against the strange alien ship goes better than his predecessor?s. His plan is simple. All his beam armed ships will attempt to close on the alien while the missile cruisers will use their AS-1 Fast Anti-Ship Missiles initially while trying to get close enough to use the new short ranged but powerful AS-6s.
Relying on the closing speed of the alien ship, Commodore Peters orders his Victory IIs to open fire at 650,000 km. At the same time, the Valhallas and Valkyries break away from the rest of the fleet and increase speed to 6300 km/s and 6200 km/s respectively. As the first wave of forty-five missiles streaks toward the oncoming cruiser, the alien returns fire at 467,000 kilometers with a volley of torpedoes, targeting the Valhalla but fortunately missing with all nine shots.
Twenty missiles are shot down by the alien point defence and sixteen more miss the their fast-moving target. The other nine inflict enough damage to reduce the alien shields to 82%. Almost at the same moment, Valhalla is struck by two torpedoes, each with strength-12 warheads. Although she is shaken to her keel, the Valhalla class cruisers have the strongest shields of any Federation class and she survives with a third of her shields still intact. As soon as the Victorys launch a second salvo of AS-1s, Commodore Peters orders them to change to AS-6s.
The Valhallas and Valkyries move within their maximum laser range of 180,000 km but are unable to lock on their fire control due to the enemy ECM. Their superior speed allows them to continue closing the range and, unlike the previous engagement, the alien does not break away as the cruisers approach so the range quickly falls. At 113,000 km, the beam armed ships fire a total of forty-five 15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Lasers and score ten strength-1 hits, dropping the rapidly recharging alien shields to 79%. Five seconds later, the second volley of AS-1s arrives, nine of which hit their target and the shield strength falls to 64%.
The 15cm lasers recharge twice as fast as the alien torpedoes so both sides fire simultaneously at less than 60,000 km. Ten lasers hit, and at such short range they do as much damage as the AS-1 missiles. With the alien shields at 44%, Commodore Peters believes victory is only a matter of time. His joy is short-lived as a devastating volley of torpedoes blows his flagship apart around him. Along with 210 of his 1029 crew, he makes it to the life pods before Valhalla is completely destroyed. Command of the fleet falls to Captain Gareth Weber on the Gladsheim, who urges his ships to close in and finish the job.
The alien finally tries to run for it but the Valhallas and Valkyries change after it relentlessly. As the first salvo of AS-6 missiles is launched by the Victorys, a volley of laser fire from 30,000 kilometers finally smashes down the alien shields and inflicts minor internal damage, causing its speed to drop to 5000 km/s. Ten seconds later, the two sides exchange fire once again and the hostile cruiser takes a crushing seventeen strength-6 laser hits. Somehow it survives the onslaught and three of its torpedoes smash into Manticore, a Valkyrie class destroyer. Her shields stop the first and reduce the effect of the second but the third wreaks havoc on her unprotected hull. Six engines are destroyed, along with her fire control system, which takes her out of the fight. Captain Weber immediately orders her to run for it.
The next blow is delivered by eight AS-6 missiles, each with strength-5 warheads but the crippled alien emerges from the explosions and staggers onwards at less than 1000 km/s. Fittingly, the coup de grace is delivered by the surviving Valhallas and Valkyries, fulfilling the purpose for which they were designed. Twenty-two lasers blast the alien cruiser into irradiated wreckage, avenging the deaths of thousands of Federation crewmen. Even this victory has cost the lives of over nine hundred sailors, ninety-seven from the Manticore and the rest from the Valhalla. The three surviving Valhalla class cruisers pick up Valhalla?s survivors, including Commodore Peters.
With the battle won, Commodore Peters orders the fleet to return to the Swansea ? Cardiff jump point, although their speed will be restricted to 3100 km/s due to the damage to Manticore. Resolution is already at the jump point, having served as the fleet?s jump-capable escort, so she relays the news to Sol by jumping into Cardiff and sending a message via the jump gate network. News of the alien?s demise causes considerable celebration on Earth. With proof that the Federation can defend itself, the Federation leadership begins to consider exploring some of the many jump points that have been found in the last couple of years.
18th August 2025
The Illustrious class escort cruiser Inviolate is launched from Earth?s shipyards. Her completion means that there are no warships currently being built. The thirteen ships under construction include an Atlas class freighter, three Mayflower class colony ships, three Genesis class Terraformers and six Excavator class asteroid mining ships.
23rd August 2025
The Task Force enters Cardiff and heads for home. With no need to protect Manticore, the Valhallas and Valkyries split from the main body and accelerate away while the Victory IIs and Tribals keep pace with their wounded comrade. The scout Urgent enters Swansea and takes up position on the Swansea?Cardiff jump point to warn against any further alien intruders. Commodore Peters forwards a report to the Admiralty, recommending that a permanent military presence be maintained in either Cardiff or Swansea, to protect the rapidly growing colony on Cardiff II against any future threat. In addition, he suggests that Swansea be surveyed as a matter of urgency so that the potential direction of any threat can be identified.
26th September 2025
With the Task Force safely back in Earth orbit and Manticore under repair in the shipyards, the Admiralty decides that the Federation Navy should adopt a more formal organizational structure to reflect its recent rapid growth. Therefore, the bulk of the fleet is divided into four squadrons. Commodore Peters receives the newly built Inviolate and command of the Second Carrier Group while Captain Weber remains on Gladsheim and takes command of the Second Battle Squadron. The full list of ships in each formation is as follows:
First Carrier Group ? Commodore Nathan Foster
CV Ark Royal, CV Audacious, CLE Illustrious (flag), DE Agincourt, DE Talavera, DD Afghan, DD Xhosa
Second Carrier Group ? Commodore Jordan Peters
CV Albion, CV Avenger, CLE Inviolate (flag), DE Crecy, DE Trafalgar, DD Aztec, DD Zulu
First Battle Squadron ? Commodore Hannah Weston
CG Valiant, CG Vendetta (flag), CG Victory II, DD Basilisk, DD Cerberus, DD Medusa
Second Battle Squadron ? Captain Gareth Weber
CA Asgard, CA Gladsheim (flag), CA Ragnarok, DD Centaur, DD Pegasus, DD Valkyrie
The only warships not within one of the new squadrons are Manticore, the Tribal class destroyer Inca and the two River class patrol ships, Amazon and Aegean. Inca is dispatched as guard ship to the new colony in the York system while the two Rivers continue their convoy escort duties. Manticore?s eventual deployment will be decided when her repairs are completed. Both carrier groups and the first Battle Squadron remain in Earth orbit while the Second Battle Squadron is sent to Cardiff II to protect the colony against any further threat from Swansea. As Cardiff-II does not yet have any maintenance facilities, although one is under construction, this deployment will gradually deplete the spares available to the Second Battle Squadron.
23rd October 2025
A new Genesis class Terraformer is built and immediately leaves orbit to join its sister ships in Stevenage.
28th November 2025
The gravitational survey of the Douglas system is completed, without the discovery of any new jump points. As the system has a giant G5-III primary, Federation scientists had predicted a large number of jump points so this is a very disappointing result.
3rd December 2025
Manticore?s repairs are completed.
January 1st 2026
The current state of the Federation?s colonies is as follows. Figures for January 2024, if available, are in parentheses
Earth
Population: 1126m (1086m)
Sector Command: Level 4 (Level 1)
Naval Academy: Level 5 (Level 4)
Maintenance Facility: Level 2
Commercial Freighter Facility: Yes
Shipyards: 20
Construction Factories: 797 (817)
Ordnance Factories: 188 (231)
Fighter Factories: 200
Fuel Refineries: 400
Mines: 831 (800)
Automated Mines: 16 (6)
Research Facilities: 45
Ground Force TF: 10
Missile Silos: 100
Fighter Bases: 5
Deep Space Tracking Station: 6
Fuel Stockpile: 20.3m litres (18.5m)
Cardiff II
Population: 12.6m (3.68m)
Construction Factories: 90 (29)
Ordnance Factories: 62 (0)
Mines: 8 (0)
Missile Silos: 5 (0)
Deep Space Tracking Stations: 2
York IV (New Colony)
Population: 1.06m
Mines: 7
Cardiff One Mining Colony
Automated Mines: 192 (132)
There is also a Terraforming Project on Stevenage IV and Archaeological Digs on Manchester III and Cambridge III.
12th January 2026
The gravitational survey ships Einstein, Hawking and Kepler arrive in Swansea to carry out a search for jump points. Shortly thereafter they are joined by the geological survey ship Harland II, which will complete the geological survey begun by the ill-fated Buckland.
19th January 2026
The construction ships Brunel and Da Vinci simultaneously complete jump gates on either side of the Cardiff ? York jump point, connecting the new colony on York IV to the jump gate network.
6th April 2026
During a survey of Swansea-B II, a terrestrial world with a colony cost of only 0.6, the geological survey ship Harland II discovers extensive ruins on the surface. Hostile alien ships were encountered in Swansea and Cambridge and both had ruins, although those in Cambridge were minor in comparison, so it is possible the ruins are in some way connected to the behaviour of the aliens. However, ruins were also found in Manchester, Sheffield and Plymouth, none of which had any sign of alien vessels. The similarity of the remaining architecture in the various ruins suggests all of them may have belonged to the same ancient space-faring civilization.
13th April 2026
The ninth Atlas class freighter is constructed.
17th April 2026
Harland II completes her geological survey of Swansea. Seven planets, six moons and fourteen asteroids have mineral deposits. Although none of the individual finds are spectacular, the system has significant and accessible quantities of most mineral types.
12th May 2026
The gravitational survey of Swansea is completed, with a very surprising result. Swansea turns out to be a dead-end system, with the single known jump point leading to Cardiff. Which raises the question of where did the alien warship that destroyed so many Federation ships originate? Either it arrived in the system via Cardiff or it was built in Swansea. Swansea does have a third star with a planetary system, although it is two trillion miles away and none of the planets or moons appear to be habitable. Therefore, the most likely explanation is that the ship was built somewhere else and was, for some unknown reason, sent to defend an unpopulated, dead-end system. A few Federation officers have suggested that the ship may have been built by the civilization that once existed on Swansea-B V and was still defending the planet on some type of automatic pilot.
28th June 2026
Research into Magneto-Plasma Drive technology has been completed on Earth. Work begins immediately on creating the first engine based on this new technology.
De Havilland Magneto-Plasma Drive
Power Output: 80 Explosion Chance: 5 Engine Efficiency: 0.7
Engine Size: 5 Engine HTK: 2 Internal Armour: 0
Cost: 40 Crew: 25
Materials Required: 10x Duranium 0x Neutronium 30x Gallicite
Development Cost for Project: 2200RP
29th June 2026
The gravitational survey ships Newton, Galileo and Copernicus complete major overhauls. As most of the twenty-eight known systems have been surveyed, there have been no signs of any alien incursions after the incidents in Cambridge and the Fleet has proven itself capable of dealing with the alien threat, the Admiralty finally agrees that they can begin exploring jump points once more. Their first priority is Glasgow and Liverpool, which have five unexplored jump points between them and both connect directly to Sol. On instructions from the Admiralty, one ship will always remain at their entry jump point while the others carry out probes of the jump points. Their three sister ships, Einstein, Hawking and Kepler, are currently in Lancaster, adjacent to Cardiff, carrying out a lengthy gravitational survey due to the mass of the system primary.
27th July 2026
The TFS Galileo, under Rear Admiral Sean Walton, carries out the first new jump point exploration in over four years as she transits Glasgow?s innermost jump point. She discovers Southampton, a binary system with two G9-IV sub-giants, eighteen billion kilometers apart. The primary has eight planets, none of which are habitable. Only two planets and an asteroid belt orbit the companion star but the second planet is an ideal, habitable world, perfect for immediate colonization. The atmosphere is less dense than Earth but breathable, gravity is 0.77G and the temperature is a balmy 32C. A slight problem is that because of the orbital distance of Southampton-B, the planet is a long way from the jump point, although not too far to prevent establishment of a settlement. Galileo transits back into Glasgow and relays the news to Newton at the Glasgow ? Sol jump point and, in turn, Newton transits into Sol and relays the news to Earth. Harland II, recently returned from Swansea, along with her sister ship Etheridge, are dispatched to investigate the new planet and carry out a geological survey of the system
29th July 2026
Galileo transits a second jump point in Glasgow and finds a planetless brown dwarf star, which he names Dartmouth. As the low mass of brown dwarf stars makes their systems easy to survey and Copernicus will not reach her destination jump point in Glasgow?s outer system for several days, Rear Admiral Walton decides to go ahead and carry out the survey.
10th August 2026
Copernicus enters Glasgow?s last unexplored jump point and discovers the Rosyth system, with a single yellow-white F0-V star, eleven planets, the outermost of which is at nine hundred and forty billion kilometers, fifty-one moons and almost four hundred asteroids. The innermost planet has acceptable gravity and a surface temperature just below zero degrees but the oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere is too thin to breathe. However, it would make an excellent candidate for terraforming
24th August 2026
Development of the Magneto-Plasma Drive is completed. The first design based on the new engine is the Arcadia class freighter, twice the size of the existing Atlas class and 80% more expensive but with 150% greater cargo capacity. Due to its enormous size, the Arcadia will only be able to operate within the jump gate network, which covers Sol, London, Cardiff, York, Manchester and, within forty days, Stevenage. Two Arcadias are laid down and should be ready within two years.
Arcadia class Freighter 20000 tons 745 Crew 1439 BP Signature 400-1440
3600 km/s Armour 1 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Cargo 125000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 40 Replacement Parts 5
De Havilland Magneto-plasma Drive (18) Power 80 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 61.7 billion km (198 days at full power)
29th September 2026
Copernicus and Newton joined Galileo in Dartmouth once Glasgow?s jump points had been explored and have now completed their gravitational survey, revealing one new jump point. As per their standing orders, Newton takes position on the Dartmouth ? Glasgow jump point while Galileo carries out the probe. She enters an unremarkable system with a G5-V primary and three nondescript planets. Rear Admiral Walton names the system Skelmersdale and orders his ship back into Dartmouth. The three Newton class survey ships set their course for Liverpool, via Glasgow and Sol.
1st October 2026
Construction of the Stevenage ? Sol jump gate is finished, opening up the system for easy colonization once the terraforming of Stevenage-A IV is completed. Assuming the survey of Southampton goes well, the route Sol ? Glasgow ? Southampton is the likely candidate for the next chain of jump gates.
4th October 2026
The first Excavator class asteroid mining ship is completed. The Excavators are designed to mine asteroids with small quantities of high accessibilities ores where it would be inefficient to use automated mines.
Excavator class Asteroid Miner 10000 tons 865 Crew 1608 BP Signature 200-360
1800 km/s Armour 1 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Replacement Parts 25
Asteroid Miner: 5 module(s) producing 80 tons per annum
De Havilland DE7 Ion Engine (6) Power 60 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 123.4 billion km (793 days at full power)
28th October 2026
The geological survey of the ideal world in the Southampton system is completed. Its mineral resources are limited but there is a large quantity of accessibility 0.5 Duranium, which will make establishing a colony a little easier. The full list of available minerals is as follows:
Duranium 8,627,858 Acc: 0.5
Neutronium 4,596,736 Acc: 0.1
Mercassium 2,805,625 Acc: 0.1
Uridium 6,827,769 Acc: 0.2
Corundium 11,675,890 Acc: 0.1
Gallicite 24,581,760 Acc: 0.7
4th November 2026
Over the last four years, terraforming ships in Stevenage have been attempting to make the fourth planet of the primary more habitable. Their efforts are starting to bear fruit as the planet?s atmosphere is now breathable for humans. The planet is still not ideal as its temperature was already on the high side before terraforming began and the addition of more oxygen has increased atmospheric density and pushed temperatures a little higher still. An average temperature of 55C gives the planet a colony cost of 0.38, which is the lowest of any non-ideal world. The Terraformers next task is to remove the existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and, if necessary, add anti-greenhouse gases to try and cool the planet to an acceptable level.
13th November 2026
Copernicus transits an unexplored jump point in Liverpool and discovers the Sunderland system, a binary with a total of fourteen planets, none of which are habitable.
16th November 2026
Newton enters the other unexplored jump point in Liverpool and finds Longton, a system with a G-class primary and eight planets. Longton-II is close to ideal, with gravity of 0.62G and a temperature of 31C. Its only failing is that the oxygen pressure is slightly below human tolerance, although that could be corrected fairly quickly by the Terraforming Fleet, once they have completed their work in Stevenage.
18th November 2026
A new version of the Mayflower class colony ship is designed, using the Magneto-Plasma Drive. The Mayflower II is slightly smaller than its predecessor and has a capacity of 100,000 compared to 110,000. However, it has a speed of 4000 km/s compared to 3300 km/s, can load its colonists in thirty-three hours instead of fifty-five and costs 5% less. Even with the smaller capacity, it should still deliver more colonists overall. Despite the savings, the Mayflower II will still require a long time to construct and the first ships will not be ready until 2029.
Mayflower II class Colony Ship 9000 tons 430 Crew 1650 BP Signature 180-720
4000 km/s Armour 1 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Colonists 100000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15 Replacement Parts 5
De Havilland Magneto-plasma Drive (9) Power 80 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 102.9 billion km (297 days at full power)
7th January 2027
The survey of Lancaster is completed, revealing one new jump point.
17th January 2027
After completing their explorations of Glasgow and Liverpool, the three Newton class survey ships travelled through Sol and Manchester to Cambridge, site of the first Federation encounter with aliens, where two jump points are ready to be investigated. Copernicus transits first and discovers a DB3-VII white dwarf star with several cold, desolate planets and an asteroid belt. Captain Samuel Moss names the system Chester and takes his ship back into Cambridge.
30th January 2027
A Maintenance Facility has been built on Cardiff II. This will allow ships of up to 5000 tons to be maintained while in orbit of the planet. A larger facility is already in place on Earth, capable of maintaining ships of up to 10,000 tons.
7th February 2027
Galileo enters the second of Cambridge?s unexplored jump points to find the Bristol system, a binary comprising two G-class stars eighteen billion kilometers apart, each with a sizeable planetary system. Although two planets and a gas giant moon have oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres, they lack sufficient oxygen pressure for human habitation and their surface temperatures are all -30C or colder. Galileo transits back into Cambridge and heads for a rendezvous with her sister ships at the Manchester jump point.
4th April 2027
Construction of the Sol ? Glasgow jump gate is completed.
21st April 2027
Newton, Galileo and Copernicus recently arrived in Belfast to investigate the system?s four unexplored jump points. Belfast is adjacent to London, which is located between Sol and Cardiff, so any threat that emerged from Belfast could cut off Earth from its primary colony on Cardiff-II. While Newton remained at the jump point to London, the other two ships split up and Galileo is first to arrive at its destination. She makes the jump into Greenock, a white dwarf system with six unremarkable planets and over eighty moons. With nothing worthy of note, she re-enters Belfast and heads for the next jump point.
8th May 2027
Five Deep Space Tracking Stations are delivered to an asteroid in the London system, creating a listening post that will be able to monitor the Cardiff and Belfast jump points. Ships with signatures of at least strength-340 will be detected emerging from Belfast and those with signatures of strength-210 or more will be picked up if they transit from Cardiff. Even smaller ships may be detected once planetary sensor technology improves.
13th May 2027
Copernicus discovers the Derby system, which has a brilliant A1-V white star and five planets within two point five billion kilometers, four of which are Venusian worlds and the other similar to Mercury.
18th May 2027
Galileo transits into Leicester, a system with an A1-IV white sub-giant primary five million kilometers in diameter. The planetary system does not measure up to the impressiveness of the star, with only four nondescript planets.
19th May 2027
Copernicus completes the exploration of Belfast?s jump points with the planetless Preston system.
2nd July 2027
TFS Etheridge discovers scattered ruins on the innermost planet of the Rosyth system, adjacent to Glasgow. Due to the increasing number of ruins being discovered, a third archaeological team is formed and dispatched to the extensive ruins on Swansea-B II.
25th July 2027
Construction of the Sol ? Liverpool jump gate is finished. At the same time, major overhauls on Einstein, Kepler and Hawking are completed and the three Newton class survey ships are dispatched to investigate Brighton and Newport, two systems with eleven unexplored jump points between them.
5th August 2027
Galileo transits the sole unexplored jump point in the Leyland system, adjacent to Cardiff, and discover Chorley, a binary with a white A6-V primary and a yellow B component. The two stars have five unremarkable planets between them.
15th August 2027
The Terraformer Fleet removes the last trace of carbon dioxide from Stevenage-A IV, lowering the temperature from 55C to 49.5C, which reduces the colony cost to just 0.15. They now begin adding an anti-greenhouse gas to lower the temperature still further
29th August 2027
Construction of the Glasgow ? Sol jump point is completed, adding Glasgow to the list of systems within the jump gate network. Although Glasgow has no noteworthy real estate, its is the gateway to Southampton, which has an ideal world orbiting the companion star.
5th September 2027
Since completing their work on the Federation?s newest generation of engines, Federation scientists have been hard at work in the field of Torpedoes. Vice Admiral Sir Mitchell Gibbons, the senior military officer overseeing all production on Earth, was impressed by the effectiveness of the alien weapons in Swansea and successfully lobbied his civilian superiors for a Federation equivalent. The Vice Admiral has a strong scientific background and his enthusiasm for the new weapon has increased the productivity of the scientists under his command considerably. Over the last thirteen months they have developed the Ion Torpedo, with a strength-3 warhead, and the Particle Torpedo, with a strength-4 warhead, plus they have extended maximum torpedo range to 150,000 km. They are now beginning work on the first practical application of the new technology, the R150 Particle Torpedo Launcher.
R150 Particle Torpedo Launcher
Torpedo Warhead 4 Rate of Fire: 20 seconds Maximum Range: 150,000 km
Launcher Size: 7 Launcher HTK: 3
Power Requirement: 10 Power Recharge per 5 Secs: 3
Cost: 36 Crew: 70
Materials Required: 2.8x Duranium 2.8x Boronide 8.4x Corundium
Development Cost for Project: 800RP
Compared to a missile, the R150 is shorter ranged but cannot be intercepted and will not run out of ammunition. It is also more effective than lasers at medium range, although the new 15cm laser on the Valhallas and Valkyries has a better mass-damage ratio at point blank range and can inflict strength-1 hits out to 180,000 km. The R150 will therefore be best employed by a fast moving ship that can choose its effective range, making best use of the torpedo?s advantages within certain range brackets.
7th October 2027
Einstein, Kepler and Hawking complete their explorations of Brighton?s five jump point, finding the systems of Exeter, Canterbury, Ipswich, Norwich and Kilmarnock, of which Canterbury is by far the most interesting. The second planet is a desert-like terrestrial world with a breathable atmosphere and acceptable gravity, although the surface temperature is 68C, resulting in a 0.9 colony cost. The third planet also has acceptable gravity and the temperature is closer to human tolerance, although on the chilly side at -4C. Even though oxygen content is slightly too low, which means a colony cost of 2.0, it would actually be easier to turn this planet into an ideal world than the second planet. Without a huge amount of effort, Canterbury could end up with two habitable planets.
15th October 2027
The recently arrived Sheppard Archaeological Team on Swansea-B II discovers technical information in the ruins that leads Federation scientists to quickly improve our ECCM-1 system to ECCM-2.
1st November 2027
Development of the Stellarator Fusion Reactor is completed. The new power plant is twice the size of the existing gas-cooled fast reactor and provides almost 170% more power. Together with the R150 Particle Torpedo Launcher and the new ECCM-2 system, the Stellarator Fusion Reactor is used as the basis for a new cruiser class (see below).
Stellarator Fusion Reactor
Power Output: 24 Internal Armour: 0 Explosion Chance: 5
Reactor Size: 4 Reactor HTK: 3
Cost: 72 Crew: 20
Materials Required: 18x Duranium 0x Neutronium 54x Boronide
Development Cost for Project: 1400RP
The Repulse class heavy cruiser is based on the Valhalla class and retains a high speed in order to close with alien ships similar to those encountered in Swansea and Cambridge. The Valhalla lasers have been replaced by the new Torpedoes, which will allow damage to be inflicted at a greater range. Even with an increase in the number of weapons, the savings in mass due to the new engines and power plant have allowed a twenty percent increase in shield strength. Finally, the new ECCM-2 installation will improve the chance to hit considerably against enemy ships protected by ECM systems. As no new warships are currently under construction, three units of the new class are laid down and will be ready in twenty-five months.
Repulse class Heavy Cruiser 10000 tons 1151 Crew 1586 BP Signature 200-1200
6000 km/s Armour 1 Shields 44-300 Sensors 6/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0
Replacement Parts 10
De Havilland Magneto-plasma Drive (15) Power 80 Engine Efficiency 0.70 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 123.4 billion km (238 days at full power)
Gamma R300/14 Shields (22) Total Fuel Cost 308 Litres per day
R150 Particle Torpedo Launcher (7) Range 150,000km TS: 6000 km/s Power 10-3 ROF 20 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Avro Integrated Fire Control System (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 6400 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 24 Armour 0 Exp 5%
High Resolution Thermal Sensor HRT2-6 (1) Strength 6 Detect Signature 10: 0.6m km Detect Signature 100: 6m km
ECCM-2 (1)
13th November 2027
Galileo probes the two unexplored jump points in Newcastle, finding the systems of Bath and Ayr, neither of which has any noteworthy planetary bodies.
15th November 2027
Einstein probes the first of six unexplored jump points in Newport, a system three transits from Earth via Edinburgh and Nottingham, and finds herself in the known system of Londonderry, adjacent to Cardiff.
23rd December 2027
After completing the exploration of Newport?s other jump points, Einstein and her sister ships, Hawking and Kepler, moved into Londonderry to investigate its two unexplored jump points, one of which led to Dundalk, discovered only a few days previously in a probe from Newport.
January 1st 2028
The current state of the Federation?s colonies is as follows. Figures for January 2026, if available, are in parentheses
Earth
Population: 1164m (1126m)
Sector Command: Level 4
Naval Academy: Level 5
Maintenance Facility: Level 2
Commercial Freighter Facility: Yes
Shipyards: 20
Construction Factories: 767 (797)
Ordnance Factories: 188
Fighter Factories: 200
Fuel Refineries: 371 (400)
Mines: 830 (831)
Automated Mines: 6
Research Facilities: 45
Ground Force TF: 10
Missile Silos: 100
Fighter Bases: 5
Deep Space Tracking Station: 7 (6)
Fuel Stockpile: 23.3m litres (20.3m)
Cardiff II
Population: 25m (12.6m)
Maintenance Facility: Level 1 (0)
Construction Factories: 129 (90)
Ordnance Factories: 62
Fuel Refineries: 29 (0)
Mines: 8
Missile Silos: 10 (5)
Deep Space Tracking Stations: 2
York IV (New Colony)
Population: 3.72m (1.06m)
Mines: 47 (7)
Cardiff One Mining Colony
Automated Mines: 226 (192)
There is also a Terraforming Project on Stevenage IV, Archaeological Digs on Manchester III, Cambridge III and Swansea-B II and a sensor outpost with five Deep Space Tracking Stations on asteroid LP-1 in the London system.
Steve
