Beginning Date: January 1, Year 1, New Era
As the New Era begins, New Iowa is poised to begin exploring the Quad-System. The warp point that used to lead to the old Empire is long gone, and no one knows if it will return.
September, Year 2
Initial survey of the Tiruchirappalli system is complete. The inner planets of the B component, of which New Iowa is a member, are all rich in trans-uranic minerals. A decision is made to transfer all existing automated mines to Furnace, the inner planet, where duranium and several other minerals are present in higher concentrations than on New Iowa. Plans are also being made for the establishment of colonies on the other inner planets.
The news is not as good for the rest of the Quad-system. The C and D components have no planets, and in any case are far out of range. Several of the moons of the gas giants in the B component?s outer system have mineral deposits, but they are either present in low quantities or low availability levels, meaning that none of them are good candidates for mining unless a severe shortage of specific minerals occurs. The one exception is Tiruchirappalli B-IX, named Bane for its sullen red color, which has significant deposits of gaseous sorium in its upper atmosphere.
While Quad A harbors numerous asteroids with mineral deposits, only a few of the planets and moons in this system have mineral deposits, and all of the deposits are present in either low quantity or availability. All of this means that for the foreseeable future, mining efforts in the Quad system will likely be limited to the inner system of the B component.
February, Year 3
The mines have been moved to Furnace, along with newly constructed mass drivers to transfer the mined minerals back to New Iowa. In addition, a deep space tracking station has been transferred as well.
August, Year 3
The decision has been made to begin colonization efforts on New Hope, also known as Tiruchirappalli B-III (New Iowa is B-IV). The freighter fleet will immediately begin transferring infrastructure to the colony, but the colonists will have to wait until the new colony ships are built.
April, Year 4
The population of New Hope is 3.5 million, and the freighter fleet is currently tasked with transferring mines that will begin exploiting New Hope?s vast mineral wealth. The first Gaia class terraformer has been launched, and will soon begin operations off of New Hope.
July, Year 4
The New Iowan Navy is inaugurated with the launch of two City class cruisers. Each is armed with four thermal torpedoes, as is faster than any other ship in the system.
January, Year 5
The Senate authorizes the creation of the New Iowan Army, over the rather strenuous, if private, objections of Prime Minister Burton. The fact that the Senate managed to pass the funding and creation bill in spite of the opposition of most of the Twelve Families was indicative of the concern that the other powers in the Senate over the recent expansion of the power of the Twelve Families.
The new Army draws much of its officer corps from the less rich and influential powers and families, and is thus more loyal to the Senate than the Prime Minister. As provided for in the Act of Creation, the Senate Army Oversight Committee will have much more direct authority on the Army than the Prime Minister, in spite of the fact that the Prime Minister is, in theory, the Commander in Chief.
January, Year 7
The population of New Hope has exceeded 10 million. The bulk of the colonists are employed in the mines. Shortages of duranium persist on New Iowa, and as a result the Republic has decided to expand the mines on Furnace.
December, Year 10 of the New Era
New Iowa: 1,080 Million
Shipyards/Slipways: 4/10
Maintenance Fac: 50
Mass Driver: 8
CF: 700
OF: 70
FR: 150
Mine: 800
AM: 10
RL: 20
GFTF: 3
New Hope: 11.5 million
CF: 50
Mine: 68
Furnace:
Mass Driver: 2
AM: 202
Year 10 update:
The New Iowan Army
As the new colonies increased in population the government on New Iowa became more and more concerned about the potential for secessionist activity, and so allowed the Federal Intervention Corps to build more and more Heavy Intervention Divisions, which has in turn raised concerns at the highest levels of the Senate about the power of the FIC. To balance this increasing power the Senate has authorized the creation of an Army. The Army will operate divisions patterned after Imperial Assault and Mobile Infantry divisions.
The stated purpose of the Army is to defend the colonies and planets of the Quad-System from outside aggression, but is in reality intended to counter-balance the power of the Federal Intervention Corps and to act against any separatist elements anywhere in the system. The Army is primarily loyal to the Senate first and to the Prime Minister second. Because of this there is a lively, and not always healthy, competition between the two armed services for supremacy.
The New Iowan Navy
The Senate has authorized the creation of a Space Navy. Again, the stated purpose is to secure the growing population of the system against outside aggression, however, as always there are many other reasons for the decision. Currently, the Navy consists of two City class cruisers equipped with thermal torpedoes. Although the Naval Research and Design Bureau is allowed to develop new technologies, there are no plans to allow the Navy to upgrade its cruisers with any new technology. The government is very concerned about the balance of power between its armed forces, and allowing any one portion to begin what would amount to an arms race would be perceived as destabilizing. The current perception is that in its real role as securing the loyalty of the colonies the navy?s technology and capability is more than adequate, therefore there is no reason to develop better systems. Allowing the navy to research new technologies is seen as a reasonable precaution should the warp points ever reopen.
The Senate Committee on Naval Affairs has tightly controlled the design of the new Navy?s ships, and as a result they are of limited capability. As designed they have no defenses against missile weaponry, and will be very vulnerable to the new Planetary Defense Missiles being developed by the Planetary Defense Network. As limited as the new City class cruisers are, they are more than capable of dealing with any other ship in the Quad-System and of carrying out strikes against ground targets.
The Navy currently suffers under low morale and is seen as the most junior of the services. Nearly all power groups within the government distrust it, and as a result its officers tend to be those not wanted by the other, more favored, services.
Terraforming Corps
The Terraforming Corps has grown in popularity and continues to receive the public?s enthusiastic backing and support. While the Corps has no armed forces of its own, it does have significant political and economic clout. One of the most popular and enduring holo dramas on New Iowa for the last ten years has been Terraforming Scout, a show about an intrepid terraformer traveling to alien systems and converting the planets she finds there for the use of the New Iowan Empire.
Federal Intervention Corps
The FIC continues to be the mailed fist of the Prime Minister. The officers of the Corps are picked for their personal loyalty to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, and generally come from the Twelve Families or collateral branches. The growth of the FIC spurred the Senate to create the Army to counterbalance their influence.
Planetary Defense Network
The PDN continues to receive the support of both the Senate and the Prime Minister. Several expansions have been proposed for the PDN, however, there are no plans to expand the network to the colony planets. If secessionists managed to get their hands on a PDC then they would have an incredible weapon to use against the Navy or against any FIC divisions attempting to land on their planet.
City class Cruiser 6250 tons 635 Crew 545 BP TCS 125 TH 200 EM 150
1600 km/s Armour 1 Shields 5-300 Sensors 20/0/0/0/0 Damage Control 0-0 PPV 20
Replacement Parts 15
Nuclear Thermal Engine (8) Power 25 Efficiency 0.80 Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 129.6 billion km (937 days at full power)
Alpha R300/8 Shields (5) Total Fuel Cost 40 Litres per day
Thermal Torpedo (4) Range 60,000km TS: 3200 km/s Power 5-1 ROF 25 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Main Fire Control (1) Max Range: 60,000 km TS: 1500 km/s 83 67 50 33 17 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Thermal Sensor, Medium (1) Sensitivity 20 Detect Signature 100: 2m km
Active Sensor, Large/Long (1) GPS 1600 Range 16.0m km Resolution 40
Active Sensor, Small/Close (1) GPS 100 Range 1,000k km Resolution 5
The City class cruisers are a result of complex set of compromises made between the fledgling Navy, the Senate, the Prime Minister?s office, and the other armed forces. As a result they have the capability to blow any other known ship in the Quad-System out of space, and can bombard targets on the surface of the colony planets, due to their thin atmosphere. On the other hand, they have absolutely no anti-missile capability at all, making them vulnerable to the PDN?s missile bases, and cannot affect targets on the surface of New Iowa due to the planet?s thick atmosphere.
