Jovian Republic
1/29/2119 The refit of the Republic?s Agincourt class missile ships is complete.
3/22/2119 The Republic?s archeological team on Epsilon Eridani A-III completes its survey of the ruins and makes a stunning discovery (See Team Commander Graham?s personal log). A cybernetics team is dispatched to recover the installations.
4/15/2119 The Vanguard leaves the Titan yards and heads for Gliese-673, where the Republic?s warp survey vessel is conducting a grav survey of the system.
5/25/2119 The recovery teams on EE-III manage to restore a domed city capable of supporting nearly 1 million people.
7/10/2119 The recovery teams restore what can only be a freight handling and commercial maintenance facility on EE-III.
7/15/2119 The recovery team, with the population?s assistance, restores a second domed city on EE-AIII.
8/20/2119 Havoc Warfare Systems of Callisto completes R&D work on its Fusion Torpedo launcher, a significant advancement in capability for the Republic?s cruisers. A recently launched Victory class cruiser is returned to the yards so that its launchers can be replaced by the fusion torpedo systems.
11/5/2119 The Instel Corporation announces completion of development on a new generation of jump drives reputed to be significantly more efficient than the first generation drives. The Republic immediately begins making plans to overhaul its jump ships to take advantage of the new drive.
11/25/2119 Grav survey of Gliese-673 complete, three additional warp points found.
12/8/2119 The Survey Group probes the first warp point in Gliese-673, finding a very strange system. The system has no less than four stars, three of which are small, dim, M type stars and one type T dwarf. The mass of the four stars barely exceeds 50% that of Sol. One of the M type stars orbits the central star 60 AU out, with another M type star orbiting it at just over 2 AU. Neither of those stars has planets. The T type star orbits the central M class star at 8.4 AU?s, right in the middle of the central star?s planetary system. A large asteroid belt orbits just outside of the type T star?s orbit, and beyond that is a gas giant. Two rocky planets and a gas giant huddle in close to the central star.
12/30/2119 The cybernetic team has restored an automated mine in the Epsilon Eridani system.
1/10/2119 A second mine, this one manned, is restored in the EE system.
1/11/2119 The Survey Group jumps into yet another quaternary system of very dim, small stars. Two of the stars orbit each other 140 AU?s from the primary, and one of them has two small planets and a moon. The system primary is closely orbited by the fourth star. A scattering of asteroids orbits the primary further out.
2/21/2120 The Survey Group probes the last unexplored warp point in Gliese-673, discovering a binary system with three planets that are eminently suitable for colonization. One, the third planet of the primary, will be easily terraformed as its atmosphere is nearly breathable as it is now, and just needs a little more oxygen. The system is designated U-06, as its location and identity can?t be determined at this time.
7/26/2120 The geo-survey of U-06 is complete. Several planets and moons have significant mineral deposits, including both of the habitable planets. Most importantly, two of the habitable planets have large deposits of sorium at moderate levels of availability. This is an important find, as the Republic only has access to two other low-availability sorium deposits in the solar system.
8/19/2120 Due to fuel shortages on Mars, the fuel harvester squadron is ordered to cease operations in Jupiter?s atmosphere and move to Europa to load the Capital?s reserve fuel supply. Once the fuel is loaded, the harvesters are ordered to transfer to Mars and offload the fuel. Concern about fuel usage has grown as the colony program accelerates.
12/1/2120 A fifth Victory Class Cruiser is launched from the Titan yards. The Montezuma, the Republic?s only grav survey unit, immediately replaces the cruiser in the yards. The Montezuma is badly in need of a overhaul, but the Admiralty has decided to take this opportunity to refit it to a new class of jump capable survey ship, much like the Vanguard. While expensive, the refit will drastically increase the flexibility of the Survey Corps.
2/24/2121 A new Work Horse class harvester is launched by the Rhea yards. Originally, the Admiralty had planned on immediately sending one of the harvesters currently orbiting Jupiter back to the yards for an overhaul, however, the last remaining Interstellar Tramp class freighter is overdue for an overhaul/refit and is sent instead. The Republic is facing a serious shortage in shipyard space now that many ships are nearing the end of their initial equipment loadouts and require overhaul. The Interstellar Tramp class is not helping the situation, in that the original design was found to be lacking and incompatible with the Republic?s commercial servicing yards. At this point four of the Republic?s six yards are performing refits or overhauls. The other two are occupied by the first two terraformer class units.
11/19/2121 The first research lab opens on Epsilon Eridani A-III. The components were manufactured on Mars and shipped to the new colony. During the opening ceremonies, the colony, and the planet, is formally named Trans-Jovian Tech Systems Site #2 by the corporate interests that funded the colony. Informally the colony is known as Neu-Siberia because of the rather cold climate. The new facility immediately begins work on a top-secret project for the Jovian Ground Control Force.
12/14/2121 The Survey Group has completed its geo-survey of U-04. Of the system?s four suns only one has planets, and there is only one habitable planet. Unfortunately, that planet has no trans-uranic minerals, but two gas giant moons are found to have large quantities of trans-uranics at good availability levels.
Personal Log, Commander Jade Graham, CO Archeological Team #1
Epsilon Eridani A-III
5/22/2118
Epsilon Eridani A-III even looks beautiful from orbit, but its looks are deceiving. It is a lot colder than Earth, on average, and we are going to need breathing gear every time we go out. That?s the ironic part. I grew up on Europa, which is a lot colder than EE-III, so you?d think I?d be used to the cold. At least, that?s what the Earthers always say. In spite of the fact that all of our cities are built into the ice we never experience the surface. No one ever goes out into the environment, that?s what robots are for. Here, though, it?s different. We can almost survive unaided here. Almost. Some of the places on the equator are practically balmy. If it wasn?t for the thin atmosphere and low levels of oxygen this place would be just about perfect.
At my request we orbited the planet for several days before making planetfall so that Johannsen could complete an orbital survey. Even from orbit the alien ruins stand out. They are clustered around the equatorial areas of the two main continents, which could mean that they liked the warmer climes. There are some stupendous ruins down there, easily visible from orbit. Unfortunately, whatever they used to be they are ruins now and it isn?t clear if we are going to learn much from them.
6/2/2118
We?ve established our base of operations close by one of the major ruins and we are hopeful that we can learn something about their creators in spite of the blasted nature of what was obviously a major city. Daniels thinks that the city was destroyed by an attack, and while there seems to be some evidence to support his theory I feel that it is too soon to jump to any conclusions. Preliminary dating seems to indicate that this city was abandoned or destroyed over five hundred years ago.
6/13/2118
This place is fantastic, even ruined as it is. It is apparent that the builders were beings more or less like we are, bipedal and approximately 1.5 to 2 meters in height. So far, though, we have found no bodies or skeletons, so we have no hard proof of this. It seems obvious, though, based on the way the city and its constituent buildings are constructed.
9/5/2118
We breached one of the three underground bunkers that our ground-mapping equipment revealed. It is full of bodies, all mummified. I guess we now know what happened to them. There are thousands down here, maybe more. And we were wrong, they are only like us in terms of gross body size. They look more or less like large octupii, obviously land creatures, with four long tentacles that they used to move and hold objects. Our bio-sciences people are going to have their work cut out for them.
9/9/2118
We still haven?t figured out what they use for power. There are no obvious power generation stations, although we have found several power distribution nodes. Daniels has theorized that they either used some form of geo-power source, and that it is buried deep under the city, or that they have dispersed fusion stations and we just haven?t found them yet.
11/12/2118
We entered the second underground bunker yesterday and found pretty much the same thing we found in the first, lots and lots of mummified bodies. It appears that they survived a little bit longer in here than they did in the other, where death was apparently instantaneous. Based on the damage inside the bunker order broke down, and supplies may have run low. There are some signs of cannibalism and of attempts to break out of the bunker. We have no idea if any of them made it.
1/5/2119
We are close to breaking into the third and most deeply buried bunker. Gina and Tom have left to being an aerial survey of the other ruins in an attempt to discover if any are in better conditions than the current site. Unfortunately, from the orbital survey it seemed clear that this was the best preserved site, but that isn?t saying anything. This place was thoroughly blasted about five hundred years ago, and the intervening centuries have not been kind.
3/20/2119
Success! It took us a lot longer to break into this bunker than the other two and now we know why. It appears to be the city?s command and control bunker, and it was heavily armored. There are no bodies here, and very little else besides. It appears that someone survived here after the attack, and that they evacuated afterwards, taking everything useful with them.
3/21/2119
We have made the most wonderful find! While the command bunker was cleaned out when the builders left, they didn?t take everything. We found a map on one of the walls of what we would call a conference room. The map shows the familiar continents of EE-III, and more importantly, it shows a network of cities and other installations. It matches well for the ruins we found, but it also shows many other installations we haven?t found yet. Most of the ones we didn?t find from orbit are far north or south, deep in the cold wastes of the glaciers. We set out tomorrow to see if we can locate some of them, although it doesn?t seem likely that they will be in any better condition given the environment.
3/22/2119
We have made an incredible discovery. The builders left an extensive network of artifacts on this planet, and some of them seem to be functional! We have found an entire doomed city, nearly surrounded by glaciers. While it appeared intact from the air, we certainly did not expect what we found when we landed. The city is well maintained and has power. Twice we observed small teams of robots engaged in what appears to be routine maintenance, and by following one of the teams we found what has to be a robot control node and repair center. This place is pristine, and everything is built to human size. People could live here with very little work needed.
End log
Republic Current Status (as of 12/2121):
Navy: 4xAgincourt Mk 1B Class Bombardment Cruisers, 4xVictory Mk 2 Class Cruisers, 9xTribal Class Escort Destroyers, 4xKing George V Class Scout, 2xTrafalgar Class Troop Transports
Harvester Command: 5xWork Horse Class Refinery
Survey Command: 1xVanguard Class Jump Explorer, 1xCortes Class Geo-Survey Ship
Civilian Transport Fleet: 2xInterstellar Tramp Class Freighter, 21xTramp Class Freighter, 1xLunar Carrier Class Freighter, 1xColony Jump Ship Class Colony Ship, 4xColony Ship
Under Construction, Refit, or Overhaul: 1xWork Horse Class Refinery, 1xCortes Class Grav-Survey Ship, 1xVictory Class Cruiser
Populations
Mars: 188 Million
1xNav Academy, 2xMaint., 4xDSTS, Commercial Freight Fac, 445xCF, 100xOrd. Fac., 20xMines, 207xAut. Mines, 2xGFTF, 130xSilos
Io: 61 Million
11xRL
Callisto: 61 Million
11xRL
Europa (Capital): 61 Million
2xNav Academy, 2xMaint., 5xDSTS, Commercial Freight Fac, 6xRL, 2xGFTF, 70xSilos
Rhea: 61 Million
1xMaint., 3xDSTS, Commercial Freight Fac, 2xSY, 20xCF, 50xSilos
Titan: 63 Million
4xSY
Trans-Jovian Tech Systems Site #2 (Epsilon Eridani): 4.7 Million
2xRL
New America (New Hope): 8.66 Million
34xCF, 41xMine
New Hope A-I, Moon 10:
147xAutomated Mine
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UNE
1/19/2119 The UNE?s 1st Exploration Fleet completes its gravitational survey of Gliese-183, finding four additional warp points.
2/14/2119 The UNE?s 1st Exploration Fleet jumps through the first of Gliese-183?s warp points. The new system is a single star system with an F-8V primary and a grand total of seventeen asteroids and two incredibly hostile rocky planets huddling close to the primary. Initial analysis indicates that this is Gliese-395, approximately 42 light years from Earth. The 1st jumps out and heads for the next warp point.
3/4/2119 The UNE?s 1st Exploration Fleet jumps into a binary system, with a G4-V primary and an M8-VII secondary. The primary has four terrestrial planets, but none are anywhere close to Earthlike. The secondary star has no planets at all. Initial analysis is unable to determine this system?s location. The commander of the 1st, Junior Group Manager Lawrence Wilcoxon, designates this system as UNE-001 and orders the fleet on to the next warp point.
4/10/2119 The UNE?s 1st Exploration probes the next warp point in Gl-183. The new system is a single-star system with a DA6-VII primary and a disappointing scattering of comets. No planets are found. The system is designated as UNE-002 and the 1st Exploration transits back.
5/5/2119 The UNE launches a second jump ship.
5/15/2119 The UNE?s 1st Exploration Fleet transits the last unexplored warp point in Gl-183. The new system is a binary system composed of two G8-V stars approximately 80 AU?s apart. Planet A-5 is a remarkably Earth-like world and an eminently reasonable colonization site. JGM Wilcoxon designates the system Progress, and the planet New Chicago (after his home city). The 1st EXF sets out for home for refueling and new orders.
12/20/2119 Deep Space Tracking System #1 is completed on the Moon. Work is begun on missile silos.
1/25/2119 A Cortez class geo-survey unit is launched from Earth?s orbital yards. It is immediately dispatched to Gliese-183 to determine if any of the system?s worlds are suitable for exploitation or colonization.
12/26/2120 JGM Wilconxon, CO of Exploration Fleet #1, decides to discontinue the gravitational survey of the Progress system and return to Earth via Gliese-183. The Fleet?s military escort, a type 2 Assault Ship, is low on supplies and the Fleet is generally low on fuel. The warp point survey of Progress is nearly complete, and Wilcoxon plans on returning once the fleet has refueled and resupplied. It will take over forty days for the Essex, Wilcoxon?s command ship, to return to the warp point and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet.
2/14/2121 The 1st Exploration Fleet jumps back into the Gliese-183 system and encounters the Cortez II geo-survey ship at the warp point. The Cortez II had been left in the system by the UNE?s second jump ship, which had returned to Earth orbit after leaving the Cortez II in Gl-183. The plan had been for the Cortez II to rendezvous with the 1st EXF upon its return, however, UNE commanders had seriously underestimated the amount of time it would take to complete a grav survey of a system and as a result the Cortez II has been waiting for several months. JGM Wilcoxon decides to ferry the Cortez II to Progress to allow it to begin a geo-survey while the rest of the fleet returns to Earth.
6/14/2121 The UNE Economic Development Agency authorizes the first extra-solar UNE colony, on Gliese-183-A IV, which is an airless rock orbiting 75 million kilometers from the system?s K3-V primary. The planet has large deposits of six trans-uranic minerals, all in medium to high concentrations. All thirteen of the UNE?s freighters are assigned to transport automated mines to the new outpost.
10/14/2121 After completing the warp point survey of the Progress System, JGM Wilcoxon authorizes a probe of the newly discovered links. On this date the 1st Exploration Fleet transits through one of the newly discovered warp points in the Progress System, discovering a trinary system. The system primary, an F5-V class star, has no planets. The other two, orbiting relatively close in, have a scattering of planets and asteroids, although none are even close to being habitable. The 1st EXF transits back out after spending a short time in the system.
10/29/2121 The 1st EXF makes transit through the second and last of the newly discovered warp points in the Progress system, discovering a binary system composed of two M class stars. After some study the 1st EXF?s scientists decide that this is GJ-1026, a binary system approximately 55 light years from Earth. Both stars have planets, but again, none are suitable for colonization. After a short time the 1st EXF returns to Progress. JGM Wilcoxon decides to return to Earth with the survey results as soon as the geo-survey ship has completed its survey of the system.
Private Papers, Commander Sara Tilford
Notes for upcoming report to the Council
The reorganization of the military is well underway. The UNE Council has agreed to all five of the major parts of my plan, although many of the details remain to be worked out and undoubtedly there will be many compromises and deals made. If things continue as they have we may just be in a position to avoid another ignominious defeat at the hands of the Jovians, although it will be some time before we are able to consider an offensive campaign against them.
Thoughts on the five-prong defense system:
Lunar Fortress
The Lunar Fortress concept began as a possible method to enhance planetary defense firepower against any Jovian units that intruded into the Earth Defense Sphere. Subsequent to the Battle of Mars and the loss of the UNE Fleet, Military Intelligence Report #2115-0019 clearly identified the situation. The Jovian Fleet utilized missiles during the battle that significantly outranged any current or proposed missile design fielded by the fleet, and worse, any missile design in service with the Planetary Defense Corps. The report clearly outlined the implications ? the Jovian navy could bombard Earth at will, without fear of reprisal. It is clear to me that the report convinced the Chief Executive Officer to accept the Jovian demands and end the war. The report had another effect, though. Military Intelligence Analysis Report #2115-0023 put forward the likelihood that the Jovians were unwilling to engage in planetary bombardment of Earth or any population for societal and cultural reasons. While the UNE government would not feel so constrained, given proper analysis of the risk/gain ratio and overall population welfare gain, it was clear that the Jovian society strongly abhors nuclear bombardment of populations and that the Jovian Navy would only engage in such activity if it had no other option. Thus was born the Lunar Fortress concept.
Presently all Defense Corps silos are located on Earth, and should the Earth come under attack they would be used to repel any invaders. It is clear that should the silos be used, the enemy, presumably the Jovians, would return fire, and although such fire would be concentrated on the silos themselves, analysis of possible attacks shows that the civilian population would suffer significant casualties. By building a significant number of silos on the moon, which is uninhabited, we create a defensive force that can be utilized without fear of retribution. Once the silos are in place, the Lunar Fortress will be Earth?s primary line of defense, and the silos on Earth will only be used if an enemy launches a direct attack on Earth. This strategy will avoid giving the Jovian navy an excuse for using nuclear weapons against Earth itself. At this point (2119), the construction of a tracking system for the missile silos is nearly complete. Several combat divisions have been transferred to the moon to provide security, and eventually fortifications will be built to enhance their defensive capability.
The Orbital Defense Network
The war illustrated just how neglected Earth?s defenses really were. After the fleet was lost, and we realized that the enemy out ranged our missiles, it became clear that we had no defenses at all. My first action upon assuming command was to initiate the ODN plan based on the Type 1 Orbital Defense Platforms. The plan calls for twelve Type 1 OPD?s to be deployed in Earth?s orbit, followed by an eventual upgrade to a Type 2 platform with improved fire control and limited mobility. The mobility is an important concept, in my opinion, as it will allow us to establish a defense in depth and even a cordon around the moon if necessary.
The Strike Fleet
In the aftermath of our defeat at the hands of the Jovian Navy, it was clear that their technology was beyond ours in every important measure. It was also clear that we had two choices, either build faster ships or build ships with armor so heavy that the Jovian weapons couldn?t penetrate their hulls. Designs studies commissioned immediately after the war made it clear that the first choice was the most economical. These design studies resulted in the new Fast Destroyer design currently in service. The Fast Destroyer is significantly faster than the fastest observed speeds of Jovian ships and should be capable of forcing an engagement at favorable ranges. Current deployment concepts are for Fast Destroyers, escorted by anti-missile variants, to be used only in direct defense of Earth until they are present in sufficient numbers to guarantee a decisive engagement against Jovian Fleet units. Currently this is estimated at twenty to thirty units, including anti-missile escorts.
Missile Range Extension Program
The final battle of the war exposed two glaring weaknesses in the design of UNE warships and weapons. The first was the speed advantage of the Jovians, which allowed them to choose the range at which they wished to engage our units. The second was the range of their missiles, which allowed them to engage from far beyond our own engagement range. My first priority on assuming command was to re-task research assets towards missile range extension efforts. These efforts have paid off with the deployment of Mark II missiles capable of much greater range than the earlier Mark I?s. In addition, multi-stage missiles have been deployed for use by the Earth Defense Corps. After achieving Mark II capability, research assets were re-assigned to propulsion research to further improve our warship designs.
Organizational reorganizations
Immediately after the conclusion of the war morale within the Military Directorate had fallen to all time lows. Employee retention was low, and recruiting efforts were running into significant shortfalls. Personnel inadequacies were being made up by transfers from other governmental bureaucracies with predictable decreases in efficiency.
To remedy this situation, reforms were instituted at all levels. Military discipline has been reinstated. To ensure that the military does not revert to old elitist habits, representatives from the Senate oversight committee properly monitor the new system of discipline. In addition, with the approval of the CEO?s Office and the Senate Oversight Committee, special recruit training centers have been set up and all new recruits are sent to one of these for mental and physical training. The practice of transferring government workers from other Bureaus and Agencies to the Military to back-fill positions has been discontinued and the training of qualified officers has been accelerated.
Current Status:
Navy: 1xCoontz Class Jump Ship, 1xClinton Class CA, 11xSpruance Mk 2 Class Assault Ships, 3xSpruance Mk 2A Class Escort Assault Ships.
Orbital Defense Network: 8xOrbital Defense Base
Exploration Fleet: 1xCoontz Class Jump Ship, 2xEssex Class Grav-Survey Ship, 2xEssex Class Geo-Survey Ship
Transportation Fleet: 13xBulk Hauler Class Freighter, 5xColony Ship, 1xTroop Transport
Under Construction: 8xSpruance Mk 2 Class Assault Ships, 2xSpruance Mk 2A Class Escort Assault Ships, 4xOrbital Defense Base
Populations
Earth: 2.48 Billion
1xSector Command, 4xNav Academy, 2xMaint., 2xDSTS, Commercial Freight Fac, 14xSY, 883xCF, 300xOrd. Fac., 200x Fuel Ref., 1100xMines, 61xAut. Mines, 12xRL, 10xGFTF, 150xSilos
Moon:
1xDSTS, 3xSilos
Gl-183 A-IV:
26xAutomated Mines
