The Solar Union v4.77. The Genesis

[IanD (OP)]

The Solar Union. The Genesis

It started in the 2030’s a silent killer that swept through humankind. Equine ‘flu, which had originated from a bird ‘flu strain, passaged though the equine reservoir to give it greater virulence and lethality. The virus was then vectored back through the avian population, which spread it far and wide along their migration routes.  It had a long infectious incubation period. Because it had only very recently crossed over to infect the human host, humans had extremely limited resistance, those not killed outright fell victim to opportunistic infections, pneumonia was rampant. Modern travel aided its spread. Very few of the billions on Earth had any resistance, the undernourished or those with underlying health problems stood no chance. The developed countries fared no better than the developing nations, the populations still crashed. Only those truly isolated populations survived unscathed and there were extremely few of them.

The UN tried to organise an effective relief effort, but when the industrialised countries closed down it was thrown on its own resources. How ever many of the UN staff died there always seemed someone to take over. It still had the authority that was the UN and once it started organising its own security arm and then running countries when there was no one else left to do it, it became a defacto government. It also took care of the worst of the warlords who fancied their chances in the developing catastrophe; one of its most effective weapons was withholding what little aid was available, which brought many to heel. The UN security arm eventually became an effective force equal to many of the remaining first world armies. By the time the industrial countries of America, Europe and the Far East began their recovery the UN held sway over most of what had been the Third World and a good deal of the Second World. It is estimated that the world’s population dipped below 500 million for a decade before starting to recover and much of that population was under UN control. The world had changed. There were so few people left in Europe that most of Western and Middle Europe turned the EU into a functioning federal government. North America came together; Much of South America was under UN control as was most of a depopulated Middle East and Africa. China had been particularly hard hit. Only strong central control prevented complete fragmentation. The Far East was still in turmoil, India was riven by small separatist enclaves, but the UN was making inroads into bringing them into the fold.

The remnants of Mankind came together at the New York Conference of 2044 where the first United World Government was formed. The UN not only had an effective security arm but also controlled most of the Worlds available resources and thus was in a position to dictate terms to countries that badly needed access to those scarce resources to kick-start their economies. By 2052 this United World Government had become the Union of Terran Nations. The world’s standing armies were an expense which few nations wanted with so much to rebuild and so little manpower to do it with. It was 2058 before the last national army was subsumed into the Union of Terra Armed Services, which by then had demonstrated it was effective in protecting member nations from the blatant aggression of neighbours.

By 2075 the population had once again hit seven figures. A Mars colony had been started and a terraforming project begun, with the terraforming station commissioned in 2074. This great installation at the South Pole took in the frozen hydrosphere, separated out the water for later use, released the CO2 into the atmosphere to initially increase the surface temperature and thicken the atmosphere. The installation also took in great quantities of basalt, crushed it, mixed it with organic matter seeded with bacteria and symbiotic fungi to modify it and began to make great fields of genetically modified plants to further alter the Martian climate. Later these organisms would be altered to add oxygen to the atmosphere. But the process was not going to be completed in a few years. A second plant was to be constructed at the North Pole to speed up the process.

The Mars colony was granted representation in the UTN Parliament in 2073. However the levers of power were mostly retained in the Union House of Governors, which contained the leaders of the five most advanced (and populous) national entities and ten representatives elected from the floor of the Union Parliament. There was also a Union President who was elected by a combination of the popular vote, the votes of the Union Parliament and the votes of the House of Governors, each with a differing weighting and in the two latter stages each representative having an individual weighted vote depending on the region they represented. In essence it meant that getting elected was difficult, but assuming you didn’t make too much of a hash of it you could retain power (and it was substantial) almost as long as you wanted due to the immense amounts of horse trading required to set up a successor. The accession of Mars to the Parliament did have one notable effect. The name of the Union changed, from the Union of Terran Nations to the Solar Union to encompass the off world colonies which where sure to follow on the heels of the finding of substantial amounts of TN elements around the Solar System late in 2074.



Research while no priority (except for ‘flu research) had trickled along, much of it theoretical. It was only in the aftermath that the hypothesis of the “Trans-Newtonian Elements” received any attention. It was based on the old idea of islands of stability in the heavier elements of the periodic table beyond atomic number 164 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 114739.htm). This hypothesis and the results of the Earth Core-Drilling programme came together to make scientists realise that in that molten iron core (or at least close to it) these elements were still present in very substantial amounts.  These new elements, once the difficulties of mining and isolating them had been overcome (a process which took some 15 years) proved to have some fascinating properties that revolutionised the World by 2067.

Thus by 2070 the exploration of the Solar System was well under way. The finding of alien structures buried on Mars in 2073 (particularly at the North Pole where the second terraforming unit was to be constructed) prompted the formation of the Solar Union Star Command. One of the driving forces was that many of the sites had been subjected to a nuclear bombardment before being covered by the drifting sands. The black glass of the ground bursts was only a few tens of thousand years old at the most. The favourite hypothesis was that in the time when Mars could support life it was the home to an advanced civilisation that had come into conflict with another civilisation, which had ended in the destruction of Mars as a living planet. Thus the argument ran the Earth should be ready to defend itself, since who knew how long a Starfaring Civilisation could last? The nascent force was small, consisting of two missile frigates (Dido Class), one Escort, (Shark Class) and six missile armed fast attack craft (Dark Class).There were a couple of auxiliaries,  a Deep Space Minelayer Abdiel (Abdiel class) and a Munitions Transport Blue Rover (Rover class). There were also three Deep Space Survey Ships and three Planetary Survey Ships of Survey Command in addition to the freighter and colony ship of Logistics that serviced the nascent Mars colony.

Code: [Select]

Dido class Missile Frigate    7500 tons     731 Crew     1066.5 BP      TCS 150  TH 450  EM 0
4000 km/s     Armour 3-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 16/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 5     PPV 30
Annual Failure Rate: 90%    IFR: 1.2%    Maintenance Capacity 444 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 465    
Ion Engine E7 Mil (10)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 120,000 Litres    Range 41.1 billion km   (119 days at full power)
Size 6 Missile Launcher (5)    Missile Size 6    Rate of Fire 60
Missile Fire Control FC32-R100 (1)     Range 96.0m km    Resolution 100
AST6-1 Viper (78)  Speed: 18,400 km/s   End: 66m    Range: 72.9m km   WH: 6    Size: 6    TH: 86 / 51 / 25
Active Search Sensor S80-R100 (1)     GPS 8000     Range 80.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  16m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposeShips in Class: Dido, Theseus

Code: [Select]

Shark class Escort    7500 tons     614 Crew     1061.15 BP      TCS 150  TH 450  EM 0
4000 km/s     Armour 3-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 6     PPV 14
Annual Failure Rate: 75%    IFR: 1%    Maintenance Capacity 531 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 365    
Ion Engine E7 Mil (10)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres    Range 34.3 billion km   (99 days at full power)
Twin 10cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser Turret (1x2)    Range 90,000km     TS: 12500 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 3    ROF 5        3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0
CIWS-50 (1x2)    Range 1000 km     TS: 5000 km/s     ROF 5       Base 50% To Hit
Fire Control S12 72-5000 (1)    Max Range: 144,000 km   TS: 5000 km/s     93 86 79 72 65 58 51 44 37 31
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 AR-0 (5)     Total Power Output 6    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Size 1 Missile Launcher (5)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 10
Missile Fire Control FC32-R1PD (1)     Range 960k km    Resolution 1
Ships in Class: Shark

Code: [Select]

Dark class Fast Attack Craft    1000 tons     117 Crew     162.5 BP      TCS 20  TH 90  EM 0
6000 km/s     Armour 1-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6.75
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 51 MSP    Max Repair 38 MSP
Magazine 39    
GB Ion Engine E70 (1)    Power 120    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 90    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 60,000 Litres    Range 15.4 billion km   (29 days at full power)
Size 3 Missile Launcher (75% Reduction) (3)    Missile Size 3    Rate of Fire 60
Missile Fire Control FC32-R18 (1)     Range 17.3m km    Resolution 18
AST3-1 Asp (13)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Missile to hit chances are vs. targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Dark Adventurer, Dark Aggressor, Dark Avenger, Dark Buccaneer, Dark Clipper, Dark Fighter.

Code: [Select]

Scout class Fast Scout Craft    1000 tons     89 Crew     245 BP      TCS 20  TH 90  EM 0
6000 km/s     Armour 1-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 77 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
GB Ion Engine E70 (1)    Power 120    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 90    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 110,000 Litres    Range 28.3 billion km   (54 days at full power)
AST3-1 Asp (13)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Active Search Sensor S80-R100 (1)     GPS 8000     Range 80.0m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor S80-R20GB (1)     GPS 1600     Range 16.0m km    Resolution 20
Missile to hit chances are vs. targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class:  Scout 001, Scout 002.

Code: [Select]

Abdiel class Minelayer    7500 tons     627 Crew     1042 BP      TCS 150  TH 450  EM 0
4000 km/s     Armour 1-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 16/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 7     PPV 12
Annual Failure Rate: 60%    IFR: 0.8%    Maintenance Capacity 651 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 916    
Ion Engine E7 Mil (10)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres    Range 51.4 billion km   (148 days at full power)
Size 16 Missile Launcher (75% Reduction) (1)    Missile Size 16    Rate of Fire 320
DSM15-2 Stonefish (61)  Speed: 0 km/s   End: 540d    Range: 2m km   WH: 0    Size: 15    TH: 0 / 0 / 0
Active Search Sensor S80-R100 (1)     GPS 8000     Range 80.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  16m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Abdiel

Code: [Select]

Rover class Collier    7500 tons     534 Crew     1025 BP      TCS 150  TH 450  EM 0
4000 km/s     Armour 1-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 16/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 8     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 56%    IFR: 0.8%    Maintenance Capacity 683 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 1080    
Ion Engine E7 Mil (10)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres    Range 51.4 billion km   (148 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S80-R100 (1)     GPS 8000     Range 80.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  16m km

This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Blue Rover

Code: [Select]

Pioneer class Geological Survey Vessel    16750 tons     336 Crew     791.5 BP      TCS 335  TH 675  EM 0
2686 km/s    JR 2-25(C)     Armour 1-58     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/3     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 30 MSP    Max Repair 100 MSP
JC17K Commercial Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 17000 tons    Distance 25k km     Squadron Size 2
Ion Engine E0.7 Commercial (6)    Power 150    Fuel Use 7%    Signature 112.5    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 307.0 billion km   (1322 days at full power)
Geological Survey Sensors (3)   3 Survey Points
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Pioneer 001, Pioneer 002, Pioneer 003.

Code: [Select]

Astronomer class Gravitational Survey Vessel    4350 tons     431 Crew     878.5 BP      TCS 87  TH 225  EM 0
3448 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 1-23     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/3/0     Damage Control Rating 5     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 27%    IFR: 0.4%    Maintenance Capacity 694 MSP    Max Repair 225 MSP
J4500(3-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 4500 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ion Engine E7 Mil (5)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 118.2 billion km   (396 days at full power)
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3)   3 Survey Points
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Patrick Moore, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov.

There were two new auxiliaries just completed in late 2074, which embodied the newly developed Theory of Universal Interconnectivity. (This was one reason the idea that the conflict was between two civilisations one of which was interstellar, gained so much credence.) This posited that everywhere in the Universe was interconnected and if sufficient potential could be raised at a point where the fabric of the Universe was sufficiently stressed, then it should be possible to temporarily open a connecting wormhole to another place within the Universe allowing the passage of a ship. The TNEs provided the power to achieve the required potential and the strength for the ship to survive passage. This in effect was an interstellar drive (or so it was hoped). For a more permanent connection a station anchored in space to this weak point with sufficient generating potential could substitute for the ship and be made a purely automatic facility or Gate. Research was being pursued to develop just such a Gate.

Code: [Select]

Fort class Jump Cruiser    7500 tons     705 Crew     1478 BP      TCS 150  TH 450  EM 0
4000 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 1-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 16/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 9     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 50%    IFR: 0.7%    Maintenance Capacity 2108 MSP    Max Repair 625 MSP
J7500(3-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 7500 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Ion Engine E7 Mil (10)    Power 60    Fuel Use 70%    Signature 45    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 910,000 Litres    Range 312.0 billion km   (902 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S80-R100 (1)     GPS 8000     Range 80.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1)     Sensitivity 16     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  16m km
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Fort Worth, Fort Sumner.

This explained how on January 4th 2075 the SUSC Battle Group consisting of SUS Dido, SUS Theseus, SUS Shark and the Jump Cruiser SUS Fort Worth left Earth orbit and shortly found themselves millions kilometres from home in deep space just inside Saturn’s orbit preparing for the first ever extra solar jump. The fabric of space rippled in front of the ships like ripples in a pond, appeared to clear, the four ships applied thrust and all emerged into a new solar system. It was a double Star system; spectrographs identified it as Alpha Centauri. Both stars had rocky planets surrounding them. As the instruments settled down it was apparent that Component A had three suitable worlds on which to found a colony, Alpha Centauri AII being a near perfect match for Earth with a colony cost of 0.18.   The task force proceeded as per standing instructions to investigate both Alpha Centauri AII and found a pristine empty world which showed none of the detritus of civilisation, however primitive. The battle Group also visited Alpha Centauri AIV and AV (colony cost 2.47 and 4.57 respectively), which again failed to show the presence of anything above the invertebrate level. On the 16th January the Battle Group reappeared in Sol System and announced that they had found two good colony prospects on the first try.

[IanD (OP)]

Episode 2. The  First Year

11th January 2075
Page Transport Alliance launched the first commercial freighter.

26th January 2075
Sol JP2 was investigated and found to lead to Ross 128, on the 1st February it was the turn of JP3 which revealed Lalande 21185.

6th February 2075
Jenkins Containers launched its first freighter

21st February 2075 A probe of JP4 lead to Wolf 359.

23rd March 2075
The final JP located in Sol System was probed and revealed Sirius.

11th April 2075
It was some weeks before a gap in the construction queue enabled the completion of infrastructure for the new colony in Alpha Centauri.

25th May 0075
First colonists left Earth for Alpha Centuari AII.

7th June 2075
Hanson Freight commissioned its first freighter.

27th June 2075
Sol System Asteroid #40. A civilian mining colony was established.

22nd July 2075
A newly located JP in Alpha Centauri was investigated and the jewel that was Luytens 726-8 was found, with another two eminently colonisable worlds, AII and BII, one with a colony cost of 0.38, the other with a colony cost of 1.24.

The fact such good colony prospects so close to Sol had not apparently been colonised cast the first doubts on the hypothesis of an interstellar aggressor. The FFGs Ajax and Achilles and Escort Barracuda had been laid down, and two new Naval Yards ordered. But in the light of new arguments the proposed size of the Star Command Navy was quietly scaled back. No new construction was started, there were so many projects being developed which would significantly enhance the combat capabilities of any new ships.

1st August 2075
The BAE Corporation Yard completed its first slipway, however in light of missile launcher developments it was decided to retain it as a FACs construction complex. It continued to add slipways but did not tool up for the Dark class FAC.

17th September 2075
After a refit the Battle Group probed JPs in Ross 128 and found LHS 292 and on 18th September, Gliese 526.

26th September 2075
The third JP was found to lead to FL Virginis.

1st October 2075
The Sector Command organisation of the Solar Union was inaugurated, and Luke Poole assume the role of Sol Sector Coordinator. On the 16th November Charlie Holloway’s R&D team completed research into Jump Gate Construction Module. The design for a gate construction ship were drawn up, a shipyard allocated and three units authorised.

21st December 2075
The SUS Anzio and Lofoten , both Invader class Troop Transports, joined the fleet, quickly followed by the SUS Barracuda (escort) on the1st January 2076 and SUS Abdiel (Minelayer) on the 6th and SUS Ajax and Achilles (FFG) on the 16th . On the 1st February Empire Antelope the fifth Empire class freighter joined Transport Command. However all this activity came at a price and the economy was beginning to falter. No new ships were authorised. The threat of alien invasion had dissipated, five eminently habitable worlds within two jumps of Sol and no colonies, ruins or evidence of hostile action was found, it wasn’t credible if there was a hostile star faring civilisation out there. The plans for Star Command went into abeyance; they would be brought out again if there were ever a need for them. The Battle group was retained in Sol system, no new construction was initiated other than the new Grey class FAC which would take advantage of the new box launchers expected in the new year, and then only a single squadron of 10 craft would be authorised with 6 Scout variants. The existing Dark class and their scout variants were stationed at Alpha Centauri AII. Survey command with their myopic geo-survey ships and deep space survey vessels were authorised to conduct jump point probes alone.

Code: [Select]

Invader class Troop Transport    29000 tons     415 Crew     983 BP      TCS 580  TH 1350  EM 0
3103 km/s     Armour 1-84     Shields 0-0     Sensors 8/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 21 MSP    Max Repair 47 MSP
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10    
Ion Engine E0.7 Commercial (12)    Power 150    Fuel Use 7%    Signature 112.5    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 150.7 billion km   (562 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S16-R100 (1)     GPS 1600     Range 16.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH1-8 (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  8m km
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposes
Ships in Class: Anzio, Lofotens, Narvik



As of January 2076 nine systems had been explored with no trace of a hostile alien presence. But three eminently suitable unsullied planets had been located.

[IanD (OP)]

[center:1qnwr4vx]Interlude.[/center:1qnwr4vx]

30th August 2080
The Xenologist team recruited to examine Mars finally delivered their final report. While there was incontrovertible evidence of a nuclear attack they were unable to say whether it was an intercene conflict or not. The previous Martian inhabitants were bipedal and about our size, recovered images showed beings very similar to ourselves, we could be their descendants! There was no recovered reference to an alien attack or conflict in any record deciphered. There either was none, or it was so sudden it overwhelmed them in a very short space of time. Over eighty sites were worthy of further investigation as installations, mineral stockpiles or components might be recovered. A few years later two of the recovered installations proved to be alien terraforming installations, not dissimilar to the one the Solar Union had struggled to erect, one located at each pole. This indicated that the aliens had not as originally thought been native to Mars when it was a flourishing organically rich world , but sometime later when the Mars enviroment already required some adjustment.

21st December 2081
The first of a planned fleet of terraforming ships leaves the Nederlansche Dok en Scheepsbouw yard. This innovation will dramatically speed up the terraforming of Mars and other suitable planets.

20th February 2085
Terraforming Alpha Centauri AII completed. Alpha Centauri was terraformed by the efforts of just six terraformer vessels in less than four years. Mars was only three or four years behind, but with a considerably larger fleet of terraformers.

Over the next ten years the economy gradually recovered, the number of systems found rose to 49, although most had a jump point survey completed, few had a geo-survey performed unless there was a prospective colony present. Colonies were established on Luytens 726-8 BI, BII, Gliese 1 AII as well as many mining colonies to feed them. There were five commercial shipping lines and Sol System had 4 commercial mining colonies with 40+ complexes.

The prospect of an Interstellar Bogyman had all but disappeared. The Battle Group languished, no new construction. Not even ordnance had been updated, AST6-1 Viper (size 6 ASM) was the standard load for the FFGs, while the FAC took the AST3-1 Asp (size 3 ASM) and the escorts carried the AM1-1 Python AMM (size 1) and Abdiel (ML) carried DSM15-1 Stonefish DSMs (size 15, four sub munitions). The ground bases took AST16-1 Titans (size 16ASM) and Pythons in the AMM role.  The FAC squadron had materialised, as had the scouts,. The Grey class had more than twice the throw weight of the Dark Class and could launch all as a single salvo. There were now seven Troop Transports all upgraded to the Mk II version, the last, SUS Hastings, commissioning in May 2087, a class of LCAs was in prospect. The Union was more concerned about breakaway colonies than interstellar war and the jump gate network was spreading inexorably. There were still only two jump tanker supply ships.

Code: [Select]

Grey Mk I class Fast Attack Craft    1000 tons     50 Crew     181.3 BP      TCS 20  TH 120  EM 0
8000 km/s     Armour 1-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 8.55
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 57 MSP    Max Repair 50 MSP
Magazine 57    
GB Magneto-plasma Drive E70 (1)    Power 160    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 120    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 60,000 Litres    Range 15.4 billion km   (22 days at full power)
Size 3 Box Launcher (19)    Missile Size 3    Hangar Reload 22.5 minutes    MF Reload 3.7 hours
Missile Fire Control FC32-R18 (1)     Range 17.3m km    Resolution 18
AST3-1 Asp (19)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Active Search Sensor S16-R100 (1)     GPS 1600     Range 16.0m km    Resolution 100
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposesShips in Class: Grey Seal, Grey Fox, Grey Whale, Grey Shrike, Grey Shark, Grey Owl, Grey Hawk, Grey Heron, Grey Mustang,  Grey Dolphin, Grey Wolf.

Code: [Select]

Scout Mk II class Fast Scout Craft    1000 tons     70 Crew     223 BP      TCS 20  TH 120  EM 0
8000 km/s     Armour 1-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 4.5
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 70 MSP    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 30    
GB Magneto-plasma Drive E70 (1)    Power 160    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 120    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 12.9 billion km   (18 days at full power)
Size 3 Box Launcher (10)    Missile Size 3    Hangar Reload 22.5 minutes    MF Reload 3.7 hours
Missile Fire Control FC32-R18 (1)     Range 17.3m km    Resolution 18
AST3-1 Asp (10)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Active Search Sensor S80-R20GB (1)     GPS 1600     Range 16.0m km    Resolution 20
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposesShips in Class: Scout Mk II 001, Scout Mk II 002, Scout Mk II 003, Scout Mk II 004, Scout Mk II 005, Scout Mk II 006

Code: [Select]

Invader Mk II class Troop Transport    28700 tons     415 Crew     1162.2 BP      TCS 574  TH 1800  EM 0
4181 km/s     Armour 1-83     Shields 0-0     Sensors 8/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 25 MSP    Max Repair 62 MSP
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10    
Magneto-plasma Drive E0.7 Commercial (12)    Power 200    Fuel Use 7%    Signature 150    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 152.3 billion km   (421 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S16-R100 (1)     GPS 1600     Range 16.0m km    Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH1-8 (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  8m km
This design is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposesShips in Class: Anzio, Lofotens, Narvik, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Hastings

Code: [Select]

LCA Mk I class Dropship    1000 tons     41 Crew     164 BP      TCS 20  TH 120  EM 0
8000 km/s     Armour 2-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 51 MSP    Max Repair 60 MSP
Drop Capacity: 1 Battalion    
GB Magneto-plasma Drive E70 (1)    Power 160    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 120    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 120,000 Litres    Range 30.9 billion km   (44 days at full power)
AST3-1 Asp (10)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
The purse strings were beginning to loosen, but worthwhile expenditure was the order of the day, no frivolous spending on warships, what on earth would they be good for? New survey ships were commissioned and more geo-surveys planned. There were one or two flies in the ointment, as the deep space survey groups got beyond two or three systems from Sol the occurrence of alien constructed jump gates increased often linking two systems of no obvious value. These structures varied in age, but had one thing in common, they still worked!

Then in early 2087 a destroyed outpost in 40 Eridani was found. The Hsieh Hua Zhu xenologist team was dropped off on the 18th July and began their investigation. The report was presented to the House of Governors on 15th July 2088. The alien race which inhabited the planet as been identified as the Port Arthur Hierarchy. The destruction was disturbingly similar to that found on Mars, only more thorough, a mix of nuclear and kinetic strikes had obliterated the planet. Only six structures remained, most with significant damage. There was amongst them a derelict star freighter, which while its insystem drive was destroyed, still possessed an almost intact jump drive. It appeared to mount a variety of makeshift weapons, none very advanced. The ship had still been fitting out and from the pattern of impacts it was apparent it had been one of the first targets. Dating studies reported the incident as occurring a mere 4000 years ago! This stirred the Solar Union House of Governors to examine its defences and various research projects were put in hand to improve ship-based weapons, but no ships laid down. The Mk II Grey class FAC was authorised and retooling of the BAE Corp Yard begun. This completed on 19th September 2088 and the current Mk I version were taken in hand for conversion. It meant replacing the engine and a sensor refit, which while removing one missile tube gave the Grey class Mk II virtually the same active sensors as the Scout Mk II class, which did not refit.

Code: [Select]

Grey Mk II class Fast Attack Craft    1000 tons     55 Crew     244.6 BP      TCS 20  TH 120  EM 0
8000 km/s     Armour 1-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 8.1
Annual Failure Rate: 16%    IFR: 0.2%    Maintenance Capacity 76 MSP    Max Repair 84 MSP
Magazine 54    
GB Magneto-plasma Drive E70 (1)    Power 160    Fuel Use 700%    Signature 120    Armour 0    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 12.9 billion km   (18 days at full power)
Size 3 Box Launcher (18)    Missile Size 3    Hangar Reload 22.5 minutes    MF Reload 3.7 hours
Missile Fire Control FC28-R20GB (1)     Range 16.8m km    Resolution 20
AST3-1 Asp (18)  Speed: 17,600 km/s   End: 16.2m    Range: 17.1m km   WH: 5    Size: 3    TH: 117 / 70 / 35
Active Search Sensor S84-R20GB (1)     GPS 1680     Range 16.8m km    Resolution 20
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposesShips in Class: Grey Seal, Grey Fox, Grey Whale, Grey Shrike, Grey Shark, Grey Owl, Grey Hawk, Grey Heron, Grey Mustang, Grey Dolphin, Grey Wolf.

Stellar Map Late 2087

[Beersatron]

Good writeup!

I have 3 questions and 1 observation on ship design:

Did you use SM to add the ruins in both instances?
Ditto for the really good colony costs in the first couple of systems, or was that just a case of the race settings you used at the start?
Do you have NPRs on and/or start with 1? All that exploring without bumping into one is strange!

The design for the escort could probably do with a beam FC that can make better use of the turrets tracking speed. That is literally the only thing I could nit-pick out of the designs!

You have no loops! That would frustrate me and I would probably be trying to find the setting that generates connection to known systems :)

[IanD (OP)]

Thanks for your comments Beersatron

Did you use SM to add the ruins in both instances?

I only added the ruins to Mars (and the one terraforming station the Union built).

Ditto for the really good colony costs in the first couple of systems, or was that just a case of the race settings you used at the start?

The colony costs were pure luck, no SM intervention

Do you have NPRs on and/or start with 1? All that exploring without bumping into one is strange!

NPRs are on. I did change the probability to 20% because if I stick to the two year income to build the initial fleet and I bump into someone then I will get eaten! Having said that I did not expect to go so long without finding an alien pop. Even now I have only run into Precursors, the outcome of which I will post shortly. In future I will try 25% and see if there is still a dearth of opposition.

]The design for the escort could probably do with a beam FC that can make better use of the turrets tracking speed.

You will see what the effect of this was in my next post.

Regards