This campaign is a combination of a few different ideas but the RPG Space 1889 was a major influence.Mars is a hot, dry desert planet with small seas covering 25% of its surface. A network of canals, ranging from Great Canals over a kilometre in width to minor canals with a width of ten or twenty meters, transport water from the seas and the polar ice caps to the cities. The gravity is 0.7G while the atmosphere is 0.67 atm and comprises 75% Nitrogen, 18% Oxygen and 7% carbon dioxide. The inhabitants of Mars are tall and slender humanoids with pale blue skins, sharp features and elongated, pointed ears. The Martian civilization, referred to by the Martians as Tianxia, is old and its technology, although superior to that of Earth, has remained stagnant for centuries, primarily due to religious constraints.
In the distant past the Martian leadership was more enlightened. Martian ships under Zhong Jiang (Admiral) Zheng He explored the entire solar system and visited early civilizations on both Earth and Venus. These voyages ended after Emperor Hongxi ascended the throne in 1424. Hongxi was strongly religious and the Hierarch, leader of the Martian Church, advised him that such voyages could contaminate the Martian culture. Hongxi ordered all space-going vessels destroyed and any further construction forbidden. Mining colonies that had been set up on several worlds were dismantled and the installations returned to the homeworld. The Hierarch took advantage of the Emperor's faith to persuade him to gradually transfer powers from the Throne to the Church. For over five hundred years, the Church was the dominant force on Mars. Contact with other worlds was banned, although powerful telescopes monitored the barbarians on Earth and Venus.
In the mid-nineteenth century the situation changed. Emperor Xianfeng became increasingly concerned about the rate of industrial and technological expansion on the third planet. His own civilization was standing still and he could foresee a time when the more populous human civilization would move ahead of Tianxia. Against the wishes of the Church, he ordered the construction of a small number of research facilities and shipyards. New expeditions were launched to more closely examine the situation on the inner planets, including covert landings to learn more of the human culture and languages. The Hierarch of that time demanded that the Edict of Hongxi should remain in pace but he was less formidable than some of his forebears and the Emperor was unmoved. The senior officers of the small professional military of Tianxia argued for a pre-emptive strike, a war of the worlds to ensure that Earth and Venus would never pose a threat to Mars. Emperor Xianfeng was not prepared to be responsible for such death and destruction, especially when the long-term intentions of the humans could not be ascertained from observation alone.
The most advanced of the many nation states on Earth was Great Britain so Xianfeng authorised direct contact. The landing of a 1000 ton alien ship in London's Hyde Park could have caused considerable panic. Fortunately, it landed not far from the Crystal Palace that housed the Great Exhibition and Londoners cheered as they thought the ship was part of the Exhibition. Scientists were quietly summoned from the Royal Society and peaceful contact was established. This was made much easier by the fact the Martians had already learned English during their previous covert expeditions. Even though the Martians in the contact team were among the least prejudiced of their race, they still believed in inherent Martian superiority and seriously underestimated the intelligence and engineering skills of their hosts. They came from a civilization that had been unified for thousands of years with little outside contact, leaving them without the concept of national security. Their openness was exacerbated by a low tolerance to alcohol.
During the week of the initial Martian visit, which included a tour of the Martian spacecraft, British scientists and engineers learned more than they had in the previous hundred years. A small delegation accompanied the Martians on their return to Mars and continued to accumulate information at startling rate. The Hierarch and his senior Priests were horrified at barbarians on the sacred sands of Tianxia but their protests were drowned out by the overwhelming interest in the visitors from Earth. The delegation returned to Earth after a month on Mars, during which time they signed a non-aggression pact with Tianxia on behalf of the British Empire. Although many Martians regarded the signing of a treaty with barbarians as distasteful, none of them except Emperor Xianfeng and a few of his closest advisors saw it as anything but a meaningless document, signed purely as a demonstration of how civilised races should conduct their affairs. The thought that such a primitive culture could pose a threat to Tianxia was laughable. The Emperor, watching the speed of technological advancement on Earth, believed that within perhaps two hundred years humans might actually pose a threat. He was determined to ensure that once humans became a space-faring species, they would be friends of Mars.
His estimate was out by a factor of ten. Using the knowledge gained during the initial contacts with Tianxia, the industrialization of the Empire proceeded far more rapidly than before. By the time the Martians realised just how fast the humans could learn and adapt and began restricting information, it was too late. By 1870 Great Britain was using tanks and jet aircraft to expand the Empire. In 1876 the British Empire sent a man to the Moon. Although other nations tried to replicate the British technological advances, the Empire had established too great a lead, both economically and militarily. It was only a matter of time before the British Empire dominated the globe.
Emperor Xianfeng was assassinated in 1861 by a religious fanatic. His son Tongzhi was only five years old. Tongzhi's mother, the Empress Dowager Cixi, become the ruler of Tianxia in all but name, ruthlessly suppressing all potential threats to the rule of the Child Emperor. The purges on Mars distracted Tianxia from closely monitoring events on Earth and the Church began to rise in power once again. In any event, Cixi was uninterested in the activities of the barbarians and concentrated her efforts on expanding her power base. In 1875, Tongzhi died at the age of eighteen, officially from a rare infection of the central nervous system, although palace gossip suggested several alternative causes from poison to a sexually-transmitted disease. Cixi engineered the ascension of her four year old nephew Guangxu to the throne and tightened her grip on the reins of power.
By 1890, Emperor Guangxu was beginning to resist the influence of his aunt and the Church. Twenty years had passed since the death of his uncle, Emperor Xianfeng, and events beyond Mars were starting to intrude on Tianxia once more. The humans of Earth were building shipyards and constructing spacecraft capable of travelling anywhere within the solar system. Even the reptilian barbarians on Venus were rapidly industrialising. Guangxu re-established diplomatic contact with the British Empire in an attempt to learn more about their capabilities and intentions. The humans appeared to be extremely cautious about space exploration and were apparently content to keep their ships close to their own world, except for an occasional visit to Venus. Even so, Guangxu was suspicious that the humans were simply attempting to build up their forces before taking any aggressive action and perhaps even plotting with the barbarians on Venus.
Fifteen years of domination by Cixi had left their mark as Emperor Guangxu searched for ulterior motives in every action. Against the wishes of his Aunt, he ordered the few surviving orbital shipyards to be reactivated and to begin construction of new warships. Martian geological survey data for the rest of the Sol system was fragmentary and what remained was five hundred years old so he ordered new ships to be built for a complete resurvey. Finally, even though the technology of Tianxia was superior to that of Earth, it had barely advanced in the last few centuries and the humans appeared to be rapidly catching up. The few research centres built by his uncle had been mothballed by the church after his death. He ordered these to be re-opened, and additional facilities to be constructed. For the moment though, he instructed the Martian naval commanders to follow the example of the humans and keep their ships close to home. Guangxu did not wish to provoke a confrontation until his own ships were ready. By 1899, both Tianxia and the British Empire were confident enough in the defences of their home worlds to begin sending their ships deeper into the solar system.
Venus is a hot, wet world with dense vegetation. Oceans cover 60% of its surface. The atmosphere is 1.78 atm and comprises 84% Nitrogen and 16% Oxygen. The surface is covered by a wide variety of fauna and flora, including some truly terrifying predators, but the dominant species is the Khaghan, a race of intelligent bipedal reptilians known to humans as the Lizardmen. The British sent several expeditions to Venus in the late 1870s and established contact with the indigenous population. At the time the planet was split between a number of nation states with a total population of approximately two billion, one third greater than the population of Earth and twice that of Mars. The technological level was comparable to that of the US Civil War era on Earth, with rifles and cannon the primary weapons, although bladed weapons were still popular due to the effects of the humid atmosphere and frequent precipitation on firearms.
In 1879, the British Empire attempted to ally with one of the states to establish a foothold on the planet. Their efforts were thwarted when a charismatic leader of one of the other states, T'mjn, raised an alliance against them. Despite technological aid provided by the British their ally fell to vastly superior numbers. T'mjn held his alliance together by painting the British Empire as a threat to the whole planet, enabling him to create a global super-state known as the Khaghan Federation. The technological secrets passed on by the British to their ally were seized upon and T'mjn ordered the upgrade of all Khaghan industry. There were calls from senior figures within the British Empire to defeat the aliens on Venus before they could become a threat. However, the Empire was still heavily involved in pacifying Earth and had little time for extraterrestrial adventures. Mass orbital bombardment was considered but ruled out, partly because of the likely public reaction to wiping out an entire species of two billion and partly because of concerns over how the Martians would react to such an event. By the time Earth was secured, the Khaghan had built half a dozen primitive orbital battle stations.
By 1899 the conversion of Khaghan industry was complete and the Federation had constructed three military shipyards, although two of them had only 3000 tons of capacity each, allowing the Khaghan to begin building space-going vessels. Their technology was very limited in comparison to the British Empire and especially compared to Tianxia but their population and industry were superior to both. T'mjn firmly believed that given enough time his people would dominate the solar system.
Tianxia:Population: 1000m
Factories: 1200
Refineries: 400
Mines: 800
Automated Mines: 160
Research Facilities: 20
Shipyard Capacity: 113,000 Naval, 696,000 Commercial
Starting Research Points: 500,000
Mars Mineral SurveyDuranium 166,800 Acc: 1
Neutronium 193,600 Acc: 0.7
Corbomite 21,920 Acc: 0.4
Tritanium 49,840 Acc: 0.2
Boronide 16,000 Acc: 0.9
Mercassium 16,000 Acc: 0.3
Vendarite 47,280 Acc: 0.3
Sorium 60,960 Acc: 0.9
Uridium 18,080 Acc: 0.8
Corundium 19,360 Acc: 0.7
Gallicite 28,240 Acc: 0.5
Starting Forces3x Jianghu class Battlecruiser
6x Kaifeng class War Cruiser
3x Changsha class Geosurvey ship
3x Houxin class Freighter (2 standard cargo holds)
2x Han class Colony Ship (100,000 colonists)
3x Xia class Fuel Harvester (50 Harvester modules)
Jianghu class Battlecruiser 32,000 tons 876 Crew 5711.6 BP TCS 640 TH 3200 EM 4500
5000 km/s Armour 6-89 Shields 150-300 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 13 PPV 147.4
Maint Life 1.89 Years MSP 1450 AFR 630% IFR 8.8% 1YR 520 5YR 7796 Max Repair 252 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 1024
Xiang-320 Magneto-plasma Drive (10) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 11.7 billion km (27 days at full power)
Gui-Jia Shield (50) Total Fuel Cost 900 Litres per hour (21,600 per day)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (8) Range 256,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15
Twin 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (4x2) Range 120,000km TS: 20000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 Point Defence Fire Control (2) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 20000 km/s
Laser Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (10) Total Power Output 60 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Anti-Ship Missile Launcher (16) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 40
Glowmoth Fire Control (2) Range 119.3m km Resolution 140
Glowmoth Anti-ship Missile (256) Speed: 38,000 km/s End: 54.7m Range: 124.7m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 126/76/38
Missile Warning Sensor (1) GPS 63 Range 5.0m km Resolution 1
Tsang-240 Area Search Active Sensor (1) GPS 35280 Range 238.5m km Resolution 140
Shen-24 EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
ECCM-2 (1) ECM 20
Kaifeng class War Cruiser 6,400 tons 202 Crew 1239 BP TCS 128 TH 640 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 6-30 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 36
Maint Life 2.28 Years MSP 363 AFR 109% IFR 1.5% 1YR 95 5YR 1422 Max Repair 160 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 1
Xiang-320 Magneto-plasma Drive (2) Power 320 Fuel Use 48% Signature 320 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 14.6 billion km (33 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (6) Range 256,000km TS: 5000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Laser Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 5000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (4) Total Power Output 24 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Tsang-80 Active Sensor (1) GPS 11760 Range 79.5m km Resolution 140
ECM 20
Changsha class Geosurvey Ship 5,000 tons 107 Crew 842.8 BP TCS 100 TH 448 EM 0
4480 km/s Armour 1-26 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/4 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.99 Years MSP 632 AFR 33% IFR 0.5% 1YR 23 5YR 339 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 0
Xiang-220F Magneto-plasma Drive (2) Power 224 Fuel Use 19.68% Signature 224 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 182.9 billion km (472 days at full power)
Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 4200 Range 33.6m km Resolution 100
Geological Survey Sensors (4) 4 Survey Points Per Hour
British Empire:Population: 1500m
Factories: 1800
Refineries: 600
Mines: 1200
Automated Mines: 240
Research Facilities: 60
Shipyard Capacity: 130,000 Naval, 589,000 Commercial
Starting Research Points: 250,000
Earth Mineral SurveyDuranium 388,800 Acc: 0.9
Neutronium 123,150 Acc: 0.3
Corbomite 140,850 Acc: 0.2
Tritanium 187,650 Acc: 0.2
Boronide 30,000 Acc: 0.3
Mercassium 30,000 Acc: 0.3
Vendarite 44,700 Acc: 0.2
Sorium 89,550 Acc: 0.7
Uridium 49,500 Acc: 0.9
Corundium 199,800 Acc: 0.2
Gallicite 78,300 Acc: 0.2
Starting Forces4x Royal Sovereign class Battleship
4x Diadem class Armoured Cruiser
4x Eclipse class Survey Cruiser
6x River class Destroyer
3x Minotaur Class Orbital Defence Monitor
1x Justicia class Troop Transport
3x Braemar class Fuel Harvester
3x Castle class Freighter
2x Roanoke class Colony Ship
Royal Sovereign class Battleship 16,000 tons 361 Crew 2297 BP TCS 320 TH 1200 EM 0
3750 km/s Armour 9-56 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 7 PPV 50
Maint Life 1.98 Years MSP 628 AFR 292% IFR 4.1% 1YR 213 5YR 3193 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 1
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons Magazine 850
Parsons PN2 Naval Ion Drive (5) Power 240 Fuel Use 48% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 23.4 billion km (72 days at full power)
MK 1 Torpedo Launcher (10) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 50
Barr and Stroud FT-1 Torpedo Fire Control (2) Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
Mark I Whitehead Torpedo (172) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 79.7m Range: 114.8m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Diadem class Heavy Cruiser 11,000 tons 235 Crew 1593 BP TCS 220 TH 840 EM 0
3818 km/s Armour 8-44 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 30
Maint Life 2.07 Years MSP 362 AFR 242% IFR 3.4% 1YR 113 5YR 1697 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Flight Crew Berths 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons Magazine 430
Parsons Naval Ion Drive (7) Power 120 Fuel Use 54% Signature 120 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 30.3 billion km (91 days at full power)
MK 1 Torpedo Launcher (6) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 50
Barr and Stroud FT-1 Torpedo Fire Control (1) Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
Mark I Whitehead Torpedo (86) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 79.7m Range: 114.8m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Eclipse class Survey Cruiser 10,000 tons 226 Crew 1508.8 BP TCS 200 TH 504 EM 0
2520 km/s Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/3 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 20
Maint Life 5.34 Years MSP 943 AFR 80% IFR 1.1% 1YR 55 5YR 829 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 260
Parsons PNE-3 Naval Ion Drive (2) Power 252 Fuel Use 17.22% Signature 252 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,100,000 Litres Range 115.0 billion km (528 days at full power)
MK 1 Torpedo Launcher (4) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 50
Barr and Stroud FT-1 Torpedo Fire Control (1) Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
Mark I Whitehead Torpedo (52) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 79.7m Range: 114.8m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Geological Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
Minotaur class Orbital Defence Monitor 7,500 tons 185 Crew 1274 BP TCS 150 TH 120 EM 0
800 km/s Armour 7-34 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 20
Maint Life 5.83 Years MSP 637 AFR 75% IFR 1% 1YR 32 5YR 479 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 820
Parsons Naval Ion Drive (1) Power 120 Fuel Use 54% Signature 120 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 11.1 billion km (160 days at full power)
Anti-Torpedo Launcher (20) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Barr and Stroud Anti-Torpedo Fire Control (4) Range 11.5m km Resolution 1
Mark II Whitehead ATT (820) Speed: 36,000 km/s End: 8.2m Range: 17.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 144/86/43
Type 3 Active Sensor (1) GPS 5760 Range 42.1m km Resolution 120
Type 5 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 144 Range 11.5m km Resolution 1
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
River class Destroyer 6,000 tons 161 Crew 974 BP TCS 120 TH 480 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 2 PPV 33.12
Maint Life 1.53 Years MSP 203 AFR 144% IFR 2% 1YR 99 5YR 1479 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 0
Parsons PN2 Naval Ion Drive (2) Power 240 Fuel Use 48% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 15.6 billion km (45 days at full power)
Twin 10cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser Turret (4x2) Range 64,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 3 ROF 5
Barr and Stroud FX-2 Beam Fire Control (2) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 16000 km/s
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (6) Total Power Output 27 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Type 3 Active Sensor (1) GPS 5760 Range 42.1m km Resolution 120
Type 2 Active Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 2.6m km Resolution 1
Khaghan FederationPopulation: 2000m
Factories: 2350
Refineries: 800
Mines: 1600
Automated Mines: 200
Research Facilities: 30
Shipyard Capacity: 54,000 Naval, 0 Commercial
Starting Research Points: 50,000
Venus Mineral SurveyDuranium 223,800 Acc: 1
Neutronium 81,800 Acc: 0.2
Corbomite 122,200 Acc: 0.5
Tritanium 40,000 Acc: 0.2
Boronide 97,400 Acc: 0.2
Mercassium 52,000 Acc: 0.5
Vendarite 96,600 Acc: 1
Sorium 100,000 Acc: 0.8
Uridium 179,800 Acc: 0.3
Corundium 160,600 Acc: 0.7
Gallicite 66,400 Acc: 0.2
Starting Forces6x Khan class Orbital Weapon Platform
6x Kublai class FAC
2x Ogadei class Geosurvey Ship
Khan class Orbital Weapon Platform 16,000 tons 552 Crew 2043.68 BP TCS 320 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 8-56 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 130
Maint Life 1 Years MSP 239 AFR 682% IFR 9.5% 1YR 240 5YR 3599 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Magazine 910
12cm Railgun V2/C3 (12x4) Range 40,000km TS: 3000 km/s Power 6-3 RM 2 ROF 10 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jagun-1 Railgun Fire Control (4) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 3000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Pebble Bed Reactor (12) Total Power Output 36 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Qasar-1 Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 15
Qasar-5 Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 75
Ulaghan-2 Point Defence Missile Fire Control (2) Range 9.0m km Resolution 1
Ulaghan-1 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 65.7m km Resolution 120
Chagatai ASM (132) Speed: 14,400 km/s End: 75.4m Range: 65.2m km WH: 5 Size: 5 TH: 48 / 28 / 14
Nassan Anti-missile Missile (250) Speed: 14,400 km/s End: 41.8m Range: 36.1m km WH: 1 Size: 1
Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 90 Range 4.5m km Resolution 1
Primary Search Sensor (1) GPS 14400 Range 65.7m km Resolution 120
Kublai class Fast Attack Craft 1000 tons 36 Crew 129.8 BP TCS 20 TH 96 EM 0
4800 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 6
Annual Failure Rate: 0% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 0 MSP
Spare Berths -26
Gurban-96 FAC Engine (1) Power 96 Fuel Use 253.52% Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 40,000 Litres Range 2.8 billion km (6 days at full power)
10cm Railgun V2/C3 (2x4) Range 20,000km TS: 4800 km/s Power 3-3 RM 2 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jagun-1 Railgun Fire Control (1) Max Range: 96,000 km TS: 3000 km/s 90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Pebble Bed Reactor (2) Total Power Output 6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Ogadei class Geosurvey Ship 2,300 tons 42 Crew 328.2 BP TCS 46 TH 100 EM 0
2173 km/s Armour 1-15 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/2 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 89 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 0
Ghazan-100 Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (1) Power 100 Fuel Use 13.26% Signature 100 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 118.0 billion km (628 days at full power)
Geological Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
Early Interstellar Era14th January 1899HMS Eclipse discovers one point five millions tons of Sorium in Jupiter's atmosphere. Three fuel harvesters have already been constructed so they are immediately dispatched to Jupiter at their best speed of 363 km/s, escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Argonaut.
8th February 1899Tianxia dispatches its own fuel harvesters to Jupiter, along with the war cruiser Haikou. Once they arrive, Haikou and HMS Argonaut, separated by less than 10,000 kilometres, watch each other like hawks, each anticipating an unprovoked hostile move by the other. The British Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, sends a message to Tianxia, assuring the Emperor that the British Empire will not make any aggressive moves in Jupiter orbit and pointing out there is plentiful Sorium for both nations. Mars acknowledges receipt of the message but does not reply.
10th March 1899Earth's deposits of Gallicite and Corundium are 80,000 tons and 200,000 tons respectively. Unfortunately they are both accessibility 0.2 and the two minerals are key for the Empire's shipbuilding plans and the conversion of existing manned mines to automated mining complexes. Therefore a mining colony is established on the comet Wolf-Harrington, which has small but accessible deposits of eight different minerals and has just passed through the asteroid belt on its path into the inner Sol system. The three Castle class freighters begin the transport of existing automated mines while the destroyer HMS Severn is assigned to watch over the colony.
Wolf-Harrington Mineral Survey Duranium 18,014 Acc: 0.9
Tritanium 9,220 Acc: 0.8
Boronide 44,220 Acc: 0.8
Mercassium 8,366 Acc: 1
Vendarite 15,368 Acc: 0.8
Uridium 4,774 Acc: 0.8
Corundium 9,327 Acc: 0.8
Gallicite 7,037 Acc: 0.9
1st July 1899The Khaghan Federation builds three Kublai class fast attack craft, taking the total for the class to nine.
26th October 1899On the orders of Emperor Guangxu, Martian construction factories have built two new research centres in the last ten months and are working on a third. This is rapidly depleting the Martian stockpile of Mercassium so Tianxia establishes a mining colony on the comet known to Tianxia as Huixing, which is just outside the orbit of Jupiter and heading sunwards. The Mercassium deposits on Mars are at 0.3 accessibility and less than 13,000 tons remains to be mined. Huixing has 50,000 tons at 0.8 accessibility, along with deposits of several other minerals. The war cruiser Zhengzhou is dispatched to the comet to guard the mines.
Huixing Mineral SurveyDuranium 34,582 Acc: 0.8
Corbomite 6,904 Acc: 0.8
Tritanium 9,861 Acc: 0.7
Mercassium 50,620 Acc: 0.8
Vendarite 6,977 Acc: 0.8
Corundium 6,336 Acc: 0.8
Gallicite 14,727 Acc: 0.8
2nd November 1899Martian scientists complete their research into jump point theory.
2nd January 1900The Khaghan Federation builds three a further Kublai class fast attack craft, taking the total for the class to twelve.
13th February 1900British scientists complete their research into jump point theory.
15th April 1900Tianxia completes construction of the Kaifeng class war cruisers Guangzhou, Shenyang and Shijiazhuang. Due to their higher level of technology, the building rate of Martian shipyards is significantly greater than their British and Khaghan counterparts.
9th August 1900The British Empire launches the new River class destroyers HMS Trent and HMS Tyne.
10th October 1900Tianxia launches the Jianghu class Battlecruisers Xuzhou and Zhoushan. Together with their three sister ships, Jianghu, Yinchuan and Zunyi, they form the core of the Imperial Fleet. The 32,000 ton battlecruisers are armed with eight 20cm lasers, four twin 10cm laser turrets and sixteen anti-ship missile launchers and protected by strength-150 shields. The much smaller Kaifeng class war cruisers are the workhorses of the Fleet and far more likely to be deployed away from Mars than the powerful but hard-to-replace Jianghus.
20th November 1900Tianxia and the British Empire are engaging in an arms race, rapidly building up their respective fleets. The Orbital Defence Monitors HMS Centaur and HMS Manticore are the latest additions to the Royal Navy, followed a month later by the Royal Sovereign class battleships HMS Ramillies and HMS Resolution. The 16,000 ton Royal Sovereigns are the pride of the Royal Navy, equipped with ten torpedo launchers (known as anti-ship missiles by Tianxia). However, due to the fact they are severely outclassed by the Martian Jianghus, a new battleship class has been designed. As the British Empire has not developed any significant new combat-related technology since the Royal Sovereigns were designed, the Majestic is essentially a larger version of the older ship, with two additional torpedo launchers, twenty percent greater magazine space and upgraded armour. As some components have already been constructed, HMS Majestic and her sister ship HMS Magnificent are scheduled for delivery in February 1902 and May 1902 respectively.
Majestic class Battleship 19,200 tons 427 Crew 2776.6 BP TCS 384 TH 1440 EM 0
3750 km/s Armour 11-63 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 9 PPV 60
Maint Life 2.15 Years MSP 813 AFR 327% IFR 4.6% 1YR 236 5YR 3533 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Flight Crew Berths 1
Hangar Deck Capacity 250 tons Magazine 1020
Parsons PN2 Naval Ion Drive (6) Power 240 Fuel Use 48% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 19.5 billion km (60 days at full power)
MK 1 Torpedo Launcher (12) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 50
Barr and Stroud FT-1 Torpedo Fire Control (2) Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
Mark I Whitehead Torpedo (204) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 79.7m Range: 114.8m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
6th January 1901The Khaghan Federation constructs its twentieth Kublai class fast attack craft. On Venus, much of the conflict between the warring states involved mass attacks against strong defensive positions. The unifying leader of the Khaghan Federation, T'mjn, took this doctrine into space in the late nineteenth century by ordering the construction of the six 16,000 ton Khan class orbital weapon platforms as a priority, followed by the mass production of 1000 ton fast attack craft for offensive purposes. For the moment, T'mjn is holding all his forces except for survey ships in Venus orbit to avoid any confrontation with Tianxia and the British Empire, at least until the superior industrial might of the Khaghan Federation can overcome the technological advantages of the other powers.
11th January 1901The Khaghan Federation completes research into jump point theory.
21st February 1901Tianxia launches Weifang, Yantai and Zhanjiang, the first three gravitational survey vessels to be built in the Sol System.
Zhanjiang class Gravitational Survey Vessel 5000 tons 107 Crew 842.8 BP TCS 100 TH 448 EM 0
4480 km/s Armour 1-26 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/4/0 Damage Control 6 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 0% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 632 MSP
Spare Berths 2
Xiang-220F Magneto-plasma Drive (2) Power 224 Fuel Use 19.68% Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 182.9 billion km (472 days at full power)
Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 4200 Range 33.6m km Resolution 100
Gravitational Survey Sensors (4) 4 Survey Points
1st March 1901The Martian survey vessels locate two jump points. The first is just inside the orbit of Jupiter on a bearing of 199, while the second is just inside Saturn's orbit on a bearing of 154 and has a jump gate. Based on their research into jump point theory, Martian scientists are aware of the potential for jump gates. However, they didn't expect to find one already in place on a Sol jump point. Tianxia is by nature an isolationist power and has historically ignored its Solarian neighbours with the exceptions of the voyages of Zheng He in the fifteenth century and the brief enlightenment under Emperor Xianfeng. The current build-up of the Imperial Fleet is in reaction to a perceived threat, rather than through a desire for interplanetary relations. With the discovery of the jump gate, Tianxia is now faced with the reality that at least one more space-faring race exists somewhere in the universe; although some in the Imperial Court, including the current Hierarch, believe that ancient Martians built the gate.
There is little desire within the Imperial Fleet to transit the gate. The first Martian jump drive has yet to be developed so any ship that transited to find the far side of the jump point had no gate would be trapped. The officers of the Imperial Fleet have been brought up in a society that rewards obedience, traditional values, dedication to the Church and cautious consideration of the consequences before undertaking any action. Until the recent reforms of Emperor Guangxu, any signs of innovation, free thinking or an adventurous spirit were quickly quashed. The senior officers of the Fleet are delighted with the additional ships that have resulted from the reforms but regard the new scientific advances with thinly disguised contempt. They regard Martian racial superiority as the most important factor, regardless of any new toys developed by the barbarians.
9th March 1901Two more jump points are discovered by Tianxia. The first is at the same distance as the jump gate but on the far side of Sol. The second is in the heart of the system, mid-way between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. While the three jump points beyond the asteroid belt are far enough away from the inhabited worlds to avoid any future transits causing a reaction from the barbarian races, Venus passes within twenty million kilometres of the innermost jump point. At certain times of the Venusian year, this has the potential to become a problem.
17th April 1901The Khaghan Federation has increased its number of research facilities to forty, adding ten new facilities since the start of 1899. In the same period of time, Tianxia and the British Empire have each constructed five new research facilities, taking their totals to twenty-five and sixty-five respectively.
15th May 1901Three more Khan class orbital weapon platforms are built by the Khaghan Federation, adding to the six already guarding Venus.
10th June 1901Tianxia completes its survey of the Sol system, finding a total of eight jump points. The four additional jump points are located as follows:
JP5 - Just outside the orbit of Saturn. 1.63 billion kilometres, bearing 325.
JP6 - Midway between orbits of Uranus and Neptune. 3.9 billion kilometres, bearing 71.
JP7 - Just beyond the orbit of Neptune and has a jump gate. 4.7 billion kilometres, bearing 56.
JP8 - Edge of the Kuiper Belt, 5.0 billion kilometres, bearing 200.
13th June 1901The war cruisers Fuzhou, Qingdao and Wuhan join the Imperial Fleet.
18th June 1901The British Empire establishes a small colony on Io, the innermost of the four Galilean moons. Io orbits 422,000 kilometres from Jupiter, where the Empire has eight Braemar class Fuel Harvesters in orbit, guarding by the armoured cruiser HMS Argonaut. Tianxia has eight Xia fuel harvesters, significantly larger than their British counterparts, in Jupiter orbit, watched over by the war cruiser Zhengzhou. After consultation with the head of the Royal Navy, known as the First Space Lord, and her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the Prime Minister decided to form the colony in order to provide the valuable fuel harvesters with increased protection. With the Royal Navy growing in size, the supply fuel from Jupiter is an increasingly vital link in the logistical chain and the Prime Minister was concerned a single heavy cruiser was insufficient protection. A larger force would have its own cost in overhauls and downtime for key warships so the decision was made to form the colony with the long-term intention of creating a naval base on Io.
There is no immediate reaction from Tianxia to the British colony. Some senior officers of the Imperial Fleet recommend cleansing the moon of its barbarian infestation but Emperor Guangxu is reluctant to start an all-out war over a hundred thousand colonists that present no threat to the Martian fuel harvesters. An equivalent colony from Tianxia is impossible because, despite the lower Martian gravity, the gravity range that can be tolerated by Martians is less than that of humans.
Braemar class Fuel Harvester 82,600 tons 364 Crew 1438 BP TCS 1652 TH 600 EM 0
363 km/s Armour 1-168 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 11 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Fuel Harvester: 30 modules producing 840000 litres per annum
Commercial Ion Drive (2) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 41.1 billion km (1310 days at full power)
Type 4 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1920 Range 14.0m km Resolution 120
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
Xia class Fuel Harvester 141,700 tons 610 Crew 2398 BP TCS 2834 TH 1600 EM 0
564 km/s Armour 1-242 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 11 Max Repair 64 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Fuel Harvester: 50 modules producing 1400000 litres per annum
Tsien-320 Commercial Magneto-plasma Drive (5) Power 320 Fuel Use 3.04% Signature 320 Exp 4%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres Range 83.5 billion km (1713 days at full power)
13th August 1901A British civilian mining colony is established on the comet Van Biesbroeck. The comet is midway between Jupiter and Saturn, so the British government does not expect this to cause any problems with the other powers.
3rd September 1901HMS Fearless and HMS Pathfinder are launched by the Vickers Orbital Shipyard. The two cruisers are the first gravitational survey vessels to be built by the British Empire. Like their Martian counterparts, the Fearless class lacks a jump drive so the cruisers will be unable to transit any jump points they find. A new jump-capable scout cruiser has been laid down but will not be available until October 1902.
Fearless class Survey Cruiser 10,000 tons 226 Crew 1508.8 BP TCS 200 TH 504 EM 0
2520 km/s Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/3/0 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 20
Maint Life 5.34 Years MSP 943 AFR 80% IFR 1.1% 1YR 55 5YR 829 Max Repair 144 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 260
Parsons PNE-3 Naval Ion Drive (2) Power 252 Fuel Use 17.22% Signature 252 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,100,000 Litres Range 115.0 billion km (528 days at full power)
MK 1 Torpedo Launcher (4) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 50
Barr and Stroud FT-1 Torpedo Fire Control (1) Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
Mark I Whitehead Torpedo (52) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 79.7m Range: 114.8m km WH: 6 Size: 5 TH: 80/48/24
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
11th October 1901HMS Pathfinder locates the jump gate inside the orbit of Saturn. Five jump points have been found so far by the two Royal Navy survey ships. Unlike the Martians, the British are eager to probe the gate, although the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, forbids the use of the gravitational survey cruisers in case they are unable to return for several months. Instead, the geological survey vessel HMS Eclipse is dispatched to the gate, escorted by the destroyers HMS Dart and HMS Severn.
18th October 1901HMS Eclipse and her escorts transit the gate and appear two billion kilometres from Wolf 359, a red dwarf star seven point eight light years from Earth. The star has seven planets, none of which are habitable, and almost eighty moons. The innermost world, a small terrestrial planet smaller than Mars, has enough gravity to support human life but lacks an atmosphere and the surface temperature is -80C. Fortunately for the three Royal Navy ships, there is a matching gate on the far side. HMS Eclipse uses the gate to send a signal to Earth then heads in-system to check for any sign of life. HMS Minerva, a sister ship of HMS Eclipse, is dispatched from Earth to assist in a geological survey. The gate is too far out for Martian or Venusian tracking stations to detect the transit of the British vessels.
29th October 1901The Union-Castle Line, a British shipping company, launches a 42,000 ton colony ship, capable of transporting 100,000 passengers in cryogenic berths. The maiden voyage of the new ship is to Io.
Union-Castle Large C3 class Colony Ship 42,000 tons 284 Crew 1780 BP TCS 840 TH 1800 EM 0
2142 km/s Armour 1-107 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 26 Max Repair 37.5 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Cryogenic Berths 100000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 15
150 EP Commercial Ion Drive (12) Power 150 Fuel Use 7.96% Signature 150 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 650,000 Litres Range 35.0 billion km (189 days at full power)
25th December 1901The British Empire is suffering from a severe shortage of Gallicite. In March 1899 a colony was established on the comet Wolf-Harrington to mine its Gallicite but those deposits have now been exhausted. New mining colonies have been set up on the comets Faye and Wolf and the mines are being transferred from Wolf-Harrington. Even those supplies will be fairly limited though with approximately 28,000 tons available to be mined in total from the two comets. A priority for British extra-solar exploration will be finding a new source of Gallicite and, to a lesser extent, Corundium.
6th January 1902HMS Dart and HMS Severn return to Sol from Wolf 359. There is no alien presence in the system so the First Space Lord saw no point in running up their maintenance clocks and ordered them home. HMS Eclipse and HMS Minerva continue their survey. The tracking stations on Tianxia detect the active sensor emissions near the jump gate but as they cannot detect the thermal emissions from the British destroyers there is no way to tell if they transited the gate from the far side, or simply activated their sensors. Even so, the presence of Royal Navy ships is enough for the Imperial Fleet to dispatch a war cruiser to investigate.
3rd February 1902HMS Pathfinder locates the second jump point with a gate, close to the orbit of Neptune. The geological survey ships HMS Isis and HMS Juno, accompanied by the destroyers HMS Trent and HMS Tyne, are ordered to transit the gate and explore the system beyond.
15th February 1902The battleship HMS Majestic, the largest warship ever constructed by the British Empire, joins the Royal Navy.
18th February 1902HMS Minerva transits into Sol from Wolf 359, encountering the Martian war cruiser Qingdao in the Sol side of the jump point. There is no communication between the two ships and HMS Minerva heads for Earth. Qingdao informs Imperial Fleet Headquarters of the transit, sparking a fierce debate. There are no adventurous officers in the Imperial Fleet but those who could be described as less cautious argue that the barbarian transit proves there is a gate on the far side while the conservative officers argue for caution as it is possible, although unlikely, that the barbarian ship was equipped with a jump drive. Emperor Guangxu ends the debate by informing the commander of the Imperial Fleet, Shao Jiang (a rank equivalent to the Royal Navy Rear Admiral) Cheng You Qiao, that he should send his ships to transit the jump point immediately.
21st February 1902Under pressure from the Union-Castle Line, which now operates two ships, and the White Star Line, which plans to build its own ships, the British Empire establishes a colony on the Moon. The build-up of the Royal Navy has placed severe pressure on the Exchequer and the two shipping lines argued that tax revenue from their planned colonization of the Moon would boost the finances of the Empire. Despite the inhospitable environmental conditions on the Moon, the companies plans to transport the materials requires to construct habitation domes and market the Moon as the in-place to live, away from the crowded and 'crime-ridden' Earth.
23rd February 1902Three Zhanjiang class gravitational survey ships and three Changsha class geological survey ships of the Imperial Fleet arrives in Wolf 359. There are no British ships remaining in the system as HMS Eclipse left two days earlier.
25th February 1902HMS Isis and HMS Juno, along with their escorting destroyers, transit the jump gate outside the orbit of Neptune. They arrive in the Alpha Centauri system, a binary with a planetless G2-V primary and an orange K2-V companion with seven planets. Three terrestrial worlds have atmospheres, although Nitrogen - Methane - Ammonia on two planets and the only Nitrogen - Oxygen atmosphere is 0.21 atm and on a planet with a surface temperature of -98C. The jump point does have a gate on the Alpha Centauri side and is approximately three point five billion kilometres from the planetary system. The small Royal Navy squadron moves to investigate.
2nd April 1902The orbital defence monitors HMS Sphinx and HMS Hydra are launched from the Thorneycroft Orbital Shipyard. Seven of the Minotaur class monitors now provide missile defence coverage for Earth. No further units of the class are planned and the shipyard will eventually be retooled to build a new light cruiser class that will serve the same function as the Minotaurs but in a fleet escort role. The design of the light cruiser is on hold for the moment though as British scientists believe a breakthrough into Magneto-plasma propulsion is likely within a few months.
14th April 1902The Royal Navy completes its gravitational survey of the Sol system. HMS Fearless and HMS Pathfinder are ordered to return to Earth for resupply, refuelling, shore leave and overhaul before undertaking their next mission.
20th April 1902The Imperial Fleet completes its gravitational survey of Wolf 359 without finding any new jump points.
23rd May 1902The Majestic class battleship HMS Magnificent is launched from the Portsmouth Orbital Dockyard and joins the Second Battle Squadron, along with her sister ship HMS Majestic and the Royal Sovereign class battleships HMS Resolution and HMS Ramillies.
28th May 1902RFA Apollo, the first jump gate construction ship built by any of the Solarian powers, joins the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is the civilian-manned fleet that provides logistical support for the Royal Navy. In addition to RFA Apollo, it currently comprises the Flower class tanker RFA Acanthus, four Hermes class Troop Transports, eight Braemar class fuel harvesters, ten Castle class freighters and two Roanoke class colony ships.
Apollo class Construction Ship 69,900 tons 289 Crew 1874 BP TCS 1398 TH 2100 EM 0
1502 km/s Armour 1-151 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 17 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days
Commercial Ion Drive (7) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 48.6 billion km (374 days at full power)
Type 4 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1920 Range 14.0m km Resolution 120
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
Flower class Tanker 15,000 tons 64 Crew 967 BP TCS 300 TH 600 EM 0
2000 km/s Armour 2-54 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 40 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 5
Cryogenic Berths 600
Commercial Ion Drive (2) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 9,000,000 Litres Range 2037.7 billion km (11792 days at full power)
Type 4 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1920 Range 14.0m km Resolution 120
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
Hermes class Troop Transport 44,150 tons 294 Crew 1180 BP TCS 883 TH 1800 EM 0
2038 km/s Armour 1-111 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/8/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 17 Max Repair 75 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 0
Troop Capacity: 11 Battalions Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
Commercial Ion Drive (6) Power 300 Fuel Use 5.3% Signature 300 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 19.2 billion km (109 days at full power)
Type 4 Navigation Sensor (1) GPS 1920 Range 14.0m km Resolution 120
EM8 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 8m km
9th July 1902Two new Jianghu class battlecruisers, Hengshui and Shaoyang, join the Imperial Fleet.
11th July 1902HMS Fearless and HMS Pathfinder complete their overhauls and are dispatched to Wolf 359 to carry out a gravitational survey.
24th July 1902British civilian mining colonies have now been established on three comets and one of the Kuiper belt asteroids.
19th August 1902The Khaghan Federation launches its first gravitational survey ships, the Zanabazar.
Zanabazar class Gravsurvey Ship 2,300 tons 42 Crew 328.2 BP TCS 46 TH 100 EM 0
2173 km/s Armour 1-15 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/2/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Life 3.02 Years MSP 89 AFR 42% IFR 0.6% 1YR 15 5YR 219 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 0
Ghazan-100 Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (1) Power 100 Fuel Use 13.26% Signature 100 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 118.0 billion km (628 days at full power)
Gravitational Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
10th October 1902The scout cruisers HMS Amethyst and HMS Sapphire join the Royal Navy. These are the first jump capable ships built by any Solarian power and will finally start to open up the universe to exploration. Tianxia has designed a jump-capable warship but is waiting for capacity to be added to the Shunzhi Shipyard so it can be retooled. The Khaghan Federation is retooling its Qioyor Shipyard to build an 8000 ton jump cruiser but that task is not expected to finish until August 1903. Even after that the Aimak class ships will have to be constructed. For well over a year, the Royal Navy will remain unchallenged as it pushes out the boundaries of the British Empire.
Amethyst class Scout Cruiser 10,000 tons 279 Crew 1355.4 BP TCS 200 TH 504 EM 0
2520 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 6-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 24
Maint Life 3.34 Years MSP 678 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 92 5YR 1378 Max Repair 191 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Spare Berths 0
MJD-100 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 10000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Parsons PNE-3 Naval Ion Drive (2) Power 252 Fuel Use 17.22% Signature 252 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 31.4 billion km (144 days at full power)
20cm C4 Near Ultraviolet Laser (4) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 3 ROF 15
Barr and Stroud FX-4 Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (4) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Type 1 Active Sensor (1) GPS 17280 Range 126.2m km Resolution 120
EM24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
